I’m done with blogging, at least for now. There are a few reasons for it, but the main one is how much I enjoyed being away from a computer this past weekend. I’ll probably still put some guitar/banjo/ukulele chords occasionally, but that’ll be about it.

It’s been very cool/weird to see all the people who have read/commented on the blog–thanks for reading! If you’d like to chat about anything, send me an email to my first name at my full name dot com.

• I read most of Douglas Coupland’s “jPod” and think I might be an intellectual masochist (no self-respecting gamer would call the PlayStation port of Chrono Trigger their favourite game. Yeesh.)
• Edmonton’s lack of café culture means I didn’t have to hear any acid jazz. This is a good thing.
• Not bringing my laptop was probably the greatest thing I ever did.
• I taught two kids under one year old to high five. I think I’ve found my life’s work.
• On the flight home, my seat row-mate and I knew a disturbingly high amount of the same people. Then I saw a client at the baggage claim. Then I saw the same people sitting in the row across from me on the bus ride home, the bus ride after I stopped for coffee, and then on the bus ride as I was coming home from the library.
• Someone pooped in the bathtub. Twice.

I really want to make a post about this, but everything I start writing just turns into an awful and pretentious discussion on “art”. So check it out, see if you can figure out why it got an A+, and why I put quotation marks around “art” (it’s really ridiculous).

Travis’ most recent post, Yes, this is from a real owner’s manual for a GE stove…and yes that says “Using the Sabbath Feature”, claims the following:

[T]he designer of this page, Matthew, is Jewish and has approved of this posting

1. I did not design his page. I customized the header, removed some too-busy elements, and redid the typography. Brian Gardner designed the template.
2. I am Jewish, but was not consulted for approval of the post.
3. I think a Sabbath feature on ovens is awesome and hilarious.
4. I’m not going to tell Travis about this post.

[UPDATE]: A retraction has been posted. The Internet works!

Other original programming planned for TheWB.com includes … “jPod,” a quirky soap set in the world of a video game design company…

Read the rest of the press release.

Thanks again to Firefly for keeping me up to date on the jPod situation. TheWB.com, provided it will be region-free, is an excellent venue for the show. There’s also a Post for the ‘Pod campaign about to begin at savejpod.ca (snail-mail bombardment in the week leading up to the Leo awards. jPod has 15 nominations.)

Keyboard/Notebook concept from Yamaha Concepts, via Yanko Studio.

Yo brother…where have you been???

I want to connect with you…

DeeBee Ital feat MC Robotman…

we can be like Kanye West and Daft Punk…hahahha

Get back to me mang…

Last year, I had this great idea to be a robotic MC and make hip hop music. I did one full track, a few beats, and got a hold of the perfect voice synthesizer software. I even made a MySpace account, made up a backstory, and started collecting friends for “collaborations”. Then my free time disappeared and “robot MC” wasn’t a big priority anymore.

But, I still got fan mail from an Ontario MC named DeeBee Ital; I think I replied as a robot. I thought it was absolutely hilarious and assumed he was in on the joke. Anyway, I logged in today for the first time in about a year and he’d written the above comment. I think he’s serious.

More at Fishki.Net, via Live Jamie.

Things I really want to buy, but probably won’t:

1. Drum kit iPhone
2. Theremin iPhone
3. Mini Cooper iPhone
4. Encyclopedia set iPhone

iPhone finally available in Canada.

Crescent St. in Montréal. It really gets going at the two minute mark.