the title is a good place for nonsense; why should it relate to the post (except to help my readers [ha!] browse the archives)?

I was all set to write a post ripping Alonzo Mourning for not playing for the Raptors when we traded for him - everybody blasts Rob Babcock for the Carter trade, but we did get a former All-Star centre currently averaging 11 points, 8 boards, and leading the league in blocks - but after the Raptors have won back to back games for the first time, and on the road, I just don't think I can do it.

Go Raps!

Also, Grizzlies!

Do you think that abbreviating Grizzlies as 'Grizz' is terrible? My brother does.

Also, Go Jacksonville Jaguars! Beat the Browns! You're my boy, David Garrard!

YOU'RE MY BOY!

eggs have gotten quite a bad rap lately, you know

Anyway, a bit of an update for those who haven't seen me in like a year. I'm at ASE 1, doing grade 12. This semester I have English, Writer's Craft, and Philosophy. My average is 95.8, which bodes well for the (academic) future. I guess I have to think about where I'm going to pursue post-secondary studies. I certainly can't leave the city, as I don't have the cash. Anyway, blog, I won't bore you with the details of my selection process. You'll know when I apply and if and when I'm accepted, and that must suffice.

I look and dress exactly the same as a year ago, having recently - you know, this morning - shaved off what Jay liked to call my 'Punjabi beard.' That's right, it's gone, and I'm much happier for it. Okay, seriously, this post is bugging me, so I'm going to stop writing it now.

i wonder how long these titles can be (i had a humorous idea for a long title earlier today but now i'm damned if i can remember what it was)

The song: Wayfaring Stranger (AKA Wayfarin' Stranger, I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger) (Traditional).

The band: Sam Bush (mandolin), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Béla Fleck (banjo), Tony Rice (guitar, vocals), Mark Schatz (bass).

The date: 23 January 1988.

My God, what a performance. I can't believe how great this song sounds. Tony Rice sings his heart out, and whenever you have instrumentalists of this calibre, you know it's going to sound great. All the solos are spot-on, especially Béla's, and at around the 3:30 mark they go into an uptempo breakdown of sorts before coming out of it so absolutely perfectly just right in tune with Tony's vocals that it breaks me down whenever I hear out.

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
There'll be no sadness, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go

I'm goin' there to see my Mama
I'm goin' there no more to roam
I'm just goin' over Jordan
I'm just goin' over home

I'm goin' there to see my Mama
I'm goin' there no more to roam
I'm just goin' over Jordan
I'm just goin' over home

How can the vocals move me so much when he only sings one verse and then the same chorus three times? I do not know; go ask your pop.

Seriously though, it's because of instrumental virtuosity.

it came on me suddenly

A few - though not technically, because there are only two - things I just realised:

• I am a Cancer. 'Any of various malignant neoplasms characterized by the proliferation of anaplastic cells that tend to invade surrounding tissue and metastasize to new body sites.' ' A pernicious, spreading evil.' That's a terrible thing to be.
• Jimmy Carter is still alive.

More on this later.

to begin

Even the title of my first post is a reference to something! God, I'm just going to go find the opening lines from Adaptation and post them here!

Mic searches around the internet for about 3 minutes, but, finding only a revised second draft on a Kaufman fan site - not what was actually filmed - decides to go downstairs, watch the opening scenes, transcribe the monologue, and bring it back upstairs to type it out. Then he realises that the use of the laptop computer might make the process much easier. Then then he realises realises that he has a DVD drive in his computer, making the process much much easier. He fetches the Adaptation DVD from the stack in the living room - not neglecting to grab a green glass bowl from the kitchen to hold his peanut butter M&Ms - and brings it upstairs to watch, and listen, and type.

After attempting to view the DVD on his computer, Mic enlists the aid of his older brother to deal with a problem where the sound skips forward, making it unwatchable. After a bunch of crap - Mic: 'So that DVD drive you gave me... it doesn't work, right?' James: 'What?' Mic: 'So that DVD drive you gave me... it doesn't work, right?' - he has to watch it downstairs, write it out on real, actual paper, bring it upstairs to the computer, and type it in.

Anyway, the part about beginning isn't from the very beginning, nor is it very applicable:

'To begin... to begin... how to start... I'm hungry. I should get coffee. Coffee will help me think. But I should write something first, then reward myself with coffee. Coffee and a muffin. Okay, so I need to establish the themes. Maybe banana nut. That's a good muffin.'

Doesn't do much to explain anything, but it's funny. I guess I could do a Woody Allen kind of thing and make the joke about life somehow - 'Yeah, and in such small portions!' - but I don't have the time nor inclination to.

Anyway, I'm back on the web and we'll see what comes of it. I plan to use this space as a bit of a mental Vomitorium, if you will - though you probably won't. Apparently, a Vomitorium is a false concept: it's actually an aisle in a theatre through which the audience can 'spew out.' Anyway, this will be my place to vomit a bunch of crap - Chuck Palahniuk would be proud - and maybe later do something with it. Anyway, more later if I feel like it.