Author Archive for Cynapse
There’s rarely such thing as being unlucky in love. Bad luck is much like good luck in that pure instances of such are exceedingly rare. Even winning the lottery is not 100% luck since one first has to make the conscious decision to play. So what to make of those who perpetually end up in bad situations and consider themselves “unlucky”?
Everyone knows at least one girl or woman who claims to be unlucky with the opposite sex. She can never seem to get a break as she muddles through relationships with jerk after jerk. None of her men are faithful. None of them treat her right. It’s as though cupid were shooting her with poison darts.
Similarly, most people know at least one apparently “nice guy” who can’t seem to find a soul mate. His girls take his money, string him along, makes eyes at his friends, keep an unusual number of male friends of their own and eventually leave him for someone more exciting.
The obvious solution would be to pair these unlucky guys and gals together – surely their mutual sensitivity and desire not to break hearts would create a long and stable relationship?
Actually, it wouldn’t.
Western romance’s saddest irony is actually being quite good at delivering what we want – only later do we figure out that what we want is not what we need. This has little to do with the available population and much to do with our sampling, as humans are hard-wired to be initially superficial – if you want a thin blonde with a D-cup, chances are you’ll eventually find one. Can you complain when she turns out to be a bitch? No, because you asked for a thin blonde with a D-cup and left the rest to chance.
People who say “I want a nice guy” or “I need a regular nice girl” are willfully ignorant to the fact that they are probably surrounded by such individuals. They are at the post office checking their mail, walking their dogs and serving coffee after school. What they’re not doing is providing the requisite “excitement” or prestige to play to the fantasies of the opposite sex. They’re normal and boring – kind of like you.
From my observation, the average person selects a date to suit one of two visions –
- How she sees herself
- How she sees herself in the future
For #1, low self-esteem causes people to pick mates that will be at best inattentive and at worst abusive. Some fear being alone and will pick almost anyone for companionship - an even more dangerous position. Predators and narcissists thrive on weak-willed people and can usually turn on the charm just long enough to snag a new victim.
For #2, the unlucky one is typically choosing a mate to reflect her ambitions. This includes physical attributes of course but could also apply to financial wealth and status. Back when I was active on the dance music scene, women found great prestige in dating the DJ. Apparently it didn’t matter if he was a bony, 150lb recluse whose star profile was unknown outside Ontario – dating the DJ made you somebody! The same logic creates endless generations of “puck bunnies” (girls who chase emerging hockey players) and vapid club girls. So not to be sexist, the fellas can rarely ignore the pouty pin-up girl in the mini who looks like she just stepped out of a teen movie.
And what happens when the prestigious DJ turns out to be a total psychopath? His mate is pitied and she calls herself unlucky. But luck has little to do with the process – when people choose based on surface attributes, everything else is basically crap shoot and -more often than not- “crap” is what results.
Title: Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband’s Violent Revenge
Author: Caitlin Rother
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Release: April 2008
Genre: True Crime
Length: 304 Pages
Rating: 88%
At least, Margo may have wished that was the case. In reality, Gene –an eerily successful undercover agent used to playing roles convincingly- managed to terrorize and brutalize Margo for the better part of a decade, at one point kidnapping her for several days and at in another instance engaging in a shootout at a church.
Mind you, Margo is no saint – a point author Caitlin Rother conveys adequately despite having no direct participation from Patsy or Gene. Margo started down the wrong path early in life, highlighted by an abusive incident with her father and the dutiful nonchalance of her traditional southern mother. As a result, most of Margo’s adult life would be spent drifting in and out of short infatuations –heterosexual and homosexual- that she ritually mistook for love. Her marriage to Gene took a turn for the worse almost instantly when he decided to break FBI protocol by collaborating with various undercover contacts on money-making schemes (including defrauding an FBI program designed to prevent equity loss by agents selling their homes to relocate).
Patsy entered the picture hoping to get some pointers from real-life agents and her attraction to Margo was instantaneous. After some cat and mouse, the two blondes eventually came clean and choose to explore their feelings, causing Margo to drift obliviously away from both the social taboos of her Virginia surroundings and, more destructively, her duties at home. Being a seasoned FBI agent, Gene determined the nature of his wife’s relationship to her “new friend” in relatively short order and launched a campaign of psychological warfare fit for one of Patsy’s novels.
Rother touches on several recurring themes while sorting through the sordid details of the Bennetts’ marriage. Margo’s attractions were typiced short-sighted and screamed the need to fill a void from her childhood. Yet Patsy –despite being non-violent while showering both Margo and her two daughters with gifts- was barely more attentive than Gene. Both lovers tended to treat Margo as a possession rather than a person. Throughout the story, the Bennett children were used as pawns by Gene while being secondary on Margo’s mind (next to personal survival). Predictably, both girls eventually needed a lot of therapy - much of it administered in the form of drugs, sex and self-mutilation. To that end, the latter section of the book is bittersweet, reveling in the protagonist’s survival as much as it cautioned about the fallout.
Twisted Triangle is not my usual book but was a nice diversion from geo-political and financial literature. Caitlin Rother’s work is highly rated by Amazon.com readers and, based on this non-fictional account, the adulation is justified. I look forward to reading more of her work.
Just when you thought the latest Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) shakedown had passed without incident, the union rank and file have voted to reject a tentative deal and go on strike effective at midnight:
The TTC’s largest union has voted not to ratify a tentative agreement reached with management last weekend and the transit system will grind to a halt at midnight.
Sixty-five per cent of TTC union members voted to reject the tentative agreement, which required a 50-per-cent plus one vote to pass. Bob Kinnear, the union president, said he had no choice but to call an immediate strike for the safety of his members.
The deal, which critics of Mayor David Miller have criticized as being too generous, offers TTC workers improved health benefits and three years of 3-per-cent annual wage increases, that will make TTC drivers the best paid in the Greater Toronto Area.
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But in a clause seized on by critics, the deal also offers bus drivers an additional raise in December of 2009 if their pay falls behind that of other Toronto-area drivers, something the union says it deserves because of the demands of driving a bus or a streetcar in the city.
If ever there were an argument for the abolition of unions for municipal workers, this is it. The TTC workers union overriding Kinnear’s promise of a 48-hour advance notice is disrespectful to both Kinnear and the city. To do it on a Friday night –when many Torontonians are already out and expecting a ride home- should be criminal. The cowardly maintenance workers who drove this rejection do not have to deal with the drunken public ire sure to keep TTC drivers and police busy for the first few hours of this strike (ironically, Kinnear claims to have pulled the services suddenly to prevent TTC workers from having to endure public backlash).
The lesson from this is simple – unions should only be allowed in industries and services where striking hurts the owning companies and possibly themselves. Calling a strike for an essential service is tantamount to holding the local economy hostage while doing so on short-notice is just plain dangerous. The union is acting irresponsibly and their complaints ring hollow in a city where a ticket collector earns phenomenally more than a retail clerk, despite doing less work. Darts for their lack of consideration.
Additional darts to Adam Giambrone for not taking charge when his presence was requested and to David Miller for refusing to forsake his China holiday / trade mission to fight this fire.
And finally, a dart to the city of Toronto. You wanted socialism, you got it.
Some of you may not know the name Richard Warman but he may cause you to delete your Blogger account:
Linking one blog to another and allowing comments on her blog postings has landed one prominent Saskatchewan blogger in a legal quandary.
Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals is one of several named as defendants in a statement of claim filed by Richard Warman with the Ontario Superior Court on April 7. Others include Ezra Levant, the National Post and one of its journalists, Jonathon Kay.
In the statement of claim, Warman alleges he was defamed on a blog known as freedominion.ca. He alleges that those comments were linked to or commented upon on other blogs, including McMillan and the National Post’s.
This round of lawsuits stems from criticism of Warman’s earlier lawsuits via the Canada Human Rights Commission:
A complaint to police alleges that federal human-rights investigators used an unwitting woman’s wireless Internet connection to log on to white supremacist websites and make postings to chat groups.
The complaint to the RCMP and Ottawa police was made this week by Toronto resident Mark Lemire, who runs a website that has been the subject of a long-standing hate case before the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Among other things, Lemire’s complaint alleges that commission investigators breached sections of the Criminal Code by “wilfully and with malicious intent” using the woman’s connection without authorization and “committed theft of telecommunication service.”
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Lemire’s freedomsite.org website, started in 1995, became the subject of a commission hearing in 2003 after Ottawa lawyer Richard Warman complained that postings on the site promoted hatred or could subject a group to contempt.
So far the following bloggers have been targeted:
- Ezra Levant
- Kate McMillan (Small Dead Animals)
- Free Dominion (two members)
- Kathy Shaidle (Five Feet of Fury)
Jack (Jack’s NewsWatch) has created a thread for those who want to contribute to the defense fund for bloggers targeted by Warman. Chances are most donations will come from supporters who agree with the bloggers’ views, which could be best described as anti-immigrant and extremely critical of Islam. Kathy has a strong penchant for attacking blacks while Ezra hawkishly stalks Muslim groups for even the slightest confrontational statement. The large percentage of Canadians, who tend to value tolerance, may not see a problem with suing a handful of bloggers who profit from whipping up nationalist sentiment.
However, one needs to look at the big picture before saying “good riddance” to a few extremists. Suppose Warman and the HRC successfully sue the current crop of bloggers. Who’s next? Any of us could be next, so long as we dare to say anything even slightly critical of an activist group that declares itself to speak for a demographic group. For instance, Emilia’s article on the Hijab was followed by a rather heated discussion between two of my long-term readers and a Muslim poster named
Canada’s treatment of those who hold unpopular opinions must be monitored alongside its treatment of demographic minorities, as both are an indication of the actual freedoms we enjoy in this nation. Both groups represent the proverbial canaries in the coal mine when the government starts to overstep its bounds and use the charter as a sword against dissidence rather than a shield against abuse.
Public funding for art has always been a prickly issue. In Canada, the movie industry is rallying against a bill that would deny tax credits to film productions deemed offensive:
The change to the Income Tax Act (Bill C-10) would allow [Heritage Minister Josée] Verner, or a government committee, to deny tax credits to productions deemed offensive and “contrary to public policy.” Members of the Canadian film and television industry have criticized the possible amendment for threatening to deplete Canadian production by casting doubt over its financing.
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The amendment has also been condemned by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association for having been possibly motivated by special interest groups.
When asked if Bill C-10 were influenced by the head of the Canadian Family Action Coalition Charles McVety - who has claimed credit for the provision - Verner denied any involvement.
“Offensive” is a relative term, of course – McVety feels that tax credits should be withheld from film films that promote homosexuality, extreme violence or graphic sex. Which acts qualify as such and whether all depictions necessarily constitute promotion is unclear. However, Canada’s fiction-based movie issue pales next to the furor brewing in Costa Rica over the “torture art” of Guillermo Vargas Habacuc. Having received honorable mention at the 2006 Central American Biennial, the 50-year old artist caused a firestorm with his 2007 display Eres lo que lees (“You are what you read”). According to British newspaper The Guardian, Habacuc leashed a stray dog without direct access to any food or water, but within smelling range of the dog biscuits used to create the title. The display also included the Sandinista anthem being played backwards along with a large amount of crack-cocaine smoldering in an incense burner. The dog reportedly died on the scene without any intervention by Habacuc or the audience.
Habacuc defended his display as a reflection on society’s treatment of animals:
Hello everyone. My name is Guillermo Vargas Habacuc. I am 50 years old and an artist. Recently, I have been criticized for my work titled “Eres lo que lees”, which features a dog named Nativity. The purpose of the work was not to cause any type of infliction on the poor, innocent creature, but rather to illustrate a point. In my home city of San Jose, Costa Rica, tens of thousands of stray dogs starve and die of illness each year in the streets and no one pays them a second thought. Now, if you publicly display one of these starving creatures, such as the case with Nativity, it creates a backlash that brings out a big of hypocrisy in all of us. Nativity was a very sick creature and would have died in the streets anyway.
Visitors to Central America or the Caribbean have most likely run into a few of the many stray dogs that run around the countryside and occasionally in the city (the strays in Trinidad enjoy walking along very thin brick barriers that separate mountain roads from +100 foot drops). Thus, the informed skeptic’s question is simple: if Habacuc is so interested in drawing attention to the plight of stray animals, why didn’t he just photograph some of readily-available examples?
Furthermore, his statement that the dog would have died anyway smacks of opportunism. Imagine if a Costa Rican government official suggested that dangerous drug experiments should be performed on the sick and destitute since they will probably die anyway.
Alas, attaching the word “art” to an act or display seems to invite defense for what would otherwise be considered psychopathic and indefensible. Juanita Bermudez, director of the gallery, asserted that the dog was only tied up during the public display and didn’t die on the premises (which contradicts the implication of Hubacuc’s earlier quote). Similarly, there will be many arguments about how art is supposed to challenge the senses and evoke strong reactions among its viewers.
Perhaps. However, most art accomplishes this through depiction. Action movies, death metal and first person shooter games all deal heavily with the macabre but do not physically commit violent acts to convey the message.
The Central American Biennial is one of a network of general art shows and the official sponsorship list has proven evasive. Assuming there was at least SOME government funding involved, would it have been appropriate to withdraw support for the show based on Hubacuc’s cruelty? Arguably, most Canadians would say yes. But by doing so, are we putting ourselves in league with McVety and his moral police? It seems the best solution would be for the government to get out of the art funding business except when commissioning specific works (e.g. a mural on some government property).
The odds that Canada or any other nation will ever settle on a standard for what is “offensive” are vanishingly small. In a free market, people can determine what is to their liking via purchasing art works and attending art shows. Those who are offended can simply not attend and have no other recourse since their dollars are not being used to fund it. If a market-driven approach is ever proven to be heavy-handed, the government could alternatively pass a law withholding funding to “art” involving real (not depicted) activity that would otherwise lead to an arrest.
Wordpress 2.5 is finally out and, like many, I chose to install it before the developers addressed the critical security fixes. The changelog can be found on the original website but here are some of the highlights:
- Cleaner, faster, less cluttered dashboard
- Dashboard Widgets
- Multi-file upload with progress bar
- EXIF extraction
- Search posts and pages
- Tag management
- Password strength meter
- Concurrent editing protection
- Few-click plugin upgrades
- Friendlier visual post editor
- Built-in galleries (create a gallery automatically, allow comments for individual photos!)
So far the upgrade has not caused any major malfunctions. The biggest improvement I see so far is improved use of real-estate in the editor - the save buttons are now beside the edit window and the user can easily see when the post in progress was last saved. The concurrent editing protection is nice because it allows multiple users to work on a post without clobbering each others’ changes. The image gallery (see below) is a very welcome addition that should reduce dependency on Flickr and similar external services.
This thread is for comments from anyone who has upgraded or is considering upgrading to Wordpress 2.5. Please share any comments, questions and observations.
Updates: Compatibility Issues
2008-03-31:
Redoable Template v1.2 - LiveSearch option no longer works. Searches fail to find any results (tested searches that previously worked under WP2.3)
2008-04-15:
Inserting a picture from the gallery works absolutely perfectly on one computer but hangs on the other. Both machines are running Firefox 2 on Windows XP. The non-working machine requires the user to load the picture to the gallery, copy the URL, exit the gallery, press the image button and paste the URL.
Updates: Welcome Discoveries
2008-03-31:
Editor opens and reloads in most recently used editing mode. No more defaulting to Visual/WYSIWYG mode after saving a post.
2008-04-13:
Upgrading to WP2.5 can improve the display of certain templates. After upgrading Crux of the Matter, the template WP-Andreas09 2.1 now displays the font consistently in the left and right columns on IE browsers. Previously the fonts were noticeably larger in the right column, although the CSS template did not specify this difference.
Updates: Other Views
2008-04-13:
Sandy (Crux of the Matter) recently upgraded to WP 2.5 and has shared her own observations.
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