Wow, there are actually bands I want to see playing in town over the next couple of months.
The Flowers of Hell have the release party for their new album & DVD on November 13th, then Fang Island come back to town on the 16th.
And at the beginning of December, my favorite band from the early '90s Toronto indie scene, Lowest of the Low, stagger back out for a couple of shows at Lee's Palace (the only venue they should ever play, in the interest of moribund nostalgia).
UPDATE: Figures. The Flowers of Hell show is up against the roller derby finals, which I've already told a couple of people I was gonna attend.
People Who Should Lose Their Jobs
No, this has nothing to do with Juan Williams.
Today's PWSLTJ is Jim Pasco, head of the Fraternal Order of Police, who recently said the following about the explosion in private surveillance and recording of police officers:
Now I realize that Pasco, as head of a police union, is supposed to have the backs of the cops. But "I'm afraid something terrible will happen"? Dipshit, terrible things have already happened. They happen basically every fucking day, because you and your kind let your profession be infected by a military mindset rather than a public service one.
Hell, if your union brethren weren't doing terrible things already, you wouldn't have to worry about being scrutinized so much.
Oh, and by the way? Fretting about civilian surveillance of the boys and girls in blue isn't even like worrying about the horse after its already escaped the barn, it's more like worrying about the horse after it's already been made obsolete by the automobile.
I suggest to the Fraternal Order of Police that they need someone running their union who isn't quite as ignorant of what's actually happening in the world, and might actually be able to help you figure out how to navigate the new environment you find yourselves in, rather than just pissing into a hurricane.
Today's PWSLTJ is Jim Pasco, head of the Fraternal Order of Police, who recently said the following about the explosion in private surveillance and recording of police officers:
The proliferation of cheap video equipment is presenting a whole new dynamic for law enforcement. It has had a chilling effect on some officers who are now afraid to act for fear of retribution by video. This has become a serious safety issue. I'm afraid something terrible will happen.
Now I realize that Pasco, as head of a police union, is supposed to have the backs of the cops. But "I'm afraid something terrible will happen"? Dipshit, terrible things have already happened. They happen basically every fucking day, because you and your kind let your profession be infected by a military mindset rather than a public service one.
Hell, if your union brethren weren't doing terrible things already, you wouldn't have to worry about being scrutinized so much.
Oh, and by the way? Fretting about civilian surveillance of the boys and girls in blue isn't even like worrying about the horse after its already escaped the barn, it's more like worrying about the horse after it's already been made obsolete by the automobile.
I suggest to the Fraternal Order of Police that they need someone running their union who isn't quite as ignorant of what's actually happening in the world, and might actually be able to help you figure out how to navigate the new environment you find yourselves in, rather than just pissing into a hurricane.
Idle Thought
I wonder how much extra cash Ginny Thomas' Liberty Central group was able to siphon up from donors after she managed to get the name 'Anita Hill' back into the news with her "olive branch" voice mail...
Inexplicafragilisticexpialadocious
So I get home from Neutral karaoke at about 3:30 or so, long after the garbage trucks have gone by. My obliviously lazy-ass roommate has helpfully collected and bagged the garbage and tied the bag off... and then left it sitting in the kitchen rather than taking it out to the curb.
This is nothing new. She does it all the time. It doesn't seem to occur to her that a) it might be a good idea to actually throw it out, or b) if she wasn't going to throw it out, that I might have something to add to it and that she shouldn't tie it off.
But wait, it gets better. After I'm home for a few minutes, she comes out of her room and announces that she saw a mouse in the apartment earlier in the evening.
Just to be clear: she saw a mouse, and then left a bag of garbage sitting on the kitchen floor.
Wow. I mean, that's... wow. I had to ask. Her excuse? She was tired and forgot it was garbage day.
Forgot. Even though she'd bagged it up.
Sigh.
If you happened to be wandering the Danforth at four in the morning on Tuesday, that thumping noise you heard was not some house party with the bass cranked, but my forehead getting well acquainted with a wall.
This is nothing new. She does it all the time. It doesn't seem to occur to her that a) it might be a good idea to actually throw it out, or b) if she wasn't going to throw it out, that I might have something to add to it and that she shouldn't tie it off.
But wait, it gets better. After I'm home for a few minutes, she comes out of her room and announces that she saw a mouse in the apartment earlier in the evening.
Just to be clear: she saw a mouse, and then left a bag of garbage sitting on the kitchen floor.
Wow. I mean, that's... wow. I had to ask. Her excuse? She was tired and forgot it was garbage day.
Forgot. Even though she'd bagged it up.
Sigh.
If you happened to be wandering the Danforth at four in the morning on Tuesday, that thumping noise you heard was not some house party with the bass cranked, but my forehead getting well acquainted with a wall.
Hobbit Casting Rumor Season Is a Go!
Martin Freeman appears to be set as Bilbo, which gets a big thumb's up from me. And I didn't even like the movie version of Hitchhiker's.
The other names also floating around as potential cast members, though, are a bit more interesting. In order of geeky magnitude:
- David Tennant (everyone but me's favorite new-school Dr Who). The only part he would make sense for, to me, is that of Elvenking Thrunduil, ruler of the wood elves of Mirkwood -- and Legolas' dad.
- Michael Fassbender (the British spy from Inglorious Basterds). I can see him best as Bard, but Beorn could also be a possibility...
- ...except that Jekyll star Jimmy Nesbitt is also on the list, and if he isn't born to play a werebear I dunno who is. I guess you could shrink him down to dwarf size too, but that seems a waste.
The other names also floating around as potential cast members, though, are a bit more interesting. In order of geeky magnitude:
- David Tennant (everyone but me's favorite new-school Dr Who). The only part he would make sense for, to me, is that of Elvenking Thrunduil, ruler of the wood elves of Mirkwood -- and Legolas' dad.
- Michael Fassbender (the British spy from Inglorious Basterds). I can see him best as Bard, but Beorn could also be a possibility...
- ...except that Jekyll star Jimmy Nesbitt is also on the list, and if he isn't born to play a werebear I dunno who is. I guess you could shrink him down to dwarf size too, but that seems a waste.
Pay No Attention To the Bloke Behind the Curtain
It had to happen. After years of pressure, Banksy has finally broken down and revealed something of his personal life:
Fox News Admits They Aren't a News Organization, And Are Incompetent To Boot
So Robin Carnahan has submitted a motion to dismiss the Fox News suit against her for copyright violation, based on an attack ad she ran against her Senate opponent Roy Blunt that used clips from a Chris Wallace interview.
Carnahan's camp is presenting two really awesome arguments:
1) Fox didn't bother to copyright the footage until after they'd filed the lawsuit.
2) The Fox footage itself contains public domain footage from C-Span, and is thus uncopyrightable.
So Fox isn't just being blatantly partisan, they're being incompetently blatantly partisan. Fantastic.
Carnahan's camp is presenting two really awesome arguments:
1) Fox didn't bother to copyright the footage until after they'd filed the lawsuit.
2) The Fox footage itself contains public domain footage from C-Span, and is thus uncopyrightable.
So Fox isn't just being blatantly partisan, they're being incompetently blatantly partisan. Fantastic.
Vive La Difference
In the US, libertarians constantly complain about the erosion of individual freedoms -- and with good reason, as police routinely violate those rights every chance they get. Despite a court that contributes to that erosion, though, the Constitution still provides a bedrock of freedom that is, historically and politically, the envy of people worldwide.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Constitution is much less hearty when it comes to enshrining individual freedoms, and the court up here continues to hack away at what freedoms do exist:
Yet, the police do not have a reputation in Canada for rampant abuse. And if you polled people in both countries, I'd be shocked if the average Canadian didn't say they felt freer than the average American, despite the fact that from a legal standpoint the opposite is surely true.
Not really taking sides on which country is "better". Just find it interesting that the pinko commie soshulist stronghold of Canada does, on paper, have fewer freedoms than the US... and yet in reality, it's the freer, more permissive society.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Constitution is much less hearty when it comes to enshrining individual freedoms, and the court up here continues to hack away at what freedoms do exist:
“What now appears to be licensed is that a presumed innocent individual may be detained and isolated by the police for at least five or six hours without reasonable recourse to a lawyer – during which time the officers can brush aside assertions of the right to silence or demands to be returned to his or her cell in an endurance contest in which the police interrogators, taking turns with one another, hold all the important legal cards.”
Yet, the police do not have a reputation in Canada for rampant abuse. And if you polled people in both countries, I'd be shocked if the average Canadian didn't say they felt freer than the average American, despite the fact that from a legal standpoint the opposite is surely true.
Not really taking sides on which country is "better". Just find it interesting that the pinko commie soshulist stronghold of Canada does, on paper, have fewer freedoms than the US... and yet in reality, it's the freer, more permissive society.
Gillian Anderson Is Alive And Well And Living In England
I'm with Knappster - the reaction to the 'No Pressure' video from British AGW advocates is downright bizarre. At the Liberty Papers, words like 'revolting', 'amoral' and 'depraved' got thrown around and applauded. Other, less interesting libertarian blogs who I shan't link to went even further off the deep end.
Judge for yourself. It's written by Richard Curtis (of Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Four Weddings and a Funeral fame):
Personally I think the people calling it 'depraved' are just afraid of getting blown up, because they know in their hearts that's what they want to do to AGW advocates, and they're just projecting. But hey, I'm just a crazy guy who watched that video and didn't think it's actually advocated murdering children, so what do I know, right?
Judge for yourself. It's written by Richard Curtis (of Blackadder, Mr. Bean and Four Weddings and a Funeral fame):
Personally I think the people calling it 'depraved' are just afraid of getting blown up, because they know in their hearts that's what they want to do to AGW advocates, and they're just projecting. But hey, I'm just a crazy guy who watched that video and didn't think it's actually advocated murdering children, so what do I know, right?
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