It always boggles my mind that human beings are able to design something so intricate and precise yet massive and overwhelming at the same time…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBU_V5M2W4
It always boggles my mind that human beings are able to design something so intricate and precise yet massive and overwhelming at the same time…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBU_V5M2W4
“Be Above It” – Tame Impala
I met Tasha through friends while in University but never knew her story until now.
Worth a read…
As a general rule, I tend to prefer public ownership of essential services – utilities including power, natural gas and telephones; grain marketing (especially as opposed to ownership by Middle Eastern corporations) and, of course, liquor. 😉
Under the Brad Wall government, Saskatchewan has opened a couple private liquor stores recently including one in a former steak house very close to where we live.
It’s a beautiful store – well-lit, well-stocked with a wide variety of liquors (including one of my favourite beers from our time in Calgary I could never get in Regina previously), a huge walk-in beer cooler, a nice web site and weekly e-mail flyer plus some great sale prices (although regular prices appear to not be as promising – one 66oz bottle of hard liquor that Shea and I pay ~$68 for in a traditional LB was priced at $75 in the new Sobey’s Liquor Store.)
With that said, I’ve been to this store a couple times (mostly because I’m really enjoying their selection of craft beers which is both wider than the LBs in Regina and available already chilled, unlike most beers sold in Regina LBs.)
(And on that note – my biggest problem with this privatization is that there’s no good reason that the Sask Liquor & Gaming Commission couldn’t have re-designed their stores to be more modern, inviting and customer-friendly many years ago. Even when the NDP is protesting this new privatization, I can’t help but think “But why didn’t you push for modernization of the stores when you were in power? Maybe people wouldn’t be so eager to spend $150,000+ on opening day in a private liquor store – as was rumoured to be the case for the Regina store – and would’ve been a lot more supportive of the stores we already have!)
Anyhow, as I said, I suspect I’ll likely end up still buying most of my booze at the regular LB but most of my craft brews and anything with a good sale price at the new store.
But I’ll definitely have to watch those “Sale” tags… 😉
Not sure if I’ve ever posted this before but I’ve watched it numerous times.
Always cracks me up by reminding me of some of the crazy stupid stories my friends and I tell each other about our own wild times in high school and college.
When I worked for a regional library system, many of our libraries were located in unusual locations – many co-located with a town office, a school that had been closed, a fire hall, a laundry mat.
And of course we had one that was in a hockey rink – whose main doors became the entrance to the library when some work was being done on the exterior doors of the library’s usual entrance…
The public library in Timmins, Ontario recently tried to offer a “boys only” robotics class but ended up facing a huge backlash (including many female scientists and engineers) after not allowing a girl to register for the program.
I understand what the library was trying to do in offering a program focused on reaching boys who tend to slide further in academic skills over the summer than girls. It’s also commonly understood in libraryland (though I don’t have current stats in front of me) that boys are harder to get into the library than girls, especially as they reach the teen years. (With that said, my direct anecdotal experience at my branch is boys out-number girls in the branch 10-1 most days!)
Libraries constantly struggle with how to reach all sorts of target groups and even at RPL, I’ve provided feedback on the types of programs I thought might help attract new fathers for instance or helped develop programming targeted at new immigrants. But maybe the solution is to stay out of the targeting completely? Or, if you’re trying to target specific groups, don’t be explicit about it – then if a woman wants to a register for a “How To Maintain Your Motorcycle” program, no problem. Or if a long-time Canadian wants to register for “Camping for Newbies” you hope will attract new immigrants, no problem. Or if a pre-teen girl wants to register for a “Robots Are Cool” program, no problem.
So clearly, the Timmins library was in the wrong here and it’s good they relented although their (lawyer-approved I’m sure) apology missed actually acknowledging the girl who made the original complaint or giving more than a passing reference to explain why they thought offering a “boys only” program was a good idea in the first place which may have helped defuse the situation a bit.
It’s interesting too because we had a similar issue here in Regina last summer where a woman visited a barber shop that specialized in men’s haircuts and was refused service even though she was asking for a specific men’s cut. As with the Timmins case, this one is clear cut (er, pun not intended) from a human rights perspective – someone shouldn’t be denied service because of their gender. Period. The barber shop should have cut her hair.
The only hesitation I have around that particular incident is a concern that the resultant publicity may have actually undermined what the complainant was trying to do in raising awareness of gender discrimination by picking a subject – haircuts – that many people might view as trivial. Again, to be clear, most thinking people will agree that gender discrimination shouldn’t be allowed.
But if people who don’t see the issue the same end up saying “It’s just a hair cut – why make a big deal out of it?”, does that make it more or less likely that’s what they’ll say the next time something similar comes up – like when a young girl is denied entry into a boys-only library program?
Food for thought.
So there are about a gabzillion people running for the Republican presidential candidate nomination.
What’s a latecomer to the race left to do to get people talking?
How about release a slice of life attempt at a “viral video” featuring mommy and daddy telling their kids daddy’s decided to run for President?
I am seriously starting to believe the conspiracy theory that a lot of candidates (*cough* Trump *cough*) are simply running to make other candidates look a lot more palatable/sane/human.
Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur & Gorillaz, was led off stage by security after refusing to stop performing after a five-hour set with the Africa Express Project at a music festival in Europe!