So after a month apart, I finally have Cathy back in the apartment. Which is a very good thing. It's nice having the place to myself and all, but it does get a bit lonely after awhile. Now I have a small hurricane blowing through the apartment, with Cathy unpacking everything and trying to find places for all of our stuff. We have, as Cathy frets, a lot of stuff. Or not enough space. Or some combination of both. One more reason that we're going to start poking around for a larger place. Assuming we can find one that lets us have dogs.
Speaking of which, Boo is back as well, although he's quite sedate. It's worrying Cathy a bit, but I figure the combination of a couple of days of travel and a touch of depression at being back in Iqaluit might be doing it to him. I'm not going to over-analyze the dog here or anything, it's just the last couple of months he's been in Newfoundland being spoiled by Cathy's parents (and oh did they spoil him) with lots of walks each days, grass to romp through and critters other than ravens to chase. So yeah, I could see being back here and realizing he's back to his old routines might sap some of the good from him. But I don't anticipate putting him on anti-depressants or anything.
The other news is that our trip to Australia is coming that much closer to reality. Cathy's been dealing with Aeroplan on this and has been showing infinite patience. It takes a lot of phone calls to get from Iqaluit to Sydney. Especially since you can book Aeroplan tickets on Air Canada up to 355 days in advance of the flight, but First Air/Canadian North can be booked 335 days in advance. As you can imagine, that means a lot of extra phone calls and unnecessary complications.
I have no idea why Canadian North/First Air does their seat bookings at a different time than Air Canada other than to make things difficult. And you do have to book these things that far in advanced. The Air Canada seats to Australia disappear quickly, especially since we're flying business class (it's a long flight, we have the points, we're going to use them) And the northern airlines only have two Aeroplan seats per flight. And they disappear very quickly.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that we have the Iqaluit-Ottawa-Vancouver-Sydney portion of the trip locked in. And as of today we have the Sydney-Vancouver-Ottawa portion of the trip locked in. We just have to wait another three weeks or so to lock in the Ottawa to Iqaluit portion. And considering that ticket is probably more expensive than the Ottawa-Sydney trip, it's an important portion. But it's looking very good.
A month in Australia. Italy was fun, but we're really looking forward to Australia. That's the dream trip.
Last Five
1. Freak me out - Weezer
2. Sophomore slump - Fallout Boy
3. The spirit of radio - Rush*
4. Complete control (live) - The Clash
5. In Between Days - Ben Folds
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Punditry and predictions
So, having watched the US presidential election cycle pretty thoroughly since about December last year, I have to say, I’m feeling pretty frustrated. That was a wasted opportunity.
Oh no, I’m not talking about the quality of the candidates and who is running for each party. Relatively speaking, each party landed about the best candidate possible under the circumstances. No, no, no….what I’m talking about is money. Specifically, a wasted chance for me to make some.
Look, I’ve read a lot of news stories and political commentary in the past nine months or so. And as best I can figure, especially with the commentary, there are only three skills that are required - an ability to meet a word count, an ability to hit a deadline and an unsurpassed ability to talk out of your ass. I imagine a fourth, an ability to actually know what you’re talking about would be nice, but not a prerequisite.
Seriously, finding someone who is intelligent, makes interesting points and doesn’t have a large axe to grind is like finding find a chunk of gold while panning in the middle of a very cold, very fast moving river. You’re likely that numb and on the verge of being swept away by banality that when you actually find a chunk of gold you’re kind of in shock.
That there are a lot of hacks out there in the magic land of political commentators is hardly a news flash, although the volume of people who clearly have no idea, who clearly are just making shit up as they go along because it’s a deadline and they have 800 words to fill in the next couple of hours is kind of staggering.
So on the off-chance someone in the US stumbles across this site and doesn’t already a political hack and is willing to pay decent money for an outsider perspective of the US presidential election, well, I’m your man. You can talk to my former editors – I can hit a deadline, I can write a lot and I can write bullshit and make it sound like I’m wise and in the “know.”
Want proof? Here’s my prediction for the vice presidential candidates. Obama is going to pick Joe Biden. McCain is going to pick Tim Pawlenty.
Why? Obama gets two important things with Biden. First, he obviously gets an exceptionally knowledgeable man on foreign affairs and secondly, he gets a professional attack dog. Biden has never shied away from being able to cut people to pieces with particularly memorable quotes. Yes, that makes him a risk to say something wrong (which Biden has done plenty of times in the past), but the pros outweigh the cons. Plus, the Democratic base, which is starting to get a bit skittish, will like Biden. He’s not bland and he’s not afraid to rip Republicans.
Why not some of the others? Bayh is viewed as a bit bland and was a little too gung-ho on the Iraq war, which dampens some of Obama’s attack in that area. Kaine doesn’t have the necessary experience. And yes, Obama might like to pick someone from a state that he wants to put in play, in this case Indiana and Virginia. But as past history shows, a VP candidate is hardly any guarantee to bring that state into play. So why not pick the attack dog with the experience to be able to handle the job (and that job is not VP. I could probably be VP. No, the other job. The job no hope hoes the VP candidate gets for many years.)
As for Hillary, just no. Not going to happen. At all.
As for McCain, well, Pawlenty gives him everything he needs. Someone a bit more familiar with economic issues, is younger, but not so young that he makes McCain look like his grandfather. And most importantly, he’s evangelical, and McCain still needs to suck up to that base because they still have doubts about him.
As for the other possible contenders, well Ridge is pro-choice and the Republican evangelical base just about had a small stroke with McCain floated the idea last week. Lieberman is not only pro-choice, I’m not entirely sure anyone likes him. Republicans don’t trust him because he is, theoretically, a Democrat. Democrats don’t like him because they think he’s a prick.
As for Romney, I’m not sure anyone likes him. Yes, he might bring a few states in play (Michigan, Massachusetts and some of the western states with large Mormon populations), but he’s viewed as smarmy, would change his position at the drop of a dime and would, again, likely alienate some evangelicals.
So, nope, Pawlenty it is.
And for those editors out there, I can easily write another piece explaining how clever I am for being able to predict these choices. If I’m wrong I can do something explaining why each of these two exceptionally intelligent men were wrong to not chose these two people, because I obviously know better.
Huh...guess I have learned something the last nine months from all of those commentators after all.
Last Five
1. Climbing up the walls - Radiohead
2. Please Mr. Postman – The Beatles
3. Mama – My Chemical Romance
4. Hallelujah – Ryan Adams*
5. People of the sky - Sloan
Oh no, I’m not talking about the quality of the candidates and who is running for each party. Relatively speaking, each party landed about the best candidate possible under the circumstances. No, no, no….what I’m talking about is money. Specifically, a wasted chance for me to make some.
Look, I’ve read a lot of news stories and political commentary in the past nine months or so. And as best I can figure, especially with the commentary, there are only three skills that are required - an ability to meet a word count, an ability to hit a deadline and an unsurpassed ability to talk out of your ass. I imagine a fourth, an ability to actually know what you’re talking about would be nice, but not a prerequisite.
Seriously, finding someone who is intelligent, makes interesting points and doesn’t have a large axe to grind is like finding find a chunk of gold while panning in the middle of a very cold, very fast moving river. You’re likely that numb and on the verge of being swept away by banality that when you actually find a chunk of gold you’re kind of in shock.
That there are a lot of hacks out there in the magic land of political commentators is hardly a news flash, although the volume of people who clearly have no idea, who clearly are just making shit up as they go along because it’s a deadline and they have 800 words to fill in the next couple of hours is kind of staggering.
So on the off-chance someone in the US stumbles across this site and doesn’t already a political hack and is willing to pay decent money for an outsider perspective of the US presidential election, well, I’m your man. You can talk to my former editors – I can hit a deadline, I can write a lot and I can write bullshit and make it sound like I’m wise and in the “know.”
Want proof? Here’s my prediction for the vice presidential candidates. Obama is going to pick Joe Biden. McCain is going to pick Tim Pawlenty.
Why? Obama gets two important things with Biden. First, he obviously gets an exceptionally knowledgeable man on foreign affairs and secondly, he gets a professional attack dog. Biden has never shied away from being able to cut people to pieces with particularly memorable quotes. Yes, that makes him a risk to say something wrong (which Biden has done plenty of times in the past), but the pros outweigh the cons. Plus, the Democratic base, which is starting to get a bit skittish, will like Biden. He’s not bland and he’s not afraid to rip Republicans.
Why not some of the others? Bayh is viewed as a bit bland and was a little too gung-ho on the Iraq war, which dampens some of Obama’s attack in that area. Kaine doesn’t have the necessary experience. And yes, Obama might like to pick someone from a state that he wants to put in play, in this case Indiana and Virginia. But as past history shows, a VP candidate is hardly any guarantee to bring that state into play. So why not pick the attack dog with the experience to be able to handle the job (and that job is not VP. I could probably be VP. No, the other job. The job no hope hoes the VP candidate gets for many years.)
As for Hillary, just no. Not going to happen. At all.
As for McCain, well, Pawlenty gives him everything he needs. Someone a bit more familiar with economic issues, is younger, but not so young that he makes McCain look like his grandfather. And most importantly, he’s evangelical, and McCain still needs to suck up to that base because they still have doubts about him.
As for the other possible contenders, well Ridge is pro-choice and the Republican evangelical base just about had a small stroke with McCain floated the idea last week. Lieberman is not only pro-choice, I’m not entirely sure anyone likes him. Republicans don’t trust him because he is, theoretically, a Democrat. Democrats don’t like him because they think he’s a prick.
As for Romney, I’m not sure anyone likes him. Yes, he might bring a few states in play (Michigan, Massachusetts and some of the western states with large Mormon populations), but he’s viewed as smarmy, would change his position at the drop of a dime and would, again, likely alienate some evangelicals.
So, nope, Pawlenty it is.
And for those editors out there, I can easily write another piece explaining how clever I am for being able to predict these choices. If I’m wrong I can do something explaining why each of these two exceptionally intelligent men were wrong to not chose these two people, because I obviously know better.
Huh...guess I have learned something the last nine months from all of those commentators after all.
Last Five
1. Climbing up the walls - Radiohead
2. Please Mr. Postman – The Beatles
3. Mama – My Chemical Romance
4. Hallelujah – Ryan Adams*
5. People of the sky - Sloan
Monday, August 18, 2008
Last call
All right, swear to God, this is the last time I will mention Board of Regents election for, oh, at least a week. Today is the last day to vote. I don't know exactly when the deadline is, but the Alumni website says ballots must be postmarked before 4:30 p.m. NST, August 18, so I think it's a safe bet that you should vote before then, if you haven't already done so.
Remember, the handsome fellow at the very bottom of this page is the one you want to vote for. The one right above the "Vote now" button.
The results will be known around August 25. Win or lose, I'll be sure to let you all know how I did.
This has been an interesting experience. I'm not sure I campaigned this hard that time I ran for the CSU president at MUN. I got my ass kicked, for those who might be curious. I'm hoping for a better result this time. And hey, if nothing else, I got 96 people in my Facebook group, which kind of floors me.
Anyway, thanks again for everybody who voted for me or read through my ramblings on MUN these last few weeks. I appreciate it.
Last Five
1. Extraordinary machine - Fiona Apple*
2. Rock star - Andy Stochansky
3. The return of Pan - The Waterboys
4. Sleep - Kimya Dawson
5. Scar tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Remember, the handsome fellow at the very bottom of this page is the one you want to vote for. The one right above the "Vote now" button.
The results will be known around August 25. Win or lose, I'll be sure to let you all know how I did.
This has been an interesting experience. I'm not sure I campaigned this hard that time I ran for the CSU president at MUN. I got my ass kicked, for those who might be curious. I'm hoping for a better result this time. And hey, if nothing else, I got 96 people in my Facebook group, which kind of floors me.
Anyway, thanks again for everybody who voted for me or read through my ramblings on MUN these last few weeks. I appreciate it.
Last Five
1. Extraordinary machine - Fiona Apple*
2. Rock star - Andy Stochansky
3. The return of Pan - The Waterboys
4. Sleep - Kimya Dawson
5. Scar tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Jekyll
A low key day, with most of it spent tidying the apartment up a bit for Cathy's grand return on Wednesday. But along with cleaning I spent most of the day watching the BBC mini-series Jekyll. I picked up on a bit of a lark when I was in Ottawa last month. I had heard a few good things about it online. I kept trying to watch in on Showcase, but always managed to miss the first episode. Plus, it was a rarity for a BBC show....it was cheap. I mean, I love MI-5, but there's no way in hell I am paying $90 for one season which runs about six episodes. Same problem with Dr. Who. Wouldn't mind picking it up, not prepared to auction off part of my soul to buy the seasons.
But Jekyll was an impulse purchase and a good one. That's a clever little show. Oh, it wobbles pretty badly towards the end, but there's enough "holy fuck, that's clever" moments to redeem it.
The show, for those who have never heard of it, is an update of the Jekyll/Hyde story. Dr. Jackman has a problem....an alternate personality that he can barely control. But he's doing his best, with technology and a bit of help. But the usual powerful and secret organization has plans for him and his family.
The best parts are the writing, which is pretty damn smart, assumes the audience is smart and throws in a few genuine "holy shit, never saw that coming moments." The second best part is James Nesbitt who plays both characters and who I hope like hell won a bunch of awards. It also proves you can do the role without getting silly with it (and I'm looking at you League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The wobbly bits? Well, they're kind of all over the place with Hyde's abilities and they rushed the ending a whole hell of a lot. Plus, and this might mean I have to watch it a second time to make sure I didn't miss something, but there are a few bits that, in retrospect, do not make sense to me. Like Hyde's ability to remember things he shouldn't be able to.
Actually, it's interesting to see how this is done in England compared to how this might have been done in the the United States. Jekyll is six, 55 minutes with no commercial episodes and is done. On the one hand, it's quite the rush. There's not too much wasted time and scene-filling. And it makes for very captivating viewing.
If this were an American production - well, on the major networks and not HBO - then there's a whole season's worth of material and ideas waiting to be fleshed out. Certainly a lot more with the lesbian detectives (it's almost criminal how entertaining they are, and how they are under used), more with the psychiatric nurse who is taking care of him and probably a lot more with the secret organization.
It wouldn't have made for the same kind of compulsive viewing and there would have been a lot more filler scenes, I suspect. But I do wish I could see more of these characters and had things fleshed out a bit more.
Still, not a bad way to spend a Sunday. I recommend watching it if you get the chance.
Last Five
1. Guided by wire - Neko Case
2. Where did you sleep last night?(live) - Nirvana
3. Expecting - The White Stripes
4. Best for the best - Josh Ritter*
5. An cat dubh - U2
But Jekyll was an impulse purchase and a good one. That's a clever little show. Oh, it wobbles pretty badly towards the end, but there's enough "holy fuck, that's clever" moments to redeem it.
The show, for those who have never heard of it, is an update of the Jekyll/Hyde story. Dr. Jackman has a problem....an alternate personality that he can barely control. But he's doing his best, with technology and a bit of help. But the usual powerful and secret organization has plans for him and his family.
The best parts are the writing, which is pretty damn smart, assumes the audience is smart and throws in a few genuine "holy shit, never saw that coming moments." The second best part is James Nesbitt who plays both characters and who I hope like hell won a bunch of awards. It also proves you can do the role without getting silly with it (and I'm looking at you League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The wobbly bits? Well, they're kind of all over the place with Hyde's abilities and they rushed the ending a whole hell of a lot. Plus, and this might mean I have to watch it a second time to make sure I didn't miss something, but there are a few bits that, in retrospect, do not make sense to me. Like Hyde's ability to remember things he shouldn't be able to.
Actually, it's interesting to see how this is done in England compared to how this might have been done in the the United States. Jekyll is six, 55 minutes with no commercial episodes and is done. On the one hand, it's quite the rush. There's not too much wasted time and scene-filling. And it makes for very captivating viewing.
If this were an American production - well, on the major networks and not HBO - then there's a whole season's worth of material and ideas waiting to be fleshed out. Certainly a lot more with the lesbian detectives (it's almost criminal how entertaining they are, and how they are under used), more with the psychiatric nurse who is taking care of him and probably a lot more with the secret organization.
It wouldn't have made for the same kind of compulsive viewing and there would have been a lot more filler scenes, I suspect. But I do wish I could see more of these characters and had things fleshed out a bit more.
Still, not a bad way to spend a Sunday. I recommend watching it if you get the chance.
Last Five
1. Guided by wire - Neko Case
2. Where did you sleep last night?(live) - Nirvana
3. Expecting - The White Stripes
4. Best for the best - Josh Ritter*
5. An cat dubh - U2
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Canadian content
So, the news didn't manage to make me cranky yesterday. And hey, Canada won three medals while I was sleeping last night, so perhaps I can stop reading stories about Canada's medal draught and what this says about us as a country. I'm not sure what it says about us as a country that we're not competitive in a bunch of sports that I've ever never heard or, or only pay attention to every four years. But anyway...
No, my story of the day was this one. The CRTC has given an Alberta-based company approval to create and English, pay-TV channel featuring adult content. And no, I don't mean a channel that features Big Love or the Wire all the time. Think porn, my friends.
Now, ordinarily a porn channel wouldn't cause me to write about it on my blog. But there's the big that caused me to laugh - the channel has to be 50% Canadian Content. To which my first thought was "Oh, so it has to look unbelievably cheap." But that's unfair. technology has come a long way in the recent years. It's much easier now to do things that are cheap that don't look really cheap.
But here's the second thought. And no, it wasn't Newfoundland porn. For that matter, I thought I had read, in of all places the muse that's already happening. No, the first thought was "Dear god, what would Nunavut pornos look like?"
Something involving igloos, if I had to guess. It's really probably best not to dwell on such things. You know, as a rule I support Canadian content. I think it's an important thing to have when sitting on top of the largest cultural generator in the world. I am, however, willing to make an exception for the porn industry.
Although I do take some amusement that the Conservative government, which is cutting cultural program left, right and centre, is ok with a CRTC ruling protecting our home grown porn industry. That's awfully big of them.
Last Five
1. You don't know what love is - The White Stripes*
2. Cherries - Brandon Benson
3. Please please please - Fiona Apple
4. Afraid to fall - John Rouse
5. Brave Marin - Anita Best and Pamela Morgan
No, my story of the day was this one. The CRTC has given an Alberta-based company approval to create and English, pay-TV channel featuring adult content. And no, I don't mean a channel that features Big Love or the Wire all the time. Think porn, my friends.
Now, ordinarily a porn channel wouldn't cause me to write about it on my blog. But there's the big that caused me to laugh - the channel has to be 50% Canadian Content. To which my first thought was "Oh, so it has to look unbelievably cheap." But that's unfair. technology has come a long way in the recent years. It's much easier now to do things that are cheap that don't look really cheap.
But here's the second thought. And no, it wasn't Newfoundland porn. For that matter, I thought I had read, in of all places the muse that's already happening. No, the first thought was "Dear god, what would Nunavut pornos look like?"
Something involving igloos, if I had to guess. It's really probably best not to dwell on such things. You know, as a rule I support Canadian content. I think it's an important thing to have when sitting on top of the largest cultural generator in the world. I am, however, willing to make an exception for the porn industry.
Although I do take some amusement that the Conservative government, which is cutting cultural program left, right and centre, is ok with a CRTC ruling protecting our home grown porn industry. That's awfully big of them.
Last Five
1. You don't know what love is - The White Stripes*
2. Cherries - Brandon Benson
3. Please please please - Fiona Apple
4. Afraid to fall - John Rouse
5. Brave Marin - Anita Best and Pamela Morgan
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Should have listened
I said I should have stopped looking at news stories earlier today because everything I was reading was managing to depress me or piss me off. But I didn't, and look what happens....the next Harry Potter movie is delayed until July 2009.
There were pretty much only two movies coming out this Christmas I wanted to see. One was the new Jame Bond movie, Quantum of Solace (still not sure about that title, but the trailer is damn impressive), and the new Potter. I'm sure there might be others that I wouldn't mind seeing, but those were the only two I was kind of anxious to see. Now, I'm down to one.
Nice try at a spin job from the Warner's president, though. "Hey, but at least you only have to wait a year for part one of Deathly Hallows." Yes, Part 1. Those kids are going to be 30 before they're finally finished. And at least one of them (my money is on Emma Watson) is going to be in rehab.
sigh.....Anyway, hopefully nothing but good news on Friday.
Last Five
1. Pray for rain (live) - Allison Crowe
2. Just the way you are (live) - Elton John and Billy Joel
3. Eyes on the prize (live) - Bruce Springsteen*
4. I can't remember anything - Chris Picco
5. Evaporated - Ben Folds
There were pretty much only two movies coming out this Christmas I wanted to see. One was the new Jame Bond movie, Quantum of Solace (still not sure about that title, but the trailer is damn impressive), and the new Potter. I'm sure there might be others that I wouldn't mind seeing, but those were the only two I was kind of anxious to see. Now, I'm down to one.
Nice try at a spin job from the Warner's president, though. "Hey, but at least you only have to wait a year for part one of Deathly Hallows." Yes, Part 1. Those kids are going to be 30 before they're finally finished. And at least one of them (my money is on Emma Watson) is going to be in rehab.
sigh.....Anyway, hopefully nothing but good news on Friday.
Last Five
1. Pray for rain (live) - Allison Crowe
2. Just the way you are (live) - Elton John and Billy Joel
3. Eyes on the prize (live) - Bruce Springsteen*
4. I can't remember anything - Chris Picco
5. Evaporated - Ben Folds
I should just stop reading today
You know, I didn't wake up cranky this morning. I woke up cold, because the wind shifted over night, the temperature dropped about 10 C and I had some windows open. But that's about it. Still, it seems every news story I read today is designed to annoy me in some way.
Take this one from VOCM where Education Minister Joan Burke says she's willing to meet with the university anytime over the search for a new president. I think the think that annoys me the most about this story isn't so much Burke, as what passes for news on VOCM. There's one real obvious question to be asked here and either they didn't ask it or didn't think it was important enough to put in the story. That being "Ms. Burke, do you still think you have a veto in anyone the university chooses to bring forward as the next president?" Kind of obvious, really. Not answered, however. Which is frustraing.
Then if we take a quick swing in the world of entertainment, you get this story, where New Line cinemas claims that the reasons the Tolkien family have not received any money from the Lord of the Rings movies is that they haven't made any money. The movie made more than $6 billion worldwide, when you take in box office, DVDs and other merchandise. But New Line is looking people right in the face and saying "Nope, we didn't make any money off these movies."
There's a line in the story that the most creative people in Hollywood are the accountants. No kidding.
And then there's this story, where I had to actually get up from my computer and walk away for a few minutes, I was that upset. The US Department of Homeland Security grabbed Hiu Ng when he went to get a green card matter taken care of. He died more than a year later from untreated cancer because his jailers thought he was faking it. He was frequently denied access to his family or his laywer. He couldn't eat or use the toilet without assistance from fellow inmates. He had problems getting his medication because he couldn't walk to where it was located. They put him in the top bunk. Staff frequently yelled at him to "stop faking!"
Honestly, if you read that story and don't want to punch something when you've finished, then you're not human.
I don't know. I think this is one of these days where I'm just better off not looking at a computer. It seems like a safer bet. At this rate I'm going to start looking for tall buildings in Iqaluit to jump off of. And really, there are limited options around here.
Last Five
1. Narc - Interpol
2. Missing you - Bob Mould
3. Cryer's paradise - Ron Hynes*
4. Yankee skipper - Figgy Duff
5. Cruel April - Sean Panting
Take this one from VOCM where Education Minister Joan Burke says she's willing to meet with the university anytime over the search for a new president. I think the think that annoys me the most about this story isn't so much Burke, as what passes for news on VOCM. There's one real obvious question to be asked here and either they didn't ask it or didn't think it was important enough to put in the story. That being "Ms. Burke, do you still think you have a veto in anyone the university chooses to bring forward as the next president?" Kind of obvious, really. Not answered, however. Which is frustraing.
Then if we take a quick swing in the world of entertainment, you get this story, where New Line cinemas claims that the reasons the Tolkien family have not received any money from the Lord of the Rings movies is that they haven't made any money. The movie made more than $6 billion worldwide, when you take in box office, DVDs and other merchandise. But New Line is looking people right in the face and saying "Nope, we didn't make any money off these movies."
There's a line in the story that the most creative people in Hollywood are the accountants. No kidding.
And then there's this story, where I had to actually get up from my computer and walk away for a few minutes, I was that upset. The US Department of Homeland Security grabbed Hiu Ng when he went to get a green card matter taken care of. He died more than a year later from untreated cancer because his jailers thought he was faking it. He was frequently denied access to his family or his laywer. He couldn't eat or use the toilet without assistance from fellow inmates. He had problems getting his medication because he couldn't walk to where it was located. They put him in the top bunk. Staff frequently yelled at him to "stop faking!"
Honestly, if you read that story and don't want to punch something when you've finished, then you're not human.
I don't know. I think this is one of these days where I'm just better off not looking at a computer. It seems like a safer bet. At this rate I'm going to start looking for tall buildings in Iqaluit to jump off of. And really, there are limited options around here.
Last Five
1. Narc - Interpol
2. Missing you - Bob Mould
3. Cryer's paradise - Ron Hynes*
4. Yankee skipper - Figgy Duff
5. Cruel April - Sean Panting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
One week, part 2
No, not another Regents post (although there is a story in the Telegram today talking about the MUN/government racket). One week from today Cathy comes back home. Well, as is typical of most Newfoundlanders, she returns to her other home which is not located in Newfoundland. She's back in Iqaluit.
I think we both like the little break from each other during the summer. This isn't to say our marriage is in trouble or anything silly like that. It's just that we spend a lot of time with each other during the course of the year. And then three weeks with each other pretty much every waking moment while we were in Italy. I suspect she needed a break from me and I could use a break from her.
You hear this a lot from people whose spouses are either working in the offshore or flying out to Alberta. There's this fluctuation between missing them awful when they've been away for a few weeks and not being able to wait for them to leave again (or not being able to wait until they can go again) after they've been home for a couple of weeks.
So I think we're at that point now where the break has been nice, but I miss her a lot and she misses me a lot. So she's looking forward to coming home. And as nice as it's been to have the apartment to myself the last few weeks, I'm looking forward to having her back here.
Plus, given the absolutely terrible weather in St. John's the past couple of weeks, I know she's starting to go mad. I haven't helped any by saying we've been having a pretty nice summer in Iqaluit. Pretty consistently sunny, pretty consistently between 10-15 C. Which, for up here, is pretty comfortable. You know you're in trouble when you're coming here for some nice weather and a break from the cold and damp.
The only downside is that she's also going to be bringing back a very spoiled little dog. Cathy's parents are great and I'm grateful they took care of Boo while we were in Italy. But dear God, did they ever spoil him. He's going to be a handful when he gets back here.
So yeah, one week from today and she's back home. I think I'll start counting the days.
By the way, since we're talking about being apart from one's spouse for work reasons (well, I have to work. She's a teacher enjoying summer vacation), I've always been curious if there will be any long-term societal damage done to Newfoundland over having so much of the province's population in transit to other places for work. Yes, this has happened before, many times before, with (mostly) men having to go away to work. Boston and New York had its share of Newfoundland men go away and send money home to their families, getting home when they could.
But this is different, I think. In recent decades families tended just to pull up stakes and move to Ontario, BC or Alberta. Now, some are still doing that. But you are seeing more incidents where the wife and kids stay home while the husband goes to Alberta for four to six weeks, then coming home for a week or two. And you've got to wonder what that's going to do to families after awhile. For a year, maybe you get through it. But some have been doing this for years now. And what point do things start to breakdown?
I don't know. Sociology was never my strong point. I may well, and this will shock some, be completely fully of shit. But I can't help but think that it might be helping the economy, it's probably not helping people in the province. Not in the long run.
Last Five
1. So here we are - Bloc Party
2. Part one - Band of Horses
3. In that quiet earth - Genesis
4. Calm like you - The Last Shadow Puppets
5. Revolver - Donnas*
I think we both like the little break from each other during the summer. This isn't to say our marriage is in trouble or anything silly like that. It's just that we spend a lot of time with each other during the course of the year. And then three weeks with each other pretty much every waking moment while we were in Italy. I suspect she needed a break from me and I could use a break from her.
You hear this a lot from people whose spouses are either working in the offshore or flying out to Alberta. There's this fluctuation between missing them awful when they've been away for a few weeks and not being able to wait for them to leave again (or not being able to wait until they can go again) after they've been home for a couple of weeks.
So I think we're at that point now where the break has been nice, but I miss her a lot and she misses me a lot. So she's looking forward to coming home. And as nice as it's been to have the apartment to myself the last few weeks, I'm looking forward to having her back here.
Plus, given the absolutely terrible weather in St. John's the past couple of weeks, I know she's starting to go mad. I haven't helped any by saying we've been having a pretty nice summer in Iqaluit. Pretty consistently sunny, pretty consistently between 10-15 C. Which, for up here, is pretty comfortable. You know you're in trouble when you're coming here for some nice weather and a break from the cold and damp.
The only downside is that she's also going to be bringing back a very spoiled little dog. Cathy's parents are great and I'm grateful they took care of Boo while we were in Italy. But dear God, did they ever spoil him. He's going to be a handful when he gets back here.
So yeah, one week from today and she's back home. I think I'll start counting the days.
By the way, since we're talking about being apart from one's spouse for work reasons (well, I have to work. She's a teacher enjoying summer vacation), I've always been curious if there will be any long-term societal damage done to Newfoundland over having so much of the province's population in transit to other places for work. Yes, this has happened before, many times before, with (mostly) men having to go away to work. Boston and New York had its share of Newfoundland men go away and send money home to their families, getting home when they could.
But this is different, I think. In recent decades families tended just to pull up stakes and move to Ontario, BC or Alberta. Now, some are still doing that. But you are seeing more incidents where the wife and kids stay home while the husband goes to Alberta for four to six weeks, then coming home for a week or two. And you've got to wonder what that's going to do to families after awhile. For a year, maybe you get through it. But some have been doing this for years now. And what point do things start to breakdown?
I don't know. Sociology was never my strong point. I may well, and this will shock some, be completely fully of shit. But I can't help but think that it might be helping the economy, it's probably not helping people in the province. Not in the long run.
Last Five
1. So here we are - Bloc Party
2. Part one - Band of Horses
3. In that quiet earth - Genesis
4. Calm like you - The Last Shadow Puppets
5. Revolver - Donnas*
Monday, August 11, 2008
One week
So one week let until MUN's Board of Regent elections come to a close. I'm not entirely sure what more I can do at this point. The Facebook page asking people to elect me ticks along and is still picking up the occasional stray member. There are 86 members there now, which is a damn lot more than I ever expected to sign up. I've done a press interview with CBC Radio which I think went pretty well. If you're curious, you can go here and listen to it. The interview ran on Wednesday, August 5. It's the fifth item under that day.
Other than that, I think I might be done. If people want to plug me on their blog, well, that would be great. But I think that has to be something individuals want to do on their own. I don't feel comfortable going around and asking people to do that for me. It just feels....weird. Perhaps one more reason why I wouldn't make a great politician.
It's also interesting to note that Deanne Fleet has withdrawn from the race, meaning there are now 38 people running instead of 39. Still, I imagine a few people voted for her before she withdrew. Votes that are now essentially wasted. She resigned from the Regents during the racket over the government's interference with MUN's presidential hiring process. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. On the one hand, I admire her for standing up and saying how disgusted she was with how things were being handled by the Regents and wanting nothing to do with that. However, she's obviously someone with high ethics; it would be have been nice to have her on the Board and fighting.
Then again, we have idea what she's been going through the past three years. For all we know this was the straw that broke the camel's back.
As for MUN and the government, either the media have dropped the story or there's a ceasefire between MUN and the government. There hasn't been much reported in the last few days. Nothing more from Education Minister Joan Burke. Nothing more from MUN since the statement from the Board of Regents. So it's hard to know where things stand. But an update on what the government thought of the Regents' remarks, where the hiring process now stands and if the government will continue to play a role would all be questions that would be nice to have answered.
Anyway, if you're a MUN alumni and haven't voted yet, go here.
It occurs to me that I haven't actually said who I am or who you should directly vote for on the blog. Part of that is that I suspect most of the regular readers know who I am anyway. Plus, let's just say I like keeping my name off the blog for personal reasons. People who live and work in Nunavut know that blogging can be a dicey proposition sometimes. However, if you were to vote for that last person on the list of alumni candidates (directly above the "vote now" link), that handsome fellow with the goatee, you would be doing something that would make me happy...
Last Five
1. 29 - Ryan Adams
2. Under the skin - Lindsay Buckingham
3. Tears, tears and more tears - Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint*
4. I guess that's why they call it the blues - Elton John
5. Simple love - Allison Krauss
Other than that, I think I might be done. If people want to plug me on their blog, well, that would be great. But I think that has to be something individuals want to do on their own. I don't feel comfortable going around and asking people to do that for me. It just feels....weird. Perhaps one more reason why I wouldn't make a great politician.
It's also interesting to note that Deanne Fleet has withdrawn from the race, meaning there are now 38 people running instead of 39. Still, I imagine a few people voted for her before she withdrew. Votes that are now essentially wasted. She resigned from the Regents during the racket over the government's interference with MUN's presidential hiring process. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. On the one hand, I admire her for standing up and saying how disgusted she was with how things were being handled by the Regents and wanting nothing to do with that. However, she's obviously someone with high ethics; it would be have been nice to have her on the Board and fighting.
Then again, we have idea what she's been going through the past three years. For all we know this was the straw that broke the camel's back.
As for MUN and the government, either the media have dropped the story or there's a ceasefire between MUN and the government. There hasn't been much reported in the last few days. Nothing more from Education Minister Joan Burke. Nothing more from MUN since the statement from the Board of Regents. So it's hard to know where things stand. But an update on what the government thought of the Regents' remarks, where the hiring process now stands and if the government will continue to play a role would all be questions that would be nice to have answered.
Anyway, if you're a MUN alumni and haven't voted yet, go here.
It occurs to me that I haven't actually said who I am or who you should directly vote for on the blog. Part of that is that I suspect most of the regular readers know who I am anyway. Plus, let's just say I like keeping my name off the blog for personal reasons. People who live and work in Nunavut know that blogging can be a dicey proposition sometimes. However, if you were to vote for that last person on the list of alumni candidates (directly above the "vote now" link), that handsome fellow with the goatee, you would be doing something that would make me happy...
Last Five
1. 29 - Ryan Adams
2. Under the skin - Lindsay Buckingham
3. Tears, tears and more tears - Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint*
4. I guess that's why they call it the blues - Elton John
5. Simple love - Allison Krauss
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Faulty wiring
So it wouldn't be US presidential politics if we didn't have a scandal of some kind at some point. And really, it didn't require much digging online the past few months to hear all the rumours kicking around about John Edwards infidelity.
However, this scandal has made me think a little bit about the mental wiring of people who decide to run for president in the United States. I mean, I was getting a bit of a kick out of John McCain's campaign call Obama elite and out of touch. This from a man whose father and grandfather were admirals, who married a woman worth an estimated $100 million and who apparently owns six houses. Obama, on the other hand, is half black, half white, raised by his single mother and while he didn't grow up in poverty, certainly had a harder go of it than McCain growing up.
But he's elitist.
See, it takes special mental wiring to come up with that argument. Your average person could never make the leap in logic or have the balls to try and make that point. But the people who run for president are about as different from me and you as we are from any microbes that might found on Mars.
Anyone who thinks they are the best qualified person to lead the United States and, by default, be the most powerful person in the world is elitist. They are arrogant. And they simply don't think like other people.
Still, I've know that for awhile about presidential candidates. About different mental wiring. Still, when I look at Edwards and what he did, I think even for a presidential candidate, there's something deeply faulty wiring happening there.
See if you can follow this logic. At the time when he's considered a favourite for the Democratic nomination for president, he decided to have an extra-marital affair with someone who does documentaries (in other words, someone with media connections). He breaks it off, but decides to continue his bid to become president.
Now, this is all kinds of crazy all on its own. These affairs tend to come out regardless. So now he's taking the chance of actually winning the nomination and having this come out while he's the Democratic nominee, which would destroy his party's chances of taking the White House in a year when they're favoured to win. And you know it would. It's practically a given these days that it would.
And then in 2007, after the affair had supposedly ended, his wife announces her cancer has returned. And rather than going "there's no way on earth I'm going to keep running for president, not with my wife fighting cancer and the risk of my affair coming public" he opts to stick with it.
And there is the issue of whether or no the baby is his. He denies it, she denies it. But still. Just imagine if he is the father...if he did have sex and father than child while running for president and his wife is sick with cancer. Well, dear God. That would kind of fry the brain, wouldn't it?
It's not even the affair. Lord knows he's not the first person to have an affair, nor the first politician to do it. But to run for president after having one? To keep running, knowing that ticking time bomb was out there and your wife is deathly ill? Yes, Bill Clinton did something similar back in '92, but at least Hillary wasn't seriously ill.
We will never understand a person like that. Even for presidential politics, that is some deeply, deeply weird shit.
Something to keep in mind when watching all of this happening in the United States. These people aren't normal. They're not "plain folks." They're not just like you and me. Just remember that when you look at Edwards and wonder, "what the hell was he thinking?" because he's just slightly more crazy than the rest of the people who ran for president the last year. Slightly.
Last Five
1. Dirty and true - Hawksley Workman*
2. Jacob's dream - Allison Krauss
3. Come crash - A.C. Newman
4. Trusted - Ben Folds
5. Just the way you are - Diana Krall
However, this scandal has made me think a little bit about the mental wiring of people who decide to run for president in the United States. I mean, I was getting a bit of a kick out of John McCain's campaign call Obama elite and out of touch. This from a man whose father and grandfather were admirals, who married a woman worth an estimated $100 million and who apparently owns six houses. Obama, on the other hand, is half black, half white, raised by his single mother and while he didn't grow up in poverty, certainly had a harder go of it than McCain growing up.
But he's elitist.
See, it takes special mental wiring to come up with that argument. Your average person could never make the leap in logic or have the balls to try and make that point. But the people who run for president are about as different from me and you as we are from any microbes that might found on Mars.
Anyone who thinks they are the best qualified person to lead the United States and, by default, be the most powerful person in the world is elitist. They are arrogant. And they simply don't think like other people.
Still, I've know that for awhile about presidential candidates. About different mental wiring. Still, when I look at Edwards and what he did, I think even for a presidential candidate, there's something deeply faulty wiring happening there.
See if you can follow this logic. At the time when he's considered a favourite for the Democratic nomination for president, he decided to have an extra-marital affair with someone who does documentaries (in other words, someone with media connections). He breaks it off, but decides to continue his bid to become president.
Now, this is all kinds of crazy all on its own. These affairs tend to come out regardless. So now he's taking the chance of actually winning the nomination and having this come out while he's the Democratic nominee, which would destroy his party's chances of taking the White House in a year when they're favoured to win. And you know it would. It's practically a given these days that it would.
And then in 2007, after the affair had supposedly ended, his wife announces her cancer has returned. And rather than going "there's no way on earth I'm going to keep running for president, not with my wife fighting cancer and the risk of my affair coming public" he opts to stick with it.
And there is the issue of whether or no the baby is his. He denies it, she denies it. But still. Just imagine if he is the father...if he did have sex and father than child while running for president and his wife is sick with cancer. Well, dear God. That would kind of fry the brain, wouldn't it?
It's not even the affair. Lord knows he's not the first person to have an affair, nor the first politician to do it. But to run for president after having one? To keep running, knowing that ticking time bomb was out there and your wife is deathly ill? Yes, Bill Clinton did something similar back in '92, but at least Hillary wasn't seriously ill.
We will never understand a person like that. Even for presidential politics, that is some deeply, deeply weird shit.
Something to keep in mind when watching all of this happening in the United States. These people aren't normal. They're not "plain folks." They're not just like you and me. Just remember that when you look at Edwards and wonder, "what the hell was he thinking?" because he's just slightly more crazy than the rest of the people who ran for president the last year. Slightly.
Last Five
1. Dirty and true - Hawksley Workman*
2. Jacob's dream - Allison Krauss
3. Come crash - A.C. Newman
4. Trusted - Ben Folds
5. Just the way you are - Diana Krall
Saturday, August 09, 2008
My recent splurge
The longest I think I've ever gone without getting comic books probably came during my nine months in South Korea back in 96/97. And even then, it wasn't a straight dry run. I was slowly losing my mind not having any comics and ended up exchanging some emails with my friend Kirsten. I mentioned having seen Magic: the Gathering cards for sale, written in Korean. And thus was born a quick deal. I got a bunch of comics, and she got some Magic cards for her then boyfriend.
When I got them, it was like drinking cold water at an oasis. In case it's not obvious, I love comic books. I've collected them since I was seven years old and it was rare, until that Korea trip, that I went a week without buying comics. Hell, on weeks when comics were delayed getting into my favourite shop because of weather or holidays, I was noticably gittery and cranky.
I've had to make adaptations living in Nunavut. There's obviously no comic book store and no weekly runs for my fix. Nor do I buy single issues anymore, just collected editions. Still, this was an exceptionally long dry patch, even by my new standards. From the time I came back from New York until this past week, I got just two books.
So I made up for it with this haul, which arrived on Wednesday. I've been happily blowing hours and and hours diving through them.
Yes, that's a lot of books. But I warned Cathy that I was doing it. Plus, she's been having shoe issues in St. John's, so it balances out.
Don't worry, I'm not going to review all of them...unless people are curious about specific books. But I am going to mention my two favourites.
For the comic book geeks out there, I recommend The Immortal Iron Fist: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. This is what you get when you have two writers who are almost giddy to see what weird shit they can think up next and have overdosed on kung-fu movies.
The plot is that every 88 years, seven mystical cities align on Earth. There, in the "Heart of Heaven", each city sends its immortal weapons into combat with the champions of the other cities. Along with Iron Fist, there are also champions such as Dog Brother #1, Bride of Nine Spiders, Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, Prince of Orphans and everyone's favourite - Fat Cobra ("Bring me my victory wenches!").
And every time there's a fight, the writers gleefully say what bizarre martial arts move they're using - Whirlwind of Impending Doom, Vaulting Mantis Spine Snap, the Stabbing Newlywed, Hell's Unfurling Hurricane, Mistress of all Agonies, Bastard's Black Heartbreaker.
How can you not love a comic that comes up with all of that? The art is a little erratic, but it's over-the-top fun. I highly recommend it.
The one for non-comic book people would be True Story, Swear to God - Archives, Volume 1. First of all, it's a hell of a deal. The one has 18 issues of the regular series for about $20. Less if you order it online through Chapters. Granted, the comic is in black and white, but still.
As you might gather from the title, this is an autobiographical comic. In the late 90s, writer/artist Tom Beland got a free trip to Disney World in Florida through his newspaper in California. And while waiting at a bus stop on his last night there he met Lily Garcia, a radio personality from Puerto Rico. And from that improbable meeting they ended up falling in love and Beland moved to Puerto Rico to be with her. The book shows the early courtship, the move and Beland getting use to his new life.
Why recommend it? Well, Beland has an appealing cartoon style that works well for the story. It's funny as hell and quite touching. Plus, Beland isn't afraid to make himself look like an asshole in the story. So it does feel very real.
The other recommendation for picking it up? Cathy like it. I can literally count on one hand the number of comic books Cathy will read (Amelia Rules, Runaways, Fables, Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season Eight and this one), so there you go. It's a comic to give someone in your life who ordinarily wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole.
By the way, I'm enjoying all of them so far. I'm taking my time remembering just how good Sandman is and Usagi Yojimbo is it's usual delightful self. But so far, Iron Fist and True Story are the ones I keep picking back up to leaf through. So they must have done something right.
Last Five
1. Hide and seek (live) - Ani DiFranco
2. Father Lucifer (live) - Tori Amos
3. 15 - Rilo Kiley
4. Wonderwall - Ryan Adams*
5. Handshakes - Metric
When I got them, it was like drinking cold water at an oasis. In case it's not obvious, I love comic books. I've collected them since I was seven years old and it was rare, until that Korea trip, that I went a week without buying comics. Hell, on weeks when comics were delayed getting into my favourite shop because of weather or holidays, I was noticably gittery and cranky.
I've had to make adaptations living in Nunavut. There's obviously no comic book store and no weekly runs for my fix. Nor do I buy single issues anymore, just collected editions. Still, this was an exceptionally long dry patch, even by my new standards. From the time I came back from New York until this past week, I got just two books.
So I made up for it with this haul, which arrived on Wednesday. I've been happily blowing hours and and hours diving through them.
Yes, that's a lot of books. But I warned Cathy that I was doing it. Plus, she's been having shoe issues in St. John's, so it balances out.
Don't worry, I'm not going to review all of them...unless people are curious about specific books. But I am going to mention my two favourites.
For the comic book geeks out there, I recommend The Immortal Iron Fist: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. This is what you get when you have two writers who are almost giddy to see what weird shit they can think up next and have overdosed on kung-fu movies.
The plot is that every 88 years, seven mystical cities align on Earth. There, in the "Heart of Heaven", each city sends its immortal weapons into combat with the champions of the other cities. Along with Iron Fist, there are also champions such as Dog Brother #1, Bride of Nine Spiders, Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, Prince of Orphans and everyone's favourite - Fat Cobra ("Bring me my victory wenches!").
And every time there's a fight, the writers gleefully say what bizarre martial arts move they're using - Whirlwind of Impending Doom, Vaulting Mantis Spine Snap, the Stabbing Newlywed, Hell's Unfurling Hurricane, Mistress of all Agonies, Bastard's Black Heartbreaker.
How can you not love a comic that comes up with all of that? The art is a little erratic, but it's over-the-top fun. I highly recommend it.
The one for non-comic book people would be True Story, Swear to God - Archives, Volume 1. First of all, it's a hell of a deal. The one has 18 issues of the regular series for about $20. Less if you order it online through Chapters. Granted, the comic is in black and white, but still.
As you might gather from the title, this is an autobiographical comic. In the late 90s, writer/artist Tom Beland got a free trip to Disney World in Florida through his newspaper in California. And while waiting at a bus stop on his last night there he met Lily Garcia, a radio personality from Puerto Rico. And from that improbable meeting they ended up falling in love and Beland moved to Puerto Rico to be with her. The book shows the early courtship, the move and Beland getting use to his new life.
Why recommend it? Well, Beland has an appealing cartoon style that works well for the story. It's funny as hell and quite touching. Plus, Beland isn't afraid to make himself look like an asshole in the story. So it does feel very real.
The other recommendation for picking it up? Cathy like it. I can literally count on one hand the number of comic books Cathy will read (Amelia Rules, Runaways, Fables, Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season Eight and this one), so there you go. It's a comic to give someone in your life who ordinarily wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole.
By the way, I'm enjoying all of them so far. I'm taking my time remembering just how good Sandman is and Usagi Yojimbo is it's usual delightful self. But so far, Iron Fist and True Story are the ones I keep picking back up to leaf through. So they must have done something right.
Last Five
1. Hide and seek (live) - Ani DiFranco
2. Father Lucifer (live) - Tori Amos
3. 15 - Rilo Kiley
4. Wonderwall - Ryan Adams*
5. Handshakes - Metric
Friday, August 08, 2008
Still dealing with the fallout
(Note: The words "MUN" and "Board of Regents" are not mentioned beyond this point in the post. You're welcome.)
I'm still dealing with some of the fallout from my temporary brain seizure in Italy last month. The shear volume of paperwork involved in getting your life back in order should, if nothing else, serve as a useful reminder to be more careful in the future.
The latest things taken care of include my bank card. I've been waiting more than two weeks for it to arrive in the mail. I finally got fed up waiting and walked into the local CIBC branch and told them why I needed a new one.
"Oh, they never send those things out through the mail. You have to come in here and get one," I was told.
Of course.
But at least I have a bank card again. I also have a big "Warning! Was stupid and lost a ton of ID and is a prime candidate for identity theft" sticker slapped on my bank account. I imagine it doesn't actually say that, but it might as well.
The next racket was with credit agencies. Again, I need to put warning on my credit just so there aren't any problems. That warning lasts six years, so that's a healthy does of paranoia, right there. I know it needs to be there and I'm glad it is, but the first time my credit card gets frozen because some alert goes off that I'm buying something in Ottawa instead of Iqaluit, I'm going to curse a blue streak. First at the banks and credit agency, and then at myself.
So, in trying to make myself feel a bit better, I managed to accidentally stumble on things far stupider than losing most of your ID in one fell swoop while puttering online. Fortunately I found this article, where this woman searched the "stupid" tag on Flickr and came up with the 10 stupidest pictures on the site. My tops for the stupidest pic has to be the one below.
(h/t to Andrew Sullivan for the link)
It's the sandals holding up the power bar that gets me, every time.
Or I could have been stupid and spent $20 on something like this.
I admit that I don't always get my goatee perfectly aligned, but really, I'm not sure what's stupider....the person who thought this would be a useful invention or the one who ends up buying it.
And finally, at least I was never stupid enough to try and eat this.
By the way, I now officially love the phrase "weapon of cardiovascular mass destruction."
So yes, dumb, but it can always be worse.
Last Five
1. The sharpest thorn - Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint*
2. I will - The Beatles
3. Top yourself - The Raconteurs
4. Streets of sorrow/Burmingham Six - The Pogues
5. Two - Ryan Adams
I'm still dealing with some of the fallout from my temporary brain seizure in Italy last month. The shear volume of paperwork involved in getting your life back in order should, if nothing else, serve as a useful reminder to be more careful in the future.
The latest things taken care of include my bank card. I've been waiting more than two weeks for it to arrive in the mail. I finally got fed up waiting and walked into the local CIBC branch and told them why I needed a new one.
"Oh, they never send those things out through the mail. You have to come in here and get one," I was told.
Of course.
But at least I have a bank card again. I also have a big "Warning! Was stupid and lost a ton of ID and is a prime candidate for identity theft" sticker slapped on my bank account. I imagine it doesn't actually say that, but it might as well.
The next racket was with credit agencies. Again, I need to put warning on my credit just so there aren't any problems. That warning lasts six years, so that's a healthy does of paranoia, right there. I know it needs to be there and I'm glad it is, but the first time my credit card gets frozen because some alert goes off that I'm buying something in Ottawa instead of Iqaluit, I'm going to curse a blue streak. First at the banks and credit agency, and then at myself.
So, in trying to make myself feel a bit better, I managed to accidentally stumble on things far stupider than losing most of your ID in one fell swoop while puttering online. Fortunately I found this article, where this woman searched the "stupid" tag on Flickr and came up with the 10 stupidest pictures on the site. My tops for the stupidest pic has to be the one below.
(h/t to Andrew Sullivan for the link)
It's the sandals holding up the power bar that gets me, every time.
Or I could have been stupid and spent $20 on something like this.
I admit that I don't always get my goatee perfectly aligned, but really, I'm not sure what's stupider....the person who thought this would be a useful invention or the one who ends up buying it.
And finally, at least I was never stupid enough to try and eat this.
By the way, I now officially love the phrase "weapon of cardiovascular mass destruction."
So yes, dumb, but it can always be worse.
Last Five
1. The sharpest thorn - Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint*
2. I will - The Beatles
3. Top yourself - The Raconteurs
4. Streets of sorrow/Burmingham Six - The Pogues
5. Two - Ryan Adams
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Election update
One day soon, I will post about things other than MUN and the Board of Regents, honest.
I forgot to mention here I was interviewed by John Gushue about the Board of Regents election and how I feel about the provincial government interfering in the hiring process of a new president. The interview aired on Wednesday on Radio Noon. It went relatively well, although I always know how long they have when they air these pieces, so I try to cram in as much as I can. So it might sound a bit rushed. Also, my apologies to Dale Kirby. One of the things John wanted to talk about was the Facebook campaign to get me elected and I completely blanked on your name. I remembered it five seconds after the interview was over. But of course, that was too late. So terribly sorry about that.
I didn't hear the interview, but I'm told I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. So that's a pleasant change of pace, I guess.
By the way, if any enterprising reporter wants to talk to me about the Board of Regents election and how the current racket with MUN and the provincial government might be impacting it, drop me a line or give me a call. I seem to have no problem shooting my mouth off about it.
Next, the Facebook campaign is going pretty well. I now have 82 members in the group. As best I can figure there are about a half dozen of the 39 people running for the Board of Regents who have Facebook pages. I have the second most members and I'm gaining quickly on the one with the most.
Now, that might seem like a small amount, but as I said on the Facebook group, it's actually a nice voting block. I have the results of the 2005 Board of Regents election. The person who finished first pulled in 600 votes. But that's not the important number. The top six vote getters go on the Board. And the person who finished 6th pulled about 290 votes.
Taking into account greater interest in this year's election because of the controversy over the hiring of the president, I think at least 350 votes are going to be needed. I polled about 150 in 2005 with no campaign at all. This time I have the blog, Facebook along with some very vocal and supportive friends. So hopefully I come a lot closer, perhaps even over the top.
If you want to vote for me for Board of Regents, then go here. All you need is your name and student number, which should be branded onto your brain. There's now less than two weeks left before the election closes, so please vote and spread the word.
Last Five
1. Lighthouse - Ron Hynes
2. Now I'm 64 - Figgy Duff*
3. Wicked come winter - Matt Mays and El Torpedo
4. Johnny Appleseed - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
5. Rumbolt - Figgy Duff
I forgot to mention here I was interviewed by John Gushue about the Board of Regents election and how I feel about the provincial government interfering in the hiring process of a new president. The interview aired on Wednesday on Radio Noon. It went relatively well, although I always know how long they have when they air these pieces, so I try to cram in as much as I can. So it might sound a bit rushed. Also, my apologies to Dale Kirby. One of the things John wanted to talk about was the Facebook campaign to get me elected and I completely blanked on your name. I remembered it five seconds after the interview was over. But of course, that was too late. So terribly sorry about that.
I didn't hear the interview, but I'm told I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. So that's a pleasant change of pace, I guess.
By the way, if any enterprising reporter wants to talk to me about the Board of Regents election and how the current racket with MUN and the provincial government might be impacting it, drop me a line or give me a call. I seem to have no problem shooting my mouth off about it.
Next, the Facebook campaign is going pretty well. I now have 82 members in the group. As best I can figure there are about a half dozen of the 39 people running for the Board of Regents who have Facebook pages. I have the second most members and I'm gaining quickly on the one with the most.
Now, that might seem like a small amount, but as I said on the Facebook group, it's actually a nice voting block. I have the results of the 2005 Board of Regents election. The person who finished first pulled in 600 votes. But that's not the important number. The top six vote getters go on the Board. And the person who finished 6th pulled about 290 votes.
Taking into account greater interest in this year's election because of the controversy over the hiring of the president, I think at least 350 votes are going to be needed. I polled about 150 in 2005 with no campaign at all. This time I have the blog, Facebook along with some very vocal and supportive friends. So hopefully I come a lot closer, perhaps even over the top.
If you want to vote for me for Board of Regents, then go here. All you need is your name and student number, which should be branded onto your brain. There's now less than two weeks left before the election closes, so please vote and spread the word.
Last Five
1. Lighthouse - Ron Hynes
2. Now I'm 64 - Figgy Duff*
3. Wicked come winter - Matt Mays and El Torpedo
4. Johnny Appleseed - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
5. Rumbolt - Figgy Duff
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Ka-boom
And what point does your head start to feel like it's going to explode over all this MUN shit? Honest to God. This is gone beyond silly and into full on retarded.
First, MUN issues these pair of releases. Those releases, among other things contradict large swaths of what the premier and the minister of education have already said.
Because that alone isn't enough controversy, we have this extra bit of craziness, where Deanne Fleet disagreed with parts of the statement. Disagreed to the point that she stepped down as a member of the Board of Regents (she serves on the Board as an elected alumni rep). Which leads to another question. As Fleet is currently running for reelection, will she serve again if she gets enough votes? God only knows.
But hey, good on her for taking a stand and deciding to resign rather than be complicit in what she sees as a distorted version of the truth that some within the Regents are trying to spin. I wonder if she will be the last to walk?
So let's see how it looks right now. The premier certainly appears to have been distorting the truth. The education minister distorted the truth. And the Chair of the Board of Regents appears to have distorted the truth.
Hmmm, what do the three of these people have in common, I wonder?
Anyway, what we have here is a considerable mess. At this point getting anything resembling a straight answer or credible narrative is likely impossible. So let's move forward, shall we? What needs to be done to get things back on track and restore some confidence to things.
1. Education minister Joan Burke needs to resign. She can be shuffled somewhere else or put to the backbenches. But her credibility as education minister has been severely broken.
2. Regents chair Gil Dalton needs to step down. The faith in the ability of the Board of Regents to act independently of the government and in the best interests of the university has been damaged with his actions and Fleet's allegations. A new chairperson is required.
3. The Board of Regents search committee should approach Dr. Campbell and ask him to reconsider his decision to remove himself from consideration of MUN President. Furthermore, an apology from the premier for any damage to his professional reputation over this racket would certainly be an appropriate gesture.
4. In the fall sitting of the legislature an amendment of the Memorial University Act should be made eliminating any possible interference from the current or future provincial governments when it comes to the hiring of presidents.
This is a mess, make no mistake. It's a big one and it's obvious people are lying and not doing very good jobs of covering for it. So let's try and fix this bloody thing and actually get MUN a president before this thing becomes a bigger national joke than it already is, shall we?
Last Five
1. Make a little noise - Joel Plaskett Emergency*
2. One step beyond - Madness
3. If I should fall behind (live) - Bruce Springsteen
4. On a day like today - Keane
5. So called friend - Texas
First, MUN issues these pair of releases. Those releases, among other things contradict large swaths of what the premier and the minister of education have already said.
Because that alone isn't enough controversy, we have this extra bit of craziness, where Deanne Fleet disagreed with parts of the statement. Disagreed to the point that she stepped down as a member of the Board of Regents (she serves on the Board as an elected alumni rep). Which leads to another question. As Fleet is currently running for reelection, will she serve again if she gets enough votes? God only knows.
But hey, good on her for taking a stand and deciding to resign rather than be complicit in what she sees as a distorted version of the truth that some within the Regents are trying to spin. I wonder if she will be the last to walk?
So let's see how it looks right now. The premier certainly appears to have been distorting the truth. The education minister distorted the truth. And the Chair of the Board of Regents appears to have distorted the truth.
Hmmm, what do the three of these people have in common, I wonder?
Anyway, what we have here is a considerable mess. At this point getting anything resembling a straight answer or credible narrative is likely impossible. So let's move forward, shall we? What needs to be done to get things back on track and restore some confidence to things.
1. Education minister Joan Burke needs to resign. She can be shuffled somewhere else or put to the backbenches. But her credibility as education minister has been severely broken.
2. Regents chair Gil Dalton needs to step down. The faith in the ability of the Board of Regents to act independently of the government and in the best interests of the university has been damaged with his actions and Fleet's allegations. A new chairperson is required.
3. The Board of Regents search committee should approach Dr. Campbell and ask him to reconsider his decision to remove himself from consideration of MUN President. Furthermore, an apology from the premier for any damage to his professional reputation over this racket would certainly be an appropriate gesture.
4. In the fall sitting of the legislature an amendment of the Memorial University Act should be made eliminating any possible interference from the current or future provincial governments when it comes to the hiring of presidents.
This is a mess, make no mistake. It's a big one and it's obvious people are lying and not doing very good jobs of covering for it. So let's try and fix this bloody thing and actually get MUN a president before this thing becomes a bigger national joke than it already is, shall we?
Last Five
1. Make a little noise - Joel Plaskett Emergency*
2. One step beyond - Madness
3. If I should fall behind (live) - Bruce Springsteen
4. On a day like today - Keane
5. So called friend - Texas
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
They just keep pulling me back
So here I am swearing that I'm not going to write about MUN today, and what does Premier Williams do? He does this. He finally speaks out after a couple of weeks of controversy regarding the university.
He's also pulling something that seems oddly familiar to me....that is letting the minister take a beating for a few weeks and then he swoops in looking all confused about what the big racket is about. After all, it's just a simple misunderstanding. People are just exaggerating the problem.
Anyway, let us not get into what the Williams government has or has not done in the past. Instead, let's focus on the matter at hand.
So, first point. That MUN's Board of Regents, in fact, suggested to the government that they might want to meet some of the finalists for the job. You know, to have a chat. Talk about how wonderful the province is...that sort of thing.
Well, it's a pretty poor host who invites you over to their house, then starts questioning your competence to hold the job and then publicly says that you're really not the right fit. That ought to woo in future candidates.
Williams gave the names to education minister Joan Burke because he was too busy to meet them. Now, this is all very carefully worded. Government officials met with them, they had a chat, they tried to sell them on the benefits of the province....but boy are they downplaying the word "interviewed". Yes, fiscal responsibility to make sure the best person is in place, legislation that's been in place for decades (never mind hasn't been used since the Smallwood era, I believe), people over-reacting, the minister has done nothing wrong. We haven't infringed on the academic freedom of MUN.
Except the minister and the premier did do something wrong. The minister admits to some kind of interview with candidates and rejecting them, while giving no criteria as to why she felt they were unqualified, while the hiring committee thought they were worthy of being wooed.
So yes, spin away, but I don't believe it and, as much as the premier might like to try and downplay its significance, I think a lot of people do care about the issue. Or if not this specific issue, are perhaps becoming a bit concerned about how the Williams government handles issues like this, or health care.
However, here's the other point....it is long, long past time that the Board of Regents spoke up and clarified exactly what happened. Both what they did and whether or not they believe the government is interfering. And, by the way, I'd like that statement to have all the names of the current Board of Regents. Just so we're clear and there's no perception of conflict of interest, what with the Chair of the Board being a friend of the premier's and appointed by him.
The government's had their say. I have my doubts and questions. However, it is long past time people at the university started saying what's been happening the last few months. I don't think that's an unreasonable request.
Last Five
1. Dejalo - Rilo Kiley
2. Fix me now - Garbage
3. Addicted - Amy Winehouse
4. Island of the honest man - Hot Hot Heat
5. Breathless - Corrine Bailey Rae
He's also pulling something that seems oddly familiar to me....that is letting the minister take a beating for a few weeks and then he swoops in looking all confused about what the big racket is about. After all, it's just a simple misunderstanding. People are just exaggerating the problem.
Anyway, let us not get into what the Williams government has or has not done in the past. Instead, let's focus on the matter at hand.
So, first point. That MUN's Board of Regents, in fact, suggested to the government that they might want to meet some of the finalists for the job. You know, to have a chat. Talk about how wonderful the province is...that sort of thing.
Well, it's a pretty poor host who invites you over to their house, then starts questioning your competence to hold the job and then publicly says that you're really not the right fit. That ought to woo in future candidates.
Williams gave the names to education minister Joan Burke because he was too busy to meet them. Now, this is all very carefully worded. Government officials met with them, they had a chat, they tried to sell them on the benefits of the province....but boy are they downplaying the word "interviewed". Yes, fiscal responsibility to make sure the best person is in place, legislation that's been in place for decades (never mind hasn't been used since the Smallwood era, I believe), people over-reacting, the minister has done nothing wrong. We haven't infringed on the academic freedom of MUN.
Except the minister and the premier did do something wrong. The minister admits to some kind of interview with candidates and rejecting them, while giving no criteria as to why she felt they were unqualified, while the hiring committee thought they were worthy of being wooed.
So yes, spin away, but I don't believe it and, as much as the premier might like to try and downplay its significance, I think a lot of people do care about the issue. Or if not this specific issue, are perhaps becoming a bit concerned about how the Williams government handles issues like this, or health care.
However, here's the other point....it is long, long past time that the Board of Regents spoke up and clarified exactly what happened. Both what they did and whether or not they believe the government is interfering. And, by the way, I'd like that statement to have all the names of the current Board of Regents. Just so we're clear and there's no perception of conflict of interest, what with the Chair of the Board being a friend of the premier's and appointed by him.
The government's had their say. I have my doubts and questions. However, it is long past time people at the university started saying what's been happening the last few months. I don't think that's an unreasonable request.
Last Five
1. Dejalo - Rilo Kiley
2. Fix me now - Garbage
3. Addicted - Amy Winehouse
4. Island of the honest man - Hot Hot Heat
5. Breathless - Corrine Bailey Rae
Monday, August 04, 2008
Unleash the character assassins
I swear to God, if I had to listen to VOCM on a daily basis I would have stroked out years ago. Just hearing what happens on that station is normally enough to spike my blood pressure 20 points.
I'm not listening to the station but Peter Whittle posted a few highlights from this mornings Open Line show. The attack dogs have been unleashed to rescue the premier and the minister of education. Perhaps they had been unleashed earlier, but this morning it seems the offensive (in more than one ways) has truly begun. Two arguments in particular were offensive to me.
First, that some of the Board of Regents members and people on the presidential hiring committee were university students. They're only 19 years old or so, so what could they possibly know about such important issues? Because obviously all university students are drunken fools.
So, let's see, first plan of attack from the province anonymous hounds - insult students.
Look, unless things have changed, students appointed to the Board of Regents are normally some of the best the university has to offer. It's not just that they're tipping the upper end of the bell curve for grades, they're normally deeply involved in campus life and volunteer lots. These tend to be the people the university likes to drag out and show off as what MUN is capable of producing.
So, no, we're not talking about half-stunned first years who when they're not skipping classes are trying to sneak into the Breezeway. These are smart men and women. Let's try and treat them as such, shall we? Let's try to respect the fact they're volunteering their time, with little compensation, to try and help make the university a better place.
What do they know about hiring a president? Well, it's a certainty they know more than the anonymous caller. I'm also pretty damn sure they know more than the current minister of education.
Furthermore, I've always believed student are radically under-represented on the Board of Regents. Three out of 30? I don't believe that's fair. If I had my say, the Board of Regents break down would look like this:
20% students
20% alumni
20% faculty
20% university administration
20% government appointment
That breakdown ensures a lively debate when it comes to issues regarding the university, with a healthy degree of academic freedom. It'll never happen, but hey, dare to dream.
2. Dr. Eddie Campbell is trying to protect his ass and doesn't really care about students. This is what the anonymous government lackies are saying on VOCM. This, on top of the minister of education publicly saying she doesn't think he's capable of doing the job he's already doing.
How a university president is viewed by students tends to break one of three ways. For the vast majority, it's utter ambivalence. A few will like him, and a decent chunk will hate his guts for some reason or another.
This racket is making a rare event happen. Judging by some of the comments I've seen on Facebook, it's making university students not only like and respect Dr. Campbell, but also feel a bit sorry for him. So kudos to the government for accomplishing that minor miracle.
Dr. Campbell was in an unbelievably difficult position. He's in the running for the president's job, the one he already holds. Now, the provincial government is interfering in the process. It wants to interview the finalists for the job. There's no real chancellor per se, and the chair of the Board of Regents in a Danny Williams appointee. Find me the person who gets to speak for the university to oppose this. The ones who should be talking are either in conflict of interest, absent or compromised.
So what do you do? Find a way out of that where you get to be president, don't compromise the academic independence of the university and don't piss of a premier with a short fuse and long memory for a grudge.
So let's go easy with the public character assassination, all right? I don't know Dr. Campbell. But that's one hell of a situation to be put in.
I've been snarky with the university for not speaking out earlier on this issue. That they cowered, perhaps fearful of the wrath of the premier. That nobody was saying boo until the story broke nationally. But there was no voice to rally around and speak out. A cynic might suggest the government saw that weakness and choose to try and exploit it.
I still think someone should have spoken up on this much sooner. But I do recognize the government put the university in a terribly compromised situation and took advantage of a period of institutional confusion. It's disappointing no one took a stand, but perhaps forgivable.
I promise to try and write about something not MUN related tomorrow.
Last Five
1. Setting sail/Muineira De Frexido - The Chieftains*
2. Most of the time - Lloyd Cole
3. Jacob's ladder (live) - Bruce Springsteen
4. You dress up for Armageddon - The Hives
5. My girl - Chilliwack
I'm not listening to the station but Peter Whittle posted a few highlights from this mornings Open Line show. The attack dogs have been unleashed to rescue the premier and the minister of education. Perhaps they had been unleashed earlier, but this morning it seems the offensive (in more than one ways) has truly begun. Two arguments in particular were offensive to me.
First, that some of the Board of Regents members and people on the presidential hiring committee were university students. They're only 19 years old or so, so what could they possibly know about such important issues? Because obviously all university students are drunken fools.
So, let's see, first plan of attack from the province anonymous hounds - insult students.
Look, unless things have changed, students appointed to the Board of Regents are normally some of the best the university has to offer. It's not just that they're tipping the upper end of the bell curve for grades, they're normally deeply involved in campus life and volunteer lots. These tend to be the people the university likes to drag out and show off as what MUN is capable of producing.
So, no, we're not talking about half-stunned first years who when they're not skipping classes are trying to sneak into the Breezeway. These are smart men and women. Let's try and treat them as such, shall we? Let's try to respect the fact they're volunteering their time, with little compensation, to try and help make the university a better place.
What do they know about hiring a president? Well, it's a certainty they know more than the anonymous caller. I'm also pretty damn sure they know more than the current minister of education.
Furthermore, I've always believed student are radically under-represented on the Board of Regents. Three out of 30? I don't believe that's fair. If I had my say, the Board of Regents break down would look like this:
20% students
20% alumni
20% faculty
20% university administration
20% government appointment
That breakdown ensures a lively debate when it comes to issues regarding the university, with a healthy degree of academic freedom. It'll never happen, but hey, dare to dream.
2. Dr. Eddie Campbell is trying to protect his ass and doesn't really care about students. This is what the anonymous government lackies are saying on VOCM. This, on top of the minister of education publicly saying she doesn't think he's capable of doing the job he's already doing.
How a university president is viewed by students tends to break one of three ways. For the vast majority, it's utter ambivalence. A few will like him, and a decent chunk will hate his guts for some reason or another.
This racket is making a rare event happen. Judging by some of the comments I've seen on Facebook, it's making university students not only like and respect Dr. Campbell, but also feel a bit sorry for him. So kudos to the government for accomplishing that minor miracle.
Dr. Campbell was in an unbelievably difficult position. He's in the running for the president's job, the one he already holds. Now, the provincial government is interfering in the process. It wants to interview the finalists for the job. There's no real chancellor per se, and the chair of the Board of Regents in a Danny Williams appointee. Find me the person who gets to speak for the university to oppose this. The ones who should be talking are either in conflict of interest, absent or compromised.
So what do you do? Find a way out of that where you get to be president, don't compromise the academic independence of the university and don't piss of a premier with a short fuse and long memory for a grudge.
So let's go easy with the public character assassination, all right? I don't know Dr. Campbell. But that's one hell of a situation to be put in.
I've been snarky with the university for not speaking out earlier on this issue. That they cowered, perhaps fearful of the wrath of the premier. That nobody was saying boo until the story broke nationally. But there was no voice to rally around and speak out. A cynic might suggest the government saw that weakness and choose to try and exploit it.
I still think someone should have spoken up on this much sooner. But I do recognize the government put the university in a terribly compromised situation and took advantage of a period of institutional confusion. It's disappointing no one took a stand, but perhaps forgivable.
I promise to try and write about something not MUN related tomorrow.
Last Five
1. Setting sail/Muineira De Frexido - The Chieftains*
2. Most of the time - Lloyd Cole
3. Jacob's ladder (live) - Bruce Springsteen
4. You dress up for Armageddon - The Hives
5. My girl - Chilliwack
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Water, water....
There was a story I read this week from the CBC (on media monitor at work, it's not on their website, frustratingly enough) talking about bottled water use in Nunavut. It was about a scientist puzzled by the amount of bottled water sales in Nunavut. Specifically, he was puzzled and a bit upset with the amount of bottled water bought in the territory. His argument is that Nunvaut has some of the best water in the world, why on earth would people be buying the bottled stuff?
Now, there's some argument to be made against that. Several communities are having some water problems. I recall reading about complaints about the quality of water here in town before I went on vacation....too much copper, I believe. And we prefer to use a Britta filter before drinking the water, just to be on the safe side.
But for the most part, the scientist is right. There really is little need to pop into a store, open a cooler and grab a bottle of water that was likely shipped from god knows where and then flown up here from Ottawa. There are enough other options in the north that bottled water sales should be minimal. And that's before we get into bulk water sales, like the large bottles for coolers and people buying large bottles for home use. However, people up here do it all the time. And while I don't think I've bought a bottle of water in Iqaluit, I'm certainly guilty of hitting the water cooler far quicker than going for a tap.
There's been no shortage of stories about the evils of bottled water. About the environmental impact of creating all that plastic, the fuel costs with shipping water and then all the plastic being tossed away. And I understand all of that. I really do. I understand about trying to convince people to not buy as much of it. It makes sense.
But when we were in Italy, it was very hard to get around buying bottled water. The tap water in some places is ok to drink (surprisingly, Rome water wasn't bad. Florence was supposed to be drinkable, but wasn't). But you have to drink water. I think one day we accidentally didn't drink as much as we should have and paid the price.
And you need lots of water to get by. I figure we were drinking at least four litres per person, per day, if not more. That's a lot to be carrying around with you all day, so you end up buying some when you're out. It's hard to get around buying water, even if you're trying to cut back. It's bloody hot there. Sitting down and doing nothing and you're still sweating out a ton of water. You need to keep hydrating.
So I can understand bottled water in hot climates. Even with public springs, like Rome and Florence had, you're still going to have to buy some bottled water otherwise you're in trouble.
But in Nunavut, not really the same excuse. You're not as likely to get radically dehydrated from the heat. Nor are you ever really far from a decent and clean source of water. So it is kind of silly to be buying it so much.
What's the point of all this rambling? Just a reminder to myself to watch where I'm getting my water and musing to myself that for all the stories saying how we should cut back on bottled water, it's not as easy as we might think it is. Trying to do the right thing rarely is.
Last Five
1. Mr. Feathers - Elvis Costello and the Imposters
2. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
3. Right by your side - Eurythmics
4. Take you on a cruise - Interpol
5. Little bones - Tragically Hip
Now, there's some argument to be made against that. Several communities are having some water problems. I recall reading about complaints about the quality of water here in town before I went on vacation....too much copper, I believe. And we prefer to use a Britta filter before drinking the water, just to be on the safe side.
But for the most part, the scientist is right. There really is little need to pop into a store, open a cooler and grab a bottle of water that was likely shipped from god knows where and then flown up here from Ottawa. There are enough other options in the north that bottled water sales should be minimal. And that's before we get into bulk water sales, like the large bottles for coolers and people buying large bottles for home use. However, people up here do it all the time. And while I don't think I've bought a bottle of water in Iqaluit, I'm certainly guilty of hitting the water cooler far quicker than going for a tap.
There's been no shortage of stories about the evils of bottled water. About the environmental impact of creating all that plastic, the fuel costs with shipping water and then all the plastic being tossed away. And I understand all of that. I really do. I understand about trying to convince people to not buy as much of it. It makes sense.
But when we were in Italy, it was very hard to get around buying bottled water. The tap water in some places is ok to drink (surprisingly, Rome water wasn't bad. Florence was supposed to be drinkable, but wasn't). But you have to drink water. I think one day we accidentally didn't drink as much as we should have and paid the price.
And you need lots of water to get by. I figure we were drinking at least four litres per person, per day, if not more. That's a lot to be carrying around with you all day, so you end up buying some when you're out. It's hard to get around buying water, even if you're trying to cut back. It's bloody hot there. Sitting down and doing nothing and you're still sweating out a ton of water. You need to keep hydrating.
So I can understand bottled water in hot climates. Even with public springs, like Rome and Florence had, you're still going to have to buy some bottled water otherwise you're in trouble.
But in Nunavut, not really the same excuse. You're not as likely to get radically dehydrated from the heat. Nor are you ever really far from a decent and clean source of water. So it is kind of silly to be buying it so much.
What's the point of all this rambling? Just a reminder to myself to watch where I'm getting my water and musing to myself that for all the stories saying how we should cut back on bottled water, it's not as easy as we might think it is. Trying to do the right thing rarely is.
Last Five
1. Mr. Feathers - Elvis Costello and the Imposters
2. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
3. Right by your side - Eurythmics
4. Take you on a cruise - Interpol
5. Little bones - Tragically Hip
Friday, August 01, 2008
Random MUN thought for this evening
Has any reporter tried to track down in-coming chancellor Rick Hillier and ask what he thinks of the idea of the provincial government vetoing the hiring of a new university president? Because I think that would be a very interesting question to ask him.
For that matter, has anyone tried to speak to John Crosbie, former chancellor and current Lt. Governor of the province what he thinks. Because I think that would be another person who it would be fascinating to hear from.
Just throwing it out there. Because hey, I'm the curious type.
For that matter, has anyone tried to speak to John Crosbie, former chancellor and current Lt. Governor of the province what he thinks. Because I think that would be another person who it would be fascinating to hear from.
Just throwing it out there. Because hey, I'm the curious type.
Notes on the day
1. So after mentioning that I hadn't started my Facebook campaign for the Board of Regents, Dale Kirby very nicely goes ahead and starts one for me. So far, so good. When I checked before heading to be last night there was about seven members. As of lunchtime today there are about 35 or so.
Granted, not all of them can vote because they either graduated from another school or are too young to go yet (not that I don't appreciate the support, Kelli), but who knows, maybe I just make a good showing here . But I don't think I'll start writing any acceptance speeches just yet.
By the way, if you want to vote, go here. All you need is your MUN student number. If you're like me, I'm not sure an ice pick to the brain will ever erase that number. It'll probably be the last thing I mutter before I die.
Actually, those would be great last words to confuse people:
Me: (gasping out student number)
Relative #1: What did he say? It sounded like a bunch of numbers.
Relative #2: Maybe it's a secret bank account number. He could have thousands stashed away!
Relative #1: That bastard. I always knew he was holding out on us.
Oh, and I know this is a slightly not nice thing to suggest, but you can vote for up to six people, but you can also only vote for one, if you want.
2. It's nice to see Ed Hollett back in full force from his self-imposed exile. He's been doing the best coverage, either online or offline, of the MUN president fiasco. The two nice finds for today? Dr. Eddy Campbell, MUN's acting president, withdrawing his name from consideration for the presidency while at the same time saying the provincial government has no right to interfere in the hiring process. It's about time someone in the university's administration spoke up. It's a very polite invitation for the government to fuck off, but it's better than what the university has said previous, i.e. nothing whatsoever.
The other find is Jeffrey Simpson's column inviting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to grow a pair and start standing up to Williams. That the racket over MUN's president is only the latest case of people not standing up to Williams. Maybe people are, but by god I'd like to see it reflected somewhere other than semi-anonymous griping online or on VOCM's open line shows. I'd like to see the government lose a byelection or two. I'd like to see the next opinion polls show at least a sharp drop in support for the government. Something. Anything. Just to cut the hubris of the government down a notch or two.
3. And in something unrelated to MUN or provincial governments, it was entertaining to watch Jon Stewart go up one side of John McCain last night and down the other. He also managed a rare trick; for one brief, shining moment I felt sorry for the Hilton family. I felt sorry for Paris Hilton. Then I hit myself in the head repeatedly and the feeling mercifully went away.
Here's the clip (about 2:20 in). Apparently the Hilton family donated thousands of dollars to the McCain campaign. The maximum amount, actually. And as a way of saying thanks, the McCain campaign crapped on their daughter in a political ad. Granted, it's Paris Hilton, so I don't think many are going to feel sorry for her. Lord knows worse has been done to her, and a lot of it self-inflicted. However, as Stewart rightly noted, it was just a bit "dickish."
Then again, after the calibre of attacks for the past week or so from the McCain camp, "dickish" might be the most polite thing you can say about their campaign.
Last Five
1. For America - Jackson Browne
2. Racing in the streets (live) - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band*
3. Upon a veil of midnight blue - Elvis Costello
4. Put your arms around me - Texas
5. End of the end - Paul McCartney
Granted, not all of them can vote because they either graduated from another school or are too young to go yet (not that I don't appreciate the support, Kelli), but who knows, maybe I just make a good showing here . But I don't think I'll start writing any acceptance speeches just yet.
By the way, if you want to vote, go here. All you need is your MUN student number. If you're like me, I'm not sure an ice pick to the brain will ever erase that number. It'll probably be the last thing I mutter before I die.
Actually, those would be great last words to confuse people:
Me: (gasping out student number)
Relative #1: What did he say? It sounded like a bunch of numbers.
Relative #2: Maybe it's a secret bank account number. He could have thousands stashed away!
Relative #1: That bastard. I always knew he was holding out on us.
Oh, and I know this is a slightly not nice thing to suggest, but you can vote for up to six people, but you can also only vote for one, if you want.
2. It's nice to see Ed Hollett back in full force from his self-imposed exile. He's been doing the best coverage, either online or offline, of the MUN president fiasco. The two nice finds for today? Dr. Eddy Campbell, MUN's acting president, withdrawing his name from consideration for the presidency while at the same time saying the provincial government has no right to interfere in the hiring process. It's about time someone in the university's administration spoke up. It's a very polite invitation for the government to fuck off, but it's better than what the university has said previous, i.e. nothing whatsoever.
The other find is Jeffrey Simpson's column inviting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to grow a pair and start standing up to Williams. That the racket over MUN's president is only the latest case of people not standing up to Williams. Maybe people are, but by god I'd like to see it reflected somewhere other than semi-anonymous griping online or on VOCM's open line shows. I'd like to see the government lose a byelection or two. I'd like to see the next opinion polls show at least a sharp drop in support for the government. Something. Anything. Just to cut the hubris of the government down a notch or two.
3. And in something unrelated to MUN or provincial governments, it was entertaining to watch Jon Stewart go up one side of John McCain last night and down the other. He also managed a rare trick; for one brief, shining moment I felt sorry for the Hilton family. I felt sorry for Paris Hilton. Then I hit myself in the head repeatedly and the feeling mercifully went away.
Here's the clip (about 2:20 in). Apparently the Hilton family donated thousands of dollars to the McCain campaign. The maximum amount, actually. And as a way of saying thanks, the McCain campaign crapped on their daughter in a political ad. Granted, it's Paris Hilton, so I don't think many are going to feel sorry for her. Lord knows worse has been done to her, and a lot of it self-inflicted. However, as Stewart rightly noted, it was just a bit "dickish."
Then again, after the calibre of attacks for the past week or so from the McCain camp, "dickish" might be the most polite thing you can say about their campaign.
Last Five
1. For America - Jackson Browne
2. Racing in the streets (live) - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band*
3. Upon a veil of midnight blue - Elvis Costello
4. Put your arms around me - Texas
5. End of the end - Paul McCartney
Thursday, July 31, 2008
On Board of Regents election and university presidents
I've been running a pretty low key campaign to run for Memorial University of Newfoundland's Board of Regents. There was a grand plan of myself and Dups launching a campaign complete with websites and a presence on Facebook. But Dups got busy and didn't get his application in before deadline. And between being on vacation and just getting a bit distracted since I came up here, I haven't put the effort into it that I would like.
I've had a few people ask me why I'm running. Realisitcally, the odds are against me. There are some well-known and well-connected people in the race. The best I think that can be said about my popularity is that I'm a moderately well-known northern and Newfoundland blogger (for what that's worth), plus I'm the former associate editor of the Express. And a columnist. That gives me a degree of name recognition, I suppose. Although I still find it amusing that either Geoff Meeker or Peter Whittle called me a "popular" blogger.
A lot people, when they run for the Board of Regents, I think use the notion that they're running because they want to give something back to the university. And don't get me wrong, I value my time at MUN. But for me, MUN has also been a series of frustrations and challenges. I've had my share of run ins with the university over the years. I did it when I was with the muse in the early 90s. I ran stories the administration really didn't like. Not that I cared because MUN at that time frequently made decisions that infuriated me. Like, for example, cutting back on people dropping out for medical reasons. Yes, there was abuse in the system, but when I had a student come in the muse office waving doctor's notes at me that apparently weren't enough to get her tuition refunded, when the registrar told me that if a student died during the semister, they might refund the money, that pissed me off.
And even after I was long gone, I could still get into the odd racket with them. Myself and several other bloggers sparred heavily with the university over their ill-advised decision to change their logo and drop Newfoundland from most of the publicity material surrounding MUN. I still think it was a mistake. And judging by the traffic I was getting from MUN's university relations division, they were at the very least paying attention to what I was saying.
I'm trying not to slag anybody else running for the Board of Regents. They tossed their name in and good for them. I also happen to think these elections are fantastic. Considering most of the Board of Regent positions are by appointment, it's nice to see a bit of a chance for an "average" person to get elected.
Why do I think I would make a good choice? Because I'm opinionated and not afraid to tell people at the university, loudly, when they're wrong. Because I do love the place. I criticize because I think the place should be so much better than what it is. Because I think it would be nice to have someone on the Board of Regents who is not a lawyer, businessperson or former politician. And boy, are there are ever a lot of them, either currently there or running.
And hey, wouldn't it be nice if a few members from the Board of Regents stood up right now and told the education minister and the premier to stop interfering with the university? Because this isn't the government doing what's best for the university and the province by interfering in the hiring process. This is the premier doing what's best for the premier.
The Telegram has a spectacular editorial outlining just some of the potential pitfalls of the government interfering with the university. And, of course, Ed has been all over this as well. But here's the one question I have that I haven't seen answered: who at the university thought it was a good idea to let the education minister interview two prospective presidential candidates?
Yes, I understand it's probably a courtesy to give the government the head's up that these are the two we're looking at. But as soon as Bruke (and, let's face it, the premier) said we want to interview them for ourselves (and what questions did Burke ask to give her the wisdom to decide these two weren't fit beyond "How do you feel about Grenfell being autonomous?") the university should have told her, very politely, to shag off. And to wave around the section of the Memorial University Act that everyone is talking about telling them they have no right to determine who they're going to hire. And if the government still pushed, well, walk right over to the muse and have a little chat with them.
But senior officials didn't. It let the government interview the two candidates. It let the government veto it's two best candidates. And to date, it still hasn't said much about the whole racket, choosing to keep quiet. The people upset and speaking out are the opposition, professors and students. And I'm not sure that's the smart move.
Look, I know the relationship between MUN and the government has always been complex and required some diplomacy and subtlity. The government can, if it chooses, make things very difficult for a university. But this is one of the things you have to fight for. The Telegram outlined very clearly the perils of having a president feeling beholden to the government of the day. Among the qualities a good university president ought to have is one not afraid to fight for the university's best interests when talking to government. There have been those in the past who have appeared more willing to fight for the government's perspective on campus. They have rarely been good presidents, nor have they been good times at the university.
The government deserves all the garbage it's getting heaped on it right now. Every scrap of it because it's a stupid play and typical of the Williams government's mania to try and control everything it surveys. But I'm not 100 per cent sure that university officials handled the situation well, either. That's something to think about and question as well...
Last Five
1. Inside and out - Feist
2. I'm only sleeping - The Beatles
3. The best at doing nothing - Drive
4. Erie Canal (live) - Bruce Springsteen*
5. Help me, Mary - Liz Phair
I've had a few people ask me why I'm running. Realisitcally, the odds are against me. There are some well-known and well-connected people in the race. The best I think that can be said about my popularity is that I'm a moderately well-known northern and Newfoundland blogger (for what that's worth), plus I'm the former associate editor of the Express. And a columnist. That gives me a degree of name recognition, I suppose. Although I still find it amusing that either Geoff Meeker or Peter Whittle called me a "popular" blogger.
A lot people, when they run for the Board of Regents, I think use the notion that they're running because they want to give something back to the university. And don't get me wrong, I value my time at MUN. But for me, MUN has also been a series of frustrations and challenges. I've had my share of run ins with the university over the years. I did it when I was with the muse in the early 90s. I ran stories the administration really didn't like. Not that I cared because MUN at that time frequently made decisions that infuriated me. Like, for example, cutting back on people dropping out for medical reasons. Yes, there was abuse in the system, but when I had a student come in the muse office waving doctor's notes at me that apparently weren't enough to get her tuition refunded, when the registrar told me that if a student died during the semister, they might refund the money, that pissed me off.
And even after I was long gone, I could still get into the odd racket with them. Myself and several other bloggers sparred heavily with the university over their ill-advised decision to change their logo and drop Newfoundland from most of the publicity material surrounding MUN. I still think it was a mistake. And judging by the traffic I was getting from MUN's university relations division, they were at the very least paying attention to what I was saying.
I'm trying not to slag anybody else running for the Board of Regents. They tossed their name in and good for them. I also happen to think these elections are fantastic. Considering most of the Board of Regent positions are by appointment, it's nice to see a bit of a chance for an "average" person to get elected.
Why do I think I would make a good choice? Because I'm opinionated and not afraid to tell people at the university, loudly, when they're wrong. Because I do love the place. I criticize because I think the place should be so much better than what it is. Because I think it would be nice to have someone on the Board of Regents who is not a lawyer, businessperson or former politician. And boy, are there are ever a lot of them, either currently there or running.
And hey, wouldn't it be nice if a few members from the Board of Regents stood up right now and told the education minister and the premier to stop interfering with the university? Because this isn't the government doing what's best for the university and the province by interfering in the hiring process. This is the premier doing what's best for the premier.
The Telegram has a spectacular editorial outlining just some of the potential pitfalls of the government interfering with the university. And, of course, Ed has been all over this as well. But here's the one question I have that I haven't seen answered: who at the university thought it was a good idea to let the education minister interview two prospective presidential candidates?
Yes, I understand it's probably a courtesy to give the government the head's up that these are the two we're looking at. But as soon as Bruke (and, let's face it, the premier) said we want to interview them for ourselves (and what questions did Burke ask to give her the wisdom to decide these two weren't fit beyond "How do you feel about Grenfell being autonomous?") the university should have told her, very politely, to shag off. And to wave around the section of the Memorial University Act that everyone is talking about telling them they have no right to determine who they're going to hire. And if the government still pushed, well, walk right over to the muse and have a little chat with them.
But senior officials didn't. It let the government interview the two candidates. It let the government veto it's two best candidates. And to date, it still hasn't said much about the whole racket, choosing to keep quiet. The people upset and speaking out are the opposition, professors and students. And I'm not sure that's the smart move.
Look, I know the relationship between MUN and the government has always been complex and required some diplomacy and subtlity. The government can, if it chooses, make things very difficult for a university. But this is one of the things you have to fight for. The Telegram outlined very clearly the perils of having a president feeling beholden to the government of the day. Among the qualities a good university president ought to have is one not afraid to fight for the university's best interests when talking to government. There have been those in the past who have appeared more willing to fight for the government's perspective on campus. They have rarely been good presidents, nor have they been good times at the university.
The government deserves all the garbage it's getting heaped on it right now. Every scrap of it because it's a stupid play and typical of the Williams government's mania to try and control everything it surveys. But I'm not 100 per cent sure that university officials handled the situation well, either. That's something to think about and question as well...
Last Five
1. Inside and out - Feist
2. I'm only sleeping - The Beatles
3. The best at doing nothing - Drive
4. Erie Canal (live) - Bruce Springsteen*
5. Help me, Mary - Liz Phair
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What today is
Just a gentle reminder for my lovely wife, who is terrible with dates ("I know your birthday is in January...what more do you want?") on what today is. It happened three years ago today. There was a bit of hoopla associated with it.
Once again we find ourselves apart on our anniversary. Part of the perils of being married to a teacher. But next year we will be together (barring extreme weirdness) for our fourth, somewhere in Australia.
It's been a good three years. Here's hoping for a lot more...
Last Five
1. Baby, now that I've found you (live) - Allison Krauss and Union Station
2. The playboy mansion - U2
3. Lies (live) - Stan Rogers
4. Ribbons undone (live) - Tori Amos
5. Gold in them hills - Ron Sexsmith*
Once again we find ourselves apart on our anniversary. Part of the perils of being married to a teacher. But next year we will be together (barring extreme weirdness) for our fourth, somewhere in Australia.
It's been a good three years. Here's hoping for a lot more...
Last Five
1. Baby, now that I've found you (live) - Allison Krauss and Union Station
2. The playboy mansion - U2
3. Lies (live) - Stan Rogers
4. Ribbons undone (live) - Tori Amos
5. Gold in them hills - Ron Sexsmith*
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The ice rolls in...
Being a Newfoundlander, you grow up believing that:
A. The weather can read your mind
B. It hates you. There's no reason why it hates you. It just does. Think of the weather as a temperamental cheerleader. Sometimes it can be sunny and friendly; most of the time it's just a bitch.
For good measure, you can also toss in the rest of the universe. I found this definition of karma on dictionary.com - seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation.
I think Newfoundlanders tend to have a slightly skewed version of this. Most wish for good weather, but believe because you wish for it and want it, there's a price to be paid. And not at a 1:1 ratio either. No, this is at a more "deal with the devil" ration. Wish for one nice day, you get two weeks of pounding rain and fog. Sort of like rob someone in this life, spend the next 1000 years a cockroach. That sort of thing.
All of which brings us to Iqaluit. Last week was bizarrely warm. The day I arrived when it nearly hit 27C. That's a record, I believe. Not for that day....forever. Since they started recording temperatures in Iqaluit, they've never had a day that warm. And the rest of the week, while not hitting that peak, was still comfortably around 20C. It was sunny. People were getting tanned.
Naturally, the Newfoundlander in me was whispering "well, the payback on this week is going to be fucking awesome."
Payback began yesterday. Just a little appetizer, if you will. Some grey weather, a sprinkling of rain, and the temperature dropping to about 6C. Nothing too serious. Until you looked out in the bay and saw ice moving.
Yes. Ice. Fucking ice. At the end of July. Granted, I've been up here not quite three years, so perhaps there's nothing historically unusual about bergy bits floating into the bay and running themselves aground at low tide. But it's the first time I've seen it this late. It's one of those things that makes you wonder.
By the way, since there was still ice in the bay when I left at the end of June, it means I've seen a grand total of seven days so far this year without ice in the bay.
Yeah, payback for last week is going to be something to behold.
Last Five
1. By your side (live) - Allison Crowe*
2. Behind the lines - Genesis
3. Curiosity - Sean Panting
4. Bad habit - Joss Stone
5. Holly waltz/Diggy diggy low - The Flash Girls
A. The weather can read your mind
B. It hates you. There's no reason why it hates you. It just does. Think of the weather as a temperamental cheerleader. Sometimes it can be sunny and friendly; most of the time it's just a bitch.
For good measure, you can also toss in the rest of the universe. I found this definition of karma on dictionary.com - seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation.
I think Newfoundlanders tend to have a slightly skewed version of this. Most wish for good weather, but believe because you wish for it and want it, there's a price to be paid. And not at a 1:1 ratio either. No, this is at a more "deal with the devil" ration. Wish for one nice day, you get two weeks of pounding rain and fog. Sort of like rob someone in this life, spend the next 1000 years a cockroach. That sort of thing.
All of which brings us to Iqaluit. Last week was bizarrely warm. The day I arrived when it nearly hit 27C. That's a record, I believe. Not for that day....forever. Since they started recording temperatures in Iqaluit, they've never had a day that warm. And the rest of the week, while not hitting that peak, was still comfortably around 20C. It was sunny. People were getting tanned.
Naturally, the Newfoundlander in me was whispering "well, the payback on this week is going to be fucking awesome."
Payback began yesterday. Just a little appetizer, if you will. Some grey weather, a sprinkling of rain, and the temperature dropping to about 6C. Nothing too serious. Until you looked out in the bay and saw ice moving.
Yes. Ice. Fucking ice. At the end of July. Granted, I've been up here not quite three years, so perhaps there's nothing historically unusual about bergy bits floating into the bay and running themselves aground at low tide. But it's the first time I've seen it this late. It's one of those things that makes you wonder.
By the way, since there was still ice in the bay when I left at the end of June, it means I've seen a grand total of seven days so far this year without ice in the bay.
Yeah, payback for last week is going to be something to behold.
Last Five
1. By your side (live) - Allison Crowe*
2. Behind the lines - Genesis
3. Curiosity - Sean Panting
4. Bad habit - Joss Stone
5. Holly waltz/Diggy diggy low - The Flash Girls
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Two doors
I'm starting to get googly-eyed from looking at pictures. I took about 750 pictures when in Italy. Cathy probably took another 50 or so with her camera. It's a lot to go through, especially since I'm having a bit of fun playing with Aperture, the Mac photo adjustment/management program - tweaking what I've taken.
The problem is that they seem, for the most part, trapped on the computer. I've been having internet connection problems all evening. Nothing serious, just enough when I try to upload them to Photolab so we can print copies which Cathy can pick up, it crashes. Meaning I've spent a pretty frustrating evening. I've called it quits for today and will try again tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I'll burn them on a CD and mail it to Cathy.
Why not print them up here? Because last time I checked it was something like 50 cents or more to print one 4 x 6. Compare that to about 15 cents at Photolab. And using our photo printer would eat about $100 worth of printer ink. So, getting them done down south it is.
For those nagging me to upload some pics to Facebook or Flickr, I'm having similar problems. Facebook in particular. I'm having real problems uploading pictures there. It's taking forever to upload just five pics.
In the meantime, I'm going to put up these two pictures. They're of doors.
Why? Just because I love them. They're magic shots. Random bits of flukery you find when aimlessly wandering through alleys. You glance down and there's magic. It's like theft. Cathy's perplexed as to why I love these two pictures so much. There's nothing about them that says they were taken in Italy. But I love them all the same. I suspect Greg, Dups or Jennifer would know why I love them so much.
The first picture was taken in San Gimignano, the famed towered city in Tuscany. We were looking for a scenery shot and Cathy pointed and said "look, a rubber duck." This is what I got.
This one was when we were semi-lost in an off-the-beaten path alley in Venice. We turned a corner and there it was. It actually looked like the flowers were producing the light.
And, what the hell, one real shot of Italy. I took a lot of pictures of Cathy during those three weeks. I think this is my favourite.
Last Five
1. Our swords - Band of Horses
2. Angie - Rolling Stones
3. Wet blanket - Metric
4. So jealous - Tegan and Sara
5. We hide and seek (live) - Alison Krauss and Union Station
The problem is that they seem, for the most part, trapped on the computer. I've been having internet connection problems all evening. Nothing serious, just enough when I try to upload them to Photolab so we can print copies which Cathy can pick up, it crashes. Meaning I've spent a pretty frustrating evening. I've called it quits for today and will try again tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I'll burn them on a CD and mail it to Cathy.
Why not print them up here? Because last time I checked it was something like 50 cents or more to print one 4 x 6. Compare that to about 15 cents at Photolab. And using our photo printer would eat about $100 worth of printer ink. So, getting them done down south it is.
For those nagging me to upload some pics to Facebook or Flickr, I'm having similar problems. Facebook in particular. I'm having real problems uploading pictures there. It's taking forever to upload just five pics.
In the meantime, I'm going to put up these two pictures. They're of doors.
Why? Just because I love them. They're magic shots. Random bits of flukery you find when aimlessly wandering through alleys. You glance down and there's magic. It's like theft. Cathy's perplexed as to why I love these two pictures so much. There's nothing about them that says they were taken in Italy. But I love them all the same. I suspect Greg, Dups or Jennifer would know why I love them so much.
The first picture was taken in San Gimignano, the famed towered city in Tuscany. We were looking for a scenery shot and Cathy pointed and said "look, a rubber duck." This is what I got.
This one was when we were semi-lost in an off-the-beaten path alley in Venice. We turned a corner and there it was. It actually looked like the flowers were producing the light.
And, what the hell, one real shot of Italy. I took a lot of pictures of Cathy during those three weeks. I think this is my favourite.
Last Five
1. Our swords - Band of Horses
2. Angie - Rolling Stones
3. Wet blanket - Metric
4. So jealous - Tegan and Sara
5. We hide and seek (live) - Alison Krauss and Union Station
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Two trailers
Two major comic books had trailers for their impending movie adaptations released in the last week. In my opinion, this is a bad one.
I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it just looks really...cheesy. I like Frank Miller, but at least from this trailer the visual look appears almost identical to 300 and Sin City. But all the elements of it to me scream disaster. I think what sunk it for me was seeing Samuel L. Jackson in a Nazi uniform. I know it's likely a dream sequence or something, but if you're breaking that out for me in a trailer, it sinks my expectations.
And yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of the Spirit in the world. It's one of those series that comic professionals and diehards tend to like a lot more than the average fan. Here's a Wikipedia entry explaining the historical importance of the book.
This trailer, on the other hand, is driving fans into rapturous glee.
I really didn't think Watchmen was a filmable comic book. It's entirely too complex with a lot of the fun not just in the writing and the art, but also in the symbolism and the way the comic is laid out and designed. Trying to cram all of that into a two to three hour movie? A 12 hour mini-series might be more doable.
I'm still not entirely sure, but I admit this trailer is giving me hope. As someone online pointed out, as good as the trailer is, we haven't heard anyone speak dialogue yet. Which is a fair point. Still, fans are over the moon for it at SDCC. And as any number of news stories before SDCC got started this week reported, winning over the geeks at this event is a big deal. I imagine the studio is happy. If the geeks had hated it, the negative buzz might have sunk it months before it hit the screens.
I hope this is good, I really do.
Now if you excuse me, I have to hunt down that Smashing Pumpkins song...
Last Five
1. Teddy picker - Arctic Monkeys
2. Tender is the night - Jackson Browne
3. 7 minutes in heaven - Fall Out Boy
4. Canyon - Mark Bragg
5. Murder in the Southlands - Jenny Gear and the Whiskey Kittens*
I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it just looks really...cheesy. I like Frank Miller, but at least from this trailer the visual look appears almost identical to 300 and Sin City. But all the elements of it to me scream disaster. I think what sunk it for me was seeing Samuel L. Jackson in a Nazi uniform. I know it's likely a dream sequence or something, but if you're breaking that out for me in a trailer, it sinks my expectations.
And yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of the Spirit in the world. It's one of those series that comic professionals and diehards tend to like a lot more than the average fan. Here's a Wikipedia entry explaining the historical importance of the book.
This trailer, on the other hand, is driving fans into rapturous glee.
I really didn't think Watchmen was a filmable comic book. It's entirely too complex with a lot of the fun not just in the writing and the art, but also in the symbolism and the way the comic is laid out and designed. Trying to cram all of that into a two to three hour movie? A 12 hour mini-series might be more doable.
I'm still not entirely sure, but I admit this trailer is giving me hope. As someone online pointed out, as good as the trailer is, we haven't heard anyone speak dialogue yet. Which is a fair point. Still, fans are over the moon for it at SDCC. And as any number of news stories before SDCC got started this week reported, winning over the geeks at this event is a big deal. I imagine the studio is happy. If the geeks had hated it, the negative buzz might have sunk it months before it hit the screens.
I hope this is good, I really do.
Now if you excuse me, I have to hunt down that Smashing Pumpkins song...
Last Five
1. Teddy picker - Arctic Monkeys
2. Tender is the night - Jackson Browne
3. 7 minutes in heaven - Fall Out Boy
4. Canyon - Mark Bragg
5. Murder in the Southlands - Jenny Gear and the Whiskey Kittens*
Friday, July 25, 2008
San Diego
I should mention that this weekend is San Diego Comic Con weekend. I suspect most of you might not care about this. However, SDCC has moved beyond just being a weekend for comic book events and has become the geek orgy event of the year. Movies, TV shows, video games....all of it now has a place of prominence at the show. What I attended in New York back in April was big...about 70,000 people attended over three days. This show will easily double that number over its four days.
There's apparently something similar in Japan that draws half a million. Ye gods...
If you're interested, here are a few sites to follow this weekend for the latest news.
Newsarama
Newsarama Blog
Comic Book Resources
The Beat
Entertainment Weekly
There will also be a ton of blogs reporting on the con. I imagine a quick blog search, using SDCC as a search will find them for you.
But really, the thing I'm looking forward to the most are the pictures from the con. My favourite thing about New York, after meeting some of the creators and just the whole surreal atmosphere around the place, were the people in costumes. Most put a lot of time and money into them and it's well worth your time at one of these events to find a good spot and just people watch for a few hours.
In lieu of that, a nice Flickr stream will do. Just type SDCC 2008 into a Flickr search and you'll find lots. Good for a bit of amusement. If I find any really amazing photos, I'll post or link to them on the blog this weekend.
And now, away to work....
There's apparently something similar in Japan that draws half a million. Ye gods...
If you're interested, here are a few sites to follow this weekend for the latest news.
Newsarama
Newsarama Blog
Comic Book Resources
The Beat
Entertainment Weekly
There will also be a ton of blogs reporting on the con. I imagine a quick blog search, using SDCC as a search will find them for you.
But really, the thing I'm looking forward to the most are the pictures from the con. My favourite thing about New York, after meeting some of the creators and just the whole surreal atmosphere around the place, were the people in costumes. Most put a lot of time and money into them and it's well worth your time at one of these events to find a good spot and just people watch for a few hours.
In lieu of that, a nice Flickr stream will do. Just type SDCC 2008 into a Flickr search and you'll find lots. Good for a bit of amusement. If I find any really amazing photos, I'll post or link to them on the blog this weekend.
And now, away to work....
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Masks
I know I said I wouldn't write about Italy this evening. I had planned on writing about the Board of Regents election. But I'm still feeling run down and like crap. The level of concentration just isn't there this evening. So instead, photos of four masks we bought while in Italy. I'm not entirely sure we needed four masks and they were a bitch to transport home. However, we fell in love with them and make the effort. And except for one, they managed to make it home unscathed.
The first two masks are mine.
This one ought to be fairly recognizable. It's a Guy Fawkes mask and I bought it in Florence. A little store right around the corner from our hotel. This mask is made of leather and you could watch the guy make masks in his little workshop. I've always wanted one of these masks, ever since I first read the V For Vendetta comics back in the 80s. Now I just need the rest of the costume.
This mask is Venetian. Venice is very proud of its mask making tradition. There's general disgust with the cheap Chinese masks and glassware flooding Venice. However, we found a couple of shops that, while more expensive, produced lovely masks. This one is also mine. It's a touch plain, but I like it. Also, it fits. Much to my annoyance, most of the masks I really liked were simply too small to fit properly. This mask also got crunched a bit being transported, but it's not too serious.
This one and the next one are Cathy's. She nearly went out of her mind trying to select a mask. So many of them are beautiful, but very large and elaborate. Meaning, very difficult to pack. Also, this mask and the red one were made by the same people who made many of the masks for Eyes Wide Shut. Considering how bad that movie was, I'm not sure it's an endorsement, but there's your extra bit of information for the day.
This one Cathy is slightly annoyed with me about. We had our masks and were walking home. There are literally hundreds of stores selling masks in Venice. I don't know why, but this mask caught my eye. I told Cathy she should go try it on. She immediately fell in love with it, although despaired we wouldn't have enough room for all the masks. We did.
By the way, the Venetian masks tend to be papier mache. As Cathy noted to one of the artists, their work is a bit better than what she does with her Grade 5 class.
Finally, just a few other pics of masks in stores. It was always easy to tell the good mask stores from the crappy ones. The good ones would greet you as soon as you walked in and told you to feel free to take photos if you wished. The bad ones had signs plastered all over the place telling you not to take pics.
The first two masks are mine.
This one ought to be fairly recognizable. It's a Guy Fawkes mask and I bought it in Florence. A little store right around the corner from our hotel. This mask is made of leather and you could watch the guy make masks in his little workshop. I've always wanted one of these masks, ever since I first read the V For Vendetta comics back in the 80s. Now I just need the rest of the costume.
This mask is Venetian. Venice is very proud of its mask making tradition. There's general disgust with the cheap Chinese masks and glassware flooding Venice. However, we found a couple of shops that, while more expensive, produced lovely masks. This one is also mine. It's a touch plain, but I like it. Also, it fits. Much to my annoyance, most of the masks I really liked were simply too small to fit properly. This mask also got crunched a bit being transported, but it's not too serious.
This one and the next one are Cathy's. She nearly went out of her mind trying to select a mask. So many of them are beautiful, but very large and elaborate. Meaning, very difficult to pack. Also, this mask and the red one were made by the same people who made many of the masks for Eyes Wide Shut. Considering how bad that movie was, I'm not sure it's an endorsement, but there's your extra bit of information for the day.
This one Cathy is slightly annoyed with me about. We had our masks and were walking home. There are literally hundreds of stores selling masks in Venice. I don't know why, but this mask caught my eye. I told Cathy she should go try it on. She immediately fell in love with it, although despaired we wouldn't have enough room for all the masks. We did.
By the way, the Venetian masks tend to be papier mache. As Cathy noted to one of the artists, their work is a bit better than what she does with her Grade 5 class.
Finally, just a few other pics of masks in stores. It was always easy to tell the good mask stores from the crappy ones. The good ones would greet you as soon as you walked in and told you to feel free to take photos if you wished. The bad ones had signs plastered all over the place telling you not to take pics.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Bad weekend
I'm still not feeling great and I think we've moved beyond jetlag and into something else. A summer cold or something. Still, I am getting tired earlier than normal. When we hit Rome, we took a four hour nap around 1 pm, got up, took a walk around the area for a few hours, came back to the hotel room and slept another eight hours. After that, we were fine.
And yet, here it is three days after landing back in Canada and I still feel very much out of sorts. I read somewhere that jetlag tends to be worse going one way over another. I believe it.
Anyway, I mentioned that Saturday was a bad day. I know everyone has bad travel experiences and I certainly don't want to make ours sound like it was something catastrophic. We got to Ottawa safe and sound (albeit with a few bumps along the way). But compared to some of the travel days I've had, this was certainly one of the worst.
How was it bad? Let me count the ways:
1. We arrive at the airport about 2.5 hours early. Two hours is the norm for international travel, but this was Italy, so we figured the extra half hour wouldn't hurt. It didn't. We went to the terminal the directions told us to go to. However, the American airlines have created their own "bunker" terminal that you have to shuttle to in order to check in. Mildly annoyed, we hop on the first bus of the morning.
2. Arrive at Terminal 5, "The Bunker" and go through the first security check of the day...that will allow us to check in. Yes, we had to go through security to check in. First time my new passport is commented on. "It looks good in white."
3. Despite being there more than two hours early, we are told the flight is sold out and there is no way we can sit together. Vastly annoyed.
4. Hop on Bus #2 back to one of the main terminals, where we make our way to a small gate area that will clearly not hold all the people on the plane.
5. Becomes apparent that the plane will be late leaving as there is no plane parked at the gate. We have a 90 minute layover in Newark before our flight to Ottawa. Now looks in jeopardy.
6. Passengers are herded passed the gate, only to go down a flight of stairs to a third bus of the morning, which took passengers to a plane on the other side of the airport. Only one bus is shuttling the 200 or so people across the airport.
7. Not exactly the friendly skies. Continental Stewardesses (or "International Customer Service Managers" as the pilot called them) are snappy and grumpy. A British lady sitting next to me is shocked. "Continental is my carrier. I fly with them all the time and I've never seen them this disorganized or rude." She promptly attributes it to being in Italy.
8. Miraculous, the plane leaves only an hour late. Pilot assures us time will be made up in transit.
9. Two good things. First, the nice British lady volunteered to switch seats with Cathy so we ended up together. Secondly, Continental had something like 350 movies you could watch on the screen in front of you. Made killing the 9.5 hour flight pretty easy.
10. We arrive in Newark about 20 minutes late. Things now start to get very bad. When I booked the tickets I was ignorant about the complexities of coming from one country to the US and then leaving for another. I figured it would be pretty straight forward. Ummm, no.
11. Passport control line-up is massive. We wait nearly an hour to get through. Homeland Security officer has to go and ask if they will accept my temporary passport. Minor stroke occurs. They accept it. With the 20 minutes late arriving, we now have 10 minutes to catch our flight.
12. Hitch #2...your luggage isn't automatically forwarded to your next flight. So we have to pick it up, check it in and clear security again.
13. Breaking a trend for the day, the Continental flight to Ottawa leaves on time. We're not on it. It's the first time in either of our lives we can recall missing a flight.
14. Go to Continental desk and try to catch a later flight to Ottawa. Informed there are no other flights for the day to Ottawa. Mild panic sets in.
15. After 40 minutes rangling with the computer, clerk manages to get us on a flight to Ottawa on Air Canada. It will get us in at 1:15 am. We both manage to not weep.
16. Go to Air Canada desk and ask if we can get on earlier flight. Defying expectations, staff are helpful and get us on a flight through Montreal that will get us into Ottawa at 9:15 am.
17. Balancing out the karma, when we get to Montreal, discover that Air Canada has lost our luggage. We're both exhausted at this point and ready to start killing people.
18. We clear security again. I've lost count at the number of times people have looked at my passport. Estimated number around 15. Airports are very paranoid these days.
19. Arrive in Ottawa, report luggage missing. Clerk at desk says we should have it by noon on Sunday. We get some Wendys, pick-up some toiletries and clothes at Wal-Mart, go to bed and breakfast I booked for a nice romantic weekend before parting for the next month. Slip into coma.
20. Wake up early Sunday morning and unable to sleep later because of jetlag. Report luggage missing to Visa, who give us each $500 play money to buy new clothes. Promptly spend a good chunk of it.
21. Go catch Batman as a way of relaxing.
22. Return to b&b around 6 pm. One piece of luggage delivered for us. Name on bag is Mohamed. Call 1-800 to say they deliver the wrong bag and ask where ours is. Asked if we're sure that it's the wrong bag. Cathy manages to not climb through the phone and kill the person. Told to call back in a couple of hours and they would know more.
23. Call at 9 pm. Still no idea. I decide to go to the airport to kill people.
24. Air Canada staff mystified where bags are. One staffer remembers handling the bags and giving them to the contract delivery people. They don't know where the bags are. About an hour of vexed faces and confusion on what could have happened to the bags. Delivery people are about as helpful as you might expect at this point.
25. Phone rings from passenger annoyed that two bags not belonging to him are in his hotel room. The person's name is Mohamed. I can commiserate. It is, however, our lost luggage. AC staff offer to send a courier to get it. I quickly tell them it's no problem for me to go and get it.
26. Long ordeal finally ends when I stagger into b&b room with bags. Cathy is very happy. Miraculously, nothing is broken or missing.
27. Romantic weekend at the b&b is, however, pretty much shot to hell.
And that's that. Not the worst travel experience in history, but certainly a whopper for the two of us. Although I find it amusing that I booked tickets to avoid Air Canada and all but two of the five planes we flew in this vacation still managed to be Air Canada.
Also learned the valuable lesson that when travelling internationally, even if the tickets are cheaper, avoid flying through the US. That passport control line will haunt my nightmares for months to come.
Tomorrow, something not Italy or travel related, I assure you....
And yet, here it is three days after landing back in Canada and I still feel very much out of sorts. I read somewhere that jetlag tends to be worse going one way over another. I believe it.
Anyway, I mentioned that Saturday was a bad day. I know everyone has bad travel experiences and I certainly don't want to make ours sound like it was something catastrophic. We got to Ottawa safe and sound (albeit with a few bumps along the way). But compared to some of the travel days I've had, this was certainly one of the worst.
How was it bad? Let me count the ways:
1. We arrive at the airport about 2.5 hours early. Two hours is the norm for international travel, but this was Italy, so we figured the extra half hour wouldn't hurt. It didn't. We went to the terminal the directions told us to go to. However, the American airlines have created their own "bunker" terminal that you have to shuttle to in order to check in. Mildly annoyed, we hop on the first bus of the morning.
2. Arrive at Terminal 5, "The Bunker" and go through the first security check of the day...that will allow us to check in. Yes, we had to go through security to check in. First time my new passport is commented on. "It looks good in white."
3. Despite being there more than two hours early, we are told the flight is sold out and there is no way we can sit together. Vastly annoyed.
4. Hop on Bus #2 back to one of the main terminals, where we make our way to a small gate area that will clearly not hold all the people on the plane.
5. Becomes apparent that the plane will be late leaving as there is no plane parked at the gate. We have a 90 minute layover in Newark before our flight to Ottawa. Now looks in jeopardy.
6. Passengers are herded passed the gate, only to go down a flight of stairs to a third bus of the morning, which took passengers to a plane on the other side of the airport. Only one bus is shuttling the 200 or so people across the airport.
7. Not exactly the friendly skies. Continental Stewardesses (or "International Customer Service Managers" as the pilot called them) are snappy and grumpy. A British lady sitting next to me is shocked. "Continental is my carrier. I fly with them all the time and I've never seen them this disorganized or rude." She promptly attributes it to being in Italy.
8. Miraculous, the plane leaves only an hour late. Pilot assures us time will be made up in transit.
9. Two good things. First, the nice British lady volunteered to switch seats with Cathy so we ended up together. Secondly, Continental had something like 350 movies you could watch on the screen in front of you. Made killing the 9.5 hour flight pretty easy.
10. We arrive in Newark about 20 minutes late. Things now start to get very bad. When I booked the tickets I was ignorant about the complexities of coming from one country to the US and then leaving for another. I figured it would be pretty straight forward. Ummm, no.
11. Passport control line-up is massive. We wait nearly an hour to get through. Homeland Security officer has to go and ask if they will accept my temporary passport. Minor stroke occurs. They accept it. With the 20 minutes late arriving, we now have 10 minutes to catch our flight.
12. Hitch #2...your luggage isn't automatically forwarded to your next flight. So we have to pick it up, check it in and clear security again.
13. Breaking a trend for the day, the Continental flight to Ottawa leaves on time. We're not on it. It's the first time in either of our lives we can recall missing a flight.
14. Go to Continental desk and try to catch a later flight to Ottawa. Informed there are no other flights for the day to Ottawa. Mild panic sets in.
15. After 40 minutes rangling with the computer, clerk manages to get us on a flight to Ottawa on Air Canada. It will get us in at 1:15 am. We both manage to not weep.
16. Go to Air Canada desk and ask if we can get on earlier flight. Defying expectations, staff are helpful and get us on a flight through Montreal that will get us into Ottawa at 9:15 am.
17. Balancing out the karma, when we get to Montreal, discover that Air Canada has lost our luggage. We're both exhausted at this point and ready to start killing people.
18. We clear security again. I've lost count at the number of times people have looked at my passport. Estimated number around 15. Airports are very paranoid these days.
19. Arrive in Ottawa, report luggage missing. Clerk at desk says we should have it by noon on Sunday. We get some Wendys, pick-up some toiletries and clothes at Wal-Mart, go to bed and breakfast I booked for a nice romantic weekend before parting for the next month. Slip into coma.
20. Wake up early Sunday morning and unable to sleep later because of jetlag. Report luggage missing to Visa, who give us each $500 play money to buy new clothes. Promptly spend a good chunk of it.
21. Go catch Batman as a way of relaxing.
22. Return to b&b around 6 pm. One piece of luggage delivered for us. Name on bag is Mohamed. Call 1-800 to say they deliver the wrong bag and ask where ours is. Asked if we're sure that it's the wrong bag. Cathy manages to not climb through the phone and kill the person. Told to call back in a couple of hours and they would know more.
23. Call at 9 pm. Still no idea. I decide to go to the airport to kill people.
24. Air Canada staff mystified where bags are. One staffer remembers handling the bags and giving them to the contract delivery people. They don't know where the bags are. About an hour of vexed faces and confusion on what could have happened to the bags. Delivery people are about as helpful as you might expect at this point.
25. Phone rings from passenger annoyed that two bags not belonging to him are in his hotel room. The person's name is Mohamed. I can commiserate. It is, however, our lost luggage. AC staff offer to send a courier to get it. I quickly tell them it's no problem for me to go and get it.
26. Long ordeal finally ends when I stagger into b&b room with bags. Cathy is very happy. Miraculously, nothing is broken or missing.
27. Romantic weekend at the b&b is, however, pretty much shot to hell.
And that's that. Not the worst travel experience in history, but certainly a whopper for the two of us. Although I find it amusing that I booked tickets to avoid Air Canada and all but two of the five planes we flew in this vacation still managed to be Air Canada.
Also learned the valuable lesson that when travelling internationally, even if the tickets are cheaper, avoid flying through the US. That passport control line will haunt my nightmares for months to come.
Tomorrow, something not Italy or travel related, I assure you....
Monday, July 21, 2008
Back in the NU
You know, when the pilot came over the PA system on the plane this morning and announced it was 24C in Iqaluit, I just assumed the apocolpyse happened shortly after leaving Ottawa and then when I reached here there will be little devils waiting for me at the arrivals gate.
Nope. It actually is 26C today. I was talking to the cabbie on the way back from the airport and he said it was the warmest he'd ever felt and he had been here more than 20 years. And because of whatever weird way temperatures work up here, it actually feels much warmer than that. We're not talking Rome-level of heat. But people are feeling it around town. I suspect if I hadn't just come from a very hot country, I would be dying. As it stands, I'm doing all right. Even the apartment isn't too bad, but the sun isn't shining through the windows right now, so that might change in a few hours.
So yes, back in Iqaluit. It's always a shock when you've been away for a few weeks, in places with thousands and thousands of people bustling around you, to come back here. There's always the "what am I, nuts?" that settles in the first few days you're back. But eventually you get used to things around here and even remember why you like and choose to live here in the first place.
A lot of things to blog about over the next few days. Saturday was, if not as bad as last Monday (the day I lost the passport) certainly comes a close second. There's also more that needs to be said about my run for MUN's Board of Regents, some thoughts on the latest Batman movie, a final wrap-up on Italy and a few other things.
But for right now, just going to relax and take it easy. I'll post more tomorrow.
Nope. It actually is 26C today. I was talking to the cabbie on the way back from the airport and he said it was the warmest he'd ever felt and he had been here more than 20 years. And because of whatever weird way temperatures work up here, it actually feels much warmer than that. We're not talking Rome-level of heat. But people are feeling it around town. I suspect if I hadn't just come from a very hot country, I would be dying. As it stands, I'm doing all right. Even the apartment isn't too bad, but the sun isn't shining through the windows right now, so that might change in a few hours.
So yes, back in Iqaluit. It's always a shock when you've been away for a few weeks, in places with thousands and thousands of people bustling around you, to come back here. There's always the "what am I, nuts?" that settles in the first few days you're back. But eventually you get used to things around here and even remember why you like and choose to live here in the first place.
A lot of things to blog about over the next few days. Saturday was, if not as bad as last Monday (the day I lost the passport) certainly comes a close second. There's also more that needs to be said about my run for MUN's Board of Regents, some thoughts on the latest Batman movie, a final wrap-up on Italy and a few other things.
But for right now, just going to relax and take it easy. I'll post more tomorrow.
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