John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Love Vigilantes

Not the New Order original, but a cover by Iron and Wine. 

Being social

I attended the latest St. John's tweetup tonight, as a panelist set up as part of Culture Days by Dale Jarvis. For fun, I had Dale - that's him in the middle - and my fellow panelists Jennifer Barnable and Elling Lien engage in a little social media catch-up time. Don't worry; it's a set-up. We actually did talk together, although a tweetup is one of those times when it's quite normal to see people in the crowd unapologetically tap on their phones while they listen! 

Thanks to Dale for putting this together. 

10 most rented films on Netflix

An interesting list that reflects current tastes ... at least among those who lose Netflix. 

Another stage

"The view that all actors are undisciplined and self-indulgent is rubbish. If you want to see that kind of behaviour, come to parliament." 
- Glenda Jackson  

 

An old-fashioned T-shirt

Jealous Guy

Roxy Music released this live version of the John Lennon song on The High Road EP, a year or so after 1982's Avalon. Great version. 

Shopping

"The third rule of life is this: Everything you buy today is smaller, more expensive, and not as good as it was yesterday."
- Andy Rooney

The above is one of a series of curmudgeonly remarks made over the (many) years by the retiring 60 Minutes commentator.  

A very Sheldon poster

Catchphrases aplenty. So many, in fact, it's like talking to a dolphin. 

And now, a Ralph Wiggum moment to cheer you up

Goodnight!

 

Pumpkin pile

Carving a pumpkin or two is something two of the three of us are good at. (Hint: I'm not one of them.) We bought a pumpkin the other day. It's early, and I'm not sure how well it will last until Halloween, but then again Nick wants to have a zombie pumpkin. We'll keep you posted. 

Martha incidentally is a dab hand with pumpkin puree. That's another thing to look forward, too! 

Le nozze di Mozart

"Ah, Mozart! He was happily married - but his wife wasn't." 
- Victor Borge 

 

Debate live blog: What I was up to tonight

The leaders' debate in the provincial election was held tonight. At CBC, we livestreamed the video and added a moderated chatroom alongside. It was a lot of fun; my main role was to chip in with some context of what the leaders were saying. The chat is archived here; feel free to have a look. 

Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Ingredient

An excellent bit of animation. More here, on Brain Pickings. 

Hitch from Pascal Monaco on Vimeo.

Walking on The Moon

The Police song was re-introduced to pop culture on Sunday night, as Homer Simpson sang a modified version of it ("Giant steps are what I take/ Sneaking in at noon/ Just in time for my lunch break/ With my fork and spoon/ Time the cameras just right/ Duck in the bathroom/ I'm still drunk from last night/ Got driven home, I don't know by whom") in the opening episode of the new season. 

An excuse to play the original, or at least a performance from a 1982 tour. 

The new backpack

What do you say about a backpack that a kid uses every day for six years straight? Not bad ... and it's still in not-that-bad shape. The straps are still fully attached, the seams are in place, and apart from some wear and tear, it's still ready to be used from time to time. 

The thing is, Nick had outgrown the previous one, and so we shelled out for a new one. I wonder how much mileage he'll get out of it. 

 

Edgar Allan Poe's writing process

A Charles Addams classic. Spotted here. 

 

Lawyers In Love

We heard a snippet of Jackson Browne's song in the car today. I had a hankering to hear the whole thing ... and I forgot about this video, which features a lawyers' marching band, no less. 

Jackson Browne - Lawyers In Love by jpdc11

Knowing your place

"Fine art and pizza delivery: what we do falls neatly in between." 
- David Letterman 

 

Should you have the misfortune to have been bitten by a zombie in England

... here's the advice. 

As seen here. 

The billboard for Talking Heads fans

Clever. Spotted here this weekend. 

The Chuck Norris joke my son wrote himself

When Chuck Norris goes into a bar, he orders a Molotov cocktail. 

 

**

 

Not bad, kiddo! 

Great Balls of Fire

I'm posting this for Nick, who first heard this song (or noticed it, at least today). You might as well hear Jerry Lee Lewis bang it out on the piano. 

Substance

"Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact." 
- George Eliot  

 

Person of Interest

Of the shows that have started airing this fall, Person of Interest is the one that has caught my interest the most.

It has a few things going for it, like Jesus and Benjamin Linus, for starters. That is, the stars are James Cavaziel and Michael Emerson. In this iteration, they are, respectively, a former hitman for the CIA and a billionaire with roots in intelligence, surveillance and software. 

The debut episode sets things up, although the plot doesn't seem as important as the tones (surveillance, paranoia, technology) and the atmosphere, and most importantly the characters. It's only one episode, but it has some stickiness. I'll be following it to see where things go next. 

These are the social networks in your neighbourhood

This infographic can be seen in all its glory here.