WWIII

So, as someone who keeps up to date on current events, I have to say that the events of the past week have absolutely floored me. I pride myself on my awareness of what is going on in the world around me, but I must admit, last week I took a couple of days off of keeping up with the news. Then, one day, I listen to the CBC hourly news and, lo and behold, World War Three has begun. Wow. The events in the Gaza Strip and the current exchange of rockets between Hezballah and Israel, and Israel's constant bombing of Lebanon (including, incredibly, the international airport, preventing many from being able to flee the country) have left me feeling very despondent and jaded about our current state of world affairs. If you had asked me three weeks ago what the future of the middle east was going to be like, I could have gone on for some time about what I believed the result of recent events could be. But now, since all hell has broken loose between Israel and Lebanon, I just don't know. In many ways, I would give anything to go back to the period from 1989-1992. It was a different world at the time. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Russia, many people in the so-called first world felt this would be an era of un-precedented peace. Finally, the great struggle between the world's two superpowers was at an end, and peace would reign over the Earth. Unfortunately, we could not have been more wrong. Wars are fought every day on this planet, and with well over two hundred dead on both sides in the current conflict (along with seven Canadian citizens, I might add), it looks as though this state of affairs will continue for quite awhile longer. However, it is not the end of the world. As a very smart man reminded me this morning, all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again. But I am an optimist. I am a Star Trek fan, and that comes bundled with it an innate optimism that humanity will one day overcome the violence of our past and learn to live with each other in a world of common respect, free of bigotry and hatred of all kinds. While I am not completely naive and think this will happen anytime soon, I sleep well at night believing simply that it will happen. Someday.

Dogs, Cars, and Spam

So, we have a new puppy at our place, a male border collie named Chip. He's pretty active, (mostly) well-behaved, but still quite a handful. I really look forward to the day he's not in the house anymore. I think he'll be much happier once he gets outside too. I don't have any good pictures of him yet, but as soon as I take some nice shots, I'll be sure to post them.


Movies

On Sunday night, a bunch of the staff from Costco went to see Disney's Cars. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. I didn't really have a huge desire to see the movie, but I thought it would be nice to do something with the people from work for once. I'm glad I went. The film is quite funny, and has some of the same adult "nudge-nudge, wink-wink" humour in it that made Shrek and The Incredibles so hilarious. There are, of course, some cutesy "Disney" kids moments in the film, and at some points, the discriminating adults will have to suppress their gag reflex. But, on the whole, I rate Cars a solid three out of four.


Link of the Day

Spamusement! Spamusement is a comic created by taking the actual subject lines from spam emails and drawing the situation that comes to the twisted mind of the comic's author. Some of the results are a little mixed, but most are really hilarious! Check it out!

Yay! Saturday off!

Hey everyone, may I say how great it is to have Saturday off??? Well, if I can't, too bad, 'cause I just did.

The past couple of days have been fun. Last night, I finally got to see Superman Returns with some friends of mine. Oh! And I got to see Bonnie again, who is back from her whirlwind adventure around the world! Today, I hung out with Monika, and picked up our gift for Candi's wedding. After that, we went to see The Break-Up. So, yeah, it's been a movie weekend.


Movies

Superman Returns: All I can say is, wow! I was absolutely blown away by this film. As he has demonstrated with his previous films, most notably (in my opinion) in X2: X-Men United, director Bryan Singer definitely has an eye and an ear towards character development. Even though Superman Returns certainly is a showcase for some of the most ground-breaking special and visual effects, the characters are what really make the film work. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane is acceptable (and CUTE!), while new-comer Brandon Routh does a great Superman and an even better Clark Kent. However, the real treat is Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor. I have to admit, I had my doubts about him in the role, but they were quickly put to rest. I should have known better; Kevin Spacey has always been a top-notch actor in my opinion. American Beauty remains one of my favorite films, due in no small part to Spacey's portrayal of odd-ball Lester Burnham. Go see Superman Returns if you haven't already. Oh, and just a word of warning: the film clocks in at over two and a half hours, so make sure to visit the little boy's or girl's room first.

The Break-Up: Hmm. I have to say, when Monika and I went to see this movie this afternoon, I was expecting something a little different. I think I wanted a little more comedy, a little less chick-flick. After all, one of my favorite recent comedies is The Wedding Crashers, a film that was catapulted into the "excellent" range by Vince Vaughn. While The Break-Up had a few of those hilarious moments, it was more a romantic comedy(read: Chick-flick) than a showcase of Vaughn's comedic talent. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those guys completely opposed to so-called "chick-flicks," but I prefer to see them when it's seen as a sensitive and generous gesture by me in a boyfriend kinda-way, not when it's just me and a friend expecting to watch a comedy. So, guys, if there's a chance to score brownie points with the girlfriend, take her to this film. Hmm... although, taking a girl to a movie called The Break-Up might not give them the best impression... therefore, no matter who you are, watch this movie at your own risk!


Music

Just had Blue Rodeo's "Side of the Road" playing... good song, I command you to listen to it.

::Insert Witty Title Here::

Man, I'm pooped. Today was non-stop, and incredibly tiring. I know, I know, you're all thinking "Oh, come on. How tiring can it possibly be to work at Costco???" Well, to put it shortly, very. And because it is so tiring, shortly is the only way I can put it. So tonight will be a very short posting.


Music

Go and listen to "Woodstock". GREAT song. The Matthew Souther Comfort version is acceptable, but the best version of the song is by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.


Link of the Day

Irregular Webcomic! Irregular Webcomic is, ironically, one of the most regularly-updated webcomics I have ever had the fortune to read. The man who puts them together does one literally *every day*! It is a fun little comic strip that is not drawn, but rather each panel is a photograph of lego men or role-playing game figures. The comic is extremely amusing, focusing on different on-going storylines such as James Bond-style antics, Indiana Jones-like stories, and table-top roleplaying game adventures. Be aware of horrible puns and intellectual humour. Needless to say, this comic will appeal to the nerd/geek segment of the population. But, you know what I always say: Everyone's a geek about something.

The wheel's turning, but the hamster's dead.

Happy Independence Day to all my American readers!!! (Er... there's *maybe* one... hey Crystal, have you checked out my blog? ;)

Have you ever done a job where it just seems as though you fall into a predictable routine, and end up feeling like a robot on an assembly line, doing the same movements over and over? That's a little like what working as a cashier at Costco feels like. Over and over... "Can I have your card please? Do you have any items on coupon? Your total is $339.58. On the card? Thanks, have a great night!" Repeat. I think that it's that sort of robot-like repetitiveness that the front-end supervisors like their cashiers to get into. I got into the routine tonight, and all of the sudden, I'm putting more and more customers through! My "members per hour," while not great, was a respectable 47. (The "do not go below this line" MPH is 45.) While this was definitely not perfect, I was bringing up the store average, which was a rather slow 42.5 MPH for the day. So, I guess the lesson is, buckle down, accept the torrid pace and tediousness of the job, and you will excell!


Music

I have two songs tonight that deserve to be listened to if you haven't heard them in awhile. The first is The Guess Who's "These Eyes." I listened to it tonight on the way home, and wow! It's amazing how great a song can be, even if you've heard it a million or so times. If you haven't heard it in awhile, listen to it now! The other song is R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People." I don't know why, but it was the perfect song to hear tonight. Upbeat, impossibly chipper, and a great melody. Fun!


Ah, what the heck, here's another joke:

A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.
"Why of course," comes the reply.
The first man then asks: "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Ireland," replies the second man.
The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland."

"Of Course," replies the second man. Curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?" "Dublin," comes the reply.

"I can't believe it," says the first man. "I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."

"Of course," replies the second man. Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: "What school did you go to?"

"Saint Mary's," replies the second man. "I graduated in '62."
"This is unbelievable!" the first man says. "I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"

About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. "What's been going on?" he asks the bartender. "Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."


'Til next time!

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Another day gone... and it was a strange one. The job at Costco can be fun, but sometimes it is extremely hectic and demanding. Some days, there is hardly any time to stop and take a breather, and since they have trained me to do cashiering, it's only gotten worse. Today, though... was odd. For the first half of the day, it was extremely busy. There were people everywhere you looked, and there were times that the lines at the tills were 10 or so members long! Then, five o'clock came, and... nothing. It was as though the store died. The entire warehouse had a slightly funerial feeling, which was somewhat off-putting. In any case, I am at home now, relaxing, washing clothes, and generally trying to ignore the ugly scratch I have on my cheek... (I had an encounter with a particularly nasty pineapple... don't ask).

Ugh... tomorrow I work from 5pm-10pm... only five hours, which sucks pay-cheque-wise, AND I'm at Costco until TEN! Bleh.

Well... since I don't have much to say today, I'll leave you with a joke:


An elderly gent was invited to his old friend's home for dinner one evening.

He was impressed by the way his friend preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms - "Honey," "My Love," "Darling," "Sweetheart," "Pumpkin," etc.
The couple had been married almost 70 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love.

While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, "I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names."

The old man hung his head. "I have to tell you the truth," he said. "I forgot her name about 10 years ago."


Aw, c'mon. It was funny.

Happy Maple Leaf Day!!!

Hey everyone, Happy Canada Day to one and all! Today has been a terrific day, and last night was alot of fun as well. First of all, Chris and I went to see Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, but more on that later. After the film, we went over to Meg's place to watch the fireworks, and may I say, City of Grande Prairie, you have outdone yourself! The fireworks display was very impressive! Not quite as spectacular as the show last year in Edmonton, but after all, it was Alberta's centennial AND they had a much larger fireworks budget, I'm sure.

Today was quite fun as well. After a great sleeping in, my Dad and I went golfing with my uncle Brian, his father Milt, and my two young cousins, James and Sean. It was a really slow nine holes at Grovedale, as we were teaching James how to golf. I think he had alot of fun, despite the slowness of the sport.

Right now I'm enjoying a quiet, relaxing Canada Day afternoon, and I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Because it's such a beautiful day outside, I decided to snap a few pictures, mostly of our new litter of kittens. They're already a few weeks old, but they are starting to get fairly tame. One, however, proved too elusive to catch, and I couldn't lure him out from under the deck. This was the best picture I was able to get of this little scaredy-cat. Two of the kittens are almost identical, save for a little darker coloring on one. The names of these two kittens are Casper and Spooky. Finally, I have one more kitten which we have been unable to name. He's a cute little black kitten. If anyone has any suggestions of names for him and the scaredy-cat, please let me hear them! The final pic is one of the mother, Hoshi, looking like a worn-out mother. Just for interest's sake, here's a pic of Hoshi when she was just a kitten.


Movies

Last night, Chris and I went to see An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film all about the climate crisis, and Al Gore's personal mission to make people aware of the problem, and how they can help solve it. I found the film very interesting as well as enlightening. An Inconvenient Truth dispelled many of the fallacies I had taken as fact, and what I found most surprising was how easily we as a people could turn back the clock and pull back from the edge if we only would accept the fact of climate change and acknowledge our part in causing it. I urge everyone to see this film. I do not of course advocate a blind acceptance of all aspects of the documentary. As with every form of media, there are inherent biases as well as a certain level of theatricality present. Please watch the film with a critical mind, but with an open one as well. And for crying out loud, ask the questions that need asking, and do the research. The problem is real, but the solution is not impossible.


Link of the Day

Overheard in New York. This is a hilarious accounting of some of the most absurd and amusing conversations overheard by regular everyday people in New York City. Some of the conversations overheard are simply inane, but some are genuinely witty and clever. It's updated everyday, so anytime you want a quick laugh, just pop on in and read some of the latest entries. Sometimes disturbing, but always funny!