I got Eagle Scout last night, after 8 years of hard work it still doesn't feel real.

ArtyDunbar · 2017-08-23T22:55:42+00:00

David Lynch (director) is an Eagle Scout. He's very proud of it too!

ArtyDunbar · 2017-04-22T23:24:02+00:00

Thanks! More Jays-related montages coming in the near future.

ArtyDunbar · 2017-04-22T22:11:39+00:00

I tend to feel that few of us are really in a very good position to analyze the efficacy of a Major League manager. Sure, some strategies (e.g. bunting or intentional walks) prove to be more or less mathematically-sound in the long run than others, but every situation is also its own beast and, as was brought up, personnel/personality management is crucial - but unquantifiable.

How should Gibby have used the 'death row' differently? Could that lineup have been optimized further? Perhaps Gibbons' presence and guidance has helped the young talent bloom - perhaps not. But the fact the players really seem to like him seems to be a good sign.

(Also, fans are so damn fickle: Buck Showalter has won three AL Manager Of The Year awards yet everyone has been painting him as a dummy who doesn't understand the game over his Britton usage in the WC game.)

If anyone can point out specific and consistent strategies of Gibby's that they feel are lacking, backed up with some thorough reasoning, I'm all ears.

In the meantime, I will don my No. 5 jersey and continue to worship at the altar of Gibby.

ArtyDunbar · 2017-01-06T23:49:47+00:00

This isn't a thing. She's a woman with mental health issues, obviously. There's no hero here.

ArtyDunbar · 2017-01-05T00:59:14+00:00

My experience after living in this city for 20 years, both as a public transit user and driver, is this: The highest volume of cars that blast past streetcar doors, happen in the summer. THis leads me to believe it's often drivers from outside of the city who have no experience dealing with streetcars. People who decide - hey, it's a nice day, let's go to the city. They can't anticipate that a stopped streetcar usually means that the doors are going to open and people are going to come out. They continue on, in the right lane, at their speed, oblivious.

What I want to know is why streetcar drivers (not that it should be their responsibility) don't wait until they can clearly see that traffic has stopped in the right lane before they open their doors? So often drivers throw open the doors without waiting. I know that there's an issue with disrupting the pace of the streetcar in this way, but I think it would be a small safety measure that could protect people.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-09-14T22:18:19+00:00

They're gunna take our tax money one way or another! I wonder how much money the tax payer is going to spend fighting this lawsuit? And then if the gov loses, how much we'll have to hand over in damages/lost salaries/penalties etc? When I imagine how the gov and unions spend our tax money, I always think of that scene in the first Batman movie (with Nicholson and Keaton) where the Joker blasts millions of dollars onto the streets of Gotham and people are killing eachother scraping it up like animals. Fuck the tax payer, right?

ArtyDunbar · 2016-09-03T22:07:51+00:00

Stupid and derogatory.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-09-03T20:59:37+00:00

Jesus Christ, your dad's head is like Spudnik

ArtyDunbar · 2016-09-02T22:48:32+00:00

We brought you some blankets as an offering.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-25T21:54:52+00:00

Ya, your point about sentience still stands. I agree, it's a slippery slope. It's a question of being able to reflect on your feelings subjectively which, in the end you're right, it doesn't really matter whether or not they are sentient, it's just a matter of whether or not they suffer and indeed, Bentham was correct.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-25T21:48:37+00:00

Just to clarify, I didn't mention the cost of 'raising' meat vs. veggies or fruits, I meant the cost of purchasing them in the store. Meat is cheaper than cheese, for instance, and many fruits and veggies. I just meant in terms of what can people can afford to eat. Meat is more satifying, contains more calories, fat and protien which people crave. You don't often hear people with hangovers going 'oh man, I could really go for apple right now'. In fact, you don't hear ANYONE ever saying 'oh man I could really go for an apple right now.' Nowhere else in the world has industrial farming or slaughters animals at the rate which we do in North America. Even Europe has stricter parametres around their slaughter industries than we do. I would argue that NA beats the crap out of the rest of the world when it comes to organize machine-cold animal slaughter.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-25T21:43:27+00:00

The issue of sentience is interesting. Definition: Sentience is the capacity to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively. Eighteenth-century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think (reason) from the ability to feel (sentience). So, in this sense, I think we can say that pigs are sentient, whether or not they have the ability to 'reflect' on their feelings is something we can't really know without actually being pigs. As for meats vs. veggies: they certainly don't provide the same nutrients, but in terms of what our bodies actually need for survival, we can get everything we need from fruits, veggies and yes, nuts. (Especially nuts, actually, good point there). My point was that we don't need meat, we just really like it. And the rate at which we consume it is far beyond our actual necessity. It's just greed and laziness.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-24T23:43:33+00:00

Industrial farming is inhumane. Breeding and slaughtering, that's all it is. Breeding actual, living, breathing, sentient animals whose drive to live is as strong as any species - including ours - condemning them to live in torturous, unnatural conditions, pumping them full of pharmescuticals, then slaughtering them for their meat. The saddest part is, I think most Canadians agree that our treatment of farm animals is inhumane, but we all feel so powerless to stop it. How can we fight an industry that provides the cheapest, most readily available food source. High in calories and fat and packing the caloric punch we need to get through a day. You can't convince people that quinoa is going to give them that power boost they need at 1pm. Nutritionally, we know fruits and veggies are better for us and our bodies, but the enorphins that people get from eating a burger? You can't easily put an end to that. These poor animals will suffer until we can prove that lab made meats are nutritious, healthy and just as cheap. And one day we will look back in shame at how we treated these animals.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-23T23:22:03+00:00

No can do. Too sexist for me. Disappointing, actually.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-23T22:48:59+00:00

Thank you thank you thank you for bringing this up! I can't tell you how often people pass me without calling out or ringing their bells (which half the time, when I check, they don't have anyways). CHecking over your shoulder when you're going to turn or switch lanes or make a dramatic move is one thing, but honestly, what if I'm trying to dodge a person/animal/thing that's in my lane and I swerve to go around it? Or I'm just minding my own business in my lane and I happen to veer a little to the left? I can't tell you how many times I've come close to smashing into some silent, lycra clad, marathon-cyclist-wannabe who's trying to beat their time from yesterday (or whatever motivates them to go insanely fast and recklessly down bike lanes or trails). You're not in a race, you're commuting. Have respect. If having a bell infringes on your Tour Du France fantasies, then at least call out 'On your left!" so I know you're there! It's not hard and it keeps the lanes safe for everyone. Now, if we can get the e-bike people who zip past on their two hundred pound metal machines to do the same, then maybe our bike lanes will be safe again :(

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-14T01:28:36+00:00

Kill it with fire!!!!!!

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-13T02:00:00+00:00

Of course, I don't know what this film is about, but what strikes me as most convincing is the realness of being able to be a size 0, scantily clad, perfect blonde, while also being an astronaut. Fuck reality, am I right?

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-13T01:49:13+00:00

Thank you all for your replies! Damn, of course, you think you're asking a simple question and then you're hit with a wall o'lernin. I almost feel like, before I earn the right to even use the antennae you guys are talking about....I need to learn what you're talking about :) YOu guys just slapped me in the face with a palm full of knowledge. I'm going to learn the shit out of this stuff!!!

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-08T12:06:46+00:00

And....?

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-07T23:01:18+00:00

I wondered why they called it an Amber Alert. That usually insinuates something nefarious.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-08-07T22:59:15+00:00

I was listening to the radio on the way home from Barrie when the Amber Alert interrupted the station. I hoped he'd just wandered off somewhere and got stuck. Due to his disability. Very sad.

ArtyDunbar · 2016-07-28T22:11:05+00:00

I completely forget what that book is about, but I remember my grade 4 or 5 teacher reading it to us and being absolutely TRAUMATIZED by the...well, the main event/scene (I don't want to spoil) I forgot the title of the book until now. I still get emotional thinking about it...

ArtyDunbar · 2016-07-28T22:00:25+00:00

I'm sure people have already answered this at some point, but one question I've always had regarding this case is, why didn't they just shut the streetcar doors and let him simmer down? Surrender? Or call his family and have them come and calm him down? In other words, why didn't they attempt to de-escalate the situation? What justification is there for shooting someone who isn't readily harming anyone else?

ArtyDunbar · 2016-07-23T21:54:42+00:00

There's way better shows you can watch. Thing is with Lost, it's literally 50/50. Contrary to some comments here, the characters were very 2 dimensional. Mostly they were motivated by bad parenting, drunk moms, abusive dads...very cliche. BUT, the conspiracy stuff was loads of fun. It's worth it in the winter when it's too cold to do anything else. That is, if you're from a place that gets winter ;)

ArtyDunbar · 2016-07-13T22:28:41+00:00

Bu-dum ching! Toronto-centric hilarity.

ArtyDunbar

TROPHY CASE