Categories
Politics

Why I will always be anti-Conservative*

Sometimes I’m a little slow. It took me this long to figure out another reason why people who vote Conservative don’t give a shit about the privatisation of health care and other public services.

They figure they don’t need it.

So Conservative voters who don’t have children don’t care about public schools. They have the resources to take care of themselves and are therefore probably healthier than the average person, so they don’t need public health care. And they definitely don’t care about parks or bike lanes or public transit or community centres because they just don’t use them. They probably don’t even know much, if anything, about them.

And if they do need it they can afford to pay for it.

Also known as, so why subsidize others? Each for themselves only.

So the Conservative voters with kids put their kids in private schools. (and yes, I am well aware of this particular irony). Or they pay their own private health providers wherever they can anyway. So why pay for public health care?

So yea, while I knew it was all about greed before, I only ever thought of it as “I want to pay less taxes / I want to run my business without regulation.” I never thought about the day-to-day arrogance of the Conservative viewpoint. I guess I have PP to thank for that.

And I’m still amazed at the average person who votes Conservative. I mean, I get the CEOs and heads of banking divisions and stuff but seriously, the vast vast majority of us have far more in common with the people camping out in my local park than we do with millionaires. And many people are far closer to becoming the people camping out in the park than we are to becoming millionaires. And I like to think that even if I somehow became a millionaire, I’d still give a shit about other people, the environment, our descendants etc.

Bright green sticker on a black pole. Black writing on the sticker reads: Vote ABC Anything But Conservative A Bas Les Conservateurs
By Neal Jennings from Toronto, ON, Canada – Vote ABC, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5337191

For strategic voting assistance:

https://smartvoting.ca/

https://votewell.ca/

*For the non-Canadians, the Conservative Party (of Canada and each province will have their own variant as well) is the right-wing political party in Canada. They promote “traditional” values, institutions, and biases. Conservative platforms and politicians are often anti-immigration, pro-centralised authority, paternalistic, misogynistic, definitely anti-free press etc.

Categories
Diversions

Petty Gripes – TV ads edition

This is one of those posts that I write because something petty is annoying me and I just need to get it out.

This time it’s a TV ad. Mostly it comes on a lot during hockey so I am forced to watch it over and over again. Sigh. In fact, I couldn’t remember some of the details while I was writing this so I just waited. It was in the very next commercial break.

Okay, so – an ad for TD Financial Planning. It starts with a person in a green chair saying “Thanks for helping with my financial plan Sarah; Getting on track was so easy.” You definitely get the impression that the call is wrapping up, they’ve been talking all about the person’s finances and Sarah has been helping.

Sarah responds along the lines of “and someone’s always here to help if you need it.”

And the person in the green chair replies “sure beats my other plan of waiting for my inheritance.”

Sarah: “Oh you have family money?”

WHAT?!?!

The two of them have been talking about financial planning, there is a plan in place, the call is wrapping up. And Sarah, you didn’t think to ask about family money / inheritances at any point?

Oh yes, I feel very comfortable relying on TD financial planners now… nope nope nope.

I told you it was petty.

have a great week!

Categories
Diversions

reboot

It’s kind of amazing how things that people just sort of made up one day can carry so much meaning and influence.

Today is January 1. Today I will start to try to be a better me. Like I get to define better so that’s all well and good; and there really wasn’t anything wrong with “yesterday’s” me – she just didn’t always make the healthiest choices for example.

So time – something we made up to count; and even more so calendars. Why is January 1 the “starting point” for many? Why not Spring? That’s when everything blooms again after all. hmmm

Today’s aside (you had to know it was coming)

The US Astronomical Applications Department says there are six principal calendars in current use: Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Julian. And now I have a new book to watch for in the used bookshops!

How are you approaching the new year?

Some general ideas I have:

‣ stop buying stuff we don’t actually need

‣ stop wasting food – I think this really means we need to plan better

‣ schedule in the stuff I want to do (so I don’t forget and also so I don’t spend time on things that are easier but less fulfilling – social media and phone games, I’m looking at you lol)

More specifically I want to do some stuff every day so I don’t even have to think about it:

◉ move more; starting with a 30 minute walk every day

◉ stretch more; I think I’m going to try the Yoga with Adriene January focus on energy

◉ drink more water; starting with 2L a day (I think I do about this now but I want to be sure so next up…)

◉ tracking food and movement

◉ do something creative every day; practise piano or cross stitch; knit or colouring. Something.

Anyway, happy day!

Categories
Shopping

Silver Antelope

1231 Woodbine Ave, East York Toronto,
(on Woodbine about 1/2 way between Danforth and O’Connor)

Online at: https://silverantelope.com/

I have followed Silver Antelope on instagram for a while though I had never made it out to their shop. Well – Silver Antelope has only existed since 2021; before that one of the founders – Lichia Liu – started Gotomago. Gotomago focuses on using environmentally friendly materials and has the most amazing (and some very twee) designs:

Some random Gotomago cards from the website:

So back to Silver Antelope – on January 18, they posted an 18% off sale to celebrate paying back their CEBA loan (oh don’t even get me started on how large corporations also got CEBA loans and how some small local businesses lost their business because of how awfully run this government program was) and to build up their cashflow.

Seemed like a good enough reason for me to finally get some stuff. And what terrific stuff! Lots of Gotomago products and they also carry other brands: “small-batch products that are consciously made by small businesses whose values align with ours, emphasizing companies that are also women-led and/or BIPOC-owned.”

brown paper envelope inside a brown cardboard box with a sticker reading "Silver Antelope" on it
Such a lovely package. Simple and clean.

I am trying to use my journal(s) more and I thought some fun stickers might help 🙂

Never one to shy away from a deal – I bought two “mystery card packs.” These are assorted packages of 10 cards (for $12!!) that are either discontinued designs or have slight flaws. If there are any flaws I definitely couldn’t see them. I also bought 2 packs of “imperfect envelopes” to go with them.

A white pencil with I (heart emoji) math engraved on it.

A gift for Q – he loves it! I’m glad I got him two.

Picture of lovely red flowers on long stems with the word fuck written delicately above.

This will be going on my yellow yeti tumbler that I use for coffee 🙂

And they sent along a present too:

They have a load of stuff for lunar new year, and you can shop by brand or look through a list of zero waste and recycled products or “gifts that give back” where they make a donation of partial proceeds to a charity doing important work in local and global communities. Shipping in Canada and the US is free for $125 or more in spending; other countries and less than $125 is charged by weight. Or you can pick up from the shop — funny how far away Woodbine feels though from Broadview lol (it’s about 5 km away).

I got a couple of other cards but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for the people that will be getting them so I won’t be sharing those. Needless to say though it’s a terrific shop – and the online experience was easy and straightforward. It may take me a while to need more cards but they will definitely be one of the shops I check out when I do.

Oh and afterwards I got an e-mail saying that if I would like to leave a review on my purchases I would get a 10% off code to use next time. Now that I’ve opened everything and used some of it I will do that! Oh and I’ll leave a google review too – I think that also helps small businesses a bunch!

Categories
Book Diversions Reading Review

Bookish – E

Again – 2 instead of 3. I started reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco but then I remembered I am trying to read things I haven’t read before with an eye to whether I want to keep or give away. And well, I am NOT getting rid of my Folio Edition of The Name of the Rose!

A red hardcover book with thorn covered vines reaching towards the top from the bottom. Runes (astrological signs?) across the top.

So on we go…

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Storygraph tags: fiction lgbtqia+ literary; emotional reflective slow-paced

One of those books that travels along with someones life and it’s ups and downs and family histories and family secrets and the problems that always happen when people keep all those secrets.

At the time I posted on socials: I really love reading books about lives so different than mine. I know it’s a famous book (the damn cover says it won the Pulitzer after all) but I had no idea what I was in for. It was just beautiful and full of heart. So there you go.

I didn’t keep it though because I knew I wasn’t going to read it again. I think I put it in a local little free library. (It was almost a year ago. Sigh).

Cover of Middlesex; two adults and 2 children on the deck of a boat looking as they approach land.

The Sentence by Louise Erdich

The Storygraph tags: fiction contemporary literary; emotional reflective medium-paced

I liked this but not as much as I probably would have if I hadn’t been caught up in one of the blurbs saying “a wickedly funny ghost story.” I’m not sure I got the humour then.

I donated this to one of the local free libraries.

Cover of The Sentence - colour blocked, mostly triangles, some beaded triangles; colours are reminiscent of the Indigenous medicine wheel colours.