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9/30/2004...2:50
pm
Do tacky purple trophies make up for a lack of
competition? Hell yeah!
We won Clambake, without an speck of
a challenge. Luckily, the party made it worthwhile. If only
we had taken a picture of the feast of food piled on our table:
bowls of chowdah, mussels, clams, lobsters, corn, butter, pasta,
burgers, chicken, desserts and empty beer glasses. A beautiful
sight to behold. The second best thing about Clambake this year
was the weather. It was gorgeous and sunny during the day, and
Sat night it was t-shirt warm, where it is usually toque and
mittens cold.
Sometimes I wonder why I did not go into therapy.
Er...not that I need therapy, but maybe I should have been a
therapist. I guess it is never too late, right? It's not like
I am ever going to make money in publishing.
The world braces for the first presidential debate
tonight, as Bush squares off against Kerry. Everyone seems to
have an opinion about what the result will be. Then again, when
is that not the case? It should make for entertaining reading
tomorrow, that's for sure.
In other news (via Willis), apparently Russia is
moving towards ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. While I cannot pretend
to be well read on this subject, it does sound like a good thing,
or at the least a step in the right direction.
I am still reading The Perilous
Trade. But, I was
dragged kicking and screaming into Chapters after
the gym on Tuesday, and I bought two new books. The first I purchased
primarily because it has many, many, many pages (782 to be exact,
at least in the British English version). It is called Jonathan
Strange & Mr. Norrell. So far, it is readable and witty.
And it is about magicians.
The second book is a greek myth, retold. More details
to follow.
I am not sure I am so in love with CSI
NY. I mean,
it is not exactly dumb television like say, The Swan,
or one of those other reality shows, but once you've seen one
CSI, you've seen them all, no? For example, would they REALLY
try to find a rat that ate a bullet? And those rats on the show
look nothing like the very large, fiercesome beasts that stalk
the NYC city streets. On CSI, they looked much more like pet
store rats.
Also, can anyone tell me what the deal is with
the paperback edition in hardcover size? Not practical, my friends.
Not practical at all.
To all those of you who work at Chapters,
PLEASE NOTE: "Paperback" does not necessarily imply trashy mass-market
pocket-sized books. Apparently whoever is responsible for the
display labelling did not get the memo.
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9/24/04...8:35am
Judy
Blume is the first YA author to win
an honarary U.S. National Book Award. What pre-teen girl
did not read Deenie, Are
You There God, It's Me Margaret and Forever. In
many places around the states, she is censored because her
characters deal with issues like religion and sex. Somehow
her healthy, loving approach to these subjects seem so much
less "racy" than say, the O.C. or the latter years of 90210.
Maybe it is just the difference between watching someone else's
carefully crafted scene versus reading the words and using
your imagination to fill in the details.
I think Judy Blume is about as controvercial
as, say, Degrassi
Junior High (go ahead, see if you can't sing the theme song.
I'll give you a little help...)
"Wake up every morning, feeling sad and lonely..."
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9/23/04...11:42
am
Amusing evening out with Team
Storm Tuesday night. I suppose it didn't help that it was
ladies' night at Diable Vert. Let's just say that practice last
night was not the most productive we've ever had. Half the team
was still hungover.
Thought-provoking quote of
the day: “Those who seek to bestow legitimacy
must themselves embody it, and those who invoke international
law must themselves submit to it.” Spoken by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
And in case
you were wondering what 19 assault weapons any joe schmo can
now add to his collection in the US, slate columnist Brendan
Koerner lays
it all out for you.
Ian pointed
me towards a
site where you can comment on the books you've read,
are reading, want to read, will never read. It is a pretty neat
setup, as it keeps track of all book mentions in blogs on the
net.
Right now I am reading The
Perilous Trade. It's an analysis of Canadian book publishing
over the past 50 years. Although I often dread this type of read
(too flat) the writing is actually lively and entertaining. I wouldn't
say I was whipping through this one, but it's coming along.
Perhaps it is time to unpack the 40 boxes of books
we have in our basement and start re-reading some of the old
standbys.
Or, if anyone has suggestions...I'm all ears.
What happens to the Supreme Court if Bush wins?
What happens if Kerry wins? For a quick rundown on the reasons
why electing Bush might not be wise in the long as well as the
short term, read
this.
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9/20/04...1:00 pm
I guess I am not the only one who thinks the current
administration has Osama hidden somewhere and plans to "bring
him out" when the time is right.
And, in other news (and important for all you cyclists
out there) it only takes about 20 seconds for an inexperienced
thief to steal your bike, using a bic pen. Want to see a video
of how this amazing feat is accomplished? Read
about it here.
See
the video here.
All the news you need to know, and more...
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9/16/04...4:22 pm
If anyone has seen OUTFOXED,
you'll appreciate
this
article* about how big media can lie and get away with it
(as though you didn't already know that news sources were biased).
Even after spending my so called formative years in the U.S.
, it still amazes me that Fox News
is watched by so many people. Maybe that's because I only got
to watch half and hour of t.v. per night growing up, and we didn't
have cable. Somehow I could never (and still can't) imagine
Lloyd Robertson, Bill Hoagland or Mutsumi
Takahashi as sensationalist newscaster.
Learn something new every
day: 17 million Smarties are
made daily. Smarties are not to be confused with Rockets, even
though they are called Smarties in the U.S. The
internet has made it more and more obvious that people are
willing to collect anything.
* Thanks Pacanukeha.
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9/16/04...11:46 am
Lots of good reads in the news today:
- Here's a
cool map of how Hurricane Ivan is progressing
- Here's a reader's guide to the new "skeletons in the Bush
Family's closet" book
- Here's
a revealing look at big media history and waning influence,
in reference to Dan Rather and the story he broke about 30
year-old documents about Bush's shoddy military record.
- And finally, here is
a Call To Arms by Neal Pollack who thinks Kerry needs to Attack!!
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9/15/04...9:35 am
Noooooooo!
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9/14/04...4:40 pm
Is
the White House encouraging the notion that God endorses George
Bush? Interesting article by a Slate columnist
about whether people are being hoodwinked into believing that
God chose Mr. Bush Jr. to lead America along this path of, well...(so
many images come to mind here: death, destruction, uncertainty,
terrorist attacks, hatred, religious fervor....) Even back in
the day, Bush apparently didn't like to play
by the rules (thanks
Ian!)
Although there is no understanding the ideology
of the Chechen rebels and their recent attack on school children,
David Remnick, writing
for the New Yorker, provides a little bit of
insight as to what exactly is happening in Russia. Although he
admits that the line between the terrorists in the Middle East
and the Chechens is "murky," he does not shy away from noting
their parallels. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily
grind and forget, for a second, that all over the world people
are plotting, killing, shooting and dying.
It seems to beg the question: How can we call ourselves
the most evolved of the species? How can we believe (and teach
our children) that we, or our particular cause, is so important
that it trumphs innocent people's lives, tears families, communities,
or countries apart. Sometimes I think people are dumb. Sometimes
I know.
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9/13/04...10:22 pm
Today's amusing anecdote at the Rae/Fischer house:
Went for a run with my brother, Ian & Sonia, and managed to lose
the car keys while we were doing circuit training at Beaver Lake..
Realised this about 2 minutes before darkness fell and searching
through the leaves and sand near the playground became
an exercise in futility. As Ian so eloquently put it, it left
us in a double Catch-22, as the house keys, wallets, cell phone
(etc.) were locked in the car. To get into the house to get the
spare key for the car, well, we thought we'd have to figure out
a way to get into the car first. Luckily, Ian had left the basement
door unlocked, so we were able to get into the apt. But, the
"spare" car key was piled with other junk in a drawer
for a reason: It had spent a whole winter buried under the car,
snow, ice, rocks and salt near our parking spot on Hutchison.
It was not in good shape.
But, nothing a little CLR, hot water and a pair
of plyers couldn't fix!
In other not so amusing news, the
federal ban on assault weapons was not renewed. Yay Mr.
President for putting us all in a little more danger.
People post the weirdest junk on the web. This
guy even provided illustrations. But, it is worth a read.
If you love cats (or perhaps even more so if you hate
them) you'll appreciate this funny tale.
Also cool: Underground Movie in Paris, anyone?
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09/12/04...5:52 pm
Where has the weekend gone? You spend all of Sunday
afternoon reading the
paper and somehow the weekend just seems to disappear. Friday
night we went to see Dee perform with Kobayashi. Although
I have seen the band perform several times before, this was
a much more intimate show, and a great one to boot.
Luckily, we got VIP seating right in front of the stage. If you
haven't seen their blend of jazz-funk-rap-r&b, check out
their show at Le Swimming in early Oct. It's worth it.
Not being a smoker can really kick your ass sometimes.
I know I did it for years (Annie's, anyone?)
but spending more than an hour or so in a smoke-filled bar is
too much for me these days. With few people smoking at Middlebury--anyone
walking around with a cigarette in rural Vermont looks
very, very out of place--and NYC going smoke-free in all bars
& restaurants, I can't believe how disgusting I feel (and
smell) after a short time out on the town. I cannot imagine
Montrealers accepting sanctions that would in any way limit
their ability to use social smoking as a pick up/dating mechanism.
The casual smoker is more rampant here than anywhere else I've
ever been. However, reading the Daniel Feist series in The
Gazette about his recent battle with lung and brain cancer
might give at least a few souls cause to rethink the whole
nicotine addiction (as though there weren't enough information
out there already about why smoking is bad for you).
After a second hip surgery, Mario
Lemieux is still
the man. Anyone who knows hockey immediately goes slack- jawed
when Mario steps on the ice. He may not be the scoring machine
he once was, but he can set up plays and pass like nobody's
business (admittedly a strange expression).
Watching the World
Cup game against Jagr and the Czechs last
night, Mario really glides a step or two above every other player
out there.
What are Canadians going to do this season without
Hockey
Night in Canada?
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09/09/04...2:31
pm
Chapters/Indigo sucks. There are, in fact, few
satisfying bookstores in this town. The big boxers don't stock
enough books (and rarely more than a few by each author, unless
they are part of the English Canon). Paragraphe used to be the
place to shop, but now they are owned by Archambault,
so the motivation to support them is gone. Nicholas Hoare seems
to be the only independent still providing fodder for the literary
minds in this damn town.
I laughed aloud reading an
article by the former
intern at mediabistro. Alas he details too well the troubles
we young liberal arts degree holders face when it comes to
job prospects in our field.
Other entertaining bits of news today include:
- An
article in the NYTimes about the White House slamming
a book that has yet to achieve its pub date. What does the
book contain? Discussions of the Bush Family and their indiscretions.
Apparently NBC has been contacted and "discouraged" from
discussing the book and its contents. Talk about the exact
type of publicity Random House and the author want to
get.
- The moment the publishing world has been waiting for...Beans
& Noodles (as one professor used to call the chain) is expanding
its publishing business. Oh,
the horror.
- Ian forwarded
me this
link, which is particularly interesting. You grammar lovers
out there have to check it out. It is not perfect, but it is
pretty funny all the same. And it is called "The Passivator."
STORM has published a calendar. It is pretty hot,
and if anyone wants one, they are only $15 CDN. Here are a few
tasty tidbits. I'll let you know when I have the whole thing
posted up, in bigger format.
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09/07/04...11:06 am
Fall is in the air, and with the crisp, cool breeze
comes the inevitability of the job hunt. I have managed
to put it off thus far, but in truth I will be happy to stay
in one place for a longer stretch of time, and focus my attention
on something other than Ultimate. Part of the problem is the
up-in-the-air-ness about the job in NYC. But I can't hold out
much longer and wait for them to figure something out.
Apparently athletes at the Olympics were not
allowed to blog while in Athens unless they had a personal website that
was not set up specifically for the Olympics. Odd, don't you
think, that the IOC was limiting what athletes could and could
not do with their free time?
Labor/Labour Day weekend was an all-around success.
Wedding was lovely and we had a great time relaxing by the lake
in a place free from cellphone reception. That's right. No cellphones
for almost 5 days. Morgan looked absolutely stunning, of course,
and as soon as I get the film developped, Í'll post some pictures.
Discovered a stash of Agatha Christie's in the country.
I read a couple yesterday, and I have to admit that they are not
as good as I remembered. As Ian pointed
out, the writing is not exactly of "literary" quality. But, the
mystery part of the story is still top-shelf. I think
when you are young, you don't notice flaws in the writing style
(I think Ian must have counted 37 references to "grave" in the
one he was reading).
I also finished a slightly more substantial read: Evidence
of Things Unseen, by Marianne Wiggins. In contrast to Ms.
Christie, Ms. Wiggins' writing style is polished, clear and pleasing.
In a particularly appealing passage, she writes:
"If love is such a wonderful thing, why aren't you
seeking it?"
"Because I have already found it. Once."
"But you make it sound as if there is just a single
chance for it.--one chance. --one love.--one woman.
And I guess what I'm saying is, how did you know? How did you
know she was the one? How did Fos and Opal know? How does
anyone ever know for certain?"
"One person never does. Two almost always do."
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09/02/04...8:31 am
NYC was very hot, muggy, stinky and full to the
brim with Republicans. Working on West 29th Street was slightly
hazardous to my health because of the proximity to Madison Sq
Gardens and the influx of too much wealth, political power and
general slimy-ness. Luckily, I managed to escape the city before
Mr. Bush arrived.
The city was probably as quiet as I've seen
it. With an overwhelmingly democratic bent, most New Yorkers
took the week off and headed to the Hamptons, or Newport, or
the Adirondacks, or so it seemed.
Home for a day, I managed to get
a run in, watch Ian's practice, hang out and say goodbye to Julia
(who is off to Mexico) and Julie & Ryan, who just
arrived from Vancouver. Whew!  Now
we're off to Morgan's wedding pre-celebrations. Should be crazy.
It's the first wedding I am actually "in".
But in true Morgan fashion, we are not standing next to her at
the altar (probably because there will not be an altar). It should
be lovely.
In any event, Morgan and I will have
a good time! We always do when we are together. And chances are
we'll show up wearing the same outfit. Ok, probably not during
the ceremony.. In this pic (left) we are actually wearing the
same thing. Ah, the memories. This, I recall, was taken just
before we headed out for a night of partying with my cousin at
a bar called Hell. And it was. Well,
at least the morning after was quite painful.
Gmail has
been treating me well so far. According to Ian it
is not overly secure yet. But the sort/search features are
pretty neat. And the format is plain and simple. If anyone
wants to try it out, I have 5 G-mail accounts
to give away. Just drop me an e-mail and I'll hook you up.
First come, first served.
Gotta jet. But, to keep you entertained,
in case anyone is desperate to know how fast they can type, try
typingtest.com.
They have a few tests you can take. I challenged my coworker,
and we came up with 77 words per minute, each. We had about 98%
accuracy too.
Happy Labour/Labor Day weekend.
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