I hate change! But I sure changed the channel fast...

In addition to CIUT's 'new' morning show, locked-out CBC employees have now taken to the interweb at www.cbcunlocked.ca. Kudos to them. Interestingly enough, their site is way better than the CBC's own site, now presumably run by management. Hmm, I guess it is the people that make it happen then, eh? Not only is the CBC site not as in depth as it was before the employees were locked out, it's also not as aesthetically pleasing and now, for some inane reason, features a banner ad. Why on earth would someone choose now to implement this? While the CBC has been considered a bastion for the liberal-minded, those same people, are very set in their ways--as if to further confound the demographers, some would call this conservative? I can hear us all chanting now "back to the way it was!", "this is totally throwing off my morning routine!". Why can I hear this? Because I'm saying it, too.

So now I listen to Andy on CIUT in the morning and have changed my homepage to CBC unlocked. Now look at what you've done, dammit! Listen, it's bad enough that I have to give up Peter Mansbridge during the hockey playoffs (except for last year). Don't do this to me!

Another interesting fact: I see from CBC unlocked that our very own Toronto Star began as a publication by locked out employees of something they refer to as "The Afternoon News". Never heard of them.

So if I was the one who's bright idea it was to lock out Canadian Media Guild employees, right now, I'd be worried. Shake in those boots, baby. It may be the only thing keeping you warm this winter.

September?

It is a question.

It's Labour Day. The end of summer. It has been 7 autumns since this has meant anything to me, 7 and a half years since I graduated from university. And, by the way, I didn't even mind going to school, in fact I rather liked it. Wish I was going back this month actually.

But there's something about the summer, especially in the beginning, even in May when the sun starts to warm up and the rain has slowed down, that makes you feel like everything is possible. Even if you have no vacation to speak of, summer reminds you that there is life after work. I don't have a pool, or even own a bathing suit, but in a few weeks it will be a little too chilly to walk down Unionville Main with Nancy on Saturday nights. When the paper is too late for Dad to bring in before he leaves, it will soon be too cold for me to dash outside and grab it to read with breakfast. Soon it will be dark when I have to leave for work and night will come way too early.

And then it will be Christmas. And while I do enjoy finding those perfect things for my family and friends to put under the tree, I have to admit, I really don't like Christmas. But that's an explanation (if you need it) for another day.

So it's Labour Day and Andy Barrie is back on the air, except on CIUT and only from 6 to 8 a.m. because of the continuing lockout at the CBC.

The good news is that we leave for New York a week from today. I wonder how different it will be than last year, when the anti-W sentiment was ripe and on display in that 'blue state'. But then again, maybe not much since there still seems to be a lot to complain about.

I guess it's sad not because it's the end of summer, but rather because it's no longer the new beginning it once was...new classes, new books, new pens. Ah well, the feeling never lasted long anyway.

It just seems harder to make things feel 'new' and full of possibilities now, without the new classes. September is a question.

All my titles sounded too glib to put here

Here I am, home before the long weekend, drinking lemon tea and looking forward to NYC.

Someone fucked up big time in New Orleans. To quote the Mayor to the feds: "Get off your asses". I was reading this thing by Sanjay Gupta (I know, CNN again, but like a moth to a flame...) about a hospital in New Orleans with ventilator patients having air manually pumped by exhausted staff because of the lack of electricity. Of course that probably happens every minute somewhere in Africa, every day of the year. There are people without water, simple water, in the richest country in the world. I realize that the foundation of emergency planning is the individual, yes, but how are you supposed to stock up if you don't have enough for the day to day living already? As Rosie says in her blog, how do you evacuate when you have no car?

I suppose the lesson here is that if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. And we really should be better prepared. But having said that, it's a colossal failure when a country is trying to fix things overseas and can't fix things in their own backyard. Dubya has spent the last four years trying to convince people that fighting terrorists abroad makes it safer at home. Hard argument to make if you (used to) live in New Orleans. Thank god, for me and my family and friends, the glass is half full. With clean water. At least for now.

Gracious Southern Hostess, I will come...

So I may have been too flippant about New Orleans. Honestly though, the fact that CNN did get it right this one time does not help their overall credibility when it comes to hyping up news stories. Remember this is the station that brought you all OJ, all the time.

It's sad, not only because I would love to go to New Orleans and now I know that this plan will be a) put on hold for some time and b) seriously affected since I don't know what state all their historical buildings and sites are in. No, it's also sad because we sorta all knew it was coming and yet there are still people stuck in that superdome, waiting to be moved to the Astrodome now. It really speaks to proper emergency planning. One of Disney's strengths is the idea to plan for every eventuality. Okay, not possible all the time, but you have to wonder when that many people are stranded, without food, water, showers... They are in an area prone to hurricanes. We did know something was coming. Maybe they didn't want to believe CNN either? I went to the New Orleans website and it looks like it's being updated remotely and piecemeal by someone who does not normally do the website. No meetings until October at least. Interesting.

Here's a sample of what the City Official is posting to the website:

"Longtime CVB Vice President Nikki Nicholson, who retired 18 months ago to buy a bed and breakfast in Bay St. Louis Mississippi has barely survived. Nikki attempted to stay and ride out the storm in her b&b, but the storm destroyed her home around her and she and her dog survived clinging to a tree until rescued."

Now doesn't the fact that her dog is mentioned make you like her? I wonder what her dog's name is?

Anyway, I'm sorry if I was insensitive, not to CNN but to people from New Orleans. And all that I can give you in return is the promise that one day I will spend some tourist dollars in your fine city. One day.

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.