the pod bay door

:: I’ve finished Day 1 of the EBL Conference. I’m exhausted. The day went well, met some very cool people from Australia, the UK, Norway, USA, other parts of Canada. I MC’d the door prizes at the banquet, and only made one major gaff. Now I’m home, packing for SLA on Saturday.

:: I borrow music from the public library, and listen to the CDs in my car while driving. I borrowed an album called The Last Broadcast by the band, Doves. I must’ve read a review of it somewhere, having never heard of the band. I popped it into the CD player with no expectations, and can report that it’s quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year. The biographical info on the site is a bit cryptic, and I can’t confirm if there are three or four members in the band. The record sounds like there are many more. This band must be something to see in concert, if they are able to replicate the wall of sound in some of the songs on The Last Broadcast. I might describe them as Coldplay meets Radiohead (circa OK Computer) meets the Manchester Sound. It’s a great record. More short reviews here.

The weirdest thing, like, really weird? I was listening to the album yesterday, and stopped at Zeller’s to pick up some socks. I walked in, and the music in the store was “Pounding“, my favorite song on The Last Broadcast. Hello? Who’s programming music for Zeller’s?

:: Finally, many people are relishing the indictment of Martha Stewart, but some are pointing to the hypocrisy of the non-indictment (to date) of Ken Lay, who headed Enron while it stole billions, wiped out savings of 12,000 workers, cost 5,000 workers their jobs, misled and lied to their stockholders, and nailed California by rigging electricity prices during its energy crisis. Lay and his wife, btw, have annuities which, when they reach maturity in 2007, will provide guaranteed monthly payments for life of $43,023 to Lay, and $32,643 to his wife.

:: It’s late on Tuesday, the continuing calm before the storm. Thanks to everyone who contributed comments on purchasing a digital camera. I’ll either wait until I return from NYC, or buy one there if the opportunity presents itself.

:: My review of Nowhere in Africa, for Blogcritics.

:: Sometimes it’s cool to just sit and listen. A friend called today, concerned about something. I invited her over, and she sat and talked for an hour, and felt better afterwards. I offered the occasional comment or observation, but beyond that, just a sounding board.

:: My suitcase is open in the spare bedroom, as I slowly prepare for NYC. Tomorrow I help move supplies and registration for the EBL conference, and I attend the conference on Thursday and Friday. Thursday night is the banquet. Not a lot of time in between to organize and pack.

:: The new Steely Dan album, Everything Must Go, can be heard in its entirety on the Reprise site. But please, if you can, watch the five-segment video, Steely Dan Confessions, on the same site, in which Don and Walt ride around Las Vegas in Rita’s cab. You MUST watch the second one, “Lizzie on lyrics“, in which Lizzie tells Walt and Don that her boyfriend grooved her on to “you guy’ses music” in college. The piece de resistance is when she asks them about the lyrics to “Reelin’ In The Sheaves”, and Donald sez, “Reelin’ In The Sheaves, that was one of our best numbers.” I’m still laughing.

:: I watched the final episode of the third season of Six Feet Under tonight. A brilliant show, I found the third season a bit tiresome and weary – the focus was on the relationships of each of the main players, and after a few episodes of each of their relationships deteriorating, people screaming at each other, an art teacher who defined pretention, the show began to feel like an unwelcome visitor. I hope it improves next year.

:: My head seems to be in the clouds somewhere. I’ve had a quiet day, except for the morning (see below). Earlier this week, my neighbour, while I was at work, planted a bur oak tree in my front yard.

Growing up in Winnipeg in the late 50s/early 60s, we were surrounded by oak trees, and planting this little tree reminds me of that time, and gives me a good feeling. In my backyard, a Manitoba maple is growing, having seeded itself four years ago. I noticed its little trunk poking up through the large wood chips in the area where my Juniper pines are housed. I was amazed that this could happen – how could a seed make its way into the soil through those wood chips? In any event, I’ve let it grow, and it’s now well over six feet tall.

:: I always feel a bit odd this time of year. It’s the literal calm before the storm. Today is May 31st, already one-quarter of the summer months is over. Next week at this time I’ll be in NYC, and the next few days will move at light speed until I leave.

Part of me wishes I could escape and find peace and calm waters. My house is a complete, disastrous mess, and needs to be industrially vacuumed! The left side of my neck is almost 100% locked up, despite having seen the chiropractor on Thursday and Friday. I am never sure why my mood is subdued at this time of the year. I wonder if it is because the next few weeks will fly by, and it will suddenly be July and we will be preparing for the fall. It’s as if the May-Aug time period, when the sun is warm and the days are long, are too compressed. Regardless, I am feeling melancholy and nostalgic, and I know there are other reasons contributing to this.

NYC will be exciting, exhilarating, overwhelming, draining. It is not the usual NYC trip I take – as I’ve mentioned, I’ll be attending a conference for the first five days. I will see many people I like a lot, and meet new ones, and have the pleasure of introducing Geoff to SLA and NYC concurrently.

:: This morning I had my hair cut, and afterwards, having contemplated it for years, had my hair streaked the colour of copper red. Yes, you read that correctly. Call it a momentary lapse of mental coordination, or the least damaging thing I can do to my body in honour of my impending half-century birthday.

(The other options include a body piercing and a tattoo.) Now I will face the public, and gauge others’ reactions. Will my friends and colleagues be truthful? Really, what does it matter? I did it, I like it, that’s all that matters. And I’ll fit right in when I get to NYC.

:: Two good film recommendations, both based on true stories: Evelyn, starring Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Julianna Margulies and Alan Bates, and Nowhere in Africa, the brilliant German film that won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Evelyn features Brosnan’s best performance by far, and is the story of Desmond Doyle, who battled the Catholic Church and the Irish Constitution in 1954 in order to win back his children from government appointed custody. Nowhere in Africa tells the story of a Jewish German family who fled Germany in 1938, before the Nazis took full control, and moved to Kenya. It is a rich, moving film, the best I’ve seen so far in 2003.

:: It seems minor, but today I emptied my savings account into my chequing account, and will permanently close my savings account tomorrow. It will be the first time since 1968 that I don’t have a savings account. CIBC, bless ’em, have initiated new user fees that makes it cost prohibitive to maintain the savings account.

:: Should I buy a digital camera before I go to NYC on June 7?

:: Dave Weinberger, author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined, has suggested that we take a break from blogging during the first two weeks of August. Do you agree? Discuss.

Am I the only blogperson growing blogtired of the blogixon of words with prefixes beginning with or suffixes ending with a version of the word “blog”?

:: Great news for movie lovers. The New York Times has significantly beefed up its online movie site. Below is the generic e-mail I received describing the new features, including all reviews from 1983-present, and selected reviews from 1929. In addition, you can select any or all of the five current critics (Stephen Holden, AO Scott, Elvis Mitchell, Dave Kehr, Lawrence Van Gelder), and see a complete list of their reviews. Reviews designated with a indicates a New York Times Critic’s Pick. (Remember that you need to register for access, but that registration is free.)
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