Back still out, therefore I only am spending a minute here. Still need entertainment? Here are a couple of wonderful videos of Bush’s state of the union address. Look here and here.
Had a massage last night – helped a little and got a decent sleep but still far from 100% – maybe I’ll do another podcast later if I’m inspired to.
Okay – my neck and shoulder are both in spasm and I have had to be horizontal with only short breaks all weekend. But I still want to stay connected. Here’s a podcast in lieu of an entry. Listen here.
Massage scheduled for 6PM tonight hopefully that helps.
Yup – I worked late again (doing that a lot lately) and so dinner was from one of our local Indian takeaways again tonight. But it looks like a good thing. My original plan was to have burritos and considering that these tortillas are our brand I’m rather glad we didn’t.
So how do people who aren’t in a FDA regulated industry and don’t subscribe to the FDA RSS feeds find out about this sort of thing. Seems like something important to know, don’t you think?
No long entries for a while – work is absolutely insane. My apologies.
Me, I’m not depressed – I look at the half-full side of the cup. The NDP got another ten seats and over 17% of the popular vote. Between the NDP and the Liberals, I don’t see anything terrible getting through. WIth any luck, either the NDP will rise in popularity or the liberals will get their act together (I realize they’re far from perfect but I’d take another 13 years of them over a Conservative majority any day of the week.
And most of all, I live somewhere where as yet the following has not happened to people I know:
- I have had no friends run off the road and ranted at by a guy in a pickup because of their “No War!” bumper sticker
- I have not received regular newsletters from a local White Supremacist “Church” and I have not been told by the post office that I could not refuse delivery of it because it was bulk mail (like grocery store fliers) and as such they were required by law to deliver it to us.
- I have not heard from friends saying that they were about to go to a womyns land in a neighbouring province to help defend them from gun-toting local rednecks.
- I have not been asked “Isn’t it great – we’re a nation that’s comin’ back to God” (as we’re bombing children around the world) by the owner of the local tire shop with him fully expecting me to agree
- I have no friends who have had to attend school with their kids to sit in the back of the class and make sure that the teacher and principal are not discriminating against their child because their father was black while the ACLU helped them build a discrimination case against the school district.
- I have had no friends have a partner use the fact that she doesn’t go to church, has pagan beliefs, and has participated in a sun dance as (fortunately unsuccessful) grounds for her losing custody.
- I have not heard of the KKK being discouraged from marching in Toronto not because they’re creepy hateful racists but because security costs too much and now the town wants them to pay for it.
All of the above things are true experiences from when we lived in the US.
What I’m saying is – there are a lot of things wrong with having a Conservative government but there is a lot right about the people we’re surrounded by here in Toronto. (And yes, I do realize that socially there are a great many ills here in Canada and lots of work needs to be done but really – you have no idea what goes on in some of these backwater towns).
Okay – I think I can go to sleep now. It looks as if we have a Conservative minority and not even as strong a minority as the liberals had. So at least for a little while I don’t see anything truly scary getting through the House of Commons. And hey – the NDP got 50% more seats than last year. So as much as I was traumatized by the mis-calling of the 2000 US election in favour of Gore and then being told otherwise the next day, I think I’ll risk it and go to sleep. I have an early day tomorrow.
I know it’s not legal to post Canadian election results before 10:00 PM. But is it legal to search for ‘canadian election early results’ at news.google.com. And if so, is it legal to read what you find? 
Just curious – and only hypothetically speaking, of course…
I’m a sucker for nature videos, particularly those done by David Attenborough. If you’re not, this might not interest you. In an entry some time ago, Sage talked about a bird that was an incredible mimic. Remember the Police Academy movies? (I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve seen more than one). Remember the guy that “mimiced” things with only his voice? Well, this bird outdoes him. It’s funny, but it is sad at the same time. After all, much of what it mimics are the sounds of encroaching people destroying his habitat. Still, it makes for an interesting view which you can see here.
You can find Michael Moore’s comments on Tomorrow’s election here. I second everything he says.
Seriously – I just have to keep trying to forget that it is coming up otherwise I alternately get angry and sick with worry. Stephen Harper is not going to take this country in the direction we need to go, and instead will send it hurtling in the other direction. I’m not the only one worried about the direction Canada’s going. With the threat of Harper’s election and his promises to use the notwithstanding clause to overturn the legalization of gay marriage, people are heading to City Hall in droves to get married while they still can.
Far be it from me, an American outside my own country to tell people how to vote. However, I really don’t understand this shift to the Conservatives. It’s not as if they have a long history of good government in this country. And in fact on both the federal and provincial level they inspired quite a lot of opposition in the past. So what do people think have happened in between Brian Mulroney and today?
I’m going to be on the edge of my seat for the next 48 hours. And should there be a Conservative majority I will be absolutely devastated. I am so not looking forward to that possibility. Of course it is possible I set myself up for this. After all, it could be a simple matter of my idea of what Canada’s people and government are like differing from the reality. And if that’s the case, I am disappointed for sure but at least I am still in a job I love in a city I love surrounded by people I love.
I already have enough to watch but with the strong possibility of a couple hours each day spent on a commuter train I will have time for a few more movies. Anyway – just have a look at what’s available.
First off – I was really surprised to find Fahrenheit 911 available for viewing. If you haven’t already seen this one give it a watch. You no longer have an excuse. Sadly, I think most Americans now realize that we were tricked into the Iraq war but are too disaffected to do a thing about it.
Others that I haven’t yet watched but plan to check out:
The Unauthorized Biography of Dick Cheney: This was from the CBC program the Fifth Estate, an investigative journalism show in the spirit of 60 minutes. The little I watched of it was far from flattering. Thus the “Unauthorized” bit, I guess.
Another Fifth Estate episode is Sticks and Stones, a discussion of the media “war” between liberals and conservatives back in the US. It starts out with a great cmparison – being in your apartment and hearing angry voices from your neighbour’s house.
Ekostv.com is a new environmentally-focused TV network. This is one of their first shows. If nothing else I want to watch it for the discussion of the “Sustainable Condo”.
The BBC did a documentary called A Muslim in The Family. Islam and the New Muslim in the United Kingdom. I live in a predominantly Muslim community, I need to learn a bit more about my neighbours.
Slaughterhouse – the Task of Blood is a BBC documentary I’ll be sure to watch when I’m resolved to quit eating meat again (which, as of late, I’ve been very bad about)
Finally, G8 – Can You Hear Us, is a BBC documentary described as: “A film about three very different protesters who headed to Gleneagles earlier this year to persuade the gathered world leaders to take steps to help save the planet from destruction. “
Oh – and one more thing. If you’re left-leaning and not outraged enough, you can watch Democracy Now. It’s a fabulous show that I used to listen to a lot when we lived in Albuquerque (they have a radio show as well). I had to stop, though, as I would end up feeling angry and hopeless. Partly, I think, is that this is a very serious show, and unlike many of the Air America broadcasts, there is no humourous side to keep you from wanting to kill yourself.
In this episode, Paul and I collaborate on a podcast. We go for lunch in Chinatown, give bubble tea a second chance and try some mystery fruit. There’s also excellent music from the podsafe music network. We took pictures of a few of the things we ate and put them here.
Consider this something of a pilot. Paul said he would be interested in doing occasional podcasts where the subject would be us experiencing new things in Toronto whether they be food, music, culture, or something else.
You can find the file here. (34 MB – 37:35)
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