December 31, 2004

cue every memory at half speed.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Ran someone else's campaign, drank legally, wrote a final hung over, worked three jobs at once, bought pinstriped pants.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Yes, and no.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Clearly not, because I can't remember any.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yeah.

5. What countries did you visit?
The US.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
To move out.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 24; the end of the Spencer Crusade.
February 16; the slate meeting
April 8; ACF 13.
April 14; 19th birthday.
April 24; E7A Awards Night.
June 28; My first federal election.
September 7; school starts again.
October 1-3; AUS Whistler.
December 12; The Arcade Fire.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Four jobs, two months, sanity maintained.

9. What was your biggest failure?
The first chunk of summer.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the opposite; the back is getting better.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Gear for making tshirts.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
They know who they are.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
They know who they are, too.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Tuition. The clothes, food, booze, etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Work.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
Winter: Blur - No Distance Left To Run
Spring: Squarepusher - Tetra-sync
Summer: The Plastic Constellations - No Complaints
Fall: ...trail of dead - Heart in the Hand of the Matter
Winter: The Arcade Fire - Crown of Love

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Maybe a few pounds thinner.
c) richer or poorer? Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gym time, studying.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Commute.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
At home.

21. Did you fall in love in 2004?
Yes. No. I'm confused.
Hold me?

22. How many one-night stands?
None.

23. What was your favourite TV program?
24.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I have better things to do.

25. What was the best book you read?
Both comics, again. Invincible, or maybe 100 Bullets sneaking in just under the gun.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Annie.

27. What did you want and get?
Material stuff, jobs.

28. What did you want and not get?
Material stuff, jobs.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?
Napoleon Dynamite.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
19. Met some friends at the Wolf and Hound, then went to see Squarepusher.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stupid people.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
I like pants.

33. What kept you sane?
Certain people.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Fancy? Not really any of them.
Kiefer Sutherland continues to be awesome, though.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The spoon vs whisk debacle.

36. Who did you miss?
Mostly Jill; everyone else I see fairly frequently.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Neil.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
People are idiots.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
what's the plan? what's the plan?
is it a dream? is it a lie?
I think I'll let you decide.


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December 30, 2004

shopping with Rob today:

"So, wait. Do you guys hang out in business casual all the time?"
"Yeah, pretty much. This is about as dressed down as we get."
"Oh."
- salesperson in the Gap, as Rob tries to figure out how often we'd match if he bought these pants.

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December 28, 2004

do you ever get halfway through a post, realize you're not making the point you want to, scrap the whole thing and then close the posting window?

because I just did that.

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December 26, 2004

Christmas used to be a production over here; lights, tree, togetherness, all of it. Since we've moved, it's basically been canned. Despite the endless media bombardment and everyone else's LJ posts, it could be any day in November right now and I wouldn't notice.

I did get what I wanted; the coat was an absurdly early gift, mostly because I called my mom on it and she agreed that it was bloody cold out now (December 5) and there was no real point in making me wait. My brother, on the other hand, forwent any thought and bought a TV, claimed that it was his gift to us all, and promptly monopolized it at any opportunity. It's 4 and a half feet across, and although it's nice, it makes the whole place seem a lot smaller; the bizarre layout of this place means I can now watch TV in the bathroom mirror if the door is open.

There isn't really a point to this; just a quick vent before I go back to designing shirts and doing campaign stuff. Hope yours was better than mine.

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December 22, 2004

things

will eventually do the year-in-review meme.

not for a while, though; I just rented the first four episodes of 24 and will probably be picking up the others with great rapidity.
___
campaigns are odd creatures.
___
Tuesday tours are mine next term! woo!
___
Am putting some thought into running for Senate now; I'm considering doing it in March, and it might be easier to do it when there's five spots open instead of just one.
___
Also considering these pants. Thoughts? Opinions?
___
Have figured out my schedule and that I can fit the gym/pool in three days a week; I'm all excited to go back.
___
I'm a little torn on the redesign. On one hand, I've been using this one since mid-June, which is pretty much unheard of. On the other, it works.

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December 20, 2004

new heights of genius

made the heart/headphones/high fidelity shirt (well, the heart/headphones bit; the quote goes on later), and I PUT THE HEART ON THE RIGHT. the hell was I thinking?!

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December 19, 2004

that was an interesting night.

I'll never look at Hunan the same way.

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December 16, 2004

fuck you, osborne g!

really.

why is it so far away?

in any case, I'm done exams. still have 3 distance ed assignments to do, and then I can relax, by which I mean make t-shirts, redesign, and play videogames all day.

[edit: and run other people's campaigns. damn you, spencer and gavin!]

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December 15, 2004

I enjoyed this.

you might, too.

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December 13, 2004

with my lightnin' bolts a-glowin'

My introduction to the Arcade Fire came through a webcomic called Questionable Content; the author put up a comic about how, at their live shows, one of their members' entire function was to bang a large drum, dance around, and rock out at appropriate moments.

His name is Will. He did exactly that, and he did it very well.
Also there was Richard, who looked like a bit like Napoleon Dynamite, had bells attached to one leg and played all sorts of instruments.
The two of them fed off the crowd, the music, and each other to produce spontaneous displays of energy and emotion, sometimes with one wrapping the other in a towel while the one being wrapped plays a guitar, sometimes playfighting between songs, or dancing with Sarah the guest violinist.
During Neighbourhood #2 (Laika), they donned motorcycle helmets, grabbed drumsticks, and made noise off of any hard surface, including the plastic cow taped to the kick drum, the proscenium, the motorcycle helmets, each other, the glockenspiel on stage, and ending with Richard perched atop a chair drumming his sticks off each other while Will looked around, then tackled Richard, crashing down to the floor, where they wrestled for a bit before slumping, drained from the exertions and the emotional content of their performance. Moments afterward, they rose, embraced, and prepared to launch into the next piece.

And this was the second song.

They followed it up with a pair from their ealier EP, before leading into a new song and then the mostly-French Haiti. The band infused their songs with life, both by virtue of simply being there and pure musicianship, and despite their claims to have "never really toured before", the band knew how to get and keep a crowd moving. Une Annee Sans Lumiere provided a breather before Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out) segued into Rebellion (Lies), and the normally stonefooted Vancouver hipster crowd became a sea of bobbing heads and twisting bodies, abandoning themselves to the emotionally charged music and mirroring the actions of the band, who, despite looking like they were going to pass out at any moment, powered through, taking a well deserved rest before Neighbourhood #4 (7 Kettles).

The show closed with the energetic Crown of Love and Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) which featured the crowd singing to the band, and Will wrapping Richard's head in a towel before simply collapsing.

Hampered by a midnight curfew, the encore almost didn't happen; luckily, the band waited patiently for the filler music to stop, dancing to it while they waited, before surprising us all with a cover of the Talking Heads' Naive Melody. Another round of applause and trepidation went by before the band assumed their positions for In The Backseat, the last song on the album and a fitting, cathartic closer to an emotional show.

After the concert I walked out of the Commodore; sweaty, hoarse, exhausted and wearing a ridiculous grin. I wasn't alone in doing so.

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December 11, 2004

paging dr. freud

everyone else has bizarre flying dreams.

I had one last night about beef; specifically, some sort of psychedelic steak that was the centerpiece of a seriously weird dream.


...I blame Hinduism.

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December 06, 2004

some hiatus that was.

Stolen from Collins:

A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie:
2. a book:
3. a musical artist, song, or album:

(B) I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.

(C) Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything & say that you stole it from me.
___
I'm not writing for a while!
I swear!

PS. Wolf!


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something of a hiatus

ambient/downbeat playlist? check.
books and notes? check.
diet coke in fridge? check.

won't be writing things here for a while; probably won't see anybody until after the 16th (unless it's at the Arcade Fire show).

might have a redesign up for 2005. no promises.

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December 03, 2004

I don't know why I bothered coming home.

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December 02, 2004

hellfuck!

losing a shift in the computer lab job next term. the pay raise offsets it, but I was looking forward to what would have been an extra $50 a week.
---
it appears that when brenda says she'll put you into the pool for the CRO position*, she won't. they approved committee staff yesterday at council, which means that hiring went on a while ago.
I shouldn't be surprised, but I am disappointed.

*and if she wasn't in charge of hiring for the position, then a note letting me know of this would also have been appreciated.

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November 30, 2004

shadows jumping all over the walls

I hate how the anesthetic used by the dentist tends to migrate around my face before fading away; at the moment my left ear, a portion of my nostril, half of my tongue and a little of my jawline are numb and the feeling is most disconcerting.
___
School's ending for a little while, which is nice; I'm looking forward to next term's classes but I also think that I may be stretching myself a bit thin; 5 classes, 2 jobs, working ACF and then the commute will be taking their toll on me. I do have Thursdays off, still, so I might be using it to get as much stuff out of the way as possible.
___
I have actual work parties to attend; there's bowling with Campus Tours tomorrow, and then possibly ISIT Wine and Cheese on Friday (which conflicts with MASS Anniversary, hence possibly). Bowling's going to be fun, but I'm mildly worried about the combination of geeks + alcohol + coworkers. And there's another ISIT party during the break. Decisions, decisions...
___
Two new items on the wishlist, bringing me up to a round ten.
___
Had a dream last night where I moved out, and apart from my parents being all mopey about it, things went smashingly. It appears I'm trying to tell myself something.
___
Also last night I had the strangest feeling I was sleeping next to someone else, when nobody was there. Very weird.
___
Have gained mass, but lost volume. I still need to start swimming again, though; diet changes alone aren't cutting it.

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November 26, 2004

if it feels like it works, then it works.

I broke these up into two posts so you guys could comment on things that didn't involve the wishlist thing.

GWAR was fantastic.
I'm glad Gavin came, because it's always fun to have company, and the AMS meeting looked soul-crushing. And there's a phone interview soon!!

Wednesday was also a day of adventuring; I ended up hanging out with Spencer, while he attempted to get some stuff from the City Archives and then went shopping.
The best part about shopping with Spencer is that I don't have to pull punches; I can call him a douchebag, or whatever else comes to mind, (usually due to a particular clothing item more than actual faults with him) in public and not worry. It's freeing, and sort of fun to watch the poor salespeople try to convince him otherwise. Coming in a close second are his surprisingly concise fashion tips, like "The entire purpose of pants is to make your ass look fantastic."

I had to make a separate trip downtown after work, just before nine, to make an emergency buying of white t-shirts because I'd forgotten to do that on my first trip. Luckily, the Bay was still open, and due to the diligent efforts of one of their retail monkeys, I was able to pick up a reasonably priced shirt in time for GWAR.

GWAR was, as mentioned before, a fantastic show; I won't go into specifics because it'll be in my Discorder review, which I might put up later.

Got home from GWAR, showered, and collapsed in bed.

Thursday, I did a psych experiment. I almost fell asleep during it; whether it was due to the subject material or because I was that tired is beyond me. Then I gave a tour. It went reasonably well; about 2/3rds of the group showed up, which was more than we were expecting. After that, it was working time in the Buchanan B-Labs for a couple hours, before doing a little leadership training back in Recruitment. I picked up some useful tour stuff, and it was good to see the people I hadn't seen since the first day of training way back when.

Today's been another work/school/work day; I gave a school group tour today where we ran into B. Sull, and when he rushed through the crowd, I explained who he was, at which point he stopped, realized it was a tour, mentioned that they were in good hands because I was one of the campus' student leaders, and then rushed into the department of Asian Studies' Office (we were in the Asian Centre).

I don't think he knows who I am.

After that, I told the Asian Centre story (ask me sometime, it's bizarre), and continued on the tour, which ran smoothly after that point. Except that the kids stopped paying attention after we looked into a classroom in Angus (3/4ths point), which made the parts about the SUB (and the ones I feel most relevant to new students, because it's about clubs and services and getting involved in the community) sort of pointless.

I've been in the Buchanan B-Labs since 1, and at 4 I'll head over to the makeshift lab in BuTo to supervise the 15 iBooks corraled in the little fishbowl to make sure that nobody defaces the pristine, snowy machines.

I really, really want one.

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somewhere, a clock is ticking.

Speaking of wanting things, I've come across this semi-meme(sememe? pseudomeme?) over on Jon F and Christina's livejournals (people who used to also write for Another 48 Hours, and whose writings I regularly read, despite having met them once in passing, and having Jon once entirely not recognize me because I'd lost weight over the summer.) and I'm giving it a spin.

Step One

  • Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and random ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
  • If you wish for real life things (not pics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
  • Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your journal so that the holiday joy will spread.
Step Two
  • Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:
  • If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.
  • You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

my list:
  1. to get five people to sign up and complete the freeipods thing.
  2. hugs.
  3. to go for coffee with people I don't see. Jon F, Kav and Christina, I'm looking at you three specifically.
  4. an afternoon to go thrift shopping.
  5. a scarf, somewhere in the region of six feet long, preferably in a darker color. knit, bought, whatever.
  6. mix CDs. They're always fun. In fact, I like making them, so maybe we could trade.
  7. recommendations for things to do, try, see, and listen to.
  8. for everyone who reads this to leave a comment; especially whoever happens to be reading this in Lithuania. I'm just curious, is all.
  9. dress shirts with french cuffs.
  10. dark chocolate.
Contact info is in the comments box so it's not indexed by google and that searching for my name will continue to not bring you here.
___
incidentally, it took me 40 minutes of my "workday" to actually write this post, which means I'll have been paid to blog. Fantastic.

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November 22, 2004

i know what my heart is for

  • looking for a new scarf is harder than I thought it'd be.
  • am currently owed: 3 paycheques, totalling something near $600.
  • GWAR cancelled their interview.
  • my dental plan doesn't cover anesthetic.
  • apparently, elections committee interviews are wednesday. I wasn't contacted, so I guess the "we'll put you in for CRO" thing fell through.
this isn't looking like a good day.
---
in happier news, I made another mix. (crossposted at indiemixtape)

  1. Björk - Who Is It (4:09)
  2. Mogwai - Hunted by a Freak (4:15)
  3. Secret Machines - Nowhere Again (4:13)
  4. Hope of the States - The Red the White the Black the Blue (3:39)
  5. The Arcade Fire - Wake Up (5:35)
  6. Dungen - Du Är För Fin För Mig (8:28)
  7. Death From Above 1979 - Sexy Results (5:53)
  8. The Notwist - This Room (4:45)
  9. Ellen Allien - Wish (4:49)
  10. Autechre - Leterel (7:08)
  11. Air - Alone in Kyoto (4:47)
  12. Squarepusher - Iambic 5 Poetry(5:30)
  13. Interpol - Specialist (6:40)
  14. Snow Patrol - Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking (4:32)
  15. The Futureheads - Carnival Kids (2:44)

there's timestamps because I used Winamp's "Generate HTML Playlist" feature.
I was surprised at the how well Squarepusher leads into Interpol, and also that I managed to work Autechre in at all.

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November 21, 2004

because it can't hurt:

should you be in the US and not already signed up:
http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=12017944

ps. yay jill!

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...I'll open source you!!

part of an MSN conversation I had earlier today:

graham :: http://www.buckstix.com/howitzer.htm: help me... have been sucked into skinning Windows
gerald // !: help me... went to the mozilla browser launch party last night
---

although the majority of my night was spent at the MozParty, it started at Zulu, where I picked up a used copy of the Travis singles disc, which was an entirely unnecessary purchase, but one that provided valuable consolation because they'd sold out of arcade fire tickets and wouldn't have more until monday. From there, I went to the Candy Aisle and bought Penguin Mints, which aren't all that great, but now I totally want to build a headphone amp in the tin over the winter break. After that, it was a walk to the Chinese restaurant next to the Ridge Bowling Lanes, where I had dinner with Rob, Lana, and Jay Garcia, whose birthday it was. Jordie and Kat came by a little later. And then we bowled. Five-pin isn't all that fun, but between the handles, the Big Lebowski references, and the 10th Frame Wackiness, it was a good time. From there, Rob Jordie and I headed out to Stamps Landing (right next to Monk McQueens) and the rest of the party headed off to Brandi's.

You read that right. I chose open source browser release party over strippers.

The party itself wasn't hugely exciting; take about twenty geeks, add three Macs (one 17" PB, one 15" PB, and a 14" iBook) and throw in a healthy portion of geek nostalgia ("hey, anyone remember Heretic?") and you've pretty much got the party.

The organizer didn't show up, so there was no swag. We were sad.

Get Firefox!

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November 19, 2004

flux = rad

I had three options for tonight:
1) go beer gardening, get loaded.
2) go to pink floyd laser show with Graham.
3) bake a cake.

I chose the cake.
Recipe's here, if you want it.
---

While at the buck a beaker today (for roughly twenty minutes), I ran into Rob Cross, who said that I hadn't posted much of what I was up to, and between that and not seeing him for two weeks (this is actually a long interval of non-Robicity), he felt like he'd fallen out of my life. I can think of far too many people I haven't seen that I used to see on a regular basis (circumstances such as England or graduation notwithstanding) that read this and might feel the same way. So, here's the rundown:

The Commute: It's much reduced; my mom's working again so I go to Nanaimo Street Station and then drive home from there.

The Schooling: Midterms are over, have an assignment due Monday, nothing pressing until exams.

The Working: Paycheques are late. This displeases me greatly. Am picking up a few extra hours in the computer labs because they're putting a bunch of iBooks into Buchanan Tower's lobby for student use for the next two weeks. Tours are fine, and I don't think I'll have a regular tour next term, which is something I'm sort of looking forward to. I may or may not be in the running for AMS CRO; they told me I would be put into the application pool when it happened, but since it's been a few months, and I have very little faith in people, I'll probably double check at some point.

The Home Life: Braces by the end of the school year. Wisdom teeth out sometime over break, and I'm seeing the dentist every. Tuesday. morning. from now until school gets out.

The Other Stuff I Do: interviewing GWAR on Wednesday; should probably research band so's I can ask intelligent questions. Around the AUS more than I think I should be; will probably cut back a bit. Have the reviewer slot for the Arcade Fire show, but given it'll be a packed show, I'm going to buy a ticket tomorrow or soonish anyway.

The Shows I Am Going To: GWAR, Arcade Fire, other stuff as it comes up.

The Reason I Have Not Yet Posted the Five in Heavy Rotation Despite Promising it a While Ago: Most of my listening happens on the commute now, which means that it's primarily full-album listening.

    Five albums are easy, though:
  • ...and you will know us by the trail of dead - Worlds Apart
  • Autechre - tri repetae++
  • Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
  • Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
  • Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People


The Scarf: Sold. For $30, which means I make a solid $14 profit. The hunt for a new one is on.

Other Stuff You Should Know: The Mozilla Release Launch Party is tomorrow. It'll be a geektastic time; it's an open-source browser release party, and part of me can't believe I'm going, and another part of me really wants some swag. You can find out more about Mozilla here (if you're not already using it) and about the party here.

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November 16, 2004

musical thoughts

Ta Det Lugnt is fantastic.
I don't have a clue what's going on, but it doesn't matter.
Hopefully, Dungen will tour.
Very unlikely, but here's hoping.
___
Have rediscovered Autechre, and this time around, it's less listening music and more soundtrack; makes the skytrain seem all futuristic and vaguely dystopian, what with all the clicks and beeps while I zoom about in a glorified sardine can filled with disgruntled suburbanites.

"The next station i--" [click] [whirr] [thump] [static]
Headphones are awesome.

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November 14, 2004

things I have been doing:

  • vastly enjoying most of what I've been downloading.
  • downloading some more stuff:

    • Slint - Spiderland
    • ...and you will know us by the trail of dead - Worlds Apart and Madonna
    • What's Up Matador (the tenth anniversary collection)
    • The Arcade Fire live at KEXP (which sounds good, but the quality is terrible)

  • studying for midterms.
  • being all religious-like; the last week or so has been the build-up to the hindu new year, and yesterday was new years proper, so it's been a lot of interesting stories and praying and hearing from family and whatnot. it's not a big huge thing, but it makes me shuffle the rest of my life around enough that I'm glad it's once a year.
  • realizing that my ...Trail of Dead shirt has a scene from the Mahabharata (lit trans: big war; it's an ancient Hindu epic poem) on it. and by me I mean my mom. I think this means that she approves of the band a little more. woo!
  • drooling over this laptop company
also, I've been cooking again. Most recently, I made this pineapple-coconut terrine/jello thing, the recipe for which I got here.
It tasted good, but didn't look nearly as good as that guys photo; I think that I might not have reduced the pineapple juice enough. Oh well.

also dug out the trusty cilantro pesto recipe, which is simple and fast and adds a swath of green to stodgy winter meals.
to make, take:
  • one bunch cilantro, cleaned and trimmed
  • two large cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
  • a handful of nuts or seeds; I've made it with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, peanuts and pistachios before.
  • salt, to taste.
  • about a quarter-cup of oil; whatever you like best.
throw everything but the oil in a blender. blend, adding oil until it becomes a smooth mixture, not necessarily a paste.

from there, the possibilities are huge; I like spreading it onto whole-wheat bread and making grilled cheese sandwiches, or tossing it with noodles and vegetables, or making nachos with it. the pesto tastes better after a day, and the proportions and ingredients are fairly flexible, so make it your own.

---
random question: what shade of blue do you think a super-intelligent shade of blue would be? a navy blue? an ice blue? a sky blue? it's sort of for a shirt.

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November 11, 2004

weirdest spam ever.

I'm bewildered by this; most spam has some sort of ulterior motive, but this one just wants me to accept Jesus.

---
From: Wendell
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 11:58:00 +0100
Subject: Where is the path taking you
To: Gerald


Gerald,

Eternity is a really long time.If you or someone close to you has not
accepted God please do so tody, while you still can.

The following prayer can save you or someone that you love.

Say, "Oh God, save my soul. I'm so sorry that I have sinned against you, but I have come home. I will serve you, Lord, the rest of my life. Deliver me from all my sinful habits. Set me free! I do believe Jesus died on Calvary for me, and I believe in His blood, that there is power in His blood to wash away all my sins, all my sins!" Say, "Come into my heart, Jesus; come on in, Jesus.Come on in!"

If you meant it, He has come. If you meant it, Jesus is yours. Start reading your Bible, pray daily and believe that somebody's listening; His name is Jesus.

algeciras at Forsythia oreven barycentre as in asturias. Lynnette was at bacteriophage when that happened Forsythia. We met at bhakti and went to Lapland wher we had lunch at Rybinsk.It was Tuckwell and a Tolbert was had Tiruchirapalli by all.
---

the word Rybinsk was a link to www.rybinsnk.it, which I haven't hyperlinked because it might be some sort of instant-IE-exploiting hijack site.

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November 09, 2004

in wayfuckinbetter news:

  • increased RAM in the PC from 128MB to 320MB. In non-geek speak, things run better and crash less now.
  • have decided I like the scarf. it's a bit itchy, and doesn't work too well with about half of my wardrobe, which I guess means I'm going to be needing another one.
  • got my mom to agree on splitting the cost of a proper wool overcoat as my Hindu New Year gift (it's on Friday)
  • have been downloading music again, so far I have:
    • Annie - Anniemal
    • Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (LA's Desert Origins)
    • Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
    • Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
    • Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
    • Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People
    • Spoon - Girls Can Tell
    • The Dears - No Cities Left
    • Hope of the States - The Lost Riots
    • Akufen - Fabric 17
    • Autechre - LP5 and Tri Repetae++
    • Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, If You're Feeling Sinister and Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
    • Benn Gibbard - Joga (Bjork cover)
    • more impressions on them later; so far Anniemal is the guiltiest pleasure ever, and The Dears are like a Britrock timewarp.
  • received email confirming that I will be interviewing GWAR, and that further details will be forthcoming.
  • mocked someone on the AUS email list; did not mean to send message to entire list, but have so far received 4 general "well done" type messages, one "that was unnecessary" and triggered Collins to send out a reminder not to respond to the entire list. whee!
  • opened ING account, am well on way to fiscal responsibility
  • am now reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, am enjoying vastly while also pondering if I shouldn't be studying in the time spent reading for enjoyment.
  • it's an interrobang‽ it questions? it exclaims!


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they've got six arms and omniscience. really, what do they need me for?

not going to celebrities tonight; apparently it's religion time.
___
Also, the scarf came.
It's itchy and doesn't look much at all like the photo, so I think I'm going to sell it.

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November 07, 2004

public service announcement

read this.

then sign this.

and then spread the word.

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wake up / hold your mistake up

there was a nebulous two-liner about my current mindset here, but I sat down with a cup of hot chocolate (the trick: real chocolate, scalding milk, and a pinch of salt) and figured out exactly what it was that was bothering me.

in one of my psych classes the other day, we were lectured about the concept of cognitive dissonance; the feeling that one gets when they realize that their actions and their worldview are not in sync, generally when someone else calls them on their hypocrisy.

there are two responses to this: change the action to suit the worldview, or rationalize it away by means of excuses.

I realized that I'd been acting out of line with my own beliefs, and that I've been rationalizing for far too long.
So I need to make some changes.

Starting with studying instead of writing this.

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November 04, 2004

words for life, #probably 4

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so."
- Ford Prefect
in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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November 02, 2004

today!

I'm pretty sure that half of dental hygienist school is teaching would-be hygienists how to let patients know that they're terrible people for not flossing.

Also, it looks like I need all my wisdom teeth out, because the bottom ones came in sideways.

:/

On the upside, I bought the entire Hitchhikers Trilogy(all five books!) and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Will post thoughts on them at some point.


--
question: is it too soon for another Five in Heavy Rotation?

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we'll make this place a heart to be a part of...

got a friendster invite today, which reminded me that I do, in fact, have an account over there, and that I should probably update the email. so I do. and then beano writes me a testimony. and then I spend half an hour randomly clicking on people's pictures and sending "friend requests" when I should've been doing productive things.

what's the point of the damn thing, again?

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October 31, 2004

the (temporary) end of job #1.

there's something mildly surreal about pulling up your own file, throwing all the stuff that says you work there in it, and realizing that you won't have to be back for six months at the earliest.

at least my weekends are free now.

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October 30, 2004

just found out I'm working an extra 10.5 hours next week, all of it before 11am.

fantastic.

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October 27, 2004

so, dilemma.

it's a small one.
I should be receiving this scarf that I won in an eBay auction in the next couple of days, and I'm somewhat enthused. Never entirely understood why things coming by mail are automatically more exciting, but that's neither here nor there.

However, I got this email today:
Hello there! This might come off as an odd request, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in selling the scarf from the auction you just won. It is EXACTLY like the one I lost three years ago... one that went quite beautifully with my old winter coat. Please let me know. If not, enjoy your new scarf! Best regards, Scott

I understand the power of sentimental value, and I'm pretty sure I could make a small profit off this guy... but what if I like the scarf?

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October 26, 2004

ergh

not a good week for me and work.

:|

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October 24, 2004

why can't we just play the other game?

Last night was a show of pleasant surprises; I walked in to the Commodore, out of the rain, and ambled up just in time to catch the Secret Machines. They weren't mind-blowing, and I'd heard the album before (and was okay with it) but to hear them play it live removed some of the prog-wank overtones, because they were a blast to watch. They opened with the First Wave Intact, a long, drawn out opening that leads into frenetic drumming and typical alt-rock, made all the more enjoyable by the visuals. I didn't know the songs through the rest of the set, but I liked what I did hear; the musicians kept the crowd interested both musically and visually, and the crowd was sparse enough that it was possible to weave through holes and get closer to the stage. Between sets, I discovered that I was standing directly behind Sean Owen, which made it really funny when he sent me a text message and I shouted a response. Jordie and I made our way over to him, which put us about 5 rows back and smack in the middle, which gave me a decent spot from which to take photos.

Interpol was definitely dancier than I expected; after opening with Last Exit (which appears to be the new song to sing along to), Obstacle 1, Evil, and Say Hello to the Angels got the crowd moving, and kept them bobbing through Not Even Jail and Leif Erikson. The other big singalong came to NYC, and Slow Hands and PDA rounded out the first set. The encore consisted of Stella and Roland, both of which had everyone dancing, swaying and singing along at the appropriate moments.

Performance-wise, they were what I expected; the lead singer (Paul) didn't move around very much (and wore a dopey hat, to be honest), and the rest of the band wasn't cement-footed, but they weren't exactly The Darkness, either. Two things that sort of bugged me; the drummer(Sam) was way too far back, not on a riser, and shrouded in smoke - I enjoy watching drummers ply their craft, and seeing as Interpol's drummer is very good, I was annoyed at not being able to see him. The other was that the drums weren't high enough in the mix, meaning that they lost the punch that they usually have, which sucked. Other than that things were really good; sometime during the set, Graham messaged me from backstage because he was working the show; I asked him for a setlist, and he delivered later on, much to the chagrin of a pair of bizarrely dressed girls who were absolutely puzzled as to how "he asked me first" when all I'd done was yell at him. Fantastic.

I also wanted them to play Specialist, but I didn't think they would and I was right. No grudges*, my ass!

Anyway, here's some photos:


And here's the setlist:
  • Next Exit
  • Obstacle 1
  • Evil
  • Say Hello To The Angels
  • Public Pervert
  • NARC
  • Not Even Jail
  • NYC
  • Slow Hands
  • PDA
  • Stella was a Diver
  • Roland


*when Interpol was here in 2002, their guitars were stolen. They came back, so their grudge isn't that big, but given we got a set with nothing particularly rare, I think it's still in effect.

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October 23, 2004

weird, where productivity comes from...

got into work today at 10am, then saw sign that said the trailer was open from 3-7pm.

call Vanessa, feel like an ass, and can't do 3-7 because of interpol tonight.
am given day off.

now, I sit in MASS, letting squarepusher alternately drone and thump, as I study for my brain and behaviour midterm tomorrow.
given all I expected to do today was work and then party, this is a pleasant change.

better get back to it, though...

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October 22, 2004

new pants ‽

I know I said there'd be a five in heavy rotation up soon, but it's not today.

Today, I talk about shopping.

I bought some stuff.
It was fun.
Here's some pictures: shirt 1 | shirt 2 | boxers

However, I am currently engaged in self-debate over whether I should keep or return a pair of pants I have purchased.

They're very nice pants.
Here's a picture of them.

At the same time, they're more than what I'd usually be okay with paying for pants, and I am working three jobs because I'm effectively broke, not because I want all sorts of frivolous things.

(Which I do, but that's neither here nor there.)

...I can't believe I'm having a pants conundrum.

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October 18, 2004

four sentence update:

Job #3 is ultra-boring; I spent 3 hours on eBay looking at scarves (and saw a bunch I liked.)
Five in Heavy Rotation sometime later this week; you can probably guess one or two tracks given that I've been listening to Matador's 15th Anniversary compilation fairly heavily; in fact, I think you should try - tracklist is here.
Tours are fun... now if only they'd pay me.
Can we stop discussing Quinn's emoness (or lack thereof) and maybe vote on the shirts some more?

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October 15, 2004

design by democracy.

choose one:

typical emo anatomical heart, with pistons coming out of the three arteries that come off the aorta and go to the head (and arms, I think; been too long since I've done anatomy). both pulmonary arteries have sparkplugs coming out of them, and the superior vena cava is accepting a stream of cogs. there might be an exhaust pipe leading from where the inferior vena cava should be; haven't decided yet. caption on back between shoulderblades: "I need tungsten to live"

or

typical emo heart again; this time, it's wearing headphones (eggos, even) covering both pulmonary arteries, with little notes coming out the ascending arteries (come to think of it, it's the carotid and then both subclavians that pop out the top of the aorta; Patricia, let me know either way) and maybe a stream of little CDs flowing into the superior vena cava. caption on back: "Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because listen to pop music?"

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nebulous one-liner

it's interesting that the more time one spends near* someone, the less one likes said person.

*that's right; near, not with.

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October 14, 2004

purchasing! on! whims!

bought, although I really should'nt've, Matador's 15th anniversary compilation yesterday. It was a huge impulse buy, and although there was some buyer's remorse, it vanished the moment I popped the plastic wrapper off and dove in. It's a 2 CD and one DVD set, composed of 1 disc of greatest hits from the last five years, 1 of unreleased/rare material, and one DVD of videos I haven't had the chance to watch yet. The whole thing came to $22.88 after taxes, a rarity for a single CD from Zulu, let alone a 3-disc extravaganza.
Matador, in case you didn't know, is home to artists such as Interpol, Spoon, Pavement, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Yo La Tengo, The New Pornographers and various others, and the greatest hits CD serves as an introduction to the artists which one may not be familiar with while remaining anchored by familiar songs. Unless, of course, you know the entire stable, in which case I tip my hat to you. The rarities disc is similar but not the same; the artists are familiar while the songs are not, and sometimes both confuse the pants off of you. I found myself digging out the CD player, looking at the track number, then seeing who the artist was on the CD case in a lot of cases, with songs from The New Pornographers, Interpol, and AC Newman being the only ones I recognized off the bat.

Whatever. They're both really good.

I've been listening to the first disc more than the second since I bought it, partially because I've been introduced to a lot of artists I'd only heard of in passing and find myself liking, and also because Cornelius' Drops is incredibly addictive.

more later; must study.

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October 13, 2004

for the boingites:

I realise that the first (now second) thing you see when you click through isn't terribly interesting, and there's really not much for me to do about it - I am a university student with three jobs and sometimes, I just lack the energy to write something exciting.

There is some decent stuff, though, so I'll cobble together a few links from the archives because I know you're jonesing to waste time if you're clicking through random submitter links of BoingBoing.

but, yeah, here's some stuff:


but, yes, for the most part, it's ultra-typical pap (whee! I used pap in a sentence), so have fun with it.

for the usual gang:
go here. Brie's now an internet celebrity, and since I submitted the story, people appear to be dropping in here, too.

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October 12, 2004

things to do

generally, I start my internet slacking off here, so by having a list of things that I should be doing instead, I'll be able to stay efficient for the day.

    Thus:
  • pay off VISA
  • study for midterm
  • prepare questions for Chris
  • Iron out term 2 schedule
  • get said schedule to ISIT
  • visit Christina
  • yell at bookstore re: mispriced book.
  • figure out which tours I have to cancel on, get those to Jackie
  • figure out finances (budget?)
  • write CD review
  • work on shirt design
it's an exciting life I lead.

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October 09, 2004

five in heavy rotation: 10/9/2004

the premise is simple: I write about five songs I'm listening to fairly frequently, and post 'em up somewhere for you to download. I was thinking about using a GMail account for that, but since it would require contacting me first so I could give you a login and that might put some people off (what with me being a minor internet celebrity in the Netherlands and all) so I'll probably figure out some other way to post them for your enjoyment - suggestions are welcome.

[edit: they're going up on yousendit.com; links will be the song name, and they're only up for seven days, so make sure to get them fast.]

in the meantime, here they are:

Snow Patrol - How to Be Dead
This, if I remember rightly, is the song that moved me from "this isn't too bad." to "I'm liking this.", or in Hipster Body Language, from the Arms Crossed and Decidedly Not Moving to the Nodding in Time. It's no Run but it's what's in heavy rotation, so it gets a moment in the sun.

The Futureheads - Robot
My favorite part about these guys is that you can tell that they're having fun, and it shines through their music. Two minutes of post-punk-pop with tight harmonies and delightful lyrics. If/when they show up in Vancouver again, I am totally going to see them.

The Arcade Fire - Crown of Love
I think this is an underappreciated song. Everyone loves Neighbourhood #1(Tunnels) or Rebellion(Lies) but this one slips under the radar; until the bass and the violin light up the ending, anyway.

Ellen Allien - Erdbeermund
Chopped beats, clicks, bleeps, incomprehensible German women, a slide whistle and basslines that could've stepped out of a videogame. This track is made for playing Scorched Earth to. Or practicing your post-apocalyptic dance, because in the nuclear winter of the far future, it is your groove that will ensure the survival of the human race.

The Cardigans - And Then You Kissed Me
Stop snickering. The Cardigans are far more than a one-hit wonder band and their latest release shows remarkable range from the band that brought us Lovefool . It's easy to dismiss as a throwaway (but nonetheless solid) mopey pop song with a slightly country bent, until you realize exactly what the song is about.

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October 06, 2004

I am so weirded out.

found this while checking my referrers.

www.akt-online.nl :: Bekijk onderwerp - Staplerfahrer Klaus

translation: I got today this link of a friend of me. It is a German small film concerning what there all wrong can go with heftruuk in t magazijn. More does not will I say, you must look at him simply itself http://heeeraldo.blogspot.com/2003/12/foreign-safety-videos-awesome.html and on the officiele Internet site seem be able download m. you, but I cannot find where.

who's his friend?
am I his friend?
is someone else directing random Dutch people to my archives?
I'm so confused.
hold me.

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barely a real post

news:
- have a third job, working at Arts ISIT in the C-Block Labs.
- maybe going to see GWAR and reviewing it for discorder
- won't try and save Plaza stage with the "we can do it all for $1000" plan; have decided to try for Control.
- got two plain shirts yesterday; will stencil after prewashing.
- Jill's here tomorrow! Woo!
- I imagine you're all tired of point-form posts, and this should be the last one for a while; there's a Five in Heavy Rotation tomorrow, and possibly some photos.

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October 03, 2004

grenouilles and bougears and dropkicks, oh my!

blogposts about whistler never really encapsulate all the things that happened.

all that really needs to be said follows:

- RIP Upper Plaza.
- I have come to terms with being an Old Person.
- being a hack is way more fun.

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September 30, 2004

my last few days! itemized!

- Snow Patrol on Tuesday was an excellent show. You're all idiots for missing it.
- Whistler this weekend; promises to be interesting.
- The Arcade Fire shirt turned out really well. Pictures later.
- CiTR is all sorts of awesome; I've been in on silly discussions on punk subcultures (chafecore, anyone?) and apparently I'll be in the masthead for Discorder.
- Between doing CDs and shows for Discorder and Arts for the News, I am going to become a review machine. It'll be awesome.
- Cufflinks came. Pictures later. I'll be wearing one pair (of the eight [!]) at Whistler.
- Who knew tweed jackets were so much fun?
- I like Distance Education.
- Still no leads on Job #3.
- I'm starting to give tours next week. This is equal parts harrowing and sweet.
- next three shirts: bzzr.ca (some sort of dark colour on white), whatever I make when Neil settles on a design (hurry up, damn you!), and maybe an interpol one that isn't just the antics cover or the band's faces; more on that later.
- My contract (by which I mean my brother's contract) with Telus is up in November, and they're offering me (by which I mean my brother) a deep discount on a new phone as well as being able to continue on my (you get the idea; I've been carrying around the damn thing for over two years and so I'm used to referring to it as mine) current plan (evenings/weekends/lunchtimes unlimited, evenings from 6pm-8am, 150 minutes daytime, caller ID/waiting/voicemail included), and I'm all for it. Only problem is that the phones suck. Anyone have a bead on where to find CDMA phones that don't make one want to throw shit?

that's it for now; will probably put something up after whistler, and I think it might be time for another round of Five in Heavy Rotation after that.

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September 25, 2004

two thoughts, four snippets

I am slowly developing a crush on Ellen Allien:
- she's hot
- she runs a record label
- she spins fantastic music
- she hates trance!
-

She's definitely on the "People I Want to See Live" List.
___
Went to a party for a family friend who was recently engaged; saw a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a good long time, and while it was good to see them, I hated the feeling of constantly being scrutinized by a bunch of brown ladies, all of whom were thinking the same two things:

a) can I marry him off ?
b) failing that, can I badmouth him?

seeing as a) is clearly not an option, I had to keep my guard up for b). Managed to escape without anyone telling me there was a girl I should meet, and fairly sure that I'd done nothing offensive.
___
If this whole school thing falls through, I am moving onto banditry - specifically the holding up of engagements/weddings/receptions etc.
Why people need to wear gold chains ON THE OUTSIDE OF THEIR SHIRTS is beyond me; while I do have one, I'm frankly sort of embarassed by it and can't fathom flaunting the thing, let alone wearing one that came down to my navel (!).

Middle-aged Indian women: the only ones blinging harder than rappers.
__
Speaking of People I Want To See Live, who's on your list?
Mine is currently:

  • Radiohead (seen)
  • Pixies (seen)
  • Squarepusher (seen)
  • Interpol (have ticket for)
  • ...trail of dead (also have ticket for)
  • Coldplay
  • Bjork*
  • Ellen Allien*
  • The Walkmen
  • The Wrens*
  • The Arcade Fire
  • Broken Social Scene
  • DJ Shadow*


stars indicate that cost would be less of an issue, because these are shows that are either ultra-unlikely to come to Vancouver, or guaranteed awesomeness.

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September 24, 2004

goddamn suburbs.

there's nothing quite like spending a full fifteen minutes saying goodbye to people at eight-thirty to move one's mindset from "okay, I can do this" to "fuck, where's goddamn job #3 I need to move out."

:\

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September 22, 2004

getting all trivial up in here

is it wrong of me to be excited?

now, I need more shirts with french cuffs.

...who's up for a shopping trip?

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September 21, 2004

infected with memefluenza

having seen Graham's Five Albums He Found This Month, I'm going to do one of my own.

the deal is simple: post 5 albums you found this month and particularly like. encourage others to do the same. enjoy.

here's mine (yes, they're mostly things I should've been listening to ages ago):

1....and you will know us by the trail of dead - Source Tags and Codes
I'm stuck for words here; songs are epic in scale, the album works as a whole, and it's just really, really good.

2.Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
I was surprised that I liked this; I'm not typically a singer/songwrite kind of guy, but this was... different, somehow.

3.Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
I'm six years late on this one, but it doesn't matter. This doesn't feel like an album from 1998 at all, though; it's similar to the Decemberists (other way around, really) in that it's got storytelling lyrics and lush instrumentation, and a willingness to cross boundaries at will; going from man-and-guitar folk to fuzzed-out rock in the blink of an eye and somehow making it all work.

4.The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Jeph (of Questionable Content) said it best, really: "I swear, Wayne Coyne could sing a song about nuclear war and manage to make it sound utterly blissful. I don't know how the man does it." Also, see this.

5.The Arcade Fire - Funeral
No, I didn't see the 9.7 on Pitchfork, flip out and go download it; I took Jeph's (see above) recommendation.
It is the new hipster favorite, and deservedly so; complex enough to stand up to repeated listenings and catchy enough to make one want to listen to it repeatedly. They're also the only band that's ever made me want to make a shirt within a week of hearing them.

Bonus Track: Interpol - Slow Hands (Britt Daniel Remix)
Take Slow Hands. Remove guitar except for specific flourishes. Marvel, then dance.
*Britt Daniel is the lead singer of Spoon, if anyone was wondering.

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September 20, 2004

shakespeare quote, etc etc

dear Mazatlan,

It's time for you to get archived. We've had a fun summer together, but with autumn all but here, it's time for you to get shelved in favor of more... season-appropriate stuff. I mean, there's no point in We Came to Play if I have to catch up on my Brain and Behaviour homework, right?
That's not to say that I won't miss your addictive hooks and catchy lyrics; far from it, as the case may be. I simply won't appreciate you like I should, and so we must part.

Until the sun shines again, and I am free of obligation.

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September 18, 2004

they say it fits, if you let it...

Today's mission was simple: buy cuff links.

I recently found a shirt with french cuffs in my dad's closet, and promptly appropriated it; only to find that my dad never wore it because he bought it and couldn't find his cufflinks.

And so, Lana, Rob, Neil and I set out downtown, first trekking through Pacific Centre and then down Granville in our (well, mine, really) search.

Along the way, we partook of some silliness, and the semi-serious findings are as follows:

- I look surprisingly good in purple.
- Shirts really should come with their own haiku.
- Neil + Sean John = hilarity (Rob's got the photo, else it'd be up here)

and then, somewhere in a mall, I saw these.
I'd have bought them, were they not $325. or $375. The saleslady couldn't remember.

I guess it's off to eBay for me, then...

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September 15, 2004

weird.

impromptu bus survey reveals that I may be the only brown guy of undergraduate age at UBC without some form of goatee.

...did I miss a memo?

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September 12, 2004

the only thing worse than lululemon wearers...

...are the bags.

someone returned a uniform in one, and I've spent the last two minutes being baffled at how someone's managed to recreate an anthony robbins motivational program on the back of a shopping bag.

    Samples:
  • Visualize your eventual demise. It has an amazing effect on how you live for the moment.
  • Breathe: this lets you live in the moment.
  • Observe a plant before and after being watered, and relate these changes to your body and brain.
  • Do not use cleaning chemicals on your counters. Try vinegar and lemon juice; someone will inevitably make a sandwich on your counter.
  • Dance, sing, floss, and travel.
  • You ALWAYS have choice, and the conscious brain can hold only one thought at a time. (note: not true; most people can keep track of five to nine things at once.) Choose a positive thought.
now, most of these are fairly innocuous and while they seem odd on a clothing store bag, they're not full-on bizarre.
Until, of course:
  • Just like you did not know what an orgasm was before you had one, nature does not let you know how great children are until you have them. Children are the orgasm of life.
did you see that?
allow me to repeat:

CHILDREN ARE THE ORGASM OF LIFE.
THE ORGASM OF LIFE IS CHILDREN.



because it needs immortalizing:

...which is so not true.

I plan on having children when I get suicidal.

Apparently they rob you of all your energy and vitality.

... huh, which is kinda like an orgasm, I guess."
Gina | Homepage | 09.15.04 - 12:44 am | #

...

I thought you were in a sorority, not retarded.

Love,
Spencer
Spencer | Email | Homepage | 09.16.04 - 1:12 am | #

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September 10, 2004

from a great height...

it's pissing out, and so I took the bus all the way home because the parents went visiting.

odd note: Surrey and Delta look exactly the fucking same in the dark. I had to ask the bus driver to inform me where my stop was. He got it wrong and I had to walk an extra block, which is how weirdly faceless this place is.
___
The first week of school hasn't sunk in. I've been in Brock Hall the entire damn time. Sigal asked why I wasn't going to classes, and I explained, at which point she informed me that she'd been in exactly the same position before, which made me feel 10x better about the whole thing.
But, yes, Peer Advising is over, and Student Recruitment begins; training tomorrow for which I am stoked.
___
The weirdest thing about working in Brock Hall? Being the one who knows stuff. Last year, I'd MSN Aleks or ask someone who was close at hand, but this year, I was the one who knew and the one who other PA's would ask. I get the feeling that this is going to be a recurring theme in most of the stuff I get up to, and while it's a little unnerving, I think it's for the best.
___
Need to start hanging out with more people my own age; the end of this year brings the graduation of some of my favorite people, and as much as I don't want to admit it to myself, I'm going to need to rebuild a social circle.

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September 09, 2004

coupla thoughts:

I'm getting into Medúlla as an album now; both Oceania and Who Is It? keep surprising me with new nuances.
__
I need a haircut. This length is manageable, but it's starting to bother me.
__
I thought I could handle another year of commuting, but being reexposed to the teeming masses of humanity again makes me a little unsure about it.
__
Fucking suburbs. Honestly.

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September 06, 2004

post-party notes.

party was fucking ridiculous amounts of fun; only problem was that I should've taken a nap beforehand so people wouldn't have drawn on me.

...and I still don't know why Alasdair's number was on my arm.

props, trimble crew.

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September 04, 2004

dilemma

I started work at 7 today, and woke up at 6:30. This means I had to skip breakfast, and am now feeling peckish.

Unfortunately, the only vaguely edible thing in my bag is my two-six of Tanqueray.

Fuck.

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September 03, 2004

news // goals

news:
- now a campus tour guide.
- working basically all next week at Brock Hall.
- iPod, here I come!
- I won't sell you a shirt. I will come over and show you how it's done, or make you one as a gift, but I will not sell you a shirt. Stop asking.
- Interpol! woo!

goals:
- get licence.
- learn to ride a bike.
- go to 80% of all classes.
- join CiTR, undergo DJ training, then go work mostly for Discorder.
- do My First Triathlon.
- get a summer job that doesn't suck.
- flat stomach by summer.
- more! striped! shirts!

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September 01, 2004

lightning? check.
someone to curl up with and watch lightning with? we're working on it.

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in which I earn the enmity of my liver.

tonight: beers with P and I.
friday: steve's going away party.
saturday: trimblepalooza.
sunday: spark that screams release party.
tuesday: pixies.

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August 30, 2004

today.

spent the day hanging out with Neil and making shirts, which was awesome.
accidentally ditched Jordie, though; I forgot his phone was disconnected.

am making a shirt out of this, which will be sweeet. also decided to have monthly shirt-making afternoons with Neil because I don't generally see him enough.

aside from lack of response to applications, things are looking good.

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August 28, 2004

note to self:

if ever the opportunity arises, SEE BJORK LIVE.

current music: Bjork - Vespertine Livebox - Unravel
current mood: scandinavian

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in the midst of another binge...

...on music.

this will be one that's drawn out a little more, but will also be substantially larger than the last one.

it's started with a little Bjork; Vespertine, Vespertine Live, Vespertine Outtakes, and her newest, Medulla.

Now, I was expecting Bjork to do something out of left field with this one, because none of her albums are ever really like their predecessors, and where Vespertine had it's electronic textures, Medulla trades it in for people. I was intrigued by the blurb on Amazon, where it was declared to be a "celebration of the human voice" and became sorta puzzled when I read on her website how she recruited 3 world-famous beatboxers (Rahzel, Dokaka, and Shlomo), a Tuvan throat singer, and a pair of choirs.

And what does it sound like?
It's a giant mindfuck, listening to something that doesn't sound at all like anything the vocal chords can produce, and realizing that it's a person. Beyond that, though, I haven't gotten much further with it; it's a dense album and one that takes getting used to. I think I'll like it, though probably not as much as Homogenic.

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August 27, 2004

steps of t-shirt creation.

Neil asked me to detail how I made shirts, so here's a rough guide, without all the work I do in between.

  1. Find source image for shirt. For the example shirt, I used this picture of a Lion Rampant.
  2. Using Photoshop/Fireworks (whatever you have), transform image into one that is easily made into a stencil. Here's what I had after I finished with the earlier picture.
  3. print image onto paper side of freezer paper
  4. cut out stencil, using exacto.
  5. iron shirt
  6. iron down stencil onto shirt.
  7. paint.
  8. dry.
  9. remove stencil
  10. iron paint to set it
  11. enjoy.


[edit @ 12:29PM: images are down; will resize and let you know when they're back up.]
[edit 2 @ 8:20 PM: images are back up.]

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August 26, 2004

I'm in the viewbook and I look like death warmed over.

:\

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I thought I had a lot to say, but then I didn't.

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August 22, 2004

stuff:

  • I'm retiring OMQOCs. Deal with it.
  • If I could point and cause heads to explode, I'd do it. A lot. At work.
  • Lisa from Housing hasn't gotten back to me yet, which is worrying.
  • Interview at Arts ISIT this week; need to call back and schedule tomorrow.
  • It's hard to keep a straight face when senior management comes in and asks for ponchos.
  • While looking for a Lion Rampant to put on a shirt, I found this. It makes me giggle.
  • Finishing the "Don't Panic" shirt tonight; pictures up after the 42 goes on the back.
  • Dunno if I want to do COGS anymore; some of the required courses don't look too hot (MATH 102/104, CPSC 121/122), so I might pull a Britt and do a focus on memory/cognition and reevaluate the whole double major plan.



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August 21, 2004

shirt plans

I always have the awesomest shirt ideas that I forget to write down/sketch, so they're going up here:

  • Wrens
  • British Sea Power
  • Snooze Button
  • "do not make me defenestrate you"
  • some sort of Batman, possibly taken from Batman: Black and White
  • gloss-black Lion Rampant on a black t-shirt.

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August 19, 2004

the deal with naf's underpants:

just before last christmas, Nanessa and I were brainstorming a gift for Naf. At this time, Naf had full-on co-opted the phrase I'd sort of introduced to the gang, "well, shit."
And so, after some discussion and some laughing, we decided that we'd somehow get the phrase onto a pair of underpants (or several) for Naf.

I was actually planning on making Naf a shirt with an iron lung on the front and a quote from "My Iron Lung" on the back, or underneath, or something. At some point at work, Vanessa expressed difficulty at finding a gift for Naf, and so I thought maybe we could do underpants, because then I wouldn't have to buy them. The plan was that Vanessa would buy the underpants and I would stencil them.

What happened was that Vanessa got stuck in an orientation, and so we weren't able to make it to the mall on time, and so I had to go out and buy the damn things on Wednesday morning.

I realized that I had no idea what size I needed to get Naf, so I ended up having this MSN conversation Wednesday morning:

gerald // home: aleks!
gerald // home: I have the randommest question ever that you would probably know.
gerald // home: and it doesn't have to do with radiohead.
Aleksandra (okay, so South Kiosk is pretty disfunctional...): go for it
gerald // home: what's naf's underpant size?
Aleksandra (okay, so South Kiosk is pretty disfunctional...): ha ha ha ha!!
gerald // home: what?
gerald // home: it's a serious question.

and from there, I was all set to go to Metrotown and have the most hilarious shopping trip ever.
and then my mom discovered her blood sugar was super-low, and I didn't want to leave her alone, so we went to the Zellers in Richmond, where there was a healthy selection and I was bewildered.

so, I turn to my mother, and explain the nature of the gift (without telling her what actually goes on the back), and then ask her to pick some out that were comfortable looking and cotton. and then she did.

also, I picked up a nifty X-Acto kit with a bunch of spare blades and a special cutting mat thing.

got home, cut out the stencil, stencilled, let them dry, packed them up and went off to curry, where they were well-received by everyone including Naf's mom(!).

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August 16, 2004

my first shirt

see it here.

it's not as good as it could be, but I know where I went wrong, so they'll only get better from here.

[edit: shirt refers to this comic]

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August 14, 2004

dear my subconscious: whatthefuck?!

(I'm on the PC to check the directions to the airshow, to which my parents have won a ticket and are just leaving for...)

I had a dream that was epic like a miniseries; in two hours*, we'd established that I was an exchange student in a Midwestern hamlet, doing a lot of drugs to fit in, and that my love interest had been kidnapped.
I figure the rest of the slacker teens (composed, weirdly enough, of PNE people I've helped in the last few shifts) would band together, led by me, overthrow whatever evil conspiracy threatened us all, and gain respect from the adults or something equally as predictable and syrupy.

Mostly, though, I'm wondering: why me?

*alarm went off, turned it off and went back to sleep, dream started, woke up 2 hours later.

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August 10, 2004

I'm just a knife, cutting around...

Have been working on new design as of late (see also: new comment text), and so I haven't posted. Apologies.
__
Friday:
Council/BBQ was... okay.
Whole thing felt very highschool, especially since the party separated into distinct groups after about an hour. Bits were okay; the Dick Davis/Gavin chest hair battle was amusing, and I had a pleasant chat with Costa, who I hadn't seen in a while.
someone on council may want to move something about stupid comments (be it resolved that any comment during a meeting which causes more than 50% of council to sigh or roll their eyes will result in a smack upside the head by the councillor closest to the offender.) because you're going to end up with a lot of it otherwise.
ps: that motion would require 2/3rds because it'd be policy.

Ditched at about 11, and went to Graham's with the Karl. I had a lot more fun there, because it just felt more like a party. Dunno how else to put it, but the music didn't suck (and was suitably loud, but not too loud.) met a lot of cool people, and it was cool to see people I rarely see again. Swapped 19th birthday stories with Graham's roommate, Matt ("you remember your 19th birthday?" "yeah. it was four months ago." "doesn't that mean it was during exams?" "yeah, I wrote one hung over." "AWESOME.") and had a variety of interesting discussions with cute foreign girls (who were impressed that I was drinking Kilkenny. hot. ) also had a lot of fun with Vanessa ("so, how do you guys know each other?" "she's my boss.") it was good times all around. Got picked up at about 1, was mildly relieved at the lack of kegs, although I did chug the majority of a 500mL beer, and went home.
__
saturday:
Morning/afternoon weren't all that exciting. Slept in, went to the pool, dug through my closet and cleared out some old clothes as well as finding my old SLRs. One's a Pentax K1000, which has a serious ding in the outermost ring of the lens, meaning I can't put any filters on and that putting the lens cap on requires me to pay attention. Furthermore, the ISO has to be set one stop down or the shots underexpose, which blows. The other one's a Mamiya/Sekor 500DTL, which needs a new battery and a serious cleaning. I can't wait to get them both working again and see what shots out.

Later on, I headed down to the fireworks with Brie, Pat, Rob, Jordie, and assorted other people, and the fireworks were fun. I thought Sweden deserved the victory, and so Drew's outrage at China not getting the prize were puzzling. Took the newish SLR down with me and shot two rolls (currently undeveloped; should fix that), which reminds me:
a note: I've been using SLRs for close to five years. I know how they work, which aperture/exposure settings are most appropriate, how to stay still during long-exposure shots (need both hands, but I can do it), and generally, I know what I'm doing. Should you desire to sit next to me and give me advice on how to take every single shot, I will make you dead. Very, very dead.
Aside to Lana: I understand, now.

Post-fireworks, the gang went drinking, and I went and stood in line at Waterfront. I got into the line at 11:30something, and got on a train at 12:32. I spent a solid fucking hour standing in line with a bunch of greasy suburban kids all trying to pick each other up, headphones firmly applied and Ultravisitor providing a sonic buffer against the noise of a thousand teens trying to get into each others pants.
The train ride was no different, unless you count me turning up the volume to account for train noise and a closed space.

Bloody suburbs.
__
Sunday
Woke, moped about, killed time.

Headed to Rob's for evening drinking, but had to stop at the cambie liquor store first, because it's the only one in Vancouver open on Sundays. Picked up a six-pack of Harp and a two-six of Mount Gay for Doug, then headed down. Saw Alex for the first time all summer, hung out with Pat, played poker (badly), then mini-movie'd Rob attempting to make a Black and Tan with Guinness Extra Stout and Harp - it didn't layer, but it tasted just fine. I think widgeted beer is required for layering, because the nitrogenation affects the specific gravity/viscosity.
got picked up by dad, even though taking the bus to work from Rob's the next morning would have been easier, and had an uneventful ride home.

__
monday
work! it's fun, the people are cool, exhibitors are interesting, and I'm getting to know more of the people about the office.
IF I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE BEAT FOR ANOTHER SHIFT I WILL KILL.

worked on new design.
that was about it.

happy birthday, graham!
you may be old, but at least nobody asks when you're done high school.

__
today

Worked on new design.
Picked up plain t-shirts in black, dark green, and navy blue.
Have been working on designs for said shirt.
So far, a The Hipster Theory of Relativity shirt is in the works, and I don't know what else I want...

Suggestions?

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August 06, 2004

no! more! feud!

a) I'm in entirely too good a mood for a feud.
b) Quinn just enlightened me on how to make my own graphic tees.

all grudges are dropped.
my site still looks better, though.

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August 05, 2004

things are good.

  • hired. twice over.
  • I had a bottle of stout for lunch.
  • Partying tomorrow.
  • Brie's back Saturday, also fireworks!
  • whee!


opinion time!
this one or this one?

I don't really know what it's for at this point; I'm sort of toying with the idea of throwing down a "real" website, but I'm not sure.

[edit: sorry, got rushed and forgot to change the link. they're different now.]

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August 04, 2004

hrm.

my blog is usually the first thing I check when I have nothing better to do, so having this list up here will remind me that I do have things to do and that I should go do them.

    Things to Do:
  • learn XHTML/Dreamweaver MX
  • take more photos
  • find job #2, maybe one for school year
  • figure out finances, specifically:
    • Franz Ferdinand?
    • new CF card?
    • pants?
  • overhaul site?
  • pressure brother re: website
  • re-set sleeping patterns; get used to <8 hours again.
  • Alarm Clock Mix 2004?
  • time for my own site?


OMQOC: a prime MSN quote: "I just realized Scarlett Johansson was also in Ghost World, thereby increasing her hotness by a factor of dork."

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August 01, 2004

thoughts; long form.

a pair of thoughts I had at the fireworks, either watching everyone try and take digital photos of the fireworks (which is damn near impossible to do right), or watching Drew do the same with his PDA.

#1
I'm not huge on convergence. I like my gadgets separate from each other, so that their UIs can be optimized for each device, and even if I have to spend 4 times as much time learning, I'm happier.
This whole "cameras in everything" trend is slightly worrying; digital cameras embedded in things hardly deliver the shots that a consumer camera would, and come nowhere close to the quality of a pro(sumer) device. Of course, that's okay for most people - I don't think most people I know with cameras ever adjust their white balance or anything like that. A shame, really, because it'd help bump the shot from "okay" to "good". Even if the camera is only to record events, doing it well is never a bad thing*.
What I sort of wonder about is if the trend towards one widget will cause the standalone digital camera to fade into the west get dropped by manufacturers - Asia's already got 3MP cameraphones, which is enough for a decent 5x7 print. I can see the average user moving towards a cameraphone - the camera does the job and is integrated into the phone that would be carried anyway. I wonder, idly, if this trend would eliminate the standard consumer camera, or (as Rob suggested) leave a less contiguous market, where the extremes are marketed to, and cameras come either as super-basic ones or envelope-pushing professional models. I think what's more likely is the same thing that's happened in the PDA market; where four companies (Treo, Palm, HP and Sony) are continuing to produce a decently large range of PDAs, all of which have their own specialties, and all the others simply crashed.
I wonder which four will make it in the camera world...
Canon's in for sure; being the professional choice for both film and digital, I don't see them going away.
Nikon is also definitely in, because if one doesn't go Canon, they go Nikon.
I'd like to see Panasonic over Sony, partially because Leica > Zeiss, and also because Panasonic prefers memory formats that don't suck in addition to providing good kit at decent prices. Don't know if that'll happen, though.
Last spot leaves: Fuji, Sony, Kodak, HP, Casio, Konica/Minolta, and a plethora of others that I can't be bothered with, most of whom will wither away when the wave of firsttime buyers subsides. I can't really say who will stay and who will go, but it'll certainly be interesting to watch.

*it can be a bad thing when you find yourself stuck behind the camera at every event you attend, not only not having fun, but having that one guy who thinks he's a better photographer than you offering tips at every turn, so that the evening is spent watching other people have fun while resisting the urge to turn around and hit said person.

#2
Film is dying, and it's simply a matter of time before walking into London Drugs with a roll of 35mm C41 process colour film gets you the same look as it does if you walk in there with a roll of black and white today**. This is unfortunate, I think, because film has an experience that digital can't match. The struggling inside light-sealed closets as one tries to get the film onto the spindle, the measuring of chemicals and temperatures, the super-careful shake, shake, tap of the developing process, and the satisfaction of slowly pulling out a strip of film and seeing the moments contained thereupon. We're not even going to touch the magic of darkrooms, or the fun stuff you can get up to with a little light, mid-developing process.
What it sort of reminds me of, though, is vinyl. Vinyl as a consumer format is dead. It's reserved for enthusiasts and professionals, who own the proper equipment to show it the respect/love it deserves. Also, said professionals/enthusiasts get up to some extremely cool stuff with it that it's difficult/impossible to do with their successors.
I'm not saying "OMG FILM IS THE NEW VINYL, JUST LIKE PINK IS THE NEW OLIVE GREEN", but I'm wondering if it'll reach the same status, and what we'll start seeing in terms of envelope-pushing art when it does.

I can't wait.
and now I want a darkroom.

**namely, one saying, "Are you fucking nuts? Also, that'll take two weeks and cost more than one-hour colour processing."

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July 30, 2004

make! my! decisions!

do I go to Curiousa, or the Pixies?

Curiousa:
- $75 + gas
- at the gorge.
- four bands (three of which I know/like) + second stage.
- many people seem interested, but nobody wants to drive.
- scheduled to work that day.

Pixies
- $55
- at the plaza of nations
- sold out
- about half of everyone I know is going.
- unfamiliar with the band (shock, horror, etc.)

edit: going to the Pixies.

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July 28, 2004

geek lust.

Motorola RAZR V3

OMQOC: Quinn supports limits on freedom of speech!!

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July 26, 2004

news

  • Working at the PNE as of Friday; in the Employee Services/HR departments. Vanessa is my boss.
  • dropped off application to Peer Advise again.
  • Ran into Virginia, which was nice.
  • Was on a bus that rear-ended a BMW. Everyone was fine; I thought we'd hit a bump until someone yelped and I looked out the front windshield (and up from my book) to see a BMW 320i with it's trunk crumpled up and pushed a fair distance away.
  • Ran into Naf, which was (as always) super-awesome.
  • have lost weight.


Obligatory Mean Quinn Comment: Quinn Omori has been known to drink... Sleeman CLEAR. Take that as you will.

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July 25, 2004

public service announcements:

  • The Exit Pill now has a clearer description and a deadline. Check it out, and maybe write for it.
  • Gavin has a blog.
  • Rob Cross wants you to know that the livejournal robert_cross isn't actually him.
  • Neil is alive and well; apparently he's going to start wrestling bears.
  • Happy Birthday, Ryan Corbett! I'm sorry I have to miss out on the gong show party, but people won't pick themselves up from the airport.
  • Quinn claims his blog is more aesthetically pleasing than mine. Since I designed my own and he picked his off of BlogSkins, I am somewhat outraged and will be making derogatory comments about him until he retracts his original statement*.
*I'm not actually mad.

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July 23, 2004

coupla musical thoughts

At first, I thought it was bizarre that Interpol would name an album Antics, given that their mope/rock stylings seem fairly serious. I've been listening to it a fair bit, and it makes a little more sense; the lyrics contain references to such exciting things as heists*, zombies**, spies***, mistresses+, and taking bribes(?)++. Maybe I'm just reading too much into things because I am incredibly bored on transit.

*Not Even Jail
**A Time To Be So Small
***Slow Hands
+Take You On A Cruise
++Evil
____
I've started listening to Parachutes again, and I'd all but forgotten how much I liked the album; especially the title track and the ones that don't often get played on tour (High Speed and We Never Change come to mind.)

I think I'll do my exit pill piece on it...

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July 21, 2004

argh.

what I want:

    term 1:
  • psyc 217
  • psyc 205
  • phil 120
  • cogs 200
  • cpsc 100

    term 2:
  • cogs 300
  • psyc 300A
  • psyc 314
  • anth 140
  • phil 125

    what I've got:
    term 1:
  • psyc 217
  • psyc 205
  • phil 120

    term 2:
  • anth 140
  • cogs 200
  • cpsc 100
  • phil 125
  • cogs 300 (I'm not sure why it let me in, either)

looks like there's some serious add/drop form chicanery in my future, in addition to the standard jail and shame.

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July 19, 2004

stuff, part something in an ongoing series.

my hits, by country

...who's reading this in Indonesia?
____
voicemail haiku:

inconceivable
i missed your telephone call
leave message post-beep
____
nitobe gardens at night = awesome.
____
fun times with interpol's antics:

between this lyric:
Bottom of the ocean
Saw him under the boat
Saw you making knots
Saw you get the rope


and this lyric:
when the cadaverous mobs
In the doors to the tent


I'm pretty sure that A Time To Be So Small (the closing track) is, in fact, about pirates and zombies, and more specifically the only thing I can think of (although I suspect Karl will prove me wrong here) that involves both, Pirates of The Caribbean.

now, should we file it under (post)post-modern irony, or an accidental reference, or intent?

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July 16, 2004

...oh, Steve Martin

Josh directed me to his newest venture last night, and though I'm happier with a camera than with a pen/keyboard/what have you, I'm going to try and submit monthly, and maybe help out on production with the underground; part of expanding my horizons or something of that ilk.

anyway, here's something that's more about writing about music than about actual music, and as such, probably something that will kick around here instead of being submitted Joshwards:

So much of preference is based on experience, and not having shared the same experience as anyone else means that my preferences are bound to be different than anyone else's. Knowing this means I can't (won't) make sweeping "GO LISTEN TO THIS NOW" statements to anonymous readers because it seems supremely egotistical and really, not something I want to be doing.

There's more here, but I feel a need to play Earthbound and listen to the Cardigans while sipping iced tea, which is exactly what I'm going to go do.

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July 14, 2004

embarassing people! woo!

Rob Cross is so awesome I'm surprised he doesn't just explode.

I would be sad if he did, though.

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July 11, 2004

...

I've been writing on the bus; scattered thoughts about how long commutes turn transit vehicles into places of their own and not merely a means to an end.

Realized later, though, that I was avoiding what I was feeling and writing pointless commentary about the dynamics of attempted conversation (and how to quash any unwelcome ones) on buses so that I could delude myself a little longer; the equivalent of rolling over and going back to sleep for another hour when there's something that needs to be done.

...time to wake up.


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July 08, 2004

in which some things equal other things, and other things don't.

  • frozen raspberries + apple juice = the awesomest healthy fruity drink ever. it's hyper-pink, so beware if you're wearing light clothes and are spill-prone.
  • the gym = not so bad, now that the soreness seems to be subsiding.
  • my sister = control freak. there will be several more arguments.
  • elections canada hasn't paid me yet. fuckers.
  • parents are out of town until sunday.
  • Interpol's Antics = bitchin'
  • The Plastic Constellation's Mazatlan = awesome summer album.
  • Earthbound = like crack.



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July 05, 2004

RAWR GERALD SMASH

my sister's here while her husband's in Fiji for three weeks.
so far, I've been kicked out of my bedroom, have been told that I'm going to hang out with her Wednesday night (hence, no Chalet/Collins for me), and can't play music on speakers without her complaining endlessly.

and it's been a day.

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ow ow ow ow ow

back from gym/pool.
delta's rates are reasonable; $30 gets you a month of weightroom and pool use.
I seem to have forgotten how to swim.
oh, and my mom is my gym buddy - she has her underwater aerobics while I swimattempt laps, and do a little weight training while she's on the treadmill.

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July 03, 2004

lately

ran into a cousin of mine in the Punjabi Market on Main today. Was there keeping my grandmother and mom company, but had gotten tired of their shopping antics ("we need to go to one store and get one thing." somehow becomes a 3-hour trip) and was sitting in the minivan, idly reading the Georgia Straight and listening to random rock on the Fox when she strolled by, saw me, was amazed, and came over and knocked on the window. I, understandably, jumped out of my skin (I hate the sound of knuckles on glass.) and got out of the car, and so a half-hour conversation began.

we used to work together at House of Brussels, and I hadn't seen much of her since I'd started school; the odd email or phone call or run-in at a family gathering (sister's wedding included), and so it was a lot of catching up from what I knew, and that was well and fine...

...fuck, whatever. I'll get to the point.

She's off to South America in a matter of weeks. Is putting a darkroom in the back yard. Has a car, and an exciting job as a freelance writer/photographer; we had a lengthy chat about Chomsky and how she interviewed him, and then how he had tea with her, and invited her to Indianapolis...

...and all this because she's not bothering with school, but works down on Granville Island (some tea place) and has the time to do it.

So, I'm a little disillusioned. I have another 3, maybe 4 years ahead of me, spent frantically learning in school and frantically finding work when I'm not, probably stuck in the suburbs, working towards a degree that I have no idea what I'll do with when I'm done. It would be so easy; find a pair of shitty jobs, and work until I have what I need, then go travelling...

[there's no way to adequately denote large periods of time spent mulling, so read this and then go away for ten minutes and then read the next line]

...no. I've started this, and I'll see it through. Even if it takes six years, I'll still be 23 when I graduate, and there's still plenty of time to see the world and be a crazy idealist.

...right?

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July 02, 2004

...well, shit.

Google bans Gmail swaps and sales | CNET News.com

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July 01, 2004

dibs on australia!

seen on a bunch of blogs (Jon F, Spencer, Kate)...

You are an SEDF--Sober Emotional Destructive Follower. This makes you an evil genius. You are extremely focused and difficult to distract from your tasks. With luck, you have learned to channel your energies into improving your intellect, rather than destroying the weak and unsuspecting.

Your friends may find you remote and a hard nut to crack. Few of your peers know you very well--even those you have known a long time--because you have expert control of the face you put forth to the world. You prefer to observe, calculate, discern and decide. Your decisions are final, and your desire to be right is impenetrable.

You are not to be messed with. You may explode.


also:
from Neil



You're Siddhartha! by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in. This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in ferries.

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

I got The Handmaid's tale the first time, which was puzzling.

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