Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Our On The Streets section is a photo from 113th street and Jasper Avenue at roughly 9:00pm. The photo is of Sarah and I going to coffee at the Second Cup at which we first went to coffee one year ago to discuss guitar lessons. That would eventually turn into a beautiful relationship. It was also the site of a pedestrian-car collision earlier that week. This was a much more joyous occasion, however. You might have noticed that we don't have our fashion issue this week, and for that I apologize. It will be coming next week. We'll be examining the latest trends in everything from clothes, styles, furniture, toys, cars, music and more, complete with a photo spread.
Fat Nightmare: Ousting The Overweight
This isn't the 80's, and being a railroad track of bones isn't attractive. But numerous campaigns that advertise beauty in any body type; to be comfortable in your own skin may be going over the top.
A friend of mine recently indicated that a coworker had made fun of her for losing weight. This is acceptable. But certainly, it is never acceptable to make fun of gaining weight. The very same point was a joke on the redneck comedy tour. It's okay to alienate smokers, but we don't alienate obese people the same way. We try to teach them that their bodies are beautiful. How beautiful is type II diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD, hypertension, and early death?
It's not beautiful.
The fact is that the United States used to be the fattest nation in the world. Now its us, at a whopping 49% of the population that is overweight. And please, spare me the rhetoric of redefining what 'overweight' is - this is a medical thing, not an aesthetic thing. Curves are fantastic, until curves ultimately kill you.
This is a difficult thing to talk about. I am in no way trying to say that anyone who is overweight is a bad person, or isn't attractive, or isn't beautiful. But should we hold our tongues when it comes to making mention of their weight? It truly is okay to say, "hey, you look skinny, you should put some meat on those bones." Imagine going up to someone and saying, "hey, you look like you've gained some weight. Maybe you'd better get off your fat ass and get some running shoes on, and change your high sodium and sugar diet for a reasonable portioned dinner based on the Canada food guide!"
But, hey, get this! That 49% of people will likely be hospitalized more than a few times for the complex care they require, because they will likely have two, if not more, of the things I mentioned above that will lead to extreme complications by the time they are in their 40's. And since we have universal health care, that means a weight our system might not be able to bear.
We don't have to say overweight people are bad people. We don't have to say they are ugly if they're pretty, and we don't have to say they're stupid for being fat. But should we be saying, "be comfortable in your own skin?" Because ultimately you will be very uncomfortable in your own skin.
Just remember, BMI no more than 25; a balanced diet based on the Canada food guide, and an hour or so of physical activity a day. And no, I'm not saying I'm perfect and exempt to my own preaching.
On Street Bike Paths Perfect for On-Street Parking
I didn't steal this one from Metro, The Sun, The Journal, CTV, or any-freaking-where else, than driving down our own 106th street.
I mentioned a few issues back about the On-Street bike paths, and how it was just paint and signs. Oddly enough, a few days after semi-bashing the idea, some city councilors called the idea ridiculous because the paint was going over badly worn and pot-holed-heaving streets. What I saw was hilarious.
Signs that indicated 'single file' for cars and bikes were immediately followed by sings that said 'share the road' showing a car and a bike next to each other, completely contradictory. As for the dashed line that marked off the curb lane from the regular vehicle lane so that cyclists could have their on street path - residents took this a totally different way. It seems as though the lanes are roughly about 6 feet wide, or about the size of a standard parking lane. So the curb lane is now entirely resident parking. And with no 'no parking' signs, the city is without anything to do about the problem, whilst cyclists now either have to bike single file or share the road with cars on extremely thin residential roads.
Now I recognize that some sections are probably single file, and others are shared sections, but this isn't indicated too clearly.
Thank you, Edmonton, for that fail. Oh yeah, and the potholes still aren't fixed. But do we really want more construction?
The Naked And Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You
I decided to check out if the Naked and Famous were legit, after the success of their most popular single off of their 2010 release Passive Me, Aggressive You. The late-coming single to North America (on local modern rock radio and Alt-Nation on Sirius-XM) is due to the fact that this 'indie rock' electro-pop quintet hails from Auckland, New Zealand. The digital download of the first single off of their album did not hit North America on November 14, 2010. The entire album was available in September of 2010 as a digital download in Canada, but not on actual vinyl or CD until March 14, 2011. The single Young Blood, still didn't hit charts until later though, but had many television appearances, including on the series Chuck and on Gossip Girls.
Young Blood reached #1 on the NZ charts, and as high as 10 on the Canadian alternative charts, and was certified platinum in NZ; very popular in their own country. For international success at this point though; with a top 10 single internationally and still on an independent label, that is phenomenal for any group, especially in alternative where there are so many different types and styles of music. Let's face it, it can be pretty hit and miss.
So how does Passive Me, Aggressive You shape up compared to the single Young Blood? Not too shabby. The entire album does not sound like the first single, although distorted synthesizers are a big part of this. The heavy drums you hear in Young Blood; distorted and pounding, reverberate in A Wolf In Greek's Clothing; an electro-punk romp that will make you think of some things you heard in the early 90's - very nearly sub-pop records material. In fact, the fuzzy synths and drums on most of the tracks will remind you of Trent Reznor and old NIN, which is a good thing here, just not as 'hurty' as Reznor went.
Funny; because their label is called 'Somewhat Damaged' - if you recall, a track from The Fragile. In fact, the beginning of Girls Like You - supposedly the third single from this album, sounds like Echoplex. Go even further, in the middle of the album you'll find a track called The Source, which is essentially a version, as I see it, as The Frail, although I've also been told it sounds very similar to Right Where It Belongs off of With Teeth.
But they aren't rip-offs of NIN. Just inspired. Couple that with the fact that they have a very nice Stars-type boy-girl thing going on, with a little 80's pop (the good stuff we remember), and you have a group that hits heavy. And the Naked and Famous wouldn't be so heavy if they were a one trick pony. Take Girls Like You, and what you might hear is a direct comparison to The Cure. Not all of it is upbeat though. Frayed is decidedly down tempo, whereas The Sun is downright dark. There is just enough here to appeal to a wide range of listeners, and The Naked and Famous do it well. Fantastic for a group that is only as young as 2008, and who's first album's singles didn't register on charts at all, not even in their home NZ.
There are some songs on here that are pretty much copies and could have been B-sided, however, and that definitely takes some points off the album; as it's not one that you can listen to without skipping a track or two that you're not interested in. But the solid effort by this New Zealand tribute to NIN and the Cure and any electro-synth-pop boy girl band earns them a solid 7/10 for their efforts.
Letters To The Editor
Soon we will have a frank discussion about the YEG Slutwalk. Until then:
rbw2@ualberta.ca if you have anything to add or discuss with me!
Next Issue Of Out My Passenger Window
-Fashion Issue: Clothes, Cars, Furniture, Martini Parties!
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