The caption from this image reads: "Goes in easy because it's greasy."
Ah the beauty of trolling your way around the internet, to read a headline that says, "This person is in your extended network." Great, what does that mean exactly?
To me it means that through the murdochian network titled, "myspace," we 'now' have a place to find friends we simply haven't met yet. For me, it means finding and searching for various forms of media that entice me to probe their pages. Occasionally a myspace page will enlighten me with some form of image or art or song or dance or a carefully embedded video streaming from YouTube. You know who you are, as it has become apparent that I have somehow managed to become one of these people who 'never wanted to be someone who spent hours a day staring at a 'screen' but alas this is who I have become. The road has been long and hard, many hours have been spent surfing and downloading and then trying to figure out the proper parameters necessary to play what i have downloaded in any manner of form. I have become familiar with blogs and myspace and Youtube and torrents and cracks and some manner of HTML, but I recognize these abilities, these talents as those which remain in a liminal space of uncorporeality. The internet as a space where bodies matter not.
And yet, whit it comes down to the meat of it. We see that the flesh still links us all.
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Dallas: This one is for you.
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The Meatrix saga continues: Watch it HERE.
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Thanks to my good friend, bandmate and roommate of 3 years Dallas and his blog, that he writes collectively with his hairbrained cat gus (the girl). It was interesting to go to this page and see that through their research they have come up with a fantastic chart that rates environmantal pollution through the quantification of greenhouse gas emisions.
Since I'm originally from Texas/ Alberta, it was heartwarming to see that 6 of the top ten highest polluters in Canada were from my homeland. When I looked up Thunder Bay, the power company here, ranked in at a measly 55. What is that, my lungs can take it. Bring it on. Can't wait to go home. Maybe if enough of my friends and family back home take a look at this page they might possibly understand part of what the hell I have been raving about since I was born.
By the way I have asthma. Or rather, it was worst when I lived in Sherwood Park, directly east of rows of smokestacks.
Next on the agenda, and also thanks to Dallas and Gus, is a page I think I remember hovering past some time in the past 4 years before.
Go here. Click the Map. Do the test.
Me. Well apparently If everyone lived like me we would still need 1.7 worlds. That means that I'm a glutton and an abuser of my position here as a citizen of 'our world.' Does this mean that I could do with less, or rather more ecologically intuitive methods of living... I think so.
http://www.ecofoot.org/
http://www.pollutionwatch.org/
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The hip.
When I was 12 I asked for music for christmas. Bad Religion and The Tragically Hip. When my Uncle heard that I wanted the hip I can clearly remember him saying, "You don;t want the hip, they sing about drugs and jail." As though the two are inextricably linked. Needless to say, i'll never forget he said that.
For some reason or another I'm listening to the tragically hip, the band I had learned and grew to hate for so many years because jeff, the guy who first took the time to teach me some guitar insisted that we learn tragically hip songs. Being a punk rock kid, I could care less about the droll that the TH were cranking out. I could not understand how jeff figured they were a heavy band. To me the misfits, AFI and Ignite were where it was at. Consequently I have had a heavy aversion to the Hip and all that they stand for, canadian tail gate parties and 'camping,' I knew it was not for me. Although now, for some reason, living out in Thunder Bay, I'm listening to the hip with somewhat confusion and consternation, "what the hell is going on" comes to mind, but i guess it all makes sense now. Apparently Gord Downey does lots of advocation about environmental issues around the great lakes. Maybee that is the connection?
Who Killed the electric Car?
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. But wait I'm in Thunder Bay And that film is not playing anytime soon. Okay, don't ask. The film features interviews with Hell Gibson, Ralph Nader, and others. "They make too much money off antiquated technology to want to change anything" (Nader). A good solid film probing the questions of a specific issue, a case study, and done well. I guess it made me really think about how the last 100 years on earth, we, as humans have done one hell of a job increasing the gaps between people and the planet that sustains life. Mans quest for constant improvement and advancement has afforded us a view of the earth from space, but what about the view of earth from earth, our ecological footprints. Lucky me and countless other blogstyle writers who can sit comfy in a rocking chair protected from the elements as we sit wit laptop on lap and write about ... how we done wrong.
I guess I just feel very strongly that Albert Einstein's prophecy will come true, and as it seems today, within my lifetime. "I know not with what weapons world war III will be fought, but WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones"
Making perfect babies
1992 National Film Board.
A film we watched in our disability class. The general argument is that the use of gene therapy and gene selction is entirely reminiscent of the eugenics movement of britain in the 1930's and also by the Nazis ... and Canada?
What really stood out in the film for me is: the way that in the 30's in Britain and in Nazi germany, the focus of convincing people that normal was quantifiable on image of normal and ab-normal. Those who fit outside of normal were regaded as horrendous and tragedy-like, as though they were unbearable burdens on society. The movement of today, is similarily fueled, although the images are not needed to be reproduced, they are so ingrained and enmeshed in our visual culture that thier disjunction is not possible. Yay, visual culture. The power.
While looking for vintage images, circa 1920-30's of Nazi, type, charts of 'invalids' and otherwise destined for the short end of the stick on 'ethnic cleansing' I came across this page.
Called SCOPE.
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Living in the middle of Canada is a special thing. Betwixt and between, the liminal space, this is Thunder Bay. This geographical location also happens to be THEE place to stop for anyone passing through on the trans Canada. The fact of it is, no one comes to Thunder Bay, to be in Thunder Bay, rather TB is a place to stop whilst on your way to another desination. Amazing that Amy and I ended up here at all.
This past weekend... was steeped with the overarching feeling that we were stuck in limbo. I belive it may also be known as 'canto iv.' 
This weekend, aside from being Miss Amy's birthday on the 9th, had 8 guests, 2 parties stay with us on the night of the 9th. Mr Eli Klein and his lovely lady Lea, arrived at around 11pm, cursing the ontario ministry of transportation for having a posted speed limit of 90km/h. (I have read somewhere that Ontario has North America's safest highways).It was awesome to see some familiar faces from home, who will no longer be back in Edmonton. Toronto is thier destination. Together the 4 of us shared in a thankgiving meal of epic vegan proportions. We had cabbage rolls, mashed yams, roasted vegetables, tofu/ cashew loaf, mushroom gravey and amy's special birthday chocolate brownies. Needless to say, it was amazing. A round of applause for the cooks.
The hour was growing late and the ladies decided to turn in while the 'men' sat in the PArlour drinking scotch and smoking nat shermans.
Okay so its not entirely true, but the part about sitting in the parlour is true. hehehe. Sometimes this blog thing makes me laugh at it and at myself, which is a good thing, i think.
Wrapping this up. Eli and Lea and Reese.
Amy and I hope to visit them in Toronto, apparently dan and erin live like 3 blocks away from them. I see some awesomeness on the Horizon.
Our next guests were the 6 lads travelling canada right now on tour, otherwise know as mapping the escape. They didn't arrive, from winnipeg untill 2am. That meant that in the morning while I accompanied Eli and Lea to the Hoito, the band slept as hard as they could well into the afternoon.
For the rest of the day, I hung out with the band who was also hanging out, being a band, waiting... waiting.. always waiting. Now that I got a chance to sit near a band instead of in a band I am flooded with memories of waiting. I think the waiting is what killed me, and was one of the main factors in me wanting to go back to school. This way I could just sample the waiting as I put off my school work for a day or two. Just to make sure that I am happy doing what I am doing. And I am. Very Happy.
As I look up out of my window I see that the rain that was falling this morning has now turned into falling snow.
Here it comes. In the middle no less.
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From the disability dicussion: Tolerance = I’ll deal with you. Acceptance = I appreciate you.
Equality entails that everyone be the same. Difference is regarded as pariah. Davis: Deviance Disavowal – It is what happens when people pretend that deviant acts are not being acted. Everyone is hard at work ignoring… disability…
Though the impairment is visible, it is rendered invisible through cultural practice. Ie. (an able bodied person saying to a friend with an impairment) “I don’t see you as disabled.” From a social model perspective this can be understood as, “You are only acceptable as far as you are – just like me.” A possibility for a devaluing of identity for the person with the impairment.
Polio: 1950’ s, the cultural view was forceful in asserting that those affected by ‘polio’ be ‘treated’ by means of multiple surgery’s. These surgery’s lasted for hours at a time, were painful and ‘torturous.’ The period of recovery was long with a good chance that more surgery was going to be needed.
The purpose was to allow those ‘afflicted’ to (singular purpose?) walk. The view was highly regarded as necessary and essential for folks/children with polio. The medical profession saw no other option. Normality was to be upheld. Certain families, though they went against the dominant views of the prevailing culture, decided for one reason or another that the child with polio, shall not undergo the psychological trauma of an invasive surgery.
The point is that, the surgery did not cure polio, rather it was a means to visibly assimilate the child into ‘regular’ ‘normal’ life as a ‘walking’ individual. Cause everyone knows that walking is the vessel that leads to all happiness. These families would not be congratulated for choosing to forego surgery, rather they would be seen in rather dim light as those that chose a miserable future for their ‘now confined to a wheelchair child.’ Post Polio Syndrome: In the 1980’s signs of Polio started to recur. Doctors were being flooded with cases of polio once again. The ‘patients’ were former ‘victims’ of polio.’ They were the ones who had been participants in the barbarous surgery’s, not those ‘helpless victims confined to chairs.’ The
Post Pastoral Landscape.
I grew up In Sherwood Park, a bedroom community east of Edmonton. White people live there. White folks who choose to live there because, they have a substantial income and because other white people live there. The core of the community is… suburban homes occupying space on what was, in most cases, land that was used to in some way or another produce food.
Okay, fine, unoriginal and plain, I recognize this. The part that got to me though was the landscape. Specifically the landscape to the west, for invariably when one lives in a smaller community in proximity to a larger one, the focus of the gaze is often directed at the larger body in awe and affection. We face west into the sunset and look at the silhouette of ‘the city,’ I think. These warm fall colors, the amber and crimson, blend together to form an image worthy of digital encapsulation, ahh, the city. But in the foreground of this spectacular awe inspiring view, that which is often not the focus, is the heavy industry.
The fumes from tall towers burn bright, burn long and burn hard, ‘burning off’ that which need burning off. Fumes that rise and glide, they flow into the air and mark the canvas of our city image. Each miniscule particle plays a role in changing the direction and intensity of the setting sun. But yet, these towers are not seen, these gasses are not seen, these massive oil drums, like buckets for giants are not seen. I say that they are rendered invisible because, no one talks about them.
They are rendered invisible by their naked visibility.
Here in Thunder Bay, away from the cacophony of steel pipes that shuffle crude and refined matter from sector to sector, (I am reminded of those play toys found in doctors offices, the wooden base, the coated metal wire frame jungle housing wooden beads that slide and shimmy their way around with the help of children’s hands) tomorrows engineers site happily on the floor of a tightly woven carpet in the corner of a doctors office (the site of real disease transmission).
…Here in Thunder Bay the towers are not gone, simply, they are of a different variety. The oil and gas, and gas additives have been replaces with grain towers and logging yards. The ships come in from all over the world, yesterday a ‘russian’ boat was in the port collecting a towers worth of grain. Apparently the breadbasket of Europe is looking for imports. On my photomission of yesterday I met a man who was happy to wax poetic with me about the logging industries blatant land rape, “for 2/4’s, it’s shit, they don’t care, just go up to the forest, up to the 55, and cut it all down, it’s dry too, bring it here and ship it into the states as fast as they can” (poorly paraphrased). When he asked me what I was photographing he said there wasn’t much down here worth photographing.
When I told him that I liked to photograph industrial landscapes, his tune changed and we entered a conversation about Burtynsky. He told me that yes, they (Thunder Bay) needs some outside perspective, to capture the look and feel of the harbour and recreate it for them downtown where people might actually look at it. I hope I run into that man again, I’m sure we could of talked about the environment and politics for hours, but he was headed to the office.
I guess if I can pick out a theme, it would be that, what is most visible, often ends up being invisible. By the way if you would like to send her a happy birthday, Oct 9. missamygroove@hotmail.com (She’ll probably kill me for that)
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A message to students of Sociology 1100YA.
Hi. welcome to my blog.
Okay, so getting up in front of a class for the first time as a grad student was new.
Thanks for not throwing coffee and lit cigarettes in my eyes.
Once I finished talking I realized that I hadn't really said anything about myself other than my email. I even managed to tell y'all that, yes, I will be around to help out with proposals.
That means that sometime in November, probaly the first or second week of that month, I will hold a raft of office hours. Of course, this is once I get an office.
In my undergrad, I went to the UofAlberta. Major in Sociology and a Minor in Art and Design.
In essence I combined the two, and did as much Art and photography in my Soc classes as I could get away with.
The thing is, writing doesn't mean just papers, it could be stories, video recordings, photography, Art... anything.
This is how I learned that Sociology was fun. Being able to do what I wanted to do, in a discipline that is constantly evolving.
The first things I noticed when I got here was that; there's a casino downtown, there's video camera's downtown, but hey there aren't any people downtown so what are the cameras for?
Also on campus. Where are all the clocks? Where are all the phones? Whats with the video cameras?
These are some of the things that amuse me .... oh yeah and the centenial brick from 1967 that the ryan building is made of... you know, they don't make that stuff anymore, so you can't fix it.
On the side and inside everyday I am also amused by:
Industial Archaology
The Post Pastoral Landscape
Trespassing
Space and Place
Art/Photography
Philosophy
Disability
Check back here every once in a while for more posts directed at this class, as an informal way of getting to know one another, feel free to make comments. Anonymity is cool too.
Oh yeah, I'm pretty into this guy at the moment. He shoots with a large format camera. That means film. Big Film.
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www.edwardburtynsky.com
Sunday Morning Pancakes: No Trespassing
