Filed under: bad news, good news | Tags: 411, Conservatism, Google, guns, toronto, violence
Of course, it’s hard to believe that Toronto’s a safe city when stuff like this happens. Sheesh. Guns, guns, guns
And the news has come out that Conservatives don’t care about cities anyway. Well, duh.
At least now we can contact the nearest hospital without paying for 411. Thanks, Google. I can’t wait to try this out.
Filed under: bad news, good news | Tags: Atlantic Canada, Bill Richardson, Canadiana, CBC, Conservatism, DNTO, Hard Candy, jPod, madonna, politics, racism, Shelagh Rogers, Sounds Like Canada, Stratford, Tetsuro Shigematsu, That Time of the Night, theatre, toronto, transit, Vancouver, Winnipeg, YouTube
Just so that I can purge the ‘Starred items’ view of my Google Reader without guilt:
First, a video -
Many thanks to Spacing Toronto for this video.
Save the CBC -
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These posters (and more) have come from Marnina via Save jPod.
In other CBC news, it seems that the biggest worry with respect to the cancellation of Sounds Like Canada is the fact that programming is being taken away from Vancouver (which, the CBC insists is not happening). While the loss of jobs anywhere in Canada is bad news, I have a hard time feeling badly for Vancouver when I can’t seem to find any nationally-broadcast content on Radio 1 coming from anywhere in Atlantic Canada. Last time I checked, Definitely Not the Opera comes from Winnipeg, so the Prairies have something. Most national shows seem to come from Toronto, which (don’t hate me) makes sense, but the last time I remember hearing something from the East was the final episode of the now-defunct That Time of the Night with Francesca Swann.
Nay, the real tragedy is the loss of great personalities like Shelagh Rogers. Jian Ghomeshi is okay, but my afternoons haven’t been the same since Bill Richardson moved on. Even his successor, Tetsuro Shigematsu, was pretty swell (and had a name that was fun to say, too!), but he was dismissed after a relatively short stint.
All I can say is that the new mid-morning program had better be pretty damn good.
Transit Woes -
Leaving the TTC alone for a moment, it looks as though there’s some GO Transit news (links here and here). The gist, as I understand it, is that the transit company isn’t willing to offer rebates for late trains, but they are going to make changes to improve the system.
Now, I would think that if the system were to be improved, there wouldn’t be a problem offering rebates for trains running later than twenty minutes because there wouldn’t be trains running later than twenty minutes because the system will have been improved. Hm.
Toronto’s a Safe Place -
Old news, as far as I’m concerned. But here’s some proof. If anything, this survey should inspire CBC personalities and Producers to head back to St. John’s where they can broadcast in safety, far from the dangers of Winnipeg, Regina, and Vancouver.
The Bigot in Blue -
From CBC Toronto news: Tory ‘deeply troubled’ by racist e-mail linked to Ryerson Conservative club member. I’m not saying that all, or even most Conservatives woman-hating racists, but let’s face it – Conservatism is probably the best political outlet for woman-hatig racists that Canada has to offer. Enough said.
New Madonna (!!) -

This is apparently the cover to Madonna’s new album, Hard Candy, due to be out next month. As always, there’s going to be a bonus track available in the Japanese release. Is there a reason for this? I suppose some folks will rush out and buy another CD, but not I. That’s what the internet is for.
It’s also come out that M wants to play opera houses, for a more intimate feel (may I suggest the Four Seasons Centre?). The article included this inspiring quotation:
‘I just love theatre and the magic of theatre. You can hear people breathing and you can see their sweat, you can see the work.
Another Great Tragedy -
If only we had more love in Canadian theatre. It’s been announced that two of the three new Artistic Directors at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival have resigned (link link). This is, well, completely unsurprising. It’s all well and fine to have collaboration, but it won’t work unless someone’s in charge. This is not rocket science.
Filed under: good news | Tags: education, Harvard, health and wellness, university
You work a crappy job. You owe the bank or the government (or both!) a sum that could otherwise have purchased you a luxury sedan, or a kick-ass year in Europe. Instead, you have a BA in Enlight Lit. or History or Women’s Studies.
But not all is lost. You’re likely more thin and less smokey than your under-educated counterparts, and you’ll live longer, according to a Harvard study.
So take a moment to thank that piece of paper on your wall (or fridge) before you go to bed tonight. It’s bought you a few extra nights.
Filed under: bad news, good news | Tags: capris, cars, flood, gays, toronto, TTC
I came across this article yesterday about streetcar-centred development. Interesting idea, but, as someone who spent more than three years living on a streetcar line, I’m not particularly excited about it. Subway lines are where it’s at. Sadly, I doubt we’ll see any more of those popping up any time soon (or ever?).
Come to think of it, we may not see much of transit at all. With the possibility of a strike looming, the TTC employee’s union could be making April Fools of us all.
Anyone who has ever had to go from south Etobicoke to north Scarborough by TTC knows what I mean. Anyone that has cheerfully approached a TTC employee only to be scowled at knows what I mean. Taking the TTC can be a terrible experience. It’s inefficient, dirty, and the image of the TTC worker overall is severely tarnished by the many miserable people who are members of the union and staff the system.
Ouch. Granted, their propaganda video (shown at the aforementioned blog post) makes me grimace, and I have come across the odd sourpuss, but I also think it’s important to separate frustrations with TTC emkployees from those of the system as a whole. I’m probably angrier than most at things like overcrowding. Or late trains. Or unexplained stops at random subway stations for no apparent reason with the train doors open. But I think we all know that most of this can’t be pinned on the union or its members.
Then again, it’s hard to support a strike when these folks already make exponentially more than I do.
To make matters worse, we may end up out on the streets during a flood. So much for our safe streets. And I know all of this sucks, but at this point I think I’d take a bit of flooding (though not a bit of mugging) if it meant sur-zero temperatures. That’s why God invented capris, no?
Oh, and if my limp-wristed commentary has offended you, you may want to think about running me over with your new Ford. It’s okay to buy them again! Perfect for hate crimes. Or, considering the company’s track record, maybe it’s just convenient timing.
It’s not on YouTube yet, but give it another ten minutes.
Iggy Pop covering Madonna (Burning Up; Ray of Light). He half-knew the songs, and Madonna was half smiling and then he starts walking about the audience telling them to “feel the music”. Pure effing gold.
In the meantime, enjoy this Madonna/Iggy encounter from 2004:
Filed under: bad news, eye candy, good news | Tags: Canadiana, CBC, David Kopp, douglas coupland, Jeff Probst, jPod, Leonard Cohen, madonna, McDonald's, television, Toblerone, Tod Maffin, TTC
The good news is that, now that’s caught the media’s attention, TTC washrooms may finally clean up their act. The bad news is that, until today, I didn’t know there were washrooms in subway stations.
Am I the only one?
Also down the drain is a significant portion of CBC TV’s new material. Today, Tod Maffin talks about promoting our television. Out of the three shows discussed, jPod was the only one I’d seen. I was actually a regular watcher until it was sent to the gallows of the Friday night slot. Even so, I think I was tuned in mainly out of loyalty to the book. The show had a pretty stellar cast, but no performance could save a retelling of the Coupland masterpiece sans all the good stuff. McDonald’s, Toblerone, Jeff Probst. Coupland names names; it’s one of the things that makes him great. The television series was watered down.
Of course, David Kopp was fun to look at.
Yes, please!
And speaking of attractive singers, Madonna is currently being honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since she was announced as one of the five successful candidates, there’s been some outcry because apparently Madonna’s not Rock and Roll enough. Point taken, but what about Leonard Cohen? I mean, c’mon. Walk into any record store and you’ll see that the musical genre is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Filed under: eye candy, good news | Tags: Canadiana, El-Farouk Khaki, home life, Jack Layton, NDP, politics, voting

The NDP just came to my door, leaving me with the following visit-tally:
NDP: 2
Liberal: 0
Green: 0
Conservative: 0
I had pretty much decided to abandon my usual voting policy (all orange, all the time) and go for Bob Rae because I kind of like the guy, but that’s all gone now. El-Farouk, don’t let me down.
[Edit: The Conservatives did stop by after all. I told them not to come back.]