Author: dave Page 26 of 75

Sometimes writers find just the right image

On October 29, 2008

Just one week until the US election. Can there really be any doubt about the outcome? Apparently, there are still some undecided voters out there.

David Sedaris, writing in the New Yorker, draws a vivid picture of undecided voters:

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. ‘Can I interest you in the chicken?’ she asks. ‘Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?’

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?

Good stuff. You can read the whole article here.

John Cleese shares his thoughts on Sarah Palin

by dave

On October 18, 2008

In Uncategorized

Now that the Canadian election is over, we can get back to watching commentary about the upcoming presidential election in the US. And for something completely different (OK, it’s not really that much different) listen to John’s Cleese’s reaction when he’s asked about what he thinks about Sarah Palin.

Via seesmiccafe: ‘The former Monty Python star shares his unsparing thoughts and views about GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.’ Video Link.

(Via Boing Boing.)

Snow in October

by dave

On October 14, 2008

In Uncategorized

I’m back from Regina, where I spent the Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice to be home for a few days, but the weather was not what I was expecting.

Sunday night, Regina got 17 cm of snow. Call it a Prairie October surprise!

I posted some pics from the snowfall on my Flickr account, if you’re interested.

One of the things I noticed was that come morning, the streets were filled with people with shovels, winter boots, coats, toques and mitts, calmly cleaning up the mess. There were even a few guys with snowblowers out getting a little pre-season training in.

That’s the way it is on the Prairies. They’re used to snow and when it arrives, they’re not put out by it. Quite the opposite of the chaos that erupts here in Victoria when those occasional blizzards show up (like this one.)

Even with the snow, there’s no place quite as nice as our cottage in the fall. My son and I were out there the day before the snowfall, cleaning up the yard and closing up the cottage for another year. I’m glad it’s still in our family, even if it is a few thousand kms from where we’re living now.

Another overlooked story

by dave

On October 3, 2008

In Uncategorized

As a follow-up to my post yesterday about the Top 10 censored stories of the year, comes this story about photojournalist James Nachtwey.

He was a recipient in March 2007 of the TED prize (see my earlier post) and his wish was for help in breaking a news story in a way that demonstrates the power of news photography in the digital age.

As it turns out (I’m late to this story, I guess) today, Oct. 3, is the day that bloggers and news sites around the world are going to help him get his wish. I’m happy to take part in spreading the word, even if I missed the whole build-up and suspense part of things.

Nachtwey’s story is the growing threat of XDRTB – Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Not that long ago, we thought TB was all-but-extinct. But it is making a terrifying comeback. Nachtwey used the $100,000 from the TED prize to build a website and document the ravages of this new pandemic. He deserves an audience and I’m hoping his wish comes true.

Here are few links to follow to find out what this is about:

Link to XDRTB.org, where you can see Natchtwey’s video, learn more about the photographer and view the photographs he’s made.

Link to Nachtwey’s original acceptance speech of the TED Prize from March 2007.

Brain exercise

by dave

On October 3, 2008

In Uncategorized

Those of us who have reached a “certain age” are paying attention to stories that claim that exercising our brains will pay off in our golden years. So we’re working on crosswords (which I still can’t do worth a darn), trying out Sudoko (works better for me) and staying married (at least according to this article from the Globe and Mail.)

But today, a post from Boing Boing caught my eye. Seems the Japanese have taken the idea of brain exercise to new, unheard-of heights:

Pink Tentacle has photos and a video of the “Reversible Destiny Lofts” in Japan, designed to physically and mentally challenge people in order to keep them healthy.

To NY-based architect-poets and “reversible destiny” philosophers Arakawa & Gins, comfort deserves only a limited role in the home. In their vision, a home that keeps its inhabitants young and healthy should provide perpetual challenges. A tentative relationship with your environment, they argue, is key to “reversing the downhill course of human life.”
Designed to stimulate the senses and force inhabitants to use balance, physical strength and imagination, the lofts feature uneven floors, oddly positioned power switches and outlets, walls and surfaces painted a dizzying array of colors, a tiny exit to the balcony, a transparent shower room, irregularly shaped curtainless windows, and more.

For rent: Reversible Destiny Lofts (w/ video)

The Top 10 censored news stories

by dave

On October 2, 2008

In Uncategorized

It’s time for the Project Censored annual report on the stories that mainstream media is ignoring.

Since 1976, Sonoma State University has released an annual survey of the top 25 stories the mainstream media failed to report or reported poorly. Culled from worldwide alternative news sources, vetted by students and faculty, and ranked by judges, the stories were not necessarily overtly censored. But their controversial subjects, challenges to the status quo, or general under-the-radar subject matter might have kept them from the front pages. Project Censored recounts them, accompanied by media analysis, in a book of the same name published annually by Seven Stories Press.

“This year, war and civil liberties stood out,” Peter Phillips, project director since 1996, said of the top stories. “They’re closely related and part of the War on Terror that has been the dominant theme of Project Censored for seven years, since 9/11.”

Whether it’s preventing what one piece of legislation calls “homegrown terrorism” by federally funding the study of radicalism, using vague concerns about security to quietly expand NAFTA, or refusing to count the number of Iraqi civilians killed in the war, the threat of terrorism is being used to silence people and expand power.

Here’s the Top 10 stories:

1. HOW MANY IRAQIS HAVE DIED?
2. NAFTA ON STEROIDS
3. INFRAGARD GUARDS ITSELF
4. ILEA: TRAINING GROUND FOR ILLEGAL WARS?
5. SEIZING PROTEST
6. RADICALS = TERRORISTS
7. SLAVERY’S RUNNER-UP
8. BUSH CHANGES THE RULES
9. SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT
10. APA HELPS CIA TORTURE

And here’s the link to the complete story.

This is an impressive commercial

by dave

On September 29, 2008

In Uncategorized

I don’t generally like TV commercials while I’m watching TV. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like commercials. I like to watch the good ones, especially when they’re not interrupting a movie or a good show.

With an election campaign on in both the US and Canada, there’s been a lot of pretty awful ads lately. But this one is a great ad.

It’s for a product that I don’t think is available here in Canada. But after watching this ad, I wish it were. I like a company that things this is a good use of their advertising dollars.

As someone who spends a lot of time talking about the importance of reputation and image and high-quality tools — I love this example.

Here’s the link to the ad.

Going car-free not as easy as it sounds

by dave

On September 29, 2008

In Uncategorized

I’ve managed to take my bike to work a few times since my last post. It takes me about 35 minutes and I wander along some nice trails, largely skipping busy streets. I’ve also picked up a monthly bus pass for those trips downtown or other places where I don’t want to take my bike and have to find a secure place to lock it up.

This weekend, I went out and bought a nice set of pannier bags, so I can make short trips to the grocery store or the library and be able to carry stuff home easily. They’re also great for carrying rain gear on my commute. That’s definitely required here in Victoria – especially in the winter.

So the pieces for my switch to a more carbon-friendly approach to my life are coming together. But you know, it’s still tough to consider giving up my car.

It’s not because my car is unique or high-end or anything like that. In fact, it needs expensive brake work and it leaks when it rains. But I still find it nice to have. Whether it’s taking the dogs to the park for an extended outing or a quick trip up to Langford, where our storage locker is located, or even running Jaime and her bike back home after supper, when it’s too dark to ride – it sure is handy to have a car.

So for now, I’ve decided to keep the car around. I’m using it a lot less and that’s a good thing. But I’m not ready to sell it just yet. I am really enjoying my bike and although the hills in this city make biking a challenge, the abundance of bike lanes and trails keep me happy. I’ll see how it goes when the wet, cool weather arrives in a month or so.

Time to do my part

by dave

On September 8, 2008

In Uncategorized

So today the federal election campaign starts in earnest. But while I used to live and breathe politics, today my reaction is more like the little guy on the right. Sure, there are important differences between the parties and candidates, etc., but I can’t help feeling that whoever wins the election doesn’t have that much relevance to what happens in my life. Call me cynical but that’s the way it is.

However, that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in things. In fact, I’ve decided that my goal for the next while is to figure out ways to reduce my own carbon footprint. And I figured that since I’ve been having trouble coming up with reasons to update this blog recently, I’ll share my journey with you all.

The first thing I’ve done is to make a commitment to using public transit to get around instead of driving. I was a pretty dedicated user of public transit when we lived in Hamilton and I worked in Toronto – I spent a lot of time on Go Trains and buses. But since we moved to Victoria, I’ve tended to drive when I needed to go downtown or more recently, get to the office.

So for the last few weeks, I’ve been buying bus tokens and travelling to work by bus. Last week, I upgraded to a monthly bus pass. Travelling by bus is longer (about 50 minutes one way, as opposed to 10 minutes by car) but it gives me a chance to catch up on podcasts on my Ipod. So I don’t mind the extra time. However, when I go to work by bus, I can’t get home at noon to walk the dogs — that could be a problem.

I haven’t decided whether to get rid of my car for good yet. It’s a 1994 VW Jetta that needs a brake job but is otherwise still a good car for around town. I’m tempted to keep it around to have for taking the dogs places and picking up groceries, etc. But I may get rid of it too, depending on how well my second major carbon footprint idea works out.

And that idea is a new bike, which I finally picked up last week. It’s a hybrid, a cross between a road bike and a mountain bike, which has some of the features of both. It’s a great commuting option and since I live in Victoria – where bike commuting is a realistic alternative year-round – I’m looking forward to making that option work.

I’ll tell you more about how that’s going in my next post.

Cheers,

Why I didn’t make the Olympics

by dave

On September 2, 2008

In Uncategorized

I’ve been away. If you were wondering what I was up to, check out the video below. One thing I wasn’t doing was attending the Olympic Games.

Ever wonder what it takes to get to the Olympics? Well, here are some examples of performances that won’t win you a spot on the team.

The video is called Why I didn’t make the Olympics.

Enjoy.

(Note: I’m not sure why there appear to be two images of the video appearing here…but clicking on the top one seems to work.)