Monday, January 19, 2004
Broadcasting now from Ottawa!
So yeah. Like I said, I've been meaning to set up a blog for some time now. (Ever since summer!) Always meant to host it myself though, but since I don't think I can afford a second computer presently (even a dismal server - such are the costs of silly things like food and rent) I've decided to go with blogger.com. Anyways, things are rather sparse right now with regards to content on the front page here. I'll probably add most of the webcomics I read as links here, and probably a few of the other sites I visit. Also, any unusual or random links I find will likely join my little diatribes here.
Most of this however, will be after the aforementioned mouse difficulties. Damn those batteries take a long time to charge.
Anyways, for those paying attention, the title of this web publication is Cornix vagus. It's latin, and means "the aimless Crow(e)". I was going to make it something silly and irrelevant like "Crowe's thing" or "Crowe's blog" or "I bought a hat today", but those were all taken. And I didn't buy a hat. Regardless, as it says in the little description, quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur, or "anything in latin sounds profound". I think that's true for the most part. People tend to doubt things less if they don't know what it means.
State of the Union
So after just over 2 weeks of being in Ottawa, I've almost settled into some form of regime/habit/life, such as it is for now. I'm still looking for somewhere to train while I'm here, but seeing as how there is a definite lack of ITF Taekwon-do schools (only a couple of instructors), I'm starting to lean towards jiu-jistu or kickboxing. I was going to go for traditional boxing, but haven't found anything at all in that deparment. Guess the sport isn't really a Canadian thing.
Skating, on the other hand, definitely is an Ottawa thing, and I think I might just end up taking it up whether I should like to or not. Unfortunately, I suspect many an intimate encounter between my face and the ice may be lying in wait for me in the coming weekends, especially as how Winterlude is around the corner in February. (I'm still not sure what that is, but it has to do with winter, skating, snow, etc. and is a very big festival thing of some sort.)
One thing that is rather odd about living out East though, is the very wide range of people you meet. From bitter stereotypical francophones, to incredibly cheerful bus drivers, (I'm telling you, this guy tops any bus driver I have ever met! He made not only a point of greeting everyone who came on, wishing everyone who got off a good evening, but he announced each major street as he came to it, told stories about driving a bus, asked people for feedback regarding which side of the intersection was better for them to get off at, and cracked jokes about the areas of town we were going through. It was surreal...) Ontario definitely is more varied than Edmonton is. Don't trust the drivers though... the cases of brainus misplacus while driving are about a billion times more frequent. Back home, you were doing alright if every other person on the road maintained their sanity. Here though, it seems that you can't walk for a minute without hearing some horn going or having somebody speed by doing many, many kph over the limit. Add to the fact that they still salt the roads out here, so anything with wheels is covered with white scuzz within moments of driving, and you have a just plain miserable road experience.
And the busses are just as bad here as there.
Current Affairs
I picked up a copy of Once Upon A Time In The West yesterday, purely on impulse. (It was only like 16 bucks at HMV for a pretty decent 2-disc special edition! C'mon!) Actually turned out to be a pretty good movie. Very very slow though. Personally, I didn't mind it at all (seems I enjoy what's known as "tension", "atmosphere" and "ambience" in movies...) but I could definitely see more ADD-ish compatriots of mine struggling and fidgeting to get through it. Many many shots of landscapes and eyes (they tend to look around a LOT in this one), but overall, especially plot and character wise, this is one great flick. (Even more surprising when you consider that the director was Italian and didn't speak English) If you like Unforgiven and wouldn't mind another unconventional western, give it a try.
One more thing. Crepes are really good when stuffed with potato. They're like big, tankish perogies...
Anyways, I'll leave with a few links I found yesterday:
--Good old-fashioned Bush-bashing. And by that I mean the US Prez.
--The word of the day. Best vocabulary booster there is! (Where else you gonna find out what "laputan" means?)
--Webcomic-y fun. Check out this guy's hypercomics, or even better, the story of Mr. Nile. He's got some really cool thoughts on how to progress comics online using an interactive medium. (The time-travel stuff is the coolest!) ¶ 8:05 p.m.
So yeah. Like I said, I've been meaning to set up a blog for some time now. (Ever since summer!) Always meant to host it myself though, but since I don't think I can afford a second computer presently (even a dismal server - such are the costs of silly things like food and rent) I've decided to go with blogger.com. Anyways, things are rather sparse right now with regards to content on the front page here. I'll probably add most of the webcomics I read as links here, and probably a few of the other sites I visit. Also, any unusual or random links I find will likely join my little diatribes here.
Most of this however, will be after the aforementioned mouse difficulties. Damn those batteries take a long time to charge.
Anyways, for those paying attention, the title of this web publication is Cornix vagus. It's latin, and means "the aimless Crow(e)". I was going to make it something silly and irrelevant like "Crowe's thing" or "Crowe's blog" or "I bought a hat today", but those were all taken. And I didn't buy a hat. Regardless, as it says in the little description, quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur, or "anything in latin sounds profound". I think that's true for the most part. People tend to doubt things less if they don't know what it means.
State of the Union
So after just over 2 weeks of being in Ottawa, I've almost settled into some form of regime/habit/life, such as it is for now. I'm still looking for somewhere to train while I'm here, but seeing as how there is a definite lack of ITF Taekwon-do schools (only a couple of instructors), I'm starting to lean towards jiu-jistu or kickboxing. I was going to go for traditional boxing, but haven't found anything at all in that deparment. Guess the sport isn't really a Canadian thing.
Skating, on the other hand, definitely is an Ottawa thing, and I think I might just end up taking it up whether I should like to or not. Unfortunately, I suspect many an intimate encounter between my face and the ice may be lying in wait for me in the coming weekends, especially as how Winterlude is around the corner in February. (I'm still not sure what that is, but it has to do with winter, skating, snow, etc. and is a very big festival thing of some sort.)
One thing that is rather odd about living out East though, is the very wide range of people you meet. From bitter stereotypical francophones, to incredibly cheerful bus drivers, (I'm telling you, this guy tops any bus driver I have ever met! He made not only a point of greeting everyone who came on, wishing everyone who got off a good evening, but he announced each major street as he came to it, told stories about driving a bus, asked people for feedback regarding which side of the intersection was better for them to get off at, and cracked jokes about the areas of town we were going through. It was surreal...) Ontario definitely is more varied than Edmonton is. Don't trust the drivers though... the cases of brainus misplacus while driving are about a billion times more frequent. Back home, you were doing alright if every other person on the road maintained their sanity. Here though, it seems that you can't walk for a minute without hearing some horn going or having somebody speed by doing many, many kph over the limit. Add to the fact that they still salt the roads out here, so anything with wheels is covered with white scuzz within moments of driving, and you have a just plain miserable road experience.
And the busses are just as bad here as there.
Current Affairs
I picked up a copy of Once Upon A Time In The West yesterday, purely on impulse. (It was only like 16 bucks at HMV for a pretty decent 2-disc special edition! C'mon!) Actually turned out to be a pretty good movie. Very very slow though. Personally, I didn't mind it at all (seems I enjoy what's known as "tension", "atmosphere" and "ambience" in movies...) but I could definitely see more ADD-ish compatriots of mine struggling and fidgeting to get through it. Many many shots of landscapes and eyes (they tend to look around a LOT in this one), but overall, especially plot and character wise, this is one great flick. (Even more surprising when you consider that the director was Italian and didn't speak English) If you like Unforgiven and wouldn't mind another unconventional western, give it a try.
One more thing. Crepes are really good when stuffed with potato. They're like big, tankish perogies...
Anyways, I'll leave with a few links I found yesterday:
--Good old-fashioned Bush-bashing. And by that I mean the US Prez.
--The word of the day. Best vocabulary booster there is! (Where else you gonna find out what "laputan" means?)
--Webcomic-y fun. Check out this guy's hypercomics, or even better, the story of Mr. Nile. He's got some really cool thoughts on how to progress comics online using an interactive medium. (The time-travel stuff is the coolest!) ¶ 8:05 p.m.
