I’ve been following the video posts from the shooting of Scott Pilgrim vs The World, the movie that’s being adapted from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s series of Scott Pilgrim comics. Partly this is because I dig the comics, and it seems like the filmmakers are having a wonderful time adapting them, and partly it’s because Mal used to live here in… Read more →
Category: Storytime
Disappointment
Please, allow me to share with you a graphical representation of the most disappointing thing about my recent business trip to Australia. It occurred during my return trip through Heathrow, Terminal 3. This is the current map of Terminal 3: This is slightly different than my mental picture of what Terminal 3 looks like, which is apparently a good half… Read more →
What I Did On My Summer Vacation, By Chris McLaren, Age 36
I’ve been away from the Internet, and this blog specifically, a bit lately, and so I thought I’d give you a little photographic taste of what I’ve been up to. (Click on through if you’re interested.) Read more →
The future’s not what it used to be
In catching up with my RSS reader, I see that everyone and his brother is pointing me to that CNN “where’s my jetpack” article. The article didn’t really interest me, but it does touch on some “man, the future of the past isn’t what it used to be thoughts” I’d been having at while at Disneyland–specifically, of course, while at… Read more →
My moment of Zen
Instead of focusing on the imminent end of my vacation, I chose–very explicitly–to enjoy the day as completely as possible. This was made somewhat easy by the fact that this morning I was able to sleep in until I awoke naturallyI can count the number of times this has happened since I became a parent on the fingers of one… Read more →
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
One of my favourite possessions is my Tilley. Yes, I know that most people who wear them are at least a generation older than I am. Yes, I know they’re hardly fashionable. I could care less–I am quite fond of my khaki/olive T5. Here’s the thing: it fits–no small thing for a man who was laughed out of a hat… Read more →
Can’t Win, Can’t Break Even, Can’t Get Out Of The Game
You know what you never want to see? Ever? This: That’s a particularly nasty variant of that old companion of people who do computer things for money: the BSOD. This one usually means one of three things: you have a virus on your Master Boot Record, the drive with your swap partition on it is hosed, or your memory chips… Read more →
April Whinging: Near-death experiences and complaint letters
OK, so… April. Yeah, that wasn’t a party. First there were the two weeks in a four week period that I was on the road for work–that’s more being away from home than I like. Then there was the massive and literally stunning workload–I don’t want to go into detail about my job here, but the scope of my responsibility… Read more →
Spun Sugar, Time, and Perspective
My pal Gwenda has a discussion going over at her place about future desserts in fiction. I’m actually not that interested in future food, per se, but my interest was caught by a different statement of her about how she hates faux future shower technology. I don’t even disagree with that–I hate stuff that’s thrown in to give a patina… Read more →
The Assassins: One
Hashish Poem Swear off wine and drink from the cup of Haydar, amber–scented, smarigdite green. Look: it is offered to you by a slender Turkish gazelle who sways delicate as a willow bough. As he prepares it, you might compare it to the traces of fine down on a blushing cheek since even the slightest breeze makes it move as… Read more →
The Warrior’s Lament
Today I ordered a copy of Possibilities, an EP by Sierra Noble. I’d never heard of the ridiculously young Métis from Manitoba prior to today–which actually kind of surprises me–but as soon as I encountered her on the web today I knew I was going to buy the album. What I encountered today (indirectly, via Penguin Eggs) that made up… Read more →
Possibly Meaningless Anecdotal Observations
I once again had the opportunity today to spend some time with the Department of Homeland Security’s border people at the American border. Since I’ve spent a not insignificant amount of time with them–mostly in the same office, at the same border-crossing–over the years, I have some idea of how these things will go, and what to expect. Today, I… Read more →
The Latest Addition
The latest addition the collection of stuff hanging around my house: a signed print of Wondermark #442: In which Beth keeps her Books, which I have had framed, and which is now hanging on the door to my office/libraryCan I coin a new word for that? I mean I could just use study, but that’s kind of fusty. How about… Read more →
Not just a sappy Dad post
There you see Sarah receiving her first belt at her taekwondo class. The final part of her belt test involved kicking through a board. I expected it to be some kind of styrofoam or balsa or something–she’s only four years old after all. But no, it was a pine plank, and a decently thick one. Witness: I’m insanely proud of… Read more →
Aside
I just received the strangest phone call.
I answered and a recording told me that I had received a text message from a Rogers Wireless subscriber. Then recording then ended and a text-to-speech system read out the content of the message. Apparently Rogers hasn’t invested heavily in TTS, since the message sounded like SAM reading text on my Commodore in the 80s, but that only made the whole thing weirder.
The content of the message?
“The power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you. The power of Christ compels you.”
