Amazomg

Sylvia thinks I order too much stuff from Amazon. I usually counter by saying it looks like more than it is, since Amazon consistently splits up my orders into multiple deliveries. Unfortunately I drove Sylvia home today, so there was no hiding the evidence when we arrived home to find this...

LATE BREAKING UPDATE! My Amazon shipment included my friend Leslie's new book, The Complete Canadian Book Editor! I can't wait to delve into this; I know it'll be a great tool for real and aspiring editors. 

Bargain Diva for Atari 2600

This Atari cartridge is inspired by the time Sylvia asked me to stop at Winners for "a few minutes." Four hours later, Sylvia had a shopping cart full of fine clothes purchased at a steal. 

2P or Not 2P With TV

Tonight Sylvia and I accompanied her father, cousin and a friend to the Cactus Club restaurant attached to West Edmonton Mall. The company and the meal were fine, but when I retired to the bathroom to wash the juices from my very messy lettuce-wrapped Thai chicken from I hands, I was stunned to see how well-appointed it was. A luxurious leather easy chair occupied one corner of the loo, but while unusual that's not what really caught my eye. No, the bulk of my attention was drawn to the television monitors place above each urinal, a baseball game unfolding on each screen.

Have we come so far, I wondered, that even during the few seconds it takes to urinate we need to be entertained by the idiot box? I'm a fan of popular culture and television, but honestly - what a waste of resources. It struck me as decadent in the worst sense of the word.

Megacity Zero Point Five

On December 31, Sylvia and I ventured to Las Vegas' newest megamillion-dollar development, City Centre. Situated at the midpoint of Las Vegas Boulevard, this massive shopping/dining/casino/hotel complex sports an extremely futuristic look that made me feel as though I'd stepped a decade or two ahead in time. The Aria Express tram seen here links the various sections of the complex. Here are some more views, shot from within the tinted blue glass of the tram:

Rime of the Addled Consumer

They call it Boxing Day, but in these conservative times perhaps the annual festival of consumerism should be renamed Ultimate Fighting Day. Oh, we're all polite enough, crammed together in malls air-conditioned to the freezing point, bumping and jostling with strained smiles that don't touch the eyes, but how we all wish we had the stores to ourselves.

Hours later we escape, bags laden with half-price treasures that we'll cherish for a year or two or five if we've made a particularly good choice. We collapse exhausted by the binge, bloated with luxury, sated for another year. But the cravings will return, dooming us all.
Sent from my iPhone

The High Cost of Used Cars

Sylvia and I are in the market to replace our Corolla, which didn't survive my road trip to the Yukon and Alaska. I used my morning coffee break to check the top 10 deals at Kingsway Toyota, which included a used 2009 model for the great price of...

...one million, two hundred ninety-nine thousand, five hundred dollars? Seems a little steep. Especially in beige.

Symptoms of Consumeritis

Today, in the green wake of Giftmas, I've bagged and hauled away at least two dozen bags of garbage. Most of it's packaging, which I've accumulated and hoarded over a period of at least ten years. I kept the stuff mostly in anticipation of our next move, before realizing that I can just pick up some boxes a few days before the moving truck arrives.

My office is now a little less cluttered. Next, I'd like to install some new shelves so that I can properly store all my books. The mishmash of bookcases I have now is ugly and inefficient. They must go.

If anyone would like to join me at a book organizing/shelf building party sometime in the new year, just let me know. It should be amusing.