Uncovered Goods

Pushed by the fact that H&H are going to be staying with me for a few days, I delved into the archeological dig site that is my bedroom closet. Amazingly, I uncovered a box that held my long missing Dashiell Hammet collection, along with my copy of On War by Clausewitz, Mekton Zeta, and my battered copy of the Striker miniature rules that GDW developed what seems to be a lifetime ago. That was an unexpected delight – as well as a sudden space crisis. I had to reorganize some shelves to find room for it all.

Truth is that I haven't actually been in my bedroom closet since I moved in some 5 years ago now. Just stacked the boxes in there, piled on some loose clothes and boots, closed the closet doors and walked away. I decided since I hadn't put on anything in there in all that time, I could safely get rid of it. 6 garbage bags of clothes later, I had room to move some of the clothes collecting out in the actual room into the closet, where they'll likely be ignored for another 4-5 years.

The other big find was my comic long box full of Suicide Squad and Legion of Super-hero comics. It's probably time for a re-read and if can find all my issues, I'll likely do some posting about the Suicide Squad. Definitely one of, if not THE, favorite comics I've collected. The Legion gives it a close run for the money, however.

 

Damn, that’s good

Spent yesterday in Vancouver with Graham doing some shopping and picking up a couple items I wanted. Finally have a decent dining table, with chairs, after around 6 years without. For most people, getting a table would be for eating – for me, it was motivated by the desire to a have tabletop for gaming. Need somewhere to set up my Advanced Squad Leader, after all. Other shopping included grabbing up a copy of the new miniatures rule set Field of Glory, snagging a collection of some Lupin III and a stuffed plush Vash (from Trigun) doll for Holly.

Graham's good people, so the trip was without headaches or much problem. All the more surprising, given how tired both of us were.

Put together the table and chairs today and they manage to look good in the apartment. IKEA was out of the black chairs I wanted, but had the chairs in red. Since I have some red highlights in the apartment, I took a chance and grabbed the red chairs. It proved a good move – the chairs look really good and set off the table perfectly. My hands are sore, though – using the hand screwdrivers is tough, especially when some of the screw holes are just starters and you're hand driving in the screw near the end. Still, for simple and clean design and construction instruction, it's hard to beat the wordless comics that IKEA produces.

The rest of the day was spent tidying up the mess and watching Season Three of The
Wire. Three episodes in and every time Major Bunny Colvin says "what can they do to me?" I wince, because I know they're going to break that poor, wise man in ways he hasn't imagined. The show is at once subtle (they are carefully drawing the differences between Sgt. Carver and "Herc", making it clear which one gets it, and which one doesn't) and blunt (every scene with Carcetti), but maintains a balance between the two that makes it entertaining.

I'm making some adjustments this coming week, as H&H are going to temporarily stay with me for a few days while their place is painted. Not sure how well this will go, since Dada's place (my apartment) is hardly the fantasy-land that Hunter thinks.

The crackdown in Tibet is a reminder that China is not a "good guy" in the world, and that we shouldn't let our desire for cheap goods blind us to that fact. Not that we in the west have a lot of moral authority at the moment to tsk tsk the Chinese for what they're doing; it's still important to remember what oppression looks like so hopefully we can recognize it when it pops up over here in some form. I'm hopeful that the political will in Tibet will remain strong.

And we’re back…

Wish I could blame a Writer's Strike or something for the long gap in posts, but the truth is I just stopped posting. The excuse is that I was sent to Vancouver for a week on a course for work, lost internet connectivity for the duration, and fell out of the habit. The reality is more that I just never bothered to resume after I got back.

In the gap, I watched the 2^nd season of The Wire. Truly it is one of the best written dramas on television, with strong characters and interesting things to tell us about the modern human condition. Of course, the downside is that it makes it hard to watch more than a couple episodes at a time. Much like with Battlestar Galactica or Angel, I find my emotional investment in the characters makes watching a draining event.

The flip side to this would be The Shield, which I've also been watching. Another finely done drama, with strong characters; however, the emotional investment here is less and the stories are just a little more fun over all. This compares well with Dexter – both shows are great, but I am able to maintain a separation from the main characters that makes them both easier to watch.

On the book front, it's been mostly more history, as I continue to plow through WWII and Roman history. On the fiction front, I've been encouraged to try some Tim Powers, so have started Last Call – almost immediately I'm in love with how it combines at least three, maybe four of my interests: mobsters, poker, the Tarot, and The Golden Bough. I'm immediately aware of why my friends have been pushing me to read his stuff, and look forward to finishing it soon.

In the local news, there's a real rumpus being raised over plans to move our Needle Exchange from its current location to a spot just down the block from the Catholic elementary school. There's been lots of protesting parents, signs up, and ruffled feathers all around. I think my favorite quote so far would be from Vancouver Island Health Authority president Howard Waldner:

This is not the way we wanted to begin the process. I wanted full consultation once we had confirmation this building was available to us.

As some parents rightly point out, that's consultation after the fact and essentially a presentation of a fait accompli. For my part, I'm thinking "No shit this isn't the way you wanted to begin the process…" Most people like to begin the process by not getting protested.

Something that also amused me is related to the reporting around the recently released Transport Safety Board report on the sinking of the Queen of the North some two years ago now. The gist of the report is that the two people on the bridge at the time of the accident were distracted. Initial reporting suggested they were involved in an "intimate conversation" at the time, but subsequent reporting changed this to "personal conversation".

Intimate Conversation = code for 'having sex'

Personal Conversation = code for 'breaking up'

It's since become clear that the pair, who had a relationship, had broken up the day before and that their shift on the bridge was the first time they'd been paired since the break up. I'd say that was likely a fairly heated "personal conversation" they were having when the ferry ran aground.

Of course, it's also being made clear that there were other contributing factors to the accident which helps deflect the possibility of BC Ferries being the sole responsible party in the event of a lawsuit. I'm mostly convinced that was the reason for the TSB investigation in the first place – to reduce the insurance exposure of the Corporation. Just a gut feeling, that.

Anyway, it's good to be back and I hope to keep this up.