Highmoon’s Ponderings

I got this back in Oct. 29, but I’d totally forgotten to share the news, so here it is.

:: Schmap Brussels Second Edition: Photo Inclusion

Hi Daniel,

I am delighted to let you know that one of your photos has been selected for inclusion in the newly released second edition of our Schmap Brussels Guide.

Palais de Justice, Brussels, Belgium

Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can:
i) See which of your photos has been selected for inclusion.
ii) Download a copy of the guide, complete with your credited photo.

If you like the guide and have a blog or website, then please also check out our Schmap Picker, a widget that will let you give Schmap Guides directly to your blog readers or website visitors - for free!

Schmap Picker

Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can make a custom Schmap Picker and submit a profile of your blog to be featured in a Blog Partners section on our site.

Please enjoy the guide!

Best regards,
Ali Moss,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

I thought it was very neat; now, one of the pics I took on my vacation will help others enjoy (in its own little way) their own vacation in Brussels!

Go ahead and get your own Schmap Player and Schmaps for a variety of destinations. I’ve found these interactive maps to be quite useful in doing research for both my trips and my show, The Gamer Traveler Podcast.

They freakin’ infuriate me. I have a debt owed to AmEx, one that I have not been able to pay for a while. Hopefully that will change soon, but today I get a call from the collection agency it has been assigned to, and these people are freakin’ bullies. They come across, right from the start, with a rude attitude, then when eventually you get pissed off, the start allegations that you are being uncooperative, evasive and don’t want to talk to them. What the hell do you think I am doing on the phone with you, asshat? ARGH!!! What a way to ruin your lunch break.

From tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Six Days:

George stands outside the hospital moments after his father has passed away.

George: “I don’t know how to exist in a world without my father.”

Christina: “Yeah, that doesn’t go away.”

How painfully true.

This show has made me tear up twice, but tonight it made me cry like a child.

24 Tevet, 5767

Today is the yartzeit of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, also known as the Alter Rebbe, the founder of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement.

To make any kind of summary of his life would be to do a disservice to some aspect of it. Among his greatest achievements are the writing of the famous and revered Likutei Amarim, or Tanya, and the creation of the Chabad movement. Rabbi Zalman’s writings provide, to this day, the philosophical foundation of Chabad, and every Rebbe after him, down to the last Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson, followed in his idelogical footsteps to bring Torah, especially the secret and mystical parts of the Torah as expounded by Chassidus, to the people. The Alter Rebbe brought the loftiest of concepts down to a simple and understandable level in his writings, allowing even an unlearned layman to access the mystic core of the Torah.

This quote from the Alter Rebbe’s biography on Chabad.org sums it up nicely:

It used to be said: “In Vilna they knew how to study; in Meseritch they knew how to pray.” Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the saintly Sage of Liadi, knew how to do both. He bridged the gap between the mind and heart by his masterly synthesis of intellect and emotion within the framework of Chabad ideology.

May his soul have an aliyah and may he intercede with the Almighty on our behalf to have the redemption in our days.

I expect you all to address me henceforth as

Milord Sir Lord Daniel the Talkative of New Scagglethorpe Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I just got off the phone with the man who it seems will be my new boss come March of this year!

I interviewed in November for a position in the Close Captioning department at Telemundo Networks (where my wife also works) and all signs seem to be pointing to me starting in March, if all goes well and with G-d’s help.

We’ll see what happens. I’m very excited about this new development.

I’m really getting excited about the idea of going to Gen Con this year, especially now that I’ve realized (thanks for Atlas Games‘ announcement of their book, 40 Years of Gen Con) that this will be Gen Con’s 40th anniversary.

Aside from the big bash and parties that there will be, for sure, I have the release of the new edition of Changeling to look forward to, aside from whatever else crops up from now to August, plus the chance to finally meet face to face a bunch of online buddies, especially the whole podcasting family.

I’m just thinking, in Kabbalah, the number 40 signifies “a lifetime,” not necessarily as the time from birth to death, but a specific time in which a whole aspect of a life is lived. The classic example is Moses, who lived to be 120 and had 3 distinct lifetimes, each lasting 40 years: his time as Egyptian prince, his time as desert shepherd, and his time wandering the desert as leader of the Israelites. With this in mind, I wonder what will happen as Gen Con enters its second lifetime in 2008.

I’m so there this year.

I was listening to a podcast (All Games Considered) this morning where they did a 2006 year recap, and they spoke about Gen Con 06 and what a great time they had, blah blah. I wasn’t able to go last year, given I’d just come back from a trip to Europe, but this year, with no major vacation in plans, I’m really getting the hankering to go. I know it’s early as hell (Gen Con 07 is in August 16-19), but I need time to plan and save up. Ticket prices are around $200 for a round trip from Miami, which is certainly doable. I need to check with my buddy and see if he can swing it, if not, start planning with other friends around the nation to try and pool resources for a room, before they are gone.

Let’s see how this goes.

I can’t belive it’s 2007 already; I can remember ushering in 2006 just yesterday! Time truly flies as you get older, which is why we need to make the most of it at every single possible moment.

www.flickr.com Daniel M Perez’s 2007 New Year’s Eve & Brunch photoset

My wife and I stayed in to say farewell to 06; some party hats, some noisy horns that simply drove the cat insane, and sparkling wine and we were set. At the stroke of midnight we ate our customary 12 grapes and went outside to see the fireworks displays around our apartment and wish our neighbors a happy new year. We actually went to bed relatively early, because today, New Years Day, my wife organized a brunch, inviting our family and some of our friends over for a calmer way of welcoming the new year. She made muffins (both orange and maple pecan), banana nut bread, a fruit salad, and baked eggs on a cheese-n-spinach bed that were just delicious. The brunch was very nice, a success by all accounts, and definietly an excellent way to meet with friends and family for the new year without the worry that comes with late-night partying.

Happy new year 2007 to everyone, and may it be full of goodness and prosperity.