If you’ve spent even an hour in the downtown Toronto core before, you have indubitably noticed the average Torontonian’s love of jay walking. We love it so much, that we do it effortlessly and without thought. We just casually stroll across the street as if we were made of some impenetrable material that a mere automobile could not scratch, let alone destroy. Those flashing walk/don’t walk signs may as well be written in some ancient, long forgotten language, because they are often meaningless to us. Well, our neighbors in Ottawa just got the smackdown. According to a CBC news article, 108 Ottawans are no longer casually strolling across the street thanks to some shiny new $75 dollar jaywalking tickets issued during a crackdown this week. The local authorities there gave citizens a few days to get educated and learn to work the pretty light boxes before police started slapping them with these fines. The HUMANITY! We can only pray such a horrible fate does not strike our beloved Toronto.

Fans of South Park will get a double treat next week. Aside from the glorious start of Season 12, with Episode 1 airing on Wednesday (Mar 12), Comedy Central is releasing a full length DVD version of the infamous “Kyle Sucks Cartman’s Balls” trilogy, now referred to as Imaginationland the day before. The new DVD boasts extended footage, as well as the episodes that created the “Christmas critters” and “Manbearpig". For those unfamiliar, the “Imaginationland Trilogy” has the boys traveling into our imaginations where the good things and bad things in our imaginations are divided by a wall. When a terrorist attack destroys this divide, our imaginations “run wild” and all hell breaks loose. Aside from the often humorous interactions of Snarf from Thundercats, and other beloved characters a generation was raised on, or the random jabs at Al Gore, there is some very clear but interesting social commentary going on in this series. I look forward to Season 12.

My posts have been spread out over the past few weeks with sometimes a quite a few days lapse between them. For this I apologize, however it has not been because of lack of thought or inspiration on my part. This site is getting ready to expand once again! I will be adding a new section labeled Music soon. This new blog will be devoted mostly to reviewing new albums that are coming out. Considering the release pace of 2008 I do not foresee too much difficulty in reviewing at least 1 new album per week (new constituting a release date of 2008), but I also intend to occasionally cover older albums or artists I appreciate that may lie a bit off the beaten path, so keep your eyes and ears open, for, as always, links to music from these artists will almost inevitably be included.

America… Land of the free, or so you any child can tell you. That’s the motto and yet freedom becomes ever more scarce. The very principle of freedom that the United States proudly declares it was founded upon continues to erode with increasing momentum as though an avalanche of oppression is bearing down upon on. Living in a country where movies are aired on television unedited and the appearance of a breast or buttocks goes virtually unnoticed puts the puritanical American response to these things into stark contrast. How does a country who places freedom and justice as its highest priorities have the highest per capita prison population in the world? How does a country whose very constitution declares freedom of speech to be among the highest of priorities continue to persecute broadcasters for airing a single uttered expletive? I remember reading an article some time ago about FCC petitions for action and the fact that over 80% of petitions to limit speech on radio and television originated from a single political action group. It’s appalling to me that a small contingency of American society has such a strangle hold on a government agency, largely because proponents of free speech are content to sit there an watch their rights stripped from them like lambs led to the slaughter. The latest targets of free speech appear to be bloggers. Let’s face it, present company included, most bloggers are blow hards with a lot of opinions. Some have facts and news articles, etc to back them up and some don’t. If you don’t like what a blogger has to say, STOP reading their blogs. The answer is not to censor what the blogger can say. If I want to sit here and type 10,000 words extolling the virtues of poop and you think that’s a waste of time, don’t read it. If I say your show sucks, or your art work is shitty, or whatever, that’s just my opinion. I think I’m right, or I wouldn’t say it, but that’s very subjective. People need to learn that we can disagree on stuff and that is ok. There’s no need to tell someone else they shouldn’t say a word, or make a comment just because you don’t agree with it. Exercise YOUR freedom to disagree and tune out instead of infringing on the freedoms of others to state how they feel.

I got an email in response to my review of The Naughty Naughty Revue from Pynky Love. She was kind enough to thank me for my extensive coverage of the show and ask that I come again and review her next performance. Especially considering how critical my critique was, I was very flattered and impressed. I look forward to her next event and hope that I can give more praise next time.