[tags]nomad, playlist[/tags]
The first week and a half of March is looking pretty sweet:
Of course, there are more good movies (like Sunshine) and albums (like Ted Leo‘s Living With The Living) coming later that month, and then comes the sports fiesta — March Madness, NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs — during which I become one with my TV. Besides, it’s usually starting to feel pretty spring-y by late March/early April, and spring’s my favourite time of year.
[tags]black snake moan, zodiac, arcade fire, 300, sunshine, ted leo, i love march[/tags]
Working from home today so that the pulled muscle in my back can heal. The chairs at work just seem to reverse any healing progress it makes at night, so I’m giving it a day off. So far so good.
While I work I’m listening to a mix I made last night of my favourite 20 songs from last year. Well, sort of…I spent about 20 minutes figuring out which songs should be on there, and it might change slightly if I took more time with it, but cost/benefit and all that. I also kept it to one song per artist; otherwise Regina Spektor and Band Of Horses would’ve had multiple entries.
Here ’tis:
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We’ve opted out of our organic delivery service. There was nothing wrong with the food, but we just weren’t eating our money’s worth. I guess I’m not a very good vegetarian yet…
[tags]best songs of 2006, green earth organics[/tags]
You may have heard in the last few weeks that Telus is now selling porn via their mobile phones. Now an archbishop in Vancouver is protesting:
Archbishop Raymond Roussin is upset, saying the move takes the “accessibility of pornographic material further into the public realm.”
Roussin told The B.C. Catholic newspaper that the move is especially ill-considered because of the problems pornography is causing in society.
“Given the increasing awareness about the problem of sexual addiction to pornography through Internet access, and the abuse that this perpetuates of vulnerable persons, Telus’s decision is disappointing and disturbing.”
…
He is also considering directing Catholic institutions to terminate their contracts with Telus Mobility.
He might as well leave the contract where it is. The other carriers will be on board with this as soon as humanly possible.
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The Onion AV Club lists their 15 pop movies owned by movie scenes. While some are no-brainers — “Stuck In The Middle With You” in Reservoir Dogs, “Lust For Life” in Trainspotting, “The End” in Apocalypse Now, “Tiny Dancer” in Almost Famous — they missed one which seems obvious to me: “Goodbye Horses” in Silence Of The Lambs. Nobody who has ever seen that film will think of anything but the sight of Ted Levine tucking away his bait & tackle as the song ends. In fact, one of the few funny scenes in Clerks II was predicated on everyone knowing the relationship between that song and that scene.
That’s not to mention “Mad World” from Donnie Darko or “Bohemian Rhapsody” from Wayne’s World, both of which I think are mentioned in The Onion’s comments.
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After our big blowout dinner Friday night we stayed low-key yesterday, watching two movies: Ask The Dust (imdb | rotten tomatoes) and The Wages Of Fear (imdb | rotten tomatoes). The former was a 1930s period piece, unremarkable that it featured a great deal of Salma Hayek nakedness. Even with that, I fell asleep once or twice. The latter was a French movie from 1952 about four men who drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin through the South American wilderness. The first hour seemed slow and a little silly, but it was really just all scene-setting for the final 90 minutes, which was pretty much non-stop tension. Considering the film’s 55 years old I think it’s held up pretty well.
[tags]telus, cell phone porn, onion av club, ask the dust, wages of fear[/tags]
It’s cold. It’s colder than cold. It’s hell ass balls cold. It’s so cold every car made before 2002 squeals when it’s started. It’s so cold my headphone cord turned into a pipe on the way home.
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My Nomad randomly played “What An Idiot He is” by Ashley MacIsaac today. I don’t think I’ve heard it in eight years; had I, I would’ve wondered how Ashley came to write a song about future president Bush.
“He’s always got a dumb expression on his face
Makes me feel sorry for the human race
‘Cause I’ve got a funny feeling that he’s runnin’ the place…”
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I’m on my third WordPress theme of the day. I kind of like this one so far.
[tags]cold weather, ashley macisaac[/tags]
New stuff I added to the Nomad this morning:
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I never got all the fuss about Sienna Miller. I’ve seen pictures of her, I’ve seen her in movies…I was just never that impressed. But when I saw her on The Daily Show a few nights ago…holy smokes. I think I get it now.
[tags]sienna miller, daily show[/tags]
I’ve been listening to three songs over and over for the past few days:
They’re three pretty different songs, but all very catchy and very good.
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It’s back to the schooly grind tomorrow. I have over 1100 pages to read, 2 cases, a term paper and 6 topic discussions to write, and 6 quizzes to take between now and the end of April.
[tags]champion, band of horses, vindictives, mba[/tags]
Proof of evolution: just five years ago Stephen Harper called the Kyoto Accord a money-sucking “socialist scheme”, but today he’s a good steward of the environment. Welcome to the party, Steve.
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There was an interesting article in the October issue of The Atlantic called “Prophetic Justice” about the grounds on which terrorism suspects are being tried, the ignorance and fear that allows the situation, and the political climate that fosters it.
That inculcation has ample source material, Haykel said, because many hadith and Koranic verses seem to advocate violence; most Muslims just know not to take them literally. Is it possible, he was asked during cross-examination, that someone radically inclined might take al-Kousi’s words as a call to action? “Well, the Koran can be taken as a call to action,” Haykel answered. “You don’t need to listen to al-Kousi.”
Religious speech is extreme, emotional, and motivational. It is anti-literal, relying on metaphor, allusion, and other rhetorical devices, and it assumes knowledge within a community of believers. Its potency is deliberate: faith is about calling on a higher power, one stronger than ourselves, and the very language we use helps inflate that strength. We arm ourselves (itself a violent metaphor) with prayer.
This is hardly unique to Islam. The question of how to interpret a text may be as old as writing, and it applies equally to determining where the power of religious speech inheres. In authorial intent? A reader’s interpretation? Historical or modern context? Over the centuries, and even today, the Bible and Christian theology have helped justify the Crusades, slavery, violence against gays, and the murder of doctors who perform abortions. The words themselves are latent, inert, harmless—until they aren’t.
It’s long, but worth the read.
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My favourite new source of excellent music: the KEXP “song of the day” podcast. It’s usually something I haven’t heard, and is almost always very good.
[tags]stephen harper, kyoto accord, prophetic justice, terrorism, kexp[/tags]
Holy crap…Rage Against The Machine reuniting for a one-off at Coachella! That and Arcade Fire would almost make sitting through Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork and Willie Nelson worthwhile…
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This just in: global warming is real. Also just announced: Liberace was gay.
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Dinner tonight: not so promising. There was a barley & sausage salad. We skipped it altogether and went to Subway.
[tags][/tags]
Ever wonder what would happen if you tried to call Jenny at 867-5309? These guys have figured it out.
[via Yes But No But Yes]
[tags]867-5309, jenny, tommy tutone, jennyscan[/tags]
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 