HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Since I sincerely doubt that I'll be in any sort of posting mood [cough cough, falling down, cough] tomorrow night. I'll take this moment to wish my wide [both of you!] audience a very very happy new year and a swell 2008!

There's Nothing to Watch @ 11:30

[Vidiot's photos]

To tell you the truth I haven't noticed the ongoing WGA strike much the last couple of weeks. New programming is usually a little scarce this time of year anyway with nothing but repeats until after the holidays.

But I often watch The Late Show with David Letterman @ 11:30, and if it's not a work night, follow it with The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Needless to say it's been repeat hell.

However I have found a bit of relief through The Late Show Writers On Strike site.

The site is both a blog on how the strike is progressing as well as some quite funny bits about the strike how it is effecting everyone.

A sample:

Friday, November 30, 2007:
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE NEGOTIATIONS
BY TOM RUPRECHT

As you may know, the writers and producers were back at the negotiating table this week. While the talks were shrouded in secrecy, a friend of mine on the inside agreed to give me a snippet of what went on.

WGA REPRESENTATIVE: All we're asking for is a small percentage of the billions our work has made for you.

STUDIO REPRESENTATIVE: Go fuck yourself.

MODERATOR: I think we're making some progress.

There are also a whole load of videos. This is my fav:



If you watch the show you'll know that Rupert Jee is usually pretty reserved and maybe even a bit shy, so this video seems (at least to the viewing public) quite out of character.

Have a look I think you'll be both educated and amused - a great combination.

Dogs Love Snow...

This month I'm spending all my work time on the computer. We are migrating 900 of VPL's webpages over to a new site using ExpressionEngine

I'm enjoying it (quite a bit actually [GEEK!]), but after 8 hours of keyboarding the urge to blog ain't there.

So for some filler I bring you dogs! who! love! snow!





Fun fact - Searching for snow dog on YouTube gets you 7,640 results (subject to change)

Ok. get your insulin ready:



Fun fact #2 - searching for dachshund snow on gets you 65 hits. Not enough I say.



And back for a repeat performance - Brat in the snow.




And what do I think about snow?



Although this snow is kinda fun.

(P.S. the new VPL site will be launching in the new year)

A Century In Video - 1913

During the 1913 California State Fair a couple of locomotives were launched towards each other (on the same track) going 90 miles per hour.

I guess they wanted to see what would happen, the best reason to try anything I think.

Well what happened is they broke the trains.



There is a longer version on the Internet Archive courtesy of the Preminger Archives (For some reason I couldn't successfully embed the 2nd video)

I could imagine that if someone was on one of those trains (with a video camera from the future), it would have looked a bit like this:



The only info I can find informs me that this is a BNSF accident due to a switching error. The worst injury was a broken leg. I think the video camera died though.

If you look closely you'll see someone jump from the oncoming train at -24 seconds. I guess that who got the broken leg.

God I'm chipper tonight.

Ok. Fine. Have some cute. Seven minutes, 41 seconds of Cute Knut



Happy?

Fruitcake... NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[ gnuf's photos]

I. Do. Not. Like. Fruitcake!

But then, who does?

It surprises me that there is still a viable market for fruitcake. A Google search brings up about 207,000 hits for fruitcake, and not one of the hits on the first page is negative. In fact one of the links is the pro-fruitcake Society for the Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake.

Sigh

I was perusing the newest videos at Will It Blend when I found this one:


[Will It Blend? - Holiday Hassles]


The fruitcake makes quite the mess.

This video is actually just a glorified ad for Bill Me Later and its subsite Operation Fruitcake

Operation Fruitcake doesn't have a lot of material yet, but it looks promising. Only 3 videos up so far. I like this one:

[Operation Fruitcake - Incinerator]


Just out of curiosity I Googled I hate fruitcake and came up with 266,000 hits. However on closer inspection there seems to be a lot of sites along the line of fruitcake for people who hate fruitcake

Here is a genuine fruitcake hater - bless him!

The I Hate Fruitcake Hate Page

While conducting my in-depth reserch for this post I ran across the videos of Marie Rudisill, "Ask the Fruitcake Lady" from the Tonight Show.

I had forgotten about her videos. Here's a classic:

[This LADY loved CAKE and FRUIT]


And to finish, an anti-fruitcake classic:

[Grandma's Killer Fruitcake]


And btw. A YouTube search for fruitcake gets you 694 results.

Colbert Vs. Daily Show...

The writers for The Colbert Report and The Daily Show have not been sitting on their asses during the WGA strike.... Well, actually they have been sitting on their asses, but they've been entertaining and educating us at the same time.

Have a look at these two amusing and informing videos:

From the Daily Show writers:




And from the Colbert Report writers:




Both videos found on the United Hollywood site.

Btw - I wonder if Vancouver's own Judy Rogers has seen the pic @ the top of this page. Maybe she could become pals with Moonves and hope for some trickle down.

Speaking of Moonves, or more specifically his wife Julie Chen. It looks like CBS may bring back Big Brother a bit early to cover their butts during the strike. Isn't it handy when the show's host is married to the network president?

Bye, Bye Bookmarks....

For those of you that used my old homepage @ www3.telus.net/brissell/britt (The one that looked like this)


you're going to have to find another reason for living.

That page is now dead and will automaticaly redirect you here. I've started a del.icio.us account and all my bookmarks will live there from now on...

All 505 of them!

Between my home machine, work machine and the above mentioned website, I was getting sick of trying to keep everything up-to-date.

If you miss them, I'm really, really sorry! [end sarcasm] but I'm not spending all that time on my bookmarks.

There is a permanent link to my del.icio.us bookmarks in the navigation bar above.

Let's see, anything else to report?

Hey look! A baby dachshund!

Anything New on TV?

Well there may not be anything new come the new year.

The Writers Guild of America went on strike last week.

About the guild:

"We are the Writers Guild of America, west (WGAw), a labor union composed of the thousands of writers who write the television shows, movies, news programs, documentaries, animation, CD-ROMs, and content for new-media technologies that keep audiences constantly entertained and informed."
From "Who We Are"

So this strike will put on hold pretty well all the American shows that you are currently enjoying, including news programming.

I found this handy chart that lists many of the network shows and how many episodes they have in the can:

LA Times T.V. Grid

So this could potentially really suck depending on how long it drags on. But having been on strike myself recently (in case you were unaware), I wanted to know a bit more about what the writers are fighting for.

I think this video pretty well explains it all:



Unfortunately it looks like SAG members will not bet able to fully participate in the strike if they wish. Although they will be doing some picketing some members are restricted by this clause:

"If you are contracted to work on a television series or motion picture that continues to produce while the WGA is on strike, you are obligated by your personal service agreement and the “No Strike” clause in our collective bargaining agreements to go to work."
From the "picketing" link above.

I guess it's ultimately up to each individual if they want to cross any of these many picket lines.

The United Hollywood site is probably the best site I've found so far to read about how to help, what the issues are, and other related material. You can also sign This petition.

I Think My Brain Just Melted!

Under the heading of things I never thought I would see!

Click on the image for all the "fun" details

And it's playing in Vancouver:

Pickled Productions presents Debbie Does Dallas

Here is a promo from the L.A. run of the show. Make sure you have a bottle of bleach handy after you watch it (Pretty well safe for work)







And for the 4 of you who have never heard of it. Here's the Movie reference

Dear god I'm never writing about porn again

100 to 1

Brilliant!

The title basically says it all. Shows clips from 100 movies counting down from 100 to 1. See how many you know.



I love the onscreen note:

"My sincere thanks to every person who's ever been involved with making movies...

... especially the studios.

Please don't sue me"

And if you want to know what all the movies are, here is the entire list

Hollywood Librarian

CUPE 391 presents a special showing of the Hollywood Librarian this Saturday, November 3rd. There are two shows (6:30 & 9) at the Rio Theatre. Admission is by donation.

A quote from the film website:

"Ann Seidl's 'The Hollywood Librarian' is an engaging, often humorous look at the disparity between the simplistic depictions of bun-wearing, finger-shushing, spinster librarians served up in Hollywood feature films and the far more complex reality of today's savvy information navigators—of both genders, with or without tattoos and/or piercings."

Randy Pitman
Publisher/Editor
Video Librarian Magazine

And here is the trailer:



All the details about this Saturdays show can be found here

Booooo!

 
 

Happy Hallowe'en

A Century In Video - 1912

Some days I just don't feel like myself...



Blurb from the YouTube page:

"Dr. Jekyll transforms to Mr. Hyde, and back again...from Thanhouser Company's 1912 production of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 classic novel 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.'"

The Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc is a company dedicated to preserving old silent film with an emphasis on the films made by the Thanhouser Company. It is run by Edwin W. Thanhouser the grandson of filmmaker Edwin Thanhouser founder of the Thanhouser Company.

Here you can read a brief history of the Thanhouser Company, but basically it was a New York Film company that made over 1000 films between 1909 and 1918.

According to IMDb there have been 44 different versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde made between 1908 and 2009. The 2009 version is currently in production and there isn't much info given, except (dear god) that's it's a musical.

And yup, it's based on a Broadway musical - here it is.

Wanna be tortured?



You couldn't pay me to sit through this.

<tangent>

I don't hate all musicals. I would love to see this one.

</end tangent>

Also: Have you ever seen the word Thanhouser used so often in one place? Any place?

Strike - Day 86 -- IT'S OVER!

[rabidsquirrel's Photos]

86 days later (or 88 depending on when you start counting)

We shared stories, laughter, frustration, food, knitting, puppies, portable heaters, and, and, and....

We are finally going back to work!

On Friday CUPE 391 members voted 71.4% to except the new Memorandum Of Agreement Between The Vancouver Public Library Canadian Union Of Public Employees, Local 391

We voted yes:
Just the beginning…

And so did the board:
It’s Official. The Library Board Ratifies Agreement

A bit more info here on the Fairness for Civic Workers site:
Library strike ends: CUPE 391 makes important steps towards pay equity

I'm waiting for a definitive update, but it looks like we'll return to work Monday with the library opening to the public on Wednesday.

I don't even want to think about what it's going to look like inside the building.

And... No. More. Jeans!

But work. Lovely, sweet, life giving work. How I missed you.

Vancouver Sun:
Library workers to head back Monday

Georgia Straight:
Vancouver library workers approve tentative agreement

CBC:
Striking Vancouver library workers accept deal

Strike - Day 84

CUPE 391 and the employer have reached a tentative agreement.

We vote tomorrow Friday October 19. If we vote yes then the library board has to vote, and then BACK TO WORK!

We would probably return to work on Monday with the library opening to the public on Wednesday. This would give us a few days to get organized (HA!).

CUPE 391 post: Meeting And Vote Tomorrow

Canadian Press: Vancouver library workers reach deal with city to go back to work

CBC: Library staff, City of Vancouver reach tentative deal

I'm hoping to see all our patrons again next week. Although some may not believe it, we have missed you.

Blog Action Day

Welcome. Today is Blog Action Day. A day for bloggers all over the world to post on a single subject - The environment.

Here is the YouTube video that clued me in.



First lets start with an important message from President Al Gore (Well he should have been president!)



Of course President Bush is also very concerned with global warming. Please take this video as proof that he has deep, deep concerns about the state of the earth.



"And what" - you may ask "is the Canadian government doing?"

Why everything in their power of course.



Of course the media can be counted on to cover global warming issues in a fair and unbiased manner. Neutrality is their middle name after all.

Rick Mercer - Canada's answer to Jon Stewart - Talks to Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion about (among other things) the Kyoto Protocol.



How long have you been aware of global warming issues? Well it's not a new issue. Here is an excerpt from the 1958 Frank Capra film The Unchained Goddess explaining the dangers ahead.



If you still have any doubts about the long term effects of global warming. let this video be a warning:



Ok, ok. I know that this is a serious topic. But I can't write well enough to teach you anything without putting you to sleep. So I thought I'd post a bunch of (hopefully) humorous stuff and let the other bloggers out there show you the good stuff. What other bloggers? Here is a list of all the Blog Action Day participants and another list of some suggested resources

P.S. At press time there are 15,568 blogs signed up to participate with a combined rss reach of 12,507,731!

Monday is Blog Action Day

I'll be posting something (don't know what yet) on Monday for Blog Action Day.

If you have a blog, please get involved. If you know someone with a blog, pass this info along.

Since I'm all about the sarcasm & funny, I'll be looking for something along those lines to post. Probably in the evening as I'll picketing as usual during the day.

Bookmark Debris

Nothing exiting to post. I expect that I'll have some strike news in the next day or two, but until then enjoy some freshly mined crap!

I'm sure you've heard about the experiments that the CIA performed with LSD. But did you know that in your own lovely, placid, Canada equally atrocious experiments have taken place. It's true, and here is the video evidence:



For more examples of this type of "scientific study" please visit Hinterland Who's Who. And to file a complaint, please contact the Canadian Wildlife Service

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Under the category of You can't always get what you want - have a look at some lovely food!

This is what you ordered... This is what you get...



For more fine examples of the difference between fast food advertising and the actual crap that you get have a look at Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality

And I'll fess up. I do love me an Egg McMuffin. [cough - white trash cough], But I've recently discovered the vastly superior breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. I like the egg & sausage that they heat up until the cheese is all gooey. Gooey cheese = life!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keeping with the advertisement theme. I sometimes wonder if the billboard companies even talk to their clients. It seems to me that you would want to know what other ads are going to appear near or next to yours. This holds true for all mediums. If you ran a cigarette company would you want your ad next to an article about lung cancer? Do you think a Tickle Me Elmo ad should appear next to an article about how some people like stuffed animals a little too much.

Well here is a perfect example of how a lack of communication can cause me great joy:



Somehow I almost feel like I should have labeled that NSFW.

For more gleeful examples pay a visit to the Unfortunately Placed Ads page at I Am bored.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And to finish off. Toilets!

We usually don't have a hard time finding the bathrooms in restaurant / bars / sports arenas / dungeons, because we are all familiar with the standards for signage. This is the norm:



But that's here in North America. I found a great site that shows examples from all over the world. Some are easy to understand but humorous. Like this one that I love:



And some make make you think a bit:



Have a beverage, or 6, or 10, or 23. Loosen your slacks and enjoy 59 Of The Coolest Toilet Signs Around The World

Strike - Day 75

[rabidsquirrel's photos]

Well the results are in from the three CUPE locals and I can't say I'm surprised.

CUPE 391 - NO
78.1% Vote to Reject Mediator’s Recommendations

CUPE 15 - YES
CUPE 15 members accept Foley's recommendations

CUPE 1004 - NO
Foley's recommendations don’t pass CUPE 1004 vote -- less than other civic deals

See also: Fairness for Civic Workers

Here is some of the media coverage:

Global BC 11:00 p.m. news (videos)





CBC

Civic workers divided in vote to end Vancouver strike

VIDEO: CUPE 391's Alex Youngberg, Ed Dickson say equality is at stake (Runs 9:03)

VIDEO: CUPE 15's Paul Faoro, Keith Graham say they'll wait and see (Runs 13:27)

VIDEO: Some inside workers say they'll respect picketing if CUPE 1004 votes no (Runs 1:32)

Vancouver Sun

City vote split

Georgia Straight

Vancouver outside workers and library workers reject mediator's offer; inside workers vote "yes"

Vancouver Province

Two CUPE locals reject mediated deal to end Vancouver civic strike

Globe and Mail

Strike vote split as polls roll in

National Post

Vancouver city unions divided by vote

The bargaining committee says that they have a plan to get us back to work soon. I sure hope the hell they do!

Strike - Day 74

[Library Of Congress American Memory Collection]

Just posting these articles today, I'm sure I'll have waaaayyyyy more tomorrow after the vote.

Vancouver Sun - Two CUPE locals urge members to reject deal

Vancouver Sun - A tale of two worlds for striking workers

News1130 - City waits for voting results, as two union locals recommend rejection of mediator proposal

CBC - Vancouver unions split on mediator's deal as members vote

I must admit I'm feeling a bit ambivalent

Strike - Day 71 (Updated again)

Almost entirely re-written to stay all current like!

Mediation update:

The settlement recommendations from mediator Brian Foley were released today and have now been posted on the CUPE 391 site:

~ Recommendations For Settlement Proposed By Mediator Brian Foley - (Full Document - pdf)

~ Recommendations For Settlement Proposed By Mediator Brian Foley - Part 3: VPL & CUPE 391 - (VPL & CUPE 391 Portion of Document - pdf)

~ Items Previously Agreed Between The Vancouver Public Library And CUPE 391 - (pdf)

~ Meeting and Ratification Vote: Schedule and Map - (pdf)

Entire CUPE 391 blog post: Mediatior’s Recommedation Documents Available Online

Media coverage:

~ Global BC


~ CTV - Mediator tables report to end Vancouver strike

~ CKNW - Reaction is subdued on the picket line at city hall

~ CBC - Striking city workers offered 17.5% and $1,000 signing bonus

~ CBC - VIDEO: CBC civic reporter Stephen Quinn reveals details of mediator's recommendations (Runs 1:53)

~ Vancouver Sun - City strikers to vote on proposed deal this weekend

Note that as usual the library workers are mostly ignored and the facts are rather skewed. If nothing else this strike has given me some real insight into the media.

Whatever...

Skittles

Mamapop had a link to a rather freakish Skittles commercial.

It made me think of their old ads, so innocent, so boppy, so sickenly sweet.

Here is the evolution of the skittles ad:

Then (1986)



Now (2007)



Bonus ad! (also 2007)



Don't you miss the old days when everyone understood virtue and innocence!

Strike - Day 70

Brian Foley's recommendations to end the strike and finally get back to work will be passed on to CUPE 15, 1004 and 391 tomorrow. It looks like we (391) will vote this Sunday.

As I write this there isn't any official notice on the CUPE 391 Bargaining Blog, but keep an eye on it as it should be updated soonish. We will also be getting updates tomorrow during the daily crew talks.

For now here is the pdf bulletin from 15.

Also some press from:

CBC
Global BC
CKNW

Please keep in mind that you shouldn't necessarily believe the press coverage (duh!), but these stories seem to pretty well match what I heard today. Of course they all look like they cribbed their info from the CUPE 15 bulletin.

Strike - Day 69

I haven't been writing about the strike lately because there really isn't much to say.

The mediation goes on and we hope to hear something early next week. Hopefully something good enough to vote on.

The tone of the picketing has changed quite a bit in the last few weeks, especially the last week. It is now officially fall and the. weather. sucks!. Rain, cold, cold, rain, etc. etc.

Ok the weather almost always sucks this time of year, but I'm usually inside where I don't care.

When I got home today I pulled out my Rolser shopping cart to take with me tomorrow. I usually leave a load of picket stuff in a friends trunk, but she wont be picketing tomorrow. Between my backpack (usual purse stuff, knitting, palm, iPod, book, magazines, handywipes, spare tp), blanket (did I mention it's cold on the line), and chair; my back is taking a beating during the commute. So out comes the old-lady shopping buggy :-)

What I did want to mention today is a reminder of the all the cool strike videos being produced by union members. To see them all in one place go to the CUPE 391 bargaining blog and scroll down to the videos on the right hand side.

Here's a selection:

From D'Arcy:
(part of the bbob team)



See all of D'Arcy's videos here

From David:



See all David's videos here

James has a series of (non-embeddable) videos that are worth a look. They are very well done. Have a look at all seven videos in the Scenes... From a Picket Line series. The link goes to the first video and the other six are accessible from there.

Enjoy. And please keep rooting for us. (Thanks!)

A Century In Video - 1911

I don't watch a lot of sports on TV. In general I could give two crapolas about sports.

I do watch some of the winter Olympic events though. Such as skiing and bobsledding, (for the spectacular accident potential), and skating.

I watch most of the figure skating except ice dancing. Don't get me started on ice dancing. Either skate, or dance - pick one!

I found this video on Ulrich Salchow the creator of the Salchow jump

This video shows him demonstrating his self named jump for an audience in 1911.



Mr. Salchow won the first gold medal for skating during the summer 1908 Olympic Games (There wasn't separate winter games until 1924).

Fat Freddy's Cat Has Gone Establishment Mannnnnnnnnnnn!

After all these years there is going to be a Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers movie.
I'm not going to explain the brothers to you. If you are part of my generation you have probably heard of them, if not click here for the Wikipedia entry.

The movie (to be released in 2009) is called "Grass Roots" and more information - although not much more - can be found at the Grass Roots Films website. The funniest part of the web page is the investors section. The original comic was very anti establishment.... and now they want your $$$. Please read the "Mary Jane" themed prospectus for more info. (Warning: 76 page pdf file)

Plus check out the author Gilbert Shelton's Home Page for his first strip in 10 years.

More info on the Freak Brothers and other underground comics can be found on the Rip Off Press page.

And here is the real point to this post. Please enjoy the teaser trailer for the movie. Looks a bit Wallace & Gromity - but with weed!

A Century In Video - 1910

I remember how much pomp and ceremony there was at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales ten years ago. Well it turns out that that was pretty standard (although there was quite a fight to give Diana a sorta, kinda, state funeral)

For this project's 1910 clip I present to you the funeral of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841-1910).

It's a short clip just over two minutes that shows some of the procession during the funeral and includes overlayed audio clips of Big Ben

Strike - Day 54

It can be really difficult to find any humour in this endless strike, so bless Harvey McKinnon @ the Georgia Straight. His on-the-mark article about Sam Sullivan certainly put a smile on my face and also answered many questions for me. Take it from me, this article isn't really any less factual than some of the other media coverage, or the city press releases.

Have a read:

Commentary: Sam Sullivan's strike strategy.

I don't have much else to report since we are under media blackout, but I can point you to some strike related literature if you're interested. Have a look @: Pay Equity: A Bibliography (doc file).

There are some older (but still important) documents on the CUPE 391 subpage: Bargaining Resources under the heading "first reads".

The weather today added another personal incentive to want to get back to the job. I spent the day @ Champlain Branch and although we didn't get much more than a drizzle, it was cold, cold, cold! I'm sure someone from the prairies would laugh at me feeling cold at 14ish degrees, and they would be correct. But I am superwimp and DO NOT like cold. Plus with the dampness and a good brisk breeze at times, it felt colder than it was. The thunder and lightning were cool though.

Tomorrow I'm wearing a down jacket, fluffy hat, sweats and hiking boots. Anybody want to guess what the weather will be like?

Keep sending us your good wishes everyone and lets hope I'll be back to work before my retirement date (March 1, 2030)

Strike - Day 50

Day 50 - Jesus wept!

My original post is below the tilde line - I was about to post it when I decided to check the various CUPE sites for any updates. I wasn't expecting anything because (I thought) there was a media blackout.

How wrong I was:

City of Vancouver and Vancouver Public Library break off talks

Well steal my pants and call me Aunt Matilda - words fail me.

Sigh!

From the CUPE 391 blog.

From the CBC, noting that this is the city's second longest strike.

For the sake of 'balance' here the library press release.

If you are not a member of CUPE 391, please keep in mind that information in the press release is blatantly wrong. We do NOT have a problem with the 5 year / 17.5 offer. Our big issue is - and always has been - pay equity. I urge anyone who doesn't understand our issues (and this would seem to include the city / library negotiators) to read the front page on the CUPE 391 site. It explains it better then I can.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Original post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A clip previously unseen by me. Global noon news interview with Spam Sullivan from two plus weeks ago. No new info here, (and with the media blackout no new news for awhile), but a couple of interesting points.

1. Mayor Sullivan is looking very, very uncomfortable.
2. He seems to think that politicians shouldn't be involved with contract negotiations. Really?
3. According to Randene Neill, job security and whistle blower protection are "little things"
4. I have never seen Ms. Neill so agitated before (or at all for that matter)

Flotsam, And Her Good Friend Jetsam - Part II

Time to clean out some of the crap quality material from my 'add to blog' folder.

[Futurama - Raiders of the Lost Arcade]


I remember all of these games, even played most of them. Even Q*bert (little orange round dude with big nose and no arms who gets off the spaceship near the end of the video). Great episode of Futurama, except for the Rush part - can't stand Geddy Lee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Put together by Norm Fisher, a Saskatoon realtor. Enjoy the Unbelievably Bad Real Estate Photos Hall of Fame. A slideshow collection of really terrible real estate photos with commentary by Mr. Fisher. After his introduction click on the "run" button, and don't just stare at the screen for five minutes (like I did) waiting for something to happen (d'oh). Keep in mind that this fellow is NOT a professional actor, however I think he created a rather humorous piece.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Queen's hit as performed by "25 of the most annoying voices in the music industry"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Robot Chicken - Calvin & Hobbes: The Untold Story]

via videosift.com

You either know Robot Chicken, or you don't. If you don't know Calvin and Hobbes then you are no longer my friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally: 112 different ways of saying "Oh my god! There's an axe in my head,"


Enjoy!

Strike - Day 43 (Updated)

From The Blackbird's great strike photo collection:



Great photo, but do you think you could make my ass a little bigger? BTW, I didn't have a clue that my picture was being taken. I came across the pic via RSS feed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Yeehaa, some (potentially) good news:

Negotiations to Resume Next Week

Judy Rogers and Chief Librarian accept CUPE invitation to return to bargaining table

Let's hope this actually leads to something!

Lots of goings on at Central today. It was black & white day with all encouraged to dress in those colours, a puppet show about farmer Sam and his farm animals that go on strike, Our Friday bbq and a reading by Poet Laureate George McWhirter.

We also created a human wall around the library with everyone doing the 'wave' with their picket signs and later spelling out the words "Let's Talk" on the north plaza.

I didn't bring my camera today. But as usual 2shoes took some super pics of all the happenings

And if you're interested there is a benefit concert tomorrow to help raise $$$ for our hardship fund.

Local bands and supporters have come together to hold a benefit concert for the group this Saturday, September 8th, 2007 at the Maritime Labour Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. (Read More)

Here's the poster: (click to embiggen)

Jules Winnfield - Hockey Coach

I don't watch hockey and never have.

I played floor hockey in grade school, but never developed the Canadian obsession with the game.

I believe that I have watched a total of 2 games in my life. The game before the riot game in 1994 and the women's Team Canada win at the 2002 Olympics in Utah.

However I am a huge fan on the movie Pulp Fiction. A few years ago I ran into this video, god knows where, and shared it with a few of my friends. Something I read on the interwebs tonight reminded me of it, so I thought I would inflict share it with my massive massive audience (last count, there were 4 of you, I love you all!)

Here ya go - and yes it is safe for work, all the naughty bits are bleeped (damn!)



Apparently this video was created for the 2002 Espy Awards

A Century In Video - 1909

Without actually doing any real research (remember I'm not working these days) I would guess that this is probably one the earliest examples of Shakespeare's work on film.

Here is a scene from Act II, scene 1 of:


Courtesy of the British Film Institute


Note the special effects including stop motion, wire work and film overlay. I'm sure I'm not using the correct terminology - but again - not so much with the research.

Strike - Day 34

BBQ @ Britannia Branch

I know that many people seem to believe that life on the picket line is just one big party. But trust me, we would rather be working.

It's very stressful being on strike. We don't know when we will be going back and it's shows. We all try to keep positive and cheerful but it's not fun not knowing if or when you can pay the rent / mortgage among other bills that we all have. Never mind that it pains us that our many, many library users are unable to take advantage of all the wonderful, free services that we have to offer.

So yesterday after a five minute conversation we decided to have a bar-be-cue at Britannia Branch. Gail - bless her heart - brought her little Webber grill and several kinds of hot dogs. And everyone else brought finger food so we wouldn't have to deal with paper plates and create any more garbage than necessary.


As usual in the morning the Flying Bicycle Picketers started their bike trek around the city spreading the good word of CUPE. Its fun watching them prepare by decorating their bikes. It reminds me of sports-day in my elementary school. At Carnarvon Community School we all decorated our bikes and had a parade. I have no idea if that was common practice in other Vancouver schools in the 1970's.





Cooper is a regular pooch picketer at Britannia. This is the perky poodle in a rare quiet moment. He's a real doll!



Prepping our hot dogs. A big thank you to whomever brought sauerkraut. I love 'kraut on my hot dog.



'Please sir, I'm a starving dog whose masters never feed me' Ya, right! Brat & Russ joined us on the picket line today and with all the stuff on the ground Brat did very well for herself. Don't you love the picket signs that Russ made for her? That's the CUPE 391 emblem @ the top



After lunch the bargaining committee came out to cover some of the details of where we are going (or not as the case may be) with out negotiations.



A little rest and time to chew on a tennis ball



Russell joined us for a couple of reasons. 1. Hot dog love. 2. To bring us FOUR boxes of Krispy Kreme and immediately become half the strikers fantasy lover. 3. As a welcome representative of the Canadian Merchant Service Guild. I think it's great that we are getting so much support from other locals and unions from all over. Group Hug to all.



We CUPE members may be serious about what we want and need in a contract, but it's just about impossible to get our canine friends to take any of this boring strike stuff seriously. Alas Brat & Cooper have better things to do. Fuzzy hearted little traitors.

Apple Smapple

You gotta admit that the iPhone is a pretty sweet toy, But I'm not likely to ever own one.

For one thing, if and when it comes to Canada, it's not likely that Fido will be the provider. More likely it's going to be Rogers. Although with a little ingenuity you can hack the phone to work on any network. New Jersey teenager George Holtz provides instructions on his blog.

My second big issue with the iPhone is the size. I haven't seen one in person, but all the video footage makes it seem a bit too big for my hands. I have short fingers and holding something the size of a Palm Pilot against my ear for any length of time would probably be uncomfortable. The (discontinued) Z200 I have now is a piece of shite, but I do like the size.

Third problem: $$$$$$$. I can't justify spending the $500-$600 price tag for a phone. Of course that's the price in the U.S. - god knows what it'll go for here.

But it doesn't matter anymore. Remember the Zune? No? Well it's the Microsoft equivalent of the iPod, only cheaper and (so I've heard), crappier. Well now Microsoft has come up with their own version of the iPhone called the zunePhone. It is a thing of beauty and I'm sure to get one if and when they are available here.

I introduce to you - the zunePhone:

Strike - Day 30

Here it is folks, pathetic strike hat number two.


A.k.a - Brat in a hat

Strike - Day 28

Striking @ Britannia Branch.

We like to start out our day with a coffee, tea or cocoa from Tony's Deli It's a friendly place with really good bevys and a pretty good selection of sandwiches, salads & pasta. Everything seems to be made on-site in their cavernous kitchen. I recommend the Caprese: tomatoes, bocconcini, spinach, basil with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.



This is the peaceful & pretty pocket park that leads from the Drive to the library / community centre / school complex. It seems to be very popular in the afternoons.



I really like the lamp standards in the complex.



Denise has cocoa and is very, very happy!



we are a very, very active bunch here @ Britannia. Knitting and bitching about strike press coverage are a couple of favourite activities.





Speaking of knitting. Here is hat number two, a bit over halfway done. Isn't it a thing of beauty! I'm using up a bunch of leftover bits 'o yarn to create this wonder.



Deanne is working on an outfit for her little boy's teddy bear.



And here is his outfit so far. Gotta love the hat!



The local has starting "Flying Bicycle Pickets" this week. People bring their bikes to Brit, decorate them and then drive around the city informing the public about the issues we are striking for.



Here is a short vid of them going on their way.

A Century In Video - 1908

A fascinating early cartoon. The YouTube poster ClassicCartoon has this to say about the process:

"To make this film, Cohl placed each drawing on an illuminated glass plate and then traced the next drawing-with variations-on top of it until he had some 700 drawings." read more...

From the same filmmaker in a similar style. This one...

"illustrate the surealistic [sic] visions of a man under the influence of alcohol"

Ya that happens to me every time I have a drink.

Strike - Day 23

We are still in talks, and that is good.

I finished my first Knitting in Solidarity! hat. I was told it wasn't too ugly. Well we'll see if anyone wants it.

Knitting in Solidarity is a group of knitters on the line that are making hats and blankies for people on the Downtown Eastside. Also strikers have the opportunity to buy a hat with a $20 donation to the strike fund. I've seen the hats and (with perhaps one singular exception) they are beautiful. If I get a change I'll take (or hunt down) a picture.

Here are some of the hard core knitters with their signage

Pic courtesy of James & Annie

Deanne lent me her son's little chair to use for a while. It's tiny, and therefor lighter to carry on the train.

I brought it home and opened it to show a friend and Brat instantly jumped into it and tried to claim it as her own.



This photo better illustrates exactly how tiny this chair is.



One more time with feeling!



The first person to compare the size of the chair to the size of my ass is in deep, deep, trouble!