007, infiltrate the vessel and find out all you
can about this 'Sealaunch' The weekend was mixed but mostly fun. You can't argue with partying and white water rafting at any time but a combination of thundershowers and helicopter firefighting brigades landing almost in the campsite was a bit trying. The rafting started out fine but near the end we rowed into a storm system that made the going rough and cold. I had more than a blast driving the Mazda through the twists and turns of the mountain highway though.

I'm gone this weekend for a day of river rafting. I've been twice before and had a blast each time. I'll accept any invite to bust down a raging torrent and I'm going to the same place today with Dylan's group: the Kumsheen on the Thompson River. I heard there are fires around that region but hopefully we'll be fine and safe in the water.

Nice old-skool little film by Michael Mann starring a very big star. Tom Cruise has that vacant stare look down pat but couldn't his part have been played by someone with a little spice? He isn't helped by the heaping of hip-Fight Club style dialogue that is supposed to inject his character with some kind of martial or philosophical authority. He's not Tyler Durden, he's not Christopher Walken and he's not Ben Kingsley. He's just the Deadly Dude in the Nice Suit come to fuck up Jaimie Foxx. Foxx has stepped up into a new maturity and besides the high contrast exterior HD photography, this is the best thing about Collateral. The story itself is kind of okay, Michael Mann can still shoot a nice gun fight and there is something very cool-blue about L.A. at night as seen through his lensing. I had a better film in my head as I watched this. Something that could have given more weight to all of the characters and kept the Cruise assassin as just another cipher, maybe played better by Gary Oldman or Terence Stamp.

Last night was apparently the most watchable night to catch the Perseids, the annual shower of meteors from Perseus that scrape the Earth atmosphere. I went out to Iona Park which is on the edge of the Vancouver International Airport hoping to photograph these. Except for seeing four quick zaps in the north-eastern horizon I was unsuccessful. I did get eaten alive by mosquitos, though. In the run up to waiting for the sun to set I photographed my car just like everyone does with their new cars (in the sunset you can't really see the gash in my rear right bumper).

Through the gracious last minute invite from a couple cool people Saturday night I was able to enjoy the finale of the Festival of Light fireworks from the deck of a 20 foot sailboat anchored a few hundred metres out into English Bay. It was a triply cool experience being on a boat that size for the first time, watching the Spanish, Swedish and Chinese choreographed light shows and listening to the conversations on that boat and on the surrounding vessels. Definitely a different and far better experience than being crammed in with the crowd on the shore. Thanks to the captain and the captain's mate.

A teasing kind of article in today's Slate magazine about how Toyota recovered from a near disaster when one of its key component factories burned to the ground, leaving them with just three days worth of stock for all of their other factories and what lessons it can give to U.S. spy agencies scrambling to deal with a future crisis. The author believes the informal social networks that build up between often competing groups is the answer, not greater concentration of decision-making as was the recommendation by the 9/11 Commission. Read it here >>

Saturday when we were washing cars in preparation for the wedding a new smudge on my rear right bumper was pointed out to me. Something I hadn't noticed before. That was a pain but without a suspect I couldn't report it and it looked like something I could buff out later. Well, sometime between the end of the festivities Monday and last night someone hit me in the same spot, this time denting it in severely. No number was left, nothing. If I can't find out who in my building did it, I'm out the deductible. In my nine years of driving that other car I only have three incidents, now in less than a month of owning the Mazda3, I've had three!

I finally got signed up on ofoto.com and assembled a gallery. This is probably not the most exciting thing for people who don't know my brother or my family, but you might like to see the strange ritual of a tea ceremony where the bride and groom are on their knees, begging the various parents to bless their wedding. As their best man, I wasn't in the best position to take photos so you won't see any of the actual ceremony nor will you see any from the reception (unless others care to send me their photos from the night). During the proceedings I felt a pang of camera jealousy as there were a few DSLRs in attendance. UPDATE: Oops. I was just made aware that I am misunderstanding how ofoto works. I have to invite people to view the gallery. Well, if you want to see it, please email me and I will invite you.

My hectic weekend went without much of a hitch. Friday I took off for preparing for my brother's wedding (family dinner). Saturday, my friend Keith's wedding (Indian dinner). Sunday, my brother's wedding (Italian dinner). Monday, a day of rest capped off by... you guessed it (family dinner). Now, I really want nothing at all to do with anyone for the next week. I will be posting some photos tomorrow. If any of Kevin's friends want to email me their photos, please try my gmail account: keithmengweiloh@gmail.com.