It's a Nice Day

Labels: adventure, photography, vancouver

Everybody's working for the weekend

Everyone I know is working their literal and figurative balls off, and I am amongst them. The only people I know who aren't working harder this summer, are people who already have full-time jobs. They just work all day and no one gives them the credit they deserve.

I finally got in to some white wine today, thanks to Martine. She bought a bottle of "Yard Dog" of the white variety, after liking the red type so much. The bottle has a picture of a small dog in a cone collar on it, and is quite tasty. We also watched "Happiness" together, and I must say that I am still impressed.

I originally saw it super late at night on Showcase, and was originally blown away by how creepy the subject matter was. However, I slowly became enthralled by the awkward camera shots, and intensely dark humor. "Welcome To The Dollhouse" was really good too, but I can relate to the characters in "Happiness" a little bit better. I guess that comes off as pretty creepy, if you've seen the movie, you will know that most of the characters aren't model citizens. I do think that all the characters exhibit an attribute or two that we can all relate to. Be it, loneliness, guilt, sexual curiosity, and so on and so forth.

So that is my wine fueled post for tonight. Godspeed!

Labels: blogging, movies, wine

Purple Knights

Because I could never take pictures of everything I really wanted to.

Oh Lethbridge, you make me smile sometimes.

Labels: drunk, lethbridge, photography

I finally did it

I finally got my shit together, drank a bunch of coffee, and rearranged the entire living room. I think it looks pretty good.

Labels: adventure, lethbridge, photography

I Hate Paul Brandt

Is there anyone who knows who is responsible for the new Ford commercials starring Paul Brandt? I would really like to have a chat with that person, who apparently has very little knowledge of how to make a successful commercial. It's extremely upsetting how terrible these commercials are. I would go in to it a little bit more, but I'm afraid it will just turn in to a nonsensical rant. We are apparently winning a war on the environment, destroying it faster than any previous generation, but it is apparently essential to drive around the neighborhood in the biggest truck on the market.

I saw a story on the news about how asshole campers have left a trail of destruction across Kananaskis country. It's really tragic how people can be so heartless and irresponsible. Leaving piles of garbage, ripped up grass, scorched earth... It's tragic and I think it is in part the responsibility of the car companies. They have all these commercials with large trucks racing around, spraying mud everywhere, with men screaming at the top of their lungs with glee. Apparently people actually do this, they drive their vehicles around the country side, as if it has no impact on the world around them. I'm a little upset so I am going to end it here, shame on vehicle manufacturers.

Labels: anger, rant

Function over Fashion

I just stumbled upon this webcomic via "ProjectWonderful", and I think it is really good. Swell art, funny content, much better than Disney's "Tarzan". "Minus." Check it out, it's really good. I hope to see many updates.

Labels: internet, news, webcomic

Horses are still a reasonable mode of transportation

I was driving home from work, and I saw three people on horses casually strolling down the street. It's no big deal, they paid no harm to myself or my vehicle. All is well, if I can skateboard where I please, then they can horse it all they like. I don't mind it, as long as the horses behave in a civil manner, horses should be allowed where they please. Someone mentioned to me that there is a current law in Calgary Alberta which forbids a bar from denying your horse a place to sleep. Actually, according to this (scroll down to Calgary) website, it's just rails for tying up your horse. I guess it's difficult to say, anecdotes are the internet of the past. I'm thinking that should be on a t-shirt.

I went for a nice skateboard down to the local convenience store for a slupree and I am extremely refreshed now. It's getting rather sticky and muggy in my house, and some physical activity is great. I walk around a lot at work, but it's just not the same since it's usually just in mundane circles. Hurrah for participaction! The best part about the skate has to be listening to "Donuts" by JDilla, very cool instrumental hip-hop production. It's too bad we don't have him around anymore, I just fully realized what he had to offer us. I can see this being a very hip-hop oriented summer.

Best Regards folks, Jaronw

Labels: lethbridge, life, music

John Hodgeman

He wrote a book almost too funny to read, and I love him for it.

If you can find it, "The Areas Of My Expertise" either in book form or audiobook, do yourself a favour and consume.

The Real Sandwiches

The last post was about a sandwich when I wrote the title. That darned commercial came on and distracted me. It was a great sandwich with many interesting ingredients. It was completely vegetarian, although not vegan. Here is a video I made for school. I made everything except the first monologue, which is from the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

It's a little weird, but it is now a part of something I am going to be calling "Young and Hungry".

Labels: art, movies, school

Sandwiches

Blogging regularly is pretty fun. Someday I hope to become a masterful and prolific blogger, with thousands of readers. That will no doubt never happen, unless I figure out a specific topic to write about. It'd be nice if a company would send me CDs, DVDs or video games for free, then I would be obligated to blog. How perfect would that be?

Maybe I should do a weekly thing in which I post about random things I see/hear/read, and rip on it. Maybe I won't rip on it as a rule... but I will be stern with my appraisals. Let's try one now:

Delta Farce! What an idea for a film; rednecks, war and Larry the Cable Guy. I'm sure there is a plot, or something similar, but from the TV spot I see this as an updated "In the Army Now". Does anyone else remember that film? One of Pauly Shore's first movies, which kicked off a lengthy and prolific career. Ok, that was a bit low, I think Pauly Shore is actually semi-entertaining, especially now that he is able to make fun of himself. I however don't think, that with the downfall of studio cinema since the 1970, this "new" movie will be worth a dime. I could be being critical, but let's look at a graph here.

Sadly, the "Time Vs. Quality of Movie" graph shows us why this movie might statistically suck. Factor in that rednecks (in my opinion) are a lot more tragic than they are hilarious, you get an equation for box office poison. Ok, Box Office poison is a very harsh term, this movie may do really good in the box office, but again, that might be a very sad look at our society. This movie is the equivalent of a flaming bag of shit on my door step. I could be an asshole and rag on Larry the Cable guy, but that won't make the movie any better. What if the movie is actually good? Then I will look like an asshole. Maybe this is why I don't have a blog with loyal readers, my writing is without edge. Anyways, someone should watch it and tell me if it is passable.

Thanks to IMDB for all the research material.

Labels: movies, review

I'm still excited about Photography

Hey everyone, I'm back in black in Lethbridge and I am just feeling good right now. Good to sit down for awhile, sleep in my own bed. Here is another picture I uploaded.

Labels: adventure, photography, vancouver

On My Way Back Home

I just finished packing all my crap together for the journey home. I'll be back on Albertan soil around 2 pm on Tuesday, pretty excited. It's not that I do not like this place, it's mostly that this place is a bit too different. There is something about the beer and the coffee that isn't quite right. The beer tastes a little flat, and all the coffee is either a) crap that comes from either Starbucks or Blenz or b) pretty good stuff from a place with really bad service. I could live here, I am sure, but I think it would take some getting used to.

I sadly did not take as many pictures as I wanted to, although the mass amount I took at the aquarium sort of made up for it. If you haven't checked them out, see the post below. Anyways, I am waiting on a call for more adventure. Catch you all later.

Labels: adventure, lethbridge, road trip, vancouver

Pictures are Fun

Labels: photography, vancouver

There's a fist fight brewing at my house

LCD Soundsystem rocked my socks off. Literally, I lost most socks! Just kidding, my socks are as safe as can be. Let me roll back, as I missed a day of posting.

Wednesday was a little bit different than Tuesday, I mostly just wandered around checking out random things. I finally broke out my Kodachrome and tossed it in to my 35mm. Hopefully it will get some really cool pictures. After that I was a little confused on what to do, so I hung out for awhile before settling on seeing the film "Fantastic Planet" It was truly fantastic, and I saw it on a double-bill with Metropolis. I hadn't seen either of them all the way through, so I was quite excited to see them together. When the films got out, it was raining quite heavily, so I decided to just get some sleep.

Next Day: LCD Soundsystem day! AWESOME! I met this Couchsurfer named Geraldo and he took me to a really good Malaysian restaurant where I ate something I could not pronounce. It was great and I was filled for the rest of the day. We had some coffee and talked a bit, and he took me to swim at the YWCA, what a nice guy eh? Anyways, I showed up at the venue like I would normally do when going to a concert and got pretty excited to see how nice the venue is. It looks pretty classy and has a really good sound system. No complaints at all.

Unfortunately not minutes after I grabbed a pint of beer, a security guard told me my camera's lens was too big, and House of Blues (the owner of the Commodore Ballroom) had their own pro photographers. That is complete bullshit because I was shooting with a 50mm lens, and that's actually short even compare to what a lot of "little" cameras use. I can't even zoom. So that is why I have no pictures of LCD Soundsystem, and why I hate the House of Blues. Luckily, James Murphy is DJing tonight, so I am going to get some good pictures (hopefully)

Back to the show; it was fantastic. A guy named Noah opened up with his one man band called "Yacht". It featured programmed beats backing him dancing, swinging the mic, and falling on the floor. It was wonderful. LCD came out not long after, and threw down a few opening tracks that featured a shortened version of "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House". James actually stopped drummer Pat Mahoney because a fist fight had erupted in front of the stage. I was afraid a riot was going to erupt, you know how crowds of drunk people can get. Thankfully, the rest of the show went off without a hitch, and I had one of the best times at a concert ever.

So that's my trip so far, today I ate some Greek food, took some pictures down at English bay, and met Bif Naked. I almost forgot that last detail. It's true, she was walking her two little white dogs and we said "hi", it was cool, she is nice.

North American Scum

So yesterday was super cool. After my last blog post I got together with Jocelyn, who I haven't seen since senior year of high school. It was fun seeing her, since she really hasn't changed at all, except she's super hot now. Anyways, she took me to a rather swank gay pub for a few pints of Strongbow and the end of the Canucks game. The bar wasn't really flamingly gay, which made me completely forget that it was a gay bar. However, the giant paintings of cocks on the wall was an ever present reminder of whose house I was in.

After a few casual pints, we decided to go across the street to "Celebrities", which is one spot that I really wanted to hit. Celebrities is also a gay bar, but it's much more of a dance-club than a bar. I was good and buzzed, so after we payed our cover and checked our coats, I was pretty excited to hit the dance floor. However, when we finally got there, it was a bit daunting.

I was a little worried about what could be waiting for me, I've never been to a gay bar before that night, so I felt like an adventurer about to step in to a dense jungle (of sweaty men). I was hesitant until the DJ started spinning Daft Punk (it was sort of a retro night, so he was playing "Around the Word"), and that sent me in to a frenzy of groove. From then on out, the decks were hot with a spicy blend of disco, new wave and techno. I was in sweaty man heaven.

What really has me excited is that on Friday, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem (who is playing on Thursday) is doing a DJ set at Celebrities. WHAT? HOLY SHIT! It's going to be James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, and Al Doyle (of Hot Chip). I have been listening to DFA/Hot Chip remixes lately, and I am really excited now. James Murphy two nights in a row! WORD HOMIES!

Labels: adventure, funk, music, vancouver

I'm in Vancouver; Word up to my homies!

As I type, I am in "Our Town" cafe. I may not get a chance to actually blog this, as I can't find a good WiFi network :( Woe is me. I came here, because this is pretty much the only place in Vancouver that I know by name. I walked a bitch load to get here, I could have taken the bus, but being outdoors is nice; this place smells different. I assume it's because it is always raining, and plants actually get a chance to grow. What a wonderful place. Damn, no WiFi, I guess people are realizing that it is a bit foolish to let people wander anonymously on the internet. I guess I could pay Telus a bunch of money for WiFi at certain places, but I am thinking I should just go ahead and not. I think I am going to check a bookstore around the corner, try and find some kerouac, and smoke a cigarette. Word.

[Much Later] Found some dope WiFi, and a great new (to me) drink "The London Fog". Especially good with green tea and soy, yum. I did some pretty awesome wandering today. I took the bus to Stanely Park and went to the Vancouver Aquarium, which I wasted most of the day at. I took almost 200 pictures of the fish and the park and now I just need a USB cable to unload them. Damn, why didn't I think to bring one before? Oh well, I am sure I will be able to find/buy one and upload some awesome fish pictures to flickr/facebook.

While in the Vancouver Aquarium, I was wandering and I heard some music coming from some obscure corner. I was thinking to myself how much I love the song "Pacific Theme" by Broken Social Scene, and that it would be great for this undersea-esque adventure I was undertaking. Guess what band I realized it was? Yeah! Broken Social Scene. It was joyous. If you get a chance, you should really go, the fish they have are really big!

Labels: adventure, photography, road trip, vancouver