I've been wondering if we're already through Fimbulwinter and about to watch the world burn, or if we're getting ready to enter a deep chill. Personally I think we're about to burn, and the great winter is over. Either way I would like a little place tucked away in Hodmimir's Forest…
Seriously though, I can't wait for it to snow. It's so hot…
Because of school, I don't actually get to spend a ton of time with Nefarious during the week (an hour or two in the morning and the same in the evening), so I like trying to do things on the weekend. Today we went out to Taylor Creek Park… On the way there, there was a giant accident (luckily in oncoming traffic, not on our side) and traffic had crawled to a halt due to the flipped over car in the middle of the highway. When we were walking through the park, we could actually see cars with blown radiators, they'd been sitting in stop-and-go for so long (look at the rightmost car on the bridge).
Other than that, I'm taking it easy today, and tomorrow a fun new project starts.
So I didn't really do too much for my birthday really… I was going to go out of town but the car's sounding weird so I figure that I shouldn't take it on a 500km drive until it's been looked over, and I wasn't sure if I'd make it back in time. So Saira and I went out to Cherry Beach instead, I got myself a couple books, and then we went to Jackass 2 (which I enjoyed a lot, although I didn't think the opening and closing sequences were as strong as in the first).
Yeah, yeah, I know… Welcome to the Internet.
As of about half a day from now (if we round to our repeated solar journeys), I will have reached an interesting age — exactly half my father's age. I think that means it's all uphill from here (I mean uphill in a good way, not in a “oh I am so tired, I do not want to bike up this hill” way). Where do I want to be a year from now? Well, I sure liked it in Colorado (picture below), so I'll have to find somewhere similar, but less legally troubling…
And when it's time I'll go and wait beside a legendary fountain
Till I see your form reflected in it's clear and jewelled waters
And if you think I'm ready
You may lead me to the chasm where the rivers of our vision
Flow into one another
I will want to die beneath the white cascading waters
She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic
And then she'll know the things I learned
That really have no value in the end she will surely know
I wasn't born to follow
Busy day today… After (pre-)school stuff, I had a couple hours of legal meetings, then the gym, then more legal stuff and a little bit of medical… On the way home through Parkdale I saw this sign for “Bohemian Embassy” condos that I found pretty irritating:
That said, the area that gentrification bothers me most is racism… I was talking to a friend today who is Indian (as in India) and they can't safely go out right now because of pro-Israel rallies at their school — enough Jewish students want to vent their anger on anyone with brown skin, whether they're Arab or Indian or even have anything to do with the conflict. Seriously, what is gained by a Canadian of Jewish descent attacking a Canadian of Arab descent?
At least they're not chopping anyone's head off here yet, but still. It's ridiculous and offensive behavior.
The reason I mention gentrification is that I think that racism changes, and becomes something very “entitled” and different as populations that were once oppressed are removed from that oppression and even climb to the top of the power structure. So for example, one might feel (and be) justified as a Zionist as an Israeli settler, but the argument becomes less convincing when you're a rich kid in Canada that uses Zionism as an excuse to be a bigot toward any ethnic group of vaguely brownish skin.
I understand racism and bigotry as an ignorant knee-jerk reaction to oppression and abuse (a la some of the silly responses to cartoons of Muhammad and so on). I don't agree with it, and I understand where it comes from — self-defense. Racism and bigotry though in the absence of oppression and abuse however is absolutely inexcuseable.
