Searching for Tao, 7573 Kilometres from Home

July 04, 2004 18:58 +0000 | Society & Culture Why I'm Here 0

this post is actually rather late, but i guess late is better than never right?

this was the first year i got to see the pride parade in my city. back when it started, i didn't much care about the whole ordeal. i mean, i supported their interests, but saw no reason to attend. secretly, i think i was afraid of been taken for a gay person myself and given that i was fighting that very label back in highschool, i had little interest in encouraging the label. years later when the parades got more popular and i learned about this little thing called "maturity", i wanted to go, but something always came up, a friend was coming into town and i had to meet them at the airport, or i just plain forgot about the whole thing at the last minute... but this year i wasn't going to miss it.

the opportunity came up to march with greenpeace for the parade and i jumped at the chance. the pride parade has become less about the homosexual community marching for itself, and more about how so many people support their lifestyle -- it'd be an honour to be part of that.

so even after i'd been invited to march with the ndp in the parade, i decided to be a "banana slinger" with greenpeace. while the ndp were giving out 5000 oranges, greenpeace was giving away more phallic-looking organic bananas. i walked along side the wagon being towed by taavi and others and gave away the occasional banana to "my screeming fans" along the parade route. i swear -- i felt like a rockstar. the chicks totally dig the banana slingers ;-)

i also ran into karen & jen, friends of angela's who live here in the big smoke. apparently, karen doesn't bare me any significantly ill-will, since i got a hug along the parade route. ...and they got bananas ;-)

the whole ordeal was rather long and very HOT, but really, really cool. i don't think i'll march in the parade next year though... you don't get to see all the really cool floats that way, and from what i did see of it all, i think i missed a really great show.

June 25, 2004 05:53 +0000 | Personal Life Why I'm Here 4

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 ;-)

June 22, 2004 01:09 +0000 | Why I'm Here 0

the ndp hosted a block party in st. jamestown this weekend. the area is primarily low income, blue collar -- the primary ndp voting base and a reasonable reflection of most of my riding. free hotdogs and juice boxes were tossed around, and shapcott himself was there to chit chat with would-be voters. i'd done some canvassing for a few hours before and welcomed the short day and the free food. the week's been pretty intense and a break was much needed.

there was live music, and not too many, but a reasonable number of people. for the first time in a while, i got to socialise with the people i'd been working with on and off for weeks. they're cool people.

June 15, 2004 17:29 +0000 | Why I'm Here 9

i'm almost finished my political kick... should be done in less than 2weeks ;-) but in the mean time, you should tune into cbc tonight at 8pmET (not sure what's going on in other timezones) to see the leader's debate. all the bigwigs will be there jack, paul, stephen and even gille will show up to bitch eachother out and generally give you the gist of what the party's about. if you're serious about voting, tune in. this is essentially the biggest event of the eleciton and in most cases, the defining moment for the whole deal. if you wanna know who you should vote for, tonight is really the best time to find out.

details can be found here.

June 13, 2004 23:41 +0000 | Society & Culture Why I'm Here 5

i went to a rally for the ndp here downtown 'cause i'd never been to one before. there were the usual groups of people all screaming and sign-waving -- i did not join in. i did however stand around patiently listening and i also helped setup the church to accommodate the horde of supporters that would show up only a few hours later.

among the attendees, david suzuki showed up to talk about why the american plan to put missiles in space was a terrible idea and why he thinks it's great that the ndp are the only party to openly oppose Canada's support for the plan. jack layton spoke for a short time, talking about things like perspective:

...star wars missile defence estimated to reach as much as a trillion dollars on one project. and yet we're having this meeting in a place where in this hall, in the neighbouring hall, and out in the garden, gatherings of homeless people happen. feeding of homeless people takes place. we're across the road from an affordable housing project...

he went on to talk about how he'd grown up in the cold war, and had worried, as a kid that an atom bomb could drop on montreal and kill his parents. he'd gone down into the bomb shelters of his friends' family's and wondered if his parents should get one too. "i don't think Canadians want to go back into that world" he said. and i agree with him.

a couple of cannabians out to support the ndp

i also ran into a couple of guys who were handing out an unauthorised flyer supporting the ndp for their pro-pot position. check out their website. looks the like the marijuana party might be looking at some competition ;-)

just a tree i saw near pavel's house that i thought looked pretty cool

on that note, i'm finally finished with the election2004 section i built just for the election on the 28th. you'll see the link to it on the left below the search button. essentially, it works like this: there's a blurb about the details surrounding each party, and below it a list of reasons you should/shouldn't vote for a the party mentioned linked to a relevant article. AND, in the spirit of the internet, it's interactive. if you have a reason to vote for or against a party, you can post it there as long as you include a link to a resource that backs up your reasoning. note also that i'll be monitoring your posts to it, so if you post "don't vote for these guys 'cause they suck" i'll just delete it. have fun, and play nice. i'll be removing the section after the election. o, and i apologise for the lack of initial content for the liberals. i did try to be as neutral as possible, but it's really hard when we're talking about the liberals.... they say one thing, then support another, so i couldn't in good conscience post anything other than what i have there.

there are also a couple other little features i added in. a new "permalink" feature is there that you can use to link to "just this entry", and there's a few other things... but mostly just bugs behind the scenes that no one's come across yet.

June 08, 2004 01:48 +0000 | Why I'm Here 2

i finally emailed my resignation from jillian's sustainable living network. my timing was good too, since she just recruited a new web geek so the transition shouldn't be too bad:

i'm sorry to say it, but it would appear that now is the best time for me to bow out of the sln fold. the cross-platform network is setup, all the machines installed and working together, the jillianhovey.com site has been completely rebuilt and various additional edits have been fulfilled on the other two sites. it would seem that now that you have another webgeek available, it is the best time to part ways so i can focus on my own personal goals helping out with the ndp and with own designs in city hall.

i will however remain available for "emergency help" or assistance regarding the linux server since fixing this sort of thing tends to require a more advanced user. when i have time, i will also supply an advanced-level user document for the server so my full replacement can enter the role with few problems.

thanks for the opportunity to help in your project. if nothing else, it was memorable.

sincerely,
daniel

June 01, 2004 23:09 +0000 | Society & Culture Why I'm Here 4

so what exactly does it mean to join a political party? for some people, it means that you give the party some money and that gives you the right to cheer them on in the election. for me though, i wanted to see what it was like to take a more active role, so i popped around the corner (literally, my riding office is at the end of my street) and asked if they needed any help.

the fist day there, i helped make signs. not the most glamorous or interesting job, but it needed to get done. but while i was there, a canvasing crew came in and their leader asked me if i was interested in doing the door-to-door "hey you wanna vote for the ndp" gig. interested in trying anything once, i signed up.

not the most fascinating job in the world, so you have to be committed to the plan. people often don't come to the door 'cause they're afraid you're a crazy person or something, but those who do sometimes have something interesting to say. our riding is predominantly ndp/liberal, we did run into the occasional big ndp fan and that was nice. the liberals we met were more often than not supporters of the liberals because they always had been -- not for any real reason. some members of our team were more aggressive than others, but i had a reasonable time. at the very least, i met some new people. i'll likely be going back again sometime this week... just not too soon 'cause i get to see natasha tonight.

May 24, 2004 09:59 +0000 | Personal Life Why I'm Here 6

it's nearly 6am now and i have to try to get some sleep before i get on a bus to guelph tomorrow, but i wanted to blog something before i went to bed. pavel introduced me to a girl some time ago, but these past few days with her have been exceptional. since thursday, i've spent nearly every waking hour with her (and some not so waking) ...and for the hours not spent with her, i've been thinking about her a great deal. the details of who she is aren't really the kind of thing you discuss on a blog i don't think, but i do what to say that she makes me happy ...and at times, i'm absolutely taken with her. more to come... i hope.

May 14, 2004 04:14 +0000 | Society & Culture Why I'm Here 2

today was my first real encounter with smog. for those of you who don't really know, smog is not just that yellow-orange haze that rests on the horizon at twilight. no, real smog is the stuff that is so ever-present that glancing down the block requires a full minute-long stare... just to make out whether or not you see the streetcar coming.... less than a block away. the air is no longer even pretending to be clear -- a thick, suffocating gray rests on everything... it's downright scary.

but in spite of it all, i managed to go out and take some nice photos. full sized versions will be on the imager soon, but not yet:

May 09, 2004 18:49 +0000 | Personal Life Why I'm Here 3

on friday night i went with some friends to see a local choir perform. one of the basses is a friend of pavel's and upon hearing that i loved to sing, he offered me a free ticket to see them perform as he mentioned that they might be in the market for another bass. the performance was exceptional, dabbling in a few different genres, but that's not what was so great about the evening. i'd run into a bunch of choral performers who just plain love to sing and do it whenever they can. we went to a bar after the performance to grab some beer and potatoskins and for no apparent reason, a faction of them just started to sing... it's a beautiful experiece if you love music like i do -- and it's something you come to miss terribly when you go without it for as long as i have.

i'm not sure that i should be joining a choir right now though. it comes back to a long (and ongoing) conversation i've been having with jeong-yeon. i didn't come out here to make friends or sing songs. i came learn who i am and to learn how to use that knowlege to "fix the world". joining a choir just seems to me to be a deviation from the plan. that said though, while i was in a music store yesterday looking for tan's thankyou gift, i did ask the staff if they knew of a directory of local choirs. ...and it just so happens that the annual listing was available in this month's free choral magazine complete with descriptions and contact info for joining. i went through it this morning looking for choirs that i'd be interested in, so now i just have to figure out if it's what i should be doing.

quinn called me from vancouver yesterday and had mr. & mrs. thompson on the line (my highschool music teacher & his wife). he'd called 'cause i'd left a message on his machine the previous night telling him about how great it was to hear a choir again and how much i'd missed singing with him and the others. it was a wonderful gesture and it was great to talk to the thompsons again. for a lot of us, they were like our surrogate parents back then. and so, on this mother's day, i'm remembering the extended family that i had for two wonderful years.