Lemon coke

Recently, I've discovered the ultimate rainy afternoon drink to accompany a good novel: Chinese Neocitran, otherwise known as warm Coke with a slice of lemon. I empty a can of Coke into my oversized mug, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and zap the entire concoction in the microwave for 3 minutes. The acidity of the lemon juice works in conjuction with the acetic acid already present in Coke to wash away toxins that coat my esophagus and intestinal linings. Along the way, they also strip away a layer of dead cells lining the digestive system, stimulating regrowth and regeneration. This simple homebrew treatment is a far more effective detox solution than any water fast or colonic irrigation hokum all the new-age cons seem to be peddling these days. I'm doing my PhD in Medical Genetics, so I know what I'm talking about: warm Coke and lemons, it'll clean up your insides real good.

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Being funny

"Being funny is a means of avoiding scrutiny. It's a deeply concealing activity that invites attention while simultaneously failing to offer any detailed account of oneself. The reason humor is so popular today is that it provides the comfort of intimacy without the horror of actually being intimate."
-Andrew Stott in Comedy

Very true.

Pictures

Some pictures from the trip to Ottawa and Montreal are finally up on Flickr. It was a lovely trip and a great way to cap off the summer.



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Requiem for the fair

Amidst all the relaxing this long weekend, I forgot to write a small blurb about my trip to the CNE last Thursday. Tiff and I got there around dinner time to take advantage of the reduced evening admission prices. The fairgrounds were not crowded, and the weeknight atmosphere was subdued as expected. The last time I went to the CNE was in 1997 when I was an awkward, lanky 15 year-old spending his first summer away from home. The CNE hasn't changed much since then, but I have. The older I get, the less interesting I find fairs like the CNE and its Vancouver counterpart, the PNE. Maybe it's because I don't covet oversized stuffed animals at the midway the way I used to--although, I did win a nice lion for Tiffy at the midway by beating out a bunch of kids who had terrible hand-eye coordination. But the more likely explanation is the decline of the fair relative to other venues. Years ago, the fair was where you went to check out new technology and see and buy products from around the world that were accessible only once a year. But today, there is nothing at the CNE that you can't find at Square One or Pac Mall. In fact, the only new thing I saw at the CNE this year was a jacuzzi system with built-in speakers, blasting 50 Cent--and that's hardly worth the price of admission.


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