May 1998

• My scanner is finally working again! This has two immediate impacts: the Museum Page has been updated at last, with a new "Whazzat Thang?" quiz, and action photos taken by my sister of the Japanese Canadian Hockey League decorate that page now. Look for the addition of other new photos elsewhere on this website over the next little while.
  (29 May 98)

• I took in a couple of films this week at Cinecenta in the Students' Union Building at the University of Victoria. Cinecenta is the only place in Victoria that shows foreign and independent films.
  • Ma Vie En Rose (My Life In Pink) (Belgium 1997; Dir: Alain Berliner) ***
    This look at the effects of a young boy's gender dysphoria on his family is humourous, at times bittersweet, and always sympathetic.

  • Afterglow (USA 1997; Dir: Alan Rudolph) *
    Two couples, one young and one middle-aged, are experiencing marital difficulties and, through various improbable plot twists, end up involved with each other. The writing and production teams were American, however the Montreal setting, wooden acting and laughably stilted dialogue make this feel like just another bad Canadian movie. Decent performances by Nick Nolte and Julie Christie are wasted.

  Cinecenta, Students' Union Building (north end) at the University of Victoria, (250) 721-8365. Admission $4.50 UVic students; $5.50 other students, UVic alumni and Cinemagic members; Non-members $5.50. Ten-film pass $35.00 students / $45.00 Cinemagic members

  On my way home from Afterglow, I was able to listen to CBC Radio's broadcast of Michael Ignatieff's BBC Radio series 20/20: A View of the Century. This installment was a very interesting look at the effects of global human migration through the stories of various immigrant groups. So, the evening wasn't a total loss.

  "Varieties of Experience", a related article by Michael Ignatieff (28-29 May 98)

  

• Today I changed my car's Ontario licence plates over to those of Beautiful British Columbia's! Each province and territory in Canada has a unique licence plate. New residents must change their plates within six weeks of their arrival in a new jurisdiction.
  About British Columbia Licence Plates
  Ontario Vanity Licence Plate Archive
  Licence Plates of the World
  An amazingly comprehensive site!
  (25 May 98)
  

• I wrote my first midterm exam of the summer session today! I recovered from the experience by listening to an interesting CBC Radio interview with Thomas Lynch, a poet and author who also happens to be a funeral director. He read a few excerpts from what sounds like an interesting book of essays, The Undertaking: Life Studies in the Dismal Trade.
  Salon Magazine's Sneak Peek of The Undertaking
  Detroit Free Press review of The Undertaking
  Arborweb review of The Undertaking
  USA Today review of The Undertaking
  Excerpts of Thomas Lynch's previous writings
  (from Sooner or Later, a website devoted to the subject of death and dying!) (22 May 98)

• The Edmonton Oilers were eliminated from the NHL playoffs tonight 4-games-to-1 by a disciplined veteran Dallas Stars team who were determined to not allow another upset like last season. Too bad for the Oil! They finished so low in the regular season standings that they saw their road to the Stanley Cup in 3-D: Denver, Dallas and Detroit, the best teams in the Western Conference. Maybe next year...
  (16 May 98)

• I've moved again -- this time electronically! The good people at Passport unfortunately don't have a nationwide service, so I've had to change hosts. The Runker Room can now be found on Geocities at the following URL:
  http://www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Island/6653/

  The site at Passport will close down on 23 May 1998, so if you've been interested enough to link to my homepage, I thank you and ask that you to please update your bookmarks.

  As one of the conditions of joining the Geocities community, I've had to strip the commercial guestbook and counter from my front page, as Geocities provides their own. The final visitor count to the Passport site was 1750 over a period of approximately 11 months. Thank you for stopping by! I appreciated your kind guestbook comments (you can write them again in the new guestbook if you want).
  (14 May 98)

• When I was packing to move, I discovered a bunch of old lottery tickets that I had bought but forgotten to check, dating back to as early as 1993! Luckily The Bud Zone has a search function of past winning numbers. I met Buddy at a dinner party one Saturday last winter; he had to excuse himself early to rush off and post that evening's draw results on his website!

  Tonight I was able to determine that: a) I had not been working needlessly for the past five years, and b) my statistics teacher is probably right when he says that one has a greater chance of being hit by lightning twice and surviving than winning the lottery!
  (09 May 98)

  

• My move coincided with the start of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. I sold my television before coming to Victoria, but I've been able to follow the exploits of the Edmonton Oilers at Christie's Carriage House. It's an excellent pub in a big old "Queen Anne"-style house, with two secluded patios. Great food - many delicious, low-fat, non-beef burgers (chicken, halibut), 27 varieties of draft beer (mostly from local microbreweries) and always-friendly service. Oh, and the hockey? The Oil came back from a seemingly insurmountable 3 games-to-1 deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche. The once-mighty Denver Snowmen seemed to just melt away in Game 7. Now CuJo (outstanding goaltender CUrtis JOseph) and the boys face the regular season champion Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Semifinal. See you at Christie's!

  Christie's Carriage House, 1739 Fort Street, Victoria BC, (250) 598-5333
  (04 May 98)

• Summer classes started today at the University of Victoria School of Health Information Science. Graduates of this program, the only one of its kind in Canada, are eagerly snapped up by the expanding health information industry.
  (04 May 98)

• I officially became a resident of the City of Victoria BC today. The skies are blue, the sun is shining, birds are singing and all manner of beautiful flowers I've never seen before (I'm told they're rhododendrons) are blooming everywhere! I checked, and I still have a pulse. ;-)
  The Rhododendron Page
  Virtual Rhododendron Garden (02 May 98)

• I drove across most of the country to get to Victoria, without my car giving me major problems. But when I started apartment hunting in town, it suddenly began to leak coolant and overheated near the Hillside Esso Car Clinic. Though it was almost closing time, head mechanic Tom Martin and his team took good care of me and my car. Tom was an NHL player with the Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes) and the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes) and is active in promoting sports in the community.
  See Tom Martin's entry under "Players" at The Official Winnipeg Jets Tribute Site

  Hillside Esso Car Clinic, 1700 Hillside Avenue, Victoria BC, (250) 592-2455. Gasoline island, full garage, car wash, Autoplan inspections.

  What an exhausting day! I left my car at the dealership for repairs and checked into the closest accommodation along Motel Row on Highway 1. Across the street was Topo's Ristorante Italiano, where I had a delicious Italian meal at a reasonable price. Particularly memorable was the banana-mango tartuffo. The service was very friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere was festive, with a live music combo and customers dancing between the tables! Every cloud has a silver lining -- Topo's is away from Victoria's downtown core, and I probably never would have thought to eat there had my car not broken down.

  Topo's Ristorante Italiano, 2950 Douglas Street, Victoria BC (250) 383-1212
  (01 May 98)

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