What's he on about now?

In case the articles, essays and opinions throughtout this site just weren't enough for you, here's my online diary (a.k.a. 'blog'). It's as close as you'll come to the inside of my head, so don't say I didn't warn you
(and remember, you can always e-mail me if you love or loathe anything you're about to read)...


   Friday, July 29, 2005

   ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS

I turn 34 this Sunday, entering my final year of the coveted 18-34 demographic. I well know that the glossiest part of my youth is behind me but that little business factoid makes it feel quite final. Okay, that and the (slightly) receding hairline!

But so what? I can't say I'm 100% cool with the aging process but it's entirely ridiculous to fret about it. I've seen what happens to people who refuse to accept the realities of time and boy, it's a lot less pretty than grey hair or a wider tummy.

Over the years, my birthdays have tended to range from genially low-key affairs to outright disasters (my 19th still ranks as one of the worst days of my life!). I've never been one to throw big parties because I've found that my friends -- no matter how dear to me -- never seem to have much in common with each other. I'm not sure what that says about me but I love each and every one of them and want them around.

This year my friend Ed convinced me to try and celebrate myself a little more (hasn't he been reading this site?) so, in that spirit, I sent a personally-edited version to the following note to each of my friends in town:

A friend asked me what I was doing for my birthday this Sunday.
I just shrugged.
He made a face and said, "It's *your* day."
Well yes, I thought, yes it is, so here's what I'm thinking:

On Saturday night, I'll be taking over a small chunk of the Churchmouse &
Firkin pub at Church and Maitland from 8-10:30 pm. Then, I'll be
wandering around the corner to Buddies at Yonge and Alexander for retro
80's dance silliness.

Hardly a big night, but an evening of beer, snacks and disco with a large
number of friends sounds about right to me and I'll hope you'll come by at
either location, any time. You may not know (or even like) a couple of my
friends but, hey, it's a big pub and a bigger dance floor so there's lots
of room for everyone to come and go as they please.

Don't worry about RSVPing and definitely don't worry about gifts -- just
bring your own lovely self, cause I'd love to see you there!

So that's the plan. Whether it works out or not is a whole other ballgame but hey, it's one night, dammit, and it's mine!

Reuters reports today that a "majority of the U.S. public doubts the United States will win the war in Iraq and believes the Bush administration deliberately misled Americans over Iraq's weapons capabilities, according to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll."

51% think they've been lied to. That's still staggeringly low, considering the evidence (hey Karl Rove, that CIA outing investigation making you nervous?), but I'm still feeling pretty pleased these days. The re-election of George W. Bush last November practically made me insane with disbelief but now, finally, way too late, I feel that the world is starting to set itself right.

I feel that the great combo of reason and compassion is finally starting to win out. Certainly not with terrorists, not with the White House, but at least with the vast numbers of decent people trapped between their too-similar ideologies -- people who want the "war on terror" to include policing, diplomacy, education, cooperation and logic. I see how the British have been efficiently and legally rounding up terror suspects in the wake of multiple attacks and, for the first time in ages, I feel cautiously optimistic about the future.

Labels: George W Bush

...for stealing my fashion sense (or lack thereof)!

The BBC announced details for season 2 today, including first photos of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor:



I've been dressing like this forever -- I feel robbed! Now wearing my beloved brown overcoat will grant me the same caché as a Star Trek pullover! Depressing, but that said, I am of course completely excited about the new look and what the producers are planning for next season. Bring on Christmas!

Labels: Doctor Who

...that guy on the baseball stadium 'jumbotron'?

Yeah, that would be me. Me and six others from work as, in honour of our summer company 'picnic' at the ballpark, formed the "CORE Company Singers." Since we'd rented out such a big chunk of the stadium (and there was an opening in the schedule), the liason from the Blue Jays invited us to sing the Canadian and American national anthems. As soon as I heard about the idea, I knew I had to take part!

We rehearsed a few times a week earlier this month. "The Star-Spangled Banner" proved to be a more difficult song to get right than we'd thought, though my biggest problem was the end of "God keep our land" in "O Canada" -- a much-lower note than I found comfortable. No Freddie Mercury or Yma Sumac range in this lad.

I'm happy to say that our little group of Yanks and Canucks did our countries proud. I joked that we had to get the American anthem right, lest we find ourselves at Guantanemo Bay (as you can imagine, that gag went out dead on arrival). Somehow we'd managed to keep our singing a secret so most of our colleagues (including the president) were surprised and thrilled. I got to bask in compliments for the next two days.

All this was in addition to a great day. Some people had grumbled about my boss' choice of a ballgame instead of an outdoor picnic but the day's summer thundershowers outside the dome silenced her critics and made her seem psychic. All the food and drinks were on the company dime and a great deal of CORE's employees had never been to a baseball game before -- even if they didn't come away fans, they still enjoyed the novelty of it all.

Oh, and the Jays lost by one run in the ninth, thanks to a controversial umpire call. We wuz robbed!!

Labels: Canada

We have quite a few Brits here at work -- it's been a tough morning.

I'm just glad that, for a city as crowded as London, casualities were relatively few. I hope that any friends or family you may have in the UK are home and dry.

David Plotz at Slate is in London and filed an eyewitness report that made me feel better:

But the reaction to today's attacks feels incredibly English. When I left the quiet area right around the bus bombing and returned to the busy streets of Holborn and Soho, London appeared just as it always is.

The natural state of the English is a kind of gloomy diligence, which is why they do so well in hard times. In 1940, Londoners went dutifully on with their business while the Luftwaffe bombed the hell out of them. Today, most of them are doing the same. I was in Washington for 9/11, and the whole city went into a panic. Offices emptied, stores shut, downtown D.C. became a ghost town. But in London today, everyone still has a cell phone clutched to their ear. The delivery vans are still racing about, seeking shortcuts around all the street closures. The Starbucks is packed.

And when I walked by the Queen's Larder Pub, not half a mile from the Tavistock Square wreckage, at 11 a.m., a half-dozen men were sitting together at a sidewalk table, hoisting their morning pints of ale. Civilization must go on, after all.

I love these people. I love their determination, their humour, their grace and their humanity. The English make me proud in times like these and I have great faith that they'll seek out the bastards who did this and bring them to justice.

The National Post beat me to this one:

On Monday night, in the first interview she has given since being jailed for her role in the sex slayings of three teenage girls, Karla Homolka said she wanted to make Tim Hortons her first stop after 12 years in prison. "I'd like to have an iced cappuccino," Ms. Homolka said with a smile. "An iced cappuccino from Tim Hortons."

There was some serious wincing when I read that last night. It's kind of like having John Wayne Gacy praise the Happy Meal, or having Ted Bundy turn to a camera and say, "When I'm hanging around in the park, nothing fills the hunger gap like a Snickers!"

A spokesman for Tim Hortons obviously leapt for the 'corporate backpedal' saying, "We have faith in our customers that they can make the distinction." An employee at a St. Catherines location said, "It is a very strange thing to say actually -- an iced cappuccino. She doesn't deserve an iced cappuccino. They are good but we hope she doesn't come here to get one."

Poor Karla -- her debt to society came up $1.69 short. But my favourite take in all this comes from York University marketing professor Alan Middleton:

"Will it harm Tim Hortons? No. Will it help? God, I hope not."

Labels: Canada