Category: Use of Weapons

Staying at home….

I needed a mental health day, and by gar, I got one.

Here’s an interesting comment about the HST coming to BC.  I hadn’t realized stamps will be taxed.

An external report on the G20 riots.

Chocolate…. is there anything it can’t do?

Memory drugs that work… right around the corner? I can’t remember if this article said that or not.

It being Sunday morning, here, have some curse words

Stephen Fry on swearing. SPECIAL BONUS, Hugh Laurie in drag.

Attended a Jim Scott house concert at Tom and Peggy’s last night.  I am going to be in a minority here, but I think it’s possible to write songs about peace love light cooperation and the rain forest and still keep some edge in the lyrics. Let me recast that.  His choice of words irritated me a lot, also, too much repetition, please please please have more respect for the audience than that.  Oh, really it was an indoctrination session?  Why didn’t somebody tell me?  He has a lovely voice and a lot of Brazilian nylon string guitar style but I enjoyed the a capella song about peace the most.  There was lots of singing along and I couldn’t open my mouth or I just would have coughed through the entire concert.  Also a church member and his squeeze talked ALL the way through, and when everybody else is quiet and you’re the one sitting next to the rude people it doesn’t add to the joy. Since this person behaved rudely at the last event we both attended, I’ll let him know when he’s had his third strike. It would be polite… no sense bottling it up and when I can firmly and respectfully tell him he’s rude.

However, Al Sather’s mini mousse tarts put some life back into me.  MAN they were good.

Had a migraine by the time it ended, walked home in the rain and collapsed next to Keith on the downstairs sofa (I walked 6.4k last night, pouring rain both ways), while he groused his way through the new Assassin’s Creed II.  Bastards dicked with the UI AND the game play, so you spend a lot of time falling off things you didn’t intend to.  Also, Ezio walks as if he tucked a carrot into his ass crack and his jumps look… well I’ll let you see it, because I fell over the first time I saw it.  Someone’s going to do a mashup of all his moves to techno, and it will be funny.

I am still feeling odd. Part of it is irritation with myself over something I can’t speak of in public, but I think I’m genuinely sick, too.  I’ll see if church is still an option after I have my vitamins and some coffee.  I kinda want to boycott church until they fix the sound system, but really that’s not a sufficient reason.

Tomorrow I interview Denis, and I am so looking forward to it.

Watched these two movies over the last couple of days.  Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima.  HIGHLY recommended.

How do YOU set boundaries with loved ones?  Just asking.

Roundup

Darth Vader has a little fun with Luke Skywalker.

I’m Asian?  Why didn’t anyone tell me????

A sad moment in Canadian naval history.

Organlegger update.

Thoughtful silverback is thoughtful.

New giraffe in Abbotsford. Cute!

New police brutality in Abbotsford.  Not so cute!

Oh, how nice.  The VPD will move into a building made for the Olympics.

Ashton Kutcher’s recent tweet: Barbra streisand is at my house. I have to admit I’m a little nervous.  Ashton is aplusk on twitter.  Yes, his spelling and capitalization suck; he’s an ecktor, not a friggin English teacher.

Also from twitter, William Gibson’s wife (whose name I should know but has not turned up in my research) recommends this video of an angry dude at a roadside pull over request.  I’m sorry, even though I knew it was coming I still laughed.  She also recommends this one too. I looked it up, Cullman Liquidation really exists.  Also from Ser Gibson, the following link.  Tibetan time lapse mandala.  William Gibson is GreatDismal on Twitter.

I have written in homilies and other places about how the disappearance of a language is a marker for genocide.  Here’s some good news internationally.


Another day without beer

I haven’t had any beer in three days.  I think this is the longest I’ve gone without drinking beer for at least three years.  Somehow going to Ontario made me less susceptible to its bubbly siren song.  I certainly have noticed now that I am drinking coffee as an occasional stimulant and  much less beer that my digestion is better than it has been in years.

Last night I cooked roast beef and home made gravy, side of horseradish, potatoes and onions done around the roast, peas and carrots, broccoli and spinach and brussels sprouts, yorkshire pudding (one recipe yields 12 pudding-lets) and others had ice cream for dessert but I skipped that part.  I had a wonderful time preparing it and eating it, and watching Paul, Jeff, Katie and Keith demolish it.  Frankly I think Katie enjoyed it most.  She’s trying to cut sugar out of her diet and her eyes lit up when she saw all the vegetables.  As Catherine said, at this time of year the produce in Canada is quite astonishing.

Today I have many ugly tedious chores to perform, a list of which would likely be more detail than any sane reader could bear.  I hope to squeeze writing down one song in there… I am also hoping to listen to the two albums Dave gave me all the way through.  And more Homicide… we’re close to the end now.  The show ran 7 seasons and it’s been my constant companion for months now.

He should be glad he didn’t find it in France.

And now for something completely different.

Ten reasons I love Val Kilmer.

1.  He once punched out Tom Cruise.  (On the set of Top Gun).

2. Madmartigan in Willow.

3. Jim Morrison in the Doors.

4. Ray Levoi in Thunderheart.

5. Doc Holliday in Tombstone.

6. Heart heart heart Chris Knight in Real Genius.

7. He named his kids something reasonable.  Jack and Mercedes are sane names, in my view.

8. He THOUGHT about running for Governor of New Mexico and decided against it.

9. He helps with wildlife rehabilitation.

10. He’s slept with Joanne Whalley, the lucky dog.

Science roundup

I loves me some cheap mass storage.

I should probably bring the results of this study to Katie’s attention. Hair stylists and social services?

A great idea for cleanup of radioactive areas…. love the picture of the waldo.

I talk to the trees…. and now they’re actually talking back. No, not really, but that’s the way to bet.

Great, a Taser version of an elephant gun.

Brain, brain, go away.  The examination of and debate over male/female brain differences continues.

Creating your way to reproductive success.

Can I pat myself on the back for linking to the metal velcro article two days before boingboing?  I AM a trendspotter, after all.

London Cops is Dumb.

Drug addict shot at 19 times by one London ON cop…. do you suppose the cop hit him even once? But he managed to hit three houses!!! Cop should be suspended for failing to demonstrate firearms proficiency.

Reminds me of two London cop stories from my fabled youth.  In one story, a man wrestled a cop’s gun away from him and shot him in the head at point blank range.  The cop didn’t die; he went back on duty after he recovered.

The second story…. Cops are called to a ‘there is a man with a gun inside this house’ call.  They try to talk to him.  They lob tear gas in and storm the place.  There is no one in the house.

Not all London cop stories are bad.  If I can get permission from the participants, I may relate them.

so much is happening!

Or nothing, depending on how you look at it.

Last night I went to the opening fireworks (Canada) and it KICKED ASS.  The theme was the Wizard of Oz and they did an amazing job of synching up the fireworks, and the colours and patterns, to the music.  I recorded it on my dinky camera; looks like shite but at least I have a souvenir.

The ride downtown last night was difficult; the ride back was scary.  I am SO glad Keith came with me because he was the only thing preventing me from having a full on anxiety attack, so quiet and calm and martial artsish was he.  Suffice it to say that I came a micron from getting backwashed in bear spray.  I didn’t, but it was a near thing.  The cop presence was beyond anything I’ve ever seen in Vancouver. If this is what the future looks like, it can kiss my ass.  I was deaf after I got off the Skytrain – the noise level was incredible – and I had had to ask one particularly lungworthy native chick to kindly please stop yelling in my ear.  (“KAYLA YOU STUPID BITCH BRING ME THE CAMERA I WANNA SEE THE PICTURES!” over&over&over).

It was great to see Alex and Rob and get the benefit of their roof deck once more – unimpeded view and lovely company.  Darwin made little happy bird noises all the way through the display, which was civilized of him; Alex was concerned he might scream through the whole thing, having been so rudely awakened and hauled upstairs.  Alex put on a lovely spread as always.  Cheesy, cheesy goodness! Paté!

Today, I SLEPT IN.  I was supposed to be at Suzanne’s for 9 and woke up at 9:35.  What to do?  No change, no bus tickets; didn’t want to take a cab, so guess what, I rode.  (Thanks Keith for the tire pumping).  The trip there was a breeze, being almost all downhill, and the trip back I took in stages, stopping off to get foodicles for dinner for Jeff and me.  Thanks to Leeanne and Patricia for getting me more inclined to ride; I was amazed, given how out of shape I am, how good I feel now. I mean, I feel really good.

Anyway, Suzanne and I had a good old chinwag and caught up about  the kids and their various interesting life frolics, and then I found out she’s never been to Wreck Beach. This is an outrage!  I immediately called Mike and he agreed this is a problem we should immediately fix, like maybe tomorrow.  I will call her and give her a head’s up.

I rode (okay, that hill above Royal Ave I walked) home, stopping off at the bank and Joe’s Farm Market and Farm Town Meats, getting a mango, a tomato, a red pepper, and orange pepper and a purple onion, and also chicken breasts and pork chomps, and coconut milk for the rice, as when I called Jeff I offered him the option of bbq chomps or butter chicken, and he immediately said butter chicken.  That’s gonna be yummy.  I already made the salad, and as soon as I get off here I’m going to finish cleaning up the kitchen and maybe start running a load of laundry, and then I am going to rearrange my room so I can have all of my recording equipment and musical instruments out at once without difficulty.

I missed the locksmith by literally 7 minutes but that’s not too surprising given that he said he’d be by on Tuesday, and does today look like Tuesday to you?  A good tradesman is hard to find.

Tanya is thinking of dropping by with babby again today.  Happy me.  I have to be here for the rest of the day anyway, visitors would be so nice!

One thing and another

Yesterday… I mean apart from getting ZERO done on my life list, I had something resembling a perfect day.  I got to see my kids and Paul as we chatted about the job hunt for the kids (got some things straight). I got fed a yummy tortilla lunch which Paul and Keith and Katie assembled; later I did a kindness for someone which triggered him buying me sufficiency of beer for the nonce.  Happiness is a fridge full of Corona.

I got to visit with Tre.  Logos, but that’s one cute babby.  Battery and Tanya and Jeff and I laughed and chatted and had a very pleasant time while I got the grisly details of the birth, none of which are for public consumption.  The result, a calm but busy 6 week old who developmentally is a month ahead (REALLY strong), is what counts.

Margot couldn’t stand the lack of focus on her, and came into the livingroom to (very ladylike) hork up some grass, because the babby was being changed at the same time…

The weather, after a little overcast, was perfect all day.

Then, hung out for a while not doing much of anything and Mike came by and took me and Keith and Jeff to the Richmond Night Market, where I bought nothing but REALLY GOOD kettle corn, and where I watched my beautiful son metamorphose into a steely eyed killer (there was a mini-midway, and he shot enough pins to get me a little purple bear (not exactly worth the five bucks he paid to play…. but I digress as usual and besides, Miss Margot is eviscerating it as I type, so its purpose has been revealed)) and after we drove away Mike took us to his cefu’s traditional chinese martial arts club (Mike corrected me, Jack is NOT his cefu, Galen is.  Men can be so STERN when you get things wrong) in an industrial park in Richmond (and boy, has he done a pile of work on that place to help Jack get ready) and then I got to watch the north shore skyline etched against a sunset sky while the wind whipped through my hair.  Ah, convertibles. And I cried a little bit, because I am so happy, and so grateful to be living here, surrounded by such loving friends and family. Side note, John Caspell trained with Jack.  Everything is deeply intertwingled.

When we got home, TrueBlood.  Not enough Eric; no Pam, not enough Jessica.  But considering what the first four episodes of the season were like, I am willing to cut some slack.

Can you tell I had a perfect day?

And today, instead of working, I’m going with daughter Katie and Mike to the beach.  My happiness is like a golden thread.

I would like to give special, extra, crunchy golden props to Jeff, who has been leaving the real for real audio of the Apollo 11 mission running for the last couple of days during waking hours.  It’s been an ongoing reminder of why I’m an atheist.

Until we saw the Earth rise over the moon, I don’t think the fundamental unity of human life, and its fragility, had ever been so starkly drawn.  And it wasn’t the Pope or Mohammad, peace be upon him, what got us there.