Things I Didn't Know About Canada

From the Wikipedia:

Although it was written and directed by an American and was filmed in Miami, Florida, Porky’s was funded by a Canadian production company, which means that it is classified as a Canadian film. Porky’s is the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time in domestic box office. In October 2006, Bon Cop, Bad Cop appeared to surpass Porky’s in nominal box office revenues, but as of the end of its theatrical run, Bon Cop, Bad Cop had not surpassed the inflation-adjusted revenues for Porky’s. Taking inflation into account, Porky’s has grossed more than twice what Bon Cop, Bad Cop has earned to date. Porky’s is also the highest-grossing Canadian film of all time internationally.

I [heart] Costco

A few weeks ago, it finally registered that Costco had discontinued Gillette Sensor cartridges (I’ve been going through razors a bit faster over the last several months than I had in the last several years). I was frustrated by this, since the replacements (Mach 3 and (especially) Fusion) are roughly 3x the price (and, really, 5 blades?). I suspected that Gillette had pressured Costco to drop the less-expensive blades, and resolved to ask the question, though I didn’t expect to get an answer. I just got a call from Costco HQ, and I learned some things that surprised me.
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What's not in my bag

While enjoying pictures from the Flickr “What’s In My Bag” pool (a lovely way to peek into other lives and cultures) I realized that there are many things I don’t carry in my increasingly heavy purse.

Smokes and lighter
Makeup
Camera
Water bottle
Gum
Umbrella
Moisturizer
Hairbrush
Mirror

Almost enough to fill an opposite-me purse!

Cheap Review

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, Shell. Non-fiction. As interested as I would like to have been in the history and effects of America’s quest for cheap, I was unable to finish this book. Shell is a correspondent for The Atlantic, and maybe her skills are better suited for shorter pieces. This work was riddled with editing problems on every level, from typos (some of which could have been thinkos) to badly structured paragraphs to an overall lack of narrative cohesion. The book could very likely have been dramatically improved through the services of friend-of-the-Collective Plot to Punctuation.

Blurbism

The difference between the blurbs and the blurb words in context for the book Jack Tumor.

Blurb:
“Lots of laughs.” —Kirkus Reviews
Context:
“Lots of laughs but little else.”

Blurb:
“The love-hate relationship between Hector and his alter ego is engaging.” —School Library Journal
Context:
“The love-hate relationship between Hector and his alter ego is engaging. But, the abundant penis jokes, sex gags, farting, and use of the f-word and other profanities are over-the-top. One tires of distended testicles, pubic lice, anal probes. The message that brain cancer need not mean the end of one’s life and can actually help a teenager stop worrying about his peers is a good one. Too bad the message, Hector’s insightful humor, and his love-hate relationship with Jack are buried in so much vulgarity.”

Blurb:
“McGowan injects plenty of humor.” —Publishers Weekly
Context:
“Though the story can ramble painfully, McGowan injects plenty of humor, phallic references and British slang into this edgy coming-of-age tale.”

And the tea just goes everywhere

“Upturning the tea table” is a phrase used by developers at Nintendo to refer to a sudden and dramatic change of direction suggested at the latter stages of the development process

From an article (part one of five) on the Nintendo Personal Trainer: Walking game.

Metaphysical Spam

“With Social Security Search you can uncover anything in their past that they are not divulging.”

Brad: Kate, we have to talk.
Kate: What?
Brad: There’s… there’s something I need to know. Well, something I already know.
Kate: Brad, you sound so serious! What is it?
Brad: The report I got back, the report on your social security number. It said that you didn’t really like my mother’s cooking when we visited last Christmas. You said you loved her green bean casserole! How could you just… lie like that?