Goodbye 2007, hello 2008

Is it that time again?

Favourite restaurant – In the realm of pricey meals the best was Rare on Hornby. Stellar service and sublime food. It’s getting harder and harder to find good cheap eats anymore but LA Chicken in Richmond serves up the best fried chicken in town for only a few bucks. If neither cheap eats or pricey meals are being considered there’s no place I’d rather be than the Irish Heather.

Favourite drink – Water. I guzzle this stuff. The Pinot Gris from Buena Vista wineries was pretty good too.

Favourite meal – Braised hormone free beef short ribs with mashed yukon gold garlic mashed potatoes and roasted carrots and shitake mushrooms. I made it and I love to eat it.

Favourite movie – Bourne Ultimatum with Ratatouille close behind. Waitress was underrated.

Favourite TV show – Heroes not so much because it was great but because the shows were reason to invite friends over to watch.

Favourite corner – The downhill esses on Old Calistoga Road in Napa Valley. Narrow, rock wall on one side, railing and cliff on the other. Decreasing radius, bumpy like mad. Use your brakes too much and your rear will slide out. Just magnificent.

Best purchase – Big screen TV!

To wrap up…

What I’ve Learned – the 10th Anniversary Edition

Some of my favourite lines:

“Small breasts — so you can get closer.”
“Under the flab, I’m like a washboard.”
“I can’t believe that 007 was allowed to have a movie called Octopussy. Eight vaginas is what they’re sayin’. No way to fuckin’ misread that.”
“A great friend is someone who gives what you want to take and takes what you want to give.”
“The depressing realization in this age of dumbing down is that the questions have moved from “Was Nietzsche right about God?” to “How big was his dick?”
“Here’s what Sarah taught me about getting along with my own parents: Try to pretend they’re someone else’s parents. If you do that, the little things that annoy you that don’t annoy anyone else are much more tolerable.”

Happy New Year’s folks.

P.S. Go watch this

Xmas

Emily, originally uploaded by supafamous.

Xmas happened.

It happened at my parents and all the local relatives came over this year so it was a full house. Next year Ernie and I are doing the cooking though, no more saving the dinner at the last moment and no more over cooked yams.

Notes to people I saw today

Our waitress at Coppertank – Never had I witnessed service so bad and thus you got a 88 cent tip on a 95 dollar bill. You showed up to our table with a mouth full of food, you spent more time hugging your friends and standing behind the counter with the other waitresses than you did on the floor, you forgot my friend’s order and didn’t apologize for it, you never came around to check on us (we had empty glasses several times for more than 15 minutes at a time) and you didn’t even bother to pack up my pizza (you dropped off a box). What was your problem?

The old guy undressing in the locker room at the gym – Hey, when you’re undressing in front of me I don’t really want to engage in a discussion about unionized paper carriers in Toronto or about whether the gym is open on holidays or not. Nor do I care about how you heard that the Chinese co-opted their conquerors. Don’t talk to me, just undress and take your bits to the shower.

Chinese lady in the Safeway at 10:30pm – Perhaps you saw my eyes fall out of my head when you walked by but you were in your early 30′s and wearing an OUTRAGEOUS skirt, nylon and boot combo that was total high class hooker wear except you somehow had enough class to pull it off. On you it just looked like you were the hottest thing in leather boots in Vancouver. You looked like you were going to an awesome party cause I saw you pick up a roast chicken, a couple rolls of paper towels and some pre-made cupcakes. Call me, I’ve got bananas, a bag of salad and a 2L of tonic water.

Merry Christmas

Ah, it’s that time of year again. The time when I tell kids that Santa is a fraud and I take candy from them. It’s also the time of year when I realize my pantry is rather bleak and I need to plan for the earthquake a little better (I’m going looking for lunch after I finish this – only Chinese shops are open right now).

In any case it’s also a time to give thanks and the thanks this year is to my friends. 2007 has been a remarkable year for me, my circle of great friends is wider than ever and the quality of them is higher than ever. I’m not sure why some of them bother to be friends with me as it seems to me that I get more from some of them than they get from me. Some of them I only see a few times a year which is a real shame, in some case I see them at a party (or in a closet) for a few fleeting minutes.

Anyways, Merry Xmas to all but particularly to those great friends: Tina, Thao, Jody, Ron, Stewie, Ian, Megan, Shell, Nat, Karrie and Liz.

Zi Lin Zhang Crowned Miss World 2007

Zi Lin Zhang Crowned Miss World 2007

A few years ago China lifted the ban on beauty pageants as the Communist leadership no longer considered it objectifying (they needed to use beauty to distract from the environmental disasters like the Three Gorges dam). Based on the results I applaud the Chinese government for their progressive politics and I hope they continue to support beauty pageants. If it means I miss out on some crackdowns on the Falun Gong or the false imprisonment of reporters then so be it cause it appears there are some fine ladies in China.

Link dump

I’m waiting for my fried chicken and watching the Packers get killed by the Bears so….

UPS Whiteboard – The whiteboard ads have really grown on me. Very clear, simple message. Good stuff.

New Yorker profile of Barack Obama – My vote still goes to Hillary despite the fact that my philosophies are much closer to Barack’s than anyone else’s. I believe in respecting the opinions of others, I don’t believe in being a polemicist and neither does Barack. The problem is that I just think enough people believe in that, I think people are too addicted to what they believe so those of us who simply want solutions and will take them from anywhere will end up losing. It’s not what one believes but what makes sense that really matters. Terrific piece.

Crack is whack – Not particularly work safe but a scary view into what crack does.

He took it in the butt – Love the headline.

Surgeon busted for genital photos – Not sure what is funnier, the fact that a doctor took pictures of the guy’s piece or that the guy had “Hot Rod” tattooed on his weenie.

The Clinton Referendum – The NY Times takes a look at the Clinton politic. I’m too young to really know what the Democrats were like before Clinton so I can’t really speak well to it but I can say that I can’t imagine what passed for Liberalism in the 80s to be effective today.

Our Decrepit Food Factories – Ernie is currently on an organic food binge after reading An Omnivore’s Dilemma. I haven’t gotten to it yet but I have no illusions about what we do with our factory farms. We’re killing the world.

Modern Marriage – The changing economics of marriage. Marriage isn’t evolving as quickly as society is right now.

Enjoy.

More cardio, less weights?

A month in and I’m a couple pounds heavier than when I started but the pants are not as tight anymore. This suggests I’m putting on more muscle than I am losing fat. I don’t mind this but I went into this planning to lose some weight first which isn’t happening, I had expected to slim my waist down more than this so far. Granted, it’s the holiday season so I’m eating more than normal – holding the line may be an admirable result.

Oh well, better to be in shape than not to be in shape at all.

I think I’m going to start going to the Yoga classes in the next couple months too.

ICBC warning drives man a bit mad

ICBC warning drives man a bit mad

Whatever. This guy probably does suck as a driver which is the vast majority of drivers. I’m sorry but if you’ve got a ticket for no belt, a ticket for speeding (forgivable) and two violations for not carrying your ‘N’ sticker then you probably aren’t the type who is attentive, courteous and potentially talented at the wheel. Most drivers suck so much that when I do spot a real talent that I derive enormous pleasure from following them and watching them drive. It brings a huge smile to my face when I see a good driver and get to learn from them.

It’s not about speed, it’s about style. Are they attentive? Do they signal their intentions? Are they consistent? Do they anticipate? Do they move within the flow of traffic? Do they saw on their brake and throttle? Most drivers are just abysmal at all of this. Drivers who drive in the curb lane and can’t see the parked car. Drivers who can’t anticipate a changing light correctly (check the crosswalk to see how many have crossed, checked the crosswalk signal, check the distance the cars in the left turn bay have come into the intersection and check the buildup of traffic at the intersection).

I’m sorry but most of you are a bunch of hacks even excluding proper driving technique. Talking on the phone, not staying in your lane, only one hand on the wheel. Argh. Drives me crazy.

Dear Tony Romo

Tony, I write to express to you my concern about your choice of girlfriend as it has come to my attention that you are dating a woman who became famous largely because she’s top heavy and she’s stupid. As the good looking, wealthy starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team, I think that the rest of the male community expects that you are a standard bearer for the quality of tail that you’re pulling.

Bill Simmons even put in his two cents as him and his readers are a bit shocked.

Many of you asked why Romo would date Simpson in the first place. After all, he could date anyone he wants, and even if he’s attracted to Simpson because he has a thing for top-heavy blondes — we don’t know this for sure, but I’m guessing — he could just as easily find an equally top-heavy Texas blonde who (a) doesn’t have a Svengali father who travels everywhere with her, (b) doesn’t have press following her every move, (c) isn’t divorced and (d) didn’t become famous simply for being dumb, right?

Last year before you were a rich guy you dated Carrie Underwood and Sophia Bush, both gals that are sweet ladies and which we approved of. This year, you’re filthy rich and your team is likely to end up in the Super Bowl facing off against Tom Terrific, he who knocked up Bridget Moynihan and who now goes out with Gisele.

All is well except for Jessica. Seriously man, you can do better. You are the STARTING QUARTERBACK for the DALLAS COWBOYS! You’re probably a couple seasons or a Super Bowl ring from becoming Tony “Fucking” Romo!

There’s a lot of ways you could go about finding gals to date. Trampy party girls are a possibility. Girls like Kim Kardashian, maybe Paris Hilton. But that would ruin your rep. Supermodels would work – perhaps Alessandra Ambrosio? She makes for great arm candy and the guys would be proud of you. Or a true celebrity actress like Scarlett Johansson or maybe Charlize Theron. They’re hot and credible. Maybe a smart chick? Julia Stiles perhaps. Classy gals like Mandy Moore or Hilary Duff?

Whoever it is, you just need to do better.

Sincerely,

The Guys.

P.S. Ron says that if you go out with Scarlett that would put you in Justin Timberlake territory and he’s not convinced that you’re in that league yet. Tom Brady is definitely at that level.

P.P.S. Stay away from the Spears family.

Life 210 – Don't panic

Rule #1 was “Don’t get mad”, rule #2 is “Don’t panic” and I live this one better than I live rule #1. I’m not a sure thing to not lose my temper but I’m pretty darn close to a sure thing to never panic.

I got over panicking a long time ago when I realized that all it did was waste time, deplete my options and cause those around you to lose confidence in you. Panicking doesn’t get you anywhere so don’t waste any time on it.

You’re panicking because you’re in a bad predicament right? Well, spend your time trying to get out of it. Parachute won’t open? Try the backup. Still won’t work? Look for something soft to land on and pray for the best. Condom broke? Do your fish swim? Is she ovulating? Burnt the pot roast? Cut the outside of it off, the inside is probably okay and you can serve beef medallions. Woke up and you don’t know her name? Find her purse. In a car accident and you’re hurt? Figure out where it hurts and then get help. Panicking isn’t going to save your life, finding options and trying them might not either but it’s better than panicking.

Create a list of options, focus on testing them till you find a solution. Sometimes you run out of options (smarter people will have more options so go read a book or do some Sudoku now) and you die. That’s life. Just don’t waste the last pieces of your life panicking.

So be cool like Fonzie. (well…ok, be cool like Samuel L. Jackson).