Winter Solstice Celebrations

Today was the first day of winter, so I celebrated by going on a 12.5 km run in steady cold rain. I actually tried to join a friend at the Running Room for a group run, but got there late. I followed what I thought was their route with a few shortcuts, hoping to catch them, but never saw them as they actually ran a different route altogether. By chance we ended up back at the running Room at the same time though, so we all warmed up over a coffee.

Two nights ago I was out again with Adrian at a "charity event" at the Century Room sponsored by a friend of his who now runs a modeling agency called Agency Rouge ("Toronto's Sexiest Agency"). So many young women wandering around hoping to be discovered... There was a celebrity DJ up from New York City spinning tracks who had been a girlfriend of another of Adrian's friends ten years ago. We all watched carefully to see if she'd notice him and how she'd greet him. Unfortunately their re-acquaintance happened out of sight, so we weren't able to pass judgment.

Quick political note: The Conservative government has just appointed a board to oversee stem-cell and fertility research. None of them have expertise in the field, many have spoken out against stem-cell research or abortion. Another blatantly stacked deck. The Conservatives have done the same thing with the Canadian Wheat Board, which is generally lauded by farmers for helping them get better prices but not inline with right-wing "free market" thinking. The Wheat Board's government appointees are now opposed to its principles, the farmer-elected members are struggling to keep it operating...

It's funny that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has created the most centralised and dogmatic Federal government Canada has ever seen, when his party arose from a desire to return power to "the grassroots". Harper's Cabinet ministers are often left in the dark about decisions in their areas of "responsibility". Why is it that populists harnessing the desire for change only want to change the driver and never the car?

Listening to: King in a Catholic Style (Wake Up) by China Crisis from Flaunt the Imperfection.