the pod bay door

:: The earlier entries describing my weekend at the EFMF, and others yet to be posted, have been withdrawn from PBD. My apologies for any inconvenience or misunderstanding caused by the entries. I’ll leave it at this: the 24th festival was and will remain one of the best EFMF’s I’ve attended and at which I’ve volunteered. The reasons are too numerous to mention. Please continue to support the festival – it’s worth the cost of admission many times over. Thanks.

If you wish to see photos, check the Image Gallery at the EFMF web site.

:: Like I needed research to confirm this: Researcher confirms existence of ‘earworms’ – 98% of people have had songs stuck in their head. (From: Shifted Librarian.)

:: Fox News is suing one of my favorite writers, comedians and commentators, Al Franken, for using the phrase “fair and balanced” as part of the subtitle of his new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look At The Right. The New York Times reported on the story, and it’s been discussed on CNN. Even better, it made the Op-Ed page of the NYTimes (ID/pw: podbay). My favorite line from the editorial: “For years now, liberals have wrung their hands over the fact that the right wing had a monopoly on acerbic, unfair and entertaining political commentators. Mr. Franken is clearly attempting to fill the gap, and for some reason the Fox people appear to be doing everything they can to help pave his way.”

With this lawsuit, Fox News, never known for being fair and balanced, has helped push the book (not being released until September 22, to #1 on the Amazon Best Sellers List (at least today, August 13th).

I saw Franken perform in NYC last November. He is brilliant, funny, and accurate in his observations. Go, Al, go!

:: The festival is over, it was a glorious, rewarding time for me for many reasons. I arrived home this morning at ~5:00 am, following a 60 minute jam with Andrea England, easily one of the highlights of my weekend. I promise more details about my Saturday and Sunday experiences within a day or two.

:: Had a two-hour meeting with a nutritionist today. It’s the first step in my attempt at a permanent lifestyle change in my eating habits.

:: Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com has founded a new company called Blue Origin, a company whose focus will include space tourism. (Don’t expect much from the website, though.) It’s Bezos’ new space programme. (From: Bill Maher)

:: The Steely Dan concert at The Gorge Amphitheater in George WA, was outstanding, brilliant, wonderful, a concert for the ages. My review and observations are posted below, also available at blogcritics.com.

:: I’ll write more when time permits. The trip had a few bumps in the road, and we also stopped at Crowsnest Past, where firefighters are dealing with the Lost Creek Fire. Smoke was everywhere, and some of the helicopter airtankers visible at all times. I was able to obtain a number of major maps of the fire’s progress for the U of A map collection.

:: Yesterday, my brother and I drove from Moses Lake WA to Calgary. Moses Lake is about 50 klicks from The Gorge. When we arrived in Calgary, I decided to drive back to Edmonton, arriving here about 12:30 am on Sunday. A long day of driving, to be sure.

:: Note to self: be prepared to spend money when you walk into an American Wal-Mart store the size of three Costcos (or more), thinking you’ll buy one or two small items and leave immediately.

:: Krispy Kreme doughnuts rule the world. They blow Tim Horton’s out of the water. Easily. What a pity that they don’t have stores in western Canada yet…
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