I am at work, at my desk listening to Bruce Cockburn's In the Falling Dark. It's the new Deluxe Edition. I wish I could afford to replace all of my Cockburn CDs with these new ones. I picked up two, mostly because of the excellent price at Sam's. Sam's, by the way, used to be a good record store, before its bankruptcy. It's just not the same. Oddly, my credit card statement lists Sam the Record Man as Same the Record Man. I want to tell them that it is not the same, but would they listen? Anyway, the benefits of remastering are clear, and there are bonus tracks. I wish that someone would remaster the Leonard Cohen back catalogue and improve the inserts. I'd like better liner notes. Of course, then I would feel compelled to buy all the CDs again. I already have many on vinyl. If there is one defense for illegal downloading, it would be that many consumers have purchased their favourite artists many times on different formats, and in remastered editions. I have four copies of King Crimson's Discipline, for example, in various formats and editions. Surely, I have paid enough? Still, I have not downloaded any music illegally.

Trivia: my favourite web site is www.space.com.

Do you like bunnies? Do you like Cartoons? If so, be sure to check out Angry Alien Productions. They have 30 second re-enactments of Alien, the Exorcist, Titanic, and The Shining featuring cartoon bunnies. Really.

On a more serious note, I recommend Librarians Against Bush.

Tags: music, cool sites, cartoons

Ouch

Associated Press has reported that "An Englishman who shot himself in the groin after drinking 15 pints of beer and stuffing a sawed-off shotgun down his trousers was jailed for five years Tuesday for illegal possession of a firearm." I'd say shooting himself in the groin is punishment enough.

Saddam the Novelist

Saddam's new novel (his fourth) is entitled "Get Out, You Damned". His other are called "Zabibah and the King", "The Fortified Citadel" and "Men and a City". "Zabibah and the King" is set to become a twenty part television series, for Iraqi TV, despite the fact that his work has been called naive and superficial. Evidently, Saddam was writing this novel while he ignored defense preparations. Instead, he predicted that he would lead an underground movement hat would defeat the Americans. Clearly, he was delusional.

Tags: bizarre news, Saddam Hussein

Library School

OK, so here is my opinion of the Library Science program (at a large unnamed North American, ALA-accredited library school). It sucked. I can't believe that it is a masters-level program. I think that it was largely unacademic and boring.

Maybe I feel this way because I have a "real" masters degree (call me a snob if you must). Maybe it's just that the program was filled with busy work, work that was not very challenging. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about. It just seems to me that it was really not quite up to the standard of other masters programs. I know that some people will disagree with me. That's fine. This is just my opinion.

I recall one guy in the program referred to the MLS program as the "back door to academia." He might have been correct.

And now, on a completely unrelated topic, the only complaint I have ever had with Seinfeld is the pronunciation of the word clitoris. I know that there are two accepted pronunciations: one with the accent on the first syllable ('klit-&-r&s), and the other with the accent on the second (kli-'tor-&s), which makes it rhyme with Dolores. The latter just sounds stupid to me.

That's it for today.

Tags: Library School, MLS, English language, Seinfeld

Cunnilingus and Psychiatry

I think that the Sopranos is one of the best television shows of all time. We have just watched the first two seasons on DVD, with seasons three and four waiting. It is both hilarious and violent. You should watch. My favourite line so far has to be: "Cunnilingus and Psychiatry brought us to this." Of course, you'll have to watch to understand the statement.

Tags: Sopranos, TV

Union of Concerned Scientists

"UCS is an independent nonprofit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists. We augment rigorous scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world."

This organization is fabulous. Check it out.

Tags: cool sites

I have seen people riding bikes and talking on cell phones, holding umbrellas, and using a PDA. Today, I passed a woman holding a cup of coffee. She looked a bit unstable, gripping her handle bars with one hand while she balanced her coffee in the other hand. It seems to me that both hands should be on the handle bars.

I figure if we want to get to Mars, we need to employ the best engineers possible. To me, that group must be toothbrush engineers. I swear that design improvements in toothbrushes rivals any other area. A new brush is described as "3-d brush and a measured toothpaste dispenser." Or, this: "A Glasgow dentist has been awarded £75,000 to develop a new toothbrush handle that increases control and cuts joint strain." Go here for a description of the fluid dynamics of sonic toothbrushes. Of course, another choice might be razor design. I am still waiting for a five-bladed razor.

Tags: cycling, toothbrushes

Multitasking

So, I stopped at a red light this morning, and, of course, a dozen cyclists raced through the intersection anyway. I had to pass them all again, and the same thing happened at the next traffic light. Anyway, I looked to my left and there was this guy behind the wheel of a Subaru shaving with a rechargeable electric razor. His rear view mirror was tilted so that he had a good view of his chin, and not the road behind him. Banning cell phones while driving might not be enough. It reminded me that I once saw a woman applying makeup while driving. Actually, I have seen women applying makeup in cafeterias, on the subway, and walking down the street. That just seems wrong to me.

Tags: cycling, driving

Weird. I just saw a guy walking down Yonge street eating raisin bran (with milk) out of a huge Tupperware (TM) container. This was at 1:00 in the afternoon. I've always felt that cereal was best consumed at home. That's why I have never (unlike Jerry Seinfeld) ordered cereal in a restaurant, although I did have a dream once in which I ate a chocolate bar with a knife and fork.

Tags: cereal, Yonge Street

Not all Cyclists are Idiots

Would it be fair to judge all automobile drivers based on the actions of a few, or even on the habits of taxi drivers? It seems to me that I, as a cyclist, am being prejudged every time I am on the road. Bad cyclists drive me crazy too, but I realize that not all cyclists are terrible and have no respect for the rules of the road.

It annoys me that a cop tried to ticket me for making a rolling stop at a stop sign when drivers do that all of the time and when most cyclists fail to even slow down. I made a right turn on a red light today, so slowly that I had to put my foot down. Pedestrians were walking faster than me, and this guy on the sidewalk said: "that's a red light." He must have issues with cyclists.

A few moments earlier, someone asked me for spare change. I said "sorry", and then she said: "no one in this city has any fucking manners!" The most amazing thing was that she articulated her i-n-g. She said fucking, not fuckin' and that made me almost wish that I had a few cents to give her.

Tags: cycling

More on Douglas Coupland

From my journal, Sept. 3, 1996:

"I finished Shampoo Planet some time ago. It was alright. It had its moments, to be sure. I have nothing much to say about it beyond that."

I am half way through my advance copy of Eleanor Rigby. I should just say ditto, and be done with it.

Tags: Douglas Coupland, reading

Thumbs Up!

I am sure we all remember those images of Iraqis greeting US tanks and giving them the Thumbs Up. The western media interpreted this gesture as a sign that the US troops were liberators. It turns out that thumbs up in the arab world (and other places) is equivalent to giving someone the finger. The US Army's Defense Language Institute thinks differently. It says "Middle Easterners of the Arabian Peninsula adopted this hand movement, along with the OK sign, as a symbol of cooperation toward freedom." I don't buy that explanation, especially given what has happened in Iraq since.

Tags: Iraq

I used to work in a hospital library. I hated it, for many reasons, and I'll never go back. My reference shifts were spent answering strange (and some not so strange) questions. After a boring and mentally exhausting shift, I wrote down a few questions that I had recently gotten on the reference desk (taken from an entry in my journal on April 10, 2000):

Where's the bathroom?
Where's the photocopier?
Why can't I use my U of T copicard in your photocopier?
Why doesn't your photocopier take coins?
Can I buy this book?
How much is this book?
Do you sell videos?
How do you spell Harvard?
What time zone are we in?
What is Level II, Section C?
Are you a doctor?
Are there any doctors on staff in the library?
How can you help me if you are not a doctor?
Can you read this article for me?
Where is San Antonio?
Can I use your email account?
Can I use your computer?
Please pay for these subscriptions and send them to my office. (not really a question, is it?)
Can you tell me the name of the green book I signed out last week?
Do you have any medical books?
Do you have any journals?

There were more, many more....

Tags: libraries, reference questions

So much for pollsters: they got it wrong.

I just finished reading Salamander by Thomas Wharton (review). I loved Icefields, his first novel, much better. I did like this one. Actually, I liked it quite a lot. But, there is something about it that I just can't put my finger on.

I have also recently read: Badlands by Robert Kroetsch; Going to New Orleans by Charles Tidler; Man of Bone by Alan Cumyn, and some others I can't remember right now.

Whenever I recall recent books read, I reflect on those that I hated. What is the worst book I have ever read? I have an answer, but I could be wrong. After all, I abandoned many books part way through. This group includes Larry's Party by Carol Shields. I know this book received tons of praise, but I think it is boring and badly written. I used to struggle through books I didn't like, but now I realize that there are far too many good books waiting. I regret the hours and hours I spent fighting my way through Douglas Coupland's Microserfs.

Microserfs, in my humble opinion, is the worst book ever written. Well, it is the worst book I have ever read all the way through. It stinks. It is boring and tedious, or, in the immortal words of Bart Simpson: "I didn't know it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows."

I recently met Douglas Coupland: he signed an advanced copy of Eleanor Rigby. He is a nice guy. I liked a couple of his other books, but I think that Generation X is overrated. Maybe I read it too late. I am a Gen Xer, so I should have appreciated it.

Tags: reading, Douglas Coupland, Microserfs

Election Day

OK, so just a few comments on today's federal election...

I'd like to say, make sure you vote. But, if you plan to vote Conservative, forget about it. There has been much commentary on Stephen Harper's so-called "hidden agenda". Let's face it, it is not hidden. The Regressive Conservative party is anti-gay, anti-women, anti-middle class, anti-public health care. It the scariest party we have ever seen. How can we, especially people in Ontario, forget about the roots of this party? It is comprised of the remnants of failed regional parties and the tired and hopeless remains of the Progressive Conservative Party. The PC party ruined Ontario. If you are angry with Dalton, don't vote Conservative. Vote for anyone else, but not Conservative, please.

Tags: elections, Canada

Comments!-

I've added comments, at the advice of a friend. Maybe I will resume entries as well. Go forth and comment.

Tags: blogging

Happy Birthday to You

My daughter turns three years old today. She is very cute and very sweet.

Tags: family

Spalding Gray is Dead

I had hoped that he would just come back, like he had taken an unplanned vacation. Instead, they found his body in the East River. I am really saddened by this news.

Tags: Spalding Gray

Ten Stupid Things

Off the top of my head, a list of stupid things:

cigarettes
electric can openers
electric pencil sharpeners
the top 40
opinion polls
George W. Bush
milk
awards shows
leaf blowers
Stephen Harper

Tags: stupid things

I don't get it

The Liberals took a big hit in the polls after the sponsorship scandal hit the news. I would say that they deserved it. What I can't understand is why the support for the Conservative Party of Canada increased. This party has no leader; it is comprised of the remnants of two failed parties; it is dysfunctional. What about the NDP? Seriously. Jack Layton deserves a chance. Besides, the NDP supports the full decriminalization of marijuana. That's progressive.

Tags: sponsorship scandal, political parties

TDSB News

The Toronto District School Board is considering a plan that would cut the number of full- time librarians from 101 to 38. No secondary school within the system will be left with a full-time teacher-librarian! Some libraries may only stay open for 70 minutes per day!

This is scary. I find this inconceivable. I can't imagine how high school would be without consistent access to a library. Students have less and less understanding of how information is organized, and no idea how to access quality information.

Despite the fun we made of our high school librarian, I learned a lot from him. I am amazed that many third and even fourth year university students do now know how to find journal articles, and have no comprehension of the differences between books and journals. When I was a high school student, we would drive to the local University to get articles for our history papers. By the time I got to University, Historical Abstracts was a very familiar resource.

This budget cut, if it happens, will have serious repercussions.

Tags: librarians, Toronto District School Board