January 13, 2010 - Money For Nothing rightly censored!

Money For Nothing was a classic 1985 progressive rock tune written by Mark Knopfler and Sting for Mark's band Dire Strait's 5th album. The song went to #1 in the charts in the USA and #4 in the UK. The song has one of the most legendary song-opening guitar-riffs of the rock genre.


However, the tune contains some rather controversial homophobic slurs. the song's story tells the story of an apparent frustrated working class guy sitting at home watching MTV, and voicing his displeasure that glam rock stars are making millions of dollars for dressing up in feminine glam attire, playing guitars on MTV, and getting 'chicks for free'. the glam rock star in question is referred to as a "f@ggot" in three separate references in the song.


well, a complaint was filed recently with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, a private organization who has been authorized by Federal Government officials to act as the governing body that will ensure that public radio and tv broadcasts adhere to a set of ethical and legal standards.


Amazingly enough, the complaint was filed by a 21 year old lesbian from St. John's Newfoundland, of all places!


well, i did some research and took note that Part VI of the CBSC Equitable Portrayal Code clearly states that it is a violation to broadcast content that includes negative stereotyping, negative portrayal, or stigmatization, of individuals or groups.


although it may have been acceptable in 1985 to negatively portray, stigmatize, or stereotype, femininely dressed male rock stars, through a homophobic slur, this is not acceptable in today's world.


so it appears quite clear that the broadcasting of this song on radio is a flagrant violation of this policy.


many members of the LGBT community in Canada face employment discrimination, ridicule, exclusion, bullying, and violent hate crimes from intolerant homophobic citizens. while censoring this song won't necessarily stop all of this, it sends an important strong message to society that these actions will no longer be tolerated in our Country.


although i can't relate to being a glam rock star (although i was once actually mistaken for being a rock star when i was in Denmark last summer), as a vocal member of the trans community, i can attest that transwomen all over the world are also often mistaken for being feminine men and/or mistaken for being homosexual men, and often face derogatory terms, such as f@ggot, said towards us by others as a token of intolerance and hatred.


So i say kudos for the 21 year old local who took action. while many seem upset at the censorship, citing 'freedom of speech' violations, the issue here is that freedom of speech rules do not apply to hate literature, which in this case, appears clear.

i also say Kudos to the CBSC for having policies and procedures that ensure respect for the acceptance of human diversity and the integrity of human rights and equality.

and you know, to show my status as a music historian and rock admirer in general, i say kudos to sting and knopfler for many many great songs. other than this one, i think the majority of both of your music catalogues are excellent.


Jennifer

January 12, 2011 - gees, only my 2nd update of the year?

ahh, time flies when you are stressed out and zonked out. i've come off esterogen and blood thinners for a month in prep for my big surgery. this has caused me to suffer some headaches, irritability, lethargy, and exhaustion.. oh what fun! but i managed to get in a 14 k run yesterday to and from the dentist. the teeth are looking great! but the root canal is still a little tender.

let's see. bowl season is over now, and i went 20-12 against the spread. so if i had placed $100 on each game, taking into account booking fees, i'd be ahead $680. oh well, too bad i didn't bet. and not like i would. i have absolutely no faith in my ability to pick bowl games.. you never know which teams are going to show up and which are going to mail it in; which ones will be rusty, and which will be in fine form. which makes it more fun to watch!

KC Chiefs mailed it in in week 17 and did so again in the second half of the playoff game. that's now 7 consecutive playoff game losses for KC, spanning back to 1993! (then missed the playoffs the other 10 years). both appear to be NFL records! it's official. we suck! but at the same time, there is promising optimism for next year unlike anything we've seen since the 2003 vermeil season.

speaking of athletes, there's me. i've dropped 2 pounds in the new year (the same two i gained over christmas and new years). so we are off to a good start. i've ran 9 times over 12 days, logging 76.1k so far. not too bad, i suppose. i am hoping to squeeze in at least anothger 124.9 before my surgery. (200 seems like a nice even number to go out on).

not much else to report on. let's see. C-Path will be engaging my services again next week to help further take action towards putting together a modified membership framework and membership program. i will be suggesting that they put together some projects that will lead to products and services that will fill the gaps in this country regarding the help that is available to those who need to transition. you can't help your client base if you don't have products or services that meet their needs. lots of work to do, and hopefully some progress will be made.

St John's Pride Inc., was in the news recently, as i pointed out last week. come february, it will be my plans to attempt to re-engage the board of directors as well as several previously-identified stakeholders, to see what we want to do with this entity.

one year ago this week, i filmed one of my all time favourite promo clips. the video depicts me feeding the ducks at Burtons pond in the snow, and speaking about the importance of keeping our parks and ponds clean. check the video out: here

until next time,

Jenn

January 1, 2011 - 2010 running statistical year in review

2010

jan - 271.60k - 271.60k

feb - 205.90 - 477.50

Mar - 258.80 - 736.30

Apr - 213.70 - 950.00

May - 230.20 - 1180.20

June - 147.00 - 1327.20

July - 56.50 - 1385.70

August - 169.10 - 1554.80

Sept - 123.30 - 1678.10

Oct - 218.30 - 1896.40

Nov - 135.60 - 2032.00

Dec - 210.70 - 2242.70k

277 days ran, 138 days off

officially sanctioned marathons:

20 - 04/19/10 - Boston Marathon - 5.16.55

21 - 04/25/10 - Big Sur Marathon - 4.49.49

22 - 05/09/10 - Fredericton Marathon - 4.36.33

23 - 05/16/10 - Mississauga Marathon - 4.56.03

24 - 05/23/10 - Halifax Marathon - 4.35.54

25 - 09/26/10 - Newfoundland Marathon - 5.27.52

NLAA schedule:

burton pond 5k, mews 8k, tely 10, provincial marathon, cape to cabot

most impressive endurance week:

05/23/10 - sun - 42.20k

05/24/10 - mon - 9.00

05/25/10 - tues - OFF

05/26/10 - wed - 22.30

05/27/10 - thurs - OFF

05/28/10 - fri - OFF

05/29/10 - sat - 11.50

05/30/10 - sun - 23.00

well, not really a whole lot in here to brag about. usually at year end, i look back at the stats and think: how the heck did i do that? this year, i did the same, but in more of a negative sense.

oh well, it is what it is. there were many external factors that impeded my ability to run as much, as fast, and as well as i had hoped i would. but given the circumstances, i am generally pleased with the way i have handled things this year, from a running perspective.

what i am most proud of, is how i handled myself on key race days, even knowing that i was entering under-trained and out of shape. i survived the boston marathon, and survived my 5 marathons in 33 days challenge, getting stronger with each run. i also survived the tely 10 on literally no june or july training. and i survived a newfoundland marathon on a morning that i literally had trouble dragging myself out of bed.

it was also a celebration of the hard work i had done in 2008-09. qualifying for the boston marathon is hard work. running the boston marathon is a celebration of that hard work.

visiting california for the first time in 5 years was also a special experience. driving the coast from LA to Carmel was fascinating. completing the Big Sur marathon was another landmark check mark on the life's to-do list.

meeting up with Candace Sutherland, the youngest person to ever run across canada, was quite the thrill.

continuing my streak of 4 consecutive runs and finishes at mississauga marathon, newfoundland marathon, and cape to cabot, were additional accomplishments that i feel proud of.

reaching 25 career official marathons, and doing so at home, on the same occasion that newfoundland running legend joe ryan ran his 50th, was also a fun achievement.

well, i feel as though it can only get better in 2011, and i certainly hope it does. i enter the new year with extreme optimism and excitement. surgery ahead is the short-term focus, and i know there won't likely be any running for 6-8 weeks afterwards; and i realize i won't likely return to my so-called running peak until 4-6 months, but that's ok.

Jenn