Get out of the Bike Lane

Why is it that Taxis are permitted to use shared lanes? You know, like the ones on Bay Street. These lanes are reserved for buses, taxis, and bicycles. Why? Taxis are no solution to pollution or road congestion. They drive around looking for fares, or else they are usually carrying ONE passenger. This sucks. In my opinion, these lanes should be reserved for buses and vehicles with three or more people inside. What I really think is that there should be bike lanes on more streets. And not like that idiotic bike lane on Spadina.

Get out of the bike lane!

Tags: cycling, Toronto

OCAD Building

I am amazed that some people dislike the new OCAD building. I think it's fabulous. If you walk down McCaul Street, you will notice that everyone is looking up at it. In fact, try not looking up. It's impossible. Toronto lacks radical architecture. We have little beyond an 1800-foot phallic symbol.

Tags: architecture, Toronto, OCAD

$$$

I have this urge to spend money, but no money to spend. It's the way things go. After buying a bunch of darkroom supplies, I am low on cash, until I get paid. I hate getting paid monthly. Whose invented monthly pay? I'd rather get paid weekly, or daily. After all, I work daily (usually).

Two friends have bought iPods. I have iPod envy.

Try This.

Tags: money

Winter Blahs, Spalding Gray, TV, etc.

I think I am getting sick of winter. The fall was so warm, and then January really sucked.

Well, it's been one month since Spalding Gray disappeared. I am still saddened by this news. My ex-girlfriend lent me her copy of Monster in a Box about eleven years ago. I still think this slim book is one of the funniest things I have ever read. There are serious themes in his work too.

We were fortunate to have seen him give a monologue in Toronto some years back. I had hoped to see him perform again. That doesn't look likely now.

We have seen two episodes of This is Wonderland on CBC. Hey, this show is pretty good. Somehow, I keep missing the new Rick Mercer show. Maybe I don't really care about it.

Does everyone have a friend that just won't stop sending email to you? It wouldn't be so bad, but it's just stupid jokes. It is frustrating.

Tags: Spalding Gray, TV

Breasts are dangerous to your health

Get this: some banker from Knoxville has filed a class action lawsuit against Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, CBS, MTV, and Viacom. Terri Carlin said the "sexually explicit conduct" caused millions of people to "suffer outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury."

Serious injury? If seeing a breast can cause serious injury, I'd be dead by now. Embarrassment? Say what? I wasn't embarrassed. Seeing breasts is not embarrassing. If it is, there is something wrong with you. This is probably the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard. Wait, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq comes close.

Meanwhile, many people have already commented on the Superbowl ads, which we are not allowed to see in Canada. If you ask me, a farting horse is far worse than a breast. I think that could really cause serious injury.

Tags: breasts, Janet Jackson, media

Janet Jackson's Right Breast

My immediate reaction is that, since her nipple was covered with a steel shield, it doesn't count. It's simple: if you can't see the nipple, it's not really nudity. Anyway, what a huge fuss about absolutely nothing. It just figures that the puritanical right wing conservative religious types would freak out over a breast. It's just a breast. Violence dominates North American television and movies. You can watch people die, being tortured, decapitated, etc., but a breast makes people have a seizure. Give it a rest.

Tags: Janet Jackson, breasts, media

I spent three days at the Ontario Library Association conference. It wasn't too bad. The trouble with every conference is that, inevitably, you will chose a stinker session. In small sessions, I worry that the speakers will be offended if I were to walk out. Can you enter a new session already in progress? If so, when is it too late? I witnessed people entering sessions during the ending question part. What's up with that?

Anyway, I saw some good sessions and some bad (I won't name names). Top Ten Tech Trends is always interesting. The occasional free beverage was even better. My suggestion is that they reconfigure the conference to run from Wednesday to Friday, and leave Saturday out of it. That, in my mind, is the major flaw of every library conference.

Tags: Ontario Library Association, conferences, libraries