Author: Peter

Prediction

Based on his bets from the last few games and the odd scheduling of this month’s college championship, I predict that on tomorrow’s broadcast of Jeopardy! Ken Jennings will win just under $39,000, giving him a total of $2.5 million in winnings… and then announce his retirement from the show.

Ramadan in Jerusalem

My high-school friend Murray is currently studying in Jerusalem, and occasionally sends back missives about his studies, life in Israel, and so forth. Something about this one said post me, and with his blessing (so to speak) I’m doing so here.

I’m just gotten in from a walk up the street. For the last hour or so, I’ve been hearing the sound of loud chanting, and so I thought I would just wander down the block, to see what was happening. As you can imagine, emotions are running very high here–it is the last night of Ramadan, and everyone here is very conscious of the imminence of an announcement about Arafat’s death–some are predicting a funeral as soon as tomorrow, or perhaps on Friday (in Egypt?), despite all of the assertions that he is stable. Anyhow, as I arrived at the end of the street, I encountered a large parade (several hundred people) marching down the street toward the Damascus Gate, all shouting Arafat’s name, carrying large posters of him, candles and Palestinian flags. They all moved down toward the Damascus Gate, where a large crowd had already gathered, and which seems to be a vigil-demonstration of sorts–candles, chanting, at least some tears that I could see. It’s a very strange scene–all the local shops are open late for the last night of Ramadan, and there are strings of holiday lights strung across the Damascus Gate plaza, with people selling coffee and sweets. There are also lots of posters of Arafat everywhere. As I walked back to the Ecole, I met several dozen people, all moving in the direction of the Damascus Gate. There is a real electricity in the air, as if something big is about to happen very soon–whether that will turn out to be the news of Arafat’s death remains to be seen. There is also a very strong police presence around the Damascus Gate.

It’s getting late, and I’ll be heading off to bed shortly, but there is a definite sense of expectation (of the inevitable?), and I wouldn’t be surprised if tonight (or early tomorrow our time) brings the long-expected news that Arafat has died in Paris. It will be interesting to see what reaction that news will provoke here in East Jerusalem. I continue to pray for peace and a smooth transition to a new leadership–please keep this situation in your prayers as well, and if anything should change, I’ll let you know.

Stay safe, Murray. Our thoughts are with you as always.

It was twenty years ago today…

I recently discovered that cellist extraordinaire and long-time Lenni Jabour cohort Alex McMaster is part of a group called Classic Albums Live. In a nutshell, the group performs live, note-for-note renditions of albums like The Wall, Sticky Fingers, Who’s Next, Born to Run, and Hotel California. This weekend in Windsor they’re doing one I can’t miss again (unbeknownst to me, it premiered in Toronto a few weeks ago): Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Can’t wait to hear A Day in the Life!

With Emm Gryner playing a hometown show in Sarnia on Friday, Alex et al in Windsor on Saturday, and Lenni on Tuesday, this is shaping up to be an amazing week.

Musicati

Apparently Technorati will soon roll out a list of the top MP3s being discussed in the blogosphere. I bet it doesn’t handle Ogg Vorbis files like this clip of John Mann’s American TV though. Anyway, I guess now’s as good a time as any to get some visibility for a few of my favourites…

(As with so many of my links, via Tim Bray.)

The naming of weblogs

In the comments of How did you name your blog? people are sharing stories about blog and domain naming. Rather than clutter Mark’s comment page, my contribution is right here.

First, Petroglyphs. It’s right up there at the top of every entry page. Every good Sunday school student can tell you that Peter means rock; what they mean to say is that the name is a form of the Greek word petro, which in turn means rock. Glyph is also Greek in origin and refers to a carving, or the act of cutting. A petroglyph, then, is a rock carving, usually ancient… so what better name for a weblog, something that’s not only ephemeral but entirely virtual to boot?

My category names are also explained on each category archive page: they’re taken from quotations about the subject matter. For example, Living mythically is about technology, based on a Marshall McLuhan statement. (Despite what some of you may think given the plethora of posts about her, Sweet compulsion is about music in general, not just Lenni Jabour. But since it’s been a while since I’ve had anything to say on that topic, I’ll point out that I’m going to see her again in a week and a half.)

Finally, the domain. That it’s eponymous is fairly obvious, but the namespace was deliberately chosen. On the surface, it’s a more appropriate area than the generic (and abused) .com, .net and .org. More than that, though, it flaunts the fact that I am proud to be Canadian (and, today in particular, almost as proud not to be American). Using my full name wasn’t my first choice, though–I wanted janes.ca, but it’s being squatted on by a guy who thinks he can make a buck by selling it to Ontario-based Janes Family Foods.

So, there you go. In response to an innocuous question, more than you ever wanted to know about the origins of Petroglyphs.