Archive for November, 2007
November 29, 2007 at 3:26 pm · Filed under F1
I got this idea from him who got it from F1Fanatic. Yes, it’s a slow blog week.
Describe each driver in one word, based on the 2007 season:
Fernando Alonso - Childish
Lewis Hamilton - Talented
Giancarlo Fisichella - Retiring
Heikki Kovalainen - Variable
Felipe Massa - Sidekick
Kimi Raikkonen - Monosyllabic
Jenson Button - Despondant
Rubens Barrichello - Disappointing
Nick Heidfeld - Impressive
Robert Kubica - Miracle
Ralf Schumacher - Loser
Jarno Trulli - Blocker
David Coulthard - Safe
Mark Webber - Jinxed
Nico Rosberg - Eloquent
Alexander Wurz - Weird
Kazuki Nakajima - Kamikaze
Vitantonio Liuzzi - Anonymous
Scott Speed - Quitter
Sebastian Vettel - Young
Adrian Sutil - Trier
Christijan Albers - Boring
Markus Winkelhock - one-off
Sakon Yamamoto - Investor
Takuma Sato - Overtaker
Anthony Davidson - Qualifier
Michael Schumacher - Absent
November 23, 2007 at 3:18 pm · Filed under Movies + TV
Doctor Who has always been one of my favourite shows. I started watching toward the end of the Pertwee era and my obsession was at its peak during the Tom Baker years (he’s still my favourite Doctor).
I’ve only seen clips of the very early shows, but I was still a little sad to hear that Verity Lambert, the original producer of Doctor Who, had died at the age of 71.
Not only was she the first producer of Dr Who, she was also the first female TV producer for the BBC, and their youngest producer. Since her start in 1963 she’s also produced Minder, which I loved, Rumpole, which I enjoyed, and Jonathon Creek which I also loved. I forgive her for Eldorado.
On the eve of Dr Who’s 44th anniversary we have Verity (and a host of others) to thank for its enduring success.
November 22, 2007 at 9:55 am · Filed under Montreal
We’re having our first serious snow of the year today. Now anyone who knows me knows I love a bit of snow, but it definitely has its downs as well as the ups.
Walking through Murray Hill Park was the best part of the walk today; the snow was lying thick on the grass, the workers were out erecting the toboggan barriers, the dogs were frolicking in the snow but hadn’t started turning it yellow yet. Even the ice pellets falling from the sky eased up a bit as I walked through that Winter Wonderland.
Walking past Selwyn House School and the International School consisted mostly of dodging icy missiles as the kids enjoyed their first real snowball fight of the season. They were nice enough not to aim at me.
Getting onto Sherbrooke Street was the start of the downs. The slush on the pavements made walking very treacherous, and the slush on the roads was always threatening to come flying in my direction whenever a large vehicle went by. The Sherbrooke Street wind tunnel effect was also in full force, driving the ice pellets into my face so it felt like they were ripping the skin off. From Guy onward it became a matter of endurance to make it to work.
But make it I did, and I didn’t have to fight my way onto crowded metro trains or buses or try to figure out if it was worth taking my coat and gloves off for the short but sweltering metro journeys.
November 16, 2007 at 12:42 pm · Filed under Family+Friends, Food, Movies + TV
Ridiculing the contestants of the Amazing Race is a lot more fun if you can do it with a group of people, so we’ve started inviting friends over on Sunday nights to enjoy the spectacle of dysfunctional couples taking on bizarre challenges around the world.
For the first episode we ordered pizza and drunk beer and ate maple chocolate buns that she brought.
For episode two I decided I felt like cooking, so I cracked open one of my Jamie Olivers and went to work.
For the main course I seasoned some pork tenderloins, sprinkled them with fennel seeds, browned them, put them in a roasting pan with a sliced up fennel bulb, a handful of rosemary, 8 garlic cloves and half a bottle of white wine. Loosely covered with foil and bunged in a hot oven for an hour.
To go along with that, I boiled some potatoes and peas and mushed them together with a handful of mint leaves to make minty mushy peas.
For dessert we had cream puffs kindly provided by her followed by sliced up pineapple sprinked with sugar bashed up with the leftover mint leaves.
We ate, we drank, we enjoyed a fire, and we laughed at those crazy Racers.
November 1, 2007 at 12:26 pm · Filed under Family+Friends, Travel
We went to Vermont at the weekend. We visited friends. I got new shoes. And socks. I discovered I’m now allergic to cats (or at least, some cats). Jen got lots of scrap booking stuff including a funky paper cutting machine. We had really good Chinese food. Aidan chased cats and father christmases. I enjoyed locally brewed beer. We played Chatgames for the first time in years. It snowed. Aidan said his longest sentence. Aidan kicked leaves. A fun time was had by all, allergies permitting.
