6:10 PM

Farewell, Crapmobile, hello Blueberry


Dir en grey - "Undecided"

Mine. All mine. Well, it will be once I'm done paying it off. The important thing is that it's sitting in the garage and I have the keys.

Get your grubby paws off my seats.

3:51 PM

Journalism IS a cheap parlour trick

Big-time reporter Rosie DiManno writes for the Toronto Star:

Going "undercover" to tell a story is just about the laziest form of reporting existent. The conceit is that a reporter masquerading as a citizen sign-up – or homeless person or religious cultist or domestic – can better grasp the matter by providing a first-person in-those-shoes account. But this is shortcut journalism and intrinsically dishonest.

I say dishonest not because of the core misrepresentation – duplicity is a common tactic in reporting, if only by posing as a sympathetic audience – but because a story thus told becomes more about the narrator and less about the subject. Why bother asking the relevant questions or doing the time-consuming research when the reporter can just "see for himself"?


Well, Ms. DiManno, if that is your real name, I disagree.

The failure in her argument is that journalists who go undercover are trying to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. That is, how will you really know what it's like to be handicapped if you don't see what it's like yourself? How will you know what it's like to live on the streets? The so-called news item then becomes a narrative of your time...except you know that at the end of the day, you can get up and walk away from a wheelchair, or you can go home to your family, and therefore, you'll never really get what it's like, to truly understand. It's lazy journalism because you should just invest the time to do all the necessary research and make all the necessary phone calls, right?

I don't think so.

Undercover reporting is more than just writing about yourself. How do you understand the complexities of a political camp or the mafia underworld if you don't ally yourself directly with the sources? Do you really think that you'll get more insight by talking to a twitchy, mysterious "informant"? And is it really that easy to lead a double life? Rosie, you're underestimating the complexities of it, I think.

And as much as we'd all like to believe, there is no such thing as impartial journalism or an absolute truth.

You can always read the full article yourselves and decide. On the plus side, whether or not Rosie was trying to be offensive or not, she did incite debate and make me think, so good on you, Rosie D.

The Star also threw out an article in yesterday's paper with an interview with a fellow who believes homework should be banned. My head almost exploded with the insanity, but that's a story for another time.

11:08 AM

Toshiya, sweetie, what did you do to your hair?!

Dir en grey performed Glass Skin live. On Japanese television. Gasp, they still remember that they have a fanbase there? Not as cringe-worthy as I thought it would be. But remember when Toshiya used to look good?
Well peep this, yo. (Warning: eyes may burn)

Double you. Tee. Eff. At least Shinya still drums like a champ.

And for all the Dir en grey fans who want to bitch about how I should care about the music and not how the band looks, um.....lick my left nut. I've probably stuck with them longer than all your prepubescent pubic hairs combined.

Honestly, the song's okay, but I know what the boys are capable of, and this just isn't it.

Also, I just spent an inordinate amount of money (like, largest sum EVAR by far), and I'm feeling grumpy because of how depleted my bank account is going to be for the next few years. How is it that the older I get, the more money I make, the more money I spend? I hate having to borrow from the Bank of Mom and Dad.

3:15 PM

It's a slow day and I've probably spent most of it stalking you on facebook or blogger

How is it only 3:15 right now?!

*bang head on desk*

9:51 AM

the future of learning

It's time for Jo to go back to school. I always swore to myself that I'd keep learning even after graduating - gotta keep the old noggin sharp, you know.

My dilemma now lies in which courses to take, and whether to take them for personal interest or career purposes. Not that I'm not interested in the career-focused classes, I'm just more interested in learning more about, say, cooking and Japanese than I am about perfecting interview techniques. I have this problem of stumbling around, sounding extremely awkward when I have to ask uncomfortable questions. And then I fail at persisting in finding those answers when people don't give me what I want.

I need to take courses because I don't have the motivation and/or discipline to do it on my own. And sometimes, you need an instructor to give you some guidance. Books just don't do it for me.

So here are my options! what say you, fellow reader(s)?

  • Photography seminar - $200 (1 wknd)
  • Cooking seminar - $150 (1 day)
  • Japanese - $300 (full term)
  • Mandarin - $300 (full term)
  • Web design - $500 (full term)
  • Interview skills - $500 (full term)
The cooking seminar may seem foolish, but keep in mind that I had to rely on others to cook for me all through my schooling career with the exception of 2nd year when I ate instant noodles everyday. Yes, I can even fail at making Kraft Dinner. True story.

10:53 PM

"Let's play some hockey"

Trey Songz ft. Plies - "Can't help but wait"

Dir en grey's new PV was released earlier this week for the "Glass Skin" single. Disappointing? Not anymore. Bland? yes. Awful music video? As expected. I dunno, you people should give it a go and see what you think. And that is all the mention that Dir en grey deserves for this song on this post.

More importantly, local indie band Speed of Service has written a tune in a bid to be the next Hockey Night in Canada theme. It's a catchy jingle!

What makes it better than the rest? For one, there's a theme running through the whole thing. It's catchy and memorable, something which the other contestants didn't seem to pick up on. Also, for running a scant minute and some, I think there's a great rockin' vibe that brings the listener through all the necessary stages for some serious pumped-upness.

The downfall? I'm personally not a fan of the lyrics. I think the whole thing would've been better purely instrumental, but again, the vocals seems to be unique to Speed of Service. Who knows, it could be the shot in the arm to set them apart!

If you care about the intro for your Saturday night, take a second to vote.

Alaskan pictures (the ones not on Facebook!) will be posted as soon as I get a few minutes to sit down and sift through them all. The trip was everything I thought it would be and more. The best part? Being 100% myself for such a prolonged period of time. I never realized how often I wear the corporate face, or the friendship face, or the family face. I think I was born to be antisocial.