Lots has been going on since i last got off my butt to write it down here. First off, you'll notice a shiny new button in the menu at the top of the site. Bells ... wedding bells ... link to Veronica and my new wedding site ... get it? Not much there yet except a little story of us and some basic info on the site of the wedding. But more details are on the way.

Two weeks ago i drove Cobi to Fremont on a Saturday morning to discuss with the veterinarian getting the tumor on her face removed. We realized it wouldn't slow the progression of her cancer, but after scrubbing her blood out of the carpet and giving her another bath for the umpteenth time, V and i were ready to shell out $500 to get it removed and be done with it. I brought her back the following Wednesday morning, and that night picked up a slightly frightened doggie, now with stitches and a shaved patch on the back of her face. She was out of it for a few days, but a couple of recent walks and treats have gotten her perky and playful again. The tumors on her side are beginning to look ulcerated (like they might begin bleeding soon), and those will be harder to remove. Not to mention the fact that we can't keep spending $500 on her every month. Those will be easier to bandage though. Cobi's been a trooper.

I still find myself pulling up the video highlights of Chelsea's magnificent victory over Arsenal last Tuesday. Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri went completely apes@$t when Wayne Bridge scored the winner in the 87th minute, and with good reason. It brings tears to my eyes to see the raw emotion of his first victory over the Arse. I think he should be manager of the club again next season, but conventional wisdom suggests that Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon will continue looking for a high-profile manager to go along with their high-profile squad. That'll be a shame. Especially if we end up champions of Europe! Michael and i bought tickets to see Chelsea in Seattle on their summer U.S. tour (akin to United's tour last summer), where they'll play Celtic. We're also hoping to find time next season to spend a week or so in London and hopefully catch a Premiership match as well as a Champion's League encounter.

On the subject of Arsenal, i'm finding it unbelievable that their supporters are now blaming the fixture list for their inability to pursue the treble, or even a double. To suggest that Manchester United's schedule was any less crowded when they pulled off the treble in 1999 is just plain stupid. If you want to compete in multiple competitions, you're going to play more games ... simple fact. Don't expect the league to rearrange everything so you can have an easier time. Arse fans point out that their tumble out of the FA Cup and Champions League has occurred in a stretch where they play 4 matches in 8 days ... United in the FA Cup on Saturday, Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday, Liverpool in the league on Friday, and Newcastle in the league on Sunday. "Freshness" has been their missing element, they claim. But meanwhile Chelsea is playing 4 matches in 9 days (3 Premiership and 1 Champions League), and we're not whining about the schedule being too difficult.

A week ago Tuesday V and i again met up with Lance to head to a cool indie show ... this time the Liars at Bottom of The Hill. After meeting Lance at Bottom we drove across the city to revisit an old hangout, Kitaro on Geary. The sushi and chicken katsu was just as good as i remembered. On the way over we stumbled across a radio station that was playing a bizarre, eclectic mix of brit pop, indie, punk, new wave, and just whatever ... 87.9 FM. It only came in well around Bottom, and not at all outside of SF. No station ID's were given, leading me to surmise that this was someone with a weak antenna broadcasting their random iTunes playlist. Anyhow, for once we managed to time our arrival at the show within fifteen minutes of the headliners taking the stage. I'd tried listening to the new Liars album They Were Wrong So We Drowned but hadn't been able to penetrate it. The show was awesome though ... Angus Andrew emerged looking as deranged as ever (this time in a tiger tail and black fur gloves) and proceeded to belt out an ominous rendition of "Broken Witch". The new album centers on witches and German folk tales, and the show did well to convey the ominous aspects ... sparse, bleak drums, menacing guitar noise, and Andrew's wail. On the way home we again tuned into 87.9 FM, and the randomness continued: we got to listen to the radio broadcasts of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy until the signal faded into noise around South San Francisco.

The Thursday after, i attended my second Popscene in less than a month ... whoda think it? Michael came out as well for the eighth anniversary of the club. That doesn't seem quite right to me, especially since after asking DJ Jeremy to remind me of the theme of the first Popscene, he responded that it was a record release party for the Verve's A Northern Soul and was in August of 1995. Michael and i had a half dozen or so pints of Guinness at the bar then made for the dance floor. For the occasion, guest DJ's Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke (more commonly known as the other two guys from the Smiths) spun for an hour. They played a good mix of Manchester bands, brit pop, and garage rock. Not a bad time. Yes, that is the best praise i can bring myself to give to Popscene.

V's cousin Naomi and her boyfriend Geoff came up last weekend for Naomi's birthday. While V worked on Saturday, they went to see Eternal Sunshine and i stayed with Cobi and played Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. That evening we had some fantastic Mediterranean food at Kan Zeman on University in Palo Alto (accompanied by some belly dancing), and then headed to the Great Mall in Milpitas to check out Dave and Buster's. I'd heard about these "adult arcades" ... nooo, not that kind of "adult" ... where after 10 you can have a beer and play pool, video games, or whatever. It was a lot of fun. Geoff introduced me to a nifty shooting game, Police 911 or something like that, where your motions are detected by the game so you have to dodge while you shoot the baddies. All the ducking gave my quads a serious workout. We then played some skiball and Silent Scope, after which Geoff and i played through a few levels in Confidential Mission. On Sunday we had a birthday lunch at Houston's in San Francisco with Naomi's dad George and his wife Linda and their little daughter Jessie. We then headed to the Metreon where i finally got to check out the inside of the Where The Wild Things Are kid's area (thanks Jessie!). Pretty cool ... always fun to run around and climb on things. Geoff and i pushed hard for us to go see Hellboy, and almost had Veronica and Naomi in the ticket line before Naomi exercised her birthday privilege and vetoed the plan. We went home instead and watched Gangs of New York on Tivo over a few beers. Great film ... a real wake up call about conditions in the mid-1800's compared to the idealized depictions found in most history educations.

I persisted in my efforts to see Hellboy and convinced Veronica to go last night in downtown San Mateo. I haven't read the comic but was intrigued by the premise about Nazis bringing a baby demon into our world, who is then saved by the allies and raised to fight evil. The movie was okay. It just didn't wow me. The effects ... okay. The story ... okay. I had trouble deferring my questions about the logic of the plot. The segment i enjoyed the most was when Hellboy stalks Liz and Agent Myers on their date. No action there, just humor. Coming out of the theater i assumed that if i thought the film was a bit corny and dumb, Veronica must've thought it was the dumbest s$#t she'd ever seen. Not so, it turns out ... she liked it more than i did! Just can't read that girl.

Back to Splinter Cell, i'm quite enjoying it. However, when it comes down to it the single player mode is essentially identical to the first game. Not that that's a bad thing ... the first was incredible ... but with a sequel you expect some sort of further innovation. This feels more like a new set of levels for the first game. I'm wrestling with the idea of getting on Xbox Live to try out the multiplayer ... all the message boards say it's the greatest thing since rail guns. I'm a bit leary of getting abused by 15 year old kids. And since you can communicate with your opponents now using the headset, not only getting abused but then having to hear about how bad i got abused.

Back to work.