write something

i won't write a thing. i don't write a thing. i have not recorded so many great and terrible things and when i'm eighty-seven years old i won't be able to remember just how or just why or when or for how long i meant to but didn't.

A-D

Just checked my grades for my first term of college. A little flabbergasted as there's a big fat D where my mark for Consumer Psychology should be. I really don't see how that could add up correctly. All my other scores have been fine. I got an 86% in a third year Social Psychology course at Western for god's sake. No sense. I'll have to email the instructor. Oy...

UPDATE (January):
After emailing my prof, my oy-inducing grade of D was rectified and turned into an A. This means that I've now got the best grades I've had in a long time (and a nice ego-boost). Hurrah for college. ;-)

Snow Days

Listed on IAmBored.com is the cute time-waster Snow Days. Cut out your own paper snowflake, attach a messaget to it and then let it fly. Someone will eventually catch it and read your note. Nice idea for informal, Christmas well-wishing.

Deer'tude

Deer'tude
Originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Here's a photo of a summer lovin', female reindeer to balance out all of those images of Nordic, male reindeer you'll be seeing this time of year.

Hair! We're going to live forever

My hair is dreading on its own in protest of my neglect. Offers of cheap to free hair cuts welcomed.

New Year's Eve: things to do

- NOW critic's pick final fantasy and string quartet, akron family and great lake swimmer s as part of the Over The Top Fest, Great Hall (1087 Queen West), $12. www.overthetopfest.com.

Hasdeep: Victim of the Image Bandit

I copied this photo sans permission from Hasdeep's flickr space. I am a wild and out of control disregarder of copyright etiquette! And now you know what I look like drunk and wearing a wet suit.

Paste (Issue 18)

The Oct/Nov issue of Paste has a really nice sampler. Three tracks in and it's still complimenting my Sleemans buzz with gentle, shimmering guitars and muted, splashy cymbols. Almost snowy.

Ack. And a moment before the publish click comes David Grey singing something countrified.

Next.

What's this? Oooh, the first three songs were so good though! Track five = Cary Brothers with a sound akin to Etheridge.

Why publish now; let's see how many tracks until the next good song.

Pretty much indifferent to #6, although Dungen is treading pretty close to Coldplay territory here. Warning warning! (Sirens blare, coloured lights revolve and cast mist shadows against submarine steel.)

Onward, iTunes, onward!

Here's a familiar one -- BSS's messy, tantrumatic "Ibi Dreams of Pavement." Been listening to this one a lot lately. Disc for Christmas, maybe? Please, yes.

I need some binoculars for this laptop. Binoculars for my eyes. All the better to see you with, my pixels.

End transmission.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Where's the buzz?

Coming soon: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Let's all start getting excited over Narnia's upcoming cinematic release.
Screw Harry Potter -- Dawson's Creek with cloaks and wands, I say.
C.S. Lewis is where the real magic's at.

Tonight I'm remembering what a good buddy my dad was. Kind soul. Missing.

McDeals

McDonald's is the devil. Yes yes. But it's quick and sometimes cheaper than buying the food to make a meal to eat on the bus on the way to night classes when you live in the house that Jack built.

CO 108; post is coming and it will be below

mista newland, i am still writing the draft for the post on toronto's violence/canada's social failure. please be patient.
p.s. this room needs a machine that dispenses delicious soup for free.

About Page!

When I follow links on a whim and they haven't been thoroughly described on the refferant site, my mouse often goes straight for the new page's About section. I like About sections. Attn. Internet producers: Please feed the About section.

LemonadeGame.com

LemonadeGame

Subway, underground, metro mapped: iPod

iSubwayMaps offers reference images to bring along on your portable media player the next time you find yourself on an unfamiliar subway sytem.

Toronto's subway system is a cinch running mostly along one east-west line and two north-south lines. There really isn't a need for carry-on cartography, but bringing along a subway map sure is a fun idea when it's sitting on an iPod.

Goldfrapp's Supernature

Supernature is Goldfrapp's latest album. I like it a lot. A lot of critics don't. I think you should have a listen.

Ariel and Toti

Ariel and Toti
Originally uploaded by ksavo.

So...I've rediscovered Flickr. Here's another photo. This time it's Toti and Air at my Nanna's cottage in Haliburton. What are we reading today? It looks like People or US Weekly. We'll pretend it's not. FIN.

Sony DRM: rootkit

Thanks to boingboing.net I've been doing my best to follow the Sony corruption story. What I've gathered is very basic, but has led me to a definitive conclusion: I have no faith in Sony Corporation or its products. The company has lied numerous times and continues to disrespect its customers and violate its customers' electronics with its ridiculous licences, malware, patents, etc.

The situation is just unbelievable, really.

Funny that just recently I was thinking that maybe I would stick with Sony MiniDisc player -- and its irritating OpenMG Jukebox software -- instead of switching to Apple's new iPod and iTunes. Hah! Decision made easier. iPod in the mail.

Not a Cat Person

Originally uploaded by Colla-Dickel Cats.

If you ever get the horrendous idea of giving me a kitten, please find one just like this adorable guy.

Constance in her Element

Constance in her Element
Originally uploaded by ksavo.

A few weeks ago (on a Saturday) Constance and I were feeling cozy and homebodied. So instead of going out we stayed in bed playing on our laptops and drinking Sleemans.

Dino got Game

Filed under Time Waster and Games. Orisinal : Morning Sunshine.

Podtender 3.1

Enrique Quintero Design | Podtender 3.1. I would not like you if you brought this to my bar. It's going on my machine as soon as I get it.

Prête à Podder

Get it?! Eh? Like prête à porter! GENIUS! hrm...

Use Podtropolis to find torrents for G5-ready video content. Uploading also encouraged.

BlinkList | Your personal start page and social bookmarking engine

Created BlinkList | Your personal start page and social bookmarking engine account. Have been looking to upload my bookmarks (from multiple computers) to the web for awhile. High hopes.

American Analog Set - Nov 13

American Analog Set plays the Horseshoe on November 13. Tix $12(?). Amy and I will be there.

Favourite times with Amy: (1) Dancing on the bed to April March - Moto Shag (2) Paddling up Canoe Lake to crash a Camp Ahmek ceremony. Against the wind there and back.

Robot Uprising

Your robo-help is acting a little suspiciously as of late. Do you have an emergency plan in place to deal with a robot uprising? An AI rebellion is no laughing matter! Inform yourself today.

Got Podcast?

This afternoon, while I catch up on my reading of Marketing Magazine (for school) and CBC's Radio3 programming (for myself), I'm wondering what the best program is for dealing with podcasts.

Right now I'm listening to a show I downloaded from NewsGator using Media Player. I've used iPodder before and liked its feel and look, but I hear that iTunes lets you flip through chapters -- and songs, even -- in a podcast. That would pretty nift. I'd probably be with iTunes already, but, as far as I know, iTunes can't automatically update its library when new MP3 files turn up like Media Player does.

What do you use to collect and listen to your favourite podcast? Leave a comment.

Reading

Reading:
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Marketing Magazine

Madonna - Hung up on Stefani

Constance just played Madonna's song "Hung Up" for me. Outright Gwen Stefani "What You Waiting For" intro rip-off, for starters. And then it goes into some 80s song that I haven't yet put my finger on. First thought was "Rasputin," but that's not it. Leave me a comment if you know.

Madonna should really just start bootlegging herself. I'm sure the world would masturbate all over it. Madonna the Material Girl vs Madonna the Cher.

UPDATE: !--> ABBA. "Gimme!" Good thing for that geeky spot in my early teens. (*Kyra, your entire teen era was geeky. I'm not sure that it ever actually ended.* Ah...right.)

iPod: Bought and Sold

Purchased. Waiting to receive shipment tracking info. Black, 30GB, factory sealed. Feeling consumption's queze.
Also thinking: Perhaps postpone opening package, just in case iPod -- Video, Black -- goes Tickle-Me-Elmo this Christmas.

iPod G5

It's all just plastic and marketing. Of course. And I've finally caved. 'My eBay' is stacked with iPod auctions, mostly black, all 30 gig, currency in dollars and pounds.
MasterCard, brace.

A year or so ago I posted (on Blogger) about the recurrance of ant analogies in my readings. My attention to the fact began with Emergence (Steven Johnson), and my interest was probably saturated around the time that major news media started referring to the ant thing during evening broadcasts.

In the past few weeks I've noticed the emergence of another, related, ideaswarm. The titles of the three books I'm currently reading nicely describe the basis of the new stream: Pattern Recognition, The Tipping Point, and Sync. (The preceding titles authored by Gibson, Gladwell, and Strogatz, respectively.)

Side Note: Is it any wonder that just as I begin to lose control of my assigned readings for school I increase the ways in which I distract myself? 'Have a lot of homework? Of course you should go and hit up Amazon Marketplace!' If you see me around, slap me. I promise not to like it too much.

C'mon

Rivoli; 9pm; $7; Sept 17.
C'MON w/ Whitey Houston, Brutal Knights, No No Zero

Ear to the Ground Festival cancelled

The music event that was to bring the likes of Sleater-Kinney, The Organ, and As the Poets Affirm has officially been cancelled. Word of trouble started spreading amongst those of of us not in the know late last week when the festival's site suspended ticket sales. You can read the organizers' explanation on the official site.

Less than a week left until I head back to school, this time at Centennial College. Looking forward to it, with some jitters.

(If you come to visit me during my freetime, as you should, you might recognize the campus as the setting of an internationally popular teen drama from the 80s.)

Paste; Cut Copy; Tornado

PASTE magazine. Available online and in print. Comes with a CD and DVD sampler. Currently browsing issue #17. Vive les media papier.

Cut Copy. Don't know what the cool kids are calling it, but it sounds good to me.

A tornado warning has been issued for Toronto and the surrounding area. I'm just enjoying the thunderstorm.

Ciao, Edie

Went to Ciao Edie's Sunday night party for the first time last night. Very fun. Poor Toti, though. He and Ariel made Conk and me a wonderful dinner of tabouleh, raw beef (what is that called? not tartar, I'm pretty sure), Icelandic 'cocktail sauce,' and yeah. Also very nice.

Right now I'm just waiting for the house to wake up. It's starting.

Leslieville

Have you noticed how quickly Leslieville has started into its gentrification? Maybe it's because of my age or lack of political awareness in the last few years, but it only started to dawn on me about a year.five ago that this section of Queen is getting really slick. Every visit gives me little shivers of developer-itis. Hah; despite the fact that I owe more than I own. Regardless, Leslieville in is a good state at this point. It's still fairly mixed with grunge, faux-grunge, and upperscale. At least one store in the area (or it's fringes, at least) has a site: UpToYou.

Canoes

Today and tomorrow are my two days off and I've done well in wasting one already. Tomorrow morning I think I'll head up to Haliburton to spend some alone time in a red canoe on Lake Fortesque. Fingers crossed for a sudden and unexpected drop in gas prices.
I'm also considering taking a short solo trip up in Algonquin for 3 days. I'm just concerned that I won't be able to far enough into the park, paddling by myself, to really feel isolated. I need some strength.
But yes; Nanna's cottage tomorrow. Day trip if that's what happens. Still worth the visit.

Street Sale in The Beach

Leonard Circle will be holding a street sale on Saturday, August 27th. The neighbourhood hasn't had one in a couple of years, so you can count on some good finds. My household is hoping to pass on a variety of kitchenwares, furniture, text books, small engines, and healthy aloe vera plants. I'm also considering doing a BBQ again -- I made a killing selling hot dogs and pop when I was a kid. (What is a killing to an eight year old? About $80.)

So, come one, come all. Oh! And the (propane) BBQ will also be available for purchase after the sale. Happy hunting.

Directions: Here's a map of the neighbourhood at MapQuest. If you are coming to the Beach from the west, I suggest taking Kingston Rd to Lee Avenue. Turn South(Right) onto Lee. At the first stop sign, turn East(Left). The Circle will be a short Right.

September Plans

School: Centennial College, Toronto; Creative Advertising.
Work: Friday - National Yacht Club; Wednesday & Thursday - ?

How-To #1: Good Morning

Wake up at 5am. Go outside, get something done. Come home, read most of the paper; have a cup of tea. Relax. Listen to a gentle song. Decide what to do with the rest of your day.

Interview@Yacht Club

route to nyc
Originally uploaded by ksavo.

If driving, go this way.

Wednesday Morning

This being Conk's second day of training at the bistro, and my second day of waking up at five in the morning, I'm up bright and early. I will try my best not to let myself back into bed.
Norman and Trudy will be here for dinner tonight. Norm's going to come earlier so he can help my mom and me out with a few things around the house; insolent door knobs, faulty fountain pumps, and the like. I think I'll organize my dad's book collection and see if one of my cousins wants his computer programming books...and then...work on the garden? I'd really like to have some sort of woodworking project..but but but.
Tomorrow my mother and I will meet my uncle in London and (hopefully) bring everything back in two car loads.

Employed

Mr Greek in the Beaches is now my place of work. Yes, we're right beside the burnt-out Starbucks! Dine with us and you'll go home with decent food in your belly and the scent of sweet victory (...soot) lingering on your clothes. Mmmmyum! Please feel free to drop by and give me money.

"What a shame, she hasn't got a name."

Go see Vacancy. The performances are stellar and the space will suck you into the story. Get your ass in gear; Saturday night (11pm) will be your last chance to participate.

10$ for students, 20$ otherwise.
372 Dufferin

Gary Savolainen

SAVOLAINEN, Gary Robert
Peacefully, at the Scarborough General Hospital, on April 16, 2005, with his family by his side, in his 59th year. Gary, beloved husband and best friend to Anna. Cherished dad of Kyra and the late Dana (2001). Gary will be lovingly remembered by his many friends and relatives. Friends will be received at the SHERRIN FUNERAL HOME, 873 Kingston Road (west of Victoria Park Avenue), Toronto (416-698-2861), on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. A service celebrating Gary's life will be held at Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston Road, on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 1 o'clock. Parking available at Sherrin's. Reception to follow. Cremation. Memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated, if desired.

Audio

Sleater-Kinney has a new album coming out. The disc is called The Woods and is going to be worth listening for the song "Modern Girl" alone. The tune is hardly what you'd expect from the rawk trio, but it'll make you sing.

Plugging back in

I've just plugged my headphones back into my computer.

My last post, i've decided, comes from my reasonable anger and fear, but it also comes from a quick-stab pessimism. There remains so much life and living for Dad; I wouldn't say again that all that's left is goodbye. There's a lot more left and I want us all to make the most of it.

This Frou Frou album is a good, gentle soundset to take a breath to.

EDIT (May 13, 2005):
My dad didn't get the time we thought he would; his health deteriorated quickly and he died a little more than a month later, on April 16th. Constance drove be back to Toronto from London in time to say a last goodbye at 11am.

Diagnosis

My father, Gary, was diagnosed with cancer this morning. He has been in pain for months now. The doctors sent him to physio, prescribed pain killers, MISSED THEIR FUCKING CHANCE. The tumour they removed was in his neck, specifically a lymph node. Lymph nodes are basically cancer highways to your whole body. Once cancer has spread to lymph nodes, life expectancy drops significantly. Three years.
This weekend there will be talk of wills and radiation treatment. Maybe some sad jokes about toupees. I think that most of all, though, this weekend will be the start of a long goodbye.

To:From

To: the author of the previous post
From: the author of the previous post

Things will get better. For awhile. Then, things will get really, really good. But that'll just be a lulling calm before the turnaround. Within a week, everything can be lost.