Guitar picks are supremely overpriced.

"I don't know. I just...don't get it. I remember one thing...I think it's called algebra."

-Neil on math

(ha ha, on math. it's funny because it sounds like a drug reference.)

I like people, but I'm not a people person. For me, people have always been only a small part of the whole, just one element of the painting or one motif of the fugue. People are interesting...watching them, listening to them, provoking them, imagining what they might do when you aren't there...but are certainly not my main focus in life, and the relationships between people are not usually the most interesting relationships I encounter. I am a setting person.

I realised this a few months ago, but I have probably been holding onto the knowledge all my life. I like really really big pictures. I like places and periods of time. Rather than other elements such as characters and events being influenced by the setting, I perceive the opposite -- everything contributes to the main idea, to the emotions embodied in the setting. For setting is not, as is commonly assumed, a mere backdrop to the more interesting things: it is the very essence of the story. It is what we should remember when we walk away.

This is evident, of course, in my choice of literature (hence the peculiar interest in fantasy, science fiction and anything described as "dystopian") and in my favourite pieces of visual art (photography included...it's landscapes for me), but it is also a prominent factor when it comes to my musical preferences and, indeed, in every aspect of how I live my life as a whole. Would you rather watch the people inside the bus with you or look out the window at the busy streets? I never ask myself this question, but it would not take me very long to form a reply.

All this to further explain the love of travelling I continue to allude to. And now, a stuff-I-found-on-my-computer interlude. This one is very, very old. It must be...oh, certainly far older than my sister. It comes with a diagram. I was a very strange child, I know.

The Mopfish

A Special Report

by Anne Malcolm

The Mopfish is a distant cousin of the Jellyfish. It gets its name from both its appearance and the fact that humans have often, unwittingly, used a Mopfish tied to a stick as a mop. These 'mops' are not suited to cleaning floors (despite the Mopfish’s looks) and so wear out after one use. Dishonest mop sellers have been known to substitute Mopfish for the genuine article. Therefore, the newly discovered Mopfish are declining in population. A truly wonderful campaign-'Save the Mopfish'- has been started to help protect these creatures from retailers such as 'Canadian Tire' and 'Reno-depot'. *

The Mopfish lives in the Atlantic Ocean. It can go all its life without eating, however it has a small digestive system and will eat soap and tulips whenever it finds them.

The Mopfish is a fascinating, though mysterious, animal.

*All rights reserved

Extra heavy, man.