A smorgasbord of 'On'...

There are so many places to begin. Not posting in the last three weeks has irritated me to some degree, not so much because there wasn't any interesting stories happening but rather nothing really stood out. But since I'm trying to avoid work right now, it's a pretty good time to write about everything that's been going on. Beware: It's going to be long, but it's a smorgasbord, so I guess you can pick and choose...

On not working
My work ethic is atrocious. Someone needs to pistol-whip it into shape. Not that blogging right now is of any help. My friend Tara has an insatiable ethic that is to be admired and copied. She's given me many fishes, I'm just not learning how to fish (weird metaphor, I know). Maybe I need to be her protege or something....

On silence in the blogosphere
I've been noticing that quite a few of the blogs I regularly frequent are shutting down, particularly my friend Matt, who was the one who convinced me to start blogging in the first place. Not that it's new, but there are others, more prominent than our little corner of the blogosphere, who've retired because of other commitments and such. While there are many new ones popping up everyday, I've yet to find those who have the same level of passion, skill and often times humour, as the blogs of old. I've yet to decide whether to update my blogroll to reflect these changes (as it would also be time consuming) but it is a shame to see them go.

On salmonella kicking my ass
Part of the reason why I've been slacking off and reading blogs is due to the fact that I contracted salmonella with some of my friends, unfortunately, through some contaminated bean sprouts at a Phnom Penh in Kingston. It's now been linked to a distributor, not the restaurant (God knows I love that place, not that, well, I believe that God exists. But anyways). And while the Ontario Medical Officer of Health has put out advisories about this issue, people are still getting sick. In any case, with a clean bill of health, I've to catch up on everything else. Still, being part of the initial cases that blew the lid on this was kinda cool (but medically speaking, very not cool). I was part of the tipping point, as it were. A tipping point of salmonella.

On Hating Gatineau
A mandatory project course on developing land in Gatineau, Quebec that I'm taking in fulfillment of my planning degree is leaching my soul drop by drop. I've no time to concentrate on my other courses, innovative thinking is stifled, my thesis has been untouched since September, and emotions are running high as the end approaches. I've just lost complete interest in the project but it still consumes my life like spontaneous combustion. I'm glad I don't have to sell our plan to the clients, because it would be the worst piece of salesmanship since the Bloody Zit Froster incident.

On the fall of the Canadian government and the subsequent election
I'm WAY to late out of the gate on this one, since the election's been called for Jan. 23rd and campaigning is in full swing. My brief thoughts are this: the Liberals can't stay in power, the Conservatives can't win a majority on their issues, the NDP can't win a majority because no one likes them enough, and the Bloc Quebecois just needs to go away. So, ideally at this point, is a Conservative minority government propped up by the Liberals or NDP from time to time, hopefully moderating some of the Tories more...extreme social views. These next few weeks will be oodles of mudslinging, policy bashing fun! You'll feel dirty, but at least you won't contract any diseases afterwards.

On how the environment will be FUBARed still
If you don't know what FUBAR means, rent the movie Fubar. Moving right along. I don't have 8 years to discuss how we are continually damaging our environment, from the contamination of rivers in China to the inactivity on climate change (though apparently they've finally agreed on the rules). When no one's willing to lift a finger until 8 years of meetings have been concluded, I have little hope left for the natural environment that we rely on everyday of our lives.

On the overwhelming stories of the day
This is part of the reason why there's been no daily blogging. Too many interesting stories pique my interest but not enough time for a deeper analysis. Again why the smorgasord analogy is so apt. Why savour a particular dish when you can just gorge at the trough?

On TV
The Daily Show is doing more different things (they had the White Stripes performing last night) and while I don't know if it's any better, but I've certainly been more impressed by the Colbert Report since it's inception into the Canadian airwaves. Both shows commented on the fall of the Martin government this week and the fact that some Canadian news outlets thought that this was news made me sad...but what does make me happy is the fact that the first season of This is Wonderland is now for sale. A wonderful Canadian legal drama that is well casted, funny and endearing at the same time. Go out and buy it or watch the third season that's currently on the CBC, wednesday's at 8pm EST.

On happiness
It's just a good feeling to make someone else happy, especially through simple gestures like a card, chocolates, or flowers. Oh, if only everything else was so simple...

On traffic calming
I can't just leave this post without something quirky. Courtesy of Metafilter and Urban Cartography, a British citizen has employed novel ways to slow down the traffic that race through his neighbourhood. No rumle strips or speed bumps. Instead, 11-foot rabbits, a giant bed, and the placement of an entire living room in the middle of the road are used to force drivers to slow down and for the rest of us to think about how we conceive of the use of a road. A must read even if you have no interest in traffic calming.

So I've stuffed myself with blogging, but the irony is that I haven't eaten yet, so off to lunch I go. Until next time.