Sunday, February 17, 2008

DicksnJanes #139: allinone!

The Scarborough Dude makes another attempt to become one.

Music:
Ain't That Pretty At All - Pixies - Enjoy Every Sandwich
Bring The Boys Back Home - Pink Floyd - The Wall
A Strange Boy - Joni Mitchell - Hejira

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I *loved* Amelie Nothomb's book, and really *loved* the movie ("Fear and Trembling"). I think Sylvie Testud is just such a brilliant actress.

Nothomb's an interesting character, and ultimately, it's just her experience, from her very unique point of view. But it was interesting to hear what you'd thought of it, too.

Re: the cartoons. Now. I'm torn, because on the one hand, I'm not interested in censorship.

But I can't help thinking that on some level, there's a point where you also want to show some respect for the beliefs of others.

Surely there are other ways to represent the ideas explored in the cartoons that show a minimum of respect for others?

I'm not saying don't explore the ideas; I do think, though, that if I expect people to respect me and my beliefs, that I have to be respectful of theirs, too. And I don't think that freedom of expression gives people the right to be disrespectful.

Mind you, I don't think that justifies burning cars or any other extreme response, either.

I think peole confuse "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" with censorship. Again, there are ways to voice your disagreement while showing some respect for others.

Okay, can you tell I watched a movie centred on "Gandhi-ing" (as contrasted with "bullying") this evening?

:-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Ken

What a shock to hear that Takemi's bar is gone...
I had a lot of good times in that bar....in my mind a picture of Jimmy wandering in with a crooked smile on his face, a beautiful woman on each arm. He's not visibly upset, but he's having a bit of trouble with one of his "wives", so....three sheets to the wind again.
Takemi, behind the bar, busy putting on a jazz album, quietly taking it all in. Ah...Lena Horne.

We're all hungry, so Takemi makes a few of his "special" sandwiches at 3 am...then another round of drinks to wash it all down.

Various characters roll in, including a gaijin baseball player who's got a double header the following day. He overindulges slightly, and we all watch him on tv the next day, blowing his cookies while at bat. The announcer can't figure out what's wrong with him, but we know.

Like us, he can't easily shake his tendency to head down to Takemi's...

If you speak or see Takemi, please give him my very best...like you, I'll miss the best bar on Planet Earth. I just hope he finds his feet and opens another bar soon!

Cheers
rob

Unknown said...

Hi Dude:

Another great episode, and it's interesting how two of your topics relate to each other. I'm referring to your son posting the classroom altercation, and the Danish cartoon fracas.

If there is one thing that has the powers that be nervous these days is technology such as cellphone camcorders; everyone can be a citizen journalist. You only have to spend time on sites such as You tube to see plenty video of police brutality, classroom issues, etc.

In the old days, a cop could look at a judge and lie through his teeth saying "Your honour, these witnesses are lying; I did not push the defendant down the stairs; he slipped...", confident in the knowledge that with a nod and a wink the judge would give him the benefit of the doubt. Authorities relied on the the fact that they could easily discount eye-witness evidence. Just a few days ago, a U.S. state tabled legislation to enable the suppression of police misconduct videos -- they realize how powerful this technology is.

As far as the Danish cartoon issue is concerned, technology makes censorship and suppression almost impossible. Even if every physical copy of the newspapers with the cartoon was retrieved, Google cache, shared network storage and BitTorrent will keep the image alive indefinitely, regardless of what fundamentalists think.

By definition, there is no debating with fundamentalists (of any persuasion). You either agree with them 100%, or you are the enemy. To hell with 'em (again of all persuasions, so I include for example the US religious right.)

The comment is turning into a book so I should wrap it up, but thanks again for mentioning On the Log! To address the "circle jerk" concerns, the next time I do an episode you don't like or disagree with, make a point of slagging me :)

Anonymous said...

Ohisashiburi Dude,
I was also saddened to hear that Takemi's has closed. I had only been there a handful of times, but he seemed like a real gentleman and the place had great atmosphere, a rarity these days. You should ghost-write his autobiography, he must have some interesting yarns. Enjoyed the show, you covered a lot of bases, good music too. I gather you're Japan bound, be nice to have a pint while you're here. All the best, Paddy

Todd Tyrtle said...

Loved the show as always. I was particularly interested in the story of your son's "issues" with the principal.

My opinion, as something of a shit disturber that possesses a bit of disdain for the indoctrination..oh wait, I mean *education* system is that he should have left it up. In my opinion the possibility that one's actions could be posted for all to see could discourage inappropriate behaviour. I am not afraid to admit that as a blogger with a bit of a thing for honesty, I have on more than one occasion refrained from doing something (mildly) stupid because I knew I would feel obligated to write about it.

Peter Gabriel (yes, that one) took this idea a bit further and created Witness to "[...use] video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change." A little more serious than a teacher/student shouting match but that's what I was reminded of.

Scarborough Dude said...

Todd (and others): Just to set the record straight; turns out my son hadn't uploaded the video, just received it from friends, like every other kid in the school, but still the story did not hit the 6 o'clock news. But he had joined a related Facebook group, and unjoined willingly at the principal's suggestion. It ain't over yet though...

Katherine, John, Rob and Paddy- thank you. Stay tuned eh...

Anonymous said...

An old blog post about my wife becoming a Canadian. I think you'll enjoy it Dude:
http://davemadethis.blogspot.com/2005/10/welcome-to-canada-time-to-buy-watch.html

Cheers,
Dave