the girly who shall end all girls

how do you feel about the usage of :) vs :-) ?

i'm currently auditioning Linux distributions on a 64-bit PC. the livecds i have lined up are all based on Ubuntu and i feel like i should branch out.

knowing that:
i do not fear the command line but don't feel up to a Gentoo or Slackware level of tinkering
i do not need or desire a replication of the Windows UI experience

any distribution you recommend? (or unrecommend?)

dear internets:
i am going on a two-week overseas trip with one carryon. so far, no worries about paring down clothes and gadgets and leaving room to spare for buying things.

but what about the books? i MUST read on the airplane. (there will be no laptop/pda/smartphone and my eyes tire out on ebooks anyway.) suck it up and carry a stack of paperbacks there and back again? take used ones and abandon as i finish reading? take enough for the trip over and trust that i will find english-language stuff to read on the way home? load the sansa with audiobooks and podcasts?

i'm seriously considering the abandon-as-i-finish method. i can't really use C as a load balancer because i read 2-3 times faster than he does. any suggestions on nice ways to leave books behind that might make someone happy?

experience, suggestions, insight appreciated.

every film shown at SIFF Cinema during the festival begins with a trailer for My Winnipeg, and this damn earworm song about Winnipeg.

“Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Wonderful Winnipeg/It’s no Eden that you would see/But it’s home sweet home to me.”

i often work out earworms by listening to all of the song, but i can't find a source for it online since (surprise) "Wonderful" is used in conjunction with Winnipeg all the time. anyone heard this song elsewhere, or is it something they put together for the film?