Why does every Zellers smell EXACTLY the same? I swear, it's like they have the scent bottled and every night, before going home, the employees are required to spray a fresh batch.
I really can't think of any other department store that has its own unique scent...
Explanations, theories and hypothoses -- practical or otherwise -- are welcome.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Christmas Shopping
*deep breath in*
I am about to venture into the evil abyss of consumerism that is the local mall. I long for the day when I can dump this 'tradition' altogether, but for the time, it remains a necessary evil. Lately, I've been working on having a more generous attitude towards other people (even the moronic imbeciles, of which there are many) and trying to ward off my creeping cynicism and general antipathy - so, I have developed a little bit of a strategy to aid me in this descent to the underworld:
First of all, I'm going to take my MP3 player and listen to my own, chilled out soundtrack (so as to avoid the inevitable, incessant Christmas carols and general crowd noise). I also plan to walk deliberately slowly -- after all, I'm not actually in a rush, so there's no need to get caught up in the crowd. That's all I got really...walk slowly, listen to some good tunes, but hopefully it will help. Wish me luck!
*submerges self into holiday consumerism*
I am about to venture into the evil abyss of consumerism that is the local mall. I long for the day when I can dump this 'tradition' altogether, but for the time, it remains a necessary evil. Lately, I've been working on having a more generous attitude towards other people (even the moronic imbeciles, of which there are many) and trying to ward off my creeping cynicism and general antipathy - so, I have developed a little bit of a strategy to aid me in this descent to the underworld:
First of all, I'm going to take my MP3 player and listen to my own, chilled out soundtrack (so as to avoid the inevitable, incessant Christmas carols and general crowd noise). I also plan to walk deliberately slowly -- after all, I'm not actually in a rush, so there's no need to get caught up in the crowd. That's all I got really...walk slowly, listen to some good tunes, but hopefully it will help. Wish me luck!
*submerges self into holiday consumerism*
Monday, December 18, 2006
Eh?
Can someone explain this to me? I mean, I guess it has to be more complicated than pulling down the pants to check, but I just have no concept of what that is. What decides a gender, scientifically?
EDIT: Nevermind, I googled "gender test" and came across this. It's actually quite informative!
EDIT: Nevermind, I googled "gender test" and came across this. It's actually quite informative!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Christmas Spectacular
Exactly one year ago today, I posted the audio from a Family Guy episode -- well, that was before youtube took off, so this year, you get the audio AND video. What can I say? I'm a generous guy...
Holiday Cheer
You all know I'm not a huge fan of Conservatives, but it's nice to see that even they have a good heart around Christmas time. Bravo!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Story comparison
Again, because I like this sort of thing, let's compare some stories in the media today:
I first noticed that the BBC had an article entitled "Ex-Iraq hostages forgive their captors" The first two paragraphs of the online article read:
Three peace campaigners who were taken hostage say they "unconditionally" forgive their Iraqi captors.
The article also quotes the men as requesting "all possible leniency" for their captors, and that they have "no desire for retribution." Finally, it ends with "A fourth captive, American Tom Fox, was found shot dead in Baghdad in March."
Now, the BBC is a state-owned corporation which is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, and generally thought to be somewhat left-leaning. The BBC website also has links to articles from other news agencies on the same story. Let's compare to the one by Sky News (sister channel of Fox News in the US) which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and considered to be more right-leaning.
The first thing I would like to draw your attention to in
Now, I am a biased commentator, and make no claims to hide this fact. I strongly agree with the position of the captives, and I much prefer the BBC's style of reporting to Sky News. My argument -- which you are free to agree or disagree with -- is that by framing the event in the way that they have, Sky News is appealing to xenophobia within the UK, while at the same time arranging quotes in such a way that the position of the captives looks foolish. To be fair, this is never stated outright, and it could very well just be me projecting my own preconceptions onto the story. Let's take that closing line as an example though: "He faced criticism for his apparently dismissive attitude towards the troops who had risked their own lives to save him."
While there is nothing wrong with including criticism in a journalistic article, by ending with it, the critics are given the 'last word,' quite literally. Also, while there is nothing factually wrong with the statement about the troops risking their own lives, it plays into that "patriotic, you-must-support-the-troops" mentality. It suggests that he OUGHT to be thankful they risked their lives to save him. But then, why do you think he was dismissive (not even dismissive, apparently dismissive)? Perhaps because he was a PEACEMAKER whose goal in Iraq was to LESSEN violence. He was prepared to become a martyr for his cause. It's not surprising then, that he wasn't thrilled to be saved by people using guns.
Like I've said, these are just my opinions and you are free to disagree with them. In fact, I would love to hear comments from people who DO disagree.
Finally, the story in the Daily Mail (arguably the most right-wing paper/tabloid in the UK) doesn't even MENTION that the captives forgive their kidnappers. In fact, the story is titled "Kember in first reunion with fellow hostages" Not once does the article mention forgiveness, only that "they are understood to be very concerned the accused may face the death penalty for the kidnapping." In some ways this version of the story sits better with me than the Sky News one, because it doesn't come off as demonizing the subjects. On the other hand, it's even more frustrating because it ignores their message completely! They choose to simply not report forgiveness. Such dissent towards the modern implementation of the Military-Industrial Complex is effectively censored by this publication. Thankfully we live in a free society where we have access to other various versions of the same news.
I first noticed that the BBC had an article entitled "Ex-Iraq hostages forgive their captors" The first two paragraphs of the online article read:
Three peace campaigners who were taken hostage say they "unconditionally" forgive their Iraqi captors.
Briton Norman Kember and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden said they opposed the death penalty for the hostage-takers.
The article also quotes the men as requesting "all possible leniency" for their captors, and that they have "no desire for retribution." Finally, it ends with "A fourth captive, American Tom Fox, was found shot dead in Baghdad in March."
Now, the BBC is a state-owned corporation which is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, and generally thought to be somewhat left-leaning. The BBC website also has links to articles from other news agencies on the same story. Let's compare to the one by Sky News (sister channel of Fox News in the US) which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and considered to be more right-leaning.
The first thing I would like to draw your attention to in
Now, I am a biased commentator, and make no claims to hide this fact. I strongly agree with the position of the captives, and I much prefer the BBC's style of reporting to Sky News. My argument -- which you are free to agree or disagree with -- is that by framing the event in the way that they have, Sky News is appealing to xenophobia within the UK, while at the same time arranging quotes in such a way that the position of the captives looks foolish. To be fair, this is never stated outright, and it could very well just be me projecting my own preconceptions onto the story. Let's take that closing line as an example though: "He faced criticism for his apparently dismissive attitude towards the troops who had risked their own lives to save him."
While there is nothing wrong with including criticism in a journalistic article, by ending with it, the critics are given the 'last word,' quite literally. Also, while there is nothing factually wrong with the statement about the troops risking their own lives, it plays into that "patriotic, you-must-support-the-troops" mentality. It suggests that he OUGHT to be thankful they risked their lives to save him. But then, why do you think he was dismissive (not even dismissive, apparently dismissive)? Perhaps because he was a PEACEMAKER whose goal in Iraq was to LESSEN violence. He was prepared to become a martyr for his cause. It's not surprising then, that he wasn't thrilled to be saved by people using guns.
Like I've said, these are just my opinions and you are free to disagree with them. In fact, I would love to hear comments from people who DO disagree.
Finally, the story in the Daily Mail (arguably the most right-wing paper/tabloid in the UK) doesn't even MENTION that the captives forgive their kidnappers. In fact, the story is titled "Kember in first reunion with fellow hostages" Not once does the article mention forgiveness, only that "they are understood to be very concerned the accused may face the death penalty for the kidnapping." In some ways this version of the story sits better with me than the Sky News one, because it doesn't come off as demonizing the subjects. On the other hand, it's even more frustrating because it ignores their message completely! They choose to simply not report forgiveness. Such dissent towards the modern implementation of the Military-Industrial Complex is effectively censored by this publication. Thankfully we live in a free society where we have access to other various versions of the same news.
$1,000,000,000 For Peace
I'm not saying I am for or against this, but I certainly find it very interesting...
Take a few minutes and watch (or go here to see the original page)
Take a few minutes and watch (or go here to see the original page)
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Nuclear Suffering
I was very disappointed to hear about Tony Blair's plans to spend £20,000,000 on upgrading Britain's nuclear arsenal (despite cutting the stock by 20%). However I was somewhat buoyed by the Archbishop of Canterbury's response.
I have already shared my own responses to the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, however I would like to amend that I think that ANY leader making ANY decision regarding the funding or improvement of a nuclear program should be made to walk through said museum and consider the real, practical implications of not just using, but owning nuclear weapons. I understand the whole deterrence argument (which I'm not even sure I agree with), but in this specific case, Britain already has the deterrent -- Blair just wants to pump money into making sure they work properly in case Kim Jong-Il (or some other nutjob) goes off the deep-end. However, Kim Jong-Il has clearly proved that he doesn't care about his people, so he probably wouldn't care if a few hundred-thousand died a slow, painful death. Hell, it is likely that they already are at this very moment! In my mind it is so, SO hypocritical for developed nations to decry terrorism while simultaneously owning a weapon which kills civilians indiscriminantly. But enough preaching from me, the real purpose of this entry was to share pictures that I couldn't upload before.
Diorama of city immediately before bombing
I have already shared my own responses to the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, however I would like to amend that I think that ANY leader making ANY decision regarding the funding or improvement of a nuclear program should be made to walk through said museum and consider the real, practical implications of not just using, but owning nuclear weapons. I understand the whole deterrence argument (which I'm not even sure I agree with), but in this specific case, Britain already has the deterrent -- Blair just wants to pump money into making sure they work properly in case Kim Jong-Il (or some other nutjob) goes off the deep-end. However, Kim Jong-Il has clearly proved that he doesn't care about his people, so he probably wouldn't care if a few hundred-thousand died a slow, painful death. Hell, it is likely that they already are at this very moment! In my mind it is so, SO hypocritical for developed nations to decry terrorism while simultaneously owning a weapon which kills civilians indiscriminantly. But enough preaching from me, the real purpose of this entry was to share pictures that I couldn't upload before.
Diorama of city immediately before bombing
Diorama of city immediately after bombing
I just found out that you can take a virtual tour of the museum here. It doesn't have nearly the same impact as seeing it in person, but it'll give you an idea. Here are some of the more powerful images from their site:
Sculptures of children with melting skin
Actual uniform of a female student who lived for the rest of the day then died that evening
The steps of a bank where someone was sitting when the bomb exploded. All that's left is their shadow.
I am loathe to do this because I think some people might not watch, however I really believe these are important images to see....but anyway, the next slideshow contains really graphic pictures. Now that you've been warned, please don't take the easy way out.
That about says it all.
Sculptures of children with melting skin
Actual uniform of a female student who lived for the rest of the day then died that evening
The steps of a bank where someone was sitting when the bomb exploded. All that's left is their shadow.
I am loathe to do this because I think some people might not watch, however I really believe these are important images to see....but anyway, the next slideshow contains really graphic pictures. Now that you've been warned, please don't take the easy way out.
That about says it all.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Musical Origins
Left to my own devices, I always seem to put myself onto weird sleep patterns - hence why it is now 3am and I'm not feeling tired.
Anyway, I was laying in bed with the lights off, listening to some relaxing instrumentals by various Icelandic bands when it struck me what a disproportionate amount of Icelandic music I have on my MP3 player. Or at least, what I assumed was a disproportionate amount. So, not being able to sleep, I decided to go through my MP3 player and document where each band was from, and then compare the data. Before we get to that though, a little info about my (extremely simple) methods: I only counted each artist once, regardless of how many or few albums I had by them and I only included artists of whom I have full albums - mixed albums and singles weren't included (not that I have very many of those on there anyways). Also, in cases where the band was from various countries I referred to Wikipedia or just went with where ever they were most prominently based. Finally, I fancy myself to be pretty clever and know a whole lot of things, but it is quite possible that I simply assumed an artist or band to be from some place when in fact they are from another place entirely. Basically what I'm trying to say is that this data isn't very accurate and that I wouldn't draw any serious conclusions from it (plus I switch stuff up on there all the time, so this will be correct for, y'know, the next 12 hours or so). I'm not trying to 'prove' anything about my musical tastes either - in fact you'll see from the results that they are fairly homogenous. Pretty much I was just bored and trying to kill time in order to get to sleep.
Ok, so here are the numbers, in descending order:
American - 45
Canadian - 23
British - 23
Icelandic - 5
Swedish - 2
Australian - 2
Norwegian - 1
Irish - 1
Jamaican - 1
I did think it was kinda neat, however, that if you combine the brits and canadians, you eke the americans out by 1 ;)
You can probably guess the Irish and Jamaican bands, but anyone wanna take a stab at the Norwegian(s)?
Anyway, I was laying in bed with the lights off, listening to some relaxing instrumentals by various Icelandic bands when it struck me what a disproportionate amount of Icelandic music I have on my MP3 player. Or at least, what I assumed was a disproportionate amount. So, not being able to sleep, I decided to go through my MP3 player and document where each band was from, and then compare the data. Before we get to that though, a little info about my (extremely simple) methods: I only counted each artist once, regardless of how many or few albums I had by them and I only included artists of whom I have full albums - mixed albums and singles weren't included (not that I have very many of those on there anyways). Also, in cases where the band was from various countries I referred to Wikipedia or just went with where ever they were most prominently based. Finally, I fancy myself to be pretty clever and know a whole lot of things, but it is quite possible that I simply assumed an artist or band to be from some place when in fact they are from another place entirely. Basically what I'm trying to say is that this data isn't very accurate and that I wouldn't draw any serious conclusions from it (plus I switch stuff up on there all the time, so this will be correct for, y'know, the next 12 hours or so). I'm not trying to 'prove' anything about my musical tastes either - in fact you'll see from the results that they are fairly homogenous. Pretty much I was just bored and trying to kill time in order to get to sleep.
Ok, so here are the numbers, in descending order:
American - 45
Canadian - 23
British - 23
Icelandic - 5
Swedish - 2
Australian - 2
Norwegian - 1
Irish - 1
Jamaican - 1
I did think it was kinda neat, however, that if you combine the brits and canadians, you eke the americans out by 1 ;)
You can probably guess the Irish and Jamaican bands, but anyone wanna take a stab at the Norwegian(s)?
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Plans Pt. I
The first lines of "Arc of Time" by Bright Eyes go like this:
You can make a plan,
carve it into stone.
Like a feather falling,
it is still unknown.
In fact, you can listen to the first 30 seconds of the song here.
My plans aren't even carved into stone, and are still subject to many changes, but here is what I'm thinking for the near future:
First of all, I'm planning on moving to Waterloo and living with my buddy Matt and maybe 1 or 2 other guys in the New Year. Matt's still finishing up his degree there and I need my autonomy and own space back. Waterloo is still close enough that I'll be able to see all my other friends in the area pretty regularly. I plan on finding a job there and working to save up money until the fall whereby I'm thinking one of two things will happen.
1.) I'm going to apply for an M.Phil in Media Studies at the University of Oslo. Why Oslo?
a.) I like Scandinavia
b.) I like Scandinavian women
c.) Free tuition
Ok, the classes and program look really good as well, and seriously, I loved Scandinavia when Mark and I briefly traveled through a couple of summers ago, I'd love to do my Master's abroad, and it would be great to live in Europe again. I was also looking at a course at NYU, but it would require me doing the GRE, getting academic references, and all kinds of other junk. Plus, tuition for foreign students was like $10,000 US per year! I know that living in the capital of Norway wouldn't be cheap, but it can't be much worse than NYC -- actually, according to Wikipedia they're tied (as a side note, my last big trip took me through 5 of the top 6 most expensive cities in the world - I didn't make it to Seoul). But in Oslo I wouldn't have to pay any tuition - thank you Norwegian taxpayers for your liberalism and open-mindedness!
2.) If that falls through (ie, I'm not accepted) then I'm thinking of taking advantage of the Working Holiday program with Japan and going to live and work out there for a while.
I'd love to do both, really, and maybe I will, but one thing at a time. I know I could write a lot more about both of those topics, but I'll leave it there for now.
You can make a plan,
carve it into stone.
Like a feather falling,
it is still unknown.
In fact, you can listen to the first 30 seconds of the song here.
My plans aren't even carved into stone, and are still subject to many changes, but here is what I'm thinking for the near future:
First of all, I'm planning on moving to Waterloo and living with my buddy Matt and maybe 1 or 2 other guys in the New Year. Matt's still finishing up his degree there and I need my autonomy and own space back. Waterloo is still close enough that I'll be able to see all my other friends in the area pretty regularly. I plan on finding a job there and working to save up money until the fall whereby I'm thinking one of two things will happen.
1.) I'm going to apply for an M.Phil in Media Studies at the University of Oslo. Why Oslo?
a.) I like Scandinavia
b.) I like Scandinavian women
c.) Free tuition
Ok, the classes and program look really good as well, and seriously, I loved Scandinavia when Mark and I briefly traveled through a couple of summers ago, I'd love to do my Master's abroad, and it would be great to live in Europe again. I was also looking at a course at NYU, but it would require me doing the GRE, getting academic references, and all kinds of other junk. Plus, tuition for foreign students was like $10,000 US per year! I know that living in the capital of Norway wouldn't be cheap, but it can't be much worse than NYC -- actually, according to Wikipedia they're tied (as a side note, my last big trip took me through 5 of the top 6 most expensive cities in the world - I didn't make it to Seoul). But in Oslo I wouldn't have to pay any tuition - thank you Norwegian taxpayers for your liberalism and open-mindedness!
2.) If that falls through (ie, I'm not accepted) then I'm thinking of taking advantage of the Working Holiday program with Japan and going to live and work out there for a while.
I'd love to do both, really, and maybe I will, but one thing at a time. I know I could write a lot more about both of those topics, but I'll leave it there for now.
Plans Pt. II
"Plans" is also the title of the latest Death Cab For Cutie album, which I have been listening to lately. I was enjoying it until I came across the lyrics for Someday You Will Be Loved. The beginning goes like this, and gives you a feel for the whole song:
I once knew a girl
In the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer
All beauty and truth
In the morning I fled
Left a note and it read
Someday you will be loved.
I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Cause each broken heart will eventually mend
As the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved
You'll be loved you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved
You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And everytime tears float down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
Someday you will be loved
Now my problem with this is that, to my knowledge, Ben Gibbard has neither psychic powers nor a time machine, so it is impossible for him to know whether, in fact, she will be loved.
This may seem like a small beef, but my problem is with the greater implications of it all. This is quite a good example of what may be the number one malaise of our postmodern existence: responsibility, or rather, lack thereof. He clearly states that he doesn't feel guilty about (presumably) lying to her, stringing her along and sleeping with her, and he gets out of it by claiming (in a melodic croon) that someday she will be loved, again presumably by someone that's better for her than he is. But like I said, he can't know this for a fact. Maybe her life will consist of a series of men taking advantage of her like this and eventually she ends up dying alone and dissatisfied. It's nice to think that there's one, true match out there for all of us, but I just don't buy that. What pisses me off is that he's shirking the responsibility of confronting her about the break-up, and then making it sound romantic by singing a song about some idealized vision of the future. Again, I'm extrapolating to larger elements of life here, but that's like singing to people in sweatshops "Someday you will have reasonable hours and wages," or to starving Africans "Someday you will have food," but then going about our daily business and doing absolutely NOTHING to make this a reality.
Now I can accept that not every relationship works, and that sometimes break-ups are necessary, but seriously, take some responsibility for it. Apologize, dammit! Confront her and let her know it's not working out! Don't take off while she's asleep, leaving a note that's optimistic about the future, and then move on to the next chick. That's just selfish and irresponsible.
Now, I know some people will think that I've put too much thought into this, and maybe I have, however;
a) I'm willing to bet that since this record has been released, someone else, somewhere has pulled this stunt in order to get out of a break-up
b) I really do think it says something sad about our privileged, Western, consumeristic society that we leave it to 'fate' to decide things rather than acknowledging that, in reality, we have the ability to change things but we don't because we are too selfish and it would be too uncomfortable for us to help others. I guess that's the meat of it right there, really. That's the analogy I see: he could break-up to her face, but that would be hard for him to do, so he takes off, leaves a note and writes a song. We could actually drop third world debt (for example) but it would mean spending more money and giving up some of our things, and we're not willing to do it. We would rather let other people suffer, at our expense, so long as we don't have to see it happening.
I guess the other thing that bothers me is that I really like Ben Gibbard's side project, The Postal Service, but now I see him in a different light. Not that it affects the music at all, but, oh, I dunno.
I'm unemployed and want to do a Master's degree in Media Studies...posts like this were bound to happen sooner or later.
I once knew a girl
In the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer
All beauty and truth
In the morning I fled
Left a note and it read
Someday you will be loved.
I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Cause each broken heart will eventually mend
As the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved
You'll be loved you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved
You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And everytime tears float down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
Someday you will be loved
Now my problem with this is that, to my knowledge, Ben Gibbard has neither psychic powers nor a time machine, so it is impossible for him to know whether, in fact, she will be loved.
This may seem like a small beef, but my problem is with the greater implications of it all. This is quite a good example of what may be the number one malaise of our postmodern existence: responsibility, or rather, lack thereof. He clearly states that he doesn't feel guilty about (presumably) lying to her, stringing her along and sleeping with her, and he gets out of it by claiming (in a melodic croon) that someday she will be loved, again presumably by someone that's better for her than he is. But like I said, he can't know this for a fact. Maybe her life will consist of a series of men taking advantage of her like this and eventually she ends up dying alone and dissatisfied. It's nice to think that there's one, true match out there for all of us, but I just don't buy that. What pisses me off is that he's shirking the responsibility of confronting her about the break-up, and then making it sound romantic by singing a song about some idealized vision of the future. Again, I'm extrapolating to larger elements of life here, but that's like singing to people in sweatshops "Someday you will have reasonable hours and wages," or to starving Africans "Someday you will have food," but then going about our daily business and doing absolutely NOTHING to make this a reality.
Now I can accept that not every relationship works, and that sometimes break-ups are necessary, but seriously, take some responsibility for it. Apologize, dammit! Confront her and let her know it's not working out! Don't take off while she's asleep, leaving a note that's optimistic about the future, and then move on to the next chick. That's just selfish and irresponsible.
Now, I know some people will think that I've put too much thought into this, and maybe I have, however;
a) I'm willing to bet that since this record has been released, someone else, somewhere has pulled this stunt in order to get out of a break-up
b) I really do think it says something sad about our privileged, Western, consumeristic society that we leave it to 'fate' to decide things rather than acknowledging that, in reality, we have the ability to change things but we don't because we are too selfish and it would be too uncomfortable for us to help others. I guess that's the meat of it right there, really. That's the analogy I see: he could break-up to her face, but that would be hard for him to do, so he takes off, leaves a note and writes a song. We could actually drop third world debt (for example) but it would mean spending more money and giving up some of our things, and we're not willing to do it. We would rather let other people suffer, at our expense, so long as we don't have to see it happening.
I guess the other thing that bothers me is that I really like Ben Gibbard's side project, The Postal Service, but now I see him in a different light. Not that it affects the music at all, but, oh, I dunno.
I'm unemployed and want to do a Master's degree in Media Studies...posts like this were bound to happen sooner or later.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
I Heart Movies
I just re-alphabetized my DVD collection (can you tell I'm unemployed?) I counted and it turns out I have over 160 different titles (that's not including TV shows or music DVDs or anything). I think I'd be proud if I wasn't so disgusted with my own consumeristic tendencies. What's worse is that I noticed a few choice titles were missing and made a mental note to pick them up sometime. What's even worse is that there's probably a dozen or so movies in there that I haven't ACTUALLY watched yet.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Public Theatre
Like my fellow blogging cohorts, I have been rather lackadaisical with my blogging attempts as of late. But I found out about something that I just had to share:
I followed a link from a site about a recent prank that Ben Folds played at a concert in NYC. He got a group of guys from Improv Everywhere to come on stage and pretend to be the band. What they were really doing, however, was lip-synching to a CD recording the band had done. This CD would then 'skip' while the band was 'playing' and it would look as if they had been caught doing a fake performance. Then, the REAL Ben Folds came in, kicked the fake band off the stage, and started the show for real. The whole thing (and a better description) can be seen here.
This got me to thinking about the whole point of live music. I have certainly been to many concerts in my time, some of them in big stadiums. Sometimes a band is much better live, due to both vocal and instrumental improvisations (Pearl Jam, I would contend, is much better live than recorded). Other bands are TERRIBLE live. I've seen Our Lady Peace a bunch of times (mostly on festival line-ups, but also in smaller venues) and Raine just can't seem to get his voice to sound like it does on the records. However, I think it says something when fans can't even distinguish impostors 'playing' along to a recorded CD. What it says, I'm not quite sure, but it's very interesting. It's not like the venue they were at was a stadium with a capacity of 50,000 people. According to the site, the Hammerstein Ballroom has a capacity of around 3,300. And except for the hardcore fans at the front, it seemed as if most were willing to rock out to the actors & CD for the entire evening. What is it, then, about a live performance that is so interesting? Like I said above, I'm certainly not knocking live music, I love it! I just think it's a very interesting question - one I don't necessarily have answers to yet (feel free to post comments).
So anyway, I started checking out their site some more, and found out these folks are hilarious! They do stuff like this on the streets of New York City all the time! Apparently they even have experience as a fake band, since they posed as U2 on a rooftop the day of a scheduled U2 concert at Madison Square Gardens! Some of my other favourites (at least, from the ones I have looked at) include: dancing in the windows of department stores, throwing a birthday party for a stranger, a bunch of people shopping in slow motion at Home Depot, a business man threatening to jump from a 4 foot high ledge, a bunch of people wearing clothes similar to the Best Buy uniform walking into the store and helping customers, installing a high-class bathroom attendant in a McDonald's bathroom, a bunch of phones going off simultaneously in peoples' bags at a coat/bag check, and a bunch of people dancing in sync at the listening stations in a Virgin Megastore.
Videos can be found towards the bottom of each page, but I urge you to read the write up that goes along with them - they're really well done, and it gives you a bit of the context for the event, plus the comments that people report over-hearing are often hilarious. You can find a list of all of the events here - be sure to check out my favourite of them all: the annual installments of No Pants Day (as in 'trousers' for the Brits).
I followed a link from a site about a recent prank that Ben Folds played at a concert in NYC. He got a group of guys from Improv Everywhere to come on stage and pretend to be the band. What they were really doing, however, was lip-synching to a CD recording the band had done. This CD would then 'skip' while the band was 'playing' and it would look as if they had been caught doing a fake performance. Then, the REAL Ben Folds came in, kicked the fake band off the stage, and started the show for real. The whole thing (and a better description) can be seen here.
This got me to thinking about the whole point of live music. I have certainly been to many concerts in my time, some of them in big stadiums. Sometimes a band is much better live, due to both vocal and instrumental improvisations (Pearl Jam, I would contend, is much better live than recorded). Other bands are TERRIBLE live. I've seen Our Lady Peace a bunch of times (mostly on festival line-ups, but also in smaller venues) and Raine just can't seem to get his voice to sound like it does on the records. However, I think it says something when fans can't even distinguish impostors 'playing' along to a recorded CD. What it says, I'm not quite sure, but it's very interesting. It's not like the venue they were at was a stadium with a capacity of 50,000 people. According to the site, the Hammerstein Ballroom has a capacity of around 3,300. And except for the hardcore fans at the front, it seemed as if most were willing to rock out to the actors & CD for the entire evening. What is it, then, about a live performance that is so interesting? Like I said above, I'm certainly not knocking live music, I love it! I just think it's a very interesting question - one I don't necessarily have answers to yet (feel free to post comments).
So anyway, I started checking out their site some more, and found out these folks are hilarious! They do stuff like this on the streets of New York City all the time! Apparently they even have experience as a fake band, since they posed as U2 on a rooftop the day of a scheduled U2 concert at Madison Square Gardens! Some of my other favourites (at least, from the ones I have looked at) include: dancing in the windows of department stores, throwing a birthday party for a stranger, a bunch of people shopping in slow motion at Home Depot, a business man threatening to jump from a 4 foot high ledge, a bunch of people wearing clothes similar to the Best Buy uniform walking into the store and helping customers, installing a high-class bathroom attendant in a McDonald's bathroom, a bunch of phones going off simultaneously in peoples' bags at a coat/bag check, and a bunch of people dancing in sync at the listening stations in a Virgin Megastore.
Videos can be found towards the bottom of each page, but I urge you to read the write up that goes along with them - they're really well done, and it gives you a bit of the context for the event, plus the comments that people report over-hearing are often hilarious. You can find a list of all of the events here - be sure to check out my favourite of them all: the annual installments of No Pants Day (as in 'trousers' for the Brits).
Monday, November 13, 2006
True Story
Why is it that the things we want the most are the things we can't have?
And I'm not speaking in a profound, philosophical or existential sense here - I mean practical, down-to-earth examples.
It happened like this:
I was sitting in the bathroom today waiting for the bath to run (I like to read in the bath occasionally) while finishing my breakfast of a toasted bagel sliced in half, each side covered in peanut butter. I was down to the last quarter of the bagel and SO looking forward to it when the damn thing slipped out of my fingers and into the garbage can.
I will admit, with no shame, that I did pull it out of the garbage and considered eating it. I can't explain just how MUCH I desired that last bit of warm goodness in my stomach. After a thorough investigation however, I decided that it had been too tainted, even for me, so I begrudgingly put it back in the can. Honestly mom, it's still there. You can check if you don't believe me.
Also, this link comes via Kyle, and I think it's pretty insightful (I particularly like the one from Toronto). Check it out, if that's your thing...
And I'm not speaking in a profound, philosophical or existential sense here - I mean practical, down-to-earth examples.
It happened like this:
I was sitting in the bathroom today waiting for the bath to run (I like to read in the bath occasionally) while finishing my breakfast of a toasted bagel sliced in half, each side covered in peanut butter. I was down to the last quarter of the bagel and SO looking forward to it when the damn thing slipped out of my fingers and into the garbage can.
I will admit, with no shame, that I did pull it out of the garbage and considered eating it. I can't explain just how MUCH I desired that last bit of warm goodness in my stomach. After a thorough investigation however, I decided that it had been too tainted, even for me, so I begrudgingly put it back in the can. Honestly mom, it's still there. You can check if you don't believe me.
Also, this link comes via Kyle, and I think it's pretty insightful (I particularly like the one from Toronto). Check it out, if that's your thing...
Thursday, November 09, 2006
World Cup Humour
I don't know how long this will last before it gets pulled for copyright infringement, but I saw this on the latest episode of family guy and had to share, particularly with my friends in the UK where the show doesn't air.
(The first second or so of the video is screwed up, but it corrects itself after that)
(The first second or so of the video is screwed up, but it corrects itself after that)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
An Ellipsis
It's no secret that I'm not exactly thrilled to be living back in southern Ontario. I'm not entirely sure why, but for whatever reason(s), it feels like a step backwards in my life. I'm sure that for many people, it is a good place/space to be for them at this stage in their lives, but for me...well, I'm just not feeling it. I guess that part of the problem is that it seems old and boring and uninteresting to me, especially when I know there's a big-ass world out there with so many quirks and quandaries just waiting to be explored. I think an even bigger part of the problem is that while I know I don't wanna be here, I'm not exactly sure where I do want to be...or where I'm going next. I'm usually a pretty laid back and easy-going kinda guy, but this whole liminal, between-life-phases kinda deal is stressing me out a bit.
Having said all of that, I'm determined to make the most of the time I have while I am here.
I've been doing quite a bit of thinking lately and have realized if I'm looking for gloom and misery, I'm going to find it. In fact, I've set my expectations for the next few months so low that really, life can only get better than I have imagined it is going to be. So I really want to seize the approaching days, and get the maximum, well, whatever...experience? I guess? that I can from them. True, I'm not entirely happy with where my life is at the moment, but I have the ability to make choices and really, that's all life comes down to - your choices about your circumstances. So I'm choosing...or at least, attempting to have a good time while I figure out what to do next.
Ride the waves...
Having said all of that, I'm determined to make the most of the time I have while I am here.
I've been doing quite a bit of thinking lately and have realized if I'm looking for gloom and misery, I'm going to find it. In fact, I've set my expectations for the next few months so low that really, life can only get better than I have imagined it is going to be. So I really want to seize the approaching days, and get the maximum, well, whatever...experience? I guess? that I can from them. True, I'm not entirely happy with where my life is at the moment, but I have the ability to make choices and really, that's all life comes down to - your choices about your circumstances. So I'm choosing...or at least, attempting to have a good time while I figure out what to do next.
Ride the waves...
Thursday, November 02, 2006
short video
a collection of videos i took during my time in china & japan. unintentionally, they all involve water in one way or another.
in chronological order:
1. the ferry from shanghai to kobe
2. a canal in kyoto
3. the seaside of beppu at night
4. a public onsen outside of a train station
5. my feet in the same onsen
6. a waterfall in kirishima
7. a turtle in hong kong park
i will upload my pictures to flickr when i get off my lazy ass
The Beard
I know that beards are controversial. People seem to love them or hate them. Here are my reasons to keep the Beard, at least for a while:
- I didn't grow one during the past 2 years when I was in England
- It adds and extra layer of warmth during the Canadian winter
- It requires less shaving
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Ta Da!
Those of you with eyes may have noticed the new layout. I figured that since my time in England was finished, I was no longer a 'Canadian Boy Across the Atlantic' (although Matt pointed out that now, to my British friends, I am 'across the atlantic'). Also, the likeness to the title of another blog further contributed to my need to differentiate myself. So, seeing as how I've spent a good chunk of the recent months of my life on sitting on trains and staring out the window, I thought the theme would be appropriate. Thanks to whoever took the photo that I stole for my funky new banner.
I'm heading up to Pook's cottage this weekend with Mark, Matty and some other folks, so I probably won't update again til late next week. It's been all right being back home, but I've definitely experienced reverse-culture shock in a couple ways already. For example, I forgot that taxes weren't included in the printed price, which caught me off guard. And then when I was 10 cents short, I pulled out a quarter instead of a dime (because a quarter is roughly the size of a British 10 pence piece, and my brain was looking for the 'ten'). It's also just strange to walk past groups of people and realize they aren't speaking in English accents. Plus a coffee and donut at Tim Horton's is now $2.09 instead of just 2 bucks -- what gives?! It's not all bad though. True, the weather is getting cold, but I really did miss it. It's that crisp cold that you don't get in England...it's sunny, and there's no dampness about it. Autumn, here we come!
I'm heading up to Pook's cottage this weekend with Mark, Matty and some other folks, so I probably won't update again til late next week. It's been all right being back home, but I've definitely experienced reverse-culture shock in a couple ways already. For example, I forgot that taxes weren't included in the printed price, which caught me off guard. And then when I was 10 cents short, I pulled out a quarter instead of a dime (because a quarter is roughly the size of a British 10 pence piece, and my brain was looking for the 'ten'). It's also just strange to walk past groups of people and realize they aren't speaking in English accents. Plus a coffee and donut at Tim Horton's is now $2.09 instead of just 2 bucks -- what gives?! It's not all bad though. True, the weather is getting cold, but I really did miss it. It's that crisp cold that you don't get in England...it's sunny, and there's no dampness about it. Autumn, here we come!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
One More Time
Well I'm off again in a few hours to catch my flight back to Canada. Although I'm not particularly looking forward to living in Southern Ontario, I am looking forward to seeing friends and family again. I'm also looking forward to staying in one place for more than 4 days, since I haven't really done that in the last two months! If you're on the other side of the Atlantic, I shall see you shortly.
Monday, October 23, 2006
The disconnect
EDIT: I think this entry came out more sappy than I originally intended. The point I was trying to make was not 'woe is me, I've never been in a serious relationship' but rather the difficulty of understanding and connecting to other people with regard to this, in my mind, rather monumentous topic.
---
A quick disclaimer -- this one is going to be a bit raw, so if you're not into awkward emotions, it's probably best you just skip it...
All right, so this is something I have thought about for a while now, but just feel compelled to write about tonight, for some odd reason:
I don't think I've ever been in love. I've certainly never had a serious relationship. And I feel subhuman because of it.
And the hardest part of this whole situation is that there's virtually no one to talk to about it. I mean, almost everybody has been in a serious relationship at some point in their lives, so when I try to share this sentiment with people, I get the typical responses of "Oh, it's not that big of a deal," or "it's not as important as you make it out to be." This advice is, of course, quite useless to me. It's all well and good for someone who's been there to make a judgement call about it, but after having experienced such a thing, I have noticed that it is very difficult for people to imagine never having had the experience in the first place. Do you get what I'm saying? What I mean is, it's easy for a person who's been in a relationship to say that it's not important, because at least they have had one and have experienced all the things that go with it. They don't know what it's like to not have that, and the fact is I have never experienced all of that and it makes me feel like I'm missing out on a big aspect of being human. Since these other people have already been through all of this, they don't have the same sense of not belonging, because even if they're single now, they've done it all at least once before in the past.
I urge you to really, seriously, consider this. I imagine that the majority of people who read this entry will have had been in a relationship at some point in their lives. Whoever you are, where ever you are reading this, I ask you to think of these important relationships with others and then to imagine that they had never happened. Imagine all those moments you shared together were erased and that you had never learnt how to compromise and exist with regard to another human being. You've never looked deep into the eyes of someone you cared about and then kissed them. You've never woken up next to someone who chose to sleep beside you. You've never droned on about stupid crap because another person was genuinely interested in absolutely everything you've had to say. In your mind, get rid of all of that but try to keep who you are as a person. And then try to imagine talking to people about such things. It kinda sucks sometimes...
---
A quick disclaimer -- this one is going to be a bit raw, so if you're not into awkward emotions, it's probably best you just skip it...
All right, so this is something I have thought about for a while now, but just feel compelled to write about tonight, for some odd reason:
I don't think I've ever been in love. I've certainly never had a serious relationship. And I feel subhuman because of it.
And the hardest part of this whole situation is that there's virtually no one to talk to about it. I mean, almost everybody has been in a serious relationship at some point in their lives, so when I try to share this sentiment with people, I get the typical responses of "Oh, it's not that big of a deal," or "it's not as important as you make it out to be." This advice is, of course, quite useless to me. It's all well and good for someone who's been there to make a judgement call about it, but after having experienced such a thing, I have noticed that it is very difficult for people to imagine never having had the experience in the first place. Do you get what I'm saying? What I mean is, it's easy for a person who's been in a relationship to say that it's not important, because at least they have had one and have experienced all the things that go with it. They don't know what it's like to not have that, and the fact is I have never experienced all of that and it makes me feel like I'm missing out on a big aspect of being human. Since these other people have already been through all of this, they don't have the same sense of not belonging, because even if they're single now, they've done it all at least once before in the past.
I urge you to really, seriously, consider this. I imagine that the majority of people who read this entry will have had been in a relationship at some point in their lives. Whoever you are, where ever you are reading this, I ask you to think of these important relationships with others and then to imagine that they had never happened. Imagine all those moments you shared together were erased and that you had never learnt how to compromise and exist with regard to another human being. You've never looked deep into the eyes of someone you cared about and then kissed them. You've never woken up next to someone who chose to sleep beside you. You've never droned on about stupid crap because another person was genuinely interested in absolutely everything you've had to say. In your mind, get rid of all of that but try to keep who you are as a person. And then try to imagine talking to people about such things. It kinda sucks sometimes...
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Another Quick One
This is just a quickie for those who don't know. Sorry I haven't updated more often recently...Hong Kong was great, albeit far too brief. I am now back in Oxford until Tuesday when I fly home to Canada. I am staying with my friend Jim, who, I would like to say publicly, is one of the most generous men I have ever met.
Heather and Steve came to visit yesterday, so I got the chance to hang out with them a bit as well. I had supper at Brad's new place last night and tonight I will attend hOME and see some more friends. It will be sad to leave England, but in many ways I have already 'detached' myself from this place. And although I am not particularly looking forward to living in Southern Ontario, it will be nice to see my friends and family from there again.
If I get around to it later today, I might upload some pictures to my Flickr account to share with you folks.
Heather and Steve came to visit yesterday, so I got the chance to hang out with them a bit as well. I had supper at Brad's new place last night and tonight I will attend hOME and see some more friends. It will be sad to leave England, but in many ways I have already 'detached' myself from this place. And although I am not particularly looking forward to living in Southern Ontario, it will be nice to see my friends and family from there again.
If I get around to it later today, I might upload some pictures to my Flickr account to share with you folks.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
See you soon.
Well sorry about the lack of recent updates folks. Tonight is my last night of the trip though. Ive still got all day tomorrow, but then I fly out at 12:30 at night for a 13 hour (!!!) flight directly from Hong Kong to London. I will have a few days in Oxford before flying back to Canada. Because of my limited time, this is all I'm going to write for now, as it is likely I will see most of you again and be able to speak in person in the not-so-distant future. See ya soon!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Destination: Tokyo
Well I finally made it to Tokyo...alive and in one piece. I just got in late this evening, so I havent really had a chance to explore it yet, although Im sure it will yield some fantastic results. Tomorrow I plan on making a pilgrimage to the Park Hyatt Hotel where Lost in Translation was shot. In the mean time, here are some interesting facts about my trip:
(Please note that none of this includes Hong Kong, where I will be flying to next monday)
Kilometres travelled without flying: 13385 (note that this is a rough estimate using a combination of the City Distance Tool and my Trans-Sib Lonely Planet...in actual fact it is far more since it also doesnt include all the side trips ive taken, this is just my guess for Oxford to Tokyo)
Number of nights spent sleeping on a train or ferry: 11
Number of countries passed through: 10
Number of time zones crossed: 9
Number of different currencies used: 6
Amount of money lost: $150 US (somewhere in Mongolia i misplaced 3 AmEx travellers cheques)
Number of pig races witnessed: 1
Number of times I have hit my head on something in Japan (so far): 16
Number of those times that I have really smoked my head hard, leaving some sort of bruise or mark: 5
Blargh! As per usual I tried to upload photos, but to no avail...you will just have to hold your breath.
(Please note that none of this includes Hong Kong, where I will be flying to next monday)
Kilometres travelled without flying: 13385 (note that this is a rough estimate using a combination of the City Distance Tool and my Trans-Sib Lonely Planet...in actual fact it is far more since it also doesnt include all the side trips ive taken, this is just my guess for Oxford to Tokyo)
Number of nights spent sleeping on a train or ferry: 11
Number of countries passed through: 10
Number of time zones crossed: 9
Number of different currencies used: 6
Amount of money lost: $150 US (somewhere in Mongolia i misplaced 3 AmEx travellers cheques)
Number of pig races witnessed: 1
Number of times I have hit my head on something in Japan (so far): 16
Number of those times that I have really smoked my head hard, leaving some sort of bruise or mark: 5
Blargh! As per usual I tried to upload photos, but to no avail...you will just have to hold your breath.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
August 6th, 1945 - 8:15am
I went to Hiroshima yesterday and it was overwhelming. After getting off the train, we found the tram to the A-Bomb Dome. All but a few sturdy structures were wiped out by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima - the dome was the closest remaining building to the hypocentre of the explosion and has been preserved as a reminder of nuclear devastation. As we walked around the dome, the skies were clear and there was the sound of a plane flying over head...it was extremely unnerving.
After the dome we headed over to the Peace Memorial Museum which was incredible, albeit completely exhausting emotionally. I wish I could hook up my camera to this computer to show you some of the photos I took...I will make a real effort to upload them in the near future. Basically, its easy to think of a nuclear explosion on the macro scale but the museum brought it down to the micro scale. The lucky victims were vapourized instantly (I have a picture of an exhibit in the museum which was transported from the steps outside of a bank...there was no person left, just the shadow of where they were sitting). The unlucky ones had to watch as their melted skin dripped from their bodies while they wandered around, desperately in search of some water (the irony is that any water they found was, of course, highly contaminated with extreme amounts of radiation).
It is at this point that I would like to make a comparison between the events of August 6th, 1945 and September 11th, 2001. But let me write a few disclaimers first:
1.) I dont believe that anyone deserves to die, ever. The loss of all human life should be mourned.
2.) I dont believe that the wrongs of previous generations can be blamed on current populations or governments.
With those out of the way, let us then consider the act of dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. An estimated 80,000 people died as a directed result, with another 60,000 dying (slowly and painfully) over the course of the next year due to the effects of radiation. They didnt drop this bomb on a military complex, they dropped it IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING CITY. Granted, military activities were taking place, but that was the case in most cities during World War II. In addition to military activities, there were also kids on their way to school, old ladies grocery shopping, etc. etc.
So like I said, this isnt to diminish the pain or suffering caused by September 11th, but put into perspective, less than 3,000 people died in that event - over 140,000 died in Hiroshima (and thats not taking into consideration the bombing of Nagasaki a few days later). So while the United States has every right to condemn the killing of their innocent people, it strikes me as a bit of a double-standard...like somehow American lives are worth more than the lives of 'others.' I believe this sentiment is echoed in the recent Gulf conflicts as well. (Interestingly, one of the reasons that Hiroshima was chosen as a target was due to the fact that it was the only city on the short-list which didnt have a POW camp...another reason was to justify the enormous expense of the research & construction of the a-bomb to the American people). Now, I am also not saying that there is any sort of direct link between Sept. 11 and Hiroshima - clearly the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 were carried out by Islamic militants. I guess its just in some sort of cosmic karma thing that you cant be the only country in the history of humanity to drop a nuclear bomb on people and not expect it to come back and bite you in the ass. To reiterate: not that the victims of Sept. 11 deserved to die, but rather, the American foreign policy has been slowly building upon a foundation which devalues and is hostile to the outsider.
Anyhow, after the museum I wanted to sit down and cry for about an hour, but resisted the urge. Instead I started thinking about nuclear weapons today. And seriously, if Stephen Harper (or any other Canadian prime minister) allows the American government to put nukes over Canadian airspace as part of their crazy 'Star Wars' missle defence system, I will see to it that I personally kick his ass. Its absolutely ludicrous. I have enough problem with killing, let alone on a massive scale. The last thing we need is one of those puppies malfuctioning, flying astray and hitting the ground somewhere.
Finally, just in case anyone has anything positive to say about the use of nuclear weapons, like how it 'ended the war' or some other nonsense, I seriously urge you to visit the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. In the case that you are unable to make that trip, I ask you to conjure up in your mind an image of the person you most love walking around with their melted skin dripping off of their body, and then re-consider your position on nuclear weapons.
I will try to write a happier, more expository entry in the near future.
After the dome we headed over to the Peace Memorial Museum which was incredible, albeit completely exhausting emotionally. I wish I could hook up my camera to this computer to show you some of the photos I took...I will make a real effort to upload them in the near future. Basically, its easy to think of a nuclear explosion on the macro scale but the museum brought it down to the micro scale. The lucky victims were vapourized instantly (I have a picture of an exhibit in the museum which was transported from the steps outside of a bank...there was no person left, just the shadow of where they were sitting). The unlucky ones had to watch as their melted skin dripped from their bodies while they wandered around, desperately in search of some water (the irony is that any water they found was, of course, highly contaminated with extreme amounts of radiation).
It is at this point that I would like to make a comparison between the events of August 6th, 1945 and September 11th, 2001. But let me write a few disclaimers first:
1.) I dont believe that anyone deserves to die, ever. The loss of all human life should be mourned.
2.) I dont believe that the wrongs of previous generations can be blamed on current populations or governments.
With those out of the way, let us then consider the act of dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. An estimated 80,000 people died as a directed result, with another 60,000 dying (slowly and painfully) over the course of the next year due to the effects of radiation. They didnt drop this bomb on a military complex, they dropped it IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING CITY. Granted, military activities were taking place, but that was the case in most cities during World War II. In addition to military activities, there were also kids on their way to school, old ladies grocery shopping, etc. etc.
So like I said, this isnt to diminish the pain or suffering caused by September 11th, but put into perspective, less than 3,000 people died in that event - over 140,000 died in Hiroshima (and thats not taking into consideration the bombing of Nagasaki a few days later). So while the United States has every right to condemn the killing of their innocent people, it strikes me as a bit of a double-standard...like somehow American lives are worth more than the lives of 'others.' I believe this sentiment is echoed in the recent Gulf conflicts as well. (Interestingly, one of the reasons that Hiroshima was chosen as a target was due to the fact that it was the only city on the short-list which didnt have a POW camp...another reason was to justify the enormous expense of the research & construction of the a-bomb to the American people). Now, I am also not saying that there is any sort of direct link between Sept. 11 and Hiroshima - clearly the terrorist acts of Sept. 11 were carried out by Islamic militants. I guess its just in some sort of cosmic karma thing that you cant be the only country in the history of humanity to drop a nuclear bomb on people and not expect it to come back and bite you in the ass. To reiterate: not that the victims of Sept. 11 deserved to die, but rather, the American foreign policy has been slowly building upon a foundation which devalues and is hostile to the outsider.
Anyhow, after the museum I wanted to sit down and cry for about an hour, but resisted the urge. Instead I started thinking about nuclear weapons today. And seriously, if Stephen Harper (or any other Canadian prime minister) allows the American government to put nukes over Canadian airspace as part of their crazy 'Star Wars' missle defence system, I will see to it that I personally kick his ass. Its absolutely ludicrous. I have enough problem with killing, let alone on a massive scale. The last thing we need is one of those puppies malfuctioning, flying astray and hitting the ground somewhere.
Finally, just in case anyone has anything positive to say about the use of nuclear weapons, like how it 'ended the war' or some other nonsense, I seriously urge you to visit the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima. In the case that you are unable to make that trip, I ask you to conjure up in your mind an image of the person you most love walking around with their melted skin dripping off of their body, and then re-consider your position on nuclear weapons.
I will try to write a happier, more expository entry in the near future.
Monday, October 02, 2006
The Land of the Rising Sun
Well Ive made it to Japan. Just a quick story for now:
Got off the boat from China and while waiting in line for customs I hung out with 3 Japanese girls and a Kiwi who is living in Kyoto. One of the Japanese girls was from the port town we arrived at (Kobe) and took us to a local market for good, cheap food. So we got to this place, which is essentially the dudes living quarters as well, went in and sat at his work desk while he used what looked like a waffle grill to cook pieces of octopus inside spheres of some egg-ish batter. It actually tasted all right, but wasnt nearly filling enough. That said, I think it was a very authentic first experience of Japan, and I cant wait to see more of it!
Got off the boat from China and while waiting in line for customs I hung out with 3 Japanese girls and a Kiwi who is living in Kyoto. One of the Japanese girls was from the port town we arrived at (Kobe) and took us to a local market for good, cheap food. So we got to this place, which is essentially the dudes living quarters as well, went in and sat at his work desk while he used what looked like a waffle grill to cook pieces of octopus inside spheres of some egg-ish batter. It actually tasted all right, but wasnt nearly filling enough. That said, I think it was a very authentic first experience of Japan, and I cant wait to see more of it!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Hello! Hello! Nice T-Shirt! One Dollar!
This will be an attempt to recap my day as well as provide a cost-analysis of living in China:
First of all, I am currently staying at Clark's place, which is on the 14th (and top) floor of an apartment complex in Beijing. One of his roommates has gone back to the States for a while, so I get his room...the place is GORGEOUS! Clark and I had never met before last night. I guess our mom's work together or something? Whatever...he's a really great guy and has been so kind and generous to me...it's just what I've needed after spending the last few weeks on trains and in hostel dorm rooms.
So today I got up late and decided to wander up to the Great Wall. One of my friends was going with a tour that her hostel arranged, but they were leaving at 7:30am and it was going to cost 180 yuan. Instead, I decided to take the local bus (route 919, 24 yuan return) and go solo. This did mean I ended up at the most touristy part, but in some ways it was nice not to feel like a minority again (on the other hand, I was pestered by souvenir sellers, using the line I put in the title, among others). However, in the end the whole thing, door-to-door cost me 55 yuan (including metro fair to and from) as opposed to 180.
First of all, let me say that the Great Wall is alot more steep and a rugged climb than I thought it would be. I'm glad I wore my boots!
Having only a few pringles, a hot dog on a stick and a bottle of iced tea (which is extremely popular over here...understandable, since the Chinese love their tea, however the Brits drink tea too and iced tea hasn't quite caught on over there in the same way, but i digress..) was really not the best diet to hike on, yet I managed. And I was certainly better off than all the Russian women who thought they could do it in 3 inch stilettos. Honestly now...
After climbing around for a couple hours, I caught the bus back and was starving (i didn't want to eat at the Great Wall cuz everything was tourist prices x 100). I ended up walking into a random restaurant on the way home and invented a new game. Basically, it works like this: go to a restaurant where you don't read or speak the language, and they can't speak yours and then you try to get something to eat. I pointed to someone else's rice and made the international sign for the chicken (flapping arms and 'bock-bocking') and yet somehow wound up with a bowl of noodles covered in beef. Nevertheless, it was a success. And the total cost? (For the huge bowl and two 500 ml bottles of iced tea) 11 yuan. That's $1.75 Canadian or about 80 pence. You couldn't even get one bottle of iced tea for 80p in the UK!
Last night I had a few drinks with another friend of mine...between the two of us we consumed about 2.5 L (just under 5 pints) and the cost again? 12 yuan. That's like 1 pound sterling. For 5 beers. Good beer too. Clark says that if you buy it by the crate (like to put in the fridge at home) it costs half that. Man, I love China!
One last semi-related tangential observation I have made about the Chinese is that they can fall asleep absolutely ANYWHERE. Here is photographic evidence:
Tonight I'm watching a bootlegged copy of Lost in Translation in preparation for Japan.
UPDATE: I think I was half-asleep last time I saw Lost in Translation...that and the fact that I couldn't appreciate the cultural differences and the traveller's mindset...at any rate, it is a BRILLIANT film...I can already relate to it on this trip in a billion different ways....
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Beijing
Dear Taxi drivers and Rickshaw drivers of Beijing. Yes, we can both see that I am a tall male from the West with money. This does not mean that I am lazy and unable to walk anywhere. Please stop honking your horns and shouting at me EVERY time we cross paths.
Also, to the hawkers in Tiananmen Square: yes, your kites that look like they have Strong Bad printed on them are lovely, but there's no way I'm going to buy one cuz I'm not haulin' that shit around for the rest of my trip, therefore, please stop asking.
Other than these two grievances (oh, and the air pollution sucks) Beijing is an awesome city! Huge and really clean and really cheap. The food and beer is both delicious and plentiful...I'm loving it!
Also, to the hawkers in Tiananmen Square: yes, your kites that look like they have Strong Bad printed on them are lovely, but there's no way I'm going to buy one cuz I'm not haulin' that shit around for the rest of my trip, therefore, please stop asking.
Other than these two grievances (oh, and the air pollution sucks) Beijing is an awesome city! Huge and really clean and really cheap. The food and beer is both delicious and plentiful...I'm loving it!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
More Mongolia
I typed this whole thing up bupt i am\ at the worlds worst internet cafe...the com\pupters are bogged down by spyware/adware, the connection is crap and the keyborad is v
ery generoups (youp m\ay hav
e noticed it lieks to add letters) - they also seem\ to hav
e pupt 'hollaback girl' on repeat.
I will write som\ething m\ore legible from\ china (i arriv
e on the 23rd)
By the way, I hav
e a pictupre of m\e with a cam\el (they woupldnt let m\e get on thoupgh)
ery generoups (youp m\ay hav
e noticed it lieks to add letters) - they also seem\ to hav
e pupt 'hollaback girl' on repeat.
I will write som\ething m\ore legible from\ china (i arriv
e on the 23rd)
By the way, I hav
e a pictupre of m\e with a cam\el (they woupldnt let m\e get on thoupgh)
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Mongolia
Made it to Ulaan Baatar...just barely.
Lots of good stories from the last train to come in the following days...
Lots of good stories from the last train to come in the following days...
Friday, September 15, 2006
Siberia
Well, I am in Omsk, killing some time before catching my next train to Mongolia.
I had hoped to be able to type daily updates, but I can't even seem to manage to write them all down, so it's clear that's not gonna happen.
Moscow was phenomenal, although extremely large. It was also a lot cleaner than I expected. Omsk is in bit rougher shape, but it feels more properly 'Russian' - not because it's run down, but because it's less cosmopolitan and touristy. I mean London is 'British' but not the same way that somewhere like Swindon is British. Or something.
The train from Moscow to Omsk was good. I thought I would have lots of time to read and write but ended up spending all of my time hanging out with people in the cars beside me. There was a swedish couple, a guy from the czech republic, a russian man and a russian single mom (who was from Omsk and spoke english - extremely helpful!) We shared food and tea and beer and had a blast...I only hope I'm as lucky for the next leg! I'm feeling pretty positive about the trip. The way I have designed it, I never spend more than 2 nights on a train and I think that's a good thing. The swedish couple were doing 4 nights/5 days straight, and I think that would make me mental! So now it's two more nights on the train and then 5 nights in Mongolia. I will stay in the capital the first night, but I'm hoping to find a tour out to the country-side, and to get a picture of me riding a camel. Really, that's all I want from this entire trip: photographic evidence of me on top of a camel in Mongolia...everything else is just icing on the cake.
Speaking of trains though, the time zone thing is messing my body up. I crossed 6 time zones in as many days, with only a short break in the middle. My body is never sure when to eat, when to sleep, or what to do... Most of the time this is ok, since I'm just sat on a train, but still, it's a bit jolting to the system. I will cross 2 more into Mongolia and China, and then two more when I arrive in Japan.
Oh! One thing I would suggestif you ever plan on traveling in Russia is to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. I surely can't speak Russian for the life of me, but just knowing which characters are what has made all the difference in the world (especially traveling solo). For example, P = R, B = V, C = S, H = N, Y = U. There are lots more, but considering most of the English guidebooks use the roman alphabet, and most of the russian street signs use the cyrillic, its nice to be able to translate between the two. It also helps for basic words on menus and directions and so on.
Well, I still have two hours before my train leaves, but I need to go to the supermarket (cyepmapket) and get some food for the train, and then navigate the trolleybus back to the train station (thanks to my super-cyrillic reading abilities I have been using cheapo public transportation and not had to pay for a taxi once!) so I think that's it for now. I will update again from Mongolia, and try to upload some photos...possibly of me and camels.
I had hoped to be able to type daily updates, but I can't even seem to manage to write them all down, so it's clear that's not gonna happen.
Moscow was phenomenal, although extremely large. It was also a lot cleaner than I expected. Omsk is in bit rougher shape, but it feels more properly 'Russian' - not because it's run down, but because it's less cosmopolitan and touristy. I mean London is 'British' but not the same way that somewhere like Swindon is British. Or something.
The train from Moscow to Omsk was good. I thought I would have lots of time to read and write but ended up spending all of my time hanging out with people in the cars beside me. There was a swedish couple, a guy from the czech republic, a russian man and a russian single mom (who was from Omsk and spoke english - extremely helpful!) We shared food and tea and beer and had a blast...I only hope I'm as lucky for the next leg! I'm feeling pretty positive about the trip. The way I have designed it, I never spend more than 2 nights on a train and I think that's a good thing. The swedish couple were doing 4 nights/5 days straight, and I think that would make me mental! So now it's two more nights on the train and then 5 nights in Mongolia. I will stay in the capital the first night, but I'm hoping to find a tour out to the country-side, and to get a picture of me riding a camel. Really, that's all I want from this entire trip: photographic evidence of me on top of a camel in Mongolia...everything else is just icing on the cake.
Speaking of trains though, the time zone thing is messing my body up. I crossed 6 time zones in as many days, with only a short break in the middle. My body is never sure when to eat, when to sleep, or what to do... Most of the time this is ok, since I'm just sat on a train, but still, it's a bit jolting to the system. I will cross 2 more into Mongolia and China, and then two more when I arrive in Japan.
Oh! One thing I would suggestif you ever plan on traveling in Russia is to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. I surely can't speak Russian for the life of me, but just knowing which characters are what has made all the difference in the world (especially traveling solo). For example, P = R, B = V, C = S, H = N, Y = U. There are lots more, but considering most of the English guidebooks use the roman alphabet, and most of the russian street signs use the cyrillic, its nice to be able to translate between the two. It also helps for basic words on menus and directions and so on.
Well, I still have two hours before my train leaves, but I need to go to the supermarket (cyepmapket) and get some food for the train, and then navigate the trolleybus back to the train station (thanks to my super-cyrillic reading abilities I have been using cheapo public transportation and not had to pay for a taxi once!) so I think that's it for now. I will update again from Mongolia, and try to upload some photos...possibly of me and camels.
Monday, September 11, 2006
From Russia, With Love
I'm in Moscow! I'm hanging out with Scots! Two of them are quite cute!
I leave on the train tomorrow evening for a 2 day trip to Omsk.
Sorry, I don't have a lot of time, that's it for now.
I leave on the train tomorrow evening for a 2 day trip to Omsk.
Sorry, I don't have a lot of time, that's it for now.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Kiss me goodbye!
Literally just a few hours now! Everything is packed and ready to go. I'll try to update as much as possible en route, but keep in mind I will be on trains for literally days at a time. Also, I'm not sure how it will work in China since they censor all the internet traffic.
Wish me luck, say a prayer and I'll see ya on the other side!!
Wish me luck, say a prayer and I'll see ya on the other side!!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Greenbelt, a la Rich
Although it does not exactly represent my own spirit or impression of Greenbelt, Rich has done a fantastic write up of his experience there and it is definitely worth a read.
EDIT: Suzie has added her thoughts, as well as a group photo (in which I'm sure I make my mother proud).
EDIT: Jim's piped up with his here. He's also got pictures at the bottom.
It is doubtful I'll ever actually post my own reflections...I've only got a few hours left (really) to pack all my stuff and then I'm on a train to Russia & beyond!
EDIT: Suzie has added her thoughts, as well as a group photo (in which I'm sure I make my mother proud).
EDIT: Jim's piped up with his here. He's also got pictures at the bottom.
It is doubtful I'll ever actually post my own reflections...I've only got a few hours left (really) to pack all my stuff and then I'm on a train to Russia & beyond!
Friday, September 01, 2006
In the News Today
1.) Klein bids tearful goodbye to Alberta legislature
For those who don't know, Ralph Klein has been the Conservative Premier of the Province of Alberta (Canada's richest province, due mainly to large oil reserves) for the last 14 years.
During that time, he has:
Well, so long Ralph. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
2.) Many Canadians not practising good hand hygiene: study
I have already partially shared my views about hand-washing in an earlier post. Now, I understand that there must be some scientific evidence behind all of this...and it's not as if I never wash my hands (just rarely). And yet, I stand by my testament that in spite of this lackadaiscal personal policy toward hand-washing, I tend to be healthier than many 'clean freaks' that I know/have met. I obviously can't extrapolate my personal experience to the world at large, however I think there is something to be said about building up one's immune system (so maybe I just spread the germs without getting sick myself!) As I have previously admitted however, I am not a scientist or biologist. Lastly, while we are on the subject, two lines tucked away in the middle of the article caught my attention:
"[The think-tank which did the survey] operates on a grant from Reckitt Benckiser, which makes home-cleaning supplies such as the Lysol and Dettol disinfectant products."
Call me cynical, but in a society based on our perverted form of capitalism, in which money is more powerful than absolutely anything else, does that not make this a foregone conclusion? What I mean is, the think-tank is not going to publish the results of a survey which are contrary to the commercial interests of its funders/investors. For example, Nike isn't going to fund a think-tank investigating sweatshops but may fund one investigating the positive effects of basketball on inner-city youth. Similarly, I doubt the funding for this group would last long if they discovered that the effect of products like Lysol and Dettol were really rather minimal. Therefore, I'm questioning the relevance and authenticity of such a study...
3.) Argos' lineman faces sexual assault charges
(Disclaimer: innocent until proven guilty, I know)
According to the article, Williams used to play in the American football league (NFL) until he "was suspended by the league for violating its substance abuse policy." It's nice to know that Canada provides a home for the drug-using rapists from the NFL :P
And on that final, cheery note I am off to a supper at Aziz to say farewell to my friends from hOME this evening.
For those who don't know, Ralph Klein has been the Conservative Premier of the Province of Alberta (Canada's richest province, due mainly to large oil reserves) for the last 14 years.
During that time, he has:
- Opposed the Kyoto Accord
- Become good friends with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
- Lobbied for a national referendum on same sex marriage AFTER it had already been passed
- Suggested that rather than give out welfare, the province should give unemployed people a one-way bus ticket to Vancouver (which is in British Columbia, the next province over)
- Threw a copy of the Liberal Health Care policy at the 17 year old girl who delivered it to him during the Alberta legislature, shouting "I don't need this crap!"
- And finally, one night he got rip-roaring drunk, went to a homeless shelter in Edmonton, verbally abused the people there and reportedly threw money at them. And he still got re-elected after that.
Well, so long Ralph. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
2.) Many Canadians not practising good hand hygiene: study
I have already partially shared my views about hand-washing in an earlier post. Now, I understand that there must be some scientific evidence behind all of this...and it's not as if I never wash my hands (just rarely). And yet, I stand by my testament that in spite of this lackadaiscal personal policy toward hand-washing, I tend to be healthier than many 'clean freaks' that I know/have met. I obviously can't extrapolate my personal experience to the world at large, however I think there is something to be said about building up one's immune system (so maybe I just spread the germs without getting sick myself!) As I have previously admitted however, I am not a scientist or biologist. Lastly, while we are on the subject, two lines tucked away in the middle of the article caught my attention:
"[The think-tank which did the survey] operates on a grant from Reckitt Benckiser, which makes home-cleaning supplies such as the Lysol and Dettol disinfectant products."
Call me cynical, but in a society based on our perverted form of capitalism, in which money is more powerful than absolutely anything else, does that not make this a foregone conclusion? What I mean is, the think-tank is not going to publish the results of a survey which are contrary to the commercial interests of its funders/investors. For example, Nike isn't going to fund a think-tank investigating sweatshops but may fund one investigating the positive effects of basketball on inner-city youth. Similarly, I doubt the funding for this group would last long if they discovered that the effect of products like Lysol and Dettol were really rather minimal. Therefore, I'm questioning the relevance and authenticity of such a study...
3.) Argos' lineman faces sexual assault charges
(Disclaimer: innocent until proven guilty, I know)
According to the article, Williams used to play in the American football league (NFL) until he "was suspended by the league for violating its substance abuse policy." It's nice to know that Canada provides a home for the drug-using rapists from the NFL :P
And on that final, cheery note I am off to a supper at Aziz to say farewell to my friends from hOME this evening.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Spidey
Having just watched the Spider-man 3 teaser trailer (I don't know what took me so long!), a thought occured to me:
Spider-man could (and perhaps, should) become the new James Bond. There is more material already existing than one could film in a life-time...a rich tapestry of characters and plots. You could have the main actor do 4 or 5 films in a row before passing the baton onto the next one. Heroes and villains can come and go. Studios can make millions of dollars.
I'm sure they'd love to make sequels as long as they're making money, but what I propse is why not drop the numbering system, and follow Bond's example. Just do "Spider-man: The Sting of Venom" or "Spider-man: Absolute Carnage," etc. etc.
I dunno about the die-hard fans, but I know that geeks like me would love to see the story continue to be fleshed out on the big screen.
Spider-man could (and perhaps, should) become the new James Bond. There is more material already existing than one could film in a life-time...a rich tapestry of characters and plots. You could have the main actor do 4 or 5 films in a row before passing the baton onto the next one. Heroes and villains can come and go. Studios can make millions of dollars.
I'm sure they'd love to make sequels as long as they're making money, but what I propse is why not drop the numbering system, and follow Bond's example. Just do "Spider-man: The Sting of Venom" or "Spider-man: Absolute Carnage," etc. etc.
I dunno about the die-hard fans, but I know that geeks like me would love to see the story continue to be fleshed out on the big screen.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Big One
So the Big News, for those who don't already know or haven't figured it out, is that I'm going to be taking the Trans-Siberian railway after leaving England, before coming home. I somehow managed to convince my mom to let me use my student loan to fund this wild adventure. My passport has been sent off to an agency to arrange my visas, and I've already booked my train tickets from Oxford to Moscow. I leave on Sept. 8 and will return approximately six weeks later. I plan on stopping in Russia, Mongolia and China, then taking a boat to Japan for a week. I will return to Hong Kong and fly back home, briefly stopping in Oxford to pick up the rest of my stuff. So in order to commemorate the event I have added a countdown in my sidebar to the right --->
I promise updates as often as possible while I'm on the road/rails.
I promise updates as often as possible while I'm on the road/rails.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Onwards
I just got back from Greenbelt, which was fascinating and deserves its own post to fully unpack, however that's not what I want to address here.
On the way home, riding in the car with Jim, I was thinking about the end of Greenbelt, and the end of the summer and it really struck me for the first time that my time in England is at an end as well. Which then caused me to think back two years ago and to my first impressions of the England and its people. I thought about what a blank canvas I was then with regard to this new culture and how much I have learned and grown in 2 short years. And suddenly a feeling of panic struck me as though I didn't want to leave, because 'this is my home!' And it's true, it does feel like home, however I realized that feeling was less authentic than it seemed. I think closer to the truth is the fact that I am unsure of what is next for me, whereas my current position is known and comfortable. It was more of a gut reaction to change than an actual desire to remain in the UK. Having said that, I certainly will miss this country and the friends I have made here. I think this evening was the first time I began to mourn the eventual and inevitable loss of these people from my life.
On the way home, riding in the car with Jim, I was thinking about the end of Greenbelt, and the end of the summer and it really struck me for the first time that my time in England is at an end as well. Which then caused me to think back two years ago and to my first impressions of the England and its people. I thought about what a blank canvas I was then with regard to this new culture and how much I have learned and grown in 2 short years. And suddenly a feeling of panic struck me as though I didn't want to leave, because 'this is my home!' And it's true, it does feel like home, however I realized that feeling was less authentic than it seemed. I think closer to the truth is the fact that I am unsure of what is next for me, whereas my current position is known and comfortable. It was more of a gut reaction to change than an actual desire to remain in the UK. Having said that, I certainly will miss this country and the friends I have made here. I think this evening was the first time I began to mourn the eventual and inevitable loss of these people from my life.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
More article titles
While I continue to delay my 'big announcement' (no, I'm not pregnant) here are some more amusing academic journal article titles I've come across since the last batch:
- The Effects of Altitude on Fruit Quality and Compression Load for Cracking of Walnuts
I'm sorry, but is it really necessary to write a whole article on this subject?
-Clinical and pathological findings of acute zinc intoxication in a puppy
Ok, this is probably something fairly horrific, but the thought of an intoxicated puppy made me giggle.
- The Future Won't Look Like the Present (by Stephen Hawking)
Oh really?? No shit Steve...I guess you don't need to come up with creative titles when you're a genius.
- Sphincter of oddi dysfunction: role of sphincterotomy
You didn't wanna see the pictures for this one...TRUST ME!
- Invading Iraq: The Road to Perpetual War
This one isn't so much funny as it is prophetic -- it was published in Dec. 2002...
- One Cow, One Vote?
Call me old-fashioned, but I don't believe that Bovine Democracy is the way forward. Besides, what would that make the opposition party?
- Blackjack in Holland Casino's: basic, optimal and winning strategies
This was another serious article! I read the whole thing, but it was extremely complex with tons of formulas I didn't understand! I guess the rules to Blackjack in the Netherlands are a bit different, and if you learn to count cards, you can get better odds than the house. Really, I was expecting it to say something along the lines of "stand on 17. double down on 11."
Finally, these last two were less titillating (pun intended) than I was hoping for:
- The Breast Journal
No joke, an academic journal published out of the States. Unfortunately all the pictures are just of cells and genetic odds and boring stuff like that.
- Cleavage Formation in Norway: The Contextual Dimension
This one had me really excited because, let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy some Norwegian cleavage?! Then I remembered it was a geological journal. Dammit!
- The Effects of Altitude on Fruit Quality and Compression Load for Cracking of Walnuts
I'm sorry, but is it really necessary to write a whole article on this subject?
-Clinical and pathological findings of acute zinc intoxication in a puppy
Ok, this is probably something fairly horrific, but the thought of an intoxicated puppy made me giggle.
- The Future Won't Look Like the Present (by Stephen Hawking)
Oh really?? No shit Steve...I guess you don't need to come up with creative titles when you're a genius.
- Sphincter of oddi dysfunction: role of sphincterotomy
You didn't wanna see the pictures for this one...TRUST ME!
- Invading Iraq: The Road to Perpetual War
This one isn't so much funny as it is prophetic -- it was published in Dec. 2002...
- One Cow, One Vote?
Call me old-fashioned, but I don't believe that Bovine Democracy is the way forward. Besides, what would that make the opposition party?
- Blackjack in Holland Casino's: basic, optimal and winning strategies
This was another serious article! I read the whole thing, but it was extremely complex with tons of formulas I didn't understand! I guess the rules to Blackjack in the Netherlands are a bit different, and if you learn to count cards, you can get better odds than the house. Really, I was expecting it to say something along the lines of "stand on 17. double down on 11."
Finally, these last two were less titillating (pun intended) than I was hoping for:
- The Breast Journal
No joke, an academic journal published out of the States. Unfortunately all the pictures are just of cells and genetic odds and boring stuff like that.
- Cleavage Formation in Norway: The Contextual Dimension
This one had me really excited because, let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy some Norwegian cleavage?! Then I remembered it was a geological journal. Dammit!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
How Snakes on a Plane Change My Life
Yes, it may sound ridiculous, but I'm fairly certain Snakes on a Plane has changed the course of my future.
How is this even possible, you may ask?
Well, I had always planned to go to grad school, but had been debating in which faculty, what to study, etc. Having gone to see Snakes on a Plane yesterday with Brad and Jim, I realized that I really ought to do something with the theory of media, culture and/or communication.
Without going into it in too much detail, I honestly believe that Snakes on a Plane will go down as a significant film in the history of cinema. Sure, it's not going to win any Oscars or other serious awards, but that's not why it has secured it's place in the history books -- it has far more to do with the context of its release.
It embodies the arrival of 21st century postmodernity to the Hollywood system, and I think, will be remembered as the first film in which the democratization of the Internet really had an effect on a traditionally top-down method of film distribution. This movie is a symbol (and really the first, I believe) of a cultural shift that has been in the making for several years now. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this, and to a greater degree, in the future. Snakes on a Plane pulls no punches, you know exactly what you're going to get from the title of the film. This honesty found a lot of favour among bloggers who immediately picked up on the absurdity of the concept and began promoting the film months before it's theatrical release. This alone is revolutionary, but even more interesting is the fact that New Line then went back and shot several more days of footage MONTHS after the production had wrapped, in order to accomodate the Internet hype. New Line also relinquished the rights for official merchandise (which is UNHEARD of) opting instead to promote fan-based creations. Anyway, I'll leave it at that, as I could (and probably now will) write essays about the fascinating cultural phenomenon that is Snakes on a Plane. As always, Wikipedia has some good background info if you are interested in reading any more.
How is this even possible, you may ask?
Well, I had always planned to go to grad school, but had been debating in which faculty, what to study, etc. Having gone to see Snakes on a Plane yesterday with Brad and Jim, I realized that I really ought to do something with the theory of media, culture and/or communication.
Without going into it in too much detail, I honestly believe that Snakes on a Plane will go down as a significant film in the history of cinema. Sure, it's not going to win any Oscars or other serious awards, but that's not why it has secured it's place in the history books -- it has far more to do with the context of its release.
It embodies the arrival of 21st century postmodernity to the Hollywood system, and I think, will be remembered as the first film in which the democratization of the Internet really had an effect on a traditionally top-down method of film distribution. This movie is a symbol (and really the first, I believe) of a cultural shift that has been in the making for several years now. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this, and to a greater degree, in the future. Snakes on a Plane pulls no punches, you know exactly what you're going to get from the title of the film. This honesty found a lot of favour among bloggers who immediately picked up on the absurdity of the concept and began promoting the film months before it's theatrical release. This alone is revolutionary, but even more interesting is the fact that New Line then went back and shot several more days of footage MONTHS after the production had wrapped, in order to accomodate the Internet hype. New Line also relinquished the rights for official merchandise (which is UNHEARD of) opting instead to promote fan-based creations. Anyway, I'll leave it at that, as I could (and probably now will) write essays about the fascinating cultural phenomenon that is Snakes on a Plane. As always, Wikipedia has some good background info if you are interested in reading any more.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Almost
Ok, I lied - no update yet.
I did, however, find the following on YouTube which is AMAZING. This was on tv ALL THE TIME when I was a kid...it doesn't get much more Canadian than this (dancing beaver included). If you saw me on the street and asked me to sing the whole thing, I could probably do it from memory.
I did, however, find the following on YouTube which is AMAZING. This was on tv ALL THE TIME when I was a kid...it doesn't get much more Canadian than this (dancing beaver included). If you saw me on the street and asked me to sing the whole thing, I could probably do it from memory.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Coupland at the Movies
Apparently, Douglas Coupland's first film is gonna be based on an original screenplay that he wrote entitled Everything's Gone Green and is debuting at the Toronto Film Festival. According to the CBC it's "a comedy about a 20-something trying to find his place in life." I can hardly wait! Also, in trolling IMDB, I found they're going to do an adaptation of his novel All Families Are Psychotic which I just finished reading 2 days ago during my lunch breaks at work, all the while thinking "this is one of the few Coupland books that would translate well into a film...."
Bad Blogger, Bad!
Yeah, I've been a crap blogger lately. Sorry folks. I promise something more meaty this weekend.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
More lighter notes....
My job at the moment consists of estimating how much it would cost to digitise back issues of academic journals. This requires me to scan through a random issue of each journal and count things like graphics, tables, text, etc. On an average day, I get through about 15. So, here is a list of 100% real titles of articles I have found during the course of my work:
- Fatal methanol poisoning following home distillation of methylated spirits
In other words, killing yourself with your own moonshine!
- Activities in the Danish Year of the Brain 1997
When is the Danish Year of the Pinky Finger?
- Augmenting Effect of a Nonmutagenic Fraction in Soy Sauce on Mutagenicity of 3-Diazotyramine Produced in the Nitrite-treated Sauce
Umm, you're doing what with soy sauce??
- Fat Grafting: My Technique
Upchucking: My Technique
- Clinical and experimental uses of umbilical cord blood
Upchucking: My Technique: Part Two
- Road-kill on the information highway: repetitive strain injury in
the academy
Tee hee, I just thought this one was clever...
- Molecular analysis of the T-cell receptor ß-chain repertoire in
early rheumatoid arthritis: heterogeneous TCRBV gene usage with
shared amino acid profiles in CDR3 regions of T lymphocytes in
multiple synovial tissue needle biopsies from the same joint
Say what? And that's just the TITLE of the article! Imagine the content!
- Trauma Risks and Prevention Strategies for Snowboarders
Man, who writes about this in an academic journal?? I could already tell you what belongs there! "Don't twist your ankle, avoid running into that tree, etc."
- Ohio APNs: Lead Poisoning Knowledge and Practices
Ok, so that's 'lead' as in element 82, but the first time I read it I thought it was 'lead' as in 'the foremost' in poisoning knowledge and practices!
And finally, my favourite of them all, and the one that made me start this whole list in the first place:
- Management of Anorectal Foreign Bodies: A Cause of Obscure Anal Pain
This was a serious academic article in a surgery journal, complete with x-rays of people who shoved things up their ass that really didn't belong there. It also had tables to indicate methods of extraction (from lots of lube all the way to surgical removal!) as well as how many patients were 'known, practicing homosexuals' - isn't science fun!
- Fatal methanol poisoning following home distillation of methylated spirits
In other words, killing yourself with your own moonshine!
- Activities in the Danish Year of the Brain 1997
When is the Danish Year of the Pinky Finger?
- Augmenting Effect of a Nonmutagenic Fraction in Soy Sauce on Mutagenicity of 3-Diazotyramine Produced in the Nitrite-treated Sauce
Umm, you're doing what with soy sauce??
- Fat Grafting: My Technique
Upchucking: My Technique
- Clinical and experimental uses of umbilical cord blood
Upchucking: My Technique: Part Two
- Road-kill on the information highway: repetitive strain injury in
the academy
Tee hee, I just thought this one was clever...
- Molecular analysis of the T-cell receptor ß-chain repertoire in
early rheumatoid arthritis: heterogeneous TCRBV gene usage with
shared amino acid profiles in CDR3 regions of T lymphocytes in
multiple synovial tissue needle biopsies from the same joint
Say what? And that's just the TITLE of the article! Imagine the content!
- Trauma Risks and Prevention Strategies for Snowboarders
Man, who writes about this in an academic journal?? I could already tell you what belongs there! "Don't twist your ankle, avoid running into that tree, etc."
- Ohio APNs: Lead Poisoning Knowledge and Practices
Ok, so that's 'lead' as in element 82, but the first time I read it I thought it was 'lead' as in 'the foremost' in poisoning knowledge and practices!
And finally, my favourite of them all, and the one that made me start this whole list in the first place:
- Management of Anorectal Foreign Bodies: A Cause of Obscure Anal Pain
This was a serious academic article in a surgery journal, complete with x-rays of people who shoved things up their ass that really didn't belong there. It also had tables to indicate methods of extraction (from lots of lube all the way to surgical removal!) as well as how many patients were 'known, practicing homosexuals' - isn't science fun!
Saturday, July 29, 2006
On a lighter note...
Well, my last post felt rather serious, so on a lighter note, I finally uploaded pictures from the part of my last trip that I spent in Olympos, Turkey back at the beginning of June. They're up on Facebook, otherwise peep them here on Flickr.
Further Opinions on the Middle East Crisis
I walked down Cornmarket Street this afternoon in Oxford (the main shopping drag) and saw a group of people waving Palestinian and Lebanese Flags, protesting Israel's current military campaign. Having no connection to Lebanon, Israel or Palestine, and only receiving information through the media, allow me to share things from my perspective.
First of all, we have the Canadian Prime Minister saying that he doesn't want to send Canadian troops as part of a peacekeeping operation to southern Lebanon, saying instead that the "countries in the area should be responsible for resolving the conflict." Three days later, Bush and Blair call for a "multinational force to keep order in Lebanon." So kudos to our PM for totally missing the boat on that one. What else is new?
Meanwhile, Israel has been vastly stepping up their rhetoric. With audacious claims like "Wednesday's decision by key world powers not to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive has given it the green light to continue," and "All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah."
All right, now I know that talking about the Middle East, and especially Israel, is a touchy subject, but I absolutely hate this mindset. Making declarations which are 'absolute' in order to further your own agenda makes me nauseous. Take the first statement for example - just because a group of people can't come to a consensus doesn't mean that they don't want to. It's like claiming that because a jury couldn't decide whether to give a convict 10 years in jail or 15 years in jail that he should be allowed to go free! He definitely should not be allowed to go free, they just couldn't agree on how to punish him. And the second quote is equally revolting. It is essentially Israel giving themselves permission to kill innocent civilians. What about people in southern Lebanon who don't have the money to travel anywhere else? Or the means? It does not automatically mean that EVERYONE is associated with terrorists. In fact, these are the exact claims that terrorists make themselves, i.e. everyone in The West threatens us, therefore you are all targets. Unthinking dogmatism has no place on this planet, least of all when it comes to ending peoples' lives. Furthermore, today Israel has rejected a UN-proposed 3 day truce which would allow time for humanitarian aid to be delivered. The reasoning for this was laid out by an Israeli government spokesperson as follows:
This, despite the fact that Hezbollah has killed around 50 people in Northern Israel where as Israel has destroyed infrastructure throughout Lebanon and killed over 600 people, including 4 UN observers. Speaking of which, "The UN Security Council issued a statement voicing 'shock and distress' at the deaths, after the US blocked calls for harsher criticism of Israel." Now, I'm not anti-Israel by any means, and I certainly don't think Hezbollah was right in kidnapping Israeli soldiers. That said, it is blindingly obvious that Israel has the greater military might, and instead of using it responsibly, they flaunt it while continuing to act like they're the persecuted ones. That's just not right, in my eyes.
It's not all one-sided though. The Lebanese Prime Minister isn't helping a terrible amount by backing Hezbollah 100%. King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia has also threatened to go to war if peace options fail. And I'm fairly certain Iran and Syria wouldn't have a problem following him. If this were to happen, it would be interesting to see where the U.S., U.K. and U.N. stand in all of this.
*sigh* I just want people to stop killing each other.
Feel free to comment on this one. Like I said before, it's not like I've made up my mind on this issue (or any other, for that matter). I'm always open to new information...this is just the opinion I've formed from what I've been exposed to.
First of all, we have the Canadian Prime Minister saying that he doesn't want to send Canadian troops as part of a peacekeeping operation to southern Lebanon, saying instead that the "countries in the area should be responsible for resolving the conflict." Three days later, Bush and Blair call for a "multinational force to keep order in Lebanon." So kudos to our PM for totally missing the boat on that one. What else is new?
Meanwhile, Israel has been vastly stepping up their rhetoric. With audacious claims like "Wednesday's decision by key world powers not to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive has given it the green light to continue," and "All those now in south Lebanon are terrorists who are related in some way to Hezbollah."
All right, now I know that talking about the Middle East, and especially Israel, is a touchy subject, but I absolutely hate this mindset. Making declarations which are 'absolute' in order to further your own agenda makes me nauseous. Take the first statement for example - just because a group of people can't come to a consensus doesn't mean that they don't want to. It's like claiming that because a jury couldn't decide whether to give a convict 10 years in jail or 15 years in jail that he should be allowed to go free! He definitely should not be allowed to go free, they just couldn't agree on how to punish him. And the second quote is equally revolting. It is essentially Israel giving themselves permission to kill innocent civilians. What about people in southern Lebanon who don't have the money to travel anywhere else? Or the means? It does not automatically mean that EVERYONE is associated with terrorists. In fact, these are the exact claims that terrorists make themselves, i.e. everyone in The West threatens us, therefore you are all targets. Unthinking dogmatism has no place on this planet, least of all when it comes to ending peoples' lives. Furthermore, today Israel has rejected a UN-proposed 3 day truce which would allow time for humanitarian aid to be delivered. The reasoning for this was laid out by an Israeli government spokesperson as follows:
"There is no need for a temporary, 72-hour ceasefire because Israel has opened humanitarian corridors to and from Lebanon," Pazner told reporters.
"It is Hezbollah who is deliberately preventing the transfer of medical aid and of food to the population of southern Lebanon in order to create a humanitarian crisis, which they want to blame Israel for," he said.
This, despite the fact that Hezbollah has killed around 50 people in Northern Israel where as Israel has destroyed infrastructure throughout Lebanon and killed over 600 people, including 4 UN observers. Speaking of which, "The UN Security Council issued a statement voicing 'shock and distress' at the deaths, after the US blocked calls for harsher criticism of Israel." Now, I'm not anti-Israel by any means, and I certainly don't think Hezbollah was right in kidnapping Israeli soldiers. That said, it is blindingly obvious that Israel has the greater military might, and instead of using it responsibly, they flaunt it while continuing to act like they're the persecuted ones. That's just not right, in my eyes.
It's not all one-sided though. The Lebanese Prime Minister isn't helping a terrible amount by backing Hezbollah 100%. King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia has also threatened to go to war if peace options fail. And I'm fairly certain Iran and Syria wouldn't have a problem following him. If this were to happen, it would be interesting to see where the U.S., U.K. and U.N. stand in all of this.
*sigh* I just want people to stop killing each other.
Feel free to comment on this one. Like I said before, it's not like I've made up my mind on this issue (or any other, for that matter). I'm always open to new information...this is just the opinion I've formed from what I've been exposed to.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Listening Material
I am loving my new job! And they've agreed to keep me at least another week beyond this one, so that's good news!
The work environment is super-relaxed...it's all (or almost all) young people in jeans and t-shirts, and we're allowed to listen to music while we work. Therefore, I have been stocking up various podcasts to carry me through the next few days, but I also just realized that I can listen to some of my favourite radio stations from home over the internet! This includes much of the archives of The Ongoing History of New Music (I'm currently listening to The History of Selling Out) which will keep me entertained for HOURS! Since my job is quite repetitive, it's really easy just to 'switch off' and pay attention to other things!
The work environment is super-relaxed...it's all (or almost all) young people in jeans and t-shirts, and we're allowed to listen to music while we work. Therefore, I have been stocking up various podcasts to carry me through the next few days, but I also just realized that I can listen to some of my favourite radio stations from home over the internet! This includes much of the archives of The Ongoing History of New Music (I'm currently listening to The History of Selling Out) which will keep me entertained for HOURS! Since my job is quite repetitive, it's really easy just to 'switch off' and pay attention to other things!
One book
Thanks to Kyle for hitting me with this one, however in order to make it more interesting, let's assume that the Bible and my journal are not contenders...
1. One book that changed your life:
Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (admittedly I saw the film first)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Nancy Shaw, Sheep in a Jeep (I must've read this book hundreds of times! I'm 24 years old and I can still recite the first few pages from memory)
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Various Authors, The Encyclopedia Britannica (Is that allowed? It would certainly keep me busy. If I had to choose just one volume, it would be 'S' - cuz it tends to be the biggest, and most interesting. Alternatively, How to Survive on a Deserted Island: The Illustrated Edition or some such would probably be useful as well.)
4. One book that made you laugh:
Douglas Coupland, JPod (most recently....I also considered using The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
5. One book that made you cry:
Erlend Loe, Naive. Super (it's funny and really touching...I highly recommend tracking down a copy)
6. One book that you wish had been written:
Jesus of Nazareth, In My Own Words
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Who knows if it would have changed history at all, but it certainly didn't help things. I should mention that the runner-up in this category is The Da Vinci Code. Let me clarify that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject matter of the Da Vinci Code, indeed the only reason I continued to read the damn thing was BECAUSE of the subject matter...no, my beef is with the fact that Dan Brown is a HORRIBLE WRITER and in my opinion he does not deserve the success he has been given. I would have LOVED to have read these ideas constructed and construed by someone with talent.)
8. One book you’re currently reading:
Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (or 'The Golden Compass' as it is titled in North America...as my farewell to Oxford)
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Catch 22, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Slaughterhouse V, etc. (There's a lot of modern classics I've yet to hit)
10. Now tag five people:
Quite honestly, anyone I've linked to in my sidebar over there --->
is more than welcome to consider themselves 'tagged'
1. One book that changed your life:
Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (admittedly I saw the film first)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Nancy Shaw, Sheep in a Jeep (I must've read this book hundreds of times! I'm 24 years old and I can still recite the first few pages from memory)
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Various Authors, The Encyclopedia Britannica (Is that allowed? It would certainly keep me busy. If I had to choose just one volume, it would be 'S' - cuz it tends to be the biggest, and most interesting. Alternatively, How to Survive on a Deserted Island: The Illustrated Edition or some such would probably be useful as well.)
4. One book that made you laugh:
Douglas Coupland, JPod (most recently....I also considered using The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
5. One book that made you cry:
Erlend Loe, Naive. Super (it's funny and really touching...I highly recommend tracking down a copy)
6. One book that you wish had been written:
Jesus of Nazareth, In My Own Words
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Who knows if it would have changed history at all, but it certainly didn't help things. I should mention that the runner-up in this category is The Da Vinci Code. Let me clarify that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject matter of the Da Vinci Code, indeed the only reason I continued to read the damn thing was BECAUSE of the subject matter...no, my beef is with the fact that Dan Brown is a HORRIBLE WRITER and in my opinion he does not deserve the success he has been given. I would have LOVED to have read these ideas constructed and construed by someone with talent.)
8. One book you’re currently reading:
Philip Pullman, Northern Lights (or 'The Golden Compass' as it is titled in North America...as my farewell to Oxford)
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Catch 22, Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Slaughterhouse V, etc. (There's a lot of modern classics I've yet to hit)
10. Now tag five people:
Quite honestly, anyone I've linked to in my sidebar over there --->
is more than welcome to consider themselves 'tagged'
Snakes on a Plane!
Well, nearly, according to this BBC story.
Need I remind everyone that it is also less than a month now before we are able to view that fantastic film in its entirety.
Kyle, I'll get to your one-book deal later tonight once I've put some more thought into it.
Need I remind everyone that it is also less than a month now before we are able to view that fantastic film in its entirety.
Kyle, I'll get to your one-book deal later tonight once I've put some more thought into it.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
A Shortie
I'm really enjoying my new job, spending time with friends and doing my best to avoid the heat. Also trying not to get too stressed about where I end up next. I am upset about the Middle East however.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Friday, July 21, 2006
Our Darling Prime Minister
Since our PM was in Russia for the G8 meeting, he decided to stop by Cyprus and fly home a few Canadians who were fleeing from Lebanon. A noble gesture.
According to this story on the CBC, one lady gave Harper a list of complaints about the shoddiness of the evacuation procedure. His response?
"She said Harper told her to outline her concerns in an e-mail to the federal government."
Ok, I realize he's a busy guy, but seriously, that's the best you can do? He's lucky I wasn't on that plane...it would have been a miserable 12 hour flight for everybody :P
According to this story on the CBC, one lady gave Harper a list of complaints about the shoddiness of the evacuation procedure. His response?
"She said Harper told her to outline her concerns in an e-mail to the federal government."
Ok, I realize he's a busy guy, but seriously, that's the best you can do? He's lucky I wasn't on that plane...it would have been a miserable 12 hour flight for everybody :P
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Step by step
I have been delaying this post because in my mind, if I don't acknowledge the situation publicly then I am less accountable when it comes time to make a decision. And yet, a decision has to be made, so I might as well share it with you folks.
The point is this: I have 6 weeks or so left on my UK working holiday visa and need to decide what to do next. I know it's really not that big of a deal, and yet I keep making it into one inside of my head. I want to make a good decision, where ever I end up -- and I'm afraid of committing to something I don't like, as has happened in the past. I know I shouldn't let those fears cripple me, and I guess they don't, but they certainly affect my decision-making, at least, moreso than they have in the past. *sigh* At any rate, I'll let you folks know what I'm doing as soon as I do.
On a less stressful note, I've had a great week, and randomly spent the last few days in Paris. And you can't go wrong with Paris in July. In fact, it's hard to go wrong with Paris at any time of the year. Oxford is looking all right too, and I will enjoy the last few weeks of summer that I have here. It will certainly be difficult to say goodbye...
Brett, enjoying some Pimm's & Lemonade while
punting up the Cherwell river in Oxford.
The whole crew in front of Sacre Coeur on top of
Montmartre. From L to R: Me, Cassie, Brett and Brad.
The point is this: I have 6 weeks or so left on my UK working holiday visa and need to decide what to do next. I know it's really not that big of a deal, and yet I keep making it into one inside of my head. I want to make a good decision, where ever I end up -- and I'm afraid of committing to something I don't like, as has happened in the past. I know I shouldn't let those fears cripple me, and I guess they don't, but they certainly affect my decision-making, at least, moreso than they have in the past. *sigh* At any rate, I'll let you folks know what I'm doing as soon as I do.
On a less stressful note, I've had a great week, and randomly spent the last few days in Paris. And you can't go wrong with Paris in July. In fact, it's hard to go wrong with Paris at any time of the year. Oxford is looking all right too, and I will enjoy the last few weeks of summer that I have here. It will certainly be difficult to say goodbye...
Brett, enjoying some Pimm's & Lemonade whilepunting up the Cherwell river in Oxford.
The whole crew in front of Sacre Coeur on top ofMontmartre. From L to R: Me, Cassie, Brett and Brad.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
En France
A demain, je vais aller a Paris pour trois jours parce qu'il est Juillet (le bon meteo!) et je ne sais pas quand je vais avoir une autre opportunitie (?) pour visiter France.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Thank goodness for the CBC
I'm really glad that articles like this get printed (or posted...electronically...whatever).
The article explains how the family of the soldier wants everyone to know that he was disillusioned with his duty in Afghanistan and then in true Canadian fashion, finishes with the following quote from the Defence Minister:
While we're on the subject, I'd like to point out that while doing some research for this post, I discovered that Canada's Minister of National Defence previously worked as a lobbyist for several major companies in the defense industry.
This is rather ironic, considering how much the Conservative Party campaigned with their platform of government accountability. In fact, their own website states that "The Conservative Party will stand up for tough new lobbying rules and an end to the revolving door that allows former ministers, political aides, and top bureaucrats to turn around and lobby the government." But it appears they have no problem with former lobbyists becoming cabinet members and then handing over contracts to the companies they used to work for, eh??
The article explains how the family of the soldier wants everyone to know that he was disillusioned with his duty in Afghanistan and then in true Canadian fashion, finishes with the following quote from the Defence Minister:
He added that despite Boneca's death, morale remains high.
"Morale of the troops in Afghanistan is literally fantastic, as it is back here in Canada."
Right.While we're on the subject, I'd like to point out that while doing some research for this post, I discovered that Canada's Minister of National Defence previously worked as a lobbyist for several major companies in the defense industry.
This is rather ironic, considering how much the Conservative Party campaigned with their platform of government accountability. In fact, their own website states that "The Conservative Party will stand up for tough new lobbying rules and an end to the revolving door that allows former ministers, political aides, and top bureaucrats to turn around and lobby the government." But it appears they have no problem with former lobbyists becoming cabinet members and then handing over contracts to the companies they used to work for, eh??
More Social Commentary
Yes, the Italians won the cup and yes, the headbutt by Zidane was disgraceful.
Walking home last night, Cornmarket St. was filled with a large group of Italians waving flags and singing songs, it was kinda cute.
And so ends my World Cup blogging, onto something more interesting.
I've been following this discussion on the BBC website...instead of rehashing it, I'll just copy and paste the first two paragraphs:
"Tory leader David Cameron will call for greater understanding of teenage “hoodies”, saying that they are trying to "blend in" rather than appear threatening.
Hooded tops are seen by some as a symbol of social disorder and have been banned at some venues including the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent."
Now what fascinates me is this:
In Canada, the US and Australia we don't have NEARLY the same prevalence of CCTV as there is here in the UK. In fact, I remember being freaked out the first time I went to London and seeing the 'You are being recorded" signs everywhere (and now I'm more disturbed by the fact that I seem to have grown accustomed to it!). Simultaneously, while we have our fair share of youth crime, there is absolutely no stigma in youth wearing hoodies. It's just what kids wear!
So in this discussion, there are all of these comments about how hoodies should be banned because they help to hide your face from CCTV cameras while your commiting a crime. Now, I'm not claiming that Canada, the US or Australia necessarily have better penal systems than the UK (they might, I'm really not familiar with them at all) but I find it interesting that in this CCTV culture, the answer seems to be "let's catch them on camera so we can punish them" rather than "let's look at the causes of their criminal behaviour, and prevent that from happening in the first place."
So in a political sense, I don't know if this will help Cameron or not...he'll alienate a lot of his traditional base who think hoodies are evil and that those who wear them are scum, and yet he might appeal to more moderate conservatives. But who else are the hardcore right-wingers going to vote for? I guess they could throw their support behind fringe parties like UKIP and BNP, but that would ultimately just give more power to Labour and Lib Dem. Interesting...
In closing, I'd like to share a picture (from a previous post) that I took in London a while back:
Walking home last night, Cornmarket St. was filled with a large group of Italians waving flags and singing songs, it was kinda cute.
And so ends my World Cup blogging, onto something more interesting.
I've been following this discussion on the BBC website...instead of rehashing it, I'll just copy and paste the first two paragraphs:
"Tory leader David Cameron will call for greater understanding of teenage “hoodies”, saying that they are trying to "blend in" rather than appear threatening.
Hooded tops are seen by some as a symbol of social disorder and have been banned at some venues including the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent."
Now what fascinates me is this:
In Canada, the US and Australia we don't have NEARLY the same prevalence of CCTV as there is here in the UK. In fact, I remember being freaked out the first time I went to London and seeing the 'You are being recorded" signs everywhere (and now I'm more disturbed by the fact that I seem to have grown accustomed to it!). Simultaneously, while we have our fair share of youth crime, there is absolutely no stigma in youth wearing hoodies. It's just what kids wear!
So in this discussion, there are all of these comments about how hoodies should be banned because they help to hide your face from CCTV cameras while your commiting a crime. Now, I'm not claiming that Canada, the US or Australia necessarily have better penal systems than the UK (they might, I'm really not familiar with them at all) but I find it interesting that in this CCTV culture, the answer seems to be "let's catch them on camera so we can punish them" rather than "let's look at the causes of their criminal behaviour, and prevent that from happening in the first place."
So in a political sense, I don't know if this will help Cameron or not...he'll alienate a lot of his traditional base who think hoodies are evil and that those who wear them are scum, and yet he might appeal to more moderate conservatives. But who else are the hardcore right-wingers going to vote for? I guess they could throw their support behind fringe parties like UKIP and BNP, but that would ultimately just give more power to Labour and Lib Dem. Interesting...
In closing, I'd like to share a picture (from a previous post) that I took in London a while back:
Saturday, July 08, 2006
PostScript
I just read this awesome story on the CBC website and thought it would make a suitable follow up to yesterday's post. Here's the first two paragraphs from the article:
"A 26-year-old Montreal man appears to have succeeded in his quest to barter a single, red paper-clip all the way up to a house.
It took almost a year and 14 trades, but Kyle MacDonald has been offered a two-storey farmhouse in Kipling, Sask., for a paid role in a movie."
If ever there was a case for the Internet revolutionizing human interaction, surely this is it!
Friday, July 07, 2006
A World in Flux
I have to admit, I didn't find out about the July 7th bombings last year until 3pm when my mother called me from Canada (I was still asleep in bed).
From all that has, can and will be said about the events, I think one of the most interesting articles to come out of it is this one.
It's about how July 7th was really the first time that the mainstream media accepted 'user-generated content' over professional journalism (largely because it all occured underground and they couldn't get 'professionals' on to the scene). I think this is fascinating, however what interests me even more are the cutural and technological circumstances which were necessary to make this a reality.
What I mean is, if there had been a hypothetical accident when the London Underground first opened in 1863 and you wanted to document it with a camera, you would have had to haul one of those old, big-ass suckers down there to take pictures. Then you would have had to physically develop the photos, send them to a newspaper to publish, which would then be distributed in the local city/county. Whereas these days, almost everyone in the UK has a mobile phone and almost all of the phones have crappy little cameras in them. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection could then upload these photos for the world to see. It's the persasiveness of technology, and global reach of the Internet which fascinates me.
In fact, I'm interested to see how the institution known as 'the press' will change over the next 50 years. Obviously there is still a need for some sort of centralized distribution system (the argument against the scenario I described above is that there are so many websites, how would anyone ever find the pictures and the person's description of them?) and I don't have anything against professional journalists (someone who's trained to relay events is probably better at doing so than someone who's not trained) however I think there is real potential for a paradigm shift -- a dramatic, far-reaching one.
On a similar note, I recently realized that I belong to the last generation which will remember life before the Internet. It's crazy to think that the worldview developed by the next generations will be so deeply entrenched with global connectivity and information at their fingertips. It's a fascinating time to be alive...
From all that has, can and will be said about the events, I think one of the most interesting articles to come out of it is this one.
It's about how July 7th was really the first time that the mainstream media accepted 'user-generated content' over professional journalism (largely because it all occured underground and they couldn't get 'professionals' on to the scene). I think this is fascinating, however what interests me even more are the cutural and technological circumstances which were necessary to make this a reality.
What I mean is, if there had been a hypothetical accident when the London Underground first opened in 1863 and you wanted to document it with a camera, you would have had to haul one of those old, big-ass suckers down there to take pictures. Then you would have had to physically develop the photos, send them to a newspaper to publish, which would then be distributed in the local city/county. Whereas these days, almost everyone in the UK has a mobile phone and almost all of the phones have crappy little cameras in them. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection could then upload these photos for the world to see. It's the persasiveness of technology, and global reach of the Internet which fascinates me.
In fact, I'm interested to see how the institution known as 'the press' will change over the next 50 years. Obviously there is still a need for some sort of centralized distribution system (the argument against the scenario I described above is that there are so many websites, how would anyone ever find the pictures and the person's description of them?) and I don't have anything against professional journalists (someone who's trained to relay events is probably better at doing so than someone who's not trained) however I think there is real potential for a paradigm shift -- a dramatic, far-reaching one.
On a similar note, I recently realized that I belong to the last generation which will remember life before the Internet. It's crazy to think that the worldview developed by the next generations will be so deeply entrenched with global connectivity and information at their fingertips. It's a fascinating time to be alive...
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