Do you like...stuff?

yesterday...

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:15:29 GMT

was the 19th anniversary of the montreal massacre, where marc lepine shot and killed 14 women at l'ecole polytechnique. he blamed women for the failures in his life.

it's not easy being green

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:26:57 GMT

i was reading about sustainble forestry practices (or lack thereof) for my correspondence course, and wondered if i could see clearcut tracts on googlemaps. so i googlemapped "british columbia." it looks lush and green and beautiful (like their licence plate says:

but closer inspection reveals...

a tiny mosaic of tan patches and green patches.

looking even closer shows...

huge clearcut tracts

pardoning turkeys

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:04:30 GMT

GWB pardons his last turkey

am i totally missing something here...why is he pardoning a turkey? what did turkeys ever do wrong? if anything, shouldn't people be pardoned for killing and eating turkeys?

today

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:43:51 GMT

today is international day for the elimination of violence against women.

garbage the size of texas

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 06:49:10 GMT

the great pacific garbage patch

this is disgusting. the simple act of littering infuriates me. i'm actually getting very agitated reading the article.

provincial election tomorrow!

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:44:44 GMT

don't forget to do your research and vote tomorrow!

1996

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 23:52:27 GMT

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins

Shakedown 1979
Cool kids never have the time
On a live wire right up off the street
You and I should meet

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?

two-oh-oh-seven

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 19:53:21 GMT

is it just me or does it not feel like 2007? the thing is, 2006 didn't feel like 2006 either. i think years stopped feeling like their actual years back in 1995.

all your symphony are belong to us

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:04:29 GMT

to the classically-inclined: please comment with your favourite symphonies/symphonic pieces! i've been obsessed with listening to symphonies lately, and i need more!

my favourites:
dvorak 9 (from the new world)
rimsky-korsakov - scheherazade
shosty 5, 6, 7 (leningrad)
tchaikovsky 6

others i've got (but aren't favourites):
beethoven 1, 3 (eroica), 6 (pastorale) 9
mahler 5, 9
shosty 10, 13

PSA

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 15:53:14 GMT

it's "thanksgiving", not "turkey day".

Super-skinny Me

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 19:25:08 GMT

In Britain's new "Super-Skinny Me: The Race to Size Zero," a group of female journalists will allow themselves to be filmed as they diet their way to a size 2 (that's a 0 in U.S. size). Will it expose health risks, as a Channel 4 spokesperson claims, or simply encourage more crash-dieting?

full article here

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:46:25 GMT

Brian says:
deep space nine is the best star trek series every produced ok end of discussion

FREE BOOKS

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 04:12:50 GMT

inspired by gruberman's book give away, i have weeded out some books from my own shelf to give away. if you want a book(s), comment here and they're yours!

reveries of a bachelor - marvel
the travelers' guide to asian customs & manners - elizabeth devine and nancy l. braganti
the edible woman - margaret atwood
the plague dogs - richard adams
charlotte's web - e.b. white
the book of myths - cruse
to kill a mockingbird - harper lee
the saga of erik the viking - terry jones
the BFG - roald dahl
matilda - roald dahl
charlie and the great glass elevator - roald dahl
the alchemist - paulo coelho
david boring - daniel clowes (graphic novel)
the cooking of japan (info about japanese cooking and recipes)
betty crocker's chinese cookbook
king james version of the bible

JUST ADDED:
~~works of jack london (incl. the call of the wild, white fang, the sea wolf [AWESOME] & short stories)~~
born naked - farley mowat (his biography. very amusing)
and no birds sang - farley mowat (account of his time in the army in WWII. very good read)
never cry wolf - farley mowat
1984 - orwell
jacob have i loved - katherine paterson
a handful of time - kit pearson
~~stokes field guide to birds~~
the secret diary of adrian mole - sue townsend (funny)
the secret diary of adrian mole, age 13 1/4 - sue townsend (funny)
the drawing of the three - stephen king (part of the dark tower series)
the breast book (about breasts & culture and stuff)
~~the time machine - h.g. wells (abridged & illustrated)~~

fun fact: buttons

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 23:16:19 GMT

did you know that womens' clothing has buttons on the left side because during the olden days, they would be dressed by their chambermaids, and this made it easier as they were usually right handed. for men, their buttons are on the right side because it makes it easier for them to draw their sword (heehee) while unbuttoning their jacket with their left hand only.

cheesy, or lack thereof, movies

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 19:53:13 GMT

i just watched the purple death from outer space (1940).

it's about this mysterious illness that kills people, and the only sign it leaves is a purple dot on the victim's forehead. one day scientists see that a rocketship is dumping white dust from the sky, and figure that this is what is causing the purple death. then flash gordon comes to the rescue and is sent to the planet mongol to stop emperor ming from making this white dust.

i thought this movie would have a certain cheese factor that'd make it entertaining, but i was disappointed. there is a really random mishmash of costumes - robin hood-like tights and hats, then marching band uniforms with shoulder caps and feathered hats, friar cloaks and welding masks. yeah. it's quite hilarious how there would be a shot of a snowy mountain with a snowstorm, and then there'd be a shot of the characters wearing crampons and standing in front of a white background with no blowing snow, or snow at all.

even though i didn't pay for this movie (it's from the library), it was a waste of time!

~~~~
i also watched godzilla vs monster zero (1966), and this was much more entertaining. in this movie, the japanese discover that there is a planet past jupiter, planet X, that is emitting radio waves. a convoy of astronauts (including a white american guy, played by nick adams) is sent to investigate. they find out that The Controller, the head of the people on Planet X, wants the astronauts to bring godzilla and rodan (a flying monster) from earth to planet X to combat monster zero, which terrorizes the surface of their planet (and is the reason why they have to live underground). the controller goes back to earth with the astronauts, and then brings back godzilla and rodan in nuclear bubbles. then epic monster fighting ensues...

the controller

godzilla...isn't he cute?

rodan

monster zero

ms nomokawa, an alien spy who falls in love with nick adams

FUN FACT

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:41:54 GMT

Leonard Nimoy directed "Three Men and a Baby." I'M TOTALLY SERIOUS.

it's modern

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 18:38:22 GMT

after the piano tuner guy finished tuning the piano, i sat down and took out my sister's old grade 6 royal conservatory book. played some list A annd list B pieces. started playing a list C piece ("playing marbles" by octavio pinto, 1890-1950), and only after playing the first couple of bars did i peek at the left hand's clef, and saw that it is a treble clef -- i just assumed it was in bass clef. if i hadn't seen that i would have just assumed it was supposed to sound like that because it's MODERN.

food

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 04:06:04 GMT

if you have a giant fresh batch of blueberry chocolate chip pancakes, put up your hand.

...

thought so. heh heh heh.

there's something about making pancakes in particular, that's very zen & relaxing. now that i have a foolproof Perfect Pancake recipe, i have nothing to worry about, other than the occasional pancake getting blacker than it should. it seems somewhat analagous to the labour of harvesting crops, and in the end having a huge reserve of food. ensuring a steady food supply -- the pancakes will go into the freezer and can be removed and nuked at any time for a quick and tasty snack/meal.

curious question

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 04:03:33 GMT

if you were tight for cash, would you sell your sperm/eggs for money? assuming there were no medical complications for the procurement of such (for the women, specifically).

i don't think i would, because it'd mean that the couple wanting the sperm/egg donation would be making a child instead of adopting one.

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 18:29:03 GMT

hellebelle says:
i've started saying "lol" in RL

hellebelle says:
is that bad?

RIP the four sisters

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 20:56:08 GMT

early this morning i drove to mississauga to see the four sisters -- the four smokestacks of the lakeview generating station (LGS) -- get exploded. LGS closed on april 30, 2005 as part of OPG's plan to close down its fossil-fuel powered plants. this plant burned coal for its fuel.

after four hours of sleep, i rolled out of bed and managed to shove 2 slices of honey-apple slathered toast down my gullet. i was surprised at the amount of traffic on the 401 at 6:30 AM...shouldn't everyone still be in bed? i parked on a side street near LGS and followed the people trickling down to LGS. there was quite a crowd -- residents from the neighbourhood walked with their dogs and coffees, armed with disposable and digital cameras, and more hardcore photographers carried tripods that were like stilts and cameras with giant penis lenses.

i stood behind the barriers closing off the road to LGS. construction workers whirred around in golf carts and staticky voices were emitted from their walkie talkies. at 7:20 AM one worker sounded an air horn, which i like to call "horn in a can". the next 10 minutes passed so slowly...i think it was the longest 10 minutes in my life. it didn't help that my watch was 5 minutes fast. at 7:30 AM, the horn in a can was sounded again, and the explosions were to start a minute later...

7:31 AM

7:32 AM, edited landscape

link to a video of the fall of the sisters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT2KjZ4ZXXA

and yes, it was me who uttered, "holy shit!" in the video...i love how there is applause after they fall.

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 05:56:10 GMT

(brian sends me sigur ros' "takk" album over msn)

hellebelle says: brian
hellebelle says: you have AWESOME taste in music
hellebelle says: and friends
Brian: haha, thanks
Brian: if you like sigur ros, you do too
Brian: (madonna and shakira notwithstanding)
hellebelle says: lol
hellebelle says: i don't like madonna!
hellebelle says: i just said i'd like to dress up like her for halloween
hellebelle says: i'm sure you have your "junk" music too
Brian: sure
Brian: but i'm not going to tell you about those, that would break the illusion
hellebelle says: hahahahahahahaha
hellebelle says: it's like finding out that jesus never brushed his teeth
Brian: he probably didn't
Brian: i mean, come on, colgate didn't exist in 1st century ad
hellebelle says: he probably chewed Tooth Cleaning Sticks at least
Brian: but that's not brushing

new favourite music

Fri, 19 May 2006 03:35:36 GMT

new favourite classical piece:
piano concerto composed (and played) by michel camilo. it's contemporary but it's TONAL, and sooooo pretty. i am currently 13 people away from acquiring the third movement from soulseek.

new favourite clarinet piece:
"der hirt auf dem felsen" (the shepherd on the rock), a lieder by schubert, for soprano voice, clarinet and piano. sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pretty.

new favourite alternative music:
the flaming lips (courtesy of brian)
shakira (did i mention she's hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwt?)

ERROR ERROR

Sat, 13 May 2006 07:27:56 GMT

i went to check my grade report here for curiosity's sake but the site is dead so i went to the domain to search for grade reports. this is what i found:

how it's made: eggs

Tue, 09 May 2006 18:23:55 GMT

today i watched "how it's made" and they had a segment on chicken egg production. there was a shot of the hens in their little pens (stacked up like shelves) with their heads poking out the slot, pecking at the grain mash passing by on the conveyor belt. the announcer said how fluorescent lights are on 15 hours a day to simulate real sunlight, and how the room is humidity and temperature controlled. it's so great how they downplay the fact that these hens are actually Real Live Animals -- the way they're talked about, it's as if they're mushrooms growing in a temperature- and humidity-controlled manure pile.

and later when there's a shot of eggs in the sorting/packaging factory getting stamped with a "best before" date (35 days), the announcer says that hens have a "best before" date of 72 weeks, when the eggs they lay are no longer fit for consumption, and the hens are then sent to the slaughterhouse.

eek.