beer-with-a-coffee-chaser

lamb

2008-05-01T09:28:00.003-07:00

This is the end.... kinda

2008-01-25T21:07:00.000-08:00

Howdie Hoe everybody!.

I am officially done with Blogger, and Beer-With-A-Coffee-Chaser is now extinct. This is the second to last post on this site. I haven't given up on blogging, just changing venues.

1. The new project is www.353review.com . It is my Haiku Movie Review site. If it takes you more then 11 syllables to sum up a movie....you're not trying hard enough.

2. There will also be a personal blog site attached to the review site in the immediate future.
still working on that, but the name is probably have zombies in it....that or gojira....or maybe Chin!!!

3. Got my birthday prezzy from the parents early this year. a shiny little 20" lcd moniter. Now all my writing appears even bigger and crisper. Glorious. Also Serenity looks stellar on it.....go Wheddon!

4. Contrary to the rumor mill , I am in fact not a Cylon. Of course if I was a cylon, I most likely wouldn't tell you.....er.....doh!

Leeny

O to Z of ME

2007-12-31T10:59:00.001-08:00

Thats right. I am tired of having this task hanging over my shoulder. So as the new year is nigh at hand, I will endeavor to remove this from the must do list

O is for Ostler

In the medieval Society I belong to I am called Mary Ostler.

P is for Pratchett

My favorite author that is still alive is Terry Pratchett

Q is for Quincy

My favorite TV show from my youth was Quincy

R is for Radio

I am addicted to talk radio. CKNW and stations that replay 50's radio serials are my dealer.

S is for Suffragist

I fervently believe people should have the right to vote

T is for Timothy Lake

I spend a lot of my childhood summers up near timothy lake in the Cariboo.

U is for Unicycles

I ride unicycles. I own two, and basic and a high boy.

V is for Vinci.... Da Vinci

Da Vinci is my frak'n hero, that and all the other dabblers in mechanical design 4-600 years ago.

W is for Woodworking

I like woodworking. I especially like wood turning....fun.

X is for Xactly

I don't xactly have a word for X

Y is for Y do you care

Seriously, don't you have better things to do with you time?

Z is for Zombies

Zombies, Zombies, raa, raa, raa. Zombies, Zombies, ha, ha, ha. MMMM, I love Zombies!

I am planing on having a new type of blog in the future, as well and doing some audio and video blogging. Once I have the new home and stuff nailed down I'll post it here, and then abandoned blogger for ever.

N is for Neige (aka annoying snow)

2007-12-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Boys and Girls,

Todays letter N is brought to you by Neige. I love snow, but I don't even mind shoveling the stuff. I find snow very annoying when its covered up the shoveled drive way before your even done half of the shoveling.....Doh! What I truly love about snow is I get to repeatedly throw snowballs into the face of Holly.

Your Fired!

2007-11-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

Hidi-Ho Everybody

So Yesterday morning, I got my ass fired from Save on Foods. I was working in the price change department, peeling all those hanging stickers off the shelves and putting up new ones. Well I had given a month notice ( cause I'm nice, and stupid....mostly stupid), and with only 15 minutes left in the shift I got called up to the office. Well, as soon as I walked into the room, I was yelled at your fired. There was more dialogue than that, and after it was done, I asked her to repeat it so I could capture that special moment onto my MP3 player voice recorder.

071125_01.wav

LOL

M is for Movies

2007-11-17T09:34:00.001-08:00

M is for Movies

I have always been a big movie fan, although in till this year my passion was generally tailored towards the Rental side of the big picture. Then I found friends that like film on the big screen. I seldom actually rent films now. I think I would still be renting alot of movies if there was a rental place like Shlockbuster (2nd & Lonsdale N.Van) in Port Coquitlam. The local Rogers video is fine if you want to watch the big Hollywood productions, but older and more obscure fare is right out of the question.

Top Five Films of All Time According to Me

1. Harvey
2. Emielle
3. Usual Suspects
4. Blade Runner
5. Fight Club

HM - Hudson Hawk, Lawrence of Arabia, Army of Darkness....etc

The Egg and how not to digest it.

2007-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

Recently I had one of those conversations that demonstrated the strange strange areas of obscure knowledge I have collected over the years. In this case it was the bizarre stuff I know about uses of eggs pre-1650 that don't involve digestion. Yes I know...I'm special in the short bus usage of the word.

It got me to crack open one of the most interesting reads I have ever found. Its Giambattista della Porta's amazing book(s) Natural Magick. It was published in 1658, and is full of the strangest most obscure knowledge I have ever found. Best of all its online.

http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/jportat2.html

L is for Leland

2007-11-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

L is an easy letter to represent. My little nephew Leland is a little over a year old, and he rocks. Yes I am biased, and I don’t care. He likes me to read the animal sounds book, cause I make the sounds better than anyone else. Here’s a picture of the young rascal on rocking goat.

Heres a picture of Leland dressed up as Godzilla. I was told it was actually a dragon costume, but Leland and I know better. RAAAAAAAA

Cannon Ball Run Record

2007-10-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

I found this article on an attempt at setting a new land speed trans-continental record. Its a long article but i found it interesting, yet at the same time kinda terrifying. This dude could have put the hurt on someone so easily with this stunt. Full of High Tech and Low Tech James Bond goodness. Worth a read. Thanks Gayle for sending me to a different article, that led me to this on =D

http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/15-11/ff_cannonballrun

PS. I haven't forgot about the A to Z of me, its just I got busy and lazy at the same time.....mostly lazy.

K is for Kayaks

2007-10-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed canoeing and kayaking. I unfortunately haven’t done much of either in years. I guess the biggest problem with kayaking is the cost. Rentals are expensive and to purchase a kayak is even pricier. I have a set of plans for a skin on frame kayak gathering dust for the last dozen years. I am not sure why I haven’t got around to building it yet. It is well within my capabilities to build it. It seems to be a lot easier of a build than a cedar strip kayak. I must admit the cedar strip kayaks are beautiful, but they just weigh so much more than a skin yak. I think a new project might be in the works….or maybe just wishful thinking. Kayaking solo probably isn’t the smartest move either.

J is for Johhny Dollar

2007-10-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Although I do have a story about jello wrestling, I have chosen restraint in this particular instance. J is another tough letter to represent

J is for Johnny Dollar

I have always been a sucker for those old time radio serials that you hear late at night. Most people at one time or another have listened to the Shadow (who know what evil lurks in the hearts of men…I DO). I have listen to countless hours of programming and I have developed a taste for the detective serials. The one that shines out from the rest of these dark themed shows was “Johnny Dollar ~ Insurance Investigator”. That’s right, The man with the action pack expense account was, is ,and always will be my favorite from those golden days of radio.

I is for Ice Caves

2007-09-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

I is for Ice Caves

Well "I" is a hard letter to represent. I had to think real hard. This is another scouting story.

My favorite scout camp bar none was a large affair in Manning Park. RoVent (combination of Rover scouts and Venture scouts) was the yearly winter camp. Located at Cambie Creek in Manning Park, 600+ people would gather in the freezing cold to camp, and be retarded in that special scouting kinda way. There was a policy against digging snow caves, but rules always applied to other people. One year, John and myself dug a massive snow cave. You had to jump down into a 6ft hole, get down onto your hands and knees to crawl through a U bend tunnel to get into a large chamber. Big enough for two people and all their junk and still had room to spare. It was a claustrophobic nightmare! Absolutely dead quiet, and if I remember correctly It got up to a balmy 7'c. That's a big improvement from the -15'c + windshield. All those silly people sleeping in nylon tents on the surface...I pitied them!

H is for Holly & Harvey

2007-09-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

H is for Holly.

My family has always had dogs. Never cats, always dogs. Currently we have a big old goof of a black lab named holly. She is an even tempered dog, with massive hearing problems. Hearing only what she wants to hear, and tuning out the rest. She is getting on in years, and my dad has said that this will be the last dog we ever have. It will be a sad day when she goes, as even though each dog we have had are unique animals, the unconditional love that they gave/give is constant. Holly recent had a run in with the rocking goat I made for my nephew. The goat was placed a little to close to Holly's water bowl. When she went to get a drink she bumped the goat. The goat moved, dog jumped back and looked hard at the goat. She approached cautiously to see whats up with the goat. she bumped it with her nose. The goat moved again. The hackles were now up, and the growling and barking started. I saw the whole thing happen, and was laughing hysterically at my brave dogs attitude towards an inanimate object. Rocking goat had to live in my room in till it was given to Leland. Holly couldn't live in the same house with it. Yes that a rubber crocodile on her head. Good Dog!

H is for Harvey

My favorite movie of all time is Harvey. Starring Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P Dowd, a drunken goodhearted rich guy who has an invisible 6ft tall white rabbit drinking buddy called Harvey. Harvey's existence or lack there of causes all sorts of problems for his family, and committing Elwood is proving more difficult than they thought. I saw this when I was in my teens, and it struck a cord. No film has ever compared to it. It makes me happy just thinking about the film.

G is also for Glass

2007-09-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

G is for Glass, Stained

I have for a few years now been delinquent from my Stained Glass hobby. Its a shame, as I did enjoy making stuff in glass. Its just every time I start making stuff I am interested in , my mother starts placing orders for stuff I really, really find boring to make. I use copper foil technique, instead of the traditional lead came method. I have used both, and have even got so far as pouring my own lead came as described in Roman/Greek texts. I think if I ever got my hands on a glass kiln, I'd probably get back into it, as there are some really cool stuff that can be done with chemical glazes. I enrolled in a glass blowing workshop a few years ago, but had to dropout after the first day do to the heat causing me blistering up to my elbows. That's with wearing the protective gear they supplied. Note to self 1500' heat is bad for me!

G is for Gozilla

2007-09-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

G is for Godzilla

Since I first saw Godzilla, way back when rocks were soft, I have been an big fan. There’s something about the big gray killing machine that captures my imagination. Maybe it’s the destructive nature of the beast that appeals to me. How often do we get to destroy things in real life. Maybe it’s the fantastical nature of this iconic monster. Maybe it’s the large and varied array of other monsters he does battle with. Over the years he has changed from enemy of the people, to hero, and then back again. He has been mechanized, baby sized, and brutalized (re: Godzilla Hollywood's version). Godzilla vs Mothra, and the original Gojira are my two favorite monster films.

F is for Fire

2007-09-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

F is for Fire

Hey everyone, lets all have a marshmallow roast, fire is at Moli!. Today I arrived at my workplace to find allot of people standing around in the cold damp parking lot. Alarms were screaming, and Firetruck sirens were off in the distance. Apparently a research cell had vented in an incubator, and had caused a fire. When a grand total of 10 firetrucks, 2 ambulance and who knows how many police trucks showed up, we all thought that this might be it for Moli. With Traffic helicopters buzzing the site, and all traffic directed away from the industrial park, we eventually got the news, that the fire had been contained to the immediate area of the original incubator going up. What we do have is allot of smoke, and water damage from the sprinkler system. Since allot of my work areas and office is in the immediate area of the restricted zone, I was unable to go into our area, and was sent home...hurrah. I spent my illgotten extra hours on prodigious napping.

E is for Ent

2007-09-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

E is for Ent.

When I was 17 I joined scouting. It was the last year I was eligible for Venture Scouts (14-17). Since most of my friends where active members of either Ventures or Rovers I decided I wanted to be a part of the cool stories I kept on hearing about. At first it was kind of strange, as although scouting in the older stages had been Co-Ed for sometime, females were still very much in the minority. The next year I moved on up to Rover Crew. 5th Poco Rovers had only formed up the year before, and as such alot of the trappings and ceremonies hadn't either been made yet, or were rough in the extreme. The one thing that was decided on very quickly was the name for our crew. The Venture company had been named the KGB. Kinda Good Boyz. A meeting was held, and after much ringing of hands and gnashing of teeth, the crew settled on the name, the Knights of Ent. Knights due to the crew following a knighthood/ squireship theme (the original 5th rovers Mark, John, and Joe had squired to 2nd Burnaby south knights of Loxley). Ent was from the lord of the rings (walking talking fighting, slow to action but when full riled complete terrors). I was squired to John, and was invested around 6 months later as a full knight. The 8 years I was active in scouting were some of the happiest times in my life. I miss having a chance to hang out with my crew mates on a regular basis.... ah memories.

D is for DumpTruck Haircut

2007-09-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

D is for Dump Truck Haircut

My dad has owned and operated a dump truck for most of my life. It was a shiny red ’68 Mack truck, with a cool little bulldog mounted on the hood. It was either the late 70’s or the early 80’s, and I found myself sitting on my moms lap in the truck. I don’t know where we were headed, but at some point during the trip, my dad complained that he couldn't see his outside mirror cause my big ole head was in the way. My mom, trying to be helpful pushed my head towards the windshield. Now this wasn't a fancy truck, it didn't have a lot of bells and whistles. The defogger was a plain old fan mounted to the dash. The fan, my head now firmly shoved into the grill, caught a hold of my waist length hair and wound it up nice and tight. Well, with much crying and yelling, and a few futile attempts to yank my hair out of the fan, my dad finally cut the hair out with his pocketknife. I now was sporting a lovely 2” tuft of hair dead center of my hairline. Didn't really go with the waist length hair. For the first and only time as a kid, I had a short hair cut.

C is for Coffee

2007-09-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

C is for Coffee.

Now really, could have there been anything else? I have been a caffeine addict for almost as long as I can remember. Now I am not a latte swilling arabica bean snob. I like my coffee black, strong and bordering on toxic. You now the type... the stuff that's been percolating for three days on the Coleman stove. Spoons disolve in the stuff if left in it long enough. hhmmmm good stuff!

C is the Cock & Bull Tavern

C is also for the Cock and Bull Tavern. I have my special occasions licence for selling alcohol. I used to run a fun little tavern at the local SCA (society of Creative Anachronism). It was an attempt to be better than all the other Inn Keeps in this area that thought a decent tavern was a cash box, some plastic cups, and a garbage can full of ice water. I built full tavern sets , had aluminum tankards (not good, but better than plastic beer cups), I hired musicians to serenade costumers...and to eventually drive away the loiterers. It was a fun job and I enjoyed doing it, but liability insurance just got to damb expensive. The Tavern may be done, but I still have the sign hanging in my wood shop.

B is for B-Movies, Books, and Bruce

2007-09-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

That's right, just like I said last post I am not going to restrain the Encyclopedia of meme to just on item per posting.

B is for B-Movies

I have aways had a soft spot for B-Movies. Those especially bad low budget midnight specials. Movies with names that start with Attack of the______, The Curse of the______, The man with______. Over the years I have seen allot of these masterworks, and although not for everyone, these cheesefests will always find an appreciative audience with me.

B is for Bruce Campbell

You can't talk about the genre of B-Film without eventually bringing up my second favorite actor ever. Bruce Campbell "the Chin" is a cult cinema icon. He's been the perennial favorite of director Sam Raimi, and the Coen brothers. His catalogue of film roles be them small or large is impressive. He has been the star of two television shows Jack of All Trades, and Brisco County Jr., as well of co staring in the USA networks Burn Notice. He been a zombie killer, Elvis Presley, the King of Thieves, secret agent, lawyer, bounty hunter, industrialist, soap opera star, old spice spokesman, astronaut....etc. Hes done it all, and somewhere in all that ado hes managed to pump out two books. If Chins Could Kill, Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, and the hilarious Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. which brings us to the third listing today

B is for Books

I have always been a fanatical reader. I will read just about anything but there are a few authors that I can never seem to get enough of. Douglas Adams, Jim Butcher, Terry Pratchett, Kurt Vonnegut, Christopher Fowler, Bernard Shaw, Andre Dumas, Conan Doyle...etc. One of the scariest things I ever watched was an episode of the twilight zone, where Bridges Meredith character survived the end of the world, and had finally enough time to read all the books in the library. Then his glasses break. There is something about that... sends shivers down my spine.... brrrr.

A is for Alcohol

2007-09-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Racheal has been doing an encyclopedia of meme. One thing about herself for every letter of the alphabet. I really liked this idea, so I am stealing for my very own. I am not limiting the list to just one thing though. Also I have content for 26 posts without really thinking about it. :D

A is for Alcohol

I have always liked drinking. Drinking to excess is not really my style, but quaffing a good pint is one of the more pleasurable things that enlighten my world. My family has never been big drinkers, so my palette has been self taugh. Beer has always been my alcohol of choice, with Gin being a close second. I wish I enjoyed wine, but every time I go to buy wine in the liqour store my eyes start to cross at the mind numing array of choices.

I had a pint of beer in belguim that I still remeber fondly. It was Belle Vue Frambois, and I have never been able to get it imported into canada. I have tried on 2 occasions, but there is always some problem...doh.

A Plague of Students

2007-09-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

A new Co-Op semester brings new students to my work place. I will admit I normally don’t take an interest in the students as a general rule. They are the nameless hordes that cycle through the cubical farm on an endless basis. I have been known to refer to them as student 1 or 2 (the computer id assignment for them…the students change, the computers never do). This term is even looking gloomier than ever. Why? The last set of students Sharmista , and Jeffrey (yes I even botherd to learn their names) were actually pretty cool individuals. They actually talked! There have been a few students that wouldn’t talk even if you asked them a direct question.

What is different this time, over all the other Co-op terms is Model Plant (my little slice of R&D purgatory) has been assigned our very own new student. This means Probie (the newest employee in model plant) finally gets to be referred to as something other than Probie. She of course was gloating about this today. Thats when I pointed up to the white board that we share, and Natalie’s half of the board has her new name…. Nat Nat Bobat.

She wasn’t amused!

She's back

2007-09-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

My summer has officialy come to and end. I know that the official end to summer is still some time off, but I still say the end of labour day IS the end of summer. The summer itself was pretty uneventful for me, but the last weekend was A-OK. There was movie watching, drinking, construction, drinking, socializing, drinking, sleeping in late, hanging out with friends, not sleeping at all, more drinking, and more movie watching. With every sliver lining there is always a cloud. The cloud this time is that announcement that "Evil Film School" will be shutting down after the end of the month. The lady that runs the monthly double b-movie feature is moving back east....so sad. I got a little misty eyed when I read that...d'oh!

anyhow... I have to get some sleep.

Don't mess with rocking goat!

Gone Fishing

2007-07-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

I have decided to close up shop here for the rest of the summer. I am not inspired to sit in front of the computer and type , so I'm not gonna do it anymore. I'll be back in September when its cooler, darker, and Halloween is within striking distance.

Till then

remember shoppers

Shop Smart, Shop S-Mart

Dial Up Pergatory

2007-06-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

I haven't given up on posting to this blog. Its just I am having huge problems with a staticy land line. Yes I still use dial up. I just refuse to give up the email address i have used for almost 14 years.

Not much to report at the moment.

My Meetup experiment BCAS will be having its first outing this friday. Were going to the Evil Film Schools presentation of Turkish Starwars. Looks Like loads of fun.

Why do these things happen to me!!!

2007-06-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

This is going to be one of those "No Shit...There I was" Kinda stories.

No Shit, There I was in my truck at lunch time. I am parked up against the chainlink fence with trees and shrubberies surrounding the front and side of my truck. There is a small opening between the shrubberies directly in front of my vehicle. I am in the fully reclined position reading my new Christopher Fowler novel (great read by the way). There is a side walk that runs infront of the bush's and I am used to seeing heads and voices wander past in my periphial vision. Today I noticed a head that had stopped directly infront of my truck. I lowered my book to see what he was doing. It took me a second to realize why he was standing still, head lowered and hands clasped infront of himself.

Then it struck me, he was taking a leak. I started laughing. He glanced up an saw me staring at him....He quickly got himself together so to speak, and quickly ran away.

I was still laughing when it occured to me to wonder what he was aiming at.

It was my freaking Ford emblem on my radiator grill.

He was Peeing on my truck.

Man I don't like Mondays

BCAS Bruce Campbell Apreciation Society

2007-06-06T18:18:00.038-07:00

So I have finally started up my own Meetup group. If you don't know what Meetup is, Its a website devoted to matching people up with similar minded people in whatever strange interests they may have. I have belonged to meetup for quite a while know, but only know have started my own.

BCAS ~ the Bruce Campbell Appreciation Society

B-movie Fans & Cult Cinema Enthusiasts

I believe there will probably be alot of overlap with the thriving Vancouver Movie Meetup Group.
Mostly Because Marina, the organizer, rocks, and also happens to also be interested in Cult Cinema. So if your interested at all, please feel to join up. I am looking at running two events this month. The movies Black Sheep and Fido both look like classics in the making. Killer Sheep, and Zombies for pets....LOL

A Happily Boring Kinda Day

2007-06-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

I had a big old rant ready to go. I had been thinking about it for the last couple of days. It was all about that tool who knew he had TB and decided to go all over the world possibly infecting people all over the place. Yet, While I sit here on such a lovely day, I am reluctant to dwell on anything so aggravating. I think my time will be better spend going outside and finding a nice shady spot and crack open another book. I have two new Christopher Fowler mystery's weighing down my bookshelf, and a copy of Lewis Carol's "Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass". Stories I read as a kid, but have never picked up since then.

Writing Avoidance

2007-05-28T17:30:00.019-07:00

After putting away my writing project for what seems like months, the procrastination is finally over. Its finally time to get the "Alexander Hahn ~ Amateur Cryptozoological Man" story finished. Yet I seem to be finding any excuse not to actually write. Facebook, Skype, and playing with the fishes all seem to be taking over usable writing time. Hell, I'm here writing in my frakin blog.

Bad Leeny

POTC3 was OK, but it definitely needed more Keith Richards

Top 5 Things Currently Making Me Happy

2007-05-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well, Yesterday I posted the top 5 reasons I was currently pissed off. Today is sequel day. Top 5 things currently making me happy.

#5. Daily Worship
#4. Minor Crush
#3. Flowers Blooming
#2. Face book Addiction
#1. Swinging Leland

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#5. When I wake up in the morning the last few weeks, the neighbourhood is quite, and the sky is still in transition from dark to bright. Often there is the pinks and purple hues that paint the horizon. I stand at the backdoor with a steaming cup of coffee in hand, and worship as only a Javacursian can.

#4. I have a small crush on someone, who it is I will not say. Doesn't even really matter who it is, its that butterfly in the stomach, and weak in the knees feelings I get when I hear his voice. I am such a sucker for cool sounding voices. Makes me happy

#3. The Dogwood and Lilac trees are in bloom. I mentioned this in a previous post that they are my favorite flowers, and they are still both in bloom.

#2. Face book is making me happy, cause its reconnecting me with old friends I haven't talked to in a longtime. The disturbing pictures from scouting are to funny for words.

#1. The number one thing that is currently making me happy, is my nephews smiling face and enthused vocalisations of joy that emanate from the little man every time hes swinging. Such unbridled Joy...Its contagious I tell you

Top 5 things Pissing Me Off Currently

2007-05-23T18:21:00.012-07:00

Well Its been over a week since my last post, and even longer if you discount all my Bruce Campbell postings. So, to share whats currently pissing me off, I bring you the bullet point list, explanations too follow.

#5. They Cancelled Jericho!

#4. They Killed the Tiger

#3. The Amount of Liter on the Streets.

#2. My Complete Inability to Balance My Cheque Book.

#1. Anti-Poverty Committee Losers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#5. That's right my current favorite post apocalyptic Vision of the world after the bomb drops has been cancelled. I liked Jericho. Sure, party of me was watching it solely cause I like to look at Skeet Ulrich, and the guy from Simon and Simon, but where the hell am I gonna get my nuke the world fix now? Guess If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

#4. They euthanized the Tiger that killed a woman up near Bridge Lake. Why? What did the tiger do wrong? It is a genetic killing machine, and if your gonna be playing around death on for paws, you are rolling the dice. The tiger did exactly what its supposed to do. KILL. Maybe if we locked up the moron that owned the tigers, and displayed the idiot in a cage, the world would be a better place. The only thing that really bugs me, is the jackass still owns two more tigers, and the kids who watched the animal kill their mom, are probably still gonna be around the cats.

#3. Doesn't anyone remember "Hootie the owl", or "Give a hoot don't pollute". There is an insane amount of liter on the streets as of late, I cant pick it all up on my lunch breaks dammit.

#2. $23.47 A.W.O.L

#1. The losers at the APC (Anti-Poverty Committee) have shown just how complete a bunch of ass holes they are. This country bends over backwards to allow people to protest. I am a big proponent of free speech, and protest (even if the content or causes makes me reach for my bottle of lye and a wire brush), but when you start publicly threatening to use force on people, and then invade peoples homes, or, places of employment, and vandalizing the place, destroying equipment, and throwing there furniture around.....you've gone too far. Is there cause a just and nobel one? Who the #^$% cares. they are a bunch of worthless idiots.

I hope there arrested, and burn in hell ~ insert Samuel Jacksons voice

I feel much better now...Maybe tomorrow I'll make a list of my current happy thoughts.

More Freaking Bruce...BABY

2007-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am having trouble embeding YouTube video at the moment, So I will just give you a link to yet again another Bruce Campbell gem. The making of the newest Old Spice commecial documentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMnSWGXTQHI

OMG, new Bruce Campbell

2007-05-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

OMG,

Thanks go out to my friend Marina for sending me the new Bruce Cambpell comercial for old spice

Bruce Sings Duran Duran...LOL
All Hail the king baby

and just for anyone who might have missed the Old "old Spice" comercial

Star Wars 30th Anniversary

2007-05-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well I have been told that I have to write about the upcoming Star Wars 30 year anniversary. Succumbing to peer pressure isn’t my usual style, but in this case I’ll make an exception. Its Star Wars after all, If you can’t make an exception for star wars, what can you make an exception for.

I was 4 years old when the original Star Wars came out. A little too young to remember much about the phenomenon. What I do remember was the toys. Those cool action figures that I got in my xmas stocking rocked. I am pretty sure I didn’t know what they were for, but I do remember that I battled my Princess Leia against my evil brothers Darth Vader. Years later, still playing with those same figures, they met a tragic end when the forces of good and evil got trapped in the microwave of doom ,and the were radiated to a large stinking pile of burning plastic. The Horror…. The Grounding….The Stench of burning plastic.

I am old enough to remember the next movie “the empire strikes back “ (my person favorite of the hexology…hexolgy? Is that even a word”) when it came out in theatres. The fight sequence with the x-wing and the Imperial walkers on the snow world of Hoth was just about the coolest thing I had seen in a movie. I had a big old crush on Han Solo by this time and remember being very upset that Leia and Han Kissed.(back off sister he’s mine….which is kinda creepy cause I was only 7 years old) That and Bobba Fett just rocked.

Which brings me to the next of the series “return of the Jedi”. Hated it! Why? One word. EWOKS. I was by this time a cynical 13 year old, that saw through the adorable cuddly characters and saw the vile attempt at marketing cute plush toys to children. Gone was the cool space operetta, and in place was a bunch of non treatening teddy bears that danced and sang. Sure there was cool moments to the film, like the hover bike chase through the forests of Endore, but as soon as those stupid midget furballs appeared, the franchise was tarnished in my eyes.

Which leads me to the new movies.

I was prepared to give them a chance, but as soon as Jar Jar Binks made his first appearance, I was done with the whole works.

For me there are only Two Star Wars Films. A New Hope, and Empire Strikes Back will always be fond memories from my childhood.

On Friday May 25th 2007 BIFF will be hosting an evening of Star Wars celebration. If your interested and don’t mind heading over to North Vancouver, stop in and meet the mass of sci-fi geeks.

2007-05-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite times of year. The short period of time when both of my favorite flowers are in bloom. I woke up this morning, and the smell of the lilac tree near my window scented my room, and then when I left the house, the Pink dogwood was all out in bloom. Beauty way to start the day.
But now that I am home from work, I'm so freakin tired I think I am going to take a nap intill nightfall.

Sick Day

2007-05-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the worst headache. It was a skull cracker. I was also so cold, that my shivering so bad, I could barely pour my morning coffee. I decided to call off today. Thats right today isn't happening, its just a bad nightmare.

I went and saw Spiderman3 yesterday with the Vancouver meet up group. Bruce Campbell was stellar...as per normal

Saturday I watched Inland Empire the new David Lynch Film. It was....strange, which is normal for lynch, but this movie is even stranger than some of his usual fare.

Tuesday was the new Nicholas Cage film NEXT. Its based on a Philip K Dick novel. The movie was OK, but could have been batter simply by ending the film two minutes earlier.

I am officially movied out for a while. Three movies in one week is just too much for me. I think I'll stick to DVD's for a while. Maybe I'll watch Fargo again....

New P/T Job?

2007-05-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

So I have just got back from a job interview today. Its for a part time job at a local grocery store that doesn't conflict with my real job, or my fairly limited social calender. The job is for a cashier / price changer. The kicker is the applicant must be willing to work the Saturday night graveyard shift. I applied for only the Saturday night graveyard, and have no interest in the cashiers job. I guess that was a bit of a first for the guy. =)

Crossing my Fingers
all 12 of them

Cancer & Headlights

2007-05-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

My aunt and uncle were leaving my house when I got home from work. They had stopped in to visit my mother. My uncle has been suffering from Leukemia for a couple of years now, but for the first time he actually looks sick. Really sick! Cancer is such a nasty condition. It is killing my uncle in slow motion.

On a much more frustrating, albeit not nearly as depressing note, the Headlights in my truck died last night. I had just come back from the movies and it was dark as night on Bel ave. which is fitting since it was in fact nighttime, and the lights flickered and then died when I started up the truck.. I had to drive home in stealth mode. So this morning I stopped at the local Crappy Tire to buy a new set of Halogens, and went to replace to bulbs. HOLY HECK BATMAN, I’m gonna have to tear apart half the freak’n engine compartment to get access to the damn headlights. It’s a whole freaking nightmarish repeat of trying to replace an oil filter on a GMC JIMMY. What is with car makers, headlights burn out, it should be an easy DIY project. But NO well make it very difficult for you to do any maintenance on your vehicle. Its not like I am rebuilding the damn engine, merely replacing a burnout bulb. YARRgggg I ‘m frustrated…. But at least my heads not in the gutter at the moment.

Oops

I spoke to soon

Hot Fuzz

2007-04-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hot Fuzz is the funniest movie I have seen in years.
You should all go out and watch it.

The Day of Reckoning

2007-04-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well I knew the day was coming.

The Machine is fixed!

Surprisingly I am OK with it. Two weeks of Engineers, Machinists, and Millwrights crawling all over the machine has done it a damb world of good. It was operating in a completely non-aggravating manner all day. Huzzah

There was a down note on the day though. My # 1 pet peeve in the entire multiverse (even more annoying than people mocking the suffragette movement) are people that throw their cigarette butts out their car windows. There was this guy waiting for the traffic light in front of me. He rolled down his window, and tossed his butt. I tapped the horn, mimicked throwing the cigarette, and put the big old L sign on my forehead. He smiled back at me, rolled down his window again, and poured his entire ashtray out on the road. WHAT THE F$%#

Anyhow, off to see the movie Hot Fuzz tonight

MP3

2007-04-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

I broke down and bought a MP3 player last week. I have looked at them a few times over the last couple of years, but always chose not no buy one because I don't listen to that much music anymore. Well, I now regret the years, I have spent without my MP3 player. I downloaded my entire CD collection on to the tiny thang, and have rediscovered allot of my old favorites. I have been listening to Cub, Delerium, Rose Chronicles, Ella Fitz, Artie Shaw, Tom Waites, Tommy Dorset, My life with the Thrill Kill Cult....yadda, yadda, yadda

I'm over the moon, three sheets to the wind, ecstatic even.

That and the machine was still not working right when i left work today!

I LOVE LIFE....TODAY
hehehehehehe

Now if I could only figure a way to transfer my old Nelson Eddy 78's I'll be set.

Moving things with your mind is the coolest thing in the world
- 12year old in Phil the Alien

Fun With Kill-X

2007-04-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Creepy Conversation

2007-04-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Had a disturbing conversation with a Co-Op student today. We were working in a the dry room listening to cknw. It was all about the shootings at Virgina Tech yesterday. The Co-op student said it was a shame, but there was really no way to stop it from happening. I asked if she didn't believe handgun controls would help any (I don't believe they would help, but was interested in her perspective). The answer I got creeped the hell out of me.

"Take away the guns, and scary people will just become more creative. If i wanted to kill a lot of people a gun is the last option id take. Id take a can of Sterno and a metal plate. place them in the ventilation system in the middle of the night in a dorm building, light it up and pour mercury on the dish. If your lucky you could probably get a couple of dorms done in a single night before you got caught. Take away the guns, and scary people will start getting creative, and that the last thing we all need."

OK, I'm paraphrasing a bit, but that was the gyst of the statement.

Creepy, especially since she is a happy, smiley, bubbly, sociable person.

Melancholy Monday

2007-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

I went for a walk during lunch, nowhere in particular just walking listening to some Ella Fitz. I was oblivious to almost everything but the demented little world that located between my ears. I suddenly snapped out of my daydream and found myself in the middle of the Pitt Meadows airport parking lot. That parking lot was the last confirmed place my friend Martin was alive . Martin Balfour was a co-worker, and a friend. Not a great friend, but I went to his parties, and i invited him to mine. We flirted at work, in a game of trying to make the other blush first. He usually won. Dec 28, 2001 martin disappeared. His car was found at the local airport, but no traces of him where ever found. I volunteered with the search party that combed the dyke's and scrub land that are adjacent to the Fraser river, two days, and countless people looking for ...something...anything...nothing

Martin is still missing, and I am still missing him, six years later.

Swinging Leland

2007-04-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of my nephew Leland, and he is a swinger. Leland is always happiest when hes in motion, so his first easter present from his aunt is a swing.I wish I had audio to go with this photo, cause he makes the funniest "wheeeoooooooo" sound.

Snoopy Dance of Joy

2007-04-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the biggest grin on my face. The day progressed, and I just got happier and happier. I then went and looked at the broken machine....it was still broken, and I did the snoopy dance of joy. Its weird how much anger and frustration a repetitive and pointless task can cause. Now, the broken machine is not the only reason my work is causing me stress, but for now, a few days away from that particular form of torture is doing me a world of good.

Doing the snoopy dance

happy happy joy joy

2007-04-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

My work has been stressing me out. This has been going on for a while now. A large portion of this stress can be attributed to working on one particular machine I have had to deal with a lot lately. Its an old piece of junk that has been re modified dozens of times, each time stretching the demands on the machine, well pass the original design specs. Today, the machine was behaving excruciatingly bad. I cursed, I swore, I kicked the frame work of the machine. Nothing seemed to work. Then the machine let out this nasty squeal, then BANG.....

The machine finally died!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

I'm so uber-happy

Green Thumb 2

2007-04-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the green house that was going to be built on the old swing set has had conditions put upon it. I can use it, but I have to make it safe for my nephew to play on it. The whole unit is heavily rusted, and in need of some serious sanding and rust proof painting. It wasn't that bad of a job sanding it down, especially once I gave up on sanding it by hand, and set up the sand blaster. The rust literally flew off. I even managed to find a couple of old cans of tremclad kicking around, so I didn't even have to spend a nickel on the project.

I still have to put a couple of more coats of paint on the unit, before I can start building the green house. In the mean time I have started a half barrel garden in another part of the yard. Its planted with peas, alpine strawberry's, oregano, and will eventually have a tomato plant in the middle of the planter.

2007-04-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I have five days off in a row, and very little to do. Normally this would fill me with a sense of dread and foreboding. I'm the kinda person that needs to be doing something...anything to keep from getting bored. When I get bored, I get into trouble, when I get into trouble, things get broken, when things get broken...its usually involves my acquiring of scar tissue =D. I think everything is going to be OK though, cause I have books. Many Many books. Many, many ,many books. Dale, very generously lent me a series of Steven Brust books that I am devouring. I have three more "bourne identity" sequel books, and a Roman 2000 year old cookbook. That should last me the weekend. Life is wonderful.

I will also try to squeeze in a viewing of Grindhouse this weekend. I always feel weird about going to the movies solo, but this movie looks so freak'n great I'll make an exception. I am looking forward to seeing the "hobo with a shotgun" trailer on the big screen.

Delight in Disorder

2007-04-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

It was around 2 weeks ago, when a casual conversation that started with a reference to BlackAdder, wound its way to Elizabethan English poets and playwrights. That conversation has rekindled my love for the genre of the Cavalier poets. I was leafing through one of the volumes I own on this subject and found one of my favorite poems.

Delight in Disorder
by Robert Herrick
(1591-1674)

A SWEET disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness :
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distraction :
An erring lace which here and there
Enthrals the crimson stomacher :
A cuff neglectful, and thereby
Ribbons to flow confusedly :
A winning wave (deserving note)
In the tempestuous petticoat :
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie
I see a wild civility :
Do more bewitch me than when art
Is too precise in every part.

Vatican 2

2007-04-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

So I'm still in the Vatican after the door of salvation incident, when I found myself down in the crypt area. It was pretty quiet down there just and old lady and myself. I was looking at some long dead popes marble coffin, when the little old lady (think of those old corn husk dolls) started yammering at me in Italian. I just looked at her blankly. She yammered louder and was pointing at me. I start looking around myself, worried that I was standing on something that shouldn't be stood on. This lady then advanced towards me yammering even louder, grabbed my chain and started yanking it, trying to remove my neck along with the chain. I then new that my pentacle, that had been stuffed under my shirt, had been swinging free. Unfortunately for me I had the pendant on dog tag chain, so It was not coming of without removing my neck. Call me crazy but I am parshal to keeping my neck exactly where it is now. So I flat palmed the chick in the middle of the chest and pushed her away. I used a little more force than was needed to remove the octogenarian, and she ended up flying away from me and landed on her butt. The yammering had then changed to full on yelling and was approaching screaming levels.....

Suddenly two large men with no necks had ran down the stairs, paused to listen to the old lady, then grabbed me and proceeded to briskly take me out of the basilica. They took me just outside of Vatican property, and told me "Don com bak".

About a half hour later my mother came back to our agreed upon meeting spot, and asked me where I had gone.

I lied

Blood Trail to Naked Cop

2007-03-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

I was living in an illegal deathtrap of a basement suite around 5 years ago. It was close to my work, and the price was right, so I was willing to put up with a lot of stuff. For $300. a month, I was willing to put up with a whole lot of stuff. The worst part was having shared laundry facilities in my suite. It meant that the door adjoining the suites was usually unlocked. I started work early back then, and the upstairs usually was still using the dryer when I went to bed so I left it unlocked, and told them to please shut the door when they got there laundry…they never remembered. This one night I went to bed early again, closed my door, put in the earplugs, and drifted of to never never land. The next morning I woke up and went to use the bathroom. The door was was left wide open....again. I went to close it when I noticed blood on the floor. I glanced to the front door, It was ajar. Blood leading from the front door, across their white carpet and into my suite. I was a first aid attendant, and my first though was not Danger Will Robinson, but an accusatory..how could I sleep through a medical emergency. I followed the blood trail to my bathroom. Blood all over the floor, and none anywhere else. The I noticed the toilet seat was left up. I then followed the blood trail out of the bathroom and down the hall to the living/dining room. That door was shut. That door was never shut. The only heating available in the entire basement was from a baseboard heater in that room. I went back to my room and grabbed a lacrosse stick from my golf bag and head back to the door. I slowly opened the door. The lights were off....again something I never did, as I wanted to jack up the utilities bill cause I was angry at my landlord. I turned on the lights and glanced in the room.

NAKED GUY ON MY COACH.

I turned off the lights and closed the door. I am now in full out freak out mood. I am usually pretty good about weirdness happening around me....but not in my FREAKIN HOME.

That when I realized that my landlord upstairs was an RCMP officer. Yes the Mountie was renting an illegal deathtrap suite. I decided I'd let him deal with it. I left a hastily scribed note on the stairs, went outside and rang the door bell about 50 times, and then left for work.

I got to work and went straight to my boss and had a conversation something like this

Colleen: Betty, naked guy....coach....freaking out.....blood trail......must move.....today

Betty: ooooohhhhhKAaaay

Colleen: I leave now

Betty : bye bye

So I drive back to my suite, and the Mountie is coming out of the house with this dude laughing like nothing was wrong. He explained that this guy was his former RCMP partner, and he still had a key to the house, and thought he'd be a nice guy and not wake up the house when he staggered there from a local bar. Apparently he had cut his foot on metal debris outback when he use the hot tub, and didn't realize he had bled allover the place.

I said I don't care, I'm moving out today, and I wanted that months rent back and my damage deposit.

He said no

I said I had taken pictures of the blood trail leading naked cop, and wouldn't the media have a field day with this story....especially the angle about the cop breaking the law with an illegal suite.

He said that was extortion or some such nonsense

I agreed

I got my money

Green Thumb 1

2007-03-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

Since we have had a couple of nice days in a row, and the daytime ave. temperatures are starting to hit double digit numbers. I declare it gardening season. I love to garden, but not for flowers... I am a farmer at heart, so its vegetable crops for me. I would dearly love a large yard that I was allowed to dig up, but alas I must make due with what I am allowed. This is the future home of the "Pre-Memorial Bruce Campbell Vegetable Garden, & Zombie Reburial Ground"

A 30 year old swing set / monkey bar combo, that My dad welded up for my brother and I. I need to find the canoe a new home, and box in the whole thing with poly for a green house. I already have some evil plans for gravity feed watering systems.

I have a lot of work to do.

Shakespeare Must Die

2007-03-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Why is Shakespeare so damb popular. I was at the book store the other day in the historic literature section, and I was underwhelmed at the selection of anything, that wasn't Shakespeare. Shakespeare was just one of many playwrights and poets that were around in Tudor/Stewart eras of england. The "bard" had four shelves to himself, and a 1/4 of a shelf was left for every other poet and playwright that has ever published a damb word. Not one play by Bernard Shaw, no poetry by Ben Johnson, a treaty on the masques written by Thomas Campion.....not a chance. Yet If I wanted to buy an obscure play by Shakespeare...let say Timon of Athens....you could chose from a couple different editions.

I wish I could go back in time and beat the crap out of Shakespeare's friends. Shakespeare would have been forgotten if not for his friends that went out of there way to collate and publish his plays... Maybe if someone had discouraged them, maybe, just maybe there might be enough shelf space at book stores for at least a copy of Major Barbara by Bernard Shaw.

Vatican 1

2007-03-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I was visiting Europe in 2000 with my mother, and we found ourselves in Rome. We had decided to go to the Vatican and check out St.' Peters Basilica and museum. It just so happened that 2000 was the year they open a special door into the basilica. This doorway is always closed, but every 25 years it is reopened, and apparently your sins are washed away when you walk though it.

Well I had 27 years of sinning behind me, and I figured that it was a good thing to wipe the slate clean. Well I passed through the door, and I felt an overwhelming sense of ..... nothing really. So I continued on looking at some of the cool architectural frippery's that abound in the church, when I noticed an extremely cute young man nearby......

So I went through the door again, and almost immediately had another dirty though.

So I went through the door again...

I went through the door 7 times, before I decided that keeping the slate clean was too much effort.

Listening to

Its gonna kill me

2007-03-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Oh MY GODDESS,

My friend Marina showed me a trailer for a movie last night. Single greatest trailer ever made. I laughed ,I cried, I threw up a little in my mouth. I am laughing hysterically as I type, cause I viewed it again just now.

Its called "HOBO with a Shotgun"

I am devastated that this is only a trailer. I would pay double theater prices to see a movie based on these clips.

I am not sure, but I think the star is a former wrestler that was on ECW wrestling. I think the name was "sandman", use to open beer cans, take a swig, and then throw them hard into the audience....classy

Listening to: HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN TRAILER

Libs Demand Doris to Resign

2007-03-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

The Federal Liberals are opening up old cans of worms again. This time their target is Stockwell "don't call me Doris" Day. New breaking information has come up in regards to an old allegation.
Back when we still had the Canadian Alliance party, Doris ran in a riding in the Okanogan, that was left vacant by the ex MP Jim Hart. The scandal back then was Doris had payed Jim to leave politics. This is a serious allegation as it is illegal to get payed to step down. The RCMP back in 2001 did a full investigation into the matter, and came up with the results that there was payment to Jim Hart for stepping down, but the amount was well within reasonable limits that are allowed for expenses in closing up the shop....so to speak. The amount was ~ $6000.
Jim Hart would have made considerably more money by just sticking around and not doing anything until the next election. Why is this being dragged up AGAIN. If the Rcmp have investigated this once already, and found everything.....adequate (maybe not ethical..but not illegal). Do we go to the added expense to investigate it again? The cost of the investigation would surely far exceed the money that was payed out to begin with.

I thought that the threat of election was passed for the moment...why the mudslinging now?

Government is Frak'd

What ever

listening to: WHO ~ quadraphenia soundtrack

The Scariest Movie Scene Ever

2007-03-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

I have recently been watching a few movies that I remember fondly from my youth. It struck me that quite often the movies that strike the biggest chord in me, are not particularly good films. Its little bits of comedy, or horror that make me remember these films. Hudson Hawk is craptacular example of a film, but It has one of the best slapstick scene's in a comedy I recall. For approx. 45 seconds of film....all is forgiven, and it remains one of my all time favorites.

Steven King novels that are made into movies are usually pretty bad. That said, the single scariest moment in film comes from that horrible movie, Pet Cemetery. I have seen this film (or at least the first 10 minutes or so), more times than I care to admit. Yet even though I am well versed in this movie, I still jump out of my skin and scream like a little girl, when that stupid cat jumps out of the tree, just before the music cues tell you something is going to happen. It scares the bejesus out of me.

I have been asked to bring out the movie "Phil the Alien" to my Friday night scifi club meeting. This is a little know canadian film that involves Phil the Alien, lots of alcohol and a talking beaver. Yet even a low budget Canadian scifi telefilm special has a great scene where Phil has just left the talking beavers lodge and staggers through the woods looking for the tavern...bottle of whiskey (medicine) in hand. Sounds awful right? Now put Rush's "Tom Sawyer" over the whole scene....cool.

listening to: Talking Head ~ Psycho Killer

Walking on Air

2007-03-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Its weird how a little thing will make your whole day complete.

I was having a particularly nasty day at work, and when lunch came around, I bolted from the building with nowhere in particular to go....

I found myself in the local Value Village, trying to find some good used books to read, when my eye was caught be something across the room.

A beam of light shining from the heavens illuminating....(or at least it seemed to be from heaven...it could have just been a pot light) a thing of such untold beauty, I nearly wept for joy.

I had found an "EVIL DEAD" lunchbox

unfortunately it didn't come with the thermos...I never use thermos' anyhow.

Bruce Campbell's face is all over it.

I am in such a good mood right now.

listening to: Thrill Kill Kult ~ Blue Buddha

Good Bad and Mediocre Kinda Day

2007-03-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

I woke up and it was raining hard.....bad
The coffee was day old but made....mediocre
I headed off to the Epic Sustainable living expo....good
I stepped in a ankle deep puddle....bad
Had exact change for skytrain....mediocre
Got to read my book while on sky train....good
It was raining buckets....bad
There was no lineup to get into the expo...good
The first thing I saw was an old Detriot electric car....very good
People started wishing me a "green day"....mediocre
The expo was full of Granola cruncher types....bad
There was very little stuff on actual going off the grid....bad
more people wished me a "green day".....bad
There was a company selling books....good
They had books I owned or really expensive books...mediocre
They wished me a "green day"......BAD
They had two electric bike companies....good
the bikes were outta my price range....mediocre
The Bike sellers seemed clueless about battery technology questions...bad
I left the expo.....good
The wished me a "green Day" as I left....BAAAD
It was raining hard...bad
Bought a nice cup of coffee....goood
I bought me three dvd's.....good
They didn't have Quincy....bad
I bought a copy of a Matisyahu CD....goood
It rained some more.....mediocre
I bought books.....goood
I had exact change for skytrain....good
I got to read my book on the skytrain.....good
I got an ankle soaker on the other foot avoiding the earlier stated puddle.......BAD
Got to listen to Matisyahu on my drive home....good
I watched it rain some more...but I was inside....mediocre
I am going to watch one of my new dvd's....good
Its a Bruce Campbell movie....GREAT

Listening to: cub ~ Satan Sux

Up in Arms Over ATM's

2007-03-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was listening to the radio earlier today, and some listener had phoned in lighting there hair on fire over the outrageous fee's banks are charging us to take out our own money. How dare the bank's charge us a fee for using a different bank's ATM. They are making a huge windfall at the expense of the poor working class.

Now I'm no apologist for the big banks, but I think they should charge people, that don't have an account with their bank, a nominal fee. I don't get charged for taking money out of the ATM as long as it's a machine from the bank i deal with. Its simple, if you hate getting dinged for taking out 20$ every day, how about taking out enough money for the whole week. Dinged once a week instead of 7 times. They aren't charging you a percentage of what you remove from the bank, they are charging you a flat rate for the convenience of using there machine. They don't care if your removing $20 or $200, you get charged $1.50.

The NDP is pushing for the banks to be legislated to not charge anymore fees for ATM withdrawals. Don't we have more pressing problems? How about rewriting the WHOLE charter of rights, and replace it with a more sensible charter of rights and responsibilities.

OR MAYBE ITS JUST I STILL HAVE A HEADACHE, AND I AM GRUMPY!!!!!

On a lighter note, I am looking forward to Saturday, as I will be going to "EPIC sustainable living expo". I wanna check out some of the techi based stuff, especially the promoters of the electric bikes and cars. I hope the dudes from the states that are developing solar panel fabric are going to show. I am not sure if they are at the marketing stage for their project yet . I also am hoping the granola crunching is kept to a minimum.

Remember kids SHOP SMART ~ SHOP S-MART

listening to; Dead Milkmen ~ Big Lizard in my Backyard.

Swelling Itching Brain

2007-03-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I woke up with an immense head ache this morning and it only got worse as the day progressed. I normally don't get migraines, hell I am normally one of those annoying people that can drink all night and wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed early the next morning. I had a doozie of a migraine. That sensation of someone pushing at your eyeball from the inside...oh ya that was happening. I am a total wimp when it comes to headaches. I broke my ribs from my sternum and cracked the ribs in the back near the spine....Took a grand total of 1 day off. A simple headache can bring my ability to do almost anything to a grinding halt. I think I am going to bed early, and pretend today didn't happen.

On the good side, I got my quarterly subscription newsletter from the BC scientific cryptozoology club today. I was thrilled to find on the last page that they are organizing a outing to look into reports of the giant salamanders at the top end of Pitt lake. I do believe I am going to have to catch that expedition.

Listening to: Devo ~ Swelling Itching Brian ~

Booklist Meme

2007-03-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

I found this meme on my friend Marina's blog, and stole it for my own. She stole it from Webmiztris. Its a pretty decent list of books, but I wish there had been some Bernard Shaw, or some Conan Doyle, even Terry Pratchett would have been cool....atlas we cant have it all.

* Look at the list of books below.
* Type "READ" beside the ones you've read.
* Type "WANT TO" beside the ones you'd like to read.
* Type "AGAIN AND AGAIN" beside the ones you could read again and again.
* Type "TRIED" beside the ones you gave the ol' college try and then gave up on.
* Leave blank the ones that you aren't really interested in.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) READ
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) READ
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) READ
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) READ
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) READ
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) READ
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) READ
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) READ
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) READ
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) READ
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) READ
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)TRIED TO
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) READ
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)READ
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) READ
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (D. Adams) READ AND READ
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) READ
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) READ
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)READ
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) READ AND READ
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) READ
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) READ
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) READ
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible READ
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)READ
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)READ AND READ
48. Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)READ
50. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) READ
53. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)READ
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) READ
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) READ
60. The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy) TRIED TO
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) READ
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones' Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell) READ
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence) READ
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)READ
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck) READ
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind)MAYBE
85. Emma (Jane Austen) READ
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)READ AND READ
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) READ
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) READ
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)READING
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton) READ
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Listening to: Mika ~ "Grace Kelly" Worth a listen

Memories from childhood

2007-03-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

I recently have been watching the A-team in the mornings while I eat my bowl of oatmeal. I LOVED this show as a child. I thought Hannibal was the coolest cat ever, and I had a total crush on the characters face/Murdoch. The show had it all, Car chases, explosions, bad guys, explosions, fugitives...have I mentioned the explosions. Boy, things sure appear different through the eyes of childhood. The show is so formulated, and cheesy...no make that extra cheesy. Every episode has the A-team locked up and/or hunkered down in a old abandoned warehouse / barn / rickety enclosure that has just enough misc. junk lying around to make projectile weapons. How many episodes had the same sheets of rusty tin roofing, welded onto a conveniently placed tractor/truck/forklift, to make a bullet proof screen. ???????

Its complete crap....yet...

I still love every tacky minute of the show.

Its weird, some shows are still as cool as when I loved them as a kid... others are just nasty things best forgotten.

I still love Quincy, A-team, Rockford Files, Barney Miller, Avengers.
I no longer love Chips, Cheers, Happy Days, Andy Griffin show, V

Listening To: The Avengers Soundtrack

Going fishing in my back yard

2007-03-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well its been raining like gangbusters here in the cloud catching city of Port Coquitlam. Enough that I had to go into my shop and lift my entire wood stack so that it was raised off the floor. The water hasn't entered the woodshop yet....yet. The entire back yard is a couple of inches below water, and the gutters are overflowing. I cleaned them out last month after all the wind storms, so I know they are plugged. Its just that its raining so freaking hard that the run off from the roof is more than the poor gutters can manage.

On the bright side of the small lake in the back yard, is that my dog is having the time of her life. I stood in the doorway and watched her run across part of the yard, leap, and slide across to the fence. I haven't laughed so hard in ages.

listening to: Garbage ~ I'm only happy when it rains

taxation without representation

2007-03-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

Theres been allot of media attention for the last few days surrounding the recent changes in regards to the Translink authority (local roads and transit authority). I have always had a problem with Translink. I believe the region needs a central transport agency, but If they have the power to tax (levee) the citizens of the GVRD they absolutely need to be elected. We need to be able to hold them accountable. People who disagree with my opinion say we already have the ability to hold them accountable. They are all mayors of the local municipalities, and can be turfed out of office every municipal election. I vote for someone to run my municipality, not for a single voice in a local transit authority. If my mayor is doing a kick ass job, making sure the city is running smoothly, and my taxes are used in a sensible manor, I am not going to kick him out of office no matter how much Translink may have their heads stuck up their asses.

Translink recently introduced a Parking stall tax on business in the GVRD. The calculated it buy the area of your business's land- actual area of the building. The company I work for has a very large rolling green space, with trees, and decorative flowerbeds. This green space was all accessed as parking stall space....why? Because in theory It could be used as parking. Its this kinda of mind set that makes me want to kick the local representative to the curb. My mayor although apparently a stalker of an ex-girlfriend, is actually doing a fairly decent job as mayor. What o what is a girl to do. (I know my first instinct to burn down Translinks office building Is wrong)

The Provincial government has final stepped in to change the governance structure of Translink

Huzzah!!!!!!!!!

But wait, Its going to be even more unaccountable to the people, and or gas tax is going up....but at least the parking stall tax is going.

taxation without representation sucks

Man, this area is messed up.

Well, at least I have the "Army of Darkness" to cheer me up.

Listening to : Ice T ~ Walk softly, but carry a big gun

Cry me a frak'n river

2007-03-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days, I have heard so many people crying about Betty Krawczyk being sentenced to 10 months in jail, that I feel the need to vent.
For those of you that may not have been following this story, here is my shortened version.
Betty is famous for being an old chick that likes to protest for enviromental causes. She is also known for repeatedly ignoring judicial orders to stay out of certain areas. Time and again she has crossed the line from simply protesting (which is everyones right), to breaking the rules. She has been warned repeatedly, and has even spent a bit of time in the big house. Her causes may be the right thing to do (or wrong...don't care), but when you break the rule of law you need to own up and deal with the consequences. To give Betty her do thou, She is admirably willing to go to jail for her opinions. Its all the others out there that are whining that she is being sentenced to 10 months in the Pen that are driving me nuts.

I don't care shes old
I don't care shes a grandmother
I don't care if her cause is right or wrong
I don't care that car thieves get less time in jail....
(actually I do care, they should get a hell of allot more time)

Commit the crime, do the time

She is a habitual repeat offender, and should be punished.
Canada affords a plethora of opportunities to protest, but when the courts rule that you must stay behind the yellow police tape....YOU DO IT. Go to the Legislature and protest, carry a placard outside your MLA office, Call the press and whine to them....actually don't do that cause then I 'd have to watch you whining on the 5 o'clock news.

Yes the rules even apply to Betty Krawczyk!!!!!!

I have been know to break rules (especially when I was younger), but when I was caught I always owned up, and dealt with the consequences.

Arrrggg I find this all so annoying.

I need to destress. I think I'll go tend to my bonsai tree now!

Listening to: Dave Stewart (From Eurythmics fame) ~ Greetings from the gutter

Hail to the King....Baby

2007-03-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

I went to my Biff meeting last friday expecting to talk to friends, eat moderately priced food, and watch Space Balls the movie. I was surprised with a card signed by the regulars, and a gift of.... The Army of Darkness dvd.
Those of you that have spent more that a couple of hours talking to me will have realized I have a slight obsession with Bruce Campbell. It was the perfect gift as it is the only mainstream film of BC that I do not own.
but.......
What a time waster.
I have watched Army of Darkness four times since friday.

In fact I think I am going to watch it again.
I just cant get enough of Bruce Campbell and the zombies

listening to Pixies ~ This monkey is gone to heaven

Last Words

2007-03-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

I normally don't fill out this kind off thing ,
But I like the idea of knowing what my last words might be

Your Famous Last Words Will Be:

"I dunno, press the button and find out."

What Will Your Famous Last Words Be?

I am not surprised about it at all
I just seems like something I'd say before
I kick the bucket!

Listening to :Tank Girl Soundtrack

Global Warming

2007-03-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have been fascinated by the current debate, or lack thereof, on global warming. Now, I don't have an issue with the fact that global temperatures are rising,. What I have a problem with is the cult like following that this movement is attracting. Either you agree with what they say about global warming unquestioningly, or you are a great big evil SOB, that is one step removed from holocaust deniers. Pardon me, If I care how the stats that are being throwing around were actually derived. I think we all are aware that 83.4% of all stats are made up on the spot. =) I watched a small amount of the Oscars, and I found the glassy eyed look that some of the movie stars had while watching Al Gore accept his statue, highly disturbing. Its like they are looking upon the face of God. Recently it was found that Al Gore's (poster child for saving the planet) personal residence used 20X the electricity as comparable homes in the area he lives. Wanna stop global warming Al, stop heating your frak'n pool. It is also surprising that Al's electricity bill has doubled since he became involved with an Inconvenient truth. Huzzah of Hypocrisy.

Listening to Devo 2.0

The Big Let Down

2007-03-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

I decided I couldn't afford a kick ass laptop at this time. I took my tower into the shop so it could be fixed. Well I was phoned back yesterday to come pick up the computer, and that it was all tickedyboo. I was very happy! I was even happier when I found that they gave me a new hard drive, and the charge....$0.00. Hurray! So I drive over to Futureshop to pick up the beastie, and cruise home with a big grin on my face.

I hooked up the computer....Same blue screen of death as when I took it in.

DOH!!!!
Well It looks like I'll be driving back there tonight

Listening too: Elvis Costello ~ Oliver's Army

Kazoo a go-go

2007-02-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my birthday with a lot of my family this weekend.
It was your normal coffee and cake occasion, with presents aplenty.
Well I got the normal things, and there wasn't that much suprise with what I got.
There was exception though.

I got me a Kazoo.

I learned how to play the facts of Life theme song on it.

Be afraid.....very afraid.

This is one of the best presents I have ever received.

Simple Pleasures....Simple Minds

Listening to : Matisyahu "youth" Wicked cool Jewish Hiphop star

Rest in Peace

2007-02-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

My computer is frak'd

I do believe it may be permanent this time

I think fate is finally giving me the bitch slap I dearly need.

Its time to finally get a laptop.

I could probably fix the old desktop....

Naaaaaa.

Whats a little debt between bank and bankee!

I don't know how often I will get to post in the next little while, My mom's computer is slower than molasses.

Cheers
Colleen

listening to Weird Al

Is it Friday Yet

2007-02-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

I watched the clock today. I watched it long, and I watched it often!

Just when I thought It might be quiting time, I was underwhelmed to see that the clock had only managed to crawl another quarter hour across the clock face. Frak'n lazy clock.

Time crawls when I am training new people. I am a hands on kinda gal, and the thought of verbally instructing someone how to perform a task, while they fumble their way around is draining. What made it even worse, was I had a dump load of data entry I had to do, and Paradox was telling me I had insufficient rights to enter basic data. My Team Leader kept on calling to ask me why I hadn't done the data entry yet. The fact that I kept telling him the IS department was working on it, didn't seem to register with him. I finally left the phone of the hook, and turned the radio up so I couldn't hear the pages =D

Word of the Week : Sploogie something that can be compacted with your foot. Once the Sploog that is quite Splooogie has been compacted it has been Splooged.

Listening to: Dead Cats "Bucket of Love"

The art of Mending Fences

2007-02-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

You may be wondering where the old blogs have gone.

I have deleted them to save a friendship.

My blogging has hurt one of my friends, and although I only wrote what actually happened, my view point isn't worth losing this friend. I have promised never to write anything about the individual again, and have deleted all but one of the old blogs.

Cheers

Colleen

Letter of Reference

2007-02-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

You may have heard of some of the crazy things that are happening to me at work the last little while. Important people inside the company are jumping ship fast and furious like. This is bad. Is the end imminent?

I went to my supervisor today to ask for a letter of reference. She made the funniest face of anguish I have ever witnessed. We have a small department and two people handed in their two weeks notices lately. She just stood there with her mouth flapping and no sound being uttered. It takes upwards of four months to be fully trained in all the areas of my work, and the new trainee just started training last week. (my section inside the department consists of two people)

I took pity on my supervisor and told her I was only looking for part time work. The look of relief that spread across her face, made me feel all good inside for lying to her. I am looking for another full time job.

Cheers
C O'P

listening to: Tom Jones

I hope you get cancer and die

2006-09-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

I was driving to a social club meeting last Friday, when the driver infront of me at a traffic light through their cigarette butt out their car window. It hadn't rained in weeks and there's dead grass everywhere. I tap my horn to get their attention. They look at me in there rear view mirror, while I mimic smoking a cigarette, throwing out the window, and then shrugged my shoulders in a questioning manner. She gave me the finger and mouthed the words F*** YOU.

Thats when I noticed the for sale sign in the back of her SUV. I tapped in the number listed into my cell phone, and proceeded to drive through the intersection. A few blocks away from there she pulled into her driveway. A couple of blocks away, I pulled over the truck (I don't use the cell phone while driving), and gave the Betty a ring. She answered. I told her I had seen the for sale sign in the back of her SUV. She was happy. I asked her why she felt the need to throw her butts out the window of her vehicle. She was not so happy. OBSCENE LANGUAGE INSERTED HERE/DEATH THREATS/A WEIRD REFERENCE TO OPTICAL RAPAGE. I stated "I hope you get cancer and die."

I phoned her back three times that night.

Cheers
Colleen Prime

PS I have since gotten rid of her cell phone number ... I mean it was funny for me .... but I don't really need any new hobbies.