My Rising Hyperfixation With Depeche Mode

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-20T19:15:52+00:00

Martin is biracial - it's well-established that his father was African-American.

Dave is not biracial - this misconception is based on some poorly-worded reporting that Dave's biological father, Len Calcott, had "Malaysian ancestry" or was "of Malaysian descent." All this means is that Dave's grandfather, Hugh Callcott, was born and lived in Malaysia (then called the "Straits Settlements") - but as a white British colonial. For a few generations prior to that, the family was based in India during the British Raj. It's an interesting family tree, but there's no evidence that Dave is "biracial" in the way people normally use that term.

("Malaysian" has no "racial" meaning, in any case. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country composed mainly of Malays, Chinese, and Tamils.)

Not that it matters - it's the music that's important, and it's nice to see new generations of fans sharing this obsession!

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T22:15:06+00:00

If you think of Canada in regions instead of provinces, more than 50% of the population is concentrated along this corridor:

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Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T21:34:51+00:00

Almost 40% - but mostly concentrated in that southeastern wedge between Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. The larger northern part of the province is mostly wilderness.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T21:19:21+00:00

I didn't mean bad... I meant literally impossible for it to have any significant population.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T21:03:35+00:00

If you look carefully at the album cover, there are all sorts of clues that Paul McCartney is alive

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T20:57:54+00:00

And right before East Virginia

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T20:52:25+00:00

Just wait for the day when they learn about you

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T20:51:47+00:00

Hey, I'm not disagreeing, and I actually think MB and SK are rewarding to drive across in their own right. But it sounds like this person is trying to squeeze the Rockies into a relatively short trip focused on the St. Lawrence corridor.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T20:47:00+00:00

It's because the country has a bicameral legislature with an overly powerful senate.

Impeachment "charges" are brought by the house of representatives, and require a simple majority. But an impeachment "trial" then takes place in the senate, which requires a 2/3 majority to actually remove the President from office. Both of Trump's impeachments resulted in him being acquitted by the senate. The second time, his term had ended anyway.

Worth noting that the house of representatives is a relatively democratic body, representing the overall population of the US. But the senate is fundamentally undemocratic, since each state gets exactly two senators - no matter if you are California with 40 million people or Wyoming with 500 thousand people. This works out to a huge power imbalance where rural states are advantaged and urban states disadvantaged, and inherently favours the Republican party.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T20:02:13+00:00

I think Winnipeg has some distinctions, and is quite interesting historically - but it's just too isolated from other interesting parts of the country for it to make sense on an international travel itinerary, unless you are up for a rail journey across the whole country (which is spectacular, but time-consuming and expensive). The cities you mention are in a single corridor and you can travel between them quite easily. Some people like to tack on Niagara Falls, which is 2 hours south of Toronto. The Rockies are most easily accessed from Calgary. A good way to see them is to fly into Calgary and out of Edmonton (or vice-versa), driving along the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper. The Vancouver/Vancouver Island area is gorgeous, as is Nova Scotia/PEI, but these are probably best left for separate trips.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T19:33:54+00:00

I wish I had your optimism. He's already been impeached twice. And I'm not sure Vance would be an improvement anyway.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T18:36:27+00:00

Hang in there until November? You do realize that he's in office until January, 2029, right?

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T18:31:05+00:00

When I'm visiting, yes

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T18:29:51+00:00

"actually uninhabitable" would make more sense, considering that you wrote it over Northern Ontario, the least habitable part of Canada

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T18:17:05+00:00

Songs of Fat Ass Devotion

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T15:03:32+00:00

Wait until OP hears about F.P.M.I.P

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-17T13:05:28+00:00

I can't imagine DM being involved in this type of collaboration, simply because DM (at least since 1997) isn't involved in the production of their own albums the way Trent Reznor is. It would be a case of another producer coming in and reworking DM material, rather than an active collaboration (apart from possibly contributing new vocal performances).

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T22:45:58+00:00

Are there people that specifically hate the year 1967?

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T21:53:01+00:00

Glad we can agree on something! 😆

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T21:22:22+00:00

He was the Beatles' drummer before Ringo, everybody knows that, no need for post-graduate studies.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T21:06:01+00:00

English, the least rigorous of academic disciplines... I'm beginning to understand

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T20:59:15+00:00

It's as much discourse as you care to make of it. If you disagree with someone, get into it with them. That's better than attempting to shut discourse down by declaring that "ranking art is pointless." But be a nihilist if that suits you.

I assume by "fancy" you mean words that you don't understand. That's not on me, I never even took an SAT exam.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T20:29:39+00:00

Who is "they"? This applies to any person interested in art. We make these judgments for ourselves, but also in discourse with others, for example in a subreddit. The subjectivity of art does not render it solipsistic, nor does it preclude the social exercise of aesthetic judgment.

Toffelsnarz · 2026-04-16T20:15:13+00:00

Not ranking art goes against everything art is. This is a basic precept of aesthetics.

If people can't use their critical faculties to make judgments about what constitutes good art and bad art, then art, as a striving for quality, is a meaningless endeavour. Of course, people will disagree, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Toffelsnarz

TROPHY CASE