DON ROSS IS COMING. Be there or be square, or possibly an oblate spheroid. Friday, January 28th 8 pm St James Hall, Tix $20, Info 604-736-3022, www.roguefolk.bc.ca. Two time champ of the US National Fingerstyle Guitar competition, first Canadian ever. His intelligent, accessible and impassioned playing is like a drop spilled from the cup of the gods.

Read a bunch of first person accounts of the tsunami last night. Talked to David yesterday about how it seems to be diverting attention from what’s happening with homeless and marginalized people in Canada, and I owned as how I don’t think it’s an either or situation. Nobody expects a tsunami; I don’t think anybody deserves one. However, he did get me thinking bout where my priorities are in terms of social justice and welfare, and I guess currently it’s the nasty trifecta of drugs, alcohol and mental illness as components to homelessness. I also remember telling David that homelessness is, as of yet, still very much a man’s issue. Did anybody hear that the first Iraq veterans have turned up in homeless shelters? I don’t see Bush talking about that much, he’s too busy trying to gut Social Security.