i_love_canadians red ribbon "i like to live in a world that's not supposed to be or it's just already there as it is. it doesn't have to be anything. we put a lot of constraints on ourselves every day in this crazy society. we're all running around like chickens living in this world that tells us what we're supposed to be all the time." "so what do you do? how does one try to live in a world that isn't what we're supposed to be?" "i guess the more you listen to your self then you can be ok with what you like." "what if your self is saying, i need to fit in desperately and do what others are doing?" "i don't know. i never felt that way. i like the isolation of my own thoughts." -a conversation between inuk throat singer tanya tagaq and q's gian ghomeshi from cbc radio 140530 ... unhinged i do too 140530 ... no reason why, thank you ;) (though i personally do not like jian ghomeshi.) 140530 ... past after having my own turbulent trip back home yesterday and being overjoyed that the city bus at the terminal that would take me most of the way home didn't leave without me, i observed an elderly scottish couple being given endless help, directions, pointers, tips, bus tickets, etc just because. it was heart warming. 140530 ... epitome of incomprehensibility (I heard that interview would be coming, and then I missed listening to it. I would. But it's probably online. So's my personal CBC favourite, science show Quirks and Quarks.) (Jian Ghomeshi doesn't rub me the right way either - he sounds kind of arrogant and annoys me by saying, "Happy [whatever day it is]" - but I guess that's an irrational reason for dislike. I didn't like the sound of my second aunt's voice until I learned she wasn't really sarcastic all the time. She just sounded that way. Who knows, maybe Ghomeshi isn't full of himself.Besides, you could say I'm full of myself too, though not usually arrogant, I think (but I use too many brackets, and that's a fault). Anyway, he does conduct some good musical interviews. M.I.A. a long time ago was an interesting one.) 140531 ... e_o_i is not completely serious So the CBC's okay. But Canadians in general? Hate 'em. 140531 ... nr as mentioned above, i never really liked jian ghomeshi, but i wonder what the truth is. i guess it's hard to ever know. 141026 ... raze it's difficult to work out what's true and what isn't. his lengthy facebook explanation can be read as either bravely setting the record straight, or trying to reframe events to paint himself as the victim and discredit the real victims. if there are that many people out there with stories of the guy's skeezy behaviour, it's hard not to think there's at least some truth to it. whatever additional information comes out in the next few weeks will probably make the whole thing even more muddled. whatever really happened, i never cared for the guy either. he always seemed smug to me, more in love with the sound of his own voice than anything his guests had to say (i think his introduction to a coeur de pirate live performance lasted longer than the song itself). and anyone who's that cruel to their facial hair, holding it to a state of perpetual stubble, never allowing it to develop into a full beard, is always going to be suspect to me. 141026 ... unhinged me too if scott walker becomes president i might have to marry one 141026 ... nr now there's this. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/10/26/cbc_fires_jian_ghomeshi_over_sex_allegations.html 141026 ... nr also, not sure canada is the place to move to for more liberal federal politicians guess you never know what could happen 141027 ... raze probably the most reasoned response i've seen so far (it's not as sensationalist as the title makes it sound): http://sexgeek.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/poor-persecuted-pervert/ 141027 ... e_o_i Sometimes "I love Canadians" turns into "stuff about Jian Ghomeshi" and that's okay. At least I can spell his name now; I used to think it was, Italianishly, Gian Gomeshi. The Sex Geek sounds smarter than I'll ever be about stuff like that. I'm just not sure about Canadians being more open about sexuality, as a blanket statement... but I guess it depends on what they're compared to and what's meant by open. To me, it's not fair if someone fired him just for being kinky in his private life. It's a bit of a grey area (not fifty shades, though Sex Geek made me laugh with the crack about bad grammar) if he's done potentially criminal things outside of work. I guess it's at the employer's discretion, then, whether the bad stuff reflects on the work and the safety of the workplace. Domestic violence is a big deal, and I don't think the CBC is overreacting by doing what they did... but to me, having a job shouldn't be mainly about deserving the job (in a moral sense) but whether being in the job is good or bad for the people around you. Does that make sense? I dunno. So if it's proved he's been harassing co-workers, for example, that's something directly job-related and I'd say, in that case, definitely keep him out. 141028 ... silly e_o_i Speaking of grammar, "proven" is the past participle, not "proved". I'm nearly as bad as E. L. James... I've been a bad girl, Ms. Geek! I need to be punished! 141028 ... raze a few updates: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/29/jian_ghomeshi_8_women_accuse_former_cbc_host_of_violence_sexual_abuse_or_harassment.html http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/reva-seth/reva-seth-jian-ghomeshi_b_6077296.html?utm_hp_ref=canada 141030 ... past i hate that accounts of abuse must be prefaced with "alleged" while jian's claims that everything was consensual, also not proven, doesn't need the "alleged" disclaimer. consent is also not proven, if we're getting into that, and treating it like the consent is taken for granted while the abuse isn't, then count me disgusted. it strikes me as adding insult to (very real and physical) injury. jian allegedly has proof of consent that his lawyers allege includes photographs. (were those also consensual? also: consent should be active, enthusiastic, ongoing.) what a fucking (alleged) creep. 141031 ... raze yeah. i don't think too highly of the CBC in all of this, either. they just released a memo stating they made the decision to let him go after they saw "graphic" evidence that he'd caused someone physical harm. when an employee came forward a few years ago and told her superiors she'd been the victim of verbal and psychological abuse, and he'd groped her in the workplace, she was told, "hey, that's the way he is … nothing we can do about it. but you're a malleable person. what can YOU do to make this a less toxic work environment for yourself?" that's wrong on so many levels, i don't even know where to start. “at no time prior to last week was the CBC aware that jian had engaged in any activities which resulted in the physical injuries of another person,” the memo says. they were, however, very much aware of the emotional injuries he'd caused and his predatory behaviour. they knew about that for years. they just didn't give a shit, because they could keep it under wraps. one of the takeaways from all of this for me is that the CBC doesn't care one bit about using their power to protect women who've been abused or ridding themselves of a toxic agent. they only care about trying to cover their own asses now that they can no longer hide the truth: that they allowed an atmosphere of abuse to exist, just as long as it didn't threaten to tarnish the reputation of their brand. knowing that's happening, allowing it to happen when you're in a position to do something about it, looking the other way because it "doesn't involve you" … in my view, they're not much better than he is. 141031 ... dairpo . 141031 ... nr here's a new thing about this whole thing that is uplifting: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/31/lucy-decoutere-jian-ghomeshi-facebook-status_n_6082024.html 141102 what's it to you? who go blather from