Our Apartment

Just in case anyone hasn't seen it and feels like seeing it, I bring you:

Several shots of our apartment. DUN DUN DUN!!!

Affirmative Action Solved

Well, the good news is that I believe I've found an equitable alternative to Affirmative Action that will not even mention race yet will preferentially compensate blacks for any economic effects caused by slavery/racism/etc that persist to this day. The bad news is that it likely will never happen.

Basically, the answer is welfare. Whatever benefits are currently extended to blacks as Affirmative Action should instead be extended to poor people. Since blacks are apparently poor more often due to slavery and racism, this will currently benefit blacks more than anyone else, but will do so in a way that is not singling out blacks or any other race in a way that could incite racial issues. It would also automatically help compensate for any future racial disparities, and white/Asian/etc kids that happen to be poor will benefit from it too.

Unfortunately, due to most of the right hating welfare, and most of the left wanting to specifically single out blacks due to pangs of conscience (and probably the black vote), this solution is likely never going to see the light of day.

Plane Repair

This is a great example of why religion shouldn't mix with... well... damn near anything important.

If you're the kind of person that believes God should be a part of politics, perhaps seeing this will give you an idea how silly you appear to anyone sensible. If, however, you are the kind of person that actually believes goat sacrifice will improve plane flying, then I have a rock that keeps tigers away that I'll sell for cheap.

Live Music

I and a few others ended up at the Cloak and Dagger in downtown Toronto the other night, watching a band called the Gospel Sundays.

The bar itself is very narrow, and doesn't really have a stage. The band is basically pressed up against one side of the bar, with room for one person to walk between the band and the tables. The band consists of a pianist, a guitarist, a drummer (with just a snare drum, a small crash cymbal, and foot-stomping), and not one but two stand-up bassists. There are no microphones, and many of the band and audience (many of whom seemed to know the songs well) sang loud. I'm surprised they weren't hugely hoarse.

The players are all very talented, though much of the music was simple. The music was happy, "bar-type" music. It felt kinda like walking into the hobbit bar in Lord of the Rings, only without shortened heights. It was like being at a small town party, where the entire town showed up somehow. It was folksy and celebratory, and at first even just being there gave me a sort of happy feeling. It was like the club itself was a living, breathing entity that we had become a part of solely by entering.

My only real complaint is, unfortunately, a big one. I wanted to hear something sad. I suppose I always want to hear something sad, but that's who I am. And I'm sure that half the people in the bar wouldn't have liked that too much, so it's hard to criticize them too much for not doing so. It's just sad to me when I see a group of talented musicians playing to a packed house, and (in my view at least) being more or less hamstrung to play drinking music, which as far as I can tell is music that (despite the players' talent) NOBODY would want to listen to sober. Shrug. I want performers to pour their souls directly into every song. I know that can be happy in theory, but I don't think it can result in lyrics like "Hey hey, what can I say" repeated 18 times. Maybe my standards are too high, but what can I really do about it? The best answer I can come up with is to check out bands like Porcupine Tree that actually seem to try for what I want. On the plus side, they're coming to Toronto in October.

Best Tour Bus Ever

What beats this?

It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.