But in other food news, there has been another molasses spill!! I mentioned the Boston Molasses Disaster of 1919 before. Well, this time it was in Texas and get this – it spilled near Sugar Land. I know spills are generally a bad thing but I do have dreams of witnessing a molasses spill one day (“oh no….it’s….spilling….very slowly…spilling”), armed with a bowl of oatmeal and buttermilk.

To provide a bit of me catch up after several months of nothing – things are very good. I spent May getting used to working life. In June I lived in False Creek for a bit and dreamed about owning a boat. The later half of June was a pseudo-holiday while I enjoyed the visits of friends. Now it’s July and I sort of feel like this:

My camera can take credit for that picture but I can’t. Jemma took it of Berny on a trampoline at a bed & breakfast we hit while they were here. I had forgotten all about trampolines.

Life is generally more free and bouncy (in comparison to the past 5 years of grad school). I may get back to writing more.

A. H. has three daughters in the age group being targeted by the program, but she says none of them will get the vaccine.

“I [postponed] my sexual activity as long as possible, and I’m hoping our children, our daughters, will as well,” H. said.

Big big SIGH.

And a completely unrelated picture:

The strike is finally over and garbage collection resumes this week. We were just starting to consider alternatives to get rid of waste piled up over the three months. Hopefully this experience will lead to better recycling practices for all.

travel

I read about a place in Chile called Punta Pite and it has finally given me an definite answer to the question I always ask others: “if you could leave on a trip tomorrow anywhere in the world, where would it be?” It’s likely my next big trip will not be for another year or so but in the meantime, I will read up on Chile with a possible side of Easter Island salad.

news

日本語

From my Japanese language exchange over an ever-delicious Elysian cappuccino on Saturday: you know how we say that we want to “brush up on …”, for example, brush up on my Japanese? You can use the same expression in Japanese: 日本語を磨く (nihongo o migaku) – brush my japanese. The same verb (and kanji) is used for brushing ones teeth brushing. We also discussed 不器用 (bukiyoh) and a translation – clumsy; both the physical and mental uses of the word. Then I inquired into a Japanese version of quote / unquote fingers but my conclusion for the night was that it doesn’t quite exist. If you know other please let me know.

food

On Friday after drinks at Koerner’s a few of us went to Topanga Cafe on W 4th for some dinner. I had been inhaling cider for the few hours previous thus this was the most incredible thing to eat:

the chicken burrito. On reflection, I might have preferred beef or bean but…it was good. Can you believe that cheese and the sauce…? On further reflection, or after getting this picture of my camera, I realized that I had eaten something that spent half its plate-life staring at me.

pets

I was also cat sitting this weekend which was good given my limited interaction with pets. Seven months old, she was quite the active cat and I played with her; tossing mice around and animating string. I wondered if I was entertaining her and then I wondered how much she perceived these things in motion as being moved by my hand. Was I creating an illusion or did she need to use her own imagination? How do cats play?

movies

I saw The Darjeeling Limited last night and while it may disappoint those expecting a new favourite Wes Anderson movie, I enjoyed the faces and expressions of all the actors, with all their flaws, made beautiful.

mobile phone

I am still without mobile phone but it’s hard to want to spend the money on the ones available here when I had Orange Juice in Japan. I sort of want to wait until I have a (more) highly paying job and then I can invest in one of them fancy phones. But moments like coordinating meeting at a movie theatre and saving seats could have been made easier if I was connected. We could have made the balcony!

(subtitle: findings do not give green light for being fat, doctors say)

1. Job-hating maring officer kidnaps himself: (summary) man found bound and gagged at edge of forest north of Miurakaigan station (this is actually sort of in my ‘hood). Investigation starts with questionning man. Police become suspicious as man has no injuries and his hands are tied in his front, not back. Man admits it was a setup motivated by his hatred of going to work.

2. Mystery money turning up in gov’t office restrooms across Japan: (summary) 10000円 notes (little less than 100 CDN) are being put in envelopes with a handwriting note and placed in stacks in the washrooms of government office buildings. The note asks the finder to use the money to pay for some kind of studies or training. It seems more than 280 of these envelopes have been found.

To 1 – man wants attention.
To 2 – what kind of attention does man (or woman) want?

I don’t have much more to say about these stories. Just that they were interesting but also kind of spooky.

But consider what sexy currently motivates people to do. Consume, consume and consume. Fashion, beauty products, substance abuse, toys, the bigger the better, the more the merrier. Is it possible that a campaign to make concern for the environment hip could increase some areas of consumption and in effect cancel out any gain in environmental consciousness? OK maybe not but…it doesn’t sound like this effort will include making it square to drive an SUV and own 20 purses.

Today my impulse selections were:

Model Campbell released on bail

Brazil ’serial killer’ convicted

Bee fossil, DNA generate a buzz 

I almost selected Blaze at refinery ‘under control’ but at first I had read “Blaze at refinery ‘outta control’” and during the moment between my impulse being fired and my finger clicking on the mouse, I reprocessed the title and thought “oh no wait, it’s ‘under control’ now, I don’t need to read that”.

So…what do these impulses say about my subconsciousness. I cannot say that consciously I am that interested in Naomi Campbell and serial killers. The bee thing is kinda cool. Are the impulses based on the (possible) topic of the article…or on single words that stand out. Like…chocolate.

I want to do an eye tracking test to get more information on how I scan headlines. Just for some understanding of how I generally absorb information. What do I tune out and what catch me?

He is another intern from Vancouver…SFU I think…but different company. Click on that pictures if you want to check out his flickr account. He is young and energetic so gets around Japan a lot and has taken some good photos. This was taken when we went to a festival at the temple in Kawasaki Daishi. (Update: I meant to add…if you want to see me in yukata then you can explore his photostream.)
So what am I thinking today…? Well, did you hear about the Report Abuse button for Windows Messenger? I like that they are looking for ways to solve the predators problem, but I wonder how the button model will work. Buttons are so easy to press. 9-1-1 is easy to press but a real person answers your call and you have to either hang up or say something. What happens when people abuse the abuse button?

On the lighter side of the news is the Llama on the loose in the Vancouver area. The article picture is gold:

I might have to print and frame it. Put it by my bedside. Llama on the loose…heh…album name.

“I figure I annoy them for maybe 30 seconds in a day. I figure my safety is a little more important than that,” he said, explaining that he modified his muffler in January so that drivers would notice him more. He was noticed by police last weekend, and was ticketed.

Oh gawd common…did he think of noise pollution at all? I loathe loud vehicles…especially when they are enhanced to be loud on purpose. Does he not realize that he’s not the only one with a roaring muffler and when it adds up you get more than 30 seconds of annoyance a day? I wish I could back this up with a statement on other safety measures he could take but I can’t. If anyone has an opinion / idea, please comment.