BBQ

BBQ

Here's some really crappy Madonna pictures from my camera phone. For the record, I was really looking forward to the Streets/Lady Sovereign but got double booked and had to go with friends to this show. 

Madonna 2 

Madonna 3 

Madonna 4 

Madonna 5 

Madonna 6 

Madonna 7 

Madonna 8 

This is my friend Paul, he owns a restaurant called Misto in Mtl. This past weekend he had a party that turned into 4 days of total hottub mayhem with lots of fun people. The cops showed up 3 times and then finally stuck around for the party for a while because their shift was up. 

Yet another crappy Madonna pic from my camera phone. We were seated about 5 feet away. 

Went to the Madonna show last thursday. I thought our tickets were in 20th row, actually they were around the 60th row right in front of the catwalk. As you can see, we were really close to the stage. That broad is pasty, pale but really cut. Not a bad show but it's so scripted that it's more like watching a musical than a concert. 

STFU

Some people come to me for advice every now and then, usually about business or finance. What ends up happening is that I tell them what I think and they usually respond with: "of course, that's obvious, do you think I'm stupid?"

Here's the thing, maybe you're not stupid but I always assume that I'm stupid. WTF, you're probably saying. By assuming that I know nothing, I stand to gain the most by watching, asking and studying the masters at what they do best. I'm stupid because if I compare myself to the guys weaving hundred million dollar deals, I'm an idiot. Not everybody gives me good advice when I ask but I do ask and take what I want from it. The other thing is that I also take a lot of pain to make sure I learn from other people's mistakes so I don't have to do the same thing.

The moral of the story is to shut the fuck up, listen and learn. You'll learn a lot more when your mouth is closed and your ears and eyes are open.

Barlow and the Dead

As much as I don't like the Greatful Dead, John Perry Barlow really has it straight regarding technology and the ongoing copyright wars. Here's an excerpt of what he has to say:

"JPB: These are aging industries run by aging men, and they're up against 17-year-olds who have turned themselves into electronic Hezbollah because they resent the content industry for its proprietary practices. And I don't have a question about who's going to win that one eventually.
There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them with their friends but because they want to stick it to the movie business. It's widely assumed that you can't compete with free and that seems like a reasonable thing to think. But this has not been my experience. I mean I've made a fair amount of money over the years writing songs for 'The Grateful Dead' who allowed their fans to tape their concerts.
We were at one point the biggest grossing performing act in the United States, and most of our records went platinum sooner or later.
It's an economic model that has worked in my experience and I think it does work. It's just that it seems like it wouldn't. It seems counter-intuitive. "

"JPB: I've got good news and bad news and good news. And the good news is that you guys have managed to buy every major legislative body on the planet, and the courts are even with you. So you've done a great job there and you should congratulate yourself.
But you know the problem is - the bad news is that you're up against a dedicated foe that is younger and smarter that you are and will be alive when you're dead. You're 55 years old and these kids are 17 and they're just smarter than you. So you're gonna lose that one.
But the good news is that you guys are mean sons of bitches and you've been figuring out ways of ripping off audiences and artists for centuries..... "

The Many Faces of Sincerity

I meet many people who make many plans and have lots of things that want to do. For the most part they seem like they really believe that they want to do all of these things but it seems like they never get around to doing most them. Are they insincere?

My question is, what exactly is sincerity?

• Does it mean that you believe what you are saying even though it isn't likely to come into fruition and therefore isn't actually true?
• Or, does it mean that you do what you say you're going to do?

Dictionary.com defines it as follows:

sincere adj 1: open and genuine; not deceitful; "he was a good man, decent and sincere"; "felt sincere regret that they were leaving"; "sincere friendship" [ant: insincere]

So this implies that sincerity means that you do not deceive anybody while being sincere.

My conclusion; when somebody says something to somebody else that they won't follow through with but believe to be the truth, they are being sincere to the second person but insincere to themselves because they are deceiving themselves.

And this, my friends is a very sad affliction that way too many people seem to be crippled by. In fact I think that pretty much everybody including myself is delusional in some way - part of being human I guess but some people are afflicted more than others to the point of being borderline disfunctional.

Sad indeed.

Tamarindo Restaurant Review

Here it is, after 3 trips and lots of tequila:

Tamarindo Restaurant Review

Lazy Wave - just past High Tide surf shop
4.5/5
AWESOME - urban kind of lounge set in a jungle. Good thai/eastern blend with fresh local fish. Great drinks, great atmosphere, good music if you're under 40.

Tico Restaurant next to the alley in the circle
4/5
AWESOME - best tico resto in Tamarindo.

Frutas Tropicales (across from Witches Rock Surf Camp)
3.5/5
Great tico food, a little rough looking but friendly and cheap

Pescadore Numero Uno (On the beach after the circle)
4/5
Excellent and cheap fresh fish, great service, kind of rough outdoor cafe.


Stella's
3.5/5
Up the hill from High Tide surf shop. Very good, upscale-ish but reasonable. Like the Pescadore better.

Dragonfly (dirt road behind High Tide)
2.5/5
High end-ish, watered down Americanized food. Terrible sushi with not bad fish.

Witches Rock Surf Camp
3.9/5
Great happy hour, tex/mex food but very good and pretty cheap. Good atmosphere for a younger crowd.




Other Notable Places:

Lolas (Avallenas)

Very nice place for drinks, didn't eat there but I heard it was good. There's a huge pig named Lola that lives there.

An earful

What I'm listening to these days (in no particular order)

sweet cow - chicken lips
unknown - mark broom
train - goldfrapp (trausmschmiere vocal mix)
kiteless - the underworld
that's entertainment - the jam
jfa - jodie fosters army
walk don't run - jodie fosters army
krafty (rmx) - new order
knuddelmaus - ulrich schnauss
black on black - a tribute to black flag (whole album)
second heartbeat - avenged sevenfold
jamestown - the movielife