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Month: April 2009
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Amusing Blogs of the Moment
Eye on Springfield features stills from seasons one through nine of The Simpsons, “when it was still funny”.
Look at this Fucking Hipster features reader-submitted photos of…well, you know.
Hey, skinny liberal arts major on the moped in the skinny yellow pants on Spadina just north of Queen on Friday around 6 p.m.: if Lee Dale’s picture of you came out all right, you’re so getting into this blog!
If you’re a musician, singer or dancer interested in learning about the Afro-Cuban folk music of Matanzas — a city and province considered by many to be the folkloric cradle of Cuba — you’ll want to catch the Bomba troupe’s workshop taking place at the Lula Lounge on Tuesday, May 5th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m..
(Yes, I know that bomba means “nekkid” in Tagalog. We’re talking bomba as in “bomb” or the town of Bomba in the province of Matanzas, Cuba.)
The workshop is designed for musicians, singers and dancers — anyone with an interest in learning more about this music is welcome. Group participation is expected, and some instruments will be provided.
Here are the bios of the Bomba musicians:
Mario Allende
Born in Chile and raised in Canada, Mario is the driving force in Bomba! He mixes the drum kit, timbales, congas and myriad percussion instruments as effortlessly as he incorporates the traditional and contemporary styles that give the band their unique sound. A studied yet emotional player, Mario is restlessly creative and performs with the spirit this music demands.
Israel "Toto" Berriel
Toto wasborn in Matanzas and began his career at age 16. He joined Afrocuba in 1988,and in 1991, began singing with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas with whom he toured internationally. Toto and Los Muñequitos were part of the Grammy winning recording La Rumba Soy Yo in 2006. Residing in Canada since 2001, Toto continues to perform with Bomba and teach traditional, popular, and folkloric music in Canada and abroad.
Luis Orbegoso
Born in Lima, Peru, Luis has become an established name in Toronto’s music scene. Known for his percussion and vocal talents, "Luisito" draws from diverse styles including Cuban and his native Peruvian. Luis appeared on Bomba’s third recording, Entre Sol y Luz as featured vocalist and now he lends vocals once again on Cuatro Caminos. Luis has toured Canada and the UK with Bomba.
Want to find out more? Call (416) 972-0295 or email info@tridha.org.
This workshop is part of a larger event: the LulaWorld 2009 festival, a celebration of African, Latin and Indian music.
Are you sure? Because we’ve got a giant phallic symbol in the middle of the city!
There’s a joke that used to make the rounds at my Catholic high school that went something like this:
A candidate for the priesthood had one final test to take before becoming a full initiate. He was seated in a chair in front of screen and an assistant some electrodes on his forehead.
“It’s pretty simple,” said the bishop administering the tests. “We’re going to show you some pictures, and if you’re sexually aroused by any of them, the electrodes will pick that up and a buzzer will sound.”
The test began. They showed him centerfolds from Playboy. No reaction.
The Penthouse centerfolds got shown. Still no reaction.
Finally, centerfolds from Hustler. Still no reaction.
“Very good!” the bishop said. “Why don’t you go into the next room and join the other priests?”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! went the buzzer.
There’s an article by David Topping at Torontoist that points to a BBC story about a rehab clinic for pedophiles that reminded me of the joke. The clinic has a test in which they show patients images and measure their arousal; the difference between the device in the story and the device in the joke is where they attach the probes.
In the clinic’s test, they show different kinds of images to the patients:
- Some are of the “You’re supposed to be aroused” type, namely consenting adults engaging in sex
- Some are of the “If you’re aroused by these, you’re a deviant” variety: violent sex, children eating fruit and running around in bathing suits.
- The rest are what the article describes as “non-suggestive images to establish a baseline of non-arousal”.
What’s funny is what those non-arousing baseline images are: “Photos of the Canadian city of Toronto.”
Since I’ve been mentioning Ayn Rand and her followers in the past couple of posts, I thought it was only fair to let Ms. Rand speak for herself. Here’s an Ayn Rand interview with Mike Wallace in two parts.
If you’ve never heard her speak, you might be surprised at her accent. It’s not the upper-class “Locust Valley Lockjaw” (imagine Katherine Hepburn or Thurston Howell III) that many people imagine she has; it’s more of a “Boris and Natasha” one – you can almost imagine her plotting to make “beeg trouble for Moose and Squirrel”.
(I never quite understood how people who describe themselves as “Christian” are such big fans of Rand; I suspect she would’ve tried to cockpunch Jesus after the Sermon on the Mount.)
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Hang in There, Manitoba!
I’ve got the news on in the background at my home office and they report that in certain places, the Red River had flooded to the point that it’s 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) wide. Hang in there, Manitobans, and let’s hope Winnipeg’s mayor is right and that the worst is over.
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Altruism Could Happen Here!
A photo taken at the “Tea Party” in San Francisco (click the photo to see it at full size):
I guess these guys don’t think that Atlas Shrugged 2: One Hour Later would go like this (once again, click the picture to see it at full size):
