Happy New Year, and a happy 34th birthday to me (tomorrow).

Beth loves her sapphire and diamond necklace. Made from manufactured gems instead of mined ones... but I'd rather give the money to someone in a lab than a crimelord in the Democratic (ha!) Republic (double ha!) of Congo. Along with the usual fine trappings of the holiday season I got The Big Box Of Art. It's probably the geekiest thing I could ever have received ("hey, 215,000 images on 24 CDs? GREAT!") but I love it. Here's an example of how totally inclusive it is. Say your kid is doing an essay on architecture in Hong Kong. Great, your kid is a genius, but where do you find good quality photos like that at this time of day? I just checked... I have 267 images relating to Hong Kong, 33 of those are black and white photos and 17 of those are close-up views of buildings. I have no idea when I personally would ever find a use for a b&w photo of a building in Hong Kong (or an animated GIF of a walking tree for that matter) but it still fascinates me and I have them if I need them.

Just want to say that if you drank too much this New Year's Eve you might want to consider a subscription to Modern Drunkard Magazine. Or maybe you just need to ease up there, sunshine...

Listen : Happy Birthday - Altered Images ... Speak In Sympathy (Original Mix) - Solar Stone feat. Liz Fields