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Fast Food Nation

August 2, 2006 in Books, Food, Marriage and Movies by matt | 2 comments

I think I mentioned somewhere before that they’re making a movie version of Fast Food Nation, the book written by Eric Schlosser. Perhaps not. In any case it’s a fantastic book that I read a couple of years ago. The movie version is directed by Richard Linklater and comes out this October (the 6th to be precise). I just watched the trailer for the film and it looks pretty interesting. I would have never thought that the book could be made into a movie and particularly not a fictional one but from the trailer it looks like they may have pulled it off. We’ll see for sure once October rolls around and it’ll be interesting to see what the fast food companies do in terms of a reaction to the film because it’s pretty damning of their practices and offerings. They won’t be getting much positive praise in the media come October that’s for sure.

During my university days fast food made up an unhealthy amount of our diet. However since graduation and particularly after getting married the amount of fast food that I eat is down near the zero range. That’s definitely thanks to Marcy; she keeps me alive in more ways than one and if I didn’t have her I’m sure my diet would consist of little “good” food. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t eat healthily but I’m more healthy because Marcy is with me. I can thank my stars for that.
The link to the trailer comes courtesy of the fantastic The Movie Blog. I started reading John’s site a few months back and it brings me my movie-related news each and everyday. It rarely disappoints.

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Snakes in suits

July 10, 2006 in Books and Career by matt | No comments

Marcy read this book recently. It’s called Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work. I think I may have to read it at some point. You never know when the techniques discussed inside may come into play at work or in other social settings.

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I’ll take some sexism out of the library

June 17, 2006 in Books, Cultural Criticism, Marriage, Money and Toronto by matt | 1 comment

We went to our local Toronto Public Library branch this afternoon because Marcy had some library fines from last year to pay. She’s looking to get some reading material once school is out and if there are outstanding fines they won’t let you borrow any more books.

We went in and gave the lady working the desk our new address information. It turns out that they don’t use the Interac machine sitting next to the computer though it clearly seemed to be on and working. We had to pay by cash instead and between Marcy and me we pulled together the required amount.

This seemed to shock the lady serving us. I’d say she was a librarian but that would be a lie as she was just “helping out this weekend”. Anyway she was shocked because after determining that we were married, she told us that her husband would never help her out in that way. He would be mad at her for even getting such a high fine. In truth the fine wasn’t even that much. You’d spend more at Chapters in an afternoon. She seemed to think that I was some prince for giving up my money to help pay a lowly library fine.

The truth is that it’s our money; we both earned it so to praise me (and indirectly condemning Marcy) in this way she was acting in a very sexist manner. I guess the old “lord of the household” mentality hasn’t really disappeared. It’s disappointing that she felt that she had to talk to us this way but we let it go and walked away. Hopefully she’s not there the next time we go to the branch. She might say that Marcy should be home instead of out in public.

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JPod

June 9, 2006 in Books, Career and Cultural Criticism by matt | 1 comment

This is a very interesting review of Douglas Coupland’s new book, JPod. Cory says it’s the anti-Microserfs. I read Microserfs in the summer of 2002 just before I went to work for Microsoft as an intern. It was ridiculous how similar to my own life the book felt and I tore through it like a banshee. Since then I’ve read a lot of Coupland’s works but nothing captivated me as much as Microserfs. In many ways it was one of the few fiction books that I could identify with; the characters were me and that really resonated. I know a lot of other people felt the same way particularly those in the technology field

I’ve read a lot of reviews of JPod and it seems to be on the same level as Microserfs. The tone has changed somewhat and looking back on technology from this side of the tech-bubble of the late 90’s gives people a very different perspective on what it’s like to work in technology or for a company focused on technology. It’s hardly the saving grace that many hoped it would be and even when you’re working for a very hot company with state-of-the-art tools, it doesn’t mean that you will find fulfillment in your career. Fortunately for me I’m getting great enjoyment from my job but that’s more to do with the team of people that I work with than the particular technology I’m using. Peopleware is my credo on most of these issues.

In any case, JPod is definitely a book that I am going to want to read; I should probably go through my big list of “to-read” first before buying anything new (yeah right I always say that).

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Processed – no

May 28, 2006 in Books, Food and Health by matt | 4 comments

When we buy groceries we like to buy as much unprocessed food as possible. For one it tastes a lot better when it’s unprocessed plus you get to try and create meals yourself instead of someone else doing the thinking. Over the past couple of years I’ve been more and more interested in this which you could probably track by my FoodTV hours per week watched.

Via Boing Boing I just saw a book that I should read called Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World. Linked from the Boing Boing post is another post about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup. That’s one component of my diet that I know I consume more than I should; whenever you drink a can of pop there’s bound to be some HFCS inside. I’m trying to cut down by drinking tea instead of a Coke but it’s going to take a while to get there.

In any case the posts linked to above are definitely worth looking at.

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A scanner more darkly

February 20, 2006 in Books and Movies by matt | 1 comment

Almost a year ago I posted about the release of a new movie by Richard Linklater.  It’s an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly (novel info).  Via Kottke’s remainder links I discovered the latest trailer for the film (Quicktime link).  The movie comes out July 7th.  I really want to see this.

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Hunter S. Thompson dies

February 21, 2005 in Books, Humour and Movies by matt | No comments

Author Hunter S. Thompson dies

This wasn’t the good news I was hoping for when I came into work. I really enjoyed reading Thompson’s work and Fear and Loathing… is one of the more enjoyable movies I’ve seen. Thompson also wrote some really great articles for ESPN’s Page 2. His most recent one is about shotgun golf with Bill Murray. Appropriate perhaps. His wit and humour will be sorely missed.

Ah, the Half-Blood Prince

December 21, 2004 in Books by matt | No comments

So it seems that the next Harry Potter book will be released July 16th. You can already pre-order it on Amazon (currently sitting at #51) for $19.99. The title? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I’m sure it’ll be the highest-selling one yet. I’ve heard that booksellers bemoaned the fact that there wasn’t a Harry Potter release this year. It’s interesting that they’ve become so dependent on the high-selling books. It’s also sad that the industry is so blockbuster-driven. Dan Brown has a new book out early next year and I’m sure the publishers are licking their lips in anticipation.

That said, I’m sure that I’ll be one of the first to buy the new book come July.

CC

August 5, 2004 in Blog Discussions and Books by matt | 1 comment

I’ve decided to license the content here under a Creative Commons license. I’ve been thinking of doing this for quite a while now. I started reading my (autographed!) copy of Lawrence Lessig’s book, The Future Of Ideas this week and it has spurned me to formally define how I want my content to be protected. Basically this is what you’re allowed to do:

You are free:

  • to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work
  • to make derivative works

Under the following conditions:
Attribution. You must give the original author credit.
Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one.

  • For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
  • Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.

Consider me a part of the commons though it’s dubious how creative I can be.

Chickadee dee dee dee

July 29, 2004 in Books and Life by matt | No comments

I was just looking at Liam O’Donnell’s website and noticed that he has done some work for Owl magazine. Man what a nostalgic trip looking at that magazine’s site was. When I was growing up, I lived off of Owl magazine and my sister read a lot of Chickadee. I’d forgotten all about these magazines until now but I realize (again) that they contributed to my love of reading and of magazines. The magazine describes itself as:

OWL is loaded with fascinating articles and amazing facts for 9 to 13 year olds. Each issue includes the science behind how things work, quizzes, contests, and topics that affect readers’ everyday lives. With breaking news stories and mind-boggling puzzles, it’s a thought-provoking, entertaining place for kids to grow.

I’m not sure how or why my parents decided to get a subscription for me but I’m glad they did. It probably made a not-insignificant impact on my love for technology, learning and science. I’m happy to see that something that I enjoyed as a kid is still around.

Naked Music

July 29, 2004 in Books and Music by matt | No comments

My musical listening habits are extremely cyclical. You might think that as odd considering the vast quantities of music that I have. Actually I’m not sure that I’ve ever mentioned (in this space) just how much music I own. Let’s just say that I could go many months listening to music 24 hours a day and not hear a repeated song. Yeah, that much.

Anyway, every so often I have a strong desire to listen to a lot of Naked Music’s compilations. It’s pretty smooth deep house (I think) and is very easy to listen to and be productive to. Perhaps this sudden urge to listen to their output is due to the fact that I’ve been reading the House Industries book (more when I finish the book) and I’ve seen a lot of their fonts used on various compilations over the years. Those are some very talented folks (at Naked Music and at House). I’m in awe of their creativity.

High and Mighty

July 21, 2004 in Books, Cars and Cultural Criticism by matt | 1 comment

It’s interesting that I just read Darren Barefoot’s post about the Escape Hybrid because I was just about to discuss the most recent book that I finished, High And Mighty: The Dangerous Rise of the SUV by Kenneth Bradsher.

This book was very well written and helped solidify a lot of ideas that I’ve developed over the years about sport utility vehicles. It’s pretty disconcerting that SUVs are so popular in the United States, particularly in the areas that are the most affluent. I remember when we used to live in Michigan that by far the most predominant vehicle on the road was an SUV. Naturally since we lived near the Big Three headquarters, employees and their families had deep discounts on these vehicles but I would ask these drivers the main question raised in the book – is it worth the risk to drive one of these vehicles, both to yourself and more importantly to other people on the road? What are the long-term consequences of driving these big vehicles – how many people will needlessly die over the next 20 years because of the poor design characteristics of SUVs? What are the environmental impacts of driving cars with such poor fuel economy?

It’s strange because here in Canada SUVs are far less common though they’re certainly a force on the highways and streets. Canada tends to be more focused on buying used cars and many of the vehicles on the road are smaller, fuel-efficient cars like the Honda Civic. It’s not really surprising considering the fact that fuel is at least 30% more expensive here than in the U.S. and the cost of living in general is more elevated.

Even when I lived in Washington state in the fall of 2002, the rate of SUVs on the road was much (much) lower than I found in Michigan which is surprising if you think that people buy SUVs because of their four-wheel drive capabilities but not so surprising when you consider that people buy SUVs because they’re a) popular b) high up off the road c) perceived as safer than cars and d) look fashionable.

As a small car driver, I’m terrified of the damage that can be inflicted on me, my car and its occupants if I were to be hit by an SUV. I can’t possibly see myself purchasing one and I know that Marcy feels the same way. Even though my parents now own an SUV (a Toyota Highlander) it’s at least on the safer side of SUVs, not that that is much comfort. SUVs are very dangerous vehicles and the idea that the number of used vehicles on the road driven by mediocre drivers (like teenagers and drunks for example) is only going to increase is really scary.

I’d like to think that legislators and government agencies can help the situation but after reading about the power of the UAW and Midwestern members of government I’m not so sure. I’d like to know more about the Canadian auto regulatory market but I haven’t yet begun to seek out that information.

One thing is for sure, the SUV controversy is not one that will be disappearing anytime soon so long as they’re popular at the dealers and poor in terms of safety and environmental footprint.

One final thought – it says on the back of my paperback edition that the author is now the Hong Kong bureau chief for the New York Times. I wonder if he sees that change as a promotion or a demotion because from what I read, he got a lot of publicity (positive and negative) because of this book.

Another week

July 5, 2004 in Books, It Happened To Me, Kitchener-Waterloo, Movies and Travel by matt | No comments

I took a break from posting for a few days. I hope that everyone had a great Canada Day and/or Independence Day.

My weekend was very relaxing and that was exactly what I needed. It felt like each day was its own weekend, that was how long everything seemed.

Friday Marcy and I went to Burford to visit with my Aunt Nellie and also to visit my grandmother and grandfather’s grave. Ten years ago last week she passed away. Seven years since my grandfather passed away. My aunt (actually my Great Aunt) showed me a book she had made for my grandfather (she made one for each of her siblings). It was pretty emotional seeing all of those early photos of them and my mom and her siblings, the photos of my family, the photos of my uncle’s family and finally at the end, the death notices of my grandparents and my other great aunts. It’s easy to see now that my grandmother’s passing was the catalyst (but definitely not the cause) of our falling-out with the rest of my family, on both sides.

Friday night we went to see Spider-Man 2 at Galaxy with John, Mark, Carolyn and Lamont. John was in from Vancouver to go to a wedding on Saturday and it was very nice to see him. The movie I did not like that much. It dragged in too many parts. I know I’ll probably be labelled as a blasphemer by some for saying this but it wasn’t that great a movie. After dinner we went to Molly Bloom’s in Waterloo for some food and drink and that was a lot of fun. Marcy has a way to capture a crowd that I’m very envious of but I know that I’ll never be able to do that. It’s just not in my nature.

Sidenote: I encourage you to go and see John’s film, Ewok in an Elevator playing over at Atom Films. Unfortunately it’s going to look like he copied the idea in the new Spider-Man movie but I assure you, he thought of the idea first.

Saturday Marcy and I slept in and then went berry picking up in St. Jacob’s. It was extremely hot and Marcy got a little dehydrated so we went back to the apartment to cool off. We watched Clueless at night. I like that movie, it’s pretty funny.

Yesterday we went to Chapters during the afternoon for a bit. I started reading a comic book biography of Louis Riel (man I hate Chapters‘ URLs). It was pretty interesting and I’ll have to go back and finish it (I was about halfway done). After that we went over to visit Marcy’s old roommate, Stacey. We showed her the wedding photos and ended up staying there for almost 5 hours. It was good though, we haven’t seen Stacey in a long time.

We got some New Orleans Pizza for dinner (which subsequently gave me heartburn) and watched most of Forrest Gump. Since it was July 4th, I suppose people thought it would be appropriate to show that movie since it’s a “feel-good” film and has a lot of “American values”.

I also finally finished a book that I started a while ago – Eric Schlosser’s Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market. I love Eric’s writing (he also wrote Fast Food Nation). It was fascinating to read about the rise of the pornography industry in the United States and the ridiculousness of the marijuana punishments meted out by the US justice system. It’s remarkable how different the situation is here in Canada versus the United States and Eric remarks on this difference. I was a bit disappointed by the paltry amount of material about the illegal migrant worker situation but maybe Eric thought that subject has had more coverage than the other two issues discussed in the book. I look forward to Eric’s next book, reportedly on the prison system in the United States. I’d have to say that he’s one of my current favourite non-fiction writers.

So that, in essence, was my weekend. Hardly action-packed but considering how many of the weekends this year (extending even to last year) that we’ve had to run around the province, it was more than pleasant to stay in one place. This weekend is the bachelor party and the next weekend is our reception. After that we have little-to-no-plans which I’m definitely looking forward to.

Suicide girls

June 15, 2004 in Books by matt | No comments

I read off of Boing Boing that there is a Suicide Girls book. You can buy it off of Amazon here.

What struck me about the Amazon page though is a) the book pairings and b) the other books bought list.

The book paired with the Suicide Girls book is called Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs: The Classic Martyrology by Reverend Antonio Galliono.

Repellent and fascinating at the same time, the terrible tortures of Christian martyrs evidence a sort of evil creativity and gleeful bloodlust on the part of their tormentors.

That sounds like a perfect match doesn’t it? I’m not sure which computer thought that that would be a good deal that would entice consumers.

The other items bought by purchasers of this book contains some expected items (Playboy: 50 Years: The Photographs, Down And Dirty: 69 Super Sexy Short-Shorts and 50 Things You’re Not Supposed To Know).

Then we have Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (the same book I discussed here). I liked the book a lot but I don’t understand why people would buy this book and the Suicide Girls book together.

Crazy consumers.