poetry + politics

So the biggest news of late is that Harper’s second minority parliament has fallen and as a result, we are facing an election in a little over a month. They tell me it’s our 4th in 7 years. They also tell me that most people are fed up with these non-stop elections. Gotta say, I’m actually okay with it, and not only because we all know where my political leanings lie. It’s so easy to fall back on the democracy is a privilege argument, but I’m gonna do it. When you see what’s happening in other parts of the world, you have to be thankful that when a government falls in Canada it’s not because our leader has penchant for violence - instead it’s because his parliamentary colleagues have lost confidence in his government.

Because I am a complete dork, I have created this little diddy in honour of the upcoming campaign and our 41st federal election:

E is for election, our 4th in seven years,

L is for lazy, defined by Harper and his coalition fears.

E is for Elizabeth May, who has no hope in hell,

C is for contempt, which is how Harper fell.

T is for the truth, which is forever being bent.

I is for Iggy, whose support is less than 30 per cent.

O is for offensive, as I’m sure the ads will be, and

N is for the New Democrats who will end up number three.

I recognize it’s not a perfect poem. But as our parliamentary system is not perfect (proportional representation anyone?), I feel it’s apt. I'll try to be more eloquent (like this) as the campaign rolls on, but for now hopefully this attempt at rhyming will suffice.

Incidentally I wrote this while watching the Junos last night. Anyone else watch the opening scene and laugh out loud? Lloyd Robertson playing Call of Duty? Drake and the Biebs serenading each other with "I Will Remember You"? Come on ... Hilarious! Plus Arcade Fire swept the awards. Of course they did, because, as previously discussed, they are awesome!

thefacebook

Last night I saw The Social Network. I am not a movie reviewer, but here are my thoughts, take 'em or leave 'em.

First off, it was a very good movie. Was it the best movie I've seen this year (as some reviewers have taken to calling it)? No. Movies that I liked better than this one include The Kids are Alright, Me Too (a Spanish movie I saw at the film fest last week), and maybe even Inception. But still it was really good.

Obviously it's a great story - 19 year old screws over friends to become the youngest billionaire in the world. And more importantly, he created the phenomenon that is Facebook, of which I have been a member since sometime in 2007. To be able to write the code (whatever the hell that means), have it go viral, then mainstream and figure out how to make money from something that is ostensibly free is amazing. Even if it might not have been his idea to start out with, he took it and ran with it. Congrats Mr. Zuckerberg. The script was great - lots of talking, with subtle humour that you really have to listen for. I laughed out loud numerous times (and often times alone ... not sure if the rest of the theatre just wasn't paying as much attention as I was). The acting is great - Jesse Eisenberg in particular. And Andrew Garfield as the original CFO who really got screwed over. He was fabulous. It helps that he is super cute. And not at all age appropriate for me to be crushing on, but whatever. JT was good too - but really, I think I prefer him as a singer.

One thing I will say though is that there are no strong female characters in the movie. If we take this movies at face value (which I know we're not supposed to), it appears that there were no smart girls at Harvard in the early years of this decade - only groupies, girls bused in for parties, one night stands, slutty interns or complete whackos. I suppose you could argue that a female is responsible for the whole phenomenon (she breaks up with Zuckerberg, he starts an early version of facebook and then mopes when she doesn't accept his friend request right away), but really, this movie is about horny boys who happen to write computer code and turn out to be evil genuises.

What's almost more interesting than the movie itself is all of the coverage around it (mostly through blogs and other forms of social meadia) - what's true, what's not, what could be, and what definitely isn't. Seriously, if you want to waste a few solid hours reading some very entertaining articles, click on any of the above.

And as an appropriate coda to show just how useful Facebook really is, last night I did some Facebook stalking (one of my specialties) and found out that yankee hat guy and threesome date guy are friends. For serious. This city is just too damn small.