What's up? Lots!
1 PIRATES KILLED, HOSTAGE SAVED after a five-day standoff, American ship captain Richard Phillips is safe after U.S. snipers shot the three pirates holding him hostage. And now, their pirate-pals are pissed. But so is the U.S. president. (Guardian, Globe and Mail, NY Times)
2 THE GOOGLEMOBILE COMETH Minions of the Google empire are in Saskatoon taking photos of the city for the company's new Street View program that will eventually let viewers access a 3-D composite of many world cities. Privacy invasion, coolio Internet thing or both? (Star-Phoenix)
3 AMAZON DOT FAIL The online bookseller is scrambling along in damage control mode after after it (accidentally?) de-listed books on gay sexuality, making it difficult to search for and buy them and sparking a ginormous Internet flappola. Salon is following the story. (Wired, Salon)
4 CUBA LIBRE! U.S. President Barack Obama might be moving the United States toward a new stance on Cuba. This is not necessarily a good thing, though--the embargoey bullshitness and tourism restriction are staying in place. (New York Times)
5 LAST GAS The final episode of Corner Gas airs tonight. Also: did you see that clip with Brad Wall ignoring Wanda's goofy strike and driving through her picket line? Would've thought this might not be the best optics for a premier whose government brought in profoundly anti-labour legislation. Then again, a lot of voters in Saskatchewan seem to hate labour's guts, so maybe Wall's cameo is just another way to reach out to his political base. Here's the clip. Strange, creepy stuff. (CBC, YouTube)
6 MAYOR HAIR The Leader-Post has an insane, non-news front-page story story today. Which is no fault of Pat Fiacco's swell hair. And no, I'm not being sarcastic, the man does have nice hair and he wears a mullet well. And no, I'm not being facetious, mullets can (albeit rarely) be worn well. And Mayor pat has such a mullet. But Jeez, isn't prairie dog supposed to be the juvenile, unprofessional and lightweight media outlet in this town? Get off our turf, "Joe Couture" (if that is your real name)!
4.13.2009
This Week at City Hall
Tuesday, April 14
Works and Utilities Committee (4 pm): Considering the 2009 Local Improvements Program -- this is the list of infrastructure repair projects for the year. Many walks, curbs and gutters are up for some maintenance in 2009. Also considering making it a requirement that food processing, preparing and serving facilities install grease interceptors so as to protect the municipal waste water collection system.
Development Appeals Board Hearing (5:30 pm)
Regina Appeal Board (5:30 pm)
Wednesday, April 15
Executive Committee Meeting (11:45 am): Considering -- for the third time -- a proposed new housing incentives policy. This looks like a good policy and I've heard from a couple committee members who've suggested they like the policy and that council supports it. It would seem all the city is waiting on is an affordable housing strategy from the province and then they can get this thing passed. Here's hoping the third time's the charm. Also looking at a report on the progress of the city's apprenticeship program.
Parks and Community Services Committee (4 pm): Looking at recommendations on how to spend their annual chunk of cash from the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund. Also, considering Community Investment and Revue board funding recommendations.
As always, full reports and meeting agendas can be downloaded at the city's website.
Works and Utilities Committee (4 pm): Considering the 2009 Local Improvements Program -- this is the list of infrastructure repair projects for the year. Many walks, curbs and gutters are up for some maintenance in 2009. Also considering making it a requirement that food processing, preparing and serving facilities install grease interceptors so as to protect the municipal waste water collection system.
Development Appeals Board Hearing (5:30 pm)
Regina Appeal Board (5:30 pm)
Wednesday, April 15
Executive Committee Meeting (11:45 am): Considering -- for the third time -- a proposed new housing incentives policy. This looks like a good policy and I've heard from a couple committee members who've suggested they like the policy and that council supports it. It would seem all the city is waiting on is an affordable housing strategy from the province and then they can get this thing passed. Here's hoping the third time's the charm. Also looking at a report on the progress of the city's apprenticeship program.
Parks and Community Services Committee (4 pm): Looking at recommendations on how to spend their annual chunk of cash from the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund. Also, considering Community Investment and Revue board funding recommendations.
As always, full reports and meeting agendas can be downloaded at the city's website.
4.12.2009
Kenny, Kenny, Kenny
It wasn't as bad as Greg Norman's infamous 1995 melt-down where he squandered a six-shot lead heading into the final round of the Masters and lost to Nick Faldo, but today was still pretty bad. (CBS Sports)
Tea Time
As the April 15 deadline for filing income tax returns in the United States approaches, conservatives across the country, in the alleged spirit of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, where American colonists protested against taxation by the British government without representation by dumping a bunch of tea in Boston Harbor, are holding "tea bag" parties to criticize the Obama administration's plan to boost tax rates on wealthy Americans to bring some semblance of progressiveness and reason to the American tax system. Fox News has been pushing the rallies big time. Other media outlets, meanwhile, are having a field day exposing the hypocrisy of the movement (Huffington Post), and cracking up about the protesters self-designation as tea-baggers. (Urban Dictionary)
Sea kittens?!?!?
During some before-bed web-wandering last night, I bumbled across a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaign to get people to stop eating fish. Or, rather :"Sea Kittens", as PETA has re-branded them. "Because nobody would hurt a Sea Kitten," says PETA.
As far as I can tell the campaign was launched last fall in Europe then swam it's bubble-eyed way to North America in January. Here's some news links on it: one from the Telegraph, another from the Calgary Herald (actually the Canwest wire service) and this critical piece in The Economist.
My take? It's a goofy and misguided campaign but it's kind of charming, too. Well, to fish-eating me, anyway. And given the world's current well-documented problems with insane, out-of-control over-fishing, what the hell, why not try to get people eating fewer fish in favour of a vegetarian diet?
In other PETA-related news, the band Pet Shop Boys are not going to change their name to "Rescue Shelter Boys", as PETA requested.
(Sea kitten artwork copyright PETA)
4.11.2009
saturday morning cartoon
Hooray, it's Saturday morning, and time for cartoons!
Keeping with prairie dog's current dinosaur theme, we present the opening credits of Hanna Barbara's Valley Of the Dinosaurs. VOTD was a Saturday morning cartoon from 1974. Sounds like 74-75 was quite the year for the "terrible lizards" actually--1974 was also the year Land Of the Lost debuted, while The Land That Time Forgot--Nazis vs. dinos at the north pole, if I recall--hit theatres in summer 1975. And if you want to count Godzilla as a dinosaur (and why not?) this was also the year he met his scariest foe since Ghidorah: Mechagodzilla!
Bottom line: if you were a little kid in the mid-70s, your brain probably got melted by dinosaurs. Grawr!
Keeping with prairie dog's current dinosaur theme, we present the opening credits of Hanna Barbara's Valley Of the Dinosaurs. VOTD was a Saturday morning cartoon from 1974. Sounds like 74-75 was quite the year for the "terrible lizards" actually--1974 was also the year Land Of the Lost debuted, while The Land That Time Forgot--Nazis vs. dinos at the north pole, if I recall--hit theatres in summer 1975. And if you want to count Godzilla as a dinosaur (and why not?) this was also the year he met his scariest foe since Ghidorah: Mechagodzilla!
Bottom line: if you were a little kid in the mid-70s, your brain probably got melted by dinosaurs. Grawr!
4.10.2009
Posters of the Week
There is just too much awesomeness on Poster Cabaret. It really isn't fair. I won't type any more because anything I could type would be inadequate to express how mind blowing great these posters are. Stop reading. Click the link. Click it now.
Six for Jesus
Today Christians observe the brutal torture and execution of their saviour Jesus Christ, believed by many to have be the son of God (and a damned good guy even if he wasn't*).
It's also a day when prairie dog writers neglect Dog Blog because we're (almost) all a pack of atheist freeloaders exploiting the dominant faith's holiday for some time off.
But lest their be no posts at all today (UPDATE: I see Dechene posted while I was typing this), I shall shrug off my laziness to offer some news-related freeloading; i.e. links to the stories of other media outlets who paid hard-working journalists for them.
And here we go!
1 NOT SO SECRET SUPPORT Yesterday we learned that a Saskatchewan electricians' union has agreed to support Bruce Power's nuclear plans. Oh, reallllllllly. For anyone who missed it, here's my March 17 post on why nuclear power is a really bad idea. But it sure as hell sounds to me like this reactor is going through despite objections and, as far as I can tell, facts. Money to be made, and all that! (CBC)
2 BRAD LIKES DOMES The premier says that in his personal, unofficial view, an indoor, multi-use stadium makes more sense than an outdoor, mostly-football-only structure. If there was to be a new stadium. Which is up in the air, because there's other stuff to do first. Cough. (Star Phoenix)
3 IT'S NOT THE EMISSIONS, IT'S THE INTENSITY Saskatchewan and Alberta's economies are largely hostage to retrograde, planet-killing types of energy production (and no, switching to nuclear is not the way to go). Which is probably why the two provinces' environment ministers are pre-emptively balking at potential emissions-reduction regulations. (Globe And Mail)
4 FINE FERRET FRIENDS Most endangered species aren't completely adorable-looking. But this Saskatchewan cutie sure as hell is. (CBC)
5 BILLY BABY TAKES TOYS, HEADS HOME. To recap: actor and artiste Billy Bob Thornton acts like a pretulant princess on the CBC radio show Q. He says Canadians are like "mashed potatoes without the gravy". He refuses to answer the questions and treats his interviewer like a disobedient servant. And so, he quite reasonably gets trashed by media, continent-wide, and when his band That No One Cares About plays Toronto, Thornton (surprise!) gets booed by the crowd. He then tells his audience that affable CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi an "asshole", thus looking like an even bigger jerk. Then he cancels his Canadian concerts, thus proving he's a delusional egomaniac and completing his circle of jerk-ness. Good riddance, you big damn sissy. (Toronto Star)
6 A REALLY GREAT ACTOR IS IN REGINA RIGHT NOW. Forest Whitaker. Wow. hope he's not an ass like BBT. (Leader-Post)
*He wasn't. Because, like the bus ads say, there probably** isn't a God.
**Definitely.
It's also a day when prairie dog writers neglect Dog Blog because we're (almost) all a pack of atheist freeloaders exploiting the dominant faith's holiday for some time off.
But lest their be no posts at all today (UPDATE: I see Dechene posted while I was typing this), I shall shrug off my laziness to offer some news-related freeloading; i.e. links to the stories of other media outlets who paid hard-working journalists for them.
And here we go!
1 NOT SO SECRET SUPPORT Yesterday we learned that a Saskatchewan electricians' union has agreed to support Bruce Power's nuclear plans. Oh, reallllllllly. For anyone who missed it, here's my March 17 post on why nuclear power is a really bad idea. But it sure as hell sounds to me like this reactor is going through despite objections and, as far as I can tell, facts. Money to be made, and all that! (CBC)
2 BRAD LIKES DOMES The premier says that in his personal, unofficial view, an indoor, multi-use stadium makes more sense than an outdoor, mostly-football-only structure. If there was to be a new stadium. Which is up in the air, because there's other stuff to do first. Cough. (Star Phoenix)
3 IT'S NOT THE EMISSIONS, IT'S THE INTENSITY Saskatchewan and Alberta's economies are largely hostage to retrograde, planet-killing types of energy production (and no, switching to nuclear is not the way to go). Which is probably why the two provinces' environment ministers are pre-emptively balking at potential emissions-reduction regulations. (Globe And Mail)
4 FINE FERRET FRIENDS Most endangered species aren't completely adorable-looking. But this Saskatchewan cutie sure as hell is. (CBC)
5 BILLY BABY TAKES TOYS, HEADS HOME. To recap: actor and artiste Billy Bob Thornton acts like a pretulant princess on the CBC radio show Q. He says Canadians are like "mashed potatoes without the gravy". He refuses to answer the questions and treats his interviewer like a disobedient servant. And so, he quite reasonably gets trashed by media, continent-wide, and when his band That No One Cares About plays Toronto, Thornton (surprise!) gets booed by the crowd. He then tells his audience that affable CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi an "asshole", thus looking like an even bigger jerk. Then he cancels his Canadian concerts, thus proving he's a delusional egomaniac and completing his circle of jerk-ness. Good riddance, you big damn sissy. (Toronto Star)
6 A REALLY GREAT ACTOR IS IN REGINA RIGHT NOW. Forest Whitaker. Wow. hope he's not an ass like BBT. (Leader-Post)
*He wasn't. Because, like the bus ads say, there probably** isn't a God.
**Definitely.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
