usability - an entry for me

I haven't had a link to my Usability Links page for quite some time. So this entry (specifically the link) is here because I can never remember the file name (the URL).

be merciful

I just noticed I put a few reviews up without proofing/editing them. And I won't be able to get them fixed for a while as I'm off to do whatever it is people do on Sunday afternoons. So ... don't be surprised to see major typos and/or sentences that make no sense.

setting a limit

I've decided to limit the number of reviews under "new reviews" (at the right). It's now down to the ten most recent. The list just seemed to be getting too long. All of them can be found under reviews. But I think that needs to be rethought soon too. It's getting a bit unwieldy.

the western

For no particular reason I found myself watching westerns this week. One was the well-thought of The Ox-Bow Incident with a relatively young Henry Fonda. Very good movie.

The other was 1968's Bandolero! with Dean Martin, Jimmy Stewart and a youthful and fetching Raquel Welch. This, too, was quite good. But if you don't like westerns it won't be your cup of tea. It's very representative of a certain type of middle-of-the-road western Hollywood was making in the late 1960's.

But I liked it anyway!

does not include trousers

I hate writing headlines. And I hate writing titles. It's not in my skill set as the tedious corporate drones like to say. (I just overheard someone discussing some projects and saying, "Maybe we could find some synergies." Who the hell talks like that in real life?)

Anyway ... headlines. Or titles. Hate them. Don't they have people to do that sort of thing? Regardless, I'm testing out the current title ("does not include trousers"). I'm going to see if I can come up with three or four general ones I can use when a genuine title doesn't make itself immediately available. Here are a couple of other possibilities:

- politicians found in pantry
- aren't those my socks?
- deconstruction deconstructs; no video available
- pronouncing Clytemnestra on-the-go

Yes, yes ... I know. Needs work.

back pain

Although I've posted reviews, I haven't been diligent with The Burble ... for various reasons. It's the usual too busy, too distracted sort of thing but mainly it has been due to my back.

Not sure how, but I buggered it up about two weeks ago and have been off to the physiotherapist and so on as I try to get it restored to proper working order. Over the last little while I've been hobbling around like a little old man - sort of like Artie Johnson's dirty old man from the old Laugh-In show.

I have been watching movies though - see the column to the right under new reviews.

waiting with anticipation

This week I seem to have been focused on relatively recent movies like Runaway Jury and Under the Tuscan Sun. Your basic Hollywood material. (Both enjoyable, both good, neither great.) The latter, Tuscan Sun, is as bright and sunny, story and look, as the DVD cover to the right suggests.

But I'm looking forward to next week ... If I'm lucky, sometime mid-week Amazon.ca will have shipped my first order for 2004: In a Lonely Place (1950), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), Gaslight (the original 1940 version plus the 1944 George Cukor version), The Song of Bernadette (1943) and, yet another for my Howard Hawks collection, I Was a Male War Bride (1949), with Cary Grant.

As you can see, I'll be back into the older movies very soon.

why we need Canada's new Conservative party

I don't care much for the political scene. It's either too tedious or too irritating. Frankly, I don't like any party. But there are those who do and as long as they stay away from me, I say "live and let live." But for those who really dislike the new Conservative Party (aka the Alliance, aka the Reform Party), I say, "Settle down." Where else can you find a leader who wishes a "Happy India Day" to Canada's native community?

For entertainment value alone, I say we need these guys.

if it's not news, it should be

Well, here's one of my favourite stories: All the news that's fit to fool (Thanks to Doc Searls, who thanks whoever this originally came from.)

a teasing time of year

Even as the other end of the country cleans up after the Maritimes' "weather bomb" of last week, here in Alberta we're being teased by intimations of spring.

Snow and ice are melting. The days are clear and warm and delightful (and thankfully) longer. There are even magpies outside my window building a nest. (Not a good thing as anyone familiar with magpies will attest. They make a racket 'cause they're chatty buggers.)

However ... This is Alberta. And we know (or should know) it's only a tease. Winter has a few more wallops to smack us with; this is just a set up. (Unless this a is very unusual year.)

more westerns

I like westerns and I especially like Clint Eastwood westerns, even the ones that are not considered the best.

One of those, Two Mules for Sister Sara found its way to my DVD player last week. It's not Unforgiven or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

It was directed by Don Siegel, one of the people Eastwood credits as being an influence. I don't think Two Mules has a huge budget, but that's okay. Siegel, like Eastwood, puts the emphasis on his characters and their story.

(In non sequiter fashion ... also watched a number of Coen brothers movies this week, including The Big Lebowski.)

needing an editor

It's embarrassing, you know. I keep posting things and forgetting to proof them. So I go back later and see some incredible howlers. You'll see a number of them in recent reviews like Trouble in Paradise, Intolerable Cruelty, and especially in My Fair Lady and Lost in Translation.

Some of the mistakes are typos. Some are spelling and grammar. And some are just bad and/or incomplete writing. (In one I referred to Frederick March though I meant Ronald Coleman when the correct actor was William Powell.)

Wow. I need an editor.

loving and hating musicals

I've never been big on musicals. I dunno ... they just kind of seem silly and, quite often (especially with older ones) really long.

Like My Fair Lady. Now that one is long. But ... I like it. Go figure.

I can't say the same about two of the recent musicals, Moulin Rouge and Chicago. Some of the older ones though, the Hollywood classic musicals, I do like some of those.

As you can tell by what I am writing here, filling up some space, I really don't know what the hell to say about musicals. As a general rule, they just don't register with me. I find them the hardest films to write about. (For instance, look how lame my review of West Side Story is.)

This prompts the question: why write about them at all? Must ask the management about that one.

lighten up - a Canadian fiasco

One of the things I like about Don Cherry is his ability to create a political correctness schmozzle that highlights some of the extremities of Canadian 'niceness." It makes for great comedy, sort of like Peter Sellers in The Party or Being There where the protagonist creates chaos without even being aware of it.

What did Mr. Cherry do? Between periods of a hockey game, on national television, he went on a rant about visors in hockey (something he often does) and claimed they were mainly used by Europeans and French players, whom he called "French guys," implying something not so good about Quebec and other French Canadian players.

From the reaction you would think he was the raging mouthpiece of the KKK.

Cherry is, for Canadians, a trickster character. As we blithely go about being correct about everything to an almost embarrassing degree, Mr. Cherry still refuses to censor himself and says what he thinks, whether he's right or wrong, and voicing what are often the sentiments of an older generation of Canadians (and sometimes not so old). Some equate him to a kind of right wing blatherer but I personaly don't see anything terribly political about him. He doesn't strike me as either right or left but as someone who is frustrated by politicized bureaucracy and dumb-ass policies.

He's often the voice of the knee-jerk response as opposed to the usually sanitized and treacly opinions we hear from other quarters. This doesn't mean his opinions are right. Quite often he is not. It simply means they are expressed and often represent what a number of others are feeling too, others who feel their voice is largely silenced by Canadian political propriety.

The latest mess has created some wonderfully Stepford Wives comments like, "The government will not tolerate statements that create dissonance in our society and disrespect for others, " from Jean Augustine, the Liberal government's junior minister for multiculturalism. (Now there's an Orwellian title with a fitting quote to match.)

From the leader of the federal NDP, Jack Layton, comes the comment, "I'm in shock." Really now, if you'll forgive the syllogistic flim-flam here, if you're Canadian you are surely aware of hockey and if you know hockey you must know Don Cherry and if you know Don Cherry, how the hell can you be shocked by what he says? That's his schtick, Jack. You've got to wonder how Canadian our Canadian NDP leader is if he can make a statement like that with a straight face.

Finally, from the mother corporation itself, "CBC Television categorically rejects and denounces the personal opinions Mr. Cherry expressed during the segment. Comments such as those expressed during the show cannot be repeated and will not be tolerated." That's from Harold Redekopp, executive vice-president of CBC Television. That's the voice of outraged bureaucracy. Why can't that Cherry fellow be a nice gray cipher like the rest of us?

Is it any wonder the CBC is so dreadfully dull? I use to love and champion them but there is no getting around the fact it has become largely a waste of air waves (not to mention the money). I don't mind my taxes going to a public network. I do, however, object to paying the salaries of idiots.

a wintry week

Geesh! What a week! It began with termperatures so low the numbers had to be dusted off from lack of use. Two days ago, pipes blew in the parking garage - because of the cold. Around the city, fire crews have been running their arses off putting out fires in minus forty (-40) temperatures at night. (The aftermath of one looked like the end of Dr. Zhivago with the ice built up from hosing down flames.)

And the week wrapped up yesterday with slightly warmer temperatures - and snow. All day! And it's freakin' snowing again this morning. Where the hell did El Nino go? Hmm?

I'm thinking I'll watch Kostner's Open Range tonight so I can see what Alberta is supposed to look like. (It was shot down Calgary way.)

rules for winter

There are certain rules for winter and I'm a bit annoyed that no one seems to be following them this year. I'm thinking specifically of this rule:

When it's freakin', bone-numbing cold there is no wind!

Today, we have a bracing -33 degrees (Celsius). But the wind chill is -45! Why is there wind? Don't these people know the rules? Doesn't anyone enforce them?

I should listen to my doctor and move to Hawaii.

endless winter

I can't remember a year when I was so anxious for spring to arrive (and it's still a long way off). This winter seems interminable.

I've become a recluse as I wait for weather that is less inhospitable. All I want is to be able to open windows and let air in. So far, whenever it begins to warm a bit and become a little less hostile, whammo! Another blast of Arctic air moves down and shuts us back in a deep freeze.

The older I get, the less amusing this winter thing becomes. Geesh.

le stink

I don't think I generally waste time writing about bad movies, but every now and again I see something that prompts me to post a review of a stinker. Like this week and the unfortunate Hollywood Homicide, which is actually a well made movie that suffers from being mind-numbingly boring.

Someone asked me the other day why I don't have a lot of caustic reviews. They wanted to see some sarcasm and so on, the sort of thing generally reserved for really bad movies. I suppose there are two reasons.

The first is simply that I can't be bothered wasting time writing about something that isn't very good. I would rather just put it down to some time wasted and move on to something better and worth talking about.

The other reason is my own distaste for those reviewers who seem intent on demonstrating their pompous wit. The reviews seem to be more about, "Hey! Look at me! Aren't I something?" than about movies and the why's and how's of what makes them work or not.

Mainly though, I prefer talking about something that has impressed me than something that hasn't. (Like, for instance, The Postman Always Rings Twice.)

terror, disaster and a few laughs

Watching football ... Meanwhile, I've posted a few more reviews, including Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (from 1960). To be honest, while I admire the movie it isn't at the top of my favourite movies list.

What else was added? Let's see ...Oh yes, Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (a pretty good movie, by the way), and 1953's Titanic. (Not the best of the big boat movies, and definitely not one of Barbara Stanwyck's better performances.)

Oh would you look at that ... Peyton Manning just tossed an interception. Must run and see how all this turns out.

Toodle-oo!!!

home again

Returned last night from a few days in Vancouver. Wasn't quite ready for the chilly temperatures. It was warm (for Edmonton) when I went to the west coast. It was even warmer in Vancouver. But when I got home?

Godfrey Daniel! My knackers were knockin'! Someone make it go away!

By the way, while in Vancouver I picked up a few more discs, all older films: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 - "Their love was a flame that destroyed!"), The Master of Ballantrae (1953 - another Errol Flynn film) and 1953's Titanic.

new reviews added

I've added two new reviews: the 1962 John Frankenheimer film The Manchurian Candidate and Steven Spielberg's 2002 Catch Me If You Can.

So why do I do so many reviews after the fact? Well, I do them when they are out on DVD, for one thing (though I don't often comment on the DVD aspect). For another, I like older movies, many of which have few reviews available on the Web - at least not as many as new movies have. While I do reviews of new movies (new when out on DVD), everyone else does reviews of them as well and while I may occasionally have some interesting comment to make it's not as if I'm adding anything new to what everyone else is writing.

Finally, if you look at my comments on Catch Me If You Can you'll see that first impressions are not always the same as second impressions, especially when those second ones come after viewing a movie some distance from when it originally comes out.

Hope that made some sense.

looks like Steve Buscemi

Would the real Steve Buscemi please sit down?

I suppose there might be a vague resemblence, but really ... when you look at the two of us I don't think there is anything similar beyond the gaunt, skull-like appearance of the head. And I'm pretty damn sure that our bank accounts down look anything alike. (I'm assuming he's in the black as opposed to me ... My accounts sport a different colour.)

Despite this, I constantly get, "Hey ... do you know who you look like? That guy ... You know, he was in Reservoir Dogs? What's his name?"

"Steve Buscemi?"

"Yeah, that's him!" Blah, blah, blah and so on. Anyway, for Buscemi fans, I understand he's in Tim Burton's latest, Big Fish.

submitted to BlogsCanada

I've submitted The Burble to BlogsCanada. I hope it's not too confusing for anyone paying a visit. The Burble is the blog portion of Piddleville, which is mostly about movies. The blog, however, tends to ramble about everything and anything (none of it terribly profound).

There's also the problem of a very ramshackle architecture to Piddleville. One day (I keep telling myself) I'll organize it properly.

But geez ... that involves so much work.

happy perihelion

Oh my ... It's back to work today. There is a definite lack of enthusiasm on my part. However, once back and doing a few things maybe the blood will start flowing again and sheer activity will lift me out of this lethargic morass.

It has been dark the last few weeks, which is to be expected at this time of year. But it has also been freakin' cold. So the desire to leave home has been nil. The result?

I discovered on the Web (on the Doc Searls blog) that today is the sun's perihelion. Or, given time zones, maybe it was yesterday. I dunno ... But if the earth and sun are closest today, I've got to wonder: Why's it so ding-dang damn cold here?

For all intents and purposes, I have been a recluse over Christmas. Come to think of it, I've been a recluse over the last few months.

This needs to be adjusted in 2004. The sooner the better.

I have just noticed I've been peppering this entry with catch-phrases and cliches: "for all intents and purposes," "come to think of it," "the sooner the better," and so on. This is indicative of a mind working at less than 50% efficiency. I am dull, I am dull ...

I noticed to that awards were given out a while back for over and ill-used phrases and words. Terms like "metrosexual" and "bling-bling" were highlighted. I believe that once I've been back in the office for a few hours I'll be able to add more than a few myself. (Currently, I have erased all memory of the Land of Cubicles and Processes.)

tourists on mars

This image is appearing on Web sites everywhere so there is really no need for me to post it as well. So why do it?



For the same reason the image is showing up everywhere: here is something our planet is doing that may have actual value. This is an image sent back from the Spirit rover, part of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission.

I'm no science guy but I do have intelligence enough to recognize space exploration is about our future. It's a small little light on an otherwise dull horizon.

Imagine what we could do if rather than running around and sounding off about why the other guy is wrong, or spend our lives working on trivialities in order to "increase shareholder value," we put our minds and resources into something useful like this.

Space exploration, while about long-term survival, is not only about long term survival. It's also about the absence of borders on human imagination. It's about lives less ordinary.

Exploring space is important if only because it is interesting. And God knows this planet has become a very dull, self-obsessed place. (Speaking of God, he or she must be bored witless by us.)

Correction: the planet is not dull and self-obsessed. We are.

rehashing an old year

This could have been a rarity along the lines of flying pigs. It was intended to be a letter, of sorts. Not only that, it was to be disguised as a personal letter. It began with a version of this opening paragraph, and continued so:

I may be playing fast and loose with the term personal; this is a kind of form letter. But it’s a personal form letter individualized, if by nothing else, its seasonal nature. It is also very modern as it doesn’t make use of paper. It makes use of the electronic medium which, in truth, is another bit of fast and looseness. It is really another form of indolence along the lines of individualized form letters. Being electronic, no stamp licking is required and there is no need to hunt down a mailbox.

My laziness is not total, however. I did some research into what to put into a letter such as this. While there was no consensus among the people I asked, many responses favoured a year end cap. “Tell them what happened to you in 2003,” these people said.

It seemed a sensible idea. Unfortunately, as I found when I first attempted this, nothing happened.

Yes, 2003 was characterized by a disturbing void. It was distinguished by an absence of anything resembling “something.”

But you can’t let such things get you down. You need to examine them. I did. As with deciding what to put into my seasonal form letter, I did some research. It produced astounding results.

It turns out things did happen in 2003. However, at birth I was granted a memory commonly referred to as a “sieve.” It is not that it retains nothing but that it retains the irrelevant and discards the significant. Therefore, while I remember what I was eating when I first watched the DVD special edition of “Bull Durham,” I have completely forgotten the incident last February when I was taken prisoner during a home invasion by a group of Western independence Alberta feminist-terrorists. (Don’t worry, the RCMP tell me the affair ended peacefully, though I don’t recall this.)

I have since made inquiries and discovered some of the things that happened in 2003, at least in my world. I can’t, however, completely vouch for their veracity because of my poor memory. I am taking all this on faith though I question some of these.

As with many, I did some travelling in 2003. I did not go terribly far afield. Except for one trip, I restricted my movements to Canada, particularly western Canada. So at varying times I was in: Calgary and Red Deer, as well as the environs of both Red Deer and Caroline, all in Alberta. I was in British Columbia, including several visits to Vancouver where I enjoy infuriating the locals by gazing goggle-eyed at the rising buildings and shiny downtown streets while saying in an awe-struck voice, “Gee, this is great! It’s just like being in Toronto!”

(Head gear is recommended if you choose to do something similar.)

I think I was in a few other places in B.C. I have a vague recollection of boats and rather steep snow-capped hills but this may be an image confused by the Paramount Pictures logo.

I also went to Seattle, which was green and lush and filled with amazing seafood. This was the best trip. I was even in a kayak on a great sweep of lake where water planes terrorized us by landing without regard for people or sailing craft that may have been there first. They dive-bombed us as if it were Pearl Harbour.

I just remembered: I spent some time in Ontario, in cottage country, the Lake Huron area. I was with relatives and friends and met an amiable dog named Murphy (named after the family name on my mother's side). This is probably my favourite place in the world.

Well, that was as far as I got with my 2003 rehash. I’ve never been very good at looking back and remembering things. Sometimes it feels as if nothing happened and perhaps this is the case. But I don’t think so.

I often run into friends who say, “Do you remember when we ...?” And I reply, in some amazement, “Oh yeah. We did that, didn’t we?”

So I can throw out any notion of ever doing personal memoirs. What could I write about if I can’t recall anything?

On the other hand, I could make it up as I often do. Fiction is much easier to write, at least for me, because you’re not straight-jacketed by facts.

new year slogan

It seems to me last year (2003) and the ones preceding it were characterized by crisis and calamity. So I'm offering as a possible slogan, or theme, for 2004:

"Settle down. Would everyone please just settle down?"

holidays are upon us

My goal over the holidays: clean up, reorganize, reorient and enter 2004 with some sense of stability and focus.

What the hell? Why not shoot for the moon?

no DVD player!!!

I'm numb with shock. Stupid with grief. The lens on my DVD player has been crapping out so I took it in today for "them" to take a look at and fix, or at least make right somehow (warranty and all that, you know).

It'll be at least a week before I get it back!

Don't they understand ... there are movies in the wings? In the on deck circle? What am I suppose to do? Read a book?

cinema paradiso

Finally, after all this time, I've posted my confused and rambling thoughts on Guiseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso. (I suspect this longer version, called "the Newer Version" on DVD, is a different movie than that of the North American theatrical release back in 1989.)

rhetorical question

Why am I awake at this time of night and writing ... nothing! ... when I know I will feel like ca-ca in the morning?

Mysteries of life ...

northern lights

So the Northern Lights were out tonight. I saw them through the window. Diddled a moment or two with the computer then went out on the balcony to get a better look at them and ...

Gone.

They were out for something like 17.5 seconds. Grrr ..... !!!!!! What's the point of living in this part of the world if ya can't see the ding-dang Aurora Borealis????

books - what happened here?

Having read Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, I've recently been reading Lost (both books by Gregory Maguire). The first (Wicked) was a great novel. The second (Lost) ... well, it sucks.

What happened?

In the first, you get a very interesting, intriguing character study. Though certainly not the easiest to like person in the world, Elphaba (the witch) is sympathetic and fascinating. I think this is partly due to the novel showing us her life from childhood through to and including adulthood. It also gives us interesting supporting characters that balance off the disagreeable quality of Elphaba.

All of this is missing in Lost where the main character (Winnie) is just disagreeable. And it's relentless. No childhood to help us understand why she is the way she is. Few interesting supporting characters balancing her out. It's just an endless stream of Winnie's smart-ass, defensive cynicism. For example, "She was not very religious, preferring to take her fantasy safely in the pages of books rather than in the uplifting superstitions of ideologues..." The novel is literally crammed with lines like this.

As for the dialogue, most of it seems pointless, as if the Maguire is padding to make a word count quota. The story itself is aimless. It wanders here and there with no sense of having any direction and the sentence structure and word choices seem intended to baffle and obscure. You keep wondering, "What the hell's he trying to say?"

Finally, the endless literary references are tedious. It's nice to know the author is well-read but so are many people. When it comes to a reading, why should we care? Just get on with the story. Maguire ain't no Borges, an author whose references had a purpose. In Lost, they seem intended to simply impress us with the author's erudition. Again, who cares?

As you can see, I'm not particularly thrilled with Lost. Maybe it was written to fulfil some contractual obligation. I don't know. But if you want a good book, this isn't it.

I suggest you read Wicked, and excellent, well-thought out novel that is hugely rewarding.

who 'her' is - (think Britney)

I landed on a site that had a reference to "her." I didn't know who it was referring to so I clicked it and landed on britneyspears.com.

My only opinion on Britney is this: with the kind of money she must be making you would think she could buy some clothes.

Don't expect to see Britney in Canada anytime soon. Dressed like that she wouldn't last two minutes. (And please, please ... Could you just once show up on TV and do a song without doing the lip-sync thing?)

of course ...

Today, of course, the outdoor hockey game behind us, the temperature is on the rise. It's angling for the 0 Celsius mark. It's already at -8.

That may not sound like much for those who reside in warmer climes but when you think that yesterday began at -25 and the 56,000 or so people at the outdoor game at Commonwealth Stadium endured roughly -19 ... well, it's almost toasty.

very Canadian

I don't usually go in for this kind of sentiment but really, does it get anymore Canadian than this? A hockey game played at temperatures of roughly -20 Celsius?

The only disappointing element to the entire affair was that the wrong team won. The Habs dumped the Oil 4-2 (or something like that). On the upside, in the old-timers game we won 2-0, thanks to Grant Fuhr and Bill Ranford.

Anyway ... damn chilly day but a great one for hockey. (As an aside, it was also a good day for the Guinness and Strongbow cider mix. Made the games very enjoyable.)

questions about cold

What to do? It's still freakin' freezing outside and I have to go to the Safeway to get food. What to do? What to do?

Also ... needed to hear some music so I set the music maker to the 1980's. Well, you don't realize how much of it sounded the same, or how banal a lot of it was till you do that. On the other hand, they did slip in Echo and the Bunnyman, and this provided some redemption.

knacker knockin' Heritage Classic

Testicles have a sound like castanets when it's knacker knockin', scrotum shrivellin' cold like it is today, Saturday, which dawned at a crisp -25 Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit). Lovely weather for sitting outside for the Heritage Classic between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens - the first ever NHL game played outside. (With temperatures like this, quite likely the last one too!)

By game time, my guess is the temperature will be around -15 Celsius or so ... and dropping!

better to play than to watch

Following Sunday's Grey Cup, we now have Saturday's Heritage Classic hockey game to look forward to, outside in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. The Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the Edmonton Oilers.

For those attending, it's best to be on the ice playing. Though still a few days off, the guess is we can expect a chilly evening. Edmonton's weather should be cool - the estimate is -15 (C)/5 (F), making it hemorrhoid weather for those sitting on their bums and watching. Over the next few days, winds will shift. In a day or two they'll be coming from the north which means an Arctic butt-freeze is headed our way. By game time ... Well, let's call it bracing.

a good, not great, film

The night being slow and uneventful, and television broadcasts being as uninspired as you might expect on a Monday, I rewatched High Crimes. It was pleasing. A good, not great, film.

we have a Grey Cup winner

A number of beverages later, we're pleased to say Edmonton won the Grey Cup.

Today we watch the 2003 Grey Cup. In a couple of hours the Edmonton Eskimos will take on the Montreal Allouettes. The biggest question for me is, where will I watch it? It's the time of year when I hate leaving the house.

(Actually, I'm like that all year long, but even more so now.)

And for the record: Go Esks!

I'm giving some thought to watching Silverado tonight. I haven't looked at it for a while. Who knows? Maybe my opinion will have changed. Meanwhile ....

I'm in the process of getting the latest Microsoft security patch ... I think. It's taking forever so either it's mind-numbingly huge or their system is very slow and cumbersome. I wouldn't mind, since it's all in the background, but I want to shut down my system and get my work lap top going. (There's only the one high speed connection and ... well, whatever. Let's just say I can't have them both running at the same time - more a logistics problem than a technical one.)

But why would you care? I've no idea. But I wanted to write something today and I thought I'd whine about this interminably slow download.

By the way, you'll often come across the words there, their and they're mixed up in my writing. Apparently my fingers have a mind of their own but not one that's attuned to correct spelling. I can't believe the number of times I get these mixed up.

Toodles.

Our latest signage:

Something for all you Matrix lovers. (But who will direct it? How about George Lucas?)

Now this is bang on: The Wailing List. I found the link on Seth Godin's blog.

Alberta has been absolutely lovely today. It resembles the freakin' Apocalypse. Snow! Wind! Rain! Everything but heat! The cloud-crowded skies have redefined the word "gloom."

Why am I living here?

One of the things I neglected to mention in my review of The Matrix Reloaded was the music at the end, over the credits. Good God! Could they have found anything more loud and annoying? As I recall, the first film had some great music in it. But in this one ... geez, it borders on being abusive. Who's dumbass choice was that anyway?

Well, it's not as if this comes as any surprise: Spam is starting to hurt email. It's from Pew Internet and American Life, a project studying the Internet and its impact on ... well, everyone (it's a U.S. organization).

I can't find anything on the site that shows what "Pew" refers to. Is it someone's name? An acronym? Who knows ...

Here's the discouraging thing about this report: "Some 7% of emailers – more than eight million people – report they have ordered a product or service that was offered in an unsolicited email."

And that's why we get spam. The boneheads rule.

What to do? They are planning to release the 1983 Scarface yet again (they just released the two disc anniversary edition).

Who cares? Certainly not me, except ... They are saying the next version (the very expensive version with lots of hoo-hah inside like pictures - yawn) will also have the original 1932 version with Paul Muni! In other words, the only Scarface I want to see, the one directed by Howard Hawks!

So what to do? I have no interest in the 1983 version. And I can't afford the price they're asking, especially for a movie I don't really like (the 1983 version).

How else to get the 1932 film without having to get the 1983 ... hmm. The bastards!

''Our goal has always been to sell the Gardens to a buyer that would respect the history and heritage of the building,'' Bob Hunter, senior vice-president and general manager of MLSE, former owners of the historic Maple Leaf Gardens.

In that spirit, they sold it to a grocery store.

Having endured a dry summer where half the province went up in flames, B.C. is now drowning. Rains fall like unending elephant piss. The upside, if there is one, it's sort of a different part of the province.

As for those of us in Alberta, well we are getting a small taste of it today. Not sure if it's the same system causing it. But it's damp here and fertile ground for headaches and depression. So don't be fucking with me today. I'm in no mood. None of us are. Grrr.

(And do yourself a favour ... don't be messing with anyone in B.C. today. You never know ...)

You know, it seems to me far too much time is wasted at work doing unproductive things. When I think back on an average work day, the amount of actual productivity I have probably amounts to one hour, spread out in unequal bits throughout the day.

And all that pissed away time seems such a waste. I'd rather be reading, writing, watching a movie or otherwise doing something that engages my brain. As oppose to engaging my capacity to endure the tedium of the average "work" day.

I have just posted what has to be one of the worst written pieces I've ever thrown together: my take on The Treasure of the Sierre Madre.

Unfortunately, I'm about to rush out but hopefully I'll have this howler fixed sometime soon. In the meantime, you can take a look and see what gets written when I have no idea what to say and I'm rushing to get it said.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

This has been a disagreeable week. And a costly one. A person's ignorance can bite them on the ass at almost anytime, as did mine.

Since September began, my cozy little world of condo living has been deconstructing. Yes, there is the usual housekeeping that has lain unattended for a very long time. Balls of cat fur blow through the rooms like rolling tumbleweeds. The cat goes out on the balcony, eats some discarded and brittle leaves, comes back inside and finds a new place to throw them up. Clothes accummulate in several piles awaiting a wash that never comes.

As well ... the strings of the vertical blinds all seem to have frayed and broken in tandem. The toilet has been running ceasely, unbeknowst to me, but certainly know to the utility company which has charged me a mind-numbing sum. And on the subject of plumbing, apparently there is a humidifer somehow attached to my furnace and it has been leaking. Yes, leaking and destroying the condo below me. There is a bill headed my way soon ...

As the expression goes ... who's cornflakes did I shit in anyway?

Finished reading Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company and it was very good. I kept expecting certain things. One delight of the book is that they didn't happen; it surprised me by going somewhere else.

Having finished the book, I've now gone back to his earlier novella, Shopgirl. I've barely begun but it seems good as well and I read somewhere they are now making it a movie. It appears it will star Steve Martin (surprise - he also handled the screenplay) and the youthful and attractive Claire Danes.

I am in a happy place right now. Yes. Two reasons: reading and writing. Let's start with the latter:

There is not a lot to say. I began writing yesterday and soon found I was writing a story I had wanted to write for some time. Quite often, the business of simply starting to write - anything, whatever pops into my head - is what kickstarts the engine. Soon I find I am no longer rambling; there is a story emerging and things start to snowball.

This is what happened yesterday when I began. The story I had wanted to write crept into the paragraphs. Of course, I don't know what that story is. I know only vague details. The writing process is what reveals the story. So I won't know the complete story until I am finished.

The other interesting thing is how the story keeps changing as I write. What I thought was the story is not the story at all - the details evolve. They transform. And, the story I thought I wanted to write also appears to be an excuse to write a different story. The original story idea is actually a MacGuffin for another.

Anyway ... It's all very interesting to me. Hopefully this story will be completed soon. If it's any good, perhaps I'll put it online. (It may be a novella as opposed to a short story - don't know yet.)

As for the reading ... I picked up a new book by Steve Martin yesterday. It's called The Pleasure of My Company and it's very good. It's funny ... or perhaps I should say wryly humorous, or something like that. It's not something I've been laughing out loud over. I've simply been smiling a lot while reading it.

I really like the main character (the narrator). It reminds me somewhat of the main character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (a book I highly recommend). They are similar in tone and there are some vague (and few) similarities in characterization. It's a tone and style I really enjoy - I find it quite funny in a dry way - and have used a similar approach in some of my own shabby stories.

The only downside of the book is it's a short - about 160 pages long - so I'll be finished it very soon. You know, it seems sometimes as if the books you really like are incredibly short whereas books that don't do much for you seem as thick as the New York phone book.

But enough of all that ... Have to get back to writing my own stories now. Toodle-oo!

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.)

The other day I noticed the mysterious, now and again Scottish 'r' made an appearance in my speech. I hadn't noticed it before; I'm not sure how long it has been peek-a-booing in my words.

I get this from my father who presumably got it from his (or his mother). So he never said things like, "I'm going to wash the car." No, he said, "I'm going to warsh the car."

I've never understood that 'r' and never really cared for it. I fully intend to expunge it from my speech. Now how's that for burbling drivel? In a world of political unrest, wars in foreign lands, economic anxiety, I'm wasting bandwidth rambling about an insignificant 'r' that appears in my speech.

Well ... Today, on another subject altogether, is a bit gray, a tad breezy. But not cool breezy; it is sultry, tumescent breezy. They say we have a 60% chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and I can only hope they get this one right. Boom-boom-boom ... love a thunderstorm.

Despite an ever-tightening squeeze on my finances, I'm thinking of setting up another site - getting another hosting service. If so, I think the Burble will be moved to it. If I do, I'll probably also put terri in australia there.

But this is just musing for now.

Well, if you've been to the Piddleville home page you've seen I've finally implemented the design change there. All that's left is all those pages in the Movie Room (and there's alot of 'em).

Actually, there are quite a few Piddleville pages that need updating. Why the hell did I start this?

As you can see, Piddleville is slowing transforming itself into a new look, as attested to by the DVD list.

Still, there is some way to go. But eventually the Piddleville you know will become ... well, a lot like this, the Burble.

Why, you ask?

Why not?

A frustrating morning as I battled with cached pages and some oddly behaving code. And that's bad news since I haven't a clue what I'm doing. Oh well ...

It was all about some minor updating to the about page.

For some reason, I have had headaches for about the last month. Where the hell are they coming from? My only guess is the age old, "Stress."

Whatever the reason, I wish to hell it would stop.

Just got back from a couple of days in Vancouver - mostly Granville Island. Mostly work, but we did spend an afternoon playing the Amazing Race. Managed to see more of Vancouver than I ever had before - including an extended bike ride through Stanley Park. Yes, I was pedalling along this ...

Must find a way to move back to the vicinity of big water. Vancouver? Possibly ... but it seems so cluttered. A few too many boats; a few too many high rises. But maybe you get used to it ...

It continues to rain. Forecast reads "...60% chance of morning showers." At this point, I'd bump that up to 100%.

Thus far, July has been a slough of despond, as a French symbolist might say. Physically, psychically and emotionally it has been porridge, at least in terms of colour and consistency.

Last night, I watched Adaptation. I think I've been avoiding it because I'm not a big Nicolas Cage fan. But ... it's a great movie!

It's a very clever script; very cleverly constructed. And the performances are excellent all around. It's probably the best thing I've seen Cage do.

While the movie is good simply as a movie, it's especially fun for people who write since it satirizes writers (in a good way). The character(s) played by Cage are very recognizeable. It felt as if I was watching a movie about me.

Is that a good thing?

Who knows? But I recommend the movie. Look for another great performance from Chris Cooper. (I believe he got an Oscar for it.)

I've created a new blog for Terri to use on her travels. It's called, appropriately, terri in australia.

I don't know where this week came from but it certainly came unexpectedly. Headaches ... everyday. Usually, I don't get headaches, and they certainly are not welcome when they do show up. I still haven't figured out whether or not I had a nocturnal seizure the other day. I think so, but I can't be sure.

Whatever ... nice barbecue last night. It was a kind of a farewell thing for Terri, who leaves Sunday on an Australian adventure. Me, I'm off to Vancouver on Monday for a less adventurous, work related thing. Not too enthused at the moment.

Duh ... I'm not too swift today. It finally occurred to me that I may have had a seizure last night - a nocturnal seizure, which we believe I've had before. Why?

There's the chewed up mouth and the aches in the muscles and bones that could be explained by thrashing around spasmodically. And then there's the fact that it's been weeks since I've taken dilantin, the anti-convulsant medication.

So ... don't know that it was a seizure, but it would certainly explain today.

Yesterday ... The wind wind began in the southwest. It migrated to northwest. By the end of the day, it was southeast. During this restless moving around, it managed to go from hot and humid to cool and dry. In northern Alberta, it managed to drop a tornado off in Grimshaw, trashing the town.

For myself, the result was a restless night ... I woke several times then, come morning, I couldn't wake up. When I finally did, I had a sore throat ... what feels like the beginning of a cold/flu. As well, every bone and muscle in my body aches. I feel as if I've been beaten with sticks. What do they call that? Bastinadoed?

Anyway ... I feel like crap today. This hasn't happened overly often, but it does recur. For example, from a year ago there is this.

On the upside, today is beautifully sunny and not too hot and not too cool. Just nice.

On another note ... I'm currently reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Great main character (narrator) with a very singular view of the world (a 15-year old autistic young man with a passion for order). (The book is also available in Adobe format, for those electronically inclined.)

Though I've barely begun reading the book, the earlier verdict is: highly recommended.

Oh ... and by the way, have a happy Canada Day. (And don't be a whoo hoo!)

I just reset my archive and saved it all to a disc. While doing so, I noticed that this year has been pretty lame (as far as effort goes). I think there is maybe one entry for February and March and May of 2003 have no entries at all.

What happened during those periods?

Not sure ... but a lot of it has to do with work (the paying kind). More reason for letting it go ...

No whoo-hoos last night - but no sleep either. (As you can see, I've yet to determine who to spell whoo-hoos. Capitalized? Hyphenated? There are so many decisions a writer must make ...

fyi ... For interesting sites on informed marketing, particularly Web related, try traffick.com and seth's blog (Seth Godin - the Permission Marketing guy).

Question: why does binary have three syllables?

Tormented by Whoo Hoos

They were out last night - the Whoo Hoos. They always come out on warm weekend nights and last night being particularly warm, and the weekend being a long one, they were out in full force. By the time they left, the sun was coming up.

The Whoo Hoos are, of course, those people who yell out, "Whoooo Hoooooooo!!!!!!" They generally do this late at night after disarranging themselves physically with alcohol ... or any number of other people-altering substances.

So ... I've had about two hours sleep. Today will be a long, drag-ass day. Yawn ...

(Are you a Whoo Hoo? I hope not ...)

Finally ... I've reorganized my DVDs (and in the process discovered about 6 that hadn't been catalogued). So now they're all online in the Movie Room. The reorganization was also physical - they're all on the shelves now. However, I need to find a better shelving system.

All that remains is to clean up the rest of the mess - like the displaced books, the wasteland of dust and so on.

It's a rainy, cool day and I've no desire to go outside. After yet another period of long silence, I think I should probably update the Burble. But I think I'll do that offline, on the laptop, then paste it in later. So much to tell ... And so little of it worth paying attention to. As per usual. ;-)

As you can see, I have been changing the look of the Burble. More to follow ... yes ...

Grief and woe in Piddleville. My computer crashed. Died. Went kaput! Hard drive fried, data lost ... woe, woe, woe. My access is limited now, and I've no idea when I'll be able to update the site.

But I'm working on it ...

The most fundamental problem with Piddleville is the home page where, despite having nothing to write, I have to put up text (if only to give the appearance that there is life somewhere in the congenial Web site). And the problem with this is ... well, I'm one of those vacuous people with little to say.

This is Piddleville's tragedy.

But you know ... There was a time when I had lots to say. What happened? It may relate to the aging process. (I could attempt to grant myself some dignity by calling it the "maturing process" but who's kidding who?) The older I get the more aware I am that I haven't a clue. And the less inclined I am to let other people become aware of that fact.

(As if they can't figure it out for themselves.)

I've just changed the look ... got rid of that dark blue background to try and make this page look at least a little more in keeping with the rest of Piddleville. We'll see what happens now ... stilling struggling ...

I just closed my browser on Wired (wired.com). There was an interesting item I started to read but then something splotched itself on the screen and monstrous words started raining down from the upper part of the window in some pinhead's idea of an interesting and innovative way to communicate the benefits of whatever shit they were hawking. I closed the browser for the same reason I stopped watching TV, for the same reason I am drifting further and further from the Web, watching my disinterest grow.

It's not that I object to someone trying to sell something. It's that they are so indifferent or, worse, disrespectful of the people they would sell to. It's how they honestly believe there is nothing wrong with being rude and interrupting or intruding on someone to sell crap. I closed the browser because, like TV, the value of the page (like the value of the TV programs) was not sufficient for me to tolerate being abused.

And yes, this is how I think of Web advertising: abuse.

It’s defies the powers of the mind to comprehend but, yes, I have made updates to Piddleville. Can such things be? You betcha!

Not that the updates are anything earth-shattering. But the mere fact there is an update indicates life still exists. It also prompts a question …

What kind of self-absorbed dolt puts pictures of himself on his Web site? I’ll tell you … the sort of dolt who doesn’t have any other models for his pictures. It’s not that easy to finagle a friend into posing for an image you’ll be placing online for the world to see. (Well … it seemed like a good answer.)

By the way ... MUST update that stupid About section. It's embarrassing ...

Toodle-oo!