Poster-Sized Inspiration

I'm looking to prettify a huge blank wall in my office. I've actually been half-heartedly searching for over a year, but I have yet to discover any art that, first, is really great, and second, I can actually afford. Perhaps a healthy triptych of some sort would serve my needs (Mikee, this one's for you. You've been coming up with this stuff since you were in grade school.) ...

Refresh

I've been blogging on a dark template since I first started this thing in 2006. The green/white on black suddenly felt tired today, very much past its expiry date. So, now I have the same template ... except lighter, yeeeah. Does that scream "I don't like change!" ... ? That fear didn't inform my decision as far as I know – I just don't like the other templates. I'm over-thinking this. Last time I checked, my hits didn't warrant fretting over color-selection. (Yeah, that's right; 'color'. After years of including the superfluous U's that distinguish our cumbersome Canadian spellings, I'm done. Expediency and efficiency have won ... and if I write any more about this, it might as well be considered a redundant change.)

Moving on – Chuck and I are considering doing some triathlons when that season starts up again. I have no idea when that is, which may or may not be a fair indication of how prepared we are for such an undertaking. Either way, we did a little workout today which I'm sure was good. I'm guessing though. I think it was good mostly because I felt like vomiting when we were doing the last half of the run. Man, if each workout progresses to that point every time, I'm sure we'll be winners by next year. At the very least I'll be able to explain away my rake-like body type by pointing to a faded number written in permanent marker on my arm.

It was like this:

Bike: 7k
Swim: 3/4k
Bike: 7k
Run: 1k

For a reference point, the entry point for triathlons (Try-a-Tri) looks like:

Swim: 375m
Bike: 10k
Run: 2.5k

Okaybye,

CN Tower Dwarfed

It's old news now I guess, but as of mid-June the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) is over 100 m taller than our cute, little CN tower. What was once the tallest freestanding structure in the world is now ... not.

So, what's your claim to fame now Toronto? ... Multiculturalism? Unfortunately, that doesn't make for a very impressive skyline. That said, 'Most Multicultural' definitely has a nice ring to it ... a polyphonous ring ... a not-a-major-tourist-attraction kind of ring.

Story Time with Uncle Dave

Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the...
Originally uploaded by the fod.

My neighbours were getting into their car when I complimented them on their clothes.

"Looking good!" I said.

"Why thank you!" She sounded pleased.

She really did look good in her high-collared, white summer dress with black flowers on it. Her husband was equally bold in his freshly-pressed black golf shirt and black pants.

It was such a good start to the conversation, I just rolled with it ...

"I guess you're headed somewhere fancy tonight!"

Her response was emotionless, "We're going to a funeral."

...

So, above is a picture of the beautiful job I did paring the overgrown lawn back to reveal the never-before-seen edge of our driveway. I'm not going to say my efforts were an attempt to appease karmic law, but I was definitely at least partially motivated by the lesser cousin of guilt ... What's his name? ... Regret?

fodTunes smashes Tapes

Hey friends and e-friends alike,

You may not believe me, but I wanted to be among the first to tell you ... there is this new thing called iTunes that plays music and videos. I really believe in technology, so I am hoping to bring them fame by allowing them to sell digital copies of my songs.

If you believe in technology too, don't buy tapes any longer. They are the way of the past. Help out this fledgling company by clicking on their cool logo below...



If you are still old school like stale biscuits, you can click the album below and receive the opportunity to buy a piece of history that matches your attitude.



Thanks a bunch to my wonderful friends Jeff Muir, for recording my voice and guitar at the same time, and Margaret Lim, for covering everything with a bark-like paper.

The Next President – A Superficial Prediction

Despite my genuine patriotism and general lack of interest in politics, it's hard not to notice the political heat getting cranked up South of the border. Whether or not the upcoming election will boast a diversity of platforms, which would be the ideal in a 'democratic' nation, at least there is an obvious VISUAL diversity. As a result, the vote is simplified, and for that, sirs (no ma'am here anymore), the citizens of America thank you.

Though unnecessary, the American media will most definitely broadcast the crap out of this 'fight' to the bitter end, milking every last ounce of attention from slack-jawed viewers. But really folks, let's be honest – regardless of policies and promises, unless he leaves his current straight and narrow to do something really stupid – Obama is as good as in. (I was going to say he's a shoe-in, but I'm not sure he's being shooed anywhere.)

Why is Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. going to be the next president of America? Well, because he looks better on TV of course!

Let's run through a completely superficial list of potential reference for our neighbo(u)rs of voting age.

McCAIN is old (72 at the end of August)
OBAMA is young ... well, relatively (47 at the beginning of August)

McCAIN is white (white is so ... oh, I don't know ... 1860's?)
OBAMA is black (suddenly, for US politics, black is the new black)

McCAIN is unhealthy (whether he's in good shape or not, the man makes heart failure look like a distinct possibility ... or choking on a pretzel, or whatever a Cheney look-a-like would do)
OBAMA is healthy (I'm no doctor, but it serves us well to recognize that he doesn't LOOK unhealthy)

The American public wants 'change'. They're screaming for it. Who do you think they're going to choose: a guy who looks like every other president they've ever had ... ever, or a guy who doesn't.

Saudi TV Debate

The subtitles go quickly at some points, but I appreciated the intelligent and specific arguments of this Islamic woman.



It is not often that dissenting views are expressed so well in this context and it is interesting to think of the implications. Taken to an extreme, Islam may be headed toward some sort of reformation. I find myself thinking about what a resulting religion would look like decades down the road.