Possible Liver Damage

What a bender. I had an incredible weekend with two of my old friends from the U.S. Those yanks really know how to party. The highlight of the weekend had to be the after-hours party we made our way to Saturday night after the bars closed. I had never been to an after-hours party before and was unaware that people in Toronto were awake at 5:00 a.m. I was under the perhaps naive impression that the city shut down and went to sleep soon after last call until I found that non-descript basement door at back of an unassuming building in the business district. Note to self: Gorgeous people stay up late. The debauchery was cut short by the heavy hand of the law when the Canadian version of these guys arrived. Note to readers: Keeping your hands above your head is tiring. I don't know how criminals do it. Thankfully, after they arrested who they needed to, we were ushered out on to the street, this time with our hands down by our sides, most likely so the police could avoid the negative press.

On Sunday, to temper all of the excitement of the previous evening, we sunk into the comfortable seats of a local megaplex and endured 2-1/2 hours of piss-poor acting. Kingdom of Heaven (QuickTime required) is masterful when it comes to the use of computer-generated visual effects, but ultimately crumbles like the walls of Jericho under the weight of script problems and the inability of Orlando Bloom to carry a film. The only emotion we see from the otherwise stoic lead is when Bloom is being used as a mouthpiece for Ridley Scott to announce his personal political and religious ideologies to the world.

How do the last 72 hours of excess fit into my obsession with becoming fit? I'm joining a gym that promises I can eat anything I want and still remain fit. The secret to success is unrelenting and dehumanizing physical abuse (Windows Media Player required). In all seriousness, my plan is to start with cardio and eat healthier. Failing that, I'll just strap on a thong and dance the fat away (QuickTime required) in my own kitchen.

Last week I wrote about The Project for the New American Century and implied that American forgein policy is now driven by desperation and necessity. Specifically, the United States seeks to minimize the impact of a future peak oil crisis (see also The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas). Peak oil

...predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline. The actual peak year will only be known after it has passed. Even a benign scenario with a slow rate of depletion and a smooth transition to alternative energy sources may well cause great economic hardship such as a [global] recession or depression due to higher energy prices.

Responses to peak oil range from complete denial (by the U.S. Geological Survey, for example) to predictions of the 'end of civilization as we know it.' In between are those who predict a far less catastrophic, but fundamental and irrevocable change in our quality of life (QuickTime required).

The U.S. is attempting to proactively meet the peak oil challenge via a sustained campaign to achieve total military domination (QuickTime required). Charles H. Featherstone, a D.C. journalist specializing in energy, the Middle East and Islam characterizes U.S. foreign policy in the context of peak oil as follows:

[T]here is an oil component to the invasion and occupation [of Iraq], and I believe it is this: the United States, through invading and occupying a nation with significant oil reserves, would show the world – especially the up-and-coming consuming nations of China and India – that in the event that push comes to shove, and this resource gets scarce, Americans come first.

To some peak oil may have the stink of a conspiracy theory. The end of cheap oil, however, is inevitable. The only questions are when the peak will occur and how (or if) we will adjust. I don't claim to know how things will play out and I'm not advocating you stock up for the apocalypse. It is important, however, to remember that the impending energy shortage colours politics, business and war and it is certain to effect you personally in the near future.