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When you use the bathroom to wash your hands, do you often find that your bladder decides to, er, chime in? Is it because I know I'm in a bathroom, or is it maybe the smell that triggers some response? If I enter a room that I don't think is a bathroom but has all the trappings of one upon entering, will my peeing instinct kick in? Just got back from riding around that Humber Bay Park East area , sticking around the bridge to watch the sunset -- pastel purples, pinks and blue. I could barely perceive the shadows moving across the Toronto skyline, which I'd not seen before. A bit of exercise to take advantage of the lovely, very reasonable weather. Enjoying post-pill fruit I did go to work today, an otherwise pretty quiet day. Nice to be able to tinker on long put-off side projects, without the constant grind all up in mah grill. Yeah. We did have strawberries and champagne, which was nice. OH! Last Wednesday my miracle fruit delivery finally came in, and on Frida...

I neglected to mention that I met up with Growl Saturday before the dance thing. We had some Korean BBQ (eating like emperors) before walking around downtown, taking in the city as flaneur s are apt to do. Dundas Square has become even more of a teenage hangout than ever before: a PG-rated, blinking-billboard walled consumer arena, a coliseum of gaudy, tactless flash. I've ranted about  it  before , and I'll continue to do so as I continue to feel so. Dundas Square is pretty much a commercial zenith, a tribute to all that is awful with capitalism, cliché as it sounds. Am I the only one who thinks of themselves as boring? I often hear the question "So what have you been up to?" or "Have you done anything interesting lately?", and really, I pretty much always have little worth mentioning. Does that make me dull and unstimulating? Is it that I've become comfortable with routine and thus avoid the adventures that come with inexperience? Perhaps these ...

Yes, we've all had too much to drink this past week. Blame the weather! Can we blame the weather? The week seems to have zoomed right by, between drinking and blaming the weather. Tuesday Loopy and I met up to film a possible video podcast (or, as we old-timers would call it, a "video"), which is based on diggnation.com. Will you be able to see it? Well, it's nowhere near public-viewing readiness, and won't be for a while, so.. not yet. I will say that, despite the anticipated pressure, it was a lot of fun. I now see why people drink before shooting. Makes perfect sense. I went to see a friend's dance show , which turned out to be a much bigger thing than I'd imaged. Around 30 dances, many quite energetic and exhilarating. I liked the fact that many of the dancers were amateurs and you could see their personality come through their expression and body language. I have also been inspired to put more time back into getting myself into shape! I mean geez,...

I neglected to mention that, the other day, I saw Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth , a film based on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend . Not so much based as copied; seeing it would definitely ruin the book for you, which provides a far superior experience. Nay, this film was laughable for its production values and voice-over acting. Still, I suppose for 1964 it isn't too bad. Even as a fan of the story I kind of regret seeing this adaptation. Now The Departed ... hmmm aye here's an interesting tale! I don't mean that the movie was great, rather I refer to the question as to why it is perceived as such. I say this not to court controversy or the like -- merely that I didn't think The Departed was all that it was made out to be. Suspenseful, yes. Very much so. But great great? I subscribe to the idea that an ending can save a film, as well as undo the merits of everything before it, and I just was not satisfied with that ending.

Ugh, had a strong cup of coffee after a late dinner and so here I be, typing away like a not so happy camper. Father's Day dinner with the family, to be precise -- Korean food and far more dessert than five people can realistically consume. I spent much of today cleaning and cutting strawberries and blackberries, listening to The Office in the background. Oooh.. suddenly got a bit tired there for a second, which is good. Saturday I watched the final bits of Once Upon a Time In High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do , a movie which, like many Korean films, moved a little all over the place. At the heart are two stories, the first concerning the relationship between Hyeon-su, the new kid, and Woo-shik, the cool leader, and Eun-ju, the beautiful girl they both fall for. Secondly is the trials of being a military-styled/run high school, complete with daily beatings and rankings or seniorities, a system that breeds resistance by its very existance. Being all over the place is not...

I can't help it, I enjoy the taste of veal. Yes, I know it's the meat of forcibly emaciated baby cows, a fact my vegetarian friend reminds me everytime he sees me order it. To which I reply that I bet it would be even better if they raised the cow in space, where it could grow to be extra tender and soft. Perhaps in the near future vat-grown space-meat will be all the rage. And I will be there, fork and knife in hand. Looking for a fun good-cop/bad-cop drama, set in 1970s Manchester, with a dash of Wizard of Oz? What makes Life on Mars so great is the banter between the two head cops. Ah, who am I kidding? Gene Hunt makes the show great. Sam Tyler (describing Gene): ...overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe with a superiority complex and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding. Gene Hunt: You make that sound like a bad thing. It's only 16 episodes (8 first season, 8 second season), but they're an hour each so you need to tak...

Hoo, the weather is tediously hot and humid. As someone said to me over the weekend, it seems like spring didn't even happen, that spring and fall are getting shorter every year and the uncomfortable extremes are around longer and longer. Thankful I am that I have an air conditioner at home. I do try to use it sparingly, but I can only bear so much. I was out most of this weekend: Friday at The Hideout on Queen West then the Charlotte Room, Saturday at Bayview Village, Cherry Beach then Rol San and today at College Park for my Korean tutoring then Trinity Bellwoods. Uncomfortable sweating each day! Once I start perspiring, the rest of my day is fairly ruined until I can shower it off. What rot! Also rotten? The new Canadian DMCA, which supposedly includes a $500 fine per download. Have you also heard of the upcoming ACTA ( Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ), which could give border security the power to search your iPod and other personal electric devices for "illegal...

I still do not quite recall what I was up to last Friday. I've been told that I was at work late playing Go , but that doesn't explain what I did later that night. I assume my not remembering is for the best. Was I up to no good? Most probably! Speaking of go, I finally finished Hikaru no Go , which indeed ends abruptly, doing its best to wrap all the strings in the alloted 23 minutes. I heard that the reason for this is that the creators felt too much pressure from Korean go fans/players who argued that no-one would believe that Japanese players would beat Korean ones. Sheesh, I mean really now. Those whiny Koreans, always complaining that they're being stomped on in cartoon series. Losers, they are! I watched Game six, Detroit at Pittsburgh, at the St. Louie's off of Spadina, just north of Queens Quay. Why do I patronize such places? I'm all about eating healthy and less meat now, yet there I was, up to my elbows in wings and ribs. True, it was a thrill when Pitts...

The Becel Ride for Heart was a success! If, by success, one means that it happened, that it didn't rain, and that I rode hard and didn't injure myself. Downside was that this year our merry little band did not manage to stick together, which is lamentful. Everyone seemed to otherwise enjoy themselves, which is important. My writing abilities at 1:36 in the morning? Rueful. What did I do Friday night? Hmmm.. I really do not recall. I know that Saturday I went to a2chow's loft housewarming -- Mill Street beer, penguins, toys, music. But wow, I really do not remember what Friday was. GEEZ what the hell? I know I didn't drink, because I was still kind of ill from Tuesday's and Thursday's indulgences. Was it a movie? Oh man this is bothering me. Anyway, yesterday, Sunday, I watched The King of Kong , a documentary about the lives of world champion classic arcade game players, who otherwise lead adult lives. Jillian Wiebe: I never knew that the Guinness World Record ...