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February 27, 2006
Venezuelan Revolution Documentary
The other day my friend Aric had a few friends over to watch The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, a documentary about the 2002 coup in Venezuela. Originally the documentary was to be about Venezuelan President Chávez, but the coup happened to take place as it was being filmed. The result is some incredible footage of a military coup against an elected leader of a democratic country.
Now I admit to knowing next to nothing about South American politics, but with Chávez being in the news so much lately, I found this documentary to be informative (although limited), and gave me a lot of respect for Chávez. What politician today would emerge after being held captive for three days and proclaim on national television that those that supported the coup against them were entitled to their views and would be protected under the constitution? Agree or disagree with his leftist policies, but from the little I saw of him, he has the character of a leader.
Since the documentary doesn't seem to be available on DVD right now, I'm sure I can get Aric to lend it to anyone who's interested.
21:18 | Entertainment | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
By Sen. Orrin Hatch
Saturday, February 18:
And, more importantly, we've stopped a mass murderer in Saddam Hussein. Nobody denies that he was supporting al-Qaida... Well, I shouldn't say nobody. Nobody with brains.
SaturdayWednesday, February 22:
Saddam clearly had a long history of supporting terrorists, but I was not talking about any formal link between Saddam and al-Qaida before the war... Instead, I pointed out that the current insurgency in Iraq includes al-Qaida, under the leadership of al-Zarqawi, along with former elements of Saddam's regime.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
08:28 | Iraq War , Quotes | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
When You're Famous You Can Get Away With Anything
You know you're famous when you're asked to be the guest designer for a short-story magazine, and you send them a bunch of photos of oil stains from various parking lots, and they print it. Yes, that's exactly what Tom Waits did for the Winter 2005 issue of All-Story magazine. From his design notes:
...I began looking for ghost images in the stains beneath cars. None of them has been retouched. They are like I found them. I took them with B+W film. I like to say I work in oils. See whatever you wish to see in them; they are the astonishing shapes and mysteries of the natural world.
And in case you were wondering, yes, I bought a copy.
17:18 | Entertainment | Comments (0)
February 15, 2006
When Will We Be Able To Replicate Love?
For all you Next Generation fans out there, here's a funny day-in-the-life of a replicator repairman.
I am such a nerd.
19:02 | Nerd | Comments (0)
February 14, 2006
Very Canadian Security Question
I bought a couple items from the CBC Shop today. Since this was my first time shopping there, I needed to create an account before I could proceed to the checkout page. Like most online e-commerce sites, as well as a username and password, it ask for a supplimentary security question. These are the choices they provided. I guess they know their audience.
Security Questions
What is your mother's maiden name?
What is the name of your pet?
What is your favourite hockey team?
I wonder how many people who chose the last question didn't buy some Don Cherry-related DVD?
21:34 | Canada | Comments (4)
February 13, 2006
It's So Wonderful Candy
My friends Rick and Vanessa got me a very thoughtful gift for my birthday this year. They spared no expense and picked me up some quality imported candy. No, not Swiss chocolates or English toffee. It wasn't even Canadian maple candy. They stopped at the local Uwajimaya and got me Japanese SuperCola candy.
These candies taste just like cola, only they are covered with a super-sour coating that makes you feel like there's a veritable explosion of flavour in the general vicinity of your mouth.
In case anyone is confused about how to enjoy this so wonderful gift, the back of the bag gives handy illustrative directions. Oh! Super Candy!
22:08 | Stuff | Comments (0)
February 9, 2006
Boyz N My Crib
Recently I did some interior redecorating, and rearranged the books in my bookcase. It was over a year ago when I last reorganized my books, and I was lucky enough to find a real literary treasure: a biography of Prince Charles that I had never in my life seen before.
Well, thirteen months later, it happened again. This time, instead of a biography of a modern-day prince, it's the tale of three friends growing up in a South-central LA neighbourhood. Yes, someone secretly slipped me a copy of the novelization of Boyz N The Hood.
All I have to say to my mysterious benefacator is: keep them coming.
21:20 | Stuff | Comments (4)
February 7, 2006
Coffee Time
A few months ago I there was a reorganization at work, and I joined a new team. At first I was a little concerned that I wouldn't fit in, or that there may be personality conflicts, or something like that. Little did I know I would be joining a group of people whose love for coffee exceeds even mine.
My lead has a coffee maker inside his office, and every few hours brews a full 12-cup pot before sending out a blank email with the subject line "Coffee Is On <eom>". In a pure Pavlovian reaction, the team congregates around my lead's office within seconds of receiving the email.
As a way of thanking the team for making me feel so welcome, I brought in a tin of Tim Hortons coffee I got for Christmas. For the week that the can lasted, I got compliments for my choice of coffee every time we met around the coffee pot.
One developer I work with had lived in Canada for a few years and was familiar with Timmy's. I stopped by her office the first day we made it and asked her if she wanted to join us for coffee. She looked at me strange, like I was seriously bothering her in the middle of some important work. Then I told her it was Tim Hortons coffee, and before I could get the "s" in Hortons out, she had leapt up from her chair and all but shoved me aside in order to get her fix.
I guess even Seattleites get tired of Starbucks after a while.
In case you're wondering, EOM stands for "End Of Message" and is used when the email contains no body. The More You Know!
22:24 | Work | Comments (7)
February 6, 2006
Losers
Yes, I spent yestday afternoon in a bar with friends drinking beer and watching the Super Bowl. For someone who doesn't usually care at all about football, I sure drank like I had been a Seahawks fan all my life.
08:05 | Seattle | Comments (1)