Samsara Shmamsara

So Long and Merci For All the Fish

2009-12-16T09:02:00.004-05:00

You may have noticed, this blog hasn't been active since (insert date of latest post). I'm not dead or anything (at least not in any noticeable way, but I stopped being so sure nowadays since seeing The Sixth Sense), and I'm just as busy as ever, but I've stopped feeling guilty and responsible if I don't update the blog. The fact is: it finally dawned on me that I have no readers, apart of my family and a nano-circle of closest friends (and even then, when I ask them their opinion on my latest post, they would say: oh your blog? I haven't checked it for a while), so I'm saying: f*ck it, if nobody cares, why should I?

Hence the title of today's post. It's my way of thanking, from the bottom of my heart, the two followers who agreed to be identified as such: sincere, humble, grateful thanks to them for clicking on something that somehow linked them to this blog, and now I'm setting them free. Heartfelt thanks to other anonymous readers, if any, to all the people who were previously interested enough to comment and to anyone who accidentally stumbled on this blog. I might post again, whenever.. but it will only be for myself.

Kisses and hugs and thanks for all the fishes.

Explanation from Wikipedia: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984, ISBN 0-345-39183-7) is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspatial express route, as described in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The phrase has since been adopted by some science fiction fans as a humorous way to say "goodbye" and a song of the same name was featured in the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

UPDATE: I might have spoken too soon (or too late): I can't seem to find my followers on the blog, so they must have de-followed themselves a long time ago, and I didn't even notice. This final post is so obviously overdue it would be embarrassing to anyone who cares. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

The Intelligence Squared Debate

2009-11-12T09:28:00.002-05:00

Aired 11-7-09 on BBC World, the debate theme is: " Is the Catholic church a force for good in the world? " Speaking for the motion, Archbishop John Onaiyekan and Ann Widdecombe MP. Speaking against the motion, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry. Votes are taken before and after the debate.

The Swine Flu Lottery

2009-11-06T07:58:00.007-05:00

The swine flu season is in full swing and vaccination campaigns have just started in Montreal. As usual, all kinds of weird/bad decisions have been taken, that make you wonder sometimes... We're not talking only about the massive disorganization of the first few days that forced parents with young children and pregnant women standing in huge lines for 5-6 hours in the cold. Consider:

Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, it's where the flu pandemy would have the most disruptive impact. So of course, it's not where the vaccination campaign would start, because that would be too rational. Montrealers would be among the last to be vaccinated in the province.

Why did it take so long? Here's an extract from the local newspaper The Gazette :

"Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc chastised Montreal's top health official for failing to deploy the city's H1N1 vaccination program as planned months in advance.

Concerned that further inoculation delays would put people at risk for swine flu infection now that the virus is in hyper speed, Bolduc personally called David Levine, head of the Montreal Health and Social Services Agency, to demand an explanation.

Bolduc made the call late Monday night, said his press attache Marie-Ève Bédard.

There was no reason for Montreal's delay, Bédard said.

Not only did the city have the vaccine on hand "for quite a while," but also the authority to hand over the doses to the 12 local health agencies responsible for handling the campaign at various sites, she said. "So the minister found it difficult to understand why Montreal hadn't started its vaccination." Levine promised that the plan would be on track by 10 a.m. yesterday, with the vaccine delivered to every hospital, clinic and nursing home.

But at a press briefing held yesterday morning, Levine said that as far as he was concerned, there were no delays.

Accompanied by Richard Lessard, head of public health, and Louise Massicotte, in charge of the vaccine program at local health agencies, Levine explained that plans initially called for a mid-November start date and it was a huge logistical job for the agency to prepare for an earlier start on Oct. 26.

In fact, Lessard added, it was actually a good thing that Montreal did not start immunizing Monday because only that evening the vaccine manufacturer provided health authorities with new handling directives.

Sensitive to light and heat, the vaccine itself must be kept at temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees C, and if not used within 24 hours of being mixed with the adjuvant and one hour of filling a syringe, it will expire, Lessard said.

Back in Bolduc's office, Bédard, however, dismissed these "new" vaccine directives: "This is the first time I've heard of this. I don't know why he said that. The procedures have been known for a long time ... and Montreal was in charge of sending (early) vaccine to northern Quebec." Neither Levine nor Lessard was available to comment."

So there's your answer. As a professional linguistic expert, let me translate: Q: Why the delay? A: Heck if I know.

Vaccines are now limited to people who care for infants, children 6 months to 5 years old, expectant mothers more than 20 weeks pregnant, those with serious immune deficiencies, the gravely ill, front-line and health workers.

For healthy adults and children older than age 5, vaccination will not begin until December 7th. I'll be taking a couple of trips at the end of the year, starting on the first of December, so I guess I'll miss the whole thing. Unless I pull rank with my diabetes, since adults age 18 to 65 with a chronic illness will get inoculated starting November 23rd.

In the meantime, here are a few groups who are getting their shots ahead of everyone: hockey players, inmates in jail, high-level civil servants and homeless people.

Any questions? Ask the health care professionals below (no, not the pumpkin, he's a PR guy).

Update: I will regularly update this post by adding new groups who I learn are able to jump the line and get inoculated before their turn :

7 November: professional basket ball players, the 200 top donors to a hospital.

10 November: Claude Dubois (famous singer) and family

11 November: Afghan detainees in Canadian bases in Afghanistan (I kid you not)

12 November: "In B.C., where eight died from the swine flu last week, an alleged nurse posted an ad on UsedVictoria.com to auction the H1N1 vaccine on the Internet. The ad, posted Monday, "said the auction would continue until midnight on Friday. After that, the nurse was to contact the highest bidder, come to the winner's home with proof of credentials and administer the shots," The Province reports"

See Ya Later Alligator!

2009-11-05T07:12:00.002-05:00

Sent by Michelle (Merci Michelle!)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T18:47:00.002-04:00

What? Too Soon?

2009-10-21T20:25:00.003-04:00

My suggestion for this year's Halloween Costume, on sale at: http://www.microflight.com/Balloon-Boy-Halloween-Costume-Kit, for the low low price of $19.99 (you supply your own helium).

J'ai la sécurité d'emploi

2009-10-18T20:16:00.004-04:00

Je suis allée à Zellers l'autre jour pour acheter des valises pour mon voyage à Los Angeles.

Une des valises portait l'étiquette suivante:

Pour comprendre ce charabia, je fais ce que font tous les Québécois quand ils ne comprennent pas un texte en français: je cherche la version anglaise. Euréka! Tout s'explique!

La valise en question est vendue avec un petit sac à dos, qui est "niché" à l'intérieur. Les instructions sont destinées au personnel de la Section des valises du magasin: ils doivent sortir le petit sac à dos de la valise avant de mettre l'ensemble en vente.

La morale de l'histoire est que ce n'est pas demain la veille que je serai remplacée par un logiciel de traduction automatique.

P.S. J'ai acheté une autre valise.

Abomination

2009-10-10T02:32:00.002-04:00

I wasn't ready yet to post, but this is too disgusting for me to keep quiet. I will not reproduce the graphic gruesome pictures, so go ahead and click on the link, but if you are of a delicate nature, please abstain:

http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=7333

I hope this is a hoax.

Date An Asian Man

2009-09-16T18:24:00.000-04:00

Via: Cynical C

Dragostea din tei

2009-09-13T19:22:00.003-04:00

I really hate this song, but it's my son's favorite, so this is dedicated to you, B-Boy!

Now excuse me while I go throw up....

And now for my other son, Asparagus:

Hitler's Upset Over Oasis Split

2009-09-05T23:11:00.000-04:00

Ted Kennedy

2009-08-31T20:10:00.002-04:00

In his eulogy, President Obama called Ted Kennedy the soul of the Democratic Party and the Lion of the US Senate. Apparently, the senator is loved and admired by millions of Americans.

On July 18, 1969, in a drunk driving accident, Ted Kennedy drove his car into the Chappaquiddick river, managed to escape from the wreck and went back to his hotel without telling anyone of the accident, leaving his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne to drown in the car.

This web site gives detailed information about the tragedy: http://web.archive.org/web/20050305121122/www.ytedk.com/chappindex.htm

Link via No Quarters: http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2009/08/31/my-problem-with-teddy/#more-31581

Of course, that was a long time ago and people can change, I'm told. But may be it's because the Chappaquiddick incident was not such a big deal forTed Kennedy, who was capable of joking about Ms Kopechne's death.

It's Sunday: Time to Criticize The Vatican

2009-08-30T18:04:00.002-04:00

Via Pharyngula: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/

Warning: The video is almost 30 minutes long

Penn & Teller, Bullshit! The Vatican from Brewster on Vimeo.

And I found a link to this YouTube clip in the comments.

I think I'll go to Hell for showing it, but.. I'm already booked there for other sins, so what's one more.

My New Phone: The Nokia N900

2009-08-28T17:16:00.002-04:00

It's been what..Two years? Three years? Time to buy a new cellphone. I really wanted the Palm Pre -- I've always liked the Palm family -- but it's sold exclusively by Bell and as any resident of Quebec would tell you, Bell has the worst customer services in the world, may they rot in Hell!

Don't want an IPhone because of the cult attitude of its users, so what's left? I give you the Nokia N900!!!!

From http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/cell-phones/nokia-n900/10470.html

The Nokia N900 has finally been officially announced, slated for release in October 2009 with a price tag that might surprise you.

If you were disappointed by the underpowered Nokia N97, it may be worth waiting until October for the Nokia N900 in stead. Put simply, Nokia's new N900 boasts technology that is worthy of a high-end smartphone today combined with software for the future.

The Nokia N900 will come equipped with a slide-out QWERTY thumbboard, Quad-band GSM network support, 10/2 Mbps HSPA connectivity (with T-Mobile USA support) as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 support. Limited RAM has been an issue on the previous generation of Maemo based tablets, but the Nokia N900 will offer 256 MB RAM plus 768 MB virtual memory. This will especially be crucial for the desktop-grade, Mozilla based browser to deliver the goods as promised. The Nokia N900 is also powered by an ARM Cortex-A8 processor and 3D graphics acceleration with support for OpenGL ES 2.0.

The Nokia N900's 3.5-inch WVGA display is of the resistive touchscreen kind, meaning that it responds both to finger and stylus navigation. A complete overview of the Nokia N900's capabilities can be found here, revealing that Widgets will just be a small part of the package. Our hope is that Maemo 5 ... and the N900 will silence the Widget craze to some extent, and that developers will be encouraged to develop real applications again.

In addition to the new Mozilla based browser, the Nokia N900 will offer a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. The camera should also be capable of recording WVGA video, while a front-faced camera will act as a VGA web camera. The smartphone will also be capable of video and audio playback, and offers up to 32GB of internal storage as well as a microSD memory slot capable of holding 16GB cards. A 3.5mm headphone jack has also been incorporated.

The Nokia N900 will be available in October 2009 with the healthy price tag of 500 EUR (around 700$) before taxes and carrier subsidies.

Buddha's Roommate Is The Origin of Suffering

2009-08-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

Via: Nebu (Thanks Neb!)

He's Sorry And He Was Just Following Orders

2009-08-23T01:28:00.007-04:00

From The Independent (UK) (http://tinyurl.com/lktua5), via The Confluence

My Lai Massacre (and it's pronounced Me-Lie)

Saturday, 22 August 2009 - The only US Army officer convicted over the 1968 massacre of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai made an extraordinary public apology while speaking to a small group near the military base where he went on trial.

William Calley, who has long shied away from publicity and routinely turned down journalists' requests for interviews about My Lai, broke his long silence after accepting a long-time friend's invitation to speak at a meeting of a local community club.

Speaking in a soft, sometimes laboured voice, he told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus, Georgia: "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai," the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported yesterday.

"I feel remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry."

Calley, 66, was a young lieutenant when a court martial at nearby Fort Benning convicted him of murder in 1971 for killing 22 civilians during the infamous massacre of 500 men, women and children in Vietnam.

Frustrated US troops came to My Lai on a "search and destroy" mission, looking for elusive Vietcong guerrillas. Although there were no reports of enemy fire, the troops began mowing down villagers and setting fire to their homes.

The incident shocked Americans and undermined support for the war.

Though sentenced to life in prison, Calley ended up serving three years under house arrest after President Richard Nixon later reduced his sentence.

My Lai Massacre by Eric Humphries (www.paintedatrocities.com/)

Pho, Pho, Glorious Pho

2009-08-17T14:01:00.001-04:00

via Cynical C, Anthony Bourdain's reportage on Pho on his TV series No Reservation

Future Competition for Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007

2009-08-13T13:36:00.003-04:00

I found this clip via Cynical-C Blog. Apparently two white American girls decided to videotape themselves trying to convert an Indian girl into Christianity and uploaded the video on YouTube.

Cynical-C has these quotes from the video:

"I had two friends over. One regular one and one Indian one."
“She’s Indian. It’s like, an African country in Asia.”
“But I am not African. I am Asian.”
“Then why are you so dark then?”

I hope the videoclip goes viral.

A reminder, about the title of this post:

I'm tough!

2009-08-12T22:00:00.000-04:00

It would take 18 Pina Coladas to kill me

Created by Bar Stools

via: Miss Cellania

Chauvinistic Canadians, an oxymoron?

2009-08-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

Here are the lyrics, so you can sing along:

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Even if in winter things tend to freeze
We've got the world monopoly on trees
And our country's bordered by three different seas

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
We invented the zipper, we've got expertise
We made insulin to combat disease
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please

CHORUS
Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

Et si ce n'était pas assez
On a deux langues officielles:
L'anglais et le français
Ooh la la

Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please
Where else do you find mounted police
Or go to the hospital and not pay fees
Yeah I know that you wanna be Canadian, please

And when freshwater is in high demand
We've got the world's largest supply on hand
So you know that we could make a pretty good friend
But it's even better if you can be...

CHORUS

So you're thinking to yourself,
"How do I live in this beautiful country?"
Well we've got some steps for you to follow...

STEP 1: Lose the gun
STEP 2: Buy a canoe
STEP 3: Live multiculturally
STEP 4: You're ready, there is no more!

We got beavers, cariboo and moose
We got buffalos, bears, and Canadian goose
And we're sorry about Celine Dion
But she did do that good song for James Cameron...

CHORUS
Brits have got the monarchy
The US has the money
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The French have got the wine and cheese
Koalas chill with the Aussies
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

The Greek chilled out with Socrates
Can't build a wall like the Chinese
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

In Kenya they have safaris
We've missed lots of other countries
But I know that you wanna be Canadian

Susan Boyle in China

2009-08-10T10:15:00.004-04:00

Granted, the Beijing Summer Olympics and Susan Boyle are old news, but a good laugh is never to be wasted. Click on picture to enlarge. (via http://shanghaiist.com/2009/04/24/susan_boyle-_harmonised.php)

No Pun In Ten Did

2009-08-05T14:41:00.001-04:00

From: Bits & Pieces http://bitsandpieces.us/

Lol Dogs http://ihasahotdog.com/

It is said that the ability to make and understand PUNS is the highest level of language development. Here are the top 10 winners in the International Pun Contest.

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The Stewardess looks at him and says, ‘I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, ‘Dam!’

3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly, it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it, too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, ‘I’ve lost my electron.’ The other says, ‘Are you sure?’ The first replies, ‘Yes, I’m positive.’

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. But why they asked, as they moved off. ‘Because,’ he said, ‘I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.’

7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, ‘They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.’

8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to ‘persuade’ them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he’d be back if they didn’t close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is SO BAD, it’s good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And, finally, there was the person who posted ten different puns, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make his readers laugh. No pun in ten did.

Laurel and Hardy Dance to the Gap Band

2009-08-05T14:11:00.001-04:00

So it's not Thriller, but at least it's a choreography I can follow and reproduce (more or less).

Super Baozi vs Sushi Man

2009-08-04T12:54:00.001-04:00

Great animation video! (via Miss Cellania)

Super Baozi vs Sushi man from sun haipeng on Vimeo.

OTAKUTHON 2009

2009-07-31T08:56:00.006-04:00

This year's programme looks great! See for yourself: http://www.otakuthon.com/2009/events/attractions/

I'll be going on Saturday August 1st, unfortunately not wearing any costumes... I mean, I'll be wearing clothes of course, but not...oh never mind.