The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

While in L.A., I attended a cocktail party on the roof of The Standard hotel, which has the item shown below on display in its entrance:

Before I became an accordion guy, I was a synth guy, and prior to that, I learned how to play keyboards (and bass pedals) on the organ. I remember seeing the organ pictured above – a Thomas 2001 “Space Organ” – at the Canadian National Exhibition in the late seventies and experiencing my first pangs of gadget lust. By today’s standards, I’m sure this instrument sounds cheesy and retro, but when I first heard it being played, it sounded like an instrument from the future.

I only wish it had been plugged in so I could take it for a spin. I’m pretty sure I could do a mean bossa nova version of KMFDM’s Stray Bullet on this baby!

Here are more photos:

Image courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

If you’re in Canada and you’re looking to buy a digital camera in the near future, you’re in luck. According to the website SmartCanucks.ca, Shoppers Drug Mart is having a big sale on cameras starting near the end of the month.

The table below shows the cameras that will be on sale, when it’ll be on sale and what the original and sale prices are. To make your research a little bit easier, I linked each camera model to a corresponding Google search.

Do me one last favour for my birthday and spread this photo far and wide, will you please?

Photo courtesy of seinkonnen.
Click the photo to see the original.

Photo courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele and Brittney G.

And in a story in Newsweek that was posted today:

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin’s shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain’s top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent “tens of thousands” more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,” and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

To the United States of America, one of my ancestral homelands and my home-away-from-home:

And yes, today, November 5th, is my birthday. It’s cake and Crown Royal time!

Click the image to see the full-size version.