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| I'm giving my notice on Monday |
| 07.31.05 (8:25 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
Swank Home
Andrew’s Page
On the cabin, that is.
Then I can be out at the end of August, and into an apartment.
Four months of living in a cabin in the woods will be enough for me. It was fun, but there are certain things I miss.
Like electricity, running water and having a phone.
Besides, winter is coming. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw snow here before the end of September, so it might be best to get out before that. Cold is not good. And I doubt my car would be able to make it up and down the steep, unpaved road leading to the cabin if it was icy.
The best plan would be to find a place within walking distance of downtown, and then leave my car at home most days. When I lived here before, I had a place about a kilometre from work, and I walked every day, no matter how cold it got.
I also think I'm going to propose an idea to my boss: for the freelancing, that instead of paying me piece by piece for everything submitted, I be paid a flat amount for submitting a certain minimum.
It'd be to their advantage, because it'd cost them less. They could print more stuff without worrying about budgeting.
And the advantages to me would be twofold. I'd get more stuff printed, with much more potential for photo spreads and front page photos, and I'd get a title out of it. I'd no longer be a "freelancer." Instead, I'd become a "reporter" or maybe even an "arts editor."
That would be cool. Though I'd make a little less, it'd make the work experience gained here a lot more valuable.
To read a concert review by Andrew Hoshkiw go to http://www.hoshq.com/port/sta...
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| Mike's Musings - Bad Poet’s Society |
| 07.31.05 (8:24 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mike
Swank Home
Mike’s Page
Happy Poem
shave and engrave
enslave me with rabies
my hands are the plague
one foot in the gravy
Angry Poem
fuck this
fuck that
fuck you
fuck us
fucky fucky fucky
at the back of the fuck bus
Sad Non Rhyming Poem
my birch bark soul
awake
to watch myself sleep
in a waking dream,
your hangnail
lucid
smells like coffee
and pine,
the bottom of the sea
a thousand starving fax machines
woah
love ain't no stranger
Sexy Poem
if you’re horny, let’s do it
ride it, my pony
my saddle’s waitin’
come and jump on it*
*[I actually stole this one from Ginuwine. What the hell happened to Ginuwine? He's probably on some island with Skee-Lo and Lou Bega.]
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| Atom Films |
| 07.31.05 (8:22 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Big Jeff
Atom Films
When I was trolling around on the internet, I came across an interesting and eclectic website. It was through the Jamie Oliver website that I found a link to an animated website called www.bigjeff.tv, which is kind of funny if you like nudity, swearing, and Australia (which, oddly enough, I do!). From there, I found a link to www.atomfilms.com.
On this site there are a variety of short films and animated shorts; as well, they have the animated video for The Arcade Fire's song 'Neighbourhood #3 (Power Cut).
This site is one you could spend a lot of time in, and I'm looking forward to doing more of that in the days to come.
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| I'm not convinced |
| 07.31.05 (8:21 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
Swank Home
Andrew’s Page
Has anyone been following the Yukon Bigfoot story that's been going on here? It's been covered by all the international media. Read about it at these sites:
BBC News
Los Angeles Times
Globe and Mail
Reuters
I'm not convinced there's no Bigfoot though. How can nine people say they saw it, and then have it turn out to be a bison? My theory is the Sasquatch was simply wearing bison firs. Maybe I'll take a drive this weekend out to Teslin to see if I can get photos of the elusive creature.
image from http://mujweb.cz/cestovani
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| Dawson City was Awesome |
| 07.31.05 (8:20 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
Swank Home
Andrew’s Page
I don't know though whether to declare it the best festival of the summer.
Dawson had better music, but Atlin was more festive.
And Haines Junction had both great music and partying.
Maybe a tie between the three?
Which ever was best, it doesn't matter. They all had their highlights. It was a great experience getting to go to all of them. I feel blessed to have had this opportunity.
I've always envisioned arts journalism to be a lot of fun, and it has been. In less than three months, I've met over a hundred bands, and very few of them have disappointed me.
Most were names I had never heard of. Now, I think that if I ever come across a concert by any of these artists, I won't pass it up:
Gob, Amoral Minority, Wayne Lavallee, Nemesis, Fuller's Earth, The Whiskeydicks, The James King Band, Down to the Wood, Canadian Whitewater Bluegrass, Scott MacLeod, Dec and the As, Say No More, Ivonne Hernandez, Chester Knight and the Wind, Soir de Semaine, DobaCaracol, Greg MacPherson, Joel Plaskett, Eivor Palsdottir and Bill Bourne
I handled the Dawson festival completely differently from the previous five. Rather than following it up with a long, tiresome article full of praise for the organizers with short snippets of interviews with as many musicians as possible, this time I hardly talked to anyone besides the artists, and conducted a few interviews.
I ended up writing two stories, focusing on a total of four musicians with longer, more in-depth interviews.
My initial reasoning for doing it this way was because I was pissy about the organizers. They wouldn't let me in the hospitality tent, meaning I had limited access to the musicians and no access to the free food, and they were temperamental whenever I was in the backstage area.
But I couldn't write something bad, not after hearing such great music.
Oh, and did I mention I gave a ride up to the festival a reporter from the other paper? It's true. He couldn't find a way of getting there, and I had space.
His plan was to find a ride back Sunday, or hitch if necessary. I had booked Monday off so that I could enjoy the Sunday night performances and parties.
But, when I found him Sunday evening out of luck, stuck and afraid of losing his job, I said we could just leave at midnight, after the show ended, and get back around 5:00 a.m.
Which is what we did. It was okay though. I saw all the music I wanted to see, and really had had enough partying and camping.
Anyhow, about 50 km north of Whitehorse, the low fuel light went on, and we began to get worried. But we made it. I filled the tank at the first open gas station. By my estimate, there was less than half a litre of fuel left.
So there are no more music festivals now. All I have to look forward to now are art openings, theatre performances and the occasional concert. They'll have to do, I guess.
This weekend there's some sort of native celebration a little west of here. I think I'll go to that. Wayne Lavallee will be playing,
And then the next long weekend is mid-August, and not at the start of the month like most Canadians have. Maybe I'll go for a drive, check out Anchorage...
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| Is it a scarf? |
| 07.31.05 (8:19 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Is it a scarf? Is it a belt? Or is it a headband? No, it's Superman... I mean, super accessory!
I'm talking about the skinny scarf - you know the one. You see them everywhere, literally - because they are just so darned versatile! Wear it as a tie or wrap it around your neck like a scarf; sling it through your belt loops and tie in over your hip; or tie your hair back with it (Prada was showing a lot of these in their spring show...). And the more colourful, the better! Pretty much any type of material goes (short of the wool scarf that grandma knitted scarf for you the Christmas you turned eight).
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| "Long-term offender re-arrested by police" |
| 07.31.05 (8:18 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
Swank Home
Andrew’s Page
Read the CBC story Here
This guy, John Sam from Whitehorse, has been arrested and convicted of molesting children three times. Now he's been arrested again on various charges.
My question is, why do we keep letting these people out of prison? What's the point, when it just seems they're going to re-offend over and over and over?
You'd think the criminal justice people would come to realize that maybe this guy has a problem and maybe he shouldn't be out walking the streets.
Here's article
the article from February, when he was released on parole. According to the article, at the time of his release, police said "he is considered a high risk to re-offend against women and children."
But they had to let him out, as he had served his full 27-month sentence. The whole thing seems rather disgusting to me. 27 months doesn't seem like an appropriate length for a first offence, let alone the third.
And it says he refused treatment while in prison. My god, shouldn't that be a big requirement to getting released? If there's no rehabilitation at all, what good can they hope will come from releasing him?
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| Microsoft Genuine Advantage Validation Tool |
| 07.31.05 (8:16 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
Microsoft have finally begun requiring Windows users to verify that their copy of Windows is genuine before downloading add-ons or updates to the OS via Windows Update.
I also just read on LCF’s blog that security updates are exempt from this check.
And interestingly enough, this verification check has been cracked with a beautifully simple solution - details here.
solution
I have no problems with these at the office, since all our OSs are either OEM or open-source, so verification took place without a cinch.
But in err… other locales… I might just be tempted to use the crack instead.
Please note - whether or not you use original or pirated OS, please update it. It’s amazing how many people - even so-called IT experts - refuse to protect their PC from harm simply because they believe they are immune.
People - if there’s one thing anyone who is ever online should know - NO ONE IS IMMUNE.
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| Converse Crazy |
| 07.31.05 (8:15 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
image from www.insanus.org
I go to lots of concerts, and overwhelmingly, the footwear of choice is the Converse All Star.
But this shoe is not new - oh no! The Converse All Star has been around for - get this - almost 80 years! Yes, indeed, 1917 is the date that the Converse All Star was first produced, if you can believe it. And since I've yet to see a picture of a flapper wearing these shoes, I do, quite frankly, have a hard time believing it! But it is, indeed, a fact.
There are about 400 different versions of the All Star produced every year (and that does not include the knock-offs!). Since 1923, over 750 million pairs have been sold.
For more information, go to:
Converse
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| 5 Feet Away From An Angel |
| 07.31.05 (8:14 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
I never learn my lesson.
Not long after a close encounter with a Goddess, I found myself today within whispering distance of my favourite Malaysian Idol - Jaclyn Victor. (The Jaclyn Victor Fan Club website is, sadly, only viewable in IE. If you know who the webmaster is, please flog him in public.)
Once again, I wished I had a camera with me….
However, my colleagues at the office keep saying that, in lieu of a photograph, I should have acquired her autograph.
Thing is, I’m not really much of an autograph-hunter. Even when I was a kid studying in La Salle, Brickfields, and I would walk home from my school past the DBKL sports training ground, and I’d see local footballing heroes like Fandi Ahmad and Lim Teong Kim drinking teh tarik at a nearby stall, even then I never went and asked for their autographs.
The reason is this: no one would believe me. How many people know the signature of Fandi Ahmad? Or Lim Teong Kim? Or even Jaclyn Victor?
Not many.
Which basically means I could sign a piece of paper using Jac’s name (notice how I’m pretending to be on a first name basis with her? I love being deluded...) and pass it off as her autograph.
Not a very satisfying con to pull.
But a photograph though... a picture is worth a thousand words… or maybe slightly less these days, depending on the current exchange rate.
So, from now on, I’m gonna be bringing my little amateur point-and-shoot camera EVERYWHERE. So watch out, selebriti-selebriti Malaysia, ‘cos here comes da Sashi!
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| Window Shopping, Seattle-style |
| 07.31.05 (8:12 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
We went down to Seattle to see The Go! Team in concert, and decided to stay on a couple of days. The morning after the concert we did some window shopping in the downtown core. There are quite a few stores there that we don't have in Vancouver (Barney's New York, Sephora, Betsey Johnson, etc.), so it was interesting just snooping around, takin' a gander - whatever colloquialism one wants to use.
At Barney's, there were two major trends I observed: the boho look that has been around for a while (and that I hope is leaving soon!), and another that's both old and new - that beautiful late 1950s/early 1960s form-fitting look with fitted jackets, pencil skirts, 3/4 length sleeve, a few Peter Pan collars - just think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Mary Tyler Moore on the Dick Van Dyke show and you'll know what I'm talking about. Personally, this is a look I love - it is just SO becoming!
At Betsey Johnson we saw a lot of flounce, and pink and black seemed to be the colour of the hour. Elsewhere, there was a definite trend that pervaded most other stores: pink, brown and blue where the consistent colour choices being shown.
And guys, if you're looking for a new winter coat, pea jackets seem to be the order of the day.
You heard it here first!
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| Talkr.com: Podcast your blog! |
| 07.31.05 (8:11 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
As I was browsing Paul Tan’s car blog, I noticed that he had added a link titled “Listen Audio Blog“. It’s a link to an MP3 of a female voice reading the contents of the particular post. Cool!
Being the curious cat that I am, I investigated further, checking out talkr.com http://www.talkr.com/ and registering for free. The concept is similar to online RSS-feedreaders, in that you sign up and then browse RSS feeds to subscribe. The only difference here is that once you select an RSS feed, talkr.com then not only adds the feed to its database, but it also converts the text to speech. Once this is done, it displays a page containing the posts in the feed, with a link to an MP3 file of each post displayed alongside it.
It has its limitations, but still pretty cool…
By the way, I’ve added a link to the audio version of this post here.
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| Using Google Ads to display Amazon ads |
| 07.31.05 (8:09 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
OK, I don’t know if anyone would have noticed this, but occasionally, in the Google ad sections above and on the sidebar, instead of seeing a typical Google Ad, you might have spotted an Amazon.com ad instead.
It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
I did this because I was kinda tired of seeing the Public Service Ads displayed whenever Google can’t find any keywords worth selling on my blog - which, sadly enough, is most of the time.
This really isn’t a big deal, but after reading this post, Help
I figured I might as well share the method. It’s pretty simple, of course, and anyone would be able to figure it out if they just thought about it….
And before anyone asks, let me point out that Google’s Adsense policy does allow this.
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| Snobgirls |
| 07.31.05 (8:08 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Dry hair? Damaged hair? Frizzy hair?
Did you answer yes to any - or all - of the above? Then have I got a product for you!
Snobgirls Paris Hair Vitamin Serum is a funky new product designed to improve brittle, coloured, or unmanageable hair. This product is a serum loaded with vitamins that comes in a cute little capsule that one just twists open then applies to the hair - no shampooing or rinsing required. Available at select drugstores and salons near you.
Go to: Snobgirls
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| Alternate Ads |
| 07.31.05 (8:07 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
If you have elected to receive contextually targeted ads, you can make sure that your advertising space is always being used effectively, either by targeted Google ads, or by your own choice of content by specifying an image or ad server of your choice. However, you may not specify Google ads as your alternate ads.
So, first up, you need an Amazon.com Associate membership signup
. It’s free, so go and sign up.
Once you’ve signed up, login and click on ‘Build Links’. Then click on ‘Recommended Product Links’. Select the desired Product Category, keywords or subcategory, then select the ad size to correspond to your Google ad size.
You will then be provided with HTML code to be embedded in a page. Copy and paste that code in a text editor, and wrap the code with basic HTML tags like the html, head and body tags.
Now, you’ve gotta upload this file to a server where it can be easily accessed using your browser. I’ve hosted the file that I use for the above ad here. You can see the source code to see what I meant by wrapping the Amazon code with regular HTML, if you didn’t understand I was saying..
Then, login to your blog CMS, and view the HTML template of the page where you have your Google ad code.
Add this line: google_alternate_ad_url = "[full URL of the page containing the Amazon.com HTML code]"; just after this line: google_ad_client = "pub-xxxxxxxxxxxx";
And that’s it. You might never see Amazon ads displayed in place of Google ads if you have a high-traffic website with tonnes of marketable keywords, but if you’re like me, and you’re tired of PSAs, give this a go and you might catch a glimpse of an Amazon ad or two in the future.
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| Vancouver Art Gallery (June 18-Sept. 22) |
| 07.31.05 (8:05 pm) [edit] |
Currently at the Vancouver Art Gallery is Vancouver's first ever major Rodin exhibit. This is also the first time in thirty years that any Rodin pieces have been shown in Vancouver.
The young sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) was denied entrance into the top art schools of the time, which was likely a liberating experience for him as he was able to go on to become one of the most important pioneers of modern sculpture through his use of fragmentation and his depiction of the frailty and vulnerability of the human body.
Rodin is most famous for his works 'The Thinker', 'The Kiss', and 'The Burghers of Calais', and this exhibit features a number of versions and studies for these works (including the heads of a couple of the burghers), as well as a number of his smaller works.
In his prime, Rodin was considered the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo, and this exhibit has enough pieces in it to allow one to see the development and progression of his work - you can decide for yourself.
Other exhibits at the gallery include Body: New Art from the UK. This exhibit is actually what attracted me to the VAG on the day of my visit, but frankly I was disappointed by it. Based on the theme of the body, the exhibit features a collection of work by 13 contemporary British artists, about half of them hailing from the yBa (young British artist) group, a loose collective. Their commentary on social rupture and dissent has been described as being aggressive and 'in your face', but just left me flat. The one bright spot in the exhibit was the self portraiture of photographer Sarah Lucas.
Next was Franz West (May 28-Sept. 12), who is one of Europe's best known contemporary sculptors. His exhibit was divided into three different categories: Passstucke (Adaptives), Sculpture, and Furniture. Taking his inspiration from the performance art of of the Viennese Actionism movement of the 1960s, his adaptatives work involves pieces that are designed to be handled and posed with. Call me lazy, but I don't want to have to work at something myself to make it 'art' - that's the artist's job. I found this exhibit to be rudimentary at best.
My favourite piece of the day was found in the Wang Du: Parade exhibit. The artist is an Asian who is now permanently based in Paris. He is a sculptor who works in images that originate in the mass media. Essentially, he takes 2-D images and recreates them in a 3-D form. I especially liked 'Enter' (2004), a piece that had been commissioned for this exhibited and was done in a style reminiscent of R. Crumb.
image by www.paris-art.com
Overall, I was once again disappointed with my trip to the gallery. Having been to a number of well-known galleries in Europe, I often find, in comparison, that the offerings at the VAG are presented in a very antiseptic way. It's a sad thing for me to say, as I always enjoy cheering for the home team, but in this case, I just can't give this exhibit my stamp of approval.
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| Support The Blogathonners |
| 07.31.05 (8:04 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
So, yeah, go to Blogathon.org, register yourself for free and sponsor any blogger (or group of bloggers) in their very commendable attempts to raise money for charity.
The minimum amount you can pledge is USD $1 (RM 3.8). I was thinking of donating USD $5 for one Malaysian blogger, but then couldn’t decide which one to support, so I ended pledging USD $1 each for 6 of them. I’m Anonymous, by the way…
They are:
YvonneFoong.com/Eden Handicap Service Center
Footsteps in the Mirror/National Cancer Society of Malaysia
Bloggers Are Morons/Hospice-At-Home-Pr ogramme, Penang branch (under the Malaysia National Cancer Society)
.:: Dustyhawk :: Broken Mirror ::./Unicef Malaysia
PrimaryBasic/National Cancer Council (MAKNA)
reality really bites/National Kidney Foundation
(List copied from LcF)
While RM 3.8 USD $1 sounds like a small sum, many such small sums can add up to quite a lot.
So, go on then, support our bloggers.
UPDATE: And another thing - obviously, come the blogathon, the blogathonners will be pinging PPS quite a bit. Given PPS’ limitations, if everyone pings PPS at the same time as these bloggers, it’s possible that their message will get sidelined by other non-blogathon-pings, or conversely, the non-blogathon-pings might get drowned out by the sheer number of blogathon-pings. So perhaps, it might be prudent for us non-blogathonners to avoid pinging PPS during the 24-hour blogathon-period in order to give space for their message to be heard loud and clear.
Oh, wait. I just realized I don’t have many readers… Ah, screw it.
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| Collage Exhibit: A Wandering Mind or Memory Echoes |
| 07.31.05 (8:03 pm) [edit] |
The Art of Karen Kroeker
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Karen Kroeker is a talented multi-media collage artist who is staging her first solo exhibit, having participated in a number of successful group shows recently.
Of special interest is a series of collages (14 in all) based on the same theme, that of a single female image found in an old fashion magazine. In addition, there are a number of other single pieces in the show.
Kroeker works in paper, fabric, paint, ink, oil and chalk pastel. About her work, she says "the images tell stories if you look at them carefully, and take some time to connect what you are looking at." She has been a full time secondary art teacher in Surrey for 29 years.
The exhibit is running August 5-27 at the White Rock Community Arts Council Gallery, which is located at 15232 Russell Avenue, White Rock.
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| R.I.P. James “Scotty” Doohan |
| 07.31.05 (8:02 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
Swank Home
Sashi’s Page
Star Trek’s Scotty dies aged 85
Finally, Scotty’s been beamed up.
Actor James Doohan, who played the chief engineer Montgomery Scott in Star Trek, has died at the age of 85.
Doohan, whose role was immortalized in the line “Beam me up, Scotty”, had been suffering from pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease, his agent said.
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| Twilight Drive In |
| 07.31.05 (8:01 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
I read recently that in 1950 there were 2,200 drive-in movie theatres in North America; a year earlier, in 1949, there had only been 1,100. Today, the reverse trend is happening, with drive-in theatres disappearing faster than snow in the tropics.
Now, many of you will be familiar with drive-in movie theatres as the place young people would go in order to not watch movies (if you follow my drift...). But plenty of people have other sorts of happy memories of youthful hi-jinks at drive-in theatres, many involving smuggling friends into the theatre in their car trunk or other similarly kooky antics. One of my favorite memories of the drive-in is the old 'wiener in the bun' ad for the concession with its kitschy double entendre.
Currently, the Greater Vancouver area has been without a drive-in movie theatre for two years following the closure of Cloverdale's Hilltop Drive-in at the end of summer, 2003. With sky-rocketing land prices and development rampant, the owner of the Hilltop was forced to re-locate - and it hasn't been an easy task. Finding a new place was chore number one; gaining all the necessary permits was the next step. Then came the unexpected - while erecting the new screen, a problem caused the whole structure to collapse. A lengthy wait followed as the insurance companies duked it out, but now the Lower Mainland's only drive-in movie theatre is about to open: the Twilight Drive-in, located on Fraser Highway and 260th Street in Aldergrove, is preparing to open in time for the BC Day long weekend.
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| Asmussen |
| 07.31.05 (7:59 pm) [edit] |
Submittted by The Political Heretic
Swank Home
Heretic’s Site
The latest two postings
from The Bad Reporter can be found here. I love the part about New York Times reporter Judith Miller converting to Islam while in jail. That's a classic.
I'll be out during the day tomorrow but I will return for more writing tomorrow evening and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's new stance on cloning and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's statements concerning Iraq's political future will be included in those writings.
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| Seattle's Best Latte |
| 07.31.05 (7:58 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Just next door to Subpop Records is Uptown Espresso ("Home of the Velvet Foam"), a shop that claims they make Seattle's best latte (based on a poll done by the New York Times and other sources, apparently).
Seattle is, of course, home to the world famous Starbucks chain, and the not-quite-as-big-but-gett ing-bigger Seattle's Best Coffee chain. I had already had a Starbucks latte for breakfast that morning, so I did have some basis for comparison. I was curious about this claim - was it true? Was it a David vs. Goliath thing? Or were they just blowin' smoke, trying to play with the big boys?
I ordered a latte, and although it was good, it was merely on par with the one I had had in the morning: my breakfast Starbucks one had been too milky (a rare thing), whereas the UE latte left me with a slightly bitter aftertaste. As well, it was a little sparse on their famous 'velvet foam'.
So, not horrible by any stretch, but I have had better... although, come to think of it, not in Seattle. So perhaps what they say is true, after all...
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| Busy Busy |
| 07.31.05 (7:56 pm) [edit] |
Submittted by Rob Williams
Swank Home
Rob’s Page
I'm sorry i haven't been updating too often. I’m busy planning/prepping for the wedding.
Man, oh man, there is a lot to do. A lot of little teeny tiny important things to do and remember.
But it's all coming together. I'm not going to go into it (you can read the wedding blog wedding
to see what's going on), but let's just say they know me now at Party City.
Wish I had time to work on my book. I'm sneaking in time here and there, but certainly not as much as i should be.
I have to say, I'm getting a bit sad about leaving NYC. I love it here. I really do, but I just can't seem to get ahead here. Financially, I mean (I know, I know. Who can?). And I’d like to slow down a bit. and I'd like to be closer to my family (geographically and emotionally). So that's why moving to San Diego is going to be a good thing. I just know it. (Not to mention Ted going back to do his PhD at UCSD). But still... NYC has been wonderful to me. I've loved it all. Even the hard times.
Ok. I'm not ready yet to get all emotional and sentimental and I do not have time to do a long, drawn out blog so I'll leave it at that for now.
Well, that, and this picture of lanky, adorable 1940s actor/dancer Ray McDonald (Babes on Broadway, Till the Clouds Roll By).
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| Il Fornaio, Seattle |
| 07.31.05 (7:55 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
image from http://www.dinnerbroker.com/
On our first night in Seattle to see The Go! Team, we decided to walk around and see the sights. Coming back to the hotel, Dave spotted a restaurant down the road, just a block away, but we decided to go back to the hotel and see what the restaurant guide recommended.
As one can imagine, there were were many places to choose from, and many of them featured seafood (which doesn't excite me much, and excites Dave even less). Some of the places we were interested in were too far away; others were too expensive. Eventually we settled on Il Fornaio, which looked to be quite close, and lo and behold - it was the place Dave had spied earlier!
Turns out Il Fornaio started in Italy as a bakery in 1972, and then made its way across the ocean to North America. Chef Franz Junga had maintained an Italian theme, complete with Italian being the language of choice of the kitchen staff (and some of the servers, judging by their accents).
We were seated immediately, and the decor was very pleasing. Although it had been very hot outside, the restaurant was air conditioned so we were very comfortable. Right away our waitress brought a side plate, onto which she poured olive oil and then drizzled some balsamic vinegar. We were given some freshly baked bread, which was absolutely perfect - we were expected to dip this into the oil/vinegar mixture.
Dave ordered a Caesar salad to start, and it came looking a little more like a Chef's salad than a Caesar, complete with hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, and anchovies draped over the top (when, oh when will Americans learn to incorporate the anchovies into the dressing). So, not your classic looking Caesar, but was very good none the less - the dressing was a little more tart than the creamier Caesar we're used to, but it was still very good.
Then came out main course. Dave had ordered the Calzone, which came looking absolutely exquisite - like a work of art, almost. The crust was beautifully done, made up like a fancy pastry, and inside the calzone was a taste sensation with a variety of cheeses, meats and vegetables, which melded together without being overwhelming.
I had ordered the Steak Gorgonzola, which came topped with mushrooms and had a Tuscan salad on the side. The steak was perfectly done, and actually had fat along the side, which just added to the flavour. The gorgonzola and mushroom combination was exquisite.
For dessert Dave had homemade ice cream, while I had the raspberry cheese cake. Both were wonderful.
Throughout the meal, the wait staff was very attentive (but not annoyingly so) and frequently re-filled our waters and fizzy Italian lemonade (now there's a drink I'm going to try again!).
Overall, a fantastic dinner experience, and all for less than $50. You can't go wrong with that!
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| The Dahlia Lounge |
| 07.31.05 (7:53 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
When Dave and I were looking for places to go to dinner our first night in Seattle, we kept running into this name: Chef Tom Douglas. About three or four restaurants were connected with this 'legendary' Seattle chef, and so for our second day in Seattle, we decided to hit one of these spots, The Dahlia Lounge, which is located in the Belltown area of Seattle.
We were seated immediately, drinks were brought and we were served homemade bread within a matter of minutes. I ordered the Cobb Salad, while Dave went for the cheeseburger.
I've always wanted to try a Cobb Salad, but rarely run across one on a restaurant menu - here was my chance. My salad came topped with a very rare beef and had bacon bits, guacamole, boiled egg, heritage cherry tomatoes, and blue cheese on the side. This meal was a taste bud fantasy! Exquisite! The best meal I've ever had - or, at any rate, certainly the best lunch.
Dave's cheeseburger was extremely rare (the waitress had checked with him that this was okay beforehand - apparently this is the way they serve it). They grind their own beef in the restaurant, so I guess that decreases the risk of any food-born illnesses. But frankly, I'd risk any food-born illness for a bite of that burger again. A moister, juicier, more flavourful meat I've never had.
For dessert, I ordered the coconut cream pie, while Dave ordered the devil's food cake and ice cream with a red wine swirl. But, back to my pie: now, I don't usually like pie so I rarely order/eat it, but I can't pass up coconut cream. This one was unbelievably lush, with real coconut inside, topped with real whipped cream and white chocolate flakes mingled with toasted coconut. I wasn't as keen on the crust, finding it a bit bland, but Dave loved it, pronouncing it 'shortcake-like'. Hey, what do I know? His cake was richer than a king, obviously made with top quality dark chocolate, and the ice cream had the most interesting after taste.
Dave had ordered a strawberry cream soda which was okay, he felt, but he wouldn't order one again: he doesn't like soda water, and this was basically soda water, cream and strawberry juice/flavouring - not really his thing. I had a lemonade, which was very flavourful, and finished with coffee (they serve Starbucks).
Our meal was around the $40 mark, and this is a restaurant which I will immediately look up next time I'm in Seattle.
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| Calling All Pirates |
| 07.31.05 (7:52 pm) [edit] |
Submittted by Rob Williams
Swank Home
Rob’s Page
Did you know I played a pirate in a show at Sea World in the late 80s? I did. (In fact I think I’ve blogged about it before...) I wore short striped pants and a puffy shirt and an eye patch and carried a sword and even had to march in a parade following a big ship on wheels and several people dressed in dolphin and starfish costumes.
You can read about it in my article "A Pirate Life for Me" in Maisonneuve Magazine (Jan/Feb 2005 back issue).Pirate Life
i wonder if they'd let me audition for Pirates of the Carribean III? there's an open Casting Call
for it at the Ricardo Montalban Theater (hey, if Burt Reynolds has his own theater, certainly Mr. Roarke deserves one, right?) in Los Angeles on July 30! this is some of what they are looking for:
"Extreme characters and hideously unattractive types, ages 18-50. Odd body shapes or very lean to extremely skinny. Missing teeth, wandering eyes and serial killer looks with real long hair & beards. Wigs & makeup are not what we're looking for. We also need little people, very large sumo wrestler types, extremely tall or extremely short people, albinos, amputees. Any size or shape that is NOT average is best. All ethnicities. Mostly men, very few women"...
Oh wait, that's the day of my wedding. Damn!
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| Jamie's Kitchen |
| 07.31.05 (7:51 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
image from www.shock.com.au
Sometimes a show that seems okay on TV takes on another dimension when seen on DVD. Being able to watch three or four (or more!) episodes in a row is exactly what some shows need - '24' being a case in point. I have a really hard time watching that show on TV, but couldn't shut the thing off when we saw it on DVD - I was glued to the set.
Jamie's Kitchen is another show that falls into that category. I'd seen one or two partial episodes while flicking channels, and thought it was merely okay. But when we got it on DVD and watched each episode in sequence - WOW!
The idea behind the show is that Jamie Oliver, the 26 year old British wunderkind of the kitchen, takes his riches and puts his money where his mouth is. He hand-picks 15 young unemployed British youth and puts them into a crash course where they train to be chefs in a not-for-profit restaurant Jamie opens. We see the idea basically from its genesis, with Jamie culling his chosen 15 from the hundreds who turned up for the casting call, and hunting for a suitable restaurant to open.
As with many reality-type shows, the focus is often on the problems and failures that result: from students who can't cut it and drop out; to construction costs that rocket from the original 750,000 pounds to an incredible 2.9 million pounds - all out of Jamie's own pocket. Some of the students' successes are ignored or glossed over in favour of showing the negative aspects of the experience, but hey, I guess that's what sells in TV Land...
Meanwhile, Jamie is dealing with personal things of his own too, such as a wife who is always complaining that he's never home, the birth of his first child, and a rapidly spiraling personal debt...
Through it all, there is the question - is this all a publicity stunt? This question comes up amongst his neophyte chefs, and is the source of much disgruntled murmuring and mumbling early on, which soon rises to a dull roar.
However, as time progresses and you see not only the huge personal sacrifice Jamie is making but also the incredible amount of personal anguish he goes through to get some of his trainees through the program, it soon becomes clear that Jamie is, indeed, extremely sincere in what he is doing.
When you think of what he does here - takes 15 'unemployables' and tries to turn them into world class chefs - it is truly amazing.
And the fact that Jamie himself is a mere 26 years old? Ah, it gives me faith in the youth of today!
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| Geraldine Fitzgerald 1914-2005 |
| 07.31.05 (7:50 pm) [edit] |
Submittted by Rob Williams
Swank Home
Rob’s Page
Smart, beautiful, stubborn (constantly battling Warner Bros head honcho Jack Warner for better roles, resulting in her suspension from the studio numerous times) Irish actress.
Breathtaking and heartbreaking in "Dark Victory" with Bette Davis. I dare you not to cry when you watch the scene with she and Bette are in the garden when Bette starts to lose her sight.
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| The Vance Hotel, Seattle |
| 07.31.05 (7:49 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Dave and I went down to Seattle to catch The Go! Team concert, and decided to stay over-night rather than make the two hour trek back north once the show was over.
Back in June we had looked around on the internet and settled on what promised to be a very grand hotel, but never got around to booking it. So there we were, the day before the show, and we had nowhere to stay. We had discovered that our hotel of choice charged in excess of $400 per night for a room - time to re-think our plan! So back to the internet we went. Scared, I immediately jumped on the cheapest offering, a run of the mill looking place for $140. Still not happy, Dave looked further, and found the next cheapest place - The Vance. Frankly, even with the $40 price difference, there was no comparison - at least from what we could tell from the computer. We booked The Vance.
Arriving in Seattle, it was a very direct and quick 5-10 minutes off the freeway to the hotel. Turns out they offered valet parking and we didn't know where to park, so we took them up on the offer - for only $20 (a good price for parking in Seattle!) we had our car parked in a secure garage - no worries!
The lobby was under construction, but not distressingly so. Any construction-type work was taking place behind the temporary panels that had been put up - and they were personalized, having been autographed by pretty much anyone and everyone (ditto for the front desk).
Check in was quick, the staff was very pleasant, and we headed to our room.
Turns out one needs a key to gain access to the elevator (as well as the rooms), so there was an additional level of security there. Overall, the decor of the lobby and elevators was circa 1920, with lots of wood and marble and oriental carpets. Once on our floor, though, the style morphed into a blend of the old and the new: walls were a charcoal grey, the ceiling and door frames were painted black, and the room doors were papered with full sized black and white art photos depicting architectural scenes (for example, Roniq Bartanen's 'Courtyard, Paris' and 'Parc St. Claude, France' were two). Walking down the hall gave one the sensation of being in an art gallery. All the dark colours were off-set by the carpet, which was adorned with wide bands of black, grey and brilliant pink.
Our room was on the small side, but there was plenty of storage and the bulk of the room was taken up by the bed - and what a bed it was! All in white, piled high with pillows, it looked like a cloud - and felt like one! I don't think I've ever slept in such a comfortable bed before. The TV was very state of the art, all curved stainless steel, which echoed the decor in the bathroom, where the sink was a stainless steel bowl.
Due to construction, there was no restaurant facilities in the hotel, but in the morning the lobby was set up for a continental breakfast where one could come and browse.
Likewise, I didn't see any pool or gym, but frankly, we had no time to use such amenities anyway.
The hotel is very centrally located, right on the edge of the shopping district, and is a short walk over the hill to Pike Place Market, or an equally short walk through trendy Belltown (home of some great restaurants), or to the Space Needle/Experience Music Project.
One small note: the only slightly negative thing we experienced here were problems with the valets (well, 3 of the 4 we dealt with) being unable to start our vehicle - but then, it has an immobilizer on it and apparently that is not a common thing in Seattle, so I can understand the difficulties they had.
Overall, we were extremely happy with our stay and will definitely return there next time we're in town...
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| Apple Dumpling Gangfight |
| 07.31.05 (7:47 pm) [edit] |
Submittted by Rob Williams
Swank Home
Rob’s Page
I really should not be blogging, because it's 11:45 on Monday night and, if you didn't know it, I'm getting married this coming Saturday, July 30, to Ted. But most of you who read this probably know that.
Of course I'm going crazy, I'm busy, I'm stressed, I'm outta my head, but I'm also so very excited and happy. we're having a wonderful celebration, in the most amazing space, with the most incredible friends and family around us.
So, suffice it to say I probably won't be able to blog after tonight for several days (I hope to be back on Monday or so). In the meantime, here is a very cool story about a fellow Columbia MFA-er, Sam Apple, who won the Hemisphere Faux Faulkner contest and is causing quite a stir of controversy with his hilarious story. a sendup of both Faulkner and the Bush administration.
Way to go Sam!!
Read about the controversy here.
Swank Home
controversy
read Sam's great great, award-winning story here
(click on Fiction, then click on the 2005 winner).
(and, order Sam's debut book: Schlepping Through the Alps : My Search for Austria's Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd)Sam’s Book
Whew-- long title! Cool! The tentative title for my collection turned novel is also long (though wait, Sam's book is a title plus a subtitle. Does that count as one long title?)
And, speaking of my book. Yes, did a little work this week on it. Yes, still loving it (I love being able to take my time in chapters and really develop scenes, characters, moments). I love writing a novel!! Just wish I had more time to do it this week...
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| Paul Westerberg: Commodore Ballroom February 17, 2005 |
| 07.30.05 (4:29 pm) [edit] |
Better Late than Never
Paul Westerberg: Commodore Ballroom February 17, 2005
" All the world's a stage, mine just happens to be a medicine cabinet" (Westerberg during the middle of his show)
The performance that Paul Westerberg and his Only Friends (aka ‘The Pharmacists’) gave was a rare experience. The 800 or so people who came to the show rarely ventured into a seat. Paul still loves what he does, rocking & rolling & rolling.
At times the sound got muffled as the soundman tried to push the amplitude; still, for the most part, it went unnoticed as the crowd sang along.
This was Westerberg’s first date back after a brief hiatus and the new tunes that were added to the repertoire sometimes got caught up in themselves. Paul's solo with a six string was particularly indicative of just how much fun they were having. Paul enters the verse of his song and forgets the lyrics. The guitar player brings a written copy of the lyrics and hold it up... Paul tried his best to make it through the song but ultimately he ended up in laughter he could not control. Rather than try to hide musical mistakes and lyrical glitches, the errors were turned into genuine moments of humor.
They played a host of material culled from both the ‘Mats’ release and all Paul's solo releases including ‘Grandpaboy’. After offering the crowd to make requests, we were blessed with a kick ass version of ‘Smoke on the Water.’ The selections from his new C.D. "Folker" somehow come off a little more heartfelt than previous discs, and considering his past experiences with record companies he would be just as happy performing his latest work.
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| Dredg - Concert Review Richards on Richards, Medium Capacity, July 22, 2005 |
| 07.22.05 (11:09 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
The New Literal Definition of Deconstruction
Dredg is an art-metal band hailing from Los Gatos, CA that comprises of Gavin Hayes (vocals/lap steel guitar), Mark Engles (guitar), Drew Roulette (bass), and Dino Campanella (drums/keyboard). It’s hard to describe the band’s music other than multi-layered, metal, atmospheric, intricate, and thematic. Lyrically, vocally, musically and artistically, the members of Dredg are a cohesive unit.
Upon entering the venue it became immediately apparent that Dredg has an avid following. While scanning the audience, we noticed that the majority of listeners were totally mesmerized by the band, yet also singing along with every tune. Quite remarkable given that their latest cd has only been out for a month. This was not a crazy pogoing crowd, but an enthralled group (of mostly college-aged guys).
Hayes has an uncanny resemblance to Jim Morrison and appears to take his music very seriously. Hayes’ singing is impressive in that his pitch and key are on target, but he also uses his voice as an instrument accompaniment by varying positions of his mic while singing. He also demonstrates complicated fingerplay using a lap steel guitar with which Gavin uses a variety of objects (including scissors) to create an atmospheric sound.
A style note - the entire band is neither pretentious nor dressed to impress. Bass player, Roulette, performs barefoot (which we learned was because his bass foot pedals are very small, so it's necessary for live performances). Roulette also appears to be the relaxed; engaging with the audience in a fun way, between songs. Hayes appears more humble, truly appreciative of the audiences’ attention and thanks us for lending our ears.
If intensity of music could be measured by perspiration, this band would be the kings of intense. They were literally dripping with sweat, and we were half expecting a spontaneous electrocution. That being said, it further demonstrated that Hayes et al were too wrapped up in the music to even bother toweling off. It was as if they had been transcended to another place whilst performing.
Dino Campanella's drum playing is unique and manic and his piano playing is extremely accomplished. In fact, we found ourselves (as well as many others) mesmerized by this performer. There’s an unexplainable musical quality about him that keeps one continually being drawn back to him.
Mark Engles was extremely hard to capture on camera as his hand was a constant, hard thrashing blur. We’re always impressed to watch guitarists that agile with their fingers.
The ‘New Definition of Deconstruction’ subtitle came from the last song (which indeed was the last song - no such thing as encores from this group) in which the band members left the stage, only to have Campanella still playing while roadies systematically took apart his drum set. It was a brilliant ending right down to the last note.
Part of me wants Dredg to stay as is - perfect and unadulterated, yet another part of me wants them to play up something (ie: a gimmick) so that they may become more accessible to the public via radio airplay rather than remain indie stars. However, I have a feeling that Gavin would be totally opposed to that as he once said during an interview that “...they’d like to keep ourselves true to the music rather than the whole image behind it.
Dredg self-released its first EP, Orph, in 1997. Then came the full-length follow-up with Leitmotif. Interscope signed Dredg and the band worked on its second full-length album, El Cielo. In July 2005, Dredg released its third album Catch Without Arms.
To purchase any of these cds go to:
Dredg’s Site
An interesting aside - concert goers were seen with awareness bracelets, as well as confederate style baseball caps. Nothing deep to be read into that, just a trivial aside.
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| Mike’s Musings - My Summer Fetish |
| 07.22.05 (3:03 pm) [edit] |
Swank Home
Mike’s Site
I'm sorry.
I just have a thing with the summertime.
I truly believe it's magical.
Here's a rundown of some of the magical things that have happened during the summers of my life. (Note: summer's 80 through 92 were all exactly the same - Def Leppard and family vacations.)
1993
-lit a lot of grass fires
-hello pubic hair
1994
-more grass fires (we called them "nasties")
-listened to 'Sabotage' like a billion times
-hello drugs
1995
-last summer before High School
-our little neighborhood plays host to an orgiastic landslide of underage drinking and sexy makeout parties
-two arrests (shoplifting and window smashing)
-I had long ass blonde hair
1996
-hello driver's licence
-the nightly Police patrols that were instated because of last summer's rampant hooliganism force us to build cabins in the woods. people come from all around. The’Age of Cabins’ has begun
-our little group finally gets a proper name, (CVT - Cantley Village Threat), bestowed upon us by the right honorable Dale Fahey
-smoked hash everyday
1997
-don't remember much
-Johnny had a convertible
-I think we went swimming
-wrecked the Accord (looking at babes, not road)
1998
-hello having a job
-Hello Nasty
-sit on a stoop on Bentic Street every night and drink
-also the summer that "drinking" finally matured into "full-on alcoholism"
1999
-my last summer as a cigarette smoker
-lake and field parties abound
2000
-spent about half my summer taking acid
-got kicked out of the community of Baddeck
-Johnny and I go see the Foo Fighters
-I move to Halifax
2001
-I operate a hot dog stand on Skin Garden Road
-I burn the bejesus out of my hand
-I learn of Daryl's fear of spores
2002
-again with the hot dogs
-regular plow sessions with a hot but insane wine-blooded redhead who happens to have a large, angry-type boyfriend
2003
-we live in a mansion
-we destroy mansion by having massive 80 to 100 people parties with live bands in the living room every other weekend
-lawsuits ensue
-survived the Evolve festival somehow
2004
-took a train across the country with Kathryn
-grew a beard
-saw Slayer, got Slayer'd
-watched two bisexual strippers fuck each other for money
-still drinking
2005
-hey Meredith, you should have a party
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| Goodbye Long John Baldry |
| 07.22.05 (8:09 am) [edit] |
Although British, our (Vancouver's) blues man is gone having died from a chest infection last night (July 21) at 10:30p. This man was eloquent, gracious, wickedly funny, chef extraordinaire, and had a voice that was as big as his height. This is the man whom Elton John took his last name from. Had a great encounter with Baldry and his band in the late 80s and will truly miss him. It Ain't Easy!
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| Breast Obsession |
| 07.21.05 (9:07 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
I viewed
http://www.tblog.com/templates/index.php?bid=mariahcarey&stati c=1969722703" title="http://www.tblog.com/templates/index.php?bid=mariahcarey&stati c=1969722703" target="_blank"http://www.tblog.com/template...
post and thought - who cares that nipples even show?
Why are we, in North America so flippin' uptight about a nipple showing, or the 'nipplegates' buzz. The female form is lovely, not something to get into an uproar about. Nor is it something to be exploited in a crude way, but alas there are many paying customers who would disagree with me.
My main thought was that 'breast' people have not traveled the world and realized that bare breasts are exactly that - common and bare. Big deal! 50% of our population have them, use them for a variety of reasons: primarily to provide nutrition, daily cram them into bras that seem archaic (but for some - medically required for comfort) and then perhaps to titillate (no pun intended) those obsessed with womens' mammary glands.
Those of you out there who are truly breast obsessed had better not travel as you will be immediately removed from beaches for behaving oddly - people don't respond well to lecherous stares.
image provided by www.artunframed.com/ (Artist - Manet)
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| CBGBs closing |
| 07.21.05 (12:17 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Yup, it's true. The legendary CBGBs in New York's Bowery district, one of the few places that would book punk acts when they first came out, will be at the end of their lease August 31/05 - and simple economics make it appear as though they won't be signing a new lease.
The club opened 32 years ago in what legendary singer Patty Smith described as the 'skidrow district', and at that time they paid about $600 a month in rent. That price has jumped to an astronomical $40,000 a month (with an additional $80,000 a year required for insurance). Owner Hilly Krystal is looking at options; there is a 'Save CBGBs' petition out there, and individuals would like him to open a CBGBs in both New Jersey and California.
Time will only tell what the outcome will be...
image by http://www.gratefuljoe.com/cb...
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| Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, September 2-5/2005 |
| 07.21.05 (12:15 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
A few years ago, we had some friends playing at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival. We went down to see them, but once we were on the grounds we spent time walking around, and what an amazing experience - there were bands playing everywhere, all throughout the day. In addition to the bands, there was art and a variety of exhibits around the former Seattle World's Fair Site, located at the base of the Space Needle. I was so impressed by the number, quality and variety of bands that I've always wanted to go back - but I've never made it back to Bumbershoot, for a number of reasons. Looking at the list of bands offered there this year, I think I'm going to make a concerted effort to go this year - after all, it is the 35th anniversary of the Festival.
A severely abridged list of bands appearing at Bumbershoot this year includes: Devo, New York Dolls, The Decemberists, The Donnas, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, The Posies, Tegan and Sara, The Be Good Tanyas, Brazilian Girls, and Pretty Girls Make Graves (the complete list has over 60 bands). Also appearing is Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), the 1 Reel Film Festival, and The Art of Rock Poster Exhibit (to name but a few).
At only $18 a day, you can't go wrong. Go to http://www.bumbershoot.org for more details.
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| The Go! Team, The Long Ranger, The Saturday Knights, and Fankick! Concert Review |
| 07.21.05 (12:13 pm) [edit] |
Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room, Seattle, July 18, 2005 - capacity crowd
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
If the mountain won't come to Mohammed and all that...
Turns out The Go! Team were doing their first-ever world tour after selling out multiple shows at South by Southwest and headlining Glastonbury, but Europe's latest indie music darlings weren't planning on coming to Vancouver, so we tracked them down at their nearest stop: Seattle. They had just played Pitchfork's Intonation Festival in Chicago prior to the Seattle show, appearing with the likes of Broken Social Scene, AC Newman and Death From Above 1979.
To date, The Go! Team has been together for less than a year and has just one cd out (Thunder, Lightning, Strike, on Memphis Industries; a US record deal is in the works). This London/Brighton group consists of founder/musician/songwrit er Ian Parton, singer/dancer Ninja, and musicians Jamie Bell, Sam Dook, Chi Fukami Taylor, and Silke Steidinger. Parton's idea when forming the band was to experiment with 'slamming together different kinds of sounds next to each other' in a never-before-done sort of way. And that they do!
After a two hour drive down to Seattle, we made our way over to Neumo's. The show started with a kitschy '80s dance act called Fankick! The two dancers leapt and hopped their way through about five pre-recorded 'popular' '80s tunes, enhanced by visual aids such as plastic hoop earrings, leg warmers and a Thigh Master. 'Nuff said.
Next up was a four-man group called The Saturday Knights who had obvious hip-hop leanings. Their first song's chorus went something like this: "If you ain't feeling us/You ain't drunk enough". By the end of that song, I was figuring that I'd be needing to get about two cases of beer into me to make it through their set. However, I was pleasantly surprised by them, as they improved as their set went on - they were a bit uneven at times, but full of humour and certainly showed some promise.
The next band was called The Long Ranger, and was a brother/sister/friend act. Sister was in charge of the laptop, sang a bit and danced; friend played the guitar; and brother sang and danced. We were 'treated' to 40 minutes of pretty similar sounding songs and some fairly repetitive dance moves, and eventually the powers that be at Neumos kicked them off the stage. It was kind of sad, as you could see they were really enjoying themselves and wanted to keep on playing - and playing - and playing - and playing...
Finally, The Go! Team came on - right at midnight. After three acts with no drums, I was starting to go into withdrawal, but The Go! Team fortunately has not one, but two - count 'em: two! - drum kits, so the evening was saved.
This band is hard to classify: are they dance? pop? old school hip-hop? experimental? funk? '60s soul? Northern soul? a grrrl group? all of the above? Their lo-fi sound is hard to categorize, and includes chanting, fragment sampling from 60s-sounding horn sections and plenty of their own instrumentation (In addition to two drum kits [played, at various times, by four different band members] and the requisite guitar and bass, band members also played the melodica, banjo, recorder, bells and harmonica), but whatever the case, this group played a wildly enthusiastic set.
Enough cannot be said about lead singer Ninja. She came on stage and immediately red-lined the show. Not only can this girl sing - she can dance! And dance she does! And dance is what the crowd did, too. I cannot think of any show I've been to - ever - where the audience was truly dancing (not pogoing, not head-bobbing, not swaying - but DANCING!) so much. The whole place was moving and the sweat was spraying everywhere. Ninja had some fun, imitating the dancers in the crowd, but it was done in such a happy, joyful way that everyone was just swept up by the sheer fun of it all.
The Go! Team played most of the songs from their album (Panther Dash, Bottle Rocket and Ladyflash being my faves), and also played about three new songs (including their encore song, at this point entitled 'Untitled' - but this is one song we're going to be hearing again real soon).
Following the Seattle show they were off down the West Coast and from there will be hitting Australia, Japan, and then back to Europe where they will finish off their summer by appearing at the Reading, Leeds and Bestival Festivals in England.
image by www.thegoteam.co.uk/
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| Illuminaries Festival at Trout Lake Park |
| 07.21.05 (12:10 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
Swank Home
Public Dreams
A few years ago I read a newspaper coverage of an event called 'Illuminaries'; unfortunately, the event was already over by the time I read about it and all that remained were the newspaper photos. However, it really picqued my interest and last year I read that the event was on again, the weather was going to be great, and my social calendar was empty - serendipity!
I went to the event not really knowing what to expect, and (to borrow a phrase from the sixties) what I saw blew my mind!
The Illuminaries festival was held at Trout Lake Park (also known as John Hendry Park) in Vancouver's Commercial Drive area, and the place was packed. Many people had made their own illuminaries and were walking around with them, but there were also many professionally crafted ones. There were large illuminaries floating on rafts in the middle of the lake, 15 foot high angels, snake and dragon Illuminaries that involved close to 20 people to parade them around the park, and even illuminaries up in trees. It was like attending some sixties’ 'happening'; a Halloween party in the summer, or being at the site of a very, very friendly art installation.
In addition to the illuminaries there were many other activities going on, from 'Midsummer Night's Dream’-type fairies flitting about, sprinkling people with 'fairy dust', to fire dancers and a fireworks display to complete the evening.
This year the Illuminaries event is happening again at Trout Lake Park in Vancouver on July 23, starting at 6 pm - but, my advice is to go a bit later, when it's dark - that way you can get the full effect.
image by www.publicdreams.org
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| Haute Couture 05/06 |
| 07.20.05 (8:19 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by: Christine
The Haute Couture line for Winter 2005/06 is now official.
Black is back, yet textured. Expect bows, tulle, brocade, taffeta, fur, satin, silk, feathers, quilted fabrics, embroidery, piping, and layered chiffon. The key component about the return of black is that the colour saturates the outer layers, allowing rich tones of emerald, lemon, fuchsia, lavender, (and the always chic winter white) etc. to peek through.
Silhouettes are slimmer, tailored, feminine, with a dash of beaded/chiffon overlaid flapper styles thrown in the mix. Sensual and sexy. Gold and silver accessories, stilettos and kitten heels added to the glamour.
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| Mike's Musings - Severe |
| 07.20.05 (5:00 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mike
Swank Home
Mike’s Blog
What the F?
What kind of night was that?
Could I have crammed anything else in there?
Probably not.
I was stinko before I even got to Stage Nine, where I was hijacked by legions of Jager-imbibing minions.
The Lighthouse Choir and Burdocks rocked me in all the right ways... yeah.. like that ...that's how they rocked me.
I got way too excited, accidentally smashing a shot glass in my hand, followed by a crash course in Drunken First Aid.
(I was later informed that our little group finished every last drop of Jager in the bar. Sweet, time bending, memory eroding Jager.)
Then there was a shift in time/space and I was in another bar watching a different band altogether.
(Don't ask questions, roll with it.)
Then bluurrrry. Then I'm at a party somehow.
Still drinking somehow.
Then I blinked and I was in yet another apartment.
Drinking wine (I think?)
Then all of a sudden the sun came up (thank God for that because I wouldn't have made it very far in the dark in such an advanced stage of intoxication.)
I ran into one of my Tobacco Customers at the end of my street and talked about the merits of the first four Black Sabbath albums until my eyes crossed and my knees buckled and the Giant Magnet dragged my ass back to my apartment.
To crumple on the floor and reflect.
I couldn't remember much, but I had that feeling in my my spine that every conversation I had that night was quite possibly the most important conversation I'd ever have.
I take a sick kind of comfort in not remembering exactly how everything went down, it lends the evening a sort of mythic quality.
On one hand, I wish every night could be a night like that.
On the other hand, that would kill a man.
image from www.cartoonstock.com
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| Autism and Vaccination - Link or Coincidence? |
| 07.20.05 (4:31 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
Swank Home
On July 19/05, officials in Washington held a news conference declaring that there is no proven link between childhood vaccines and autism.
Having acquaintances who are dead-set against vaccinations because of the autism debate made me take notice of this news. I have vaccinated my child, and have been vaccinated myself, as a youth and with yearly flu shots. Luckily (knock wood) my child appears healthy and well. However, I have heard horror stories from friends regarding their children being diagnosed with autism months after a vaccination.
I am aware that autism is generally recognized around the age of two, when developmental progress becomes more apparent. I am also aware that vaccinations are given around this age as well. So what is the verdict? As the saying goes in science and statistics. ‘correlation does not imply causation’.
The news conference was deemed necessary as there is an increasing number of parents who are convinced the mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, will cause autism. Thimerosal had been removed from most childhood vaccines in 2001, with flu shots being the exception. However, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is emphatic that vaccines save lives and protect children.
There appears to be advocates for both sides of the controversy: public health officials on the side of vaccines, and politicians such as Florida’s Dave Weldon against the childhood vaccination. It should be noted that Weldon was a practising physician prior to being elected in 1994, and has sponsored legislation to omit thimerosal from flu shots.
I suppose my one question would be, “Why was thimerosal removed from vaccines in 2001? Was it because there was evidence (re: the link to autism) to support parents’ claims?” As yet, I have not found any answers to these questions.
image from www.momsonamissionforautism.org
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| Vote for our blog |
| 07.19.05 (6:36 am) [edit] |
Hey there everyone - trying to feature our blog. Throw a couple of votes our way and we'll do the same for you.
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| Be Rachael Ray for A Day: Dine & Dish # 4 |
| 07.18.05 (9:52 pm) [edit] |
Submitted By Becks & Posh
Becks&Posh
Swank Home
First I have to blow some huge air kisses to Sarah down in LA. I want to thank her for inviting me to be the first ever Celebrity Guest Blogger (her words, not mine) to host Dine & Dish and for letting me take part in this photo shoot too. It's amazing what they can do in Photoshop these days. Look how white they made my teeth!
But what about Rachael Ray - just who is this cutesy little upstart anyway?
Although Rachael is fairly well known in the USA, foreign readers might need a small explanation. Ms Ray is a TV Chef who is much derided
in some circles for her unrefined style whilst others argue that her detractors are nothing but food snobs. Either way you look at it, she must be raking in the money. Rachael hosts three shows on the Food Network
. The first is a cooking show for which she makes 30 Minute Meals. In the second, Inside Dish, she visits the homes and kitchens of celebrities to discuss their favourite foods. For the third show, the one we are most interested for this month's challenge, Rachael visits cities all over the world and eats, as a tourist, on a $40 budget. At this point I have to confess that this is the only one of Rachael's three shows that I have actually seen. And even then, I only watched the San Francisco episode as a matter of curiosity. And what did I think? Firstly I thought - if I wanted to show off the best of San Francsico, I'd choose completely different places to eat. Secondly, I thought, "Hey, I could do that", and so, here I am doing it, and I want all of you to do it too!
How to be Rachael Ray For the Day...
Instructions for Participating in Dine & Dish #4:
This is the perfect chance for you to show off your favourite, good-value, eating-out options in your hometown. If you are travelling you can still take part, by being even more like Rachael and posting your entry from the point of view of a tourist.
So here is the deal - your Dine & Dish #4 blog post should cover a whole day's worth of meals eaten outside of your home - breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks (if you have enough money), including drinks, for the total sum of $40. Take out options are viable too. A sandwich in the park for lunch, will help keep your budget down and leave you more pennies to spend on dinner.
Make your post informative. Imagine it is being read by a tourist who wants to try out your choices. Pictures would be great if you can manage them. Link to the vendors' websites if they are available and make a note of the cost of each part of your meal.
(Shhhh! Nobody will know if you cheat a little and don't actually visit all the places on the same day, just make it look as if you did for the sake of your post.)
I think Rachael includes the tip in her budget, but we aren't going to enforce that here, because different countries and different people have different ideas about how much a tip should be. So just tip as extra, as you would normally do, and don't bother to include that part of the transaction in your post.
Click here for a currency calculator
if you are outside the USA, to find out how much $40 equals wherever you are in the world.
Try and show off the good things about the area you are posting from. Rachael is nothing other than orgasmically happy about everything she consumes for $40 A Day and you should be the same.
Absolutely not: No taking vegetables home from the market and cooking a fabulous meal. This challenge is entirely about eating out and has nothing to do with eating in!
The Dine & Dish Deadline is Monday August 22nd. Please post your entry on, or just before, that date. Then send me an email with I AM RACHAEL RAY in the subject line.
Information I need in the email please:
Your name:
Your Location:
Your Blog Name:
Your Blog Url:
Your Blog Post Title:
Your Permalink Url for your Dine & Dish #4 post:
Your Final Budget Total:
email to becks dot posh at gmail dot com
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| Some Faint Hope for Moderate Justice? |
| 07.18.05 (9:30 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by the Political Heretic
Home
Political Heretic
In my last piece I suggested a reason as to why we those of us on both sides of the abortion debate should put those differences to the side for now, unite behind a consensus moderate justice who will not overturn judicial precedents, and reject a justice who shares Justice Antonin Scalia's constitutional jurisprudence.
I don't believe President George W. Bush will pick any moderates and I don't think any Republicans will break ranks and bar an up or down vote on the nominees but there is a slight, (and I do mean slight) chance that enough Republicans will break ranks and vote against a conservative extremist.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) said the president should appoint a moderate to preserve the balance on the Court and according to this article
, Senators Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have also said they wanted someone "strike a balance."
I don't know if he was speaking seriously but Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) said Fred Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, actor, and consultant on the president's judicial nominations" would make a good candidate on Jay's Leno's "The Tonight Show."
The key question of course, is if there are enough independent minded Republicans willing to break from the president to offset any Democratic defections (Robert Byrd - W. Virginia, Mark Pryor - Arkansas, and especially Ben Nelson - Nebraska).
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| June Showers |
| 07.18.05 (3:25 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Rob williams
Rob'ssite
So my bachelor party is just about an hour (July 16th) away (we're going to Florent, in the meat packing district, to start off the night). iIm nervous! If it's anything like our wedding shower I just know i'm going to spend the whole night blushing and sweating from laughter and embarrassment.
What debauchery lies ahead for me? What kind of silly hat or t-shirt will they make me wear?
And will it match my shoes and pants?
Not only all that but i just found out that actress June Haver
died on July 4th!! not to be confused with June Allyson, but June Haver was my other favorite June. June Haver! How did I not know this? Why didn't any of my readers notify me? Arghhh.
She was a 1940s ‘sweet as peaches’ blonde starlet poised to take over Betty Grable's shoes, but it never quite happened. First, she left films in the early 50s to become a nun. But then she left that, after just a few months, to marry Fred MacMurray (which is pretty much the same thing as becoming a nun--just kidding!).
And now she's gone! I never got to meet her.
Among her film highlights:
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
Look For The Silver Lining
I'll Get By (my personal Favorite)
The Dolly Sisters (with Grable)
I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
How can I go and celebrate when there is such sadness in the world? How?
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| Ann Jillian is a God |
| 07.18.05 (3:16 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Rob Williams
Rob's site
So, I've been inundated with requests to post a picture of myself with my new facial hair (well, ok, so it's a certain guy who wants to see it--thanks for the support, bj!).
I will post a picture by this weekend. I just haven't gotten anyone to take my picture yet, even though my boyfriend and husband -to- be, Ted, has a camera phone and a digital camera. I have been told that it does look pretty good, and somewhat similar to Morgan Spurlock (crossed with a young Anthony Michael Hall spliced with Martin Mull --did y'all know Martin Mull is an artist? And a damn good one--he went to RISD, for Godsakes!).
Great! so in my seersucker wedding suit I’m going to look like a member of a barbershop quartet!
And speaking of the wedding, this weekend (July 16) is my bachelor(ette?) party--thrown by dear friend, David. David told me to prepare for debauchery, raunch, illicit activity, drug paraphernalia (but no drugs of course, just the paraphernalia), veils of varying lace, noise-makers, possible intoxication, go go boys, go go girls, go go boots, monkeys, dried fruit, Kelly Ripa, skinny edgy hipster boys with shoulder bags, and the cast of "It's a Living"
I can't wait!
Pictures will be posted, write-ups will be written, cities will fall.
Sing along lyrics to "It's a Living":
Life's not the French Riviera, believe me, life's not, a charity ball.
It isn't all a great big bed of roses, it's not like showbiz, but the main thing I suppose is…
We're not the people you envy, believe me, we know we're doing okay.
We may be less than wealthy, but better yet, we're young and healthy,
and anyone who's young and healthy knows that that's the way the traffic flows.
We've no misgivings, It's a living.
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| The Empowerment of Internet Blogging |
| 07.18.05 (2:34 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
Swank Home
As I was trolling the internet in search of interesting Canadian blogs, I came across an incredibly disturbing post. Disturbing for two reasons: a) the horrific, detailed first-hand account of child abuse and b) the fact that this family has not received any closure or atonement for the abuse.
As I read through all of the entries, I kept wondering how a small town of 2500 people could not, or chose not to, see the obvious.
The creator of the blog is the eldest of 12 children (2nd eldest if you consider the death of his brother when he was one year old). My heart went out to him, and yet I was proud that he was pursuing his disclosure of the (alleged) abuse despite all odds against him.
Then I realized the true ‘crux’ of this article. The internet provides immediate therapy for those of us who are aching from within. The internet has allowed all of us a voice, especially in times where newspapers and media are only interested in the story of the day. You won’t see familial discord on the front page, unless, of course, there has been bloodshed. Although this family has suffered, albeit in silence, anger and shame, the internet has allowed Byron Prior a public forum. Even if he is never provided with closure (in the form of public and governmental acknowledgment) he is provided with an empathic audience - all because of blogs, websites, etc. All the power to him and I hope he can finally have resolution and put these demons to rest once and for all.
As for his mother, I can only shake my head and wonder... a born sociopath, or a ‘made’ sociopath (which you will understand if you read the blog). Either way, she is responsible for destroying numerous lives and probably refuses to take responsibility for any of them. She and her fellow ‘companions’ are despicable and I ask you to decide for yourselves the seriousness of her actions.
Perhaps even email Byron a note of acknowledgment; he has been heard. By the way Byron, Happy Birthday on July 29th - maybe by age 52 something good will come your way.
Image from www.missabigail.com
Byron Prior Details
alltrue@nl.rogers.com
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| Profile of Jeffrey Newman: B.C.’s Interior Intellectual |
| 07.17.05 (1:08 am) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
Swanktrendz Home
As I have mentioned before, I enjoy reading Jeffrey Newman’s Provocations site. Jeffrey is a web designer at present and I decided to delve further into the ‘workings’ of his mind and arrived at an interesting, thought-provoking individual. Here is Jeffrey in a nutshell, albeit not as thorough as space would allow.
Prior to moving to 108 Mile House, Jeffrey was born and resided in South Africa, then moved to England via France after graduating from university.
Jeffrey is an avid eco-friendly environmentalist and stumbled upon this way of thought after reading a newspaper report (1970) on The Club of Rome report Limits to Growth
In the early ‘80s, Jeffrey met his wife, Maddi, in Calgary. Maddi works in graphic design and always had a natural ability in this area. She describes herself as a ‘compulsive-formatter and a few years ago she landed a job as a production manager with a womens’ magazine which pushed her to become more serious as a graphic designer. You can view some of her work at Maddi
Jeffrey and Maddi were living in a community of 100 Mile House and when they left that community, they chose to stay nearby at 108 Mile Ranch. They enjoy living at 108 Mile, and they enjoy working from their home where they each have an office.
They provide community support for their area by encouraging support for local businesses and activities ie: he built a web page with information on where to find food produced or raised in the community. He is also on the board of the 108 Mile Ranch Community Association 108ranch
and he maintains the website (surprise). Jeffrey is also the member of the Airport Commission for the regional airport. Maddi and he share a seat on a committee in 100 Mile House that helps select local candidates for government support in launching new small businesses.
Jeffrey slid in web design gradually. He had been running a three-acre organic vegetable garden and the idea of his own web site appealed to him in the late ‘90s when more online sites were popping up. After about a year of fine-tuning his personal site, someone asked him what he would charge to build one for them. Over the next couple of years, Jeffrey did more web designing and less gardening until he became a full-time professional web designer. Prior to organic farming, Jeffrey’s careers included child care worker, drug rehabilitation worker and remedial teacher/counselor.
Not surprisingly for an inveterate eclectic, Jeffrey doesn’t have a favourite website. Recently he built a website for the BC interior because he didn't see one online that he found useful. This was the first time he had become his own client - and this ‘client’ was quite happy with the results. Jeffrey also heartily recommends Sacred Lifeboats, which has just been launched (sic). It is directed at US citizens but will be helpful to others and, he suspects, will be encouraging to many beyond the USA to know that such matters are getting real attention
there.
For his Provocations site, Jeffrey determines the content by whatever stirs him: from an event or an idea that he thinks could use more attention, to something that might even open a small door for a reader. It could be something as simple as switching to a bristle toothbrush.
Jeffrey could not pinpoint a specific intent for his websites as each piece stands on its own and has its own intent/reasons. He simply wants people to be provoked by what they’ve read and preferably act on it.
When asked what he thought was the future of the internet, Jeffrey felt he wasn’t very qualified to comment on this. However, he enjoys the increasing collaboration the internet facilitates; the building of community (real and virtual). He’s glad to see that Wikipedia is becoming so popular and well-used, apparently surviving the pressure of this increase usage. Freecycling is working well in the Interior and in many places around the world. It builds community as the Web provides an alternative to the corporate media. He sees blogs and other independent communication sites coming under increased pressure to conform.
Jeffrey had this to say about:
Internet hackers - reclaiming a sense of power; getting away with stuff(cyber-Ninjas); Robin hood types in some cases.
Virus spreaders - to make a mark on the world (power); anger and alienation, akin to other forms of vandalism.
Spammers - to make money.
Jeffrey’s general thoughts regarding the next twenty years are that dwindling energy sources will force us to be ingenious and more cooperative, especially at the local level. Either that or we'll be participating in the end of civilization. (See Richard Heinberg: A Letter from the Future.)
Some trivial, yet interesting facts about Jeffrey are:
With being so busy, he reads approximately two books a year. He’s currently reading Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver and recommends it highly. In fact it
inspired a recent blog post: Coming to Know my Place.
His taste in music is eclectic. Some examples: virtually everything that Mark Knopfler does - from Dire Straits to the Princess Bride soundtrack to Knopfler’s album with Chet Atkins and his most recent album, Shangri-la. Another contemporary favourite is The Be Good Tanyas. His all-time favourite jazz artist reflects His South African roots and the artist,Abdullah Ibrahim, comes from the same city where Jeffrey was born. One of Ibrahim’s finest and a fairly recent album is Cape Town Flowers(Cape Town being where they both are from; yet their experiences are vastly different because of apartheid). He loves classic Brazilian bossa-nova; enjoys classical Indian music and some classical western music - many of the usuals as well as Spanish guitar music by people like Granados,
Villa-Lobos and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
In closing, I asked Jeffrey if he had any formal training as a writer as his articles are often well crafted. He replied that, as a little boy, his mother would encourage him to write as he ‘was so talented’. He assumed her praise was that of a proud or ambitious mother.
Well, as we all know, Mother is always right.
To check out Jeffrey’s sites and writing go to:
provocations
Jeffrey’s company
British Columbia
Interior News
Sacred Life Boats
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| Ani Kyd - Evil Needs Candy Too - CD Review |
| 07.16.05 (11:13 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
Evil Needs Candy Too is Ani Kyd’s first full length cd, although she is hardly new to the music scene having fronted numerous bands, including Rumblefish, Spanking Machine, Spankin' Betty, Kyd Monopoli, and Fuel-Injected 45, as well as doing solo shows and playing guitar for Canadian Rock legend, Thor.
Evil Needs candy Too has Ani’s personal stamp all over it. An eclectic choice of songs with an equally odd assortment of instruments: hard thrashing guitars, wicked drums, violins and cello which perfectly complement Ani’s vocals in a variety of bi-polar personas. It comprises of 16 tunes that range from thrash rock, punk, and soft ‘melodic’ tunes (but don’t let that sweet voice fool you) intertwined throughout.
As I’ve stated before, I will not shell out the money for a cd unless there are at least 3 good songs present. In ENCT 5 songs stood out. The first, ‘Rejoyce’, is a good rocker tune with Ani’s singing reminiscent of Linda Perry. ‘Rejoyce’, ‘Left Holding the Bag’, ‘Erase’, ‘Stranger Things’, and my favourite, ‘Hard Way Home’ are reason enough to purchase this cd. ‘The Involuntary Admittance of Jack Kyd’ is also a bittersweet, yet humorous, insert at the end of the cd, taken from an answering machine message from Ani’s son, Michael Kyd. ‘My First Kill’ is also a finely crafted tune, hard driven, ala Dead Kennedys, but then it lulls you into a false sense of melodic calm, only to assault you again with vocal and instrumental intensity.
From the fast and furious opening seconds, the band's power and musicianship are immediately obvious, and, even to the untrained ear, drummer Gene Hoglan's playing stands out, especially on the songs ‘My First Kill’ and ‘Lost’. The band is tight with excellent guitar riffs (especially on ‘Thirteen’, and ‘Left Right Left’) The song ‘So Far’ has violins and excellent double bass (courtesy of Jan Berman). ‘Stranger Things’ (an acoustic version of Ani’s former release with Rumblefish) has a cello accompaniment to Ani’s vocals. Although the song is sung with apparent vulnerability, listen closely and there is a sinister edge to it.
All the songs’ lyrics appear personal and harsh; this is a survivor’s tale. It is an angry, non sugar-coated cd, and not for the faint of heart, or those looking for mainstream rock.
Produced by Jello Biafra (of the infamous Dead Kennedys) this is a solid full-length debut cd from Kyd, and no doubt other future releases will be in the works. This is the only non-Jello release that Jello Biafra has produced, so that is a statement in itself.
Purchase your copy of this cd at theAlternative Tentacles store
Ani Kyd’s band consists of:
Ani Kyd, vocals and guitar
Byron Stroud - Bass
Gene Hoglan - Drums
Ian White - guitar
Jan Berman - Double Bass on ‘So Far’
For a more in-depth article of Ani Kyd, go to the category Music Profiles at http://www.swanktrendz.com
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| My Recent Publications |
| 07.16.05 (2:19 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Rob Williams
Swank Home
Rob’s Home Page
Good News? Part 2
This is me, bathed in a lovely red light, pondering the change of my short story collection to full fledged novel... (Yes, that is a trucker hat on my head but it's made of wicker!!)...over a beer at Metropolitan bar in Williamsburg.
(continued from previous post)
So, after a week of fretting about my book (this was over two weeks ago) I came up with some thoughts (more like panic attacks): can I turn it into a novel? do I want to?
Why, why, why, can't it stay an interconnected story collection? Is my agent giving me the brushoff?
Does she really not like the book and this is her way of saying buh-bye? How long is it going to take me to turn it into a novel? What kind of work is this going to be? What kind of a project? How am I going to do this AND get married to Ted, AND move to San Diego? Should I just toss it all?
I finally met with my agent, Sally, on Wed. June 29 to discuss.
First, a bit about Sally: she used to work for a bigger agency, but decided to go out on her own and start her own agency (with one or two other people, I believe). I met her when she approached me after a reading of mine. This was about 4 years ago. I had only about 6 stories then, and the collection wasn't connected (except that it was about folks in S. California in the mid-80s). We clicked instantly, she has some family in San Diego (where I'm from) and so we talked about places we love there. She also had some really nice things to say about the story I read and asked me about the rest of them. She gave me her card and asked me to send the stories I have whenever I was ready. I was also being courted by another agent at the time (a bigger agent, from a bigger agency) but I didn't feel as strongly about the agent and she seemed to have a different idea of what the collection should be.
I talked with Sally over the phone a few more times and finally decided I wanted to work with her. She seemed so genuinely enthusiastic about my work and shared the same vision for it as me.
Flash forward a few years and Sally is still with me (or I'm with her, I suppose) and she has always been nothing but patient, generous, supportive, encouraging, and always providing great feedback and advice.
Since I had had a week before meeting her to let things stew in my confused little brain, I was ready to talk about the 'new' plan for the book. I went to the agency and we sat down in their very sheeshee boardroom (there are other agents on the same floor) with all of their books on the shelves--many I recognized and respected.
So, Sally laid it out for me. She loves the writing, she believes in the writing, and she loves the voice but that's just it--THE VOICE. she feels that the voice (with a few exceptions) is the same throughout and the stories are really about ONE boy--Joel (the main character in my story "Japanese For Blurred Image") So why not make this a novel about HIM. (again she mentioned "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time"--which I told her I'm reading).
I also told her that she was probably right. That this really is, or could be the same boy, except for a few stories. Joel was already in six of the eleven stories anyway, so why not just try to tell his story?
But we discussed further that maybe it should only be about a year in his life (well, that was my thoughts anyway). And I don't want it to necessarily be a 'coming out' story or anything. I mean, yes, Joel's gay, but the book's not really about his coming out to anyone. It's more a picture of him and his family and the mid-80s, a young boy growing up gay on the cusp of the age of AIDS/HIV.
Some of you may remember what the 80s were like? This was before Will & Grace, before Elton and Melissa E came out of the closet, before kd lang, before there was Gay Chic, or bi-chic or what ever chic it was that somehow happened in the early to mid-90s where kd lang and Cindy Crawford could pose on a mainstream magazine together.
Who did young gay kids have to look up to? Wayland Flowers? Boy George--was he even saying he was gay?
I also wanted to write about growing up on the fringes and in the shadow of a major city/influence like Los Angeles and Hollywood (which has always been an influence on my life and writing).
So we decided that's what I'm going to do. Make this a book about Joel, a mid-80s, arty, film-loving blonde kid from San Diego and the year that changes his life. Something like that.
And right now I'm really big on plans, deadlines, goals (what with a wedding and a move to San Diego on the very near horizon, I have to be). So my immediate goal is to take the 6 stories that Joel appears in and turn it into 100 pages of a draft of the novel by early August. Easy, right?
Yeah. Right. It's not that easy. It's a helluva lot of fun and work but it's not easy. I do appreciate the support and encouragement I've gotten from other inspiring writers like Aaron, Lola, Felicia, my bf Ted, and D. Travers Scott (thanks dts-- you're right when you say "I think they [novels] have some kind of pretentious stigma when in actuality they are a very comfy, loose form to work in"). I have found it quite comforting (amidst all the stress) to be able to take my time with things now. What I mean is, I don't have to neatly wrap things up at the close of each chapter (like I struggled at the end of a story). I'm enjoying filling out these characters--Joel, his mom, his dad, his grandmother, his sister (a new character--she wasn't originally in his stories, but another character I wrote about had a sister and now she's become Joel's sister). I'm enjoying letting the plot roll over into the next chapter and I'm excited about the new directions that the book is going.
I promised my agent I would send her a rough draft of what I've come up with in early August and I'm going to stick to that. Even if it's just 75 pages (though so far I've 're-written' almost 30 pages and I've been working on it less than a week).
So, yes, I've got a lot on my plate; no, it's not easy and I'm a bit stressed, but you know what? Before I left my meeting with the agent she said to me that she believed in this book and in my abilities and she was just as excited about it now as she was when she first heard me read at Columbia. And that, my friends, is what it's all about. I'm very lucky to have her as my agent.
Naturally, I'll keep y'all posted.
*And now, from BookAngst blog-- here is fab author Lauren Baratz Logsted's experience with not one, but 5 agents (in her own words she was "on the fast track to becoming the Elizabeth Taylor of novelists"). Read it all Here
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| Culture Vulture |
| 07.16.05 (1:43 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Terry
swanktrendz home
The irregular combinations of fanciful inventions may delight a-while, by that novelty of which the common satiety of life sends us all in quest; but the pleasures of sudden wonder are soon exhausted,
and the mind can only repose on the stability of truth.
Dr. Samuel Johnson
If your ears and spirit and humours are vexed, and weary of all this rock and roll, as are mine oft-times, fear not, for like Zephyr and his sweet breath, summer will soon arrive in dismal grey Vancouver, and with it the fancy of a Sunday evening symphony in the park, and, best of all, it's free.
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra have announced two free concerts next month, one in Stanley Park, and one in Deer Lake Park in Burnaby. These are made possible by the largesse of an unnamed benefactor, and I intend to take full advantage. I've never before heard a symphony orchestra in the flesh (never mind in the park), and I wish to be entranced, enchanted, and delighted.
Dates and times are:
Free VSO Concert in Stanley Park
Sunday August 7, 7PM, Lumberman's Arch, Stanley Park, Vancouver
Bramwell Tovey - Conductor
Christel Lee - Violin
Free VSO concert at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby
Friday August 12, 7:30PM, Deer Lake, Burnaby
Ken Hsieh - Conductor
Christopher Lee - Clarinet
And we hope, as always, that the eternal shall be made anew. If music be the food of love, play on.
vancouversymphony
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| Atlin and beyond |
| 07.15.05 (9:00 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
swanktrendz home
Andrew’s site
So what can I say? Atlin was, in a lot of ways, the best festival yet.
A thousand people together, camping in a field. You can't beat that. That's probably what made it great.
Two all night parties involving hundreds of people around campfires. Each site had at least a couple guitars.
At one point on the first night, the entire field played Neil Young for an hour.
This festival had all sorts of little things the others were lacking. Free camping, real bathrooms, great food, decent music and kickass scenery which was only rivaled by Haines Junction.
But it was the social aspects which won it over for me. Maybe it's just because I've gotten to know a lot of the people from other festivals, but no where else did I have as much fun.
There's only one music festival left to look forward to: Dawson City. I can't see it being as good though. When the music ends, everyone will go back to their respective hotels. There will be no group party in a field, lasting all night.
Anyhow, tomorrow is the big day. It's the deadline for all the people who got accepted to Ryerson to tell the school whether or not they'll be attending.
I did not make the cut, but was told I was in the "top 10" on the waiting list. So, it's entirely possible I could get a call next week saying I'm in. If the call does come, I won't have time to think about it, I'll have to give them an answer right away.
Because of this, I have been doing a lot of thinking about it. It's a pretty big decision. Right now, I'm getting incredible experience. Within the parameters of arts, entertainment and culture relating to the Yukon, I have free reign to write about whatever I want, and everything I've written so far has been published.
If I keep going, this experience will look very good on the resume.
But, at the same time, a formal education would look quite good as well.
And I certainly wouldn't be doing it just for looks. There's quite a bit about writing and style which I need to learn. Right now I feel as though I'm just writing the same things over and over. Although being here has vastly improved my social life, I honestly doubt it's done anything to help my style.
Besides, who's to say I couldn't find some place to gain writing experience in Toronto while I'm writing.
And think what an adventure it would be, to be living in the heart of that giant city! It would be a new experience, full of opportunities.
If the call comes, I'm definitely going.
Image by crevassezone.org/
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| Mike's Musings - Capturing Inflection |
| 07.15.05 (8:44 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mike
I’ve come to two definite conclusions:
A) life is way too short.
B) everything sounds better if you say it in an ‘Evil Wizard’ accent.
I have one. Why don't you?
Work on it.
Try saying these natural, everyday phrases to yourself in an ‘Evil Wizard’ tone of voice. Sometimes it helps to picture an Evil Wizard while you are saying them. Soon you'll be talking like an Evil Wizard all the time. And, of course, you'll reach a point, like I have, when anything you say in your regular voice will sound silly and uninteresting in comparison.
Let's begin.
"Get off my lawn you wretched children."
"I'll have the Thai chicken pita with a garden salad, please."
"J'ai tetee les tetons de ta tante Therese."
"Who is your daddy?"
"A soul! A soul inflamed with a yearning more powerful than a billion newborn suns!"
"It's Wayne's World. Wayne's World. Party time. Excellent."
"Let's get more comfortable. Try some of my elixer."
Image by /hyrulerealm.guardianarchives.com
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| The Art of Sergey Smirnov |
| 07.15.05 (8:21 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
My sister, Cindy, sent in this artist’s information and images after viewing a show at the Kavanaugh Gallery (USA). The images clearly moved her and she found that when she viewed the art her immediate response was ‘powerful’ beauty. She found the colours to be saturated, rich and breathtaking. The art is textured, but not in a Van Gogh thickness. When my sister is enthralled with a piece of art, it’s time for me to take notice. I have enclosed the artist bio as written:
For those of you who have been following the dramatic progress of Smirnov's work it is evident that he has embarked on a clearly defined direction. Smirnov's refined portraits honor and celebrate the great men and women who have influenced Russian history and culture. Catherine the Great is the third image in his series of Russian Royals following Peter the Great and Anastasia. In the future Smirnov is planning to create several master images depicting famous Russian composers, Russian authors and portraits of inspirational characters from Russian literature.
Smirnov is proud of his heritage. His painting style combines the ancient tenants of traditional icon painters and the 17th Century "Parsuna." Soft candle light tones make his art uniquely Russian in technique and concept. His images are a wonderful bridge between the past and the present. They completely capture the grace and elegance of 17th century portraiture, yet are thoroughly modern and contemporary in execution. Smirnov creates works of art that are equally at home whether in a setting surrounded by antique furniture or modern décor.Good scoop, Cindy!
The images shown are of 1) Anastasia Graphic release for 2003, serigraph textured print on canvas, 36" high x 36" wide.Standard edition is limited to 195 pieces. 2) Scheherazade Print with serigraph texture on Canvas
Image Size 35 x 25
Images from http://www.fingerhutart.com/s...
http://www.kavanaughgallery.com/Sergey_Smirnov.html" title="http://www.kavanaughgallery.com/Sergey_Smirnov.html" target="_blank"http://www.kavanaughgallery.c...
http://www.fingerhutart.com/smirnov.htm" title="http://www.fingerhutart.com/smirnov.htm" target="_blank"http://www.fingerhutart.com/s...
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| Ian Blair: |
| 07.14.05 (6:41 pm) [edit] |
Submitted By The Antagonist
Swanktrendz Home
Antagonist’s Home
Credit has to go to Sir Ian Blair for correcting himself when he accidentally claimed the existence of "four miserable bombers" when, in fact, nobody knows this to be the case yet.
SIR IAN BLAIR, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMISSIONER:
"If London could survive the Blitz, it can survive four miserable bombers like this...."
[brief pause that always comes with an overwhelming sense of realization] I'm not saying there are four bombers...
four miserable events like this."
Oh, and the military grade explosives that were rumoured to have been used on the Underground with sophisticated timers? Well, the timers never turned up and tonight Newsnight reports that the police have only found household chemicals in the Leeds homes that were raided, not military grade explosives.
Channel 4 News tonight showed a CCTV capture of the 'bus bomber' which they claimed "had been cropped from a wider picture of all four bombers". Why was it cropped? Surely seeing all four suspects together would help jog the memories of anyone that might have seen them, especially seeing as an individual photo is also being circulated.
Newsnight also announced that the CCTV camera on the Number 30 bus, conveniently enough, wasn't working. Not that it was affected in the blast, just that it wasn't working.
Also from Newsnight, the Number 30 bus driver had been ordered to re-route the bus on the morning of July 7th for it to end up in Tavistock Square.
The Antagonist has noted that indeed, according to TFL's route maps, Tavistock Square is not on the standard Number 30 bus route as the normal route would take the bus straight along Euston Road into Marylebone Road, rather than turning left into Woburn Place.
Who diverted it? On what basis? Was it diverted into the rehearsal operation approximately an hour and half after the simultaneous tube disasters, something which could account for the significant missing 81 minutes
of the 'bus bomber' hitting the papers today? Was it going there anyway, something which, in keeping with the practise of these tactical rehearsal operations, the driver wouldn't be told until the last minute as per the Newsnight story?
How long would it take to investigate what happened on the trains in the deepest part of the Underground if a power surge had affected monitoring systems and lights as MetroNet and survivors reported at the time of the tragedy?
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| Page footprints |
| 07.14.05 (6:17 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mark Thristan
http://www.swanktrendz.com" title="http://www.swanktrendz.com" target="_blank"http://www.swanktrendz.com
Mark T’s info site
I am always surprised at how little attention is paid to page footprints (size) on many websites and intranets (especially now that everyone seems to have a fat connection). Page footprints are not just about how fast the page loads for the user, they also offer fantastic savings in bandwidth.
This came to my mind last week - as I went onto the BBC site in search of news about the London Bombing tragedy, I noticed that the homepage had been completely stripped back to basics. At first I wasn't sure if this was deliberate, or if many BBC staff had been caught up in the disruption and that departments were too under-staffed to offer a full service. In fact, as Martin Belam points out on his currybet site
, the action was deliberate in order to ensure that the BBC could cope with the predicted (and in the event, huge) spike in traffic.
On a pragmatic note, you don't even have to be quite so proactive - simply switching to standards-based XHTML/CSS instead of table layout can reduce page sizes dramatically. I seem to remember a hypothetical redesign of a Microsoft page reducing footprint by 80%. Try to keep it lean and mean (where appropriate) seems to be a sensible watchword.
Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback...
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| Leslie Feist |
| 07.14.05 (12:21 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Lezah
A colleague at work recommended Feist to me.
I looked her up - turns out Leslie Feist is a hot singer/songwriter who originally hails from Calgary, spent some time in Toronto, and now calls Paris home.
Feist originally fronted a punk band called Placebo, then moved on to Toronto where she became a part of the Broken Social Scene collective. A little hard to label, Feist recently played at the Toronto Jazz Festival, and this weekend is playing at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 15, 16, 17 at Jericho Beach).
Image from www.youthguide.ch
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| Faux Pas No. 71 |
| 07.13.05 (6:14 pm) [edit] |
I'm one of those people who enjoys scaring pigeons.
If there's one trotting around the ground nearby, I like to stomp my foot or yell, causing it to clumsily fly away.
Best not to do this on a crowded sidewalk, as I learned today when I used the 'stomp/scare' technique and our icky little grey friend panicked and flew directly into a woman's' face, causing her to scream hysterically.
Which in turn caused everyone within earshot to gawk and stare at this frantic, pigeon-faced woman.
Which caused me to laugh and spill my large organically grown fair trade dark roast coffee, and that shit's expensive.
http://sneakinout.blogspot.com/" title="http://sneakinout.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://sneakinout.blogspot.co...
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| Another reason why I'm not flying the Union Jack in the margin or saying "We are all British" |
| 07.13.05 (6:12 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Laurence Simon
http://isfullofcrap.com/" title="http://isfullofcrap.com/" target="_blank"http://isfullofcrap.com/
Because, for the lack of a better word, some of the British areterrorist-loving scumbags
Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed a Palestinian militant early Thursday as he was meeting a British reporter in the West Bank city of Nablus, witnesses said.
They said soldiers broke into a house where Mohammed Alasi, 24, a local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was talking to the reporter. Alasi tried to flee, but soldiers shot him dead and took his body, they said.
...
The witnesses did not know which news outlet the reporter represented, giving her name only as "Annie."
Palestinian police said she was being questioned at her home, where she was said to be in shock. They said she was about 60 years old, had been living in Nablus for a few years and had changed her last name to "Alasi." They did not know her original family name.
She went native, then rubbed elbows with evil. If only she'd earned a six-foot hole alongside James Miller
for chumming with the enemies of civilization and basic human decency.
And Tony Blair said he was shocked at British citizens perpetrating 7/7's massacres.
Fool.
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| Michael Bauer 's Power in the City of Fog |
| 07.13.05 (6:10 pm) [edit] |
An exclusive report from your local restaurant-industry Gossip Columnist!
Submitted by Becks & Posh
http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/" title="http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://becksposhnosh.blogspot...
Last week I was witness to a situation I never imagined I would encounter: A real-life chef actually being interviewed for a job at a well-known, established but perhaps slightly jaded, San Francisco restaurant. Like a fly on the wall, there I was, hearing every single word of the proceedings. I was a little embarrassed to be privy to the situation, but the circumstances were beyond my control. I was simply sitting, minding my own business and quietly eating my lunch at one of the two outside tables available at Picco, a new Pizzeria in Larkspur, Marin. I sympathized with the chef, sitting to my right. Not only was his privacy denied, his flow was intermittently interrupted by the potential employer whose cell phone oftentimes took precedence over the interview.
Although I now know about the salary on offer, the suggestions for the menu, the skill-set the chosen chef must have for managing, training and budgeting, these details are not things that will pique my readers' interest.
What may mildly interest you, however, is to hear that the one thing the Chef is expected to focus upon above all else, is getting Michael Bauer through the doors for a good review. The interviewer emphasized that this would be the absolute top priority for the Chef who lands the job.
It is funny, because until that moment I naively assumed that a good restaurant owner's #1 concern would be to satisfy their paying customers with consistently delicious, mouth-watering food and great service. Tsk, tsk, silly, gullible me and my naive ideals...Michael Bauer
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| Fantastic Four Movie Review |
| 07.12.05 (4:45 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Kenn
Let's get this out of the way. I liked the movie. It's not a bad film. There are problems, no doubt, but I had a pretty good time and my kids loved it. Especially my eight year old daughter. Jessica Alba has replaced Hillary Duff and Lindsey Lohan as her favorite actress. The Hillary poster is about to be replaced with Jessica as Sue Storm, The Invisible Girl. This is major in my house. Hillary has held the crown for 2 years now and Lindsey joined her about a year ago. Both have been swept away by Jessica. Something clicked here.
For all of the whining I've been hearing from the comicbook fan community, I thought Tim Story and the crew did a pretty good job. Reed Richards was Reed, living inside his head and not connecting to the people around him. Sue was frustrated with him and her brother Johnny. I didn't find her bitchy at all, a common complaint in many reviews. She was doing what Sue always did in the Lee/Kirby books, trying to get Reed to open his eyes and trying to keep Johnny in line. The Thing was great. The rubber suit actually worked for me. Except for the nose. Fix the nose. Doom was weak. That was the most disappointing part of this movie. The Doom stuff just dragged and he really wasn't that scary. And yet I still had a good time.
I've saved the best for last. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, stole the show. The filmmakers and actor Chris Evans really nailed him. He's having fun, digging his powers, pissing off his sister and playing practical joke on the Thing. His moments on screen really helped carry the movie. The other characters had their high points, but Johnny was always fun to watch.
So there you have it. The Fantastic Four is a fun movie. My daughter applauded when the movie was over and the first words out of her mouth were," Are they doing another one? Do you know when it's coming out?" A super-hero guy film that entertained a dad, an eight year old girl and her ten year old brother. Go figure.
http://www.a2zcomics.blogspot.com/" title="http://www.a2zcomics.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://www.a2zcomics.blogspot...
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| Skylarkin' |
| 07.12.05 (10:24 am) [edit] |
Submitted by Terry
My omnivore mind runs on eclecticism (and demands regular feeding), so it follows that I would like a radio program that offers me music ranging from 16th century devotional music to Caribbean calypso. André Alexis has returned to the airwaves with a marvelous summer program named Skylarkin', in which he plays music that he likes, tied together with a few small stories.
Mr Alexis's last venture into radio broadcasting started slow, then quickly became very good indeed, so I have high hopes for this new series. A few more stories would be nice (hint hint)...
Mondays at 6:30 PM (7 PM NT) on CBC Radio Two and Fridays at 9 PM (9:30 PM NT) on CBC Radio One.
PS a la Amazon: if you like this, you might also like the rebroadcast series of 'American Mavericks' (hosted by Suzanne Vega), about the truly innovative composers in American 20th century music (second link below).
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/programguid...%27
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/radiosummer...
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| Manchester to host the International Debut for ‘Little Black Dress’ |
| 07.11.05 (6:08 pm) [edit] |
Submitted By Christine
March 25, 2006, will see Manchester hosting the UK’s finest fashion designers. After previous successes in Los Angeles and New York, Little Black Dress is ready to launch its international debut in the United Kingdom. Designers from all over the UK will submit their version of the "perfect little black dress. " The event’s founder, Emmy Cortes, selected Manchester’s submission (over Glasgow’s) in the organization’s final decision.
LBD UK will be held at Urbis, one of the city's modern landmarks, followed by a six-week static exhibition, which will be open to the general public April 8 – May 21.
Between 30 and 40 designers from all over the UK will be invited to participate, with up to one-third coming from England's Northwest. The elite group of participants will be asked to donate either an original piece or an existing black dress from their collection.
Some designers that have participated in the past include: Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan, and Bob Mackie, Petro Zillia, and Tracy Reese.
All proceeds from the little black dress silent auction will benefit the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre in North London where over 200 children and adults receive music therapy weekly.
Previously, proceeds from Los Angeles' 2005 little black dress silent auction went to Stop Cancer a non-profit, charitable organization that supports cancer research at UCLA. In 2004, the New York event benefited Dress for Success, a non-profit, charitable organization that helps low-income women make tailored transitions into the workforce.
For more information on Little Black Dress, please visit
littleblackdress
For another, interesting take on the little black dress - go here where you are able to purchase a classic dress from various eras.
black dress purchase
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| George Mang Shoes: By Lezah |
| 07.11.05 (4:12 pm) [edit] |
George Mang (www.georgemang.com) is the trendiest and newest shoe designer out there. The faves of celebs, his shoes have been featured recently in numerous magazines and are frequently seen on the red carpet.
With a rock and roll attitude, these stilettos are strappy and sexy, and often feature an unusual profile.
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| Designer iPods By Lezah |
| 07.11.05 (4:11 pm) [edit] |
You can make your iPod even more of a fashion accessory than it used to be - just download one of the sexy prints available at http://www.hp.com/music, print it on an iPod sticker tattoo, apply, and you're good to go!
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| Harry Potter Release By Lezah |
| 07.11.05 (4:09 pm) [edit] |
The latest Harry Potter book is being released on Saturday - and if you're prepared to stay up late Friday night, you could be one of the lucky few who have their hands on this book one minute after midnight.
The last time a new Harry Potter book was released, we attended one of these Harry extravaganzas at Kids Books in Vancouver. By pre-ordering a book from Kids Books, you and however many people are in your party are invited to join in the festivities.
Two years ago, there were close to 2000 people outside of the store, waiting. Many were in costume, the Harry Potter costume being the most popular get-up but some of the lesser known characters were also in evidence. There were numerous TV stations there covering the event, and entertainers for the kids.
About a half hour before midnight, we started snaking our way along the long lines, and at exactly one minute after midnight, the vault was opened and the books were handed out. With the length of the line-ups, I was figuring we'd be there at least until 1 am, but no - at 12:10 we were on our way to the car, book in hand.
This year, in Vancouver, both Kids Books and Chapters are offering Harry Potter book release parties on the night of July 15.
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| Madagascar Movie Review: By Lezah |
| 07.11.05 (4:08 pm) [edit] |
Last week we went to see the animated film 'Madagascar', and we ended up being in what one would think was the best company to see any animated film in: in our group was a writer for 'The Simpsons' comics, as well as the creators/writers of the animated TV show 'Bob and Margaret'. I was expecting some lively debates after the film, but hey - I guess sometimes everyone just needs to go and sit and be entertained for a while...
'Madagascar' is Dreamworks' latest venture. With an all-star cast (Ben Stiller as Alex the Lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe, Jada Pinkett-Smith as Gloria), this animated tale is about a group of friends who make their way from the urban jungle of New York (where they live in the zoo) to the literal jungle of Madagascar, courtesy, in part, of a group of anarchistic penguins (between you and me, these penguins are one of the best things about the film!).
Normally I don't like stylized cartoon characters, but these ones worked for me, at least in part because they were complemented by the backgrounds which were so lush. The film opened with a great shot of the modern, minimalist zoo, then shifted to grand scenes of the Manhattan skyline and city proper, and finally ended up in a Rosseau-type Madagascar jungle. Also interesting was the use of a technique called 'squash and stretch', which allowed the characters more speed and flexibility than one usually sees in an animated film.
The story started off strong, and the character development was solid; however, by the time the group arrived in Madagascar, the storyline seemed to drift off a bit. However, jokes abounded and there was plenty of laughter in the theatre from audience members of all ages. Likewise, the frequent references to other movies were helpful in keeping the adult viewers engaged.
Thematically, this story is about friendship and acceptance, with the mix of animals serving as a metaphor for our multi-cultural society.
Overall, an entertaining film, and the under-tens in our group gave it three thumbs up.
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| Couture Glimpse for Menswear: Spring/Summer 2006 |
| 07.11.05 (4:06 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
ARMANI
- key word being ‘freedom’
- look for jewellery on their necks, wrists, fingers and toes,
- look for the signature Armani suit relaxed to the point of ethnic, drawstring trousers and bare chests under loose fitting jackets. Anything is allowed.
CALVIN KLEIN
- look for loosely tailored suits with collarless shirts.
- look for crepe linen suits with zip-front jackets
- pale safari-style suits.
DOLCE & GABBANA
Dolce & Gabbana claimed that Pete Doherty and his ‘Babyshambles’ band inspired the looks for their spring/summer 2006
- look for dapper black suits and rocker easy -style suits
- look for cropped jackets
- look for fitted white tuxedos
VALENTINO
- look for floral shirts (remember Magnum PI?)
- look for shades of lilac, pale lemon, spearmint and sea blue making up slacks, shirts and blazers
- look for contrasting white.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
- look for oxford blue, striped blazers,
- crested caps
- sharply-tailored white tailcoats
- ACDC looks?
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| Reading Cereal Boxes: By Rob Williams |
| 07.09.05 (5:05 pm) [edit] |
I promise I'll continue my post about meeting with my agent and what is going on with the book.
Briefly, yes-- I'm working on turning it into a novel -- my short term goal (for this month) is to do an acceptable draft by using what I already have and then show it to the agent.
In the meantime, however, here is an essay on the ‘Writer as Reader’ by one of my favorite writers:
John Dufresne
(oh he of the amazing short story collection "Johnny Too Bad")
Excerpt:
The Writer Reads
by John Dufresne
“ . . . how could you write about anything without wondering if it were true? I mean you’d be describing a bird in the garden and suddenly there would be that awful question in your mind, did they have birds in the fourth century?”
–Gore Vidal
(Quoting Christopher Isherwood)
A fiction writer has to read everything from Wittgenstein’s Blue and Brown Books to the backs of cereal boxes. (My own cereal box says, “Tiny dark specks which are natural to corn are occasionally found in this product. They are not harmful in any way, and will not affect the taste or texture of this product.” I’m given a phone number to call if I’m anxious and told to “Please retain box when calling.”) The writer’s problem, and opportunity, is knowing the world. That’s why we can never have enough reference books. Reference books supply the facts we need, and then, as Kenneth Clark put it, “Facts become art through love, which unifies them and lifts them to a higher plane of reality.” How nice when writing your story to reach over to a volume on the shelf–always keep your books near the writing desk–and learn that, yes, they did indeed have birds in the fourth century, and the one I’m thinking of now is this one on page 187, the song sparrow. Christopher Isherwood
This is an essay that I've read many times and just love it. I find I'm always reading. Reading signs on the subway, flyers on street corners, reading shampoo bottles (over and over in every morning), food ingredients, magazines, newspaper, and, of course, books.
Re: Dufresne's essay-- above my desk I have: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus, the Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary, and, close at hand I have The Ultimate Visual Dictionary
(good for looking up things like a 'kave'--an oar pivot on a Viking Rowing Boat) and the 1902 Edition of the Sears Roebuck Catalogue
(which is now on CD Rom! ...there was a time, when I was about 8 or 9, that I thought you could still order from it...)
Right now (per my agent's suggestion) I’m reading: ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ curiousincident
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| Roy Darling (Artist) - Nanaimo's La Peregrina |
| 07.09.05 (1:08 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Christine
Roy Darling’s fascination with sail boats has been with him for as long as he can remember. His fascination with art and inventions has also been a side attraction. Roy is in his niche if he can combine the three themes - nautical, artistic, and ingenuity. He has managed to master all three in his recent creations of “Spirit Ships”.
Roy, as with any avid ship owner, has a nostalgic attachment to his vessels. However, after the death of a well known Nanaimo resident, he decided to create a piece of art that memorialized boaters’ favourite pastime.
His first “Spirit Ship” painting was created after the death of Nanaimo’s, Allen Farrell. Farrell, onetime champion gymnast who could still walk on his hands in his 70’s, was Nanaimo's free-spirited, crowd avoiding, and classic boat expert. He was especially noted for his classic junk, the China Cloud, which he constructed entirely by hand.
Farrell’s generosity to boat owners was well documented, albeit orally. There were stories of his helping out other boaters when they were short on food or cash. He was also know for the dozens of hand-built (never with power tools) boats he crafted. His boats took him along the coastal waters of British Columbia and as far as Hawaii and Fiji.
Allen’ wife, Sharie, died before him, leaving everyone to wonder how Allen would fare given the closeness of the couple, who were together over 50 years. He stated he was prepared to join her, and at the age of 89, did. Prior to passing away, he had been helping a friend, Bill Wilkinson, build a replica of the China Cloud.
Farrell was also the subject of two books - Dan Rubin’s “Salt on the Wind” and Maria Coffey’s “Sailing Back in Time”
Roy was so impressed with Allen’s craftsmanship of China Cloud, as well as with the man’s personality, he decided to pay tribute to Farrell with his multi-medium painting, ‘China Cloud - Spirit Ship’. Using nautical charts of the areas Farrell most frequented as his canvas, Roy painstakingly re-created the China Cloud using various photographs as his guide. He then added details to the painting such as Allen, his dog, as well as other details.
Last but not least, Roy ensured that the China Cloud was always ‘at sail’, both day and night. Sure enough, when it is time for bed and the lights go down, the China Cloud floats eerily on the wall, glowing for all to see.
Roy’s artwork is unique, quirky, and beautiful. He is not limited to just ‘Spirit Ships’ having painted for most of his life. However, the ‘Spirit Ships’ are something that lie close to his heart.
Roy is in the midst of creating his website (roydarling.com) which will showcase his art as well as his inventions. He has finished four ‘Spirit Ships’ and offers customized art for any and all boat lovers out there.
Generally, after gathering pictures, charts, and information, Roy takes approximately 3 weeks to fine-tune a painting. Prices depend upon the amount of detail involved, as well as whether the buyer would prefer the original or a giclé
(Giclé-on-canvas is a printing technique by which each second the ink-jet printing machine produces millions of extremely fine droplets of ink on fine linen canvas creating thousands of shades of color in an image of exceptional clarity and color fidelity. The use of pigmented ink provides for archive-type longevity.)
Giclés of Roy’s present ‘Spirit Ships’ can be purchased as he owns the originals.
If you would like further information, or would like to receive some jpegs of Roy’s art, email him at roydarling2000 (at) yahoo (dot) ca
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| We've just put our name forward for "feature blog" Help... |
| 07.09.05 (11:42 am) [edit] |
Hey there - thought I'd throw some t-bucks away and try to get our blog featured. If you could spare a vote, we'd be thrilled as we certainly could use some exposure. Thanks in advance if you've done so.
Christine, Lezah et al
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| Mike's Musings - Alerte au Telephone Sexy |
| 07.08.05 (9:51 pm) [edit] |
It's finally happened.
I've joined the Cell Phone Nation.
But not because I wanted to.
It was an act of desperation.
These are the Ides of Summer.
Certainly not a good time to lose continuous contact with one's peeps, posse, crew or bitches.
I was wary of the technology at first.
But it's slowly growing on me.
Three words.
Bad Religion ringtone.
(So if you call and I don't answer right away, it's not because I hate you for drinking all of my delicious imported beer, it's because I'm rocking out to 'American Jesus.')
Text wit me.
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| July 4th : Independence Through Decentralisation |
| 07.08.05 (3:43 pm) [edit] |
By: The Antagonist
Hollywood Wants BitTorrent Dead
Hollywood movie studios launched new legal action against operators of sites that help connect people ... In the United States and the United Kingdom, the Motion Picture Association of America, the main lobbying arm of U.S. film studios, filed civil lawsuits against more than 100 operators of BitTorrent "tracker" servers.
MPAA anti-piracy chief John Malcolm said the trade organization's actions
were not aimed at criminalizing P2P technology
itself, citing "legal torrent" services that specialize in public-domain material as examples of the technology's non-infringing potential.
Source:
Wired News
14 December, 2004.
Then came this
and this
and this
and this
and all of these
Which sort of indicated that the above statement was a little misleading.
Then came this development a few weeks ago, from the BitTorrent Trackerless
information page:
As part of our ongoing efforts to make publishing files on the Web painless and disruptively cheap, BitTorrent has released a
trackerless
version of BitTorrent in a new release.
Suppose you bought a television station; you could broadcast your programming to everyone in a 50 mile radius. Now suppose the population of your town tripled. How much more does it cost you to broadcast to 3 times as many people? Nothing. The same is not true of the Web. If you own a website and you publish your latest video on it, as popularity increases, so does your bandwidth bill! Sometimes by a lot!
Now it's new, improved BitTorrent Trackerless
- with added Trackerless Support
- which turns the 100 IP addresses targeted in December's round of the global media's "Which impoverished individual can we sue to keep ourselves rich" into a multiplicity of anywhere up to 4,294,967,296 IP addresses. And this
isn't even up and running properly yet with its 3,400,000,000,000,000,000 ,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000
possible moving-target-trackers.
The Antagonist hates to say, I told you so,
but in light of this
andthis
andthis
andthis
andthis
andthis
and lastly,this
I ask you, what’s next?
Image source
www.kefk.net
http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" title="http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://antagonise.blogspot.co...
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| J David Arranovitch: Lessons in Raping History |
| 07.07.05 (8:27 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by The Antagonist
http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" title="http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://antagonise.blogspot.co...
The Antagonist's attention has been drawn to a BBC web site article The Price On Your Head
which asks the very necessary question that everyone seems to be ignoring in the ID card rumpus, "Why are our personal details worth anything at all?"
The fact is our personal details aren't worth anything at all, other than some arbitrary value that someone who stands to gain or profit from them tells us they have, and which we then either ascribe to, or ignore for the valueless nonsense that it is.
Without fully exploring the valuelessness of identity and the requirement to prove it as perceived by governments and authorities the world over, or as perceived by we, the people, who can happily go about most of our daily business without the need to prove our identity to anyone, the BBC article ends with a quote from David Aaranovitch, who writes in The Times:
"I don't care if the folks in Old Tesco House are joking about my purchase of a family-sized tub of Vaseline, or if I am entered on a national DNA database which could help to track down rapists. I am not a shoplifter or a rapist."
And with these disingenuous words Arranovitch at once shoplifts the history of all persecuted peoples everywhere and rapes the memories of their tortured pasts.
The Antagonist suggests that it would be sensible for someone with a surname of Aaranovitch to understand properly the well-documented history of 1930s and 1940s Germany which led to the persecution of six million Jews and millions of other people deemed 'undesirable' such as the Roma people, who probably weren't shoplifters or rapists either, before committing such trite nonsense to paper before the 'educated' readership of The Times.
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| 070705 By: Sashi |
| 07.07.05 (7:52 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Sashi
London, My Thoughts are With You.
My first thought when I heard
this
was, “Are my friends all right?”
They are OK. I feel relieved.
About 38 others were not so fortunate. And many more seriously injured.
I have such fond memories of being a student in Britain. Although I have not been back in a long time, I still consider England to be a second home of sorts, where this short, skinny Malaysian-Indian kid was made to feel welcome.
My thoughts are with you, London. Be strong. Take care.
To the terrorists - idiots. May you rot in hell.
Rajan’s got links
ukblogs
to various UK blogs as well as to the UKBlogs Aggregator.
Aggregator
Also check out the Wikipedia page: 7 July 2005 London bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank"http://en.wikipedia.org/
Image by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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| Time for an update |
| 07.07.05 (7:26 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by: Andrew Hoshkiw
So where do I begin?
Went to the Faro music festival on the weekend. It was okay, but not great.
The turnout was really low, which made it less festive, less exciting and rather disappointing.
In terms of the people who were there though, it was worth it. I met a lot of bands. Some old rock stars from the 70s, including Nick Gilder of Sweeney Todd and the Stampeders.
I also ran into Wayne Lavallee, a fairly prominent first nations musician who I've met a few times before. Excellent guitarist. He gave me a CD, in exchange for agreeing to email him some photos.
It was the emerging artists who I most enjoyed and bonded with. Scott Macleod, a country rock musician from Calgary, and two rock bands from Whitehorse, Dec and the As and Say No More.
I also had dealings with the local redneck cops, who got mad at me for taking pictures of dancers without asking them.
It was a festival, I take pictures of everything. The musicians, the clowns, the drunks and yes the people dancing. I can't really stop them while they're dancing to ask permission - the spontaneity of it is lost.
I was actually shooting them as part of the scene, and not really as the main subject, but the cops didn't understand, so I gave in to their request.
Other than that it was fun. I got to see the ghost town that Faro now is. About 15 years ago the town had about 3,500 residents, but then the mine shut down and now only about 400 people live there. It's really erie. There are rows and rows of empty townhouses.
Then on Monday I had an interview with Daniel Lanois.
I started out by telling him how incredibly nervous I was and how big a fan I was of the U2 albums he produced.
Then he just started talking. There weren't really questions, he just talked and talked and talked, and basically said everything I wanted to know.
He was very easy to talk to, a very nice and quiet man. I was expecting French-tipped words, but instead he had a southern U.S. accent.
The interview was actually only an hour. We did it sitting on a bench outside the hotel. After the interview we went in to the bar and had a few drinks.
Tuesday night was the performance, and mother of God, he was incredible. There aren't a whole lot of other live performances I've seen which I'd describe to be as beautiful as his.
Perhaps ethereal is a better word. About half the show was strictly instrumental and for some of the songs he played a steel guitar.
At one point he stopped playing and told the crowd about the great article Andrew had written for the newspaper.
He actually played two shows, each two hours long. I saw both of them and it was worth it.
I could really hear the U2 in some of this songs. From now on, when I listen to U2, I'll hear Daniel Lanois.
Anyhow, this weekend comes the next music festival: Atlin. It should be the biggest yet. I'm really looking forward to it.
Image by www.abriefcanadianhistory.com
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| Mike’s Musings - Ejection Seat (of Love?) |
| 07.07.05 (6:49 pm) [edit] |
For more of Mike's musings go to http://www.swanktrendz.com
Unlucky in love?
Need to abandon ship?
These ten phrases will instantaneously guarantee that your first date will be your last date:
• "Yeah, my new job is ok I guess. But still, I really miss my old job at Neverland Ranch."
• "Hey! Remember that time I fingered your mom at the circus?"
• "No, I don't smoke weed. I'm only into huffing solvents."
• "Vote Republican."
• "Why thank you, but this is actually a wig. I'm completely hairless. everywhere. Ask me why."
• "I don't have a car... or a penis."
• "Gee, I'm not sure if I can meet you tomorrow or not. I'll have to ask the Almighty Leader when I return to the Fortified Compound of True Believers."
• Don't say anything. Just grind your teeth and glare. Wait for her to comment on that homemade 'Satan for Hire' tattoo that you've recently carved across your face.
• "Did you just fucking fart?"
• "Would you mind if I put this ball gag on you? Just for a sec? I wanna see how it looks."
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| The Recent London Bombings By Christine |
| 07.07.05 (1:29 pm) [edit] |
Christine http://www.swanktrendz.com
I do not hold a Political Science degree, nor will I pretend to be politically savvy, but I question certain peoples’ responses to (and foci on) terrorist activities.
Despite the triple attack this morning, Londoners remain remarkably calm as they were warned this was a possibility in advance; they just didn’t know when or where it would occur. And Londoners, being British, are a hardy sort.
Listening to the radio (CKNW) this morning, I was surprised at the number of phone ins declaring that countries “should band together” and fight these ‘terrorists’ (with there being so many, I don’t know which ones the person was referring to). Other callers were blaming Bush and Blair’s attack on Iraq for any terrorist activities. (Hmm... were those two in power during the (1972) Olympic terrorist attack?)
Whatever the reason for the attacks, everyone is to blame for the continuance of terrorism. By everyone, I am thinking in particular of past and present political leaders as well as (and especially because of) financial institutions.
Perhaps I am being very naive, but when I consider what is important to most people (aside from the basics as per Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) I think of four things: family, religion, property, and money. Hmmm... money. “The root of all evil”?
What of these suicide bombers whom immediately become martyrs once they’ve successfully pulled off a mission? Their surviving families are provided for- for the rest of their lives - by whom? What greater honour to bestow upon one’s family but give up one’s life so that they will never have to worry about their future?
I remember the initial search for Osama Bin Laden (much akin to “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” but with no cheat sheets.) Within a (what seemed to be) a millisecond we were quickly diverted into searching for weapons of mass destruction and corralling Saddam Hussein. Say what? Did I miss something here? For the entire world not to be able to find Osama, but easily find Saddam, makes me think that once again, money is the driving force (Osama appears to have a better bankroll).
Which brings me to my question, if money continues to assist in perpetuating terrorists attacks, why can’t we find the money laundering trail, and nail every banker, person, company that has had some role in this terrorist ‘charity’.
North America, Japan, Europe et al, have some of the best computer hackers in the world. They thrive to break codes. Instead of spreading “Melissa” viruses to bring down computers around the world - why not track monies going to various “suspicious characters” and “muck up” (for lack of a better technological term) their accounts? Nothing hurts more than having no pocket change to give to your favourite terrorist group.
Forget all this talk of war, retaliation, or carry on and do nothing, etc. Let’s declare technological havoc on the terrorists’ financial backers. Hackers of the world - unite! Find that money trail and throw in your codes. However, we mustn’t be alarmed to find those institutions we’re searching for many be in our own back yards.
Image from www.cnn.com/TECH/computing
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| 2003 Vintage Coonawarra Majella Sparkling Shiraz |
| 07.06.05 (5:01 pm) [edit] |
Submitted By: Becks & Posh
It's a Wednesday, and not just any Wednesday. It's Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 hosted by
Beau
from Basic Juice.
The theme this month is any off dry red. I admit this was a little bit confusing to me, I am not sure I was quite ready for advanced wine tasting, but I am not one to run away from a challenge so I decided to have a stab at it. Since Beau mentioned Shiraz amongst the list of acceptable wines for this assignment, I decided it was a great time to try one of the wines I had read about in an intriguing San Francisco Chronicle article about sparkling reds.
sparkling reds
2003 Vintage Coonawarra Majella Sparkling, bottle fermented Shiraz. I bought the last bottle at K&L for $25.
Majella wines
Majella
are made by the Lynn family who established a vineyard on their Majella property in Coonawarra, Australia over thirty years ago. You can read their own tasting notes for the 2002 vintage here
majella wines
The other evening I nonchalantly asked Fred if he would like a glass of red wine to which he replied in the affirmative. I snuck to the fridge and quietly cracked open my bottle of Sparkling Shiraz. I chose to pour it into my two new champagne glasses, given to me by a dear friend for my recent birthday. These beautiful glasses are hand made, artisan and not as fine as a regular flute so I thought they would suit a sparkling red quite well.
I shuffled across the room, handed Fred his glass before retreating back to the kitchen to watch his reaction from afar. He took a puzzled look at the glasses. I knew what he was thinking. Why is she serving red wine in champagne glasses? He lifted the glass and took a sip. Blech, what's that?! he exclaimed. It's crap. It's a red wine with Perrier inside. I wouldn't drink that the whole night, I tell you - it's going to give you a headache!
Being English, not French, being Sam and not Fred, I try to remain a little bit open minded about new-fangled eating and drinking ideas. My initial reaction was one of surprise too, but once I got over the initial shock, I started to grow quite fond of this startling wine.
The first thing I noticed when I popped the cork was the berry, fruity aroma exploding out from the bottle. The nose is ripe and fresh, elderberry-scented with a tinge of burnt caramel. After a slight breathing further aromas of anise and black pepper started to appear.
Nothing quite prepares you for the shock of encountering bubbles in a red wine when you take your first sip, particularly because they are small and barely visible in the deep claret-coloured liquid. Think of a bounty of dark, ripe berries that have been made into a jam sweetened only by the fruit itself and you will be close the flavour of this wine. Somehow it is easy to drink once you have overcome any initial prejudices. Shiraz would be low on my list of red choices under normal circumstances, but the bubbles, somehow, seem to make it more quaffable. If it wasn't so pricey, I think I would drink it more often, especially since I think I might get the whole bottle all to myself...
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| Vancouver Chamber Music Festival: By Lezah |
| 07.06.05 (11:28 am) [edit] |
http://www.swanktrendz.com" title="http://www.swanktrendz.com" target="_blank"http://www.swanktrendz.com
The Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, being held July 21-30, will feature the Leopold String Trio this year. The Leopold String Trio's recently released debut recordings of the Beethoven String Trios has been voted 'Pick of the Month' in both the BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone magazine. These guys are HOT!
For more information, go to www.vanrecital.com
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| Like to Bike? By Lezah |
| 07.06.05 (11:27 am) [edit] |
http://www.swanktrendz.com
If you like to bike (pedal bike, that is), then maybe you should look into this magazine. Momentum, the magazine for self-propelled people, is published every two months and outlines all bike-related activities and events in the Vancouver area - and even some a little further afield. With classified ads, a children's biking section, legal advice, bicycle maintenance and a variety of other topics, you'll certainly have a lot to read.
Momentum is offered free in a number of locations, or you can subscribe at self-propelled@telus.net.
image by www.momentum-cycle.com/
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| Bard on the Beach: By Lezah |
| 07.06.05 (11:26 am) [edit] |
This year I will be attending my first ever Bard on the Beach performance. This is the 16th season for the Bard on the Beach shows, which are held under two tents in Vancouver's Vanier Park. Running from June 2 to September 25, this year's selections are as follows: As You Like It, Love's Labour Lost, Hamlet, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (that's the one I'm going to see!).
Tickets can be ordered through bardonthebeach.org, or at 604-739-0559.
image by www.vcmbc.com/Images
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| Interview went well with Daniel Lanois |
| 07.06.05 (11:24 am) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew Hoshkiw
I was expecting 20 minutes; he gave me two hours. An exerpt of my Daniel Lanois interview:
Lanois then shared his experiences with the rock giants U2.
"U2 and I have always shared a fascination with great sonics," he said. "They like to reinvent themselves every couple of years, and Brian [Eno] and I have always encouraged them of that."
"Generally there's two ways of working with them. Either it's the band in the band room playing together at stage volume - lots of jams with moments of inspiration, you never know what's going to happen - or it's a livingroom arrangement. This is a quieter way to work things out. Some of these sessions have gone on to be finished recordings."
"There's no rules with U2, they welcome different ways of doing things and it's very much a musical journey with them," he said. "They appreciate me as a musician. My work is to make musical suggestions. They do a lot of jam sessions, and even if they don't have some specific song in mind, sometimes some sonic will trigger Bono and it can be a lot of fun."
Swanktrendz note: Hopefully we’ll get the full interview out of Andrew.
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| Mike’s Musings - Optimistic Prime |
| 07.06.05 (11:22 am) [edit] |
These Band-Aids keep the wounds closed but they're doing a shit job of keeping the BBQ sauce out.
Everywhere I go science keeps happening.
Went on a field trip to Long Lake. We learned that 8-packs of beer float; that a frog is faster than a man, and when you smush a leech with a stick, stuff comes out of him.
My shoulders are sunburned and my torso is peppered with insect bites (though I’m not sure if they're from the lake or that ratty mange infected blanket I snoozed under the night before.)
Splashing around and discovering a new species of floating Leaf Bug is a commendable thing to do.
Eating five hot dogs in half an hour is not.
Now if you'll excuse me. I have to go microwave some light bulbs.
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| Mike’s Musings - Indefinite Precision |
| 07.06.05 (11:20 am) [edit] |
Before he could even open his eyes his gut was telling him "This is not a good place to be." His gut was also telling him "There is something very wrong in here, what did you do to me?"
Time to bite the bullet and find out what's happening.
He opened his eyes to a widescreen contrast, half black, half... sky? Yeah, that must be the sky. Am I moving?
There was no still point of reference in his line of sight. Just sky and black. His legs and arms tensed reflexively; be still, am I moving?
Minutes passed.
An unreliable breeze came down, lazily pouring through his clothes and organs like he was an old screen door. Or some ancient sponge.
Okay, definitely not moving. Just the sky.
Still unable to make out what the black half was.
His eyes weren't bringing back enough information.
touch will work.
He felt an eerie sensation as he slowly raised his arm, like a puppeteer with a severe fever who showed up for work anyway.
He noticed a series of different colored stamps on the back of his hand. A clue.
His shaky fingers brushed tentatively across the black.
It's plastic.
Hard, black plastic.
He could actually feel that tiny brain piston sparking up, making the connection, stopping the wheels of confusion in his head the way a hockey stick stops a wobbly ceiling fan.
I'm in the back of a truck.
His gut: "Yes... a truck!"
Then reason stepped in. "Halt. Who do you know with a truck?"
Good question.
He started cross-referencing the old mind-Rolodex but his thoughts mechanically jumped rails.
Was this dawn? Or dusk?
He stared at the sky again for several minutes.
Very still. Trying to get a reading. Discerning.
Straining to detect any minor fluctuation in light levels.
Futile.
Fuck it. I'll just wait.
If it's dawn I'll stay for a while, try to get a hold on things. If it gets any darker, I flee, quick and easy.
No questions, no answers.
Reason: "What if some..."
Shut up.
Time to think about something else.
image by www.stanmiller.info/photographs
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| Mike’s Musings - Sidewalk Records |
| 07.06.05 (11:19 am) [edit] |
I just scored five records from a garbage pile on the sidewalk by my apartment. I literally yanked them from the clutches of the trash collectors, whose truck was right behind me.
Here's the bounty:
•Alan Mills and the 'Shanty Men' - Songs of the Sea (which includes the hits 'Blow The Man Down', 'The New Bedford Whalers' and 'Boney Was a Warrior.')
•A Hansel and Gretel children's record from 1960 (there's crude crayon markings covering the back of the sleeve, mostly illegible except for the word 'WAR' scrawled near the top.)
•Falco - Rock Me Amadeus (extended version!)
•KC and the Sunshine Band - in hindsight, I should've left this one on the sidewalk.
•Van Cliburn - Tchaikovsky Concerto No.1 (this one has a sticker on the front that says "Miracle Surface": this record contains the revolutionary new antistatic ingredient 317X, which helps keep the record dust free, helps prevent surface noise, helps insure faithful sound on Living Stereo records.)
Anyone else ever heard of this 317X before?
Didn't think so.
Utter quackery.
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| Problems of Perception |
| 07.06.05 (11:17 am) [edit] |
By The Antagonist
Niall Ferguson writes in today's Telegraph via:
Chrenkoff
"It may come as a surprise to Live 8 fans, but the top three reasons why most African countries are economic basket cases are not lack of aid, excessive debt service payments and protectionism by developed countries. They are in fact chronic misgovernment, recurrent civil war and the high incidence of diseases such as malaria and Aids."
Source: Telegraph
This news certainly comes as no surprise to The Antagonist and, while superhuman efforts can be made to try and address the devastating effects of malaria and AIDS, there is only way one to deal with the chronic misgovernment and the recurrent wars that arise from that chronic misgovernment:
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| Live8/G8/Just8 - An African Perspective |
| 07.06.05 (11:15 am) [edit] |
Submitted By: The Antagonist
Joined-up thinking that bites direct from Thinker’s Room
in Kenya, Africa, which espouses the same notion of 'people power' as John Pilger and, er, The Antagonist.
Live Aid? Please!
Personally I find it laughable watching a knighted man with a good dinner in his belly and the remnants of the said dinner at his elbow addressing the press from a plush, six star hotel in his passionate and very genuine belief that he can strike the blow that will end world poverty.
...
No, I am not holding my breath. The solution will not come from Live Aid or from G8. It will come from Africans who will finally refuse to accept the nonsense they are subjected to by their asinine leadership and throw the lot of the useless cretins out.
Source: Thinker's Room
Thinker's follow-up, Get Real: Global Politics 101 & Live 8
makes for interesting reading too.
And, as the solution for Africans will come from refusing to accept their asinine leadership, so too will the solutions for the rest of the world come when we refuse to accept the asinine leaderships of Just8, and their ilk, and their twisted dedication to infinite 'profit' and 'growth' at any expense.
http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" title="http://antagonise.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://antagonise.blogspot.co...
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| Summer Fashions (Not): By Lezah |
| 07.04.05 (3:33 pm) [edit] |
"If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say anything at all."
Those words, first spoken by Thumper to Bambi in the Disney classic, has long stuck with me. Likewise, my mother's advice to "Bite your tongue!" have been words that I have lived by. Unfortunately, however, something has come over me lately that is forcing me to go against tradition: today I will speak my mind, and I warn you - it ain't gonna be pretty!
First of all, ever since the spring, I have been reading about the footwear of the summer season - espadrilles. All I can say is YUCK! Every time I see those things, the urge to tie some codwood to my feet with a piece of raffia and clomp around with all the espadrille wearers comes over me - the problem is, it would all be for naught, as no-one would notice any difference between me and them, I'm sure...
The other thing that's being hailed as the big seller for summer by the media is the Boho look. Now come on, people! This look was so very, very over thirty-odd years ago - and when it came back briefly a year or two ago, well, frankly - that's fashion. But it shouldn't have lasted. Not this long.
But here we are, in the summer of 2005, and everywhere you look, there are people in gypsy flounces and all the other bohemian chic accoutrements. In a word: vile.
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| Rock Reruns and the Simpsons by Lezah |
| 07.04.05 (3:30 pm) [edit] |
Simpsons episodes this week are all thematically connected: each features a guest appearance by a well-known rock band or singer. Called 'Rock Mania Week', it is running on the Comedy Network nightly at 9.
Monday's episode is the Emmy-award winning episode entitled 'Trash of the Titans' and features U2, Tuesday night has Blink 182, Wednesday night we'll see Mick Jagger, Thursday night stars Peter Frampton, on Friday night is Aerosmith, and on Saturday, The Red Hot Chili Peppers come to Springfield.
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| Make Poverty History |
| 07.04.05 (3:28 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mark
My wife and I marched on the Make Poverty History demonstration through Edinburgh yesterday.
What a magnificent site it was to see so many people (over 200,000) - in particular large numbers of the very young and old - gathered together for one message: "Make Poverty History". I do not for one minute expect the march to live up to its slogan - this would be a naive mis-reading of its purpose - but I do hope that it sparks off not only political action among world leaders, but also a greater, constant attention to world issues from the media, and a more concerted coming together at grassroots level of all the charities, NGOs and governmental organizations involved in assisting poorer and developing countries to become self-supporting.
image by justiceandpeacescotland.org
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| Restaurant Review: Soleil @ K San Diego Marriott |
| 07.04.05 (3:26 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Becks& Posh
Soleil @ K San Diego Marriott Gaslamp, 660 K Street San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 446-6088
Below is a picture of the dining room at Soleil @ the K in the Marriott Hotel on a quiet Sunday evening. Eating here was the biggest mistake of our recent trip down South and I am still kicking myself that I didn't do more research into where we should have dinner on our second evening in town, instead of trusting the opinions of a couple of strangers we met at the bar of our hotel.
When Soleil was being so enthusiastically recommended to us I didn't cotton on to the fact it was a Hotel restaurant, otherwise I probably would not have jumped at the suggestion so eagerly. We arrived in the large, cavernous space that had very few customers and zero atmosphere.
We should have turned round and run, but we didn't, we were slightly lost in an unfamiliar town, so we soldiered on.
They started by bringing us the most gimmicky bread order I think I have ever seen. The bread, was served warm in a little paper bag emblazoned with the restaurant's logo. For some reason, I couldn't get Airline food out of my head. Maybe that has something to do with a great (for airline food) warm panini breakfast sandwich which was served in a similar bag, that I encountered on a transatlantic United flight several years ago. Or maybe it was because of the little compartmentalized tray of roasted garlic cloves and oil-dribbled parmesan cheese that was plonked down by its side. Nothing too wrong with the taste except it didn't taste like it had been made with love. How do you quantify that?
Fred has been going through a little foie gras phase recently (and there is much more to come, believe me) so I am happiest when he pays for dinner. Foie gras terrine, Caramelized Apples, Zinfandel Syrup, Toasted Brioche, $18. The paté was tasteless and too fatty (is it a misnomer to accuse it of that?). The apples and the sauce were good. Unfortunately, there was not enough toast to support the ample slice of foie gras.
The Wood Fired Salami Pizza with roasted sweet peppers, chili oil, oregano and parmesan $12 was delicious. The base was incredibly thin, possibly the thinnest crust of all time, it was more like a cracker. The pizza, served on a wooden paddle, tasted fresh, earthy and fragrant with the scattering of green herb leaves. Oh, how I wish I could have turned back the clock and revised my order to have a pizza too.
But no, instead of sticking with a nice simple pizza, I had to go and get the Grilled Main Lobster, corn pudding, grilled asparagus, warm lemon, m.p. [Market price on this occasion turned out to be $35].
By this stage I should tell you about Michelle, our slightly scattered, but very likable waitress, who had assured me that the lobster was wonderful. Across the other side of the room I could see the lone wood-burning-oven chef preparing those dishes that needed fire. From my vantage point it looked like she had a pile of already-cooked lobster. She would pick a few pieces out for the plate and then shove them in the oven for that wood-fired effect. So I was eating my lobster and I wasn't really happy. The lobster flesh was as tough as an old boot, I was having trouble chewing it. I put this down to it not being freshly cooked, and to it having been cooked for too long.
Anyway - I struggled on - deciding not to make a fuss when Michelle bounded over to ask how everything was. But I guess my expression gave me away, I couldn't fake any love for this particular lobster, so Michelle asked what was wrong. I told her - it is tough and overcooked. Before I could stop her (I called after her to please not to), she had gone to fetch the person in charge.
The miserable manageress was a fierce, young matron in a dangerous red suit and spikey-heeled shoes that clicked ominously against the hard stone floor. The crescendo of her approaching footsteps pierced terror into my being before they stopped abruptly at my table. "You have a problem", she barked at me. I explained that the lobster was overcooked. "I'll get you another one then". It's ok, I said, I don't care for another one. (I was thinking, the last thing I need, is even more of this crap. As far as I could the lobsters were all precooked so the problem couldn't be solved that easily) She really didn't know how to handle the situation at all - she didn't know what to say - so she just walked off without a word and someone came to take away my half finished plate and Fred cheered me up by feeding me scraps of his pizza.
Michelle hinted that they were going to bring us free dessert. We implored of her not to. Please, we explained, we rarely eat dessert, even less so when it is chosen on our behalf, plus we had a sour taste in our mouths after the manageress' stern and unfriendly handling of the situation. (It wasn't like we had demanded to see the manager, that was a decision made by our waitress without our approval.) We just wanted to get out of there asap so we asked for the check.
I don't know what you think, but I expected to be comped something. After all they had taken away my unfinished plate. When we saw the bill and they had charged full price I asked the waiter (Michelle had mysteriously disappeared by this stage), if they were not going to do anything about the lobster problem.(A problem that they, after all, had created.)
He went off for a while and then came back with a new check showing that the price of the lobster had been reduced by half. But the most interesting thing of all, the thing that made me laugh,was that they had actually entered a reason for the price reduction on the receipt:
"DID NOT LIKE LOBSTER" was their exclamation, when really the only way they could have redeemed themselves would have been by saying something like "WE ARE VERY SORRY, PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR SERVING YOU SUCH BADLY PREPARED LOBSTER" So - they made it look like the whole problem was my fault when they should have accepted responsibility for the situation themselves and apologized accordingly. The idiot in charge probably couldn't manage her way out of a paper bag if she tried.
After dinner we tried out the open-air roof-top bar on a high-up floor of the hotel. The views were amazing but the atmosphere was lacking so we only stayed for one drink.
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| More O'Connor |
| 07.04.05 (3:14 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Political Heretic
Okay. It's 10:28 pm on a Saturday night and I'm posting a link on retiring Justice O'Connor?
Here's the money quote:
"Most of what we have been hearing about potential nominees is about their "judicial philosophy" or their "theory of the Constitution." During last year's presidential campaign debates, Bush said, "I would pick people that would be strict constructionists."
And now, in anticipation not of O'Connor's retirement but of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's departure, activist groups on the left and the right have raised millions of dollars to promote or fight against nominees depending on their judicial philosophies. We're asked to support Janice Rogers Brown because she is dedicated to "preserving the Constitution as ratified," Michael McConnell because of his theory of the establishment clause, Emilio Garza or Edith Jones because they are constitutional originalists, Alberto Gonzales because of his position on substantive due process and abortion rights.
But these positions and writings reveal just one part of what the president should know to make his next decision. Character and range of human experience should also matter. Does the nominee have truly practical wisdom -- an on-the-muddy-ground understanding of the sheer diversity of human aspiration, emotion, frailty, and passion? Does the nominee have a sense of justice to prevail where simple theory proves inadequate? O'Connor did, and a court without members of these qualities does not bode well for our future."
By the way, the news coverage from The Washington Post here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here (editorial), here (editorial), and here (op-ed). (Swanktrendz could only provide a couple of links, so refer back to Political Heretics weblog for entire articles.)
The New York Times has some news analysis concerning the upcoming battle and O'Connor here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here (Kennedy) and here (editorial).
The Washington Times' coverage can be found here, here, here, here, and here (editorial).
Thirty-two links in all. Probably too much and redundant but oh well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl e/2005/07/02/AR2005070200 062.html" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl e/2005/07/02/AR2005070200 062.html" target="_blank"http://www.washingtonpost.com...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl e/2005/07/02/AR2005070200 971.html" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articl e/2005/07/02/AR2005070200 971.html" target="_blank"http://www.washingtonpost.com...
http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http" title="http://www.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http" target="_blank"http://www.nytimes.com/auth/l...://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/opinion/02 sat1.html&OP=7e3ac6afQ2FELQ25C Et0rpq00Q5CWEWPPQ5BEPuEPW E0Y@Q5D@0Q5DEPWpNQ5Co)yQ5 Cdj
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20050701-085016 -4603r.htm" title="http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20050701-085016 -4603r.htm" target="_blank"http://www.washtimes.com/op-e...
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| Mike’s Musings: Heritage Moment |
| 07.04.05 (3:09 pm) [edit] |
I love my country.
That's why I started drinking at 3 pm.
Because I have nothing but respect for Terry Fox. (Who is probably the greatest Canadian who ever lived. Burton Cummings, Donald Sutherland, Wayne Gretzky and the guy who wrote that hockey game episode of The Racoons round out the Top Five.)
I love that I live in a country where girls aren't afraid to steal fireworks and conceal them under their sweaters.
Yes, I thought to myself.
This is the way things ought to be.
And not just on Canada Day.
Everyday.
(I'd also like to spearhead a campaign to make the day after Canada Day a national holiday as well. It's called Sleepy Day.)
P.S. - Way to Exist.
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| Ballet BC 2005/2006 Season |
| 07.03.05 (10:52 am) [edit] |
By Lezah
The Ballet BC 2005/2006 season has now been announced, and what an exciting and eclectic mix it appears to be!
Here is the calendar:
Swan Lake (National Ballet) - Sept. 28- Oct. 1
Carmina Burana (Ballet BC) - Nov. 17-19
The Nutcracker (Alberta Ballet) - Dec. 28-30
Company B (Ballet BC) - Feb. 16-18 (Vancouver premiere, with music by the Andrews Sisters)
The Messiah (Royal Winnipeg Ballet) - Mar. 23-25
A Streetcar Named Desire (Ballet BC) - Apr. 6-8
All shows are held at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre; subscription packages are available now. (See link for purchasing)
http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/venues/Queen_Elizabet h_Theatre_Vancouver_BC.shtml" title="http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/venues/Queen_Elizabet h_Theatre_Vancouver_BC.shtml" target="_blank"http://www.coasttocoastticket...
image by www.artsontour.com/ dance/ballet-bc.html
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| Close Encounter with Maya Karin: By Sashi |
| 07.02.05 (9:49 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by: Sashi
http://www.sashiweb.com/" title="http://www.sashiweb.com/" target="_blank"http://www.sashiweb.com/
I just came back from lunch in an Indian restaurant in TTDI, where I found myself sitting not more than 5 feet away from Maya Karin. The Maya Karin.
She looked soooo hot in a sleeveless white top and light brown skirt.
I'm amazed I was able to spoon my food into my mouth, seeing how I spent most of my time shamelessly gawking at her. And when she walked past my table - her gorgeous body mere inches from mine - on the way to the sink, it was sheer good fortune that I did not tip my glass of limau ais all over my lap.
Let me tell ya - she is so much more stunning in real life as compared to on screen.
If only I had my camera with me....
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| Oxytocin and Trust |
| 07.02.05 (9:43 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mark
http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" title="http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://www.marktsinfoblog.blo...
I've written about the hormone oxytocin and its role in trust before (link 1), but here (via The Guardian, via Nature - link 2) comes interesting corroboration as to how it influences our decisions as to trustworthiness:
"Ernst Fehr of the University of Zurich and colleagues tested 194 healthy male students in a series of sophisticated games of risk and trust: the players were given notional currency and could choose to place all of it, some of it or nothing in the hands of trustees who would then decide how much to hand back after the stake had been tripled. Some players were given a whiff of oxytocin, some inhaled a vial of air. None of the players knew what they were sniffing and none knew whether the trustees were trustworthy or not: they had to make a decision. Those who sniffed oxytocin showed a greater propensity to trust someone than those who simply inhaled air. But when the trustee was replaced with a computer, both sets of investors showed much the same judgment. So the oxytocin did not make the investors generally more gullible or profligate: the effect was only visible when they had to deal with another human being. Paradoxically, Dr Fehr and his colleagues began the experiment because one of them believed that oxytocin signaled trustworthiness, rather than a propensity to trust."
I think I can just about get away with quoting this much of The Guardian article - the interesting point from a computing aspect is how to build trust within an oxytocin-free environment...
http://marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_marktsinfo blog_archive.html" title="http://marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_marktsinfo blog_archive.html" target="_blank"http://marktsinfoblog.blogspo...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0" title="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0" target="_blank"http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_...,,1497244,00.html
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| 07.02.05 (9:40 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Mark
http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" title="http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://www.marktsinfoblog.blo...
Via the Knowledge@Wharton newsletter comes an interview with Philip Evans (Boston consulting Group), Janice Fraser (Adaptive Path) and Ross Mayfield (Socialtext): "Wikis, Weblogs and RSS: What Does the New Internet Mean for Business?" (See Link 1). I don't think that the article says anything new about the collaborative software space, but what I did appreciate was the attempt to explain the shift in enterprise psychology and organization that is necessary to make the most of these "new" developments.
For me, three quotes stood out - one from each interviewee.
Connecting is about "decentralization and relinquishing control" according to Janice Fraser. I think this is an important point, but I always consider that within the enterprise it is more about "loosening control" (or "controlled freedom" as I like to call it) rather than relinquishing it. The aim is to have a clear set of governance policies and the resource to police and push collaborative efforts forward. Intranets , for instance, started down the organic path, expanded beyond control and are now being rationalized and brought under more central frameworks. Draw a line in the sand, but make it relatively fuzzy so that you do not discourage participation, then make sure that you enforce your policies. This has often been the issue with the various blogger sackings - companies have not been clear enough from the outset about which areas of business employee-bloggers can discuss without over-stepping the mark.
"One danger, however, is that of assuming that you can just grab some of these tools that have great social dynamics on the public web and believe they will work equally well inside an enterprise." is the second quote, coming from Ross Mayfield. This leads on from my remarks about governance in that a company needs to consider appropriate usage as well as auditing and control. In addition to this, however, a company needs to carefully implement any collaborative strategy. "Why are we doing this?", "What do we expect as an outcome?", "Are our staff ready for this?", "Are we fully behind this?", "How does this fit in with our business strategies?" - these are the sorts of question that need to be addressed before sailing into the great wide yonder.
"So much of reengineering, which is what major corporations have been about for the last 10 or 15 years, has been about linear efficiency -- lining everything up in as tight a way as possible along a path. That's wonderful if you know exactly what it is you want to do, and the aim of that task will never change. Increasingly, that's not the relevant challenge. The challenge is adaptability, complexity, uncertainty and your capacity to mine the elements of your business, people and knowledge into different and new combinations."
Philip Evans comment rounded things up for me: collaboration can assist in filling in some of the gaps in business, speeding time of response, pointing out the shortfalls in existing processes, exploring new market opportunities and so on and so forth.
I think that for the latest generation of social software (think Groupware) to succeed in the long-term, we should not focus on the types of software and technologies themselves: blogs, wikis, rss, online project management tools, but on the principles behind them: collaborative authoring, ownership of voice, timeliness of information, retention of experience and understanding, flow of information, point-to-point communication et al. The technologies will change over time, but the principles should not.
UPDATE: was just looking through my feeds in bloglines and noticed Mike Gotta listing "Properties Of Collaboration?" (see link 2) in the same vein. His list read: Contextual; Situational; Behavioral; Transformable; Historical; Shareable; Securable...
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1227.cfm" title="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1227.cfm" target="_blank"http://knowledge.wharton.upen...
http://mikeg.typepad.com/perceptions/2005/06/p roperties_of_c.html" title="http://mikeg.typepad.com/perceptions/2005/06/p roperties_of_c.html" target="_blank"http://mikeg.typepad.com/perc...
http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" title="http://www.marktsinfoblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://www.marktsinfoblog.blo...
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| Contemplating weekend strategies |
| 07.02.05 (9:26 pm) [edit] |
Submitted by Andrew
http://www.hoshq.com/" title="http://www.hoshq.com/" target="_blank"http://www.hoshq.com/
Faro music festival starts tonight at 7:00 p.m., and continues all day Friday and Saturday.
If I leave tonight after work I won't get there till about 10:00 p.m. Although I'd make it in time for the headliners, I'd miss a few early acts which I really want to see.
Considering most of the bands that play tonight play again some time else during the weekend, I'm thinking maybe I don't have to go till tomorrow.
Which leaves the question of what to do tonight.
As it so happens, there's another mini music festival in the park, sort of a pre-Canada Day celebration thing. This time it's several local bands and one headliner from Ontario.
I think they're punk. I like punk. I like it a lot more than the one-hit-wonder 70s era band who's headlining Faro tonight.
And covering this event will mean one more story for next week.
Notes to self:
1. I must remember at some point today to renew the hosting package for this site, or else it'll disappear over the weekend.
2. I must remember to go switch my health card to the Yukon, to avoid having to pay any more B.C. health premiums.
Oh, and I must not forget to take the Wild Turkey to Faro!
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| Maine and Gay Discrimination By: The Political Heretic |
| 07.01.05 (4:38 pm) [edit] |
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/1745516.shtml
http://www.politicalheretic.blogspot.com/" title="http://www.politicalheretic.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://www.politicalheretic.b...
Religious conservatives associated with two state organizations may have collected enough signatures to put a vote on a new gay rights law up for a vote. The law in question prohibits anti-gay discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodation and credit, but does not authorize domestic partnership legislation, civil unions, or marriage. Two groups that collected the signatures urging this repeal: the Christian Civic League of Maine, and the Maine Grassroots Coalition, apparently collected 57,000 votes - approx 6,000 more than they needed to. On two prior occasions, they succeeded in their mission to have similarly worded legislation repealed.
The legislation in question does not provide for gay union benefits of any kind and since the legislators around are well aware of domestic partnership and civil union legislation that passed in other states, the anti discrimination law they passed in no way can be interpreted to authorize such benefits. If the legislators wanted to provide such benefits, they would have passed domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage legislation to that effect.
The law more than likely was created in order to protect gay employees who either outed or outed themselves from being fired on the spot, or the agent and tenant from an eviction notice on account of their sexual attraction, and the gay high school student from harassment or unequal treatment in extracurricular activities.
Our Supreme Court has not yet ruled on this matter, but the banned discrimination referred to here seems constitutionally dubious to begin with and should, as the Maine legislators did, be prohibited. The Equal Protection Clause to the Fourteenth Amendment requires people who are similarly situated to be treated alike provided there is is no rational basis related to a legitimate government interest justifying discrimination. And the law in question in forbids discrimination in those areas where gay and straight Americans have a lot in common. The manager at a Target Store or the CEO at any big company would have no rational basis to discriminate between two employees on account of their sexual orientation, and the landlord would have no basis to distinguish between the gay and straight couple "living in sin."
Maine's voters will have a third opportunity to strike this law down, but they should decline. There is no reason why gays should be deprived of the right to make an honest living, or the right to a home. Gay rights activists fought similar repeal efforts twice already and failed, but this blogger hopes the third time is the charm and they finally succeed and stop the voices opposing tolerance.
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| The Onion: By Lezah |
| 07.01.05 (4:16 pm) [edit] |
If you haven't heard of this satirical newspaper (it's published every Thursday from the exotic locale of Madison, Wisconsin and is also available online at http://www.theonion.com), I suggest you look it up. According to the publishers, The Onion is the world's most popular humour publications - although I've learned a thing or two from the Onion: you can't always believe what you read (but I'm kind of takin' their word on this one).
But, regardless of that, if political humour, revisionist history, satire, irony, and irreverence are what you live for, then The Onion is the publication for you. There are no sacred cows here - everyone and everything is fair game, so please, faithful reader, check your political correctness at the door if you're interested in this one.
I have before me a book called 'The Onion Presents 100 Years of Headlines from America's Finest New Source: Our Dumb Century'.
I won't let all there secrets out, but basically it is a synopsis of headlines and happenings which took place internationally between 1900 and 1999, as 'interpreted' by the sarcastically witty minds at The Onion. Each page is presented as the real front page of a newspaper (The Onion) complete with headlines, stories and the like.
Here's just a teaser - some headlines include:
from December 18, 1903 - SCIENCE CONQUERS SKY WITH WRIGHT BROS. FLYING MACHINE; Heaven Expedition Slated for Next Year - Rail-road Scientists Say Kitty Hawk Flying Apparatus a Hoax
April 16, 1912 - WORLD'S LARGEST METAPHOR HITS ICE-BERG - Titanic, Representation of Man's Hubris, Sinks in North Atlantic - 1,500 Dead in Symbolic Tragedy
August 5, 1914 - WAR DECLARED BY ALL - Austria Declares War on Serbia Declares War on Germany Declares War on France Declares War on Turkey Declares War on Russia Declares War on Bulgaria Declares War on Britain - Ottoman Empire Almost Declares War on Itself
January 23, 1924 - LENIN DEAD FROM MASSIVE 'STROKE OF THE PEOPLE'; Glorious Lack of Oxygen Distributed Equally Through Brain - Brain Parts Shut Down like Proletarian Workers Laying Down Tools to Paralyze Bourgeois Factory Owner
Monday, November 1, 1926 - MAN VENTURES OUTSIDE HATLESS - Mere Wisps of Hair All that Stand Between Scalp, Elements
Tuesday, October 22, 1929 - STOCK MARKET INVINCIBLE - 'Buy! Buy! Buy!' Experts Advise - Wall Street, Spirits Soaring
Tuesday, October 29, 1929 - PENCILS FOR SALE - Stock Market Crashes; Debacle Linked to Jews, Negroes, Catholics, Anarchists, Foreigners, Women Voters
Friday, April 30, 1937 - ART CRITICS IMPRESSED BY SATURATION BOMBING OF GUERNICA - Slaughter of Hundreds in Spanish Town Called 'A Stunning Breakthrough in Post-Cubism'
Sunday, July 4, 1937 - AMELIA EARHART MISSING - Famed Aviatrix 'Probably Just Shopping,' Search Teams Say
Wednesday, August 3, 1945 - WAR OVER! 50 Years of Nuclear Paranoia Begin Today
And so on...
In Canada, The Onion can be bought at Chapters, Indigo, and Amazon
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| Bye-bye, Waving Man By Lezah |
| 07.01.05 (4:15 pm) [edit] |
About three or four months ago, I changed the route I usually take to work. I didn't change it because I found a faster or less congested or more scenic drive - no, I changed my route because I discovered the Waving Man.
The Waving Man is my pet name for a very old, very frail-looking, almost painfully thin, crepe-paper skinned septuagenarian who (I'm guessing) supplements his measly pension by working mornings as a crossing guard at an elementary school. This particular school is on a very busy highway - in fact, it is the highway that leads from the truck crossing at the Canada/US border up to the Trans Canada Highway.
Anyway, at the time I'm going by, there are no kids yet, but the Waving Man is always at his post, regardless of the weather, and he has a mission. The Waving Man stands on his corner and waves at every vehicle that passes by - he waves with an almost frenzied zeal, an unbridled enthusiasm that obviously has no strings attached. He waves at truckers, at minivan driving moms, at workers commuting to their jobs, at whomever happens to pass by.
And people wave back.
It's a cultural phenomenon that is rarely seen in larger urban/suburban centres, and yet here it is, on a street corner near me - and I've decided I can't live without it. Every morning now, I have to get my Waving Man fix.
Just to have my day kick-started with an anonymous friendly gesture, one where nothing is demanded or expected of me in return, has, to some degree, changed my days for the better.
But now school is out, and the Waving Man was not at his post this morning.
I know now, by September I'll really be jonesin' for some anonymous goodwill... Hopefully August won't find me breaking into someplace where they store universal goodwill - I'm pretty sure the government has it all locked up at a warehouse someplace around here...
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| Mike’s Musings: Relative Humidity |
| 07.01.05 (4:13 pm) [edit] |
I've never needed a cold can of beer so badly.
I hate to be the type to complain about weather, but cripes man, it's stickier than a mousetrap covered in tree sap.
Muggier than... a .. guy getting mugged.
It's humid.
and I am Count Sweat'n'stein.
The walk from mid-Quinpool to Smith St. is not a long one, but between the tepid, vaporous air, the exceptional dryness of the inside of my mouth and the fact that my clothes felt like microwaved cling-wrap, it was an ordeal.
Around the halfway home point I could feel a small rock lodged in the grippy pattern on the underside of my sneaker.
When I tried to jostle it free I realized there was something else on the bottom of my sneaker.
Something squishy that was now smeared on my right hand.
Too uncomfortable to confirm what it was, I brushed it off on my jeans, assuming it was gum or a dropped piece of food.
A block or so later, when scratching my nose, I realized it was dog shit.
Most non-triumphant.
I thought to myself, I hope this isn't one of those nights where I randomly bump into a mysterious stranger, or an old friend, or my future self having travelled back through time to give me an important message, because this menagerie of unpleasant odours radiating furiously from my body is repulsive.
I needed beer now more than ever.
More than that time I was at that bar.
And home was still six, seven minutes away.
When I reached the unusually quiet Robie St./Spring Garden Road intersection, I stopped.
There I was.
Midnight.
At the crossroads.
Waiting for the Devil to appear.
My soul for an icy can of imported beer?
Hell yeah. Take my watch too.
I waited, but he never showed.
He probably doesn't like the smell of dog shit either.
http://sneakinout.blogspot.com/" title="http://sneakinout.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"http://sneakinout.blogspot.co...
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| Comic Review by Kenn |
| 07.01.05 (4:10 pm) [edit] |
A very lean week.
W.I.T.C.H. Vol 1
Planetary #23
Kitty Pryde Shadow and Flame 1 of 5
Previews
Girls #2 - The Luna Brothers
I don't know. Blabber blabber blabber. Really. I don't know. I read Ultra #1 by the Luna Brothers. Someone gave it to me so I read it. Well drawn and actually well written. Great babes. I didn't read anymore. I wanted to, but I didn't want to be seen buying it. It would have felt like buying sleazy porn. I bought Girls #1. It was interesting. Well drawn. Well written. It felt like reading sleazy porn. I had preordered #2 so I bought it and just read it. It really felt like reading sleazy porn. Very well drawn and well written sleazy porn, with a great kicker at the end of the issue. I really want to read #3, but there's something just wrong about these books. It's as if they exist just to provide a venue for drawings of hot babes. But the writing is interesting. As far as off mainstream comics go, Girls is very well done. But it still feels like porn in a way that other cheesecake comics don't. In my day every 13 year old boy would have bought this book for obvious and nefarious reasons. Now they have the internet. I just don't know.
Shojo Beat Vol 1 #1
Congratulations to Viz for putting together a great package of girls comics from Japan. Over three hundred pages of girls manga for $5.99. Let's not quibble, it's 6 bucks, but it's 6 bucks well spent. The leadoff story alone is 100 pages long. 100 pages. 6 dollars. It's a bargain compared to American comics without a doubt.
I bought it for my wife, but I certainly enjoyed it myself. Much more than Shonen Jump, also published by Viz. I buy Jump for my 10 year old son and he loves it. It's his favorite read and at six bucks it keeps him occupied longer that a movie would. I don't read it though. It's the usual kid stuff you see on Cartoon Network and I've had my fill of that. Shojo Beat is a little more fun. Many of the stories give you a truer, if very melodramatic, sense of Japanese culture. Sure it's from the perspective of a 17 year old girl, but what the hell?
I haven't made it through the entire book yet, it actually takes some time to read these stories, but here's a breakdown of what I've read so far.
Nana by Ai Yazawa Nana is by far my favorite series in Shojo Beat. Weighing in at 100 pages in it's debut you get a good solid chuck of story and a great intro to the main characters. Nana is a boy crazy high school student in a small city who can't figure out why her relationships don't pan out. Her latest, a married salaryman, has just been transferred to Tokyo and she is in crisis. She's a ditz, no doubt about it, but she's also appealing. Nana gets an A.
Absolute Boyfriend By Yuu Watase Anyone familiar with manga in North America probably knows who Yuu Watase is. She's the creator of Fushigi Yugi, The Mysterious Play, one of the most popular manga and anime series to make it over here. Absolute Boyfriend is not one of my favorites by her, that would be Imadoki, but it's fun. It's basically a girls take on Video Girl Ai. Riiko thinks she is a loser with the boys. See any pattern here? After an encounter with a weird guy she goes on his web site and orders a boy, thinking its some kind of blowup doll. It's not. Absolute Boyfriend gets a B+
There's something I should make clear here. These comics are not for little girls. Put plainly, there is sex. And more sex. So far there hasn't been anything graphic in the stories and Viz will probably keep it fairly tame, but this is definitely for teens and older. There is a rating on the cover indicating just that. You have been warned.
The last story I read is Godchild by Kaori Yuki. It's a semi goth murder mystery set in 19th century England. The main character of the series is the mysterious Lord Cain who seems to be a supporting character until he steps forward and solves the mystery. I assume this will be the pattern of the series. We experience most of the actions through this eyes of another character who is in distress. Lord Cain steps in and saves the day. Godchild in my least favorite of the series I have read so far, but it still gets a B.
That puts me a little more that halfway through this issue. There are still 3 series left to read. Kaze Hikarem a samurai drama, Baby and Me and Crimson Hero which is a complete unknown to me. I plan to sample them over the next few weeks.
Viz has done a great job here with this book and I hope it's a huge success. I would love to see them do a monthly sports manga for men. Most of the manga that have made it over to North America are chosen by fanboys for fanboys. There is an incredible variety of material available to be translated in to English. Here's hoping Viz will tap into that.
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