Tales of a Masochistic Troubadour

For a fleeting moment, you could feel (Movie Review: Howl's Moving Castle)

It was the Thursday before the Canada Day long weekend.  In the interest of maintaining a healthy work/life balance, I took off early to watch Howl's Moving Castle with J & D.  You know, for a couple of out of work people, they sure had trouble arriving on time (and therefore caused me to miss the first 15 minutes of the moving).  I shall exact my fair recompense.

   

As I was watching Howl's, I was thinking about how I would describe this movie to a friend.  I could describe the story verbatim, but I don't think that's a fair way to do it.  Practically speaking, the story itself is very simple; so simple that all the details distract to the point of confusion (confusion seems to a common complaint amongst reviewers).  But that is not the reason I will definitely watch this Miyazaki movie again.

Howl's is, in short, a war/love story (I'm not sure if that's the correct term) set in a fantastical fairy tale.  What I remember most about the movie were the emotions it evoked while watching the movie; for the two hours you are in the theatre you are not watching as much as experiencing it.  Miyazaki has once again demonstrated his wondrous ability to use stunning visuals and Joe Hisaishi's music to immerse you into his world and his characters.  You shared Sophie's sense of awe and beauty as she discovered what Howl's world offered her.  You shared the pain and love Sophie felt for Howl.  Even though I am not privileged enough to be sharing that feeling of love with a special someone, it was nice to be reminded of that feeling even if it was only for a fleeting moment.

So if you are a hopeless romantic and a sentimentalist like me, go watch Howl's.  I'm definitely picking up the DVD and enjoying this movie again.  Hopefully the next time I won't be alone.  I say 5 out of 5.

Hungry like a bloodsucking vampire

The one advantage about the high stress environment of work is that it elevates your heart rate and blood pressure so when you actually stick a needle in a vein, blood just squirts right out.  Wheeeee, the benefits of stress!

 

I gave at the office yesterday.

 

Two side benefits of giving blood: a) you have an excuse not to work out or do any physical labour for a day; and b) you're ridiculously hungry and feel absolutely no guilt while pigging out for the next few days.

I share your fascination with monkeys (Music Review: Gorillaz "Demon Days")

This is probably going to be a two part review since the jury is still out on this album...

I like my Gorillaz.  One of the funniest lines ever is in 19-2000: "There's a monkey in the jungle watching a paper trial, caught up in the conflict between his head and his tail."  I even watched them live when they played at the Docks a few years ago (waste of money).

The thing I like about Gorillaz is how their whole album melds into one experience, their songs flowing into one another.  But it's also for this same reason that I'm having trouble deciding how much I like this album.  The only opportunity I have to listen to this album is while I'm at work and I haven't really had the opportunity to give the album the attention it deserves to appreciate its nuances.  I wasn't too impressed the first time through the album, but given the band the benefit of the doubt, I've listened to them a few more times.  It's definitely growing on me.

In comparison with their first album, Demon Days seems to have taken more of a softer edge.  Where Gorillaz was more like an angry monkey that was beating you stupid with a sharp edged stick, Demon Days is the same angry monkey high on weed.  More hip hop & funk than rock - which isn't surprising considering the team working on this album.

Right now I'm particularyly fond of the track Feel Good Inc.; extremely funky (I have to add it to my "Sexy Funky Music" list) but I think I may get bored of it after a while.  The other tracks are growing on me as well.  I just caught myself smiling to Don't Get Lost In Heaven.

So right now, 3.5 stars out of 5.  But it seems to be climbing.  I suspect that it'll grow to a 4.5 stars as soon as I get to spend more time with it.

Don't "Tao Sik" so close to home

There's a Cantonese colloquialism "Tao Sik" which literally translates into "stealing eat" (or more accurately, stealing food to eat).  It's a mischevious term to used to describe the act of cheating on your significant other.

I was hanging out at the family restaurant after the street roda on Saturday (awesome roda, really good energy, got kicked in the gut by Careca).  I'll call the culprit Kris as to not identify him/her.  Kris did one thing correctly when engaging in the act of "Tao Sik:" Kris knew his/her significant other was at a local community event so there was no chance he/she would be spotted by him/her.  But Kris did one thing wrong: Kris, if you're going to "Tao Sik," don't go to a place where they know you and your significant other.

As a rule, we NEVER ask questions about a customer's significant other if they are with guests.  Even if it's friendly banter it can get you into a lot of trouble, 'cause there are a lot of people who "Tao Sik."

I got a new bike!

A few week back, Cranky Coder and I did the Ride for Heart on the DVP.  We did the ride in slightly under 2 hours, which isn't too bad considering that the Cranky Coder was out of shape and I was riding probably one of the oldest bikes in the place: the Blue Steed.

A bit about the Blue Steed.  The Blue Steed is a Raleigh Elkhorn that was purchased during one of the "Buy it before they institute the GST and make everything cost 7% more" sale.  Which would make this a Christmas 1990 purchase.  The Blue Steed also has a sister that is currently sitting in my unaccessible shed and has basically never been ridden.  The Blue Steed's gears have never shifted properly since the summer of '91 when a "buddy" decided to wipe out on the Blue Steed and break the rear guide wheel.  Currently I can only shift to about 3 of the 7 rear gears and about 25% of the time the chain will fall off if I shift the front gear.

See the Blue Steed in the corner.

Nevertheless, the Blue Steed has gotten me through my high school and university years, and then some.  It has been stolen once (and found very quickly) and I have taken an incredible number of wipeouts on it.  There was one summer during university where I did some pretty decent damage to myself and the Blue Steed.  In the same summer I: i) shredded my leg when I wiped out while making a right hander in the rain (I was rushing to ballroom dance class); ii) bounced the bike off my helmet when my rear wheel got hooked on a curb I was jumping outside of the RIM (Research in Motion) offices; and iii) shredded my knee when I jumped off a curb, made a left turn and realised the kickstand came down during the jump (I NEVER ride with a kickstand anymore).  The Blue Steed is sun bleached, has a plastic bag permanently tied to it (for keeping rain off the seat) and a seat that has foam poking out of it.

Back to the Ride for Heart.  Cranky Coder and I didn't really exert ourselves that hard during the ride, but we did keep peddling non-stop and managed to pass most of the people on the ride.  However seeing how old Blue Steed was compared to the other bikes on the road, I really wanted to get a new bike.  And since I'm semi-retired from Kart racing this year, I actually have time to ride.

For the past few weeks I have been deliberating about what type of bike I should get.  I've had my heart set on something with a front fork and a hard tale 'cause I love to tinker and a suspension system sounds like such a wonderful thing to play with.

I don't intend to do much offroad riding, but I didn't feel comfortable riding something as single-purpose as a road bike.  So I started looking at hybrids which I've been sort of attracted to since I knew about their existance.  BTW, P mocks hybrids by calling them the "station wagon of bikes," and I promptly remind him that he loves his WRX wagon.  Performance hybrids don't have a front suspension, only recreational hybrids do and I was NOT going to allow myself on anything with the term "recreational".  So I was kinda humming and hawing over my decision to get a hybrid.

Then A starts telling me about these things called cyclocrosses.  A cyclocross is essentially a beefy road bike that can also ride on mild crap.  Now this looks interesting since it looks really aggressive, can probably go like stink, and they were cool enough that I was willing to forsake the lack of suspension.  But these things are rare and they start at $1500, a bit too rich for my blood.  P was once again chastising me for even thinking about getting a cyclocross.

P finally convinced me to get a front suspension mountain bike and equip it with fast offroad tires.  So this morning I went shopping.

I went to Silent Sports since it's close to home and has a fairly decent reputation.  I knew my price range ($1200) and for that price, P has assured me I could get something really nice.  I was also determined to buy Canadian only.

There were two bikes that I focused on: the 2005 Devinci Chameleon and the 2005 Rocky Trailhead.  I started off really liking the Trailhead since it is the lighter of the two and featured entirely Shimano parts.  However the ride itself just didn't feel right no matter how much I wanted to convince myself that it was okay.  The reach felt too long and I was leaning too much of my weight on the handlebars, a common complaint of mine on the Blue Steed.  The Trailhead is a blast to jump though since it was the lighter of the two.  The Chameleon is quite a bit heavier than the Trialhead but the bike was just that little bit smaller and ride felt so much nicer.  And I loved the action on the Sram X-7 shifter.

So I am now the proud owner of a 2005 Devinci Chameleon.  Despite the searing heat in Toronto, I'm going to take it for a ride tomorrow.  But now what am I going to name it?  Perhaps I should just call it the Chameleon?  Or maybe Leo (for Leonardo de Vinci)?

Event Alert: Axé Capoeira Street Roda (05/06/24 & 05/06/25)

The Axé Capoeira group will be having a street roda at the corner of Queen and Soho tonight and tomorrow evening.  Tonight will be at 1930, tomorrow will be at 1800.  See you there!

Salve Capoeira!

UPDATE: We will actually be playing at the corner of Dundas and Yonge on Saturday instead, right next to the Caravana.

Current damage report

My current injury report:

1. Bruise on my left rib and just slightly right of my solar plexus from sticky hands with P sihing.
2. Bruise under my right armpit from the Meia Lua de Compasso Tortu gave me in class on Saturday.
3. Swollen right knee and bruised left foot from falling while doing a handset...  up, hold and whoops!
4. All my leg muscles are, for some reason, really tight.

Ahhh... not too bad.

What the hell were they thinking?!?!

In a way, I can understand why F1 did what they did.  After all, if I show up on the track and I forget a piece of safety equipment, well sucks to be me but I'm not racing that day.

But then again, people aren't exactly paying to see me race are they?

What the hell was Michelin doing providing a clearly sub-par tire?  F1 shouldn't have changed the tire rules, but what the hell was Ferrari thinking when they voted against adding the chicane?

You know, this probably is a result of me forgetting to tape the race...

I blame my parents!

From www.m-w.com 's Word of the Day.  Pay special attention to the etymology; I blame my parents for everything!

aficionado \uh-fish-ee-uh-NAH-doh\ noun

: a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity : devotee

Example sentence:
Dad is a passionate lover of jazz, and the father of three more jazz aficionados.

Did you know?
The affection an aficionado has for his or her favorite subject isn't merely emotional — it's also etymological. Back in the early 1800s, English borrowed "aficionado" from the past participle of the Spanish verb "aficionar," which means "to inspire affection." That verb comes from the Spanish noun "afición," meaning "affection." Both Spanish words trace to the Latin "affectio" (which is also an ancestor of the English word "affection"). "Affectio," in turn, is from "afficere" ("to influence"), and gave English speakers the noun and verbs "affect."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

I don't smell so good

Walking around the office, I noticed a really fruity fragance that most likely came from someone's personal fragrance collection.  In discussing this with a colleague, she says she noticed it but in she said that in general, "I don't smell good."

...  needless to say, I raised an eyebrow.

Ving Tsun Technique: Common flaws of the Fok Sau

This article started off as a discussion on how to self-train your Ving Tsun Fok Sau based on a sticky hand session I had with B sihing at the Research Class on 05/06/12.  B sihing has been practicing Fok Sau by himself and instead of improving his technique, he did the opposite and actually introduced more flaws!  Considering that B sihing is one of sifu's best students, I realized that my insight on this technique may not be intuitive.  Therefore I want to share my knowledge with all of my fellow Ving Tsun practioners.

As I was writing this article, I realised that it was impossible to discuss the self-training techniques without first describing the common flaws of the Fok Sau.  Therefore this has now become a two post document: the first on the flaws of the Fok Sau; and the second on proper self-training technique for the Fok Sau.

    

Of all the "hands" in Ving Tsun, the Fok Sau is probably the most unnatural - and quite frankly, the most stupid looking - of them all.  Because of it's akwardness, it is also very easy to do incorrectly and to this date I am still constantly trying to refine my Fok Sau.

Four of the most common errors of the Fok Sau are:

1. Elbow is not held close enough to the centre line or there is not enough "weight" on the elbow (not enough mai chang and chum chang).
2. Incorrect application and/or overuse of force in order to close up the centre line.
3. Incorrect application of "weight" and/or force at the hand to maintain contact with the opponent.
4. Incorrect shape of the hand and the corresponding Jut Sau defense.

The first of the errors is typically a result of insufficient practice by the practitioner (if it happens consistently) or a lack of concentration (if it happens only when the practitioner on first contact of the hands or when s/he is tired).  For myself, I find that maintaining the elbow requires quite a bit of deliberation: it is not a natural position and therefore I have to focus to maintain it and practice to maintain the focus.  This error is pretty easy to exploit: because of the weakness of the elbow it is very easy for the attacker to attack from under the bridge (e.g. with a palm strike), push the elbow of the Fok Sau right off the centre line and open up a pathway for the attack to come right through the centre line.

BTW, for some practitioners - especially for practitioners with big pectorial muscles - their Fok Sau may not need to lie right against the centre line.  As long as the correct force is there to maintain the Fok Sau and their Jut Sau is fast enough, they can compensate for the inability to hold the Fok Sau against the centre line.

The second error usually occurs when the practitioner tries to correct for the first error.  Realizing that his/her centre line is exposed due to the weakness of his/her Fok Sau, the practioner attempts to tighten the Fok Sau against the centre line by applying force to push the Fok Sau into the centre line.  Tightening the centre line is the right thing to do in the case of the first error, but where the practitioner makes a mistake is that they apply the force at the Tau Tong (first half of the forearm) instead of at the elbow.  By applying the force there, the practioner not only doesn't entirely close off the first error (it does make a difference, but only a small one), s/he has actually introduced a force that is very easy to trap with a Lap Sau.  The tightening force should be applied at the elbow ONLY; the rest of the Fok Sau will line up just due to basic anatomy.

.... to be continued ....

My father drives too fast

The White Rocket is a very fast car.  The White Rocket is probably in the top 2% of production cars in terms of 0 - 100 km/h times.

A week after my father drives my White Rocket for the first time, he goes out and purchases the Silver Sedan.  The Silver Sedan is faster than the White Rocket.

I have no issues with my father driving a faster car than me.  HOWEVER, unlike me, his driving skills have been degrading with age.  I'm constantly refining and aware of my driving skills; he's constantly remarking about how his Silver Sedan is so refined that he can't feel the speed.

See my concern?

So for Father's Day, I've signed him up for the Mercedes-Benz Defensive/Performance Driving Program.  Hopefully he may FINALLY accept that he really shouldn't be trying to keep up with me in my White Rocket.

Entering "the zone"

Whenever I'm sparring, I try to enter a state of concentrate/awareness that I call "the zone."  "The zone" is a very weird place to be.  When you're in "the zone" you see everything clearly, but yet you are focused on absolutely nothing.  When you're in "the zone" you completely lose awareness of yourself; you defend and attack not so much with your hand, but with "the" hand.  When you're in "the zone" you don't think, you just do.

When I'm in "the zone" my fighting ability increases significantly.  So significantly that my sihing's think that they're fighting a different person.  However entering "the zone" requires such a confluence of mental and physical conditions that I'm rarely able to get there.  I'm always on the precipice of getting into "the zone" but never quite make it.  And if I do make it into "the zone," I'm usually unable to maintain the concentration required for me to stay there.

Yesterday I was doing sticky hands with P sihing for over half an hour, and for some reason, I was able to stay in "the zone" the entire time.  I was doing moves that normally, I would not be able to do.  If sifu didn't ask us to go home, we could have kept fighting for a lot longer.

Of course there is one drawback with being in "the zone" for that long, and that is I couldn't get out of it.  You're probably wondering why I would want to leave "the zone."  Take a look at what I wrote in the first paragraph.  Now imagine what happens when I'm behind the wheel of the White Rocket while in "the zone."  I started realizing I was still in "the zone" when I found myself unable to read my speedometer, unable to process the image in my rear view mirror, treating other cars like obstacles and just slotting through lanes without using my signals and generally driving faster than normal.  Thankfully I was able to get home without getting a ticket.

Who needs drugs when you can mess around with your own state of awareness?!?!  And people wonder why I don't drink.

Next time you're at a bar

From www.m-w.com 's Word of the Day:

unctuous \UNK-chuh-wus\ adjective

1 a : fatty, oily b : smooth and greasy in texture or appearance
2 : plastic
*3 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality

Example sentence:
The unctuous man in the bar tried every cheap pickup line in the book, but Angela was not impressed.

Did you know?
Nowadays, "unctuous" has a negative connotation, but it originated in a term describing a positive act, that of healing. The word comes from the Latin verb "unguere," which means "to anoint," a root that also gave rise to the words "unguent" and "ointment." The oily nature of ointments may have led to the application of "unctuous" to describe things that are afflicted with an artificial gloss of sentimentality. An unctuous individual may mean well, but his or her insincere earnestness may leave an unwelcome residue with others, much like some ointments.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Paul McCartney - Live in Red Square

Last night, A&E showed Paul McCartney - Live in Red Square.  Needless to say my productivity level for those two hours was completely non-existant.  It was amazing!!!  I gotta get the DVD.

I almost shed a tear when Sir Paul was playing "Live and Let Die".  Gawd, the music was beautiful!!!  (Am I gushing too much?)

I'm still trying to figure out if it I thought it was a bit too megalomaniacal (they seem to be trying almost too hard not to say Beatles brought about Perestroika) our whether their influence was really that significant.  But who cares, the show was awesome!!!

• On Mikhail Gorbachev's appearance in the show: Dude's glowing.  I mean he looks much happier (and much more plump) than when he was head of state.
• On Vladimir Putin's appearance in the show: Smile dude, smile.

On another note, I have two more blog articles queued up, but these will take me quite a bit longer to write: "Ving Tsun Technique: Self-training for Fok Sau"; and "Bloody 'ell people, learn how to hold the steering wheel properly."

Weekend Damage Report

Other people's weekend injuries usually involve bouts of drunkeness and associated recovery.  Mine usually involve some form of physical punishment.

My current injury list:

1. Sunburn across my back from doing street rodas for two days in a row with no shirt or sunscreen.
2. Bruises on my wrist from figuring out new Ving Tsun techniques on a wooden dummy.
3. A scratched knee from goofing around with Skova after the roda.
4. A sprained left thumb from... I really don't remember how I did this.

PS: I distinctly remember a word "wailing" or something of the like that means "to beat upon,"  as in "Bruises on my wrist from wailing on a Ving Tsun wooden dummy."  Am I confusing something?

Event Summary: Street Roda (05/06/12)

Ahhh it's a good day to be fighting.  Woke up in the morning to spend two hours training Ving Tsun (did really well today!) and then off to a street roda at the Bloor Street festival.

We started off about 1245 or so at the intersection of Bloor and Dalton.  Paraiba is AMAZING!  When him and Careca were in the roda, WOW! I did remember to bring my shoes today, but the concrete was so slippery that I went barefoot instead. Barefoot on Bloor street makes for very dirty feet.  M managed to knock my glasses off in one of the games and therefore I have finally decided to forsake my glasses in a roda.  Having spent so many years doing other martial arts half blind, I really don't mind the lack of vision.  I have also coined the act of knocking my glasses off "Opening the Bottle" (in case you haven't figured it out, my nickname "Garrafa" is bottle in Portugese), but with my new decision to not wear them, I'm hoping that no one will open the bottle anymore. 

We got asked to move by the officials so we moved slightly west and did a second roda at Bloor and Brunswick.  In both rodas the crowd were great, the energy was great and the games were great!

All in all, an excellent fighting day.  But now my shoulders are really roasty 'cause I couldn't be bothered to wear sunscreen.  Typical stupid guy thing.

PS: Let me know if you saw us at the roda.  I'm curious to see if anyone reads this blog.

The Art of Teaching and the Art of Learning

One of the things I love to do just as much as learning and training in martial arts is teaching martial arts.  I can't say that my reasons for teaching are entirely altruistic: I learn through teaching and the more people I teach and the better they get, the more people I have to practice with and learn from.

I don't have my own class yet, but perhaps one day I'll start teaching Ving Tsun.  I don't think I'll teach as a Sifu though (not good enough), just as a Sihing.

Two of the most important skills I try to impart on my students are the ability to teach others and the ability to teach themselves.  As a teacher, I can point out problems and show you new techniques, but at the end of the day it's up to the student as to whether they can absorb the lesson.  Of the two skills to learn, the ability to teach themselves is the hardest: it requires the ability to understand the techniques being taught ("What is it that I'm supposed to be doing and why?") as well as a knowledge of self ("Am I doing the technique correctly, and if not, what am I doing wrong?").  The skill to teach others is much easier since it only requires the former ability I just described.

I encourage the students to work in pairs or in groups and to discuss and critique each other's techniques.  This not only allows the student to correct him/herself through others' feedback, but it also allows the critic to learn through actively applying his/her understanding of technique.  Once the student has listened to his/her critics, it is the student's ability to teach him/herself that will determine whether s/he is able to use that feedback.  I also encourage the students not to rely on the senior students for critique; as long as they are working with each other and thinking about what they're supposed to be doing, even if they are wrong it is much easier to correct a set of students that have been thinking than a set of students who are just waiting.

I try to encourage the same sort of skill development even when I teach other disciplines, whether it is snowboarding or my staff at work.  Sometimes the activity may not lend itself to working with other students.  In this case, just treat your instructor/teacher/leader as another student and work with him/her.  Just make sure you are respectful and you'll both have fun!

My feet are on fire and Event Alert: Axé Capoeira Street Roda (05/06/12)

Today, instead of a regular Capoeira class we took advantage of the nice weather and decided to go do an impromptu street roda instead.  So off we went to Queen and Soho.

Not expecting to be doing a street roda today, I didn't bring my training shoes.  Doing capoiera in my oversized Tevas just wouldn't have worked, so I opted to go barefoot instead.  With the 32C sun beating down on the concrete, needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experience.  Everyone wore their shoes when we weren't playing, but your feet started cooking once you decided to go into the roda.  Your feet would start heating up while waiting to go in (which wasn't too bad 'cause it encouraged decisive entries) and you didn't notice them when you were playing.  However, once you stopped, boy did your feet hurt.  It felt like the bloody things were on fire.  It's now about 5 hours after I've finished and my feet are still burning.

But it was a good roda, so I don't mind sucking up the pain.

Event Alert: We'll be doing a street roda again tomorrow around noon near the Bloor & Brunswick area.  I believe there's a festival going on down there.  So see you there!

Event Alert: Stars of Karting @ Woodbine (05/08/19 - 05/08/21)

On August 19 - 21, 2005, Stars of Karting with Bobby Rahal along with Simcoe Kart Club will be hosting one of the top kart races in North America at Toronto's Woodbine Race Track.  They will be converting one of the parking lots into a full fledge kart track.

This race features the top Kart drivers in North America.  The shifter karts they run are able to hit over 190 km/h (especially with the layout they have planned).  SKC is still determining the club race schedule accompanying the event; with any luck, I will be running the Red Beast at that race too!

Kart racing is the first rung in the racing ladder that can take drivers all the way to F1.  All the top F1 racers today started off in Karts.  So if you want to see a good race or is just interested in what real Karting is about, take some time out that weekend and make it to Woodbine.

See you there!

Upcoming Summer Movies

I really need to get myself to the theatres more often.  There's a number of movies that's out or will be coming out that I really want to watch.

• Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith: I haven't watched this yet, but 'nuff said.  Most of my hardcore geek friends have watched it, so I gotta find some non-hardcores to go.
• Howl's Moving Castle: This is Hayao Miyazaki's latest film.  I've been a huge fan of Mr. Miyazki's work since I first watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky.  For a while, Mr. Miyazki's movies became very preachy and were really hard to accept unless you lived in Japan (I really didn't get Pom Poko).  But his last few movies have seemed to have restored some of the fantastical joys of his first movies.  I have very high hopes for this one.
• Batman Begins: I'm male.  I read comics.  I'm a fan of noir movies.  What do you expect?
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith: This is going to be complete mind candy.  But everyone needs some mind candy every now and then.

Did you know that Christian Bale stars in both Howl's Moving Castle and Batman Begins!

Anne Bancroft & Mel Brooks: A fine romance

I'd like to share with you a story I read on Salon today.  It probably isn't the most accurate piece of journalism in the world - after all, the auther uses heresy of heresy - but it definitely is a hopeful read.

In case you haven't heard, Anne Bancroft died three days ago in New York from cancer.  I'll be honest, I'm not very familiar with her work (I haven't watched The Graduate), but I'm definitely familiar with the work of her husband of fourty years, Mel Brooks.  After all, what geek from my generation hasn't watched Spaceballs (May the Schwartz be with you).

The story is about the wonderful marriage between Ms. Bancroft and Mr. Brooks.  I'll leave it up to you to read the full details, but here's an excerpt from the story to help draw you in.

In the 1984 interview, Bancroft explained her immediate certainty that she'd found "the right man" this way: "I'd never had so much pleasure being with another human being. I wanted him to enjoy me too. It was that simple."

What a stunningly spare way to sum up the kind of visceral, nuanced connection we all hope to find someday. She wasn't talking about fireworks, just fun and love and a sense that she had found her match. She makes it sound so sure; when I read those words I wanted to believe that kind of surety is possible for all of us -- whatever hardships and complications must inevitably follow.

I must admit, being single isn't the most easiest thing in the world.  Even with all the friends around you, the loneliness does end up feeling like a weight that you have to drag around.  Especially when said friends are either already in marital bliss (and in most cases, popping off inheritors like there's no tomorrow), or on their way to marital bliss.  You wonder if you should perhaps just give up searching for "the one" and just settle for someone you know you can live with.  But stories like this make you realize that its worth the fatigue, the stress, the work you have to put in to find your Anne or your Mel, and that when you do, it'll be worth everything in the world.

So keep on trucking.  In the meantime I'll try to work through the meloncholy by either picking up my guitar or getting my head bashed in during martial arts class.

Average HP per car per household

Being a car nut, I have a large number of friends who work in the automobile industry.  They are always "jokingly" suggesting that I buy a new car.  My latest proposals include:

• Subaru B9 Tribeca:  Suggested by Rally Driver.  I am tempted just because they're using Kansas' "Dust in the Wind" in their advertising programs and that is one of my favourite songs to play on the guitar.
• Oldsmobile Alero:  Suggested by S 'cause I keep on telling him how I think my sister's Alero was great value and he wants to get rid of his.

My response to them is that it would lower the per car horsepower average in my household and them - being car nuts as well - all agree that it wouldn't be a good thing.

Now the kicker: We have a disgusting average of 340 hp per car in my household ;-).  I don't know whether to include the Red Beast or not since that only has 27 hp, but then again it only weights 365 lbs with me in it.

Whips and Honey

I'm very aggressive at work, or more accurately, I have a very low tolerance for bullsh*t and incompetence.  People always say that I should try to be less aggressive 'cause you can catch more bees with honey than with a whip.

... but when people have become soft and fat from too much honey, a whip is what you need to make a difference.  Civility works well if the people you are dealing with are civil too.

PS: I was thinking about saying "nicer" instead of "less aggressive" but that doesn't make sense.  I am a nice guy; I just won't coddle people with fake niceties.

Training in 30 degree heat

Summer is definitely here.  Capoeiristas are really into the Brazilian culture, and training in this oppressive heat is probably the closest thing to training in Brazil.  My "au ses mains" (sp??) were pretty decent today, but my jumping martelos (sp??) sucked.

One of these days, I'm going to convince Careca to do a roda Canadian style: in the snow.  What fun!

People are stupid, or are we just smart?

Talking to a colleague today, he remarked, "I'm having one of those days where most of the people I'm dealing with are stupid."  On hindsight, there's really two ways you can look at it:

1) Most of the world is normal, you're just a lot smarter.  Which would make you an egotistical bastard.

2) You are normal, just the rest of the world is stupid.  Which would mean that the future of the world is hopeless.

I'm amused.

Starting from the beginning

Hello world!  So this is what a blog looks like eh?  It's always been kinda ironic that - considering the number years I've been using computers - I'm always one of the last people to try new web stuff.  Guess I just have very little tolerance for crap, and let's face it, most of the Internet is crap.

Anyhow, here I am.  Maybe this will compel me to learn how to use a digital camera.