my legs have no hair: the windy epic

For some reason known only to the political powers of Western Canada, municipalities do not salt roads in winter, they merely sand. Coming from Southern Ontario, where salt reigns supreme, I find this trend to be quite displeasing. First of all, salt is good for the environment. It is natural to the ground; that's where salt comes from. Salt also melts with the snow, as it melts the snow, and washes away. Plus, I'm certain that the auto manufacturers, if not only Buzz and the hard working people of the CAW, pay for the salt, because it rusts out cars, and the more cars that get rusty, the more cars need to be replaced, and the more cars need to be replaced, effects more money for the manufacturers and effects more work for the unions.

But not so on the Prairie. On the Prairie, it's just sand. The problem with sand is that it is not good for the environment, does not aid the auto industry, and it does not melt away with the snow.

Every spring Lethbridge becomes a veritable sand trap. The city of Lethbridge (union) workers go around with street cleaners and clean up all that sand. But if they're anything like la ville du Montréal (union) workers, then it will take 15 union workers 12 days to clean up 2 kg of sand from 10 m of street. (Which is about the rate at which this task is usually accomplished.)

Another thing about Lethbridge is the wind. I use the term wind loosely. Today's report from The Weather Network reveals the forecast to be "gusts: 56 km/h". This is always an understatement.

As I was walking the eight blocks from my flat to Mocha (where I am now sitting and enjoying Gotan Project on my iPod headphones), those gusts of wind picking up all that ^&*% sand was virtually sandblasting the hair off my legs and arms. I've likely got about 500 g of sand stuck to the product in my hair. (Had to throw that in, makes me sound all metro.)

"Gotan Project?" you say?

Yes. The Gotan Project. Believe me, if you know me at all, you will know that this is completely and totally not my style.

Roman Polanski is a world renowned film director. One of my favourite Polanski films is Frantic. Likely because Emmanuelle Seingner is fantastically gorgeous, and Harrison Ford is one of my favourite actors, based upon the father figure quotient.

(From the acting roles, not the fame, noteriety, or vast financial wealth, who would I most desire to have had as my father? Topping the list would be Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. Bad-ass father: Al Pacino. Lady's man swinging I-don't-know-who-my-mother-really-is: Cary Grant {but if he was my father, then I would choose Sophia Loren for a mother, even if they never got married}.)

In the film, the Grace Jones song i've seen that face before (libertango) was on the soundtrack, as well as being a musical focal point of the film. I had always associated that song with the film, and as such, always thought of Paris in the 80's when I heard it. I think it's a stellar track, which is a bit odd, because I don't really care for anything else Jones has recorded.

The Sarah Vaughan song whatever lola wants from Verve's Remixed 2 release was remixed by Gotan Project.

If you play the Jones song and immediately follow it with the Vaughan/Gotan remix, you won't be able to not notice the similarity.

Having re-watched Frantic recently, and then finding myself determined to discover the song from the soundtrack, only to realise that it sounds quite like the remix, I decided to check out more of Gotan Project.

And they are fantastically stellar!

(Environmentally friendly, I am now recycling and reusing adjectives previously used within this post.)

At the mall yesterday, I checked out HMV's selection of Gotan Project. Limited. And lunático is $19!!! Lunático at iTunes Music Store is merely $9.99.

Which brings us to the final question: how much is the media worth? In this case, apparently $10.33 (factoring in HMV's $18.99 + GST less iTMS). I'm sorry, but paying more than double the price just to have the media is most often not worth it.

W.W.J.P.?

What would Jesus pay?

Jesus would buy the iTMS download and spend the rest on expensive perfume.