TomFoolery

Hey Mizzz Hux,

Crappy thing to have happen for sure. I'm really sorry to hear about it.

I have a good friend who's at school in Halifax. She was swarmed in the commons while riding home on her bike. She hadn't heard about what a problem this has become so she (like you) didn't really believe what was happening. She too started swearing and throwing a few punches and took off on her bike.

Later at the police station she found that this is a huge problem. There were three other people in there complaining of the same thing. The cops were discouraged about what they can do.

Like most of the other advice here - they said, just stay away from it if you see anything remotely like this coming your way...

Sorry to hear about this man. Fvckin' theives. Sometimes Saudi Arabian justice doesn't sound too far off the mark (only sometimes).

Dude,

That cafe rules!

My two best friends live around the corner from your place and every time I'm in town we wind up breaking the fast at Cafe Vienna.

Love the place!

When that doesn't work, start complaining that she's too quiet.

Lodge official complaints.

Lot's of them.

"Resident A was inflicting excessive quiet on me during the hours of midnight to 23:59 on the everythingth of May"

That's kinda crazy. Here comes Yngwy Malmsteen II.

Someone's gotta go and give that kid a dose of soul music and put him on the right track...

Rum and me are kinda like food and bears.

You ain't safe if yer holdin'.

Nice work & Congratulations!

It ain't easy navigating through the gov't system!

Bacci had such a good time this weekend with all the dirty skancs he figured he'd open up an account here at Jambands. I see that he's just been lurking, though.

And, everyone NEEDS to see his avatar (no Lazlo - that's internet speak for that disgusting display under your name, not Bacci's package).

So, give a warm welcome to the dirty Bacci...

I'm outta here.

YIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

That must be across the street at Izzy's Open Pit Mine Festival...

Hey Kaidy Mae,

Unfortunately, I can't get any more requests in at this time. The archivist needs time to go and find it all and they've been working on my list since 10am.

I will remember next time to ask for requests. They do have Mosaic, but I'm just a bit late putting in my requests.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...

I'm bringing a 16mm film projector and a duffel bag of NFB movies. There'll be random and inappropriately timed movies being played throughout the weekend.

The list of films currently being dug out (no guarantees that they all show up)...

The Snit

The Devil's Toy

Mother Earth

Black Fly

Accident

"E"

Track Stars

The Goldfish

Bate's Car: Sweet as a Nut

The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar

Caninabis

Future Block

Garden

George and Rosemary

The Hecklers

Hot Stuff

The House that Jack Built

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

The Mighty Steam Caliope

One Man's Garden

The Sweater

I had to request the Sweater given all the trash talk going on for the CTMF Ball Hockey game :-)

Yay bocce ball.

I work near little Italy in Ottawa. We go and play lunchtime bocce every now and again at the bocce pitch (what the hell would you call it anyhow???)

I'll bring my feet!

Should be setting up camp early Friday :-)

Much better likeness in your new avatar bouche.

Bummer, I turned it off while he was still grilling Stronach. I'm disappointed to hear there was no consistency...

Anyone catch Stronach being raked over the coals on the CBC this morning?

Can't remember which announcer it was at 8:45 (CBC says Anna Maria Tremonte but it was a guy)... He got Stronach on the phone to talk about her walk across the floor. Then he plays a speech that she gave at the liberal convention where she said "If I ran my corporation the way Paul Martin ran the finances of this country, there would be shareholder revolt" blah blah blah "Paul Martin is not fit to run this country".

So, he asks her how she is coming to terms with her move in light of this point of view. She waffled on about national unity - he says, "You're not answering the question."

I love it when politicians have their feet held to the fire that they've stoked :-)

All in all a beautiful interview.

Martini time?!?

Its always martini time. Rain/shine morning/afternoon/night.

To make a short story long - yes.

Vorcza doesn't seem to be taking too much time off from their development to give Ray time to devote himself to 70 Volt Parade...

Well said MarcO.

I would just add that Trey's never had a very good voice. Now its just worse.

Phish vocals were tolerable because they would try interesting arrangments that would be challenging to good singers. They weren't good singers. Any of them. However, they pushed the envelope - the whole point of Phish...

Very interesting point you bring up about his stated intentions last spring vs. his current actions...

Fair enough P,

I was simply trying to find some very clear examples whereby a technique can be used for differing ends...

Rephrasing your question - you are asking more about a means/ends point rather than means/user (apologies for taking the question literally - it was perfectly obvious what you were asking upon rereading). I will come down clearly on one side of the fence.

I have a problem with the end, and the way in which a means is used - not the means itself.

As illustrated in my examples (lofty or otherwise), most tools can be used for 'good' or 'evil' if you will.

It does matter what the objective is, it is not a problem with the technique alone.

Now, please don't interpret this to mean that I think promoting cocoa camino using technique X is alright, but promoting Nestle by the same technique is a problem. That is not what I'm saying at all.

As with all questions of value/morality/ethics there is a great grey area. We're talking 'degree' here. And, honesty.

I have a big problem with large marketing companies (not because they're large, but because they're the only one's with enough resources to effectively work over a large segment of the population so they tend to be the only ones performing broadcast brainwashing) programming children to hold certain values that will ultimately shape their life-long spending preferences and lifestyle aspirations in favour of a class of product / or consumerism in general.

Shelf placement and colour schemes etc. are non-invasive uses of psychology. I am not under these influences unless I choose to seek them out. This use of psychology can be benign.

Television marketing is invasive - although I realize I could choose not to watch television I am not searching out advertising on television so it is an invasion. Door to door marketing (Greenpeace, World Vision, Jehova's Witnesses) is invasive - some of them are good at what they do, some are not. They are preying on people's natural tendency to say yes if given something (unsolicited - such as pamphlets etc.). This ticks me off.

However, its the deliberate programming. Which takes a long time to be effective which I find insidious.

Without completely blowing a day's work on this I don't think we're going to get to the bottom of this. Perhaps we should have some beers and discuss marketing :-)

Polkaroo,

I would say its not a question of one or the other. Many techniques, tools, and ideas can be both beneficial and harmful.

Chest compressions are the only way to get a full cardiac arrest victim back to life. They could kill someone with a beating heart.

Enhanced oxygen can help people concentrate on important tasks, and perform better at any number of difficult tasks. It can also be used secretively for less positive results (as above).

Children have minds like sponges. It would be a shame not to impart information and knowledge to them when they are so capable of absorbing it all. We just have a responsibility to them to do so honestly and to be open about what it is that they are absorbing.

There is no black and white on this...

Dude,

Think hard about a full liquidation. I know its a pain in the ass to take that stuff with you - I've moved across the country four times.

A lot of your gear sounds like stuff that is hard to replace (at least, you won't get replacement value if you sell it off...) and that you'll want once you're established on the coast.

Why not store it somewhere (friends/family) and have it shipped once you are established. Or, ship it out now and store it until you can deal...

Just some thoughts from someone who's done the same and regretted it.

Marketers, I'm convinced, should be the first ones against the wall when the sh!t hits the fan.

I've done a lot of reading through studies and personal interest concerning the techniques of marketing. It really is an absolutely atrocious field and tends to attract the worst variety of bottom-feeders.

I'm sure there are marketers out their with a shred of decency. However, they're a rare breed.

Every time I get pissed about marketing I dredge up memories of that scene in "the Corporation" where the marketing exec is talking about getting to children while they're still forming their life long preferences and values. She does it totally straight faced and doesn't even recognize the disgust that this will evoke in most normal people...

Anyone who can make a goal of altering the mental state of children for the sole purpose of personal/corporate gain is not human.