friends, friends, friends!

From maddysarahanna

a few weekends ago, i had my first FRIEND visitors! maddy, sarah and sarah's girlfriend anna came down from seattle and portland, or to spend some time in sf. the sunshine nearly killed them.

From maddysarahanna

From maddysarahanna

From maddysarahanna

From maddysarahanna

here are some pictures of our time - included some hiking, walking around an old industrial waste dump/artist squatting ground in Albany, CA, and eating lots of gluten-free goodies.

it was just about the coldest time in bay area history, but the sun warmed us and we were cozy in my berkeley home. amazing how friends can turn "goddamn it's cold" into "gee, it's pretty cold, hunh?" everything seems less annoying.

here's doug. but i want to talk about 24.

From doug

so. i tuned in to 24 for the first time in AGES (who does a season premiere in JANUARY?). and what did i see? someone getting tortured. for a change.

i'll admit, it was an exciting shocker to see a) a nuclear bomb explode in L.A. (finally) b) that evil skinner from ER is actually jack bauer's BROTHER (whoa), and c) that the woman who used to play lois on general hospital is getting some acting work as jack's sister-in-law and.....mother of his child? (obviously)

HOWEVER. is ANYONE ELSE sick of seeing torture on 24? either jack bauer getting tortured or jack bauer torturing someone. it simply isn't shocking anymore. and it's getting boring.

i almost wanted to change the channel.

[torturer] "i need information"
[torturee] "i don't know anything"
[torturer] "well, how about if i do THIS!" (tortures)
[torturee] "ow! ow! i still don't know anything"
[torturer] "how about NOW!" (tortures)
[torturee] "ow! ugh. NO!"
[torturer] "and NOW?!" (tortures)

etc. you can see where this is going. the end result might (if torturee is a bad guy) or might not (if he's a good guy) lead to information. the underlying message is that torture leads to information and is ok because it saves lives.

and on a number of political and ethical levels i really disagree with that.

even though it was kind of exciting to watch the first time.

but not the 10th time.

knock it off, jack bauer. we get it. you need information. but do we really need to see all that? (again?)

what was chrismas like in boston?

not snowy, that's for sure.
here are some photos of life on the big day, at home with my family. i guess this is just my bro, who received a throwback doug flutie NE patriots jersey - killer. one of my big presents was....a digital camera! so, i will be posting again. hooray!!!!!! these are xmas photos.........

From xmas 06

From xmas 06

friend photos.......(the gang from KPHS - leia, shaun, marit, and jane!)..........

From xmas 06

From xmas 06

AND.......

BIRTHDAY PHOTOS!!!!!!! from my birthday in vermont. (notice the crown)

From bday in vt 06

From bday in vt 06

it was a lovely visit. and i miss it already. but i miss the snow even more.......there are even some reports of flurries in....SAN FRANCISCO. seriously. people here are freaking out. and i am walking around with a smile on my face!