My earworm du jour …
While it was at first the melody that caught my attention and made me shimmer a little on the inside, when I finally got around to reading the lyrics I realized all of a sudden that this has pretty much been an anthem for the past few weeks.
Comments Off on Amidst the misty tides, and the Sentinel song.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2014, cruxshadows, internet, music, personal, reflections
On October 22nd, gunshots rang out on Parliament Hill as a single gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, attacked a group of soldiers on ceremonial duty at the National War Memorial, causing the death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo. The gunman then proceeded indoors at Centre Block, where at the time caucuses were still in session, and fired several more rounds before being engaged and killed by House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
While the scene initially unfolded like the wild script of a Call of Duty game, with the added horror and panic among a multitude of onlookers, the difficult reality began to sink in as the events left a strong impression on our national psyche. Since that day, Canada as a nation and as a culture has been left to wrestle with the highly nuanced circumstances of these events and the incidents leading up to them.
Earlier this week, I was listening to some music I’d been introduced to quite recently when this little earworm by Darkhaus came screaming in.
It’s called “Son of a Gun,” and it’s way too catchy to keep to myself.
Listen, enjoy, and pass it on:
Lyrics (here).
Comments Off on Auditory Flashbacks: Darkhaus
Posted in Links > Videos
Tagged 2014, darkhaus, son of a gun
I wasn’t planning to post anything today, at least, until I realized I probably owe my friends and readers an explanation about why I don’t tend to mark the occasions of celebrity deaths. It’s something I’ve mostly taken for granted, but on the flip side, I’m not sure if it’s something those around me understand that well since I haven’t opened up too much about it.
So, here’s my explanation in a (very large) nutshell:
Comments Off on On the death of Robin Williams (and celebrity deaths in general)
Posted in News > Personal
Tagged 2014, death, fame, hollywood, robin williams, suicide
It is presently five o’clock in the morning, and I just arrived home from work.
Along the way, I was hit with a realization, the same one I’ve had many a time but never really shared here before: finishing these late shifts always ends with a really quiet ride home, and it’s something I’ve grown to appreciate. It feels like cycling through a dead city after the zombie apocalypse has come and gone, with not a soul in sight unless you count wildlife, and even that tends to be pretty isolated and sparse in the three-to-five window of time.
Actually, I love it. The world just seems like it’s teetering on the brink of something amazing at moments like those, so full of quiet possibilities, so very ready to burst forth into a flurry of life and motion.
In the spirit of that solitude, here’s a blast from the past from a band who (sadly) isn’t together any longer but whose memories and glorious sound will always cast a comfortable shadow in these halls … This Ascension!
And you’ve got to admit, there’s hardly a better sound to accompany a sinking crescent moon and indigo skies.
Forever Shaken ( +lyrics ):
Angel Light:
Comments Off on Auditory Flashbacks: This Ascension
Posted in Links > Videos
Tagged 2014, ethereal gothic, goth, links, music, this ascension
A few years ago, I was floored by Collide’s awesome rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Then, much more recently, I found this version by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield in the International Space Station during his final mission.
Talk about going out with a bang. He tunes the lyrics ever so slightly to the mission … and suddenly the Internet explodes with reverberations of his sheer awesomeness.
This is how such a beautiful song was meant to be performed …
(source via YT user David Bowiefans)
Comments Off on YouTube Treasures: Space Oddity at the ISS
Posted in Links > Videos
Tagged 2014, chris hadfield, space, videos, youtube
Earlier this week, I came home from work late one night only to bear witness to one of the most amazing spectacles I’ve seen in a long time: a family of raccoons out on the town for a night of fun and mayhem.
At first I noticed a noise in one of the bushes outside my house, and when this prompted me to take a look, I quickly discovered a pair of adult raccoons wrestling one another in the midst of a large mud puddle in a nearby vacant lot. Having realized they were being watched, they quickly broke it up and went back to scavenging for food.
It wasn’t long before they were at it again, this time in a tree! A round of loud chittering and squealing broke the silence, this time going on for quite some time, so I grabbed my camera and flashlight and headed for the source of the noise. What followed are two of the most fascinating videos I’ve captured in ages.
I should also add that despite my first impressions, the raccoons’ actions seem to convey something more along the lines of horseplay, play-fighting, or at most, establishing the pecking order. These little guys don’t seem to be causing each other any harm, but damn can they crank up the volume!
This has been one of the many reasons I love Victoria: the wildlife is extremely abundant here, and if you look hard enough, there’s always something cool going on.
Comments Off on Raccoon Rumble
Posted in Links > Videos, News > Personal
Tagged 2014, bc, canada, raccoon, residential area, victoria, wildlife
This post follows a response to the Ottawa Citizen article from earlier today:
[ Punish the Clients, Not the Prostitutes ]
… which, in turn, follows this historic Supreme Court ruling from last year:
[ http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13389/index.do ]
So here’s the TL;DR for anyone who’s not been following the issue: the Bedford case ended with a ruling by the Court that Canada’s current laws addressing 3 key aspects of prostitution are unconstitutional, and that they, in and of themselves, have the effect of creating grossly disproportionate safety risks and other problems for the prostitutes themselves. The SCC struck down the laws and gave Parliament 12 months to rewrite this legislation.
Comments Off on SCC to Parliament: Struck Down, Try Again! … and Other Adventures in Law Making
Posted in Writing > Current Events, Writing > Society and Law
Tagged 2014, bill, canada, law, parliament, prostitution, supreme court
