This Is Really Sad

I pulled this off the RCHP website from Fleas blog. The following is his comment in its entirety. I dont know how i feel. I always feel wierd when celebrites ask ordinary people to donate money. Im sure a couple million dollars wouldnt be a huge amount for someone from a band of a caliber such as the Chili Peppers


dear peoples

i am writing about something important

in Los Angeles, where i live
there is an area called South Central Los Angeles
this is a working class low income urban neighborhood
full of decent families trying to make a living and a peaceful life
for themselves

in 1992, in the wake of a court decision regarding a man called
Rodney King and some police officers
there were riots in the community and alot of people were hurt and a
lot of things were destroyed

after these riots
the people who live there were given and area of land which they called

The South Central Farm

this land is used by 350 families who dont have very much money
they grow food on it, and it is their farm, in the middle of a city
it is the largest urban farm in the united states
for many of these families it is their primary food source
it is a beautiful thing

but now
through a series of political dealings and law suits
a developer has bought the land from the city for below the market price
and is serving an eviction notice to the people who grow their food
there
they want a sheriff to come this weekend and forcibly remove everyone
to make room for a 'warehouse superstore'

there are a group of people who are asking the city to purchase the
land back from the developer for the price that he paid for it
the developer purchased the land for 5 million dollars in 2003
and now he wants 16 million dollars for 10 of the fourteen acres


so this group of people who are trying to help the south central farmers
are trying to raise money to buy back the land
and work with the city
and keep the south central farmers in their rightful spot

i believe they have raised 4 million dollars already

if it is possible i ask you to visit www.southcentralfarmers.com

and donate money if you can, or call the mayor of los angeles and
voice your opinion about this
or if you live in los angeles, show up on the site and let your
feelings be known

it is very possible to turn the tide in the favor of the farmers
a victory is within reach

i am in barcelona and otherwise would be there myself

thank you

always,

flea

A question of standards

I just had a rather disheartening conversation with a friend of mine. I know this is totally cliched, and it has been dealt with hundreds of times before, but why do people feel a need to hold themselves to a specific body type. This friend of mine was totally going on about how important it is for her to lose a few pounds, and all that. The problem is, she really doesnt need to. Im not going to get all oogly, but she is very good looking as she is. She seems to have this ridiculous standard set into herself about what an acceptable body type is, and she cant seem to shake it.

I hate to say this, but half the problem may very well be her mother. She's a personal trainer, and only deals with the very rich, plastic surgery, uber vane types. As a result, i think part of this unrealistic fake standards that her clients have are rubbing off on her daugter.

Whaever happened to the concept of being happy with the person you are. Imean, honestly, unless youre obese, and your doctor is saying "you need to lose weight to stay alive", why are we like this. There are many glaring flaws in my own physiology that i could be unhappy with, and harp on and whatnot, but i choose not to. I think if more people stopped worring about how they looked in comparison to Paris Hilton, the world would be a better place.

Food for Thought

A photo recently published in the Scarborough Mirror really got me thinking. It depicted members of the Islamic Federation of Toronto outside their headquarters protesting the Da Vinci Code, as it represented Jesus Christ in a disrespectful manner. Needless to say I don't support the idea. I think that Dan Brown wrote a fictional account that presents an alternate, and possibly ficticious, perspective on Christ. I dont think he's trying to rewrite the bible, or do away with christianity or anything like that. In fact, I think even protesting this is kinda silly, as it is taking it way too seriously.

However, what really caught my attention was the fact that these were members of the ISLAMIC federation of Toronto. It struck me as a far contrast from the christian hating, US flag burning muslims that the US media seems so fond of reporting on. These people were protesting because they felt that ALL religious figures deserved a level of reverence, and the Da Vinci code was not being respectful enough. This is such a far contrast from the traditional representation in the media of a Muslim. I think if more time was spent focusing on things such as this, which portray different religions being respectful and tolerant of one another, there would be far less rampant Islamophobia.

Timekilling

I am not usually the type of person to develop attachment to a particular peice of clothing. I find that i usually wind up ripping/staining/bleaching garments all to often to develop attachments to them. However, for some reason, i seem to have developed a rather fond attachment to a henley shirt i bought a few weeks back. It was something i found at the back of a clearance rack at Old Navy, and for whatever reason, its the most awesome shirt in the world right now. Its insanely comfortable. It makes me happy. I wore it on Friday. I normally wash a shirt after i wear it once or twice, but i put it aside. I dont know if this makes sense, but that shirt now smells like happiness. It smells like a bunch of different things, like the subway, like the Pickel Barrel, like the Eaton's center, and right around the cuffs, it smells like her. Its almost like a scent photograph. Its really cool, ive never experenced something like that.

My brother really annoys me. Hes a musical egomaniac. He beleives his taste in music is the standard to judge everything. According to him, Angels and Airwaves, Blink, Taking Back Sunday and Rise Against are the greatest bands in the world. Everything else isnt as good, and everything I listen to is garbage. Hes actually said that to me, with a straight face. He refuses to acknowledge the fact that this is stricly his opinion. He thinks its gospel. Imean, I am a pretty big U2 fan, but by no means do I think they are the best band in the world. In my eyes, they may be, but I also realize there are tonnes of people who hate them, and for totally valid reasons. Hell, there are even elements of U2 (namely Bono) that I dont like. I may get a bit offended or annoyed by U2 haters, but at the same time, I realize that people who dont like them do so for valid reasons, similar to the reasons why I hold them so dear. I dont think my brother is at this same level of reasoning. If you speak against a band he likes, he sees it as a personal attack, and will proceed to personally attack you. Its kinda silly.

I wish Finger Eleven would come up with some new material already. I miss them

Cheers

Joe

Stuff, and work

I am going to be pulling one hell of a long shift this holiday monday, which is good. 9 am to 10:30 pm, 13 and a half hours, and its time and a half bc of Victoria Day. That works out to something like $172. Working at loblaws, that would have taken me something like 30 hours to work, or 6 regular shifts. Insane.

My cousin just had a baby. I'm really happy that everything went well for her. My mom is going to send a card out to her tmrw, and I already talked to her on the phone yesterday, and she is doing well. Her sons name is Aidien (sp?), which is far better than what she said a few years ago. I remember her being at our house, and having a really nasty cold, and my mom giving her some echanacia (sp?) cough drops. She thought echanacia (sp?) was the coolest word in the english language, and was like "thats what im going to name my first child" I chime in with "what if its a boy?" and, no word of a lie, she says "umm, echanasher?"

I still giggle when i think of that.

A million thanks to becca for taking my resume into TO Tix and attempting to coax her boss into hiring me.

A million thanks to nads for forgiving my earlier dickheadedness

A billion thanks to Shaun for not updating your blog, i dont want to read anymore of your self important, opinionated, liberal hating bullshit. When you can construct a rational arguement, then blog.

I think thats why i dont generally talk politics in my blog (though that budget rant was an exception). I know I am fairly hard left, so as far as speaking in a "fair and balanced" manner, i know i cant do it. I know im getting better, but Steven Harper isnt helping.

Everytime I listen to Audioslave, I cry a little. I miss Zack De La Rocha's political raprock yellings. And Tom Morello just isnt the same.....

Im going to have to buy guitar picks in the near future. Ive worn down most of the dimples on the herco's that i have, and i need something of a lighter gauge for acoustic/rhythm stuff.

I guess thats all for now

Cheers

Joe

Fucking Ontarioplace

I was really initially impressed with Ontarioplace. It seemed quite well organized, professional, and together, and I thought it would be respite from the managerial ineptitude of Loblaws. However, I am mistaken. It is currently 1 am on Friday night, technically saturday morning. There is no schedule posted for next week. I am annoyed. I have a life to plan, sorta.

On another note, im feeling lovesick, its not fun.

The irish are back on their way to ireland, which means there will be no more breaking of things.

im tired

nite

Love and Hate

I've often wondered if working in the entertainment buisness, but from the perspective of someone in management as opposed to an entertainer, would be a good idea. However, my experence tonite has ruled that out. I went into work tonight for what I thought was a rather strange shift - 5:45-9:45. I figured it was some sort of special viewing, as the park itself was closed, but I wasnt sure exactly what.

So I arrive at the Cinesphere...early as always, the everpresent indication that regardless of the fact I have lived/commuted in this city my whole life, I still continue to overestimate how long it takes to travel by subway. Anyway, I digress. As I said, I arrived at work to be informed that I would be hosting a special sneak premier of Posideion (sp?) in IMAX (ooooh!). Basically, I would be upstairs at the upper entrance, smiling and looking pretty. I thought this would be something I would be capable of doing, however, it proved more arduous than I expected.

First, I was swimming in security guards. Literally. There were, at my count, 12 security personell in the upper lobby, all there to ensure that no one illegally recorded the film. This was, needless to say, excessive. Number one, the lobby of the Cinesphere is not built to accomodate that many people, seriously. We generally let between 15 and 20 people into the lobby at a time, and all of a sudden, we have 12 burly men searching patrons as they try to work their way into the theater. Not pretty. Number two. I would say that at least half, if not more, of the people in attendance, were affiliated in one way or another with Warner Brothers, and most others were people who were considered "upstanding members of the community" (old, rich, white people). Why would they pirate a movie? Why would security need to give them a full patdown. (Im serious, they used those wand metal detectors and everything.) Number three. The security people kept asking for free food. And Olga was on snackbar. Olga and requests for free food generally do not mix well. I only wish I had been there to see more.

Ok, I've kinda digressed from my original train of thought.... I do not seem to like the "hollywood type" of people that are in the entertainment business. I had some dealings with them at Radio Glendon, and they were usually hit or miss. I always enjoyed the Indie people I talked to, bc they actually cared, but once you got into the bigger labels, it got really bad. Tonite just helped to reinforce my disdain for this particular group of people. They think a great deal of themselves. I dont like that, especially when you are egotistical about stupid things. I dont think I would resent people who were egotistical about the right things, like humanitarian stuff, but theyre not like that. No, the only people who are egotistical are those who dont deserve it. Imean, there was one guy, a promoter, i think that was his job. All he did was drive around in a hummer decaled with the current movie he was promoting, and set up posters at the events. How stupid! What contribution to society are you making through this? Honestly, it makes me want to have success as a musician or something, just so I can screw with these types of people. You're paid to drive around in a hummer? Its fucking stupid. First of all, hummers should be banned...but thats another thing, I dont want to get into it right now. Needless to say, Im not one for living excessively.

On a totally different note, I saw a dude on the subway who appeared to be a bit of a "radical vegetarian." Maybe Im rushing to judge, but when you walk around with a bag covered in pins with slogans like "meat is murder," I tend to make assumptions about what you stand for. I apologize if i have made a mistake. Anyway, this guy is sitting on the subway, and i notice he is wearing what I thought to be leather shoes. So, being the cow eating dick that I am, one station before I get off, I walk up to him. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hey, I'm sorry, I dont usually do this, but I really like your shoes, what brand are they?"
Guy: "Uuh, I think their (insert whatever brand, I dont remember)"
Me: "Cool, they're really nice, are they all leather?"
Guy: "Yeah, theyre real italian leather, theyre really nice"

That was the end of the conversation, but I exited the train with ever the subtlest of smirks. I think he totally missed my point. I was thorougly amused.

Cheers

Joe

A non-emo thread

Woo! I just finished redoing the action on my guitar so i can play slide more comfortably. I had the action so low that i basically made any attempt at playing slide sound like my guitar took a dump. The funny thing was, raising the action took about 5 minutes, however finding the wrench to raise the action took about half an hour. I wish my family would tell me when they "clean up"/ hide my shit from me.

The only thing left to do is buy a proper slide. I have 2 right now, a full pyrex one and a metal knuckle slide. I bought the glass one in a period of musical ignorance, and it proven totally useless on my electric, though handy when i occasionally incorporate slide into my acoustic bits. It just doesnt have enough sustain for my liking. I need a full metal slide so i can basically divebomb the hell out of my ibanez. Im talking like full octave slides and whatnot, just massively awesome sounding stuff...god im a dork

Listening To: RHCP Greatest Hits, waiting for Stadium Arcadium (Tommorow!!!!)

Cheers

Joe

Hard Candy

Ok, so I went to see the movie Hard Candy today. I wasnt sure what to expect, what little I read suggested that it would be some sort of thriller, but then as I talked to the people I was going with, I came under the impression that it would be somewhat Tarintino-esque. Gladly, this was not so.

It was, instead treated to a brilliant psychological thriller. I'm too tired to get into details right now, but it was magnificently acted, well written and brilliantly filmed. It challenged many of the preconceptions I (and I believe most of society) held about a certain type of lawbreaker. I may get into more later, but I don't want to spoil anything. Needless to say, well worth it, though as a theater employee, I do feel a bit treacherous going to another theater.

This was also the first time that I have been out with her since the little downwards spiral she induced a couple of weeks back. I don't know where we are right now, nor for that matter, where I am right now. I'm past the point of being hugely concerned, and I feel like my skin has thickened somewhat. However, there are so many other factors that lie dangerously close to breaking surface, that I feel my delicate equilibrium could be unbalanced at any time. Regardless, I guess all I can do is savour in this brief moment of respite, and brace myself for the eventual emotional downfall that will more than likely take place eventually. However, for now its not bothering me, which is good, I need sleep.

That's Mr. Josephine to you!

Ontario Place just posted their schedule for next week, and I apparently had a sex change operation I was not informed about, as Josephine Engelhardt is working this sunday.

Cheers

Joe

Are we just apathetic, or actually stupid

I'd like to take a moment to congratulate Steven Harper. I think he finally got the idea of a budget right. I mean, those rich big buisness types really do pay too much taxes, and what with the rising cost of gas, it gets harder every day to keep the fleet of Hummers and Jaguars fueled up. And, of course, the average Canadian doesn't need a break, no, were fine. Besides, most will get $1200 a year for child care, that should be just enough for an Xbox 360, a Microwave and some frozen dinners, and your child doesnt really need anything else right?

What is wrong with Canadians? You actually voted for this man? (I didn't, thankfully). What do you expect, its a CONSERVATIVE government, more specifically, a western conservative government. They are closer to the Reform party than the former PC's. In fact, why dont we bring back Joe Clark, I thought he was doing a fine job.

I think the problem with a lot of Canadians is that they see money and go "ooh." A $100 cheque every month from the government is far more tangible than cuts to expenses they would incur, and as a result, the Conservatives get the votes. Its kinda sad.

On a totally unrelated topic, anyone interested in starting a far left band a la RATM, please email me at joseph.engelhardt@gmail.com . Im dead serious here, I'll consider applications for any instrument.

Cheers

Joe