The Problem With Religion
Published by Toronto Mike on January 17, 2012 @ 12:02 in My 2 Cents

I saw this on Reddit today. The title was "When people ask why I have a problem with religion, it's hard to come up with a single answer..." and I thought it packed a pretty good punch.

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Kids Like Shite and That's Okay
Published by Toronto Mike on December 22, 2011 @ 20:07 in Music, My 2 Cents

My buddy Pete was tweeting tonight about an 8-year old he caught singing "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5.

I asked Pete what bugged him so much about what he witnessed, and he said it was that she was singing a shite song. I agree with Pete, Moves Like Jagger is a shite song, in fact, it's one of the worst songs I heard in 2011, but Pete and I aren't 8-years old. I remember being 8-years old, and I have both a 9-year old and a 7-year old, so I can state with some authority that kids like shite.

At that age, I was really into Duran Duran. Top 40 pop was my genre of choice. It was mostly crap, but I outgrew it. A few years later I discovered the Sex Pistols and the rest is history.

My kids seem to like Katy Perry and Usher and even the horrible Black Eyed Peas but they're kids, and kids like shite. This too shall pass.

What shite did you enjoy when you were a kid?

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Always Fight Your Traffic Tickets in Court
Published by Toronto Mike on November 16, 2011 @ 14:53 in My 2 Cents

I was in traffic court this afternoon. I arrived at 2700 Eglinton just before 1:30 and was out of there by 2pm. If you get a traffic ticket, for speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign or anything at all, always go to court.

I've heard stories about people's charges being dropped because the police officer failed to show up at court, but my police office has always shown up. Every time without failure I've plead guilty to a lesser charged, paid a smaller fine and gone on my way. That's every time until today...

Today, both my charges were dropped. I was ninth before the judge, and witnessed the first eight plead guilty to lesser offences. I was prepared to do the same, and was quite surprised when the Crown withdrew both charges. Today was my lucky day.

If you voluntarily pay the full amount for a traffic ticket and incur the demerit point reductions, you're a fool. Toronto Mike says always fight your traffic tickets in court.

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My Way Late Angry Birds Rant
Published by Toronto Mike on November 7, 2011 @ 20:13 in My 2 Cents

I meant to write this entry about 18 months ago, but I forgot. I've got something to say about Angry Birds...

I don't get it. Angry Birds has been absolutely everywhere since 2009, with several people I know and love claiming addiction to the game. My kids, for example, love Angry Birds. At least they did.

I tried Angry Birds, because it seemed to be the most downloaded game everywhere I turned. And it was everywhere: iPad, iPhone, Android, WebOS, Chrome, etc. Of course I tried it, and I'm betting you did as well.

You probably loved it, and played it over and over and over again. I played it twice and bailed due to boredom. I haven't been tempted to go back. I just didn't like it.

But it's everywhere. During Halloween, I saw kids dressed as Angry Birds and I saw pumpkins carved as Angry Birds. I'll bet they show up at the Santa Claus Parade in a couple of weeks.

I don't get it.

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Humanity and Sanity Reign Supreme: Drug Addiction is a Health Issue
Published by Toronto Mike on September 30, 2011 @ 15:35 in My 2 Cents, O Canada

Eight years ago this month, I wrote about drug addition and Vancouver's Insite clinic. Let's revisit that entry...

September 15, 2003 @ 21:38
Today marked the official opening of North America's first legal safe-injection site at 139 East Hastings St. in Vancouver, B.C. It will be staffed by 16 nurses, four alcohol and drug counsellors and peer counsellors. At the injection site, addicts get clean needles and inject themselves at small booths in a room supervised by a nurse. After shooting up, they go to a "chill-out room" before returning to the streets. Up to 800 people are expected to use the facility each day.

Already upset over Ottawa's plan to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, this facility has been criticized by U.S. officials who say it is an example of Canada becoming lax in the battle against illegal drugs. Once again, the needle's point has been missed.

Those addicted to heroin are sufferers of a dehabilitating disease. Many will overdose and die. Up to 40 percent of these addicts have HIV or AIDS and 90 percent have hepatitis C. Allowing people to inject in a clean place and with ready access to medical help will reduce the spread of these diseases and dramatically reduce accidental overdose deaths. This isn't about legalizing heroin and crack, this is about saving lives. "It is not I who become addicted, it is my body." - Jean Cocteau

At the time I wrote that entry, the political pressure against this site was coming from the United States. Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party was in power here, and Stephen Harper was Leader of the Opposition. His Canadian Alliance party had not yet united with the Progressive Conservative Party.

Stephen Harper's Conservative Party eventually gained power and Harper sought to end Insite's special exemption from prosecution. Today, in a unanimous decision that brings me great joy, the Supreme Court of Canada has ordered the federal government to stop interfering with Vancouver’s Insite clinic. This opens the door to supervised drug injection clinics across the country.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice McLachlin said that addicts are extremely sick individuals whose urgent need frequently leads to them inject drugs with dirty needles after dissolving narcotics in dirty puddle water.

She noted that by 1993, 200 people were dying annually in the Downtown Eastside. Numerous others were contracting AIDS/HIV or other serious illnesses from their drug activities.

Serious drug addiction is not a moral choice; it is an illness which essentially negates the notion of “choice” altogether, Chief Justice McLachlin said. She said that adopting a moral attitude toward an addict's “choices” – as the federal government did – was simply the wrong approach to take.

“On future applications, the Minister must exercise that discretion within the constraints imposed by the law and the Charter, aiming to strike the appropriate balance between achieving public health and public safety,” the Court said in a 9-0 ruling.

Indeed, drug addiction is a health issue. Insite saves lives, with immense benefits that are irrefutable. As a compassionate, humane and sensible nation, we should build more safe injection sites across this country, and less jails.

Thank you, Supreme Court of Canada. You did it again.

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Rob Ford Has No Pride
Published by Toronto Mike on July 3, 2011 @ 20:02 in My 2 Cents, Rob Ford Watch, Toronto News ~ Toronto Focus

I gave Rob Ford the benefit of the doubt all week. Surely he'd come to his senses, follow the avalanche of good advice he received from Toronto mayors past, and march in today's Pride Parade. He didn't.

Mayor Rob Ford successfully boycotted Pride Week, avoiding all 10 days of events. He even blew off a Pride Toronto flag-raising at Nathan Philips Square so that he could meet Leafs GM Brian Burke, a man who marched in the Pride Parade last year and today in support of his late son. Now that took balls.

This is the first time the city’s mayor has missed Pride since Barbara Hall started the tradition during her term in office. Refusing to give Pride Week even 10 minutes of his time, Rob Ford went to to great lengths to ensure this proud tradition ended. Instead of sending a powerful message that homophobia is not tolerated in our city, Rob Ford gave homophobes throughout the city a poster boy for their hateful cause.

Rob Ford has no pride. What an embarrassment to this great city.

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I Missed The Entire Myspace Era
Published by Toronto Mike on June 28, 2011 @ 11:37 in My 2 Cents

Rumour has it Myspace is going to lay off at least 150 of its around 400 employees. I missed the entire Myspace era.

I never got Myspace, and never created a profile. Myspace was the biggest thing in social networking, and everyone seemed to flock to it, but I hated it. I truly hated it.

It was the worst designed site I'd ever seen. It seemed intentionally ugly and cumbersome. I couldn't comprehend the appeal to anyone over the age of 13. I once delved into the ugly world of Myspace when helping Custom share his music, and that experience was horrible.

As recently as 2006 I referred to it as the Myspace beast but today I never hear about it unless they're laying off a bunch of people. It seems the Myspace era came and went and I successfully managed to resist.

Were you ever on MySpace?

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Climate Change Is Happening, People
Published by Toronto Mike on June 21, 2011 @ 15:46 in My 2 Cents

There's a great article on the public opinion of climate change over on NPR.org.

The American public is less likely to believe in global warming than it was just five years ago. Yet, paradoxically, scientists are more confident than ever that climate change is real and caused largely by human activities.

97 percent of American scientists say that climate change is happening.

Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy, paraphrased its most recent report on the subject.

"The consensus statement is that climate changes are being observed, are certainly real, they seem to be increasing, and that humans are mostly likely the cause of all or most of these changes," he said.

That's not just the view of the U.S. National Academies. There's also a consensus statement from the presidents of science academies from around the world, including the academies of China, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Russia, France, Brazil, the list goes on.

I'm not sure how climate change became politicized, but it has become just that. My Conservative Party / Republican Party backing friends typically deny the existence of climate change. Conversely, my Liberal Party / NDP / Democrat Party pals do not.

97 percent of American scientists say that climate change is happening. Scientists know way more about this stuff than me or my friends. It's happening, people.

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I Never Got Jackass, Did You?
Published by Toronto Mike on June 20, 2011 @ 13:39 in My 2 Cents

Ryan Dunn died today. I had never heard of him, but he apparently starred in "Jackass".

I wished no early death for Ryan Dunn, but I hated his show. I once listed "Jackass" as one of the things everyone liked that I hated. "Jackass" seems so popular, but the allure baffles me. I haven't been able to sit through 30-seconds of the movies or television shows.

Do you enjoy "Jackass"? Why?

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Help Me Rename Victoria Day
Published by Toronto Mike on May 23, 2011 @ 09:24 in My 2 Cents

Here in Canada, today is Victoria Day. This holiday is in celebration of Queen Victoria's Birthday.

Hold on just a moment. We get a holiday devoted to some Queen of Britain who's been dead for over a hundred years? Surely we can do better than that. Where is our Canadian pride?

I suggest we re-brand today's holiday Terry Fox day, or Wayne Gretzky day or John Candy day or even Steve Nash Day.

Leave your suggestions in the comments. What Canadian deserves this day more than Queen Victoria?

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