Friday Meanderings

 

Greetings Friends,

To make up for the fact that I haven't been posting much lately, I've decided to tackle a few topics that have been meandering through my mind; like the image of the Rio Cauto in Cuba. Cigar anyone? 

Aversion to Air Conditioning

Contrary to what some of you might be thinking, it can get pretty darn hot up here in the Great White North; not to mention humid. It's fixin' to be a scorcher of a summer here in T.O. and I find myself wondering how and/or why some Canadians manage to ignore the heat. On a particularly hot day a couple of weeks ago, I saw a woman in the subway station in the middle of the day still wearing her winter jacket. Mind you, I know mornings can be chilly, but a winter jacket (a ski jacket no less) in June? And why do some people just flat-out hate air conditioning? I've been told that's a European sensibility, but I'm sorry; this Eastern European cannot live without it. Some of my neighbours can't even be bothered to open their windows as the mercury makes its seasonal climb. What's with that? Crank up the A/C s'il vous plait - my preferred summer temperature is "meat locker". 

Farewell Big Man

Last Saturday, the music world lost a giant. Clarence Clemons, sax player in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band passed away at 69 from complications after suffering a stroke. He was literally a giant, standing 6'4", and wailing on his saxophone with such soul, it was a thing of beauty. I must admit that I've never been the hugest of Springsteen fans, but I did always appreciate his music. My level of fandom did increase after seeing Bruce and the E-Streeters live, twice; once at Madison Square Garden and once at the Meadowlands arena in their home state of New Jersey. I've seen many concerts in my day, and I can honestly say I haven't been blown away by too many of them. Those two were up there with some of the best I've seen. R.I.P. Big Man; the band in heaven just got even better.

The Cult of Righteousness

I have nothing against freedom of religion. Worship whatever and whomever you'd like, but please don't be a hypocrite. What's good for the goose must be good for the gander, even when it's inconvenient. Faith should never be used as a shield, and individuals should never be so self-righteous that they feel the need to espouse peace, love and harmony when not ascribing to those virtues themselves. People are not perfect; neither is faith. Imperfect people choose to practice imperfect faiths, yet they want the world to believe they, along with their faiths, are perfect. Sorry, not buying it. Never did; never will. 

From Atlanta to Winnipeg (with a stop in Vancouver)

I didn't pay much attention to hockey this past season, but I must admit I am thrilled to see an NHL team return to the city of Winnipeg. The former Atlanta Thrashers will once again be the Winnipeg Jets (according to what I've been reading at the time of this writing). It was a mistake to put another team in Atlanta, after the original Flames team scurried off to Calgary 30 years ago. Once should have been enough for the Nebbishy Little Hobbit from Queens, but apparently not. There are a few more American teams I'd like to see return to Canada. I won't name names at this point, but I will say that the Canadian economy is in a much better place than the American economy right now. And, we do love our hockey, even though there are those who would attempt to destroy a city in spite of it. There's a difference between loving something and being an asshole. Unfortunately, it's always the assholes who manage to screw it up for everyone. And I'm not just talking about hockey "fans". 

BlackBerry Rehab

Word came last week that the company responsible for the "CrackBerry", Research in Motion (RIM), is faltering in a big way. Profits are way down and sales of the once popular device are waning. Could it be that we've moved on to new smart phone drugs? I've certainly seen many more iPhones in my travels lately than BlackBerrys. Experts opine that the powers that be rested too long on their laurels and let technology pass them by. Anyone remember Betamax tapes? 

Have a glorious weekend.

Nava