Month: December 2013

Continuing a theme from earlier today…

…it’s pretty warm.

But maybe that’s just the heat being generated by parents who had to explain what happened onscreen to their kids who where there to see the latest Disney movie but saw graphic sex scenes from the Lars von Trier film Nymphomaniac instead: “You see, Jeffy, when eight or more people like each other very much, they share a special kind of hug…”

Found via Shelley Provost.

Click on the chart to see it at full size.

This chart, created by Dave Lieberman, captures my thinking — and really, the right thinking, if you think about it or even think at all  — about greetings during this holiday seasons, whether it’s Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, Have a Great Festivus, or whatever:

If you can’t see past the words of the wish to its good intent, it’s not the holiday well-wisher who’s broken, it’s you.

With the incredibly rare pathological exception (Tory MP Brian Pallister, I’m looking right at you), most people who extend holiday greetings have kind and noble intentions, and if you see a crusade in “Merry Christmas” or blasphemy in “Happy Holidays”, here’s a suggestion: take a deep breath and think about it for a moment.

If that doesn’t work, take another deep breath.

And if that still doesn’t work, go punch yourself in the face a half-dozen times, because you need it.

Thanks to Dave Lieberman for the creation, and Mark Cidade for the find!

You Shall Not Pass, Dog is a funny/sad compilation of videos of dogs who are afraid to walk past cats. It explains quite succinctly why dogs are called “Man’s Best Friend” and cats are called “Little Furry Agents of Satan,” or more kindly, “Egg Rolls Waiting to Happen”.

…you’re a never-ending source of double-entendres:

Found via Karen Geier.

Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory of ChiZine

I meet some of the most interesting people via Cory Doctorow, and Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory are no exception. I met them back in the late ’90s, played accordion at their wedding (the traditional Wedding March and Billy Idol’s White Wedding at the conclusion), attended some wonderful gatherings at their house, including New Year’s 2011, caught Brett’s old band The Diablo Red in concert, and made two appearances on YTV (the Canadian answer to Nickelodeon) on “Meet a Musician Week” thanks to Sandra. They are absolutely wonderful, warm, funny people, which is why they’re the perfect couple to run a “dark genre fiction” publishing house, ChiZine Publications.

A lot of the work they publish is pants-poopingly scary, and while ChiZine’s official motto is “Embrace the Odd”, I like Sandra’s unofficial motto: “If we haven’t made you unwell, we haven’t done our job.” They publish a lot of stuff that sends other, lesser, publishing houses of weaker minds and bodies run screaming back to Mommy. For this, I’m glad they’re around, because sometimes I need to look into the abyss — and when that happens, I can always crack open a ChiZine book.

They’ve just been covered in the National Post, and it’s worth your while to read their story. Nicely done, Sandra and Brett!

Poutine — the tasty Quebec snack treat made of fries, cheese curds and gravy — has been available at Canadian Burger King branches for some time, but has only been very recently introduced by McDonald’s (or as I like to call it, “Raunchy Ron’s”). The L.A. Times devoted a quick little piece to the event, in that why-don’t-we-get-this-here sort of voice. McDonald’s could make a killing if they opened a “McWorld” restaurant in the U.S. that carried special McItems localized for other countries, such as India’s Maharaja Mac, the Philippines’ Burger McDo or McSpaghetti, Israel’s McShawarma, or Canada’s new McPoutine.

McDonald’s poutine is likely to be better than their McLobster sandwich experiment from earlier this year, and at least one Canadian says they’re good:

There are tears of joy streaking down my face… Thank you @McD_Canada #Poutine pic.twitter.com/XfYfc9LzRI

— Alex (@The_Alex) December 3, 2013