A new iron curtain drawn across the 49th parallel.

We saw Propaghandi and Greg MacPherson last week. There's nothing that makes you feel cooler than seeing one of your hometown bands in a place that's far away from your hometown. Added to the fact that this show was in Hollywood and these two bands stand for pretty much everything that Hollywood isn't, it added to our very self-indulgent feeling that we (and nobody else) "got it". I wore my St. Boniface t-shirt to the show and when I struck up a conversation with the merch guy and he exclaimed "Where did you get that shirt!?", I pretended I didn't even realize I was wearing it, even though I totally did. (We also saw David Bazan. He was great.)
Still, there is a definite feeling talking to people here that many have a difficult time finding a sense of community, something I think Winnipeg is an amazing city for. I think there are two factors at play here.
1) The physical geography of the city can give it a very "sterile" feeling. There's something about being enclosed in a metal box with windows for hours a day that makes it difficult to feel very connected with people sharing this experience. Living in central Winnipeg you almost have to try not to become part of the community at large.
2) Many people our age come here to "make it". Whether this is in business or the pornography industry, the focus is on professional achievement (and for most this boils down to $$$). "Health" here almost always means "Physical Appearance" and you really have to look to find people and places where this does not apply.

Now to completely turn this around and make us look like hypocritical idiots, here are shots me being cool and of Dayna enjoying our new car the only way a new car can be enjoyed: Smelling it so hard that you need to actually touch your nose on the dash. Don't laugh Dayna..don't!