I just thought I'd provide an update to something I may have mentioned to some of you, and those of you who are not familiar with the story.

Barrick Gold is a Canadian public company and the world's largest gold corporation. It was last year that they swallowed up the other Canadian gold juggernaut, Placer-Dome, to gain that title. A quick look at their Wikipedia article will tell you that they are not well-liked in the industry right now.

In fact, Barrick is currently making a hostile bid to take over one of our best clients, NovaGold Resources. The story made the Google News front page today. Barrick's initial bid of $14.50 per share was ignored by shareholders, Barrick is currently offering $16 per share. However, considering that NovaGold stock is currently trading at $18, some are rather skeptical of the offer. In particular, NovaGold's management, some of whom we work with, feel that the bid vastly undervalues their company. They also feel a bit betrayed by the company they partnered with to jointly develop certain gold properties. Needless to say, it's a bitter situation.

Frankly, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the team at NovaGold. After all, we don't want to lose one of our best clients.

Posted at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)

Hey, were you perhaps hoping that as China eases onto the exclusive superpower couch next to the United States, the government of this frightening asian juggernaut might perhaps become more malleable and open?

Well, it's not.

Right now, the United Nations is holding a special summit regarding the future of the internet in Athens, Greece. In response to criticism by a BBC reporter about the BBC news site (among many others) being blocked in China, a Chinese official flatly denied that any internet sites were blocked by the Chinese government.

Just read this plate of hogwash-topped tripe:

"I don't think we should be using different standards to judge China. In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them. But that's a different problem... ...I'm sure I don't know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all."

WOW. That's my first response. After the flak that Google took for after setting up the infamous self-censoring google.cn (compare to google.com), after the flak Cisco took for providing the Chinese government with the equipment to build their notorious Great Firewall of China, and let's not forget the numerous sites that are continually blocked by that firewall and are perfectly accessible once Chinese users implement proxy or VPN connections to get around the firewall.... after all that, an official of the Chinese government can stand in front of the rest of the world and make the audacious, bald-faced lie that China does not block internet sites.

Let that just be a reminder to you what kind of governments this world has as its reigning superpowers.

Posted at 10:31 AM | Comments (1)

Speaking of Green-costumed superheros...

This was completed a while back, but I waited a while before deciding that it was ready for general consumption. My latest piece of wish-I-were soundtrack music is a theme for my favorite (and only) arrow-shooting socialist superhero, Green Arrow. Enjoy!

Posted at 10:32 AM | Comments (1)

In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, know my power...

Green Lantern's Light!!!

Posted at 09:47 AM

Kristofer Straub of Starslip Crisis posted this video of a commentary by Keith Olbermann on this blog today that you ALL NEED TO WATCH (for further reference here's the blog comment I left in response).

I won't say much because I think the video speaks for itself. I've occasionally gotten into debates with people about why America's civil policies are important to Canadians. Succinctly, I feel that when the United States does something this drastic, and we have in Canada a government that not only blindly supports Bush's initiatives, but also idolizes America and wishes to do things more like America, then we have a situation that is dangerous to Canadian citizens.

I'll end by quoting Kris: "Get us out of this Inner Party nightmare".

Posted at 09:56 AM | Comments (6)

This looks interesting...

Freaky, but also interesting...

But what I'll grind and gnash my teeth for with anticipation over the next year and a half is the return of Christopher Nolan's film Batman now known to be titled "The Dark Knight". Not "Batman: The Dark Knight", just his alternate and most poignant moniker.

We also now know that it shall be Heath Ledger who will play the Joker. I might have been skeptical of this choice before seeing Brokeback Mountain, where his acting muscles were quite successfully flexed. It has been stated that the inspiration for the Joker will come primarily from Alan Moore's classic, The Killing Joke.

If there is a single acrh-enemy of Batman, it is the Joker. Batman is a serious figure of black and shadow, utterly devoted to law, order and protection of the innocent while completely opposed to wielding a gun or killing for any reason. The Joker is flippant and mad; while wearing bright colors and taking nothing seriously he kills because it somehow tickles his sick funny bone. His element is chaos.

They are diametric opposites.

It's been said that while Batman exists the Joker must exist also. The Batman of Killing Joke unwittingly creates the Joker, and the Joker of Tim Burton's movie unwittingly creates Batman. Batman Begins implies with no subtlety this state of co-existence. As long as there is the positive charge, there will be the negative. Their fates are linked.

I have a strong suspicion/hope that The Dark Knight will explore this relationship. And an even stronger hope that I'll finally get to see the Joker of my dreams (and nightmares) represented faithfully on screen.

Posted at 10:25 AM | Comments (4)

Today kicked my ass.

I know I haven't updated much this month. Sometimes I've been indulging in the vice of computer games and sometimes I've been genuinely busy or too tired. Now it's time to vent.

I awoke this morning with that delightful feeling of being tired and sick to one's stomach. Some may know, that physically agoraphobic feeling of "I don't even want to get out of bed today". But we don't acknowledge such things in our society so it's "Get up you lazy asshole! You want to be at work on time and look good and productive in front of your employers. You work to live and therefore you live to WORK. So GO!" That's what I say to myself, anyway.

Ah, Monday.

I drive, because I don't want to bus home from UBC after my class. After battling the rat race of people who should never have been granted a license to sit behind the wheel of a vehicle, I arrive at work... early, no less. One of my few spots of luck, but I can't help thinking that I could have slept in for another ten minutes...

There's a mess of filings. "10QSB for the period ended August 31, 2006". I feel like I've copied and pasted that description a dozen times. Andrew's not coming in. He stayed up until 1AM last night checking a bunch of reports that Laurel did on the weekend. Not quite as helpful as he intended. Peter and I spend the better part of half an hour sorting out what has been done and what hasn't. Then of course you get those phonecalls: "I was wondering about my filing..." "Oh, of course," I'll say, "Let me see who's working on it." And I put them on hold and realize that no one is actually working on it because Andrew started it on Friday and now he's not here.

Great.

So I have to go back unto the phone and state as cheerfully as possible that, "Oh yes, we're working on it now... it's been busy, you'll get a proof soon..." which is actually Jesse-speak for, "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. For the next several minutes, I'm going to run around in a blind panic trying to figure out what the hell is going on or get someone started conversion on that document because we TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT IT."

So I'm checking 80-pages of hastily-converted annual report for errors that I probably won't find... or filing an insider report, a holdings report, and a press release that apparently all have to be out RIGHT NOW.

At 2:10 Peter and Gordon are gracious enough to take on the two filings I have left to get out for 2:30 and I run down to my car and jam over to UBC for my 3:00 lyrics class.

Lyrics is probably the least stressful part of my day. There's some real talent in the class and I enjoy the creative discussion. But among the gems there's always those pieces that I've got nothing good to say about. That kills me. All those people are there because of a creative streak. A lot of them are people I really like. But sometimes I just can't stand their work. So I sit there at the roundtable discussion wondering what criticism I can give that won't offend or hurt feelings and what compliments I can conjure up so that I don't seem biased or one-sided. Then I just feel guilty.

I head home: Another hour is wasted in the car corral.

I come home and it's band practice night. In our house with it's paper-thin walls it's impossible to escape the noise of a rock band. Someone wails on their guitar when they get bored. An ear-splitting feedback loop occasionally punctures my mind. There's no food in the house. Like, NONE. I'm talking goddamnit-we-should-have-went-shopping-weeks-ago none. I scarf down what's left of the brick of Havarti and wash it down with some coke to placate my stomach so I can bitch for a bit in my blog before I actually think about where I'm gonna go for real food.

Right now I wish there was somewhere nearby that I could just go and relax. I wish I could escape to a freind's place or invite someone along to a local cafe... before I start worrying about the possibility of the USB controller being busted in the second-hand motherboard I sold to Chris and Denai...

How was your day?

Posted at 05:50 PM | Comments (6)

Drove out to New West last night at 10PM to rescue Angela from loneliness and couch-sleeping last night. Took some arm-twisting; it's always hard to convince girlfriends that they're not being a huge inconvenience. Everyone was happier in the end.

Went to work this morning. Saw an all-Indian crew getting ready to film some Bollywood dance in front of 666 Burrard. Ah Bollywood, the you always make me smile...

Posted at 12:07 PM | Comments (2)

Feeling better today. I've been slowly getting my stomach back to normal. It gets hit hard when I stress out. Still that troublesome appendix crampy thing. Hopefully the doctor will call back tomorrow and give me some new info.

Posted at 05:19 PM | Comments (3)

Idiot. A big fucking idiot.

That's what I am. I've been having pains around my appendix area lately. I went to see a doctor last week and she confirmed that it wasn't a critical appendicitis. Possibly, she surmised, it might be a chronic condition where the appendix is on the brink of infection on and off. Nevertheless, she sent me for an ultrasound and blood tests just to be safe. Now, as if I didn't learn anything from my "pussbag" experience a few months ago, my brain immediately concocted the scenario that I had cancer, and was going to die. I spent days being completely neurotic, lost my appetite, lost my energy. I think I was starting to develop psychosomatic symptoms.

So I just got back from the ultrasound and blood tests. The ultrasound people found absolutely nothing. Nil. Nadda. So while a huge weight feels lifted off my shoulders, my intense anxiety has been replaced my an equally intense sense of self-loathing. Good God, you should have seen me spazing out when the ultrasound doctor left the room. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. I sicken me.

The problem might be a good one though. Angela and I have found love, true love, with eachother. You think you know love with your first few long-term relationships, but then you find someone and everything is so wonderful and perfect that it brightens your entire life. So now, I'm deathly afraid of scarring her by dying and leaving her behind.

I have a problem. An anxiety problem. Years ago it was depression. Well, today I can't find good enough reason to be depressed about things, so now it's anxiety. I need help. Friends, family, please badger me until I get it.

... idiot...

Posted at 11:27 AM | Comments (5)