More of writing for the sake of writing

So I'm taking a short break from studying for finals week. That studying isn't going so well, but I'm sure I will be fine.

So I am now the copyeditor for the Centennial Courier, the campus newspaper. This should be interesting, i.e. juggling school, my sucky job and this role.

In a few days I'll probably post the profile I wrote on Tim Henderson of BWBK fame for a class assignment. It was a great story, I think.

Writing for the sake of writing

I've been busy with school work and getting out to promote RDRR (Dec. 3 at The Regal Beagle with Sachiko Murakami, Myna Wallin and Allan Briesmaster). I've studied a lot on the history of heavy metal magazines and have done a lot of work on this. Fun times.

It's about bloody time I wrote something on this blog. What I'm about to say next is controversial, but I'm not too sure anyone reads this blog.

I was at the Toronto Poetry Slam last night to see the return of Electric Jon as the feature. I'm just going to come out and speak my mind and say TPS has lost a step or three. In the last few months it's become overrun with aspiring rappers delivering the same thing over and over. I can't believe I'm saying this. A year and a half ago I got into a nasty online debate (I wasn't alone) with local poet Paul Vermeersch over the value of spoken word to poetry. He argued slam was full of failed rappers with big egos pretending to be poets. I told him to write about what he knew about; otherwise, shut up. At the time I don't believe he knew what he was talking about. Lately the major slam here in Toronto has become more like his description. It's probably because there is an influx of new people into the scene who have the idea it's nothing more than an a cappella rap off. I'm not putting down everyone who wants to rap their poetry. I thought a few of the more rap style poets (Relevant, in particular) were very good. But just rapping off the same cliches over and over gets tiresome after awhile. There's been a lack of originality in recent months.

Don't get me wrong. I'll continue to attend slams and support the scene. I'm not griping that I didn't make it to the second round last night. This isn't a case of sour grapes. I just feel the shows are starting to become stale. Last night some of the old guard I was hoping to see were eliminated before the show (eliminated by the draw), which was disappointing, though it's good to know nothing is fixed in the slam.

Metal!

Late last week I had the opportunity to interview Tim Henderson, most famous for being the publisher behind Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles. From the time I discovered it in 1997, BWBK was my favourite magazine. It was a metal magazine that stayed true to its roots and just didn't cover the flavour of the week. It started out as a black and white magazine on gray stock paper and eventually developed into a full colour glossy magazine that was internationally respected and distributed. It came wrapped in plastic and included Knuckletracks, a sampler CD, in every issue. In the early days it often included other promotional items like other sampler CDs, stickers, cassette tapes, folded posters, etc.

Henderson was able to gain nationwide distribution through HMV, as he was the buyer for the hard rock/metal section at the Megastore on Yonge Street. That section of the store became THE place (I'm editorializing) to buy metal CDs. When I visited Toronto from the Peterborough area, the first place I was interested in going was the third floor of 333 Yonge St.

The magazine no longer exists in print, with its last issue coming out at the end of 2008. But BWBK still exists as an online magazine. Unfortunately, this is a trend with metal magazines, as American magazines Metal Maniacs and Metal Edge went out of print this year as well.

I'm writing the story for a Book and Magazine Publishing class. The program is going well. We are in career week. Today we met with magazine professionals and watched The September Issue. Tomorrow is a day for meeting with book professionals. Yes, talking about magazines going out of print when I'm studying in this type of program is depressing.

Silly, silly, silly

I read in the Toronto Star today Michael Jackson has been nominated for five American Music Awards, including artist of the year. I know now that he's dead everyone wants to honour him and pretend they never thought he was a joke. I know those award shows are lame-brained, but he didn't put out a proper album in the last five years. He just put out some posthumous single. He's not artist of the year. Bestow some honour on him like artist of the century or artist of the last 25 years. Award shows are meaningless anyway. They're a way for artists to celebrate being total sell-outs and not feel bad about it.

In other funny news, I got a haircut today that looks pretty bad. I can wear a hat and I'm a guy so it will grow soon enough. I don't care. But I end up having to wear a hat because it looks funny, and it's so damn cold!

Time for an Update

It's time for an update.

I've been in school for over a month. Admittedly, I was a little intimidated as most other students had university degrees, and in some cases, masters degrees. So far I am happy to say I am holding my own and doing fairly well. I am happy to be back in school. Money is tight, but I'm used to that anyway.

It's unfortunate my time for poetry readings and time to promote RDRR is lagging. I'll really have to work on this as much as I can, even though I go to school full-time and also have a job.

I'm on my way to Peterborough this weekend. That's my hometown. Other than a one-day visit in late July, I've made a trip in mid-March and early June. That's it for this year. I'm excited to be headed home for Thanksgiving. I'm also excited to check out the debut of my good buddy Paul Longhurst's band... I think they're called Revival or something. The band features most of the original members of the now departed Shitreign, who I believe I've discussed somewhere on this blog before.

September 11th

What do I think about when it comes to September 11th?

I don't think about how the western world is doing in Afghanistan or Iraq. I don't think about how how much safer North America is for declaring war on Afghanistan and Iraq, though I do think of the innocent people who've lost their lives in the "battle for freedom." I don't think about alleged inside jobs that have no real evidence. I don't think of "Jewish conspiracies."

I sure as hell don't think of the bravery of the suicide bombers. I've heard some people say this was deserved upon America for everything America has done to certain parts of the world and talk about this as a noble act. This is disgusting.

I think and pray for the well being of those children who on September 11th had to go to bed without their parents who perished, regardless of what they did for a living.

As much as we might want to criticize George W. Bush and everything that happened afterward, let's remember those children who went to bed without their mom and/or dad on September 11, 2001.

Interesting thing on Facebook

So I got one of those Facebook page suggestions that was actually intriguing. A kid in Franklin, Tennessee whose Facebook name is Jackson S., ended up with a demo from a band called Oceanship. His dad works in the record industry and was away and he and his mom listened to the demo. He decided to make it his science project. He would see how successful he could be to make a Facebook page increase the popularity of one unknown band. I wrote I found the band unoriginal and repetitive (think of Coldplay, who I'm not a fan of, playing virtually the same song over and over. I know, most Coldplay music sounds the same. But think of Coldplay if they were even more repetitive). Nonetheless, it's a very good idea for a science project. Check it out here.

I saw Sachiko Murakami read at the Art Bar tonight. I thought her book, Invisibility Exhibit was the best poetry book of 2008. I told her afterward what a fan I was of her. I'd love to have her at Rochdale Rhymes and Readings now that she lives in Toronto.

Poetry and Stuff

Over the pervious three nights I was fortunate to see three great poetry shows. All of them featured Randy Jacobs, AKA RC Weslowski. I'd never seen him perform until Tuesday at the Art Bar, along with Tara-Michelle Ziniuk and Rob Gee. His poetry has with and much depth to it, but he also is funny and entertaining. I also saw him at a really fun event called the Toronto Story Slam on Wednesday at the Boat. The slam portion was won by Kevin Fortnum. I was honoured and pleased the best show (only in my opinion) of his tour of Toronto happened at my Rochdale Rhymes and Readings show at the Regal Beagle. The show also featured Joe Dewar and Robin Richardson in a couple of great other readings. I'd booked Joe once before when I guest hosted for the now defunct Cryptic Chatter series. I'd never seen Robin feature before and had wanted to and decided booking her to read at my series was a way to solve the problem.

So I didn't make it to the CNE this year. I haven't made it in a couple of years. It's popularity seems to be coming back, if not to where it once was. I went to it about three years ago on a day when a borderline tropical storm hit Toronto. It was a mess. The rides shut down early, though most people had given up and gone home before then. In 2007 I went and realized it wasn't as big or fun as I remembered. Maybe I should check it out again. I think I'm running out of time for this year and may have to wait for next year. Maybe I should put it on my to do list now.

Scarborough

So I went all the way to Progress Avenue and sat in the basement of Centennial College's main campus waiting to sort out my loan documents. It took me almost an hour and a half to get there and then an hour and a half of waiting. Getting home took about two hours as I sat on a subway train stuck between Warden and Victoria Park Stations. The train eventually went back to Warden and we were advised to go take a shuttle bus. While waiting for a shuttle bus, we were told the subway was now open. After waiting for the subway, I got on a packed car with broken AC. After a few stops, I hopped off and waited for the next train.

Speaking of my day in Scarborough, here's a funny thing to check out. Read the comments for this hotel.

More updates

So we are in the stretch run of the last few weeks before I am officially a student again, at least for another eight or nine months. Yes, I am nervous.

Last weekend I saw an amazing concert in the Progression Nation Tour. The show was headlined by Dream Theater. I saw Dream Theater about two years ago and their setlist and performance was a little weak. Dream Theater plays a different setlist every time they play. I was also distracted by a couple of rowdy drunks in front of me which hurt the experience. This show was phenomenal. The setlist was amazing and there were many moments of "holy fuck," with their musical performance. I was also impressed with Dweezil Zappa's band, Zappa Plays Zappa. He's an amazing guitar player and has an incredibly talented band with him. His keyboard and saxophone player, Scheila Gonzalez is mind blowing.

This week I will attend a going away party for a friend named Miriam who's leaving Canada for the homeland of Ireland. Will be sad to see her go.

Rochdale Rhymes and Readings is back September 3 with RC Weslowski, Joe Dewar and Robin Richardson. The day before that is Toronto Poetry Slam's Story Slam at the Boat, also featuring RC Weslowski. Rochdale Rhymes and Readings, as always, happens at the Regal Beagle at 335 Bloor St. W., 8 p.m. with pass the hat admission and an open mic.

just some updates for the week

Hi, I'm just updating how my week was and plans for the next week.

Saturday, I made my first ever trip to Taste of the Danforth, the big yearly Greek festival happening in Toronto on Danforth Avenue. There was cheap food, I imagine not as many people as expected due to the rain, yet nonetheless, it was a struggle making my way through all the crowds of people, especially with umbrellas clashing.

Sunday, I ended my hibernation from the Toronto Poetry scene, when I attended WordJam at the Free Times Cafe. Yes, people could see in my hibernation, I'd grown a beard.

Events I'm excited for this week are Dream Theater on Friday at the amphitheatre, as well as Next Tuesday's Poetry Hoedown, as part of the Art Bar series. It's an event where country lyrics are read as poetry. I know what I want to read on the open mic portion, if I get a chance to do so. I have not decided if I will attend either the Toronto Poetry Slam or Bam! the Toronto Youth Slam.

Hilarious site I found

If you're into metal, or even if you hate metal but have an understanding of what it's about, especially death metal, you should love this site.

http://www.metalsucks.net/category/completely-unreadable-band-logo-of-the-week/

It's Been So Long Since I've Posted Here

So I've been really busy. I'm starting grad school in the fall in a Book and Magazine Publishing program at Centennial College. I'm looking for some new digs. I thought I found an interesting spot today that was cheap and close to campus, but the landlord had a zero alcohol on premises clause, which I thought was too strict and also told me what kind of landlord he would be.

I've still been working in retail at the position I've had since I was let go of my job in the travel industry over a year ago, which led me to the desire of going back to school. Speaking of blogs, there was a woman in the store today trying to take advantage of our 50 per cent off Nike sale. the stipulations were that it was 50 per cent off the original price of non-new arrivals, accessories and basics. She became irate as the original price was $200 and we were offering the shoes for $100. Yet the shoes had been previously discounted to $175 and she was irate we wouldn't give her 50 per cent off $175. She stormed out yelling she'd have something to blog about tonight. I honestly can't wait to go back to do something truly productive for a living. It's well overdue.

I'm planning on holding a Rochdale Rhymes and Readings show on Sept. 3. So far I've booked RC Weslowski from Vancouver. Other features remain to be booked. I'm truly not sure how long the series will continue with how much I have on my plate. I'm planning at least an October show.

Down to the Underwire

So tonight I went and saw Ariel Platt's Down to the Underwire show at Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. Every year, the Toronto Fringe Festival, which I'm a great supporter of, tends to have a few spoken word shows. A spoken word show at the Fringe is an incredible feat to put on as most sets at poetry/spoken word shows are about 20 minutes. At about 30 minutes, one is likely to say, "fuck this shit, I'm getting a beer." In Fringe festivals, etc., the average show is 45 minutes and up. This creates a serious challenge to a spoken word performer in engaging their audience for the whole set and Ariel manages to use seriousness as well as her great comedic ability and stage presence to leave the audience entertained and not looking at their watch in the shade under 45 minutes.

A recently weekly entertainment magazine reviewer gave this show a poor rating suggesting her poetry lacks emotion and substance, apart from her heart wrenching poem dealing with domestic violence. I have to disagree. I would not want to sit through 40-50 minutes of depressing stories. I want to be entertained, and Ariel does this quite successfully. I encourage spoken word fans to see see the show Thursday at 1:45, Friday at noon or Saturday at 7:30 (after the show you can come to the slam).

RIP Jacko

Yeah, let's be honest. You forgot about him until this evening. You forgot about his existence, or just mocked him. Now he's the biggest and greatest thing ever since he's gone. You can sort of compared this case to that of Judy Garland, in the fact she was playing in small clubs and gay bars up until her death and people came to her funeral in droves.

I never believed he was a child molester. It seemed everyone was just out for the lawsuit money and not to see justice brought. Finally after years, over ten years, he was charged, acquitted, everyone thought he got the OJ treatment, but I thought there were holes in the story of the family accusing him. I believed he was eccentric to the point of lunacy, but not a criminal.

But it was fun listening to cars on Yonge blast MJ tunes out their window today. Thriller was as big of a holiday hit as any Bing Crosby song, even if it was for a totally different holiday.

RIP

The Jays should just move

I've written about my love of the Toronto Blue Jays on here before. I was at the game tonight. Yes there are factors to take into account, such as they were playing the Cincinnati Reds, a sold out Major League Soccer game was happening across town, and the fact last night was a discount ticket night, but they only drew 15,409. They say the Phoenix Coyotes should move (different sport, I know) when they are perennial losers and play in the middle of nowhere. The Blue Jays play downtown and are currently in a playoff spot. Some might argue the 20 year-old Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome), once an architectural and engineering marvel, is outdated. But it is far from a dump. Fifteen thousand on a hot, but bearable night with an open roof for a good team is horrible. And that was only the announced crowd. Early on, it looked like a crowd from an old Expos game.

I love the Jays, but they really don't get deserving support in this city.

This is Bloody Insulting

I wanted to write a letter to the poster of this ad to let them know how despicable their organization is in trying to take advantage of people in bad times. You must read the last line of the ad to understand just how disgusting these people are. Keep in mind, they are looking for someone with a degree in organic chemistry. One who's worked hard and likely paid a lot of money to get through school.

http://www.torontojobs.ca/en/jobs/view.php?job_id=18234&auth_sess=c58a19500eab2957a07c875cc1622aee

I could understand if this were a position for a summer student studying chemistry to give them some experience in an internship type of setup, but it is not. Toronto Research Chemicals should be ashamed of themselves. Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones trying to underpay people or get people to even work for free in these tough times. I'm seeing ads all over the place trying to grossly underpay people.

Update on Tuesday's Ramble

First of all, the Art Bar feature was a blast. It was one of my best features ever and I had so much fun doing it.

The Rust Belt Slam, an event I sadly will not be able to make it to, at least the finals, is a four day event taking place in Toronto (It started tonight with a slam for two spots on the "Wildcard Team" with Tomy Bewick and Dwayne Morgan). It continues tomorrow night with the preliminaries at the Poor Alex Theatre (Dundas/Bathurst) and Saturday at noon at the Trane Studio (Dupont and Bathurst) and the Finals at Bloor Cinema, which I predict will be a great venue, on Saturday night. There will be a free showcase in Kensington Market on Sunday.

The Rust Belt Slam is an annual poetry slam in its tenth year. Previously, it has taken place only in the mid-western United States and is venturing into Canada for the first time ever. Other than the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, which took place in 2006, this will be the biggest spoken word event the city has likely ever seen.

One other thing I want to make note of, Rochdale Rhymes and Readings is back next Thursday at the Regal Beagle. There will be a spoken word extravaganza featuring Gypsy Eyes and Truth Is.. from Toronto and Nolan Guiffre from New York State.

Wild times

I don't have much time to write as I am off to do perhaps the biggest feature I've ever done at the Art Bar at Clinton's tonight. The Art Bar, still the flagship poetry series in T.O. (and possibly Canada) was my introduction into the scene when I came here in March of '06. I am so bloody busy in the next two weeks. Two slams this past weekend (Toronto Poetry Slam and $100 Slam) which were fantastic to see, Art Bar tonight, trying to make it to see at least the prelims for the massive Rust Belt Slam in Toronto this weekend (I'll explain all the jargon at another time), my cousin's Jack and Jill on Saturday, Rochdale Rhymes and Readings' huge spoken word extravaganza next Thursday and then my birthday next Saturday. I apologize I haven't edited this for spelling or grammar, but I have to run. I'll give a bigger plug and share details to the appropriate events later, I promise.

Swine Flu Paranoia

The World Health Organization has reported 8,451 worldwide cases of swine flu, now termed H1N1, since April. The outbreak was reported by the Mexican government on April 23. Hysteria ensued.

“It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic,” WHO Director General Margaret Chan said after a level 5 alert was issued for the first time in the organization’s history April 29.

Travel advisories were issued for Mexico. When the flu did spread into the U.S., vice-president Joe Biden suggested riding planes and subways was not safe.

Seventy-two people have died worldwide, including 66 in Mexico. 187 people have been infected in Ontario with no deaths, in comparison to 500 deaths per year and 9,000 reported infections of the seasonal flu.

Paranoia can be hurtful and dangerous. Taking precautions to prevent the spread of illness is always wise and common sense should prevail. But those in Toronto remember the worldwide superstition that ensued during the SARS crisis. Tragically 44 people in the Greater Toronto Area died, but the magnitude of the virus was blown out of proportion. The city’s tourism industry never fully recovered, with or without aid of the Rolling Stones.

The danger of issuing alerts suggesting the world is on the brink of a worldwide pandemic if it is not, is ending up with the old example of the little boy who cried flu. When something close to the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak (something to really be scared of) occurs, the reaction may become, “we heard this before. Leave me alone.” Maverick U.S. congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul has noted in 1976 more people died from mass inoculations than the virus during that “swine flu” outbreak.

Sometimes it really can hurt to be careful.

Youth Slam

On Wednesday I was a judge at the second monthly Toronto Youth Slam, put on by the Toronto Poetry Project. Truth is... was the feature and was great as always. I was not sure what to expect. I expected a lot of teen angst from the 12-19 year-olds, but was surprised by a lot of the maturity of the work. These kids may not be ready to contend for big championships now, but a chance to hone their skills will help them develop and help the art of spoken word in general. Also a big thanks goes to Yehuda Fisher for hosting. He has committed a lot of time and energy to spoken word in the last year.

It was funny. One contestant, who was about 12 or 13 went on a tirade about how someone was ugly and stupid and had a big butt and I sat there thinking, "how do I score this? She's 12." Then at the end she explained these were things she'd say to herself in the mirror before going to school and trying to be one of the most popular girls. It was a brilliant way to turn it around and I gave her a 9.7.

debate on whether or not the NHL draft is a way to build a championship

I just finished watching Game 7 of the Wings-Ducks series (I find Wings vs. Ducks to be funny for some reason). That was a hell of a game. Detroit's penalty killing was fantastic and I do see them winning it all from here, though Dan Cleary (from Newfoundland, we’re constantly reminded) had a quite controversial game winner. At the beginning of the playoffs I picked now-departed Washington and Detroit in the final. Arguments against Detroit goaltending I see as invalid as the same stiff backstopped them to the championship last year. Come to think of it, that same stiff backstopped them to the '98 championship (and was labelled a stiff then) and then you forgot about him until last year.

I also find it amazing how apart from one year (1989-90), Detroit has remained a very good, competitive team since the late 80s. They spent many years choking, but managed to get over the hump with Scotty Bowman. The stars come and go (Yzerman, Shanahan, Hasek, Konstantinov, Fedorov, Larionov...) but they don't need to tank to bring up more stars like Datsyuk and Zetterberg. I cannot think of an example like them in sports. If I were to pledge allegiance right now to a team it would be the Detroit Red Wings. You can count on them to be good. Unfortunately, I already pledge allegiance to the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that is trying to win by being bad for years.

I was reading an online debate between ESPN's Bill Simmons and famous Canadian historian and thinker Malcolm Gladwell. I did not know Gladwell was as knowledgeable about sports as he is. Gladwell proposed putting every NBA team into the lottery and giving them all an equal shot, or even giving picks out from best team first to worst team last, forcing them to try to be competitive rather than see them tank. He argued the draft helps no one as much as free agency as the same teams are always bad. He is almost right. Basketball is more of an individual's game, so landing LeBron in Cleveland's case, AI in Philadelphia's case, Shaq and Penny in Orlando's case way back when, can turn a sad sack team into a contender. Tim Duncan is another example, but that only occurred after San Antonio flopped in the year of superstar David Robinson being injured. Apart from that year, the Spurs have been great since the early 90s and Duncan helped them get over the hump and win titles.

In hockey, which is more of a team-based game, the draft rarely builds a champion. Tampa Bay, which five years later is once again a bottom-feeder, got Lecavalier and a championship, but none of their high draft picks really panned out. Brad Richards was a third rounder and Martin St. Louis was a diamond-in-the-rough undrafted player. The Kings have yet to get great with years of rewards for being awful. The Islanders still have yet to go anywhere with years of high draft picks. The Islanders were able to build a great team through the 70s into the 80s, but that was an era before free agency. Excluding a surprise run to the conference finals in 1993, they’ve won a total of seven playoff games since 1988. The Penguins have yet to win the cup this time around (which would make for a good example of using the draft to build a championship). I will accept the argument those championships in the 90s came from the draft with Jagr and Lemieux leading the way, but guys like Joe Mullen, Tom Barrasso, Kevin Stevens, Ron Francis, Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy were not drafted by the Penguins.

One false example of using the draft to build a winner is the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche. The problem with this example is none of those top three picks were the keys to their two championships in Denver. Mats Sundin was traded to Toronto for Wendel Clark in a bad trade for Quebec, Todd Warriner went with him and was a bust anyway. Curtis Leschyshyn was a valuable role player on the first championship team, but don't tell me they don't win without him. Owen Nolan was gone before a championship was won. Eric Lindros never played a shift for the Nords, but was able to command enough players and prospects to instantly help the Nordiques/Avalanche. Contrary to popular belief, Sakic was a mid-first round draft pick. The big piece of the puzzle came in the blockbuster trade landing Pat Roy after the team left Quebec City.

Other examples of teams in recent memory building a great team (and a championship) through free agents, trades and grabbing solid prospects outside of the lottery include Anaheim, Dallas, and of course, the Red Wings. Anaheim is an example of a bad team getting better through the trades, etc. (Pronger, Niedermayer, Selanne, Penner) Good drafting of players like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry helped the team, but Brian Burke didn't just sit around and wait for years to eventually get better. As a Leaf fan, I'm hoping for the same this time around.

Rochdale Rhymes and Readings

A quick note for Rochdale Rhymes and Readings. We'll be having a spoken word extravaganza on June 4th. Featuring will be Toronto's Gypsy Eyes, Truth Is..., and New York State's Nolan Guiffre. Admission is pass the hat, as always, and there is an open mic. 8 pm, Regal Beagle, 335 Bloor St. W.

I also want to plug May 26th, because I'm reading at the Art Bar with Matthew Tierney and Kate Braid. The Art Bar is Canada's longest running weekly poetry-only literary series. It is quite a prestigious honour to be offered a reading there. It's at Clinton's, 693 Bloor St. W., at the corner of Bloor and Clinton.

Toronto Blue Jays

I am very excited about the Toronto Blue Jays starting so strongly this year, but was very disgusted to find out their entire series against Boston later this month will only be available on premium television channel TSN2, which isn't available in most of Toronto. It's their second big test, after dropping two of three to the Yankees and apparently it was the team’s decision, according to TSN, to limit viewership of the games. They’re making the same mistake the Raptors made in forcing their fans into bars or to just not bother.
Yes, it could be a ploy to sell tickets. But the Blue Jays always draw great crowds when the Yankees and Red Sox are in town, partially because of the big rivalry, partially because those teams have a lot of fans outside their market and partially because those teams’ fans are well-travelled, much like Maple Leaf fans earlier in the decade.
One has to look at what limiting home game television coverage did to the Chicago Blackhawks after they stopped winning and started drawing 10,000 fans a game. Ownership eventually relented in the last couple of years. Limiting viewership will not help the Blue Jays right now, when things are just starting to get good again. It’s not like they’re challenging gate totals or fan interest of 1993 yet. Moving them to the far end of the spectrum on TV will not draw interest, even if they do draw great crowds from Red Sox fans.

Twitter

There was an article I read today in the Financial Post discussing how a study was done and 60% of Twitter users abandon the site within one month of joining the social networking site. One blogger noted, fairly, the study did not draw a comparison with sites like Myspace and Facebook.

However, I've always found Twitter to be useless. I, like many, don't use a cell phone for Internet purposes, and I don't use text-messaging as frequently as some. Sending short messages telling people "what are you doing?" can easily be accomplished on sites like Myspace and Facebook, which have more networking features than updates of what I'm doing. This makes Twitter absolutely pointless and useless to me from a home computer. Then again, I never understood why Myspace stayed bigger than Facebook for so long. I fell in love with Facebook's more streamlined, easy-to-use format with a lot less graphic-overload. Now and then I do admit to logging into Myspace for the original reason I ever joined in the first place, to discover new music. This is something Facebook hasn't outdone.

Hourglass

I can’t tell the difference
between the top or bottom,
the beginning or finish
of the hourglass.
I was born with little depth perception.
The bottom of the slide never seems to come.
Or perhaps I’m just walking a giant magnetic hill,
with its peak too far down.

A doctor prescribed pink-tinted glasses,
thinking they’d help me see better.
I don’t like what’s coming, though I still don't see it.
A 12 or 18-wheeler?
It’s not going to make a difference when it runs you down.
That photo in the local tabloid
of the man burned and bloodied.
I didn’t recognize
the name,
yet I still shuddered.

I can’t see where I’m going
but the feeling of my stomach dropping is not comforting.
I can’t see the top or bottom of the hourglass,
But know one way or another,
sand is falling.



I did receive some really bad news today, on a personal note, which I may or may not choose to post here until after the news is made official.

Last post for March

Hey, I'm almost halfway to my total of posts for last year. I've recently made a commitment to myself to write a lot more, so hopefully more information gets posted here in coming months, regardless if anyone reads this.

The Slam was a blast

So I did not make the finals for the Toronto Poetry Slam season. I care very little as I had a blast just being there. It was great to just be heard by such a massive crowd (people were turned away at the door from the Drake Underground). I was also hugely impressed with the feature poet, New Jersey's Jamal St. John. He was a master at using puns and his wit in general. He entertainingly addresses very serious issues with great intelligence.

I am excited about Rochdale Rhymes and Readings this week with That Brown Bastard, White Noise Machine and the Awfulest of National Poetry Month competition. The worst poem wins.

On another note, I've been following NCAA basketball over the last while. It's dawned on me, I cannot stand teams from the Big Ten. They play a brand of basketball that is so boringly defensive as they aim to hold the total score within 100. Normally I like Tom Izzo and Michigan State, but Big Ten b-ball of the last couple of years is uninteresting. I wouldn't mind North Carolina if Dean Smith or Bill Guthridge were still coaching, but I cannot stand the way Roy Williams will dangerously run up the score in tournament games. I am cheering for Villanova, and the way they've played, they cannot be counted out. They're as good as anyone in the tournament at this moment.

Toronto Poetry Slam

So tomorrow night is the semi-final of the Toronto Poetry Slam season. I am proud to say I am in the semi-finals. The top 12 poets in the Toronto Poetry slam season go to the semis. I have to be honest and say I finished 13th, but slid in because another poet dropped out. I am excited and honoured nonetheless to be competing. The top eight make the finals and the top five make the Toronto Poetry Slam team for 2009. They compete at "the nationals" in West Palm Beach, Florida for the American championship (or North American championship). They would also compete at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Victoria, BC. In reality, there are some really great poets at the top and my whole goal is to just do my thing and let whatever happen, even if it means I do not move on. I am excited about tomorrow, regardless of the result.

Getting over some disappointment

So I got some bad news the other day. I learned a public relations graduate program I had applied for next year has rejected me. Originally this program was choice number three or four, but after going to their program session, was wholly impressed. The program jumped to number one, yet I received a rejection letter late last week and just opened it on Saturday.

My mind unfortunately did not think of things such as the fact I was vying to be one of 40 out of a crowd of 240 to get in. It did not think about how this was not the last program I applied to. I just had a feeling of unreasonable rejection, failure and no self-worth. It, combined with my job I'm over-qualified for left me in a stew for a couple of days. It has also left me nervous to whether other rejection letters are to follow, and whether my plan to get back into school will be railroaded.

I know I try not to post personal feelings here. And I can be positive and focus on the points I failed to focus on Saturday. But I'd forgotten after all these years how stressful school can be and I haven't even started again! Perhaps if all works out and I get back into school, this experience will throw my head into the mindset it needs to be in. That's as positive as I can be right now.

Exciting Announcement about Rochdale Rhymes and Readings

Rochdale Rhymes and Readings will return on April 2 at the Regal Beagle, 8 pm., 335 Bloor St. West. Features will be two fine spoken word artists in Rahul Gupta, aka, That Brown Bastard and Mike Smith, aka White Noise Machine. There is the usual pass the hat admission, but the open mic has a twist. We will have the second annual Awfulest of National Poetry Month contest. The worst poem will win a prize. So many poets have told me they can win this one. Come try to prove them wrong.

March 1

March 1st is one of my favourite days of the year. March is the month where spring begins, though up here in Canada we don't see a true spring until April and sometimes May. But the beginning of March tells you spring is coming. Though many in Canada love Winter for its activities such as skiing/snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, etc., the cold, the darkness, as well as the slush and ice can get to us. To me, March is welcome symbol to those who might be in a bad situation, as many are in these times, that you've almost made it. There's a little way to go, but you've almost made it out of the dark cold. May this fact bring inspiration to those down so they may see a positive light on the way. Daylight savings begins this weekend (though almost a month earlier than it used to begin).

Nadya Suleman

I have a hard time making sense of where I stand on the Nadya Suleman case. She's the woman who had octuplets, after visiting a fertility clinic and who'd already had six children. She, by media reports, does not have the financial capability to support 14 children as a single mother in debt already.

I am pro-choice and believe if a woman has an abortion, it will be a horrifying decision and should be left up to her. Part of me wants to feel the same about Ms. Suleman. It's her life and her family and she should be left alone. However, one has to think of her children. They are being brought up into a world where they most likely cannot be taken care of, after hearing the facts on the family. If this were all natural conception, I would be angry at those criticizing Ms. Suleman, as they would have no right to be a judge. In my mind though, I ask why after being a single mother to six, she would choose to have at least (by choice) another seven? (By reports she was only planning on having septuplets, the eighth was a surprise.) Perhaps it really is none of my or your business, but I do worry about the well-being of her children. I am a little disturbed seeing as this was her choice to have so many children brought into the world she likely cannot take care of.

I am not an elitist or an aristocrat, but if her family had the capability to care for an extra eight children, I would believe this decision was hers alone and should be left to her. However, I just worry about the kids.

Reading Rainbow and Drew Carey

The other day I was watching the Price is Right, now hosted by Drew Carey. Honestly, he was horrible when he started, but has gotten much better. A contestant came on the stage, a guy in his early 20s. He was wearing a Reading Rainbow t-shirt. Drew Carey, obviously not knowing Reading Rainbow was a children's program on PBS in the 80s, asked the guy if Reading Rainbow was where he worked. "Nah, I'm just a supporter," said the guy. Later on the guy went on to win both showcases in the showcase showdown and his buddies all rushed the stage and about five of them jumped on his new snowmobile all at the same time. The snowmobile was fine, so that's good publicity for the manufacturer.

Something that's become a pet peeve of mine is when people talk about their drinking and need to brag about it as if being a drunk is part of their heritage. I'm (insert ethnic ancestry here) we were baptized in the stuff. I like to drink as much as the next guy and probably more than the next guy, but what does being (blankish-ese-an) have to do with it? Why don't you just be honest and say years of heavy drinking have given you a high tolerance, so you can drink a lot more. Or have a sense of humor and say you had a hole inserted in the bottom of your foot so most of the booze goes out and you need to drink more to feel anything.

An Embarrassed Vegetarian

I belong to a large local Toronto area vegetarian group. I've enjoyed this as the group is mainly there to educate and support. However, there's a wing for people in their 20s that became overrun by self-righteous vegans closely linked with those total animal liberationists in PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). There was a planned run of the CN Tower stairs as a benefit for the World Wildlife Fund. The event was subsequently canceled with an explanation being a link to PETA's Web site called wickedwildlifefund.com. PETA as a rival organization looking for people's donation in a tight economy accuses WWF of things such as supporting culls in some instances and not supporting a ban on laboratory testing of animals.

Look, I support the rights of animals, and though I don't judge others, see eating meat as morally wrong. But we have to be realistic here. If you have a real alternative, give it to us. I was also highly offended at PETA's exploitation of the holocaust and of the poor kid beheaded on the Greyhound in Manitoba last year. PETA needs to get real and stop making a joke of itself to the mainstream, while only offering up endorsements from clueless celebrities. In spite of the self-righteous vegetarians out there, I almost feel like eating meat, but know I won't.

Freedom

I wanna smoke cigarettes while watching Konvent Girls Get Kinky 7, drink discount beer, drink bottled water, eat a Jos. Louis, smoke pot, eat poutine (only the vegetarian kind. After all it's my choice and not yours), watch the football game and actually bet on the game. I won't pay for sex because that's just dirty, but what's it to you if I want to? When Miller and Harper send the cops out for me, I'll tell them to shove a donut up their ass.

The Man in the Helicopter

It would be so easy to say I was thinking,
“so long, asshole.”
But I wasn’t.
I felt bad for the man.
They say people will talk about where they were
when a black man put his hand on Lincoln’s bible
and a Catholic pro-lifer screwed up the swearing in.
I’ll remember learning there was a Marine One
as well as an Air Force One.
I’ll remember that same black man
walking with the now retired president
to a shiny green helicopter for technical reasons
was no longer known as Marine One.
His entrance reminded me of the photos of Nixon’s curtain call.
He proceeded to leave and hover over the city of Washington
as the black man and three others waved.
And I felt bad for the man in the helicopter.
People made fun of him and
suggested he was stupid.
Yet I don’t think he was oblivious.
As he flew over DC
I’m sure he could sense the people below
hissing like cobras.
I’m sure he sensed people saying,
“So long, asshole.”
I wonder if he looked down at the kingdom once his
and said,
“If I could go back in time.”
I wonder if he said,
“So much more I wanted to accomplish.”
His chance is over, and I say, thankfully.
Yet I felt bad for the man in the helicopter.
After all, he was a man.

Indigo Sucks for Poetry

So I was at the Indigo in the Manulife Centre today. I was looking in the poetry section, which is small and not so organized to begin with. I could not find Sachiko Murakami's The Invisibility Exhibit. I could find absolutely nothing by Naomi Shihab Nye, whose work I'm fond of. I did purchase Souvankham Thammavongsa's Found from 2007, a book I've flipped through many times but have not owned until now. But I find it sad that at a major two-storey bookstore, poetry is so disregarded.

Poetry and Stuff

I am really excited about tomorrow night (Monday). I am part of an event called Bye Bye Bush. The event features sets hosted by four different hosts (James Dewar, Edward Nixon, Dave Silverberg and Yehuda Fisher with an open mic set hosted by Jeff Cottrill). I am reading on Nixon's set. It takes place at Cervejaria at College and Ossington Streets. I was originally reluctant to get involved as a) Bush is/was not my president and b) there isn't much worth celebrating. However, I am happy an opportunity for change and thus hope for better days ahead in North America is coming.

Also Rochdale Rhymes and Readings takes place on Jan. 29th as we move to the first Thursday of the month (though obviously this is not the first Thursday). Lara Bozabalian, one of the first features at RDRR, as well one of my favourite writers anywhere, Edward Nixon (yes, him again) and Dayle Furlong will feature. It goes down at the Regal Beagle, beside the Bata Shoe Museum on Bloor St.

I want my rights back!

I'm going to nominate Bernie Farber, Canadian Jewish Congress head as the most annoying person in Canada. Every time someone opens their mouth criticizing the Israeli government he waves his axe trying to get hate crimes charges issued or a human rights complaint issued. This is similar to an American trying to get hate crimes charges filed for complaints against George W. Bush. His latest complaint was against anti-Israel protests on the weekend. He believes the protests were hate crimes.

It would be so easy to stop there. But for months Muslim groups were launching complaints against Canadian media outlets for reprinting controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad. The cartoons wouldn't have become an international issue and be reprinted if there weren't worldwide riots. Some of the cartoons were in poor taste (I've seen them) but people now had a right to know why there were riots going on. There were also complaints about an article written by Mark Steyn in Maclean's. Yet for some reason a man who yells at a woman and hits her in front of her child for being a lesbian, as happened in Oshawa, Ontario recently, this is not a hate crime.

I think it's time to revamp our laws and allow people's freedom to reign supreme, while actually going after those committing hate crimes, so people won't have to live in fear of the Bernie Farbers of the country. Disagreement should not be a crime. People should be allowed to dissent and not hear the hurtful label of "racist."

Canada Wins the World Junior Championship

I wrote this poem the other night (but edited it tonight) while watching the World Junior Championship of hockey final. It was the only game I caught in the entire tournament. I really loved the play of one player in particular.



Raptors lose again.
To Milwaukee.
A city forced to love its losers.
Yet a country loves champions.
I can only admit to be fixated on Team Canada’s best defenceman,
a big tough black dude
not willing to be stupid.
He knows officials are calling a game against him,
his team,
against 18,000 fans in Scotiabank Place,
though the way it’s been refereed,
it might as well be in the MGM Grand,
with Don King in the front row.
The defenceman angrily slams the net at what’s allowed to pass.
But the big man won’t fight back. He knows what’s at stake.
Canada wins. Five golds in a row.
I focus on the kid and his giant head’s giant grin,
his cap worn crooked, pranking his teammates.
How rare is it for someone to go by the name PK?
How rare is it a leaf fan is excited
About a future defenceman for the Canadiens?