Credit: Vincent Bergeron
Rider: Félix Gourdeau
Kite: 12 & 9 m Vegas (Vie Sportive, Québec)
Board: ABoards 158 (KiteForce, Montréal)
Source: www.aboards.eu
Credit: Vincent BergeronI did not pick the title of this post. In fact, I did not write this post but will add to it at the end. This comes from Brandi, who is my nephew David’s beautiful bride. She has her own blog called Mommy Tales from the Beach. There is a link to it here so be sure to be a regular with Brandi.
She wrote this wonderful post yesterday and it moved me very much. I noticed a lot of what happened to me years ago with my ex-wife and the mother of our son. I will tell you about that later, but first, here is something special about family from Brandi.
David and I started dating in 1994 when we were 16. From the time we became adults (18-19-20ish), David had made it clear that he did not want to have kids. I, knowing that he was perfect in every other way, shrugged it off and told myself that it was okay, I can get through life without kids, living vicariously through family and friends. When we were going to get married, he brought it up to me again, the idea of never wanting kids and I went along with it. I even convinced myself that even though children were totally fun to play with, I didn’t really want to be burdened with the responsibility of having to raise any of them.
Back in 2007, David had changed his mind on his own free will. I have no idea what happened, what the change was, how long it took, but one day he told me that he was having a change of heart and wanted to have children. Shortly after I went off of birth control and six months later I was pregnant with Zack.
Today, I was watching my son do his toddler thing. He was telling me a story in his language (the one I can’t really understand but try to) and laughed, several times, in the middle of it. I’ve said it before plenty of times that I can’t believe he’s already 15 months old. While Zack was talking his head off, my baby girl growing inside of me was doing flips. There are some days, some moments, where I still can’t believe I’m a mom.
It’s hard to believe such a short time ago, David and I were going to be one of those couples that decided not to reproduce. Now, we have a toddler with a baby on the way. We have gone from staying up super late on the weekends only to wake up sometime a little before noon to going to bed by midnight (or earlier) knowing that we’ll be up sometime between 7:30 and 8:30. We traded in our leather home theater chairs for an Ikea chair that fits better in the living room to accommodate the toy corner.
We still have our fun. We see our friends every weekend and we still play our video games. We can even still watch movies, however, that doesn’t happen until after Zack goes to bed.
I’ve said it to David before, but I’ll say it again here. I am so incredibly happy that he changed his mind. I am truly blessed that we have this life now that feels so astonishingly complete.
Hard to follow that, but I will give it a go.
When I met and married Maureen, another wonderful woman, we settled in to our new togetherness. We had met running a 17 mile training run for a marathon. So running was a big part of our lives. We traveled a lot in California and some in other states. We visited Yosemite, Monterey, San Francisco, Orlando, New York City, Boston, Cape Cod, Hawaii a couple of times, Canada and other places I can’t recall now. We ran so many races and were just on the go, go, go. There was no talk of having children. It was something we had dismissed since we were having such an active and fun time without little ones.
Then one day, Maureen mentions to me she would like to be a mother. Whoa, where did that come from was my first thought. A definite upset of the apple cart. I was resistant for sure. Why mess with such a good thing? I was what you might call, a hold-out. And my hold-out lasted quite a while….months. I just couldn’t wrap my arms around this idea.
Then one day, I can remember it like yesterday, I was walking in Parkway Plaza in El Cajon, Ca (near San Diego) when I noticed this incredibly cute little stuffed bear in the window of a toy store. I have no idea what it was that suddenly pulled me to that bear. But there I stood, in front of the window, looking at the little guy and thinking how neat it would be to have a child with whom to share this bear.
I walked in, bought the bear, got a card and presented it to Maureen with a “Mushy Moo” note saying, “I am ready now.” I had come around to be in the same place Maureen had been for months. This all took place in the summer of 1983 when I was 37 and Maureen was 32. The following April little John Bradley (Brad) was born. However, he was dealt a bad hand and did not live through the day.
We were not deterred and in July, 1985, Jeffrey Ryan was born in San Diego. What a day that was.
He became the light of our life and our traveling companion. When Jeff was 10 weeks old, we took him to Hawaii. Then he went again when he was 14 months. We took him to Yosemite and I carried that little squirt all over the Yosemite Valley. He went everywhere with us…Orlando, Washington DC, Williamsburg, Monterey, San Francisco, New York City and other parts near and far. We had decided to keep being active and include him in every part of our adventures. We have so many great memories from those days.
I know there are those of you who had children much earlier in the process. I was 39 when Jeff was born. My best friend’s, John and Kathy, were 21 when their son, Tony, was born. We enjoyed those early years in completely different ways but both were exciting and rewarding. Those of you reading this probably have stories just as rewarding about how and when you decided to bring some little rug rats into your worlds. Brandi and I would love to read about it, so don’t be shy.
I’d like to announce that this will be the second Nanaimo Bar entry on this blog. I don’t have many recipes since I don’t blog as often as I wish I could, but yet I have TWO Nanaimo Bar entries. I’m not Canadian, and in fact, had never even had a Nanaimo Bar prior to blogging. Well, as many of you could guess, both entries were challenges..the first, a ‘Sweet Canada’ Sugar High Fridays, when I was just a blogging sprout, the second..this month’s Daring Bakers challenge.
The first time I made them, for the SHF challenge, I concocted this white maple mousse filling, which was pretty tasty, but damn, I went way overboard with the white and dark chocolate ‘polka dots’ inide and out, rendering them a bit too rich for an already too rich bar. OH and the photos..AY YI YI! I actually thought they were quite good when I took them. Hey, I didn’t know squat about photography, what can I say? Still sort of don’t – just got a better camera.
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.
Initially, when I saw this month’s challenge, my first thought was; ‘Welllll..I already have a Nanaimo Bar post, and they are rather rich, so what to do, what to do….’ Remember, I don’t have a lot of people to feed, so lots of food gets thrown out quite often. However, I adore Lauren, a total sweetheart of a girl, so there was no way I wasn’t going to take part in her challenge. It was a matter of getting creative and taking these bars somewhere other than Canada.
First let me start by saying that this challenge had a hook, and a great one I might add. We got to make our own graham crackers. We were also given the choice of going gluten-free..meaning there were some flours we would have to use that most of us do not have on hand. Eyeing my barely used sack of spelt flour from the Daring Cooks Indian Dosa challenge, it was a pretty easy decision..Umm…NO. Granted, I would have loved to have done these gluten-free, but the flours we needed would eventually join the spelt in perpetual limbo..wallflowerdom forever. It was going to be whole wheat flour or bust. Well, in this case, KA white whole wheat flour, which was what I happened to have on hand.
That being said, I was not going to make these into big, honking bars. I feel Nanaimo Bars need to whittled down a bit. This way, you don’t waste a bar with one or two bites due to the richness. Granted, many love a sinfully rich bar of heart attack, but I’m not one of them.
I decided to go tropical. What an oxymoron - tropical Nanaimo bars. From the rugged chill of Canada to the soft breeze and sunburn of Key West and Hawaii. My reasoning wasn’t out of any kind of rebellion, juxtaposition or fusion, but simply due to the fact that I felt the juice and zest of a lime or key lime would cut the sweet richness of these bars. Since I was taking the key limey highway, what better than macadamia nuts in lieu of the almonds (Can you hear the surf and ukulele?) ? The coconut was already at the party, so it all fit together like Heidi Montag and (insert any plastic surgery procedure). I also felt a very thin layer of white chocolate ganache would be better suited to the tangy lime. Finally, I nixed the dark cocoa in the graham cracker crust, and instead used sweet ground white chocolate powder, reducing the sugar in both the filling and crust.
Having said all that, (I have a lot more to say this time, huh?) due to my prior Nanaimo sugar shock, gut bomb, ‘I feel the diabetes lurking’ experience, I didn’t think the bars needed to be as thick as they usually are, so I used a 10-inch square pan instead of an 8-inch, to insure slimmer layers, layers that don’t make your teeth want to sink back into your gums with each bite. I also cut them into very small squares, bite-sized (the last photo is just for show, those were miniaturized after I snapped), unless your mouth is the size of a thimble. This resulted in a much more pleasurable Nanaimo experience, minus leftover bars with one or two bites out of them.
If you’d like the recipe for Nanaimo Bars, click HERE. To make myversion, simply add the juice and zest of one key lime or half a regular lime to the filling and use melted white chocolate plus a little heavy cream for the topping. Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll for more Nanaimo Bars and takes on the Nanaimo Bar. Well worth the click.
Finally, don’t forget that the victims of the earthquake in Haiti still need your help! Click on the badge below to lend a hand.
4 out of 5 stars
Other Press, 2009
304 pages, Fiction
The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Canadian author Sean Dixon is often a fun, irreverent, quirky, and wonderful stream-of-consciousness novel that lends itself to readers who like to invest themselves deeply into a story full of amusing—and often annoying—characters and their unusual, high-concept exploits. Other times, it holds on and won’t let go—even if you’d like it to.
Dixon’s novel, in the simplest terms—if that is at all possible!—is the story of a group of women (and a few men) who belong to the Lacuna Cabal Montreal Women’s Book Club. Their book club is no ordinary book club in that they choose to re-enact the books they read. Narrated in third person by two former members of the book club, we join the club as they begin, somewhat reluctantly, to read and live out the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known pieces of literature in history. Yet one of their members, Runner Coghill, convinces the club to work from ancient clay tablets rather than a modern translation. This creates interesting challenges for the group as they question the authenticity of Runner’s interpretation of the text and the ultimate purpose of the club’s existence. The club begins to fall apart for various reasons, including the death of a very influential member, but the Epic re-enactment continues with strange results.
Dixon does a nice job of creating and displaying his characters for the reader: all hopelessly flawed but not beyond repair—definitely human, quirky and, yet sadly, not very sympathetic or likeable most of the time. In some ways, it felt that a few of the characters seemed so similar they were difficult to keep straight at times. That could be the reason Dixon introduced his characters at the beginning of the book with their names in boldface type as a way to quickly reference each character later (“…the reader can flip back and refer to them from time to time”).
Often I find myself melancholy as books end because I’ve just begun to find the characters engrossing and engaging (i.e., I develop a love for them?), but I can’t say that about Dixon’s characters or story. That’s not necessarily wrong. Dixon may have desired to leave you feeling that way. If so, he succeeded.
While Dixon paints his characters with various colors, they all seemed to have oddly the same…sameness. Like picking out colors for your master bedroom from Disney paint samples: no matter how many colors there are to choose from, it all comes down to pink, and that’s just wrong, isn’t it? Unfortunately, my favorite character died halfway through the book and left me with sympathizing with the robot (Yes, a robot. Didn’t I mention the robot?).
Overall, the book is an expressive bit of narrative, but there were many times I couldn’t help but say, “Can this book please end now,” only to be confronted with a remaining 200, 100, or 50 pages left to read. At times, Dixon swept me along with his tale but other times it would drag along waiting for the action or even the dialog to get more interesting.
Dixon is an incredibly talented writer whose imagination takes the reader to places few authors can or wish to travel. My mistake was to judge the book too early on and this only serves to hinder the reader of this “damaged masterpiece” to borrow the author’s own words.
Read it, but it may be an acquired taste.
Reviewed by David Stucki (Electric Eclectic)
The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is available on amazon . You can check out the author’s blog here.
You may also read this and other book reviews on Mark McGinty’s blog, The Boogle.
A million years ago in a hospital way up north.
A snowstorm. Evening, and two snowmobiles, racing across a frozen lake. One slams into an exposed rockface.
Our first warning is a call from the OPP, a heads up. Accident, paramedics on scene, severe trauma, unresponsive. No whys or wherefores.
So we wait. My first, Rosie jokes deadpan, but it’s mine. I’m nervous, but my exterior is insouciant. I pretend we won’t be holding this patient’s life in our hands. If I think about the reality, I’m afraid I will lose it. I pretend I’ve done this before. I pretend, no sweat, I can do this. This is how emergency nurses are supposed to be. I’ve been socialized well.
We prime lines, ready boluses of crystalloids, hang blood tubing, dust off the fluid warmer, look for the Pentaspan, alert xray: a trauma is coming. The chaplain wanders through. Charge asks him to hang out for a while, just in case.
The EMS patches. Twenty minutes out. Police escort down slippery back roads. Twenty-seven year-old male. No history. GCS of 3, intubated, boarded and collared, large bore IV started.
We wait.
Then EMS arrives and suddenly the entire department is in the Trauma Room. Chaos, yet not chaos, care orchestrated complexly like a ballet, every move an iteration of Airway, Breathing, Circulation Disability, every treatment and diagnostic a search for stability.
Cardiac monitor. Assisted respiration. Lung auscultation. Another large bore IV, foley catheter, logroll the patient, I support the head — “On my count”, I say, then after stat shoot-throughs, portable chest films, pupils fixed, dilated, chest tubes, blood running through the fluid warmer, nasogastric tubes, a tube in every hole, the saying goes, bloody dressings on the floor from a bleeding scalp wound, empty bags of saline count, one, two, three litres in. Hypotension. Heart rate at first rapid, compensating, now slowing.
Then the films. The doc looks at them and sighs. Shakes head. C1 fracture and dislocation. The spinal cord has been severed where it meets the brain, snapped clean like a dry stick by the force of the impact. There is nothing more. He’s dead. His body, his heart and lungs, strong and young and athletic, are receiving no signals from the brain. They just don’t know it yet.
He goes out to talk to the wife. Out of rote, we watch the cardiac monitor, sinus rhythm, watch his blood pressure begin to drop, his heart rate in slow decline.
His wife comes in. The charge holds her up. She says little. Her face is taut and pale, a declension of grief now and to come. No tears. Later, maybe, I think. She takes his hand and speaks softly to him. We can’t hear her words.
As she holds his hand, his heart slows more, the rhythm becomes idioventricular, irregular, then slows more and at last, stops. One agonal breath. It’s over.
(And later, I reflect, and still ask myself now, when did death take him? When he struck his head against the cold lakeside granite? Was there any remnant of consciousness, when we worked on him so frantically? Having watched scores of deaths, why do I still wonder?)
After, we hear the story. She told Charge, dry-eyed, while waiting to speak to the doc. A lesson: there always is a story. Married three months. Pregnant. A fight. He and the boys liked to snowmobile. A lot. She didn’t want him going out on the lake, in the dark, in a snowstorm. She thought his friends were assholes. She told him not to come back that night. I hate you, she said. His back disappearing into the dark, snow closing behind him.
After, we prepare the body for the morgue. I’m breathing again. Rosie closes the door and we crack wise darkly. Another ritual. We tie off IV tubes tied, leave the other tubes in place. Nothing can be removed until the coroner has examined the body. Plastic crinkles as we heave the bagged body on the morgue cart.
We collect up the torn and shredded clothing, meaning to return them to the family and then this happens: pieces of brown glass fall out of the left pocket of his heavy brown coat. We look in the other pocket, and find a bottle beer, whole and uncapped.
Rosie quickly scoops up the tinkling pieces of glass from the floor, and throws them with the beer bottle into the trash.
The porter comes for the body, to take it to the morgue.
I am callow and green.
We need to report this, I say.
Rosie smiles. No, she says. What’s the point? He’s dead. Knowing won’t help anyone, now. Not him. Not his wife either. Why add to her grief?
There is no answer, just the creak of the morgue cart as the porter pushes it out of the department.
Finally, a reason to be glad for the prorogation of Parliament. At the January meeting of the Canadian Author’s Association, Dr. Michael Geist, law professor at the University of Ottawa, where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, discussed C-61, the proposed copyright law. At first overview, it seems not to have protected copyright for authors at all, but rather restricted access to works everywhere. It died when Parliament did. Dr. Geist feels this was a very good thing.
Geist argues that creators and users of information are the same people. All of us “google” information, many of us use Open Office and Wikipedia, and I know I am addicted to the new NFB library and Open Culture.
C-61 concerned itself with little things like: preventing you to move your cell phone service to another company; permitting software sampling your interests for research to be placed on movies and CDs; requiring professors to destroy on-line classes after one month; restricting access to other items to five days; and assigning blame to those who infringe the many complicated rules, banning them from the internet after three such crimes and no due process. It meant that reader software could not be used for the blind, requiring them to purchase the more expensive audio books. Mashups would be out of order, and archiving would be a nightmare of rules and exceptions.
None of this seems particularly helpful to us as writers. As Cory Doctorow pointed out, it isn’t piracy that is the enemy, it’s obscurity. All of us toiling in our various book and paper strewn offices want to be read, want to share our vision with someone, or else we would not seek to publish our writings. It seems counterproductive to want this on one hand, and deny all access on the other.
Geist went on to encourage us to “embrace the Net”. He talked about the various open access sites available now, and how they were helping collaboration and innovation. Open Medicine, for example, was started by doctors who felt that where the public funds research, the results should be open to the public. Now we all can wander through the various research studies, finding unusual disorders and novel ways to kill off our characters, without having to pay for this access.
There are different types of people who react to digital information given free. There are the ones that use it free and wander about in glee. This does represent a decrease in sales of the item. Another group use the digital versions to determine if they want the hard copy. He described a university book publisher that put the entire text of a heavily academic book online. Initially they were afraid this would result in reduced sales – but they were pleasantly surprised when sales went up. People who never would have bought the book or known of its existence were able to find it online and decided to buy all 700 pages of it to take home.
Geist feels that fair dealing, the sharing of information with users, should be expanded. Currently, the law is a series of enumerated categories – if you are not in a given category, you’re not part of the deal. Satire and parody are not protected under fair dealing – which places many at risk of being sued for copyright infringement.
Fair dealing does not mean free dealing, says Geist. There should not be a blanket exception for educators to pull materials off of the internet, for example. Multiple copying or commercial uses should not be free. However, using a website in the classroom should be. He encouraged us to help define fair dealing in a way that was fair for both creators and users.
Of course, most of this is moot, with the prorogation of Parliament, but copyright law is eternally being revised. The pressures now are to match the US and Europe in their copyright arrangements, a delicate dance orchestrated by big players like big pharma up in the stratosphere. It’s doubtful we can have much of an effect on the opinions of such heavily pocketed groups.
Geist encouraged authors to focus on contracts, instead, especially those where publishers want authors to surrender all rights. Now, in this multiple-access world, this is even more unwise, and there is scope for authors to resist these contracts, and negotiate a better arrangement.
Geist also recommends that we encourage and prioritize digitalization. Google is developing a monopoly on this, and it could result in a lack of multicultural input on what is digitalized. Canada should start its own digitalization project to ensure a diversity of voices in the new digital future.
Dr. Geist has an excellent (if a bit impenetrable for non-lawyers) website: www.michaelgeist.ca that includes a blog about the latest in copyright law. It’s well worth a look.
The event sponsored by Yasmin Ratansi, Member of Parliament can be viewed on CPAC on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010.
03:00 PM Public Record
“Inspiration on the Hill” Canada’s national celebration of Martin Luther King Day (January 18th, 2010).
Inspiration on the Hill
Kinetic Elements - Kitchener's Snow Ball 2009
Get ready to launch!
Kinetic Elements is in the Toronto Fringe Festival this year. Come on out for fun, drinks and see some of our current works in progress and finished pieces.
When: Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Where: 805 Dovercourt Penthouse 3rd Floor. Toronto, On
Admission is $10.00.
Doors open at 6:30pm where Kendra Hughes will give an introduction to the pieces that will be performed that night and the process of creation. Performances will start at 8pm.
Drinks, dancing and mingling afterwards. As well, there will be a 50-50 draw
We appreciate your support!
For more information contact kendra@kendrahughes.com
No time for feeling overworked and down in the dumps. No time for having a dose of the wintertime blues, nor feeling out of sorts. Ed started off the show with a great anthem by the Diodes. And by the third track, an instrumental by Nash The Slash, if you weren’t up off your duff and dancing up a frenzy, you probably didn’t have a pulse.
Be sure to tune in to Ed and his “bet you haven’t heard this one in a while” 80’s Retrospect show on CFRC-FM from 8 pm until 10 pm on Tuesday nights. Ed takes requests by phone: (613) 533-CFRC (2372) or email: retrospectcfrc at yahoo dot ca. Indulge yourself in some “80’s Music that doesn’t suck.” I guarantee die-hard 80’s New Wave/post-punk fans will not be disappointed.
CFRC-FM Playlist January 12, 2010
Basement of Carruthers Hall in Queens University, Kingston, Ontario
ED-FM ~ Retrospect
80’s Music That Doesn’t Suck
If the “Listen Live” link on the CFRC Website doesn’t work, copy and paste this URL into your Windows Media Player: http://sunsite.queensu.ca:8000/
Join us in the Chat Room during the show – either click the link on the right menu under the Rave and Roll graphic, or here.
To listen to any shows that you may have missed, go to the CFRC website and look up the archives under the “Programming” drop-down menu. You can enjoy Ed’s previous shows in one-hour increments.
1. Diodes – Tired Of Waking Up Tired
2. The Nails – Hotel for Women
3. Nash The Slash – the Hypnotist
4. Wide Boy Awake – Slang Teacher
5. Vital Sines – Rhythm Of Dark
6. Spoons – Symmetry (extended)
7. Violent Femmes – Fool In The Full Moon
8. Screaming Blue Messiahs – I Wanna Be A Flintstone
9. Vicious Pink – Cccan’t You See (en Francais extended)
10. Victims of Pleasure – Jack & Jill
11. Pete Wylie – Sinful (wickedest mix)
12. DiMaggios – True Home Of The Brave (extended)
13. Divine – You Think You’re A Man
14. Yello – The Evening’s Young
15. Kinetic Idea – Angular Sky
16. Blue Peter – Don’t Walk Past (f version)
17. Visage – Again We Love
18. Yellow Magic Orchestra – Computer Games
19. Living Room – London Rain
20. Howard Jones – Look Mama (mega mama mix)
by Robert Charles Wilson
320 pages
Orb Books
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It’s the start of the twentieth century, the age of large ocean-crossing ships and the telegraph, when an event occurs that shakes everyone’s understanding of reality, and radically transforms the course of history from the path it followed in our world. Overnight a light is seen in the sky, communication is cut off from Europe, and then when people finally investigate in-person, they find that all of Europe has been replaced with an untouched wilderness with bizarre alien plant and animal life, and the land following only the general lines of what had existed before.
So far we have an excellent adventure story, as the main protagonist is a child when this happens, and in his twenties is part of an expedition that tries to explore and document the interior of the new Europe for the first time. Exiles and adventurers have tried to reclaim parts of the wilderness, either for their vanished nations or their own self-interest, and so the expedition has to deal with social and political hurdles as well as the bizarre new lifeforms. The informal name for this transformed Europe becomes ‘Darwinia’, a mocking reference, since events have obviously invalidated the slow-and-steady evolution theories of Darwin.
This had the potential to be an engaging novel full of adventure and mysteries, but unfortunately, about a third of the way through, there are several pages of flat exposition in which the author clues you in on what is really going on, and the twist in the plot is both unnecessary and extremely damaging to the drama of the story. From this point forward, nothing that happens really matters, and things start to get more bizarre, but it doesn’t mean anything to the reader because we’re in a world without rules. If Wilson was trying to make some kind of sense with what is going on with plot twist, he fell well short.
Without giving too much away, the story falls into a similar trap as many stories set in dreams or computer simulations–because anything can happen, to the reader it doesn’t matter what happens. If an author creates a world like Middle Earth, and lets the reader know of the rules and limitations, then it can be a stage for effective drama, even if it’s a very different kind than takes place in our world. However, in a story like Tad Williams’s Otherland, which was mostly set in a computer gone mad, it’s as possible for all the characters to be killed off in a page, as for them to pull something out of a pocket and be victorious, or for the narrative to go on for another thousand pages.
The full cover art by Jim Burns, the best part of the book.
For our first family trip, I combined it with a business trip mainly because the location was an amazingly beautiful spot. Lake Louise, Canada is set in the middle of the Rockies. We stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel right at the foot of the glacier, where as you can see in this video, you can rent canoes. We purchased the 30 minute canoe ride, but wish we had done the 60 minute. It was peaceful even among all the other people out on the lake. If you’re looking for a honeymoon location with beauty, adventure, hiking AND pampering with great restaurants, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise cannot be beat. We can’t wait for our ten year anniversary because I think we may find ourselves here again. Click the link below to watch my silly video (I was a little afraid to turn around and tip the canoe):
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Concerned Canadians: Please join the anti-prorogation Facebook group which has 200,000+ members.
Canadians _DO_ care, Mr. Harper!
Calgary rally: Please also join Calgarians Against Proroguing Parliament where Calgarians will have a rally on Jan 23rd, 2010 1pm – 2:30pm, at Mr. Harper’s riding office (join us at the FB event for latest info and be kept informed) together with Canadians from across the country.
Links to rallies in other Canadian cities: See this Facebook event
***
The first thing I bought up was the issue of whether Wildrose Alliance will receive official party status and be allowed a daily spot in the Question Period lineup when the Legislature starts on February 8? I am very adamant and think that Assembly Speaker Mr. Ken Kowalski really has no choice and should give Wildrose the official party status! Paul was more pragmatic and reminded me that it is still up to the Speaker.
I told Paul and promised again here: If the Speaker choose to use technicalities to play dirty party politics and ignore the precedence set by giving the 2-seat NDP party the official party status, then I will personally call Speaker Ken Kowalski’s office and complain as a Calgarian and Albertan. (see this detailed commentary about wildrose official party status at daveberta)
We also talked about my concern of Bill 44 (currently suspended for a year, I think) and I asked Paul to pay close attention to it when it come up for discussions again in the Legislature. I told Paul about my two encounters with Minister Lindsay Blackett re Bill 44 (where I interviewed him on camera) and my deep concerns with the bill tying the hands of teachers in classes.
Paul and I also talked about a few other issues including a chat about human caused environmental change (aka global warming) which Paul and I are in almost total disagreement.
Finally, I would like to say Paul is nice and very easy to talk to and other Calgarians in Calgary-Glenmore should feel free to arrange to meet Paul and tell him your concerns.
Now, I want to make a general observation. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with your three levels of elected representatives (city, provincial, and federal). Ask to meet them, talk to them, call them, email them, etc to tell them what you think about issues close to your heart.
After all, these politicians work for us. And remember to vote in every single election as every vote is important!
The auction, which centered on oilfields ready for development, saw Russian and Chinese oil firms secure lucrative contracts at the expense of companies from the United States who were largely absent from the tender for deals to tap Iraqi oil reserves, the world’s third-largest.
After suffering from decades of mismanagement, sanctions and war, it is forecasted that Iraq, by the decade’s end, could rival top producers Russia and fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia.
“They have the oil in the ground,” said James Placke, a senior associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates who specializes in the Middle East. “It’s getting it out that’s always been the problem.”
Iraq has the third largest proven oil reserve behind Saudi Arabia and Canada, and analysts believe there could be much more, once the country’s western desert is surveyed.
City Woman Premiere Magazine For Women
January/February Edition Feature Story City Woman Magazine
City Woman Magazine Interview with Go Natural Founder Michele Kish
A new year, Can change happen Do we need change?
On your watch, whats going to happen on your watch?
Global Warming, Carbon Footprint, Copenhagen Tim Horton Drive Thru Please Pick the anomaly. Whats going to happen on your watch?
Been following Henry Rollins for a long time. Ember of Rage. Governments will not do it People have to do it.
Homogenized Generic Dumb-ed Down Do you have an excuse? Do you have an ember or is it extinguished?
War The Tar Sands Inadequate Transit. Homelessness
ASHIMA SURI
Ashima Suri is a dancer/choreographer/actor/writer and public speaker. Her journey into dance began at a very early age. She began her training in Indian classical dance and Bollywood dance which she performed in a variety of different stage shows across Toronto, the U.K and the Middle East.
Her interest in other forms of dance also began at an early age and she started to create and choreograph her own performances using hip hop and contemporary techniques.
In her late teens, she had fallen in-love with Contemporary dance after taking a series of classes in the Middle East. Her first big break was when she was chosen to be an Assistant Choreographer for the hit musical Grease.
She continued in this path and in university, participated and led dance groups into competitions across Ontario.
Ashima currently has her own dance group called Limitless Productions. It’s a group that strives on using performance as a way to not only entertain, but to break down barriers, inspire change and create community.
Most recently Ashima is thrilled to be dancing for Choreographer and Dancer, Kendra Hughes from Kinetic Elements.
Q&A What would your perfect day consist of?Having a theme-like-party on a beach or some place hot and inviting all my friends and family! And treating them all to a spa day and other fabulous surprises
Why dance?I know that the moments where I wasn’t dancing , I felt like something was incomplete. Dancing and choreography is like the food I eat — it is fuel for my soul!
Do you have a mentor?I have been lucky to have many mentors in my life however, one that sticks out and someone who has been my biggest mentor is my professor from University. He inspired me to be myself, to speak up and ask a lot of questions and fight for what I believe in !
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?Music ! I love music
What is one of your future aspirations?To continue in the self-discovery journey and to make a difference in all that I do
Meet Cali. I was out photographing my young son sledding today and this energetic, powerful and fun loving doberman arrived with her owners. She was having such a good time tearing around in the snow I had to grab a shot. 4 feet off the ground, snow flying, Cali was loving it!
This guy’s music has be out for a while but a lot of people haven’t heard of him. His music is something different and I promise you will like it. So of the song you have probably have heard him i might have been “Cannonball -Drake” or “Last Cause (remix) -88 Keys“. Like I said, I will be putting you on this year so watch out for more updates.
Check out this song
The 18th Great Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.
The 18th Great Finale on the whole world – Sunday, January 10, 2010.
Office of GOCC on the world :
Foreign offices of organizers : XVIII Final Great Orchestra of Christmas CharityPlaces on the world where will be 18th Great Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity:
Part 1 – in Ireland: Dublin ; in USA: Chicago, Connecticut, Floryda, New York
Part 2 – in Ireland: Cork; in Netherlands: Amsterdam, Brunssum, DEN HAAG, Rotterdam; in UK: Glasgow, Newcastle.
Today - in Canada: Mississauga; in UK: Edinburgh, London, Luton.
Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy (WOSP) – The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity; is the biggest and most prosperous charity organization in Poland.
Its objectives, included in the status document, are saving children’s lives, health promotion and education in the field of preventive treatment. Between 1993 and 2009 The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity has collected and spent over $100 mln for saving lives. Besides humanitarian work, the Foundation is also a powerful medium spreading the ideology of kindness, friendship, tolerance, and openness.
The medical equipment purchased by WOSP over all those years can be found in over 650 public hospitals all over Poland. On average, four medical devices are delivered every day to a given hospital.
1. Edinburgh, Scotland : Great Finale In Edinburgh – Foxgang, Łzy and EastWest Rockers.
Foxgang – extremely popular among Edinburgh audience rock band featured at last year’s GOCC Great Finale and Rock by Night Festival.
Łzy, Polish pop-rock mega-star, performers of “Agnieszka”, “Narcyz”, “Jestem jaka jestem”, “Oczy szeroko zamknięte” and “Gdybyś był”.
And last but not least world renowned sound system EastWest Rockers, performing raggamuffin and dancehall.
The Great Finale Concert
The event of the night of 10th January in the HMV Picture Mouse will feature:
* Foxgang
* Łzy
Traditionally we’ll also have competitions, auctions and raffles.
The evnt will be hosted by Pawel ‘Konjo’ Konnak, one of the most popular Polish entertainers, best known as the co-host of the Polish TV show Lalamido and a friend of many Polish music stars including Michal Wisniewski of the band Ich Troje and Krzysztof Skiba of the band Big Cyc.
Robert Motyka, one of the most gifted VJ’s in the Polish community in Scotland, is responsible for the visual performance for the show.
We have already gathered some very attractive prizes, such as:
* Helicopter flight over Edinburgh
* Ticket for a specially organised Highland tour funded by Pathfinder Adventure Ravel
* £200 worth tattoo funded by Rock And Roll Tattoo
* GOCC mugs
* GOCC T-shirt
* Music CDs
* Polish artists’ paintings
* Calendars
And many, many more. Watch his space for more prizes.
See you on 10th January!!
Venue:
The HMV Picture House
31 Lothian Road
Edinburgh EH1 2DJ
Our event is highly publicised in Poland and within the Polish community in the UK media, with initial press releases already published by: PAP (Polish Press Agency), Onet.eu, Goniec.com, Emito.net, Edinburgh.com.pl, Mojawyspa.co.uk and Apsik.co.uk. Please go to Written About Us tab for our press releases.
No doubts it will be the biggest charity event in the history of Polish community here in Scotland. We are expecting to raise £7000 this year. It would be the best result of any GOCC HQ abroad in history.
Last year the event, also organized by the WOSP HQ in Edinburgh, gathered a record live audience of 1500 people and 2000 online listeners – the most people taking part in any GOCC event abroad ever. We were mentioned on the main Polish news shows and on all the Polish news websites.
If you wish to support us, please contact us on the following address:
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity
Head Quarters in Edinburgh
30 Goodtrees Gardens
Edinburgh EH17 7RY
sztab@wosp2010.eu
* Source : – http://www.wosp2010.eu/
2. London, England : For the first time in London we playing in two parts of the city.
WEST LONDON:
Saturday (09.01.2010):
Club Walkabout – Shepherds Bush (admission free – room housed 1,200 people)
16.00 The Cuban School of Arts – Salsa – demonstration and lesson
17.00 Soulride
18.00 U.S.
18.45 Group L
19.45 DobraMind
20.45 Alexander Kwasniewska with Stylus Dust (Pop / Electronica)
21.45 Why Not Here
22.30 Bright Color Vision
Location: 56 Shepherds Bush Green, W12 8QE
Organizer: Poland Street
Sunday (10.01.2010)
Jazz Cafe – Hammersmith Posk
Blok Family (free admission)
12.00 What is a fable? Read stories from zgadywankami
12.30 Contest of young talent
13.30 Screening of Judo
14.00 Performance of the Eaglets team
14.45 Group L – songs from the Academy of the Lord Kleksa
15.30 Tatras and Zywiec-teams folk carols, folk dances
16.30 ZHP – Common Singing (songbooks will be available)
Block Concerts (admission: L 10)
18.00 Ewa Mizerska duo (cello) and Gabor Podhorszky (guitar) – the Spanish music
18.30 Eva Becla
19.15 Monika Lidka Band
20.15 Alexander Zembron
Leszek Aleksander 21.00
Location: 238-246 King Street, W6 0RF
Organizer: Poland Street
EAST LONDON:
The Bedroom Bar, Shoreditch (Room is located 300 people)
Program: Children’s art workshops, exhibition and auction of works by artists in London, teams: Spherical Emotion, Overproof Sound System, Rebel Control, The Savage Nomads, and others.
Comedy Club – Auction and Exhibition
Localization: 62 Rivington Str, EC2A 3AY
Organizer: David Rygielski
* Source : – http://www.wosp-londyn.org/
3. Mississauga, ON Canada : We play here for the seventh time.
The Great Orchestra Of Christmas Charity – 18th Great Finale in Canada
under the auspices of the Consulate General in Toronto
Headquarters in Mississauga
Please join us! – Be with us 10 January.
Let’s play together! – Once again in MISSISSAUGA.
After several months of staff preparation time has come WOSP Grand Concerto in Mississauga.
18 Final will be held in Anapilis Christian Community Center, 2185 Stavebank Road, Mississauga, ON L5C 1T3.
This year will be played great bands and artists:
CRACOVIA,
SWARNI,
cabaret TO i OWO,
Danuta Lechowska,
Adam Burak,
Teresa Klimuszko and others.
For the first time there are teams from other parts of the world, which presents regional dances of Hawaii, China, Philippines and Egypt.
As part of the young talent will be performed by Robin Gruszczynski, Martin Chester, a group of Hip Hop and others.
At the end of the evening we invite you to play with a band – Gitarmax.
Polonia big concert will be held on January 10, 2010 from 12:00 to 21:00
in the Hall of Lithuania, 2185 Stavebank Rd, Mississauga.
Volunteers willing to help please contact: wosp@sympatico.ca
* Source : – http://www.wosp.ca/
4. Luton, England : We playing in Luton!!
January 09, 2010 : 3pm – 5pm fancy dress ball for kids – Polska Chata.
9pm…. karaoke in polish (odc’s concert) – Polska Chata.
January 10, 2010 : 4pm – 6.30pm games and play for kids – Polska Chata.
Final
Start from 4pm
The Heights
1 GEORGE STREET
Luton, LU1 2AA
7pm – LIGHT TO THE SKY
Gadget’s auctionsent from Jurek Owsiak!!!
Voluntarees will be collecting money to the cans in whole Luton.
HEDQUATERS :
SAMI SWOI – Luton
23 GEORGE STREET, LUTON, LU1 2AF
Contact :
Kamila – 078 639 991 15
** Previous story :
- The 18th Great Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is just around the corner – it will take place on Sunday, January 10, 2010. XVIII FINAŁ WIELKIEJ ORKIESTRY ŚWIĄTECZNEJ POMOCY!!! /Version english and polish/
- The Great Orchestra Of Christmas Charity – 18th Great Finale on the whole world – part 1. XVIII Finał WOŚP na całym świecie cz.1. /Version english and polish/
- The Great Orchestra Of Christmas Charity – 18th Great Finale on the whole world – part 2. XVIII Finał WOŚP na całym świecie cz.2. /Version english and polish/
- GREAT ORCHESTRA’S OF CHRISTMAS CHARITY 17-th GREAT FINALE WE’RE KICKING OFF!!! XVII FINAŁ WIELKIEJ ORKIESTRY ŚWIĄTECZNEJ POMOCY ZACZYNAMY!!! /Version polish and english/
- The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy. /Version polish and english/
XVIII FINAŁ WIELKIEJ ORKIESTRY ŚWIĄTECZNEJ POMOCY NA ŚWIECIE
1. Edinburgh, Scotland : Finał WOŚP w Edynburgu – zobacz Foxgang, Łzy and EastWest Rockers!
Największy polonijny koncert finałowy Wielkiej Orkiestry Świątecznej Pomocy w Edynburgu zbliża się wielkimi krokami. Gwiazdy wieczoru już potwierdzone! W niedzielę 10 stycznia swoim śpiewem bawić nas będą:
Foxgang – niezwykle popularna wśród edynburskiej publiczności polsko-szkocka kapela rockowa, świetnie znana z zeszłorocznego finału i festiwalu Rock Nocą.
Polska megagwiazda pop-rocka – Łzy, znana dzięki takim przebojom, jak: “Agnieszka”, “Narcyz”, “Jestem jaka jestem”, “Oczy szeroko zamknięte” oraz “Gdybyś był”.
Koncert Finałowy:
W niedzielę, 10 stycznia, na koncercie w The HMV Picture House w Edynburgu zagrają:
* Foxgang
* Łzy
W programie wieczoru również mnóstwo innych atrakcji: konkursy, aukcje i loterie.
Koncert i licytację poprowadzi znany z programu Lalamido przyjaciel gwiazd Paweł “Konjo” Konnak. Oprawę wizualną imprezy przygotuje Robert Motyka, jeden z najbardziej utalentowanych VJ-ów polskiej emigracji.
Do tej pory udało nam się zebrać (a wciąż jeszcze zbieramy) mnóstwo gadżetów na loterię i licytację. Mamy między innymi:
* Przelot helikopterem nad Edynburgiem
* Bilet na specjalnie przygotowaną 16 osobową wycieczkę autokarową w Highlandy sponsorowaną przez Pathfinder Adventure Travel
* Tatuaż o wartości 200 funtów w salonie ROCK’N'ROLL TATTOO AND PIERCING
* Kubek WOŚP
* Koszulki WOŚP
* Płyty, płyty i jeszcze raz płyty z muzyką
* Kubki znanych zespołów
* Obrazy polskich artystów
* Kalendarze
Oraz wiele, wiele innych atrakcyjnych fantów. Zaglądajcie do naszego serwisu, lista nagród rzeczowych będzie się stale wydłużać.
Zapraszamy!
Miejsce:
The HMV Picture House
31 Lothian Road
Edinburgh EH1 2DJ
Szacujemy, że w edynburskim finale weźmie udział przynajmniej 2500 osób, a podczas akcji witrynę sztabu odwiedzi nawet 10 tysięcy użytkowników, w tym co najmniej 2 tysiące słuchaczy koncertu on-line.
Bez wątpienia będzie to największa impreza charytatywna dla Polonii jaka odbyła się do tej pory w Szkocji. Celem sztabu w tym roku jest uzbierać rekordową sumę 7 tysięcy funtów. Byłby to najlepszy wynik jakiegokolwiek sztabu zagranicznego w historii WOŚP.
W ubiegłorocznym finale WOŚP w Edynburgu, również zorganizowanym przez nasz sztab, uczestniczyła rekordowa w historii WOŚP liczba osób na koncercie poza granicami kraju: 1500 osób na żywo oraz ponad 2000 słuchaczy on-line dzięki radiostacji radioszkocja.pl. Informacja o finale w Edynburgu pojawiła się między innymi w głównym wydaniu naszego patrona medialnego Wiadomości TVP1 oraz na głównych stronach największych portali informacyjnych.
Zainteresowanych sponsoringiem finału akcji prosimy o kontakt ze sztabem pod numerem +447706742563 lub pod adresem poczty elektronicznej: marek@wosp2010.eu
* Źródło : – http://www.wosp2010.eu/
2. London, England : Jedno Miasto! Jedna Orkiestra! Dwa zaprzyjaznione sztaby! Dwa dni imprezy!
Po raz pierwszy w Londynie Wielka Orkiestra Światecznej Pomocy 2010 zagra w dwóch częściach miasta w Północno-Wchodnim Londynie (Shoreditch) i w Zachodnim Londynie (Sheperds Bush i Hammersmith).
LONDYN ZACHODNI:
Sobota (09.01.2010):
Klub Walkabout – Shepherds Bush (wstęp wolny – sala mieści 1200 osób)
16.00 The Cuban School of Arts – Salsa – pokaz i lekcja
17.00 Soulride
18.00 NAS
18.45 Group L
19.45 DobraMind
20.45 Aleksandra Kwasniewska with Stylus Dust (Pop/Electronica)
21.45 Why Not Here
22.30 Bright Colour Vision
Lokalizacja: 56 Shepherds Bush Green, W12 8QE
Organizator: Poland Street
Niedziela (10.01.2010)
Jazz Cafe – POSK Hammersmith
Blok Rodzinny (wstep wolny)
12.00 Jaka to bajka? Czytanie bajek ze zgadywankami
12.30 Konkurs mlodych talentow
13.30 Pokaz Judo
14.00 Wystep zespolu Orleta
14.45 Group L – piosenki z Akademii Pana Kleksa
15.30 Tatry i Zywiec- zespoly folklorystyczne, koledy, tance folklorystyczne
16.30 ZHP – wspolne spiewanie (spiewniki beda udostepnione)
Blok Koncertowy (wstep: £10)
18.00 Duet Ewa Mizerska (wiolonczela) i Gabor Podhorszky (gitara) – muzyka hiszpanska
18.30 Eva Becla
19.15 Monika Lidke Band
20.15 Aleksandra Zembron
21.00 Leszek Aleksander
Lokalizacja: 238-246 King Street, W6 0RF
Organizator: Poland Street
LONDYN WSCHODNI:
The Bedroom Bar; Shoreditch (sala mieści 300 osób)
Program: warsztaty artystyczne dla dzieci, wystawa i aukcja prac artystów londyńskich, zespoły: Spherical Emotion, Overproof Sound System, Rebel Control, The Savage Nomads i inni.
Comedy Club – aukcja i wystawa
Lokalizaja: 62 Rivington Str., EC2A 3AY
Organizator: Dawid Rygielski
* Źródło : – http://www.wosp-londyn.org/
3. Mississauga, ON Kanada : Gramy tutaj 7-my raz bez przerwy od 2004 roku.
WOŚP Kanada
pod patronatem Konsulatu Generalnego RP w Toronto
Sztab Mississauga
DOŁĄCZCIE ! – bądźcie z nami 10 stycznia.
ZAGRAJMY RAZEM ! – po raz kolejny w MISSISSAUGA.
Po dlugich, kilkumiesiecznych przygotowaniach sztabu nadszedl czas Wielkiego Koncertu WOŚP w Mississauga.
XVIII Finał odbędzie się w Anapilis Christian Community Centre, 2185 Stavebank Road, Mississauga, ON L5C 1T3.
W tym roku gościmy wspaniałe zespoły i artystów : CRACOVIA, SWARNI, kabaret TO i OWO, RADOŚĆ JOY, Danuta Lechowska, Adam Burak, Teresa Klimuszko oraz inni.
Po raz pierwszy gościmy zespoły z innych zakątków świata, które zaprezentują tańce regionalne : Hawaii, Chin, Filipin i Egiptu.
W bloku młodych talentów wystąpią : Robin Gruszczyński, Martina Chester, grupa Hip Hop i inni.
Na konieć wieczoru zapraszamy na zabawę z zespołem Gitarmax.
Wielki polonijny koncert odbedzie się 10 stycznia 2010 od 12:00 do 21:00 w Sali Litewskiej, 2185 Stavebank Rd, Mississauga.
Studenci PISK (Polska Inicjatywa Studentów w Kanadzie) organizują dodatkowo dyskotekę dla młodzieży, a zgromadzone fundusze przekażą na WOŚP.
Chętnych do pomocy woluntariuszy i sponsorów prosimy o kontakt : wosp@sympatico.ca
* Źródło : – http://www.wosp.ca/
4. Luton, England : Gramy w Luton dla WOŚP!!!!
23 GEORGE STREET, LUTON, LU1 2AF
Kontakt : – Kamila – 078 639 991 15
** zobacz też :
- WOŚP 2010 w górach: Szósty Karpacki Finał Wielkiej Orkiestry Świątecznej Pomocy – 9/10.01.2010.
- The 18th Great Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity is just around the corner – it will take place on Sunday, January 10, 2010. XVIII FINAŁ WIELKIEJ ORKIESTRY ŚWIĄTECZNEJ POMOCY!!! /Version english and polish/
- The Great Orchestra Of Christmas Charity – 18th Great Finale on the whole world – part 1. XVIII Finał WOŚP na całym świecie cz.1. /Version english and polish/
- The Great Orchestra Of Christmas Charity – 18th Great Finale on the whole world – part 2. XVIII Finał WOŚP na całym świecie cz.2. /Version english and polish/
- GREAT ORCHESTRA’S OF CHRISTMAS CHARITY 17-th GREAT FINALE WE’RE KICKING OFF!!! XVII FINAŁ WIELKIEJ ORKIESTRY ŚWIĄTECZNEJ POMOCY ZACZYNAMY!!! /Version polish and english/
- The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy. /Version polish and english/
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