My how the days turn to weeks turn to months...and the blog remains stale, stagnant, unattended...UNTIL NOW!
When we last left off Mike was fresh off his G20 encounter - and what an encounter! I had a number of posts in my promised "5 part series" saved as drafts but none were completed, I've been ridiculously busy between two jobs over the summer and the time factor kicked in. And to be fair there's no way I could go back now and finish what I started, I'm entirely out of that mindset and I would never try to amend what I had started back in late June.
I discovered something interesting about myself after that experience: for someone as vocal as I am I can still find something to quiet me down. I didn't speak much following the G20, couldn't recount the tale to my friends it took me a while to actually talk about it. Caught me by surprise that reaction, but it was nice to know this didn't just roll off my back.
In university when I used to work factory jobs over the summer to help pay for school I would say that those positions were making sure I kept doing in class well since I knew a life in the steel mills was not the one for me! In the same way being arrested at the G20 alongside a group of journalists will ensure that I fulfill my passion of becoming a professional journalist.
I'm presently in J-school and I'm loving the application of everything I've worked so hard to become; after only a month I know my writing has improved and it just feels like this is becoming more of a reality at this point.
I'm writing a lot more now for Spacing Magazine covering the mayoral election and as such my writing has become more professional, meaning the blog will likely take a lesser role in the future while I focus in that direction. However while this is veering away from the daily updates that once took place I will try and maintain a grasp of my original foray into writing for the internet. Couldn't have done anything I'm doing right now without this blog that's for sure!
As always thanks for reading!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Daily Haiku
Long time no post
So it's been a while
How long now since we last spoke?
It's me, not you guys
So it's been a while
How long now since we last spoke?
It's me, not you guys
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Catch
I've been writing a lot about what happened this past weekend. Naturally it was, needless to say, "kind of a big deal", both to myself as well as on the worldwide political scene.
But to cut to the chase - as I know many people want to know about this specifically - I actually found myself arrested for the first time ever for trying to learn about this whole 'journalism' thing. I wasn't officially media at all so it's not surprising that I was detained by getting too close but even official media members, with proper press passes, were arrested with me as they covered the event. In fact the media and the police clashed the entire weekend.
"Breach of Peace"...yeah, I don't really know what that means either.
I did receive inspirational words from a foreign correspondent from Palestine, as we shared a prisoner transport I asked him how many times he had been arrested in the past and he said, "if you haven't been arrested a couple times you're not doing the job right!"
I'm on my way!
So the G20 turned pretty grim, the actions of the Black Bloc overshadowed most everything - especially the peaceful protesters, who I still firmly support, and who I was following when I was taken in. That peaceful protest on Saturday night which ended on The Esplanade is where I was eventually arrested, in front of Novotel.
I did try to get out of there though, when the riot gear clad police announced "if you want to leave go now or you will be arrested" as they penned us in, completely surrounding 200 people, I did try and get up to leave. Hey, I wanted to remain a neutral observer. However I was pushed down by an officer, told to "sit the fuck down!", and then also told that I "wasn't going anywhere!" Turns out I was going somewhere though, and that was jail.
I wasn't the only person that tried to do that, leave when the cops made the order, nor was I the only person pushed back down and sworn at either as a result of trying to comply with the request of the Police. From reports the same thing happened at the highly publicized peaceful protesters detained at the Queen St.-Spadina intersection, which got some of the public all heated up.
Personally though I actually feel worse for the people who were even more innocent than myself.
A couple came out from dinner at The Keg to see what all the commotion was about, but when they tried to get out of the way of the advancing riot gear clad officers they were pushed into the protest crowd and arrested themselves. I think the worst case I heard of was the poor TTC worker I met in the detention facility. Queen's Park, which was supposed to be the free speech zone all weekend, was shut down in attempts to capture violent protesters by the police. The subway had also been closed down so this TTC worker, unaware of the police decision to start clamping down on that area (officers hadn't set themselves up as barricades just yet) made his way to work.
This guy was taken down by an officer on horseback, taking a few hits in the process, to then spend hours in a jail cell in his TTC uniform. Just for trying to go to work. Yup...
But to cut to the chase - as I know many people want to know about this specifically - I actually found myself arrested for the first time ever for trying to learn about this whole 'journalism' thing. I wasn't officially media at all so it's not surprising that I was detained by getting too close but even official media members, with proper press passes, were arrested with me as they covered the event. In fact the media and the police clashed the entire weekend.
"Breach of Peace"...yeah, I don't really know what that means either.
I did receive inspirational words from a foreign correspondent from Palestine, as we shared a prisoner transport I asked him how many times he had been arrested in the past and he said, "if you haven't been arrested a couple times you're not doing the job right!"
I'm on my way!
So the G20 turned pretty grim, the actions of the Black Bloc overshadowed most everything - especially the peaceful protesters, who I still firmly support, and who I was following when I was taken in. That peaceful protest on Saturday night which ended on The Esplanade is where I was eventually arrested, in front of Novotel.
I did try to get out of there though, when the riot gear clad police announced "if you want to leave go now or you will be arrested" as they penned us in, completely surrounding 200 people, I did try and get up to leave. Hey, I wanted to remain a neutral observer. However I was pushed down by an officer, told to "sit the fuck down!", and then also told that I "wasn't going anywhere!" Turns out I was going somewhere though, and that was jail.
I wasn't the only person that tried to do that, leave when the cops made the order, nor was I the only person pushed back down and sworn at either as a result of trying to comply with the request of the Police. From reports the same thing happened at the highly publicized peaceful protesters detained at the Queen St.-Spadina intersection, which got some of the public all heated up.
Personally though I actually feel worse for the people who were even more innocent than myself.
A couple came out from dinner at The Keg to see what all the commotion was about, but when they tried to get out of the way of the advancing riot gear clad officers they were pushed into the protest crowd and arrested themselves. I think the worst case I heard of was the poor TTC worker I met in the detention facility. Queen's Park, which was supposed to be the free speech zone all weekend, was shut down in attempts to capture violent protesters by the police. The subway had also been closed down so this TTC worker, unaware of the police decision to start clamping down on that area (officers hadn't set themselves up as barricades just yet) made his way to work.
This guy was taken down by an officer on horseback, taking a few hits in the process, to then spend hours in a jail cell in his TTC uniform. Just for trying to go to work. Yup...
Hold
The Eastern Ave. Detention Centre, a makeshift jail in an old movie warehouse, and yeah it was pretty poor facilities and a pretty bad experience.
I was relatively alright with being locked away when I heard I'd be out within 6-8 hours, I knew I was only being arrested not charged and I figured I'd make it back in time for work at Noon on Sunday. No problem!
But then the hours started to drag on and the conditions started to worsen and my relative acceptance of the situation began to dwindle - rather quickly.
We were given basically just enough to survive, a single dixie cup of water every 3-4 hours and food 3 times over the entire 18.5 hours I was detained (and I got out fast, most people stayed just under 24 hours but the front was getting too full with new arrests so they had to rush us out the door). And what was for dinner? A small bun (really half a bun, white bread) with a half a slice of processed cheese in it and a thick swath of margarine on either side. Yum...
My handcuffs came off upon arrival in favour of plastic straps, which came off after the second stage of my detainment, so roughly 9.5 hours after I arrived. We were put up in 8x20 steel caged cells with a thin piece of stainless steel blocking us from seeing any of the other 'prisoners' being held. The cells all had cold concrete floors and one port-o-potty without a door inside. They also had a small bench but with 25-40 people inside (yes, one cell held 40 people in it!) it was hard to find much room for anything.
After meeting with the Staff Sergeant following the second holding cell stage I was searched for a third time since being arrested, this time a completely unnecessary strip search (I'd already been searched twice and had been cuffed for 9.5 hours, what could I have suddenly acquired?). But then I lost the plastic strap cuffs and put into the main holding cell with free ranging hand movements.
The main holding cell was a series of 6x8 holding cells in a big open area with no bench, no port-o-potty, and shared with 5 other guys - including a 16 year old, highly illegal to detain a minor with adults...just sayin'. A group of women shared a cell of the same size beside us and it had 10 of them in that tiny space!
At this point we relied totally upon the Special Constable Court Officers who were our prison guards. This is where life became a bad situation.
We still got our sips of water but they had now taken our shoes (we lost our belts at the very start). They had some sweaters, sweatpants and socks to hand out but they went to the women first and they didn't even have enough for all of them so no men were given anything. It was very bright inside, quite cold, too crowded in each cell so we got very little sleep at all! (I got maybe 45 mins total through multiple short stints).
And when we caught the attention of the officers (some were alright, most weren't very hospitable and rude) we could use the washroom, but if we went more than once every few hours they got upset with us and questioned if we really had to go. They had a few bigger 8x20 cells in the middle to house minors and they tried to keep two empty as washroom facilites. When things got real crowded though it went down to one, with three port-o-potties against the walls facing filled cells. This is where I had my worst experience of my night...
Having only one cell with a washroom if it was being occupied they started to send me to a row of port-o-potties against the wall. And remember, no doors attached. Once though when directed to the stalls against the wall I said I would prefer to go to the one in the cell and asked for toilet paper. The Officer questioned why, I said because there was a cell of teenage girls directly across from where I would be going. He said "what, the girls won't mind!", and after I realized he wasn't joking at all I looked over at the cell and received a sympathetic glance back from one of the young girls located within.
Now I'll be honest, the entire time there I played the "get out early on best behaviour" card by not speaking up too much (did so only a couple times, mainly when extremely frustrated, but not that loud - wasn't yelling like some others were all night). I was definitely cooperating with the officers as much as possible. But this was my most defiant moment of my entire detention. I know I did not have a pleasant look on my face as I said...well, let's say 'firmly'...to the Officer, "I am NOT taking a crap in front of these girls!" The Officer let out a sigh, rolled his eyes and allowed me to wait in line for the washroom in the empty cell - as if it wasn't the logical thing to do...
People went through every stage of loss while locked up, from depression to anger to frustration you name it! There was a lot of shouting, "what did I do wrong?", "I need to use the bathroom", "I want my phone call!"...oh right, virtually nobody got a phone call. They said we'd get one but the phones were all tied up, in reality since they weren't charging us it wasn't mandated by law and therefore never happened. Even though they all - including the Staff Sergeant - said we would be able to make a call.
The 16 year old in our cell, after begging and having us yell at guards in support for him, finally got to call his parents to tell them he was alive 15 hours after being detained! To top if off on the way to the fourth and final stage I saw an unused bank of bell payphones just sitting there in a room...yeah...
I was relatively alright with being locked away when I heard I'd be out within 6-8 hours, I knew I was only being arrested not charged and I figured I'd make it back in time for work at Noon on Sunday. No problem!
But then the hours started to drag on and the conditions started to worsen and my relative acceptance of the situation began to dwindle - rather quickly.
We were given basically just enough to survive, a single dixie cup of water every 3-4 hours and food 3 times over the entire 18.5 hours I was detained (and I got out fast, most people stayed just under 24 hours but the front was getting too full with new arrests so they had to rush us out the door). And what was for dinner? A small bun (really half a bun, white bread) with a half a slice of processed cheese in it and a thick swath of margarine on either side. Yum...
My handcuffs came off upon arrival in favour of plastic straps, which came off after the second stage of my detainment, so roughly 9.5 hours after I arrived. We were put up in 8x20 steel caged cells with a thin piece of stainless steel blocking us from seeing any of the other 'prisoners' being held. The cells all had cold concrete floors and one port-o-potty without a door inside. They also had a small bench but with 25-40 people inside (yes, one cell held 40 people in it!) it was hard to find much room for anything.
After meeting with the Staff Sergeant following the second holding cell stage I was searched for a third time since being arrested, this time a completely unnecessary strip search (I'd already been searched twice and had been cuffed for 9.5 hours, what could I have suddenly acquired?). But then I lost the plastic strap cuffs and put into the main holding cell with free ranging hand movements.
The main holding cell was a series of 6x8 holding cells in a big open area with no bench, no port-o-potty, and shared with 5 other guys - including a 16 year old, highly illegal to detain a minor with adults...just sayin'. A group of women shared a cell of the same size beside us and it had 10 of them in that tiny space!
At this point we relied totally upon the Special Constable Court Officers who were our prison guards. This is where life became a bad situation.
We still got our sips of water but they had now taken our shoes (we lost our belts at the very start). They had some sweaters, sweatpants and socks to hand out but they went to the women first and they didn't even have enough for all of them so no men were given anything. It was very bright inside, quite cold, too crowded in each cell so we got very little sleep at all! (I got maybe 45 mins total through multiple short stints).
And when we caught the attention of the officers (some were alright, most weren't very hospitable and rude) we could use the washroom, but if we went more than once every few hours they got upset with us and questioned if we really had to go. They had a few bigger 8x20 cells in the middle to house minors and they tried to keep two empty as washroom facilites. When things got real crowded though it went down to one, with three port-o-potties against the walls facing filled cells. This is where I had my worst experience of my night...
Having only one cell with a washroom if it was being occupied they started to send me to a row of port-o-potties against the wall. And remember, no doors attached. Once though when directed to the stalls against the wall I said I would prefer to go to the one in the cell and asked for toilet paper. The Officer questioned why, I said because there was a cell of teenage girls directly across from where I would be going. He said "what, the girls won't mind!", and after I realized he wasn't joking at all I looked over at the cell and received a sympathetic glance back from one of the young girls located within.
Now I'll be honest, the entire time there I played the "get out early on best behaviour" card by not speaking up too much (did so only a couple times, mainly when extremely frustrated, but not that loud - wasn't yelling like some others were all night). I was definitely cooperating with the officers as much as possible. But this was my most defiant moment of my entire detention. I know I did not have a pleasant look on my face as I said...well, let's say 'firmly'...to the Officer, "I am NOT taking a crap in front of these girls!" The Officer let out a sigh, rolled his eyes and allowed me to wait in line for the washroom in the empty cell - as if it wasn't the logical thing to do...
People went through every stage of loss while locked up, from depression to anger to frustration you name it! There was a lot of shouting, "what did I do wrong?", "I need to use the bathroom", "I want my phone call!"...oh right, virtually nobody got a phone call. They said we'd get one but the phones were all tied up, in reality since they weren't charging us it wasn't mandated by law and therefore never happened. Even though they all - including the Staff Sergeant - said we would be able to make a call.
The 16 year old in our cell, after begging and having us yell at guards in support for him, finally got to call his parents to tell them he was alive 15 hours after being detained! To top if off on the way to the fourth and final stage I saw an unused bank of bell payphones just sitting there in a room...yeah...
Release
People commonly attacked their cages, making a loud, thunderous noise that echoed throughout the holding area thanks to the thin steel sheet attached. As a result it was pretty loud the entire night, especially when every cell joined in on the frustration. The worst offenders were housed elsewhere from what I could tell, Eastern mainly held the press, peaceful protesters, and those randomly picked up for no reason.
So yeah, there was a lot of reason for frustration!
At the end of it all they rushed us into the next stage, on the way out every cell cheered for the person leaving - it was quite uplifting actually. Cheers, smiles, peace signs were flashed in my direction as I left. That was easily one of the best parts of the whole experience, the unity between all the caged prisoners.
Suddenly it was nearly over! I spent about a minute in the final caged cell and they rushed me out the door as fast as they could.
They rushed me out the door as fast as they could....
As I came outside it was sunny out, just after 6pm the next day after being arrested just before 11pm the night before. A crowd of protesters were there as a show of solidarity, they cheered on everyone who emerged. We had heard about this protest while locked up inside, don't know how they found out but it lead to a giant cheer when we found that out.
I was also met by every news outlet I've ever heard of and then some! There was plenty of people there to film me (I made the end of a CTV segment actually). And the cops walked me as fast as possible beyond a line of riot geared officers and then gave me my stuff. Couldn't put on my belt, shoes, anything until I was off the property so was trying to keep my pants on as I was lead by my arm to the sidewalk.
Just as fast as they had brought me in they ushered me out...as if I hadn't been made to feel less than human being caged, barely fed or given water, prodded multiple times and rarely given access to a bathroom. I was now thrown into the street to sort through my stuff. Nothing to sign, no explanation of my arrest or how the charges were being dropped, no summary of offences because there was no offence. They just threw me, like hundreds of others, in a cell for a ridiculously long time simply because I was following a protest marching down the street.
At that point I was genuinely mad, I didn't want to talk to anybody from the media although I did chat with a couple of reporters off the record. Some of the freshly released prisoners were open to talk and they instantly attracted a media scrum. I just got dressed and in a rather pissed off manner and headed off down the street.
In retrospect, I'm not nearly as upset as I could or maybe should be. In retrospect it's an interesting look into the life of protesters at a G20 Summit, seeing it from the inside out. But I also know that I don't want to land myself in prison anytime soon - although if I end up in anything less than a maximum security detention centre I'd actually have it better than I did this past weekend.
I have articles I will be listing below, my own coverage of the G20 and what it means exactly. But I know that people wanted to hear my story so here it is, hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the length...had a lot to say....
So yeah, there was a lot of reason for frustration!
At the end of it all they rushed us into the next stage, on the way out every cell cheered for the person leaving - it was quite uplifting actually. Cheers, smiles, peace signs were flashed in my direction as I left. That was easily one of the best parts of the whole experience, the unity between all the caged prisoners.
Suddenly it was nearly over! I spent about a minute in the final caged cell and they rushed me out the door as fast as they could.
They rushed me out the door as fast as they could....
As I came outside it was sunny out, just after 6pm the next day after being arrested just before 11pm the night before. A crowd of protesters were there as a show of solidarity, they cheered on everyone who emerged. We had heard about this protest while locked up inside, don't know how they found out but it lead to a giant cheer when we found that out.
I was also met by every news outlet I've ever heard of and then some! There was plenty of people there to film me (I made the end of a CTV segment actually). And the cops walked me as fast as possible beyond a line of riot geared officers and then gave me my stuff. Couldn't put on my belt, shoes, anything until I was off the property so was trying to keep my pants on as I was lead by my arm to the sidewalk.
Just as fast as they had brought me in they ushered me out...as if I hadn't been made to feel less than human being caged, barely fed or given water, prodded multiple times and rarely given access to a bathroom. I was now thrown into the street to sort through my stuff. Nothing to sign, no explanation of my arrest or how the charges were being dropped, no summary of offences because there was no offence. They just threw me, like hundreds of others, in a cell for a ridiculously long time simply because I was following a protest marching down the street.
At that point I was genuinely mad, I didn't want to talk to anybody from the media although I did chat with a couple of reporters off the record. Some of the freshly released prisoners were open to talk and they instantly attracted a media scrum. I just got dressed and in a rather pissed off manner and headed off down the street.
In retrospect, I'm not nearly as upset as I could or maybe should be. In retrospect it's an interesting look into the life of protesters at a G20 Summit, seeing it from the inside out. But I also know that I don't want to land myself in prison anytime soon - although if I end up in anything less than a maximum security detention centre I'd actually have it better than I did this past weekend.
I have articles I will be listing below, my own coverage of the G20 and what it means exactly. But I know that people wanted to hear my story so here it is, hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the length...had a lot to say....
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Toronto G20
The Toronto G20: well it lived up to all expectations and then some, and by that I mean it will never be forgotten!
Toronto was taken by siege in every conceivable way. It was turned into a police state with walls and barricades and thousands upon thousands of officers marching the streets. It was turned into a scene of carnage as the Black Bloc group reigned terror on businesses and just life downtown. It was turned into a ghost town as many people stayed away from the core, fleeing any possible encounter with anything G20 Summit related.
It’s honestly hard to relate exactly what Toronto looked like this weekend without using the words ‘war zone’, there really is no other explanation whatsoever.
Having taken in a couple of the protest marches over the weekend and having seen both sides of the protests – on the streets and in the detention centre – I gained a bit of worldly education for my future ahead. I’m yearning to become a full fledged journalist, heading back for a post-grad in the Fall, and as a Foreign Correspondent from Palestine told me while we sat together in a Court Services Transport on Saturday night, “if you haven’t been arrested a couple of times then you’re not doing your job right.”
I did my best to remain neutral over the weekend so before I begin I just want to say that I do have life experiences that put this into perspective both from the protesters and the policing aspects. I may have only been on one side of the coin this weekend but I can understand both perspectives…at least to some extent. I do feel there are a lot of questions that must be asked, and to people on both sides of the spectrum the protesters and the law enforcement (yeah not even getting into the politicians yet, don’t worry eventually they’ll get their turn). As I’ll always shout from the mountaintops never stop asking questions about anything!
This will be a 5 part series on the G20 in Toronto, dealing with the notion of peaceful protests (Giving Peace A Chance), the notion of violent protests (In the name of Anarchy), the police and their actions over the weekend (The Police State), life inside the makeshift detention centre on Eastern Ave. (Caged Wisdom OR How I learned to stop worrying and love the Necessary Measures), and lastly a video montage of events that took place this weekend (A View from the G20).
Without question this is the most important thing I’ve ever written so thank you for reading!
Toronto was taken by siege in every conceivable way. It was turned into a police state with walls and barricades and thousands upon thousands of officers marching the streets. It was turned into a scene of carnage as the Black Bloc group reigned terror on businesses and just life downtown. It was turned into a ghost town as many people stayed away from the core, fleeing any possible encounter with anything G20 Summit related.
It’s honestly hard to relate exactly what Toronto looked like this weekend without using the words ‘war zone’, there really is no other explanation whatsoever.
Having taken in a couple of the protest marches over the weekend and having seen both sides of the protests – on the streets and in the detention centre – I gained a bit of worldly education for my future ahead. I’m yearning to become a full fledged journalist, heading back for a post-grad in the Fall, and as a Foreign Correspondent from Palestine told me while we sat together in a Court Services Transport on Saturday night, “if you haven’t been arrested a couple of times then you’re not doing your job right.”
I did my best to remain neutral over the weekend so before I begin I just want to say that I do have life experiences that put this into perspective both from the protesters and the policing aspects. I may have only been on one side of the coin this weekend but I can understand both perspectives…at least to some extent. I do feel there are a lot of questions that must be asked, and to people on both sides of the spectrum the protesters and the law enforcement (yeah not even getting into the politicians yet, don’t worry eventually they’ll get their turn). As I’ll always shout from the mountaintops never stop asking questions about anything!
This will be a 5 part series on the G20 in Toronto, dealing with the notion of peaceful protests (Giving Peace A Chance), the notion of violent protests (In the name of Anarchy), the police and their actions over the weekend (The Police State), life inside the makeshift detention centre on Eastern Ave. (Caged Wisdom OR How I learned to stop worrying and love the Necessary Measures), and lastly a video montage of events that took place this weekend (A View from the G20).
Without question this is the most important thing I’ve ever written so thank you for reading!
Checking in
So yeah I've been a little busy right now, working 50 hour weeks before my up and coming second job kicks in combined with trying to maintain a social life...it's been tiring but a great tiring! After 10 months of relative complete unemployment I'm enjoying working again! But it has at times kept me away from here.
There was kind of a big event in my city and my life that just happened however, turning one of the busiest and most monumental months in my life to the June that I will never forget!
I hope this reignites the daily writing. I believe it will, it was...quite something!
Thanks as always for reading!
There was kind of a big event in my city and my life that just happened however, turning one of the busiest and most monumental months in my life to the June that I will never forget!
I hope this reignites the daily writing. I believe it will, it was...quite something!
Thanks as always for reading!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The No. 1 Stunner
In sports it's hard for many of the athletes to embrace and deal with the spotlight. Some athletes make it, countless others don't, some succeed others go down in a blaze of glory - or worse, a tragic self destructive as they make their departure.
No one feels this pressure to succeed more than the number one draft pick, the first player taken in the draft for their respective league that year they become eligible to play professional sports.
The worst sport in terms of pressure and scrutiny has to be basketball, where with only 14 players on the roster the top picks are expected to step up in a hurry and become a valuable contributor to the teams success. Most of the time they are expected to become a starter straight out of college/university on their first day in the big leagues.
The other leagues don't have quite the same pressure although football does come close, however in that sport success does count on every member of the team contributing and the rosters have 60 players as well. In hockey many players continue to play with their junior hockey teams after being drafted, and can even spend time in a league a step below the pro's to further hone their skills. And in baseball, well, there are so many leagues that rookies generally never see the field in their first season, not even if they are the top pick overall.
Tonight that changed as last seasons' number one selection Stephen Strasburg completed his monumental climb through the farm system, from the A club team to the AAA club team within 3 months of playing time, and took the field as a Major League starter.
And what a game, what a performance it was! We're talking one for the ages here.
Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his first game and even though he was playing the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, many pitchers have never made that kind of debut in their first outing - especially at the age of 18.
Long story short tonight was not just dramatic but historic, and believe me people in the sports world are falling all over themselves at the moment trying to deal with what happened. There was an exciting Game 3 of the NBA Finals that also took place, but that's really a sidenote on the evening. A League Championship game has become secondary so yeah - that big!
And that might also be because whatever way this goes the story is bound to be newsworthy. If Strasburg continues along this streak he's bound for a Hall of Fame career that will end up with his induction into Cooperstown when he's done. However if he fails he will be the player with the greatest start out the gate to flop and never be heard of ever again. Fickle and cold sure but it's true.
For the moment everyone is hailing Strasburg as the greatest thing since...well I'm not even sure there's anything as great as Strasburg right now. There was a National Post article posted by Bruce Arthur that joked how Strasburg became bigger than the Pope in one night.
So if you're wondering what you were doing the night the greatest pitcher/greatest bust ever came into Major League Baseball just remember what you were doing tonight/last night/June 8th (depending on when you're reading this post).
For some this will not mean much at all but to many in the sporting world this is vindication. We all like to believe that the number one selection is in fact the number one choice out there, and that they will eventually dominate the sport as a result.
People, we may have found our saviour.
Strasburg lives up to hype by reaching 100mph with fastball to fan Pirates (ESPN)
Strasburg Live Blog (SI.com)
Impressed: Stephen Strasburg brilliant in debut, strikes out 14 (Yahoo! Sports)
Strasburg already bigger than the Pope (National Post)
Just a hint of Stephen Strasburg's top capacity is simply stunning (Washington Post)
Daily Haiku
Holiday Facade
WANTED: Fake Cottage
But can't access my fake lake
Oh wait, that's not mine...?
WANTED: Fake Cottage
But can't access my fake lake
Oh wait, that's not mine...?
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Simple yet Powerful
"It's funny what society tells us is supposed to be wrong."
Words to live by from last night that came from my very good friend Matt. Acceptance not intolerance, no question at all. Too many times I find that people can't get over themselves and it creates bad situations. It's been seen with regards to politics, religion, sexuality, and many other areas people shouldn't be sticking their noses.
I wish that everyone could just go forth with a live and let live mentality, if they did the world would certainly be a better place. Yes I am aware that will never be the case, but like John Lennon showed the world one can still imagine it happening and try their best to make that dream come true.
So here's to everyone out there making the world a better place. Even if it's only in the smallest and slightest of ways cheers to you for your effort!
Words to live by from last night that came from my very good friend Matt. Acceptance not intolerance, no question at all. Too many times I find that people can't get over themselves and it creates bad situations. It's been seen with regards to politics, religion, sexuality, and many other areas people shouldn't be sticking their noses.
I wish that everyone could just go forth with a live and let live mentality, if they did the world would certainly be a better place. Yes I am aware that will never be the case, but like John Lennon showed the world one can still imagine it happening and try their best to make that dream come true.
So here's to everyone out there making the world a better place. Even if it's only in the smallest and slightest of ways cheers to you for your effort!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Internet music sites, streaming the awesome all the way home!
In the ever growing search for free music online downloaders have gone from Napster and Gnutella to iMesh, Kazaa, Limewire, and finally off to The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites through applications like Azureus Vuze. MySpace has also been an invaluable resource.
iTunes obviously helped to revolutionize music sales on the Internet as well.
Recently the piracy game has changed a little as well. Great sites now appear with seemingly limitless music, such as Last.fm, which is an excellent online radio station. A little while back I also discovered Grooveshark, a live streaming music site. Both are very easy to use and a lot of fun.
For all music lovers you have plenty of options out there, take your time to check them out and find some great moments!
iTunes obviously helped to revolutionize music sales on the Internet as well.
Recently the piracy game has changed a little as well. Great sites now appear with seemingly limitless music, such as Last.fm, which is an excellent online radio station. A little while back I also discovered Grooveshark, a live streaming music site. Both are very easy to use and a lot of fun.
For all music lovers you have plenty of options out there, take your time to check them out and find some great moments!
What we're talking about, Gary!
Gary Coleman died this weekend. Some people are sad and upset, I've noticed an online response and even seen some tributes being made, online or in t-shirt form. I'm not really effected by this death but find myself feeling sorry for the man at the same time.
But why do I feel this way?
South Park did an excellent episode this past season concerning the amount of celebrity deaths this year and I'll admit there's a good deal of them, and they happened in a wide range of age groups through a variety of ways (some self inflicted others natural, even some suspicious and questionable deaths as well).
But there's always been celebrity deaths, right? Are we just going through the worst patch of tragedies right now or is there something else going on here?
I'm not trying to point the finger at Perez Hilton or TMZ, nor am I trying to claim to be any cultural expert that can tell you the reaction to the deaths of famous celebrities in the past to compare and contrast. There have been those deeply mourned in the past, from Elvis to John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe to Kurt Cobain, the list goes on. But to me it seems that those really "tragic" losses came from the people who actually left an impact within our social fabric. These days it seems to be anyone who has been deemed 'famous' in some way.
I'll give people the Michael Jackson tragedy, but I'd say there's something to be said about the number of people running memorials for each and every time a celebrity passes on. Maybe it's the ease with which one can express themselves online, just like the casual "Happy Birthday!" shout outs on Facebook maybe the comments are just following the trend (or as it's known on Twitter 'trending'). Maybe people don't really mean it.
Yes Gary Coleman lived a life in the public eye, and that never makes things easy on a person from what history tell us anyways. But beyond being a popular pop culture reference for decades he's primarily made the news recently for showing up in court for doing something bad to women. I haven't really thought much about Gary Coleman for a little while now. I send my deepest condolences to his family and friends right now, and feel bad about Coleman struggled his entire life with health concerns. But I don't feel moved to make a memorial personally anyways.
So I guess in a way maybe this sorrow filled response is a good one, it's celebrating the life of a person and defying any negatives that might have come before. Celebrate don't denigrate! Maybe that's why I'm feeling bad for Gary Coleman. Maybe this isn't just trendy, commenting sorrowfully on every celebrity death, but instead is rather compassionate of people.
I'm not sure, what I do know in the meantime is that Gary Coleman has recently passed away at the age of 42. Rest in peace.
The sad trajectory of child star Gary Coleman (Toronto Star)
Gary Coleman's parents, who learned of his death through the media, wants answers on how he died (New York Daily News)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
In Russia, fraud votes you!
This is some highly entertaining governance right here!
I'm glad to see that a positive law passed through, although it's sad to see so many member of Russian Parliament to skip out on a vote against drinking and driving. Would the law had passed through if the MPs who turned out to vote in favour didn't click 'yes' on every absent electronic voting panel? We may never know!
Yeah don't expect to see electronic voting to come to Ottawa anytime soon, as a video caught by a television crew filming the parliamentary session will likely dissuade that from happening.
Russian MPs caught in voting fraud (BBC News)
How Russian Parliament works: 88 MPs cast 449 votes (Geek System)
I'm glad to see that a positive law passed through, although it's sad to see so many member of Russian Parliament to skip out on a vote against drinking and driving. Would the law had passed through if the MPs who turned out to vote in favour didn't click 'yes' on every absent electronic voting panel? We may never know!
Yeah don't expect to see electronic voting to come to Ottawa anytime soon, as a video caught by a television crew filming the parliamentary session will likely dissuade that from happening.
Russian MPs caught in voting fraud (BBC News)
How Russian Parliament works: 88 MPs cast 449 votes (Geek System)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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