Prof. Plum in the Billiard Room

A reasonably unspectacular weekend. On Saturday I went to Julie's dad's house, to hang out with her, Mike, and Danny. We played Clue while watching Team America: World Police, which was much less entertaining the second time around. I'm reasonably confident that I could have made a funnier movie using marionettes. Then afterwards I played pool for the first time, and was told repeatedly that I'm pretty good at it, but the people who were telling me that were drunk, and anxious that I not quit the game. I also noticed that the drunker they (in this case, Julie and Mike) got, the better they played. After that, Julie and Mike went to bed, and Danny and I talked -- or rather, he talked, and I listened -- until about 3:30 AM. Which was odd: I don't really have my life so much in order that I would think a 15 year old kid would come to me for advice. I tried to be supportive: he's generally not having an easy time in high school, which is something I can identify with.

I'm still slogging through the Trollope book: it's not difficult to read, but there's just so much of it that I never seem to make much of a dent in it. Even now, I'm not even halfway through it. The problem is that, because it was originally serialized, it is really easy to just read a single chapter (roughly seven pages) a day. I mean, that's how it was originally written. So I have taken to reading lighter fare at intervals, to sort of break up the Victorian-ness. I don't usually like to split my focus like that, but figure that in this case it is warranted. I read Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe, and How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!! by Neil Zawacki. Both books were read over the course of an afternoon, both books were funny (the Pirates! book even managed to be slightly educational), and both books are recommended. Both books also gave me the strength to continue with the Trollope book.

The house has not been shown since last Tuesday, which has my mother in a panic, especially since they bought the house in New York.

Oh, and Jolie is pregnant! It isn't unexpected, and it does give her a reason not to stay at Joy Prep Academy next year -- I guess she plans to sub in Dearborn, where she lives. I've already warned her that I do not hold babies: parents always want to give me their babies to hold, something which neither I nor (to judge from their reactions) the babies are ever comfortable with. Mostly it's because of the soft spot -- that really creeps me out. When the kids get older, they start to see me sort of like a human jungle gym, which I have no problem with, but holding a baby is just too much pressure. Congratulations, Jolie!

Song: Talking Heads, "Stay Up Late"