AM Radio: The Definition of a Joke

What's the deal with AM radio? Why does it still exist? The quality is terrible and it's not even in stereo. Why is this tolerated? Now I understand that it costs more to transmit an FM signal rather than an AM signal, but dare I assume, if an AM station changed to FM, that the increase in revenue from advertisements would offset the increase in operating costs? It pains me to listen to AM radio when I know that FM exists. It's like watching a television station that chooses to be broadcast in black and white. I mean, come on people, this is the 21st century! Let's dare to dream here. It's not the 1930's where the whole family is sitting around the old HiFi on Saturday night listening to The Shadow. We live in the age of "High Definition", "On-demand", and "Podcasts". So I think it's time we do what we know has needed to be done for a very long time: we take AM radio out back with grandpa's 12 gauge and put it out of its misery.

Movie Review: 28 Weeks Later

Well I just got back from seeing 28 Weeks Later, and I must say, I'm not too impressed. Though it had some good zombie violence (zombies getting shot up, zombies getting burned alive, zombies getting sliced apart by helicopter blades, etc.) I found the story pretty contrived. It was one of those movies where after you see it you're questioning all the decisions that the main characters made throughout the movie. eg. "Aww man, they never should have left that bunker. . . " or "that guy would never have been given security clearance in real-life" and the like. Obviously its a sci-fi movie but the human elements of the movie still need to be realistic. Also, while the first movie (28 Days Later) relied on awesome story, believable character development, and amazing cinematography for its success, this movie relied heavily on the dramatic theme music from the first movie to build suspense, which was a pretty big cop-out. And of course, they ended the movie on a cliffhanger so that they can milk another sequel out of the "28 [insert measurement of time] Later" franchise, which, in this reviewers opinion, should never have become a franchise to start with. It was an awesome movie on its own, these sequels are not helping its reputation.

Work vs. Leisure

Hello to everyone out there in the blogosphere. I'm sorry I haven't made a new post in some time, I've been somewhat busy as of late. And I know that a 'busy day' to me is what most of you would call 'a day', but it was relatively busy for me so I didn't have time to do important things like update my blog. And for that I apologize. I had to go to Toronto for two things: 1. get a job 2. play rock music. Two very different things but also two very important things.

I've tried my best not to get a job for the longest time, but there comes a point in every man's life (some much later than others) when he feels the need to leave the nest and actually start supporting himself rather than constantly relying on his all-too-accomodating parents. And, let me tell you, my nest is a very comfortable place and hard to leave. The cola flows like water and there's always a fresh bag of Lays regular potato chips waiting for me at 5:00. Banjoes and harmoniums are strewn about the house for impromptu jam sessions. The TV screens are big and the days are short. And of course, poutine fridays make the start of the weekend that much sweeter. Basically, a great place to while away the day, truly enjoying ones leisure time. However, when the feelings of being a bum are disrupting your leisure, then it's not really leisure at all. True leisure is having no worries on your mind; I've experienced it many a time and I'll experience it again, but I had to make some changes so that my leisure time was actually earned, and not simply leisure time because I had nothing else to do.

So somehow I got a job in a desparate attempt to be a "normal human". The whole job search/ interview process is simply terrible. I didn't have a particularly bad experience or anything, but I'm just not used to that type of judgement. Just a panel of people poking and prodding at you trying to find out what type of person you are. I wish they just had a computer system that measured ones personality, attitude, and general demeanour and then compiled it all so that a human could be represented in number form. For example, 80/100 would be a pretty good human. Pretty funny, good handshake, looks you in the eyes when they talk to you, self motivated and whatnot. 50/100 would obviously be a borderline failure as a human. Potential drug and alcohol problems, anxiety and stress issues, problems controlling the level of their voice, etc. It just seems having an interview is a tad archaic. Let the computers do the work. . .that's their job.

So what was the point of this post. . .of course Work vs. Leisure: The Battle rages on. I mean ideally, work is leisure. You're so happy with what you do to make a living that the two are one in the same. But let's be realistic here. One thing that I have realized is that no matter what stage you are in life there is always going to be a certain level of anxiety that you have to deal with. For example, when you don't have a job you're worried about finding one. When you do have a job you're worried about losing your precious leisure time. We, as humans, are never totally satisfied with our current situation. There's always something. Obviously it varies from person to person, some people can deal with this anxiety better than others. Some use alcohol to do it for them. And some people are just happy all the time. But who wants that anyway. I would like to strive towards emotional moderation, in which one feels neither highs nor lows. But then again, that might get a bit boring after a while. Thought du jour: What's better? High and Lows or Steady Mids? You decide.

Quote of the Day

"Open up your mouth and close your eyes
And I'll stuff your face with verbal shepherd's pies."

-James Nicholson (from his highly anticipated hip-hop debut, "Bite This")

Mundane Thoughts

Well, I finally got a planner today. I know I don't really do that much but I find it's useful to keep track of the things that you do in a planner. Today I had my first softball game of the season so I wrote that down in the planner. Nothing too elaborate, just the time and place of the softball game. It's a convenient way to keep track of day-to-day activities. Tomorrow I'm going over to my brother's house to hang out and drink a few beers so I wrote that down in the planner. There's no specific time for the get-together, so I just wrote "Hang out with Matt" under May 18th. Writing stuff down helps me organize what I'm doing, and it also makes me feel like I'm somewhat busy when in fact I do quite little. You do what you can.

I've always loved a good 'to do' list. For some reason, as long as I can remember, I've always titled them 'do to' lists. I'm not quite sure why. It's not like I do it on purpose, or that I actively try not to write 'do to'; it's just something that I do. Maybe I do it because I think it's unique or something. Regardless, a good 'to do' list is quite satisfying. Checking off each thing once it is accomplished is the best part. I saved this huge 'to do' list I had in Novemeber of Grade 12. I was really busy that month for a number of reasons and I had this really long 'to do' list. It took the whole month to complete, but when it was finished it was a thing of beauty.

I finished a good book last night. It was called Billy Liar and it was about this guy in a small town in England who is trying to leave his hometown and make it big in London, the "Big City". He gets in all sorts of trouble in the town, but at the end realizes he can't just run away from his problems. It was a really good book, sort of funny and sort of sad, the way many good books are. It sort of made me think of my current situation, except me and the main character are very different because I'm not a compulsive liar. I'm now looking for another good book to read except it's hard because you want the new book to be as good as the last one, and it rarely is. One of my goals in life is to be very well-read. However, I find it's too easy to give up on books once you have started them. I blame modern media for the short attention span of youth today.

Anyway, those are just some of the mundane thoughts I've had today. If you can think of any good books I should read, let me know.

Facebook and the death of social interaction

We all have become very familiar with the online social network Facebook. We all remember when it first came out and the first people who signed up described it as 'creepy' and 'addictive.' So we all tried to 'hold off' and didn't sign up right away because we thought we were above it. But we all eventually caved, at one time or another, and signed up and got hooked. I remember when I signed up for facebook. . . I got blackout drunk one night last May and when I checked my email the next morning there was a message in my inbox saying "Your facebook confirmation munber is. . ." It was like a drunken hookup that shouldn't have happened and then in the morning realizing what went down. . .But no regrets. . . One way or another we all joined. . .and here we are today: Connected.

We check our emails and are happy to see that someone has written on our wall or tagged a photo of us, or someone has sent us a message or requested us as a friend. But why does it make us so happy? I think it it makes us feel popular. The problem is, it's not your conventional popular, like if all the kids wanted to sit with you at lunch, or you got invited to all the best birthday parties. It's being popular without ever actually having to deal with people. Or being friends with someone without ever having to talk to them. Instead of talking on the phone we write on our friends' walls. Instead of going out for coffee with someone we send them a message. Facebook has made it possible to "be friends" with someone without ever having to actually hang out with them.

I'm not saying facebook is inherently evil or anything. There are alot of things I think are great about facebook. Being able to share pictures, promoting an event, or getting in touch with old friends are all great aspects of the software. It's always funny when you get a friend request from someone you haven't seen in a decade or from someone you're pretty sure you've never met. But, most of the time, you just hit that Confirm button and stack your friend count. You can always use more friends, right? Of course it's always disheartening when you see the number of friends in a certain network get smaller. . ."Hey, yesterday I had 102 friends at Queen's and now I only have a 101!. . . .Oh. . ." Deleting a friend is something I don't think I will ever do. What purpose does that serve? What, you can't stand seeing their little thumbnail picture when you're searching through your friend list? Or is it that you don't want them to be able to see your cool new profile where you listed all your favourite Tv shows and movies? Why? Who the fuck cares?

I'm not bitter about what facebook has done to us. Obviously we are happy to communicate this way. If we really had a problem with it we would do something about it. Some of us already have. Last week I noticed a new group that was called FaceCult, which is essentially a group of people that have had enough of facebook and are organizing a mass "e-suicide" some time in september. Don't get freaked out, 'e-suicide' just means they are going to delete their facebook account. That'll show 'em! I suppose it's a pretty good idea, but it's not like it's going to change anything. People are still going to love sitting at their computers poring over profiles and reading people's walls and looking at pictures like our friends are a bunch of celebrities. And when you really think about it, facebook does make us all celebrities. I mean think of the ever-popular facebook "NewsFeed." I mean, what the fuck is that? Some idiot is now friends with this jerk-off. So-and-so joined the group "I'm a vapid loser and want everyone to know about it" THIS IS NOT NEWS!!! But presented in this way on NewsFeed it becomes news. It's like reading People magazine or something. Nothing what celebrities do really matters but it seems important because we have a connection with these people, and it's the same with Facebook.

Fuck I hate it when people say "It's a small world." Oh wow, you went to some camp for spoiled kids and then went to a university for spoiled teenagers and now you know so-and-so who lives in North Toronto? Wooooooow! That's crazy! What a small world, eh? No, its not a small world, you're just a fucking idiot who doesn't realize what a small population of people you actually interact with. But I digress.

So Facebook is not evil. Humans are. It's not the software's fault that you've conceded to live a trite, meaningless existence culminated by your eventual death (be it facebook death or actual). It's your fault. So for God's sake do something with your life! Read a book! Join a book club! Take your beagle for a walk! Go to night school! Go on a road trip!

Just remember, whatever you do, always take lots of pictures so you can make a facebook album when you get back so everyone can see how much fun you're having and who you hang out with.

Faux-Hawks: A think piece

Seriously though, what is the deal with faux-hawks? I'm sure you are all familiar with what a faux hawk is. . .when dudes with short-ish hair sort of spike their hair into a little mohawk like David Beckham did 5 years ago. What a fucking joke. What are these people trying to convey with this hairstyle? That they're kind of edgy or anti-establishment? That they've got attitude and refuse to have a conventional hairstyle? Who the fuck knows.

My impression of anyone who rocks a faux-hawk is this: "I'm a twenty-something douche-bag who is too scared to have a REAL mohawk because it's permanent and if my boss says he doesn't like my faux hawk I can just wash my hair. . .so I'm actually not that edgy or anti-establishment. . .I'm just an idiot who thinks mohawks are cool."

I just don't get it. It's so half-assed. At least people with real mohawks have said "yeah man I have a fucking mohawk! There is NO hair on the side of my head. . .I can either have a mohawk or wear a hat! That's it! And even if I wear a hat you can see the flattened mohawk coming out the back." A guy with a faux hawk has decided to "stay on the safe side" and that to me is incredibly lame. Since the rise of punk music in the seventies, the mohawk has come to symbolize rebellion. The faux-hawk, an accepted hairstyle in today's corporate workplace, seems to be a contradiction of all that the mohawk stands for. It's sad, really.

Now, I don't like judging people on how they look or how they dress or what their hair looks like. Obviously I do, but I don't like to admit it. And I really don't like openly critisizing people's looks in a popular blog like this. . .but I just really don't get the faux hawk. So I don't know. . .what do you guys think? Should we just accept any sort of fashion statement as personal expression and leave it at that or can we openly criticize and ridicule those who go out of their way to look different and unique? I don't know. . .I really hate criticizing other people, but I do...and I really hate being a hypocrite too . . .anyway, tell me what you guys think. . .

Sens Army

Well, it's playoff time in Ottawa and it's a great time to be alive. On Saturday, the Sens won their second-round series against the New Jersey Devils 4 games to 1. Our crew got together at our friend John's house to watch the game and drink a bunch of bargain beer.

That day at work, John had taken it upon himeslf to make an exact replica of the Stanley Cup using tinfoil, cardboard, scotch tape, an empty ice cream container, and a whole lot of love. Needless to say, the finished product was a thing of beauty; topped off with a Sens logo taped prominently on the front of the trophy.

After the Sens won the game 3-2 we decided it would be a good idea to take the cup downtown to celebrate the victory. It was a great excuse to yell and cheer at the top of your lungs without being arrested for disturbing the peace. Alot of cars were honking as they passed, and groups of people would join in on the 'Go Sens Go' chants. Of course, there were the occasional "oh did they win tonight?" comments, but I think most people were pleased with our alcohol fueled antics.

Once we got to the bar, we were now giving people the option to "kiss the cup," which actually was pretty gross considering the amount of times it had been dropped on the sidewalk on the way to the bar. Some people went for it, usually guys that were already as drunk as we were. There were a few sensible people who politely declined the offer. One girl, after being offered the chance to "kiss the cup," promptly replied "I might as well kiss a toilet seat." Good for her.

All in all, I think our mission down Elgin St. was important to bolster support for our Sens in the third round, where we will be taking on the Buffalo Sabres. If you can believe it, the replica Cup actually made it home safe and sound. We were all convinced that it would be left in tatters after our drunken promenade. That means it will be ready to go for the start of round three this week. However, it should probably be given a quick rinse if you want to take a drink from it. Allons-y les Senateurs. . .

Moustache of the Week

Video of the Week

sweet song + awesome moustache + artsy choreography
= good entertainment