Monday, September 28, 2009

A little respect

It seems I have been out of the loop.
Maybe I've been sitting under this rock for too long.
The world may have changed.

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a popular radio station when a song with somewhat disturbing lyrics, at least from a linguistic point of view, came on the air. You've probably heard it too. "Sexy Bitch". The artist starts by saying how he wishes to describe his lady friend in a respectful fashion. Now there is a plethora of words to do just that : pretty, beautiful, stunning, gorgeous. You can even add adjectives : My girlfriend is drop dead gorgeous! See, respectful, and more importantly, coherent.

So there you have it, maybe some people are now referring to girls as "bitches" and maybe those girls are falling over saying "Oooh mister, you're so respectful", but I'm having none of it. If the world is changing, I'll gladly stay in the past.

Go have a listen to "Hot panda", my newest discovery. No bitches in their songs.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Okay, I'm irked

Since I haven't written anything here for a good while now, it's very probable that only one person will read this but I'm going to send it out there anyways because, you know it, I'm irked.

What irks me you are no doubt asking yourself?

The Conservative Party of Canada is what.

It's hard for me to be unbiased in these tumultuous times, so I won't be. I'm not very happy about the results of the last election. I'm not happy that the liberals didn't fare better than they did. I'm not happy that I had to hope the Bloc fared well enough to bloc (pun intended) the conservative vote and I'm not happy that the Conservatives fared okay enough to get a renewed mandate. I'm also irked that Stephen Harper, whom I consider to be some sort of political genius is batting for the other team (no no, not that other team, the other political team).

Lets get things clear; Canadians did NOT want another Conservative government, they just didn't have a choice. 59.1 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot and out of that, 38 percent voted for the Conservatives. So basically, the current government owes it's enhanced minority to 22 percent of eligible voters.

In my humble opinion, most Canadians didn't want to vote for any of the parties. Voter apathy is what the Conservatives owe their enhanced minority to. They can claim as long as they want that Canadians gave them a stronger mandate, it's not going to make it more of a reality.

I feel better now.


Lion taming tip # 72

Trying to teach your lion about elections is pointless; he's the king of the jungle, he couldn't care less about how we silly humans decide who's going to be in charge.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Leaving two wheels behind

The Ottawan had been young. Heck, he had been really young some years ago. Some would even go as far as saying that he was once a baby and that he did babyish things. Others would call such comments rubbish. The Ottawan, with his thinning hairline and his tall body, could never have been younger than fourteen or fifteen, and you could take that to the bank.

But he had been young. And when he was young, much younger than he was now, he had never wanted an automobile. He had wanted a fighter jet. Of course, the fact that his dear mother told him that she could not not afford to buy him little gifts at the supermaket made him realize quickly enough that it would be a long time until he could have his fighter jet. Yes, though he was young, he was savvy about these financial matters. So he shifted his attention to something a little more attainable. Motorcycles! Not just any kind of motorcycles. Sportbikes! He loved them.

He wanted one. He needed one. His mother wouldn't hear it. Too costly. She was right he would later realize. A meal on the table is much more useful and much less deadly, at least in her very capable hands, than a very fast bike.

His longing eventually got pushed back to a small corner of his mind, staying put for sometimes years at a time. But every now and then it surfaces, as strong as ever. He gets the urge to look at bikes. He doesn't even look at the newer models anymore. He knows what he wants, and he knows what he'll buy before he works up the skills to buy that one. In a couple months time, his car lease will come to an end and he'll be giving back his primary mode of transportation, and his wallet will all of a sudden become much fatter. Fatter than it has ever been. Some of that fat, he's thinking, could very well serve to buy him one of those machines.

He has been talking about purchasing one for a good ten years now, he's wanted for fifteen, ever since he first laid eyes on one. And he's never been closer to having the ability to have one.

It's important to have dreams, but it's also so much fun to fulfill them.

Good night dear readers.

Get the podcast for this week's Vinyl Cafe! Just get it! There's an old man bungee jumping. You can't beat that for radio entertainment.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Comeback

Good evening to you.

Yes you.

No, stop looking behind you, it's you I'm writing to.

I hope this was a grand day for you. And if it wasn't grand, I hope it was at least good. And if it wasn't good, I hope it wasn't terrible. And if it was terrible, well I hope tomorrow will go better. And if tomorrow doesn't go better, then consider talking to someone about it. One really shouldn't have more than two terrible days in a row.

Anyways, this more or less marks my comeback from a month long break. I'll try to keep the posts coming. If anyone's out there, I hope you'll enjoy them.

Lion taming tip # 1026

If your lion starts chewing on your slippers, don't let him play with the neighbor's dog anymore.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Canadia

In the year 2056 the US has declared war on the Ipampilashians and has sent the American armada to destroy their planet. Canada is the only country siding with the Americans. Canada has sent it's only ship, The Canadia, in support of the American mission but the Canadia is not a warship. It's a maintenance ship (they change light bulbs and plunge toilets). Max Anderson is the first American ever to be stationed on the Canadia. He was put there by the American admiral (his mother) to toughen him up but keep him out of any real danger. The only thing that Max and the crew of the Canadia agree on is that no one wants him there.

This is the premise of Canadia 2056, a show which apparently took up Afghanada's timeslot on CBC radio one.

I've been listening to it for five minutes now and its pretty funny.

Dial in and check it out.

Fridays at 11:30 (NT) and Wednesdays at 11:00 (NT).

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Books at large

Were you at the Bridgehead Coffee House located at the corner of Albert and Bank about two weeks ago? Did you have a coffee? Did you enjoy a piece of cake? Did you pick up one of the books left there by bookcrossers. Did you read it?
Had you ever heard of bookcrossing (www.bookcrossing.com)?
I must admit that giving away a book wouldn't be a very easy thing for me to do. I am very selective about the books I purchase and tend to reread the few ones I own every now and then. But I also think that the world would be a much better place if everybody took up one of the fictional writings of Douglas Adams. Okay, maybe I'm pushing it a little, but they are still quite amazing. So imagine if you found a book on a park bench and it turned out to be the greatest thing you'd ever read. I think that would be neat. Maybe I'll try to find used copies of the books I'd like others to read and release them just for kicks. Just to see how far it could travel. Maybe I could leave it in an airport.
So start looking people, there are books out there and the next book you read could be the one you find in an unlikely place.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas tour (fixed)

On Saturday night, accompanied by my girlfriend, the lovely Quartz, I made my way to the NAC to see the Vinyl Cafe live.

Stuart McLean was awesome. The stories were awesome. The little live radio drama was awesome. The whole night was awesome.

Danny Michel was amazing.

We had great fun.

If you have the chance to see a Vinyl Cafe show, please go. The youngest person there was four and the oldest was ninety-four, so however old you are, you won't feel out of place.