Massa is a student leader at York University. She sounds more like a zealot than anything. She promises that all student groups will be examined for "ideological purity."
There's a Reign of Terror at every corner, you know.
Now if this kind of language doesn't frighten you...scary thing is that she'll probably end up an editor for some magazine or newspaper, a politician or a film maker to get her "message" out.
Here's a blog post about her recent nonsensical gibberish at 'An Advocate of the Republic.'
So. This is what lives and breathes within the walls of our higher institutions?
Freedom is on the run.
2008-05-30
thee intirnet cant spel: OMG. Who cares?
I've been doing web copy for a company and have come to one precious conclusion: the internet has mauled our ability to write properly.
When I began my journey on the internet, I would come across people who would leave me cryptic notes like: OMG, LMFHO, WTF and BRB.
I found it ridiculous and still do.
Worst still, I've read that some people claim this is a "practical" way of writing to "save time." Bull shit I say. That's a cheap cop out. There's nothing I hate more than people justifying ignorance and laziness.
Yes, it's come to this. People don't give a rabid rat's dirty ass about good writing or literature. Of course, this is ironic given the "content is king" axiom that governs any self-respecting website. I hear writers are in demand yet no one wants to pay up. Or worse, they think they know enough to tell a writer how to do their job - ie write.
The other day I had a Russian programmer who can barely speak English (he was unfamiliar with the term "I paid an arm and a leg") complain about something he thought I wrote. While I patiently listened trying to figure out what he was saying I kept thinking to myself "what the hell do you know anyway?" I got to the bottom of the problem. Let's just say he won't be writing anytime soon.
I'm ok with criticism but not from people who don't hold a particular respect for writing.
Lack of reverence for writing is an affront and atrocity to all things civil, decent and intelligent. I'm not saying people need to learn how to write like a star but at the very least appreciate it.
I never understood whenever I heard movie actors or anyone else in the medium make fun of writers. I know, it's a run-on joke to make fun of writers; even The Simpsons did it. BUT, without them you have no scripts or ideas right? Furthermore, aren't many films based on novels? Somebody had to write them, right?
Right.
So, to me, people who engage in this sort of "thinking" are not worth a comma or an exlamation point or any other precious key on the board.
It's no different on the "net." It amazes me (in a frightening way) the indifference (if not contempt) people hold for proper use of language. The laziness and lack of wittiness surrounding internet lingo is a pathetic world I wish to ignore for fear that if I do, I may become wickedly incompetent one day with my own spelling.
All is not lost. Some people do care as this petition reveals. I was heartened to find someone with the same worries as me. When I clicked to view all signature only 56 people had signed it.
That is, 56 people who cared.
Is the internet ruining our collective ability to write with any artistic or professional sensibilities or courtesy?
Everyone hates lawyers...until they need one. Everyone forgets writers...until they need one.
When I began my journey on the internet, I would come across people who would leave me cryptic notes like: OMG, LMFHO, WTF and BRB.
I found it ridiculous and still do.
Worst still, I've read that some people claim this is a "practical" way of writing to "save time." Bull shit I say. That's a cheap cop out. There's nothing I hate more than people justifying ignorance and laziness.
Yes, it's come to this. People don't give a rabid rat's dirty ass about good writing or literature. Of course, this is ironic given the "content is king" axiom that governs any self-respecting website. I hear writers are in demand yet no one wants to pay up. Or worse, they think they know enough to tell a writer how to do their job - ie write.
The other day I had a Russian programmer who can barely speak English (he was unfamiliar with the term "I paid an arm and a leg") complain about something he thought I wrote. While I patiently listened trying to figure out what he was saying I kept thinking to myself "what the hell do you know anyway?" I got to the bottom of the problem. Let's just say he won't be writing anytime soon.
I'm ok with criticism but not from people who don't hold a particular respect for writing.
Lack of reverence for writing is an affront and atrocity to all things civil, decent and intelligent. I'm not saying people need to learn how to write like a star but at the very least appreciate it.
I never understood whenever I heard movie actors or anyone else in the medium make fun of writers. I know, it's a run-on joke to make fun of writers; even The Simpsons did it. BUT, without them you have no scripts or ideas right? Furthermore, aren't many films based on novels? Somebody had to write them, right?
Right.
So, to me, people who engage in this sort of "thinking" are not worth a comma or an exlamation point or any other precious key on the board.
It's no different on the "net." It amazes me (in a frightening way) the indifference (if not contempt) people hold for proper use of language. The laziness and lack of wittiness surrounding internet lingo is a pathetic world I wish to ignore for fear that if I do, I may become wickedly incompetent one day with my own spelling.
All is not lost. Some people do care as this petition reveals. I was heartened to find someone with the same worries as me. When I clicked to view all signature only 56 people had signed it.
That is, 56 people who cared.
Is the internet ruining our collective ability to write with any artistic or professional sensibilities or courtesy?
Everyone hates lawyers...until they need one. Everyone forgets writers...until they need one.
What Would You Do If You Saw What The Mama Saw?
I concur with Surreality Times - there's something about "Me and Julio down by the school yard" by Paul Simon. I've always enojoyed the song and feel somewhat disappointed I didn't ask myself the same question: What did "the mama saw" by the school yard?
The mama pajama rolled out of bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation
It's against the law
It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law
The mama looked down and spit on the ground
Everytime my name gets mentioned
The papa said if I get that boy
I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention
Well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schootyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard
In a couple of days they come and
Take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek
And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
The mama pajama rolled out of bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation
It's against the law
It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law
The mama looked down and spit on the ground
Everytime my name gets mentioned
The papa said if I get that boy
I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention
Well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schootyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard
In a couple of days they come and
Take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek
And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
2008-05-28
The Soiling Of Old Glory...And Truth
What does this picture tell you? Can it tell a lie?
In a review of Louis P. Masur's The Soiling of Old Glory by Andy Grundberg in The American Scholar titled "A Dangerous Weapon, the reader learns that technology (in this case the camera) can't control what we believe and perceive. We only have ourselves to blame if we deliberately misappropriate a picture for our own personal, selfish motives.
The article does a great service in methodically and artistically explaining the "snap shot in time" above. What seems to be a white man ready to impale a well-dressed black person while he's restrained by another white person is really just only part of the story.
But for opportunists and a media with a short-attention span, it was a divisive racial story pret-a-porter!
After all, pictures don't lie... or can they? If stats lie why can't images?
Here's how Grundberg unfolds the image to add a human perspective to the event. It's interesting to note how Michael Moore chose to take the picture at face value without providing viewers with a contextualized version of the event when he said "that famous 1976 photo of an anti-busing demonstrator thrusting a large flag on a pole into the stomach of the first black man he encountered" soon after 9/11.
The man in the picture is Joseph Rakes, who was 17 at the time. He never touched Theodore Landsmark - the black man. Examining the negatives of all the photos leading up to the famous one posted above and interviewing witnesses by Masur, we get a better picture of what went on.
"(Landsmark) was just getting up after being punched to his knees by other teenagers. What looks like an attempt to spear him was in reality a split second in an arc in which Rakes swung the flag in front of the victim. The man behind Landsmark, who seems to be restraining him so more blows can be landed, was helping him to his feet and, in (Stanley) Forman's (photographer) next frame, can be seen trying to stop any further carnage. But the contextual frames from Forman's motor-driven camera were deemed less dramatic and thus never entered the maw of spot-news journalism."
It seems to be that a guy like Moore (I shudder at the notion that this person is an award winning "dissident") who claims to be able to access important documents in search of the truth should have dug a little and done his homework in order to preserve and expose the truth. Alas, he was more interested in trimming and tailoring events to fit his version of the truth.
This is just another example about how crucial it is to treat historical records and artifacts with extreme care.
Maybe we should view a picture and always ask, "What really went on?"
2008-05-27
Cops Contribute To Traffic And Stress
Police officers were pulling people over at the height of rush hour this morning. Many drivers sat with an obvious look of frustration.
Not only will they be late for work or a possible appointment or meeting, they have to pay for a ticket and face the possible wrath of a boss, doctor or colleague. Such is the social residual impact these police traps can have.
And for what?
I know. It's an irony. The cops do it for the safety of society. To remind people they are watching. Yet, the lessons they attempting to convey can easily be forgotten to a stressed mind. Unless studies that I'm not aware of show otherwise.
Why do they have to set up traps when people are trying to get somewhere in the morning? Chances are, the people on the road in the morning are economically contributing to society. It seems to me stopping productive people -who pay for the salaries of civil servants - is a tad excessive. Not that I don't wish some drivers get pulled over for insane driving but I'm talking about in the context of giving tickets out during rush hour.
Who knows where people have been or why they're running late that leads to committing some traffic infraction?
I'm not making excuses. Just don't break the law and you'll be fine. Or give yourself enough time in the morning to avoid rushing out of the house that leads to you trying to make up for lost time by skimping on stops and speeding.
Nonetheless, I see no positive point to this exercise besides the cash the cops make. Sure some people may think twice in the future, but I imagine angry and stressed people are only going to take the ticket and go even faster to get to work.
Can't they just set up a 9am and spare commuters the added stress and traffic?
Am I looking at this wrong?
Not only will they be late for work or a possible appointment or meeting, they have to pay for a ticket and face the possible wrath of a boss, doctor or colleague. Such is the social residual impact these police traps can have.
And for what?
I know. It's an irony. The cops do it for the safety of society. To remind people they are watching. Yet, the lessons they attempting to convey can easily be forgotten to a stressed mind. Unless studies that I'm not aware of show otherwise.
Why do they have to set up traps when people are trying to get somewhere in the morning? Chances are, the people on the road in the morning are economically contributing to society. It seems to me stopping productive people -who pay for the salaries of civil servants - is a tad excessive. Not that I don't wish some drivers get pulled over for insane driving but I'm talking about in the context of giving tickets out during rush hour.
Who knows where people have been or why they're running late that leads to committing some traffic infraction?
I'm not making excuses. Just don't break the law and you'll be fine. Or give yourself enough time in the morning to avoid rushing out of the house that leads to you trying to make up for lost time by skimping on stops and speeding.
Nonetheless, I see no positive point to this exercise besides the cash the cops make. Sure some people may think twice in the future, but I imagine angry and stressed people are only going to take the ticket and go even faster to get to work.
Can't they just set up a 9am and spare commuters the added stress and traffic?
Am I looking at this wrong?
Hillary Talks About Assassination
That's what happens when desperate people can't take a hint.
It's a bizarre (if not potentially fatal in many sense of the word) strategy indeed.
It's a bizarre (if not potentially fatal in many sense of the word) strategy indeed.
2008-05-26
The House Of A Personal History
I drove past a house today.
This in itself has no special meaning. We've past by hundreds upon hundreds (if not thousands) of houses. They are mere structures. Just a collection of (sometimes decaying) brick and wood. Some have gardens that have not been tended to. Some have disheveled front porches and lawns. Some look unwelcoming and others all too willing to invite us in for a cup of tea.
All, every single one of them and whatever form, possess their own private histories. Have you ever sat in a park or taken a walk and wondered about the life of a person you witness entering their home? Once they insert the key and walk in what is the course of their history?
You have to actually stop and think to wonder about such things.
That was the case today with the house I drove by. Growing up, it belonged to a casual friend of mine. He wasn't a close friend (he was one year old) but we were close enough thanks to a solid bedrock of mutual friends. His friends were my friends and vice-versa which made us blood-brothers of sorts.
Many of us were in the sports fraternity. He played hockey. I played soccer. We each played both sports. I think we may have even been on the same broom ball team.
One year, he decided he was going to throw the a big party. It was by invitation only. The surest way to ensure only the cool and desired were to show up. Build demand. Make entry scarce. That's the secret to a great party. At 16 he understood this.
For days people were anxious. They wanted to be invited. Speculation was at a fever pitch. "I hear so and so is not invited!"
Oh, the horror! Reputations were going to be made or broken on this night.
I wasn't sure about whether I was going to make the cut. I always lived life with one simple motto: "You never know. And I certainly don't know much."
We all knew who the "sure bets" were and who the "outsiders" were. But what of all those in the middle? Those people who teetered between cool and not cool?
I've always held a close affinity for the "alternatives." The quirky if you will. I would find girlfriends in most unlikely places. A few times I am proud to say, I uncovered gems not appreciated by the masses.
One girl I dated was so below the radar screen I had to present her to my friends while she was on the cat walk for a fashion show. I'll never forget my buddy's face when I pointed to her. I hear she became "Miss Philippines" for the local chapter years later. But for one shining night we both looked like stars as we walked out of the school after the show.
I always felt uncomfortable for the forgotten. Not that I did anything about it. Sometimes I did turn a blind eye when a person was unfairly picked on. But other times I would offer a word of encouragement. To let them know I wasn't like the others.
For some reason, even the tough guys saluted me in the morning. I guess I just knew how to tread that murky line.
Lucky me.
The day he methodically handed out the invitations the school was tense - more than the day of final exams.
The school bell rang. I hadn't received mine. We lived nearby each other and shared the same bus ride home. There, he handed the remaining invitations. Verbally. He looked to my gang and said, "Hey, see you guys at the party. Alessandro, I hear you popped two goals the other day on that bad knee."
"I did."
"Sandro is the best soccer player with no future!" one of my buddy's shouted. Everyone laughed.
With that, we enjoyed the rest of the ride home.
I made the cut.
The conversation went on in the bus. "Mirella is seeing Rob," I was told by a friend.
That surprised me. Mirella was one of those smart, elegant girls. Way wiser than her years. She used to fix all my mistakes in Grade Six to skew my grade in my favour. I had a crush on her but never acted on it. She once asked me to dance to "Ripples" by Genesis in junior high. Like a fool, I refused. Too immature to accept a dance.
I found out years later she had a crush on me too. A missed opportunity for love.
What was relief for somes was internal grief (I can only surmise) for others. The kids who didn't get invited looked straight away.
The night of the party we all hung out at my place until it was time to go. I was anxious to see who Mirella was dating. When I saw him I was disappointed in her choice. I didn't know she liked big dumb, guys with a penchant for violence.
But that was nothing to what I witnessed later. One of the so-called nerds who lived just down the street crashed the party. It was a loud night so probably at the insistence of his parents he decided to pass by. Why not? Nobody would dare send someone back home?
People were moving in and out of the house. The part was as much outside as it was inside. There was no flow or any way to keep tabs of who was there. It was a good gamble on his part.
Sadly, he was told to leave. I couldn't believe it. He quietly turned around and went home. What went through his mind? What did he tell his parents? What happened stayed with me for a long time. I was helpless. I had no leverage to persuade the powers that be to have him enjoy the night.
It turns out, the party wasn't all that great. It was just a loud mess.
Mirella left early and so did I.
I looked in my review mirror and continued on home.
This in itself has no special meaning. We've past by hundreds upon hundreds (if not thousands) of houses. They are mere structures. Just a collection of (sometimes decaying) brick and wood. Some have gardens that have not been tended to. Some have disheveled front porches and lawns. Some look unwelcoming and others all too willing to invite us in for a cup of tea.
All, every single one of them and whatever form, possess their own private histories. Have you ever sat in a park or taken a walk and wondered about the life of a person you witness entering their home? Once they insert the key and walk in what is the course of their history?
You have to actually stop and think to wonder about such things.
That was the case today with the house I drove by. Growing up, it belonged to a casual friend of mine. He wasn't a close friend (he was one year old) but we were close enough thanks to a solid bedrock of mutual friends. His friends were my friends and vice-versa which made us blood-brothers of sorts.
Many of us were in the sports fraternity. He played hockey. I played soccer. We each played both sports. I think we may have even been on the same broom ball team.
One year, he decided he was going to throw the a big party. It was by invitation only. The surest way to ensure only the cool and desired were to show up. Build demand. Make entry scarce. That's the secret to a great party. At 16 he understood this.
For days people were anxious. They wanted to be invited. Speculation was at a fever pitch. "I hear so and so is not invited!"
Oh, the horror! Reputations were going to be made or broken on this night.
I wasn't sure about whether I was going to make the cut. I always lived life with one simple motto: "You never know. And I certainly don't know much."
We all knew who the "sure bets" were and who the "outsiders" were. But what of all those in the middle? Those people who teetered between cool and not cool?
I've always held a close affinity for the "alternatives." The quirky if you will. I would find girlfriends in most unlikely places. A few times I am proud to say, I uncovered gems not appreciated by the masses.
One girl I dated was so below the radar screen I had to present her to my friends while she was on the cat walk for a fashion show. I'll never forget my buddy's face when I pointed to her. I hear she became "Miss Philippines" for the local chapter years later. But for one shining night we both looked like stars as we walked out of the school after the show.
I always felt uncomfortable for the forgotten. Not that I did anything about it. Sometimes I did turn a blind eye when a person was unfairly picked on. But other times I would offer a word of encouragement. To let them know I wasn't like the others.
For some reason, even the tough guys saluted me in the morning. I guess I just knew how to tread that murky line.
Lucky me.
The day he methodically handed out the invitations the school was tense - more than the day of final exams.
The school bell rang. I hadn't received mine. We lived nearby each other and shared the same bus ride home. There, he handed the remaining invitations. Verbally. He looked to my gang and said, "Hey, see you guys at the party. Alessandro, I hear you popped two goals the other day on that bad knee."
"I did."
"Sandro is the best soccer player with no future!" one of my buddy's shouted. Everyone laughed.
With that, we enjoyed the rest of the ride home.
I made the cut.
The conversation went on in the bus. "Mirella is seeing Rob," I was told by a friend.
That surprised me. Mirella was one of those smart, elegant girls. Way wiser than her years. She used to fix all my mistakes in Grade Six to skew my grade in my favour. I had a crush on her but never acted on it. She once asked me to dance to "Ripples" by Genesis in junior high. Like a fool, I refused. Too immature to accept a dance.
I found out years later she had a crush on me too. A missed opportunity for love.
What was relief for somes was internal grief (I can only surmise) for others. The kids who didn't get invited looked straight away.
The night of the party we all hung out at my place until it was time to go. I was anxious to see who Mirella was dating. When I saw him I was disappointed in her choice. I didn't know she liked big dumb, guys with a penchant for violence.
But that was nothing to what I witnessed later. One of the so-called nerds who lived just down the street crashed the party. It was a loud night so probably at the insistence of his parents he decided to pass by. Why not? Nobody would dare send someone back home?
People were moving in and out of the house. The part was as much outside as it was inside. There was no flow or any way to keep tabs of who was there. It was a good gamble on his part.
Sadly, he was told to leave. I couldn't believe it. He quietly turned around and went home. What went through his mind? What did he tell his parents? What happened stayed with me for a long time. I was helpless. I had no leverage to persuade the powers that be to have him enjoy the night.
It turns out, the party wasn't all that great. It was just a loud mess.
Mirella left early and so did I.
I looked in my review mirror and continued on home.
2008-05-25
What's Canada Drinking?
Here's a list from Nation-Master disclosing how much of what Canadians drink. Canadians consume the most fruit juices. They're also second in line at Subway's and third in soft drink consumption. Sorry Canada, this land is not first in beer consumption no matter what Bob and Doug McKenzie say. Rather, it sits in 8th spot.
And the United States. They sure do love McDonald's Subway and soft drinks.
To North Americans: Sugar kills. Just so you know.
And Italy for good measure. Italians lead in bottled water and wine consumption but don't seem to enjoy fruit juices all that much - not as much as Canadians anyway. Nor do they lead on coffee consumption but I'm not sure if these stats include espresso.
And the United States. They sure do love McDonald's Subway and soft drinks.
To North Americans: Sugar kills. Just so you know.
And Italy for good measure. Italians lead in bottled water and wine consumption but don't seem to enjoy fruit juices all that much - not as much as Canadians anyway. Nor do they lead on coffee consumption but I'm not sure if these stats include espresso.
Will The Real Canada Stand Up?
Neil McKenty asks: Is Canada one of the best places to be in the world?
Every once in a while this question creeps into the national dialog.
While I applaud Neil's willingness to exalt our successes on his wonderful blog, I would submit that the examples he cites should be kept in perspective.
Canadian neo-patriotism leaves me squeamish especially given its apparent hollowness.
Here we go with my devil's advocacy:
"The Toronto stock exchange has punched through the 15,000 level for the first time in its history. The TSX has gained 23 per cent since January; The Dow Jones has dropped 18 per cent in the same period. Which inspired one Bay street capitalist to exult: “Canada is probably one of the best places to be in the world.”
Not bad for a branch plant society.
The TSX smashing through 15 000 great for a stock portfolio - if it has enough resource stocks. Our market is performing well in large part because of Asia's appetite for resources. And with Canada being a semi-diversified economy dependent on natural resources, the math adds up in our favor. The Conference Board of Canada recently came out with a more sobering account of our economy over the long term.
When I was a financial advisor I learned quickly just how limited our options for investments were. Outside a few stocks we always had to subsidize our portfolios with U.S. stocks. Besides, want proof where we stand? Just walk into a any investment firm in Canada and try and find a broker during a U.S. holiday. Then watch the thin trading in T.O.
I would caution against comparing the American and Canadian economies. In fact, I wouldn't even compare Canada to any of the G7.
"We have a health care system that covers everybody; American politicians are debating the fine points while 47 million of their countrymen are not covered"
I think we Canadians have a superficial understanding of the complexities that grip American health. The 47 million number, so popular among nationalists and leftists, has been examined and explained away by several thoughtful U.S.- based publications. I don't live there so I can't speak about it. All I have is what my friends and family tell me.
What I can write based on personal experiences alone, is that there are many serious problems with the Canadian health care system. Including Canadians seeking treatment for serious health problems that the system can't handle. Let's leave it at that.
That's why private clinics are on the rise. The people are fed up. Who better to know than us? I'm part owner of a medical web directory for private clinics. There's a private health care revolution under way and Canadians seem unprepared for this reality. This is happening because somewhere, somehow the universal system is failing some Canadians.
I think we need to stop reading Janet Bagnall and watching Michael Moore movies.
That all being said, I would never advocate the dismantling of health care but I wouldn't brag about it either.
"The Canadian federal system - open and flexible - is the envy of the world."
Last I spoke to my friend who works for foreign affairs the envy aspect is not true. For a while, Canada was in fact a lesson on what not to do. We became nation of talkers; not doers. Our environmental record is sub-average, out foreign aid is pathetic and our peacekeeping missions do not match our boastful rhetoric. As for being open and flexible, depends what we mean. As a decentralized state, then yes, we are the most "bent-overed" state in the world.
But how to define open? Is Quebec an open society? Is the notwithstanding clause an example of flexibility or merely a self-serving anti-democratic law? What to make of the Liberals wasting millions to add more OLF inspectors? Does this not drain us of our civil liberties? Is this a transparent democracy? Not when Canadians can't elect leaders to the parties. What about the insidiousness of inter-provincial barriers? Canada is not a unified nation but a collection of parochial provinces each preserving its own interests.
"Canada stalwartly stayed out of the American quagmire in Iraq. But we are making a major military effort in Afghanistan where the real terrorist threat is."
I can't argue with this. Canada has contributed and made great sacrifices in Afghanistan. However, Iran has always helped to make Iraq a nice place for terrorists. But I wish not to get into this here.
I will say this. My friend is with the RCMP (he was an Air Marshall) and it is in their opinion that Canada is a legitimate target for terrorists. Imagine that, we didn't even go into Iraq. It's not a matter of if but when. Will we sink to the level of blaming Americans? Are we psychologically prepared as a nation?
Other than to follow a job, is it likely any Canadian would want to move to the States?
Four of my friends have left for the States and will never come back. They quickly realized that all the negative press given to the U.S. is often exaggerated. As I have always strenuously argued, America is a complex society. More than most Canadians realize. Quebec politics certainly didn't help. Don't have any nationalist tell you otherwise. When people draw up their pros and cons list the politics here is always mentioned.
To be sure, it's not easy to exist in the U.S. and surely Canada has a calmer social existence but that's the trade-off for having a shot at succeeding in America.
Personally, I would love to stay in Canada but are entrepreneurs truly valued here? I've always lamented the Canada's general weak entrepreneurial class. It's been bludgeoned to death. We have lost our individualism here. We depend way too much on the government. This can certainly have an impact on any decision I may take down the road.
"I should add that some American politicians are making noises about opening up and renegotiating the Can-US free trade agreement, NAFTA. Hold on folks. If the USers monkey with NAFTA Canada will recalibrate the energy supplies we pour every day into the States. By the by, how many Americans do you think know that Canada supplies more energy to the U.S. than any other country on the face of the other. If you upset us we can cut you off."
Why must we always compare ourselves with the U.S.? Anyway, I guess we should thank Brian Mulroney for our healthy economic state. After all, much of the residual effect is thanks to FTA.
Canada has no power to renegotiate anything. It's a deal we signed. This is Canadian political empty talk. Look at the world around us. Look at how the EU is forcing America's hand. Our existence and prosperity is within the bosom of the American empire. We should get used to it. We sold ourselves out a long time ago.
And for conspiracy theorists this is an opening about the North American union. Quite frankly, I would not be surprised if Canada ends up in some type of union somewhere down the road.
The EU is having a huge impact on world affairs. It may leave North America with no choice in order to compete or maintain an economic advantage.
Every once in a while this question creeps into the national dialog.
While I applaud Neil's willingness to exalt our successes on his wonderful blog, I would submit that the examples he cites should be kept in perspective.
Canadian neo-patriotism leaves me squeamish especially given its apparent hollowness.
Here we go with my devil's advocacy:
"The Toronto stock exchange has punched through the 15,000 level for the first time in its history. The TSX has gained 23 per cent since January; The Dow Jones has dropped 18 per cent in the same period. Which inspired one Bay street capitalist to exult: “Canada is probably one of the best places to be in the world.”
Not bad for a branch plant society.
The TSX smashing through 15 000 great for a stock portfolio - if it has enough resource stocks. Our market is performing well in large part because of Asia's appetite for resources. And with Canada being a semi-diversified economy dependent on natural resources, the math adds up in our favor. The Conference Board of Canada recently came out with a more sobering account of our economy over the long term.
When I was a financial advisor I learned quickly just how limited our options for investments were. Outside a few stocks we always had to subsidize our portfolios with U.S. stocks. Besides, want proof where we stand? Just walk into a any investment firm in Canada and try and find a broker during a U.S. holiday. Then watch the thin trading in T.O.
I would caution against comparing the American and Canadian economies. In fact, I wouldn't even compare Canada to any of the G7.
"We have a health care system that covers everybody; American politicians are debating the fine points while 47 million of their countrymen are not covered"
I think we Canadians have a superficial understanding of the complexities that grip American health. The 47 million number, so popular among nationalists and leftists, has been examined and explained away by several thoughtful U.S.- based publications. I don't live there so I can't speak about it. All I have is what my friends and family tell me.
What I can write based on personal experiences alone, is that there are many serious problems with the Canadian health care system. Including Canadians seeking treatment for serious health problems that the system can't handle. Let's leave it at that.
That's why private clinics are on the rise. The people are fed up. Who better to know than us? I'm part owner of a medical web directory for private clinics. There's a private health care revolution under way and Canadians seem unprepared for this reality. This is happening because somewhere, somehow the universal system is failing some Canadians.
I think we need to stop reading Janet Bagnall and watching Michael Moore movies.
That all being said, I would never advocate the dismantling of health care but I wouldn't brag about it either.
"The Canadian federal system - open and flexible - is the envy of the world."
Last I spoke to my friend who works for foreign affairs the envy aspect is not true. For a while, Canada was in fact a lesson on what not to do. We became nation of talkers; not doers. Our environmental record is sub-average, out foreign aid is pathetic and our peacekeeping missions do not match our boastful rhetoric. As for being open and flexible, depends what we mean. As a decentralized state, then yes, we are the most "bent-overed" state in the world.
But how to define open? Is Quebec an open society? Is the notwithstanding clause an example of flexibility or merely a self-serving anti-democratic law? What to make of the Liberals wasting millions to add more OLF inspectors? Does this not drain us of our civil liberties? Is this a transparent democracy? Not when Canadians can't elect leaders to the parties. What about the insidiousness of inter-provincial barriers? Canada is not a unified nation but a collection of parochial provinces each preserving its own interests.
"Canada stalwartly stayed out of the American quagmire in Iraq. But we are making a major military effort in Afghanistan where the real terrorist threat is."
I can't argue with this. Canada has contributed and made great sacrifices in Afghanistan. However, Iran has always helped to make Iraq a nice place for terrorists. But I wish not to get into this here.
I will say this. My friend is with the RCMP (he was an Air Marshall) and it is in their opinion that Canada is a legitimate target for terrorists. Imagine that, we didn't even go into Iraq. It's not a matter of if but when. Will we sink to the level of blaming Americans? Are we psychologically prepared as a nation?
Other than to follow a job, is it likely any Canadian would want to move to the States?
Is there a better place to be than Canada?
Where?
While the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side, this is obviously subjective and is a function of how and where people want to contribute their talents. The question is a tricky one because other than jobs why would anyone want to move anywhere? Sure some people act on their romantic impulses but for the majority of people practical considerations prevail.Four of my friends have left for the States and will never come back. They quickly realized that all the negative press given to the U.S. is often exaggerated. As I have always strenuously argued, America is a complex society. More than most Canadians realize. Quebec politics certainly didn't help. Don't have any nationalist tell you otherwise. When people draw up their pros and cons list the politics here is always mentioned.
To be sure, it's not easy to exist in the U.S. and surely Canada has a calmer social existence but that's the trade-off for having a shot at succeeding in America.
Personally, I would love to stay in Canada but are entrepreneurs truly valued here? I've always lamented the Canada's general weak entrepreneurial class. It's been bludgeoned to death. We have lost our individualism here. We depend way too much on the government. This can certainly have an impact on any decision I may take down the road.
"I should add that some American politicians are making noises about opening up and renegotiating the Can-US free trade agreement, NAFTA. Hold on folks. If the USers monkey with NAFTA Canada will recalibrate the energy supplies we pour every day into the States. By the by, how many Americans do you think know that Canada supplies more energy to the U.S. than any other country on the face of the other. If you upset us we can cut you off."
Why must we always compare ourselves with the U.S.? Anyway, I guess we should thank Brian Mulroney for our healthy economic state. After all, much of the residual effect is thanks to FTA.
Canada has no power to renegotiate anything. It's a deal we signed. This is Canadian political empty talk. Look at the world around us. Look at how the EU is forcing America's hand. Our existence and prosperity is within the bosom of the American empire. We should get used to it. We sold ourselves out a long time ago.
And for conspiracy theorists this is an opening about the North American union. Quite frankly, I would not be surprised if Canada ends up in some type of union somewhere down the road.
The EU is having a huge impact on world affairs. It may leave North America with no choice in order to compete or maintain an economic advantage.
2008-05-24
Blog Link Of Interest: Exploring China Earthquake With Astrology
Watching the earthquake disaster wreak havoc in China can be gut and heart wrenching. Here's an astrological description of the tragedy from AstroRevolution.
2008-05-23
Thunder Road: The Movie
Flipping through channels last night, I caught the last 45 minutes of Thunder Road (1958) starring Robert Mitchum.
A cult classic, I first heard about this film listening to a Bruce Springsteen bootleg over 15 years ago. On the record, Springsteen tells the story (and I don't quite remember how the story went as my turntable is in a box these days so I can't access it) of how he came across the poster in a movie theater but never saw the flick just before he leads into his classic masterwork Thunder Road from his album Born To Run.
The film inspired one of the all time great rock ballads.
Mitchum wrote The Ballad of Thunder Road for the movie.
The culture of moonshining in the South has certainly caught my attention over the years. One of my personal favorite sports pieces is Tom Wolfe's 'The Last American Hero.' A story first published in Esquire about North Carolina stock car legend Junior Johnson.
Classic films from the 50s are always a joy to watch and this one was no different. Watching Lucas Doolin tear down the backstreets in his '57 Ford is a piece of Americana too irresistible to ignore.
Three Jobs That Were All Part Of Life's Learning Curve
Get to know The Commentator's past work experience. Like I've mentioned in the past, I sometimes let people experience my past personal history. Lessss go!
When I was 12, I delivered the local community paper to homes. Come to think of it now, I guess my parents did not feel I was ready for the big time with a major paper.
Moment of sad reflection.
Every week a massive pile of papers were launched onto my driveway early in the morning for me to take to the good people of my district. On top of the pile was a tiny yellow envelope (more suited for ear rings) with $3.10 in it. Let's recall that this was an era where toonies and loonies were words to describe idiots. Ok, not toonies but you get the point. In the envelope was a red two dollar bill and a green one dollar bill plus a dime. Good enough for a few Slush Puppies.
It turns out my parents were right about my dedication to non-rolled papers. There was no way I could carry all those papers on my bike and investing in a large wagon (or wheel barrel) made no sense since I had no hope of recovering my costs. Three bucks didn't even cover labour.
I was more concerned with my bike, soccer and my baseball bat than delivering hundreds of papers. Alas, I wasn't that stupid. I basically understood the city was using me as their bitch for a lousy three bucks.
The job didn't last very long. Maybe a couple of months. My earnings power couldn't have been more than $24 in 1984.
A couple of years later I moved on and worked part-time during the summer for my brother-in-law's brother's construction company.
Let me set you up a little. I was no ruffian. Sure I worked hard but I was no construction worker. I was an athlete and it showed. I never got teased as much as I did during my time with the company. Then again, my boss wasn't exactly into teaching anything.
At school I was cool and popular. In the real world, I was a putz. And my boss was not sympathetic. He was the Bobby Knight and Billy Martin of the construction world.
The moment I realized I was never going to cut it in this business (though I am currently having a second go at it - as an investor) was when I went to do some repaving work on a driveway. My boss asked me to bring some spikes and tubes and other assorted items to set up the driveway. I was also told in an aggressive tone to prepare the cord and wrap it around the stakes in the ground.
For a few minutes I stood unable to figure out how it worked. Oh, that helpless feeling. Do I go ask for help and face bring humiliated or do I stand and do nothing and still feel the Wrath of Khan? There was no way for me to win.
Already reeling from being called a "girl" earlier for not being able to carry to 20 pound, five feet tubes on each shoulder, my ego soon took another massive shot.
As I fiddled with the cord as if it was a Rubix Cube, a little old lady with construction boots darted out of the house literally coming out of nowhere to yank the tool from my hands. While she shouted in Italian dialect something about how modern kids were useless, she expertly did what I was supposed to do - in fifteen minutes flat.
I was embarrassed but it was hilarious.
I still remember Steve's (my boss) face until this day.
In the early 1990s (I think it was 1991) my friends and I all decided to apply to Toys 'R' Us. Sorry. I could not find a reversed 'R' on my keyboard.
We all got hired for the night shift. What were the odds of this happening? It was destiny!
On our first night, we were reunited with two shady high school acquaintances but that didn't last more than three shifts to nobody's surprise. The first thing I was asked was, "Do you need a Easy Baker Oven?" To which I replied, "What the fuck am I going to do with an Easy-Bake Oven?" "Relax" he said. "I'm just asking. We have stock to move."
We? Priceless. He acted like the depot was his company.
Like I said, they were pinched - sorta. It seems they emptied out stock a little too vigorously if you get my drift.
That left four immature idiots (along with a couple of elderly ladies who bothered nobody) to roam a toy store at night with one manager a couple of years removed from us. Whatever intelligence we may have possessed we deliberately suspended every night between midnight and 8 in the morning.
What a mess.
What a stinking mess.
One of the guys was responsible to ensure that the entire game section was stocked and in order. That was his job for eight hours. It was a blast rearranging what he spent hours working on. Coming back from "lunch break" he would come back to shelves that were completely disorganized and not presentable.
There was a lot of running around. Driving of cars, pulling down of pants, and outright questionable behaviour. You know, guy stuff. Our manager would often be off sleeping somewhere so the animals often took over the asylum. Kinda like Lord of the Flies. Not that he led by example. He would even take part in some of our schemes. Let's just say he lost what little control he may have had.
During one shift, we fell so far behind that he ordered us to stay until 10am. He allowed four wired kids dressed in black tuques, Steve Earle t-shirts emblazoned with skulls and construction boots to roam the aisles of the store among patrons. Not a good idea.
As soon as the doors opened a lady mauled my friend for help on a special item that was being sold. Our manager knew it was going to be a huge day. Catching wind of this, we sent every person who asked for the item to my friend. He was swamped literally by dozens of anxious women looking for the item. Anyway, we played the 'pass the buck' game on purpose and our manager soon decided to cut his losses before we went nuts and sent us home 30 minutes later.
The best moment came with our piece de resistance. The Barbie section. While stocked the shelves, we decided to expose Barbie's breast in every box. All you saw were topless and bottomless Barbies. In one instance, we have Ken fondling Barbs.
We left it that way until a loud scream beckoned. It was our manager. We were obviously ordered to restore dignity to Barbie.
We were busy on another project but we agreed to get to it later.
8am came around and we forgot to do it.
We did some OT and our manager came in and told us to leave by 8:45 since some big boys from Toronto were inspecting the store since 8am.
That's when my friend and I remembered about the Barbie aisle.
We scrambled, slipped and slid our way to the aisle. We were too late.
The men were already taking notes.
We were quietly told to fix the aisle by 9am.
We had 15 minutes. It took us close to 45 minutes.
Luckily, it was a slow day.
No one ever saw Barbie bent over taking it doggy style from Ken.
Today. We all have families and work for a living. One of us works for foreign affairs. One is a rising investment analyst star, another is a successful salesman.
But for one summer, we were four guys living in the moment unsure where life would take us.
When I was 12, I delivered the local community paper to homes. Come to think of it now, I guess my parents did not feel I was ready for the big time with a major paper.
Moment of sad reflection.
Every week a massive pile of papers were launched onto my driveway early in the morning for me to take to the good people of my district. On top of the pile was a tiny yellow envelope (more suited for ear rings) with $3.10 in it. Let's recall that this was an era where toonies and loonies were words to describe idiots. Ok, not toonies but you get the point. In the envelope was a red two dollar bill and a green one dollar bill plus a dime. Good enough for a few Slush Puppies.
It turns out my parents were right about my dedication to non-rolled papers. There was no way I could carry all those papers on my bike and investing in a large wagon (or wheel barrel) made no sense since I had no hope of recovering my costs. Three bucks didn't even cover labour.
I was more concerned with my bike, soccer and my baseball bat than delivering hundreds of papers. Alas, I wasn't that stupid. I basically understood the city was using me as their bitch for a lousy three bucks.
The job didn't last very long. Maybe a couple of months. My earnings power couldn't have been more than $24 in 1984.
A couple of years later I moved on and worked part-time during the summer for my brother-in-law's brother's construction company.
Let me set you up a little. I was no ruffian. Sure I worked hard but I was no construction worker. I was an athlete and it showed. I never got teased as much as I did during my time with the company. Then again, my boss wasn't exactly into teaching anything.
At school I was cool and popular. In the real world, I was a putz. And my boss was not sympathetic. He was the Bobby Knight and Billy Martin of the construction world.
The moment I realized I was never going to cut it in this business (though I am currently having a second go at it - as an investor) was when I went to do some repaving work on a driveway. My boss asked me to bring some spikes and tubes and other assorted items to set up the driveway. I was also told in an aggressive tone to prepare the cord and wrap it around the stakes in the ground.
For a few minutes I stood unable to figure out how it worked. Oh, that helpless feeling. Do I go ask for help and face bring humiliated or do I stand and do nothing and still feel the Wrath of Khan? There was no way for me to win.
Already reeling from being called a "girl" earlier for not being able to carry to 20 pound, five feet tubes on each shoulder, my ego soon took another massive shot.
As I fiddled with the cord as if it was a Rubix Cube, a little old lady with construction boots darted out of the house literally coming out of nowhere to yank the tool from my hands. While she shouted in Italian dialect something about how modern kids were useless, she expertly did what I was supposed to do - in fifteen minutes flat.
I was embarrassed but it was hilarious.
I still remember Steve's (my boss) face until this day.
In the early 1990s (I think it was 1991) my friends and I all decided to apply to Toys 'R' Us. Sorry. I could not find a reversed 'R' on my keyboard.We all got hired for the night shift. What were the odds of this happening? It was destiny!
On our first night, we were reunited with two shady high school acquaintances but that didn't last more than three shifts to nobody's surprise. The first thing I was asked was, "Do you need a Easy Baker Oven?" To which I replied, "What the fuck am I going to do with an Easy-Bake Oven?" "Relax" he said. "I'm just asking. We have stock to move."
We? Priceless. He acted like the depot was his company.
Like I said, they were pinched - sorta. It seems they emptied out stock a little too vigorously if you get my drift.
That left four immature idiots (along with a couple of elderly ladies who bothered nobody) to roam a toy store at night with one manager a couple of years removed from us. Whatever intelligence we may have possessed we deliberately suspended every night between midnight and 8 in the morning.
What a mess.
What a stinking mess.
One of the guys was responsible to ensure that the entire game section was stocked and in order. That was his job for eight hours. It was a blast rearranging what he spent hours working on. Coming back from "lunch break" he would come back to shelves that were completely disorganized and not presentable.
There was a lot of running around. Driving of cars, pulling down of pants, and outright questionable behaviour. You know, guy stuff. Our manager would often be off sleeping somewhere so the animals often took over the asylum. Kinda like Lord of the Flies. Not that he led by example. He would even take part in some of our schemes. Let's just say he lost what little control he may have had.
During one shift, we fell so far behind that he ordered us to stay until 10am. He allowed four wired kids dressed in black tuques, Steve Earle t-shirts emblazoned with skulls and construction boots to roam the aisles of the store among patrons. Not a good idea.
As soon as the doors opened a lady mauled my friend for help on a special item that was being sold. Our manager knew it was going to be a huge day. Catching wind of this, we sent every person who asked for the item to my friend. He was swamped literally by dozens of anxious women looking for the item. Anyway, we played the 'pass the buck' game on purpose and our manager soon decided to cut his losses before we went nuts and sent us home 30 minutes later.
The best moment came with our piece de resistance. The Barbie section. While stocked the shelves, we decided to expose Barbie's breast in every box. All you saw were topless and bottomless Barbies. In one instance, we have Ken fondling Barbs.
We left it that way until a loud scream beckoned. It was our manager. We were obviously ordered to restore dignity to Barbie.
We were busy on another project but we agreed to get to it later.
8am came around and we forgot to do it.
We did some OT and our manager came in and told us to leave by 8:45 since some big boys from Toronto were inspecting the store since 8am.
That's when my friend and I remembered about the Barbie aisle.
We scrambled, slipped and slid our way to the aisle. We were too late.
The men were already taking notes.
We were quietly told to fix the aisle by 9am.
We had 15 minutes. It took us close to 45 minutes.
Luckily, it was a slow day.
No one ever saw Barbie bent over taking it doggy style from Ken.
Today. We all have families and work for a living. One of us works for foreign affairs. One is a rising investment analyst star, another is a successful salesman.
But for one summer, we were four guys living in the moment unsure where life would take us.
2008-05-22
Four Magazines Explored
Four interesting magazines you should read. The American Scholar, The New Criterion, First Things and The Sun. Here's a link for more details on Squidoo.
My Workload Past
Get to know The Commentator's past work experience. Like I've mentioned in the past, I sometimes let people experience my past personal history.
When I was 12, I delivered the local community paper to homes. Come to think of it, I guess my parents did not feel I was ready for the big time with a major paper.
Moment of sad reflection.
Every week a massive pile of papers were launched onto my driveway early in the morning for me to take to the good people of my city. On top of the pile was a tiny yellow envelope (more suited for ear rings) with $3.10 in it. Let's recall that this was an era where toonies and loonies were words to describe idiots. Ok, not toonies but you get the point. In the envelope was a red two dollar bill and a green one dollar bill plus a dime. Good enough for a few Slush Puppies.
It turns out my parents were right about my dedication to non-rolled papers. There was no way I could carry all those papers on my bike and investing in a large wagon (or wheel barrel) made no sense since I had no hope in recovering my costs. Three bucks didn't even cover labour.
I was more concerned with my bike, soccer and my baseball bat than delivering hundreds of papers. Alas, I wasn't that stupid. I basically understood the city was using me as their bitch for a lousy three bucks.
The job didn't last very long. Maybe a couple of months. My earnings power couldn't have been more than $24 in 1984.
A couple of years later I worked part-time during the summer for my brother-in-law's brother's construction company. Let me set you up a little. I was no ruffian. Sure I worked hard but I was no construction worker. I was an athlete and it showed. I never got teased as much as I did during my time with the company. Then again, my bosses weren't exactly into teaching anything.
At school I was cool and popular. In the real world, I was a putz. And my boss was not sympathetic. He was the Bobby Knight and Billy Martin of the construction world.
The moment I realized I was never going to cut it in this business (though I am currently having a second go at it - as an investor) was when I went to do some repaving work on a driveway. My boss asked me to bring some spikes and tubes and other assorted items to set up the driveway. At one point I was told in an aggressive tone to prepare the cord and wrap it around the stakes in the ground.
For a few minutes I stood unable to figure out how it worked. Oh, that helpless feeling. Do I go ask for help and face bring humiliated or do I stand and do nothing and still feel the Wrath of Khan? There was no way for me to win.
Already reeling from being called a "girl" earlier for not being able to carry to 20 pound, five feet tubes on each shoulder, my ego soon took another massive shot.
As I fiddled with the cord as if it was a Rubix Cube, a little old lady with construction boots darted out of the house literally coming out of nowhere to yank the tool from my hands. While she shouted in Italian dialect something about how modern kids were useless she expertly did what I was supposed to do - in fifteen minutes flat.
I was embarrassed but it was hilarious.
I still remember Steve's (my boss) face till this day.
In the early 1990s my friends and I all decided to apply to Toys 'R' Us. Sorry. I could not find a reversed 'R' on my keyboard. We all got hired for the night shift. What were the odds of this happening? It was destiny!
On our first night, we were reunited with two shady high school acquaintances but that didn't last more than three nights to nobody's surprise. The first thing I was asked was, "Do you need a Easy Baker Oven?" To which I replied, "What the fuck am I going to do with an Easy-Bake Oven?" "Relax" he said. "I'm just asking. We have stock to move."
We? Priceless. He acted like the depot was his company.
Like I said, they were pinched - sorta. It seems they emptied out stock a little too vigorously if you get my drift.
That left four immature idiots (along with a couple of elderly ladies who bothered nobody) to roam a toy store at night with one manager a couple of years removed from us. Whatever intelligence we may have possessed we deliberately suspended every night between midnight and 8 in the morning.
What a mess.
What a stinking mess.
One of the guys was responsible to ensure that the entire game section was stocked and in order. That was his job for eight hours. It was a blast rearranging what he spent hours working on. Coming back from "lunch break" he would come back to shelves that were completely disorganized and unpresentable.
There was a lot of running around. Driving of cars, pulling down of pants, and outright questionable behavior. You know, guy stuff. Our manager would often be off sleeping somewhere so the animals took over the asylum. He would even take part in some of our schemes. Let's just say he lost what little control he may have had.
During one shift, we fell so far behind that he ordered us to stay until 10am. He allowed four wired kids dressed in black tuques, Steve Earle t-shirts emblalzoned with skulls and construction boots to roam the aisles of the store among patrons. Not a good idea.
As soon as the doors opened a lady mauled my friend for help on a special item that was being sold. Our manager knew it was going to be a huge day. Catching wind of this, we sent every person who asked for the item to my friend. He was swamped literally by dozens of anxious women looking for the item. Anyway, we played the 'pass the buck' game on purpose and our manager soon decided to cut his losses before we went nuts and sent us home 30 minutes later.
The best moment came with our piece de resistance. The Barbie section. While stocked the shelves, we decided to expose Barbies breast in every box. All you saw were topless and bottomless barbies. In one instance, we have Ken fondling Barbs.
We left it that way until a loud scream beckoned. It was our manager. We were obviously ordered to restore dignity to Barbie.
We were busy on another project but we agreed to get to it later.
8am came around and we forgot to do it.
We did some OT and our manager came in and told us to leave by 8:45 since some big boys from Toronto were inspecting the store since 8am.
That's when my friend and I remembered about the Barbie aisle.
We scrambled, slipped and slid our way to the aisle. We were too late.
The men were already taking notes.
We were quietly told to fix the aisle by 9am.
We had 15 minutes. It took us close to 45 minutes.
It was a slow day.
No one ever saw Barbie bent over taking it doggy style from Ken.
Today. We all have families and work for a living. One of us works for foreign affairs. One is a rising investment analyst star, another is a successful salesman.
But for one summer, we were four guys living in the moment unsure where life would take us.
When I was 12, I delivered the local community paper to homes. Come to think of it, I guess my parents did not feel I was ready for the big time with a major paper.
Moment of sad reflection.
Every week a massive pile of papers were launched onto my driveway early in the morning for me to take to the good people of my city. On top of the pile was a tiny yellow envelope (more suited for ear rings) with $3.10 in it. Let's recall that this was an era where toonies and loonies were words to describe idiots. Ok, not toonies but you get the point. In the envelope was a red two dollar bill and a green one dollar bill plus a dime. Good enough for a few Slush Puppies.
It turns out my parents were right about my dedication to non-rolled papers. There was no way I could carry all those papers on my bike and investing in a large wagon (or wheel barrel) made no sense since I had no hope in recovering my costs. Three bucks didn't even cover labour.
I was more concerned with my bike, soccer and my baseball bat than delivering hundreds of papers. Alas, I wasn't that stupid. I basically understood the city was using me as their bitch for a lousy three bucks.
The job didn't last very long. Maybe a couple of months. My earnings power couldn't have been more than $24 in 1984.
A couple of years later I worked part-time during the summer for my brother-in-law's brother's construction company. Let me set you up a little. I was no ruffian. Sure I worked hard but I was no construction worker. I was an athlete and it showed. I never got teased as much as I did during my time with the company. Then again, my bosses weren't exactly into teaching anything.
At school I was cool and popular. In the real world, I was a putz. And my boss was not sympathetic. He was the Bobby Knight and Billy Martin of the construction world.
The moment I realized I was never going to cut it in this business (though I am currently having a second go at it - as an investor) was when I went to do some repaving work on a driveway. My boss asked me to bring some spikes and tubes and other assorted items to set up the driveway. At one point I was told in an aggressive tone to prepare the cord and wrap it around the stakes in the ground.
For a few minutes I stood unable to figure out how it worked. Oh, that helpless feeling. Do I go ask for help and face bring humiliated or do I stand and do nothing and still feel the Wrath of Khan? There was no way for me to win.
Already reeling from being called a "girl" earlier for not being able to carry to 20 pound, five feet tubes on each shoulder, my ego soon took another massive shot.
As I fiddled with the cord as if it was a Rubix Cube, a little old lady with construction boots darted out of the house literally coming out of nowhere to yank the tool from my hands. While she shouted in Italian dialect something about how modern kids were useless she expertly did what I was supposed to do - in fifteen minutes flat.
I was embarrassed but it was hilarious.
I still remember Steve's (my boss) face till this day.
In the early 1990s my friends and I all decided to apply to Toys 'R' Us. Sorry. I could not find a reversed 'R' on my keyboard. We all got hired for the night shift. What were the odds of this happening? It was destiny!
On our first night, we were reunited with two shady high school acquaintances but that didn't last more than three nights to nobody's surprise. The first thing I was asked was, "Do you need a Easy Baker Oven?" To which I replied, "What the fuck am I going to do with an Easy-Bake Oven?" "Relax" he said. "I'm just asking. We have stock to move."
We? Priceless. He acted like the depot was his company.
Like I said, they were pinched - sorta. It seems they emptied out stock a little too vigorously if you get my drift.
That left four immature idiots (along with a couple of elderly ladies who bothered nobody) to roam a toy store at night with one manager a couple of years removed from us. Whatever intelligence we may have possessed we deliberately suspended every night between midnight and 8 in the morning.
What a mess.
What a stinking mess.
One of the guys was responsible to ensure that the entire game section was stocked and in order. That was his job for eight hours. It was a blast rearranging what he spent hours working on. Coming back from "lunch break" he would come back to shelves that were completely disorganized and unpresentable.
There was a lot of running around. Driving of cars, pulling down of pants, and outright questionable behavior. You know, guy stuff. Our manager would often be off sleeping somewhere so the animals took over the asylum. He would even take part in some of our schemes. Let's just say he lost what little control he may have had.
During one shift, we fell so far behind that he ordered us to stay until 10am. He allowed four wired kids dressed in black tuques, Steve Earle t-shirts emblalzoned with skulls and construction boots to roam the aisles of the store among patrons. Not a good idea.
As soon as the doors opened a lady mauled my friend for help on a special item that was being sold. Our manager knew it was going to be a huge day. Catching wind of this, we sent every person who asked for the item to my friend. He was swamped literally by dozens of anxious women looking for the item. Anyway, we played the 'pass the buck' game on purpose and our manager soon decided to cut his losses before we went nuts and sent us home 30 minutes later.
The best moment came with our piece de resistance. The Barbie section. While stocked the shelves, we decided to expose Barbies breast in every box. All you saw were topless and bottomless barbies. In one instance, we have Ken fondling Barbs.
We left it that way until a loud scream beckoned. It was our manager. We were obviously ordered to restore dignity to Barbie.
We were busy on another project but we agreed to get to it later.
8am came around and we forgot to do it.
We did some OT and our manager came in and told us to leave by 8:45 since some big boys from Toronto were inspecting the store since 8am.
That's when my friend and I remembered about the Barbie aisle.
We scrambled, slipped and slid our way to the aisle. We were too late.
The men were already taking notes.
We were quietly told to fix the aisle by 9am.
We had 15 minutes. It took us close to 45 minutes.
It was a slow day.
No one ever saw Barbie bent over taking it doggy style from Ken.
Today. We all have families and work for a living. One of us works for foreign affairs. One is a rising investment analyst star, another is a successful salesman.
But for one summer, we were four guys living in the moment unsure where life would take us.
They Can't Make Toys But...
China is now into the MRI business. Logical enough for you?
About Offshoring discusses this topic and suggests that the onus is Western companies and governments to force China to follow strict manufacturing standards.
I go in for an MRI on my knee. I come out being told I have a lego block lodged between my femur and tibia. My ACL is a lego piece!
I look to my right and down to the machine. Fisher-Price. Made in China. It all makes sense now.
About Offshoring discusses this topic and suggests that the onus is Western companies and governments to force China to follow strict manufacturing standards.
I go in for an MRI on my knee. I come out being told I have a lego block lodged between my femur and tibia. My ACL is a lego piece!
I look to my right and down to the machine. Fisher-Price. Made in China. It all makes sense now.
2008-05-21
Quebec History Up For Grabs
I really enjoyed this letter and the response that followed. I always enjoy letters from intelligent people who school second-tier commentators. The entire Quebec history curriculum is based on revisionism.
That loud yelp was from nationalists. Ignore.
Quebec created by les anlgais? Jamais!
It's remarkable that Josee Legault (though I'm not surprised in the least bit) would state otherwise. It's intellectual hypocrisy at its most depraved height.
"Josée Legault claims that emphasizing the central role of Quebec City's foundation in the foundation of Canada rather than of Quebec is a "mind-boggling" act of historical revisionism. Similarly, she is dumbstruck at the suggestion that the governor-general is a legitimate heir of the role of Samuel de Champlain. Legault should take a stroll across the Jacques Cartier Bridge to the bust of Jacques Cartier presented to Canada in 1934 by the French Republic to commemorate the "400th anniversary of the founding of Canada." France's gift predates the massive exercise in rewriting history undertaken to invent the idea of a historical "Quebec nation," and before the Estates General of French Canada which, 40 years ago, marked an ideologically motivated repudiation of the historical unity of French Canadians in Quebec and those outside. The original Canada or New France, founded by the first French explorers and settlers, included both Lower and Upper Canada and the current Maritime provinces, as well as the Mississippi valley and possessions south of the Great Lakes. When the colony was transferred to the British crown in 1763, the British governors inherited the mantle held previously by those appointed by France. It was the British, not the French, who founded the province of Quebec in 1763, when the Quebec Act carved out the territory taking in the St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys but excluding the lower North Shore east of the Saint John River as well as Anticosti and the Magdalens, which at that time were part of Newfoundland. The boundaries changed somewhat over the following decades, and Quebec or Lower Canada was reincorporated with Upper Canada to its west into a united province of Canada In 1867, this province of Canada united with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada, which reconstituted much of the original territory of New France. Only at that point was the original British colony of Quebec recreated out of the province of Canada to become one of the four autonomous provinces of the new dominion, to gain ever larger tracts of land to its north. Legault and her friends ignore the basic fact that Quebec is a Johnny-come-lately British creation in the much older and larger Canada, which was founded and opened up, to the north and west, by the original French colonists. The only rewriting of history to be bemoaned is the one that turns the facts around full-face to pretend that the French founded what corresponds to the modern province of Quebec. If history must be rewritten again to re-establish the truth, so much the better, no matter how much wailing and gnashing of teeth might be heard from Quebec nationalists."
Christopher Ray Miller
And a response the next day:
Christopher Miller made interesting observations about the history of Quebec and Canada ("Legault, not Harper, is rewriting history" Gazette, May 20).
Amen
That loud yelp was from nationalists. Ignore.
Quebec created by les anlgais? Jamais!
It's remarkable that Josee Legault (though I'm not surprised in the least bit) would state otherwise. It's intellectual hypocrisy at its most depraved height.
"Josée Legault claims that emphasizing the central role of Quebec City's foundation in the foundation of Canada rather than of Quebec is a "mind-boggling" act of historical revisionism. Similarly, she is dumbstruck at the suggestion that the governor-general is a legitimate heir of the role of Samuel de Champlain. Legault should take a stroll across the Jacques Cartier Bridge to the bust of Jacques Cartier presented to Canada in 1934 by the French Republic to commemorate the "400th anniversary of the founding of Canada." France's gift predates the massive exercise in rewriting history undertaken to invent the idea of a historical "Quebec nation," and before the Estates General of French Canada which, 40 years ago, marked an ideologically motivated repudiation of the historical unity of French Canadians in Quebec and those outside. The original Canada or New France, founded by the first French explorers and settlers, included both Lower and Upper Canada and the current Maritime provinces, as well as the Mississippi valley and possessions south of the Great Lakes. When the colony was transferred to the British crown in 1763, the British governors inherited the mantle held previously by those appointed by France. It was the British, not the French, who founded the province of Quebec in 1763, when the Quebec Act carved out the territory taking in the St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys but excluding the lower North Shore east of the Saint John River as well as Anticosti and the Magdalens, which at that time were part of Newfoundland. The boundaries changed somewhat over the following decades, and Quebec or Lower Canada was reincorporated with Upper Canada to its west into a united province of Canada In 1867, this province of Canada united with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada, which reconstituted much of the original territory of New France. Only at that point was the original British colony of Quebec recreated out of the province of Canada to become one of the four autonomous provinces of the new dominion, to gain ever larger tracts of land to its north. Legault and her friends ignore the basic fact that Quebec is a Johnny-come-lately British creation in the much older and larger Canada, which was founded and opened up, to the north and west, by the original French colonists. The only rewriting of history to be bemoaned is the one that turns the facts around full-face to pretend that the French founded what corresponds to the modern province of Quebec. If history must be rewritten again to re-establish the truth, so much the better, no matter how much wailing and gnashing of teeth might be heard from Quebec nationalists."
Christopher Ray Miller
And a response the next day:
Christopher Miller made interesting observations about the history of Quebec and Canada ("Legault, not Harper, is rewriting history" Gazette, May 20).
He erred, however, in saying that the Quebec Act carved out the new territory of Quebec in 1763. It was the Royal Proclamation that year that established the new boundaries along the St. Lawrence River. The Quebec Act of 1774 greatly expanded the territory of Quebec, one of several concessions made to French-Canadians to help assure their loyalty in the event of a revolt of the American Colonies.
Pierre Home-Douglas
Amen
You Think Contemporary Society Is Vulgar?
Roman satirists were merciless in their observations of Roman society. Juvenal, Catullus and Martial but to name a few all wrote of Rome's vices and failed virtues. Something tells me we'd get along just fine. The following are from Martial:
- Men seek Thais
From North and South
And she's a virgin-
All but her mouth.
- Your lady's with the art scene all aglow:
to theater she is devoted so
that, after screwing each other star in the show
to players of the "smallest parts" she'll go
- Barbarian hordes on mass you fuck,
odd types into your bed you tuck.
You take on blacks and Asian forces, And Jews, and soldiers, and their horses.
Yet you, voracious Roman chick,
Have never known a Roman dick.
Though not vulgar, here's one from Catullus:
Join your party?
I might, might Czar,
Could I remember quite who you are.
Who would dare have balls like this today?
- Men seek Thais
From North and South
And she's a virgin-
All but her mouth.
- Your lady's with the art scene all aglow:
to theater she is devoted so
that, after screwing each other star in the show
to players of the "smallest parts" she'll go
- Barbarian hordes on mass you fuck,
odd types into your bed you tuck.
You take on blacks and Asian forces, And Jews, and soldiers, and their horses.
Yet you, voracious Roman chick,
Have never known a Roman dick.
Though not vulgar, here's one from Catullus:
Join your party?
I might, might Czar,
Could I remember quite who you are.
Who would dare have balls like this today?
More Global Warming. Cooling. Whatever.
Clearly, the Global Warming issue is not settled. For those of us stuck in the middle watching scientists get obliterated by the political machine it's no wonder many are skeptical.
In any event, how could it be settled with such certainty? We're dealing with nature. No?
What I find most appalling is the zealotry that has gripped the pro-Global warning alarmists who suffocate debate at every turn thus in effect censoring the true voice of science to speak.
For the fun of it, I pulled out this 1975 Newsweek blurb from Wiki regarding Global Cooling.
"While these discussions were ongoing in scientific circles, more dramatic accounts appeared in the popular media, notably an April 28, 1975 article in Newsweek magazine. Titled "The Cooling World", it pointed to "ominous signs that the Earth's weather patterns have begun to change" and pointed to "a drop of half a degree [Fahrenheit] in average ground temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 1945 and 1968." The article claimed "The evidence in support of these predictions [of global cooling] has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it." The Newsweek article did not state the cause of cooling; it stated that "what causes the onset of major and minor ice ages remains a mystery" and cited the NAS conclusion that "not only are the basic scientific questions largely unanswered, but in many cases we do not yet know enough to pose the key questions."
In any event, how could it be settled with such certainty? We're dealing with nature. No?
What I find most appalling is the zealotry that has gripped the pro-Global warning alarmists who suffocate debate at every turn thus in effect censoring the true voice of science to speak.
For the fun of it, I pulled out this 1975 Newsweek blurb from Wiki regarding Global Cooling.
"While these discussions were ongoing in scientific circles, more dramatic accounts appeared in the popular media, notably an April 28, 1975 article in Newsweek magazine. Titled "The Cooling World", it pointed to "ominous signs that the Earth's weather patterns have begun to change" and pointed to "a drop of half a degree [Fahrenheit] in average ground temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 1945 and 1968." The article claimed "The evidence in support of these predictions [of global cooling] has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it." The Newsweek article did not state the cause of cooling; it stated that "what causes the onset of major and minor ice ages remains a mystery" and cited the NAS conclusion that "not only are the basic scientific questions largely unanswered, but in many cases we do not yet know enough to pose the key questions."
The article mentioned the alternative solutions of "melting the Arctic ice cap by covering it with black soot or diverting Arctic rivers" but conceded these were not feasible. The Newsweek article concluded by criticizing government leaders: "But the scientists see few signs that government leaders anywhere are even prepared to take the simple measures of stockpiling food or of introducing the variables of climatic uncertainty into economic projections of future food supplies...The longer the planners (politicians) delay, the more difficult will they find it to cope with climatic change once the results become grim reality." The article emphasized sensational and largely unsourced consequences - "resulting famines could be catastrophic", "drought and desolation," "the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded", "droughts, floods, extended dry spells, long freezes, delayed monsoons," "impossible for starving peoples to migrate," "the present decline has taken the planet about a sixth of the way toward the Ice Age."
On October 23, 2006, Newsweek issued a correction, over 31 years after the original article, stating that it had been "so spectacularly wrong about the near-term future" (though editor Jerry Adler claimed that 'the story wasn't "wrong" in the journalistic sense of "inaccurate."
2008-05-20
The Military Is Still Needed. Even If It Makes Us Feel Uncomfortable
Watching the NHL playoffs and listening to commentaries on politics I came across an analogy.
It's a proven axiom in sports that talent alone can't win. You need mental toughness and the willingness to play "dirty" to compliment talent. Just look at two of the most finesse teams in hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit red Wings. They know this all too well. Has anyone noticed that what separates them from other teams is the ability to play rough when necessary?
Just like you still need physical enforcers to roam the ice to help defend and protect your team in hockey, nation-states still need to maintain a military.
After all, you never know.
Furthermore, a military is not just a fighting force. It can be instrumental in maintaining social order and aiding citizens in distress.
Alliances today are not necessarily so tomorrow. Right now, we're accepting the fact that in order to achieve world peace someone has to stop the violence. The West, led by the European Union and Canada, have taken this posture in world affairs. In the process, they have been accorded a luxury in that they have been protected by American military might and managed to save quite a bit of money along the way. However, though this position is desirable and progressive it's also a tad naive.
Sometimes dialog and diplomacy can only go so far. For example, perpetual engagement should take precedent before force but has the EU paved any meaningful inroads with Iran? Soft power, thought important, noble and necessary, is sometimes only as effective as the hard power backing it up.
People who charge "we no longer need a military" are observing the world strictly from a Western lens. I fear this can be dangerous.
The fact is that while there is a need to reinvent parts of our defense capabilities (i.e. fighting terrorism) there is also a need to ensure our conventional forces are adequately funded and trained.
Do you see major players like Russia and India reducing their armies? What about China? Or thugs like Iran?
This is not to suggest we play on the fears of people and allow the military complex to continue to grow but it is something to ponder and be conscious of.
It's a proven axiom in sports that talent alone can't win. You need mental toughness and the willingness to play "dirty" to compliment talent. Just look at two of the most finesse teams in hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit red Wings. They know this all too well. Has anyone noticed that what separates them from other teams is the ability to play rough when necessary?
Just like you still need physical enforcers to roam the ice to help defend and protect your team in hockey, nation-states still need to maintain a military.
After all, you never know.
Furthermore, a military is not just a fighting force. It can be instrumental in maintaining social order and aiding citizens in distress.
Alliances today are not necessarily so tomorrow. Right now, we're accepting the fact that in order to achieve world peace someone has to stop the violence. The West, led by the European Union and Canada, have taken this posture in world affairs. In the process, they have been accorded a luxury in that they have been protected by American military might and managed to save quite a bit of money along the way. However, though this position is desirable and progressive it's also a tad naive.
Sometimes dialog and diplomacy can only go so far. For example, perpetual engagement should take precedent before force but has the EU paved any meaningful inroads with Iran? Soft power, thought important, noble and necessary, is sometimes only as effective as the hard power backing it up.
People who charge "we no longer need a military" are observing the world strictly from a Western lens. I fear this can be dangerous.
The fact is that while there is a need to reinvent parts of our defense capabilities (i.e. fighting terrorism) there is also a need to ensure our conventional forces are adequately funded and trained.
Do you see major players like Russia and India reducing their armies? What about China? Or thugs like Iran?
This is not to suggest we play on the fears of people and allow the military complex to continue to grow but it is something to ponder and be conscious of.
2008-05-19
Documentary: The Great Global Warming Swindle
The first one from the CBC runs for about 44 minutes and the second for 76 minutes. Definitely an eye opener.
Some thoughts.
-I recommend you watch from the one hour point on if you don't have time to sit and watch this.
-It's incredibly frustrating. Though it should not surprise any of us.
-The film raises many important questions. Make you wonder what happened to rational thought. The Age of Reason is dead with the modern environmental movement as it exists today.
-The documentary explores the challenges Africa faces and how anti-global, pro-global warming activists are essentially and indirectly inhibiting African development and leading to death. It's really is a form of neo-colonialism. You can see this part starting from about the one-hour mark.
-Did you know the leitmotif in the 1970s was the pending "Ice Age?" As far as I know, the world was supposed to end four times since 1968.
-It traces back where the modern global warming agenda was born.
-It considers and presents important data and figures and how politics has hijacked science.
-The clouds which is controlled by cosmic rays and cosmic rays which in turn are controlled by the sun tell us the reality and truth about how the earth's climate behaves.
-The impact of man-made, industiral CO2 is miniscule compared to the power of the sun - so beautiful yet so beastly.
-If Pre-Emptive war is dangerous, the same can be said of the "Precautionary Principle."
Like everything else that is bound to fail at a great cost: the global warning political movement is based on misguided assumptions and faulty premises. It's simply big business now. It's the zeitgeist of our times.
Klik hier om het
Some thoughts.
-I recommend you watch from the one hour point on if you don't have time to sit and watch this.
-It's incredibly frustrating. Though it should not surprise any of us.
-The film raises many important questions. Make you wonder what happened to rational thought. The Age of Reason is dead with the modern environmental movement as it exists today.
-The documentary explores the challenges Africa faces and how anti-global, pro-global warming activists are essentially and indirectly inhibiting African development and leading to death. It's really is a form of neo-colonialism. You can see this part starting from about the one-hour mark.
-Did you know the leitmotif in the 1970s was the pending "Ice Age?" As far as I know, the world was supposed to end four times since 1968.
-It traces back where the modern global warming agenda was born.
-It considers and presents important data and figures and how politics has hijacked science.
-The clouds which is controlled by cosmic rays and cosmic rays which in turn are controlled by the sun tell us the reality and truth about how the earth's climate behaves.
-The impact of man-made, industiral CO2 is miniscule compared to the power of the sun - so beautiful yet so beastly.
-If Pre-Emptive war is dangerous, the same can be said of the "Precautionary Principle."
Like everything else that is bound to fail at a great cost: the global warning political movement is based on misguided assumptions and faulty premises. It's simply big business now. It's the zeitgeist of our times.
Klik hier om het
2008-05-18
In Art And Film, The Ends Justifies The Means?
Ask most people and more often than not they would cringe at the thought of living by Machiavelli's dictum of the ends justifying the means.
Yet, this seems to be a very useful weapon when attempting to get an idea across. Or, when trying to disclose "the truth."
The intersecting of seeking truth and the ends justifying the means is often used by film makers with a political agenda.
Recently, I had a brief email discussion with a documentary film maker. She said something that was interesting. She acknowledged that, for example, Michael Moore uses questionable methods but the important thing is that he gets the message out.
I wondered, but isn't the message corrupted by a faulty and flawed premise?
How can it seek truth when it already assumes it knows the truth. If this is true, how can truth be found?
Surely the process of searching for truth counts as much as the message?
Yet, this seems to be a very useful weapon when attempting to get an idea across. Or, when trying to disclose "the truth."
The intersecting of seeking truth and the ends justifying the means is often used by film makers with a political agenda.
Recently, I had a brief email discussion with a documentary film maker. She said something that was interesting. She acknowledged that, for example, Michael Moore uses questionable methods but the important thing is that he gets the message out.
I wondered, but isn't the message corrupted by a faulty and flawed premise?
How can it seek truth when it already assumes it knows the truth. If this is true, how can truth be found?
Surely the process of searching for truth counts as much as the message?
2008-05-16
2008-05-15
What Good Times They Were
My television provider (those monopolists) is providing us with free channels this month. One is a 'Silver Screen Classics' channel where, I get to annoy my wife and watch Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton and W.C. Fields among other fascinating short films.
But it's not all ragtime piano and slapstick comedy. We recently watched one of our favorite movies The Apartment with Shirley McLain and Jack Lemon. Great, great movie. The original Manchurian Candidate also played. Brilliant movie with a shocking ending.
'Deja View is a channel that plays past shows including Magnum P.I.,Three's Company and Good Times.
Good Times especially captivated me. Many shows from the 70s give you a small lens into snippets of American life and Good Times is no different. These are shows created by people who actually lived the scripts. This make explain why, in part, the appeal.
Are these shows dated? In some ways they are. This shouldn't surprise us. They were contemporary shows and as such they are bound to have stale elements. Still, they manage to remain timeless enough to connect to a person like me.
That's because my mind is always wandering off into another era so it's easy for me place things in proper context. But that's something else altogether.
Anyway, enough of this. Like I do for anything I'm interested in, I researched the show and its cast. Along the way, I came across comedian Jimmie Walker's website. Yeah, you all remember dyn-o-mite. Even us Quebec kids from the 'burbs used to copy JJ. He even has a makeshift blog on the site where he comments on various issues.
But it's not all ragtime piano and slapstick comedy. We recently watched one of our favorite movies The Apartment with Shirley McLain and Jack Lemon. Great, great movie. The original Manchurian Candidate also played. Brilliant movie with a shocking ending.
'Deja View is a channel that plays past shows including Magnum P.I.,Three's Company and Good Times.
Good Times especially captivated me. Many shows from the 70s give you a small lens into snippets of American life and Good Times is no different. These are shows created by people who actually lived the scripts. This make explain why, in part, the appeal.Are these shows dated? In some ways they are. This shouldn't surprise us. They were contemporary shows and as such they are bound to have stale elements. Still, they manage to remain timeless enough to connect to a person like me.
That's because my mind is always wandering off into another era so it's easy for me place things in proper context. But that's something else altogether.
Anyway, enough of this. Like I do for anything I'm interested in, I researched the show and its cast. Along the way, I came across comedian Jimmie Walker's website. Yeah, you all remember dyn-o-mite. Even us Quebec kids from the 'burbs used to copy JJ. He even has a makeshift blog on the site where he comments on various issues.
Bravo Sarkozy!
“And those who died here, no one asked them from which region [of Canada] they came.”
Thus spoke French President Nicolas Sarkozy from the shores of Normandy. He did not stop there.
Thus spoke French President Nicolas Sarkozy from the shores of Normandy. He did not stop there.
“We knew from which country they came. We didn't even ask them which language they spoke.”
Such perfect words!
Such refreshing language from France! Sarkozy is clearly unwilling to go the quarrelsome De Gaulle route when it comes to Quebec and Canada. All I can do is express my appreciation for this.
I was in Dieppe in 1994. France - indeed Europe (at least those parts where Canadians fought) - does not forget what their "cousins" did for them. I witnessed it. It was something to behold. It was odd to be treated with such respect in a distant land. All those Canadian flags. Our cemetery in all its eerie but honorable silence.
It's a shame that parts of Canada play pathetic politics when it comes to those who spilled blood in World War II.
Weak minds are unable to suspend their parochial political "ideas" for something they don't agree with. The Bloc's reaction has no profound political value or integrity. It is much more beneficial to flick them away as we do flies.
2008-05-14
A Kind Act To Keep Humanity Alive
So precious and so few indeed.
So much so that when a kind gesture is hurled upon us we're unsure of what we're witnessing. A defense mechanism automatically goes up. Luckily, Jennifer is pure of heart and does not meet any wonderful gesture from a stranger with any suspicion. She is possibly the happiest person I know.
Today, she told me of a story of how a woman, most likely in her 30s, gave little Lauren-Alessandra five dollars in a local establishment after observing it was her birth day. Her third on this planet.
She smiled and wished Lauren a happy birthday.
That was it.
Jennifer explained how later there was a sudden surge of positive energy in the place. It's these incredible gestures that keep civilization moving forward, isn't it?
She paused. Then proceeded to tell me that not even she - a person who lives to give to others - thinks of doing such a thing. Thanks to this stranger she now has another way to express how much she doesn't take life for granted.
I wanted to hold her back. To remind her that she shouldn't go over board - she is one of those street angels that makes sure parking meters are filled. Then I paused. It was a magnificent day.
I didn't say a word. I decided to unleash Jen onto the world.
It can't hurt.
Happy birthday Lauren-Alessandra.
So much so that when a kind gesture is hurled upon us we're unsure of what we're witnessing. A defense mechanism automatically goes up. Luckily, Jennifer is pure of heart and does not meet any wonderful gesture from a stranger with any suspicion. She is possibly the happiest person I know.
Today, she told me of a story of how a woman, most likely in her 30s, gave little Lauren-Alessandra five dollars in a local establishment after observing it was her birth day. Her third on this planet.
She smiled and wished Lauren a happy birthday.
That was it.
Jennifer explained how later there was a sudden surge of positive energy in the place. It's these incredible gestures that keep civilization moving forward, isn't it?
She paused. Then proceeded to tell me that not even she - a person who lives to give to others - thinks of doing such a thing. Thanks to this stranger she now has another way to express how much she doesn't take life for granted.
I wanted to hold her back. To remind her that she shouldn't go over board - she is one of those street angels that makes sure parking meters are filled. Then I paused. It was a magnificent day.
I didn't say a word. I decided to unleash Jen onto the world.
It can't hurt.
Happy birthday Lauren-Alessandra.
2008-05-13
Blog Link: Mental Illness
Living with Borderline Personality Disorder? Untreatable's Blog reveals a poignant post about existing with BPD.
My sister has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.
Looking back, that explains a lot of things. Maybe that's why we never got along until recently?
As for me, I'm borderline everything.
My sister has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder.
Looking back, that explains a lot of things. Maybe that's why we never got along until recently?
As for me, I'm borderline everything.
2008-05-12
Mapping Sunni Insurgent Networks By The NEFA Foundation
From Globalterroralert.com
"The NEFA Foundation has released a new chart by NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann mapping the complex network of Sunni insurgent groups fighting in Iraq. The chart includes representations for the four dominant insurgent umbrella groups--Al-Qaida's Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the Reform and Jihad Front (RJF), the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance (PCIR), and the Front for Jihad and Change (FJC)--as well as over twenty individual organizations, including Al-Qaida, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, the Army of al-Mustafa, the Dera Islam Brigade, the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), the Mujahideen Army, the Fatihin Army, the Salahudeen Brigades, Hamas al-Iraq, Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya, the Army of Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, the Saad Bin Abi Waqqas Brigades, the Brigades of Medina al-Munawwara, the Al-Naqshabandiya Army, the Al-Qassas Brigade, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Al-Rashideen Army, the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mujahideen (IMIM), the Al-Muslimeen Army (JAM), the Al-Tabiin Army, the Army of Mohammed al-Fatih, and Saraya Dawa Wal Ribat (SDWR)."
"The NEFA Foundation has released a new chart by NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann mapping the complex network of Sunni insurgent groups fighting in Iraq. The chart includes representations for the four dominant insurgent umbrella groups--Al-Qaida's Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), the Reform and Jihad Front (RJF), the Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance (PCIR), and the Front for Jihad and Change (FJC)--as well as over twenty individual organizations, including Al-Qaida, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, the Army of al-Mustafa, the Dera Islam Brigade, the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), the Mujahideen Army, the Fatihin Army, the Salahudeen Brigades, Hamas al-Iraq, Asaeb al-Iraq al-Jihadiya, the Army of Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, the Saad Bin Abi Waqqas Brigades, the Brigades of Medina al-Munawwara, the Al-Naqshabandiya Army, the Al-Qassas Brigade, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Al-Rashideen Army, the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Mujahideen (IMIM), the Al-Muslimeen Army (JAM), the Al-Tabiin Army, the Army of Mohammed al-Fatih, and Saraya Dawa Wal Ribat (SDWR)."
2008-05-11
Article Of Interest: Pentagon Media Propaganda Machine
From Editor and Publisher.
Excerpt:
"As noted in previous E&P articles, the shocking New York Times article last month by David Barstow exposing the Pentagon's use of retired military officers to carry their talking points on the Iraq war in the media has received relatively little follow-up--or response--from the news outlets involved, principally TV and cable networks. One popular blogger who has kept the issue alive is Salon's Glenn Greenwald."
Excerpt:
"As noted in previous E&P articles, the shocking New York Times article last month by David Barstow exposing the Pentagon's use of retired military officers to carry their talking points on the Iraq war in the media has received relatively little follow-up--or response--from the news outlets involved, principally TV and cable networks. One popular blogger who has kept the issue alive is Salon's Glenn Greenwald."
Dubya More Eco-Friendly Than Gore; Nobel Prize Not Forthcoming
And Europe and Canada is turned on its head.
Oh my Lord.
Oh me oh my.
Seriously. This is great stuff.
Bush conserves less energy than Gore does. Classic. Just priceless.
Where's Bush's Blue Ribbon?
Between Gore and Bush who is more real?
Oh my Lord.
Oh me oh my.
Seriously. This is great stuff.
Bush conserves less energy than Gore does. Classic. Just priceless.
Where's Bush's Blue Ribbon?
Between Gore and Bush who is more real?
So. Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals?
Not so long ago, some study group claimed that liberals were smarter than conservatives - which of course was pure bunk.
Now The Economist published an article exploring why conservatives are happier.
Notice the comments which completely miss the point.
Now The Economist published an article exploring why conservatives are happier.
Notice the comments which completely miss the point.
Link Of Interest: Russia Has A New Leader
Enter Mendevev.
By all accounts he's a modernizer and does not carry that typical secretive Russian baggage.
Some have called for Russia to be kicked out of the G8. That's ludicrous - though they shouldn't be in for other reasons. Anyway, engaging Russia is far more effective. Especially for the United States. Russia is their single most important ally against a rising China. The EU are too busy being consumed with going against the U.S. to prove its existence to be relied upon.
Here's something about him dating back to 2006.
By all accounts he's a modernizer and does not carry that typical secretive Russian baggage.
Some have called for Russia to be kicked out of the G8. That's ludicrous - though they shouldn't be in for other reasons. Anyway, engaging Russia is far more effective. Especially for the United States. Russia is their single most important ally against a rising China. The EU are too busy being consumed with going against the U.S. to prove its existence to be relied upon.
Here's something about him dating back to 2006.
Video: Rusty Cage
In the interest of spreading the joy (I've been posting about Springsteen an awful lot lately) I present Johnny Cash with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Yes, my taste in music, I assure you all, is far wider than my posts reveal. Actually, maybe one day I'll post those closest to me. As if anyone cares...any-way...I defy anyone to deny the musical power of Cash.
2008-05-10
Article Of Interest: Do You Like Speed?
Forbes considers the "World's Fastest Cars."
These are specialty sports cars. Like, for example, the Bugatti Veyron, Koegnigsegg CCX, Pagani Zonda F, Lamborghini Murcielago and Silva GT3. No Ferrari's, Porsche's and Corvette's here.
As a bonus, here's an article about the world's wealthiest soccer teams and overpaid athletes.
Note: Picture is of the Bugatti Veyron - world's fastest car. Bugatti was founded by the Italian eccentric genius Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim, France thus leaving it with a permanent Italo-Gaullic racing legacy.
2008-05-09
2008-05-08
Political Satire Of The Night
Parody of Jeremiah Wright titled "Rev. Wright on the ancient Italians" courtesy of The Weekly Standard.
If you're into a succinct summation put forth by the most interesting (with his infinite and intimate knowledge of American society, politics and history) Pat Buchanan, then Wright is simply a "wacko." Nothing more, nothing less.
If you're into a succinct summation put forth by the most interesting (with his infinite and intimate knowledge of American society, politics and history) Pat Buchanan, then Wright is simply a "wacko." Nothing more, nothing less.
Article Of Interest: Iran Interfering In Iraq
From Reuters, Iraqi officials present proof that Iran is not helping matters in Iraq.
Link Of Interest: Getting A Handle On Muslim Perceptions
Critique of "Who Speaks For Islam?" by Robert Satloff published on The Washington Institute for Near East Policy website.
To be honest, I read parts of this book (where I came across excerpts escapes me right now) and remember not being convinced myself.
To be honest, I read parts of this book (where I came across excerpts escapes me right now) and remember not being convinced myself.
Just A Conspiratorial Question
Why does it always seem grocery stores remove my favorite items from their shelves?
World Business
The more I read about how the European Union has reinvigorated its economy the more I wonder just how outdated Quebec's (and Canada's) business model really is. Here in Quebec, nationalization remains the name of the game.
In a larger context, what will the Americans do to reinvent its economy? Recall they were left for dead when the Japanese were expected to change the whole business and economic paradigm in the 1980s. And yet the United States reformed itself quickly to thwart that possibility.
The EU is the largest player in direct investment in the United States and with a few European companies in control of some of America's corporations, one has to wonder how long the U.S. wants to play this game.
On the flip side, it's a testament to American consumer and business culture that Europeans (with their new-found confidence) would still gravitate to America - the competition and innovation remains as vigorous as ever I imagine.
I don't want to overstate or over simplify the EU's second miracle (there indeed remains some serious structural issues) or America's apparent position of weakness, but there certainly is a trend there.
And where does Canada stand amidst this whole new world order? Is it passing us by?
In a larger context, what will the Americans do to reinvent its economy? Recall they were left for dead when the Japanese were expected to change the whole business and economic paradigm in the 1980s. And yet the United States reformed itself quickly to thwart that possibility.
The EU is the largest player in direct investment in the United States and with a few European companies in control of some of America's corporations, one has to wonder how long the U.S. wants to play this game.
On the flip side, it's a testament to American consumer and business culture that Europeans (with their new-found confidence) would still gravitate to America - the competition and innovation remains as vigorous as ever I imagine.
I don't want to overstate or over simplify the EU's second miracle (there indeed remains some serious structural issues) or America's apparent position of weakness, but there certainly is a trend there.
And where does Canada stand amidst this whole new world order? Is it passing us by?
2008-05-07
Looks Like Canada Ain't So Green
Here's an article from the CBC about Canada's Green Ranking.
I wonder (not really) what Al Gore thinks about this. The only footprint I know is the one my father gave me up my ass when I defiantly and disrespectfully disobeyed him one time.
Anyway, not sure what to make of this study that has Canada second to last among countries in a green survey. But this quote from someone critical of the study makes sense I suppose:
"It's not because we Canadians are bad people. It's not because we're not acting on our beliefs, because we're somehow superficial.… It's not because of any of those things. It's because our society is set up in such a way that we are prevented on our attitudes and our beliefs which are generally pro environment in this country."
Maybe we're just practical and pragmatic people?
Just thank our lucky stars that we're not up against non-industrialized African countries. Then we'd really look bad. There's no way a good chap from Canada could compete during the bitterly cold, wintry months with those who live outside in warm weather all year round expunging little energy.
Then again, we don't have a jaglava problem.
I wonder (not really) what Al Gore thinks about this. The only footprint I know is the one my father gave me up my ass when I defiantly and disrespectfully disobeyed him one time.
Anyway, not sure what to make of this study that has Canada second to last among countries in a green survey. But this quote from someone critical of the study makes sense I suppose:
"It's not because we Canadians are bad people. It's not because we're not acting on our beliefs, because we're somehow superficial.… It's not because of any of those things. It's because our society is set up in such a way that we are prevented on our attitudes and our beliefs which are generally pro environment in this country."
Maybe we're just practical and pragmatic people?
Just thank our lucky stars that we're not up against non-industrialized African countries. Then we'd really look bad. There's no way a good chap from Canada could compete during the bitterly cold, wintry months with those who live outside in warm weather all year round expunging little energy.
Then again, we don't have a jaglava problem.
A Walk With A Glance
I went for a walk earlier.
On this short escapade and behind the protection of my sunglasses, I could see a woman looking at me.
Ah, the things we don't miss.
As I walked passed her I could hear a man (possibly her man) shout, "arrete de regarder les hommes!"
Stop looking at men.
I look straight ahead with a smirk.
Me? Men?
Yeah, right.
On this short escapade and behind the protection of my sunglasses, I could see a woman looking at me.
Ah, the things we don't miss.
As I walked passed her I could hear a man (possibly her man) shout, "arrete de regarder les hommes!"
Stop looking at men.
I look straight ahead with a smirk.
Me? Men?
Yeah, right.
2008-05-06
Essay Link Of Interest: Liberalism
"The Liberal Imagination of Frederick Douglass" in The American Scholar.
Can We Crash Your Party?
We really didn't think you could pull it off. Never mind without a hitch and then become a powerful currency.
So.
How long before Sweden, Denmark and Britain join the Euro?
It seems to me given how it's evolving, it's only a matter of time.
The clock is ticking for these countries to join the party: for better or for worse.
All these intricate issues to overcome from sovereignty to culture is most fascinating.
So.
How long before Sweden, Denmark and Britain join the Euro?
It seems to me given how it's evolving, it's only a matter of time.
The clock is ticking for these countries to join the party: for better or for worse.
All these intricate issues to overcome from sovereignty to culture is most fascinating.
Blog Link Of Interest: The Future Of Online Video
Thanks to Online Media Cultist for helping to keep things in techy perspective. "Creative Destruction and the Online Video Gold Rush" is in response to Mark Cuban's comments on his own blog.
2008-05-05
Censor That!
I was watching a scene from the Manchurian Candidate (the original from 1962) where Ben Marco (Frank Sinatra) began to smoke on a train ride. He later shared a smoke with Jenny (Rosie), a lady he met on the train.
I'm surprised we haven't censored that scene given the times we live in. We're so busy trying to hide and rewrite parts of our history why not include films?
I'm surprised we haven't censored that scene given the times we live in. We're so busy trying to hide and rewrite parts of our history why not include films?
2008-05-04
Where Technology And Tradtionalism Meet: Has the Wall Between The Two Been Smashed Forever?
On April 1, the new law banning the use of cell phones while you drive was put into effect. And what have I observed so far?
Well, soon after, I spotted a "cell phone" trap set up by police officers who plucked out the chatting offenders. Of course, they did this during the morning rush hour.
Another thing I have noticed is that this law has led to a proliferation of "ear pieces." Each time I turn to my left or right someone has those things fitted to their ears. I keep thinking a Terminator is about to grab me from my car and ask if I'm "Sarah Connor."
Everyone seems to be wearing them now. Why it's beyond me. Are we all handling personal and sensitive information for the government? Or do we absolutely need to reach our better halves so that they go pick up some orange juice?
The technology is fabulous but I fear our ability to be human has taken another step back. It's amazing to think that people can't sit in a car for a certain amount of time without needing to speak on the phone. Why not listen to the radio or pop in that favorite CD of yours instead? Or how about just thinking? A moment to reflect should always be welcomed no?
As we drive around on our roads we look like indifferent Androids now. It's like a scene right out of fricken Blade Runner. If you let your imagination run wild for a few seconds. Oh yeah, can't do that. We're busy babbling on the phone.
If all this has proven to be almost absurd or comical, what I witnessed yesterday blew me away.
I saw a lady wearing an ear piece over her hijab. Welcome to modernity, Maude! Where traditional Muslim values clash with Western secular values and technology. Something tells me if the Taliban were driving around they'd scream in horror - among other vulgar and sinister things.
Last month I went to meet my closest friend for lunch. We have been friends since we were four years old but haven't had time to hook up as often in recent years. So when we meet we have much to discuss (and joke) about.
We met at a pizzeria each armed with a bottle of wine. He waltzed in with an ear contraption attached to his head looking like a Secret Service Agent. With our "date" in full launch, each time we'd get into a conversational flow, his phone would go off and he'd pick up that little remote to answer.
It kept breaking our rhythm. First his wife, then his boss, then his wife again then...whatever. You get the picture. It was irritating.
I did tell him to shut the bloody thing to no avail. He was smitten with technological love. Hearing his wife call for nonsense was too much to resist I suppose. Heaven forbid you eat your lunch in peace.
We ate, paid the bill and scampered off. No doubt he went back to his ear piece.
For my part, I wondered what happened to our ability as a civilization to hold a focused conversation.
Well, soon after, I spotted a "cell phone" trap set up by police officers who plucked out the chatting offenders. Of course, they did this during the morning rush hour.
Another thing I have noticed is that this law has led to a proliferation of "ear pieces." Each time I turn to my left or right someone has those things fitted to their ears. I keep thinking a Terminator is about to grab me from my car and ask if I'm "Sarah Connor."
Everyone seems to be wearing them now. Why it's beyond me. Are we all handling personal and sensitive information for the government? Or do we absolutely need to reach our better halves so that they go pick up some orange juice?
The technology is fabulous but I fear our ability to be human has taken another step back. It's amazing to think that people can't sit in a car for a certain amount of time without needing to speak on the phone. Why not listen to the radio or pop in that favorite CD of yours instead? Or how about just thinking? A moment to reflect should always be welcomed no?
As we drive around on our roads we look like indifferent Androids now. It's like a scene right out of fricken Blade Runner. If you let your imagination run wild for a few seconds. Oh yeah, can't do that. We're busy babbling on the phone.
If all this has proven to be almost absurd or comical, what I witnessed yesterday blew me away.
I saw a lady wearing an ear piece over her hijab. Welcome to modernity, Maude! Where traditional Muslim values clash with Western secular values and technology. Something tells me if the Taliban were driving around they'd scream in horror - among other vulgar and sinister things.
Last month I went to meet my closest friend for lunch. We have been friends since we were four years old but haven't had time to hook up as often in recent years. So when we meet we have much to discuss (and joke) about.
We met at a pizzeria each armed with a bottle of wine. He waltzed in with an ear contraption attached to his head looking like a Secret Service Agent. With our "date" in full launch, each time we'd get into a conversational flow, his phone would go off and he'd pick up that little remote to answer.
It kept breaking our rhythm. First his wife, then his boss, then his wife again then...whatever. You get the picture. It was irritating.
I did tell him to shut the bloody thing to no avail. He was smitten with technological love. Hearing his wife call for nonsense was too much to resist I suppose. Heaven forbid you eat your lunch in peace.
We ate, paid the bill and scampered off. No doubt he went back to his ear piece.
For my part, I wondered what happened to our ability as a civilization to hold a focused conversation.
Jean Monnet: The Man Who Helped Launch The EU
James Joyce once termed the EU the 'United States of Europe' whether he was being serious or merely playing with words, is another matter.
For centuries Europeans dreamed of uniting its peoples under one flag. It took two earth shattering World Wars to finally galvanize its leaders into action.
While Americans - busy containing the Soviet Union - were supportive but irreverent, Europe has quietly built itself into a powerful entity. Of course, just how much power is willing to be ceded by national governments to Brussels remains unsolved.
Jean Monnet was one of its early architects.
For centuries Europeans dreamed of uniting its peoples under one flag. It took two earth shattering World Wars to finally galvanize its leaders into action.
While Americans - busy containing the Soviet Union - were supportive but irreverent, Europe has quietly built itself into a powerful entity. Of course, just how much power is willing to be ceded by national governments to Brussels remains unsolved.
Jean Monnet was one of its early architects.
The University Of Gastronomic Sciences In Pollenzo
I Came across this University (website here) on a French (as in France) program.
Founded in 2004, it really sounds like (PDF file here) a typical Italian thing. Italians really do have the philosophy of food down to a science so why not teach the world about what they learned? Reminds me of what it must have been like during the Renaissance.
You can read more about this interesting school - which I literally hope to sign up for one day in the future - in a piece from The New York Times.
I remember a few years back when Helsinki and Parma were battling it out to have the European Food Safety Authority located in their respective cities. No disrespect to Helsinki but I think the decision to go with Parma made more sense.
Article Of Interest: Monsanto
From Vanity Fair: Monsanto's Harvest of Fear
If what they are doing is great for humanity then why the awful tactics?
If what they are doing is great for humanity then why the awful tactics?
Article Of Interest: The Death Of Liberal Education
The New Criterion puts forth a paper titled, "What was a liberal education?" regarding what is happening in our institutions of higher education. I say "our" because I do think this applies to Canada.
Idiots can be educated but they're still idiots.
Put it to you another way: putting ketchup on a rotting steak doesn't make the steak taste better. Or adding deodorant to mask the fact you have haven't showered in a couple of days won't hide the bad odor.
Many people go to school armed with the wrong mindset. Their brains are already maligned. They learn to read, refine and debate their pre-determined world view with scant ability to remain truly open and liberal to the exchange of ideas dissimilar to theirs.
That's why we have a communicative malaise. No one is listening. Our heads and noses are stuck in the pages of ignorance and nowhere else.
Idiots can be educated but they're still idiots.
Put it to you another way: putting ketchup on a rotting steak doesn't make the steak taste better. Or adding deodorant to mask the fact you have haven't showered in a couple of days won't hide the bad odor.
Many people go to school armed with the wrong mindset. Their brains are already maligned. They learn to read, refine and debate their pre-determined world view with scant ability to remain truly open and liberal to the exchange of ideas dissimilar to theirs.
That's why we have a communicative malaise. No one is listening. Our heads and noses are stuck in the pages of ignorance and nowhere else.
2008-05-03
The Uneasy Existence Between Blogging And Sports
Interesting article from The New York Times about blogging and sports.
Blogging and bloggers have ruffled many mainstream journalists. Then again, many journalists have crossed-over and embraced the new medium. No one doubts that this is a new wild frontier, but I do feel bloggers shouldn't pretend to be journalists and vice-versa. Journalists using their contacts to post "off the record" information on their blogs has certainly made some wary of the whole blogging thing.
For me, blogging is meant to be based on personal perspectives. That's why I never went the way of setting this blog up as a media wannabe site. What you read here is strictly from my head. I post what I find interesting and important. People can read and enjoy or not.
I would never overstep my boundary if I was privileged enough to hang around sports teams. I'd soak it in and translate what I learned into meaningful writing. I want to contribute in the realm of ideas.
Indeed, some sports blogs are just plain ridiculous and pointless. However, guys like Bob Costas don't get it either. I don't know why they choose to be selective on how they ponder and pontificate about the blogging revolution. I can and do expect more thoughtfulness from him.
Furthermore, that he's talking about it only points to its importance.
On the flip side, blogging has many great writers. Perhaps some even deserve a shot at the "big time."
As a self-professed sports junkie and former athlete, I'm the type of reader (and writer) who is partial to classical sports writing and broadcasting - which is why I like Bob Costas.
I like long pieces that challenge and make me think. Do we see enough of this on the "net?" Not really. Not when the average time people spend on a site is 30 seconds. Sports blogging has to be witty and snappy. Some focus on the celebrity aspect of sports. Some sites seem bent on being mean-spirited for its own sake. As it turns out, this the "winning formula".
As enjoyable as some of these sites are, after a while it all gets stale. You often step back and think: where's the beef? None of these sites write memorable stuff even though some of the writers are probably capable of so much more. I suppose this is what Costas is lashing out at. In some way, I agree with him.
After all, you can always pull out a piece of journalism and draw inspiration from it - like a classic musical album. The "ah" factor, if you will. It teaches and reaches you. For example, Tom Wolfe's 'The Last American Hero' introduced this Canadian kid with no connection or roots to the NASCAR culture and made me enjoy the story of Junior Johnson.
I don't often break my head about blogging and its place in the mileu of ideas. I just do what I do. For instance, I have a sports blog site. As a result of this experience, I know and can appreciate the tensions that exist between journalists, bloggers and athletes/owners. It need not be this way if people would stop trying to "outscoop" each other or "outwit" one another with pointless cynical bantering.
My goal is simple: to approach sports writing like Ancient Greek and Roman writers did regarding the world around them. I don't need access to a dressing room to prove I exist or that I can have an interesting opinion. I rely on myself to write and write with passion. That's the best a blogger can do - I think.
I think this is worth something.
These are my two cents.
Blogging and bloggers have ruffled many mainstream journalists. Then again, many journalists have crossed-over and embraced the new medium. No one doubts that this is a new wild frontier, but I do feel bloggers shouldn't pretend to be journalists and vice-versa. Journalists using their contacts to post "off the record" information on their blogs has certainly made some wary of the whole blogging thing.
For me, blogging is meant to be based on personal perspectives. That's why I never went the way of setting this blog up as a media wannabe site. What you read here is strictly from my head. I post what I find interesting and important. People can read and enjoy or not.
I would never overstep my boundary if I was privileged enough to hang around sports teams. I'd soak it in and translate what I learned into meaningful writing. I want to contribute in the realm of ideas.
Indeed, some sports blogs are just plain ridiculous and pointless. However, guys like Bob Costas don't get it either. I don't know why they choose to be selective on how they ponder and pontificate about the blogging revolution. I can and do expect more thoughtfulness from him.
Furthermore, that he's talking about it only points to its importance.
On the flip side, blogging has many great writers. Perhaps some even deserve a shot at the "big time."
As a self-professed sports junkie and former athlete, I'm the type of reader (and writer) who is partial to classical sports writing and broadcasting - which is why I like Bob Costas.
I like long pieces that challenge and make me think. Do we see enough of this on the "net?" Not really. Not when the average time people spend on a site is 30 seconds. Sports blogging has to be witty and snappy. Some focus on the celebrity aspect of sports. Some sites seem bent on being mean-spirited for its own sake. As it turns out, this the "winning formula".
As enjoyable as some of these sites are, after a while it all gets stale. You often step back and think: where's the beef? None of these sites write memorable stuff even though some of the writers are probably capable of so much more. I suppose this is what Costas is lashing out at. In some way, I agree with him.
After all, you can always pull out a piece of journalism and draw inspiration from it - like a classic musical album. The "ah" factor, if you will. It teaches and reaches you. For example, Tom Wolfe's 'The Last American Hero' introduced this Canadian kid with no connection or roots to the NASCAR culture and made me enjoy the story of Junior Johnson.
I don't often break my head about blogging and its place in the mileu of ideas. I just do what I do. For instance, I have a sports blog site. As a result of this experience, I know and can appreciate the tensions that exist between journalists, bloggers and athletes/owners. It need not be this way if people would stop trying to "outscoop" each other or "outwit" one another with pointless cynical bantering.
My goal is simple: to approach sports writing like Ancient Greek and Roman writers did regarding the world around them. I don't need access to a dressing room to prove I exist or that I can have an interesting opinion. I rely on myself to write and write with passion. That's the best a blogger can do - I think.
A blogger doesn't need to muckrake.
I couldn't care less if I met someone in a locker room, because I know that in there I could never get into his mind and heart. What? Me hang out with all those people asking lame-ass questions? In our face paced world, there's no time to reflect, ponder and ask relevant questions.
With blogging, either you run amok and take full advantage, or you show some restraint and respect to your craft with established standards. It takes true courage to self-impose standards on yourself when there is no unified or universally accepted code.
I think this is worth something.
These are my two cents.
Link Of Interest: Are Women Fairer?
So. Is there a correlation to be made associated with higher women in government and lower corruption? Here's a study made by the World Bank.
It's a little dated but still relevant I would assert.
Wondering what are the percentages of women in government in the world? Look to Nation Master for stats.
It's a little dated but still relevant I would assert.
Wondering what are the percentages of women in government in the world? Look to Nation Master for stats.
Just A Suggestion
The Commentator says, don't make blanket statements.
That is all.
Let's start this May sucker shall we?
That is all.
Let's start this May sucker shall we?
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