Moving On Over...

You can find me in my new home over at my developer blog for Oilcake Productions, where I'll be following my level design/mapping efforts and probably bitching about other stuff, too...

This space will just...  abide...

Peace Is A Relative Thing...

Looks like good ol' Fidel Castro is soon about to be resting in it, for one thing. At least, that's what CNN just said. Must be important to tear them away from their coverage of World War III. Not a lot of that peace thing going on anywhere other than Fidel's hospital room, it seems. I wish they'd ask a few WWII vets what they think about the current global situation being called that. I doubt they'd be that happy. Who are these people we let form our world? Someone needs to take away their pop-guns...

That said, what's up with my blog dating? The post below was in July, not June! Oh, well, at least it looks like I posted something in June!

BOOM!

Well, it seems I've managed to go three months without posting anything. I've given myself the requisite spanking, and now I'm back. My last post dealt with how messed up the Middle East was, as well as the nuclear issues that the world was facing. Now that those issues have all been dealt with, we can freely and safely move forward to a lasting world peace. But seriously folks, it's all too depressing to comment on right after having said nothing for weeks. I'm sure I'll get to it soon! For the time being, I have a few pics I shot around our area recently. Enjoy!



Sunset on Bloor & Yonge area buildings.



Sunset on the synagogue behind our place.



Puddles on the roof next door.



Falun Dafa at it again. They march down Spadina about once a month these days. At least we don't jail them and harvest their organs here in Canada...

More soon! Booya.

Take Cover!

Hidden amongst the trees around the Dundas & Ossington area here in Toronto is one of the Cold War-era air raid sirens that once "protected" us from incoming Soviet nukes. Nothing like the sound of a "25 minutes till nuclear devastation" warning...

In an effort to bring back the "good ol' days", it seems George W. Bush and his administration are planning for possible attacks on Iran that could include the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Of course, what better weapons to use in an effort to stop Iran's efforts to produce their own nukes. Let's start with journalist Seymour Hersh's recent article in The New Yorker. This article is one of the most frightening pieces I have ever read. Really. It is also important to consider the fact that at the time of publication, sources in Hersh's piece believed Iran to be years away from uranium enrichment. Oops. Just today, Iran announced it's first successful uranium enrichment. Obviously, this ups the proverbial ante.

At the same time, the Bush administration is attempting to fight allegations that the president leaked selected parts of classified intelligence documents to support his rationale for invading Iraq. "I wanted people to see the truth," said Bush. Oh. These same people are calling recent reports from The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Washington Post "hyped-up reporting" and "wild speculation", as seen in this article from the Globe & Mail. So, is military intervention in Iran on the table? Yes, Bush has said as much himself, on a number of occasions. It may now be just a question of how soon. I strongly urge anyone reading this to read Hersh's entire piece. Oh, you may want to take cover, too.

Canada Needs An Abortion Law?

Ah, the things you miss when you don't read The National Post daily... Wonderful editorials like this one by Jonathan Kay. What a piece of work this guy is. He'd be a lot of fun at a party.

Matinee Slim Show Tonight

Matinee Slim & The Ultralight Orchestra will be playing tonight at The Mod Club in Toronto. If you or any of your friends are in the area, go to this show. You won't regret it. It'll be fun. We can have a beer.

Spring cleaning day, too, if mostly because we'll have guests over the weekend. Still, it's always surprising how much crap one can accumulate over the course of a winter. I've just finished scrubbing my arms after being elbow deep in the toilet. Fun.

It's Not Unusual To Not Post For A While

Life has been rather busy around here lately, hence my lack of posts. I've been working on a load of video for Len, a Canadian band who are currently working on a new record, the first in some years. Their old videos will be posted on YouTube, and linked to their existing MySpace page. In theory, a full site will follow. Anyway, encoding and compressing video takes some time, and I've had to catch up a bit on the newest technology and techniques.

The film business seems to finally be picking up in Toronto as well, good news for me and all the other film technicians in the area. This year I'll be working as a permittee for both of the local unions: IATSE 873 and NABET 700. Last year I worked only for IATSE, so this should bring more calls, which is very nice! I've also been organizing a slew of training courses I need to take. In about a month's time, I'll be certified in 3 different types of forklift, 2 or 3 different types of propane handling, cranes and zoom-booms, and my personal favourite - entry level theatrical pyrotechnics. Finally, I'm on my way to blowing things up! Not that I would ever blow up anything I wasn't supposed to... Really.

So that's where it's all at. I'll certainly try to post more often, and to get out there and take more interesting photos of jolly old Toronto. In the meantime, let's forget our worries about the world and celebrate with Tom Jones.

The Toronto Anti-War Rally, Or "Canada Out Of Canada"

Rallies against, well, war in general it seems, were held around the world over the weekend to mark the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Here in Toronto, the protesters gathered across University Avenue from the U.S. Consulate. Estimates on the number of protesters vary depending on the source. The Canadian Press and Toronto Police give a figure of around 1,000, while wsws.org (the World Socialist Web Site) claims 25,000. Let's put it this way: I was there. There may have even been 2,000, but 25k is so utterly ridiculous I have to laugh. Unfortunately the organizers of the event, the Toronto Coalition To Stop The War, seem to have had a website outage problem, but I'm sure they'll be more realistic when they get their site back up...


This is the sight that greeted us as we made our way south on University to the site of the protest. Lots and lots of cops. Cops on bikes, cops walking, riot cops, horse cops; you name it, they were there. In the foreground, you can see the flags of Iraq and Palestine fluttering in the cold wind.

Here's the lone American Guy. He stood there defending all things Yankee to any and all who would listen. I think he was serious.




I had all kinds of looks like this from the cops while I took their pictures. Haha, it's good to be free.









Freedom for us to do whatever includes freedom for them to video us doing it, apparently... That's the Video Services Unit in the background. Smile for the camera!

One of my favourite posters. And there were a lot that were humourous in one way or another... See if you find this one funny, too!




Here are some shots of the aftermath. The crowd had marched off up University Avenue, and it seems some people forgot their signs.




A few more signs lying about. There were quite a few piles like this. I guess the wind was too cold to carry them. A real pity, because I'm sure that the 23,000 marchers that joined after we left could have used these...

I like this one. One of the best overall sentiments I saw all day.







I laughed and laughed at this. Canada out of Canada. But let's not fight about it...






Granola down! Medic! One of the funniest things you can see on the road after an anti-war protest. That includes cops and hippies.








After the protesters had moved off to the north, along with all the other cops, we were left virtually alone with Toronto's Finest Riot Outfit. Don't they look fine in their ski masks?

So, after all this cynicism (fun, though, wasn't it?!), let's be serious for just one second. The people at this rally were against war, totally and utterly, in all its forms. Having done my homework before going off to their rally, I know roughly where they stand. I just can't figure out why. The seems to be no thought beyond "No War". Is Iraq the same situation as Afghanistan? Iran? Where does Haiti fit in? (For that matter, where does Quebec fit in?!!) What would these people have been saying if the year was 1939? I invite you all to peruse the literature of these anti-war groups to see if it makes sense to you. Start with the links at the top of this post. I am not pro-war. I am also not anti-war if the circumstances call for it. All I ask is that people educate themselves before choosing their position; to be honest, I saw little to no evidence of that at the Saturday rally. Ouch.