Reports of my ISP's demise have been greatly exaggerated?

Maybe the guy said "end of June" but actually meant "end of July." Either way, I'm not complaining!

Amidst the raft of insane news today is the good insane, being a developing story on how Colombian army black ops successfully infiltrated FARC leadership and tricked them into loading 15 hostages onto a helicopter FARC was convinced belonged to fellow rebels - now that's a shining example of what the black ops boys are for! - and the ludicrously bad insane, being Henry Morgentaler's induction into the Order of Canada. I won't expound too much here, as there are plenty of good arguments published today from both sides of the abortion debate as to why this is improper and undeserved (several were in The National Post, which maintains a website - I encourage you to check it out). One person interviewed by the Post hit the nail on the head when he compared Morgantaler receiving the Order to giving the Victoria Cross to a mercenary. The stated and self-defined purpose of The Order of Canada is to recognize people whom the majority of Canadians regard as a hero. With the country split almost evenly on whether or not abortion is ethical, and even the majority of pro-choicers supporting limits on things like abortions based on eugenics, and third-trimester abortions, Morgentaler's baffling induction proves that the selection committee was more concerned about their personal ideological and political biases than the purpose of the Order of Canada. I agree with the commentators who have gone so far as to say that his induction debases the award. And that bang-on mercenary comparison...here we have the Governor-General, honouring a man who forced the legalization of abortion not by bringing it to the legislature for debate and enactment - Morgentaler could never be bothered to do anything so pedestrian - but by opening an illegal clinic, and denying all concepts of medical ethics by railing against any attempts at creating acceptable limits, like the afore-mentioned eugenic and third-trimester abortions. When even a large segment of the pro-choice movement considers him to be irrational and dangerous, you have to wonder what the selection committee was thinking.

In better Order of Canada news, former BTO member and new jazz man Randy Bachman has also been inducted. I'm not a fan of BTO, but it was a very important band. And I love Bachman's gorgeous, sultry jazz work. He's made huge contributions to the Canadian music industry, and the people love him. Congratulations, Randy!

On a completely different note, Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch blog posted something today that made me laugh so hard (in a good way) that tears were streaming down my face. The blogger is petitioning folks to share their misheard lyrics experiences, and the slightly embarrassed bonding taking place in the comments section is absolutely priceless. One brave soul admitted to having always misheard Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" as being about not being able to find a towel upon exiting the bath (as she noted, the song is called TUBthumping!); another brought me joy by revealing that he heard the opening lyrics of "Brown Eyed Girl" - 'Hey where did we go' - as "Hey Amigo", several people revealed that they'd always heard "Secret Agent Man" as "Secret Asian Man", and a mother shared her three year-old's take on that perpetually misheard childhood classic, the chorus of "Puff the Magic Dragon". I threw my hat into the ring by admitting that, for over a decade, I thought the chorus to the Crash Test Dummies' Tarzan/Superman song was "Superman never made any money saving the world from Sodom and Gundy" - I figured, just because I didn't know what a gundy was didn't mean it wasn't a plausible lyric. Thanks to The Long Halloween, I know about DC universe villain Solomon Grundy, and, for the first time in my life, know the right words to the song. Hooray! I also couldn't resist sharing with the world that, even after showing him the track list on the album cover, Corey still hears "She's got a ticket to ride" as "She's got a chicken to ride". I think that's priceless. You can read the comments in full here. I highly recommend it. It'll make your day.