Tar Sands

Most everyone in Canada knows about the Alberta Tar Sands. You would have to have had your head in the ground to have missed something on the news about the largest oil deposit outside the Middle East.

What most people don't know is that it is fast becoming the largest ecological disaster in the world. I didn't, until I watched this video:



It breaks it down simply and easily showing how enormous the various mines,  ponds and in-situ fields actually are. That these are destroying thousands upon thousands of hectares of some of the most important ecosystems in North America and the world. That the oil that is produced, itself produces more greenhouse gases than any other oil. And that all of this is flowing downstream to the indigenous populations in the province. The fish are toxic, as is the water. These ponds sit next to one of the largest rivers in Canada, the Athabasca which flows into the world's largest fresh water delta, the Peace Athabasca Delta. The only one that sits between the four global migratory bird flight paths. The Boreal forest itself is the worlds largest carbon sink, holding twice as much as the tropical rain forests, and below it are the Tar Sands. So not only are we destroying the trees that absorb the carbon, but we are releasing the most toxic oil on the planet into the atmosphere and the waterways.

Wait... WHAT?!?!?!

Yeah, that's right. Canada, former champion of the environment, now one of the biggest killers.

As Garth says in this talk, there are plans to quadruple production in the next ten to fifteen years which would industrialize an area the size of Florida in Alberta. Now to give you some perspective here's what that might look like. Please forgive my crude cut and paste skills.

Click to embiggen.

How this has happened, I don't know, but I know I am going to add my voice to the many that oppose this.

Garth Lenz's Website.
Some sites in opposition to the Tar Sands here, here and here.
A great article by David Suzuki.
And more about the "Oil Sands" in general.

As Garth say, "We all live downstream..."

Glad Day Bookshop

First chapter of the first Gore Vidal book I have ever read and I am already hooked! Delightful.

You see, I recently purchased a few books at the local LGBT bookstore here in Toronto. Well there's really only one, the other is mostly a sex shop/women's sexual health and workshop centre/bookstore. But the one I frequent is actually the longest surviving in the world. Crazy! Who knew?

I visited Glad Day before Christmas and found out, that in fact, the store was in dire straits. They hadn't turned a profit in about eight months and the owner and his very dedicated employee hadn't been paid in over two months. The owner had gotten to the point (and I wouldn't be surprised if he still is) where he was done with the community, it had changed and too much for him to keep up and he didn't want to anymore anyway. He had tried Facebook and Twitter but it wasn't his thing, he found it mildly insulting actually. I believe he phrased it "why do I need to know when everyone is taking a shit?". And his employee who is around my age (early thirties), hadn't had much more success.

He informed me that all of his regulars were around his age and to see someone in their forties was not rare but not a common occurrence, as for those my age it was positively rare and should someone in their twenties happen to wander in, it was cause for celebration.

I was gutted. I knew that online retailers like Indigo (here in Canada) and Amazon had basically cornered the market for lower prices and that e-readers were really catching on, and yes, the recent economic down-turn had been hard on many small businesses, but to have one of the largest surviving LGBT bookstores in the WORLD close down? A piece of living history and one of the pillars of the queer community here in Toronto disappear? The books to be thrown in a DUMPSTER and FORGOTTEN?? WHAT?!?!

Well, there is hope people. It turns out that a group of investors had the same thought as me and saved Glad Day. As of my last visit a deposit has been made and the store is in the process of changing hands. The soon-to-be new owners are excited to create a vibrant and inter-ethnic/gender/generational space accessible to all.

There’s an incredible importance in changing what the face of the queer community looks like. Our investors are all very different. There are trans folks, there are queer folks, there are younger ones, there are elders. We very much want to see the population of people coming to the bookstore to really reflect the diversity of Toronto’s population and community, and as well as that of the people who are investing and creating the space.

I look forward to seeing the bookshop change, grow and flourish and to spending more time there. Hmmm... maybe I should volunteer...

Check out their online catalogue, hopefully you'll find something you'll like.

Happiness

I have been having some interesting things happen in my life recently, things that make me question my life and career and how I go about things. As I get older I wonder about my persistence in this crazy field that is acting.

Anyway, I watched this TED talk yesterday and it hit home how I need to change things. Re-wire my brain a little.



It's quite funny and honest. In fact after watching this I realized I have a friend doing the five things mentioned at the end. Hell, I might give it a try!

Washinton State

Stolen from Salmagundi, this is wonderful.



Maureen Walsh is one of two Republican Reps who voted for the Bill. Way to go Washington State!

Heat!

I don't normally like to bitch on this here website thingy, but I have to vent this little bit.

I live with a roommate in a flat on the second floor of a three story house. We have those old hot water radiators that provide the heat and since it is a house divided into flats there was, and still is, only one spot where one can adjust the temperature. It is located in the flat on the main floor, below us.

Well, the couple that occupies said flat on the main floor seem to like to adjust the temperature without taking into account that it affects EVERYONE in the house. Here lies the problem, if you adjust the temperature down too low the boiler shuts off and since the boiler is heated by gas, the pilot light goes out. SO for the past couple of months we have woken up a dozen times without heat!

Now we have spoken to the landlords and so have a couple other tenants, and they installed a lock box over the thermostat, and it got better for a while, but we seem to be sliding back down hill again, and it's getting irritating.

We have lived here for six years and haven't had a problem until this winter, so we know for sure it's these relatively new tenants. And I feel bad for our landlords, but if this doesn't get fixed soon, I might have to speak to them myself and explain in clearer terms the CONSEQUENCES of adjusting the thermostat too much. Grrr!

Favorite Song

I've been a little addicted to this song lately. I've heard mixed reviews and honestly I'm not sure I know where I stand on it myself. She's definitely a bit of a product and a bit of a rich kid, but for what it's worth, it's worked on me.



The whole package, her, the song, the video is beautifully blended and creates a lovely nostalgic effect. She's been criticized for being a product in a genre of music that strives to be authentic, real and honest about it's work and message. And I can see that. Here's her live performance for SNL.



Anyone I know who knows the performance thinks it's awful, and I can see why. It's obvious she's on something and seems to be performing for herself rather than the audience, the biggest mistake any performer can make. I personally don't believe she's much of a live musician, and if that's the case, live performances on the scale of SNL can be intimidating for even a seasoned pro, so she could have felt the need for a little 'bump'. But short cuts can lead to disaster, and voila. Here's a much better version from 'Live Later With Jools.'



Regardless, I find the track haunting and sexy.

An interesting interview, the album review on Pitchfork and Lana's website.

UPDATE: I totally forgot to include a great cover of the song that really started the whole thing for me. Love it.