Who brought tha funk?

I remember when people who talked on their cellphones all the time were considered assholes. I also remember a time when it was considered the height of rudeness to walk away and leave your phone ringing loudly for other people to hear.

Now when your ringtone sounds like a cross between the theme from "Shaft" and a 70s porn, that's funny. If it's set to extra loud, because you are half-deaf, then it becomes annoying upon repeated ringing.

Hi drivers,

It's been a rough winter for cycle-commuting to work, what with the snow, winds and persistent rains, never mind near or total darkness in both directions. This morning, I was greeted by a blanket of snow when I left the house, tonight I apparently have to battle gale-force winds on the way home.

When I am cycling downhill through 2-3 centimeters of slushy snow, take extra care when passing me, in case I lose traction and fall, or get blown into your path. I'd rather not have to bounce off your sheet metal, or have your wheels run over my head.

Thank you for your attention, you warm, comfortable, lazy #$#@#s !

Orange.


PS: I cheer every time I hear parking prices are going up.

WOT

Two words

to summarize the day:

Back Pain. F**k.

That's three.

@#*$.

Two words

to summarize the day:

Back Pain. Fuck.

That's three. Fuck.

DeBeers Class Action judgement

Fact #1: DeBeers made diamonds valuable through manipulative marketing and controlling the global supply by using aggressive price fixing policies, including flooding the local markets of any competitors to lower regional prices.

Fact #2: There 's a lot of diamonds in the world. They are more plentiful than you think. The problem is that there are stores of them hidden away in DeBeer's vaults, making them scarce by design.

Now I didn't buy a diamond between 1994 and 2006, because I am a stingy bastard and don't like to spend my money on things that have a questionable source that may have paid for an African massacre. I like to think (wishfully) that I am immune to manipulative marketing. Also, I am not in the USA, but this is an interesting turn of events. I am sure the 295 million is only a pale reflection of the actual money made by DeBeers through their business practices. But was I a US citizen and had I purchased a diamond, I'd be lining up for my share of the dole-out.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/556011/de_beers_diamond_lawsuit_could_entitle.html

https://diamondsclassaction.com/

resorevolution

Slacking on my resolution so far. have not blogged everyday, but will make up for lost time. Goal is not to be every day, but to be consistent. Moving is the big thing right now. Today we got a carload of boxes and packed up a good portion of the kitchen. A little every day and things will look a lot more packed. Thankfully, a lot of our stuff is already packed up & in storage: books, etc.

It's going to be a trick to keep both personal and renovation blogs going while working full time, moving and planning what needs to be done first once we move in. There is a bit of meeting lawyers, and dealing with financing in there, but that is mostly in good shape.

The first Canadian homicide of the year is a teenage girl killed by other teenagers. Not a random shooting, not a drug battle, not a pride fight between men. Just a bizarre stabbing.

The Wire is going into a fifth and final season, this time exposing the failings of American society and the inner city through the lens of the media. This may just be the best show in television.

Part of my new year's resolutions (yes, I still make those) is to write more. As one way of encouraging myself, I set a goal of blogging once per day, or the equivalent. If I getbusy, I will blog more later when I have time. If I lose steam later in the year, I will attempt to make amends. But of course, that will not happen.

Other goals are to improve my cooking skills, create an exercise regimen that I can stick to (I can't improve unless I do more than I already do) and well, never mind. None of your business is it?

I started out by trying out a new onion soup recipe. I am trying to develop a repertoire of simple, quick to prepare, yet delicious recipes using healthful, organic ingredients with an emphasis on whole grains and other healthful ingredients. The onion soup turned out great with a quick turnaround time from chopping to eating. I have decided I need to purchase a set of ramekins, then I can turn this out at a dinner party and impress people with an easy recipe that looks and tastes great.

I found out what happened to my Grandfather (my father's dad):


Nachname: Kühn
Vorname: Heinz
Dienstgrad: Obergefreiter
Geburtsdatum: 18.12.1909
Geburtsort: Frankendorf
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 20.12.1945
Todesort: Kgf. in Dnjeprodsershinsk


He died in a POW camp in the Ukraine months after the war was over. Rumour in the family is he was shot trying to escape, but it could have been any number of things(malnutrition, disease. Some day I will visit the Ukraine and see his grave.

Haven't I heard that before?

I just started reading "Freakonomics" and nothing has shattered my world so far. I've only just begun, but most of the anecdotes are familiar to me (or anyone who reads socially conscious or personal finance publications- an admittedly seldom comination).

Here are some examples:

-Real estate agents list their houses and sell them for more than you do- no shit, Sherlock. They're trying to make a buck off of you like every other "expert". They'll forgo $150 of commission to earn you $15,000 in favour of making a quick sale.

-Take a crack-dealin' gang's structure and put it up against most small to medium business' organizational charts and they will look pretty much the same. Ever see "The Wire"? Can you say "Stringer Bell"? Why wouldn't an economic system such as capitalism, which affects ALL commerce, reach out into the ghettos? "The Projects" should be bastions of socialist experimentation, but they aren't. People are busy trying to survive there in the easiest way possible, just like everywhere else. To run counter to the system is harder than running alongside it. The roads are already paved.

I'm waiting to see what comes next. I am underwhelmed so far by such a widely-hyped book. It's like the economics version of "the Da Vinci Code".

Adventskranz

Adventskranz - This year, I think I am going to try to maintain this tradition which is a typical German thing. It is a synthesis of pagan and christian traditions. Wreaths of straw and evergreens graced houses and barns to protect them in winter. The ring symbolizes wholeness and enternity and the greens and berries symbolize nature and rebirth.

I used to cut greens for my mom every Advent and for some reason this simple tradition has really captured my heart. I want to go out in the snow and cut greens with my kids someday. It's a bringing of nature into the home and a reflection on the various meanings of this time of year. This tradition is also really close to home for me: the modern interpretation was re-popularized in the early 1800s in Hamburg in a home for homeless childen and youth "das Rauhe Haus". Candles were lit during the Advent period and special occasions were held in the home. The tradition later spread to Berlin.

There are aspects of having been raised Lutheran that are inescapable. Advent is traditionally a season of getting ready for the festival of "Heilig Abend" and a time of reflection and generosity. This is a time where you help your neighbour with the hardships of winter.

This time of year, my collective guilt makes me want to do work. Last year, I was a bit down on my luck this time of year and trying to get people to vote in the poorest neighbourhood in my city. I spent time in missions and ate meals with the volunteers. I watched them give people soup and socks. I'm always shocked when I see self-professed christians who think it is more important to go to church than to do christianly work. People who help without judgement impress me more than anything. There are people who volunteer to help residents of the downtown eastside soak their feet twice a week. I remember a certain story about Christ washing the feet of his disciples... Yet for many people it seems more important to hurry up and shop and go to church on Sundays to absolve the guilt of being judgmental and selfish. I am not even sure I am going to light candles on my Advent wreath on Sundays. I am not one of those people.

A D V E N T
(von Rainer Maria Rilke)

Es treibt der Wind im Winterwalde
die Flockenherde wie ein Hirt
und manche Tanne ahnt wie balde
sie fromm und lichterheilig wird;
und lauscht hinaus. Den weißen Wegen
streckt sie die Zweige hin - bereit
und wehrt dem Wind und wächst entgegen
der einen Nacht der Herrlichkeit.

Another day older and ...

"Trailer for sale or rent; rooms to let, fifty cents..."

It's my birthday and despite having the best intentions of partying it up tonight, not only did I organize nothing, I am far too exhausted from my busy weekend to do anything but a quiet night at home. Age, it seems, is catching up to me.

I might crawl out for a dinner at some place the gives you a free drink or dessert on your birthday, though...

On the subject of the weekend: I went to "Karaoke Church" on Sunday morning, but that is a whole other potential blog post and I still need to process what I saw that day. I am not ready to comment on this subject yet.

----
more on this: went out for a dinner and got some free cheesecake, got a phone call from my old friend Tony Tracy, who's organizing healthcare workers in his homeland of the Maritime provinces. I miss that guy sometimes. Why is it so damn expensive to fly to Eastern Canada?

Wazza matta? Wasp got your tongue?

Wasps: 01
Olivers: 00

The dreaded finally happened: I got hit by a wasp while cycling and it stung me. I've had a few glancing blows, but this one nearly went right into my mouth. It ended up stuck onto my upper lip and stinging me on the inside of my lip before I could wipe it off. Now my middle upper lip is swollen like Kiefer Sutherland with a collagen injection.

Did I mention I hate wasps and run screaming like a little girl when they fly near me? Turns out I react a lot less than some people do- I swell a bit, but not that much. I took anti-histamines just in case, but when I actually get stung, it is never as bad as I think it is going to be. It is all in the ANTICIPATION.

Funny, all the sting remedies are not something you could or would want to smear on the inside of your mouth.

Strange thing, though, I feel vaguely...poisoned. I wonder about the neurological effects of wasp venom. Maybe it's the antihistamines talking.

Bzzzzrrrt.

Ok, WIFI and a laptop is the way to go. I am a convert. I worked remotely from a cafe yesterday and so far have amused myself with the number of unsecured hotspots to be found EVERYWHERE.

Tonight I watch Lisa's parade and the PublicDreams fireshow from the comfort of a cafe. Only concern is my dwindling battery...

Screw you Star***ks for not providing free wifi. I'll have to remember to ask next time. Only patronize those places with open wificonnections.

I give in- this quiz is me.

You Are a Soy Latte

At your best, you are: free spirited, down to earth, and relaxed At your worst, you are: dogmatic and picky You drink coffee when: you need a pick me up, and green tea isn't cutting it Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

wind vs. hot air

Canadians are a conservative bunch when it comes to old transportation habits. LIke typical North Americans, they feel there is safety is the sheer size of a vehicle, not in superior design. The streets are filling with ever-larger vehicles which people complain about not being able to afford to operate and solutions are at hand, but people are afraid to take that necessary step on a large scale and downsize to what they actually need.

Vancouverites are particularly silly in this regard. Gas is at the prices it was in Europe in the 90s and people there were buying diesels and other more efficient vehicles left and right. This was when research into technology like fuel cells and hybrids really started to take off. Apparently Vancouverites lead Canada in walking, cycling and taking tranist to work, but we sure don't lead Europeans.

Smaller vehicles would make things less scary for light motorcycles and bicycles, not to mention pedestrians. It's a cascading effect that starts with individuals making more intelligent choices. How does our culture get the kick in it's collective ass it needs?

I read today that we lag sadly behind Europe in wind power. Reading that after hearing that there is a dam proposed in a beautiful whitewater canyon near Christina Lake that is a huge tourist attraction made me curse the short-sightedness of Canada. We have one of the greatest opportunities to harness windpower to meet our energy needs. Apparently BC hungers for more power. How about more efficient lighting systems? Then increased wind generation can meet our needs. Instead we look to the burning of more fossil fuels in the form of natural gas reserves. Again, the cheapest, most short-sighted and politically opportunistic choice.

This book is now in my sights: "There is a Season" by Patrick Lane. I've never really given him much of a read and even Larry Campbell recommends him. Strangely enough, my path has crossed his many a time, his sons are both cousins and university roommates of one of my oldest and closest friends; I attended a university where he taught and many of my fellow students worshipped the old bugger; I was part of an upstart student newspaper where the arts editor was named Patrick Lane (no relation) and Lane's ex-wife once stalked me to return to her a crappy old futon that her son had agreed to sell to me for a bargain price after she followed her precious sons from Vernon to Victoria. I eventually got tired of her angry messages and returned to sleeping on a mattress on the floor. How bohemian. All this and I never spent much time reading Patrick Lane's works. Funny when you become aware of someone through a lot of different angles than the ones that they are known for by most people. Gives you a different perspective on someone who is considered more or less a national hero.

Oh, and I'm going to borrow it from the library, rather than buy it.

New Village gets New Village Pillager.

I will miss "the Drive", even though I am really only moving a little ways away. I love my urban village. I have traded one for another, and they have equally cool aspects to them, but when you really get down to it, Main St. has an entirely different feel. To many folks, it may all just be the amorphous mass of Vancouver, but I feel my immersion in the village-within-the-city, makes me fairly sensitive to the character of certain areas. As well as how they have changed in my time. Anyone remember the German/European neighbourhood of Victoria and 33rd? I do.

find your happy place (of travaillez)

It's crazy- people are now leaving their jobs at my former employer who started working there after I left. Things are that abysmal there. I left mid november.

It used to be a place that you could stay for a few years and gain experience and then move on. Now it's a place to stay a couple of months until the other job leads pan out. How sad for them, they took a loyal base of employees and drove them all out. Thank god for the vibrant job market right now, or people might be trapped there. I should have left 2 years before I did. What can I say, I got comfortable. I learned my lesson there. I'm much more well-adjusted now.

My new desk is still a cubicle, but it's bigger than a high-school study carrell and I have a Herman Miller desk and Aeron Chair.

Seal(ing) of the Dominion of Canada

I couldn't agree more with one of my neighbours about Sir Paul and Queen Brigitte coming over here to tell us colonials to leave the cute furry seals alone. It's not that I feel I should support small remote East Coast fishing town residents ( though I do) , so much as I think they are misguided rich upper-class activists who should lend their fame for a better cause. In Europe. I despise animal activism solely based on cuteness, not on science.


1-the furs are going to rich europeans, so protest it there in the fur shops of Paris and London if you are going to protest it at all.
2-there are plenty of seals, but there are less cute species that could use help, go where you are needed.
3-there are plenty of worthy issues in your home countries. look in your own backyard.
4-we have a problem with the former colonialists of Canada coming to tell us what to do. think about this.
5-seals are cute, but not endangered.
6-if the sole reason for protesting this is the cruelty of the manner of harvesting, why not take on the meat industry? Their methods are equally brutal and far more animals meet their fate this way. What about the British upper crust's foxhunt, Sir Paul?



PS What the hell was Lady Paul doing petting a wild marine mammal? We have laws about harassing marine mammals in Canada. Why wasn't she charged. Fluffy nearly kept her hand though, which amused me greatly.