Personal and Pop-Cultural: End of the semester. End of the year.

Oh Christ. That's not blasphemy because it's Christmas.

I've spent the entire year in Chicago. That hasn't happened...spending an entire year somewhere other than Montana. And now, I'm worried about going home.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Montana is BEAUTIFUL! OOooh!

Whatever. Not Billings. Unless you LOVE Exxon refineries and Buffalo suicide cliffs. What's for Christmas? SO2. Woo-Hoo!

Not to mention the normal anxieties of going to visit parents. Currently, my room is filled with boxes. Outside of the room are cats. Lots and lots of cats. Picture around a dozen cats (one a pushy pudgy guy who craves love so much he scratched my forehead once when I was sleeping) with miscelaneous stains on the floor next to a Cost-co box of "Tidy Cat" kitty litter.

Ah the irony. More after the jump. Promise.


So my visit's going to be about a week. One week and then back to Chicago. Okay, I've got to stop talking about it because it's getting me anxious.

So no painting. I'm going to bring my monotyping inks and papers because thank God those items aren't that cumbersome. Oh! And I can go through Minnealpolis with my cuticle scissors. Woo-hoo!

RIght now, I'm doing a mini-tribute to John Spencer. He died earlierr this week of a heart attack. He was younger than my Mom and Dad. And my mom's last trip to the doctor was most likely when my brother was born. Ah, the additional nerves of having a mother who's "allergic" to doctors.

John Spencer was on LA Law and was on The West Wing as Leo McGarry who "currently" is the V.P. candidate to Jimmy Smitts' presidential candidate. He was 58.

This brings many different questions to light. About the West Wing. Yes, it's sad but there are numerous articles talking about the loss of the actor and I acknowledge those. But...the actor's dead and the character's standing up for Josh Lyman's campaign strategies. It was a great episode. And as much as I like Janeane Garafolo's presence on there (though the character in her character has just about vanished), I'd rather have her back over at Air America showing that her picture up there for the Majority Report isn't just a lump of shit. Commit for Christ's sake.

It's believable to have the VP die of a heart attack. Hell, it's practically current events with Cheney nearly vanishing and looking more like the Emperor in the last episodes of Star Wars. But... damnit I really liked Leo. Last Sunday I even imagined what it would be like with a continuation of the West Wing with Jimmy Smitts and and John Spencer continuing.

We'll see tonight how the show deals with the passing.