Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We Interrupt Regular Programming To Bring You This Message

I AM CANADIAN, AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE....



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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Yes, We Can

I just voted in the Canadian federal election.... yaaawwnnn, oh sorry, excuse me..... Ya there was an election here too, I almost forgot, what with all the commotion down south of the border.... Canadian politics?.... meh.... maybe it's election fatigue, I mean this was the third election in the past four years.... maybe its because this election was a choice between meh, meh, meh, and more meh.... if we actually got to vote for the party leader, I might not have even voted, but since we vote for a local Member of Parliament, I was motivated.... this is because the last time I voted FOR my local MP, he went ahead and switched sides after he was elected!.... can these slimy politicians do that?.... he betrayed the constituency that gave him the right to sit in the House of Commons, and we no longer have any say about it?..... I voted for him because of his political party not because he inspired me as an individual.... I should have figured out from the questionable and unconvincing hair(piece) on his opportunistic head that he shouldn't be trusted.... so I didn't just vote FOR a candidate this time round, I voted AGAINST that traitor.... I actually like the current situation of a minority government, it keeps these politicians on their toes, I'm just sick of all these snap elections....

I have never been inspired by a politician, and with politicians like my (hopefully former) MP, how can you be inspired to even trust them?.... at least that follicley-challenged traitor to the electorate made Canadian politics a little more interesting for me.... now, politics in the United States of America? Yeeeehaaaaw! .... I actually rushed home so I could re-hook my IV back into CNN.... reality t.v. has never been so interesting..... oh sorry I meant reality, sometimes I can't tell.... it's more than just the historic nature of this US election..... yes, this election may very well lead to the first black president of the the free world, but with Barack Obama, I finally know what my parents' generation meant when they were inspired by another young politician.... JFK.... yes people will say that Obama is just good at delivering a speech, but I am not the one you should ask whether one should believe that words have power.... not just the power to inspire you to feel good, but the power to inspire the individual to action and affect real change for the better.... I for one have watched these past eight years with dismay and a sense of despondence at the direction the world is heading towards.... in Canada, we liken our relationship with the US as a mouse in bed with an elephant.... of course the US is the elephant.... whenever the elephant moves, the mouse feels it.... this analogy can easily apply to the United States' relationship with the rest of the world.... I was leaning towards the propaganda that the US of America was just a bully rather than the propaganda that America, from its founding is the beacon of liberty, hope, freedom, democracy, hope, opportunity, justice, equality, hope, etc, for all peoples of the world, unlike any other nation on earth..... I could use a little bit of hope right now, and Barack Obama gives me the hope that there are leaders out there who can inspire and lead with a cool, smart, and steady hand, rather than with moronic trigger happy fingers....


Whether a change in the White House will lead to a change in the world towards cooperation and good will, remains to be seen... One thing is for sure here in North America, we can choose our leaders, we can hold them accountable, we can change them, we can question our government's propaganda, we can stand up to our governments, we have a say in what direction we want our societies to head, we can agree to disagree on our differing ideologies, we have the right to make up our own minds, and believe what we choose to believe.... yes, we can.... si, se puede.... oui, c'est possible... pwede yan.... やれば、できるんだ.... 我 们 做 得 到....

A belated Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be thankful for in our democracy.... I hope you all participate in democracy and vote.... I can't wait to see what happens on November 4 with our cousins down south....

"in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope..."

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Sunday, October 05, 2008

Une Nuit Blanche avec moi-même

At 2 A.M. this morning, I found myself neither able to sleep, nor able to focus on what I was trying to study..... I've been having trouble focusing all week.... well, next thing I knew, I found myself making a cup of coffee and hoping into my car, and then driving to Toronto.... it's been a long time since I've done anything remotely spontaneous..... and with gas prices these days, the spontaneous decision to hop in the car and go for a drive is no longer one made lightly.... I figured with crude oil prices dropping and gas at only $1.09/litre, I'd splurge a little.... what the heck? only $1.09/litre? that's still ridiculous.... I thought I'd check out this year's Nuit Blanche, and I figured the drive may do me some good....

after parking the car, I found myself walking down an uncharacteristically empty University Avenue....where the hell am I? what the hell am I doing? and where the hell am I going?..... these are questions I find myself pondering these days, even when I'm not wandering the deserted city streets at 3 A.M.....

check out what they did to city hall....the installation is titled "Stereoscope" by some German dudes, it's an interactive light installation... you can influence what's displayed on the city hall windows through smart phones, the web and physical controllers that are located in Nathan Phillips Square.....
This one is titled "Waterfall" by Katharine Harvey, made from recyclable plastic bottles.... it's hanging on the Ontario Power Generation Building.... I thought that was poetic since it reminds me of Niagara Falls, which generates a lot of Ontario's power....
this one is titled "A Dream of Pastures" by Mitchell F. Chan and Brad Hindson....

it's an interactive light and shadow animation projected against the wall of the Art Gallery of Ontario, see the guy riding the bike? it's his shadow riding the horse....
okay, there were a lot more installations strewn across the city.... 155 to be exact, needless to say I didn't see them all.... I figured it was time for me to return to my reality.... plus I had enough of the fumes emanating from the alcohol drenched post-last-call crowds, and had inhaled enough second hand marijuana smoke for the night.... also, the sun would be on it's way back soon.... a new day.... hopefully a fresh and more focused start for the week.... wish me luck....

Acquainted With The Night
by Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-by;
And further still at an unearthly height
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.


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