StoneMtn

Pouty can be a good look, actually.

So, realistically, humankind isn't getting any more responsible. If there is any chance of saving this planet for future generations, it's going to have to happen through some type of breakthroughs, allowing us to continue with our indulgent lifestyles, without causing as much damage.

If anyone is going to figure it out, my money's on the Japanese, and maybe they're already part-way there! Plastic made without oil?

http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/30/japanese-researchers-make-elastic-plastic-out-of-water/

Everything is a matter of degrees.

Yes. Which other groups? How many exceptions do we need, until we have a veritable hierarchy in which some parties pay to be part of society, while others get to be free-riders, based on some misguided, historical, anachronistic, self-declared superiority?

Kicking Horse. Pretty much any of their varieties; but I particularly like "Three Sisters" and "Mexican". "Kick Ass" is good if you're into dark coffees.

Also, Muskoka Roast is really good.

Slightly off-topic, but I highly recommend you check out a book, Dave, called "The Taqwacores", about the Muslim Punk Rock scene:

The Taqwacores is the debut novel by Michael Muhammad Knight, depicting a fictitious Islamic punk rock scene. The title is a portmanteau of taqwa, an Islamic concept of love and fear for Allah, and Hardcore, the punk rock subgenre. Some of the most popular taqwacore bands are: The Kominas, Secret Trial Five and the Sagg Taqwacore Syndicate. The novel has also been credited by Asra Nomani as first presenting her the idea for woman-led prayer, leading to a historic woman-led congregation on March 18, 2005 with Amina Wadud acting as imam.

Knight originally self-published The Taqwacores in DIY zine format, giving copies away for free until finding distribution with Alternative Tentacles, the punk record label founded by Jello Biafra. After receiving an endorsement from Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey), the novel was published by radical press Autonomedia. A UK version is published by Telegram Books. In its Italian translation, the novel is retitled Islampunk.

The narrator of The Taqwacores, Yusuf Ali, is a Pakistani American engineering student from Syracuse, New York who lives off campus with a diverse group of Muslims in their house in Buffalo. Besides being their home, the house serves as a place to have punk parties and a place for Muslims not comfortable with the Muslim Student Association or local mosques to have Friday prayer.

The book also inspired a documentary entitled Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, directed by Omar Majeed, which follows author Michael Muhammad Knight and several Taqwacore bands across the United States. It will be released in Montreal, Canada, at the Cinéma du Parc on October 19, 2009.

Soft Skull Press is publishing the revised edition, which became available in December 2008.

I had to take a religion class in school growing up in Montreal as part of the standard curriculum. I had no real problem with it because it was essentially a continuation of what I heard at church every Sunday or at home. I think the Jewish kids had their own separate religion class (or was it accounting? HI-O)

Your clear bias permeates throughout your response.

(bump)

I'd be interested to see which "179 cities" were chosen for the rankings. I wonder if the city to which I am moving was even considered. I'd also like to see the criteria, who was surveyed, whether there was an attempt to survey a varied/wide group...

Nothing like a soundbyte, with nothing to back it up, to create waves.

Yes. I am curious about who made these rankings as well. I've lived in both cities, and both were fine, but certainly not my top-rated places to live in this country; in my experience.

Where are these rankings published?

I have some free tickets to give away to this lecture at U of T this Sunday 7pm; compliments of one of my clients. The tickets are normally $15.00, and the lecture proves to be really interesting.

Here are the details:

Lecture Details (Speakers: Dr. David Ray Griffin and Richard Gage)

If you want to attend, for free, message ("PT") me here. First come first served.

-sm

Pirate Party of Canada:

http://bit.ly/d0kTeH

Pirate Party UK:

http://bit.ly/bjUsNk

Vanessa is going to love this! Thanks Dave.

A solicitor is suing his own firm for negligence and damages in the region of £300,000 in connection with advice he received ­concerning his divorce.

Andrew Grove is suing Andrew Grove & Co, of which he is a partner, in the High Court. Grove is also suing his barrister, Bernard Limbrey of Three Dr ­Johnson’s Buildings.

Reported story.

Hmmmmmm.

Actually a possibility.

The concerns arise out of a statement of claim filed by Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria professor and Canada Research Chair in climate modelling, over a series of articles published in the National Post between Dec. 9, 2009, and Feb. 2 of this year.

Weaver alleges the pieces, including a column which accused him of joining the “left coast Suzuki-PR-industrial complex†on global warming, were designed to destroy his reputation internationally.

In his claim, he is asking the Supreme Court of British Columbia to order the Post to not only remove the articles from its own Internet site and any electronic databases where they are accessible, but to assist Weaver in obtaining their removal from any other website.

Toronto media lawyer Brian Rogers said this might be considered essential by someone who believes they have been the subject of a defamatory story that has “gone everywhere.â€

But it would also impose a major new responsibility on mainstream media such as newspapers, which have direct control over a very limited aspect of their publications and can’t control what search engines and bloggers wish to do with a story once published, he said.

“The equivalent would be asking a book publisher to get all libraries to return a copy of a book,†Rogers said Friday.

Paul Schabas, a past-president of Ad Idem, the Canadian media lawyers’ association, agrees. “This would just create a probably impossible burden on the media,†he said.

“In effect, he is trying to say newspapers or the mainstream media suddenly now have to become responsible because of any blogger somewhere in the world who chooses to copy and paste (a story) onto their website. How can the media police the Internet?

Full article here.

Damn you defamation lawyers!

Wow. This thread was fascinating.

Narcissus, himself, could not have done better.

Actually, I think it worked.

I plan to be at this show.

John Lydon brings Public Image LTD to the Kool Haus four weeks from tonight. Tix here .

Really???

I saw them once in 1987 or so at The Opera House, but the show was cut short, because some guy with a Swastika on his back and giant mohawk kept spitting at John Lydon. He stopped the show and warned the guy. When the guy did it again, he cut the music gave us the finger, and yelled "Fuck you!!!" and left.

(It occurred to me later, that it was actually the perfect way for a John Lydon show to end. Punk rawk!)

The timing of this show is not good - but I might have to do it.

[color:purple]I really liked Jim Morison's work with Stan Rogers.

So, I just heard from someone there, and the band did play, and "it rocked".

Maybe they'll re-broadcast it.

Who votes that Bouche call up Days of You and host a show from his living room next week?

This is a man devoted enough to cut off all phone-contact with the outside world, to make an upload happen. This is the man I want webcasting my shows.

Ya. I saw it for like 10 seconds; long enough to hear them apologize and say they'll come back and do it again with an Internet connection.

Oh well.