Got Solar Flare?

Apparently the sun is destined to unleash some massive solar flares in the next few years which ties in nicely with a planetary alignment and the end of the world and such. Not that May 21st shouldn't have been the end of the world .... Oh yeah, you lost all credibility with that one!

Basically a solar flare is a huge burst of electromagnetic energy which will disrupt anything electrical and it might be so bad that systems could be down for years.

These events have been happening since time began for humans on Earth, but never in human history have whole societies been so reliant on electricity, which is the light of civilization, and been so at risk of what is a naturally occurring phenomena.

I only hope that humans in positions of power become a little less concerned about power and money and wake up to the realization that there are forces in our own solar system that we need to be aware of and prepared for.

A Week In The Windy City

Chicago is an amazing city!

I've been to only two other American cities excluding Chicago; San Antonio and Kansas City, and I only really got to experience San Antonio which is also an amazing tourist destination in case you are looking for somewhere to go.

Well, traveling by bus was a little uncomfortable at times unless you are a midget and can lay down comfortably across two seats and you are looking at about 18 hours or so to get to Chicago, but we did not do the trek all at once and stayed in Minnesota near the Mall of America which is gigantic and worth checking out just to say you have been there.

Coming from Winnipeg I can attest to the size of Chicago. What impressed me was all the skyscrapers both old and new which gives the city character. With city pass in hand, I visited The Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) and briefly the Shedd Aquarium.

With the exception of the Willis Tower and Shedd Aquarium, prepare to do a lot of walking in the art institute and museum and if you dare to see it all, leave to get there right when they open!

The Navy Pier is a great family friendly destination and Michigan Avenue, also known as the Magnificent Mile, boasts familiar and high end shops that I dared not enter.

We stayed in the heart of downtown and even though I walked, there are cabs, buses, and I believe they are called trams available to get around. Oh yeah, check out the giant fountain, the name of which I can't recall at this moment, situated in a nice green space near Lake Michigan.

If food is what you like then prepare to fall in love with a continental buffet of choices. I saw many  restaurants to go with the usual fast food suspects in the downtown, but the mouthwatering smell of steaks, curry, and deep dish pizza (tried it, amazing!) will leave you bedazzled as to what to try first.

Plenty of clubs serve up music and drinks and Timothy O'Tooles is great and you have to experience blues in Chicago so check out Buddy Guy's Blues Bar.

My classmates, instructors, and I got a tour of GolinHarris, an internationally renowned PR agency with clients like Toyota and McDonalds.

Overall I would have to say that Chicago offers a little bit of something for everyone. There are enough family friendly and adult destinations to keep anyone entertained.

I would move to Chicago just for the city itself and what if offers to you in terms of entertainment and recreation.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to write a blues song about my trip to Chicago .......

Harperville in Canada .....

We need to ride the Conservatives like there is no tomorrow!

I personally think Harper is smug and unwilling to admit that he and certain members of his party have either broken campaign promises (taxing income trusts anyone?), misled the house and public, cut taxes via cuts to social programs while spending up a storm on anachronistic G20 summits, fighter planes, prisons, and employing ideology in place of impartial cold hard facts to justify his 'you won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it' agenda.

And by the way, if it was the Liberals or the NDP causing the same piles of shit, I would be just as critical of them as well.

We need to take democracy away from the artificial people that are corporations and government to paraphrase Raj Patel. Corporations and the government do not, and I believe cannot logistically and fully represent the people in the neighborhood.

森の木琴 Touch Wood - Frakin' Amazing!

An end of an era .....

I have been in post secondary education three times. Three times!

I never realized how intense and yet rewarding the Creative Communications program is at Red River College until the end is neigh, but it has been quite a ride and I would have preferred to have done this program ten years ago to negate a three ring run in post secondary education.

Now comes the ever so awesome adjustment to life after school period. Typically you go through some of the stages of death and dying when something you have become attached to comes to an end.

DENIAL

Well, denial is probably not a stage anyone finishing Creative Communications goes through, unless you want to do the program again .... I didn't think so!

BARGAINING

You might find yourself negotiating with your instructors to get you a good job or give you a good reference, and bargaining with classmates to not apply for that awesome job posting you came across. Oh, negotiating with instructors about assignments and grade distribution might work ..... If you like punching Jello.

ANGER

Yes, stress levels hit record highs during Creative Communications and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, and though we may have wanted to choke fellow students metaphorically, it was NEVER literally. Kenton Larson can restore order with his Ninja skills if fights break out between students.

DEPRESSION

Sometimes during the program you wanted to off yourself. OK, maybe not off yourself but magically teleport yourself to a land of gum drops and fairies which would make your instructors think WTF is going on with this student!

FEAR

Oh those dreaded auto fails. I had as many of those as the fingers on my hands. You fear instructors pen marks and criticism though it is only to make you better. It's OK, they aren't the boss of you anymore after you graduate and they aren't watching you at home .... with the exception of haunting your academic dreams like Freddy Krueger.

ACCEPTANCE

Accept the amazement of all the work you did. Even the assignments with auto fails where you put hours of effort in should not be diminished. Because at the end of it all if you make the effort, you will learn something and that is what ultimately matters and have a career waiting for you in the future.

The Matrix: Blu-Ray Disc Review

Keanu Reeves says "Whoa!"

Ok, the Matrix series was and still is without a doubt one of the redefining sci-fi movie trilogies of all time. Say what you will about the second and third movies in the trilogy, but I think the overall package is still pretty good because the original Matrix is a testament to fantastic film making and screenwriting.

I won't bore anyone rehashing the story line for the purposes of this review. I happened upon a previously viewed copy of The Matrix on Blu-Ray and couldn't say no.

I had the VHS and original DVD release versions and have weighted patiently for the Blu-Ray price to become reasonable.

This particular version of The Matrix is part of Warner Bros. Signature Series, so you get some extra features which include some of the standard behind the scenes that existed on the DVD, as well as some newer features, and the case has a book built into it with a synopsis, cast and crew bios, and facts. It is interesting though a little hard to read given the size and it is not a separate supplement you can take out of the case because it is a part of the case.

But the real meat and potatoes for me is how will it look and sound and I have previously posted that many Warner Bros. Blu-Rays don't disappoint and The Matrix on Blu-Ray is a shining light in the Blu-Ray firmament.

Picture:

An amazing transfer. The original DVD was decent enough though some scenes were a little grainy and washed out. What stands out the most is the difference between scenes in the Matrix and in the real world. The Matrix is a little greenish and the real world a little bluish and the contrast in the Blu-Ray version is spectacular as compared to the DVD.

Black levels are stellar and the details in the background to nuances on the individual characters faces are immaculate.

Sound:

You get Dolby TrueHD 5.1 playback. And unlike the DVD, the dialogue is at a level where between the jaw dropping visual action scenes and the more quiet philosophical moments, you wont be pulling out your hair adjusting the volume. Explosions and gunfire aren't to overbearing, and in scenes where the action is coming from left, right, and behind, the presence is pretty darn good.

Overall I would say if you love The Matrix and have a Blu-Ray player with surround sound, pick it up!

Picture: 5 out of 5

Sound: 5 out of 5

Story: 5 out of 5

Clean up after your dog!

So spring is here and on one stretch of street as my wife and I were taking our baby girl for a walk in the stroller we encountered a mine field of dog droppings.

I don't know if the dog owners thought no one would notice as this particular sidewalk had a large border fence on one side but seriously!

In Paris they have people on patrol fining people who don't pick up after their dogs.

Don't make Winnipeg have to adopt similar tactics, clean up after your dog!

End Communication .....