In Case You Were Wondering II

I had an exceptional afternoon with some friends.

It is at times like this that I can see the way back from depression. Take action. Depression saps enthusiasm and will, so it is good to be able to remember a day like this when the darkness crowds back in.

Starting to feel a little more myself. We'll see how the next few weeks go.

I may even start joking and cussing again.

Fuck. Oops.

In Case You Were Wondering

This thing pretty much went off the rails right around New Years when my father was diagnosed with cancer.  Hard to make with the funny when you're wondering if your Pop is going to be around much longer.  However, I'm happy to report that he's heading home from the hospital tomorrow following what looks to have been a very successful surgery.

With that crisis now moving to the back-burner, I'm going to try to get this sorry mess of a blog up and running again.  And what better way to kick things off than with more music recommendations?

I'm all about the easy.  I'm also all about the electro pop, judging by the following.  Enjoy.

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

I urge you to check this out.  Recommended by a friend, I cannot get enough of this song right now.  Kinda like Cut Copy or MGMT or Hot Chip, maybe Crystal Castles although not quite as 8-bit-arcade-bleepy-and-bloopy.  From the EP Chunk of Change.  Steal it now.

M83 - Kim and Jessie

Although I like this song, I'm only putting it here because my favourite song from M83's Saturdays = Youth is over eight minutes long.  You can check out "Couleurs" on their MySpace page if you wanna; I really dig it.  As for "Kim and Jessie", I can feel the 80s synth pop coming round again.

The Bird and the Bee - Love Letter to Japan

Jump in the wayback machine for the retro sounds of The Bird and the Bee.  I'm posting this because, once again my two favourites songs, "Diamond Dave" and "Ray Gun", aren't represented on YouTube.  I cannot help but think this is what Portishead would sound like if they didn't make trip-hop.

Elbow - The Fix

In a similar sonic vein, listen to Elbow's "The Fix".  And I do mean listen, since this is one of those fan-produced videos where you just sit and stare at the album cover.

Deerhunter - Agoraphobia

Let me leave you with "Agoraphobia" from Microcastle.  Not sure what to say about this except I like it.

Testing, Testing

I'm giving CellSpin Soft's free mobile blogging app for iPhone a test spin. Sp far, it seems fairly simple to set up and post media - but limited features such as no rich-text support or tagging. Hmmm. I'm thinking an app specifically for Google Blogger might be a better option. If one exists.

Happy New Year or April Fool's Day?

Two quick hits today.  Although there is much to rant about in the news today, two stories in particular elicit an OMFG reaction. Frankly, I wish it was April Fools' Day.

WTF?

CNN reports that GOP reaction to a controversial parody song "Barack the Magic Negro", distributed as a Christmas gift by party chairman Mike Duncan on a compliation CD entitled "We Hate the USA", is divided.  Well, what else can I say except WTF?

Reaction is divided?  Really?  Even if you accept that the CD was meant as a gag gift -after all, Duncan didn't write the song; it first aired on Rush Limbaugh's radio show in 2007, which is about the only unsurprising factoid in this whole mess - it is at best a joke in exceedingly poor taste.  Show me a Republican who can defend Duncan on this with a straight face, I dare you.  How about trotting out Sarah Palin?

Gov. Sarah Palin (R - AK): I'm telling you, Anderson, this is some funny shit.

Anderson Cooper: Excuse me?

Gov. Palin: Trust me on this.  I speak for the entire GOP when I say, laughing at n------ is funny, funny shit.

Anderson Cooper: Doesn't that show stunning racial insensitivity?

Gov. Palin: It might, if any of 'em voted for us.

Sigh.  I miss her.

The problem with defending the song as satire - duh - is that is misses the point.  When the Chairman of the GOP sends the song around as a Christmas gift, it cannot help but to be seen as a statement.  It legitimizes race as a suitable vehicle for attacking or denigrating the President.  What should an African-American voter think but that the GOP has written them off?

O RLY?

Since the prorogation of Parliament and the selection of Michael Ignatieff as Liberal leader, not much news has seeped out of the federal parties.  At least, until now.  What better way to ring in the New Year than to re-open the debate on abortion.  Frankly, I prefer to have the Conservative "secret agenda" out in the open.  The Tories are not defenders of womens' rights; don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

In an opinion piece in the National Post, Tory MP Rod Bruinooge, chairman of a secretive parliamentary group known as the Pro-Life Caucus, pledges a new era of advocacy on behalf of the unborn.  Mr. Bruinooge illogically compares kidneys to fetuses and raises the spectre of late-term abortions.  Legal or not, I dare Mr. Bruinooge to show me one single legitimate doctor who would perform an elective abortion "moments away from delivery".

Unless Mr. Bruinooge can point to a recent spate of questionable late-term abortions in Canada, this issue does not deserve the attention of the criminal law but is a question of ethics and practice for the medical profession.

Until then, I'll assume Mr. Bruinooge is playing up to the social conservative base of the party - one more round of ammo for the Torys to use should a coalition emerge or the country heads back to the polls.

YA RLY!

Oh, one more.  I couldn't resist.

Providing a great capper to the shitty, shitty year that was 2008, one BILLION gallons of coal waste sludge has been spilled in the Clinch River, a tributary of the Tennessee River.  Congratulations for this epic environmental fail go to the Tennessee Valley Authority.

How many days left in 2008?

The Second Coming

And what better way to announce my return during this holiday season than to invite comparisons to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?  Hey, at least it ain't Easter.  I'm moderate in my blasphemy.

Eating Out or Let's Talk About Lunch, Baby

Yeah, that's a Salt 'n' Pepa joke.  What of it?

I've enjoyed two exceptional lunches this December.  Earlier in the month, I dined at Canoe.  What can I say that hasn't already been said about this legendary Toronto restaurant?  Nothing, so I won't bother to try - other than to add we saw Rick Mercer waiting in line in front of us.  

Last week, our office took our Christmas lunch at Nota Bene.  The meal was great and the service top-drawer.  If  I had to nitpick, I'd say I found the open concept dining room to be a bit loud.

New Years' Eve will find me at Marcel's on King West following the Raptors game.  My father likes Marcel's quite a bit, although after checking his "records", he advises me we haven't dined there since 2003.  This begs the question: why in the hell is my father keeping records on where we ate five years ago?

Hiatus Redux

Why have I stopped making with the funny?

Short answer: my impressive shiny new HP Windows Media Centre laptop is completely fucked. It beeps in agony when I turn it on. The screen goes dark. It turns itself off. It reports numerous driver errors and conflicts. I cannot launch iTunes or charge my iPhone. I blame Vista.

Let it be said: I refuse to blog in safe mode. Or on my mobile. Or on any of another half-dozen other PCs available to me.

Work has been mental so I've no idea when I'll get around to fixing the laptop. Rest assured, I'll be back with a vengeance just as soon as possible.

It's All About Me

You may recall an earlier post in which I coined the term kno' ho', a pithy, somewhat disparaging slang term for a knowledge worker, with the intent of submitting same to Urban Dictionary.

Peep this, bitches.  Now that's what I call teh power of teh interwebs. I'm famous.  Make sure you give it a thumbs up.  

Next up, I wanna see if I can get T.Ur.D. accepted.  

Oh, and this is just plain funny.  So enjoy - and have a great day!