12 July 2007, mid-morning
When you reply to an email from which you have quoted some text, you essentially have two choices with respect to where to position the text of your reply: above or below the portion of the message you are quoting. If you used the Internet before being informed of its existence by CNN, chances are you would be in the habit of replying to emails by posting below the quoted text. This was certainly the way things were done on BBSes and in newsgroups. Nowadays, the common practice seems to be to include the entire email thread quoted below your own comments, which is called top-posting.
Read the rest of this post. (479 words)
[2] Nerd Alert
11 July 2007, early morning
I watched Transformers: The Movie again with Steph last night. The 1986 cartoon really does smoke the new live-action movie. The dialog and plot are much better, and the characters all have much more depth to them. This children’s cartoon had more drama and tension then the new film could muster over the course of two very long hours. There are so many memorable moments in the movie, and so many great lines of dialog.There are a lot of great voice actors featured in the film, including many celebrities. Robert Stack plays Ultra Magnus, Leonard Nimoy is Galvatron, and 80s bad boy Judd Nelson plays Hot Rod. The film is also Orson Welles last movie. Orson Fucking Welles! The cartoon is firmly rooted in the 80s, due to its (kick-ass) soundtrack. If you haven’t seen Transformers: The Movie, you really should.
The official Transformers: The Movie web site.
Movies
Milhouse: Is this the untimely end of Milhouse?
Milhouse2: [pause] But Milhouse is my name!
Milhouse: But I thought I was the only one!
Milhouse2: [shakes head] A pain I know all too well.
Milhouse: So this is what it feels like…when doves cry.
— Lemon of Troy, The Simpsons.
9 July 2007, early morning
I watched Transformers over the weekend. It confirmed what I already knew in my heart: that there can be only one true Transformers movie, and that film was made in 1986. Michael Bay’s take on Transformers isn’t total crap, which I guess counts for something. The movie stays more or less true to the original source, in that there are giant transforming robots from outer space who have taken their fight to earth. I wasn’t too bothered by the fact there were no Energon Cubes or that Starscream didn’t sound like Cobra Commander — (RIP); I was willing to look past all that if the film was good — but it wasn’t. Transformers looks and feels like every other Michael Bay film: there are lots of great special effects and wicked explosions, but beyond that there is very little whatsoever to the film. Unlike the cartoons and movies, you don’t really develop any sort of affinity for the robots featured. The Decepitcons have almost no lines, and the Autobots seem to exist solely for comic relief. I suppose Bay is relying on the fact people coming to see the film already like the robots, which is easier than developing their characters through the film. There are characters introduced for no conceivable reason, other than for eye candy or comic relief. (For example, what was the point of having a team of high school hackers working for the NSA. You could remove them, and any interaction with them from the film, and it would all still make perfect sense.) The plot is also really boring for the most part. I don’t want to go on and on about how bad it was, so just trust me when I say it’s not good. The only redeeming thing about the film is how slick the transformers look. ILM did an amazing job bringing the Transformers to life. I’d like to think Michael Bay had nothing to do with that, but who knows. So yeah, Transformers wasn’t so good.
Oh wait, there was also a really hot chick in the movie, so that was also good.
The official Transformers web site.
[9] Movies
6 July 2007, early morning
I grabbed my camera and headed off to Bloor St. after work to check out how the Splash Party was progressing. A Splash Party is like a Foam Party, but with more cleaning and less gyrating. Volunteers were cleaning up the store fronts along Bloor between Lansdowne and Dufferin, while a fellow with a power washer was trailing behind them washing the shit out of everything in his path. By the time I arrived there was also a Samba band on the scene, banging away on drums. It was quite the sight. The streets were busier than I had seen them in quite a while. Arriving late, I had apparently missed the small army of children helping out earlier in the day. The base of operations for the event was the House of Lancaster. It’s certainly strange watching little kids BBQ hot dogs in front of a strip club. I love my neighbourhood.
Bloor and Lansdowne
4 July 2007, early morning
I watched 300 over the weekend with my cousins. If you aren’t aware, the film is about the Battle of Thermopylae. Frank Miller’s take on the story is probably not what one would call, historically accurate, but it is certainly entertaining. Frank Miller has a very distinct style to his work, regardless of what he is writing about. Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil is similar to his work on Batman is similar to his work on Sin City is similar to his work on 300. It’s all macho men and not quite whorish women all mixed together with film noir style dialog. 300 takes place in ancient Greece, but the formula is the same. Xeres of the Persians is transformed into a Boy George like villain for the film. Visually 300 is stunning. I don’t think I’ve seen another movie quite like it. It has a very surreal look about it. Apparently the same crew that did the post-processing for Sin City worked on 300 as well. The movie is bloody and violent and awesome. I wish I watched this in the cinema.
The official 300 web site.
Movies
3 July 2007, mid-morning
There are so many things I wanted to write about today, including my brand new transformer, and a visit from my cousins, but instead I’ll mention that unsurprisingly, President Bush has commuted the sentence of Scooter Libby.
I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby’s sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.
This isn’t all that surprising. I don’t think anyone actually expected him to spend any time in jail. You can almost feel the rage on MetaFilter. I wonder how much press this will get today, or over the course of the week. Any of you in America have a sense of how people are reacting to the news?
This quote from the Times sums things up nicely:
Presidents have the power to grant clemency and pardons. But in this case, Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell.
Of course, in the grand scheme of crap things the administration has done, this barely ranks. I’ve been reading through Nemesis now, a book Martha bought me for my birthday last year, which is a pretty neat and tidy account of why America is constantly fucking up, and why it is probably totally fucked. I think it’s well worth checking out. There is so much truly evil stuff Bush has got up to since taking office, it’s hard to get worked up about Libby being let off the hook for outing Plame — more so since in all likely hood he was covering for Cheney.
I wonder if anyone in the US will ever get charged as a war criminal. They’ve certainly got enough of them running around living it up.
[5] Current Events | Politics
28 June 2007, evening time
I’ve had Apocalypto sitting under my desk for months; I finally watched it tonight. Mel Gibson knows how to make good movies. It’s a shame he’s so damn crazy. Apocalypto takes place during the last days of the Mayan civilization, just before the West showed up and really cemented their downfall. The movie really draws you in: the characters all speak Yucatec Maya, the movie looks to be shot entirely in Mexico, and the costumes and make-up are perfect. Like most Gibson films, the movie is incredibly violent; it’s bloody as hell If you are squeamish, you may want to pass this film by. If not, I think it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s very entertaining.
Of course, it’s a Mel Gibson film, and it has a boat load of critics. For example, Is Apocalypto Pornography?
Movies
28 June 2007, late afternoon
Someone on Tyler’s blog mentioned something I’m surprised the city doesn’t do: toll the highways/roads coming in from the 905 regions for non-Toronto residents. So Shima and the planners why doesn’t the city do this? (Also, Shima and the Planners would be a good name for a band, assuming Shima was the lead singer.)
[9] Toronto
28 June 2007, early morning
Shima and I met at Cumberland last night to watch A Mighty Heart. The film is about the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, the efforts to get him back, and the aftermath of the whole affair. Everyone who has been talking up Angelina Jolie’s acting in the film is quite right to do so; she does a very good job. The supporting cast is also excellent. Irfan Kahn is great as the Pakistani counter-terrorist agent assigned to find down Pearl. He’s how I imagine Jack Bauer from the sub-continent: ruthless, but polite. All in all the film is depressing. (In fact, thinking about the film while writing this is depressing me.) Knowing how the events played out in real life, there is really no other way the film could have gone. I suppose the last few moments of the film do leave you with some hope — Mariane Pearl sounds like an extraordinary woman. The film makers did a great job of not making this movie in to a big sensational mess; I suppose the source material may have helped with that. It’s well worth watching. It’s a very good film.
The official A Mighty Heart web site.
Roger Ebert’s review of A Mighty Heart.
Movies
24 June 2007, the wee hours
Holy shit that was good. This is the best show on TV, bar none. I can’t even imagine what they’ll get up to in Season 3. Also, I love the song they play at the start of the season finale. The songs called Something Dark Is Coming, and it certainly hypes you up for the show. Battlestar has an awesome soundtrack, done by Bear McCreary. I also liked how the first few shots were done with some wide-angle lens which gives a weird look to everything. Like I said, this is the best show on TV right now.
Television
23 June 2007, the wee hours
I got off the subway at 1:45 AM. I was surprised to see a small group of people getting off with me. I guess people don’t like taking cabs home. I had expected Bloor and Lansdowne to be a bit more shady at this time, but it looked about the same as it always does. I think I need to venture towards Dufferin to see something a bit more sketchy. The walk to my condo, heading towards Dundas West, was without drama.
[3] Bloor and Lansdowne | Life
20 June 2007, early morning
I met up with Haran at the Drake. I was there to see Sean spin a short set of music. For some reason, Haran and I only meet at the Drake. The last time I saw him was when his friend Paul’s band was playing at the 5 bands for 5 bucks event. I think we’ve been to the Drake together at least 4 times now. The drake is probably now officially our place. For a bunch of amateur DJs, Sean and his friends all played pretty good sets. I’d say it’s a good night when you hear both the Smiths and the Pharcyde.
[1] Life
15 June 2007, early morning
The cover of the Globe and Mail features a Hamas fighter standing on a table in Fatah’s intelligence headquarters, brandishing a Kalashnikov and a Qur’an. It’s a pretty amazing photograph. Gaza is now under control of Hamas. The West Bank remains under the control of Fatah. There are reports of gun battles out there though, so fighting may flare up in the West Bank next. How did we end up with Palestinians shooting at Palestinians? Somehow I doubt this this will lead to Palestinian self-determination.
[3] Current Events | Politics
14 June 2007, lunch time
Are Flickr users the whiniest group of people on the Internet? Right now there is a Flickr uprising because if you are in Germany photos that have been marked “unsafe” are being censored, regardless of what your preferences are. People are bitching and moaning about their rights to freedom of speech being trampled by that most evil of companies Flickr. (Maybe these people are using a different Flickr than I have been?) People need to get over themselves. This isn’t some freedom of speech issue: If you want to post a photo of your naked ass online, you can do so — is someone compelling you to do it on Flickr? Worse still, the way people are bitching and moaning is to spam Flickr with these “stop censoring us” images. If you actually want to protest this decision, spamming Flickr isn’t the way to do it: leave Flickr, tell your friends to leave Flickr, and then laugh at Yahoo for loosing you and your friends as a valuable customer. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to use Flickr because it’s user base is so damn annoying. People don’t even know what’s going on, but they instantly bust out their pitch forks and start bitching about censorship.
Oh, and it wouldn’t be an official Flickr scandal if Thomas Hawk didn’t post about how Flickr sucks. For a guy that claims he loves Flickr so damn much he certainly loves to get his hate on. What a wanker.
Update: I shit you not, someone just posted a photo of the gates to Auschwitz in the lets all bitch about Flickr thread, because, you know, this scandal is exactly the same as the fucking Holocaust.
Update: Heather Champ responds on page 16 of the thread. Apparently at issue are German age verification laws. Because the German version of Flickr is being operated by Yahoo Germany, they are subject to these laws, apparently.
[ed. I made this link into a full post because I was so annoyed.]
[2] Technology
13 June 2007, mid-morning
I popped into the Kiss Cup Bar & Restaurant before heading off to yesterday’s DigIn meeting. The bar has a reputation for being a bit sketchy — that’s a polite way of saying it’s a place to go if you are all about the crack. The place wasn’t too busy: there may have been 5-6 people tops, split between two tables; no one struck me as sketchy. An old Asian dude was sitting by the bar; his feet were up on another bar chair and he was sleeping. I stood by the bar for a few moments, looking for whomever was in charge, when the dude who was sleeping woke up and looked at me. I guess he was in charge.
— “Do you have a take out menu?”
— “Wings.”
— “Uh — do you have a take out menu?”
— “Wings.”
— “You don’t have a take out menu.”
They didn’t. Well that was a misadventure. Before leaving I asked how much beer was. It turns out it’s three dollars. That’s pretty cheap. I guess that counts for something.
Update: I spoke too soon; the Kiss Cup Bar is pretty good. It may be small, and the patrons may be a tiny bit unruly, but you can buy a glass of “cool” beer for $2, and really, isn’t that all you need? (The running theory of the night was that the beer on tap was probably Lakeport, but no one knew for sure.)
Bloor and Lansdowne | Life
12 June 2007, mid-morning
Kevin Beaulieu, one of Adam Giambrone’s assistants, has posted a pretty long and detailed message on the DigIn mailing list about the Lansdowne Narrowing Project. I am still of the opinion this will be a good thing. (I’ve highlighted what I think is important — all the emphasis below is mine.)
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[8] Bloor and Lansdowne | Current Events
11 June 2007, early morning
Shima, her mom, and I were out on Bloor this past Sunday planting flowers in the planters between Dufferin and Lansdowne. There were a small group of us planting, with support coming from Spiro and the bouncers from the House of Lancaster. I find it strange that of all the shops on the strip, the one that seems to be the most helpful when it comes to this sort of thing is the House of Lancaster. Strip Clubs aren’t usually agents of social change. It will be interesting to see if the plants die, or if the planters stay clean.
[1] Bloor and Lansdowne | Life
7 June 2007, evening time
The concert was amazing. Damn. Jemeni opened the show with the poem from the Dragonfly Intro. Following the poem, Esthero took the stage and spent most of the night taking requests from the audience, drinking jagermeister shots, and talking smack — there was lots of shit talking going on. Word. Her voice is still as brilliant as I remember it sounding. Esthero didn’t sing I Drive Alone, despite the fact I was screaming it out at the top of my lungs. I can forgive her: she played pretty much everything else I wanted to hear. Esthero can do a damn good Björk impression. She belted out Army of Me, instead of singing Breath From Another, and spent a few minutes rambling on as if she was Björk. It was impressive. The first time I heard Heaven Sent I thought it was a new Björk track. I wonder if this was a common occurrence. (I also enjoyed her cutting to Baby You Got Me midway through one of her tracks.) Midway through the concert, she had her back-up singer come up front and perform. Her name was Alexis Taylor I believe, and she could sing — and I mean really sing. The crowd was going nuts. So yeah, the concert was incredible. I’d say it was perfect, but she kept us all waiting an hour and a half before taking the stage. Still, once she started singing I forget about all that.
[3] Music | Life
6 June 2007, early morning
I’m going to see Esthero tonight. I can’t wait. The last time I saw her live was at Closer to the Heart V. She’s doing an acoustic set at the Mod Club. There are still tickets as of last night, so if you are a fan you should definitely check it out. I’m not sure how her new album would sound done acoustically, but I can certainly imagine her first album done this way. I’ve been listening to the EP that came out between her two albums over the past few days. I had always thought it strange she dropped I Drive Alone from the full length album that followed the EP — it’s such a great track. I suppose it’s a bit understandable, the song is very much like her stuff from 1998. The stuff on her last album is fairly different for the most part. I enjoy both albums, though I think I have a soft spot for the first. I think this has as much to do with when it came out as it does with the fact its all laid back trip hop. (I wonder where most of her fans stand on this subject.) I’m hoping this concert is in preparation for a new album. I’d hate to have to wait till 2012 for another album from her.
Music | Life
4 June 2007, early morning
So I have now attended four weddings in five weekends. That there weren’t any conflicts in my schedule is pretty amazing.
Gopi and Abiramy were married in London late last month. It was a fairly big wedding, with around 500 people or so, but there was still some drama in that they didn’t manage to invite everyone their parents wanted to. Tamil weddings are usually big affairs, an excuse to have a family reunion. The wedding took place outside of London, in a University Hall. The food was vegetarian, and there was no drinking that day — well, officially anyway; it’s quite common for people to drink at their cars during Tamil weddings — so in that regards it was a pretty traditional wedding. I quite enjoyed the wedding; it was a nice time to be back in London.
This wedding was followed by one for a family friend of ours. I didn’t actually know either the bride and groom; I was told my cousin was going to be at the wedding, so I thought I’d show up as well. (He was told I was going to be at the wedding, which is why he decided to come.) It was a very Tamil wedding: a small army of people, lots of talking (though they tried to stop this), vegetarian food, it started an hour or so late, there were no booze, and it was long. As traditional Tamil weddings go, I think they did a very good job. The priest was a bit too hard boiled for my liking, but other then that it was quite nice.
Wedding number three was Yang and Rajib’s. They were planning on doing an abridged Bengali ceremony. (The “short” ceremony was still something like 45 minutes to an hour.) The wedding was remarkable in that they kept the guest list down to 50-60 people. That is nothing short of a miracle for brown people. Anything else they accomplished with the wedding really does pale in comparison to that feat, in my humble opinion. The wedding took place at Host, and was a very casual intimate affair. I really liked how they organized it.
Matt and Kathleen were married this past Saturday in Ball’s Falls. It was the only wedding that didn’t involve any brown people. They were married in a small chapel out in the the wine country of Ontario, and there was a reception in a barn to follow. As with Yang and Rajib’s wedding, it was a very casual and intimate wedding. The actual wedding couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes long — that’s how you get married people; God damn Hindus need to turn a wedding into an endurance trial. The reception was really quite amazing. You wouldn’t think a barn would clean up as nicely as it does. I’m not sure the pictures I took do the venue justice, but it was a really cool space. (Also, I hope and pray that someone had to foresight to record Matt’s brother speech, because it was something else.)
And with that I’m done all my wedding going for the summer. I am exhausted, but it’s nice to attend weddings, especially those for your friends.
Life
1 June 2007, early morning
I had a dream where I was listening to my music at work. I take my headphones off, my iPod still playing, and realize that there is so much noise spilling out from them. I then realize my coworkers have music blaring at their desks to counteract all my noise. I feel bad. Then I can’t remember what happens. I kind of feel like I was working on a city plan or something, instead of programming. My dreams are pretty boring.
Life
31 May 2007, early morning
I have two pairs of headphones that I am quite fond of: a pair of Grado SR60s, and a pair of AKG K26Ps. They are both nice headphones, each in their own way. I bought the Grado headphones first, and they definitely are the better of the two in terms of sound quality. The problem with the SR60s is that they are open-air headphones, which means they bleed a bit of noise when the volume is up. This doesn’t make them ideal for work, which is why I ultimately replaced them with the AKG headphones. The K26Ps are smaller, sealed, and sound pretty good for the price. I’ve been using the K26Ps for a long time now, and think they are definitely worth getting if you need something small and discreet to listen to music while at work. Krishna bought a pair and quite liked them — till he broke them anyway. They are a bit fragile. Shima is going to be borrowing my AKGs while she works for the summer, so maybe she will chime in with her opinions on them later this week. I’m back to listening to music on my SR60s. I had forgot how awesome these headphones are. I think my Shuffle doesn’t do them justice.
Some buying advice: don’t buy Grado headphones in Canada: they are sold at a ridiculous markup. Your best bet is to buy them in the US — especially since the Canadian dollar is so strong right now. I bought mine from Headroom, and shipped them to my cousin who was coming to visit us. The AKG K26P can be bought at most nice stereo shops in the city. I bought mine from Bay Bloor Radio. One of the ladies working their complimented me on my Dragon Beard shoes.
[8] Technology
29 May 2007, early evening
I wanted to love this season, but it just wasn’t as good as the previous ones. It had its moments to be sure, but nothing that made me want to stop watching to blog about what I had seen. Season 5 had its twists and turns, but on the whole it was tired and formulaic. They killed off a lot of the more interesting characters on the show, and really didn’t do much with that. The ending of the entire season was great, but i’ve been told they don’t do much with it in Season 6. I’m all done with 24 till Christmas, which is when Mezan usually buys the DVDs of the last season.
Television
29 May 2007, early morning
The excitement never ceases in my neighbourhood. If you have driven up Lansdowne over the past week, no doubt you’ve noticed the sea of yellow lawn signs that now sit in front of what feels like every house on the road. These yellow, Giambrone Don’t Narrow Lansdowne, signs are accompanied in some cases by hand written placards — all in the same hand writing, mind you — with messages to Miller and Giambrone. This is all the work of the newly formed Toronto Lansdowne Residents’ Association (TLRA).
Read the rest of this post. (711 words)
[15] Bloor and Lansdowne
