Month: June 2006

Awoogula

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I must be in a quirky mood. Both the new Regina Spektor disc and Hidden Cameras disc are really good. Metacritic generally agrees about the former, as does Pitchfork. The AV Club really digs it. Awoo, the Cameras disc, isn’t officially out yet, but eMusic seems to carry their catalogue so I’ll happily download it in the fall when it’s released.

.:.

I have never seen an episode of Leave It To Beaver. I have never seen an episode of The Brady Bunch either (that I recall; I think my brothers watched it when I was a kid), nor have I ever watched an episode of Gilligan’s Island.

I don’t think this is particularly odd; these shows all aired before I was even born. However, mentioning to people that I haven’t seen these shows usually sends them reeling in disbelief.

[tags]regina spektor, hidden cameras, leave it to beaver, brady bunch, gilligan’s island[/tags]

Rooooooooooooooooney!!

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Wayne Rooney finally made his comeback from a broken foot, entering the 0-0 game against Trinidad & Tobago, a game England was supposed to have dominated, in the 57th minute. The crowd had been chanting for him since early in the first half, nearing a roar when he began warming up on the sideline.

Rooney didn’t score — Peter Crouch (83′) and Steven Gerrard (90′) did — but the second he entered the game it took on a different complexion. From that point on the ball hardly left the T&T end, and the chances got nearer and nearer until Crouch headed home a great ball in from Beckham. Good sign for England, one supposes.

Too bad Rooney himself didn’t score…it would’ve made for some pretty incredible TV.

[tags]wayne rooney, david beckham, peter crouch, england, trinidad, tobago, world cup[/tags]

"Alice Cooper held my hand once."

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Scott Adams asks his readers for their most incredible, shocking stories. The results are all over the place, from guardian angels to gashed forearms. Check it out.

.:.

From Yahoo: Rove evades charges in CIA leak scandal.

Karl Rove, the political master who choreographed President George W. Bush’s twin White House triumphs, will escape charges in the CIA leak scandal triggered by the political firestorm over Iraq.

Really? Jesus, I did NOT see that coming.

.:.

It’s fun to watch Antonia Zerbisias box Jonah Goldberg’s ears.

[tags]scott adams, karl rove, cia leak scandal, antonia zerbisias, jonah goldberg[/tags]

Je suis fatigue.

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My wife just told me I haven’t been posting much lately. I guess it’s ’cause I’m busy. And tired. I can tell the tired bit ’cause this morning, when she got up to go to the gym, I didn’t wake up at all. Normally I’m a very light sleeper and wake up at the slightest bit of noise, but this morning I was dead to the world — slept through her alarm, through her getting ready, through the cats being pains in the ass…everything. That tells me that I must be exhausted, and no wonder; usually after a course I take the weekend (if not the entire next week) to recuperate, but this time I had the laptop on from morning to night working on the paper that’s due Thursday. That’s almost done, but I’ve already started reading the next textbook because of how heavy the workload looks, so I haven’t had any break.
That’s to say nothing of trying to catch up on work after a week away.

I don’t mean to whine. Part of me kind of relishes tough situations like this, but I know that I’m no longer able to propel myself along on caffeine with no sleep for weeks on end like I could when I was at Delano. I just need a little rest. Friday evening can’t get here fast enough.

Wayward and parliament

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Two trailers: Pulse, which I really only want to see ’cause it has Kristen Bell in it, and the remake of The Wicker Man, which I really only want to see because it gives me an excuse to yell “Oh God! Oh Jesus Christ!” every few minutes.

.:.

Speaking of movies, we watched Match Point (imdb | rotten tomatoes) yesterday. I have to say: not at all like the Woody Allen fare I’m accustomed to. And thank god for that. I liked it a great deal; I’m a fan of movies that just launch you into a story. Don’t try to beat me over the head with character development, just show me the characters and let me fit them to the film.

Anyway, I suppose it’s a bit obvious now since he makes a point of showing the main character reading Crime And Punishment at the beginning of the movie, but it did feel like a Dostoevsky story. If that was Allen’s intention, then he added a self-effacing nod to it: the character was also reading a Cambridge Companion To Dostoevsky.

.:.

Amy Millan‘s solo disc Honey From The Tombs (from which I lifted this post’s title) is excellent. Find yourself a copy.

[tags]pulse, wicker man, kristen bell, woody allen, match point, amy millan[/tags]

1:02

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It’s barely a minute long, but “The Last Days Of Tecumseh” by Grant Lee Buffalo is one of the prettiest songs you’ll ever hear.

[tags]grant lee buffalo, last days of tecumseh, short songs[/tags]

World-class sport, world-class shame

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I, like TimmyD, really only care about football when the World Cup or Euro are on, but when it’s on I love it. Toronto turns into a never-ending mobile party (depending on who wins), and I feel no particular anxiety because I haven’t a favourite team. It’s great entertainment.

.:.

Three Guantanamo Bay prisoners commit suicide, and the commanding officer calls it “an act of war”. Let’s get this straight: you invade their country, take them prisoner, deny them their Geneva Convention rights and hold them for as many as four years…and by committing suicide they have committed an act of war against you?

Rear Admiral Harry Harris, you have truly jumped up your own ass.

[tags]fifa, world cup, guantanamo bay, suicide, rear admiral harry harris[/tags]

The front end of a 1-2 punch

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No sooner do we finish one course when the next begins. This next one — international business — looks like it’ll be a busy one. Every week from now until the middle of September I’ll have to read about 70 pages, post comments on a number of articles, and work on two assignments and a 10,000-word term paper. Yay. Amidst all this fun are plans for Summerlicious, the Film Festival, my birthday and visits from both brothers.

That said, I think I’ll find the course really interesting. They’ve kept the material up to date, so we’re dealing with issues like the effects of globalization, poverty as a cause of terrorism, the effectiveness of the IMF and World Bank, the rise of China and India as world powers, and so on. Interesting stuff, to be sure, but the prof seems very tough and the schedule’s pretty much relentless. But I didn’t sign up ’cause I thought it’d be a cakewalk, and I’m glad to actually have a challenging course again.

I say it’s the front end of a 1-2 punch because immediately following this course I start a course of quantitative methods, which is as fun as it sounds, by all reports. It’s also known as one of the knockout courses; they said that about economics, which was a joke, but the folks I’ve seen at the quants intensive looked pretty frazzled. Anyway, that runs until January after which I have a niiiiiice, eeeeeeeasy IT course for several months which should give me time to deal with moving into the new condo.  If all goes according to plan.

[tags]mba, international business, quantitative methods, impending doom[/tags]

The Auld Spot

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Last night, since Nellie didn’t feel like cooking and I didn’t have the energy to do it either, we decided to head out for a bite to eat. We called CBGB and decided to meet up at The Auld Spot, a pub on the Danforth I’d heard much about and which they’d visited once. Despite being dog-tired, I had a great time there. The food is much better than your typical pub meal. I had some huge, spicy shrimp to start and the fettucine jambalaya for my main; no chicken fingers or club sandwich here.

I dare say we’ll be going back. Perhaps with TimmyD and SWMNBN when they visit; I think  they’d dig it.

[tags]auld spot[/tags]