imnotbored.net

I found a great (eg simple and tasty) recipe blog, via TheGoodBlogs, and made the Cauli-fried rice to go with some Thai beef from a Christmas present cookbook -Stylish Thai in Minutes . It went well. However, I do have a spot of advice for grating the cauliflower….

Technorati Tags: cooking, low carb, thegoodblogs

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Well, well, well. I first ran across Ecto about 3 weeks ago, and now that the holiday hubbub has died down, I thought I’d give it a shot.

Technorati Tags: blogging, ecto, Wordpress

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Ahh, the best of list! Who doesn’t love the opportunity to foist their entirely subjective preferences upon the world? This list doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what I like. Furthermore, some works may not have been produced or released in 2006, but made the list because I became aware of them over the past year. My blog, my rules - deal with it.

TV Studio 60 on the sunset Strip.
Characters with depth, dialogue that doesn’t sound like infomercials or PSAs, and a sense of continuity and pacing. I’m surprised it has lasted this long. I’m not much a TV fan, and when something actually appeals to me you can usually count on cancellation by the third episode.

Podcast CBC Radio 3.
I arrived fashionably late to the podcast party, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have an opinion. This podcast has it all: hi quality audio , multimedia integration, musical diversity, a sense of history, and a host that manages to entertain and inform without being a pandering sycophant. I think CBC has done an admirable job of transitioning itself to a younger demographic by embracing the internet and new media forms.

Jazz Gig Vancouver Inernational Jazz Festival - Electric Ascension.
The most luscious bombast ever. I volunteer for the festival every year, and get access to as many shows as I can handle. The 2006 festival line up made for some difficult choices. The clincher for this gig was Nels Cline and his rhythm section. I had seen this group prior to the Ascencion show, and they blew me away. “Tightest. Rhythm. Section.Ever,” as comic book guy would say. Not to detract from the rest of the ensemble. Some of the brightest, innovative players around took part in this electrified interpretation of a Coltrane classic. Thumbs up to Orkestrovra for making it happen.

Rock Gig Hawksley Workman tied with Todd Rundgren
Hawksley is one of Canada’s most confident, articulate, and intelligent performers. a Linguistic sensibilty worthy of the Algonquin round table crowd, and the strutting, big-cat prowling stage presence reminiscent of Freddy Mercury. And his band? They were tighter than Nuns in January.

Todd took a break from being front man of The New Cars, and put together a quartet to play some of his faves from the back catalogue. What floored me was that at age 60, he still hit all the high notes, both literally and figuratively. Strong arrangements, solid harmonies, and more energy than most performers half his age. The missus is a big fan, and she informs me that he only lowered the key on one tune, and then only by a half step. Far more bang for the buck than a lot of his chronological musical contemporaries, and worth the ticket price if he comes to your neck of the woods.

Movie Little Miss Sunshine
A heroin snorting grandpa, America’s pre-eminent Proust scholar, and a broken down VW van - how could it NOT be a good movie?!?!

Book I am two thirds of the way through Neal Stephenson’s Baroque cycle. Is there any college out there that will give me a degree for reading these books? I love them. Love them enough to teach myself about cryptography and economics every three or four hundred pages just so I could keep up with the action. I am very well aware that I’m roughly two years behind the times on this one, but hey - there are a lot of good books that need reading, and they can’t all be first.

There were more incidents of note, but I don’t want to be a bore. Besides, everyone and their dog will be pushing out a best of list soon, and by keeping mine short and sweet, you now have more time to wade through the rest of them. No ned to thank me, just send visitors this way….

Technorati Tags: best of music film TV

Freakonomics Blog » This is What Happens If You Illegally Download “Freakonomics”
Me thinks the issue that worries the publisher is the technology, not the download itself. If people form a habit of reading off of computer screens, their business model is useless. Making threats is easier than making changes, or so it seems. How unfortunate.

Mark Evans - The Power of Paper & Pen
Mark makes a good point, and 43folders is in the p&p corner as well.

Most of my projects, be they websites, essays, or compositions start off as scratchings in a notebook made over a pint or a mug, as the mood dictates.

Technorati Tags: 43folders

Well, I just made my first podcast, thanks to Collectik.
It was too easy. I say this as both a compliment and concern. I’m pleased to sift through the content and aggregate a mix of talk and music content, but I’m concerned that if it’s this easy, I may never contribute any original content.

Then again, I don’t grind my own spices, or raise my own chickens, but I will make a chicken curry without thinking “gee - that was too easy.”
Ain’t rationalization a great thing?

Technorati Tags: podcast collectik playlist

CBC radio program Definitely Not the Opera has been on my listening list for a long time. A healthy mix of irreverence and intelligence is pretty much garaunteed to provide a backdrop to your house cleaning.

Applause and the effect it has was the theme of the 12/16/06 show. I particularly enjoyed the theory put forth that an audience will clap for almost anything. I’ve long felt that audiences give standing ovations simply for self validation. We want to feel a part of the event, the hype, the production regardless of the quality of what we’ve just seen or heard. Mostly, we try and cover our dissapointment with a lack-lustre performance by giving a standing ovation. No one really wants to go to work the next day and admit they gave money to ticketmaster to be bored for two hours.

Technorati Tags: cbc radio performance