amIright.com

If you are waiting for a big download and in need of some amusement, check out amIright.com. It's a database of misheard lyrics, and some of them are SO FUNNY... I know there are plenty of songs from the 80s that I sang along to as a kid, and had no idea what the lyrics were supposed to be, so I ended up filling in the blanks. A great example is the song by The Clash, "Rock the Casbah." The entries had me in stitches.

Y tu mamá también

Another late night -- but not from work or school, just a taste of life from a year ago... saw the superb Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien at The Ridge, then food & bevs at DV8, followed by late-night coffee at the Blenz on Davie and Granville. I recognized one of the main actors, Gael Garcia Bernal, from last year's Amores Perros, another good Mexican film. Although I thought this film was better overall, not just provocative but pensive and sobering. And let's not forget to mention that the 23-yr old Bernal is very easy on the eyes! He was one of the best parts of Amores Perros!

Y Tu Mama Tambien is so chock-full of references to social and political and personal behaviour that it merits multiple viewings to catch them all. I would have to say that if I hadn't taken Latin American Studies this past term, many of those cultural references would've passed right by me. The narrator puts forth a perspective that creates an entirely different way of viewing the film, even in its most innocuous moments. Some scenes were tough to watch, not just the graphic sex scenes (many of which were pretty funny, actually), but some scenes were so loaded with implications that it was like watching an impending disaster, a runaway train... anyway, this isn't going to turn into a spoiler alert, I'll shut up now...

Thanks to Shellie from Ontario for being a good sport and coming along to the movie!


Shellie 

The guy with the 40-ft houseboat in San Francisco e-mailed me back earlier today, and he says that he has a friend coming to visit. He was very gracious about declining, though -- the site says it's customary for hosts not to reply when they don't approve the request, for whatever reason, rather than say no. So I sent another message off to a guy who lives within walking distance of the city centre. Hope he comes through!

Yesterday was a blur!

Global Freeloading in San Francisco?

Another year of fireworks have come and gone... with a bang (pun intended). Alina and Dan and their little boy, Kevin, came over to watch the grand finale, but, as always, there was a lot of conversation so I don't know how much of the actual show was observed! They brought some lovely flowers for me, too!


lovely flowers from Alina 

Eliza tried to come over, too, with four friends, but I didn't hear either of the phones ring because of the music!

OK, I did something rather impulsive earlier today... I spent the afternoon surfing around for cheap flights to visit Serg and Christopher in Ottawa, but I couldn't seem to find any flights under $500+taxes, and the availability was zilch, or there were way too many connections. If I had loads of time I wouldn't care about connections, but I am always short on time!! So, I've got a 24-hour hold on a flight to San Francisco, for $212 plus taxes! ($300 total) I just have to get a hold of Tyrone to see if he's coming and when... where is he?!?

I also booked myself in tentatively for the new downtown SFO hostel, which must've only opened up within the past year, because there were only two when I was in San Francisco last year in May. But I've since found a site called Globalfreeloaders.com, which is a be-a-guest/be-a-host free service. I think I'll try it. I sent off an e-mail to a guy who lives on a 40-ft houseboat. We'll see if he responds!

Meanwhile, I must mention this band I was unable to go to see called Pink Martini, because of exams... they're from Portland, Oregon, and they've only released one CD, but they've done a lot of soundtracks and such. Here's a link to a Quicktime movie of their video for "Sympathique". Great song!!

IMDB.com

How's this for WACKY: guess who I found in IMDB (Internet Movie Database)?? None other than Adolf Hitler. My, my, my, has Adolf ever been busy! Check out his filmography! If you are into films, this is a great database. I've used it extensively for the past couple of years or so -- an excellent resource, especially for those trivia games or heated party debates over what actor was in what film. The trivia sections alone are engaging reading.

Am I Finally Going to Learn the Meaning of Life?

Back from a late-night dinner with Nancy, on the sidewalk by Bin 941. Reminds me why I live in the City of Vancouver -- so I can eat any time of the day or night, even if I have to sip my Wolf Blass merlot out of a mug while telling a bum to bugger off and no, I don't want to give him change.

I've signed up for two courses in September thus far, one is: Philosophy 231: The Meaning of Life

How can you pass up a course like that?? I am happy to read the course consists of an "early quiz", then 3 short papers worth 20% each, and a final exam worth 30%. I'm so glad to be back in paper territory... I'm sick of exams. I had three exams in LING 100 -- the last one was on Tuesday, and no papers. I also had 3 exams for Archaeology 200, which was also a nightmare.

The second class I'm taking so far is the one I started to take this term but had to withdraw from: Linguistics 110: The Wonder of Words, which is basically about how words have changed over time. I think it will be much better this time around.

Oh thank god it's all over. My hand feels like it's going to fall off. Not only did I run out of ink partway through, but I ran out of time. But I answered as much as I could, and I got an A- on my paper about the film "Strawberry and Chocolate", which is less (by percentage) than I thought I would get, but that keeps my record alive for only dipping below an A- once on a paper -- and that was the first one, in Moral Philosophy (B+). I think that first paper took a year off my life. It was torture. But since then it's been a good run of A's. Which is no mean feat, all things considered, especially since I always write them the night before they're due.

My brain is now officially free from burden! What do I do with it now?!?

oooh, just a few more hours and my brain will be F-R-E-E...

I need a vacation. I really do. It's been all work and no play lately for Gail.

One thing I can look forward to is Molly Dieno's surprise birthday party in Kamloops on the 17th, which means I'll at least get a road trip in before the end of the month. The only thing I need to think of is what kind of gag gift I can get, and what kind of real gift.