Introducing Zoozle and Mafia

We got our two new kittens today from the Humane Society.  The orange and white male is called Zoozle, and the calico female with the goatee is called Mafia.  Karyn is at work and hasn't had any time to be with them at home.  Cameron and I are totally smitten by the kittens.
Zoozle is more of the adventurer so far, whereas Mafia has a more subdued personality.
They both have colds, which hopefully won't bother them too much or too long.

Technorati Tags: kittens


Technorati Tags: kittens

Introducing Zoozle and Mafia

We got our two new kittens today from the Humane Society.  The orange and white male is called Zoozle, and the calico female with the goatee is called Mafia.  Karyn is at work and hasn't had any time to be with them at home.  Cameron and I are totally smitten by the kittens.
Zoozle is more of the adventurer so far, whereas Mafia has a more subdued personality.
They both have colds, which hopefully won't bother them too much or too long.

Technorati Tags: kittens


Technorati Tags: kittens

Buggy Ride

Yesterday, I was riding out to the Ch'town Mall on the transit (Bus 1 for those keeping track).  A woman, a young lady, was sitting beside me.  She's what I would stereotype as a non-fighting Tammy.  A hard-workin' Tammy.  An Island girl from the lower end of the social spectrum, I'd guess.  I assumed she was on her way back home to her family after a hard day of work.  Anyway, at one point I noticed, on her hair, on a strand of hair (her hair was pulled back, but at the end of the day, more than a few strands were sticking out), was this tiny, tiny little bug.  Perhaps a little spider? It was crawling down her hair-strand to her head.
At that moment, I realised, I had options. I could tell her, or not tell her. I could help her out by pointing out that she had a bug in her hair.  This, I rationalised, could be potentially embarrassing for her, and for me (why was I looking at her hair?).  So, I decided not to tell her.  It was a pretty tiny little thing.  And who knows, maybe it was on its way back to its family too.

Buggy Ride

Yesterday, I was riding out to the Ch'town Mall on the transit (Bus 1 for those keeping track).  A woman, a young lady, was sitting beside me.  She's what I would stereotype as a non-fighting Tammy.  A hard-workin' Tammy.  An Island girl from the lower end of the social spectrum, I'd guess.  I assumed she was on her way back home to her family after a hard day of work.  Anyway, at one point I noticed, on her hair, on a strand of hair (her hair was pulled back, but at the end of the day, more than a few strands were sticking out), was this tiny, tiny little bug.  Perhaps a little spider? It was crawling down her hair-strand to her head.
At that moment, I realised, I had options. I could tell her, or not tell her. I could help her out by pointing out that she had a bug in her hair.  This, I rationalised, could be potentially embarrassing for her, and for me (why was I looking at her hair?).  So, I decided not to tell her.  It was a pretty tiny little thing.  And who knows, maybe it was on its way back to its family too.

Monkey Island

I used to work at MBS Radio.  I left the company primarily because I got tired of working for a company that didn't seem to care one iota about the people who worked for it.  For the most part, I enjoyed working with the people I worked with.  But the company itself drove me (as it had countless others) away.
Anyway, I was made aware that the Charlottetown stations (CFCY and Magic93) are looking for a new producer, and that their online advertisement was rather, um, unique?
Here it is, in part:

PRODUCER

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Some say that primates are a gene or two short from

being human … so we could actually hire a monkey as a producer, but we’re

looking for more than a button pusher … we want someone with that special touch,

a magical touch when it comes to producing commercials and station

imaging.  A producer

who understands the entire process of production from client expectations to

programming consistency.

"we could actually hire a monkey".  Is this really supposed to entice a potential producer to come and work there?  Anyway, perhaps it's just sour-grapes on my part, but this made me laugh.

At any rate, I see a potential sitcom for Bolo, the Monkey President.

Monkey Island

I used to work at MBS Radio.  I left the company primarily because I got tired of working for a company that didn't seem to care one iota about the people who worked for it.  For the most part, I enjoyed working with the people I worked with.  But the company itself drove me (as it had countless others) away.
Anyway, I was made aware that the Charlottetown stations (CFCY and Magic93) are looking for a new producer, and that their online advertisement was rather, um, unique?
Here it is, in part:

PRODUCER

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Some say that primates are a gene or two short from

being human … so we could actually hire a monkey as a producer, but we’re

looking for more than a button pusher … we want someone with that special touch,

a magical touch when it comes to producing commercials and station

imaging.  A producer

who understands the entire process of production from client expectations to

programming consistency.

"we could actually hire a monkey".  Is this really supposed to entice a potential producer to come and work there?  Anyway, perhaps it's just sour-grapes on my part, but this made me laugh.

At any rate, I see a potential sitcom for Bolo, the Monkey President.

Those Hispanics Are Stupid

I'm late to it, but last week's Survivor sure had some entertaining moments.
That whole "let's throw the challenge so we can boot off our weak link" idea was terrifically idiotic.  It shows an absolute lack of foresight on their part.  Okay, so they didn't like Billy, and Billy wasn't participating in the group dynamic to their liking.  That's fine.  But strategically, the thing to do is to keep Billy around until you legitimately lose a challenge, and then snuff out his ass (gross visual).  Instead, they selfishly get  rid of him, and sure the dynamic in the camp may be more harmonious (I doubt it), but they are now in a situation where they can't afford to lose a challenge.  They should have sucked it up and put up with Billy's lack of social interaction until they needed to lose him.  Any way you slice it, it was a stupid move.
The whole division by races thing is interesting.  I never had a problem with it, as really, it's no different than last year when they divided the groups by age and by sex.  No difference.  That there was outrage and huffiness about it just shows how uncomfortable America is about race, imo.  Now that it's done, though, I find it very interesting how the people involved in the various tribes are hyper aware of their racial-ness.  When they break down the "race-tribes" and separate into two tribes or whatever they'll do, I think the bonds of race that many had formed will remain pretty strong throughout the rest of the season.  At least, moreso than bonds of age did last time.  I found the small discussion that was happening in the American-Asian group regarding Cao Boi's poor taste in racial jokes to be unsatisfying.
Finally, at Tribal Council, Billy's proclamation that he and Candice? are in Twooo Wuvvv was a fantastic What The Hell?  It came absolutely out of nowhere and threw everyone for a loop.  I can't wait for the moment when someone asks Candice about her feelings for Billy.  It'll be a heartbreaker for sure.
A pretty good episode, all in all.


Technorati Tags: Survivor

Those Hispanics Are Stupid

I'm late to it, but last week's Survivor sure had some entertaining moments.
That whole "let's throw the challenge so we can boot off our weak link" idea was terrifically idiotic.  It shows an absolute lack of foresight on their part.  Okay, so they didn't like Billy, and Billy wasn't participating in the group dynamic to their liking.  That's fine.  But strategically, the thing to do is to keep Billy around until you legitimately lose a challenge, and then snuff out his ass (gross visual).  Instead, they selfishly get  rid of him, and sure the dynamic in the camp may be more harmonious (I doubt it), but they are now in a situation where they can't afford to lose a challenge.  They should have sucked it up and put up with Billy's lack of social interaction until they needed to lose him.  Any way you slice it, it was a stupid move.
The whole division by races thing is interesting.  I never had a problem with it, as really, it's no different than last year when they divided the groups by age and by sex.  No difference.  That there was outrage and huffiness about it just shows how uncomfortable America is about race, imo.  Now that it's done, though, I find it very interesting how the people involved in the various tribes are hyper aware of their racial-ness.  When they break down the "race-tribes" and separate into two tribes or whatever they'll do, I think the bonds of race that many had formed will remain pretty strong throughout the rest of the season.  At least, moreso than bonds of age did last time.  I found the small discussion that was happening in the American-Asian group regarding Cao Boi's poor taste in racial jokes to be unsatisfying.
Finally, at Tribal Council, Billy's proclamation that he and Candice? are in Twooo Wuvvv was a fantastic What The Hell?  It came absolutely out of nowhere and threw everyone for a loop.  I can't wait for the moment when someone asks Candice about her feelings for Billy.  It'll be a heartbreaker for sure.
A pretty good episode, all in all.


Technorati Tags: Survivor

The Vagaries of Island Literacy & Math Skills

Today a bunch of VIPs were handing out special literacy editions of the provincial paper.  In a front-page "Literacy: The Challenge" fact box, it states that "43 per cent, or 40,000 Islanders have reading skills so limited that they cannot deal with most printed materials such as newspapers or telephone books (source: Provincial Literacy Secretariat)".
That has me wondering what percentage of Islanders have limited math skills too.  Because by my calculations (admittedly arrived at by using a calculator) 43 per cent of the population of Islanders (which, I believe, is around 137,000) equals almost 59,000.  That's quite a difference in figures, Secretariat.  Perhaps you mean "43 per cent, or 40,000 Islanders who are of an age where they should have competent reading skills etc."?

Another fact from the same fact box:  "Recent international tests place 15-year-olds in P.E.I. lower than other provinces in reading and writing."  What kind of vague  information is this?  How much lower, and lower than how many other provinces?  By this statistic we could be third highest, since "other provinces" signifies at least two provinces rank higher.

The Vagaries of Island Literacy & Math Skills

Today a bunch of VIPs were handing out special literacy editions of the provincial paper.  In a front-page "Literacy: The Challenge" fact box, it states that "43 per cent, or 40,000 Islanders have reading skills so limited that they cannot deal with most printed materials such as newspapers or telephone books (source: Provincial Literacy Secretariat)".
That has me wondering what percentage of Islanders have limited math skills too.  Because by my calculations (admittedly arrived at by using a calculator) 43 per cent of the population of Islanders (which, I believe, is around 137,000) equals almost 59,000.  That's quite a difference in figures, Secretariat.  Perhaps you mean "43 per cent, or 40,000 Islanders who are of an age where they should have competent reading skills etc."?

Another fact from the same fact box:  "Recent international tests place 15-year-olds in P.E.I. lower than other provinces in reading and writing."  What kind of vague  information is this?  How much lower, and lower than how many other provinces?  By this statistic we could be third highest, since "other provinces" signifies at least two provinces rank higher.

Meow Squared

Our family cat died about a year ago, I think.  At the time, all of us, I think, were pretty sure that the days of us living with feline companionship were over.  We'd done the cat thing, and it went very well, even if it ended sadly and suddenly.
A few months later, though, we started talking seriously about getting a dog.  The concept was appealing to us, to the point where we were searching for a dog to call our own, with the full intention of adopting him/her.  However, as the days turned to weeks turned to months, and as it never seemed to come to fruition, I think the idea of a having a dog began to become engulfed by the realities of having a dog. 
The desire to search for a dog weakened, and now, I think the very strong urge for us to get a dog has passed.  If we had adopted a dog, I have no doubt that we'd be very happy with our choice.  But the fact remains that we kept putting that final step off. One factor that kept me from that final step was the concept of picking up a dog's shit with a plastic bag and carrying it around for the rest of a walk.  To me, this indicates a fault in our society, and made me re-think the very idea of owning a dog.
And yet, the pet desire remained and we began to think about cats.  We like cats, all of us.  We missed having that feline companionship.  And so, we decided to adopt a cat.
In fact, we decided to adopt two cats.  Today, we went to the PEI Humane Society and adopted two cats.  Kittens.  A brother and a sister.  They have yet to be spayed/neutered, so we won't be bringing them home until later next week.  But we are pretty happy with our choices and are all looking forward to the two new additions to our family.
I'll post pics, of course, when they arrive home.  If we haven't given them names yet, by the time I post their pics, maybe I'll ask for suggestions.

Meow Squared

Our family cat died about a year ago, I think.  At the time, all of us, I think, were pretty sure that the days of us living with feline companionship were over.  We'd done the cat thing, and it went very well, even if it ended sadly and suddenly.
A few months later, though, we started talking seriously about getting a dog.  The concept was appealing to us, to the point where we were searching for a dog to call our own, with the full intention of adopting him/her.  However, as the days turned to weeks turned to months, and as it never seemed to come to fruition, I think the idea of a having a dog began to become engulfed by the realities of having a dog. 
The desire to search for a dog weakened, and now, I think the very strong urge for us to get a dog has passed.  If we had adopted a dog, I have no doubt that we'd be very happy with our choice.  But the fact remains that we kept putting that final step off. One factor that kept me from that final step was the concept of picking up a dog's shit with a plastic bag and carrying it around for the rest of a walk.  To me, this indicates a fault in our society, and made me re-think the very idea of owning a dog.
And yet, the pet desire remained and we began to think about cats.  We like cats, all of us.  We missed having that feline companionship.  And so, we decided to adopt a cat.
In fact, we decided to adopt two cats.  Today, we went to the PEI Humane Society and adopted two cats.  Kittens.  A brother and a sister.  They have yet to be spayed/neutered, so we won't be bringing them home until later next week.  But we are pretty happy with our choices and are all looking forward to the two new additions to our family.
I'll post pics, of course, when they arrive home.  If we haven't given them names yet, by the time I post their pics, maybe I'll ask for suggestions.

Extras, Extras- Read All About It

The long-awaited second season of Ricky Gervais' BBC TV series, Extras, is now underway.  And I say "Yay!!"
What an absolutely wonderful show.  Second season, Episode 1 was very funny.  But Episode 2 was extraordinarily so.  The sitcom that is being presented this season is perfectly awful (Ricky Gervais' character is the writer on a new sitcom this season).  I don't want to give away too much to those who haven't seen it but want to, but the end of that second episode was fantastically funny.

If you haven't seen Extras, you really owe it to yourself to watch.  If you must, learn how to download the episodes off the internet. The new season is available on torrent sites.  If you don't know what 'torrent' is, then you owe it to yourself to learn, because it could change your life forever for the better.

Extras, Extras- Read All About It

The long-awaited second season of Ricky Gervais' BBC TV series, Extras, is now underway.  And I say "Yay!!"
What an absolutely wonderful show.  Second season, Episode 1 was very funny.  But Episode 2 was extraordinarily so.  The sitcom that is being presented this season is perfectly awful (Ricky Gervais' character is the writer on a new sitcom this season).  I don't want to give away too much to those who haven't seen it but want to, but the end of that second episode was fantastically funny.

If you haven't seen Extras, you really owe it to yourself to watch.  If you must, learn how to download the episodes off the internet. The new season is available on torrent sites.  If you don't know what 'torrent' is, then you owe it to yourself to learn, because it could change your life forever for the better.

Sketch22 Wins Some Kind Of Award (Kind Of)

Details are fuzzy on my part, mostly because I wasn't involved in the whole project.  But here's what I believe the story is (anyone feel free to correct any errors of fact):
Last summer (like, last last summer, not the summer just previous) LoJo asked some of the gang from Sketch22 if they'd be willing to help out in making a video to help (this is where it gets fuzzy for me) promote the local Chamber of Commerce.  Some of the gang did it.  Not sure why I wasn't involved.  I probably declined outright, as I am wont to do when people ask me to be involved in endeavours (I am trying to alleviate myself of this tendency on my part.  So if you have a project you want me to be involved in, now is the time to ask.  I promise I won't decline outright), but some of the group (the rest of the group?) did something.  I haven't seen it, but I understand it was hella good and the local Chamber liked it.  Am I right in that?
Anyway, the local Chamber sent it off to the Chamber's Grand Wizard Conference (fuzzy on details) in BigTown, Canada, where it was to be contested against other communities Chamber promotions videos.  Well, turns out it won the People's Choice award, and the "official" judges gave it 3rd place - Bronze Medal, baby.  And get this:  They paid us two-hundred thousand dollars! (fuzzy)  And get this:  That's exactly how much money we need to get the farm and the fishin' outta hock!

And while I am depressed that I wasn't involved, and depressed that I usually say "no" outright to such projects, and can't really take any of the credit, I can still begrudgingly toss out some mad props to the rest of the people involved.

So, good work, Sketchers et al.


Technorati Tags: Sketch22, Chamber of Commerce

Sketch22 Wins Some Kind Of Award (Kind Of)

Details are fuzzy on my part, mostly because I wasn't involved in the whole project.  But here's what I believe the story is (anyone feel free to correct any errors of fact):
Last summer (like, last last summer, not the summer just previous) LoJo asked some of the gang from Sketch22 if they'd be willing to help out in making a video to help (this is where it gets fuzzy for me) promote the local Chamber of Commerce.  Some of the gang did it.  Not sure why I wasn't involved.  I probably declined outright, as I am wont to do when people ask me to be involved in endeavours (I am trying to alleviate myself of this tendency on my part.  So if you have a project you want me to be involved in, now is the time to ask.  I promise I won't decline outright), but some of the group (the rest of the group?) did something.  I haven't seen it, but I understand it was hella good and the local Chamber liked it.  Am I right in that?
Anyway, the local Chamber sent it off to the Chamber's Grand Wizard Conference (fuzzy on details) in BigTown, Canada, where it was to be contested against other communities Chamber promotions videos.  Well, turns out it won the People's Choice award, and the "official" judges gave it 3rd place - Bronze Medal, baby.  And get this:  They paid us two-hundred thousand dollars! (fuzzy)  And get this:  That's exactly how much money we need to get the farm and the fishin' outta hock!

And while I am depressed that I wasn't involved, and depressed that I usually say "no" outright to such projects, and can't really take any of the credit, I can still begrudgingly toss out some mad props to the rest of the people involved.

So, good work, Sketchers et al.


Technorati Tags: Sketch22, Chamber of Commerce

Rob Is Robin

Your results:
You are Robin

Robin 63% Superman 60% The Flash 60% Green Lantern 50% Hulk 50% Spider-Man 45% Catwoman 40% Supergirl 33% Batman 30% Wonder Woman 23% Iron Man 20%

Young and acrobatic. You don't mind stepping aside to give someone else glory.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Rob Is Robin

Your results:
You are Robin

Robin 63% Superman 60% The Flash 60% Green Lantern 50% Hulk 50% Spider-Man 45% Catwoman 40% Supergirl 33% Batman 30% Wonder Woman 23% Iron Man 20%

Young and acrobatic. You don't mind stepping aside to give someone else glory.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Master Charmer

Never saw this clip before. Thought it was pretty funny. It's a UK gameshow.

Master Charmer

Never saw this clip before. Thought it was pretty funny. It's a UK gameshow.

Two Sketch22 Charlottetown Shows Left

Skate Country, put your ears on!  There are only two Sketch 22 shows left in Charlottetown this year.  Thursday (tonight) and Friday at the Guild.  If you haven't seen the show yet, then there are only two more days for you to find excuses not to go but to go on and on about how you fully intend on going.



Technorati Tags: Sketch22

Two Sketch22 Charlottetown Shows Left

Skate Country, put your ears on!  There are only two Sketch 22 shows left in Charlottetown this year.  Thursday (tonight) and Friday at the Guild.  If you haven't seen the show yet, then there are only two more days for you to find excuses not to go but to go on and on about how you fully intend on going.



Technorati Tags: Sketch22

Two Questions from the Halifax Trip Answered:

On the Sketch22 trip to Halifax last weekend, two questions came up for which there was no answer any of us were sure of:
Why do Canadians say "zed" and Americans say "zee"?  Here's the answer.  Turns out Americans say "zee" and everyone else says "zed". 
Do seagulls make nests?  According to this Cheltenham governement site, they do:

Life Cycle
Breeding

pairs court in April and commence nest building from early May onwards.

In towns the nests tend to be constructed from straw, grass, twigs,

paper and any other materials the gull can conveniently use. These

nests can be large and if they are made of material accumulated over

several years, they can become quite heavy. This means that if a

breeding site is established then the gulls with return year after year.

Two Questions from the Halifax Trip Answered:

On the Sketch22 trip to Halifax last weekend, two questions came up for which there was no answer any of us were sure of:
Why do Canadians say "zed" and Americans say "zee"?  Here's the answer.  Turns out Americans say "zee" and everyone else says "zed". 
Do seagulls make nests?  According to this Cheltenham governement site, they do:

Life Cycle
Breeding

pairs court in April and commence nest building from early May onwards.

In towns the nests tend to be constructed from straw, grass, twigs,

paper and any other materials the gull can conveniently use. These

nests can be large and if they are made of material accumulated over

several years, they can become quite heavy. This means that if a

breeding site is established then the gulls with return year after year.

The Annekenstein Monster NFL Picks

Just a final reminder for anyone who wants to sign up and play in The Annekenstein Monster NFL pool at The Weekly NFL Picks Page that you should do so sooner than later.  Unless you've played at that site before, you'll have to register if you want to play, but it's a simple registration, and there's no spam or anything to worry about if you do register.
It's a pretty simple game to play.  However to play it well is more challenging.  All you have to do is, each week, pick which NFL teams will beat the team they are playing.  But it's not a straight up pick.  It's based on the betting point spread.  Even if you know nothing about football, you should join in and play if you want.
This is the first week of the new season, and there is a game this Thursday, so for this week, people'll have to get their picks in earlier than usual.
So far, there's a handful of players listed.  Some are from last year, so I don't know if they're actually returning or not.  If you're name is listed below, and you're not planning on playing this year (chicken), let me know and I'll remove it.

For the rest of you who haven't joined yet:  Come on and play and show us who think we know football how wrong we are.

Players listed in the pool:
RFTT1985
spragger2002
Graham the Conquerer
reverseflash
Jim Simmonds
and last year's pool winner:
annekenstein

The Annekenstein Monster NFL Picks

Just a final reminder for anyone who wants to sign up and play in The Annekenstein Monster NFL pool at The Weekly NFL Picks Page that you should do so sooner than later.  Unless you've played at that site before, you'll have to register if you want to play, but it's a simple registration, and there's no spam or anything to worry about if you do register.
It's a pretty simple game to play.  However to play it well is more challenging.  All you have to do is, each week, pick which NFL teams will beat the team they are playing.  But it's not a straight up pick.  It's based on the betting point spread.  Even if you know nothing about football, you should join in and play if you want.
This is the first week of the new season, and there is a game this Thursday, so for this week, people'll have to get their picks in earlier than usual.
So far, there's a handful of players listed.  Some are from last year, so I don't know if they're actually returning or not.  If you're name is listed below, and you're not planning on playing this year (chicken), let me know and I'll remove it.

For the rest of you who haven't joined yet:  Come on and play and show us who think we know football how wrong we are.

Players listed in the pool:
RFTT1985
spragger2002
Graham the Conquerer
reverseflash
Jim Simmonds
and last year's pool winner:
annekenstein

Look Around You

Here's a link to a YouTube playlist of a BBC parody of 1970s children's educational TV programs.  Each episode is about 9 minutes long.  My favourite is Look Around You - Music.

Look Around You

Here's a link to a YouTube playlist of a BBC parody of 1970s children's educational TV programs.  Each episode is about 9 minutes long.  My favourite is Look Around You - Music.

No Gallup, This Poll

I've added a poll widget to the site.  I'll change the poll topic periodically.  The first poll concerns some of the characters from this season's Sketch22 production.  If you've seen the show this year, which live stage character was your favourite?  Choose your favourite from the characters listed, keeping in mind that actors' egos hang in the balance.
For the record, I voted for Ronnie, the father from Heart & Soil.

update: Full disclosure time.  Okay, so it looks like I voted for Amadeus.  What happened was:  When I originally set up the poll, the border was black.  I voted for Ronnie, then decided that the border would look better in red, so I went to the site and changed it.  When I re-loaded the poll, I guess it reset the original polling info.  Then when I came back here to see the poll results, I inadvertently clicked on Amadeus. So, technically, I voted for Amadeus, but my heart's pick is Ronnie.


Technorati Tags: Sketch22, poll

No Gallup, This Poll

I've added a poll widget to the site.  I'll change the poll topic periodically.  The first poll concerns some of the characters from this season's Sketch22 production.  If you've seen the show this year, which live stage character was your favourite?  Choose your favourite from the characters listed, keeping in mind that actors' egos hang in the balance.
For the record, I voted for Ronnie, the father from Heart & Soil.

update: Full disclosure time.  Okay, so it looks like I voted for Amadeus.  What happened was:  When I originally set up the poll, the border was black.  I voted for Ronnie, then decided that the border would look better in red, so I went to the site and changed it.  When I re-loaded the poll, I guess it reset the original polling info.  Then when I came back here to see the poll results, I inadvertently clicked on Amadeus. So, technically, I voted for Amadeus, but my heart's pick is Ronnie.


Technorati Tags: Sketch22, poll

Big Dick!!

Big Dick ticket
Originally uploaded by The Annekenstein Monster.

Still a great performer, even as a solo act. Big Dick puts on a first-rate concert. Sang "Steal This Cowboy's Heart" three times!!! Didn't mind the rain at all.

Big Dick!!

Big Dick ticket
Originally uploaded by The Annekenstein Monster.

Still a great performer, even as a solo act. Big Dick puts on a first-rate concert. Sang "Steal This Cowboy's Heart" three times!!! Didn't mind the rain at all.