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Archive for December 19th, 2008

pop snark

My latest theatre review is now live at blogTO. It’s on Moliere, an excellent show on now at the Tarragon.

Check it out! The review and the show, if you can.

December 19th, 2008 by graeme | | no comments »

the war on idiocy

Things that enrage me: inattentive service edition

One of the top entries on my long and ever-growing list of pet peeves is ordering food or some other service, and then being forced to repeat myself because the person taking my order couldn’t simultaneously hold three pieces of information in their brain. So, imagine my rage when I tried to order lunch today and this happened:

Surly Waitress: Can I help you?

Me: Yes, I’d like a Tuna Sandwhich on Rye, please.

Surly Waitress: What type of sandwich?

Me: Tuna.

Surly Waitress: On what bread?

Me: Rye.

Surly Waitress begins to cut bread. After a few seconds, she speaks again.

Surly Waitress: You wanted tuna?

Me: Yes.

Surly Waitress: Mayo or butter?

Me: Just Mayo, please.

Surly Waitress: Anything else?

Me: Lettuce, and a few pickles on the side.

Surly Waitress: With Mayo?

Me: Yes.

Surly Waitress: And Tuna?

Me: For the love of god, yes.

I probably wouldn’t get so uptight about this were it not for the fact that remembering my order for 3 minutes is this women’s entire job. Ridiculous.

December 19th, 2008 by graeme | | 2 comments »

green bin

Daily Linker – 12/19/08

So, it’s snowing or something. Shockingly, things continue to happen around the world.

Canada

Whistler apparently received advanced warning of safety problems with its gondola system.
Harper’s ‘fiscal conservatism’ apparently also includes a $30 billion deficit.
Mats Sundin moves to Vancouver. Enjoy the rain, ye of perennial disappointment.

World

Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat, aaka the man who brought down Nixon, died yesterday.
The Taliban has blown up a shipment of Turkeys destined for British troops. They’re like the Grinch, but with more RPGs.
Ankey, Iowa is using garlic salt to remove ice from its roads.
Evil bastard Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, one of the architects of the Rwandan Genocide, has been jailed for life.
A Catholic Priest in Kansas City has removed every book about Barack Obama from his school’s library because of his opinion on abortion. Remember kidsL organized relgion loves censorship.
The last statue of dictator Francisco Franco has been removed from Spain.
The $54 million lawsuit over a missing pair of pants has been rejected…again.

Media

Twitter launches two unrelated, but strangely complementary, apps: Tweetmas, allowing you to send Christmas lists to your friends, and Twitpay, a micro-payment utility.
BBC’s iPlayer is now available for Mac.

Science & Tech

The Arctic ice meltdown is 20 years ahead of current climate change models. That can’t be good.
New footballs to be equipped with sensors to help refs make better calls.
An otherwise healthy hippo has turned bright pink, apparently overnight.
The universe’s oldest known water vapor has been discovered.

Pop Culture

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, first lady of Star Trek, has died. The Enterprise’s computers have fallen silent.
Oliver Twist was a sham! Victorian Workhouse gruel was actually quite nourishing.
Baz Luhrmann buys the rights to “The Great Gatsby”.
Tron 2 will be shot is 3D. Hawt!
Royal Canadian Air Farce, the least funny show on television, is mercifully taping its last episode.
Gawker has decreed it is no longer cool to use the word “Douchbag”.
Help select the 100 greatest Looney Tunes.