An Escalating Crisis

I don't know what the problem is in Toronto today, but I came across no less than four escalators that were standing still. Don't they know that Thursday is my lazy day?

7 Out of 6 Readers Agree ...

... that the way journalists use statistics is an absolute travesty.

Take a news story from earlier in the week. Apparently, a Brazilian samba dancer by the name of Dani Sperle set a new record for the smallest costume at the Rio de Janeiro Carnival. Ms Sperle's costume was reported to consist of "3 centimetres of cloth", breaking last year's record of 4 cm.

I am sure you can see why I am outraged -- the news report did not mention whether the costume was 3 centimetres long or whether it consisted of 3 square centimetres of cloth. Imagine the cheek!

Oh well, as my old statistical analysis professor once said, "There's three kinds of people in this world -- those who understand statistics and those who don't".

No Man Is A(n) (Economic) Island

There is a bit of gallows humour that goes something like this:

Q: What is the difference between a recession and a depression?
A: A recession is when your neighbour loses his job; a depression is when you lose yours.

Yesterday, the firm I work for laid off some 300 people. I worked with at least nine of those people. I consider three of them to be friends.

Somehow it feels like a depression to me.

Madonna's Deadly Secret

In case you've ever wondered how Madonna maintains her youthful appearance, the truth has been revealed at last:

On Valentine's Day

I used to hate Valentine's Day.

It wasn't that I had anything against the saint the day is named after. Nor was it that I had anything against romance. Truth be told, I am a very romantic person. (Or perhaps I should say, "I am a very Romantic person".) It was just that I hated the idea of mandatory romance, as if people had to be told to be romantic.

And then something happened.

I grew up.

I started looking beyond myself, and one of the things I have noticed is how little romance some people have in their lives. I still don't think I need corporations and mass media organizations to remind me to throw a little romance into my life, but I suppose some people do. For some people, Valentine's Day may be the one day in the year when they enjoy a little romance.

The way I see it now, that's a damned good reason for having Valentine's Day. In fact, I wonder if we should maybe have a Valentine's Day every three months.

Good Intentions, Bad Results

I mean to updat this blog more often than I do. I really do. The problem is ... Well, I don't know what the problem is.

It isn't like I am not on the computer often enough to write a quick post. It isn't like I don't have opinions to share. It's just that I don't seem to care enough to post more often.

Maybe it's the weather.

Maybe it's the fact that I am still stuck in the suburbs.

Maybe it's a general response to the tsunami of news that fills the airwaves.

Maybe I'm just depressed.

A Thousand Words

I've been meaning to write something since my last post, but I haven't had anything to say. At least, I haven't thought of anything worth saying. I still have nothing of value to say, yet I still wish to say something.In absence of words, permit me to offer an image:

Make of it what you will.

My Own 49 from North of the 49th Parallel

Well, it took a while, but I have finally finished my personal list of favourite Canadian songs. Given the great music that comes out of Canada, it is probably not surprising that my list is considerably different than the one selected by the CBC Radio 2 listeners. In fact, only seven of the songs that made it to their list made it on mine. (They're the ones in bold.)

• Adam's Rib - Melanie Doane
• Algoma Central 69 - Stompin' Tom Connors
• American Woman - Guess Who
• Back to Me - Kathleen Edwards
• Back to You - Bryan Adams
• Bank Accounts - Sarah Slean
• The Call to Dance - Leahy
• Calling All Angels - Jane Siberry & k.d. lang
• A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
• Claire - Rheostatics
• Coldest Night of the Year - Bruce Cockburn
• Come Home Lately - Painting Daisies
• Crabbuckit - K-OS
• Edgar - Jean LeLoup
• Feeling Reserved - War Party
• Four Strong Winds - Ian & Sylvia
• Gold Dust - Under the Moss
• Grow Up and Blow Away - Metric
• Hallelujah - k.d. lang
• Hello, Timebomb - Matthew Good Band
• Helpless - Neil Young
• High School Confidential - Rough Trade
• Hoobale - K'Naan
• A Horse in the Country - Cowboy Junkies
• Hundredth Meridian - Tragically Hip
• I Will - Blue Rodeo
• Just Came Back - Colin James
• King of the Heap - The Odds
• The Littlest Birds - Be Good Tanyas
• Mum's the Word - Spirit of the West
• My Definition - Dream Warriors
• Napoleon Sheds His Skin - Red Rider
• Ole Buffalo - Bourne and MacLeod
• One Day in Your Life - 54:40
• Possession - Sarah McLaughlin
• Pour un Instant - Harmonium
• Rolling of the Sea - Irish Descendents
• A Sailor Courted a Farmer's Daughter - Figgy Duff
• Sleepless - Jann Arden
• Sleepy Maggie - Ashley MacIsaac
• Somewhere Down the Crazy River - Robbie Robertson
• Suzanne - Leonard Cohen
• Tiny Fish for Japan - Stan Rogers
• Underwhelmed - Sloan
• Uniform Grey - Sarah Harmer
• The Weight - The Band
• When I Can Read My Titles Clear - Quartette
• The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
• You Ought to Know - Alanis Morrissette

One major difference between the lists lies in the genres of music included. The Radio 2 list includes classical, jazz, and a smattering of French selections. Since I don't listen much to these genres, it is probably not a surprise that there are no classical, no jazz, and only two French songs on my list. (Interestingly enough, Pour un Instant by Harmonium was one of the seven common selections, though.)

You'll probably also notice that there is more folk music on my list (seven out of forty-nine) including an obscure track about Billy Miner by a Vancouver-area folk group called Under the Moss. Eighteen of the songs on my list feature female vocalists, including three by artists named Sarah.

You may also have noticed that a lot of the popular acts in Canadian music did not make the list. The females on the list do not include Anne Murray, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, or Shania Twain. The alternative groups do not include the Watchmen, Arcade Fire, Our Lady Peace, or Ron Sexsmith. Nor will you find heroes of headbanging hosers like BTO (whom I enjoy), or Trooper, or Rush (whom I don't).

When I was putting this list together, I tried to avoid multiple listings for an artist (or else Bruce Cockburn would have had a quarter of the available spots), but I was only partially successful. Robbie Robertson shows up twice: once as a solo artist and once as a member of The Band. Similarly, k.d. lang shows up once as a solo artist and once as a member of a duet. (And I suppose one could say Leonard Cohen shows up twice two: once as a singer and once as the songwriter who penned Hallelujah. He may not be singing, but you can hear him in that song no matter who sings it.)

All in all, it's a very personal list. You might even say it is a bit idiosyncratic. Just the same, it was a lot of fun coming up with the list and I just might do it for another category.