My Dark Night

I managed not to drink and blog last night, which was probably wise.

My camera was out of batteries, so here are two low-res webcam pictures of me fighting crime:






Personally I think that when you dress in costume you should commit to your character, and that's not just because I was a little disappointed that none of the Batmans would flirt with me. Mind you I did get my ass grabbed by the Riddler, so I guess it sort of evens out.


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In other comic book related news:



Yes there's probably a version with bigger print somewhere else online. Consider it your mission Super Friend.

The Air Canada Maple Leafs vs. the Molson Canadiens live tonight on Ford's Hockey Night in Canadian Tire

How could one single news article summarize everything that has come to disillusion me about the sport of hockey that I once loved so much that I cried when the Leafs lost the '93 series to LA?


from tsn.com

NEW YORK - For the third straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the NHL's most valuable team, worth US$448 million.

The Leafs increased in value by nine per cent and easily were valued ahead of the New York Rangers in Forbes' annual rankings. The Rangers are worth $411 million.

Third on the list were the Montreal Canadiens at $334 million, followed by the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings ($303 million) and the Philadelphia Flyers ($275 million).

But the biggest increase in value was made by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who made the Stanley Cup finals last spring and boast stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Pittsburgh is worth $195 million, up a whopping 26 per cent.

The next biggest gainers were the Calgary Flames, up 24 per cent to $203 million, and the Minnesota Wild, who improved 21 per cent and are worth $217 million.

The average team value was $220 million; by comparison, the average for NFL teams this season was $1 billion, according to Forbes.

At the bottom of the list were Columbus ($157 million), the New York Islanders ($154 million), and Phoenix ($142 million). The Coyotes were the only team to go down in worth, by three per cent.

Toronto also led the list with $160 million in revenues, followed by Montreal ($139 million) and the Rangers ($137 million).

Ominously, 12 teams showed a negative operating income, including the Flyers (minus $1.8 million), and Boston Bruins (minus $3 million) - both top 10 franchises in total value.

Funny but...

Uh-oh- I can't remember whether or not I've already put this up here. That's a little sad. Ah well. Enjoy (possibly again):

Don't #*$& with Wendy Testiburger!

Watch the new South Park: The Breast Cancer Show Ever

Wendy's excellence in this episode has prompted me to create the following list in recognition of women you do not want to mess with.


Liz's Top 10 Kick Ass Female Characters:

(I have decided not to assign an order. Firstly I kept switching the order so many times it was getting ridiculous. I also did not want any kind of ordering system to take away from the awesomeness of each and every one of these rockin' ladies)

Leela, Futurama


"That's why I've decided to hurt you until you explain it."




Eve, WALL-E






Catwoman, BATMAN RETURNS


"You poor guys, always confusing your pistols with your privates"




Tasha Yar, Star Trek TNG


"Is that the civilized word for 'murder' on this world?"


Wendy Testiburger, South Park


"I'm done."



Princess Leia, Star Wars Episode IV


"I'm surprised you had the courage to take responsibility yourself... the more you tighten your grip Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."





Red Fraggle, Fraggle Rock


"What's dragon slaying got to do with violence?"



Molly Weasley, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


"Not my daughter you bitch!"



Celes Chere, Final Fantasy VI


"I'm a soldier, not some love-starved twit!"



Beatrix Kiddo, Kill Bill


"Wiggle your big toe"

!

I forgot one, but I'm not bumping anyone...



"... you look like a real prince, but Ronald you are a bum!"




Runners up include:

Rogue, X-Men The Animated Series
Goslin, Darkwing Duck
Batgirl, Batman The Animated Series
Schala/Kid, Chrono Trigger/Cross
Seven of Nine, Star Trek Voyager



Now THAT'S girl power.

Fantasy Honky

Alright, so I'm the spelling police too. This one definitely deserved it though.


In my online Hockey Pool there's this idiot whose team name is "Obama is a Terroist"

I couldn't take it any more. I emailed him today:

I don't want to trade with you, I just want to know if "Terroist" is referring to Obama's interest in the environment, or an ability to read Tarot cards that I'm not yet aware of.


Try spell check.


I think I'll defer to Mr. Anti-Anti-War Protester 2003 for this one:






PS: I think my short lived Fantasy Hockey career may be over. I have just recieved an email accusing me of being an "ignorant racist black" (and for the record I only used the word "honky" here on my blog where I assumed people would appreciate that it was meant to be a humourous dig). Still I would like to take this opportunity to deflect any further accusations of racism with the following picture of me and my white friend:




(PPS: I do not have photoshop, and quite frankly that's about how much patience I have with Paint. Anyone who wants to make it suck less, consider it my "Green Screen Challenge".)

Don't blame me, I voted for Kang

Every single election, it seems that there's only one Simpson's quote that can really sum up my feelings:







Le sigh.

Windows into my Thoughts

I've been thinking lately that my brain is a little like a computer with a single-core processor and a tiny hard drive that I try to use like a multi-core processor with a big hard drive. At least I have a lot of random access memory.

I made the following diagram ("I make a lot of graphs"), to illustrate what my brain would be like if it were a computer. This is of course just what it looks like when I'm sitting around drinking coffee or not paying attention in class. When I have other tasks... well that's when I start getting error messages and freezing up.



You can click on it for a larger view, as I'm sure you all want to.

(PS: First person to make USB or other port-related jokes is on time out)

Flow Chart

The last post I had up about Health Care and politics was so boring and depressing. This is depressing, but at least funny:





Don't worry, after the elections, the politicalness of my blog should decrease. Then I can go back to drunken rants and pretty pictures.

Perfect

Hate to admit it...

As a Leafs fan, I haven't had a lot to celebrate in the world of hockey these days. But last year during the playoffs I developed a fondness for another team, the first non-Leaf team I've actually full out yelled at refs for/screamed loudly when they scored since the 97 Red Wings.

So you'll excuse me if I revel for a moment in Pittsburg's defeat of Ottawa.





In a way Toronto wins when Ottawa loses. I mean, not in a way that they actually accumulate points. If that were true I think Toronto would have a good shot at the playoffs this year.

Great Scott

My brother apparently hadn't been following the Canadian election gossip, and when I told him about Stephen Harper's comment about the arts he said the following:

"I'd say according to election turn-outs that most ordinary Canadians don't care about politics"

:D

Maybe we should stop funding politicians! All they do is go to galas funded by tax-payer money and whine about issues no one cares about.

My Jon

From a recent interview with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in Entertainment Weekly:


Why do you think some people embraced her (Sarah Palin) as a folk hero?
STEWART: I keep hearing that she's ''like us.'' There's this idea that people who hunt and have ''good'' values are somehow this mythological American; I don't know who ''this'' person is, I've never met them. She is no more typical ''us'' than I am, than Obama is, than McCain is, than Mr. T is. If there is something quintessentially or authentically American about her, I sort of feel like, you know what? You ''good values people'' have had the country for eight years, and done an unbelievably s---ty job. Let's find some bad values people and give them a shot, maybe they'll have a better take on it.


I am seriously in love with this man.





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Angelo posted a response from Margaret Atwood to Stephen Harper with regards to Harper's comments that "ordinary people" didn't care about the arts.

Read it if you haven't yet.

You Watched It, You Can't Un-Watch It

De Niro: It's too bad... the movie had so much potential.
Pacino: But who do you think killed it?
De Niro: There are too many suspects, it could have been anybody... the director, the writer, the production company...
Pacino: Isn't one of us gonna say it?
De Niro: (uncomfortable silence)
Pacino: It coulda been an actor.
De Niro: No way! It wasn't an actor!


Andrew: Maybe we should have seen Dark Knight again after all.
Evan: Maybe?!!

Productive?

Things I did this weekend:

1) Wrote an entire episode for an animated TV show that my brother and I are theoretically producing in our minds
2) Climbed a tree to get a miniature stuffed Rugby ball off of the top branch
3) Burned my bra
4) Sang the entire Flight of the Conchords album a cappella around a camp fire
5) Smoked a cigar (normally I don't like to smoke anything that's legal, but it was free. And you get what you pay for apparently.)
6) Four loads of laundry
7) Watched the SNL Sarah Palin/Hillary Clinton video on my laptop four times
8) Very very little homework.

Well at least I'm back in school mode.

Also

While I'm waxing political.

I tried to get a clip of this for last week. Instead you'll have to do with my transcript and photos.





Kyle: Will you shut up about 9/11?
Cartman: Kyle, why are you so afraid of the truth?
Kyle: Because anyone who thinks 9/11 was a conspiracy is a retard.
Cartman: Oh well, did you know that over one fourth of people in America think that 9/11 was a conspiracy? Are you saying that one fourth of Americans are retards?
Kyle: Yes. I'm saying one fourth of Americans are retards.
Stan: Yeah at least one fourth.
Kyle: Let's take a test sample. There's four of us, you're a retard, that's one fourth.
Cartman: There are so many people who know the truth Kyle...

A Perfect Example

This is a perfect example of what's wrong with Canadian... oh let's say politics period.

From cbc.ca

Harper defends minister who made listeriosis jokes

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper came to the defence of Gerry Ritz on Thursday, a day after his agriculture minister came under fire for making jokes about the listeriosis outbreak that has been linked to the deaths of 17 Canadians.

While campaigning in the strategically vital province of Quebec, Harper called Ritz's comments ''completely inappropriate."

But Harper dismissed pressure from the Liberals for him to apologize personally on behalf of the government and fire Ritz, noting the minister had already offered his unreserved apologies.

"I think he’s been doing a good job on this file and applaud him for apologizing completely and forthrightly," Harper told reporters in Trois-Rivières.

The controversy again forced the Conservatives into damage control mode during their campaign for the Oct. 14 federal election after earlier gaffes by campaign staff threw the Tories off message.

The Canadian Press reported on Wednesday that Ritz made the controversial remarks at an August conference call with scientists, bureaucrats and political staff.

Fretting about the political dangers of the crisis, Ritz reportedly quipped: "This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or should I say cold cuts."

When told about a new death in Prince Edward Island, Ritz said: "Please tell me it's [Liberal MP] Wayne Easter."

'Shows insensitivity to families'
Harper said Thursday that Ritz "was working very, very hard" at the time he made the comments.

"I think this story is obviously very embarrassing for him, very unfortunate," Harper said.

"But should not detract from the good work that he has done to get on top and understand this matter, to improve the system, and to communicate publicly with Canadians and to make sure that government officials are all doing their job."

Ritz had initially received praise during the crisis last month for immediately returning to Ottawa and handling the federal response, although opposition critics decried Health Minister Tony Clement's decision to remain in Denver for the U.S. Democratic national convention.

Easter, the Liberal agriculture critic, told CBC News Thursday morning that his party called for Ritz's resignation in September over his handling of the outbreak, not for his wisecracking.

Easter also called on Harper to apologize to families who have been affected by listeriosis.

The joke Ritz made about Easter is in keeping with "a pattern of the Harper government in which anyone who disagrees with them is going to be treated with disrespect and attacked," he said.

"But the real terrible point here is that this shows insensitivity to families who lost loved ones and to the seriousness of the issue itself."

etc etc etc....


Firstly, the "real terrible point" is not that this shows insensitivity. The real terrible point is that 17 Canadians are dead, including most recently an infant.Secondly, Stephen Harper is wrong. Gerry Ritz has not done a top job of anything. This crisis has been horribly bungled by the government and exposed a serious weakness in our public health system.

Not surprisingly the Liberals and Conservatives are too busy walking party lines to actually focus on what has gone wrong. People are dead, could we please stop arguing about whether or not it's OK to make classless jokes about it. Why our leaders in government continue to think that they can talk to large groups of people the way that they would to their drinking buddies is totally beyond me, but it really doesn't solve anything if that is all anyone focuses on.

I think in an alternate universe I could really like Jack Layton. He reminds me of the Lorax... all of the best intentions to protect people and look after the environment, but always very angry. I just don't honestly believe that the NDP could work with the Liberals or Conservatives to create the progressive government that Canadians want. They would spend just as much time arguing with the other parties as everyone else over whether or not we want to recognize Vegetarians as having their own culture, or if by meeting with the American President on Monday we will send a better message than if we meet with him on Tuesday.

We live in an incredibly wealthy country, there is no justification for child poverty, inadequet health care funding, homelessness, and an unreasonably inflated cost of post-secondary education. The issues that politians and the media continue to focus on are taking away from the real problems. There is an easy solution to the callous remarks made by Mr. Ritz. Fire him. There is not an easy solution to the Listeriosis outbreak, but I would feel a lot better if I felt like the people that I elected to represent me were worrying about how to improve the food safety system and not whether not it's OK to be an asshole while you're screwing up your job.

Only Once

I really can say without bias that Only (the film my brother was in/PA for) was excellent. It featured two totally outstanding performances, a very well written script and a really touching story.

It did an absolutely lovely job capturing the feeling of being 12 in a small town and feeling isolated and unsure. It's ironic that my Mom (who occasionally has trouble keeping names straight) kept calling it "Once" when talking about us all going to see it. It actually has a very similar effect and (like Once) uses music in a really interesting way to illustrate the friendship of this young boy and girl.

I'll let people know if/when it has a DVD or (fingers crossed) theatrical release.





Back to Peterborough and class tomorrow... today? I can't even tell.

Doesn't matter, because the 3hrs sleep:72hrs was totally worth it to be back at work. Highlight of the weekend: the little guy I was working with and I building a series of ramps for the toy cars we were racing... made out of the clip boards with the charts on them. If those clip boards are for writing care plan information and not for jumping cars off of, I don't want to know about it.

Back Online

I am now online! I've made the great leap into 1995. Did you know that the vast majority of people in my Nursing class were 5 then? They were in grade 6 seven years ago today. That is a generational gap. At least there are quite a few people in my seminar group who are in the 24-30 age range. While I don't dismiss the possibility that I could get along with anyone younger than me, at least I won't be in the awkward position of explaining was OAC means.


As far as anything else goes, I am really enjoying Peterborough, but I am kind of excited to go home this weekend. Besides seeing my brother's film in the film festival, I am back to work! Yesssss :D

I'm a huge nerd.

Read the last line of the article

This article was on cbc.ca and I thought it was amusing. Don't get so angry, or so impressed with yourself that you don't read the last line of the article where the truth (of music 'genre-ing' and this study and these stereotypes) truly lies.


Musical tastes in tune with who you are
CBC News

Fans of heavy metal music are gentle, creative people who are at ease with themselves, which makes them very similar to fans of classical music.

That's the finding of a new study at Scotland's Heriot-Watt University of the link between peoples' personalities and their choice of music.

Adrian North, the professor behind the study, said he was surprised at the similarities between fans of classical music and heavy metal, especially their creativity and generally shy natures.

"The general public has held a stereotype of heavy metal fans being suicidally depressed and of being a danger to themselves and society in general. But they are quite delicate things," he said in an interview with the BBC.

North suggests that music lovers tend to identify with the characteristics of the music itself.

"We think, what we think the answer is, that both types of music, classical and heavy metal, both have something of the spiritual about them — they're very dramatic — a lot happens."

The study of more than 36,000 people from six different countries found that people had more in common with fans of their favourite music in other countries than they had with fellow citizens who preferred different styles of music.

North describes it as a new kind of tribalism, based on musical taste.

"We have always suspected a link between music taste and personality," North said.

"This is the first time that we've been able to look at it in real detail. No one has ever done this on this scale before."

Jazz fans tend to be creative and outgoing, with high self-esteem, in keeping with the innovative and sociable nature of the music.

Country western fans were found to be hard-working, but introverted, fitting with the blue-collar image of country music.

The research concluded soul music lovers are a well-rounded bunch — creative, outgoing, gentle, at ease with themselves and with high self-esteem.

Rap fans are outgoing and far from gentle, while indie music lovers lack both self-esteem and the work ethic. (aha ha ahhahahah damnit)

"Researchers have been showing for decades that fans of rock and rap are rebellious, and that fans of opera are wealthy and well-educated," North said.

He also made a link between income bracket and musical tastes, with more affluent consumers liking more exciting, punchy music while those lower down the pay scale preferring more relaxing sounds.

North said his research might have applications in commercial marketing of music.

Someday...

Someday I will have the internet... right now I'm on at an internet/gaming cafe on Water Street. It's actually a pretty cool place, but given that I get to use the internet for free, I will try to keep this short.

I'll be back... I promise!