Long time no write. It's early morning on December 24, and finally, I'm in the mood to update.

It's been a long year, and much has happened, both good and bad. I've made new friends (I think), and lost one of my furry companions who was very dear to my heart and has been with me for more than half of my life. I saw my dad be confined to a wheelchair for several months from a broken foot (which, fortunately, was completely healed by some point this past summer), and my brother finally graduate from college after ten years. I've seen the end of one of my favorite mangas, and discovered another anime series that I liked. I began buying the latest volumes of an old book series that is seeing new material released for the first time since 2000, discovered a blog that was reviewing older installments in the series, and of course, bought and read a handful of other books. And as always, I've kept on reading and plotting out fanfiction.

EDIT: And did I mention that one of my ideas actually, finally saw the light of day? (Admittedly, it was because I gave it to another author to write out. Here's to you, Red Witch!)

And here in the heart of the holiday season, I've finally achieved a goal that I've had for almost four years: to own and watch the entire Extended Edition of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings". I bought the trilogy box set last week. And for three nights (with one night in between movies two and three), I sat back and watched the classic tale unfold on screen. I'll admit, I actually watched the Extended Edition of the first film several years ago, and saw part of the second later on. And in December of '03, my then-girlfriend and I saw the third film (in its original, shorter form) on the big screen. But this is the first time I've really sat back and watched all three of them. And they were awesome.

I also re-watched the documentary "Ringers: The Lord of the Fans" twice a few weeks ago. Great movie.

And, of course, how can I forget my family's annual winter holiday, which began this past Sunday: Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Eight nights of celebration and remembering the past, when right triumphed over might against overwhelming odds... and of course, since it's our winter holiday, we get presents. I suspect mine are all books this year (which is normal for my family - we read a LOT), including several new volumes of the "Weird U.S." series.

It's been a long year. It's always a long year. And yet, at the end of each one, it's good to look back on things, before we look forward to face a brand new day.

The world has changed. Much that once was, is now lost. But no matter what happens, even if there is little left to prove it was actually there, as long as we remember the past, that's enough to keep it alive in our hearts.

Until next time...

Anon e Mouse Jr.

P.S.: This philosophical moment brought to you by a guy with a really strange mind. (And I'll cut it off here before it gets even stranger.)