Categories for Musings

I love the eReader.

I got Sony’s gadget for Christmas, and I haven’t put it down yet. Right now, I’m re-re-reading Vonnegut stuff, and plan to re-read The Great Gatsby.

The eReader lets you download books super-cheap – sometimes free, for the classics – and then upload them to the eReader through an iTunes-like interface.

It’s easy to read, and you can increase the font size if (like me) your eyes are getting a bit older. You can load music on it, and even photos (but they’ll be in a quaint black and white).

It’s gotten me reading fiction again, big time. I don’t know why. A gentleman spotted me using it this week, and we chatted about it, and I told him it makes reading funner. (I didn’t say funner, however, I said something else, which my sleep-deprived hockey Dad brain now forgets). It’s easy to carry around, among other things.

I don’t know anything about the Amazon Kindle, but I’ve heard it’s pretty cool, too. There’s lots of AppleBuzz about Steve Job’s tablet thingie, per usual.

The old-fashioned way of reading books is swell, of course, and has the added advantage of being bathtub-friendly. They also don’t require re-charging.

I just wanted to opine that these new devices are pretty neat. And anything that makes reading easier is a good thing, no?

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If the Foreign Affairs figure is correct – and all of us of course pray that the number will shrink, as more people are found alive – then the Haitian earthquake will likely rank as one of the highest Canadian death tolls in a long time, will it not? I don’t keep track of these sorts of grim statistics, but it seems to me with have not had a disaster of this magnitude – affecting Canadian citizens – in many years.

The agency best-equipped to help, as you know, is the Red Cross. You can help them help here .

Minister says more than 1,400 Canadians still mssing in Haiti quake (Haiti-Earthquake-Cda)
Source: The Canadian Press
Jan 15, 2010 8:58

OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says more than 1,400 Canadians are still missing in the quake-ravaged regions of Haiti.

Cannon says 272 Canadians have been flown out on military aircraft.

There are still 50 Canadians being sheltered at the Canadian embassy in Haiti, with 50 others housed elsewhere.

Cannon says the Canadian death toll remains at four, with 13 others injured.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the Canadian Forces have already flown in rescue equipment, humanitarian supplies and RCMP and military police officers, with four more flights scheduled for today.

He says there are 144 military personnel now on the ground in Haiti, with more to come.

The longer-term plan is to send two big C-17 transports in every day, with additional flights by smaller C-130 Hercules aircraft.

INDEX: DEFENCE HUMAN INTEREST NATIONAL DISASTER POLITICS

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Listened to this Israel Kamakawiwo’ole classic with my boys on the way to hockey early this morn. They loved it, so I thought you might, too.

This has to be the saddest children’s song ever sung, more than ‘Puff the Magic Dragon,’ even.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me.

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Ritalin Boy, Rayman and Davey Snot in happier times, before the unfortunate spatula incident.

SFH – now renamed and referred to, variously, as Sexy Frenzy Horror, Sap Fruit Humor, or Stoned Flea Hockey – has a big gigola coming up on Saturday, February 27 with The Action and The Targets at Mitzi’s Sister. I’ll post the poster once I draw it.

In the meantime, here’s the new SFH Facebooky page. Vids and other stuff coming there soon.

Join up! Become a fan! Send us your money!

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…as evidenced by Ekos, now. Just a hunch, but I’m guessing that the Reform-Con caucus get-together in Ottawa next week won’t be a particularly jolly affair.

Why? Well, because 33 of them, at least, are looking at being kicked to the curb by voters. Thirty-three!

Meanwhile, Stephen Harper’s former Chief of Staff says the government has no “credibility” on padlocking Parliament – so the Reform-Cons dispatch assorted nobodies to pretend that “someone named Tom Flanagan” doesn’t, er, exist. Check this out:

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…as evidenced by Ekos, now. Just a hunch, but I’m guessing that the Reform-Con caucus get-together in Ottawa next week won’t be a particularly jolly affair.

Why? Well, because 33 of them, at least, are looking at being kicked to the curb by voters. Thirty-three!

Meanwhile, Stephen Harper’s former Chief of Staff says the government has no “credibility” on padlocking Parliament – so the Reform-Cons dispatch assorted nobodies to pretend that “someone named Tom Flanagan” doesn’t, er, exist. Check this out:

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Let’s see: I’m guessing that (a) padlocking Parliament, (b) suggesting criticisms aimed at the Reform-Conservatives are attacks on our troops, and (c) dismissively shrugging off suggestions that Stephen Harper has morphed into an arrogant megalomaniac…aren’t really working as a strategy.

But, by all means, Reformist boys and girls, keep at it. Drop another ten points over the next two months.

It looks good on you.

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• Jim Watson: I am very sorry to see my friend leaving Toronto provincial politics for Ottawa mayoralty politics…but I know he will do as great a job there (again) as he did here. Want to know how old I am? Jim and I met on the first day of class at Carleton THIRTY YEARS AGO – in 1980. We were the class loudmouths, and were naturally drawn together. He has been one of my closest friends ever since. I’d say good luck, Senator, but I doubt you’ll need it. Now, chicken burgers for the whole campaign team!
• Tom Flanagan: I like the learned Calgary professor because, mainly, he tells the truth. (The fact that he has written positive reviews of my books may naturally colour my judgment, as well.) So when Tom says that his former student padlocked Parliament to avoid scrutiny in the Afghan detainee torture scandal, you should know that he is telling it like it is. Count on this statement of fact to show up in a campaign ad or two sometime soon.
• The Aspers: My FB pal Bourrie will be mad at me, but I have to admit that I sort of feel sorry for the Aspers. To see their Dad’s empire divided up in this way, with nary an acknowledgment of what Izzy did (or did for this country), has to be very hard. Warren’s stock tip for the day: don’t invest in mainstream media companies, like, ever.
• The Senators: The legislative ones, not the hockey ones. Diane Francis gets it right in the linked column (I can’t believe I just wrote that): my well-placed Senate sources tell me one of the principal reasons Harper prorogued Parliament was to seize control of Senate committees – particularly Defence, wherein Afghan detainee trouble was likely. Colin Kenny will therefore be out as chair, and Pamela Wallin in – but don’t expect that to change anything. The torture issue isn’t going to go away, Senate musical chairs notwithstanding.

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Joining a newspaper on the very day its parent company company goes bankrupt.

His business sense is as acute as his judgment on human rights, it seems.

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• John Tory: Pretty accurate and fair takes on John’s decision here and here. Did a fair bit of media on this yesterday. After six months of work, I’m obviously disappointed. But John made the right decision for him and his family. Personally, I’m going to be focusing on getting that McGuinty guy [full disclosure: whose caucus I’ve given comms advice] re-elected Premier – and that Iggy guy elected Prime Minister.
• Don Newman: I have to say, I’m really enjoying Don’s reincarnation as a columnist on the CBC website – he goes against the conventional wisdom, and his analysis is pretty good. His brooooadcast didn’t really permit him to do either of those things, so it makes for fun reading.
• Democracy Denied: I spoke yesterday to a smart Hill Times reporter about the Reform-Conservative’s padlocking of Parliament. My take: “These guys aren’t merely not up to the job. Now they’re not even showing up to do the job.”
• Jobs jobs jobs: Where are they? Padlocking Parliament and the Afghan detainee torture scandal aren’t the only reasons the Reform-Cons’ numbers are dropping – it’s these numbers, too. Until there is sustained job growth, the Harpies’ lusted-after majority will remain beyond reach.
• Check it out! My pal Stefan Baranski has put together a boffo aggregator at OntarioNewsWatch. Bookmark it, baby!
• He laughed out loud: Another pal, Bob Richardson, burst out laughing – a trademark Richardson phrase – to see the headline on Bourque’s site this morning: TORY’S EXIT: SHED A TEAR FOR BOB RICHARDSON. I have to admit: that’s actually pretty funny. Can’t believe I just wrote that.
• Bouncing Souls: My daughter and I were rockin’ to them this morning in the car. Cheered me up. I need cheering up, these days. Here’s one of the best punk acts around, with ‘I Think the World.’

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