Saturday, March 27, 2004

Ah another Saturday night on my computer. Am I cool or what?

Went to Army and Navy today. High quality goods there, but it's still fun to look. I bought myself a snazzy navy blue rainsuit for the summer. $12.99 plus tax. I am aware that it is probably as waterproof as a paper towel, but it provides me with a sense of power, rain-defeating power. Oh how I mock the clouds and the rain gods! I'm sure I will get my comeuppance when it sprinkles a little and I'm soaked to the bone.

But besides my awesome, totally non-breathing raingear, the trip to Army & Navy was interesting for another reason. As I was in qeue to pay for my awesome rain-inhibitor gear, I came upon a rather interesting sort of person who was running the cash register. Let's call her LuAnn, because thats a good name for a lady in her mid 30s with a fullet (female mullet) who is working at Army & Navy.

You see, LuAnn moved like a hyperactive squirrel. And I think, honestly, that she was suffering through some sort of drug withdrawl, as her hands were shaking quite violently and she was talking rather quickly, as if the words might become bogged down if she didn't spit them out. She was moving rather erractically, pausing after handing me my bank card, thinking, before jumping to quickly bag my new nature-neutralizing jacket and pants. She also had to squint, really close and really hard, at the computer to make out what the total was. It was interestingly sad to watch. I commented on it to Megan, who concurred with my diagnosis. And that is another episode of Dr. Jay, Whyte Ave Physician.

Book of the Week: "Neither Here Nor There" by Bill Bryson
This is an account of a middle aged man's trip throughout Europe and is written with a great dose of humour. I've only just started reading it, but the author meets a variety of weird people and gets tangled up in more than a few humourous situations. Quite a good read, easier than "One Hundred Years of Solitude" which, while a great novel, requires very close reading.

CD of the Week: Uncle Tupelo: An Anthology 89-93
This is the group that eventually split into Wilco and Son Volt, respectively, and this is a great sample of their sound that came to be defined as alt-country. Remarkably modern sounding, I would recommend this album to almost anyone.

I've also updated the links, so check them out. Hope the weekend is/was good and until next time, keep your stick on the ice.

Cheers

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 8:17 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Thursday, March 25, 2004

The blog has returned from it's breif, technology-induced vacation. I'm not feeling so hot today, as my body seems to be turning against me a little more everyday. Wicked, neck-cracking-induced headache this morning, along with a joyfully sore throat. I shouldn't complain as I haven't been sick all year, but I actually wanted to go to class today, as we were supposed to get our midterms back. I made it to class, felt like garbage for an hour and a half, got my mark back, and scurried hom to call Shaw and get this interweb dealie fixed. My midterm mark was okay, but it's Linguistics, so I don't care at all so long as I pass. Ah the cynicism of the last semester.

So now I'm home, drinking tea and working on yet another term paper. This semester was supposed to be my fun, last-kick-at-the-can party time, but it's turned into a real bore that simply drags itself out.

I don't think the new budgets, Federal or Provincial, will really make that much difference to the average person. It's just a lot of political numbers and I think that, for the most part, most people will just keep on keeping on. Maybe I'm wrong, but for all the talk about how much money is being spent, tuition will still go up and schools will continue to use pre-1991 social studies books and outdated computers. Health care will continue to be a tangled mess, at least for those are wanting to be Canadian, not "un-Canadian" as our esteemed and oh so short-sighted leader Mr. Klein said recently.

Comments?

Take care of yourself and pray for my return to sanity and good health.

Cheers

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 2:05 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Just a note to let you know that my interweb at home is being stoopid, so the blog may be on hiatus for a while. Sorry, do your own research. Until later

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 11:25 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Monday, March 22, 2004

I have had a rather disturbing story that has been running around in my head for the past couple of days, ever since I heard it in my Latin Studies class. It is about a man named Victor Jara, who was a Chilean folk singer in the 1960s. He wrote beautiful, somewhat political songs about the plight of the average man. A songwriter.

In the coup of 1973, when Gen. Pinochet overthrew the left leaning Salvador Allende, many people of knowledge and influence were rounded up and taken to a football stadium, most ending up on the wrong end of a machine gun. Jara was arrested, as the Pinochet regime wanted to ensure that there would be no political movements that could threaten their hold on power. Music is a huge part of life in many parts of Latin and South America, especially in Chile, and Jara spoke to and for the masses.

I want you to read a short essay about Jaras life right now, before you read the rest of my blog. Please check it out here.


Done? Okay. Dying is one thing and there are a million and one ways to do it. I think what disturbs me is the fact that they broke his hands before they killed him. I cannot believe the cruelty of this action. This is akin to breaking Picassos hands. I do not know if the last part, where Jara sang despite his injuries, is true or not. The only reason that I wonder about this is because I cannot imagine that by breaking his hands, they did not also break his mind. I hope he did sing and that it is not just a legend. I hope that the psychological damage of having his hands broken did not have time to sink in before he was killed.

He has been dead for over 30 years now and I cannot get past what a terrible waste his killing was. What other songs could he have written? Look, I know that many other notable, loaded-with-potential people died in Chile after the coup, but something about this tragedy really has messed with my head rather badly. I honestly do not know if I will ever forget this story.

I think thats enough for today.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 2:58 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Sunday, March 21, 2004

A quote that causes me some concern about the future of humanity:

"The illiteracy level of our children are appalling."

Now who said it?

A) Jean Chretien
B) JK Rowlings
C) A student in my English 299 class
D) George W. Bush
E) Jessica Simpson

I've updated the links too, so check them out.

Man I stayed up way too late last night, watching "Office Space" on TV. I'd never seen it, but it was pretty funny. I couldn't help but think of a computer engineering friend down in Calgary while watching it. I was also watching (during the Office Space commercials) "Passenger 57" an old Wesley Snipes movie where bad guys eventually die in a variety of gruesome manners.

What happened to Snipes? He totally dropped off the face of the planet?

So Stephen Harper won the Conservative Party leadership nomination yesterday. I bet Cadrin wet his pants, just imagining the potential for a right-wing federal government. All kidding aside, I do think that a strong opposition is a good thing, but I think once all the back-slapping stops, the Conservatives are still going to have to establish policy and get ready for an election run in a relatively short amount of time. I suspect that Paul Martin will probably call an election sooner rather than later in order to add to the pressure on the Conservatives. I don't think that the Conservatives will win this time around, but in another 4-5 years, if they keep themselves together and the Liberals continue to be entrenched in scandal, the Conservatives may have a chance. Hard to predict though.

On another political note, I personally have never been more concerned with who is going to win the Presidency in November. Seems to me that now more than ever, the leader of the US will have a deciding factor in most world events. I'm hoping that Kerry wins, although he has a lot less money to spend on the campaign trail, something like $30 million to Bush's $120 million. And we all know that money speaks louder than words.

Oh and the answer to the above question? It's "D", George Bush. And if you don;t know why the quote is funny, it's because there is a rather large grammatical mistake. If you still don't get it, email me and I'll give you a brief English lesson. Then I will make fun of you. Cause I love to be an ass.

Cheers

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:00 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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