Having lived and visited several times in Almaty, hopefully I labeled some places on this map that will be useful to anyone who stumbles upon it…because it is essential that people in Almaty can find the Arasan Bathhouse! (which I labeled on the map).

But as an interesting side note….while I was watching the movie by myself at the theater, A-Yo was watching a pirated Russian version on the computer at home.  When I got home, she was at the cave scene.  So I watched the end of the movie again in Russian at home.  After Snape killed Dumbledore, A-Yo asked “So is Gandalf really dead or can they bring him back to life?”   I just answered “Yes, he’s really dead” rather than completely nerd out and talk about how not all wizards are Gandalf, and how the avada kedavra spell can’t be reversed, as anyone who paid attention in Defense Agianst the Dark Arts would know…

Actually, he does have some good points about how Americans are
slovenly and don’t dress properly. People in Kazakhstan are horrified
to see Americans in jeans and dirty sneakers (what! you don’t polish
your black leather shoes three times a day!!!!). I am always a little
surprised by the number of people that come to the legislature to
testify in committee in jeans and casual clothes. I love casual
office wear and comfortable clothes, but a lot of people in America
really have lost the ability to dress properly based on the occasion.
And considering how little most Americans read, know about history,
(non-pop) music, and culture, maybe George Will does have a point
about connection between the lazy appearance and worst instincts of
Americans.

But George Will definitely paints with too broad a brush when he
brings in gamers:

“Seventy-five percent of American ‘gamers’ — people who play video
games — are older than 18 and nevertheless are allowed to vote.”

I play “video games”, but I am perfectly able to wear a suit to work,
dress in clothes other than jeans, and be an informed citizen and
voter. I assume he is exaggerating for satirical effect, but video
games and slovenly clothing (outside the home) aren’t necessarily
linked. of course, if George Will had seen me alone in my apartment,
unbathed, unkempt, playing WoW for 10 hours and subsisting on turkey
sandwiches and carrot sticks, he might be justified in concluding that
I was unable of functioning or dressing properly in society…

What is the world coming to?  Is the recession taking that big a toll on the gum industry that they can’t send a coupon for a free pack of gum to a customer that was truly disgusted by one of their products?  I took the time to write and sent back the entire package of gum (minus two pieces for A-Yo and I), and the best they can do is a letter from a customer service representative?  Seriously.  They are the number one gum-seller in the world with annual revenue of $5.4 billion and 2007 profits of $2.3 billion and they can’t give me a free pack of gum in a flavor that I can stomach?

To be fair, I did not ask for a free coupon – partly because I did not want to seem like I was only writing to get something for free rather than truly complaining, and also I was curious to how they would rectify the situation without my asking for specific recourse.  Well, I guess we know the answer to that now.  NUTS TO YOU WM. WRIGLEY JR. COMPANY, SUBSIDIARY OF CANDY CONGLOMERATE MARS, INC!!!

Their letter is below the jump:

Dear Yulzopolis,

Thank you for letting us know how you feel about Orbit® Positively Pomegranate gum.  We’re happy to hear from you and we truly value your feedback.  Input from customers like you helps us to constantly make improvements and ensure that we are always providing you with top-quality products.

We introduced Orbit® Positively Pomegranate gum to provide customers with a fresh, new flavor for the brand they love.  We’re very sorry that you didn’t like this flavor, but we greatly appreciate you taking the time to try it and sharing your thoughts with us.

We’ll be sharing your feedback with our researchers, who are constantly working on new flavors to add to our product lineup.  We hope you’ll keep an eye out for our new products, try them when they come out and let us know what you think.  Thank you again for reaching out to us and we hope you’ll continue to enjoy Wrigley products in the future.

Sincerely,

Sarah W.

Customer Affairs Representative

Does anyone have any other ideas for interesting topics to post about?
Now that the Obama administration is settled in and Bush is gone, my
urge to write about news and politics is decreasing. And this
recession has gone on so long, I’m also tired of depressing economic
news. But since I’ve been posting so rarely, maybe I can get back
into some of those topics since I’ve had a good break. But in
general, the idea of a self-contained series of posts on one-topic
seems like a good way to generate content and keep motivated.

Oh! The trials and tribulations of an office worker!

I was certain that I would never finished the pack (for which I spent $1.30), so I knew the only logical thing was to write a letter to Wrigley to complain and return my unwanted nasty-berry gum.  A-Yo and I had a laugh riot writing the letter, and even though we tried for a humorous tone, the gist of the complaint was real.  So their customer service people better send me some coupons for free gum….otherwise I’m out $1.30 for the gum and $0.42 for the stamp.  Our masterwork below the jump.

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing in regards to your “Positively Pomegranate” flavor of Orbit gum. Unfortunately, my experience was not very positive. Today I purchased a pack of the pomegranate gum, and tried a piece. Needless-to-say, I was not pleased with the strange, berrylike taste. When I came home, my wife asked what smelled like some sort of chemical emanating from my coat pocket. I showed her my recent purchase and she was shocked and appalled. She tried a piece, and immediately spit it out.

I usually don’t complain about products, and I have always been pleased with Orbit gum, even the fruit flavors. However, I would like to return the offending package of gum, which is enclosed within.

What is most amazing to me is how this product made it through your product testing and focus groups. I am shocked and puzzled that anyone would like this flavor and recommend selling it to millions of people.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Yulz!

Highlights

1. The battle scene in the first half. Great action, a real sense of urgency and uncertainty of how things would unfold.  The battlestar acting as a battering ram and boarding the Colony was pretty awesome.
2. Getting to Earth. The real Earth that is.  I guess I took for granted that the first earth was the real thing…even though we never did get a good look the continents, moon, etc.
3. Rosslyn death scene. Very touching.  I wish they had built their cabin first.  It was kind of odd that Adama wanted to go live by himself, but after all he’d been through, quiet contemplation and solitude might not be so bad.
4. Tigh at the strip club. You got to love a couple that can enjoy themselves together at a nudie bar.  His post-shot, oogling-the-stripper yells were awesome.  And their flashbacks throughout the episode actually had the most resonance, both in context of the final episodes and the whole series.  It showed how much they loved each other, despite all the bad things they’ve done over the years (cheating, neglect, drinking, etc) and when they got their happy ending on earth, it felt very well deserved.
5. Cavil/Boomer Deaths. It was sad to see Boomer go after redeeming herself (partially), but it was worth it seeing Athena get her revenge (never fuck my man while I’m bleeding and tied up on the bathroom floor!). And Cavil, realizing the gig was up, deciding to blow his brains out was fitting.  I’m sure he computed the odds and realized it was the most logical thing to do.

Lowlights

1. Kara just disappears. OK…I get it.  She is an angel or a messenger or a Moses-guide type figure.  But after 4 seasons of getting to know this character (and one of the best characters on the show), to simply have her disappear is very disappointing.  Surely she deserved some happiness and peace on new Earth.  Having her disappear after guiding everyone to Earth reduces her to just a plot device, rather than a three-dimensional character.
2. Hera has midochlorians! Or we have her mitochondria DNA.  I tend to get confused when “sci-fi” gets to close to the “sci” half of the genre and falls on its face.  Having Hera be the missing-link “Eve” skeleton seems like a weak excuse to try to justify why she was important.  Yes, showing that humans and cylons can frak and reproduce was important, both for the plot and for the themes of the show (shared humanity of humans and cylons, etc).  Why all the fighting about Hera?  She too was reduced to a plot device and it was never clear what her real importance was.  During the final battle, if Racetrack had nuked the cylon ship when Hera was still on it and she was killed, would anything be different?  Starbuck still could have jumped the ship to new Earth and everyone lives happily ever after.  Oh, and did I mention the opera house splicing was very forced…
3. Tyrol goes to Scotland. Or the rocky highlands somewhere, just to go live by himself.  I know he’s had a rough time of it, but come on.  Surely having some company and eating gazelle burgers on with other survivors wouldn’t be that bad.
4. Ditching the technology. Surely it wouldn’t have hurt to keep a mining/refining operation going and maintain the ability to fly around the planet.  Maybe there could be conflict with the freed centurions or others, but surely maintaining some technological capabilities would have been worth it.  I liked the idea of the clean break but cold turkey seems a bit rash.