separation anxiety
it feels sort of weird that I'm not in Whistler this weekend.
just a little.
October 08, 2005
October 05, 2005
stolen from Caitlin's blog (ie, the one most of you don't know)
Leave your name and
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written. (or whatever, I don't really give a shit)
October 01, 2005
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I firmly believe that one day, I'll make it through a leadership multi-day orientation/focus thing without acquiring a stunning hangover.
This wasn't that day.
Between the two halves of the Equity Ambassador Fall Retreat, there was Kerrisdale Alpha's Housewarming Party, which was a fantastic time. I can't list all the moments of absurdity, stunningly geeky one-liners, so here're seven top choices, or more accurately, the seven I remember, because chances are high people said sillier and/or funnier things, and I just don't remember them now.
- "so, what you're saying is, if your mom was expressed in RGB, she'd be #FFFFFF?" me to Lindsay Woo, whilst discussing her half-Asianity.
- Brie lecturing Rob on his unexciting underpants, the citing of me as a paragon of boxer taste, and the dropping of my pants (as requested by Brie) to fully display said awesome boxer taste.
- Sock Cat.
- "Ellen Allien's coming?!" "Yes." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "No." "Yes." "When?" "Sunday, Richards." "Fuck you." "I'm serious." "No." "Yes." "No." "Before this goes any further: she's here. On Sunday. At Richards. With Matthew Dear. Will I see you there?" A conversation between myself and Thor... edited for brevity.
- Breaking Rob's bed while watching Futurama.
- The Giant Squid Made of Newspaper Skullfuck hat I was given because I hadn't brought a silly hat.
- the toast to bandwagons
The EA retreat went really, really well. I've got a good group full of good ideas, and as long as I can keep them focused, they'll produce fantastic works. I think I'm getting the hang of this whole leading thing, too.
September 30, 2005
September 28, 2005
123go!
to do:
- School:
- pay tuition
- track down Sniffy the lab rat
- catch up on reading
- do distance ed assignment
- sell old books to discount bookstore
tidy officecall Videomaticafigure out when BinderComm meets- interview applicants
find cheap binders & little red dots.- start finding speakers for meetings
- book positive space
TIMESHEETS.- design business cards.
nag classroom services some more- catch up on minute backlog
- mess with Spencer a little.
figure out database system- double-check hours are correct
- quit?
arrange for time off - email Siraz
- talk to Ari
- decide.
- buy tickets to: Stars/BSS
- figure out where to crash after respective shows.
keep looking into cameras- bug Jill some more
buy sweater(s)- go for more coffee with people
- make time for Naf
- start stencilling things again
- hold onto
buy more diet coke
September 27, 2005
fun gerald fact:
you can tell how stressed out I am by how much diet coke I drink in a day.
today's count? 3.
a bad day's count? upwards of 5.
September 25, 2005
tripartite
1. The New Pornographers show was fantastic. I should start taking my camera to shows again.
Bought a shirt at the show, which my father hugely disapproved of. I can't say I'm surprised.
2. This is, apparently, what I'd look like as a South Park character. You can make your own here.
3. I feel behind and I don't know why. Aside from the one class (which is distance ed and the textbook is still on back order), I've been pretty good about stuff.
Egh.
September 19, 2005
more tracking fun!
for reasons I've never fully grasped, I enjoy tracking packages. It's the ideal combination of excitement about packages in the mail, minus the worry of "am I going to miss it?"
hence: the newest one.
it's my free iPod; since I used Jill's address to sign up for it when it was a US-only site, it has to get shipped to her and then up to me.
whee!
if you want a free full-size iPod, sign up under Spencer here (self-promotion is useless because I've gone as far as they'll let me go)
if you want a free iPod Nano, sign up under me here.
September 17, 2005
for kaitlin (and others):
Blogger has word verification on comments, so that spambots don't lay waste to one's comment box in hopes of peddling pills or other less... savory things.
the blogger article on it is here: Blogger Help, and even if it hasn't started being a problem, (I'm looking at you, Aleks), I recommend turning it on. Plus, it's sort of fun to see what random words you'll have to put in before you can leave a message.
September 14, 2005
like pulling thoughts out of a hat.
first EA meeting went well; people were excited and we have a good team and there's lots of good ideas.
can't shake the feeling that I'm going to make a giant clusterfuck of things.
--
the PNE is (finally, thankfully) winding down, so I'm only working a couple evenings for the rest of the month and even less in October, so I'm no longer considering going down to two jobs.
--
classes are interesting. I'm going to try and finish my distance ed course by the end of April instead of August. We'll see how it goes.
--
I always enjoy it when life imitates art.
--
having had success in obtaining a free iPod, I'm trying again for a free iPod nano. Blame geek lust, I guess. Click here if you want to help me get one and start your own free electronics odyssey.
September 06, 2005
leave it to my sister to add a less-than-wonderful end to what was otherwise probably the best first day of classes I've had at UBC.
interesting class? check.
good times at Imagine? check.
people? check.
beer? check.
stupid sanctimonious room-thieving cow of a sister lecturing me because I complain too much about my a) bedroomlessness and b) commute? could've done without it.
August 30, 2005
bullet point living.
I haven't written much lately, mostly because there isn't much to write about - I've basically been working or drinking, with little of the inbetween state or much in the way of other activity.
Patricia thinks I should write more, and though she claims it's because she needs more reading material I think it's actually because she knows I feel better about things when they're available for the world to see.
A rundown of things follows:
Work: there's too much of it. I quit at tours. Maybe I should go down to two jobs.
Home: my sister won't be getting divorced until January. Moving out is now a higher priority.
School: two classes left to get into (POLI 100 and 220), and I should buy textbooks soonish.
Free iPod: I've been approved, now I just have to order one. I'm going to wait until Apple reveals whatever it reveals next Wednesday, so that maybe I can get whatever's new and awesome for free.
Music: Listening to The Cardigans a lot. Can't wait to go on a ticket-buying spree. Going to the Killers/BSP show, by which I mean going to BSP and then walking out of the Killers.
Other Geekery: I'm tempted to redesign.
August 20, 2005
two small updates
1. comments are open to all, as long as you can prove you're a person.
2. I'm on the facebook now.
August 09, 2005
August 08, 2005
Ultra Secret Shirt Preview
Ultra Secret Shirt Preview
this is pretty much what I'll be submitting to Threadless.
Thoughts?
Comments?
August 07, 2005
as much as I enjoy getting comments from anyone and everyone, I don't appreciate comment spam. As such, I've turned anonymous commenting off, at least until blogger finds some vaguely elegant way of stopping it.
If you don't want to register but still want to comment, drop me an email; moc [dot] liamg [at] oed [dot] dlareg is the address to send them to (but backwards).
August 05, 2005
more about the shirt
here's a mockup: 
It's somewhat Neil-inspired, because he says "serenity now" a lot.
previous designs were in different colors (the color scheme still isn't settled), used different fonts/placements, and one even had the text upside down; logic being that you'd look down at your shirt and be calmed.
thoughts?
August 03, 2005
today!
so, I spent my "day off" (I didn't go to work, but I emailed people like there was no tomorrow) designing a shirt for threadless.com. Sort of. The process went more like this:
- decide on text for shirt.
- try to decide what font to use.
- become frustrated with font selection, go hunting on the internet for fonts.
- read typography blogs.
- stumble across Gill Sans, which is just right for my needs.
- hunt down and install Gill Sans.
- feel guilty for ripping off a typographer; it's fairly difficult work.
- see that it'd cost me a whole damn lot to buy, feel less guilty.
- notice that Threadless prefers vector images over bitmaps (it's a way of thinking about images; ask me later if you want to know more), attempt to find bitmap-to-vector converter.
- find out that Flash MX does a fine job of this.
- figure that I may as well upgrade Fireworks so that all my Macromedia products are up to date.
- find, install, and crack aforementioned programs, and get down to actual work.
- get nowhere due to (lack of) speed of desktop.
- convince sister to let me use her laptop.
- install/crack programs again, and move my source images over to her computer.
- graphics program + trackpads = disaster.
- get some stuff done anyway, for a solid 45 minutes.
- move stuff done over to desktop.
- return laptop to previous state and then to sister.
- grumble.
for now, though, I'm going to bed.
August 02, 2005
shilling, round 2
so, remember this post, with the getting people to sign up and the having gotten my requisite five?
yeah, I didn't quite do that.
so, if you're looking to acquire a free iPod and want to help me out, click this link and sign up.
if you're entirely uninterested and wouldn't mind $10 for jumping through a couple internet hoops, email me (gerald.deo@gmail.NINJAcom; vanquish ninja to proceed.) and then click this link.
I figure $10 for an iPod is still better than $400.
July 31, 2005
photos, as promised.
probably the best photo I've taken in a while.
now that I have some semblance of free time, I can do more stuff like this.
now that I have some semblance of free time, I can do more stuff like this.
July 30, 2005
2.5fold: public service announcement, parentheses, pictures
Jenn Lau (to know her is to love her) is off to LA for three weeks to TA a course, and while she's gone, she's keeping a journal of her adventures over at Tales of Hollywood/North.
Go say hi.
___
Pictures from my day trip to Victoria (for a wedding) up soon. I feel like a jerk for not using the Flickr Pro account (the lovely and talented) Oana gave me, so expect to see more stuff up soon.
July 29, 2005
a note:
so, my summer started yesterday, by which I mean classes are over and
I just have a 6-day workweek.
July 27, 2005
what's becoming an unfortunate habit:
so, apple's rocking some sort of contest for Canadian students, in which you're given $2500 to build an imaginary prize pack, and then a random draw at the end of the whole thing gives you a coupon to the online Apple store.
there's a twist, though: if you refer people, your "prize pool money" goes up, by $250 a person to a maximum of $2500 extra - so you could, in theory, get a $5000 prize pack thing.
unfortunately, there's no handy link or anything - I have to email people with the offer. since I don't want to spam you all, campaign-style, I'm going to ask that if you're interested, drop a comment or send an email to [gerald at interchange dot ubc dot ca]
info at: www.winwhatyouwant.ca - but don't sign up! email me first!
July 23, 2005
decompression
I'm spending the weekend at home, recovering from the last few weeks of my rather absurdist work/school schedule. There's no work to be done (I actually managed to not have to work on the weekend at the PNE; I've been trying and failing since, like, June) , just some review before next weeks finals, and maybe some designing of t-shirts and clearing out the mix CD waiting list (Aleks, I'm thinking of you specifically.)
As much as I'd like to be out with you all (I've been invited to three parties. In one day. Jesus.), right now, what I need is a quiet weekend to erase my sleep deficit (currently standing at 12 hours1, fresh socks, some lazing in the sun listening to Feist and the Dismemberment Plan (good call, Neil2), and a nice, relaxed run or three.
I'll see some people soonish, and others not so much, but I'm okay with that.
and I think I'm closer to okay than I have been for a good long while.
1I define sleep deficit as (number of hours slept in the last week) - (number of hours I sleep on average in a night * 7), which worked out to (37 - 49 = -12)
2I really should get on listening to things recommended to me faster.
___
In the meantime, here's a meme, taken from the lovely and talented J-Fung: ask me for a "top five" list of pretty much anything, and I'll do my best to list you my top five of that thing.
July 19, 2005
Fwd: Gouranga
every now and then, I get weird-ass spam, and feel the need to share it.
here's another, that got sent to the equity ambassadors account.
-----Original Message-----
> Date: Mon Jul 18 20:50:48 PDT 2005
> From: "Neateye" <nitaigouranga@aol.com>
> Subject: Gouranga
> To: "Equity" <equity@(I don't want more spam)>
>
> Call out Gouranga be happy!!!
> Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga ....
> That which brings the highest happiness!!
>
>
In the original Grand Theft Auto, there were a group of monks in orange robes who could be found in every city, and if you managed to run them all over in one go, you'd get a huge points bonus, the word GOURANGA!!! up on your screen in bright yellow, and the cops after you. I can't find a picture, though...
edit: Wikipedia to the rescue.
repost for jackie
Hello from YouSendIt,
You've got a file called "scrap-mix.zip" (98417 KB) waiting for download.
You can click on the following link to retrieve your file. The link
will expire in 7 days and will be available for a limited number of
downloads.
Regular link (for all web browsers):
http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0N9AU1K3OYSS72ILHZ23NFI489
it's a repost of the mix from this post.
July 18, 2005
July 16, 2005
linkpost
- I have no idea who the girl is in this photo. Must be diamnesia (as defined by Jon)
- waterballoons = fun. waterballoons in low-gravity environments = wicked awesome.
- download all of Plan 9 From Outer Space for free!
- despite absolutely no need for a fashionphone, I still sort of want this. or this.
- I won one of these (in blue). I don't want it, because it's fugly. Any thoughts on creative things to do to/with it?
- Bacon Cooking Method Showdown. More useful than I thought it'd be.
- I always find people eating obscure things interesting (and sometimes amusing), and here's a couple of them: Steve, Don't Eat It! and Deep End Dining
July 12, 2005
shilling:
so, the freeipods site does now work in Canada.
this was where my referral link was, but now that I've gotten my five, I'm going to put their links up as soon as they get them to me.
here's two, seeing as Spencer's gotten his done, apparently.
David
Mel
if you're interested in signing up, please use one of theirs.
- four things you should know:
- a list of the offers and what they end up costing is available here.
- if you do sign up, it'd be best to get yourself a throwaway email address first - I have gmail accounts if you want them.
- I have yet to any spam from them, either virtual or real. In fact, I have yet to get any spam sent to my primary gmail account, which is how I can be sure of this.
- one needs to have five other people referred by them who complete an offer before they get their respective ipods. I have one down (yay Quinn) and this is about as direct as I plan on getting, aside from the friendster post.
EDIT: having checked out the Canadian offers, the $1 "Galleria" trial membership thing looks to be the easiest one to do. Unless you want to buy cheap DVDs, in which case Columbia House looks like your best bet. The Audiobooks one is the worst, though - $3 for the first month and $22 for the second... and you can't cancel until the end of the month!
July 06, 2005
bonus material
I don't want to talk about my day, mostly because I spent entirely too much of it on the bus.
I'll throw down a little commentary on things I am listening to, and maybe download links later.
Vitalic - "My Friend Dario"
This track is so much kitschy Eurohouse at once. I really shouldn't like it, but I do. A lot. The rev sample, the robotic-sounding woman, the bridge... it's like Daft Punk succeeding at being tongue in cheek, instead of producing "Robot Rock".
Maximo Park - "The Night I Lost My Head"
They're like the Kaiser Chiefs without the lame!
And on Warp*!
Which I can't figure out but don't care about any more!
*Warp is a record label known for being home to a bunch of crazy-ass glitch-loving electronic artists, so having a new-new-wave band on it is puzzling since some indie labels tend to have a unifying theme, and Warp is one of those.
Gorillaz - "White Light"
Damon Albarn takes a break from providing iPod ad music to take two minutes and mock dancepunk. All it needs to be complete is a little cowbell. Or would that take it too far?
Soulwax - "NY Excuse"
It's no "E-Talking", but I have an irrational liking for the interlude that happens about a minute and a half in (1:26, to be exact).
Female voice:"I didn't shout. I said, I didn't shout."
Male voice:"You don't have to shout at me."
FV: "Um, um, okay, well stop making me, then."
MV: "Hey... hey."
FV: "I'M BEING LOUD WITH YOU."
July 01, 2005
some things you can't invent.
so, it's been a week since Drinkball, and I'm in no mood to do a full recap on it.
Thusly: it was awesome. I got loaded on Jack Daniels, kicked some balls around, threw a frisbee, had a small amount of quality time with Payne (which I don't do enough of and would like to fix), had a particularly amusing fall, managed to not vomit, and ended the evening watching The Wall at Jon's. Which happens to be right. next. door. to The C&C Awesome Factory.
The rest of the week has been a blur of school/work/school/work/etc. The only vaguely interesting things that happen at work happen in the AMS, and I can't talk about those, so, um, zut. I did have an interview for a fifth job with International Student Orientation, which I thought went well, and then I had to take myself out of the running because the PNE gave me a bunch more hours.
which leads to the next point: I'm working Monday/Wednesday/Friday at the PNE for the entire month of July. Somewhere during that month, I have EA group interviews to do. I still give the Thursday tour. And we all know I'm not leaving the AMS.
lost some weight, too, although having roughly a third of my pants collection no longer fit sucks.
so that's me in a nutshell: busy and slowly becoming skinnier.
---
anyway, I owe you all a mix CD, in lieu of a bunch of Five in Heavy Rotation's that I've missed, so here it is:
- Final Fantasy - The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead (3:31)
- Spoon - I Summon You (3:55)
- Doves - Sky Starts Falling (4:11)
- Coldplay - Speed of Sound (4:48)
- The Futureheads - Hounds of Love (3:02)
- Maxïmo Park - Postcard of a Painting (2:14)
- Bloc Party - Luno (Polysics Harajuku Mix) (4:00)
- Soulwax - E-Talking (radio edit) (2:59)
- Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. (feat. De La Soul) (3:41)
- Caribou - Barnowl (5:50)
- The Postal Service - Brand New Colony (4:12)
- Vitalic - Wooo (3:52)
- Ellen Allien - Ghost Train (3:06)
- Ratatat - Desert Eagle (4:25)
- Daft Punk - Around the World (7:09)
- autechre - arch carrier (6:49)
25 downloads and/or seven days, so get on it...
June 27, 2005
five small things
- I'm dangerously close to burning out.
- The image host I use has mysteriously shut down my accounts, so I won't have photos up until I get some time to find a new host, reupload the photos, and update the photo links.
- mix CD up soon because I haven't done a Five in Heavy Rotation in a while.
- also weekend (or, more accurately, Drinkball) recap up probably tomorrow.
- I'm picking up the three dollar CD player (ebay page here) tomorrow.
June 22, 2005
I may have inadvertently declared war on my stomach:
the pork tonkatsu at the honor roll was a bad idea.
if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go fill up on digestive biscuits.
June 19, 2005
stuff! I'm! thinking!
someone remind me why I have four jobs, again?
once you're done that, tell me why I have an interview for a fifth on wednesday.
also: spoon was delightful. getting up at 6:45 so I could be at the PNE by 8:30 was not. three shots of espresso in a tall latte (3 oz espresso, 4 oz milk, 1 oz foam for those of you keeping score) was a terrible and fantastic idea. large-scale group interviews are a logistical nightmare.
my backache would kill a lesser man.
I'm currently bidding on this camera on ebay. I started out looking for this. What I sort of want is one of these - fishing games are awesome.
I hate data entry.
June 12, 2005
testing yet another silly feature
so, um, these are shoes I bought.
they're horrifically ugly. but comfortable, and I guess it means my detached hipster ironicism now extends to the gym.
they're horrifically ugly. but comfortable, and I guess it means my detached hipster ironicism now extends to the gym.
June 05, 2005
lazy list poster gerald
- new coldplay = very... large. I dunno how I feel about that.
- Alias = pretty good - I've rented the last three seasons over the last few weeks, and so I'm caught up until the season that just finished, which I'm going to have to download because it's not out on DVD yet.
fuck, who am I kidding?
I'm stuck in a rut again.
work/school/commute/geekery - it's not bad, but it's not great. Haven't been to the gym or made a shirt or taken photos in ages.
I feel like I've lost half of myself.
I've sort of taken steps to fix that; Costa and I are going to have weekly Power Yoga and Aquacize classes, once I get my schedule all ironed out, I'll either start going to the gym extremely early (in Delta) or after class (at the Bird Coop), as well as lunchtime swimming either way.
anyone else in for any of the above? I always felt better about things when I was hitting the gym regularly... maybe there is something to that "endorphin high" that Neil's always talking about.
May 31, 2005
ring ring ring ring ring...
...bananaphone!
no, seriously, check it out - it's the most intensely pointless yet awesome cell phone accessory I've seen in a while.
May 23, 2005
what the hell is a newsboost buccaneer, anyway?
in addition to putting out some awesome music, British Sea Power is one crazy bunch of Englishmen. I get their newsletters on occasion, and this one's pretty cool.
Newsletter No. 25
BRITISH SEA POWER
Newsletter No. 25
An exclusive on-the-road report from the North American tour.
At time of writing, British Sea Power have played their last concert of their current North American tour - at Chicago Logan Square Auditorium. Tired but happy and perhaps with a little money hidden in a sock, our men now make ready to board a gigantic aircraft. To an extent unbelievable to those who have never seen a jet aeroplane, this gigantic craft will fly the band high and home - heading over the Hudson Straits with a groundspeed of 527 miles per hour, onward at 36,000 feet over the Greenland ice packs at Disko.
As the BSP quintet decompress, they will sink slowly into their seats. Perhaps they will imagine themselves already back inside their secret Sussex wine cellar - deep inside the Downland chalk somewhere to the north of the camera obscura at Foredown Tower. Maybe they will enjoy mineral water bottled in Blackford, Perthshire, and then watch the in-flight entertainment system as it shows actress Emily Blunt going for a swim. Possibly they will drink wine, while the mind’s eye flickers toward reassuring thoughts of solariums and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Only then will they even begin to consider the incident and interludes of the past month.
As Tracey Shaw famously observed, England and America are two countries divided by a common ocean. Sometimes it seems we don’t speak the same language either. The first date on this tour found BSP playing in Seattle. Their concert at Neumos is vigourously plugged in Seattle Stranger newspaper, alongside adverts for The Erotic Bakery and SEATTLE’S FIRST HOME OF THE BRAZILIAN. The Seattle show is a good un, with refreshing supports from The Turns Ons and The Glasses. But the real advent of the night is Charlie, driver of the band’s shiny silver Prevost tour bus.
A treacle-voiced native of the Kentucky/Virginia borderlands, Charlie used to play guitar in the successful country troubadours Billy Crash & The Dream Lovers. Soon Charlie and Noble will be whiling away off-duty moments by playing endless Dolly Parton songs. Charlie is a continual font of dignified good humour. He is also partial to nicknames. It seems, Billy Craddock was known as Doctor Country Rock. Charlie is determined to uphold such traditions. Soon Hamilton is renamed Doctor Love. Woody is Doctor Drums, Yan Doctor Duke, Noble Doctor Drunk and Eamon Doctor Donut.
After Seattle, it is on to Portland and then down past the Mount Lasson National Park and a town called Weed. The next stop in San Francisco, where the band buy Eamon a new drum and walk past the St John Coltrane African Orthodox Church. This is religion as it should be - relaxed and, no doubt, with some vigourous sermons from visiting pastor Bobby Gillespie. The San Francisco show is packed and pretty, but soon all eyes are on the next show - at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival.
British Sea Power approach their slot at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival with the same spirit they approach most things - amazement, glee and raw wonder that they have let them in. Here they are sat on the grass, ringed by the shimmering purple peaks of the San Jacinto mountains and playing on the same bill as New Order, Gang Of Four and The Sexy Magazines. Nice enough, but even all of this pales beside the real point of getting to Coachella - back-door entrance to the polo scene.
As you will no doubt know, the Coachella festival site is also home to the Empire Polo Field. The polo scene has enough excess and buck-toothed oddity to make rock look like a pre-pubescent boy chorister asking for extra toothpaste. Polo, remember, is home to the Debii Dollar Western Women’s Challenge, the Barbara Sinatra Skins League and, above all, the Jackson Hole Horse Emporium And Hawaiian Iced Tea Tournament And Open House. It is a world in which grown men will pay $8000 for six-chukka membership and all comers can visit the onsite Polo Grill for American classics in a comfortable setting. However, our excitement is short-lived.
Within minutes, it becomes clear that there will be little polo activity this weekend - that the nearest we will come to the thunder of hoof on turf is the sight of the some polo ponies gambolling in an adjacent field. It sure is good to see Mr Topspot and Wansdyke Lass as they run and play. But all too soon, we must say au revoir both to them and to their companions Polar Force, Subtle Shandy and Boogaloo Boyzee. There is work to be done and BSP must move on to the more familiar sights and sounds of rock - of Trent Reznor sending back his on-site Humvee because it ain’t got Attila The Hun’s actual bones in the tool-kit, of Ms Chloe Sevigny erotically detuning Conor Oberst’s backwoods mandolin in the VIP compound and of an excellent set from The Arcade Fire.
As soon as BSP get to their exclusive pop-star bungalow, they get free massages and beer in a bin. The programme promises much. Not only is there Secret Machines, The Futureheads and mind-bending sister Sapphists Tegan & Sara, but the sculpture park also promises The Lucent Misting Oasis. Can it be true - a lifesize effigy of Liam Gallagher lighting up and crying as he gets homesick for chips and beans in his rowdy Manchester homeland? No it can’t - it’s a robot pond made by hippies with nice teeth. So, then, off over to the Gobi Tent to see MIA. Also known as Maya Arulpragasam, this young lady is the new queen of big-tune UK dancehall grime and, all across America, her track Bucky Done Gun has been the toast of the BSP tour bus. Bouncing in reflective bounty-hunter safari outfit and MC-ing with effervescent joy, she does not disappoint. After MIA’s set, we head over to the Sahara Tent to see the DJ set from Ms Kittin.
As BSP enter the tent, Ms K’s only gone done started playing her own, up-front mix of Bucky Done Gun! Imagine that. Like totally spangled 4AM ravers overjoyed at remembering their own names, BSP spontaneously thrust their arms aloft. In the heat, it’s almost too much. But then it gets worse. As Ms Kittin bends over the decks, you really, REALLY can’t help noticing that her cleavage is revealed like that of 17th Century courtesan leaning out of a coach to give oranges to the poor. In the nick of time, tour manager Mark orders BSP back to their artist cabin.
The band sign CDs and pictures of polar bears at the Virgin tent. This is enlivened by the sudden appearance of the inspirational BSP audience veteran known as De Lacey. Kindly, he has brought the band a recording contract to sign, which they do without hesitation. We are sure that Rough Trade will not mind.
BSP are playing on the Outdoor Theatre Stage, after the composed PC rap of Aesop Rock and before the glorious glam-funk crawdaddies of The Faint. The crucial stage decoration is completed - a fan or beech leaves around the drums, two pine cones on the keyboard riser and a plastic pheasant on the top of the Marshall stack. Then, an unfortunate reality becomes real. As BSP soundman Joe attempts to complete the line-check, it becomes clear that no sound at all is coming our of the PA. Heart-stoppingly, the band are due on stage in 30 seconds. Then, miracle of miracles, the PA starts working. They are on.
The 40-minute set flashes by in an instant, compressed by the heat and the Californian night. Noble climbs to the top of the 60-foot lighting rigging and looks around. Then he climbs down again. Soon the show is just a blur in the memory hole, the only tangible remainder being the hand-annotated plastic sack of garden peat that one young lady has been kind enough to throw on stage.
In the backstage compound, within minutes BSP are all drunken and scared at how fast it went. Then, just what they need, their friend Carlos Of Interpol beams out of the night. They can’t believe it. On the plane over, BSP were amazed enough to see Carlos featuring in the in-flight entertainment - skilfully taking the role of Joaquin Phoenix in M Night Shyamalan’s 2004 thriller The Village. And now here he is in the flesh. Sing hallelujah! He tells BSP they were great, the dirty fucking liar, and then soon all of time is gone. Not one of BSP remembers getting from Carlos to the tour bus. But it happened. As we leave the festival site, Eamon wakes momentarily to hear a joyous, spirited whinnying resounding through the night. Goodbye Miss Kittin, goodbye Wansdyke Lass and goodbye Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival.
After Coachella, the band head down through San Diego and Texas. The Canadian singer Feist joins the tour in San Diego and is something of a revelation. Alone at the mic, accompanied only by guitar and some taped effects, she is bold to the utmost. She also benefits from a lovely, remarkable voice. Occupying the sought-after middle ground between Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Billy Bragg, Feist is fine indeed. You will be hearing more from this lady.
After Texas, the band enjoy a day off in New Orleans. Topically, Eamon is mistaken for Baron Samedi, the popular local undead Voodoo-ist spirit guide. Naturally, this makes Eamon quite the celebrity and he sure enough takes advantage. Soon he has even arranged a date with Kim Basinger - on the basis that he can get her eternal life and a part in the next Bond movie.
Atlanta, North Carolina, Washington DC, Philadelphia, the road winds ever onward. The sun shines and the band are pleased and awed to note that the Manchester-based BSP tour expert Cath Aubergine has joined the trail in Atlanta. Amazing, Cath! You have truly travelled far.
Soon, BSP reach New York and their two sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom. The first night is a Saturday and the soundcheck is enlivened by the way Noble leads the band through both Bohemian Rhapsody and the theme tune from Chariots Of Fire. Come the show and come one of the best BSP performance in living memory. Later, a review on the esteemed Tripwire website will be headlined British Sea Power Obliterate NYC Bowery. The review itself reports how, “Brighton’s finest stunned onlookers with ferocious intensity, wind-swept balladry, ceramic ducks and frequent crowd invasions.”
Hey, those were no ceramic ducks folks, but this can be excused. For the full review, please sign up at: www.thetripwire.com
The second night at the Bowery was more relaxed, but still shimmeringly moving. It was attended by the lovely lads from Interpol, Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500, plus Sofiane Sylve, leading dancer with the New York City Ballet. After hours, there was time for Creedence Clearwater, T-Rex and imported Old Speckled Hen at a delightful bar called Black & White. Then it was off into the night and the last four shows of the tour.
Soon, BSP will be back in the homeland, ready for an intriguing portfolio of UK appearances - all the way from the Chelsea Flower Show to bonny Newcastle. There will also be the release of the Please Stand Up single on 23 May. As they board the plane and head out to south-east of Quebec City and the north-west of Halifax, Nova Scotia, please spare a though for them.There they go - Doctor Love and his good friends Duke, Drums, Drunk and Donut.
Tour report by Old Sarge. Thanks you ye, dear reader.
the boring episode with the exposition
after my emo blowout of last week, I haven't been up to anything terribly exciting, and thus I haven't posted anything for a while. I figure, simply for archival purposes (and for those people who are gallavanting in faraway locales), I may as well throw down what I've been up to.
can't quite get the hang of multiple cuts, because they don't work quite the same way, so this could almost be a Neil-style post. I guess my Braun-fu is weak.
[onwards]werkin'
apropos of nothing: Soulwax's E-Talking is entirely too addictive.learnin'
another pointless interlude: why, daft punk, why?socializin'
so, I guess some normalcy has returned, although I have no idea as to when/if that'll change again.
...anyone want to start a pool?
May 15, 2005
progress report
slightly edited conversation with Neil.
it's surprising what four-month-old babies can teach you.
more pseudocut action
Neil: yeah. How's it going? Feeling any better?
gerald`: hugely.
gerald`: I think writing it out made me realize what it was instead of letting it be simply a rather high-level malaise
gerald`: and then I could start dealing with it
gerald`: so, um, good work on your part.
Neil: that's good. Is it just a matter of needing to quit one of your jobs?
Neil: yes, uh, that's what I'm here for....
gerald`: nope. like things are ever that simple.
Neil: true
gerald`: I'm leaving one at the end of the summer.
gerald`: the only real thing to do about work/work/work/work/school/school is to stay organized and thereby on top of things
gerald`: so I bought a dayplanner
gerald`: for three dollars!
gerald`: and I've been using it
gerald`: of course, knowing that I have 7 hours of work tomorrow followed by two hours of meetings and then three of class doesn't make it any better, it just means that I know it's happening tomorrow.
Neil: that's good. Don't be afraid to prioritize the things you want and what's important to you. If you live only for others you'll regret it and then there won't be anything you can do about it.
Neil: ....that wasn't so profound that it shut you up, was it?
gerald`: no, started another conversation
gerald`: also was trying to figure out how best to bring up last night, in which I saw a cousin and her husband who had managed to walk the line I'm supposed to aspire to
Neil: oh. so I'm no longer important to you. I see. I go stand in a corner and weep silently then.
Neil: that was a good way of bringing it up.
gerald`: and were definitely more interested in what I'm up to both in terms of equity work and the possibilities for the future than anyone at home.
gerald`: and had a beautiful daughter (who is my niece because there's no word for second cousin in hindi) that required me to bust out my teddy bear (now twenty years old. gods.) and realize, somehow, that identity finding is a gradual thing, and that I've got the ball rolling, but it's not something I can wrap up in any given timeframe
Neil: Welcome to your 20s, Gerald.
gerald`: so, with three all but out of the way, I can deal with the family.
Neil: yeah, how's that?
gerald`: rocked some sideways thinking, i guess, and now my brother and I get along better than we used to; I put up with his good-natured harassment and he deals with me studying on his floor because mine is nowhere to be seen.
gerald`: I've all but lost a couple pairs of pants to the back of my closet that I can no longer access, and my back ache would continue to kill a lesser man, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before.
Neil: okay, but let's get to what's really important here: were they good pants?
gerald`: charcoal herringbone w/red pinstripes
gerald`: they were fantastic pants.
Neil: so yes. Sigh. Would anyone in your family help?
gerald`: to be fair, it's a bit warm for those pants
Neil: they won't be needed for awhile
gerald`: yeah
Neil: so what kind of shorts look business casual?
gerald`: was going to riff on "do you guys just dress up in business casual and hang out?" and the fact that rob doesn't wear shorts.
gerald`: but then left it out.
gerald`: and, um, I dunno. let's email GQ.
gerald`: or would that be very american psycho of us?
May 14, 2005
explained:
it's a lot of things at once, that would be better if I could deal with them separately but can't.
down the rabbit hole
I don't know where to start. I guess #1 would be a good place.
books on biculturalism and identity formation and development of ethnic identity, and finding that:
so, yeah, I'm hung up on who I am.
required and it's just a bad scene that I'd prefer to avoid if I didn't have to be there to make things run a little better. I've always been better at talking to/dealing with my sister (goes both ways) and so I've become the conduit through which my parents find out how she's doing, but it's taxing.
I don't know if it's going to get any better; there's supposedly a move on the way, either at the end of june (midterms) or july (finals) which would alleviate some things, but also make other things a whole lot worse. It's also a very "boy who called wolf" scenario; they've said it enough times that I don't know if I can believe it, or if I can let myself get let down again.
Rob Cross called me a masochist for doing it and maybe he's right.
It's the combination of the four that's doing me in. I know it'll pass and working through it will only make it faster, but it's difficult.
Writing this out was surprisingly helpful, too.
May 13, 2005
May 04, 2005
I am gripped by an inexplicable desire to learn Cockney Rhyming Slang.
Update: Wikipedia to the rescue!
May 01, 2005
decemberist'd!
man, the Decemberists are awesome. It was unfortunate that I missed Steve and Christina's Happy Fun Bowen Adventures, but I think the show made up for it.
anyway, photos are up here: the flickr set page.
---
In other news, my first thing to do for Spencer is to devise a filing system. Any ideas? Although a chronological ordering seems intuitive, the next president probably won't deal with things in the same order, so I'm thinking of getting as specific as possible and then ordering those things into larger categories, and working some color coding in there, too.
April 28, 2005
April 27, 2005
phew for a minute there / I lost myself my blog
- lame reference. I'm sorry.
- fun with burst mode.
- my pants came in the mail.
- why are things from the mail so much awesomer? I mean, they're pants, but they came in the mail, so a healthy portion of the prosaicness is gone.
- I am, apparently, never leaving Access and Diversity.
- Recruitment photo shoots are silly and fun; I feel like the new Chris Payne (in that he was in a lot of photos for UBC recruitment stuff)
- I have a lot on my plate for the summer, and most of it's on campus. I can't help but wonder how much of it is tied to the fact I hate being at home. In a slightly irrational manner.
- I hate the bookstore.
April 21, 2005
waaaaaaaaaaaaank (now with camera!)
exercises - a photoset on Flickr
as previously mentioned, Oana gave me a flickr pro account, so I've spent a chunk of the last couple days uploading and organizing photos I've taken. Here's some from the last couple of years (!); the ones from ACF staff dinner should be up soon, and whatever gets taken tomorrow will also show up there.
download and discuss
new coldplay single: here.
I'm not sure how I feel about it; it's not terribly... new sounding, but at the same time, it's sort of growing on me...
April 19, 2005
stuff
- done exams, some assignments left, though. almost there.
- Oana gave me a flickr pro account! expect more photos.
- so stoked for Blarney, because I've never been to one and because it's the closest I'm getting to having a birthday thing.
- bought a pink shirt. I'm surprised at how well it's working out.
- up for five E7A Awards, in the categories of:
- Most likely a spy of some sort award, for For his close proximity to AMS politicians giving him an unassuming “in”
- The J K Rowling Turning our Kids Back to Reading Award, twice for both 100 Bullets and Batman:Hush.
- The Get your Buzz on Award – Best Performance While Under the Influence - co-nominated with Spencer for rumors of snuggling.
- The Other Award – For the Person who Embodies the Greatest Level of Cultural/Racial/Ethnic/Gender Otherness because, y'know, I'm brown.
- Best Blog, for, um, this.
- Best Music.
April 16, 2005
naf > you
went for belated birthday dinner with Naf, which was a lot of fun. We went for Nando's, which was a twist on our usual Chalet-centric chicken adventures.
along with some bitchin' boxers, she gave me this shirt:
the color's a bit off in the photo, but the awesomeness remains.
April 14, 2005
goodbye teenage angst
so, uh, I'm 20.
birthday celebrations will be rolled into the wonderspectacular that will be the Blarney, because exam period is lame.
also, because no birthday is complete without some sort of comment request, here's one I've taken verbatim from Britt: If you read this, even if I don't speak to you often, you must post a memory of me.
It can be anything you want, it can be good or bad, just so long as it happened.
and for those of you i don't know.. ummm, post an adventure that you would have us go on. ya, that sounds good.
also, if you're reading this from Lithuania, drop a comment at some point, just to satisfy my curiousity.
April 12, 2005
worlds collide
fell asleep on the 311 bus (goes downtown -> 73rd and 120th; roughly 17 blocks from home) on my way home.
had a dream where it was the fair, I was still PMO, but instead of the usual radio chatter, I was walking Jack Bauer (!) through neuroanatomy (!!) so he could get the terrorists, for some reason.
and we did keep to regular radio protocol.
in the end, we saved the day.
then I woke up in Delta.
that'll teach me to watch 24 and read my brain and behavior text during commercials.
April 10, 2005
PMO to... never mind.
I had my doubts.
I had my worries.
I had an inordinate amount of old ACFers asking me what the hell was going on with all these changes.
I am pleased as all fuck that they were proven entirely unnecessary because this fair ran incredibly. Yeah, we had our hiccups and the odd forgotten step (pre-opening station check, anyone?) but there was nothing on the magnitude of previous years.
In the style of Matt, here's my top ten ACF moments:
- pre- and post-fair radio silliness with the A-Team, especially when Dave and I were doing the number signs (I was in the booth, he was putting them up)
- jumping up and down in a dumpster with Corbett and Quinn so we could pack more garbage in.
- The rampant homoeroticism; I lost track of the friendly cuppings I received (among other things).
- Naf kisses. (all fourteen of them)
- Watching Gavin experience deep fried mozzarella sticks at Denny's at 2am post-fair
- Running into ACF Old People, who were consistently impressed with the work we were doing and always, always understood when I spaced out into my radio and had to hastily excuse myself before running off.
- "Control to PMO."
"Go for PMO."
"What magic did you just work down there, PMO?" - Kevin Wilson having phone conversations with my parents. He was a driver without a phone, and because most anyone who would need to call me was on the radio, I gave him mine. Forgot, though, that my parents weren't on the radio.
- All of Saturday. The people who show up the day after tend to be the awesome ones, and even though cleanup and teardown and all that business tends to be ultra-lame, the people make a difference. Also, the late afternoon drinking that segued into a drunken trip to Mongolian BBQ and then back to MASS with half a Canadian Springs bottle full of beer and a half-dozen people definitely isn't a "moment" per se, but still belongs here.
- the sudden feeling of peace one feels after taking off their radio headset, and knowing they won't need it for another year.
April 05, 2005
Words for Life, Neil Braun Edition.
"I think I'm the perfect height for everyone to do something to my body"
Now, to grow 6 inches...
April 04, 2005
half-finished thoughts:
Having two jobs on campus and one off is a giant pain in the ass, most of the time. Sometimes it doesn't.
Saturday was an example; after training at the PNE, me and the new girl drove to campus where I caught the last chunk of Tours wrap-up, and then went to a Recruitment BBQ afterwards, where various exciting things happened, most of which I don't really feel like talking about.
Except for one thing: We all got "awards" as tour guides, silly (but very nice) sheets of paper with something about Recruitment 2004/05 and "Most Likely To" or "Best X". Mine was "Most Likely to Become A Puppet Master."
About half the people got it, and I sort of preferred it that way.
whee!
April 01, 2005
terrible work habits, volume 1
at about 5:12, I got this message:
graham says: do me a quick favour?
gerald` - last! friday! shift! says: shoot
graham says: ditch work for ten minutes, run over to hebb plaza and chug a free RBF beer for me
graham says: I won't make it tonight
gerald` - last! friday! shift! says: ...the things I do for you.
graham says: just go
gerald` - last! friday! shift! says: haha
gerald` - last! friday! shift! says: done
graham says: hot
[ten minutes pass]
gerald` - last! friday! shift! says: back!
so, yes, if you saw me in that ten minutes, wondered why I was in a huge rush and/or toasting Graham, it's because I was technically at work.
whee!
March 29, 2005
yowza
it's weird to see yourself change.
moreso when it's documented in text.
time for year #3.
bonus: omg angst!!
an old favorite:
what're you listening to... right now?!
me: Doves - The Sulphur Man (Rebelski Remix)
March 27, 2005
fun with shipping!!
EMS Trace
this is probably my favorite part of buying things online: the shipping, or, more accurately, the tracking process.
the item number is EI250621538JP, so put that into the form on the page above and you can track the progress of my headphones.
(really, though, this is more a post so I don't have to dig through emails and half-remembered URLs to track the damn things)
March 25, 2005
...a little bit louder and a little bit worse
so, I lost another Senate race.
I've learned not to take these things personally, so it's not a huge thing, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed.
such is life.
plus, things could totally be worse.
March 24, 2005
March 23, 2005
although I tidy up my room fairly frequently, I hadn't gone the whole nine yards for a while, digging things out of corners and under the bed before (for the most part) throwing them out.
did one of those today, and found all sorts of stuff; the most interesting/bizarre of which is listed below.
- Spencer handbills (both 2004 and 2005)
- Spencer's Best Diplomat award from the Model UN
- my old PNE contract
- a Hard Hat Area sign I stole from Vanier during the summer
- every backstage pass I own (ACF 12/13, Welcome Back 2004, Radiohead 2003)
- an unused stencil with a quote from High Fidelity
- a postcard from Paige
- the I (map of Hunan) Hunan stencil I used for Gavin's birthday shirt
- a 64 megabyte stick of PC100 RAM
- a postcard from British Sea Power
- a bunch of stickers used to identify the party of a scrutineer during the federal election, including (among others):
- the Marxist-Leninist Party
- the Reform Party
- the Bloc Quebecois
March 20, 2005
March 19, 2005
elections nostalgia
Naf's current MSN name is the slogan I used for the only election I've ever won: "Hello Kitty has no mouth. I do. Let me represent you."
which, of course, came from this site, which is good for a laugh.
also of note are their three FAQs(first second third), which boast such delightful things as:
"Hello-Kitty, in fact, uses Morse code to communicate with the outside world. You may have heard of the book Johnny Got His Gun, in which a soldier was so badly wounded that the only communication he had with the outside world was by tapping Morse code with his head.
That soldier was Hello-Kitty. "
Also, newish design.
some fiddling remains, and I'm pretty sure I'm due for a new name that doesn't involve some sort of metal. oh, and I switched over to blogger comments, which don't expire after 6 months.
March 17, 2005
headphones!
having gotten extremely tired of the behind-the-ear ones I have currently, I ordered another pair of eggo's.
courtesy of exchange rates changing, they were $30 cheaper this time.
March 16, 2005
March 14, 2005
for those of you that still go to UBC:
I'm running for the Faculty of Arts Senate Representative spot. Again.
My campaign website is here, and I've got some stiff competition, so spread the word and make sure you vote between March 17 and 24.
That's all I'm going to do for elections on this blog.
March 10, 2005
my life! your hands!
I'm buying an iPod, 30 gig/colour screen model. I figure $54 more than the 20 gig/monochrome one is worth it.
it's free engraving time, so I'm wondering what I should put on the back.
I'm torn between "FUCK COMMUNISM" and "when the power runs out / we'll just hum"
the first one is awesome, but probably belongs on a Zippo.
the second is a radiohead quote from My Iron Lung and it's both fitting and radiohead, but seems almost too perfect.
so, yes, suggest away. you've got three days.
March 06, 2005
we all meme for ice cream
it's that time again:
"Ten Things I've Done That You Haven't, Mwa, etc."
- never eaten beef.
- had someone appoint themselves as my mentor.
- gone snorkelling in Fiji.
- gone to a Shakespeare festival in Oregon only to fall asleep halfway through the "all's well that ends well".
- survived three car accidents in eight months.
- been flashed while at work. at a chocolate store. in Metrotown.
told Kazzer's tour manager that no, in fact, they couldn't play an acoustic set up here.(graham was there)- managed two campaigns in the AMS elections, which resulted in enough weight loss and change in mood that my parents entertained the notion that I was on some sort of drug.
- written a Chemistry final, seen Andrew WK, and moved out of Vancouver all in one day.
- given panties with "well, shit" stencilled on the back as a birthday gift.
- been trained to forge a signature which I was then paid to reproduce.
March 05, 2005
a break from my papers:
things that I am listening to that are awesome:
- Doves - Some Cities
- Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
- Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
- Doves - Lost Sides
- Iron and Wine - Woman King EP
March 03, 2005
March 01, 2005
today's quote:
"Jesus fuck! What have you been doing, wrestling goddamn bears? Lift your arm. Holy mother of god, you're tense. How have you not just snapped?! My hands are pretty strong and I'm getting fucking nowhere. God!"
- Corbett, whilst administering a neck massage.
so, yeah, I'm sore and stressed out.
if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go write a paper.
February 27, 2005
it's surprising how warm two pairs of boxers are.
it's funny, sometimes, when there's a lot to say and you just don't know where to start.
in any case, the Inaugural Ball was fantastic, the morning after was better than the standard issue, and I generally feel better about dealing with all the things I have to deal with, like Gav's "man vs narwhal" shirt; I'm fairly sure that every time we have a post-drunk sleep-deprived morning discussion, I'm going to end up making a shirt based on it.
speaking of, I should probably start on some of those, but I think I'm going for a swim first, which will hopefully get me back on the wagon*.
*regular swimming means I'm in the pool at seven, instead of getting out of bed at nine; giving me basically an extra couple hours in which to get things done, thereby only really making fitting things into my day easier. weird, I know.
February 25, 2005
meta-waaaaaaaaaaaaank
by very nature of blogging, couldn't I, in theory, rename every post I write to "waaaaank"?
this is what happens when I combine alcohol and the buchanan labs.
waaaaaaaaaaaaank, cont.'d
so, I got a haircut at On the Fringe this morning.
nobody noticed.
I'm unsurprised - it's not something as drastic as the ones I used to get, and I quite like it, especially since it'll grow out into less of the weird flat top and poofy side thing that tends to afflict me.
also, if I saw you today and you didn't comment, don't worry about it; I was expecting that to happen.
February 23, 2005
waaaaaaaaaaaaank
I think Monday was just a bad day; after a couple discussions, a midterm that didn't rock me as hard as I thought it would, and watching Jack Bauer swear, things seemed a lot better. Granted, the first half of it sucked a lot, but I'll deal with that later.
I need to cut down/back/out on some stuff, though, and in trying to take advantage of dead time on campus, I'm going to do less generalized hanging out, so unless we have plans or I'm at work, chances are I won't be as visible.
In further me-related news, I had quite possibly the least exciting mall trip ever, in which I opened an investment savings account and then bought boxers.
...exciting life I lead, I know.
February 19, 2005
bleh.
I'm feeling a little rudderless as of late.
It's not for lack of things to do, but a simple (and temporary) loss of drive.
Or it's just this cold.
I hope it's just this cold.
February 14, 2005
five in heavy rotation - feb 14 edition.
these aren't terribly romantic, they're just what I've been listening to a lot of.
the usual applies; download these, do your own, put the tracks up if you're so inclined.
what's odd is that they're all rather liberal in usage of strings and samples thereof, which was unintentional on my part.
also, I don't feel like writing blurbs, so I've googled and stolen other people's.
- M83 - Run Into Flowers
- A perfect representation of M83's strengths, the song is remarkable for both its intensity and its tenderness. Its hushed vocals, juxtaposed with glorious swells of digital strings, are the beating heart of Dead Cities, providing a locus of humanity amidst the album's surprisingly wrenching synthesized arrangements. taken from Pitchfork
- Stars - Celebration Guns
- The moral is clear: we may be fighting a war so far uphill that we're falling flat on our backs from three miles up in the air, but it can't break our spirits. We have to live life here as if it were as precious as it is in the impossible utopia that exists on the back wall of our brains. We have to sing songs of love and, indeed, fall in love. We have to celebrate victory even when defeat may be looming at every corner. And most importantly, we must keep believing in ourselves and each other, even when everything we have strived for has turned from nothing into a black hole. taken from epinions
- Kylie - Fragile
- "But I get butterflies / Water in my eyes / 'Cause I'm fragile when I hear your name / Fragile when you call / This could be the nearest thing to love / And I'm fragile when I hear you speak / Fragile feeling small / This could be the closest thing to love" coos Kylie at the chorus. And once again, it's so simple and direct and goes straight for the heart. Who hasn't felt that way before when falling hard for someone? taken from PopMatters
- Autechre - Arch Carrier
- It's generally agreed that the record's standout track is "Corc," whose laidback beats and subtle melody is a perfect soundtrack for cruising through the futuristic nitetime ghettos of Tokyo. But there's something about "Arch Carrier" that seems much more artistically unique, and altogether more powerful. The track kicks off with a seemingly random melodic structure that eventually becomes the song's backbone as heartbeat- like drumlines and eerie string sections enter the mix. taken from Pitchfork
- Hope of The States - The Red The White The Black The Blue
- More a movie-in-waiting than a song (there’s even a crazed Irish jig segment), ‘The Red...’ blasts HOTS out of their Mogwai-with-tunes pigeonhole into a scary/beautiful hellscape of sonic invention all their own. taken from NME
download links should hopefully be up soon.
February 13, 2005
in which I am officially inducted into the Cult of 24:
having watched a full half of Season 3 of 24 in one go, I am filled with questions and shock and emotional trauma.
Mostly, though, I'm full of admiration for a man who can kill a man with just his legs while lying down, handcuffed to some sort of railing, while going through heroin withdrawal.
Jack Bauer... *swoon*
February 09, 2005
the beginnings of curmudgeonhood:
why can't TV be this good anymore?
http://www.pez.ca/~mashton/movies/mahnamahna.mpeg
February 08, 2005
tripartite
the good: had my first ACF Communications meeting with Ari. Cleared the air about a number of things that were bothering me. Was productive. Am generally feeling better about whole thing.
the bad: can't move out, really, because of cultural norms. this would be easier to deal with if I knew who to get mad at.
the ugly: the headphones are defunct. I have no regrets about paying what I did for them, and if priced out*, I would say I definitely got my money's worth out of them. This does, however, leave me looking for a new pair, which won't be fun.
*25-30 hours a week times 94 weeks = 2350-2820 hours of usage, which works out to 5-6 cents an hour, and 25-30 hours a week of headphone usage is definitely a conservative estimate, given me.
February 07, 2005
Fwd: The Earth threatened by the planet Hercolubus
no. idea.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dangerous Planet
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 21:31:59 -0200
Subject: The Earth threatened by the planet Hercolubus
To: boyson@interchange.ubc.ca
Our planet earth is under threat of being destroyed by the fast approaching
of Hercolubus, also called 'Red Planet'.
Hercolubus is a gigantic planet, several times bigger than Jupiter, whose
massive gravitatory power will provoke in earth plenty of terrible
earthquakes, tidal waves, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, etc., which will
increase in intensity until they bring humanity to an end.
Those are REAL facts, they are not fictions, they will happen in the short
term and are described in detail by V.M. Rabolu in his work 'Hercolubus or
Red Planet', where humanity is warned about that next catastrophe and told
what to do in order to avoid it.
Yours sincerely,
Ediciones Humanidad
More information:
Free PDF:
http://canada.hercolubus.net/Hercolubus_Canada.pdf (on line)
http://canada.hercolubus.net/Hercolubus_Canada.zip (donwnload)
Web: http://canada.hercolubus.net
E-mail: webmaster@hercolubus.net
NOTE:
If you DO NOT wish to receive more information, please send an e-mail to
remove@hercolubus.net writing in the subject line the word 'remove'.
--
gerald`
February 06, 2005
same quiz everyone else is doing...
You are a XSYT--Expressive Sentimental Physical Taker. This makes you a Firebrand.
You are volatile, sexy and sexually driven. You're magnetic and fascinating, but you don't really enjoy playing the field -- it makes you nervous and preys on your insecurites. But when you fall for someone you fall hard.
You tend to over-analyze things, so the slightest comment or action from your significant other can send you into a tailspin. You crave attention and validation from your loved ones, so if your friends don't like your partner or your partner doesn't like your friends it makes you suffer. Unfortunately the two are often in conflict -- you have excellent insight with your friends, but in a relationship you are blind. Trust your friends!
You blow hot and cold, with big highs and big lows. This makes the bad times very bad but the good times very good, so you tend to stay in a problem relationship much longer than you should. But when a relationship fails, you hold a grudge. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but make sure your grudge doesn't cloud your vision the other way!
What would help you most in your relationships is confidence. You need someone who can help you feel good about yourself and not worse.
You can be needy and jealous. Fortunately you are cute as hell.
Of the 192117 people who have taken this quiz, 5.6 % are this type.
link to quiz
February 04, 2005
stuff:
- I applied for ECSS, but now I don't know if I really do want to do it. On the one hand, it's exactly what I want to do after school and it's not experience I'd get a crack at for a good long time otherwise. At the same time, I don't know if I want to/can handle fulltime work along with the courseload; it's too late to drop stuff and I sort of don't want to. It's not a financial thing, either, if I'm not working at the AMS, then I still have Equity, Campus Tours, and the PNE as well as whatever else comes up for the summer. Plus, Spencer raised an interesting point about how he'd need an assistant (and he'd rename the position to the Chief of Staff; first person to call them Mike gets pushed down a stairwell) that knows how he works before getting into the role to minimize learning time, and really, who else knows how Spencer works better than me?
- I'm buying a Powerbook after the next revision, which will probably come in June*. If it's a G5, then I'll buy the G4s because the first version of Mac stuff is often buggy. If it's the dual-core, or the Freescales, then I'll get one of those. I'm still not absolutely certain on it; if there's something that better suits my needs and is cheaper, then I'm all for it, but I don't think anything will match the size/power/sexiness/does everything I could possibly need for the next few years combination. And, yes, when I buy electronics, sexiness totally matters.
- I haven't been listening to much new music lately; whether that's because I don't feel like sifting through Pitchfork or because I'm feeling curmudgeonly is debatable. Anyway, suggestions are welcome.
*Powerbooks work on a roughly 6-month product cycle, or so says rumor site's buying guide
wowsers, I'm boring.
February 01, 2005
I am tyler, this is my heart
thank autofill for the title; I was intending to make some sort of
spam joke (because that's what this is about) but I think this is
better.
bored at work last thursday (the 28th), I cleared out the thousand-odd
spam messages in my gmail account, to see roughly how fast they
accumulate. in the name of science.
it's been five days.
there are now 216 spam messages caught by my filter.
and when you listen to yourself / does it feel like somebody else
here's hoping my February runs smoother than my January.
Somehow, I doubt it will.
tomorrow: Handbill for UPass at Broadway, tour, labs.
wednesday: haircut, 260 midterm, interview MIA, coffee with dad which can only lead to shouting matches.
thursday: class, work, dinner with spencer and naf.
friday: class (all my discussion groups are on this day), work, possible acf sleepover.
...somewhere in there, I have to redo my resume and get one to Access and Diversity as well as applying for ECSS. oh, and start on my paper for poli sci 101. ergh.
January 27, 2005
crossposted
generally, I don't like doing this, but this is something I'll make an exception for:
post-elections thoughts - there's more, and I'm not entirely sure that they're clear for posting here, so here's an edited version. It's like I got all FCC on myself. Without the wardrobe malfunctions and huge fines.
___ what accomplishment felt like
After a pair of huge hugs, a night at the Gallery (with a toast to me, no less) a round of Fields of Athenry and general Spencer-related hilarity, I figured out exactly what it was I felt when I got those 6 rapidfire phone calls, when I checked the website, and why I damn near cried when I found out that Gav, Spence, and Quinn had all won their positions.
It wasn't "crisis averted." It wasn't "good lord it's over and I'm done." It wasn't "I have an AMS job next year."
It was, quite simply, "this is the first of many steps in the right direction."
___so where do I fit in?
I've been asked a bunch of times whether I will automatically be Spencer's assistant, or if I'll get whatever job I want within the AMS. The answer, of course, is no; part of Gavin's platform (this part) was that he'd improve accessibility and remove nepotism within the AMS, and I think that if there happens to be someone better qualified for the job, then they should get it for the good of the society. Mindblowing, I know, but if this whole "relevance, professionalism, and bringing the society back to the students" thing is to happen, then I don't mind not being instantly guaranteed a job.
___last one
I am immensely pleased by these elections. I made a bunch of new friends, made good friends out of acquaintances, and guided two (and a half if you count Quinn*) candidates to victory in the very first slateless election in over twenty years. We overcame a lot of ridiculousness from all sides, from Progressive Voter Guides to the EA postering over candidates, and I'm proud of the job I've done and the guys I did it for.
More than anything, though, I'm excited to see what happens next.
*not because Quinn is half a person, but because I helped him comparatively little.
January 22, 2005
today
nothing as indepth as last year's elections breakdown, but still a quick listing of my day:
0530: wake up.
0535: fall asleep.
0600: wake up.
0615: shower.
0645: pants.
0650: pack bag.
0700: find keys, check email, procrastinate.
0730: leave.
0815: get to Broadway, pull out handbills, damn near puke from nervousness.
0820: breathe, eat chocolate in bag, decide against handbilling at broadway because I can't handle it. Jump on bus.
0910: hit campus.
0915: play Tekken 5 to decompress.
0930: call from Corbett.
0945: breakfast with Corbett.
1020: meet up with Gavin.
1020-1230: wander campus, handbill.
1230: lunch beer.
1300-1600: wander campus, handbill.
1555: bid Gav goodbye, wish him luck, issue tummy rub, head to work.
1600-2000: work.
1730: Aleks, Jenn and Chris come by.
1822-1830: 6 rapid-fire calls apprising me of the situation.
1835: Write email to Spencer. Wonder, idly, if he'll open-mouth kiss anyone like he promised to last year. Hope Teddy has a camera.
1845: Vanessa comes. We discuss various things, including what I'm doing for the Fair.
Somewhere in there: Jordie, Drew and Neil come by for hugs and congratulations.
2000: Off work.
2005: Head to Eatery with Jenn and Chris.
2100: Leave Eatery, jump on bus.
2215: Home.
I should be drinking, but that's an entry for another time.
January 21, 2005
elections are over.
congratulations, kids.
I move we skip the back-patting and get ripped.
all in favor?
January 20, 2005
January 15, 2005
ill philosophizin'
some people believe that one should starve a fever and feed a cold.
for others, it's vice versa.
my parents, however, believe that one should simply drown whatever sickness it may be in curry.
so... full...
January 14, 2005
GERALD SMASH
We're halfway through the elections, and I'm running on dark chocolate, raspberry juice, cold medication and anger. Sounds about right.
Livejournal's down, and I think this is a post that needs to be public, anyway.
The success (or failure) of these newly slateless election starts with the Elections Committee, and therefore, the Elections Administrator. Someone mentioned that the candidates all prepared for a slateless election, but the Elections Office hadn't. When I applied for the job, I laid out three important points:
- slateless elections will be different, and high reaction speed is necessary.
- the elections need to run seamlessly - any sort of scandal now will follow candidates/executives through the year, and only makes everyone look bad.
- the elections office should act as a resource before the elections; possibly even running campaign workshops before the elections start to ensure that everyone knows what they're getting into.
None of these things have happened.
What's happened instead?
- at times, the Elections Administrator is away from his office to teach dance classes. Furthermore, the club which he's involved with (probably in some sort of leadership role, which is another thing that should be looked into) posters over candidates posters. Gina has a photo, but unfortunately, LiveJournal is down and I don't have the URL handy.
- the EA "gets tired of doing elections stuff" and turns a forum over to one of the at-large members. Turning over a forum? Great, moderating is valuable experience. Doing it because you don't want to run it? Absolutely ridiculous.
- I asked him for a market value on shirts on Tuesday. He has yet to get back to me. Elections run for 14 days, and he's taken over 4 to answer a question. That's just short of a third of the entire period. Absurd.
and don't get me started on the all-candidate forums on Wednesday; not having prepared questions is iffy, but having the candidates ask the other candidates questions simply doesn't work. I suspect that the Ubyssey didn't take Spencer seriously because he didn't get a chance to answer a serious question.
I'm not the only one who feels this way, and something could/should come out of it, but I don't know what.
Suggestions?
January 09, 2005
48 hours, round #1: resolutions.
The problem I have with resolutions is that they start from some form of self-loathing; whether it's extra weight, an overused phrase, or an incessant habit of some sort, it's not so much something needs to be started as something else needs to be ended.
So, I don't make them.
Maybe, next year, I'll see what a resolution feels like.
Until then, though, I think I'm better off on the outside, looking in.
January 08, 2005
current mood: ergh.
27 hours down.
309 to go.
I don't know how things could possibly get more ridiculous, but they will.
In the meantime, though, I have work to do.
January 06, 2005
democracy is fun!
I'm shaving tomorrow.
Do I leave a soulpatch or no?
the decision is yours; you have 24 hours.
vote in comments box.
January 05, 2005
you know it's january when:
today's choice quote - walking to the bookstore after poli 101 with erin and her boyfriend andrew:
erin : "c'mon, do a spencer impression."
me: "no."
andrew: "you do spencer impressions?"
me: "yeah. I spend entirely too much time with him."
erin: "admit it. you secretly love him."
me: "yes. I love him. I desire to have his biologically impossible man-babies."
erin: (laughing)
andrew: (aghast)
____
I appear to have crossed into hilariously bitter territory.
It's on now.
January 03, 2005
heap
the new friends page
want on or off?
now's the time; I check the gmail account listed rather sporadically.
January 01, 2005
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