tracey23

Fucking snow.

A couple of resources/articles re: strategic voting. Please help get the word out!

Elizabeth May is encouraging people to vote for the party that can defeat the conservatives in your riding: http://www.thestar.com/article/505642

The world needs us to stop Harper:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_harper/?cl=132699156&v=2223

Straight.com writer analyzes the stakes of the Canadian election for the world:
http://www.straight.com/article-163371/election-planet

This site shows that at a national level, strategic or smart voting will benefit all the opposition parties and prevent a Harper Majority:
http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/

And, finally, a funny video on the effects of the cuts to the arts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3zBPnIYavI&feature=related

I did not think I read/watched enough fantasy books/movies to have dreams involving mythical beasts but apparently I was wrong. But I'll take colourful giant-headed ostrich-like creatures over dreams about work any day. 

i really had the funnest weekend which i needed SO much. like i think it could not have been better.
+a line up down the block to see derrick jensen who was so good
+the farmers market with lori
+playing 'the greatest game'  yesterday afternoon
+a luxurious dinner at sushiro with some lovely ladies
+talking about ideas and reading from my new dictionary of quotes that i inherited from my nana while listening to the heartstrings practice last night
+oh my god that black mountain encore that we were so lucky to arrive just in time for
+brunch

i am so lucky.

also...
Concrete Bed by Nada Surf:
The world's locked up in your head
You've been pouring it a concrete bed
Your habits ossify
You don't realize you're fried
To find someone you love
You've gotta be someone you love
The reason's somewhere in the din
But it takes years 'til it sinks in
You've used up the easy streets
And you lost your taste for treats
So fried
Stay high if you have to
Do whatever it asks you
You've got another calling
Don't let it pass you
You know it coz you wrote it
You just didn't think you'd actually do it
It's just another wish you wished
In a very long list
To find someone you love
You've gotta call your own bluff

yes i am copping out of writing an actual post by putting up these lyrics. it's what i can manage for now.

What If
Lucinda Williams

I shudder to think
What it would mean
If the President wore pink
If a prostitute was Queen.

What would happen then
How would the world change
if thick became thin
and the world was rearranged

If the rains brought down the moon
And daylight was feared
And the sun rose too soon ...
And then just disappeared

If dogs became kings
and the Pope should cum
If hobos had wings
And God was a bum

If houses became trees
and flowers turned to stone
and there were no families
and people lived alone

If buildings started laughing
and windows cried
and feet started clapping
and out came inside

If mountains fell in slivers
and the sky began to bleed
and blood filled up the rivers
and prisoners were freed

If the stars fell apart
and the ocean dried up
and the world was one big heart
and decided to start

And children grew up happier
and they could run with the wolves
and they never felt trapped
or hungry or unloved

If cats walked on water
and birds had bank accounts
and we loved one another
in equal amounts

it is minus a million outside. and i feel like there's not time for sleep. i had logistical dreams all night. they are almost as bad as nightmares.

two people have stood me up for meetings in the last 24 hours. i gather that many other people are having a busy winter too. oh and maybe they are also freezing. see above.

on the plus side, because i was up so early this morning i got to listen to crys79 on the radio and it was great. she inspired me to finally buy joel plaskett's ashtray rock album like i should have done the last time he was in town. that shit is good. it is almost worth getting some frostbite to own that shit. also, since when do i dress like a teenager as if i don't know that it's effing cold outside?

"We are thankful for these and all the good things of life.
We recognize that they come to us through the efforts of our brothers and sisters the world over.
What we desire for ourselves we wish for all.
To this end may we take our share in the world's work and the world's struggles."
-J.S. Woodsworth's Grace Before Meat

All my best to all of you, whether you are celebrating this week or not.

Funny Shit:
These made my morning. I especially appreciated this and this...ok and also this.

Fortune Teller Update:
And I realized that I never gave an update on my fortune teller experience. It was overall good. As I expected, the entertainment value was greater than the earth-shattering value. But there were some interesting things...like:

• She saw that I was a creative person and she sees lots of writing in my future. (I did not have obvious callouses or ink on my hands. I checked.)
  
• She said I am a good listener and people come to me for advice or to listen but I am getting tired and have started to withdraw from this role a bit (which is true). She says that is a healthy thing for me and I should stick to that path.
• She asked if I just moved or if I am about to move and she said that she doesn't see me staying in this place for very long but that it was a good move. She also said that I should not have roommates in the next place I live.
• She doesn't see me in Saskatoon in the long-term. (I was a bit surprised by that but then I thought about peak oil and cities.)

She also fed me some stupid bullshit about different men that I'm going to meet and what they look like and when I will meet them and I almost vomited. Not because I never want to date again or something but because I just think that's silly and sensationalistic and it's not what I was there for. And also because it was super heterosexist. But I'm sure that's exactly what some people want to hear so...whatever. 

Miscellaneous:
+I am going to see Dumb Angel and Shuyler Jansen tonight and I'm stoked for it. I've been avoiding social activity all week but it's time I left the house I think.
+I unpacked some more things last night and now the trunk in my living room is full of coffee table books (like three books of cuba photos, a book of the arctic national wildlife refuge, etc.), magazines, photo albums and zines. It's like a big trunk of awesomeness in the middle of my living room.
+I had supper with my aunt last night and a good phone chat with Ryan
I'm gonna stick with the positives.

This was written on the back of a seat on my bus this morning: "If I am a danger to myself, just imagine what I could do to you." I tried not to imagine too hard.

The other day as I was walking to work I noticed that the consignment store that I really like is advertising "cruise wear" which obviously means they are still trying to sell their summer stock in the winter but it really pissed me off, cause cruise ships are evil and I have a feeling that most people who shop at Javal's don't go on cruises. Annoying.

I don't understand why straight guys are so into cock imagery.

Also, I don't know how I missed the memo on tea being awesome for the last 25 years but I am making up for it now.

And I booked an appointment to see a fortune teller for a full life reading on Saturday. I decided to use my birthday money on something I would never normally do. I'm not expecting it to be life-changing but I think it will be fun and might give me a little bit of clarity on what I want.

I think it's about time I had some lunch.

can anyone suggest a good restaurant/pub in Toronto that one could stay at for a few hours without them getting choked? 

New meme from thinkbettersick:

Here is how it works. Copy this list. Leave in the bands you've seen
perform live. Delete the ones you haven't and add new ones that you
have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person
had it on their list. Two asterisks means the last two people who did
this before you had that band on their list.

1. Sharon, Lois & Bram
2. Wolf Parade
3. Moist
4. Blackalicious
5. Spearhead
6. The Tragically Hip
7. Kashtin
8. They Shoot Horses Don't They
9. Our Lady Peace
10. Smashing Pumpkins**
11. The Barenaked Ladies
12. Po' Girl
13. The Be Good Tanyas
14. The Sadies
15.  Despistado
16.  The Constantines
17. The Weakerthans
18.  Stars
19.  Patrick Watson
20. Elliott Brood
21. Anthrax (believe it or not!)
22. The Waltons
23. The Kids in the Hall (who are, of course, not a band, but I'm putting them on the list anyway cause they were amazing to see live)
24. Jurassic 5
25. The Arcade Fire

i am genuinely happy. i am way underslept but i think the camp went pretty well and there were so many awesome people there. i am loving the crap out of my job right now.

SCIC's Do It Yourself Youth Media Trainings

Concerned about poverty, environmental devastation or human rights violations?

Tired of boring books, posters, and magazines that don't tell you what's really going on?

Why not DO IT YOURSELF?

 ...get informed and CREATE YOUR OWN MEDIA

about the issues that matter most to you!

SCIC is offering the opportunity for enthusiastic young people, interested in global issues, to take part in our Youth for International Development- Do it Yourself (YID-DIY) training program.  The program includes a three day training on creating comic books and zines that focus on issues of global concern.  We want to help you use your voice and raise awareness here at home about issues that affect young people, Canadians and people living in developing countries- all through creative media! 

Early registration rate of $50 will continue until the August 1^st application deadline.

Registration is open to participants from across Canada.
Travel and registration subsidies are available upon request.

Age Group 18-25: August 18^th to 20^th

Age Group 13-17: August 24^th to 26^th

Facilitators include Alex Wrekk and Allan Dotson.

For information on these camps please click here.

my afternoon kicked ass as i got a lot of little things done at work, felt totally competent and got to play on this site for some presentations i'm doing next week. i actually did an internet search for this game that i remembered playing in grade 4 (seriously!) and it turns out it is a surrealist game. i fucking love when little pieces fall together like that and your whole life feels like it has all been connected and purposeful as opposed to a series of random occurences. does anyone know what i mean?

so for some reason i was all frenzied this morning and in a big rush to get out of the house after having slept little with the excuse of working on my paper, which i did get a bit done on but still haven not actually finished.

anyhow, in my frenzy to get out the door, i was looking for my glasses and couldn't seem to find them anywhere. thus, i have come to work without them. i can see but it still feels weird, and i can't see detailed things from further away at all so if you run into me today, don't be surprised if i don't recognize you. faces are blurry. i also don't like how i get big blasts of dust in my eyes without glasses. does this happen to all of you good-sighted people? no wonder my glasses are so dirty all the time! i have been thinking about getting contacts lately, but i like my glasses a lot and i'm used to them, so i don't know. plus contacts are expensive.

i am also listening to music at my desk and that is tha best.

today at lunch with kris and meagan i got a fortune cookie with no fortune in it. what does that MEAN?

i am having a bit more success with this silly paper when i write by hand so i'm going to sign off of the computer for awhile now and do just that.

i have heard some of my favorite old songs while reading for my paper at the roastery this afternoon:
two princes by the spin doctors
cherish by madonna
stay by lisa loeb (i was actually singing that one to myself at work just yesterday so it is nice to hear it today!)
dreams by the cranberries

i played a long-but-fun game of settlers last night and then watced half of bed of roses before falling asleep cause i was super tired. i'm looking forward to watching the rest of it again though once this paper is done. gah!

i was early for physio this morning (early for an 8:30 appointment? holy crap! what's gotten into me?) and so i picked up a magazine and felt like i was in a time warp because it was from 1993 and the cover stories were about brandon lee's death, david koresh and waco, and ian ziering's 27th birthday party (for those of you that are too young to remember, ian ziering played steve on beverly hills 90210, which was, shamefully, my very favorite show for a few years that i recorded faithfully every week). i totally ate that shit up. i love nostalgia/retro stuff. it is why i am such a sucker for microfilm in this really bizarre and nerdy way.