Year: 2008

Categories
The Current Situation

So Long, and Thanks for All the Melting Walls (or: R.I.P. Albert Hofmann)

Albert Hoffman, discoverer of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the man personally responsible for a lot of lost weekends (and possibly Burning Man), died yesterday at the age of 102.

Albert Hofmann, holding a model of the LSD molecule in front of a psychedelic background.

Here’s the quick version of the story of his discovery of LSD, excerpted from Wired News:

Hofmann’s most famous discovery happened on April 16, 1943. He was researching the synthesis of a lysergic acid compound, LSD-25, when he inadvertently absorbed a bit through his fingertips. Intrigued by the effect it had on his perception, Hofmann decided further exploration was warranted. Three days later, on April 19, he ingested 250 micrograms of LSD, embarking on the first full-fledged acid trip. That day became known among LSD fans as “bicycle day” because Hofmann began experiencing the drug’s intense effects on his bicycle trip home from the lab.

For more on Dr. Hofmann’s life and passing, here are some links:

In tribute to Dr. Hofmann, here’s an excellent video treatment of William Shatner’s cover of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, complete with kitschy Star Trek and I Love Lucy graphics:

Categories
Uncategorized

Happy Birthday, Mark Kuznicki!

Cat jumping out of birthday cake holding sign that says “You’re Adopted”

I’d like to wish Mark Kuznicki, Accordion City’s greatest policy wonk, organizer of events like Metronauts and member of the Toronto Tech Community in good standing, a very happy birthday! I’ll see you at the SummerCamp party tonight, Mark!

Categories
It Happened to Me

Grand Theft Auto IV: Midnight Lineup and First Impressions

Here’s a photo of the line outside my local EB Games (the Runnymede/St. Clair location in Toronto) for Grand Theft Auto IV, taken last night at midnight:

Midnight line for GTA IV outside the EB Games at Runnymede and St. Clair, Toronto

The 30-car parking lot behind the store was full of cars that I could’ve sworn were lifted right from the previous game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas: small sports cars painted in bright colours with lowered suspensions, chrome wheels and obnoxiously loud exhausts and stereos driven by guys in hoodies. The male-female ratio was high, but there actually were some teenage girls in line, which is a good sign: why should guys have all the realistically rendered fun in a virtual New York?

The door to the store is a few paces past the “no left turn” sign in the distance. I waited in line for about an hour and managed to get one of the last non-pre-ordered copies for the XBox 360.


A trailer for Grand Theft Auto featuring my character’s cousin Roman.

After getting back home, I played the game for about an hour, soaking up the the visually gorgeous opening sequence, running errands for my character’s cousin, Roman, shopping for clothes to impress a lady and beating up Albanian loan sharks. I’m going to have to jack a car and explore the city, as it’s so gorgeously rendered that it feels quite real. While the “San Francisco” segment of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas gave me the feeling of deja vu (I lived there for a year), Grand Theft Auto IV made me feel as if I was in Brooklyn right now.

Here’s a video of the opening of the game, featuring the title sequence and the first few minutes of mise en scene:


The first 10 minutes of Grand Theft Auto IV.

I’ll post more details as I play the game.

[This was also posted to Global Nerdy.]

Categories
Uncategorized

Montana Meth Project’s Billboards

These billboards produced by the Montana Meth Project are pretty striking. The question is: are they going to convince people not to do crystal meth?

Billboards for the Montana Meth Project

Categories
It Happened to Me The Current Situation Toronto (a.k.a. Accordion City)

Sign of the Times

I took the photo below in High Park station this morning:

“Grand Theft Auto IV” advertisement in High Park station

This photo is a sign of two things:

  1. The Toronto Transit Commission is back in action (and running smoothly from most accounts).
  2. Grand Theft Auto IV gets released at midnight! All branches of Future Shop (except in Quebec and Sudbury) and EB Games as well as the downtown Best Buy will open at midnight tonight to sell it, and I’m thinking of getting a copy tonight. The reviews of the game have all been glowing, and it’s expected to sell about 9 million copies at launch, putting it on par with the opening weekends of major movies. And why not? More and more, I’m of the opinion that I’d rather take a really good, immersive videogame over a movie.
Categories
The Current Situation Toronto (a.k.a. Accordion City)

The TTC Strike and Resolution, Summed Up Very Nicely

Here’s a video that does a pretty good job (and funny!) of summarizing what happened with Accordion City’s transit system and their strike. As an added bonus, it provides a breezy baedeker for Canadian and Toronto politics:

I give this video bonus points for its consistent message of “Nobody listens to the NDP” (and with good cause!).

[Found via blogTO.]

Categories
The Current Situation Toronto (a.k.a. Accordion City)

TTC Strike Surprise (Or: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People)

Accordion City is waking up this fine Saturday morning to…a transit strike!

For those of you not from here, here’s a quick recap of what’s been happening:

  • The threat of a strike has been looming for the past little while. The union — Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 — promised to give at least 48 hours’ notice before a strike in order to allow the public time to make arrangements for alternate means of transport.
  • If the union and management didn’t come to an agreement by 4 p.m. last Sunday, April 20th, the workers would go on strike at 4 a.m. Monday, April 21st. The negotiations went into overtime, but they came to a tentative agreement that evening. There would be a vote on the agreement later in the week, but it seemed as though the union would accept the deal.
  • Last night, the union voted against the settlement (a 65% “no” vote) and went on strike at midnight.

Friday is what PR people call “Take Out the Trash Day” — it’s a good day to make unpopular announcements, especially late in the day, because it’s when people don’t pay attention to the news. Many people were caught by surprise — on TV, they’re showing interviews of people who were stranded downtown last night. The unexpectedness of the strike, coupled with the union’s earlier promise of 48 hours’ notice, is not going to endear the union to the public.