Preston Manning, Lou Dobbs, etc.

According to his Wikipedia page, "Preston Manning is a right-wing populist politician." Manning is part of the Canadian political elite - his father was premier of Alberta for about 100 years and young Preston founded the Reform Party back in the 1980s. Our Prime Minister Stephen Harper was one of Manning's first key policy advisors. In the late-1990s the Conservative party merged with the Reform party and formed the American-style populist/Conservative/Christian values Reforma-Tory party.
I have a well-defined hatred for these people. In my mind, fiscal conservatism is something that can be debated. My belief that all citizens in a wealthy country are entitled to a minimum standard of living (including health-care and housing) is not held by everyone, and I can accept that. What I cannot deal with is Social Conservatism. I find the acceptance and election of politicians such as Stockwell Day embarassing. I believe in evolution. I am pro-choice. I support the rights of gay people, including the right to marry one another. I am not racist. I believe in the separation between church and state. I consider myself a feminist. I strongly support universal healthcare (a cause that Stephen Harper fought against for years in his role as president of the National Citizens Coalition)
When I first heard that Preston Manning would be hosting a show on CBC radio, I rolled my eyes. The show is called This I Believe and is based on a 1950s radio program by the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow (who I became familiar with via the movie Good Night and Good Luck). Every day a "prominent Canadian" reads an essay that they have written. I was expecting irritating anti-gay and pro-capitalist rants, and I was completely wrong. The essays have been surprisingly progressive and interesting. It has made me interested in Preston Manning - someone I dismissed for years. Don't worry, I will never vote for the Conservative Party, regardless of how many times they change their name.
Meanwhile, on the American front, I have been thinking a lot about CNN host Lou Dobbs lately. Dobbs is the so-called champion of the American middle class. He even wrote a book called War on the Middle Class His issues aren't necessarily Republican, or conservative, or right-wing. That being said, Lou focusses on the issue of illegal immigration every night on his show. It is my belief that the unwillingness of the American government to deal with illegal immigration is based on the corporate need for undocumented, under-paid labour in certain industries (fish/meat processing for example). In that respect, Dobbs is correct in associating the decline of the middle class with illegal immigration - illegal/underpaid labour = lower wages and standards for legal/documented workers. On the other hand, his rants reek of racism. Recently, he has been promoting the idea that a huge number of cases of leprosy have been brought into the United States by illegal immigrants. And when I tuned in the other night he was complaining about the fact that a federal judge had struck down Hazleton Pennsylvaina's anti-illegal immigrant law - a ridiculously xenophobic ordinance that the city's mayor described as having this effect: "I see illegal immigrants picking up and leaving -- some Mexican restaurants say business is off 75 percent - the message is out there." Really, I find it hard to believe that illegal immigration is such a huge problem in Hazleton Pennsylvania....were it not for this law, I would have never heard of Hazleton Pennsylvania. I am actually shocked by the fact that Dobbs is given a forum to air these views every night at 6pm on CNN, but maybe I shouldn't be. His other remarkable feature is that he shouts down his guests, Bill O'Reilly style, every time they disagree with him.

Happy Birthday Erin!!!

Hey Erin - Happy Birthday! This card seemed appropriate...



....but this one was just so much more me!!

I hope you have a good one - see you soon for some drinky drinky!

xxx andrea

Another Celebrity Trainwreck....

This one is too astonishing to resist commenting on: Lindsay Lohan has been arrested for a second DUI and cocaine possession. Apparently Lindsay's assistant quit late yesterday, and when her mother arrived to pick her up, Lindsay chased them in her car. The assistant's mother called the police to report this, and when they picked her up, Lindsay's blood alcohol was over the legal limit and she had cocaine in her pocket. This is just weeks after she left rehab, and just days after she turned herself in for her May DUI/automobile crash.
In spite of my hatred of drunk-drivers, I actually feel sorry for her. Of all the retarded female celebrities in the drunken/coked-up Hollywood scene, Lindsay actually seemed to have some talent. I enjoyed Mean Girls, always thought that she was pretty funny on SNL, and though bad, her music was nowhere near as bad as Paris Hilton's. I don't see how Lindsay can avoid jail time at this point.

There is a Britney Spears/OK Magazine scandal brewing today as well, but it is being way overshadowed by this.

Toronto, Taxes, Public Spending, Etc.

There has been a debate this week over taxes in Toronto. In a nutshell, the City of Toronto is facing a financial crisis and severe deficit if one of two things doesn't happen: the first option is to raise taxes; the second option is to cut spending. Anyone who lives in Toronto knows that spending on city programs is already too low. My last two trips on the TTC were appalling: over an hour to get from Yonge and Queen to College and Crawford; and 45 minutes to get from Queen and Niagara to Yonge and Queen. Crime in the city is down, but crime committed by youth is rising - fairly obviously a byproduct of decreased spending on after-school programs and social spending in general. The city is responsible for social services such as welfare and social housing which are already ridiculously inadequete.
Critics argue that spending in Toronto is out of control and the government just needs to "get creative" in finding solutions to the budget crisis. These people have a point - spending scandals such as the computer leasing scandal (which involved "Conservative" members of council, as usual) show us that spending habits can be improved, but there is much more to this issue.
In 1995, as part of the provincial government's "Common Sense Revolution" the City of Toronto was amalgamated with its surrounding suburban cities, and social spending was downloaded from the province to the city. The result is that Toronto is saddled with disproportionately high (compared to the province as a whole) social costs, without the power to impose income tax. There was the usual rhetoric surrounding this change, including the typical neo-con natter about belt-tightening, budget-shrinking, and tax-slashing. Of course in spite of the supposed 20% (provincial) income tax cut I allegedly received for my belt-tightening, all of my expenses rose significantly including the cost of public transit, payment for eye exams, and the "health care premium" which is essentially an income tax. Had my 20% income tax cut amounted to more than a few hundred dollars a year, I would probably have found these fees for services palatable, but such is life as a low income worker.
Meanwhile the gap between rich and poor has been rising at an alarming rate (this article is based on the American experience, but Canada is facing the same problem). Wealth is growing in our country - the problem is that it is all being concentrated in the hands of the very few.
I'm not sure exactly what the point of this post is. I saw the new Michael Moore flick Sicko this weekend, and it has re-inspired my activism about social spending and health care, I suppose. Anyways, whether or not you agree with me, I think it is important to be aware of these issues. That is all!

UPDATE: Shortly after I wrote this post, Toronto Mayor David Miller announced that there would be massive funding cuts to the TTC and other city services. One of the proposed cuts is shutting down service on the brand new Sheppard subway line which cost $1 Billion to construct. Some are accusing Miller of fear-mongering, which may be true. I think the issue illustrates that there is an urgent funding crisis that needs to be addressed. There is an interesting debate about the issue at the Globe and Mail here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070719.wttc0719/CommentStory/National/home not sure how long that link will last.

Posh Spice - The Mechanical Animal

So, I know that this is kind of old news now, but I meant to comment on it earlier....
Am I the only one who found Posh Spice Victoria Beckham's appearance at the Spice Girls reunion tour announcement somehow frightening?
The zero body fat, orange skin, implants, and weird hair make her look like a fembot. I almost like it in a Marilyn Manson/Mechanical Animals way, but somehow I doubt that was the look she was going for.



I am moderately hungover today, after drinking several glasses of red wine last night, and then staying up late watching episodes of My So Called Life on the Internet. I never really watched that show when it first came out, so it's all pretty much new to me. I find the clothing very nostalgic and amusing - the ugly/oversized grunge look - classic!

Meet Die Mannequin...My New Favourite Band....

(Die Mannequin at SXSW)

A couple of weeks ago my friend X asked me if I wanted to go to see his friend's band Die Mannequin at Lee's Palace. I was a little reluctant because, well you know...I'm old...but I decided that it could be fun and could possibly be a bit more exciting than watching 5 hours of television instead.
The band was amazing. Totally big, brash rock n roll, but without the usual Toronto poseur douche-baggery...I won't mention any names, but I'm sure you know who I mean. Of course in my usual nerd-ish fashion, I had to check out their myspace page to find out more...the band is fronted by Care Failure who was the best female front person I've seen in years (X introduced us and she really is as cool as she looks), and it turns out that the bass player is Tony from Cheerleader, who were another great Toronto band I've seen a bunch of times. They have been touring constantly it seems, and they have opened for All American Rejects, Buck Cherry, and Guns N Roses.....ha. Watch out for them, they are wicked.

More News Items....

Today I heard the story of Genarlow Wilson, a Georgia teenager who was convicted of aggravated child molestation in 2005. The conviction came as a result of Wilson engaging in oral sex with a fifteen year old girl when he was seventeen years old. Though the (oral) sex was consensual, because the girl was only fifteen it was considered a felony. Because of this, Wilson has been sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by one year of probation, and he will have to be registered as a sex offender. He has already served more than two years of this (insane) sentence. "Had Wilson had intercourse with the 15-year-old and not received oral sex from her, he would have been subject to up to 12-month penalty (statutory rape), with no sex offender status, instead of the 10-year minimum term that the judge gave him." This bizarre law has since been modified, but not retroactively.

Meanwhile, this idiot, London Ontario man Robert Neil Robinson, aged 39, was sentenced yesterday for his SIXTH drunk driving conviction after having been pulled over while he was driving in the wrong direction on highway 401 with a Gatorade/Vodka cocktail at his feet and a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. His sentence is six months in prison, the maximum sentence allowable for this kind of judgement.

Has the world gone completely mad?

Some Politics.....

(driveway of Laurel Broten's home)

I'm usually not one to jump on the media-hysteria bandwagon when it comes to the shortcomings or misdeeds of various politicians, but a story in the Toronto Star today just struck me as too annoying not to comment on. The Ontario Environment Minister, (Liberal) Laurel Broten, is in trouble at the moment over her plans to construct a massive garage next to her house in south Etobicoke (near where I spent the first 12 years of my life). The garage will house her four SUVs - ok, so two of them are supposedly low emission hybrids, but still, why on earth would any family need four SUVs? Not to mention, is it really appropriate for our Environment Minister to have four SUVs? Did the family buy the two low emission SUVs after she became Environment Minister to mesh with her "environmentally conscious" job? Are they hoping to be featured on MTV Cribs? Brutal. Which brings us to the planned mega-garage that will probably result in the death of an old tree. Why would anyone need a 19 foot high, multi-level garage? Maybe if they really need all of that extra space, they should consider getting rid of some of their vehicles. Just a thought.

TV Links....or the reason why I never have to leave the apartment again

Last weekend was Gay Pride in Toronto - a yearly celebration of all things gay. Here is a picture of Pride that I found on flickr. It's from 2006, but really, they are all pretty much the same:

I went out on Friday and hagged it up at a few events starting with a drag queen beauty contest; then on to a private party at Wellesley and Jarvis where I knew no one but everyone was very nice as it turned out, it seemed to be a gathering of Air Canada (male) flight attendants for the most part...hot; then to the Delta Chelsea Hotel for a top 40 dance party in the hotel bar; then to a cocktail party upstairs with some boys who were going out to a club. When we were going up in the elevator in the hotel there was a very nice/well-dressed couple travelling with us. Tyler asked them if they were just visiting and it turned out that they were in Toronto to sing at Roy Thompson Hall as part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Meanwhile there were leather clad men leading each other around on leashes in the lobby....Oh dear.....(!)

Later on Tyler and I had a nightcap at Squirley's (really, it isn't a night on the town in my life if it doesn't involve Squirley's - I should buy shares in the place) where we ran into Tyler's friend Leland. Leland recommended the best web site ever to me: http://www.tv-links.co.uk/ where you can stream all sorts of old and new television shows. Needless to say, I have barely left my apartment since then and have literally watched at least two seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm (which is addictive), some Law and Order SVU, some Weeds, etc. etc. I am going to try to watch Lost and 24 over the next few weeks.

On Sunday I skipped the usual drunk-fest in the Buddies in Bad Times park that I seem to do every year in celebration of Gay Pride. Instead, I took it easy and got my hair coloured at Coupe. I'm becoming so responsible and mature, it's sickening!

Gridskipper & New York City Stuff

This week I discovered a neat alternative travel website called Gridskipper ("the decadent urban travel guide - scouring the globe for chic hotels, hot restaurants, sweet nightlife, and pretty people")
They rely heavily on maps and lists for their travel stories, which appeals to me, and they have quite a lot of New York City stuff which is also cool. Stories such as Notorious New York Hotels , Cocaine is Everywhere (sorry, this one keeps crashing my computer so you may not want to click on that link) and Civilized & Broke in Manhattan
They did a story on an interesting sounding art exhibition called Get Lost: Portraits of Downtown where 21 artists created pieces, including many maps and an intereting typewritten manifesto about how to ride the bus, all about Lower Manhattan - my favourite part of Manhattan.

some cool pictures I found on the net today....

First some images from The Sanchez Brothers website that I found via daily dose of imagery. These are from an installation called Between Life and Death:





And this one I just found kind of funny and odd:




(from Idolator - apparently discarded cds are becoming a problem)

Celebrity Freakshows

Paris Hilton has been ordered back to jail, apparently. This has turned into such a freakshow, and what better timing than on my weekly day of hangover? It has been splashed all over the celebrity gossip-sphere, as well as having "Breaking News" status on all of the major news networks: Fox, CNN, etc. I am eating this shit up.

Meanwhile, Nicole Richie appeared on Letterman the other night to promote a new season of the Simple Life. She is looking a little bit less emaciated, and is starting to regain the attractiveness that she had in the first season of Simple Life. She proved, once again, that she is the comedic force behind the television series. Letterman grilled her about "young Hollywood" and the trend of rich/famous girls gone wild, including Nicole herself who may end up in jail over a DUI situation similar to Paris'. Dave and Nicole had some pretty choice exchanges, including:

Letterman: “It does beg the question, what has gone wrong with young Hollywood? Honest to God, just look around.”

Richie: “Are you saying what’s my problem?”

Letterman: “No No No no. Just generally, I mean a lot of young people are in a lot of trouble these days and many of our top stars are doing time.”

Richie: “Well I mean, I can’t speak for everyone else, but I mean, it just goes to show that, I don’t, it’s obviously not Hollywood. Everyone goes to jail. All over the world.”

Pretty funny stuff.

So You Think You Can Dance

Last week was the season premiere of one of my favourite reality shows - So You Think You Can Dance. The performers on this show are just so talented that it boggles my mind. Like, it would take me about ten years to learn one dance, and I would probably look ridiculous doing it. Right now they are in the open call stage of the auditions where they get to see the good, the bad, and the terrible a la American Idol. Last night's show took place in Atlanta, Georgia, and by far the two most entertaining performers were the "clogging" guy and the guy with scoliosis. The clogging guy was a geeky, skinny, southern kid, but once he started dancing he was totally transformed - amazing! The guy with scoliosis had a pretty severe spine curvature that affected his walk and posture, obviously, but he did this robot dance to Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man that stole the show. He wasn't put through to the Vegas round, but he was offered a part in a movie that one of the judges is involved with. Very fun!
Next week is the season premiere of Hell's Kitchen (aka Angry Chef) which looks fun. More on that later.

R.I.P. Sam the Record Man

Yesterday I heard the news that Sam the Record Man would be closing it's doors at the end of June. Sam the Record Man, for those of you not familiar with it, is the cavernous record store in downtown Toronto, on Yonge Street at Gould. Because of Sam's giant "spinning records" facade, it has become something of a Toronto landmark.

This afternoon CBC radio had a call in show about the closing of Sam the Record Man with a bunch of nostalgic people telling their Sam the Record Man stories. I have two Sam the Record Man stories. My first was when I was 11 or 12 years old and stood in line in the alley behind Sam’s for three hours (in the hot sun surrounded by stinky garbage) to buy Corey Hart concert tickets, and somehow ended up with the crappiest seats in the whole CNE Grandstand! My other story was in 1985 when I went to the Sam's Boxing Day sale and bought Love and Rockets’ first single (Ball of Confusion) which INCLUDED A POSTER (for $0.99!) and a Falco “Rock Me Amadeus” 12 inch for $1.99. Precious memories!!


It reminds me of a blog entry that Alan McGee wrote about record stores in March – Do We Still Need Record Shops?

Also, right now Jian Ghomeshi is interviewing Terry McBride who is the head of Nettwerk Records, started the Lilith Fair with Sarah Mclachlan, and takes responsibility for Avril Lavigne’s career. He made the point (which is funny because it was something that I was thinking about this morning) that Avril Lavigne’s newest single has sold 5 million copies, compared to Arcade Fire, who have ~maybe~ sold 1 million copies of their last album. Mass-market pop crap still wins out, in spite of the huge amount of media and word of mouth about Arcade Fire. Like McGee, he is very much in favour of music downloading.

Girl Talk

Those of you who know me, know that my musical taste is pretty conservative, in a typical middle class urbanite kinda way. I like bands who play straight up rock/pop music: usually four or five piece bands composed of cute/skinny 25 year old guys. To me the Strokes are a great band, the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie, Tokyo Police Club, etc. etc. I also like angsty singer/songwriters like Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith (both so angsty that they are both now dead); some straight up commercial pop music like Destiny's Child or Christina Aguilera, who appeal to my inner gay guy; and of course, tons of older bands - everything from 60s classic rock like Led Zeppelin and the Doors, 70s punk music, New Wave, goth, and so on.
Last week Erin on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown introduced me to the pageblank blog in her excellent post about summer songs. pageblank belongs to a guy named Matthew in Toronto who writes about the same kind of stuff I do, but in a much more interesting and insightful way. I spent most of Friday scanning through his archives (I was hungover, of course). Last October he wrote about an artist called Girl Talk who had played a show at that time at the Spin Gallery here in Toronto. Girl Talk is Pittsburgh dj Greg Gillis who uses a laptop to create these really awesome music collages out of pop music samples from all eras. He would sort of get lumped into the mash up genre, but I was never a huge fan of mash ups, and I love his stuff. He has a few of his songs posted on his myspace, and there are others available to download on other sites. Pitchfork did a great interview about him here last August, and he just played a set at Coachella this spring, so I am probably a little late to this party, but if you haven't heard his stuff, it's definitely worth checking it out. Anyway, could this mean that I am becoming a person who is into dj's and "dance" music? Probably not.
Finally, here are some pics of Scarlett Johansson from the new Louis Vuitton campaign that I found on the Perez Hilton blog. The shoes....the bag.....argh.....why couldn't I have been born with money? And how amazing does she look? Great photos.

Almost the Long Weekend....

The long weekend is almost here and I have never needed a break more than I do now. I will be spending it on Manitoulin Island with the roommate and the roommate's romantic device. I love roadtrips and I love lazing around a lake, so this should be fun.
Jerry Falwell is dead....one right wing bigot down....

Here is an exerpt from Anderson Cooper's interview with Christopher Hitchens on CNN last night:

COOPER: Christopher, I'm not sure if you believe in heaven, but, if you do, do you think Jerry Falwell is in it?

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": No. And I think it's a pity there isn't a hell for him to go to.

COOPER: What is it about him that brings up such vitriol?

HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing, that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called reverend. Who would, even at your network, have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God's punishment if they hadn't got some kind of clerical qualification?
People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup. The whole consideration of this -- of this horrible little person is offensive to very, very many of us who have some regard for truth and for morality, and who think that ethics do not require that lies be told to children by evil old men, that we're -- we're not told that people who believe like Falwell will be snatched up into heaven, where I'm glad to see he skipped the rapture, just found on the floor of his office, while the rest of us go to hell.

It's Cannes Film Festival season again. There is a neat looking Canadian animated (with marionettes) film called Madame Tutli-Putli being screened this year. It looks very beautiful and strange.












And finally, I just started reading Crime and Punishment, of all things. Usually I find books this old (mid-1800s) very difficult to get through, but this is amazing!
Have a great weekend my friends! More next week....

Another Amy Winehouse Post

Sorry about the constant posts about Amy Winehouse, but I just walked past her on Queen Street, so I felt compelled to blog about it. She seemed to be window shopping with her boyfriend around Queen and Spadina as I was making my way home from work. Her boyfriend must be along for the ride this tour because I have seen his picture on the celebrity blogs that I read which is how I recognized him. Anyways, I didn't say anything to them, but my heart did begin to race and my eyes almost popped out of my head. Pretty much the same reaction as when I saw Chris Martin from Coldplay in the Market a year or two ago. Other than that, I was cool!! (yeah, I know, I'm a total geek!)

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse is on the cover of Now Magazine this week looking positively fabulous. She is in Toronto this week for a couple of sold out shows at the Mod Club. I tried to get tickets for this months ago and found that it was impossible. Sigh. Hopefully she'll come back soon and play a somewhat larger venue.

I am in the mood for a good concert. I missed the Killers last week unfortunately. I just heard that Interpol will be back in Toronto this summer, so I may try to check that out. Also, the White Stripes are playing the Molson Ampitheatre. And look at this listing: cyndi lauper, erasure, debbie harry, dresden dolls, the gossip and the cliks True Colors benefit, Molson Amphitheatre (955 Lakeshore West), 6 pm, $42.50-$95.50. How awesome is that lineup?! Cyndi Lauper was my first concert ever when I was ten! I went with my dad and little brother.

Celebrity Gossip, etc.

As much as I hate to comment on celebrity gossip I have to say this - holy crap, Paris Hilton is going to jail! Crazy! Apparently she has been sentenced for 45 days for driving while her license was suspended for a DUI. The judge seemed to be especially unimpressed by her "play dumb" strategy in court. Let's see if she actually serves her sentence - somehow I doubt it. Also, a "Cocaine Kate" style video has been released showing a blurry Lindsay Lohan doing coke. Has the world gone mad?!!!
This weekend le roommate and I went to a costume party dressed in drag. I was David Bowie and he was Annie Lennox. I will try to post some pictures when I get them. I didn't make a very good Bowie to be honest, but Tyler insisted that I made for a hot guy!!!
On Sunday we watched the movie The Queen. It seemed like the kind of movie that you would have to be sixty years old to enjoy, but actually I thought it was pretty good.
I just finished the Augusten Burroughs book Sellevision which was pretty funny. This was his first book of fiction I have read. Now I am working on The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I am a fan of her aritcles that appear regularly in the New York Review of Books, but I have never read any of her books. This is a memoir about her husband's death, which took place at the same time as her daughter was in a coma in the hospital. This is also something that I would have thought would appeal to older readers, but it had been recommended by so many people that I decided to give it a try. So far it's really good.

Ok, I'm back now!

Hey kids....sorry about the shortage of posts for the past couple of weeks. For a variety of reasons, I haven't really been inspired to write very much lately. But I'm back, I think!
For the first time in ages, the music blog/record label buddyhead has updated here: http://buddyhead.com/gossip/
Now even the guys at buddyhead are the first to admit that buddyhead is so 1999, but I still find it amusing. It's not as good as it was back in the day (when they would publish Fred Durst's home phone number and encourage people to call him and tell him what a douchebag he is, and many other zany hijinks) but it's still pretty funny and they still have pretty good taste in bands.
What's everybody up to this summer? I am planning a little trip with the roommate and friend to Manitoulin Island for the May 24 weekend. And really, what could be more Canadian than that? Also, I have an overwhelming urge to visit New York City, especially appealing since the American dollar is practically on par with the Canadian dollar these days. How fun would that be?
Let's see.....the blonde girls in Amazing Race are in the top three, hurray! I am also caught up in Survivor (totally lame, but it's a force of habit), America's Next Top Model, and Project Catwalk (British Project Runway). Yes, I still have an unnatural and unhealthy love of reality tv.
Anywho, that's about it for now. I will try to think of something more interesting to post about soon.
xxx andrea