remember kiddies... don't try this at home.

this is the last rant on this subject. i promise... for a while anyway.

the only party that didn't deserve to win this election took the highest number of seats. at least the conservatives stood for something. sure it was fascism and a ridiculous economic platform, but at least they had a position on pretty much everything. the ndp and the bloc were much the same, standing for environmental reform, worker's rights and continued nationalised healthcare... but the liberals? what did they stand for? fear. that's about it. they said one thing, and did the other (as can be seen in their complete disregard for healthcare), they gave BILLIONS of dollars to their friends in quebec, lost even more with the hrdc and the gun registry, crippled the military, and you voted for them! that's right, i'm talking to you. you, who voted for the liberals in a blind effort to protect Canadian values the liberals refused to protect in the last 12 years. they screwed you, they screwed all of us. and how do we reward them? with a thank you and the keys to a new government. it's retarded, and sad and it's all your fault.

the only bright spot in this whole thing is that harper doesn't have a majority and that the ndp have a stronger voice now that they hold the balance of power in the house. i only hope that it's enough to preserve the Canada so many thought they were saving while voting for a party that manipulated them with fear.

well we lost. at least we lost in my riding. nationally, we didn't do as well as we should have, but that's to be expected when you're facing the hordes of fearful Canadians petrified of a conservative leadership. once again, the liberals played on the fear of the united right to garner votes from all sides... like they're much of a centrist party anyway.

i'm bitter. and i hate losing. but i'm not entirely pessimistic. the liberals took the lead, but they're holding a minority... which means they'll need to form a coalition with the bloc (unlikely) or the ndp to form a government. this means that we'll have a reasonable voice in the house as a sort of leash on the liberals... keeping them from going too far to the right.

so yeah. not fun. i hate to lose.... but there's hope.

today is voting day. go out and vote. it's not only your social and civic responsibility, but you owe it to those who have fought and died to preserve your right to that vote to get out there and do it. it's not hard. find out which party suits you best, grab that little paper card on the table and walk down the street to your polling station (the address is on the card). vote for what your heart tells you to vote. ignore the media noise, and in so doing offer a little bit of thanks to your grandparents and greatgrandparents who did what they did for this construct we call "democracy".

you have until 9.30pm eastern or 10pm pacific. and for last minute research, check the following propaganda:

• the new democratic party
• the liberal party
• the green party
• the conservative party

well as some have already pointed out in the comments of my previous entry, it's already my birthday if you're in the eastern timezone. so uhh, yeah. yay me ;-) honestly though, i really like this whole blogging thing. it's helped me keep in touch with so many of my friends in a way i really don't think my big long-winded emails ever could. one-way communication too often comes off like soapboxing, while this is so much more communal.

which brings me to another form of soapboxing. go see the corporation. i just saw it a second time with my new toronto friends (not including pavel, whom i really wanted to see it unfortunately). it's an amazing movie. really, i feel it's so important that people see this movie that i would say that if you had to choose, skip voting and go see the movie. what you accomplish with your vote will determine the course of the next 4-5 years, but what you learn from this film will last your entire lifetime. it's important work and it's worth your time.

[ dan takes a moment to step off of his soapbox and onto the street corner ]

this is also my 150th blog entry (i swear i didn't work it out to come up a round number on my birthday, but it is kinda cool). and given that i had a bit of a breakdown on my 100th post, i thought i'd fill you all in on my progress out here so far.

i started volunteering with an "organisation" called the sustainable living network which isn't really a network at all but one lady teaching courses and selling books. the whole operation was wildly disorganised, and i did not feel as though i'd be able to do/learn what i needed while working with her, so that ended... not as soon as i would have liked, but i had committed myself to setting her up at the very least. she's up and running now with a new shiny network, so we parted ways not too long ago.

i've also started volunteering with the ndp (in case you missed the barrage of images and shameless plugging of the party in this election). the experience has been enlightening and had a little taste of disillusion. i still support the party and have no intentions of withdrawing membership or financial contribution, but in some cases, i still feel that the party is not left-wing enough or radical enough for my tastes. i suppose that goes with being any mainstream party, i just hope i can have an impact on the way things get done with the green and orange. you never know.


i've also been volunteering with greenpeace. the people there are kind hearted and driven folks with an honest desire to save the world. i'll be marching with them in the pride parade this sunday before jeanie flies to visit and i'm really looking forward to the experience. i've always wanted to see what the parade was like and help out if i could -- this will be my first chance.


i've also been working (slowly of late, due to the above) on my own designs on why i'm here in toronto. i've written half a letter to my city councillor with regard to my ideas to help the city become greener and save money at the same time. it's generally my last ditch effort at this point, so i'm taking my time and making sure it comes out right. when i have a complete draft, i'll post it here for you to read if you're interested. any constructive criticism is welcome.


so. that's pretty much what i've been up to out here at the centre of the universe. some interesting stats to close out the post:

number of blog postings	150
number of comments posted	238
days active	189.9883796296296 (roughly)
users with accounts	24
users who actually login and use their accounts	8
hits since [ 2003-12-24 02:03:12 -0500 ]	8099
lines of code required for this blogger	9843
number of files required for the blogger (including images & themes)	212

o. and one last thing. here's a shot of what my parents mailed me for my birthday, you'll have to forgive the wrinkles, but they were shipped across the country. the card that accompanied the package suggested that they might make for a good hat come Canada day ;-)

friendship is rare. do you know what i'm sayin' friendship is rare

i don't know what it is, but for some reason, when i got off the phone with a good friend from back home last night, that song was rolling around in my head. sometimes i forget the ties i still have with those i don't see all too often, but it felt good to talk for even a little while...

apparently, the creator of bowling for columbine and roger & me really doesn't like stephen harper:

I've spent a lot of time trying to convince Americans that Canadians are smart people, and you're going to make me look really bad. I really need you to make sure that Mr. Harper does not take over.

Why do you want to be like us?

good question ;-). the above is a snippet of an interesting article i got off of the pagan mailing list i signed onto back when i lived in ottawa and have stayed on 'cause i liked the people. the whole thing is rather interesting and even hints at the contents of his new movie "fahrenheit 9/11". it's an good read if you have a few minutes.

o, and while i have you here, GO SEE SHREK 2. i laughed so hard it hurt.

this morning i went to work and when i noticed someone was checking out my blog, i went to see what pages they were looking at, and was rather surprised to see that the entire site was b0rked. i had been putting off making a summer theme and this morning when the clock turned to midnight, my blogger switched from the spring theme, to the non-existent summer theme. (oops).

i've scrambled to get something up, and i'm reasonably happy with it, but i'll likely be toying around with it in the coming weeks.

STILL don't know who to vote for? i found a nifty test that will give you a good idea where your loyalties lie after only 10 questions: