Iron Giant Interview

Some other lovely Moncton folks were in town this weekend - the boys in Iron Giant. Love the band, love the company even more. I showed up to the venue and was greeted by the guy who'd interviewed Ryan and Dana a few weeks ago. I couldn't place him at first, until he asked if I wanted to come and hang out in the men's bathroom for the interview since I missed the last one. I politely declined. Here's what I missed out on:

Warning: nudity + obvious grossness. it's in a bathroom stall. you do the math. pretty funny, though.

This one's for the geeks

Amazon.com has the entire series of Arrested Development, one of the best shows ever made, on sale for only 28.99US today. All 3 seasons. 28.99. I'm pretty sure 80% of my friends already own every season, but just in case you need another copy or want to hook someone else up, today's the day to do it.
Going to write my last exam in a couple hours. Obviously, playing around on Amazon is the best way to prepare beforehand.

Thank YOU, Ryan North!

Something you don't see every day..

Drinking from my new favourite mug today (some sort of horseshoe/"M" logo on one side, and the other side CHARLES written in red), I looked up from my computer and saw a dog's face staring at me through the window above me. Smallish dog, maybe a terrier. Naturally, I screamed like a little girl and shot up from my chair. The dog didn't even blink. Then I realized that it wasn't looking *at* me, but behind me, where there was a dog bone on a plate on my coffee table. I forgot that I'd tripped over it yesterday and put it there, intending to bring it back to its owner when I went downtown last night. After my heart started beating again, I opened my kitchen window and threw the dog the bone (heh). Then spent the next 45 minutes measuring the windowsill and looking at curtains online before realizing that it really wasn't worth the trouble.
I think I should write a novel about it. Good story.

Motorleague

So, I had an amazing visit from my friends in Moncton this weekend.We had some good times, some Bad Times (live), and it was fucking amazing. The only regret is that after they left it just made me miss the maritimes even more. Luckily, I'll be able to see them in about a month anyway. Two videos for y'all, in case you want to feel a little of what it was like having them around. This is an interview given to hardimes.ca by Dana and Ryan (Don, Nathan and I had to go and get pretty, and pick up gear from my apartment). It's gold. Even if you have no interest in the band, you should watch it.

I Will Sing When You're All Dead

On Wednesday, I was at the bar, playing on someone else's computer, trying to think of other things to check online before getting back to an uncomfortable conversation. I wandered over to the morning news, part of my morning tradition (you know what I mean, the websites you check in a certain order every morning? right?), because they do an afternoon news update that's sometimes very amusing. If you're never checked it out, you should. It's got a nice little roundup of real news stories and just plain fun links on the sidebar (serious up top, weirder as you scroll down). Plus, the profiles and articles that are on there are great. Some of my favourite writers are contributors.
At any rate, when I checked tmn that night there was a new profile story up on Dmitri Nabokov, son of Vladimir. The title? I Will Sing When You're All Dead. I meant to read it that night when I got home, but I just got around to it this morning. It's fascinating, detailed, and well-written. If you have a few minutes you should read it. Even if you're not a Nabokovophile (I just made that one up, but it's pretty awesome, right?) like me.
Some other great TMN articles that I've particularly enjoyed over the past little while, if you're so inclined:
Henry Rollins and the Emergence of Hardcore
Boats We Missed, by the tmn writers
The Non-Expert: Is He Cute, or Is He British?
TNE:Today We Learn About Canada
And Great Lyrics Quiz Rock Roll The (these are classic songs with the words of the lyrics listed in alphabetical order, and you've got to figure out the song... some are easy, some are ridiculous. try it.)


This morning, I'm ostensibly cleaning my apartment like mad. In reality, I'm watching The Little Mermaid. Don't worry, I'm planning on fast-forwarding through the scary parts. Sebastian's kind of a douche; I'd forgotten about that.

Fanboys!

OK, so I should be in class right now, but this is way too awesome to leave for later. I finally (FINALLY!) saw the trailer for Fanboys today. If you're reading this, you should know what this movie's about: a group of dudes who want to break into Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. There's a cancer subplot/reason thing, but whatever. It looks fucking awesome. Veronica Mars? Check. That funny guy who lives in my neighborhood and was on Undeclared? Check. Incredible SW cameos? Check. SW-based plotline? Check. Kevin Smith? Check. Fucking William Shater? CHECK. Hope this release date sticks; there have been a million of them over the past year. February 9th, bitches.
Here's the trailer, for your viewing pleasure.

Academic Pursuits

For some reason, I can never spell "pursuits" correctly. I know it's just "pur" and "suits," but I can't seem to reconcile the two. Why can't syllables all just get along in my head?
I've been writing a paper all morning, and all afternoon. It's technically due in 20 minutes. I am definitely not going to class. For some reason, I'm completely mentally blocked. It's a subject I find fascinating - legal pluralism, and its application in Supreme Court cases in Canada - but I'm all over the place. Normally I can write 8 pages in about 2 hours, no problem. I guess normally I've already done the readings too, but still. I'm on hour 5 and I've only got 3 pages done. This feels like an episode of Dr. Who where I get stuck in some sort of space-time continuum and keep going back to what I've already written but not recognizing when I wrote it or why it made sense at the time. Weird, right? Also incredibly frustrating. I even missed what was sure to be one of the best classes of the semester in my Rights and Freedoms course - R v. Morgentaler. I had all kinds of wicked background on that case, plus lots of info on the next SCC Morgentaler case about the Halifax abortion clinic, but instead I had to sit here writing this stupid piece of shit. And I mean that; I know it's not going to be one of my better, fluid, here's-my-clear-and-well-stated-argument-that-you-will-use-as-an-example-of-wicked-writing papers. The SCC decision is 80 pages, the legal pluralism article I need to reference in relation is 30 pages, and the paper's just 7-8. I'm just going through frantically, finding evidence and building my arguments as I go along.
The next time I'm all set to hang out and do nothing instead of writing a paper with one of you, remind me of this moment. I'm going to try and refocus. And maybe eat some Greek salad (I'm also inexplicably adverse to eating anything today, which might be contributing to my lack of focus, but I'm just 100% not hungry. When does that ever happen?!).

Tattoos.

I've been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while. I could never decide on a really good one; I'm far too fickle-minded to really commit, you know? But I think I've finally picked a winner:



BAM. Pretty serious, amirite? Those of you who aren't gigantic nerds should know that it's the Jedi Order symbol.

The Genius of Brian Fuller

I started watching Dead Like Me with my old boss, in the middle of the first season. I didn't like it at first, then I was bored one day and decided to give it another shot. 5 years later, re-watching season 1, I remember how fucking awesome this show is.
The series follows George Lass, an 18 year old misanthrope who dies after being hit by a flaming toilet seat that fell from a Soviet space station. She joins the ranks of the Undead; no crossing over into the whatever-the-fuck-comes next, but instead becomes a grim reaper. Her new boss is Rube (played by the ever brilliant Mandy Patinkin), who doles out the assignments to her and the rest of their little group. Lost yet? OK. Reapers don't kill anyone, or decide when someone dies, but they are given post-its with names, locations, and times. They subtly take the souls of the soon-to-be-dead, so that the soul can cross over without getting trapped in the body. There's more to it, but you'll have to watch to really get it. This lifestyle's contrasted with George's day job (after all, reaping is a public service and there's no payment involved) at an Office Space-type temp agency, as well as insight into her family's attempts to move on after her untimely death.
It's a black comedy that's filled with poignancy, seriously ironic deaths, and fuckups (these particular reapers are around for murders, accidents, and series of unfortunate events). The characters are intriguing and flawed, and Callum Blue's British hotness is worth sitting through Laura Harris' irritating accent. Brian Fuller (who's responsible for Pushing Daisies, a show I hear is awesome too) was booted off the show partway through the first season for "creative differences," but it's still worth checking out through to the end of the second season. It's cancellation was met with a raw fury from fans a la Arrested Development and Veronica Mars, and apparently there's a straight to DVD movie coming out early next year that was shot here in Montreal. No Mandy means it might just suck, but I'll be watching anyway.

For Your Consideration.

I got up this morning, thinking about how quickly I could spit out a paper (I did 2 in about 3 hours yesterday - suck it, Concordia). (Wait, I love you - I watched a Seinfeld episode in class on Monday). (Oh come on, don't be like that). (Fine, take a few days to cool off, then we'll talk about it, okay?). I started my morning routine of teeth-brushing, putting the kettle on, and opening up the ol' internets... and then I simultaneously get an email and text message from Concordia saying my only class today is cancelled! Oh internet, I love you so much. I checked out the Concordia website - just in case - and it's confirmed. Ahh, days off. They're much more fun when I have money and things to do, really, but I'll take what I can get. I'm idealistically planning on doing some laundry (if I can scrape up 10 bucks to do a bunch of loads, anyway) and getting my apartment all set for possible guests this weekend, as well as writing that paper and another one for next week. It could happen.
Otherwise, I plan on wasting as much time as possible. In that celebratory vein, I decided to link up some of the favourites I've been storing up for the past while. I read a lot of weird news/blog sites that always give me some interesting stories, and I save 'em all up for future lolz. In the holiday spirit (because apparently there were flurries this morning? wtf Karley?!) I want to share, in case you need to waste some time on a computer today as well.

Emilio Estevez Decides to Make D4 himself.(About damn time. Thanks, Emilio!)
Millenium Falcon Wedding Cake Gallery. "Being a nerd has never been so delicious!"
Saved By The Bell Quote of the Day. Even though it hasn't been updated in a while, I still love the archives. And SBtB.
Video: Kirk Cameron Proves God's Existence with a Banana.
Members of Twisted Sister Now Willing to Take It.
David Sedaris' Analysis of the "Undecided" voters from the New Yorker.
Morbid Home Decor.
Video: John McCain Accidentally Left on Campaign Bus Overnight. (The Onion, guys. It's The Onion.)


Enjoy.
ps-Just remembered I was going to post New York stories. Those'll come later.

Not a moment too soon...

Stepping in to replace the age-old tradition of rickrolling, please welcome the Barackroll. No, I'm not kidding. Must be seen to be believed. Since the rickroll is practically ancient in internet years (apparently new Firefox comes with a rickroll filter?!), they needed to make some changes. Check it.

New York.

18 hours on the bus, hundreds of dollars, very little sleep... and so fucking worth it. Pictures now, stories to follow.

New York - Columbus Day Weekend

Against ME!, Ted Leo, Future of the Left

oh hai!

Well, I finally took a step toward my life-long goal: appearing on Jeopardy. That's right. I share a bond with Alex Trebek (we have the same birthday, which I think gives us a little somethin' special), and I keep track of how many questions I answer correctly every episode (tonight: 39/58). Last week when checking out the Jeopardy site (because that's how I roll) I noticed they were having an online qualification test on October 1st. Bam. Nothing in the requirements saying I had to be American, so I entered. Tonight I took the test - no results yet - and from those, there's a random selection for contestants to go to an audition city and try out in person. Mine would be Boston. It's a long shot, but at least I'm trying! There's a college tournament for spring break, I think - that's 11 or 12 contestants, and I've at least got a chance, right? Right. Keep your fingers crossed.
Mad Men is awesome. The latest episode was wicked from start to finish. Killer dialogue, a few actual lulz, Marilyn Monroe's death, and drama abound. Dexter premiered this week too - finally watched Sunday's episode this morning. Worth the wait.
Anyway, that's what's keeping me busy these days. Cable shows and trivia. Not bad.

Dear Kate:

This is a cake. I'm thinking we hire this guy for the next birthday coming up.. Don's?
This is from Cake Wrecks, who normally post side-splittingly funny comments and pictures of terrible cakes and/or misprints. Check it out. Hours of fun.

Warning: ER hazardous to your health

I had to check the news source twice to make sure this story wasn't on the onion, but it's totally cbc: Man dead 'for some time' in Winnipeg ER before staff alerted. You can't make this stuff up.

FYI

If you want to read a real writer's turn at Emmy liveblogging, check out Sarah Hepola's here because she is much funnier than I will ever be.

A Very Special Evening With...

I never (EVER) watch awards shows, but tonight I feel like there's really nothing else on. Besides, I have homework to do, and actually getting it done will clear my Tomorrow list. So! Live-blogging the Emmys! Usually, live-blogging is used for political speeches or something equally irrelevant; for this reason, I think tonight's rather appropriate. Time to go on about something very few people care about!

8:05 - Show's a-startin'. What a bore. Reality host nominees as hosts? What, the 5 most recent American Idol winners weren't available? They're just as boring. C'mon. They drone on and on about how they have nothing prepared, and they haven't written anything, and they went to Ryan Seacrest's house (to be honest, I'm not entirely sure which one he is, or why he's famous). I see Heidi Klum, that Hollywood Squares guy, the Survivor guy, the guy who reminds me a little of Jeff Goldblum but who's not as interesting except for his germaphobia (OH! REFERENCED IN THE OPENING! WELL DONE!), and then some blonde dude. I'm bored already... maybe this wasn't such a good idea. CSI must be on somewhere, and it's got to be funnier than this shit.

8:32 - Juuuust got better. Neil Patrick Harris and Shatner both lost their nominations, and those were the only two I really cared about anyway. But! Bright side! Ricky Gervais is presenting... something... and he and Steve Carrell are having a nice moment of staring each other down. Apparently last year he won for Extras, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert gave his Emmy to Carrell because Gervais wasn't there. Now Gervais is trying to steal his back. I bet the tech guys are going crazy right now. "What the fuck is this?! That guy from the Office looks pissed, do you think he's in on it? Oh SHIT! He TOTALLY IS! OK, it's ok everyone, let's just let it play out... wait for it... ok, let's cut off some mics... never mind, they're finally getting to the nominees."

8:47 - Tommy Smothers, I think, just got a great lifetime achievement award from Steve Martin. Now, I have no idea who this dude is, but apparently Martin wrote for him, and that's good enough for me. What is it about a standing ovation that makes everyone tear up? I know I am. Maybe that's just me. But I'm pretty sure it's everyone. This little old dude's going on about liars in government or something along those lines, and everyone's applauding. Way to go.

8:50 - Conan just burned Katherine Heigl. OHSNAP

9:01 - Josh Groban's doing a medley of TV theme songs. This is really confusing, and pretty annoying. Quick, ones I can identify: Jeffersons (now), Simpsons, Friends, Law & Order chimes, Addams Family, Twilight Zone, Baywatch, uuuh.. Love Boat?, Brady Bunch, Cops, Fresh Prince (nothing better than an opera singer doing Will Smith), Late Night show medley, something about men, Gilligan's Island, MASH, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, lady with a Dorothy Hamill(?) haircut. OK, thank god they've moved on to Alec Baldwin. This I can understand. He's talking about being a perv. Love it. To give you an idea of how long that song was, it's now 9:06.

9:08 - Laura Linney just called someone a "ballast." Now I need to look it up and see if it's an insult. God, this is a lot of work.

There are a LOT of commercials on TV. No wonder I don't usually bother. Oh! A Beautiful Mind's on! That British dude's fi-iiine.

9:15 - This is apparently a "Laugh-In" reference presentation. I don't know what they're presenting for, or what's going on. Ehhh? Whatever the category was, it went to Jon Stewart. Bravo. Great job getting a pen jabbed in your eye in The Faculty, Jon Stewart, because that's what I decided this award is for.

9:22 - nervous Pushing Daisies director-guy is reading a loooong speech. He's totally gonna get cut off. I wish Paul Lieberstein had won, or Paul Feig because he's a genius. So far The Office is 0 for 3, so I want a win soon. Lee and Gene, my favourite Office writers, are up for the next one (writing). Let's see what happens!

9:25 - fuck! Tina Fey. Oh well, 30 Rock is awesome too. But I'm in love with Gene Stupnitsky, and not Tina Fey.

9:33 - Martin Sheen looks really short. I'm looking that up. 5'7".

9:46 - I've gotta say, I have no idea what half of these shows and movies are. Never heard of 'em. But the guy who just won (for something called "John Addams" flashed to Tom Hanks, and I think he's wearing rhinestone glasses. And they just cut to commercial in the middle of his speech. oh, and they all seem to be telling me to vote. Can't believe the news of the Canadian Federal Election's such a big deal in Hollywood!

spoiler alert: RUSSELL CROWE IS SCHIZOPHRENIC. Back to the Emmys.

9:56 - Kathy Griffin just yelled at everyone to "GET. UP." for Don Rickles. His response: "why is everyone standing? is it a Jewish holday?" After some more quality banter, he adds, "there's a guy waving at me. What, is there a plane landing?" That's probably going to be the highlight of the show, I should quit while I'm ahead.

10:10 - Don Rickles just won another Emmy, with another standing ovation. More tears! More Tears! "It's a mistake! I've been in the business for 55 years, and the biggest award I got was an ashtray from the Friars Club in New York." Hah! No one's trying to rush this guy off the stage. I bet he could speak for an hour, and no cue music would be on.

10:12 - I think Kate Walsh just gave the most flat introduction to an award. EVER.

10:27 - Looks like Alec Baldwin's got a hot young blonde on his arm tonight. Score, dude. He just won for actor in a comedy (and well-deserved, too.. but I did want steve carrell to win something), and I love watching the whole show just stand up and get all crazy-like. It happens with every group, and it's awesome. So cute!
Oops, sound problems! Someone's mic isn't working... nope, we can hear Vanessa L. Williams again. Too bad.

10:30 - time for the montage of people who died last year. Way to bum everyone out, Emmys.

10:42 - Tina Fey wins again! Says she won because she acts like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, so thanks to her. Well played, Tina Fey. Well. Played.

10:57 - Final award goes to Mad Men, well deserved. Disappointed that Boston Legal didn't win anything, but at least Shatner was on stage.

Well, I hope that if you didn't watch (which I'll assume is most of you) you don't feel like you missed anything. There's a cheesecake brownie with my name on it waiting in the fridge.

Man for Young Girl to Become My Wife

I'm a regular reader of the pop culture blog YesButNoButYes. Lots of great stories, links, funny rants. All-in-all, an enjoyable stop.
I hadn't looked at it all weekend, but then this morning I decided to catch up. Man, am I ever glad I did. There's an excerpt from a 2 page personal ad from some man in his 50s, looking for a new wife - but not just any new wife. First, read through the 19
"Quick Disqualification" items. Then move on to the qualifications - he's detail-oriented, that's for sure. Knows exactly what bra sizes he's okay with, and which he isn't.
Then come the religious aspects of the ad, which explain that he is a True Christian looking for a wife to serve and obey him (this is one of my favourites): "I want a woman whose goal is to be praised by God with the same praise God gave Sarah, Abraham’s wife, that is, God praised her for her servant attitude and obedience to her husband even to the point that Sarah called her husband lord and master."
Another favourite line: "I only want a girl who can legally marry me, so don’t worry, girls under a certain age must get written permission from their guardian to legally marry."
Brilliant!
Edit: just found another gem..."A woman who has sex with a man before marriage is gullible and lacks sense and has no self respect, but rather low self esteem. "
If you've got a few minutes, and I've made you insanely curious, click on over here to check out the rest of it yourself.

Cheesecake Brownies

I made a cheesecake a few weeks ago, and I mistakenly bought an extra 8 oz. package of light cream cheese. I've been thinking about how to use it up in a delicious way, and I found some interesting recipes but none were exactly right. Since I was characteristically lazy today, I opted for the simplest and quickest way possible to make them. And they are awesome. I couldn't find a recipe that gave good ratios for the cheesecake part of the ingredients, so I made up my own!

Here's the deal:
-mix one of those pre-made brownie packages as per directions. If you're up for it (and it takes almost no time anyway, but I already had a decent pile of dishes to do and I didn't want to add more measuring utensils), make your own. Enough to fill an 8"x8" glass baking pan, anyway. After that's all mixed up, in another smaller bowl take your softened cream cheese and beat it until it's nice and creamy (that's what she said). mix in one egg and 1/4c. sugar, and a dash of pure vanilla extract (another option would be a dash of strong coffee or a teaspoon of instant espresso powder). Mix it up real good, with electric beaters if you have them, or a spatula if you don't (like me. my wrist's aching like a bitch [again, that's what she said]). Spread half of the brownie mix into a greased brownie pan, then throw in the cheesecake part. try and spread it evenly over the brownie layer if you can. Spread the other half of the brownie mix on top, and use a knife or a blunt spatula to swirl the batters together which makes a nice marble effect on your final product. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes - when I first took it out I thought it wasn't all cooked, but the toothpick test worked. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing. So good!

SUSPICIOUS VANS

I can't believe that this is a real website, but I'm impressed. Suspicious Vans!

yum,

Today I give you... a Full English Breakfast set on Flickr.

One-Pot Rice & Pork Chops

Sometimes Karley posts awesome recipes she's tried on her blog, so I'm going to do the same. This is quick and easy, and doesn't take a lot/any real attention. I used 3 boneless pork chops (and I think it'll work nicely with chicken too), a package of wild herb rice, no parsley (because I'm afraid of leafy green herbs), and doubled the pepper. Also, I covered it with thai chili sauce afterwards. But I'm sure it's great this way too.

1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cumin
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cayenne pepper
4 bone-in pork loin chops
2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
2 cups (500 mL) chicken stock
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) long-grain rice
1 cup (250 mL) corn kernels


In bowl, mix together half of the parsley, the garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne; rub over chops.

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown chops, turning once, about 4 minutes. Transfer to plate.
Drain off fat in pan. Add stock and 1 cup (250 mL) water; bring to boil, stirring. Add rice and corn; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in remaining parsley.

Nestle pork and any accumulated juices in rice; cook until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed and just a hint of pink remains inside chops, 10 minutes.

makes at least 4 servings!

Print for the Drive Home

One of my favourite writers, Sarah Hepola, wrote a great little story for The Morning News Today: The Secret Journal of Levi Johnston. Checkit.

Today's Obvious News:

Officials at a leading U.S. family group are calling for advertisers to boycott TV network the CW over a controversial scene in the new Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off 90210.

Just 10 minutes into the new series, which debuted in America last week, lead actor Dustin Milligan appeared to be receiving fellatio from a girlfriend in his truck - and the scene has upset the Parents Television Council.

In a statement, PTC president Tim Winter writes, "The CW Network has openly, wantonly and eagerly violated every business tenet of the broadcast industry.

"They shocked viewers during the family hour by depicting high school children engaged in oral sex in their car. It's such a sucker punch to viewers and a lot of families. No one tuned in to 90210 thinking, 'Hey, maybe I will get to see (oral sex).'"

...*hand raises*
Pretty sure we all did. C'mon. Were you expecting some scandalous hand-holding?

I went to a rave last night, and all I could think of was "why, oh why, do so many people enjoy this experience?" I mean, it's repetitive music, spastic dancing, floors slick with spilled booze, and a huge crowd of people. I honestly don't see the appeal. I suppose if I were really really high it might be fun, but even then I can just see it being a little too trippy and I think I'd start freaking out about all the flashing lights.
I repeatedly left to go and get some air (and enjoy some not-so-fresh air), mostly just to get out of that room. I ended up calling a friend (for lack of a better term) in Alberta, because he was someone I knew would understand why I needed a break, and provide me with some great conversation. That's the thing about this person - great conversation. I could talk to him for hours. Hell, I have talked to him for hours. We only got about 20 minutes in, because it was finally time to get the hell out of there. We've seen each other at least once a year, back home, but we've never seen each other in our own cities. The subject came up again last night, and it seemed to be the most earnest and concrete plan we've ever discussed.
Once I got home, I kept thinking about this possibility. I actually planned out exactly what we'd do, from lunch in the old port to curling up on the couch to watch Spinal Tap (why Spinal Tap? I don't know.), and I felt like it was really happening. Not even in a drunk, hallucinatory way. It was awesome. When I woke up this morning (okay, almost this afternoon), I looked around to see where he'd gone. It took about 6 minutes to remember that he was not, in fact, here in Montreal yet.
The fact that he has a girlfriend might make this a little more complicated, but for now I'm choosing to ignore that variable.
Lately I've been having very resolving dreams. Whatever issues and problems that come up during the day are solved overnight. I wake up feeling relaxed and efficient before realizing that nothing has been dealt with. The most frustrating part is forgetting how I resolved certain things.. and those I can remember aren't exactly logical in real life. Whoops.
What makes someone have incredibly vivid dreams? For the past few months I haven't had anything surreal going on in them; it's just day-to-day life, and all the aspects I can remember are pretty mundane. They could have actually happened (not necessarily today, but in the past few years). I really want my subconscious to give me something wacky someday soon, something truly dream-worthy. Let's work on that.

Writers of The Office, Take Note

Andy Bernard should refer to Jim and Pam as "Tuna and Tunette" at some point in the new season. That one's yours to keep, guys. Free of charge.

Saturdays.

I love Saturdays, especially rainy ones like this. I've spent the entire day doing the following:
-buying cookie-baking supplies,
-not baking said cookies,
-watching The Office Season 4 DVD extras,
-while having 50 First Dates on mute in the background,
-wearing a t-shirt that has a picture of Superman on it that has Ladies Man written beside him,
-reading Mindy Kaling's blog ,
-indulging in the perfect Sunday Morning Fantasy (see Oct. 2007 of aforementioned blog).

Should my hair be brown? I think it should. At least for a while. We'll see how that goes.

I'm going to take some great pictures of my apartment soon, once I start treating every room in here like my bedroom. Ironically enough, I have used every room in this apartment as my bedroom except the kitchen and my actual bedroom. Literally. I've slept on the bathroom floor, dining room floor, and in the living room on the couch since I moved in. Long story (actually, not really - my wonderful moving friends had to take apart my bedframe to get it in, and I didn't want to make them put it back together thinking I could do it myself but I seem incapable of using any kind of tool [that's what she said?]), but there you go. I moved almost a month ago, and I still haven't unpacked a few boxes and suitcases. On my dining room table right now is a skirt, a belt, a gum wrapper, 3 notebooks from the past 7 years, a box of garbage bags, and an empty shoebox that I can't seem to throw out. I think shoeboxes are the kind of thing you can't throw out because you think that, someday, you WILL use them for something, storage or sending a wicked package to someone, and you never know when you'll get the chance to buy another pair of shoes and get another sweet free box. Maybe your brain doesn't work that way, but mine does. Some of the other shoebox-related ideas I've had over the years are:
shoebox window planters for herbs (before I remembered that they're made out of cardboard).
shoeboxes as the perfect catch-all for the crap beside your bed that you're too tired to put away properly at the end of the night (nothing scandalous, just notebooks or regular-type books or remote controls).
shoeboxes as a classier-looking garbage can in any room, for when you don't actually want to walk all the way to a garbage can.

This list could go on forever, of course. But I'll stop, for your sake as well as for my multitasking brain. I think I'm over stimulated.

Mad Props to R. Stevens for this topical Diesel Sweeties comic:

see more hipster robot webcomics and pixel t-shirts

For the record, it was 8:47 when I left the house. Shame, shame. But, in my defense, I forgot that I needed to put out the garbage before I left, and I also had to kill a scary spider.
Last night I kept trying to just turn off the lights and watch tv until I got tired enough to turn it off and fall asleep. The most annoying thing kept happening to interrupt me, however - there was a lone mosquito flying around my apartment. Whenever the lights were on, I couldn't see it. When the lights went out, it immediately buzzed around in front of the television. This, of course, just strengthened my resolve to kill the goddamn thing. Every time I saw it, I jumped up from the couch and switched the light back on. It's like it had an invisibility cloak, or chameleon powers or something. What a piss-off. It probably sucked a pint of blood while I was sleeping, the bastard. I saw him again this morning, but (again) had no luck in ending its miserable life. Balls.
I got a phone call from an old friend from Chester at 3:20 this morning. I wanted to tear his head off, because the reason he was calling was to tell me that he was in Montreal (which I knew, from the 4 text messages he'd sent me earlier in the evening) and to say "uhhh... so what's up? wanna hang out?" Three o'clock. C'mon.
I have yet to call him back, but I will before the end of today. I've got a good Today List going, actually. One thing I can cross off? That's right, the garbage. Awesome.
I broke down and did 2 loads of laundry last night. Surprisingly, I think I only have 3 more loads to do before everything's clean again. The laundromat is 3 blocks West of my apartment, and fortunately across the street from Burritoville (home of amazing homemade nacho chips and delicious burritos) and practically next door to my favourite neighborhood bar. Oh, the good times I'll have! I just have to make sure I don't forget about the laundry altogether after eating and drinking for a while. Hmm. Potential problems ahead.
Time to do some theoretical law conundrum reading. I know there was something else I wanted to comment on, but for now I'll just throw out a few worthwhile links.
Cover story on John McCain, just because we haven't done one in a while. (The Onion, my favourite news source)
Some interesting quirks and superstitions, inspired by a twitter post.
Feeling that election fever and want to vote for something RIGHT NOW? How about Don Levandier's Hockey Night Theme? Trust me, it's awesome.
Another favourite Onion story: Pedophile Nervous for First Day of School.

I like a song that can say "I like olives/I like you too/so when I tell you that I love you don't test my love/accept my love/don't test my love/because maybe I don't love you all that much." If you can incorporate food into the bridge, I think I'm set.
That song is Dan Bern's Jerusalem, by the way. A friend made me a great mixed CD a couple weeks ago, and I can't stop listening to it. I love the fact that most of my friends have impeccable taste. The Frames were a key component of that CD as well; if Muxtape was still an active site and not being investigated by the RIAA I'd post Fighting On The Stairs. If you have a real player, I think you can download this track (or some form of it) here.
It's now 8:05, and I was planning to be at school by 8:45 to beat the rush into the bookstore. The damn Frames search kept me busy for 15 minutes. I love the internet! Such an easy time-waster! This morning I'm going to see my bank account go into cardiac arrest over the price of some of these books, so I'd better just get it over with.. I'm betting I can go from sitting in front of the computer in pyjamas with a cup of coffee to Dressed and Out the Door in... 25 minutes! Go on, TIME ME!

Link of the Day

I'm pirating wireless from some neighbor this morning, trying to figure out where the best place is to grab coffee (I have no coffee or filters, but I have tea bags and milk for tea, but THEN I realized I don't have a kettle). In my usual morning site check, I came across this. This dude in England recreated a bunch of famous photographs using lego, and some are pretty serious. There's something very serene about seeing a burning lego monk for some reason. Anyway, worth checking out.
I'm moving still, into my beautiful new apartment. Today is the day I get internet (AND tv!), which I am looking forward to immensely. I'm looking forward to finding my cold medicine and getting some coffee even more right now, so I'm just gonna make that happen. I'll take some sweet pictures when it's all set up (probably next week).

News Update!

http://www.drhorrible.com/
This is a must-watch for everyone. In the world. AMAZING. Neil Patrick Harris + Joss Whedon + Nathan Fillion + Felicia Day = genius. A musical about a superhero and a supervillian? An internet sensation? Laundry songs? What's not to love?
Get on it.

Time to move.

This morning at ten after five, the fire alarm in my building went off. No big surprise, it's happened a few times in the past year. What's kind of sad is that no one even pays attention to it anymore. I went to the landing once, and there were three other people there, out of what must be at least 50 people in the building. My policy since then has been to stick my head out the door, and if it smells or seems smoky then I get on out. If not, it's back to whatever I was doing in the first place. Not today, of course, since that was sleeping, and it's hard to sleep when it's almost time to get up anyway (and there's a blaring alarm going off about 10 feet away). I spent the time watching an episode of extras, and I was juuuust about to go back to sleep for an hour or two when the alarm went off again. It just stopped, and now the trains are starting up, so I think it's pretty well shot for tonight. Sorry, this morning.

Chester.

Today I learned how to make homemade phyllo pastry samosas. I'm in Chester, at my mother's house, for the next couple of days. She's decided that it's time for some bonding activities, which so far have been going riding and cooking.
I still can't wait to go back home to Montreal.
I plan on sleeping in as late as possible again tomorrow, and while she and her husband are golfing I'm heading back to the city. More updates soon!

Halifax, Day 3.

I think most people who have lived in Halifax for a while have the same love/hate relationship with the city as I do. It's great to be home, and great to see certain people; it's also so small that you run into everyone you don't want to see as well. I wish I could get one without the other, but I don't think it's going to happen.
The VKNGS/Establishment show on Saturday night was great. Ben was here from Toronto, so we had a nice little reunion. Leah and I rocked my dinosaur earrings for a while. You know, good times.

There's been a bit of family quality time, and a lot of my dad and his wife leaving and assuming I'll watch the kids. That's what's going on right now; I'm watching my brother play MarioKart while they're out getting groceries (it's been over 3 hours, so I'm assuming they've gone to the grocery store in Truro).
I'm going to visit my mom and her husband tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll take a million pictures since I'll have nothing else to do. I started reading The Castle by Kafka - I'll have a report in by the end of the week.
It has rained nonstop since I arrived Friday morning. Here's hoping it clears up, even just for a day.

Things You Should Check Out This Week

For your perusal:
Hamlet as a facebook news feed.
Iggy Pop's Hilarious Tour Rider (worth reading every word of technological babble, because there are jems hidden in there. JEMS!)
Hot dog quiz.
Tramp Lamps!
Video: Homeland Security at ComicCon, looking for suspicious characters.
Ten movies that should be made into broadway musicals.
See Also: Steak Cakes. (I think a vegetarian I know is getting one of these for her upcoming birthday. Genius!)

Poppin' The Champagne

Although the past few weeks haven't really been "busy," they have been... "event-filled."
I had a birthday! It was full of happiness and fun. I started with breakfast with Karley, which was awesome.com and came with AMAZING presents:
That's my Star Trek Comm Badge pin. I also got wicked velociraptor earrings that were made by Autumn. And a shapely cocktail shaker, so we can have (can has?) girly drinks and parlour games nights. After breakfast I went on a little shopping excursion, resulting in more credit card charges than I'd planned on, but hey. It was my birthday. I'm allowed. I got a very sweet message from my darling Scottish grandfather. Ellen came over for hangouts and brought me a lolcats cake!

She also gave me a classy, profesh umbrella! Pretty in Pink. Oh, and practical. I love a little umbrella alliteration.

In other news, I'm moving soon. This week has been moving prep time. I get my new apartment on Friday, technically; I'm actually moving in around the 15th-18th. I'm going to do this place right, with a fresh coat of girly paint and nicely arranged furniture. I head to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Friday night with my friend Scott, and I'll be sure to take lots of driving-all-night pictures again. In fact, I'll probably do it just to stay awake. I'm counting on Scott passing out around 3, which will leave me on the road in the dark alone for at least 3 hours. If anyone has keeping-me-awake music ideas, hook me up.

I napped for a couple hours this afternoon, which I'm choosing to interpret as my body preparing for the drive. In reality, I actually did some moving preparation and packing this morning, and it tired me out.

I've started writing letters again, and I'm going to go back to one of them now. Sleep tight.

I realize that I may not be the most refined person around (considering the fact that I just stirred a drink with a pen, anyway), but I do appreciate good manners when I happen across them. I had a lovely conversation with a kid today who had the best manners. Ever. I won't go into a "kids these days" diatribe, but it's rare to see someone under the age of 30 who knows which is the salad fork at the table.

What ever happened to the makeout party? I wish we could still have those. Maybe for my next birthday I'll just have a sweet, 7th-grade style makeout party (complete with badly spiked punch and mid-90s angst rock). What's bringing this nostalgia, you ask? Freaks and Geeks. I'd seen an episode or two before, but I've been watching for 4 episodes straight now and I can't stop. If you haven't seen it, you should. Right now.

Tried to get a "good night's sleep" last night, by going to bed around 11. After walking a lot, and being downtown all afternoon, I figured it'd happen. And it did, I guess, until about 4:30 this morning.
I actually woke with a start, like that weird expression that makes no sense to me. I sat right up in bed (so fast that I got a head rush, actually), having a small meltdown about what had just happened in my dream. The weirdest part of the whole thing was that as soon as I was awake I knew it had been a dream, but I chose to continue wondering how such a terrible thing had happened to me.
Reality has no place in my house in the morning.

Today, I give you links to amuse:
How to know if you're a hipster,
Literary tattoos,
A new take on book reviews,
And something kinda scary.

Of Note.

This is both disturbing and raises a good point. Can children be removed from their homes based on parents' beliefs? There was actually a Boston Legal episode that was kind of similar (I thought I'd just heard this story before, but then I realised that James Spader probably wasn't really involved and thus it had to be a storyline to something).
I was going to post a list of article-y fun links for the week, but I think it'll wait until I get back from looking at colours with Karley.

Hot as balls yesterday. I woke up this morning at 3:41am, to some lovely (and needed) rain outside. Unfortunately, it stopped around 5. When I checked the weather at 8 this morning, after about an hour of sleep, it was already 32 degrees when the humidity was factored in. 32! I stepped outside a few minutes ago, and noticed that it's raining again - and delightfully cool and breezy outside.
I'm trying to figure out what exactly the deal is with Muxtape. I don't understand the specifics - like, can I just put up whatever songs I want? It's fair game, as long as it's only 12 songs from different artists and albums? If anyone can clarify, let me know.
Update: I'm just going to post some songs because I think I'm allowed. Check 'em here.

Creeped out dot com

I'm watching An American Crime. This movie is beyond creepy, and not just because of who's in it. I can't believe Gertrude Baniszewski was let out of prison.

I think I'm going to compensate with Office Space afterwards, because I won't be able to sleep if this movie is the last thing I see tonight.

Lil' Miss Get Around

I wonder if anyone gets that song reference.

It's been almost a month. Poor, neglected blog. Here's a little resuscitation.

[...I just spelled "resuscitation" right on the first try. Point!]

I went to Toronto. Someone on the street tried to convince me to do porn. [I didn't.] I visited Meredith and Josh. I saw a crazy Norwegian band and not much else, thanks to unnecessary bullshit. It was a nice weekend, filled with good food and lovely people. I drove home with Don, Nathan, and Jonah who were recording their new record with Ian Blurton that week. Even though we left Toronto at 3am, it was a lovely drive. I counted 8 dead things on the side of the road (well, I only really started counting once the sun comes up, so I'm sure there were more), and we had breakfast at Café Orange once we got to Montreal.

Since then, it's been a whole lot of nothing. Actually...that's not entirely true. I've got a new career idea, and it's called Avoiding People Who Want To Hang Out With Me. I assure you, I'm fantastic at it. If I could combine that for my love of the internet and bad sitcoms, I think I'd be a very rich girl. I've got a few key targets I'm avoiding, and any number of interchangeable weirdos besides those, so my plate is very full. Everything I do, from running out for groceries to going for a drink must be carefully considered: who could I run into? what are the possible side effects I'll have to put up with if I stay here for a while?
I've discovered something else: I have an incredibly low tolerance for most people these days. My conversation skills are severely lapsed as well, apparently, because I can't seem to keep my end up without resorting to inane classics like "so, where are you from?" Ugh. I hate it. It's probably because of my reliance on a lack of interpersonal contact as of late, and the fact that most of the people I meet these days are horribly uninteresting. And irritating. There, I've come full circle now, and still don't have an answer as to why I'm getting fed up so quickly. I used to be great at all of that conversation-with-strangers crap.

I know there was something I wanted to do on July 6th, and I'm blanking on it now. Shit. July 13th will see me getting an autographed copy of David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames for my birthday (what? you don't give yourself presents?). I'm trying to decide on a plan for that oft-celebrated day, and I can't quite bring myself to just let it pass by. See, as with most people, I love birthdays. Especially my own. But every year in the past five or so has inevitably ended in disappointment. Last year had heaps of it - from making my own cake to working at 5am (and being sent home at 6, having made about 40 dollars) to having my boyfriend completely forget about it - so I can't help but be a little optimistic that this year will finally see me celebrating properly. Then again, I should just not think about it, but since I have hours on end available to muse about nothing I'm sure I will. I think I'll fill it up with Andrew W.K., The Cure, and booze. Sound good? Yeah, I think so too. Feel free to join me. I'm turning 21, so I might convince a friend to drive down to Plattsburgh for a drink with me.

Because we can.

Oh, by the way, that picture is around 5:30am on the drive home. I just thought a little bit of sunrise might be nice.

Oh COME ON

That title is for you, Ellen. A Gob Bluth reference.

I went to a lovely dinner party tonight. Great girls, great food, all around good times. I stopped by Honey's on my way home, and as I walked in my door about 45 minutes later I found myself thinking, "Oh, COME ON!"

Here's the sitch: I went to the bar to have a drink, then head on home. I sat down next to a random dude I've seen in there before, and trust me when I say that I did not look outlandishly gorgeous (especially relative to some of the girls that come in on the average Friday night). Now, after 1 drink and 2 cigarettes, and some light conversation, this dude sits back down and says to me, "so, I'll finish this drink up and then we'll head back to your place?"
As you all know (and by "all," I mean the 1 or 2 of you that read this), I'm not exactly antisocial. I'll keep up my end of a conversation, and I've been known to flirt with someone on occasion. However. I do believe in a certain level of courtship, or at least more than half an hour of conversation before I'd bring someone home with me. My reason for this post is that I want to know why this person would get such an impression. I've gone over and over this conversation in my head (the topics were basically engineering, electricians, Ben Franklin/his syphillis, and nothing more in depth than that), and I'm still trying to figure out where this invitation may have inadvertently crept in. I even made a point of not letting him pay for my second drink. I mean, COME ON. Men cannot be at the point where getting spoken to equals getting laid, right?
For the record, as soon as he said it, I couldn't help but throw in, "Well, I am. You're not." Too mean? Nah, I didn't think so either.

By the way I tried to say I know you, from before

I found this today:

I got kissed today. Not just a kiss; not one of those kisses that mean next to nothing and are taken at a desperate moment for a connection with someone, anyone. I've had more of those than I'd care to admit within the past year or so. Also the kisses that want to bring something back that I always thought was still there. I'm realizing that those kinds of kisses are no good for anyone, and continuing with them is only going to make everything in that relationship harder to bear.
This was a kiss that's been coming for a couple of weeks. The looks, the comments, the calculations of accidentally running into each other on a regular basis...they all added up to make that moment. I don't care if anything else comes from it; relationship, no relationship, friendship, nothing at all-it was that kind of kiss that makes you not care about anything else all day but perhaps having another one just like it.
-Feb. 8, 2005
As important as that kiss was to me then, it took about 10 minutes to figure out who it was with. So much for memorable.

I just wrote a long blog post, and now it's all been erased. Shit.

It's 2:51am, and I'm still awake. By "still" I mean that I fell asleep around 7pm and woke up at 12:30, thus missing the show I was supposed to see at Brutopia with some friends. I am one of those people who blows her friends off. Who knew?
When I'm focused on this blog and not simultaneously watching the 30 Rock finale, I'll try to make one of these Day in brands things.
I went to the Jean Talon market today, on a mission to buy fresh, organic produce (and probably save some money along the way). I got up at 7, proudly marched down to the metro station with a big bag ready for fresh ingredients, and got there by 9 (luckily, still pretty quiet there). I got about halfway through Snuff on the way there and back, and I'm still trying to figure out if I like it. Anyway, I did buy some nice vegetables, but I also got too much fresh pasta, a bunch of bacon (bacon? I didn't even think I really liked bacon.), and I mistakenly paid $17 for two organic chicken breasts. So much for the cheap aspect of the market; I think I spent more today than I normally would on a week's worth of groceries, and I didn't even feel like eating any of it (except that delicious bacon) all day. Maybe I'll make some lemon chicken and potatoes tomorrow.
I've had enough of the Halifax news, it's just getting weirder and more depressing. I'm going to cut myself off of the Chronicle Herald cold turkey - except for the sudokus - starting.... NOW.

I'm going to add sweetbreads to the growing list of Food I'll Never Eat.

I need to put together some serious Ikea furniture, and I haven't the slightest idea of how to do so. I love their instructions (I mean really, that little dude who gets confused and calls Ikea is so adorable), but they're damn confusing without any words.

T-Rex and Utaphor

I think Dinosaur Comics is one of the most engrossing ways to spend 2 hours. Seriously. Awesome.