You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December, 2008.
Lost in Austen, 4 episodes written by Guy Andrews, directed by Dan Zeff (Mammoth Screen, 2008) [imdb]
My year of Austen reviews wouldn’t be complete without this interesting mini-series that originally aired in the UK in September. It first aired in Canada in November on the digital channel that used to have the unfortunate initials CLT – can’t remember what that stood for. The W took it to standard cable this past weekend; both airings included Austen adaptations from the last fifteen years.
(I was going to do this post anyway, but accelerated it for the attempt to win an iTunes card in Miss604’s iTunes giveaway.) Contest has concluded – didn’t win. Maybe next time.
It’s that time of year – lists of best or top 10/50/100 things of 2008 abound. I certainly haven’t been keeping up, so while I can’t compile a list of top music as relevant as, say, Pitchfork’s, all I can do is look at what I actually added to my iTunes during 2008 (even if I am slightly behind), and go from there.
(I wanted to link my flickr with my blog, which I’ve done, but can only post a single photo as a blog post. Since I’m trying to insert multiple photos, I’ll leave that for another time.)
Monday was a lull in an unusually snowy December in Vancouver. And it’s set up for the first Canada-wide white Christmas since 1971. These were taken from Friday:
Sunrise at the railyard
Canada Place and mountains
Going to an appointment on Monday, I decided to bring my camera with me. In terms of travel time, it wasn’t bad. It was just waiting for long-delayed buses that had many people frustrated.
West Broadway, snowed under
Snow-covered tree
By the time I was on the way home, the sun was shining, and the slush was everywhere. And that’s when I got pelted by a truck driving too close to the curb; thanks to the driver for honking after splashing me.
wallpaper from Canucks.com
The ceremony has finished, his #16 is now in the rafters. All the accolades and praise for Trevor Linden handed out that night were well deserved. During his speech, Trevor, ever the humble individual, asked the fans to think of all the people who helped bring that #16 to join Stan Smyl’s #12. That is the Trevor we know and love.
My endearing memory of Trevor’s career is his leadership and determination in that magical spring of 1994. In the final two games of the Stanley Cup final against the Rangers, Trevor single-handedly carried the team, and the hopes of a city, on his back to within two goals of the Cup. It was Trevor’s performance in those two months that cemented my status as Canuck fan-for-life.
The great thing about Trevor, of course, is his work off the ice, whether as president of the players’ union, but especially the many charities with which he is involved, including his own foundation. And for that alone, Trevor deserves all the kudos that have been coming from many people today.
Including this one: thanks Trev, for all the memories.
Monday evening, I went on a brief out-and-back run. Outside. In temperatures below 0°C. It certainly took a bit longer to warm up, and parts of the sidewalk are hazardous, but I thought the run was brisk and a definite change from the rain-soaked runs I’ve been used to in autumns and winters past. Right now, if I were to choose to run a race either in a sunny -5°C or a rainy +5°C, I’d take the first choice. I’ve already had my share of rainy races, and all I can say is that they haven’t been pleasant experiences. What say you? Which would you choose?
Meanwhile, my right knee is probably telling me to replace my shoes. I’ve had them about a year, and I’m waiting for the replacement model to arrive so I can buy another pair (or two) of the one I have now, when they’re (hopefully) discounted. Do I hear Boxing Day?
I really am loath to admit this, and I hope I’m proven wrong, but the new Doctor Who’s tenure on the CBC is likely over with the recent (mangled) airing of “Journey’s End”. It’s a parting of the ways as ig-”noble” as Donna’s fate (please forgive the pun). DWIN should soon have has the list of what was cut – but if you can, buy, borrow, or beg for the Series 4 DVD set featuring the uncut episodes; disc 1 (“Voyage of the Damned”) and disc 5 (episodes 11-13) must be re-watched again for full effect. And supposedly the full version will stream on the CBC’s Doctor Who page. However you re-watch “Journey’s End”, re-watch all 63 minutes of it.
Cover of Doctor Who Magazine 399 (17 Sep 2008). Catherine Tate’s performance as Donna in Series 4 blew away all my expectations and Donna Noble can be considered one of, if not the best, companions of the Doctor. Full. Stop.
Buzzer Blog: More about the December 29 bus service improvements
PDF of current Buzzer
I have recently complimented Jhenifer Pabillano in person about the great work she has done with the print Buzzer and its online persona. Under Jhenifer’s watch, the Buzzer, the public’s source for onboard transit-related information and reading material for more than 90 years, has recently resurrected the quarterly update of service changes, which for me was always a thrill to find and read.
I have been a longtime transit commuter, supporter and fan, particularly in the routes, maps, and timetables aspect of it, and that’s why it was (and still is) exciting to learn about the service changes and, when most timetables were still published quarterly, to pick them up.
(detail of bus shelter ad that details various ways to look up schedule information)
Sorry, but I’ve still got a foot in that analog world: I still pick up the paper timetables, and refer to them when I’m at home, but most of time I do use the myriad of ways to access transit info: the main site (expect an update in the new year), the mobile-phone site, and next-bus info by phone (604.953.3333) and txt (stop number to 33333). Also in the new year, it is expected that real-time next-bus info will be rolled out.
In the past, when I had far more time on my hands, I would spend part of a day just riding transit. I would use the timetables and write out an itinerary on an index card. I would plan it such that I can maximize the number of routes I can take, while leaving enough breathing space for a proper transfer: I wouldn’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere just because I had cut it close at this out-of-the-way intersection! I had done this so extensively that I must have ridden at least once more than half of the routes in the system.
Even though I rarely have time to do such travels now, the ones I can squeeze in are an event. And that’s where the new routes come in: in between composing the draft for this post, I’ve come up with a trip that take in the new routes 364 and 388.
But all these changes and additions to transit service can be for nought, as the latest we-have-no-money update (and here) could leave TransLink in the red, and service cutbacks are one way to avoid or mitigate this. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, as we would just end up in a lose-lose situation. TransLink surely hasn’t built up all that service for nothing.
For two weeks, I have not been adjusting to the fact I can’t access news and e-mail on the interwebs during the day. The company I’m temping at has the usual firewalls and monitoring software, and I won’t comment further on that. It’s just that having been out of work so long, and accessing the ‘net at almost every waking opportunity during that time, it’s almost like going into withdrawal. Any internet I can get during the day would usually be at lunch, lurking kitty corner from the cafe with the free wireless. It was particularly frustrating this past week, what with the Commons cage match raging out of control and the next bout uncertain, and I had to wait for Mansbridge on TV. (Prorogation will be a dirty word in my dictionary for months to come.)
It was similar the week before I started temping, when my Airport Extreme conked out overnight. I did get a replacement, but over-frustrated myself when all I needed to finish the setup was to unplug the cable modem from the wall, then plug it back in.
At least I don’t have it so bad as my brother, who’s been in Japan since late September and was drifting between internet cafes to post updates and generally get ‘net, before he finally got access at his home.
I should get used to it, just as I’m thinking of this temp job as the warmup for getting back to a sense of routine when I do get hired on a permanent basis. It’s a bit tougher than it looks.
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