Tournament of Books set to begin

 Posted by on 7 March 2011  Everything Else
Mar 072011
 

Every year I stumble into the Tournament of Books as it is about half over. That disappoints me. But not this year, when I am ready to follow along right from the first day!

The Tournament of Books, arranged by The Morning News, is like a sports tournament, but for reading. Yes, there are 16 “finalists” and they’ve all been seeded into brackets, from which they will fight to the death (or, a judge will decide) as the move up to become the year’s champion.

The 16 books this year include two that I’ve read, and 14 that I’ve not. So it’s a good chance to read some erudite opinions on these books, and figure out which of the unread might be good candidates for a flip-through.

The first bracket — featuring a matchup between Jonathan Franzen’s “Freedom” and Teddy Wayne’s “Kapitoil” — gets underway tomorrow. I’ve read “Freedom” but I’m not sure if I’m rooting for it, or against it. I’m a bit of an underdog lover, you see.

Follow along! At the Tournament of Books.

 

Short Film Friday: Riverdale

 Posted by on 4 March 2011  Everything Else
Mar 042011
 

This is not so much a short film as it is a fake movie trailer.  At the same time, it is strangely enthralling.

Imagine a movie made based on the Archie comics.  Now imagine that the filmmakers incorporate every stereotypical dramatic teen movie plotline and play it up to the max.  That’s Riverdale.

I would pay to see this movie in the theatre.  Also: excellent casting for Jughead.

Again, note: this is a fake trailer, as heart-breaking as that is…

Sleepy cats with cup hats

 Posted by on 21 February 2011  Everything Else
Feb 212011
 

These kitties know how to relax — and they aren’t going to let their unorthodox headwear faze them! Perhaps this is the feline version of the I’ve-never-seen-it-in-real-life drunk who wears a light shade on his head.

I’m going to take this video as a hint. It’s time to kick back and rest. So, enjoy Louis Riel Day! Possibly the best decision the Doer government ever made.

(via Buzzfeed)

Short Film Friday: Dark Side of Oz

 Posted by on 18 February 2011  Everything Else, Vintage/Retro
Feb 182011
 

So it’s not really a short film; deal with it.  

It’s something everyone says they’ve done, though I suspect very few actually have:  play Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” synced up to the original Wizard of Oz.  Personally, I never had the time (or inclination) to figure out exactly when to start playing the album.  And, really, I wasn’t all that interested.

Bryan Pugh has done all the work for me us, allowing us the opportunity to experience what so many people have raved about…the Dark Side of Oz.

The Dark Side of Oz from Bryan Pugh on Vimeo.

Besides, it’s a long weekend.  Surely you’ll have time to watch it, right?

How fat is your country, the interactive infographic

 Posted by on 18 February 2011  Everything Else
Feb 182011
 

Huzzah! Drawing on data published in the Lancet, the Economist has produced a chart showing the prevalence of obesity in countries around the world. I’ve embedded it above, and you can select either data from 1980 or data from 2008 as well as the percent change over those nearly 30 years.

Not exactly shocking, but saddening.

I know I’m struggling with maintaining a healthy body mass index — something I attribute pretty much 100% to the fact that I’m paid to spend the majority of my waking time sitting nearly stationary in front of a computer. It wouldn’t be so bad, except that we’ve spent those same last 30 years designing leisure activities that also require us to be stationary in front of a screen.

They also link to a less user-friendly but much more in-depth chart done by the original authors of the study, at Imperial College. At that chart, you can also examine different risk factors, like cholesterol and blood pressure.

Lazy writing alert

 Posted by on 17 February 2011  Everything Else
Feb 172011
 

Look, I know the difficulties of writing at deadline. And in this online world, it’s always deadline. And I know how easy it can be to slip into cliché or to use a hackneyed phrase or truism as a quick, convenient shortcut.

Often, I don’t even mind. But sometimes I see evidence of lazy writing that just bothers me all out of proportion with the offence. I’ve highlighted an example that caught my eye from the Winnipeg Free Press.

I’m sure that the anonymouse “Staff Writer” is not an lazy journalist. But I’m sure that he or she is pressed for time — racing to get this story up on the website to keep pace with other media.

It just frustrates me because it doesn’t make logical sense. That one line picks at my brain. If there are “obvious reasons” why firefighters couldn’t do save the warming hut, then why bother explaining that straw burns quickly? Or, if you feel like explaining that straw burns quickly, then just take out the “for obvious reasons” phrase. A revised sentence could just say, “Straw burns so quickly that fire crews couldn’t do a thing.”

And, of course, it’s doubly frustrating, because if you extrapolate from this sentence, you might be led to believe that firefighters literally did nothing as the straw hut burned. I call B.S. on that assertion. Did they water down nearby structures to keep it from spreading? Did they try to douse the flames at all? Did they refrain from blasting it with water because the burning straw would spread? Or because they didn’t want to ice up the area? Did they at least keep onlookers away? All of these actions would be evidence that fire crews did something — and I’m sure that they did. These would add colour to the piece, too, bee tee dubs.

That’s even setting aside all the possible “house of straw” Three Little Pigs jokes that could be made.

Sigh. Lord knows I’m not perfect. Hell, this whole post is full of lazy writing. But sometimes it just irks me so much.

Everything that is possible to know about Star Wars, through YouTube

 Posted by on 5 February 2011  Everything Else, Vintage/Retro
Feb 052011
 

As explained by The Daily What:

Superfan Jambe Davdar has spent an awe-inspiring amount of time piecing together three absolutely must-watch Star Wars fan documentaries — essentially, the original trilogy re-cut with alternate takes, deleted scenes, concept art, original audio, production footnotes, and commentary from the cast and crew.”

If, like me, you know the original movies backwards and forwards, you will still find an astonishing amount of new information packed in here. I’m just getting started, but I think I’ll be watching this instead of the Superbowl.

Star Wars Begins: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Building Empire: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.

Returning to Jedi: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.

Hinterland Who’s Who: The Wood Spider

 Posted by on 4 February 2011  Everything Else
Feb 042011
 

From the first familiar notes of Hinterland Who’s Who, most of us Canadians of a certain age are transported back in time to a point where the Canadian government educated us about creatures in the wilds of our country through television ads.

Personally, I only remember the loon segment.  Certainly, I do not remember this one.

Actually, in truth, I think that these are more urban wood spiders than hinterland spiders.  But what do I know?

Sexual harassment stock photography

 Posted by on 3 February 2011  Everything Else, Photography
Feb 032011
 

There’s something special about the poised-yet-awkward nature of stock photography, in which the ne plus ultra is also the most generic.

Everything about a stock photo strives to be ordinary. So, when you couple that with very out-of-the-ordinary situations, what you get is pure comedy. Hence, this gallery: The Best of Sexual Harassment Stock Photography.

(@bortflancrest, via @stumpymccripple)

Easy Does It, Ron.

 Posted by on 16 January 2011  Everything Else, Vintage/Retro
Jan 162011
 

As something that will mean almost nothing to anyone who did not grow up or live for any period of time in southwestern Manitoba, local celebrity and longtime weatherman Ron Thompson passed away today.

I’m old enough to remember when we could only receive two television channels, one of which was CKX-TV out of Brandon.  Although the station is now off the air, for many, many years it was the source for local news and weather.  And no one did the weather like Ron.

As I said, CKX is no longer on the air, but with Ron’s passing, it truly feels like the end of an era.

Easy does it, Ron.

Why can’t we walk in a straight line?

 Posted by on 9 January 2011  Everything Else
Jan 092011
 

The short answer is, “nobody knows,” at least according to this NPR video it is. But, as Boing Boing points out, what a wonderful piece of animation to explore this history of straight-line-walking experimentation.

A few years ago, as part of a fitness test, I was blindfolded and put into a racquetball court, where I was told to march in place, bringing my knees up as high as I could, for 10 or 15 minutes, while trying not to move forward, back, sideways or to rotate at all.

I felt a little shaky, but overall confident in my ability to stay immobile despite the marching in place. But when my blindfold was removed, I wasn’t anywhere near where I had started from, and I was facing in a completely different direction.

Not only was the disorientation pretty cool, but it was an interesting lesson in listening to my body.

There is more about it in the NPR story.

The life cycle of a T-shirt

 Posted by on 9 January 2011  Everything Else
Jan 092011
 

Nick Foster owns many T-shirts, and, while cleaning, he stumbled upon a heretofore unrecognized organization scheme that his subconscious mind had imposed:

I have a T-shirt problem: after years of buying them, my house is now full. Whilst recently trying to tidy up the situation I realised that I was subconsciously categorising them. As with everything on the internet, it ain’t a ‘thing’ until it’s visualised in an infographic.

Good for him! I don’t have that many T-shirts, but I recognize his classification. Many of the comments on his post offer up suggestions for new schemes, too.

(kottke, via tdw)

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