So I was heading home on the Bloor subway today on a very full train that was having trouble getting out of Sherbourne station. The driver's first assumption was that somebody was leaning against one of the car doors, as the train can't run unless all doors are completely shut. After three minutes of slowly sputtering along, the driver determined that there was a mechanical problem. Uh oh, I thought. Sure enough, everybody was ordered off the train at Castle Frank.
Is it just me, or are the subway trains getting older and creakier these days? There seem to be more mechanical problems than there used to be. And many of the TTC's buses are fifteen years old, or older: the buses I used to take to work in 1992 are still in service (I recognize their serial numbers).
Why is this, you might ask? It's because the TTC is underfunded. And why is the TTC underfunded? Because the city of Toronto doesn't have any money. And why doesn't Toronto have any money? Because the rest of Canada hates Toronto, and underfunding us is politically popular. And many Canadians outside of Toronto think that we're all filthy rich, so we should pay for everything out of our municipal property taxes. Did you know that the TTC receives less federal or state/provincial funding than any other transit service in North America?
Listen, I know that we in Toronto aren't perfect. There are some people here who are effete snobs or metrosexuals or rich bankers or (insert other stereotype here). But this city is my home. I was born and raised here. I love it, and would never dream of living anywhere else. And the city that I love is going downhill. The streets are grimier. The infrastructure is creaking. The skyline is being blotted out by condominiums. And Jim Flaherty, the Tory finance minister, is probably going to pay for his planned tax cuts by cutting back on urban spending.
Please. Don't hurt us any more. We're bleeding enough, thank you.
I'm still experimenting with Pandora, and their music range is a bit wider than I thought. There have been some interesting mappings so far:
- Yo La Tengo's "The Pain of Pain" is an almost perfect match for Neil Young's "Barstool Blues".
- Beat Happening was matched with the Ramones. It's all good.
- The Talking Heads were matched with "30 Years In The Bathroom" by The Wonder Stuff. It wasn't a great match, but I love the song title.
- Fat Boy Slim was matched to "Sandwiches" by the Detroit Grand Pubahs. Which is a totally cool song.
- Joy Division matches up with Iggy Pop. But everything matches up with Iggy Pop.
DJ: So, what do you think of Courtney Love?
(PERFECTLY TIMED PAUSE)
Ig: I'd fuck her.
The final score: Ancient Stooge 1, Radio Voice 0.