[ PILOTS! ]

Azerbic
BlaggBlog
Cityrag
Clusterfuck Nation
Daily Muse
Dead Robot
democraticSPACE
Enter the Chapel
estrojenn
50 Most
Finn's Space
John Gushue
Panopticist
Patrick Byck
PAVED
PezGirl
Simple Splendor
Raspberry Sundae
TBIT

[ A-TEAM ]
AllThingsChristie & BWE
Bill Doskoch
Circadian Shift
Daily Dose
Davezilla
Dooce
Jett Superior
Kitty Bukkake
Sugarmama
Tony Pierce

[ TORONTO ROCKS ]
Accordion Guy
Alan Hunt
Andrew Spicer
Angie McKaig
armchair garbageman
Bacon and Eh's
BlogTO
Bored Astronaut
Cellar Dweller
Chip Tijuana
Chromewaves
Clara*
Consolation Champs
Biker Chick
Dave Howard
Day in the Life
Digifox
Easternblog
freckle stof
Help!
Ice Queen
indigoblog
JBWarehouse
Liz Vang
Luminescent
Lunerose
Maria
Marmalade
moot point
Nug
Photojunkie
Pony
Pshaw
Radio Weisblogg
Raymi
Riri's Braindump
RobotJohnny
Sally McKay
Sarah Pengelly
Secret Storm
ShanghaiM
Squiddity
Ultrablog
United Bingdom
wainbows
Warren Kinsella
Zoilus

This sandwich lived a hard life on the street.

 

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Monday, November 28, 2005

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Sandwich

Ok, it is heavy. It's the heaviest sandwich ever. Dave brought over a heavy, heavy loaf and it made the best heavy sandwich. It has the gravity of the moon!

 

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Friday, November 25, 2005

My 50 Cents

Over at PAVED, Marc posts about the attempt to keep 50 Cent out of the country and the guy who got a six-month ban from the US for ... blogging? And being Iranian. I mean, if it comes down to a choice, I say let 50 Cent in and keep Conrad Black out.

UPDATE: A comment over at Maria's suggests having Black beg on live tv for his citizenship. I second the motion! Let's put it to a vote ...

The poll is now closed; here are the results:



Wow, more than half of you don't want him back. Me neither. There's nothing worse than a fairweather Lord.

 

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Thursday, November 24, 2005

Frosty Sandwich

 

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Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Party Pix

Merv's recap.

 

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Video

Jimmy Carter. [ Crooks & Liars ]

 

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Speedstick

As you can see in this still from one of the home videos my friends and I used to make in high school, the Mennen Speedstick containers do make useful props. In this scene, I'm using them as futuristic binoculars!

 

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

 

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Monday, November 21, 2005

It's an Honour to be Nominated ...

... but it's more fun to win.

Congratulations to Lesley whose show, Health on the Line, won the Gemini Award for Best Talk Series, beating out Mansbridge, Gabereau and Evan Solomon! Also, congrats to Sean who writes for The Eleventh Hour. That show won Best Dramatic Series.

Ok, quick story about the winners ... one afternoon many years ago, I met Lesley & Laura for brunch at the Senator. They'd already been seated when I arrived and as soon as I sat down, they started complaining about the waiter, saying that he was being difficult. Just then, the waiter walked over and said, "Hi, Brett!"

The waiter was Sean.

 

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Party Picture Action

My annual pre-holiday party happened a full two weeks earlier than last year. Here's the report (more pix on my flickr page):


Merv & Amber prepped the food while Zack greeted the guests.


The cousins showed up (myself, Jonathan, Christina & Merv) ...


... and so did the bloggers (l to r): Accordion Guy & Wendy, Davezilla & Natalie and Jen.


Kat, Dave & Nadia fought a vicious hand gesture-off to see who had the smoothest moves. [ Nadia's tale of the evening: This is what happens when men live alone."









[ above ] Jenn says 'Peace out, dood."

And there was merriment and drinking and eating and talking and picture-taking for blogs and petting of the dog.

[ left ] After the crowd left, the fun continued late into the night with the downloading of the disco dancing sensations of the 70s.

Warm and safe, they thought of the fun friends they met at the annual holiday party.

 

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Friday, November 18, 2005

Smell the New Banner

 

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Cough

More fun from the archives: here's an old editorial cartoon, but it seems relevant now after a recent city litter audit revealed that cigarette butts are the #1 form of litter on our streets.

Butts, btw, aren't biodegradable.

Update: Look what happens to smokers. [ Crooks & Liars ]

 

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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Par-tay!

My annual party is this Saturday night ... if you'd like to join us, email me at happycreature[at]gmail[dot]com. Everyone's welcome! Invites were a bit messed up this year because I lost a bunch of email addresses in the August Computer Meltdown ... so if you were missed, it may be because your address bounced!

 

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The Sony Plague

Visualizations of the swath of destruction caused by the Sony rootkit software [via Accordion Guy ].

 

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What Is It?

 

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Vulgar

Yorkville

People were gathered for Maria's birthday ...

MARIA: In Mexico, this is a vulgar gesture.

BLAMB: It looks like you're crying.

MARIA: When I do this? It's vulgar. Don't put it on your blog.

BLAMB: Okay ...

MARIA: Did you fill out your trivia sheet?

BLAMB: What's NTN? Nary Tyler Noore?



JAMIE: I think it's an AC/DC song.

MARIA: You're thinking of TNT.

BLAMB: Tary Nyler Toore?

CLARA: NTN are gambling trivia games you play in bars.

BLAMB: Didn't Ultravox do a song called, If I Was a Gambler?

RANNIE: Kenny Rogers.

MARIA: Kenny Rogers wasn't in Ultravox!

RANNIE: He sang the song about The Gamber.

BLAMB: Instead of those crazy gambling addiction ads, they should just have signs saying, "You've got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and when to run."

MARIA: I'll bet you five dollars they wouldn't work.

RANNIE: I'll raise you ten.

BLAMB: Fifty!

RANNIE: Two hundred!

MARIA: I will give you a thousand dollars if you chug this bottle of ketchup.

JOEY & WENDY: CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!

BLAMB: Oh yeah? I will give you two thousand dollars if you break into fatman's apartment and steal one of his thong balcony bikinis!

MARIA: I will give you five thousand dollars if you join Scientology and work for years to get to the top level and find out all about the aliens and crap, become friends with Tom Cruise and have an affair with Katie Holmes.

BLAMB: I'm not single.

MARIA: TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!

BLAMB: NO!

MARIA: FIFTY-EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS!

BLAMB: DEAL!

We shooks hands.

Eight years later:

BLAMB: Ha ha! Now I'm a Scientology bigwig and I'm married to Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise is a washed-up homeless dude. Ask me about Xenu, go ahead.

MARIA: Tell me about Xenu.

BLAMB: NO! It's a secret! Ha ha ha ha!

MARIA: Idiot ...

BLAMB: Ok, pay up. You owe me fifty-eight thousand dollars.

MARIA: I can't. I went to gambling counselling and got cured.

BLAMB: What?

MARIA: I don't do that anymore.

BLAMB: Great Gary Gyler Goore! I'm ruined!

 

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Body Worlds

The centre is close to three prison camps, which are home to political detainees and members of the banned Falun Gong movement. According to Amnesty International, China's communist authorities executed 2,468 people in 2001 by shooting them in the head or the back of the neck. Prof Von Hagens has previously been accused of buying the corpses of prisoners, homeless people and the mentally ill in Russia - a charge he denies.

 

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Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Conversational-ist

Phone books also work.

 

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Subways

Here's Leif Harmsen's idea [ via Spacing Wire ] of what the expanded subway system should look like. The Eglinton line (construction was actually started and then halted by the Harris gov't) looks so sensible, it's amazing the damn thing hasn't already been built.

His pink, cross-town express from the Junction to the Zoo is somewhat suspect. Who's going to ride a train that mostly cuts through sparse suburbia? The Spadina line has always been under-used because it runs through the empty wastelands. And why didn't he complete the Sheppard line?

Where would you build a line?

 

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Monday, November 14, 2005

Canadian Music History Moment

I was walking on the street last week and found some photos lying on the sidewalk. These were no mere personal photos, but the record of an important moment in Canadian Music History ...

Hit Song in Winnipeg 1991



Ben Darvill and Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies were discussing lyrics.

DARVILL: It just doesn't make any sense.

ROBERTS: Superman never made any money?

DARVILL: He wasn't just some sad sack.

ROBERTS: He was!

DARVILL: He worked at The Daily Planet. The Daily Planet is basically the New York Times. He's a reporter at the paper of record. He's good friends with the star reporter, Lois Lane. If you worked at the New York Times and were good friends with the star reporter who looked like Veronica Lodge and the two of you had some ongoing sexual tension, would you complain?

ROBERTS: It's not about me, it's about Superman.

DARVILL: Would you complain, would you complain? Huh?

ROBERTS: It's context. This guy has all of these powers, but he chooses a simple life instead of becoming ruler of the planet.

DARVILL: If he wants the simple life, why didn't he become a janitor? You say that he never made any money ... he's probably not making a CEO-sized wad, but working at the Times you'd pull in a pretty decent salary.

ROBERTS: That's not the point.

DARVILL: It is the point. Your song makes him sound like Mother Freakin' Theresa, but he's not. He hasn't sacrificed comfort. It's a good life.

ROBERT: But he could have had more.

DARVILL: We could all have more. There's no trick to making money if that's all you want to do. You could have more, I could have more.

They leave the bar.

FANS: We love you, Cowboy Junkies!

ROBERTS: Crash Test Dummies, you dopes!

FANS: YAY!

DARVILL: And then this bit about him forgetting Krypton. He was just a baby, he didn't even remember Krypton except for the Marlon Brando holograms.

ROBERTS: I'm pointing out that he's alone. Being Superman is lonely.

DARVILL: Why have you mentioned Tarzan so much?

ROBERTS: He's the contrast ...

DARVILL: He's not even a superhero. He's freakin' Tarzan. You can't compare Superman to Tarzan. It's apples and oranges. Why don't you compare him to Batman?

ROBERTS: Batman?

DARVILL: Batman is sort of Superman's opposite. He doesn't have any powers and his true identity, Bruce Wayne, is a freakin' gazillionaire.

ROBERTS: Uhhh ...

DARVILL: I'll tell you what's not going to make any money ... this song. It's not going to make a dime. Here, I came up with some lyrics of my own. It asks, "What if Jesus was Superman?"

ROBERTS: What?

DARVILL: Just shut up and sing it.

Epilogue:
Superman's Song was a hit in the summer of 1991. [ left ] Brad Roberts and Ellen Reid celebrate the success of the single.

Other Moments in Canadian History:
Mutant Bear Attack in Upper Canada
The Biomechanical Insectoid Dionne Quintuplets
Trudeau's Long Walk in the Snow
Emily Carr vs. The Group of Seven Mutoid Dwarfs

Also, for music history videos, check out Yacht Rock at Channel 101.

 

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Sunday, November 13, 2005

Or if you really want to create brand awareness, pay Rob Ford to walk down the street and shout out your company name with his big freakin' mouth.

 

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Saturday, November 12, 2005

Fetch

Amber treats Zack to some fun.

 

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Friday, November 11, 2005

On the Blogs ...

Accordian Guy celebrates 4 years.

Workin' at the car wash, yeah ... [ Alan Hunt ]

Woman: We're having souffle. [ Apt. 606 ]

Talking Point. [ Bunny McIntosh ]

If you are a horny geek, this is the page for you. [ boingboing ]

Look Who's back. [ The Register ]

 

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Now Playing!

The Dark Hours opens today in select theatres across Canada. I went to the pre-screening at the Paramount last night and it's a good film to see on the big screen.

It's pretty intense & tightly-wound and is actually a bit better than A History of Violence ... without the budget, Cronenberg or Hollywood actors (though Aidan Devine appears in both).

The website (one of my recent projects) now features a list of festival appearances and awards the flick has received.

Be sure to check out the trailer, take a look at the characters and check back for movie news. Go see the flick or I won't get paid!!!

This reminds me that a super sci-fi geek-out post is long overdue ...

 

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I Want to Ride My Bicycle ...

Comments from the cycling post:

DARRYL:
You people are all crazy. The trick is to avoid ALL busy streets with lots of traffic and lots of parked cars. My first week back on a bike 3 years ago I was clocked by a car door and that was it. No more College, Yonge or Bloor. Nothing but side streets for me, with little or no traffic. Most have speed bumps which helps immensely. The scenery is better anyway. Plus you can improvise your route and see a new section of Toronto every day, even if you have the same destination every day. And if I do intersect with a major street, I'm SUPER-defensive. I'd rather stay alive then expect car drivers to change their ways -- they never will.

Yeah, which is why it's so frustrating to see the city dragging its heels on projects like this one.

EVA:
Actually, you know what's even more stupid. When I was taking driving lessons, I was told to watch for cyclists who suddenly swerve on the street because some other car opened their door abruptly. And it's true, I do that on my bike (while yelling), because it just seems safer to merge into the other lane in ongoing traffic than to crash right into a car door. But for the driving along cars it's REALLY scary to suddenly have a bike swerve in front of them, and then the problem just gets bigger and bigger, because the car behind the other car will also have to brake, and ALL because ONE idiot doesn't check before opening a door.

If I'd been driving an SUV instead of a bike, that guy would have lost his door ... oh, wait ...

victor immature:
One day, I smashed directly into the door of a Renault and folded it back which I was passing on the right on my MOUNTAIN BIKE OF STEEL. If they make hummers, then make MOUNTIAN BIKE HUMMERS!thank-you. My BALLOON THIGHS OF MEAT will attest to the veracity of my exscapade. (Which is like the name of an SUV.)

CRAZY BIKER CHICK:
Sigh. I particularly hate SUVs because even when you think you are travelling in a line that will avoid doorings, they are both extra wide and have a tendency to park badly (away from the curb) Did the driver get charged? Pay you for damage to your bike? Apologize?

No, he just stood there, speechless in his fancy hair and suit. My bike was fine because my arm bore the brunt of the impact. I was late for a meeting and in a bit of shock and thought I was fine, so I just left. Which is why it's important to note:

SHAWN:
Did you call the police? Always call the police when you are doored. They can be charged.

Bloody hell, there's nothing I would have liked better than to see some smarmy SUV owner get charged.

SEANIED:
Dude...they are called barbells...or how about some pushups...a little meat protein and your arms might not look quite like my 84 year old grandmas!!!!

It's called lean muscle. LEAN MUSCLE!!!

PEZ GIRL:
damn SUVs. I bet it it stands for Stupid Un-nice Vehicle.

 

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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Customer Dis-service

Shaw tries to filter torrents -- legal or not.

 

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Eye Like It ... But ...

Quikie Review: Pretty But Empty

Eye Weekly's new design is three weeks old. It only took them fourteen years to come up with a look that isn't complete crap. I never liked the layout of eye, it never sold the mag as an urban weekly. But the new design?

I love it.

The new eye looks great. Before eye existed there was a weekly called Metropolis with a design that was sharp and urban. This looks good in the same way. It looks smart. Over the years, NOW has employed the terrible strategy of trying to dumb-down (witness the absolutely crappy Upfront page) and they've left the field wide open for eye to try and fill the smart weekly niche. And they should. The new design is a step in the right direction.

This design also gives them room to grow. It's a starting point that opens up a lot of creative possibilities. There was nothing to work with before. One of the problems with the Toronto Unlimited brand is that it's so obviously a conclusion instead of a beginning. There are no possibilities with TU.

BUT ...

A slick, new look is not going to get me to pick up the weekly because they've stripped out most of the content. Eye serves the country's largest city, yet there's the same amount of writing (or less) than you'd find in similar publications in much smaller towns. There's not much more content than you'd find in the Ithaca Times and that paper serves a town of 40,000. So what's the point of picking up eye when you have three transit papers and NOW to choose from? What's the grabber? A pretty face? I don't think so ...

It's a step in the right direction, but why pick up the paper when you can get all the best city coverage from a sharp writer like Weisblott?

From the comments:

MARC:
Funny you mention Metropolis--because the goal there was to make it more of a "family" publication, geared to boomers with kids ... different priorities than the subterranean world NOW was obsessed with at the time. (It was a bit grimier than it is today.) They resorted to distributing Metropolis with Pizza Pizza orders before it died.

When they started up at eye, the perceived audience was definitely older than what they're going for now. We can blather about blogs all we want, but the information and opinion-oriented sites aren't generally being read by those of undergrad age--and even a bit older. Their web is more about online diaries and instant messaging. The new eye seems to be catering to that crowd.

Village Voice in NYC is having its own identity crisis with new ownership ... one of the things stated was that they're aspiring to go beyond just rehashing last weekend's internet news. They seem to be pretty conscientious of that given the kind of content at Eye (capital "E" now) that survived the overhaul. But it's hard to achieve much when writers get dog food rates--hence shorter articles, and fewer of them.

Which works out fine, given how the revenues from things like personal ads and apartment rental listings are gone. She-males still seem to like ink and paper ads, though. Why would that be?

TRAWNA:
The she-males clients' wives and girlfriends can't do a History on a piece of newsprint?

MARC:
... the hooker business has to get with the 21st century eventually.

 

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Stay on Sandwich!

 

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Good-bye Stats, It's Been Nice ...

There, it's gone. The stats counter with the pop-ups has been removed. What a bunch of jerks; they didn't even respond to my complaint. I will add a new stats counter later, I mostly use it to track back links.

Here's where things sat at the time of deletion:

Hits since Sept 2002: 147969
Busiest Day: May 25, 2005 (1258)

If you don't like the pop-ups, avoid Webstats4u.

From the comments:

DANIEL recommends this service instead.

 

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Photo Essay

Tony Peirce went to Vancouver and posted a Matthew Good concert photo essay.

 

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Another One Done ...

Blogging was light last month because I was working on the 2005 World Congress of Science Producers. It wraps up today in Tokyo.

From the comments:

EVA: I'm so excited about there existing such a thing as "World Congress of Science Producers". The world isn't lost yet. Just Kansas.

 

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Dialogue

New conversation post over at Simple Splendor:

Matt: No, no ... how do you become a diplomat?

Amy: It really all depends - there's a few different ways. Why do you need it exactly?

Matt: Do you remember that girl on Jeopardy last night? I figured if I got diplomatic immunity I could assassinate her...

Amy: Matt! She was like, twelve!

 

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Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Thorsell Caves

PAVED reports that the ROM condo project is dead.

 

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101

If you haven't watched the latest episode of Yacht Rock at Channel101, it's a good one. McDonald, Loggins and the rest of the gang join Vincent Price in a seance to contact the ghost of Koko in an effort to bring Michael Jackson over to the smooth side.

Other than that, the rest of the shows are pretty lame (I have slowly grown to hate 101: The Musical) and the brightest light on the schedule, MESI, was cancelled.

 

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Monday, November 07, 2005

Watch Out

There's a memorial tonight at Queen & Gladstone for Toronto cartoonist and cyclist, Ryan Carriere, who died last week on Halloween at that intersection after being hit by a truck. [ via Sally McKay ]

In the meantime, the budget for the city's bike plan is frozen.

Here's what the damage from a collision looks like (left). Last month I was clipped by an opening door at Queen & John. The vehicle was a big SUV with dark, tinted windows so there was no warning when the door popped open and sent me flying. Figures that it was an SUV, eh?

 

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Dialogue

Maria posted a new conversation:

MARIA: She had had implants and I wanted to see how they felt. I really can't tell you if they feel any different, since I haven't touched any other boobs.

CONNIE: What about your own?

 

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It's a terrible idea for so many reasons, all covered here.

 

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Friday, November 04, 2005

Last Stretch

Many of the people who were regulars in Dan Ryan's Runfit class have the same story, "I hit a rough spot in my life, found Dan's class and it helped me get through it." I'm no exception. Dan was a healer and the fitness class he led as a volunteer three times a week for nearly two decades was a place where you could get healthy and enjoy yourself; you could forget about your problems and just enjoy the moment. The Wednesday class (which his husband, Mark, still leads) was the highlight of my week for almost five years. We used to joke that it was like a cult because of its loyal crowd of regulars.

Runfit combines running and aerobics in a gym. I was too timid to try Dan's class for an entire year because it looked too difficult (I was out-of-shape) and Dan appeared scary with his military brushcut and extreme leg muscles. But in reality, Dan was one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met.

Last year when Dan had to give up his classes because of his health, we threw him a big party to thank him. At that time, he'd encouraged (er ... badgered ...) a bunch of us to take the fitness instructor course and now we're leading classes and I try to channel some of Dan everytime I lead a class. His class was much more than a fitness class and we miss that quiet sense of community he created.

He meant a lot to a great number of people and will be very sadly missed.

 

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Thursday, November 03, 2005

Nature's X-treme Wonder Presents ...

Previously on World's Scariest Animal Relationships:

1 - Brad & Jenn
2 - The Pitch
3 - Angelina
4 - Confrontation

The story picks up forty years later ...



JENNIFER ANISTON THE BEAR: They're late.

BRAD PITT THE LION: It's five minutes to seven. You were early.

JENN: They should be here by now.

BRAD: We said we'd meet at seven!

JENN: It's seven now.

BRAD: It's five minutes to seven.

JENN: What time is it?

BRAD: I told you. It's five minutes to seven!

ANGELINA JOLIE THE BEAR: 'Ello, you two. I 'ave some bad news for you.

JENN: You're late.

BRAD: No she's not. She's right on time.

ANGELINA: Aaron Carter the Frog can't make it. He's at the doctor right now. They think he broke his hip.

BRAD: Fuck. We need four to play.

JENN: We don't need four.

BRAD: You need four people to play computer cards.

JENN: We can play with three.

BRAD: How the fuck are we going to play with three?

JENN: We'll just play.

BRAD: We can't!

ANGELINA: I can give Ernie Hudson a dingle. He'll fill in.

BRAD: The Ghostbuster? He's a thousand years old!

ANGELINA: You're no spring chicken.

JENN: Who's Ernie Hudson?

BRAD: The Ghostbuster!

JENN: What?

BRAD: THE FUCKING GHOSTBUSTER!

JENN: Ernie Hudson?

BRAD: YES!

ANGELINA: Shall I ding him?

BRAD: Maybe we should just dial into the Global Superconciousness.

ANGELINA: Oh, come on! Do you think we'd win a single hand against the Superconciousness?

BRAD: That's what the kids do.

ANGELINA: You're not a kid, sunshine. Besides, kids don't play computer cards.

JENN: Sunshine makes me happy.

BRAD: Well, I don't want to play fucking computer cards with fucking Ernie Hudson the Ghostbuster.

ANGELINA: Fine. Let's skip this week.

BRAD: Another week? We've been skipping a lot of weeks because of Aaron. Can't you find a healthier fourth?

ANGELINA: He's a good player.

BRAD: He's got a colostomy bag and it reeks.

ANGELINA: I don't even know if I want to keep playing cards.

BRAD: Why don you just fucking ... nnahhh, nah ... uughhhh ...

ANGELINA: What is it?

BRAD: ... uuuuuhhhhnnnnn...

JENN: Brad?

ANGELINA: Oh my god, I think he's having a stroke!

JENN: BRAD?

ANGELINA: Dial 911!

JENN: BRAD!!! BRAD!!!

ANGELINA: Jenn, dial for help. Dial for help.

JENN: BRAD!! NOO!! BRAD!!!

ANGELINA: Dial for help, Jenn ... dial ...

 

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Wednesday, November 02, 2005

US Franchise

Hey, its Blamblog Milwaukee! [ via Maria ]

 

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Not Again ...

It's time again for the annual crapfest. Peruse the list of nominees at yet another occurence of the Canadian Blog Awards.

Were any lessons learned from last year? Nope! Instead of coming up with an effective process, the awards are being dragged on for over a month and two rounds. For CANADIAN blog awards. Imagine the show they put on in Norway.

Like last year, the list of nominees is still infested by far too many -- mostly right-leaning -- political blogs. There are two categories for political blogs, which is pointless because just about every blog in the other categories is political as well. If I had the magicalistic powers of Jesus Ronald Wilson Reagan H. Christ, I would force all long-winded political bloggers to switch from politics to porn until they learned their lesson! That would liberate the Canadian blogosphere from the tyranny of the knee-jerk. It would be like the end of Tron, when everything gets bright and shiny. And with porn, at least the spooging would be honest.

This blog is nominated in the Humour category again, but I want the bloody nomination withdrawn. WITHDRAW MY NOMINATION, DAMMIT! I don't want to be associated with some of the bigots and creeps on that list. Eeechhh. I mean, come on, look at this:

I believe the family is the cornerstone of society. I feel the manner in which my federal government continues to allow the sexual exploitation of our children undermines that. Why do they feel so adamant that a 45 year old man should be able to have sex with a 14 year old girl? I also feel that taking marriage away from a husband and wife and giving it to sodomites was a mistake. I believe that marriage should remain solely within the realm of religion.

Sodomites? WTF? That childlike musing is from one of the nominees for 'Best Post'.

Political blogs can be useful if they actuall engage in real issues, but most of these are variations of the same, simplistic personal declarations we've seen over and over and over ... yap, yap. Until the Canadian Blog Awards finds a way to better reflect the diversity in the blogosphere, it's a pointless exercise.

 

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Retrocity

Jenn emails:

To celebrate All Hallows Eve, not only are all 7 members of the nothin'
but a cappella, all hits-of-the-80s outfit Retrocity going to dress up as
Magnum P.I., we have chosen today to launch our new website!

Howl with ghoulish glee for Retrocity.ca!

You can also check out their next gig, Dec. 9 at Club 279.

 

10:31 AM , # ,

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Taking Stock

I've been on istockphoto.com for a month now and my collection is slowly growing (43 images; I haven't had much spare time this past month). There's been a trickle of downloads (21), and it'll be interesting to see if that grows.

Here's a sample (left) of what you'll find in my collection. Right now I'm building a collection of faces -- business people, medical staff, etc.

I still think it's a cool site. It mixes a bunch of web conventions -- ratings, blogs -- in a way that's useful and fun. The rating system is done in the style of those 'Rate My ...' sites, so it's easy to leave a compliment when you stumble across something good.

So go buy my crap, already!!!

 

1:33 AM , # ,

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