Thursday, March 30, 2006   |  

- this week's sign of the apocalypse -

I'm getting high-speed internet installed tomorrow.

Current music: Belly - Super-Connected

Tuesday, March 21, 2006   |  

- the useless gay strikes again -

Girl: Banana's so expensive these days.
Queer: They are only like 57 cents a pound at Safeway.
Girl: Huh? Oh, I was talking about Banana Republic.

Current music: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Friday, March 17, 2006   |  

- green beer and ham -

Kiss me if you're Irish! (Ok, I'll settle for French-Scottish.)

Current music: Massive Attack - A Prayer For England

Thursday, March 16, 2006   |  

- because nothing taste as good as being thin feels -

Overheard in the office this morning: "Cancel! Why are you eating Go Lean? You need pocket change so you don't fly away!"

("Cancel" is my new office nickname, given to me by the dev lead.)

Current music: Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said

Wednesday, March 15, 2006   |  

- her not-so-lovely lady lumps -

Overheard last night: "Um, why are we talking about Star Jones's boobs?"

Current music: Black Lung Inner City Choir - Deeper to the Soul

Saturday, March 11, 2006   |  

- lifestyles of the poor and obscure -

Vancouver makes me feel poor. Everything is noticeably more expensive than it is in Seattle (with the possible exception of restaurants) and the sales tax is twice as high. Then, factor in the fact that my waste management job pays roughly half of what I made last year (and about 1/4 of what I made in 2004), even with the Canadian dollar at all-time high. Ouch. And you wonder why I'm always slaving away at my side gig. I may live in voluntary poverty, but it's still all about the Hamiltons, baby.

The worst is the housing market. I can't imagine living anywhere outside Yaletown, but the prospect of paying an obscene amount of money for a glorified closet is becoming less and less appealing.

Some numbers and figures:

• Last month, the average sale price of a single-family home in the Greater Vancouver Area was $705,141. Townhouses averaged $397,214 and condos $321,151.
  
• The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2006 called Vancouver housing prices "severely unaffordable."
  
• The median housing price in Vancouver is 6.6 times greater than the median household income -- that's the 15th highest in the world. Seattle isn't too far behind though, at 5.3x.
  

Thursday, March 9, 2006   |  

- pledge drive killed the radio star -

I heart KEXP, but how annoying is their pledge drive? Makes me wanna go listen to Kelly Clarkson on repeat instead.

Current music: Goldfrapp - Black Cherry

Tuesday, March 7, 2006   |  

- ebony & ivory -

Why is it that *everyone* is more attached to my piano than I am? So, y'all really think I should hold on to it?

Current music: Underworld - A Hundred Days Off

Monday, March 6, 2006   |  

- obligatory post about the oscars -

So, I've been telling people "I really hope Crash doesn't win anything. Other than that, I really don't care about the Oscars." Well, I lied. As it turned out, I don't give a shit about the Oscars at all. Crash won big last night and I still couldn't care less. Sure, it would've been nice if Brokeback Mountain won Best Picture, but the Academy gets things right so rarely that it might even be a good thing that it didn't. By the way, my favorite movie of 2005 didn't get a single nomination.

Other random notes:

• Best acceptance speech: George Clooney. I totally have a non-sexual crush on him now.
  
• Jon Stewart was a pretty good host. Best jokes: Cheney shooting Björk, Scientology, and Three 6 Mafia vs. Scorsese.
  
• Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought Reese Witherspoon was gonna forget to thank Ryan Phillippe.
  
• Could Philip Seymour Hoffman not afford a tailor?
  

Thursday, March 2, 2006   |  

- u make me wanna -

Apparently, Malcolm Gladwell is a big fan of The Sports Guy. I dig Bill Simmons too, though his articles are often too pop-culture reference heavy, and run far too long for my ADD brain. Plus, anyone who hates Roger Clemens as much as he does is dead to me.

4 people who make me say "gosh, I wish I could write like that":

• David Sedaris: I heart his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. I want to be his best friend.
  
• Dave White: Actually, I'm not a big fan of his writing outside his blog, but he's the only person who consistently makes me laugh out loud.
  
• Rob Neyer: Sabermetric genius with a wicked sense of humor. Bill James may have invented sabermetrics, but this guy deserves the most credit for popularizing it. (Well, him and Moneyball.) I've only disagreed once with anything he's written: when he thought the Blue Jays got the better end of the deal in the Clemens/Wells trade.
  
• Scoop Jackson: My new favorite ESPN writer now that Rob Neyer is for paid-users only. Funny without trying and serious without being stuffy, he's the perfect antidote for Jim Caple.