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Here's another example of irony: PM lauds press freedom in speech, won't take questions
And with a 15% lead in the polls, if that proves solid, I'll be interested in seeing if he finds a way around his 'fixed date election law', that he's already flaunted once before. (Just scrap the damn thing and be honest in the way you govern, for Christssake.)
What I'm afraid of is what lies beneath - what will happen if Harper gets his majority and has 5 years when he can completely ignore the Canadian public, the Canadian press, and the Canadian opposition. I refuse to believe the leopard has changed his spots. There's enough evidence out there to show that, I think. But, I admittedly could also be wrong - which means the only way to really find out what's going to happen is to give Harper is majority.
But, just like Harris, I have a bad feeling we're going to spend years cleaning up the mess. (Assuming we can - 407 ETR, anybody?) Tags: politics - canada
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Sounds of silence? Fees spur venues to scrap live music
Look, I understand copyright and intellectual property protection. I couldn't have a job if there wasn't some sort of IP out there. But Sweet Mary Mother and Joseph - these are people playing to crowds to a hundred people, tops. They're sure as hell ain't going to get rich. It's a miracle that they can even make a living, some of them. (Most of them don't.)
The sad part about it is, the more you stamp out live music, the more you hurt music in general, and thus hurt your potential for long term growth. The long term viability of the industry as a whole starts in the grassroots bars and pubs and clubs, because those are the venues where musicians practice and learn their craft. Open Mikes, short sets, new talent nights. It's all part of the musician breeding ground that produces the people that can rock an arena.
If you destroy your foundation, eventually, the building falls. Tags: business, music
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I like checking Woot out because it's entertaining. The blurbs are funny, and sometimes you get to see some really weird things (like the LeakFrogs that guard our living room from tsunami flooding.)
But for the first time, I actually felt contemplative and wistful after reading a blurb.
Something I Must Do (Click the photo for a larger image.)
Because, while the picture is worth a smile, the idea behind the picture is the same idea held by every person who's ever looked at a hill and thought "I wonder what's on the other side." You wonder about going around that hill -- or sailing out to sea -- or traveling to the stars. You wonder what you need to do to get there. You wonder about the price you might have to pay.
For every person who grows up looking at hills, or the sea, or the stars, there comes a point where you have to choose.
I choose the Earth, and it's a very happy life -- but I must admit there are days when I've watched a shuttle launch and wondered what might have been. Tags: philosophy
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I was never a big Beatles fan. I've got their Number One hits compilation sitting around somewhere, but, I never heard the genius. I just thought it was fun, interesting music. But I was never really exposed to it while I was growing up, and, so, it never did anything for me.
Then I watched Sarah go through Beatles: Rock Band and for the first time, experienced the entire catalogue. That started peaking my interest. But the big thing was reading Bill Harris' four part series on his view of The Greatest Band: Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four. And it made me want to try listening to them again, and listening to them properly, from Please Please Me all the way to Abbey Road.
There's just so much good music out there, and in my life, I'm only going to experience a small fraction of all the goodness out there. But, it's never too late to try something new. Or, rather, try something old.
So, who knows? Maybe I'll hear genius. Maybe I'll just go meh. But you always got to push your boundaries. Tags: music
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This is something of a follow-up to the last Appendix entry.
I just got back from the surgeon who took out my appendix for my final follow-up. Apparently, one of the reasons why I had so much trouble doing a sit-up yesterday was that I'm not supposed to be doing sit-ups for at least another two weeks.
Or, in other words, my definition of 'normal life' isn't the same as the societal definition of 'normal life', as used in the statement "After four weeks, you'll be back to a normal life." (Which is what the doctors told me the day I was discharged.) Apparently, normal life means "you'll be sitting up and walking around without too much discomfort as long as you don't push too hard." But it doesn't mean I can start doing cardio or trunk strength exercises, that I'll be back to my normal energy levels, that I can get back to work at 100%, etc. And that the ridge of scar tissue under my incision could take a year or longer (!) to finally heal fully.
I've always pushed myself hard to get stuff done -- but, it appears that, once again, I've pushed just a little bit too hard, just a little bit too soon. Which might explain why, even though the muscle pain is pretty much gone (except when I move too quickly or lie down in certain ways on the bed, or just stretch the wrong way), I still feel crappy almost all the time.
Blah. Tags: appendix 2009
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I knew intellectually that medical procedures and hospital stays can do odd things to your body. But, experiencing it first hand always gives it an emotional impact that no intellectual reading can truly convey. (Along those lines, there are many things that I'm intellectually aware of that I know I don't understand the emotional resonance to - and I pray every night that I never do. But that's a different conversation...)
The latest one is the most depressing from my point of view. Before the appendix, I was regularly doing 36-45 sit-ups in multiple sets (usually 3), with added resistance for later sets. After the appendix was taken out, I spent the first two weeks in too much pain to do anything. Then over the next two weeks, I tried doing some light abdominal stretches (which basically involved lying on my back with my legs straight) and partial curls, trying to start the strength rebuilding process.
Last night, I decided to see if I could start doing sit-ups again, to try and get the strength thing moving a little faster. (Given how quickly I fatigue at work, and given just how sore I am by the end of the day, this is a matter of some priority to me.)
After much effort, I managed 1. One freaking sit-up.
The hardest part of any sort of rehabilitation is the beginning, because there's a lot of pain, sweat and tears, and it doesn't seem like anything is really happening. I've been lucky, in the sense that I've only had to rehab both shoulders, a wrist, and an ankle. Dealing with a core muscle is going to be the hardest thing I've done, I think, if I want to get back into the same shape I was before this all happened.
Gah. Tags: appendix 2009
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