Read, rinse, repeat

Incredible photos of Winnipeg

2008-05-13T21:20:00.002-05:00

Check them out. The description at the top is so completely apt.

No commentary needed

2008-05-08T22:08:00.002-05:00

Driving > Walking ? I don't think I have to comment on this because a lot of people already did and their comments are more amusing than mine would have been.

Clean g-word

2008-05-06T19:50:00.004-05:00

FYI - Superstore brand recycled paper towels, or "PC GREEN Pick-A-Size Paper Towels" as they're officially called, don't work very well. It's always kind of sad when (g-word) products turn out not to work so hot. I've also found Method dish soap doesn't work very well, though some of their other products work alright.

I clean glass with a patented mix (I pour both in until it looks about right) of vinegar and water, using an old pop bottle with a spray nozzle screwed onto the top. The smell is slightly off-putting, but if you saw how I eat French fries, you wouldn't be that surprised. I prefer it to the smell of ammonia in Windex, anyway. Baking soda cleans certain surfaces very well, even the crap that gets baked on in the oven (if you have the time and energy to scrub), even if you don't use a g-branded variety.

Point D represent

2008-05-03T23:34:00.002-05:00

Today I took a walk in the neighbourhood that my mom and dad grew up in. It was pretty neat.

Why are you still watching American Idol?

2008-04-30T20:29:00.002-05:00

Seriously. How do you people (the zillions that tune in) watch this fake mind-trip?

In other news, I am finding myself frequently watching not only MuchMoreRetro, as per usual, but also the newly achieved MuchLoud - love it.

No, Oprah, no!

2008-04-22T22:26:00.003-05:00

I caught Oprah's Earth Day special today. I left the room several times during the show because I wasn't able to handle certain portions. I know the journalistic integrity of Oprah is (seemingly, I'm no journalism major) relatively good for daytime talk shows, and that it's fairly dumbed down so that the entire public can relate, but still.

This is what today's episode consisted of:

Environmental vagueness that I wouldn't expect outside of Sesame Street. Recycle! Compost! Don't use plastic OR paper bags!!!
Sandra Bullock hawking her soy candle line.
Julia Roberts declaring that she always keeps reusable shopping bags in her car so that she never has to take plastic bags. Oprah didn't have the heart to tell Julia that plastic-bag refusal doesn't cancel Humvee useage.
Oprah scared of worms and vermicomposting. Way to install fear in the housewives you are trying to encourage.
Oprah exclaiming that she didn't know that your skin absorbs the contents from applied beauty products. How else would moisturizers work, or self-tanners for that manner?
Fear-mongering about SDS and parabens. I'm not saying we shouldn't be cautious, but I would certainly be pleasantly surprised if there was mass movement towards products without these ingredients by the Oprah-watching public, because they're in EVERYTHING and alternative products are usually more expensive.
Extremely general environmental information, including the same frequent misuse of scientific language that is prevalent across the general news machine and public.
Some mumbling by Al Gore at the end for good measure. (The audience seemed to clap more when they learned they would receive a free box of soy candles than for poor Al.)

"Chemical" or "chemical substance" refers to a substance for which we know the chemical formula. Water is a chemical. Salt is a chemical. It is not being used correctly if you purport that "chemicals" are causing problems in our water and air and beauty products.

"Pollutant" and "contaminant" aren't interchangable, but that's a story for another day.

I once argued with a seller hawking "natural" beauty products because she was boasting that other products are full of "toxins". The word specifically refers to a toxic substance produced by a living thing, and there isn't a lot of snake venom in regular beauty products.

Who wants to make me a cape?

2008-04-19T21:10:00.004-05:00

I have wanted a cape for the longest time, and I found a pattern, so now I just need someone to do it up. I especially like "C". I sew about as well as I cook.

When I was in first-year university, I used to hang out in the Firepit Lounge to eat lunch with my friends (like all the other first-years). Occasionally we saw a male student in a black cape out the windows, walking on by to his next class, or whatever. Once or twice I ran to the doors, flew them open, so I could yell "HELLO, BATMAN!", to the delight of my friends, though he had already passed. I need to do more fun and quirky things like that more often. Blending in is for chumps!

Seriously though, guy had a great cape.

Prairie spring

2008-04-18T21:45:00.002-05:00

Photos from last Friday:

So, so flat.

The Great Pumpkin rises... in Roland, MB

Frugality

2008-04-15T17:49:00.003-05:00

Found this in my blog travels:

32 Reasons to Be Frugal Besides Saving Money

I like numbers 4, 18, and 28.

Comparisons

2008-04-13T23:41:00.003-05:00

Me: "Isn't a male obstetrician... kind of like a deaf orchestra conductor?"

Husband: "A mechanic can learn how to fix a car, he doesn't have to become a car."

Me: "A woman is not a car!"

Hilarious Muppet Bloopers

2008-04-13T23:23:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of the Muppets, so I was pumped when I found this:

Well-played.

Watch out

2008-04-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

Accidentally put my jeans in the washer with my watch in the pocket.

Again.

Good thing the washer was at a stage where I could pause and unlock the (front) door.

A Voyage to the South

2008-04-10T21:54:00.002-05:00

I've been reading a book about travelling by Bill Bryson (and subsequently decided I need to read all books by Bill Bryson, travelling and otherwise). This post is a story about a journey I took yesterday, to an illustrious building known as St. Vital Centre. This post is brought to you by PC Double Chocolate Crunch Cereal (if I could choose a blog sponsor it might be that) and The Guys' 5-minute opus Man with a Mustache, which I keep meaning to send to my dad.

I have only visited St. Vital Centre 10 times or less in my entire life of living in this city. There were a few reasons for this. One is that I have never lived in the area, or in any area next to that area, nor have I ever had any purpose to go to the area or stick around for any particular length of time (school, work, friends/relatives, etc). Another is that every time I have ever tried to do any Christmas-related shopping or see a movie at its theatre on a Friday or Saturday night, I haven't gotten much further than the outskirts of a crowded parking lot rampant with middle-class citizens.

I departed work for St. V. with a few goals in mind. The first was to investigate the bus route, which was more than adequate, and the mall layout, which proved extremely pleasing. My other goals were to look for shoes (flats), and get some keys cut. I have visited other malls in the city far more often, so maybe it's just that familiarity breeds contempt. St. V. felt like a breath of fresh air after the many hours I spent at the other malls.

There's Portage Place, which shuts down in the early evening most days of the week. The downtown location is great for bus access, but not much else. I feel like I'm about to experience or at least witness a crime in at least 30% of the indoor space and 90% of the perimeter (not including the YMCA). Also located at P. Place: the one occasion I've ever seen someone shoplift, and I witnessed it up close. I watched someone walk out of Staples with a backpack, probably filled with merchandise though he may have just needed the backpack. He set off the alarm as he exited, and then ran away up Portage Ave, while the staff traded glances that said, I wasn't aware the 30% included our area.

There's Kildonan Place, which I used to visit often when I was 12 but grew out of around the same time I grew out of Claire's Accessories. Its blandness is simultaneously comforting and underwhelming.

Lastly, there's Polo Park, the largest mall in town and a multi-floored affair. Despite the number of stores, it's left me feeling hollow the last couple of trips. P. Park has Lush and Lululemon stores, which I used to frequent when travelling to other cities, but have lost their intrigue now that I can go whenever I want.

***

Upon arriving, I made the decision to look at clothing, but not try anything on, fairly quickly. I've bought a relatively large amount of clothes in the past while, and buying random pieces instead of adding more holistically to my wardrobe (aka stuffed closet) would not make sense.

Also, while browsing at a clothing store (the name is escaping me), I noticed a table of camisole undershirts in different colours. They were 2 for $25... but wait, didn't I pay $18 for the exact same purple one just two weeks ago at Smart Set? Curious, I went to Smart Set, and found the same table of camisoles in all colours, still selling for $18, EXCEPT the purple one which was now on the discount rack. I have to remind myself that the majority of mall clothing stores share brands and clothes between them, and the best way to buy clothes at a mall is really to check every single store for what you need and then go back and buy later when you've found the best deal. It seems like a lot of effort; I'm not sure if I've ever known anybody to actually do that.

Also, I was tired, and didn't have the energy to try on five thousand pieces of awesome clothing. Even if there were huge sales on. Because that money tree I planted hasn't sprouted yet.

Overall, I found St. V. to be spacious and airy to walk around. I quite enjoyed browsing over a few hours. I was impressed that they had a sushi restaurant IN the mall. (I should add that in this city, I still get giddy when I see TV screens playing ads outside banks and the MTS Centre and other places, because we didn't have them a few years ago.) There is a gigantic food court that has both a cinnamon bun place AND a frozen yogurt place, so you don't even have to choose. Also, St. V. is getting a MAC store and a Costa Blanca store. I enjoy browsing MAC stores in other cities (due to my infatuation with weird eyeshadow colours and glittery eye makeup), and bought a lot of nice clothes from the CB I patronized in Calgary a few months ago, so I'm excited for both.

During my journey through the mall, I picked up many, many Skecher shoes and balked at the price each time. Why are Skecher shoes so expensive, and beautiful? I ended up buying the flats I needed, and some other nice shoes (so that I stop wearing the one pair of Skechers I own with everything). I bought them at Payless, the most aptly-named shoe store of all time. I bought a couple of pairs of shoes for $4 each, no tax, at the Payless at the Mall of America a few summers ago. Someone must have been getting the short straw in that deal. How could those shoes possibly have cost that little?

I also scored a super cheap pair of winter boots at a closing sale. Another problem solved, since my old pair had just obviously just had its last winter. I didn't buy a hat, but I need one. I'm still secretly hoping someone will make me one of those knitted hats with cat ears. And also that someone will buy me this book which I perused in Chapters and has simply marvelous photos. Note to self: search Fbook to determine if there is a self-help group for people who buy cookbooks for the pictures.

My voyage came to a close around half past eight, and I bussed back downtown. I thought I might wait a few extra stops to get off, in order to wait for and catch my transfer bus somewhere relatively well-lit and safe: the MTS Centre. Instead, I made the split second decision that the extra few stops might be too much fuss, got off the bus as soon as it was near my transfer, and made my way to a corner with a crosswalk. I was immediately approached by a panhandler mumbling something about money for his wife, who was standing next to him in some sort of stupor. I politely declined, crossed the street when the light turned, and waited for my orange chariot to take me home.

Teeth

2008-04-08T23:22:00.003-05:00

What do you think of my teeth? Be honest.

My new dentist referred me to an orthodontist because of some teeth issues that may cause problems (in the far future). I had my orthodontist consultation and was left underwhelmed, to say the absolute, very least (that's one I'll leave for "real life" conversations).

I'm really disheartened that the dental industry has shifted focus so heavily toward the cosmetic side of things. The commercials for whitening treatments and Mach 5 electric toothbrushes were one thing, but now the professionals are seeing dollar signs and adjusting their practices accordingly. My mom recently had some (arguably necessary) cosmetic dental work done, and her dentist took before-and-after pictures of her teeth, because he wants to move towards doing more and more cosmetic work.

I'm all for clean, healthy teeth and gums, but I don't think it's necessary for everyone to have a Hollywood smile, stick straight and so white that it glows in the dark.

Life edit

2008-04-06T21:27:00.003-05:00

I added a couple of links to well-written, interesting blogs over there in the menu. All the posts are excellent, but I especially want to point out TV and Muppet references.

Earth Hour 2008 Addendum Pt. 2

2008-03-29T12:31:00.002-05:00

Okay, fine, apparently it's the lights and "non-essential electrical appliances" (Wikipedia) So microwaving formula to feed a baby is okay; blow-drying your hair and playing Nintendo, not so much. Also: see Google (1 day only!)

Earth Hour 2008 Addendum

2008-03-29T12:21:00.002-05:00

Apparently Earth Hour 2008 is meant to encourage everyone to turn out their lights, and not to avoid consumption of ANY electricity, as I originally thought.

I'm not going to consume any electricity tonight anyway. Here's the Fbook link if you want to add yourself as "attending".

Best toothpaste

2008-03-27T18:57:00.001-05:00

A dental hygienist told us that the fancy toothpastes that claim to do everything but your dishes and smell like fresh mountain winds aren't actually good for your teeth - the extra stuff in there apparently can negatively impact the main function of the paste: to clean your teeth.

Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-26T21:24:00.002-05:00

I signed up. The site is quite bogged down, probably experiencing a lot of time-zone related traffic at various times of the day.

For all the naysayers out there... no, the one hour will not make a tangible reduction in climate change in and of itself. That's not the point. It's more about making a collective world-wide statement, committing to changing your personal habits, and encouraging other people and other organizations of all levels to change their habits and policies for the better.

No rest....

2008-03-25T22:31:00.001-05:00

... when there is Ricknews to post

Negativity

2008-03-24T22:47:00.003-05:00

Hate is a pretty strong word, so I am going to say that I strongly dislike the following things, and you may replace "strongly dislike" with "hate" in your head as you read and no one will be the wiser.

Banks and other major corporations that are excessively greedy. I'm comfortable with them making money - basis of our economy, people gotta eat, etc. I'm not comfortable with them making an insane amount of money, hugely more than would ever be necessary to sustain the business and those profiting from it, while giving poor service to the client base and/or detrimentally impacting the environment.
People and groups of people who dispute good science and the scientific method, or perhaps worse, propagate bad science. Wiki has a list of common misconceptions, including those of the science genre, which you might enjoy perusing. Snopes, too.
South Park. Occasionally mildly funny, but grates on my nerves due to the screechy voices of the characters. Makes me want to rip my ears off.
Rosemary (the herb). Tastes like Vicks Vapor Rub.

Whenever you need somebody

2008-03-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

Celebrity gossip at its finest at ONTD. I implore you to read all the comments, there are some killer YouTube links.

Graphs

2008-03-22T21:21:00.002-05:00

My favourites - One, two, three, not to mention the numerous Rickrolls.

Entire set

I spoke too soon

2008-03-14T20:22:00.001-05:00

Police probe East Kildonan shooting [WFP]

Lynn Truss...

2008-03-13T22:07:00.002-05:00

... writes in a fantastically amusing manner. I literally laughed out loud when I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves, and did so again with Talk to the Hand this week. Two particularly interested bits:

"Choice from menus is a burden dressed up as a privilege."

Think about it. Also:

"There is a line in the new Batman film which I can't quote exactly but is, in others words: 'It's not who you are deep inside that matters, Burce Wayne; it's what you do that defines you.' Morally speaking, however, Batman Begins is a bit confused and should not be taken as a model for good living. For one thing, the morally squalid city of Gotham does not appear to be worth saving from obliteration; in fact, the obliteration of Gotham looks like a dandy idea."

I can actually hear a British accent when I read it.