Time lapse footage of yesterday’s protest. Perhaps now we can put all the conflicting crowd estimates to rest… would anyone like to count the number of participants?
feed.angeli.ca
rock'n'roll, country, punk & metal.
bands that combine all four successfully.
design, graphic & interior.
the intersection of philosophy & sociology.
ampersands.
andrew wk.
emergent gameplay, of the videogaming variety.
cursing.
beards.
beer.
bbq.
cjlo.
deep fried everything.
americana.
making lists, including this one of my life's ambitions, and these of things on my mind at the time.
feedback: @angelidotca or ask me anything you'd like here.
i took a trip! read about it here.
evidence of my lame yuppie side on my (gasp!) house blog here.
- me: Honestly, like I've said before, our neighbor's kids scream so much that if they got abducted, I would have no clue that they weren't just "playing" in the yard.
- Andrew: Sure, you would.
- me: Oh yeah? How's that?
- Andrew: Because then there'd finally be silence.
Fellow Quebecers, please visit loi78.com, and add your name. This is a legal action that could help strike down Special Law 78 (which attacks freedom of assembly and expression).
If you don’t know your provincial electoral riding, you can look it up at: http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/english/provincial/electoral-map/find-your-electoral-division-2011.php
Below is a quick translation of the text available at loi78.com that explains the purpose of the petition.
Petition in support of the request for revocation of Special Bill 78 special
This May 17, the Liberal government of Jean Charest filed Bill 78 in the National Assembly as the “Act to enable students to receive the education provided by postsecondary institutions they attend.” To read the bill in its entirety, click here: http://www.lapresse.ca/html/1425/projetdeloi78.pdf
[NOTE: An English version of the bill is available to read here: http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/01407/Quebec_s_anti-prot_1407423a.pdf ]
Bill 78 calls into question much more than the right to strike of Quebec students who have been opposing the 82% increase in tuition fees for more than a year. With this law, the government is directly attacking not just the freedom of students to assemble, but also the freedom of expression of all Quebecers. It turns every citizen, every parent and every teacher into a police officer. It also gives a single person, the new Minister of Education, the authority to amend all laws in place in Quebec without consulting the people, the members of the National Assembly, or even the minister’s colleagues.This is a bill that goes far beyond the student strike and is clearly unconstitutional. Completing the following form allows you to subscribe to the petition of support.
For more information, please read the statement from Juripop, the legal clinic whose lawyers have been instructed to challenge Bill 78.
The data in the form will be used by a team of lawyers to form a petition in support of the request for revocation of Special Bill 78. We will not use the data collected for any purpose other than those mentioned, to contact you if there is an error in your data and to update you on this issue.
A friend of Andrew’s brought this to our attention… I guess once someone makes an animated .gif of your viral video, you’ve officially arrived, right? The 300k+ views aren’t too shabby either!!
![I GOT A KINECT! Part III
It’s no secret that I’m enamored with the Kinect and all its capabilities. While I have yet to try it out on so called “serious” games, like Mass Effect 3 or Skyrim, I have been enjoying the experimental side of Kinect, especially in Fun Labs.
Kinect Fun Labs is a collection of experimental mini games that unleash the power of Kinect’s cameras in unexpected ways. You can use Fun Labs to photoskin an Xbox Live avatar of yourself (creepy, trust me), to animate 3 dimensional objects around your house, and, my favorite latest discovery, to exercise the superhero powers you always knew you had. “I Am Super!” is the name of this last one, and it allows you to hurl electricity or burst your friends into flames. Ice and poison powers are also available, and equally awesome. There are quite a few other games in Fun Labs, with more being added over time.
For those who want to contribute to the Kinect’s capabilities, Voice Studios is an app to try out. You’ll find it in the “social” section of the Apps marketplace on Xbox Live, and essentially it offers up achievements and avatar rewards in exchange for improving the voice recognition capability of Kinect. While sample noise from films and games (including one of my favorites, Viva Pinata!) plays in the background, you read simple sentences and phrases, some of which hint at future Kinect abilities, and then submit them.
As for the actual games I’ve been playing on Kinect, I only have a couple of titles: Kinect Adventures, which came with it, and which I’ve only dipped into casually, and EA Sports Active 2, which I’ve found to be a really solid fitness game that’s friendly to people at all fitness levels.
I’ve also added a couple of nifty downloadable titles to my roster today. A hat tip to Andrew Davidson over at Too Much Music for sending me some MS points, because thanks to him (and Xbox Live Rewards) I was able to grab both Fruit Ninja Kinect and Double Fine Happy Action Theatre! Both titles are on sale this week (at 30% and 50% off respectively), and both take the Kinect to a silly happy place.
Fruit Ninja Kinect will not be a foreign concept to anyone with a smartphone, I’m sure. The only difference is that here you use your arms to karate chop that fruit into submission. As for DFHAT? Well, it seems to be a variation on Kinect Fun Labs, only in a standalone title that involves lava spills, virtual ball pits and stomping on buildings like a monster movie villain. Which is to say, all things that go well with a large group of tipsy adults. I’m sure I’ll have more to share on this title once I give it a whirl, and know more about it than the demo gave away.
Missed Part I or Part II? Have no fear, just click through.
[This is an image pulled from the Kinect patent application.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m44tp5K7Tc1qzbqm3o1_1280.jpg)
I GOT A KINECT! Part III
It’s no secret that I’m enamored with the Kinect and all its capabilities. While I have yet to try it out on so called “serious” games, like Mass Effect 3 or Skyrim, I have been enjoying the experimental side of Kinect, especially in Fun Labs.
Kinect Fun Labs is a collection of experimental mini games that unleash the power of Kinect’s cameras in unexpected ways. You can use Fun Labs to photoskin an Xbox Live avatar of yourself (creepy, trust me), to animate 3 dimensional objects around your house, and, my favorite latest discovery, to exercise the superhero powers you always knew you had. “I Am Super!” is the name of this last one, and it allows you to hurl electricity or burst your friends into flames. Ice and poison powers are also available, and equally awesome. There are quite a few other games in Fun Labs, with more being added over time.
For those who want to contribute to the Kinect’s capabilities, Voice Studios is an app to try out. You’ll find it in the “social” section of the Apps marketplace on Xbox Live, and essentially it offers up achievements and avatar rewards in exchange for improving the voice recognition capability of Kinect. While sample noise from films and games (including one of my favorites, Viva Pinata!) plays in the background, you read simple sentences and phrases, some of which hint at future Kinect abilities, and then submit them.
As for the actual games I’ve been playing on Kinect, I only have a couple of titles: Kinect Adventures, which came with it, and which I’ve only dipped into casually, and EA Sports Active 2, which I’ve found to be a really solid fitness game that’s friendly to people at all fitness levels.
I’ve also added a couple of nifty downloadable titles to my roster today. A hat tip to Andrew Davidson over at Too Much Music for sending me some MS points, because thanks to him (and Xbox Live Rewards) I was able to grab both Fruit Ninja Kinect and Double Fine Happy Action Theatre! Both titles are on sale this week (at 30% and 50% off respectively), and both take the Kinect to a silly happy place.
Fruit Ninja Kinect will not be a foreign concept to anyone with a smartphone, I’m sure. The only difference is that here you use your arms to karate chop that fruit into submission. As for DFHAT? Well, it seems to be a variation on Kinect Fun Labs, only in a standalone title that involves lava spills, virtual ball pits and stomping on buildings like a monster movie villain. Which is to say, all things that go well with a large group of tipsy adults. I’m sure I’ll have more to share on this title once I give it a whirl, and know more about it than the demo gave away.
Missed Part I or Part II? Have no fear, just click through.
[This is an image pulled from the Kinect patent application.]
this happened yesterday.
- me: i'm legitimately not wasp or bee phobic, but there's a 2 inch long pissed off wasp in my bathroom and i'm shitting my pants.
- any suggestions?
- David: they follow currents of air
- this is why when you run away from them
- they can follow you
- open
- me: okay.
- David: the screen door really wide
- front door too
- so you have a current
- me: fuuuck, you mean open up my house???
- David: running through the house
- me: oh man.
- i opened the bathroom window...
- David: unless you want to kill it
- me: but closed all the doors.
- David: ahhh
- it's in the upstairs
- me: problem is, there's a screen.
- yeah!!!
- David: oh, you need to open the screen
- and then coax it out
- me: i saw a corner of the screen has lifted, you think he'll figure his way out?
- David: don't swat it
- me: no, for sure.
- David: you want to make arm motions
- me: every time i come in the room, he heat seeks me.
- David: creating a small wind current
- stick out one finger
- and make a fist
- he'll follow the current you make
- me: oh my god. are you serious???
- David: as you flap your arm
- yes totally
- im serious
- me: i honestly don't think i have the testicles to do that.
- he's sooooo angry.
- David: so do this
- put on a hoody
- and gloves
- and shoes
- me: i feel like if i get too close, i'm guaranteed to get stung (which i'd like to avoid).
- hoody on.
- David: only your face is showing
- me: yeah, gloves.
- David: if the mother fucker makes a move
- beat his ass down
- me: hahahahahahaha this is hilarious.
- David: he can't sting you through your clothes
- me: is that true??
- David: put a jacket on top
- me: that's good to know.
- David: if you're extra worried
- me: yeah, and i'm gonna put on better pants.
- maybe andrew's jeans.
- David: he needs to land and really get that fucker in you
- a good glove beating will get him
- it's like a bee proof suit
- me: haaaaahahaha.
- this is amazing.
- i'm laughing so hard right now.
- i'm terrified and laughing.
- maybe i'll throw a white sheet over everything.
- like beekeepers.
- David: put on a nashville pussy tshirt and that will make you invisible to WASPs as well
- you'll be too low-brow for them
- me: haaaaaahahahahahhahaha.
- David: not sure about the sheet thing... i like to see where my prey is
- unless you're just gonna give it a big ol' blanket party
- me: okay, my mom says i have some kind of bug hat at her house.
- like, with the mesh over the face. gonna go look for that.
- David: wow
- intense
- me: hopefully in the meantime he's figured his way out.
- okay, so i have the bug hat.
- gonna go for the jacket, pants and shoes, and then i'm going in.
- David: go for the screen first
- get it open
- then coax him out
- me: yeah, i told my mom i wanna knock it out, she said i can't, expensive to replace. she said apparently i can slide it out... somehow.
- i guess i'll try that.
- David: there is another method
- but it takes much longer
- if you want it
- me: trapping it?
- David: yeah
- me: i gave it a dish of beer and sugar.
- he doesn't seem interested.
- David: nah
- get a 1 L empty plastic pop bottle
- get some slices of orange
- get them mushy
- and squeeze them into the bottle
- he will EVENTUALLY
- find the opening
- and go into it
- he won't be able to get back out
- but could take a while
- me: hmmmmm i have the pop bottle but no oranges... at least, i think i have a bottle.
- David: beer? you romancing him before he realizes he's gonna get fucked?
- me: wasps love beer!
- i trap 'em in beer all the time.
- David: no they like fine dry wine and sherry...
- me: hahahaha.
- David: and the occaisional cognac
- me: okay, new plan. i'm hoping he's inside the window, between it and the screen. then i close the window problem solved.
- David: that could totally work
- and never open that window again
- ...ever
- me: oh my god.
- walked in.
- that's literally what just happened.
- David: nice
- good
- now you have the hat for next time
- me: here's hoping there is no next time.
- i'm sweating like crazy.
- David: that could be an awesome costume
- "The Bee Keeper"
- me: every time i walked into the room, he must've thought i was the surface of the damn sun, i'm giving off so much heat.
- more like "hobo bee keeper".
- i almost took a photo, but i'm not into self-mortification.
- David: nice hobo bee keeper... look what harper made me do! accept any job!
- no bad jobs!
- me: HAHAHAHAHAHA.
After a flurry of tweets about the premiere episode of The Bachelorette, I decided to change my Twitter photo to this. I have very mixed emotions every time I look at it. While I appreciate its composition, it makes my stomach hurt, and perfectly embodies a time when I was dwarfed, and miserable, but defiant.
things that are on my mind:
dogs and bones? not always a good mix. :(
speaking of dogs, bret michaels’ exclusive line of dog products for petsmart isn’t nearly as exciting as i thought it would be. the cowboy chew boot is pretty rad, tho’.
frank ferrana jr., uh, i mean nikki sixx, has a tumblr.
everything i’ve said about minecraft is probably wrong. well, except for the “it’s ugly” part. that’s still true, but now it matters less.
i am thisclose to finishing kingdoms of amalur: reckoning, including nearly every side quest and storyline. i hope the dlc goes on sale this summer, so i can keep the obsession going…
remember the 300 ms points that were being given away to xbl rewards members? i got mine. in fact, as of writing this, i’ve gotten nearly 600 free points. not too shabby.
Last night’s sleeptalking:
(angrily) “Hundreds of people… literally, hundreds of people!”
Here’s what you need to know about the video above, the song it is for, and the band that made it:
1) The Chainsaw Hookers love horror movies. A lot. Many of their songs are odes to classic horror films, or have horror themes.
2) They sound like fun, loud party that all your friends are at, assuming your friends are members of Zeke and/or assorted Scandinavian rock’n’roll bands.
3) They also sound like high kicks, beer drinking, and sticking your tongue out in a lascivious way.
4) This song in particular also sounds like not taking shit from anyone.
4) It also has gang vocals.
You’re welcome. The new record is available on iTunes, and you should buy it.
