Sometimes A Penny Is Worth So Much More

Wow...It has been almost 5 years since I wrote an entry in  this blog.  A very old friend made a comment today about my writing on a Facebook post and it made me think that I should stop using FB so much for lengthy posts when I have a perfectly fine blogspot to rant/muse/post thoughts.   It's been a whirlwind of personal tragedies and triumphs over the past few years which is partly my reason for  not "blogging" more frequently....I thought for my first blog in 4 or 5 years. It would be nice to have a heart warming and positive post, this close to Christmas.   I may be a bit rusty but here goes... 

I was kind of grumpy when I got up this morning.  I was working late last night  and I am trying to get stuff done before I head off for Christmas holidays. At 9:30 am   I ran out of the house, got in my car and groused when realised I forgot to get gas last night which meant I would have to take a detour to go up Marlee to the nearest PetroCan at Marlee and Lawrence  ( I try to only use PetroCan 94, which used to be Sunoco 94 til they were bought out).   Each time I go there I always have a really pleasant exchange with the young lady behind the counter, if she is on shift.  In the summer, I would make a point of stopping there before my golf games and getting gas and grabbing a few gatorades.  

 I pulled in to the station and started to fill up the tank and did the "groan" as I couldn't quite stop the gas pump in time at $80.00 and it clicked that one extra time to $80.01...In my head I did my usual rant about rich oil companies and the stupid pumps that are probably set to go over one cent on purpose etc etc and I wonder how many millions they make from all of us who sometimes go over 1 cent whilst pumping our own gas....I went inside to pay and the usual attendant was there and she greeted me with her big, friendly smile and said "Good morning ma'am  that'll be $80.00"   I said "huh?" she said "pump number 2.  $80"  I was thinking "the ornery bastard at the Esso at Derry and 401 always makes me pay the 1cent"....I paid her and then remembered I needed washer fluid....I said "oh, I'm really sorry but I need some washer fluid. Can you ring one up for me"  I was about to get out the Amex again when she stopped me and said "Don't use your money, you have tons of Petro points it costs minimal points to get a bottle of washer fluid"...I said to her "thanks so much, I never knew how many points I had or what I could use them for,  that 's a great idea.  I really appreciate it"   She smiled and said "you are always so nice when you come in here and  I just wanted to do something nice for you.  Bless you Ma'am and have a great day"     So she saved me ONE penny and a $3.99 charge for washer fluid but the fact that she didn't charge me the 1 cent and the fact she even remembers me meant a lot.  

I do want to send something to Petro Canada but not sure if she would get in hot water for not charging me the one cent so I may leave that part out and just tell them that they need more employees like her and SHE is the main reason I keep going to the PetroCan at Marlee and Bathurst...

Today's Quote:  "A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money."  John Ruskin

In Remembrance

Quote of the Day:

For The Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,England mourns for her
dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen
in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears. They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not
weary them, nor the years contemn. At the going down of the sun and in the
morning We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the
time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon

Good Night Sweet Prince.......

Today is a sad day for me. David Adams has passed away. David Adams was Canada's first "Superstar" Male ballet dancers. He danced with Canada's National Ballet when it first began in the early 1950's. His wife, Lois Smith, was Canada's first Prima Ballerina and my dance teacher for many years when I was a Professional Ballet student. He was the first, true homebred Canadian dance star.

David Adams taught quite a few of our classes when I was a professional ballet student and he was one of my favorite teachers. He had a commanding presence and a booming voice. I remember my first class with him so vividly. I was absolutely terrified, as we all were because we knew who he was and how well known he was and never mind the fact that he was a VERY handsome man! We soldiered on and he made us better dancers. He was tough and demanding and a perfectionist, as all dancers are but he was also encouraging.

Quote of the Day:

“It is through Art, and through Art only, that we can realise our perfection.”

Oscar Wilde

Hey George!!!! I'm still alive .............

In a speech defending his administration's Iraq policy, Bush said former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's brutality had made it impossible for a unifying leader to emerge and stop the sectarian violence that has engulfed the Middle Eastern nation. Bush stated the following:

"I heard somebody say, Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas"

Now, when JB and I heard this last night on the Jon Stewart show. We both looked at each other with our mouths open and almost fell off the sofa! Is there anything else you can even say? How Americans could keep this man in power for this long is a complete mystery to me. For my quote of the day I feel I have to pay homage to the wonderful Ann Richards by quoting a bit of her amazing speech (audio of speech available here) at the the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Now granted, her comments were directed at G Wubya's Father but I felt since Ms Richards was no friend of the Bush's it could certainly be used for this situation as well. I think it is rather apropos. I mourn the loss of Governor Ann Richards she was an original and a great lady who sadly, passed away a year ago this week. We need more politicians in this world like Anne Richards.

Quote of the Day:

"Poor George. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth."

Ann Richards

Autobahn, in Canada you say??

I have worked for the same company for almost 14 years and for those 14 years I have never been more than 20 mins MAX travel time from home to work. I could hop on a streetcar then subway to the office. If I had to, I could even walk home from work, in a pinch. All this came to a screeching halt when last year we started hearing rumblings about moving Engineering and Operations to a new office "campus" purchased by our fearless leader. We dismissed the rumours and balked at the suggestion that they would ever move us. Then we started worrying when we saw the blue bins being delivered to our co-workers in Engineering on the 9th floor of our tower last year. Shortly thereafter, we then noticed guys walking around our offices with floor plans and clip boards. Then in March of this year we were all given the nice glossy "move package" which trumpeted the greatness of our new facilities in BRAMPTON, yes Brampton. Now, for those of you who do not live in Toronto, Brampton is a suburb north of Toronto where NOBODY from Toronto ventures unless absolutely necessary. It is a suburban, cultural wasteland but even after that move package was delivered, the majority of us stayed in denial until more move dates were discussed and really most of us were in denial until those blue moving bins showed up outside our offices.

What does this have to do with the Autobahn you ask? A LOT. Keep reading.

Since generations of Ontario governments have done NOTHING to build a decent pubilic transit system that grew along with the urban sprawl. Our move to Brampton has forced a lot of us to have to drive in to work each day and as there is no subway that comes up here and to take the bus means you are in for an excrutiating 1.5 hour or more commute! This means I am forced to drive and I have to sit in the gridlock shown in the photo. Yes, this is what I have to sit in each day going to and coming from work since May of this year. I snapped this photo while sitting in traffic a few weeks ago sitting on the "on ramp" just to get on to Hwy 401. Now, most people would say, what are you going to do, you have to get to work and I guess this is true but this volume of traffic is ludicrous and I am quite sure that if we had an expanded public transit system that a lot of these cars would be taken off the road. I do believe that Hwy 401 is the most travelled highway in North America as it cuts right across the centre of the city and heads all theway across the Province. But back to the Autobahn......As I can no longer stand to sit in this mess each day I have decided to take the the plunge and purchase a transponder that allows me to travel on the relatively newer Hwy 407.

Hwy 407 began life back in the late 1990s and operates as a toll highway. Now, I am really torn about this decision as I really begrudge having to pay to use any road in this province when we pay a lot in taxes already but my cost to take the 407 from where I get on to where I get off is about $3 one way and the biggest bonus is clearly evident in the photo to your left! I snapped this photo on my morning drive in to work late last week. Granted this is a light traffic morning but even on busier mornings it is pretty much a wide open race track! The 407 was built with concrete which means initially it cost more to build but will actually need less repair work in the long run plus it makes your ride a bit noisy and thus all of us here at the office have basically started calling it the Autobahn. Not only because of the way it was built but also because it appears that there does not seem to be a speed limit or perhaps because it is being used by drivers who are paying, they have asked the Autobahnpolizei to lay off. I will say, if you are a regular commuter on the 407, you really must like to drive and it is not for the faint of heart. I regularly drive at a speeds of 130 to 140kmph and other drivers are blowing by me. 130kmph appears to be the average speed of most drivers and if you are driving 130kmph you better not be in the passing lane. I find that the drivers on the 407 tend to follow proper driving etiquette and nobody drives in the passing lane unless they are actually passing you. It is a bit out of my way to head up to the 407 but what I save in time and my sanity makes it worth it. Would I prefer to be able to just hop on a train or subway to get up here, you bet! But it seems a long time in coming. For now, I will zoom along the Autobahn and pay my $3 and arrive at work a little less exasperated.

Quote of the day:

“Automobiles are free of egotism, passion, prejudice and stupid ideas about
where to have dinner. They are, literally, selfless. A world designed for
automobiles instead of people would have wider streets, larger dining rooms,
fewer stairs to climb and no smelly, dangerous subway stations.”

P. J. O'Rourke

Autological - wonder if she knows what it means?

Greetings All,


It has been a while since I last blogged. I have been on a surreal journey these past few months and did not have the inclination or time to blog until today when a friend sent me the link below! I just had to post it! Any further comments would just be superflous!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Quote of the day:

Abraham Lincoln (attributed): 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

Shake It Up, Oo Oo Shake It Up, Oh Yeah

Happy New Year folks, It's been a while since I updated the ol' blog. Life is pretty stressful at the moment but thought I would take some time out and update my blog.

No, the title of today's blog is not an homage to Ric Ocasek or his band "The Cars" but I felt the 1981 song "Shake It Up" was quite apropo what with the very recent rumours that our Prime Minister is planning a "Cabinet Shake Up " Perhaps Mr. Harper can have the Cars playing in the background as he announces his plans to "shake up" or "shuffle" some of his Cabinet Ministers.

The big talk is that our girl Rona is being shuffled to another post. It is being called "the worst kept secret in Ottawa" You all know about Rona from my previous blogs. The poor girl just can't shake the shuffle speculitis. "Captain America" aka former PM Brian Mulroney has spoken out and suggested to Harper that environmental issues might be a key to capturing the next federal election and if the Stephen Harper government doesn't move faster, other parties are waiting to claim the environment as their issue. As a result, and probably because there are several hundred bored reporters left to their own devices in Ottawa during the parliamentary off-season, that rumours of a cabinet shuffle started to surface.

I find it worrisome that our Prime Minister is now going to take our Environmental issues seriously only because a former Tory PM is telling him it is going to cost him the next election. I would like to think that a Prime Minister of Canada would put our lakes, forests, air and wildlife at the top of his/her list as something sacred that is to be cherished and protected. Particularly a Prime Minister who claims to be a proud Christian and lover of god and the bible. Did he miss the chapters and verses about being good steward of the earth?


In my humble opinion, our Prime Minister handed the portfolio of Environment to a rookie Minister (Ms. Ambrose) and clearly didn't think the Environment was a terribly critical issue. Climate change has exposed the ill-preparedness of the Harper government. It is going to be an interesting 2007 in Ottawa.

So long Rona, it's been nice knowing ya


Quote of the Day:

Let all regard themselves as the stewards of God in all things which they possess. Then they will neither conduct themselves dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires to be preserved.

John Calvin

Season's Greetings....

Have had to take a break from the blog world for a bit. Vacation to UK was great but cut short due to a family emergency. Will update blog soon. Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season.

Peace

Quote of the Day:

and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!

Charles Dickens

"We're off on the road to Nairobi....."

Come on, can't you just hear Bing Crosby and Bob Hope singing the famous theme song from one of their popular "road pictures" .... Except on this road trip farce, the female "straight-man" isn't Dorothy Lamour. Nope, it's our girl Rona Ambrose. Yep, our intrepid Minister of the Environment stood up on the world stage, speaking before the United Nations in Kenya for the climate change conference. Now, Ambrose could have used the opportunity to explain what the Conservative government is going to do about addressing Canada's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But not our girl Rona, what does she do.... she used her limited time on the world stage to slam the former Liberal Government. She stated such gems as "When Canada's new government assumed office this year, we found an unacceptable situation" and "We found that the measures to address climate change by the former Liberal governments were insufficient" Fair enough, I understand that it is very common practice, here in Canada, for new Governments to slam the previous government and lay blame or generally just pass the buck but this was no domestic speech given in the House of Commons. This was a speech given to the world, and Ambrose used it to showcase, not Canada's environmental vision, but rather Canada's political bickering and infighting. Way to go Rona....you do us proud.....


On another note: JB and I are "off on the road to the UK" I decided, on impulse, that it has been far too long since I have been to visit family. I was speaking to one of my cousins via e mail and thought to myself "i really should pay a visit and right before Christmas would be a nice time to see everyone" So, I went to the Air Canada website and low and behold a "seat sale on international flights" Serendipity! We leave for London on December 1st and have a jam packed 10 days to visit my cousins in Wales and hopefully I make it up to Glasgow for a couple of days. It has been ages since I have been to Glasgow and I truly miss the place. I am very excited to be going over and everyone over there is extremely excited that we are visiting. Our first two days we stay in London and JB has expressed the desire to visit a really old pub or I should say pubs. A day trip to Bath is definitely in the plans. JB is interested in seeing the ancient Roman baths plus one of my younger cousins is currently studying at Bath University. He has already instructed his Mother to tell me to ensure that we don't visit Bath on the Thursday as Thursdays are all day lab work for him.
So, Thursday may be the day we trek up to Glasgow for a couple of days. I will definitely be hitting Buchanan Street (photograph on the left) I have many happy memories of lots of shopping trips to Buchanan Street with my Mother and my Aunties. I bought my first Burberry trench coat with matching scarf and bag at the Burberry store on Buchanan Street many years ago. I still have the scarf, the coat and the bag.

Will be cluttering up this blog soon with lots of photos and notes from the trip.

Quote of the Day:

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

St. Augustine

Random Thoughts

This is going to be one of those rambling blogs cause a/ I have not been able to update my blog in a while b/ my mind is rambling all over the place (nothing new)


Quote of the Day:

“When (Harper) tells you that this is a clean air act, it’s just something out of George Orwell. I mean it’s like saying black is white, white is black. It is truly Orwellian in its thinking”
Bob Rae, Liberal Leadership hopeful

A brief update from my previous blog about Rona Ambrose and our Governments "Clean Air Act" Mr. Harper allowed Rona to speak (photo is of Rona defending her new Clean Air Act, in Parliament) and it appears we Canadians will have clean air by, oh..... sometime in the year 2050!!!! Yes folks, we can count on nice clean air by 2050, about the time the planet will be running out of food. All three federal opposition parties panned the bill, casting doubt on whether it will ever become law. Dr. David Suzuki has a great "letter to Mr. Harper" on is website this past week.

Catching up on another recent blog...my movie package arrived from Amazon last Thursday and I happily watched "Whisky Galore" on the weekend. It was just as entertaining as I remembered it to be. It was a bit bittersweet for me as I didn't have my parents around to laugh along with me. Along with the Ealing box set, I ordered some Christmas CDs, yes I have a ridiculously large collection of Christmas CDs. Mostly by jazz and blues artists. Along with the Christmas CDs I purchased a copy of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album. It is an album I have always felt I should own but never got around to purchasing. There are numerous great songs on the album that I remember hearing as a kid on the radio. The songs "Carey", "This Flight Tonight" and "River" are classics. I remember belting out the song "Carey" as a kid as it was very popular back in the 1970's. At the moment. it is my current "anti-stress" cd. I have it playing in the background on my lap top this very minute, as I endure yet another insane, stressful work week. The words from the song "River" are very apropo at the moment and take me far away: " I wish I had a river. I could skate away on. I wish I had a river so long. I would teach my feet to fly" This song is a beautiful song and it gets me thinking about Canada and winter and snow and ice and Hockey.
Yes, Hockey, as JB just did a double take. Some of you have heard my rants about how I have pretty much given up on Hockey in recent years. I hate what the US has been allowed to do to the game. I hate the promotion in recent years of goon players whose only purpose is to fight and batter and bruise better players BUT I recently watched the CBC 10 part series "Hockey: A Peoples History". The series reminded me about all the things I love about Hockey. How it really is a truly Canadian sport and how important it is to our identity as a people and a nation. I was particularly impressed with the amount of time spent on the history of Women's hockey.

As the sales pitch for the series states " CBC’s epic series chronicling the story of a game and the soul of a nation. Born as a game of survival against the snow and ice of a Canadian winter, hockey gave a new country it’s first heroes and champions." If you can catch the series it is definitely worth it. Some of the footage is incredible and the interviews with hockey greats and the great sportswriters are fascinating to listen to. Stephen Brunt's discussion on the greatness of Bobby Orr is nothing short of poetry (Brunt also has a book coming out on Bobby Orr).

The series is one that every Canadian should see. It will take all of you back to those Saturday nights when as a kid you were allowed to stay up late and watch Hockey Night in Canada. In our house we got not only the bonus of getting to stay up and watch the hockey game but we also got the added treat of a big bowl of Hostess potato chips with the best chip dip on the planet and a glass of coke or Canada Dry ginger ale. Bet all of you have the Hockey Night in Canada theme song going through your heads now.......just in case you need a reminder here ya go.....


Hockey Night in Canada Theme song

I am deranged but so, so playful.......

This weekend was JB's annual trip with "the boys" to Buffalo, NY to see the Buffalo Bills play the New England Patriots. I was scheduled to go in to work on Saturday evening but for the remainder of the weekend I planned on just watching movies and vegging out. Being the oncall Manager for work, this weekend, I ended up getting called on Friday night and was up until 4am due to an outage. I went to bed and woke up late Saturday morning. I Dropped JB off at his buddies house in the early afternoon, as they were car pooling to Buffalo. I knew I had a few hours to kill before I went back to work so, I made some 9 bean soup and a pot of tea and clicked on the TV. I was lying on the sofa and had the TV on The Movie Network. A movie was just starting and I noticed it was directed by Liev Schreiber. Now I am a huge fan of Liev Schrieber, the actor. He is one of those actors who reminds me of the old school actors from the 1930's and 40's. He has a fantastic voice and as all good actors you never really see him "act". He has been in some great films and stage shows so I was intrigued that he had Directed and written the screenplay for this film. I thought "what the hell, there is nothing else on. I will watch this film"

Boy am I glad I did. It was one of the most lovely and entertaining films I have seen in a very long time. The movie is called "Everything is Illuminated". It is based on a novel written by Johnathan Safran Froer. The story is about a young Jewish American man who endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village, that was ultimately razed by the Nazis, with the help of a local who speaks weirdly funny broken English. The three, plus grandfather's deranged dog, travel in an old car from Odessa into Ukraine's heart. The film does an amazing job of showing the sweeping landscapes of Ukraine. I remember my father telling me that when he was growing up, the Ukraine was known as "the bread basket of Europe" with never ending fields of wheat and never ending farmland. The film does a great job of capturing this beautiful landscape. It is a perfect backdrop for the three men, with dog, as they travel within the heart of Ukraine on their quest.

I thought Elijah Wood was perfect as the lead character Johnathan, who collects bizarre items in ziploc bags and has more phobias than a Woody Allen character. But the stars of the film, for me, were Eugene Hutz as Alex, Johnathan's guide and Alex's Grandfather's dog or "Officious Seeing Eye Bitch" named Sammy Davis Junior, Junior. Eugene Hutz, as Alex is a larger and funnier version/combination of "Boris" from the Smirnoff ice ads and one of the "wild and crazy guys" from SNL(Saturday Night Live).

This is a movie I could watch again and again. It even has a cool soundtrack which includes Eugene Hutz's band "Gogol Bordello". If you have a chance to rent this film, do so. You will not be disappointed.

Trailer for movie

Quote of the Day:

Alex: [referring to the dog] This is Sammy Davis Jr. Jr... She is Grandfather's Seeing Eye bitch. Father purchased her for him not because he believes Grandfather is blind, but because a Seeing Eye bitch is also a good thing for people who pine for the opposite of loneliness. In truth, Father did not purchase her at all, but merely retrieved her from the home for forgetful dogs. Because of this, she is not a real Seeing Eye bitch, and is also mentally deranged.

Even Hef lets the Bunnies speak once in a while......

The smiling woman to your left is the Canadian Minister of the Environment, Ms. Rona Ambrose. I was going to make this blog a rant on how we have the most boring Prime Minister of any Prime Minister Canada has ever had. I was going to rant about the fact that on the day our Prime Minister and his government axed $17.7 million from the human resources department's Adult Learning and Literacy Skills Program as part of a wave of spending cuts. His wife Laureen was out on the streets of Ottawa, clad in a yellow T-shirt and handing out newspapers in the drizzle as part of a CanWest media company literacy promotion.

There is just so much to rant about when it comes to Mr. Harper and his Government.

But, my real concern/rant of late is about the Governments new "Clean Air Act" and the apparent lack of urgency that our Government appears to have in fixing our environment in general. It is quite concerning. It is clear that our Minister of the Environment has and is basically undermining our work with the Kyoto Agreement. Canada will miss its second deadline this week to put forward a Kyoto plan. Instead she decided to have a press conference with Prime Minister Harper on the Governments supposed "Clean Air Act". An act where Ms. Ambrose has opted for and suggests the use of Intensity-based targets rather than a ban on greenhouse gas emissions. This means environmental emissions would be relative to the economic output of various industries. That means even though individual emission limits for each barrel of oil or piece of coal could be lowered, if production increases, the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants could grow.

Many environmentalists believe capping greenhouse gas emissions is key to tackling climate change. Critics of intensity-based targets say the approach allows heavily polluting industries, such as Alberta's oilsands, to continue to grow and pollute, while remaining under government-imposed limitations.

Hmm should we be suspicious that this woman is from Alberta? Should we be concerned that she wasn't allowed to discuss her plans at a recent press conference and that the Prime Minister did all the speaking for her. Should we be concerend that when on the hot seat about Kyoto and greenhouse gas emissions she blamed the previous government and further went on to state that the Liberal government had spent "at least $100 million" in foreign carbon credits. When the real number was, well, ZERO! And to think she's in charge of setting new policy on an issue that may be critical not just to Canada's international reputation, but also to the future state of the world.


Anyway, rather than me rant on anymore about it. Watch Rick Mercer's rant from this weeks show. "The Mercer Report" is a weekly show hosted by Rick and he is one of the great Canadian comedians and political satirists. He has a knack for clearly expressing what a lot of Canadians are thinking. Check out the video clip. If it doesn't load go to the Mercer Report and click on "Rick's rant for the week". I am lousy at setting up video links on this blog.


Quote of the Day:

“Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, deserves better of mankind, and does more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together” Johnathan Swift

Uisge gu Leoir (Whisky Galore, for you non Gaelic speakers)

Growing up we watched a lot of movies. My Parents were bonified film junkies. My Father would give us lessons on why certain films were so great. We would watch what are now considered some of the greatest classics made and as a result we have grown up to appreciate the cinema. When we were very small my parents would take us to the drive in. Being the practical parents they were, they would take us to the drive-in in our PJ's, so that they could catch the latest flicks or blockbusters from the early 1970's and we got tired and fell asleep in the back seat of the car, we were already ready for bed when they got us all home. My Father would take my sister and I to see some of the great classic films of the 1970's. I think he would tell my Mother that he was taking us to see the latest kids flick when instead we saw Godfather, Godfather II, And Justice for All (my dad loved Pacino and Brando), All the Presidents Men. My father obviously felt our little minds could handle the not so child friendly scripts and violence in some of these films. But then we were of the era of "Bugs Bunny, Road Runner Hour" cartoon era.

Both my Parents were fans of the Director, Alexander MacKendrick. Alexander McKendrick was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1912 and grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1941 Mackendrick was sent to North Africa, then Italy as part of the psychological warfare division shooting newsreels and documentary coverage as well as working on leaflets and radio news for the Allied commando effort. When Rome was liberated in 1943, Mackendrick was made director of the film unit and one of the projects he approved was Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945), a film that owes much to its documentary footage. In 1946 he was offered a contract with Ealing Studios, a relatively emerging production company that brought hope for Britain's movie culture by dominating the 1950s with its peculiar brand of comedy. Ealing Studios churned out some of the best classic British Films such as "The Man in the White Suit", "The Lady Killers", "Passport to Pimlico", "Kind Hearts and Coronets", "The Lavender Hill Mob" and one of my Mother's favorite films "The Blue Lamp". The title of the film refers to the blue lamp which traditionally hung outside British Police Stations.

While at Ealing Studios, MacKendrick directed the classics "The Man in the White Suit", "The Lady Killers". In 1957 he also directed, though not for Ealing, "The Sweet Smell of Success" a film noir classic and another one of my Father's favorite films as not only was it directed by MacKendrick but it also starred Burt Lancaster. A favorite actor of my dad's.

But, the MacKendrick film that has that special place in my heart and always reminds me of the great times I had watching movies with my parents was the film "Whisky Galore". "Whisky Galore" is the first movie MacKendrick directed for Ealing studios. The film was based on the story, written by Compton MacKenzie and Compton MacKenzie's story was based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1941 on the Hebridean island of Eriskay when the S.S. Politician ran aground. The famous tale of how a group of local Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck for its consignment of 24,000 cases of whisky has grown into a legend.

The film is a gem. It is considered one of Ealing Stuidios best comedies. An ensemble comedy that focuses on the moral obligations of a tiny Scottish village after the steamer S.S. Politician crashes on shore leaving an unguarded cargo of whisky, was both a British and international success. Soon Ealing, aided by Mackendrick, was well on its way to leading the revival of the national cinema. The story fit within the studio formula of an eccentric group dealing with an extraordinary situation, and its unassuming humor benefits from the peculiarities of its townsfolk. Particularly from the pompous naivety of the English Captain Waggett (Basil Radford) who declares himself as the voice of reason and attempts to stop the town from raiding the ship. The first Ealing film to be shot on location on the isolated island of Barra, a documentary-style approach captures the villagers in daily routine: farming, working around the house, congregating at the local pub. Once a shortage of whisky occurs, the town plunges into desperation, and the bucolic Scottish tranquility is shattered by a cry of “There is no whisky!” The whisky is subsequently recovered, and they work together with crafty strategies to dupe the Englishman. Notions of tradition and propriety, however, prevent the townsfolk from turning into a violent mob and overthrowing Waggett.

Over the years, I have been searching and searching for any copy I could find of "Whisky Galore" as it is never shown on TV, here in Canada. I would search EBay and debate purchasing what looked like shady, illegal copies and many VHS copies,prior to DVD's were not compatible with North American players. I would drag JB into vintage video stores to see if they could obtain a copy for me. I was determined but never had any luck. Finally, I just gave up a couple of years ago and reasoned "surely some company is going to re-release this film and some of the other Ealing classics" and I will just have to wait.

It's been more than a couple of years that I have even attempted to resurrect the search for a copy of the film but I am happy to report that my search has finally ended. Last night while perusing through Amazon.ca I was doing my usual circuitous searching. Starting at books by Hoffer, to new jazz releases to Christams CD's then on to classic films on DVD. I noticed that "Sweet Smell of Success" was newly packaged into a DVD and then I thought "hmmmmm, "sweet smell of success...Alexander MacKendrick....I wonder....WHISKY GALORE!!!" I clicked on the name Alexander MacKendrick and waited with bated breath and up popped I couldn't believe my luck. There staring at me was the lovely face of the actress Joan Greenwood superimposed on a whisky bottle. I almost did a little dance. I immediately whipped out the visa card and ordered it.

I glanced at the usually entertaining "Amazon Customer Reviewed" section. There was one comment that stated "This is a pretty pricey Box set for , lets face it, only 1 great film being WHISKEY GALORE! and good PASSPORT TO P. . If the set was cheaper i'd consider it but for now lets release these seperately please" This person fails to understand that there are some things that some of us just can't put a price on. For me, it would be to have my own copy of "Whisky Galore" and all the happy memories that would come from watching this film again. Plus, the other films in the box set are no slouches either.

The set should arrive in 1 to 3 weeks.


Quote of the Day:

Dr Maclaren: It's a well known fact that some men were born two drinks below par.

Actor James Roberston Justice as Dr. MacLaren in Whisky Galore

"Elmo wants to play"

Great gift for your friends who are parents

If you really wanted to piss of some of your friends who have children. This latest Elmo toy would certainly do it. I keep watching this video and I am fascinated by this latest offering for children( i love the dogs reaction). This latest model seems to have been designed using the latest updates in robotics for kids toys. Personally, I find this toy a bit disturbing and really annoying (don't worry Mo or Paulus. JB and I won't purchase this for your offspring. we are not that mean) I guess if you are three years old, the age that Elmo is supposed to be in real life, you would find it appealing? I remember the "tickle me elmo" buying frenzy from the 1990's when parents were fighting tooth and nail for that doll. I remember there was controversy after the release of the doll with parents groups that misheard one of Elmo's phrases. His "Hug Elmo" phrase was misunderstood by many as "F--k Elmo". The voicing was revised so that the phrase sounded clearer and unmistakable.

On another note. It's Turkey Time!!! This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend. Not to be mistaken for American Thanksgiving which is in November and celebrates the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock and sitting down to a nice dinner with the Native North American Indians before setting out to spend hundreds of years of cleansing the land of their culture and tribes. JB and I having both had extremely stressful months at work, actually forgot it was Thanksgiving coming up. We didn't really make any plans for dinner with what family we have in the vicinity. I usually make a turkey with all the fixin's and I enjoy doing it but this year I said to JB that I just felt like going away, doing nothing but relaxing and playing golf. Out of some bizarre need not to buck tradition, I will probably make a small turkey with fixins and gravy on Saturday as I really can't not make something Thanksgiving related for fear the "Thanksgiving gods" will strike me down for abandoning family tradition. I feel we should have some sort of turkey dinner plus I don't have to worry that my chowhound brother doesn't have food for the weekend as JB and I are gone Sunday and Monday.


We have decided to go to Niagara region and visit some wineries and play golf at the Whirpool Golf Course, near Niagara Falls and at the Niagara on the Lake golf course, the oldest golf course in North America. Niagara on the Lake is a lovely town, I have written previous blogs about it. I will be hitting the Niagara Home Bakery for Empire biscuits! Unfortunately, as we decided to book our weekend only two days ago, there were no rooms to be found in Niagara on the Lake. The only available rooms we could find were in Niagara Falls. JB much prefers Niagara on the Lake as do I but it is only a short lovely scenic drive along the Niagara river between the two towns. Niagara falls has become somewhat "Disney-fied" but I find Niagara Falls fascinating. It has evolved into this giant playland for kids and adults. The adults get two casinos and plenty of bars and clubs and the kids have Clifton Hill where there are wax museums, arcades etc. It has very much changed since my visits there as a child. Any time relatives came over from Scotland we had to make the trek to Niagara Falls as they all had to see this "wonder of nature". With the recent additions of the casinos and the increase in tourists, the actual town of Niagara Falls would be unrecognisable to anyone who has not been there in the last 15 to 20 years. There are all the typical touristy restaurants such as Hard Rock Cafe, TGIF's etc. If you ignore all of the tourist crap and just stand by those falls and watch the power of nature it really is awe inspiring and the area on the Canadian side where the Canadian portion of the falls are located still looks the same as it did 50 years ago. The Niagara Parks Commission has done a great job of keeping the parklands around the falls pristine and the ultimate place for photo ops. And yes, to end the debate, the Canadian falls are much larger, nicer and better than the American falls.

“It is with roses and locomotives (not to mention acrobats Spring electricity Coney Island the 4th of July the eyes of mice and Niagara Falls) that my ''poems'' are competing.” e.e. cummings

Collibus -Fideles-Caledoniis

Have the CCR (creedence clearwater revival)song "Who'll Stop the Rain" floating around in my head today. As you can see by the weather pixie on my page it is indeed PISSING down rain today. Normally, the rain doesn't bother me that much particularly during the week as one is normally at work. Unfortunately today is the day that I along with Espinoza and Lee decided to book off work and go and play golf at a new course we found. We rationalized that it couldn't possibly rain all day today as yesterday we awoke to thunder and lightening and heavy rain and by about 10am the clouds parted and the sun came out and it was a lovely day. Well, this morning at 6:35am i was awakened by a huge CRACK of thunder over our house and I thought "hmmmm a repeat of yesterday" I got up out of bed, got my coffee and as most golfers do, flipped the TV on to the weather network. The overly cheerful weather network lady chirped on about heavy rains moving out of the area today and the storm watch being lifted for GTA etc etc. I can hear the rain pelting down and about 10 mins later it stopped. "Cool" I thought. Then the blackberry pins started between Lee and Espinoza and I. "are we on" "ya, lets meet there rain will probably stop" "i checked the weather network it is supposed to move through" I drove JB to work and I could see the sky getting lighter and I thought "great, same as yesterday" I then dropped JB off at work and headed west towards Mississauga to our new "find". Driving west the sun was starting to really look like it was going to make an appearance. I arrived at the course. Got my clubs out. Walked down to the pro shop where I was greeted by the most friendly golf pro and pro shop staff I have ever encountered. I apologized that two of our threesome was late and Golf Pro said "no problem at all. the course is practically empty. you ladies will have the whole course to yourself this morning but it's a bit wet out there on the greens after all this rain" Lee arrived and Espinoza was still lost. Lee and I did some stretching, and in between stretches I took panicked calls from Espinoza who was completely lost. Lee and I stretched some more, looked out at the lovely course and inhaled and both said "man, it's better to be here than at work" After my third cell phone call from Espinoza, she finally found the place. We then marched down the path to the first tee. A daunting, long, long par 5 hole. You know it's not good when the 5ft 1in Lee yells from the tee box "where am I aiming? I can't see any flag" I yell back my usual answer "just hit it straight down the fairway" which she did!

This course is modeled on a Scottish course or as their website states:

The BraeBen Golf Course has been designed to be"True to the Scottish Highlands"The name of the course -"BraeBen" -is Gaelic for "slope" and "mountain or hill". The new, public 18 hole Championship Course features dramatic terrain, tall rough grasses, gnarled trees and shrubs, pristine fairways, greens and tees, punctuated with challenging pot bunkers - all reminiscent of golf's early beginnings. As in the highlands of Scotland, wind will be a factor on most days.

I read with interest a review of the course from "Fairways Magazine" that states the course is actually built over the old Britannia hills landfill site and that they have won environmental awards for the design of this course. It's pretty amazing that they have turned an ugly, eysore of a landfill site into a beautiful greenspace in an urban setting.(Photo is of the first hole looking towards the green). First hole over, we all triple bogied the hole, we march down to the second hole. Second hole is a short par 3, we then get to the third hole and then the fourth hole and I tee off, Espinoza tees off and then Lee gets to the tee box and again says "where is the flag? I don't know where I am aiming" Again we say "just hit it straight onto the fairway and figure it out from there" As, Lee is about to tee off, I look up and say "man, it sure looks like it is getting darker" Then it happened "BOOOOM!!" Thunder, then after the thunder a couple of drops and then a few more drops. Undaunted, we are determined to finish the hole. When we get to the green it is now pouring rain and I then notice that I am the only one who remembered my golf umbrella. It starts to come down like a monsoon. Lee and I both have on waterproof jackets but Espinoza has nada, just her nice trendy cotton track jacket and baby blue cargo pants on. I do up my jacket and grab my waterproof Burberry rain hat (a gift from my sister)out of my golf bag and hand Espinoza my umbrella as she is getting drenched. We decide we will finish this hole and then head back to the clubhouse for a snack and a beverage to warm us up. It's a long way back to the clubhouse from the 4th hole and we realize we are walking the wrong way. True to the course name, it is really hilly and your can't see any landmarks or buildings from our locale. We then backtrack and cut across another hole and disturb a gaggle of Canada geese who are just sitting in a group watching us walk by. One of them, probably the alpha male of the bunch decides to challenge us and starts to hiss at us. I hiss back "shouldn't you be flying south!!" The goose then lifted his beak in the air and did an about face and walked away. Guess I won that challenge. Clubhouse in sight, we think "great we can sit down have a drink and dry off" We enter the pro shop and the oh so friendly pro shop gent says "it's really coming down, eh?" I say "yep, we really thought it would not rain until later today we tried but only made it to the fourth hole" He then says "do you ladies want rain checks for your green fees today" All three of us say "Sure! thats great". He then says "I just need your white receipts from this morning" we all reach in and grap our soaked receipts. Lee then gasps "Oh no, i lost my rain cover for my clubs somewhere back there on the course" I suggest that Lee and one of us take one of the covered golf carts and drive back along the paths to find it. Espinoza volunteers to go with Lee and I wait and guard our clubs. They arrive back about 10 mins later with the found rain cover. We then ask if the clubhouse is open for lunch and are told that because the clubhouse is hosting a private function it will not be open til 2pm. It is only noon. We decide we can't wait til 2pm and instead, since we are in the hub of suburbia, we drive off to one of the many boring chain restaurants in the surrounding area. We all split a carafe of red wine and some pretty good sandwiches and look at each other and say "even if we couldn't golf it is STILL better than being at work!"

Espinoza drops Lee and I off back at the golf course and we go back to the pro shop and ask if we can use our rainchecks for Saturday. The weather network says it is going to be a lovely weekend with lots of sun! We have a 10:38 am tee time for Saturday.

I am now at home, watching the rain pelt down and the trees bend in the rather gusty winds that have developed. Going to uncork a bottle of wine and relax, read a book and enjoy the rest of my day off.


Quote of the Day:

When I'm on a golf course and it starts to rain and lightning, I hold up my one iron, 'cause I know even God can't hit a one iron. - Lee Trevino

Token Chicks

Wow, it's been over two weeks since I have updated my blog. It's been crazy at work and it has been a physically and mentally draining month thus the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of the computer even longer and think of a blog to write.

Film festival premiere of "Stranger than Fiction" was great. Loved the movie. It was very exciting to sit really close to the stage and see Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in person (photo is of Emma arriving the Elgin Theatre in Toronto for the premiere) She was gorgeous and he (Dustin) was hilarious. JB(a huge Dustin Hoffman fan) wrote a blurb about our encounter with Dustin when he and the other actors were exiting the theatre. Dustin looked at us and said "thanks for having us in your city. It's a beautiful city and a great film fest". At one point just before the movie was to start. JMan's wife looked down from our balcony seat and said to me "is that Demi Moore sitting there?" I stood up a bit from my seat and peered over the balcony to check out the thin, tanned woman in a really expensive long black dress with long dark perfectly coiffed straight hair, gorgeous shoes on sitting with her legs crossed, nervously bouncing her foot up and down and CHEWING GUM LIKE A COW CHEWING IT'S CUD!! sitting beside her was a guy dressed in a corduroy jacket, jeans, running shoes and a baseball cap which was pretty much covering his face. I assume it was Aston Kutcher.

I have been playing my usual weekly golf game each week which kept me sane as well as my weekly lessons with Espinoza,Lee and JB. Two weeks ago I played in my first golf tournament and won two trophies! One trophy was for closest to the pin for ladies and one for longest drive for ladies. I must say that the trophies were a bit of a given as the other women playing in the tournament were not regular golfers. All the same, it was nice to A/ play a round of golf at a championship course for free and B/ take a day off work to play with some co-workers.

I love the egos of some of the male players when they see a woman arrive with her own clubs and golf gear on. They sit at the starters box and wait to watch you tee off. So of course I had to try my utmost to make my first drive look really good. It gets even more hilarious when you stop for a lunch break between the front 9 and the back 9. You meet up with the players ahead of you and the group behind you and chat and ask how each others game is going and then you encounter that one male. You ladies who golf know what male I am talking about. The group behind us had one of THOSE males. You know the ones who have to talk and talk everything up as god forbid anyone think or know that he isn't as good as anyone else on the planet. Any woman who plays golf has encountered this species of male more times than we care to remember and we have all had the following conversation with this male and usually it occurs after they have seen you swing and watched your drive from the first tee. Since buddy was in the foursome behind us, he saw a few of my drives and shots. Here's how the conversation goes, it doesn't alter much from golf course, city, country.

Insecure Male Golfer: "So, how often do you golf"

Female Golfer (me): "I dunno, about once a week minimum sometimes two times a week"

Insecure Male Golfer: "well really! That's great you can get out that often" (as if I should be home vacuuming or cleaning or doing the laundry instead)

Female Golfer (me): "ya, it's important to play this game regularly or you just won't get good at it"

Then comes the classic male ego boosting, chest thumping boast:

Insecure Male Golfer: "yep, well I don't get out that often and this year I have been so busy and have not had the time to play as much as I would like. How's your game today. You know, back at the eighth hole I had a great drive ball went 240 yards, my score is great today not too many bogies"

Female Golfer (me) rushing to get out to start the next 9 holes: "wow, good for you. Enjoy the rest of your lunch. See you at the awards ceremony later today, good luck on the back 9"

As I was walking out of the clubhouse with my co-worker Tony, who is actually a very good golfer but with no ego or sexism when it comes to golf. I whispered "My ass he drove the ball 240 yards. I saw his swing" Tony just laughed and said "I know, I know, what are you going to do" What amazes me is that "Mr 240 yards" didn't appear to drive far enough on the 7 hole as he didn't win any trophy for longest drive or closest to the pin.

I regularly read "Golf for Women" magazine and one of my favorite regular columns is the "What's Bugging Me Now" column written by Senior Editor Stina Sternberg. This months column is a classic example of discrimination against women in the golf world. Article is included below and link to the Magazines version is here:

What's Bugging Me Now

On a recent Sunday, a friend invited me to play golf at her club in the New York area. My friend is a new member at this club--she spent a half-dozen years on a waiting list and paid a lot of money to join--and I was excited to play there. She told me we had to tee off in the afternoon, because the opening-day tournament was being played in the morning.

I asked my friend why she hadn't signed up for the tournament--after all, she was new at the club and trying to get to know people. She also plays to a 3-handicap and might have had a shot at winning the trophy. "It's just for guys," she told me. I asked when the women's opening-day tournament was being held, because, surely, she'd be a lock for that. "There isn't one," she said. There isn't one? At this modern-day country club, a woman is welcome to spend the equivalent of a hefty down payment on a house to join--and to wait patiently for six years to be allowed to play--but because of her physical anatomy, she's not welcome in the opening-day tournament? Even a low-single-digit handicap woman who plays from the white tees and would have easily beaten half the field of male players?

It's time for the clubs to wake up and realize that we're not living in the 1950s. Women work, women play good golf and women should have the same privileges as men. If not, we should get some of our fees and dues back. Because last time I checked, we're not getting any discounts for being discriminated against

Quote of the Day:

(About Annika Sorenstam on the men's tour) "I hope she misses the cut. Why? Because she doesn't belong out here."

Vijay Singh (Fijian golfer)

Overture, hit the lights......

drrrrrum roll,.....Well, it's that time of year. Roll out the red carpets and slap on some glitter: The 31st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off tonight. For the next nine days, the city will be swarming with Hollywood heavies, international auteurs and A-list celebrities. Of course with A-list celebrities you also get hordes of celebrity hounds infiltrating the downtown/Yorkville area of the city. These "autograph hounds" will make their way in to the city in droves particularly on weekends where they will tie up traffic, pedestrian traffic included and generally cause disruptions to our lives. In particular JB and I will more than likely NOT get into our usual breakfast diner that we head to on weekends. These celeb hounds and wanna be seen losers apparently have nothing better to do than go on an neverending quest for that potential brief glimpse of Brad Pitt, who is supposedly arriving on Saturday night, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie etc etc. JB wrote about one of his favorite actors in his blog yesterday and has hilarious photos of the lengths he is going to ensure he is not photographed. I almost feel sorry for the these poor, pampered celebs as apparently the majority of these movie stars love coming to Toronto. They like this city and love the film festival and usually the majority of Torontonians are not that star struck anymore thus they get left alone. Unfortunately, in recent years as the festival has grown it has gotten a bit haywire and we are descended upon by autograph seekers, paparazzi and all the other "accoutrements" that follow movie stars. I remember one September a few years back. JB and I waked into the bar at the Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville, during film fest. The walk through Yorkville was our route home from work and we would stop in at that bar or a couple of other bars in the neighborhood. Anyway, there right in front of us sitting by himself enjoying a beer was Liam Neeson. I whispered to Jim, "wow, that's Liam Neeson sitting over there" JB responded "cool" we then walked to our own spot in the bar and along with all the other patrons in the bar we LEFT HIM ALONE. I doubt this would happen now. The entire area of Yorkville is just packed with people milling about with their photos, DVD's and other things to have signed by their favorite movie star.

What I do find even more annoying/entertaining than the celeb hounds and paparazzi are the hilarious antics of the "serious film fest goers" and so called "journalists". These people walk around with their Festival Pass around their neck everywhere they go as if it is some sort of status symbol or as one would wear a gold Gucci necklace or a rolex watch. They sit in the restaurant patios around Yorkville or walk along Bloor street with their haughty "yes, I am important, look at me I have a pass around my neck for the film fest" attitude. With their film fest guide in hand they sit and look to see who is looking at them and those passes DO NOT come off. I sometimes wonder if these people wear their festival passes to bed. They stand in line at one of our regular breakfast/ diner spots with their passes in clear view along with their pens and note pads as if to suggest that their film pass should grant them a table faster than the rest of us waiting in line. They all sit and name drop and constantly seem to use the word "milieu" in sentences.

Now, JB and I are both movie lovers and despite my bitching about the hassles the film festival brings. We are lucky enough to attend at least one showing each year as we get comps for a festival premiere either through work connections or a friend. We have been lucky enough to see Michael Moore in person when he presented his film "Bowling for Columbine". One year we were able to see the premiere for the film "Love Actually" and were sitting just above Colin Firth and Laura Linney in the lovely Elgin/Winter Garden theatre(photo above) One of the reasons I do like attending the premieres is because I love sitting in the Elgin/Winter Garden theatre. This theatre was recently completely restored back to its original beauty. It is the last operating double decker theatre complex in the world, containing two completely separate and restored Edwardian theatres. It is now a National Historic Site owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Foundation. One of the Centre's greatest treasures, discovered during the restoration, is the world's largest collection of vaudeville scenery hand-painted flats and drops dating from 1913. If you are planning a visit to Toronto there are free tours of the theatre provided during the week and on weekends. It is a gorgeous building and for years it sat empty and unused. Thankfully it has been restored to its former beauty.

This year we are attending the premiere of the new Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson flick "Stranger than Fiction". When I saw the preview/trailer for this flick a month ago I thought it looked great and thought "ya, that's a movie Iwould go see" So, I was really happy when our friend JayMan e mailed me on Tuesday morning and said "hey, are you guys free on Saturday night as I have four tickets for a Festival Premiere."

Check out the trailer. And no, I won't be bringing my DVD copy of Sense and Sensibility for Emma Thompson to sign.

Stranger than Fiction

Quote of the Day:
“Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models. We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety.”
Daniel J. Boorstin

Albert Speer is alive and well and living in Dubai

Today I was doing my usual surfing around "the net" and from my previous blogs y'all know what that means. I end up on a wacky circuitous drive down the internet highway and I never know where I am going to end up.

Having just watched the amazing Spike Lee documentary "When the Levees Broke" this past weekend. I decided to see what some of my favorite "non-right wing" news websites were writing about on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina sinking New Orleans. Rewinding a bit, if you can get the chance to see Spike Lee's documentary, I suggest you watch it. It is an incredible piece and I think one of his best works ever. It is at times heartbreaking to watch. I had to keep getting up to find kleenex. The interviews with famous jazz musicians, leaders, black leaders, regular people on the street, are so incredible it will put you through a whole range of emotions. You will find yourself shaking your head and wondering why on earth and how on earth GW Bush is still President of the US.

Anyway......I thought to myself "hmmm, I should check out "Mother Jones" site as I have not checked it out in a while. I was reading the "special coverage" page on Katrina and deciding on which of the articles to read first when out of the corner of my eye I noticed an animated "ad" for another Mother Jones article.
What caught me was the catch phrases to get you to click on the animation and take you to the article: "Worlds largest theme park....Biggest Mall.....Tallest Building.....Despotic Ruler....Indentured Labour.....Dubai....Welcome to Paradise" these words are animated across the artistic rendering of what the Dubai skyline will look like in 2008 when the 'Burj Dubai' (worlds tallest building) is completed by 2008 . Now, I don't mind if Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum wants to invest and spend gazillions of his dollars to build a city that is essentially Disney World in the dessert or as the article suggests putting up buildings like "Donald Trump tripping on acid" but I do mind the not so nice reality of that old 18th century thinking that indentured labour is okay. Even more shocking the use of women as sex slaves and the use of child labour. As the article states: Dubai lifestyles are attended by vast numbers of Filipina, Sri Lankan, and Indian maids, while the building boom is carried on the shoulders of an army of poorly paid Pakistanis and Indians working twelve-hour shifts, six and half days a week, in the blast-furnace desert heat.
Dubai, like its neighbors, flouts ILO labor regulations and refuses to adopt the international Migrant Workers Convention. Human Rights Watch in 2003 accused the Emirates of building prosperity on "forced labor." Indeed, as the British Independent recently emphasized in an exposé on Dubai, "The labour market closely resembles the old indentured labour system brought to Dubai by its former colonial master, the British."
"Like their impoverished forefathers," the paper continued, "today's Asian workers are forced to sign themselves into virtual slavery for years when they arrive in the United Arab Emirates. Their rights disappear at the airport where recruitment agents confiscate their passports and visas to control them"

Can it be true or is it just another attempt by the lefties and left wing media to bring down yet another succesful businessman? Cause, according to the Sheiks own website, where you can read his poetry and share his "vision" (he appears to be marketing himself as the Anthony Robbins of the Middle East) it states: Through leadership, vision and innovation, Sheikh Mohammed hopes to guide the people of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and, indeed, the Middle East, toward a brighter future. That's great! This guy can't possibly be the ruler of a country that is abusing workers as all the investigative reporting states. How can it be so. I will let you read the article and check out the Sheiks website yourself and draw your own conclusions. I can only say that I am leaning toward the "left wing media" on this one. The ending paragraph of the article says it best.... "Yet the future that he is building in Dubai -- to the applause of billionaires and transnational corporations everywhere -- looks like nothing so much as a nightmare of the past: Walt Disney meets Albert Speer on the shores of Araby."

I do want to throw a big "F---K YOU" to the likes of Rod Stewart and David Beckham for supporting this despot (David Beckham owns a beach front property on Dubai and Rod Stewart, an island (rumored, in fact, to be named Great Britain)). I guess they both really, really, really, want to forget their working class British upbringing. You would hope that when folks like that start making oodles of cash that they would try to remember where they came from and do something to make the world a better place rather then supporting a country where there is forced labour and forced child labour to boot. Ooooops, guess I just gave away which way my thinking really is leaning towards on this issue, as if there was a doubt.


Quote of the Day:

Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question,
'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there
comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic,
nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Do you wanna go faaaaaaaastah!!!!!!

It's August and it's a few weeks before the September Labour Day weekend. In Toronto that means it is time for the CNE or Canadian National Exhibition. Torontonian's, who seem to shorten all names refer to the CNE simply as "the Ex".

Out of the blue I ended up at "the Ex" on Monday evening as JB's Sports Network sets up an interactive booth for kids at the CNE (the ol' get them hooked on a brand while their young, marketing angle) As JB works in Public Relations for said network, he was down there to make sure things were running smoothly. He suggested I meet him after work and we have dinner.

If you are from Toronto or you have been to Toronto in August you have more than likely walked through the Princes Gates (photo above) to enter the CNE, many, many times. While I was waiting for JB to meet me at the Princes Gates. I stood there looking at how lovely they are and looking at the details and all the carvings and the fountains on the side. The gates were opened in 1927 by H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales and his brother, Prince George. The Princes' Gates have become a symbol of the Canadian National Exhibition. The nine pillars on either side of the centre arch of the gates represent the participating provinces of Confederation (Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949) of Canada. The figure at the top of the arch, Nike the "Goddess of Winged Victory," is a much loved Toronto sculpture. Torontonians were very, very upset and worried when Nike was taken down in the late 1980's for repairs and cleaning. She was returned to her rightful place on top of the gates looking eastward over the city skyline. The Princes' Gates were designated as historically significant under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The Ex is a tradition for many families. The Ex was founded in 1879 to encourage the development of agriculture, manufacturing, industry, commerce and the arts. It is now the largest annual fair in Canada and the fifth largest in North American with an average attendance of 1.3 million visitors annually.(got that from their "history of the ex" page). I remember as a small child my parents taking us every summer to the CNE. As I walked through the gates on Monday night a flood of memories came over me. As a kid the start of the CNE was always a bittersweet time because you knew when the Ex started you were 3 weeks away from school starting! You would go with your CNE pass which was handed out with your final report card each summer and immediately head for the midway to ride on the rides. I have a vivid memory of being very small and riding on one of children's rides on the Midway. It was a floating ride with little boats on a spoke that went around in a circle at a very low rate of speed, but as a 4 year old it seemed pretty fast. You had your own steering wheel and each little boat had their own bell that you could ring. I can still see my Dad smiling and waving at me each time I went around in my own little speed boat while my Dad motioned to me to ring the bell. Scattered throughout the grounds of the CNE are numerous buildings each designated for a specific purpose during the exhibition. Many of them are now designated heritage buildings as they were built from the late 1800's onward. The "Better Living Centre" was where all the latest appliances would be showcased. I remember my parents going there to check out the latest models in vacuum cleaners one summer. Sadly, now "The Better Living Centre" is more like a huge dollar store with booths showcasing all those "as seen on TV" products.

The Automotive building was where all the latest models of cars were showcased but Toronto now has a huge auto show in February each year. Now the Automotive Building houses the "Farm,Food and Fun" exhibit. The farm exhibits used to be housed in, you guessed it, "The Agricultural Building" which seems to be used for a different purpose this year. Beside the Agricultural Building is the Horse Palace. Being an ex equestrian, I used to spend a lot of time in the Horse Palace during the CNE. My Mother and I would go down a few times to watch the various horse competitions. They do seem to have horse "related" shows going on there but they have strayed a bit from the usual hunter/jumper and dressage competitions.

What I found fascinating while walking around the CNE on Monday night was how much the food building has changed. When I was a kid it was where you went for tons of free samples of candy and soda pop. It would be where the various big name food manufacturers would introduce their latest products. There was never any "ethnic" food at the food building. How times have changed. These days the food building fare has changed to reflect the more multicultural population of Toronto. But don't panic, you can still get Tiny Tom doughnuts and H. Salt Fish and Chips (my mothers favorite CNE snack) As I ventured into the Food Building on my quest for my CNE fix of a tray of curly fries. I noticed all sorts of different food kiosks now selling all sorts of ethnic fare Greek food, Indian food, Lebanese food,West Indian food. JB queued up for a shawarma which he said was excellent. I chuckled and thought when I was a kid the food building was where you could get fries, fish and chips, sausages and the most "exotic" dish you could get was a bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce for a dollar. Now you can get tandoori chicken and head over to the cheesecake stand and get a capuccino and a slice of cheesecake for dessert.

The Bandshell is still there but the music has changed from when the old swing bands from the 1930's and 1940's would play there. It was built as a replica to the Hollywood Bowl, in the 1930's. This summer the Bandshell's attraction is a show called "Hollywood-The Movie Song Show" where you can watch live performers sing, along with dancers and visual props of your favorite movie. You HAVE to check out the link that "showcases" this show. I could not stop laughing but then hey, the show IS free with your admission to the Ex.

I have not been to the Ex in quite a few years and it brought back a lot of memories as I walked through the gates. It was kind of comforting to see that it really hasn't changed that much yet it has changed a lot and truly reflects the multicultural population of Toronto. It is wonderful that all the old buildings are still there and are used and maintained. I can't say I would go every year as I used to when I was younger and like most Torontonian's we may not go every year but we would probably fight tooth and nail to ensure that the CNE went on each year.

I do have a hankering to head to the midway again and climb on the "Polar Express" and fly around in a circle so fast that the centrifugal force squishes you into the person you are sitting with while the music is blaring and the ride operator screams through the microphone "do you want to go faaaaaaaster!!!"

JB is back at the booth on the weekend so perhaps I will trek down again and meet him for lunch hit the polar express and get a belgian waffle ice cream and sit by the Princess Margaret fountain and watch a new generation of youth experience this end of summer CNE tradition.

Quote of the Day:

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Samuel Ullman

Panthera Tigris Sumatrae

I decided to check out my mutual fund results this morning as they have been taking a beating the past couple of months. I was happy to see that they are climbing up again. My mutual funds are with AGF. This company uses a Tiger as their logo, stay with me...The Toronto Zoo has two new Sumatran baby tiger cubs and AGF, out of the goodness of their Corporate hearts (i am sure not because of the advertising it will give them) has funded "The AGF Baby Tiger cam" it is pretty cool and fascinating to watch the Mother tiger, Brytne, and her two cubs,yet to be named. As Blake Goldring,President of AGF, states on the Toronto Zoo website "Through the Tiger-Cam we can witness the previously hidden world of one of nature's most endangered animals, the Sumatran Tiger. Please come back and visit often - these cubs are growing and changing - in front of our very eyes!" Thanks Blake and hopefully your fund advisors at AGF are constantly on the look out for environmentally friendly and responsible companies with which to invest our money with. Makes me sad that we can't have a web cam in Sumatra where we can watch Sumatran Tigers frolic in their natural habitat! I just checked the web cam and Mother tiger is giving one of the cubs a bath...


Quote for today:

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.

Henry David Thoreau