Phonebooks wasteful, obsolete, says my building February 1, 2012
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: environment, landline, Phonebook, technology, waste
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OK I have to admit, I felt a small surge of “adultness”. Stepping out and seeing my first ever delivered issue of the local phonebook, plopped on my doorstep.
What might’ve happened the other seven years of independent living, I’m not exactly sure, but anyway.
My momentary burst of pride was quick to give way to what ANYONE might already suspect…
Phonebook is no match for Facebook.
Well, not in its “dead-tree format” anyway (see Adrian MacNair).
Smartphone apps and Google have swiftly sank any need for “Yellow Pages” (nor white, nor blue…) and indeed my parents alone may be some of the few existing users of the ancient landline. Hardly worth killing a tree over.
In a way, I lament when I say, we’re just a hop, skip and a jump away from having microchips in our clothes…
And, to my neighbs: please, remember that faithful appliance known as the recycle bin. Lest our lobby doesn’t become an ever-increasingly inflated West End tomb of artifacts.
UPDATE:
The technological commentary grows both vertically and horizontally…
Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays…vs. Who Cares? December 25, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: Christmas, Davie St, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, religion, sentiment
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from buzzfeed.com
You know that whole Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate? Sometimes so ever-intelligently referred to as, the “War on Christmas”? Frankly, I’m starting to become offended by this debate.
That’s right. Not any salutation but rather the debate itself, is starting to offend me.
Because aside from it being a pathetic waste of time, doesn’t anyone realize the MASSIVE implicit contradiction?
It occurred to me today in the low-end, Davie St supermarket (Super-Valu, or Tru-Value or some such), otherwise known as the only place open and therefore my last resort in picking up sustenance for my overnight Christmas Eve shift. (That I’m surprisingly, not bitter about.)
So the man ahead of me pays for his groceries and says, “Happy Holidays” while at the same time, the middle-aged cashier offers, “Merry Christmas.” Then as the man goes to leave, she turns and says to no one in particular, “I say ‘Merry Christmas’ because that’s what I celebrate!”
At the time I felt she had expected me to join her, or at the very least offer some sort of acknowledgement, ultimately taking a stand on this assumed war on Christmas.
But I didn’t. I chose to icily and somewhat awkwardly look downward and ignore her comment, and in fact found myself resenting her for carelessly bringing up this BEYOND STUPID point of argument. And on Christmas Eve, no less.
As I walked home I continued to stew, thinking about what the indiscriminate cashier had said. She says Merry Christmas because that’s what SHE celebrates…so in effect she’s, what, saying the pleasantry for herself?
I mean let’s think about this. Saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to someone is supposed to offer well wishes toward the person you’re saying it to. A simple act of saying something kind to someone else. No exchange necessary, just selfless well-wishing.
The problem occurs when you figure not everyone celebrates Christmas. And the pleasantry is usually said offhandedly, so really there’s no time to find out everyone’s particular affiliation and offer the correct salutation. (What you get for not being Christian, I suppose.)
To combat this problem, over time, a more general pleasantry started being offered. One that covers all the bases. One that instills the same feelings of warmth and well-wishing and can be spewed out with the same nonchalance:
“Happy Holidays.”
Nice ring to it, nice alliteration. No religious connotations, (which I won’t even get into THAT whole issue suffice it to say, in the words of Bart Simpson, “Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa.”)
Nope. No no. Saying, “Happy Holidays” that’s going too far. We won’t be bullied by these other affiliations, demanding their share of pleasantries. We’re going to ban together and voice our displeasure over not being able to express a traditional holiday sentiment. For which our children indeed have no idea how or why it came to be, just that they can expect a mythical fat man in red to give them inane, superficial gifts they’ve learned to desire, but don’t really need. (We have an economy to support, after all.)
And so now, as I experienced in line at the supermarket, ironically, the pleasantry is bringing about the opposite desired result.
Not merriment, but divide. Anger. Resentment.
Because in the end, it’s OK to commercialize the hell out of this holiday, it’s OK for increasingly indebted populations to engage in mass consumerism…but damnit, if I can’t wish you well the way I want to!!!
CEP union remembers womens’ lives lost, fights for long-gun registry December 7, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: c-19, Canada, long-gun registry, Montreal Massacre, politics, union, women
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And with the remembrance of the 14 womens’ lives lost, the debate over bill C-19 and the long-gun registry in Canada continues.
Is it a heralded tool to be used by our nation’s police forces? Or is it an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer?
Does it bring justice for women who are victims of domestic violence? Or is it an inefficient strategy in preventing that violence?
Swimming tips … (from someone who’s done it about six times) October 27, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: interval, Phelps, pool, swimming, training
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I’ve recently taken an interest in swimming.
A renewed interest, really, because I’ve always loved it, was always last one in the neighbour’s pool, prune-y fingertips kinda girl. Probably even placed last a few times on the seventh grade swim team.
So I figured to combat the onset of a couple impending xmas pounds, I’d begin using the pool in my building.
Thing’s emptier than Transformers 3.
So.
Couple things…SWIMMING’S BORING. Holy god, it’s boring. And so I’ve come up with a few tips and tricks that I’ll attempt to pass off as my own.
…and for the record, I’m not the only one who finds swimming boring when used as a means of exercise. I’ve been conciliating with a few trainer friends who agree. Boring.
The lovely @jen_titch for example says it’s those first 10 minutes that are the hardest to get through. I quite agree.
And from another trainer friend of mine, the first tip and a great one, 1. Give yourself a challenge.
So do a lap or two, time yourself, and then try to beat it. Suddenly and miraculously, swimming becomes significantly less boring. AND it acts as a form of interval training because you obviously can’t race yourself the entire time. Get out, walk around the pool, stare at people in their swimsuits. I personally like to keep my cell phone and a towel at the side of the pool so I can tweet/brag about the fact that I’m swimming.
2. Buy a sport bathing suit. This might seem kind of superficial, but who cares, it really does help. You can’t legitimately do busting-ass, all-out front crawl in a frilly bikini, you can’t. Buy a sport bathing suit. If you can justify a hundred bucks for yoga pants, you can justify a sport bathing suit.
3. Bring a friend. Everything’s better with a friend. You know when you’re chatting and drinking coffee and then you decide to spring for the Starbucks cookie that has to be no less than 400 calories…skip that. Chat in the pool. You might not get your hardcore laps in, but you’re still burning cals and still get to rant about that idiot at work. Win, win.
Lastly, 4. Pace yourself. Don’t commit yourself to an hour the first time out, but do work your way up to it. I make this mistake with running every 6 months or so. I go hard maybe twice, get tired in under 5 mins, walk away from the whole thing thinking, god that sucked, and vow never to run again. Don’t bother setting yourself up for failure.
…think he works out?
So those are my thoughts on swimming, and here’s a great article from someone I can only assume is a professional. If and when I learn anything else about swimming, I’ll be sure to post it.
Phelps, watch your back.
Really? October 21, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: cat, Himalayan, West End
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Actually, I’d really like to see this cat found…he seems like a hoot.
Long time no blog October 18, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: blogs, twitter
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In the interest of posting some sort of content…I’d like to express my disappointment and frustration over my own lack of blogging, but also hint at the topic for an interesting new blog!
It will involve my dreams and be more on the artsy-side…written in my recently adapted sardonic style, if you follow me at all on twitter.
So, uh…keep an eye out for that!
Like you can really keep a MinPin still. Come on.
Easy to make, and vegan/gluten-free: one-ingredient frozen banana “ice cream” May 10, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: banana, delicious, easy, fast, frozen, gluten-free, ice cream, one-ingredient, peanut butter, recipe, vegan
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I love bananas and I love peanut butter and I ADORE the two together. So of course, when I saw this “recipe” online I knew immediately I had to try it.
Photo from thekitchn.com
It’s as simple as this. Bananas. Frozen in your freezer (chop them up and throw ‘em in one of those large ziplock bags or containers). Take them out. Throw ‘em in your blender or food processor. Done–wait. You can add peanut butter. Or honey. Or dark chocolate chips — whatever your pleasure. Peanut butter was fantastic…but I’m biased in that respect…
And there you have it folks! A healthy, soft-serve ice cream substitute.
I’ve read on a few other blogs that you can add milk as well. Which will strip the treat of its vegan status, but may also make things a little easier on your blender. I would recommend using a food processor, but since I didn’t have one I used the ‘chopped ice’ setting on a blender.
And although you can, I wasn’t about to bail out and use milk (or perhaps more accurately, there was none in the fridge) and so it was strictly los platanos. Which work excellently for this type of treat because of their texture and consistency (especially the over-ripened ones, which also have the added advantage of being sweeter).
So there you have it. Easy. Nutritious. Delicious.
This year’s 4/20 Marijuana Freedom Rally outside Vancouver Art Gallery April 20, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: 420, activist, Marc Emery, marijuana, rally, Vancouver Art Gallery
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Thousands showed up for this year’s 4/20 Marijuana Freedom Rally outside Vancouver Art Gallery.
The streets around the gallery were jam-packed full of people of all ages and you could smell the event taking place several blocks away.
A huge banner of marijuana activist Marc Emery hung over the gallery steps.
Last year an estimated 13,000 people attended the event.
Where’s the love? April 20, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: 1445 W Georgia St, art, Buschlen Mowatt, gallery, LOVE, modern art, Robert Indiana, sculpture, Vancouver
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Going, going, gone — it seems.
The Buschlen Mowatt contemporary art gallery on 1445 W Georgia St is losing it’s “LOVE” sculpture featured out front.
The LOVE sculpture was first introduced by American artist Robert Indiana in 1970 for the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Since then, it’s been recreated and featured in city centres all over the world.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for the next piece featured out front the modern gallery.
UPDATE: After 33 years, the Buschlen Mowatt gallery is giving up its spot on W Georgia. The gallery is currently up for lease.
2011 Vancouver Sun Run April 17, 2011
Posted by lizmorison in Uncategorized.Tags: community, fitness, health, running, Sun Run, Vancouver, W Georgia St
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I thought I was having some sort of weird dream when I woke up to the sound of thousands of people outside my downtown apartment window.
At about 9:15 a.m. I took a peek outside to see more than 50,000 runners taking part in the 2011 Vancouver Sun Run.
The run is the second largest timed 10K in the world, and the largest community run in Canada. No surprise there — you wouldn’t believe the number of people running up W Georgia street this morning.
People of all ages sprinted off towards Stanley Park, continuing along the shoreline of English Bay, crossing the Burrard Bridge to head east on 6th Avenue and crossing back over the Cambie Street bridge to meet the finish line at BC Place Stadium.
Among the hoards of runners and onlookers, I felt like I was the only one in the city not participating!
With the weather gods holding back the Vancouver rain, it was a beautiful day to promote good health and exercise and support amateur athletics. The run isn’t an official charity event but has donated almost $2 million in proceeds over the past 25 years.
Eric Gillis of Guelph, ON (home of my alma mater!) was the winner of the race with a time of 29:06. It’s the first a Canadian has won the race since 1997.
