A Case For Paper

I swear, today the machines (well, at bare minimum computer and computer based devices) decided to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day one day early. Consider the following ‘phun’ these beasts had with me:

• My handheld mobile device for work decided to only download half my jobs (as the paper backup evidenced that the entire queue was released for download). Shame I wasn’t let off the hook for the truant orders.

• My personal handheld mobile device (read iPhone) ‘decided’ to hang up on all calls one minute in the early afternoon today. I actually blame the Rogers network over my physical piece of technology, but when I or others stress over mobile communication, I try to remind myself that for the majority of my existence, this technology did not exist, and we got along just fine.

• The most heinous, my Score mobile application for my phone decided to tell me that in the English Premier Football League, the Toronto Raptors would face the Charlotte Bobcats. They would also simultaneously golf, play hockey, baseball, and the North American brands of football. The NBA must be fully CGI by now.

But machines can’t make mistakes. Well, that’s what the powers at work claim. There is some logic. They just follow instructions without question (how Orwellian, as it is managements dictum for us in regards to our orders).

But still, macines, like man, wear down. And ultimately, the instructions given by the operators, who are human, have the potential to be flawed. Which brings to light the real point. People are far less inclined to think when using a computer or reasonable facsimile.

So why not pen and paper anymore? Paper is more and more recycled stock, and trees can be replanted. If my return to post secondary was any insight, young people’s dependency on computers has eroded their capacity to think individually.

Could this be by some design?

Interdum vos ut volvo ferris six.

Only in Vancouver…

… do we have a radio station that not only promotes, but had someone at City Hall sign a declaration that March 14 is Steak and BJ Day in the city of Vancouver.

… we live in the mountains, a stone’s throw away from Whistler, and so many residents of the Lower Mainland have neither the ability or desire to ski.

… do so many people wear Canucks clothing and support the team, but really have no understanding of the game. Listen to TEAM 1040, and see how retarded Vancouverites are as they play GM on the air. They are even worse than Filet Mignon with his line juggling.

… does it take 55 minutes to drive 5 km in rush hour. Thank you stalls on bridges daily.

… I have seen so many islands in the roads. Our main intersection is an example. If, Gods forbid, Dawn and I want Choke and Puke, it’s a two minute walk, but because of the islands, it’s a ten minute drive to get to the right side of the street.

… would I even fathom that there is a very significant movement boycotting the Olympics and using the plight of the homeless as the crux of their argument. I may sound heavily Conservative here, but even in these rough economic times, there are still more jobs than people here. Some of the homeless would do well to get off their ass and apply themselves.

… do so many people drive the wrong way down a one way street. I’ve even gotten into an argument with one who argued the posted signage was wrong, and that myself and every other driver on Granville Street that the signs indicating to drive north were wrong, that it goes only south. Fraktard.

… do people turn the wrong way onto a street divided by an island, and instead of biting the bullet and righting themselves to drive along in the appropriate direction until the opportunity arises to turn themselves around, they drive straight over the island to continue in their intended direction, fucking up the underside of their vehicle and pissing a lot of people in the process.

What an interesting yet fucked up land we live in. Well, either way, happy Steak and BJ Day!

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

Why I just continue to love Blake Price over Jim Rome

Dear TEAM 1040.

Being a Vancouverite, I would like to thank you for relegating Jim Rome to a ‘floating’ evening timeslot. I am sick of hearing sportscasts that pertain to anything except the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants, or BC Lions.

On a day that featured no real news, being that Mike Gillis did not make any trades at the deadline, I applaud Blake Price for avoiding a non-Vancouver story like T.O. Being released by the Cowboys. Instead, I felt far more entertained by two sportscasters with no relevant copy, engaging in a three hour PMS fest about the rip-off artists known as Ticketmaster.

Bravo. Ripping T.O. would be far more entertaining, and if I want a festival embracing P.M.S. I think I’ll either piss off my better half at that time of the month, or opt for a voluntary lobotomy first.

TEAM 1040, admit you massively fucked up, don’t listen to your audience, and be entertaining again by bringing Rome back to his usual timeslot.

Blake Price, why don’t you just disappear already.

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

Frak the sports media…

To start this onslaught, I present to you the following rant from Canada’s [ahem] Second Greatest Living Canadian:

I can’t say this outburst surprises me. And before going there, I do have to say, in general, short of certain subtleties (and suit choices), I tend to agree with Cherry’s slant about hockey. I fully agree fighting is a part of the game and should be encouraged, if to serve as part of the entertainment along with lessening more serious injury caused via stickwork. But this rip on Ovechkin is nothing more than bias. Consider it this way.

Turn on sports news. Sports radio. Especially hockey. Especially now, considering how close we are to the trade deadline, and the frenzy final few hours prior to. With the addition post lockout of the salary cap, the subtext of almost every trade is money money money. Clearing cap space. Is this player worth that much. Rental or keeper? Resignable after this season? Dollars dollars dollars are in the forefront of the hockey talk for the next three days. And therein lies the rub.

With the complexities of a cap based revenue system in the sport of hockey, the true evil of greed sometimes can get lost in the mix of the bigger, team picture. For example, Alexei Kovalev, of my beloved Habs. Never have I seen such an indifferent shithead of a player. No real passion for the game. It is clearly evident that he is all about the Benjamins, and nothing else. The same could be said about Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, amongst others.

Now enter Ovechkin. Cherry says his antics are uncalled for. It’s over the top ‘entertainment’. I say this. Any serious in depth report on Ovechkin proves one thing. The kid just LOVES to play. He has pure passion for the game. Maybe, Don, just maybe, the ‘antics’ are not showmanship directed towards the fans. Perhaps it could be a genuine expression of his joy. In a game filled with money driven sell outs, I find a player like Ovechkin refreshing. Cherry, I fear you lost perspective a long time ago. Fuck me, your commentary, as your broadcast location, is Toronto-centric. Having been in America Jr. for quite some time in my life, two things are constant. First, the hockey is shit. Secondly, the environment, media, fan and team for hockey is not amped up like a contender. It’s more like a relaxed country club. And Don, you and your comments fit right in. Is it any reason Toronto is so horrible? They are geared much more for April golf, not the playoffs.

Still, it could be worse. Here, in every rainy Vancouver (okay, this winter has been unseasonably dry, but generally it rains) we’ve had to endure weeks of speculation as to whether or not Ohlund will waive his no trade clause. Can we re-sign the Twins? And now today, will we offer up Alex Burrows as trade bait (which, in not only my but every other Vancouverite’s opinion is an idea spawned from a Hastings and Main crack addict)? It gets tiresome. January was lynch Vinnie Vigneault month, as the Sundin signing was looking like a flop. February was Vigneault is a genius for putting Kesler with Sundin and Demitra and Burrows with the twins. And our sportscasters talk about nothing else. 21 hours a day (if you’re even more a vampire and night owl than myself) of the same, repetitive story. Just 9 AM to 12 PM as a break. Thank you Jim Rome for adding variety. Can’t Rick Ball talk about NCAA Hoops? Can’t Scott Rintoul stop being a pint sized geek and talk Major League Baseball? Fuck, we do have a former AL MVP from our parts (Justin Morneau). Rome definitely covered a more diverse athletic spectrum than our home grown ‘talent’.

Well, now Rome has been relegated to ‘another time slot’ that Team 1040 has not decided to announce (which probably means late night). All in the effort to ‘give us more Canuck hockey coverage that we asked for’. I don’t know about anyone else, but I asked for less. FAR LESS Canuck coverage, if what constitutes coverage is regurgitating the same two minute story ad naseum for 21 straight hours per day. Now we have Blake Price and Dave Tomlinson repeating the same, homogeonized stories in the time I’d rather hear Rome rip ‘John from Kansas’ or some other clone or clone wannabe. Hell, if the Team wanted some research, it almost seems the majority of Rome’s emails come from Vancouver. Listen and count.

Fact is, I bet the Team 1040 are ultimately appalled by one aspect of Rome’s broadcast. He speaks his mind, and bows to no specific authoritative power. No network mandate, no FCC bylaw. He lays the smack, and frankly, he tells it how he sees it. No other personality on the Team 1040 does that. And maybe there’s the rub. Where Cherry, the former Bruin coach and later supporter has turned coat to be a closet Leaf fan (among other closet habits he may or may not have come clean with yet), Rome won’t change his spots for the good of big business broadcasting. Though in Vancouver, it means he has a right shitty timeslot. One I will probably take a few weeks to figure out. But as for the Team, I can genuinely say this. I, along with all the Rome fans in Van will NEVER, EVER listen again between 9-12 until you fix this atrocity.

Yes Team 1040, you have been BLOCKED!

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

That Guy Tue… Erm, Wednesday

Much like Jim Rome’s Triple U sponsor of the day, I have seen far too much hypocrisy combined with stupidity as of late. Whatever happened to the good ol’ days? People used to give a shit. People were engaged. Somewhere in the last twenty years, at least in a social and intellectual aspect, humanity has taken a quantum leap in reverse.

As such, I give you something that may develop into a weekly feature. That Guy Tuesday. On Wednesday. Yeah, but I’m a day late on everything this week. Meh.

I had a few choices this week, but this takes the cake. And in all due respect, I have seen this twice. I give you:

Hospital Doctors who use mobile phones on site when there is loads of signage indicating that all mobile phones should be shut off in all areas of the hospital.

This really is self explainatory. Fair enough, there is an argument that of isn’t so detrimental. Still, hospitals male such a point of it, there has to be some reasoning to the ongoing request. You would think the idea of ‘Lead By Example’ would be the first step to discourage mobile phone use.

Though since University, I have learned, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Life Sciences notwithstanding, medical professionals are the dumbest people on Earth. May the Gods have mercy on our souls.

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

Filet Mignon and the Burrow

Bah. Another drought in posting. Still, I’ve had much worse months. Aside from various personal issues, I haven’t had much fodder. Less one thing, and really attacking this in the slump really would be like kicking a dead horse. For those fellow hockey fans (read Peter and Ben), I’m sure they’ve noticed that the Canucks have had a less than stellar record as of late. Nine straight home losses, to be exact. It’s gotten so bad that I can’t listen to the Team for longer than five minutes after Rome goes off the air. Every armchair GM has their ‘thoughts’ about how to improve the situation. The answers are common, but the angst comes from a place like they expected this squad was going all the way to the cup. It is sad, that reality has no factor for the majority of ‘Nuck fans.

Bah. In response to all, I give you this open letter to Mike Gillis and Filet Mignon Vinny Alain Vigneault, or AV.

Hi Mike. Bonjour Alain. Before you start taking this to heart, I am not the typical demographic for a Canucks fan. I played as a kid growing up. I didn’t grow up in Vancouver, but rather most of my hockey days were in [sic] the armpit of Canada. I played in the cold. Simply put, I actually understand the game. I’m not a clone, a cylon, a borg who just chants ‘Go Nucks Go’ and expects the Holy Grail to make it’s way to our rainy streets, only to have my heart shattered yet again that we fell short.

On that note, guess what? We will again this year. Whether or not this crew will make the second season or not, well, that can be a debate on blogs and forums which we’ll all see come April. But the stark playoff truth is this. All roads will go through Detroit and San Jose. Our crew isn’t going to survive that path. Not without an act of the Gods this season, but possibly will do down the road.

Being that my whole family is from Montreal, we had to endure the latter part of the 90’s and the early part of this decade with really shitty renditions of les Glorieux. Alain should be quite familiar with that by now. He coached some of them. But now the Canadiens are a serious playoff contender. Why? They sucked so long they could draft, develop, and amass a great deal of young talent. Chicago did the same. In losing Naslund and Morrison, it was clear the direction was toward a youth movement.

Now, from what I remember from minor hockey, our coaches (the good ones anyway) actually kept the kids together for a number of games to allow them to develop chemistry. They didn’t juggle the lines every second shift because things weren’t working immediately. Alain, there is a lesson to be learned here. To wit, there are many things that are worse than having a rough few games while sticking out your best estimate as to the most feasible line combinations.

In no particular order,

Finding out your superstar has his face splattered all over the internet while he’s taking a big hit from a bong.

The Twins are arrested and convicted of running a cock-fighting ring.

Finding out Luongo is on steroids.

Having Luongo deny any use of said steroids.

Having the prosecution provide indisputable evidence that proves Luongo’s guilt.

Sundin could have a career ending injury prior to the end of the regular season.

Bieksa could retire from the league after having an extramarital affair with another player’s wife.

You could sign Sean Avery before the trade deadline.

You could juggle the lines so much you lose nine home games in a row, many games to weaker opponents.

Oh, wait, you already did the last one. Still, this is one of the best markets in North America for hockey. Do the fans a real justice. Bite the bullet for the next few seasons, let players gel, and build a contender in the future that will stay a contender for quite some time. And don’t think that splitting up Kesler and Burrows is going to get the latter to score a ton more.

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

The sky is falling…

Four straight losses. Down six in the last eight. Definitely not the sign of a championship team. Well, so long as this lovely streak the Canucks are on continues. Tonight’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg (held hostage in Phoenix, AZ for the last decade) was especially painful to watch.

What’s more painful is how the fans are reacting. Most specifically, the ones that call in to Team 1040. Fire Vigneault they say. Bench the coach. Trade Luongo. Sundin was a mistake. Cripes, if there was any weight behind any of the plethora of ideas to quick fix the Canucks, Mike Gillis might actually be worried about his job.

Luckily, this is the constant whinging of the ‘average’ Vancouver Canucks fan. Having lived and visited a great variety of Canada, it pains me to say that Canuck fans are almost as whiny and hockey-ignorant as the standard Leaf fan. Just as in New York Jr. Toronto, fans in Vancouver are Canuck fans more than hockey fans. Though in Vancouver’s defence, we’ll buck up and cheer a non-Toronto Canadian team in the late rounds of the playoffs.

Look at it logically. At the end of the season, Nonis is out, Gillis is in. Gillis lets the vets go and brings in youth, anchored by our superstar goalie, Roberto Luongo. To me, with a diverse experience in hockey, tells me one thing. We’re rebuilding. But unlike Toronto, it’s not COMPLETELY from scratch. But still, with rebuilding, I would like to tell Canuck fans out there:

It really means we won’t be a big playoff team for a couple of years at least. We must allow time for the team chemistry to develop and the youth to develop into the players and team they can be. Keeping that sentiment in mind, here’s my armchair GM rebuttal to all the village idiots in the GVRD who think they know more than Gillis.

1. The priority right now is to re-sign Bobby Lu. Period. Though we are rebuilding, we’ve gotta show him something in terms of post-season. He’s spent every year of his career, short one, NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. If this rebuilding trend leads us to early April golf, kiss this all-star goalie goodbye.

2. In regards to point one, Sundin helps here two-fold. He gives us more scoring depth, which means the Sedins don’t have to face the strong checking lines every game, and opens up scoring. Our offense is anemic.

3. Sundin isn’t a quick fix. He’s older. It will take time for his stride to really hit. We must all be patient. I’d rather him score like a man possessed in March, not pushing himself too hard now and pulling an end to his career a la Doug Gilmour.

4. Vinnie Vigneault must be patient. Constant line juggling is retarded. You have a young team. Let them grow. Changing things each time you have a panic attack is killing our team.

5. Take that fucking A off of Mitchell’s jersey and give it to Boom Boom already. We’ve endured two Luongo-less months, and if one thing is obvious, it’s the lack of real, heart on your sleeve leadership. Bieksa and Burrows are the only two skaters who fit that bill. Hell, give Ohlund’s A to Burrows while we’re at it. We need to light a fire under their proverbial asses.

6. Bench Taylor Pyatt permanently until some team actually wants to trade for him. Fuck me, look how he plays. It’s like he’s straight from Timbit’s hockey. Why bench Wellwood to have Pyatt? Why not just go to a local rink and find a young kid to play with the Sedins each night?

7. Don’t fire a coach mid-season. Don’t bench a coach. Don’t trade Luongo for Lecavallier. Don’t release Sundin. Don’t… well, you get the point. It seems all of management’s moves are knee jerk responses to fan complaining. If you want to listen to us for one real useful thing, get the fuck rid of the pay-per-view nonsense.

/rant over.

Sometimes you gotta roll the hard six. Like tomorrow, the beginning of the end.

Unfrakkingbelievable

I do have a very over glorified, introspective post brewing up in my brain. However, with a healthy dose of cleaning, Battlestar Galactica reviewing for the Season 4.5 premiere in under two weeks, and helping one of my best mates out here in the west move today, well, I just know that I can’t do it any justice tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow, I can create a post so long it will turn off virtually everyone who swings by this site.

And this would be turn off due to the sheer length of post, not due to content. I am seriously working on having a stronger, much more positive outlook on things. I am just being honest with the ADD nature of the average blog surfer.

This post, however, is a testament to the last of the procrastinations of blogging today. Helping move my buddy Kelly. In all due respect, it has to be about the smoothest move I’ve ever been a part of. We filled a 5-Ton truck, drove a few kilometers, and unloaded in under three hours. Even with negotiating a flight of stairs. Yes, there was a fair few of us, but it went like clockwork.

There was a cog that could have gotten really ugly. The rental truck was from Last Chance U. of truck rental companies, U-Haul. This is the third of my bad experiences with this company.

The first was just over two years ago, when Dawn and I moved out to ever beautiful and sunny Surrey. We had to rent through U-Haul as at that time I did not have a valid major credit card, and could rent with a cash deposit. When I put my deposit down (with a promise of a readily available vehicle), I was then informed that there was no vehicle ready after my money was taken. I waited hours for a phone call, after which I learned I had to travel 15km north of Maple Ridge, a near 1.5 hour journey just to pick up the vehicle. Ahh, you gotta love having to add 100km to your trip just to get and retrieve the vehicle. Oddly enough, they tried to surcharge me for the fuel also. I filled the tank right up at the closest, open gas station to this confectionary which also stood as the rental agent. This was also in Maple Ridge, 15 km from the agent. The fuel was not as overfull as they wanted it. After constantly explaining I filled up before and that’s what burned off, they dropped the argument. Luckily.

The second came late this summer, when we moved our friends. This time, upon return of the vehicle, we had to wait well over an hour, in a line of maybe 5 people, to finish checking out. Fuck me, an hour to deal with five people? Why? Because the fucktards dealing with customers on site were putting those customers on hold to answer the phones. And there were at least three or four employees standing around doing nothing. Gotta love that customer service, eh?

Well, today took the cake. Bearing in mind the snowy and icy road conditions we have, one who manages a fleet of vehicles might be wise to put the appropriate tires on said vehicles. But today, the 5-Ton had BALD SUMMER STREET TIRES on them. For fuck sakes. How does this company ever stay in business?

We did ALMOST got stuck three times. Good thing it was relatively simple to get out of each jam. Still, to all those who ever move, stay the fuck away from U-Haul. For good. And if my story isn’t impetus enough, check out this from the linked wikipedia entry:

In Canada, various news agencies have found serious safety problems on U-Haul equipment. In July 2005, the Toronto Star reported statistics suggesting that about half of U-haul vehicles in Ontario were not road-safe. [3] Shortly afterward, the Ministry of Transportation (Ontario) reported that, of 296 U-Haul vehicles inspected in the summer of 2005 (43.5% of all inspections performed), 58 (19.6%) were found to have out-of-service defects, meaning that they are not road worthy. [4] CTV followed in October 2005, conducting their own inspections across the country, and finding that all 13 rented U-Haul trucks failed to meet basic provincial safety standards.[5]

Replying to the Toronto Star, the company’s Canadian officials cited its inspection policies and procedures that employees and dealers are expected to follow. In response to the CTV results, Canadian U-Haul vice-president admitted to not heeding earlier warnings to improve their vehicles’ safety conditions, and said older trucks would be replaced.

In October 2006 CTV W-Five re-investigated U-Haul by renting trucks from 9 locations across Canada. The rentals were then taken to mechanics for an inspection. Of the 9 trucks rented, 7 failed basic safety standards and were not deemed roadworthy; the other 2, while roadworthy, had minor problems. [6]

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

Laverne is an absolute fucking idiot.

Normally, I love the winter. Yes, I’m a freak. I prefer being bundled up and running around in the snow, ice and cold as opposed to scorching out in the summer on a beach. Even if the beach is in Kitsilano. I truly and honestly am bored in the summer months these days. No football (well, asides from Euros and World Cup), no hockey, and Gods forbid no skiing.

Out of the winter, one obstacle ensues. Driving. And before readers jump to any conclusion, I can handle my vehicle exceptionally well in the poor road conditions. How other drivers, especially in the west coast environs that we exist within, fare with the inclement weather and driving conditions, does provide an exponential increase in the variables on the already, poor driver heavy roads.

This post though, is not about driving. Rather, it is about parking. During our ‘heavy’ (okay, heavy for Vancouver) brush with real winter weather, things became a disaster. At work, many of our driving calls were postponed until the road conditions improved. Well, they have finally improved, and our workload is going to suck balls for the next few weeks. Well, at least it’s good overtime.

There is ONE place in the Lower Mainland that seems to be exempt from having the walk or drive cleared. Our apartment complex. Our absolute fucktard wonderful, NEW property manager, Laverne, has decided to buck the precedent set by his predecessors and choose not to clear any more snow than from the road to the front door, leaving all the parking spots in an absolute dismay. The precipitation started as wet snow, but has now frozen into solid ice, and at best 1/2 of the existing spots in the main lot stand any chance of a car parking into them. Even for myself, I got stuck trying to enter a marginal spot, blew about 1/4 a tank of gas trying to get out.

There are legal requirements that the managers should clear the drive regularly, but however, asshat is sticking to his story about what little he needs to do. The funny thing is two fold. First, all the tenants in our building know he’s just being a cheap cunt, and second, for us to pursue this in a legal standpoint would see a decision only after all the snow has melted.

Myself, I have a unique, me-like solution:

Now, if only I could find a cheap, relatively unused Mercury Class Battlestar just lying around, we could be in business.

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.

I must be a walking chrome toaster. There are too many asshats around and I just plum don’t fit in. And fuck me, I hate Christmas, with other observations.

I was never originally Ebenezer-esque. Really. Though in all due respect, with my birthday [which I MIGHT give out privately if you email me] falling within a week of the 25^th, and being an only child yielded a big load from Satan Santa. Growing up, not having kids of my own (aside from the two balls of evil fluff) and losing a great deal of the family that I only got to see around the holidays has definitely changed the perspective of the holiday. Nowadays I feel more and more disconnected from the masses, and all this Yule cheer gives me a combination of nausea, depression, and rage.

Now to that LOVELY mixture, add the following asshats (whom increase my sense of separation from the rest of humanity).

All 308 elected Members of Canadian Parliament. We’ve just gone through a whole election. Just. And we may have another one as a gift for the new year.

For the background on it, read the wikipedia article.

Simply put, another election in the spring won’t change a thing. A difference in the results of maybe a handful of seats, that’s it. Still another Harper minority, trying to push an elimination of federal political subsidies. Followed by another no confidence vote. At the rate of the idiocy of these twats, all the funds intended to stimulate the economy will be spent in countless elections to prove nothing. Clearly another election will not change the mandate from the masses.

So our choices are these. A lone Conservative minority [read Reform minority], pushing an agenda that will silence the opposition voices (1984 anyone), or a coalition between the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc (which I tend to prefer, though this may be a wide, grey line between who we chose and who’s actually in office. George W. Bush anyone?)

Out in the Canadian West, we’ve been bombarded with ads on the TeeVee and Radio by the Reform Party, slamming the move, putting Canada’s fate in the hands of the Separatists. Well, for Harper and the Reform Party, the flaw of logic in this move is two-fold. First, consider the major political gaffe in calling out the Bloc. Harper (now twice) swore an oath to serve the whole of Canada, including Quebec, and the lot that want to separate. Harper is force by ethics (which easily explains the logic flaw) to keep Canada whole, and is shooting that whole purpose in the foot with the smear campaign.

Second, he’s demonstrating an absolute lack of respect to Parliamentary protocol. Unless he’s spending millions of dollars to spread a message out to 308 people. The rest of us can’t do a fucking thing until the no confidence vote. Not one thing. Money well spent Mr. Harper?

Looking at it more thoroughly, we are in a catch 22. Stephen is correct. Canada voted overwhelmingly against Stephane Dion and the Liberals. However, we also voted with a strong enough majority against Stephen Harper as the Prime Minister. We just couldn’t decide whether it be Dion, Layton, or Duceppe.

So who’s right? Everyone, and no one. You see, the funny flaw in all of this is that we in Canada never cast a ballot saying we want Harper as PM. Or Dion. Well, I hope you get the point. We voted for our MP to be our voice in Parliament. I really think this is a concept lost on the many, as political affiliation seems to be the only gauge for choice. So what from here? The only viable solution would be to enact legislation requiring all minority governments to have a coalition to keep policy in check.

Sadly I doubt that will happen.

Nor will people shut up about Brian Burke, Mats Sundin, or Sean Avery. Are there no stories to cover in the sport of hockey these days that we have to turn yet another professional sport into a tabloid? I mean, for fuck sakes, the NFL is all about handguns, MLB is the steroid witch hunt, and now hockey has become the land of slamming celebrity ex-girlfriends and their new partners using the ever so prominent catch phrase ’sloppy seconds’.

Enough about Avery already. Fuck me, I don’t care what they do with him post suspension. Can’t the Team dig up more about anyone but he, or Sundin and how he just had to wait 8 months to sign a $10 million deal with Vancouver (he’s really not coming here), or how Burke will be great for the Leafs. Frankly, the only thing Burke will do is allow the Leafs to do the one thing they’ve been good at. Being the clown force of the NHL, upstaging real talent. Don’t believe me? Then ask why they decided to retire Wendel Clark’s 17 the same night the Canadiens mended the way between the franchise and netminding great Patrick Roy, arguably the best goalie ever. It’s like the Leafs retiring Borje Salming’s jersey the same night the Oilers retired Gretzky’s 99.

But it shouldn’t surprise. Toronto is full of classless, low life gits. I guess the economic turmoil is karma for the rest of this. Suck Leafs suck!

Interdum vos ut volvo ferrus six.