Laura Stricker

Back when I was young(er), innocent (somewhat) and in my first year of university, my awesome English teacher showed us this crazy, trippy video, based on the Samuel Beckett play called…’Play.’ I liked it immediately. There are a lot of things in art and literature that seem pointless, self-indulgent or just plain stupid, but this was not one of those things. It struck me right away and has stayed with me all this time. I actually had sort of forgotten about it for awhile. I randomly remembered it tonight and thought I’d share, since I have this super cool space where I can do all that, whether anyone actually reads it or not.

For a quick summary, ‘Play’ is about a man, his wife and his lover. They are all dead and stuck in purgatory, stuck there repeating the whole tale of the affair from the perspective of the man, his wife and the woman he was having the affair with. It’s quite chilling. And depressing. But you should still watch!

If you live in Toronto and read the news, or even if you don’t, chances are you’ve heard by now about the recent drama at Toronto’s Humane Society - the allegations against president Tim Trow, the clashes with OSPCA, accusations of understaffing, animals being left to suffer, etc.

For those who have not read the articles, you may want to check out part one and part two.

I find the articles very one-sided. The Globe is clearly out to prove their point without using any space to get the other side of the story - and one thing we were taught in Journalism school is that there is always another side.

Obviously I don’t know Mr. Trow, but as an animal lover myself, I have to assume that someone who is the volunteer president of THS - who probably would not be there if he did not love animals - cannot be that bad of a guy. With stories coming out all the time of people who abuse and mistreat animals - like this one I discussed here awhile back, and this one I read most recently, about a dog who was left to die with a brick tied to his collar - I’d say animals need all the support they can get, regardless of whether the person offering the support is a ‘people person’ or not.

I was discussing this with someone I know the other day, who is involved with THS. Part one of the series makes mention of dogs and cats living in less than ideal conditions. My friend made a very good point, which is that a cage could get cleaned out and then five minutes later be dirty again. I have two cats, and that is certainly true for me. Even if I clean their litter box twice a day, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be gross again in half an hour (or less).

My friend also mentioned worrying about, now that this story has come out, the number of donations dropping off. THS is run entirely on donations. The article makes mention of severe understaffing, both by veterinarians and volunteers. How exactly is publishing an article ruining their reputation going to help get more donations and staff?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe all companies should be held accountable for their actions. I just don’t think we are getting the whole story here. I also think an organization that takes in animals that have been abandoned or injured - and does not immediately rush to euthanize them - should be commended, not condemned.

Some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen have all been in the spring or summer.
Case in point, this is how the sky looked last night around 8:30.

Last night I saw Keane at the Sound Academy here in Toronto. I would have written about it sooner, but I needed time to really think about it and decompress.
First of all, I will say that two years is MUCH TOO LONG for them to have been away. However, the wait was so worth it. The show was incredible. They really know how to entertain a crowd. Tom’s voice - whether he is singing something more upbeat or a slowed down ballad, is so rich and pure. His range is amazing - he hits super high notes and low notes with complete effortlessness. It really is quite something!
Helio Sequence and Mat Kearney were the opening acts. They were also both really, really fantastic. I’m actually a pretty big fan of Mat Kearney and yet, I’m ashamed to admit I did not know he was the opening act until this past Friday! But he’s really great, and I recommend everyone check him out. He’s kind of a mix of Jason Mraz (style wise), with a voice that is a dead ringer for Chris Martin’s.
Anyhoo, here’s a few pics:

Helio Sequence

Mat Kearney

Mat Kearney

Helio Sequence played seven songs (I think). I liked all of them except for one, which I think says a lot about just how good they are. Mat Kearney sang around 10 songs. Much as I love him, his set was wayy too long. Really good, just too long. Plus I was all anxious for Keane to come out.

So we waited around for what seemed like forever. My knees were starting to hurt. I guess I’m getting old, haha. Oh yeah going off topic for a second: earplugs are an amazing thing. Everyone always told me to use them at concerts and I basically said ‘pffft.’ But I used them when I went to Hey Rosetta, and again last night. My ears were not ringing at all afterwards and the sound was way better than if I had not been using earplugs.

Back on topic now. Keane came onstage and the crowd totally FREAKED OUT! It was awesome. Keane is like ridiculously popular in Toronto. I’m not sure if the show was sold out, but it was definitely packed. Tom (lead singer) seemed totally stunned by the reaction, as did the rest of the band - Tim, Richard and their newest addition, Jamie. Tom just kept kind of looking around in awe in between songs. It was really cool. They were definitely getting a lot of audience love!

The concert got me reminiscing about how I first discovered Keane. Obviously I love that they’ve been discovered over here and are doing well, but on the other, selfish, hand, it makes me a bit sad too. Before it was like they were my little secret, and now everyone knows about them. Which is great for Keane, but makes it harder for me to get primo standing room space at their shows.

Since I mentioned it…back in 2003, on October 31, I went with two of my friends to see Travis perform. The opening act sang three songs, and they were really, really good, but none of us heard what they said when they said their name. The next day I went on a frantic Google search for them. That band was none other than Keane. I found a contact email on their official site, and decided to write to them saying I’d really enjoyed their set. This is what I wrote:

I saw you in Toronto with Travis, and I just want to say that you guys are awesome, and hopefully soon your stuff will be in Canada, because you are very talented and I love your music!

I was not expecting a response or anything, I just wanted to tell them how great I thought they were. So I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this in my inbox two weeks later:

Laura,
thanks a lot! we’ll be back, and i’m sure the next single will be out in canada, so keep an eye on the website!
see you next time,
Richard
KEANE

thus cementing my love for them

Oh, and something else I respect so much about them is how they experiment with different sounds on all their records. I may not always like it right off the bat, but it usually does grow on me. Both times now when I listened to the first single on Under The Iron Sea and Perfect Symmetry, if I did not know I was listening to a Keane song, I would have had no clue who it was. So kudos to them!

I’ll be posting more video from the show on Youtube. Pics will be up on Facebook shortly (hopefully).

Dandelion - Audioslave

Shoreline - Broken Social Scene

What You Want - Hayley Sales
This song is so chill

Daydream - Jason Castro

Crazy - Jason Castro (couldn’t pick just one)

Summer Breeze - Jason Mraz

Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
They need new music ASAP, I miss them

Enjoy!

It was announced Friday that a new LRT line is to be built along Sheppard Avenue East, extending to Meadowvale Road. Supposedly it will cost $950 million, but knowing our governments and their history of overspending, I’m thinking it will more likely go into the billions range. I was surprised to hear they’re actually extending the line, based on how few people actually use the line. In its first year of operation, 2003, there was only 34,700 weekly riders. Compare that to 42,000 on the Scarborough line, 480,000 on the Bloor-Danforth line and 620,000 on the Yonge-University-Spadina line. Yes, this was six years ago, but I could not find any more recent statistics. Wikipedia says that as of 2008, there were 42,000 riders weekly, but they have no sources to back that up so I’m not sure of its credibility.
Anyways, all this got me thinking about what the TTC could actually use. So, here goes:

1. A line connecting the University-Spadina side of the subway with the Yonge line - but from north of downtown. In fact, the Sheppard line was originally supposed to extend west to Downsview, like this:

I can’t even begin to express how awesome and convenient that would have been. Now when I want to get to the Yonge line, I have to either go down to Spadina/St. George and transfer, or take a bus from Lawrence West or Downsview. Considering that the yellow line is by far the busiest, it is quite ridiculous that there is only one subway transfer point to get to the other side.

2. Replace the old buses and streetcars…
with new wheelchair and stroller accessible vehicles. They have started bringing in new buses without stairs, but I really think all the old buses should be replaced with the newer models. Streetcars should also be replaced by ones without stairs. There’s been a lot of talk about this, but now that the government has announced the extension of the (useless!) Sheppard line, who knows if or when that will actually happen.
Oh and speaking of strollers, I think there needs to be some kind of bylaw implemented where gigantic, SUV-type strollers are NOT allowed on buses, streetcars or subways. Nothing is more frustrating than having one of those monstrosities taking up the whole aisle and making it impossible for people to pass by. The only strollers that should be allowed on the bus are these ones:

3. A new, modern way to pay
Get rid of the antiquated method of using tickets, tokens and change to pay. Give everyone who uses the TTC a card that they can load money onto - online, in subway stations, even on buses and streetcars. When getting onto the TTC, they will simply swipe the card. This will make things a lot faster, and will mean that people won’t have to use piles of change everytime they run out of tokens. Also, instead of charging $2.75 no matter what, charge based on how far people are travelling. There should either be an option to punch in which station/intersection you will be exiting at, or swipe the card again when you are leaving the TTC and deduct the appropriate amount. Even better would be when you exit, if there was some way to automatically tell someone was leaving the TTC and then just deduct the fare automatically. Or, before you leave the house/office, go online and enter in your destination and where you will be leaving from. A receipt could then print out, which you would show to the driver as proof that you paid. This may not be so realistic as not everyone has a computer or internet access, but my real point is there’s a million different ways this could be implemented.

4. No weapons on public transit!
Remember this? How about this? Or maybe you remember this. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that Torontonians should be able to take the TTC without worrying about getting shot. As someone who was literally seconds away from being an unfortunate victim of the Yorkdale subway shooting back in 2005, I think I’m qualified to say that. There should be something set up before anyone gets on the TTC to scan them for weapons - knives, guns, whatever. If they are found to be carrying a weapon, I think TTC drivers should perform a citizen’s arrest and call the police on them. There is NO REASON to have a weapon with you on the TTC, or anywhere in public. If you want to be all ‘macho,’ deal with your issues of inadequacy at home. Don’t bring that crap out in public with you, where more often than not innocent people end up getting hurt.

5. Expand the subway entirely. How can a supposed ‘world class city’ only have four different subway lines?

New York City

Frankfurt, Germany

Paris, France

Chicago, Illinois

Toronto, Ontario

ENOUGH SAID.

6. Dedicated streetcar lines on every major road (Queen Street, I’m looking at you!)
I don’t know why, but Queen Street is always SO crowded with cars, it is insane. I’m one of those people who believes there is no reason at all to even be driving a car in downtown Toronto, but that’s a whole other issue for later. I remember one summer day in particular, I was trying to make my way to Beachfest to see David Usher perform. I got down to Queen station almost an hour before his set was supposed to start and figured I’d make it there in plenty of time. How wrong I was. Not only did it take almost half an hour for a streetcar to come, it was totally packed and drove right by. A second streetcar finally showed up, only to go out of service two blocks later! By the time I made it down to the beaches, I’d missed all but two songs and was incredibly pissed off. So here’s what needs to be done, on Queen Street in particular: Queen Street is a very, VERY long street. There should be two different streetcar routes (at least) to go on Queen, one to cover one half, the other to cover the other half. This will cut back on the sometimes ridiculous amounts of time waiting for a Queen streetcar to come, and will hopefully also ensure that when one does arrive, there will be space to get on it. I also think (although I know this will never happen) that cars should be banned entirely from certain downtown streets, with the exception of say, delivery trucks and emergency vehicles. But like I said, Toronto is sadly a city that is so obsessed with and reliant on cars, that it will never happen. This is yet another reason the TTC needs to expand drastically - perhaps if they had better service and more far reaching areas were covered, then banning personal vehicles from certain downtown areas might actually be feasible. But no, instead we have people freaking out when Ryerson University wants to close Gould Street (a TINY street!) to traffic.

7. Elevators in all the stations
Currently, the TTC has elevators in only 25 of their 69 subway stations. That’s not even half! I know a few people who use wheelchairs, and I can’t even imagine what a hassle it must be for them to have to spend extra time getting to a subway station that has elevator access. But then, of course, they have to be lucky enough to get on one of the buses that does not have stairs. If they live by a streetcar route, well, they are basically screwed. It should be mandatory for every single subway station to have at least two elevators - this way, when one inevitably breaks down, there will be a second one available.

8. Get more revenue from advertising
At any given time, most of those spaces on TTC buses meant for advertisements are empty. Clearly there is room for improvement in this area. With such massive amounts of people using the TTC everyday, you would think placing ads on TTC vehicles would be a goldmine. They could even consider ’selling’ full subway stations to companies. How cool would it be to get off the subway at Nestle Station?
If their advertising revenue was to increase, maybe Adam Giambrone would stop raising TTC fares all the time.

What do you think the TTC needs to become a truly ‘world class’ public transit system? Leave a comment if you so desire.

I think Emily Haines is fantastic - she’s an amazing singer and songwriter. And really beautiful. She seems like she’d be cool to hang out with.
Plus, this song and the video - AMAZING.
After you watch it, check out the behind the scenes. They shot the whole video in one take! It’s really cool seeing how it was done.

This is definitely not the type of music I usually listen to, but it’s incredibly catchy. I really like the attitude in the song - it oozes confidence. Love it!

Some/most of you probably know that I’m a big fan of Jason Castro. And as proof that I am not completely crazy to have been keeping track of him for the past year and a bit, he recently signed with Atlantic Records! That’s huge!

So anyways, last night he had a live webchat. Sadly I had to miss it, but I was able to watch it later. One of the fan questions he answered was about his favourite books. I love books. So naturally I was excited to hear his answer, because I have discovered some great books based on his recommendations. The Historian, The Kite Runner and The Guardian especially stick out in my mind. I highly recommend everyone read these books.

Getting past all my babbling, the real point here is: when asked about his favourite books he mentioned one - The Alchemist. The reason I tell you this is because I, along with some other local fans of his, gave him The Alchemist back in July! He has mentioned it a few times in interviews, but hearing him talk about it is pretty thrilling - even now. In fact, apparently Jason liked The Alchemist so much he’s now reading another Paulo Coelho book - The Valkyries.

It’s just really awesome because I know he was given a ton of books last summer. And of all the books he was given, all the ones he’s read since then, The Alchemist is the one that really seems to have stayed with him. And that makes me happy.

P.S. I also recommend reading The Alchemist. It definitely makes you think.

Today is absolutely gorgeous out. It’s supposed to rain later, but I am so not complaining. Tomorrow the Weather Network is saying it’s going to be 27, 31 with the humidex. 31!! That’s beach weather for sure.

This is pretty much my favourite time of year. That time when the long, cold, miserable winter is over and spring is being ushered in. There’s a different smell in the air (and no I’m not talking about that air pollution smell). It smells like new beginnings. Clean and fresh. I love it!