King Arthur Movie Tristan

Has it really been 35 years?



Video link.

Sometimes it feels alright to feel old. Today, I am grateful that I'm old enough to remember this one, and why it was such a big deal.

I am heading to the Classical Guitar Society of Upstate New York's fall festival for the weekend, where I will play:

Two waltzes:

Tema De Strauss (theme by Strauss: Kiss Waltz) - Fransisco Tarrega
Los Das Hermanitas (The Two Little Sisters) - Fransisco Tarrega
English Suite - John Duarte

A full day of playing by society members, then a composers seminar with Mir Ali, and finally a concert of pieces from the Segovia Archive by Mark Delpriora.

I am shutting down the blog for the weekend, including the usual weekend fare.

Regular posting will resume Tuesday.

Remember the caterwauling when John Baird released his Kyoto report, and Elizabeth May said a carbon tax would not need to be anywhere near the $195 a tonne the report said, and Stephan Dion said no carbon tax was necessary, a $20 tonne deposit system was all that was needed?

Liberal Leader Stephan Dion also rejected the $195 figure as excessive, saying that his party proposes a $20-per-tonne "deposit" instead of a tax.

"It's a deposit that the companies will have to give to the environmental bank -- and they will have this money back if they decrease their emissions," Dion told Question Period co-host Jane Taber.

"It's like when you have your bottle of Coca-Cola and you bring it back to the grocery store. You get your money back. It's not a tax."

Not a tax. That has been Stephan Dion's line from the start. No Carbon tax.

If that is true, why did Dion's Industry Critic and co-chair of the Liberal Party of Canada's election platform committee, Scott Brison, pen an article today in which he says: "It is clear that... governments eventually will put a price on carbon."

What is a price on carbon, put their by governments, but a carbon tax? Dress it up however you want, but Scott Brison called a carbon tax a sure thing. And since he's helping write their platform, we must assume it's now Liberal policy.

Forget polls. I've said it a hundred times. Pollsters often have their own agenda, and can be heavily influenced by wording or ordering of questions. Forget them. The politicians do their own polling, and the only agenda on the internal polling is good information. Want to know what the internal polls say? Watch the politicians: they will react to them.

So it is noteworthy, I think, that today Dalton McGuinty didn't go negative, he went scare mongering:

A vote for the Ontario Conservatives is a vote for the decimation of public health care and a return to the dangerous cost-cutting policies of former premier Mike Harris, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday in his sharpest attack yet on his chief rival.

I wish I could believe that John Tory was fit to carry Mike Harris golf bag.

"I'm comparing the politics of Mr. Tory to Mr. Harris,'' McGuinty said, responding to a question in French.

"Yes, they are different people but at the end of the day, what happened in the past will happen again in the future. I want to be sure that Ontarians understand the choice before them. They've already experienced the cuts in their health care system. When I talk to Ontarians, they don't want to see that movie again. They want to move forward.''

Standing in London's John Labatt Centre, McGuinty vowed to spend $550 million a year to hire 9,000 nurses over four years _ enough to fill virtually every seat in the stadium.

"You see this arena behind me?'' McGuinty said, gesturing to the empty stands. "Mike Harris emptied that arena of nurses. We filled it once and now we're going to fill it again. That's the difference.''

Dude, your harshing my mellow.


Watch for the less reliable polling to show in the next week or so that John Tory is picking up support. More interesting to see will be whether this ridiculous John Tory = Mike Harris stuff will have any impact.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger



This is my first book for the Book to Movie Challenge

rated: 4 out of 5





This book was a fun, light read. I started reading it around 10:00PM at night, I figured I'd get in a few pages of reading before bed... 4 chapters later, I didn't even want to put it down. It reminds me of one of my fav tv shows, 'Ugly Betty'.




Andrea Sachs, recent college grad, goes to work for Miranda Priestly, the editor of Runway magazine. Andrea wants to get enough experience in the workplace and eventually get a job at 'The New Yorker'. Miranda is one of the most powerful people in fashion, and has a notorious rep for being a 'b*tch'.
But Andrea...a.k.a... Andy, figures if she can work as Miranda's junior assistant for just 1 year, she will be on her way to bigger and better things. Poor Andy's life is turned upside down because Miranda is super demanding and her new job is taking over her life.
She neglects her boyfriend Alex, her own family and even her best friend Lily, who develops a drinking problem, by the way.
Andy has to figure out if her job and career are worth all the drama and stress
she is going through.




I heard this book is based on a true story and I find it very hard to believe anyone can be as impossible as Miranda Priestly's character. She gives her assistants cell phones so she is able to contact them any time day or night, which she repeatedly does, even on weekends. She makes ridiculous demands constantly and treats her employees like garbage. No one in her presence can speak unless spoken to and she expects her assistants to meet her every demand within seconds. At parts of the book, you do laugh out loud at the crazy demands she gives and at how her employees go nuts trying to make her happy.






'It took me twelve weeks before I gorged myself on the seemingly limitless supply of
designer clothes that 'Runway' was just begging to provide for me. Twelves impossibly long weeks of fourteen hour work days and never more than five hours of sleep at a time. Twelve miserable long weeks of being looked up and down from hair to shoes each and every day, and never receiving a single compliment or even merely the impression that I had passed. Twelve horrifically long weeks of feeling stupid, incompetent and all around moronic. And so I decided at the beginning of my fourth month at 'Runway' to be a new woman and start dressing the part.'








This book was great 'chic-lit'.




I highly recommend 'The Devil Wears Prada'


Now I need to rent the movie version.




'Perhaps he should take over my job, I thought, because I was going to quit. Yes, that was it. I was going to march back to that office and quit. Who needed her shit? What gave her the right to talk to me, to anyone, like that? The position? The prestige? The goddamn Prada? Where, in a just universe, was this acceptable behavior?'

I'm puttering around work with a hangover, swearing up and down that I'm off booze for good - never again - this time I mean it - when I hear John Tory is talking about a trial of selling beer and wine in corner stores. Normally, that would cause me to sit and write a nice, John Tory friendly article with a title like...

But no, today I don't care as I'm "off booze for good - never again - this time I mean it" and it occurs to me if John Tory is having as much trouble connecting with the rest of the electorate as he is me, then he's in real trouble.

Hangovers and a bad case of the zactly's aside, here's how that article cited above might have went:


Finally a Policy Idea I Can Raise a Glass Too.

Back in mid-august we were entertaining our young nephew, who lives in Ottawa. His parents were on their way down to pick him up after a few day stay at our house, and I had no beer in the house. So we were puttering around Friday night, not expecting his parents until after 11:00, and I decided to pick up some beer, in case they were thirsty after their long drive. It was 9:15 on a Friday night, and I was out of luck. Both the Hespeler beer and liquor stores were closed. 9:15 on a Friday night in the middle of the summer.

Thus was born a beer and liquor store abolitionist.

So when John Tory announced yesterday that he would look at selling beer and wine in corner stores he made me sit up and take notice.

Now granted, nothing drastic from our man Tory. Just a few trial locations, study the question: as if Quebec, Alberta and B.C., the U.S.A. and Europe are not test location enough. Really, the data exists, the idea works. But from baby steps like this comes full fledged working policy, so I'll take what I can get.

And don't give me any of that "minors will have an easier time getting alcohol," argument. When I was growing up the beer and liquor stores were the one place you could get alcohol, but try and get into a privately operated bar, and no dice. The same still holds true, and it holds true for a reason. There is no repercussions, either to the unionized employee or the store itself, if somebody sells to a minor in a government run store. But a private operation has much to lose, including their licence, their employees face dismissal for transgressions. There is no reason to believe the same will not hold true at convenience stores.

And please John, tell me you also mean grocery stores: for the environments sake if no other reason. I'm forever making an extra trip instead of grabbing a bottle/few cans of Guinness at the grocery store.

All that said, John Tory is looking for a trial location for his project, I have a little village in mind that needs a place were beer can be had after 9:00 on a Friday night.

Craig, Daniel Craig is said to be hitting the gym in preparation for shooting of the next James Bond film, tentatively titled Bond 22. In case you missed the first 21 Bond's, here's a quick, 1 minute and 22 second summary, as performed by Bunnies.


The latest of the big rock and Roll reunions? The Sex Pistols, cashing on the 30th anniversary of their ground breaking punk album, "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols" with a reunion show on November 30th.

Regarding other old punkers reuniting, lead pistol Johnny 'Rotten' Lydon had this to say about the Police:

"... But honestly that's like soggy old dead carcasses... You know, listening to Stink [Police lead singer Sting] try to squeak through Roxanne one more time that's not fun."

The last time I was in London was 1979. The punks, purple hair and safety pin through the cheek and all, were at their apex. Led Zeppelin performed their last London concerts, the legendary Knebworth shows, while I was there. If I went back at the end of November, it would be like nothing had changed.

News reached me this week of Band from TV, featuring Hugh Lawry, and a group of television actors doing charity musical performances. One of their stand-outs is a version of Cab Calloway's classic, Minnie the Moocher. I couldn't find a video of that performance, but I did stumble across one of my favourite ever TV scenes, Hugh Lawry as Bertram Wooster and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, doing Minnie the Moocher. It just doesn't get funnier than this.

I was working, and didn't watch the Ontario leaders debate. Never one to let a little thing like that stop me from commentating, here's what I believe will be a fairly accurate transcript of the debate:

Dalton McGuinty. Friends, I am here tonight not to win an election, but to save public education for our children. Because this man [points to John Tory] will kill off public education as sure as only legal handguns will kill off our children. I am here to regulate his plans into bureaucratic oblivion [giggles].

John Tory: That's false, you are a liar.

DM: I don't lie. After being elected last time I was forced, through your parties mismanagement, to cede an inconvenient untruth.

JT: Liar. That's not leadership. We need leadership.

Howard Hampton. Gentlemen.. This is unbecoming. Surely we can all agree to throw gobs of money at public education, university and teachers, and to make kindergarten an all day affair.

DM: That sounds reasonable.

JT: You have had four years to implement all that, what have you been doing. Where has the leadership been on this issue. Why haven't you told people of your plans. Liar.

HH: So you disagree with those suggestions Mr. Tory.

JT: Oh dear god no! A little right wing for my liking perhaps, but your in the ball park.

DM: I am not a liar, Mr. Tory. I am disingenuous in my honesty, and I wish you would stop calling me a liar.

HH: We need to raise the minimum wage to 10.00 immediately.

DM: $10.25, Mr. Hampton. Poor people need $10.25 to survive, but they don't need it just yet. Soon as we get these pesky years with a zero in them out of the way.

HH: You have had four years already, now you want another two? Why would you need two years Mr McGuinty?

DD: To give people time to forget I promised it. Last mandate I raised taxes a mere six months after promising not to, and look at the trouble that got me into.

JT: Liar! That's not leadership!! Speaking of leadership, when I ran a government regulated monopoly, we made tons of cash, and we did it with some of the worst customer service ever seen. It takes real leadership to be profitable in a government regulated monopoly. No sitting on the sidelines watching the first nations peoples burning down your buildings in that game.

DM: And what would you do in Caledonia, Mr. Tory?

JT: I'd accuse the first nations protesters of stealing American satellite signals, and sent the CRTC after them. Nobody can resist a bureaucracy that entrenched.

DM: How would that work?

JT: Are you kidding, they'll be filling out forms, in triplicate, for years. Liar! Look folks, a common liar [points to DM].

DM: Stop calling me that.

JT: Oh look, your pants are on fire.

DM [looks]

JT: Made you look; only a real liar would look.
Vote for me for honest leadership.

DM: Public education is a right, and it is good. It is good because it's public, and because it's an education. Stop this dangerous lunatic from giving that education to 5,000 more kids; stop him in the name of inclusiveness. Vote for me, Dalton McGuinty, all save public education for all kids, except the 5,000 noted earlier.

HH: I'm Howard Hampton. Vote for me and you won't have to vote for these two.

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz


This is my second book for the R.I.P. challenge.









rated: 3 out of 5








This is the 3rd book in the Odd Thomas series and I am sad to say I liked this one the least. I'm a big fan of Odd, and the first 2 books were so good. Odd Thomas was excellent, and Forever Odd was just as great. This one didn't hold my attention much though. It started off slow and didn't really take off at all.


It does leave room for another book though, so that's promising.
D.K. did include a few comedic lines as he does with these books, and I did laugh out loud at times. I love Odd's sense of humor.







In this one, Odd goes to live in a monastery in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where one of the monks goes missing. He starts seeing 'bodachs' and tries to figure out what is going on. Bodachs are kind of like ghosts that come 'round when death and pain are coming, only Odd can see them.

One thing I didn't like was that the sick little girl in the room says 'loop me in' to Odd, and he feels it is Stormy, his girlfriend who was killed in book 1, using this little girl to talk to him from the other side. But then nothing else really happens with that story line....

And what happened to Danny? Odd's best friend in book 2? He's not even mentioned once. You even wonder what is Odd doing in a monastery? I also didn't really care much for the other characters. The story really didn't have much excitement and when I first started reading, I was sure I'd be done in a day or two. Instead, it took me 2 weeks, because I didn't really feel like picking the book up again. Sad to say, I found it boring at parts.
It was almost like this book had nothing to do with the previous 2 books.




"Because I live with the dead, my tolerance for the macabre is so high that I am seldom spooked. The part-shriek-part-squeal-part-buzz, however, was so otherworldly that my imagination failed to conjure a creature that might have made it, and the marrow in my bones seemed to shrink in the way that mercury, in winter, contracts to the bottom of a thermometer.

I took one step toward where the school out to be, but then halted, retracted that step. I turned uphill but dared not retreat to the abbey. Something unseen in the camouflaging storm, something with an alien voice full off need and fury, seemed to await me no matter in which direction I proceeded."






see my other reviews for this challenge:



Frankenstein Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

It's a wonder that no one has done this yet (at least I haven't seen it), but half-an-hour on a spreadsheet this morning produced a most interesting, and surprising finding. First, some background.

Ontario is about to have a referendum on changing the way we elect governments from "first past the post" (i.e. the person who gets the most votes wins a riding) to MMP (whereby a portion of the legislature is appointed by the party based on party voting). This will allow, presumably, a party that gets 25% of the votes to have a larger representation in the legislature.

A couple of arguments swirl around the debate for MMP, both pro and con. One, is that a party that gets 44% of the popular vote will find it tougher to get a majority government. Second is that we will have less majority's, more fractious parliaments. Third is it will allow smaller parties to get representatives in the legislature. And my numbers say - all myths.

What I have done is take the last three elections, and extrapolate the numbers to the new system. So, the Liberals got 70% of the 103 seats in the last election, they get 70% of the 90 elected seats under MMP. Further, they got 46% of the popular vote, which I gave to them in the form of 46% of the 39 seats given for party vote under MMP. Here's my results;

The 203 election was a Liberal majority. The seats break down this way:

Liberals 72 (70%) - 46.4% of the popular vote
PC 24 (23%) - 34.6% of the popular vote
NDP 7 (7%) - 14.7%

Under MMP we would have a Liberal majority, with breakdown as follows

Lib: Elected seats 63; List members 18; Total seats 81 (62%)
PC: 21; 13; 34 (27%)
NDP 6; 6; 12 (9%)

1999 gave us a PC majority with PC's getting 57% of the seats, Liberals 29% of the seats and NDP 13. Under MMP

PC: 52; 18; 70 (54%)
Lib: 26; 16; 42 (32%)
NDP: 8; 5 ; 13 (10%)

And in 1995, Mike Harris' first majority. A quick summary, but under MMP

PC: 74
Lib: 33
NDP: 20

In each case, the governments popular vote was in the 45% range, in each case the results would not have changed, although the size of the majority's do. And in each case, no other party garnered the required 3% of the popular vote to get a "party list" seat.

A couple of provisos of note here. In some cases, I am measuring apples and oranges. As MMP has a separate voting mechanism for party list members, extrapolating pure percentage of popular vote isn't necessarily going to be accurate. The green party, for example, got 2.8% of the vote last election, but if given a separate choice, may very well have got quite a bit more. However, I am assuming that most people will vote for the same member and party. Also, three elections is a small sample. Done properly, such an analysis would go back 30 or 40 years, and examining the times when MMP would have changed results might even be more informative (the David Peterson Bob Rae years would be interesting to do, and how it would have affected minority legislatures would also be interesting). Finally, if you do some quick math, you will note that my numbers don't always add up. In each case the seats alloted is less that the 129 that would actually be given under MMP. This is a trick of percentages, and does not affect the end result.

I will make no comment on the data at this point, but am interested in others comments. I will make my opinion of MMP known later, but don't want to confuse this information with any argument I might make pro/con MMP. I did this for my own information, curious whether the arguments mentioned above hold water when tested against whatever data we have. They don't, so use that as you see fit.

Update: Never Mind:

As Eric points out in the comments, I seem to have gotten the formula for MMP wrong (although I'm still not 100% sure). My conclusions, in each case, are incorrect and invalid.

Have you seen that commercial yet? Dalton McGuinty virtually giggling into the camera (scroll down the empty page and click on video 3: Public Schools):

You know what I love about Ontario's public schools? They're public.

Not that it's good, effective, gives our kids a superior education, prepares them for reality, or is inexpensive and efficient. No, what Dalton McGuinty loves about the education system is that it's owned and operated by the government of Ontario.

Which makes giggles McGuinty a dangerous ideologue:

Soviet TV, 1978 - Your great leader Leonid Ilyich McBrezhnev:

Comrades. Do you know what I love about Russian made GAZ automobiles? That it takes three years to get one? Nyet. That it breaks down with annoying regularity? Nyet. That it's dangerous, unreliable and poorly made? The way the glove box rattles, the coffee cup holder is twice the size of any coffee cup I ever saw, and the sun roof won't close when it gets wet? Nyet comrades. What I love about my Lada is it's made by the government.

Don't we need a better reason for supporting public education than "because it's public"? And if that's the only reason to continue supporting it, then isn't that an admission that it's time for a complete re-think on the education file?

Stephane Dion's nightmare scenario became a reality in three byelections Monday night...

For only the second time since 1935, the Liberals lost the multiethnic riding of Outremont - and it wasn't even close. They were beaten by 20 percentage points...

With the party hemorrhaging seats in the province...

The party's fall from grace has been staggering in the province...

But despite Dion's optimism, he should expect to face tough questions from his own troops. One Liberal MP went out of his way to point out that the Liberals' current seat-count in Quebec - 12 - is the lowest since Confederation...

Another Liberal MP agreed that it's time for a few changes. (emphasis mine)

OK, those are the highlights, but if Dion is going to get press like that, Stephen Harper need not worry about the backlash from the press gallery.

Gerry Nicholls predicts Dion is toast. He may be right, Liberals don't tolerate losers, and right now that's what Dion is.

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou her maid art far more fair than she:

Be not her maid, since she is envious;

Her vestal livery is but sick and green

And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.


It is my lady, O, it is my love!

O, that she knew she were!

She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?

Her eye discourses; I will answer it.

I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.


What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O, that I were a glove upon that hand,

That I might touch that cheek!


-William Shakespeare




go here for the complete works of William Shakespeare

How bad was Britney Spears MTV Video Music Awards opener last Sunday? This article refers to her as a "mumbling, miming performance." When you are getting panned for both lip synching, and mumbling, you have a problem. Truth is, however, that she was obviously lip synching, so the mumbling accusation must be taken at face value. Perhaps they meant bumbling, which is fair comment. My favourite part? At the 45 second mark (video here) when she steps on up a knee high riser, and needs help. Any performer worth their salt could make that hop with ease.

Then there's this very troubled young man:



Hey, I wish nothing more for people to leave her alone so she can get on with her well deserved obscurity.

On the complete opposite of the talent scale, Led Zeppelin announced a one-off reunion show on Nov 24th. Tickets are available through a lottery system, and so far "about 20 million fans" have put their name forward for a chance at the $250 tickets. Hopefully a number like "about 20 million" will convince Robert Plant that a tour should happen.

Here's one I don't know how I'm going to get out of. Lady Hespeler's favourite actor, Colin Firth, has signed on to play Harry Bright in the movie version of Lady Hespeler's favourite play, Abba's Mama Mia! Even the addition of Pierce Brosnan can't overcome Abba music and Meryl Streep. And with a July 18 release date, it looks a very un-happy birthday weekend for a well known Hespeler area blogger.

And speaking of Colin's, yaaa! to Colin Farrell, who this week, instead of whining that we all don't do enough for the homeless, put his money where his mouth is. While attending the Toronto Film Festival, Farrell spotted a panhandler in the crowd whom he knew from a previous visit (apparently during his last time in Toronto a radio station was offering $2,000 to the person who could bring Colin Farrell in. Farrell grabbed the first panhandler he could find, this same fellow, and dragged him to the radio station to get the $2,000). So Farrell spots this guy, says to him "jump in the car," and takes him on a spending spree. He buys a couple of grand in outdoor equipment, coat, sleeping bag &tc, then gives him a wad of cash, enough for first and last on an apartment. The homeless guy himself says he gave him a chance to finally get off the street. If he does, then Farrell's a hero on this one.

On the other end of the human decency scale, OJ Simpson is back in trouble with the law. OJ calls it getting some stuff that belongs to me back, but Nevada police are calling it armed robbery. It's only in the investigation stage right now, but my guess is if Simpson is charged, tried and found guilty, he'll get a maximum sentence. And this ain't Canada OJ, it won't be 2-5 with possible parole after 1/3 sentence, mandatory release after 2/3. It will be real, hard time.

Big, BIG ole h/t to Joanne, who really has this story covered, but I'll add what I can.

This post will back track to June 06, when I ran a story about Caledonia, and the natives claim on ten KM from the Grand River. As I noted, "Brantford, Kitchener, much of Waterloo, Fergus and my beloved Hespeler is on their hit list." Today they added Guelph, somewhat arbitrarily it seems, but who's keeping count.

Joanne talks about the Haldeman tract, which is that 10KM strip from the grand, a picture of which is here.

Have a peek at the area covered by the track, and understand that Native Groups today declared it's theirs.

Dalton McGuinty was last seen running away from the scene, and threatening CHCH news to not a run their story about it.

Update: It seems Caledonia Wake Up Call was right on the money

We are about to find out just how Biased the Toronto Media is. We all remember how the media spent endless hours covering how controlling Harper (Conservatives) was over the media.

Now we have a clear, direct threat to a Media Outlet by McGuinty's Campaign Office, so let's see whether the media will cover this story to the same degree.

I can find one reference to Premier McGuinty threatening a media outlet if they ran a story.

Six Nations chiefs in the Watrerloo area are, as of today, demanding that anyone building along the Grand River get a Six Nations building permit:

From The Star:

WATERLOO REGION - Traditional chiefs at Six Nations say anyone planning to build in this region now needs native approval.

Developers in the Grand River watershed have been told they must secure a permit, issued for a fee by a new planning department established under aboriginal law.

"We are saying specifically that you need to apply and be given a permit," Aaron Detlor, a spokesperson for the new planning agency, said yesterday.

"If you do not have a permit and you proceed, it's our position that you are doing so in an unlawful fashion."

He said there are no plans to send protesters here to challenge a development that has no permit. "That's not part of the process that we envision whatsoever," he said.

Also, "we're not going to rely on the Canadian court system."

"Ontario believes the place to resolve the (Six Nations) grievances is at the negotiating table, not on the backs of individual developments," said Lars Eedy, spokesperson for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

So what happens if a developer builds without a native permit and is confronted by protesters?

"It would become a police matter," Eedy said.

Ken Seiling, chair of Waterloo regional government, worries the permit demand will provoke tensions...

From 570 News:

Developers may be dealing with a lot more red tape along the Grand River on lands claimed by the Six Nations.

Six Nations have formed their own municipal planning department under aboriginal law to deal with the development of land they say belongs to them along the Grand.

That native planning department says they now require all developers who build on land they claim in Waterloo Region, Guelph, and Brantford to get permission and a permit at a cost of between 5 and 7 thousand dollars. That would make developments along the watershed a lot more expensive.

The department is created under native law, but here is the catch: that permit is not required under Ontario law. So, if the developer is not legally responsible to get a Six Nations building permit, how will Six Nations enforce those permits? Could it spark further protests?

I have to go to work now, but thought I'd pass along these links. More later...

It's probably an oldie, but thanks anyway to Ron for sending this along:

Little Melissa comes from Chance Cove Newfoundland and attends first
grade.
After school she tells her father that they learned about the history of
Valentine's day.'Since Valentine's Day is for a Christian saint, I was
wondering if I gave a Valentine to someone who was not, will God get mad
at me for giving them a valentine?'
Melissa's father thinks a bit, and then says 'No, I don't think God would
get mad. Who do you want to give a Valentine to?''

'Osama Bin Laden,' she says.

'Why Osama Bin Laden,' her father asks in shock.
'Well,' she says, 'I thought that if a little Newfoundland Christian girl
could have enough love to give Osama a Valentine, he might start to think
that maybe we're not all bad, and maybe start loving people a little bit.
And if other kids saw what I did and sent Valentines to Osama, he'd love
everyone a lot. And then he'd start going all over the place to tell
everyone how much he loved them and how he didn't hate anyone anymore.'

Her father's heart swells and he looks at his daughter with new-found
pride. 'Melissa, that's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard.''

'I know,' Melissa says, 'and once that gets him out in the open, our
Canadian Soldiers can shoot the fucker.

Wonder if Dad choked on his granola bar?

They are calling it a one night only event, and with Zeppelin's history that seems likely. However, if they are ever going to throw a tour together, this seems like the time. And remember, a few weeks ago everybody was denying the one off event.

Besides, I don't think the $45.00 I have saved in my Zeppelin fund is enough to get me to Londen for the weekend of November 24th, so they have to do more shows.

I found this at Stephanie's Blog
who found it here.

So I decided to post it at my blog too.

Go to the advanced book search on Amazon, type your first name into the Title field, and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.


And look what I found:

Gift of the Ancient Grove (The Naida's Quest Trilogy, Book 1) by Ken Ramirez

'Her mother was quickly becoming one of the strongest healers of the Ancient Grove, her father the most apt at bringing in the injured woodland creatures of the Forgotten Basin. A queen from a distant land of humans sought their aid in stopping a deadly plague in the Golden Empire. They left—never to return, leaving their daughter, Naida, to be raised by her village of gnomes.Gnomes are usually born as twins, but Naida was born an only child… possessing twice the healing powers'




I want this book now! lol

As I mentioned last year, when I opted for New York Photo Essay, others will do a much better job of covering the anniversary of September 11th than I will. Once again, I give this page over to my camera, with pictures, again taken in the spring of 2006, of ground zero. Please click on the images for a larger picture.

Street hockey on the driveway at 24 sussex.

Sean O'Donnell, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' defenceman who is an Ottawa native, brought the Cup to the house (24 Sussex Dr.) on Thursday.

"He got to take the Cup anywhere he wanted for 24 hours and we were fortunate to have it here for an hour and a half," said Stephen Harper's wife, Laureen. The Harpers invited friends and their son Ben's hockey team, and people from the neighbourhood, to touch the Cup.

"We had over 250 people line the driveway with hockey sticks," Mrs. Harper said in an e-mail. It was a private event with no media. While waiting for the Cup to arrive, the Harpers served hot dogs and ran a mini hockey tournament on the semicircular driveway outside the house.

"We had three street hockey games going. It was fun," said Mrs. Harper...

Mr. Harper and his son attend NHL hockey games together, he goes to Ben's games at the local arena, and his kids and their friends play street hockey outside the home on a regular basis.

Three street hockey games were played on the driveway at 24 Sussex, Ben's friends play street hockey there, "on a regular basis."

One question, where's the pictures and video? This is the kind of story the PM's image needs. Why haven't his people got it out there better?

I'm not a huge Bon Jovi fan. I do have Slippery When Wet, and like half of it. Livin' on a Prayer is the very best of the 80's hair-metal, in my opinion, and Wanted Dead or Alive was always a favourite. And to be fair, Jon Bon Jovi seems pretty cool and down to earth, and Ritchie Sambora was married to Heather Locklear, so he doesn't need to do much with the guitar to impress me. None the less, he impresses me as a guitar player.

All that said, I heard some good things about Lost Highway, and decided to give it a listen with very little in the way of expectations. The thing about having no expectations, is sometimes you are simply blown away: I was blown away.

Now mind you, this is not one of the great albums of all time, nor is it a uniquely remarkable achievement in the history of rock and roll. It is, however, a very good album, and possibly my favourite of the year (the Foo's and Robert Plant still have works coming down the pipe, so I'll not offer a definitive).

Much has been made of the albums country influence, but other than a few pieces, particularly the duet with Leann Rimes, We Ain't Strangers Anymore, and the fun, I Love This Town there's not a lot of country: calling this album country is a bit like calling Led Zeppelin's In Through The Out Door country based on Hot Dog. Bon Jovi treat country like a mannerism to have some fun with, not a serious music style to copy. There's nothing wrong with that: with songs like Summertime (no, not that one) and the title track, they treat rock and roll the same way, and that's what makes this album so good. It's OK music, but Bon Jovi just doesn't take themselves, or the music seriously throughout the album. Result? A fun, rockin good CD, the way rock and roll was meant to be.

Honourable mention goes out to Seat Next To You, a gorgeously romantic song that has earned it's way onto my back yard dance disc.

Condolences to uber-chef/potty mouth Gordon Ramsey, who got his right testicle burned in a cooking accident. His reaction? "F**k me, bollocks to that." Seems kind of tame. He has said worse than that to wannabe-chefs who undercook the risotto. Word is The Savoy Grill is going to start serving a drink called the flaming testicle.

Disney's High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, who is hotter than Gordon Ramsey's right testicle, has had a nude picture (no, that's not a link to the picture) leaked onto the internet. Normally not a big deal when you are an 18 year old actress, and maybe even a plus if you feel you need the publicity. But Vanessa works for family friendly Disney, who can't be happy today.

It's shaping up to be a good fall rock and roll season with a Bruce Springsteen CD, the first all new Eagles CD since The Long Run, a Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD, and the Foo Fighters, Matchbox Twenty and James Blunt offering new CDs. As well, there is a Zeppelin Box set, Mothership, a Paul McCartney retrospective, and live albums by Elton John and Jimmy Buffet. Finally, Led Zeppelin is re-releasing The Song Remains the Same DVD, with the complete set from the '73 Madison Square Garden shows. Add in a Springsteen/E Street Band tour, and a long rumoured Zeppelin reunion, and the next six months my motto may well be "poor but happy."

If Zeppelin is going to reunite, they probably better step it up and get on with it. According to researchers at Liverpool John Moores University rock stars are "more than twice as likely to die a premature death as ordinary citizens of the same age." While I can't imagine why this would be, those Zeppelin boys aren't getting any younger.

I'm not sure what I could possibly add than hasn't already been said, and said better, but farewell to Luciano Pavarotti, who passed this week of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.

I can't begin to say how much I have been enjoying the political hornets nest Brian Mulroney has stirred up with his trashing of Pierre Trudeau this week, and release of his memoirs, Memoirs 1939-1993 next week.

And, strangely, I half agree with Stephane Dion that Mulroney is off base, although Dion calling him a political coward demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge in Mulroney's history, if he really believes it. But slapping Trudeau around for youthful indiscretions? Even if they were as serious as being a Nazi sympathizer (which I in no way believe they are), they are events that happened 70 years ago, in the youth of a man who lived a full life, and passed over six years ago. Besides, Trudeau's work and policies in no way suggest he was sympathetic to the Nazis.

No, if Mulroney wants to attack Trudeau, policy is the place to do it. And there is lots of room to attack, and it is, frankly, fair game whether Trudeau is alive or dead. Policy is the legacy a politician leaves behind, and Trudeau left enough policy is just downright bad. I will reserve judgement until I have read the book, but if Mulroney's critique of Trudeau can't rise above the "he didn't fight the Nazi's when he had a chance" stuff, if he can't find enough policy to lambaste Trudeau over, then it explains much about what went wrong during Mulroney's years in office. If a Conservative Prime Minister can't find pages an pages of critical comment on Trudeau's politics, then he should never have been a) a Conservative and b) Prime Minister.

The fallout, however, looks like it will not be constrained to pistols at sunrise between the Trudeaupeans and the Mulroneyites. Today Senator Pat Carney wrote a letter into the Post regarding David Frum's piece of the free trade Agreement. In his piece, Frum suggested that John Crosbie was the minister of trade who negotiated the FTA. It's not so much Carney's setting the record straight that's interesting; that happens all the time. But the tone of the letter strongly suggests the following entry in Pat Carney's (Sen. PC) Christmas card list:

Here is the letter itself:

David Frum's mundane account of Brian Mulroney's historic accomplishment in achieving the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is marred by his false assertion that John Crosbie was the minister of trade who negotiated the FTA. That role is properly mine, as trade minister whose signature is on the Agreement in Principle negotiated by finance minister Michael Wilson, chief of staff Derek Burney and myself in a clock-racing marathon in Washinton [sic] on Oct. 4 1987. John Crosbie, who famously said he had never read the FTA, was responsible for implementing the negotiated agreement. Look it up.

With this being the week before the first of the two big memoirs coming in the next few months (Jean Cretien also has his coming out), this could be a lively and fun fall.

Two days ago Buzz Hargrove was mentioning "Canada's Manufacturing Crisis," which lets face it, is Ontario's Unionized Manufacturing Crisis, and he laid the blame squarely at Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty. They are the guys who should be losing their jobs, paraphrased Hargrove, not 1,000 GM workers. Interestingly, while Buzz was blaming Harper and Flaherty for not creating enough US demand for pick-up trucks, Dalton McGuinty was making the crisis worse, to stunning unionized silence.

The CAW will tell you they have a very tough round of negotiations coming up with the big three next year, where GM, Ford and Chrysler will all be looking for concessions from their workers. The concessions will be in the form of wages, benefits and paid time off. So in the middle of this crisis, in the middle of a good, the right wingers aren't left wing enough rant, Buzz's left leaning buddies in the provincial Liberals decide to create, one more paid day off.

We can debate the merits of the day off pro and contra until the cows come home, but if we are in the middle of a job-loss crisis, this is not helpful, it's harmful. And, if that is so, shouldn't Dalton be called out on that fact by Buzz, Jim Stanford et al.? And if they don't call Buzz on this one, does this mean there is no real crisis?

Oh, and memo to the CBC: back in September 2005, the CAW lost zero (0, none, nada, zilch, soccer score) "jobs at DaimlerChrysler in Ontario." Many workers, some of whom I knew, worked with, liked, in fact did lose their jobs. But the CAW? They weren't their jobs, they don't own the jobs, thus they cannot have lost the jobs. Just sayin'

Guess what? I found yet another reading challenge. This one is hosted by SMS Book Reviews and it sounds like fun. The good thing is it doesn't start till Jan '08, so I have plenty of time to be done with my other challenges by then.


Numbers Challenge




The challenge is to read 5 books whose titles have a number in them from Jan 1, 2008 to June 1, 2008 This includes written numbers like "one" or "forty."
Need some help picking? Try here and here




Here's my picks:



1. 1984 by by George Orwell


2. Fahrenheit 451 by by Ray Bradbury

3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

4. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez


5. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield



here are my alternates:


6. In the Tenth House by Laura Dietz



7. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini


8. 44 Scotland Street by Alexander Mccall Smith

I just finished reading Frankenstein the Prodigal Son Book I by Dean Koontz. This is my first book for the R.I.P. challenge.









rated: 4 out of 5





I really enjoyed this read, it was creepy and full of suspense.




In the story, Victor Frankenstein survives to live in the 21st century. He lives as a rich scientist named Victor Helios in New Orleans.

The House of Frankenstein is pretty creepy to say the least. His staff is made up of his own monsters. And he has changed himself to remain young and to replace society with his 'New Race' of monsters.
He programs them whatever way he wants and performs all kinds of nasty experiments in his lab.





Frankensteins nasty creations already live among humans...they are everywhere. One of which is a cop serial killer, who is trying to slice people up in an effort to find out what makes them happy. Frankensteins creatures can never feel happiness.



A pair of homicide detectives, who are kind of in love with each other BTW, are discovering the truth and that Frankenstein is real.

Frankensteins first creation, calls himself Deucalion, and has been hiding in a Tibetan monastery for 200 years. Now he comes to New Orleans to help the homicide detectives and fight against Franeknstein and his monsters.


I can't wait to read the next part of the story 'City of Night'.




A character I liked alot is Victors wife Erika. She is made to be a slave to Victor, yet when he 'designs' her, he allows her humility, so she can feel shame. Erika ends up being more than what Victor expected, she enjoys reading Emily Dickinson and even admires the 'Old Race' of humans instead of hating them as she is supposed to.






'Life in the house of Victor Frankenstein was certain to involve more macabre moments than life in the house of Huckelberry Finn. Nevertheless, the sight of a severed hand crawling across the drawing-room carpet amazed even Erika, a man-made
woman equipped with two hearts.'-Frankenstein the Prodigal Son Book I by Dean Koontz