Blah blah blah...whatever

Forced to flick the dial elsewhere during this insane CBC lockout, I was listening to some garbage on CRFB 1010 this afternoon. Well, not all garbage, because that far removed from news, anything sounds good. But when they start devoting time to call-ins, even when it's CBC, I change the channel.

Anyway, so the guy was rambling about the over the top coverage CNN is devoting to Hurricane Katrina: the city of New Orleans might have to move! It's North America's Tsunami! Hehe, insert stupid and sad "Katrina and the Waves" joke here. See I was thinking, too bad if they have to move because I was hoping to go there someday. But as Alex points out, this just may mean the trip will be cheaper. Assuming I can find the right point on the matrix between 'mess cleaned-up' and 'deep discount'. I have this funny feeling that if Katrina hit Cuba, if that was possible at all, it would most certainly not be called "North America's Tsunami". Even though this guy was slamming CNN (and rightfully so), he himself was a little too much into the anti-CNN hyperbole for me to continue listening. And besides, I had to change it when they started with the call-ins. I don't care what Joe from Mississauga's take on this is.

And yet, although I do not like radio that is so into feedback in that call-in sort of way, I am LOVING Dave Eggers' "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius". If you're not into self-conscious semi-autobiographical fiction that is such a mess it's totally beautiful...if you're not willing to go along for a 400 page ride on this one, don't bother. It's tragic, so tragic you think it can't possibly be true, but apparently it is. Or it might be. And I have to say there are parts that I identify with in a rather uncomfortable way. Like nothing I've ever read before. Wish I'd written it. Wish I could write like that. It actually starts with instructions on how to read the book and urges you to skip a large portion of the book. Maybe it's just me, you know how I love self-deprecating humour.

So, I need Andy Barrie back. Real bad. Please?

Sneezy and Grumpy

I don't think it's allergies, I think I have a cold. Hence the sneezy comment. I'm leaky today.

As for Grumpy, well that relates to my beloved CBC. Reading in Maclean's this week I see Mark Starowicz musing that the labour distruption (aka lockout) may go on until October or later. WHAT? Not that these fill in people who have taken over my morning radio aren't nice people, but they are most certainly not Andy Barrie or even a reasonably hand-drawn facsimile and while I like Coldplay I have the CD. I want news. I want local news. It was amusing to know the weather in Nunavut for the first couple of days, but it's only annoying now. And much as 680 has news, they have cheap news, not CBC news. You know, the kind where you spend a disproportionate amount of time debating the believability of Karla Homolka's ex-boss, who is clearly just another ex-con looking for a buck. What about the gun violence in Toronto? What about the effects of last week's storm? I feel so disconnected.

And I really don't care who's fault it is. Okay, so the fact that the employees were locked out does seem to lead to one conclusion, but I really don't think I have all the facts on this contracting out business so I'm not sure on which side I should stand.

I just want Andy Barrie back on my radio.

Yes, the pixie dust has worn off....

Goofy and Sleepy

A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep....and that's how I feel. Completely exhausted. I've spent away all my energy, but there are worse things to do in the magical world of Disney. I meant to do an audioblog, but I was having phone problems in the beginning, and, well, I was busy. It's hard to go from pixie dust back to reality, but here I am. *Sigh*

I have to say that there really is no place quite like it. The way the staff, ahem, cast members, anticipate anything you could possibly need or want was extraordinary. It allows you to relax, to feel safe. If only they could tone down that humidity a wee bit.... But what a success story, not just the company, but the man. Exceed expectations by paying attention to detail. So simple, not so easy. Interesting lesson both professionally and personally.

Waiting

I'm at the airport. Waiting. Who knew you don't pre-clear US customs in T3? Why do they want you here three hours early when you don't have to go through customs? Lots of questions....too tired...it's too early in the morning. L8r. zzzzzzzzzzz

Tell me your own Politik...Open up your Eyes

Okay, so I've been listening to a lot of Coldplay lately. I have "X and Y" but "A Rush of Blood to the Head" is in the car, so it's mostly been that one. Their lyrics are very interesting: "Give me time and give me space; give me real, don't give me fake". That's from "Politik", which is not my fave (that would be "Clocks") but it's the song I thought of while reading about Lance Armstrong's latest public statement on the CNN website. We should spend more on the war on cancer than on the wars is Iraq and Afghanistan. Why? Sheer utilitarianism when it comes to American lives.

Not a surprise coming from the one and only Lance (and you know how I feel about him, although it's Chris Martin that's up there with Anderson Cooper on the mwah! factor list). What was more interesting is his comments related to his possible run in the gubernatorial race in Texas. I guess since he isn't rah-rah for the gun-toting kind of war, there is a chance he might not be a Republican. But note the last line of the piece, where he says that he doesn't think illness is a political issue. What? Okay, so there's two ways to go at this. Firstly, modern health care requires us to determine levels of funding, and some things, regrettably, must receive more funding than others (though one would hope that the decision making was at least rational and fair). Anything that requires a determination of where public funding should go and in what amount is political. And just because the US has private health care does not mean it escapes this loop, since, as Lance points out, there is funding for research.

But secondly, and I truly feel this, politics has been given a bad name. Politics is an art of gaining and maintaining power or support for a particular issue of public concern. Lance is political. But so long as people associate politics with Kennedy philandering and drinking, Bush manipulation and, here in Canada, Liberal kickbacks, then politics will be in bed with corruption, when in reality, it's in bed with all of us. For the better.

Citizen Lise's Opinion, for today

Just wandering through Wikipedia today and I came across a reference to Trop V. Dulles in which the US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in 1958, ruled that the divestment of US citizenship constituted cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore unconstitutional.

Very interesting.

During all that discussion of WW2 war criminals seeking to live out a peaceful retirement in Canada (and after reading the book “Crimes of War” by Peter Hogg) I was arguing that we do just that. Removing the right to identify as a citizen of Canada seemed the only thing that was appropriate for a bunch of old, decrepit, feeble-minded men who gained citizenship under false pretenses (okay, I’m hoping that’s how they got in, but I don’t know for sure). What about those born here? Okay, I don’t have an easy answer. If there’s nowhere to deport someone to, then I guess it’s a problem we own.

I don’t believe in the death penalty. There may be people who deserve to die for what they have done, and maybe some were among this group of men who immigrated to Canada to live the easy life after participating in the genocides of WW2. My point is that it is not for me to make this, very final, decision.

However, I am a Canadian citizen, and I feel like I own at least a part of what that defines. I hope, in fact I know, to many in the world, Canadian citizenship means trust and kindness and fair-mindedness and, perhaps most importantly, respect. Which is why divestment of citizenship should never be for political or sociological views, no matter how distasteful, but it should be reserved for those who perpetrate a crime against humanity.

Interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, the dissenting opinion noted: "Is constitutional dialectic so empty of reason that it can be seriously urged that loss of citizenship is a fate worse than death?"

The answer? Maybe not, but it’s the only thing we are able to do without perpetrating a crime ourselves.

Flying bullsh*t, duck!....duck, goose?

So the federal government is working on a no-fly list. Except they call it 'passenger assessment'. On the one hand, I know you're thinking that this is great. Get the bad people off my flight. Yes for that. On the other hand, think about Maher Arar. And that pot growing guy in BC who despite not being a criminal in Canada is having his extradition to the US supported by the RCMP. Who gets on this list? And don't think I feel more comforted by this proposal that the Minister of Transport has the final say as to whether someone goes on the list. Geez, they can't even stop guns from getting across the border and those are tangible things. How do they plan on executing a search of your intentions?

No-fly article in the Globe
Pothead extradition
My post about Maher Arar
Guns in T.O.

Hey, wait a minute, how's about we get the US to extradite one of their gun runners to Canada?

And I'm one of the good guys, in case you need me to be super explicit about things. I hope not to be selected by your system of random incompetence (God help us, I hope that's all it is).

Neat/Stuff

Caught a bit of "Neat" on the Life Network today. I've seen it before--it's where a woman name Helen comes into a person's home, very often a person who lives in squalor far worse than myself, which is both heartwarming and shocking all at the same time, and helps them organize there stuff and their lives. Helen and her clutter crew arrive and start the sort immediately, and then at some point, the clutteree breaks down and confesses that the reason they are cluttered is because a) some childhood trauma b) some recent trauma c) a lack of fullfillment in their life....it's never simply d) I'm a messy person.

And this brings us to the kicker of the show. You see Helen is not just a professional organizer, but also a life coach. I get what a life coach is, but not really how one becomes qualified to coach life and how they go about doing it. And yet, if you've ever met my grandfather you know why the two professions work well together. And if you've ever seen the show, you know that most of Helen's clutteree's either cry, get misty-eyed, or confess to having been close to some permutation of emotionality during the "Neat" process.

I have attempted to beat down my clutter, little by little, in recent months. I have given away so many items of clothing (to one charitable organization or another) that we now have a surplus of hangers enough to support the needs of Walmart Canada in my house. And yet I still have tons of stuff. And I still want to buy more stuff. And even if I lived in a mansion, I know there would still be too much. It is psychological.

But I try to remember that if I don't absolutely love it, someone else might. Or at least they might need it bad enough to love its function for them. Incidentally, after watching the show I did a clean out of the bathroom and threw out tons of product that was old and unused. I wonder what's in the back of Helen's closet. Because just as messy can be a disease, neat can become a psychosis. But really, I like the show. And she seems like a nice person.

GG, CBC, Davinci and my future spot in the Senate

So, does the feds new funding strategy for CBC involve choosing the Mother Corp's TV personalities as G-G? As Adrienne Clarkson leaves, it would appear that Michaelle Jean is the new host of the wine and crackers set. I don't mind, I like the Passionate Eye. But once again, I have been passed over. Okay so I'm not a francophone, but I have a name that could convince the disinterested that I am and I've heard that gossip about this appointment is a non-starter in Quebec anyway. Did Paul Martin not read my application?

Okay, so I'm not fluent in five languages. But I have good intentions. And by the time all these newly appointed senators are ready to retire, I'll be ready to step up to the plate. I mean, I like Davinci's Inquest, and apparently that can qualify a person.

And maybe after that I can be G-G.

The view from here; the view from there

Here's the view from the just inside the Rosteski's cabin on Steeprock Lake. Quite a site to see. And so calm and peaceful it makes you wonder why so many people live in cities. Okay, so I would find it hard to give up the shopping, but when you're in a place like this it somehow feels like you need less. Maybe a good book, some bug spray, a cold drink and a ball to play catch with the dog. *Sigh*

Now, picture yourself sitting in that chair. Nice, eh?

A breath of fresh air...

So if I decline to participate in the voluntary random security check at the Winnipeg airport, does it become a mandatory random security check? Don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to find out. At least they were nice about it. I assume that there chemical test of my baggage turned up what I expected--nothing beyond some traces of granola bars and a little dog drool--since I was allowed on the plane.

Between Alex and I, I figure we drove about 1200 km this past weekend. But it was all for good because Paul and Julie's wedding was the best. I managed to survive without internet access very well, mostly because I was either so busy or so exhausted to think about it. I have to say that Julie's family is the nicest group of people you could ever meet. They are so welcoming and are clearly such a caring group of people that I feel like I've known them forever. Frances, Julie's sister and wedding coordinator extraordinaire put together one wonderful event. As for the priest, well, if there were more like him I might actually be a practicing Catholic today. And Julie....well, when a person is that good to my grandparents, of course I'm gonna love her.

And Paul. I don't think I've ever seen him happier, more content, more at peace....ahhh, life is good, ya know?

I've got some pictures up in my flickr account. There's a link on the right side of the page. I'm going to try blogger's new posting feature to do some more here.

Special kudos go to the people at Enterprise Car Rental who kindly upgraded me to a Jeep (for free!) and stepped in for a quick fix when I needed it...quick. Also had a great time at the Swan River Super 8, a place where strangers wish you good morning and there's always an extra blanket.

Congrats Uncle Paul and Aunt Julie! 

What a weekend!

Without a doubt it was the best wedding I've ever been to! I only got around to one audioblog, but there's much more to say....tomorrow... I'm off to bed!