End of the week blues

So the week's been pretty good and Bonnie and I are actually pretty happy about the end of the week, but we're not happy about the weather. It's cold! It got down to 3 degrees Celcius last night! I guess October is tomorrow, but it's still cold!

Survivor: Discussion #2

Frankly last night's episode was a little boring. They're all still in that whiny stage and the one voted out was a pretty clear choice. I think Steph is going to blow a gasket soon, especially if they lose another challenge. I think it's time for her to step up and take charge - there's little danger of her getting voted out at this stage because she's still, in my opinion, the best player in the game; the others need her if they want any chance of winning any challenges. Speaking of which, is it just me or are the challenges getting stupider? Setting up an archeological dig tent? The immunity challenge was okay, but shouldn't it be a challenge that involves everyone at once? So my call for next week: Nakum: Nancy the nurse is out! She's too much of a "mother hen" for those "men" to handle; Yaxha: Lydia. Unless Amy busts her ankle completely, I predict that Lydia is going to proove herself useless to the tribe. Third time's the charm, I guess. Tune in next week!

New Wave Rocks

I've been listening to a lot of late-80s BritRock lately, and so here's a list of songs from that genre that I find particularly enjoyable:

1. In A Funny Way - Mercury Rev
2. Souvlaki Space Spation - Slowdive
3. I Wanna Be Adored - The Stone Roses
4. April Skies - Jesus and Mary Chain
5. Lips Like Sugar - Echo and the Bunnymen
6. It's All in My Mind - Teenage Fanclub
7. In Between Days - The Cure
8. Blue Thunder - Galaxie 500
9. Taste - Ride
10. Sing for Absolution - Muse
11. Soon - My Bloody Valentine
12. I Will Dare - The Replacements
13. Cartwheels - The Reindeer Section
14. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side - The Smiths

If you can think of a 15th for me to check out, let me know!

Parliament Hill pretty cool

On Thursday Bonnie and I visited the Parliament Building for a tour. After a pleasant stroll through security, we were led through various halls and foyers, including the famed "press area" right outside the House of Commons. We also were shown the entrance to the library, which is being renovated and thus closed, as well as the Senate. I learned that the Senate welcomes the Queen and GG since they are not allowed to set foot in the House of Commons. Accordingly, the PM must ask permission to enter the Senate. There were also many plaques and statues and paintings. All in all, an interesting tour through the history of our house of government. I recommend it to anyone who is in the area, Canadians or international tourists alike. We also went to the top of the Peace Tower. Here's a picture of the Ottawa River from said tower:

Survivor: Discussion #2

Okay, so I took a little break. But here's the good part: Survivor: Discussion is back! Last Thursday, though battling heat and stupidity, the Nakum tribe managed to win the reward challenge and immunity. By the way, I thought that the mud-tug-of-war-capture-the-flag challege was the stupidest idea they've ever come up with, and there's been some stupid ideas. Anyhoo, Morgan was cut, much to Stephanie's chagrin, for S thought M would be useful in challenges; Gary felt that Morgan was lazy and "didn't do much work around camp." This seemed stupid logic to me, for Steph is correct in thinking that if they have more members they will have a better chance of winning. You need to win immunity for that and little Lydia might indeed be a liability down the road, no matter how many minnows she catches. For all of Morgan's laziness, she may have been stronger in the end. What does Gary think the camp should be, a Holiday Inn? I think he's next to go, which would go against my earlier advice, but I'm sticking to it.

Macleans.ca | Inkless Wells

On a tip from my good friend Chubby (he's not really that chubby, it's just a nickname, like "Slim" or "Fats" - though Fats Domino is quite the rotund gentleman) I checked out Paul Wells's blog on Macleans.ca. It's an interesting take on political issues, and they're such short snippets that even if you aren't that interested you can still read them without much damage.

Lockout Economics

The newest conspiracy theory regarding the CBC lockout is that the CBC is making up for lost hockey revenue by saving on wages. The numbers work out and it really pisses me off. To think that this would even come into the decision! I am really not impressed with the CBC right now. Check out CBCUnlocked.ca for the whole story.

Bookninja

I was alerted to this site via Dave Hutton's page. It presents all the book news you can use and more - plus it has an awesome name. If anything, check it out for that reason. There's also more about the Googe library enterprise.
www.bookninja.com

Rockstar finale fantastic

The Rockstar: INXS finale was last night, and INXS now has a new lead singer: J.D. Fortune. The tattooed and tempermental singer is no doubt qualified vocally, but I was quite worried about his attitude and ability to get along with the band. However, my fears were not considered, and INXS chose the Nova Scotia native to front them for an album and a world tour. Will it last? Well, at the end of the show J.D. sang a brand new song with the band, "Easy Easy", and it sounded great. Marty and Mig, though excellent, proved that they didn't quite have it in the end, as Marty chose to play it safe with "Wish You Were Here" (again) and Mig inexplicably chose the volatile "Bohemian Rhapsody" to prove that they were capable of fronting INXS. J.D.'s performance of "You Can't Always Get What You Want", however, was just what the doctor ordered and it paid off. It was an exciting episode with little or no Brooke Burke to get in the way. I personally thought that Marty would be the one to lead INXS into the next era, but J.D. pulled it out. What will happen now for the band? I would like to see how the recording process (a new record is slated for release on Nov. 29) and world tour turn out; maybe there'll be a show next summer? Regardless, if INXS comes to a town near me, I will definitely check it out. The concept has appeared to work perfectly for the band, for this album and tour will receive massive media attention. Sellout, you say? Well, the members of the band are well into their forties and were likely to never have a hit album again; why not? And it's great music. That's not being sold out. Anyhoo, I enjoyed it and I enjoy the band. What a great show!

For the good of humanity?

CBC news reports that Google is being sued by a group representing authors whose works are reportedly being reproduced illegally. Google has been working with various libraries to reproduce works online so as to allow internet searches. The texts themselves are not available in full, but short passages are made available as Google search results. The Library Project, as Google terms it, seems to allow much quicker access to information and literature; the class-action suit, however, feels that "It's not up to Google or anyone other than the authors, the rightful owners of these copyrights, to decide whether and how their works will be copied." The authors can refuse to be a part, though it requires a form from them to Google. Okay, the question in all of this mess is simple: is Google wrong here? Is the overall project, a massive undertaking in conjunction with such academic libraries as Oxford and Harvard, misguided? Should Google take responsibility to digitize texts, or is it up to the authors 100%? My libertarian friend will argue that each person has a right to control his or her own property, but Google's action will ensure that thousands, if not millions, of texts will be preserved for, well, eternity, I guess. Are authors feeling threatened by the march of digital culture? Is the book itself in danger of fading away? Is Google, a massive corporation, doing this out of greed? What's the answer here?

Paul McCartney? Is That You?

Here's an interesting article in Slate. Has everyone seen the new Fidelity ads that Paul McCartney has been doing? Personally, I have a mixed opinion. Writer Seth Stevenson goes through the motivations of "selling out" and whether "selling out" is even a valid term anymore ("the sell-outs have won"). He also uses a great term, which I think describes pop culture better than any other: "post-integrity". I've always been a John or George fan, and Paul is, to me, without scruples ever since he dared to change the writing credits to some Beatles songs to "McCartney/Lennon" from the agreed-upon "Lennon/McCartney". Anyhoo, this article sparks some interesting ideas.

Ottawa Mourns

The news that has been dominating the headlines the last 12 days is the disappearance of 18 year old Jennifer Teague. She disappeared after a late night shift at Wendy's on September 8 and since then it has been the main story. Obviously we feared the worst and yesterday her body was found in a nearby wilderness preserve. We all watch CSI and Without a Trace and Law & Order and the like, but this time it was an actual person with an actual family. I can't remember something this tragic happening in a city in which I lived. There's always murders and terrible tragedies, such as the high school kid who was stabbed in the chest a while back, but for some reason the abduction of a young woman seems much worse. Everyone hopes that situations like this can end happily, ie she is found before the worst comes to pass, but it is highly unlikely that the police can do much in this situation. Now the hope is that the guy is caught and brought to justice. I've never been a proponent of the death penalty, but cases like this cause me to rethink that position, if only for a second. If you'd like to read the article about Jennifer, you can find it here.

Chubby, this one's for you

Yesterday was my 27th birthday (yes, yes, I know, one step closer to 30, blah blah blah), and Bonnie made me a special birthday supper as well as a special birthday dessert: Birthday Pie.
Well, she didn't so much as bake it as buy it, but it was damn good and my day was great. We watched the Emmys as well, which is never boring or ridiculous.

Yes, It's a Tim's

Okay, if you look closely, in the left-hand side of the picture there is the unmistakeable Tim Horton's sign. Besides, everyone recognizes the signature "Timatecture" of the building to the left of the larger strip mall. This view is from our balcony; I felt that it was important to let everyone know that there is a Tim's nearby and thus we are going to be okay.

The BOBs - BEST OF THE BLOGS - Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards 2005

If you've checked out CBC.ca Arts lately, you may have seen this already, but if not, check it out: http://www.thebobs.com/thebobs05/bob.php. It is the second annual event, showing that blogs are growing in credibility by the day. I'd like to think that I contribute to the blogosphere in a positive way; don't forget to vote!

Travel Diary #3

Just before the sun went down on Southern Ontario, Bonnie and I stopped at a small place called Gibson Lake. It was a serene little place, next to the highway but away from the noise. The water was crystal clear and calm; the reflection and sun position made for this fantastic picture. Enjoy your Sunday.

Survivor: Discussion

This Thursday marked the beginning of the 11th edition of Survivor. Set in Guatemala, this Survivor has big shoes to fill, in my mind, as the last two were especially addicting. The tribes were set at the get-go for this edition, with the Probst telling the tribes that they will have to embark on an 11-mile hike to the best camp and the tribe that arrives first gets the good one, as well as flint. He revealed that they will have an assortment of tools, as well as an extra one each: with that he announced Stephanie and Bobby Jon from the last Survivor! It was a brilliant, brilliant idea. Everyone knows that Bobby Jon, though perhaps a little, shall we say, "simple", was a great player; and Stephanie, as Probst said, is perhaps "the best female to play the game." I agree, though several other women actually won the game while Stephanie didn't, but that's almost moot: Stephanie was the very last person from her tribe to survive until the merger. She even spent a day or two on her own, which is no mean feat, especially if you've been demoralized as much as Stephanie had been. Anyhoo, she's my favourite, I guess, and I am glad that she's back. Those two and the other survivors set out on the trek through the jungle, eventually arriving the next day. The Nakum tribe, or Bobby Jon's tribe, got there first, relegating the Yaxha tribe, or Stephanie's tribe, to the lesser of the two camps. The jungle trek was gruelling, even by Survivor standards: several castaways were crippled with dehydration, including Bobby, whose legs were locked in position for most of the second day due to cramping; Blake was throwing up all the time; Judd (the new Boston Rob, though from New York and not good looking or even mildly appealing in any way) threw up, too, but the biggest injury came thanks to Jim, the token ex-Marine, who seemed to tear a bicep muscle. Steph was pissed at her tribemates - who can blame her? They all seem like duds, especially the "wilderness guide" who didn't appear to know anything about the wilderness.
Anyhoo, it should be the usual drama and action and then some, with the Guatemala backdrop looking particularly challenging. Be sure to watch!

Oh, and due to Jim's arm, I'm mostly sure, he was voted out.

Watercooler sites

I know that every blog is more or less a "watercooler" site (talk like you would around the watercooler), but a comment I left on the previous post (check it out - my sister embarrasses herself real good) got me thinking: are there sites out there actually called "the watercooler"? And do they live up to the expectation that a watercooler brings? I found some, posted them, talked about them around the watercooler:

1. The Watercooler: "ModBlog Description: A virtual version of your office watercooler, where I'll discuss anything that has zero relevancy in the grand scheme of things. The movie from the night before, the weekend of football, the videogame that's currently driving me crazy, the ridiculous news item I just read... etc." This describes the-watercooler.com. It is a comprehensive site, with animated gifs to contests to polls to general opinion - as well as just bs. I think it will make my daily roundup. http://thedvdguy.modblog.com/core.mod?show=main

2. The Cosmic Watercooler: It's a site dedicated to news and discussion of science and technology. It's pretty cerebral for a site with the word "watercooler" in the title. However, it does break new ground: who says watercooler talk must be about entertainment? This guy proves that watercooler talk can be about anything. Furthermore, just as everyday janes gab about movies and such around the watercooler, maybe people in the entertainment business gab about science. I bet Mary Hart or Pat O'Brien talk about NASA or the federal budget. Scratch that, we know what Pat O'Brien talks about. Anyhoo, if you want to check out the latest science news, check out Cosmic Watercooler: http://cosmicwatercooler.blogspot.com/

3. Water Cooler Games: This blog is different once again: "a forum for the uses of videogames in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment". Breaking new ground, just like the last one. Maybe there are more "watercooler" sites about things other than entertainment than those about entertainment. This is a remarkable new development. I always assumed that the watercooler was about what was on t.v. last night. However, that is all hearsay, for I have never actually worked at a place with a watercooler. I mean, my parents had one, but all we talked about was my job situation or when I was going to move out. Not very entertaining. Anyhoo, check it out: http://www.watercoolergames.org/

Here are three very different sites all claiming to cover watercooler talk. I feel like Kramer: "It's a watercooler discussion about watercooler discussion!" I got a little tired of searching the web for sites with watercooler in the title, but if there are any others that you have heard about, please let me know. Have a great Saturday!

Survivor: Probst

Jeff Probst is back at it with his "fire is the key to life on the island" and "the tribe has spoken". Survivor: Guatemala is up and running, and the first episode did not disappoint. I remember looking at the clock at 8:30 and thinking, "a whole half hour more? Awesome!" Only a few shows, House and the O.C. , for instance, give me that feeling. I've decided that I will not discuss results here, for many of you (Chubby I'm looking at you) tape it and watch it later. However, by Saturday I will go into a full Survivor synopsis. So you have two days to get up to speed. If you can't wait that long, or have already watched it, check out the official website: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor11/. Have a pleasant Friday.

Photo-A-Day

This site was a featured site on the blogger homepage. It's got some pretty neat photos. He is a professional photographer, hence the professional-type quality; some interesting perspectives on things. Anyhoo, my vague descriptions aren't doing any good. Check it out!
http://photo-a-day.blogspot.com/

Another Book List

Monique's recommended The Story of B got me thinking: what other recent books would I like to read? I don't usually buy hardcovers, but if I were to buy five, this would be the list:

1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safron Foer
2. Shalimar the Clown - Salman Rushdie
3. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
4. A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
5. Until I Find You - John Irving

Any other recommendations? I'm talking fiction, fun, and fancy-free. What books should I read?

Hot again

It's hot once again in Southern Ontario. Yesterday was a scorcher, as was the day before, but today looks to be a bit cooler - only 25. Humidity is at 80% - which, to the best of my knowledge, explains this picture:
It's still quite hazy; did you know they have smog in Ottawa? It seems unbelievable, but it's true.

In other news, I went for a run yesterday. It took me 15 mins to run to the U of Ottawa campus. I hit the Rideau Canal pathway after that, and made my way back home. It was a long, hot run that I might have to reconsider in the future. There are a lot of other places to run here; I'll never get bored, that's for sure. Lost, maybe, but never bored.

Recommendation of the week: there are two, actually.

1. My dad really recommends Ian Tyson's new record. I'm not sure what to say about that.

2. My friend Monique really enjoyed The Story of B by Daniel Quinn: "It's definitely in my top 3". I'm glad that someone else employs a top 3 (My top 3 are The World According to Garp by John Irving, Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood).

Hot in the City

So with the humidex here in Ottawa it's 38 degrees. Whew! Saskatoon doesn't even get that hot. I'm afraid to go outside. This picture is perhaps my favourite from the trip out here: This is Lake Superior about an hour from Sault Ste. Marie. The road curves with the lakeshore and every so often there's a lookout point; this one is certainly memorable. We got into Sault Ste. Marie pretty late, but if we had arrived sooner we would not have been able to capture this image. Stay cool everyone!

Finally!

Today Bonnie submitted her thesis to the College of Graduate Studies. She's done! Huzzah!

Where the Hell is Matt?

My friend Stew sent me this link - it is hilarious and should lift your spirits when you are blue. Click on "Dancing" for three minutes of pure fun. This guy has been travelling the world for 6 months. Check it out!
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Travel Diary #2

This fine fellow was found perched atop a pole in Ignace, ON. The drive through Northern Ontario to Thunder Bay (Day 2) was relatively incident-free. There were some interesting hills around Kenora and some great lake views, and the towns were few and far between, something that is quite different from Saskatchewan or Manitoba. I've put all of our trip pics on a website; if you email me I can send you the link.

Top Five CDs

I haven't posted a list for a while, so I thought I'd give you my list of favourite cds from the last calendar year or so. I highly recommend each and every one of them.

1. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes

2. Make Believe - Weezer

3. Antics - Interpol

4. No Direction Home: Bootleg Series Vol. 7 - Bob Dylan

5. Funeral - Arcade Fire

As I said, these aren't exactly new cds, with the exception of the Dylan, but they're good ones. You can find them at Best Buy, incidentally.

Travel Diary #1

I figured that there are a lot of stories and pictures to go with those stories from our trip that may not have been reported earlier. This section will report those stories, one by one, so that everyone can get the full story of our trip. This is the first.

The Flat Tire.

As we were rolling out of the driveway in Saskatoon, literally seconds from beginning our trip, Bonnie's mom noticed a badly damaged right rear tire. We phoned U-Haul (who were actually quite helpful, strangely) and 2 hours later we were on the road with a new tire. We didn't get into Winnipeg until midnight that night, and we felt that our trip was destined to be excruciating.

TGIF

Okay, so it's Friday! Bonnie and I plan on doing some major unpacking this weekend - we are still pretty much living out of boxes. But we have our phone hooked up as well as the internet, so I feel much closer to civilization. Our main task this weekend: find a grocery store. It looks as though we'll have to haul our groceries on the bus. We have not been able to locate a grocery store near here, and so maybe tomorrow we will explore and find out where to go. We also found out that the laundry room is in the basement; we are sure that our clothes will get stolen. I guess we'll get a lot of reading done while waiting for laundry. That's a luxury we miss - having the washer and dryer five feet from our kitchen. We haven't put any posters up on the wall yet. I think that will make the apartment a little cosier. Here's to the weekend!

Thursday - First Day of School

Bonnie's first class was today - Early Canadian Fiction. It goes from 5:30 to 8:30! And we used to complain about 2 hour classes. We went to look for books today, but, like U of S and possibly every other university bookstore, the lineup was out the door. Bonnie has an office: a room with three desks shared by six people. She's excited. The campus is like 2 blocks from downtown in one direction and three blocks from a Broadway-type area in another. It is weird to be on campus one block and then the next in the middle of a major commercial district. We'll get used to it, though. In other news, I went to Best Buy today. I know we've all seen the commercials, but Saskatoon doesn't have one of its own. It was nothing special - a blue Future Shop. I took my bike out for a spin, too; the streets are narrow, but the major routes have bike lanes, saving me from the many buses that fly by at regular intervals. Biking seems to be a major sport in Ottawa. Though we have to carry our bikes down the elevator, it will be an enjoyable way to get around town. We're still looking for a grocery store nearby, but luckily we've found the nearest Beer Store (they have a store called The Beer Store. No jokes). The picture is the view from our balcony. More to follow.

Parliament Hill

Since our email is not yet hooked up, I'm sending this from the Ottawa Public Library, just down the street from Parliament Hill. We checked out Bonnie's school today - it was a bit overwhelming, but the campus looks nice and the english department will be a good space to work in. The library is pretty cool, too; not as big as the U of S, I think, but they have these sensors in each aisle so that the lights only come on in that aisle if there is someone in it. The rest of the campus is old-style exterior with modern-looking interior and though there isn't a "bowl" to speak of, it is a nice arrangement of buildings in limited space. Overall, I give it an A: not as nice as U of S (A+), but if you've never seen U of S you might think it is the nicest campus in the country. We're going for supper in the Market area downtown and then back to Alta Vista apartments - it is a solid 40 minute walk to the campus but an easy ride - the pathways are organized so that there is little traffic to trifle with. We'll update you with pictures as soon as we get our interweb hooked up. Bye for now!

At the Locks

We’ve made it to Sault Ste. Marie. Thanks to Sharon for updating our trip – Northern Ontario is certainly tricky. You actually have to pay attention to the road! Winnipeg to Thunder Bay was mostly bush and a few rock cuts, things you’d have to go pretty far north in Saskatchewan to see. Thunder Bay was a nice stop, though I am glad we did not spend more time there. We saw my grandma, who’s doing fine with the exception of the loss of my aunt, but otherwise TB is a town I’m happy to leave in my past. Saturday morning we headed out for the Soo, and we quickly realized that we weren’t in SK anymore. The road follows the lakeshore and thus is an up and down rollercoaster of rock cuts and cliffs. At one point we ascended to 600m. We stopped in my dad’s hometown, Scheiber, and ran into an old friend of his (Texaco Joe); it was neat to see where you come from. By the time we stopped in Sault Ste. Marie, it was 10:00 and dark – as you know, the lack of a moon makes the highway quite dark. The scariest parts of the drive were the downhills that turned to the left at the bottom, with a semi headed in the opposite direction, thus blinding you for that split second when you need to turn. It was a little tense. Of course, the U-Haul doesn’t “haul” ass so much; there was constant line of impatient vehicles behind us. Yet everything has turned out fine so far and we are excited to arrive in Ottawa today. Inexplicably, Bonnie is still on Saskatchewan time, insisting that she needs to sleep because it’s “only 6am”. I’ll go wake her and we can be on our way