Thursday, 8 November 2012

IIDD, Chill November: Friday, November 9th

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people. -Virginia Woolf, writer (1882-1941) 


  • Patrick James Dunn Where Bing Crosby carolers groaned of a tight Christmas from drinking too, too much Lord Calvert Whiskey!

Ray, still hemmed in by a  1pm start from UBC. I will be driving my bike up there with Tia and leaving both car and 
Ms T. -- associate professor of Asian security studies to her research. 

Let me know if this timing works at all for you.

Don't have any of that high-end rum? Am I still eligible?  G


Hi Lads with Cooler Heads!

I am happy to meet at UBC at 1:00pm. Where?


I also managed to put my first docu-drama on YouTube. Quite easily done, in fact. I now expect to be shown at next year's VIFF!

Chum.MOV

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Upload complete! Your video will be live at: http://youtu.be/34KqNAzAm5s

I'm actually much impressed with the camera technology which allows one to take such video. My panning technique needs much, much more refinement, of course, but Chum, as an early, seminal, so to speak, work is a start. (Portrait of a Filmmaker as an Old Man!) Buzz is already starting to build about footage of The Japanese Bullet Trains: Shinkansen, The Untold Xmas Story! (In post-production as I scribe.) Probably a pre-Christmas release to cash in on holiday spending fever. Aimed at The Sisterhood as a way to allow them to shop in as many cities as possible in the least amount of time. Travel time cuts into shopping time. Fewer minutes on the rails means more shopaholicism in Macey's!

Sorry, have to run. Steven and George, (not of the Peleton), want to hear my pitch! Cheers, Martin!



PS: Have some ideas about a feature length film on kitchen/recipe rage and am wondering if either of you might be willing to consult on script and/or special effects/stunts. Big Al has already signed! Could Tia do location security? Plan on shooting near Ambleside.

Snap: A still from publicity poster.


From the volunteer party...

You can use this website, http://www.wetransfer.com.

Just put in your email, my email in the appropriate fields and then browse
to the photos that you want to send to me. It should be really easy and
obvious.

Best of all, it's free and doesn't require crappy software to be installed.

Good luck and we'll look forward to seeing them! Sandra


Hi Sandra!

Thanks for the link. I assume snaps will be waiting for you when you are back on Tuesday! Cheers, Patrizzio!


George/Pat,
    Looks as if my schedule won't allow the 1 at UBC - heading off to Steveston with Pete at 12 - enjoy the sun.
Ray
 
Hi Lads!

I left the HBT at 12:15pm and made my way to UBC, bucking a very strong and chilly head wind, coldest, by far, of the season. Rendezvoused with Giggster, as arranged, not far from the entrance to the Nitobe Gardens and, at his suggestion, we decided to ride to Iona. Had my work cut out for ma along Marine Drive as the Whirlygig turned on his rear rotor and shot ahead, hell bent for leather, all the way to Cornish, running yellows and even dis-regarding reds when traffic allowed! Few more trucks on Ferguson Road than on last outing but it really was the wind that was most bothersome. Once we reached the parking lot at Iona Beach and turned back, the wind gave us an extra push so we didn't complain about that.

Over the Cambie Sky Train Bridge with about 42.8K on my trusty odometre  and then across MD to proceed up Heather when I noticed that my not-so-trusty odometre was not registering elapsed time or cumulative ride distance! Horror or horrors! All the distance and considerable effort, simply everything expended, thus far, had been a waste, Dear Reader, for I now would not be able to log this outing as an "official ride"! Try as I might, I could not re-set odometre or manage to have it record time. Didn't know if battery was low or if I had inadvertently pressed some wrong button. Crestfallen, I pushed uphill to catch the disappearing Whirly Bird and rode with him, moaning about my cruel fate. His only words of advice, (no sympathy, mind), were to the effect of not tampering with the device or I would "fuck the warranty!"



Not particularly heartened by his forthright opinion, we made our way to 37th and thence towards UBC and the Endowment Lands. All of this time I rode in a fog, completely unsettled by the catastrophic system failure, trying vainly, from time to time, to coax a response from the lifeless screen that mocked every complete rotation of my pedals. Had it not been for Giorgio ahead of me, or beside me, occasionally, I think I would have collapsed by the side of the road and crawled into some muddy ditch, there to expire, of heartbreak. Not even the fiery pain in my soles could match the icy despair in my heart. The last words from my cracked and parched lips, would be, I felt: "Why? Why? The Horror! The Horror!"

Somehow, I know not by what accident of Fickle Fate, I managed to struggle through the remainder of the ride, skirting the campus and down the Foreshore Hill, (not even bothering to try to break 50KPH as by this time even the current speed had ceased to display), to fight, tooth and nail, to keep maddeningly Madcap Maddison in sight as he streaked, effortlessly, ahead of his almost catatonic companion. We parted at MacDonald and Third and I limped back to the HBT, truly broken-hearted. Had to console myself with an "approximate" distance, not an "official" one, based on time, (four hours), and estimated AVG speed, (20KPH), given Whilygig's pace for much of the ride and my desperate attempts to keep up, which put day's overall journey at 80K. However, I do believe that the AVG was slightly higher, probably somewhere, at a minimum, btween 20.1 KPH-20.6KPH, (judging from other junkets, wind resistance, etc.), so I can conservatively chalk ride down to between 80.4K and 82.4K. Nevertheless, in my mind's eye, I register the distance at 83.3K, whether through wishful thinking or not!

Clip-ons off, helmet and gloves stowed, I warmed myself with a cup of java and then proceeded to put the Campagnolo, (An earlier gift, in 2007, from a friend in Toronto who had purchased it in 1970 in Winnipeg! No longer riding it, I had promised it to Jacob Two-Two.), on my car bike rack. Drove to Giggage's place and he took the proffered gift and stored it in the nifty locker underneath the front stairs. Went inside for a quick snort of Ardbeg, 10yo, a superlative drop, and we visited, along with Kerry, (The Sisterhood rep, sipping red, red wine), for a few minutes before I had to dash. Needed to stop at Safeway for Ginger Ale and OJ, for Chloë who was fighting a very nasty cold, and then hurried home for a quick shower. We had been invited to dinner that evening, by Kareen and Peter Zebroff, neighbours in our building. Had a simply wonderful time, lovely, lovely meal, (winter stew with venison sausages and pears as some of the tasty ingredients, preserved cherries from Peter's brother's orchard in Keremeos, for dessert.), and listened to fascinating accounts of their respective histories: From Wikipedia: Kareen Zebroff is a Canadian-based author, actor and television host specialising in yoga. She and her family fled Marienbad as a child, due to the Soviet occupations in the Czech Republic immediately following World War II. She emigrated to Canada in the mid-1950s when her family settled in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. She hosted a CTV television series, Kareen's Yoga from 1971 to 1977. Her dramatic work include appearances on episodes of television series such as The Beachcombers, Danger Bay and MacGyver. 


Peter grew up in the Doukhobor community in Creston. He and Kareen met in a Russian class at UBC in the '70's. A remarkable couple indeed. We hope to have another dinner, at our place, in the not too, too distant future in order to continue, to bring their incredible stories up to the present!

Patrizzio otra vez,

Your Thursday travelogue was an gripping account of urban strength and endurance.  Fantastico!

I've taken the liberty of copying an Everett friend of mine who grew up in Vancouver and was, until recently, an avid bicyclist-having done the famous annual Seattle-Portland run 3 times.  He's on to other pursuits now, but also was a daring motorcyclist, either conveyence to which I can't lay claim.  Nola and I had planned on introducing him on Nov. 23rd to "the girls" (Lori, et.al.) at a local boutique winery whose owners are friends, but they only want to "hobble over" [their words] from Port Gardner Inn toLombardi's.

My investing class (that is also going on today, but I am staying home) was a guilt-inducing sales pitch (ONLY $19,999--shouted out as "1999"-- for the full training Stocks, Options, Forex, Futures package--offerred in San Francisco and Chicago, sans round trip air ticket, I'm sure.  Here are a few takeaways:

  • When broad (NASDAQ, S&P 500, Dow) markets go up, 75% of stocks follow; when they go down, 90% follow
  • If they go down 30%, the gain required to recover is 43%, ad infinitim...
  • Because institutional BIG money controls everything, the classes teach you analysis techniques on how to imitate them in all market conditions
  • It's important to become systematic rather than emotional in investing
  • Because I consider myself an principled amateur trader who is active (rather than a greedy active trader), I prefer a more modest approach in going where the money is to hell with who's the product or service being made [e.g., I don't invest in war machine companies].

 
Hi it's not a good one ? joe
We plan on seeing a more commercialized movie than yours with Daniel Day Lewis called "Lincoln."  Did not like "Cloud Atlas."  I wish we had more access to "art films" here, but the long and crowded drive to Seattle's arts' district is burdensome and dangerous.  ... am tremendously enjoying reading Samuel Butler's "The Way of All Flesh."  Perversely, I thought it was about Victorian pornography, but as my Canadian friend, Thomas, pointed out, it's the direction that happens to each of us when we pass.  What a read!  Thomas even broke down and bought his own copy from Amazon.com, as I have the only one from our public library.  Did I hear correctly that wine is now being offered through Amazon.  Do they connect to Canada? Erich

P.S.  I'm surprising Daniello and Mr. Ergun Argut with a 5-pack of world-class Gurka cigars I ordered through Amazon, but they wouldn't mail them to Canada.  Therefore, when "the girls" arrive here for their shopping exploits, I'm going to ferry them to the boys through them....If you partake a cigar once in a while, I suggest you put in your bid with Lori and Brenda NOW for the 5th one because I hate seeing brawls over who of those two gets "the extra."  We have too many politicians fighting over crumbs all the time and don't need any more scenes.

George/Pat,
    Looks as if my schedule won't allow the 1 at UBC - heading off to Steveston with Pete at 12 - enjoy the sun.
Ray

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