How bad.

I think the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina will be much worse than anybody would have thought. It looks like many people stayed behind, for various reasons, and are either suffering right now while waiting to be rescued, or are dead.

People in the poor areas of New Orleans didn't listen, or couldn't leave, and were trying to ride it out at their homes. Many bodies have already been found, and with the water continuing to rise tonight, people that are trapped in their homes may not make it.

It's hard to believe that this could happen, especially in a wealthy country like the U.S., where warnings were broadcast for days ahead of time. Maybe the warnings should have been more urgent, because there is no reason for people to die in a storm like this, which allows for such early warning.

DB

Katrina

I've heard comments on "New Orleans is sinking man, but I don't wanna swim.",
but I haven't heard anybody comment with "Katrina and the Waves."

I guess the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama aren't
"Walking on Sunshine" at this moment.

DB

New Orleans is sinkin' man...

...and I don't wanna swim.

What a crazy Hurricane that is in the Gulf of Mexico right now.
When you look at the satellite images, it covers 2/3 of the Gulf!
And the sustained winds are over 160 or 180 mph,
making it a category 5, which is the strongest on the scale.
The temperature of the water in the Gulf right now is in the high 80F,
which is fueling this storm to it's massive size.

And the storm is headed right for New Orleans,
which is below sea level,
and may actually be doing what the Hip sing.

DB

Wat a krazee wirld

Just when you think things are crazy enough,
they get even crazier.

Things all around the World seem to be so unstable,
at least it all looks unstable.

It seems to be all of the fundamentalists,
not just one, but all of them (well, some of them?).

Then today, Mr. Robertson says that
Mr. Chavez should be assassinated.

Crazy!!!

DB

Another crowd at Ontario Place

Coming home today, I saw a guy and his girlfriend
walking along the Lakeshore wearing Motley Crue
T-shirts.

As I came around the corner to Ontario Place,
there were huge crowds parking cars,
and walking to the Amphitheatre.

I figured that it must be a Motley Crue concert,
and I was right. They are playing with Sum 41,
and other bands.

I was thinking that it's unusual that the most
well known member of the band is Tommy Lee,
and he's a drummer.

There aren't many drummers that are the most
famous in the band.

There are exceptions, like Phil Collins and
Don Henley. But typically it's the lead singer
or lead guitarist that get the most exposure.

Coincidentally, Tommy Lee's reality show
where he goes to College was on TV tonight.

Now I am known by everybody to hate
'reality' TV, but I got caught up in this so
called 'reality' show tonight.

I haven't watched it before, but it is kind of funny.
It is very scripted, like all 'reality' shows are,
but they do a funny job at it.

I think that's enough 'reality' for a while...

DB

Sweeping...

Every night at around this time, 23:00, street cleaners go past in the Westbound lanes of the Gardiner, cleaning the sides of the highway. First two tankers go past spraying the dirt to the sides, then a line of 2 or 3 sweepers go past, followed by two crash trucks.

This is the first year that I've noticed them doing this each night, and I have been wondering why they do it so often. You wouldn't think that the highway would get that much debris every day, requiring it to be swept each night.

The process leaves a traffic backlog along the Westbound lanes for around 10 to 20 minutes each night.

DB

Yellow Jerseys

This evening, while riding my bike home from work,
I noticed a lot of people riding with yellow jerseys on.
It seemed that it was more than a coincidence,
that they were wearing them the day after Lance won
his seventh straight Tour de France.

As it turned out, I too was wearing yellow,
but that was a coincidence.
My t-shirt was a light yellow,
where the TDF jersey is a bright yellow.

This got me thinking about how I'm saddened
by Armstrong not racing anymore,
as he retired after winning this year.
It is more than just not seeing him race anymore,
but that it is the end of an era,
a new time in our lives.

When he won his first TDF, I was 30 years old.
My Nieces and Nephew were a whole lot younger,
and one wasn't even born yet.
I wasn't working in Toronto yet,
and it was still 2 years before I moved to T.O.

A lot of my friends got married during those 7 years.
I bought a new car, as well as a condo during this time.
A whole lot has changed.

DB.

37th Summer

Today I heard my first Cicada's of the summer,
for me that sound signifies summer.

It's been a very hot and humid few weeks,
and I was sitting in Mom & Dad's backyard.
It was early evening, and the Cicada's were
up in the Locust trees.

It had rained earlier in the day,
the first heavy rain in weeks.
The garden was still wet, and the
trees and plants were looking lush and green.

DB

One side or the other.

A Jamaican woman, in her mid-life, approached us at the Metro Hall park. She started speaking to us, but I couldn't fully understand her because of her strong accent. She was speaking about Baptist Ministers, Gay Pride week, Adam and Eve instead to Adam and Steve. Then she was saying something about how a woman should submit to a man, but that this doesn't give a man the right to abuse a woman. She was telling me that I shouldn't abuse my wife, but that she should still obey me, among other things.

Then she started talking about how I could call a number she'd give me, to confirm that what she was saying was the truth, and not just some homeless crackpot on the street spitting out a bunch of bunk. She wrote this out on a piece of paper, and handed it to me: Rev. W.P. Bauman 416-447-1680.

All of this on a glorious Thursday afternoon, with wonderful sunshine, and a warm temperature.

DB

Street Dancing

On the corner of Queen West and Soho this evening, there was a group of guys dancing on a 10 foot x 10 foot piece of linoleum. It was a typical brown with a grid to make it look like tiles; you've seen it many times in kitchens. They weren't ballroom dancing, or anything like that, but were break-dancing, if that's what it's still called. The linoleum was laid down outside the Black Bull patio.

There was a large crowd on onlookers, many putting money in a large white plastic bucket, and applauding at the various moves. The music came out of a beat up 'ghetto-blaster', that looked like it came from the '80's. The music played from a cassette tape, and had some good funky beats.

A few people, including myself, were taking some candid photographs, and I was able to get a 15 second video clip that turned out well, with people walking past. One man had a video camera, and was taking some extended video footage of the troupe. One of the dancers approached the camera man, and entered into a discussion about what he was filming for. The dancer ended up writing his contact information into the camera man's date book, for what I assume is a future endeavour.

Cars and trucks were driving by, on the busy summer evening, with the sun shining, and the temperature warm. With the music blasting, the drivers were craning their necks, to see what the commotion was all about. A bicycle cop was across the road, also taking in the show.

The Queen streetcar showed up as the crowds were moving on, and a new crowd started to gather. I stepped onto the streetcar, and could hear the music playing, as I went further away.

DB

Margaritaville

As I rode my bike home after work today, I came around the corner at Ontario Place, only to be met by a traffic jam of cars, buses, taxis, limousines, and a crowd of people walking. The parking lots were overflowing, and the cars just kept coming in off of Lakeshore Blvd. It took several minutes to navigate through the people and vehicles.

I noticed people had set up tents, tables and chairs throughout the parking lots, and were drinking and barbequeing. These people must have been there for hours, braving the thunder storms and heavy showers. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still dark, the ground wet, and the lake was covered in fog. You could smell the rain, the heat, the humidity, the worms on the ground.

Further around the corner, I could see Lakeshore Blvd. again, and the traffic was backed up for miles. People were sitting in lawn chairs with drinks that looked like pina coladas or margaritas, and I soon found out that they were most likely margaritas. A few drunk guys, bare chested, were calling out to cars driving by on Lakeshore, for the women to bare their breasts. I don't think that they had any takers.

I was definitely curious to find out who was playing at the Amphitheatre this night, so I asked these bare chested drunks. They said "Jimmy Buffett". It all made sense now. People in their 40's and 50's, acting like teenagers, drinking in the parking lot, waiting to see their youth again.

As I rode the rest of the way home, the lakeside park was deserted, because of the threatening rain, and it was nice to be left in solitude. The grass looked refreshed from the rain, and the trees hung low with the weight of the much needed water on their leaves. The fog over the lake left an eerily calm feeling to the backdrop of the rushour traffic just behind me.

DB

Sunglasses 'R' Us

I was out looking in some shops along Queen West again. I decided to pop in at Sunglass Hut, to see what they have in stock. As soon as I stepped inside, a sales lady latched onto me, and wouldn't let go. Before I could even look at anything, she asked "What type of sunglasses are you looking for?" I told her that I was just looking around, to see what they have in stock.

As I was looking around, she kept coming up to me, saying "Do you want to try those on?" or "Those would look good." or other comments. I tried a few pairs on, and she kept saying "Do you like those?" I said that I didn't know what I wanted, and that I just wanted to look.

Finally I just said that I didn't want to buy any, and left. I do like the stuff that Sunglass Hut sells, because they have fashionable glasses, and at a reasonable price. But every time that I go to one of their stores, I find them to be very pushy, trying to force a sale on you. If I asked for their help, then I'd like their attention. But when I say that I'm just looking at the moment, then I want them to leave me alone.

DB

Kan you hear me?

I had just finished eating a quick lunch, at a diner on Queen St. W. The manager/owner just started going around collecting dirty dishes from the tables, and a grey haired and bearded man walked in, wearing bluejean overalls. He was doing an old trick among panhandlers, handing out business cards that said he couldn't speak or hear, and if you could spare some change.

The manager went and picked up the cards, and handed them back to him, and told him to leave. Once she turned her back, he went right back to handing out the cards. She once again rounded up the cards and ushered him out the door.

She came to pick up my plates, as I stood up to leave, and was telling me that he's been coming there for 15 years, doing the same thing. "He come for 15 years, every day. And just you wait, his wife will be by in half an hour." She went on to say "...and they both can speak, they not deaf and dumb."

She then told me that they lived in the public housing around the corner, collected welfare, and that this was some extra tax free cash that they round up.

As I left the diner, I walked East on Queen St. W., and saw the man walking ahead of me. He came up to a woman, to whom he spoke, and handed her the business cards. She then proceeded back the way that I had just come from, handing out the cards to people on the street. I'm sure that she was on her way back to that diner.

DB

Job Creation

We were out at Subway for lunch, sitting out on their patio. An elderly gentleman was sitting next to us on a bench. It was pretty windy on the street, and one of the plastic bags that the sub came in blew down around his feet.

We were about to go and pick it up, and he lifted his feet to let the bag blow on down the road, and said "Let it go, there are people who will pick it up. It gives them jobs, work to do."

He went on talking about politics, and the economy. After a couple of minutes he stood up to excuse himself, and said "So that's my speech. Today is my 80th birthday, and that was my birthday speech. Thanks for listening."

We wished him a happy birthday, and he was on his way, walking across the street without a care, making cars stop for him.

DB

Why can't they just do their jobs?

I can't stand it.
Why are people so lazy?
Why can't they do their work properly?
Why is it that I'm the last one in the office,
when they have more work to do?

Go and drink your damn espresso.
Go and chat at the water cooler.
Go and surf the internet.
Go and talk for hours on end on the phone.

WTF is going on?

DB

Hackamadoodle

The Simpons
still has its moments...

DB.

Is it worth it?

I was able to purchase
U2 tickets for one of their
Toronto shows in September.

I almost panicked,
because the Ticketmaster
website was so busy;
but I was able to finally
get some mediocre tickets.

Originally there was only
two shows,
but half an hour into sales,
they announced two more shows.

They sold out pretty quick.

DB.

Movies

Be Cool
An enjoyable movie.
Didn't expect much,
but really enjoyed it.
The Rock and Andre 3000
were very funny.

The Village
Since I was able
to figure out what
was happening
during the first
ten minutes,
the rest of the movie
wasn't very
impressive.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
An enjoyable action type
science fiction movie.

DB.

Ida know...

Here it is,
five days past
the Ides of March.

I was hoping
to be riding my bike
to work by now.

The weather
is still cold...
and snowing.

DB.

The Wild Boys!

Barbarella, what a crazy one she was.

What would people think if you were
sitting in your car in a parking lot,
honking the horn, and flashing the
lights on and off?

Would they think that you were stealing
the car?

DB.