Hindsight in 2020

Hindsight: Those really were the droids you were looking for.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new decade and given the numerical significance of the year thought it would be an appropriate time to reflect a bit on the past decade (or 4) and use a website I've neglected for almost 5 years.

It's been an interesting time the past 10 years, unpredictable in a lot of ways yet often pretty mundane. One could spend a lot of energy going over the past, wondering what could have been done better or if things really worked out for the best, though I think my main take away from the trouble I've had the past few years is not to get bogged down by focusing so much on past mistakes.
My goal for 2020 is to be a bit more in the present, while still being mindful of lessons learned from failures while not devolving into regret.

There's that saying "if you want to change the world, first change yourself", while I've known it intellectually for quite a while it's been hard to implement (especially when inundated with news across the globe about the environment, politics, entertainment, and Florida man).
I think I might be in a position to start changing myself, though it took quite a while to get to this point. Up till now it has felt like walking in circles in knee deep mud, so focused on just trying to put one foot in front of the other that never bothered to look up and notice there are a few paths not to far away - or maybe more accurately was unsure of where the paths would lead so figured going in a circle would somehow work out.

Also, I think I'll stop trying to worry so much about perfection. Innumerable times have been so concerned about making mistakes or trying to do something 'perfect' that I ended up doing nothing or scrapping whatever it was being worked on. Well, time to proudly make misteaks.

So, not sure what is in store for 2020, but it should be very interesting.

Minor differences,

Aside from the few noticeable changes I mentioned in my previous post (general upkeep, level of perceived safety) have a few observations about the how things of changed in Colombo, I'd assume the rest of Sri Lanka might have similar changes:

Electricity, in 2009 there would be frequent brown outs and black outs (in addition to those created in response to air raids), power levels would also fluctuate so having a UPS was almost necessary to ensure safety of electronics, or as my aunt and uncle would do, basically unplug anything while it wasn't in use. I've only been aware of one brown out since I've been here, which is quite remarkable since last time the power was out the day I arrived.

Food, prices are 2 to 4 times what I remember for basic staples (vegetables, bread, rice), there is a greater number of grocery stores (Cargills, Keels, Laughfs) so travelling to local 'kade' (shop) is transitioning a bit. Cleanliness has improved for most restaurants with routine inspections carried out, though oddly food doesn't taste as good as I remember... I wonder if there is a connection.

Beggars, they used to be much more varied and prolific, in daily routine would encounter the unluckiest people on Earth, half their family was dead, the other half would be deathly ill, with a few pregnancies thrown into the tale. There would be families, young mothers, old mothers, grandmothers, the infirm, disabled, and as detailed the healthy but unlucky, begging for change on buses and busy streets.
This time around there are a few, but I encountered more people asking for change within 1 hour of arriving at a hotel in downtown Edmonton than the first two weeks in Sri Lanka.

Tools, there is quite a larger number of power tools being used in renovation and construction work, labour costs have gone up but access to quality tools appears to have improved consistency in a variety of industries. Contractors can still be crooks though.

Animals, there does seem to be some population control for street dogs and cats. They don't seem as common as before, also haven't seen any goats, cows, or elephants wandering the streets.

Driving, it is still horrendous... truly it takes a resolve of questionable sanity to attempt driving in the main city streets. Though there are noticeable differences, the state of vehicles on the road is generally a bit better, there is the odd black chimney on wheels but also a fair number of hybrids (oddly haven't seen any smart cars on the road). People seem to be slowly learning that sidewalks are for people and not motorcycles - for the most part. Liberal use of horns to navigate traffic seem to have more purpose than just 'get out of the way', there are hand signals as well as use of turn signals, quite astounding.
Also noted more women drivers and motorcyclists, had seen the odd female driver back then but it would be an uncommon occurrence.

Pedestrians, sidewalks are actually in a reasonable state of repair, and stores no longer extend their storefronts to occupy the entire walkway. Crossing streets is still an exercise of faith in a higher power but back in 2009 crosswalks were at best considered 'suggestions' by vehicles and pedestrians alike. Now most people will try to use a marked crosswalk, and probably 1 in 50 cars will make a show of slowing down (about 1 in 100 will actually stop).

News and politics, ... actually not much has changed here. The propaganda machines pump out nonsense on a regular basis. Anecdotal evidence is reported as fact, and the 'Who' and 'Where' seems more important than the 'What', 'Why', and 'When'.

So overall, Sri Lanka seems headed down the road of progress, hopefully it doesn't get run into a ditch by the new driver.

Quite a change,

It's been just over five years since I was last in Sri Lanka, when I left back in June of 2009 the country (at least Colombo) was in a state of celebrate marking the end of decades of civil war.

There was an air of optimism for the future of the country, well founded it seems.

Upon returning to the Island what struck me the most aside from the new public work projects and general state of upkeep and cleanliness for roadways (varying from marginally to greatly improved), was how much less cautious people seemed. Perhaps I worded it poorly, before there were security checkpoints, bag checks, and you needed to keep a very close watch on your personal possessions... not that isn't still true in some areas but there is less likely hood of your shoes being stolen the minute you're distracted.

It's also a curious crossroads at this time, there is an election in tomorrow which is a neck and neck race between Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) and Maithripala Sirisena (MS). To say it is a bit of a divisive election would be an understatement.

The main issue is corruption in the incumbent President's (Rajapaksa) regime, unfortunately the opposition party is not exactly better... an all too familiar scenario.

I am by no means an expert, and have been a bit out of the loop for the past few years regarding Sri Lanka politics (it gets a bit weird if you follow it for a while). Sri Lankan politics seems to have a habit of going from one extreme to the other, in the 60/70's a communist style closed economy with a focus on creating internal goods was so harsh that the next regime changed to an open capitalist system.  I can't say which is better than the other but the rapid change between system caused a lot of problems.

If MR wins, the good will be a continued vision for the country which is showing results, MR is also quite a strong leader which is necessary to fend off foreign influences that have a history of crippling the development of the country for economic or ideological gain. Unfortunately is part and parcel with systemic corruption and a concern that solidifying his power will lead to a family dictatorship.

The opposition MS is touted as being able to bring an end to a corrupt regime and re-establish "Democracy", whether or not that is accurate is beside the point, as the old saying goes 'Politicians are like diapers, they should be changed often... and for the same reason'. That said, the concern is that MS will dismantle the progress achieved by the the previous regime and devolve powers to provinces that could create future problems reminiscent of the conflict that ended just a few years ago.

 Everyone is waiting to see what will happen tomorrow, most are avoiding making any plans just in case something happens, the feeling is that if MR loses there is a chance of a coup taking place as he has control of the Army and Police. The actual chance of this is probably fairly small, but this is an odd Island so better to play it safe.

Daily life continues, and the Pope is scheduled to arrive a few days after the election so everyone wants things to run smoothly. It seems I happen to have arrived during interesting times, I've forgotten how stimulating this place can be... though at the same time it can be quite frustrating, it took a total of 5 days to get a bank account open and activated, 4 days to find a place to cash Canadian Travelers Cheques (which apparently banks will issue but won't cash), and don't get me started on trying to make appointments on time using local taxis.
As I've observed, Sri Lanka has taken the British system of bureaucracy and perfected it to an almost praiseworthy inefficiency (kind of like the Vogons). The work around is knowing the right person who can help 'cut through the red tape' as it were.

In any event, it will be curious to see what tomorrow will bring.

1367

A quick check with this handy date range tool calculated that it has been 1367 days since I last posted anything on this blog.  Not that there hasn't been anything of note in my quiet little corner of the world but just in general couldn't be bothered, facebook, twitter, google+, linkdn, reddit... managing a social presence on the internet is a full time occupation in and of itself.

Though honestly I hardly use any of the social media sites, have under 100 friends, maybe post a photo once in a while, or a humourous link, but I have much more engagement with blogging, I can't really imagine having anything meaningful to say in just 140 characters.  To tell a story or express an idea requires, no, demands more room to be realized (at least in my old fashioned opinion).

So... then the question would be for what reason would I decide to start writing again after 1367 days without an update from this little quiet corner.  I think it is because I am finally angry and frustrated enough to force a one sided conversation that is a blog post.  To explain a bit better (or worse depending on your point of view), to create something, anything requires some motivation to express, be it anger, joy, sadness, a set of technical specifications to be met, you know, the heart and soul of creation.

Honestly for the past few years have been pretty ambivalent, or to borrow a term from South Park, developed into a 'Cynical Asshole'.  A very polite and reserved Cynical Asshole but a Cynical Asshole none the less.

I found that being a Cynical Asshole really isn't that difficult until you want more, be it more friends, money, respect, or maybe just a new outlook.  Cynicism is quite insidious to any train of thought, basically boiling down any consideration of change into a 'Why bother, it is just the same shit, maybe a different pile' internal dialog.

Fortunately anger and frustration can trump cynicism (probably other things too, but you work with what you got), and so this leads to my purpose in finally posting another entry on this blog almost 4 years after the last entry.  The downside, at least for myself, is that anger burns out fairly quickly, it takes a lot of energy to be furious... and to keep fury raging for any length of time requires some Inigo Montoya level back-story.

Well what is a Cynical Asshole to do?

An oddly appropriate response would involve lemons, there are more inspirational takes such as "Be the change that you want to be" (or is it see?), in any event, as I see it could either take another page from South Park and become an alcoholic (seems fun but rather expensive in the long run), or start shoveling.  The reality is a lot more work, forcing oneself to dive back in, regimenting things within my own control would be one step.  Sigh, just thinking about the effort it is going to take sets the tape reel of cynicism playing.

Was trying to figure out a way to wrap up this post in some more meaningful way but there is no real end or easy quip to sum everything up that feels appropriate. Its just going to take some effort...

A book burning? Haven't we been through this before...



So in a few days, on the anniversary of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, which was perpetrated by religious/political fanatics another group of religious/political fanatics plan to burn the holy book that they equate with the aforementioned terrorists.... perfectly logical of course.

The story behind this... stupidity, come from a pastor named Terry Jones who leads a small fringe group of Christians in the town of Gainesville, Florida. Mr. Jones decided that the Quran was the 'word of the devil' and decided that burning 200,000 copies of the book would "call attention to something that is wrong" - oh sweet irony.

In any event, there really are so many things wrong with this - it really is hard not to bash ones head against the wall at the amazing ignorance displayed by almost everyone involved in this.
So where to begin, well let's break it down:

First of all, the burning of any book is a crime against the intellect that God supposedly blessed these people with. To use a nifty quote "...but he who destroys a good book, kills Reason itself, kills the image of God..."
The basic premise being that instead of trying to understand or learn, these people are rejecting anything different from themselves and will violently protect the conformity they seek. This Church group shares common traits with other familiar historical groups such a very prominent 1930's German political movement, a Russian regime change and the clergy of Grande Cache, Alberta.

Second, the media - oh the fucking media, asking all the wrong questions and trying to provide all the wrong answers. A small fringe group of about 50 people plan to do something incredibly stupid (which is their right as Americans), this then garners international attention with various pundits ranging from Vatican scholars to Angelina Jolie to Sarah Palin weighing debates about freedom of speech, security and blah blah, blah. The main (publicly admitted) consensus is that the book burning is wrong (duh) and it may invite reprisals and endanger the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Seriously all this media attention only shows how much misunderstanding and ignorance these people harbor and how far we have to go before there really can be open and honest discussions regarding religion. If a group of 50 people decided to go to a public park and light their flatus, they should be arrested for indecency but beyond their own idiotic behaviour there wouldn't be much of a story. We all would just conclude the people who conducted such an event were drunk, morons, inbred or some combination thereof and agree that the education system might need some overhauling.
The media thrives on controversy and will try to create it where none exists, and if a story has a moderate amount of 'the big C' then we get the fun media circus we enjoy during such events such as the Michael Jackson trial, or the Britney Spears meltdown, balloon boy and so on. These stories are covered with a lot of irrelevant information and opinions with very little factual information - oddly enough, events like the BP oil spill which actually required more facts was treated in much the same manner.

Lastly, the only thing that people are doing is reacting to this story, trying to bring their own viewpoint on what is almost a non-issue. Even the ever insightful Sarah Palin has quipped on twitter that the Quran burning is an "insensitive and an unnecessary provocation - much like the building of a mosque at Ground Zero" ...huh, it's no wonder that she doesn't like the r-word.
With everyone condemning the good Pastor and his congregation it would really be silly if Muslims of the world got angry over such an insignificant group. I honestly feel sorry for the people of Gainesville and the small minded frightened people that Terry Jones has gathered around himself. They are so terrified of anything foreign and unknown that they will not risk trying to understand what it is they are trying to destroy. Such people should be pitied, and anyone who would declare a call to arms over their actions is no better.

Oh what the heck, is it too late to catch the bandwagon?

So while it would probably be more worth while to write about the: Vatican's new laws, Avandia drug, BP's capping success (they really need a sarcasm emoticon) or Cowboys defending their way of life, instead the series of Old Spice commercials and the social media phenomenon that it has become is what these manly words shall be devoted to.

If you don't follow twitter, facebook, or read the news then you may not have heard of this feat of social media marketing and the popularity of the Old Spice Manly Man.

The often random commercials combined with the over the top machismo portrayed by former Football player Isaiah Mustafa became the most popular videos on youtube, though the real genius of the advertising campaign is the interaction with consumers.

After the first series of commercials were produced they used twitter and facebook to 'tweet and retweet' the videos while targeting celebrities and popular accounts that had large followings. They then posted video responses to questions that users had 'tweeted' or posted on their facebook page.

Even a few celebrities got in on the fun, the interactivity and hilarious videos caught the attention of the mainstream news and well... that darn bandwagon got pretty darn full.

So, what is the point in commenting on this? Not much really, while one does have to admire the skill in which this advertising campaign was compiled and it does demonstrate the proper use of social media to get a 'message' out - it is just another way to sell something to consumers.

Sure the whole this is entertaining, heck I am on a mission to eventually watch all these hilarious vids at some point, however it also shows just how shallow social media is. While the media will heap praise on the campaign for its genius (ie success - if it had flopped there wouldn't have been one word of the 'genius'), it also shows that entertainment is still the driving force of information in this age.

To be fair, social media has been used to highlight issues, unfortunately is more of an 'after the fact' event that cannot really be used to prevent problems at this point. If we lived in an ideal world (a hilarious hope I know), social media would be a way of keeping informed of topics so as to prevent harm to the public interest. For example, say if social media was used to provide accurate information before the second Gulf War, or highlight the safety cutbacks at BP as well as growing conflicts within the MMS so that a public outcry might have ensured action before there was every an oil spill to talk about.

As it stands Social Media is just a recycling centre for old ideas and marketing gimmicks, people will see something interesting and post, comment and like. There really isn't anything wrong with that, I just wish people would stop treating the 'Social media' as some great advancement in our society, it really isn't that great for society - marketing maybe, society no.

Rethink?... Uhm, where was the first thought?

The above video is part of an ad campaign by Corporate Ethics International (CEI), the purpose of this video and a series of billboards in 4 US cities is apparently to try and impact Alberta's tourism industry (though it was a bit late to impact Stampede).

Already there has been backlash ... unfortunately mostly in the form of poorly constructed arguments and a certain amount of nationalistic outrage, and while it is justified to some extent - it couldn't hurt to actually look at the whole issue before getting indignant.

Reuters had a good article that actually went a bit deeper than many of the Albertan Papers on what was happening, according to CEI their campaign is in response to lobbying by oil producers and the Albertan Government to "block legislation like low-carbon fuel standard legislation that would help [them to] make the transition (from fossil fuels)."

So setting aside the validity of claims and the various facts regarding this whole circus, it boils down to:

CEI didn't like the influence of the oil lobby which was affecting their goal of independence from fossil fuels, so they decided to launch an international campaign to damage Alberta's image.

The equivalent would be your neighbor handed out leaflets to petition for a ... giant windmill to be built in the block and in response you go around and say that they sodomize goats.

The oil sands may indeed be an environmental disaster waiting to happen, but there are two problems with CEI's campaign, first the real contention they have is with the lobbying done in the state, and second - by attacking the image of Alberta directly they really aren't going to get any political support. Certainly not from Albertan politicians who can smell the popularity of seething anger from the populace already, and even in the rest of the US, CEI is making itself look like just another 'fringe hippie tree-hugger' group that favours sensationalism instead of effective change.

That said, I admit that CEI does have a point, unfortunately instead of taking the high road and trying to get people to understand the real issues involved they joined the ranks of the LCD's by alienating the opposing side so any chance of negotiation or compromise is completely out of the question.

Well, at least they got their name published in the papers, though I doubt anything will be accomplished aside from a lot of huffing and puffing from both sides.

I have a fondness for stories, even the really odd and truly weird, how can one not be intrigued by movie titles such as "Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter". Anyway I came across a movie entitled "Doggy Poo" which I found quite difficult to wrap my head around.

According to the description it is about a 'doggy poo' searching for the meaning of life and... well that's it.

Now the meaning of life story has been done before, there was Monty Python's take on it and my favourite being the answer of '42'. So is there really a need for a story about a dog poop finding meaning?

I suppose it shows that even the most absurd and reviled of things has purpose... still, it's a friggin animated poo!

Top Stories?

In what is becoming an increasingly annoying trend, it seems more often than not "important" or "top" news stories deal with the most meaningless of subject matter in terms of what is going on in the world. The above screen capture shows how the 'Top Stories' in Google news are mostly dealing with entertainment - only three of the topics have world relevance and two of them refer to the same thing (guess which ones - hint: _._. Joe).

Is it really so important to know what Carrie Underwood is doing? Sigh, actually can't get too worked up about it since I realize it's difficult to read the factual news day in and day out, though I can't help but get annoyed when news coverage is so blatantly supporting the creation of celebrities by devoting articles and front page space to extraordinary trivial events - I actually think I would be happier not knowing who or what a Bieber is.

Then again, maybe it goes both ways, entertainment is important to people and if they want to isolate themselves with shallow and meaningless news... the 'if it makes you happy' argument is hard to refute. Probably the only point where it gets retarded is when the same people complain about the world or start trying to bring their own viewpoints to situations around the world. A famous incident is the Miss South Carolina Q and A, though it's even scarier when these people get into politics.

I guess in the end, to each their own, just be sure to read up before deciding to join the conversation.

Oh those darn Fascist Socialists...

A fellow was handing these flyers out in downtown Calgary the other day. I honestly gave it little attention as usually the things people hand out in the city core are of questionable merit... but this handout in particular irks me due to the amazing ignorance that it tries to mask with sentiment and symbolism.

A cursory glance and it would seem to be a noble cause in stopping the spread of Nazi influenced companies - the swastika is a nice touch. Yet if one reads the pamphlet it becomes obvious the person who organized this .... is a bit off his gourd to say the least.

First off, the title 'Fight Socialism' under which a crossed out swastika would make the uninformed believe that the Nazis were Socialists - nothing could be further from the truth, literally. The Nazi Party was based on Fascism, which is actually on the far-right of the political spectrum.

// A small side note, the terms left and right were believed to be coined in France during the revolution. The aristocracy sat on the right while the commoners sat on the left, so it originally started as a representation of interests of the wealthy elite and the average commoner.//

Socialism is on the far-left of the political spectrum - which naturally is at odds with Fascism and vice versa.

So just with the title and underlying symbol the aforementioned leaflet is already of dubious merit. Of course it then goes on to call for a boycott of companies that were based in the original "Axis of Evil" (except for Japan oddly enough - perhaps too many companies to list). While the rest of the information on the leaflet appears to be based on facts, the information ranges from direct quotations to opinionated drivel.

Calling for a boycott in 2010 for atrocities committed in the 1940's is a bit behind the times, especially considering that most of the companies and countries involved had to perform their mea culpas quite a while ago, for example the Nuremberg Trials which dealt justice to a number of Nazi Political, Military and Economic officials. In any case the author of the leaflet seems to believe that these companies should forever be shunned for their involvement in their countries policies.

Though to practice that ideal one would have to boycott nearly every company in existence, forgo driving (oil companies aren't saints), even give up that soft drink as coca-cola purposely split their company so they could keep doing business in Nazi Germany (Fanta anyone?).

While I have to admire the intentions to an extent, spreading misinformation and ignorance is the wrong way to do it. Instead of calling for 'boycotts' I'd rather call for social responsibility in all things, people should know more about what is happening in the world around them - economically and politically. There should be decisions based on the facts available at the time and a honest realistic view of the products that people purchase, and the politics that people support.

Of course that ideal is quite a bit harder as most people would prefer not to know that Hugo Boss designed the uniforms of the Nazi Schutzstafell or SS - though to be honest, as evil as the Nazis were, they had pretty nifty uniforms.

/* This was actually an article submission I wrote but thought I'd put it on the blog anyway */

Journalism

We live in a world where information is power, the more one knows about what is going on in the world the better able we are to make informed decisions and predict the impact on others. For most people, the demands of daily life leaves little time to digest the events of the world at large let alone seek out information on current topics that may spark their own interest or affect their livelihood in some way.

It may be here, that today’s Journalists provide a vital service to the general public by collecting and formatting information that ideally is: easily understood by the public, free from personal bias, provides enough factual information for the audience to either reinforce or reconsider their own opinions.

Especially in a democratic government which operates under the assumption of an informed and engaged electorate, journalism becomes a pillar supporting the foundations of society. To quote Thomas Jefferson:

Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights. -Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, 1789.

People rely on the journalistic profession to provide information of what is happening in their own elected government, without journalists investigating and researching events people would be unable to make informed decisions on who has best represented their interests or if elected officials have lived up to the promises they made when voted into office.

With the weight of such a responsibility to the public journalists must also aspire to a good standard of journalism where they provide their audience with information without colouring it with personal bias, as well as recognizing as many different perspectives or ‘angles’ of a story to present the reader with as much of a complete view as possible. A good example is a recent article on the CBC website entitled “McGuinty doesn't rue secrecy on G20 law”, which explains some of the aftermath of the security surrounding the G20 world leaders summit held in Toronto.

The article balances the opinions of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty with criticisms from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association regarding the granting of broader police powers granted during the summit as well as a lack of public information about the new regulations. The article also provides background information on the event, providing facts into the powers used and reaction of those who were affected by it.

To maintain this standard of good journalism a journalist should exhibit certain qualities and interests to excel at the profession. Primarily they should have a strong sense of curiosity to discover the truth behind what they are writing and a keen power of observation to uncover stories from the most innocuous places. When writing the ability to keep a neutral tone requires integrity and a sense of balance to present as many different sides as possible would serve a journalist well in their career serving the public interest.

Journalism plays an important role in our society, though perhaps too often it is taken for granted as people look to be entertained rather than informed about our world and the events that drive it. However, if journalists hold to their duty to their readers by keeping true to the ideals of providing accurate, balanced and relevant information to the public then perhaps when things get too far wrong, they may be relied on to set things right.

Of Disneyland for Rednecks and the protection of money

For various reasons/people/interests I've been doing a lot of writing recently, not much of it very good mind you but it's kept things interesting when I could actually get something expressed in a reasonably presentable format.

Now that its for the most part over I remembered I had a blog that no one ever visits that is a great place to write a few of the inane observations I've made in the past while. Whew, and boy were there a lot of things going on... from the colossal impact of British Petroleum to arguably the more well known impact of the latest i-gizmo and it's... performance issues.

More locally is the upcoming 'Greatest show on Earth' in my current city of residence or the Calgary Stampede (though just Stampede is fine) is just under a week away. It is a big event to be sure and it is quite something to see the entire City get into the mood by putting on their western best or perhaps just a stetson, oddly enough I've never been quite able to get into it. Perhaps it's because I've honestly never been quite a big fan of the whole 'Wild West' era, though the discovery that the event is sometimes called 'Disneyland for Rednecks' in other parts of Canada was a bit of a revelation.

In all honesty it's not that bad, I think it is the over-commercialization that makes me groan in disgust when I think of the stampede. Talking to some of the older Calgarians they mention that the Stampede was quite different and better 20 years ago... granted they probably feel the same way about everything in general.

Speaking about the number 20 (the segue is a bit of a stretch I know), Canada was also host to the wondrous G20 summit where the financial representatives of nations and banks got together to deal with the 'global economic turbulence' caused by the financial industry in the leading industrial countries... yeah. On that note a new book is coming out that should be of interest to them that looks at 800 years of economic history and how the previous leaders all thought "This time will be different".

While it may not seem like the G20 is worth the cost for the host Country (at least that's what critics of Stephan Harper accuse) by far the most talked about news to come out of it was the behaviour of the much maligned protester. I'm sure they must believe that the best way to get their point across is to damage property and in general cause mischief, though it's nothing new for the G20 summits.

As I've written before, protesting for the sake of attention is shallow and probably idiotic in the grand scheme of things. For example there was a group of cyclists protesting to demand more facilities and bicycle paths in Toronto, and they protested by riding en-mass downtown causing traffic congestion and basically inconveniencing the average motorist.

While I support cycling and believe their demands have merit - is frustrating the average person going to make your point heard? It really shows a lack of common sense to the point of a total disconnect with reality to assume that by making a lot of noise you'll get your way all the time. Sure it may work for little children but surely we have grown past such behaviour... surely...

If they really wanted to change laws, they should be working to get the public on their side instead of alienating them. Write letters, encourage people to ride bikes, push for an environmental tax break for cyclists - make people want to cycle instead of drive rather than frustrate and annoy them.

Hmm, actually got a bit off topic, what I really wanted to write about (as I reminded myself from the title), was the recent ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) take-down of a multitude of online video streaming websites. Avoiding the issue of piracy, I find the whole affair a bit disturbing, not because of any idea of rights and freedoms but rather the whole thing smells of government spending resources to protect the money of private businesses - that aren't doing too badly at all if box office figures are to be believed.

The MPAA, RIAA and any other organization have the right to protect their intellectual property, and we've all seen those FBI warnings at the beginning of DVD's. It just seems that these organizations have tried the legal route to no avail and have somehow convinced the government that these streaming sites are run by 'organized crime' out to make money from the hardworking movie industry which brought us such recent gems as, The Killers and the Last Airbender.

If ICE officials were at least honest and said directly, "We are protecting the perceived financial interests of these organizations, and while the sites may be run by fans or ordinary people the creators have a right to determine how their product is distributed"

Instead they made it sound as if they arrested career criminals masterminding evil plots against the freedom loving people of the world, it becomes comically one sided.

Though for me, if there is an organization called Immigration and Customs Enforcement trying to figure out why they would be so interested in raiding the homes of "people who have no respect for creativity and innovation" instead of dealing with issues that actually cost lives such as drug and human trafficking. The only reason I can come up with is that the organization ICE is becoming more interested in protecting money than people, they are basically doing the dirty work of the studios who don't want a repeat of the bad public image they received from the random lawsuit method of deterring piracy.

Anyway I doubt that piracy will ever truly be eliminated, and while the actions and attitude of ICE doesn't quite sit well - at least they didn't come out with a rap song about it.

The Joys of Social Networking.

Recently came across this on Youtube.





Anyway the vid is pretty hilarious Hair Rock ode to the dangers of parents and facebook. So it got me thinking about how it almost seems as if the Social Networking phenom is becoming a victim of it's own success. If everyone you know has access to a page that you update with everything in your life... it can lead to a lot of complications to say the least.

The obvious solution is to have privacy settings to group people into levels of access and have most information kept to a close circle - but then doesn't it get to the point of idiodicy?
If one has to spend as much time on facebook keeping track of social niceties as in real life (with the addition of viral permanance of things posted on the net), then I would think the hassle would make a lot of people just stop using it.

Politicians and other public figures have already been burned simply by not understanding the danger in posting your unfiltered thoughts to the whole world.

If someone stood on a street corner and shouted their every thought for all passersby - one would naturally assume they are insane, yet posting the very same thing for the whole world to see in a semi-permanent medium... well, that's just social networking.

Meh, it's all in good fun though, social media is a great thing as long as people understand what they are dealing with, as the saying goes "It's all fun and games till someone loses an identity".

So you want to live in London...

London, probably the most cosmopolitan (English speaking) city in the world, a centre for fashion, culture, football and a variety of alcohols – however if one wants to live there it is pretty expensive by any standard. It may be difficult enough for people living elsewhere in the UK to relocate to London but for people outside the country it can be a daunting task and there are quite a few scam artists quite eager to take advantage of the naive or desperate. So with that in mind here is a helpful guide to finding a place to stay for a long stay (a year or more) and a few helpful suggestions and insights.

A word of caution – NEVER, EVER under any circumstances hand over money just to see or reserve a place, always see a property in person. Even if you know someone who can check things out for you, it is very strongly suggested that a first hand look at a place is a requirement. Using the internet to find places might be easy, but it is probably the worst way to find a decent place just on it’s own.

First and foremost that old adage location, location, location - figure out where you need/want to be and how much you will be willing to travel. Check the London tube system layout, and get familiar with the location of the stations as they are the best landmarks and orientation points. Also for school/work check the nearest station and see what line it is on, then you can look for places along that line. For example The London School of Economics is along the Picadilly line, so finding a place nearest a tube station on that line will make it an easy commute.

Another thing to keep in mind is the zones, if you want to be in zone 1... you are obviously very rich and do not need this guide. Zone 2 and 3 are still pretty pricy but with a bit of searching one can probably find something though it might stretch the budget a bit. Zone 4 and you are a bit out of London but the prices are more reasonable – you get the idea.

With that in mind first check your resources, not just how much money you can spend on rent but if you have any friends or relatives in London or the UK that could help you look for a place or might even have a spare room. It is worth putting some time into this as one could save a lot of time, effort and money with the right contact. Plus if you have someone willing to be your guarantor you can avoid a lot of hassle and upfront fees that foreign nationals have to pay in London (a bit more on that later).

If you don’t have any contacts in London, fret not, but be prepared to do some walking. Checking for places online is a good way to scout out some places but as stated before never put any money upfront without seeing the place in person.

If you are attending a school in London check out the Student housing services first they can give helpful information about where to look and have their own listings for shared accommodations. Most will also provide free telephone and internet use for registered students to help find a place.

Travelling to London:

If you don’t have a place ready for you or just confirmed via the internet plan to spend at least a couple of weeks in London itself to look for a place. You could find a place in a couple of days or within a week but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Hostels are good temporary accommodations and some have secure storage for heavy luggage (be sure to check), so plan a budget of about $50/day which is about 25 pounds just to be safe. There are Hostels that advertise at $20 per day but remember that doesn’t include food and is usually the lowest rate available during off-peak seasons. So just to look for a place have at least $700 set aside for cheap accommodation and cheap food (more on eating in London later)

Things to have ready beforehand:

So now it is the heart of the story, travelling to London to find a place. Assuming you can take care of your travel arrangements let’s look at what you should have with you to make finding a place in London a bit easier.

- A Bank account, for a lot of services, school and some landlords this is a must. You can set up an account with HSBC that would work in London before you leave but for a fee, otherwise one of the first things to do is setup an account with a bank that is close to your school or another central location. Schools also have deals with certain bank branches so check with student services.

- If you are going to school make sure to bring all enrolment and acceptance information (with copies and backups of course) as it will help to get accounts and student deals on services and housing.

- If you can arrange for someone you know in the UK to be a guarantor it will save you having to pay 6 months rent in advance for most landlords and certain fees for services.

- Comfortable shoes, you will be walking around quite a bit so dress appropriately, also an umbrella is a pretty good idea.

Once in London,

After settling in to your temporary space hit the pavement as soon as possible (not literally of course), and unless you really, really, really like walking an Oyster card is must. The cards can be obtained from virtually any tube station including the Airports. Ideally get a weekly pass for the zones you wish to travel, at the time of writing a weekly tube pass for zone 1-2 is roughly $60 which includes a deposit. Just ask the helpful staff at the nearest station and they will be able to explain the fees and system in detail. Or visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk

If you are going to school the first stop should be the student housing services as they will be able to give a lot of help and advice. Otherwise one of the first things you should consider getting is a phone, it will make life a lot easier getting in contact with landlords and services, and the payphones in London are extraordinarily ill tempered (one ate $6 worth of coins and still refused to dial out and requested more money).

There are quite a few options for phones T-Mobil, Virgin, the list goes on. Just stop by the first store and get a cheap phone and a pay as you go plan, you’ll also be introduced to the payment system which is used by the other utilities so a good learning opportunity there as well.

Letting agents.

Probably the fastest and safest way to find a place by yourself, letting agents are locally oriented offices that find renters for landlords. Each office focuses on a small radius around them so even if they belong to the same company if it’s in a different area they usually don’t have information on what’s available. So the best way to find places is to just get off at the tube stop you want to live near and look for the nearest letting agent walk down the main streets and there will be quite a few. The key is to check as many as possible to find a place that is convenient, safe, clean, and within your budget.

Speaking of budget be prepared to spend more than you expect, it is possible to find a place a bachelor apartment for $300 a week (yes PER week) in zone 2 but for $30 more you could find a more ideal location. Since most landlords expect at least a 6 month commitment make sure you want to live there for a while.

This ends the first part, if this is interesting I’ll post more sections that will cover:

-Getting internet,

-Utilities

-Bargaining with landlords

-Things to consider when looking at a place

-Food and grocery shopping

-General advice.

This is the biggest news story around right now and it isn't surprising to see why, the spin on the story is also fairly interesting. Surprisingly (for the most part) the news agencies have been fairly balanced in reporting though the spin is well under way. Whether the left-wing liberal media or the right-wing ... conservative media? each portion out information to skew opinions in favour of their own viewpoints.

[Though first off it has to be said that this is a tragedy and one cannot help but feel for the grieving relatives of those killed, this truly was a senseless, incredibly stupid and tragic loss of life.]

Now while I do find Bill O'Rielly a few cards short of a full deck he had a (as in only one) valid argument during his talking point regarding the news spin on events. Of course there are other opinions as well, regardless the facts are such:

- Thursday November 5th Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan opened fire and killed 13 people, injuring 30 at Fort Hood, Texas

Regardless of how it is reported any other information is a blind attempt to seek meaning into this act be trying to get a sense of how this could happen. Surprisingly the 'Muslim terrorist' angle has been downplayed from the beginning, the military even flat out stating that they do not believe this was an act of terrorism - not that I'm complaining but it does raise more questions in the back of my head that settle any misplaced sense of relief.

What really bothers me is that Maj. Hasan was a trained psychiatrist - who helped fellow soldiers deal with problems such as stress related to combat! This is an educated man who according to reports is a devout Muslim... how does a person such as this end up going on a shooting spree?

This of course is were the wonderful world of speculation comes in, there are reports about him being unhappy with the military, against his future deployment in Afghanistan, shouting religious 'slogans' during the shooting, being a loner, upset at the war in general as well as treatment of Muslims, even attending morning prayer at Mosque just before the incident.

If I had to guess I'd say he was pressured by the conflict he felt between his faith and his occupation while listening to who knows how many horror stories from fellow soldiers returning from deployment. If indeed he was an introverted loner then he was basically akin to a pressure cooker about to explode at some point. He must have lost sight of his sense of self, being unable to reconcile his conflicting loyalties and feelings.

In any event I'm sure the news agencies will deliver the 'pertinent' facts as they come and since he survived we may be treated to interviews and the like... bah.

Sigh, well the real fun is the blame game that will start now, everyone one and their dog pointing fingers or shifting blame from the obvious to the obscure ($10 says there is at least one government conspiracy theory out there already... who am I kidding there are already about 15 or so).

So in the end will anything change, does this sensational news event have any larger significance than allowing news agencies to increase ratings, pundits to weigh, politicians to spin things in their favour, or an excuse to drive another wedge into the rift between the average Muslim and John Q Public. Who knows?

To be honest it will be talked about a lot... a whole lot, by almost everyone trying to make some sort of point (myself included I suppose) but after a while some celebrity will do something stupid and life will go on without much noticeable change... though some people should be prepared for some 'extra security screening' in the near future.

I guess if there is anything to be learnt it is that anyone can break from pressure or stress or just being isolated, the solution is quite simple but much easier said than done - talk to people, share oneself with others on a daily basis and keep firm what ideals one holds as a part of ones self (I think I used 'one' a tad too much but heck, that's just the way I roll).

Take care everyone.

Politics? or mindless entertainment...

Well, in an effort to return to a bit more of an intelligent slant to this blog I thought I'd discuss the recent speech Obama made to congress regarding is health care reform plans.
Oddly enough the first thing I thought while watching this speech is - why on earth is Obama actually talking about this... it reminded me of a parent sitting a child down and trying to explain them why it is not a good idea to put forks in electrical sockets.
I've been vaguely aware of the ongoing 'debate' regarding health... well not the real debate more the funny people yelling about 'death panels' and protesting the destruction of American Freedom (Made in China).

The fact that Obama actually had to make a speech to congress regarding ridiculous claims is what I find the most incredulous... though watching the live feed of the speech changed my opinion.

I think I understand why Bush was able to get re-elected (aside from uncharismatic opponents) he had a real ability to connect to the LCD's or Lowest Common Denominators, as was once pointed out by Mr. Stewart of the Daily Show - Bush doesn't speak like an idiot, he talks as if he is speaking to an idiot.

In Obama's speech he took a similar approach though instead of talking to an idiot he was talking to an out of control child, trying to explain decisions while warning what will and will not be tolerated.

Of course the most interesting parts of the speech were the timely cutaways showing crowd reactions from republicans and democrats... a fun drinking game is to try and guess by facial expression which represtative belongs to which party.

It seemed that the gathering of leaders of the United States of America had been reduced the same level of politics as a Schoolyard during recess, with Obama being the supervising teacher trying to maintain order. It would be hilarious if it wasn't a sad summation of the absurd divisivness and ingorance that plague modern politics, and the only people to blame are the voters who rely on mass media and irrelevant speculation to 'guess' who to vote for. The idea of an intelligent and informed electorate is probably the biggest weakness of democracy since niether ever seem to hold true, I'm not saying a dictatorship is any better but one has to wonder if the democracy of ours really represents the will of the people and if so... is the will of a majority that has no interest in keeping track of events in the Country or spending time learning how to make effective decsions worth listening to?

Meh, it's all a moot point anyway everyone knows that corporations and personal interest are the real deciders of policy in government, or maybe I'm just being too cynical.

The Smell of Jasmine and Shit...



In retrospect deciding to try the above title for this post was a little... idiotic, but nevertheless I had decided to make that the title and I'll have to work with it.
Unfortunately between the time I wrote the last post and my attempt to start blogging again a lot has happened. I am no longer in sunny and (overly) warm Sri Lanka, and now am residing in the overcast and almost frigid regions of Canada - though to be fair we did have a few days of warm weather a week ago...
In regards to the title of this post, I believe originally it had to do with an experience I had walking home from work one day in Sri Lanka... and those literally were the smells I encountered, which at the time I felt was a fitting metaphor to the ugliness and beauty that existed in an almost paradoxical balance there.
I think I was also going to point out the differences between Canada and Sri Lanka by pointing out that while Canada may be more stable and 'safe' it is rather boring, dull, sanitized... characterized by rather bland smells or of limited variation.

Well, in any event as I stated at the beginning the title was a little idiotic... so that about sums up what the original purpose of the title was. As for a better topic, meh, a bit too lazy to find an appropriate segue so the post will end here.

Farewell to Geocities



So I've recently heard the news that Yahoo! (yes the exclamation is part of the name) has decided to close down GeoCities. For those who don't know GeoCities was one of the first websites that allowed anyone to build a site and host if for free in subdirectory of their domain... basically you they gave you a site of your own to play with.

Back in the day when hotmail wasn't owned by Microsoft and thus only a quarter evil, yes GeoCities was a place for anyone who wanted their little section of the web to show to the world what little skill in web design they really had.

Yes I was once one of those who squatted some space on the web with my poorly designed and rarely updated site, though I actually wrote rants... ah those were the days. Angrily writing on a topic of which caught my attention, not caring if it made sense or right or wrong... just verbally spilling bile onto a forgotten corner of the interweb.

Surprisingly enough the site is still there, with nary a visitor in god knows how long. Still it was kind of nostalgic to read a few of my first ventures into writing things publicly available that no one would ever read... hehe... he.

Funnily enough the first Rant I posted was never finished, a point that doesn't go anywhere... perhaps a metaphor for my life in general... I really have to stop setting up these self directed jokes, even against myself I can't resist taking pot shots. Anyway it is kind of sad to see the old site go down, though now there are a lot more options for people to build sites, blogger (of course) wordpress, Myspace, and with Facebook why even bother building a personal website?

It is also neat to look at my style writing and notice a few subtle changes, my vocabulary has improved slightly and my tone is more even and considered instead of the angry ravings that constitute a 'rant'.

Though for old times sake I think I'll let the anger out a bit for my next entry and get back to a good ol'fashion written rage against the world. I even have a title picked out, "The smell of Jasmine and Shit... yes Shit"