- I am incredibly politically apathetic. It's probably safe to say I'll never vote for the Bloc Quebecois, but aside from that I don't think I have a reason to vote. New faces and names with dazzling campaign promises. They get into office, and it's just the same crap we've been seeing for the last few years. As far as I can tell, candidates get into office for some combination of the money, perks, power, and prestige. It's not quite so noble or ideal as the "servant of the public" title leads you to believe. Mind you, I think this is in very large part due to the unavoidable exposure to US politics, which are all sorts of corrupt and backwards. So I have very little idea of what's going on in my country, which is compounded by the complete lack of interest in paying attention to political news. All I know about my local representative is that he was the RIAA/MPAA's slut for introducing some DRM-tastic legislation to the country, and that he jumped ship to make more money as a board member for a national bank. So I haven't been voting, as a conscious decision. For two reasons - first, I'm incredibly ignorant when it comes to politics. My uninformed decision should not carry any weight, and it would be disrespectful to my country's ideals to vote just for the sake of casting a ballot. And the second reason I don't vote is because what little I do know about politics leaves me so incredibly jaded that I can't bring myself to throw support behind any given candidate. But I recently discovered something new - I can intentionally spoil a ballot. I don't know why it hasn't occurred to me before. Apparently they even track the number of spoiled votes. This appeals to me. I can exercise my democratic privilege without supporting a candidate I don't favour or giving weight/power to my uninformed views. Works for me. Next time an election happens, I'll be going to the polls with a purpose other than because it's what the people around me want me to do.
- Reddit > Digg. It was simultaneously startling and entertaining to watch Digg fall to pieces my infusing their front page with syndicated/publisher crap. The site became immediately useless. But I stuck around and watched it unfold for a few days. At one point, the homepage was absolutely dominated by user-submitted stories from Reddit that had been republished on Digg. So I checked out the site and was... Pleasantly surprised. What's this? Semi-intelligent discussions? More interesting, less idiotic submissions? What really got me was the great sense of community. Members banding together to donate to good causes, give helpful advice, doing favours. The secret Santa gift exchange is the best example, where literally thousands of people from around the globe send presents to people they've never known, in good faith that someone else will do likewise in return. So, yes, it's just a website. But I gotta say, it's a pretty cool one at that.
That pretty much sums it up. Anyways, I started school on Friday. I think I could have used another week of break, because it felt like I had never left. Back to the grind. I'm hopeful for this semester, though, because I'll have one less studio class. It'll give me a full day off every week, which I hope I can use to spend some time at work. 10hrs a week isn't much, but it's better than nothing. It won't make ends meet in and of itself, but the ends will be slightly closer together than they otherwise would be.
In other news, my headphones are busted, I think my iPod is on its last legs, my car has a ECT Circuit Malfunction and I'm not sure if the block heater is working either, I need to RMA a b0rked hard drive, my skin is falling to pieces... THIS IS NOT AN ENCOURAGING START TO THE YEAR.
I don't think I have much else to say. So I'll just say one more time that bit about how I wish I had another week of winter break. There was just so much to do that I never got around to. Alas, I guess this is part of being grown-up, and it'd be rather naive to ask for a "week off". I think what I really had the hardest part with is how much time I spent with other people. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed spending time with good people, but... I'm an introverted animal. I really could've used some more alone/down time than I got. Ah well. Life still goes on, I presume.
-Cril
Floating down the stream of time
Of life to life with me
Makes no difference where you are
Or where you'd like to be
It's all too much for me to take
The love that's shining all around here
All the world is birthday cake
So take a piece, but not too much
The Beatles - Too Much
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