I've now gotten Pedigreed... now I can find out what blogs are inspired by this one:

I'm putting this here rather than in the site template; I don't want to make the site design even busier.

CNN.com - Skakel gets 20 years to life for Moxley killing - August 29, 2002

I think this will be the first Kennedy relative to go to prison...

Well, I'm guessing that the folks who run Blogger are at Gnomedex, as I've not yet had an answer on this problem: while this blog looks fine on Internet Explorer, it's messed up on the different flavors of Gecko browsers. Each post gets progressively smaller in font size, until it's practically dots by the end of the page,

I've looked at the source code, and can't figure out why this happens.

If you have an idea how I can fix this, drop me a line at croft[at]bigfoot[dot]com. I'd say to post a comment, but the comment server is down at the moment.

Charles Bronson is the latest star announced as having Alzheimer's disease. He's 80 years old.

Bronson is famous for the Death Wish movie series, and helped contribute to Sergio Leone's Spaghetti western films years ago.

I'm grateful to AOL. Why? Because they provided me with two new drink coasters...

Oh, I know it's part of their non-stop campaign for new users, when they send out their CDs in the mailbox... but I never plan to join them - and since they switched to CDs from diskettes (which I could reformat and reuse), coasters seem the only thing these discs are useful for.

Further stuff on Elvis: I saw a show on Bravo tonight, speaking with friends and former lovers about the King.

First off, Colonel Tom Parker was a cold-hearted bastard. When told of Elvis' death, he said something to the effect of "Nothing has changed. I'll still get my 50 percent.". Nice to know Elvis was managed by such an insensitive turd.

Secondly, his life was really screwed up from the sound of it. Yes, he was a great entertainer, a singer whose music will live on for a long time. Outside of performing though, he was really, really messed up.

This isn't jazz-related, but it does tie in with a musically significant icon:

Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.

True, so many impersonators have made him the butt of jokes. True, he's on far too many paintings on velvet, and here in Montreal I've seen way too many pictures of him...

One fact is still true: when he debuted to the public for the very first time, he revolutionized the landscape of popular music. No rock star ever had the impact he's had. The Beatles are a very close second - but if you ask someone to come up with a rock star off the top of their heads, 9 out of 10 times Elvis will be the first name that comes to mind.

Man... I'm currently staying in my air-conditioned bedroom. The heat is unbearable right now!

There's an old joke about Canada: when it's mentioned, people almost automatically ask, "Don't you have to wear your winter coat all the time?"

Well, this summer we've seen record-breaking heat of over 30 degrees Celsius (that's over 90 Fahrenheit). Today's high was 35 degrees, and with the humidity felt more like 42 - which would be around 108 Fahrenheit.

Winter my asp.

I mentioned my re-attempt to enjoy a Diana Kraal CD here awhile ago... thinking of it reminds me how much I wish Holly Cole was releasing a new album soon.

Between me and my friend Pat, we have pretty much everything that she ever released on CD or (*gasp!* low tech here) cassette tape.

I think it's safe to say we're fans. :)

This seems to be the week for sad celebrity news... first Josh Ryan Evans (the supposed youngest trial lawyer on Ally McBeal and the silly character Timmy on the sillier Passions) died at the way too young age of 20... now Charlton Heston announced that he has a neurological condition similar to Alzheimer's Disease.

I don't like the beliefs he's often preached... I'm very strongly against the NRA - but I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

No "Friday Five" answers from me today... the questions all center around a car. I don't drive - don't even have a license - so what answers I could give for that set would be pretty dull.

I was struck this morning by a fact: I think I've absorbed some tendencies of seniors in this seniors residence by osmosis.

Regardless of the time I go to bed, I've been awake for 7-ish in the morning most days since I've moved here. I'm a guy who rarely got out of bed for years before 9-something in the morning, usually even later. This with my radio alarm starting at 8:30 AM!

I'm getting geared up to look for a pod.

I just finished customizing my new blog location at Fateback. The webrings are likely broken, but most of them are offline for the moment anyways. When they send me the standard note of broken link, I'll fix them again.

You'll see a preview here of how this blog will look once I move it. I was intending to do it this evening, but the file paths on Fateback are a bit complex, and I need to figure them out first. So for now, the front page is how I plan to make things look.

I'll be moving this blog soon... I took poster Danielle's suggestion and set-up an account on Fateback.

As I said before, I've been happy at Angelfire. This has been my server for about a year since Freeservers started charging for FTP use (thus making the 'free' in their name a lie). I just feel the need to go to a popup-free site, and I can't really afford a domain and hosting right now.

I'm using this as reason to redesign this site again. I'm hoping I'll be satisfied with the results.

This week's questions interested me. From Friday Five:

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
   The short answer is: I'm multi-generation Canadian.
   The long answer: Eastern Europe. Poland, Russia and Romania. Ironically, folks always think my origins are Mediterranean.


2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
   Definitely Romania. Possibly Russia too. I'd just like to see the border area where my grandparents came from, Bysarabia.


3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
   Paradoxically, the answer would be Russia as well. Mainly because of the religious persecution and the pogroms.


4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
   Not really, because I don't really know much about the cultures.


5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
   My grandparents on both sides. My dad's parents came from the Russian and Polish areas, my mom's parents from Romania.