tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:08:41 +0000or dry gin. either works in a fit of pique.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (elliott)Blogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-3321393531345717797Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:44:00 +00002009-12-23T21:08:41.943-05:00Conjecture this is, albeit based on some evidence gleaned from Facebook posts, but I think my sister is giving the family diet shakes for Christmas.Seriously.It should be noted, I have not seen her in about two years, not since she melted down on me in a way worthy of Tom Cruise via Charles Manson on the phone and broke, finally, whatever sisterly feeling I had for her. I do know, however, she http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/diet-shakes-are-not-good-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-6147069547767877499Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:23:00 +00002009-12-21T18:25:24.335-05:00Not girls. http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-3166878989983311187Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:13:00 +00002009-12-18T23:13:41.180-05:00blatherSo how are you doing with your year-long resurrection project, Cancerian? Have you been taking care of the finishing touches these past few weeks? If not, do so soon. It's high time for you to officially and definitively rise from the dead. Your wandering in the underworld is at an end. Your mourning for broken dreams should be complete. In January, the age of exploration will begin; make sure http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/sometimes-very-apt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-1855953393556933129Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:37:00 +00002009-12-15T13:33:40.952-05:00healthblatherI do not know why it has been so long.Trevor Nootenboom is the best massage therapist in town. (You may argue, but you're wrong.) Yet, somehow I have not seen him in two years — though, the last year was consumed with being a prednisone hermit, so that is excused.I saw him for the first time years ago, suffering debilitating pain from the chronic jaw/neck/shoulder issues which have plagued me http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/dreamy-trevor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-2585851780238697490Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:15:00 +00002009-12-15T02:22:03.753-05:00amusingbooksfriendsblatherfrom xkcdReading: Historical "biography," Hadrian, by Anthony Everitt. Rather good, in its speculation of the man who built that wall. You know, that wall.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/apologies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-62191085342627459Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:35:00 +00002009-12-10T18:50:12.145-05:00foodIn my burgeoning quest to eat regularly, this evening I am cooking myself a roast. This is made adventurous because my roast is considered wee and there are no recipes out there for 1.5 lb prime ribs — I am afeared the 10 min. high heat cooking shall not be enough. But we shall see.I am also a bit nervous because a) it is meat and I rarely cook meat ... mayhap leading to the anemia my doctors http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/beef-and-fire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-2159796934231336406Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:28:00 +00002009-12-03T12:39:35.071-05:00smittennewspoliticsSpeech, to mark International Women's Day, 2009, by Ayaan HirsiAs I was preparing for today's speech I called a very good friend who is Jewish and asked him if it was appropriate for me to use the term "holocaust" to portray the worldwide violence against women.He was startled. But when I read him the figures in a policy paper published by the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces in http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/gendercide-against-us.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-4186080261648078143Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:04:00 +00002009-12-02T18:13:54.532-05:00moviesblatherA third of the way through Watching The Brothers Bloom and am bewildered why I've never heard of this movie.Staring two of the most talented and lovely-to-gaze-upon stars of our time (Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz), it appears a whimsical, comic-book-via-Tank-Girl-esque, through-classic-Film Noire flick.I adore it already, particularly after Brody withered some wannabe TV starlet's attempt at a http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/12/blooming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-2777251324851487976Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:54:00 +00002009-11-07T23:53:15.867-05:00books( ... la problème? )I am wanting to purchase myself some W.H. Auden for reasons which will remain my own. Have been to a few used book stores in Ottawa but they have been either lacking in any Auden or with such paltry offerings I left empty handed.Have subsequently turned to Amazon and its compatriots. On one hand, this is grand service. Books delivered while you are quarantined = genius in the http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/11/le-probleme-avec-amazon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-5639815815120686530Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:30:00 +00002009-11-06T16:36:48.940-05:00newsblatherThe minister for Public Safety, Canada, Peter Van Loan, meets the press for Q&A in Ottawa, Nov. 5, 2009. Not so much with the A.(As seen on Inside Politics, CBC News. Report referenced is available here.)Question: How long have you had the report from the Commissioner of Firearms?Hon. Peter Van Loan: The report from the Commissioner of Firearms has to be tabled tomorrow http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/11/that-was-totally-useless-thank-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-6837584460445216506Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:06:00 +00002009-11-07T00:31:59.065-05:00blatherA Washington Post style copy editor takes down writer. Literally. Flying tackle and punches. 70-year-old man doing the tackling.LAST week.Fuck, yeah. Newsrooms as they should be: wiry, brawly people (note non-gender specific), fit and cock-eyed enough to take aggressive leaps through a desk, idea, politician.Now, sadly, this latest brawl occurred after a slur ("cocksucker, reportedly — which http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/11/newsrooms-as-they-should-be.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-4015505413060315437Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:31:00 +00002009-10-30T16:36:19.240-04:00http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/cant-get-enough-of-this-song.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-2657447959826872495Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:58:00 +00002009-10-30T15:58:58.084-04:00It is 3:50 p.m. After spending two and a bit hours in line to get a ticket, friend L.  returned to the Tom Brown arena, Ottawa, at her appointed 3 p.m. time for H1N1 inoculation with her one-year-old child. She is now, reportedly, overdressed as she thought she'd be standing in the rain (as previously) with child while they waited. Instead, they are in holding tents with other parents and http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/snotty-play-frowned-upon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-8602872899247269236Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:58:00 +00002009-10-30T13:16:44.220-04:00newshealthfriendsblatherOne of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. — PlatoI remain frustratingly undecided about being inoculated against H1N1 — but I have some time to decide. Weeks, in my case, not just the four+ hours many are spending to get tickets or be told to come back tomorrow — as sources are reporting is the case in Ottawa. (The Gatineau http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/h1n1-artfully-experienced.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-3818887445259950163Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +00002009-10-24T00:47:54.030-04:00sleepbooksblatherHave written about this chap before, but care not. If you are at all seeking a good novel to read (and you should be) and/or seeking something intelligent and not too dreadful as Hallowe'en fare I recommend this series by Phil Rickman. Not a vampire to be found, I fear, rather a very foibled Anglican priest (female) who finds herself the area exorcist. In tiny villages on the border between Waleshttp://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/all-hallows-eve-read.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-7407190683065150049Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:52:00 +00002009-10-20T03:56:40.848-04:00blatherHave inadvertantly uncovered information which has left me sobbing at almost 4 a.m. in the morning.And I'm wondering now, why? What good do these tears? Why be so affected?Just shut it off, whispers my old, comfortable friend lurking not so unconsciously in my head. What silliness is this pain; what stupidity to allow it to be. Why feel anything at all?These are the moments when I need to run. http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/devastation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-6882370839221705824Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:57:00 +00002009-10-19T15:01:13.980-04:00blatherfoodI have these memories of my brother inhaling bowl after bowl of cereal as soon as he came home from school (while watching Indiana Jones, the theme song for which is now engraved in my song-lexicon forever).Seems this is a common enough practice for teen boys for reasons which are beyond me as the cereal of choice (Shreddies — Captain Crunch, on occasion) is often not of the satiating sort — not http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-i-channel-teen-boy-and-eat-cereal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-1478423145500232922Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:32:00 +00002009-09-28T18:32:37.901-04:00blatherI am somehow not surprised that someone I know's first facebook post postpartum is not about her baby but, rather, how much weight she has lost. 20 pounds, we are told. Open for debate: is this due to the nature of facebook, privacy, lack of having a name - more than a week on - for the baby and finding that embarrassing or  - um  - something else entirely.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/09/babies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-6729448702501417657Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:38:00 +00002009-09-10T23:38:45.895-04:00blatherI have been in an intransigently horrible mood all day for reason(s) which absolutely escape me. How, how can this be. Seemingly, I am not master of my own domain as something, somewhere is able to dictate to me... where I react to their order unconciously. Even more disturbing on top of the already disturbing. growl. growl. Thsi is not fun foul. This is really, truly, foul. f o u l.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/09/f-o-u-l.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-598471409921808136Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:37:00 +00002009-09-02T22:53:17.725-04:00newsblatherLet it be said there is much I do not know about refugee claims in Canada.Yet, I am aware that issues of rampant crime in a nation have, and have not, been seen as relevant reasons for refugee status (NB: the Mexican situation); further, that it is rare for a person to win a refugee claim on the basis of a society's proclivity to something, rather than a direct causal link establishing a specifichttp://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/09/welcome-to-canada.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-8063729265930959579Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:25:00 +00002009-08-27T17:26:41.780-04:00blather... when you really adore some man and he just doesn't, ever, really, make you scream.It just won't work.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/it-really-is-such-shame.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-7868979419928031499Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:12:00 +00002009-08-20T08:13:59.512-04:00newsblatherFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 18, 2009What do Suaad Hagi Mohamud, Abousfian Abdelrazik and Maher Arar have in common?Canadian citizenship. Immigrant background. Muslim/Arab name. And violation of their rights by their Canadian Government.Something has gone wrong: Isn't government's role to protect its citizens and their rights?Octopus Books tackles the topic by hosting a timely panel discussion http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/ill-be-there.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-3192756150799565454Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:19:00 +00002009-08-17T17:19:33.040-04:00videohttp://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-monday.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-7859564449356713321Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:18:00 +00002009-08-15T18:19:42.910-04:00blatherDo not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan. — Albert SchweitzerMy Sunday is usually Monday or Tuesday. But not this week. Anticipating its loss.le sigh.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/tea-and-blueberries.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22468020.post-334279641296478873Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:33:00 +00002009-08-14T14:34:35.188-04:00foodI want to eat nothing.• had 1 croissant• 1 big glass of orange juice• 1 big glass tea• 2 litres of water already and could not make myself eat my lunch .....ah well.http://wrygrin.blogspot.com/2009/08/today.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (elliott)0