invasion of the body snatchers

As I was riding today I caught the smell of something which was either rotting garbage or microwave popcorn and it scares me that I couldn't figure it out.

this week in sports

man, has it only been 15 days? Crazy.

Biology and biochemistry are fascinating. I love knowing how the body works. And I get to pull out my Merck Manual at every possible occasion. It is pretty exciting.

The house noah found feels right. It is confortable and cozy. There is a fireplace, which I love so much, and harmony called it "a grownup house." Yes, I suppose it is.

The first weekend here I went back to Vancouver. I have promised myself that I will take advantage of the outdoors. Everytime I head out east I miss the wilderness but take it for granted here. No more. Friday night I went dancing with andrea, who really should not move to Winnipeg, and Saturday went hiking with Azim and Nick. We drove up to Truax mountain, asked directions from a mountain man who warned us of his recent encounter with a charging mother grizzley, and psuedo-hiked. We had great expectations, but our trip coordinator was a tad ambitious - as we walked into the valley, we realised that the peak we wanted to reach was disappearing into the clouds. And that the clouds were high. Still, the hiking we did was amazingly gorgeous, culiminating in a camping spot in a meadow between two massive rocky crags. I would have loved to have stayed longer. I am going to use my tent frequently here. Juan de fuca trail in mid october is an almost definite hiking trip if anybody is interested.

Then I made my acting debut, which I may have mentioned earlier. Tippi, adeline and co. made a music video as part of a cinevic competition and needed us to act as silhouettes. They built a street entirely from photos and did a stop motion video of people dying in a variety of ways. I choked to death and, as the driver of the world, threw myself into the cogs. pretty melodramatic. Anyway, the screening was last night and they won all the awards. It was hot.

This weekend was my weekend to finally see people that I hadn't seen in a while, which I did with vigor and candor. Saw Jenna off to India. She says she is only going for 3 months. hmmm. It was also the weekend of applications. Who knew that explaining yourself in 2 pages could be so freaking difficult?

Got a coveted volunteer position as a T.A. for disadvantaged youths and adults in the University 101 program. It is a real university course load, taught by profs., but directed towards the above persons in an attempt to help them into the university system. It was what I wanted to do with Students for Literacy before I got called away to Montreal, so I am pretty excited to be involved. I am much more interested in helping older people than I am with helping children. I am not sure why. But it was a nerve wracking interview. I am still not completely sure I am up to it, but we will give it a go. Also volunteering in the E.R. which sounds cooler than it is.

have I mentioned skype. I just talked to shuana for almost an hour, for free, from Taiwan. I want to talk to all of you for almost an hour, for free, from wherever.

oh yeah ... sports.

skype

seriously, everybody needs to get onto skype and email me their names.

email to spamspamspamspam_2@hotmail.com or to my regular email address if you know it.

do it. I love it.

or you can just add me: ouchitburns

criminal system does not equal a game

The US, at least in some states, has a "three strikes and you're out" policy. Not only is it demeaning to everyone to have your legal system apply ridiculous baseball related punishments, it also is completely inflexible which leads to retardedly disproportionate punishments.

For example, Santos Reid, is likely going to jail for 26 year to life because he did the written part of the driver's licence test for someone else, stole a radio from his sister's friend (in 1981) and robbed a guy at knifepoint (in 1987 - which he says is untrue). 26 years!?

I understand the underlying philosophy. Clean up the little stuff and you clean up the big stuff. Similar things were done in New York (like consistenly cleaning up graffiti and coming down hard on fare avoidance) to good effect, but putting people in jail for 26 years for taking the written part of a driver's licence test for somebody else. It is grossly inefficient and completely unhelpful.

people doing things

adeline is doing good things. Support her if you are in Vancouver.

noah's band is good. Listen.

nika got her shoe store up in Montreal.

Pat's record label (the one he works with) is still doing good things.

Adam and Tyler play in this wicked band.

Elfred and Marissa are going for gold.

that is all for now. Support these people. endeavours rule. This all stemmed from Adeline, and the amazingness that is that, and then I remembered that all these other people are doing things.

I kinda wish I could list what everybody is doing, but these are some of ones that we can support. I guess we could help Azim with his thesis ... I am pretty sure I can contribute to graduate level psychology research.

yeah

told you so

life rules

Well after 9/11, Tom Junod a writer from Esquire magazine contacted the coroner's office in New York and asked for a count of how many people jumped. He was told that nobody jumped. The official word was that victims were blown out or they were forced out, but nobody jumped.

-CBC

point / counterpoint

from here:

There’s no point investing in a business because the government will not protect you against thieves. (So you might as well become a thief yourself.) There’s no point in paying your phone bill because no court can make you pay. (So there’s no point being a phone company.) There’s no point setting up an import business because the customs officers will be the ones to benefit. (So the customs office is under-funded and looks even harder for bribes.) There’s no point getting an education because jobs are not awarded on merit. (And you can’t borrow money for school fees because the bank can’t collect on the loan.)

This seems pretty obvious. Further in the article, though, is this:

Give a man the secure possession of a bleak rock, and he will turn it into a garden; give him a nine years' lease of a garden, and he will convert it into a desert… The magic of property turns sand into gold. Arthur Young, 1788

Same basic idea: property rights, and thereby some semblance of lawfulness, will allow growth. But africa is already suffering agriculturally (and is expected to fare even worse in the future). So, is it fair to say that improving the political world will be enough to help the situation?

What seems pretty clear to me is that the "ground" approach is not working. The following may be hyperbolic but there must be some truth to it:

And when he finds all the books in a once useful library have been stolen, and it is now “a black hole of ignorance and plunder”, a young visitor from Scotland, keen to do good wherever good can be done, says defensively that there’s “a serious money shortage.”

But that’s not the point. What is missing at the Soche School has to do with attitude and morale. What is lacking is work and care. “How much does a broom cost?” Theroux asks. “The students could sweep this place and cut the grass. I don’t think it’s a money problem. I think it’s more serious. No one cares. You’re here from Scotland to do the work, and you’re willing, so why should anyone help?” A deep dependency has taken root. The prevailing attitude is that if someone will come all the way from Scotland to sweep the floor, why not let them?

I thought I wanted to volunteer in Africa but sometimes I wonder. It has got to be helpful to everybody and not just to me. I don't want some masturbatory trip, a resume padding excursion. But maybe this is my renaissance thing acting up. The desire to step back and step up. Maybe just being there is helpful enough. I need to talk to someone who has been a recipient of aid and not people who gave the aid. Although these comments sure are inspiring:

It was truely an amazing experience and I feel very fortunate that I could be a part of it. Thank you again for all your help in preparing for departure and for giving me the opportunity to go.
Douglas Murray, Nova Scotia, Canada

I had a great time in Tanzania. Thanks for all of your help.
William Girardo, Washington DC, USA

Just want to say a big thank you for the opportunity you gave me, it was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget.
Gary Wilson, Leicestershire, England
Thank you so much for this opportunity, I learnt a lot about myself and fulfilled a dream.
Peter Larter, Melbourne, Australia

I just wanted to let you that I had, hands down, the best, most incredible elightening and wonderful time in Tanzania. It changed my life, truly. I consider myself incredibly fortunate for having the opportunity to experience all that I did.
Anna Wirth, Texas, USA

I cannot begin to explain what a fantastic time I had in Singida especially the people in the village and am sure I've made some lifelong friends both from the village and with other volunteers.
David Bacon, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Just want to thank you for the amazing opportunity that VA has given me in the last few months. I can't really commend you guys more, There is really nothing that I would change about the whole trip.
David Hutchinson, Ontario, Canada

Thank you for the best 3 months of my life!
Sally Orwin, Derbyshire, England

It certainly does not feel like a whole year ago we were in Tanzania climbing Kilimanjaro and having the best time I have ever had in my life.
Natasha Leith, Co Leith, Ireland

I did have an amazing time and am thankful for the opportunity that Volunteer Africa and HAPA has provided.
Keely McKinzie, Los Angeles, USA

I had such an awesome time in Singida. It was so great to be there...I had the best time ever and I would love to work more with Volunteer Africa in the future
May Britt Kristensen, Oslo, Norway

I had a fantastic time, would recommend it to anyone, and travelling afterwards was great fun.
Alec Pattinson, Northumberland, England

oh yeah

250-884-2973

queens etc.

victoria is fun ... who knew?

I expected to be bored shitless, but I have been having so much fun.

School is interesting and my time off is filled with beer commercials and music video making and interesting (mostly drunk) people.

I will soon run out of money. That is a small concern.

The people who live below me seem like they might be friend worthy. Their apartment is so freaking cozy it is almost womb-like. And I have not met such inviting people. But they have the movie Jury Duty ... what do I do?

what is montreal? gone three days and already moving on.