Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Flash

Today I taught a Flash tutorial for the Graduate Architecture, Landscape and Design Student Union. I met Leah at the Cellular and Biomolecular Research building for lunch. The building is pretty neat, and has trees inside it.

The lecture went pretty well, I think - and I managed to cover everything I planned to. Definitely enough to get people started.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Weekend Update

For some reason, I seemed to have a headache and a foul mood for most of the weekend. Despite this sucking, there are a few higlights worth mentioning.

Lots of sleep. Although it seems I could always sleep more, I went to bed early every night of the weekend.

Leah had Saturday off. This seems like it hasn't happened in forever.

I went to the dentist. This isn't that exciting or fun, but it is notable, since I haven't seen a dentist in a very long time. Instead of reprimanding me, the dentist complained that there was nothing wrong with my teeth for which he could charge me extra, and how this was ridiculous considering how long it had been. Also, somewhere in the last 5 years, dentists (like everybody else) went all digital (film-free, and pretty much instant, x-rays).

Indian food all you can eat buffet.

Church. The new associate pastor rocks the pulpit with a pretty sweet lecturer/rapper style. The guy has a Master's from Cambridge, and is finishing up his PhD, and it shows. He preached the entire book of Jude.

Church also featured some pretty sweet post-service praying with Jon B.

Friday, January 27, 2006

SARS3

It is crazy when you meet with hospital staff, and they start talking about designing for pandemics. Apparently, some places are installing medical gases throughout the Emergency department. By throughout, I mean that even the corridors have Oxygen/Vacuum outlets, so the hallways can be lined with patient stretchers.

For the day when SARS3 hits, 'and it is coming'.


...nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday...

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

4oclock

The work day should be 1 hour shorter.

Last night marked the first weekly St Clair West Freedomize Drink/Eat Night at the Gem. There was a decent turn-out and it was good times. Conversation ebbed and flowed, but always seemed to return to the topic of how far away you had to live before you were no longer welcome at the weekly event.

It also marked the dawning of a new age of Canadian government. Everybody seems quite excited about how the old government sucked or how the new government will suck.

Today at lunch I purchased R.E.M's Out of Time and The Mission Film Score, by Ennio Morricone.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Weekend

I think this blog needs retiring, since it no longer serves any useful purpose...

This weekend was weird; I didn't have to do much, but then I ended up feeling kind of aimless and anxious, like I was wasting my free time.

Highlights... Dinner at Mike's (he and Leah spent Friday afternoon and Saturday recording Leah), and then going to Clinton's (not great) with the whole gang (great). I had coffee while everyone drank beer etc.

Saturday - we went to a show/party at Don and Kevin's. What can I say about the show?.. Leah and I (and Mike and Kat, for that matter) felt quite old. We did get to see Laura Barrett, which made the whole evening worthwhile. She played one of those thumb pianos, and it sounded amazing. Everything else was closer to performance art than music (Yes I understand that that's probably the point, but I prefer my music as music). Also, I tend not to like entire sets of covers, and the unfortunate 'I made most of this at home so I'm singing to a CD' phenomenon of Karaoke shows. Actually, the Blankket guy's cover songs sound good, but there's a lot going on that's not about the music.

It made me realize that I like music as self-expression - music where people put themselves out there in the songs. Art about art, or art about the medium of the art, or art about the viewer's experience of the art; all of that stuff can be interesting, but I can rarely connect at any deeper level. I think people are scared to be themselves, and especially scared to do so in any artistic medium. Easier and safer to do something weird and unusual, and maybe ironic, and keep your heart where it's safe.

Other highlights included lunch at the Moonbean, and of course church.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

The Hook-up

Yesterday Leah put her freshly developed employee discount to work and hooked me up with the Microphones' "The Glow" pt2. She also expanded her ever growing (in chronological order) Joni Mitchell catalog, and hooked up some jams from the classical music dept.

Sweet.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Blah, blah, blah

Music at church last night was great... the new worship leader tore it up.

I this interesting article today, about Japanese kids who don't get out much. I also rediscovered the work of this kinda creepy artist, who makes giant statues - it would be neat to see in person, I think (especially the boy at the bottom of the page).

Also, if you've never tried Clover Leaf Flaked Light Tuna - Spicy Thai Chili flavour, it makes a good lunchtime snack (recommended with a roll and some chocolate milk)

Monday, January 09, 2006

Weekend Update

Last night was the last night for our founding pastor and his wife to be at church. He got to preach, play the drums, and lead us into communion one last time. Afterwards there was a great party for the two of them. It was like a big wedding reception/ awards show.

Today he starts into his movie-making career full-time (he just secured funding for his first feature film last Thursday.)

We will miss the Cantelons, but it is great to see them following God into their crazy future.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Happy New Year

OK - so a long overdue update on vacation, Christmas and the New Year. I will try to keep it short, and just go over the noteworthy stuff.

We flew to Halifax, where we had dinner with Matthew at a pub. People were dancing to the live band, which I'm sure must have something to do with the Irish blood out east.

Matt's apartment is like a burglar's worst nightmare. The front entrance is filled with boots and Brink's security jackets, and there are bullet-proof vests on the kitchen table.

Middleton was fun. We watched TV and movies, ate a lot, hung out with the family, and got loads of loot for Christmas. We where even given a new suitcase, to get the extra stuff home, which turned out to be very necessary. I ended up with a whole new batch of music to listen to, which is sweet.

I talked to my whole family on the same day, which these days is about as crazy as everybody being in the same room. Everyone seems to be doing fine.

We visited Jacqueline Faber, who lives on a lake in the middle of the woods. I got to drive along about a mile of dirt road that was one solid sheet of ice, which was pretty exciting. Dave was unfortunately in Ontario visiting his family, so we did not get to see him.

We did some other stuff too.

Then we came back to Toronto, and picked up everybody's favorite cat, Binky. He seemed very happy to be back in our apartment, and didn't even hiss at us or try to bite or anything. He is getting soft.

For New Year's Eve, we went to bed at around 10. It was exciting.

And then yesterday we went to church, and then a New Year's Day party, where we sat on a couch and watched an instructional cooking video that came with Kevin's Christmas present from his grandmother. It was good to see everybody.