The Divine Dichotomy of Girl Guide Cookies

Today, while eating a whole God Damn box of girl guide cookies, I came to a deeper understanding of the universe. You see it's intrinsically simple, black and white, or should I say chocolate and vanilla! The universe like the cookies is a dichotomy. The cookies exsist on the same grounds as Hinduism, much like Shiva and Brahma, exsisting in eternal conflict, one creates while the other destroys. It must be understood that there is no good or evil among chocolate and vanilla, they require each other to maintain there balance. Vanilla must be bland in order for the chocolate to be as sweet, they thrive in there balance. Vanilla in it's blandness creates a longing for chocolate. The chocolate itself is good but the vanilla prevents us from abusing it's sweetness. The joy of chocolate equals the discomfort of vanilla, a delicate balance. A metaphor or dare I say microcosm, our universe, life, in a box of cookies.

Mellow Gold

David Fincher movies, blockbuster hits with indie credibility. Fincher walks a fine line, creating both interesting films with a large budget, this trend is impossible to continue on. Fincher has a strong track record but Hollywood only looks at you're most recent film. If he continues taking risks he'll eventually have a flop and his budgets will drop. This creates a conundrum that is not much unlike Mr. Scorsese's a few years ago. To make the films he wants he needs a good budget, but a good budget requires him to take on less risky stories, creating a serious problems. Where his films get progressively less progressive and ultimately they become the same movie over and over again.

Today I saw his new film "Zodiac," based on the killings of the same name and I think he has reached the threshold. The movie was good but not great. His stories are going to become either a lot more edgy and indie or they are going to become a lot more self referential. I believe that the later is coming true, as much as I don't like to admit it, Zodiac was very similar to Se7en and the tone is much like Fight Club. Eventually all good things come to an end, I guess.

Who loves serial killer movies?

Out of the Mystic

What happened to the music of the late 60's and early 70's?
Did it die in Altamont?


Sure.

Come to think of it, it probably isn't dead but it's dying, specifically it's dying a slow and agonizing death. I was witness to this knell's song first hand on Tuesday at the "Van Morrison" concert.
The problem is not that his voice is worn, that his songs have become too "organized jazz," or he's gone way too into the delta blues. Well actually the Delta blues thing may be right, he's lost his Celtic spirit and his "dark side". He no longer has his Celtic sensibilities, his psychological issues, and his insecurities. He's basically lost everything that separated him from the singer song writer crowd. He no longer plays any songs from Astral Weeks his defining album, it's as if giving up alcohol and becoming religious removed the problems that defined him, certainty destroyed the wonder in his music.

Would you find me?

Sadly, not anymore.

Like Butter...

Stelmach was on the talk today, at the economics society. Also of note today, I lost all respect for him. To quote Hannibal Lecter he's a "... hussling rube, with a little bit of class." He seemed so antagonistic, frustrated and indesiceve and just a little to simple. He's like Ralph but minus the charm. He also went on a hate jag towards Quebec over white margarine, sure it's unfair trade practices, but seriously there are much more pressing issues.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Panic in the streets of London

I was thinknig about it, what will the headlines read when Morrissey dies? Here is the list I thought up:

- The Queen is Dead (The kitsch)
- There is a light that never goes (The overly melodramatic, perfectly Morrissey)
- What difference does it make? (The cynical, also very Morrissey)
- Death at one's elbow (The Lame)

How quickly would I die If I jumped from the top of the parachutes ?

I don't blame you

I wonder when that Winona Ryder movie is coming out, you know the one where she did all that background research by shoplifting from Saks? It seems like it's been long enough.

I was researching for a role, not shoplifting, seriously it's coming out soon.

Work and eat and go to sleep

We had a town hall at work today where the CEO gave us a chat. It was a real drag. According to the CEO absolutely nothing went wrong. Here are some comments that I apperently misinterpreted:
1. Mexicans are lazy, the CEO said something about us building a pipeline in Mexico and how impressive it was that it was completed on time.
2. Alaska and McKenzie Delta Pipelines are never going to get built (two very large projects). The way he remarked on them so passivly and quickly I thought he was being sarcastic.
3. Pollution is everybody else's fault, not his. He seemed to skip the fact that he was also a memeber of the consumer group while reminding us that we were.

Remains of the day

Sometimes when I am cleaning the house I like to pretend I'm Anthony Hopkins from "Remains of the Day." An example of this is: When I see something that hasn't been cleaned I mutter "This simply won't do." Anyway it's fun and it makes you clean better when you think Winston Churchill is going to use your toilet.

Sir, I think you may be missing the underlying message of the work

The Year in books

The following is the books I read this year with a short synopsis and review.

The Davinci Code: I was forced to read this book as a common courtesy to my parents who were of the mind that it was a contemporary classic. It was not. It was basically some shitty riddles mixed in with a murder mystery in a poorly written pulp novel.

Midnight's Children: Technically I started this back in 2005. It's a long book about the independence of India conveyed through the eyes of a child born exactly at the stroke of midnight. I actually really like it, my second favorite Rushdie book, I really can't joke about it, it's that good.

Girlfriend in a Coma: Coupland is either disgusted or enamored with generation X. This is a book which explores a theme expressed by "the Smiths" mainly a girlfriend being in a coma. It starts off normal than gets all weird, it's kind of like Brett Easton Ellis light.

J-Pod: It's like I-Pod but with J, get it? Another Coupland book about how much office life sucks by a guy who hasn't worked at an office for a long long time. Anyway it's got a laugh or to in it I suppose.

Everything is Illuminated: The title is a line from "the Unbearable Lightness of Being." It's a book about Nazis and Jews, and tour guides with fractured English. It's fairly interesting and imaginative, as well as depressing and cathartic as fuck. The movie is a sack of shit.

A Million Barrels a second: It's about every one's biggest fear: Our dependence on oil. It's all about what were going to do when we run out, or more specifically when it gets too expensive. It's not as pessimistic as most books, but it isn't pretty either.

Breakfast of Champions: My favorite book of the year. It's a schizophrenic romp that is both tragic and comedic, filled with sadness, pessimism and humour. It's about some guy going on a mean streak and a pessimistic writer, it talks about life and everything. Great book.

Slaughterhouse 5: It's about a time travelling war veteran who survived the bombing of Dresden. It's really interesting and entertaining. Somewhat fantastic but very real at the same time. So it goes.