I was speaking to Rebakah, a friend of mine from St. Paul’s way back in the day, the other day when I was working at the college. We somehow got onto the topic of relationships and we were talking about why she thought that her long-time boyfriend, Vince, was perfect for her.

She said that it was not because she and Vince never had to make any compromises; I’m sure that they have gone through their share of rough spots. She did say, however, that his personality and the things that he does makes the difference. Rebekah went on to describe her friends who find lists of characterisics a good boyfriend needs to have (probably in one of those teeny, girly magazines) and they say that Vince has them all. I have a feeling that it’s the little things that really count; for example, opening the door (of a room, building, car, whatever) for the lady.

So it comes down to the chivalry that a guy exhibits. I think that this trait is one of the distinctions between the sicko, horn-dog guys that we all see everyday and the gentlemen of our society. After all, a man’s actions is a reflection of his personality and, if he acts like a sicko horn-dog, he probably is one. Similarly, if he treats people with respect and dignity (i.e. with chivalry), then he’s probably a gentlemen. Or a sicko, horn-dog guy that can act.

Now, while I haven’t been barking at girls that I think are attractive or anything of that sort, I haven’t been acting with as much chivalry as I think I should. So I’m going to try and make a conscious effort to kick it up a notch or two.

Wish me luck!

I got back from one of the most remarkable experiences that I’ve ever had: a U2 concert in the Air Canada Centre!!!!!!!!!!

As a member of U2.com, I got the tickets in a pre-sale. I was limited to two, but I had no problem finding someone to go with me. Unfortunately, it meant missing out on the Embassy’s fall kick-off, but some sacrifices just need to be made.

So Laura (a.k.a. Captain Radio Surfer) set out after my class to Toronto and made it to the lineup in good time. It took a little while to get in, but we were able to find a pretty awesome spot; we were some fifteen feet from the stage! There were, however, some pretty tall people in front of us (including two turds who budded in front of us). Oh, if I was only a few inches taller!

Dashboard Confessional opened up promptly at 7:30pm (which was a pleasant surprise). They did a set that lasted just under an hour and included songs like “Screaming Infidelities” and “Vindicated.” The crowd was warm to them, but the loudest cheer for Dashboard paled in comparison to the quiest cheer for U2.

U2 hit the stage at 9 (entering to an Arcade Fire song, I think) and the crowd (including Laura and me) erupted. I never thought that I would be able to see this band live and, yet, there I was. They are arguably the biggest band in the world, and those tickets went like hotcakes. No longer was I watching them on the TV or listening to them on my iPod… nope, I was in throwing distance to all of them!!

Here are a couple of pictures that I found:

Not surprisingly, they kicked off their set with one of their recent hits. Here’s the complete setlist:

Vertigo
I Will Follow
Electric Co.
Elevation
Beautiful Day
In A Little While
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
City of Blinding Lights
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo

Pride (In the Name of Love)
Where the Streets Have No Name
One

Zoo Station
The Fly
With or Without You

All Because of You
Fast Cars
Yahweh
40

Just a note: this was the first time that they ever performed Fast Cars live. Woohoo!

The experience (I shy away from calling it a concert) was surreal. I have few words that can describe how I felt during the event. It was so utterly complete and thorough that I feel that I don’t need to go to any more concerts. This was, without a doubt, the best concert of my life.

There were some points during the experience where I felt overwhelmed with emotions. I would just look at Laura and we’d both open our mouths in complete euphoria. Everything about the show was absolutely amazing: the lighting effects (they had this really cool mobile screen of light bulbs… it was like a huge tv), the presence, the sound, the crowd, the setlist, the words, the memories.. Needless to say, if any of you have a chance to see U2 (and do not despise them…), do it. It’ll be an experience for the ages.

Here is a very brief list of things that really made this experience awesome for me:

1. Shaking the hand of a Bono impersonator. While I went to get a drink, I saw this guy in black, sunglasses, and a cowboy hat. He looked like Bono at first glance so I went up to him, said “Good show”, and shook his hand. I went back to Laura and convinced her to try and get our tickets signed. When she went, he told her that he wasn’t Bono (but offered to sign the tickets anyways). I felt like an idiot. How embarrassing.

2. Hearing U2 tease The Smashing Pumpkins. During “The Electric Co.”, Bono started chanting “despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage” from the Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” I went ballistic.

3. Hearing U2 tease The Beatles. During “Beautiful Day”, Bono started to sing a bit of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” I guess singing with Paul McCartney at Live8 got to him…

4. Being fifteen feet away from the band. All of them came pretty close to us and it was… beyond words.

5. Seeing the flags of African countries scrolling on the bulb screen. I forget when this happened (I’m thinking for “Where The Streets Have No Name”, but I could be wrong), but it was so good to see that some people remember. Maximum respect for U2.

6. The reading of the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights on screen. Somewhat related to the above memory, this was really inspiring to see. It was really refreshing and motivating to know that the fight for human rights and dignity has some champions for its cause. The crowd loved it.

7. Speeches by Bono. One went roughly like this: “I’m excited about the future. Not just because of the scientists, but because of the doctors. And the nurses. Especially the nurses, because they’re the ones that are keeping us alive.” This, of course, made me think of Bre 😛 Another speech talked about the dire state of the world (mentioning London, Egpyt, Turkey, New Orleans, etc.) and it ended like this: “Our prayer for tonight is that we do not become a monster to defeat the monsters.” Beautiful.

8. Seeing Bono pray on stage during a song. So much for going into a room and praying to the Father in secret…

9.
CoeXisT. This picture is not from the Toronto show, but it shows you how it was done. It was so amazing.

Thank you, God, for this opportunity. I live such a blessed life.

I don’t know why I didn’t write about this earlier, but I feel that I need to say something about this New Orleans business.

Yes, it was tragic. Yes, there are a lot of casualties. Yes, it’s going to take a lot of resources and time before life approaches any semblance of normality again.

But something is really irking me about all of this. It’s not like the hurricaine showed up out of nowhere; people knew it was coming and, yet, not a whole lot seemed to have been done in advance of its arrival. Some people (like Kanye West) blame the Bush administration for some degree of racism. Others (like me) blame the Bush administration for utter incompetence.

So now we watch the aftermath of a government failing to protect its people. The stories are flooding the airwaves (pun intended), and everyone is obsessed with the rescue efforts. Heck, there was even that concert with a huge list of celebrities last week to raise money for the cause.

Admirable as it is, I can’t help but question it; is America not one of the richest nations in the world? (The answer is an obvious “yes.”) So why is it begging other people for help? Oh, right. It’s too busy warmongering in countries around the world. With an annual budget of some $400 billion US on its military, there’s not a whole lot of speculation about where it can find money. Idiot Americans, I swear.

And where’s all of the attention for other places in the world where much worse things are happening? Let’s not forget about all of the people living in hunger, or the kids being exploited, or the women getting beaten. Ugh. I am utterly disgusted by America and her selfishness.