There's a new Bubbles in town

Just call him Officah Bubbles, dahling, everybody does.

During the G20 this year--an event held in Toronto whether Canadians/Torontonians wanted to pay for it or not--a youtube video went viral showing a cop Talkin' Tuff to a woman who was blowing bubbles at a female cop. While I think blowing bubbles at cops is obnoxious, the male cop wasn't within Bubble Range, and the female cop in question hadn't asked the woman to stop. In the video you later see the woman being arrested, though this wasn't for blowing bubbles--it was because she has medical equipment in her backpack, and a lawyer's address on her arm.

The cop in the video became known as Officer Bubbles, which at the time I thought was a fitting enough punishment for what many of us perceived to be his Mildly Obnoxious High Handed Manner. And that was it. I probably thumbed-up someone else's comment, never looked at the video again, never gave it another thought.

I guess some people later made cartoons lampooning Officer Bubbles. And then, as usual, people added some comments to those videos. But really the whole thing was over for most of us, oui?

Until this week when Bubbles decided his feelings were so hurt he had to sue the cartoon makers and many of the people who commented on the cartoon. Because, you know, heaven forbid the behavior of Toronto's cops, paid for by Toronto tax payers, should come under public scrutiny. And heaven forbid people call him Mean Names in a forum that he really doesn't ever have to look at.

There were apparently death threats made against him and his family. Alright then, go after those people--I agree that's inappropriate. But going after people for calling you names? ...Really? ...I mean, really? And in the process, you've drawn Canadian attention (and some international) back to the original story, and now your Officer Bubbles Persona is more widely known than ever.

One of the Accused has come out publicly with his identity. Here's what he posted in reply to one of the offending cartoons: “officer bubbles probably looks at himself in the mirror a lot.”

As Count Floyd would say: Scaaary stuff.


The Toronto police acted incomprehensibly during the G20, ignoring the smasher-window-people, and instead moving in, with overwhelming force...

against people who were peacefully meandering along in minimal protest, along with a ton of people who were out walking the dog / coming out of a restaurant etc. -- and then detaining them for 2 hours in the pouring rain -- and then making some of them wait in paddy wagons for hours, where apparently if you needed to pee you had to piss your pants there in the truck -- and then removing many of them to giant facilities overnight, where they slowwwwly processed them and let most go. The mayor didn't see anything wrong with what happened: "the Mayor said you can’t second guess police decisions “made in the heat of the moment because they are aware of all of the information that exists at that moment in time.” " (In other words, we can't question the police?)


Many people, myself included, were pissed about all this, and Officer Bubbles became one of the symbols of Everything Wrong With the G20. Live with it, Officer Bubbles. Rise above. "It's big of me too. It's big of all of us. Let's be big for a change!" [Groucho Marx]

While I'm in for protecting minors from being ridiculed on the internet, is this going to lead to a whole new slew of people cracking down on internet comments, treating them with the same gravitas as press articles? Someone like Kanye West could go to town over all the douchebag epithets thrown his way.

random storyness

I had a story epiphany at the bus stop two nights ago! Well, maybe not an epiphany. But two of my main characters finally fell into place. Yays! Getting ready to nano!

Story of Me in Doctor-ahjs

I went to my blood appointment today (for my hemochromatosis). She said my ferritin's so low, I probably won't need to be phlobotomized for two more years. I always learned that they do phlebotomies at the hospital near my home, where my husband works; so she gave me a consult paper for a doctor there, and hopefully I can switch over. And never again have to trek downtown at 7 AM (at least not for this) which keels me each time.

I'm glad I didn't have to be phlebotomized, because right now I'm on a Beta blocker for my headaches (it's not working at all) which makes my blood pressure even lower than usual. My doctor thinks I might really pass out the next time, instead of just almost-passing-out.

I also made an appt with my GP, so that's one more thing off the To Do list. Now I need to make an appt with my headache doctor, the dentist, and an optometrist. For many years I was great at staying up to date on all my appointment-making--the fact that I've fallen behind again is just one more sign that my present Pace of Life doesn't suit moi.

Return to Meowee East: toys

I just gave Minion a tiny bit of catnip on her new scratch pad. I'm a bit fearful of the consequences since she already acts like liquid catnip flows through her veins.

I also bought a tunnel for the kitties. One always hesitates re buying these toys, since you never know if your cat will like them. So far Minion's been beating the crap out of the little ball hanging inside it.

Haley has finally found a place to hide out from Minion. Remember the box-in-a-laundry-basket-in-a-tupperware which used to be her favourite home, and I finally decorated it, but then she wasn't using it?

Haley's discovered that if she sits in it, Minion will stalk her and bat at her from the outside (which is fine, Haley likes that game) but she can't end the game (as she usually does) by getting inside and jumping on Haley's head. It's small, and on a slant, so Haley has so far been able to defend it. The one time I saw Minion jump in, she couldn't get all the way in, and jumped right back out. I hope it stays this way, cause Halzebub really does need her own little corner of Hell where she can have some peace.

Update: Since starting this post, the cat-tube is now halfway across the livingroom floor, as Minion wrestles around in it.

Updateier: Minion likes eating the catnip, but she isn't reacting to it. I guess she's already as hyper as a cat can possibly be. Which should give you an idea of what it's like to live with her. Imagine your cat on catnip 100% of the time.

Curtains, and the Meowee East

Productive day again. I did a bunch of laundry, hung the curtains in the cupboard doorway, hung the livingroom curtains, and changed the ones in the kitchen.

The kitchen ones were a lovely bright yellow, but we've had them over 10 years and they had a million kitty-nail-snags in them. I think the cats liked to bat at bird shadows through them. I hung up some white-with-wee-roses curtains that I had once bought for the livingroom but never used.

Minion enjoying the new couch. She has slept on every section of it today.

Me enjoying the new curtains.

Haley enjoying her new High Ground spot. Haley first came up with her two original high spots, as a way to escape the boys, who were most times too oldy to attempt the jump. But Minion regularly kicks her out of them! Now she's trying to establish a third spot on top of my kitchen shelf.

Uh oh. I think Minion's spotted it. Yesterday I locked Haley into a back room for some aloney-on-her-owney time, and soon after I found Minion sitting on a box outside the room, trying to turn the door handle. "How can I play with my favourite toy when you keep locking it up!"

The Tempest - coming soon

Working on my book (a modernization of the Henry plays) has put me back in a Shakespeare mood this past year. I rewatched Baz' Romeo and Juliet recently, and watched MacBeth the other night, and am reading Julius Caesar.

This December a new Tempest is coming out. The only film version I've seen was Peter Greenaway's, which was of course insane. Don't think I could sit through that again, but the music was beeeoootiful.



This new one stars Helen Mirren as Prospero. The effects don't look very good, but Mirren should deliver the goods.



Well, if it's bad, the Plummer-at-Stratford version is also coming to select theatres.

Clash of My Apartment (making furniture, and movie review)

Today I put together the sideboard--it took Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and the beginning of Sense and Sensibility. Lots of steps! And heavy. But I enjoy putting things together, provided I'm alone, not rushed, and have familiar movies that I only need to half watch.

Then I sorted all my lunch tupperwares and bentos into the drawers; and cleaned all the random stains off my appliances and carefully placed them along the shelf. They look like they're having an appliance party. (Food processor, blender, bullet, popcorn maker, ice cream maker, crock pot, juicer, and coffee grinder--I use it for flax seeds and nuts.)

I put up one of my cheap plastic shelves to hold all the food Fernando's been bulk buying. It looks ugly, cause I need a smaller unit that will fit into the corner. But for now, order is more important than beauty. If I want to cook and pack lunches, that is.

Then we put the sofa together. It's so comfortable, and such an improvement over Nombly's Sofa. Fernando immediately passed out on it. And later I rented the new Clash of the Titans just so I could enjoy sitting there.

MOVIE
C of the T wasn't very good, but as I'd already heard that I had low expectations and enjoyed it. Nice effects, and I loved the djinny-dudes (so sexy), but they made too many unnecessary changes from the previous version/original myth.

- They tried to make the central battle between humans and the gods; but then they made is sort of Hades vs Zeus, which just confused things. Who's side is Zeus on? Vair weird.

- Greek myths are all about very human type gods--they're jealous, and liars, and competitive etc. They almost completely removed this element, to do the whole "war against humans" thing. Totally took away the spirit of the thing.

- By making it all Hades vs Zeus, the rest of the gods are rarely featured. The old movie had all those great scenes of the gods bickering amongst themselves, and manipulating the humans. This also means the female gods were almost non-existent. In the old movie, Maggie Smith was such a great Thetis, and she was the pivotal god in the plot. And when they tell the story of Medusa, they take all the original gods-jealousy stuff out too. Why? Frankly, the movie felt de-womaned.


- Why remove Andromeda as the love interest? The original trick of having her come along for the quest was a perfect way to build up the romance. I didn't get the point of all this Io stuff.

- Perseus didn't have a very clear guide figure. It was sort of a mix of Io and some warrior dude.

- I liked the idea of Perseus struggling with his half-god identity, trying to reject it. But for it to really work, he should have been super-tempted by his godliness at some point, and have overcome it. Instead it's never much of a struggle.

- The little game pieces! I liked seeing the gods moving all the game pieces around. They did it only a tiny bit.

- One of my biggest complaints is Calibos' character. In the original, he's cruel but also pitiable--in other words, he has a developed character. In this version he's just a cardboard cut out baddie.





- I liked Medusa, though CGI graphics still aren't where they need to be for such a character to look lifelike. Technologically she wasn't much better than her stop-motion predecessor. But I approved the overall look. What I didn't like is that the scene lacked suspense. In the original they pass a LOT of statues of previous visitors, which is really creepy. And there's a lot more silence, and slow pursuit. I don't mind some running around, but the beginning could be have been creeeeepier.



- The two additions I liked: The silly hunter guys. Should have been more the movie! And the Djinn. Orientalist, but hawt. (And the other race-weirdness character--that pro-Hades zealot. He looked like he was supposed to be a Hindu or something.)

- Why does the Kraken look like the Rancor's older brother? Could have based his face on the original.

Original Kraken. So cute!