Via the blog québecois and courtesy of Admit One is this touching story of a US Marine and a Jihadi "insurgent"™.
Bring your hankies.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
"... as bad as, like, whatever."
Hatz off to Michelle Malkin. (See her blog via my blogroll, you damn sloth!)
Some chap in England has ripped off a Washington Post article regarding some fine examples of nascent literature from the minds of Yanqui high school students.
Some excerpts...
Some chap in England has ripped off a Washington Post article regarding some fine examples of nascent literature from the minds of Yanqui high school students.
Some excerpts...
- He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. Joseph Romm, Washington
- Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze. Chuck Smith, Woodbridge
- The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. Gary F. Hevel, Silver Spring
- Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph. Jennifer Hart, Arlington
- They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth Paul Kocak, Syracuse, N.Y. (Nancy who? - Y2D)
- John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. Russell Beland, Springfield
There's much more in that link. Like, whatever.
Wintersleep With Brian Borcherdt
And The Ladies And Gentlemen:
The Attic, Halifax, 10 Dec 2005
Last night, rather than engage in some silly, drunken dance-club bacchanalia, I decided to take in some pretty heavy indie-rawwk action over at The Attic (part of Halifax's infamous Dome super-club complex). I was not disappointed in my choice simply because each act is a force majeure on its own.
The opener, Brian Borcherdt, started this evening off with a mostly quiet one-dude-with-a-guitar set, punctuated with the occasional backup courtesy of members of Wintersleep and The Ladies and Gentleman. The T-dot rep's set reminded me of all those drunken basement parties where one dude with a guitar would play his heart out amongst the noise and clamour of schmoozing imbibers. But at least in his case, people started to take serious notice in the end.
Still on the T-dot tip, The Ladies and Gentlemen took pages out of Pavement, the Mars Volta and the Flaming Lips (with some Can-Rawwk detours to the Tragically Hip and the Broken Social Scene) to offer a nice little train-wreck of a set featuring old-school keyboards, hand-claps and airborne tabourines. The stayed out of the emo deathtrap by channeling all that energy through some decent 4-part harmonies, veteran bassist-frontman Thomas D'Arcy's laid-back energy and Kevin Hilliard's madman presence. I'm quite sure that I recognised a couple of guys in the group from being in other projects around the 'dot, but at least the locals in the venue ate it up.
Headliners Wintersleep, the local heroes of the night, put out the mostest, along with cameos from the opening acts (plus the flying tambourines, BTW) for their fellow Haligonians. Like Brian Borcherdt, Wintersleep has put out a few side-projects to keep themselves busy and fresh. Imagine Ten-era Pearl Jam and cross-breed it with Whale Music-era Rheostatics, and you get a very good show. Paul Murphy's Vedder-meets-Tielli vocals accentuate the bleakness of everyday living while Loel Campbell and Jud Haynes provided the rythmic oomph to the songs. Virtually everyone got in on the act way until last call.
All in all, it was a good night and $15+ well-spent. I recommend seeing any of these acts when possible.
And don't forget to buy their stuff while you're at it, eh?
The opener, Brian Borcherdt, started this evening off with a mostly quiet one-dude-with-a-guitar set, punctuated with the occasional backup courtesy of members of Wintersleep and The Ladies and Gentleman. The T-dot rep's set reminded me of all those drunken basement parties where one dude with a guitar would play his heart out amongst the noise and clamour of schmoozing imbibers. But at least in his case, people started to take serious notice in the end.
Still on the T-dot tip, The Ladies and Gentlemen took pages out of Pavement, the Mars Volta and the Flaming Lips (with some Can-Rawwk detours to the Tragically Hip and the Broken Social Scene) to offer a nice little train-wreck of a set featuring old-school keyboards, hand-claps and airborne tabourines. The stayed out of the emo deathtrap by channeling all that energy through some decent 4-part harmonies, veteran bassist-frontman Thomas D'Arcy's laid-back energy and Kevin Hilliard's madman presence. I'm quite sure that I recognised a couple of guys in the group from being in other projects around the 'dot, but at least the locals in the venue ate it up.
Headliners Wintersleep, the local heroes of the night, put out the mostest, along with cameos from the opening acts (plus the flying tambourines, BTW) for their fellow Haligonians. Like Brian Borcherdt, Wintersleep has put out a few side-projects to keep themselves busy and fresh. Imagine Ten-era Pearl Jam and cross-breed it with Whale Music-era Rheostatics, and you get a very good show. Paul Murphy's Vedder-meets-Tielli vocals accentuate the bleakness of everyday living while Loel Campbell and Jud Haynes provided the rythmic oomph to the songs. Virtually everyone got in on the act way until last call.
All in all, it was a good night and $15+ well-spent. I recommend seeing any of these acts when possible.
And don't forget to buy their stuff while you're at it, eh?
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Erection 2006:
Paulyanna Discovers
The Clintoris!
You kind of wonder why W is getting his Texas knickers in a knot over Paulyanna's diatribes about his country's lack of dedication to the Koyoto Protocols regarding global warming?
Normally, W would've laughed it off and said that Paulyanna should take a nice cup of "take a lude, dude".
However, let's go back a few years when ShawiniMan ruled the Maple Leaf Land of Make-Believe.
And for one brief, shining moment, he discovered the Clintoris. And the two great nations lived as siamese-twin brothers, joined at the hip in pure NAFTA bliss.
It's a bit hard who influenced whom: did ShawiniMan convince the Clint that Our medicare's better than theirs? Did the Clint make ShawiniMan complacent about his self-perceived invincibility? We may never know, but ideologically, the two governments were definitively on the same page. We Canucks became more blissfully complacent than our neighbours since we have no enemies (ShawiniMan loves everyone, you know. just because) and we all wanted to be a beacon to enlighten the heathen Southerners.
Then W came in and spoiled the party for the rest of us. Boo. Hiss.
Fast-forward a few years, a intern-cigar incident, a couple of terrorist attacks and some scandal involving ad agencies and some millions of luandered loonies, and Paulyanna seems to be in for a fight of his life. Having promised to ban handguns forthright (no long mandatory prison sentences - he'll lose future Grit party members that way), our Perennial National Wannabe went to Montreal for a global warming conference where he discovers the Clintoris in roughly the same way his predecessor did. Only this time, it was more than mere coincidence, wasn't it?
Let's be fair at least this once. During ShawiniMan's reign, Paulyanna's voodoo economics kept the Great White North from being an economic basket-case. Okay... so our lower Loony did create problems for Snowbirds, but the Yanks love our cheap shiznat, thus creating trade surpluses year-after-year. Of course, we didn't know that some of that surplus would go into the creation of a national firearms registry, Pork payoffs to favoured Grit ridings, loony-tune national unity initiatives and Québec-based ad agencies. But since the Gomery Inquiry has absolved Paulyanna of any kind of sin (real or perceived), none of this matters.
So our Incumbent Wannabe denies getting too close to the Clint for his re-erection purposes, eh? Remember - this cigar-rapist was in full effect on Paulyanna's watch. And considering all the back-scratching that had happened between the two administrations back-in-the-day, doesn't anyone suspect some conspiracy brewing between the ex-prez and the future ex-PM?
As always, just wondering...
Normally, W would've laughed it off and said that Paulyanna should take a nice cup of "take a lude, dude".
However, let's go back a few years when ShawiniMan ruled the Maple Leaf Land of Make-Believe.
 ShawiniMan and the Clintoris: 2-gether 4-ever xoxoxo |
And for one brief, shining moment, he discovered the Clintoris. And the two great nations lived as siamese-twin brothers, joined at the hip in pure NAFTA bliss.
It's a bit hard who influenced whom: did ShawiniMan convince the Clint that Our medicare's better than theirs? Did the Clint make ShawiniMan complacent about his self-perceived invincibility? We may never know, but ideologically, the two governments were definitively on the same page. We Canucks became more blissfully complacent than our neighbours since we have no enemies (ShawiniMan loves everyone, you know. just because) and we all wanted to be a beacon to enlighten the heathen Southerners.
Then W came in and spoiled the party for the rest of us. Boo. Hiss.
Fast-forward a few years, a intern-cigar incident, a couple of terrorist attacks and some scandal involving ad agencies and some millions of luandered loonies, and Paulyanna seems to be in for a fight of his life. Having promised to ban handguns forthright (no long mandatory prison sentences - he'll lose future Grit party members that way), our Perennial National Wannabe went to Montreal for a global warming conference where he discovers the Clintoris in roughly the same way his predecessor did. Only this time, it was more than mere coincidence, wasn't it?
 The Clint and Paulyanna: Just friends? |
Let's be fair at least this once. During ShawiniMan's reign, Paulyanna's voodoo economics kept the Great White North from being an economic basket-case. Okay... so our lower Loony did create problems for Snowbirds, but the Yanks love our cheap shiznat, thus creating trade surpluses year-after-year. Of course, we didn't know that some of that surplus would go into the creation of a national firearms registry, Pork payoffs to favoured Grit ridings, loony-tune national unity initiatives and Québec-based ad agencies. But since the Gomery Inquiry has absolved Paulyanna of any kind of sin (real or perceived), none of this matters.
So our Incumbent Wannabe denies getting too close to the Clint for his re-erection purposes, eh? Remember - this cigar-rapist was in full effect on Paulyanna's watch. And considering all the back-scratching that had happened between the two administrations back-in-the-day, doesn't anyone suspect some conspiracy brewing between the ex-prez and the future ex-PM?
As always, just wondering...
Dat Krazee Nigga*
Gone 2 Heav'n:
RIP Richard Pryor
He has battled racism, alcohol and drug abuse.
But in the end, the man who inspired millions of comedians and made people laugh and think met an unbeatable and incurable foe in multiple sclerosis.
In spite of this terminal struggle, Richard Pryor never lost his sense of humour and acerbic wit. In the end, regardless of politics and ideology, the world is a poorer place.
We need more people who wield words and languages like swords and shields. We need artists who use syllables to stimulate and activate the masses' synapses. Sadly, there are quite a few comedians who hardly show as much class and grace and tell stories that are bittersweet and twisted as Pryor.
My condolences to his family, friends and those he left behind.
* Let's face it: in my worldview, everyone's a nigga. Word.
 Richard Pryor: 1940-2005 |
But in the end, the man who inspired millions of comedians and made people laugh and think met an unbeatable and incurable foe in multiple sclerosis.
In spite of this terminal struggle, Richard Pryor never lost his sense of humour and acerbic wit. In the end, regardless of politics and ideology, the world is a poorer place.
We need more people who wield words and languages like swords and shields. We need artists who use syllables to stimulate and activate the masses' synapses. Sadly, there are quite a few comedians who hardly show as much class and grace and tell stories that are bittersweet and twisted as Pryor.
My condolences to his family, friends and those he left behind.
* Let's face it: in my worldview, everyone's a nigga. Word.
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