You were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.

Giles ,'Selfless'


Natter 40: The Nice One  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Trudy Booth - Dec 06, 2005 5:46:13 am PST #9655 of 10006
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

Well, tokens are no more.

A nice fat metro card would be handy until he decides if he wants a weekly or monthly pass (and occasionally nice to have even after he starts using one). There are also little metro card holders (sorta like a hollow credit card you can slide the sucker into) and I love mine.

Subway and bus maps are easily obtained. In fact, I'll pick some up for you and pop them in the mail if you'd like so you can make a little packet of them.

A subscription to Time Out New York would certainly get him in the know about any number of forms of NYC entertainment.

A gift card to Zabars wouldn't suck -- it is arguably the new yorkiest of the new yorky markets.


bon bon - Dec 06, 2005 5:58:32 am PST #9656 of 10006
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.

I received a gift sub to Time Out New York when I first moved here and it was a great idea-- helped me acclimate to the ins and outs of local culture. Plus it's like $20. Maps and metrocard are also good ideas. More:

  • TONY restaurant guide
  • iPod headphones
  • GC to Fresh Direct, if they've got them
  • Duane Reade discount card

There are a few books about relocating to the city, though I don't recommend any specifically. There's the NYT book on various neighborhoods, based on their "So you want to live in..." feature.


Lee - Dec 06, 2005 5:59:39 am PST #9657 of 10006
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

Hot cup of more sleep!

I got one of those! yay me. I think I still have time to go get breakfast too.


Jessica - Dec 06, 2005 6:10:04 am PST #9658 of 10006
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?

I second the TONY subscription rec, and maybe a Not For Tourists guidebook.

ION, I finally got the facial recognition software working, and it told me that this picture looked like Hillary Clinton and Werner Herzog. Um.


Trudy Booth - Dec 06, 2005 6:16:55 am PST #9659 of 10006
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

There are various Gay New York guides they might find handy.


Jessica - Dec 06, 2005 6:35:09 am PST #9660 of 10006
If I want to become a cloud of bats, does each bat need a separate vaccination?

Okay, this picture gives me Grace Kelly. I can live with that.


Matt the Bruins fan - Dec 06, 2005 6:36:45 am PST #9661 of 10006
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

No, indeedy. I suspect some of the Holocaust Deniers are an extreme version of putting fingers in the ears, closing the eyes and chanting "la la la". (The rest are just assholes.)

The grandfather of a former co-worker of mine was among the US troops that were sent in to help out after the camps were liberated in '45. Buchenwald, if I recall correctly. He would (rightfully) get apopleptic whenever he heard anyone suggest that the Holocaust was exaggerated or faked.


§ ita § - Dec 06, 2005 6:53:49 am PST #9662 of 10006
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I just got a thank you note from a manager in an unrelated department whose employees I'm wrangling in a project that has nothing to do with my department, and will end up making him look good. It's the little things, and I damned well appreciate it.

On the down side, I think the no-sugar-added latte does have artificial sweetener in it, despite the barista (can you say that for a Coffee Bean employee) assuring me it was unsweetened. Which means extra headache. Damn, it tasted good around that noxious slickness.

Saw an e-mail that voiced a concern about looking like "a bunch of armatures." I wonder if anyone pointed this out to the author...I'm certainly not going to.


Theodosia - Dec 06, 2005 6:57:46 am PST #9663 of 10006
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"

tommyrot, if you throw in some giant mutated fruit flies to your fruit stand movie, you could probably get the Sci Fi channel to go for it.


Kalshane - Dec 06, 2005 7:03:29 am PST #9664 of 10006
GS: If you had to choose between kicking evil in the head or the behind, which would you choose, and why? Minsc: I'm not sure I understand the question. I have two feet, do I not? You do not take a small plate when the feast of evil welcomes seconds.

Ugh. I just volunteered to get up early on Christmas morning to drive an hour in the cold so our family can have our Christmas gathering on actual Christmas as it should be, rather than the Friday night before as it was looking like. (Trying to schedule around my paternal grandparents wanting to go to church on Christmas morning for the first time in forever, thus having their own gathering much later in the day and my BIL's parents wanting to spend time with their son and grandson on Christmas.) My family rightfully assumed I would not want to get up early in the morning and drive through the cold, but the only other option was the night before Christmas Eve, and that just feels all kinds of wrong, so I asked if we could do it Christmas morning instead.

I guess there's something to be said for tradition.