03.13.2010 01:07 PM

Questions, some easy, some not

¤ Has Christie Blatchford ever taken a position that was not pro-cop/pro-prosecution?

¤ Did my friends Tim Powers and Kory Teneycke independently – and simultaneously, and uncharacteristically – decide to beat the stuffing out of Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis, as they are still doing, or were they urged to do so by PMO?

¤ Have the reporters doing the flattering profiles of the Dragon’s Den regulars – one in particular, known as “The Octopus” – talked to any, say, past female co-workers about, well, you know?

¤ Would you, or anyone you know, actually eat seal meat?

¤ If you ran an organization with a high public profile, and which often calls for others to be more tolerant, fund and/or facilitate a junket for white supremacists?

¤ Does anyone know how I can backup a Mac to a Time Capsule using a USB cable, without turning on the annoying and redundant Time Capsule wireless function?

¤ Why are there any bidders interested in purchasing the National Post?

¤ Am I ridiculous for tearing up every single time I see Captain Kirk shuttle towards the Enterprise at the start of Star Trek Four?

¤ Is it accurate to describe the blogosphere demographic as mainly male, and Facebook’s as mainly female?

¤ Is rock’n’roll dead again?

¤ Does David Miller actually believe there is a single sane person in Toronto who believes he “found” $100 million?

¤ Are McDonald’s fries better than Wendy’s?

¤ Are you willing to provide your answers to these questions in comments, below, so that we can all have a bit of fun on a rainy, gloomy Saturday?

30 Comments

  1. bigcitylib says:

    “Is rock’n’roll dead again?”

    Titus Andronicus
    Drive By Truckers (3 guitars!!)
    My Morning Jacket
    Whatever Tom Morello is up to
    Levon Helm’s latest

  2. smelter rat says:

    Thanks to CC for this one: “she Blatched up another one” 🙂

  3. Dave says:

    “Is it accurate to describe the blogosphere demographic as mainly male, and Facebook’s as mainly female?”

    I’d say no – you just have to find the right niche – there are thousands of “mommy blogs” and craft blogs (not trying to stereotype, these are just the things that many women want to write about)

    As for Facebook, I’d say the demographic splits down the middle – it’s just the women who are more prolific posters, while the men are content to take in the “content” that the women are producing (i.e. the new batch of spring break vacation photos that will be coming up next week)

    “Does anyone know how I can backup a Mac to a Time Capsule using a USB cable, without turning on the annoying and redundant Time Capsule wireless function?”

    You can’t – the USB port is for hooking up a printer or external HD only. You can hook it up with an ethernet cable, that should give you a faster transfer rate.

    • passerby says:

      On timecapsule. Dave is right, but an ethernet cable will do the trick. If you’re not using the wireless, why have a time capsule? Easier to just get a cheap external USB drive (or, better, Firewire, which is much, much faster).

  4. Riff says:

    Tim Powers and Tory Keneycke would not be trashing the so-called ‘Power Couple’ without explicit permission of the PMO.

    The PMO staffers know all too well that the ‘Power Couple’ have turned completely toxic. The PM Harper desperately wants them both gone, gone, gone! One is a woman and as women around know too well, women are always the last on board and the first to be jettisoned. The other member of the Power Couple is a Muslim male and most assuredly male Muslims are not part of the Harper Conservative Party’s several natural constituencies. He was always an anomaly in a largely Caucasian conservative movement.

  5. Dave says:

    WK, you should ask Iggy’s caucus members from Newfoundland the seal question!

  6. Hillary says:

    The column was pretty blatched-up!

    On a more serious note, McDonald’s fries are better than Wendy’s, hands down. As a former McEmployee, I find it difficult to recommend that anyone eat McFood, but the fries are delicious when fresh. Wendy’s does have much tastier burgers though.

  7. AmandaM says:

    You’re right. Some of these are no-brainers, others require some time (the Time Capsule!) and some require questions-as-answers.

    1. No. Are we at all surprised after years of these positions of hers? I mean, she could at least TRY to abide by “innocent until proven guilty”, and ATTEMPT journalistic objectivity. Alas.

    2. Do Reformatories even have the ability to think independently, without secret coded messages from the PMO coming to them via their infrared bio-scanners? I think your answer is there.
    (Have I said too much?)

    3. Do people even watch this insipid show?

    4. No chance. I’m still on the fence about whether it is worth defending. My fence and I have been pals for YEARS.

    5. WTF, no. This leads me to ask, what is WRONG with these people?

    6. I don’t. But the Apple store folks are delightful! Also, I could ask my mum if you’re desperate. She’s a Mac user from way back, like 1984 and the Mac Classic, and uses her Time Capsule regularly. I’m more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal and hope-on-a-wing-and-a-prayer that my MacBook Pro doesn’t bail out on me.

    7. Why would there be? Vapid rag.

    8. I would wonder about anyone’s humanity who DIDN’T get misty-eyed.

    9. Depends on what kind of blogs you’re talking about. Political, yes, I would agree, male-dominated. Gossip/Fashion/Cooking, etc? No, and I have a feeling there are way more visitors each month to perezhilton than there are to HuffPo. I have about equal M/F friends on FB, so who knows about that.

    10. Feels like it, doesn’t it. I’m tired of auto-tune and want real music back.

    11. What. The hell. Was he thinking. I rather suppose he wasn’t, is the point. He’s always had shitty communications and this is just one more horrifying example. And, yet another lesson about how a message that should be good, and is communicated poorly, instantly transforms itself into a bad message. When will they ever LEARN?

    12. No. The end. Did you know, though, that 1/4 of all potatoes produced in North America are used for french fries? I learned that when I worked at McD’s in high school.

    13. Done and done! Enjoy your weekend!

  8. Brian says:

    “¤ Did my friends Tim Powers and Kory Teneycke independently – and simultaneously, and uncharacteristically – decide to beat the stuffing out of Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis, as they are still doing, or were they urged to do so by PMO?”

    “Don’t defend the indefensible.”

    – Guy Giorno, c. 2001

    “¤ Have the reporters doing the flattering profiles of the Dragon’s Den regulars – one in particular, known as “The Octopus” – talked to any, say, past female co-workers about, well, you know?”

    I always thought Buckner’s arms were on the long side, too.

    “¤ If you ran an organization with a high public profile, and which often calls for others to be more tolerant, fund and/or facilitate a junket for white supremacists?”

    Objectively? I guess it depends on the organization…

    “¤ Why are there any bidders interested in purchasing the National Post?”

    Revenge?

    “¤ Does David Miller actually believe there is a single sane person in Toronto who believes he “found” $100 million?”

    In the dark bowels of municipal budgeting, sometimes cash really is “lost,” or “found.” What really matters is when he *asked* to find it.

    “¤ Are McDonald’s fries better than Wendy’s?”

    Yes, unless you pour at least two of those little paper salt packs Wendy’s has on top of the Wendy’s fry bucket. And that’s a lot of salt.

    “¤ Are you willing to provide your answers to these questions in comments, below, so that we can all have a bit of fun on a rainy, gloomy Saturday?”

    No.

  9. James Bow says:

    Better that David Miller “find” $100 million than Ernie Eves “lose” $5.6 billion.

    As for Wendy’s fries: I’ve noticed that they’re surprisingly variable. When they’re good, they’re really good: crispy on the outside, and a good holder of ketchup. However, when they get cold, they seem to epitomize the term “damp squib”. And sometimes they’re delivered a bit less than fresh.

  10. James Bowie says:

    Do you still refuse to cook your KD with milk?

  11. Liam D says:

    1. The next time will definitely be the first.

    2. I detect perhaps some nudging – I don’t imagine the PMO shedding too many tears if characters like that get peeled off from the main party.

    3. Haven’t watched DD, only saw cursorily that those profiles are happening. But I will say that it would be more interesting if I could read about an octopus.

    4. I wouldn’t say never. I’m not as beholden to the taboo as many. But it’s not something I would seek out.

    5. Sounds like a poor plan.

    6. Never been a big fan of Time Machine. I turned mine off and manually dumped everything onto an external drive.

    7. I’ve got a tenner in my wallet. Anyone wanna go halfsies?

    8. Technically, Kirk doesn’t shuttle up at the opening of four. They’re on Vulcan at that point, rehabbing Spock and flying the Klingon ship. You either mean end of four (Enterprise A) or opening of two maybe? (I’ll go stuff myself in my own locker now.)

    9. Actually, I find a lot of bloggers in the areas I read the most of (music, arts, day-to-day stuff) to be women. At least, most all the worthwhile ones are. Facebook I find to be 50/50.

    10. Hell no. I’m discovering great new stuff all the time. Based on your top 10 from last year, it might be a little indie-tinged (rather than punk-tinged) for your tastes, Warren, but the new Local Natives record is fantastic. And kudos for the Tom Gabel refer. That’s a great record.

    11. I bet those city hall couches have got some deep crevices. (Let’s not ponder how those grooves got there.)

    12. Yes. Yes they are. If all you want is a crispy injection of sodium (though as I age, I have been eating less and less fast food), I still say McDonald’s does fries best of all the ubiquitous joints out there.

    13. I sure am.

  12. Mulletaur says:

    I would definitely eat seal meat. I would also eat the raw livers of people who protest against the seal hunt like McCartney, for example.

    I would purchase the National Post if I had the money. It is still the most intelligently written newspaper in Canada despite losing so many of its staff to other organs.

    Rock and roll is not dead and will never die as long as I can still wear my Mot

  13. Lipman says:

    1: Never.

    2: You’d know better than us, but it seems like they know when to cut ties with a portly partier pulling down their already rickety barge. If anyone’s behaviour can be considered “beneath contempt” (wink) it is the portly one’s raging partner for her spaz in PEI.

    3: Probably

    4: If life or cultural respect depended on it, yes. But otherwise, no way.

    5: Not a bloody chance.

    6: Too geek squad for this nerd.

    7: Because if you kept the staff, changed the ideological slant, and didn’t have a convicted felon writing front-page columns, it might do OK (but probably not). Or, because another billionaire wants an outlet for right-wing propaganda.

    8: If you are a Trekkie, nope. My aunt has been on the Toronto Trek board for decades, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she felt the same way…

    9: Yep (Sorry Elizabeth, you are outnumbered in these threads!)

    10: So long as there are six strings and ten fingers, never.

    11: No, but he probably thinks there enough people in Toronto co-habitating on Planet Wanagas.

    12: Better, but worse for your heart.

    13: That was fun!

  14. James Smith says:

    1. CAPTAIN: And I’m never, never sick at sea!
    ALL: WHAT NEVER?
    CAPTAIN: NO NEVER!
    ALL: WHAT NEVER!?
    CAPTAIN: WELL, HARDLY EVER!
    2. IBID
    3. SEE #2
    4. # 3 ALEX
    5. Depends if one’s organisation is from Texas
    6. I’d call my brother-in-law (seriously he is a MAC network guy)
    7. They truly like to see the Atkinson’s spin like tops in their grave!
    8. If so, I’m also guilty. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyfTNdlKR7A)
    9. That’s a 10-4
    10. Not while this fella is still with us! (http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/415651)
    11. Only one of my several Dipper friends (& her hubby)
    12. Folks still eat at these places? There are lots of places that still make REAL CHIPS in the GTA, & they are even good cold!

    That was fun to read & submit, & the Habs beat the bad guys! (admit it Brunis fans, you LOVE being the BAD guys!)

  15. Winston Higgs says:

    Is Rock’n’Roll dead? Well, ol’ Neil said it could never die. I think we’re just going through a cycle (happened during most of the nineties). Some times the cup runneth over (Weakerthans, Metric, Arcade Fire) and sometimes the well runs dry (Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, every Nickleback album after the first one). But, what the dry spells have taught me is to branch out in other directions with my divining rod and seek out different yet tasty beverages (alt. country, ambient, Heintje…oh, you GOTTA hear “Mama”) or even go back and sample some vintage vino from the cellar (Skinny Puppy, Images in Vogue, The Germs). I dunno, I think the key is to diversify your portfolio and acquire some different tastes…that way when one genre hits the skids for a bit, you have some choices. Yer welcome.

  16. Eugene Parks says:

    Warren asks about himself, “¤ Am I ridiculous for tearing up every single time I see Captain Kirk shuttle towards the Enterprise at the start of Star Trek Four?”

    Answer: Yes

  17. billybud says:

    Beating the stuffing out of Helena cojures up erotic thoughts.

  18. ¤ Has Christie Blatchford ever taken a position that was not pro-cop/pro-prosecution?

    No.

    ¤ Did my friends Tim Powers and Kory Teneycke independently – and simultaneously, and uncharacteristically – decide to beat the stuffing out of Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis, as they are still doing, or were they urged to do so by PMO?

    Either that or they’re going rogue.

    ¤ Have the reporters doing the flattering profiles of the Dragon’s Den regulars – one in particular, known as “The Octopus” – talked to any, say, past female co-workers about, well, you know?

    I’m more interested in knowing why the crazy right-wing guy is ruining Amanda Lang’s show.

    ¤ Would you, or anyone you know, actually eat seal meat?

    I tried some in a sausage once and it was no different than a normal sausage. A filet? Maybe not.

    ¤ If you ran an organization with a high public profile, and which often calls for others to be more tolerant, fund and/or facilitate a junket for white supremacists?

    No way in hell.

    ¤ Does anyone know how I can backup a Mac to a Time Capsule using a USB cable, without turning on the annoying and redundant Time Capsule wireless function?

    Mac?

    ¤ Why are there any bidders interested in purchasing the National Post?

    National newspaper. Control part of the debate. I’d do it if I had money to throw away.

    ¤ Am I ridiculous for tearing up every single time I see Captain Kirk shuttle towards the Enterprise at the start of Star Trek Four?

    Yes, since it doesn’t happen. #4 starts on Vulcan with them taking the Klingon ship back to earth. Do you mean the end of the movie. BTW, I’m watching all the original series – many of the first time – and I can’t get enough.

    ¤ Is it accurate to describe the blogosphere demographic as mainly male, and Facebook’s as mainly female?

    Yes and no.

    ¤ Is rock’n’roll dead again?

    I hope not, but there’s too much dance music going around.

    ¤ Does David Miller actually believe there is a single sane person in Toronto who believes he “found” $100 million?

    Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey…

    ¤ Are McDonald’s fries better than Wendy’s?

    Yes! No fast-food fries beat McDonald’s. Nothing close.

    ¤ Are you willing to provide your answers to these questions in comments, below, so that we can all have a bit of fun on a rainy, gloomy Saturday?

    Nah. It’ll take too much time.

  19. Connoisseur says:

    Well.. I don’t read Christie, I have no use for Kory & Tim (unless you Warren are giving Tim a hard time on Cons. TV) I never watch those self-absorbed dragons and I don’t eat at McPuke’s, but I would try seal meat and as for Rock n Roll – you mean there’s other kinds of music??

  20. Alvin says:

    I did eat seal when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember it being good but not nearly as good as McFries.

  21. Andy says:

    The Canada Israel Committee and the pro-Israel crowd in general (most of whom are not Jews but right wingers and evangelical Christians) is increasingly out of whack with mainstream society.

  22. “Am I ridiculous for tearing up every single time I see Captain Kirk shuttle towards the Enterprise at the start of Star Trek Four?” – NO, cause you’ve got the wrong scene!

    You beat me to it Jason, was going to point out that very same thing… I’m guessing you’re talking about Star Trek V, Warren.

    There are several “candidate” scenes however that envoke a similar emotional response. It could be Star Trek 1, when we first see the ship after the re-fit, or ST II – The Wrath of Khan where he’s headed there for an inspection. (my vote is for II) Most of the ST-II’s footage is a straight rip from the first film, however.

    There is no such scene in III (they beam aboard to steal the ship, no shuttle), but there is one at the very END of ST IV, when they get their first glimpse of the NCC-1701-A, after the ship was re-christened after Kirk and crew saved the earth, and the whales. (if anyone cares, the ship in question had formerly been the USS Ti-Ho, NCC-1798, prior to its rechristened launch as the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A)

    The scene you are most likely referring to is the one near the beginning of Star Trek V, but the external shot of the ship approach was the exact same one they ripped out of the ending of Star Trek IV. All they did was swap the footage/dialogue of the crew’s ST4 approach with new footage of Kirk, Spock and Bones talking in the shuttle instead.

    I’ll take your inner Trekie, and raise you five Tribbles…

  23. Err, I meant “YES, cause you’ve got the wrong scene” (I may out-Trek you, but I obviously can’t out-English you)

  24. McDonald’s fries are way better than Wendy’s but I agree with the early comment, Wendy’s burgers are better.

    Exterior Star Trek shots are always amazing. Except for I, that went on for what felt like hours.

    As for the National Post, if you bought it, at least you know you couldn’t make it any worse.

  25. david ackerman says:

    Blatchford is the best columnist in Canada.. Always interesting.

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