Thursday, March 27, 2008

Note to self

Yesterday was Divyesh's birthday.

(Sorry, Divyesh, I was out all day.)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Spring break

I'm going home for a week -- actually the 21st until the 31st -- for Spring break. Who wants to hang out?

The Iceman Cometh



(link to the video for Facebook)

A couple summers ago when I was at Cornell for a couple of weeks, one of my roommates was a very quiet Swede. About a week and a half in, during a soccer game, someone said "So you're really quiet. What's with that?"

He just shrugged and said "I am Swedish."

Thursday, March 13, 2008

What Wang Watches

The Daily Show, in Berkeley:



(link for those of you reading this on Facebook)

Over the years I've been known to get excited any time I see Vancouver on TV or the movies, in places like: Smallville; Hockey Night in Canada; X-Men 3; and most notably Juno, which gets extra points for including lots of scenes in Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam. This is the very first time I remember getting really excited about seeing Berkeley on TV.

Bonus! In conversation with Dickolas (Random quotes from my past, provided with some context)



me:
[walking by the Army recruiting booth outside the basketball game] So this is the Army's recruiting effort: a Hummer painted with Army logos, a single inflatable free-throw game, and a covered tent? That's like something Pepsi would use... and it's not as good as what Pepsi would have.

Allan:
Well, it's an inferior product.


Vampire Weekend, on SNL:



(link for those of you reading on Facebook)

I'm sure there's all kinds of Vampire Weekend backlash ("more like Vampire Asshole"1) but hey, I only just found out who they are -- I think I've heard "A-Punk" on the radio but didn't know who it was -- and I love this shit so far. It really appeals to my inner XTC fan, as well as my inner part-that-wants-to-like-the-Police. My first instinct, actually, was that it sounds a bit like what I remember of the bits of Paul Simon's Graceland-era concerts they show on PBS pledge drives. It made me want to check out Graceland-era Paul Simon, but I clicked on one link on YouTube and didn't have the patience to get through the whole thing. I'll keep trying.

Aw heck, more Vampire Weekend on SNL:



(link for you excellent Facebookers out there)

Hawksley Workman's new single:

(link for everyone, because embedding is disabled)

Note to self: buy Hawksley Workman's new album over Spring Break.

Hawksley Workman's old single, featuring an Oscar-winning actress:



(Knock knock. Who's there? link2)

A sporting massacre:



(You know what, Facebookers, that "View Original Post" link at the top isn't there for my health.)

I fully expect the Americans to say I'm an idiot, but the Canadians will appreciate.

Current Music: Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof

1. also, Vampire Weaksauce
2. Link who?

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Duh (duh) Duh (duh)

On Saturday I found myself lamenting -- as I have done before -- how none of my American friends have ever heard of The Odds, or of "Heterosexual Man". It's a damn shame, but maybe it's fitting. I'll always think of Vancouver and my teenage years when I hear this song. To me, it's always going to be a purely Canadian thing, even though I can't think of anything particularly Canadian about the lyrics or the music, and I don't mind keeping it that way.

But then again, maybe not. It's a damn good tune. The video featuring the Kids in the Hall -- another purely Canadian despite not being particularly Canadian-y thing -- isn't bad either.



Current Music: The Odds - Heterosexual Man