my sun sign is taurus - and the cliff notes to traits for that sign basically say stubborn, methodical and materialistic.
i'll agree with stubborn (though i do feel that i have an open mind) and i do confess a certain penchant for doing things in a particular order and in a particular way. however, i think i'm getting over or moving past materialism.
why do i think that? well - for years (many many years!) i've been a packrat. i loved to keep things 'just in case' i ever needed them. silly things like pretty giftwrap, perfume boxes and old nailpolishes just because i loved their colours. (long ago i got rid of the perfume boxes, but i still do keep giftwrap and grotty old nailpolish bottles) i'm not saying i'm beginning a wholesale purge of my home and cherished items, i do love my pretty things and won't stop loving them, but i'm slowly seeing signs that i'm beginning to be able to let go.
this shock of recognition came over the past few days - i went through several boxes of cd's (we're talking upwards of 400 discs) that had not been unpacked for a couple of moves. i love music. love it so much. period. and previously, it was unheard of for me to leave my music trapped in a box and basically a struggle to get to (though the boxes had been opened and i had pulled discs from the depths). what odd feelings when this realization sunk in.
this past weekend, not only did i finally unpack the discs - but i also made a GIANT pile of discs to try to sell and discs to toss. shocking, i know. as i unpacked them and begain putting them away (alphabetically, of course... then again, they were alphabetical in the boxes too!) i started culling away the stuff i NEVER listened to. the telling note was when i came across discs that i didn't even want to load onto my ipod. i figured if i hadn't listened the the album in years and i had no interest in hearing even one song off of it now - that it should go. even though some of these albums i had listened to extensively in high school and university and beyond. some i did hang on to for sentimental reasons (just COULDN'T get rid of my corey hart cd's!) but some were purged with out mercy (goodbye tragically hip, good riddance bootsauce, au revoir matthew good).
also, while going through the boxes, i found things i hadn't listened to in ages (eurythmics, rasputina, portishead, oasis, garbage, sisters of mercy and the brilliant abbey road album). so basically this exercise has allowed me to realize that i need not hang onto the things that i no longer have a use for. i need to look at the objects that populate my life with fresh eyes. do i actually need or want these things - or do i only THINK i need them because of the person i was when i first obtained them.
heady stuff for a pre-coffee tuesday morning - but you know, it's good.
so once again, music has propelled a change in my life (it brought me to toronto, it brought me to writing, it brought me to amazing jobs, great experiences and it has also brought me deep sadness and loss of employment) but this time the change is brought on not by the pursuit, but by the considered rejection. the taurean need for material goods is losing out in this case.
i no longer need what i do not want.
[music | bauhaus, "lagartija nick"]
7.04.2005
live8 post mortem
i really wasn't going to write anything more about live8 - but i have decided to have one final post on these shows.... and i will try to refrain from ranting about how unentertaining the canadian show was.
here comes the final rant - well, maybe : barrie, step right up onto the world stage. take your rightful place with pride along side paris, london, rome, berlin, tokyo, moscow and philadelphia. yeah - it's time the world got to know how mighty and influential barrie is! step right up and show the world gray and withered men standing on soapboxes, strangling harmonicas and lulling us all into a nice long slumber. the people of barrie and random hosers in attendance can be excused for all seeming just as excited as they would be at a trade-show conference showing new fishing tackle for the year. oh, sorry. my bad - that might of gotten a bit more of a rise out of the crowd.
ok - enough bitter and jaded frothy ramblings about the canadian version of live8. we all knew it wasn't going to be great, or even good. it will soon be forgotten (as it should) and we will all remember the amazing performances coming to the world out of hyde park in london. all day saturday i sat on the sofa and watched live8 feeds. first i watched on ctv, where before the local coverage started - i was treated to london and berlin - but mostly london. because let's face it - that's the show that geldof was really involved with & that's the show that had the real emotion and honesty. then after we stared seeing tom cochrane and bryan adams and co. my roommate discovered the live streaming feeds on aol.com.
that's right. live feeds from all of the participating cities. on demand. switching from one city to another. once again, i marvel at the power and scope of the internet. seriously - WHAT did we do before the internet? i'm 34 and i really don't know how i got through university without the internet.
so - through the computer - i got to see the performances live(ish) in london. got to see the crowd having an amazingly fun time (in stark contrast to the canadian crowd who couldn't even get excited about sam roberts). the brits seemed like they KNEW they were there to try to bring the focus of the g8 leaders to them. they seemed like they KNEW that even though the musicians were on the stage - that the real stars of the show were the crowd - that their enthusiasm and excitement and energy will help to propel this cry for change straight from the stadiums of the world into the ears of the politicians.
and the performances in london. from the expected amazing u2 (with an incredible sgt. peppers with bono & sir paul), to sincere and earnest band the killers, to mindblowing pink floyd, to a deliciously spine-chilling version of 'bittersweet symphony' with boring coldplay and scary richard ashcroft, to beautiful annie lennox, to political punchy sting, to goodtime boy robbie williams, to a patented show closing set by sir paul.
there were misses too. rest assured. basically whenever an artist attempted to gather crocodile tears by seeming to 'use' african children (hello mariah, and you too madonna). madonna was actually a real disappointment. she came on stage after bob geldof brought a young african woman out to the crowd - this young woman was one of the ones who survived the famine in ethiopia 25 years ago (possibly as a result of the original live aid concerts). there were some uncomfortable sensationalistic elements to geldof's gesture - but he is so sincere about what he does, one feels dirty charging him with emotional manipulation. however, one does not feel dirty about charging madonna with the same offense. what was she thinking? she started dragging this young woman around the stage like a prop. it was very uncomfortable and shameful.
other unnecessary performances were snoop dogg (actually urging the live8 crowd to 'wave your arms in the air, like you just don't care') and velvet revolver (no comment, other than scott weiland sadly really looks like he could also personally benefit from the end of poverty).
today i'm not going to talk about the reason these shows took place. by now, i hope, we all know why. and in a few days time the men who lead the most prosperous nations in the world will meet to talk about forgiving debt to african nations and to talk canada and the us into upping their foreign aid contributions to the 0.7% suggested by our own lester b. pearson 30 years ago. woefully, canada is no where near this amount, infact, with the exception of the united states, every other g8 nation is pulling their weight. why aren't we?
in the meantime - go here to see the shows in their entirety and go here to read a brilliantly british review of the london live 8 show.
[music | david bowie, "i'm afraid of americans"]
here comes the final rant - well, maybe : barrie, step right up onto the world stage. take your rightful place with pride along side paris, london, rome, berlin, tokyo, moscow and philadelphia. yeah - it's time the world got to know how mighty and influential barrie is! step right up and show the world gray and withered men standing on soapboxes, strangling harmonicas and lulling us all into a nice long slumber. the people of barrie and random hosers in attendance can be excused for all seeming just as excited as they would be at a trade-show conference showing new fishing tackle for the year. oh, sorry. my bad - that might of gotten a bit more of a rise out of the crowd.
ok - enough bitter and jaded frothy ramblings about the canadian version of live8. we all knew it wasn't going to be great, or even good. it will soon be forgotten (as it should) and we will all remember the amazing performances coming to the world out of hyde park in london. all day saturday i sat on the sofa and watched live8 feeds. first i watched on ctv, where before the local coverage started - i was treated to london and berlin - but mostly london. because let's face it - that's the show that geldof was really involved with & that's the show that had the real emotion and honesty. then after we stared seeing tom cochrane and bryan adams and co. my roommate discovered the live streaming feeds on aol.com.
that's right. live feeds from all of the participating cities. on demand. switching from one city to another. once again, i marvel at the power and scope of the internet. seriously - WHAT did we do before the internet? i'm 34 and i really don't know how i got through university without the internet.
so - through the computer - i got to see the performances live(ish) in london. got to see the crowd having an amazingly fun time (in stark contrast to the canadian crowd who couldn't even get excited about sam roberts). the brits seemed like they KNEW they were there to try to bring the focus of the g8 leaders to them. they seemed like they KNEW that even though the musicians were on the stage - that the real stars of the show were the crowd - that their enthusiasm and excitement and energy will help to propel this cry for change straight from the stadiums of the world into the ears of the politicians.
and the performances in london. from the expected amazing u2 (with an incredible sgt. peppers with bono & sir paul), to sincere and earnest band the killers, to mindblowing pink floyd, to a deliciously spine-chilling version of 'bittersweet symphony' with boring coldplay and scary richard ashcroft, to beautiful annie lennox, to political punchy sting, to goodtime boy robbie williams, to a patented show closing set by sir paul.
there were misses too. rest assured. basically whenever an artist attempted to gather crocodile tears by seeming to 'use' african children (hello mariah, and you too madonna). madonna was actually a real disappointment. she came on stage after bob geldof brought a young african woman out to the crowd - this young woman was one of the ones who survived the famine in ethiopia 25 years ago (possibly as a result of the original live aid concerts). there were some uncomfortable sensationalistic elements to geldof's gesture - but he is so sincere about what he does, one feels dirty charging him with emotional manipulation. however, one does not feel dirty about charging madonna with the same offense. what was she thinking? she started dragging this young woman around the stage like a prop. it was very uncomfortable and shameful.
other unnecessary performances were snoop dogg (actually urging the live8 crowd to 'wave your arms in the air, like you just don't care') and velvet revolver (no comment, other than scott weiland sadly really looks like he could also personally benefit from the end of poverty).
today i'm not going to talk about the reason these shows took place. by now, i hope, we all know why. and in a few days time the men who lead the most prosperous nations in the world will meet to talk about forgiving debt to african nations and to talk canada and the us into upping their foreign aid contributions to the 0.7% suggested by our own lester b. pearson 30 years ago. woefully, canada is no where near this amount, infact, with the exception of the united states, every other g8 nation is pulling their weight. why aren't we?
in the meantime - go here to see the shows in their entirety and go here to read a brilliantly british review of the london live 8 show.
[music | david bowie, "i'm afraid of americans"]
6.30.2005
word nerd.... redux
before today's post - i'd like to say that i'm in slight mourning for two reasons. the first is that one of my new fish that i bought for my fish pond has died... :( he was MIA at feedings the past little while and today the body surfaced.... poor little calico guy... and the second reason i'm sad today - i was supposed to be seeing a david usher show tonight (in hamilton) however the transit gods are not on my side today and i decided not to try to go in order to save the 100.00 i'd probably have to pay for a hotel in hamilton tonight.
ok - black armbands off - my moment of pity is over.
never let it be said that i don't finish what i've started.... as promised (threatened?) the other day - here is the continuation of my love of books/words/writing....
after reading all the horse stories i could get my hands on and using the spring board of the fantastical world of narnia my teens found me being beckoned by the white boney finger of horror... i moved onto the entire library of stephen king, the creepy and somewhat incest-centric v.c. andrews, small town and child obessed john saul, darkly seductive early dean r. koontz and i first discovered my beloved gothic prince edgar allan poe. with the exception of poe - i stopped reading these authors by about age 19. though i did read 'the green mile' in my mid-twenties.
then in my 2o's i hit my vampire novel phase. i think if a mass market book about vamps came out from about '90 - '96 - i owned it! working at a bookstore helped to feed that obsession - and make it more affordable. to this day - i have a great collection of hardcover vampire anthologies, but have gotten rid of most of the cheesy crappola... ;) and let me tell you - that genre has A LOT of cheesy crappola.
most recently i've been reading some novels that have been quite disappointing.... "our lady of the forest", "the changeling", "the gleemaiden" and the less disappointing "holy fools". before those i read "the blue roan child" and "the kite runner" (amazing and fabulous, the both of them). next, i think i'll be reading book three of the otori series and later this summer, i'm looking forward to the latest harry potter and this fall to the new neil gaiman.
and, of course, i am a non-fiction slut too. books about religion, ancient egypt and other civilizations, various historical topics and biopics (currently am reading a book about ghengis khan - can i be descended from the mongols, pretty please???)
any out there have any recommendations for me? i am always looking for new books and authors to blow my mind....
[music | the eurythmics, "here comes the rain again"]
ok - black armbands off - my moment of pity is over.
never let it be said that i don't finish what i've started.... as promised (threatened?) the other day - here is the continuation of my love of books/words/writing....
after reading all the horse stories i could get my hands on and using the spring board of the fantastical world of narnia my teens found me being beckoned by the white boney finger of horror... i moved onto the entire library of stephen king, the creepy and somewhat incest-centric v.c. andrews, small town and child obessed john saul, darkly seductive early dean r. koontz and i first discovered my beloved gothic prince edgar allan poe. with the exception of poe - i stopped reading these authors by about age 19. though i did read 'the green mile' in my mid-twenties.
then in my 2o's i hit my vampire novel phase. i think if a mass market book about vamps came out from about '90 - '96 - i owned it! working at a bookstore helped to feed that obsession - and make it more affordable. to this day - i have a great collection of hardcover vampire anthologies, but have gotten rid of most of the cheesy crappola... ;) and let me tell you - that genre has A LOT of cheesy crappola.
most recently i've been reading some novels that have been quite disappointing.... "our lady of the forest", "the changeling", "the gleemaiden" and the less disappointing "holy fools". before those i read "the blue roan child" and "the kite runner" (amazing and fabulous, the both of them). next, i think i'll be reading book three of the otori series and later this summer, i'm looking forward to the latest harry potter and this fall to the new neil gaiman.
and, of course, i am a non-fiction slut too. books about religion, ancient egypt and other civilizations, various historical topics and biopics (currently am reading a book about ghengis khan - can i be descended from the mongols, pretty please???)
any out there have any recommendations for me? i am always looking for new books and authors to blow my mind....
[music | the eurythmics, "here comes the rain again"]
6.29.2005
it's a nice day for a gay wedding...
last night the house of commons voted to adopt a piece of legislation that allows same-sex marriage across all of canada.... this make canada the 3rd country in the world to legalize gay marriage (belgium and the netherlands are the other two). the senate still needs to approve the bill to make this law - but it is anticipated to easily pass within days. you can read about it here and here and here and on just about every news site across the world.
leading up to this controversial vote, most of the courts of the provinces already overturned the ban against same-sex marriages and this put pressure on the government to bring the issue to vote federally. i wonder how this is going to play in my home province of alberta - not surprisingly, it's one of the provinces that still did not allow same-sex unions.
rarely (if ever) do i find the need or want to positively quote a prime minister of canada - but i just loved what prime minister martin said last night :
"We are a nation of minorities and in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don't cherry pick rights. A right is a right and that is what this vote tonight is all about," Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said shortly before the vote.
of course the conservatives are promising that they will look at this again if they win the next election - but really, what can he do federally, when 8 of the 10 provinces already allow marriages regardless of the sex of those seeking them.
and continuing in that vein, there is strong opposition to this bill. frankly, i don't understand the opposition. many religious groups are upset and believe that this bill is eroding the 'moral fibre' of our country - but canada's charter of rights allows for freedom of religion and no church will ever be forced to perform one of these ceremonies. i guess i really just don't know how two people who love each other and wanting to get married is a question of morality.
but for today - i am very happy to be living in a country that seeks to limit restrictions rather that entrench them.
[music | david usher, "st. lawrence river"]
leading up to this controversial vote, most of the courts of the provinces already overturned the ban against same-sex marriages and this put pressure on the government to bring the issue to vote federally. i wonder how this is going to play in my home province of alberta - not surprisingly, it's one of the provinces that still did not allow same-sex unions.
rarely (if ever) do i find the need or want to positively quote a prime minister of canada - but i just loved what prime minister martin said last night :
"We are a nation of minorities and in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don't cherry pick rights. A right is a right and that is what this vote tonight is all about," Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said shortly before the vote.
of course the conservatives are promising that they will look at this again if they win the next election - but really, what can he do federally, when 8 of the 10 provinces already allow marriages regardless of the sex of those seeking them.
and continuing in that vein, there is strong opposition to this bill. frankly, i don't understand the opposition. many religious groups are upset and believe that this bill is eroding the 'moral fibre' of our country - but canada's charter of rights allows for freedom of religion and no church will ever be forced to perform one of these ceremonies. i guess i really just don't know how two people who love each other and wanting to get married is a question of morality.
but for today - i am very happy to be living in a country that seeks to limit restrictions rather that entrench them.
[music | david usher, "st. lawrence river"]
6.28.2005
word nerd...
yes, i am a word nerd and i am happy to admit it.... i often read the dictionary for fun, in fact, i own 4 of them (my fave being the canadian version of the oxford dictionary) and when online, i find i'm on www.dictionary.com at least every couple of hours. (also has something to do with the fact that i'm a horrendous speller!)
when it came time to go to university - i chose a journalism school and i actually have a degree in journalism (!?!). as long as i can remember, i wrote. when i used to draw my little stick figures as a kid - i used to also write a sentence or two on each page saying what the picture was about. then i moved into telling strange nonsensical stories to whoever would listen (usually my dog sam) and in grade 5 i wrote a story about a little boy getting lost in a grocery store. and i remember the teacher calling me up after class and asking me who helped me write it. i know i was scared to death to be talking to the teacher (i was a very timid kid) but i told him the truth and said no one had helped me, that i wrote it myself. he finally then told me it was very very good. i wish i'd kept it. i'd like to have a copy of the first story i wrote that got a good review - but because the teacher freaked me out so much, i ripped it up and threw it out after i got it back. strange, the shame that adults can introduce to impressionable minds.... even when that shame shouldn't be owned by anyone... so, mr. sawchen - if you're ever reading this - i hope that you have stopped scaring kids out of their minds.
to this day i write. not just this silly little blog - but i used to write short stories, i have started no less than 3 novels (then again, who hasn't?), i occasionaly write essays for fun, but most of all, i write poetry and prose. i rarely share my stuff with others (after all, who really wants to read the diahreah of my brain) so i have no idea if it appeals to anyone but myself. :-) i do know that from time to time, i'll read back something i've written and think to myself that it is pretty good and that i'd be happy to buy it in a store.
but i digress - the topic i'm really exploring is how i ended up this way. besides the predictable answer of personality and predisposition - i believe it had a lot to do with the books i read as a gurl. that and the fascinating fact that my very first spoken word was "horse". that's right, there was no 'dadda' or 'mamma' for this one - no, i decided to say a word that must of been a shock to my parents! i'm sure they were hopeful that their first-born would say something vaguely related to them - instead my vocal voyage began with the utterance of word that described an animal that had nothing to do with my family (we didn't have horses until i got old enough to care for my first horse, jenny - quickly followed by sandy, sham, shyloh and shasta, yes, i have a thing for the letter 's'). my first word also began a life-long love affair with horses - to this day, nothing makes me happier than the smell of a horse or the touch of a velvety nose...
but back to those formative books. as a child, i recall reading lots of mother goose, various fairy tales and brother's grimm stories - just like most other children. one book in particular that took me from toddler to tween was "lamont, the lonely monster". it was published by Hallmark cards and i remember reading it over and over and over again. it was a pop-up book that told the story of a monster (lamont) who was in search of a friend. he ended up accidentally scaring people, which made him cry (he was a very sensitive monster) until he was told to check out nearby 'monster mansion'. there he encountered monster-racism as the witch wanted to cast a spell on him, the vampire promised to bite him and the ghosts evaporated rather than chat. lamont finally found a friend (uriah the heap) who it turned out was the occupant everyone in the mansion was afraid of - turns out the reason uriah was so scary was because he had a little bit of misplaced anger over the fact that he didn't have a friend either. all together now, "awwwww". :)
as i grew older my love of books and words remained strong. i remember spending hours with the silliness of shel silverstein, the family closeness of laura ingalls wilder , being inspired by strong and independent pippi longstocking, being entertained by intrepid nancy drew, understanding the promise of the black stallion, learning the heartache of equine love with my friend flicka and all the books written by mary o'hara and marguerite henry and becoming absorbed by the life-changing secrets of the chronicles of narnia.
i think this will be my first two-part blog entry... i've run on long enough today! but before i go - i want to write a quick thank you to my parents, my grandma's, aunt chris, aunt rianne and amazing teachers like mrs. gobel, mr. hamilton and mr. macfarlane for for seeing and nurturing that little seed of a writer/reader within me.
[music | jeremy fisher, "on par"]
when it came time to go to university - i chose a journalism school and i actually have a degree in journalism (!?!). as long as i can remember, i wrote. when i used to draw my little stick figures as a kid - i used to also write a sentence or two on each page saying what the picture was about. then i moved into telling strange nonsensical stories to whoever would listen (usually my dog sam) and in grade 5 i wrote a story about a little boy getting lost in a grocery store. and i remember the teacher calling me up after class and asking me who helped me write it. i know i was scared to death to be talking to the teacher (i was a very timid kid) but i told him the truth and said no one had helped me, that i wrote it myself. he finally then told me it was very very good. i wish i'd kept it. i'd like to have a copy of the first story i wrote that got a good review - but because the teacher freaked me out so much, i ripped it up and threw it out after i got it back. strange, the shame that adults can introduce to impressionable minds.... even when that shame shouldn't be owned by anyone... so, mr. sawchen - if you're ever reading this - i hope that you have stopped scaring kids out of their minds.
to this day i write. not just this silly little blog - but i used to write short stories, i have started no less than 3 novels (then again, who hasn't?), i occasionaly write essays for fun, but most of all, i write poetry and prose. i rarely share my stuff with others (after all, who really wants to read the diahreah of my brain) so i have no idea if it appeals to anyone but myself. :-) i do know that from time to time, i'll read back something i've written and think to myself that it is pretty good and that i'd be happy to buy it in a store.
but i digress - the topic i'm really exploring is how i ended up this way. besides the predictable answer of personality and predisposition - i believe it had a lot to do with the books i read as a gurl. that and the fascinating fact that my very first spoken word was "horse". that's right, there was no 'dadda' or 'mamma' for this one - no, i decided to say a word that must of been a shock to my parents! i'm sure they were hopeful that their first-born would say something vaguely related to them - instead my vocal voyage began with the utterance of word that described an animal that had nothing to do with my family (we didn't have horses until i got old enough to care for my first horse, jenny - quickly followed by sandy, sham, shyloh and shasta, yes, i have a thing for the letter 's'). my first word also began a life-long love affair with horses - to this day, nothing makes me happier than the smell of a horse or the touch of a velvety nose...
but back to those formative books. as a child, i recall reading lots of mother goose, various fairy tales and brother's grimm stories - just like most other children. one book in particular that took me from toddler to tween was "lamont, the lonely monster". it was published by Hallmark cards and i remember reading it over and over and over again. it was a pop-up book that told the story of a monster (lamont) who was in search of a friend. he ended up accidentally scaring people, which made him cry (he was a very sensitive monster) until he was told to check out nearby 'monster mansion'. there he encountered monster-racism as the witch wanted to cast a spell on him, the vampire promised to bite him and the ghosts evaporated rather than chat. lamont finally found a friend (uriah the heap) who it turned out was the occupant everyone in the mansion was afraid of - turns out the reason uriah was so scary was because he had a little bit of misplaced anger over the fact that he didn't have a friend either. all together now, "awwwww". :)
as i grew older my love of books and words remained strong. i remember spending hours with the silliness of shel silverstein, the family closeness of laura ingalls wilder , being inspired by strong and independent pippi longstocking, being entertained by intrepid nancy drew, understanding the promise of the black stallion, learning the heartache of equine love with my friend flicka and all the books written by mary o'hara and marguerite henry and becoming absorbed by the life-changing secrets of the chronicles of narnia.
i think this will be my first two-part blog entry... i've run on long enough today! but before i go - i want to write a quick thank you to my parents, my grandma's, aunt chris, aunt rianne and amazing teachers like mrs. gobel, mr. hamilton and mr. macfarlane for for seeing and nurturing that little seed of a writer/reader within me.
[music | jeremy fisher, "on par"]
6.24.2005
i think i'm addicted.....
damn these online quiszes.... but when i came across the quiz for buffy - my fave tv show of all time - i just had to play along.... actually i'm pretty surprised that i got buffy.... i was hoping i would of been drusilla....
Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!?
created with QuizFarm.com
happy pride weekend everyone (and another david usher show)! my friend kelly is also hosting an art show this weekend - she's asked me to read tarot for her guests on sunday...
[music | green day, "jesus of suburbia"]
 |
Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!?
created with QuizFarm.com
happy pride weekend everyone (and another david usher show)! my friend kelly is also hosting an art show this weekend - she's asked me to read tarot for her guests on sunday...
[music | green day, "jesus of suburbia"]
6.23.2005
all the yoga has gotten to me...
.... but then again....
i actually answered this quiz WITHOUT picking the responses with "evil" in them.... sheesh, wonder what i would of gotten if i did....
am i the only evil ghandi out and about? let me know your results....
[music | emm gryner, "dearg doom"]
6.22.2005
.... live 8 .... canadian style .....
ok - i couldn't resist posting this link - i laughed out loud when i read this line :
And a pundit on Macleans.ca predicted that the highlight of the day will be "when the bands gather onstage to fight over the last pair of false teeth."
[music | moist, "break her down"]
And a pundit on Macleans.ca predicted that the highlight of the day will be "when the bands gather onstage to fight over the last pair of false teeth."
[music | moist, "break her down"]
spoiled
today i went to my yoga class after taking monday's class off (i seemed to have injured myself in last friday's class & my neck was not going to allow me to bend in any manner other than 'robot'). when my instructor got there, i told her about my neck tenderness & she figured out which muscle i angered - then she showed me a series of stretches i could do to loosen my neck and make my upper back stronger (rwoar!).
by the time we finished, we were still the only two in the room & it was about 5 after the time class was to start. yey. i got a private class. it was so cool. we worked A LOT on downdog (my right side often bails out of the position and the arm doesn't straighten - it kind of bowes out). and i think i actually made some progress.
for me, yoga is largely a matter of mental power. if i stop thinking about what i'm doing - i cheat - but if i keep my mind engaged and think about what and why i'm doing - it's much better. also - i find yoga excellent to help break bad mental habits. 'i can't do that.' 'there's no way my shoulder will stretch that way.' 'is she kidding me? i'll fall if i do that!' i'm not saying that i need to be a mindless little self-cheerleader - but if i tell myself i can't do it before i even start - well, what do you think the result will be...
the downside of my private class today is that i am feeling it. holy, holy, am i feeling it! she warned me that the deep work we did might make me sore & i think she's right! and the best news of all - my tender neck only had one very bad moment... and i think it will feel much better tomorrow. ooh - one more thing - i also found out that i hyper-extend my knees. after 3.5 years of yoga, no instructor ever noticed or corrected me.... yey for private classes!
[music | gwen stefani, "what u waiting for?"]
by the time we finished, we were still the only two in the room & it was about 5 after the time class was to start. yey. i got a private class. it was so cool. we worked A LOT on downdog (my right side often bails out of the position and the arm doesn't straighten - it kind of bowes out). and i think i actually made some progress.
for me, yoga is largely a matter of mental power. if i stop thinking about what i'm doing - i cheat - but if i keep my mind engaged and think about what and why i'm doing - it's much better. also - i find yoga excellent to help break bad mental habits. 'i can't do that.' 'there's no way my shoulder will stretch that way.' 'is she kidding me? i'll fall if i do that!' i'm not saying that i need to be a mindless little self-cheerleader - but if i tell myself i can't do it before i even start - well, what do you think the result will be...
the downside of my private class today is that i am feeling it. holy, holy, am i feeling it! she warned me that the deep work we did might make me sore & i think she's right! and the best news of all - my tender neck only had one very bad moment... and i think it will feel much better tomorrow. ooh - one more thing - i also found out that i hyper-extend my knees. after 3.5 years of yoga, no instructor ever noticed or corrected me.... yey for private classes!
[music | gwen stefani, "what u waiting for?"]
new neil gaiman!
a new full-length novel coming in september.... yey! it's called "anansi boys" and you can read an exerpt here
i discovered neil through tori and still haven't worked my way through all of the *so far* wonderful sandman comics. tori inspired one of the sandman characters, delirum - but i haven't gotten that deep into them yet... i think if i'd discovered them as they were published - it would of been a very good thing.... i would of understood why some people called me 'death' when i wore my ankh. or at least it would of stopped me from explaining to them what the ancient egyptian symbology really meant!
[music | concrete blonde, "joey"]
i discovered neil through tori and still haven't worked my way through all of the *so far* wonderful sandman comics. tori inspired one of the sandman characters, delirum - but i haven't gotten that deep into them yet... i think if i'd discovered them as they were published - it would of been a very good thing.... i would of understood why some people called me 'death' when i wore my ankh. or at least it would of stopped me from explaining to them what the ancient egyptian symbology really meant!
[music | concrete blonde, "joey"]
6.21.2005
africa & wondering where the lions are...
i really hope that this this story isn't just anti-poacher propaganda and is to be believed.... go lions!
live8 organizers in canada have just completed a live press conference confirming that the show will be in barrie on july 2nd. tickets are available thursday at ticketmaster & tix are free, with a limit of 2 per person. from what i've heard of the line up, i'm not going. barenaked ladies. our lady peace, celine dion, blue rodeo, sam roberts. i know i've ranted about this before, but why isn't there a blend of canuck acts that are known internationally as well as only nationally....
i wish the purpose behind the gig all the best... i think it's amazing that canada is having a show and i believe it's important for paul martin to build on the aid-legacy that lester b. pearson began 30 years ago and to step up at the G8 conference in scotland in a few weeks to be a leader in this economic 'forgiveness'.
message from live8 organizers to the G8 summit leaders :
50,000 people are dying, needlessly, every day of extreme poverty.
[music | tori amos, "mother revolution"]
live8 organizers in canada have just completed a live press conference confirming that the show will be in barrie on july 2nd. tickets are available thursday at ticketmaster & tix are free, with a limit of 2 per person. from what i've heard of the line up, i'm not going. barenaked ladies. our lady peace, celine dion, blue rodeo, sam roberts. i know i've ranted about this before, but why isn't there a blend of canuck acts that are known internationally as well as only nationally....
i wish the purpose behind the gig all the best... i think it's amazing that canada is having a show and i believe it's important for paul martin to build on the aid-legacy that lester b. pearson began 30 years ago and to step up at the G8 conference in scotland in a few weeks to be a leader in this economic 'forgiveness'.
message from live8 organizers to the G8 summit leaders :
50,000 people are dying, needlessly, every day of extreme poverty.
At this year's G8 summit meeting, it is within your power to put an end to this tragedy. It is an extraordinary opportunity which it would be shameful to ignore. We urge you to take these 3 steps to make extreme poverty history...
- double the aid sent to the world's poorest countries,
- fully cancel their debts,
- change the trade laws so that they can build their own future.
[music | tori amos, "mother revolution"]
damn the man (and the woman too)!
yet another bone-headed idea brought to you by the canute-like record labels....
i especially love the bit that says :
The copy-protection technology is also far from ironclad. Apple Macintosh
users currently face no restrictions at all. What's more, if users go to a
web site to complain about the lack of iPod compatibility, Sony BMG will
send them an email with a "back door" measure on how to work around
the copy protection.
*sigh*
if record labels were bodies and if they were to speak to themselves - it might go something like this...
hands : what is that under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, it is the ass which belongs to the same body as you
hands : no, not possible - we don't know how to find our own ass!
brain : shut up, the both of you - i'm busy trying to figure out how to stick our head in this pile of sand and how to stem the tide that is about to burst forth from this dam that we've been trying to wish away for the past decade
hands : what's that brain? we can't hear you. hey, what's this under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, where have you gone?
ears : get your frickin fingers out of my orifices!
brain : oh, sweet blissful silence. just what the music industry needs. now we can go back to our main occupation - ignorning this dam that's about to sweep us all away.
[music | tegan & sara, "walking with a ghost"]
i especially love the bit that says :
The copy-protection technology is also far from ironclad. Apple Macintosh
users currently face no restrictions at all. What's more, if users go to a
web site to complain about the lack of iPod compatibility, Sony BMG will
send them an email with a "back door" measure on how to work around
the copy protection.
*sigh*
if record labels were bodies and if they were to speak to themselves - it might go something like this...
hands : what is that under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, it is the ass which belongs to the same body as you
hands : no, not possible - we don't know how to find our own ass!
brain : shut up, the both of you - i'm busy trying to figure out how to stick our head in this pile of sand and how to stem the tide that is about to burst forth from this dam that we've been trying to wish away for the past decade
hands : what's that brain? we can't hear you. hey, what's this under my touch?
ass : why, dear hands, where have you gone?
ears : get your frickin fingers out of my orifices!
brain : oh, sweet blissful silence. just what the music industry needs. now we can go back to our main occupation - ignorning this dam that's about to sweep us all away.
[music | tegan & sara, "walking with a ghost"]
6.19.2005
david usher : june 17, 2005
the road there
friday night was the long, long, long journey to mississagua on the ttc/local transit. man, who knew that leaving downtown toronto (queen/bathurst) at about 6:40pm would put you at the venue in mississagua at about 8:50pm. during the long slow trip i felt that i could of gotten to montreal faster.
arrival at the gates to the mississagua waterfront festival
the name makes it sounds like it might be half-way impressive, don't it? but really, let's not make it sound anymore grandiose than it actually is... i grew up in a town of about 5,000 people and our little annual community event was organized better than this one was...
back to the arrival - there is a line up of about 30 people waiting get in. should take no time at all, right? well - normally that would be true - but normal events don't have the yellow-shirted-community-spirit-ladies working the gate.
i swear, there were 6-8 people associated with the festival there, but only 3 of them were doing any work. 1 was giving passes to the pre-purchased folk, one was dealing with cash tickets and one was hard at work diligently putting the wrist bands on us once we moved through the twilight-zone of ticket ville. for an example : my friend and i arrived with a 20 each (admission was 12). the woman said, 'oh, you both have twenties and need change.' she turned around and made change out of her moneybelt for about 5 minutes. she turned back around and gave audrey her change. then she looked at me and said, 'oh, you'll need the same change.' the one saving grace to this all was that these folk were so damned nice - not at all like toronto where if someone needed to make change, they'd give you the evil eye, roll said evil eye and then spit on the change as they gave it back to you.
the show
was amazing, as always, of course. missed the opening act - but it seems like this was a bad one to miss. i normally skip out on the openers for david, usually it's just painful and gets the crowd energy feeling somewhat angry and hostile - but this one david actually commented on during his set. he too sounded pleasantly surprised that matthew barber was actually quite good.
the set actually included two moist songs - holy shit! i thought we'd never hear those live again... and i got to hear 'underground' live - which was such a happy thing for me since back in the day, the moist shows i went to never had it in the setlists. david's voice has really gotten so good. could really hear the difference in the way he sang 'silver'. it was so nice to see jeff & kevin and david having such an amazing time playing 'silver' can't believe that song is 11-years old now - where does time go?
and again, as always, david has such an amazing way of bringing the audience right in to feel like they're having the most intimate and close experience. he came into the crowd twice and again - didn't think we'd ever see that again! yey! the pic above is actually from the first time he climbed the barrier fence to play with the crowd. another thing he always does so well is to actually speak on stage. so many acts you go and see just rip through the songs and don't say a word. on david's forum, someone *waves to forestfire* said that she thought david might be working out some of the material for the pride show next weekend - too true - to paraphrase, "kevin young and stephen harper actually got married last night - which is a good thing. stephen harper needs a little gay marriage in his life"
the crowd had it's usual amount of annoying-ones. there is always a hand-dancer or two who insists on acting out the songs solely through the supposed-elegance of their wrists, and hands - in the process, sharing their creative expression with the 5-or-so rows of ppl behind them. friday night was no different - except for the hand-dancer in question was a very tall woman, with very very long arms. she got so freakin' excited at "black black heart" she pushed her way to the front right in front of david and then tried to steal the show (what with the hand-dancing and all). to make matters worse, for a while she was right beside me and she had this strange red & blue flashing pointy-star on her chest. so annoying. then again, maybe i'm just old and crunchy now... no, i don't think so - that woman was just annoying - no two ways about it.
david has several political statement songs in the live set and during one of the most poignant (devil by my side) there is a moment where he sings "i've seen war*pause*but it was only the television kind". some crowds are silent in that moment and are actually listening to the lyric and the sentiment - and some crowds just take the oppoutunity to scream and yell and say 'i love you!!!!!' in any quiet moment. david's reaction is always interesting. he's normally in a good mood about it and just goes with it - but i think on friday a bit of his heart broke when several people cheered really loudly at the 'war' line. that has to be one of the hardest things for an artist like david. he doesn't perform for kicks - he actually believes in what he's written.
the trip home
after waiting for about 20 minutes to use the bathroom in the nearest starbucks and vanilla bean frappe in hand we started waiting for the bus. and quickly discovered that this part of mississagua is pretty much like a very small town - kinda rough and absolutely filled with drunks and swarms of punk-ass kids (my god, i'm old, i think of them as kids!). after some mini-drama ("swat is here! adrien, swat is here! this shit is gonna be in the papers") we hopped in a cab and got back to kipling station - otherwise known as the edge of civilization. can't wait to do this all again in a few weeks for the show in hamilton!
setlist :
6.18.2005
random bits....
in honour of father's day weekend - what's up with people?
holy gods! new depeche album on the way! new tour scheduled! come to canada.... please?
par-tay at neverland... or the nearest adult-oriented establishment....
gwb and the right continue with the crusade against the un... after realizing that he can't just wish it away, he seems to have stepped up the bully tactics - an extension of the famous, "if you're not with us, you're against us" statement. unfortunately, if any member nation suspends it's dues, the un is forced to scale-back or suspend many of it's peackeeping efforts. guess you can do those sorts of things when you have mucho political capital still burning a hole in your pocket....
and in canada's version of governmental school-yard bullying - lawyers for the feds have urged gomery to clear chretien and martin of any wrong-doing. *sigh* why do you just know that after months of these hearings and mountains of research and testimony that this is just going to amount to nothing. it will be corruption as always on the hill. i'm no fan of the conservatives - but the liberals have been in power too long. they've become fat and complacent and entrenched and this comfort has bred an environment where they apparently see no issue with having ties to the mafia, to supplying juicy contracts to their friends and to looking the other way...
[music | david usher, "devil by my side"]
holy gods! new depeche album on the way! new tour scheduled! come to canada.... please?
par-tay at neverland... or the nearest adult-oriented establishment....
gwb and the right continue with the crusade against the un... after realizing that he can't just wish it away, he seems to have stepped up the bully tactics - an extension of the famous, "if you're not with us, you're against us" statement. unfortunately, if any member nation suspends it's dues, the un is forced to scale-back or suspend many of it's peackeeping efforts. guess you can do those sorts of things when you have mucho political capital still burning a hole in your pocket....
and in canada's version of governmental school-yard bullying - lawyers for the feds have urged gomery to clear chretien and martin of any wrong-doing. *sigh* why do you just know that after months of these hearings and mountains of research and testimony that this is just going to amount to nothing. it will be corruption as always on the hill. i'm no fan of the conservatives - but the liberals have been in power too long. they've become fat and complacent and entrenched and this comfort has bred an environment where they apparently see no issue with having ties to the mafia, to supplying juicy contracts to their friends and to looking the other way...
[music | david usher, "devil by my side"]
6.17.2005
pharaoh tutankhamun
tutankhamun's chair of gold
kind of bitter that this new tour (last tour of the objects was in the 70's) isn't hitting toronto. i was too young (and too much living in alberta) the last time tutankhamun's funerary objects came to north america. poor me, had to go to egypt to see them in person...
i'll meet you at lowther subway station.....
lowther? lowther? torontonians probably are wondering, 'wtf is she talking about?'
i recently came across one of the kewlest toronto sites i've ever found.... it is the secrets of the ttc... (sadly, yes, i can admit i'm quite the bloody git for thinking this is cool - but it really really is!)
this page gives you station maps so you can most efficiently plan your speedy escape from those who dwell under the ground... seriously - it's very cool. you should check it out.
armed with this knowledge i shall soon become an unstoppable force! anyone who travels with me on the ttc knows that i have a pretty good sense of where to get on trains in order to be dropped off right at the nearest escalator at the destination station. i don't know how i do it. i think it's my one talent. you know, like when people are being nice to you and say, "don't worry that you're not a painter/dancer/musician/etc, everyone has a talent." i think subway exit divination is my one talent. not to quibble - but when talent was being handed out, i think i got in the wrong line. maybe that's what my talent should of been - knowing which 'future earthbound talent' line to get into!
i digress.... where were we? oh yes, lowther station. this site also has quirky station facts such as spadina station was originally supposed to be called lowther - but in a cost-saving effort that i don't quite follow - it was named spadina in order to hire only 1 ticket-taker. (who knows). fact remains, it's cool to know spadina's REAL name. it's also cool to know that dufferin station has no known quirk.... yet.....
[music | jakalope, "feel it"]
i recently came across one of the kewlest toronto sites i've ever found.... it is the secrets of the ttc... (sadly, yes, i can admit i'm quite the bloody git for thinking this is cool - but it really really is!)
this page gives you station maps so you can most efficiently plan your speedy escape from those who dwell under the ground... seriously - it's very cool. you should check it out.
armed with this knowledge i shall soon become an unstoppable force! anyone who travels with me on the ttc knows that i have a pretty good sense of where to get on trains in order to be dropped off right at the nearest escalator at the destination station. i don't know how i do it. i think it's my one talent. you know, like when people are being nice to you and say, "don't worry that you're not a painter/dancer/musician/etc, everyone has a talent." i think subway exit divination is my one talent. not to quibble - but when talent was being handed out, i think i got in the wrong line. maybe that's what my talent should of been - knowing which 'future earthbound talent' line to get into!
i digress.... where were we? oh yes, lowther station. this site also has quirky station facts such as spadina station was originally supposed to be called lowther - but in a cost-saving effort that i don't quite follow - it was named spadina in order to hire only 1 ticket-taker. (who knows). fact remains, it's cool to know spadina's REAL name. it's also cool to know that dufferin station has no known quirk.... yet.....
[music | jakalope, "feel it"]
6.16.2005
you never know what's around the corner...
since getting laid-off in the merger-madness at sony bmg, i've been at home and on ei. not ideal - but there are great things about it too. i get to visit with friends during the day, i can go out and stare at my new fishies for as long as i want to, i can go to the gym/yoga during the day, i have time to write and i can watch movies! the not-so-good things are obvious : lack of income, not being able to purchase fabulous new clothes or shoes, less dinners out, a giant blank space on my resume - you get the idea.... :-(
to earn a little bit of extra $$ i've been starting to look at reading tarot for a fee - in the past, i refused payment, but accepted gifts - if the person felt so inclined. in fact, i have an artshow next weekend that i have been asked to be at as a reader - hopefully i'll get at least one reading there. also - one of the producers i worked with at sony said he liked my work and after i was laid-off, he asked me to help him get organized (receipts, bank statements, etc for his accountant). between the two, it's not nearly enough to keep me in my formerly-fahbulous lifestyle - but it lets me do things like not feeling guilty about ordering in thai food or getting my hair cut/coloured.
this morning i had a meeting with the new business manager (rick) for the producer-guy. the meeting went well, i got some direction on what exactly they will need from me and it looks like much more $$ will be coming my way for this. i will get set up on quickbooks and do that whole thang... certainly not going to keep the juices flowing or make my spirit sing - but hey, it's better than a kick in the teeth.
as part of the getting-to-know-you portion of the meeting, i told rick that my background includes many years in the music industry, several years as a project manager for website development projects and a background/interest in freelance writing. i guess i said the right things and had the right combo of skills and experience because rick told me about an idea he has for his music clients. without getting into detail - he asked me to consider developing a project plan for him for this potential new ebusiness opportunity. i would develop a phased plan, which would potentially also include content writing/editing, site administration and more. his idea is very ambitious and portions of it got me really excited. he has a large number of canadian and american music clients and this could be just the thing to open another door....
...or not....
before i get too excited about it all, i am realistic enough to know that most things in life don't turn out how you might think they will and this could easily turn into an ooey-gooey piece of gum on the underside of my desk. also, to be fair, i need to make sure that what i can offer him is what he expects and deserves. i tried to caution him, but goddess bless him - he was very positive, saying that in our brief conversation, i had already asked great questions and started pulling more detail out of the concept that he'd previously considered. i also have the new media terminology that he'd need to bridge that world and not get taken for a ride by some of these new media companies that prey on folk with great ideas but no experience/background in that dorky-clannish world.
we shall see what lies ahead.... yey for possibilities and for unseen blessings already on their way.
[music | tori amos, "never seen blue"]
to earn a little bit of extra $$ i've been starting to look at reading tarot for a fee - in the past, i refused payment, but accepted gifts - if the person felt so inclined. in fact, i have an artshow next weekend that i have been asked to be at as a reader - hopefully i'll get at least one reading there. also - one of the producers i worked with at sony said he liked my work and after i was laid-off, he asked me to help him get organized (receipts, bank statements, etc for his accountant). between the two, it's not nearly enough to keep me in my formerly-fahbulous lifestyle - but it lets me do things like not feeling guilty about ordering in thai food or getting my hair cut/coloured.
this morning i had a meeting with the new business manager (rick) for the producer-guy. the meeting went well, i got some direction on what exactly they will need from me and it looks like much more $$ will be coming my way for this. i will get set up on quickbooks and do that whole thang... certainly not going to keep the juices flowing or make my spirit sing - but hey, it's better than a kick in the teeth.
as part of the getting-to-know-you portion of the meeting, i told rick that my background includes many years in the music industry, several years as a project manager for website development projects and a background/interest in freelance writing. i guess i said the right things and had the right combo of skills and experience because rick told me about an idea he has for his music clients. without getting into detail - he asked me to consider developing a project plan for him for this potential new ebusiness opportunity. i would develop a phased plan, which would potentially also include content writing/editing, site administration and more. his idea is very ambitious and portions of it got me really excited. he has a large number of canadian and american music clients and this could be just the thing to open another door....
...or not....
before i get too excited about it all, i am realistic enough to know that most things in life don't turn out how you might think they will and this could easily turn into an ooey-gooey piece of gum on the underside of my desk. also, to be fair, i need to make sure that what i can offer him is what he expects and deserves. i tried to caution him, but goddess bless him - he was very positive, saying that in our brief conversation, i had already asked great questions and started pulling more detail out of the concept that he'd previously considered. i also have the new media terminology that he'd need to bridge that world and not get taken for a ride by some of these new media companies that prey on folk with great ideas but no experience/background in that dorky-clannish world.
we shall see what lies ahead.... yey for possibilities and for unseen blessings already on their way.
[music | tori amos, "never seen blue"]
6.15.2005
how strange life can be
early this afternoon on the subway, i ran into someone i went to university with - rod charles (he used to have an amazing website named black voice, but it seems to be gone now). we were good friends in school, i always enjoyed his company. then, we lost touch (as so often happens) but in a strange twist of fate i ended up seeing him again & at a time when i had no job, he helped me get hired at new media company that was co-owned by someone else we went to school with. long story short - after 2.5 years of working there as a project manager, i got squeezed out in a corporate restructure, which began my second slow dance with EI.
rod is an odd one to figure out. when we ran into each other today - i had my ipod on ('hey kids' by who else, david usher) and i was pretty zoned out, having just come from yoga. anyway, i look over at the man standing right beside me and it's rod. wild. funny how small a city like toronto can sometimes be. even odder - this morning on the subway i had a random recollection of the time i met sean gethons on the subway (he also worked at that same company with rod and i) and how nice it was to see him. gotta love those psychic flashes - they're often as clear as my fish pond.
so, back to rod - it was just so strange - he looked at me like i was from another planet. like i'd somehow grown a second head since he'd seen me last. i've heard through the grapevine that he thinks i'm a little too unpredictable and volitile in my behaviour towards him. i honestly find that to be quite funny. i'm expressive, yes, passionate, yes - but i really am anything but unpredictable. oh well... i guess rod might feel like i am too much effort - but really, was i ever his to take on?
i hope i'll be able to see him from time to time. he is a sweetheart with great intentions. and i truly wish him nothing but the best. it's sad when a work situation (that had NOTHING to do with him) ruins a great old friendship.
also - i did a quiz today and found out that i am a visual learner and right-brain dominant. fun fun. interesting that i often end up getting jobs as the 'organizer' in artistic situations. maybe my right-brain allows me to understand the unorganized creatives - and i'm some how more organized than they are! scary. my work space can never be described as 'neat' - but i do know where everything is in my chaos - generally.
must go get ready for a visit from my dear friend michael.
ooh - also - tonight david usher appears on george stroumboulopoulos' show, the hour. i am very much looking forward to this. and then the show in mississagua on friday. this is a good week.
[music | u2, "love and peace or else"]
rod is an odd one to figure out. when we ran into each other today - i had my ipod on ('hey kids' by who else, david usher) and i was pretty zoned out, having just come from yoga. anyway, i look over at the man standing right beside me and it's rod. wild. funny how small a city like toronto can sometimes be. even odder - this morning on the subway i had a random recollection of the time i met sean gethons on the subway (he also worked at that same company with rod and i) and how nice it was to see him. gotta love those psychic flashes - they're often as clear as my fish pond.
so, back to rod - it was just so strange - he looked at me like i was from another planet. like i'd somehow grown a second head since he'd seen me last. i've heard through the grapevine that he thinks i'm a little too unpredictable and volitile in my behaviour towards him. i honestly find that to be quite funny. i'm expressive, yes, passionate, yes - but i really am anything but unpredictable. oh well... i guess rod might feel like i am too much effort - but really, was i ever his to take on?
i hope i'll be able to see him from time to time. he is a sweetheart with great intentions. and i truly wish him nothing but the best. it's sad when a work situation (that had NOTHING to do with him) ruins a great old friendship.
also - i did a quiz today and found out that i am a visual learner and right-brain dominant. fun fun. interesting that i often end up getting jobs as the 'organizer' in artistic situations. maybe my right-brain allows me to understand the unorganized creatives - and i'm some how more organized than they are! scary. my work space can never be described as 'neat' - but i do know where everything is in my chaos - generally.
must go get ready for a visit from my dear friend michael.
ooh - also - tonight david usher appears on george stroumboulopoulos' show, the hour. i am very much looking forward to this. and then the show in mississagua on friday. this is a good week.
[music | u2, "love and peace or else"]
6.14.2005
junk dna - ahhh - why didn't anyone tell me
all the socially awkward and deficient men/people that i meet in life can apparently be chalked up to what they're oh-so-delicately naming 'junk dna'. this explains so so much. and do not think i won't remember this the next time i'm tempted to hover by the veggie plate at a get-together!
you know, maybe junk dna is what's wrong with liam gallaher?
and in news that shocked no one - michael jackson was not found guilty in his little trial thing (as a friend of mine said - when do you ever expect a celebrity or sports figure to go to be found guilty? my response - only if said celebrity is a woman - just ask martha and winona) the disturing thing is that on larry king last night, apparently most of the jurors claimed they felt that they believe he has molested little boys before - but that they could not find him guilty based on the charges/case the prosecution brought forward....
and more earth shatting news - destiny's child is no more.
[music | david usher, "unholy, dirty and beautiful"]
you know, maybe junk dna is what's wrong with liam gallaher?
and in news that shocked no one - michael jackson was not found guilty in his little trial thing (as a friend of mine said - when do you ever expect a celebrity or sports figure to go to be found guilty? my response - only if said celebrity is a woman - just ask martha and winona) the disturing thing is that on larry king last night, apparently most of the jurors claimed they felt that they believe he has molested little boys before - but that they could not find him guilty based on the charges/case the prosecution brought forward....
and more earth shatting news - destiny's child is no more.
[music | david usher, "unholy, dirty and beautiful"]
6.13.2005
why does it always rain on me...
so today after my yoga class - i went and bought some gold fish for the pond in the back... my downstairs neighbours and me and my roommate share the yard and the pond has been a bit of a group effort. the neighbour has been putting in oyster half-shells in an effort to neutralize the acidity in the water & then she put in a bunch of lilies and water hyacinths... it looks so frickin cute...
when i moved in last year there was a large goldfish in the pond already. he was about 6 years old, i think the landlord said. anyway - that large fishie didn't not survive the winter... :( but now with my 6 new babies (2 gold fantails, 1 gold & white fantail, 1 calico fantail & 2 black chinese moors) i'm hoping that i'll have fish again.... i get so mezmerized by watching them... so so soothing
so, after spending much time with my new babies... we get a deluge of rain, more than we've gotten all year to date in about 10 minutes this afternoon.... i look out the window at the pond and all the wee plants have been washed out of the pond and the pond has overflowed. i figure it's just my luck that i bring home 32.00 worth of fish & after about 5 hours they all die as they get washed up on the rocks & lawn! as soon as the rain stopped - i check the little guys and didn't see any bodies - so i'm just guessing that they've had more excitement than they've ever had in their little lives at PJ's pets
[music | keane, "everybody changes"]
when i moved in last year there was a large goldfish in the pond already. he was about 6 years old, i think the landlord said. anyway - that large fishie didn't not survive the winter... :( but now with my 6 new babies (2 gold fantails, 1 gold & white fantail, 1 calico fantail & 2 black chinese moors) i'm hoping that i'll have fish again.... i get so mezmerized by watching them... so so soothing
so, after spending much time with my new babies... we get a deluge of rain, more than we've gotten all year to date in about 10 minutes this afternoon.... i look out the window at the pond and all the wee plants have been washed out of the pond and the pond has overflowed. i figure it's just my luck that i bring home 32.00 worth of fish & after about 5 hours they all die as they get washed up on the rocks & lawn! as soon as the rain stopped - i check the little guys and didn't see any bodies - so i'm just guessing that they've had more excitement than they've ever had in their little lives at PJ's pets
[music | keane, "everybody changes"]
6.10.2005
tori's summer of sin
i'm melting, i'm melting
a while ago i wrote about one of my oogie-boogie fears - spontaneous human combustion. well - for the past 5 days i've been dealing with the flip side - the danger of melting into my sofa like some bizzarre madame tussauds cast-off. somewhat similar to the melting down of bits of brad and jen to get them out of their embrace at the london version of the tacky museum (which, i must admit with no small measure of shame that back in 1994 i picked over the british museum - my 20's were a confused time) i suppose i should go and sit outside in the lovely arbour...
my arbour a few weeks ago - it's much more covered with vines now.... it's an oasis in the toronto yuck
...that i have in my backyard - but from sitting in it yesterday for 4 hours i somehow got tropical-like burns on my shoulders and arms and neck... :( bye bye lovely pale skin....
also - the weather gods seem to be ready to play a big joke on me... after suffering through this past week and most of next week - it seems like it's going to drop to 16C and pour rain next friday - the date of an outdoor david usher show in mississauga. i'm just going to go on the assumption that the folks trying to interpret messages from the weather gods are still not able to find their asses from their noses.
also - tori amos tickets for her show in montreal go on sale on saturday.... the toronto show is still not officially announced yet - crossing fingers.... i actually considered (for a brief moment) booking a via ticket to take me to montreal for the day and return that evening on an overnight train.... but with the ticket for the show costing 55.00 and the train ticket costing 149.00 - i decided not to.... come on toronto date!
[music | moist, "sunday comes"]
my arbour a few weeks ago - it's much more covered with vines now.... it's an oasis in the toronto yuck
...that i have in my backyard - but from sitting in it yesterday for 4 hours i somehow got tropical-like burns on my shoulders and arms and neck... :( bye bye lovely pale skin....
also - the weather gods seem to be ready to play a big joke on me... after suffering through this past week and most of next week - it seems like it's going to drop to 16C and pour rain next friday - the date of an outdoor david usher show in mississauga. i'm just going to go on the assumption that the folks trying to interpret messages from the weather gods are still not able to find their asses from their noses.
also - tori amos tickets for her show in montreal go on sale on saturday.... the toronto show is still not officially announced yet - crossing fingers.... i actually considered (for a brief moment) booking a via ticket to take me to montreal for the day and return that evening on an overnight train.... but with the ticket for the show costing 55.00 and the train ticket costing 149.00 - i decided not to.... come on toronto date!
[music | moist, "sunday comes"]
6.08.2005
if you see me when i'm like this, look away
since the chris koster show at the riv last week - i've had his song "if you see me" go through my head on a very regular basis... i didn't have enough $$ on me to buy the disc that night - but now have someone from his forum (thanks dear-friend-in-music adam) is offering to buy it in kingston (where it's available) and send it to me. yey!
i still need to pick up a wrist band for the nxne extravaganza this weekend. i have my list of things i want to see... gotta love summertime festivals.
and if you're in toronto and love yoga - get thee to the yoga studio on eglinton and get yourself an unlimited month-pass for less than $130.00. i'm being a little yogic-glutton (kinda defeats the purpose of acheiving balance in life, i know) and going 3 - 4 times a week - but hey, they did say unlimited!
[music | chris koster, "if you see me"]
i still need to pick up a wrist band for the nxne extravaganza this weekend. i have my list of things i want to see... gotta love summertime festivals.
and if you're in toronto and love yoga - get thee to the yoga studio on eglinton and get yourself an unlimited month-pass for less than $130.00. i'm being a little yogic-glutton (kinda defeats the purpose of acheiving balance in life, i know) and going 3 - 4 times a week - but hey, they did say unlimited!
[music | chris koster, "if you see me"]
6.07.2005
6.06.2005
harry potter and the half-blood prince
so - there i am innocently scolling though blogs (so so so SO many non-blogs out there - how can a girl be a voyuer if all you want to do is sell her tires and mp3 players?) and i come across one called harry potter and the half-blood prince. kewl, i think and begin to read.
well, goddamn if the stupid site wasn't full of spoilers for the new novel that is out in july. apparently this person has gotten an advance copy of the novel and posted some stuff and my stupid scrolling eyes picked up some words in context before i closed the window. i won't post the stuff i read here (just because my summer is ruined, no one else's should be - but if those supposed spoilers are true - i'm going to be very very angry. grrrrr. slightly happier news is that i went to the j.k. rowling site and there is a notice there reminding people that rumours of spoilers are just that and to take them all with a grain of salt. ok. i'll chill.
[music | david usher, "mutations"]
well, goddamn if the stupid site wasn't full of spoilers for the new novel that is out in july. apparently this person has gotten an advance copy of the novel and posted some stuff and my stupid scrolling eyes picked up some words in context before i closed the window. i won't post the stuff i read here (just because my summer is ruined, no one else's should be - but if those supposed spoilers are true - i'm going to be very very angry. grrrrr. slightly happier news is that i went to the j.k. rowling site and there is a notice there reminding people that rumours of spoilers are just that and to take them all with a grain of salt. ok. i'll chill.
[music | david usher, "mutations"]
6.03.2005
live 8 in ottawa - what the...?????
a few days ago when the live 8 stuff started being announed, there was a mention that it was about 95% certain that there'd also be a canadian show. foolishly, i got excited. i don't know why, but for some bizzarre optimistic reason i thought that this could be really cool - get some great socially aware artists together for some brilliant music and a great message.
so, today i saw the proposed headliners for the live 8 show here in ottawa and wanted to yawn (that or cry, i'm not sure). bryan adams? barenaked ladies?? jann arden??? our lady peace???? fuck.
it's like the juno awards lineup 9 out of the past 10 years. just add alanis, shania, celine and avril and it's a boring cocktail of devestating proportions. why, oh why, oh WHY does canada constantly go for the boring predictible? are we as a nation truly that imagination-less? can't be.... i mean we're also the nation that gave the world leonard cohen - a VERY original and artistic thinker. even japan realizes that we have more musically than the freakin' barenaked ladies - earlier this year they put on one of the coolest canadian festivals that we've never seen (stars, metric, death from above 1979, the dears).
when will the powers that be in canada realize that we don't need to be mini-me to america? we don't have to push the boring and predictable commercial acts to the world in order to proclaim, 'see we're a world class country!'
[music | chris koster, "if you see me"]
so, today i saw the proposed headliners for the live 8 show here in ottawa and wanted to yawn (that or cry, i'm not sure). bryan adams? barenaked ladies?? jann arden??? our lady peace???? fuck.
it's like the juno awards lineup 9 out of the past 10 years. just add alanis, shania, celine and avril and it's a boring cocktail of devestating proportions. why, oh why, oh WHY does canada constantly go for the boring predictible? are we as a nation truly that imagination-less? can't be.... i mean we're also the nation that gave the world leonard cohen - a VERY original and artistic thinker. even japan realizes that we have more musically than the freakin' barenaked ladies - earlier this year they put on one of the coolest canadian festivals that we've never seen (stars, metric, death from above 1979, the dears).
when will the powers that be in canada realize that we don't need to be mini-me to america? we don't have to push the boring and predictable commercial acts to the world in order to proclaim, 'see we're a world class country!'
[music | chris koster, "if you see me"]
6.02.2005
it's in the stars
at the beginning of each month i look forward to the new horoscope from susan miller - she is an amazingly accurate astrologer - and her site is free. she tells me this month that i love the security that money brings and that apparently a little bit of it is coming my way...
she may be right (especially about the 'little' bit of it all) i have a tarot reading party booked for this weekend. my dear friend kelly worked as my agent and set it up for me (what a doll). i'm excited. it's been years since my last 'mass' reading party. who knows, if i get some good energy rolling and some accurate readings - i might be able to spin this into more readings.... *crossing fingers*
i'm also supposed to be doing some work for a record producer. he's just found himself a business/financial manager type-guy and they want to enlist me for my oranizational skills. i'm billing him 20/hour - so it's better than a kick in the head. this project just seems like pushing a giant boulder uphill... need some positive energy here!
i'm going out tonight to meet for dinner with some folk i used to work with (at a very bad and very toxic work environment). and after that, i'm popping over to the rivoli to see chris koster and pick up his new disc. yey!
and speaking of it being in the stars - these, apparently, are the celebrities that i most resemble. bwahahaha! a drag queen queen icon, a model and miss universe! excuse me while i trip on my platforms, sequins and tiaras! and check out the rotten pic of me i used... too too funny. and if i were a MALE celebrity - i'd be a combo of a japanese heartthrob and a punky version of hercules... scary.
[music | the arcade fire, "rebellion (lies)"]
she may be right (especially about the 'little' bit of it all) i have a tarot reading party booked for this weekend. my dear friend kelly worked as my agent and set it up for me (what a doll). i'm excited. it's been years since my last 'mass' reading party. who knows, if i get some good energy rolling and some accurate readings - i might be able to spin this into more readings.... *crossing fingers*
i'm also supposed to be doing some work for a record producer. he's just found himself a business/financial manager type-guy and they want to enlist me for my oranizational skills. i'm billing him 20/hour - so it's better than a kick in the head. this project just seems like pushing a giant boulder uphill... need some positive energy here!
i'm going out tonight to meet for dinner with some folk i used to work with (at a very bad and very toxic work environment). and after that, i'm popping over to the rivoli to see chris koster and pick up his new disc. yey!
and speaking of it being in the stars - these, apparently, are the celebrities that i most resemble. bwahahaha! a drag queen queen icon, a model and miss universe! excuse me while i trip on my platforms, sequins and tiaras! and check out the rotten pic of me i used... too too funny. and if i were a MALE celebrity - i'd be a combo of a japanese heartthrob and a punky version of hercules... scary.
[music | the arcade fire, "rebellion (lies)"]
6.01.2005
go trent go
interesting day in the news for trent reznor....
first - he was awarded payment of nearly 3 million from his former manager who misrepresented 'gross' and 'net' about 20 years ago & left reznor with very little cash
and second - he pulled nin off of the MTV awards show because he wanted to use a backdrop image of george w. bush while the band performed 'the hand that feeds'. mtv did not agree. i'm so happy that there are some artists out there that have the courage of their convictions. the quote from trent reads "apparently the image of our president is as offensive to mtv as it is to me."
first - he was awarded payment of nearly 3 million from his former manager who misrepresented 'gross' and 'net' about 20 years ago & left reznor with very little cash
and second - he pulled nin off of the MTV awards show because he wanted to use a backdrop image of george w. bush while the band performed 'the hand that feeds'. mtv did not agree. i'm so happy that there are some artists out there that have the courage of their convictions. the quote from trent reads "apparently the image of our president is as offensive to mtv as it is to me."
smile like you mean it....
ah the killers.... last night was great.... i mean, it's pretty ballsey to play your own show in front of 16,000 people when you only have one album's worth of material to back it up.... but that's simply speaks directly to the greed of the managers/agents/label.
the set list pacing suffered with the paucity of material - but overall - it was a really fun time. it would of been better to see the band having a little bit more fun though... they seemed either scared stiff of the crowd, overly mannered or just plain bored to be there (hello mr. guitarist - it really helps if you have a pulse when you're playing fun and frothy material, you're not in an emo band for fuck's sake). with the lack of engagement from the guitarist, poor brandon flowers was rushing around the stage like some frankenstein experiment (play the keyboard, jerk about, spin and sing, climb up the stairs, look profound, point, return to the keyboard and begin cycle again). also - for showmanship - the band should know that in 'mr. brightside' when brandon put his arm around the guitarist (the only interaction between these two) the group of girls beside me lost their minds - work that a little more and it won't look as awkward and i'm sure you'll have absolute buckets of pre-pubescent gurls losing their minds more than they already are.
if this band has a second album's worth of material in them - i'll really look forward to their next tour. by then some of the nerves should of dissipated - and maybe they can take the time to find a kick-ass guitarist to bring out some of the dynamism that a band like the killers not only needs, but should positively thrive on.
opening was tegan and sara - somehow i'd managed to never have seen them before - and i loved them! their entire set was engaging and interesting and the band just rawked! and the girl's voices were brilliant.... must buy some albums. their new one is called 'so jealous' and the title track sounded great last night. sadly, i was really interested to see them play because of the guest spot tegan did on david usher's new album (you MUST rush out and buy it if you don't have it already - it's called "if god had curves" and is it a showcase of beautiful vocals, strong songwriting and brains).
also - while at the molson ampitheatre - i saw that tori amos is coming on august 27!!!!! so so so happy about that.... however, there is no trace of this info at ticketmaster, her site, the main fan site or pollstar... i hope it's for certain... i miss my gurl....
[music | the killers, "andy, you're a star"]
the set list pacing suffered with the paucity of material - but overall - it was a really fun time. it would of been better to see the band having a little bit more fun though... they seemed either scared stiff of the crowd, overly mannered or just plain bored to be there (hello mr. guitarist - it really helps if you have a pulse when you're playing fun and frothy material, you're not in an emo band for fuck's sake). with the lack of engagement from the guitarist, poor brandon flowers was rushing around the stage like some frankenstein experiment (play the keyboard, jerk about, spin and sing, climb up the stairs, look profound, point, return to the keyboard and begin cycle again). also - for showmanship - the band should know that in 'mr. brightside' when brandon put his arm around the guitarist (the only interaction between these two) the group of girls beside me lost their minds - work that a little more and it won't look as awkward and i'm sure you'll have absolute buckets of pre-pubescent gurls losing their minds more than they already are.
if this band has a second album's worth of material in them - i'll really look forward to their next tour. by then some of the nerves should of dissipated - and maybe they can take the time to find a kick-ass guitarist to bring out some of the dynamism that a band like the killers not only needs, but should positively thrive on.
opening was tegan and sara - somehow i'd managed to never have seen them before - and i loved them! their entire set was engaging and interesting and the band just rawked! and the girl's voices were brilliant.... must buy some albums. their new one is called 'so jealous' and the title track sounded great last night. sadly, i was really interested to see them play because of the guest spot tegan did on david usher's new album (you MUST rush out and buy it if you don't have it already - it's called "if god had curves" and is it a showcase of beautiful vocals, strong songwriting and brains).
also - while at the molson ampitheatre - i saw that tori amos is coming on august 27!!!!! so so so happy about that.... however, there is no trace of this info at ticketmaster, her site, the main fan site or pollstar... i hope it's for certain... i miss my gurl....
[music | the killers, "andy, you're a star"]
5.31.2005
the vanity parade continues....
if i'm not careful - this blog is going to turn into a vanity piece! who knew? i know it appears as though i obsessively take pictures of myself with my digital camera - but this honestly isn't the case! really! (i know, i know, even to me this argument sounds weak)
anyway - this morning i woke up feeling the need for change. i'd been pulling my hair back into pigtails, ponytails & braids for months and wanted something different. i woke up thinking today was the day for something radically different. i was, in fact, getting ready for the gym - but then called to see if my stylist at coupe bizzarre was available. she was. and presto - i have a bob! i was so shocked when she started cutting huge pieces of hair off - but am pleased with the result. so so different.... i was actually thinking more of a 'fun' style - but instead i got more sleek and elegant... and that's ok by me.
my new hair
i'm off now to go to the killers' show... here's hoping the baby band with one album can actually fill a good sets worth of material.... stay tuned for the review tomorrow....
also - did you know that happiness is creating a playlist of all the radiohead albums on your ipod and listening to them in the sunny toronto weather?
[music | radiohead, "the bends"]
anyway - this morning i woke up feeling the need for change. i'd been pulling my hair back into pigtails, ponytails & braids for months and wanted something different. i woke up thinking today was the day for something radically different. i was, in fact, getting ready for the gym - but then called to see if my stylist at coupe bizzarre was available. she was. and presto - i have a bob! i was so shocked when she started cutting huge pieces of hair off - but am pleased with the result. so so different.... i was actually thinking more of a 'fun' style - but instead i got more sleek and elegant... and that's ok by me.
my new hair
i'm off now to go to the killers' show... here's hoping the baby band with one album can actually fill a good sets worth of material.... stay tuned for the review tomorrow....
also - did you know that happiness is creating a playlist of all the radiohead albums on your ipod and listening to them in the sunny toronto weather?
[music | radiohead, "the bends"]
5.30.2005
the eyes have it
i went to my local mac cosmetics counter to have my face done.... i wanted some ideas for something new, since i felt i was in a make-up rut. anyway - so i go and have a great time this weekend.... lovely.... the artist was fun, she introduced me to blue colours for my brown eyes (i'd never used blue before, i had horrible images in my head from the 80's!) and i felt like i had the ocean on my lids.... i felt like such a gurl!
but then something horrible happened.... later that evening my contacts began to feel like i had a film on them. everything was blurry, was my house filling with smoke??? i washed off all the stuff and toddled on off to bed, eventually. the next morning, my eyes were pasted shut and so bloodshot - i looked like a scary bride of frankenstein..... so not the glamourous image of the day before! i thought i'd gotten pink-eye from the makeup... i was so upset. i stayed indoors all day with my glassy pink and runny eyes... boo... turns out though, that it wasn't pink-eye. it was just an irritation to the shadows - i guess... since i'm back to my ravishing self today... (haha)
oceanic lids! shimmermoss, jewel blue, blu noire and brill
[music | david usher, "souring"]
but then something horrible happened.... later that evening my contacts began to feel like i had a film on them. everything was blurry, was my house filling with smoke??? i washed off all the stuff and toddled on off to bed, eventually. the next morning, my eyes were pasted shut and so bloodshot - i looked like a scary bride of frankenstein..... so not the glamourous image of the day before! i thought i'd gotten pink-eye from the makeup... i was so upset. i stayed indoors all day with my glassy pink and runny eyes... boo... turns out though, that it wasn't pink-eye. it was just an irritation to the shadows - i guess... since i'm back to my ravishing self today... (haha)
oceanic lids! shimmermoss, jewel blue, blu noire and brill
[music | david usher, "souring"]
5.29.2005
the net police
scary thing i discovered today... yes, we all know it happens, but *shudders*
in a post of mine a few days ago, i rambled on about the last episode of the show 24 and in it i wrote about cisco systems and how their brand was very front and centre in many scenes this season....
whatever, right? and what's my point anyway? i checked my traffic stats and one of the visiting IP's was for www.cisco.com
boo!
in a post of mine a few days ago, i rambled on about the last episode of the show 24 and in it i wrote about cisco systems and how their brand was very front and centre in many scenes this season....
whatever, right? and what's my point anyway? i checked my traffic stats and one of the visiting IP's was for www.cisco.com
boo!
5.28.2005
hahaha
i'm not quite sure if i think this is more disgusting or more just clever... heehee....
just when you think there's nothing out there to love, you discover some juvenile genius...
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/03/1728717.php
just when you think there's nothing out there to love, you discover some juvenile genius...
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/03/1728717.php
5.26.2005
can i help you save yourself?
very recently there were the season finale's for the shows i use to rot my brain with. 24, desperate housewives and lost. since buffy ended a few seasons ago - there's been no well written/performed on tv... these three really are examples of the best out there now (is there anything else, actually?)
24, however, is coming OFF my list of good tv... this past season was so bad for so many reasons. the only reason i watched until the last ep was because of some sort of twisted sense of loyalty to keifer sutherland (once upon a time, i had a cat named keifer - but he was named after keifer of 'the lost boys' era, which helped usher in my 'love of vampires' era). but this season of 24 was beyond disappointing. even if i look the other way over the horrific racial stereotyping and negative portrayals of people of middle eastern decent, there was the implausible 'time travel' of some characters. the producers sold us out and totally abandoned the 'day in the life of jack bauer' signature - it seemed as though characters had found some sort of worm hole to get from point a to point b in a matter of minutes.... and then there was the ominous 'cisco systems' logo EVERYWHERE. man - after watching the show all season, i feel deficient, because i don't have cisco... anyway - i'm not sure i'm going to care next season - even though they seem to be setting it up as a 'the fugitive' type thing.... *sigh*
lost, on the other hand makes me want to watch more and more and more... sure, i get frustrated with the teases and the lack of actual information that we get (still have no freaking clue as to what the 'security system' is) but overall - i want to watch more to find out more... what is going to happen to walt? how tied into the destiny of the island inhabitants is he? is he why they're all there or is hurley? is sawyer dead (please, no - he's such an interesting character)? when is charlie's survivor-intervention coming? when will shanon run out of nail polish? and will vincent kill a polar bear - feeding them all for weeks? seriously though - what was with jack's comment to kate "if we survive tonight, we're going to have a locke problem." buddy - where have you been? you've had a locke problem for quite some time now... maybe if you spent less time working on sculpting your tattoo'd arms, you'd of realized that sooner.
desperate housewives could go either way. it could continue with the promise of the first half of the season - or it could just spiral further down into the confusion and inappropriateness that was the hallmark of the second half of the season. what made the show such an instant frenzy was the 4 women together as friends mixed with a nice blend of creepy murder drama and dark wit. the later episodes became much less about an ensemble cast and more about edie interacting with them as individuals and at times it seemed as though the women never left their houses. and then there was the stupid dumbed down jokey humour (a sensational example of this was the reaction of the lawn boy when gabrielle told him that she was pregnant and that it might be his). rumour has it that the cast of women all hate each other's guts. who the fuck cares. they are paid to act and recite lines - just do your jobs and spare us the un-scripted drama (if, indeed this is the case).
side note : there is one of those "which desperate housewife are you?" quiz on the ABC site - i took it and it told me i was susan. figures, she's the character i like the least...
[music | david usher, "numb"]
24, however, is coming OFF my list of good tv... this past season was so bad for so many reasons. the only reason i watched until the last ep was because of some sort of twisted sense of loyalty to keifer sutherland (once upon a time, i had a cat named keifer - but he was named after keifer of 'the lost boys' era, which helped usher in my 'love of vampires' era). but this season of 24 was beyond disappointing. even if i look the other way over the horrific racial stereotyping and negative portrayals of people of middle eastern decent, there was the implausible 'time travel' of some characters. the producers sold us out and totally abandoned the 'day in the life of jack bauer' signature - it seemed as though characters had found some sort of worm hole to get from point a to point b in a matter of minutes.... and then there was the ominous 'cisco systems' logo EVERYWHERE. man - after watching the show all season, i feel deficient, because i don't have cisco... anyway - i'm not sure i'm going to care next season - even though they seem to be setting it up as a 'the fugitive' type thing.... *sigh*
lost, on the other hand makes me want to watch more and more and more... sure, i get frustrated with the teases and the lack of actual information that we get (still have no freaking clue as to what the 'security system' is) but overall - i want to watch more to find out more... what is going to happen to walt? how tied into the destiny of the island inhabitants is he? is he why they're all there or is hurley? is sawyer dead (please, no - he's such an interesting character)? when is charlie's survivor-intervention coming? when will shanon run out of nail polish? and will vincent kill a polar bear - feeding them all for weeks? seriously though - what was with jack's comment to kate "if we survive tonight, we're going to have a locke problem." buddy - where have you been? you've had a locke problem for quite some time now... maybe if you spent less time working on sculpting your tattoo'd arms, you'd of realized that sooner.
desperate housewives could go either way. it could continue with the promise of the first half of the season - or it could just spiral further down into the confusion and inappropriateness that was the hallmark of the second half of the season. what made the show such an instant frenzy was the 4 women together as friends mixed with a nice blend of creepy murder drama and dark wit. the later episodes became much less about an ensemble cast and more about edie interacting with them as individuals and at times it seemed as though the women never left their houses. and then there was the stupid dumbed down jokey humour (a sensational example of this was the reaction of the lawn boy when gabrielle told him that she was pregnant and that it might be his). rumour has it that the cast of women all hate each other's guts. who the fuck cares. they are paid to act and recite lines - just do your jobs and spare us the un-scripted drama (if, indeed this is the case).
side note : there is one of those "which desperate housewife are you?" quiz on the ABC site - i took it and it told me i was susan. figures, she's the character i like the least...
[music | david usher, "numb"]
5.24.2005
belinda stronach and the little things
leading up to last weeks budget vote with the potential for a vote of non-confidence and the ensuing fall of the minorty liberal government, stronach crossed the floor to join the liberal party. now, this sort of thing happens from time to time in canadian government (as well as MP's leaving their own party to stand as an independent member), but i really think this is the first time someone left their party on the eve of such an important vote, especially when they had previously ran for leadership of that party. (jean charest's situation was not the same, leave a comment if you want to debate it)
personally, i'm not a liberal (i grew up in alberta through the trudeau years - and the west's perception of trudea-mania is somewhat different than most other parts of the country) and i'm also not a conservative. i do not belong to any political party - and find myself voting NDP or Green Party most of the time - however, I do try to make sure i cast my voting rights for the candidate in my riding that seems to make the most sense... (often a fruitless endeavour). i like the idea of democratic capitalism with a socialist conciousness - otherwise known as utopia.
looking at the fallout and the media coverage stronach's decision, i was sickened. if a man made this same controvercial move - would we hear about who he'd been sleeping with in the party and bits and pieces about the end of that relationship? i honestly think we wouldn't. would we have quotes about a man 'whoring himself out for power"? or that he was an "attractive dipstick"? (not even really sure WHAT the hell that comment meant, thanks for adding to the filth anyway, bob runciman).
it's those little things, those little comments and digs that make it very clear that sexism is not only alive and well - but rampant in today's political landscape. to me, that's the bigger issue. sure it's difficult to fuly believe stronach's statements that the main reason she defected wqas because she seeing more and more that the conservative party under stephen harper would never understand the complexities of canada (did she NOT know that prior to running in the last election under harper?). but i think the real reason she crossed the floor is that she wants to be prime minister. and she knows that she's ultimately too left for the conservative party rank and file and i think she also has her eye on the gomrey hearings.
yes, i've over-simplified - but my personal belief is that paul martin will be implicated through the gomrey commission and that his career will be over. and stronach with her high profile will potentially be poised to make a credible and successful run for the leadership of the liberal party. and canada being canada (or more specifically, ontario being ontario) we know already that the next election will most likely bring in another liberal goverment. and chances are it will be a majority this time - canadian's don't like the uncertainty that a minorty government brings.
[music : david usher, "everything is alright by me now"]
personally, i'm not a liberal (i grew up in alberta through the trudeau years - and the west's perception of trudea-mania is somewhat different than most other parts of the country) and i'm also not a conservative. i do not belong to any political party - and find myself voting NDP or Green Party most of the time - however, I do try to make sure i cast my voting rights for the candidate in my riding that seems to make the most sense... (often a fruitless endeavour). i like the idea of democratic capitalism with a socialist conciousness - otherwise known as utopia.
looking at the fallout and the media coverage stronach's decision, i was sickened. if a man made this same controvercial move - would we hear about who he'd been sleeping with in the party and bits and pieces about the end of that relationship? i honestly think we wouldn't. would we have quotes about a man 'whoring himself out for power"? or that he was an "attractive dipstick"? (not even really sure WHAT the hell that comment meant, thanks for adding to the filth anyway, bob runciman).
it's those little things, those little comments and digs that make it very clear that sexism is not only alive and well - but rampant in today's political landscape. to me, that's the bigger issue. sure it's difficult to fuly believe stronach's statements that the main reason she defected wqas because she seeing more and more that the conservative party under stephen harper would never understand the complexities of canada (did she NOT know that prior to running in the last election under harper?). but i think the real reason she crossed the floor is that she wants to be prime minister. and she knows that she's ultimately too left for the conservative party rank and file and i think she also has her eye on the gomrey hearings.
yes, i've over-simplified - but my personal belief is that paul martin will be implicated through the gomrey commission and that his career will be over. and stronach with her high profile will potentially be poised to make a credible and successful run for the leadership of the liberal party. and canada being canada (or more specifically, ontario being ontario) we know already that the next election will most likely bring in another liberal goverment. and chances are it will be a majority this time - canadian's don't like the uncertainty that a minorty government brings.
[music : david usher, "everything is alright by me now"]
5.23.2005
5.20.2005
music and why is it.......
that the free download of the week on itunes is NEVER one i'm interested in, unless, of course, i already have the album.......
i also want to know why the new hot hot heat single "goodnight, goodnight" blows.... i mean - when i got their first album i nearly lost my mind... it was fresh, irreverant and fun - and fucking great. now why is it that i haven't seen the new video more than a handful of times (song sux) and why is it that i only hear about them from the never-ending propaganda machine that is their record label's email lists? this little rant is prompted by a suck-heavy performance on Late Night With David Letterman last night. man. you know it's bad when all you do is look at the singer and wonder just when exactly sideshow bob & kalan porter got together to snuggle into creation this hell-spawn? buddy, your hair? and lay off the lip gloss. ewww. i love men in makeup, but this men with lipgloss trend has to come to a slamming and screetching halt. now. desist, please? oh, whatever.
and while i'm at it - why is it that the killers video for their new song "all these things that i've done" is so gawdawful bad? i'd read a review with brandon flowers whining about how much he hated the video and that the label wasn't letting them do another one. i thought that it was just more of pouty mr. flowers just talking to be heard again - but then i actually saw the damned thing. and damned it is. it's like a spaghetti western in the vomit grounds of dead and dying vegas casinos with babes in hot pants chasing the cowboy clad band about. it's bad. so so very bad. little pencil moustaches and everything. and i actually like that song. however, i went looking and found a UK site with a link to a different video for the song. this one is very lo-fi, it's the band wandering the streets lip-synching the song with an army of fashionably trendy fans culminating in a blue robed gospel choir and live stadium shots. couldn't we have that one over here in north america? no? what if we asked nicely? very excited about their show in a week or so.... yey!
and finally - why is it that the spice girls are talking about reforming for a special gig (you just know that they'll be unleasing new music on us too, don't you?) don't they know that their moment in the sun came and went and then went even further? well, i guess if alanis can give us an acoustic version of 'jagged little pill' 10 years after it was first released - i guess the girls can get back together too.... who needs new music?
[music, yeah yeah yeah's, "maps"]
i also want to know why the new hot hot heat single "goodnight, goodnight" blows.... i mean - when i got their first album i nearly lost my mind... it was fresh, irreverant and fun - and fucking great. now why is it that i haven't seen the new video more than a handful of times (song sux) and why is it that i only hear about them from the never-ending propaganda machine that is their record label's email lists? this little rant is prompted by a suck-heavy performance on Late Night With David Letterman last night. man. you know it's bad when all you do is look at the singer and wonder just when exactly sideshow bob & kalan porter got together to snuggle into creation this hell-spawn? buddy, your hair? and lay off the lip gloss. ewww. i love men in makeup, but this men with lipgloss trend has to come to a slamming and screetching halt. now. desist, please? oh, whatever.
and while i'm at it - why is it that the killers video for their new song "all these things that i've done" is so gawdawful bad? i'd read a review with brandon flowers whining about how much he hated the video and that the label wasn't letting them do another one. i thought that it was just more of pouty mr. flowers just talking to be heard again - but then i actually saw the damned thing. and damned it is. it's like a spaghetti western in the vomit grounds of dead and dying vegas casinos with babes in hot pants chasing the cowboy clad band about. it's bad. so so very bad. little pencil moustaches and everything. and i actually like that song. however, i went looking and found a UK site with a link to a different video for the song. this one is very lo-fi, it's the band wandering the streets lip-synching the song with an army of fashionably trendy fans culminating in a blue robed gospel choir and live stadium shots. couldn't we have that one over here in north america? no? what if we asked nicely? very excited about their show in a week or so.... yey!
and finally - why is it that the spice girls are talking about reforming for a special gig (you just know that they'll be unleasing new music on us too, don't you?) don't they know that their moment in the sun came and went and then went even further? well, i guess if alanis can give us an acoustic version of 'jagged little pill' 10 years after it was first released - i guess the girls can get back together too.... who needs new music?
[music, yeah yeah yeah's, "maps"]
5.19.2005
things that freak me out
i'm not a flakey freak-out pre-disposed sorta gurl. i'm a taurus - i'm an earth sign & pretty unshakable (i think, anyway), BUT there are a number of phenonena that really creep me out and i have an admitted and severe illogical response to them.
conjoined twins (formerly known as siamese twins)
spontaneous human combustion - actually, it's more just pictures of burn victims
ants on the honey jar in my cupboard
i mean, when my dad needed stitches because he nearly severed his thumb, i was in the room with him as the doctor stuck a giant pointy piece of surgical steel through his skin again and again... no worries. i can get catch bugs in jars to let them free outside. i can and have dealt with a number of situations on the farm i grew up on that would probably make others sick (one example, i watched/helped a barn cat give birth to a very large and stillborn kitten). ok - i'll move on. good times...
for some reason those things above really get me... ok, the ants thing is just gross & it's only on the list because it happened to me today! ewwww! my kitchen has a rash of ant activity (thank the gods it's only ants) and i innocently opened the cupboard to get some honey for my tea when i was confronted with a rockin' party on the jar - except it was one i didn't want to be invited to. ick. i took the jar of honey (stuff i brought back from portugal - but am now experiencing severe adversion to) and put it in the sink and washed the little buggers away.... ew! and then boiled water and placed the jar in boiling water in an attempt to sterilize it.... double ick!
and as far as the whole burn victim thing goes... well - i think it goes back to a past life thing... it's too vicseral of a response. i feel as though i'm going to be ill. i remember as a child that i used to just absolutley HAVE to sleep with the closet door closed (no matter how many toys, clothes, books, boxes were piled in it). why did the door need to be closed? well, 'cause i used to have nightmares of bonfires in the closet. great huge consuming leaping flames. burn the witch, anyone? i also had a recurring dream of one of my aunts coming to set fire to our house. and of course it was to the corner of the house by my bedroom. and no - this was no aunt trauma like above - i really liked this aunt! and finally as a wee gurl of about 8, i saw a tv show about fire safety and in it they showed grotesque pictures of people who survived fires. i still remember a picture of someone's arm. they were holding it out at a 90 degree angle from their body & the forearm was so swollen and large - it looked like a sick parody of the popeye cartoon.... *shudder* and the spontaneous human combusion thing is just cool. frightening as fucking hell - but cool. as long as it doesn't happen to me!
and then the number one on my hit parade of disgusting things - conjoined twins. i don't even want to type about it, truth be told. so i won't.
[music | tori amos, "mother revolution"]
conjoined twins (formerly known as siamese twins)
spontaneous human combustion - actually, it's more just pictures of burn victims
ants on the honey jar in my cupboard
i mean, when my dad needed stitches because he nearly severed his thumb, i was in the room with him as the doctor stuck a giant pointy piece of surgical steel through his skin again and again... no worries. i can get catch bugs in jars to let them free outside. i can and have dealt with a number of situations on the farm i grew up on that would probably make others sick (one example, i watched/helped a barn cat give birth to a very large and stillborn kitten). ok - i'll move on. good times...
for some reason those things above really get me... ok, the ants thing is just gross & it's only on the list because it happened to me today! ewwww! my kitchen has a rash of ant activity (thank the gods it's only ants) and i innocently opened the cupboard to get some honey for my tea when i was confronted with a rockin' party on the jar - except it was one i didn't want to be invited to. ick. i took the jar of honey (stuff i brought back from portugal - but am now experiencing severe adversion to) and put it in the sink and washed the little buggers away.... ew! and then boiled water and placed the jar in boiling water in an attempt to sterilize it.... double ick!
and as far as the whole burn victim thing goes... well - i think it goes back to a past life thing... it's too vicseral of a response. i feel as though i'm going to be ill. i remember as a child that i used to just absolutley HAVE to sleep with the closet door closed (no matter how many toys, clothes, books, boxes were piled in it). why did the door need to be closed? well, 'cause i used to have nightmares of bonfires in the closet. great huge consuming leaping flames. burn the witch, anyone? i also had a recurring dream of one of my aunts coming to set fire to our house. and of course it was to the corner of the house by my bedroom. and no - this was no aunt trauma like above - i really liked this aunt! and finally as a wee gurl of about 8, i saw a tv show about fire safety and in it they showed grotesque pictures of people who survived fires. i still remember a picture of someone's arm. they were holding it out at a 90 degree angle from their body & the forearm was so swollen and large - it looked like a sick parody of the popeye cartoon.... *shudder* and the spontaneous human combusion thing is just cool. frightening as fucking hell - but cool. as long as it doesn't happen to me!
and then the number one on my hit parade of disgusting things - conjoined twins. i don't even want to type about it, truth be told. so i won't.
[music | tori amos, "mother revolution"]
5.18.2005
interpretations
so i went to the gym again today (yey me!) and tried to take it much easier - don't need to be achey for 3 days again! ;) i did 20 minutes on the cross trainer, but this time figured out how to set it for a manual session. see - i'm not a total git....
after an hour or so at the gym - i went to see a movie - i picked the interpreter with sean penn and nicole kidman. overall, it was a good film - but some of the dialogue really clunked - and it was pretty sad to see sean penn having to say quite a bit of that bad dialogue. the film was meant to be a sociopolitical thriller with a message of personal triumph over adversity. i think it could of been much better, but then again - it could of been much worse (like the manchurian candidate - which was largely unwatchable). basically nicole's character is the interpreter and she overhears a conversation in a fictional african dialect (called ku) where she just happened to grow up - and her parents and sisters were blown up by a landmine during one of the rebellions against the genocidal dictator at the time. (i'm guessing the fictional country is supposed to be rwanda or the sudan). the contents of that overheard conversation indicate that the president of that country will be assassinated.
anyway, long movie short - it seems as though the president of that country (can't remember the name! mubuto? not sure - sorry!) is coming to the UN to make some speach to try to legitimize his actions. sean penn's character is secret service & is assigned to shadow kidman's character and to prevent the assassination (to stop political fallout). there are many conversations between kidman and penn (most of the bad dialogue happens here) and at the end both characters help one another deliver themselves of some pretty significant personal demons.
the biggest thing i took away from the movie is that catherine keener is a kickass actress & everytime she was on the screen (as sean penn's partner in the secret service) i wanted more of her. she has such presence and a real bite! i think she might of been better in kidman's role. where kidman played her character with her typical ethereal presence - i think keener could of added some needed energy.
[music | david usher, "mutations"]
after an hour or so at the gym - i went to see a movie - i picked the interpreter with sean penn and nicole kidman. overall, it was a good film - but some of the dialogue really clunked - and it was pretty sad to see sean penn having to say quite a bit of that bad dialogue. the film was meant to be a sociopolitical thriller with a message of personal triumph over adversity. i think it could of been much better, but then again - it could of been much worse (like the manchurian candidate - which was largely unwatchable). basically nicole's character is the interpreter and she overhears a conversation in a fictional african dialect (called ku) where she just happened to grow up - and her parents and sisters were blown up by a landmine during one of the rebellions against the genocidal dictator at the time. (i'm guessing the fictional country is supposed to be rwanda or the sudan). the contents of that overheard conversation indicate that the president of that country will be assassinated.
anyway, long movie short - it seems as though the president of that country (can't remember the name! mubuto? not sure - sorry!) is coming to the UN to make some speach to try to legitimize his actions. sean penn's character is secret service & is assigned to shadow kidman's character and to prevent the assassination (to stop political fallout). there are many conversations between kidman and penn (most of the bad dialogue happens here) and at the end both characters help one another deliver themselves of some pretty significant personal demons.
the biggest thing i took away from the movie is that catherine keener is a kickass actress & everytime she was on the screen (as sean penn's partner in the secret service) i wanted more of her. she has such presence and a real bite! i think she might of been better in kidman's role. where kidman played her character with her typical ethereal presence - i think keener could of added some needed energy.
[music | david usher, "mutations"]
5.17.2005
shiatsu - ow!
so what with the decision to go back to the gym - i decided that going to a few shiatsu sessions will help to unblock some energies before i start creating new blockages at the gym....
i went monday and it was quite painful... i learned that my muscles were a lot tighter than i had realized.... that and that i had mucho blockages (i know this because i wanted to throw up or laugh or cry at many points in the session!) the fucked up thing is that i was so drained after the session that i could barely drag myself home in time to take a 3.5 hour nap & then run downtown to meet my friend michael for a hangout and dinner... i thought you were supposed to leave these shiatsu thingies feeling refreshed and envigorated or at the most, relaxed. i didn't realize i'd be nearly comotose!
i'll go back next monday and have round two done... we shall see how much better it feels.... and hopefully i won't feel like crawling under the nearest rock and laying there for a few days....
[music | david usher, "going home"]
i went monday and it was quite painful... i learned that my muscles were a lot tighter than i had realized.... that and that i had mucho blockages (i know this because i wanted to throw up or laugh or cry at many points in the session!) the fucked up thing is that i was so drained after the session that i could barely drag myself home in time to take a 3.5 hour nap & then run downtown to meet my friend michael for a hangout and dinner... i thought you were supposed to leave these shiatsu thingies feeling refreshed and envigorated or at the most, relaxed. i didn't realize i'd be nearly comotose!
i'll go back next monday and have round two done... we shall see how much better it feels.... and hopefully i won't feel like crawling under the nearest rock and laying there for a few days....
[music | david usher, "going home"]
5.16.2005
summer weddings
i got an invite in the mail for the wedding of one of my cousins (janna)... it will be in edmonton on september 17th... i am pretty sure i won't be there for it... you see, her brother (chad) is also getting married this year - in august in regina, saskatchewan. i will be going to that wedding.
chad is a few months older than me & we spent a lot of time together growing up. even though he and my cousin mardy used to torment me and were cruel-as-only-kids-can-be-cruel (ah, childhood, the eternal confidence-killer) i really want to go to his wedding. i think of all of my cousins, that he and i are most similar. that's not to say i'm at all like him (he's a chiropracter in calgary), but i really get along with him.... :)
and also - plus marks to janna for the tasteful invite... it's a cream & brown simple card with one quote "how beautiful is the day that is touched by love" (i know, gag), but other than that quote i'd have to say it's one of the nicest invites i've ever seen. not flooncy or lacy or flowery or gag-worthy in any other way! :) i guess it's pretty hard to escape a quote like that - and perhaps it's not nearly as naueseating if you actually are in love! lol
[music | the killers, "somebody told me"]
chad is a few months older than me & we spent a lot of time together growing up. even though he and my cousin mardy used to torment me and were cruel-as-only-kids-can-be-cruel (ah, childhood, the eternal confidence-killer) i really want to go to his wedding. i think of all of my cousins, that he and i are most similar. that's not to say i'm at all like him (he's a chiropracter in calgary), but i really get along with him.... :)
and also - plus marks to janna for the tasteful invite... it's a cream & brown simple card with one quote "how beautiful is the day that is touched by love" (i know, gag), but other than that quote i'd have to say it's one of the nicest invites i've ever seen. not flooncy or lacy or flowery or gag-worthy in any other way! :) i guess it's pretty hard to escape a quote like that - and perhaps it's not nearly as naueseating if you actually are in love! lol
[music | the killers, "somebody told me"]
5.14.2005
if god had curves : everything is alright by me now
i put this review up on the amazon.ca site - but thought i'd put it here too!
this fourth solo album by david usher continues to prove that he's never been just a pretty face - but that he's becoming one of our most brilliant and talented singer/songwriters....
earnest and moving tracks like 'souring' and 'the long goodbye' sit nicely beside the sardonic bite of 'hey kids' and the darkly moving 'everything is alright by me now'. 'going home' and 'faithless' seems to be both more obviously personal tracks than david usually gives us including mentions of his child and new home-base of nyc.
the only complaint on this album is that it's over all too soon - but i guess that's what the repeat button is for....
[music | david usher, "hey kids"]
this fourth solo album by david usher continues to prove that he's never been just a pretty face - but that he's becoming one of our most brilliant and talented singer/songwriters....
earnest and moving tracks like 'souring' and 'the long goodbye' sit nicely beside the sardonic bite of 'hey kids' and the darkly moving 'everything is alright by me now'. 'going home' and 'faithless' seems to be both more obviously personal tracks than david usually gives us including mentions of his child and new home-base of nyc.
the only complaint on this album is that it's over all too soon - but i guess that's what the repeat button is for....
[music | david usher, "hey kids"]
5.13.2005
gym for you, gym for me, but mostly gym for me
so, after signing up nearly 2 years ago & having not gone in about 8 months - i have gone back to the gym today. we'll see how long it lasts. heehee....i loved going when i was going regularily - and the only reason i stopped last time was because i started working crazy long hours and just had no time to go. so my plan now is to drag my sorry ass out of bed every morning and hit the gym by 10:00am. i have the time now, so an hour at the gym 5-days a week isn't a bad thing.... they also have yoga on site - i'll check out their instructors, i have yoga-snobbery. i just keep thinking that any yoga offered at a gym won't be good... we shall see......
it was so not fun trying to figure out how the damned machines worked again.... :( on the cross trainer i just did the basic quick start. must remember how to set it for time/resistance. and the weight machines.... oy! they moved the ab machine - i almost couldn't find it! and the blood pressure was 124/88 - that was after the workout - i will measure it pre-work-out too on monday.....
[music | garbage, "why do you love me"]
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