Thursday, May 13, 2004

"I am a good little clock; I'm ticking all the time." ~~ The lovely Sarah Harmer from her 2004 CD All of Our Names

So I'm in my computer lab yesterday and Felix, my esteemed TA, decides he's gonna "rock!" Subsequently, he hits play on possibly the worst 1980s greatest hits variety album of all time. So I'm stuck there, listening to Boston (More than a feeling) and other forgettable hair bands from the 80s. I seriously was expecting Al to jump out and tell me that I'm on Candid Camera, but it was not to be. It was a long lab to say the least.

My prof, last class, was seemingly over-promoting Telus and Shaw in our class. He was talking about their respective websites/donations to the field of education, especially in the technology sector. Now I won't dispute that Shaw and Telus have made teaching easier. Telus' "2learn" site is great. I just found it a little heavy on the promotion. I doubt my prof is on the take, but with my attitudes towards corporations in schools, I was a little peeved. Maybe I'll wear a Bell Communications T-shrt next week just to be a bugger.

I'm currently reading The Dubliners by James Joyce, which was written in 1914. I'm still reading Pablo Neruda, but I can't breeze through poetry like I can a novel, for some reason. But I'm enjoying Joyce, certainly understanding why he is considered one of the best writers of the 20th century. Plus I only paid a $1.50 for the used copy at the Wee Book Inn, so that's a plus. It's funny, nowadays novels are rather large in physical size and more expensive. But the older books (pre 1980s) used less material yet were the same length, as well as not costing $25 for a soft cover. Me thinks the book publishing industry is making money on these new formats. I dunno, just a thought.

Thats all I got today. Until next time, good day.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 4:09 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Megan is watching that fortress of ignorance, American Idol. She seems to enjoy making my life difficult. I may have to launch a prolonged tickle attack, including the dreaded yet effective fingers in the ears. Ya gotta fight fire with fire.

So I'm watching the news today and some US Congressman, who was a Republican, was talking about how despite the abuses in the Iraqi prisons, that we must remember that these prisoners are no ordinairy prisoners, that some are murderers and (I quote) "probably have American blood on their hands." Oh okay then, lets just throw those pesky Geneva Conventions right out the window. No need for them, as apparently these prisoners, unlike the holier-than-thou American forces, may have killed someone. Hell, bring in the cattle prods. This pathetic and alarming attempt to justify the actions of the American soldiers is disgusting.

Congress will be viewing the unreleased pictures soon, deciding whether or not to show them to the public. I frankly think that they need to show the public because if they don't, imaginations and rumours will run wild. It's gonna be bad either way, you can rest assured of that.

As well, an American independent businessman was beheaded by his captors today, captors who claimed to be seeling retribution for the prison abuses. In Islamic culture, there is no greater sense of shame that to have indecent pictures of you taken and distributed (according to CBC). So I wonder if this American's execution is just the start of the backlash for the prison abuses. Hmmmmm.

Class again tomorrow, so that means I get to hang out with Felix. Afterwards I'm gonna go to a construction site and tell the steel-toe wearing workers that their moms are floozies. The beating that will ensue will be a relief after listening to Felix attempting to complete an effective joke. I think I may just call him by his real name for the rest of the semester, just for shits 'n' giggles.

Gas is currently at 88.5 cents a litre. Everyone bitch and moan. "We own the oil/gas, why don't we get a break on the prices. This is Alberta. Oh, I gotta go, my wife is waiting in my idling Ford F350." Look, I don't pretend to know a lot about how the oil and gas industry works, but I do know 3 things:

1. In this global market, what happens a zillion miles away (lower OPEC production, for example) affects us here. We don't live in a little Alberta bubble.

2. As my age increases, so to will the gas prices. Supply and demand, economics 101. So we are just gonna have to live with it and start embracing new technologies.

3. China is industrializing at a furious pace and as such is using more and more oil. Their red-hot economy is fuelled by oil and because they make up roughly 1/6 of the Earth's population, they tend to have a pretty heavy influence. Mind you, if and when their economic bubble bursts, the entire world is gonna feel it.

Okay, off to tickle the girlfriend. Some things are just plain out, old fashioned fun. Mind your way.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 9:00 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Monday, May 10, 2004

Just another manic Monday, whoa-uh-oh.

Well I had my first day of my last class and it looks all right, certainly easier than that evil computer sci class that I dropped back in February. It's nicely watered-down for us teachers. But my TA (Felix, although his real name is Steven, he only calls himself Felix because he has a Felix the Cat tattoo, blah blah blah) is a total loser. I seem to be running into these people more and more lately. He's one of those unfortunate souls whose ill-timed jokes fall tremoundously flat every time. It would be funny if I could turn the volume down.

Al's new nickname is Gilligan, as in "Gilligan's Island." Why? Because his stories are always a "three hour tour (it was a three hour tour)" Sing it to yourself. Sorry Gilligan, but one of your best friends is an ass. Deal with it...

Speaking of teachers, rumours of another strike are growing here in Edmonton. Working conditions (i.e class sizes and outdated textbooks) are the only reason job action is being talked about, as they haven't improved at all. Nonetheless, the Edmonton Journal will feature a few letters to the editor claiming that Jimbo once drove by a school and saw a teacher pulling out of the parking lot at 3:30. Ergo, Jimbo will declare that all teachers are in the bars by 3:45pm and thus they should not get a raise at all. Geez I hate, I absolutely hate anecdotal evidence. But it seems that we live in a society, where everyone's opinion, no matter how uneducated it may be, has equal value. If you don't have an educated opinion I think one is best served by keeping thy mouth shut. Thankfully, the author of your favorite blog is educated on many current issues, or at least he thinks he is....

Listen to Beth Orton. The girl has one of the most captivating voices I have ever heard.

I'm thinking I am gonna buy the new Johnny Cash Anthology. It's a shade over $100 but it's 5 CDs with about 22 songs each, which I think is the entire recording collection. So maybe that'll be my graduation gift to myself. The other night, at the Trap & Gill, the cover band did "Burning Ring of Fire" (well, I might add) and the whole bar was just rockin. Thats how cool Cash is.

One must know where one has come from to know where they are going.

Over and out.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 7:56 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Sunday, May 09, 2004

Interesting article for teachers. Read it here! (You may have to sign up for a free membership)

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 8:44 AM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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