New Music Friday Vol. 26

Two quickies:

• Coheed and Cambria’s new album is in my possession.  Haven’t had a chance to listen to all of it yet, but from what I’ve heard it’s more of the last album…

-  A reader has suggested a band!  For the first time!  Birdseyeingit, an indie computer poppy kinda outfit, is headed up by model Sarah Ruba. Cool website to boot.  Check it out here.

I'm taking my toys and going home

"Mine!"

The good old U.S. of A. has decided that sharing the main computers that direct the traffic on the Internet (in other words, the Internet) with the rest of the world is “unacceptable”. The proposal was that the country turn over control of the Internet to the UN. Granted, the UN probably couldn’t handle a lunch order for a party of 4 at the moment, but this is just silly.

So the Pentagon may have been a major force behind the initial development of the Internet, but that was almost 30 years ago. Since then, the Internet has evolved far beyond its original military means. Case and point: you. You are using the Internet right now for social functions right? No, I don’t mean sharing porn. I mean reading junk like this, chatting with friends, playing games with people half way across the world, reading international news. Various groups have been lobbying the UN hard to include access to information as an inalienable right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is just a slap in the face towards that movement (to which I am a supporter). I agree that all humans should have unrestricted access to information, and the Internet has become that conduit.

So not unlike China, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the US wouldn’t be interested in this notion. Sharing access to the mainframe of the Internet means taking control of the flow, and type, of information on the Internet away from the Americans. Now unless you live in a cave, you’re probably pretty familiar with the way in which CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and all the others love to subtly manipulate the way stories are crafted for American audiences. Test it yourself:

• Find an international story on CNN.com . Pick anything, I suggest a story about “insurgents” in Iraq


• Now head over to BBC.com and find the same story. See a difference?

But I digress.

Is this the case with the Internet? I wouldn’t say so, at least not yet. But they certainly have the power to do so at any time. As the article says “Policy decisions could at a stroke make all websites ending in a specific suffix (e.g. .ca, .de, .org) unreachable”. Again, I wouldn’t necessarily agree that the UN is the best place for this kind of control either. But certainly not with any one country. Not anymore. There should be some supranational body responsible for this sort of thing, directly accountable to us all.

These days, information is the second most precious commodity (oil being the first). Short-sighted decision like this set up decades of barriers to progress both politically and intellectually across the entire world, but I don’t think the US sees that. I think they only see the “threat to American sovereignty” or some merde comme ça. And what do we do about it? We complain in our blogs.

Read Fark. Read Adbusters. Get the truth. Get mad.

Beer on demand?

Forget the Lifestraw (see August archives).  This is, in all likelihood, the greatest invention of the century.

I demand a recount!

I personally think my site is WAY more evil than that! C'mon, I talk about:

-Government
-School
-Slayer (no I don't but it's worth throwing in to increase my EVIL score!)

Be a dentist and get your revenge.

This should come as no surprise to anyone:

“A Statistics Canada report released yesterday indicated that the tripling in tuition and fees for professional programmes, such as law, dentistry and medicine between 1995 and 2002, has most seriously affected students from a middle-class background.

The enrolment of students in these programmes whose parents have either a college diploma or bachelor’s degree, which typically indicates a middle-class status, has fallen by 50 per cent. The number of professional-programme students from the extreme upper and lower classes of society has increased.

Marc Frennette, the author of the report, said, “The middle group may not have been able to afford the rising tuition but may not have qualified for student aid.”

Provincial officials have begun to meet with representatives of students and institutions in an effort to establish a new tuition policy that will take effect when Ontario’s tuition freeze ends in September 2006.”

I find it interesting that the report notes lower-class students moving into fields typically reserved for upper-class students. This is obviously the result of better funding options for lower-income households with children in post-secondary programs (and good for them). But, we must be aware of the middle-class, who all too often these days gets looked over. If we’re not careful, we’ll simply be substituting one lower-class for another.

BBC NEWS - Junk food to be banned in schools

Are you listening Ontario?

BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Junk food to be banned in schools

My Mind is officially blown!

September 25th marks the first time this humble little site has cracked 100 visitors in one day - 121 to be exact. Pathetic eh?

Thank you all so much for getting suckered into reading my rantings. I'll shovel your driveway this winter, I promise!

Irony - thy name is George!

Does anyone else find it totally, mind-boggle-ingly freakin’ ironic that Georgie Porgie is “urging” American’s to conserve oil and fuel whenever possible?  I mean, this is the leader of the most overbearing and wasteful country in the world.  He personally doesn’t see a problem with drilling for oil in arctic preserves, and presided over a failed oil venture himself.

Alanis Morrisette is getting her vocal chords scraped as we speak.

The 13 most corrupt members of Congress

If anyone has a list like this for Canadian MPs/MPPs I’ll gladly post it.

Behemoth and Barney

I know a certain someone who will love this story.  Apparently, dinosaurs were created on the same “Day” as humans.   They’re just not around anymore because of over-hunting.  This nugget of wisdom brought to you by Biblically Correct Tours. My. God.

Time's Most Important People of the Century

Not surprisingly, I only landed in the mid 40’s.  Here’s time’s list of the 100 most important people of the century.    

Pop Montreal

Anyone heard of this festival? In it's second year, it features a lot of great bands and the website has huge coverage, and four podcasts featuring lots of the bands on the docket. The podcast will also do "live coverage" of the acts. Coolio! Anyone for a roadtrip? So bands that jump out at me from the list:

Comback Kid
Controler.Controler.
From Fiction
Ghosts of Modern Man
Illuminati
Interpol
Kings of Leon
Melissa Auf Der Maur (rawr)
Metric
Strung Out (that's weird)
The Ladies and Gentlemen
The Vermicious Knid

That's not to take away from the hundred of other acts that I'm unfamiliar with. Check it out.

Hi My Name Is Mark

Mark Hoppus, ex-bass player for Blink-182 and current member of Plus 44 (Mark and Travis from Blink, and their friend Carol) has started a podcast, Hi My Name is Mark. Mark features some new and classic punk (Silly Girl!) and indie rock, and interviews. One issue so far, get it here.

They love me! They really love me!

I’m getting mucho love and affection from Andrew Spicer – er – at least his readers clicking through to this gas station in the middle of the desert that is the referred to as the blogosphere. Thanks for the link love, here’s some in return.

Born With a Tail loves me too. But he’s with the band (cheeky devil).

This would be a great coffee table book

Check out the wackiness of vending machines in Japan. Eggs, rice, fish, you name it. Check out the site and try not to feel (lazy) jealous. I personally regret not being able to wash my rice while I wait (or buy beer from the next vending machine).

Will the cleanup of New Orleans by Politicized?

Link to story.

New Music Friday Vol. 25

A few notes for this week:

- Shit from Hell's CD is now on sale. If you like 3-chord oldschool punk, here it is (in 30-second samples - boo!). The music reflects the intent, to have a good time playing punk rock music - even if the tunes could use a little "work".

- In case you haven't noticed, I've updated the links on the right side of the page. Far From Heroes isn't there anymore - because they broke up and forgot to let me know. Well, former singer and members of Raise Them and Eat Them/Ex-Katja have formed Aarows - a new progish punk rock n'roll outfit (how's that for a description?). Kinda like Statues, only younger. Listen to your head go "pop".

- I'm diggin' this song by The Ladies and Gentlemen - A Toronto indie outfit. It's not punk, it's not metal, it's not math rock, so why should I like it? It's damn catchy, damn simple, and in the video they have three keyboardist, and one guy's sole job is to clap his hands way to0 hard for the music they are making! Classic.

Walken for Prez!

Has anybody else seen this? This is the most incredible idea ever! I mean, what qualities do you need to be a president?:

- Can act like you care about things you aren't even aware of (check)
- Was born in America (maybe check?)
- Bat-shit crazy (check)

Here's the poster for the campaign, I suggest you download it now and get to stumpin' for Walken! And remeber:

Oi! Oi! Oi! Fury's Party!

Last night, the Nar was lucky, nay, privileged enough to be invited to the Launch party of Warren Kinsella’s new book, Fury’s Hour. It was incidentally also the debut of his new band, Shit From Hell.

Now, I have to point out that out of my 10 daily readers, about 9 of them come from Warren’s site. So ask yourself, would it be in my best interest to say something that could potentially deny me 9 readers a day? Hell yes! But I kid.

The show was actually great, with a few minor issues. Here are some observations:

-Firstly, the heat. Holy shit, it was hot. Sneaky Dee’s is always a hot place, but the upstairs with little or no ventilation and the sun beating through the windows made Hell seem like a chilly place to hang out. To make matters worse, I was talking to a friend that works there, and she remarked that they had kind of forgotten to turn on the A/C until about 8:30 – the show started at 6. Oops.

-The sound guy deserves a kick in the nuts. It took this kid until the middle of the second act to realize that A) the stage left mic didn’t work, and B) the stage right guitar mic didn’t work either. Once he got the guitar mic’ed, it was WAY too loud, drowning out everything save the bass.

-There was food and free beer tickets, but I seemed to miss out on the beer tickets. Don’t know what happened there.

-Warren is a super nice guy, and knows how to work a crowd. You’d think with the whole place swirling around him, he’d never find the time to speak to gutter trash like yours truly. Think again! Warren was standing at the door when we came in, and knew who I was as soon as introduced myself. Made me all warm and gushy inside (as opposed to the typical shunned and afraid I normally feel at social functions).

-Opening act was Arms to Illustrate (no site I can find). Kids from Whitby I’d never heard before, and they were surprisingly good. In my humble opinion, a lot more metal than punk, but that’s splitting hairs these days, isn’t it? I could tell they are still pretty green, but as I remarked last night, I wish I was that good when I was there age. These guys will only get better, and they’re song writing seemed to reflect it throughout their set. Keep an eye peeled for this group.

-Oi, Oi, Oi. Shit from Hell brought the classics back in style. How punk is this: the singer got hit by a freakin’ street car a few days ago and still showed up to play, arm in a sling! Nice. The original tunes admittedly need a little work to tighten up, but the covers (“Barney Rubble is my Double” totally sent me hurtling back to my early teen years in my first punk band) were awesome. One of my favourite punk rock quotes was made by Cheech Marin in some movie “It’s only punk, man. You don't have to know how to play; you just have to look good”. And Shit from Hell looked good. Being the doofus that I am, I completely forgot to buy a CD to review for Friday. Sorry guys. I can tell you that there are samples available on their website here.

So all in all, a good night that sadly ended all too early. I’d love to sit down for some bevies with Warren again and pick his brain about an era of punk rock music I’m sadly ignorant of. I’ll admit, my experience with punk rock began with Suffer by Bad Religion (which I heard last night, props to the DJ!), and this guys pool of experience goes way beyond anything I’d ever know. But then again, I’m just a washed up punk. But aren’t we all? Wasn’t that the point of last night?

The Bubble Project

This is cool.  Some feller printed up 50,000 cartoon speech bubbles and stuck them up all over posters in New York City.  He’s then went back and photographed the resulting commentary left by people.  

"Ha! I totally got you guys good!"

Get out of Jail Free

It is just me, or does anyone else find it totally f*cked up that Paul Coffin gets to lecture people about business ethics as part of his punishment? I mean, isn’t that kind of like the Devil giving a sermon at church?

Seriously though, I am no Ottawa insider. I don’t know who this guy knows or what strings were pulled to keep this guy out of prison, but it ticks me off. This guy stole $1.5M from the tax-payers of Canada. We send welfare moms to jail for stealing an extra cheque, and this bozo gets off with an “I think he’s learned his lesson. Don’t do it again you little prankster” warning?! It makes me sick.

At least corporate criminals (and he is a corporate criminal) in the US are beginning to do hard time.

UPDATE: As if someone out there was listening to me, check this out – former Tyco exec gets 25 years. See? See?!

Nookular Winfall for Bush

You are safe, America. For now.

Heh. So North Korea has decided to stop it's nuclear program so long as we pay them to do so. Hmmm - sweet deal if you ask me. Here's how I see the conversation going:

International Community: So, do you have nuclear weapons?

North Korean: Yup, and we're working on more.

IC: Can we see them?

NC: Nope, but believe me, they're there alright.

IC: Sooo, what do you plan to do with them?

NC: Hmmm, I dunno yet. Sell 'em, use 'em... not too sure.

IC: OK, so let's get this straight. You are telling us, you have nuclear weapons, though you refuse to prove it. You may or may not be making more, and you may or may not be intending to use/sell them to who knows. Is that about right?

NC: Let's see... looks good to me, yeah.

IC: Well, we may have a problem with that.

NC: With what? Look for yourself, there's nothing here? See? Now, get out. We have nukes to build.

IC: (Shakes head) What?

NC: Yeah, that's right. Cower in fear, bitches.

IC: How much is it gonna take this time?

NC: Hold on, I've been practicing, Ahem: "You dare insult the mighty communist nation of North Korea with bribery?! Your capitalist dogma holds no sway over the mighty juggernaut of enlightenment and brute strength that is out nation!! We mock your collective impotence!" How was that.

IC: C'mon now, we brought the cheque-book.

NC: Oh! OK, lemmie just go grab the bill....

Vanilla Jihad anyone?

Let this be a warning to you: Don’t make a Muslim man’s choose between his God or his ice-cream.

Lest we forget.

New Music Friday Vol. 24

There was no New Music last Friday, and there's not much to talk about this week either (unfortnuately):

When referencing Propagandhi for the post below, I did something I haven't done in a while - namely, cruise over to the Propagandhi site. When I was but a teenager, this band used to be the be-all-and-end-all of punk rock music to me: fast as all hell, mad as all hell and smart as all hell. Their first couple of releases - namely I'd rather be flag burning and How to Clean Everything - blew me away. As a young guitarist in my own fledgling punk rock band(s), I looked up to Chris Hannah and his ultra-tight style. Somewhere around 17 or 18, I even go to play a show with them in Sudbury, and I though that was it for me (this feeling was replaced a few years later when I got to play as the opening act at Warped Tour '97 in Toronto, and got to hang out with my heroes: NOFX, Bad Religion, Snapcase, and all sorts of others like Rancid, No Use for a Name, Gob, ect.). They also run a great music label/book distro, G7 Welcomming Committee.

But like all good things, it came to an end. The band took a long hiatus, to return with Less Talk, More Rock, a decided less intense, though still hyper-inteligent album. It was less than impressive. As a three-man band, its hard to loose a member. Though I'm sure it was no surprise, bass player John K. Samson departed to pursue his own brand of punk - namely to start the indie/punk darlings The Weakerthans we all know and love (and I would argue may just be the best Canadian band ever). This was the last Propagandhi album I ever bought.

Since then, Progaandhi has picked up Todd the Rod (ex-I Spy) and produced yet another album, Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes. It never really appealed to me.

And then I read this. Chris Hannah, who I would have assumed has always been the heart and soul of the band, departed suddenly. Where he is now, I have no idea. Somehow the band manged to carry on without him and recruit a new singer/guitarist. They have even managed to remain on Fat Wreck Chords (Fat Mike's from NOFX's label) despite a 4-year silence, and put together a new album, Potempkin City Limits.

Long story short, here is a sample from the new album due to drop in October. Older and more mature, but also more developed than older work. And the new guy kinda sounds like Chris too. Will I buy it? Doubtful.

- Since there techinically is music going on, Tuesday will see Shit from Hell play at Warren Kinsella's book launch party. Incidentially, Warren is the bass player in the band. Man, I hope I get extra credit for mentioning this damn book so many times!

Literati? I think not!

Today, after lunch, I did something I don’t often do.  I bought a book.  TWO books, in fact.  I’m a big proponent of getting books for free – either from friends or the public library.  But these two I just couldn’t pass up.

The first is Fury’s Hour, written by fellow bloggist and all-round renaissance-punk Warren Kinsella.  So far, I’ve read the first couple of pages, and it’s a bit of a trip.  While in 1980, I was sadly not playing punk rock music at the Calgary Stampede(?!), but it instantly reminded me (among other things) of being thrown out of school for playing Propagandhi covers at the battle of the bands.  Ah, the memories…

The second should really come as no surprise.  The Secret Mulroney Tapes by Peter C. Newman promises to be a page turner, if you’re into that sort of thing.  Mclean’s Magazine has an excellent primer for you here is you’re wondering whether or not you’d like to read the whole book.  I know I do.

Peter McKay to drop out of politics?

From MyBlahg:  Rumours abound that Peter McKay may not run for re-election.  Wow.  Belinda hurt him, bad.  

Leadership? Lemmie tell you (hic) something about (hic) leadership...

Now this is funny – Quebec candidate for the PQ leadership holds a rally… right outside the courthouse where he just entered a plea of not guilty on drunk driving charges.  Hmmm, accused of being drunk behind the wheel, sounds like a great PQ candidate to me! (I kid, I kid).

Bush's Hidden Agenda Revealed!

You know the good thing about George Bush?  Sometimes the funny stuff just writes itself with him.

Get your popcorn ready

Two heavyweights go head-to-head on the war in Iraq. Here's the link to the debate. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I will tonight (I hope).

Well Said

Good advice for Dicks everywhere... and Dick Cheney just can't recover! Priceless!

What you can do about the CBC Strike.

eye blog � 12 Steps for CBCaholics

Senator uses National Guard to check out his own house.

Ok, so Bush can take all the blame for the slow response in New Orleans, but not this guy?  This senator used 5 military trucks, a dozen national guards and a helicopter to check on his own house – at the height of the crisis.  Check out his excuse “there was sniping going on”.  Apparently his house is located in the affluent suburb of Baghdad, Louisiana.  Nice move guy.

More crazy sidewalk art

This guy is insane. Some are reposts from the last link. Check it out here.

iTune Video Store is in the Works (for sure this time!)

According to dorky stuff people have uncovered searching through de-complied versions of the new iTunes (Apple's mp3 player and software for the iPod), it's been discovered that there is indeed functionality for a future video store in there. Afix your tinfoil hat here.

I'm a bad, bad dictator.

" I smells burnin' rubber."

Sure he can take the rap for it, what does he care? The world hates him, he's not up for re-election, and there's practically nothing he or anyone else can do to prevent another catastrophe from occurring. Maybe he needs a "War on Hurricanes" or someone to falsely inform him the Iranians are researching Tornado Technology in order to speed up rescue efforts in his own country. I mean, its pretty freakin' sad when Canada beats the most advanced and richest country in the world, with one of the largest standing army's, into it's own backyard. Forget it - you get what you pay for I guess...

BNHC - The place with the Wooden Nickel

Here is a great article from today’s Sudbury Star.  I grew up in Sudbury, and 11 years ago when I was 16, we were still trying to get the city to listen to us.  Back then, we were trying to get a skate park installed at the Exhibition Centre.  Then it was somewhere else (I can’t remember), then it was just letting us leave our ramps in a hockey rink in the summer.  The city came one night and took our ramps away, even thought they were bought and paid for privately.  The city would never allow their insurance to cover a skate park and probably never will, It’s a shame too, because Sudbury is haemorrhaging young people, and this one of the reasons why – they don’t care about them at all.  Let the kids have a place to skate, to play punk (some of the best bands I know have most if not all members that started out in Sudbury), and to stay out of trouble.  Big Nickel Hardcore, R.I.P.

Corey Teskey practised a few runs on the skateboarding street course, while live punk music blared from a nearby stage. The activities were part of the Youth Action Day organized by the youth driven group HYPE (Helping Young People Everyday) at the Exhibition Centre on Saturday. Attending youth hope the event will generate awareness of what Greater Sudbury needs to do in order to keep its young people.
Teskey, 16, placed 10th out of 94 teens across Canada in the DC National Skateboard Championship recently held in Vancouver.

On the board for the last five years, the Sudbury teen has quickly risen to the top of Canadian skateboarders. He will be competing with some of the best at the Canadian open championship in Mississauga at the end of the month. To practice though, Teskey says he has to go to the "real deal" -- Toronto's Common Ground Skate Park. Teskey along with many of the teens wonder why it's taken so many years to build a skateboard park and many don't see it developing any time soon. "I'll believe it when I see it," said Teskey.

Plans to build a skate park next to the Carmichael Arena in Minnow Lake have been revised and the design scaled down. Teens are disappointed another summer has past without the park being developed -- or started. Teskey, though, is determined to go professional -- and he hopes he could get all the practise he needs in his hometown.

Dan Dyer, 16, hopes the event has raised more awareness about the need for an indoor skateboard park. Sudbury winters occupy more than six months out oft he year. Dyer wonders whether an indoor park would make more sense. The park could serve as a youth recreational facility, hold concerts, dances and provide local bands with a space to jam.

Teens want to see more events organized with them in mind. "We have stuff like the Garlic Festival, but nothing really for youth," said Shawn Martel, a guitarist for a local punk band. The first annual Youth Action Day was promoted as a full day of youth orientated events -- a public skateboarding area, an open stage, auto show and all night dance party.

HYPE describes itself as a non-profit organization that strives to provide "a real voice for positive young
people" in Greater Sudbury. HYPE's youth strategy co-ordinator said the event was planned with the city's financial support in mind. Kevin Griese said city representatives told him the city would pay for the cost of the venue and other expenses. The city, however, denied making such a promise, indicating there were a lot of unanswered questions about the event and as a result didn't come through with the funding. Griese had said the event was going ahead anyway.

But on Saturday, Griese realized HYPE "was not able to meet its financial obligation." Consequently, the event was cut short at 7 p.m. instead of 8:30 p.m. and the all-night dance party was cancelled. "But we were able to fulfill our mandate and have a voice for our youth," said Griese. "We were able to present the inaugural Youth Action Day in Sudbury. We kept our word and didn't keep the young people down."
Griese, a former DJ, said he heard the youth's "cry for a voice in the community" 15 years ago. Throughout the years, little has changed," he said. "The value of our teenage population is under utilized." Griece said HYPE would like to build a co-operative relationship with the mayor to address those concerns. Despite its financial shortfall, HYPE will continue to be a "positive voice" for the city's youth, said Griese. By Saturday evening, though, HYPE's website, www.thehyperlink.com, was offline. A statement indicated the website was suspended until payment was received.

Yep. Can you believe they let the Nar fly a plane? Well, technically its a glider (a vintage 1942 British Air Force Training Glider or something), and technically there was a pilot in the front seat; but it was cool and I did get to fly it. I'm sure there some low class joke hiding in here about letting someone born on September 11th fly a plane ON September 11th, but I'm not going there. Still, it was awesome fun.

"I keep getting older (and they stay the same age)"

Yep, once again its time for my hordes of screaming fans to lavish me with tributes and trinkets of affection.  Or beer, whichever I don’t care.  My birthday is actually on Sunday (yes yes I know it’s the 11th, oooh ahhh), but who has a party on Sunday?

Anyway, we will be in the reserved section on the rooftop patio of The Pilot this eve, should anyone wish to drop by and buy me a bevy (hint:  the Stella on tap is a good choice).  Just look for the guy complaining about your taste in music on his shirt.  I leave you now with the lyrics to The Vandals Happy Birthday to Me:

It's my birthday and I'll do what I want to
Fuck you it's my birthday.
A special holiday only for me, so do what I say,
It’s my party, I'll make you cry if I want to...or leave.
Fuck you; it's not your birthday, so do what I say.

For 24 hours you’re wishing me well
364 days I'm in hell, oh well.
Happy Birthday to me.

Alone on my Birthday,
I'm going to Denny's 10 times today
No Tip! It’s my birthday, so do what I say
How could you forget my birthday?
That's really immature
Fuck you for forgetting my birthday
You didn't do what I say

24 hours no wishing well
Now 365 days I'm in Hell, Oh well.
Happy Birthday to me.

Happy Birthday to me, Spank Me!
Oh well, Happy Birthday to me,
I can't believe you forgot my birthday
It’s my birthday and you're wrecking it
Now it's just like any other day
You didn't do what I say
How could you forget my birthday?
That's really immature...

Celine is so smart it hurts my brain.

You thought Laura Bush’s comments about poor people being better off in the Astrodome were idiotic, then read what noted genius and philanthropist Celine Dion has to say.  In all her supreme wisdom, she has concluded that it’s OK for poor people to loot, because they’re poor and they’ll never get a chance to touch nice things again.  Pure genius I say.

Canada beats the US to help New Orleans

Louisiana State Senator says thanks to Canada for sending a search and rescue team.  But that’s not the interesting part.  The interesting part is that the team showed up 5 DAYS BEFORE THE US government could get anyone there.  Pathetic, no?    

Tuition Freeze to end

Read this and my heart sank.  I have a horrible feeling, and I’ve mentioned it a few times, that tuition rates in the province are on the verge or taking off.  As the province continues to introduce tiny stop-gaps here and there to take the pressure off the bottom rung of students, the Universities are no doubt taking it as a cue to begin sneaking in new fees and tuition hikes.  Only time will tell, but boy do I ever hope I’m wrong.

Training Colleges and Universities Minister Christ Bentley said that the province will not extend its two-year freeze on university and college tuition fees. The Minister made the announcement after meeting with students at the University of Toronto on Wednesday.
After already pledging $6.2 billion in new funding for higher learning over the next five years, with $1.5 billion going to student financial aid, the Minister said that the province “is actually faced with correcting 15 years of underfunding, decreased funding, or tuition increases.” He also added that this year marks “the first time that [he] could find in the records, to freezing tuition”; the province “has done it two years in a row, which is exactly what we said.”
New Democrat MPP Rosario Marchese plans to introduce a private member’s bill this fall that will propose the continuation of the tuition freeze until 2007. “Ontario should ban tuition fee hikes through to the 2007 election, then let the people have their say.”
The Canadian Federation of Students backed Marchese’s proposal. A letter to The Globe and Mail also commented on the decision and wrote that paying more for education does not guarantee “excellence” or a “better return on their investment.”

Last.fm

This is a (to me at least) fairly new internet radio station(s), and its pretty dope.  Its communal, which means it works almost like launchcast (see my previous rants as to why Launchcast bites it).  You type in a few names of artists you like, and bam! You’re linked up with people who have similar tastes.  Add ‘em to your list, and your radio station starts to grow.  You can also search by radio station genre, and user tags.  I’m not explaining it really well, but head over to Last.fm and check it out.  You can download their player, or a plugin for iTunes, WMP, whatever.  The sound quality is quiet good for streaming radio too!

My only complaint – you can’t add artists directly to your own personal station without paying for the service.  No biggie if you don’t mind $36/year to get all kinds of goodies, including your own station.

U of T to take Katrina undergrads for free.

Hey, this is cool.   From the Toronto Star today:

“The University of Toronto will take up to 50 eligible undergraduate students whose education has been interrupted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina.  The students’ tuition will be waived, and they will return to their own universities once those institutions are repaired.”

Well I'll be!

Little ol' me, invited to an launch party?  Can you beleive it??

Looks like Warren Kinsella (www.warrenkinsella.com) has seen fit to have his publishers summon me before the alter of punk rock nostaligia and the launch part for Warren's new book, Fury's Hour.  It's a book about punk rock.  Some would argue writing a book about punk rock is like using human words to describe God, but oh well, that's far too intelligent a line of discussion for me to sustain...

Guess I'll have to brush up on my old school punk before showing up, but I will be there!  I wouldn't pass up the opporitunity to see Shit From Hell, Warren's new band, for nothin!  

Aw shucks, I'll need a new dress for the ball now.  


UPDATE:  Oh well, guess I’m not as special as I thought.  Looks like Warren has decided to throw the doors open to everyone.  So come one, come all.  Saturday, September 20th at Sneaky Dee’s.  Look for the Nar, buy him a beer.  

CNN.com - Bob Denver, TV's 'Gilligan,dies at 70 - Sep 6, 2005

Bye-bye, little buddy.

CNN.com - Bob Denver, TV's 'Gilligan,dies at 70- Sep 6, 2005

Spacing Wire

Spacing Magazine has got a blog. Check it out, it's even got a fancy RSS feed for you techno-types.

The Nar, on the other hand (and hand is so appropriate), may have to get surgery on his hand. Details in the next few days.

Spacing Wire

Chirac 'doing well' in hospital

Jeez, you go to the bar for a few hours and the whole world falls apart!

BBC NEWS | Europe | Chirac 'doing well' in hospital

CBC News: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist dead at 80

I'm drunk. I'll have more to say about this later, when I can fully think about the impacts of this (and consult my University notes).


CBC News: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist dead at 80

Here's the video for the story below.

Check out the look on Mike's face...

Putfile - Upload Video and Upload Images

Kayne West Dissed Bush Hard Over New Orleans Response

Just add this to the list of things he deserves to be shit on about.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Rap star attacks Bush at benefit

Sprawl Mart has decided that screwing consumers isn't enough...

Now they just kill 'em.

Wal-Mart LP's Kill Suspected Shoplifter

Live Video Feed from Downtown New Orleans

Just copy this link into your browser.

http://old.mises.org:88/NO2


And here is a video of a resue overflight of the city, wow.

http://www.rocketboom.com/video/rb_05_sep_02.mov

The Mayor is mad as Hell.

Whoa.  It’s about damn time someone started using real language, rather than typical political double-speak.  I think the mayor is completely justified in being pissed off.  The BBC has a rather chilling collection of stories about what is going in New Orleans right now: rapes, looting, murders.  Most police offices have turned in their badges.  Youth think calling congress back might be a good idea?  Bush doesn’t think so.  Canada seems more coordinated on a response than the US.  How messed up is that?

You HAVE to listen to the audio interview at the bottom of the story.  It really lets you know how large this event is, and how badly the federal government is under-reacting.    

New Music Friday Vol. 23

Some new music to report:

- Minus the Bear have released their 5th album Menos El Oso. My time with this one has been limited thus far, but it sounds like what you'd expect from them. Math indie-rock with a groove sounds about right as a description. Media player is in the bottom right corner on this page. Highlight so far: Pachucha Sunrise.

- Ever heard of Saosin? Yeah, me neither. Apparently they have been around for a while too. Guess I should pay more attention to these sorts of things. Anyways, they have released a new album, a self-titled EP featuring a new singer. I heard one track off it - not bad but a little too west-coast for me. But what really impresses me is their first release - Translating the Name. Check them out here.

- The biggie of the week, however, has to be The Fall of Troy. These young guys (around 19-20) flew under the radar for a while, but their new album, Doppleganger, will put an end to that I guarantee. Quirky, angry, fast. A combination of The Blood Brothers, The Mars Volta and The Dillinger Escape Plan. I'm totally diggin' this right now. Fun Fact: the guitar player/singer's father was a studio guitarist with the Allman Brothers and the Eagles in the 1970's. From the sound of it, that skill has been passed on. Listen to some tracks here. Highlight so far: F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. (download the MP3)

End of An Era - CBGB's to close in October

Still trying to find a decent link to this story off the elevator news screen… but reports are saying that CBGB’s owner Hilly Kristal has announced he won’t be renewing the lease on the building when it’s up in October.  CBGB’s has been on the loosing end of a legal battle with the owners of the building for a long time now over the terms of the lease – mainly the rent (which is rumoured to be close to $40K/month!) – and the costs have simply caught up.  I read somewhere once the CBGB’s did over $2 million a year in t-shirt sales, but the place is empty 4-5 days a week.  So sad to see a landmark go.  Save CBGB’s site is here.

Global Warming and the Weather.

We all know the theory that global warming is leading to all sorts of problems, the hurricane in New Orleans being one of them. But how much do we actually know about the relationship with rising global temperatures and violent weather? Is it really a factor, or are global conditions just "lining up" in some coincidental way? Since modern weather tracking is a relatively new thing (in terms of the age of the planet), we really have no idea if what has been happening in the last decade is directly related to human intervention, or just part of a larger cycle in the planet's atmosphere.

Sounds convincing right?

I for one have no trouble believing that our pollution is causing all sorts of havoc with global ecological systems - and that includes the weather. This article in E-magazine discusses the topic of global warming and hurricanes. Check it out here.