Does it never end? I thought I would have a week to myself without any classes or exams to worry about.
My last exam -> This Saturday night.
The start of the summer class -> Three days later on the Tuesday.
*sob*
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Month: April 2006
There are so many things I wish to write about but didn’t have the time yesterday but perhaps I’ll start off with a little story of our friend Agelaius phoeniceus.
I was thinking that I had the bird beat a few days ago when I decided to move my car eight spots farther down the parking lot to avoid Agelaius. I pull into the parking lot space #8 while listening to some morning news, minding my own business when I put it into park and am about to hop out when I freeze.
“Where is Agelaius?” I ponder.
I scope out the territory and don’t see Agelaius anywhere so I think I am safe. It is raining out there so perhaps birds lay low for the time being. I reflect on the fact that I don’t really know a lot about birds at this point in my life and wonder if I am missing out not being a bird watcher. My own mother emailed me the other day and indicated that it is not a morning dove, but a mourning dove. Funny how the spelling of a word can bring such a happy picture of a bird to a tragic one.
I exit the vehicle seeing that the bus is waiting at the stop and it has been known to pull away at the last moment. I have 50 meters of pavement to dash across so I close my door and look around. I’m safe! Agelaius is not to be seen!
At the half way mark I am feeling pretty good until I hear the shrill cry of the Banshee. In other’s ears, they hear “Tweet, tweeeet!”. In mine I hear “You thought I was gone. I have returned. I will wreak havoc on your vehicle.”
In fear, I turn suddenly to find out where my arch enemy is to find that he is hopping and shitting along someone else’s car. Excellent. Perhaps he will be amused for the entire day with this other person’s vehicle, although I now wonder if I should leave a note on their car indicating that I wish to create a task force (perhaps Delta Force?) to take care of this problem.
All was well when I got back to my car that night to find it had rained on it all day long and most of the crap on the car that I had failed to wipe off was gone.
Fast forward to this morning, I am feeling like a new man. I still decide to pull into Parking Spot #8 (a few meters away from my old spot, but all that more to run to the bus with) and am feeling good. The sun is shining, I hear Bluesfest is coming to town (holy crap, I just read Dose on the bus this morning and found out that Matt Mays and Sam Roberts are playing together. I am in heaven.), and life is good (other than the exam I have to write on Saturday night). I hop out of the car.
“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” I hear.
I peer to my right and there he is. The bane of my existence. Agelaius up in a tree. I look around. There are no other cars in this section because I came in a little early this morning.
“Oh no.” I think. What do I do?
The bus pulls up and I have 45 meters to cover. Do I go back to the car and park it on the far side of the lot? That will mean I have to wait 10 minutes for the next bus. But I will have peace of mind when I think of the bird shit and the bird clawing away at my paint job. In a rash decision I run to the bus thinking that Agelaius will find other cars closer to his tree to bother today.
But I still felt the pain when Agelaius swooped in towards my car and started to hop around the side mirror so it could see its reflection in my window. You’ve won this time Agelaius…but the war is not over.
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Review: The Island
I’m just full of reviews today so I’ll keep on going. I mean to always review every piece of new media that gets into my hands but it’s surprising how much media that actually entails!
Last night, Mike and I felt like grabbing a movie so we headed over to Blockbuster and scanned the Previously-Viewed Movies section.
Here’s where I go on a tangent in saying that I rarely rent movies any longer, I go ahead and buy the previously viewed ones. Especially the ones under $9.99. For example, we bought 2 movies for $17 + tax which comes out to $19.55. Voila. Instead of renting a movie for…$5.75 (help me out here people…cannot recall how much a rental costs), I can go ahead and just purchase it for a few dollars more, which allows me to lend out the movie to my good friends (read: If you want The Island, come and get it.)
I haven’t bothered pawning off some of the lamer ones that I’ve bought on a whim, but I’m sure I could get at least $5 for a DVD.
Anyhow, back to my story about The Island.
Oh man, we loved this movie. It kicked serious ass. It had a sci-fi story within a mega action movie. I am a fan of the sci-fi but let me tell you that it isn’t hardcore sci-fi so don’t worry about that stuff…just watch it for a cool story and super, super action sequences. We’re talking “OH man, they didn’t just do that, oh, OH!” action sequences where a guy gets a freakin’ crowbar to the face and you’re thinking “Ouch.”
You know, sometimes I want to say a lot about a movie, but then I don’t want to ruin anything about it so I don’t bother saying anything. Just like now. The only thing I will leave you with is…best.movie.ever.
Ha ha, all kidding aside here, Scarlett Johanssen. *meow*
I give it three thumbs up. I really think this was the movie that got away from me in 2005. Why did I not know about this movie? It’s like no one has ever told me about it! I take that back…I can’t remember who (Eric?) mentioned it a few weeks ago, but they were the ones who planted the seed in my head to go check this movie out.
Dad, I know you’re reading this – make this your next movie to rent. Although, we know it’s the summer so no movie rentals will happen until the winter.
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Review: Timecode
I forgot that before we watched Deliverance on Saturday, Mike, Eric and I watched a movie called Timecode as recommended by Benoit.
Timecode’s story revolves around a bunch of people working at a production studio and there’s a whole plot about people cheating on one another.
Storywise, not the most original or intriguing storyline, but that’s not the best part of the movie.
The movie is filmed in real time, with four different cameras. Your screen is divided up into four quadrants so that you can see each of the four cameras. At first, the story focusses on different people and different settings, but as the movie goes forward, some characters/scenes interact with the other, which basically gives you two, three, four different angles to one shot.
The movie was a little hard to follow in that they still have people talking in one scene while another is talking. They mix the audio so the one you should be paying attention to has higher volume but at some points I was thinking “Wait, who’s talking? What quadrant should I be watching?”
Plus, it didn’t help any when Salma Hayek starts having sex with one guy and then all of us kind of missed what was going on in the other three quadrants. 😉 Ha ha.
All in all, I would like to say that this movie is worth seeing just for the method they filmed it in. Supposedly the took 15 takes to get the final version – keep in mind that the film revolves around a very roughed in storyline – the rest of it involves the actors/actresses improvisationaling their roles…they even include Version 1 on the DVD so you can see how much was different.
If you don’t mind watching a movie with a ‘so-so’ storyline and are more interested in the concept behind it, I suggest you check out Timecode.
Also, a special ‘sorry’ goes out to Vero seeing as she wanted to watch it but we (I) went ahead and watched it without her. I’m sorry and that won’t happen again.
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Review: Deliverance
The year: 1972.
The movie: Deliverance.
I remember first hearing about Deliverance when my dad downloaded the theme song which is Dueling Banjos. I never thought about actually watching the movie since I was thinking it was a western.
This weekend Eric said he had bought the movie so we popped it in.
This movie was excelent, albeit a little freaky. It revolves around 4 men on a canoe trip (Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox) and something awful, AWFUL happens to them on the canoe trip (I won’t spoil it for anyone. I wonder if I should since the movie is freakin’ old) and then the rest of movie shows how each man deals with the stress which comes from what happened. We’re not talking about someone losing their canoe or anything. Let’s just say you wouldn’t want your enemy to go through the same fate.
Anyhow, I enjoyed the movie, although I was freaked out in certain parts since I have this weird thing about lake water in which I always think I’m going to rub up against something in the water which shouldn’t be there…so the movie freaked me out in a few parts.
All in all, you should definitely spend the $10 and pick this up at your local Future Shop. Two thumbs up.
I enjoy the older movies where they were less about special effects and more about the story and character development/analysis. They got into the brains of individuals.
Check it out.
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Pros and Cons to Exam Studying
Pros:
- The feeling you get when you think you’re ready.
Cons:
- Missing the Jeff Martin concert.
- Missing the Jeff Martin concert with surprise guest Oliver Black opening up. (insert Darth Vader’s ‘Nooooooo!’ yell from Episode III here)
- Finding out that 85% of the questions on the exam were the same ones in the three test the Prof had in class.
Pros (again):
- Realizing that you definitely aced the exam…but you could have made it out to the concert.
Lesson Learned:
- Never stop rocking. Go to the concerts no matter what or a magical night will escape you.
How do I start this review of the Sam Roberts Band from Friday night?Well, perhaps I can steal a little title from the band’s posting about the show: 5 Alarm Show.
We showed up to the Capital Music Hall in time to check out the merchandise and grab a few beers. We positioned ourselves on the left of the stage near the Smirnoff Ice cooler. I don’t really like hanging to anywhere other than the center of the stage due to liking how the show sounds from that vantage, but I was pleasantly surprised after the first band came on and it wasn’t a bad spot at all.
Malajube was pretty cool actually. I had never heard of them, and now I knew why. They were a Francophone band from Montreal! I’ve never seen a French band open for an English one…I enjoyed them and my other co-horts in crime did also. It was hilarious how the singer threw on a monkey mask for the last half of the set. At first I thought they had a beaver on one of their amps! They definitely didn’t have much room on the stage as one of the guitarists was stuck behind one amp. Anyhow, I would definitely recommend checking these guys out. Catchy tunes.
Judging from the hockey playoffs, we figured we wouldn’t see Sammy and les boys anytime before 10:15. Sure enough, around 10:20, they show up and start off with Mystified, Heavy and Taj Mahal and then get into Dead End. I would have preffered if they opened up with a rocking tune, but they were decent enough. Near the end of Dead End, the sound went out on the PA speakers so we couldn’t hear the vocals at all. When I say ‘at all’, I mean they were just really muffled with the rest of the mix coming from the amps. At the end of Dead End, we realized the fire alarm was going off and the band was wondering what the heck was going on. Judging from the post on their site, the smoke machine set the alarms off (which is ridiculous in my thoughts…what kind of venue is this? Oh, New Capital Musical Hall, you have a long way to come.) The band said some words which I couldn’t catch, but they had decided to go on with the show. This wouldn’t have been too bad if the PA system had been on, but it was not so the band were just full out amps on stage. I suggested to my friends that someone pass them a note asking them to crank it to ’11’. 😉
The Gate, Hard Road, and The Resistance all lacked the oomph but near the end I realized that the band was giving it their all and that I shouldn’t let a simple thing like a PA system bring my mood down. I gave it my all and the rock gods graced us with the PA system again once The Bootleg Saint started. Also, the roadies wisened to the dilemna and duct taped a towel over the fire alarm bell right next to the stage. Kudos their thinking. Doesn’t look like the venue staff were thinking about much at all.
You can see the rest of the setlist attached. Mind Flood was amazing. Brother Down was amazing. That’s how you get the crowd going. Oh man…everything was amazing.
Encore #1 brought out the acoustic for Uprising Down Under and then they ripped into Eileen and Rarefied. Excellent tracks.
By this time I had moved up near the stage into the middle just to get a little more into the show. I would like to think that the crowd had something to do with the second encore happening, cause they were great. I’m not generally impressed by the Ottawa crowds, but I thought they were worthy near the end.
They came out for Bridge to Nowhere (which seems to not be their choice checking out the setlist) which was great. They left the stage and all was good.
During the show, there were chants for James which was great since it was his first show back after surgery. Sammy said a few words about his return which was a nice touch.
All in all, I enjoyed the show once I got past the PA system going down (which was REALLY bringing me down for a song or two).
I passed on the tour shirts this time around as I can’t say that I really care for them. I picked up a sticker for my guitar case with the album artwork of Chemical City when I went outside.
OH! Almost forgot the best part. My girlfriend managed to snag a setlist for me which at one point I had reached for out of her hand and it ripped since it was all soggy (must be the beer!). Ah well. Also looks like Mystified, Heavy was underneath the duct tape that was holding it down and got ripped off. She also managed to get a guitar pick.
All I can ask for is that someone magically taped this concert (which is doubtful. Doesn’t seem like there is a taper movement in Ottawa).
Hope everyone has a good show when they catch them on this tour!
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Tulip Festival 2006
http://www.tulipfestival.ca/en/Concerts/
Check out the concerts coming to town for the Tulip Festival!
I will be out on May 12 to see the Novaks and the Trews if anyone wants to join.
As for the rest of the lineup..can’t say I’m overly interested. I think I shall just pick up an evening pass for this Tulip Festival.
I also don’t care how they put all the musical acts during the weekend…ESPECIALLY during the long weekend in May. We all know that’s not a time to hang around inside the city. 😉
More commonly known as the Agelaius phoeniceus (who am I kidding…who uses these words?), this little fellow has been hopping to and from the cars in the park and ride lot for the past few weeks.
At first, I thought “Hey, that’s pretty neat. A bird who actually hops around on the mirrors and hoods of a car. It looks like it’s trying to get its reflection!” This bird doesn’t even bother flying around. Perhaps it is wounded somewhat?
Then when the bus pulled out today and I looked back at my car, I noticed the bird had moved to my car and then I realized this is where all this bird shit is coming from every day on my car.
Red-winged blackbird, you’re going down! I’m thinking of putting some glue on the mirrors.
In other bird news, Mom was saying how she heard some morning doves near my house when she up here…turns out there is a morning dove nest right next to the neighbour’s door. The bird stays there constantly as it is protecting its eggs. Craziness. I live in a zoo!
At least the rabbits seem to have disappeared…
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Accupuncture
I was talking with a woman at work today and she was talking about allergies and how traditional medicine never helped her son out with his allergies, but someone mentioned they should try an accupuncturist.
She was not a believer in the alternative medicines, but she gave it a shot, and it worked.
Her son also had migraines so bad that he would faint and all the doctors in the area could not figure out how to cure it. They tried medicine after medicine after medicine. She went to the accupuncturist and after ten visits with him, he was cured. No migraines anymore.
She also has a daughter who was allergic to cats and after going to accupuncture, she now has two cats.
She had awful pains in her feet at one point in her life and went to the accupuncturist. Afterwards, no pain.
You all know me and medicine…I stay away from it. But I know there are a lot of you out there that suffer from allergies, migraines, etc.
I can say that after hearing these stories, I am more open to trying alternative medicines like accupuncture. They sound pretty wild.
She was a sceptic when she first went and let them know it. All they said was if it doesn’t cure them, they can have their money back. You have to know it’s going to work if you’re going to give a guarantee like that!
So, to all those out there reading this and have something that has been bothering them and the traditional doctors can’t cure it…try your hand at alternative medicines.