Icky Thoughts

Random Poetry Update

2006-12-23T02:24:00.000-08:00

It's late, and I'm feeling wiped from work and school.

nothing else but the tick tock
can a watch spring be forgiven
for only understanding the anticipation
of tomorrow's winding?

I never post

2006-10-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

And I just thought I should let everybody know that it makes me sad that Amanda Ghost built James Blunt. Nobody should do stuff like that.

Celestial Dice

2006-08-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

But darkness, this cold emptiness,
Somehow passed me by
Like a charmed thing I sailed
Slipping through its fingers
Darkness, Lamb

It's 2:45.
Sometimes, I wonder if my luck is going stop working. Funny that; I don't believe in luck. Or fate. Or much of anything. But things always just seem to fall right. Coins tend to land heads-up more when I flip them. I've never broken a bone. Stuff like that. It's kind of creepy.
It's 2:49.

Educated Dandy, From ol' Edmontandy

2006-08-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

So I got my final final done. Once the paperwork clears its way through the system, I'll be a degreed professional... stacker of toilet paper.

The diamond article

2006-07-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

You know how I've been spouting conspiracy-talk about how diamonds really aren't worth what they're worth?

This is the source, an article in The Atlantic from 1982. With all the wedding talk coming from all corners, I figured it would be an interesting read for everyone.

(Especially those who might be thinking of going into debt to finance some squashy coal)

Short Post

2006-07-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more undignified than a woman twice my age referring to cat toys as "toys for puddy tat".
People with Chanel-logo neck-tattoos will probably never be able to afford any legitimate quantity of Chanel merchandise.
Tossing your credit card on the counter impresses no one.
People who cough directly into their hand have no understanding of why they're doing it. People who ape social practices without knowledge of their reason scare me.
I've sold cigarettes to people on oxy-tanks. I don't feel bad, but I feel more than a bit disgusted.
Please don't lean over the counter like that. You kinda smell.
How can anyone with a working sense of smell actually buy air fresheners?
Louis Vuitton... WHY?
Burberry... WHY?
Does anyone remember when Puma made shoes you ran in? They made really nice ones.
Do Asians wearing Abercrombie realize what they're doing?

I need to get out of retail.

Glad to be Gone

2006-06-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Okay. So I went to do some laundry in the new apartment, and came to a rather appalling conclusion about our old place. Someone was actually taking the detergent out of our storage locker in the basement... using it, and watering it down to conceal the theft.

So yeah, now I have a bottle half-full of water, and half-full of detergent... and absolute conviction that leaving was a good thing.

Hail to the Prince

2006-06-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Live Action Katamari!!!!

More pop music rage for the day.

2006-05-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Okay... so Il Divo has been on constant rotation at work. Il Divo with Celine Dion. (Picture four Josh Grobans with Celine Dion... and then make it thousands of times worse.) Aaanyways, they were put together by Simon friggin' Cowell

rage

Theory of pop

2006-05-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

So I've cobbled together a theory on how American Idol actually made pop music worse. American Idol is, at its twisted heart, a pop-ocracy, where the winner is theoretically the person with the widest base of support. What this means is that a singer has a massive incentive to turn themselves into (or let themself be turned into) the musical-equivalent of a "big-tent" party.

This, in practice, has led to something I can only term "Red-State Pop". Think heavy production, accoustic guitars, overmodulated female vocalists, Avrilike breathiness and autochorusing, and Nashville-style hooks.

*sigh*

So this is how freedom dies,

2006-05-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

With the Backstreet Boys and Michael Buble on a continuous loop.

As of 2:13pm on May 23 2006, this link is broken. To bas we can't say the same thing about the radio station itself.

Raise the Red Banner of Revolution

2006-05-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Okay... so I hate people a bit more today. Went into the Second Cup and I was talking with Russ about how being "political" is now fashionable. You know, the whole "ipod socialism" thing that you've probably heard me rant about in person.

Anyways, a frumpy-looking woman, fourty-x years old walked in, and asked for a latte, extra hot. Russ started making it and I joked that I'd probably just spent too much time in the humanities building... There's a lot of difference between what people there preach and how they live. Also way too many Marxists driving Volvo XC90s. Those things start at $50,000 and go up to $80,000 (Prices in Canadian Dollars)

At this point, the woman waiting for her latte said "You shouldn't have said that." in an absurdly patronizing voice.
"Pardon?"
"You shouldn't have said that. You don't know what kind of car I drive. Maybe I drive one of those and that offended me. You shouldn't talk about things like that with your friend there when there are customers around." (turning to look at Russ)

I decided she wasn't worth arguing with, so I just made alternate conversation with Russ... during which she decided to remind him multiple times, "extra hot".

Quite frankly, if she was a Marxist, she deserves to be reminded of that gnawing boomer guilt. Even a Swedish bank-vault on a lift-kit can't contain it.

And if she thought I was calling her a Marxist, then why is someone so dumb driving a truck-car that costs more than 40 of what I'm driving?

*sigh*

God's in his heaven, All's right with the world

2006-05-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Marks received. Ended up getting good enough marks:
Art History: b+
Advanced Macroeconomics: b+
Economics: Behavior of the firm: a
Philosophy 102: a-
Computer Class: a

Grand total GPA... ever so short of a proper A-

Uninspired by the Velvet Underground

2006-04-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay. So I listened to all of "White Light, White Heat" to try and understand why they were so influential...

Wow... distortion, a screamingly uncharismatic singer, inept instrumentals. They kicked it with Warhol, who essentially gave birth to a scene before scenesters existed... All of the maladies of the current rock-music scene originated with this band.

And this concludes today's totally-in-character statement.

Obscure Potiential Band Name of the Day

2006-02-25T16:47:00.000-08:00

Schrodinger's Catapult

Music!!!!

2006-02-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Okay. So apparently, "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" by LCD Soundsystem is dance music according to the Grammy awards.

It's Art Kid Post-Punk with more synth than usual.

Any efforts to dance to it will lose you friends. At least ones worth having. It is NOT "Danceable" regardless of what the tight-cords and ironic t-shirt crowd says...

I'm going to listen to some Ken Laszlo, punks.

And it was known as darkmatter

2005-07-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Heh... so I found out my motherboard is dual-core compatible. Too bad a dual-core chip costs as much as my computer. (more, actually)

Also, I shall never own a car, for the universe conspires against my finances. Whenever I come close, I end up having to pay rent on two apartments at the same time or some other such nonsense. In any case... bleh.

German is destroying my mind

2005-06-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

That's about the extent of it.

Exams

2005-02-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Ugh. I got roxx0red on my 2 midterms thus far. C329 had a busted circuit diagram... and Econ 329 was a calculus exam that escaped from its Antarctic prison to attack unwitting economics students. Let's hope the curve is relatively kind.

Yeah, I never update

2005-01-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

I spent a particularly torturous night at work thinking up this one...
The "Car Acronym" for Mitsubishi:
Maybe It's Turbocharged; Seconds Under Boost Initate Smouldering Hours Immobile

AAAAHAHAHAHA

2004-09-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

There was a controversy in the Gateway recently about the ornamentation on the sides of the new engineering buildings... A poli-sci student (if memory serves) complained that they must have spent too much money placing engineering symbols on the sides of their buildings.

I'm far from an architectural critic, but it seems like a good idea; minimal investment, strong visible impact, and it definitely ties into what they do while acknowledging their past...

But it's a good thing that student hasn't been to Business lately.

I'm typing this up right now in the basement lab in front of the most beautiful display setup I've ever had the pleasure of using... Twin IBM 17" LCDs... whole rig, including IBM P4 tower prolly cost 3000... and this is the "second-tier" lab last time I checked. I hate people who wear Versace to a 9:00 lecture, but I can't help but admire the gear facBus has.

Perpetual Studentude

2004-09-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

It's kinda freaky... I keep coming back year after year, and nobody ever leaves. I guess it's because everyone else is going for afterdegrees... that and even being associated with the Gamer's Club (Peace be unto it) in any way seems to delay educational progression.

Just a pity I only had an hour before I had to head back to classes.... and naturally, work afterwards. Gotta have some money for the ed. afterdegree somehow... need to keep up with the Joneses... and the Ngs, and Ongaros, and Bieganeks... etc

2004-09-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Water, water, everywhere
and not a drop to spare...

I feel like I should be doing something right now, but I'm not sure what. Prolly sleeping. In any case....

A Construction

We went to a beach somewhere
a half-constructed memory.
The smell of campfires ever-present
and that scent of a summer evening,
and infinite promise.

We sat in the sand for a while, didn't we?
it felt heavy; the night and cold lent it weight.
Everything was blue,
the only color left for our eyes to gather.

I don't remember what we talked about...
it seemed like a pretense for some great act,
hiding beyond what we could conceive.

We'd have set out tomorrow, if tomorrow wasn't the real world.

Yeah, I know. Cass is the writer... I just kinda string words together

Loser Apartment

2004-08-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend and I are in the same room using two different computers... The plus side is that the router is up... the minus side is that... well... at least we're not on MSN talking to one another. (Long distance relationships can be so trying)

E/N Ahoy

2004-07-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Cass's cookie ate my invite!
As such, I bring this, Icky Thoughts, into existence.