:: Thursday, March 14, 2001 ::

 

9:41 p.m. Some days I just amuse myself with these little animations. I know they get on the delicate nerves of the more refined amongst us, and I really didn't like them when they first appeared on the web, circa 1996 or so.

But then, they crept up on me, and the one that did it was the brain-in-the-jar one. Boy, oh boy -- I thought that was cute. And then I realized that I had an easy way to illustrate my writing, as long as I didn't get too carried away.

I mean, they sort of catch your eye and make it hard to read the words that they're bouncing near. I appreciate that. I'm not totally crass.

And yet, I find them ... charming and somewhat comforting. There's something about an action that will keep repeating itself, over and over, whether there's an ear to hear or an eyeball to detect that is somehow reassuring in an altered-universe sort of way.

For reasons I don't yet understand, the frogs look lousy in Netscape Navigator. Plus, they won't stay in the line. I'd sit and labor over them tonight if it weren't actually a holiday, and a Saturday to boot. They're green.

That's why they're there.

It was either the frogs or this:

My collection of green things is varied, but small.

It's St. Patrick's day, after all. There are better things I could be doing. I could be watching Lorna Doone with Igor and swigging back some nice brew.

I could put on a green sweater and rouse Igor from couch stupor and go down to the neighborhood bar and watch the turtle race.

And you thought the frogs were dumb.