If you're looking for something to do this afternoon, and you've got a few minutes, listen to this broadcast of CBC's Living Out Loud. This broadcast had adults reading stories that they wrote as kids and the first story of Part 2 is about coming to Canada. It's right at the beginning of Part 2, so take a minute to listen and get a sense of what it might be like to come to this country for the first time.
http://www.cbc.ca/livingoutloud/episode/2011/03/18/march-18-2011-2/
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Rule #1: Cardio
A little news to brighten your day.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/06/27/nl-zombie-warning-gallery-627.html
I think our natural reaction here would be, "only in Newfoundland" but for once, that's actually not true at all! Kentucky and Manitoba have both featured roadside zombie warnings this summer, prompted by similar instances in 2009 all over the States.
I'm not sure what it is about zombies that has prompted such hilarity in the past 2 or 3 years (anyone who has seen Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland knows what I mean!) Why is it that we see vampires as these horribly serious creatures, worthy of hours of televised dramatic exploration of modernist theory, when with zombies we are promised endless hilarious entertainment?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/06/27/nl-zombie-warning-gallery-627.html
I think our natural reaction here would be, "only in Newfoundland" but for once, that's actually not true at all! Kentucky and Manitoba have both featured roadside zombie warnings this summer, prompted by similar instances in 2009 all over the States.
I'm not sure what it is about zombies that has prompted such hilarity in the past 2 or 3 years (anyone who has seen Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland knows what I mean!) Why is it that we see vampires as these horribly serious creatures, worthy of hours of televised dramatic exploration of modernist theory, when with zombies we are promised endless hilarious entertainment?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
2 million minutes and counting......
Canada awoke this morning to a country in transition. Looking at an electoral map of the nation, we are struck by the change from red, blue and a collection of light blue centred around Quebec, to a sudden collage of blue and orange.
For the first time in 7 years, we are back to majority status. Mr Harper has succeeded for the first time at what any party leader in Canada ultimately hopes for. Of course, in what we would assume is his glee, he characteristically gave his family stony hugs and manfully shook hands with his teenage son Ben. This should really be a message to any Canadians who were convinced by Mr Harper's claim that his party did not want this election: How many times this campaign did we hear Mr Harper state that this was an unnecessary election? Funny.....since you, sir, seem to have come out quite ahead of where you were 34 days ago.....huh.....interesting.
More impressive than even Mr Harper's majority is the rise of Layton's NDP. It has been understood in this country for as long as I have been alive that the mere idea of Prime Minister Layton was out of the question, as we were primarily a 2 party system with the NDP as the ultimate vote splitter. Pre-election they held 36 seats and in one day they emerged with 102. The impact of this sweep will only remain to be seen in the next 4 years - with our official opposition for the first time being someone other than the Grits or Tories.
The Liberals for their part, in their sacrifice of official opposition status, now sit at a mere 34 seats from a former 77. Here in Toronto, a historically red city, there is a combination of blue and orange ridings. The significant decline is most evident in Iggy's inability to be re-elected in his own riding. The Grits will need to plan carefully for the next leadership convention.
I was most disappointed to see Duceppe go. Our longest serving political leader, and easily the most engaging and politically savvy of all our leaders, did not win his seat either. And his party has as good as disappeared from their 47 seats, they won back only 4.
My favourite moment of this election though, and worth the entire upheaval of our system, was the acquisition of the first Green Party seat. This win is even more important as Elizabeth May was denied inclusion in the televised debates this election, a network choice that only handed her increased media attention. Truly her win is a huge frak you to those networks and to all of her outspoken critics. I can only imagine the first time she passes Iggy on the streets of Ottawa......"Oh hey, Mike, just on my way to Question Period.....Guess you're heading home to catch it on CPAC?"
Regardless, things here in Canada are different this morning. Thankfully, CBC Radio is free of attack ads, lawns are back to being non-partisan and we begin to relax in the thought of 4 full years of election-free governing.
For the first time in 7 years, we are back to majority status. Mr Harper has succeeded for the first time at what any party leader in Canada ultimately hopes for. Of course, in what we would assume is his glee, he characteristically gave his family stony hugs and manfully shook hands with his teenage son Ben. This should really be a message to any Canadians who were convinced by Mr Harper's claim that his party did not want this election: How many times this campaign did we hear Mr Harper state that this was an unnecessary election? Funny.....since you, sir, seem to have come out quite ahead of where you were 34 days ago.....huh.....interesting.
More impressive than even Mr Harper's majority is the rise of Layton's NDP. It has been understood in this country for as long as I have been alive that the mere idea of Prime Minister Layton was out of the question, as we were primarily a 2 party system with the NDP as the ultimate vote splitter. Pre-election they held 36 seats and in one day they emerged with 102. The impact of this sweep will only remain to be seen in the next 4 years - with our official opposition for the first time being someone other than the Grits or Tories.
The Liberals for their part, in their sacrifice of official opposition status, now sit at a mere 34 seats from a former 77. Here in Toronto, a historically red city, there is a combination of blue and orange ridings. The significant decline is most evident in Iggy's inability to be re-elected in his own riding. The Grits will need to plan carefully for the next leadership convention.
I was most disappointed to see Duceppe go. Our longest serving political leader, and easily the most engaging and politically savvy of all our leaders, did not win his seat either. And his party has as good as disappeared from their 47 seats, they won back only 4.
My favourite moment of this election though, and worth the entire upheaval of our system, was the acquisition of the first Green Party seat. This win is even more important as Elizabeth May was denied inclusion in the televised debates this election, a network choice that only handed her increased media attention. Truly her win is a huge frak you to those networks and to all of her outspoken critics. I can only imagine the first time she passes Iggy on the streets of Ottawa......"Oh hey, Mike, just on my way to Question Period.....Guess you're heading home to catch it on CPAC?"
Regardless, things here in Canada are different this morning. Thankfully, CBC Radio is free of attack ads, lawns are back to being non-partisan and we begin to relax in the thought of 4 full years of election-free governing.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Slow and Steady....
Vote Mobs. They are a relatively new creation, and have been popping up at universities across the country in recent weeks.
If you haven't heard of them, check out cbc.ca. There is a lot of writing on the subject.
This year, Rick Mercer's traditional call to young people to vote has resulted in thousands of youth getting together to state their willingness to get out there and have their say. There are articles and YouTube videos out there showing the enthusiasm and spirit from great numbers of university students. There are colours and costumes everywhere, cheering and posters stating the students' promises to vote. The pictures have been a refreshing sight in the wake of the downright depressing slander and dark attack ads that grace our televisions and radios.
But as with every celebration, there's always one Debbie Downer. There have been a few small articles condemning these mobs as unproductive and chaotic but this recent one, courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen, blasts them all out of the water. Someone in Ottawa's getting nervous. And the fact that the article is written by a former speech writer for the PM himself, I'll give you 3 guesses who that someone is.
Sure, you'll say when you read the first part, vote mobs are not going to suddenly incite a few million new voters to make it to the polling stations on May 2. And they certainly don't guarantee that all votes cast a result of the mobs will be well-researched ones. But does this automatically mean they're all bad? That they won't make a difference for a few people in every mob at every university?
Mr Taube refers to the mobs as "silly" and the resultant videos as "pointless". If history has taught us anything, it is to never underestimate the power of numbers. Gatherings of thousands are never totally ineffective. And the power of mass media is only going to grow exponentially.
What have the ads been telling us? Every vote makes a difference. So it stands to reason that 10 new votes, 30 votes, 50 votes can make change happen. Just because a movement doesn't immediately overturn the current system doesn't completely invalidate it. Very rarely does change, any change, happen quickly. At least someone is out there, trying.
And I'm sorry, Mr Taube, did you have a better suggestion? Right.... you must have been so busy slamming those who are actually making an effort, you must have forgotten.
Please take a minute to read the article.
And please, please, don't buy into it.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/decision-canada/Opinion+Vote+mentality/4658160/story.html
If you haven't heard of them, check out cbc.ca. There is a lot of writing on the subject.
This year, Rick Mercer's traditional call to young people to vote has resulted in thousands of youth getting together to state their willingness to get out there and have their say. There are articles and YouTube videos out there showing the enthusiasm and spirit from great numbers of university students. There are colours and costumes everywhere, cheering and posters stating the students' promises to vote. The pictures have been a refreshing sight in the wake of the downright depressing slander and dark attack ads that grace our televisions and radios.
But as with every celebration, there's always one Debbie Downer. There have been a few small articles condemning these mobs as unproductive and chaotic but this recent one, courtesy of the Ottawa Citizen, blasts them all out of the water. Someone in Ottawa's getting nervous. And the fact that the article is written by a former speech writer for the PM himself, I'll give you 3 guesses who that someone is.
Sure, you'll say when you read the first part, vote mobs are not going to suddenly incite a few million new voters to make it to the polling stations on May 2. And they certainly don't guarantee that all votes cast a result of the mobs will be well-researched ones. But does this automatically mean they're all bad? That they won't make a difference for a few people in every mob at every university?
Mr Taube refers to the mobs as "silly" and the resultant videos as "pointless". If history has taught us anything, it is to never underestimate the power of numbers. Gatherings of thousands are never totally ineffective. And the power of mass media is only going to grow exponentially.
What have the ads been telling us? Every vote makes a difference. So it stands to reason that 10 new votes, 30 votes, 50 votes can make change happen. Just because a movement doesn't immediately overturn the current system doesn't completely invalidate it. Very rarely does change, any change, happen quickly. At least someone is out there, trying.
And I'm sorry, Mr Taube, did you have a better suggestion? Right.... you must have been so busy slamming those who are actually making an effort, you must have forgotten.
Please take a minute to read the article.
And please, please, don't buy into it.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/decision-canada/Opinion+Vote+mentality/4658160/story.html
Monday, April 11, 2011
In their midst....
Here we are, 2 weeks into campaign madness. All the platforms have been revealed, the tour buses are parked in preparation for this week's debates, and one particular Prime Minister seems to be auditioning for Rick Mercer's job.....ATVs? Really?
Even the usually reticent voices of the CBC Radio broadcasters are sounding noticeably tired in their constant pre-campaign-ad disclaimers......'During the election, CBC Radio is obliged to air campaign ads during its regular broadcast......' I swear I heard a muffled groan the other day, right before Matt Galloway switched his mike off.......
I hope that along the way, dear campaigners, you have learned some lessons - most importantly, about how NOT to entice voters to vote for you:
Lesson 1: Don't completely ostracize a crowd of new Canadians with separatist language. They are not a separate species - they are incredible individuals, individuals who have made the enormously difficult and often painful choice to uproot themselves from their native lands to seek out what they can only hope is better than what they leave behind. They are people who have more courage and more stories and more life experience under their belts than any upper middle class white scholar turned politician will ever know. Don't be so exclusive in your language, sir, and consider reading your speeches once over before you open your mouth.
Lesson 2: When a young potential voter breaks themselves away from Jersey Shore long enough to look up the location of your rally and actually turns up to hear what you have to say, embrace it. As Rick Mercer points out at the dawn of each new election, there are millions of youth in this country, and if they all decided to get out there and vote, there could be a huge difference in the result. This year, in response to Rick's rant, thousands of university students nationwide have been rallying, promising that they'll vote. This is a good thing!
Some of these newbies showed up at rallies. Sometimes they were admitted. Sometimes not. Come on, people. Not only is it a new voter, but it's a new voter who's willing to do the legwork to research all of the options. This is the ideal voter in a democracy!
My biggest concern here is this:
When a regular voter is discouraged by a political party, what do they do? They turn around and vote for the other guy.
But a first-time voter? If their first point of contact with any politician is to be discouraged and turned away, they may not come back. At all. They may choose to stay home on election day.
Lesson 3: When you're called out for ejecting people from your rallies, don't try and make it an example of the mass numbers that turned out to see you "We're turning people away...."
And finally Lesson 4:
When you're called out for lying about why you were turning people away, and you attempt an apology, try and make it sound sincere! For heaven's sake, "We're obviously sorry...." just doesn't ring true, sir.
I don't think anyone's buying it.
On the other hand, I think that many out there are still buying in to a lot of other aspects of this campaign. I hold out little hope that anything will change post-May 2.
I do however love living in a country that asks 4 of the most important political superstars in the country to reschedule their debate, because there's a hockey game on.
Vive le Canada.
Even the usually reticent voices of the CBC Radio broadcasters are sounding noticeably tired in their constant pre-campaign-ad disclaimers......'During the election, CBC Radio is obliged to air campaign ads during its regular broadcast......' I swear I heard a muffled groan the other day, right before Matt Galloway switched his mike off.......
I hope that along the way, dear campaigners, you have learned some lessons - most importantly, about how NOT to entice voters to vote for you:
Lesson 1: Don't completely ostracize a crowd of new Canadians with separatist language. They are not a separate species - they are incredible individuals, individuals who have made the enormously difficult and often painful choice to uproot themselves from their native lands to seek out what they can only hope is better than what they leave behind. They are people who have more courage and more stories and more life experience under their belts than any upper middle class white scholar turned politician will ever know. Don't be so exclusive in your language, sir, and consider reading your speeches once over before you open your mouth.
Lesson 2: When a young potential voter breaks themselves away from Jersey Shore long enough to look up the location of your rally and actually turns up to hear what you have to say, embrace it. As Rick Mercer points out at the dawn of each new election, there are millions of youth in this country, and if they all decided to get out there and vote, there could be a huge difference in the result. This year, in response to Rick's rant, thousands of university students nationwide have been rallying, promising that they'll vote. This is a good thing!
Some of these newbies showed up at rallies. Sometimes they were admitted. Sometimes not. Come on, people. Not only is it a new voter, but it's a new voter who's willing to do the legwork to research all of the options. This is the ideal voter in a democracy!
My biggest concern here is this:
When a regular voter is discouraged by a political party, what do they do? They turn around and vote for the other guy.
But a first-time voter? If their first point of contact with any politician is to be discouraged and turned away, they may not come back. At all. They may choose to stay home on election day.
Lesson 3: When you're called out for ejecting people from your rallies, don't try and make it an example of the mass numbers that turned out to see you "We're turning people away...."
And finally Lesson 4:
When you're called out for lying about why you were turning people away, and you attempt an apology, try and make it sound sincere! For heaven's sake, "We're obviously sorry...." just doesn't ring true, sir.
I don't think anyone's buying it.
On the other hand, I think that many out there are still buying in to a lot of other aspects of this campaign. I hold out little hope that anything will change post-May 2.
I do however love living in a country that asks 4 of the most important political superstars in the country to reschedule their debate, because there's a hockey game on.
Vive le Canada.
Monday, March 28, 2011
......again?
Well well well.....it seems as if the gods of peace, order and good government have seen fit to throw us another election, just a few short years (no matter how long Harper's reign makes them feel) after the last one. Already, a walk around my neighbourhood brings temporary blindness caused by an overwhelming amount of orange signs. (Who knew I lived in Jack Layton's riding?!)
This time around though, it wasn't just the budget. It was contempt. A groundbreaking motion, however quickly forgotten in the deafening thunder of campaign buses and planes taking off. So today, and for the next 30 days, we will hear nothing but slander and pander, berating and debating.
Don't get me wrong...I will become one with CBC Radio 1, I will watch the debates, and I will secretly hope for some rep to knock on my door, so I can, politely, inquire about my wonderings. But is this really the answer?
Isn't the major issue on the table the gross overspending of taxpayers dollars and the intended shunning of new spending so as to put us back on the road to economic recovery?
Then call me crazy, but wouldn't the fastest track to economic stability be to not spend $300 million on an election?
Just a thought.
Vote for me for PM. *shudder* Never mind.......not if it means performing sappy Beatles tunes lined with subtle irony in front of a crowd of thousands.....
"I get by with a little help from my friends...." Oh, Mr. Prime Minister, how true it is.....
Happy couch surfing, even though your favourite shows will be inevitably violated by frequent attack ads.
J.
This time around though, it wasn't just the budget. It was contempt. A groundbreaking motion, however quickly forgotten in the deafening thunder of campaign buses and planes taking off. So today, and for the next 30 days, we will hear nothing but slander and pander, berating and debating.
Don't get me wrong...I will become one with CBC Radio 1, I will watch the debates, and I will secretly hope for some rep to knock on my door, so I can, politely, inquire about my wonderings. But is this really the answer?
Isn't the major issue on the table the gross overspending of taxpayers dollars and the intended shunning of new spending so as to put us back on the road to economic recovery?
Then call me crazy, but wouldn't the fastest track to economic stability be to not spend $300 million on an election?
Just a thought.
Vote for me for PM. *shudder* Never mind.......not if it means performing sappy Beatles tunes lined with subtle irony in front of a crowd of thousands.....
"I get by with a little help from my friends...." Oh, Mr. Prime Minister, how true it is.....
Happy couch surfing, even though your favourite shows will be inevitably violated by frequent attack ads.
J.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Persistence
Well, thank goodness for reading week! I was finally able to devote some time to the all frustrating in-the-round project. After much grumbling, swearing and threats of giving up, I finally completed the first attempt at a leg warmer!
For any of you who don't knit, knitting in the round is the doorway that leads from scarves and dishcloths to hats, mitts, socks and leg warmers. Needless to say, it's a rather important skill - and perseverance won this time around.....
Yes, yes, I know. As far as leg warmers are concerned, they very often come in pairs. I'm just busy reveling in my success.Now......how to cast on again??
Thursday, March 3, 2011
How Many More Weeks of Cold?
The latest bane of my existence: knitting in the round. If I can successfully accomplish this, I feel like I'll be able to do anything!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Fight the Deep Freeze
Well, it's that time of year for Southern Ontario....the bleakest part of winter. The first snow fall is beautiful,with big soft flakes that glisten in the moonlight, and you find yourself hoping it will last till Christmas, and the lights on the bushes of people's front yards glow softly through that first blanket of powder.
And then New Year's comes and goes with promises of resolutions and redemptions, and midnight walks in the snow, boots creaking with every step.
And suddenly it's February. And it's still here. And you're getting tired of donning layer after layer just to go out and get milk, and it seems you're doing laundry every other day to get rid of the salt stains on your pants.
So how does one beat the winter blues?
I try to be productive like this:
And active, like this:
And creative, like this:
And I stay warm like this:
Whatever you do to get through the long haul, let the promise of spring, with its mud and puddles and drippy Sundays, bring you a skip in your step. Remember, in many countries we'd be approaching a rainy season of up to six months without respite, and in parts of Southeast Asia it would be almost time for yellow dust to coat the skies with a suffocating fog. While here, the appearance of February at the very least, signals it's almost time for Roll Up The Rim.
Keep trudging,
J.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
New Year's Eve
New Year's found me with Sunrise and as always, it was a great party!
We ate, we danced, we crashed, got up and had brunch before packing our gear and heading back to spend New Year's Day with our families. I couldn't imagine spending New Year's anywhere else!
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