i could've slept some more but i woke up "early" so i could watch the inauguration. listening to bush's speech, the biggest thing that bothered me is his idea of the ownership society. privatization is not the solution, it's actually the problem. eventually it'll get so bad that there won't be anything free in the world, not even the air we breathe. suddenly, towards the end of his speech, there were loud cheering from the crowd, which seemed a little strange, since they were so subdued for much of the presentation. turns out protesters were trying to crash the inauguration, and the bush-supporting crowd was just trying to cover up the angry shouting. that in essence is the administration's strategy for everything: don't like it, whitewash it, call it something else. those protesters are my heroes. later, during the motorcade, i heard people were pelting the limos with snowballs and other objects. mandate that.

much of today was spent in a period of nonactivity. i literally had nothing to do. i could stay at home and feel sorry for myself, or go out and use up one of my kendall cinema discount voucher tickets to see a movie. i saw the life aquatic, in a theatre with a handful of other middle-of-the-day moviegoers. i was tempted to strike up a conversation with some of them, but i didn't want to break rule number one which is weirdos don't interact with other weirdos. i didn't like the life aquatic, just a bit too quirky. wes anderson's best film was rushmore, and these films he's made since then have really missed the mark for me. he has an appealing visual style, but i feel he sacrifices a compelling story for the sake of offbeat characters. it's almost like the story is secondary, and you watch his movies to enjoy the characters and the world he creates. there's a child-like "wow" quality to the life aquatic, whether it's seeing exotic underwater creatures, fighting with pirates, or staging a daring rescue: i think the people who will enjoy this movie share that child-like quality. bill murray plays the smarmy cousteau-esque oceanographer steve zissou, and nobody does a better charming smarmy than murray. i thought the staff of unpaid interns were pretty funny, they're essentially servants working for school credit. the topless script girl anne-marie is a nice touch, nothing more warming on a cold day than see boobies on the big screen. the life aquatic would be a good rental, but save your theatre money for something else.

i came home and took a warm bath, reading the latest issue of wired in the bathtub. if there was no risk of me drowning or becoming a human prune i'd sleep in the bathtub, submerged in the ylang-ylang scented hot water. there's a few things in life that i enjoy at an almost primal level, and soaking in the bathtub is one of them. maybe on my asian trip i can find some hot springs, like japan or taiwan, where it's relatively colder.

i fell asleep in the living room again. that's the only time where i don't have problems sleeping. i woke up after 9pm to heat up some soup for dinner.