Cowboys and Aliens.

Yeah. This is going to be a great movie. Ridiculous? Yes. Possibly very silly, but great. It's James Bond, Han Solo, and Independance Day... in the Old West. I mean, come ON.



(Also, a great title. They're not trying to fool anyone.)

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Note to self:

When arriving on the scene of a pepper spray attack, make sure you know where the attack took place, so you don't walk into a house full of pepper spray (because the owner never thought to open the windows), choke to death, and end up having to treat yourself along with your patient. Just don't do that.

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The Weakerthans - Sun In An Empty Room

The title of this song alone, means so much. I hope it conjures up some memories for someone else. Enjoy:



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Tickets, please? Anyone..?

Does this happen anywhere else?

We go to the movies, and end up paying the 22 bucks or whatever it is. Now usually the point of buying a ticket is to prove to the ticket taker that you've payed, and can be let into the theatre. Around here, we buy the tickets, and then walk right past the ticket taker's booth, because they're no one to be seen. We could literally just walk right into the movie without paying and with no one to stop us. So I just spent 20 bucks on some worthless square of paper. I know it's honest to just buy the ticket anyway, but believe me, with the prices they charge for everything at the movies, I would gladly just stroll right in without paying if I knew I could. Next time I walk in and see no one around, I'm just going to return my ticket and walk back in.

Not to mention I was always a fan of free refills on popcorn. It meant I could just save my bag from one trip, fold it up, bring it back next time and get free popcorn. Am I looking at free trips to the movies?!

Yeah, yeah. It might be silly. Cheap old bastard, right? I guess I shouldn't rip them off completely. Sigh...

Although, I download movies. For free. Hundreds.

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I might be a cat.

So the other day I was down at Thinkplay, which is our little science-y toy shop here in town. I found this box beside the cash which looked to me like those Chinese finger-traps you see around. The ones where you stick one finger in each end and then can't pull them out? Basically just a spongy, plastic mesh tube. So I'm playing with this while people mill around beside me, I'm trying to stick my fingers in each end as far as I can to get them caught. You might think that this story ends with me getting caught in a finger trap. No. After about 5 minutes playing with this toy I get bored and throw it back into the box, when I see the sign above showing a cat chasing around the object I was just playing with. Apparently it is just a spring-loaded tube that cats chase around the house. All this time the cashier is watching me try to wear a cat's toy on my hands. Great. That's my cue to leave.

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Inception.

I'm calling it right now: this movie is going to be unbelievable.



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This Too Shall Pass.

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Deja Vu: Explained(?).

Just wanted to share something interesting that I've been reading about.

I love thinking about the human brain, and though I don't know the intricacies of how it works, I enjoy trying to figure it out, and it never ceases to amaze me. Allow me to geek-out psychology style for this one.

One of my favourite experiences related to the brain is deja vu. We've all experienced deja vu, right? You know what it is: you're experiencing something and you could swear that you've experienced it before. It's as though you see things before you, and you're recalling the exact same images from your memory as it happens. Well, contrary to popular belief, it's not a glitch in the Matrix.

I hate to shatter the mystery for any readers, but researchers are saying that the experience of deja vu is actually the brain's memory functions confusing itself. Occasionally, for some reason, as you're experiencing a situation, the brain will attempt to write the information to it's short memory, which is completely normal. Some type of "error" will occur, though, and it will be written to the brain's long term memory as well. This means that as you are going through the experience for the first time, the brain is recognizing what you're seeing as being from long term memory, meaning that it will mistake these new images as something you've seen long ago. Hence the "unsettling" feeling of deja vu, and feeling like you are unable to place exactly where and when you've felt this way before. That's because you have no other information to attach to the memories, you're seeing it all for the first time.

Amazing, isn't it? Never underestimate the power of your own mind.

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Super Cool.

Dogs are awesome.

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"World's Greatest Jenga Player"

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THE Best Commercial, Ever.

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Nude.

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My Favorite Part.

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I'm Speechless.

Also: does he say, "Have a slice of wine"?!

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Texture Like Sun.

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Rainy Days.

One thing some people need to learn is that when it's raining, you just can't drive like the roads are still dry. I know you like to drive fast, but sometimes you just have to suck it up. It's no wonder that whenever it's raining hard we're getting called to car accidents resulting from hydroplaning. Seriously, you can never know when your car will start to slide and when it does you're just along for the ride. There's no stopping it.

The other day it rained for a couple of hours and we were sent to a car that had slid into the trees off of the highway. As we were approaching the accident, we passed a car in the opposite lane that had also hydroplaned into the guardrail, then into the median barrier. It was torn to pieces on both ends, but the passengers were fine. If this guy hadn't been on a kind of overpass where there were barriers on either side he could easily have ended up in the oncoming lanes, or rolling across the ditch into the trees. The driver even told me he had just installed "Hydroplane Resistant" tires. The other driver was also fine, he had slid and spun off the road but luckily there were no trees in his path. I want to get into "seatbelt importance" at another time, but these folks were all wearing their seatbelts, and escaped injury because of it.

Yet as we drove back to base along the highway after checking everyone out, there were cars flying past us doing at least 130km\h. These were drivers who had just passed these mangled cars on the highway, but it didn't sink in. If there's one thing I've learned in this job it's that when I get called to a car accident on the highway, where speeds are always high, I expect the worst. And I've seen the worst-case scenario. Trust me, you don't want to go out like that. Please, just cool it until the roads clear up. Oh, and seatbelts.

Sincerely,

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Today In History.

I'm a day late, but on May 9, 1962, The Beatles secured their first recording contract! In honour of this, here's a track from their failed(!) audition for Decca records in early 1962, led by George Harrison(who was 18 at the time). George Martin and EMI were a little more impressed, signed the band, and Decca records would be infamous for rejecting The Beatles.



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"Epic Troll".

Apparently this guy somehow manages to get booked on local TV news shows as a "Yo-Yo master", and then proceeds to make a fool out of himself, not to mention the news anchors who think he's for real. He's brilliant.

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No Need For Racism.

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Real Life "Hurt Locker".

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Sounds Good.

"This photo was taken by photographer Jack Bradley and depicts the exact moment this boy, Harold Whittles, hears for the very first time ever. The doctor treating him has just placed an earpiece in his left ear. Date unknown."

The look in his eyes is priceless! That's something that can't be faked. Brilliant photo.

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Paul Rudd's Computer.

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POV.

Love stuff like this. It reminds me of the BBC sitcom "Peep Show", filmed entirely in first-person. Check it out if you've never seen it, it's one of the best shows on TV.

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Almost Time.

Early candidate for "the summer album":


















Broken Bells are Danger Mouse (musical half of Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, The Grey Album...) and James Mercer (singer for The Shins). I mean, do you need to know anything else? You can stream the album here.






















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How-To.

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These Days.

I keep this site in my browser's favourites, often clicking on it when I'm bored, probably expecting to see something new. Like someone else may have taken over for me. Lately I've been neglecting it worse than ever. I have all kinds of stories I'd love to tell, and to be honest I prefer telling them in person, but this is a little more accessible I guess.

I just can't seem to justify spending the time on this lately. This isn't a goodbye, I love it here and I'll write more eventually. But my girlfriend, my friends and I are all so busy that when I do get time off I just feel like I'd be wasting it here on the computer. No offense. The only reason I'm here right now is because everyone is gone.

This is just an update to keep any readers in the loop, and so that in the future when I start writing again the gap between posts doesn't seem too big...

'til then.

-AM