Carol

We have just finished a foreigners-that-have-stayed-behind dinner in our flat. Two Swiss, one Swede (a Swedish person I mean, not a turnip; the first sense of the word my dictionary explains as "obsolete Dutch". And I have found more Dutch words sneaking into our language lately) and me. Got two more people addicted to pepernoten - and no, they're still not gone! And had a marvellous dessert of oranges and figs, prepared by R.

I stumbled upon a rather questionable warning for the movie Narnia (see last week): "Parental Guidance: contains mild threat, battle and fantasy violence". Anyone explain to me how fantasy violence is any more harmless than 'real violence' or indeed whether such a difference exists in film? The murdering in the movie (of a series of ugly black creatures who undoubtly deserved to die because... why?) was depicted pretty vividly.

Also, I would like to say: ResNet is stom. The provider of my inter/networkconnection does not know semesters (of which there are two, I had to explain them): their brain only operates in terms (of which there are three). That means that if I would like to stay connected until the end of my stay here, I would have to pay for the next term as well, of which I will only actually use my connection for two out of nine weeks. The next person in my room might use it for free. But I have been informed that providing any service to one semester-exchange students, or even dividing 2 by 9 and multiplying it by the weekly (= hebdomadal) connection fee would be such an overburdening of their (brain)capacity that they would have to charge me the other 7/9 for it.

I.e.: no connection from the ninth of January onwards...

One of Britain's (generally) low quality television stations has been conducting an experiment over the past few weeks which I've been following with great interest: they have managed to convince a group of young people they will go on a space holiday. They have been telling them stories about how they wil be trained in a Russian space institute, how they invented a machine that can create a field of gravity within a satelite and more such nonsense. And for four weeks now they have been taking the stuff! At the moment they think they are orbiting the earth. Actually, they are in a similator in Suffolk. Tomorrow the truth will be revealed... Breathtaking & hilarious!

To conclude with something cheerful and christmassy: M. has been so kind as to send me a Christmas Carol link: Penguin reading Dickens' ghost story to all you lazy/busy asses without the time to read it yourself. Load down and enjoy.

Before I forget: happy birthday m.!! It's just turned the 16th!