|cc| mission control

still my superstars

0 - 2

please don't make me sing linkin park in the end ever again. please?

on another note: i am officially done classes. assignments. essays. tests. only one more exam, and hasta la vista 'too bad we never made too good of friends' mcmaster. now, there is only the future to (worry about) look forward to. and a calculus exam.

coffee and donuts

who needs energy drinks when you can just get yourself a good old-fashioned sugar high?

lupe fiasco (ft. matthew santos) - superstar

spring is here!

between the bushes i was able to take a snapshot of this beautiful creature on my walk to school this morning :)

matthew ryan - jane i still feel the same

4 more hours of econ classes, 2 more hours of calculus, and 1 more hour of history. one more presentation, one more essay, one more assignment, and one more final exam. wow!

and can i just say how much i am going to miss my history seminar class entitled the north american city. i know so much more about hamilton than i would ever really care to, but i also feel so much more enlightened about cities, space and its people.

surprises

i am listening to a mars volta song ... and i actually like it.

and the ninjas have been defeated. my army of cowboys and bunnies has redefined glory. (well that remains to be seen as i may not have written a very good paper on japan).


toothpastefordinner.com

my tune

i guess the credit is at the bottom of this picture, as i was far too lazy to edit it out.

change is not enough

Glance at the sun.

See the moon and the stars.

Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings.

Now, think.

-Hildegard von Bingen-

two more weeks: monsters and jelly beans. no, chocolate. because chocolate is on sale.

"you are now in 3 dimensional space, congratulations" (this falls under the category of interesting statements made by mac educators, kind of like when the phrase "sexy topic" was used to announce taxation)
woohoo! me and my wonderfully advanced ability to visualize things are so excited. i am glad however to spend some time in calculus covering topics which i have studied for three years in economics. maybe one tiny thing in this course is going to be working out for me. unlike integration for example (created by sherry):
between now and tomorrow, i am going to be cranking out a paper. i can do it! i have to.

falling leafs [5] - sens with less [4]

well that was painful. entertaining. but terribly painful. i am pretty sure that the bad guys will not forget this affair as they look upon their bruises caused by a ride on the a-train. i like to blame the referees. and the giveaways.

still, another sad face in my agenda. le sigh.

can i tell you how much i like the powerwise commercial? it does not come close to the miller commercial, but it is so cute.

augustana - stars and boulevards

titleless

a couple of weeks ago i was on the bus and could not find one of my gloves. i thought i had lost it somewhere between waiting for the bus and getting on the bus. and surely the other day, a very rainy day (i might add), and a couple of weeks later it was just lying there, all wet and lonely on the curb in front of shoppers drug mart. and for some reason i felt so sad for it. like i was choosing to keep it lying there, so lonely and cold, after it had kept me so warm for much of the winter. now, i know that it is somewhat silly beyond belief, but i have been thinking about going back there and picking it up. i guess in some sense, someone swedish should appear on my screen and tell me "it is because you are crazy, it has no feelings." and if not that, this might just appear on your screen. thanks anna.

and can i impart to you how excited i am to receive a copy of the bbc drama north and south in the mail today? teehee.

keane - try again

the countdown is on ...

1 major seminar paper done, 2 more to go
1 major seminar presentation done, 2 more to go
no more midterms, ever.
2 more assignments.
1 more final exam.

perhaps the thought of having to carry all my books to the library and begging them to let me renew one more time is clouding over my happiness of almost finishing. for now anyways.

matt costa - these arms

that makes me most of us

"there are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. the choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. of course, when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back."

mumbles and rumbles: far away

i have been cheating on school with ross copperman. kind of like a ross copperman affair. i think i am in love with sweet melodies and poetic lyrics.

in the meantime: home this weekend. monday presentation and a midterm. followed by tuesday with a major, major paper due. and all i can think about is dad's surgery, and am asking everyone to pray for him and the doctors.

"change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass" steinbeck.

for blue skies - strays don't sleep

still procrastinating

a night sky by keane for warchild

aching

after this last snowstorm i am officially giving up on shoveling snow. i now have this excruciating pain in my back that makes painkillers my best friend, and leaves me unable to sit anywhere other than the couch (although i can't complain about being confined to the couch it is less than ideal). after having given it some thought i realized that i can neither expect any of my housemates to endure such pains, so maybe i should start googling for a mailorder husband from russia.

or you know ... we could just have no more snow for this season.

here is to hoping that this week >>>> last week

fine frenzy - ashes and wine

procrastinating

shadows by frozen flames. the day that i find their song "right here with you" i will pass it along. because when i do, that will make my day. in the meantime here is a preview of the band.

human after all

i am officially suffering from a case of the flu, aggrevated by the winter blues, insomnia, worry, and a tremendously heavy workload. i am hoping that admitting it is the first step to my recovery.

cue the music:

"everybody hurts some time" REM

"is there a chance, a fragment of light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to fight" a fine frenzy

"just trying to find my way the best that i know how" lifehouse

"when you try your best but you don't succeed, when you get what you want but not what you need, when you feel so tired but you can't sleep, stuck in reverse. and the tears come streaming down your face ..." coldplay

thanks for listening.

warning: not at all sensible.

allright mcmaster, if you are not going to call it a rain day. or a puddle day. at least warn students to wear their bathing suits to school, so they can swim to class. or you know, do something about the pathways/drainage/roads.

just so you know for next time.

and hamilton? don't even let me get started on you.

to forget and not to forget [2]

surely i am awake while the rest of the house is still vast asleep. so while i am waiting, i thought i'd make this post, which i had been meaning to put together for a while.

in memory of our dear beloved beta fish, who were with us for a time far too short

hero (dr. shakes)

alfonzo (alfie jr.)

i will especially remember how you were there for the whole season, and the playoffs. had there been a stanley cup win i am confident alfredsson would have acknowledged you in his thank you speech.

cody

keane - try again

at sea

the first verse has been on my mind all week, and after looking it up again, i am thankful that the next verse offers some answers.
hymn 48 - wer nur den lieben Gott

will anxious care or bitter sighing
at any time give true relief?
and what avails us our decrying
each morning's evil, trouble, grief?
we only add to grief and stress
by discontent and bitterness.

be still! what God in His good pleasure
to you in wisdom may impart
is given you in perfect measure;
thus be content within your heart.
to Him who chose us for His own
our needs and wants are surely known.

the inconvenient truth

the ottawa senators are officially missing in action.

ugh.

ps. i understand any readership might not really care, but as the title suggests: it is the inconvenient truth

EDIT: paddock has been fired.

embarrassment a l'hockey

after listening to fall for you by the whitlams, i took the liberty to write my own message to my beloved ottawa senators:

i'll follow you

when i get on and shake my pride

i'll cheer for you

you can do better than you were tonight

---

be strong and you'll get strength back

feed the fire and you'll get passion back

---

you can do better than you were tonight

if you could only see

alone, but not lonely.

me and bruce are watching hnic on mute, while for music i do what i always do: press play and repeat. at least being alone lets me sing my little heart out w/o the embarrassment factor

sens win. leafs win. canadiens lose. and canucks are battling it out with the red wings. together with a rickard's red, it is just an ordinary saturday night in canada.

matchbox twenty exile tour @ acc

city-scapes

mute mathalanis morissette
and ... matchbox twenty
rob thomas

matchbox twenty - i'll believe you when

eclipse

i hear eclipse and right away associate it with westlife's cover of total eclipse of the heart, but in the real world, an eclipse is something as special. this lunar eclipse, that will not happen again until december 2010, was a bit of a disappointment, as much as my ability to capture it was. but maybe by 2010 i will have perfected my photo-taking skills, or even better by that time i may own a really nice camera, and a telescope. who knows?

so long.

i've got my sunglasses

view from this morning's drive

a tuesday afternoon stroll

sydenham river

my return was delayed by a day as i had disappeared into a winter wonderland. however frustrsating the driving is in snow, the sheer beauty of it all makes it surely worth it.

of course i did take my camera along to try and take some snapshots of my adventures. but with my luck the batteries died when i was at inglis falls. and so i did not have the chance to capture my brother's friend jumping up into a tree only to fall backwards with the tree in his arms. but i can assure you that it was the one of the funniest things i have seen so far this year.
as for hockey: we got our satellite installed right on time for me to watch a devils beating of the senators. of course all of that was forgotten, when the senators finally registered a win on tuesday night. of course i am grieved by that fact that sportsnet east did not let me watch the game. as for other hockey: i did get to watch my brother's hockey practice, which is very entertaining, especially since some of the children have a skating ability that resembles mine. but, i did catch the winning breakaway goal on video, so it can go somewhere in the family files.

that is all for now, i think i will post a sign at the front door, warning: cleaning frenzy ahead, because this house could use some cleaning.

2 days until Matchbox Twenty :-)

must see

happy valentine's day

credit to xkcd.com
credit to xkcd.com

interestingly, this approach does not always work as well for me either. i think i need to order a cartoon titled "death by integration," kind of like a sequel to "death by summation." so, following from an earlier post, even if calculus sucks, and hockey sucks, there is always love.

and how do economists look at this? see for yourself.

justin nozuka - after tonight

to forget and not to forget

allright so after a fun-packed weekend, i want to forget about the monday that followed it. although forgetting calculus will result in instant failure, it might be good to forget about it for a minute: and what better to do than read up on hockey. so just remembring:

- pizza line delivers pizza
- spezza scores his first career hat trick


- and stillman and commodore come to ottawa

see, even if calculus sucks: life never does.

body rockers - i like the way you move

rained out

i just want to share how sad i am that our road hockey tournament got rained out

so now, i am just waiting for the games to begin, because i am not sure how much more of ron mclean i can handle.

citizens of contrary knowledge - house of cards

funnel cake, roller coasters and integrals

between studying for an upcoming calculus mid-term i am listening to the senators vs. panthers and am thinking about roller coasters and funnel cakes. maybe because this game for a sens fan is like stepping on a roller coaster after you have eaten a little too much funnel cake. you're going up and down not sure whether to open your eyes or just close them, because you might miss some scenic sights, but the chance of bugs in your eyes is too great, and the anticipation of going full circle with a stomach full of funnel cake is simply dangerous. it is better to just close your eyes and hope that you don't throw up over the handsome ride attendant when the ride is over. after all, you can't really trust your stomach. (23 seconds left, eyes closed).

allright, so maybe a little far fetched, but i am sure my mind has taken me stranger places.

i think calculus might have something to do with it. after all, it is one of the world's greater evils.

aside from this, i saw a trailer on a new documentary called the "demographic winter" which brings to light the concerns of declining birth rates. i am especially interested in this, because someone in a discussion after the screening of the 11th hour suggested Canada should adopt a one child policy. i should have told him he was crazy. in a most broad sense, i really believe that in building stronger families, and encouraging people's sense of place, belonging and purpose we would be able to solve a lol of social, environmental and economic problems. here again, i think as a student of economics, there is a lot to be aspiring to, and new opportunities for change will arise. and i am very exicted about that :-)

mute math - noticed

UPDATE: 4-5 sens win at last. heatley: welcome back.

golden delicious and sparkling

vitamin A puts that sparkle in your eyes.

i don't know if i am disappointed or not. i think i will just refuse to believe that that is all.

NAGFLATION,
n.: "the incessant gloom-and-doom predictions from economic
analysts who feel compelled to issue updates even if nothing has changed."

from invented words of the week, courtesy of the toronto star.

frou frou - let go

lollipops and rainbows

today is the day of superbowl XLII, and currently the patriots are leading the giants 7-3. i have to admit i have no idea what that means, if that is a comfortable winning margin or not, but it looks interesting. also interesting because it is so true: from urban dictionary dot com

Person 1: Who do you think will win the Superbowl?

Person 2: What's that? Oh, those men running in between the commercials?

either way football is much more interesting than UFC fighting, which apparently does attract many male fans that enjoy watching muscled and slippery men. and also much more interesting than another sports debacle that may have occurred the other night.

after some intense searching, or googling/dogpiling/yahooing if you will, i could only find one article of interest about theories of optimism. this article, based on a questionnaire suggests that optimism and pessimism are postively and negatively (respectively) related to religiosity and superstition, and are not at all related to the illusion of control. now, this is completely relevant to the idea that superstition takes hold in the NHL and that a fanbase cannot feel optismistic or
pessimistic on the basis of any control, because the entity that is supposed to extend some level of control is out of control. yeah, i know. basically i would like to offer the argument that the NHL officiating sucks. and that it in itself needs not be argued. it is more like common knowledge. like the norm. or more like hearsay. no, actually like the obvious. so no wonder fans base their
feelings of optimism or pessimism on religion or superstition, and that their team has been grappled by some sort of a curse. and i feel like it has to do with alfredsson. and i don't like it.
but to conclude: nhl officiating can't make a game. but it can break it. and that is an injustice and needless frustration for the blue-collar hockey fan.

wow. that was as much ranting i can do in a semi-public setting. and i think that the fact that i dreamt that cliff fletcher died in our house has something to do with it [insert shivers]. so not everything is rosemary and sunshine. lollipops and rainbows. but you know, that makes life interesting.

superbowl update: nothing happened ... yet.

superbowl update 2: the giants have taken a lead, but the patriots are getting really close. and i am unwillingly becoming nervous. 2:49 left.
delirious? - investigate

spring is in the air

it is official: an early spring. despite all the hype, or really non-hype, i don't think i can explain how sorry i feel for willie.


but winter is not over yet, and good thing, because i would feel really sad if our snowman would melt so soon. although spring = nhl playoffs, and those can't seem to come soon enough. because maybe then, just maybe, some teams can pretend to care to play some badass hockey. either way, i would be okay if said team would try tonight, because a good battle of ontario is a good battle of ontario. go sens go!

snow dayzzzzz?

nope.

snow days ≠ getting extra work done

althought perhaps: snow day = getting a little bit of work done. so back to milk quotas, price support systems, numbers, numbers, and more numbers.

emiliani torrini - summerbreeze

oddity

allright so this video is rather ... odd ... but it made me as happy as the walking trees in lord of the rings made me happy.
gotye - hearts a mess


and to show some people from highschool some love:
first rate people - under duress

"i got a little alfalfa sprout growing, that's not good" just had me bursting out in laughter in the library. i think people might doubt that i am working. right.

the beginning of the end

no more assigned readings. after reading numbers of books, and countless articles, be it online or from overpriced coursewares ... i have finally finished with those. of course i will still be reading articles and books for my final papers: but no more assigned readings, and no more seminar discussions. i think i am little sad.

vienna teng - recessional
missy higgins - where i stood

no exaggeration

as soon as i hear "arctic" winds or "arctic" cold i file it under a mental folder of exaggerations. but i am admitting i have been wrong. it is pretty cold out west these days. and i don't think hot chocolate and marshmallows are going to make it any better this time.

cold - feel it in your heart

choosing life

20 years or 2 decades too long, canada has been suffering from lawlessness. the fact that there is no law, whatsoever, that regulates abortion, not even to a minimal extent has been a concern for 20 years to this day. as today marks the anniversary of the supreme courth decision to decriminalize abortion, there are people that celebrate and those that mourn. i find myself in both camps, because there is the chance to celebrate life, while also mourn the lives that have been lost. these are just some of the words i heard today at a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of the decision made by the supreme court of canada.

i can say a lot of things, but a lot of things have been said and will be said, so here i take the opportunity to be silent for 3 million lives that have been lost.

jimmy eat world - gotta be somebody's blues

world economy

i've always enjoyed political cartoons. taken from Kal's cartoons at economist.com
as for other interesting articles i would recommend anyone reading the site, seeing that their print copies are so terribly expensive.

a certain something, certain

oddly, i always pick the wrong weekends to go home, which incidentally makes them so right as well. despite horrid driving conditions that i usually encouter (snow this time, fog last time, and ... tornadoes next time?) i am not complaining -> it is always nice to have a sign of winter, when well ... it is winter. and i did venture out in the morning to capture some of the picturesque scenes of winter. and no one, i mean no one, is too old to make snow angels. it did take however a great amount of effort to get a picture taken without the dog running through:

view from my window:
despite all my efforts, i still did not get this picture to rotate quite right. either way i thought it was a nice representation of the canadian winter. afterwards we did make some attempts to play road hockey in the snow, but with all the snow there was a certain lack of visibility of the ball.
now here is to hoping that the snow will remain for at least a month, so that when reading week rolls around a mini-ski trip will involve real snow, rather than the fake stuff.

just last week, i also had the chance to visit dad at the lodge he is staying at, while going through treatments. and just located downtown toronto on jarvis street, we had the chance to go out for dinner at the keg. this particular location is also called the mansion house, and let me tell you know, it is a mansion indeed. the bathrooms are nicer than the average restaurant, and the bar is on a separate floor. and not only that, the service is wonderful, and the food is some of the best i have ever eaten. so, i guess in some sense this can be considered a restaurant review[insert 4 stars].

as for other things: hockey let's say, the ottawa senators are still pretty hot, even though their play is pretty cold. i guess that will make it easier to let some of the guys go when murray makes some nice trade at the trade deadline to make this time a little stronger. gotta love'em though. tonight OTT vs. FLA.

with 3 seminar courses, 1 math course, and grad school applications and deadlines looming over me, i better get back to work. i have a proposal due tomorrow, and frankly i dont think 24 hours will be enough to understand the milk support pricing systems in Canada. but, i am not complaining, just presenting some facts.

i have been wondering about 19th century novels. there always seems to be so much discussion about politics, philosophy and theology in dinner conversations, and i am just wondering if authors like jane austen, or the brontes and them did a lot of research on their topics or that they should be considered philosophers themselves. such as this little excerpt out of North and South:

Nothing like the act of eating for equalising men. Dying is nothing to it. The philosopher does sententiously - the pharisee ostentatiously - the simple-hearted humbly - the poor idiot blindly, as the sparrow falls to the ground; the philosopher and idiot, publican and pharisee, all eat after the same fashion - given an equally good digestion. There's a theory for theory for you!

jon mclaughlin - beautiful disaster

morning light

i like hamilton at 7 am. it is busy, yet so peaceful (except for maybe the mile long coffee lines). and now it is 8.30 and i still have half an hour before class. i like it.

sam bisbee (ft. leona naess) - miracle car

"Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play ..."

"... only shooting stars break the mold" and yesss ... our shooting stars are represented.

for the NHL All-Star game in Atlanta the East will be looking good. looking real good.

today the final roster was announced, and Ottawa's very own pizza-line (cash-line), or whatever the blog-o-sphere has dubbed them, made it. so together with Paddock as the coach the Ottawa senators are nicely represented. i guess, me voting almost a 100 times for volchenkov was to no avail, but i don't think the league supports crazy. crazy fans that is. but you know, sometimes recognition is due, where recognition is due.

the rest of the line-up is here (which is also where i copied and pasted these pictures from). i have to say, for some odd reason i clearly remember the day that i learned the print screen function on my keyboard, when i was in grade 10, and frankly we have been inseparable ever since.

and from yesterday: gotta be somebody`s blues - jimmy eat world

ps. if someone can explain to me why my keyboard functions change from quotation marks to these: `` or why my question marks become these É that would be nice.

in hiding

just bought my last textbook from titles, which cost me a whopping 171.99 + tax. but at least the countdown is on: 5 more assignments, 3 more papers, 3 more mid-terms, and 1 more final exam, as well as a whole pile of presentations. the number of days? not counting those just yet.

jupiter sunrise - steal me

" ... but i am not sure how to draw a path to the moonlight" i just love that line!

the verve pipe - the freshman
kelly clarkson - irvine
jimmy eat world - gotta be somebody's blues

Buffalo @ Ottawa with 5: 39 left in the second period. score 1-0 for ottawa.

"hockey now sleep later"

i mean hockey now, work later. it is only january. first week of school, that should be allowed right?

tonight the hamilton bulldogs took on the binghamton senators for the second time of the season here in hamilton. and of course tonight was extra special because carey price had come home ... well. maybe he does not like to think that. but i am sure some people might.

the game was rather uneventful ... except for two minutes of 5-on-3, which the senators managed to kill off brilliantly. like ... brilliantly. one of the "bad boys" is shown here. i just can't help but think that he looks so terribly innocent.

and some more shots.

good guys:
bad guys: i guess the photo means i don't have to tell you who won the game (in overtime though) but i guess, if these guys are the good guys, except for four nights a year, than i am probably not all that unhappy. but ... laperrier is gone, but d'agostini is in my doghouse now. and considering that the senators have had a lot of injury problems, these guys did pretty good. and i have to admit i am not very good at taking pictures. and so this shot came after the lying flat-on-top-of-each-other moment had passed. but still i think price might have had some colourful words to say to #9. who i would not mind seeing called up anytime in the future.

that's all folks. final score: 3-2. ottawa playing again tomorrow. and saturday. and sunday. and i only have 50 more minutes of class until the weekend. woohoo.

raine maida - yellow brick road

waiting

i have been wanting to put together a nice new years post for a while now, but it is not happening. not yet anyways. but all the things i am hoping for in the new year can be summarized in one word: victory.

in the meantime i am just ploughing away at my last semester, and hoping to document a little bit more of life, as i finally got my own camera. so stay tuned.

horoscope horrors

"you know what you want and aren't afraid to do whatever is in your power to get it. you are a wonderful homemaker"

"you will hear some good news today that may have to do with your recent hard work and success"

"today, you may be taking on far more responsibility than is yours to deal with. try to work at lightening your load"

"try to focus on the positive today and you may find yourself becoming happier with the present situation"

i say horoscope horrors because i am far from taking horoscopes to heart, but it is scary the day that grades come out that my horoscope suggests i will hear good news regarding what i have been working on, or that i am a good homemaker on the day that i spend cleaning the house, or that i know what i want while i was working on a job application for a job that i really want. craz-i-ness!

happy shortest day of the year (i know ... it is still 24 hours long) -> happy winter!

bok van blerk - delaray (below: i am always glad to share a history lesson)



and this commercial is so terribly cute/funny that i had to share it
-soccer kid-

instant coffee and little timbits here and there

funny thing is ... i am instantly happy when matchbox twenty comes on on the radio.

and i have finally a few references lined up for this one job application. who ever knew that job applications and searching for suitable references would be so excruciating.

in the meantime though i am enjoying this snow and glad i can't leave the house to do anything, and just have to stay in and be a little lazy ... although i dont think i can stay away from the library too long, it is just time to read something i actually want to read. and the list of must read books is getting terribly long. in the meantime though: i am doing homework and thinking very hard about possible research topics for my modern japan history seminar, and my economics thesis. any thoughts for the second class?

ps. i hope alfonzo americano (or for short i decided to call him hugo) does not feel like i am cheating on him, now that i am home and using my parents (un)reliable and slow computer, which just happens to have the internet on it. and also ... it was nice to find that my parents had bought a bigger sreen tv so that watching hockey is instantly more enjoyable, but at the same time we lost a channel. so now we are down to 4. i am thinking that trip to the library is becoming very important soon.

world wide web

of all the place i could be writing a post from ... i am at sunnibrook hospital in toronto. the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster, and now i am waiting, waiting, and waiting. i have already read every magazine they have in the lobby, and all the newspapers have my fingerprints on them ... and then i found this little gem, and black box, a computer of all things, with full internet access. so here is where i watched the highlights from last night's game ... and watching heatza scores many goals, while crosby is frustrated with our very own gerbz .. made me smile a little.

the news is not all bad ... dad is going to holland. and when he comes back treatment will begin. it won't be easy, but this place has a positive vibe. which is good, because in the next year i am planning to visit quite a few times. anyhow, i am logging off so my lil brother can play games on this thing, while i go searching or something else to read ... then, off to the airport.

logging off.

music for the trip home: westlife!

punked out

it is really starting to get to me. i think by the end of tomorrow i cannot see another q, b, z or m.

but as always distractions are abundant. i did come across the definitions for the toronto maple leafs and the ottawa senators on urban dictionary dot com of which the majority have been written by leafs fans; entertaining nonetheless.

josh groban -awake

red friday

"how good it was for me to suffer pain; So that in all Your statutes You might school me; The perfect law that You, O Lord ordain; Exceeds all earthly riches. Let it rule me!; Your ordinances are my greatest gain; For gold and silver can no longer fool me" (Psalm 119: 27 anglo-genevan psalter, revised version)

i received an e-mail in my inbox today, and as much as it may be a piece of propaganda, it cannot be far from the truth. i have been studying international economic organizations the last few days for an exam coming up tomorrow, and there is a lot to be questioned, but i support the men and women overseas nonetheless.

"You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends. He still fights for your right to wear that shirt""You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting. You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him "

cold - can you feel it in your heart

exam frenzy

"If I could make these moments endless

If I could stop the winds of change

If we just keep our eyes wide open

Then everything would stay the same"

altogether trying to bolster my spirits, remain hopeful, pray continually, and ... study hard:

exam status [1/3]

just came back from labour economics exam, and am glad to report it went relatively well. it was certainly nice to see the senators logo staring at me everytime i looked up, as some guy in front me had to wear his cap backwards: he is a smart man.

am now preparing for a monday morning exam: 3 essays in 3 hours. yikes.
some things change, but other things remain the same, so exam time has come around and the repeat function on my playlist is put to good use again: listening to josh groban - you're the only one & westlife - love crime: " know that for you to be here without me by your side it's a love crime"

where the first song is so terribly good, and the second one is so terribly catchy.

logging off in 3 ... 2 ... 1

beep.

numbed

"but every road can hide a corner you can't see ... i am calling out to the only [O]ne"

you're the only place - josh groban


to love somebody - damien rice and ray lamontagne


to leave it behind - the great lake swimmers


no words.

purposeful purposium

while i was reading the globe and mail from 1979, i came across this picture of levesque i believe. in its original context it was about the referendum on sovereignty, but i just tweaked it a tiny bit to show something a bit more current (ugly picture though ...)

if i had a camera i would have taken some pictures of the earrings i got from my not so secret santa. i am ecstatic about spending sometime away from studying and ... well, you know ... studying. but then there is always the little reminders about more important things in life.

i always joke a bit about my "purposes" and usefulness around here. but in the meantime i have been reading rick warren's "the purpose-driven life" and am glad to be assured that i have some definite purpose. this purpose is outlined under 5 headings: you were planned for God's pleasure, you were formed for God's family, you were created to become like Christ, you were shaped for serving God, you were made for a mission. enough purpose for me then.

Ephesians 1:11 - "in him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will."

sunday

"we're going to the house of God, are you coming?"

not enough

if courses were goals and goals were courses, if an university career was a hockey game, and a hockey game was an university career, then me and the senators would have a lot in common: making mistakes early on and then coming up short in a game of catch-up.

"you have come to a sad realization. cancel or allow." allow.

coldplay - fix you

you can want

spend a few hours this morning reading the hamilton spectator on microfilm today. although i found less than a 100 words of relevant information to my research project, i did see some interesting things.
like: "PMS is taken by courts as a justification for crimes committed in the UK" - May 27, 1981.

of course i forgot to bring the battery charger for my laptop and had to come home ... i am never going to be ready for exams. at least i am the trainwreck that the economics department thinks i should be. i fit the profile: great.

maria mena - just hold me

gameday: sens vs. isles. i hope the fact that i was reading about the NY Islanders winning the Stanley Cup in 1981 will not have any bearing on tonight's game. although the sens could use some luck.

GO SENS GO!

oh dear!

i don't want to whine or anything ... but it is only 9.30 tuesday morning, and i already managed to spill my entire coffee in a lecture hall ... it just trickled down to the front of the classroom to the professor. how embarassing. and what a waste of perfectly good coffee! i am not sure if should alert someone from the physical plant so it can be cleaned up ... but then again it seems that not many people would. aiaiai ... what a pickle. and now i am moving on without my coffee.

this sucks.

music: none. only the sound of a fan and computers in the computer lab.

impressions

now that i am sitting here on a sunday morning, eating pepernoten, i am thinking about the fact that i really should have written this post last night when my ears were still ringing and i was lying awake with the moon shining in my face. then i would have been somewhat productive. but maybe the fact that i came home to find out the senators had lost yet again to a no-good team had me shut down the computer, who i have named alfonzo americano, in disgust. so maybe when neither "darth gerber" or mr. swedish delight himself can/will bail out the team they are just average. nah ... i am talking nonsense. they are never just average. plus if they were playing just average it is because they have probably forgotten they needed to show some of the loyalty to their fans that we have shown them. relationships are hard work.

good thing it could not ruin a good night though, which included taking in a performance by the trans-siberian orchestra at copps coliseum. seeing that i am a newbie at all things concert, i have some many questions and thoughts about the concert. i want to know things like whether or not the stage belongs to the band, what they do in the summer, whether or not they have health problems from being subjected to the lighting all the time, etc. but really, at some point i was sure that the guitarists were not actually playing because they were running up and down the stage, throwing their heads up and down and ... well everything else they do on guitar hero. it just seems so impossible to still be able to play so well and synchronized ....

i had a great time just watching the constructions in the air as part of the lightshow. or the the lightshow itself i am convinced would have to have been constructed by geniuses, with a lot of imagination, and taste for colour. i mean the constructions looked like spaceships in a sky filled with stars. cool!

altogether though it was such a good mix of funny, and touching. the narrative that played throughout the first half was the story of christmas eve. although it is too long to reiterate, there was a subtle message against terrorism. it was very touching that the narrator described the ruins in the middle east on christmas eve from which one chello played ... which then moved into one of greatest performances of carol of the bells.

this video is from this year's performance in pittsburgh, and was very similar to the one in hamilton. it includes parts of a number of songs, but was very entertaining:


i also really loved the drummer solo. like really really loved it. i mean, no one normal person should be able to move that fast ... no joke.

about halfway of the show, one of the lead guitarists? vocalists? ( i don't really know because they all look the same) came out wearing a leafs jersey, number 13 to be exact, and the ensuing ensemble of cheers and boos was quite funny. i think i performed my duty of boo-ing as loud as i could, while the guys in front of us looked back at the loud and mixed response of 6 girls behind them. we are a house divided.

allright these were just some of my thoughts about last night. would definitely recommend seeing it. to anyone.

remy zero - fair
tso - carol of the bells

ps. vote pizza line and volchenkov for the all-star game in atlanta.

i dont know what you are talking about ...

while i am trying to finish a 15 page paper tonight, i had to make a quick comment:

it sounds like someone is being slaughtered downstairs, while i am listening to sil tu me amas - il divo. it adds a lot of drama, and i feel like a helpless bystander.

that someone - by the way - is the ottawa senators who are playing the buffalo sabres tonight, which is on tsn, and half the house is watching. i am missing it, but then maybe the memory will only be the sounds, not supplemented with video evidence. this way i can more easily pretend it never happened.

muse - sing for absolution

surprise

i am getting my ass kicked. and frankly i don't like it.

never take poli sci 3e03. love the class. hate the assignment.



i know nothing much about music and guitars. but i really like this.

i also have a quite well known affection for the numbers 9 and 19.

i copied this image from ottawacitizen.com, which me quite happy for the aforementioned reason.

i was so bored at the library today, that i took a picture of the orange carpet at thode with my webcam. i got some funny looks of people as they walked by and saw themselves on my screen. hehe.

mark cohn - life goes on

y

our men in france often feel homesick

"we learn from history that we learn nothing from history" george bernard shaw.


this is actually helpful now: realism or neorealism? realism. because mankind is not rational.

tidbits

essaying ... or trying to.

i dove into a pool of IR theories, and i think i am drowning because neorealism is really pulling me down.

i try. and now i am wondering if i am in the camp of meliorists or not at all.

yesterday's class of public expenditures began with this exact question: "how much are cows worth these days?" and then "does anyone here have any cows?" i especially enjoyed the guesstimations of the class, which then ensued in a discussion of "cow farms."

i maintain that everyone should vote for the NHL all star team, if only because a free subscription to XM satellite radio for a couple of weeks. i have been listening to starbucks fm cafe, and am enjoying the selection of music. i just thought of a nice formula to represent my utility levels for starbucks that includes some variable to subtract the fact it is american, but now i am thinking i dont want to embarass myself too much, or be so nerdy. already did? dang.
i love the fact that the station has a show called "the daily grind," very witty. now if only i could be productive i would be a happy camper.

the interview.

tom petty and the heartbreakers - i'm walkin'
mark cohn - life goes on
iron and wine - carried home
wilco - on and on and on
crowded house - four seasons in one day
shane nicholson - safe and sound

getting excited for battle of ontario round 4. go sens go.

when it gets to you

i thought this was a pretty cool desktop background ...

warning: this is a random posting. i will not be held responsible for any utterings of sorts.

i blame facebook for making me think of "gesiena is ...." everytime i try to think of something to post.

yikes i just looked sideways and paul walker is seriously staring at me. i think i should consider readjusting the pictures on my wall again.

based on a discussion i had with a friend today i am really curious to know whether or not there are any cowboys in holland. i am thinking not.

and ... happy birthday julie!

Stars - HYMNE (vangelis)

on a hockey note ...

"allright then. i guess i should be happy because the thrashers fans are happy. i guess i should be happy because the capitals fans are happy. i guess i should be happy because the hurricanes fans are happy. i guess i should be happy because the canadiens fans are happy. i guess i should be happy because the bruins fans are happy. but i am not really feeling it. but then again it is just a game. or not? i can't really decide. am sure hoping that the above list does not get any longer."

i wrote this exactly one year ago, (when almost every post was about hockey) ... two things are for sure: 1. time flies. 2. time heals all wounds, because we all know in the end it was not so bad ... now why did i look this up? i am just a tad bitter about them losing today. even if i did not watch. or listen. or follow it.

whatever. i need to study.

sum 41 - with me

things that make you go "hmmm ... " [1]

"In God's Name" - religion and public life in theeconomist.com (note the column on the right with links to a number of articles)

sweetening my weekend

this team, captained by mr swedish delight (left), will be enjoying the services of both right and centre for many more years. i think this officially means i can buy a spezza jersey.

i love canada. i love hockey. (go back two years and you would not have caught me saying that)

matchbox twenty - bent