Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Boo hoo
Poor Saddam Hussein. He's being "mistreated". Solution: let him starve himself. He'll do us all a favor and the funds for the trial can be used towards rebuilding the country that he, in fact, starved.
Monday, February 13, 2006
The News: now you can laugh AND cry
Is it me or is the "normal" news getting just a tad edgier and ever so slightly more irreverent?
For example, a recent article from msn entertainment suggests Christina Aguilera might be getting "less dirty". That's hilarious. Who do they think they are, the Onion? "Big changes are afoot in the media." You read it here first.
For example, a recent article from msn entertainment suggests Christina Aguilera might be getting "less dirty". That's hilarious. Who do they think they are, the Onion? "Big changes are afoot in the media." You read it here first.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Hitchens does it again
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Another slam dunk
Yet another reason google keeps rockin'. Google understood why I don't like instant messaging.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
hot chocolate
I think they put crack in Tim Horton's hot chocolate. I've been having cravings for it for the last week or so. There's a Tim Horton's just about everywhere you turn, including across from my building. Strangely, every time I go to the store in front of my building the music playing is always Peter Gabriel's "Shaking The Tree".
Monday, February 06, 2006
You knew this was coming
This kind of headline was inevitable.
UPDATE: They've since changed the headline from "Resentment over Shiite justice in Sunni areas" to "Sunnis feel heavy hand of Shiites".
I wonder why.
UPDATE: They've since changed the headline from "Resentment over Shiite justice in Sunni areas" to "Sunnis feel heavy hand of Shiites".
I wonder why.
Friday, February 03, 2006
airport lounge
Since Lemon went on her anti-fundamentalist tour de force, I thought I'd recall a certain situation, because I, too, have been thinking about some of the issues addressed in her post for quite some time. The fires were rekindled around the time of the renewed French secularity laws which forbade any obvious religious symbols from being worn in French public classrooms. This caused all sorts of controversy because the people most inconvenienced by this law were young Muslim women. In practice, I think at least some may have welcomed it. At the time, France was labeled as intolerant, heavy-handed and regressive. The debate is still open about that particular verdict. One thing to note, before you read further, is that in France and other non-theocratic states, there is public debate about religion and belief systems. I've already insulted at least a good number of fundamentalists by suggesting that at least one Muslim woman was genuinely happy to take her Hijab off (no, it isn't the Muslim Barbie doll), so fundamentalists are welcome to stop reading here.
I was forced to think about religion, belief and intolerance, on December 23rd 2005, when I was at the Toronto International Airport on my way to France with my parents. Hence, France and Islam are à propos, though on a microcosmic scale, and circumstantially. I've mentioned many times to a few different people that I would write about the trip, so consider this a start.
We were sitting in the departure lounge. I had the latest issue of Rolling Stone, having picked it up because it contained an article by Chris Rock critiquing his top 25 favorite rap albums. Strangely, my mom didn't want to read it. There was also an interesting article on Jay-Z, confirming his talent as the pre-eminent rap businessman, but not convincing me that I should listen to his music. I distinctly remember reading an piece on the insurgency in Iraq (also in Rolling Stone), the author's interactions with an anonymous insurgent seeming implausible.
At that instant, I looked up to see my parents staring past me with a puzzled look I've seldom, if ever, seen on their faces. I turned to see, behind me, two dozen people, bowing, their heads to the ground and asses in the air, in front of the window, outside of which was parked the Airbus 340 that would take us all to Paris. Consternated, my father noted, not without sarcasm, that it looked like everyone was praying to Air France. (The praying position is called Ruk'u and Airbuses aren't required.) Apparently, my family was sitting in what had effectively become the Muslim area of the airport lounge. Prior to that moment, I had noticed lots of people wearing head scarves, skullcaps, and tunics, but there was nothing really odd about it: after all, we were in multi-cultural Toronto, in an airport, en route to a hub for passengers going the middle east. I hadn't felt awkward in the slightest until I had witnessed the intense praying, the complete concentration. I'm accustomed to the bizarre and I welcome the exotic. But this was different. I remember thinking that this was a kind of self-segregation. That it was incredibly ostentatious, boastful even, as if they were attempting to show off the depth of their faith. Cynically, my mother wondered whether the prayers were for Allah to grant us a safe trip across the Atlantic, or whether we were witnessing the last prayers of suicide bombers. This obviously wasn't reassuring even if I really didn't believe the people in question were Al-Qaeda.
The scene was so impressive that I wanted to take a picture. My mom strongly disapproved: I suspect she, like me, believed that it would somehow be taking advantage of people in a state of submission and would thus be disrespectful. But my voyeuristic tendencies were in full tilt. I argued that I could be very discreet about it due to my spy size digital camera. But I chickened out. This was a shot that I regret not making. I felt I'd been unwillingly thrust into ethnography and hit the ground running. But I couldn't make my mother upset on the eve of a trip to France. And I genuinely felt a tinge of guilt. Taking a picture would have been tantamount to running up along behind them and slapping their ass cheeks in quick linear succession, like a scale progression on a human vibraphone. I've heard some North American natives feel that taking pictures of people takes a bit of their souls away... That isn't what I thought at the time. I didn't feel anything was sacred: I just felt weird.
In France, we explained what had happened to Sausage. He thought that it was too precious a scene to go unremembered and, humorist that he is, made up for my inaction by cooking up this:
If you think this is an anti-muslim post, think again. This is simply a demonstration of how religious ritual is often absurd to those who don't take part in it. The current post happens to be about Muslims at an airport, but I could have talked about Christians, Jews and Bhuddists. If anything, I hope you appreciate the profoundly secular (perhaps even ecumenical?) nature of my point of view.
Please feel free to add comments. Unlike some governments, I won't censor them, or behead people for posting them.
I was forced to think about religion, belief and intolerance, on December 23rd 2005, when I was at the Toronto International Airport on my way to France with my parents. Hence, France and Islam are à propos, though on a microcosmic scale, and circumstantially. I've mentioned many times to a few different people that I would write about the trip, so consider this a start.
We were sitting in the departure lounge. I had the latest issue of Rolling Stone, having picked it up because it contained an article by Chris Rock critiquing his top 25 favorite rap albums. Strangely, my mom didn't want to read it. There was also an interesting article on Jay-Z, confirming his talent as the pre-eminent rap businessman, but not convincing me that I should listen to his music. I distinctly remember reading an piece on the insurgency in Iraq (also in Rolling Stone), the author's interactions with an anonymous insurgent seeming implausible.
At that instant, I looked up to see my parents staring past me with a puzzled look I've seldom, if ever, seen on their faces. I turned to see, behind me, two dozen people, bowing, their heads to the ground and asses in the air, in front of the window, outside of which was parked the Airbus 340 that would take us all to Paris. Consternated, my father noted, not without sarcasm, that it looked like everyone was praying to Air France. (The praying position is called Ruk'u and Airbuses aren't required.) Apparently, my family was sitting in what had effectively become the Muslim area of the airport lounge. Prior to that moment, I had noticed lots of people wearing head scarves, skullcaps, and tunics, but there was nothing really odd about it: after all, we were in multi-cultural Toronto, in an airport, en route to a hub for passengers going the middle east. I hadn't felt awkward in the slightest until I had witnessed the intense praying, the complete concentration. I'm accustomed to the bizarre and I welcome the exotic. But this was different. I remember thinking that this was a kind of self-segregation. That it was incredibly ostentatious, boastful even, as if they were attempting to show off the depth of their faith. Cynically, my mother wondered whether the prayers were for Allah to grant us a safe trip across the Atlantic, or whether we were witnessing the last prayers of suicide bombers. This obviously wasn't reassuring even if I really didn't believe the people in question were Al-Qaeda.
The scene was so impressive that I wanted to take a picture. My mom strongly disapproved: I suspect she, like me, believed that it would somehow be taking advantage of people in a state of submission and would thus be disrespectful. But my voyeuristic tendencies were in full tilt. I argued that I could be very discreet about it due to my spy size digital camera. But I chickened out. This was a shot that I regret not making. I felt I'd been unwillingly thrust into ethnography and hit the ground running. But I couldn't make my mother upset on the eve of a trip to France. And I genuinely felt a tinge of guilt. Taking a picture would have been tantamount to running up along behind them and slapping their ass cheeks in quick linear succession, like a scale progression on a human vibraphone. I've heard some North American natives feel that taking pictures of people takes a bit of their souls away... That isn't what I thought at the time. I didn't feel anything was sacred: I just felt weird.
In France, we explained what had happened to Sausage. He thought that it was too precious a scene to go unremembered and, humorist that he is, made up for my inaction by cooking up this:
If you think this is an anti-muslim post, think again. This is simply a demonstration of how religious ritual is often absurd to those who don't take part in it. The current post happens to be about Muslims at an airport, but I could have talked about Christians, Jews and Bhuddists. If anything, I hope you appreciate the profoundly secular (perhaps even ecumenical?) nature of my point of view.
Please feel free to add comments. Unlike some governments, I won't censor them, or behead people for posting them.
Monday, January 23, 2006
It makes me sad
Never have I been so confident and comfortable with my own political views. Yet I remain incapable of aligning them successfully to any of the major parties' platforms in the upcoming federal Canadian election. But this is not what is most troubling. Most of all, I find it disconcerting that in our “vibrant” democracy, my vote counts less than someone who happens to live in another riding blessed with a smaller population. It's also weird that my riding is regarded as a Liberal fiefdom, just like others are Conservative, its population's views as immovable and static as the concrete of their condos.
Electoral reform was first brought up in the current (thankfully almost over) campaign by Jack Layton, then touched on by Stephen Harper, then brushed aside by Paul Martin. Jack's NDPs, of course, have the most to gain by proportional representation, which is why Stephen Harper talked about Senate reform, and why Paul Martin put his head in the sand. However, not even Jack had the political savvy to underline that proportional representation is more democratic. That's because...
Why I can't vote for the NDP
Jack has an activist mentality. For him, democracy is something you lobby for and siphon off towards your "core constituents”. Layton doesn't even want to be prime minister, he'd rather criticize from the sidelines, which is what he'll end up doing. Listen to his response to Steve Paikin during the second CBC debate: he couldn't say that he wanted to be Prime Minister. If he were to be elected, you'd see an instant “Oh shit!” reaction, though he'd probably actually say “For goodness' sake”. Someone prove to me that Jack Layton is not an obsessive compulsive activist lunatic. Look at him and listen to him. He is self-absorbed by his own rhetoric. He gesticulates in Hitlerian fashion. The sound of his own voice titillates him to near orgasm.
His platform consists of paying lip service to traditional socialist ideas, and transforming our health care into a value instead of admitting that it's a service. Ultimately, Jack is still a demagogue: the kind that narrows in on the people he thinks he can brainwash.
Why I can't vote for the Liberals
The biggest demagogues in this election are the Liberals. They will say absolutely anything to get into power: they are definitely power sluts. I agree with both the Conservatives and the NDP when they say that it's time for change, that the Liberals are the party of entitlement and corruption. The attack ads and anti-American stance is annoying. The Chrétien/Martin Liberal party has attracted the worst kind of politician: the Machiavellians and the demagogues. Paul Martin pisses me off with his scratchy-voice fake passion pleas. He's going to save Canada? My ass. Please, if you could just clarify what you want to do if you get elected, you might have a chance of convincing me.
Actually, probably not. Re-electing the Liberals would mean that Canadians approve of a government that accepts small amounts of corruption as matters of operational cost and a diminishing role in international affairs, although on the latter item Martin has done better than Chrétien.
On a positive note, Canada is now one of 3 countries in the world to recognize gay marriage. It should be proud of this. But is this because of the Liberals? Their arms had to be twisted. Wasn't it the judicial system that upheld homo rights? So let's get real when we talk about “progressive” Canadians uniting under a Liberal banner. Sounds like flattery to me.
Why I can't vote for the Conservatives
Throughout this campaign, Stephen Harper has, in my opinion, been the most convincing of all the leaders. I find myself agreeing with many of his ideas in terms of fighting gun crime, government accountability, addressing the fiscal imbalance etc. But I still don't like him. Unlike many Canadians, I don't think he'll build an Aryan super-soldier camp in Alberta and start a national gay bashing campaign. Having said that, he has not convinced me that he would, in fact, stand up strongly for gay and other minority rights in the way that I think the leader of Canada should. I can't vote for a social conservative. I can't vote for a party that has not squarely addressed the points for which it is criticized most strongly and frequently. Even the Liberals have done some of that.
Conclusion
So, as you can see, I can't vote for any of the big parties. I don't even know if I can vote for the Greens because in the past they've attracted crazies from both left and right. Where's that Natural Law party when you need it?
Electoral reform was first brought up in the current (thankfully almost over) campaign by Jack Layton, then touched on by Stephen Harper, then brushed aside by Paul Martin. Jack's NDPs, of course, have the most to gain by proportional representation, which is why Stephen Harper talked about Senate reform, and why Paul Martin put his head in the sand. However, not even Jack had the political savvy to underline that proportional representation is more democratic. That's because...
Why I can't vote for the NDP
Jack has an activist mentality. For him, democracy is something you lobby for and siphon off towards your "core constituents”. Layton doesn't even want to be prime minister, he'd rather criticize from the sidelines, which is what he'll end up doing. Listen to his response to Steve Paikin during the second CBC debate: he couldn't say that he wanted to be Prime Minister. If he were to be elected, you'd see an instant “Oh shit!” reaction, though he'd probably actually say “For goodness' sake”. Someone prove to me that Jack Layton is not an obsessive compulsive activist lunatic. Look at him and listen to him. He is self-absorbed by his own rhetoric. He gesticulates in Hitlerian fashion. The sound of his own voice titillates him to near orgasm.
His platform consists of paying lip service to traditional socialist ideas, and transforming our health care into a value instead of admitting that it's a service. Ultimately, Jack is still a demagogue: the kind that narrows in on the people he thinks he can brainwash.
Why I can't vote for the Liberals
The biggest demagogues in this election are the Liberals. They will say absolutely anything to get into power: they are definitely power sluts. I agree with both the Conservatives and the NDP when they say that it's time for change, that the Liberals are the party of entitlement and corruption. The attack ads and anti-American stance is annoying. The Chrétien/Martin Liberal party has attracted the worst kind of politician: the Machiavellians and the demagogues. Paul Martin pisses me off with his scratchy-voice fake passion pleas. He's going to save Canada? My ass. Please, if you could just clarify what you want to do if you get elected, you might have a chance of convincing me.
Actually, probably not. Re-electing the Liberals would mean that Canadians approve of a government that accepts small amounts of corruption as matters of operational cost and a diminishing role in international affairs, although on the latter item Martin has done better than Chrétien.
On a positive note, Canada is now one of 3 countries in the world to recognize gay marriage. It should be proud of this. But is this because of the Liberals? Their arms had to be twisted. Wasn't it the judicial system that upheld homo rights? So let's get real when we talk about “progressive” Canadians uniting under a Liberal banner. Sounds like flattery to me.
Why I can't vote for the Conservatives
Throughout this campaign, Stephen Harper has, in my opinion, been the most convincing of all the leaders. I find myself agreeing with many of his ideas in terms of fighting gun crime, government accountability, addressing the fiscal imbalance etc. But I still don't like him. Unlike many Canadians, I don't think he'll build an Aryan super-soldier camp in Alberta and start a national gay bashing campaign. Having said that, he has not convinced me that he would, in fact, stand up strongly for gay and other minority rights in the way that I think the leader of Canada should. I can't vote for a social conservative. I can't vote for a party that has not squarely addressed the points for which it is criticized most strongly and frequently. Even the Liberals have done some of that.
Conclusion
So, as you can see, I can't vote for any of the big parties. I don't even know if I can vote for the Greens because in the past they've attracted crazies from both left and right. Where's that Natural Law party when you need it?
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
2 cases of neglect
More subway stories.... Sorry, I can't think of anything better right now. Also I just wanted to try out a new internet browser software derived from Mozilla Firefox called "Flock" (www.flock.com). So far it seems neat because blogging is built into the default features of the application.
Anyway, I was coming back home today when out of the corner of my eye I see 10 year old emaciated south asian looking kid get into the subway alone at Eglinton station. We're in the front car, and he immediately runs to the front to watch giddily as the subway leaves the station and down the tunnel. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
Then, as if possessed by demons, he proceeds to act like a chipmunk in the most earnest and outrageous way possible, completely oblivious to his surroundings. He was very, very loud, chirping and jesticulating wildly, while continuing to stare out the window and down the tunnel. The rest of the passengers didn't seem to notice or were embarassed or didn't know what to do because it was obvious that Stewart Little was possibly mentally retarded or had something akin to Tourette's syndrome or was hallucinating that he was a species of rodent. Whatever he was on, hamster boy stared at me with sad eyes as I got out of the train at Sheppard.
Who lets a kid with mental problems onto the subway alone? Who gives a 10 year old hallucinogens?
Less concerning, but also sad, was the golden retriever I noticed attached to a railing in front of the revolving doors of the Sheppard Centre (the picture in this post). The owner was nowhere in sight and the poor dog was desperately sniffing everyone that came within 5 feet of him.
What do you think about this, peeps? I think both these incidents are examples of neglect.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
subway grooming
I haven't posted much in the last little while... I'm either becoming boring or less full of myself. However, I do have to mention something that bugged me today, and I'm hereby warning you that I may sound slightly embittered. I'm not sure if I'm more sensitive to the behaviour of the general public than before, but I got really pissed when someone started to cut their nails on the subway.
Tonight I was staring at advertising when to my left I heard the click, click, click of someone cutting their nails with a nail cutter. It was a middle-aged middle-class lady, and after cutting she started filing. Her sense of style was difficult to describe but she looked like she could have eagerly shopped at the "Rainbows 'n' Things" store inside Yonge-Sheppard subway station, which mostly sells "Cheap Handbags 'n' Shit".
What is wrong with people? I was thinking I should start plucking my nosehairs on the subway. Or shaving. That's appropriate!
Also, apparently the new fad is to slow down to a snail's pace and plant yourself in the subway door threshold when there's a million people trying to get on behind you. WTF? People: move your fat Galapagos turtle asses out of the way so others whose heads aren't in the clouds can pass you. No one else cares if you've had an epiphany reading the subway map.
Tonight I was staring at advertising when to my left I heard the click, click, click of someone cutting their nails with a nail cutter. It was a middle-aged middle-class lady, and after cutting she started filing. Her sense of style was difficult to describe but she looked like she could have eagerly shopped at the "Rainbows 'n' Things" store inside Yonge-Sheppard subway station, which mostly sells "Cheap Handbags 'n' Shit".
What is wrong with people? I was thinking I should start plucking my nosehairs on the subway. Or shaving. That's appropriate!
Also, apparently the new fad is to slow down to a snail's pace and plant yourself in the subway door threshold when there's a million people trying to get on behind you. WTF? People: move your fat Galapagos turtle asses out of the way so others whose heads aren't in the clouds can pass you. No one else cares if you've had an epiphany reading the subway map.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
"Anthropologie"
I took a trip to California in 2003 and I finally dug up the pics. Here's one of the more banal shots but...what a name for a retail chain.
Ooohh it's French, it must be must be sophisticated. And cultured. It has to be, right? By definition. Are the sales people leathery hominid beatniks who try to upsell the latest mammoth hair loincloths and fossils? (Will they kill me with blow darts if they find out I've taken this picture, thereby stealing their souls?)
I have an idea! I'll call my café "Scatologie", and it'll be hip, swank and earthy.
Ooohh it's French, it must be must be sophisticated. And cultured. It has to be, right? By definition. Are the sales people leathery hominid beatniks who try to upsell the latest mammoth hair loincloths and fossils? (Will they kill me with blow darts if they find out I've taken this picture, thereby stealing their souls?)
I have an idea! I'll call my café "Scatologie", and it'll be hip, swank and earthy.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
art
It's amazing what you can find in old backups. In the past I've always been eager to wipe out my hard disk and try the latest linux distributions, so I've got a pile of CDs and DVDs full of old pics, mp3s and miscellaneous stuff that I couldn't be bothered to organise.
The pictures are especially exciting to retrieve. Like this one, a shot of the only piece of art I've ever made in the last 20 years. It was a collaboration with my old roomate. We used to drink a lot of tea, and always bought tea bags because the loose leaf version of English Breakfast wasn't as good. The black Prince of Wales tea bags form the Chinese character for tea on the red background of English Breakfast sachets.
Feel free to criticise.
Who eez zat gigolo on ze street ...
Once in a while I watch a French variety show on TV5 called "Tout le monde en parle". Usually, there's nothing worse than a French variety show, but this one has proven to be excellent most times I've tuned in. I found out there's a Quebecois counterpart too and, not to be un snob, it doesn't do the French one justice because the hosts aren't as funny. Thierry Ardisson and Laurent Baffie don't butter up their guests like Jack Asstor's garlic bread: instead they ask probing and interesting questions. "Why do you generalise and stereotype?", "What's your greatest film?" or "Are those tits real?"
The show easily beats any anglophone talk show I've ever seen. However, I can't say I'm a talk show expert. Beyond being generally humorous, TLMEP also has a novelty factor that anglophone pop culture afficionados can appreciate. The show's musical interludes and segues are selected in a corny and awkward yet interesting manner that only mainland Europeans seem to have mastered. For example, Nene Cherry's "Buffalo Stance" was used throughout the last show to introduce new guests on set.
Also, if you care to test your French and watch, you'll notice what I'll call the French clap. No, it's not an STD, though there could be a French version of that too. Whenever the audience in any French TV show gets fired up they start clapping in unison like the bass beat in Boney M's "Ra Ra Rasputin". It doesn't matter if the music that's playing is actually Destiny Child's "Independent Women" or Beethoven's 5th, the clap is inescapable.
Last week's guests included:
To round out the roster, there was Francois Mitterand's personal chauffeur, who apparently never had a driver's license and wrote a couple of books. The womanizing of the former president was discussed in significant detail, but not his politics. It's a variety show on state-sponsored TV, I guess you can't expect too much.
Clocking in at 3h, each episode is too long to watch. However, this is also an advantage because the part that you catch will probably have a real discussion instead of the typical 2 minutes of banality followed by a commercial break. Few issues seem to be taboo: music, tv, movies, art, business, politics. Even sports, apparently. Former Manchester United striker turned actor, Eric Cantona, famous for his kung fu moves directed at fans, was a guest on yesterday's episode, which will be re-broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday. So was Canadian Paul Anka. How weird is that? Throw in figure skater Philippe Candeloro and you've got yourself a party.
I promise not to post about talk shows ever again.
The show easily beats any anglophone talk show I've ever seen. However, I can't say I'm a talk show expert. Beyond being generally humorous, TLMEP also has a novelty factor that anglophone pop culture afficionados can appreciate. The show's musical interludes and segues are selected in a corny and awkward yet interesting manner that only mainland Europeans seem to have mastered. For example, Nene Cherry's "Buffalo Stance" was used throughout the last show to introduce new guests on set.
Also, if you care to test your French and watch, you'll notice what I'll call the French clap. No, it's not an STD, though there could be a French version of that too. Whenever the audience in any French TV show gets fired up they start clapping in unison like the bass beat in Boney M's "Ra Ra Rasputin". It doesn't matter if the music that's playing is actually Destiny Child's "Independent Women" or Beethoven's 5th, the clap is inescapable.
Last week's guests included:
- Robert Menard, a big shot for Reporters without Borders in France, who discussed the U.N. conference on freedom of information, which was held in... Tunisia. Better than Saudi Arabia, but still a horrible choice for a host nation for that event.
- Francois Ozon, director of "Swimming Pool", "8 women" and "5 x 2" who will release a new movie called "Le temps qui reste" (The time that remains).
- Russian pop bimbos, taTu, a topic of one of Genet's posts.
- French rocker Jean-Louis Aubert, who released a new album called "Ideal Standard" which happens to be an internationally ubiquitous brand of commercial toilets and urinals. What happened to American Standard?
- Aziz Senni, with his book "L'ascenseur social est en panne ... j'ai pris l'escalier." (The social elevator is broken... I took the stairs)
- Charles Pellegrini, "Banlieues en flamme." (Suburbs on fire)
To round out the roster, there was Francois Mitterand's personal chauffeur, who apparently never had a driver's license and wrote a couple of books. The womanizing of the former president was discussed in significant detail, but not his politics. It's a variety show on state-sponsored TV, I guess you can't expect too much.
Clocking in at 3h, each episode is too long to watch. However, this is also an advantage because the part that you catch will probably have a real discussion instead of the typical 2 minutes of banality followed by a commercial break. Few issues seem to be taboo: music, tv, movies, art, business, politics. Even sports, apparently. Former Manchester United striker turned actor, Eric Cantona, famous for his kung fu moves directed at fans, was a guest on yesterday's episode, which will be re-broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday. So was Canadian Paul Anka. How weird is that? Throw in figure skater Philippe Candeloro and you've got yourself a party.
I promise not to post about talk shows ever again.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Christopher Hitchens in Toronto
Wednesday I went to Holy Blossom Temple to hear Christopher Hitchens speak. There are many layers of weirdness in that, which I hope to cover later in this post. For those who don't know Hitchens, he is a well known left wing thinker who shocked everyone when he supported America's war on Iraq. I've read, and enjoyed, many of his articles (but I haven't read his books). Hitchens is a contrarian. I think I have penchant for contrarians much like Genet (and the real Genet) has a penchant for the underdog. I think that's in great part why I like Michel Houellebecq too. The two tendencies might be related. I find myself agreeing with almost everything Hitchens says, which is kind of scary, though yesterday I was willing to challenge him on some points.
He didn't seem to think the absence or presence of WMDs should have made a difference in the decision to remove Hussein from power and even characterized the current focus on WMDs as stupid. I don't think it's stupid, even though I agree that it may not really matter in the end: the removal of tyrants should make everyone happy. Nevertheless, it remains true that many people were convinced that WMDs were the big reason for the war. They think this because that's what they were fed by the government and the media, regardless of the overriding humanitarian and political aspects of regime change. The immanent threat was emphasized by the Bush administration, not the eradication of Baathism, that ghastly “marriage of stalinism and fascism”, as described by Hitchens. At best this is confusing. Not everyone is smart and an expert on the Iraq war(s) like Lemon, therefore things need to be explained. If they have merit, your plans will stand up to public scrutiny, Wolfowitz.
Hitchens was introduced to the audience by David Frum, the son of Barbara Frum, famed Canadian journalist and broadcaster. He was also a white house speechwriter, and notoriously, the author of the phrase “Axis of Evil” that everyone loved (to hate). Almost incidentally, because he had to actually remind himself of it, Hitchens touched on Iran, the third member of the axis after Saddam's Iraq and North Korea. He admitted that a few years ago, Iran was to him a glimmer of hope in the region because reformists were gaining power peacefully there. So much for that. If I remember correctly, a large portion of the flak Bush (and Frum by proxy) received was because of the inclusion of Iran as a part of the axis of evil. Today it would seem that Frum is vindicated somewhat.
David Frum was nevertheless annoying, even though he said great things about Hitchens, about his courage to go to hot spots in the world, which he called physical courage, and his moral/intellectual courage to take an unpopular stance, and a seemingly contradictory one. Frum's fake modesty was in full force when the rabbi introduced him as a public intellectual and he tried to distance himself from this, claiming that “public intellectual sounds like public lavatory” and that such things (intellectual discourse? thought?) should best be done in private. I wonder what he was doing speaking to a packed synagogue.
This brings me to the issue of listening to intellectuals ramble on in place of religious worship. I find it really fantastic that intellectuals, even those whose opinions about organised religion aren't positive, are invited to speak by clerics in a religious establishment. I've never heard of this being done in any other religious denomination. I can't picture this event happening in a church, a mosque, or other temple of any kind so props to the Jewish faith here: never have I more wanted to wear a kippah. (The event was funded by the deep pockets of Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz. It is not lost on me that I'm jobless partly because of Schwartz's Onex, which controls Cineplex Entertainment, which acquired my former company, leading to my layoff. I don't care: I was able to come to this event without having to get up early the next day to go to work. And I was going to change jobs anyway. This has been a major digression). To add more, the event was open to the public, so goyims like me were allowed in, and we did so in large numbers, even causing a line-up outside the temple.
There were awkward moments. Starting with me, of course. I rarely go into any religious establishment, so this was bizarre. I had a very dark blue jacket of some rough material that could pass off as vaguely military if colored differently (a Gap purchase). If there is ever to be a Canadian middle-class white suicide bomber, I felt as if I looked like one. And I'm French, which makes me that much more likely to be an anti-semite and a bomber in Canada. There was security present at the door, and I was relieved when they asked me to open my bag and show them the contents.
France was, as it always is in anglo discussions of war, the object of discontent, if not ridicule. David Frum tangentially brought up the topic of the riots in France and enthusiastically suggested this was a sign of islamo-facism. David, islamo-facism is so far a negligible cause of the violence in France. (We'll see if this remains the case.) The jobs are scarce enough, the social barriers (racism at the forefront) are high enough, and the media is pervasive enough to explain the violence without the added impetus of radical Islam. This week's Economist is with me on this one. I think he mentioned this only because it was a mostly Jewish audience. Some comments were made about the French government's inability to deal with the problem, which everyone laughed at. Hitchens said something about France lacking an exit strategy. Newsflash: La Courneuve isn't Fallujah. Is that why it's funny? I wonder how many people in the audience were French.
I hope to post something else about the France situation (racism, secularism, anti-semitism, riots, socialism, integration or lack of it) later.
The most awkward moment came when Hitchens, not caring one bit that he was in a synagogue, a contrarian to the core, praised some kind of secular institution in the middle-east and welcomed further secularisation. Part of the audience started clapping. I would have clapped too, except that we were in a synagogue. People really have no tact. Both David Frum and the rabbi clambered to recover from this apparent faux-pas by, respectively, suggesting that truths can be discovered between the lines of the most sanguinary religious texts, and that the “new” old bibles of Holy Blossom were interesting reading. Sorry guys, I don't think you're going to convince him.
He didn't seem to think the absence or presence of WMDs should have made a difference in the decision to remove Hussein from power and even characterized the current focus on WMDs as stupid. I don't think it's stupid, even though I agree that it may not really matter in the end: the removal of tyrants should make everyone happy. Nevertheless, it remains true that many people were convinced that WMDs were the big reason for the war. They think this because that's what they were fed by the government and the media, regardless of the overriding humanitarian and political aspects of regime change. The immanent threat was emphasized by the Bush administration, not the eradication of Baathism, that ghastly “marriage of stalinism and fascism”, as described by Hitchens. At best this is confusing. Not everyone is smart and an expert on the Iraq war(s) like Lemon, therefore things need to be explained. If they have merit, your plans will stand up to public scrutiny, Wolfowitz.
Hitchens was introduced to the audience by David Frum, the son of Barbara Frum, famed Canadian journalist and broadcaster. He was also a white house speechwriter, and notoriously, the author of the phrase “Axis of Evil” that everyone loved (to hate). Almost incidentally, because he had to actually remind himself of it, Hitchens touched on Iran, the third member of the axis after Saddam's Iraq and North Korea. He admitted that a few years ago, Iran was to him a glimmer of hope in the region because reformists were gaining power peacefully there. So much for that. If I remember correctly, a large portion of the flak Bush (and Frum by proxy) received was because of the inclusion of Iran as a part of the axis of evil. Today it would seem that Frum is vindicated somewhat.
David Frum was nevertheless annoying, even though he said great things about Hitchens, about his courage to go to hot spots in the world, which he called physical courage, and his moral/intellectual courage to take an unpopular stance, and a seemingly contradictory one. Frum's fake modesty was in full force when the rabbi introduced him as a public intellectual and he tried to distance himself from this, claiming that “public intellectual sounds like public lavatory” and that such things (intellectual discourse? thought?) should best be done in private. I wonder what he was doing speaking to a packed synagogue.
This brings me to the issue of listening to intellectuals ramble on in place of religious worship. I find it really fantastic that intellectuals, even those whose opinions about organised religion aren't positive, are invited to speak by clerics in a religious establishment. I've never heard of this being done in any other religious denomination. I can't picture this event happening in a church, a mosque, or other temple of any kind so props to the Jewish faith here: never have I more wanted to wear a kippah. (The event was funded by the deep pockets of Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz. It is not lost on me that I'm jobless partly because of Schwartz's Onex, which controls Cineplex Entertainment, which acquired my former company, leading to my layoff. I don't care: I was able to come to this event without having to get up early the next day to go to work. And I was going to change jobs anyway. This has been a major digression). To add more, the event was open to the public, so goyims like me were allowed in, and we did so in large numbers, even causing a line-up outside the temple.
There were awkward moments. Starting with me, of course. I rarely go into any religious establishment, so this was bizarre. I had a very dark blue jacket of some rough material that could pass off as vaguely military if colored differently (a Gap purchase). If there is ever to be a Canadian middle-class white suicide bomber, I felt as if I looked like one. And I'm French, which makes me that much more likely to be an anti-semite and a bomber in Canada. There was security present at the door, and I was relieved when they asked me to open my bag and show them the contents.
France was, as it always is in anglo discussions of war, the object of discontent, if not ridicule. David Frum tangentially brought up the topic of the riots in France and enthusiastically suggested this was a sign of islamo-facism. David, islamo-facism is so far a negligible cause of the violence in France. (We'll see if this remains the case.) The jobs are scarce enough, the social barriers (racism at the forefront) are high enough, and the media is pervasive enough to explain the violence without the added impetus of radical Islam. This week's Economist is with me on this one. I think he mentioned this only because it was a mostly Jewish audience. Some comments were made about the French government's inability to deal with the problem, which everyone laughed at. Hitchens said something about France lacking an exit strategy. Newsflash: La Courneuve isn't Fallujah. Is that why it's funny? I wonder how many people in the audience were French.
I hope to post something else about the France situation (racism, secularism, anti-semitism, riots, socialism, integration or lack of it) later.
The most awkward moment came when Hitchens, not caring one bit that he was in a synagogue, a contrarian to the core, praised some kind of secular institution in the middle-east and welcomed further secularisation. Part of the audience started clapping. I would have clapped too, except that we were in a synagogue. People really have no tact. Both David Frum and the rabbi clambered to recover from this apparent faux-pas by, respectively, suggesting that truths can be discovered between the lines of the most sanguinary religious texts, and that the “new” old bibles of Holy Blossom were interesting reading. Sorry guys, I don't think you're going to convince him.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
clueless
A post from JR reminded me of my very poor observation skills and general naïveté. When I was in high school I'd occasionally get called a BATI MAHN by some Jamaican kids. I thought they were calling me "batty", like I was crazy. Crazy wasn't anything out of the ordinary in my school so I didn't think much of it. Maybe a year or two ago, there was some public outrage at some homophobic dancehall artists and I finally put it together. I was being called a butt man. BATI = BUTT. Who knew?
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
More graffiti
More graffiti, this time from Greece in August 2005. I saw some of the most bizarre/funny comments all over Athens. Not the prettiest scribbles, but some were definitely funny and witty. A lot of them were anarchic or proclaimed freedom of expression etc. A lot of English. Some were of the ethereal-bimbo-freedom-kumbaya variety. Here's a representative sample.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Detail oriented graffiti
Graffiti can be an art. It's occasionally really good and/or requires a lot of skill. Unfortunately, the vast majority of it really sucks: these are largely illegible "tags" that gangs, angst ridden teenagers and other assorted nerds scribble on buildings or vehicles.
But even the crappy kind of graffiti is fun sometimes. Like the detail oriented bit of vandalism on the right. This picture was taken at Spadina station in Toronto at some point in the year 2004 (you see the "dina" of Spadina). The black bit of iconography represents a streetcar. And much like streetcars are tagged, this symbol of a streecar is too. Cute.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Yet more evidence that the world is getting smaller...
I went to a "meetup" tonight for MySQL. I figured that it would be a good way to get useful, practical information about who uses this software and maybe see what kinds of employment opportunities existed for people with experience using and programming that software, i.e. me.
The organiser had created a whole bunch of meetups for different web design areas and combined them. About 25 nerds met at the Fiddler's Green in downtown Toronto. It turns out the whole thing was largely about him and his take on "the industry" (something he couldn't really pin down, frustratingly), and in his case it was all about search engine optimisation. So we heard him ramble on for the better part of painful, painful hour. Overall, it was a pretty useless gathering, harmless but not quite as informative or fun as I had hoped.
Most interesing, I did meet a friend I had lost contact with in grade 9. It was quite funny because his physical appearance and mannerisms were unmistakable, even after more than 15 years. In junior high, he was a pretty scrawny, ectomorphic kid, and now he's got a 5 o'clock shadow, a deeper voice and the early signs of a beer gut. Our conversation was brief, but he seemed like a nice guy. He started a web design company and wanted to hire a "web integrator" for a decent amount of cash. I wasn't interested in the job and that was the closest I got to tangible job search results in the evening.
I probably won't be going back to this meetup, but maybe I'll sign up for a random one and see who turns up...
The organiser had created a whole bunch of meetups for different web design areas and combined them. About 25 nerds met at the Fiddler's Green in downtown Toronto. It turns out the whole thing was largely about him and his take on "the industry" (something he couldn't really pin down, frustratingly), and in his case it was all about search engine optimisation. So we heard him ramble on for the better part of painful, painful hour. Overall, it was a pretty useless gathering, harmless but not quite as informative or fun as I had hoped.
Most interesing, I did meet a friend I had lost contact with in grade 9. It was quite funny because his physical appearance and mannerisms were unmistakable, even after more than 15 years. In junior high, he was a pretty scrawny, ectomorphic kid, and now he's got a 5 o'clock shadow, a deeper voice and the early signs of a beer gut. Our conversation was brief, but he seemed like a nice guy. He started a web design company and wanted to hire a "web integrator" for a decent amount of cash. I wasn't interested in the job and that was the closest I got to tangible job search results in the evening.
I probably won't be going back to this meetup, but maybe I'll sign up for a random one and see who turns up...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)