Even while at Kickass Karaoke, I’m still takin’ care of bidniss!
The article on the front page of that section — Tucows Milking the Internet, featuring a photo of our CEO — is mentioned in this entry. Thanks to Eldon Brown for providing me with the paper!
Today is the last day to vote for “Best Blog” in the 2005 Canadian Blog Awards — at midnight tonight, the polls will close. Please cast your vote for Accordion Guy!
Last night’s snowfall has some very pretty after-effects, so I took a
little time to take some pictures around the neighbourhood before
hopping on the train to work. I’ve gathered them into a small
collection which you can view in album or slideshow format. I’ve got a couple of samples below:
Bloor Street, looking east between Quebec and High Park Avenues. Click the picture to see it at full size.
The entranceway to High Park. Click the picture to see it at full size.
Seen this morning on the eastbound platform of High Park subway
station: a discarded day-old boutonniere sitting on top of a pay phone.
I’ve seen enough dates to semi-formal school dances gone wrong — many
of them my own — to imagine scenarios that would’ve led to this:
From Lesson X — “Races of Man” — of Mrs. M.B. Moore’s book, The Geographical Reader for the Dixie Children:
The men who inhabit the globe, are not all alike. Those in Europe and
America are mostly white and are called the Caucasian race. This race is civilized, and
is far above the others. They have schools and churches and live in fine style. They
also generally have wise and good men for rulers, and a regular form of government. The
women are treated with respect and tenderness, and in many cases their wish is law among
their male friends.
There is a class of people who inhabit most of Asia which is of a yellow color. They
are a quiet, plodding race, but when educated are sensible and shrewd. They
have some books, and a regular form of government, but they are heathen; I mean
by this that they worship images made of wood and stone. They do not know about
Jesus. And yet they pray to those idols much oftener than we christians do to our
Savior. This race is called the Mongolion. Missionaries have
been sent to teach them
about Jesus. When they every become converted, they hold fast their profession, and
are not fickle like some races.
The African or negro race is found in Africa. They are slothful and vicious, but
possess little cunning. They are very cruel to each other, and when they have want they
sell their prisoners to the white people for slaves. They know nothing of Jesus, and the
climate in Africa is so unhealthy that white men can scarcely go there to preach to them.
The slaves who are found in America are in much better condition. They are better fed,
better clothed, and better instructed than in their native country.
I must say, it reads rather like Steve Sailer’s site in places.
Joi Ito, in his IRC channel, #joiito, pointed to this CBC test that attempts to determine which Canadian federal election candidate aligns most closely with you.
It presents the four major political parties’ positions on twelve
issues, but the identities removed. In the quiz, you select “agree” or
“disagree” on each point, and at the end, each candidate is listed,
along with the points on which you agree and disgree with him.
How’d it work out for me? Pure centrist: the candidates with whom I agreed most were the Conservatives’ Stephen Harper (12 issues) and the NDP’s Jack Layton (12 issues).
Some music for day eight of the Accordion Guy Advent Calendar — all the way from Algieria, here’s Rachid Taha’s Rock el Casbah [5.7MB, MP3], his cover of The Clash’s Rock the Casbah. It’s off his album Tekitoi, a term that is derived from the French “T’es qui, toi?” — “You — who are you?”.
Here’s a little blurb about Taha:
‘My music has always been more influenced by chaabi
(old style pop, mainly from Algiers & Ed) which I’ve always loved
because of its poetry and rebelliousness.’ After leaving Carte de
Sejour at the end of the 1980s, Taha teamed up with the British
producer and trance meister Steve Hillage to record a series of classic
albums including ‘OlÈ OlÈ’, the most recent ‘Made in Medina’ and the
classic ‘Diwan’, which features Taha’s monster hit cover of ‘Ya Rayah’,
an old song written by the Algerian Berber legend Dahmane El Harrachi.
With its expert blending of North African roots, rock and house
inspired electronica, ‘Diwan’ is nothing less than a template for the
future development of North African music. Above all Rachid Taha is a
great showman, delivering rude-boy witticisms and hilarious insights
with sweaty passion whilst his band fire off raucous rock riffs and
snakey Arabic melodies. It’s a clear case of never mind the world music
bollocks, here’s Rachid Taha.