On the positive side, the NOVA Christmas party was fun. We finished the second season of Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, and it was fully as satisfying as I had hoped. Major Motoko Kusanagi became a lot more human in the final episode. I remember after the first season wondering if they'd be able to sustain the complex, challenging narrative in a second, prolonged story arc, but they did it somehow. Now I'm wondering if they'll be able to do it again. I don't know if they plan to try a third season, but after the emotional trauma inflicted on Major Kusanagi, and the loss (again) of the Tachikoma, I'm once again wondering if it would be a good idea to continue. But they've got a good track record, so I'll watch once again if they do.
Bob, our programmer, chose also to show two episodes of Noein, a series that I've become somewhat taken by (I'm up to episode four). I hope it catches on enough that he's tempted to show more episodes. Elliot, the club pariah, thought it was boring, so that's a good sign.
Then there were the presents. I'd assured all my friends that due to my penury I'd be skipping the present exchange this year, and to please feel free to leave me out of it. No such luck. Or my own good fortune, anyway. Tom got me Aeon Flux - The Complete Animated Collection. Apparently he'd been listening when I'd told Chris and Valeska at the last meeting that the live action version (visible in this trailer) out recently was tone-deaf and wooden in it's attempts to mimic the original. Thanks Tom!
Alan got me a game, Trapt, which I'll give due attention on the holiday week. The mechanic of the game is that you must build traps and lure your enemies into them. I look forward to mixing it up with this and Magna Carta on Christmas morn. Thanks Alan!
John brought a passel of DVDs and gave everyone a chance to choose their own. I grabbed a copy of The Incredibles, as I'd not gotten around to buying it. Thanks, John.
Bo and Lisa were handing out home made baked goodies, and I got a sizable pile of cookies. Thanks guys.
Finally, Chris and Valeska gave me a present for Renee. Valeska did all the work, really. She's a very generous and skilled crafts woman. She tells me she's been knitting and crocheting since at least Renee's age. So she, never having met Renee, only seeing my photos of her, hand knit a doll. A very nice doll, very cute. I'll try to get a picture up soon. Thanks very much, Chris and Valeska.
Oh, and Tom, in case you see Valeska before the next meeting I'm at, you can tell her that Renee loved it, and began crocheting it a vest this very morning. She's nicknamed the doll Git-san.
So happy holidays to all, even you cantankerous sorts who assault folk for not saying "Merry Xmas"!
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