Sadie's Abuse Awareness Event

So Sadie's Second Annual Abuse Awareness Event was on the weekend, in Hamilton. As with last year, I performed folk/acoustic rock songs with Sadie (Lindsay Miller) and her friends/family, while many others close to her raised awareness to people about the prevalence of child abuse, and what to do about it.

This time, we had an additional benefit in that (another) one of Lindsay's friends is a YouTube podcaster, and she did a live show from her laptop as we were busking. Her YouTube channel, for those who are interested, is www.youtube.com/ravenwolfgang1969.

As for my part in it, I was the second musician to play, after Lindz's brother Robert. I played every song of my set, as well as a few extras that I'd pulled out of my hat when it got quiet, and I joined in -- or tried to -- on some of the Sadie songs. While I carried most of my songs alone this time -- due to many of them being either originals or simply a bit obscure -- a definite highlight was being joined on harmonies by Lindz, Rob Barnes, and Haley Arnott on "What I'm Looking For" and "Behind Blue Eyes" (especially since they just heard what I was playing and jumped in! ).

So if anyone's wondering, here's what else I played (and recordings of most of these, can be found on my "band" page, www.reverbnation.com/sonicsnafu).

1. "All Along The Watchtower" (Bob Dylan cover, made most famous by Hendrix, and thought by Rob to be a Nirvana song, haha)
2. "Hammer To Fall" (Queen cover)
3. "Do You Know?" (original, written in part for last year's event, because of some friends of mine having been beaten by friends/loved ones recently)
4. "Friends Without Benefits" (original, written about a complicated friendship that was emotionally abusive)
5. "(I Still Haven't Found) What I'm Looking For" (U2 cover)
6. "Behind Blue Eyes" (Who cover, which was very well received when I played it last year)
7. "The House of the Rising Sun" (traditional folk song, again a popular part of my set)
8. "Lost In Time" (instrumental original -- filler as Sadie readied for her set)
9. "Woe, Canada" (original -- played instrumentally, given the context of the event)
10. "Nights in White Satin" (Moody Blues cover -- just as ignored this year, as last, lol).

Anyway, even though it was quiet for some stretches, and it wasn't the best weather we had, by all accounts we did get some word out. I truly cannot say enough about Lindsay's courage and dedication, as well as that of her friends, family and other volunteers -- many of whom have been assaulted at one point or another. Frankly, I can get traumatized enough just going through a bad break-up, so how these people manage to get themselves back together -- AND make something positive out of such horrible events -- is incredibly inspiring. Hopefully that planted a good seed.

My Cancer Drive Just Became Personal

As you might know, I've set-up an online fundraiser, with the Canadian Cancer Foundation. Much to my disappointment, not one person has donated to it, besides me.

This morning, I had new reason to keep fighting.

I found out that the young son, of a girl whom I went to school with, has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. Suffice it to say that his odds aren't good. I'm not especially close to this woman, but we're friendly enough that I promised to do what I can.

convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Thirdpartyevent/IFE_ON_CommunityPartnerships

I'm not asking for a lot, but please click on that link above, and help me do something to save this boy's life (or at least make this ordeal easier on him and his mother). I was able to find $100 to spare -- even if all you can spare is $10, that's a lot more than was there just a day ago.

What are you waiting for?

More Vatican B.S.

So the latest lines of bullshit to come from The Pope's people, are that his main critics are pro-choice liberals and gays (WTF?) and that the accusations that Pope Benedict repeatedly covered-up pedophile priests are no more than gossip.

Ugh, where's Kanye when you NEED him?

Does the Church honestly think that it's above the law? What's the matter with them?? And why are they playing from the same pathetic gamebook as the neo-cons in North America??

This is just humiliating.

Criticizing the Pope is Anti-Semitism?

What the hell??

It seems like every time I turn around, some jerk is using "Anti-Semitic" to label valid criticism, that has nothing to due with Jews -- either as a whole, or at all. The latest example, is Pope Benedict's personal preacher, comparing criticism of the Catholic Church's sheltering for pedophile priests, to the persecution of Jews by the Nazis.

(by the way, I am aware of the irony here, given not only the Church's total non-involvement during The Holocaust, but Benedict having been in the Hitler Youth -- but that's beside the point)

It's disgusting enough, that the clergy is trying to defend what is basically the harbouring of criminals -- and some of the worst kind there is, I might add. But to deflect their critics in this way is not only appalling, but it's embarrassing -- what the hell does this even REMOTELY have to do with Antisemitism? This attitude is totally inexcusable, and illustrates perfectly that the clergy doesn't care as much about their flock as they claim to.

Incidentally, before anyone accuses me of Catholic bashing, please take a moment to actually read the news, and find out that there are a lot of Catholics who basically agree with me on this -- so much so, that they are no longer comfortable attending church, over it. They recognize, that this farce has nothing to do with Christianity.

Ezra Levant vs. Free Speech

As anyone following the "Ann Coulter in Canada" farce knows, her primary supporter in the Great White North is a conservative commentator named Ezra Levant. He's mostly known as an exile from the Conservative Party, as well as defending his "right" to reprint the inflammatory cartoons depicting Muhammed the Prophet as a terrorist.

When the provost of the University of Ottawa politely but firmly reminded Ann Coulter, that her usual hate rhetoric is illegal here, Levant was one of those accusing the provost of hate speech himself -- just because Coulter is a conservative -- and has filed a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, despite the fact that the hates its very existence. Sensing hypocrisy yet?

Anyway, a short time ago, an amateur stand-up comic in British Columbia was taken to that province's HRC, for yelling at a lesbian couple that was talking during his act (and if you didn't already guess, it's alleged that he used homophobic slurs). Levant, you guessed it, says that this isn't an issue, and the case has no merit.

So let's recap: it's okay to print sacrilegious and racist cartoons of Muslims (I know he says it's about free speech, but when he prints a cartoon depicting Moses or Jesus in the same light, then I'll buy that claim); it's okay to scream slurs at a lesbian couple in a public place; but God forbid that you remind a hatemonger, that we don't take kindly to her saying things like "we should kill all Muslim leaders and force the people to convert to Christianity", or "Canada's lucky we allow them to exist on our continent".

When this chucklehead comes to the HRC, defending America's answer to Osama bin Laden, I hope they throw him out on his ass.

Bye bye, Ann Coulter, we won't miss you.

THANK FREAKING GOD, ANN COULTER'S BEING KICKED OFF OF CANADIAN SCHOOLS!

So right-wing propagandaist and Neo-Nazi, Ann Coulter, is cancelling some of her stops on her speaking tour of Canadian universities. Contrary to what Coulter and her followers are claiming, this is not because the schools are clamping down on conservatives. No, it's because the STUDENTS THEMSELVES do not welcome racist fanatics that have the same amount of class as a used tampon.

Frankly, I don't understand why this woman was even INVITED to Canadian schools, given that she said we should be invaded and wiped out, just for living on the same continent as America, but that's a different issue.

Evidently, she took issue with a University of Ottawa teacher informing her that much of her usual bile, is considered hate speech, and she would be wise to clean up some of her language if she doesn't want to get arrested in Canada. Once again, this is not an attack on conservatives, unless conservatives are actually admitting now that a lot of them embrace the attitudes of Adolf Hitler and the KKK.

Kiss my ass, Coulter. You won't be missed.

Giving Back

http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Thirdpartyevent/IFE_ON_CommunityPartnerships_?px=3462922&pg=personal&fr_id=6600