You know, that Kurt Russell guy is a pretty good actor. I liked him in Tombstone. But last night I watched Dark Blue and this was an even better performance. Surprising movie too ... it kind of looks like it will be another one of those Hollywood cop movies ... yawn. But while it is, it's a really great movie. Who'd have thought?

I visited the Jann Arden site today (jannarden.com). Nice site. Very good design though there are a few artsy kind of aspects to it that make it a bit annoying. (Fonts, icons, images - everything is small. Requires some squinting.)

I think the thing that makes the site interesting is Jann herself. In other words, the content which, in this case, is essentially Jann Arden. So if you don't particularly like her you probably won't like the site. C'est la vie.

Okay ... So I'm not a huge fan of her music. This doesn't mean I dislike it. I like it quite a bit, generally, but I'm not wildly enthusiastic about it. I suppose the lyrics of her songs are what most attract me to them. There is a level of thought there, both in terms of what they are about and how they are constructed, that is largely absent in most popular music. In this sense, she's essentially a folk songwriter since this is one genre of music where people tend to think before writing.

I wonder, too, whether her fan base is attracted by the music or the personality of Jann Arden. My guess is the music, particularly the lyrics, are what first attract people. It's the person behind the music, revealed both in the songs and in the media interviews etc., that holds them. And for me, a large part of the attraction is the humour that flavours everything (though it is by no means the only thing).

Well ... just thought I'd ramble about Jann Arden for no brilliant reason. (Saw her on Bravo! last night and that sent me to the Web site and so on.)

One other thing with the site ... She has a new disc out and tour coming up and so the marketing guys to some extent have gotten their hands on the site. So there are various annoying things (not a lot) to send you to loveistheonlysoldier.com (title of the new disc). On this site, well ... you have to buy the disc in order to get access to most of the material. If I were one of the marketing guys, it's probably what I would have recommeded doing. But since I'm just a schmuck visiting Web sites, it burns my ass a bit.

The corporate bastards are waging Internet war on us and the marketing people are their suicide bombers!

Toodle-oo!!!

Made some Piddleville main page changes (added "new reviews"). Must think of how to put this, the Burble on the home page.

Watched Anger Management last night. Jack Nicholson was okay but the rest of the movie was kind of lame.

Earlier in the week, I watched Destry Rides Again for the second time and it was just as much fun as the first. Great old movie.

Good grief ... It's 8AM and 1 degree outside. ONE. This is Edmonton. In Calgary? Oh, just a heavy snowfall warning is all. And -.2 as the temperature.

Geeezzzzz ... It's September for heaven's sake. Aren't we jumping the gun a bit? Who's in charge of the weather anyway?

The RIAA has few friends: ajc.com | News | Artists blast record companies over lawsuits against downloaders

The links I've been posting are not because I've decided to become one of the those sites that links to everything on the planet. It's mainly me diddling around with the tools to see what they can do, how it works etc. And because I found the links interesting, at least modestly.

I suppose I'm trying to see if there is any value in this for me and, if so, how I might use this.

The end of the need to spell check? Or to pay attention to what you write? Hmmm ... Joi Ito's Web: Ordering of letters don't matter

If you're interested in RSS, this is an interesting page: ExtremeTech RSS Primer Page

Though I've come across it before, I've never paid much attention to RSS. But yesterday I got curious and today I've done a lot of online exploring. I've even downloaded FeedDemon and it is very cool ...

You may be wondering why the movie room main page hasn't been updated since August 31. It's more likely that you don't care, but whatever ...

I am lazy and there has been nothing of particular note recently and, frankly, I have to stop the money drain. Toodles!

I woke from the oddest dream yesterday. That is, if it were a dream. I woke with the sense I usually have just before passing out - the feelings I usually have just before having a seizure, to be more clear. The thing is, I wasn't sure if that sense was the actual preliminary to a real seizure or something my mind had dredged while dreaming.

Either way, it produce some rather high anxiety levels. Seizures are something less than pleasant and I had no desire to experience another one.

As a related aside, I'm going to have to talk to my doctor (ha! like I have one anymore ... but that's another topic) about the possibility of apnea. I think it's possible I have it but for the life of me I don't know how you go about finding out.

It's been a rather uneventful long weekend highlighted by moments of work. Whoop-dee-doo. I managed to find time to do a kind of personal financial review. The conclusion?

I'm fucked royally. Autumn will now be characterized by austerity, panic and impotent rage.

Not a lot to say ... It has been a dull week highlighted by a return to work. Does it get more pathetic than that? On the upside, it has been much more of a stress-free week than pre-vacation. On the downside, it is essentially boring. Kind of stuff I was doing twenty years ago and had thought I'd turned my back on.

Must think of what I want to do with the ass end of my life. Problem is, none of the things I'd like to do pay any money. Life's a bitch that way.

Came back yesterday from a brief jaunt to Canadian cabin country, this being close to Caroline, Alberta. Very dry - no fires allowed (as you can imagine). There was a bear spotting though I didn't see the guy. Grateful for that, thank you very much. Food was generally good, beer and other assorted beverages plentiful, and there was music - guitars around a tea light replication of a camp fire. (It provided some light but not a great deal of warmth.)

All in all, a delightful time - keep an eye out for photos shortly. Toodle-oo!!!

Hell and damnation ... I gotta go back to work today! I weep; I rend my hair. I gnash my teeth! (One day I'm going to have to peek in my dictionary to find out what exactly "rend" and "gnash" mean.) Work use to be a fun, social experience ... despite long hours and low pay. Now it's the noose. Though the money's better.

Oh ... and if you're inclined (highly unlikely) you can take a peek at the second, shorter part of my vacation. A good time was had by all.

Hmm ... I did another Google search, this time on Zyban. Most of the top links that came up were companies selling the stuff - a lot of marketing hoo-hah. I was looking it up because I know of someone who used it to quit smoking (this seems to be its primary function - a stop-smoking medication).

Unfortunately, people who have seizures are cautioned about the drug. It's not recommended for those people and as I am one of them, looks like Zyban is out for me.

I did a Google search for night sweats (sleep hyperhidrosis) and found that, amongst other things, it can be related to head injuries and epilepsy. There was this link and there also was this one. Since I seem to have this condition, at least to a degree, and I take an anti-convulsant for what we think is likely epilepsy (I've had a few seizures), these were particularly interesting for me. I had never made this association before.

And I'm making this entry in the Burble primarily so I don't lose these links.

Got back last night from Ontario. Up at 5:40 AM yesterday morning. Got the bus from Southampton to Pearson Airport (Toronto) at 7:00 AM (Grey Bruce Airbus). Got to the airport around 10:00 AM and the flight back to Edmonton was scheduled for 4:25 PM ... more than 6 freakin' hours in an airport! Anyway ... finally got home around 8:00 PM, Alberta time (which would have been 10:00 Ontario time). So I was in transit yesterday for roughly 15 hours.

That's just not right. I mean, if it involves that much time a person should be going to some tropical place.

I'm totally screwed here ... I think I may have had 4 hours sleep. Even though today is the first day of my vacation, I had some things that had to be done this morning. All last night I kept saying, "I have to go home, I have to go home ..." I finally did get home somewhere close to 3. Woke up around 7 ... and feel like shit. Geez ...

I refer to an excess of rum, beer and merriment yesterday thanks to Elizabeth, world famous bar room wench.

(The preceding was lifted from my post on terri in australia.)