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Throwing Staples At The Problem

“one at a time”

August 1, 2010 New SUN

I’m back baby!  I’m feeling really jazzed these days by some new (and old) tunes and making the most of summer.

Caribou: Sun

Here We Go Magic: Collector

Thee Oh Sees: I Was Denied

Glass Vaults: Forget Me Not

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January 10, 2010 Where’s Rob?

This is so great!

via the awesome  Colour Me Katie

January 9, 2010 New Year, New Record

I recently finished watching the entire seven seasons of Gilmore Girls.  With 22 episodes per season, it was a big commitment and I’m happy to be returning to the real world.  It was, however, highly enjoyable!  I know that a lot of people have disdain for the show, but I loved immersing myself in their quaint and ridiculous world, waiting to catch each episode’s cultural reference gems.  In particular, Gilmore Girls was always extremely aware of what was up and coming in the musical sphere.  The episode where the town lost its troubadour only to find hopeful replacements pour into Stars Hollow by the busload was amazing. K could hear me screaming from the other room, “Oh my god…Yo La Tengo!  WTF!? Sonic Youth?!”

I was also a huge fan of the Hep Alien storyline (Sebastian Bach!) that eventually resulted in an epic meltdown à la Brian Jonestown Massacre.  During an important gig with record label reps in the audience, Zac starts fighting with his band mates and even kicks at one of them in a total replica of Anton Newcombe’s famous antics.  It even featured a choice guest appearance from Joel…the tambourine guy!

So today I’m starting fresh and after happily dropping the remote I put on the amazing BJM double album THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES’ Second Request.  The vinyl is white and the tunes are dreamy. So far, I love 2010.

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November 25, 2009 Cousins

Super fun new Vampire Weekend video. Commence boppin’ all over the apartment.

(via It’s That Nice)

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November 24, 2009 Cable Drawings

We have an insanely long speaker cable running all the way across our living room. We’re always at risk of tripping over the wire and it looks incredibly ugly. I wish I had thought to do something creative with the wire, like this amazing cable drawing by Maisie Maud Broadhead (via ShareSomeCandy).

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November 19, 2009 The Complex of All Things

So amazing to be taken through the process of the blood, sweat, and tears poured into projects like this.  Also..RATATAT!

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October 10, 2009 threadbare

Port O'Brien

As I mentioned, I’m feeling exhausted, a bit down, and a bit hopeless these days.  My almost constant soundtrack for the last few weeks have been songs from Port O’Brien’s new release threadbare.  I fell in love with Port O’Brien after seeing them at the Treasure Island Music Festival and have been anxiously awaiting their new release.   I pre-ordered the LP from Insound and it apparently shipped on Tuesday.  I have been checking my mailbox all week even though I know it is impossible to have it come all the way across the country (and the border) in 3 days.

Check the video for the first release, My Will Is Good.

October 10, 2009 Street Scenes

I know that I have just been posting link after link lately, but as you can see by my archives, I haven’t posted in ages.   Work has been a complete bust.  Things have unfortunately been getting worse lately and I can’t figure out how to make it better and how to make my life sane again. Uggg.  So everything other than eating, sleeping, and getting to and from work has seemed overwhelming.  Even blogging.  And no one reads this anyway! 

Another thing I love?  Street Scenes!  Gah!  I especially love when they sneak in a celebrity!

No big deal...just Zac Posen

No big deal...just Zac Posen

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October 10, 2009 One In Every Colour

talking japaense watches

I haven’t worn a watch in years.  They seem a little unneccessary these days with computers and cell phones.  But these might convince me to wear one.  Except that I would want to wear the purple, green, and grey all at the same time.  Plus they tell the time in Japanese!

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October 10, 2009 Everything Is Terrible

Everything is Terrible may very well be my new favourite blog.  It is the most amazing collection of videos.  The only consistent thread between each post is that after watching the video you are left wondering who would have taken the time to produce the video and what they were smoking when they made it. 

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October 10, 2009 Sea Party

Back in January my friends and I threw a 30th birthday/dance party at an awesome venue that went off without a hitch.  The turnout was double what we expected, the decor was great, and it was the perfect time of year.  Many of our friends have since moved away and now that everyone has confirmed that they will be returning home for Christmas, we’ve decided to throw another party.  We have a very general “sea” theme which we have left open for interpretation.  Mermaids, octopi, anchors, sailboats, Gilligan’s Island, beach, Atlantis, waves, sea hags, etc.   We’re going to throw the party between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.  I can’t wait.

homa16800

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October 10, 2009 Midpoint

Two or three times a year K goes on tour with his band and is usually gone for about eight to ten weeks each time.  After two and a half years of this we’re getting better at figuring out ways to handle the separation, but inevitably there is a point for each of us where we hit a bit of a low.  For me it is usually roughly halfway through.  I can’t start to get excited about his return yet, and the novelty of getting to live like a college boy (macaroni and tuna, clothes all over the floor, bathroom that is begging….BEGGING…to be cleaned) has worn off.  He phoned yesterday and I could tell that he had hit his low.  Poor guy.

About three more weeks to go.

Panda Balloon

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October 10, 2009 just me and my dad

I know this is everywhere, but I had to post about.  I don’t know if I’m more in love with the idea, the images, or their descriptions of themselves and each other.

just me and my dad

just me and my dad

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August 24, 2009 Babycakes

This makes me want to dance, eat cupcakes, get a new hairstyle , and jump around with my girlfriends.

 Via Verbose Coma.

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August 24, 2009 Autumn Story

I know it is wrong to be thinking about fall already, but I am.  There is even a big part of me that is looking forward to it.  It was a strange summer due to extremely consistent poor weather which seemed to mirror some of the heavy decisions that needed to be made in our little home.  I feel ready to move forward, even if moving forward means getting closer to thirty below. 

I’m really excited about cardigans and plaid and high socks and boots.  MOST OF ALL, BOOTS!

If you’re fighting off fall with every bone in your body, I understand.  But maybe this will help ease you into it.  Great song, great video.

August 24, 2009 Purple Heaven

I can’t remember where I first heard about the amazing blog For Me, For Youby Kate Miss, but I’ve been following it closely for the last several months for two reasons.

1. She posts lovely, lighthearted, musings about all things relating to her interests and life as a designer in New York.  Fashion,  photography, design.  I particularly love her sense of style and her “Bits of My Weekend” posts.

2. I adore her jewelry.  Her “friendship necklace” collections instantly sell out (this isn’t an exaggeration…Kate reported that the last batch in July sold out in just three minutes) when she posts them on her Etsy Shop.  

This evening, a new batch of long-awaited jewelry was posted to her Etsy store and as far as I could tell, it sold out instantly.  And, ummm…I’m a little disturbed at how excited/anxious/determined I was to get my hands on one of her beautiful necklaces!  I am extremely giddy to report that not only did I manage to compete with the masses and buy a necklace, I also managed to lay claim to the exact piece I wanted!  You may be wondering how I decided which necklace to go for.  As the Mayor of Nerdsville, I spent at least 20 minutes of my work day carefully looking through collection of necklaces that were to be posted, rating my favourites in order to help guide my panicked decision making as soon as they went up for sale.  It worked, though I know I would have been happy with any of them.  Look how adorable it is!

For Me, For You - Purple Friendship Necklace

For Me, For You - Purple Friendship Necklace

August 23, 2009 He’s Dead, She’s Dead

Setting: Senior’s Centre during weekend Centennial celebration of small Saskatchewan town
Characters involved: Two elderly women
Conversation: “You never came by for your bean money!”

IMG_1796IMG_1755

July 28, 2009 8pm Liquid Cutoff

So I broke my own rule and am drinking liquids far beyond my established 8pm cutoff.  I’m trying to avoid getting up so many times in the middle of the night. 

Discoveries:

- Chai green tea?  Delightful!

- The “by the side of the road” trick for getting rid of unwanted household furniture really works!  We took the desk out yesterday and it was gone within 30minutes!  We saw the cute couple that took it and followed them a bit in the car since we were going that way anyway.  K said, “Now the desk will be part of their lives.”  It will!! 

- For the first time ever…I was not lazy post hangover on Sunday.  Instead I did everything on the list!  And there was a lot!  And I had fun doing it.  And now everything is magnificent!

That is all.

July 26, 2009 5:40 am

When I first woke up this morning (it must have been about 5:40am…I love this site: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=80) the sunrise was glorious.  So glorious that I felt the need to wake Keith and show him, saying, “If you’re going to look at only one sunrise in your life, this would be the one.”  What?  So dramatic! Obviously I was still feeling the effects of last night’s wine.   So here is a video of what actually might be the only sunrise you need to see in your life.  I don’t think we’re going to get to go to San Francisco this year for Treasure Island.  Sooo sad.  The festival will be amazing.

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July 26, 2009 Liz Phair Hangover

I am extremely hungover. Our friend Grant came over last night and we enjoyed a  lot of beverages and CDs from the 90s, including Liz Phair.  I mean, I always knew she was awesome, but she is soooo awesome.  We actually sang three part harmonies.  All night.  So embarrassing.  It was way too fabulous.  I often find that once I wake up to a hangover, it is impossible to go back to sleep.  So I have been up for HOURS doing weird things like reading backlogs of Facebook blogs of people I don’t even know.  And staring at the clock, waiting for it to be 11am so I can phone Future Shop and ask about getting a new stereo deck installed.  Mine has been broken for years and I’m fine with that, except that we are driving to Saskatchewan next week to visit Keith’s family.  It is a 8 or 9 hour drive and we don’t want to leave things to chance.  We might get an awesome uber Christian call in talk radio show, but we could just as easily be stuck with those radio stations that try to please everyone by playing Greenday, Led Zep, Blink 182, Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, and Creed in the same power hour.  Just writing those names made me angry.  I even hate to delete two that I couldn’t read without feeling itchy and dizzy. 

The Future Shop call went very quickly and I’ve been waiting for hours.  It went like this:

“How much does it cost to get a deck installed.  Could I come in and have it done today?”

“Probably not today, but maybe tomorrow.”

“Should I just come in, pick a deck and make an appointment to have it installed?”

“Sounds good.  Bye”

What a fascinating retail discovery. 

There is so much to do today and I feel like I may have ruined everything with this hangover.  I will probably just lay on the couch all day.  Wahhh!   To help fade the nasty effects of the hangover I will post some photos of the flowers in my parent’s back yard.

 

Peonies

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July 25, 2009 Lazy, Endless, Summer Day

Today has been fabulous.  Sleeping in.  Perfect coffee.  Hair cut. Glasses tightened.  Book store browsing.  A visit to the new T&T Supermarket with a $50 gift certificate.  Reading outside in +30° with a cold beer.  Finishing the book.  Drinking wine while chopping vegetables.  Making dinner. 

This:

 

(I should note that I heard her on a radio interview and was very turned off.  But I am pretending I never heard it so as to preserve my adoration of this.  Would I even like  it if it was in English?  Very possibly not.  But it isn’t.  So I do.)

July 25, 2009 Gonzo

It was gone by 1:20pm.  Tomorrow?  The desk.  And maybe my old boom box.

July 25, 2009 The Experiment

Last week we bought two tables from Kijiji.  One is to become our new computer desk and the other is replace our horrid, large, round kitchen table.  The kitchen table was ugly but it was also free so we lived with it for years.  We finally have fabulous replacements, but weren’t sure how to get rid of the old one.   It is in great condition, but I don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to sell it.  A few years ago my friend put a bunch of her unwanted housewares out to her curb and they were all gone within hours.  So in that same spirit, we are experimenting to see if we can have the same success.  This morning we took the old kitchen table outside and put it on the beside a high traffic street at the end of the alley.  We put it out at 12:20pm and we want to see how long it takes for someone to snatch it.

12:20pm

12:20pm

 Free Table!

Free Table!

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July 23, 2009 Noam Chomsky To Be Part of the Wedding

On Sunday we went to my parent’s place for dinner.  There was a “box of wine” (I’m not even kidding) on the counter that was oft visited to the point of nearing empty.  I have no clue why they purchased a box.  The soundsof it is repulsive.  But the wine was good!  Really, really good!  As the wine was flowing, the conversation meandered and got personal, and emotional at times.  Somehow we started discussing Noam Chomsky and Keith declared that if we ever got married, he would like Noam Chomsky to be part of our wedding in some way.  I’m sure he could squeeze us in right between interviews with the New York Times and Democracy Now!

It reminded me of an interview I once heard on CJSR between Amy Goodman from Democracy Now and Noam Chomsky.  After an entire show of intense discussion about matters ranging from the economy to healthcare to generally how f’d the US is, Amy ended the show by asking Noam how he was holding up since the death of his wife Carol a few months prior.  They had been married for almost 60 years and they knew each other for 77!  Since she was 5!

He could barely respond.  Barely squeak out a reply.  And when she asked him what gave him the strength to carry on without her, he replied, “The kind of work you do, for example.”  Heart crushing.  Tiny pieces.  Everywhere.

At about 6:48 into this video.

That then reminded me of an interview I had seen roughly one million years ago with Paul Newman.  I believe it was Barbara Walters interviewing him at his home.  I’ve searched for clips of the interview all over YouTube to no avail, which is too bad because the visual was so adorable.  BW (or, perhaps a real journalist) was interviewing him in the living room and when she started asking him questions about his relationship with his wife, Joanne  Woodward (who was in the kitchen) started inching closer to the living room so she could better hear his response.  She stood there leaning her ear towards them, looking at the floor, smiling.  Gah.  Hearts. 

ADFFC953-B352-FAE1-1B3471A526752D69paul_newman_and_joanne_woodward_2b

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July 23, 2009 It’s not really a “tank”. It’s just a word.

I found the first and only season of Twitch City at the Library last week and snatched  I have been treasuring each of the short, hilarious episodes and am sad that I’m almost done.

Twitch City was a series produced by the CBC airing in 1998 and 2000.  I LOVED it and was so sad when it wasn’t renewed.  The main character, Curtis, is essentially a shut in who never leaves the apartment and is obsessed with television.  His former roommate – now girlfriend –  Hope, has invited her father over for dinner on the same night that Curtis is trying to kick his addiction to television, and after ratcheting through hours of Exorcist-type behaviour, he seems to have calmed slightly. 

The things I love about this scene:

1. His ridiculous sweater.

2. The exchange between Curtis and Hope’s deaf father.

3. The fact that you can actually see that Don McKellar unable to refrain from laughing.

4. Don McKellar.  Hot.

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July 23, 2009 Things To Learn

a) how to use a semi colon properly

b) how to use the word “flashpoint” (just learned…nevermind)

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July 23, 2009 Desk Calendar

Drum roll…

My desk calendar arrived yesterday!  It is much smaller than I expected it to be; wee in fact.  But I think that makes me like it even more.  It will give a pop of colour to the new “desk area” but not take up loads of space.  I could even start collecting desk calendars.  FAINT!

After wasting a lot of time checking every nook and cranny of craig’slist and kijiji, I found two perfect tables to replace what e currently have going on.  Perhaps “wasted” is too harsh a term because what we’ve ended up with is gold.

This weekend: set up new tables.

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July 23, 2009 Can I touch your eyelashes?

I am finding it difficult to stay on top of the blog thing.  Each time I post, it seems to take a lot out of me and I inevitably end up on the computer for 6 hours, with an aching wrist and an f’d up neck.  I really need to get used to the program.  I know I know…it’s easy, right? 

I really like Harry Potter.  I read each book in the series quietly so as to not induce scorn from my friends and have even gone to every movie so far.  Sick.  I know.  I only recently read the final book and have been caught up in all of the hype for the fifth movie.  I stumbled across this A-MMMMMMAAAAA-ZING clip.  Enjoy!

(Also?  Rupert is my favourite.  Sick.  Again.  I know.   What is he, 12?)

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July 14, 2009 Treasure Island

The Treasure Island Music Festival finally announced their lineup for 2009.  I’ve been eagerly awaiting this big reveal since I received an email several months ago letting me know that it was indeed happening again in 2009 – this time in October.  2009 will only be the third year of the festival ,which is located on the fantastic, tiny Treasure Island just off of the harbour.   It seems unique to the hoardes of other festivals out there in that it is small (it’s an island, you can only fit so many people) and seems to be able to gather a select number of absolutely top notch acts.  The festival also features a number of cute and smart ideas that make you feel good about participating: a ferris wheel, bio-diesel buses that make regular trips to and from the island (it is a day festival), and the gorgeous setting.   This year the festival has moved from September to October and I was initially a little anxious that it had been pushed back by an entire month.  I think I’m getting used to the idea.  Most likely because the lineup is mind blowing.   Last year we went to San Francisco for the first time, basing our trip around this musical extravaganza. Our entire trip was fantastic, but the festival was certainly a highlight.

There are great bands on both days, but my brain exploded into treble clefs when I read about Sunday (in order of my desire to see them): The Walkmen, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, The Flaming Lips, Yo La Tengo, The Decemberists,  and about seven other bands that are sure to blow my mind.   I am crossing my fingers that we can make this trip happen again this year.

Here are a few shots from last year’s trip.

 

Port O'Brien - Whoa!

Port O'Brien - Whoa!

Excellent Festival Mascot

Excellent Festival Mascot

Fleet Foxes Deal With The Wind

Fleet Foxes Deal With The Wind

Gah! San Fran!

Gah! San Fran!

  

Afternoon Brews

Afternoon Brews

Dr. Dog...Sigh

Dr. Dog...Sigh

Dr. Dog

Dr. Dog

The Kills

The Kills

The Wheel!

The Wheel!

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July 13, 2009 He’s Dead, She’s Dead

Setting: Office boardroom
Characters involved: Officey people
Conversation: “We need to give her some focus. Right now she’s running around like a fart in a mitten.”

Like a Fart in a Mitten from maggi.m

Like a Fart in a Mitten from maggi.m

July 13, 2009 He’s Dead, She’s Dead

 An ongoing post category that I hope to feature is “He’s Dead, She’s Dead”. This phrase was a result of a misheard comment at a party with many jubilant guests.
Guest One: “Well, I guess it’s a classic case of “he said, she said”.
Guest Two: “What’s so classic about “He’s dead, she’s dead”??

So in that same vein, posts in this category will either be, a) misheard statements, or b) phrases heard in passing that seem absolutely riduclous/insane/revolting when heard out of context of the entire conversation.

WEEK ONE OF HE’S DEAD, SHE’S DEAD:

Setting: Walking to work, downtown sidewalk
Characters involved: Two old men
Conversation: “Wait, was that your wife that died or am I thinking of someone else?”

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