| Save The Robots |
[Feb. 25th, 2007|12:19 pm] |
Do you write for television or movies?
Do you want to make me bawl uncontrollably?
Here's how you do it:
1. Have a good and/or innocent anthropomorphized robot in the script.
2. Kill the robot.
It's incredibly rare that moving pictures will reduce me to tears (then again, it's incredibly rare that anything does). This will apparently work on me *every* *time.*
( 'Dr. Who' New Season 2 (S2E3) Spoiler ) |
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| Stephthegeek Knows |
[Jan. 19th, 2007|08:55 am] |
Catching up on some journal reading, I noticed ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) stephthegeek_wp had also moved from Toronto to a liberal American city. Her posts on the difference from where she is now and Canada make me think 'holy crap, that's exactly how I feel!'
Since she's mentioned health insurance, Thanksgiving, Tim Horton's, and poppy pins (with a link to a pretty humorous take on the immigration process thrown in), I figured I'd add my commentary.
Health insurance. A coworker from Australia and I have joked, that the criteria for having your US immigration application easily approved is to have come from a country with socialized medicine. It's a little strange to fork over money every time I see a doctor, to be expected to hand over privatized insurance cards and the like (as if being "Uninsured" is a piteous condition).
Finding a doctor is also trickier if you don't have insurance. I ran into a rigamarole last summer when my prescription from Canada ran out — everything turned out entirely fine (I ended up managing to buy some time by ordering from an online pharmacy from — you guessed it — the Great White North), I have a doctor now, but sheesh... what a headache for a while.
With the insurance forms for various companies, I am told that I should not, under any circumstances, reveal that I or any dependents have any pre-existing health conditions. This would pretty much be a flat-out lie for me, a type of statement that I am incapable of communicating verbally (much less committing to paper with my signature). Do the insurance companies just not cover pre-existing conditions, or do they simply charge more for coverage? (Feel free to IM answers to me, as opposed to answering in the comments.)
Thanksgiving. Yes, it's pretty weird that this is so close to Christmas (as well as followed by the madness of Black Friday). I'm definitely used to more buffer time. Being wished well on Canadian Thanksgiving while in the States invokes a distant feeling of being out of sync, which is very interesting to me.
Also, what's with Black Friday? Don't retailers understand that Boxing Day (on the 26th of December) makes more sense for clearing out seasonal inventory at bargain basement prices? It's not as if there's a great wealth of Thanksgiving items to clear out, except for the odd giant inflatable Snoopy wearing a pilgrim's hat.
Tim Horton's. I miss it. I have travelled 5 hours to the closest one. This fact alone should be enough said, but I must continue. The coffee is unlike any other, even buying their ground coffee and making it at home cannot produce a taste that compares. I love the prolific smell of donuts being fried. The Boston creme. The garden vegetable sandwich. Peach juice. The bread bowl. The iced capp. The new donut flavor of the month. Fresh fucking Timbits that melt all over in your mouth, and gently yield their sponginess as you masticate.
Poppies. The oddest thing for me here on Remembrance Day (known as Veterans Day in America) is seeing poppies on my friends' journals, but none decorating peacoats and wool trenches of pedestrians traversing downtown.
Other Stuff. To my Canadian friends, did you know that pharmacies in the US sell cigarettes, with the wallpaper of cancer packs behind the register, just like in the convenience stores? Weird.
There's a fairly insistent culture of excess. Nearly every time I go out to eat, one order of food is easily two portions for me (which has the bonus of being two meals for the price of one). Most people seem to run out for the next best thing as soon as it's available. Pretty crazy.
All of the money is the same color. None of it is the same size. Dollar coins are accepted in exchange for goods or services with grim hesitation. None of the bills have braille. All but the freshest from the mint seem to be a little grimy. But when the bills are fresh? Those "Benjamins" are so crisp. I suppose Canuk bucks could possess the same crispiness, but it's been a while since I've touched a virtually uncirculated one. I think American money is pretty good at encompassing its reputation with its characteristics. For all the wackiness (and weightiness) that Loonies and Twonies (or as I like to call them, DubLoons) have, I think I prefer the way Canadian money is done. Neither way is perfect yet.
The advertising isn't as good, which is a bit of a shame. A lot of it seems slapped together, many of the billboards seem like they could be slapped together with Word. Almost all the clever is gone, replaced with "get boobs drive fast eat now buy more." I miss the clever. |
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| Whenever I Go |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|11:07 am] |
A few years ago, I thought it would be nice: Brooklyn Bridge closed off, records blasting. Friends, family, and me -- the corpse in the cutest 20's dress you've seen, decked out in cement shoes, ready to be thrown into the icy river at the stroke of midnight.
That funeral is never going to happen.
It's okay that it's not ever taking place. I will, after all, be dead. The execution of wills are a comfort to the living, really (one of the reasons I'm pretty damn happy when someone gets their way in the days following their death, not so much for myself, but for other mourners). Sure, some fish are going to miss out on an extra meal, but NYC's water treatment facilities won't have to work overtime on my account.
The other nice bonus is that my organs suitable for reuse can be distributed to those who can really use them. In a way, I will actually continue to live on in other bodies, while giving people a new lease on life. Deliciously creepy and helpful, no (especially if the recipients donate their organs when they go)?
It used to be that the idea of getting sliced up made my blood run a little cold (it still does, the teeniest bit). But I know that this is a totally illogical way of looking at things. I won't be able to feel it. So please, take everything that is of use. If there's enough left for a viewing (you can dress me in a toga, it's simple), sure, have one, but I want the rest donated to science.
In the slightest chance that there's anything left, throw it to the flames then sprinkle my ashes from atop Mount Fuji (bonus points if you also manage to sneak some of my dusty self into Active Surplus). Consider it my last great joke if my executor has already climbed Fuji-san.
If I can go back to viewings for a second (assuming there are any)... If you want to go, and you're not going to be a dick, you get to go. Let me reiterate these two things:
1. The doors are open.
2. Do not be a dick if you attend.
This, of course, doesn't mean you can't make fun of me. Everyone is totally allowed to make fun of me in good spirits, especially if it makes you feel a bit better about me not being there to make fun of you.
Do what makes you happiest for a funeral, if you want to have one. I suppose you should probably have one, if only for whatever closure it can bring you. Just don't go all fancypants on me, or feel that anything *has* to go a certain way.
I suppose the Accordionator gets first dibs on my stuff, but I expect almost everything will go to those who can get the most use (or in the case of things such as books or music, pleasure) out of it.
Wagamancer, you're writing my dirges.
Not that I'm planning to go anytime soon (I doubt I'll plan to go ever, but I think you know what I mean).
Oh, and by the way, the term "last wishes"? Doesn't seem quite right to me. I imagine my last wish will either be "I wish I hadn't grabbed that electrical cable" or "I wish I had a soda... wait a minute... I wish I hadn't eaten that spinach."
Next time, how does a post that doesn't seem so morbid sound? 'Cause I think I've got just the thing up my sleeve. |
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| Hello, Good Night, and Good Morning |
[Dec. 31st, 2006|03:35 pm] |
December 2006 seemed to be a popular time for dying. A woman who was a friend, my maternal grandmother, two extended family members, an acquaintance's grandmother in law; they all passed away this month.
My phone rang one night, and my mom's phone number showed up on the display. I had deduced that she was calling to see if we had received a package she had sent (we did get one from her that day) -- it was not. It was news that her mother had died. I somehow get the impression that when someone calls to tell you there's been a death, the natural assumption is to think that the person that usually seldom calls is bringing good tidings (the Accordionator had a rather similar experience this month).
All things considered, I think it was the fruits of the aforementioned call the Accordionator received that hit me the most. His ex-wife, the "woman who was my friend," died. It was sudden, and she was not really that much older than I. The last time I had seen her, as well as the last time we had communicated with each other, were not particularly pleasant experiences. I had felt bad that I hadn't resolved things with her. I think this was also a bit selfish... In addition to thinking it a shame that someone with such fascinating potential was gone, I was sad because I lost the chance to reconcile, and perhaps the latter was not the best reason to be sad.
Getting soppy over someone dying was also noticeably weird for me, as I'm usually quite aloof when it comes to such things. Not because I don't care, or because I don't miss people when they die. Because it makes no sense to me to get worked up about it, because it changes nothing. If I may be crassly practical for a moment: no one has ever been brought back from the dead from the power of mourning, so I tend to use logic in order to avoid it as much as possible.
While I'm on the subject of bereavement, there is something that tends to bug me a bit about the process. I do my best to be diplomatic about this (mostly by smiling and nodding), but I don't believe that when someone dies they go to a better place. I believe they go away. Please try to avoid telling me otherwise -- I would much rather celebrate someone's life and legend, than postulate on the possibility of their continued existence elsewhere. My point of view is not the most comforting, and there are times where I think things would be a lot less overwhelming if I could just believe otherwise, but this is the only conclusion I have enough evidence to bring myself to. I mean no disrespect to those who feel that there is more than this plane of existence -- in the end, we may find that you are the one who is right (it certainly wouldn't be the first time I'd admit defeat).
I realize that this may be interpreted as a pretty "emo" post. I'm really okay -- it's just that this was all sitting in my head for a while. For those who have been wondering, things have been going considerably well (aside from the aforementioned Not Fun bits). Here's hoping we all have a better year in 2007. |
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| Fall Letters |
[Oct. 15th, 2005|11:25 pm] |
There's a lot of you that I've fallen out of touch with since moving. I'd like to keep in contact with you, but I'm still not fond of the idea of jumping back into a LiveJournal. I'd much rather write letters than glorify the mundane.
So, if you'd like to receive a letter from me, simply leave your name and address in the comments (which I've screened, for your privacy). If I haven't met you in real life, and you'd still like a letter, drop me a comment. I can't guarantee I'll get to everyone, but I'll see what I can do. |
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| Poll: |
[Sep. 20th, 2005|07:21 pm] |
Are apple fritters doughnuts (donuts)? |
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| Hiatus |
[Mar. 23rd, 2005|11:56 pm] |
Henceforth, I'll be taking an indefinite break from posting LiveJournal entries. At some point I may pick it up again, but I wouldn't expect that to happen for quite some time.
I've started doing writing for a site that is expected to go live in the next couple of months. I imagine that the effect of this will be a finer tuned style of writing. It may work out, it may not, but feel free to hunt down more of my words (I've included a hint in this post).
Thanks for reading,
Ophylia |
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| Dear Diary |
[Mar. 15th, 2005|10:20 pm] |
A while ago, I found an old diary of mine in my mother's basement. I can't remember if I posted any of it here, but I thought I'd share some of it now. This is an entry from when I was twelve. Note my atrocious grammatical skills and early poly tendencies:
"Love is a very confusing thing. You know, I really like David (him and me are sort of going out), but lately Jeff has caught my eye too. Jeff usually sits with David on the bus, and I sit behind him them with Lucie. Lucie says me and David aren't really going out until we kiss. Sometimes when we're walking home from the bus stop, I try to, but then I get nervous, and I don't. I wish somebody would tell me what to do, but I don't know how to ask."
Another awesome quote from later that day:
"I guess we do some pretty stupid stuff at our age."
Oh, little Ophylia, weren't you preciously precocious.
...and what ever did become of David? I can only assume he's doing something in the field of hardcore computer science (although according to the Intarwebs, there is a Canadian musician with his name). |
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| Red Eye Cinema |
[Mar. 1st, 2005|10:27 am] |
Hint to Adirondack Trailways: Overnight schedules are probably not the best routes to be showing movies on. |
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| "Thesis" Pr0n, Redux |
[Feb. 4th, 2005|08:51 am] |
Rather than continue to fill this journal with excessive academia, updates on my "thesis" are being posted to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) thesispr0n. |
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| "Thesis" Pr0n |
[Jan. 30th, 2005|01:20 pm] |
Posting, as you may have noticed, has been fairly light as of late — it's going to remain so for quite a while, as I'm rather busy this semester.
In the meantime, enjoy some election technology porn.
- Lisa Rein's insane and delightful archive of Election Technology posts
- A collection of guides from the FEC regarding user-centered voting. I never thought the US Federal Elections Commission would just about make me cream my pants, but I suppose there's a first for everything. Well, the FEC has eliminated that useful bit of information from their website. Of course, you could read up on the Help America Vote Act (which I think, for the most part, is a pretty useless piece of legislation). Go figure.
Update: Huzzah for PURLs:
Developing a User-Centered Voting System
Usability Testing of Voting Systems
Procuring a User-Centered Voting System |
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| Mind-Controlling Accordions |
[Jan. 22nd, 2005|10:36 am] |
Squeezebox afficionados may want to check out my recent post to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) accordions, wherin which I post fifties illustrations of accordionists getting the girl. |
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| *grin* |
[Jan. 21st, 2005|07:55 am] |
Votomatic... Check.
Copy of 'America: The Book,' complete with Election 2004 supplement... Check.
Let the "Thesis"[0] begin[1]!
[0] It's not so much a "Thesis" as an "Independent Study Unit." I think administration wants to make us feel as if we're just like the big kids in university, and is therefore giving the project a more prestigious name than it deserves.
[1] Technically, I suppose I began in December. Unfortunately, "Let the "Thesis" continue" just doesn't have the same ring to it. |
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| Why I Love My Sister |
[Jan. 15th, 2005|10:35 pm] |
kokanee: you should come visit new york
kokanee: it much more exciting than phili
xophylia: Oh, I probably will.
kokanee: I mean its chees come on
xophylia: Yay, cheese!
kokanee: ahahah
xophylia: :)
xophylia: I like cheese.
kokanee: hhahaha
xophylia: Nothing like a good Brie.
kokanee: its gouda |
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| Strangest. Mash-up. Ever. |
[Jan. 9th, 2005|01:02 pm] |
Today, I found a bizarre little track called "Closer to Particle Man."
Yes, it's what you probably think it is.
It makes me feel physically weird. |
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| Year In Review: Part II |
[Dec. 24th, 2004|02:53 pm] |
You may be pleased to know that this second instalment of Year In Review for 2004 focuses less on personal events, and more on shiny things.
Music
I think my favourite album of the year was They Might Be Giant's The Spine. Experimental Film was a fun and rocking track, with a delicious video. Some of the songs missed the mark — such as Bastard Wants To Hit Me — but the album is redeemed with Au Contraire and other gems.
A close second is Barenaked for the Holidays from Scarborough's favourite band, BNL. While the interstitial instrumentals are delightful, the purchase of the entire album can be justified with Elf's Lament.
Radio
One of my favourite discoveries of 2004 was the CBC show WireTap. The host, Jonathan Goldstein, tapes conversations he has with people on the phone. The results are funny, depressing, and everything in between. It's some of the best radio I've ever heard.
( Cinema, Theatre, Food, Technology, Literature ) |
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| Year In Review: Part I |
[Dec. 23rd, 2004|11:41 am] |
There are a few memes on LiveJournal regarding the past year. As you may have noticed, I tend to avoid memes. However, I do find the idea interesting.
I started 2004 with a change in majors at college. Instead of a major in Environmental Design, I switched to Advertising. It is a change that made a lot of sense, and I love the course of study. The beginning of this year also saw me starting employment at the graphics tutoring lab, where I have been working since.
In the spring, there was a lot of heartbreak.
Shortly after, I spent some time at a start-up advertising agency. There was an incredible personality clash between myself and the creative director — which is to say, he was the sort of person who should not be running a company. I eventually left, taking with me some lessons about management.
This summer, my landlord was stabbed in the store he ran below my apartment. He was an awesome community-minded old Korean man. I was aware that when I moved to that particular abode, I would be living in a bit of a scruffy neighbourhood. That knowledge, however, did not make it any easier to deal with.
I left The Big Smog shortly after, and spent the remainder of the summer in the City of Brotherly Love with the Accordionator. I had a wonderful time.
Warren Ellis posted an excerpt from the fiction I am working on, to Die Puny Humans.
In the fall, I took on a course load greater than 100%. I am amazed at how well I was able to succeed in my studies. I attribute this accomplishment to strict time management.
I was an intercession week surprise ninja.
The United States presidential election crushed me for a few days. I am more hopeful now, regarding America's future, but I know I was a mess in early November.
I orchestrated a collaborative art project about a month later. I had a great time art directing it, and I am quite proud of everyone else who worked on it.
Winter has brought much joy and planning for the future. |
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| How I Spend My Vacations |
[Dec. 22nd, 2004|08:42 pm] |
stridingcloud linked to this map of what the TTC should look like. In order to keep my Illustrator skills up, I created a scalable version of it (or rather, a synthesis of both that map and the current TTC Subway/RT map). |
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[Dec. 20th, 2004|10:22 am] |
When I was smaller, I lived in a two-storey house in Gatineau, Québec. It was a time when my mother was a fitness instructor, my father was still living with us, and the largest financial woe of my sister and myself was whether or not we would have enough allowance to get a Mr. Big at the dépaneur across the street.
One of the flights of stairs was carpeted, and lead to the basement (the basement was also carpeted, with the same garish red/gold/green/black ogee pattern as the stairs) Somewhere along the line, I realized that the minimal friction between a fitness mat and the carpeted incline made for a swiftly moving makeshift vehicle.
Laying at the bottom of the stairs on the thinly padded concrete floor, I was shocked at the lack of sensation in my body — save for what seemed to be aftershock from the impact. Well after I could move my digits, I stared at the white ridged ceiling, and I thought. |
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| Move Aside, Hello Kitty |
[Dec. 19th, 2004|10:16 am] |
This toaster blows a similar product by Sanrio out of the... err... socket? |
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contemplative