Category: Daily life

Hah bumhug!

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s a grey, grey day. I’m wondering now whether having such a clear and panoramic view of the world outside is going to adversely affect my mood on days like this? I may be a scrooge for realsies by Christmas.

.:.

Last night’s Canadiens game was a beaut. Watched it on fast forward last night after Nellie went to bed. Montreal scoring 13 goals in two games? That’s five games’ worth at their usual scoring rate. Anyway, they’re back at it tonight against Pittsburgh. I shall watch it while I blast away at this paper (which is progressing quite nicely, thank you very much).

.:.

Still with hockey, if you want to live, do not play against the Philadelphia Flyers. For the third time this year a Flyer has nearly killed someone.

Boston Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron was taken off the ice on a stretcher Saturday after a scary hit from behind by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Randy Jones.

Bergeron was chasing after a loose puck in the Flyers zone late in the first period when Jones closed in on him and drove his head into the boards with his forearm.

The 22-year-old crumpled to the ice and lay on his back motionless while the Bruins went after Jones, 26. Medical personnel cut away Bergeron’s jersey and shoulder pads as they worked on him, placing his neck in a brace. They placed him on a board and then onto a stretcher, his legs taped together and his arms folded across his chest. There was little sign of movement. The game was delayed some 15 minutes as he was treated.

I don’t know what you’re coaching down there in Philly, but jeezus…let’s take it easy with the attempted homicide, shall we?

.:.

Here’s a whole bucket of dumb for you:

  • This Florida mother mutilated her daughter’s genitals so that she wouldn’t enjoy sex…and was acquitted of the charges brought against her.
  • FEMA staged a fake news conference about the California wildfires. The White House needs to form a disaster management firm to fix all the stupid things FEMA does. I suggest the name metaFEMA.
  • Britney Spears’ mother is writing a book about motherhood. It’d better be called, “I’m sorry y’all, I blew that one.”

.:.

OK, back to work.

[tags]toronto weather, canadiens, hurricanes, penguins, philadelphia flyers, patrice bergeron, florida mother genitals, fema news conference, britney spears[/tags]

"Giuseppe!"

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

That was how my barber answered the phone today, as if he were four years old and his best friend had just run into his yard. He might just be the happiest guy I know. Here’s the typical conversation when I sit down in the chair:

Ralph: “So, how’s it going?”

Dan: “Pretty good, Ralph. How’re you doing?”

Ralph: “Ay, life is beautiful, my friend. As long as we’re here and we’re healthy, what else can you ask? #3 on top and #2 on the sides, right?”

Whether it’s Ralph or his buddy Nick who cuts my hair, I’ve never left there without a smile on my face. It’s a big reason I keep going back, really. It’s not like it takes a lot of hard-to-find expertise to cut my hair.

.:.

It’s a sad state of affairs when gay Dumbledore and a fainting Marie Osmond occupy the top of the news pile. One gets the feeling that if the Californian wildfires weren’t so ferocious we’d be discussing proper dancing hydration or wizard-cruising. For fuck’s sake, people, one of them’s fictional and the other might as well be.

.:.

The Dooney’s Cafe website has a great review of Naomi Klein’s new book The Shock Doctrine. I’m not making much headway on the book; I keep getting distracted by MBAishness.

[tags]barbers, dumbledore, marie osmond, california wildfires, naomi klein, the shock doctrine, dooney’s[/tags]

I'm not sure I even care to be that disinterested right now, to be honest

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Despite my recent inability to spend more than an hour doing school work, I have decided that today will be the ne plus ultra of schoolwork days. The ne plus ultra, I tell you. I am well-rested (I slept until 11 yesterday and 9 today), well-fed (just got back from breakfast at Over Easy), well-stocked (did grocery shopping after breakfast) and well-prepared (have two computers at the ready). I have no excuse not to get a lot done today except for sheer, unadulterated disinterest.

Don’t put it past me.

.:.

I know this headline shouldn’t make me laugh — it’s really quite tragic — but I couldn’t help myself. From the Globe and Mail:

Indian Official Dies In Wild Monkey Attack

If you’re gonna go, go while defending yourself from an army of wild monkeys.

.:.

  • Original weight: 233
  • Weight last week: 223
  • Weight this week: 222

Looks like I managed to correct last week’s blip.

[tags]mba, over easy, wild monkey attack, fatblogging[/tags]

Sonny, je t'aime…even if you do wake me up in the middle of the &%@# night

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m much too tired to function. My cat woke me up twice last night because he wanted to play. It’s a long story. He’s a very demanding cat. Anyway, I wasn’t functioning well enough to run today but the plan’s on for tomorrow. Just to be on the safe side I may build myself one of those Hannibal Lecter carts that fits an 18-pound wookiee.

.:.

We haven’t been to a theatre in months, and it shows. The movies are piling up again. The following movies are in the theatre right now:

  • Into The Wild
  • King Of California
  • Michael Clayton
  • Paris, Je T’aime
  • The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
  • The Brave One
  • The Darjeeling Limited
  • The Kingdom
  • We Own The Night

And then there’re these, which come out in the next two weeks:

  • Gone, Baby, Gone
  • Rendition
  • Reservation Road
  • Dan In Real Life
  • Control
  • Fugitive Pieces
  • Rails & Ties
  • Run, Fat Boy, Run

I especially want to see Paris, Je T’aime now that we’ve been to…well, Paris.

[tags]into the wild, king of california, michael clayton, paris je t’aime, the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford, the brave one, the darjeeling limited, the kingdom, we own the night, gone baby gone, rendition, reservation road, dan in real life, control, fugitive pieces, rails & ties, run fat boy run[/tags]

Once more with litigation

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s gray. It’s cold. It’s fall!

.:.

Apparently my blog post from Thursday night made CBGB hanker for the beerbistro, but when we got there last night at 5:00 it was jammed full. Plan B ended up being the Jason George, just down the street, where we started drinking a variety of beer but were all drinking Blanche de Chambly in the end. They came back to ours for one of the bottles of wine that followed us home from France.

.:.

My new musical obsession: the song “Oh My” by Office. Here’s the video.

By the way…girlfriend du jour: Jessica.

.:.

Your daily dose of dumbassery*:

(* apologies to Sam Javanrouh)

[tags]autumn, beerbistro, jason george, blanche de chambly, office, oh my, ian curtis, joy division, control movie, buffy, once more with feeling, lapel pin, bill maher, daily dose of imagery[/tags]

Late nights, great whites, snowy heights and winter rites

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Just once this week I’d like to get home before 9. Uh, actually, I guess that’ll happen tomorrow. Unless we go back out.

.:.

Had drinks and a bite to eat at beerbistro tonight with M2. He caught me up on his Rockies trip (and returned our guide books), and stoked my desire to return in the spring.
I always kind of forget about that place, even though it’s just around the corner, and every time I go I’m reminded how much I like it. ‘Twas cheap, too; two pints of Dennison’s weissbeer and a yummy pizza only cost me $30, tax in.

.:.

New holiday in February = bitchin’ = hooray for a Liberal win = perfect weekend to visit Montreal and see a real hockey team. I’m thinking of making it an annual hockey season trip. Hark…is that a plan I hear hatching?

[tags]beerbistro, rockies, dennison’s, new ontario holiday[/tags]

What I did today

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment
  • Downloaded the new Radiohead album;
  • Restructured a troublesome division of my company on the back of a napkin;
  • Voted in my provincial election;
  • Put out some work fires;
  • Ate some minestrone;
  • Doused more work fires;
  • Got soaked in a downpour;
  • Met some folks for drinks and a very odd tapenade;
  • Made plans to meet up with M2 tomorrow evening;
  • Watched the Canadiens beat the Penguins in Carey Price’s first NHL game.

Not a bad day.

[tags]radiohead, in rainbows, ontario election, minestrone, canadiens, penguins[/tags]

Maybe Howard Hughes rides the rocket?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It’s warm outside. Crazy warm. July warm. Thanksgiving is supposed to be the start of sweater weather, but we’ve actually got the fan running right now. 32 degrees? That’s nutty.

.:.

I forgot to mention: yesterday, on our way to meet CBGB for breakfast before the ladies went shopping, Nellie and I saw a water bottle rolling around the floor of the subway. Except it wasn’t filled with water anymore. It was filled with something yellow. I double-checked the label (from a distance, naturally) and it wasn’t apple juice or ginger ale or anything else. The water had been replaced by…well, I guess someone just couldn’t hold it.

.:.

Today’s been a day of high-caliber relaxation. We slept until 10, and have spent the entire day catching up on our TV backlog. THE ENTIRE DAY. Oh, and I may have been too harsh in my indictment of the new TV shows…Dirty Sexy Money isn’t bad, and Life is actually pretty good so far. Anyway, today’s one of those great vacation days…no school, no work, no planning, no errands, no stress…just chilling and regeneration.

.:.

Yesterday — which wasn’t exactly stressful either — we watched Shut Up And Sing (imdb | rotten tomatoes), the documentary about the Dixie Chicks following Natalie Maines’ dig at President Bush just as the Iraq war kicked off. It was, as advertised, very good. There wasn’t much new information (to me, anyway) and the uproar wasn’t quite as intense as I had thought — or it wasn’t portrayed that way, at least — but there was lots of interesting subject matter: details of the backlash, their disgust with the country music establishment, and the recording of their most recent album. Bonus: Rich Rubin and his dreadlocked dog make an appearance! Oh, and Natalie Maines is my girlfriend du jour.

[tags]toronto weather, pee in a bottle, dirty sexy money, life, dixie chicks, shut up and sing, girlfriend du jour[/tags]

It's still The National out in front…probably.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

“Harmonium” by Rogue Wave is challenging for my favourite song of the year so far. Candidates to date:

  • The National . “Fake Empire”
  • Arcade Fire . “Intervention”
  • The Besnard Lakes . “Devastation”
  • Kings Of Leon . “The Runner”
  • Okkervil River . “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe”
  • Grinderman . “No Pussy Blues”
  • Matt Pond PA . “Reading”
  • Vampire Weekend . “Walcott”

.:.

Went for a run this morning, for the first time in almost a month. It’s funny how quickly you get out of the flow…I felt pretty awkward. I stopped after about 1.5 miles; I could feel a “dumbass” injury coming on.

[tags]best songs of 2007[/tags]