Change of Plans.

Ok. So Broken Social Scene was not on Conan last night - Marty Stewart was?!
And I don't get to go snowboarding today because the damn gondola is still broken.
So now I get to sit around in my pajamas all day.
I blame this topsy-turvy-ness on the Conservatives.
Damn you Stephen Harper! Damn you all to hell!!!

Welcome to "C" Country

Well, my worst fears have been realized - almost. Thank goodness it's only a minority government - again. Hopefully the Liberal Opposition and the NDP will stand their ground in Parliament so none of Harper's ridiculous legislations get passed. As I said to my returns officer while voting yesterday, "See ya'll next year!"

For all you night owls out there, Broken Social Scene will be performing on Conan O'Brien tonight. Tune in - Lisa's still on tour with them. (She gets to meet Conan! I am so jealous!)

Due to my cabin fever (aka: boredom, not the flesh-eating disease) I'm heading out to Sunshine tomorrow - hopefully. Let's all pray that my gondola doesn't go flying.

G'night all.

Not even a spoonful of sugar will help this medicine go down

Dose Daily Magazine - you are fit for the pit.

I pick up Dose every once in awhile just for something to read during breakfast, and I get that their reader demographic is apathetic. But as a so-called member of the fourth estate, maybe you could do something to promote the involvement of the youth who read your magazine?

Case in point: Thursday's Issue: Dose asks people across the country "what election issue is least important to you?"

Two of the replies:

"All of them, any and all things related to politics are not important to me. Ignorance is bliss to me. I know I'm contributing to the stereotype of youth, but hey, it's a stereotype for a reason."
Well said young man. That's an admirable quality in a young person today - to admit how wilfully ignorant they are. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Perhaps you could put down the all the shopping bags from designer stores (NIKE front and centre) and pick up a newspaper. I realize world issues are a bummer and all, but this is your future we're talking about! And you just don't care?

"I hate how they want to give money to parents of little kids."
(When asked if she would prefer that the money be spent on daycare programs, she replied...)
"Well, I guess so. Still, don't give them the money!!!"
Holy crap. Well young lady, based on the cost of your designer parka and the (cheap, I'm sure) digital camera in your hand, I'm guessing mummy and daddy didn't have any trouble coming up with the cash for daycare for you. Now what if your mom got pregnant and it was a rocky relationship and she ended up working two jobs just to stay out of the drop-in centre and had to decide between using the $20 a month she's given for childcare on a babysitter for you or the electricity bill... would you say she doesn't deserve the extra cash?

Of course, both of these quotes are from 18 year olds - but no one else on the page seemed that interested in any issue that has been raised in the election thus far. And only one person even mentioned the gay marriage debate - and not because it's been passed by Supreme Court, or that it would be a human rights violation, but because "it doesn't bother him".

Within a week of turning 18 I was out there voting. It wasn't a federal election, but it meant a lot to me that I had a say in the whole process. These days it's hard not to become jaded or angry about the whole political process. It's hard to drive through Mount Royal and not want to plow down all those damn conservative campaign signs! And it's disheartening as a young person sometimes, sometimes I feel as though those conservative rich white men have a vote that's worth 3 times more than mine. But still, it's my duty and my privilege to be out there on Monday - voting. I do it if only as a means to remembering that I live in a country where that right has not yet been taken away.

Ugh.

What kind of asshole wears a bikini to a deep water aquasize class?! And apparently said bikini-wearer does not understand the difference bewteen clockwise and counter-clockwise. I should have beaned her with my flotation belt. Seriously.

I was going to write cd reviews today. But don't feel like it. I will say this though...

The Strokes third cd still does not capture the energy of their first. As always, their songs are pretty catchy, but damn they sure rip off a lot of riffs from other bands! This time around... the Pogues and Sigur Ros. Jury's still out on this one... it may take a few more rotations in the old cd player.

Propagandhi's newest disc, Potemkin City Limits just kicks ass. They've moved on from their primarily anti-American stance to verbally assaulting the tenants of Rideau Hall. The "not in my backyard" outlook definitely doesn't apply to them. Straight outta Compton... err... Winnipeg, these guys are hardcore and intelligent.

And now I will leave you with an exerpt from a letter I wrote to my good friend Lisa, who is currently seeing the world while on tour with Broken Social Scene. I wrote to her last night and thought I sounded clever. So I'll share that with you.

I like to play a game called "Where in the World is Lisa Lobsinger?" it is sort of like Where in the World is Carmen San Diego - except you are not a fleeing criminal and I am not a special agent with Interpol. So really, all this game involves is guessing which city you are currently in, and then looking on the B.S.S. website to see if I'm right! It's an activity that is just time-consuming enough to distract me from doing real work. However, I can't spend too much time on the B.S.S. website, because then I become envious and wistful, and then I start thinking "hmmm... wouldn't it be just incredible to see Lisa perform in (insert exotic city here)..." and then I am brought back to the horrifying reality in which I realize that seeing as I couldn't afford to go to the B.S.S. show in Calgary - it would be very unlikely that I could ever afford to see you guys play in some wonderful old European city!!! So sad!

I caught the last hour of the leader's English debate the other night... not much new there. I am still ultimately confused as to why the Bloc gets to participate and not the Green Party. Each one has about as much chance as the other of winning the federal election. It confuses me as to why Gilles Duceppe - or anyone who is as vehemently anti-Canadian as he is should be allowed to run at all. We're trying to elect the prime minister of Canada after all, not the prime minister of Quebec. As far as I'm concerned, you might as well eat your ballot if you're going to vote for the Bloc, for all the good that will do.

Stephen Harper - whose support has been up since the debate, simply creeped me out. It appeared as though his media relations/publicist must have told him to keep it loosey-goosey before the debate. Appear well-rounded, and smile a lot. Have you ever gotten that birthday card? The one with the picture of a grimacing old lady on the front, and inside it says: "I AM Smiling"? That was Stephen Harper. Every time he looked directly into the camera I felt as though he was stealing my soul.

Although Jack Layton is usually portrayed as the yappy little dog, nipping at all the big dog's heels, I guess it was Paul Martin's turn on debate night. Desperately trying to kick it into high gear to gain back some points, Martin came up short and may have done more damage than good. His feeble and desperate attempt to get Stephen Harper to bite at the 'not withstanding' bone was pretty weak. Did he honestly think Harper would support him?! The conservatives have made it abundantly clear that using the clause will be the first thing they do should they get into power!

As lame as Martin's bear-baiting was, I was impressed with his stand on Canadian unity. The sponsorship scandal has made this election into a smear campaign. And the only people that have benefited from this are the people of Quebec. I don't agree with under the table dealings, and I certainly don't condone the events that led up to the Gomery inquiry - but you have to ask yourself if you were prime minister and one of your provinces was threatening to separate... wouldn't it be worth it to throw a little money their way to at least keep them sitting tight? And if a bribe of this nature is so damn bad - why did these certain Quebec businesses choose to accept it? Maybe because it's win/win for them, and it puts the rest of Canada out the original $13 million plus the $60 million it cost to host an inquiry.

I don't mean to sound anti-Quebec - I'm not. What I am however, it anti-anti-Canadian. Besides, these comments are not to be taken too seriously. I am after all, no political analyst. I am merely a fence sitter with a deep seated fear of conservatives running my country.

Anyhoo... I was going to review my first cd purchase of 2006, but I'm tired from building IKEA furniture. Stupid flarken pieces of crap!!! I also spent the past three evenings editing my sister's IB English paper on "The Metamorphosis" which is apparently by a gentleman by the name of Frank Kafka. And here I was all these years thinking it was Franz... silly me.

However, to end this post on a happy note, here it is, your moment of zen...

Ok... apparently I don't get a moment of zen because for some reason I can't upload images from my own computer. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then.

Firsts for 2006

• First Book Read: The Dog of the Marriage by Amy Hempel - I found this book of short stories to be insanely over-rated. I picked it up from the library on a whim, I figured that since so many of my favorite authors seem to praise Hempel to the highest heavens, it seemed pretty likely that I'd enjoy her work too. Alas, stories about middle-aged divorced women have never been my cup o' tea as it were.

Verdict: Disappointment, not worthy of first book status. I am now working my way through The Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges. I have never read Borges before, mostly because I found the fact that his first and last names rhyme troublesome. Regardless, I find that so far, I find that I either immensely enjoy his short stories, or am completely disinterested in them.

• First Film Watched in Theatre: King Kong - Having never been a fan of blockbuster movies of any sort, I went along simply because I was invited and didn't want to go home yet. The endless chasing, chasing, chasing and weird creatures popping up everywhere got to be a little tiresome, but the cast was fabulous and I must admit to tearing up a wee bit at the end.

Verdict: Every bit as inventive as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Peter Jackson sticks to his vision and manages not to mangle one of the most memorable films in cinema history. The characters were brilliant - and fiercely believable - Jack Black's performance as a scheming film director was pitch perfect. That Billy Elliot kid even dances a wee jig! The reference to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness was a nice touch - just imagine what Jackson could do with Apocalypse Now. Yikes!

• First film rented: Dear Frankie - A Scottish film about a mother who tells her son that his father is in the navy and stationed at ports around the world. She writes letters to her son, Frankie (who is deaf) under the guise of his father, and Frankie replies - sending his "da" letters to a post office box in Glasgow, which his mother checks once a week. They soon learn that his "father's" ship is due in Glasgow and Frankie is excited to finally meet his dad. In order to protect him, she hires "The Stranger" to pose as his dad for a day.

Verdict: I'm a sucker for British films - especially those which focus on the underdog - the down and out. Dear Frankie is similar in that right to the aforementioned Billy Elliot. The story is so captivating and the characters so bloody endearing!!! It really was a gem of a film.

P.S. "The Stranger" is played by Gerard Butler, ( www.imdb.com/name/nm0124930/ ) who is going to be my new boyfriend - just so you're all aware.