microwaveable find

i was nuking some lunch and came to the realization that our microwave sucks. despite 5 minutes on high (while spinning) my meal emerged in a tepid paste-like consistency that was anything but appetizing. so... i went to kijiji to see if there were any microwaves about that might fit my price range (cheap). i found a bunch but i must say that i know little to nothing about microwaves and quality so i thought i'd google a couple makes and models to see what i could find.

well, one make - the goldstar intellowave - led me to a video review by bunyon, an expotv member who positively cracks me up. the guy looks like he just woke up and was handed a package of something to blather on about and he does! the review is nothing more than a reading of the buttons and size of the microwave (a plus, it comes with a timer, in case your oven doesn't have a timer, you can use the one on your microwave).

some of his videos look like they were taken in a war bunker where stuffed animals are used in interrogation exercises.

he also has a dog and 'reviews' a wide assortment of dog biscuits and treats. for most of those he reads directly from the package with no hint of irony in his voice (kudos for that!).

some he's just phoning it in...

ok... i looked at the site a bit and these people get paid if i watch the videos so that's why they even bother. and given that the only real qualification is that they have to speak for a minute they're really just killing time (most videos last between one and a half and two minutes). funny for a couple of minutes but annoying afterwards...

wind power redefined

shawn frayne is one smart cookie (although his way of saying 'turbine' is offputting...). he's rejiggered the concept of wind energy to make it a heck of a lot more efficient and cheap. his idea - think of when you pick up a broad leaved piece of grass and blow across it - it warbles and makes a high pitched sound. well, if you could use this warbling to create energy you'd be in the energy business and will have barely broken a sweat. add a couple of magnets and some coiled wire and you are there. it's so simple you really do wonder why you didn't think of it before. and it's ideas like this that provoke others to dredge their minds for that one great thought that never really gained traction.



from haha.nu

short post, short shrift

i came across the term short shrift in a document i was editing and became curious with the etymology of the term. it turns out that it's a pretty interesting phrase with much more meaning than we usually afford it.

http://www.answers.com/topic/short-shrift

a more interesting take is discussed here: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-sho2.htm

top 100 canadian albums, oui

so a while back this guy, Bob Mersereau, put together a book on the top 100 canadian albums of all time. no real surprise that neil young's harvest took the top spot although i'm more partial to joni mitchell's blue or a number of more modern classics (including the weakerthan's left and leaving and bran van 3000's discosis - which didn't even make the top 100!). in fact, just one album was included in the top ten which was released in the past ten years - the arcade fire's funeral. this is a shame and omits a broad swath of great can-con, especially as we're starting to get recognized around the world (feist, anyone?). sarah harmer ranked high, deservedly so, but no new pornographers or malajube (which i'll get to in a second) or sam roberts among others.

anyway, i was reading an article in la presse today about how french canadian (read: quebecois) artists were snubbed. this is too true - there was a gaping hole of french stuff that the list didn't even feign to fill. however, i can understand that, historically, french artists have been pigeonholed, by either the recording industry or otherwise, geographically. you're more likely to find a manu chao song on the radio than anything by les trois accords. so... one of the comments afterward seemed to put the blame on english canada's lack of interest in french artists. this might be true to an extent, but really... i don't think that stands up to truth. there have been a number of spanish artists who have found success and there is an entire world music scene that runs the gamut from xhosa to russian that finds its niche. even sigur ros has a following and they make words up! i think that if people had a chance to hear the music they'd like it, buy the albums and so on.

the problem, more often that not, is that english canada doesn't get the opportunity to hear these artists.

for instance, right now there's a band in quebec called kain that is hotter than black vinyl car seats and yet they're invisible in english canada. a check of their tour dates reveals that they have few plans to cross into upper canada anytime soon. while i can find their album here in ottawa (in the french section) you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it.

a side note - i picked up the new bran van today and when i went looking for it in a music world i eventually found it (after asking for assistance from the stunned staff) in the adult contemporary section. i thought that was hilarious.

malajube was somewhat able to break into english canada but it was a short-lived honeymoon and they've cooled considerably. however, if these bands got airplay i do think they would be supported - i went out and bought a copy of kain's last disc (and downloaded some ariane moffat - another great find) after hearing them on musique plus (which you can get in kingston! of course we don't get cable anymore...).