a few years in the absolute elsewhere

The Dead and the Dying

2006-06-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a significant death that you may have missed: Gyorgy Ligeti

Also, my mom pointed out to me a neat fact: this Sunday, June 18, Paul McCartney will turn 64. If you are of a certain frame of mind, you may already contemplate the passage of time, aging, death (as well as irony perhaps) all of the time, but here is an interesting instance where popular culture may compel those who don't, to pause and reflect. Go and listen to "When I'm 64" on Sunday and we'll all have 'a moment' together.

On this day...

2006-06-06T02:38:00.000-04:00

Hail Satan!

It's a Fact

2006-06-04T13:05:00.000-04:00

Did you know that Angelina Jolie's uncle (aka Jon Voight's brother) wrote The Troggs 'Wild Thing'? Well, now you do.

Pictures

2006-06-02T19:55:00.000-04:00

1 Down, 1 Still Standing

2006-05-14T23:23:00.000-04:00

I began following sports (basically hockey and baseball) around 1980 or so, when I was 7 or 8.

For baseball, by far my most beloved sport, it has been nothing but disappointment. I was an Expos fan from the start and they never won anything. Spring after spring, summer after summer, sometimes close but never close enough. Then, the year they had the best team in baseball and were on their way to the NL pennant, the season was cut short by a player's strike. Their star-studded team was dismantled and traded away before the league started up again. Finally, a series of weasely fucking owners, businessmen and politicians literally conspired to move the team from Montreal to Washington DC in 2004 and that was the end. Now, I cheer for my hometown Blue Jays. In my 26 years of passionate attachment to baseball, I've never watched my team win the World Series.

As for hockey, in 1980 I randomly picked the Edmonton Oilers to cheer for because they were playing Montreal in the playoffs on the night I first watched a game. It was basically a toss-up. I didn't know anything about either team. Turns out I picked the right one. They went on to win something like 4 or 5 Cups when I was young. Then when Gretzky was traded in 88 (by then I was a big Gretzky fan and I even had Gretzky wallpaper in my bedroom), I abandoned Edmonton and switched allegiance to Los Angeles with Gretzky. (I was also developing an anti-corporate ideology and interpreted the trade as a cold-blooded business move on the part of the Oilers millionaire owner, Peter Pocklington - all the more reason to turn my back on the team. [Ironically, Gretzky himself has turned out to be the ultimate corporate whore, allowing just about anyone with cash to exploit his legacy in a whole series of maudlin tv ads over the last few years.]) I spent a few years cheering half-heartedly for LA but it never really felt right. I was essentially without a team. Then, in 92, I moved out on my own with my friends to Ottawa and that very year the city had a brand new NHL expansion franchise, The Senators. The Sens and I were starting out on our life's journey together, so to speak. So I adopted them as my team and suffered through some of the worst hockey that has ever been played professionally as they went through their growing pains as a group of castoffs and pimple-faced draft picks. Gradually they got better and now, 14 years later (Oh my god, where is the time going?), they are one of the best teams in hockey. And yet, yesterday, they were eliminated from the playoffs again this year.

It's now been 18 yrs since I tasted the ultimate victory of a fan whose team has won it all. Such are my disappoints as a sports fan... the Oilers' cups are nice but I was young and I got lucky, getting on the bandwagon just as they became dominant. There's a greater victory in having suffered through lean years with your team or to know that you've been there from the start... This is why, although the Sens have left me feeling down this week, I can still say that I have a chance to celebrate victory as I type this. You see, from the very beginning, when I was sitting on the couch one evening and decided against my better judgement to see what it would be like to actaully watch an episode of American Idol, I have been rooting for Taylor Hicks to win this year's title. And, unbelievably, he is still in it! In fact, he might be the favorite of those who remain! One can hardly compare the two: the Stanley Cup and AI but, hey, I'll take anything right now, so this will do for the moment (and we'll see where the Jays are in September...)

Questions

2006-05-02T23:08:00.000-04:00

Some things I've been meaning to ask you:

1) Where does popcorn stand on the health Richter scale? I mean, it's a healthier snack than potato chips, right? What if you ate it, like, 5 times a week? The microwave kind. I don't put any extra butter or anything on it. Let me know 'cause since I got my microwave I've been eating it A LOT.

2) From where did this foolish idea come that "more American's vote for American Idol than they do for the US president". I know it's part of the ad campaign for that Paul Weitz comedy "American Dreamz" but its a myth that was constantly mentioned on the interweb for awhile before that. I mean, look, here are some examples:

"I started watching "American Idol" this year... I'm a Tommy-come-lately to "Idol," a cultural phenomenon, which is in its fifth season. More people vote for the amateur Idols than for our presidential candidates. This is stunning to me." - Tom Martin, blogs.savannahnow.com

"You won't get any quarrel from me. Here, unfortunately, you are preaching to the converted. When more people vote for "American Idol" than vote for President or Congress, however, it's hard to be surprised that the government is controlled by a small number of narrow commercial interests. " - stephen, commenting on a post at the blog theleftcoaster.com

"The sad truth is that the vast majority WANT a newsreader rather than a journalist. They want entertainment rather than information. Remember that many, many more vote for American Idol than will vote in the "off year" election. Probably more than vote for president." - acrosticunivers, commenting on a live journal called 5th_estate

"Appearing on the TV show Hollywood Squares, American Idol creator Simon Cowell got the question, "Did more people vote in the [Bush vs. Gore] 2000 presidential election or on the first American Idol." Cowell said, "What's more important? Of course more voted for American Idol." The contestent disagreed -- and lost! More people voted for the first American Idol than voted for Bush and Gore combined in the 2000 election. -Hollywood Squares, ~July 17, 2003" - quoted on a page about voter turnout on something called nexialist news

here's some of the strange logic contributing to this nonsense:

"In its second season alone, “American Idol” tallied 24 million votes and up to 230 million votes never made it through because of jammed phone lines. With the four seasons completed, I will let you do the math. On the other hand, the 2004 presidential election had a turnout of roughly 105 million voters. " - Jennifer , "staff writer" for something called speakeasymag.com

I'm sure I don't have to spell out the sheer idiocy of the math here. But, one question: how does she know how many "didn't make it through"?

For God's sake, AI averages about a 20 Nielsen rating each week. That means about 20 million households are watching each week. Even if 2 people from every single household voted, that's still only 40 million votes. Over 120 million voted in the last presidential election. I'll just leave it at that. Why do I let stupid stuff like this annoy me?

Well?

2006-04-25T23:56:00.000-04:00

Am I the only person that finds this seriously HOT?

Maybe it's just the 70s kick I'm on right now...

to fill you in...

2006-04-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

I have nothing interesting to say.

Lately I've watched these films:

In Dreams
Jaws
The Curse of Frankenstein
Rosemary's Baby
The Howling
The Pyx (aka The hooker Cult Murders)
City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel)
Mary Reilly

I'm trying to watch a movie every night now. I'm re-reading Frederic Jameson and also reading David Frum's book on The Seventies. As well as the three books for which I have to write a review by the end of next week. I'm also writing quite a bit.

Lately I've downloaded and am listening to: Thin Lizzy, The Small Faces, Television, "Wow! That Was The 70s" 8 disc set, Nick Lowe, Olivia Newton John, Yazoo, Roxy Music, Shania Twain, Def Leppard, Classic Electro and Rap Collection, Hall & Oates, Kiss, the new Belle and Sebastien, new Flaming Lips, new Morrissey, Kraftwerk, and Clash, Blondie, The Who and Duran Duran albums that I didnt have. Out of all that if I could only recommend one song that you may not have heard I would say it is: "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Thin Lizzy. (But that might not be obscure enough to be new for some of you musicologists, so the next level would be "Italian Girls" by Hall & Oates. If that still doesn't do something new for you, then try "Jeans On" by David Dundas - pretty sure nobody out there has listened to that lately.)

The greatest $100 I ever spent: MLB.TV (every baseball game, everyday, over the internet all for one flat fee for the entire summer)

I'm mulling over writing a paper about Peter Jackson's 'King Kong'.

I'm thinking about 'authenticity'.

I'm broke.

Happy Opening Day!

2006-04-03T23:28:00.000-04:00

Today is Opening Day of the baseball season - traditionally, for me, the happiest day of the year, far more important than Christmas, Easter, New Year's, Canada Day, Valentine's Day and yes even Hallowe'en. Hope springs eternal and, symbolically (as well as literally) every team is in first place. (These are huge cliches but I love them). Even if you don't subscribe to this religion and don't recognize this as a holy day, it's really still your duty, as a global citizen who, I assume, holds up the ideal of cultural diversity and appreciation of the different beliefs and customs of those around you, to make an effort to recognize and reflect on the meaning of this day. How? I suggest you go here and read a little about baseball history and the most heroic player who ever lived. Much of baseball's beauty is in its history and its stories and Jackie Robinson's is a story and a life that both embodies and transcends the sport itself.

What else is new? I guess on a related note, I watched Ep. 2 of Black White and I'm still appreciating it. Is anybody out there watching it too? I want someone to discuss it with me.

Also, here's a humble request: If you read this and you talk to me on a regular basis, please grant me this wish - Don't ask me how my thesis is going. I know my friends and acquaintences ask me this out of interest and concern about how things are going with this important part of my life - and, hell, what else is there to ask me about anyway, since this is all I do? I agree, but actually, I find it only causes me more stress having to respond to this question. Suffice it to say, it is "going along" and it "will be done when its done". Beyond that, there's not much more I can say without going into a very very intense conversation/therapy session that only my supervisors should have to get involved in (and only then because its their job). So what, you ask, can I ask you when I see you and we have a conversation? Well, I'm sure you can think of things but here are a few replacement suggestions: "What music have you downloaded lately?", "What films have you seen lately?", "What are you reading these days?", "What are your thoughts so far re: that show Black White", "Do you still think the oil crisis and the end of suburbia are just around the corner?", "Why do you like baseball so much?" or, if you like baseball already, "What do think the Jays' chances are this year?" (Can be shortened to "How 'bout those Jays?").

Finally, here is what I found on Wikipedia tonight. I suspect there is a fascinating story behind the brief outline of this life. "Robert Opel (23 October 1939 – 8 July 1979) is most famous as the man who streaked during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. He sneaked backstage posing a journalist and ran naked past David Niven flashing a peace sign when he was introducing Elizabeth Taylor. In response, Niven remarked to the audience, "Just think: the only laugh that man will probably ever get is for stripping and showing off his shortcomings." Later, some evidence arose suggesting that Opal's appearance was facilitated by the show's producer Jack Haley, Jr. as a stunt. The episode made Opel something of a celebrity. Producer Allan Carr even asked him to streak at a party for Rudolph Nureyev. In 1979, Opel was murdered during a robbery of his gallery and sex shop in San Francisco."

Thank you, Jesus, for Reality TV

2006-03-23T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well, Reality TV continues to blow me away. How boring must television have been before this stuff began to appear? Lately I have discovered Lisa Loeb's brilliant #1 Single (call it a cross between Blind Date, Dr. Phil, and Sex in the City) and Black White, from Ice Cube & documentary filmmaker RJ (The War Room) Cutler, in which a black and a white family 'switch races' using skilled Hollywood makeup technicians. Fuckin brilliant! I have no deep analysis of either show as I've only watched one episode each. Just that: the former is deliciously entertaining and the latter is sure to stir up debate. What more could you ask for? Go DL them both now.

King of the Tomarkenites!

2006-03-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

A followup on the death of Peter Tomarken, the host of the 80s game show 'Press Your Luck', about which I posted last week. If you haven't, take a look at the fansite that I linked to. First of all, read the awesome story of Michael Larson, who figured out how beat the game and went on a spree of Ken Jennings-ian proportions. What a fantastic tale. Then, for something truly sad and disturbing, have a look at the site's Message Board. Besides the Tomarken accident, the most popular thread is about a breakthrough in the ongoing perfection of a computer version of the game designed by the show's fans. One fellow, CJBojangles, has managed to recreate the shading seen in the real-life electronic game board from the show, making the simulation more real then ever! This is apparently huge news in the 'Press Your Luck' twilight zone. If this alone doesn't bring you to the verge of suicide over the emptiness of modern life, try this post to the board from the same CJBojangles re: the demise of the beloved host Tomarken:

"As pathetic as it may sound to some, this is perhaps the most shocking and saddening news I've ever heard. I, as well as many more of you I'm sure, grew up with Press Your Luck. The show went off the air a full year before I was born, but I watched the reruns every day on the USA Network in elementary school. Since a tot I was watching and loving all game shows, Pressing My Luck, chanting "No Whammies", smacking the table as contestants slammed on the button. When GSN brought the show back, my every dream had come true. My show came back, and gave me a new appreciation. Call me King of the Tomarkenites. I'm proud to say it. Press Your Luck is my favorite game show ever, and I looked up to Tomarken as sort of a hero. I've always wanted to host a game show. I would spend hours upon hours concocting my own little games with imaginary contestants as a child. He embodied everything I wanted to be. He embodied everything I'd still like to be. All I want is to hear that this was all a mix-up, and that Peter's okay. It'll take time to come to terms with the fact that he's gone. I'm proud to say that I was able to have a short, even if lasting mere seconds, conversation with Peter via AIM some time ago. My greatest sympathies go out to his close friends and family, and his biggest fans, right here in the forum. You will be deeply, deeply missed, Peter. Rest in Peace. Stop at Big Bucks, i.e. the place upstairs." (The emphasis, though perhaps gratuitous (I just couldn't resist), is mine)

Well, everyone, this is our future... According to the website, the show went off the air in 1986 so that means the King of the Tomarkenites is 19 yrs old. I swear I'm somehow not surprised. I've been teaching 19 yr olds for 5 years now. I'm pretty convinced that as a whole they are stupider, shallower, and have priorities and values that are more mixed up than my generation. And I'm pretty sure that my generation was just as bad relative to the one before it. All of this is largely because of mass media. In other words, hardly a surprise, things are getting worse and the world is being left in increasingly unprepared and unworthy hands. If you are in your 30s or 40s, you ought to be concerned. When you are old, it'll be the King of the Tomarkenites and his ilk that will be running the world. And you'll be too frail and tired to do anything about it. Instead of funding health care and social programs for seniors like you, they will be building enormous Stonehenge-esque monuments to their favorite game shows. Massive replicas of the 'Press Your Luck' gameboard the size of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Perhaps it's not too late to start doing something to change that, what do you think?

Night Thoughts

2006-03-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

I've decided to become a Jungian. The following quotes from Jung seem to be sufficient to justify my current path in life. And so I will continue on...

"The cinema ... makes it possible to experience without danger all the excitement, passion and desirousness which must be repressed in a humanitarian ordering of life." quoted in Roger Manvell, Film (1944)

"Unfortunately, the mythic side of man is given short shrift nowadays. He can no longer create fables. As a result, a great deal escapes him; for it is important and salutary to speak also of incomprehensible things. Such talk is like the telling of a good ghost story, as we sit by the fireside and smoke a pipe.", from On Life After Death

Big bucks! No whammies!

2006-03-14T00:57:00.000-05:00

I just couldn't resist this one.

So many ways to report this. "Sooner or later, we all land on a Whammy", "I don't know why people Press Their Luck by flying in those small engine planes", "Game show host's plane whams into water off California coast".

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - (AP) A former TV game show host and his wife were killed Monday morning when their small plane crashed into Santa Monica Bay, authorities said. Rescue crews were searching for a third person also aboard the plane.

The bodies of Peter Tomarken, 63, host of the hit 1980s game show "Press Your Luck," and his wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 41, were identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The plane apparently had engine trouble and was headed back to Santa Monica Airport, located about two miles inland, but went down about 9:35 a.m. just off shore, saidFederal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer.

Luis Garr said he didn't hear the engine but heard the splash as the plane "kind of landed into the water." "It's a big splash, a huge splash. ... Then it started going down," Garr said. "The wings were still floating so I was, `Get out! Get out!' because the door was still available to get out and nobody came out. So the plane kept going down, down, down."

Tomarken's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight." "Press Your Luck" was known for contestants shouting the slogan "Big bucks! No whammies!" Tomarken's agent, Fred Wostbrock, said his client's first game show was "Hit Man!," which ran 13 weeks on NBC, followed by the four-year hit "Press Your Luck" on CBS. He also was on "Bargain Hunters," "Wipe-Out" and "Paranoia." "He was always a fun guy to be around, and he just loved the genre of game shows," Wostbrock said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060314/ap_en_tv/small_plane_crash

If you are too young to remember the show, http://gscentral.net/cpyl.htm

Time Out

2006-02-28T18:49:00.000-05:00

This blog is on hold until I get back from the conference in Vancouver this weekend. On a related note, I am at the end of my rope with school and trying to write. This paper will be a turning point. I'll either figure out a way to get it done in time and it will go over well and I'll return with a new found sense of confidence and the energy to finish this f'ing thesis. Or, I will chuck the fucker in the pacific ocean and join a commune out there in Hippieland. Time will tell...

The Prophecy, or The OJ Code

2006-02-22T17:21:00.000-05:00

Every morning, I get up and pour myself a glass of orange juice and sit down at my computer to check my email and read the news and sports scores etc. Nothing particularily interesting has ever happened during this routine. As a matter of fact, even though I study the supernatural, nothing very miraculous or wonderous has ever happened to me. (Though, I finally had a genuine creeppy nightmare last year. Yay!) I believe other people's stories of ghosts but I've never encountered one myself. I stopped believing in God around the same time that I stopped believing in Santa Claus. On Monday, however, all this changed...

I was sitting there that morning as usual and my juice, from which I had already had a few sips, was on my desk in front of me. It was then that I looked down at the glass, and this is what I saw:

No, this is not a doctored photograph. That really is a number 4 distinctly nestled amidst the pulp and fizz of my President's Choice 100% Florida OJ (from concentrate). Realizing what was happening (that I was being given a message from beyond), I grabbed my camera and took a picture. ...then I drank the rest of the juice.

So what does this mean? My first guess was that something life-altering will be happening to me in "4" days. That would be this Friday, the 22nd of February. I am looking forward to finding out what it is. If nothing happens, I guess I will have to reinterpret the prophecy. I wish I had more to go on than just "4". Perhaps that little dot to the right of the 4 is part of the message. I can't figure out what it is though...

Also, here is a picture of what I would look like with a moustache:

A Pen That Could Melt Stone

2006-02-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

We've been having fun messing around with the Craigslist "missed connections" lately. If you don't read them regularly, you should. They are entertaining. For example: I love it when dumb guys try to communicate with a stab at sincere expressive prose. Like those lists of bad pickup lines, it's akin to watching a trainwreck in progress. This was posted today.

"I was sitting at the island by the serving counter, the one by the bulletin board, while I read from the ubiquitous free publications, sipping coffee. Me: 5' 11", broad-shouldered, intense eyes, tall dark and perhaps handsome in a Black 3 1/4 length vintage leather jacket, cableknit blue sweater, brown eyes, brown hair. You were one of the heartachingly beautiful brainy arty girls across from me at your laptop, notebook or conversation, sharing sidelong glances that could melt stone. Did you see me?" (http://toronto.craigslist.org/mis/135033788.html)

Move over Byron! I mean, what sort of brainy arty girl could resist that commanding, yet oh-so-casual, use of 'ubiquitous'?

If you enjoyed this, you're in for a treat. You haven't even seen ass-crack man yet!

It's Nice To Be A Part Of Something

2006-02-13T21:34:00.000-05:00

This is a communique to those who plan to be part of our Oil Crisis Survival Cell at Niagara-On-The-Lake* following the end of suburbia and once the chaos caused by peak oil has set in. If you are not intending to join us, or if you do not yet have a Survival Cell alias, please don't read further.

Communique #173: We Are Not Alone

Comrades,
While doing some research, I was startled to discover that, not only are we not alone in our beliefs and desire both to plan for and to prostletyze the coming of peak oil and the end of civilization as we now know it, but there is actually a name given to us and our brethren: we seem to be known as:

peakniks.**

(From Wikipedia: "Hubbert's research and awareness of Hubbert peak theory is becoming a more prevalent sociological phenomenon. For example, a peaknik is a person who studies or has an interest in the Hubbert Peak theory of oil depletion and is concerned for the possible long-term effects on society. Peaknik may also refer to people involved in promoting public awareness of Peak Oil. The word Peaknik is a neologism - it is a variation of the term peacenik. The use of "-nik" evokes a counterculture attitude to the status quo.)

Perhaps a discussion at the next annual general meeting could be had re: the benefits vs. drawbacks of being 'coined' by popular culture with a cutesy moniker? At the very least, we can take away from this the feeling of belonging to a larger family of fellow believers...

In solidarity,
Scaught/"Lynx"

*There remains a debate as to whether it would be wiser to setup the survival cell in a city such as Toronto, in the sprawl of the 905, or in a more remote area such as NOTL. At issue are questions re: food supply & arable land, defence, a place to play softball, etc.

**Although, given our pessimistic stance, we may in fact be: doomers.

End Communique
------------------

Berry Frustrated

2006-02-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

I apologize up front for the angry tone of this post but I'm really just about fed up with trying to find an honest cranberry muffin in this town. They always look good behind the counter but don't be fooled! Those 4 or 5 cranberries visible on top are ALL THE CRANBERRIES IN THE ENTIRE MUFFIN. There are no more buried inside it like you would expect. After all, when I get a blueberry or carrot or chocolate chip or raisin muffin, it has the bits of blueberry or carrot etc. all the way through it. So why wouldn't the cranberry? Eh? Eh? Are these things that expensive that they need to skimp on them this systematically? I'm tired of taking two bites and then being stuck with a plain muffin for the rest of my meal. Does ANYONE out there know a place that isn't ripping people off with the false promise of hidden cranberries? At this point, I am willing to pay a premium for a genuine full cranberry muffin. I don't even care anymore. Money is not an object. Please tell me where.

The Birds and the Bees

2006-02-07T18:07:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I had a great encyclopedia set called, I think, "The Funk & Wagnall's Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia". I loved reading all about all the different animals and species in the world, and it had great pictures. I need to get back into that stuff. Here's a nice story that just made me think of this anecdote.

‘Lost World’ of wildlife found in Indonesia
Expedition found 20 new species of frogs, photographed bird rituals

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Describing it as the discovery of a “Lost World,” conservation groups and Indonesia on Tuesday said an expedition to one of Asia’s most isolated jungles had found several dozen new species of frogs, butterflies, flowers and birds.

“It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” Bruce Beehler, a Conservation International scientist who led the expedition, said in a statement.

“The first bird we saw at our camp was a new species,” he added. “Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance. We were able to simply pick up two Long-Beaked Echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal that is little known.”

Read the rest

Ouch!

2006-02-07T00:25:00.000-05:00

I'm a pretty self-sufficient person but there are times, and this is one of them, when having a girlfriend, or my mom, around would be really nice.

On Saturday night, sitting on the floor at a party, I got a nice sized splinter in my foot. It's on the outside of my left foot, back near the ankle and close to the bottom. This just happens to be a spot that is impossible for me to reach, atleast with any leverage to operate a sharp splinter-removing tool effectively. It hurts, and I'm scared its going to sink into my foot and become lodged there forever, like that thing in Jonathan's hand, if I don't get it out soon.

War

2006-02-06T11:24:00.000-05:00

I find it highly amusing that after all these years World War Three may be ignited by a cartoon.* Don't you? What's really sad about this is that, as usual, it's all completely unnecessary. What we have here is just a really unimaginative artist. One of the great challenges for the creative mind is to figure out how to express something despite limitations. This is where much ingenuity and inspiration can lie. Why not, given the current world situation, figure out a way to satirize fundamentalist Muslims or the Islamic faith without actually drawing Mohammed in the cartoon? Is that really so hard to do? Ofcourse not, just google "islam cartoon" and you'll find plenty. Ofcourse, this would take a bit of creativity and nuance, something entirely lacking in the works that have caused the uproar. So we always wind up defending the worst art in order to salvage our sacred tenet of free expression. I can still remember vividly holding my nose (and ears) while defending that horrible 2 Live Crew song against the televangelists back in the early 90s. So, no, I don't think an artist deserves to live in fear for their life because of the object of their satire (anymore than I think that a motorist deserves to have garbage dumped in their lap just because they littered) but, look around you, the battle lines are being drawn everyday, do we really want to do this? Can we not make an effort to find common ground and mutual respect, for God's sake? Peace, out.

*Just in case this incident doesn't go down in history next to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, and is instead all but forgotten a year from now, here is some background. A Danish newspaper printed a series of satiric cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed last September and then they were reprinted in January by a Norwegian newspaper. When offended Muslims protested (Islam is an an-iconic faith, no representation of Mohammed is allowed), other European papers reprinted the cartoons in response, justifying their actions as 'freedom of speech'. One culture's core values against another's (what else is new?). Over the weekend, protest's grew in scope and violence in Muslim countries around the globe.

I Own A Computer!

2006-01-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

This past week, after starting a three year lease with Dell in 2003, I made my last monthly payment of $58.40 and now own my very own computer. I also dumped my long distance plan for my cell phone now that I have Skype, saving myself another $12/month. What shall I do with this extra $70 from now on? Hmmm. With a little support from Jonathan, I also upgraded said computer with a monstrous video card featuring a TV tuner/Video Input and a DVD burner. So I can finally begin my project of transferring all my old video footage onto DVD. I used to work at a community tv station and I did two tv shows there: a Movie Review Show, which lasted 2 yrs, and a Detective Series, which only lasted 2 episodes. In addition, I made a lot of little short videos. It's all been deteriorating on video on my shelves for years. So the process begins...

What's especially exciting, however, is that I have a venue to show them to the world. Google Video. I've been wanting to blog about this since Christmas. Some background first: back many months ago, maybe more than year(?), Nathan and I discussed starting a project that would gather amateur video from across Canada and archive it for future study/use. Do you remember this, Nathan? The idea was that there was all kinds of interesting stuff shot by kids in their hometowns since the advent of home video, and unless it featured somebody getting injured and was sent to America's Funniest Home Videos, it would eventually just disappear and never be seen. Well, I discovered over the holidays, bored and playing around on the internet, that Google had stolen our idea! Google says: if you have something on video, no matter how trivial it may seem to some, you may upload it into their searchable archive. The key here is that you can put anything on there. Since then, I've been noticing more and more friends mention it and so I realize this post is a little late, but if you haven't checked it out yet, do so immediately. It's absolutely fantastic! Already, I see it is increasingly commercialized but here's to hoping they maintain their mandate of collecting absolutlely anything that anyone wants to upload onto the server. No screening and judging what is worthwhile. A pure archive.

Naturally, the content is exploding exponentially everyday. Back at Christmas, there seemed to be not much more than home footage shot by teens. I learned that teen boys in the early 21st century mostly spent their time attempting Jackass stunts, and teen girls mostly spent their time lypsyncing and performing dance numbers in front of their webcams. Aside from that fascinating content, here are a few of my favorite links so far: An inspiring song, "For Five Bucks!", "What the fuck!", Asian man yelling, and just for fun, though most people have seen it, one of the greatest bits of amateur footage ever shot, basketball blooper. This last one is so brilliant I could watch it million times. I fucking love the fact you can see the kid running at the bottom of the screen at the beginning... I love the way the person in the stands in the foreground reacts, putting their hands on their head... I love the physics on the actual collision... This is pure poetry, people. Pure poetry.

So, my point was... Soon I will be able to contribute all my nonsense to this beautiful archive. And I will post links to it all, so that sometime when you are bored and sitting at your computer (perhaps procrastinating instead of writing that paper), you can check out the early video artist/tv producer career of yours truly.

The Mystery of the Enigmatic Shower Curtain

2006-01-26T13:17:00.000-05:00

A little while back, I walked past a store close-out sale and bought a new shower curtain at 70% off the regular price. It's apparently a $50 shower curtain, though I can't imagine why anyone would pay that much for something you can get for $1.99 at the Dollar Store. Not that you could get this exact one there, it's a giant print of a kitschy 40's-50's pinup girl lifeguard and it says: "Cutie on Duty". If you want to see it, you'll have to come over. Instead, I'm showing you a picture of my old shower curtain. As I was taking it down, I remembered that I wanted to ask people for their opinion on the mysterious design printed on it. (I can't take credit for first noticing this, that goes to Nikki). As you can see, the theme is "flower garden", or something like that. There are five images in the repeating pattern, all of which are in the pic above. Four of these are identifiable and obvious, leading to the assumption of the theme. The question is: what the hell is the 5th image? I was never able to determine this in any conclusive way. Now the curtain is gone but the mystery remains. Any thoughts?

Spare me.

2006-01-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry but I refuse to fan the trumped-up flames of panic over politics that have suddenly appeared around town. Conservative, Liberal, Martin, Harper: c'mon people, do you really think there's a difference? Our middle-class indie lifestyles are going to be exactly the same Tuesday as they were last week. People are acting like Monday is the end of the g.d. world, fer chrissakes! Well, I say we are far from fucked. You wanna see your life change, really change? You wanna see the end of the world as you know it? When the oil crisis hits, THEN we'll be fucked. There won't be any dance parties; there won't be any organzied softball; there won't be any internet social networking services. But for now, and the next few years, regardless of who is the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons of this middling, relatively insignificant nation, life will be roughly the same as it was last year. So just calm down, put some Sufjan Stevens on your headphones, lay back, and close your eyes. It'll all be over soon.

Religious Humour

2006-01-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

If you ever see me in person, let's sometime have a converation about Scientology. I've done a bit of research on it and plan to incorporate into some paper I write or some course I teach someday.

I know everyone jumped on Tom last year, and he did deserve it, but at the same time, I really thought he was quite an articulate spokesperson for his belief system. Ofcourse, I still enjoy this immensely.

I don't normally like cats but...

2006-01-19T18:41:00.000-05:00

I want one of these!

If you don't think this is real, google 'one-eyed kitten'.

Dancing (seriously)

2006-01-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

Well, Tatum is gone already apparently, and I didn't even get around to watching an episode. Oh well. It looks stupid now anyway, they've turned it into an "American Idol' type thing with the plebes being able to vote for their favorite instead of the judges choosing who is the best dancer. TV... Whaddaya gonna do?

But on that note, about dancing... First, I need to say that I want to make this blog contain more than just ironic anecdotes and observations. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) One of my new interests lately has been 'sincerity'. I've been thinking a lot about it. I want to think through this concept of sincerity atleast in part by putting it into practice. I want to balance the irony with blog posts that are entirely sincere. This is a good a place as any to begin doing that because I had a 'moment' last night (while dancing) that I thought I would share with you here.

Now, this is hardly an earth-shattering revelation; for some of you it will be common sense but I will state it anyway: Dancing is both highly erotic and powerfully spiritual. This is why it gets frowned upon under certain strict religious systems. The fundamentalist preacher/father in 'Footloose' may have been concerned about the moral implications of teens dancing together but the deeper religious concern underpinning the town's ban on dancing is that dancing is always bordering on an ecstatic spiritual experience, one that challenges the religious authority who is in turn trying to prevent it.

Last night, at Jonathan's dance party, there was ofcourse an erotic element to the bumping and gyrating that was happening on the dance floor but for me there was briefly something spiritual, too. For a moment, one that felt crystal clear as it washed over me, I realized that being right there, right then, with a group of friends around me, all of them smiling, and all dancing to the same song, the same beat, that that was just about the most wonderful thing imaginable. If it's possible to feel completely happy, and to be conscious of it at the same time, so that you are, fleetingly, saying to yourself in your head, "this is it, this is happiness", then that happened to me last night. And to me, that's a very powerful spiritual thing. And that's what is so special about dancing, that it can generate that. Ofcourse, it's fleeting because, unless you are a Buddha, all spiriutal or mystical experience is momentary, and that gust of joy can't last because the next song might not move you, or you might remember how much your back is aching, or your friends might disperse to get a drink before last call, or you may become aware of how sincere you are feeling and, being a modern person, feel the need to make an ironic adjustment to your state of bliss, and thus it's gone. But you do have the memory of it, as I do, and that's why we go dancing again next weekend, I guess.

Honing in on "Husky"

2006-01-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

TO the left, is what, with a good cough, I managed to scrape off the walls of my lungs and expectorate into the sink this morning. IF anyone can explain to me why I felt the need to take a picture of it and post it here, you should consider a career as a psychiatrist.

YOU probably didn't notice but recently I decided to stop neglecting punctuation and capitalization when I write emails, chat online and blog. I was always aware that some people out there find that irritating; in fact, it is for some their biggest pet peeve. NORMALLY, I wouldn't care but it occured to me one day last week, why be someone's pet peeve if you don't have to be? YOU may turn against you someone you'd otherwise really like to get to know. I'M not so dedicated to anti-punctuation and capitalization that I want to alienate people because of it. IT was just a stupid habit I got into at some point. BESIDES, it's kind of childish anyway. (OH, if you're wondering, I've decided instead to start capitalizing the entire first word in every sentence I write online. EVERYONE needs a signature, right? I think it looks cool!)

SO what is the definition of "husky"? THIS has been an ongoing debate between many of us. VARIOUS celebrity examples have been thrown around (Vince Vaughn, Jason Alexander, Russell Crowe) but I am still not satisfied that this has been settled. I tried googling "husky man" and these are some of the images that came up.

IT'S important to get the context and the descriptions that go with these images because for me it is the way we use the term to describe a particular body type that pinpoints the definition of a word like "husky". THIS first image comes from the Clallam County Fire District No. 3's website and its a copy of an article that appeared in the local paper. THE journalist writes, "If firefighting volunteer Tobi Johansen is coming to someone's aid, that means something is wrong. Nothing personal to the full-time Qwest employee, but he's part of the District 3 Technical Rescue Team that responds to all sorts of emergencies. But Johansen, a rather husky man, couldn't fit into District 3's extra large suits they use for swiftwater rescues, like the time they helped save seven people trapped on a sand bar on the Sol Duc River west of Port Angeles. At Johansen's day job, the telecommunications giant Qwest, they have a deal with its employees: volunteer at least 10 hours a month for a non-profit organization for at least six months, they'll fork over $500 each half-year toward the cause. Johansen figured District 3 fit the bill, and it does. With the money, District 3 personnel were able to purchase not only one but two extra, extra-large GoreTex drysuits for the team." NOW, I think that's a nice story. IS Tobi husky though? NOT sure. HE just looks "big" to me. (I'M not even going to get into a discussion of his name...)

THIS next image comes from SmokeShop Magazine's online edition. IT is found in a story by journalist Mike Jesse entitled "What's Next from NICARAGUA" (his capitalization and neglect of punctuation, not mine). HE is reporting on the conditions of cigar industry following a market boom that shook up the country's northern manufacturing region. HE begins by describing his journey north from Managua. "The Pan American Highway, which connects the two cities as it snakes along the western edge of Central America, is a pock-marked road with no lighting and plenty of hazards. Cars and trucks leap-frog past one another in a kamikaze-tinged competition, as those on a mission dart past those who seem to be in no particular hurry. Avoiding roadside peddlers, stray livestock, and oncoming traffic - which is just as likely to be in the right lane as the left - present a constant challenge. Some would call the experience harrowing; others might call it exhilarating. Certainly no one in his right mind would say it was boring." THE same goes for that writing, Mike. VERY vivid imagery! ANYWAY, he gets down to an interview with one Don Orlando Padrón, whom he describes as "a husky man with a voice that commands attention, (who) is very discerning when it comes to his cigars." MY feeling here is that Mike is not as discerning when it comes to descriptive writing and the use of adjectives as Don Orlando is with his cigars. He's having just too good of a time above, writing about the "pock-marked road" and the "kamikaze-tinged competition", for me to trust his description of Don Orlando as "husky". I think we have another case here of a freelancer for Smokeshop Magazine who's real dream is to write the next Great American Novel.

NOW, this is an interesting one. ZABLO writes a blog called "Zablo On Nearly Everything", although the "everything" appears to be mostly comics and movies. BUT somewhere in between discussing Batman Begins and King Kong, he has an entry about his weight and his childhood. HE includes this photo of his younger self alongside the following words, "Christopher Mills posted some 'heavy thoughts' over on his web log. In his post, Chris talks about his struggle with being overweight. It's pretty poweful stuff. It's strange that Chris and I are in the same boat [although I'd venture a guess that my boat is even bigger] but that we got here by different paths. Chris says that he was skinny for the first half of his life. I was never skinny. As a little kid I was 'husky' [man, I hated that word]. In high school I was in pretty good shape. I played football, lifted weights, and was a pretty good wrestler. And consequently I was in shape. Once you're married, have a job, have kids, heck, as you get older, the weight gain comes easier... as do the excuses to not eat right and exercise. Because really, that's what it comes down to." OK, this is good because it emphasizes to me what I'm sure a few of you have already mentioned - that "husky" is often used by moms to describe their fat kids. I wish Zablo would post a picture of himself as a kid. AS you can see, this is a picture from his high school days when, as he says, he was more in shape and physically active. STILL, it may be of some use. IS there a hint of the 'husky kid' in this image perhaps?

AND finally, I have saved the best for last. WITH this image, I may have found my definition of the word. IT is odd however because it comes from a story about the Expos leaving Montreal and the word "husky" doesnt appear anywhere on the page. YET, pitcher Livan Hernandez, who ofcourse I have seen before many times, captures the essence of 'husky' for me better than any other man's body I can think of. HE is a big guy. HIS team website says that he is 6'2'', 245 lbs at age 30. AND he does wear his uniform baggy, which may add to the impression, but I don't think it is misleading; in fact, I suspect he wears it baggy partly to hide his husky stature. HERE are a few more images. THE 2nd one is good because it allows for comparison to another major league player.

HMM, looking back over all these images, one thing occurs to me. THE proportional size of head to trunk seems off a little in all of the subjects (except Zablo). Perhaps this is the key to "husky" - "Barrel-chested, with a smallish head"? THE debate rolls on...

Curry Surprise

2006-01-10T19:15:00.000-05:00

I opened a package of 'Bangkok Curry Instant Noodles' tonight and found TWO seasoning packets inside. If you have never eaten Instant Noodles before, let me tell you, this is rare. Normally, there is only ever ONE seasoning packet inside. I briefly considered adding the second packet to my noodles (thus doubling the flavour) but finally decided to save it for another day. ... Also, I have a cold.

For the Record

2006-01-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

Everywhere I go these days, people ask me the same question: "Who are you cheering for on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars'? Well, just to save myself the breath, I thought I would post the answer here for you all to see. Who else, but the once-adorable tomboy child star whose performance made Michael Ritchie's 'Bad News Bears' the classic it is? Go Tatum!

(Some of you think I'm joking, don't you? You are sooo wrong.)

Playlist

2006-01-08T17:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some compact discs I bought recently.

These two I got at Future Shop on Boxing Day: the special was 2 discs for $10. These were the only the 2 good ones there. An excellent deal, I think.

These 2 I bought today at She Said Boom. Both are the Remastered versions with bonus tracks. Are you into Sweet? You really should be.

Canadian Apocalypse

2006-01-07T17:23:00.000-05:00

I'm really looking forward to this!!:

BLACK DAWN: THE NEXT PANDEMIC
A fifth estate "What if..."
Wednesday, January 11th at 9:00 p.m. on CBC-TV

What would happen if the World Health Organization declared what has long been expected and feared: human-to-human transmission of the avian flu virus?

Black Dawn is a docudrama featuring leading epidemiologists, doctors and emergency planners who imagine the impact avian flu would have as it spreads around the globe. Some predict the coming pandemic will be more lethal than all of the world's previous plagues. Black Dawn combines expert opinions with dramatic recreations to paint a starkly realistic picture of life during the next pandemic.

skyrockets in flight

2005-12-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

last night, on the way to scrabble, deb found a cellphone on the ground near college and ossington. we fucked around with it at scrabble trying to determine its owner's identity, though didnt have much luck. it seemed to have some connection with the genie-nominated canadian tv phenomenon known as Regenesis, since the only conspicous name in its phonebook was "regenesis prod off". (also, jonathan discovered he knew another guy whose name was in there - small world!). we figured he'd eventually realize he lost it and call his phone to see if anyone had picked it up. finally deb emailed us that he called this morning.

"At about 9am, I answered and we arranged for him to come over to my work and pick up his phone. He said he was on his way to a club on College last night for his wife's show's wrap party (ReGenesis!?!) and something about how a bus had sprayed him with slush... completely inconsequential, but whatev. There were also some photos of what seemed like his daughter on the phone, so he's a family man, perhaps even a stay-at-home dad with a high-powered TV executive wife. He also told me that they live in Riverdale. So, he's coming here today to pick up his phone and bestow upon me a $500 reward. Just kidding, that last part is not true. He did claim that I saved his life though, and really, that's reward enough."

hmmmm... i wonder why finding a phone "saved his life"? its just a phone.

unless...

he had been enjoying a little "afternoon delight" yesterday with his mistress and dropped the phone on the way from her place to the wrap party.
i mean, whats he doing in the west end if he lives in riverdale and the wrap party was on college street? eh? hunh? eh? you didnt save his life deb, but you may have saved his marriage!

...atleast for now.

we all know how these thing eventually end, no?
one minute you're on top: beautiful successful tv producer wife, a pair of blue-eyed, blonde-haired kids, a camera phone, a soft-rock smash dominating the airwaves... and then it all comes crashing down, like it always does.

allmusic.com bio: Starland Vocal Band dominated American airwaves during the Bicentennial summer of 1976 with their quintessential soft rock chart-topper "Afternoon Delight." The group emerged from the Washington, D.C. folk scene of the late '60s, its roots dating back to the formation of the acoustic duo Fat City, which comprised future husband and wife Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. Together the couple wrote a song titled "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" which was recorded by John Denver and Mary Travers; with Denver, they also penned the smash "Take Me Home, Country Roads." In 1969 Fat City recorded their debut LP, Reincarnation; after 1971's Welcome to Fat City the duo began working as simply Bill and Taffy, regularly opening for Denver on tour.

On Bill and Taffy's second album, 1974's Aces, the duo enlisted 18-year-old singer and pianist Jon Carroll; the couple was so impressed by Carroll's performance they decided to form a new group, adding the youngster as well as vocalist Margot Chapman to become the Starland Vocal Band. They soon signed to Denver's Windsong label and in 1976 issued their self-titled debut LP, with the lead single "Afternoon Delight" quickly reaching the top of the charts on its way to helping earn the group five Grammy nominations. (They won two, including Best New Artist.) "Afternoon Delight" was so enormously popular that the group even landed their own short-lived CBS variety series The Starland Vocal Band Show, which featured a then-unknown David Letterman.

The second Starland Vocal Band album, Rear View Mirror, followed in 1977, but failed to match the success of its predecessor; Late Nite Radio, issued a year later, also fared poorly by comparison, and after scoring one last minor chart entry with the single "Loving You with My Eyes" the group disbanded in the wake of their fourth and final LP, 1980's 4 x 4. In the wake of Starland Vocal Band's demise the Danoffs divorced; Carroll and Chapman, who had also married at the peak of the group's success, later split up as well. All four members of the group later went on to mount solo careers, though never agan recapturing the success of "Afternoon Delight."

the classic three-act story of the american dream, a modern greek tragedy. beautiful.

Catching Up

2005-12-10T20:07:00.000-05:00

In the past week, i had the following cultural experiences:

Sat: Body Worlds 2, Kelsey's;
The field trip to Body Worlds 2 was a great way to spend a saturday. my experience of the exhibit is captured by the following words: overwhelming, unreal (or, if you prefer, surreal), informative. The sheer amount of stuff to look at makes the show a bit too much for your brain to process - they could probably have half as much stuff and it would still be just as good. But i did learn where the liver and the pancreas are located. At the lecture afterwards, i learned lots about the history of the representation of the anatomical body. I also learned what an airhead Juliette Powell is. (For some reason, the science centre had commissioned the former muchmusic personality to host the public lecture series attached to the exhibit). Overall, my favorite things were: drawer-man; and, the woman's constipated colon (presented as a 'slice'). Slices are one of the more interesting media used in the exhibit. Rather than a whole body, sometimes a thin transparent slice is displayed, laid flat on a light table. No photos were allowed but i snuck a picture of the colon slice with my phone camera (i added the labeling myself)

I was amazed at the possibilities surrounding this particular specimen. For example, imagine donating your body to this Gunther guy, with the idea that you will be preserved as one of his fabulous full body "sculptures" - perhaps swinging a tennis racket or posed as "the thinker"; but, when you die, you just happened to have been constipated - and this guy goes and creates a "slice" of your backed-up butthole and lays it out on a light table for everyone in the world to see. This is what you end up as... But worse still, imagine you did this 15 years ago, before there was even a thing called the internet, only to have some jack-ass sneak a picture of what's left of you and turn it into a story on his two-bit blog. Life is weird, eh?
Afterwards, the whole group went to Kelsey's in Scarborough for a late dinner. I had a burger. (It didn't constipate me). We wanted a photo for posterity, but rather than ask the waitress to take one of all of us, as an experiment, we had liz get up and snap a photo of the rest of us, then she sat down and i got up and took a 2nd photo from the same spot. Jonathan was given the task of bivving them together in photoshop. The result was impressive.

Also at kelsey's, they tried to get us to add a dollar to our bills by signing our name on this cheap paper star and the money was for sick children or something. I declined, as we had plans to go to Festive Miracle Day on Thursday, and i felt that Swiss Chalet's offer was better. See my story on that in another post.

Sun: Cat People on DVD;
I hadn't blogged this yet but last month i secured the purchase of my most dreamed-of and wished for dvd release. For years and years, it was nothing more than a twinkle in the eye of film buffs but finally earlier this year, the announcement came: the entire catalogue of 1940s horror master Val Lewton was to be issued in a gleaming new boxset - first time all of his films have been released for public consumption. (There had been a laserdisc boxset many years ago but it didnt have all the films and ofcourse its been out-of-print forever now). I grabbed my copy of the set a few weeks after it was released and just got around to watching the first film on monday.

Cat People is amazing. A perfect little classical hollywood chiller, surprisingly rich in style and theme. Its really the beginning of what we know now as horror: suspenseful, creepy, designed to scare you. A real touchstone. One thing though: i can't stand this Gregory Mank guy they have doing the commentary. I know he's a well-informed horror film historian and all but i hate his little scripted anecdotes and the sound of his voice. Its contrived and annoying as hell. He also did the commentary on the Jeckyl and Hyde disc i bought and i had to turn that off after 5 mins too.

Mon: The Killing of America on VHS;
Wed: Henri Fabrege and the Adorables at the Embassy;
Thurs: Festive Miracle Day at Swiss Chalet;
I'll continue these in my next post.

They come in threes

2005-11-29T11:47:00.000-05:00

First, Link Wray, Guitar Legend (age 76)...

Then, Sam, the World's Ugliest Dog, (age 105 dog years) ...

Finally, Mr. Miyagi, (age 73)

What a week. :(
R.I.P. Guys!

oh god.

2005-11-22T19:12:00.000-05:00

okay, so i guess this completes the "Grad Studies Trilogy":

Sociology is a Martial Art (2001)
Derrida (2002)

and now...

Zizek!
Starring Slavoj Zizek

from the press kit: "Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek is one of the most important and outrageous cultural theorists working today. This captivating, erudite documentary explores the eccentric personality and esoteric work of this incomparable academic and writer."

the case of the inappropriate appropriation

2005-11-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

i cleaned out my wallet this weekend. i feel refreshed. i managed to reduce its bulk by at 75%. you shoud try this. you will feel like a whole new you.

i have had a seinfeld/larry david-type situation occur with my new neighbour. she moved in across the hall from me about 2 weeks ago. this past week this happened: (backstory required first) when i moved in to this place in january and made the trip to ikea for supplies, i bought two identical doormats (really cheap $2.99 ones). one was for in front of my door in the hallway, the other was for inside my door, so you can step on it when you enter the apartment, because i have carpetting and no real foyer per se. anyway, later, i got a bigger and better 'inside' mat and so, not knowing what else to do with extra ikea mat, i put it on top of its twin in the hallway. they have been like that for many months now. two identical mats, one on top of the other in front of my door in the hall. the neighbour's door is like 2 feet away from these mats - directly opposite my door. anyway, i came home one day this week, and she had taken one of my mats and put it in front of her door. i really had to do a double-take when i saw it. i went inside and just about burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. what the hell am i supposed to do? its a fucking $3 mat. i can't take it back or even tell her that "its mine but you can keep it". i guess i just have to accept the fact that she has stolen it write out from under my nose. it wouldnt be so ridiculous if i wasnt reminded of it every single fucking time i come home and i see it there.

fun with titles

2005-11-13T21:07:00.000-05:00

sometimes i worry about the career choice i have made...

there are professions that would seem to have little need or use for creativity (construction crane operator, for instance) and professions where you would imagine it was required (children's book illustrator, let's say) and then there are those that might give you pause: academia, for example. i guess it is not completely obvious that a creative turn of mind would be necessary for this line of work. but it seems to me that it absolutely vital, in the humanities and the soft social sciences, in any case. academic writing is not equivalent to creative writing but it is still 'writing', and much of work that comes before writing an essay involves creativity as well (at least, it does if the essay turns out to be any good).

sadly, however, everywhere i look around me in academia, i see an embarrassing absence of creativity. I don’t feel like speculating on why that is at the moment; this lament was intended only as a preamble to showing you the following:

academic conferences, as those in the know will gladly tell you, are notorious for their banal, repetitive, sometimes mind-numbing, often unintentionally hilarious, and nearly always meaningless, title. I had the “interesting” experience of witnessing the birth of one of these demonic designations around this time last year. I volunteered for the organizing committee of a graduate student conference and sat stunned as the whole committee carefully sifted all creativity out of the process until they arrived at a perfectly meaningless piece of abject compromise. I tried to reason with them that 12 people together cannot create and agree upon anything that isn’t fatally watered-down; that a conference title, for once, should be unique and provocative; and, that all of us trying to reach a middle ground would result in something little more than… middling. But to no avail. Our conference title was chosen to be: “INTERSECTIONS 2005: HybrIDentities”. (Yes, that’s Hybrid and Entities but squished together so that the ‘Id’ in Hybrid makes Identities out of Entities. Clever, huh! Oh, my aching head.)

During this process, I was especially concerned because the year previous the same conference had been saddled with the mother of all brain-screwing conference titles: (take a deep breath if you are reading this out loud) “INTERSECTIONS 2004: Error 404: File Not Found: What’s Missing or Broken in Communication and Culture”. Good God…

And so where am I going with this? As you might have guessed, the committee for this year’s conference (I’m not involved this year), just announced the name for INTERSECTIONS 2006. (Drum roll, please)… (can it be any worse? I know you are thinking: “it can’t. It can’t possibly be.”. well, never underestimate the lack of creativity of academics or the massive mediocrity of creativity-by-committee): this year’s conference title is: “INTERSECTIONS 2006: Emerging Spaces, Transforming Scapes”!!! Now, it doesn’t top 2004 but damn, that is one sweet-smelling turd of a title, no? Just the exact right amount of banality; just enough repetition of academic buzzwords used in 100s of other conferences in the past few years; and, absolutely mind-numbingly meaningless!! I mean, what the fuck is a ‘Scape’? Somebody please tell me…

Modern Music

2005-11-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

Due to life circumstances, I found myself with a bit of time yesterday to sit down and waste it on compliing my long-planned "Modern" mix cd. This disc will contain only songs that feature the word "Modern" in their title or in their lyrics. I had some kind of vision about a year ago while listening to 'Calling America' by ELO (which is a lyric "Modern" song) that if one were to put all the pop songs that contained the word "Modern" together, one would better understand what Modernity was all about.** Sort of like an essay on Modernity in the form of a song-cycle. Well, using All Music Guide, i now have a list of over 70 songs, of which i'd only previously known about 25%. I was surprised by how many there were. Sifting through them by listening to the song previews on the site, i've narrowed it down to about 30 good ones. now i just have to track down, online or in cd shops, all the ones i dont have. when this is done, i believe i really will have something special here. this cd is gonna kick some ass. it will start with neil diamond and end with wolf parade. 35 yrs of pop music's meditations on Modernity. its never too soon to get your order in. it will make a great xmas present!

** (Note: Yes, i do realize that nobody really cares what Modernity is all about except me and a handful of other lost souls who spend too much time at Robart's library or its equivalent elsewhere).

ups and downs

2005-11-04T17:22:00.000-05:00

this week has been a week of ups and downs. on monday night, hallowe'en, the holiest night of the year, an attempt to have a horror movie get-together at my place went a bit awry. only one person showed up (thanks for coming, liz!) and a communication breakdown with nikki ended badly. meanwhile, at york, my union has been in negotiations for a new contract. a few weeks back, there was a preliminary strike vote and the 'yes' side won, so they set a strike date for this thursday and pushed on with bargaining. on tuesday, we were told that they had reached a tentative agreement (up!) but then on tuesday night at a big general meeting on campus, the agreement was voted down by the membership (down!) and it appeared a strike on thursday was inevitable. i trudged up to york as usual on wednesday morning for tutorial and i was depressed all day, explaining to all my students that there would likely be strike and who knows when i'd see them again. worst of all, ofcourse, was that i had no idea what i would be doing for money. the union would pay you $10/hr to walk the picket line everyday but how would i get any writing done if i was doing that. and besides that wouldn't even get me enough to pay the bills in a given month. life seemed bleak on wednesday (down!). however, i did go for an eye exam that i had scheduled a while back. and, get this, the doctor rold me that my eyesight had actually improved slightly! (up!). i came home exhausted on wednesday night and my throat was sore from lecturing. i watched episodes of 'curb your enthusiasm' and emailed nikki since she hadnt called since i left her a message on monday night and i knew she was upset. then, at 1:30am i checked my email before i went to bed, assuming i'd be walking a picket line tomorrow instead of writing my dissertation, and incredibly a message told me the union had reached a new improved agreement in last minute bargaining and the strike, due to start at 7am, had been averted. (up!) when i woke up the next morning, my throat was still sore. it was a beautiful day so i went to the Drake to read because i wanted to sit outside. (up!). my throat kept getting worse and by that evening i couldn't talk. it's still incredibly sore. (down!). its now friday night and i had to cancel plans with two different groups of people because i cant speak. (down!). and i still havent heard from nikki. (down!)

can you feel it in the air tonight?

2005-10-21T10:29:00.000-04:00

i recently rededicated myself to NOT getting cable. i'm already deeply in debt on my credit cards and my Rogers bill is already $100 a week what with phone and information superhighway charges. but, my frustration trying to watch the football game on sundays on the Fox station from Buffalo has got me digging for information on over-the-air broadcasting and antennas. (as is often the case, this new interest is based partly on a coincidence of circumstances: back in sept, in my intro lecture for my film and tv course, i talked about the development of tv and the technology of tv broadcasting, and realized i didn't really know that much about it. so, naturally, i made a mental note to try and understand it better; add to that, i was digging through a pile of books at the back of the Goodwill in Parkdale about a week after that lecture (i was looking for old cookbooks from the 40s and 50s to put in my recently redesigned kitchen) and i found this great book "Television Works Like This". now i was really interested.) a very quick google search turned up this website (free tv in toronto) that explains that with a little determination i can receive almost everything i really need without paying for it. ah, the magic words!

apparently, we live in a basin (i sort of new this - the whole lake thing) that is perfect for picking up broadcast signals from all around, since they need a clear sightline to reach you. i should be able to get all the major US networks from Buffalo and a bunch of other things. there's even the tease of potentially picking up WNYB, described as a 'christian' station from Jamestown, NY. (Jamestown is about twice as far from Toronto, as the crow flies, as Buffalo is). they can be picked up because their antenna power is one of only two on the list that is described as being 'very high'. all of this is what i imagine it will be like after the oil crisis. see, from reading all the 'Left Behind' books, the christian's know, better than most of us, what its going to be like when the world ends (ie. when civilization as we know it collapses). they know that all these fancy digital terminals and dishes won't last a more than a few years without your Rogers guy coming over to fix it. well, newsflash for you people! there will be no Rogers guys in the future. but a good solid old tv and an antenna will pick up signals for decades. over-the-air broadcasting will be all that is left and you know what they say, "in the end, whoever has the biggest antenna wins".

i haven't actually constructed my antenna yet nor do i know if i will - i may just buy something - but i do know that won't be getting cable anytime soon and, more importantly, i understand something that i didnt before. i learned something new and, besides everything else, that is its own reward. isn't it? i know you agree. :)

ps - i'd love to say that from now on all my posts will be titled with Genesis songs but I seriously doubt i can pull that off.

pps - i just realized i talked about a cable guy in the previous post also. there is no conscious connection between the two of them. i used to work with cable guys. they're just like you and me.

2005-10-18T02:04:00.000-04:00

my blog is reborn today after a 14 mnth hiatus.

i watched my first bad episode of CSI tonight. how disheartening. it was called 'stalker' (from season 2) and it was about an insane cable guy who lived in people's attics and recorded them through peepholes. he eventually turns out to have been living (and uncomfortably becoming attached to) one of the CSI guys (what a coincidence!). oh, and there was a psychic detective subplot! what great ingredients! what terrible execution! i'm concerned that this may be where the show jumped the shark. i'm not even done season 2 yet... if the show starts going downhill now, i'll be devastated. this is all i have to live for these days.

The Best Laid Plans

2004-08-27T01:55:00.000-04:00

F- off Robbie Burns! I hate "I-told-you-so"'s

Yes, so the big mini-golf outing fell flat on its face. it wasn't supposed to rain today but it was overcast and ominous all afternoon and ofcourse right around 4pm it start to spit and then come down a little harder off and on for about an hour. And this was the hour in which we were suppoosed to be travelling down to The Docks. Amanda called me and we decided to go since we couldn't get hold of anyone else and had to assume they were on their way. I planned this, so i couldn't very well bail and leave people standing down there on the off chance that they decided to brave the showers without checking in with me to see if we were cancelling. So yes, Amanda and I, troopers that we are, biked all the way down there and were the only ones to show up. A case of poor communication and bad luck unfortunately. We wandered into The Docks, called Nathan, confirmed that they weren't coming down, contemplated trying the GoKarts, and then left.

On the way back, Amanda saved the day by spotting a hole-in-the-wall diner sitting in the middle of nowhere and asked if we should go in and see if it was for real. We did and it was. Wow. The Real Deal indeed. A well kept secret, The Cherry Restaurant, appears to exist in a time bubble preserving the ambiance of a greasy spoon from an indefinite number of decades into the past. We had a plate of fries and coffees but i was tempted by the array of fried meats that were scrawled on the menu board. Several tables full of good solid blue collar workers (docks, railroad, city works crew? don't know) kept the place feeling lively and our waitress, though pushing 60, was sporting tattoos and was super-friendly. she complimented Amanda on her smile (we were snapping photos of each other and of the interior - see below). Must get back there soon, it reminded me of my highschool days.

A little further on, we passed through a Busker Festival and then popped into the Toronto Sculpture Garden and stumbled upon an absolutely fantastic exhibit. Euan MacDonald's 'The Tower'. The news release on this link says it all, there's a picture below.

All in all, a great day. Who needs plans...

2004-08-27T01:26:00.000-04:00

To prove we actually biked down there, Amanda poses by the water.

2004-08-27T01:25:00.000-04:00

Amanda points out the Mini-Golf course, sans flood waters.

2004-08-27T01:23:00.000-04:00

People actually AT THE DOCKS!

2004-08-27T01:22:00.000-04:00

The Cherry Restaurant is the new hip place to hang out for those 'in the know'. Ask for the pork chops!

2004-08-27T01:20:00.001-04:00

The regulars.

2004-08-27T01:20:00.000-04:00

Our snack at the Cherry. Good eats!

2004-08-27T01:19:00.000-04:00

The best part of the day was discovering Euan MacDonald's full-size replica of the top 25 feet of the CN Tower. My favorite exhibit of the summer. Awesome.

2004-08-27T01:18:00.000-04:00

Amanda enjoying the Cherry's wall decorations

2004-08-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

a map to The Docks

Directions for The Docks Mini Golf Showdown

2004-08-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

Meet at 5pm at the Entrance to The Docks.
We'll go for drinks first and then hit the links at 6:30 or 7ish.

By Bike:

Ride East along the Lakeshore Bike Path and follow it onto Cherry St., then hang a right down Polson to The Docks.

By not-Bike:

This is harder. You should have a bike. Why don't you have a bike? Sorry, nevermind. You can maybe take the King streetcar to Parliament and then walk down to the foot of Parliament and then east to where Cherry St begins. Then down Cherry to Polson. Etc Etc. Consult the map. This is probably a 30 min walk from King and Parliament.

FYI - The mini-golf costs only $6. I have heard the drinks at The Docks are overpriced though, whatever that means.

testing

2004-08-20T18:21:00.000-04:00

this will be my blog soon