You say "tomato," I say "tomahto"

So, the other day I had a hankerin' for a good ol' toasted BLT.

I looked at the tomatoes sitting on the platter on my kitchen counter and could taste the bacon! Looking at the tomato there on the plate, knowing its fate, I decided to immortalize it in a painting first! The sandwich was better for it!

This blogger is MIA

It's ironic really ... I have a blog entitled "The everyday" and I can barely get a posting up once a month. It's not that I haven't observed something funny, ridiculous or ordinarily human. It's probably because I have.

For instance, walking down Bedford to Bloor St the other morning, on my way to work. A condo building is being wedged onto the north-east corner. A sign man is on Bedford holding a "stop" sign. A forklift is moving palettes of plywood from a truck parked on the west side of Bedford, across to the building site.

The cars turning north on Bedford from Bloor are stopped. They are also honking their horns. Can't they see the guy with the "stop" sign and the forklift in the middle of the street?

Another example, on Feb. 6 I watched Sarah Palin's keynote speech at the National Tea Party convention. (What's with the sexy hair?) Coincidentally, or not, I happened to be reading Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem." I thought Palin's speech, like all of her speeches, was shrill and vacant of any sense or meaning. I wonder how can it be that this woman is so popular? Maybe it's the hair?

A day or so later, as I was reading Arendt, I came across something rather revealing in her observations about Eichmann. Arendt was describing the details of a police examination transcript (see pg 48-9, 1964 ed.). In the transcript, Eichmann tries to explain something to the presiding judge and uses "stock phrases or slogans" and the judge has difficulty understanding Eichmann's meaning. Finally, Eichmann apologizes, saying, "Officialese [Amtssprache] is my only language."

Arendt continues, "But the point here is that officialese became his language because he was genuinely incapable of uttering a single sentence that was not a cliché." She later added that "... his inability to speak was closely connected with an inability to think ..."

I realized when I read these words that they provided a fairly accurate description of what I experience whenever I listen to Palin speak.

Before continuing let me say that I am not calling Sarah Palin a Nazi, nor am I trying to draw comparisons to the political scene in the United States today with that of WWII Germany.

My point is about clichés and the inability to think. Clearly, Sarah Palin suffers from both, but what I'm curious about is, why we are so many eager to believe in these clichés? In fact, we all at some point fall prey to clichés - her's just seem to me to be so obvious that I ask in disbelief, "can't they see she's bullshitting?"

Is it a matter of convenience? The banter issuing forth sounds like what we ourselves believe, therefore we just agree? Is this easier or more more convenient than thinking for ourselves?

Blue Monday

On the morning news it was reported that today is the most depressing day of the year. In fact, it has it's own name ... Blue Monday. (I wonder if they'll make this a stat holiday?)

The question then becomes, "Really, is that true?"

The anchorwoman cited the following reasons: failed new year's resolutions; credit card statements; and (at least in this country) the weather.

On one hand, I would agree with the above. On the other hand, I wonder if the mere suggestion that today is the most depressing day is enough to make us depressed? In other words, would we be as "blue" today, if we didn't know today was Blue Monday?

So, I decide to do a quick internet search for "Blue Monday" and what do I find? A Wikipedia entry for "Blue Monday."

Apparently, according to the Wikipedia entry anyway, the name was chosen as a publicity stunt for SkyTravel. In fact, they even invented an equation for it!!!

We are so easily persuaded. Time for another martini.

End of '09

As usual I've been delinquent with my posts! However, this time I have a darned good excuse ... I was in Costa Rica for the past month.

Yes, they have computers and the internet in Costa Rica ... but this trip was a time to unplug. No tv, no phone, no computer ... it's amazing what you can see when you're not distracted by so much noise!

I posted some pictures here.

Well, another year is about to end and another to begin. Let's hope 2010 is a good one!

Lies, big fat lies!

It really is a charmed life when the biggest problem of the day is that the claims made by my antiperspirant are found to be categorically false!

"Flawless?" Hardly! Just look at the sides of my bra! The insides of my shirts - especially the black polo! Do they really think that waxy, powdery film on my clothing is "flawless?"

This is not my idea of "going on clear." The use of the word 'clear' makes be think see-through, not visible ... but alas.

Then again, just because a window is clear doesn't mean you can't both see it and see through it!

The Height of the Commute

I experienced one of those moments that makes you glad (and this doesn't happen very often, usually I'm just indifferent) you take public transit.

I was on the westbound Bloor train, travelling to the St George stop. Standing beside me was a rather tall young man. Just after pulling out of the Bay St stop I overheard him say, "I'm six-six."

I looked to my left, where the young man was standing, and I noticed another very tall young man standing next to him! I guess he boarded the subway at Bay. The second very tall young man replied, "I'm six-five." Soon the two were chatting about their height, and no doubt all the doorways they had to duck through - they were so cute!

Ridin' with the herd

It all started at the Yonge-Bloor subway.

I was making my way to work this morning, standing on the Bloor platform waiting for the westbound train with the rest of the herd.

Train pulls in and stops ... people file off. Except for the "door-fungus" who made it difficult for anyone trying to get on the train. Nothing new.

We arrive at St George station where most of the train's passengers disembark, except for the "door-fungus." That is until an irate (and rightly so) passenger braces himself and scrapes the "blockage out" of the way with his left arm. Ha, ha ... should have seen the kid's face!

The herd, including myself, makes its way toward the stairs. We begin to climb in unison, moving slightly to the right to make way for the brave commuters trying to descend the stairs to the platform.

We get part of the way up the stairs and I look up only to find myself "snout-to-ass" with the woman in front of me. Unfortunately for me she was wearing a pair of low-rider pants.

Not only did I get an eyeful of her lower back, I was also privy to about 3 inches of the crack of her ass. No underwear, thong or any undergarment of any kind - just the crack of her ass!

To say that I was grossed-out would be an understatement. C'mon lady, buy a real pair of pants!

I guess stupid comes in all shapes n' sizes?!