So the Green Party Asked Me for Money…

Friday, December 27, 2013

Earlier this morning I received a rather innocuous email from the Green Party asking me to make a political donation.  I’m interested in politics, but I don’t belong to any political parties.  I cast my ballot based on the issues in that election and whether the local candidate supports the causes that I care about — for me, public transit is a biggie.

So, when the Greens asked me for money, I felt compelled to respond, as their candidate had not impressed me during the last federal byelection.

My email to the Green Party, verbatim:

Hello Green Party,
 
I appreciate the note, however, I cannot in good conscience donate to your party at this time, following the position your candidate took on public transit in the recent federal byelection in my riding (Toronto-Centre).  John Deverell, although very well spoken, did not support expansion or funding of public transit in either Toronto Centre, or the City of Toronto in the election debate that I attended.  His position was that Toronto already has transit and other communities are in greater need.
 
If you would like my vote, let alone a donation, please field a candidate that will enthusiastically work to support their constituents.  Toronto has a desperate deficit of public transport infrastructure; I was very disappointed that your party, via your candidate, did not support the obviously “green” alternative to private autos.
 
Thanks,
William

My message to the Greens, or any political parties that may be reading:  if you want my vote, then be sure to support public transit 100%.  Hint:  I like what Olivia Chow has been doing lately at the federal level, with respect to public transit.

© 2013 http://talkinghead.ca


Hallowe’en Costumes

Sunday, November 1, 2009

I suggested to my girlfriend a few months ago that we should dress up for Hallowe’en.  I’d had the idea for ages to dress up as Hogwarts students.  I saw some excellent house patches at the Fan Expo convention this summer and picked them up, “just in case.”  These were the foundation of our costumes and got the ball rolling. Read the rest of this entry »


rrrice krispy square…?

Friday, July 10, 2009

I took the GO Train yesterday, a rather uncommon occurrence.   It was just before lunch and I was heading to a meeting in Brampton, where there’s unfortunately  nowhere nearby to get anything to eat.  My options were few, such as:

  • The Second Cup
  • McDonalds
  • Cinnabon
  • mmmuffins

With only a few minutes to spare before my train left, with or without me, I decided to grab a Rice Krispy square at mmmuffins.  I often get Rice Krispy squares from The Second Cup, but the kiosk unfortunately did not have any.

What I didn’t remember, is that mmmuffins’ Rice Krispy squares aren’t exactly similar to the ones that I’m used to.  Second Cup’s are always soft, chewy and just sweet enough, even if a bit small.  For about $2 at mmmuffins, I got a HUGE brick-sized square.  That’s about all it had going for it.  It was rubbery and not sweet enough.  Ew.  I didn’t think it was possible to screw up a Rice Krispy square. 

One bite in, as I was chewing (and chewing…) the slightly sand-flavoured square I remembered something.  Five years ago I had fallen for the same thing!  An innocent Rice Krispy square purchase gone awry.

Lesson learned:  don’t fall for the alure of that giant Rice Krispy square at mmmuffins.  Get a brownie or something from Second Cup instead.  Even one of McDonald’s “baked pies” would have been better.

© 2009 talkinghead.ca


Time flies

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since my first post.  Take a stroll through the archives and check out some of my posts from the early days.  Comments are still welcome.

February 2008

March 2008

© 2009 talkinghead.ca


Hallowe’en Candy

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Hallowe’en for adults just isn’t the same as when we’re kids.  For starters, we don’t have to work for it anymore.  We can go buy candy any time we want.  And we get to buy the stuff we like.  None of those cheap lollipops and granola bars that taste like sand.

I have been entirely useless this Sunday.  I went and picked up a whole lot of half-price Hallowe’en candy yesterday and am now wishing I hadn’t.  I’m now keenly aware that I’ve consumed calories in excess of my dietary requirements.  The doctor-reporter on CityNews said an extra 100 calories per day is enough to gain weight.  Shit. Each one of those ‘fun-sized’ chocolate bars has 50-100 calories.  How many have I had today…?  Ugh.

And Hallowe’en is just the beginning of holiday gluttony.  As we get closer to Christmas, pound-packing candies, chocolates, egg nog and alcohol are plentiful.  Then there’s the actual sit-down turkey-and-stuffing dinner with no shortage of food topped off with calorie-rich gravy and desserts.  Mmmm.  I can count the kilos already.

One change I’ve noticed since I was a kid at Hallowe’en is the chocolate bars are getting smaller!  No, it’s not me that’s gotton bigger.   Hallowe’en Mars bars used to be about 1/3 of a full-sized Mars bar.  Now they’re tiny little bite-sized things.  WTF?  I’ve noticed the same thing with Oh Henry’s.  Reese Peanut Butter Cups seem to be about 80% of the size of the real thing.  Is this a reaction to kids getting fat, or a marketing decision based on selling Hallowe’en candy on quantity?

If there was a point to this post, it has escaped me.  Don’t eat too much candy.


Kids

Saturday, September 20, 2008

I’m in shock from what I have just seen.  This is not an exaggeration.  My hands are shaking as I attempt to type.  I feel numb and nauseated.  It was utterly horrific. Read the rest of this entry »


This Could Be Earth-Shattering…

Saturday, May 3, 2008

I haven’t posted anything in a little while, so I figured I had to make it up with something REALLY BIG

Read the rest of this entry »


Change of Scenery!

Monday, March 3, 2008

I’m trying something new!  This blog has been around for a month, and I think there’s plenty of potential here.  I’ve decided to give WordPress a try.  I’m not sure I’m thrilled, as the WordPress system seems to go down from time to time…  Does anyone else use WordPress, or another blogging tool you’d recommend?

My old host Orbit Online is a great place to hang out, but I was concerned the requirement for a registered account was discouraging some people from leaving comments.  So, if you’re reading my blog, I want to hear your opinion.  There’s no point in being a talking head spouting my own worthless undervalued opinions if I don’t get to hear yours too.  So on that note, go leave some comments!

N.B. As an unfortunate side-effect of the transition, comments that were previously left are nolonger available.  Sorry!  The good news is that all of the old posts are back, so if you didn’t leave a comment before because you didn’t want to register for an account, now’s your chance to shine!