Facebook?

Why I'm dabbling in this social networking phenomenon is beyond me. I've got 'See Vous Play' to edit. Facebook me!

When a vlogger suggests something and says it's phenomenal, I turn to jelly. We'll see how long I stick with it.

Library Enthusiasm

I got an Orangeville Library card on my very long walk this afternoon. I'm excited about it, perhaps because I'm penny pinching lately. Or perhaps it's because I'm leading a more local & organic life since I've given up my car, and the idea that I have access to publicly funded entertainment and education is the most idealistic thing I've heard in years. Local history resources, DVDs, audionovels and microfilms! OH MY! I'm excited.

When I lived in L.A. with Jeremy, our apartment was literally next door to a library. I signed up and ripped their entire CD collection within a week; afterwards I had no reason to return. It was a children's library and the most adult books on the shelves had to do with "puberty and you."

I've already taken advantage of the Inter-Library loan program and requested a study by Celia Green called Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox of Consciousness During Sleep. I do intend on explaining why I chose that title soon enough, but I've got a bit more experimenting to do.

I'm also interested in signing out autobiographies of successful Canadians who have served their country abroad, without having to holding weapons. Diplomats, ambassadors, and Presidents of NGO's. The skills and knowledge needed to attain those positions are the very thing I'd like to study in University and one day succeed at myself. My theory is that by gaining insight into these remarkable people, their stories might shape my own.

Footpath

Now that I don't have a car, I'm walking everywhere. I'm also liking it.

Cleaning the evidance

Today I finally have the time to clean up this cesspool I've been living in.

Garbage Pants

It was pouring rain this evening, and it was the first time I had to walk home in the pouring rain since I ditched my car and hit the beat.

I put on a pair of plastic pants (garbage bags glorified with an elastic band) to stay dry. The only part of my entourage which got particularly soaked was my backpack, which stuck out of the protection of my liberated umbrella, and my shoes, which served as a gathering lake for the streams of rain cascading down my garbage pants.

Before, when I had a car, I planned for oil changes and replacing wiper blades. Now, I'm thinking about a trench coat and waterproof winter boots.

Let's take a moment of awkward silence

Google took the time to make a request on their recently infrequently updated "Official Google Blog" that we, the public, should stop using the term "google" (small g) as a verb unless we are referring to Google Inc. i.e. I'm googling on Google, not, I'm googling on A.O.L.

Read the post for yourself; I'm sure you'll agree with me that it doesn't end on a happy and innovative note like most Google Blog posts do, such as the introduction of Google Earth which left my pants wet. Google Blog is my homepage because it puts me in a good mood.

Imagine you're at your rich friend's birthday party (guess who Google Inc. is) and you're there with everybody on your g-talk contact list and you're all having a great time, eating lots of cake, smashing the pinata, and running around in the sun. Naturally, someone gets the idea to take an unopened package of party balloons (term 'G'oogle) and start filling them with water (term 'g'oogle) around the side of the house where the hose is, out of sight, accumulating a large pile.

The first balloon goes whizzing by your face and hits your buddy straight in the chest, water and bits of rubber exploding like shrapnel. Before your friend knows what happened, you've wizened up and darted to the balloon pile, tucked 10 in your tee shirt and are taking a defensive position behind a sculpted bush. Balloons begin flying in every direction, everyone is laughing and screaming and running for cover. Someone finds a watergun (lots and lots of 'g'oogle) in the garage and an all out water war erupts!

The rich kid walks out of the house after talking to his mom (lawyer), letting her know how much he loves her for keeping him safe and rich, and you lob a juicy water balloon on his virgin dry polo.

He starts to cry, maybe he's even a little winded. He runs back to his mommy and says that he's going to become generic like an escalator, or Xerox, and he hates all his friends.

Awkward silence. You feel bad for having fun now. Everybody does. What to do about the leftover water balloons? You can't keep on throwing them or else rich kid's mom is going to come out and yell at you to stop, "because it's all fun and games until someone looses a trademark! And who said that you could take that package of balloons anyways?" But she comes out anyways and shakes her finger.

The water war is over, and party goers start meandering around. Nobody wants to enjoy the party any more, either, so everyone groups into little cliques and whisper about the weather. Everybody feels guilty. "Some party" whispers a jock. "When did rich kid become such a pussy momma's boy?"

Leave a comment and make my day!

Update: October 2006

Click To Play

I've been digitally different the past while, some of you might have noticed. The month of October can do that to you. It sure did it to me. Autumn colours, awful viruses and altered surroundings abound.

Here's an update of October 2006. Where I'm at, recent decisions, excuses and a tour!

See Vous Play is on it's way, I promise. That's explained in the update.

P.S. When I say "I've started typing," I meant 'typewriting'. You know, with a typewriter!

Another Actual Conversation

me: Horses freaking reproduced at least. There ain't no pregnant cars on the road, I'll tell you that much.

Elsa: Ja, still waiting for my Mazda to give birth to a Beamer!!!

If I make it through this winter

Today I parked my car indefinitely, and am now living the dream of "Demotorizing My Soul."

If you had the time to listen to my amusing tale a few posts back, you'll remember that I'm flat broke and struggling financially, and my insurance was due today. Had I paid, I would have sunk into more debt than I've ever been, completely undoing all the payments into my debt that I've made since the beginning of the year.

I'm mildly worried about my giving me some problems in the bitter cold...

My parents were recently separated, and the house where I was living is for sale. It will eventually sell, and I had decided months ago that when that happened, I would move into Orangeville and get rid of my car. It would be impossible to pay rent AND insurance AND gasoline AND make monthly debt payments on my current salary. I was living at my Dad's in Shelburne for free, and unfortunately thought that I was saving money because I didn't have to pay for food or rent. I set up a weekly budget for gasoline and essentials and followed it rigidly; $40-$40. It was tight but I was managing, and putting away a large sum of money into my debt on a weekly basis and thinking I was doing fine. However, I wasn't budgeting for my whopping insurance bill. I was unrealistically relying on my line of credit (the very debt I'm trying to pay off) to handle the massive bill and thinking illogically.

I'm very lucky to have my wonderful friends, the Heemskerks, who have let me move into their basement in Orangeville, where I also work. With insurance, maintenance, and gasoline out of the budget, all I have to worry about is rent. My budget is tighter now than before, much tighter, but I won't have a huge surprise bill reminding me how poor I really am coming in the mail any time soon.

I'm going to bike wherever as much as possible until it snows, and then I'm going to walk or take the bus. I bought some warm gloves and long johns and a bank robber winter mask to protect against the stinging freezing rain when I'm whizzing down a hill on my bicycle. Of course I still have my leather bomber to keep me nice and warm. I'm mildly worried about my giving me some problems in the bitter cold, but my anti-malaria pills seem to be helping. It's going to be tough, but in anyone's life journey, you'll always experience offroad adventure.

I'm actually excited, in a way. I've taken control of my life by giving up a freedom, and I'm well on my way to gaining another; financial freedom!

Check out this song all about my situation on CBC Radio 3. It's like it was written about me! And the lyrics ring true: "If I make it through this winter, I'll be OK." -The Paperbacks

Another Actual Conversation

me: I can't get into craft shows.

Toni: Why? Did they ban you?

This is my enemy

"The virus is spread through the aerosolized goo that comes out of your mouth or nose when coughing or sneezing. One whiff of this viral mist is often enough to infect you. Even touching a deposited spray on tables or doors can do the trick, if you then touch your mouth or nose before washing.

And the stricken are contagious at least a day before the tell-tail symptoms of fever, fatigue and body aches appear. They can be infectious up to seven days after they become ill." - The Toronto Star

Re-vlog: Computer Problems

I just love Des, she's all around creative and impuslive.? Go visit her site after you watch the video, and send her some luvin'!

Back from the dead

My camera died a few days ago, and because the LCD screen is smashed I had no way of figuring out what possible errors might be reading on the screen. This was such a dissapointment to me, there's no way I can afford to pay for a new camera right now and taking pictures is one of my favorite daily activities.

So, today I whipped open the instruction manual and devised a button pressing scheme based on screenshot printouts to hack my way blindly through the setup menu in order to format my card.

I have brought my camera BACK TO LIFE!

It's the end of the world as I know it, and I feel?

Embedded MP3


powered by ODEO

Another Actual Conversation

me: I don't know...I think I would thrive in Toronto, but if I had the option of moving, period, at the moment, Toronto would not be on my list of destinations. Dawson, Calgary, Vancouver, CAPE TOWN? Now we're talking.

Toni: Yeah, I understand that, but it's a good stepping stone to get where you want to go.

me: I don't want to take another stepping stone; I'm sick to death of stepping stones! I want to take the elevator!

Toni: What elevator? The elevator to where?!

me: To the TOP BABY! I'm going to blog this.

editors note. Parts of this conversation were imagined. I'm sick, and unexpressive.

Look Closely

One week is all it took to strip most of the leaves from my favorite hiking spot. I really would have liked to enjoy what remained of the season, but today is the first since I got the flu that I picked myself out of bed at 8 AM and ventured outside. There's always something.

The forest is brighter now, sunny even. I can see many more birds and little critters than I could before, when they concealed their lives behind curtains of green.

And then I said...

My guidance councillors were wolves in sheep's clothing.

My Enemy

This is my foe, as of late.

Noosh Evolved - Revlog

Click image to play

Noosh Says: My friend Mike is taking a group of use to a hike he has been going on for weeks. I have wanted to blog for a long time, but I just didn't know how to edit with a PC, and some people... ahem, Mike... thought they would never see the day I post my first blog, but here I am. Just in time too! I'm about to go to Paris!!!

Wish me luck!

Noosh's first vlog experiment

Noosh needs help gathering video and editing her first vlog ever!!!  She's travelling to Paris soon, and would like to capture the entire trip for us shmoes at home.

 

Dawww, thanks! 

See Vous Play?

I know, you all must be wondering where the heck my See Vous Play video is.


No?
Really?


Oh...

Well I'm still sick and poopy and can't bring myself to concentrate on vlogging at the moment. Yesterday I took the day off and didn't even TOUCH my computer! I've been immersing myself in "David Suzuki - The Autobiography" and watching taped episodes of Lost 3 and Grey's Anatomy on VHS (Tee Voe my butt).

Bookmark me or subscribe. It will eventually be broadcast!

Fakin' It

I discovered a fake $10 bill while on the job this evening. I'm too damned determined to be the best I can be, so I told the customer (a young punk who's wrists were wrapped in bandages for boxing) that he was going to have to take a seat while I called the police. He balked and complained. He told me that if it was a real $10, he was going to get a refund, loudly, while I was on the phone with the police lady. I couldn't hear her over his whining. I glared at him and plugged my one ear. He didn't like this.

I am still sick with the flu (it's been identified), and my body is still wiped out. I need to run to the toilet at odd, inconvenient times. The kid paced around the store hissing "I ain't giving no pig my full name" and then told me he was leaving to get his mom, who was waiting in a minivan outside. It was spitting outside, the little droplets shining and fading in the headlamps of the van. Clearly she expected her son would be in and out, why turn off the ignition? He left, and reassured me "Dude, I'm not leaving, I'm getting my $10 back, this is bullshit!"

It's a crime to hand someone back a bill you believe to be fake. And it's also a crime to pick up and leave without returning once a cashier has alerted you that they are suspicious about some tender you just handed them. My bowels also thought it was a crime to exist at that particular point. In fact, they rejected their purpose in my body and decided to move.

The cop showed up late, apologized, took one look at the bill, and gave me a quick wink while whipping open a pad of paper for questioning. Turns out my hawk eyes are too sharp; my finger pads too sensitive; my intuition too tuned for your phony trickery, fakers!

Canadian Thanksgiving

Click image to play

It's Thanksgiving in Canada. We celebrate 3 weeks before the States, because our harvest on average ends earlier, due to our higher latitude.

I'm sick and thankful.

P.S. I don't know how to sound balance to save my life.

Hitch-Hike

I picked up a hitchhiker a few evenings ago. Some young teen punk with fur on his coat hood and a ball cap, all gangster and 'yo yo'. I usually don't pick up hitchhikers, because in my area they're usually missing limbs or all 'beardy' and I'm usually alone in my car. I almost mistook his fur hood for a beard. I told him this when he jumped into the car, that he should somehow hide his hood or take off his hat to reveal his socially acceptable facial hairless face. He shoved a warm $5 bill into my hand and said 'thanks' and we drove out from the frozen night. I happened to be going in his direction so he was pretty lucky. I played Radio 3 and he 'felt the mellow.'

I though it was great that I earned an extra $5 out of nowhere. That's, like, my my daily budget man! That's food for the day!!!

The next morning, I met up with a few more friends and we went on 'Mike's Hike' as it's come to be known. Significant, because I've never been known for especially physically exhaustive things whatsoever. I powered up the side of the escarpment, the equivalent of a 15 story building, and barely lost my breath. My friends were impressed, and that's always good.

My poor hand, my left pinkey finger, is inflamed. Why, oh body, do you afflict me so?

Adrienne Clarkson says...

...you can tell that someone is your friend because, when you're with them, you like yourself... - Adrienne Clarkson

Happy Birthday to Who?

Lost 3.

What the F? I'm going to poop my pants.

See Vous Play - Watch the show!

CBC has gone all out to bring you the groundbreaking See Vous Play bilingual concert in Toronto, 2006. My video is still on the chopping board, but you can enjoy the live video recording by visiting the CBC Radio 3 Blog.

I highly recommend Joel Plaskett Emergency, and Les Trois Accords. Emily Haines will woo you, and Les Breastfeeders....You must experience the tambourine man for yourself. Look closely, you might see me in the crowd, front and centre?! Look for the video camera in my hands!

Love Delivered

My wonderful friend (whom I've never had the chance to meet), Lozza, sent me a little sumthin sumthin to make me feel like a million bucks, and a million pounds.

You are awesome!

P.S. You can still see the hospital band on my arm.

http://thorntons.co.uk

This video is licenced Public Domain

Definition

Take this to heart; the defintion of insanity is "repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."

Oh the horror, the people I know.

See Vous Play - Listen Live afterthefact

See Vous Play was incredible, albeit a little long and tiring. The fusion of French and English, two cultures mixing on stage in Toronto, it left me awestruck! And let's not forget my media pass which let me vlog the entire ordeal. The video is on it's way, of course, but I can't resist letting you know about an amazing feature on CBC Radio 3's site called "Concerts and Sessions".

Visit the site and click on that tab on the top right hand corner. You'll first see the 5 most recently added concerts (I highly recommend Joel Plaskett) that are available to stream whenever you like! It's almost as good as being there, with little to no back ache. Along the top of the flash pane is an alphabetized search function that let's you browse hundreds of other bands in concert and session. Check it out right now!

And one last tip - Click on the image to the right and see where I circled. That's the popout player button, which let's you navigate other pages while you're enjoying the gig. The player stops playing if it goes behind anything, so resize your windows and give it room to breathe. So long as it's partially visible, you can enjoy the music.

Oh, and one more last tip. Create yourself a username and start combing the library, you'll fall in love with Canadian Indie!

Autumn Love

Autumn is my favorite time of the year, and today I went on a hike with five friends to drink in the delicious brilliance of the season. Each of us was armed with a camera. It's truly the digital age.

Enjoy the album!

If you please, it would be my pleasure to send you a waxed leaf so you can enjoy a little piece of this season. Let me know soon! We've only got a week and a half left till the colours fall away!

Friends:
Renee (this is more like a joke, add her for kicks)
Matthew
Tobin
Noosh
Justin (no myspace)

Damn! My friends are so attractive!

I won a hat...

...and my name is massacred by CBC Radio3 host Grant Lawrence. Or is it?? You be the judge. More on my name genocide later.

Here's the copy of my entry. I knew that I was too late to win, so I decided to earn bonus points by going all out.

*****************************************************
Sure, anybody can whip out google earth and draw a line from Edmonton to Easter Island, but let's get serious. Lines suck. Road trips are better. So here is the realistic roadtrip to Easter Island from Edmonton Alberta. Taking into account wind, and stopsigns.

***************
2987km to Edmonton to Brawley, California. This scenic trail avoids most major cities, most major trafic delays, and sends it's occupants through major world biosphere reserves. Warning. Air Conditioning is required in Utah. Brawley is the perfect location to relax for the day, as it's close to the Mexico boarder and holds all the conveniences of North American life. Stock up, because mexico is a whole other world! And pay attn to the sky...it's been said that "Mysterious Aerial Bars of Light" have been seen by local residants from time to time on the horizon.

1491km from Brawley to La Paz, Mexico. La Paz is the ideal place to launch on a boat on this journey. It's beautiful location on the Gulf of California protects from most storms and allows time for the road-sick sailors to gain their sea legs before any serious sailing is to be had.

805km from La Paz to Isla Socorro , which is occupied by the Mexico Military but helps a sailor in need any day. Stock up and avoid the dodgey burritos.

1003 from Isla Socorro to Clipperton Island. This leg of the trip was a little longer, to gear up for some greater lengths ahead. Clipperton Island is uninhabited, but has a wealth of delicious crabs. The boat will be docked and fresh crab meat will be consumed in great quantities. Don't forget the butter. And don't jump into the Lagoon, whatever you do.

2315.75km from Clipperton Island to the Galapagos. Ahh the Galapagos, a volcanic paradise of biologically unique souls. After spending some awkwardly intimate moments on the head (bad crab) our travellers can add some fresh fruit to their diet and see the turtles.

3702 from the Galapagos to Easter Island. At long last! Tired, sundried, and happy our travellers emerge unscathed and deeply moved to the scenic blah blah blah blah.

Grand Total = 12303.75 km if the wind is good and no body get's lost.

My address is below...I hope I won a cooool hat! (crosses fingers and toes)

The Vloggies!!!

Guess what?! Yours truly has been nominated for this year's Vloggies, with my short video "Spray Deodorant." I've been submitted under "funniest video." Who knew?! What a surprise! I spelled Deodorant wrong, will this blunder forego my funny?


Click for a reminder.