Archive for November, 2008

A basketball book worth looking at

Nov 24, 2008 in Books

I found this book at a store a few weeks back and was impressed by it but promptly forgot about it. Fortunately, fate brought The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac back in front of my eyes.

Most of you are probably thinking? Ron, I’ve never seen you break a sweat much less play a sport and now you’re telling me that you’re a basketball fan? You’re just pulling my leg, right?

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Rest easy my friends, TMPBA isn’t your typical sports book. Would a typical sportsbook try to do a Talmudic interpretation of Amare Stoudamire’s tattoos? Or compare Tim Duncan to Ozymandias? Nay, I say.

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, the authors of this finely-written and gorgeous volume have put a few excerpts from the book online. If you even have a smidge of interest in basketball, it’s worth checking out.

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A nerdy love letter from John Hodgman

Nov 23, 2008 in On-line

I got prodded to listen to the TED podcasts Jazz in the Diamond District video again and stumbled into a not so serious one from John Hodgman (you may know him as PC in those Mac ads. I know him as my long-lost, cooler and white cousin). It’s ostensibly about alien abductions but is really a charming love note to his wife. You can download it onto your iMachine or you can watch it here.

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It gets treacly about the 13:45 mark if you want to skip all that mushy stuff. The rest of it is quite funny.

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Got a blog?

Nov 22, 2008 in Friends

Want me to read it? If the answer to either question is yes drop me a line and I’ll add you to my ridiculously long list of blogs I subscribe to in Google Reader.

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I don’t seem to have many of you on the RSS reader and I’m pretty sure you internet-savvy lot blog often.

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ACL gives MEC a shout out

Nov 20, 2008 in Uncategorized

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A Continuous Lean, one of my favourite men’s style blogs, gives a shout out to Mountain Equipment Co-Op.

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Michael Williams cites the usual reasons for liking MEC and I can’t fault him for any of them. I like MEC and I’m proud of them for sticking to their guns, but I still have bad memories of walking around UBC campus in November and seeing a sea made up of the bobbing hoods of goretex jackets.

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Oh for some variety!

Some very early thoughts about the new Star Trek movie

Nov 18, 2008 in Uncategorized

OK. I’m outing myself as a trekkie. I think most of you already know this…. but just to reveal the depths of my trekkie soul a few confessions:

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1) I went to both installments of the Trekzac Festicon, Toronto’s awesomest (and only) indie Star Trek convention.

2) I was a pseudo-ringer on the trivia team at said festicon

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3) I’m raising a derisive Vulcan eyebrow at what I’ve seen so far of the new J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek film.

The cast looks great, the effects are all fancy and no-one is wearing those god-awful Star Trek the Motion Picture short shorts (I still wake-up screaming when I think about them) but after watching the trailer, I get the sneaking suspicion this film is going to blow huge chunks and then some.

Also, it’s being called Star Trek: Muppet Babies

by the folks at Defamer. The comparison is apt.

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Esquire's seven best stories

Nov 18, 2008 in Uncategorized

Once Upon a Time in China II movie When I tell people that I’ve been a long-time subscriber to Esquire, they usually give me this weird look. It’s probably because they think the magazine is just another lad mag. But really, people, I read it for the articles. The fine people at the magazine have picked seven of their all-time best stories

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Gay Talese, Norman Mailer, Tom Junod and more. One story a day for the rest of the week. Enjoy.

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What I've been reading lately

Nov 12, 2008 in Me Me Me

With apologies to Alexis for stealing a simple yet good idea.

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Been meaning to read Bolano for some time and finally got nudged into reading the book. The first third was a raw and visceral bit of writing. The second, a collection of diary entries/anecdotes from about half-a-dozen viewpoints is a bit more of a slog. But apparently the last third is worthwhile… so onwards.

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I’ve been meaning to read Plimpton’s work for some time, so I snatched up this anthology when I saw it at a used bookstore. Also I’ve been meaning to read this highly-regarded bio of the Paris Review editor. Red Mist aka Freakdog ipod

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The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

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I’ve always enjoyed Vowell’s tongue-in-cheek take on American history and this look at the Massachusetts Bay colony is no different. For all the joking around, there’s a lot of seriousness and big ideas about the DNA of the American project in this book. I interview her for the Post here if you missed the video.

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After years of picking up various bits and pieces of Pia Guerra and Brian Vaughn’s gripping comic book series about the survivor of a plague that kills of (almost) all the men on the planet, I finally picked up the last volume. It’s been a fun ride.

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Joseph Boyden’s Giller winner Through Black Spruce, John Hodgman’s More Information Than You Require, Joshua Ferris’ Then We Came to the End, Chip Kidd’s The Learners. (Yes, I know, the last two are about ad agencies… I’m not planning a career switch, don’t worry)

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Fake reality meet real reality

Nov 08, 2008 in politics

Space Buddies download Surveillance film OK. So first we’ve got Rahm Emanuel picked as the Chief of Staff for Barack Obama, a real-life political development that closely mirrors what happened on the last season of the West Wing

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when Josh Lyman ends up stickhandling Matt Santos (based on Barack Obama) into the White House.

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And then Gawker points out that, hey, Barack is distracting us from the economic death spiral with all of this talk on hypoallergenic dogs.

Now, I know that he’s pallin’ around with Scarlet Johannson but is he taking political advice from Natalie Portman too? Bumper aka Hit And Run video

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

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Obama on the front page

Nov 05, 2008 in politics

buy Great White Appetite One of my co-workers Colin, linked out to the Newseum’s collection of front pages from around the world.

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John McCain turns away from the Dark Side?

Nov 03, 2008 in politics

My roommate pointed me to this article on McCain at the end of the campaign and how he’s apparently not being so… uhm… evil and annoyed anymore. From the story:

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But in the frantic last days of his nearly two-year second quest for the presidency, Mr. McCain has liberated himself from the irritable, edgy candidate of a month ago. He has, by all appearances, decided he will get to Tuesday by having a good time.

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Mr. McCain took the edge off some of his rhetoric and has in the last few days loosened up in his speeches, although he still lustily attacks Mr. Obama as the tax-and-spend “redistributionist in chief” who can not be trusted to lead the nation in crisis.

But the “get off my lawn” tone of the angry guy across the street has at times become a more neighborly “give me a break.”

It’s almost as if John McCain was… Darth Vader. He, of course, started the campaign as the Republican Maverick. Not unlike Anakin, bucking authority, a bit rebellious, impetuous. And then he got seduced by the powers of the Dark Side and warped into the Dark Lord of the Sith that we all know so well.

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But wait. Now near the end, is he turning back to the side of good? Rrrrr, probably not. But hey, if he throws George W. Bush and Dick Cheney into the reactor of the Death Star, I think all might be forgiven.

Of course, if you believe what the Washington Post is saying, these two are going to be jabbing at each other right up until one of them gives their concession speech. I also bet you some jackass in the audience will make a really bad comment about the other.

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