no posts for 2010?

clearly i've been neglecting this little space....

it's june. and the sun is trying desperately to shine. and i'm taking an economics class. and even so, i love love love my life.

here's something i like:

Denmark?

last night i dreamed that you offered me a trip to denmark.
it's already paid for, you said.
whenever you want to go, we'll go.
we'll go sometime this year.
what kind of work will we be doing, i asked.
what does this entail?
but you assured me that although you were going to be working,
i would only be resting.
denmark was going to be nice, you said.
and i think you wanted to take care of me.

al franken is my hero

Al Franken makes my little heart sore. Watching him fresh-faced in the senate over the last few months has really excited me... He's such a great performer (obviously, because he's a great comedian) and I love that he's not afraid to just burst into his "This is totally fucked!" moments.

Because the senate is totally fucked. And politicians are fucked. And everyone's lying and making stuff up, and Franken is so new that he's not afraid to call them out and say that they are acting crazy. It's refreshing. He often takes the words right out of my mouth.

It makes me excited for the movie that's eventually going to come out about Franken and his fight against the establishment. You know what I mean, underdog comedian takes on Republican strong-hold in an all out battle for the seat, wins after a long, drawn out recount, and then takes on the entrenched Senate--new blood mixing with old blood--he doesn't follow anyone's rules but his own. It's going to be glorious.

I'm going to say it here folks, I think Franken might one day be a serious contender for President of the United States of America. Yes.

Here's his moment from this week, compliments of Talkingpointsmemo.com:

one of the best things about new friends might be when they teach you about sweet bands

This makes me verrrrry happy.

last thursday i had the day off unexpectedly so i decided to ride my bike to a lake just outside the city.
i rode fast and listened to camera obscura.
i got lost only once.

and when i got there i sat on the dock and ate a sandwich.
i embraced nature, listened close.
and found that all i could hear were cars.

because this lake is not actually outside the city, it's actually better to say that it's inside the city...
a barrier of trees is the only thing that separates the lake from the highway, and it must create some sort of amphitheater because the sounds of the city were much more dominant out there in the middle of the lake than they are when you're in the thick of the concrete.

it was kind of amazing.

there were also ducks. and a father on a playdate with his sons.
and the trees had just turned red.
and i was happy to be there despite all the noise.

i was walking down main street today on my way to work when a terrible sound burst out over and over and over... i looked around and noticed that bread garden was dressed up all halloween like and i figured that they must have one of those halloween noise makers rigged up to their front door.
how awful for the workers, i thought...
except just then, i saw where the noise was actually coming from.
a 5 year old boy was waiting for the bus with his mother and he was screaming bloody murder at the most perfect intervals...
man.

i asked my friend to text me something pretty and this is what he sent:

child
your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing
i want to fill it with color and ducks,
the zoo of the new

whose names you mediate-
april snowdrop,
indian pipe
little

stalk without wrinkle
pool in which images
should be grand and classical

not this troublous
wringing of hands
this dark
ceiling without a star

--slyvia plath

dream text 4:59 am

i just dreamt that we took a helicopter ride and then climbed a ladder in the city. when we got to the top we were covered in brown sugar. you were wearing a grey and purple jacket and i could feel it. then we watched tv and i saw a commercial for a house and i decided that all i really wanted was a wood stove.

fall

the other day i was riding my bike down tenth avenue, admiring the light on the pavement and the the mustard and marigold leaves, when a rogue chestnut flew past my head and smashed to the ground not two feet in front of me. i thought "wow! that chestnut almost hit me!"

and maybe that's what i need right now. a chestnut to the head to wake me up and knock me into shape.

maybe if you get a concussion when you already feel like you have a concussion it has the opposite affect and instead of feeling fuzzy and tired you feel clear and alert.

i kept on riding my bike. tenth avenue is a lovely bike route in the fall so long as you're on the lookout for falling chestnuts. although by the amount of smushed chestnuts covering the road it would appear that chestnut season is almost over.

by the time i got to kingsway i had stopped thinking about chestnuts and was instead fixated on the bright yellow dog taxi rounding the corner ahead of me.

a difference of opinion

Talking Heads: Naive Melody

My friend recently told me that he thought this song was sad... and I couldn't really understand why. I always thought it was a love song about falling comfortably in love with someone whose eyes are bright and who will love you 'til your heart stops. A tad reluctant, scary even, but ultimately okay. And a beautiful, fun, naive melody. It's funny how two people can feel so differently about a song... and how that difference can be a real eye-opener to how they both feel about relationships. I dunno why I've been thinking about this, but I think it's interesting.

Bobby Jindal makes things happen

Remember Bobby Jindal? He's the senator from Louisiana who gave the Republican response to Obama's first national address. In it, he made fun of the Democrats' decision to spend money on "something called volcano monitoring" (oooh....yet another science is spooky attempt by the men on the right...). Jindal thought the democrats should be more worried about "eruptions in spending" than eruptions of the volcanic kind.
Well, well, Jindal... Looks like you spoke too soon. It appears that there is a volcano in Alaska that's been blowing ash for a few days now, and it could probably use some monitoring...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090323-mount-redoubt-alaska-volcano.html

The volcano is called Mount Redoubt... I feel like there is a good pun to be had with all of this.

is this satire?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKlFT58Zwc&feature=related
(sorry the video app isn't working, i'll have it uploaded on here asap... even though i'm sure most of you have seen it by now!)

First of all, I think we all know that what's said at 2am on Fox's Red Eye show doesn't really matter-- even though esteemed past panelists on the show include Joe Francis, the founder of Girls Gone Wild-- but nonetheless, the outcry over this little piece is crazy and I believe it deserves a post.

Were these guys just being funny? Let's think about it. They claim their show is satire. Merriam-Webster's defines satire as "trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly"
Does making fun of Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie's last name ("an unusual name for a man") count as "trenchant wit"? And how about the awkward comments about Mexico and the word 'siesta'? Kind of uncomfortable, but funny... I don't know.
Now, I definitely believe that maybe we should all should lighten up a little bit-- take some comfort in the fact that the jokes on this show were pretty tired (making fun of mounties, really?). But let's ask ourselves why this made us so angry--- is it because making fun of the military during wartime should be off limits? Or does it have more to do with the pent up frustration with the US over the war in Afghanistan? Maybe these jocks at Fox news are just easy targets for our growing rage at our place in a war we no longer desire to be a part of... Or maybe we're upset because they call us out on our dependence on the US (something we like to fiercely deny, even though it's kind of true).
These guys might be the definition of "douchebag" but at least they've given us something to talk about.

Side note, you know what IS funny-- the Globe and Mail ran a little bio of the show's host, Greg Gutfeld, today and they listed his past jobs (Editor at Maxim, Stuff --how typical, right) while noting that he was basically fired from all of them. Zing.

Someone should get Gary Goodyear's grade 11 science teacher on the phone

Federal minister of state for Science and Technology, Gary Goodyear is kind of a sly bugger. First, he refuses to answer whether or not he believes in evolution (too personal/irrelevant a question for the minister of Science and Technology). Then, given a chance to explain himself, he bumbles his way through admitting that, of course, he believes in evolution (can't you feel the wrath of God upon him?) but he follows this up with some weird explanation suggesting evolution has to do with high heels, chiropractors and the intensity of the sun. Now, I'm not really a 'science man' but I'm pretty sure his comments are a little kooky--and the barrage of experts jumping up to correct his statements tend to agree. Maybe he was trying (and failing) to make a joke--or maybe he truly believes what he said. But I think he's trying to pull a fast one on us. It seems that this Goodyear fellow might have been giving God the ol' wink and nudge: "Hey buddy," nods Gary, "I know I'm going on record telling these people I believe in evolution, but I don't mean it like they think I do...so I can still come in, right?"

read more about this story here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090319.wcoevolve20/BNStory/specialComment/home

check it out

This article from thetyee.ca is an interesting and approachable read that details a two step solution, Housing First and Treatment on Demand, to the homelessness problem Gregor Robertson has pledged to solve. It's definitely worth checking out. One aspect I find really interesting is that in order for this to even be remotely successful, all levels of government (municipal, provincial, and federal) are going to be called upon (perhaps forcefully) to co-operate and co-ordinate at a very high level.

R.I.P

The beginning of the end? The middle of the end?
Sad? Inevitable?
At least the Cubs are still in tact...

What's going to happen when the clouds of recession hit America's favourite past time?

Shaking Hands with the Devil?

In tonight's televised address by Stephen Harper, he spent a fair amount of time pressing the point that the coalition is being held in place by the only party who's goal is to "break up Canada." I'm sure that this deal with the Bloc has a lot of Canadians uneasy, and if Stephen Harper's address is any indication, they are only going to get more uneasy as the Conservative media machine really kicks it into high gear.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Bloc being the backbone of the coalition. It's certainly necessary... The NDP and Liberals combined do not have enough votes to do it without them. I absolutely believe that they are going to bring some fair and interesting ideas to the table. The Bloc seems ahead of the game with regards to arts, culture, and social rights. They appear willing to co-operate, at least for the next 18 months.
But it's the 18 month thing that gets me. The reason the Bloc did not sign on for the full two years is because the parties could not agree on the status of Quebec as a "nation"-- nope, that nation debate isn't going anywhere. I think the Bloc sees an opportunity here. And, now, who wants to bet that in 18 months (assuming this coalition actually happens) we are going to have a major debate in Parliament--and perhaps an election--about the status of Quebec in Canada?
This coalition excites me very much, but I have the feeling that if it goes through we're in it for the long haul, and if we think that the political games we are witnessing right now are as intense as it's going to get, we're mistaken. Things are just heating up!

Related: Rex Murphy lays it out.

Also...how awesome is this photo! He's absolutely ruthless!

Coalition!

Today, the Liberals and the NDP signed an agreement saying that they would be willing to share power and form a government, supported by the Bloc, should the Conservative party lose the support of the house in an upcoming confidence vote. Essentially, Stephane Dion would be the Prime Minister, the NDP would get a quarter of the cabinet seats, and the Bloc would have major bargaining power when it came to legislation. The agreement between the Liberals and NDP would be in place until 2011, and the Bloc has signed on to support it for at least the next 18 months.

This news is extremely exciting for me, someone who has longed for a minority government that actually works and that is not just looking towards the next election. Coalition governments have been successful in other countries, and it seems that especially with our outdated, first-past-the-post system of government (perhaps to be changed in BC soon! http://stv.ca) coalition governments are the more democratic way to go... that is, if the parties can actually co-operate--something they will have to learn to do as they go along if they are going to share power over the next two years.

Current Prime Minister Harper is obviously stunned by the newfound balls of the opposition, as I'm sure a lot of us are. How is Harper going to handle this? He is already saying that the coalition is the "biggest political game in Canadian history" and to form a government without an election is undemocratic--he most certainly is not going to let this go without a fight. However, it would probably be beneficial for Harper to remember that back when Paul Martin was PM he himself wrote the Governor General asking for permission to form a government should the house lose confidence in the Liberals.

For the moment, it is important for Canadians to keep in mind that the majority of Canadians did not vote Conservative. This coalition is much more in line with the will of Canadians as a whole. And just because there is talk of a coalition doesn't mean it's set in stone... Anything can happen before Monday's vote, right?

Finally, I just have to say that it's kind of amazing that a fall financial update is what it took to get government all riled up...

http://www.progressivecoalition.ca/

Bruce Wayne-Ken Doll Hybrid Becomes Mayor of Vancouver

You may know him only as the founder of those delicious Happy Planet juices, but this weekend, Gregor Robertson of Vision Vancouver became the new mayor of Vancouver, ousting Peter Ladner of the NPA (the poor guy in the picture frame). Robertson has said he will make addressing the homelessness crisis his number one priority and he seems to be genuinely interested in how to make Vancouver greener and more sustainable. Vision Vancouver swept the city, leaving only one NPA council member. Kind of crazy considering that when Sam Sullivan of the NPA came to office we anticipated him being in power until 2011.

America Day

My mom sent me this photo of the cake she and her friend's shared on election night. I kind of think I'm going to throw an America party next November 4th so we can all remember just how awesome that day felt.