empathy...

i know exactly how this kid feels, eh...

you're killing me softly...

nothin' special about this pic, except for the contrast. i luv contrast. it would have been nice if i there were more illuminated trees in the background to add some depth. maybe next year. end of self-criticism.

weather doesn't look good for this weekend. so, here's a couple of movies you should catch.

trailer park boys: the movie.

let's see... ricky's still wearing that god awful checkered shirt, julian's still drunk, bubbles' still restoring shopping carts, mr. lahey's still drunk, randy's still poppin' the cheeseburgers...

well, you get the idea. nothing new here with the movie version of the tv show. gnome' sayin'?

running time was about an hour 45. they could have made it an hour tv special and retained the cheap video camera look. gnome sayin'?

however, TPB: the movie is still easily the best canadian movie since Strange Brew of bob and doug fame.

goodfellas.

if i catch any of you motherf$#kers busting my balls, i'm gonna wack ya.

ok, you see how this film has expanded my vocabulary.

seriously, you've got to rent this film just to watch joe peschi's performance as ruthless, wacko gangster, tommy de vito. ray "i'm not italian" liotta gave a pretty good performance as well. well i'm at it, kudos go out to martin scorsese's mum.

warning: alot of people get wacked. if you don't like watching people getting wacked rent the sound of music instead.

in conclusion, i can't believe they didn't give martin scorsese best director for this or any of his films...

cubist killer or just a blockhead?

door knob of the week...

steve wynn, las vegas real estate moghul, is the winner of the golden "door knob" for poking a hole in his 139 million USD picasso with his elbow. congrats! please give generously to retinitis pigmentosa research.

let's play password...

garth turner... (silence)

gaaarth turrrrnnnner... (silence)

garth...turner.

dooced!!

ding, ding, ding. you are correct!!!

steve's plan for the environment...disclaimer: i'm not a right wing fascist bloggist.

ding, dong. kyoto is dead.

time to break out the bubbly.

if it weren't for oil/oilsands, we'd all be toast, sitting on a calgary downtown street begging for loonies.

my favourite part of his green plan is the objective of reducing greenhouse gases to 45-65 percent of 2003 levels by the year 2050.

good on ya, steve-o.

if it all works to plan, i'll be pushing daisies by then.

i'm still sick and the murder of habeus corpus...

disclaimer: i'm not a bleeding heart liberal or a communist...
here's something to think over this weekend.


i can see similar events or trends happening in canuckistan...ahem, mahar, ahem, arar and assorted security certificate issued buddies.

should be fun this weekend trying to drain my head of radioactive green phlegm and stiffle a wicked cough... it's a pleasure to be alive.

have a swell weekend, my babies.

stay real,

bubba.

ps. happy bday to qt!!

red...

BABR

bridge on the river bow...

i love fall... until today when the weather turned nasty.

the weather was unbelievable on saturday though. sun drenched and hot. one of those autumn days where the sun's ray pressed down upon your face.

i had to get out.

so, i decided to embark on a BABR (Big Assed Bike Ride). First, i made my way through FCP (fish creek park). gaadd, it's beautiful down there this time of year with all leaves changing. (i'm happy to inform all bikers that the elbow drive parking lot has been officially reconnected to the east side of the park. however, the path system to the west is still in a state of chaotic disrepair. it's still impenetrable, unless you're willing to perform multiple fordings the stream. even so, the paths are strewn with fallen trees. not nice.)

from FCP, i followed elbow drive all the way downtown. i took a break on the path by eau claire. not much happening there except a group of bible thumpers were giving a public multimedia presentation extolling the virtues of their god and the benefits of avoiding the clutches of the devil. it was interesting to watch.

it was funny when their sermons were interrupted by a nearby busker posing as a bagpiper.

c'mon, no one can shout over a bagpiper. ha!

i love downtown.

from eau claire, i plodded along the bow to edworthy park (which is also beautiful this time of year) then up the mofo coulee. from there i dragged my sorry, sore ass home (i was really pooped)

i love fall on the tundra.

sunday...

nasty, nasty, nasty sunday weather. cold and wet. i'm totally not ready for winter.

i headed down to kensington to meet some old university friends. we all know my friend, ahmed. we were joined by wayne and karen. i haven't seen them in a long time.

well, we met at a cafe, across from the plaza, called higher grounds. i'm sure all my hipster calgary friends are familiar with this establishment.

i ordered a BAC (Big Assed Coffee).

it was alot of fun. i told them they were getting really old. that was hilarious.

we should get together more often.

wishes...

forgot to wish my jewish readers/friends a happy yom kippur (and a really belated Rosh Hashanah)

while i'm at it, i want to wish my islamic readers/friends (that means you ahmed) a continued happy ramadan season.

note: these wishes are in not in order of importance.

nerd is me...

ok, if knowing Mn stands for manganese (and not magnesium), call me a nerd.

here's further proof i'm a low-rank nerd:



get out and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.

boo bye, my babies.

pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance... sun tzu in the art of war.

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting... sun tzu (above pic is summit lake, waterton national park)

i can't believe i'm quoting Sun-tzu. but, he was wise, my grasshoppers.

i have this theory.

fact: canadian troops are dropping like flies in afghanistan.

i'm not a peace-nik, in this case.

however, i think they are going about the war on terrorism in the wrong way.

first, and this is a biggie, they shouldn't have tipped off the enemy in this latest battle which saw 4 canadian troops die. don't warn the locals of the impending battle. that was suicidal. it showed a certain disrespect for the abilities of the taliban and a bit of arrogance on the part of the canadians. once you become overconfident, you're toast.

it's like going into the superbowl, giving the opposing team your playbook, shouting out each play beforehand, and still believing you're still going to win...not likely.

the overall strategy as communicated by the head honchos seemed to be to maintain the "nice guy" image of canadians. well, four of them are dead as a result.

second, the canadians are using conventional means and weapons to defeat an insurgency. well, forget the armoured vehicles traveling in convoys. forget the uniforms. even forget the base at the kandahar airport. instead, wear the local garb. buy some toyota pickup trucks. mount a machine gun in the back of each truck. live amongst the villagers. establish 1-2 man outposts surrounding the villages. get to know the people. recognise strangers in the villages. stay quiet. gather intelligence. wait.

it's called a counter-insurgency my grasshoppers. it's time to think and fight like the taliban.

at the rate the canadian army is adapting to the situation on the ground, they will never win nor put a significant dent in the aspirations of the taliban. until they do, they will be sittin' ducks.

for that reason, steve should bring 'em home.

i had a dream...an awesome dream...part IV

mystery photo #43: where in cowtown can you find this piece of artwork? hint: it's found around this area of town.

i was driving around last night desparately trying to complete an assignment for photo[artifacts], the new and exciting blog just for aspiring photographers (and hacks like me). the topic of the week was speed.

the above photo ended up on the edit room floor but i thought it was kind of interesting.

check out the blog. click here. if you want to contribute, i think we can hook you up...

breaking news...

chinese digital tv has hit a new low. yummy, yummy, i'm not kidding about the name, is a fictional show about a reality show involving teams of people who are racing around the world completing various tasks. does that concept ring a bell?

i think i've finally found a job that i can sink my teeth into. all i have to do is dust off the ol' CV and find some decent references. click here to see the posting. you needn't apply because i'm perfectly suited for the job. really.

crikey...

lake cameron, waterton national park.

notable observations...

the public servants at the south calgary passport office were unusually chipper and non-stoic.

i was out running this AM and was passed by a fast walker.

i was at the airport on saturday. i didn't see dharma. she mustn't have been working that day. there was a least a thousand people in the que.

i'm developing a phobia towards crossing pedestrian bridges...

breaking news...

ralphie admitted he didn't have a clue what he was doing for the past 3 years. ralphie...i've been clueless about life for the past 3 years as well. now get to the hell to the back of the line, eh.

ralphie has accepted, upon his retirement, a post as guest lecturer at the woodrow wilson international school of babbling ex-politicians. i plan on auditing his course and plagiarising the required thesis paper.

rob anders won the conservative nomination for the riding of calgary west after his lone challenger was disqualified for having a pulse and regular brain function.