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Hi and welcome to episode 6 of the I Walk Toronto podcast. I’m Lorrie. Thank you for listening.
Introduction – what I’ve seen
Well, it’s the coldest night of the year tonight. With the wind chill, it’s due to get down to minus 40. Minus 40. You know what happens at minus 40? Your exposed skin freezes in 13 seconds. Even with thermal underwear, men run the risk of becoming eunuchs. Anyone with a bit of money in the bank and spare vacation time books a trip to some place warm. Seriously. Minus 40…she ain’t no joke.
I have still been walking, of course. For my walks to work I’ve been wearing thermal underwear, an under shirt, my thickest Iron Heart flannel, a Permaloft jacket, my Patagonia winter jacket, two toques and mitts. Last Friday I did buy some new winter boots – Bogs – that are both water proof and good to minus 40. So far so good.
I have to admit, that with the cold, I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time looking at where I’m going. It’s head down, trudge through the snow and ice as fast as I can go. I know winter can’t last forever, but this week, it feels like it might.
What I’m listening to
Okay, confession to make. I’m still obsessed with Sleater-Kinney’s One More Hour. I can’t seem to stop listening to it. But, it seems wrong to put the song on this week’s podcast since I put it on last week’s.
So, instead I’m going to put on something a bit different. I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer for the new NWA movie, but if you haven’t, take a look for it. When I first heard about the film, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, here’s a group that for all their notoriety, only had a couple of good albums. I’d rather see a biopic on Dr. Dre. Or Public Enemy. But, it is a story, and you know what music they do use is going to be good. So, this week, I’m going to play Straight Outta Compton. As a quick aside, I still remember the day I bought this cassette. My parents went away for the weekend and left me money for groceries. Yeah, right. Chris Torrens and I hopped in my Ford Granada and headed straight for Bellingham, Washington, since you really couldn’t find much hip hop in BC at the time. We ran into Bellis Fair Mall, handed over whatever ridiculous amount they were charging and proceded to play that tape over and over and over. I’m pretty sure it lasted me a couple of years before my stereo ate it on the Langley Bypass…
Anyway, here it is. Remixed version of Straight Outta Compton.
Since I’ve been playing more than one song during the podcast and I kind of like playing music that some or most of you haven’t heard, I’m going to play a song by a guy called Tim Barry. It’s called Avoiding Catatonic Surrender and it has some of the best lyrics I can remember. I hope you enjoy it.
What I’ve been thinking about
There’s been a lot on my mind recently. As I write this, Copenhagen is on lockdown following a shooting in a café and a subsequent shooting at a synagogue. Yesterday, Mohamed Fahmy was released on bail. Our son of a bitch Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird resigned unexpectedly – revelations of a scandal sure to follow…
There’s a lot going on in the world, and it’s important to stay informed. Why? Why do you need to pay attention when it seems like everything is happening half a world away?
Well, it isn’t. It’s actually coming closer to home. The North American media is reluctant to report this way, but when an atheist, or ‘anti-theist’, kills Muslims in North Carolina – that’s terrorism. When kids plan to shoot up a mall in Halifax, that’s terrorism. Any event that makes you think twice about going about your daily routine is terrorism.
I’m not trying to be alarmist, I’m calling things what they are. It’s important to stay informed.
It’s an election year in Canada and before long the rhetoric will be in high gear. Hang in there. There’s a tendency to get overwhelmed by all the bullshit. Stay calm. The whole idea is to bore the general public to tears – or apathy – in order to keep them away from the polls. That way the base decides the race. Don’t give in. Read. Listen to the news. Keep up to date. And when that day comes in mid-autumn, vote.
It’s not just your right. It’s your duty.
Tips on staying healthy over the winter
On my way to work the other morning I saw a runner whose beard was completely frosted over. That to me says it’s too cold to run. Or, he wasn’t dressed properly. Covering your face if you’re going to run in these temperatures is essential. I like to use a scarf, but pretty much anything that will give your face a bit of cover, keeps the heat in and warms the air before it enters your lungs is good enough.
The other thing I’ve started is swimming. Okay, hard to say I’ve started, since I’ve been exactly once, but diving into a warm pool on a cold day is wonderful. I did learn a couple of things from my first swim. First, just because I can run for an hour or two does not mean I have a lot of swimming endurance. I lasted a very painful, very tiring 15 minutes. Ugh. Part of that was spent trying not to drown instead of actual swimming. The other thing I learned is chlorine is hard on the eyes. I was gifted a pair of goggles, but they leaked a bit and by the time I got out of the pool, my eyes were bright red. Have to sort that out.
And, in spite of all the water that I’m drinking, I need to sort out some hand cream. I recommend Kiehls. It’s the best I’ve found. I’m half surprised that my mother hasn’t sent me some stuff that they use on horses’ hoofs. She’s good like that.
Closing thoughts
It’s Valentine’s Day. In honour, I’m going to play the saddest love song I can think of. The Antlers’ Two. I have been lucky enough to see them a half dozen times over the last few years, including three or four times at South By Southwest, and every time I hear this song live it crushes me. Enjoy it.
Thanks for listening. If you want to get in touch, you can send me an email to iwalktoronto@gmail.com. Or follow me on twitter @iwalktoronto. The Facebook group, if you want to join, is iwalktoronto – one word. As is my instagram account. I have a blog to host the podcast, which is iwalktoronto.ca. And you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes – search for I Walk Toronto, this time three words. If you enjoyed it, please rate the episode. If you have questions or comments, please get in touch.
Thanks again.
Bye for now, and remember, be awesome.
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