Monday, February 28
Gollum was Tolkein
Random thoughts - It just occurred to me that Tolkein is represented in the Lord Of the Rings as the character Gollum. Now, Tolkein himself said in an interview somewhere (I don't have the exact reference) that he felt that Faramir most represented him. Faramir, of course, is what everyone would like to be - heroic, educated, noble, blah, blah, blah. But as I was walking at lunch I remember a line from the Hobbit or LOTR, can't remember, where Gollum is described as someone who was obsessed with seeking out the roots of things. That's how he found himself at the bottom of the Misty Mountains. Also, he was singularly obsessive, more so than any other character in the book, over the ring. Now, before you say "well all the characters were obsessed with the ring", all the other character's obsession was to the ring as a means to something else - power, salvation, etc. Gollum wanted nothing but the ring. Now compare to Tolkein - his early career was finding the 'roots' of words - I think he could take at least 3 weeks to research a single word. He invented languages it seems to explore the roots and beginnings of words. And his obsession with the Simillarion (never published in his lifetime despite working on it for the better parts of 60 years) mirrors that of Gollum. I don't know, just my thought of the day: Most of us want to be Faramirs, a lot of us are Gollums instead.
I miss the Water Work's
I miss the Water Work's - it was a long-hair bar on Saint John's run down water street in a veat-up old ex-warehouse - neat little booth at the entrance where they asked for cover but gave ya a pass if you were a regular - two areas, bar + pinball + vlts to the right, rough-stone hewed walls and band area to the left. Picture stood by the 'secret' entrance in the alleyway - boucer used to park his trans-am in front of the bar, toss the unrulys from the bar, then pound them if they accidently touched his car - so the Mahones there, still got the t-shirt - damn. I need a place to have a beer and disappear.
Saturday, February 26
Out of retirement
This picture was taken with my Grandfather's Nikon FE, which has not been used in approximately 20 years. Changed the battery, added some film, and voila! Took some getting used to - I'm used to digitals. Wierd not seeing the preview before snapping the shot. I found the focussing a lot easier. I plan on using it for slide photography for the local photo club contests.
Thoughts on government
Not sure what party I support, but here are my stances on the (Canadian) issues of the day:
Gay marriage : For
Missle Defence : Join and aid US
Daycare : Give vouchers that can be used for daycare or tax credits for stay at home parents or whatever.
Employment Insurance : Cut contributions to match payouts. Don't make it easier to get benefits. Remove from general revenue.
Governer General :Reduce budget to pre-Clarkson levels
CBC :Reduce funding 10% a year until capable of standing on on or eliminated.
Military :Fund to the average level in Nato
Gay marriage : For
Missle Defence : Join and aid US
Daycare : Give vouchers that can be used for daycare or tax credits for stay at home parents or whatever.
Employment Insurance : Cut contributions to match payouts. Don't make it easier to get benefits. Remove from general revenue.
Governer General :Reduce budget to pre-Clarkson levels
CBC :Reduce funding 10% a year until capable of standing on on or eliminated.
Military :Fund to the average level in Nato
Thursday, February 24
Architecture photo contest postponed....
Damn. After planning ahead, waiting 3 weeks to have my digital pictures converted to slides and sent to me from some company in the states, the architecture contest that I was going to enter was postponed after there were only 2 entrants.
I can't believe that we (Canada) won't join the missle defence with the US. Are we really saying that it is ok for enemy missles to fly over us to the US as long as they are not aimed at us? If incoming missles were aimed at Ottawa, and the US was capable of shooting them down, would we not beg them to defend us? Sometimes I think that we (Canada) are a bunch of freeloading hypocrites.
I can't believe that we (Canada) won't join the missle defence with the US. Are we really saying that it is ok for enemy missles to fly over us to the US as long as they are not aimed at us? If incoming missles were aimed at Ottawa, and the US was capable of shooting them down, would we not beg them to defend us? Sometimes I think that we (Canada) are a bunch of freeloading hypocrites.
Retreat
Pet Peeve: Guys who sign up for sports leagues but never show up. We had no subs tonight at ultimate frisbee. Had to chase punks around all night with no damn subs. Good game, though - had 1 gaol 3 assists....but got beaten for a lot of points.
Accompanying photo is a macdo shot I did. Looked good at first but the soldier to the left looks to fake. I should have left him out. Hands were freezing, tried to do it in -20 weather with no gloves.
Accompanying photo is a macdo shot I did. Looked good at first but the soldier to the left looks to fake. I should have left him out. Hands were freezing, tried to do it in -20 weather with no gloves.
Tuesday, February 22
nazgul
Thoughts about Tom Bombadil, from Lord of the Rings: Lots of people try to guess what he is, from some kind of a nature spirit to one of the maia. I think that Bombadil is 'extra' story, that is he stands on the border of the story and reality. Tom Bombadil was the name of a doll in the Tolkein house. His first stories were to entertain his children, not to be sold. Lord of the Rings originated as a sequel to the gentler hobbit and only evolved into the darker tale in the writing. I think that Bombadil was a device placed into the story, from outside the story, to illustrate to his children that Lord of the Rings was only a story, nothing more. That is why the ring, the most powerful thing in the story, has no effect on him - because he is quasi-real and not fictional like the rest of the story. Picture is of a real-live Nazgul, caught on tape :)
Sucked at soccer again tonight, but not as bad as last week. Scored a goal, anyway.
Sucked at soccer again tonight, but not as bad as last week. Scored a goal, anyway.
Monday, February 21
Hunter S. Thompson is dead.
My favourite author, Hunter S. Thompson, is dead, apperantly killing himself. I truly enjoyed his writing because he didn't try to filter anything from you - he just gave you his feelings raw. If he stubbed his toe or the coffee was cold, he told you that, as well as whatver he was supposed to be reporting on.
Books of his I have read, in approximate order of me reading them:
1) Hell's Angels: A strange and terrible saga
2) Proud Highway:, The : Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman (Fear and Loathing Letters/Hunter S. Thompson, Vol 1)
3) The Rum Diary
4) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
5) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail
6) The Great Shark Hunt: Strangs Tales from a Strange Time
7) Generation of Swine : Gonzo Papers, Volume 2: Tales of Shame and Degredation in the '80s
For a while he was doing a regular column on www.espn.com, and I was a regular reader of that.
I always reacted to celeberities deaths as "who cares, I didn't know them". I feel sad that Hunter is gone because I enjoyed his outlook and his writing.
Books of his I have read, in approximate order of me reading them:
1) Hell's Angels: A strange and terrible saga
2) Proud Highway:, The : Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman (Fear and Loathing Letters/Hunter S. Thompson, Vol 1)
3) The Rum Diary
4) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
5) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail
6) The Great Shark Hunt: Strangs Tales from a Strange Time
7) Generation of Swine : Gonzo Papers, Volume 2: Tales of Shame and Degredation in the '80s
For a while he was doing a regular column on www.espn.com, and I was a regular reader of that.
I always reacted to celeberities deaths as "who cares, I didn't know them". I feel sad that Hunter is gone because I enjoyed his outlook and his writing.
New book and my damn flash
Bought "Flatterland" by Ian Stewart, written as a sequel tothe classic "Flatland" written by Edwin A. Abbott in 1884 (The middle A. is Abbot :). Mathematical science fiction if you are into that kind of thing. Stiffer and less fluid the original. The minimalist nature of the original cut the fluff and allowed you to focus on the concepts.
I'm trying to figure out this dumb flash I bought for my camera a year and a half ago and have only used twice.It is a Vivatar 728AFC and I can't seem to find any information on it on the internet. The manual sucks. References to Vivatar 728AF come up but no Vivatar 728AFC. And only specs for the Vivatar 728AF, no how to guides. If any has a link to a guide for this damn thing, please leave a comment.
I'm trying to figure out this dumb flash I bought for my camera a year and a half ago and have only used twice.It is a Vivatar 728AFC and I can't seem to find any information on it on the internet. The manual sucks. References to Vivatar 728AF come up but no Vivatar 728AFC. And only specs for the Vivatar 728AF, no how to guides. If any has a link to a guide for this damn thing, please leave a comment.
Sunday, February 20
Fading
Have you ever noticed that any city on the eastern seaboard has a few magnificent, stone churches? Things of beauty. Stained glass, gargoyles, intricate art work - built in a time of cheap labour and a more religious society. I know in Saint John, N.B. and in Moncton several of these old churches are running into financial trouble. I wonder if anything so beautiful will ever be built again in this age of generic walmart-style soulless square boxes. Who wants to spend money on ornate churches when you can buy ATVs and digital cameras every 4 months as they go obsolete. I just wonder sometime if we are sitting at a rare and non-repeatable time in history where buildings built in the first couple of generations of the industrial revolution are fading away, never to return. The world is becoming too crowded now - room only for form and function, optimal use of resources. No time anymore to waste on making things pretty.
Aplogies for the blurry shot. It was cold and I didn't want to get out of my car to set up a tripod, and I have the 10-coffee a day shaky-hand syndrome....
Aplogies for the blurry shot. It was cold and I didn't want to get out of my car to set up a tripod, and I have the 10-coffee a day shaky-hand syndrome....
Angel of Mercy, from RedSonja
My evil sister is selling these tops she designed - I guess you would call them tank tops - for $35 American + shipping. If anyone is interested in buying them, leave a comment and I will set up a paypal thingy where ya can order it and we will ship it out. I'm too lazy to set it up otherwise.
Saturday, February 19
Fall of the Canadian Government - odds posted
Being a gambler and a political junkie, I have decided to post odds on the fall of the Canadian Government:
- Last full 4 years, normal dissolution of parliament 20 : 1 - Not going to happen. Even when they had big majorities, the Liberals have twice brought us to the polls early as keeping-power moves, once to ambush Stockwell day and once due to an internal power struggle.
- Liberals dissolve parliament early (2-3 years) 2 : 1 - Odds on favourite. See previous note. Also precedent in the early 70s with one of Trudeau's governments.
- Introduction of no-confidence motion by oppostion over sponsorship scandal 4 : 1 - I think this one is more plausible than it is given credit. The only thing that can bring the government down is a combined attack by the conservatives and the bloc. But the bloc is left of the liberals and the conservatives are right of the liberals, and it is difficult to imagine what they would agree on. The bloc have pretty much maxed out the number of seats they can get, so there is no advantage in bringing down the government. Unless you had something that insulted Quebecers and was an affront to their honour. Something like massive corruption, bribery, and underhanded interference in their democratic refrendum. Something like the sponsorhip inquiry.
- Confidence motion on same-sex marriage 50 : 1 - NDP, Bloc, most of the Liberals, some of the conservatives - not going to happen.
- Budget 8 : 1 - Media loves this option but it is unlikely. Bloc, NDP are even more big-government oriented than the Liberals. Conservatives are for small government. None of the opposition parties will ever agree on the same budget strategy.
There is no superfecta, trifecta, or quintella betting on this race. Daily Double is in effect.
- Last full 4 years, normal dissolution of parliament 20 : 1 - Not going to happen. Even when they had big majorities, the Liberals have twice brought us to the polls early as keeping-power moves, once to ambush Stockwell day and once due to an internal power struggle.
- Liberals dissolve parliament early (2-3 years) 2 : 1 - Odds on favourite. See previous note. Also precedent in the early 70s with one of Trudeau's governments.
- Introduction of no-confidence motion by oppostion over sponsorship scandal 4 : 1 - I think this one is more plausible than it is given credit. The only thing that can bring the government down is a combined attack by the conservatives and the bloc. But the bloc is left of the liberals and the conservatives are right of the liberals, and it is difficult to imagine what they would agree on. The bloc have pretty much maxed out the number of seats they can get, so there is no advantage in bringing down the government. Unless you had something that insulted Quebecers and was an affront to their honour. Something like massive corruption, bribery, and underhanded interference in their democratic refrendum. Something like the sponsorhip inquiry.
- Confidence motion on same-sex marriage 50 : 1 - NDP, Bloc, most of the Liberals, some of the conservatives - not going to happen.
- Budget 8 : 1 - Media loves this option but it is unlikely. Bloc, NDP are even more big-government oriented than the Liberals. Conservatives are for small government. None of the opposition parties will ever agree on the same budget strategy.
There is no superfecta, trifecta, or quintella betting on this race. Daily Double is in effect.
Friday, February 18
Caught Staring - Picture by foxtongue2, at livejournal.com/~porphyre
Embarrassing thing happened to me the other day at work. I think I was caught staring at a co-worker's....mmm...assets during a really boring meeting. I was sitting there, as some pointy-haired manager droned out, trying to stay concious, when I noticed that a reasonably well-endowed femme co-worker was sitting in such a way that, with a button down shirt, a small yet high-quality gap appeared between the 2nd and third button on her shirt to give a decent view (Guy's note - you have to be just off of the femmes left shoulder to get this kind of view because womens shirts button with the right side overlapping the left). Of course, my brain froze and locked on target. I don't know if she caught me but she seemed to glance and smooth her shirt out, removing the crease. Now before you jump and yell perv! perv! let me explain. There seems to be (at least in mine) a sort of background processing thread that runs in the male brain, looking subconciously for such oppurtunities, then seizes control when a target is found. It's hard to turn this damn thing off. It always seems to be running. I can be at work. I can be jogging. I can be in a car accident. Hell, I can be lying in bed with a broken arm, yet I can notice the briefest glimpse of female anatomy accidently revealed at a couple of blocks distance, through crowds, rain, sleet, fog, snow, darkness, or magical shrouds.
Once I was out with a female friend of mine and she made a snarky comment about the ridiculiously revealing clothes of another women, saying "did you see that?" I remember thinking to myself that, yes not only did I see that, but my wiring had allowed me to not only notice, but analyze, speculate, and form a few daydream fantasies in my head before my girlfriend noticed. I wonder if guys ever grow out of that or we just learn to be more discreet about it as time goes on.
The accompanying photo was taken by foxtongue2, at livejournal.com/~porphyre. I was browsing through the free picture upload site flickr, when my background processing kicked in and picked this pic out of thousands. Please visit her site as thanks for lending me this picture.
Once I was out with a female friend of mine and she made a snarky comment about the ridiculiously revealing clothes of another women, saying "did you see that?" I remember thinking to myself that, yes not only did I see that, but my wiring had allowed me to not only notice, but analyze, speculate, and form a few daydream fantasies in my head before my girlfriend noticed. I wonder if guys ever grow out of that or we just learn to be more discreet about it as time goes on.
The accompanying photo was taken by foxtongue2, at livejournal.com/~porphyre. I was browsing through the free picture upload site flickr, when my background processing kicked in and picked this pic out of thousands. Please visit her site as thanks for lending me this picture.
Urban exploring, old hospital edition
I found these cool message tubes in the old (circa 1930) part of our local hospital. The only place I have ever heard about these is in old "The Shadow" comics, where the Shadow's henchmen would communicate with him via secret message tubes. Funny thing is, in this great electronic age of ours, these tubes seem to be still in use. I found this bunch in a out-of-the way waiting room in the maternity ward. Ther were 4-5 sitting on the floor. One of them had a routing slip in it dating Jan. 1/2005 !. On the wall there is a small "sending" hatch and a larger "receiving" hatch. When you open the hatches (okay I was board) there is a powerful sucking - very cool. I have photos of the send/receive hatches if anyone is interested.
Wednesday, February 16
Rona Ambrose
CBC News: Tory says child-care policy set by 'old white guys' - Beautiful on so many levels. Beautiful for standing up and saying that maybe letting people raise their own children is a good thing. Beautiful for nailing the holier-and-wiser-than-thou perpetually pensive Ken Dryden with good old fashioned fire-from-the-belly hot-tempered barb. Beatiful for being so damn beautiful (and I mean that in a respectful of intellect but also respectful of refined good looks kind of way.) She has to be the finest looking MP I have ever seen.
Time to quit soccer
Played indoor soccer tonight. Sucked. Flinched at every ball kicked in my direction. While playing net, looked very girly while awkwardly missing a long shot for a goal. After loafing on the periphery all night, left early.
Mayber tomorrow's ultimate frisbee game will be better.
My fantasy hockey team (at Whatif sports is a stunning 15-36. Serves me right for pissing away all my money on Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt.
Mayber tomorrow's ultimate frisbee game will be better.
My fantasy hockey team (at Whatif sports is a stunning 15-36. Serves me right for pissing away all my money on Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt.
Thursday, February 10
Camera club cancelled tonight
Damn - camera club cancelled tonight, due to insane snow storm. This after I went to all the effort of ordering slides (printed from digital pictures) all the way from Wisconsin, home of the wonderful slides.com.
I was going to enter this picture, which I took on the way to work one day in Bradford, Ontario.
I was going to enter this picture, which I took on the way to work one day in Bradford, Ontario.
Wednesday, February 9
Master J and the GO-GO Girls lose a close one
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