Author: Joey deVilla

The birthday — a big one, my 35th, in fact — is in one month and one day, so I thought it would be a good time to update the Amazon Wish List. Of course, no one’s actually obliged to buy me anything — not even Mom and Dad, who’ve been so kind as to always give me more than enough stuff. However, if you’re in a gift-giving mood, I’m not going to stop you.

You’ll notice that the accordion books are pretty cheap — you’d think that the accordion wasn’t a popular instrument, judging by their prices.

Asking for flatware is part of the “Just Gay Enough” philosophy.

Remember, folks, it’s “Just Gay Enough“, so I’m countering the flatware with the quintessential cock rock album from the almighty AC/DC. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Hayseed Dixie (a hillbilly tribute to AC?DC) are also on my wish list.

And while you’re at it, you may want to check my pal George’s Amazon Wish List. His birthday is a few weeks after mine.

I’m a bit busy today, so today’s posting will appear later than expected. In the meantime, may I suggest the following for your reading pleasure?

Wordshark is a very addictive game. Beware!

Why Is It So Hard to Get a Cab in San Francisco? A cabbie explains. You’d think that a small city (it’s only seven by seven miles) and major tourism and convention destination would be covered in cabs, but you’d be wrong. I lived there last year, and know the frustration of looking for a cab in that city; apparently, when you call for a cab, it’s treated a more of a suggestion rather than an order. The only way to get anything approaching decent cab service in “Baghdad by the Bay” is to strike up a friendship with a cabbie and then get his cellphone number. [from BoingBoing]

Why I wear contact lenses and not glasses. Although some people really do look cute in glasses.

Nigella Lawson sings the praises of British Cuisine. “British Cuisine” may be an oxymoron, but Nigella is my goddess and I will gladly defend to the death anything she says. Now if she will only marry me… [from Plastic]

Stooping and scooping isn’t just for dog owners anymore. [via Fark]

The war will be won with kisses, not bullets. Popular Iranian actress Gowhar Kheirandish, when presenting director Ali Zamani with an award, kissed him on the forehead. It’s not a problem here in the decadent West, but in fundamentalist Iran, that’s a serious crime. Socializing between unrelated men and women — and especially touching, even a handshake — is haram (a “no-no”). They were detained, then let go, and now harliners want to punish the cultural official who let them go. [from Metafilter]

Prince William, could you do me a favour? I hear you’ve got a fancy new apartment in the must-live-there street of the university student neighbourhood. I think you should have a party, hire me as entertainment, and introduce me to your charming flatmate.

The proper way to hang toilet paper. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Last night’s Thirsty People of Toronto gathering took place at Toronto’s grubby-but-oh-so-fun Sneaky Dee’s. A night of drinking, conversation, nachos and Scrabble are precisely what the doctor ordered.

I’d like to send a special shout-out to Bridget — she heard my plea for help in an earlier entry and PayPalled me some money to buy beer — you’re the best!

I’ve just come back from 12 hours of moving tons (literally!) of silk.

Sunny Choi, the semi-formal and formal women’s clothing company a stone’s throw from Big Trouble in Little China (that’s the new name of my house) is moving, and they’ve hired a group of strapping young men — of whom I am one — to move their office, which includes a full dressmaker’s shop. We moved two truckloads of rolls of silk, which we had to load and unload by hand. We also moved an entire winter line of Little Black Dresses.

Now I’ve got to find a way to make an appearance at four separate parties — two at bars, one at an Evil Little Chickie’s warehouse loft, and one on Adam Grant’s roof, which overlooks Queen and Spadina.

And tomorrow morning, Sunny Choi will need my services again. Probably for another 12 hours. And again on Monday. The exercise is good, and since various deadbeats owe me something in the neighbourhood of CDN$15,000, I could also use the money.

Go hard or go home, I always say.

A long time ago, I cobbled together the Shockwave version of Virtual Bubble Wrap, a game created at Mackerel Interactive Multimedia, the first company for whom I worked after graduation from university.

With the demise of Mackerel (which was going to be covered in Wired by Cory Doctorow until an editior killed the story), this fun little time-waster disappeared off the ‘Net, and other, lesser pretenders to the throne (and one interesting program with the same name that’s actually more of a cursor-art thing) have tried to step in and fill the void.

Dave Groff, one of Mackerel’s Creative Directors and the guy who conceived the game, has given me permission to use Virtual Bubble Wrap from my own evil ends. With that carte blanche, I’ve decided to resurrect it. You can find it in the Resume section of this site, or if you’re really impatient, you can simply click here to play Virtual Bubble Wrap.

This version of Virtual Bubble Wrap uses the original artwork from original version of the game, which appeared the old Mackerel Stack, which came out in 1993. When you’re playing this version, you’re playing the real deal.

The game requires Shockwave, which you can download from Macromedia.

(Yes, this is a shameless plug for my programming services. Dude’s gotta eat, you know.)

For your birthday, I think you should read this comic. Somehow, it reminds me of you.

See you at tonight’s debauchery!