Desperately Seeking "Gnomes"
Hey Gnomes -- thanks for your comments awhile back. Where are you? Email me so we can reconnect. I'll be up in Edmonton in a few weeks. We should meet up for a Pimms. :)
Monday, October 16, 2006
Like a (Dior) Cowboy...followed by a polemic on "progressive" politics
A great time was had by all this past Saturday night, as Patsy, her lawyer, and 2 engineer pals went a little bit country at Ranchmans (www.ranchmans.com) on Macleod Trail. It's not called Canada's best honky tonk for nothing - even though they did play Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and the Pussycat Dolls much to Kelly's dismay - we had a blast dancing on stage. The night was capped off by deliciously greasy diner food at Gerry's, or Husky House, to those who have frequented Cowtown longer than the past few months. By the end of the night, I managed to remove my cowboy boots and crawl into bed just shortly after 4:00 a.m. (Julia -- that's why I didn't make it to the phone when you called at 8:45!)
New topic. I surf numerous blogs on a daily basis, and I see a lot of bloggers (http://calgarygrit.blogspot.com as an example - a good read, BTW) proudly display the "progressive blogger" (www.progressivebloggers.ca) logo. Interesting notion, but I can't help but wonder, who decides what "progressive" means? The NDP? Greenpeace? The Canadian Auto Workers Union? What I have a problem with is that, increasingly, if you don't agree with Politically Correct Tenet X, Y and Z, you're automatically declared some kind of a retrograde neanderthal.
Now I'm a socially liberal gal (pro gay marriage, pro choice, and a card carrying Third Wave feminist), but I also tend to be quite hawkish on foreign policy, probably by virtue of the fact that I steadfastly refuse to jump on the anti-Israel and anti-American bandwagon that passes for political thought in Canada these days. This brings me to the question; do my diversity of opinions on various topics make me progressive, or regressive? Do certain opinions trump others on the scale of what is progressive and what is not?
At the end of the day, I cannot completely tow the "progressive" party line because I don't think it's always possible for people to divide neatly into intellectual categories. Bottom line, I get peeved when mob majority rule -- be it in Fargo, North Dakota, or downtown Toronto -- runs amok to a degree where anyone who doesn't 100% completely tow the party line is shunned and denounced as an idiot. Whatever happened to respecting individual opinion and not labelling people? Are not "regressives" human? Do they not bleed? ;)
Now for a few lighter notes:
2. I'm so excited to see Stephen Frears' new film "The Queen" (www.thequeen-movie.com) and Sofia Coppolla's "Marie Antoinette" (www.marieantoinette-movie.com) Movie reviews to follow.
3. My favourite newspaper columnist by far is the Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente. So imagine my dismay when I read in Antonia Zerbisias' column (http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/) today about some dude that's started up a "Wente Watch" blog (http://wentewatch.blogspot.com) critiquing her columns and opinions. Now, in keeping with the above, I respect this guy's right to his (wrong) opinion - but damn! - don't be dissin' my Peggy! She says what many of us are (cowardly) afraid to. It's rare that Wente misses a beat. I love her.
4. Speaking of columnists and good web sites, another of my long-time faves is www.salon.com and my fave Salon writer is Rebecca Traister. She writes a great piece today about Hillary Clinton and her place in the current feminist arena. Another one of her classic pieces was a few years back, when she wrote about the class war aspect of celebrity tabloid pop culture when they (swiftly) turned on Britney Spears when she became too "trailer trashy".
That's all for now -- t'was a real mixed bag of goodies tonight. Sleep tight everyone.
New topic. I surf numerous blogs on a daily basis, and I see a lot of bloggers (http://calgarygrit.blogspot.com as an example - a good read, BTW) proudly display the "progressive blogger" (www.progressivebloggers.ca) logo. Interesting notion, but I can't help but wonder, who decides what "progressive" means? The NDP? Greenpeace? The Canadian Auto Workers Union? What I have a problem with is that, increasingly, if you don't agree with Politically Correct Tenet X, Y and Z, you're automatically declared some kind of a retrograde neanderthal.
Now I'm a socially liberal gal (pro gay marriage, pro choice, and a card carrying Third Wave feminist), but I also tend to be quite hawkish on foreign policy, probably by virtue of the fact that I steadfastly refuse to jump on the anti-Israel and anti-American bandwagon that passes for political thought in Canada these days. This brings me to the question; do my diversity of opinions on various topics make me progressive, or regressive? Do certain opinions trump others on the scale of what is progressive and what is not?
At the end of the day, I cannot completely tow the "progressive" party line because I don't think it's always possible for people to divide neatly into intellectual categories. Bottom line, I get peeved when mob majority rule -- be it in Fargo, North Dakota, or downtown Toronto -- runs amok to a degree where anyone who doesn't 100% completely tow the party line is shunned and denounced as an idiot. Whatever happened to respecting individual opinion and not labelling people? Are not "regressives" human? Do they not bleed? ;)
Now for a few lighter notes:
2. I'm so excited to see Stephen Frears' new film "The Queen" (www.thequeen-movie.com) and Sofia Coppolla's "Marie Antoinette" (www.marieantoinette-movie.com) Movie reviews to follow.
3. My favourite newspaper columnist by far is the Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente. So imagine my dismay when I read in Antonia Zerbisias' column (http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/) today about some dude that's started up a "Wente Watch" blog (http://wentewatch.blogspot.com) critiquing her columns and opinions. Now, in keeping with the above, I respect this guy's right to his (wrong) opinion - but damn! - don't be dissin' my Peggy! She says what many of us are (cowardly) afraid to. It's rare that Wente misses a beat. I love her.
4. Speaking of columnists and good web sites, another of my long-time faves is www.salon.com and my fave Salon writer is Rebecca Traister. She writes a great piece today about Hillary Clinton and her place in the current feminist arena. Another one of her classic pieces was a few years back, when she wrote about the class war aspect of celebrity tabloid pop culture when they (swiftly) turned on Britney Spears when she became too "trailer trashy".
That's all for now -- t'was a real mixed bag of goodies tonight. Sleep tight everyone.
