The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon · Tuesday October 24, 2006 by colin newell
Was having coffee with the guys this morning…
…when Helga (*) from the Computer Store wanders up…
Helga is one of those 21 year old German-Canadian
girls discovering the power of estrogen…
Estrogen in large quantities… at close proximity.
She likes to stand in such a way as to place her
hip within 6 inches of your ear.
(*) Not her real name!
Yes. She is that tall.
Anyway – she finally found a chair and started
regaling me about her German mom’s adventures travelling
into and out of the US Of A.
You see, Helga’s mom is german. Not german-canadian, but German.
She refuses to get a Canadian passport or become Canadian…
because Germany is so superior you know.
Anyway – I metioned the Baader-Meinhof gang while
regaling HER about a german g-friend I had in the
80’s who use to have a similar problem – she, too,
was 21 and believed in the superiority of Germany.
Anyway, while crossing into the US of A with her in 1984,
we discovered that a German passport upsets Canadian and American
customs… to no end it seems.
At the time, the The Baader-Meinhof gang was at it – they were trouble…
and of course every German is a member of a gang…
usually a larger gang of Germans… so passing into Canada or the US of A meant
“question-period in a small room with a naked bulb…” sometimes you would get naked too.
So, to Helga I mentioned the The Baader-Meinhof Gang.
Not 5 minutes ago I tripped across this link:
Now how bizarre is that?
It does not describe a German gang but a phenomenon of
repetitious experience and brain stimulation – which
I seem to be experiencing right now.
Don’t look now, but you have seen me before!
billions and billions served... · Friday September 8, 2006 by colin newell
Ok, so I was there today.
By myself.
Not a common event.
I have not had a McDonalds burger in over 25 years.
I had one Bic Mac in 1975… before most of you good people were born.
Still, I enjoy their breakfast from time to time.
Now. About the picture.
The visual irony... · Wednesday August 23, 2006 by colin newell
Took Andrea out to an Italian restaurant for dinner after one
of her 10 hour days… which are rare.
Went to Danieli’s in Oak Bay border neighborhood.
The Waitress was an Aussie-Kiwi hybrid…
(who could not pronounce Agnoloti!) [I am not sure I can actually spell it right — but I can pronounce it!]
...and I had my ATOMIC Tee Shirt on…
So – at the end of the meal, I said:
“Do you see the irony here: You are an
Aussie gal working in an Italian restaurant
and I am a Canadian wearing an Aussie T-shirt
advertising an Italian coffee maker!”
Bonus Blog - To the Moon Alice! · Thursday August 10, 2006 by colin newell
Andrea and I did dinner at Rosie`s Diner in the Cook Street Village tonight.
Seems it has some interesting regulars that eat there.
At some point an elderly old gent sitting next to us started talking and offered,
- He was a veteran of WW II
- He was one of Canada`s 1st Snow-bird pilots
- He met his wife in London during the Blitz
- He has owned a Rolls-Royce, arguably the World’s best car
- He is 88 and very young looking
- He has been on the mother ship on the dark side of the moon
- And he had been on the moon as well with the Apollo crews
Afterward, Andrea asked me if she heard him correctly.
I said, “Nope, he definitely met his wife in London.
The friday from left field... · Friday February 24, 2006 by colin newell
This has been one of those (beg your pardon) I didn’t see this coming kind of weeks.
One of those weeks when there is more going on (or falling into your lap) than you would normally get in your average month.
My life is normally pretty routine. Like anyone else. Get up, shower, eat, work, come home, cook, read, write, floss, sleep, repeat.
Sound familiar?
Except this week (and parts of week previous) were, somehow, different.
Dharma.
Huh? Yea. Dharma. Explanation later.
Someone wants to put my name on a billboard – visible by 50,000 people a day. Okay. Why?
A high-end prototype coffee grinder arrived on my door-step this week. Fine.
A swiss made coffee maker arrived today (for testing and yes it is going back in 7 days or less). Have to write a review.
I received an Aeropress coffee maker in the mail a couple of weeks ago from one of the rock stars of the coffee-biz: Reg James at EspressoTec.Com
Okay – that is old news.
Today the inventor phoned me… on the telephone. Sort of out of the blue. More on this later…
Dharma – yea, I’m getting to this.
I have had a flurry of e-mail from the lovely and talented baroness of the New York coffee-scene: Fortune Elkins
I sort of saw this one coming – I e-mailed her first. Still, I wasn’t expecting an enthusiastic reply – I mean, this is Fortune after all. Her work on Bread-Coffee-Chocolate-Yoga is legendary. Anyway – more chatter on the merits of the Aeropress coffee maker, coffee, life, universe, etc. I expect to have a continuing dialogue. There is a lot for me to learn here.
Alan Adler of Aerobie.Com called today – the inventor of the Aeropress coffee maker. Right. One of those days. Note to self: Call him back when I have some half intelligent questions for him. Alan is a smart guy. 40 patents under his belt. That is 40 more than me. Visit his website.
Dharma – I do not entirely understand what this means. Spiritually, I am not that deep. What I do get is sometimes clusters of things happen for reasons beyond human comprehension. Sometimes coincidence is just that – a random series of events seemingly unrelated unravelling as they will. At this moment in time, I am not entirely sure.
