tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179269322024-03-13T10:17:24.318-04:00Lethal InterjectionOr would you prefer death by elocution?Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-21011823319104801572008-02-13T22:32:00.014-05:002008-02-14T01:33:32.540-05:00The Orange Cream in Your Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/heart.jpg" ><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" height="153" alt="Happy Emo Valentine's Day" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/heart.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>It is Valentine's Day. Again.<br />And thus it is time for another S.A.D. post. Which is difficult, as I don't have much left in me on the topic. For those who don't know, I have made several installments on or around this infamous day which are basically lists of things that singles can do to sabotage Valentine's Day and subsequently celebrate Single Awareness Day.<br />The previous installments are <a href="http://lethalinterjection.blogspot.com/2007/02/cockroach-in-cupids-atomic-blast.html">The Cockroach in Cupid's Atomic Blast</a> (last year) and <a href="http://lethalinterjection.blogspot.com/2006/07/contentment-charade-in-singles-parade.html">Contentment Charade in the Single's Parade </a>(the year before). And they are just as (in)appropriate this year as on any Valentine's Day. </div><div><br />Here are some more ideas:<br /><br /><strong>1.</strong> Change your Facebook relationship status. That'll have everyone, single and otherwise, take notice. I would've suggested making up a person with the name "No one" or something similar. However, I just tried to make an account and it wouldn't allow non-names. So much for being married to The Sea. Since this isn't possible, just change it every hour. Single, to married, to single, to in a relationship, to single, to it's complicated... It'll have people worrying about you.<br /><br /><strong>2.</strong> They say every rose has its thorn. So dump a bucketful of nails at the parking lot entrance of every florist shop you can find.<br /><br /><strong>3.</strong> Sell discount chocolates out of your trunk. Sell them for ridiculously cheap, but make sure you put price tags on them. And make the tags near impossible to get off, so that the significant other either gets a mangled box of chocolates, or is appalled at how little was spent. Or, even better, box the chocolates yourself. Sell them at a reasonable price, but enough to make a profit (might as well get paid). Then inside every box put a promotional coupon that says "Did you enjoy your free chocolates? Please write to us with your suggestions!"<br /><br /><strong>4.</strong> Dress up as Cupid. But instead of a bow and arrow, use a paintball gun.<br /><br /><strong>5.</strong> Print up hundreds of Secret Admirer valentines. Slip them in random mailboxes. Preferably those of the already attached. I mean, who doesn't love tension?<br /><br /><strong>6.</strong> Where applicable, steal the birth control pills of select women. Switch them with antihistamines or similar looking and otherwise harmless over the counter drugs. After all, Family Day is in just 4 days.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">For those who don't know (mainly out of province or country readers) Family Day is a new stat holiday this year, instituted by the current Government of Ontario. The timing of it (Feb. 18) is interesting, to say the least</span>.<br /><br />Huzzah to the singles. Or something.</div>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-85313591898483407312008-01-14T01:49:00.000-05:002008-01-16T01:58:30.992-05:00Tim's Uber-Compilation of Musical Quintessence (Top 20)Multiple discussions have prompted me to compile a list of my Top 20 songs of all time. This is about as close as I am going to get, and it has taken me over 6 months to get this far. I've had to let lists settle, throw out songs, add songs I had forgotten, and all kinds of other edits. Plus I was too lazy to write all of this, and too meticulous to just leave it at a song list. So here it is, Tim's Quintessential Song List of All Time, To the Extreme!<br /><br />Also, for those Facebook savvy folk, you can actually listen to all of these songs. I recently added a great application (one of about 3 I can say that of) called Boombox, where it will play music hosted by third party sites. I uploaded what wasn't already there, and assuming everything goes swimmingly, I should have that list up soon. It should be on <a href="http://redeemeron.facebook.com/profile.php?id=113500097">my main page</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color:#999999;"><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">1. Norwegian Wood (this bird has flown)- The Beatles</span></strong><br /></span>I've mentioned this song in a previous post. I love it. It is rather short, but with the most brilliant lyrics I have ever heard. Just an awesome little short story with a surprise ending (and if you know me, that's a big factor). The sitar is a wonderful touch that adds a really nice touch. It is simply brilliant.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"><strong>2. Brick - Ben Folds Five</strong><br /></span>I recall having a conversation with a few friends about the timelessness of this song. Somehow I listen to this song now, and it grabs me just the same way it did when I first heard it. The combination of the rather difficult subject matter, Folds' magnificent vocals and his super-talented piano playing is just incredible. It is over a decade old, and I've listened to it an innumerable amount of times, and continue to absolutely love it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">3. God Fearing Man - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals</span></strong><br />Quintessential Harper. The song clocks in at nearly 12 minutes, and every second is gold. It has long slide guitar solos, lyrics that are both powerful and softer at spots, really accenting Harper's vocal talents. Long songs can often be tedious, but this song does it very well, as good as the power ballads of Zeppelin or Queen. I could easily see this one taking top spot after it has had some greater longevity behind it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">4. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Baba</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">O'riley</span> - The Who</span></strong><br />Some may know it as the popular, yet incorrect, "Teenage Wasteland" or (shudder) "The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">CSI</span>:NY theme". Personally, the awesomeness of this song was first really revealed to me by the fantastic movie <em><strong>American Beauty</strong>, </em>though I had definitely heard it before then. (You'll find this isn't the only movie tie-in on this list.) The musical progression throughout just gets me all stirred up in the same way the first few seconds of <strong>Smells Like Teen Spirit</strong> do (to me and others, I've noticed). I've since heard it used in multiple movies and television shows. Apparently it is catching.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">5. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd</span></strong><br />I remember I first really heard this song in late high school. About a year or two later I stumbled across it again, and realized it was this same song I had adored but never got the name of. Incredibly talented acoustic guitar backs up poignant and beautiful lyrics. It is too bad that I just can't get into the rest of Pink Floyd's stuff.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">6. No Rain - Blind Melon</span></strong><br />I'll definitely receive some um... criticism for this one, methinks. I just simply love this song. Musically simple, it is a fun little song. And I absolutely love the vocal harmonization. And, again, longevity is a huge factor. Like <strong>Brick</strong>, I have continued to listen to this song regularly for over a decade (actually, in this case it is over 15 years), and I still love listening to it. Then, about a year ago I discovered an alternate version of the song, labeled the "The Ripped Away Version" (released a few years after Shannon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hoon's</span>, the lead vocalist, death). Noticeably different from the original, and yet I find it very nearly as good as the original. Apparently you can even retool the song quite a bit, and I still like it. Hence #6.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">7. Money City Maniacs - Sloan</span></strong><br />A little bit of Canadian content for you. A ridiculously catchy song, that is just fun to listen to. Every time I hear the song's introductory sirens, I find myself cranking the volume. This one definitely has the longevity thing going for it, released almost 10 years ago. But with the increased radio play, you can probably tack on a few years worth of listening.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;"><strong>8. Loser - Beck</strong><br /></span>Strangely addictive. Something very different than other songs on the radio, and yet somehow it just caught on. The fun mixing, distortions, backtracking, nonsense lyrics, other languages, turntables, etc. all make this song stand out as some of the most original rock of the 90s. And different is right up my alley. And it has the longevity factor. And it taught me one of the only Spanish phrases I know: <em>Soy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">un</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">perdedor</span>.</em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">9. We Suck Young Blood - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Radiohead</span></span></strong><br />This one was a bit hard to come to grips with. It is hard for me to throw a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Radiohead</span> song from their second newest album when <strong>OK Computer</strong> and <strong>The Bends</strong> were such masterpieces. But frankly, this song has been on my mp3 player steady since I purchased it over two years ago (and it ain't no 8 gig <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">iPod</span>). The haunting clapping, the wonderfully miserable vocals from Thom Yorke, and general awesomeness just make this song very re-listenable.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">10. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield</span></strong><br />Pretty much a one-hit-wonder from this band, I've loved this song for a long time. That said, it wasn't until I heard it over the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">opening</span> credits of <em><strong>Lord of War</strong></em>. That said, I know that I had often heard it and hoped they'd say who it was before I got out of the car, and to no avail. And I'd never remember to look up the lyrics. So a great movie made that a lot easier (and that opening sequence is probably one of my favourites, perhaps only second to the Nine Inch Nails'<strong> Closer</strong> over the opening of <strong><em>Se7en</em></strong>). Simplistic musically (those repeating alternate notes) over some anti-war lyrics. Great stuff.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">11. Nada - The Refreshments</span></strong><br />The Refreshments have been one of the major staples in my musical history. It was one of my 3 first <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">CDs</span> and I have been listening to it regularly since. Lots of great songs, but Nada always struck a chord. A beautiful harmonica solo makes a great intro to an inspired song. I particularly like the timing and progression of the lyrics and his voice is perfect for the song. And that it closed out the album, full of some other fantastic songs.. And a reference to tequila. What else can I say?<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">12. Walk Away - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals</span></strong><br />This represents all of Harper's work that <strong>God Fearing Man</strong> does not. That and it was the song that introduced me to who is now my favourite musician. Everything I could ever want in an acoustic song. Great lyrically, fantastic vocals, and striking guitar.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">13. I Like Birds - The Eels</span></strong><br />This one is also an introductory song to one of my favourite artists. I had heard some Eels previous, but this one was the key to me checking out their library (I wasn't disappointed, obviously). This song is nearly to the point of silly, but it is the light-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">heartedness</span> of it that really sucked me in. And the whistling. I've always loved whistling in songs, and this one has a rather large amount of it. If I had to pick a song that best represented me, this would be it (on a good day, anyways).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">14. Where is my Mind - The Pixies</span></strong><br />Not surprising that the song playing over the closing credits to my favourite movie is in my top 20. I just really like the song both musically and lyrically. It has some really cool effects to it, from the ghostly howl and guitar build up, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Fincher</span> chose it wisely, I think. It really makes you feel like a small thing in a huge world, but not in the scared or meaningless sense, but in a way that makes you appreciate everything else. A very appropriate song for the close to that movie.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">15. Used to be Alright - I Mother Earth</span></strong><br />A little more Canadian content... While a ton of I Mother Earth would make my top 50, only this one makes my top 20 (the next closest is<strong> Earth, Sky and C</strong>, particularly because of the awesome <strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Por</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Todos</span></strong> drum intro on the Earth Sky and Everything In Between release). Used to be Alright is from Scenery and Fish, another one of my three first <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">CDs</span>. It has been my favourite from the album since shortly after hearing it and has remained pretty much my favourite songs from one of my favourite bands.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">16. Talk Show Host - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Radiohead</span></span></strong><br />The second of two bands to show up twice on this list. It was also difficult for me to put on here, as it is not on any album, but it was definitely my favourite <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Radiohead</span> song prior to Hail To The Thief's release (and it took some time for <strong>We Suck Young Blood</strong> to supplant it). Thom Yorke's vocals are awesome, great lyrics and musically very interesting. Seeing it over Leonardo DiCaprio sulking isn't as nice as just listening, though.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">17. Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones</span></strong><br />Lyrically, I love what they have done with this song. I love the way it is the Devil talking about himself and all his accomplishments, as if it was his closing remarks before the sentencing, or somesuch. Musically, I'm not that interested, but that has something to do with my general apathy towards the Stones (except for <strong>Angie</strong>, which would also hit the top 50).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">18. Tomorrow - Silverchair</span></strong><br />The breakout song for the ridiculously young Aussie trio is amazing. I wish I had created something so cool at that age. Great hard guitar, some good lyrics, and just the feel of an anthem for that generation. Not as brilliant as some of the list, but I've loved it for a long time, and it is just a great aggresive song.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">19. Redemption Song - Bob Marley</span></strong><br /><strong>A</strong> classic protest song, that. Fantastic lyrics combined with decent guitar and singing have placed Redemption Song this high. I had also considered putting Trenchtown Rock on here at one point, simply for the lyrics. However, I wasn't willing to throw a cover up here (that wouldn't really be right, would it), and since I don't care for Marley's version and much prefer the Sublime cover, I didn't (also, I have since changed my mind). Also, apparently Bob Marley is now, "new rock". Thanks, Edge 102, just because reggae is hip now, doesn't make this "new".<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cccccc;">20. Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes</span></strong><br />This song just makes me happy. Vocally it isn't great. Lyrically it isn't great. Yet it is terribly catchy, and reminds me of so many good times, particularly hearing a band cover it on New Years eve, 2000. There isn't much to it, and I love it all the same.<br /><br />There you have it, my top 20 songs.<br />One of note that missed the cut on a technicality is Requiem For a Dream. It's a difficult one, though, as it is "classical". So it is in a bit of a different situation there aren't lyrics, and you can't hear it as it was originally written. Really I only know of the versions from Requiem For a Dream and from the trailers for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and I can't rightly attribute it to them, can I?<br />Also there are a bunch more from some of the artists listed above (<strong>Selective Memory</strong> by the Eels, <strong>Fred Jones Pt. 2</strong> by Ben Folds, <strong>While My Guitar Gently Weeps</strong> by the Beatles) as well as plenty from other artist I both own (<strong>Jolene</strong> by Cake, <strong>Wheat Kings</strong> by Tragically Hip, <strong>Video Bargainville </strong>by Moxy Fruvous) and do not own (<strong>Golden Years</strong> by David Bowie, <strong>Ramble On</strong> by Led Zeppelin, <strong>White Rabbit</strong> by Jefferson Airplane). Just thought I'd name drop another 10 or so songs there for you. Not sure why.<br />Hope you enjoyed reading, I know it was sure tedious to write.Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-24970149582075491552007-12-24T13:43:00.000-05:002007-12-24T14:17:43.734-05:00Happy Christmas (the shopping is over)It is time for another Christmas post! This was supposed to be a few different posts, but my cracked elbow (one-handed typing sucks) and lack of time have made it rather condensed. So here it is.<br /><br />First of all, working retail during Christmas is terrible. Now I don't normally have to deal with customers, but my cracked elbow and modified duties have found me out on the floor for the 2 weeks before Christmas. Now, I've seen lots of funny and strange things during this two weeks, and many frustratingly stupid customers. Okay, enough lead-in. <br />You see, there is a movie that Walmart sells called <em>Faux Fire 2</em>. I find this endlessly entertaining. I mean, it is a DVD of a crackling fire with a loop of about 8 Christmas songs. A must-buy. Nevermind that many areas have a station that plays this anyways, for free.<br />What is more hilarious, though, is that this DVD is a <em>sequel</em>. I mean, didn't the original <em>Faux Fire</em> pretty much say all that needed to be said on the subject? And the special features on the disc must be pretty awesome. Director commentaries. Deleted scenes. A gag reel. Making-of documentaries. And can you get it in HD? I want to <em>really</em> see those flames.<br />Now, all this has entertained me throughout the lead-up to the holidays, but while I was working this past week I saw a guy buy a bunch of these. Not one. Not two. Not even a half-dozen. He had an armload. From his palm to nearly his elbow, all of <em>Faux Fire 2</em>. I don't really know what he is planning to do with all of them. Perhaps they are gifts to all of his co-workers at a job he doesn't really like. Perhaps he plans on shingling his house with them. Or, perhaps they are collectors editions and each one has something unique and he needs to have them all. Whatever the case, it made me laugh.<br /><br /><br />Moving on. I hate Christmas carols. For the most part, anyways. (Working retail makes it worse, but I already did that diatribe.) There are too many artists doing the same 25 songs over and over. But they have to make them unique, so the add their own brand of vibrado, or Whitney Houston-ize them, or whathaveyou. Now there is some stuff I love. Seven Day Jesus does a fantastic O Holy Night. The Transiberian Orchestra is always a fun listen. However, I made it my goal to find some new stuff that I like. Oh, and the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah Maclachlan (spelling?) are great together, as is much of Sufjan Stevens' stuff. Here are some of what I found:<br /><strong>Rudolph - Jack Johnson.</strong> He changes the lyrics a bit from the original, and he does a great job.<br /><strong>Feliz Navidad - Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers</strong>. Worth it simply for the border-rock feel and the phrase "put the tequila in the eggnog".<br /><strong>Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Coldplay.</strong> I can't resist me some Coldplay.<br />And finally, what may be my new favourite version of any Christmas carol: <strong><a href="http://http//www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=16698501&m=16657532">Joy to the World - Eef Barzelay.</a></strong> (click to listen). A stripped-down acoustic version that is sung beautifully (with out all the ridiculous pomp of traditional Joy to the World's) and is almost emotionally striking.<br /><br />Anyways, that is all I can think of here in my short time before I head out for Christmas celebrations. So have a a Merry Christmas, everyone.Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-31451004514524572762007-11-23T02:10:00.000-05:002007-11-23T02:48:04.390-05:00Please, Watch Out For Low-flying HomonymsI really can't say much about it, so I'll let the following excerpt from a <a href="http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20071122%2fdartmouth_taser_071122">news article</a> speak for itself. I've included the opening paragraphs as originally (in case they... fixed it) found, the bolding theirs, as it is essentially an intro to the situation for those unaware (as I was).<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><strong>The province of Nova Scotia will review the use of Tasers after a man with psychiatric problems died at a Dartmouth correctional facility, 30 hours after being shocked by police.</strong><br /><br />Justice Minister Cecil Clarke ordered the review after the death of 45-year-old Howard Hyde, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.<br /><br />Hyde's common-law wife, Karen Ellet, told CTV Atlantic that she was shocked by her husband's death. </blockquote><br />Hopefully you have seen the rather unfortunate choice of wording. The writer obviously wasn't paying particular attention, especially since they used the same word <em>twice</em> in these three small paragraphs, with very different meanings. Just tactless.<br />This is the problem with internet news, of course. Speed is more important than anything, so stuff like this probably passes through as few hands as possible. And apparently no one read it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">*More on my return (hopefully) to blogging in the next (hopefully) post, which will be coming soon (hopefully).</span>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-84085032257011684252007-05-04T14:31:00.000-04:002007-05-08T00:32:49.473-04:00Stop the Revolution!For some reason I was thinking about the Good Idea, Bad Idea segments from Animaniacs the other day. And once again YouTube showed its incredible usefulness, as searching the site <a title="Ordering a chili dog that makes you go..." href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCK8ZoC0KPI">provided</a> <a title="Tossing your cousin Penny into a fountain to make a wish..." href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8PhzrmBgMI">multiple</a> <a title="Buying a parachute on sale..." href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vAVLbMMSds">results</a>, and made me quite happy. Well, while I was thinking about them, I came up with one: <blockquote><p><strong>Good Idea</strong>: Holding the door for your date.<br /><br /><strong>Bad Idea</strong>: Holding the revolving door for your date</p></blockquote><p>I thought it was funny. It's considerably more funny if you picture said date running into the door. That is all. Carry on.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-68209662753718918502007-05-04T12:49:00.000-04:002007-11-23T02:38:40.533-05:00On the Topic of Mutants and a Lack of PollutantsI find my self sympathetic to Magneto's cause.<br /><br />Let me explain. You see, I've been quite sick over the past two weeks. Sick enough that I considered visiting a doctor regarding said illness, something which I can remember doing about once (not counting the "illness" of a gash requiring 5 stitches, sewn in by one Dr. Butcher... seriously) in the past decade. So, last Tuesday I went home to Brampton for my Dad's birthday and stuck around because I wasn't in any shape to work. I brought with me a selection of movies, as my parents would be gone to work, and I would be rather bored, especially with no computer to entertain me (though my parents' recently acquired cable television helped somewhat as well). One thing I brought home was my X-Men trilogy. I hadn't seen any of them since I bought it last year, so I watched them all.<br /><br />Now to the point. When I concluded my viewing of the movies, I began to realize that there was something far more realistic in Magneto's response to the mutant situation than in Professor Xavier's. Now, I'm not talking about the mass genocide (see Appendix A) of all humans or any of the other extreme ways that Magneto actualizes his ultimate goal. He is the villain, and he does evil things. No, what I am talking about is his general philosophy regarding the relationship between human and mutant.<br /><br />Well, actually, its not even that. I just find myself taking issue with Professor Xavier's relentless optimism. Now, you could argue that being against some of Magneto's policies would probably put me closer to the response of the humans, such as the Senator from the movies. That's not entirely true either. You see, while I would be against mutant registration because of the restriction of freedom, I understand the need for it. Plus, in the X-Men universe, I would probably have to concede that mutants are, indeed, the future. Ultimately, my problem with the human stance is I don't think the problem can be solved through political means, and I'm not on someone like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Stryker's</span></span> side, where I think the mutant "problem" should be eradicated.<br /><br />Now, I'm going to tread lightly here, because I know that there have been considerable parallels (both inferred by readers and put in by writers) drawn between the mutant/human situation from X-Men and many race-related conflicts from the past. So I feel I should mention that what I am talking about is the fictional world of the X-Men only, as I think the parallels work on one level, but on another we are talking about an actual difference (I mean, he can contort metal with his mind...) not one imagined by racists and bigots.<br /><br />I mean, how can mutants and humans live in peace and equality? We are talking about people who can move objects with their minds, change the weather, blow stuff up by looking at it, and so on. It isn't as if you can just ignore that. I mean, would it change hiring policies? I mean, you can't honestly suggest that equal opportunity employment would really work in a world like that.<br /><br />Who wouldn't hire Wolverine as a stuntman, because he can heal extremely quickly, or as a chef or landscape architect because of his claws? You can't tell me that Storm wouldn't become a local weather forecaster or Mystique an actor or undercover cop. Magneto would probably work construction or something similar, while Cyclops and Gambit might be demolition experts. Iceman could work the local hockey arena, while Professor X could be a ridiculously successful telemarketer. Now, of course, this is assuming they take honest work (although Professor X's exploitation might be ethically suspect...) but you see where I am going with this. How could you not hire these people over average Jack and Jill <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Everyhuman</span></span>? I mean their physical capabilities make them much better candidates for these positions. That's not even to mention the fact that many of these mutant powers betray both of the laws of thermodynamics, and thus something akin to a perpetual motion machine could be created by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Pyro</span></span> using a single spark to spend an 8-hour work day creating vast amounts of steam energy (or Magneto or Jean Grey could simply move a turbine with their mind, and so on) and so they could take up employment that way, creating an easily renewable energy source. Al Gore would be so happy. And that is why I find myself sympathizing with the villain (not because of Al Gore's level of contentment, but because of my lack of belief in a proper co-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">existence</span> and equality between humans and mutants).<br /><br /><br /><strong>Appendix A:</strong> I hadn't really thought of this before, but it is interesting to juxtapose the beginning of the first movie with Magneto's general philosophy. He is a Holocaust survivor and is adamantly against mutant registration (he mentions at one point that ink will never again touch his skin, referencing the concentration camp tattoo on his arm). However, his genocidal (is that a word?) approach combined with his essential belief in a master race really put him much closer to the Nazi's he so loathes than even the government who was opting for registration. Interesting hypocrisy there.<br /><br /><strong>Appendix B:</strong> Here I am going to go on a bit of a rant regarding the mutant classification system introduced in <em>X-Men: The Last Stand</em>. I have some difficulty with it. I'm not sure if it is true to the comic books and if they would do a better job of explaining it, but it just doesn't make any sense to me. In the movie a character refers to Magneto and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Pyro</span></span> as Level 4 mutants. The level is based upon the power of their... well, their power. My problem is that if Phoenix is a Level 5, and Magneto a 4, then I think we can assume that Professor X is also a 4. The problem is that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Pyro</span></span> is also listed as a 4, which is where I take issue. Because there is no way that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Pyro</span></span> is on the same level as Magneto. Plus it would make most of the rest of the X-men on that level too. I can probably see Storm being a Level 4, and perhaps even Mystique. Iceman could even be a 4, I think. I wouldn't have a problem with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Pyro</span></span> being a Level 4 if he could both make fire and manipulate it, but he needs a source. The rest I see as Level 3, I think, because their powers may be cool, but they aren't nearly as remarkable or useful. Though I should mention that Wolverine's level would certainly betray how dangerous he is, as his power is essentially the quick-healing, which might be a Level 2 or 3, with the claws and titanium reinforced skeleton not being part of his power, per say. Anyways, this rant is over.<br /><br />Now, did this post come off as nerdy as it seemed?Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-87232976721117711692007-04-11T13:24:00.000-04:002007-04-11T14:04:00.410-04:00The Perplexing Problem of Playoff Postulation<p>Well, the playoffs begin this evening. I'm not involved in any playoff pools, but I thought I'd put up my picks for this year. Last year I managed second place in the pool I was in, mainly thanks to the fact that almost no one else picked any upsets in the Western Conference first round, which was <em>only</em> upsets. Anyways, here are my picks, including the amount of games each round will go. </p><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/Easternplayoff.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/Westernplayoff.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>At which point the Sabres will take it in 6 games against Nashville.</p><p></p><p>A few points about this. First, I am very hesitant to not pick any upsets in the West this year, mostly due to last year. I think Vancouver will edge out the Stars, and I think San Jose will put up a fight, but with Vokoun back, Nashville will take it. It seems at least <a title="Closer to the Atlantic rather than the Pacific ocean" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=As3G3j0OyPNvsFSs82XX1Yx7vLYF?slug=ap-playoffoverview&prov=ap&type=lgns">one</a> other person agrees with me, saying that if there is going to be an underdog this year, it'll be from the East (I read that after making up this list, I should tell you).</p><p>I am also hesitant to pick both the Lightning over the Devils and Ottawa over Pittsburgh. They're risky picks, and I have been tempted to change them, but its too late now. I think Pittsburgh, if they won, would follow the same path as Ottawa, and probably the same thing if New Jersey won.</p><p>Its too bad the Canadian teams didn't do better this year, with only three managing playoff spots. I may have over-compensated though, by making Ottawa and Vancouver go as far as they do. And I would be happy to be proven wrong about Ottawa, as the last thing I want to hear is obnoxious Ottawans braying and goading Leaf fans for three rounds of playoffs. They should just be thankful they won't see Toronto in the playoffs, because... well, we all know how that would end, don't we.</p><p>And those are my picks. Go teams. Go teams, go.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-91886577546872300432007-03-25T13:23:00.000-04:002007-03-25T14:28:03.299-04:00Video Game Heckling<p>I have been known to spend some time watching <a href="http://friskyscissors.blogspot.com">Sam</a> play some video game or another. Yes, watching, not even playing. I know that's kind of a strange thing to do, but <a title="What?" href="http://lethalinterjection.blogspot.com/2006/07/hyphen-syphon-strikes-again.html">I never claimed to be the coolest person</a>. That said, this has diminished of late, as the TV and subsequent gaming systems are not in the same room as my computer and whatnot.</p><p>While I watch said video games, I often comment on the goings-on, make fun of the characters, etc. No game is quite as good for this as Kingdom Hearts 2 (I should also mention that of the games Sam plays most often, KH2 is the only one I have any interest in actually playing). There are so many places just ripe for comment that watching this game is much more fun than any other, because of our MST3K-style commentary (For those who don't know, MST3K stands for Mystery Science Theatre 3000, a program/movie which makes fun of movies and old school PSAs in a commentary fashion, done by a guy and two robots. And it is <a title="A Date with your Family" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THYVh9AhtLk">incredibly</a> <a title="What to do on a Date" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrmFGSM1h44">funny</a>.) So we'll insert bits of dialogue, make comments about whether a character will be caught in the train door, etc. However, what has never happened before is having the game <em>actually respond</em>. Here is roughly how the conversation went...</p><blockquote><strong>Sam:</strong> Hey, they have some Chippendale's on the ship! (referring to the fact that the pilots are Chip and Dale, the Disney characters)<br /><br /><strong>Tim:</strong> Well, really they only have one Chippendale.<br /><br /><strong>Sora</strong> (the game's main character): Only one?</blockquote><p></p><p>We laughed hard for a solid minute, and then continued laughing when Donald said something (I can't recall exactly what) which followed up on Sora's comment. The character was clearly talking about something else, but that certainly didn't take away from the hilarity.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-12372499320823809922007-03-23T14:31:00.000-04:002007-03-23T17:41:40.901-04:00State of the Music Address<p>About a month ago I had a conversation with a friend about the state of music today. He asked me what I thought about it and I said that, generally, I love it. Now the question was meant to be more of a joke, but I wasn't joking. Now, he was refering to the plethora of crap churned out by radio stations. There I would agree. However, it is a very exciting time to be a music fan. This is especially true if you have musical tastes that differ from any of the radio stations that might be in your geographical area.</p><p>The reason I answered positively is for two reasons. The first would be because of Zach Braff. I like Zach Braff as an actor/director. <em>Scrubs</em> is fantastic, and <em>Garden State</em> is one of my favourite movies. I love his rather eclectic choices for the <em>Garden State</em> soundtrack (and its fairly clear he is quite influential in regards to the <em>Scrubs</em> soundtrack as well). I remember when the first <em>Garden State</em> trailer was released a year before theatrical release, the soundtrack (I believe it was Let Go by Frou Frou) was a major part of what got me excited about the movie. He also has a <a title="Bambi's Blog" href="http://www.zachbraff.com/">blog</a> where he puts up what he's listened to recently and often talks about this band or that. </p><p>Now, I like his taste in music. It resembles my own. He's brought several artists to my attention (Colin Hay as the best example) and certainly put a few other bands on the map who may not have risen above a small fanbase (I've seen considerable press on the newest album by The Shins, something that seems to me to be considerably due to Braff's inclusion of them in the <em>Garden State</em> soundtrack). But I am torn. His taste in music has become too "hip". I guess my worry is that people aren't developing their own musical tastes, just aping Braff's.</p><p>The second is much more important. I'm talking about music in television. I referenced this somewhat above, in regards to <em>Scrubs</em>. It is something which gets me excited because it is another way that obscure bands, many of which aren't exactly designed for radioplay on most stations, can be heard outside of just their rather small fanbase. The most instrumental in this would probably have to be <em>The OC</em>. Now, I have never cared for the show, and haven't seen more than about an hour, total. But the music from this show is generally fantastic. It is good music, and said music has leeched into the mainstream. This is the first show that I have experienced where people weren't just talking about the plot/characters/whathaveyou, but where "water cooler" discussion also included the music.</p><p>(Once upon a time, I was searching for interesting cover songs, and I came across Ryan Adams doing a live cover of Wonderwall. I thought to myself, this would make a fantastic studio cover as well. So, one day, I'm doing laundry at home in Brampton and <a title="The Blog of a Demagogue" href="http://www.xanga.com/talaroo/">my sister</a> is watching <em>The OC</em>, when I hear my request come to life.)<br /><p><em>The OC</em> certainly wasn't the first to use such a soundtrack, but they certainly pushed the envelope and created a different climate for music on TV. I mean, Fix You by Coldplay was premiered on this show, a fact that I learned through many media outlets who were reporting it as such (the only other time I think I've seen this happen is with <em>CSI</em> and Radiohead's Hail to the Thief album, and I'm not 100% sure about that).</p><p>Now it seems that soundtracks have become a much more important part of television programming. <em>One Tree Hill</em>, which I know little about, has featured my favourite obscure artist, <a title="You don't have to run like that" href="http://www.tomfreund.com">Tom Freund</a>, with one of my favourite songs of his, available <a title="Downloading thats free and legal!" href="http://www.tomfreund.com/mp3s/01%20can">here</a> (it seems that this TV show is pretty much taking <em>The OC</em>'s spot in respect to soundtracks). I know that several episodes of House have made me search up some new artists (not counting those times I heard some other great songs, such as Delicate by Damien Rice and Waiting on an Angel by Ben Harper).</p><p>I just love the fact that something other than the radio is becoming an arena for introducing new, talented artists. And stay tuned, as before too long I plan to make a top 20 song list, which has spawned from similar conversations over the last month.</p><p>Edit: On another note, I went to fix some problems I was having with my html, and noticed that you could upgrade your template to an easier to edit one. Well I did, decided I didn't feel like doing the whole thing right now (as I did more than just change the colours), and went to put it back, but couldn't for some reason. So I'll leave this one up for now, until I have time to sit down and put up something more similar to what I did before (the colour is mostly there, but there are other spacing things and such that need work). It will all be worth it, as they have included Trebuchet in this revised template, which means I finally have a fitting font (without the excessive italics or really small font).</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-66745611803082621582007-03-06T22:31:00.000-05:002007-03-08T14:22:40.327-05:00A Crustacean Presentation<p>So, I've got crabs.<br /><p>Yup, I finally redeemed birthday and Christmas gift certificates to pick me up some pets. Meet Statler and Waldorf...<p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Statler" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/Statler.jpg" border="0" /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/Waldorf.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 100px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Waldorf" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/Waldorf.jpg" border="0" /></a> They are hermit crabs. The pictures are terrible, I know. Apparently my camera is garbage, especially when focussing on smaller objects. And as these, or at least their shells, are about the size of the inside of my palm (that is the end of my thumb in the upper left corner, for a somewhat better idea of scale), they didn't turn out very nice. As they grow, they need bigger shells. Waldorf actually molted within a day of me buying them. And as you can tell his shell is considerably more shiny.</p><p>I've got them in a 10 gallon tank with a wood chip base, a water dish, some rocks and a branch, though they spend most of the time burrowed in the wood chips. Or at least when I'm not moving them around or having them pose for pictures (it is difficult to get blush on crab antennae).</p><p>For those who don't know the reference, they are named after the two cynical, grumpy (err... crabby) <a title="No one is safe from the snide remarks of... Statler and Waldorf." href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/egsa/images/statler.jpg">old men</a> from The Muppet Show. Boo... and all that. I considered getting a third and naming him <a title="Once again, the conservative, sandwich-heavy portfolio pays off for the hungry investor." href="http://www.homiesonfire.com/futurama/Zoidberg.gif">Zoidberg</a>, but who wants a penniless, lonely, and generally depressed crab? Emo kids, that's who. (On a side note, Statler and Waldorf (the Muppets, not my crabs) have a <a title="I've seen detergent that leaves a better film than this!" href="http://movies.go.com/muppets/index">rather funny webcast</a> where they review movies.)</p><p>Boo! Boooo! That was the worst post I've ever read! It was terrible! Horrendous! Well, it wasn't that bad. Oh yeah? There were parts of it I liked. Yeah, I liked a lot of it. Yeah, it was good, actually. It was great! It's wonderful! Ah, bravo! More! More! </p><br /><p></p><p>Also, I just found out that my sister picked me up a ticket for the Ben Folds concert at the Kool Haus in about a month. Very, very exciting.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-59864729093992833732007-02-13T13:00:00.000-05:002007-02-13T15:01:12.185-05:00The Cockroach in Cupid's Atomic Blast<p>As some of you know last year I posted a bunch of things for singles to do on February the 14th, known to some as Valentines Day, and to others as S.A.D. (Single Awareness Day). You can check them out in a post entitled "<a title="Trampled by the Marching Band" href="http://lethalinterjection.blogspot.com/2006/07/contentment-charade-in-singles-parade.html">Contentment Charade in the Singles Parade</a>". I've added to the list this year so that you have more S.A.D. activities. Enjoy.</p><ol><li><p>Send out Anti-Valentines. There are some <a title="*heart* You'll Do *heart*" href="http://www.meish.org/vd/">here</a>. Send out as many as possible. Perhaps include chain-mail-type threats to get more people to send them.</p></li><li><p>Go to the local florist or other flower dispenseries and fill their roses with freshly ground pepper.</p></li><li><p>Go door to door that evening (that part is clearly important) selling vacuum cleaners, newspaper subscriptions or taking surveys. Ring the doorbell incessantly. Be downright belligerent if they try to get out of talking to you. If they happen to be wearing a bathrobe or similar garb, award yourself bonus points.</p></li><li><p>Similar to #3, go out and "trick-or-treat." Your costume should probably be something Valentines themed. Now its too cold to be walking around dressed like Cupid, and I can't think of anything else, so I would suggest just taking your costume from this past Halloween and stapling paper hearts on to it. You can then explain in some cliche manner how that relates to the day. Like a Valentine's hobo might declare his love on a soapbox downtown. Something trite like that. There could also be the funny costume, like the Valentine's pirate, searching for booty. But the less said of that the better. Then you try to scam some of their Valentines candy, half emptying boxes of chocolate, scarfing on candy hearts, etc.</p></li><li><p>Speaking of candy hearts, grab a red pen and write witty retorts on the blank back sides of these confectionaries. Now there are some limits, as you will need to be as brief as the original sides tend to be. I'll give you some examples to start you out. On the other side of "Kiss Me" you might write "Mint First". "Email me" might lend itself to "No fwd.'s". Or on the flipside of a "I'm Yours" heart you could write "For Now". There are also other ways to do this if you don't feel like ink-poisoning is the way to go this Valentine's Day. Firstly there are sites which do allow you to <a title="Goths need love too!" href="http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/">make your own candy hearts </a>(the one linked has regular mode and Goth mode, where the hearts are black). I also understand that there are companies which will make custom ones for you, and thus you would actually be able to eat them (you know, if you like the flavour of chalk). However, this is wholly unnecessary as the wonderful folks at Despair.com (a site I have regularly visited for over 5 years now) have <a title="SETTLE 4 LESS" href="http://despair.com/bittersweets.html">made them for you</a>. Now you know for next year.</p></li></ol><p>There you are. Some more activities to get you through another year's Valentines festivities. As I said before: Huzzah to the singles... or something.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1170528229748736682007-02-03T13:35:00.000-05:002007-02-03T23:33:09.430-05:00Leet Speak for Your Holy Week<p>So if you are a new convert to Judaism, do those who have practiced the religion for an extended time call you a joob?</p><p>Here's an example:</p><blockquote><p><span style="color:#660000;">Person 1:</span> Hey, its Hanukkah, when do we get to spin the menorah?</p><p><span style="color:#660000;">Person 2:</span> ROFLZ!!!!1!!!1! You are such a j00b.</p><p></p></blockquote>You know, just wondering...Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1169931826093519282007-01-27T15:45:00.000-05:002007-01-27T16:11:07.123-05:00In Search of Saving Serum for Snake Strike<p>So a few weeks ago I came across a banner advertisement for a search engine. I think the search engine was Windows Live Search, but I'm not sure (I had snapped a screen cap of ad in question, but that went the way of the rest of the stuff on my computer). This advertisement suggested that it was the way to find what you were looking for right away, or something like that. You know, a fast search engine with quick and accurate results. In this banner ad there was a picture of some of the site, these slogans and such, and inside of the search bar was written "antivenom."</p><p>Yep. Thats right. <em>Antivenom</em>. </p><p>I have a feeling that if you have a desperate need for quick and accurate results on "antivenom" it might be too late for you. Perhaps calling 911 might be a more pertinent exercise. </p><p>Now I can see a reason for such a search to be necessary. Lets say that you keep your house full of poisonous snakes. And lets say that you have a medicine cabinet full of the antivenoms for such snakes. You know, just to be safe. Now you were bitten by a snake, and while you are able to tell what snake it was that bit you, you can't remember what antivenom goes with that snake. So you need to do a quick websearch to find the results. Then you take the antivenom and everything is dandy in short time.</p><p>Otherwise, you'd be better off searching for plush coffins and sending out e-vites to your funeral.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1169319933622744012007-01-20T13:53:00.000-05:002007-01-21T13:12:45.026-05:00512 MB DDR of Memory Loss<p>Good news! Within the last 6 months I have lost a good portion of my last 5 years or so due to unfortuitous circumstances. Oh wait, that's bad news.</p><p>To begin with, during the summer the house we were staying in, which had no history of basement flooding, flooded, ruining about half of my collection of books, from school and otherwise. There was my collection of Tom Clancy novels, that had been purchased second hand for the most part. Not a huge loss, certainly not monetarily anyways, but disappointing.</p><p>It was the hefty volume of books on religion and politics and other topics that I had collected throughout my time as a student that was the more devastating. Some of these I hadn't done much reading of in the first place, but many of them had been very useful. A copy of Dr. Koyzis' <em>Political Visions and Illusions</em> which I had re-purchased (when I first took the course it wasn't published yet, and I had only a rough Redeemer-bound copy) and had yet to crack open to re-read yet. There was a book by Glenn Tinder called <em>The Political Meaning of Christianity</em> which I ended up wholly disagreeing with, but was the fodder for the best essay I've written. There was a book called <em>In Search of Authentic Faith</em> which I bought prior to coming to university, hoping to use it for a paper at some point, which finally came to fruition in my final year.</p><p>Now, more recently, I've had another deletion of my recent history. This past Monday, with the smallish ice storm that we had, my computer ceased to perform its normal function. It turns out my Windows XP was corrupted by an erroneous couple of megabites which had somehow become useless (power surge, though I had a power surge protected bar, or something else, who knows). Now, unfortunately this means that I had to completely reformat my hard drive, which further means I have lost everything from this computer.</p><p>All of my schoolwork is gone. However, the papers, the most important part, I still have in hard copies for the most part. I did lose most of my typed notes, some smaller assignments that I didn't bother keeping paper copies of, and probably some other school-related stuff. Luckily I found out that one assignment that I did and only emailed to my professor and required an insane amount of work (and would've required over 30 pages of printed material, thus me not printing) was salvaged thanks to the fact that I had sent it to <a title="He has a blog!" href="http://danponsen.blogspot.com/">Dan</a> so he could know what he might be in for in the future.</p><p>Media-wise, I've lost all my music, movies, pictures, and everything else. I lost my awesome archer that I built up in Diablo. I lost a number of movies that were relatively difficult to get ahold of. I lost a lot of pictures, though not a whole lot of personal ones, but stuff that won't be recoverable (but thanks to PhotoBucket I have retained some of the more important one). The music is probably the most devastating thing, though. There are some rare songs I found, which are going to be very hard to replace. This is particularly true of my covers list. Who knows if I will be able to find back my version of Ozzie Ozbourne doing <em>Staying Alive</em>, or Holly McNarland doing <em>In The Air Tonight</em> or Marilyn Manson doing <em>Golden Years</em>. Luckily, most of my music and movies are on <a title="I don't know why I'm linking him twice!" href="http://danponsen.blogspot.com/">Dan</a>'s external hard drive thanks to some file-sharing done a while back, but most of the rare stuff is gone. Luckily, I didn't have to buy a new computer that I can't afford. But I have had to spend this weekend re-installing my computer and whatnot.</p><p>Now, when two events like this happen within a relatively short time, you start to get ideas. I begin to wonder what God might be telling me. No ideas, though. That said, I am strangely comfortable with the whole situation. I would've expected to be lot more upset about losing all of these items, these tokens of the last years. But then again, maybe it is time for a change...<br /></p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1168628107827390992007-01-12T13:39:00.000-05:002007-01-12T14:14:07.246-05:00This Omnibus Stops At All Railroad Crossings<p>For those of you who haven't found it worth your time to follow the links on the sidebar o'er there, I have decided to clue you in to some of the funniest internet videos I have ever seen. I am referring to Ask A Ninja. You have questions, ninja's got answers. So far the best video has been Ninja Omnibus, as posted right here:</p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9lVSub2wsys" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><p>Boat-loads of exuding joy and uncontained happiness were experienced when I hit the site again myself and found that they had done a sequel to Ninja Omnibus, entitled Ninja Omnideuce. Check it out.</p><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kzKcPiqmHN4" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><p>Oh, the laughing.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1168038239991859542007-01-05T16:32:00.000-05:002007-01-07T13:51:29.883-05:00Selection by Affection and Rejection of Election<p>No, not that kind of election. The Calvinists are once again confused.<br /><p>So, NHL All-Star Game voting finished earlier this week. While I'm unsure of the final tally, it seems that Rory Fitzpatrick (as of a week prior to the closing of the ballots) rounded out number 3 on the most voted for defensemen.</p><p>Who?</p>Exactly.<br /><p>For those of you outside of the "know", Rory Fitzpatrick is a defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks. And he's not very good. When I first heard of this guy (I'm a little late on writing about this, as the other recent posts were a little more time sensitive) he had yet to register a point this season, and had only played about half of Vancouver's games (as of now he has played 26 of Vancouver's 41 games, and registered his first point last on my birthday, the 30th).</p><p>Despite this, a group of people started a campaign to <a title="Walking around on two legs, like a little Rory Calhoun" href="http://www.voteforrory.com">get Rory into the All-Star game</a>. It has hit all sorts of news outlets and has become one of the most visible viral internet "buzzes" that I have ever seen. Don Cherry commented that it was a joke, and that they were laughing at him. Gretzky said that while it was great for Fitzpatrick, the NHL should step in and intervene.<br />Personally I think that this entire campaign is great. And I have two reasons for this, and they are extremely different.</p><p>First, I agree with Ron McLean when <a title="McLean is like the senate... sober second thought" href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/sports/story.html?id=17f751d6-f92e-4475-8330-9dc9e07fd773">he said</a> "The fans are saying, 'Hey, you know who we like? We like Rory Fitzpatrick. We just don't (only) like the skilled guys.'" I agree. People shouldn't be up in arms because of this (especially because I'm not sure of the original motives of the first campainers). Would the same outcry have come if last year Andrej Meszaros would have been written in even though his points were meager but his +/- was easily the top of the league all year and is a defenseman, whose job it is to keep goals from going in? (early in this season he was at the top too, but has since dropped significantly).</p><p>Secondly, and almost conversely, I think it forces the NHL to take a look at the voting process for the All-Star teams. I would say that this is the main reason for my support of the Vote For Rory campaign (though I haven't voted). I know it seems semi-hypocritical to support both stands, but hear me out. I tend to be more of the persuasion that the most skilled players should go to the All-Star game (now, as I said with Meszaros, there is some wiggle room). The fact that a mob can vote in whoever they please might make them look twice at a wholly democratic system. I mean, hockey is a skill game. This isn't politics where there are policies and parties and you can choose who best suits your political palate. Certain folks should make it, and certain folks definitely should not (Fitzpatrick being one of the latter) because there is a skill to playing hockey, and getting points is generally quite related to such a skill (though, I think for defensemen other characteristics should be looked at too). Personally, I would like to see a hybrid of voting and the decision of a coach. Say, that the voters decide a list for the All-Star team coach to choose from, and he makes the best team from the list that he can. Thats just one idea though.</p><p>I feel the same way when radio-stations and others make "100 best guitarists of all time" lists and such. I mean, I can make a list of who I think should make a list like that (who are actually the most skilled), who I would personally put on a list like that (who I prefer), and what the list will look like upon compilation (how the listeners actually voted). And only one of those lists will include members of AC/DC.</p><p>Basically, I dislike "democracy" in situations like this. I understand that the NHL and radio-stations want people to be included, but when it occurs like this, people just vote for their favourite, and not necessarily the most skilled. And for that reason, I say, vote for Rory (even though you can't anymore). </p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1167505261403192462006-12-30T13:34:00.000-05:002007-01-07T13:53:18.356-05:00Capital Punishment and Birthday Abolishment<p>So, Saddam is dead. Its kind of weird having possibly the most notorious person of my lifetime be brought to justice and subsequently punished. Capitally. Its a bit surreal.</p>That said, I didn't really come here to wax about the hanging of Saddam Hussein, but to supply this quote from <a title="It's noose-worthy, I suppose." href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/29/hussein/index.html">an article on CNN's webpage</a>:<br /><blockquote>Two other co-defendants -- Barzan Hassan, Hussein's half-brother, and Awwad Bandar, the former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court -- were also found guilty and had been expected to face execution with Hussein, but Rubaie said their executions were postponed.<br /><br />"We chose to postpone Barzan and Awwad's execution to a later date because we wanted to have this day to have an historic distinction," he said. "We wanted to have one specific date for Saddam so people remember this date to be linked to Saddam's execution <em>and nothing else</em>."</blockquote><p>What a wonderful thing to say (the italics are mine). Especially meaningful for someone <em>whose birthday is today</em>. Thanks for your thoughts there, Rubaie. I appreciate it. I guess all subsequent birthday celebrations are to cease. This day is about Saddam's death. The anniversary of my birth means nothing. <em>Nothing</em>.</p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1167192802706621322006-12-26T22:36:00.000-05:002006-12-26T23:15:36.480-05:00A Telling Omen of the Demise of SnowmenRitual suicide and Tim Hortons?<br />Just see for yourself...<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/TimmyHortons.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Either they didn't see or are ignoring the Hot Be Careful warning" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/TimmyHortons.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It seems that Tim Horton's has seen it fit to include two suicidal snowmen in this year's holiday cup. While it is disturbing enough for me to see these two snowmen with Tim Horton's cups in their hands, I shudder at imagining the carnage that happens when these two drink their fatal hot chocolates.<br />The cup looks like it was designed by <a title="This Kool-Aid is too sweet, and has too much cyanide" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/JJ.jpg">Jim Jones</a> or, more likely, by <a title="CRC folk are about to be confused" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/hotbottle.gif">Calvin</a>.<br />Don't do it, kids. Life's worth living.<br /></p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1167023464283276562006-12-24T23:43:00.000-05:002006-12-25T00:13:26.696-05:00Wishing You Many Cliches for the HolidaysStay tuned for Tim Dykstra's Christmas Extravaganza Special!<br />With appearances by...<br /><br />John Laroquette...<br /><br />Kenny Rogers...<br /><br />Bill Nye...<br /><br />Robert DeNiro's nephew...<br /><br />Johnny Rotten...<br /><br />Kofi Annan...<br /><br />Extra #2...<br /><br />Ernest Borgnine...<br /><br />Dan Castelanetta...<br /><br />and the entire cast of Who's the Boss (excepting Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano).<br /><br />With special performances by...<br /><br />Gottfried the sword-swallower-juggling albino...<br /><br />Fried Chicken, a Kenny Rogers tribute band...<br /><br />The washboard orchestra of Beverly Hills...<br /><br />The midget tap-dancers from Paraguay...<br /><br />And the men's choir from the A.A.A.A (Association of African American Anarchists).<br /><br />All this and more, hosted by Tim Dykstra, and special guest, The Noid! Tune in!Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1162142506709924212006-10-29T11:52:00.001-05:002007-01-07T13:55:24.373-05:00Love Cliches and a Fiery Blaze<p>Last night I was sitting at my computer, listening to some music. My playlist was on random through all of my music (a playlist I rarely use). One of my favourite songs of all time comes up. Norwegian Wood by the Beatles. This is easily my favourite Beatles song, tied with Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd as my favourite song pre-90s. It does hold the number one position for me regarding lyrics. I shall post them here.</p><p>I once had a girl, or should i say, she once had me.<br />She showed me her room, isn't it good, norwegian wood?<br />She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,<br />So i looked around and i noticed there wasn't a chair.<br />I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine.<br />We talked until two and then she said, "it's time for bed".<br />She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.<br />I told her i didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath.<br />And when i awoke i was alone, this bird had flown.<br />So i lit a fire, isn't it good, norwegian wood.<br /><br />It's a nice, short bit of lyrical genius that tells a wonderful and crazy story.<br />So, now, you are probably wondering what I am on about. Well when I saw that song pop up in my media player, I noticed it was being attributed to an album called "Beatles Love Songs." It was originally on Rubber Soul, but I found out that there was a compilation of Beatles songs thrown together on an album of Beatles Love Songs. </p><p>This could be some sort of existential, post-modern, the-song-has-whatever-meaning nonsense, where other people are getting something else out of that song/story, different than mine. But I think it is pretty clear that he BURNED DOWN HER HOUSE! Now, thats love. Now I can understand that the reasons for burning her house down could be varied. I tend to have two theories. One is that he wasted his time and didn't end up bedding the girl. I prefer the thought that it was to free her from her consumerism, bragging about her Norwegian wood and whatnot. Either way, I wouldn't call a song which talks of the burning down of a girl's house a love song. I don't know, maybe that's just me.<br /><br />On the topic, I'm off to profess my undying love for zombies. </p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1156434908484480862006-08-24T11:23:00.000-04:002006-08-24T11:56:25.926-04:00One for the homies, two for the homelies.Perhaps another for the homilies.<br /><br />The act of "pouring one for your homies" is when someone will pour part or all of a bottle of liquour out on the ground signifying respect for friends that have died. This seems to have originated from gang culture, and the friend in question is usually one who died in relation to the gang's activities. Or so is my understanding.<br /><br />When visiting public restrooms there are inevitably going to be pieces of toilet paper on the ground. Is the same principle at work?Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1154226985598623422006-07-29T21:12:00.000-04:002006-07-29T23:38:47.496-04:00Your Access to ExcessYou could call this a gigablog, <a title="Yes, another shoutout to XKCD" href="http://xkcd.com/c124.html">blogofractal</a> or simply an uber-update. You see, I'm moving this week and it may be a week or two before I get to throw up another update. You know, waiting for the modem and whatnot. Sooner rather than later, I hope.<br /><br />So what this post will be, then, is a rather thrown together mess of things that have interested me over the last little while. Enjoy.<br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />Firstly, I heard another ridiculous advertisement on the radio. This commercial was promoting some event or another. I don't remember what it was, but it was sponsored by Pepsi. One of the benefits of attending this event was that you could record a message into a life-sized Pepsi can. Yup, life-sized. Incredible isn't it? Nothing regular about a life-sized Pepsi can. It isn't at all like the life-sized Pepsi can sitting on my desk as I type. Oh, wait. It is. Only the can at the event records your message. Amazing. It might be difficult to miss, and this little Pepsi recording device is clearly why the people are attending the event. Why else would they tell us if not to catch our interest and draw us to this event? Also, you wouldn't want them to trip over it. Think of the lawsuits. Obviously, this can not life-sized, unless you were about 90 ft. tall. No, the can is probably closer to 6 ft. tall, making it human-sized, not life sized. However, it just illustrates that, again, people need to think once in a while. Just a suggestion.<br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />If you haven't checked out Matt Costa yet, do it now. I recently picked up the CD and it is fantastic. I haven't been this impressed with a CD purchase in quite a while. Perhaps since the Garden State soundtrack, only in that case I had heard the disc before purchasing it. With this one I only heard a couple of tracks. Speaking of which, anyone who enjoys the Garden State soundtrack will very likely enjoy this CD as well. This CD, <em>Songs We Sing</em>, reminded me of that soundtrack considerable. Also Simon and Garfunkel. You can check out a few tracks on <a title="The castles we built were so tall, they only left us further to fall" href="http://profile.myspace.com/mattcostamusic">his myspace music</a> page. I don't care too much for <em>Sweet Rose</em>, which is included there, but it is the only song I don't enjoy on the whole CD. So, check it out.<br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />A co-worker told me about this. It sounded funny, so I searched it up. Watching it was even funnier. Check it out, though ignore the obnoxious intro over the first 25 seconds or so. Also, it has a swear or two. You have been warned. Basically it pokes fun at magicians, especially David Blaine.<br /><br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uWrNdqgUY4A" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></center><br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />I have recently started reading a great magazine called <em>Geez</em>. My mother introduced it to me and ever since picking it up, I have loved it. It is advertisement-less, the layout is similar to the idea of a "zine", and the writing is simply wonderful to read. Maybe that's because they write like I do. Oh, and it is Christian, based out of Manitoba, and very much postmodern. They are a shade on the hippy side of things, but while I don't agree whole-heartedly with everything they write, I do find myself very sympathetic towards their views. Definitely check it out. They are at Nidus 2006 this coming weekend (ooh, Civic Holiday!), where I will be on the Saturday with Dan.<br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />Me and Sam hit up an Eels concert about a month ago . It was great. Unfortunately to placate the masses this was a bit more of a rockier tour, as the last tour was the lighter side of the Eels. This is understandable as there are probably different fans who prefer different sides of the Eels. I prefer the lighter side, but I have the DVD for such a tour on my shelf, which I can watch at any time. Highlights of the show were definitly Krazy Al making the show considerably entertaining, with his shadow-boxing and the like. Their cover of <em>I Put a Spell on You</em> followed by another cover of <em>That's Life</em>. Both were awesome. A sped up version of <em>My Beloved Monster</em> was also cool.<br /><br />While this is an older clip, its a really fun clip of the Eels kicking it on Letterman. Very entertaining. (Interesting fact: Mark Oliver Everett, known as E, called the band the Eels so it would be next to his solo work, under E. Unfortunately this was poorly thought out as The Eagles are located between E and Eels. Oops.)<br /><br /><br /><center><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7IGoanWctUo" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></center><br /><br /><br /><hr color="#770000" height="2px"><br /><br />Well, that's about all I can think of. That should keep you busy for a week or two.Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1153321985470172952006-07-19T11:04:00.000-04:002007-03-25T13:25:55.631-04:00The Hyphen-Syphon Strikes Again<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">I am the coolest person.</span></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">This is something I also find myself doing quite often.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://xkcd.com/comics/hyphen.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="From the funny ass-comic XKCD" src="http://xkcd.com/comics/hyphen.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><br />Funny stuff.<br /><br /><br /></p>Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1152840932011230042006-07-13T20:42:00.000-04:002006-07-14T14:52:43.066-04:00The Brooding Banter of BanalityI have a problem, you see. Stupid people bother me. They just make me angry. I mean, education is free. Alright, I'll stop rhyming now. It is even getting irratating on this end. Stupidity is particularly irksome when it is in a very public forum, such as the radio. I am not talking about the idiocy of the hosts, though it is certainly there.<br /><br />No, this particular brand of idiocy is in a commercial. A commercial for the X-cup. This is not some sort of cup that has decided to no longer be a cup, but instead has decided to embrace its <a title="I had been living a lie as a cup" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/Lokileby/cupbowl.jpg">bowl-like qualities</a>. Nor is it the description of an unprotected football player. It is some sort of competition for extreme sports (more on that <a title="Well, Marty, just hop in the Delorean" href="http://lethalinterjection.blogspot.com/2006/07/x-wit-2.html">before</a>). Anyways, I have heard this advertisement several times over the past week and everytime I have heard it I have remarked how stupid it is.<br /><br />This is because one of the sentences is "where gravity defies all odds." Now, I have tried to rack my brain to come up with what they are trying to say here. My first assumption was that Gravity is ridiculously good at games of chance. Gravity goes to the roulette table and wins on double zero four times in a row. Or Gravity heads down to the dog track and puts all his money on Bngo, the dog who lost an eye (close relative of one <a title="He can make it on his own" href="http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail109.html">Li'l Brudder</a>) and takes home a banker's roll. Perhaps Gravity has been hit by a meteor and won the lottery at the exact same time. It could even be possible that "odds" is the teenage slang for adults or parents and Gravity has hit his rebellious years.<br /><br />Enough speculation, I suppose. At first it seemed to me to be a mixed-metaphor, which annoy me thoroughly. I think, however, that it is a combination of the mixed-metaphor (the phrases "defy all odds" and "defy gravity") with just generally poor grammar, which, provided it isn't atrocious, is generally not all that bothersome to me. In this case, as you might guess, it is bothersome. I mean, you can't just rearrange the words of a phrase and assume it means the same thing you intend. Gravity is the object, not the subject. I feel like a grammar nerd for pointing this out. Well, I guess I am to some degree, though my grammar is certainly not perfect. I mean, I did recently purchase not one, but two grammar books for entertainment purposes. On a side note, just one of these would have taught me far more than I learned from an expository writing class where good writing gets a mere 70% and poor writing gets a ridiculous 70%. And if we are talking about <em>Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies</em>, they were equally entertaining (that said, in both cases it was not the grammar that was entertaining but that which surrounded the grammar).<br /><br />Remember, don't be stupid. Because stupid people are stupid. And you don't want to be one of them, do you?Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17926932.post-1152728548735124752006-07-12T14:12:00.000-04:002006-07-12T14:40:04.226-04:00The Conniving Cacophony of the Calamitous Chanteuse<br>The wonderful bands of the past, and the women who have emasculated them, and left them for dead (figuratively, literally, whatever). I know I have had this conversation with many friends over the years, so some of you may have heard some of this before. What prompted this particular round of bashing on these loves of their lives was that I heard Exhibit D and E back to back on the radio at work. I wrote this several months ago, but didn't post it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#770000;">Exhibit A</span></strong><br />Some of you may have heard of this band called the Beatles. I hear they were pretty good. I hear they did a pretty good cover of Aerosmith’s Come Together, as well as other songs. Anyways, the lead singer, John Lennon got together with a woman called Yoko Ono. Many say this was the demise of the band, and hundreds and hundreds of jokes have been made about her, her singing, her breaking up of the Beatles, etc. I’m not going to go this direction because I would simply be spewing redundancies. Let’s just say that she isn’t exactly the most popular person. In fact, one person has humourously postulated to me that perhaps when John Lennon was shot, the aim was actually set for Yoko Ono, perhaps prompting some sort of reunion. I guess we’ll never know. Or we will. Either one.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#770000;">Exhibit B</span></strong><br />This particular woman has taken many a lead singer and placed him (even a few hers) in the mortuary. I’m talking about Lady Heroin. While not exactly a female, it certainly was the love of their (short) lives. The examples here are many, and there is no need to list them. Though I will pay special homage to one Shannon Hoon, which was perhaps the most devastating to me, though (or perhaps because) I had heard about it many years after said overdose. I had always wondered why his band hadn't released a sophomore album, only to find out about his O.D. half a dozen years after the fact.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#770000;">Exhibit C</span></strong><br />Courtney Love. Need I say more? This ridiculous specimen of womankind might be blamed for the demise of two bands. The first is the least obvious, as the fact that she dated the lead singer is not a well known fact. However, it is true that she had dated Billy Corgan at one time. Whether she was the ultimate downfall of this band is not entirely clear, but I think it seems fit to blame her. Nirvana, on the other hand, is a little clearer. While Nirvana never really broke up, there are other circumstances. First, Lady Heroin was involved. Rumour has it that this might have been her fault too. Second, he committed suicide. Again, there has been speculation that she not only drove him to it, but some postulate that she killed him. This seems a little ridiculous as there were rumours that Cobain wanted to leave and join Hole. I would like to thank Alan Cross for the more obscure information (Love dating Corgan, as well as Cobain's wish to join Hole and leave Nirvana), as his radio show has been a wonderful source of entertainment and information.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#770000;">Exhibit D</span></strong><br />Gwen Stefani. She made good music once. I still enjoy hearing a No Doubt song from time to time. But then she went solo. And hip-hop. Terrible. I have, on more than one occasion, joked that Hollaback Girl was the result of a cleansing high colostomy. Anyways, as many of you know Stefani has been dating or engaged or married to one Gavin Rossdale for many years now. Gavin was the frontman for a band called Bush (or Bush X, as they were temporarily called due to a conflict with another band). I’m sure you are thinking, “Hey, I remember that band!” Exactly. <em>Remember</em>. Bush was a fine band that hasn’t made any music in about five years. And even their last album from 2001 didn’t get any radio-play. That puts it back to 1999. I blame Stefani. Why? Because this is roughly the same time they started dating. And then she went off and started making her musical tripe, while Gavin is playing house-husband at home. Probably making dinner, doing laundry and vacuuming. So sad. Such a fine rockstar put to waste.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#770000;">Exhibit E<br /></span></strong>Chantal Kreveaklfusodifjkl. Errr… Chantal Kreviazuk. Yes, the little-known Canadian singer. Yes, the one who got together with Raine Maida at roughly the same time as Stefani and Rossdale got together. Once again emasculation was imminent. You see Raine Maida was the lead of a band called Our Lady Peace. However, now the lead is some sort of amalgamation of this couple. I will henceforth refer to the lead as Raintal Maidazuk. No, I won’t. Anyways, Our Lady Peace began with awesome music. <em>Naveed</em> is genius. <em>Clumsy </em> is awesome. And then it goes downhill. Every album since has not had the lyrical fortitude of the first two albums. I have maintained that Kreviazuk began writing Maida’s lyrics. Most of the lyrics after Clumsy have been overly romantic, the music hasn’t been as good (or at least from the perspective of rock music) and it has just generally annoyed me. It’s really sad to me. I mean I really enjoyed OLP from back in the day and I was really disappointed with <em>Happiness is Not a Fish You Can Catch</em>. And my disappointment remains, several albums later.<br /><br />So these are plenty of examples where the ladies in the life of these musicians have rendered their music impotent or have discontinued that music. It is a sad thing. Really, I just think that musicians shouldn’t be allowed to date other musicians (or, you know, do drugs). It would save many a band. Please, do it for the children. I mean, do you want your kids growing up in a world where Hollaback Girl becomes classic music and where good rock bands are churning out naught but romantic ballads? I don’t think so.Lethal Interjectionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12508967789257985448noreply@blogger.com0