christmas time is here...

LB & LG are both members of their school's choir.

i had the privilege of attending their xmas concert yesterday.

they and their cohorts put on a really swell show.

and lo and behold, they sang my favourite xmas song... bless their little souls.

click here to listen to my amateurish recording.

by the way, LB was playing the piano...

this what xmas is all about, spending time with LB and LG and the rest of the family.

religious holidays are ok...

what happened to worshipping the moon?

happy non-denominational birthday (whose statutory holiday status started off as a pagan ritual) to the son (whose middle initial is H) of a super omnipotent being!

i, as one of the unfaithful infidels, don't mind being greeted with "merry christmas".

i treat xmas as a season where i get to have fun with LB and LG.

i eat alot, and i mean ALOT, during christmas.

my sister's going to be home for christmas. i like that.

greeting me with "happy holidays", "season's greetings", "happy channukah" or even "hey, schlimazel..." is ok.

people shouldn't spend so much on christmas presents.

i'm rather apprehensive about the big mall crowds.

they should split xmas. people with surnames that fall between A and M should take a day off a week before Canada Day. the rest of the people would celebrate whenever it's most convenient for them.

christmas lights are pretty but when a whole block of houses are decorated with "icicle" lights (you know the kind i'm talking about) it gets rather tacky.

i won't be watching college bowl games...

i plan on getting whupped by LG playing air hockey after xmas dinner.

i'm hoping for a white christmas. i like snow especially during the winter.

amazing race prediction.

i believe that the family of grown up siblings will win tonite's amazing race on CBS. second place finishers will be the trailer trash family from florida. third will be the 3 cute sisters and their pops.

my heart says the 3 cute sisters and their pops.

thanksgiving...

feeling a bit under the weather lately. my tummy doesn't feel so well. having an open ended alimentary canal is a mixed blessing.

shout out...

i just wanted to welcome my friend dillan to the world of macro photography with his purchase of a Canon 105 mm f/2.8 EF macro lens. live life large in a very small world, my friend.

this is gettin outta control...

theoretical solutions...

i was on my routine AM run today. dang it, that was cold... the regular route takes me by centennial high. who the hell named that place, eh? lame. i digress. i was running by the front doors when some dumb ass kid threw an apple at me. what the hell?

theoretical solution: get rid of high school. i mean that too. i'm a firm believer that once the kids learn how to read, rite and do the 'rithmetics they should move on out to the "real" world. i'd say if you haven't learned the basics by the end of jr. high you are in big trouble, my friends.

i know most hi school students are bored out of their minds. so, we should take this chance to rid ourselves of hi school.

show us some luv mr. stephen.

i luv canada.

phew... glad i got that out of the way (it didn't hurt too much, eh).

mr. stephen was batting 1.000 yesterday on day 1 until he brought up the gay marriage thing again. i can see the other parties clamping on to that lil' sound bite. who needs ralphie throwing a wrench into the conservatives' plans when mr. stephen is an expert at it himself?

when will the conservatives present themselves as the viable alternative?

theoretical solution: make conrad black the new leader of the tories... i jest say you... well, i was watching the author of "rescuing canada's right: blah, blah, blah" (the same book that qtlibrarian was floggin' at ezra's loft) on the news yesterday. according to her, the author, mr. black is deeply revered in conservative circles in canada. he has made extraordinary intellectual contributions to conservatism in this great land.

i can see myself supporting mr. black...

politics ain't rocket science...

marc garneau is the newest "star" liberal candidate in quebec. this guy's a fully qualified, card carrying astronaut and he wants to be a politician?

theoretical solution: quickly, someone slap some sense into this guy. i just can't understand this one...

hot gases are expensive...

dang it's cold out there. as i tepidly tap out this weak entry, i'm huddled in front of the 'puter drawing on any available heat given off by the crt and motherboard. why? have you seen my last natural gas bill? last i looked the ambient temperature in the house was 67 F. dang that's cold. i'm aiming for 65 F. should be seeing my breath by then...

how am i going to survive this winter?

theoretical solution: every hour on the hour take a walk outside in the minus 13 weather for 15 minutes. come back inside and admire how hot your house is.

slow news day...

where in the world is bubba?

bonus entertainment

mao zedong would probably spin under the plexiglass if he could see this... click here.

what's happening with the proletariat?

"whatcha gonna do with all that junk? all that junk inside your trunk?"

now that was a football game, despite the eskimos winning... it will definitely go down as a grey cup classic. both offences seemed inept at times. i thought esks' quarterback ricky ray was running out of gas in the fourth quarter. me and LB were chanting, "bring in the sub... bring in the sub". but, surprisingly, he sucked it up and actually did something to win the game.

very exciting. occasionally, i'm reminded about the superior nfl. the nfl still has nothing over the cfl in terms of entertainment value. when was the last time the super bowl this exciting?

on the technical side, i watched it in HD format at LB's house. the cbc did a good job despite using cheaper HD equipment. for this game only, they had the wirecam (a camera suspended on a wire stretched from end zone to end zone, right down the centre of the field). i really liked watching the game from that perspective. why can't they put that camera up for all games? man, they're cheap. other good news... the yellow first down line didn't move!!!

i thought the half time show with the black eyed peas were excellent. i like them kids. good news... they performed the "my humps" song. bad news... no costume malfunctions. ha!

other news...

i had another weird dream last nite. i dreamt i had an overdue dvd rental. when i brought it back to the rental place, the guy told me that the overdue fine was $84!!! i told him i could go out and buy 4 copies of the same dvd with the money... seems like alot of my dreams nowadays have do with delay and procrastination.

i was out running this AM. dang, it was cold wind... i was running up to macleod trail and 162nd ave. 3 hot high school girls were waiting to cross when they started motioning towards a bus stopped at the intersection. they started screaming at the bus driver, "will you take us?!". the school was a mere 400 metres east. puhleese... they climbed on and sped right by me. the driver looked at lil' windblown me as if i was chopped liver. dang, it would of been a long long walk to the next bus stop for a guy like me.

the non-confidence vote is today. newsworld has been putting on commercial spots accompanied by ominous organ music and bells tolling. the headline? "shoooooow dooooown in paaaaaaarliiiiiiament....". cue the bells... dang.

happy thanxgiving...

You Are Mexican Food

Spicy yet dependable. You pull punches, but people still love you.

What Kind of Food Are You?

while on the subject of food, happy thanxgiving to my american friends!!! i'm not sure if i have any readers in america though... i don't think LS reads this blog...

election's on.

my prognostication (1st ed.) (i bet you were waiting for this...):

current composition of parliament:

liberals: 138
conservatives: 98
bloc heads: 53
ndp: 18
independents: 4
vacant: 2

after the election:

liberals: 130
conservatives: 98
bloc heads: 74
ndp: 9
green: 1
independents: 1

total seats: 313

majority: 157.

there you go... surprise! another minority government. the "science" behind the numbers? none.

i do think the ndp vote will either swing towards the liberals or people will jump on their bandwagon. for now, i'll say they go liberal for the reason the ndp triggered the election.

the conservatives are a curious bunch. they'll run an extremely negative campaign. harper will be in a snit for most of the time. they won't make head way in the maritimes, quebec or ontario (a la ralphie). so, they'll stay the same or gain a couple of seats.

the green party will win a token seat or maybe even 2. in calgary southeast perhaps? no offense to jason kenney...

the token independent will come out of manitoba.

the bloc heads will win all quebec seats except for 1. could that 1 seat belong to martin? most likely.

the liberals... hmmm... they'll get their seats from ontario and the maritimes. that'll be enough to win the most seats. the figure i set is probably inflated, but even so, it will be a minority government again because of the bloc heads.

additional prediction: there will be another election in 2006.

confused? my suggestion: just have a real merry xmas and forget about it...

the hour

had to laugh the other night when i was watching george stromboulopolous. he had, as guest, a leader of a powerful christian evangelical lobby group. the setup: the irs is reviewing the tax exempt status of a catholic church whose leader was questioning the presence of american troops in iraq... the evangelical guy, who is all for killing iraqis, is trying to support his catholic buddy because the government shouldn't be in the business of controlling religious freedom of speech.

ok, that's reasonable, i guess... then he got carried away by saying the government doesn't have the religious expertise to control religious freedom/speech and it ought to stick to things it's good at (dubya, cover your ears) like building roads, purifying water and disaster relief...

that is so hypocritical at so many levels... obviously, this bible thumper's definition of separation of state and church is just a bit selective.

two of the same name...

mystery national park pics #3 and #4. clue: road-to-the-sun and study #4 closely...

i was playing basketball. i'm not sure where i was playing. there was a wooden floor and white walls.

my opponent wore black rimmed glasses, about my height. i couldn't do anything to get away. it seemed the only defence this guy knew this was to hold me, with both arms. i'd be in the clear for a basket but this guy would show up and start obstructing. i'd have to elbow the guy in the gut or stomp with all my might on his toes to get away. when i did, my faceless team mates would spot me and pass the ball. the pass would always fall short or go long. i'd chase the ball but i'd be too slow. it'd be like running in quicksand. i...must...get....to......the.......ball...... but i never got there.

when my team mates took their shots i'd run under the net to recover any rebounds. that's when the guy with the black rimmed glass showed up and start clutching and holding me back. no matter, every shot taken would rim out while i watched helplessly under the basket.

i couldn't do anything.

that's the dream i woke up to...

0 and 4...

mystery national park pic #2. bonus clue: "rising sun".

ok, i'm 0-4 with my cfl playoff predictions. it just shows you how much i know about football. but you must admit that this last weekend's games were upsets.

i thought T.O. had the necessary weaponry to dismantle the alouettes; however, they killed themselves with turnovers (not the apple kind either). it brought back flashbacks of the stampeders game. ouch...

then there were the BC lions... it was a close game due to incompetent quarterbacks on both sides. for edmonton, that ricky ray guy has the weakest arm of all the starting quarterbacks in the league. dave dickenson, BC's starting quarterback is not far back in this category, eh.

the difference between the two? ray has a grey cup ring. dave doesn't. he's a good quarterback but until he wins a grey cup championship he'll be remembered for just being the most efficient signal caller in league history. (aside: as for next year, i suggest to wally buono, coach/general manager of the lions, that backup qb printers is a keeper.)

this same grey cup criterion for immortality applies to henry burris as well.

final prognostication...

this prognostication business is like trying to win the 6/49.

edmonton 21 montreal 18. the eskimos will use their 4th string quarterback in the last 30 seconds to bring the cup home...

i hate the eskimos. so, it's difficult to predict their success. i hate montreal just as much.

i'm not sure if i'll be watching this sunday.

other news...

what the hell is going on with ralph klein these days? he's traipsing around eastern canada giving away more money... ok, some of it goes towards a national scholarship program... next thing you know he'll be cutting 400 dullah cheques for the newfies, eh. i just hope he keeps mentioning his plans for health care reform in this province on this trip. hehehehe...



seldom do we associate ralphie with the word "art" but he personally chose, on behalf of us albertans, the above piece called "Song of my Dream Bed Dance" by artist Joane Cardinal-Schubert to donate to the National Gallery. no offense to ms. cardinal-schubert but thanx ralphie... you can put our wallet back in your pocket.



like in iraq, dubya didn't have a exit strategy for a press conference in china either.

chinooks, sunsets, LB and me...

i went geocaching with LB on saturday afternoon. geocaching is the "sport" of finding hidden treasures with a handheld gps (global positioning system) device. there are treasures all over the place; places you probably walk or bike by every day. it's fun and a good past time.

even a better time on saturday. it was so hot out with the chinook. we picked up a coke slurpee for me and ice tea big gulp for LB at the 130th Ave 7-11 and then spent the latter part of the day on the douglasdale ridge on the eastern flanks of fish creek park. mmm... slurpee...

we didn't find the geocaches we were looking for but we did take in the spectacular sunset though.

other news...

soapydave reported the gunning down of an innocent, endangered, dutch house sparrow last week. to show that the dutch people really do care about the poor little murdered ave and aren't a pack of postal workers, they've erected a tribute webpage. click here.

stay tuned for the resumption of the "mystery national park" photos.