Tuesday.

WHAT!?!? Then this must be...

Belgium.

where

Tijuana! Let's all go to Tijuana!

the other day i went into a bar. it was raining and cold and i wanted to warm up a bit, but to my surprise it was darker in the bar than on the street, and just a little warmer. the place was empty except for three customers sitting on stools. they weren't talking. instead they were looking intently at the television which was tuned to one of those fix up your neighbors house with bright paint shows on the home improvement channel. mmm bop was playing loudly on the sound system.

one of the customers was a beautiful asian woman who was cluthing a stuffed aligator that had "welcome to miami beach" stiched on it. one was an old guy with one eye and a cane. the other was a giant woodchuck who was perched on top of a stool chewing on an empty green plastic pop bottle, a 1.5 litre that had once held lime rickey.

i left but wonder what it all meant.

Using Jungian analysis, you are un-confident in your sexuality. sorry.

Beautiful women in a bar are never a bad thing. Though they can be bad as individuals...

Really it means you ought to be more careful about the establishments you frequent.

See, it was like I was never here. Now, if you could just add some Canadian politics and issues relating to the false promises of the internet you will really be cooking with gas.

well, duh gorthos, sure sure, if it was a dream but..... and did i mention i was with bob rae and he stayed.

I feel blindsided. I get an early start on some stuff for gordo (SEE POTTERSBLOG) and Alan puts up chat and there is that darned cm sneaking in first. RATS! It is a bonus, though, to have some incoherent ramblings from Portland AND incompetent analysis from gorthos.

Bob Rae! Iggy! I read the Globe and Mail!

Bob Rae represents all that is Wonderbread in the world according to Freud. White rice, Nsync, sugarless apple pie. His staying implies your confusion with change and conflict with parental instilled conscience. Plus he has nothing to do right now really till the weekend.

My spouse and I saw the Borat movie this weekend. We concluded that 95% of the scenes were faked/contrived/set up. And she works in TV so she has some specific knowledge. Realizing that it was mostly fake made it less funny.

This is news??? Add some sports discussion as well, please. And notes about the medieval papacy as it impinges on us still today.

And in what obscure but more truthful organ do we read of your beloved Mr. Dion? Is there a TV outlet in northern NB that has the entrails read correctly, a pamphleteer on the streets of Oshawa who sees all? Really, Mr Flea.

Well all the reviews talked about how squeamish the scenes were. Fake squeamish does nothing for me.

Grey Cup Prediction: Lions 49 Alouttes 42. A real barnburner that'll have bloggers typing about the imminent resurrection of the CFL. Yet again.

Rumour has it that King Ralph of Oilsberta recently mused that Belinda has never had a conservative bone in her body - except one. Is this true? Is there a source? Freakin' hilarious if so.

You intervened, Hans. My news comment was for gr (11:16).

Hans, how could Borat possibly be <i>less</i> funny?

Klein is a pig and the "joke" was low even for him. The video is online and he's obviously fallen off the wagon:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061109/stronach_klein_061109/20061109?hub=CTVNewsAt11

I also read the BBC on-line!

You may have to recommended for re-education as you have not submitted your sources for information. God forbid that you actually rely on the Great Circularity. [Ed.: <i>Hallowed be Its name!</i>}

Q: when is a sphere so falsely isomorphic that it is actually heteromorphic?

GR, will the US get out of Iraq now, do you think? Or is it too dangerous to stay and too dangerous to go?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1vwKZiDsY4

coolness.

Who was Born On This Day? On the good side, Nehru, Aaron Copland, Robert Fulton, and Claude Monet. On the evil side, Joe McCarthy, Condi Rice, King Charles and McLean Stephenson <shudder>.

Oops. That's "Prince" Charles <shudder>.

Alan, you should know me better: I am really quite random in my thinking, like gorthos and portland, and somewhat out of the news loops. (sound of tongue bllllpppping against lips, in a rather loud Bronx Cheer)
OK, I'll give you serious, then its back to wonderland, 'cause i am BUSY.

Marian: I think this is the plan, and it is devilish and terrible. The dems now feel emboldened to talk openly of a troop pullout, and timetable. They can only accomplish so much. The repubs will resist, and actually increase troops. Goal for the dems: as the mess gets worse over the next 2 years, they can put up their 2008 presidential candidate on a serious anti-war platform. Meanwhile, the repub strategm a la McCain is to raise troop strength and and crush the rebellion (HAHAHAHAHA) in Iraq, thereby showing a victory, and the repubs claim they were right all along, they get the presidency again, plus both houses. The problem, with these two opposite approaches, is that it is RECKLESS and many people will die in the ensuing mess. That is what I think Marian, that is it how it looks to me.

You know, I was reading about your nutbar prime minister up there. He really is W. lite and a scary dude. The article in the Nation http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061127/hedges I was reading talks of bringing evangelical Christianity across the border, and he is the point man. I am of course reminded of the 'Handmaids Tale' by Margaret Atwood. I have my own beliefs, of course, but I cannot stand the rigid orthodoxy of a born again Bush, and I am sorry to hear you folks have his spiritual twin.

OK, Alan, enough news for ya?

There is no tv outlet in northern NB. There is, however, an old movie theatre currently dark. Perhaps it's time I packed it in and moved home and ran the theatre. I could show obsure subtitled films (on the recommendation of Flea) that would never otherwise be seen east of Montreal.

That sounds amazing, cm. The trick would be being able to pay the bills.

I figure I could always supply teach during the day. The big trick would be actually packing up and leaving. I'm inherently lazy.

For a moment there Gary I thought you were talking about our PM here in Hungary and I realised suddenly that I had completely misunderstood the politics in this country over the last few months, nay, years. Then I regained my senses and checked your link.

Sometimes I read the Toronto Star!

What about the Sun?

I can't see the sun, it's cloudy ...

Marian, I would not be surprised if your PM was a nutbar, after all, there are riots in your streets about something. At least we don't have that.

cm--northern NB is probably heaven on earth, well, when the weather is a bit warmer. Make your theater a bar, grill and movies. Perfect.

My brain is cloudy today zzz

A little insurrection is good for the populace periodically, Gary. It keeps people on their toes.

Gary, I think you are being a tad alarmist with regard to the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper and "bringing evangelical Christianity across the border". The church cited in <i>The Nation</i>'s article, the Christian & Missionary Alliance, has been present in Canada under that name since 1887; its founder began preaching in Canada in 1865.

And someone remind me when, exactly, George W. Bush (or his henchman Stephen J. Harper) forbade women from reading or owning property, and decreed civil dress codes for both sexes.

You may not like the men, nor their churches, but please, keep some perspective. The dark night of theocratic fascism is hardly sweeping over North America. There are plenty of other places on planet Earth where its reign is unchallenged and, sadly, unlamented.

That's exactly what the West allowed into the Afghan constitution after the Taliban scattered, Chris.

I think that is fair, Chris, but there have been some shadows upon the land that we have to be diligent in our reaction to to ensure both the freedom of religion and freedom from religion, even the latter of which has some basis in the faith.

Perhaps you'd be so good as point out where exactly the Afghan constitution gets to apply its codex extra-teritorially into Canada and the United States.

If you have a complaint with the Afghan constitution, I suggest that it is more properly laid at the feet of Hamid Karzai and the governing authorities of <i>that</i> country.

So what are we suggesting here, Alan? Anti-C&MA laws to keep the dreaded evangelicals out of the land's civil offices?

No, I was thinking more of the creationist-led school boards in the mid-west that ended up being retaken by constitutionalists. It self-corrected. Not so much new laws as respect for the existing ones which you have to watch out for with governing leaders who insist they will only pass constitutional laws therefore need no publicly supported defenders of the constitution.

Which is a fine thing for the midwest United States, but it does not follow that the same creationist overthrow and constitutionalist restoration must inevitably occur here.

I think if anyone had ever spent any time in a C&MA church they would find that the congregants are not exactly strangers to science, and most are strenuous defenders of constitutional liberties -- even if said liberties permit "ungodly" conduct by non-adherents.

Then they are just like the administrative staff at <i>Gen X at 40</i> HQ!

CBC radio rocks!

Garth Turner is advocating a new party. I like it. truly democratic if not a bit anarchic which appeals to my post-apocalyptic fantasies about caves and zombies! I'm signing up. What the heck.

www.garth.ca

I think the Flea's auto-response system has had too many power drinks today.

Chris, I am a baptized, confirmed and married Episcopalian (Anglican) and progressive. That is my business. Just want to make that clear, before I go further. I do not care for political trends in the US where politicians: want prayer in schools, curbs on family planning, where our president would like 'intelligent design' considered as an alternative to evolution, and that faith based groups or schools receive gov't money, moralizing about single people and abstinence and of course, demonizing people who are not straight. As Alan stated, there is freedom of religion, also freedom from religion. Things are not the same as they were 6 years ago, 15 years ago or 25 years ago. There has been a steady rise in political initiatives aimed at increasing the role of Christianity in American life. That was the point of that article, the PM and the beginnings of the same evangelical movement in Canada.

Gary, I do not see the things you attribute to US politicians as natural outgrowths of Christian evangelism. If there has been a steady rise in political initiatives aimed at increasing the role of Christianity in American life, that is likely an indicator that the general population has become more religious. In non-totalitarian states such as ours, one can not reasonably hope to implement top-down authoritarian religiosity when the majority (or a significant minority) does not subscribe to the same precepts. The same goes for any disagreeable policies of a decidedly non-spiritual nature; take a look at the recent Congressional midterm elections.

You or I may or may not be comfortable with the rise in religiosity but I hardly think that the blame can be laid at the feet of political leaders. Politicians are almost universally despised and it is laughable to think that anyone is going to become a born-again Christian or believe "intelligent design" on the advice of one George W. Bush. People are no more likely to pay their taxes on the President's say-so and I hardly think they will grant him (or her) jurisdiction over their spiritual condition. My own road to Christianity required some pretty spectacular demonstrations of genuine love, selflessness and sacrifice from a neighbour's family -- who was, not coincidentally, the pastor of our local C&MA church.

Given how these things propagate (i.e. more people talking the talk <i>and</i> walking the walk), I cannot see how this poses an existential danger to democracy. While it is regrettable that some persons focus their energies on busybody domestic regulation, the vast majority of serious evangelicals are busy improving infrastructure in far-off places and giving other people the opportunity to hear the Christian gospels. They do not have the time or the inclination to mess about with the stuff that doesn't matter -- like politics.

Almost forgot NPR!

With any luck that proper focus will be enhanced by the rejection of these sorts of intrusions into the public sphere. I was thinking today that certain sorts of faith based initiatives getting public funding may now find the tap turned off. That being said, we in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada rely heavily on publicly funded faith-based (as well as otherwise defined) work in areas involving social welfare, especially short terms housing, so we should have a care to be specific about what we appreciate and what we do not. <p>Ideally there ought to be a separation of public institutions from minority interests that does not stop those minority interests from freely acting include freely acting towards the public good. In the 1960s there was a determination by certain conservative leaders in the US to institute a political movement that has morphed through 1970s Carter born-again-ness, the Regan-era moral majority, the '90s Contract with America and which has now suffered its first major set-back since gaining full legitimacy within the country. What differs in Canada is that there is no moral majority as, essentially, there is no majority of any kind with Catholicism's relative strength not to mention a rather large population of latent Protestants from Scots Presbyterians to Lutherans to Baptists of various stripes who don't care for anyone telling them what to do even if there is a televangelists saying so on the TV. Harper will watch the numbers slip even farther were that line is pursued with any vigour at all and, to be fair, he really doesn't.

The Flea is oddly eponymistic today.

So, when <i>is</i> a sphere so falsely isomorphic that it is actually heteromorphic?

Chris, I think it is simply a question of where the seperation of church and state lies. It has felt like the line has moved closer and closer to the state. I also think that Alan describes the political reality: religious groups since the 60s have moved more and more into politics, and the dialogue has shifted, up to this point.
My own feeling is: what if the majority religion was Islam or Judaism or another and I felt that the majority of the population and political leaders were subtly increasing its presence in daily life? Best to keep the whole thing in the individual and family sphere.

Ghodhamit, a free-4-all on a day I'm out of town...

Oh ... I see now I didn't miss anything :-)

We are ignoring the fact that when people feel disenchanted, have extended suffering or simply are unhappy, they are more likely to turnto religion to explain the problems, give them purpose and be an opiate to calm their lives.

When governments cause a void betwixt the haves and have nots through various means, those who have not seek out a means to make their lives more tolerable etc.

Thereby, religion gains a foothold in the minds of the impressionable disenfranchised.

Beer! Beer! Beer!

<p>LET'S DRAW!!!<p><center><img src="images/2006h/theflea.JPG" vspace="20"></center>

Did someone say beer? I'm about to venture off into the wilds of NYC to find that very thing. Or maybe a gin and tonic.

Yeah, beer.. harumph. I live 25 kilometers from a pub and I have no beer in the abode. I'm about to run 5 kilometers in the dark with a flashlight and pretend I enjoy running, have a coke zero and watch Mercer. Woe is me. I cannot wait to move...

Hey gorthos, that was rather profound up there. I will tip my beer in your direction. cheers, baby.

Ugh. Coke Zero? Have you no shame, man?

Found an Irish breakfast and a Brooklyn lager. And a copy of the Ale Street News.

Profound? hrmm. Well I better say something else to lower future expectations..

Coke Zero? Excellent drink. No calories, tastes like coke (I am a coke fiend ha ha!) and all the caffeine!

I'm uploading anew piece of Gorthos Digital Art. Check it by 9:15 and be surprised at what 5 minutes and expensive digital art software can do!

Whereas I, having just returned from the theatre, am about to have tenth breakfast, viz beer sausage, Flea-roasted potatoes and a shot of bourbon.

That drawing rocked!

If flea says it rocked, mayhap I have a new career. hoy hoy!

Clearly it was a comment about my stick men.<p>[/scratchy fight]

Speakin' of art, Didja all notice the Special Fleamatic South Park drawing program? You can make a little South Park character looking like yourself. Even Agent Bedhead noticed it. FLEA: always ahead of the curve.

Holy crap, flea's gone big time: monster sized AD for ABC over there, I guess Flea can quit his day job now.

"Clearly it was a comment about my stick men."

Oh I knew that, I was just fishing for positive reinforcement and stealing it seemed pretty durn okay at the time ha ha!