1 LINGENFELTER WINS NDP CROWN Here's the story on CBC, in the Leader-Post, in the Leader-Post again , plus Leader-Post politics writer Murray Mandryks' thoughts, a solid report in the StarPhoenix and finally in the Globe And Mail. Oh wait, there's no link to the Globe and Mail story. Wait, IS there even a Globe and Mail story on this important Saskatchewan political event? I can't find one. Booo, Globe and Mail!
2 COLBERT VS. BAGHDAD Televisions' top satirist takes it to the troops. Cool. (Associated Press via Globe and Mail) You know, that's a good story, let's have some more on this. (New York Times.)
3 TORIES CRAP OUT MORE CRAPPY CRIME INITIATIVES They'll be popular with the "thinking hard makes my head hurt" crowd but the new Conservative crime bills like mandatory minimum sentences and now removing the faint-hope clause are terrible ideas because they take power away from courts and judges, who know the details of a case. (Globe And Mail)
The chair of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers says it really well in the Globe's story, linked to above: “Every situation has got a human story to it and you have got to allow some discretion and weighing of circumstances.”
Bottom line: the Tories are pushing a simplistic, childish and frankly unworkable approach to fighting crime.
Sorry, I demand my country's criminal justice policies be flexible, functional and informed by knowledge, compassion and a commitment to making the system work.
4 STEM CELLS PUMPING UP Ottawa-based researchers working with stem cells have made some progress in repairing/regenerating muscle tissue, which is important when you're trying to treat nasty, nasty things like muscular dystrophy. And here's a surprise: bodybuilders are interested in this research. (Toronto Star)
5 BIG BROTHER DOT COM A certain notorious human-rights stomping superpower that just passed a notable anniversary says that all its citizens' personal computers must have censoring software to let the government filter out "unhealthy information". Such as, one presumes, anything on the Tiananmen Square massacre or Tibet. (New York Times)
6 MEANWHILE IN EUROPE, THE PENDULAM SWINGS TOWARD FACISM Ohhhh gooood. Europe just finished electing its parliament and the right-wingers and wingnuts made big gains. Funny thing, democracy--when people are frightened by crumbling economies, environmental collapse, war, crime and a general sense of massive corruption on a global scale, they often vote for extremists. Who are, of course, just the thing a troubled world needs. (Guardian)
6.08.2009
6.07.2009
Eternal Vigilance
I can't slag Sarah Palin for advocating on behalf of people with developmental disabilities, but in news coverage of her visit to New York they were still touting her as a potential presidential nominee for the Republican Party in 2012. WTF? (YouTube)
6.06.2009
Saturday Morning Cartoon
Will Ferrell's Land Of The Lost opened this weekend and the reviews are baaaad. It's a shame--I had high hopes for this one (and I do mean high--more on that in a bit). The original '70s Saturday morning show was a classic. To a little kid in 1974 it was one of the few dependable sources of dinosaurs on TV. (Well, there was this, but it only lasted a year.)
And these were some great dinosaurs. The original Land Of The Lost had special effects ranking up there with Spielberg's Jurassic Park movies. Take a look!
I know I've never seen a more convincing T-Rex. But for the cheerful banjos children like me probably would've been too scared to watch.
Anyyyway, The show ran for several years. Eventually Will and Holly Marshall got a new "dad"--some uncle flung down the same waterfall-wormhole they'd originally passed through.
Pretty sad that their "real" dad got lost forever in some alternate dimension. But as long as those jaunty banjos kept playing fans like me knew everything would be fiiine.
Dinosaurs and banjos weren't LOTL's only appeal. I don't know what it was with the show's creators Sid and Marty Kroft (theory: loads of drugs) but they synthesized a weird and unique Edgar Rice Burroughs/ Cthulu/ space crystal /summer-camp-on-acid genre. If you've got about six minutes, check out this clip:
What, exactly, was in that lizard-dude's fear-smoke, I wonder? Perhaps some ultra-potent prehistoric THC?
Gotta love the 1970s. No wonder America elected Reagan after the decade ended.
Voyage in peace, Rick Marshall, wherever you are.
All clips via YooToob and copyright violation.
And these were some great dinosaurs. The original Land Of The Lost had special effects ranking up there with Spielberg's Jurassic Park movies. Take a look!
I know I've never seen a more convincing T-Rex. But for the cheerful banjos children like me probably would've been too scared to watch.
Anyyyway, The show ran for several years. Eventually Will and Holly Marshall got a new "dad"--some uncle flung down the same waterfall-wormhole they'd originally passed through.
Pretty sad that their "real" dad got lost forever in some alternate dimension. But as long as those jaunty banjos kept playing fans like me knew everything would be fiiine.
Dinosaurs and banjos weren't LOTL's only appeal. I don't know what it was with the show's creators Sid and Marty Kroft (theory: loads of drugs) but they synthesized a weird and unique Edgar Rice Burroughs/ Cthulu/ space crystal /summer-camp-on-acid genre. If you've got about six minutes, check out this clip:
What, exactly, was in that lizard-dude's fear-smoke, I wonder? Perhaps some ultra-potent prehistoric THC?
Gotta love the 1970s. No wonder America elected Reagan after the decade ended.
Voyage in peace, Rick Marshall, wherever you are.
All clips via YooToob and copyright violation.
6.05.2009
Six In The Morning
1 NO-NUCLEAR SHOW Nuke reactor fans in Saskatchewan got a rough ride at last night's uranium forum. (Leader-Post)
2 PIG PLAGUE SMITES CITY SCHOOL There's only been one confirmed case of swine flu at a Regina school, but with a third of children home sick there are fears of an outbreak. (CBC)
3 OUT OF SHAPE Saskatoon kids are overweight and unhealthy, says a new report. (StarPhoenix) I bring this up partly because there needs to be public policy responses to problems like these, and partly because here in Regina our education leaders don't like kids walking to schools. (Dog Blog) Last I heard, getting bussed to school doesn't burn a lot of calories...
4 JUDGE TO GOVERNMENT: STOP BEING TOTAL DOUCHEBAGS TO THAT POOR GUY AND BRING HIM HOME, YOU STUPID DICKS (PARAPHRASED) A Federal court judge orders our federal government to bring home an exiled Canadian who was imprisoned in Sudan thanks to shabby accusations and half-assed evidence. (Globe And Mail)
5 ABORTION DOCTOR'S ACCUSED KILLER HAD CONNECTIONS TO ANTI-GOVERNMENT GROUPS, HISTORY OF FINANCIAL PROBLEMS Sounds like a real solid citizen. Seriously, this is yet another example of the problems with the anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-science, pro-Libertarian agenda, It breeds terrorism. (The Wichita Eagle)
6 TOMORROW IS ANTI-TAX PROPOGANDA DAY An organization that wants weak government, private health care, fewer social services, no crown corporations and pretty much everything else that makes your life better wants you to be angry about paying taxes. Angry! Grrr! (Toronto Star) Because if you're mad about taxes, you're less likely to be angry about real problems. (Globe And Mail)
2 PIG PLAGUE SMITES CITY SCHOOL There's only been one confirmed case of swine flu at a Regina school, but with a third of children home sick there are fears of an outbreak. (CBC)
3 OUT OF SHAPE Saskatoon kids are overweight and unhealthy, says a new report. (StarPhoenix) I bring this up partly because there needs to be public policy responses to problems like these, and partly because here in Regina our education leaders don't like kids walking to schools. (Dog Blog) Last I heard, getting bussed to school doesn't burn a lot of calories...
4 JUDGE TO GOVERNMENT: STOP BEING TOTAL DOUCHEBAGS TO THAT POOR GUY AND BRING HIM HOME, YOU STUPID DICKS (PARAPHRASED) A Federal court judge orders our federal government to bring home an exiled Canadian who was imprisoned in Sudan thanks to shabby accusations and half-assed evidence. (Globe And Mail)
5 ABORTION DOCTOR'S ACCUSED KILLER HAD CONNECTIONS TO ANTI-GOVERNMENT GROUPS, HISTORY OF FINANCIAL PROBLEMS Sounds like a real solid citizen. Seriously, this is yet another example of the problems with the anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-science, pro-Libertarian agenda, It breeds terrorism. (The Wichita Eagle)
6 TOMORROW IS ANTI-TAX PROPOGANDA DAY An organization that wants weak government, private health care, fewer social services, no crown corporations and pretty much everything else that makes your life better wants you to be angry about paying taxes. Angry! Grrr! (Toronto Star) Because if you're mad about taxes, you're less likely to be angry about real problems. (Globe And Mail)
6.04.2009
David Carradine Found Dead
Somebody killed Bill. Actor David Carradine (Kill Bill) was found dead in his hotel room in Thailand were he was shooting a movie (Globe & Mail). There seems to be conflicting reports on what exactly happened - apparently it wasn't a suicide it was an accident - maybe, maybe a kinky accident. But the fact remains that he will be missed.
One of Carradine's first big roles was playing a TV version of my namesake Shane.
But of course David Carradine will always be remembered for Kung Fu. Playing a role that was originally written for Bruce Lee. But I can't find a really good Kung Fu clip. But after Lee died Carradine starred in Lee's unfinished movie The Silent Flute aka The Circle of Iron which was just released on Blu-ray. And I found a trailer for it.
One of Carradine's first big roles was playing a TV version of my namesake Shane.
But of course David Carradine will always be remembered for Kung Fu. Playing a role that was originally written for Bruce Lee. But I can't find a really good Kung Fu clip. But after Lee died Carradine starred in Lee's unfinished movie The Silent Flute aka The Circle of Iron which was just released on Blu-ray. And I found a trailer for it.
New Dog!
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You can tell it's the day the magazine's out; there's been all kinds of long, thoughtful posts from Dog Bloggers who feel a little more peppy now that the June 4 issue's Deadline Of Damocles isn't hanging over their heads. Speaking of the June 4 issue, it's being distributed through Regina right now. Here's an overview.
GENERAL FOOLS' FESTIVAL Regina's long-running improv team celebrates its 12th anniversary with this four-troupe laugh carnival. Stephen LaRose talks to the fools and their friends in funny.
THE NDP'S NEXT TOP POLI Stephen LaRose breaks down the race for Saskatchewan's second most popular provincial political party, and it is a Serious and Important Piece Of Journalism That You Should Read. Also, Rosie tells you how high you should rank candidate Yens Pederson in your hockey pool.
THE SCHNITZ MEETS THE FAN Stephen LaRose, AKA Rosie, AKA Baron Von Rosenstein, AKA He-Who-Wrote-This-Whole-Issue, do takes a trip through memory lane back to Regina's classic live music venue on the eve of D.O.A.'s return and the revival of vintage Queen City punk legend.
ALSO! NewsQuirks by Stephen LaRose, opinion by Stephen LaRose, fashion by Stephen LaRose, Queen City Confidential by Stephen LaRose, listings by Stephen LaRose, Ask Greg by Stephen LaRose, Gwynne Dyer and David Suzuki by Stephen LaRose, and much, much more, all by Stephen LaRose. You've been warned.
UPDATE: And stuff on the "condo situation", by Paul Dechene. Because apparently people are wondering about that.
More on the great selloff
While Whitworth can work himself into a pig-biting mad frenzy regarding the Cons’ mulling of selling the CBC, I have to take that with a grain of salt. Given that Jim Flaherty’s handling of Finance has been so beyond-the-pale lunatic that Harper would have been better off turning over the whole department over to Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys and his economic stimulus plans (YouTube -- NSFW), it’s not surprising that the Tories would be willing to sell the silverware in order to pay the bills. They already did. (prairie dog).
The problem with turning over the government to people who don’t really believe that government should work is that they run the show in a way that confirms their hypothesis, like a little kid that won’t eat his supper because “I HATE IT!” even though he has never eaten a mouthful in his life. Mr. Flaherty’s $57 billion deficit – which the TD Bank economists are saying will expand to $157 billion in five years (National Post) without, you know, cuts in federal spending (how about closing some tax loopholes or raising taxes on people who don’t pay them?)
The deal is, however, that right wing governments actually like deficits. It gives them the excuse to cut programs they don’t like but are politically popular – daycare programs, medicare, the CBC – under the guise of a ‘financial emergency,’ even though their own spending habits did more to create the deficit than circumstance. Ever notice getting out of Afghanistan – where we’ve spent more than $15 billion on the past six years (not to mention the lives of more than 100 soldiers) and got sweet effin’ all out of it – is never on the agenda? Nobody calls sending our army to fight – and lose – a war they can’t win financially unworkable.
But we won’t have to worry for two reasons. It’s more than likely that we’re going to have a federal election (my bet is by Thanksgiving) as the Liberals under Iggy re-amass their financial warchest and watch the Cons self destruct. These Grits will sweep Atlantic Canada, get about 25 seats in Québec, and win a bunch of three-way races in southern Ontario to win the next election with about 175 seats. So, Harper won’t have time to sell off the CBC even if he wanted to.
Secondly, the CBC has already emasculated itself. As Mitch the Alphabet Boy (University of Regina) has told me, politicians appoint their friends to power. And a broadcasting corporation whose first role isn’t to make money is no friend to those who are rich and powerful. That’s why the CBC board, over the years, has installed a management system that has reduced the CBC to little more than a taxpayer-funded support system for Hockey Night in Canada. The 2005 Canadian Media Guild lockout was done during the summer, in an attempt to starve union members back to the bargaining table by the time the season began in October – and the CBC management wrote off coverage of Regina’s Canada Summer Games and Alberta’s and Saskatchewan’s centenary celebrations in its cynicism.
Similarly, the CBC crowed about its great ratings this spring, when they were listed in metropolitan areas. At the same time, they sought to cut services in Northern Saskatchewan., northern Manitoba, and northern Ontario. Why? Simple. Around the same time, the Cons’ culture minister – now there’s a contradiction in terms – suggested the possibility of selling advertising on CBC Radio broadcasts.
Then again, it would be stupid for the CBC to get into the advertising sales business – or for the Cons to sell off the CBC in a media market where CTV is begging the CRTC for the right to have cable subscribers pay an extra $15 a month for local television stations, and Canwest Global is so broke that even its creditors don’t want to foreclose because they can’t see any future for the company either. (Planet S) Then again, what do ostensibly pro-business governments know about the business world? From experience, I would say they don’t know the first thing about running a business. That’s their excuse for getting out of broadcasting – I would suggest just as equally a valid case – if not more valid—could be made that these political parties should get out of the business of government.
EDIT: for some reason, blogger didn't record my url links. I've reinserted them.
The problem with turning over the government to people who don’t really believe that government should work is that they run the show in a way that confirms their hypothesis, like a little kid that won’t eat his supper because “I HATE IT!” even though he has never eaten a mouthful in his life. Mr. Flaherty’s $57 billion deficit – which the TD Bank economists are saying will expand to $157 billion in five years (National Post) without, you know, cuts in federal spending (how about closing some tax loopholes or raising taxes on people who don’t pay them?)
The deal is, however, that right wing governments actually like deficits. It gives them the excuse to cut programs they don’t like but are politically popular – daycare programs, medicare, the CBC – under the guise of a ‘financial emergency,’ even though their own spending habits did more to create the deficit than circumstance. Ever notice getting out of Afghanistan – where we’ve spent more than $15 billion on the past six years (not to mention the lives of more than 100 soldiers) and got sweet effin’ all out of it – is never on the agenda? Nobody calls sending our army to fight – and lose – a war they can’t win financially unworkable.
But we won’t have to worry for two reasons. It’s more than likely that we’re going to have a federal election (my bet is by Thanksgiving) as the Liberals under Iggy re-amass their financial warchest and watch the Cons self destruct. These Grits will sweep Atlantic Canada, get about 25 seats in Québec, and win a bunch of three-way races in southern Ontario to win the next election with about 175 seats. So, Harper won’t have time to sell off the CBC even if he wanted to.
Secondly, the CBC has already emasculated itself. As Mitch the Alphabet Boy (University of Regina) has told me, politicians appoint their friends to power. And a broadcasting corporation whose first role isn’t to make money is no friend to those who are rich and powerful. That’s why the CBC board, over the years, has installed a management system that has reduced the CBC to little more than a taxpayer-funded support system for Hockey Night in Canada. The 2005 Canadian Media Guild lockout was done during the summer, in an attempt to starve union members back to the bargaining table by the time the season began in October – and the CBC management wrote off coverage of Regina’s Canada Summer Games and Alberta’s and Saskatchewan’s centenary celebrations in its cynicism.
Similarly, the CBC crowed about its great ratings this spring, when they were listed in metropolitan areas. At the same time, they sought to cut services in Northern Saskatchewan., northern Manitoba, and northern Ontario. Why? Simple. Around the same time, the Cons’ culture minister – now there’s a contradiction in terms – suggested the possibility of selling advertising on CBC Radio broadcasts.
Then again, it would be stupid for the CBC to get into the advertising sales business – or for the Cons to sell off the CBC in a media market where CTV is begging the CRTC for the right to have cable subscribers pay an extra $15 a month for local television stations, and Canwest Global is so broke that even its creditors don’t want to foreclose because they can’t see any future for the company either. (Planet S) Then again, what do ostensibly pro-business governments know about the business world? From experience, I would say they don’t know the first thing about running a business. That’s their excuse for getting out of broadcasting – I would suggest just as equally a valid case – if not more valid—could be made that these political parties should get out of the business of government.
EDIT: for some reason, blogger didn't record my url links. I've reinserted them.
THE ARCHITECTS ARE HERE
I have always said that when the College buildings go, so do I. One sniff of a wrecking ball and I am out of here and never coming back. I mean it.
It was distressing to hear almost the same thing coming from Dakota McFadzean at last night’s Regina Public School Board meeting during his presentation about the coming demise of Scott Collegiate. I didn’t know that Regina’s continual self-destruction depressed other people to the point they start thinking of packing up and moving on, but of course I can't be the only one. Each building that is destroyed is one closer to the limit of what I can stand, not just for the architecture itself, but for the unthinking motivation behind it.
One of the statements that seemed to stick in the Scott supporters' craw yesterday was RBE member Russ Marchuk’s pithy statement “If the horse dies, get off,” in reference to Scott’s supposed failure to support its students architecturally.
I can’t help but think about the hundreds of slum houses around the Scott facility – each a tiny marvel of architecture in its day – that have been used to pump money out of North Central residents and into slumlords’ pockets for decades, with the complicity – if not the outright blessing – of policy makers in every level of government.
Who knew it was all architecture’s fault? Thank goodness the architects are going to come and fix it for us. So glad that's sorted.
Maybe we needed to have the dead horse image planted in our heads whether we want to see it or not. If that’s how the school board sees its buildings, we’re better off knowing.
How do we communicate back to our representatives that the horse isn’t a building, a learning model, or even a school board, but the city itself? Who sees us as we step off and walk away?
NB: One of my recent favorite books is Michael Winter’s The Architects Are Here. The title of the book is fictional shorthand for a kind of impersonal, lurking force of doom, like accidents, distruction, and poverty.
It was distressing to hear almost the same thing coming from Dakota McFadzean at last night’s Regina Public School Board meeting during his presentation about the coming demise of Scott Collegiate. I didn’t know that Regina’s continual self-destruction depressed other people to the point they start thinking of packing up and moving on, but of course I can't be the only one. Each building that is destroyed is one closer to the limit of what I can stand, not just for the architecture itself, but for the unthinking motivation behind it.
One of the statements that seemed to stick in the Scott supporters' craw yesterday was RBE member Russ Marchuk’s pithy statement “If the horse dies, get off,” in reference to Scott’s supposed failure to support its students architecturally.
I can’t help but think about the hundreds of slum houses around the Scott facility – each a tiny marvel of architecture in its day – that have been used to pump money out of North Central residents and into slumlords’ pockets for decades, with the complicity – if not the outright blessing – of policy makers in every level of government.
Who knew it was all architecture’s fault? Thank goodness the architects are going to come and fix it for us. So glad that's sorted.
Maybe we needed to have the dead horse image planted in our heads whether we want to see it or not. If that’s how the school board sees its buildings, we’re better off knowing.
How do we communicate back to our representatives that the horse isn’t a building, a learning model, or even a school board, but the city itself? Who sees us as we step off and walk away?
NB: One of my recent favorite books is Michael Winter’s The Architects Are Here. The title of the book is fictional shorthand for a kind of impersonal, lurking force of doom, like accidents, distruction, and poverty.
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