Month: October 2007

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Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Saturday had me working on finishing the last part of Midterm Madness, a proposal for a research project I’m doing for my sociology class. What’s the worst thing about essays? You need to find literature to back your stuff up. Boo! I like the format of your own website where you can spew out garbage that you think is true and people have to believe that you are well informed. Plus, they don’t ask for references.

Once I completed that, Vero and I headed over to Eric and Annie’s pad to babysit Philippe while they went out to the Sens game. Poor kid had a fever so he wasn’t doing much at all. In hindsight, babysitting a baby must be a heck of a lot easier than babysitting kids you can run around because you have to be constantly running around!

In the end, babysitting on my end wasn’t much of a success as every time I got close to him, he started crying. So Vero basically took care of him while I sat and watched Forrest Gump on TV (excellent flick! I forgot about this film.) and after we munched on some St. Hubert, we settled gave Philippe a bath, got him ready for bed and then we checked out a Harry Potter film (instead of Transformers. What the heck?! Why do you have to be scared of robots Vero, WHY?!)

I would have to say that I have seen the first Harry Potter film about…5 years ago? But it was more of a film playing in the background at Eric and Annie’s apartment so I didn’t catch most of the flick. This was the first time I really sat down and watched it.

I would have to say that the film was pretty faithful to the novel (from what I can remember!). I loved some of the choices of actors, such as Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid. He was born to play the part!

It is quite the fantastical film and I enjoyed the depictions of the various elements of the Harry Potter universe – the Quidditch matches, the owls delivering mail…it was all wonderful.

I also enjoyed the musical score created for the film. At one point I noticed that one of the parts reminded me of Empire Strikes Back and lo and behold, I found out that John Williams created the musical score for the film! Bravo!

I am looking forward to watching the rest of the films eventually. Considering the final novel is out, I think I shall re-read the novels, and intersperse the films so I can compare the two. Then I’ll be prepared to read the final Harry Potter novel (which I’ll have to find somewhere).

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Review: Settlers of Catan

Friday night saw the arrival of rainclouds and guests. Mike’s Mom and sister arrived at the house as Samantha is in town looking for wedding dresses over the next few days. While one may think this is an exciting venture, Sam has referred to it as “somewhat discouraging”. Let’s send her some good luck vibes for the remainder of the week!

I headed to the bus station Friday night to pick up Philipp who was coming in from Montreal. Unfortunately for me, his cellphone was broken so he didn’t get the message that I was going to be there waiting for him and he ended up getting off at the University of Ottawa and taking a bus to Carrie’s place. Doh! I saw some interesting characters around the bus station for that hour, along with a girl who needed to get to Toronto after her boyfriend kicked her out that morning. I don’t know if any of that was true, but I gave her 5 bucks. However, in hindsight, I should have recommended she look at a ride board at the University as you can usually find people going to Toronto for $20 (instead of whatever a bus ride costs).

After having some excellent low cholesterol spaghetti and having Carrie’s mom jump on the opportunity to tell me how to lower my cholesterol (although, I must admit I disappointed her after telling her what I eat every day!), we settled in to play some Settlers of Catan (or Seafarers of Catan…which is a different version).

Now, years ago, Carrie’s family tried to teach me this game and I didn’t grasp it and it left a sour taste in my mouth and I never wanted anything to do with it again.

Years later, here I am wanting to give it another chance. I had an excellent teacher with Ken explaining things along the way and I’m proud to say that I think I did pretty good for my first time out. Clearly, I need to think strategically in the future but whatever…it was a good game to play.

Oh! I should describe the game for those readers not ‘in the know’. Essentially, the board the players settle onto some land. So in order to build a settlement, you need to have a certain combination of cards – like one lamb card, one wood card, and one brick card. To accumulate cards, you have to be settled next to a piece of land and each piece of land has a number associated to it. Let’s say you are positioned between two pieces of land – one with lamb on it, and one with wood and the one with lamb has the number 6 on it. If any player rolls a six, you get a lamb card. So over time, you accumulate cards, which in turn, you may spend to build more settlements, or you can trade them with other players to get what you want. There’s other logistics to the game, but essentially every settlement is worth some points and the game goes up to a certain maximum.

Anything you have to put effort into ends up being a good thing in the end, much like Settlers of Catan.

I know there is a faithful following of this board game out there in Palmer’s World fan-land. Hopefully I can come play with you soon!

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The Day Where Nothing Goes According to Plan

I’m sure everyone has had one of these days. Mine occurred yesterday.

I had my written exam for a promotion yesterday which was grueling. Argh. I couldn’t get my head around it. Alright, maybe it wasn’t that bad but I was on high gear for the full four hours.

After that was completed and my brain was swollen, I had to head over to the University to get some literature to review for my report which is due on Monday. I’m going to do a sociological report on how women tend to work more in social program/policy areas than men. When I say ‘more, I mean in terms of sheer numbers of people, not the load of work they do (although I’m sure there are some theories on that!). So I have to find some literature to back that up.

The problem with this is that at the library, they have a search feature but it’s more about searching for an actual journal, not articles within a journal. That can’t narrow my search! Plus, when I finally found the link which said “Want to search for articles in a journal?” it turned out ot be a dead link and I tried a few different computers. Knowing that the search function was on their website, I figured I could just log into a computer with outside access and use that…but I needed a user name and for the life of me, I do not know my University user name as I had never needed to use it. Argh!

Tail between my legs, I admitted defeat and decided to go home, search the Internet for my sources and hopefully write my report last night.

On my way home, I pass by Mike in his truck, wave to him and continue on home. When I get to the front door I realize my house key is not on my key chain. Whaaa? Turns out that I had forgotten it in my jogging shorts the other day. I take it off the chain so I don’t have to have a ring of keys in my backside while out for a jog. Clearly, this worked against me and I was locked out of my house.

I figured that Mike must be out getting groceries or something so I just sat in the car, read The Lies of Locke Lamora for awhile, then decided to take a nap. When I awoke, it was an hour later and I realized that Mike must be gone for good. So much for my plans to work on my report!

I headed over to Rob and Jan’s place where I found a cornucopia of Hallowe’en decorations! Donna was also there which was a nice surprise since I hadn’t seen her in a few years. She now has a house out in Carp RIGHT NEXT DOOR to her parents. Imagine that! She gets the bonus of a lifetime – free food all the time!

I hung out at Rob’s place until around 9PM when Mike called and said he was back home. I sauntered into the house and called it a night as I was frustrated with the whole ordeal. It was still nice to see Rob, Janice and the kids but in the back of my head I was screaming “Oh man, if only I could have got that report done tonight!”

Case in point – get two sets of keys made and drop them off at two sets of friends close by.

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Distraction

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Study Woes

The scoop is…I hate studying. After a disastrous midterm on Monday, I have lost the will to continue. When I say disastrous, I probably got a good mark, but it wasn’t due to studying. It will occur from blind luck. What the heck? Here’s my beef – So you have a textbook that you read 4 chapters out of. Then you go to class where the Professor lectures on a given chapter pinpointing KEY CONCEPTS for your brain to digest. That’s what they are there for right? To point out WHAT YOU SHOULD BE STUDYING?

That being said, considering that my Prof gives us plenty of lecture notes, I studied them. Beauty. I was on top of the world.

In the end, the multiple choice test had nothing really to do with the lecture notes and in the end, turned out to be something that looked suspiciously like it could have been lifted directly from the textbook. Argh! I hate it when they do that. There’s only so much a person can study…I can’t be expected to memorize 100 pages of text!

So last night, in the midst of cracking the textbook for my other midterm tonight, I finally had enough and had to put everything away. I couldn’t do it anymore. Critical Thinking…argh, the bane of my existence. Reasons, conclusions, arguments…who cares?!

At this point it’s very important to realize that in the end, I’ve done pretty well over the years on midterms and everything else, so this is just my need to rant and afterwards, all will be good.

All tongue in cheek aside, I did have a moment of pure creativity where I pulled out the laptop, plugged in the guitar and within the next hour laid down some drum tracks, added some effects and voila! I have a new demo. My demos are just ideas to flesh out a bigger part of a song that will form. I love my recording equipment. It allows me to hold onto these memories. My only problem now is the fact that I was thinking of some lyrics/melody and realized I was humming the vocals of The Arcade Fire’s Keep The Car Running. Uh oh. Did I just copy someone’s entire song musically? Dang. I’ll have to go back and check that out!

In other random news while I just blabber on, I finally got around to ordering the two 7″ Smashing Pumpkins singles from their new album Zeitgeist. I’m really starting to like vinyl and I wish Canada had some which was easily accessible. I ended up ordering this from the United Kingdom (where the Pound is double the worth of the Canadian dollar. Yikes!). I figure I got a good deal on the singles, so that’s what counts. But I was tempted to pick up the Year Zero album on vinyl, but for $40 + shipping…not really worth it. Does anyone know of anywhere in Canada with some good NEW vinyl for sale?

iplaying: (AntiChrist Television Blues) – The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

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Frugal: When to Buy Things

I’m frugal. Here’s a great article on when to purchase items during the week to get the most bang for your buck.

http://www.everythingfinanceblog.com/2007/07/for-frugal-mind-cheapest-days-to-shop.html

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Defintion: Linder

Alright faithful readers…without using any resources within your power…what’s the word linder mean? My Grandmother threw that out at me and I was close but not correct…

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Just Keeps Getting Better

When I was at the Loblaw’s Superstore with Krista on Friday night, I was killing time when a man asked me if I wanted to get a bone density test done. Heck, why not?

So it turns out that my calcium intake is great…above my daily recommended intake. Score one for Palmer.

However, when they put my foot into an ultrasound machine to measure my bone density, the pharmacist on hand showed me how the results indicated that my bone density was at 79% of what it should be at my age.

Pharmacist: “You don’t drink enough milk.”
Me: “I have at least one glass a day.”
Pharmacist: “Then you aren’t eating enough yogurt.”
Me: “I have two of those small cups a day.”
Pharmacist: “Well, then it’s your muscle. Do you do muscle exercises? Like push ups?”
Me: “No, I guess I’ll start doing those.”
Pharmacist: “Yes, and eat a lot more yogurt.”

So in the span of two weeks, I have had the following recommendations from medial officials on how to fix me up:

For High Cholesterol: Eat fish three times a week.
For Low Bone Density: Eat more yogurt. Also, do push ups.

It’s just not my week, is it? I mean, I am starting to realize the term ‘ignorance is bliss’ really is bliss. What irks me the most is that I would understand completely if I thought I was unhealthy and eating crap all the time and that was the cause. But no…the doctors can’t really pinpoint a cumulative cause so it seems like they throw out a ludicrous statement like “eat fish three times a week and you will be cured!” and “eat more yogurt!”.

In the end, I depend mainly on my good friend, The Dish, as she has a background in nutrition and can help pinpoint some other ideas of what to eat (such as oatmeal. Yum?).

So we’ll see how the fight for the Aryan species of the Palmer develops…

Other than that, my Friday night was pretty good. I decided I needed an off-night from studying before the gauntlet so Krista came over and we tried out some old school Nintendo games like Lunar Pool (which she claims is the greatest game ever created, but we couldn’t get it to work) and we also ended up watching Grandma’s Boy. Not a bad night at all to relax my brain before the big crunch.

iplaying: Say Goodbye (Live) – Dave Matthews Band – The Best of What’s Around – Disc 2

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Reviews: New Albums in My Collection

Here’s an update on all the new albums I’ve picked up in the last while AFTER I’ve had a few listens. Short and sweet reviews in some cases as…there’s just so much to write!

The Colour and The Shape – Foo Fighters
10 years later, this is the first time I’ve ever heard this album. I’m just starting to get into Foo Fighters and I’ve realized I’ve missed out in the past decade. This album was remastered (read: loudened) and bonus tracks have been added. It’s a killer album with those great singles you all love – Monkeywrench, My Hero, Everlong…classic staples of alternative airwaves in the 90s. Two thumbs up and the cover of Baker Street is beautiful. If you don’t have this in your collection, do yourself the favour.

Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace – Foo Fighters
Not to be outdone by an album they released a decade ago, Foo Fighters have released the follow-up to In Your Honour (which was a double album – one album hard, one soft). They’ve taken the elements of hard and soft and applied them to a slew of tracks on this new release. Essentially, Foo Fighters have built the album I’ve always wanted to create. I love the dynamic of hard and soft within the same song. The entire album is great…no filler tracks here. There’s even an acoustic song that has Mike drooling at the mouth for its great solo. Highly recommend this album for rock fans.

Amnesiac – Radiohead
Seeing that it’s the fall, I picked up a Radiohead album. This is the follow-up/brother of Kid A which is the beginning of Radiohead’s ventures into ‘other than guitar’ rock. Imagine yourself with digital instruments in front of you and being asked to create some music. That’s what Radiohead have done. Upon the first few listens, I believe I like Kid A better than this album. There are some great tracks like Knives Out but overall, I don’t think I will be listening to this one all too much. Time will tell.

O – Damien Rice
I picked this album up after hearing him perform before the Pumpkins took the stage at the Osheaga Festival. I liked what I heard from 100 meters away. Damien Rice is chock full of acoustic goodness along with some cello. I listened to this a few times while studying this weekend and it put me in a good mood. Very low key but very cool also. He has the power of song on his side. Plus, he can really rock the dynamic of soft/loud…take a listen to the hidden track Prague for an example. It starts out with something that sounds like he is in some empty bathroom in Amsterdam and then ascends into chaotic madness of your brain literally melting…then it tones back down. BEAUTIFUL! If you like low key players like Jack Johnson, please give Damien Rice a chance.

Into The Wild – Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder’s solo album which is the soundtrack for his good buddy Sean Penn’s new film – Into the Wild. Dealing with the story of a man who left society to live in the wild, the soundtrack encapsulates that feeling of loneliness and utter silence around you in the woods. I have yet to see the film, but can only imagine watching it with this great soundtrack. What a great time to release this album…a walk around the block in the cold chill of the night is perfect time to listen to this album. In fact, there were a few times this week that I left the house for that sole reason. Just to walk out in the darkness and the gripping cold on my breath. A low key album with acoustic tunes thrown about but with the booming voice of Eddie Vedder. Some of the tracks clock in at a minute long as they are used as filler music for the soundtrack but it doesn’t make them any less spectacular. Highly recommended.

The Limitless Potential
This was the remixed tracks of Nine Inch Nails that I was talking about last month. I have given it a few listens and while all the tracks are pretty great, I must admit that more variety is needed. Most of the tracks are a remix of the single off of Year Zero – Survivalism. It gets tiring listening to 30 tracks where half of them are the same song, but remixed. I would recommend downloading this album (as you can’t get it in the stores) and picking your favourite tracks to listen to. Also, stay tuned for an official release from Nine Inch Nails in the form of a Year Zero remix album called Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D. For those of you in the know, you’ll know how to read this.

The Best of What’s Around – Dave Matthews Band
I ordered the Dave Matthews greatest hits album off their website awhile ago because it offered a bonus disc which had the longest live track in their repertoire which was recorded here in Ottawa! I figured I needed it if I were going to get into the Dave Matthews Band so I ordered it. Of course, if you’re a fan of Dave Matthews, then this album is naturally a favourite as it is a greatest hits album. I enjoy it. It was a good introduction to the Dave Matthews Band. It was different than I expected as I had only heard acoustic renditions played or heard live tracks (such as Cortez The Killer). There is so much for to the band than a man and his acoustic guitar. This will tempt me to pick up one of their other albums but I don’t know if I’m sold completely on the band yet, although I know everyone and their dog love them. I have the same feelings for The Tragically Hip. I enjoy their music, but not to a point of fanaticism.

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My Weekend with Jason

Jason Voorhees that is. I’m watching Friday the 13th Part 2 right now in preparation for Hallowe’en. I love October when all the scary movies come out on TV. I figured I would just pick up a few films on cheap DVD, but after some research found out that no one has ever released a Director’s Cut of a Friday the 13th film (hence, some gore cut out in the films we know now). OH! There goes someone’s head…man, if you can see heads flying off of bodies, what the heck did they cut out?

Anyhow, I downloaded Friday the 13th to watch over the weekend. OH, here comes Jason! Who would have thought? Friday the 13th is not a bad series. I enjoyed Parts 1-4 the most. It made for a good whole story but then Part 5 was just stupid and then came Part 6 and 7. I’ve never seen the later ones because of the lack of goodness going around.

I’m watching these films as background images really as this was the weekend of studying. These are the weekends where I hole myself up inside the house for the entire weekend, crank some study notes out and then study them while having a film in the background. I think I really understand the Sociology class but the Critical Thinking is…strange. A lot of it is common sense but then they have terms which I have to memorize. I hate memorization. I think my brain isn’t wired for memorizing things as I always have a hard time with lyrics and always need my lyric book in front of me.

Other than that, I caught up on some X-Men comic books, watched what I ate (cholesterol-wise of course) and just vegged around. I’m going a little stir crazy at the moment but being stir crazy sparked some creativity and I finished a couple of songs I was writing a few weeks ago. The music is down, I just have to apply some lyrics and voila! I think these will be the ones I ship off to Troy and he can think of other ideas of what to do with them (aka, add some lead guitar and think of some structure elements).

Oh oh, don’t go into that dark room! Man, what is with the stupid people in horror movies? Oh, at least you are smart enough to bring a knife with you. Or…is that an ice pick? Yeah, that isn’t going to be good for anything lady. You know what I like about old school horror films? They were so cheap to produce that they could release one every year! That’s a good way to get the franchise going…look at the Saw series. They release a film every year around Hallowe’en. It’s something to look forward to. Saw will become like the old school horror films with a great franchise ahead of them – they have classic scenarios that repeat and that’s what people like. It’s like AC/DC. Everyone loves how it all sounds the same. 😉

I also picked up a new book on Friday called the Lies of Locke Lamora (sp?). I am starting to pick up some books that Paul and Miguel recommend on The Wolfshack and this one sounded intriguing. I’ll let you know how it is.