Monday, April 28, 2008

Lots of people are better than me

First off, a quick one. I wish it was longer, but it isn't. So deal with it. Pulp Fiction done in Shakespearean English. Good stuff. Almost laugh-out-loud funny. Almost.

Next up, the Gilbert Arenas Blog. Holy shit. Honestly, why do I even bother? Why bother? This guy is way more interesting and way more willing to speak is mind than anybody else out there. Anybody remotely interested in basketball or living the life of a celebrity should read this.

Scroll down to Adventures of Chuck and Larry (sorry, can't permalink directly there, just close). He steals his teammates keys and arranges for his friend to take his car and have it painted pink? Holy shit. Man. I can't even ruin the rest of it for you. Just read it.

And then here, where the whole posting talks about his shoe and the work that goes in behind it. Very interesting.

But, my all time favourite, you must read this. First, he talks about how Gary Payton pretty much owned his ass one game and how that inspired him to be a better player. How many people could even admit that to their buddies, let alone write a blog about it? But my favourite, good lord, my all-time favourite...right below that under Relationship 101. Read about how he decided to go on relationship strike to get back at his wife and how that caused him to miss an important EA launch event that seemed to be pretty important. Holy shit! That's just so funny.

Alas. I can't be that interesting myself, I will just point out others that are better than me.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Signs that your life is alright...

The two things giving me the greatest amount of stress today were:

1) Islands are playing at the Plaza on June 10th. I will be driving to Ucluelet for a salmon fishing trip on June 10th. This bums me out. Not only that, I will miss Islands in New York in May by a couple of days. And I won't be able to catch them in Seattle either because it will most likely be June 11th. You should go on my behalf.

2) I've been struggling for the last couple of days to come up with a really good insult for my company about section. I think I've settled on slack-jawed corporate yokels. It's tough to come up with a good insult sometimes.

So, in other news. I read this great excerpt from Mark E. Smith's book. Mark E. Smith being the head dude of the Fall. What a crazy-assed man. I think he might be a long, lost Uncle or something like that. He has very, very interesting perspectives on a number of topics.

And, I also read this article speculating on how the real estate melt down in the US is not even close to just getting started. A summary: Very shortly most people with a mortgage in California will owe far, far more than their houses are worth so it will be in their best interest to walk away from the mortgage. What I find interesting is how everybody insists this will have no effect on Canada and our housing values. Okay. I understand. We don't have a sub-prime mess like the US does. But...how the hell can our housing prices continue to go up and up and up when just across the border things are in the tank? Doesn't is seem like a bit of a sign as to how ludicrous things are right now that you can drive a few hours to a major city (Portland, Seattle) and pick up a house for a fraction of what it would cost here in Vancouver? We're a separate market, yes, but not that separate. I don't see how this can't affect us.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Olympic Ideals

I wrote this in response to this article in the Globe and Mail today. I don't expect them to print it, but I had to write something.

What is wrong with John Furlong? His comments to the media remind me of the super-keener from High School who plans the prom and won’t admit that anything is wrong even though a gang of Hell’s Angels has hijacked the event, kidnapped the mascot and urinated in the punch bowl.


Says Mr. Furlong in response to protests surrounding the Torch Relay:

The Olympics shouldn't be about politics, it should be about sport. The torch relay is supposed to be about introducing the world to the Olympic values. It can't help but have a good effect on people from other countries. To bury that message under other stuff that has nothing to do with the Olympics is wrong.

Wha? Huh? First off, lets take a look at the “Olympic values”. What exactly does that mean? Straight from the IOC website :


…the goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised (sic) without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.


So, John, correct me if I’m wrong here, but my interpretation of what you are saying is that we should strive for peace and a better world, but we shouldn’t actually address any of the issues that might lead to this coming about. You seem to be suggesting that the scope of the Olympics is sport and therefore you needn’t pay attention to anything that falls outside that narrow, narrow band of interest. You’re kind of like a firefighter that refuses to put the fire out in your neighbours house because you work across town and his place doesn’t reside in your precinct.


Weren’t these games sold as the event that would bring China into the mainstream? Didn’t people talk about how China would be forced to clean up their act because the eyes of the world would be upon them? I know it’s not the job of our Olympic organizing committee to bring about rapid political change in a country that could squish us like a bug. But doesn’t it seem a little bit scary that when John Furlong sees a series of protests for an arguably noble cause, his sickness is not caused by the memory of the victims being celebrated, but of the potential headache that it might cause him in two years time?


Here’s some thoughts on an effective way for the IOC to eliminate protests from its events. Don’t give the rights to your events to questionable governments. Act in a way that supports your claims of “Olympic ideals”. Embrace the fact that your organization could be one of creating positive change rather than sticking its head in the sand while stuffing its pockets. Select leaders and organizers willing to stand up for something.


Once again John, this falls a bit outside of your scope, but perhaps the thought that this might somehow negatively affect your games might force you into action.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Romantic

I really like LA Weekly. Kind of like the Georgia Straight, but interesting.

I stumbled upon this article about how to get divorced before you hit 30, and I laughed and I laughed. There's just so many people I can see in this article. Good times.