Ok?
Aside from the laundry run, I rode my bike the rest of the day - to the grocery store and to work and back. Nothing like the haul that Hazel did today, though. I mean, holy crap! 87?! Wow. I am in awe.
Go Hazel!
Showing posts with label Blatherings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blatherings. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Happy (almost) Car Free Day!
Ok, here's the thing. I had to do laundry. No - I really had to do laundry. Like, a full bag and an overflowing basket full. At least 60 pounds worth, and I don't have a functional washer & dryer at home and it's a long haul to the laundromat. Ok, so there's actually another one closer to my house, but it's kind of scuzzy and besides, the one I go to is SOLAR!
Ok?
Aside from the laundry run, I rode my bike the rest of the day - to the grocery store and to work and back. Nothing like the haul that Hazel did today, though. I mean, holy crap! 87?! Wow. I am in awe.
Go Hazel!
Ok?
Aside from the laundry run, I rode my bike the rest of the day - to the grocery store and to work and back. Nothing like the haul that Hazel did today, though. I mean, holy crap! 87?! Wow. I am in awe.
Go Hazel!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Salt Spring Dispatch #1
Greetings from Salt Spring Island, BC!
I have never been to the west coast before. Never been west of Chicago, in fact, so there are all sorts of little things that keep letting me know that I am someplace very different. The trees. The mountains. The smell of the air.
Even the deer look a little... different.
My husband says they're just the same, but I think they're smaller and redder.
We went for a walk down by the ocean yesterday and found these things hiding behind rocks to get out of the sun.
I didn't think living things came in that particular shade of purple.
We also wandered around downtown Ganges and watched this fella having a grand old time rolling around on the dock in the warm sun. Just like my cats. Only bigger.
My only complaint about BC so far is that everything costs so much more than back home. Particularly the car rental rates, which turned out to be double what we would have paid in Ontario. Not something you want to find out as soon as you arrive (yeah, my bad for not reserving).
The cost of the ferry has also caused us to re-think a few of our plans, but I am still determined to hit Vancouver even if it means an expensive three hour ferry ride and a hotel room so we have time to actually do stuff while we're there.
So, Vancouver's on for Monday-Tuesday. Today we were going to cross over to the big island and drive up to Tofino, but the morning got away from us. Maybe Sunday.
Any suggestions for our itinerary are welcome. We're here 'till Wednesday.
I have never been to the west coast before. Never been west of Chicago, in fact, so there are all sorts of little things that keep letting me know that I am someplace very different. The trees. The mountains. The smell of the air.
Even the deer look a little... different.
My husband says they're just the same, but I think they're smaller and redder.
We went for a walk down by the ocean yesterday and found these things hiding behind rocks to get out of the sun.
I didn't think living things came in that particular shade of purple.
We also wandered around downtown Ganges and watched this fella having a grand old time rolling around on the dock in the warm sun. Just like my cats. Only bigger.
My only complaint about BC so far is that everything costs so much more than back home. Particularly the car rental rates, which turned out to be double what we would have paid in Ontario. Not something you want to find out as soon as you arrive (yeah, my bad for not reserving).
The cost of the ferry has also caused us to re-think a few of our plans, but I am still determined to hit Vancouver even if it means an expensive three hour ferry ride and a hotel room so we have time to actually do stuff while we're there.
So, Vancouver's on for Monday-Tuesday. Today we were going to cross over to the big island and drive up to Tofino, but the morning got away from us. Maybe Sunday.
Any suggestions for our itinerary are welcome. We're here 'till Wednesday.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
My Environmentalist Street Cred Just Took a Big Hit
So. Yeah. The new vehicle.
Let me start by saying that despite living in the Sprawl Capital of Canada, my family and I really do have a reasonably small ecological footprint - mostly due to our living within spitting distance of the poverty line most of the year.
We live in a very small house with lots of big trees around it. We do not have central air - only a single window unit. We are self-employed and therefore do not commute. Our son has always walked to school. Only one of us has been on an airplane in the past eight years. We don't own a dishwasher. We do own a washer and dryer, but they haven't worked in years so we do our laundry at the laundromat. And our laundromat uses SOLAR HEATED WATER! Pretty cool, huh?
You might recall my mentioning that our one vehicle is one of these...
... which we really do need for transporting crap to and from shows and film sets for our respective businesses. Yeah, it sucks gas like nobody's business and it really would be nice to have a second, much smaller car for daily use, but like I said - we're broke.
Last week my dad gave us an incredibly generous gift. He was getting a new car and offered to give us his old one. We could hardly turn him down, and it really is nice to have a second vehicle even though we can't afford to keep both indefinitely.
It gets better gas mileage than the Safari, although only slightly - about 15% better. It's still big enough for most business-related purposes, plus it's got all sorts of cool features like heated seats, a sunroof, driver's side air bag, computerized everything, and it even remembers who I am when I get in and adjusts the seat and mirrors accordingly.
There's only one problem. It's one of these:
I can't even bring myself to say the 'S'-word, so I've decided to refer to it as the VLC. Short for Very Large Car.
I feel so... dirty. I think I'll go ride my bike some more.
Let me start by saying that despite living in the Sprawl Capital of Canada, my family and I really do have a reasonably small ecological footprint - mostly due to our living within spitting distance of the poverty line most of the year.
We live in a very small house with lots of big trees around it. We do not have central air - only a single window unit. We are self-employed and therefore do not commute. Our son has always walked to school. Only one of us has been on an airplane in the past eight years. We don't own a dishwasher. We do own a washer and dryer, but they haven't worked in years so we do our laundry at the laundromat. And our laundromat uses SOLAR HEATED WATER! Pretty cool, huh?
You might recall my mentioning that our one vehicle is one of these...
... which we really do need for transporting crap to and from shows and film sets for our respective businesses. Yeah, it sucks gas like nobody's business and it really would be nice to have a second, much smaller car for daily use, but like I said - we're broke.
Last week my dad gave us an incredibly generous gift. He was getting a new car and offered to give us his old one. We could hardly turn him down, and it really is nice to have a second vehicle even though we can't afford to keep both indefinitely.
It gets better gas mileage than the Safari, although only slightly - about 15% better. It's still big enough for most business-related purposes, plus it's got all sorts of cool features like heated seats, a sunroof, driver's side air bag, computerized everything, and it even remembers who I am when I get in and adjusts the seat and mirrors accordingly.
There's only one problem. It's one of these:
I can't even bring myself to say the 'S'-word, so I've decided to refer to it as the VLC. Short for Very Large Car.
I feel so... dirty. I think I'll go ride my bike some more.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Paranoia
I am usually amused when someone from the PMO, or the House of Commons (hi, Garth!), or the Ministry of Natural Resources, or even AECL pays a visit to my blog. Since I frequently write about topics related to these organizations, it's understandable and even flattering that they should check in from time to time.
However, when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate pops by to check out my piece on the dubious hazards of incinerator bottom ash - not once, but twice in the past 24 hours - you'll forgive me if I start getting a little paranoid.
There's no indication of how he found my blog or what he was looking for. What's the interest here? Has someone threatened the U.S. Senate with a terrorist attack involving bottom ash? Or fluoride? Did I inadvertently use a keyword on a list somewhere? Is this interest official, or is it just some guy on his break who has relatives in Halton or a deep personal interest in public water treatment policy?
So, Mr. Sergeant at Arms: if you are reading this, please drop me a line and let me know that I can stop freaking out about this.
Thank you very much.
However, when the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate pops by to check out my piece on the dubious hazards of incinerator bottom ash - not once, but twice in the past 24 hours - you'll forgive me if I start getting a little paranoid.
There's no indication of how he found my blog or what he was looking for. What's the interest here? Has someone threatened the U.S. Senate with a terrorist attack involving bottom ash? Or fluoride? Did I inadvertently use a keyword on a list somewhere? Is this interest official, or is it just some guy on his break who has relatives in Halton or a deep personal interest in public water treatment policy?
So, Mr. Sergeant at Arms: if you are reading this, please drop me a line and let me know that I can stop freaking out about this.
Thank you very much.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
2007 Detritus, Part 2
Apparently a number of the major newspapers spent the holidays putting their 2007 articles behind firewalls, so there are a number of items in my file that I just can't get at anymore. Here's what I could salvage:
February 20th - Milton Crosswalks
One item that passed pretty much unnoticed this spring was a decision by Milton Town Council to do away with all but one pedestrian crosswalk in town.
The line that made my jaw drop was this one:
I see. So, our Lord High Mayor figures the best way to decrease pollution is to discourage pedestrians.
I actually took the trouble to check the original committee report, and my reading of it is that they recommended looking into replacing the yellow light, push button crosswalks with pedestrian activated red lights. But that would involve spending money. More than the $150,000 they spent ripping out the existing crosswalks, that is.
September 22nd - Tom Flannagan
This was the day that Harper's Brain finally stepped out from the shadows and shared with us all his Ten Commandments of Conservative Campaigning. I especially liked Number 4:
And lo, we were nauseated.
October 5th - The One Cent Solution
Intellectual property gone mad:
October - Random Thoughts on Food
I live in Ontario, and the other day I noticed that the Loblaw's Supercentre had garlic from China, and onions from Peru. Peru! I know it's been a terribly dry summer here, but the local and organic growers at the weekly Milton Farmer's Market didn't seem to have any trouble stocking local garlic and onions.
The fact that it's apparently still cheaper for Loblaw's to ship produce from half way around the world than pay local farmers a decent price just serves to illustrate how exploitive agribusiness is in the developing world.
Unfortunately I don't live in BC, so my options for fresh local produce are about to narrow to nearly zero. I am seriously considering building a greenhouse.
(and on that note, here's a link to the Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry from March talking about big agribusiness and rural poverty in Alberta.)
October 15th - Health Care Myths Debunked
Here's a link to a point by point evisceration of a fake email making the rounds that purported to be from a Canadian complaining about our health care.
Great for those parties where you find yourself in a screaming argument with one of those Americans who still thinks public health care is a Communist plot.
October 26th - Rick Salutin Is My Home Boy
More pearls from the far left office at the Globe & Mail, this time on the rising dollar and the retailization of Canada. A taste:
Seriously, how is it this guy works for the GLOBE?!
November - Random Thoughts on History
I have become convinced that there is no such thing as a definitive history of the world, or even of a particular period or event. Every historian, no matter how objective they may, will always have a particular point of view. No one can simultaneously encompass all the sociological, economic, political, religious and other causes and effects that weave together to represent a single event or sequence of events.
That’s not a bad thing.
December 11th - Why So Many Poor People Are Obese
Admit it - you've wondered.
This article in Newsweek entitled "Living in Junk Food Country" provides an illuminating analysis that brings into focus a whole host of problems including urban sprawl, corporate hegemony, and the psychological effects of 'food insecurity'.
And what was that I was saying about the grocery store situation in Milton?
December 22nd - Food Banks in Crisis
I found this post in DailyKos particularly disturbing. Apparently food banks in the U.S. have experienced a 50% - 100% increase in demand over the past year. The author quotes articles from over a dozen cities from Georgia to Connecticut describing the same situation, then offers this:
I think the theme for this year's blogging might just be... food.
February 20th - Milton Crosswalks
One item that passed pretty much unnoticed this spring was a decision by Milton Town Council to do away with all but one pedestrian crosswalk in town.
The line that made my jaw drop was this one:
Mayor Gord Krantz voiced support for removing the crossovers, noting every time traffic has to stop it creates gridlock and pollution.
I see. So, our Lord High Mayor figures the best way to decrease pollution is to discourage pedestrians.
I actually took the trouble to check the original committee report, and my reading of it is that they recommended looking into replacing the yellow light, push button crosswalks with pedestrian activated red lights. But that would involve spending money. More than the $150,000 they spent ripping out the existing crosswalks, that is.
September 22nd - Tom Flannagan
This was the day that Harper's Brain finally stepped out from the shadows and shared with us all his Ten Commandments of Conservative Campaigning. I especially liked Number 4:
4. Incrementalism
Conservatives must be willing to make progress in small, practical steps. Sweeping visions have a place in intellectual discussion, but they are toxic in practical politics.
Incrementalism is the twin of moderation. Small conservative reforms are less likely to scare voters than grand conservative schemes, particularly in Canada, where conservatism is not yet the dominant public philosophy. In any case, incrementalism is intrinsically the right approach for a conservative party.
And lo, we were nauseated.
October 5th - The One Cent Solution
Intellectual property gone mad:
Mint wants $48,000 for use of penny picThe City of Toronto says the Royal Canadian Mint wants almost $48,000 in compensation after the city used the image of a penny in a prominent ad campaign, without proper authorization.
The ads, seen throughout the city in bus shelters and TTC vehicles as well as on buttons and bumper stickers, feature a blown-up picture of the penny. The ads are part of Mayor David Miller's push for one out of every six cents of GST revenue to be returned to the municipality where it was collected.
October - Random Thoughts on Food
I live in Ontario, and the other day I noticed that the Loblaw's Supercentre had garlic from China, and onions from Peru. Peru! I know it's been a terribly dry summer here, but the local and organic growers at the weekly Milton Farmer's Market didn't seem to have any trouble stocking local garlic and onions.
The fact that it's apparently still cheaper for Loblaw's to ship produce from half way around the world than pay local farmers a decent price just serves to illustrate how exploitive agribusiness is in the developing world.
Unfortunately I don't live in BC, so my options for fresh local produce are about to narrow to nearly zero. I am seriously considering building a greenhouse.
(and on that note, here's a link to the Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry from March talking about big agribusiness and rural poverty in Alberta.)
October 15th - Health Care Myths Debunked
Here's a link to a point by point evisceration of a fake email making the rounds that purported to be from a Canadian complaining about our health care.
Great for those parties where you find yourself in a screaming argument with one of those Americans who still thinks public health care is a Communist plot.
October 26th - Rick Salutin Is My Home Boy
More pearls from the far left office at the Globe & Mail, this time on the rising dollar and the retailization of Canada. A taste:
Peter Mansbridge furrows his brow but doesn't wonder why a country without workers who make anything has to pay higher markups on iPods than America does. We're on the way back to producing only what we always did: unprocessed resources like oil, wheat and wood. But the knowledge purveyors prefer to focus on the cost of Levis, obscuring rather than exploring any connection between making and buying.
What will an all-retail economy look like, when that day arrives? My stretch of College Street in Toronto is pretty much restaurants and cafés, rarely broken by even a futon store or 7-Eleven. Can a society survive by serving each other lattes?
Seriously, how is it this guy works for the GLOBE?!
November - Random Thoughts on History
I have become convinced that there is no such thing as a definitive history of the world, or even of a particular period or event. Every historian, no matter how objective they may, will always have a particular point of view. No one can simultaneously encompass all the sociological, economic, political, religious and other causes and effects that weave together to represent a single event or sequence of events.
That’s not a bad thing.
December 11th - Why So Many Poor People Are Obese
Admit it - you've wondered.
This article in Newsweek entitled "Living in Junk Food Country" provides an illuminating analysis that brings into focus a whole host of problems including urban sprawl, corporate hegemony, and the psychological effects of 'food insecurity'.
And what was that I was saying about the grocery store situation in Milton?
December 22nd - Food Banks in Crisis
I found this post in DailyKos particularly disturbing. Apparently food banks in the U.S. have experienced a 50% - 100% increase in demand over the past year. The author quotes articles from over a dozen cities from Georgia to Connecticut describing the same situation, then offers this:
Hunger relief organizations are reporting that a "perfect storm" of circumstances is keeping them from meeting demand for food ... at the same time demand is surging.
The perfect storm?
Rising food prices.
Rising fuel prices.
Unemployment.
Underemployment.
Stagnant and declining wages.
Funny, that.
Meanwhile ...
Economic reporting on cable news mostly consists of scantily clad damsels screaming from the floor of the New York stock exchange about how "valuations remain strong," followed by news anchors with empty expressions on their faces, asking, "Why don't Americans understand how good this economy is for them?"
I think that we are all getting the idea that something has gone wrong here. What kind of country can't afford to feed its own citizens? A failed country. And what if that country is one of the richest in the world?
I think the theme for this year's blogging might just be... food.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2007 Detritus, Part 1
I have an open file on my computer called 'blogpost.doc'. It's like a notebook into which I paste links to articles and posts that catch my eye, sometimes adding a title or a few of my own thoughts as a preliminary step towards writing a blog post. Some of these evolve into actual posts, but sometimes they simply languish as the news marches on and other bloggers say whatever it was I wanted to say first, and better.
Or I just get lazy and forget about them.
I thought it might be interesting to browse through these abandoned links and share some of them with y'all. Sort of a combination year-end retrospective and writer's housecleaning. Enjoy!
April 21st: The Wall, Redux
From The Guardian:
May 3rd: It’s not easy being green
John Baird seems to be having a tough time finding anyone to support his new, ‘aggressive’ environmental plan. David Suzuki hates it, and finally caught up with Baird to tell him so in person, despite concerted efforts by the PMO to avoid that particular confrontation. Al Gore, obviously wary of having his words misconstrued again, called the plan "a complete and total fraud". Even economists who had once supported the Tories are now backing away from Baird’s plan, saying it’s too full of loopholes to actually have much of an effect and that his claim that Kyoto will cost billions and spark a recession is "an extremely simplistic calculation".
(Boris at The Galloping Beaver says it beautifully.)
And now they’re mocking the Environment Canada website.
April 26th: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad NEP?
A bit of perspective on that great western bugaboo: the National Energy Plan. An article by Gordon Laxer, and another on the Council of Canadians website.
May 14th: The Kyoto Implementation Bill Passes 3rd Reading
From the Ottawa Citizen:
(It passed, of course, and the Conservatives did... nothing. Let's see if it actually ends up in the courts this year.)
May 19th: Tony Rosato
As a long time SCTV fan, this story made me very, very sad:
More background on Rosato's story here.
June 5th: Big Brother Really Is Watching
A chilling little tale from south of the border.
June 28th: Harper Allows Armed U.S. Service Agents Into Canada
A nice op-ed by Thomas Walcom in The Star:
Ah, yes. More of those unimportant "regulatory changes" meant to harmonize our security with that of the U.S. Nothing to see here.
July 10th: China executes ex-food safety chief
Ahh... I got nuthin.
August 11th: What's a 'Blue Dog', Anyway?
An interesting analysis of the two wings of the Democratic Party, why some Democrats are trying to win by becoming more like Republicans, and why that is a monumentally BAD IDEA. Courtesy of the Daily Kos.
August 11th: Support Our Troops. Unless They're Gay.
Charming.
August 31st: About Those SPP Petitions...
It seems the raison d'être for the big March on Montebello wasn't quite as important to some of the organizers as one might have thought:
And so on. OOPS!
More miscellany later. Promise.
Or I just get lazy and forget about them.
I thought it might be interesting to browse through these abandoned links and share some of them with y'all. Sort of a combination year-end retrospective and writer's housecleaning. Enjoy!
April 21st: The Wall, Redux
From The Guardian:
Latest US solution to Iraq's civil war: a three-mile wall
The US military is building a three-mile concrete wall in the centre of Baghdad along the most murderous faultline between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
The wall, which recognizes the reality of the hardening sectarian divide in Baghdad, is a central part of George Bush's final push to pacify the capital. Work began on April 10 under cover of darkness and is due for completion by the end of the month.
The highly symbolic wall has evoked comparisons to the barriers dividing Protestants and Catholics in Belfast and Israelis and Palestinians along the length of the West Bank.
May 3rd: It’s not easy being green
John Baird seems to be having a tough time finding anyone to support his new, ‘aggressive’ environmental plan. David Suzuki hates it, and finally caught up with Baird to tell him so in person, despite concerted efforts by the PMO to avoid that particular confrontation. Al Gore, obviously wary of having his words misconstrued again, called the plan "a complete and total fraud". Even economists who had once supported the Tories are now backing away from Baird’s plan, saying it’s too full of loopholes to actually have much of an effect and that his claim that Kyoto will cost billions and spark a recession is "an extremely simplistic calculation".
(Boris at The Galloping Beaver says it beautifully.)
And now they’re mocking the Environment Canada website.
April 26th: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad NEP?
A bit of perspective on that great western bugaboo: the National Energy Plan. An article by Gordon Laxer, and another on the Council of Canadians website.
May 14th: The Kyoto Implementation Bill Passes 3rd Reading
From the Ottawa Citizen:
Forcing Ottawa's hand on Kyoto
...Bill C-288 could force the federal government to take action to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
The bill has had little media attention, but legal experts say it actually has the power to force the Conservative government to meet Kyoto targets, something the Harper government has repeatedly said it cannot and will not do.
"This is the one thing that the Conservatives can't circumvent," said Lalonde, a translator from Notre Dame de Grace who launched the petition campaign last week on his EcoContribution website. "Once it's law, it's law."
Bill C-288 would do two important things if it became law: It would force the government to publish a plan to meet its Kyoto targets within 60 days of its enactment, and to enact legislation within six months that would enable Canada to meet those targets.
(It passed, of course, and the Conservatives did... nothing. Let's see if it actually ends up in the courts this year.)
May 19th: Tony Rosato
As a long time SCTV fan, this story made me very, very sad:
Rosato a step closer to release
KINGSTON–Former television star Tony Rosato moved a step closer yesterday to getting out of the jail cell where he has been held without trial for the last two years.
Rosato, a one-time star of SCTV and Saturday Night Live, appeared in Superior Court – less than a week after his plight was reported in the Sunday Star – to make a bid for a bail review. His trial on charges of criminal harassment is set for November.
News of the comedian's plight shocked civil libertarians and his show business friends who say he should be held in a hospital until his trial.
More background on Rosato's story here.
June 5th: Big Brother Really Is Watching
A chilling little tale from south of the border.
June 28th: Harper Allows Armed U.S. Service Agents Into Canada
A nice op-ed by Thomas Walcom in The Star:
The federal government plans to give an unspecified number of American police agents carte blanche to carry guns in Canada. It insists that in the post-9/11 world it is just being sensible. It is not.
Few things are more crucial to a nation's sovereignty than its control over legalized violence. It is quite often lawful for the police to shoot you. It is almost never lawful for you to shoot the police. We accept that arrangement only because those who have been given this remarkable life and death authority are in some sense "ours" – they are responsible to governments that we elect.
Ottawa's plan would dramatically change this relationship. It would introduce a whole new array of armed peace officers into this country that are answerable to a foreign power.
Stephen Harper's government, which quietly published these proposed regulatory changes in its Canada Gazette last weekend, suggests the move is designed primarily to accommodate armed air marshals who routinely fly back and forth across the border. But it also says the arrangement would apply to other situations, including "various cross-border enforcement initiatives between Canada and the United States."
Ah, yes. More of those unimportant "regulatory changes" meant to harmonize our security with that of the U.S. Nothing to see here.
July 10th: China executes ex-food safety chief
China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog on Tuesday for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash, the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it is serious about tackling its product safety crisis.
Ahh... I got nuthin.
August 11th: What's a 'Blue Dog', Anyway?
An interesting analysis of the two wings of the Democratic Party, why some Democrats are trying to win by becoming more like Republicans, and why that is a monumentally BAD IDEA. Courtesy of the Daily Kos.
August 11th: Support Our Troops. Unless They're Gay.
Church learns vet was gay, cancels memorial
ARLINGTON, Texas - A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.
Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.
Charming.
August 31st: About Those SPP Petitions...
It seems the raison d'être for the big March on Montebello wasn't quite as important to some of the organizers as one might have thought:
Letter to Council of Canadians
[Andrea from People's Global Action picked up the CoC's petitions at the anti-SPP demonstration and decided to make a few points while offering to deliver them.]
Dear Maude and Staff at the Council of Canadians,
I just wanted to write to let you know that the 10,000 petitions you delivered with great fanfare to the gates of the Chateau Montebello last week are safe. You know, the ones in the three clear plastic bins with the blue lids. The ones featured in that photo on your website (www.canadians.org).
You are probably frantic right now. You've likely been searching for them since you put them down in front of the line of riot police and retreated back to the family friendly zone when you finished your media scrum and speeches...
And so on. OOPS!
More miscellany later. Promise.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Radio Silence
I wanted to apologize for the lack of posts over the past week or so.
I've recently had every waking thought consumed by simultaneous but unrelated personal problems resulting from
a) a two and a half year old legal nightmare thought to be resolved that has suddenly risen from the dead, and
b) having a teenaged son.
Between the two I can barely sleep, I feel nauseous all the time, and I am seriously considering dropping my amateur status so I can start drinking professionally.
On the bright side, I've lost five pounds.
I've had a bunch of post ideas surface and even made some notes, but I just can't seem to focus long enough to put a coherent thought together. So until my life and my stomach settle down again, here are some random links to interesting articles and blogs I've run across recently:
Go. Read. Enjoy.
I've recently had every waking thought consumed by simultaneous but unrelated personal problems resulting from
a) a two and a half year old legal nightmare thought to be resolved that has suddenly risen from the dead, and
b) having a teenaged son.
Between the two I can barely sleep, I feel nauseous all the time, and I am seriously considering dropping my amateur status so I can start drinking professionally.
On the bright side, I've lost five pounds.
I've had a bunch of post ideas surface and even made some notes, but I just can't seem to focus long enough to put a coherent thought together. So until my life and my stomach settle down again, here are some random links to interesting articles and blogs I've run across recently:
Brian 'Blue' Lemon on Mark Warner
(I think the Conservatives are running out of Kool-Aid)
The Retailization of Canada
Voter ID
More on Voter ID
Alberta Oil Royalties
Venezuela's oil policy compared to Alberta's
Health Care Myths
Go. Read. Enjoy.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Jen's Addiction
Monday is officially the new Tuesday.
Tuesday nights have always been an issue for me when it comes to my TV habit because I have choir practice that night. Fortunately I have two TVs with VCRs in the house and a husband who knows how to work them, but it’s still a pain in the ass because, for some reason, every year every network decides to schedule all of my favourite shows on Tuesday nights.
I was just looking at the schedule for Monday.
At 8:00 we have ‘Chuck’ which I wanted to check out, and ‘Prison Break’. Ok, so far so good. At 9:00 we have ‘K-Ville’, which I watched last week and thoroughly enjoyed, ‘Dr. Who’, and the mother of all season premieres, ‘Heroes’. Then at 10:00 there’s ‘Journeyman’, the season premiere of ‘Eureka’, and ‘Saving Grace’. And then there’s that Ken Burns ‘War’ documentary that I kinda wanted to check out but I guess I can live without. So none of this would be a serious issue except…
I HAVE TO WORK MONDAY NIGHT!
I don’t know what to do. Do I skip 'Dr. Who' and hope that it gets re-run later in the season? Do I abandon Grace, who I've grown terribly fond of? Do I take a chance that ‘Journeyman’ will be an early casualty that I didn’t want to get invested in anyway?
Maybe I can switch shifts at work. But that would be wrong, wouldn't it?
Hello, my name is Jennifer and I’m a TV addict.
Tuesday nights have always been an issue for me when it comes to my TV habit because I have choir practice that night. Fortunately I have two TVs with VCRs in the house and a husband who knows how to work them, but it’s still a pain in the ass because, for some reason, every year every network decides to schedule all of my favourite shows on Tuesday nights.
I was just looking at the schedule for Monday.
At 8:00 we have ‘Chuck’ which I wanted to check out, and ‘Prison Break’. Ok, so far so good. At 9:00 we have ‘K-Ville’, which I watched last week and thoroughly enjoyed, ‘Dr. Who’, and the mother of all season premieres, ‘Heroes’. Then at 10:00 there’s ‘Journeyman’, the season premiere of ‘Eureka’, and ‘Saving Grace’. And then there’s that Ken Burns ‘War’ documentary that I kinda wanted to check out but I guess I can live without. So none of this would be a serious issue except…
I HAVE TO WORK MONDAY NIGHT!
I don’t know what to do. Do I skip 'Dr. Who' and hope that it gets re-run later in the season? Do I abandon Grace, who I've grown terribly fond of? Do I take a chance that ‘Journeyman’ will be an early casualty that I didn’t want to get invested in anyway?
Maybe I can switch shifts at work. But that would be wrong, wouldn't it?
Hello, my name is Jennifer and I’m a TV addict.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Three Things To Love About Milton
1) The Farmer’s Market. This morning I got my cheese fix from the Upper Canada Cheese Company, stopped and chatted with Leslie the Librarian and ex-candidate Peter Haight, and then ran into Les from Nero’s Fiddle, thus saving me a phone call. And I can do this every weekend!
2) Waldie’s Blacksmith Shop. Yes, we have our very own working blacksmith’s shop, which aside from a 30 year hiatus at the end of the last century has been in continuous operation since before the town was incorporated. The Waldies still live next door. How cool is that?
3) Milton Steam Era. Steam enthusiasts come from all over the country to show off their babies, camping out in trailers and RVs that ring the Fairgrounds, which is all of two blocks from my house. Once a year I get to listen to steam whistles and watch unbelievably old tractors chug past my front door on their way to the site.
I love this town.
Edit: And here was the scene right in front of my house later in the day. There was apparently some sort of delay on the way to the parade.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday Montebello Diary
My son and I arrived in Montebello around noon, after passing through two check points with barely a glance. The first thing we saw was a line of cars and buses stopped along the shoulder next to a large field. On the far side of the field was the infamous fence. There were tents set up for the media, and even a few porta-potties for the protesters.
How convenient.
The Grannies had pulled up just in front of me, so I asked them what was up. Apparently the police were trying to keep everyone here, but were finally persuaded to let us through into the town itself. I’m not sure how they ever expected to keep us out, but we got back in our cars and drove on into lovely downtown Montebello. I parked on a side street, where I somehow managed to summon up enough pigeon French to ask the homeowner, "C’est bien ici?" Apparently it was.
Our timing couldn’t have been better. Everyone was gathered in a restaurant parking lot, and soon after we arrived an announcement was made that we were going to march up to the gates of the Montebello resort to try to present a petition to Stephen Harper.
Five minutes up the road we were met by a veritable wall o’ riot police strung across the highway in front of the gates. But everything was cool. People got right up in the cops’ faces - some sat down in front of them - but everybody was under control. No shoving, no throwing things, not even much shouting other than the chanting of slogans. The police showed immense restraint, possibly because they knew their actions were being recorded by dozens upon dozens of cameras, camcorders and cell phones.
About an hour in, an announcement was made that those with kids or who were there for the "family friendly" demonstration should move back to the rally point. Now.
I probably would have done as they asked except my suddenly enthusiastic son refused to budge. I only agreed to stay on the condition that when I said "Run!", we ran. And so I watched in fascination as some people retreated, and a whole bunch of younger people wearing handkerchiefs around their necks or over their faces started moving to the front. There was also this strange smell that I recognized but couldn’t quite place.
When I first decided to go to the protests this weekend, a friend warned me to "stay away from the kids wearing the handkerchiefs". I had no idea what he was talking about, but from further reading I gathered he meant the semi-professional anti-globalization, anti-corporate, anti-capitalist activists who have become a fixture at pretty much every left-leaning demonstration for the past decade.
The kerchiefs are for the tear gas. The strange smell was vinegar, with which they were dousing their kerchiefs. Apparently it helps counteract the tear gas.
All this was rather new to me, and I would have dragged my recalcitrant son out of there immediately - except the whole thing still felt perfectly under control. I want to say ‘orchestrated’, but it wasn’t. It was more like… expected. Not condoned, and certainly not encouraged. But definitely expected.
All of these people had done this before, and knew exactly what was going to happen and what was expected of them. The police expected to be subjected to some sort of physical provocation, to which they were expected to respond with a slowly escalating sequence of counter measures. The ‘kerchief kids’ were expected to provoke the police, at first verbally and then by more physical means until the police responded, at which point they fully expected to be gassed, clubbed, and / or pepper-sprayed.
This is, of course, exactly what happened. The ‘kids’ yelled a lot, and the drums and music got louder. There may have been some pushing, although I couldn’t see from where I was. Every once in a while something went flying towards the police, mostly water bottles and fruit although I did see a couple of small rocks. Still, given the extent of the riot gear these fellows were wearing, the gesture was purely symbolic.
This went on for at least another hour. I don’t know what the final provocation was, but I thought I heard a ‘pop’ and saw a small cloud of smoke, accompanied by screams and a sudden spike in my adrenaline. I thought at first it was tear gas, but there wasn’t enough smoke and I heard that some of the folks at the front had been pepper-sprayed. This was verified a little later when the victims were brought out, water being poured over their eyes, their faces red and nearly blistered.
I still don’t know how I feel about all this.
On the one hand, every time these folks show up and the demonstration turns ‘violent’, that’s all the media talks about - even when the ‘violence’ is as minimal as what I witnessed. It’s still counter-productive, though, because the story is suddenly about the protesters and not what they’re protesting (even this story). In fact, I’m not convinced that most of them even understood what they were protesting.
On the other hand… I must admit to a certain grudging admiration for these people who deliberately put themselves in harm’s way. I don’t know a lot of people who would be willing to step up and risk a beating or take a face full of pepper spray - not for any cause. I can’t speak for their motives, and I know other demonstrations have resulted in much greater violence and damage, but what I saw on Monday took both courage and self-control.
I can't help but wonder how that courage might be put to more positive and productive use.
This is getting overly long, so I’m going to continue on this subject in a later post - not because I am especially knowledgeable but possibly because I’m not and therefore have somewhat of an outsider’s perspective. I’m mostly just thinking out loud here, so please bear with me.
In the meantime, any constructive comments are more than welcome.
How convenient.
The Grannies had pulled up just in front of me, so I asked them what was up. Apparently the police were trying to keep everyone here, but were finally persuaded to let us through into the town itself. I’m not sure how they ever expected to keep us out, but we got back in our cars and drove on into lovely downtown Montebello. I parked on a side street, where I somehow managed to summon up enough pigeon French to ask the homeowner, "C’est bien ici?" Apparently it was.
Our timing couldn’t have been better. Everyone was gathered in a restaurant parking lot, and soon after we arrived an announcement was made that we were going to march up to the gates of the Montebello resort to try to present a petition to Stephen Harper.
Five minutes up the road we were met by a veritable wall o’ riot police strung across the highway in front of the gates. But everything was cool. People got right up in the cops’ faces - some sat down in front of them - but everybody was under control. No shoving, no throwing things, not even much shouting other than the chanting of slogans. The police showed immense restraint, possibly because they knew their actions were being recorded by dozens upon dozens of cameras, camcorders and cell phones.
About an hour in, an announcement was made that those with kids or who were there for the "family friendly" demonstration should move back to the rally point. Now.
I probably would have done as they asked except my suddenly enthusiastic son refused to budge. I only agreed to stay on the condition that when I said "Run!", we ran. And so I watched in fascination as some people retreated, and a whole bunch of younger people wearing handkerchiefs around their necks or over their faces started moving to the front. There was also this strange smell that I recognized but couldn’t quite place.
When I first decided to go to the protests this weekend, a friend warned me to "stay away from the kids wearing the handkerchiefs". I had no idea what he was talking about, but from further reading I gathered he meant the semi-professional anti-globalization, anti-corporate, anti-capitalist activists who have become a fixture at pretty much every left-leaning demonstration for the past decade.
The kerchiefs are for the tear gas. The strange smell was vinegar, with which they were dousing their kerchiefs. Apparently it helps counteract the tear gas.
All this was rather new to me, and I would have dragged my recalcitrant son out of there immediately - except the whole thing still felt perfectly under control. I want to say ‘orchestrated’, but it wasn’t. It was more like… expected. Not condoned, and certainly not encouraged. But definitely expected.
All of these people had done this before, and knew exactly what was going to happen and what was expected of them. The police expected to be subjected to some sort of physical provocation, to which they were expected to respond with a slowly escalating sequence of counter measures. The ‘kerchief kids’ were expected to provoke the police, at first verbally and then by more physical means until the police responded, at which point they fully expected to be gassed, clubbed, and / or pepper-sprayed.
This is, of course, exactly what happened. The ‘kids’ yelled a lot, and the drums and music got louder. There may have been some pushing, although I couldn’t see from where I was. Every once in a while something went flying towards the police, mostly water bottles and fruit although I did see a couple of small rocks. Still, given the extent of the riot gear these fellows were wearing, the gesture was purely symbolic.
This went on for at least another hour. I don’t know what the final provocation was, but I thought I heard a ‘pop’ and saw a small cloud of smoke, accompanied by screams and a sudden spike in my adrenaline. I thought at first it was tear gas, but there wasn’t enough smoke and I heard that some of the folks at the front had been pepper-sprayed. This was verified a little later when the victims were brought out, water being poured over their eyes, their faces red and nearly blistered.
I still don’t know how I feel about all this.
On the one hand, every time these folks show up and the demonstration turns ‘violent’, that’s all the media talks about - even when the ‘violence’ is as minimal as what I witnessed. It’s still counter-productive, though, because the story is suddenly about the protesters and not what they’re protesting (even this story). In fact, I’m not convinced that most of them even understood what they were protesting.
On the other hand… I must admit to a certain grudging admiration for these people who deliberately put themselves in harm’s way. I don’t know a lot of people who would be willing to step up and risk a beating or take a face full of pepper spray - not for any cause. I can’t speak for their motives, and I know other demonstrations have resulted in much greater violence and damage, but what I saw on Monday took both courage and self-control.
I can't help but wonder how that courage might be put to more positive and productive use.
This is getting overly long, so I’m going to continue on this subject in a later post - not because I am especially knowledgeable but possibly because I’m not and therefore have somewhat of an outsider’s perspective. I’m mostly just thinking out loud here, so please bear with me.
In the meantime, any constructive comments are more than welcome.
Home Again, Home Again: 1:00 A.M. Tuesday
I'm still processing everything I've seen today (yesterday, I guess), so I'll be saving most of my more coherent thoughts for tomorrow (today), after I've recovered from the six hours I just spent on the road.
For now, I have something to say to Stephen Harper:
Sir, you are an ass.
There were far more than "a couple of hundred" of us at Montebello today. I'm sorry if you found it "sad", but we just wanted to talk to our Prime Minister. You will not meet with us face to face. You will not allow our elected representatives into your meetings with foreign leaders and corporate executives. You won't even allow us to voice our concerns through the parliamentary committee set up to provide some semblance of oversight into the supposedly insignificant machinations of the SPP.
This is all we have left to us.
For now, here are a few photos from the front lines of Montebello:
The Raging Grannys arrive in Montebello. Everything is going to be... ok.
"United We Fall". Glad somebody knows why we're here.
Could they guys look any more like Storm Troopers? Maybe if we painted them white. I cannot tell you how disturbing it is seeing dozens and dozens of these guys lined up along the street in a small Canadian town. They even had then stationed around the cemetery.
Somebody get this man a Zippo! It took a while, but someone finally managed to set an American flag ablaze. Kinda. I'm convinced that they've started making the things out of asbestos.
The front line. My son was itching to get right up there and got downright surly when I wouldn't let him (sorry, kid - I'm still your mom). Still, we were only about 30 feet from the line. Until the first pepper spray incident happened. Then I dragged his ass back another ten feet, complaining all the way.
*******
Tomorrow I'm going to make my first attempt at posting video. Don't hold you're breath, though - I'm still on dial-up here. Maybe Garth can help.
Oh, and Garth? Thanks for the link, but screw you for digging up that photo of me! It was taken ten years and many, many pounds ago, and even then I indulged in a bit of PhotoShopping around the chin.
There's a reason I don't have a photo on my blog profile. Hmph.
*******
Quick edit: This is sheer genius. The acme of awesomeness. Alison RAWKS!!!
For now, I have something to say to Stephen Harper:
Sir, you are an ass.
There were far more than "a couple of hundred" of us at Montebello today. I'm sorry if you found it "sad", but we just wanted to talk to our Prime Minister. You will not meet with us face to face. You will not allow our elected representatives into your meetings with foreign leaders and corporate executives. You won't even allow us to voice our concerns through the parliamentary committee set up to provide some semblance of oversight into the supposedly insignificant machinations of the SPP.
This is all we have left to us.
For now, here are a few photos from the front lines of Montebello:
The Raging Grannys arrive in Montebello. Everything is going to be... ok.
"United We Fall". Glad somebody knows why we're here.
Could they guys look any more like Storm Troopers? Maybe if we painted them white. I cannot tell you how disturbing it is seeing dozens and dozens of these guys lined up along the street in a small Canadian town. They even had then stationed around the cemetery.
Somebody get this man a Zippo! It took a while, but someone finally managed to set an American flag ablaze. Kinda. I'm convinced that they've started making the things out of asbestos.
The front line. My son was itching to get right up there and got downright surly when I wouldn't let him (sorry, kid - I'm still your mom). Still, we were only about 30 feet from the line. Until the first pepper spray incident happened. Then I dragged his ass back another ten feet, complaining all the way.
*******
Tomorrow I'm going to make my first attempt at posting video. Don't hold you're breath, though - I'm still on dial-up here. Maybe Garth can help.
Oh, and Garth? Thanks for the link, but screw you for digging up that photo of me! It was taken ten years and many, many pounds ago, and even then I indulged in a bit of PhotoShopping around the chin.
There's a reason I don't have a photo on my blog profile. Hmph.
*******
Quick edit: This is sheer genius. The acme of awesomeness. Alison RAWKS!!!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Post-March Update: Sunday P.M.
It really has been a while since I've gone to one of these things. I turned up about half an hour early, and there were already tables for the Communist Party, the Marxist-Leninists, CUPE, the Steelworker's Union, the Committee to Free someone whose name I've forgotten (sorry), supporters of U.S. war resistors, and a couple of guys with signs saying "9/11 Was an Inside Job". It was oddly comforting when the Raging Grannies turned up and started singing.
I was a little concerned that I couldn't find the Council of Canadians right away (they turned up later), but I was even more concerned at the number of disparate groups who seemed at least as concerned with pushing their own, often conflicting agendas as they were with fighting the SPP.
I guess this is how it's done now. Maybe it always has and I've just forgotten.
Once the speeches started, I stopped worrying quite as much. The speakers from these various groups all did a marvelous job of explaining exactly how the SPP, the anti-war movement, the anti-poverty movement, workers rights, etc. all tie in. Still, I can help but wonder if all this is getting lost on the media types who seemed to be gravitating towards those whose cause could be more easily summarized in a five second sound bite.
That's the trouble with the SPP and why opposition to it is going to continue to be a tough sell to the general public. It's a complex issue, and one that cannot be summarized in ten words or less. I've had a number of people ask me exactly what I was protesting this weekend, and I can see their eyes starting to glaze over halfway through the preamble. And I'm supposed to be pretty good with words (ok, not so much when I talk).
Focus on water and people say, "But we have lots of water - what's the problem?". Say "SPP = NAFTA + Guns" and you have to explain to the kiddies what NAFTA is and why it's bad. Talk about wage equity and workers' rights and you get dismissed as a socialist. Talk about common currency and continental integration and you are dismissed as an alarmist.
See? It's tough.
I would have really liked to hear what the various speakers had to say on this subject at tonight's forum, but sadly by the time I finally tracked my son down after the march and we figured out how to get back across the Canal, the thing had already started and we were both too dog tired to try to find the hall.
My apologies.
********
Scary Moment of the Day: As the march was wrapping up, a largish group has stopped by the fence, so I went to see what was up. All I could see was a cordon of police officers surrounding someone who was apparently being detained or searched. I spotted the top of the person's head and for about ten seconds I thought it was my son.
It turned out to be a different teenaged boy. The story floating around the crowd, for what it's worth, was that he was arrested for having a can of spray paint in his possession, which he had apparently been using earlier to paint stenciled picket signs. I have no idea if this was true or not, but they put the kid into the back of a police car and took him away with no violence and hardly any shouting.
I can't help but wonder if the dozens and dozens of cops who were dragged out to police this thing felt that they needed to justify their presence at what was, without exception, an extremely peaceful and orderly demonstration.
********
Right now I am tired, sunburned, footsore, and being anti-social as I borrow the use of my hosts' computer. So for tonight, dear friends, adieu.
I was a little concerned that I couldn't find the Council of Canadians right away (they turned up later), but I was even more concerned at the number of disparate groups who seemed at least as concerned with pushing their own, often conflicting agendas as they were with fighting the SPP.
I guess this is how it's done now. Maybe it always has and I've just forgotten.
Once the speeches started, I stopped worrying quite as much. The speakers from these various groups all did a marvelous job of explaining exactly how the SPP, the anti-war movement, the anti-poverty movement, workers rights, etc. all tie in. Still, I can help but wonder if all this is getting lost on the media types who seemed to be gravitating towards those whose cause could be more easily summarized in a five second sound bite.
That's the trouble with the SPP and why opposition to it is going to continue to be a tough sell to the general public. It's a complex issue, and one that cannot be summarized in ten words or less. I've had a number of people ask me exactly what I was protesting this weekend, and I can see their eyes starting to glaze over halfway through the preamble. And I'm supposed to be pretty good with words (ok, not so much when I talk).
Focus on water and people say, "But we have lots of water - what's the problem?". Say "SPP = NAFTA + Guns" and you have to explain to the kiddies what NAFTA is and why it's bad. Talk about wage equity and workers' rights and you get dismissed as a socialist. Talk about common currency and continental integration and you are dismissed as an alarmist.
See? It's tough.
I would have really liked to hear what the various speakers had to say on this subject at tonight's forum, but sadly by the time I finally tracked my son down after the march and we figured out how to get back across the Canal, the thing had already started and we were both too dog tired to try to find the hall.
My apologies.
********
Scary Moment of the Day: As the march was wrapping up, a largish group has stopped by the fence, so I went to see what was up. All I could see was a cordon of police officers surrounding someone who was apparently being detained or searched. I spotted the top of the person's head and for about ten seconds I thought it was my son.
It turned out to be a different teenaged boy. The story floating around the crowd, for what it's worth, was that he was arrested for having a can of spray paint in his possession, which he had apparently been using earlier to paint stenciled picket signs. I have no idea if this was true or not, but they put the kid into the back of a police car and took him away with no violence and hardly any shouting.
I can't help but wonder if the dozens and dozens of cops who were dragged out to police this thing felt that they needed to justify their presence at what was, without exception, an extremely peaceful and orderly demonstration.
********
Right now I am tired, sunburned, footsore, and being anti-social as I borrow the use of my hosts' computer. So for tonight, dear friends, adieu.
Dispatch from Ottawa: Sunday A.M.
Arrived safely yesterday. Checked in, went downtown, walked about, had dinner, and spent a lovely boring evening watching TV with my son.
Discovered that our antique laptop is incapable of even the most rudimentary online functions. Am currently posting from an internet cafe.
*********
The trip up was interesting. We had lunch in lovely downtown Havelock, where we at first suspected that it was Cowboy Hat Day at the Subway sandwich place. Then we noticed that most of the customers were wearing cowboy hats. Mostly those cheap straw things, but some had the whole ten gallon deal. Then we noticed that people on the street were also wearing cowboy hats.
After getting thoroughly creeped out and fleeing the town in a blind panic, we spotted a sign announcing that it was the 'Havelock Country Jamboree' this weekend. I'm not sure what that is exactly, but I gather it explains the hats. Except that we also spotted a sign for a local real estate agent who was wearing... a cowboy hat.
Brrrr...
***************
Tip for Travellers: The best way to wake yourself up on a long drive is to try passing a large RV towing a car on a twisting, hilly two-lane highway.
***************
I used to live in Ottawa. For two years, in fact. It's a part of my life that I frequently refer to as 'Purgatory'. It wasn't Ottawa's fault, really. I was just homesick and missing my Toronto friends, but my negative attitude meant that I never really got to appreciate the place.
Being here as a tourist twenty years later, I'm discovering a whole different city. Yesterday I walked up the front steps of Parliament. Believe it or not, it was my first time.
Today's itinerary: Rally on the Hill at 1:00, Council of Canadians Forum at 4:00, then supper at an old friend's.
Discovered that our antique laptop is incapable of even the most rudimentary online functions. Am currently posting from an internet cafe.
*********
The trip up was interesting. We had lunch in lovely downtown Havelock, where we at first suspected that it was Cowboy Hat Day at the Subway sandwich place. Then we noticed that most of the customers were wearing cowboy hats. Mostly those cheap straw things, but some had the whole ten gallon deal. Then we noticed that people on the street were also wearing cowboy hats.
After getting thoroughly creeped out and fleeing the town in a blind panic, we spotted a sign announcing that it was the 'Havelock Country Jamboree' this weekend. I'm not sure what that is exactly, but I gather it explains the hats. Except that we also spotted a sign for a local real estate agent who was wearing... a cowboy hat.
Brrrr...
***************
Tip for Travellers: The best way to wake yourself up on a long drive is to try passing a large RV towing a car on a twisting, hilly two-lane highway.
***************
I used to live in Ottawa. For two years, in fact. It's a part of my life that I frequently refer to as 'Purgatory'. It wasn't Ottawa's fault, really. I was just homesick and missing my Toronto friends, but my negative attitude meant that I never really got to appreciate the place.
Being here as a tourist twenty years later, I'm discovering a whole different city. Yesterday I walked up the front steps of Parliament. Believe it or not, it was my first time.
Today's itinerary: Rally on the Hill at 1:00, Council of Canadians Forum at 4:00, then supper at an old friend's.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
This Thing of Ours
I recently finished reading Al Gore’s new book, ‘The Assault on Reason’. In addition to being a comprehensive and devastating critique of the Bush administration, the book has some fascinating things to say about the media’s role in American democracy throughout its history.
As Canadians, we tend to tune out when Americans start going on and on about their vaunted democracy. Most of them talk like they invented the thing, or at least perfected it, and treat their Constitution like holy writ brought down from the mountain by the Founding Fathers - intact, eternal, and inviolate.
Gore has a somewhat firmer grasp of his country’s constitutional history. He quotes extensively from essays, letters and pamphlets written by Jefferson, Madison, Paine and others as they went through the lengthy, contentious, and public process of building a nation. Perhaps most importantly, he talks about why this process of political discussion and debate by ordinary people was considered so vital to a healthy democracy that the founding fathers went to great lengths to ensure that it continued:
The marketplace of ideas. I like that a lot. He goes on to define it:
Gore then discusses the transition from print to television as our primary source of news over the past 50 years. He makes the same point that McLuhan and many others have made - that television is a one-way medium that is practically and financially inaccessible to most people - but then goes on to detail the devastating effect this shift has had on democracy and public political dialogue.
This thing of ours is supposed to change all that. Assuming the powers that be don't mainstream it to death first.
You can tell that blogging, YouTube and other tools of this brave new world have finally come of age by the number of politicians and mainstream media outlets who are now clamouring to co-opt them for their own purposes. In doing so they are, of course, missing the whole point.
The U.S. Democratic candidates seem particularly anxious to jump on the ‘netroots’ bandwagon, while the Republicans seem to be mainly concerned with hiding so they can avoid more ‘Macaca’ moments. Candidates everywhere are hiring ‘official bloggers’, which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. CNN’s recent ‘YouTube Debate’ was hailed as a triumph for digital democracy, although the whole thing looked more like a demonstration sport than a legitimate public forum. In fact, it kinda reminded me of those tour buses they used to run through the Haight-Ashbury.
Still, it got people interested.
The problem with all of these attempts to mainstream the phenomena, and why almost all fail to live up to the ideals described by Gore, is that there is always great effort expended by the politicians and mainstream media to control the message. CNN carefully combed through the hundreds of YouTube questions submitted, selecting only those deemed sufficiently ‘serious’ - and presumably not too embarrassing to the candidates. Candidates set up websites with ‘blogs’ that are nothing more than recycled press releases, often written by staffers, and rarely allowing comments lest some crazy person say something negative.
The real revolution is still being played out through grassroots political blogging sites like The Galloping Beaver, Progressive Bloggers, and Daily Kos. The trouble there is that, unfortunately, we are still largely talking amongst ourselves. Comments on liberal blogs are made almost exclusively by other liberal bloggers, and the reverse is even more true on the conservative side. The politicians are starting to listen for at least the duration of their election campaigns, but a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with one's political representative is still a rare thing. Especially when the only place for that dialogue is the politician's own website.
Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro‘s site is a prime example. It's one of only a very few politician-run blogs in this country, but let's face it - calling this a blog is an insult to bloggers everywhere. John Tory’s new site is marginally better in that it allows comments, but it still reads like a collection of talking points from his campaign office.
Compare these sites with Garth Turner’s blog and you’ll see what I mean. Regardless of what you may think of Turner’s personality or politics (before or after), the guy knows how to run a website. He should. He’s been doing this for three years now - long before most politicians had ever heard of ‘blogging’.
He also might be the first politician ever kicked out of his own party because of his blog.
Yes, he posts a lot of attacks on Harper and Flaherty (can you blame him?), but he also writes extensively on issues like taxation, education, SPP, native land claims, the environment, and whatever else sparks his interest - often inspired by news of the day and occasionally in response to comments from his readers. He also gives some fascinating glimpses into Life on the Hill. At one point he did a series of MPTV interviews with the Parliament Hill historian, including one explaining why the lion at the foot of the Victoria statue is missing his junk. Another post answers the burning question, "How do the pages know when the Speaker stands since they have their backs to him?"
The most interesting, and often maddening, aspect of Turner’s blog is the comments. Peruse if you dare the 50 to 100+ comments attached to each and every post he makes and you will see exactly why most politician’s blogs don’t allow comments.
The debate here is even more vigorous than on most political blogs because there is more or less equal representation from the left, right and centre. This is probably due to Turner’s transformation from lifelong PC to independent to reluctant Liberal this year, leaving a lot of his original Conservative readers spitting mad and yet unwilling to just walk away. Some are simply CPC trolls and are generally ignored, but others have genuinely intelligent arguments to make and keep the rest of us from becoming too smug.
To me, this is what digital democracy can be and should be. It’s messy. It’s loud. There’s a lot of shouting and petulance and "Yeah, well, you’re an asshole!" arguments. But in between all that there is some surprisingly sophisticated political and social debate going on. Take for example this recent discussion about public funding of religious schools. Or the debate on consumption-based vs. income-based taxation (I'd say Garth lost that one).
I'm not claiming that Garth Turner is going to save democracy. At least not until he gets off of that stupid flat tax idea. But his blog is the best example (really, the only example) I can find of an open, largely unmoderated political forum that a) has active participation by a large number of ordinary people from across the political spectrum and across the country, and b) is facilitated by, but not controlled by, an elected representative who actively participates in the discussion.
This is what Gore is talking about. This is the ‘conversation of democracy’.
In the end, the importance of Garth Turner’s blog has less to do with Garth Turner and more to do with access, ideas, and engaging ordinary Canadians in the political process.
I’m certainly engaged.
As Canadians, we tend to tune out when Americans start going on and on about their vaunted democracy. Most of them talk like they invented the thing, or at least perfected it, and treat their Constitution like holy writ brought down from the mountain by the Founding Fathers - intact, eternal, and inviolate.
Gore has a somewhat firmer grasp of his country’s constitutional history. He quotes extensively from essays, letters and pamphlets written by Jefferson, Madison, Paine and others as they went through the lengthy, contentious, and public process of building a nation. Perhaps most importantly, he talks about why this process of political discussion and debate by ordinary people was considered so vital to a healthy democracy that the founding fathers went to great lengths to ensure that it continued:
"Our Founders knew all about the Roman forum, and the agora in ancient Athens. They also understood quite well that in America, our public forum would be an ongoing conversation about democracy in which individual citizens would participate most commonly by communicating with their fellow citizens over great distances by means of the printed word. The Founders placed particular emphasis on ensuring that the public could be well informed, and took great care to protect the openness of the marketplace of ideas so that knowledge could flow freely."
The marketplace of ideas. I like that a lot. He goes on to define it:
"1. It was open to every individual, with no barriers to entry save the necessity of literacy. This access, it is crucial to add, applied not only to the receipt of information but also to the ability to contribute information directly into the flow of ideas that was available to all.
2. The fate of ideas contributed by individuals depended, for the most part, on an emergent meritocracy of ideas. Those judged by the market to be good rose to the top, regardless of the wealth or class of the individual responsible for them.
3. The accepted rules of discourse presumed that the participants were all governed by an unspoken duty to search for general agreement. That is what a "conversation of democracy" is all about."
Gore then discusses the transition from print to television as our primary source of news over the past 50 years. He makes the same point that McLuhan and many others have made - that television is a one-way medium that is practically and financially inaccessible to most people - but then goes on to detail the devastating effect this shift has had on democracy and public political dialogue.
This thing of ours is supposed to change all that. Assuming the powers that be don't mainstream it to death first.
You can tell that blogging, YouTube and other tools of this brave new world have finally come of age by the number of politicians and mainstream media outlets who are now clamouring to co-opt them for their own purposes. In doing so they are, of course, missing the whole point.
The U.S. Democratic candidates seem particularly anxious to jump on the ‘netroots’ bandwagon, while the Republicans seem to be mainly concerned with hiding so they can avoid more ‘Macaca’ moments. Candidates everywhere are hiring ‘official bloggers’, which is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. CNN’s recent ‘YouTube Debate’ was hailed as a triumph for digital democracy, although the whole thing looked more like a demonstration sport than a legitimate public forum. In fact, it kinda reminded me of those tour buses they used to run through the Haight-Ashbury.
Still, it got people interested.
The problem with all of these attempts to mainstream the phenomena, and why almost all fail to live up to the ideals described by Gore, is that there is always great effort expended by the politicians and mainstream media to control the message. CNN carefully combed through the hundreds of YouTube questions submitted, selecting only those deemed sufficiently ‘serious’ - and presumably not too embarrassing to the candidates. Candidates set up websites with ‘blogs’ that are nothing more than recycled press releases, often written by staffers, and rarely allowing comments lest some crazy person say something negative.
The real revolution is still being played out through grassroots political blogging sites like The Galloping Beaver, Progressive Bloggers, and Daily Kos. The trouble there is that, unfortunately, we are still largely talking amongst ourselves. Comments on liberal blogs are made almost exclusively by other liberal bloggers, and the reverse is even more true on the conservative side. The politicians are starting to listen for at least the duration of their election campaigns, but a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with one's political representative is still a rare thing. Especially when the only place for that dialogue is the politician's own website.
Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro‘s site is a prime example. It's one of only a very few politician-run blogs in this country, but let's face it - calling this a blog is an insult to bloggers everywhere. John Tory’s new site is marginally better in that it allows comments, but it still reads like a collection of talking points from his campaign office.
Compare these sites with Garth Turner’s blog and you’ll see what I mean. Regardless of what you may think of Turner’s personality or politics (before or after), the guy knows how to run a website. He should. He’s been doing this for three years now - long before most politicians had ever heard of ‘blogging’.
He also might be the first politician ever kicked out of his own party because of his blog.
Yes, he posts a lot of attacks on Harper and Flaherty (can you blame him?), but he also writes extensively on issues like taxation, education, SPP, native land claims, the environment, and whatever else sparks his interest - often inspired by news of the day and occasionally in response to comments from his readers. He also gives some fascinating glimpses into Life on the Hill. At one point he did a series of MPTV interviews with the Parliament Hill historian, including one explaining why the lion at the foot of the Victoria statue is missing his junk. Another post answers the burning question, "How do the pages know when the Speaker stands since they have their backs to him?"
The most interesting, and often maddening, aspect of Turner’s blog is the comments. Peruse if you dare the 50 to 100+ comments attached to each and every post he makes and you will see exactly why most politician’s blogs don’t allow comments.
The debate here is even more vigorous than on most political blogs because there is more or less equal representation from the left, right and centre. This is probably due to Turner’s transformation from lifelong PC to independent to reluctant Liberal this year, leaving a lot of his original Conservative readers spitting mad and yet unwilling to just walk away. Some are simply CPC trolls and are generally ignored, but others have genuinely intelligent arguments to make and keep the rest of us from becoming too smug.
To me, this is what digital democracy can be and should be. It’s messy. It’s loud. There’s a lot of shouting and petulance and "Yeah, well, you’re an asshole!" arguments. But in between all that there is some surprisingly sophisticated political and social debate going on. Take for example this recent discussion about public funding of religious schools. Or the debate on consumption-based vs. income-based taxation (I'd say Garth lost that one).
I'm not claiming that Garth Turner is going to save democracy. At least not until he gets off of that stupid flat tax idea. But his blog is the best example (really, the only example) I can find of an open, largely unmoderated political forum that a) has active participation by a large number of ordinary people from across the political spectrum and across the country, and b) is facilitated by, but not controlled by, an elected representative who actively participates in the discussion.
This is what Gore is talking about. This is the ‘conversation of democracy’.
In the end, the importance of Garth Turner’s blog has less to do with Garth Turner and more to do with access, ideas, and engaging ordinary Canadians in the political process.
I’m certainly engaged.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Where To Start...
The ongoing story of the guerrilla marketing campaign-turned-bomb scare in Boston rises to such a level of absurdity that it almost defies parody. There's just nothing you can say to make fun of these people that they haven't already said themselves.
Let me just say this: these guys are my heroes.
They smirk. They giggle. They hold a press conference about hair. They utterly refuse to buy into the earnest indignation being displayed by the mayor of Boston, who seems to think if he keeps stamping his little feet and yelling, "It's not funny!" over and over again that people will stop laughing at him. And yet... really. Dude. It is so very, very funny.
I am so looking forward to watching these guys when they hit the talk show circuit.
Among the many, many amusing aspects of this story is the exact wording of one of the laws these fellows have been charged under. It prohibits anyone from planting a device "that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such device is an infernal machine".
An infernal machine?!?
I imagine some Rube Goldberg contraption, or maybe that puzzle box from Hellraiser. Amazingly, this is a law that was passed just after 9/11.
And here I thought it was some holdover from the Salem witch trials.
Let me just say this: these guys are my heroes.
They smirk. They giggle. They hold a press conference about hair. They utterly refuse to buy into the earnest indignation being displayed by the mayor of Boston, who seems to think if he keeps stamping his little feet and yelling, "It's not funny!" over and over again that people will stop laughing at him. And yet... really. Dude. It is so very, very funny.
I am so looking forward to watching these guys when they hit the talk show circuit.
Among the many, many amusing aspects of this story is the exact wording of one of the laws these fellows have been charged under. It prohibits anyone from planting a device "that would cause a person reasonably to believe that such device is an infernal machine".
An infernal machine?!?
I imagine some Rube Goldberg contraption, or maybe that puzzle box from Hellraiser. Amazingly, this is a law that was passed just after 9/11.
And here I thought it was some holdover from the Salem witch trials.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Doom doom, doombdy doom doom doom
< rant >
My husband does leather props and costume accessories. He's got several movies that feature his work prominently coming out within the next year (notably Skinwalkers, The Chair and Outlander), and it was looking like his courageous decision to leave the IT world and do this work full time was finally paying off.
Things aren't looking so rosy right now.
First there was the eviction of Cinespace, one of the largest studio complexes in Toronto. Then ACTRA went on strike. Now the producers are preparing to go to court to prove that ACTRA doesn't even have the right to go on strike since it's not an actual trade union. Meaning this could be tied up in court for months and months.
Just to make sure we all understand that this is truly the end, there is this in the Star. The article raises the seemingly obvious point that ACTRA going out on strike is destroying the careers of everyone involved in the film industry in Ontario, including the actors, and is harming the producers not in the slightest. Not exactly the desired result of a strike. I guess someone forgot to tell them that a production is just a script and a bag of money, and if it's even slightly difficult to shoot here they will just move it to B.C. Or Chicago. Or Prague.
Meanwhile, the governments of Toronto and Ontario are doing exactly... nothing.
I'm sorry, that's overly generous because what it really looks like is that they are deliberately sabotaging the industry on all fronts. But that couldn't possibly be true, could it?
My sister is also involved in the film and television biz, but happily she's out in B.C. where the worst trouble they've had recently is shooting around the snow. Unfortunately she's does post (compositing) instead of pre-production, so her contacts aren't going to help my dear struggling husband. Our only hope at this point will be if all of his Ontario contacts move out west and get him to ship his work to B.C.
It's either that or put our monumental amount of crap in storage, rent out the house and go camp out on my sister's couch.
< /rant >
My husband does leather props and costume accessories. He's got several movies that feature his work prominently coming out within the next year (notably Skinwalkers, The Chair and Outlander), and it was looking like his courageous decision to leave the IT world and do this work full time was finally paying off.
Things aren't looking so rosy right now.
First there was the eviction of Cinespace, one of the largest studio complexes in Toronto. Then ACTRA went on strike. Now the producers are preparing to go to court to prove that ACTRA doesn't even have the right to go on strike since it's not an actual trade union. Meaning this could be tied up in court for months and months.
Just to make sure we all understand that this is truly the end, there is this in the Star. The article raises the seemingly obvious point that ACTRA going out on strike is destroying the careers of everyone involved in the film industry in Ontario, including the actors, and is harming the producers not in the slightest. Not exactly the desired result of a strike. I guess someone forgot to tell them that a production is just a script and a bag of money, and if it's even slightly difficult to shoot here they will just move it to B.C. Or Chicago. Or Prague.
Meanwhile, the governments of Toronto and Ontario are doing exactly... nothing.
I'm sorry, that's overly generous because what it really looks like is that they are deliberately sabotaging the industry on all fronts. But that couldn't possibly be true, could it?
My sister is also involved in the film and television biz, but happily she's out in B.C. where the worst trouble they've had recently is shooting around the snow. Unfortunately she's does post (compositing) instead of pre-production, so her contacts aren't going to help my dear struggling husband. Our only hope at this point will be if all of his Ontario contacts move out west and get him to ship his work to B.C.
It's either that or put our monumental amount of crap in storage, rent out the house and go camp out on my sister's couch.
< /rant >
Friday, January 5, 2007
This is Milton, not Mayberry
The Champion hasn't printed my latest letter yet, but they did publish this sad little tale in the 'Letters to the Editor' section today.
Call me uncharitable, but reading this person's account of his wife having two weeks pay stolen out of her purse after leaving it in a public washroom brings two questions immediately to mind:
1) How can anyone possibly be surprised at this? Seems to me the same thing happened in "It's a Wonderful Life", and while everyone was upset, no one was really shocked. I'm guessing these people would also be shocked if they accidentally left their front door unlocked, went away for a weekend and returned to find their plasma TV stolen by wicked, heartless thieves.
You know, if her purse had been returned with the cash I'm sure there would have been a heartwarming letter about the honesty and integrity of the good people of small town Milton.
And 2), what the hell was she doing with two weeks pay IN CASH in her purse?! You know, we have these things called banks now that will give you debit cards and such so you don't have to walk around with hundreds of dollars in your purse. There was a reference in the letter to a mortgage payment, so presumably they at least have a mortgage account in a bank somewhere and aren't depending solely on Money Mart to manage their finances.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is some valid reason why she had to cash her pay cheque instead of depositing it. Maybe she pays her mortgage in cash. Maybe she was going to buy a really, really expensive winter coat somewhere where they don't take debit.
Maybe I'm just a cynical bitch, but I really don't think anyone should be shocked to discover that people in a small town are just as susceptible to temptation, or carelessness, as anyone else.
Call me uncharitable, but reading this person's account of his wife having two weeks pay stolen out of her purse after leaving it in a public washroom brings two questions immediately to mind:
1) How can anyone possibly be surprised at this? Seems to me the same thing happened in "It's a Wonderful Life", and while everyone was upset, no one was really shocked. I'm guessing these people would also be shocked if they accidentally left their front door unlocked, went away for a weekend and returned to find their plasma TV stolen by wicked, heartless thieves.
You know, if her purse had been returned with the cash I'm sure there would have been a heartwarming letter about the honesty and integrity of the good people of small town Milton.
And 2), what the hell was she doing with two weeks pay IN CASH in her purse?! You know, we have these things called banks now that will give you debit cards and such so you don't have to walk around with hundreds of dollars in your purse. There was a reference in the letter to a mortgage payment, so presumably they at least have a mortgage account in a bank somewhere and aren't depending solely on Money Mart to manage their finances.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is some valid reason why she had to cash her pay cheque instead of depositing it. Maybe she pays her mortgage in cash. Maybe she was going to buy a really, really expensive winter coat somewhere where they don't take debit.
Maybe I'm just a cynical bitch, but I really don't think anyone should be shocked to discover that people in a small town are just as susceptible to temptation, or carelessness, as anyone else.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
It's NOT a New Year's Resolution
It's more of a theme for the year, really:
JUST DO IT.
As in get off your ass, stop thinking about promoting your writing through a blog and actually set the bloody thing up.
So here it is. More to come.
JUST DO IT.
As in get off your ass, stop thinking about promoting your writing through a blog and actually set the bloody thing up.
So here it is. More to come.
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