Today's something or other #21

Source: Casual Slack

Today's something or other #20

Looking to kick it old skool when talking on your mobile? Then check out this genius product from Yubz.

This is a new level of awesome.

Random thought on the financial crisis

I was reading The Economist today and came across another article about the problems facing the US banks (and other banks from all over the world). As you undoubtedly have also noticed you can't very well open a newspaper these days without reading about banks being saddled with "toxic assets". As I read the article today I couldn't help thinking that 'Toxic Assets' would be a great name for a punk rock band.

Non-playoff hockey thoughts in the middle of the playoffs

Today's topic: Joe Sakic

If Burnbaby Joe decides to hang them up this summer, where does he rank in terms of great Canadian players of the last 25 years (just forwards)? Third? Fourth? Not in the top 10?

Assuming slots 1 and 2 are taken by Gretzky and Mario, is Joe next in line? I’d put him ever so slightly ahead of Yzerman* and comfortably before Francis. Crosby looks like he’ll force his way into this debate over time, but it is obviously way too premature to include him. I think, for me, he slots in at #4 behind Messier with Stevie Y at #5. The one wrench is the 25 year time frame as that cuts out the first half of Bossy’s career, who would be arguably #3 if the time frame was the last 30 years.

If you include defencemen, Scott Niedermayer raises some questions given all that he has won and Ray Bourque is an all-time great (although his early days are cut off due to my 25 year time frame). Bourque would have to be in the top 5.

* Stevie Y's stats in his first couple of years are inflated due to the high scoring nature of that era, so their numbers are virtually identical, but Sakic maintained a higher standard of play thru to the end of his career - Yzerman was a checker by the end due to his knee problems.

Springtime makes its long awaited arrival in the Big Smoke

I'm sure we'll pay for it, but hot and humid weather rolled in from out of nowhere on Saturday. People took to the streets en masse, the DVP was closed for a Spring tune-up and life was good. Click on photos for full-size.

Why pay more? Buildings marked down.

DVP closed for Spring maintenance

New musical obsessions

Currently in heavy rotation on my iPod:

Gimme Sympathy - Metric
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris - Morrissey
Feel Alright - Steve Earle
The Body of an American - The Pogues
One Track Mind - Classifed (feat. Joel Plaskett)
Mr. Hurricane - Beast
Passenger 24 - Melissa McClelland
Coffee Girl - The Tragically Hip

Double bonus points if you can name the common thread that links two of these songs.

Perfect for playoff season

Check out The Sports Cliche List. They are missing the goalie is "standing on his head", but is otherwise pretty comprehensive.

The kids love the rock and roll

Kids Band Playing Journey @ Yahoo! Video

Today's something or other #19

Today's something or other #18

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a classic cocktail book by David A. Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its witty, highly opinionated and conversational tone, as well as its categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour; its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base, modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and its 1:2:8 ratio (1 part sweet, 2 parts sour, 8 parts base) for sour type cocktails.

Ranking the Coen brothers' movies

1. The Big Lebowski
2. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
3. Raising Arizona
4. Fargo
5. No Country For Old Men
6. Miller's Crossing
7. Intolerable Cruelty
8. The Man Who Wasn't There
9. Barton Fink

Haven't seen yet:
Blood Simple
The Ladykillers
The Hudsucker Proxy

Sita sings the copyright blues

A creative approach by an artist to deal with the often Byzantine copyright laws that hinder rather than protect art.

Sita Sings the Blues is an animated film filled with the strange and unlikely: American jazz age music provides the soundtrack to an ancient Sanskrit epic; the deeds of heroes are brought down to Earth by the nattering of shadow puppets; and a love story that's inspired generations is the backdrop to a modern tale of heartbreak.

Film critic Roger Ebert calls it enchanting.

Dancing moons, monkey musicians, a half-dozen animation styles, all the result of three years of work by Brooklyn-based cartoonist Nina Paley, who wrote, directed and produced the film.

And perhaps the strangest and most unlikely aspect of Sita Sings the Blues is that Paley is giving it away.

For free.

You can download it here.

The happy little film is actually inspired by a low point in the cartoonist's life, but there's no need to spoil the story when you can stream it live on Google.

Or watch her dazzling colours and animation techniques in high definition.

Click here to read more

Source: CBC.ca

The good old days

The new Tragically Hip album, We Are The Same, was released today (more on that later). In honour of the release of their 12th studio album (!!) I give you a trip down memory lane. Cue the nostalgia.

This time I've come to bury Cool Britannia

Interesting article in The Guardian:

American journalist Stryker McGuire wrote the magazine article that initiated the 'Cool Britannia' phenomenon in 1996. Back then, the City was the engine of our prosperity, British music, nightlife, art and fashion were the best in the world, and a young, dynamic Tony Blair was about to topple the Tories. Now McGuire contrasts those heady times with the Britain he sees today, broke and bereft of hope and spirit. Ahead of Barack Obama's visit for the G20 summit, he asks: what went wrong ... and where do we go from here?

Click here for the article.

Today's something or other #17

Take the comforts of home with you on your next vacation. Obviously, chartering the helicopter is going to drive up your costs....