Beauties Invade the Internet

The only girls you'd ever expect to see 'on the internet' in the early days of home based telecommunication were usually locked up in .GIF files that took up to a half a day to download only to see just one measly image of some broad appear on your screen! Then of course you would import it to your digital imaging program and play around with the contrast... or maybe you were the type that preferred to download 320 X 200 images of fighter jets or comic characters. Hey, whatever lures you to the hook.

Today, as I'm sure you know, the internet is full of incredibly gorgeous gals, and you can now not only stare at an unmoving photo of them, stretched across a cathode ray tube monitor, considering whether it would even be worth printing out on your dot-matrix colour printer, but you can hear them speak their minds, move around, do things, perform with bands, whatever... and all in real time...just like T.V.!

I mean, just have a look at a few of my favorite examples pictured below so go ahead and check out the links by clicking on the snaps...ahhg... I forget!

Natasha-

I couldn't help myself but to watch this lovely woman in her attempt to drive David's big dump truck. David Roch, star of the "David's Farm" channel on You Tube, supervises and films the action, but it's all too apparent that Natasha is the star of the show. It only took her a few attempts to get the big truck rolling after familiarizing herself with the clutch, and off she and David went, out to the back forty together, side by side in the hornet infested cab of a smelly old dump truck. The stuff that pure sweet romance is built upon.

Natasha comes across as being genuine, cheerful and charming. Obviously shes' a pretty good sport as well - you know, not too prissy. Natasha's Mom also appears in this video, and she is hysterical. Love that Slavic accent!


Tania
Oooh. Belgium is just as surely known for it's remarkable beauties as Canadians are known for endlessly preaching to the choir, but I say, this woman has a highly positive attitude, and a willingness to commit to a good political cause.

Being that her boyfriend, "Athene", a popular You Tube actor himself who once appeared in a season of a popular T.V. reality show, the pair have done a good many hilarious sketches together, and have inspired me, along with their other cohorts like Reese, the semi-serious documentarian, and Furious the ladies man pimp gangster, to make videos as well. Tania. Capable. Foxy.

Rebecca

Lead singer of the soon to be wildly popular rock group, "My First Earthquake", Rebecca, pictured above, is a most passionate and hyper hipster of a songstress; her machine gun lyrics in some of the group's early punk-o-rama numbers I've heard on You Tube, seem to be driving at something and yet, pointless in their ephemeralitudinous of the diapoplectic master designs of which might pertain to conceptual folk art....meanwhile the group's pop songs are just dandy, not too minimalistic in arrangement, catchy, and boast absurd and in your face poetry - in short, the word play is at times masterful. They're genuine hipsters for sure... reminiscent, I think, of Blondie, and Sonic Youth... but My First Earthquake will continue to surprise us I'm sure. I loved the guitar solo antics in Sweet Frown, one of their latest numbers, the video for which is where I took the frame you see above - it's fantastic! Check it out! Her foxiness awaits your comments and ratings.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop

As I sift through one of the ash laden coffee canisters into which I nearly always dispose of my overflowing ashtrays, expecting I'll be sure to pluck out at least three to five brittle cigarette stubs which I can then pinch the stale tobacco from and roll into a "butt smoke", I think about how ridiculously expensive it is fast becoming to live in this enormous and wonderful country.

I had just returned to my tiny cube of a residence from a friend's place where I'd been invited to have some coffee along with a Sheesha session. His Hookah was still a bit of a novelty, and for me, the thought of drawing on a wee bit of flavoured tobacco vapour to induce some deep conversation seemed a positive and relaxing way to spend my early evening. It didn't take much convincing - especially in light my cigarette butt hunting quest. Shaw (a local cable provider) and Sheesha sure sheemed less shitty than schpending my night at home sheeking out shilling a shmokes schigarettes! 8P


Upon my arrival, however, M.C. Hutterite sadly informed me that the sheesha's glass chamber had met it's demise while the hookah was in transit from the bedroom to the living room. Unfortunate, but not overly regrettable, so I told the M.C. that surely an inexpensive replacement could be found - presuming that the hoses, smoking chamber, and valve stem make up the bulk of the unit's overall cost. Hell, I've even known a guy since high school who is now an artistic glass blower in a shop not far from where I hang my hat each night. I'm sure that he could whip up a hubbly bubbly chamber to spec as sure as the pipes and bongs he makes aren't really intended for tobacco use only! Steve the artisan would probably charge more than the Hutterite paid for his whole schmere of a bong in the first place; Steve uses very high quality glass and I understand that his work is favourably appraised. I've seen much of it myself, and the swirling, abstract designs of his glassware are very pleasing to me - for what my tastes are worth. Despite the fact that I resort to smoking recycled cigarettes on occasion, I believe my taste in food, music, and art would be considered at least moderately refined from the perspective of a real aficionado.

I wonder if Steve, given his rep, would consider blowing a piece using lesser grade glass to fill a custom order on the cheap if one promised not to tell? That sounds so bad!

Oh well... the M.C. and I sipped some coffee anyway, as I smoked an old stogie I had found behind the counter of a gas station on the way over, and we watched a movie (my own selection from the offerings of the 'movies on demand listings') called, "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" - a story of how an unlikely pair of bilingual (oh so Canadian) detectives, one from Montreal and the other from Toronto, are forced to partner-up in an effort to catch a serial killer whose first victim's corpse is discovered draped over the Ontario Quebec border crossing sign. Gosh, whose jurisdiction does this one fall under?

The movie was satisfyingly ridiculous enough throughout for my tastes, and while unlike the many great actors and comedians this country exports, much of Canadian cinema itself isn't renound for being very popular, at least amongst movie buffs in our own country. Much to our country's brave film-maker's credit, however, you can generally count on a Canadian flick to be strikingly blaise. We sure know how to weave together a real groaner of a plot.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop, if anything, exhibited reasonably convincing fight scenes, a few mediocre car chases and stunt-works, some bang-on explosions, and a hot scene d'amour du fromage. The dialogue was often clever, but at times, I found the fast moving English sub-titles a bit tough to catch against some backgrounds.

I can speak passable French myself but am tremendously deficient when it comes to comprehending what's being said when it's spoken quickly and on the fly. I have trouble distinguishing in real-time where one word ends and the other begins as my brain tries to simultaneously unscramble and translate that said, to my ears, sounds akin to something like, "Peutveutvotrenoirellesontlivreestcenousallors, uh?"

Reading written French, however, pa'd problem! C'est weird! Maintenant?

Suzie - A reasonably well behaved cat.

On occasion, over the last couple of years, I've agreed to accommodate this smallish, cute, and well behaved kitty for a few nights at time. Never growing up had I ever had a pet cat to call my own, although I can remember the week or so that me dear ol' Mum reluctantly cat-sat for a friend; she likes cats, but not enough to endure the feline's typical negligence to provide much notice before landing on one's lap seemingly out of nowhere. Cat's, unlike dogs, appear, moreso than they approach in the way a pet dog would with nails clicking, tongue lapping, and eyes bashful. Dogs can be fairly stealthy and quiet when they feel the need, whereas cats are far more stealthy and agile, and some like to make a point of demonstrating it to people. It doesn't help that Mom is easily startled.





A poor picture, I know, but there she is, purring away with one paw hanging over my leg. We do seem to have a bond, and I miss her company until it's time for another visit. Her usual place of residence, unfortunately, has had to undergo periodic fumigations as part of an effort to eliminate an infestation of bed bugs. I consider myself lucky to have not encountered any, given that my own apartment dwelling is in the very same building! Such an arrangement of proximnity makes me a convenient choice of temporary guardian for little Suzie.


Here you can see her perched next to my computer's keyboard. She frequently visits me while I'm in 'the office' reading, typing, or watching something. I used to keep my telephone set in here, but now it's in the kitchen area... I'm thinking of getting a second telephone set to place near the computer... a smallish phone set, as it's handy for looking things up while chatting with a friend. My Mom usually calls on Sundays for a bit of help with the NY Times crossword. On the rare occasion that I find myself wanting to just simply pass time, like when I'm awaiting a flight in some Airport's food court, you're not likely to discover the like of me taking the time to 'do' a crossword. I imagine they're a breeze when solved with the like of Wikipedia and Google at one's disposal. I love a game of Scrabble though.

Found a humble little entertainment unit with a glass door, abandoned next to the dumpster behind my building a few months ago. Now it acts as a station for my computer tower, and the monitor rests neatly on top. This set up allows me to roll my PC around the apartment! Now I can watch You Tube while making pancakes or watch You Tube while watching TV! Still, I generally keep it parked in the office, and rather like having my living room free from too much technology when entertaining friends and ladies.

Okay, folks, so no pictures/video of the aforementioned animals will be posted in this submission, but the footage does exist on my hard drive! Just a matter of editing it down. After my seven month sabbatical, all I do is drink on my time 'off'. I call it, 'time on' thanks to one of dearest buddies, a fellow musician, Tim Milliken, who's songs can be heard somewhere on Lethbridge radio or wherever. Yeah, so wasting my talents to pay the bills is the order of the day. I should go to the blues jam at the Commercial Hotel on Whyte Avenue tomorrow. I'll show 'em how to play the blues! Ha! I'm still too green for some of the old hammerheads!

The Animals in my Life

Hi folks! So hardly a fortnight had passed since returning the two lovely Belgian dogs to their owners after two weeks of looking after them, and in comes a request to cat sit for Suzie, my little Calico companion. Last night, I let her venture around the hallway of the northeast 'wing' of my building. She's really a sweet little cat with big innocent looking yellow eyes...adorable.

The other day, I wanted to pose for a photograph of myself with the two shepherd dogs on the steps of the Bowker building - the Province's Department of Justice headquarters, I think. Anyway, my drunken fool of a friend, as you'll see, can't even be trusted to take a half decent picture, even with my simple to use digital camera. I mean, you can't even make out the dogs, never mind my face. I don't mean to imply that I'm the penultimate photographer or anything, but come on! I at least would have taken a few close-ups and maybe asked the subject to move around a little for better lighting.


What a boob this friend of mine can be...I know I sound harsh, but it's as though I have to tell him everything in implicit detail and babysit him whenever he's drunk. I mean, just look at his 'expert eye'. He took four separate shots, and each one stinks worse than the previous one.

"Did you get a good one, Damien?", I asked of him after posing.

"Oh yeah! (I made sure to obfuscate the subject in order to get the detail of every last stairs leading up to the entrance) Got some good ones there!"

A five year old could have taken a better photo while playing a Nintendo DS with the other hand.

Soon after the photo shoot, while en route to my employer's place, he seemingly couldn't wait the five minutes to get to the safety of my friend's place to crack open a beer in a legal fashion. Oh no, he was insisting he do it in plain view, in the middle of the afternoon while strolling through the Legislature grounds. I know - just plain moronic. I mean, I'm all for more personal freedoms, and see nothing wrong with sipping an alcoholic beverage in public on a hot day. You just need to exercise some discretion and try to do it in a low-key courteous manner. But this guy will pound back a can, piss in the nearest bush, and throw the can on the ground - the type of dude that laws prohibiting drinking in public exist for in the first place.

It was akin to when Kumar decides to activate the bong in the airplane's bathroom in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Not seconds after denying him his 'baby's bottle', did a Sheriff's patrol unit roll by. Thank the good lord I was in possession of the sack of beer, otherwise, I'm sure we would've been hassled. I almost slapped my friend for not listening to my voice of reason, and his whining like a child because I wanted to avoid having the beer confiscated nearly earned him a backhand. He should have kissed my feet and admitted that I know what's best for him. I don't want my friends getting busted for nothing, you know?

Even later on, he began to annoy me so much, that I made off with his bicycle, and drove it out of sight, just to get him worried. He was nowhere to be seen after I circled back to return it to him. Since I wasn't too far from his place, I decided I may as well ride the thing to get myself a cigar before bringing it back to his place and locking it to a railing.

Here is my first video, I think, starring someone other than myself. The girls featured in this production call themselves, "Gretna Green", I suppose after the locale of some famed elopement friendly chapel in Scotland.

Natalie, Monique, and Jennifer on my mind.

Hey gang. Gonna try and bring it, as Brian Adams once sang, straight from the heart! I'm going to play a tape of Duran Duran before continuing this post. Dance into the fire! They use the line, "...a view to a kill". My buddy Rob records selections from his vinyl collection onto cassettes and sometimes leaves me one to listen to. The reproductions could be better, but they're improving. Played my Queen II cassette tape a hundred times today.

So yeah. Really weird shit's been happening around my life lately. I just assume that there's people stalking me at this point. While walking the dogs, I startled a congregation of "Sheriffs" hanging around on the outskirts of the "ledge" grounds, here in my city. While I don't find it strange that a bunch of peace officers, or whatever they're called, would be hanging out, chatting in Arabic in the parking lot of a provincial research building, I did find it strange though, that they scattered upon my arrival on the scene -I did have a couple of big dogs with me. I know that line of work can be boring at times, but if I were charged with the security of our provincial lands, I think I might at least ask some perfunctory or at least friendly questions of some dude who comes out of the bushes with a couple dogs at two in the morning.

I made a post on the CBC about how whether or not you work for your car, or if your car works for you. Basically, I said, hey, get out and smell the flowers while they're in bloom. You can love your car without living such a car-centric life in other words.

Soon after making that post and logging out, I took the dogs down to the legislature grounds on my way across the downtown. Low and behold, there were a couple of kids, a boy and a girl, both nice looking, sitting, on benches lining the walkway running easterly on the north edge of the grounds - sitting across from one another, and the boy was twirling a purple daisy in his hand. I'm not making this up; which I say because I know it must sound like some weird dream to some of you. But I'm a fairly rational guy, and it did seem strangely coincidental that some random kid was twirling a flower and watching me as I passed him by, mere minutes after submitting a post to the CBC suggesting that commuters take some time to smell the flowers. I just happen to be the type of person who attunes himself to the holistic reality of our lives.

Am I just attracted to the notion of being notorious? Why am I so insistent on making You Tube videos? I think I just want to attract like minded people. Get some good dialogue going. Taxi Talk and Cable Guy. My beloved followers, I thank you for lending an ear. Up for a barbeque this weekend? Bring some chicken and some booze...I'll take care of the rest!

News Hounds & Armchair Commanders

I know I've been too obsessed with current affairs at the expense of keeping my own house in order. Did a bit of tidying up today by quitting Facebook. I "deactivated".

I know it sucks, but Jason Kenny made some important moves recently. That's all I care to say about that right now, except that I feel sincere sympathy for those whose lives are negatively impacted; the timing was (good) bad?

Now it's time has come for me to spend far less time "contributing" to CBC.ca. Need to stop spending so much time criticizing others.

My Mom seems to think I should take down this blog. Perhaps there is such a thing as dwelling on headlines too much. I don't want to take down this blog, nor do I want to quit making videos for You Tube. Facebook was fun, but a little too distracting. My 168 friends know where I am anyway. No secret here.

Even before getting Telus High Speed Enhanced internet access over a year ago, I was an extrovert. As Buck Hollywood would say, I'm a 'social'. Love cocktail parties and wine & cheese events. A good campfire. Maybe I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I still have MySpace for occasional announcements. So long, Facebook...it was a gas! Hello Twitter!

New vid!