That’s NASTY

Posted by :David Manly On : May 18, 2009
1

Category: Gross, Nasty, Odd

Today was a very interesting day, in that I went to go see the movie, “Angels & Demons” and saw some interesting things on the way there.

This post is not about the movie, which was enjoyable, but more about what I saw.

This post is about people, and the nasty little habits they have. Over the day, the acts I saw got progressively worse and worse.

The day began with a walk to the O-Train (Ottawa’s light rail transit system), and I saw a woman walking her dog. Her dog took a poo on someone’s lawn, and she didn’t pick it up. What she did was pick grass from the person’s lawn and put it on top of the poo, as if to disguise it.

Next, while I was waiting for the O-Train, a woman came into the little bus shelter wearing a very bizzare set of clothing. She was wearing a pink fuzzy sweater, with a brown T-shot on top. She was also wearing a black skirt with yellow knee-highs. And she completed her outfit with pink sandals. Now, that wasn’t the nasty part. The worst part were her TOES.
Her toe nails were long, yellow and dirty. Not like a little yellow or a little dirty … but, like jaundice yellow and brown dirty. It was really, really gross. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her nails, to see if they were the same.
I take care that my nails are cut and clean, and what kind of person doesn’t do that before they wear sandals? HONESTLY!

Then, within the movie theatre, there was an elderly woman sitting two rows ahead of me on the opposite side of the theatre. About 1/3 of the way into the movie, she began to cough. And it was not a muffled cough, but a full-on hacked and disgusting cough. It sounded like she was going to cough up a lung! And then, to make matters worse, she started to dry-heave. Finally, after about 20-25 minutes, she left the theatre and never came back.

And finally, on the O-Train on the way home, there was a guy sitting close to me with a handkerchief. Periodically, he would sneeze into it, and he was obviously ill. Then, once, he sneezed and did not cover his mouth and spewed it ALL over the O-Train window. He then, almost unbelievably, began to try to wipe it with his snotty handkerchief. But, as you can imagine, that only made it worse.

Honestly, it was hard not to laugh!

But, then, it went from laughable to gross in about 1.4 seconds. Because, once he realized the clean up was useless, he removed the handkerchief from the window, brought it to his mouth and proceeded to suck on whatever was in it.

Isn’t that UNBELIEVABLE GROSS?

It’s the Little Things that Make Me Smile

Posted by :David Manly On : May 15, 2009
1

Category: bird, Happy, Smile, snake

Every now and then, you see something that makes you smile.

Not a polite smile, like what people do after a really bad joke.
For example, What did one snowman say to another?

Smells like carrots.

Not a chuckle or a chortle, not a smirk, but a genuine smile. A smile that you used to do when you were a kid. Like when you got that perfect birthday present, or a new bike, or meeting the Ninja Turtle ‘live’ at Universal Studio’s. After so many years, I still believe that that one moment, with the Ninja Turtle, was a moment of purest joy that I have ever experienced. Thanks Mom and Dad.

While this was not a moment of pure joy, this was a moment of happiness. This thing made me smile like a little kid.

Seriously. That’s BRILLIANT.

And, for a sprinkle of philosophy in this post:

Sometimes you’re the snake, and sometimes you’re the bird.

My Life, Such As It Is Right Now

Posted by :David Manly On : May 9, 2009
0

Category: bike, Nice weather, PR internship, Star Trek

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in Ottawa after I finished work. On my walk home, the sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful. It turned a crap day into a very enjoyable one.

I went for a nice long walk outside after I arrived home and changed, and pondered about getting a bike to ride in Ottawa this summer. I personally think it would be a good idea … thoughts?

With regards to my internship, what is good about it, as compared to school, is that I don’t have much to do on the weekends anymore. There’s no articles to write, research to do or assignments to grade … just sleeping in and taking it easy.

My internship is really not NEWS, it’s more PR. Which most likely means that I won’t get as much clippings as compared to others working at a daily paper or magazine. However, the odd time I may get pulled off what I’m working on to write a news brief, media release or a Q&A.

And that’s all that has been going on with me these days. Get up, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, back to work, come home, have dinner, watch TV and go to bed. Not really exciting.

As for my plans for the day, it’s very simple. I’m going to relax for a bit more, and then go see the Star Trek movie 🙂

Do Our Part

Posted by :David Manly On : May 7, 2009
2

Category: environment, frog, internship, prince Charles

It’s day three of my internship, and things are going well. I have my own cubicle, computer, filling cabinet AND desk! The government treats us well 😛

All I’m doing now is doing preliminary research on a wide variety of topic in order to determine which will best suit the needs of this project. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but I’m happy to do it (and get paid for it too … lol).

I had a whole bunch if funny ideas in my head of what to write in this post. But then, in my wandering of the internet, I saw this:

I really, really like that video … and not just becasue it has a frog in it 😉
And if you are curious, that is a CGI Leopard frog (Rana pipiens).

As many of you know, I think that the rainforests and our our planet are an amazing source of biodiversity, and need to be conserved.

Do your part … recycle, be as green as is possible within your means, save energy and, most importantly, believe that we can make a difference.

Why? Well, isn’t it enough I asked you?

What about the Prince of Wales?

David’s First Love

Posted by :David Manly On : May 2, 2009
2

Category: Clutz, Dimetrodon, Dinosaurs, First Love, Pterodactyl, South Dakota, Stegosaurus, T. rex

I’m heading back to Ottawa on Sunday to start my internship working for a Canada government funded science organization … should be an interesting time!

And after that, at some point near the end of August, I will be heading to South Dakota to do research and filming for my MRP about endangered species. Anyone know anything interesting to do in South Dakota during the day because I will be primarily occupied with night shoots?

The most interesting thing that has happened to me in the past few days is that, as many people know, I am a wee bit of a clutz. I bump into stuff, fall occasionally and hurt myself in new and interesting ways. Someone once said that it is because I am so pre-occupied with tons of thoughts in my head, that I forget the normal stuff (like not tripping).

Case in point, I was walking up some stairs to a sidewalk, and putting my phone away and I tripped. So, valiantly, I used my hand to percent any damage to the phone. And, in doing so, my left hand scraped against the pavement. It hurt, but I dusted myself off and continued walking to my car. That is, until about 30 seconds later, when I noticed that blood was dripping onto the sidewalk.

So, holding my hand up and looking like I was raising my hand to a question no one asked, I walked into a gas station and used their bathroom to wash up and asked them for a Band-Aid. Suffice to say, I will soon have a new scar add to my collection 😉

Now, to the meat of this post.

Do you remember your first love?

I’m not talking about your first person who ever loved, I’m talking about the first time you just immediately fell in love with something.

I remember mine quite vividly and fondly.

Dimetrodon synapsid

When I was a child, my dad introduced me to dinosaurs and I was transfixed. The idea that massive creatures roamed the Earth 65 million years ago and have disappeared fascinated me. I went a little nuts and tried to learn as much as I possibly could about every dinosaur.

I checked out library books, read encyclopedias and visited the Royal Ontario Museum enough times to drive my parents bonkers. It was enough that when the school librarian retired, she gave my brother and I some dinosaur books that we checked out dozens of times. Even more impressive, is that we would actually correct the tour guides on museum tours.

I wanted to be a paleontologist and discover dinosaur bones for the rest of my life.
That was the first indication that I wanted to pursue a life of science. As my mom said once, “I knew at once from your love and passion for dinosaurs that you were destined for science.”

This obsession continue through my elementary school years, and even influenced the books I read. In grade 5, I started reading adult books beginning with Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, which I still possess to this day.

And when that movie came out, I literally had a smile on my face the entire time. THAT movie defined my childhood, and I truly loved it. My brother and I saw it at least eight times in the theaters.

Parents, sister, mom, dad, grandparents, aunt and by ourselves twice 😉

Dinosaurs had a profound impact on my life.

Through them, I learned about he theory of evolution when I was a kid.
As well, when religious leader told me that I was not supposed to believe in dinosaurs because they did not exist, it shattered my faith. He said that “God put the dinosaur bones into the ground to test our faith,” which was the first time I thought that religion was not for me. Dinosaur bones could be felt, touched, studied, analyzed and dated. Cold, hard facts.

But, what happened to me wanting to be a paleontologist?
Sadly, it fell by the wayside to a brief stint wanting to be an actor, followed by a zoologist.

But, I will forever credit dinosaurs with beginning my love for science.

And, what are my favourite dinosaurs? There are far too many to name, but the ones that immediately come to mind are:
Dimetrodon (pictured above), the T-Rex (Sue, the most complete skeleton ever found is pictured below) the Stegosauraus (also pictured below) and the Pterodactyl (also below)

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Stegosaurus

Pterodactyl

Life Will Find A Way

Posted by :David Manly On : April 24, 2009
1

Category: A PAID internship?, Jurassic Park, Life After People

First off, I am NOT dead … just a temporary hiatus as I went home to relax and unwind from the stresses that have accumulated during the school year.

It hasn’t all been fun and games though, as a few interesting developments have popped up.

Firstly, I have an internship and there is a chance it could be one of the elusive ‘paid’ positions, with even an opportunity of a part-time job after the summer ends.

Secondly, my major research project is shaping up and beginning to semi-come together. I have narrowed down my focus, thanks to my supervisor, and even streamlined my budget! As for what it’s on, that will be the subject of a later post.

And lastly, I saw a VERY interesting show last night. It was entitles, “Life After People” and it extrapolated, based on scientific observations, what the Earth would look like if all the humans suddenly disappeared. If we all went POOF, what would happen in: one day, a week, a month, a year, 10 years, 100 years, 500 years, 1,000 years?

And it ended with a a very interesting statement, that life existed before people, and life will continue afterwards. However, one thing is for certain, after 1,000 years, nearly all traces of humans presence will disappear.

Kind of makes all your troubles seem small and insignificant, eh?

And that made me think of a line from one of my favourite movies of all time, Jurassic Park.

“All I’m saying is that life … finds a way”

A Happy-er Post

Posted by :David Manly On : April 10, 2009
1

Category: Doom/Gloom, internships, MJ program

Well, I am FINALLY back home for a little bit, after months of toiling in J-School.

When I got home, we had a big dinner with family and friends, and an interesting note was brought up.

One of my sister’s best friends brought something up.

“David, what’s up with J-School? I mean, do you hate it there or something? All your blogs of late have been sad and kinda depressing about how much you hate it there and how much the job sucks. Write something HAPPIER.”

And apparently, it’s not just me! According to Claire’s blog, Take Your Blazer and Get Out, she was approached by an incoming MJ student and was asked if she actually hates the program.

Let’s get it straight … I do NOT hate the MJ program. It is a very busy and stressful program. You are kept busy almost all the time, and sometimes, the never-ending deadlines and stress of producing something “newsy” gets annoying.

However, I have done stuff I never would have thought, and put some pretty good stuff together. I have mentioned what I’ve liked in previous posts, so I will not re-hash it here, but there are quite a few.

I’ve also met the 20 excellent people in my MJ program, and made a lot of friends. They are all fantastic! Really.

And, like Claire mentioned, people tend to blog about something odd or interesting that has happened to them, not so much the rare days off or days where you are just too tired to do anything.

Now, this has seemed more reflective than happy … so let’s inject some joy into the jelly centre of this post.

I FINALLY got an internship! I’ve been trying to get one since January, and it is a lot harder than you would think, even if you are willing to go unpaid. But, I got one working with the government (as with almost everyone else in Ottawa).

It will be interesting, and hopefully, a good time 🙂

The Omen

Posted by :David Manly On : April 7, 2009
0

Category: Do the Dew, finished, Surprise

Well, it’s done … sorta.

Last week was the last week of classes for the program, and all of us survived. Twenty-one walked through the doors at the beginning of the year, and 21 walked out on Friday.

It was a hard, hard year. And a rough last day, when I had to be the second in command in charge of a newscast. That’s right, I was our version of Commander Ryker.

It wasn’t easy telling people what to do, how to do it, what to change, and the like. I’m pretty sure I pissed more than a few people off with my popping into their editing booths. But, if it wasn’t me, it wouldn’t have been done and the newscast wouldn’t have turned out so well.

But, I have learned a lot and enjoyed things I never would have done if I would have stayed in Biology. I got to edit sound, create a radio documentary about snow shoeing, TV newscasts, video editing, and many more.

And I got to find out stuff that I enjoyed doing that I never would have found out, like copy editing or doing camera work.

So, once classes were done, we all got together for a farewell party and had a good time. Drinks were had, hip flasks were exchanged, fruit was hanged low and songs were sung.

Then, the reality set it. While others were done, I still had a 600 word assignment and a 15 page essay to write. FUN times.

Fast forward to today, when I was finishing up my 15 page paper and other assorted stuff (other assignment will wait until tomorrow), and I was sitting at my computer reading over my essay.

When, the case of pop on my desk spontaneously fell to the floor with a CRASH! My head bolted up, and upon noticing it, I relaxed and decided to pick it up.

As I got out of my chair and bent down to pick it up, when out of the blue, there was a loud BANG! Followed by another … BANG!

My heart probably missed about 2.5 “lub-dubs” until I realized what had happened.

The pop cans … in their box … had exploded.

The very same box I was a mere six inches away from.

As if by some sort of divine intervention, only two had exploded out of six, and the damage was contained within the pop can box.

In conversation with a friend, she said it was an omen.

Me – An omen for what? That my brain will soon explode like a can of Mountain Dew?
Her – Or….your summer will be an explosion of fun
Me – How? I don’t even have an internship yet …
Her – Or, how about an explosion of surprises!
Me – I’ve had enough surprises for today, I’d settle for some bland-ness
Her – Not with a sudden explosion of flavour!
Me – Hahaha, “Do the Dew” Indeed

Maybe it was an omen, as I am leaving for home tomorrow. And, like the Queen christened ships, so must my floor be blessed with the spilling of the pukish green liquid that is the Dew.

The following is a mock-up of what occurred, with the faces and clothes changed to protect the innocent victims.

Particus animalis

Posted by :David Manly On : March 29, 2009
2

Category: Hull, Mission, Poutine

As most of my faithful readers know, it was not a great week in the life of David.

So, when a few people mentioned they were going to Hull, Quebec on Friday … I decided I needed a little bit of a break. So, I decided to go with them!

The first step was meeting at someone’s house, where we would feat on poutine. So, like everywhere I go, I took the bus. And I had to walk in this very sketchy area of Ottawa.

I was walking by the Men’s Mission, and there were all sort of ‘interesting’ characters there. There was a man with garbage bags attached to his pants filled with cans, a man with an eye patch, a man with only one eye (no eye patch) and coolest of all, a man walking in circles talking about how dryer sheets are the gateway to Armageddon.

He had some good ideas, and I don’t totally disagree with his theory that the bear from the Snuggle dryer commercials, called Snuggle, is actually the anti-Christ.

Then, as I continued to walk down, I was approached by a woman who asked, “Wanna buy some pot?”

SO, I just ignored her.

“DUDE! Wanna buy some drugs? Or, got any to sell?”

I kept walking.

“Ok, man. So, no drugs. Well, how about sex?”

Naturally, I stopped (as most guys do when they hear the word sex. Seriously, try it!) So, I looked at her, and said, “Normally I would, but I’m on my way to a Sexaholics Anonymous meeting, and I gotta finish it this time … for the kids.”

She gave me the oddest look, so I smirked and walked away 🙂

Then, when I finally arrived and more people came, we ate one large family pack of poutine, while the other one went in the oven.

When #1 was finished, we wanted to start #2, only to realize that the styrofoam container had melted in the oven! Luckily, no poutine was lost.

Then, we went to a club in Hull, which was fun. It was me, one other guy, and five girls. How could it be bad? lol

When we finally called it a night, we called a cab to take us back to the house. The cab driver was fine, until we arrived at our destination.

He got very irritated when we were counting money and change to pay him with. VERY irritated. When we finally paid him, he insisted on giving us change and no tip!

And when we exited the car, he shouted, “Well, next time, you can stay in HULL!” Followed by a bunch of expletives.

All in all, a VERY interesting night, one which I really needed. Just to step back and get away from J-school for just a little bit.

And now, sadly, back to the grind.

Only a WEEK left though!!!!!

Life Update

Posted by :David Manly On : March 27, 2009
1

Category: Uncategorized

Well, life may not be all that bad.

I may have a new idea for my MRP, and I got an encouraging email from an internship position that I did not get.

While it may seem counter intuitive, despite the rejection in the email, they said that my CV was impressive and that my references were excellent. And that they would be “more than happy” to offer me a position later.

I’m excited about this new idea for my MRP, and I may get something later on from a prestigious organization.

A light was just turned on at the end of the tunnel 🙂