For No Particular Reason.

For my LJ-only friends: yes, I am still alive.

2007-10-31T16:21:04Z

I've migrated over to Facebook, however, so that's taking up most of my e-social-websiting time.

What's been up with me? I'm back in Gaspé for my second year, I've started involving myself in the local writer's guild, and I'm doing great in my classes.

Oh, and I made a kick-ass costume for Halloween this year:

I love showing this thing off.

I'm also twenty-five now. I can rent cars, woo, go me!

Perhaps some day in the future I'll have something to say, but I doubt that. I'm still reading your LJs, though, so don't worry. :)

Here cometh Ivica!

2007-07-16T13:37:43Z

Coming up to Edmonton tonight. I arrive in Edmonton South around 10:40p, since I'm taking the 7p bus. Might there be someone to pick me up? Feel free to call me on my cell, although you might need to leave a message. See you guys soooooooon!

I have two questions and one fact.

2007-07-13T04:42:09Z

Question #1: Do you think that native youths back in the day were all "fuck you, Hitler" to their parents? If so, what would it have been like?

Question #2: Is it wrong to not have a problem seeing a black guy dressed up like a cowboy, only because of Blazing Saddles?

Fact #1: I have next Tuesday off. I work the earlier shift on Monday. Therefore, I will be coming up to Edmonton on Monday, hang around Tuesday, and leave either late Tuesday or possibly early early Wednesday, since I have the later shift then. So I will see you folks very soon. And I'm bringing the Duty-Free Ketel One!

ivica @ 2007-07-10T20:11:00

2007-07-11T02:54:43Z

So, here we go, with a post CHOCK FULL OF PHOTOS.

We begin with Starved Rock. It's a state park out in Illinois. The actual rock is where a tribe of ~~injuns~~ natives were besieged and starved to death. It's an easy hike, and there's not much to it. Further on we came across this idyllic scene:

And here we have Tom (left) and Jon (right, our host) basking in naturedom:

St. Louis Canyon was the first stop, and included a pretty waterfall...

And MURDERCAVES!

Those would be the caves where a few women were found frozen and butchered back in the eighties. History is awesome!

The also quaint Wildcat Canyon is pictured yonder:

And, naturally, we can't have the Tymeless Beauty of Gaia without some vandalism:

But moving on!

In Illinois it is illegal to purchase fireworks. In Indiana, where we were staying, it is legal to purchase, but not use, fireworks. I don't get that logic. But since there are plenty of Illinoisians who want to blow shit up, Indiana is more than happy to deal to them. And nobody more than Krazy Kaplan, who as approximately ten thousand billboards on Highway 294, which runs from Illinois to Indiana. Here's just one:

At certain points it's entirely possible to see five at once. With the fourth of July approaching, it was only natural that we'd go in:

Oh yeah. God bless America. This is for the little show we put on:

This is what twenty bucks, not especially frugally spent, will buy (my share):

Included in there is the "Clustering Bees" fireworks. I bought them just because I liked the name. And despite the pile we amassed for ourselves, it really didn't compare to our neighbours', who put thousands of dollars into their displays. A good two hours of fireworks going off all around you puts most shows up here to shame. The best we could muster was when one of my clustering bees fell over and nearly punched through someone's car.

Of course, it wasn't all nature and explosions. Sometimes we wasted time in front of the TV:

Not too bad a choice, although I'm sure Brendan will note that it's not HDTV. I didn't care.

Of course, I went to the area to see Chicago, and we went there (on the 4th, incidentally). Driving in provided a view:

Probably harking back to the roaring gangster days of yore, a building near where we parked sported this decoration:

Starved Rock isn't the only memorial to slaughtered indians. It seems to be a common theme in Illinois, which had several statues for that purpose. So, when we ran across a much larger statue dedicated to a man who no doubt participated in the slaughter, he was the one who deserved the picture. USA! USA!

And this, just because. I don't sacrifice coherence for speed when I type, so this "hip ad" didn't strike me like I imagine it would others:

After that, we made it to the Art Institute of Chicago. So, for you, MODERN ART!

This one's very wide.

Of course, that's not all that's there is there. The Institute has a spectacular collection of impressionalist and modern (not contemporary) paintings. A room just for Monet, and there were a couple Magrittes, Dalis, American Gothic, and Van Gogh's Self-Portrait. The last one I hadn't expected, and it's absolutely electric in person. Beyond that there's a room for miniatures, a huge exhibit on furniture (and paperweights!), and this and that and oh it was glorious. We spent five or six hours there, and didn't see it all, either.

But let's not forget one of the most recognizable paintings at the Institute thanks to Ferris Bueller. La Grande Jatte is a fascinating painting, because the more you look at it the more bizarre things you notice (that woman has a monkey on a leash!). What starts out as a pleasant scene turns into a mess of decadence. Also, it's a fucking huge painting. A small girl is provided for scale:

Once we moved on, we stepped outside, to discover that staple of Americana, the spontaneous protesting of America!

Onwards we went, to the Taste of Chicago, which surrounded this fountain, which I thought was worth snapping a shot of:

The Taste Of Chicago is a gastronomical experience. You buy tickets, and then use those tickets at the various booths. There were oh so many booths, and I managed to score both a Chicago-style hotdog and Chicago-style pizza. The pizza, incidentally, is awesome. Nuff said. Here's the crowd:

And here's the funnel cake (10 tickets) we ate:

Aaand here's a view of Chicago downtown from the festival:

Last but not least, have you ever asked yourself "there's all this turkey breast product out there, so what do they do with the rest of it?" The answer is that this one place in Chicago buys them all, barbeques them, and hands them out. LOOK AT THE FUCKING SIZE OF THEM!

Those people are absolute strangers. I just walked up to them an asked them to pose with their turkey legs. They were pleasantly confused.

Chicago's architecture is astounding. My big regret (besides not eating more pizza) was not visiting the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The whole city burned down, as you well know, so they decided to build up with interesting buildings, rather than "it's hip at the time." So you get a very neat mix of styles, as well as more avant-garde stuff like this:

We can't forget the Sears Tower. Of course I went to the top. But here's a pastiche of it looking up:

And one of the "looking down" views. The observation floor is 103 stories up, which is the highest in the world. The skyscraper we're looking down at would probably be one of Calgary or Edmonton's tallest:

The view south is nice...

...but it doesn't compare to the view north, to more of the downtown. That is a beautiful city. If I go back (entirely possible) I will definitely spend more time downtown.

LOOK AT IT!

And that concludes my photojournal. Lots and lots of photos. Here's the last I took, a fitting picture, a sunset on my flight back to Calgary:

While that might look serene, there was a hellish story behind it. I flew in and out with US Airways, and since their hub is in Phoenix, the cheapest flight involved hopping to Phoenix between Calgary and Chicago. The flight to was painless, but the flight back was something else.

On the flight from Chicago to Phoenix (6a MST), two hours in, we start descending. This is odd, I think, and I begin to worry about it, and then the pilot comes on overhead, announcing that the AC unit has failed, and due to safety regulations we have to land at the nearest airport: Denver. We wait and wait, while USAir tries to place everyone on other flights. But it's the end of the 4th of July weekend, which means EVERY flight EVERYWHERE is booked solid, and we have to wait for the plane to be repaired. I miss my connecting flight (11a MST) and we finally manage to leave at the time I should have arrived in Calgary (2p), towards Phoenix.

But it doesn't stop there! On the way, flight control directs us around some bad weather. We miss the storm, and thanks to their cleverness we RUN OUT OF FUEL. We do not have enough fuel to make it to Phoenix, so we land in Albuquerque in order to refuel. Eventually (6p) we make it to Phoenix. The flight to Calgary was rather straightforward, except that we needed to reposition the passengers, since the plane was unbalanced. I get home (11p), and get to work right away.

So, in conclusion, Chicago is a land of contrasts.

I'll gladly do it again, I've finally taken my own vacation, hopefully you enjoyed my shots, and I'll see you all next week, super-duper promise.

Taking a left at Albuquerque.

2007-07-09T06:18:35Z

I'm back. Pictures and a thorough story will follow either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Bet my bottom dollar I'll lose my blues...

2007-07-01T02:02:44Z

...in Chicago!

That's right. Tonight's my last night in Calgary for the next week. I'm off on [my first by-myself] vacation, and I'm heading off to Chicago to enjoy it. It's a Big Thing. Plenty of pictures should follow.

Plans include:
Art Institute Of Chicago
Sears Tower
Starved Rock
4th of July celebratoriness
Laying around.

Passport's ready, bags are packed, money has been exchanged, wish me luck!

PPPPS: I intend to come up to Edmonton my next day off, if I can. Will give notice as to what that is when I return.

A poll!

2007-06-21T17:33:27Z

Or, at least, an informal one, since I'm not about to upgrade my account to actually let me create a real LJ poll.

Anyway, my long-trusted iBook is starting to finally break down and, instead of getting it repaired, I'm considering my options. I've grown to love portable computers, and I've also come to realize that I'm better off with less raw power, since that would mean less ability to goof off with the machine. Besides, I've got a DS for that.

This means that I'll likely be getting a UMPC. And not a high-end one like the Samsung Q1 Ultra, either. I've got two models in mind: the Nokia N800, and ASUS's Eee-PC. Some of you are gadget-hungry, so I figured you might find this dilemma interesting. I won't go into a pros/cons list, since it boils down to: "The Eee-PC is definitely better hardware-wise, but the N800 is smaller, sexier, and available now."

Thoughts?

That death march I mentioned? Still ongoing.

2007-06-20T16:46:50Z

We're getting appraised tomorrow, and that means that I've been violently busy. The last three shifts have totalled forty hours, and the overtime isn't over (although today should be the last of it). I'd write more, but I'm wiped, and there's not much else to say.

Fin

Mr. Lube Death March.

2007-06-07T02:39:06Z

I'm in Calgary, and I'm working. A lot. At the nearby Mr. Lube, which is conveniently close, pays well, and the work isn't too bad. Plenty of hours, thanks to the perpetual state of understaffed-ness.

Edmonton is still in the cards, but I have no idea when I'll be able to head up yet. I'm hoping for two consecutive days off. Might not happen any time soon.

GUESS WHERE I AM.

2007-05-23T00:24:44Z

Edmonton.

My flight from Montreal to Calgary connects through Edmonton of all places. If I wasn't so utterly paranoid about scheduling and shit I'd have warned you all beforehand so we could've met up. I'm not even paying for this connection, since someone else set up an unprotected network. God bless idiots and/or malicious haxxorz.

Since I'm not going to be doing much for the next little while, I may as well make with a half-decent update. School is done like dinner, I am glad to say. I walked into my math final not needing to walk into my math final in order to pass the class. That's a good way to end a term. After that I went up to Montreal for a couple of days with Kyle. I hung out at his cabin, met his family and extended family, and ate Montreal Smoked Meat, which is amazing. A shame I didn't do it sooner. It might just be my luck, but everywhere I stay in Quebec seems to be filled to the brim with GORGEOUS SCENERY. Pretty, healthy trees, beautiful weather, the whole shebang. The cabin I lounged in made me long for canoe trips and camping. I will miss the province, for the whole two months I'm away from it.

Though I stayed five minutes away from the airport, I almost didn't make it since my ride suffered inexplicable engine troubles.

I'm still Calgary bound. I don't know when I'll be up to Edmonton [next] (sooner than later, I hope, and I will provide warning), and the Greyhound strike makes things a little iffier. However, I miiight aim for this weekend, depending on about a million little factors I haven't even considered. Take this as a warning.

The only downside currently happening is that my iBook, now reaching for six years (including five of my patented addict-heavy-use years), is starting to give up the ghost. Let's hope it's a cheap problem to fix, because the other option is using my mother's malware-filled crapmachine. Which means fewer updates. Than usual.

Now, onto surfing for porn in a public space on pirated internet! Oh, glorious technology!

<3

Cold.

2007-05-16T12:23:37Z

Someone has snuck a balloon into my nasal cavity, and is slowly inflating it. My reaction is to drown myself in snot.

On the plus side, classese are all wrapped up, and I'll be in Alberta by next Wednesday. The past was grand, the future is bright, now only if the present will improve.

Dear Dream Journal,

2007-05-07T21:32:05Z

Last night I rented a VHS copy of a Mexican explotation film/crime thriller. In it Benicio Del Toro played the ice cream suited mob boss. A poor woman laid down her infant, in a box and wrapped in a blanket, on the steps of his alabaster palace. Benicio walked up to the box, paused, lifted up a pant leg to reveal an ornate brass leg, and then stomped the box (and crying infant, natch) flat.

This wouldn't be worth further consideration, if not for another dream only a few days ago: Bolo Yeung took a crying infant in his arms, and then shook the living bejeezus out of it, until it went silent. He then proceeded to steadily smack its head against a concrete pillar.

The lesson? Supporting actors hate crying kids.

Thinking back, I can't recall a single dream that included a baby and ended well.

More worthwhile updates when my life gets more exciting.

Generic update #2560-B.

2007-05-01T13:45:19Z

Christ, my life is boring. At least the weather here's improved. Most (not all) of the snow is gone, and I can ditch the winter jacket.

Classes are starting to wrap up. Job-wise plans aren't yet finalized, but I will be living in Calgary over the summer, since I'll just live at my mother's to save money. I intend to visit Edmonton as often as possible, but I don't know what qualifies as "often" just yet. Probably every other weekend. I should be back in Alberta after the 20th. Nothing's concrete yet.

There you go.

Google owes me $5000.

2007-04-08T01:13:02Z

Thanks to a pointless previous post, I am now the only search result for "mountain of gold in antarctica." I am disturbed, intrigued, and possibly aroused.

You know how I keep bitching about sudden snowstorms? There was another one on thursday. Fifty centimetres. This comes about a week after the 80+kmph windy day. I'll have a picture of the aftermath up soon.

And, finally, Year Zero is available, in full, online. Unless you guys really want me to bother to go on and on (what is wrong with you?), here's a brief review: I overall like it. The music and beats are pretty solid, and Trent's lyrics mostly aren't outright embarrassing. Mostly. The best tracks are The Good Soldier and The Great Destroyer, and Zero-Sum is a lousy song that's saved by my favourite chorus on the album. Year Zero's no Fragile, but it's also no With Teeth. I wish Trent would get back into bleeding his songs together.

I might end up in Calgary over the summer. We'll see. If anyone knows any millwrights/factory foremen/mechanics, etc., who are interested in having someone earning a bit of experience over the summer (June, July and half of August), please let me know.

Philip Glass + Rockstar Games = Jism.

2007-03-29T23:14:31Z

GTA4.

It's been bugging me for some time now...

2007-03-24T12:55:54Z

What was the name of the movie that had the line "ever since they found that mountain of gold in Antarctica?" I know it was terrible, and I know we watched it at Project Hollywood. Otherwise, total blank.

Your St. Patty's day forecast:

2007-03-18T00:14:19Z

40cm of snow, followed by an equivalent amount of rain. Have fun!

Thank God for beer, to give one the artificial courage to trog through that shit.

"Our favourite food is fighting our national drink!"

2007-03-15T00:57:33Z

Literally. And I can't stop pitching comics, even after getting out of the business.

Finally snapping at my lack of new and interesting comics to read, I snagged most of Alejendro Jodorowsky's "Metabarons Universe." The three major titles being The Incal, The Metabarons, and The Technopriests. I can't believe I didn't read these sooner. Transmetropolitan and The Fifth Element borrow visual elements like mad (the latter to the extent of being sued). Almost every word that Grant Morrison writes could be penned by Jodorowsky. There's a Technopope.

And it's fucking gorgeous. Thank God for European comic artists.

So read it, if you haven't.

_{Extra incentive for Sylv: lots and lots of robots.}

Another reading week gone by.

2007-03-12T16:39:45Z

I did so little I believe I actually devolved. Not that there wasn't any excitement, I just wasn't a part of it. The previous reading week the English sector lost a student. This reading week? An English sector teacher. Go team.

This is why big cities are better: more options than "go on a massive coke binge."

Year Zero, and miscellaneous.

2007-02-27T22:51:14Z

Because I ought to write about something. Reading Week is upon me next week, and I'm going to lay around and water my friend Kyle's plants in exchange for a better (read: always running) internet connection and an XBox to fuck around on. Good deal.

For those of you not in the know, Year Zero is the new Nine Inch Nails album. You're all no doubt thrilled at the prospect of listening to Trent's painfully forced rhyming couplets, but I couldn't be more geared for this album. He's been releasing tracks one by one, hiding them on USB keys at shows. Four tracks are out so far. As well as a trailer for the album. There's also a huge viral marketing campaign, but you can look into that for yourselves, since I'm too lazy to keep cutting and pasting links.

So why am I so excited? Because it's a concept album that's focussing on an apocalyptic event happening around fifteen years from now. And I'm a sucker for that. If one were so inclined you could probably pull some interesting material for, say, an Unknown Armies campaign.

That's it for the billboarding. Life otherwise has been pretty uneventful. My connection is a wee bit more reliable than it was two weeks ago, but that's not saying much. I'm at the top of my class in marks, on account of being smart, and the other students might go on strike, because apparently Charest is tinkering with education, and those ingrates are afraid of paying more than the required $90/term for administration fees. I pay $1000/term, since I'm not a Quebec resident. Fuck them.

Still alive. Buried in snow.

2007-02-16T13:25:00Z

Another large snowstorm has covered the town. It's not as terrible as the previous one, since only one of my three teachers yesterday didn't show for class.

Beyond that, I've been going to class, reading sporadically (Lolita now), and playing XBox. I'd be online more, but my net access has become unfathomably random as of late. And while the lab will let me hook my laptop up, it's just not the same as the privacy of one's room (hint: ~~pr0nz~~ /b/ ~~wait that's even worse~~).

I'm also, oddly enough, feeling an urge to try and get a slot in the student radio station. Which should be interesting, since my contempt for popular music is growing at such a rate that whenever my neighbour plays music it causes me physical discomfort. Really, though, I'm just using this as an excuse to ask the following question:

Each of you, give me a list of ten records I should buy. Because they are awesome records. You guys (that is, my friends, not random internet passers-by) have good taste. Share it!

A most triumphant return!

2007-02-06T18:14:10Z

I survived a whole week without the internet. Who'd've thunk it? Among my amazing achievements I did while not wasting my time online:

I look forward to this new and exciting time of productivity and self-control!

And, re: books. McK, I tried re-starting Naked Lunch as you suggested today, and I made it halfway through the first half of the opening paragraph. I actually finished the book over my sabbatical, and have started on Titus. And yes, Matt, a race to read Gravity's Rainbow could be fun. Any other willing participants?

Lickthebooklickthebooklickthebook.

2007-01-30T00:38:44Z

So my books came in. I'm going to be starting with Naked Lunch and ending with Gravity's Rainbow. Figured I'd save Pynchon for last as the book's reputed to be a tough read, and I want to ease my way back into the world of literature.*

I've stopped reading Atlas Shrugged. I can't make it past Reardon's trial (Part 2, section IV). Fuck that woman.

And in addition: my Week-Of-No-Web starts bright and early tomorrow. Let's see how long it takes for Ivica to get the shakes! Or, if wagering on that is no fun, how much my productivity goes up by.

*Starting with Burroughs at his nuttiest might be a mistake, however.

Book!

2007-01-24T03:26:19Z

For the interested (Sylvia' mostly), I'm just letting you fine folks (Sylvia' mostly) know that I finally did my post-Christmas Chapters order. The list:

Gravity's Rainbow
Lolita
Naked Lunch
Titus Andronicus

Somehow I picture this putting me on a watch list somewhere.

Current book: Atlas Shrugged
Mood: Punching Ayn Rand in the cunt

So, back in Gaspé.

2007-01-24T01:07:54Z

I've been back since Monday (2am Monday morning, woo!), and I'm definitely glad to be back. Perhaps because it beats being in Calgary. I'm ready to learn things, and generally dick around as I normally do over here. The internet's been spotty, but that's typical. I am learning to adjust, once again.

Eighty is the magic number here. That's how many centimetres of snow the town received on Saturday. It's prettified the town (I'm reminded of delightful, overpriced winter villages out in the Rockies), and these guys are amazing at snow removal. They rolled out the snowblowers and the plows immediately. Except for the ten-foot-high piles of snow on select street corners, you wouldn't know that it had been unceremoniously dumped on the town in a single day.

Classes look to be classes like any other. My math teacher is more incomprehensibly French than the previous one, so we'll see how I hold up. I heard a rumour, though, that if there aren't enough students enrolled in the program next year, the whole thing will be cancelled. If that happens, well, I have no fucking idea what will happen to me, life-wise. Possibly a shooting rampage. That's the sole stressor in an otherwise sunny situation.

Here's for good news on that, and good marks!