The Shining Path

The Lights Go Down on the Shining Path

2011-02-20T14:10:00.004-07:00

In 2005 I started this blog. Trent suggested I start it. I was unemployed - again - frustrated, angry and more than a bit isolated. Friends had moved on and away, got married, had kids and started new lives that just didn't involve me. No car, no license, no social life. And I was angry, very angry with little means to express myself. Thus, the Shining Path was started.

It has been hit and miss as a blog goes, inconsistent in terms of theme, outlook, quantity and quality. A few things killed my enthusiasm for this little adventure: lack of time, periodic exhaustion, Chinese porn spammers, the little jerk-off who kept posting up about pot and God, redundancy of my posts and the fact that I am just not quite the same guy who first posted in 2005.

So this is the final post for me. I may start another blog at some point, (when I do I will post a link here) but the curtain and lights are coming down on this one. Thanks for reading and the best of luck to you all.

Well except the little asswipe and the Chinese spammers - piss off.

Home and Travel

2010-08-11T22:43:00.003-06:00

I am currently in the courtyard area of the motel I am staying at with my Dad in Naramata, BC with my laptop. The crickets are chirping, the frogs are croaking and the Sun has completely set. People are milling around outside and one guy has his laptop on and is listening to Neil Young songs via YouTube. ("Needle and the Damage Done" as I type) The room is too hot but my Dad is relaxing on the bed. On Monday we travelled up to the Kootneys and stayed in Ainsworth, visiting Kalso, Riondel (my Aunt Muriel and her husband) and Nelson (my friend Graham and my Grandmother's grave) on Tuesday and motored over to the Okanagon to hit wine country (Naramata) today.

I arrived back in BC on the evening of the 5th. Always good to visit home, but would I really want to come back here to live? Vancouver is very crowed and congested, and all the construction going just hammers that point home. The people have changed as well. I'm not talking the immigration population here - I mean the attitude. It seems snobbier than when I left, more superficial, more superior. I ran into a woman I knew on the 6th just after meeting with Peter Chattaway and we talked about it. She agreed with me and added that people are becoming pretty unfriendly.

I suppose that it is a good thing that the Lower Mainland of BC isn't so appealing to me any more (aside from my family and friends who live there) as the "BC" in BC could probably stand for "budget cuts", which will keep me from working in my field here. Still, I am feeling a bit restless in Saskatoon these days. I like the city and moving there has helped me find a job I am good at and... well "like" is the wrong word, but find interesting seems appropriate. But I need something more, something different. I have been looking into the UK as the NHS actually offers me some better options in my area. Still, it is far away from home, family and good friends.

If I could get something else going I think I may have found the three spots in BC that I could consider living in. I like Nelson. It is a small city with a well preserved sense of history. It has some big city perks, like a transit system, co-op organic grocery, decent pubs and restaurants. I also liked Kaslo, much smaller with that same sense of history. I have always liked that part of the Kootneys and could see myself living there. I like the lake and the rapidly shifting weather fronts. The hippies might irritate me though...

Then there is Naramata. I have never really considered living in the Okanagon, but then my exposure has mostly been Kelowna and Vernon. My Dad calls Naramata the "Provence" of Canada and I think agree. (unlike my Dad, I have never been to Provence) It is wine country and it is beautiful. I like the life I see here and could see myself settling quite nicely, provided I could get work.

I dunno. My paternal Grandfather was despised by his wife's step family. He had traveled extensively (not by choice) when he and his family left Eastern Europe for Canada and the referred to him as "the Gypsy". (being farmers they could immigrate to Canada freely) My Grandfather eventually set down roots, however. Somehow, I am still feeling rootless. Saskatoon does not feel like home and home is no longer quite so homely. I have been through this before, I know, but the question for me is: when does it end?

The Flying Lizards Money USA 12"

2010-07-16T00:04:00.000-06:00

An ode to our crass society that never really gets old.

Rush Revisited

2010-07-03T23:36:00.002-06:00

CDs in Play: Rush, Permanent Waves. Mastodon, Crack the Skye. The Cheese Pickles, Mr. O'Riley's Magic Cellar.

Rush was one of the bands for me all through Junior High and High School. I listened to them obsessively, over and over as I tend to do with music I like. I spent time trying to learn songs like "Witch Hunt", "Jacob's Ladder", "The Trees" and "Natural Science" - which irked my guitar teachers, who wanted me to learn "Tom Sawyer" and "Closer to the Heart" like all their other students. I even tried to learn the 18 minute long "Hemispheres" and the 20 minute "2112". Stop laughing at me.

Rush was a part of my identity growing up. Back in the day, you could get clobbered for listening to the wrong music. Seriously! I don't know what it is like now, but metal heads would try and pound the crap out of guys who didn't conform. Moving into Junior High from Grade 7, I liked some of the bands that would earn a kid a pounding. The Police were considered to be a "girl band" and the only good thing about them was Stewart Copeland, to the minds of metal heads. I also liked U2. No one knew who they were, but once they saw the cover to October threats of beatings would ensue.

My step brothers had introduced me to Black Sabbath. (via 8 track, I believe) I liked it, but my Mum and Step Dad were attending a Charismatic church at the time so Black Sabbath was considered evil. The same went for so many bands that I liked. I might switch churches but the attitude was very much the same. Try as I might, there just wasn't much in the way of "Christian Rock" that I liked, aside from Daniel Amos. Even U2 were considered dodgy by some Christians.

I liked Rush when I first heard them around the time Signals came out. "New World Man" was played often on radio and I liked the song. Rush were the perfect band for a guy in my situation: metal heads, more often than not, liked Rush or at least didn't mind them and church people usually had no clue who they were. If they did and have concerns, it was pretty easy to quiet their objections by showing them lyrics or explaining the concepts.

Aside from that, I was obsessed with Rush's music. I saw them on the Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows tours. As a kid on the outside of things for the most part, Rush were an outsider's band and offered a sense of belonging in a weird sort of way. But then the album Hold Your Fire came along. I have never been able to listen that album without falling asleep. It was a disappointment. Presto in 1991 was a dramatic improvement, but Roll the Bones was another let down for me - although the concert was very good. My interest in Rush began to wane and I slowly stopped listening to their music altogether sometime around 1994 when Counterparts came out.

Periodically, my friend Greg would try to get me back into them. My friend's Doug and Lionel also tried to get me to rekindle the flame, but it just wasn't happening. I switched my cable provider from Shaw to Sask Tel recently, and I have access to their movie component, Front Row. One of the films they are showing is the recent documentary, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage. I missed it at a limited engagement at one of the local theatres, but when I saw the poster it piqued my curiosity. Watching it reawakened good feelings, good memories and that sense of the connection I once had to their music.

I am prone to nostalgia, it is true, but this has allowed me to rediscover a band that once meant quite a bit to me. It's not a bad thing really. Sometimes we need to go back to go forward.

The Vuvusela Blues

2010-06-14T11:29:00.004-06:00

So a lot was made of the vuvusela, a plastic horn that South African have made part of their soccer experience, leading up to the FIFA Wold Cup in South Africa. At first it was viewed as a curiosity, amusing. At one point, there was even speculation that it could catch on out side South Africa: apparently that will not be the case.
Foreign fans, players, coaches and press are complaining about the ever present sound of the vuvusela. According to the CBC report I just saw, Frances captain is blaming the vuvusela for his team's lacklustre performance at the World Cup. Many foreigners are calling for a ban. Happily, FIFA is not bowing to this sort of pressure.
From what I gather, the vuvusela is as much a part of South African soccer as white towels were at Vancouver Canucks games, or the wave was in North American stadiums, or "You'll Never Walk Alone" is at Liverpool FC games. It is an international tournament being hosted in a country with its own customs and traditions. Time to stop being the Ugly Westerners and learn to cope with other peoples' customs. No one is getting hurt so just deal with it.
As for players having a hard time dealing with the noise - give me a break. Noise from the stands, catcalls, cheers, shouting, etc are a part of sport - you learn to get past it or a t least deal with it. If players can't get past the drone from the stands then maybe they aren't ready for the world professional - let alone amateur - sport. And if it came down to obscene catcalls or the vuvusela, I'll take that annoying plastic horn anyday.

Phylum Miscellanea Again

2010-03-26T20:55:00.005-06:00

CDs in Play: #1 Record/Radio City, Big Star. Girls! Girls! Girls!, Elvis Costello. Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigates Witch Cults of the Radio Age.

Renter's Hell

Just over a year and a half ago I moved into my bachelor suite in Saskatoon, SK. I currently pay $550.00 a month for a fairly spacious suite with high ceilings and old plumbing. It was built back in the 1930's and it has character. I like my apartment. Last year a new management company took over this building and four others. They announced at the end of January that they would be raising rents come 1 August, 2010. I expected this and was prepared to take the hit. I figured they would be asking $600.00 for my suite, but I was wrong. For a six month lease they are asking for $850 a month, $774 a month for a year's lease. a woman with a suite half the size of mine is being asked to pay $825 for 6 months and $750 a month for a year.

This is Saskatoon. Don't know it? Search it out on a map. Look it up on line. The rents being asked in this city are nowhere near worth what is being asked. I like Saskatoon, it is a nice city - but it is being priced well outside of its league. So I am hunting for a new place. Sadly it won't be as convenient as my current one is. I may have a lead on a basement suite that is being renovated. Apparently, the owners of the suite aren't even looking to make money of the place, which is good news for since...

Rule Britannia?

Since my rents is being jacked up and the cost of living in Saskatoon is matching other larger cities in Canada, why the hell wouldn't I just move elsewhere? I could move back to Vancouver. I could try Toronto. Edmonton? Calgary? Ottawa? All these places offer more in the way of amenities and diversions than Saskatoon for their costs of living. I don't have any heavy financial investment here. I am not high up on the seniority list at work. I am not involved with anyone. No kids, etc. So what really would keep me here? If I am going to get shafted on rent, why not do it some place that has more to offer in the way of experiences?

One difficulty in moving around Canada is that it is much harder to find a job in my area. Canadian Health Care doesn't place a high priority on Pathology, even less for autopsies. It is seen as a drain on the budget. I have been told that autopsies are just no longer as necessary as they once were. There isn't much more we can learn I have been told. I don't buy that. Pathology is exceedingly important for diagnosis and treatment and medical autopsies are not only of great importance for teaching residents, nurses and technologists - they help keep the system accountable. I believe in my work and am looking at moving to a place where it is still valued and performed with regularity: The United Kingdom.

Yes, it is more expensive than Canada and I have heard the arguments from others about why I would never want to live there. However, I think I can decide that for myself when I get there. I am not interested in London or the South East, I would add. I have been keeping an eye on the National Health Service's job postings and job pops up with astonishing regularity. (unlike the boards for the assorted Canadian Health regions I have looked at) I am able to move there to look for work without a job offer, but I plan to have a job offer in hand. All I need to do is find a cheap place to live and save up.

So when will this happen? I haven't a clue but my goal is to try and move sometime between the end of 2011 and the end of 2012. If you know me and wish to contribute to getting me out of the country - I wouldn't complain...

RIP Alex Chilton

Alex Chilton, a man who could very well have been America's best answer to John Lennon, passed away from a heart attack. Chilton had first come to people's attention as the lead singer of the Box Tops, scoring a number one hit with the group at age 16 with "The Letter" in 1967. I am most familiar with Chilton's work in Big Star. Songs like "Thirteen" and "The Ballad of El Goodo" and "Back of a Car" should have solidified Chilton's status as a talent, but it didn't happen. He battled alcoholism, homelessness and adversity. Chilton's status a music icon was eventually set in alternative music circles, having influenced bands and artists like R.E.M., Wilco, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet and The Replacements.

This week I have heard quite a few people around town listening to Big Star in shops so I wanted to say something in my blog. Chilton's death also spurred me on to check out his former bandmate, Chris Bell, who was killed in a car accident in 1978. I discovered this song, "I am the Cosmos", and have ordered the album of the same name.

Um Hello, I Have a Blog

2010-03-25T18:46:00.002-06:00

CD in Play: #1 Record/Radio City, Big Star.

I know, I know... it has been a while. Well, I haven't had much to say and when I have had something I have been a bit "touchy" so I found it best not to say anything. Also, those spamy bastards from China posting links to dating sites and sex sties on my blog put a damper on my desire to blog, period. So I decided to eliminate comments from new posts and enable moderation for back posts. Cocksuckers. No, not you - those spamy bastards for China. I have this image of poor Chinese people chained to cubicles forced to spam hapless blogs while a floor walker paces back and forth occasionally hitting them with a riding crop. I wonder what Chairman Mao would think of the end result of his experiments?

Anyhow, I will be posting more later but felt I should post this now. If you know me please feel free to contact me and drop me a line on a post, include friends if desired.

I gots me de binary blues...

2010-01-28T14:57:00.003-07:00

Hello, sorry to have been so delinquent with my blogging. A few things at play here, not the least of which is that I have been having computer troubles -and those popped up right when I had something to say. That should be rectified soon enough, but until then no blogging. The keyboards here at work suck and I am also loathe to use themextensively for personal stuff. In the mean time I am sure that our scumbag Capitalist spammers from China will have lots of useless comments to try and redirect you over to some sex dating service site, so enjoy!!!

Phylum Miscellanea

2009-12-07T20:56:00.002-07:00

CDs in Play: The Who, Live at Leeds. Morphine, The Night.

Winter is Here

One of the things I don't think I totally grasped last winter in Saskatoon is just how much darker it is here that it is in Vancouver. We do get more sunlight throughout the season, but the day arrives later (around a half an hour) and sets earlier. I didn't think that such a slight difference in latitude would make so much of a difference. A coworker from Kenya said it hit her straight away, since the Sun rise and sets at pretty much the same time all year around. (0600-0630 to 1800-1830) It certainly makes one want to take advantage of the day as much as possible. It is currently -30°C.

Climategate

Well the deniers of Global Warming have the event that they have been wishing for. Scientists from the University of East Anglia have hurt the world far more than they ever helped it. For many, no matter what evidence you can produce about the effects of emissions on the environment will ever reach them now. I am not going to get into it quite yet, but I have ask why it is so important for the deniers to deny the effect that humans are having on the environment? Even beyond the issue of Global Warming there is that pesky and passé little issue of pollution.
Pollution has serious effects on the health and well being of everyone on the planet. It gets into the food chain and into us. It damages terrain and man-made structure. It effects our health in numerous adverse ways. Cutting emissions is cutting down on sources of pollution, how is that a bad thing? Are practices that are adverse to the health and well being of our species worth preserving? Isn't it worth adopting new practices that reduce harm? It may mean a hit to the profit margins of some of those big companies/industries out there, but so what? It isn't like the majority of us actually reap the benefits of those profits ourselves. Nor are we ever likely tom so why not look after our own best interests - our health?

Women

So I was seeing a woman and she broke it off. C'est la vie. But did it have to be the "It's not you, it's me" speech? One day I want to go out with one of those women again and then break it off by saying, "Look, if it is any consolation it's not me, it's you."

"This Could Get Messy"

2009-11-20T15:34:00.002-07:00

CD in Play: The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds.

I don't like to blog about things centered around work, it us usually an unwise thing to do. So being as unspecific as I can be I would like to get something off of my chest. I applied for a position at work that I am more than qualified to do. I trained for the job successfully and have worked it on a casual basis. It isn't easy work and it pays less than what most people would expect - however, it is interesting and I actually feel satisfied on the job when I do it. I have only had that feeling on a couple of jobs and they paid significantly less. (bouncer and record store employee)
The posting was up for a week and they are looking over applications. One of the people who trained me was telling me today that there are two people with seniority in the queue ahead of me. He and the other people who trained me also want me to get the job. They like me, I am more than competent, they don't have to spend the next three months training someone new and I am always eager to take their call on evenings they want off. What my former trainer heard from management is that there are two people ahead of me and, "this could get messy."
How could this get messy? There are two reasons we can think of. One reason would be they are planning to hire me anyway, ignoring seniority and getting into a fight with the union over this. The second reason could be because of another applicant.
The position I am applying for was posted six months ago. At that time there were around seven or eight people ahead of me in seniority. The top four dropped out because they didn't realise the pay wasn't what they imagined it to be or they saw what they would be doing and decided it wasn't as cool or "romantic" as they had been led to be by television. The fifth applicant, whom I shall refer to as "Pokey" took the job. It is what he has dreamed of doing and he may have told me that he was born to do this. He is a nice enough guy, but still quite young and not responsible enough for the job. He is also quite slow, hence why I call him "Pokey". (and yes I have witnessed his laggardly manner for myself) It takes him a long time to do most tasks and most complaints stated that he worked far to slowly.
The training is three months. When my three months were up they were quite satisfied with me. When "Pokey's" three months were up he was given another three months. When those three months were up "Pokey" was told that he had not passed his probation and that there were reasons for it - which "Pokey" is told me about himself. I did try to encourage "Pokey" and help him out as best as I could, but I can see why he didn't pass. He refuses to see it and has placed a grieance with the union.
Did "Pokey" apply again? Are the union going to force management to accept him into the position? Or do I have the job and am facing a fight? For my part I think that experience and ability do need to be taken into consideration and weighed against seniority. I understand the necessity of seniority and would say that someone who was as qualified as I am should be hired ahead of me, but not someone from a completely different department even if they meet the same education requirements that I do.
Anyhow, just had to get this off my chest. We'll see how it goes.

In Defense of a Modern "Prisoner"

2009-11-18T19:04:00.002-07:00

CD's in Play: The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds. The Flaming Lips, Embryonic.

I am a big fan of Patrick McGoohan's 1967 cult classic, The Prisoner. In fact, next year it will have been 20 year since I first saw the iconic show on CBC right here in Saskatchewan. (though I was living in the southern part of the province) When the final episode was played I was the only one at the school I was attending watching it and I recall trying to explain what had happened. (I started off as the only one at episode one and the crowds picked up as it progressed until the final episode) Trent and I began quoting it to one another. When I came home to British Columbia I was trying to explain to my friends about this odd, surreal, enigmatic show that had something to say but was less than forthcoming with the message.
It was in 1992 that I introduced the show to my friend Geo and my other friends followed. The Prisoner is the sort of show you can direct anti-television people to and show them that television is capable of producing artistically, socially and culturally worthwhile contributions to society. It remains relevant today, despite the Cold War backdrop. The Prisoner is one of those shows a person would think shouldn't be remade: and yet it has been. Sort of.
When I first heard that a Prisoner mini-series starring Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Thin Red Line and The Count of Monte Cristo) and Ian McKellen was being made, I had my reservations. However, I decided to reserve judgement asidefrom asserting that it was really not a show that needed to be remade. Unlike a show such as Battlestar Galactica, I couldn't see how someone could "re-imagine" The Prisoner. The original Battlestar was a bad show so remaking it, or "re-imagining" it actually made for a better series in terms of concept, writing, casting, acting and even the music.
Remaking or "re-imagining" The Prisoner is a trickier proposition. First, you are dealing with a how that is considered a classic of the medium, of science fiction and even spy fiction. The Prisoner wasn't a slapped together program to run between adveristments, it was apersonal work with one direction and one agenda. Regardles of how receive the message of the series, it has one and it tries to force to the viewer to think about it. People discuss it, hash it out, puzzle over it with one another. The original Battlestar Galactica was what it was and that was extremely straight forward. In this respect, writer Brian Gallagher and director Nick Hurran should be commended for tackling a much more ambitious and challenging project.
2009's The Prisoner will not have the staying power of the original, it will be a footnote, a sidebar in the history of the original but that doesn't make it entirely unworthy. It doesn't attempt to readdress the theme of the original the way the original did - to reassert the same conclusion - but seems (to me) to look at what the nature of freedom and imprisonment is under certain circumstances. This new Prisoner is much more concerned with madness itself, rather than madness as a by product of imprisonment, or as a tool to keep ones imprisonment. I won't say much more, you should see it for yourself and come to your own conclusions.
Not that it isn't expected, but the reviews of the new Prisoner neglect to see if it stands on its own merits. I believe it does.

Francis Bacon Paintings

2009-10-18T01:42:00.002-06:00

2009-10-18T01:38:00.001-06:00

RIP Pierre Falardeau (1946-2009)

2009-10-04T02:10:00.003-06:00

I was to interview M. Falardeau back in 1994 for his film Octobre, a film criticized for it sympathetic treatment of the FLQ. M. Falardeau refused the interview, and rightly so, as I had not been able to view the film at the VIFF. (I had classes that morning and arrived late to the screening) I had wanted to discuss the October Crisis and its legacy in the histories of both English Canada and Quebec, but he was more interested in discussing the film. (again, rightly so) I did have an interesting conversation with Pierre Falardeau about Quebec separatism and the obstacles to independence faced by separatists within the province. It was a conversation I will not soon forget and I feel privileged to have met and conversed with M. Falardeau.
Pierre Falardeau succumbed to cancer after a lengthy battle with the disease on 25 September, 2009.

Caught by Surprise Again

2009-09-28T11:37:00.002-06:00

This will be my second Autumn in Saskatoon - my fourth in Saskatchewan - and it has caught me off guard this year just as it did the year previous. My time in Montreal allowed me to see Autumn at its most regal, the rich reds mixed in with the brilliant yellows and oranges. Central Canadian proceeds in its stately way, taking its own time to show off its colours before the end of another season. People embrace the Autumn there in a way I have seen no one else embrace it anywhere in this country.
West Coast Autumns are reluctant affairs. Never so colourful as Central Canada's, Autumn on the West Coast does its best to live in denial until the truth can no longer be denied. Some British Columbians and most of the would-be British Columbians gripe at the end of summer and look at Autumn as an unwelcome visitor. But the ever persistent presence of evergreens helps the various regions within the province maintain is greenery.
Autumns in the southern portion of Saskatchewan is notable for just getting colder. What few trees they have down there tend towards sparsity anyway, and one day they are just simply sparse. The ground is quickly covered over winter becomes the new and familiar reality. Saskatoon has trees, however. In fact the northern portion of the province has far more in the way of greenery.
Autumn arrives and sets up shop quickly while no one is paying attention. Too late for protests, to late for organized dissent, too late for one last day of summer - Autumn has come to do a job and will soon be on its way. Trees that were green and full one day are stripped and near empty two days later. In Spring, the leaves are born reluctantly maybe even grudgingly. Sour from Winter's hold on the landscape, trees are slow to trust the changing of the seasons here. Maybe that is why Autumn needs to work so quickly?
So I am caught by surprise again and probably not for the last time.

Give Us Your Money!!!!

2009-09-26T01:10:00.002-06:00

I have joined CFCR 90.5 FM, Saskatoon's homegrown community radio station. I have a show every other Monday (like this coming Monday actually) called Green Eggs & Ham from 6am to 8am. Anyhow, we are 100% listener supported and I am supposed to ask people for money... so basically, if you have money and you know how to get a hold of me give it up! Whatever, I don't know too many people in Saskatoon and am competing against some of the people I do know for funds. If you can spare a couple of bucks and know how to get a hold of me, drop me a line and we can tee things up. However, no pressure.

When Comics Blur the Line and Become Books

2009-09-20T23:01:00.007-06:00

I had intended to buy Spitz and Mullen's We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk, however, I was unable to find a copy of it in town and did not feel like ordering one. What to do? Well, Theo at Unreal City had a couple of solutions to my reading dilemmas, namely two crime stories in the graphic format.
The first book is Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) well covered classic, The Hunter put out by comic book upstart, IDW. You may have seen one of the The Hunter's big screen adaptations: Point Blank starring Lee Marvin, or Payback starring Mel Gibson. Part one of Westlake's Parker series, Darwyn Cooke has lovingly adapted and illustrated the book for the graphic format. Set in 1962, the art style resembles the advertising style of the period. It is a beautiful book and anyone who hasn't read The Hunter but seen the films based upon it should pick this up at the very least.
Next up is Brian Azzarello's (of 100 Bullets fame) contribution to the new Vertigo Crime venture, Filthy Rich. Classic pulp tale of the loser, the femme fatale and the plots they become entangled in. It may not be shockingly original, but it makes for an interesting read. Azzarello has a great grasp of the crime genre and knows how to set the pace and keep the reader interested.
Vertigo's other book is Dark Entries, a supernatural entry with a detective twist featuring the character John Constantine. Theo wasn't so crazy about this one, but it is written by Ian Rankin so I will probably be picking it up regardless.

Cynicism, Thy Name is The Conservative Party of Canada

2009-09-14T09:30:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note before I go to work - but wow, just watching a government press conference on how the New Conservatives are going to introduce legislation to beef up Employment Insurance, temporarily, to assist certain individuals during this economic downturn/recession/depression. They have used it as an opportunity to slam The Liberals and Michael Ignatieff and the other opposition parties. Aside from the fact that the package does not go far enough, the timing of this package is just too convenient.
Harper must really have a low opinion of Canadians if he believes that the majority of us cannot see through this cynical attempt to save his government from an election. The rhetoric coming from government officials is so thinly veiled and cynical.
Serious change needs to happen within Canada's electoral system.

Firefox, How I Miss Thee

2009-09-08T23:11:00.002-06:00

I am back in Vancouver visiting and have to use my Dad's computer. I have many complaints about what my Dad does with his computers. He loads them and clogs them up with too many redundant or useless programs (many of which are nigh impossible to remove) and superfluous secuity features. However, my biggest bone to pick with my Father's computer is that he is still using Internet Exploder... um, Explorer.
I hate Explorer, especially the version he is using. I love Firefox. It blocks banner ads - I cannot believe how much advertising it blocks for me. Firfox runs smoother and looks better. Explorer just down right sucks.

This Is The Face of Ugly

2009-09-07T21:05:00.003-06:00

The pink toy, not the cute little girl. I am in Vancouver and decided to get toys for my friends children. I always felt bad because I had never got them anything before so I decided to make it up to them. I decided to get them Ugly Dolls. The ones I bought are entitled "Uppy" (see above), "Ox" and "Turny Burny". ( both sort of pictured) I like them, the parents like them and the kids (for the most part) seem to love them.

Mondays

2009-08-17T13:21:00.003-06:00

Wha'dayou Want?! >:(

Bleah, aside from Sunday (hanging out with Geo and J) this has been a terrible weekend. And I do not refer to the fact that it rained almost constantly for two days - I'm from British Columbia after all - it has just been dull and people have been in bad moods. I have today, Monday, off and it is stunning outside. Saskatoon is usually quite beautiful and it is even more so after the weekend wash down. The air is clear, the thing layer of dust is gone - stunning. What isn't so stunning are people's attitudes.
Saskatoon, a very friendly city overall, has the least friendly City Hall I have ever been to. Honestly, they are the crabbiest most inhospitable public servants I have had the mispleasure of dealing with. Generally, though, the attitude of City Hall's ill-mannered employees are not relfected in the population at large. But today people are kind of ill-tempered all over. I have been scowled at, yelled at and abruptly dissmissed most of the day so far. ( was out the door at 8 am, btw)

Free Chicken! Woo Hoo?

I went shopping today and ended up with free chicken. How you ask? The cashier never charged me. I wasn't aware until I got home and was setting my receipt aside - "10.98? That's not right." I wasn't paying attention at the till (too distracted by ill-mannered Saskatonians) and could just as easily have been over-charged. So what to do? I am not going back up to the Safeway today and, as it happens, I am lowish on funds so this comes as a sort of blessing. I was thinking about going up on Friday and letting them know and paying then - but does this get the cashier in any trouble? I was aslo thinking of just taking the sticker up next time I shop, explain it to the cashier and have her scan it and pay for it then. I know, why look free chicken in the mouth? I just feel like a theif.

18 Days Later

No, it isn't a bio-engineered zombie like apocolypse, it is how many days left before I fly back to Vancouver to visit.

There is Nothing Funny About Comics

2009-08-11T19:28:00.004-06:00

CD in Play: Isis, Wavering Radiant

Aside from DC's great notion for a weekly summer run of broadsheet comics, Wednesday Comics, things have been a tad slow in comicsland of late. But here are notables:

Criminal: I cannot say enough about this series by Ed Brubaker. Smart, cutting, gritty, low down and sexy. The latest installment collected as Bad Night is taut and surreal. In some ways it reminds me of Rod Filbrandt, a Vancouver artist and writer, work on Wombat and Dry Shave for the Georgia Straight. Again, Brubaker's Incognito is also superlative.

Bone: A friend of mine has a son who doesn't like to read, an oddity given the family in question. I have been hearing over the years how many literacy and child education experts recommend giving comics to children who do not read. One of the titles that has come up again and again is Bone by Jeff Smith. So I have bought the first volume of Bone in the hopes that it may entice my friend's son to read more often> Failing that, I am sure my friend and his daughters will enjoy the book. I like the first book and will probably pick the series up for myself in time.

Heaven's War: I read it, I liked it for the most part but can see why this limited series didn't fly. The book's antagonist is famed occultist, Aleister Crowley. Crowley seeks to turn the tide in Heaven's War in his favour for his own power. The book's protagonist's are The Inklings, or the three men most Identified with The Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams. (whom apparently also appear as characters in James A. Owen's Here, There Be Dragons) Charles who? Therein lies one of the problems with Heaven's War.
Charles Williams is a favourite of mine. He wrote supernatural thrillers that dealt with Platonic Absolutes becoming manifest upon the Earth, the Stone of Sulieman, the Holy Grail among other concepts. His themes often dealt with the need for communion and take on the burdens of one another. His writing style is nowhere near as polished as Tolkien's, nor his work anywhere as accesible as Lewis' - but his concepts and ideas are where the draw is. However, he is quite obscure outside of edcated Christain circles. Most of us learned about him through his association to C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.
Heaven's War also relies on the dubious book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail for the stories backdrop. Holy Blood, Holy Grail perpetuated the hoax perpetrated on the world by Philippe de Chérisey and Pierre Plantard, in support of Plantard's desrie to place himself as the heir to the Merovingian Dynasty. HB, HG was also the inspiration for Dan Brown's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code. In fact, the characyer of A.E. Waite is made strikingly similar to Brown's character, Sir Leigh Teabing. I am not a fan of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and its irresponsible legacy of bad history posing as credible scholastics.
Micah Harris, the author of Heaven's War, has done a good job synthesizing Williams concepts and idelas to form the backbone of his story. The concept is worthy of a Williams novel itself and very like his own work. As a Williams fan I can appreciate this, but I can also see how it would loose many other people. Also, Michael Gaydos, if you are reading this - dude - seriously, you need to stop recycling frames as often as you do. Please. You are a good artist, great style, draw just a bit more.

In Addendum

Another comic that was just released this week is Ed Brubaker's The Marvels Project. In celebration of Marvel Comics 70th Anniversary, Brubaker has written a limited series about the birth of the Marvel Universe in WWII. This is something I was always eager to see and it is good to see it being donw by one of the best in the business today.

Whoa-ho-ho...

2009-07-31T23:04:00.004-06:00

Been so long since I posted up here. Life has been busy though. I have been covering one and sometimes up to two other people's jobs including my own at work. So i am tired an a bit wared. luckily the long weekend is here and I am just going to relax and try writing a comic i have been drafting up. In the meantime:

Current Favourite Albums: Isis, Wavering Radiant. Very solid disc that just stays with me. I am still unable to commit completely to the new Wilco album. (self titled) I like most of it, but I just don't think it is quite as strong as their previous three albums. I've also been digging up old albums, like Pond's The Practice of Joy Before Death and Sugar's Beaster. (aslo Sugar's song "Gift on their final album) Bob Mould is a very underrated musician and guitarist.

Last Film Seen: I rented The Bank Job recently. I liked it. I like Jason Statham, a wee bit of a one note actor in some respects, but it is a good note. Anyhow, this film was a nice change of pace from his usual fair. if you like heist flicks this is worth checking out. Just rented L4yer Cake so I will see what I think. As for theatre, I just hate seeing films alone so i don't tend to go.

Songs: My Top Ten All-Time Favourites.

2009-07-12T06:21:00.004-06:00

I made this list as I was listening to my iPod and thinking about songs I never get tired of. The guidelines I set for myself is that they have to be more than a decade old for me. That means it can't be something from the `60's that I only just discovered. I have to have heard the song prior to the year 2000 and it has to be something I keep going back to again and again - on ethat I don't tend to skip over. The songs are in no particular order, that would be too hard for to organize and judge.

1. The Tragically Hip: "Grace Too"
2. Elvis Costello: "Beyond Belief"
3. Pavement: "Texas Never Whispers"
4. Charles Mingus: "Haitian Fight Song"
5. Black Sabbath: "Black Sabbath"
6. U2: "Out of Control"
7. The Kinks: "Autumn Almanac"
8. The Beatles: "Only a Northern Song"
9. The Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter"
10. King Crimson: "Red"

Runner-Ups: Sugar, "Gift". Robert Fripp, "Easter Sunday". The Pixies, "All Over the World". Dinosaur Jr., "Littel Furry Things". Al Green, "You Ought to Be With Me". Tortoise, "Djed". Wilco, "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)" - key to me getting over a women back in 1996. Tricky and Martina Toppley-Bird, "Children's Story". These are just a few of the many soings that I keep coming back to.
In some case I come back to bands or performers (or specific albums by) over and over in general. Some of these are: PJ Harvey, Björk, John Coltrane, Sonic Youth, The Who, Dave Brubeck, Public Enemy, DJ Spooky.
I may have to look at how this list canges in the next decade, say take stock in 2014 and again in 2019.

Running on Empty...

2009-07-06T09:15:00.002-06:00

... to steal a line from Jackson Browne. Yes, I have not been posting much here lately, just not much that I have to say at the moment that others aren't saying already and better. Now this isn't to say that I am not writing at all, in fact, I am having quite the creative burst of late and have making copious notes for stories. I submitted a story to Vehicle magazine and am waiting to hear back whetehr it has been accepted or not, if they have an artist attached to it, etc. Have an idea that could take off quite well. The first story features a celebrity death match between a well known proponent of Atheism and a well known Christian apologist.

From Roger Ebert's Journal: I'm a proud Brainiac

2009-07-05T20:12:00.001-06:00

Pete Chattaway posted this up on Facebook. It is an interesting piece. I subjected myself to the first Transformers movie and have no wish to see the second. It distresses me that so many people excuse crap in the name of escapism.

Roger Ebert's Journal: Archives

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If my my Mother could see me now.

2009-07-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

Oh wait, she can - she's in town.

39

2009-06-26T23:43:00.001-06:00

Yup, 39. I kind of have the heebie-jeebies.

Ed Brubaker

2009-06-19T21:43:00.005-06:00

This really isn't an Ed Brubaker fan club blog, but I am struck at just how good his stuff is. I had jumped into Criminal when I was still living in Vancouver, but Theo at Unreal City has been great at helping me along with my Brubaker reading. Aside from Incognito, which is still coming out in single issues, Theo turned me onto Brubaker's run on Captain America and his own series, Sleeper.
I was always more of a DC kid back in my childhood, but sometimes Marvel managed to break through. Captain America was one of those characters who could be pretty bland if done in the typical way you would expect, or pretty damned interesting if handled well. Brubaker handles the character of Captain America well. I am reading the "Winter Soldier" storyline and really getting into it. Theo has also directed me to Brubaker's take on Daredevil - behind bars with his identity revealed.
Sleeper is set in DC's Wildstorm Universe. It is about a man who's power is that he cannot feel pain, but he stores the information and can conduct it to any person he touches. He is a double agent working for a secret organisation and trying to come in from the cold. I am always struck by how compelling Brubaker's characters are and just how much depth there is to his work. Both he and Frank Miller are passionate about pulp literature, yet I would say that Brubaker is the better writer and achieves more depth. I guess I find that his work has more resonance for me.
If you are not opposed to to reading comics, check out Brubaker's work. (NOT for the kids, by the way) Sam Raimi and Tom Cruise are both interested in purchasing the rights to Sleeper, if you are interested. This would be the fifth attempt at bringing Sleeper to the screen.

The Most Boring News Conference Ever

2009-06-16T09:16:00.002-06:00

I watch CBC Newsworld before going to work. It frequently offers me something informative to mull over while I am working in the lab and ignoring the frequently inane and periodically whiny conversations that take place all around me. (this is not a problem when I am working in the morgue, I am happy to report) Today, however, they spent a great deal of time speculating about the court ruling in favour of the NHL and preventing the Phoenix Coyotes from moving to Hamilton, Ontario. They devouted at least 10-15 minutes to the press conference about how they are not going to give up trying to move the team to Hamilton.
This is news? Okay, it is - but is it worth 10-15 minutes of prime news time? There was nothing else they could have devouted more time to? No other pressing issue facing the nation that could not have received some coverage in that time? Nothing going on in the world that couldn't have been covered in greater depth? Sure there is, but it is either old hat or too hot to touch. Hell, I can even think of a spin-off report that the Ceeb could have done in connection with this Phoenix Coyotes story. They could have looked at anti-trust laws and how lethargically they are applied. They could have looked at monopolies in North America and how they are strangling smaller businesses and offering people less choice in the market place.

A Late Anniversary

2009-06-10T08:36:00.002-06:00

The 8th of June this year marked the one year anniversary of my move from Vancouver, BC to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Ran-diddly-andomness!

2009-06-03T19:26:00.005-06:00

Frayed Ends of Sanity

I have been backing off the politics lately. Sort of like sodium consumption, I figure a little less would be better for my stress and health levels. But that doesn't mean I am not interested. Aside from BC's recent, and predictably disappointing, Provincial election and the worldwide Economic and Environmental crises, here are some of the topics I am engaged with at the moment.

1. Republic of Guinea: I am curious to see what will happen wit this country after it's bloodless coup at the end of 2008, but news has been scant.

2. Bill 5 and Bill 6 - Public Service Essential Services Act: The right wing Saskatchewan Party has enacted two bills to kneecap labour in this province. Working class people should never be happy when its government is looking for new ways to make it easier to sodomise them without lubricant. This affects me, btw. Not all the jobs that would be affected by Bill 5 are essential (Hospital librarians?) and Bill 6 is just plain anti-democratic.

3. Sanctuary for former KGB translator, Mikhail Lennikov: Mr. Lennikov was to be deported back to Russia as an undesirable, leaving his wife and son back here in Canada. He has not been engaged in espionage in this country and the U.S.S.R. is defunct. So what is the deal? I cannot provide specific examples, (there are two Polish families I am thinking of but, cannot recall their names) but Canada really likes to shit on Slavic immigrants via deportation. Being part Belarussian, I kind of take it personally.

Musilicious

This has nothing to do with cereal, but rather a list of what I have been listening to of late, in no specific order:

1. Isis, Wavering Radiant: Takes what they have building on for a while now (more specifically, Oceanic) and refines it further. More focused that Panopticon and more punchy that In the Absence of Truth...

2. Peter Gabriel, 2 also sometimes referred to as Scratch: I like Peter Gabriel's output before he hit the ... errr, "big time" with So. However, up until now, I have only ever had the double sic set of Plays Live. Solid album with Robert Fripp producing - even shares the title track from his own solo album of that year, "Exposure".

3. Mastodon, Crack the Skye: Metallic bliss.

4. Mogwai, The Hawk is Howling: My iPod really likes this album too, particularly the track "Daphne and the Brain".

5. Wilco, Being There. Still a great album. RIP Jay Bennett.

6. Matthew Sweet, Altered Beast: Still great and still largely underrated and unknown.

Sas - ka - toon, it's a hell of a town...

2009-06-01T21:41:00.001-06:00

CDs in Play: Mastodon, Crack the Skye. Isis, Wavering Radiant. The Flaming Lips, Zaireeka (Disc 1)

I have washed my hands three times and they still smell like pepper, onions and wine.

Why did I move to Saskatoon? This is a question that has been posed to me a number of times (usually quite incredulously) by the locals. I have my stock replies: better opportunities, no Olympics and nothing even resembling the massive social problems faced by the Lower Mainland at this time. But what I don't often tell people is that I felt compelled to move here.
For a while now I have had Saskatchewan in my thoughts. Even when I was in Montreal - a place I was quite happy to be in - a little voice in my head would tell me that I would live here again. (I had lived in the southern portion of the province in the early 90's for about 18 months)
Even before I had really re-established contact with Geosomin, met her husband J, I had this small voice whispering to me, telling me that I would be in Saskatchewan again. I looked for chances to move here a number of times, but the timing was never right. In the summer and autumn of 2007 I was looking at Halifax, Fredericton, Ottawa, Nunavut, Calgary and Victoria (Montreal, but my French is still poor) but none of them were presenting options - not like Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
So here I am with my own place, a job in the Health Region and now a chance to maybe get published and make some headway with the various stories that have been swirling around in my head. Theo at Unreal City hosted a launch party for Vehicle magazine based out Calgary, Alberta. Run by Black Sheep Studios, the magazine wants to offer a chance to writers and artists to get their stuff published and get some exposure.
As it turns out, the guy who manages the writing end of the magazine is the son of one of the woman I know from the Health Region. We got to talking and he was interested in what I have to offer. I am putting something together and plan to send it to him for feedback.

Seal Heart

2009-05-26T22:09:00.003-06:00

Canada's Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, ate a portion of a seal's heart at an Inuit celebration in Rankin Inlet. Animal rights activists and members of the EU are disgusted and have condemned the G.G. for her action. Inuit leaders have praised her for her show of respect for their culture and I concur. Animal Rights activists and European leaders who are shocked and disappointed in Michaëlle Jean have shown how myopic and enthocentristic they are. Time to grow up and gain some perspective.

Sods and Odds

2009-05-23T15:51:00.003-06:00

CD in Play: The Flaming Lips, Zaireeka (Disc 1)

Criminally Incognito

A little while ago, I posted about the graphic novels I have been reading over the past while. I made one serious omission: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Criminal Series. Brubaker's stories find their footing in the pulp and crime genres recalling Jim Thompson's work. (The Killer Inside Me, The Grifters, and The Getaway) Geo and J are not fans of the crime genre, but even they found themselves enjoying the collected Criminal stories. It is a grim world of losers and predators, aptly depicted by Sean Phillips moody artistic style. The duo are also working on a pulp superheros and supervillains series called Incognito. Compelling stuff, actually.

Zaireeka

After a long time of searching, I have finally pucked up a copy of The Flaming Lips experimental album Zaireeka. Rather than re-explain it too you, just follow this link. I have hopes for throwing a Zaireeka party at some point.

What's In a Name

2009-05-20T21:26:00.002-06:00

CD in Play: Isis, Wavering Radiant

CBC has reported on a study from UBC showing how people with ethnic names are receiving less call backs in the job application process than people with more English sounding names. Shocking for people who have bought into the propaganda about Canada's cultural mosaic, but not for some one like me who's father had a highly ethnic sounding name.
Skallagrimsson is pseudonym, for those of who were not aware, my actual name is Germanic sounding. Well, it also gets confused for being Jewish and nothing makes you more aware of the thriving prejudice in this country than a Jewish sounding surname. However, my Dad changed his own surname in order to change people's perceptions about him. His father's name is Belarusian and in this country there was a definite prejudice against Slavs for decades. The stereotypes held that Slavs were incredibly stupid, lazy or conversely only good for hard, unskilled manual labour. That particular prejudice started dying off with my generation: "Polack" jokes didn't have that much meaning, for instance. But slavic prejudice was very real and my Dad felt so hampered with his name that he changed it.
His story isn't unique, and many Canadians throughout the history of this country have felt the sting of ethnic prejudice. Quite honestly, I am not so sure we will ever truly see its end - but one can hope.

Ah... Propaganda.

2009-05-20T19:40:00.003-06:00

2009-05-20T19:40:00.001-06:00

Actually, this could still be used today.

2009-05-20T19:39:00.001-06:00

2009-05-20T19:38:00.000-06:00

Sigh

2009-05-19T21:53:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I wish I were a dragon...

It is Time

2009-05-12T21:27:00.002-06:00

...for stormy weather. There is a storm front moving in. I went out for a walk and saw the dramatic, looming ominous clouds and felt the strong winds. I saw a dust devil spin past on 25th and saw lightening strike further south. It was a short walk. One thing that I have never experienced before was the smell of the storm. In BC you get the smell of rain when the rain hits, but tonight it was on the wind. That fresh, beautiful smell with out the rain.

Fingers Crossed

2009-05-11T22:44:00.002-06:00

After a very biased media campaign for the BC Liberals, I am extremely nervous about the election results for tomorrow. Campbell and his crew have done nothing to deserve the trust of British Columbians. I weep for the province if they win.

Graphic Content

2009-05-09T20:07:00.003-06:00

Music on CD and on iPod: Painkiller, Scorn, Slint, Sloan, JAMC, Henry Mancini, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Andy and Joey, Black Moth Super Rainbow.

One of the staples of my reading has been graphic novels. I loved comic books as a kid and have been reading them on again and off again over the years. I quit reading comics in the mid 1990's when it seemed writers had begun losing work to artists who couldn't really couldn't write. and were more interested in rippling muscles and expanding bust lines than good storytelling. But I always find myself returning to comics at some point. The advent of the graphic novel has been a godsend for people like me: no more collecting single issues. It also seems a bit more mature in a way.
There are quite a few talented writers that are out there producing works for comics that are interesting, informed, informative and highly imaginative. Back in Vancouver, I was helped out quite a bit by the staff at Golden Age and the owner of Elfsar when trying to come up with titles that I might like. Here in Saskatoon, Theo at Unreal City has been great at pointing me in some really worthwhile directions. The following is a list of some of what I have been reading. Writers are immediately listed after the title followed by the artist:

Queen and Country by Greg Rucka and various artists: Ostensibly an updated sequel to the British series, The Sandbaggers, as I understand it from my friends Elijah and Iain. I am currently reading Volume 1 of the collected series, but read the Declassified issues prior to that. So far it makes an interesting companion piece for Misha Glenny's book on the rise of Global Organised Crime, McMafia. Rucka is a good writer, but the art might be hit or miss for people. It misses sometimes, but the stories are so tight I don't mind. One of the artists is from Vancouver, BC. Rucka also wrote White Out, which is an excellent crime story set in Antarctica. (I have only read the first one, however) White Out is about to be released as a film starring Kate Beckinsale - but I do not hold out high hopes.

Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughn and Tony Harris: This series is still ongoing and the wait times for the graphic novels can be frustrating, but Vaughn and Harris have yet to disappoint. The story centers around a failed ex-superhero who decides he could do more good for New York as its mayor. He wins and confronts problems within the city, with former allies, unknown enemies and his own origins. If you have found that the DC and Marvel universes have become too bloated and too ridiculous, then this is the series for you.

Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday: This series has and still is blowing my socks off. I am envious, because I had some very similar ideas to Ellis'. But as in so many other cases, my inability to complete projects has only short changed myself. Planetary is about the Planetary Foundation - "Archaeologists of the Impossible" dedicated to discovering the secret history of planet Earth. The series runs the gambit of comic genres and delves into quite varied film and literary genres. The villains of the piece are an amoral and quite evil analogue of the Fantastic Four. I look forward to seeing how Ellis finishes this off. Cassaday's art is incredible and really brings this world to life.

DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli: America has spread itself thin fighting conflicts it can never win across the globe. Forgetting domestic threats on the home front, the government is unable to put down militia groups who rise up and declare independence from the USA. (forming the Free States of America, or FSA) Matty Roth is an intern with the Fox News analogue, Liberty News, who gets stuck in Manhattan while on an assignment with a veteran reporter. New York City is now a Demilitarized zone (hence DMZ) caught between the machinations of the USA and the FSA and the agendas of those people and groups who are stuck inside the city. Roth takes up the mantle of journalist and investigates the lives of those caught in the middle of conflict in the DMZ. Quite compelling stuff here.

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso: What is it about comics writers and the name Brian, you must be asking? No clue, sorry. The basic premise is a man known as Agent Graves meets people whose lives have gone wrong in some way and gives them a chance to seek vengeance, or not. He meets them shows them how and by whom their lives were ruined and offers them an attache case with an untraceable gun an d 100 untraceable bullets. But the game Graves is playing is much, much larger than anyone knows and the secret history of the United States of America is coming undone. Who are the real Minutemen? What really happened at the Roanoke colony? What was Croatoa? Who are The Trust? Read 100 Bullets and find out.

Other things to check out would be Red Son, (Communist Superman) Y: The Last Man and IDW's Doctor Who series (if you like Who) - Geo's husband J turned me on to that one.

Keep an Eye on Guinea

2009-05-09T09:11:00.003-06:00

I was reading in Wikipedia about how the West African country, Guinea, has withdrawn 30 ambassadors world wide with no explanation. (because I am typing this on Geo's computer, I cannot paste the link) So I did a little reading on Guinea's new president, via a bloodless coup in December 2008, Moussa Dadis Camara. I have a feeling this will become an interesting story to follow and watch develop. The politically inexperienced might want to get in on the ground floor on this one.

The Author of This Blog Would Like to Direct Your Attention to the Following:

2009-05-08T08:47:00.004-06:00

It is May the 8th of May, 2009. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and it bloody well snowed overnight here. It snowed, in bloody MAY!!! Now I like the snow and I do like winter, but this is just unsettling.

Booze in the News

2009-05-04T12:56:00.003-06:00

"To alcohol! The cause of - and solution to - all of life's problems." - Homer J Simpson

This article is a response to an article run in thetyee.ca - Liberals, Liquor and Who's Really Getting Soaked. Showing a complete lack of respect for the average voter, the private liquor industry in BC is trying spook voters by stating that beer will go up by $3.00 if the NDP take power. This isn't the first time that people have tried to use booze as a way to win/sway an election. Back when Bill Vander Zalm (with the right wing Social Credit) was running, one of the few promises he did make was to lower the price of beer. When he became premier the price of beer actually went up - but that would never come back to haunt him.
Now we have the private liquor stores and the companies that own them are well connected into the BC Liberal Party. Some hailed private stores as a great step for free enterprise and competition in an area that has been too long under a government monopoly.
Take the liquor store for the North Burnaby Inn as an example. The NBI was initially a BC owned operation. It was competitive with the government LDB stores, paid its employees $12.00 an hour and had great selection. (particularly its wine selection) When the Liquor Barn moved in from Alberta, the NBI was one of the stores it purchased. Liquor Barn cut the wage back to $8.00 an hour, they slashed selection and dramatically increased the prices in a very short space of time. One bottle of wine my Dad used to buy shot up over $4.00 a bottle withing a month - that's four dollars over the LDB. So much for competition. And frankly, the NBI is a totally different place to walk into. The place is dingy compared to what it was before. It is like their is no pride in this operation, just another booze depot to cater to people's vices and addictions rather than a respectable establishment providing people with something enjoyable. And it does show in the employees faces. Before the Liquor Barn cut the hell out of the store, they were polite, friendly - but for a measly $8.00 an hour, why bother?
Then there was how the Liberals had arranged for LDB renovations during holiday seasons. Stocks were reduced, gift sets were cut in half and suddenly available at the private stores. Coincidence? No, just a bunch of idealogues and people invested in their own greed shafting people all over for their own ideals and or pocket books.
One of many scandals being under reported and materfully spun by the majority of BC news outlets. But the fears of the private liquor industryand their pet-in-the-pocket politicians are just another signal of a province and whole sector of society unwilling to do confront the problems faced by British Columbia. They just want line their pockets and to hell with you and everyone you know.

Summanmutikassa (which is to say, At Random)

2009-05-02T20:35:00.003-06:00

I do not actually speak Finnish, I just have a thing for their language.

Free Painkiller

I had a busy day today, three callbacks all relatively minor. But still, I had a brain removal last night and a full autopsy tomorrow: Not much of a weekend. However, free things always relieve the pain. After a visit to Unreal City for free comic book day (one of the advantages of being single is not having to grow up in the ways many married people are expected to) I dropped in to a nearby record store. I wanted to pick up a copy of the John Zorn, Bill Laswell and Mick Harris collaboration that combined avant-garde jazz and grindcore, Painkiller. They had a two disc set of 1994's Execution Ground. Disc two is an ambient remix of two the other tracks. I actually wanted Guts of a Virgin or Buried Secrets. Dark and disturbing, but sometimes I want that.

Sound and Vision

With apologies to David Bowie - this isn't about him. So I am watching Dirty Harry from 1971. I've seen it too many times and it has one of the most over-the-top and ridiculous vilains ever comitted to film. He's just too unbelievably evil. What I really let it run for is the soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin. I really need to pick this soundtrack up at some point. I'd recommend it to other musicians for sure - so much that can be learned from listening to it. Schifrin also worked on the soundtracks for Cool Hand Luke, Bullit, THX 1138, (whose soundtrack I cannot recall) as well as TV themes Mission: Impossible and one of the Starsky and Hutch Themes. Hmmm? I need to do a Soundtrack post at some point.
Actually, I need to get back to playing music and start a soundtrack cover band. Schifrin, John Barry, Isaac Hayes, Morricone, Mancini...

Vancouver, BC

As much as I complain about the city of my birth, I am missing it at the moment. I miss meeting with friends at familiar spots. I miss my friends' kids. I miss my parents. However, I am dealing with it and reminding myself that the Vancouver I miss is about 10 to 12 years gone.

A Case Against the Automobile

A poisonous waste of resources, it is true. Convenient and certainly fun for people like me who like to drive: but the automobile is destroying the environment and depleting valuable resources. But this isn't the case that I wanted bring against motorised vehicles. Cars and trucks continually block my line of sight. Maybe I am trying to read something across the street, something interesting is going on por a particularly attractive woman is walking by. Whatever the case may be, it is far too often that vehicles of all sorts get in my way and it must end.

Cold Blooded Old Times

2009-04-24T01:52:00.000-06:00

Well, we have passed the Vernal Equinox by this point in time and many people are shivering through the Spring wondering when they can finally kiss Winter goodbye? As it happens, I love cold weather and am thriving this year. However, even I am not so keen on the cold to be able to appreciate the anticipated snow this weekend or predicted lows in the neighbourhood of -11 to as low as -17°C. It is 2°C tonight, but with the wind chill it is -2°C and expected to drop as low as -10°C. Balmy Vancouver in alleged British "California" is currently sitting at 8°C and expected to go as low as 3°C.
Despite the Canadian sterotypes "aboot" the cold snowy Great White North, these temperatures are odd and unseasonally low. Trees in the Lower mainland of BC are only now beginning to bud, I have been told. Fruit trees are later than usual in blossoming. Here in Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan River is now free of ice but I have a feeling that many of the farmers out here are wringing their hands with dread. As it happens we are in a period of decreased solar activity.
A brief accounting of what is happening with our local star can be read at The Guardian online. Sunpots, as I understand it, signify periods of more intense solar activity - meaning warmer temperatures on the average and (appropriately enough) brighter light from the Sun. Our Sun is ever-so dimmer than it was a few years ago and cooler. There has been some speculation that the world (and specifically the Northern Hemisphere) could see the return of another so-called Little Ice Age (or Maunder Minimum) that held our planet in a frosty grip from the 17th century until the mid 19th century.
Regardless of whether or not we could be seeing anything as extreme as the Little Ice Age, we are headed for some leaner and more stressfull times. I think many of us will have to rethink what kind of communities we live in and how we interact with our world.

Oi?

2009-04-24T00:10:00.001-06:00

Song Playing: "This Is Ska", Bad Manners

This weekend when I bought my copy of McMafia from the local Anarchsocialist bookstore - Turning the Tide - I spoke with the one of the guys who works at/runs the store and he talked about how he used to be a member of International Socialists (IS) and was relaying some of his horror stories at having to deal with skinheads in Vancouver. He was kind of nervous when speaking to me. I wasn't entirely sure how the conversation turned in that direction, but then it hit me that have somewhat adopted a skinheadish sort of ensemble. I have a wool donegal hat, (a flat cap) black paramilitary sweater, (warm, comfortable and durable - I have one that has lasted me since 1996!) and have been wearing my black steel toes around. I also shave my head, but then I am bald anyway.
Of course, I haven't seen any actual skins here in Saskatoon. All of the skins I have met in either Vancouver or Montreal weren't the stereotypical racist kind - that's not how the movement started out and these people let you know it. But since I started shaving my head, I have had people taking me for a skin so why be surprised?
Shaved head, penchant for ska, dub and rocksteady, flat cap, working class dress style... could I possibly be a skinhead? No real skinhead would ever mistake me for one of their own, so mmmm... no.

myPod

2009-04-19T18:11:00.002-06:00

On the television: A Shot in the Dark (1964)

I recall an article in the paper a few months ago about how people were fighting off muggers and thieves rather than surrender their iPods. The police (Toronto's I believe) stated that they were surprised by the behaviour, but I cannot say that I am. A person's iPod is a terribly personal thing: in a sense, it is the very embodiment of one's own personality. But just how much can one's iPod become part of one's self?
As I was waiting for the bus earlier on, I saw someone who looked like an friend from back in the day. It wasn't said person, but I began to strike up an imaginary conversation in my head with the person I had mistaken this stranger for. I should state that I was listening to my iPod. As the conversation progressed a couple of uncomfortable memories began to surface, things that were a bit embarrassing. Without thinking I forwarded the track and began thinking about something else much more comfortable. I moved from a track I had uploaded from a Mojo sampler - and have no particular emotional or historical involvement with - to the Super Furry Animals "Alternate Route to Vulcan Street". I noted this and recalled that I have actually done this without thinking on a couple of other occasions.
Do other people use to their iPod to reprogram themselves? How did the instinct to do this develop? I have only had my iPod since last October. Has anyone else found themselves doing this?

Currently speaking...

2009-04-18T16:28:00.002-06:00

Short meme, but it's what you get.

Current Reading Material: the trade paperback editions of DMZ a series by Brian Wood and illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli. In the words of the website the series takes place "in the near future, America's worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand — Manhattan or, as the world now knows it, the DMZ." If you liked Y the Last Man or are enjoying Ex Machina, check it out.
I also picked up Misha Glenny's McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld. I have only skimmed through it but it looks promising.

Current Listening: Mastodon's Crack the Skye and A Woman A Man Walked By PJ Harvey & John Parish. solid releases all the way around. Mastodon's latest is much more interesting than their last album. Initially, I was smitten with teh album but it lacked staying power. As for Harvey and Parish, well... PJ could could rub her nose all over the microphone for a whole album and I still may find something worthwhile about it. Still vibrant, still talented, still worth the time.

Current Pet Peeve: Whiney lab staff who don't have a clue about is going on elsewhere in the working world. Stand up for what matters people, the piddly crap is just that.

Wow!

2009-04-14T23:03:00.003-06:00

I just looked at my Cluster Map and saw that I had a visit from the Faeroe Islands! Cool! Vælkomin!

Tidbits and... um? Stuff.

2009-04-12T15:11:00.002-06:00

Ipodery: 13th Floor Elevators, Blair Jewers, the dollar store jesus

I finally have internet at my place, but would seem to have picked up the "conficker" virus that prevents me from updating my virus checker. (and no, I do not use Norton) It will be nice when I can access the online world with regularity again, but that will have to wait momentarily. So Geo and J have been kind enough to allow me access to their computer and home while they are away. Which brings me to the first point:

My Thanks

Geo and J have been exceptionally good friends and deserve a big "huzzah" among other things for their openness and generosity towards me. This move to Saskatoon and period of adjustment would have been much more difficult had it not been for the two of them. Exceptional people who deserve exceptional things. Consider that fact that Geo and I have only been in occasional in contact since 1991 and only had the chance to see each other for the first time since then at Pete Chattaway's wedding in 2006. (also my first time meeting J) Not a lot of friendships survive that time and distance. But then I am still friends with Pete and Trent, so maybe it is the "Hoy House" bonds that are tough to sever. (Hoy House requires explanation, don't bother... for now)

Did'ja eva get the feelin' that...

...'chu was writtin' like someone else? I have attempted to be a writer from time to time, but without much success. Mostly because I have hard time seeing things through to completion. I did have a novel outline written, complete with first and last chapters - but apparently Ray Bradbury wrote it first. ("Go get the Banshee Ray!") Then a film starring Aston Kutcher was made along the same lines. (The Butterfly Effect) I tore up the outline and chapters. (I still have the idea in my head though)
Then there were a couple of short stories. The people who read those stories (I think Thoth was one of them) said that I needed to read Tom Robbins. (Another Roadside Attraction, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues) With that in mind, I have never read Tom Robbins. I bought Skinny Legs and All for my Mother, knowing her sense of humour and tastes. I figured that she would like what other people had told me about Robbin's literature. She does, she loves it. I have never let my parents read anything I have written since the early `90's - mostly because I am neurotic that they will show it to other people (particularly people I don't like) without my consent as they have both done in the past. With that in mind, consider that my Mum has now stated that reading Tom Robbins is like reading something that I would have written. If I had hair I'd be pulling it out. Maybe I can turn this into a weight loss thing? Maybe Tom Robbins has stolen my identity? Maybe I was slated to be a well known and respected writer? Maybe Mr. Robbins was the frustrated, neurotic one with a sharp sense of failure at the things he might have been - but he had a time machine, so he stole my style and made it his own and gave to his younger self to re-write the future with. Maybe I don't have a second-hand imagination after all? But this all sounds far-fetched and crazy, doesn't it? Doesn't it? Hey, Ray Bradbury could plausibly have had a time machine...

Shake Yo' Rump-ah!

2009-04-02T19:05:00.005-06:00

For those off you you don't get the title, hang your heads in shame. Classic albums. So, Geosomin has taken up belly dancing. Geo likes to dance in general, so this seemed a natural step. Her husband, J, shot a DVD of her recent recital, but I shot this periodically shaky footage with my camera. The recital was long. Quite long. Reeeeaaaalllly long. However, it was worth it to support a friend. That and to have beheld the dancer Fahima, whom the other dancers have nicknamed "Cat-nip". I don't know her so I didn't shoot footage. Cat-nip and Anasuya. Indeed. Enjoy.

At Random

2009-03-27T21:59:00.004-06:00

iPodery: The Fort Knox Five, Neko Case, Dr. Octagon.

Slice and Dice

Kudos to Trent for this link to an article in wired at, http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_brainatlas . I do stuff like this at work. Plenty of people only think of Pathology in terms of Forensic Pathology: homicides, suicides, suspicious deaths, accidental deaths, etc. But much of it is for patient care and research - stuff that strives to imrpove your quality of life. I have had to remove still warm brains and cut them in half for studies into Alzheimers and Parkinsons. (note: sectioning like what you see in the article is done by the Neuropathologist here) It has to be done within 24 hours of death for the samples to be useful. One half is frozen at -70°C and the other is fixed in formalin.
As Geo often points out, this is the sort of work that makes a person feel good about what they do - and it does. I like knowing that I am contributing to something useful, something beneficial. I have had too many jobs where my work's worth is seriously in dooubt.

Photos

I do plan to post some photos soon. I have shot pictures of the art being produced here at the University of Saskatoon that I think should be shared.

Unreal City

CFCR's Theo has started his own comics and collectables shop, Unreal City, in the downtown are of Saskatoon. Really well laid out and a good starting selection of merchandise to choose from. No other shop in town is dealing collectables as far as I know, and Theo is a great guy. If you are from Saskatoon or Saskatchewan, it might be worth your while checking it out.
I schilled for Trent, how can I not schill for others now?

Whassamatta You?

2009-03-23T10:46:00.002-06:00

"(hey!)/Gotta no respect?/Whaddaya think you do?/Why you looka so sad?/It's-a not so bad/It's-a nice-a place/Ah, shaddap you face!" - Joe Dolce "Shaddap You Face" 1981

Yesterday I was planning to write a brief post about the big melt down here in Saskatoon. Overcast, gloomy and very, very wet. It reminded me of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, actually. However, I awoke to a very cold apartment and looked outside to see fresh snow on the ground and slush more on the icy side than the slushy side. I have a bank day today, so I decided to go pay my electrics bill. Now, Saskatoon City Hall has to be the least friendly City Hall I have ever been to (New Westminster being the friendliest) but today it was even worse - one might say it was frigid in there. So I went to catch the bus to the university and the driver was unpleasant, so were the passengers, so are the students.
Now, I grew up in the relatively balmy environs of the Lower Mainland so shouldn't the cold be making me unhappy? Perhaps it is the overcast weather? Well, take my advice Saskatoon, the best way to get past the overcast conditions is to just go outside and be in it. Truly. Things improve once you are out in it. It is certainly brighter than being indoors. Calgary got a foot of snow compared to our 1/2 inch! Honestly, cheer up - it's-a not so bad!

A Post in Passing

2009-03-18T17:41:00.001-06:00

I have been away for a while, but shall return when things are less hectic. Right now I have plugging in hours and training for a second postion in the health region. Busy, busy.

I don't know why, either

2009-03-07T10:37:00.002-07:00

So sugary looking, it makes my teeth hurt. From a gallery opening last night. I have photos of the work on display but am not sure if I should post them.

Truths found in record stores

2009-03-01T12:52:00.002-07:00

Found this in the Vinyl Exchange on 2nd Avenue. The picture is my current desktop.

If My Life Were a film...

2009-02-18T13:50:00.002-07:00

... and my iPod selected the music. Geosomin stole this from Rimshot and am stealing it from her. The rules are simple:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle & press play
3. For the first question, type the song that’s playing
4. When you go to a new question, press the next button TWICE
5. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool... just type it in man!
6. Tag people

As you will be able to tell, my iPod and I have a strange relationship.

OPENING CREDITS: At Least That's What You Said, Wilco (A Ghost is Born)

WAKING UP: Fear and Sickness, Neurosis (Given to the Rising)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Happiness, Goldfrapp (Seventh Tree)

FALLING IN LOVE: Argument, Fugazi (The Argument)

FIRST TIME: Accidents Will Happen, Elvis Costello and the Attractions (Girls, Girls, Girls Disc 1)

FIGHT SONG: Small Pox Champion, Fugazi (In On the Kill Taker)

BREAKING UP: Bad Days, The Flaming Lips (Clouds Taste Metallic)

PROM: Pandaharmonium, The Orb (remix of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra from Preludes, Airs and Yodels) - If only my grad dance was that cool.

LIFE: Neighbourhood #2 (Laika), The Arcade Fire (Funeral)

MENTAL BREAKDOWN: All Saints, David Bowie (bonus track from Low)

DRIVING: Slug Dub, The Orb (Orbvs Terrarvm)

FLASHBACK: Country Feedback, REM (Out of Time)

GETTING BACK TOGETHER: Evil Will Prevail, The Flaming Lips (Clouds Taste Metallic)

WEDDING: Wanderlust, Björk (Volta)

BIRTH OF A CHILD: Alien, The Dandy Warhols (The Black Album)

FINAL BATTLE: Street Fighting Man, The Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet)

DEATH SCENE: Yawning or Snarling, The Tragically Hip (Day for Night)

FUNERAL SONGD: Niobe, Caribou (Andorra)

END CREDITS: Times of Grace, Neurosis (Times of Grace)

Anyone who wishes to be tagged, is so tagged. (But I tag Trent and Pete as I know they have iPods)

Past as Present

2009-02-08T13:20:00.002-07:00

iPodery: Neurosis, Elliott Smith, Blonde Redhead, Toots and the Maytalls, Goldfrapp, Isis

Much of my adult life has been a struggle to both grow up and to find stable, love and gainful employment. I'd like to think I have grown up a little bit since the start of this decade, but the jury is still out. Love is something I just give up on: I do not get it and it certainly does not want to be got - not by me at any rate. As for gainful employment... I am employed at least.
My job in the Health Region is not tremendously gainful at this point as I am a casual employee. There is a chance I could go up to part time, maybe even full time, but that is up to management and the full time guy who may or may not retire. Still, I can bid on other jobs in the Region and the longer I work for it the more my seniority goes up. But I don't want to work for the region forever and really just want to pay down Student Loans enough so I can go back finish up and get my teaching certificate. At this point it is all still hand to mouth with a promise of utensils, a plate and maybe even a table in the future.
It seems I made the right choice in moving to Saskatchewan as well. It is the only province showing appreciable growth in a time of great economic downturn (can we say depression?) and I just couldn't find any opportunities back home. I also couldn't afford to live in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. So I moved for opportunity. Lots of people do. My Great Grandfather, John Corcoran, left Wales around 1911 to come to Canada for new start. He found after helping to organize a coal miners strike on Vancouver Island, having the BC Militia sit on him, going to fight in WWI with the Irish Guard, coming back, getting blacklisted, opening a saddle shop, becoming a petty bureaucrat and then dying of the black lung in the 30's. Hopefully my own pitfalls don't mirror John's.
Still, I wonder how John Corcoran felt leaving his family and friends behind? By all accounts, Dowlais was and still is a hell hole - but home is home. Vancouver ain't all that it used to be either - but home is home. And my friends are there. And my parents. I do have telecommunications to bridge the gap and that helps, but one can't help but get a bit homesick. One can't help but feel some resentment as well. Why do I have to leave home to find a future for myself? Why did opportunities elude me back home? (and I did try to find them) Did I make the right decision? Should I have just stuck it out a little longer? Did John Corcoran ever feel this way? I am happy enough here in Saskatoon, don't get me wrong, but one does have second thoughts. One does get homesick.

Wednesday Woes

2009-02-04T15:56:00.002-07:00

iPodery: Caribou, Super Furry Animals

Photo emulsion is the devil's own excrement. I have been trying to get four small areas of colour onto a print entitled "Niobe" (check out the song by Caribou) since 12:30. Photoemulsion is a key part of the priniting process, as it blocks out areas you don't want to print and (when exposed to UV light) it opens up the areas you want ink to run through when printing. All my woes today are due to photo emulsion problems. First time, it was my lack of experience. Second time? I have no clue.

Welcome Wednesdays

2009-02-04T13:05:00.003-07:00

iPodery: The Dandy Warhols, ("Valerie Yum" in particular) The Battles, Broadcast.

So I get to work today and take care of some easy tasks and was facing several lenghty and unpleasant tasks. I was hoping to finish up at the four hour mark so I could get back to the printshop and finish a silkscreen that has been the bane of my existence. Sadly, that hope was looking dashed until the guy I was covering for showed up late. As it turns out I wasn't scheduled to work. HORRAY! Now I am at the University waiting for my screen to dry so I can finish with the last four colours. HUZZAH!
I also see a young woman here who is an duplicate of a younger Jennifer Connolly. It is turning out to be a good day.

Head Scratching Facts

2009-01-31T20:15:00.002-07:00

iPodery: Sly and the Family Stone

It has been an interesting week, though very busy. I have learned two things about Saskatchewan this week that have me scratching my head.

Thing Number 1: I am at the university working on a silkscreen print. They have a stereo in the main office and it plays the radio. The station changes from time to time. They often play CBC Radio 2 or one of the satalite stations. However, from time to time, the play Magic 95 (correctly dubbed by J and Geo as "Secretary FM") or Rock 102, the "heavy" station. (for Vancouverites, think CFOX) Magic 95 is often played in the lab and at my older job at the perogie place. They play all the songs from the 80's and 90's I was trying so hard to forget. Magic 95 loves to play lots of Robert Palmer and really loves to play Gowan.
Lawrence Gowan is a Canadian musician (born in Glasgow, Scotland) who is currently fronting the reunited Styx. He is also best known in this country for his hits, "(You're a) Strange Animal", "Moonlight Desires" and the rather overly theatrical "Criminal Mind". In the 90's he moved into the adult contemporary set. Anyways, I hadn't heard Gowan's music in years and, no offence to the man himself, I was quite happy about that fact.
Since moving to Saskatoon in June 2008, I swear I have heard Gowan almost as much as I heard him between 1985 and 1987. They are Gowan mad here, I swear. Tonight on Rock 102 (I was packing up and had the ear pods for my iPod out) the DJ was pushing hard for some local heavy, any local heavy band to to a bone crushing version of "Criminal Mind". This really does not need to happen. It doesn't. Honestly. As long as Saskatoon exists, Larry Gowan will not be hurting for royalties. It would be almost criminal, one might say. The Kinks or Big Star would be a good band to cover. (covered well that is) Or hey, just work on your craft, stop listening to commercial radio and start writing better more original music. Neurosis, Isis or Pelican would be fantastic heavy bone crushing bands to listen to.

Thing Number 2: Another fact about Saskatchewan that has me scratching my head in disbelief is that professional boxing is apparently illegal here. There is amateur boxing clubs to be sure, but pro boxing is illegal. However, you can have professional cage mages and UFC, "tough man" competitions in the province. This is according to some boxing fans I met at one of the hospitals. I have been trying to find something online to back it up but so far nothing. However, these guys are into boxing and I would assume they would know. If true, it makes utterly no sense to me, since professional boxing (whatever you may say about being fixed) is regulated and has a strict set of rules.

Anyhow, I have to get going home. I have another print to work on and I have yet to have something to eat.

Race for the Prize

2009-01-29T16:45:00.002-07:00

The prize being a paycheck and getting caught up. I have three sets of 10 silksreen prints to complete by next Wednesday, an autopsy at one hospital and duties to complete at another hospital on the other end of town, I have a life drawing session to attend, (optional, but I need the instruction and it is free) and then work at my second job from 8pm - 2:30am. The next day is all printmaking. I was considering a shift for Sunday, but considering how pressed for printing time I am, I think I may just spend that time printing as well.

Stikfas Sundays

2009-01-19T15:26:00.008-07:00

Stikfas is a bit of an obsession with me. It will seem odd to some people that a guy my age is collecting toys, but I chalk that up to not having had to grow up as fast as friends of mine with wives/husbands, kids and homes have had to. Submitted some of these to Stikfas in the hopes that they might post them up on the website.

My Neighbourhood

2009-01-19T15:19:00.007-07:00

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

2009-01-18T15:08:00.002-07:00

I sit here at the Library listening to people scrap over computers. I should have gone to the university, but I am heading out shopping after this - the annoying needs of housekeeping have reared their ugly heads and are squawking incessantly at me.
Having other things to do, I went out and did them. It is nice here, beautiful in fact. Sunny and unseasonably warm (4 degrees today, 5 tomorrow and then back below zero) I decided to try and take some photos. Of course, every time I lifted my camera, the sun would slip from view and behind some cloud lurking around to spoil my light. Bastards. Nothing worse than flat light.
I have been reading George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. (my friend Elijah bought me the entire series to date for Christmas) I am leery of most things that fall into the "Fantasy" category since much of it is crap trying to pass itself off as Tolkien's inheritor. I am more the half way through the second book and I am impressed. It would seem to be loosely based on the real War of the Roses and is much grittier and realistic than I expected. A good read, but not for the kids... not just yet. But I don't have kids, so I am okay. Look to your own children.

Happy 2009, blah, blah, blah.

2009-01-10T12:37:00.003-07:00

iPodery: Blonde Redhead, Stereolab and Neurosis

Here's to improved prospects in the New Year. As I posted earlier, I passed my probation and am now officially employed by the Saskatoon Health Region. The work is casual to begin with, so I am not working a great deal at the moment. I will have shifts coming up soon, so hopefully I can remember how to do my job when it comes up. I have only had two autopsies since the 19th of December, so I hope I won't be too rusty. I have been picking up work around the lab, so I am not in too rough a shape right now.
I am missing aspects of Vancouver and Montreal right now. Saskatoon is definitely not the hotbed of nightlife in Canada and selection of goods can leave a bit to be desired. Mind you Montreal is pretty dead from around November until about the middle of March. But it would be nice to have a bit more to do - nice to have more selection when it comes to beer, wine and spirits. I miss the more convenient transit systems of Montreal and Vancouver. Mind you, I knew all this moving here so don't take this as a complaint. I came for the lower cost of living and the University of Saskatchewan. I have a job I couldn't have received in either Vancouver or Montreal. I suppose I could have gone to Calgary, but... well, nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
Ah, whatever. Life is good, just a little dull at times.

Hinternetland

2009-01-09T09:40:00.004-07:00

iPodery: The Tragically Hip

I have been in many desperate and lonely situations, but none quite as desperate or lonely as using internet in the Public Library. Given that me current employment situation is listed as "casual", I figured that internet was an expense I did not require at this time. What I did not count on were the hoardes of sad people desperately clinging to the library's internet system. They book computers in blocks at a time and sit there playing flas games for hours on end if they can get away with it. They get mighty offended if you suggest they could be doing something worth their while. It is a sad mix of people, though I have to wonder just what do i look like to them?
Anyhow, off to work in the lab. Besides some angry looking woman is eyeballing my station.

Other Shots

2008-12-29T00:13:00.006-07:00

Other shots can be seen at my Flickr account.

Vancouver Shots

2008-12-29T00:01:00.006-07:00

Third Beach is a place that I love going to and need to see every once and a while, especially when I have been away. Siwash Rock is a place where I feel I can kind of go to recharge. These are some shots I took today. The Lower Mainland drives me insane and I need to leave it for extended periods, but it is where I feel most geographically at home. As such, I cannot cut off my connections with it entirely. (that and the fact that most of my friends and family live around here)

Copyright, etc are mine.

Wintery Frustrations

2008-12-27T11:14:00.006-07:00

CD in Play: Carbon Dating Service, Polyentendrii

I am native to the Lower Mainland of British Columbia (as opposed to being a British Columbian Native, or First Nations) and am used to comparatively mild winters to those experienced by other Canadians throughout the country. Everyonce and while, however, we get blasted by winter's fury and have to deal with the ensuing havoc. This year has been one of those years.

Canadians from across Canada will scoff at the complaints of British Columbians (particularly Lower Mainlanders and Islanders) when the snow hits here. For those non-Canadians amongst my readers, there is nothing that Canadians love more than to engage in winter horror stories one-upmanship. You see, for every Canadian living outside of BC - no one endures worst winters than any given Canadian does in his or her given geographic region. Montrealers can't believe that people in the Prairies could possibly know worst winters than they do and people from Saskatchewan belive the same. Hell, I lived outside Moose Jaw in Southern Saskatchewan for two winters - lived in Montreal - had Grandparents in Edmonton, Alberta - travelled extensively through the mountains - stood on the frozen solid Yukon River in Whitehorse - and Saskatoonians are still dismissive about my wintery credentials. Why? Becuase I haven't experienced a Saskatoon winter yet.

Yes, it all gets quite silly. Personally, I figure Newfoundlanders probably endure the worst of all winters in Canada. Stormy blasts of snow, ice and wind, the maritime cold that sinks through your skin and settles on the bone. Grim indeed. But here in BC we don't get frequent boughts of snow, which makes things worse. People move here from other countries thinking that they won't have to deal with snow - wreaking havoc on the roads when they are unexpectedly confronted with it. They also don't know how to dress for it. But then the same can be said for the out-of-provicials who move here believing everything they see off of postcards. National propaganda and stereotypes make us out to be British California, with a balmy, sun-drenched climate. And the climate is drenched alright, but usually with rain for months on end. (anyone in the UK would be able to relate)

The out of provincials move here and don't understand that they still need to take care in the winter here - that snow here is just treacherous as snow there and maybe a bit more so. We have different conditions and situations - we have hills, big ones at steep angles. Our snow tends to be wetter and heavier. But I say all this and it won't make a lick of difference when I get back to Saskatoon. The cold out here can't kill you quickly and no other explanations will ever suffice. The weather has kept me from seeing two good friends because the roads are so treacherous. I say this whilst having access to a 4x4 vehicle, by the way. Yes the roads are that bad. I usually love snow in the Lower Mainland - it feels and sounds (and smells) the way snow should. But this winter it has been nothing but an extremely frustrating pain in the ass.

Itis beautiful though, so I will end this post with a photo shot by my Dad when he was visiting people in the Gibsons area. (that's where The Beachcombers was shot)

RIP - Harold Pinter

2008-12-26T15:34:00.003-07:00

English Playwright, sreenwriter and director - amongst many other things - Harold Pinter passed away on the 24th of this month. He was a huge talent and the world is richer for his work and poorer for his passing.

More of the Same Old Same Old

2008-12-22T14:21:00.003-07:00

iPodery: Boards of Canada, Music Has the Right to Children

...but with darker twist than before.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper once championed Senate reform. Mr. Harper professed for a long time to believe that Senators in this country ought to be elected, not appointed. On this, Mr. Harper and I were agreed. However, given the threats to his tenuous grasp of power facing him from a coalition of the Opposition, Mr. Harper has stacked the Senate's long vacant 18 seats with appointees of his own choosing. This on top of running to the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until the New Year. When the going gets tough, the would-be tough guy mires himself in hypocrisy.
The politicians are hypocrites is no surprise to anyone - but what makes this situation particularly galling is that Harper is trying and succeeding to take the moral high ground here. His supporters, while they rail on with no understanding about how undemocratic it is for the Opposition to assume control of government through a coalition, fail to see their chosen leader for the anti-democratic threat that he truly is. It is a sad day to be a Canadian.
I was forced to listen to talk radio for today, as supporters of the Conservatives called and wrote in to demagogue radio show host Charles Adler essentially encouraging the Prime Minister to seize control of government for the good of the nation. Yes, people want a man with an acknowledged distrust of democracy to seize control of the government so he can save democracy. And conservatives wonder why they so easily caricatured as ignorant rednecks?
Warning to all, if you stand with Harper stay out of my bloody way as I will likely (verbally) tear a strip out of you. My blood is up. That anyone would willingly delude themselves to stand with a man so corrupt and so hateful makes me very angry indeed. That people can stand for a man when he said one thing and then still stand with him when he does the complete opposite? Harper is a power hungry man and does not have this nation's best interests at heart. To stand with Harper is to stand with a liar, a hypocrite and a tyrant in the making.

Whatever these things actually are, it is one of these things yet again

2008-12-14T14:13:00.002-07:00

iPodery: Going from A to Z, everything in order.

Current Location: The Saskatoon Public Library. I decided that not getting cable would have been a prudent idea, until I can secure more hours after my probation period ended. It was a smart decision. As such, I am dependent upon the Library for internet. (I can't always hope to use Geo and J's) Normal crowd today, but there is often an annoying crowd of "Special Eds" and "bo-bo's" who hand around here all day switching from computer to computer and acting thoroughly annoying.

Current Attire: Heavy black jacket, black sweater, jeans, Salomon boots, OP gloves and balaclava and my CBC Radio 3 toque.

Current DVD in the Player: The Wire. Elijah mentioned this series to me. Takes place in Baltimore and is in the same vein as (and has creative personel ties to ) Homicide: Life on the Street. Given that it is an HBO show, it has a freer hand to explore themes and ditch certain television conventions that would be expected on traditional television network shows.

Current Book: It should be Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, but I have been having a hard time starting it. Don't know why, just am. Instead I have been reading An Instinct for Dragons by David E. Jones. Jones argues that the basis for dragons comes not from the dinosaur fossils - as the legends of dragons predate such discoveries and are far too pervasive across the globe - but an amalgamation of the three main predators early hominids would have had: the eagle, the snake and the great cats.

Current Song in my Head: "Everybody has got something to hide, except me and my monkey" by the Beatles. And not just because it is coming up soon on my iPod.

Current Annoyance: The astonishing ignorance Canadians have about the basic tennents of our system of government. We are not living in the United States, folks. It is a Westminster style parliament. Look it up.

Frostbite

2008-12-13T11:38:00.003-07:00

iPodery: Tragically Hip, Day for Night

It is about -32 Celsius outside and I have bought my first balaclava. It be cold. I have a headache and am about to return home to watch The Wire.

Geo and J, by the way, are the best. They bought me dinner and they snagged me cold cuts, buns and macaroni salad. Geo also briought me squash soup. They rock. Thanks guys.

An Odd Place to Be

2008-12-11T15:53:00.003-07:00

iPodery: Stereolab, Chemical Smoke

Finit-O-Mundo

So I met with one of my managers today and I have passed my probationary period. Yeah! Woo-Hoo! Awright! Dyn-O-Mite! And as of next week I have 4 hours. Woo-Ho... oh. Yeah, in case you forgot or if I forgot to mention it: my job is casual/on-call. So, I will be gasping for hours for a while. One guy may retire soon, but even that doesn't guarantee me a full or part time job. I can apply for work within the Health Region, however, and will be doing so .
So 3 months of full time training to end up trained and competent and underemployed. Opportunities are available where I am at, but it is a bit anti-climatic given everything that has happened. As I was leaving one of the hospitals I work at, it was a bit like getting ready to depart from a job for good. Quite odd really. So, I have to pick up hours with a company that I was working for prior to working for the Health Region.

Vancouver Ho!

So, I will be back in Vancouver briefly for Christmas. My apologies to anyone I don't get to see there - time is tight. I am not moving back, just visiting family for the holidays and heading back to this snow strewn, wind paradise.

The Christmas Spirit in Action and Other Observations

2008-12-03T20:25:00.002-07:00

iPodery: Sly and the Family Stone, Chemical Brothers, U2, The Kinks, Neurosis, Don Drummond

Christmas Spirit in the Classroom

I am having some financial troubles here on the wind blasted Prairie. The move has proved more expensive than anticipated and I had a couple of stupid moments for sure. So I was faced with not being able to attend the second half of my printing class - which I have been doing quite well at. My final lithography project garnered 91%, which is pretty good for a process I have learned to revile. (traditional litho, I have yet to the other forms) Anyhow, I mentioned to my prof that I may not be able to attend the class next semester and he told me to attend no matter what. I won't get a grade but I will get to learn serigraphy and intaglio.
I have a classmate who is part of the Charismatic movement - a denomination within Christendom I have many reservations about. He's been praying for the situation and I will admit it is looking a bit brighter than it did prior to this week.

Stephen Harper and the Coup D'état

So Little Stevie Harper wants to hamstring the other parties by impeding their ability to get funding (without hurting the ability of the Conservatives to fund raise as I understand it right now and now he is shocked to discover that they are trying to form a coalition to take power away from him. Big surprise. I do find it funny, though, that he would talk about it being undemocratic: especially given his strong autocratic bent and suspicions of the democratic impulse. (read Preston Manning's book) As far as I know the Opposition parties aren't doing anything that violates Canadian Law, so all the more power to them.
Harper has no one to blame but himself. He has behaved in an undemocratic manner since taking power and has no moral standing to decry the current situation. Had Stephen Harper actually stuck by what he pledged during his victory speech and played nicely with the other children - he would probably be in a different position than he is today. But Little Stevie is a bully who doesn't play nicely and doesn't like to play with others unless they do what he says to do.
Look at Harper's actions since taking office and tell me you don't see an autocrat in the same vein as Jean Chretien. Canadians really don't have many options and I think a coalition that works together is the best thing for us as a nation. And again, for all the Conservatives who are voting for Harper because you hope he will abolish abortion and outlaw gay marriage: don't hold your breath, it is never going to happen. He may go through the motions, but he will never follow through. Get over it and move on.

Tagged Like an Animal

2008-11-29T16:15:00.004-07:00

On das iPod: The Beatles, Goldfrapp, Isis, The Beastie Boys, Mogwai, Wilco, Holy Fuck, Neurosis, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd.

Geosomin has tagged me as she was tagged by Pacian. The rules of this little chain are thus: "The Kreativ Blog award rules are: Link to the person who tagged you. (done) Post the rules on your blog: Write 6 random things about yourself. Tag 6 people and let each of them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Go back to the awarder and let them know that your entry is up."
And so...

1. I work as an autopsy technician, am not bothered by the gore that my job entails - but despise "slasher" flicks like Saw, Friday the 13th, Hostel, ad nauseam. Such films are more accurately described as torture porn and I have no interest in them. Interesting how some people assume that I would be into these films, wondering if these films are what desensitized me enough to do my job. I would counter that maturity, life experience and the perspective that comes with age allowed me to me job. I wouldn't hire on a person for my job if they were into torture porn. I can't tell you exactly why I am able to do the job that I do, I just am.

2. I practice accents when no one is around. I don't act anymore and there are no commercial outlets for my talents, but I am obsessed with developing an array of British Isles accents. The "Northern" accents (Manchester, Leeds, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Sheffield are the hardest I have found - they also cut into my Scottish accent. (which is becoming more decidedly Aberdonian I have been told) Why do I spend private time doing this? Pure enjoyment.

3. I view myself as a Vancouverite/Lower Mainlander first, British Columbian second and Canadian third. My home region and I may not get along, but I have a peculiar sense of fidelity to it. I almost feel guilty leaving it in some ways.

4. I have a reoccurring dream since the age of eleven where I am forced into playing the role of Prometheus. The dream usually entails that a group of people I know (often some of the people in my Grade 6 class still figure into the dream) are placed into the roles of Greek gods. The monastery in Mission BC becomes Mount Olympus. I am always cast in the role of Prometheus and I usually spend my time thwarting the other "gods" and decrying our so-called divinity.

5. I am in incredible procrastinator. In fact I have been thinking it is time to see someone about the problem. I suppose I will get around to it, eventually.

6. Talent and intelligence are aphrodisiacs. There are many things that will attract me to a woman, but talent is something that seals the attraction. Hidden talent or unrealised talent have much the same effect. This especially true of artistically gifted women. Not that I am attracted every artistically talented woman I have ever met, mind you.
A friend, Blair, once write that "stupid people are ugly" and he is right. Intelligence, particularly assertive intelligence play a big part in attraction. One woman I was very interested in caught my eyes, ears and every other sense in my body just by asking "why", by doggedly pursuing a line of inquiry and not letting me get away with easy answers. She questioned me until I had to say "I don't know" and the attraction was sealed.
Banality is a great way of making me uninterested. Be like everyone else, desire nothing but what you are "supposed" to have, do nothing, think nothing interesting and you have lost me.

I don't have a great many friends on the blogosphere and two have already been tagged by Geo. So I tag Thoth and I tag Glenn and anyone interested enough to pursue this chain. If need be, respond in my comments if you lack a blog of your own.

My Position is This

2008-11-16T14:22:00.001-07:00

CD in Play: Goldfrapp, Seventh Tree

This post was started on 1 Novemeber, 2008

I was at the university a couple of nights ago and got talking with a couple of people after class. They are very active in their churches, falling into a more moderate faction within the Charismatic movement. One of them brought up an email he had received from a colleague in the US asking people to pray hard about who becomes President especially given Barack Obama's "liberal" position on abortion. I have always been a fence-sitter on the issue of abortion, disliking the extremists on either side of the issue. (and yes, there extremists on both sides of the argument)
My position hasn't changed so very radically in its substance but I am more comfortable calling myself pro-choice rather than pro-life or anti-abortion. I don't like abortion and I believe there are other choices that should absolutely be considered before deciding to abort. Part of being pro-choice is to make sure that women have all the information at their disposal so they can make as well-reasoned a choice as possible. I consider some so-called pro-choice people to be pro-abortion, since they are interested in promoting abortion -consciously or not - as an easy option for everyone involved. (especially themselves, whether they aware of that fact or not)
For me, the issue of abortion comes down to responsibility: both individual and collective responsibility. Pro-lifers/anti-abortion activists like to point at the mothers and talk about their responsibilities to carry the child to term, for reasons the mother may or may not accept, but largely fail to acknowledge their responsibility to provide an alternative. And Christians (who drive the pro-life/anti-abortion cause) are quite big on demanding alternatives and solutions when they are confronted with criticism from within. Anytime I complained about the state of the Church in the past I was told by MANY people that if I didn't have alternatives or solutions to offer along with my criticisms then I should just keep my mouth shut until I have something constructive to follow up with.
Some churches have met this challenge, providing shelters for single mothers where they can learn life skills like cooking, sewing, how to deal with their frustrations and how to manage their money so they can have something left over to treat themselves with. As I understand it, some of these places have follow-up policies with their mothers, regardless of whether or not they convert.
Still many church going "pro-lifers" I have met feel no inclination to be so charitable with either their time or their money. The mother screwed up and it has nothing to with them if she is unprepared to raise a child, unfit to be a mother, etc. That these children may grow up to be battered, neglected or fail to grow up at all is nether here nor their - abortion is immoral and not permissible. Life must be protected at all costs but when it comes to a question of quality of life? You're on your own kid. Lots o' luck. Excuse me, I have to go manicure my lawn, polish the silverware, go to my weekly home Bible study.
But so-called pro-choicers aren't of the hook either. Many make the same arguments about pro-lifers/anti-abortionists that I have just made but are just as callous towards impoverished children. Better to get rid of the kids rather than to try to turn the situation around. Some of the arguments I have heard from this faction are rather classicist and bear a rather strong resemblance to some of the American Eugenicist arguments from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
When you live in a society that refuses to take responsibility for itself, that allows so many of it own to fall through the cracks - why object at all to abortion? Reading the coroners' files on all the children in the province who have died due to neglect, to misadventure, to despair, to impoverished conditions, due to the natural consequences of history playing itself out - how could I deny that abortion doesn't make sense? Especially in light of the casual disregard and disinterest from all levels of society to these issues? I will object to abortion when society as whole makes it altogether unnecessary. I will object to abortion when society as whole accepts responsibility for making it so.

Lonely Roads on Screen

2008-11-08T15:10:00.007-07:00

I have been signing DVD's out of the Saskatoon Public Library, which has an astonishing amount of Criterion discs in its collection. I signed out Solaris in order to fill in the hour long gap I missed while snoozing at the Pacific Cinematheque a few years ago. I also slept through a good section of Citizen Kane - some films require you to be well rested. I also signed out Monte Hellman's 1971 road movie, Two-Lane Blacktop.
Two-Lane Blacktop is a film I have heard about and one that I have been curious to see. I like road movies when there is depth to them and I particularly like that period of of film making in the late 1960's and early 1970's where everything was wide open and filmmakers were making films they could never have made before. Filmmakers haven't had that same freedom that they had in this period, although the influence of the period can be felt in some of the more interesting directors in America. Richard Linklater is a fan of this film as well, and having seen it finally I can see its influence all over a healthy portion of his work. (see his 16 reasons to love Two-Lane Blacktop)
The film has completely captivated me in a way that a lot of films don't. It has reached down and touched something deep inside me. I find myself just thinking about it and its stark portrayal of the American landscape off of Route 66, the cars, the stoney, introverted awkward silence and moments of speech. It makes me wish I had an old car to go off across the country.
Hellman used three non-actors and one veteran character actor for his four principles. (not including the '55 Chevy Bel Air and the 1970 Pontiac GTO) Warren Oates - a personal favourite of mine- drives the emotional core of the film as the desperately lonely character simply titled "GTO" in the credits. Singer-Songwriter James Taylor plays "The Driver". Former Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson plays "The Mechanic" and a then 17 year old girl named Laurie Bird plays "The Girl". The chemistry works and I don't think that three professional actors could have played these roles half as convincingly - smoother definitely but nothing as real. Linklater is right, the ending is purely cinematic and beautifully one.
I'm not going to say too much more, you should watch the film for yourself. I do think it is a shame that the film was sabotaged by the studio, it deserves as high a place (if not higher) in film history than Easy Rider. I'd actually like to see if the drive-in theatre in town (if it still exists) would be interested in a triple bill: Two-Lane Blacktop, Vanishing Point and Dazed and Confused.

Ummm.... If anyone is thinking about a Christmas present for me, this would be a good idea. It is a Criterion disk so it will cost.

Frustratinagatin'

2008-10-30T16:29:00.002-06:00

On the iPod: Pelican, Australasia

Despite the title of this post, things are going good overall here in Saskatoon. I am just becoming quite aware of the politics at work and with the Health Region as a whole. I am making it a policy to try and stay out of it as much as possible - the overwhelming majority of it has nothing to do with me anyway. Where workplace politics is hitting home is with one of the people training me. He dislikes our superiors and has been reticent to train me as he is reticent to do anything they ask him to do. He isn't the bad a guy actually, but it is bit like being a little kid who is caught in the middle of a spat between his resentful older brother and their parents who expect the older brother to take some responsibility for the youngest member of the family. I won't say more, but that is just one thing I am quickly getting tired of. I have been jacked around a fair amount on the job front most of my adult life for no particular reasons and I am getting sick of it. If I get jacked out of this job because of someone's personal and childish vendetta - I am not going to take it well at all.
As for school, we are moving on from Lithography into Serigraphy. (Silk Screening) Lithography is a frustrating process since what you draw on the plate may not be exactly what comes out on the paper. I've only just scratched the surface of the possibilities with this medium, but I will be happy to be moving on.

A post of Generalities (and Genitalia)

2008-10-25T16:09:00.002-06:00

On the iPod: Mastodon, Leviathan

Since my friend Del Klassen dropped in last weekend on his way to Halfax, Nova Scotia I have been much more excited about my Printmaking class. It was good to talk "shop" with him as Del always has something worthwhile to contribute in the area of the Arts.
Today I am working on a lithographic plate and am just taking a break while a series of washes I have set up take time to dry. I drew a sketch of a photo of Piet Mondrian's studio in 1926. Took a few liberties and was tempted to push the abstraction further but decided against it. Working on a sketch of my living room for the next print as well. When lithographs are printed the image is reversed, kind of like a mirror image. Mondrian's studio is coming out as a reverse image from the initial sketch and the photo, but I am drawing my living room in reverse so I can see it as it is.
Last night one of the senior students had a show at the university's gallery. On a technical level, the artist is quite good, but as for his subject matter... let us just that even Albrecht Dürer - who is known for his many self-portraits - wasn't that big of a narcissist. His portraits were all of himself and his naked body. I was told he only ever paints himself. There was a show before him that was pushing boundaries between portraits of children and a series of soft sculptures that examined tried to look at early childhood and sexuality. I am not really that offended or shocked (mildly uncomfortable, perhaps) but disappointed.
There are so many aspects of human experience to explore, yet the past 20 years plus have largely been stuck focusing on one. If sex is the one aspect of human experience that defines you then you truly have my pity - you are incomplete as a person. But people go on about how brave it is, how daring, how the artist is pushing boundaries. *Yawn* Next?
Self-possessed people are really quite dull. What makes Dürer worthwhile is that he did actually move beyond himself to create some interesting worl. Even then, at least Dürer has the distinction for being among the first of the openly self-absorbed artists in art history. And I will say that there is depth to Dürer's work that forces you to really examine what he is trying to portray and say with his work. The portrait's in last night's show - and I may have missed the mark - said little about the man painting and drawing them other than that he finds himself to be quite fascinating and beautiful. (including his rectum and especially his penis) Oh well, I showed up a scarfed down the free booze. Feel free to do the same at my show a few years down the road.

Ach...

2008-10-19T15:16:00.002-06:00

I have been quite busy these days and blogging has fallen by the wayside. Some of it has to do with me not making to the Library here at the UofS to do it. Long days at work with some tough situations. I have been warned off about blogging about my job, even as non-specific as I have been. So the takes from the autopsy suite are at an end. Mostly.
I have to get down to the Print Shop and work on a lithograph. We should be starting serigraphy (silk screening) this week and I am looking forward to it. One thing I have noticed this week is that my iPod's shuffle function looooves Fugazi. True I have three albums on there, but then it is packed with material from other bands. However, the iPod just loves Fugazi. (oh, here we go with a Fugazi track now) It also gravitates to Isis and DJ Shadow. Good taste.

Thrust Forward into the 21st Century!!!

2008-10-07T16:44:00.002-06:00

Currently on the iPod: The 77's, Underworld, Hot Hot Heat, Super Furry Animals and Holy Fuck

My friend J has done me a very turn. It was something I was thinking about doing for myself come Christmas time, but more likely next year sometime. My discman, only two years old, is beginning to fail in some basic ways so it is with great joy that I announce the arrival of an iPod into my life. I might be wrong about this, but J bought a Mac laptop for his wife Geo and it came with an iPod Nano. J has stated that this particular iPod is superfluous to a couple who already have iPods bigger and better, thus it is mine. I am grateful.
BTW, I had intended to see Hayden tomorrow but have realised that it coincides with my class so I have to pass up the show.

Politics and other Observations

2008-10-04T12:50:00.004-06:00

CD in Play: Air, The Virgin Suicides. The Jam, Sound Affects

Politics

There are many reasons why I am not voting in this election, the major one being I just don't like any of the leaders enough to vote for them. I really want the option to register my disgust and my total disapproval by being allowed to the option of a vote of non-confidence on the ballot. I have said as much before, but I feel the need to reiterate the sentiment. I don't like any of the major parties or their leaders and I do not feel I should have to swallow hard on my disgust and vote for the least offensive party.
Spoiled ballots are observed but conveniently ignored. Protest votes are similarly disregarded, though sometimes to the detriment of the parties in power. (such as former MP Deborah Grey and the emerging Reform Party back in 1989) To make a person's vote truly mean anything, there must be an option for people to state that they have lost or are losing confidence in the electoral system in this country, that the winners in any election definitely lack the consent of a certain percentage of the public. Leaders need a clear indicator just how much of a mandate that they have been handed by the voting public. Spoiled ballots and protest votes won't disappear, but I think they will be significantly lessened. I also think strategic voting would see a decline and voter turn out might actually be higher if the disillusioned portion of the electorate were given this option.
This all said, God help Canada should Stephen Harper and his New Conservatives win a majority in this election. I am tempted to vote for one reason: The MP for my area is a misogynist, a bigot and a complete idiot, who is incapable of understanding when a person is disagreeing with them.

Observations
Work Related Rating: Normal (Sort of)

It is an odd moment when one catches oneself making the statement, "We just received a shipment of brains." (We have Parkinson's and Alzheimer's studies taking place)

Intestines sometimes inflate with the gases that build inside the body after death and look like an assortment of balloon animals trying to escape from the zoo.

Lab Techs trying to figure out how to or what will push my buttons have learned that I can more easily gross them out than they can me. Although, I have since discovered on my own that rennets (used in cheese making) are not the part of the cow that I thought they were.

Mennonites who accuse recent immigrants of ethnic block voting are usually hypocrites.

Nothing will get your father to see a doctor about his blood pressure faster than telling him that a high percentage of the heart attacks happen to men happen when they are taking a dump. My Dad's heart is great shape apparently.

20 year old girls discussing their mortgages is just plain wrong.

On my last cheque I only made about $145.00 more in two weeks than I did in my old job back in BC, which paid $4.69 less an hour. I have been encouraged to take the matter up with human resources, who like to err on the side of taxation overkill.

Beet tops are incredible as a main vegetable.

Naga peppers are as hot as they say and then some. Yeeeeoooow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grossest Thing So Far

2008-09-29T17:37:00.002-06:00

CD in Play: Miles Davis, Ascenseur pour l'Échafaud

WORK RELATED RATING: G for Gross

The life of an Autopsy Tech is certainly not a pretty one. With that in mind, I have decided to mark work related posts as Work Related, just as it is up above. If in green type it is in N for Normal. If Red it is G for Gross. I do this for the squeamish and the faint of heart.
I had three autopsies last week and one today. The further we go along, the more work I am doing myself. Today, for instance, I was required to do about 85% of the scalp cutting. We make an incision from just behind one ear over behind the other ear. We then use a scalpel to cut the connective tissue attaching the scalp to the skull and peel it away so we can use a Stryker saw (which does not do well with soft tissue) to cut through the skull so we can remove the brain.
Anyhow, the front top went well and peeled down quite well. I started on the back top portion, working on the tissue with a scalp and pullingit away. At one point my trainer stated that I should set down the scalpel and try pulling the skin away from the scalp. I did so. It is slippery. Especially slippery since there was extensive head trauma. It slipped out of my hands and sprayed me and the wall behind me with blood and connective tissue.
I take proper precautions and use gloves, gowns, face mask, eye sheilds and head covering. So I look over at the doctor and ask him how bad it is and point out a few flecks that managed to hit the unprotected parts of my face. Not much and not bad. However, while washing up to go to lunch, I notice that the underside of my jaw is quite bloodied where my mask didn't cover. I washed up and headed for lunch. It didn't hit get anywhere it shouldn't, so I am not worried about potential pathogen exposure - but it does make one think.

Damn You, Steadman!!!

2008-09-28T12:20:00.005-06:00

CD in Play: Wilco, Sky Blue Sky

Okay, so artist Ralph Steadman (and the two pictures included in this post are his) has nothing to do with my current frustrations - I do. I have to do a drawing for my Printmaking class and keep coming with very derivative ideas. Steadman isn't someone I talk about much, but his work, style and imagination have always caught my eye and my own imagination. Frankly, in my own opinion, drawing isn't my strongest suit. I prefer painting, but I wanted to learn lithography, serigraphy and intaglio. We are about to learn some of the more painterly aspects to traditional lithography, but I am stuck for an image. Sadly, some of my sketches have proven to be quite unoriginal.
I am quite sure we share a passion for the painter Francis Bacon: he certainly shares some of Bacon's stylistic qualities, so maybe I shouldn't feel so uptight about it. But then I started working on something else, away from those Bacon/Steadman-ish impulses. Once again, I strolled into the garden of plagarism, this time Éduoard Vuillard's plot. Vuillard is a relatively little known French Post-Impressionist painter and printmaker. I stumbled onto his work while searching for something new, and was struck by some of his images. I am not into Vuillard's work the same way I am into Bacon or Steadman, I appreciate his work and his sketches in particular.
Anyhow, as I was sketching yesterday I was struck at how familiar the image I was drawing was. I went to the Public Library and found the same Vuillard book I had studied at the Emily Carr College of Art in Vancouver. Bam-o! There it was: a pencil sketch of a man standing in an alleyway. Too similar, despite it having been 4 years since I last saw the sketch. So I am searching my brian for relatively less derivative.
Part of the frustration is that I am used to working without sketches. I just go to work on canvas or paper and either erase or paint over that which does not please. Traditional lithographgy works with grease pencil, and you can't just erase that which does not please because it never truly goes away. I tried shaving my first plate with a razor blade, but it doesn't work. I'll figure a way around this, eventually.

Life, the Universe and That Sort of Thing

2008-09-21T12:49:00.003-06:00

CD in Play: Arcade Fire, Funeral

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly-ish

1. The Bad

So far life in Saskatoon has been pretty good. It is a much better life here than what I could have in Vancouver at this time. But I am not addressing the The Good here, I am addressing The Bad. There are things about Saskatoon that I don't like and things and I figure I should address them.
One frustration I have is that people here are always going on about how I am going to hate the winters here. "Oh boy, if you are from Vancouver you're going hate the winters here!", "Get ready to freeze!", "Good luck dealing with the snow!" ad nauseum. They have this gleeful look when they say it too. But these people always seem so disappointed when I point out that I have experienced winter in Edmonton, Calgary, Whitehorse, Southern Saskatchewan and Montreal.
Of course, National mythology completely discounts the kind of cold you experience on the West Coast - that damp cold that cuts right to the bone and makes your body hurt. It gets into your lungs, that icy dampness. And for some reason, no one outside BC ever seems to think it gets cold in the mountains?
That said, it is getting down to about 9°C at night. Chilly? Sure, a bit. But this Vancouverite seems to be dealing with the cold better than the locals. My building is quite hot. People have turned on the heat to their radiators and the hot water is venting through all over. Mine are completely shut off and I have to run both my wall fan and ceiling fan and keep all my windows open to make my place livable. I may even ask my manager to shut the heat off to my apartment if that can be down with out turning the hot water to my taps as well.
This is the sort of thing people from the Prairies laugh at Lower Mainland British Columbians for. I hear people complaining and it is still anywhere between 15 and 17 °C during the day. I only turn up the heat if I am either sick (which is when the cold really affects me) or when the sweater and socks (and maybe even the blanket and toque) are no longer able to keep me warm. But no one wants to be inconvenienced, so I have to strip down to my skivvies in order to cope. (sorry for the image) My weight has little to do with this, by the way. I have always been able to cope with the cold, even in my infancy. But come on people: put on a sweater, wear your socks, have a cup of tea, coffee (but tea is better) or hot chocolate. Don't like hot beverages? Time to learn buttercup. Make hot cup of broth if its more to your liking.
Other gripes? The transit system needs an overhaul. Some people have told me that they have actually cut service back, which seems idiotic to me, especially in the face of a supposed economic boom and expected growth and development. They shut down bus service on holidays, so if you don't have a car or a bike enjoy that walk or shelling out for a cab. Walking is good for you but not always practical - especially in given prairie weather. I live just north of the downtown core (such as it is) in City Park. There is no grocery store near by - well, not one worth mentioning. The transit issue becomes quite poignant for those of us who must travel great distances to get our groceries. Transit here could stand to run later and more often. And hey, it is job creation as well.
Saskatoon is a city on the cusp of bigger things. It might not happen, but there are whispers of significant growth. Saskatchewan's economy is doing well, and the province's fortunes have drawn national attention. The housing insanity that was in full swing when I arrived seems to have subsided and it is definitely a buyers market out there. It is a nice place to be, but it lacks the amenities and services to justify the prices that people were trying - and succeeding - to squeeze out of the market.
I hear people here, people like Geo, stating that they don't want Saskatoon to change to grow any larger. They may get their wish, but chances are Saskatoon will experience some growth and it is better for Saskatonians to start think in terms of sustainable and intelligent growth rather than following the model of so many other places across Canada. And not all residents are satisfied with the status quo.
At the hospital, I hear complaints from cyclists about the need for more and better bike trails. They talk about the need for cycling lanes in all areas of the city. Given the price of fuel and the push in larger urban centres for people to take up cycling instead of using their cars, it sounds like a solid plan to me. There is a new bridge going to be built. That will help ease traffic congestion in Sasktoon (such as it is) for a while, at least. However, if the city continues to grow,it will only be a band-aid solution. Some people I have heard talking, feel that it is time for Saskatoon to start considering rapid transit.
Saskatoon needs to seriously consider growth strategies. Many Vancouverites didn't want the city to grow, to see things change - but they did. Our civic politicians hid their heads in the sand and ignored the socio-economic effects of growth, thus we have the mess that is the Downtown Eastside today. Saskatoon isn't a bad little city - much better than people from out side give it credit for being - but it could be a whole lot more. This is the perfect time for Saskatoon to turn a keen eye on itself and figure out the best way for it to direct its own growth.

2. The Good

I like the people here. They are pretty friendly, by and large. There isn't the same level of neurosis and paranoia that you encounter in the Lower Mainland. You can talk to people without them giving you that uneasy look or the polite shrug-off. They are willing to give you more of their time and make significant small talk. In Vancouver, I felt that I was constantly under a microscope, constantly being appraised. Perhaps they are a bit too trusting, but maybe it is just me? The bad parts of town are bad, but they aren't so completely horrible.
I don't have much to say in this area, but then I think that little bit says so much. For all the talk about Saskatoon's bitterly cold winters, the warmth of the people make up for it. Vancouver is a cold place all year round - maybe not weather-wise but certainly in its social environment. There is so much drugs and desperation all over the Lower Mainland. The people are so guarded and suspicious it is hard not to appreciate a place where you can walk safely at night and feel welcome most places you go.

3. The Ugly-ish

Everyone should see an autopsy, or at least the specimens retrieved from and autopsy. You can be shown the pictures, you can receive the warnings - but nothing makes health risks and life threatening and chronic conditions more concrete than actually seeing what it is doing to your body up close and personal. Diabetics and people who fall into the risk category need to see amputated gangrenous limbs for themselves. Alcoholics should see a fatty, well-abused liver up close. People with hypertension and heart conditions need to see fat-lined arteries and arterial plaque build-up (especially if it has crystallized) in the flesh.
Doctors are afraid that some people will give up hope if they see this stuff - but many will simply just live in denial. I am quite overweight and I can state for the record that no doctor ever made it clear enough, no photo makes it clear enough what effect of obesity has on the human body. Have high blood pressure? Don't talk to your doctor about what it will do to you - talk to a pathologist if you can. My old doctor was a good person and she really cares, but she couched things way too much. People like me need to be hit full force, shown the ugly bits, have it made visceral.
Many of my friends, including one particular friend with a blog, need to have this stuff thrown in their faces. We all live in denial or aknowledge what it is happeneing to us but then do nothing. I'm single and have no kids - my death has less consequences than other people I know. People will miss me, but I am not leaving a wife and young ones adrift in the wake of my passing.
I have not been phased by watching a body being cut open, by drawing bodily fluids, watching a brain or other organs being removed. I haven't been affected by seeing those organs disected and then placed back in a plastic bag to be reiserted to the body cavity, watch the rib cage be set back in place and see the body being stitched up. I was quite able to have lunch afterwards. No fainting and vomiting. That sort of sulphuric reek doesn't bother me overly much either.
However, I have been disturbed to see the effects on the human body those all to common conditions have. It is disturbing because I now have clear image of what is going on inside my own body. I should divulge this much but I need to to state why I am on this rant. This patient we did the autopsy on was in his early fifties and died lifting a heavy box. He had a heart attack. He weighed significantly less than me but but major blockages leading into the heart. His wife found him. He died almost instantly. I learned that the strain put on the diaphram when lifting reduces blood flow to the heart. The same thing can happen if you strain while going to the bathroom sitting on the toilet! Not good. I had no clue. No GP had ever bothered to fill me in on this. Instead you look at all the other fat people around and think, "Well, it can't be that bad - look at them." But them isn't you and in cases like this maybe it is better to assume the worst to get the best result.
Go to a teaching hospital and see if you can be shown samples of arterial plaque and arterial sclerosis and see if it doesn't affect you. I had a good chat with one of our pathologists about all this and know much more than I ever knew about these conditions from before.

Food Meme

2008-09-20T16:42:00.004-06:00

CD in Play: Isis, Oceanic

Geo picked this up from her friend Grapecat and it looks kinda cool. Anything highlighted in green is something I have had. Anything with ** after is something I refuse to eat. Anything with a # after is something I have eaten but did not like. Anything with a ^^ is one I am curious about.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (not bad, but moose and elk are better)
2. Nettle tea^^
3. Huevos Rancheros (It's a favourite of mine)
4. Steak Tartare** (I like beef carpaccio and beef sashimi, but this one is sounds riskier parasite-wise)
5. Crocodile^^
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue (I prefer oil fondues)
8. Carp (still need to try gefilte fish)
9. Borscht
10. Baba Ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở (what I really want right now actually)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo Gobi (had it but had no clue what it was called)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Époisses^^ (I like smelly cheese though, so I'd try it)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (some have been okay and some bad)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie Gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese # (My Grandmother made it and my Dad and Uncle love it)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna Cauda^^
31. Wasabi Peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted Lassi (Really good)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar # (I love cognac, but I have never and will never smoke anything)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (only in soup and stews if that counts)
41. Curried goat^^
42. Whole insects^^
43. Phaal^^
44. Goat’s milk (I bloody love goats milk and everyone should give it a chance - GEO!)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu^^ (Hopefully I won't have a Homer Simpson experience)
47. Chicken Tikka Masala
48. Eel (BBG Eel rules)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut ### (Krispy Krap. Doughnuts are from Satan's ass)
50. Sea urchin # (I have tried it a few of times, but the appeal is lost on me)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (one of my favourite things in the whole universe)
53. Abalone^^ (I have had it, apparently, but don't remember it)
54. Paneer^^
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal** #
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (My preferred martini actually, but I call it a bruised martini)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (My parents used to buy me carob instead of chocolate, so I have a taste for it)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads ** (Would I want anyone eating my testicles?)
63. Kaolin (as in the clay from China?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian^^ (Who wouldn't want to eat something that is supposed to smelled like dead people?)
66. Frogs legs^^
67. Beignets, Churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (a favouite of mine - and I am not Scottish)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (I have had tripe in Italian and Chinese cuisine - not bad if prepared right. Also had it is the lining in sasusage)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill**
76. Baijiu^^
77. Hostess Fruit Pie #
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini (I'm not a 20 year old girl and I am straight)
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant^^ (probably not since I have no clue what this is. And according to what Glen wrote no, I haven't)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare^^ (as in a type of rabbit? Sure)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse^^
90. Criollo Chocolate^^
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa^^
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (assuming it wasn't the counterfit stuff)
100. Snake^^ (My Uncle had it in Kowloon when he was in the Navy. Tastes like chicken)

I'll have more later on my job and life in Saskatoon - I am about to get kicked out of the Library. I need to time my getting kicked out when the attractive blonde woman is working.

The Horrible Things I Do For My Job

2008-09-14T15:27:00.004-06:00

CD in Play: Neurosis, Given to the Rising

Nothing on the job that I have seen or had to do so far has really phased me yet. I don't expect to be the iceman come autopsy time, but I knew that going in. Tissue samples and gross examinations are really no big deal. There are certain kinds of autopsies that I may have to deal with that I will find troublesome. I already know that child abuse and infant deaths are going to bother - they bother everyone, or should bother them. I will also have a problem with sexual assault cases. But none of that has come up so far. The handling of dangerous chemicals is of a concern to me, but that is a matter of learning the proper procedures. No I have had one horrible thing that I had to do for the job - something that makes it hard for me to look at myself in the mirror: I had to shave.
On Thursday, I had to be fit tested for a couple of masks. These masks are mainly for those times that I may be dealing with dangerous pathogens or when we have outbreaks of things like avian flu or SARS. Those masks have to form a tight seal around my face and my facial hair was preventing that from happening. I had an inkling that it might so I brought my shaver along just in case so I wouldn't have to rebook my test times. I failed miserably, so off it all went. Good Lord. I knew I needed to loose weight before I got the job with the Health Region. I knew I needed to get back into shape after moving at the beginning of the month. I knew I needed to loose weight after seeing amputated diabetic limbs with gangrene. But vanity may just be the best motivator.
The nurse who did the testing thinks I look better without it, but I get the feeling he has a bias against facial hair to begin with. People look a bit stunned when they see me. Geo kept starring. J did a double take as he leap backwards. Clearly, there is a need to do something about this and so I shall. Aside from taking advantage of the great deal the Health Region offers employees to use their gyms, I plan to grow back the facial hair - for a measure of self-respect and dignity at least.
The last time I shaved completely was back in 1999. I was looking for better work and not getting anywhere. My Dad suggested that it may be the facial hair so I shaved to see what would happen. It didn't make a difference to my job search. Soon after shaving, I met my friend Diana on Skytrain. We were going downtown and she only just seen me the day before. She had saucer eyes. She did this fluttering with her eyes that she does when something meets with her disapproval which is followed by a quick and hard gulp. The angles of her mouth angled downward, her nostrils widened and she asked, "You're growing it back, right?" I haven't shaved completely since that day until now.
I figure I will buy another shaver and shave it off when situations demand it. The masks form great seals with just short stubble on my face, so no problem there. If there is an outbreak of SARS or some other supervirus, I will shave. Whenever I have to shave it is gone, but it will be grown back when all is clear. If the Health Region tells me to keep clean shaven then I will, vanity isn't worth a paycheck.

Me me (me)

2008-09-14T14:32:00.003-06:00

CDs in Play: Slint, Slint EP. Stereolab, Rose, My Rocket-Brain! (Rose, le cerveau électronique de ma fusée!) 3" CD single. PJ Harvey, White Chalk.

Current CDs in the Home Stereo: What I listen to on my discman (yeah, yeah, yeah... but I can't afford anything else at this point) is often different from what I listen to at home. I need to buy a rug or something to put under the stand I have for my stereo so I can muffle the bass sounds somewhat. I tried listening to Björk's Volta, but the bass is so dominant - even after turning it all the way down - that I felt bad for the people below and beside me. So I have tried to limit my at home play list to things where the bass won't pound through the walls and the floors.
I have been going through a bit of a rut listening-wise, so this has forced me to search through my CDs and listen to discs I have otherwise been ignoring for a little while. Currently in the player are the soundtracks to Jackie Brown and The Darjeeling Limited (skipping over Peter Sarstedt's annoying "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)") and also disc one of Girls Girls Girls, which is a compilation of Elvis Costello songs from 1977-1986 assembled by Costello himself.
My discman is having problems, so I may have to look into getting something like an iPod sooner rather than later.

Current Animated Obsession: J and Geo just showed me The Venture Bros. last night. It's a series from the Cartoon Network in the US. Essentially a riff on Hanna Barbara's late 60's action
cartoon, Johnny Quest, the show is very funny and must for anyone who grew up with Saturday morning cartoons that ran from 6am to sometimes way past noon and comic books. The shows creator, Jackson Public (aka Chis McCulloch), was one of the writers on the animated series of The Tick if that is an incentive for anyone out there.

Current Reading material: Aside from safety and procedural manuals, books on postmortem procedures and forensic pathology, I am re-reading the Rebus series by Ian Rankin. Since I started the rebus series back in late 2006 I have been trying to get Geosomin to read it. She has my copy of Knots and Crosses, but when she gets to it only she can say. I decided to reread Knots and Crosses just to see what I thought of the book now that I had completed the series. I still like the book and I acknowledged the changes to Rebus's character as the series progressed while I read it the first time around. However, the differences in writing style really stand out as well. I am just about finished re-reading the second book, Hide and Seek, and will move onto Tooth and Nail which is either my second or third least favourite book in the Rebus series. The content relating to Rebus is fine, but it does feel as though it were written by someone fishing for a movie or a series deal.
Ian Rankin has a new book (non-Rebus) out on September 16th called Doors Open. Needless to say, I will be picking it up.

Day 3

2008-09-10T18:04:00.007-06:00

CD in Play: Múm, Finally We Are No One

I mentioned this before, but if one thing could scare you into being concerned about becoming diabetic it is seeing gangrenous limbs. This week, so far, most of what I have seen are amputated limbs from diabetics. I spoke with the pathologist about gangrene as she and a resident examined a patient's limb. It was all very interesting. Gangrene starts wet and oozing, but will actually harden and sort of mummify tissue. As the flesh rots when it is wet it creates a horrific stench. Patients in this stage are often bypassed by loved ones because of the odour. The pathologist referred to this as a sort of "social amputation".

When I was off work and heading home I saw a man in a wheelchair. He was missing his right hand, all of his left fingers, (only the thumb remained) his left leg to just below the knee and his right foot looks as though it isn't too far off either. I don't mention this to try and gross people out, I've just never seen anything like it. I am ready to consult with an M.D. as soon as I have my provincial health care card about dietary and exercising concerns. Seriously consider doing something about it if you are in the risk category.

I may not be able to attend the autopsy for tomorrow, due to certain factors. They are scheduled to do another particular sort of autopsy, but I am going to ask that I not have that be the first autopsy I attend. I'd like to have at least three regular autopsies before I attend the other kind. Other than that I am learning how formaldehyde (which is called formalin in its diluted state) fixes, or preserves, tissue and other things related to what histopathology does and how a hospital operates.

My old employers are trying to get me to work shifts for them as well. Technically I am still employed by them, but they do not seem to comprehend that I am training full time. They also want me to work at some strikes that are going on - something that I am opposed to doing. I am now in a union as well, so I am hoping that I can avoid those shift that way. I decided to stay on their casual lists in case the Health Region decides to let me go after my probationary period is over, or if I truly cannot stomach the work. Having something to fall back on immediately seems like a good idea and it also means I do not have to reapply for my license. But it could prove to be a bigger hassle than I can deal with at this time. I like what I am training for so far and I really do not want to go back to private security at this point.

Anyhow, I am off to my Printmaking class. I'll be learning about lithography, etching, intaglio, digital imaging and serigraphy. (silk screening)

Life and Limbs

2008-09-08T16:38:00.003-06:00

CD in Play: Aerogramme, A Story in White

So today was the first day at my new job. I have an official and unofficial title. The title that best describes what I do is not one the Health Region uses - Autopsy Technician. Officially, I have am designated as an Histopathology Attendant. My semi-unofficial title is "Diener". (see "Dead End" Jobs, A Slight Return for more on that) I am not quite sure what my confidentiality agreement keeps me from disclosing at this point - I have yet to sign it - so I am not going into specifics. In fact, do not expect me to go into specifics at all about my work.

Much of my job is leg work, no pun intended. I am responsible picking up specimens and supplies for Histopathology and supplies for a couple of the other labs as well. There is a lot of stocking and restocking of a whole assorment of supplies and samples going on. I am also responsible for the disposal of biohazardous waste materials and dangerous chemicals. In fact, there is one chemical that could kill me if I inhale it even in its diluted form. I assist in maintaining the archive of slides and prepping samples as required. And yes, there are the autopsies.

Today was an easy start, I only had to view amputated limbs and witness the disposal procedures. Frankly, it wasn't as gory as you might imagine but seeing the limbs is an incentive to not get diabetes. Same with the fatty heart. Fortunately, the regional hospitals all have gyms at an astoundingly fair membership fee. I may or may not view a full autopsy on Thursday and the guy I have been training under will call me if he gets a brain removal on the weekend so I can see how it is done.

But I have to say that I am quite impressed with the people I have to work with so far. The Head Tech is great and the Lab Manager is a great person. The Autopsy Tech who is training me is very relaxed and good to work with and only one Histopathology Tech is needling me for being a greenhorn. Impressions after my first day? I feel lucky to have landed my job.

Talk to the hand

2008-09-05T11:09:00.001-06:00

PAD: August 29
Originally uploaded by i4detail

Trent shot this when he was out here recently.

I ask again, "Will your vote really make a difference?"

2008-09-04T14:00:00.003-06:00

CD in Play: Neurosis, Given to the Rising

The threat of election looms over the Canadian landscape yet again. The Nu Conservatives will likely try to paint the stability of their minority as a sign that they are fit to govern with a majority. Of course, the truth of the matter is that every politician has been afraid of voter fatigue and a voter backlash should they have been the ones to trigger an election. But the polls are showing that Little Stevie Harper could finally, truly become King, err... Prime Minister leading a majority in the Parlaiment. Not that I totally trust the polls, but it is a chilling thought.
Harper, as discussed before on this blog, mistrusts the democratic impulse. Former Reform Party leader, Preston Manning, discussed Harper's time in the Reform Party in his book Think Big and the picture he paints isn't flattering. Harper and his band aren't what we need right now. However, I can't say that any of the opposition parties thrill me either. Neither the NDP, the Liberals nor the Greens inspire me to get out the vote. None of their leaders fill me with confidence. None of their platforms make me feel that they are the ones who ought to govern.
What I really want is another minority government. I want all the parties to work together and to share power. Sounds naïve - and if I actually thought it were possible, it would be naïve. It is time for Canadians to ditch party allegiances, however, and agitate for something better, something more accountable.

Back to School

2008-09-03T09:19:00.002-06:00

CD in Play: Hüsker Dü, Zen Arcade

Okay, so I don't have my first class tonight like I thought. I am taking Printmaking (lithography, silkscreening, etc) and am pretty eager to get started. But I have had to get my student card, UPass and sort a few things out around the campus before my semester really kicks off. It is odd being back, even odder being the "old man" on campus. I am reminder of a guy I new in university named Rider. Rider was 38 when he returned to school. He knew I was burning out and warned me that if I left school I would find it very hard to get back in. Here I am at 38 just returning to school like Rider did a decade ago. Still, it was cool having Rider around, and my friend Alex and I got a lot from hanging around with him in the studio.
But it is still weird. Everything has changed too. When I left school, things weren't as heavily computerized as they are now. I have to get used to the idea of checking my account online for the syllabus and and assignments. Libraries have changed. It is odd and all too modern. Isn't a decade too short a time for all this amount of change to happen? I'll have to play catch up in so many ways, it is a bit intimidating.
Anyhow, I have to get on with my day. My power should be connected by now and I need to unpack, sort things out and buy some groceries.

Dear Lord, Make it Stop.

2008-09-01T15:45:00.002-06:00

CD in Play: Assertion, Powerless

I finally moved out of Geo and J's yesterday. It was pretty easy, but I definitely need to work on the ole' cardiovascular. It wasn't the furniture that did me in - it was the boxes of books. I even repackaged them into smaller boxes. Ces't la vie. Geo figured I did okay, all things considered and they were panting as well and are in pretty respectable shape themselves.

So, am I typing from my new digs just north of the Saskatoon city centre? (such as it is) Uh... no. See, any place I have lived in has either included the heat, water and electrical or someone else was responsible for dealing with the bills. I asked the manager - a good guy I have to say - if Hydro was included. Most people in BC, that I know, use the term hydro as an all inclusive term for utilities. If it isn't all inclusive it is usually clarified when asking the question, "Is Hydro included?" See BC gets its power from BC Hydro, just Ontario had Ontario Hydro (now Hydro One I seem to recall) or Hydro-Quebec in, well, Quebec.

In Saskatoon, either the City looks after your power or SaskPower does depending on where you live. My assumption now means I have no power until Wednesday, I hope. So, I am staying with Geo's big brother, her sister-in-law and their Japanese exchange student for a couple of nights. However, I am also now feeling like I have been smacked down by an overly well-developed sumo wrestler. I was feverish earlier today and had to lie down under heavy covers, shivering and trying to get warm. I felt either feverish or mildly poisoned. But I am not alone. Geo was feeling wiped too so I figured it was the move. The people I am staying with didn't help with the move and Geo's sister-in-law and her exchange student are both feeling similar effects. Ugh.

I am feeling better now, just a bit wiped out. However, I do start my new job as a Diener (or Autopsy Tech) next week. I have my first Printmaking class at the University of Saskatchewan tomorrow night and I am going to try and pull in a few shifts with the Security Company I have been working with for Thursday to Saturday. (I have to go into the university tomorrow)