A few weeks ago I got a call from Shaw. They offered me a digital box and "25 extra channels" for $2.95/month. "Yeeaaahhhh right......what's the catch?"
Apparently there was no catch. So the digital box shows up. We install it and it's great because now we can check what is on other channels without actually turning the channel. We can see what is coming up hours, even days ahead of time with the click of a button.
We also discovered that rather than "25 extra channels" - we had all the channels. Mystery, Scream, Independant Film Channel.......it was great!
Exactly one week later the channels disappeared.
We were then left with our "25 extra channels". At least two of which are exactly the same as channels we are currently paying for. Others like The Family Channel, Business Channel and the parliamentary channel or some such nonsense we will never watch. Plus, the new channels are all over the place (63, 71, 84) so we never know which channels we have and don't have.
I know they left all the good channels on there to show us know how great the programming is - if you purchase the next level of cable. And it worked! We were excited to finally have something worth watching whenever we were in the mood.
Now that we realize they left the good channels on there to bait us, we are likely going to cancel all of our cable.
Our bill is ridiculously expensive. We have cable, internet and telephone through Shaw. The service is great, don't get me wrong - good long distance rates, the internet always works....but I don't like being played with like that.
And honestly? I watch tv so little that I can't justify the cost anymore. M*A*S*H from 5:00 - 6:00. Lost every Wednesday - which apparently you can watch online. That's about it.
Maybe it's a sign of the times with the recession meaning we have to cut costs while I'm not working. But for me, it's also a 'sign of the times' in a different way - there is nothing but garbage on television anyway and I'm tired of paying for it.
What do you think? Could you go without even basic cable?
I'm not a fan of Hollywood movies, in fact the majority of them suck in my opinion. But once in a while a Hollywood movie comes along that I cannot live without. If you haven't seen this movie, I don't recommend reading the rest of this post. I do recommend that you go out and rent it right away.
Cher. Nicholas Cage - before he was super famous. New York City. Italians. There are so many things about this movie that are fabulous. I'm just going to start listing....once you get me started there's no stopping me....
Johnny Cammereri, in a deeply melancholic voice, over the phone....
"Loretta. I'm calling from the death bed of my mother."
Loretta Castorini (Cher): "Yeah? Well, how was your plane ride?!"
Bobo, the best waiter ever.
At the dinner table....
Rose Castorini (Olympia Dukakis*): "Old man. If you give those dogs one more piece
of my food I'm gonna kick you 'till you're dead."
In a restaurant, Cosmo Castorini with his cheesy mistress, he has just given her a bracelet with star and bird charms all over it....
Cosmo: "They're little birds and stars. Birds fly to the stars I guess."She melts - of course?
In the neighbourhood Italian restaurant (This is the location of lots of great scenes - not least of which is the best marriage proposal ever.....but I digress.....)
Rose: There's an old saying my mother told me. Wanna hear it? Don't shit where you eat."
And I must say, one of my all time favourite lines ever:
Late at night outside of his apartment, with Loretta....
Ronnie (Nicholas Cage): "Now I want you to come upstairs and GET into my bed!"
So good.
*She has tons of awesome lines.
So I've been on this 'diet' since February. Remember this post? I want to make it clear that this isn't a diet to lose weight, it's a diet that's supposed to make me feel better in general.
The problem with this diet is that I've eliminated two entire food groups: Wheat and Dairy.
I dare you to try it for one day. What would you eat for breakfast? Remember now - no toast, no milk, no yogurt....yeah. It's tough.
So the other day we were in the grocery store. Lately - like when I have to wander down the ice cream aisle - I tend to explore. I passed by the Cool Whip and thought "Ohmigod! It's an edible oil product!! Maybe I can HAVE THAT?!!"*
(You have no idea the cravings I've had for something, anything creamy - creme brulee, yogurt, chocolate mousse.....oh man.)
So, I open the freezer, grab a tub of the stuff and start to read the ingredients....I can eat it - there isn't anything natural in there!! As I'm standing there day dreaming about all I could do with it and how it would satisfy my craving for something creamy, I hear the dreaded words from behind me: "What are you doing?"
Man, does Brad ever bring the hammer down hard. If it wasn't for him I would have caved in weeks ago and eaten and entire loaf of home made bread slathered with butter, fresh out of the oven.
*I'm not normally tempted to buy Cool Whip.
Before Ticketmaster went online, I used to be a pro at getting good seats to concerts over the phone. So, my parents asked me if I would get them tickets to a big concert coming up. No problem! It's easier now that it's online....
So I've got my Mom on the phone and I'm on the Ticketmaster site, getting through all right but it's taking some time. We're both getting worried. I think "Okay, I'm going to look up a Ticketmaster phone number, Mom should call them...." I fire up another tab.
After frantically looking for phone numbers and not finding it on their site right away, I think "I'm going to do an additional search for tickets in the new tab instead."
Don't. Do. This.
After waiting the 15 minutes it said I would have to wait, it booted me out and made me go back to the beginning - losing my place in line.
I understand and appreciate what Ticketmaster is trying to do. And I understand how their computers might think that I'm trying to buy up multiple tickets at once. But if they are implementing this, they should let us know about it before we try to buy tickets!
So, guess what? The concert sold out before my eyes, I didn't even get tickets.
Jen: Did you see the massive hole Ziggy ripped in the shower curtain?
Brad: Yes.....he stuck his head through it while I was showering this morning.
Behold.
Ziggy.
Named after Ziggy Stardust, of course. He is also affectionately known as Bad Room Mate, Stripey, Nutcase, Pudge-o-Rama, and Spaz. I have devoted an entire series of cartoons to his Bad Room Mate Behavior. Here is one:
If you don't let him in the bathroom with you while you shower, pounding and scratching on the door ensues until you think you will go mad. During your shower of death, he looks in at you and alternately scratches the outside of the shower curtain like something out of Psycho. We have long thin gashes in our shower curtain from this behavior.
When it comes to hanging out with you while you're reading or watching tv, uh....yeah. He does not use furniture like a typical cat. Rarely do you find him curled up on the sofa cushion seats - in fact he's creeped out by them sometimes. He prefers the arm.
When it comes to playing, well - let's just say this is where the name 'Spaz' comes into the picture. One of his favourite things is to have Brad chase him around at top speeds, hence scaring the shit out of him. He loves it and literally begs for it*.
One of his other favourite activities is to lie on the floor, preferably in the middle of the living room. You know the cardboard tube that holds the toilet paper? He attacks one of these, lies on his side, holds on to it with his front paws like an otter and chews it to pieces. He doesn't eat the pieces....instead he spits them all over the floor.
I know blogging about your cat could be seen as lame or boring to others. But clearly our cat is not normal cat blogging material. I wouldn't change a thing about this guy, the more mental the better in my books.
*He approaches you sideways and 'meows' in a questioning manner.
Rawbean, IG and I saw The Presets at The Commodore on Monday night. 
I knew it was going to be a great show, great music, the best venue in Vancouver for live music.... but honestly. I had no idea what I was in for. I'm not a music blogger or reviewer, so I won't even attempt to describe the show. Just know that we were all blown away.
After they did "My People" I looked at Rawbean and said "Yeah, that was the highlight of my year."Seriously.
So, we decided to explore the Dockside Green buildings the other day - very cool. They are in various stages of construction but a few of them are open already. We found a brand new coffee shop and get this - it's a new Cafe Fantastico location! Click here for my previous post. (Their coffee is very good by the way...)
Anyway, on the same road as Dockside Green we walked past this building.
You're probably thinking 'Yeah, so?' I can see this building from my apartment and never thought anything of it either.
But look closely. Yes, that is a working waterfall.
So. Cool.
There is even a little pond area at the bottom where the water pools. Unfortunately I don't think all of the plants at the bottom are native, but hey - great concept. This is one strata that I'm definitely rooting for - it would be too bad if they had financial problems and had to shut the water off.
Would you commute this far to work? It seems to take about 30 minutes (by car) door to door, but I haven't done it in "rush hour" yet.
On one hand, we didn't move here so that one of us could commute. One the other hand, we are in a recession and times are tough....I want to be green, so I'm looking into bus routes, but the transit system here isn't as efficient as the Vancouver system. (ie: no West Coast Express to the suburbs!)
I've been working for 13 years and I have never once driven a car to work. I've always either walked, biked or taken the bus. So driving a car is a really strange idea to get my head around.
What do you think? Would you do it?
First off, Rawbean deserves credit for over half of these bands. She and I have amazingly similar taste in music.* Normally the way it goes is she discovers someone and passes it on to me. I seem to be always trailing about 5 steps behind her! Oh, and this blog post is similar to a regular installment on her blog as well....I do have an identify of my own. Honest.
Anyway, I'll get on with it. The stuff on my Ipod is always changing, but there remain two artists who are never removed for any reason because I. Love. Them.
1. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory
Two of the best albums of all time in my opinion. A few of my favourite songs: Queen Bitch, Kooks, Andy Warhol (I love the way this one starts), Soul Love and Hang on to Yourself. Every single song is amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Never to depart off my ipod. Ever.
2. Tom Waits
What can I say about my favourite musician ever? Right now I have 12 of his albums on my Ipod**, and it physically hurts me to remove any of them. Every song he does sounds unique. He can make me cry just by the way he sings a lyric, not to mention the lyrics themselves....ohhh, he is the best.
And now for stuff that I'm currently into.
1. She Wants Revenge
I think I'm the only one who has gone ga-ga for these guys. My husband hates them: "80's depressing crap". I don't get it. 80's? I think not. Others like them, but don't seem to be as enthralled as I am. His voice haunts me. The best song is Out of Control - the beat gets me every time. So edgy.
2. Chromeo
OK, when I first heard these guys, I thought "Nope. They are WAY too 80's for me. I can't handle it." But the more I listened, the more I got into it. I love playing them in the car - they always bring a smile to my face. Tenderoni*** and Call Me Up are my favorites.
3. Twin Sister
This music is super mellow and I love the way she curls her voice over the words in the song "I Want a House". So unique and different from other stuff on my ipod.
4. Ladyhawke
Ooohhh.....I love these guys. This music has edge - which is pretty important if I'm going to like a band. Remember this post? This is the song that gave me a great feeling about being in Victoria, so it will likely remain in high rotation on my ipod for awhile.
5. Home Video
This is my latest find - all on my own too - meaning without Rawbean's help! She has tutored me well...these guys are interesting. Check it out, they have a link on their site for a free download.
*She does not share my love of Bowie and Waits though.
**Please note my little ipod is only a 4GB, this is a lot of space.
***I love the part in this song near the beginning where they sing "It's Chromie-it's chromie-it's chromie-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!" Too much.
We went for a quick walk after dinner tonight. The sun had just set and it was that time of day when everything looks flat in the dim light.
We were chatting about how quiet the sea wall was. There was no wind, the water was calm, you don't get that 'hum' that you hear on a quiet day on the Vancouver False Creek sea wall.
We rounded a corner, and if it wasn't for the DFO sign that was posted on the fence we would never have seen her on the beach*....
A single elephant seal, hanging out....moulting away. She did a perfect Locust Pose...
...turned and glanced at us, gave a huge snort and rolled over on her other side. She's super close to our apartment, so seeing her out there blew my mind. I guess this is what living on an island is all about?!
*Obviously this isn't my photo.
