It's a heatwave

Too hot 'n' crabby to write uplifting philosophical commentary.

... but perhaps the environment is on the way back "in"? Take last year's "The Day After Tomorrow," the global warming horror flick. The latest biggie, here in Quebec at least, is "March of the Penguins," a sad and exhilarating nature doc. Continuing psycho weather around the globe is causing rising concern....

And the latest Japanese-made King of the Monsters flick, 2004's "Godzilla: Final Wars," just screened at the Montreal Fantasia film fest. This one takes viewers back to the franchise's origins, with a reminder about nukes and environmental havoc. (Er, there's also space aliens, kung fu, and the destruction of the planet; it's a fabulous smash-em-up romp. To those who've seen only the 1998 Hollywood "Godzilla": "real" fans call the American impostor GINO, or Godzilla In Name Only. Most annoyingly, this Yank Godzilla lays eggs, is called an "asexual" reproducer, and continues to be called "he" throughout. Second most annoying thing: French atomic testing creates Godzilla -- not the Americans, oh no...).

*%^&*(%$#@. A story in this morning's paper notes that the fuels we hoped would replace that nasty old oil are no better for the environment. Turning corn into ethanol, for example, takes more energy to convert than the fuel itself actually produces. Ditto for switch grass, wood, and soybeans. Lotsa controversy. Maybe that nuclear power lunatic is right?

*This weekend, from a total stranger, I picked up nine videotapes featuring the first 10 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The collection cost me bus fare. All thanks to Freecycle, the e-mail based community where members offer to give away what they don't need. Canada has 234 local Freecycle groups last I checked (you can start your own, too). Join here.

A caveat: I've seen people offering old fridges and stoves. Large appliances more than 10 years old are serious energy hogs. I know adding to landfills isn't a swell idea, but when we got a new fridge (find an Energystar-approved brand), our electricity bills went down by $15 every two months. That's a lotta juice.

*According to the July 13 La Presse newspaper, air conditioners need to be cleaned or reconditioned every year or two. Elsewise, after 10 years, the air conditioner is working at 50 percent efficiency. Who cleans the darned machines? Almost no one. Maybe a mechanically inclined Freecycler could figure it out and offer lessons....