Plans are in the works for a “fitting monument” to President George W. Bush–renaming a local sewage plant after him and celebrating with a synchonized flush in his honour.

Poet. memoirist, activist, legend. Still vigourous at 80, Dr. Angelou told the mostly female, mostly mid-life audience a charming and encouraging bed time story last night at the Orpheum. She was here as part of the Unique Lives speaker series.

Vancouver jazz vocalist, Dee Daniels, opened the show with two songs, including “This Little Light of Mine”, which was the theme of Dr. Angelou’s talk.

Multi-tasking, once a term to describe the efficiency of computers, has come to mean the human doing of as many things as possible, as quickly as possible, and at the same time, assisted by the power of technology. We live in a hyperkinetic world, and we attempt to keep up by packing as many activities as possible as efficiently as possible into each day. Every pause or spare moment that used to be part of the natural ebb and flow of life is filled up with busyness, texts and instant messages, email, chatter, and diversion.

Are we on the edge of a new evolutionary development in the human brain? To some cognitive scientists and many parents of adolescents who appear to excel as multi-taskers it may look as though we are.

Or are we fouling up our short term memory and long term ability to deal with stress? Christine Rosen of the New Atlantis cautions that while information may be powerful, it is not as powerful as wisdom.

Sarah Susanka thinks the risks of multi-tasking may be more dire than a diminution of wisdom:

“The problem with so much of what arrives in our mailboxes and shows up on our various screens is that it lures us into a dreamworld not of our own choosing. We opt for it only because it is right in front of us. Rarely do we stop and ask ourselves, “Is this really what I want or need to do right now?” Yet once we’ve turned, pushed, or clicked, we’re hooked by the story line of the world depicted. This is the fundamental principle behind advertising, but it’s happening in more ways that we imagine–not just through those messages that we recognize as commercials. Everyone is trying to get our attention and have us focus on his or her take on the dreamworld. With all the devices available to do this these days, if we aren’t aware of what’s going on, we are literally led by the nose from one mindless engagement to another, all of which ensures that we stay sound asleep in the middle of our waking dream. But there is an alternative. All it requires is your attention.

Unless we return to one thing at a time, in short order we’ll be living a new form of self-inflicted schizophrenia: We won’t be able to distinguish among the voices speaking to us, and we won’t know what to do next. The tools we’re inventing to help us cope will, in fact, be rendering us impotent, unable to engage in anything meaningful or truly satisfying. The illusion will be complete, and we’ll be completely lost in a nightmare of our own making. The antidote? Turn off the screens and see how quiet it gets. It’s amazing.

(Quote from The Not So Big Life)

Language NSFW.

Via Information Clearing House

Bless those BC Liberal hearts. This morning Mr. V. and I each received our $100 Carbon Tax “Dividend” cheques with the morning post. We are not sure what we are going to do with this bounty.

Even though we know it is hush money that will encourage us not to squeal when we fill up the gas tank or pay the Terasen bill, it’s nice to pretend we have a little walking around cash we can “re-invest” into a greener, cleaner, less oil-dependent world.

Just like the Liberals are pretending that this “dividend” is smart and progressive economic policy, even though as usual they haven’t thought about it very deeply or analyzed all its ramifications before patting themselves on the back and toasting themselves with another bottle of (imported) wine.

1. Kill common garden weeds with vinegar.

2. Must you always buy organic produce? Some conventional produce, including onions and avocados, have little pesticide exposure. Conventional strawberries and cherries are another story.

3. Is there any real benefit to going tankless when you replace your hot water heater? There are apparently some federal grants for going tankless, but over its lifecycle, a new high efficiency gas-powered tank may be the best choice.

With Mr. V’s birthday coming up, I decided to take him to Spamalot, which is playing in Vancouver for most of July. This meant, I assumed, making my way through the Ticketmaster website, and pretending not to mind while all those extra handling charges were added to the bottom line of the ticket prices. But, lo and behold, Spamalot was nowhere to be found on Ticketmaster’s website.

After a bit of searching and clicking, including a couple of quick visits to scalper sites, I finally found the Python Spamalot site, and eventually a site called Broadway Across Canada, a subsidiary of Broadway Across America. I’m not sure why, when I searched for Spamalot on the Ticketmaster site, I wasn’t provided a link to Broadway Across Canada, since it turns out Broadway is a Ticketmaster company. However, at the Broadway site, ticket purchase was quick and easy. The handling surcharge was only $4.15 total for two tickets, which they will mail for free.

It was an unexpected but welcome bargain not to be gouged by Ticketmaster’s infamous add-on charges. Are reasonable surcharges Ticketmaster’s new way of doing business?

At Performance Works on Granville Island last night for the opening gala of the Jazz Fest. A pleasant, low-key affair, hosted by a couple of morning jockeys from Z95 Crave, this invite-only affair offered free drinks, free hors d’ouvre, and free music to folks who were with the band, significant volunteers, non-major sponsors, and hangers-on like me.

The drinks (Sandhill and Granville Island Brewery) were well received and politely quaffed, the food had pretty much disappeared half-way through the evening, which is generally how these things go. The music was played by the heretofore mysterious Johnny Manturo band. They played two sets, alternating Latin and Salsa with rock covers that included Led Zeppelin and the Police. Each band member was an able musician, but together they sounded a little loose, like they hadn’t played together recently. Besides which I don’t think “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” should ever be performed without the vocals.

Oh the whole, it was a pleasant evening, though I was a bit bemused by the plastic wine glasses inscribed with the Sandhill logo. One of the emcees begged us to take them home because they couldn’t be recycled. I know I don’t get out much, but what the heck is wrong with glass?

First up, Michael Moore’s New York City campaign to improve local policing techniques. Moore may be theatrical, but he is also hilariously funny, and most of the time I love him. (Source: Information Clearing House)

And second, the Onion covers a new American approach to the global food crisis. (Source: Matthew Good)

As I write this, Mediate and Woods are walking over to the final hole of their elimination round. I am rooting for Mediate, because this is so big for him, the greatest moment in his career. That said, win or lose, Tiger Woods will remain, with his so far 13 major golf titles, the greatest athlete alive on the planet today.