July 2008
Is Obama Really The Next Paris Hilton?
Posted by on Thursday, July 31, 2008 in - 15 comments
While I have to admit I still really have no idea what the policies of an administration led by Mr. Obama might look like, I really had no idea that this sort of thing was what would be going on: • After spending much of the summer searching for an effective line of attack against Senator Barack …
Group Project: The Denationalization Project
Posted by on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 in - 4 comments
I don't recell this being on the platform of any party or being discussed by the minority Parliament or in a constitutional conference. But the deCanadianization project is now off and running: • The Harper government is prepared to let Quebec negotiate a unilateral labour-mobility deal with …
Do I Need Another Search Engine?
Posted by on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 in - 2 comments
I used to use Web Crawler. I admit it. Then there was that day when I read about a new faster search engine and switched to Google. It was innocent but grew and grew until people said it was too powerful, too unfocused or just evil. Now there is Cuil, a service worth disliking from infancy for its …
The Cassette Is Dead
Posted by on Monday, July 28, 2008 in - 8 comments
I still have boxes of cassettes - as well as 45s come to think of it. I never had any 8-tracks and those that did usually ended their lives in those huge anti-8-track riots of the early 1980s. But sad to see the demise of the handy cassette, the giver of mobile take anywhere music: • While the …
Is It Really Time To Trade Manny???
Posted by on Saturday, July 26, 2008 in - 1 comment
Last night's 1-0 defeat to the Yankees was capped off with an outraged Mike Lowell jumping up and down in the ninth after being called out on a pitch that was so far inside and so high that, given earlier events of the day, it could have been the cause of a beanball warning rather than a strike …
Friday Bullets For Stay-cation Week
Posted by on Friday, July 25, 2008 in - 20 comments
Well, I suppose that the promised break in the days of rain that have been mid-July in Easlakia has to stand for something. I can't think when I last took a summer week off and did not load the family for somewhere - which is just as well as a van full of damp is not a happy van. It has been a …
Stay-cation Is When The Internet Dies
Posted by on Thursday, July 24, 2008 in - 2 comments
I suppose it is good that I can't get on the internet for more than 7 minutes at a time this week. Maybe Sympatico considers this part of the service that I am buying. The "Make Sure You Smell The Roses" feature. I should really switch providers but I am too lazy even for that.
Radovan Karadzic? This Will Be Your Life Cube
Posted by on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 in - 5 comments
I have to say, you know, that the idea of plucking tin-pot dictators off busses to have them taken to global justice warms the heart. Careful readers will know that I met many refugees from the Bosnia war in PEI of all places where early relocatations took place. I coached a mens soccer team that …
What I Did On My Summer Stay-cation
Posted by on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 in - leave a comment
It's not like I am not blogging, you know. It's just that I am not blogging here today. But you would, too, if this is what you got up to.
Notes From A Stay-cation
Posted by on Monday, July 21, 2008 in - 4 comments
I don't mind "stay-cation" except that you can't spell it without the hyphen. Better than being called an unimaginative twerb who can't get it together enough to take the family camping. I have excuses - I always have excuses. First, family reunion on Saturday. Then, the annual vintage base ball …
Friday Bullets Without The Pain...Except For The Pain
Posted by on Friday, July 18, 2008 in - 5 comments
I need a new back today. Despite the sit up and other exertions of unbelievable dedication, the back still goes. And it is quite prepared to go before just before the summer holiday begins. Such is life. Good thing I plan to do nothing. • Nevermind those who 3% of folk who think George W. Bush …
The Barenaked Witness Statement
Posted by on Thursday, July 17, 2008 in - 6 comments
I sometimes wonder why Canadian news media report on the reporting of things. So often the CBC or major papers go out and find out what person X thinks about or can explain about what happened to person Y. There is a level of abstraction that isn't the case elsewhere. As you likely know, I watch …
Progressive Policies As Money Makers
Posted by on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 in - 1 comment
It turns out you do well when you do good - wasn't Grannie clever: • The repeal of the out-of-state marriage ban would come more than four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay men and lesbians to marry, and same-sex marriage advocates said the timing was carefully …
He Has The Nicest Neck
Posted by on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in - 9 comments
They all long to touch his neck. Wouldn't you?
I'm Number Six And Have No Idea Why!
Posted by on Monday, July 14, 2008 in - 8 comments
Were any of you aware that Gen X at 40 is being rated highly amongst Canada's top 25 political blogs? • Not me. I spend way more time giving attention to the beer blog these days - though I still beat the drum...or flog the horse, depending on your point of view. Nutty. I had no idea. Jay should …
How Does A Turn Around Occur?
Posted by on Monday, July 14, 2008 in - leave a comment
Now that we are in the All-Star break, there is a moment to reflect upon how great baseball is. Consider, as you should, the AL East alone. There are moments like the Blue Jay's game on Friday night where Dr. Roy earned Jeter's nomination as the best starter in baseball - despite being on the …
Whose Record Is It?
Posted by on Sunday, July 13, 2008 in - 14 comments
This editorial in today's New York Times highlights a very interesting question - whose record is it? Apparently in the present US administration it may be considered the office holders' and not the People's: • Missing e-mails include entire blank days at the offices of President Bush and Vice …
Your Friday Bullets For Mid-Early July
Posted by on Friday, July 11, 2008 in - 6 comments
Part of the problem is that all the interesting stuff happens at work and I don't write about that. Add to that getting up at 7:53 am so it ain't going to be exactly an epic one today: • It appears the Argos suck again.I can't believe Vatican Radio is not tuning a profit.Read this ruling …
Out! Out! Damn Tiny Substances!!!
Posted by on Thursday, July 10, 2008 in - 3 comments
We live in a time of great fear. Terrorism. Financial instability. Food security...or is that now "nutrisekur"? Well, here's one more - tiny substances: • A blue-ribbon scientific panel has waved a yellow flag in front of a rapidly expanding number of products containing nanomaterials …
What Now?
Posted by on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 in - 5 comments
That is basically the question every morning. What now? What can I write about to get me though this obligation, this promise to myself that I will write every morning? Yes, it's the periodic I have nothing to write about post. I should have more to say but I suspect about 21 months ago I wrote …
Craigslist
Posted by on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 in - leave a comment
Thinking of using craigslist to find a vacation spot. Any hints or warnings?
The Government Said The Public Wasn't Ready
Posted by on Monday, July 7, 2008 in - 13 comments
I didn't realize I wasn't ready. Do you have to be a libertarian wing nut to pause and shake your head? • The system would be more open, flexible and convenient for consumers, the panel concluded. The government could restrict the number of stores and their hours, and also retain the current …
Friday Bullets For The Greatest Weekend Of Your Life
Posted by on Friday, July 4, 2008 in - 4 comments
Happy Fourth of July to our American Readers! I am doing a bit of research that points to our fair town being something of the refuge of the first terrorists of your fair land. Bands of Tory and Mohawk Loyalists in the 1780s left here, for example, to destroy all before them led by John Johnson …
The Bad Math Of Canadian Politics and History
Posted by on Thursday, July 3, 2008 in - 6 comments
Let me get this straight. 1605 + 400 = 2008? This is the math according to this morning's Globe and Mail: • On the eve of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City and the arrival of the French language and culture in North America, Quebec Premier Jean Charest praised bilingualism …
I Think This May Encapsulate The Whole Question Nicely
Posted by on Wednesday, July 2, 2008 in - 16 comments
We are a people in need. It is sad but this always comes up - why aren't Canadians as outwardly loyal as others allegedly are to their nations. The Globe and Mail thinks we need a little re-education on this point. A little time out from the family for a nature lesson: • On this Canada Day, I …
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 in - leave a comment
What joy! A stranded Tuesday off - even though I took Monday off, too, to smoke a chunk of pork for five hours. This morning I was asked what smells like bacon. Me, I replied. More great Canada Day photos here from three years ago when I was a much more clever blogger. We are off to be in a canoe …
