CBC calls St. John's "Hyper-Cool"

Great article on the CBC website about a St. John's artist who makes books and book art. Apparently, St. John's is the cool place to live now.

"... the perfect place is St. John’s, a city that acts as a living metaphor for the line between the values and esthetics of the old and new. In the midst of a long-running renaissance, Newfoundland’s capital has become hyper-cool and overflowing with personality and art. It is home to many refugees from the mainstream..."

I went to the CBC, (not a trek that I make often) looking for more information on Laura Gainey, who was swept off the deck of my old ship, the Picton Castle on Friday. The search has been going on all weekend, but I'm not holding out much hope for a happy end to this story. If there is one thing I understand well, it's the realities of my job. I lived for almost 3 years on that ship, and I know it is almost impossible to enact a successful recovery of a MOB in any kind of weather. Not that I'm being pessimistic or anything, just realistic. I would be delighted to be proved wrong in this case. I'm afraid that this may prove to be the end of the Picton Castle. Her father must be well connected and there will be an inquest at the very least.

We are unloading in Wolfe Cove, Quebec. We should be here about 3 days, if all goes well. I went for a walk (and dinner) in the city last night after walking up the stairs to the Plains of Abraham. As I said to my father, "it's not such a steep cliff, but I'm glad I'm not dragging a cannon!"

what a geek I was in high school...

I was cruising by skylarkd's blog the other day and came across this. She had googled the top 100 songs of the year she graduated high school and then crossed off the ones she didn't like. Honesty is key policy here. While I can honestly say I did like (and in some cases, still do) some of the songs here, at least I'm not on record with Hanson on my list.

1. "Careless Whisper".....Wham!

2. "Say You, Say Me".....Lionel Richie

3. "Separate Lives".....Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin

4. "I Want To Know What Love Is".....Foreigner

5. "Money For Nothing".....Dire Straits

6. "We Are The World".....USA for Africa

7. "Broken Wings".....Mr. Mister

8. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".....Tears for Fears

9. "The Power Of Love".....Huey Lewis & The News

10. "We Built This City".....Starship

11. "St. Elmo's Fire".....John Parr

12. "Can't Fight This Feeling".....REO Speedwagon

13. "Crazy For You".....Madonna

14. "Easy Lover".....Phillip Bailey & Phil Collins

15. "Everytime You Go Away".....Paul Young

16. "Don't You (Forget About Me):.....Simple Minds

17. "Take On Me".....a-ha

18. "Party All The Time".....Eddie Murphy

19. "Everything She Wants".....Wham!

20. "Shout".....Tears for Fears

21. "Alive and Kicking".....Simple Minds

22. "I Miss You".....Klymaxx

23. "Sea Of Love".....Honeydrippers

24. "Cool It Now".....New Edition

25. "Part-Time Lover".....Stevie Wonder

26. "Saving All My Love For You".....Whitney Houston

27. "Sussudio".....Phil Collins

28. "Oh Sheila".....Ready for the World"

29. "A View To A Kill".....Duran Duran

30. "One More Night".....Phil Collins

31. "Cherish".....Kool & The Gang

32. "Heaven".....Bryan Adams

33. "The Heat Is On".....Glenn Frey

34. "Raspberry Beret".....Prince & The Revolution

35. "You're The Inspiration".....Chicago

36. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free".....Sting

37. "Miami Vice Theme".....Jan Hammer

38. "Freeway Of Love".....Aretha Franklin

39. "Don't Lose My Number".....Phil Collins

40. "Never".....Heart

41. "Things Can Only Get Better".....Howard Jones

42. "The Boys Of Summer".....Don Henley

43. "Rhythm Of The Night".....DeBarge

44. "We Don't Need Another Hero".....Tina Turner

45. "We Belong".....Pat Benatar

46. "Loverboy".....Billy Ocean

47. "All I Need".....Jack Wagner

48. "One Night In Bangkok".....Murray Head

49. "Never Surrender".....Corey Hart

50. "Lovergirl".....Teena Marie

51. "Nightshift".....Commodores

52. "Head Over Heels".....The Go-Gos

53. "Neutron Dance".....Pointer Sisters

54. "Axel F".....Harold Faltermeyer

55. "You Give Good Love".....Whitney Houston

56. "The Search Is Over".....Survivor

57. "Small Town".....John Cougar Mellencamp

58. "Smooth Operator".....Sade

59. "Glory Days".....Bruce Springsteen

60. "Suddenly".....Billy Ocean

61. "Run To You".....Bryan Adams

62. "Obsession".....Animotion

63. "Lonely Ol' Night".....John Cougar Mellencamp

64. "Some Like It Hot".....Power Station

65. "Valotte".....Julian Lennon

66. "You Belong To The City".....Glenn Frey

67. "Material Girl".....Madonna

68. "Perfect Way".....Scritti Politti

69. "Election Day".....Arcadia

70. "Too Late For Goodbyes".....Julian Lennon

71. "Freedom".....Wham!

72. "In My House".....Mary Jane Girls

73. "Summer Of '69".....Bryan Adams

74. "Sleeping Bag".....ZZ Top

75. "Angel".....Madonna

76. "Lay Your Hands On Me".....Thompson Twins

77. "I'm On Fire".....Bruce Springsteen

78. "Would I Lie To You?".....Eurythmics

79. "Who's Zoomin' Who".....Aretha Franklin

80. "Fortress Around Your Heart".....Sting

81. "Born In The U.S.A.".....Bruce Springsteen

82. "All She Wants To Do Is Dance".....Don Henley

83. "Voices Carry".....'Til Tuesday

84. "Be Near Me".....ABC

85. "Private Dancer".....Tina Turner

86. "Fresh".....Kool & The Gang

87. "Sentimental Street".....Night Ranger

88. "California Girls".....David Lee Roth

89. "Do What You Do".....Jermaine Jackson

90. "Method Of Modern Love".....Hall & Oates

91. "Walking On Sunshine".....Katrina & The Waves

92. "Pop Life".....Prince & The Revolution

93. "You're Only Human".....Billy Joel

94. "Invincible".....Pat Benatar

95. "Lovin' Every Minute Of It".....Loverboy

96. "Get It On (Bang A Gong)".....Power Station

97. "Dare Me".....Pointer Sisters

98. "What About Love".....Heart

99. "You Are My Lady".....Freddie Jackson

100. "Dress You Up".....Madonna

The Christmas Season

Skylarkd was writing the other day about the christmas tv season, about how all the old favourites were being replayed, like they are every year, and that the Christmas season wasn't complete unless she had seen a couple of them. Yes, they are cheesy, and we've all seen them lots of times. I made sure this year to pack a few holiday DVD's in my seabag to watch when I got homesick around this time. I'd love to find One Magic Christmas on DVD, but so far it eludes me. These are some of my favourite "new" classics.

• One Magic Christmas
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• The Family Stone
• Bad Santa

a lot of time and energy trying to be curmudgeonly about the holidays (who am I kidding, not just the holidays, but everything in general) but the truth of the matter is that I love Christmas. My favourite Christmas thing when I was growing up was this totally funky paper Nativity scene. A couple of years ago, Mom gave it to me and apparently it had always been mine, a gift from a college friend of hers for me. Unpacking the Christmas books too, alway had a special appeal for me, like old friends that you only see once a year.

Gromit visits the Welland Canal (while I visit the dentist)

I had to get off the ship today in the Welland Canal and go visit yet another dentist. I think I'm going to give up on the "roaming dentist experience" and just stick with my dentist at home. The dentist that the company fixed me up with was a bit too flaky in my books, and instead of fixing the hole in my gums (through which my jawbone is sticking out), he was all, "lets let Mother Nature take her course." I prefer the old-fashioned approach of my own dentist which is, "lets numb you up, slice it open, grind the bone down, and sew the gum shut. After which I'll prescribe some synthetic heroin for the pain, and some penicilin." Much more effective in my books.

But it did give me a chance to let Gromit out of my room (where he's been languishing since returning from Scotland this summer) and together we checked out the Museum at Lock #3 while we were waiting for the Algowood to arrive and pick me up.

Gromit checks out Lock #3


and some old ship crap at the museum


Like I said to the nice lady who took this picture, "everyone needs a hobby, and I don't have any kids."

mmmm, keep the cat out of this...

Whoever said these two ingredients should be together was absolutely right! Creamy milk chocolate and smooth peanut butter are the perfect liquid for dipping your favourite fruit or pound cake. Any leftover fondue can be refrigerated and reheated over a low heat for a second fondue session.

8 oz (250 g) milk chocolate, chopped
½ cup (125 mL) smooth peanut butter
1½ cups (375 mL) whipping cream
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla essence
4 cups (1 L) strawberries
2 bananas, cut in chunks
One 298 g pound cake, cubed

1. Place chocolate and peanut butter into fondue pot.

2. In small saucepan bring cream to boil over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate and peanut butter; add vanilla. Let stand for 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth.

3. Serve with fruit and cake.

Serves 8

Beefcake.....BEEFCAKE!!

It's not exactly Gromit, but it's the best I could do. Not that I carry him around a lot or anything. It's not like it's a problem, right?

It's been a while

It's been so long since I've posted anything, I feel totally embarassed and a little bit ackward. Now I'm going to have to send emails out to people and let them know that I'm back.
I'm not actually back yet, still 3 more weeks of work to go (3 more weeks of milking the company teat for enough $$$ to sustain my scholastic endeavours for the winter), 1 more (hopefully) dentist appointment to fix the supposed-to-be-hidden bits in my mouth, 2 more trips through the seaway (also producing the aforementioned $$$), but then I'll be back in St. John's again! Drinking India beer at The Ship Inn whilst listening to the cacophany of that band from Fogo Island on amateur night (sorry, Christina, I will forever apologize for that), and trying to find a seat at CGTB's.
I'm getting pysched up for the research part of my thesis, and studying at the MI for my 1st Mate's ticket, and a chance to add more stress and sleeplessness to my career!
I'm busy looking at the apt ads on the MUN housing site, even though I can't do anything about them yet. I guess I just want to feel like I'm doing something productive. Besides I pay this hideous amount of $$$ for the privledge of having internet, I'm going to damn well use all the minutes that I've got.
I've linked to a new (to me) blog at the right. I picked up this one on Dreae's page and it's a hoot. Arse Over Teakettle.
Here's my furry mascot doing what he does best at Loch Ness this summer:

the SciFi convention

Today was the last day of the SciFi convention in Toronto and I went in hopes of seeing Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) whom I've had a crush on for years. Unfortunately she'd already left by the time I arrived, but I got this great photo of me, Fresnelly and Aberkok from the TFP with Juliet Landau from Buffy and Angel. In case anyone has missed this: DRUSILLA IS TOUCHING ME!!!

life at sea

Life at sea isn't the romantic adventure that most people think it is. Most days for me consist of staring at the water, eating, sleeping, watching tv and staring at the water again. Every couple of days I get to either load or unload the ship, but then it's back to the staring, eating, sleeping and watching tv. I think it's kind of funny that I used to get yelled at for staring out the windows in grade 4, and now my job mainly consists of it! For some reason, I just haven't been off the ship that much this summer. It always seems to be my watch in port, but last night I managed to go for a walk in Ashtabula, and got some pics to prove it. These pics came off my phone which explains their quality. Ashtabula is one of those towns on the south shore of Lake Erie that seems to exist simply as a railhead for the iron ore and coal towns of West Virginia and Pennsylania. Had some nice houses, and I ended up in a bar on the main drag with tin ceilings and walls.

Heading up in the Welland Canal on our way to Fairport to load Salt for Picton (back to the dock with the cliff). It's been a busy couple of weeks here on the Algowood, but great news, I'm being put up 2nd Mate at last for the month of August. We are doing the crew change in the canal on the 30th, and they are sending us a Nav Cadet, (figures, just when I'm going up 2nd) so that will make it pretty crowded here. Here's a nice shot I got the other night on our way to Detour.

The Picton Salt Dock (or the dock at the bottom of the 100ft cliff)

2nd Mate on the top of the cliff directs the boom (cause the Mate on deck can't see the top of the dock)


I'd like to meet the man who thought, "hey, here is a 100 ft cliff - I think I'll build a dock on it and make ships come here to unload!" Seriously though, what kind of person dreamed this up? The Algoma Manual for self unloaders states that the ship should always be in a white condition (or even keel) for unloading. Obviously that person has never been here. We did the whole unload on a red light (or slightly listed to Port [left for you landlubbers], or even better two red lights, just to prevent the boom from coming into contact with the top of the cliff! It's a scary sight to be down on the deck, and swinging the boom out (the boom, that to cause even the slightest damage to it means being fired) and watching it come so close to the top of the cliff, that wildflowers on the cliff are being bent over.

In the Welland Canal on an incredibly slow transit. Just as well, as Frasers have a crew on board welding up the crack in the port heavy fuel tank. If we are going to have a fire, I'd rather have it here than on the lake. There is still fuel in the tank, which the guys are standing in. They've covered the residual fuel in fire retardent foam, but I'm glad it's them down there and not me.

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Fairport, Ohio. Loading salt at what my be the slowest loading rig in the Great Lakes, about 1000 tonnes per hour. It will probably take about 20 hours or longer to load. Thankfully, the former Columbia Star got out of Nanticoke in record time, about 13 hours. I went over to see it after lunch to get an ETA and the mate kicked me off!! I still can't believe it...

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The moon came up orange qnd nearly full tonight as we made our way across to Nanticoke. Columbia Star arrived at the anchorage @ 2300 to wait for the Enterprise to finish and leave. We are arriving at the East dock, to do the crew change, before going out on the hook to wait for the Star to get done. Hopefully we won't spend the weekend on the hook.

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Currently heading down Lake Huron on our way to Nanticoke, to unload our 30,000 tonnes of coal, our little contribution to global warming. 3 other ships, including the former Columbia Star (62,000 tonnes of coal) are there ahead of us, so that may delay our arrival for the canal.

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testing

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View from the Algowood of Cherry Street Slip in Toronto

What I look like after unloading 30,000 tonnes of coal in the rain


Trip #13 went off about like you’d expect from a trip with “13” in it. It was uneventful until about halfway through the Welland Canal (in #5, for anyone who knows just how bad that is) when I spaghetti’d the #4 wire. Imagine a dropping a pot full of freshly boiled pasta on the kitchen floor…now imagine that pasta is 1” thick steel cable…now imagine that it is attached to a winch that has the capacity to pull 11 tons at 50ft/minute. Or in practical terms, that winch can pull a Ford F-150 truck (with the driver in it, in gear and pedal to the metal) backwards off a wharf (don’t ask how I know this). It was, as my friends in square-rig ships would put it, a cluster-fuck. We held up traffic for about 45 minutes before giving up on it and using the tag wire as a #3 and the #3 as a #4. We finally got it straightened out at on the way to the #3 lock.

On arrival in Toronto, I got woken up at 6 and during a shift at around 10:00 the #4 wire (which we had slaved over the night before), broke a strand at the swage fitting. So I had to call another mate and two more guys to replace the wire. Thankfully the rest of the trip went off without a hitch. Now we are on our way to Sandusky to load coal at the most clockwork loading rig in the lakes, and then back through the canal to Hamilton.

The Weekend Past...

It's been a busy weekend here in Ontario. Friday night was Sarah's concert at the church. It's always fun when Sarah shows up in Cobourg and this time she brought a friend, Shiona, with her. So Friday's concert was 2 sopranos (no, not those kind) and an accompaniest. They were fabulous, and then there was a post-concert party at Sarah's parent's house (The O's) where Sarah broke out someones (borrowed? stolen?) fiddle and graced us with some tunes.



Saturday morning, I went to the city to meet my old friend Kathi for lunch. Kathi and I were great friends when I was in college in Toronto years and years ago, but I lost touch with her. We meet at the Queen Mum for lunch at 1:30 and were still at the table laughing at 5. This could have continued for a while, but it started to rain, and I had to go check in to the Delta Chelsea and go out to the TFP meetup at Hernando's Hideaway. The usual TFP crowd showed up (Charlatan, Seige, Cellophanedeity, Fresnelly, Aberkok) and a new addition, Mantus, as well as some spouses. This meetup didn't go as long as the Christmas one only from 7 to 10:30-ish, but was great fun.










Fresnelly met me for brunch at Pappas Grill on the Danforth and then we went to a movie. He was one of the few TFP'ers free on Mother's Day, on account of the fact that his wife and infant son had left to fly to France the day before.

The Move is Complete!

Finally, at long last the endless (at times, it seemed like it was going to be) move has been completed. I took the last load of stuff from Owen Sound to Cobourg, in the middle of a howling rain storm yesterday (and of course, today is beautiful) and got it into storage. This is the last time that I will ever use a trailer, the jeep just really hates it. Next time I have to move (which will be Christmas) I'm using movers to do the schlepping.

Now I've got the TFP meetup this weekend in TO to look forward to and meeting up for lunch at the Queen Mum with my old friend Kathi from Centennial College. Haven't seen her in about 15 years, but got in touch again through the power of Google.

Here is a photo of Prince Rupert playing in the packing paper from the move:

Gromit Sees Canada (well, ok, the Eastern Part!)

Here is Gromit and I at the apt in St. John's prior to setting out on the great trek. We got off to a late start due to having to pack the jeep in the morning, rather than the night before (I don't trust my neighbours that much!), but got away by 10 to drive across Newfoundland. Here is a couple shots of Gromit on the road and taking in the view at Terra Nova Park.


After a long drive, Gromit made it to the night ferry at Port Aux Basques where he (and I) made an uneventful crossing to Cape Breton.
While driving through Cape Breton, we stopped at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, and gave two Comissionaires the highlight of their day (and probably their week).

Our next stop was my old shipmate Rigel's house in Sunnybrook, Nova Scotia. Gromit enjoyed watching Rigel re-leather his oars in his kitchen, and then he watched from the shore as Rigel, his wife Ariel, and I went for a nice sail in the inlet.

This is the Dory Shop in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where my friends Kim and Jill build dory's and sew sails, respectfully.

We left Nova Scotia behind and headed on to New Brunswick pausing now and again, so Gromit could stretch his legs and look at the scenery.

It was absolutely pouring all the way through Quebec, so we didn't get a chance to stop and look around, but headed straight on to Cobourg, Ontario, where my parents put up with us for the night, and Gromit was able to go for walk on the beach.
We left Cobourg behind and headed on to our final destination, Owen Sound. Since then Gromit and I have been busy emptying out our storage unit and moving things around, but we took time out for our traditional Saturday brunch at the GingerPress Bookstore and Cafe (shameless plug), where Gromit snuggled with MaryAnn, met the Mole Sisters and enjoyed a cup of Denise's java.

Boat Trip

Currently sitting in Rigel's Kitchen, where his wife and I unsuccessfully trying to talk him out of launching a major expedition in his newly launched boat. Rigel seems to go through life by the seat of his pants, but it's never dull. We think it would be a good idea to go as far as the end of the inlet, but he is busy packing up his charts and instruments and planning a trip out to Tancook Island.

I'm taking a bit of a break from the road trip, and accepting Rigel's generous hospitality and staying for 2 nights before taking off again. I'm still planning the next stage of things, and I'm thinking of going along the Gaspe, instead of going inland to Edmunston, like I did last time, although that might add some time to the trip.

While I'm here, I'd like to see Jill the sailmaker and see the recently restored St. John's Church.

In Nova Scotia

on the road in Newfoundland

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Who is that, prowling out of the fields! It is Izenkumon, hands clutching a jeweled meat hammer! And with a vengeful roar, his voice cometh:

"I'm going to reduce you to ash, and sell you as spice!"

What Is Your Battle Cry?

How To Bathe A Cat

1. Thoroughly clean the toilet.

2. Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both lids lifted.

3. Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him toward the bathroom.

4. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape).

CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for any surface they find.

The cat will self-agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from your toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three to four times. This provides a 'power wash and rinse' which I have found to be quite effective.

6. Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The now clean cat will rocket out of the toilet, and run outside where he will dry himself.

Sir Paul visits New Finland

Waiting...

I'm waiting for the Rude Guy to come and look at the apartment. It's now 10 to 10 and he was supposed to be here at 9:30. This guy has pissed me off right from the get go. He calls me and leaves a number on my answering machine (which is a different number than my call display showed), so I returned his call. It rang and rang, no machine, so I hung up. He calls me back a couple of hours later.

Me: Hello?
Him: Who is this? You called my cell phone!
Me: you called me first and left the number. I've got an apartment for rent.
Him: mmmmm...Is this the apartment for rent?
Me: Yes, were you interested?
Him: I've got a client flying in next week and we want to see it, 9:30 Tuesday morning.
Me: OK.
Him: (hangs up)

Honestly, if I wasn't desparate to rent the place, I'd have told him to piss off with his rudeness. Who answers the phone with "who is this?"? and now it's almost 10 and they aren't here. You'd think (in a civilized society) that if you'd made an apt. for 9:30 and it was getting on to 10, you'd call and say that you were running late, right?
There's so much that I wanted to do today, starting with going out and getting some coffee, and it's a beautiful day too. This isn't getting it off to a good start.

Get FIREFOX!!

This blog is best viewed using the Firefox browser I just checked out how it looks using Internet Exploder and it's all centered on the page with my beautiful sidebar at the bottom. So stop using Internet Explorer, it's full of bugs and doesn't have nearly the amount of cool features, extensions and plug-ins that Firefox has. Having problems with Firefox? Drop me a line, I'll be glad to help.

I saw a new thread last night in the Tilted Forum Project about the Seal Hunt. For those of you not familiar with the TFP, it is the board where I spend a lot of my internet time hanging out, playing games and discussing things with other members. As usual with the seal hunt, some one seized on the graphic pictures of the cute baby seals, and started a very one-sided argument (and really wasn't looking for any other viewpoints - because he tried to bitch-slap me when I disagreed) about how cruel and un-necessary it all is. Now I don't profess to know all there is to know about the seal hunt, but I do know that people here in Newfoundland don't like being told how to run their business. For that matter, people anywhere don't like being told how to run their business. I do think that when rich and famous people with their multi-billionaire livestyles come into someplace like this and preach to people who are trying to earn a living without having to resort to government assistance they havent' gotten the whole picture.
To that end, CBC Newsworld is broadcasting the documentary "My Ancestors Were Rogues And Murderers" on Saturday night. I'm going to watch it, and I think everyone should as well. Thanks to Skylarkd for pointing it out to me.

On Moving...

Things I Will Miss About St. John’s

• The magnificent view from the top of Signal Hill


• Beer in my corner store, Funkman & Frogs


• Trinity Pub


• The Ship Inn


• Nautical Nellies


• India Beer (like I’m taking about 300 cases back to Ontario)


• Did I mention the view from Signal Hill?


• Cool old architecture


• Rupert and Jericho (even though they are my cats, this will be the last time I will live with them.)


• Memorial University (strange as it sounds)


• Being in the QEII @ MUN (especially the reading room on the 4th floor at the long tables looking over the edge)


• The Harbour (The Newfoundlanders haven’t felt any need to “reclaim” their waterfront like so many other cities have. These people understand the need for a wharf!)


• all the artists, and assorted cool folk who live here. Did I mention that I almost creamed some clown on a unicycle juggling batons who was coming down the Signal Hill Road as I was coming up?
  

Things I Won’t Miss About St. John’s

• Potholes


• Drivers (I’ve been in so many close calls since I’ve been driving here)


• The total absence of any snow clearing on Feild Street


• The delay to get mail from the mainland


• Being a CFA


• Memorial University

Why do I always buy Tortellini?

Why do I always buy Tortellini?

I bought a package of tortellini, in a moment of weakness the other day. Why do I keep buying that stuff? It just sits in the fridge for a week and then when I get around to making something with it, it always sucks. Which is kind of a pain, cause I’m a decent cook when I have a mind to be. Now that the tortellini disaster is over with, I’ve got a hankering to go to The Keg for a good steak. Maybe I’ll do that on the weekend…

2 Term papers are finished, and they were the big ones. I’ve been in full on stress mode for the past three days and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank C, H, and especially L for calming me down.

And I helped L set up her blogger page, with some HTML coding tricks which I sent over the IRC channel, to help her add some links to the template. That was my good deed for the week and made me feel pretty good about myself.

In the night kitchen

I'm actually in the library, being a beautiful Saturday and all.
Seriously, the sky is blue, the snow is melting, I think I may have heard a bird singing too. The snow is finally gone from the traffic island at Elizabeth and Allandale, which is great cause there are now 4 lanes again, rather than the 2 that we had to put up with all winter.
My goal today is to get that freaking Tech Comm paper finished once and for all. It's been hanging over my head all semester, honestly you'd think that at nearly 40, I could come to terms with my procrastination once and for all, and just accept it, but I don't. I'll probably still be putting things off at 70. That's a scary thought, "No, I'll oil the wheels on my chair tomorrow."
I've been thinking a lot about me and my life this week. It's kind of an offshoot of all that is going on in my life these days. The major players know who they are. I feel the beginnings of a mid-life crisis coming on. I'll have to sell the jeep and get a porsche. Although as D says, "We're having our mid-life crisis, dude. We're at University!"

Spirit of the West

So S calls me last night at 2320. I wasn't even home yet as I was having a beer or two in the Breezeway bar at MUN with Jason, the deaf guy from my Sociology class. I got home at about a quarter to 12, and she calls a minute later from Club One. I can barely hear her, but she reminds me that Spirit of the West was playing there. I'd only seen that today in The Muse, but I figured it would be sold out, and I was planning on going to Fat Cats anyway. But there were only about 100 people in Club One and Spirit of the West were fantastic!

Amazing Race Ticker

Omigod! mini post! but I've just found the most kick-ass thing for my blog. Scroll down the page and check out the Amazing Race Tracker in the sidebar!.

Day Two in the QEII

I'm in the library for the second day in a row. Why is it that I get work done here that I don't do at home? I'm not sure why, considering the only thing I'm missing here is the TV and the cats. I don't mind working here, they've got these nice long tables with great views over the courtyard, and I can plug in my laptop, connect throught the university wireless, and still do the daily stuff. The only down side to working here is I to take the bus, because I can't find a parking space at the University, and I'm not at home to play with the cats, so they are both waiting by the door when I get home. I've had the sneaking suspicion for the last couple of weeks, that Rupert has taken to sleeping on the stairs when I go out in the evenings. If I come in late at night, he is sitting on the stairs blinking his eyes like he just woke up.

I'm finally on the downward slope of my life at University, and feeling pretty upbeat about leaving Newfoundland. Let me get through the next couple of weeks and I will be good. I'll miss the good local music at Fat Cats, that cute little bar Trinity (which was packed on St. Patrick's Day) and that great view of the ocean from the top of Signal Hill. I drove up to Pouch Cove last weekend (just felt the need to get out of the city), and I'd like to drive over to Carbonear way and see the other side of the bay. Maybe I'll do that when C visits.

Speaking of C, she is the only person whom I've told about the TFP, that has bothered to go and sign up for it. Now that she has, she seems to be getting quite addicted to it. I spent about an hour on the phone with her last night, teaching her how to link photos, and how to get Chatzilla set up so she can chat with the rest of the crowd in the TFP channel.

I'm looking forward to getting settled down in Kingston finally once and for all. I've been perusing the housing market and have found a great little brick house in the city, that is in the right price range. It looks like it might be in the middle of the ghetto, but what the hell? The appeal of having a permanent address and finally my own place (where the landlord doesn't care if I poke holes in the walls [not that I have done here or anything]), so I can stop changing my addresses in my magazine subscriptions.

If St. John's is the new Prague, then Mt. Pearl must be the new Scarborough!

Last night I skipped out on the Academy Awards (for the first time in years) and went down to Roxxy's for the John Lennox farewell show. Man, what a hole! I did a Dana, and arrived so early, John was still doing sound checks. But all was not lost...I picked up an India beer and settled in for some Elliptical Pool with Darrell and John.
Elliptical Pool looks like something that Salvador Dali would have invented. Round pool table, about 4 feet in diameter with a honking big hole off center. There are 3 cue balls and an unlimited number of people can play. Balls have to be sunk using bank shots, and the person who sinks the last ball wins. It's kind of fun when you get used to it, but the balls tend to congregate at the edges of the table rather than in the middle, so you spend most of your time breaking up the clumps of balls. I managed to find this picture of an elliptical table on the i-net. The surrounding are much fancier than Roxxy's!

John's show was great as usual, and since I was taping the Oscars, I wasn't worried about missing anything major. Lauren Bacall did the Elizabeth Taylor thing this year. I just don't get the point of trotting out some once great actor, and making them make a spectacle of themselves on live tv. Aside from the Bacall show, this years Oscars were rather tame. The women's gowns were classy and understated (aside from Charlize Theron's massive bow), no one pulled a Halle Berry by bawling, and despite Ben Stiller's antics in the green unitard, most of the presentations went off well.

Food and Drink

After a little mix-up with the dates, Dana and Stu came over for dinner on Friday night. Just as well they did, because I had a whack of fondue and no one to share it with. I made Dragon Noodles and we had the Chocolate/Peanut Butter fondue for dessert. Now my fridge is full of pasta, pound cake and chocolate!

I've been cruising around on other people's blogs, and lifting clever bits of programming to stick in the side bar, to try to jazz up this space. So far, I've managed to get the site meter, and the graphical version (which I think is really cool - I mean, who in Churchill, Manitoba is checking out my blog?), I've got the webcam of downtown up and running (which is good, cause it has that view of the narrows that is blocked by The Rooms at my house), and now I've got some images of books and DVD's that I'm watching and reading.

Firefly is excellent, I don't know how I missed it when it came out. And the Space channel is running 2 hours of Angel everyday, so I can get my Joss Whedon fix.

Here as promised for Dana is the recipe for Dragon Noodles, and here is the link to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario website, so you can browse the recipes from past issues of Food and Drink.

Dragon Noodles

Infused Oil
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp very finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes
1 tsp dark sesame oil

Salad
1/2 black beans
1/2 lb capelli d'angelo
3-4 cups shredded cooked chicken
3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
1 lime
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt


1. Heat Canola oil with garlic, ginger and chili flakes in a measuring cup in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until hot with rising bubbles. Stir in sesame oil. If using within a few hours, leave at room temperature, otherwise cover and refrigerate until needed.
2. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and refresh under cold running water until cooled
3. Combine drained pasta, cooked chicken, green onions, carrot and coriander in a large mixing bowl
4. Finely grate zest from lime and squeeze juice; stir zest and juice with sugar, soy sauce, and salt. Then whisk into infused oil. Pour over pasta mixture; toss from bottom of the bowl until ingredients are shiny and evenly mixed.
5. Covered and refrigerated, salad keeps well for a day or two.

40 cm of snow + 100 km/h wind over a 24 hour period =

Yesterday was another big blizzard which unfortunately closed The Ship, thereby preventing all of us from seeing John Lennox' farewell performance. I was all set to go, when Dana messengered me with the news. After walking around this morning, I got to thinking about that alley that The Ship is in. Probably looks like some of these drifts now. No wonder it was closed.

Music Part 2

Dave and I went down to CBTG's last night to see the John Lennox show. Unfortunately for us, we just caught the last song. I guess we figured that 12:30 would be fashionably late or something...Thankfully the next two bands were great, the Reels from Halifax and (I'm guessing)local boys Blair Harvey and the Dregs. The Reels were this country rock outfit doing some serious channeling of Blue Rodeo and Sons and Daughters. If you've never heard of Sons and Daughters, I'm not surprised, but have a listen to the track Johnny Cash and see if you think like this reviewer:

a darkly theatrical, distinctly celtic noise that's part Alternative Country, part Psychobilly, part Indie Rock and part New Wave post-punk, with songs that make you want to rub your sweatiest bits against your neighbour's muddy jeans.

I'm just getting into the local music scene here in St. John's, and it's quite lively. I've always said, that one of the things I liked about living in Owen Sound was the local music scene, that we could go to Jazzmyn's and hear good live music. But now that I think about it, it was mainly the same 15 players over and over again, playing the same 30 songs over and over again. The Byrds, Neil Young, old Eagles, etc. Not that I'm dissing the great hits of the 1970's mind you, they're classics. But it does get a little repetitive.

I'm really looking forward to John's final show at The Ship on Saturday night. If his show a couple of weeks ago is anything to go on, this one will be excellent. He had a couple of tunes last time that sounded like he was channeling early Pink Floyd. That's Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd, not Dark Side of the Moon, good as it is.

Music and Memories

Dreae put out a request for some mix tapes to help her write poetry and get "Dora the Explorer" out of her head. I wrote her, because I've got this tape from Joe's Bar in Porto kicking around on my desk. God only knows why I've hung on to it this long, because I don't have any way of playing it, save for the crappy player in the Jeep. But while I was writing a comment in her blog, describing the tape, memories kept flooding into my head, things I haven't thought of in a long while.
I remember one evening during the Tall Ships visit, when while being rowed ashore (we were anchored off the shipyard, cause the Sagres had taken our spot on the dock) some of the hideously polluted D'ouro river water splashed on my foot, which unbeknowest to me had a scratch on it. By the time that Elin and Ellen showed up about an hour later, my foot was swollen and weeping blood and pus. Elin went back across the bridge to the ship and brought back some antiseptic before the blood poisoning travelled up my leg. I've still got the scar.
But there are some happier memories as well, nights filled with music and conversation; putting on a record and ducking out to go to the cafe for one of my 20 nightly expressos; someone bringing back that weird latenight Portuguese pizza; going to Meia Cave after Joe's closed at 2, and then to Industria to dance until 6; making my way home for an hour or two of sleep before starting work.
This isn't from that summer, but from the following winter when Elin and I were sailing on the Eye of the Wind, but it reminds me of that time.