sic visum superis

tinamfey: “Now you’re just somebody that I used to know” I whisper to Sorkin as I enter the John...

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:44:23 -0400

tinamfey:

“Now you’re just somebody that I used to know” I whisper to Sorkin as I enter the John Wells years

… but he/she didn’t follow me.

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:42:39 -0400

… but he/she didn’t follow me.

I can honestly say there aren’t many political issues in Canada that get me hot and bothered,...

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:32:24 -0400

I can honestly say there aren’t many political issues in Canada that get me hot and bothered, but separate schools is one of them. If you’re unaware, there are some super fucking shady provisions in our Constitution that allow for funding of separate schools - which is just the legalistic way of saying Catholic schools - along side regular public schools, both being paid for by public tax dollars. But that only applies to certain provinces - yeah, it’s fucked up - and Ontario is one of them.

I have no problem with religious schooling. None. But if we’re going to fund Catholic schools, we should also fund Jewish schools and Islamic schools. Except, when put to the voters of Ontario just like that in 2007 by the PCs, the voters rejected it heartily. My solution would be to stop funding Catholic schools altogether, but that would require an amendment to the Constitution and that would require agreement from lots of people in and outside of Ontario. That would also require a politician to have the metaphorical balls to take on the not inconsiderable power of the Christian vote, which is especially vocal in rural southern Ontario. So we’re left with a system whereby we’re often funding two separate systems in almost every county of the province - I shudder to think of the administrative costs that are being doubled up on that could be used for better things…

All of which would be fine if Catholic schools had to admit any students who apply, which is true of Catholic high schools. But for some reason - I think it has to do with who funds them - the elementary schools aren’t under such an obligation. If your parents aren’t Catholic (with proof) or if you’re not Catholic (with proof), then you can’t be admitted.

So not only are we funding two separate systems, one of them is systematically discriminating against an entire swathe of population just for not belonging to a certain religion.

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? AM I RIGHT?

(At one point in time, on tax forms, at least here in Ontario, you could actually choose if you wanted your tax dollars to go to the public or the Catholic boards, but that option got removed quite a whole ago and now everyone pays in to both systems.)

Photo

Wed, 30 May 2012 23:15:47 -0400

You know what? After some careful examination of my own...

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:52:00 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

You know what? After some careful examination of my own feelings, I decided I owed this anon, and all of my beloved followers, this deeply personal video.

While Only God Forgives isn’t a sequel to Drive, “it feels like...

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:41:53 -0400

While Only God Forgives isn’t a sequel to Drive, “it feels like a shared universe. There are a few Drive touchstones in the footage: long tracking shots, liberal use of neon lighting (in this case purple and green) and a silent, but violent Ryan Gosling.” Refn himself described the project as a thriller produced as a Western set in the Far East, with a modern cowboy hero.

“a thriller produced as a Western set in the Far East, with a modern cowboy hero.”

Do you do youtube videos? Or videos at all? If so, you should.

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:37:23 -0400

That’s so nice of you Anon. Or it’s sneaky of you, if you’re planning to steal my identity or something…

But really, the main reason I don’t do videos is because I find that when I watch other people’s videos, the version of those people I’ve constructed of them from their posts is usually mildly altered. Like, voices aren’t what I expect, or body language has something to add to the conversation or whatever. It’s totally superficial on my part, and solely the fault of my over judgemental brain and not other people, but it’s what happens. And to be honest, I don’t like the idea of this happening to me. Maybe it’s narcissistic to think other people care enough about me to have their version of me ruined, but this is how I feel. As an example, my “like” usage is 298798768765421% higher in real life than on the Interwebs, and as such, I sound and move like a Valley Girl par excellence. So you probably won’t be seeing videos of me anytime soon.

I hope horribly awkward, usually unflattering pictures will suffice.

kristenswig: I was trying to figure out where all the oversaturated gif sets of the Les Mis trailer...

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:30:30 -0400

kristenswig:

I was trying to figure out where all the oversaturated gif sets of the Les Mis trailer are but then I remembered that Tom Hooper is involved and that all the people who make those gifs are Fincher worshippers and that the 2010 Oscars were basically their Vietnam.

The Weather Report by Kim Jong-Il

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:29:34 -0400

The Weather Report by Kim Jong-Il

Tweeter Jared Loftin’s take on One Direction’s hit...

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:58:16 -0400

Tweeter Jared Loftin’s take on One Direction’s hit song, “What Makes You Beautiful.”

Despite being banned from all bookstores - not really, but I probably should send a picture of...

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:51:18 -0400

Despite being banned from all bookstores - not really, but I probably should send a picture of myself around to bookstores in the area telling them not to “let this person ever purchase a book at your store” because I own so many books that are unread and yet my collection just keeps growing - I was killing time today and I went to a used bookstore and made the BEST purchases. Which I will detail below, but I’ll hide it under see more for those of you who write ‘LULZ WHO DA FUQ REEDZ’ in your Facebook profiles.

OK, first, is a copy of Great Expectations by Dickens. The copy isn’t remarkable really other than I’m pretty sure no one has ever read it - its spine is in mint condition, none of the pages have any markings, etc. It even still has the little insert that Readers Digest put in their subscription series books back in the 80s, which is when this copy is from. The best part? ONLY $5.

Next up is a copy of Joyce’s Ulysses. What’s awesome about this is that it’s the Modern Library copy from the 1940s, and it has a little foreward written by Mr. Joyce himself. It also includes a copy of the obscenity trial ruling when its bannedness (what’s the word for the state of being banned?) was overturned. It’s in OK condition, but the covers are still solid and the spine isn’t cracked. The best part? ONLY $3.

This is when it starts to get really good, and by really good I mean really nerdy. This is a copy of Conrad’s Lord Jim. It’s a special printing from the 1940s which is hardcover and includes a little box on the outside too, for no particular reason that I can gather. Even better is that it has really gorgeous colour illustrations inside, and the colour hasn’t faded at all, and both the book and the box are in really good condition. The best part? ONLY $5.

And this last one is the best find of them all. These two are volumes 1 and 2 of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. They were printed in 1904, and, despite a little wear on the corners, are in really gorgeous shape - again, no cracking on the binding, gilding is still in tact on the two covers, extra-bookish smell from its age. THE BEST PART? ONLY $5 FOR THE PAIR. That below is a picture of a winner if I’ve ever seen one. (“It’s not clear if Lucas has, in fact, ever seen a picture of a winner,” comments a snarky blogger to him/herself while reading this.)

So I spent $18 on used books, two of them more than a hundred years old.

BEAT THAT TUMBLR.

I hope you also enjoyed the extremely awkward pictures of me.

Also, I would not blame you if you legitimately thought my pupils were bright white and square shaped. Glare is annoying.

the-sputnik-complex: How do people who aren’t in fandoms make friends on Tumblr? Like, if a person...

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:20:55 -0400

the-sputnik-complex:

How do people who aren’t in fandoms make friends on Tumblr?

Like, if a person reblogged a photo of an iced mocha frappuccino from Starbucks and then someone reblogs that picture from you, do you message them saying, hey we like the same thing from Starbucks we should be friends?

I bet the number of failed screenwriters who have written an opening scene where...

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:20:35 -0400

I bet the number of failed screenwriters who have written an opening scene where their protagonist hits their alarm clock at the exact same time “A Day in the Life” by The Beatles starts to play, followed by a montage of said protagonist going through his/her morning routine is a bigger number than science can verify even exists.

When fastandfunky follows you, you sometimes get little messages...

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:19:01 -0400

When fastandfunky follows you, you sometimes get little messages in your inbox and you don’t know what they mean or to what they’re referring but you love them anyways.

What does " Good to know Polish, Hungarian and Slovakian kids are better off than Canadian children… " mean? Why should Canadian children be more fortunate than those living in the above countries? ps. someone from Slovakia is called a Slovak

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:38:13 -0400

I did a little searching to make sure I was right, and as it turns out both Slovakian and Slovak are acceptable. According to one source, Slovak tends to be the usage in American English, while Slovakian is more common in British English, and since I’m Canadian I’m entitled to plunder from both. Another source said that Slovak was used to refer to ethnicity while Slovakian was for nationality, but that wasn’t a reputable source. The point is that my use of the word Slovakian was entirely legitimate.

And to address your first point, I can understand how someone might interpret my comment as a normative ‘should’ statement. I meant to say that if Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - countries which have, at least by most measurable standards, lower standards of living than Canada - could have lower poverty rates for their children than a country like Canada, which is comparatively better off, Canada needs some serious reforms to address these issues. It’s not that Canadian children should be more fortunate than those living in other countries by virtue of being better; it’s that, statistically, we would expect that Canadian children would be better off, given the very high standard of living in Canada. Perhaps my wording was a touch facetious, but I do stand by my underlying point.

But whatever, if you want to take that as a slight against your country, fine. I only meant to castigate my own country, so if I’ve insulted your national pride, I apologize.

infiniterun: spinning—infinity: lovehermindlovehershoes: thefi...

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:06:46 -0400

infiniterun:

spinning—infinity:

lovehermindlovehershoes:

thefinestmuffinsandbagels:

britta-perry:

fuckyeahtvpicspam:

Toby: I never knew babies came with hats. You guys crack me up. You can’t walk, don’t know the language, you don’t have a dollar in your pocket, but you got yourselves a hat, so everything is alright. I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but I’m Dad.

The West Wing 4.23 - “Twenty-Five”

(via andthenisay)

think-progress: There are only two countries that have child...

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:04:02 -0400

think-progress:

There are only two countries that have child poverty rates over 20%: Romania and the United States.

13.3% in Canada? That’s shameful, disgusting and unacceptable. Good to know Polish, Hungarian and Slovakian kids are better off than Canadian children…

Finally, I've found another Liberal on tumblr. :P Haha. How are you feeling about their future?

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:01:32 -0400

Though I have always voted Liberal, and in all unlikelihood will continue to in the foreseeable future, I do have to clarify that I’m not a member of the Liberal party, and I probably won’t ever be; I have an ideological problem with being a member of a political party. I wrote a post about it way back, so if you’re really interested, you’re welcome to creep the archives.

But on their future, I will say two things. First, the Liberals are far from over. They weren’t the most successful political party in the west in the 20th century for nothing… They will again reign supreme, and it will undoubtedly be glorious. It may take time, but it will be happen.

Secondly, what the Liberals need to do - in my unhumble, uninformed opinion - is to make sure Canadians feel they’re not just a lame centrist party that is middle ground between the NDP and the Conservatives. They’ve already begun this with their recent marijuana policy decision, and the key here is, indeed, policy; the Liberals need unique, prescient policy.

I’d also be working at distancing the party from the NDP. Come the next election, Canadians need to feel that the choice is - like it has always been framed in the past - between the Conservatives and the Liberals. What’s that, the NDP is beholden to unions? They don’t support the legalization fo marijuana? Can we get a clarification on their position on Quebec? If Canadians feel that the liberals and the NDP are too similar, they’ll vote for which party has the more charismatic leader. We saw how this turned out in 2011. And I wouldn’t bank on the Liberals finding the next Chretien or Trudeau anytime soon - instead, they should continue working towards interesting policy and distancing themselves from the NDP.

Whoa whoa whoa, a cloture motion is the same thing as a closure motion? I always assumed they were...

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:33:26 -0400

Whoa whoa whoa, a cloture motion is the same thing as a closure motion? I always assumed they were different things! Now you know! And by you, I mean me.

From an old version of Trivial Pursuit I was playing the other...

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:53:00 -0400

From an old version of Trivial Pursuit I was playing the other day: “Who was the first black to star in a TV situation comedy?”