Feels like I've been up for 18 hours already. :(

[lance_sibley]

I don't know why I'm so groggy - I haven't done much today. :(

When I was getting ready to pop out this afternoon I checked the weather on TV, as it was supposed to be going up to 12 degrees. 17???!!! WTF????? And on the news, they just said that it had actually hit 19 at one point.

Needless to say, I wore my leather jacket - unzipped - rather than my winter coat. Fortunately, the rain held off until this evening.

During dinner, I watched the Canada For Asia concert that was being broadcast live from the CBC studio. It was quite a good show; I particularly liked the Barenaked Ladies' version of "One Week". It was also nice to see Murray McLaughlin - who still sounds just like he did in the 1970s - and Oscar Peterson was excellent. It still weirds me out a little to see Bryan Adams performing with Anne Murray, however. The comedy bits were okay, though Scott Thompson and Mark McKinney's bit sounded like they'd written it on a cocktail napkin five minutes before going on. Rick Mercer did a great job as co-host, I thought.

I had a burst of energy after dinner and emptied my cabinet of the rest of the Trek videotapes I've accumulated over the years (except for Enterprise, as it's not out on DVD yet), and reorganized my DVDs somewhat. My dining room table now has about 150 VHS tapes on it, waiting to be disposed of. (That burst of energy is probably what's responsible for my feeling groggy now. Either that, or there really was something to the theory I came up with in university that lethargy is inversely proportional to the outdoor temperature.)

I still want to get a DVD-only bookcase or cabinet, though, so that I can organize them properly. The only catch would be that I don't know where I'd put it, unless I completely get rid of my grandfather's old entertainment unit, but then I'd have nowhere to store my vinyl records, my hockey and baseball cards, and various action figures, not to mention some of my autographed memorabilia that I'm planning to frame and hang eventually - assuming I can get the frames. I ordered them from the local Black's Photography store some eight months ago, and again about five months ago when they never materialized; it seems that they'd taken the order down but never actually did anything about it - I assume that happened the second time I placed the order as well.

I think I actually need a larger apartment. Well, that'll have to wait...

They just did a story on the news about disaster relief. I find it somewhat shameful that most of the money pledged to help the victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran in 2003 never actually materialized, while we're pouring money into tsunami relief. I find myself asking what the difference is between the two - it's not as though they both happened at the same time, and people chose to help the tsunami victims instead of the others. There was a year between the two disasters. What's the difference? Why is one effort working, and the other didn't?

And while I'm on a sociopolitical jag, this whole Newfoundland situation bothers me. I can understand Newfoundlanders being allowed to keep their oil revenues, but the purpose of federal equalization payments is to bring people in "have-not" provinces closer to the standard of living enjoyed in the rest of the country. If more money from oil resources is given to Newfoundland, why should they expect to keep receiving the same equalization payments? It seems to me that they should be reduced in some proportion as their oil revenues increase. Is there anyone on my friends list who can explain why this logic is wrong? Because obviously it must be flawed in some way that I can't see.

Comments

[slb44.livejournal.com]

The Newfoundland thing drives me nuts. We had to buy them and their debt from Britain when they joined the country. We, i.e. Ontario, hand feed them ever since then and still they're technically bankrupt and now they want to screw us over again? As far as I'm concerned they can stop flying the flag permanently and we'll keep our equalization payments. Then they can negotiate with the big, bad oil companies from scratch and see what kind of deal they come up with. Just think of what we can do with all that money here in Ontario. Maybe fix the health care system or the schools? Sounds like a deal to me.

[mencc1701.livejournal.com]

If you want, I have an mp3 of that version of One Week, recorded in Toronto last February, that I can email to you.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

the sleepiness thing may have to do with the barometer shifts, as the temp spiked so quickly, and is dropping just as fast.

[gurudata.livejournal.com]

Hiho,

I think I actually need a larger apartment.

Nah, you just need a couple of these. These add storage without needing wallspace. :)

Cu,
Andrew

[rockgoddes.livejournal.com]

Bryan and Anne did that song in like 1994 or 95 together on her TV special, too...they're both managed by Bruce Allen.

In terms of disaster relief, I have a sneaking suspicion that not everything pledged to Southeast Asia is going to materialize either. Governments are notorious for saying they'll give money and then finding reasons why they can't "right now". That "right now" then turns into "forever" pretty fast...

I need some sort of DVD storage thing, too - my entertainment unit is now getting too full as well.

South Park: The Movie

[dudeski.livejournal.com]

"Now, now. The Canadian government has apologized for Bryan Adams on several occasions."