Mary Lou Finlay co-hosted her very last episode of As It Happens on CBC's Radio One. I may be a newcomer to listening to the CBC, but in the last five years or so, I have been a great admirer of Mary Lou, and her co-host Barbara Budd. The chemistry, and joviality between these two women is magical, and most definitely contagious. Just listening to the two of them reminisce and laugh over past guests and goof-ups tonight, I couldn't help but laugh along. As It Happens is that rare thing--a thoughtful, provocative current affairs show that is not opposed to looking at the lighter sides of things, and having a laugh at itself. There are few people in journalism today with the natural gift for interviewing, and Mary Lou Finlay ranks among the best there is. I know it's not as if the show is gone (it's been around a lot longer than Mary Lou has been with it), but it is the end of a chapter in the life of As It Happens and the CBC. Mary Lou, if you're Google searching your name and this pops up, Happy Retirement, and thanks.

Today I thought about posting my feelings about people who live under the delusion that as long as they feign ignorance, they can deny responsibility for their own actions. Then I watched Dr. Phil while I was having dinner at my mom's tonight, and saw an entire hour on the topic, so I decided to forget that. Next, I thought I may comment on the upcoming federal election in Canada, but seeing as the campaign is going to be 55 days long, the longest in over twenty-five years, I thought there would be plenty of time for that later. Next, I wanted to comment on the glut of junk mail I've been getting in my inbox, and the persistent emails from the FBI and CIA telling me my computer has visited over 3 zillion illegal website in the last two months, but today when I cam home, there was no junk mail at all among my emails, so I decided to let that go. After that I thought maybe I would complain about this nagging cold that I've had for over a week now, but I'm actually feeling better, so that didn't make much sense anymore. So. What is there left to say? I like cheese. Cheese is good. Do you like cheese. What kind of cheese do you like? See, I can't even come up with a semi-witty post about cheese. You ever have one of those days when everything you want to say seems like it's already been said before, or doesn't need to be said, or just doesn't make sense? That's been my day. How was yours?
UPDATE: Katy, Spellbound is on the way. Thanks for the suggestion.
UPDATE: I've added a FAQ section to the info page. If there's any questions you think I should answer, drop me a line.

Visit the words page to read the initial draft of a new story, Rufus Is A Doofus.

...as read in my fortune cookie at dinner last night:

Reorganization is crucial at this time.

It's definitely a sign, I think.

I don't know if it's pure ego, or an overwhelming curiosity that drives me to look at who visits the site, and how they got here, but I do it anyway. Last night someone hit the site from Germany, and the referring link was a Google site translation. I thought it looked cool, so I used Mac's Grab utility to take a photo of the window.
I've made the pic above a link to the site so you can check it out in its full glory. The Mac fun doesn't stop there, though! I used the handy Translation widget in Tiger's Dashboard to translate the title of this post to deutsch (that's German for german). Bonus point to anyone who translates it back .

Thanks to Katy D. I got myself a two-week free subscription to Zip.ca, Canada's equivalent to Netflix.com in the US. For my first shipment I got in MIllion Dollar Baby and The Work of Director Jonathan Glazer (Radiohead video director). I guess there would have been four sent at once, but my wish list was limited. So far, so good, though. I like the concept of having the DVDs mailed to me, and returning them only requires me to drop them in a mailbox when I'm done with them, not when the company wants them back. I have been looking down the list and there's quite a few titles I would like to see. I hope this two-week trial becomes a regular subscription. Anyone want to recommend a good movie or four?

Thanks to Matt Kappenman and his timely advise, I was successfully able to restore this site's former theme from the newer version of the theme that comes along with RapidWeaver 3.2. You may not be able to tell the difference, but I certainly can. Thanks, Matt! Now, it's time to tackle the creation (the modification actually) of my very own theme. I think I'm up for the challenge. More to come!

As of my last post, I have now begun using RapidWeaver 3.2 to create this blog, and some of you might notice a few slight changes. I know that I'm just beginning to notice them now, and I have to say, I'm not impressed. I know, I know--new application, new update, new bugs, variations on previous themes, change hurts, nothing gold can stay, blah blah blah blah blah. But this is MY blog, and I can blah blah blah all I want! Am I mad that they changed the them default to make the header bold? YES! Am I mad that my previously well-fitting site logo is now a little off-kilter? YES! Am I pissed that I didn't leave the previous version on my computer before I fully explored the new version? Darn-tootin' I am! Ah, but anyway, I think it's time for this site to get an update. Don't you? The Act Of Just Being Here 2.0 has a nice ring to it. If you have any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions I'd love for you to share them. Comment away.

Bummer that the planet is getting warmer all the time. I remember when there was actually four seasons, and my hair would get bleached by the sun and not the acid rain. Hey wouldn't it be cool if we got, like, a whole lot of really funny celebrities to go to Las Vegas and put on a show about how the Earth is getting all hot, from like the pollution in the atmosphere? Like maybe Tom Hanks, so we can see what his Da Vinci Code haircut is going to look like. We should get Cedric The Entertainer, too, because the environment belongs to the black people, too, right? Hey what about starting the show with that short fat guy from Seinfeld, doing a Broadway number, like maybe taking "Too Darn Hot" and making it all edgy and relevant. No, wait... on second thought, this is a horrible idea. It's far too insulting to the intelligence of good people like yourself who already know about global warming, and have been doing something about it for over 20 years. We all know it's not John Q. Public, it's the multinational corporations that need the education, it's... What? You mean, someone has already put this show on? TONIGHT? Where? TBS, the American cable channel? Well, that explains it, doesn't it? Look, let's just forget that I ever came up with this idea, OK? We'll let them look like the fools. Shhhh, it's our little secret.

I've been meaning to make this post for the last few days. Earlier in the week I came home from work to find that my latest issue of Under The Radar magazine had been delivered. Much to my surprise, amusement, and joy, the issue is devoted to what is being dubbed the "Canadian music scene." The cover is decked out in a who's who collage of Canuck indie rock, and inside they devote over 30 pages to the bands to watch. Of course, we up north in the know have been watching and listening for years now, but it's come time for Stars to shine in the international music world, Metric to measure up to the successes hinted at on their first album, and Broken Social Scene to fix what's wrong with the ailing world of indie music. Clichéd? Maybe. But once you've heard these bands, there's no denying that this past year and a half, no one has been as original, smart, and lest we forget, hyped in the music press as Arcade Fire, The Dears, Broken Social Scene, and my favourites, Stars. Props to my man, Mark Redfern, Senior Editor of Under The Radar for realizing the wealth of talent north of the border, and recognizing this so-called scene as worthy of in-depth analysis. Very refreshing, especially after reading the scathing comments of another, sub-standard music magazine that shall remain nameless (*ahemMAGNETahem*) who's Andrew Earles asked readers to "repeat my new catchphrase. Canadians: The New Polacks" before launching into a verbal attack of everyone from BTO to Sloan. Cheap. And clichéd. Odd choice then, putting Carl Newman of The New Pornographers on the cover. Let's see who tops your Best of 2005, pal. (I think this is the greatest number of links I've ever had in a single post.)

Sometimes you just need a laugh. Like I needed one today.

One of the coolest (and sometimes most pathetic things) about hosting this blog is watching the Site Meter counter in the sidebar go up. That means someone is checking out the site! (Actually, most of those are me, as I post things, edit, and check to see how they look on the site). The Site Meter counter offers some great tools. For one thing, I can go back and look at the location of the various people who visit the site. I've had folks drop by from Asia, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It also tells me a little about these folks--what operating system they were on, and, what page had referred them to mine, or provided a link to mine (if there was one). So yesterday I got a hit from Bat Cave, North Carolina, and noticed that they found my page by doing a Google search. If I click the link that sent them to my page, I can see what it was they were using as their search criteria (does this sound a little big Brother to you yet?). So I clicked on the link for this North Carolina person's search criteria: EXPOSED GONADS. It would appear that if you used Google to search for "exposed gonads" my page will be returned 6th from the top. Ain't that the cat's balls?

Welcome to the world, Ava Douglas, born Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 7 pm, weighing in at 5 lbs, 12 oz, and 18". Mommy Katy and Daddy Jacen are estatic (I'm sure), and we're all looking forward to seeing you soon. Ah shucks, aren't babies just the cutest?