Steph’s Tangents.
The unsolicited thoughts.Zygote of an idea
Every time I tell people that I am doing a year without candy they ask me what for. And every time I have to give them the trite truth, I feel like there should be more to it. So why not make it more? I think that the concept is begging to become a charity of some sort – and I love taking on new initiatives… so I’m planning something. Here are some thoughts so far – I would LOVE feedback / input:
- I think “a month without candy” might work well because people could do it annually – and not everyone is as ridiculous as I am doing an entire year.
- Charity food/kids/local – food banks?
- Pledges? Is there some other way?
- Any way to leverage my talented, connected, and “famous” friends?
- What is the price of a chocolate bar exactly? What would be the cost of one chocolate bar a day for a month?
- Define candy precisely but never name brands
- Honour system a must
- What month? January to tie into people’s resolutions, or May to tie into bathing suit season concerns. Wait, is it unethical to ride on people’s insecurities about their body? Hmmmm.
- What is my goal? First year goal? Five year goal?
- Leverage brains of MBA students who need project ideas?
- What is my commitment to this with regards to time and money?
- I bet my mother would enjoy helping. What can I get her to do?
- Better register the url/tweeter name, etc.
- What could this turn into if I really tried?
So… does anyone have any ideas to help out?
I will keep you posted on new developments.
Where the Wild Things Are
Every preview for this movie had me saying “I’ve got to see that”. It looked like something that would make me feel something strong and powerful, but instead I left the theatre feeling unsatisfied and empty, and maybe even a little bit sad. I understand that this movie could be nicely analyzed in terms of deeper meaning and metaphor, but I’m going to simplify things. Because it’s late. And I took drugs for my back.
Taking the list approach, let me start with the positive:
1. The kid had great hair.
2. Catherine Keener who played the mother. She can do no wrong.
3. The snow fort.
4. The stunning cinematography.
5. The perfectly captured feeling of being a kid – particularly in the beginning scenes in his home.
7. The giant dog.
What I did not like:
1. The severe inconsequential violence in Wild Thing land. One scene reminded me of domestic abuse.
2. The kid was not that bright. I know boys that age and they are quicker. Although to be fair they aren’t as tormented.
3. The lack of a story arc.
4. The message of hopelessness. They could have made it uplifting but chose not to. Jerks.
5. Did not see enough of the dog, cat, or racoon.
6. I don’t think the kid ever understood how he messed up being king, it appeared that he just gave up. Kid movies should not, by law, condone giving up.
For a brilliant full analysis check out this brilliant review on io9. It will not disappoint.
Thoughts?
Candy Free Update
Oddly “A Year Without Candy” seems to be easier than a week without candy. Once again proving the fact that moderation is not my strongpoint. Maybe I should have aimed higher – a year without candy or procrastination? A year without imperfection? Anything but a year without Diet Coke. Or dogs.
A Year Without Candy
Let me explain. I did not say a year without cookies or a year without chocolate, just a year without candy. What qualifies as candy?
Jujubes, gummy bears, wine gums, Swedish berries, chocolate bars… all of the cheap junk one can buy at the convenience store.
Why?
- When I eat candy, instead of simply satisfying a craving, it only leads to me craving more candy.
- I’m not so good at moderation and rarely stop at just a few.
- I STILL sometimes use candy to get that rush I used to get from smoking – which has nothing to do with hunger or enjoyment.
- Sometimes I use candy because I am too lazy to bother finding “real” food.
- Over the last few years I have probably only really enjoyed only 25% of the candy I have eaten.
- Why not?
So… off I go. It’s been a week and so far I have not missed it at all. But I’m screwed for Halloween. Maybe I should leave the country.
“I’m so busy”
That phrase drives me insane. To me it is akin to people using their facebook status to exclaim their joy surrounding the day of the week. In fact, let me take a moment to put something out there: We will assume that everyone is happy when it is Friday. If you are scared, surprised, or angry about it being Friday I might be intrigued and want to know about it. But if you are happy/relieved/thankful that it is Friday please shut up.
Back to “I’m so busy” – I find that this phrase is so often over-used that it has lost all meaning. People throw it out there with reckless abandon, often tied to the ever popular and completely meaningless “I’m so tired”. I should point out that I belive that many of us are indeed very busy and tired – but I just don’t like hearing about it, and I don’t really take it at face value anymore. I’m not perfect and I know I’ve used these phrases but I am going to make a sincere effort to block them from my communication repertoire. If you catch me out – you have permission to kick me.
Too many channels
Communication channels I use daily:
1. Face to Face.
2. Phone.
3. Email
4. Facebook.
5. Twitter.
6. Blackberry Messenger.
7. MSN Messenger.
8. Yammer.
9. Texting.
10. Delicious.
And that is my excuse for being a bad blogger. That being said, I don’t want to remove any of the above because each medium has a different purpose and a different set of people I use it to communicate with. I just wanted an excuse to make a list.
Side note – I’ve been out of the gym for over a week due to a back issue (bulging disk – not fun) and I am half looking forward, half dreading going back today.
Diet Coke update
I confess… I have been having one a day since Wednesday, because on Tuesday I was pretty much unable to function. I am vaguely disturbed that the woman at the variety store where I work is relieved that I am cutting down. Her scrutiny will help me keep me in check at one a day. Not to mention that my co-workers seem to be checking up on me when they hear that familiar whish sound that occurs when opening a can of magical bubbly delight.
The carbonation-free week?
So I’m back on Diet Coke. Obscene levels. Like three litres a day.
I have pondered the possibility that my Diet Coke intake is why I look young – I am well preserved because of all of the chemicals – but I’m not a complete idiot, and know that eventually I may have to deal with the consequences of my favourite magical beverage.
For the last few days I have had this phrase that keeps running through my head: “It’s just time”. The last time that phrase went running around my head was when I decided to quit smoking for good. I quit cold turkey (and I was never a half heated smoker, moderation has never been a strength) after reading Allan Carr’s book and I never looked back. So – is it time to give up my favourite poison?
I want to run an experiment and see how I feel after a week with no carbonation. The last time I was deprived for over 24 hours was most likely when I was in the middle Algonquin Park on canoe trip. Over 15 years ago.
The new Bberry
Still getting used to the trackball but I love the camera. Time to take advantage and start using twitpic and all of the tools I encourage everyone else to use.
Testing it out with the first photo on my phone, surprisingly, not of Riley. Here is someone who turned out to be almost as cute as my dog, Joshua Jackson. He was at Rogers, I believe he may be the face of the revolution. But a happy revolution, nothing with murder and mayhem. Would it be wrong to call him the Jean Vergean of Rogers?
<Had to go in and manually delete the pages of disclaimers that are automatically sent with my bberry>
Oh no – Injury
So I think that I have bad form. I have been unable to run for over a week now and the race is in less than two weeks. Uh oh.
I felt this coming but being a little bit impatient, I thought that I could run through this injury. Not so much. I almost yelped when I tried to run last monday.
Tonight: Back on it.
