Of Course They Have

"OTTAWA�Canadian oil companies have taken advantage of public fear of gas shortages and the devastating U.S. hurricanes to bring in unwarranted price hikes, gouging motorists to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in excess profit, a new study charges."

No Direction Home

Watched Scorcese's No Direction Home the past two nights - loved it. I couldn't get over how young Dylan was. He's ten years older than me so I always thought of him as a grownup.

Elegant Garbage

Mr. Nag has always been a garbage (pronounced gar-bahge) picker. His most recent finds are two pairs of metal drapery valances - one of the gilded pair is pictured above (the 1940's venetian blinds are also a trash find). The other two are shabby chic white with embossed acorns with matching metal tiebacks. The wicker cabinet is waiting to be incorporated into our decor. Haven't yet decided where to put it but it's a safe bet that wherever it goes it will have a stack of books on it.

Soberano

Soberano
This little brandy guy came as a hitchhiker on a full-sized bottle of vodka. Great name, Soberano, and a bit of a misnomer if one were drinking a normal sized portion. The curious thing is, when Mr. Nag opened the midget bottle, the aroma reminded us both of Faro, Portugal. Our first night there (many years ago) I mentioned to the innkeeper that we'd sampled a wonderful brandy at a local establishment earlier that evening. Said innkeeper induced me to sample at least 10 types of his own brandy (gratis) to determine the precise brand I'd sampled. Being young and jet-lagged I drifted off (read passed out) right there at the bar and had to be carried to my room. It was in a sardine merchant's mansion and there was a dog that was a negative version of our Heidi - dark brown to her white. Great trip, nice dog, memorable brandy.

May We Tell You Our Specials This Evening?

I like food but I don't need to know my server's name and I don't want a teaspoon of ethereal foam to cleanse my palate between courses of five cracklings (fish skin) and sea urchin jelly.
"We are also featuring a tasting gavage, in which every appetizer on the menu is wheeled to your table and forced down the gullets of two to four people. The price is twenty-eight dollars per person, plus a nominal service charge. To accompany this course, the chef recommends a bottle of the Pete, which is quite sneaky tonight. It comes in cherry or mixed berry, and is served in brown paper."
via kottke

A Joke

"Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing: 'Yesterday, terrorists killed 2 Brazilian civilians in Iraq.''OH NO!' the president exclaims. 'That's not supposed to happen! How will we ever explain that?'His staff sits stunned at this unusual display of emotion and concern, nervously watching as the president sits, wringing his hands. Finally, the president looks up and asks, 'How many is a brazillion?'"

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Reasons to Fear Canada.

Reasons to Fear Canada BY SEAN CARMAN
- - - -
Ninety percent of population is massed within 100 miles of northern American border.
Seems not to mind that one of its provinces has turned almost entirely French.
Excessive politeness only makes sense as cover for something truly sinister. But what?
Citizens seem strangely impervious to cold.
Decriminalization of marijuana and acceptance of gay marriage without corresponding collapse of social institutions indicate Canada may, in fact, be indestructible.
Has infiltrated entertainment industry with singers, actors, and comedians practically indistinguishable from their American counterparts.
Consistently stays just below cultural radar yet never quite disappears.
Parliamentary government and common-law judiciary appear to function acceptably yet remain completely inscrutable.
Never had a 'disco phase.'
Seemingly endless supply of timber, donuts, and Scotch-plaid hats with earflaps.
Keeps insisting it 'has no designs on America' and 'only wants peace.'
Plays a mean game of pond hockey.

Intelligent Design

Ah, so this is what it means - I thought it had something to do with evolution.
Day No. 1:
And the Lord God said, "Let there be light," and lo, there was light. But then the Lord God said, "Wait, what if I make it a sort of rosy, sunset-at-the-beach, filtered half-light, so that everything else I design will look younger?"
"I'm loving that," said Buddha. "It's new."
"You should design a restaurant," added Allah.

Roses
I just realized that my poor neglected garden is producing all sorts of lovely flowers that I don't get to enjoy so I've started to harvest some of them.

Ask Jeeves decides to axe Jeeves

Whatever will Bertie Wooster do next time he lands in the soup? I hope Jeeves can get on the dole.

"Search site Ask Jeeves is getting rid of the iconic valet that has been its companion since its earliest days.
Citing 'user confusion' over what the butler character represents the search site has said that Jeeves will soon be phased out. "

Skype

The Kazaa guys have come up with another way to torment big business - in this case the telephone companies. I'm intrigued. I wonder if any of my friends are Skyping.
"Skype is a program that basically allows users to use their computers as phones. All you do is download the software and install it. Then a window pop ups that is very similar to instant text messaging (which you can also do on Skype). There's a search function that help you find other Skype users by name or email address. Once you do, you invite them to join your list of contacts. "
Oh, and it's free!

George Bush Doesn't Like Black People

I believe this is true.
Check it out. Via Daily Jive
Make sure you click the link, don't just look at the pretty picture.

Gas Crisis?

A different take on the gas price issue by Lori's better half:
"But the real crux of the matter is this: it's not the developed world that really suffers. Oh sure we bitch at the pump like crazy, but it's the parts of the world that are struggling upward that really get killed. Developing nations rely on older technology for economic production, so they need more oil per unit of economic production."

TheStar.com - Shed a tear for Canada: Trudeau

Lest we, as Canadians, begin to feel superior upon reading the previous post: here's an article on those being held under arrest for years on security certificates here in our own country. Maybe they're guilty but shouldn't they be convicted before being sentenced? The short answer is that they can't be convicted because they have not been charged with any crime.
"Alexandre Trudeau is passionate in his critique of the subject of his next documentary, the federal security certificates under which five terrorism suspects have been in jail for about the last five years."

Innocent in London

This is a story about the erosion of civil liberties in London.
"So, basically the Police have decided that wearing a rain jacket, carrying a rucksack with a laptop inside, looking down at the steps while going in a tube station and checking your phone for messages just tick too many checkmarks on their checklist and make you a terrorist suspect. How many other people are not only wrongly detained but wrongly arrested every week in similar circumstances as myself? And how many of them are also computer and telecoms enthusiasts that fit the Police's terrorist behavioural profile so well?"

Dutch Talk-Show Host Plans to Take Heroin on TV

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands � The host of a new Dutch talk show plans to take heroin and LSD on the air in a program intended to reach young audiences on topics that touch their lives, producers said Wednesday.
The show, scheduled to premiere on late-night television Oct. 10, is called 'Spuiten & Slikken,' or 'Swallow and Shoot Up.'"

Another Use For Duct Tape (hear that, Red Green?)

Via BoingBoing : Turn your hamster into a lean,mean fighting machine . Make your next little get-together with friends a fight to the death!

Listen to Neil Young's New CD - Free

NPR is offering Neil Young's latest,Prairie Wind, in its entirety. It reminds me of Harvest. I like Neil (although his last release, Greendale, didn't do much for me) and I really like NPR, especially their music programs like All Songs Considered where I've discovered a wealth of new favourites.

Russian Mice

I want a new mouse. This site has a lot of really pretty designs for mice and keyboards. Via Metafilter.

How Boyish Girlish Are You?

They probably say this about all the girls:

You Are 60% Boyish and 40% Girlish
You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

25 years worth
What a crummy picture - can't do any better with a cheap Kodak lens- you can just barely make out the twin towers (Toronto City Hall) on the face. Mr Nag has spent 25 years with the Etobicoke, now Toronto, Fire Dept and all he got was this lousy watch. Really, though, it's a great watch and it's a girly one. He had to take a bit of a razzing at work but he can't stand to wear a watch so he presented the fruit of his labour to me, sort of like a pet cat presenting a dead mouse only much, much better cause a mouse doesn't tell time.

Talking Pregnant Trailer Trash Doll

From Stupid.com: "This astounding doll captures a world that Barbie has never seen. She wears a leather jacket and halter top, sports a head of bleached-blonde hair complete with curlers, and has a cigarette dangling from her mouth.
Oh, and she's pregnant, too. So even if Barbie has never met her, there's a chance that Ken did. "

Radio David Byrne

I am a lifelong David Byrne fan(atic). I still love to crank up Psycho Killer and boogie while I do the housework. Radio David Byrne presents a new 3 hour stream every month - not David or the Talking Heads but music he (supposedly) chooses. This month it's all Bob Dylan and a few artists doing covers of his songs - right now I'm listening to Hendrix doing All Along the Watchtower and it's awesome! I remember every single lyric of every song (yet I can't remember the name of someone I met yesterday, early Alzheiner's do you think?). Check out the archives. You'll find all sorts of great music that you won't hear anywhere else.

TheStar.com - Michael Moore wants CBC to pull doc

"American filmmaker Michael Moore does not want you to watch his Oscar-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine tonight. At least, not on the CBC.
Moore issued a statement this weekend condemning what he calls an 'abhorrent' lockout of unionized staff by the CBC, after being notified about a scheduled broadcast of his film by a locked-out CBC blogger."

Couch Potato Extraordinaire

Toronto Man Breaks Couch Potato Record - September 17, 2005
" Suresh Joachim broke the Guinness world record for the longest time spent watching TV, at 69 hours and 48 minutes. "
Nag Jr. is devastated - he thought he had it in the bag.

Caravan of Gore

These "Reproductive Choice" trucks are traveling all over the highways of America, spreading their message of cheer. Nothing says "choice" as clearly as great big graphic photos of aborted fetuses. I hope Mr. Nag and I don't end up travelling anywhere near one of these if we take a road trip.

Ready for a Vacation

The past couple of weeks have been stressful: Nag Jr. was incredibly ill with mono and was hospitalized, Katie died and I worked 12 days without a break. My house, my garden and my closets are disaster areas and I don't feel like doing anything except maybe taking a vacation. I wonder if I can talk Mr. Nag into a little R&R. Maybe we could even travel in style. Any Merry Pranksters out there who would like to come along for the trip?

No One To Share With

I'm sitting at the computer eating my toast and I keep breaking off little bits to share with Katie. It's an automatic thing - we had breakfast together every morning. Mr. Nag says it's a luxury to mourn a pet but it sure doesn't feel like that to us.

RIP Brinklow's Katrina Canberra

Our hearts are broken. Little Katie died in Mr. Nag's arms today. We'll miss her so much.

Trial Of The Century: Keillor V. MNspeak.com

"Let's quickly review the situation: Garrison Keillor -- a liberal comedian! -- is threatening to sue MNspeak -- some blog! -- that uses a t-shirt to poke fun of his mega-gigantic media empire. You'd think we shot Guy Noir or something."

Imagine Having to Make These Choices

"Doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients rather than leaving them to die in agony as they evacuated hospitals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. With gangs of rapists and looters rampaging through wards in the flooded city, senior doctors took the harrowing decision to give massive overdoses of morphine to those they believed could not make it out alive. "

It's Over

We had our big event of the year today at Willowbank. The weather couldn't have been better. Our advance ticket sales were very good and we had $24,000 in sponsorships going in. We sold a lot of tickets at the door, had a quality silent auction, the catered Italian food was delicious and priced right and 10% of our net proceeds are going to Hurricane Katrina relief. I'm not a big fan of the Dixieland stuff but Peter Appleyard and John Sherwood made some terrific mellow music at the end of the day. We made a lot of money for Willowbank and people had a great time. I've had parties at my house where the cleanup was more difficult. We had a terrific committee who worked really long hours. We had dedicated volunteers who helped out on the day before and day of. I put in a lot of hours but only feel exhausted today after 11 hours. Mr. Nag worked his little heart out, too. I can always count on him to fill in when I need him. Even Baby Nag is helping - he drove back to Queenston to padlock the gates after the sound guys left. I need a good night's sleep but might not get it cause Katie's not doing too well (I won't describe the symptoms but they are serious and disturbing) and needs to get up in the night. This is definitely the last roundup for her.

Hotel a 5-star oasis of grace and humanity

Rosie Dimanno writes about what the Astor Crowne Plaza was doing while others did nothing:
"Such a cornucopia might, amidst such dreadful need, seem unforgivable. But this is what should be known of the Astor: The deluxe hotel took in and cared for two thousand people at the height of the hurricane crisis, one of the few establishments that continued to function, an oasis of ingenuity and resourcefulness , during all the long days and nights when relief agencies were nowhere evident.
The staff did not skedaddle or abandon this mass of humanity to fend for itself. Only some of those who enjoyed refuge at the Astor were actual paying guests who had failed to evacuate when they had the chance, as Katrina warnings grew more urgent, or were unable to depart afterwards because their cars were submerged in water in underground garages. The balance of 'guests' were New Orleans citizens and French Quarter locals who had thrown themselves on the mercy of manager Peter Ambros, a 61-year-old hotelier with all the cultured elegance of his native Vienna.
It was Ambros, calmly puffing on his cigar, who repeatedly refused to evacuate all these refugees, even when the New Orleans Police Department kept telling him to send them to the hideous Superdome or the just as wretched convention centre. Ambros sent out scouts to assess those venues and said, no way. 'It's not safe. It's filthy. I won't turn them out,' he steadfastly asserted."

$25mil

"A rich and hypnotic interior by Matisse whose whereabouts had been unknown to scholars in recent decades has been purchased for the Museum of Modern Art by its new president, Marie-Josee Kravis, and her husband, the financier Henry Kravis. "

Mr.Sun's Gas Shortage Tips.

I love Mr. Sun. As usual, he has some very cogent comments to make on the gas shortage.

Dictionaraoke.org - The Singing Dictionary

Definition: Audio clips from online dictionaries sing the hits of yesterday and today. The fun of karaoke meets the word power of the dictionary."
This entertained me, probably because I'm an idiot. Some songs work better than others. I liked "Waterloo" and "Barbie Girl" a lot.

Shortest Personality Test

Is this the real me?

You are pure, moral, and adaptable.
You tend to blend into your surroundings. Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends.

You believe that you live a virtuous life...
And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye.
As a result, people tend to crave your approval

I've Actually Been Drinking This

Rabbit Wine
This wine comes in a tetra-pack so it's marginally better for the environment than a glass bottle. It's $12.95 per litre so a bit of a bargain but not dead cheap. Best of all, your debauchery probably won't be so obvious to the neighbours in a recycling bin. Oh, and the bamboo is just an artistically arranged backdrop - it doesn't come with the wine.

Nancy Drew is 75

"In honor of the 75th Anniversary of Nancy Drew, the University of Maryland Libraries, Special Collections presents the exhibition Nancy Drew and Friends: Girls' Series Books Rediscovered."
These books gave me hours, indeed years, of pleasure. Nancy was my role model, tough and adventurous. I wanted to be a sleuth when I grew up and I've done a pretty good job of solving some mysteries like where's that smell coming from or why's my kid acting so weird.

I Can't Help But Feel Superior

People who complain about our health care taxes are stupid, they really are. This article by Malcolm Gladwell illustrates how US health care policy creates an underclass (read the whole thing):

The U. S. health-care system, according to “Uninsured in America,” has created a group of people who increasingly look different from others and suffer in ways that others do not. The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States is unpaid medical bills. Half of the uninsured owe money to hospitals, and a third are being pursued by collection agencies. Children without health insurance are less likely to receive medical attention for serious injuries, for recurrent ear infections, or for asthma. Lung-cancer patients without insurance are less likely to receive surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. Heart-attack victims without health insurance are less likely to receive angioplasty. People with pneumonia who don’t have health insurance are less likely to receive X rays or consultations. The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is twenty-five per cent higher than for someone with insur-ance. Because the uninsured are sicker than the rest of us, they can’t get better jobs, and because they can’t get better jobs they can’t afford health insurance, and because they can’t afford health insurance they get even sicker. John, the manager of a bar in Idaho, tells Sered and Fernandopulle that as a result of various workplace injuries over the years he takes eight ibuprofen, waits two hours, then takes eight more—and tries to cadge as much prescription pain medication as he can from friends. “There are times when I should’ve gone to the doctor, but I couldn’t afford to go because I don’t have insurance,” he says. “Like when my back messed up, I should’ve gone. If I had insurance, I would’ve went, because I know I could get treatment, but when you can’t afford it you don’t go. Because the harder the hole you get into in terms of bills, then you’ll never get out. So you just say, ‘I can deal with the pain.’ ”

Who Would Film Your Life Quiz

Woody Allen would film mine. He's one of my favourite directors even if he is a pervert but I can't figure out how they chose him.

Happy Labour Day Comrades

"Earliest records show that the Toronto Trades Assembly, perhaps the original central labour body in Canada, organized the first North American 'workingman's demonstration' of any significance for April 15,1872. The beribboned parade marched smartly in martial tread accompanied by four bands. About 10,000 Torontonians turned out to see the parade and listen to the speeches calling for abolition of the law which decreed that trade unions were criminal conspiracies in restraint of trade.

The freedom of 24 imprisoned leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union, on strike to secure the nine-hour working day, was the immediate purpose of the parade, on what was then Thanksgiving Day. It was still a crime to be a member of a union in Canada although the law of criminal conspiracy in restraint of trade had been repealed by the United Kingdom parliament in 1871."

Looking at the Wasteland of the Free

Check out this site for some good video on what's been happening in New Orleans.

Gas Prices

I imagine this is what Mr. Nag is thinking. His roundtrip to work is about 250 km.

Interesting wine labels

I've actually tried this one and it was decent, although I don't drink much white wine except at brunch. Some of the labels on this site are very appealing. Would I buy a wine for its label? Maybe once.

Welcome to MichaelMoore.com!

Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, "

onegoodmove: Mr. Bill for President

Sort of irreverent. Don't open it if you are easily offended.

Genocide is news | Be A Witness

There should be no place in our world for the atrocities that have taken place in Rwanda and the Sudan. Where is the outrage? Does professional journalistic irresponsibility immunize people from the truth or is our society truly morally bankrupt? Seems the only way to get the public to focus on the victims of genocide is to make a blockbuster film about it with big stars (Brad and Angelina spring to mind). He could be a hard-line American soldier and she could be an anti-war activist ministering to loveable child famine victims in a refugee camp. At first Brad would resent Angelina's interference but eventually comes around to her way of thinking. He finds redemption and true love when he, Angelina and her ragtag band of starving kids flee to safety through a blaze of enemy gunfire.

Pope urges faithful to have more children

There are plenty of children being born to the faithful. Unfortunately millions of them die of starvation each year.