(no subject)

From the Globe and Mail:

Power to all the people

Canadians are concentrated in four metropolitan centres, says political scientist ANDREW PARKIN. They need a federal system that reflects that

By ANDREW PARKIN
Monday, May 5, 2003 - Page A17

The distribution of Canada's population is shifting dramatically, posing a real challenge to political decision-makers who hope to broker consensus among Canadians living in different parts of the country. It is a change that will encourage those who feel we need to rethink the way the Canadian federation operates.

( Wanna read future projections of current demographic trends and their implications? )

Last Night

It went nicely. I went and had supper at a Chinese restaurant downtown, something Szechuanese, before going over to Dooly's to meet everyone for the reading of Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. I saw Joni come in after me, then Tara and Jeremy made their appearance known; Erin, Mariève, and Allan were the last ones to come in. We decided to go over to The Comic Hunter for the reading, given the poor light in Dooly's.

Perhaps ironically, I'm not a big fan of Oscar Wilde. Those of his works that I've read strike me as superficial, as one witty quote/observation after another strung into some sort of makeshift plot. The reading, though, made the play actually enjoyable for me. (Given Dave's absence in Europe, I voiced the roles of the butlers, and of Chasuble. Hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes.)

Afterwards, we went to the movie theatres to see X-2, the new X-Men movie. I'm coming to the X-Men universe almost entirely ignorant of the comics (again, oddly enough), but I enjoyed the first movie when I saw it on video and I enjoyed the second in the theatre quite a lot. The ending reminded me somewhat of The Search for Spock, which is all I'll say, but generally it was quite enjoyable.

Shadenfreude indeed, and true virtues

William Bennett--he of the Book of Virtues and other smarmy books--has lost eight million dollars at casinos. Timothy Noah in Slate suggests that is because casino owners were upset at Bennett's perceived public opposition to casinos. Whatever the reason, good to know.

And on a more positive note, but that I was one of these kids there now.

On the Permian mass extinction

From the New Scientist:

Methane prime suspect for greatest mass extinction

16:01 26 March 02

NewScientist.com news service

The release of massive clouds of methane from icy hydrates buried under shallow ocean floors is the leading suspect for the most devastating extinction in the fossil record, according to a new analysis.

( Read more... )

Late Start, but Good Outcome

I got up at 11:30, after being semi-conscious for an hour. I did nothing all afternoon--well, I did watch a depressing documentary on a Texan serial killer on A&E, one McDuff who got paroled because the prisons were full (after killing three people) and went onto to murder five more women. After that, the day picked up.

I went down to the Comic Hunter at 4 o'clock, to meet Allan. I hung aroudn there with him for a time until Joni came, then we went down to the Sobey's grocery store to pick up some food (chicken thighs and the ingredients for stuffed potatoes and some drinks) at 400 University Avenue before going over to pick up the 2002 movie version of The Importance of Being Earnest starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth at the nearby Blockbuster.

The movie was quite good, as was the accompanying food. It helps, I think, that the script was adapted so extensively to fit the movie; Wilde's play suffers, I fear, from an excess of wit, and the surgery performed on the source text makes it more digestible. On a slightly different note, it appears I'e been drafted as stage manager in an upcoming perform of The Importance of Being Earnest. This is going to be interesting.

Oh, and I saw the next-to-final episode of Angel. (Click here for a detailed description of the episode, spoilers included.) Brilliant show, it is.

'Tis all.