Greetings Everybody!
Last week's column, Ilya Nastasi: Anger Management Guru - or Spin Doctor For the New Conservative, really raised some eyebrows, so I have decided to calm things down somewhat by talking about a show I have really enjoyed called The Worst Jobs in History. The show stars Tony Robinson - who was that Baldric guy on Black Adder. I should also warn you that there is an American version of this show - but it is not as good.
The thing that impressed my the most about this show was that Baldric, I mean Tony really puts his heart and soul into each show. He really does some gross stuff - but what touched me most was one show where he had to be lowered over a cliff face to gather some eggs from some wild birds - I think they were pterodactyls or something. Up until this point Tony had done everything asked of him - but this time, as Tony was being lowered over the cliff - he broke down crying and told the crew he couldn't do it because he was too afraid.
You could tell the crew both felt bad for Tony, but I think that their admiration for Tony grew 200% that day (kind of like the time the Grinch found the true meaning of Christmas and his heart grew so big that it broke the magnifying glass). I was pretty choked up too.
One time, I used to work at a cemetery. That can be a pretty gross job - especially when you have to dig someone up. Sometimes it could be sad too. I remember one time when a young teen prostitute died and only one person (besides me) showed up for the funeral (actually there was no funeral). An unmarked, government van showed up and dropped the casket off and then took off. So it was just me, the casket and this young girl of about 17-18. She looked like she needed to talk and so I asked her if she was close to this person. She told me she was and proceeded to tell me about her friend. Up until 5 minutes ago she was just another welfare drop-off to me - but now I was learning who this person was. She spoke for abut 15 minutes or so, and then thanked me for listening and left. Then I lowered the casket into the ground and buried her, and then I too, left. But I think I left a different person from the person I had been when I had arrived really only minutes before. I never looked at Welfare or homeless funerals the same way after that. Many times after that occasion, I would tend to a casket by myself - no one else came to say good-bye. So I would tell them goodbye and wish them well on their new journey.
Sometimes after you have had some years to reflect, things you thought were dirty, lonely, jobs turned out to be actually quite deep philosophically . . . I still wonder what happened to that girl I spoke to - I hope she's doing well and is happy . . . Sometimes I wonder if I was actually talking to the girl's spirit - weird huh?
Next week's blog should be a great one: Home Kits For Neutering Your Wildebeest - Do They Work As Good As They Say They Do?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
TV On The Internet . . . Which Internet???
Hello devoted Blogsters!
I hope you enjoyed last weeks Blog: Werewolf - Hairy Terror or Goldmine for Electrolocists???
Did you ever see that Simpson's episode where Homer is stuck in traffic wishing there was a quicker way to get home? He wishes he had his own private road where he could drive as fast as he wanted - but of course no one has their own private roads where they can zoom past other people as if they weren't even there - right?
Well It turns out . . . not exactly . . . in fact, we're not even close to the "real" road - or to be specific the "real" Internet. While we are plodding along on our "superfast" Internet connections - Scientists and government agencies throughout the world are using Internet 2. I'll bet you didn't even know there was an Internet 2?
The article I read can be found here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21226894/
Here's an excerpt:
NEW YORK -- The ultrahigh-speed Internet2 network just got 10 times faster, partly in anticipation of rising demand for capacity after the world's largest particle collider opens near Geneva next year.
Until recently, the Internet2 had a theoretical limit of 10 gigabits per second, which is thousands of times faster than standard home broadband connections. By sending data using 10 different colours, or wavelengths, of light over a single cable, operators are boosting the network's capacity to 100 Gbps.
That means a high-quality version of the movie "The Matrix'' could be sent in a few seconds rather than half a minute over the old Internet2 and several hours over a typical home broadband line.
Can you believe that? It's all about power, money, elitism, etc.
If we were allowed affordable (dare I say . . . free??) access to Internet 2 - we could bypass Government agencies such as the FCC in the USA or the CRTC that we have in Canada. We could subscribe to what we want. We would have the bandwith we would need. And, we would become a little bit more free as human beings. Have you ever thought about how much the government, your job, etc. controls your lives? I try not to think about it too much!
Anyway, I came accross a neat website: http://mashable.com/2007/06/18/33-ways-to-watch-free-tv-online/
One of the cool sites is Joost - which you have to apply to become a member. You send in your application and if you're lucky in about a month they'll send you the files you need to get on board. Right now it's mostly music videos - but other genres are starting to appear as well. This is TV from around the world. And, so far, it's free!
Stay tuned for next week's Blog: Yodelling . . . Or, How To Get Chicks Without Saying A Word . . .
I hope you enjoyed last weeks Blog: Werewolf - Hairy Terror or Goldmine for Electrolocists???
Did you ever see that Simpson's episode where Homer is stuck in traffic wishing there was a quicker way to get home? He wishes he had his own private road where he could drive as fast as he wanted - but of course no one has their own private roads where they can zoom past other people as if they weren't even there - right?
Well It turns out . . . not exactly . . . in fact, we're not even close to the "real" road - or to be specific the "real" Internet. While we are plodding along on our "superfast" Internet connections - Scientists and government agencies throughout the world are using Internet 2. I'll bet you didn't even know there was an Internet 2?
The article I read can be found here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21226894/
Here's an excerpt:
NEW YORK -- The ultrahigh-speed Internet2 network just got 10 times faster, partly in anticipation of rising demand for capacity after the world's largest particle collider opens near Geneva next year.
Until recently, the Internet2 had a theoretical limit of 10 gigabits per second, which is thousands of times faster than standard home broadband connections. By sending data using 10 different colours, or wavelengths, of light over a single cable, operators are boosting the network's capacity to 100 Gbps.
That means a high-quality version of the movie "The Matrix'' could be sent in a few seconds rather than half a minute over the old Internet2 and several hours over a typical home broadband line.
Can you believe that? It's all about power, money, elitism, etc.
If we were allowed affordable (dare I say . . . free??) access to Internet 2 - we could bypass Government agencies such as the FCC in the USA or the CRTC that we have in Canada. We could subscribe to what we want. We would have the bandwith we would need. And, we would become a little bit more free as human beings. Have you ever thought about how much the government, your job, etc. controls your lives? I try not to think about it too much!
Anyway, I came accross a neat website: http://mashable.com/2007/06/18/33-ways-to-watch-free-tv-online/
One of the cool sites is Joost - which you have to apply to become a member. You send in your application and if you're lucky in about a month they'll send you the files you need to get on board. Right now it's mostly music videos - but other genres are starting to appear as well. This is TV from around the world. And, so far, it's free!
Stay tuned for next week's Blog: Yodelling . . . Or, How To Get Chicks Without Saying A Word . . .
Sunday, October 14, 2007
I'm Back ! ! !
Hey Y'all!
Sorry to leave you hanging for a while - but I have been undergoing extensive uh, restructuring . . . ya, that's it. When I last left you I believe we were discussing "The Donkey - Stubborn Mule or Horse's Ass."
Today we're going to be looking at a couple of interesting sites I have come across while at the Sanatorium in Bruderheim.
The first site is from www.eyetricks.com It's based on those Magic Eye drawings that used to be in the Sunday comics in the newspaper - when there used to be good comics. Anyway, I used to be pretty good at finding the hidden picture. Now I can't seem to find it - maybe it's different looking at a monitor as opposed to cheap newsprint. Maybe I am in too deep in our/my present reality that I am having difficulty letting go of it? Maybe I am just getting too damned old to return to the vision and realities of my youth?
What struck me much later in life when I was attending a Education Foundations class the University made me take was that these Magic Eye or Eye Tricks - are philosophically and educationally profound: You have to lose your focus in order to see more clearly. That's deep!!! Foster Walker - I still miss you dearly - as do the students in Edmonton - who never had the pleasure of meeting you!
They say that the deal with Einstein wasn't so much that he was more of a brainiac than the rest of us schmucks - it was that he could see things more clearly than the rest of us. For example, some people can clearly see those images where it is either an old man or young woman - some can't. Freeman Patterson, one of Canada's most amazing photographers said something to the effect that it is not so much that you see what is there - it is that you see what is not there that makes you a good photographer . . .
I hope you will ponder that for a spell and get back to me . . . Look out for next week's blog . . . The Emu: Champion Swimmer or Wood Tick's Nemesis . . .
Sorry to leave you hanging for a while - but I have been undergoing extensive uh, restructuring . . . ya, that's it. When I last left you I believe we were discussing "The Donkey - Stubborn Mule or Horse's Ass."
Today we're going to be looking at a couple of interesting sites I have come across while at the Sanatorium in Bruderheim.
The first site is from www.eyetricks.com It's based on those Magic Eye drawings that used to be in the Sunday comics in the newspaper - when there used to be good comics. Anyway, I used to be pretty good at finding the hidden picture. Now I can't seem to find it - maybe it's different looking at a monitor as opposed to cheap newsprint. Maybe I am in too deep in our/my present reality that I am having difficulty letting go of it? Maybe I am just getting too damned old to return to the vision and realities of my youth?
What struck me much later in life when I was attending a Education Foundations class the University made me take was that these Magic Eye or Eye Tricks - are philosophically and educationally profound: You have to lose your focus in order to see more clearly. That's deep!!! Foster Walker - I still miss you dearly - as do the students in Edmonton - who never had the pleasure of meeting you!
They say that the deal with Einstein wasn't so much that he was more of a brainiac than the rest of us schmucks - it was that he could see things more clearly than the rest of us. For example, some people can clearly see those images where it is either an old man or young woman - some can't. Freeman Patterson, one of Canada's most amazing photographers said something to the effect that it is not so much that you see what is there - it is that you see what is not there that makes you a good photographer . . .
I hope you will ponder that for a spell and get back to me . . . Look out for next week's blog . . . The Emu: Champion Swimmer or Wood Tick's Nemesis . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
