The Day The Champagne Got Into Our Heads.

I haven’t posted a trailer mash-up in a while but I couldn’t pass up one of Multiplicity as a thriller.

You’re Gonna Be Clean On Your Bean.

From the Rheinland Post:

Fr die heutige Generation liegt das Jahr 1968 in weiter Ferne. Vietnamkrieg, Studentenrevolten und Hippies prägen 40 Jahre danach das Bild einer Gesellschaft, die sich im Umbruch befand. Eine Ausstellung mit zeitgenössischen Werbeplakaten im Folkwang Museum in Essen rückt 1968 nun in ein ganz neues Licht.

Basically, this is a brief story about artwork inspired by and resulting from the 1968 student demonstrations in Europe. That year was important because the leftist and situationalist protests show, on an extreme level, the progressive liberalization of European society. Also, the signs are pretty funny.

Waltzing Matilda.

Last night, I got together with my friend Mila from university. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of months and the night was a sort of last night out before she leaves for teacher’s college in Australia. All in all, it was a rather interesting, yet mellow night and a pleasant change from the Eurobeats and clubbing often associated with nights out with her. In particular, it was fairly hilarious to hear some stories about her from her other friends who were there. One story involving one of her friends, a driving instructor, a penis and a steering wheel would be funny in any comedy club.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the evening is how put-together she is and the quality of the substance of her person. She’s the type of person who sees the forest for the trees, to use a colloquial phrase. She has plans and goals for her life that are readily achievable and concrete. Further, she has surrounded herself with a support structure (colleagues, friends, and family) of quality people that provides for a meaningful life. I don’t think she knows flaky Western girls or those fake scenester types. All in all, she’s got everything in place to get what she wants out of life.

It is that image of sort of an ideal life structure that makes me question some of the the aspects of my life an the choices (or lack there of) that I’ve made. Some aspects of my life I wouldn’t change. For example, I know many quality people and have many good friends with whom I’ve had many memorable experiences. On the other hand, I feel like my career and work situation is something that more or less fell into my lap. Although it is a good job, particularly for a recent university graduate, I’m not sure whether I could go do this for the rest of my life. Regardless, I’ll stick with it for the near future for the „valuable life experience.“ I do need to spend some think really considering my future though. Figuring what you want to do and where you want to go is the first step to getting there. On a similar note, I’ve come to question some of the aspects o f my personality. I tell small, insignificant lies on a too frequent basis and I feel I come off as self-absorbed and arrogant sometimes. I suppose there is always room for personal improvement.

On a separate, but seemingly related note, I’ve begun to question the purpose of this blog. What started as something to waste time during my university years has become a motley of posts about music, movie trailer mash-ups, and short personal notes amongst other disparate topics. As I continue to grow up and mature, the blog seems increasingly unwieldy and irrelevant. As a result, I’m providing some advance notice that this blog will be shut down in the spring and be replaced by something yet to be determined. I was considering the possibility of a more journal type of blog focused exclusively on news and comment about my life. Such a blog, possibly done on an anonymous basis, would retain some of the aspects of this blog without the extensive links and musical content of this blog. On the other hand, I might do a topic-specific blog if there is something I feel I would be interested in writing about on a continuing basis. Given the decision to be made, I will wait to shut down this blog until I’ve decided what to do.

The Coldest Season

Posting will be on hiatus, due to work commitments, for the forseeable future.

Geographic tools in Iraq.

From Geoworld (via CatholicGauze) :

Geoworld presents an interesting article about using the tools of geography to catch terrorists in Iraq. The US military has begun to use geographic profiling techniques to track the territorial movements through the understanding of human spatial behaviour. Thus, the evaluation is able to profile IED locations and places used for ambushes. It is an interesting and informative read.

Vers Les Montagnes.

As 2007 nears its end, it seemed appropriate to put my conclusion on the year that passed. This was a year of change (graduation from university and a new job) but also a year where things stayed the same (I’m still studying for exams., for example.) In many ways, it was a year of enjoyment (Wednesday afternoon bar trips with Chris) but also a year of irritation (wisdom teeth removal and ingrown toenails.) Simply put, it was just like any other year.

In my last post of the year, I thought I’d share some music that I’ve had on while studying lately. By Austrian artist Gustav, Genua starts with a fragility that eventually evolves into a ballad one can imagine she wrote on a rainy, autumn afternoon. It strikes me, above all, as a song of reflection.

Gustav – Genua

Heute ist Weihnachten.

Ich denke, dass ich keine Weihnachsanzeige schreiben. Ich wurde nur ein Musikvideo von The Delgados verfasst.

Back to the old rules.

Picture courtesy Hidden Glasgow

Throughout the previous four years that I was university, December and the whole holiday season were filled with studying and writing exams. With my degree in hand and a new full-time job, I had assumed that this pattern would change for the better. In reality, this pattern did change but for the worse. A upcoming professional exam that I have on January 3 has meant I will be studying through the Christmas holidays and New Year this season. Further, the extensiveness of the material implies a need to study on a fairly consistent basis to ensure that I have a grasp on, at least, most of the material. As a result, I won’t be able to get out quite as much with my friends and enjoy the season.

In essence, this exam means more of the same sort of schedule I dealt with at university, but just at the end of December instead of the beginning. Things never really change, do they?

Winter, one day at a time.

I always enjoy when it snows and isn’t windy and miserable.  It’s the perfect winter weather for going for a walk through the neighbourhood.

On another note, my cold seems to be leaving at a painfully slow pace.  However, I am getting better.  Hopefully, it will be cleared up soon.

Ich kann nicht schlafen, ohne zu trinken.

Winter colds (cough, sneezing, sore throat, and all the other symptoms mentioned in cold medicine commercials) are one of the bigger nuisances throughout the year. The persistent coughing and runny nose slow down nearly everything you are trying to do. For example, today I was reviewing some accounting material for an upcoming professional exam, and the cold symptoms were rather disruptive. It is rather difficult to review the rules about translating and consolidating the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries whiling blowing your nose twice a minute.

After studying for some 8 hours today (Yes, it was a bit excessive.), I went out to the pharmacy to pick up some cough medicine and a toothbrush. For some reason, when the cold wind hits a runny nose, it’s like a faucet is suddenly turned open and all the the stuff in your nose suddenly comes gushing out. I was almost at the point of just leaving some tissues in my nose, but that might have made me look like I had done too much cocaine and was getting the random nosebleeds. And that was basically all I did today. That, and eating some tacos on semi-stake tortillas (not my favourite meal ) made my day rather uninteresting. Anyway, tomorrow can’t be much worse. I only have a practice exam to write.

Oh, the joys of winter in Canada. Now I just need to get around to that Christmas Shopping…