Window to the world
June 4, 2007
(The following occurred outside my living room window around 7pm Saturday night.It’s a true accounting…though the times are sketchy since it’s me doing the recounting)
7pm: Having worked the overnight shift I’m taking it easy and playing some Civ III. It’s quite humid so I’m only wearing boxers and a cloud of rage at the Babylonians underhanded tactics. Vengeance would be mine once my battleships came on line.
7:10: Some drunken jackass is yelling outside. I live right downtown, and The Sens are in the NHL finals, so I think nothing of it. Japan sneak attacks my capital city: I am unsurprised.
7:15 : Drunken jackass’s yelling has taken an aggressive turn and my patience is beginning to thin. I look out my window facing the street and see bearded rummy in plaid shirt and bleeding head circling a silver car. I’m about suggest he bled more quietly or incur additional trauma when I notice lady type in silver car. The following exchange is overheard.
Continued from Jesus
Next part SPIDERMAN
Malcolm X
Breakdown :
By any means Necessary. By all means necessary. You do, what you got to do…what you got to do. Race baiter, instigator, emancipator, and militant Muslim before it was cool; Mr X was a radical with teeth who refused to share a bed with his oppressor. He was also a drug dealer, robber, honour student, and hustler; a man who lived every drop of his world and regularly found it wanting. He stepped up from the gutter and became the symbol and engine for the edgier side of the civil rights movement. Then he died.
I am not a great man. I’m a pretty good man with occasional delusions of competence, but I have a somewhat grounded assessment of my relative historical importance. I’ve spawned no zeitgeists, freed no peoples, and altered no paradigm. To be honest I still feel a rush of pride when I do my dishes and laundry on the same day. While slightly dispiriting, this relative lack existential impact in no way precludes me from judging the actions of men far greater than I. If anything my near total lack of accomplishment make me even more qualified, as I have no pressures to distract, and no rival claim to put forth.
For this first edition we will be focusing on martyrs: men of principle whose greatness was inexorably bound to there suffering.
Let’s get down to business.
Passive Depressive #39
February 20, 2007
Passive Depressive is a Beats Entropy comic that is updated every Tuesday and Thursday.
In honor of my memory foam mattress pad
January 31, 2007
The damn thing has improved the quality of my entire life by 27%. I’m not sure if this is a glowing endorsement of the product, or damning indictment of my life; either way my bed is way more comfortable now.
One Voice Movement: update from the department of optimism
January 28, 2007
Obviously the world political stage is a nuanced and complicated arena. While the following is by no means a simple panacea, it is a warming reminder that what is represented in the news is not the only ‘reality’ available to us.
Passive Depressive #29
January 26, 2007
Between Activism and Constipation: why maintain a dialogue with zealous idealogues?
January 23, 2007
So yesterday a good friend asked me a very important question: “why do you bother?”
The question was in regards to a series of posts I made in a public forum. The forum, which was loosely discussing Canadian politics, was very much dominated by a vocal minority of what I like to describe as postmodern conservatives.
What are postmodern conservatives? Well, what I mean by pomo-cons (as I affectionately refer to them) is a relatively quick growing segment of the 20-30 somethings educated population that have married basic critical thinking skills they acquired in university or college, a post modern critique of hope and optimism, and a petty bourgeois retreat to fiscal and political conservatism. The result is a group of young, relatively intelligent, ardent conservatives eager to point out the folly of civic engagement and touting a neo-con agenda dressed up in quixotic intellectualism, enter the pomo-cons.
Now lets pause for a moment. While I am probably describable as a ‘lefty,’ this is not about being against conservatives. Despite not usually seeing eye to eye with many on the political and social right, I do listen and respect those who are willing to discuss their ideas and beliefs. Even here in the close nit family of Beats Entropy, we do not all share the same political visions. I do not begrudge people the right to hold to what political and social values they choose, provided they (and I) remain open to a meaningful dialogue through which either or both views may change.
Fourth rate cage fighter
January 10, 2007
Oh my children’s, I’m giddy like a meth’ up school girl today.
In the past few weeks I’ve ramped up my slacker dabbling with MMA [1], to full blown training so I can become a fourth rate, very part time, pro fighter; before this having turned 30 thing really takes hold. As result a 3-4 hour casual getting down fighter styles commitment, has become a 10-12 hour intensive “break the old man down” styles commitment. The skin has been scoured from my knuckles, the cartilage from my joints, and any semblance of badassedness has humbled down and pummelled out by the actual pros I train with. I have been involved with martial arts/athletics for most of my life, but this is the first time I’ve really had the competitive focus to make it a lifestyle.
Passive Depressive #21
January 8, 2007
Passive Depressive is a Beats Entropy comic that is updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Live action Transformers trailer
December 29, 2006
I hear they’re really modernizing the plot by comparing energon to heroin and having Bumblebee come out of the closet.
Roleplaying Geek videos
December 29, 2006
A surreal (essentially)true story
December 25, 2006
Due to my work schedule, and general aversion to the holidays, I’m spending today hanging around my apartment. In a effort to finish the year on a strong note I decided to clean my house and do my laundry. After an initial, and largely unsuccessful, foray into the near sentient pile of refuse I decided to tackle my laundry first. The worst of the non white offenders went into a basket [1], and I made my way down two floors to the laundry room.
Five things you don’t know about me (Meme for Engtech)
December 19, 2006
I generally avoid this sort thing but engtech is pretty helpful, and asks very little in return, so I will try and oblige him. While I tend to engage in a fair amount colorful storytelling, strategic misrepresentation, and out right lying on Beats Entropy, the following are actual true facts about the real life person: AJ Valliant.
Where’s da movies?
December 13, 2006
Sorry about the lack of movie post last weekend. I was helping engtech with his list of favorite geek films and favorite tv-shows and I broke the script I use for movie updates.
Hopefully it will be fixed by this weekend.
Until then, here’s the trailer for the new movie (Hot Fuzz) by the guys who did Sean of the Dead.
