Rediculousness

It's been awhile since I've done an all out music post and it's about time I get on it. Here are some great artists that I wanted to share.

The White Stripes as closing off their cross Canada tour next week and I have to say I'm a little sad about it. I actually missed their concert here in Toronto but I've been following their tour and the stories as they crossed our great country. I read about their plan to visit every Canadian province and territory back when they first announced the tour. It's ambitious to say the least and something most Canadian bands couldn't boast having done. Plus it meant that The White Stripes would be playing places like Iqaluit and Whitehorse which probably have a smaller population overall than most of the stadiums they play in the US. But they played them all and played them with style. Not only did they win over the hearts of Canadians coast to coast by playing every province and territory, their now famous secret shows while they crossed the country are the things of legend and I'm pretty sure there will be a lobby to give Jack and Meg honorary citizenship.

With notices going up on their message board only minutes before the shows, only a few lucky people saw the secret shows. From a bowling alley in Saskatoon to a city bus in Winnipeg to strumming the blues with a busker, a youth shelter in Burnaby and the Hope Centre in Edmonton to singing with little kids at the YMCA in Toronto, The White Stripes dove into Canada and we love them for it. Below are some clips that I think are pretty cool. If you're Canadian and didn't love The White Stripes before I don't know how you could not love them now.

It's that time of year again. My parents are getting up at 5:30 am and flipping on the sports channel to watch the Tour de France. It's hard not to get caught up in the spectacle of it especially after years of Lance dominating, last year marred by allegations of drug abuse by Floyd and this year, a wide open field of riders.

I can't claim to be a long time tour fan but I have to say, it's easy to get caught up in the pain, glory and spectacle of it all. Just this morning I read that last years winner of the prologue, O'Grady, was flying halfway through the course when he clipped a barrier and went down. He got back up and finished the race, crossing the finish line with his clothes ripped and hanging off him. Still 10.13 Min to ride 7.9 km is pretty amazing especially after falling. The Tour has it all; pain, drugs, sportsmanship lacking from most other sports these days and days and days of it.

I'm too cheap to get the huge cable package so that I can actually watch the Tour but this year. I turned on the sports channel this morning with the hope that there might be a clip but nothing but football was on. Luckily the Tour partnered with YouTube and there's an official Tour de France 2007 YouTube page so hopefully I can still catch the highlights.

I've been what they call "on the bench" for awhile now which basically means that I am not assigned to a project, aka, I'm not working 10-12 hour days. While this is pretty nice it's also a little boring at times. I've been on and off reading Leah McLaren's Continuity Girl for awhile(yes, I like Leah McLaren) and came across this line that made me laugh since I've been getting an extra bit of sleep lately too.

"It was five in the afternoon on a Saturday, but she barely stirred.... Meredith was pleasantly surprised to notice she did not feel remotely guilty for being in bed. This must be what depression was like, and upon reflection she decided, it did not seem so bad."