Of Jo(h)ns and Ham(m)...

Being from Nova Scotia, when I first saw the credits for the cast of Mad Men it made me smile. Why? Maybe a little math is needed...

Does Jon Hamm...


Plus John Slattery...


Minus artistic talent equal...John Hamm?


And if they all got together, what would they eat? Jon Hamm's John Ham, of course! Mmm!




Also, I can't believe CTV isn't showing the Mad Men S2 finale until next week!! How am I supposed to avoid the blogs I read for that long? And I broke out the vermouth for nothing...

You call that music??!

For those of you not in the know, SomeECards.com is an e-cards site that has fabulously snarky messages for all sorts of holidays and non-holidays. The tone of the cards range from slightly sarcastic to pretty damn insulting. Try to imagine Dr. House writing greeting cards and you'll get the picture. This week, I sent this card to a friend with only a slight hint of irony.

It's pretty fair to say that when I was a teenager my entire life revolved around music. I'd keep track of release dates and voraciously read music magazines to try and identify the Next Big Thing. Now? Not so much. It's just a part of growing up I suppose. When you're 16 you're hearing everything for the first time and it sounds so damn impressive. Now I hear bands like the Killers and Coldplay I think, "Ehh, not bad, but I liked it better when [insert name of older band here] did it." But that's not to say I'm not still finding new and interesting bands. This year alone I've enjoyed albums by Vampire Weekend, Glasvegas, the Fleet Foxes and others. It's just that the bands I listen to don't define my identity anymore.

One band I've been listening to a lot lately is the Gaslight Anthem. They're a straight-up rock band with a punk edge and they're certainly nothing ground-breaking. But damn if I can't stop listening to their second full-length, The '59 Sound. The album is basically a love letter to their favourite artists, with lyrical and musical shout-outs to Springsteen, Tom Petty, Miles Davis, and, uh, Counting Crows. At times it's almost a too much (the first line on the album addresses a girl named Mary!), but overall the songs are strong, with minimal filler. If anything, the production is a little too slick and punk-rock generic for my tastes, but I think this band has a lot of promise and I'd love to see them live (something I rarely do anymore.) If I may use a comparison to really show my age, they remind me of a less-drunk version of The Replacements.

Judge for yourself and watch the video for the title track from The '59 Sound:

Vote early, vote often!

Tuesday, October 14 is Election Day in Canada! After speaking with my friends and other voters, I find a lot of people are unsure about where they vote, what ID they need, and other issues. Some people think they are unable to vote because they recently moved, and did not receive a voter information card in the mail from Elections Canada. This is not true! You can still vote! The cards that you receive in the mail from Elections Canada just speed up the process for you at the polling station.

Visit this page at Elections Canada and type in your postal code. The resulting page should list information for your riding, such as where you vote, what ID you need, and so on.

If you require further information, please phone your local Elections Canada returning office, or the main Elections Canada number at: 1 800 463-6868.

Be aware that if you don't have the voter information card, it may take a bit longer for you to vote as there may be a lineup. Plan your time appropriately, and try to vote as early as possible.

Remember, voting is a responsibility and a privilege. And if you don't think that your vote matters, meditate on these words from Voltaire:

"So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men."

(Hopefully now that the election season is drawing to a close, I'll have some time to write stuff for this blog again.)