2008 World Telekinesis Competition @ Victoria, BC, Canada

Who wants to form a team?


via videosift.com

From: http://www.noxioussector.net/wtc/call.html

THE WORLD TELEKINESIS COMPETITION

THE WORLD TELEKINESIS COMPETITION is an openly invitational project that will organize participating teams in a competitive manner to remotely influence the behavior of a candle. Teams are not geographically bound, but are required to formalize their participation based on conformity to the guidelines of the competition.

COMPETITION STRUCTURE

The 2008 WORLD TELEKINESIS COMPETITON will follow basic competitive rules for multi-team events. Based on an assessment of the number of participating teams, a preliminary competitive structure will be randomly determined, in which 2 teams will compete to psychically influence the behavior of a remotely-located game candle. The winning team will advance to the subsequent round while the losing team will be eliminated. This competition structure will continue until only one team is remaining. This team will be crowned the winner of the 2008 World Telekinesis Competition.

PARTICIPATION

In order to qualify for participation, teams must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Teams must be comprised of three (3) individuals.
2. Teams must compose or design or appropriate a team logo for inclusion in the 2008 WORLD TELEKINESIS COMPETITION competition schedule.
3. Each team member must provide a personal photograph and biographical statement for inclusion in the 2008 WORLD TELEKINESIS COMPETITION competition schedule.
4. Teams must agree to abide by the rules of the competition, as articulated at the following URL: noxioussector.net/wtc/rules.html

SUBMISSIONS

In order to qualify for competition, teams must submit the following:

1. A statement of interest and/or method addressing the concept of telekinetic competition;
2. A list of the three (3) members who comprise the team, as well as a concise (max 200 words) biographical statement for each team member;
3. A web-resolution (max 2MB) image of each team member;
4. A team name and an associated team logo for inclusion in the competition schedule and related publicity material;
5. A statement of availability for competition -- articulating weekend availability between April 1st and May 30th, 2008.

Also, relevant is the following:



(It's an infamous River to Jayne Firefly quote, you luddites!)

Stars Concert

• Commodore Ballroom, 2007.11.20
  
  
• Stars are amazing.
  
  
• Started a Stars chant and they came out for a 2nd encore. Woo!
  
  
• Amy Milan pointed and waved at some dude next to me as they had met on the road the week before.
  
  He started screaming like a little girl.
  
  I was secretly jealous :P
  
  
• The opening act was actually pretty cool. Still trying to remember what their name is. They're another band out of Montreal, similar musical style to Stars but with more percussion. Which is understandable since they had two percussionists.
  
  I'm also a percussion freak, so it's understandable why I liked them.
  
  
• Stars ended up playing a secret free show at the Media club on Sunday. I found out as I walked by and had to make a quick decision whether or not to hop in the line and cancel on my parents.
  
  I'm such a good son.
  
  
• West Van is more a Friday night thing than Saturday night.
  

Stars
Photo Originally uploaded by
melissa_sucks

Ghost starts pit fire during RAGE set?

Ghost starts pit fire during RAGE set?
Originally uploaded by Bruce Nguyen.

Found this random pic on my camera. It was taken during Rage Against the Machine's set. I was trying to capture the fire we were moshing around and accidentally produced this cool fluke of camera exposure timings.

At least, I THINK it's just a camera trick.

Ooh... ghostly.

More in depth Coachella review coming, maybe. For now, know that The Arcade Fire, Rage, and Interpol rocked my shirt and socks off. Do I mean that literally? Only time will tell!

Fuckin' Awesome-sauce

"We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyones arguing over where they're going to sit."

:(

How come I'm never in town when David Suzuki comes to visit?

(Wednesday April 11 in North Vancouver)

And while I'm at it, is it just me or does Suzuki not seem quite as optimistic as he once was?

Reminiscence: St Paddy's

Last night, just like last year, I had my shirt, my hat, and my randoms. (But not my camera, whoops)

Good night, even if I called it early. It was no Fitzsimons, but not many places are... it may just be the Guinness talking, but I kinda miss Ireland.

Hooray for poorly recorded and gaudily edited memories!

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Damn it, quit living in the past
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Happy Steak & BJ Day!

Behold My Wonders and Cry Tears of Jealousy

Victoria --> Seattle --> Vegas --> Indio, CA

Hooray for pent up vacation time and pent up RAGE!

It's that time of year again...

There are lots of other events and shows, Festival of Trees @ 4 seasons, Carol Ships cruises, Xmas @ Burnaby Village, etc, but the following are typically my mainstays

[hidden] Yes, because most of them are free. [/hidden]

40th Annual Singing Christmas Tree Musical
Date(s): Fri Dec 8 to Mon Dec 11 AND Fri Dec 15 to Mon Dec 18
Time: Various times
Cost: Free
Location: Broadway Church (2700 East Broadway)

Trinity Street Lights Competition
Date: Mid December-ish
Time: After sunset
Cost: Free
Location: Trinity Street in East Vancouver, between Renfrew and Nanaimo

Festival of Lights
Date(s): Fri Dec 15 to Dec 31 (closed on Christmas Day)
Time: 5pm - 9:30pm
Cost: $11.65 per person or $22.30 for a 'family' of four.
Location: Van Dusen Botanical Gardens (5251 Oak Street)

Winter Solstice Lantern Festival
Date: Friday Dec 22
Time: 6pm - 10pm
Cost: Free
Location(s): West End, Yaletown, Granville Island Strathcona/Chinatown, East Side/Commercial Drive

If the last couple years are any gauge, I'll also be watching, "It's a Wonderful Life", hitting the slopes at least once, and mourning my pitiful attempts to create that perfect batch of hot chocolate.

And I'll probably be on a farm.

My Christmas Check List

• Shop for Christmas gifts ............... check
• Shop for Christmas cards ............... check
• Deliver Christmas gifts and cards ...... pending
• Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas ........ check
• Watch Monty Python & the Holy Grail .... Dec 23
  
• Watch It's a Wonderful Life ............ pending
• Read The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe. pending
• Read When Heaven & Earth Changed Places. pending
• Read How Murray Saved Christmas ........ pending
• Ski/snowboarding on Mount Baker ........ Dec 26
  
• Have Turkeytastic Christmas Dinner ..... Dec 24
• Attend Festival of Lights .............. check
• Attend Singing Christmas Tree .......... check
• Attend Winter Solstice Lantern Festival. Dec 21
• Attend Christmas party ................. check
• Get drunk at Christmas party ........... check
• Drunkenly hit on women at said party ... check
• Remorse that all I really want is gin .. check

Oh so much to do, oh so much to do.

Oh, and check out Najin's website. She's a local and modest artist, a friendly neighbourhood ninja, and quite the hot tomali. Just be careful not to ask her to marry you.

Float like a butterfly...

On Friday, I attended the free open-air VSO concert at Deer Lake with Najin. Good performance, although being an open-air concert, everything was played through speakers, which really can't compare to hearing an orchestra perform in an acoustically designed hall.

Of note (because these were the only ones I recognized) were their renditions of some Tchaikovsky pieces and a selection from Carmen.

Also, 16 year old Christopher Lee from Korea performed a clarinet solo punctuated by lots of bobbing-shadow-boxing-type movements. Just when you thought he'd stop... he'd bob again. Hehe, "bob". Took a video of it, I'll see if I get around to posting it later. All kidding aside, though, he was really very good.

And as a warning to you all, resist the temptation of "fresh cut french fries". They really aren't as good as they sound. Sure, I finished off one and a half large trays of them... but remember who's talking. That itself doesn't say much.

"No" Means "Yes" in Poland

MISA's annual Alumni Night this last Thursday, with yours truly as the MC. Ever get the feeling that people are too polite or kind (or scared) to tell you what they actually think? Oh well, that's not really something I want to write about right now. What I do want to share is a couple of quotes I picked up.

"If you were a hot dog, and you are hungry, would you eat yourself?" --Paul Cyr

Behind this SNL quote is a metaphor to self-sacrifice. When put to the task, how willing are you to sacrifice yourself for it? There is only so much that you are able to give; you have to find your passion.

This goes hand in hand with a quote from later that night:

"Make your no's mean no and your yes's mean yes." --Jason McIvor

Too often people will say "yes" or "no" according to what they think the other person wants to hear, or because they feel it is expected of them. Reaaly, by doing this you are showing that you are afraid of the consequences of telling the truth. And while there may be consequences, they are most likely small compared to the consequences of being caught in a falsehood.

* * * * *

On a different note, my mood nowadays is too easily swayed by music. Or is it that the kind of music I listen to is influenced by my current mood? Either way, I have to stop playing this melencholy shit.

* * * * *

Back to Alumni Night, the BILLION DOLLAR MIS CHALLENGE was a blast... although I had a brain fart and let Paul win the acronym challenge with "FTP". Honestly... FTP? WTF?

Groom’s Check List

1. Trade a rock for a paperclip
   
   • Bonus point #1: Trade the paperclip for a stick of gum
   • Bonus point #2: Trade the stick of gum for a beer
   • Bonus point #3: Chug the beer in 15 seconds
     
     
2. Get $9 in loose change – no bills allowed
   
   • Bonus point: None. This is your cover for [censored]. You don’t get it, you don’t get in.
     
     
3. Get two pairs of underwear: one ladies, one mens
   
   • Bonus point: Underwear has stains on them
     
     
4. Get a free round for the groomsmen
   
   • Bonus point: Free round is for the entire stag
     
     
5. Have 5 people sing a Britney Spears song verse with you
   
   • Bonus point: They’re all men and they dance to it as well
     
     
6. Do the ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’ bit from Top Gun AND have the target invite you to sit next to them
   
   • Bonus point: Convince the target to convert to Scientology
     
     
7. Get a lipstick kiss mark (but not on your clothes!)
   
   • Bonus point: The kiss mark is accompanied by a bite mark
     
     
8. Have somebody do a FULL tequila body shot off of you (body shot + salt on neck + lime in mouth)
   
   • Bonus point: It’s a guy, and you do the same to him.
     
     
9. Play charades. The answer is: “I’m Too Sexy for My Shirt”
   
   • Bonus point: Do it again, but this time the answer is: “Best of Sex Starved School Girls #6”
     
     
10. Have somebody propose to you at the top of their lungs
    
    • Bonus point: None. You lousy two-timer, you!