If your outgo exceeds your income your upkeep will be your downfall

I've been increasingly frustrated lately with the City of Toronto and their money woes. They have complained since 1997 about the fact (very true) that local service realignment was not "revenue neutral" and that the City has a higher burden than others in the Greater Toronto Area when it comes to various costs associated with making a city livable. More than just annually at budget time, we constantly hear about how Toronto needs money from the Province. Then there was the GTA pooling debacle. Finally the Province decides to give Toronto a little bit more freedom to exercise it's own taxing powers and take charge of its destiny.

Except it would seem that Toronto has no cojones.

To look at this another way.....say I complain about never having enough money. And my friends and family get sick of having to bail me out so one of them finds me a job. What a great idea - a longer term source of stable income from which I can budget accordingly

And then I say, "But I don't want a job, I just want money." I'd rather rely on the increasingly resentful generosity of others.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, life doesn't work that way unless you're Paris Hilton or something.

But the City of Toronto isn't heir to any great parental fortune, so I say, time to get your sh*t together and move on. Decide which taxes you will charge to raise additional funds or cut services and take it like a grown up.

Mom doesn't like the spelling of bologna

The more you kiss, the frencher it gets?

There's an interesting article in The Next American City called "What's in a slogan?". What's not included is the one I heard about at the recent National BIA conference - "Keep Austin Weird".

Montreal's supposed slogan (above) is really bad. Doesn't really say cosmopolitan, worldy, heritage, does it?

Note that this Psychic knows she's only 98% accurate

Use that Capital One card to buy...

I was listening to CBC Radio 1 on my way home from a weekend work thing and found myself enjoying, as usual, the musings of Terry O'Reilly and the Age of Persuasion. Great stuff, I highly recommend it. Anyway, interesting factoid is that the ditty from the Capital One commercials ("Hands in my pocket...") was created specifically for the commercial, but with the commercial's success, was made into an actual full length song by the songwriter, Jim Guthrie. You can listen to it here. I expected it to be more about banks, more about "the man", more funny. It's none of those, but it's still quite catchy.

Kind of ironic though, that the guy's now found a way to get his hands into your pockets...

Driving Directions

So I was trying to figure out how to get from Niagara Falls, ON to the Walden Galleria in Buffalo on Google Maps just now and Catherine tells me to try asking it for driving directions from New York City to London, England. You may be thinking this is impossible. Bring your speedo.

Never one to give up on such an oddity I tried Hong Kong, then Hawaii, then Japan. Apparently swimming the Atlantic is perfectly acceptable, but the Pacific is just out of the question.

Also, when it comes to Cuba, you just cannot get there from here. New York City or Toronto.

The case for spending more time in Walmart, or not

This afternoon I was in a giant Wally-world with my parents and my grandparents. You know what they say about herding cats? Yep, that’s how I felt. We were in the bathroom accessories section and 2 of my four companions felt the need to stress very strongly to me that what we needed to get right now, absolutely this moment, was socks. Sigh. Thank goodness the dog isn’t so demanding. Although I did wake up this morning with him hanging his head over mine and staring straight into my eyes, willing me to awaken, no doubt. If I could attribute some insight to him, he was likely cursing his lack of opposable thumbs and wanting the door open.

But back to Walmart. So I finally find the parents in the frozen food section and call out to them while simultaneously waving madly at Grandma further down in the condiments section. Just then, a nice, youngish looking guy walks buy with a friendly looking smirk and says “Lose someone?”. I replied “A couple of people, actually,” and smiled back. Then he disappeared. Oh my god, there might have been a half decent guy in Walmart. It’s making me rethink the time I spend in Indigo. But anyway, he’s gone, or maybe was an apparition, and I really wasn’t in best form having spent the last hour herding the aforementioned recalcitrant felines.

None of this is earth-shattering news of course, but Catherine called tonight and mentioned that she’d checked my blog and I hadn’t written lately. Remember, I was raised Catholic. Dammit, I owe the universe a post! Really, probably no one cares, but such is the nature of Catholicism: If shit happens, it’s all your fault. In fact, even if it doesn't happen, it's your fault. Amen.

What you don't learn you are condemned to repeat...

"Send Francie. The last time I asked for sauerkraut he chased me out of the store," complained Neeley.

"You've got to ask for Liberty Cabbage now, you dope," said Francie.

"Don't call each other names," chided Katie absendmindedly.

"Did you know they changed Hamburg Avenue to Wilson Avenue?" asked Francie.

"War makes people do funny things," sighed Katie.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith.


Remember the "Freedom Fries"?

Cover bands don’t change the world

I stole that. From the Accidental Creative. I think that might actually be ironic instead of just coincidental, but coming from the Alanis Morrissette generation, I've always been confused. I downloaded a podcast of his some time ago and finally got around to listening to it on Sunday. His tag line – that cover bands don’t change the world – reminded me of Douglas Coupland's Microserfs striving to, one day, be 1.0. I hope I’m remembering that right since it’s been years since I read that book.

Incidentally, right now I’m reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It’s keeping me up at night…I can’t seem to put it down. Very well written.

But what I bothered to stay up for last night, again foolishly, was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It used to be good. Now it’s dry. I keep waiting for something compelling to happen. It hasn't for the last two episodes. What I liked about it originally was the same thing I liked about the West Wing (aside from the subject matter) , that being the dialogue. Again, very well written. But not so much anymore it seems. I guess the comparison isn’t surprising because it comes from the creator of the West Wing trying to hit it big for a second time. With the same stuff. Which maybe isn’t a terrible idea, but you can’t forget that cover bands just don’t change the world.

i (heart) valentines?

Sturdy Danny McGee is back!

Okay, so he's probably clear-cutting. And I don't like cereal. But damn, this commercial brings back memories. Just goes to show that it's not about selling a product, but an idea or feeling. This commercial, which even after at least 20 years I remember every blessed word, makes me feel like I'm sitting on the floor of the basement in the house in Regina, watching cartoons on the old TV. No HD, possibly not even a remote control. Man, wasn't life easier then. Maybe I should buy a box....

The day that should be a statutory holiday

sir john
Originally uploaded by Sea Lion.

Happy Birthday to Sir John A. Macdonald.

Maybe the Dixie Chicks were right....duh!