The craziness that is the newly created 311 service illustrates that Winnipeg is not working out very well. It's time to CANCEL 311, and go back to the previous system we had where the receptionists at the various city departments, like the Clerk's Office at City Hall, can take people's calls, such as registering to speak at a Council meeting.
There was a time until December 1971 that the central city of Winnipeg was a completely separate from the City of St. Vital, the City of East Kildonan, the Rural Municipality of Fort Garry, the Rural Municipality of Charleswood, etc...
The past 37 years have proved that Unicity government has been a total, unmitigated FAILURE, and that the way back is to amalgamate and restore as many of these former municipalities as possible
In the past 37 years the identity of the suburban areas have melded with the city — one suburb is almost identical to another.
However, I feel that we had it right when Winnipeg created the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg, which was loosely modeled on the Metropolitan Corporation of Toronto.
Smaller is ALWAYS better. Smaller entities are always more EFFICIENT than monolithic, especially in government.
Until 1998 when Toronto amalgamated several nearby suburbs, the Metro Toronto area was known as one of the best organized governments in the western world. Under Metro government, and separate municipalities, the area was able to grow steadily since its creation in 1954. It was able to extend the TTC subway over 35 years, and through its construction, keep Metro development relatively compact.
The way back is to deamalgamate, and to return the emergency services back to the autonomous municipalities.
On April 6, 2009 the Frontier Centre for Public Policy will be hosting a discussion featuring Nick Ternette on the Failure of Unicity government here.
See also:
http://www.mts.net/~jjaworsk/Metro/
3.31.2009
3.24.2009
A Step Closer To The Mark?
If people just stopped using debit cards and went back to going to the bank teller in person, and paid for items with coins and dollars (cash) then none of this would be allowed to go forward.
Before debit cards were introduced in the early 1990s, customers used to fill out paper slips, wait in line, and hand them to the bank teller. The slips would indicate what the customer would want to do -- deposit some cash, transfer cash from one account to another, cash a cheque, or withdrawal some cash. These slips were not done away with immediately, but only when the banks said that most people don't use them anymore.
So to go back to that system we must stop using debit cards altogether, and demand that our banks return to the cash and deposit slip system! Sure it's a bit inconvenient, but it may HALT, STOP, OR CANCEL OR DELAY these chipped card systems that are a step closer to Revelations 13.
Revelations 13 says:
And [the Antichrist] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or sell, save [except] he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. Rev 13:16-18 KJV
3.17.2009
We Are Watching The Watchmen
I saw the new movie The Watchmen this past weekend. It has several references to the New World Order and such.
The story goes back to a comic book released in September 1986, during the same time when "Iran-Contra" was going on in the mainstream media.
I noticed too during this time period a major shift in pop culture FROM one that is promoting "family values", for example the NBC Sunday night program Our House and ABC's The Disney Sunday Movie, TO one that questions trust of one another. Then in 1987 there were a lot of breakups in relationships and in families. The music changed a bit, from being fun, party-like, to being much more dark, and "garange"-like. If you don't know what "garange" is, just listen to the dark theme of Genesis' Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. It can best be thought of as a "biting anger".
That time period, between October 1986 and around 1992, were a transition period. Sure there was bad, but there was also good. We had the great set design and great catchy theme of CNN HeadlineNews, and we had a sort of revival of 1950s culture, where people were reminded of rural culture and those people who were migrating to the cities. So we had this ying yang of Town and Country.
But there was also the bad, in the form of increased tabloid journalism and the creation of FOX Television, Maury Povitch, Inside Edition, and wall to wall coverage of Iran Contra.
ABC's Disney Sunday Movie intro:
NBC promo for Our House:
Genesis' Tonight, Tonight, Tonight:
The story goes back to a comic book released in September 1986, during the same time when "Iran-Contra" was going on in the mainstream media.
I noticed too during this time period a major shift in pop culture FROM one that is promoting "family values", for example the NBC Sunday night program Our House and ABC's The Disney Sunday Movie, TO one that questions trust of one another. Then in 1987 there were a lot of breakups in relationships and in families. The music changed a bit, from being fun, party-like, to being much more dark, and "garange"-like. If you don't know what "garange" is, just listen to the dark theme of Genesis' Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. It can best be thought of as a "biting anger".
That time period, between October 1986 and around 1992, were a transition period. Sure there was bad, but there was also good. We had the great set design and great catchy theme of CNN HeadlineNews, and we had a sort of revival of 1950s culture, where people were reminded of rural culture and those people who were migrating to the cities. So we had this ying yang of Town and Country.
But there was also the bad, in the form of increased tabloid journalism and the creation of FOX Television, Maury Povitch, Inside Edition, and wall to wall coverage of Iran Contra.
ABC's Disney Sunday Movie intro:
NBC promo for Our House:
Genesis' Tonight, Tonight, Tonight:
3.15.2009
Discernment Folk Group has a drummer again.
Tonight I went to St. Ignatius Church (Corydon & Stafford) and saw that the group Discernment, who has been playing since 1970, has a new drummer.
It's been many years that they did have one, and the previous guy died of cancer or something like that.
It makes a HUGE difference in the music ministry in that the band memeber who are singing along are able to keep better time when so they sing together.
It brings back the Rock sound that the group used to have, and it makes it easier for the congregation to sing along if they can sing together with the beat of the drum.
It's been many years that they did have one, and the previous guy died of cancer or something like that.
It makes a HUGE difference in the music ministry in that the band memeber who are singing along are able to keep better time when so they sing together.
It brings back the Rock sound that the group used to have, and it makes it easier for the congregation to sing along if they can sing together with the beat of the drum.
Misdirected Parcel
In late January of this year I had ordered three items from eBay. One from one seller and two from another.
They should have arrived by mid-February, and the one from one seller did.
But the other two items were still MIA.
So I contacted the seller and he says, OK, the US Postal Service says they're "lost in the mail", and nothing can be done except to refund what I originally paid.
Today my sister phones me and says that our Dad was talking to their neighbour on the block and they had recently gone on vacation for two months and they had someone take care of the place during that time.
The neighbour gave the two items to my Dad, and then I paid the eBay seller again and wrote him the story that we have received the items.
The mixup occurred because the Canada Post parcel delivery (man) used the UPC barcode address range instead of the handwritten address that the sender had on the original envelope. Guess they weren't trained very well, and were just pushed into the job.
Oi vey.
They should have arrived by mid-February, and the one from one seller did.
But the other two items were still MIA.
So I contacted the seller and he says, OK, the US Postal Service says they're "lost in the mail", and nothing can be done except to refund what I originally paid.
Today my sister phones me and says that our Dad was talking to their neighbour on the block and they had recently gone on vacation for two months and they had someone take care of the place during that time.
The neighbour gave the two items to my Dad, and then I paid the eBay seller again and wrote him the story that we have received the items.
The mixup occurred because the Canada Post parcel delivery (man) used the UPC barcode address range instead of the handwritten address that the sender had on the original envelope. Guess they weren't trained very well, and were just pushed into the job.
Oi vey.
3.11.2009
Our Commie Councillors
Couns. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) and Gord Steeves (St. Vital) and are proposing to rename Garbage Day to Recycling Day, using a straight from the Communist doublespeak playbook.
It was reported earlier last month that Winnipegers are recycling less than other provinces because it is less convenient for them.
The real story why people are not recycling anymore is because we are being told that aside from aluminum cans, the rest of our trash goes into the Brady Landfill anyways.
Once you watch Penn & Teller explain how stupid most of recycling is, then you'll become more reasonable when throwing out the trash.
It was reported earlier last month that Winnipegers are recycling less than other provinces because it is less convenient for them.
The real story why people are not recycling anymore is because we are being told that aside from aluminum cans, the rest of our trash goes into the Brady Landfill anyways.
Once you watch Penn & Teller explain how stupid most of recycling is, then you'll become more reasonable when throwing out the trash.
3.05.2009
"Now, this is the one I've been waiting for"
My 18-year old cat passed away on his birthday, March 2, 2009.
Around 12 hours later in the afternoon, I had the voice of my deceased Uncle come into my mind and say:
When I checked with my Mom if Uncle Rudy did in fact like cats, she confirmed this.
Around 12 hours later in the afternoon, I had the voice of my deceased Uncle come into my mind and say:
"Now, this is the one I've been waiting for."I truely believe that Uncle Rudy, who passed away in 1995 after a heart attack related to type 2 Diabetes, is taking care of my cat Smiles until it's my time to be with my cat again in Heaven.
When I checked with my Mom if Uncle Rudy did in fact like cats, she confirmed this.
3.01.2009
Maple Syrup Price Beyond Reasonable
My earliest ancestors from the 1300s lived among the maple trees, that is what the surname stands for. A 'Jawor' tree is a sycamore maple, and 'ski' means 'place of'.
So maybe that is why I love pancakes and of course the only real thing to put on them is maple syrup.
When I was a kid we had the Old Colony brand of maple syrup that you could buy at the Safeway supermarket. I can't recall what they charged for a bottle. Perhaps $2.50 or so back in the 1970s.
Then the prices went up in the 1980s and our family started buying the Old Tyme brand which is marketed as "artificial pancake syrup". It's just not the same thing.
The artificial stuff is thinner, and is surely cheaper. But there are some preservatives and other things in there that I'd rather not be eating.
In the 1990s when I moved out on my own I started to buy real maple syrup again, and the cost was around $3.00. Then in 1994 and again in 1998 the price jumped from $4.30 to $6. The justification for the price increase was that the maple syrup farmers in the province of Quecec had that ice storm and also it seems that the maple syrup farmers had, in their greed, wanted more of the dollars as income that came from selling it to the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec (the marketing board).
Now, according to this news report from UPI, the farmers and/or the marketing board is at it again, claiming that there is some kind of "shortage" of maple syrup...And now they want $10 bucks for one bottle.
Oh, and by the way, Old Colony was purchased by Old Tyme, which is an American company, and the Old Colony brand was shut down.
Shades of Orwell's 1984 to come?
So maybe that is why I love pancakes and of course the only real thing to put on them is maple syrup.
When I was a kid we had the Old Colony brand of maple syrup that you could buy at the Safeway supermarket. I can't recall what they charged for a bottle. Perhaps $2.50 or so back in the 1970s.
Then the prices went up in the 1980s and our family started buying the Old Tyme brand which is marketed as "artificial pancake syrup". It's just not the same thing.
The artificial stuff is thinner, and is surely cheaper. But there are some preservatives and other things in there that I'd rather not be eating.
In the 1990s when I moved out on my own I started to buy real maple syrup again, and the cost was around $3.00. Then in 1994 and again in 1998 the price jumped from $4.30 to $6. The justification for the price increase was that the maple syrup farmers in the province of Quecec had that ice storm and also it seems that the maple syrup farmers had, in their greed, wanted more of the dollars as income that came from selling it to the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec (the marketing board).
Now, according to this news report from UPI, the farmers and/or the marketing board is at it again, claiming that there is some kind of "shortage" of maple syrup...And now they want $10 bucks for one bottle.
Oh, and by the way, Old Colony was purchased by Old Tyme, which is an American company, and the Old Colony brand was shut down.
Shades of Orwell's 1984 to come?
2.19.2009
Old 24Hours news them from 1979 - June 1982.
I grew up watching CBWT's 24Hours news program in the 1970s. My Dad would take me to his parent's home on Dudley Ave. around 6:30 p.m., while we left Mom behind to watch CJAY News. I was was 4 years old at the time and we'd watch Garth Dawley read the news, and then grandpa would turn off the sound so that we could talk.
That's all I remember from that period.
In the mid-1970s we used to watch CKY News.
By the Spring of 1979 there was a flood in the Red River Valley, and I switched channels from CKY to CBWT where the program 24Hours was on. I found the reporting to be quite a bit better than what CKY had done. 24Hours had included in-studio interviews by John Robertson, and others as well as feature documentaries on a regular basis.
The set was simple blue screen, but it was all they had back then.
It was a somewhat of a magical period, even more so than during the mid- and late 1980s when Mike McCourt took over has host of the program.
But the 1979 to 1982 period I find to be the best. The Youtube video below is the 24Hours theme used back. The title was called "Gathering Crowds" by Mike Vikers (aka Patrick J. O'Hara Scott).
That's all I remember from that period.
In the mid-1970s we used to watch CKY News.
By the Spring of 1979 there was a flood in the Red River Valley, and I switched channels from CKY to CBWT where the program 24Hours was on. I found the reporting to be quite a bit better than what CKY had done. 24Hours had included in-studio interviews by John Robertson, and others as well as feature documentaries on a regular basis.
The set was simple blue screen, but it was all they had back then.
It was a somewhat of a magical period, even more so than during the mid- and late 1980s when Mike McCourt took over has host of the program.
But the 1979 to 1982 period I find to be the best. The Youtube video below is the 24Hours theme used back. The title was called "Gathering Crowds" by Mike Vikers (aka Patrick J. O'Hara Scott).
2.17.2009
2.06.2009
11.12.2008
AM DX'ing from Winnipeg
For about the past 30 years (this month) on and off I have been into AM DX'ing, which is the hobby of receiving non-local AM radio stations.
The first non-Winnipeg station I used to listen to was Newsradio 78 WBBM Chicago back in late Summer of 1978.
Some of the radios I have had access to have had good sensitivity, while others are just good for local reception.
This time around, I've created an OpenOffice spreadsheet that lists the station callsign, city,
Here's the spreadsheet in PDF format.
And another version, that I've created in MySQL:
mysql> select frequency, callsign, city, state, network from radio_receivable order by frequency;
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
| frequency | callsign | city | state | network |
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
| 540 | CBK | Watrous | SK | CBC Radio One |
| 610 | KDAL | Duluth | MN | CBS Radio |
| 660 | CFFR | Calgary | AB | CORUS |
| 680 | CJOB | Winnipeg | MB | CORUS |
| 700 | WLW | Cincinatti | OH | ABC Radio |
| 710 | KXMR | Bismark | ND | ESPN Radio |
| 720 | WGN | Chicago | IL | ABC Radio |
| 730 | CKDM | Dauphin | MB | Ind. |
| 740 | KVOX | Fargo | ND | Fox Sports Radio |
| 760 | WJR | Detroit | MI | ABC |
| 780 | WBBM | Chicago | IL | CBS Radio |
| 790 | KFGO | Fargo | ND | CBS Radio |
| 810 | CKJS | Winnipeg | MB | Ind. |
| 830 | WCCO | Minneapolis | MN | CBS Radio |
| 850 | KOA | Denver | CO | Fox News Radio |
| 860 | CJBC | Toronto | ON | Radio-Canada |
| 880 | CKLQ | Brandon | MB | Ind. |
| 920 | CFRY | Portage la Prairie | MB | Ind. |
| 950 | CFAM | Altona | MB | Ind. |
| 990 | CBW | Winnipeg | MB | CBC Radio One |
| 1050 | CKSB | St Boniface | MB | Radio-Canada |
| 1100 | KZFG | Fargo | ND | Fox News Radio |
| 1110 | KFAB | Omaha | NE | Fox News Radio |
| 1150 | CKOC | Hamilton | ON | Astral |
| 1200 | KFNW | West Fargo | ND | Ind. |
| 1250 | CHSM | Steinbach | MB | Ind. |
| 1290 | CFRW | Fort Garry | MB | CHUM |
| 1330 | WLOL | Minneapolis | MN | Relevant Radio |
| 1430 | CHKT | Toronto | ON | Ind. |
| 1500 | KSTP | St Paul | MN | ABC Radio |
| 1540 | KTGG | Spring Arbor | MI | Ind. |
| 1540 | KXEL | Cedar Rapids | IA | ABC Radio |
| 1550 | CBE | Windsor | ON | CBC Radio One |
| 1630 | KCJj | Iowa City | IA | Ind |
| 1670 | WTDY | Madison | WI | ABC Radio |
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
35 rows in set (0.00 sec)
The first non-Winnipeg station I used to listen to was Newsradio 78 WBBM Chicago back in late Summer of 1978.
Some of the radios I have had access to have had good sensitivity, while others are just good for local reception.
This time around, I've created an OpenOffice spreadsheet that lists the station callsign, city,
Here's the spreadsheet in PDF format.
And another version, that I've created in MySQL:
mysql> select frequency, callsign, city, state, network from radio_receivable order by frequency;
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
| frequency | callsign | city | state | network |
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
| 540 | CBK | Watrous | SK | CBC Radio One |
| 610 | KDAL | Duluth | MN | CBS Radio |
| 660 | CFFR | Calgary | AB | CORUS |
| 680 | CJOB | Winnipeg | MB | CORUS |
| 700 | WLW | Cincinatti | OH | ABC Radio |
| 710 | KXMR | Bismark | ND | ESPN Radio |
| 720 | WGN | Chicago | IL | ABC Radio |
| 730 | CKDM | Dauphin | MB | Ind. |
| 740 | KVOX | Fargo | ND | Fox Sports Radio |
| 760 | WJR | Detroit | MI | ABC |
| 780 | WBBM | Chicago | IL | CBS Radio |
| 790 | KFGO | Fargo | ND | CBS Radio |
| 810 | CKJS | Winnipeg | MB | Ind. |
| 830 | WCCO | Minneapolis | MN | CBS Radio |
| 850 | KOA | Denver | CO | Fox News Radio |
| 860 | CJBC | Toronto | ON | Radio-Canada |
| 880 | CKLQ | Brandon | MB | Ind. |
| 920 | CFRY | Portage la Prairie | MB | Ind. |
| 950 | CFAM | Altona | MB | Ind. |
| 990 | CBW | Winnipeg | MB | CBC Radio One |
| 1050 | CKSB | St Boniface | MB | Radio-Canada |
| 1100 | KZFG | Fargo | ND | Fox News Radio |
| 1110 | KFAB | Omaha | NE | Fox News Radio |
| 1150 | CKOC | Hamilton | ON | Astral |
| 1200 | KFNW | West Fargo | ND | Ind. |
| 1250 | CHSM | Steinbach | MB | Ind. |
| 1290 | CFRW | Fort Garry | MB | CHUM |
| 1330 | WLOL | Minneapolis | MN | Relevant Radio |
| 1430 | CHKT | Toronto | ON | Ind. |
| 1500 | KSTP | St Paul | MN | ABC Radio |
| 1540 | KTGG | Spring Arbor | MI | Ind. |
| 1540 | KXEL | Cedar Rapids | IA | ABC Radio |
| 1550 | CBE | Windsor | ON | CBC Radio One |
| 1630 | KCJj | Iowa City | IA | Ind |
| 1670 | WTDY | Madison | WI | ABC Radio |
+-----------+----------+--------------------+-------+------------------+
35 rows in set (0.00 sec)
11.03.2008
Turboprint for Linux
I just bought myself a neat little Linux printer driver, Turboprint.
It can display the amounts of ink left, and has the printer utility programs like cleaning the nozzles, aligning the print heads, printing a test page etc...
However, since I have the Fedora version of Linux installed I must deal with SELinux from time to time. The printer doesn't print from my non-root username. I get the following error in SELinux:
and enter your password, then it prints just fine.
This is just a workaround until I find out how to fix this in SELinux. Apparently it works fine in Fedora 9, but 9 I've heard is kinda buggy... I'm waiting for 10 or 11.
Summary:
SELinux is preventing tpstdin (cupsd_t) "write" to ./print.log (var_log_t).
Detailed Description:
[SELinux is in permissive mode, the operation would have been denied but was
permitted due to permissive mode.]
SELinux is preventing tpstdin (cupsd_t) "write" to ./print.log (var_log_t). The
SELinux type var_log_t, is a generic type for all files in the directory and
very few processes (SELinux Domains) are allowed to write to this SELinux type.
This type of denial usual indicates a mislabeled file. By default a file created
in a directory has the gets the context of the parent directory, but SELinux
policy has rules about the creation of directories, that say if a process
running in one SELinux Domain (D1) creates a file in a directory with a
particular SELinux File Context (F1) the file gets a different File Context
(F2). The policy usually allows the SELinux Domain (D1) the ability to write,
unlink, and append on (F2). But if for some reason a file (./print.log) was
created with the wrong context, this domain will be denied. The usual solution
to this problem is to reset the file context on the target file, restorecon -v
'./print.log'. If the file context does not change from var_log_t, then this is
probably a bug in policy. Please file a bug report
(http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/enter_bug.cgi) against the selinux-policy
package. If it does change, you can try your application again to see if it
works. The file context could have been mislabeled by editing the file or moving
the file from a different directory, if the file keeps getting mislabeled, check
the init scripts to see if they are doing something to mislabel the file.
Allowing Access:
You can attempt to fix file context by executing restorecon -v './print.log'
The following command will allow this access:
restorecon './print.log'
Additional Information:
It can display the amounts of ink left, and has the printer utility programs like cleaning the nozzles, aligning the print heads, printing a test page etc...
However, since I have the Fedora version of Linux installed I must deal with SELinux from time to time. The printer doesn't print from my non-root username. I get the following error in SELinux:
su -and enter your password, then it prints just fine.
This is just a workaround until I find out how to fix this in SELinux. Apparently it works fine in Fedora 9, but 9 I've heard is kinda buggy... I'm waiting for 10 or 11.
Summary:
SELinux is preventing tpstdin (cupsd_t) "write" to ./print.log (var_log_t).
Detailed Description:
[SELinux is in permissive mode, the operation would have been denied but was
permitted due to permissive mode.]
SELinux is preventing tpstdin (cupsd_t) "write" to ./print.log (var_log_t). The
SELinux type var_log_t, is a generic type for all files in the directory and
very few processes (SELinux Domains) are allowed to write to this SELinux type.
This type of denial usual indicates a mislabeled file. By default a file created
in a directory has the gets the context of the parent directory, but SELinux
policy has rules about the creation of directories, that say if a process
running in one SELinux Domain (D1) creates a file in a directory with a
particular SELinux File Context (F1) the file gets a different File Context
(F2). The policy usually allows the SELinux Domain (D1) the ability to write,
unlink, and append on (F2). But if for some reason a file (./print.log) was
created with the wrong context, this domain will be denied. The usual solution
to this problem is to reset the file context on the target file, restorecon -v
'./print.log'. If the file context does not change from var_log_t, then this is
probably a bug in policy. Please file a bug report
(http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/enter_bug.cgi) against the selinux-policy
package. If it does change, you can try your application again to see if it
works. The file context could have been mislabeled by editing the file or moving
the file from a different directory, if the file keeps getting mislabeled, check
the init scripts to see if they are doing something to mislabel the file.
Allowing Access:
You can attempt to fix file context by executing restorecon -v './print.log'
The following command will allow this access:
restorecon './print.log'
Additional Information:
9.27.2008
Metro Winnipeg Transit Logo
I finally managed to create an electronic version of the old Metro Winnipeg Transit logo. I used Inkscape 0.46 on Linux to do it, and exported to EPS, PNG, and Inkscape SVG formats. A while ago I had found a newspaper image with the caption that this would be the logo for the newly formed Metro Winnipeg Transit (circa 1961), part of the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg, so I had a reasonably good image to use, albeit B&W.
Exporting to Adobe Illustrator in case someone in the future wants to fix up the look of the image a bit is a good idea, but is currently broken in Inkscape 0.46. This means that if someone wants to edit the image, the Illustrator user would have to Import the SVG.
From looking at photographs of Winnipeg trolleybuses and diesel buses from the period, the colours used, for example, the orange is like that from A&W, the green is a kind of deep forest gree/army green, and the yellow is a ever so slightly orangy than lemon.
9.16.2008
This is not family-friendly reading material
I've been meaning to contact the WPL over a magazine that I've spotted that they've been carrying for a while - Bitch Magazine.
The magazine claims it's purpose is to:
Provides commentary on our media-driven world from a feminist perspective.
What then is the best way to get this man hating magazine OFF the shelf of our Public Library. It's horribly inappropriate and is spreading hatred against another gender.
I will consider various options to get this damn thing out of our main library and if it's at other branches too.
The magazine claims it's purpose is to:
Provides commentary on our media-driven world from a feminist perspective.
What then is the best way to get this man hating magazine OFF the shelf of our Public Library. It's horribly inappropriate and is spreading hatred against another gender.
I will consider various options to get this damn thing out of our main library and if it's at other branches too.
8.25.2008
Restoring from BackUp My PC CD-Rs
This is a follow up to my previous post about getting Linux restored on my computer.
Five years ago I started using a backup program from Veritas, BackUp My PC. It only runs on Windows and I am now just running Linux.
So I had to use another Windows machine to restore those backups.
Six sets of backup CDs were created:
Also the earliest backups have the same files plus newer files between backup #1 and #6. So it's always a good idea to backup all the files incrementally with any newer ones you create.
BackUp My PC stores backup sets in .qic (QIC cartridge) format, which dates back to the 1980s. According to one website it says that Windows backup also uses QIC 113 format to store its backups.
Five years ago I started using a backup program from Veritas, BackUp My PC. It only runs on Windows and I am now just running Linux.
So I had to use another Windows machine to restore those backups.
Six sets of backup CDs were created:
- Created in May 2003 - the BACKUP file is not recognized by the program. It was a Verbatim CD-R with a paper label affixed.
- Is not recognized by BackUp My PC. ?? CD-R with a paper label affixed.
- Recognized. No paper label.
- Recognized. No paper label.
- Index file corrupt. The program then says it can manually create a new index from the files, however there is no indication of how it is progressing. No paper label.
- Two disc backup set. No paper label. All files restored.
Also the earliest backups have the same files plus newer files between backup #1 and #6. So it's always a good idea to backup all the files incrementally with any newer ones you create.
BackUp My PC stores backup sets in .qic (QIC cartridge) format, which dates back to the 1980s. According to one website it says that Windows backup also uses QIC 113 format to store its backups.
8.23.2008
Rewrite of Catholic Preface Dialogue Needed
The Preface Dialogue is the part just before the Eucharistic Prayer. It goes like this:
Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. All: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Now since at least the 1980s I've been saying:
Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. All: It is ALWAYS right to give him thanks and praise.
It goes right with what the Priest says next:
Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. All: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Now since at least the 1980s I've been saying:
Priest: The Lord be with you. All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. All: It is ALWAYS right to give him thanks and praise.
It goes right with what the Priest says next:
8.19.2008
New Hard Drive
I had to replace my 4 year old 40 GB hard drive last week because it was making clicking sounds and the BIOS was no longer recognizing it.
So the new one is twice the size, and this gave me an opportunity to repartition using LVM and doing it the proper way with the 4 partitions -- /boot, / (root), /home, and /swap.
My /boot partition is 100 megs, while root and /home are 10 gigs, and /swap is 2.048 gigabytes.
After installing all the software I use, the root partition just has 6.5 gigabytes left over, but with LVM I can easily expand that without having to reformat, as there is 46 gigabytes of freespace.
So the new one is twice the size, and this gave me an opportunity to repartition using LVM and doing it the proper way with the 4 partitions -- /boot, / (root), /home, and /swap.
My /boot partition is 100 megs, while root and /home are 10 gigs, and /swap is 2.048 gigabytes.
After installing all the software I use, the root partition just has 6.5 gigabytes left over, but with LVM I can easily expand that without having to reformat, as there is 46 gigabytes of freespace.
8.09.2008
Great, funny YouTuber:
His view count numbers in the 100s of thousands, days after his video rants are posted:
Philip Defranco (sxephil)
An example of how good his video rants are. Here's one on "Realization":
I think Phil should have his own tv or radio show. He's made for it.
His view count numbers in the 100s of thousands, days after his video rants are posted:
Philip Defranco (sxephil)
An example of how good his video rants are. Here's one on "Realization":
I think Phil should have his own tv or radio show. He's made for it.
7.27.2008
Fedora Core 8 & Logical Volume Management
This weekend I decided that after two years with Fedora Core 5 on my workstation that it was time to update because I was missing out on the Linux versions of some great software like Scribus 2.3.4 and Gimp 2.4.
The big computers have had a way of partitioning hard drives that makes it easy to add or remove storage as required without having to shutdown and reboot.
As a fan of that kind of technology it's nice to be able to "test it out" so to speak.
So now the current version of Fedora Core 8 makes it easier to set up partitions using LVM (Logical Volume Management).
But because I haven't really paid much attention to this before because it hasn't really been documented very well how to set it up.
Basically you need 4 partitions:
/boot
/ (root)
/home
/swap
The /boot partition must be located outside of the LVM container though.
The Volume Group shows the big picture and contains all disk volumes. A physical volume is a single hard drive and a logical volume can be spread over one or more physical volumes.
So my hard drive is a small 40 gigabyte model, which is just fine for the stuff I want to do like surf the net, participate in blog and web forum discussions, create documents like the TRUWinnipeg pamphlet, and watch videos on YouTube.
I really don't need a whole lot more than that. I wish I could do desktop video editing, but that is probably best done with a full fledged PC workstation.
So onto the partitioning.
I wanted to set up a separate /home and on the Fedora Core 5 system I had previously I also had a CD-R sized partition on /share that I could use to archive documents to.
This time I also decided not to install Windows XP because I don't really use it, except to scan in the odd image, but that happens very rarely.
The /boot partition cannot sit inside an LVM because Linux won't be able to see it.
The /boot partition must be about 100 megabytes, but not much more than that. It is where the Linux kernels are kept, and you can keep more than one on your system and switch between them if needed.
The /home partition should maybe be about 10 gigabytes. This is where program configuration files are stored, as well as your documents and e-mail messages, so it's important to keep this large enough. When I backed up my e-mail messages I found that 1,000 messages going back about 2 years could be stored in about 250 megabytes of storage... And Firefox browser settings and bookmarks both could fit on one CD-R.
And you really should have a separate /swap partition that is set to double the size of your current amount of RAM.
But because I'm new to this LVM thing I couldn't get it to work as I understood the concept at the time. So instead of a separate /home directory I let Anaconda choose the default setup, which is two partitions -- /boot and / (root).
The restore operation of Firefox and Thunderbird data went very well. Before repartitioning I had copied the following directories onto a CD-R disc:
/home/jim/.mozilla/firefox
/home/jim/.thunderbird
Both those directories store Firefox bookmarks, passwords, and plug-ins, e-mail and login information to all e-mail accounts. This marks the first ever time I have been able to successfully restore my e-mail from a previous installation, and it sure felt good to still have those e-mails to refer to when I need to.
Next time I put a new version of Linux on my workstation I'll know enough to do it the recommended way, which has the benefit of not having to reformat the whole hard drive. I could then leave the /home directory intact and just have Anaconda reformat / and /boot and install onto those two.
The big computers have had a way of partitioning hard drives that makes it easy to add or remove storage as required without having to shutdown and reboot.
As a fan of that kind of technology it's nice to be able to "test it out" so to speak.
So now the current version of Fedora Core 8 makes it easier to set up partitions using LVM (Logical Volume Management).
But because I haven't really paid much attention to this before because it hasn't really been documented very well how to set it up.
Basically you need 4 partitions:
/boot
/ (root)
/home
/swap
The /boot partition must be located outside of the LVM container though.
The Volume Group shows the big picture and contains all disk volumes. A physical volume is a single hard drive and a logical volume can be spread over one or more physical volumes.
So my hard drive is a small 40 gigabyte model, which is just fine for the stuff I want to do like surf the net, participate in blog and web forum discussions, create documents like the TRUWinnipeg pamphlet, and watch videos on YouTube.
I really don't need a whole lot more than that. I wish I could do desktop video editing, but that is probably best done with a full fledged PC workstation.
So onto the partitioning.
I wanted to set up a separate /home and on the Fedora Core 5 system I had previously I also had a CD-R sized partition on /share that I could use to archive documents to.
This time I also decided not to install Windows XP because I don't really use it, except to scan in the odd image, but that happens very rarely.
The /boot partition cannot sit inside an LVM because Linux won't be able to see it.
The /boot partition must be about 100 megabytes, but not much more than that. It is where the Linux kernels are kept, and you can keep more than one on your system and switch between them if needed.
The /home partition should maybe be about 10 gigabytes. This is where program configuration files are stored, as well as your documents and e-mail messages, so it's important to keep this large enough. When I backed up my e-mail messages I found that 1,000 messages going back about 2 years could be stored in about 250 megabytes of storage... And Firefox browser settings and bookmarks both could fit on one CD-R.
And you really should have a separate /swap partition that is set to double the size of your current amount of RAM.
But because I'm new to this LVM thing I couldn't get it to work as I understood the concept at the time. So instead of a separate /home directory I let Anaconda choose the default setup, which is two partitions -- /boot and / (root).
The restore operation of Firefox and Thunderbird data went very well. Before repartitioning I had copied the following directories onto a CD-R disc:
/home/jim/.mozilla/firefox
/home/jim/.thunderbird
Both those directories store Firefox bookmarks, passwords, and plug-ins, e-mail and login information to all e-mail accounts. This marks the first ever time I have been able to successfully restore my e-mail from a previous installation, and it sure felt good to still have those e-mails to refer to when I need to.
Next time I put a new version of Linux on my workstation I'll know enough to do it the recommended way, which has the benefit of not having to reformat the whole hard drive. I could then leave the /home directory intact and just have Anaconda reformat / and /boot and install onto those two.
7.03.2008
Dressing The Man
A book titled Dressing the Man has been out since. The book illustrates through old and new photographs how to make a man look great for work or for formal occasions. I found reference to it at the Fedora Lounge, a website devote to men dressing well.
It says that "business casual" has come to mean sloppy dress code for work, and that we need to reverse that awful trend and get back to looking proper again.
Last month was my birthday. I already had a medium blue dress shirt with a yellow grid pattern I bought last year. I know that blue and purple are complimentary colours, so I searched out a purple tie.
Wow!
I haven't felt this good about choosing colours that go with one another to make an outfit since, uh, the mid-1980s, when Madonna's True Blue album was on the charts.
Earlier in June I bought myself a felt fedora hat. Never had a nicer hat before in my life, but way back in the 1980s I decided that by the time I turn 40 that I want something nicer than a baseball cap. This past Spring was very cold compared to previous ones, so it was not any different than wearing it in April.
But by the time the temperatures warmed up to the mid-20s Celcius I found it too hot if I was walking around in it for over 30 minutes outside. Someone told me that I should get a straw fedora. I'm totally new at this hat thing, but I thought a straw hat was like a "garden hat" for working outdoors. Not really. The Bay also had one of these for $25.
It says that "business casual" has come to mean sloppy dress code for work, and that we need to reverse that awful trend and get back to looking proper again.
Last month was my birthday. I already had a medium blue dress shirt with a yellow grid pattern I bought last year. I know that blue and purple are complimentary colours, so I searched out a purple tie.
Wow!
I haven't felt this good about choosing colours that go with one another to make an outfit since, uh, the mid-1980s, when Madonna's True Blue album was on the charts.
Earlier in June I bought myself a felt fedora hat. Never had a nicer hat before in my life, but way back in the 1980s I decided that by the time I turn 40 that I want something nicer than a baseball cap. This past Spring was very cold compared to previous ones, so it was not any different than wearing it in April.
But by the time the temperatures warmed up to the mid-20s Celcius I found it too hot if I was walking around in it for over 30 minutes outside. Someone told me that I should get a straw fedora. I'm totally new at this hat thing, but I thought a straw hat was like a "garden hat" for working outdoors. Not really. The Bay also had one of these for $25.
6.08.2008
It is ALWAYS right to give Him thanks and praise
Part of the Catholic Mass (and in some other Christian services) there is a two way exchange between the Priest and the congregation, called the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer (Sursum corda in Latin). A few years ago I felt the need to add a word in the congregation's response because it makes the most sense...
That last line. I add the word "always" in there, even though it is not part of official Mass... But it really balances things out correctly, because of what the priest says next...
See also:
Rewrite of the Apostles Creed is Needed
Priest: The Lord be with you
Congregation: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
Congregation: It is always right to give Him thanks and praise.
That last line. I add the word "always" in there, even though it is not part of official Mass... But it really balances things out correctly, because of what the priest says next...
Priest: Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere, to give You thanks through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.So next time you're in a Christian church and they have this ping-pong style prayer, add the word "always" in your last response. It agrees with and helps the Priest or minister with his next part — the second part of the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer.
See also:
Rewrite of the Apostles Creed is Needed
6.03.2008
How Hats Communicate Chivalry
Since I was a teenager in the early 1980s which was also when my Dad reached the age of 50 I had long ago decided that when I reached the age of 40 I would go from wearing a baseball hat to wearing one of those nicer ones men used to wear.
My Dad looked really awful in a baseball hat when he turned 50. His hair was not always short enough at the time to make it look good, but that was part of the hair style back then to begin with.
So flash forward to the past year. Men have lost their "cache" of being real men, and I guess when things got bad enough I decided that I needed to fight back as best as I could and this meant going from very casual dress code at work to emulating what men wore in the 1940s and 1950s...a suit, a tie....and a fedora hat.
The fact that I bought one so close to the opening of the fourth Indiana Jones movie is just pure coincidence. And I've noticed too that other men, young and old are also starting to wear the nicer hats.
I think it is all a part of men wanting to be men again, and deciding that when women told us guys from the late 1980s that we "should get in touch with our feminine side" was just pure rubbish to begin with.
The story goes that until the early mid 1960s all men wore a nice hat like the one above, whenever they went out beyond their home. There was a certain protocol that also went with wearing such a hat, rules that have been forgotten by men, such as when you're in an elevator. If you're the only man or if the elevator is full of other men you are allowed to keep your hat on. However, once a lady steps onto that elevator and until she/they leave you must take it off and carry it in your hand beside you.
You're also supposed to tip your hat to a lady that you know when you pass her on the street. I have never been taught this and I'm finding it hard to remember, but I know eventually it'll be as easy as second nature the more I practice.
And I suppose that to take this to the next level, as a man, you can act more gentlemanly, and use the hat as a sort of "prop". For example, this afternoon on my lunch hour I was waiting for the bus. A young lady was passing me by, and for a second she kind of glanced at me and my hat. What I should have done, and I think what men used to do in such a circumstance, is to tip their hat slightly and say something like "Afternoon, ma'am". But like I said, I need experiences like this to form or recall a protocol that I really was not mentored in.
What does this mean though? Why am I doing this? Aren't we really past all that formal stuff and just talk lazily like "Howz it goin', man"? I think that just like the dress code has slipped too far to the extreme, the way we talk to one another has also slipped. Therefore, I am all for bringing back civility to the way men and women talk to each other in our everyday lives. In the years ahead it may mean the difference between a nicer, more civil city, and one that is more meaner and less friendly than it is now.
See also:
Art of Manliness - The Perfect Hat For Your Face
AskAndyAboutClothes.com - Etiquette for Hats and Caps
The Fedora Lounge
6.02.2008
Tears For Fears - The Hurting
I recently bought a CD of rock group Tears For Fears live concert from1985, playing the music from their first two albums -- The Hurting, and Songs From The Big Chair.
TFF, as fans like to refer to the group, was my third favourite group in the 1980s, behind Phil Collins (including Genesis), and Madonna.
While I've had a copy of The Hurting for a few years now, I have not really played it much. Maybe it is because of the heavy theme of family dysfunction. This now classic album cover features a young boy sitting down with his head in his hands looking as if he is crying. The songs are told as from a child's point of view within a family. Maybe it was just the technical standards of some of the tracks on the CD. For example the title track which appears first could have been produced a bit better with maybe more volume in the bass track prior to final mixing. But this may have more to do with the then new Compact Disc technology which appeared at the same time as The Hurting did. To test this theory I'd have to acquire a cassette tape or LP copy of it to compare.
The tracks that I have not really paid any attention to now were The Hurting, Memories Fade, Suffer the Children, and The Start of the Breakdown. Listening to these four tracks can be quite intense, and I recommend you not listen to them too often because of the likelihood you may feel worse off. Everything in moderation as they say.
TFF, as fans like to refer to the group, was my third favourite group in the 1980s, behind Phil Collins (including Genesis), and Madonna.
While I've had a copy of The Hurting for a few years now, I have not really played it much. Maybe it is because of the heavy theme of family dysfunction. This now classic album cover features a young boy sitting down with his head in his hands looking as if he is crying. The songs are told as from a child's point of view within a family. Maybe it was just the technical standards of some of the tracks on the CD. For example the title track which appears first could have been produced a bit better with maybe more volume in the bass track prior to final mixing. But this may have more to do with the then new Compact Disc technology which appeared at the same time as The Hurting did. To test this theory I'd have to acquire a cassette tape or LP copy of it to compare.
The tracks that I have not really paid any attention to now were The Hurting, Memories Fade, Suffer the Children, and The Start of the Breakdown. Listening to these four tracks can be quite intense, and I recommend you not listen to them too often because of the likelihood you may feel worse off. Everything in moderation as they say.
Safeway Canada's Blue Ribbon Campaign for Prostate Cancer
Three cheers for Safeway Canada for their recent campaign to raise funds for prostate cancer research... We all know that prostate cancer affects more men than breast cancer does women.
Someone I know said that Safeway had a breast and prostate cancer campaign about four years ago, however, they chose to go with a pink ribbon as a symbol rather than keep the two campaigns separate as they should have been. This is a much better campaign. Perhaps we should give written kudos to Safeway for supporting men's health issues.
And yet the so-called breast cancer awareness campaigns have been ever present at various stores and in the print and electronic media.
I'd really like to get a Blue Ribbon campaign going in Winnipeg, to counter what is being taken away via breast cancer campaigns.
One of these days someone will be crying that their father, child, uncle, grandfather is dying of prostate cancer because there was not enough funding to help him.
I really feel that what the current craze over breast cancer is all about is not really about the cancer itself, but it is just the inevitable result of all those abortions that were performed after birth control pills were made widely available. It's just catching up to the women.
Told 'ya so.
4.24.2008
Boy & Man Friendly Music
This is a list of music albums that provide a positive message to boys and men:
Pop
A-Ha - Hunting High And Low (1984/85)
Neil Diamond - ?
Duran Duran - Rio (1982), Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983),
Huey Lewis and the News - Fore! (1985)
Howard Jones -
George Michael - Faith (1987)
Men At Work - Business As Usual (1981/82)
Simply Red - Home (2003)
Thompson Twins - Into The Gap (1984)
Wham! - Make It Big (1984), Music From the Edge of Heaven (1986)
Rock, Rock n Roll
Bryan Adams -
April Wine - ?
Boulevard - BLVD (1988)
Phil Collins - But Seriously (1989)
Doug & The Slugs - ?
Genesis - When The Sour Turns To Sweet (1968/69), And Then There Were Three (1978)
Corey Hart - ?
Def Leppard - Adrenalize (1992)
Rush - Roll The Bones (1992)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In the USA (1985), Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992)
Tears for Fears - The Hurting (1982), Songs from the Big Chair (1985), Elemental (1993) Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995)
Non-male albums that are considered safe to listen to
Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984/85), True Blue (1986), Like A Prayer (1989)
Pop
A-Ha - Hunting High And Low (1984/85)
Neil Diamond - ?
Duran Duran - Rio (1982), Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983),
Huey Lewis and the News - Fore! (1985)
Howard Jones -
George Michael - Faith (1987)
Men At Work - Business As Usual (1981/82)
Simply Red - Home (2003)
Thompson Twins - Into The Gap (1984)
Wham! - Make It Big (1984), Music From the Edge of Heaven (1986)
Rock, Rock n Roll
Bryan Adams -
April Wine - ?
Boulevard - BLVD (1988)
Phil Collins - But Seriously (1989)
Doug & The Slugs - ?
Genesis - When The Sour Turns To Sweet (1968/69), And Then There Were Three (1978)
Corey Hart - ?
Def Leppard - Adrenalize (1992)
Rush - Roll The Bones (1992)
Bruce Springsteen - Born In the USA (1985), Tunnel of Love (1987), Human Touch (1992)
Tears for Fears - The Hurting (1982), Songs from the Big Chair (1985), Elemental (1993) Raoul and the Kings of Spain (1995)
Non-male albums that are considered safe to listen to
Madonna - Like A Virgin (1984/85), True Blue (1986), Like A Prayer (1989)
4.06.2008
This article, from the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, says that more and more women have taken Accounting positions within KPMG in the past few years.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/15/onthejob.DTL
Quoting a piece from the article:
The article goes on to say that Accounting profession has been going through some changes in the past couple of decades and that women are now comfortable doing Accounting work, compared to previous generations.
Further down in the article, and I don't exactly understand why it was included in the published piece:
They say that women are not into expressing accomplishments, and being boastful... That's because that is a built in quality of boys and men... Women should not be nurtured on that quality because it is not built-in to them. God didn't make women to have those qualities for a reason. Women are there to support the man and his accomplishments which are of a higher significance. Women are a support for men, both by maintaining a home, and by following him, not the other way around.
How did women start to outnumber men in fiends where men were dominant? By lowering standards, and in this case I think it is from computerization to the point where an elementary school kid could almost run accounting software like AccPac, Intuit QuickBooks, etc... Just point, click, and you're done.
But compared to men doing the same task, how many women will be as productive, because some women tend to be more talkative with their co-workers, and will tend to talk more about shopping and take more time for self-grooming than actually process customer information.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/15/onthejob.DTL
Quoting a piece from the article:
What's responsible for those trends? Anecdotally at least, flagrant chauvinism is very much the exception to the rule. The task of answering this question puts KPMG among a growing number of accounting companies contemplating the next phase of dismantling the glass ceiling — in no small part because women now outnumber men entering the field. Certainly overt and mind-boggling sexual discrimination is alive and well in plenty of offices across the country. But in plenty of other offices, where messages of diversity and inclusion have finally been soaked up by the leadership — because they believe in it, or because they fear lawsuits — gender remains a significant issue nonetheless, albeit subtler and harder to pinpoint.
The article goes on to say that Accounting profession has been going through some changes in the past couple of decades and that women are now comfortable doing Accounting work, compared to previous generations.
Further down in the article, and I don't exactly understand why it was included in the published piece:
So it was that Lorna and the rest of the women in the large conference room soon paired off, looked each other in the eye and proceeded to brag. Peggy Klaus, a communication and leadership coach, had been brought in to teach the skill of "tooting your own horn without blowing it."
In minutelong spurts, the women attempted to brag about favorite vacations, things they're proud of, things they're proud of at work, an adventurous thing they've done, and so on. The idea, of course, is that women learn from an early age that boastfulness is inappropriate — a lesson that men don't always catch.
They say that women are not into expressing accomplishments, and being boastful... That's because that is a built in quality of boys and men... Women should not be nurtured on that quality because it is not built-in to them. God didn't make women to have those qualities for a reason. Women are there to support the man and his accomplishments which are of a higher significance. Women are a support for men, both by maintaining a home, and by following him, not the other way around.
How did women start to outnumber men in fiends where men were dominant? By lowering standards, and in this case I think it is from computerization to the point where an elementary school kid could almost run accounting software like AccPac, Intuit QuickBooks, etc... Just point, click, and you're done.
But compared to men doing the same task, how many women will be as productive, because some women tend to be more talkative with their co-workers, and will tend to talk more about shopping and take more time for self-grooming than actually process customer information.
3.30.2008
The Switcheroo - Countering The Lies
http://antimisandry.com/truth_slowly_emerging-t10096.html?p=63009#post63009
Several lies that some women tell about the women's movement are countered by 'Percy' from Antimisandry.com.
The woman in this case, Judith (Judy) Woods, is reviewing Susan Pinker's book The Sexual Paradox.
Judy comments that the women on the BBC 1 television series The Apprentice are an "abberation", and how the women featured in the show are different than the men.
It seems what the ladies do is substitute the word "man" for "woman" and then use that to "pretend" they are like a Man. It will be up to us men to reverse this trend and to "set things right again".
Several lies that some women tell about the women's movement are countered by 'Percy' from Antimisandry.com.
The woman in this case, Judith (Judy) Woods, is reviewing Susan Pinker's book The Sexual Paradox.
Judy comments that the women on the BBC 1 television series The Apprentice are an "abberation", and how the women featured in the show are different than the men.
It seems what the ladies do is substitute the word "man" for "woman" and then use that to "pretend" they are like a Man. It will be up to us men to reverse this trend and to "set things right again".
3.23.2008
Inflated Housing Prices Caused By "Dual Income" Families
I just finished reading a blog post titled The Problem With Women In The Workplace:
In other words men, what they are saying is that the $4,000 - $7,000 6-cylinder Ford, Chevrolet, or Pontiac car you could afford in the early- mid-1980s and be generally happy with paying for it through your job and having your wife stay at home to look after the kids, has turned into the $35,000 SUV behemoth Excursion by the mid- late-1990s.
It is also precisely why the ``housing boom`` — created skyrocketing values of homes during the past 10 years in the first place. Because of dual income`` families. But now there is a possible real estate crash caused by something and we might not know for several years in hindsight what caused that.
At around the same time in the 1990s there was the trend of more women entering the workforce and in the government clerical jobs, as reported by Statistics Canada. The CPA the report refers to is Core Public Administration. To quote:
Alongside the above trends there was more suburbanization at the edge of the city. More people commuting further and further to their jobs using more fuel. Public transit ridership took a nosedive, unless you were lucky enough to have rapid transit like a new or expanded LRT or subway line, you were facing a very lengthy commute indeed.
And just how was the public sold on the "need" for an SUV? Well people who bought them "sit higher up" in the vehicle, so it seems more "safe". Baloney. Just look at all the car accidents and tip overs that SUVs had. No, to reiterate, the reason why SUVs were created in the first place was so that it would become prohibitively expensive for the guy to afford by himself. He "needs" his wife to work full-time.
And then of course there are the families who break up (divorce is now more than 50% of marriages)... She is probably more likely to get the car/SUV.
So men, what are we going to do to fix this problem that was created in the mid-90s?
Ladies, do you really need that large(r) vehicle? Do you really need a bigger house? Another cell phone? Or can you get by with something smaller, and instead of a cell phone, going back to wired communications?
To God be the Glory.
Because not only was feminism a dismal failure, but a quantified disaster. Little known fact: Because of women entering the workplace en masse in the 1980’s, the price of homes and vehicles EXPLODED. Why? Because people could charge more for homes and vehicles because working women created the dual income household. No one is going to ask 250K for a home if no one can afford it. So now women are forced to work, whether they want to or not, victims of the economy they created; 95% of them stuck in low paying, dead-end jobs. Most men can no longer earn enough for a woman to stay at home because of the now diluted workplace… over crowded by women.
In other words men, what they are saying is that the $4,000 - $7,000 6-cylinder Ford, Chevrolet, or Pontiac car you could afford in the early- mid-1980s and be generally happy with paying for it through your job and having your wife stay at home to look after the kids, has turned into the $35,000 SUV behemoth Excursion by the mid- late-1990s.
It is also precisely why the ``housing boom`` — created skyrocketing values of homes during the past 10 years in the first place. Because of dual income`` families. But now there is a possible real estate crash caused by something and we might not know for several years in hindsight what caused that.
At around the same time in the 1990s there was the trend of more women entering the workforce and in the government clerical jobs, as reported by Statistics Canada. The CPA the report refers to is Core Public Administration. To quote:
Women gaining ground in the CPA
The proportion of women within the CPA increased continuously from 1995 to 2006. In fact, since 1999, women have outnumbered men within the CPA.
Men still outnumber women in the workplace. However, the gap between the proportion of employed men and employed women has been slowly narrowing.
In 1995, nearly 46% of employed Canadians were women. By 2006, this proportion had grown to over 47%.
In contrast, in 2006, women accounted for the majority (54%) of all CPA employees, up from only 46% in 1995.
Between 1995 and 1997, more men than women left the CPA. Since 1998, this situation has reversed, and more women have been leaving the CPA.
However, during the 11-year period, there were continuously more female than male employees heading into the CPA.
Alongside the above trends there was more suburbanization at the edge of the city. More people commuting further and further to their jobs using more fuel. Public transit ridership took a nosedive, unless you were lucky enough to have rapid transit like a new or expanded LRT or subway line, you were facing a very lengthy commute indeed.
And just how was the public sold on the "need" for an SUV? Well people who bought them "sit higher up" in the vehicle, so it seems more "safe". Baloney. Just look at all the car accidents and tip overs that SUVs had. No, to reiterate, the reason why SUVs were created in the first place was so that it would become prohibitively expensive for the guy to afford by himself. He "needs" his wife to work full-time.
And then of course there are the families who break up (divorce is now more than 50% of marriages)... She is probably more likely to get the car/SUV.
So men, what are we going to do to fix this problem that was created in the mid-90s?
Ladies, do you really need that large(r) vehicle? Do you really need a bigger house? Another cell phone? Or can you get by with something smaller, and instead of a cell phone, going back to wired communications?
To God be the Glory.
3.08.2008
A Day for Men
Today is the United Nations sponsored International Women's Day.... Whoopdee doo!
Over the past 40 years women have been advancing and advancing until the current decade we are living in, the 2000s, they have surpassed us. Men are now considered second class citizens.
Canada has an International Day of Men, on November 25th, but it takes place when the snow begins to fly, and when the temperatures start to dip below freezing. We should move the Day to later in the Spring.
To make people aware of our oppression, of our hardships, our medical conditions, and the issues having to do solely about men.
It doesn't have to be adjacent to International Women's Day, March 8th.... It can be in April, May, or June... It would be nice if it could take place during the warmer weather because it would mobilize more of use to maybe take part in a march to the Legislature or something like that.
Here's two resources to get us started on that project. Perhaps in the next 3 or 4 years we can reach the goal of having our own Day of Action.
Wikipedia - International Men's Day
PetitionOnline - International Men's Day
Over the past 40 years women have been advancing and advancing until the current decade we are living in, the 2000s, they have surpassed us. Men are now considered second class citizens.
Canada has an International Day of Men, on November 25th, but it takes place when the snow begins to fly, and when the temperatures start to dip below freezing. We should move the Day to later in the Spring.
To make people aware of our oppression, of our hardships, our medical conditions, and the issues having to do solely about men.
It doesn't have to be adjacent to International Women's Day, March 8th.... It can be in April, May, or June... It would be nice if it could take place during the warmer weather because it would mobilize more of use to maybe take part in a march to the Legislature or something like that.
Here's two resources to get us started on that project. Perhaps in the next 3 or 4 years we can reach the goal of having our own Day of Action.
Wikipedia - International Men's Day
PetitionOnline - International Men's Day
3.01.2008
Being Reverent
This week at Church, our priest made an announcement that Catholic Church policy, or at the Diocesan level, has changed. Apparently a newsletter was sent out to Parishioners in December 2007 titled Toward a Full, Conscious and Active Participation, it states:
Also, after the Lamb of God prayer, before the Priest says ... I will kneel because this is also being reverent to the Holy Trinity.
People are so much like lemmings though. Most will do as you tell them to. I am however built a bit different I guess, thank God. After all, how often do we kneel in everyday life? Not very often. We mainly stand and sit. The act of kneeling is special. It is mainly reserved when we are in taking part in a church Mass or a service. Basically through the act of kneeling we are admitting that God himself is the higher being and that we fall prostate to Him.
So when the Catholic Church, or the Winnipeg Archdiocese puts out a new policy where we are to stand instead, that rings alarm bells, and makes me question just where these new policies are coming from?
What is the root of this change in policy? Who is the one who suggested the change? I don't think that it is the Pope, since he is too traditional for that kind of thing...
I need to find out more about this and hopefully in the next while I will have an answer... Perhaps an e-mail or letter to the Pope is in order here.
As the worshipping assembly processes together in revernce and song, the food that is shared, is changing and transforming. Standing together until the last person has been fed, the assembly is transformed from individualism into one body.
Once the communion procession is completed the entire assembly kneels or sits to share in a moment of silence and thanksgiving.
- Stand in line for communion
- Music was sung or not
- Receive communion and (optionally) the blood of Christ
- Walk back to your pew
- Kneel in silent prayer for a bit, length of time up to the parishioner -- could be 30 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes or more.
- After we kneel and say our communion prayer, we are to stand up and wait for the last of the communicants in line to finish.
- The priest washes the challice and puts away the cup and other communion related items.
- ... (the end of the Mass)
- Stand in line for communion
- Music was sung or not
- Receive communion and (optionally) the blood of Christ
- Walk back to your pew
- Kneel in silent prayer for a bit, length of time up to the parishioner -- could be 30 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes or more.
- Sit down quietly and continue singing along with the music that is being sun, or just be "quiet in the spirit" so to say.
- The priest washes the challice and puts away the cup and other communion related items.
- ... (the end of the Mass)
Also, after the Lamb of God prayer, before the Priest says ... I will kneel because this is also being reverent to the Holy Trinity.
People are so much like lemmings though. Most will do as you tell them to. I am however built a bit different I guess, thank God. After all, how often do we kneel in everyday life? Not very often. We mainly stand and sit. The act of kneeling is special. It is mainly reserved when we are in taking part in a church Mass or a service. Basically through the act of kneeling we are admitting that God himself is the higher being and that we fall prostate to Him.
So when the Catholic Church, or the Winnipeg Archdiocese puts out a new policy where we are to stand instead, that rings alarm bells, and makes me question just where these new policies are coming from?
What is the root of this change in policy? Who is the one who suggested the change? I don't think that it is the Pope, since he is too traditional for that kind of thing...
I need to find out more about this and hopefully in the next while I will have an answer... Perhaps an e-mail or letter to the Pope is in order here.
2.22.2008
Getting Rid of Men
Back in 1997, during Mayor Susan Thompson's reign, City Hall had hired George Cuff, who hailed from Edmonton, to look at ways to further deepen Unicity government here. At the time, there was a major campaign through the press to replace the five City Commissioners, who were all Men, with one CAO at City Hall.
The way this concept was sold was we were constantly told that Edmonton City Hall had recently replaced its Commissioners with a CAO, thereby saving costs. Enacting this required an amendment to the City of Winnipeg Act, which was put into action on October 29, 1997.
However, the first Winnipeg CAO was a woman, Anita Stenning, who after quitting that position, went on to CEO of CentreVenture, which is in charge of getting a hold of property that is vacant and finding new uses for them.
TVOntario's Agenda had a program topic about Women in Politics, and whether there should be more women encouraged to enter that field.
One of the panelists said because women are finding it hard to break through the so-called "glass ceiling" in politics, but doing the job of CAO is easier because it is a managerial job and not an elected position.
About halfway through the program, one of the panelists mentions that 54% of CAOs in Canada are women!
I wonder whether the Cuff Report was written to get rid of some Men in civic administration.
See also:
Frontier Centre for Public Policy - Cuff Report: Tricky Treat?
The way this concept was sold was we were constantly told that Edmonton City Hall had recently replaced its Commissioners with a CAO, thereby saving costs. Enacting this required an amendment to the City of Winnipeg Act, which was put into action on October 29, 1997.
However, the first Winnipeg CAO was a woman, Anita Stenning, who after quitting that position, went on to CEO of CentreVenture, which is in charge of getting a hold of property that is vacant and finding new uses for them.
TVOntario's Agenda had a program topic about Women in Politics, and whether there should be more women encouraged to enter that field.
One of the panelists said because women are finding it hard to break through the so-called "glass ceiling" in politics, but doing the job of CAO is easier because it is a managerial job and not an elected position.
About halfway through the program, one of the panelists mentions that 54% of CAOs in Canada are women!
I wonder whether the Cuff Report was written to get rid of some Men in civic administration.
See also:
Frontier Centre for Public Policy - Cuff Report: Tricky Treat?
2.20.2008
We Are Borg, Resistance Is Futile!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to check out the Facebook website.
I did this only because in checking the weblogs for truwinnipeg.org, it reported that most of the accesses to our site were via Facebook, rather than Google, or MSN Search, etc...
So after getting curious about this created my own Facebook ID. The difference in creating an on this site as compared to others is that you are highly encouraged to use your real name.
There are online communities similar to those on the regular web, except to view them, you MUST have a Facebook ID.
I know a few people on there locally, and of course I typed in 'Winnipeg Transit' to find groups related to that, and I also became official friends with other TRU Winnipeggers, and a politician.
What bothers me about Facebook is that it is like peering into someone else's private life. For example, I have a friend outside of Winnipeg who used to live here. I know that he has 3 or 4 kids. I can view photos of their Christmas together. I can also view photos of another friend, this one who does live in the city. And his kid is a bit on the obese side, for someone his age, yet I have had not met been in the presence of this person yet.
One other friend that I know allows Facebook to publish the latest songs and YouTube videos that he has watched.
We are quickly becoming a surveillance society, with Facebook, other online communities, and of course surveillance cameras on buses, and on street corners, and inside businesses and civic institutions like the public library.
Facebook to me, could be used for evil purposes. It could conceivably create a community against a person, and unless that person were a member of a site like Facebook, they would not have a clue what is being said about them.
I see this being used, in worse times that we live in now, as a sort Orwellian "eye", where there is considerable peer pressure to remain part of "the collective", like The Borg of Star Trek fame.
I did this only because in checking the weblogs for truwinnipeg.org, it reported that most of the accesses to our site were via Facebook, rather than Google, or MSN Search, etc...
So after getting curious about this created my own Facebook ID. The difference in creating an on this site as compared to others is that you are highly encouraged to use your real name.
There are online communities similar to those on the regular web, except to view them, you MUST have a Facebook ID.
I know a few people on there locally, and of course I typed in 'Winnipeg Transit' to find groups related to that, and I also became official friends with other TRU Winnipeggers, and a politician.
What bothers me about Facebook is that it is like peering into someone else's private life. For example, I have a friend outside of Winnipeg who used to live here. I know that he has 3 or 4 kids. I can view photos of their Christmas together. I can also view photos of another friend, this one who does live in the city. And his kid is a bit on the obese side, for someone his age, yet I have had not met been in the presence of this person yet.
One other friend that I know allows Facebook to publish the latest songs and YouTube videos that he has watched.
We are quickly becoming a surveillance society, with Facebook, other online communities, and of course surveillance cameras on buses, and on street corners, and inside businesses and civic institutions like the public library.
Facebook to me, could be used for evil purposes. It could conceivably create a community against a person, and unless that person were a member of a site like Facebook, they would not have a clue what is being said about them.
I see this being used, in worse times that we live in now, as a sort Orwellian "eye", where there is considerable peer pressure to remain part of "the collective", like The Borg of Star Trek fame.
I will NOT be emasculated!
It is since 2002 that it seems that most men my age are too soft when it comes to the way they act... They are not "real" men because society has told them that men with male qualities of assertiveness, aggressiveness, and competitivenesses is somehow wrong.
Well, this is just plain WRONG! I have a very strong sense of being male. You cannot take that away from me. You can try, but in the end the man with inner boy comes right back. I almost fell for being emasculated earlier in the decade because I noticed more young women serving me at fast food restaurants for example... Soon enough you start to talk to yourself in that feminine voice. But no more! I've figured out the plan.
And men have been constantly told that we "need to get in touch with our feminine side" Rubbish! This false propaganda is the the source of the problem.
So whenever I see a Mom telling her young son that he is acting to aggressive, I have begun to tell the Mom that "he is normal, that is normal for a boy".... I mean as long as he is not punching another person and causing physical harm that way, no harm.
Guys are guys, and girls are girls. That's the way God designed us.
Well, this is just plain WRONG! I have a very strong sense of being male. You cannot take that away from me. You can try, but in the end the man with inner boy comes right back. I almost fell for being emasculated earlier in the decade because I noticed more young women serving me at fast food restaurants for example... Soon enough you start to talk to yourself in that feminine voice. But no more! I've figured out the plan.
And men have been constantly told that we "need to get in touch with our feminine side" Rubbish! This false propaganda is the the source of the problem.
So whenever I see a Mom telling her young son that he is acting to aggressive, I have begun to tell the Mom that "he is normal, that is normal for a boy".... I mean as long as he is not punching another person and causing physical harm that way, no harm.
Guys are guys, and girls are girls. That's the way God designed us.
12.11.2007
Archiving Analog vs Archiving Digital: Which Will Last Longer?
A report this past Spring from the New Brunswick provincial archives warns that society is in danger of losing valuable historical records because they are being improperly stored on digital media.
I have been reexamining the benefits of analog vs digital in the past year, after reading reports like above. After all, as an archivist, I have been using the Net to "re-publish" works that relate to my hobbies like rail rapid transit (see transportation documents on uwto.org), CBWT's former news & current affairs program, 24Hours, where 32 videos have been re-published onto YouTube.
Recently I played back a few of the old audio cassettes that have been gathering dust for a few years. It's recommended, at a minimum, to fast wind a tape from beginning to end, to ensure that the tape binder doesn't stick to the adjacent tape, causing major playback problems. One tape had me at the age of 13 or 14 introduce two news reports I recorded in 1979 or 1980 by placing a cheap cassette recorder close to the television speaker. At the time, just like anyone else, when hearing ones own voice recorded, it doesn't sound complimentary.That recording is invaluable now. However, given its age, and the quality of tape itself was not high. It is best to make a second generation copy before it gets lost or unplayable.
Five years ago I scanned in my baby pictures from the late late 1960s into the computer and have a couple of copies accessible to me. One of them is a CD-R, the other is via an online photo sharing service. However, dozens of other family photos from our collection have yet to be digitized and I hope that they can be done before severe deterioration occurs.
The best way to keep family family photographs from being lost before future generations even have a chance to see them, is to print them out on good quality photographic paper.
If you have any audio or video recordings of your childhood or your own kids, the best way to preserve them is to use good quality analog media like reel-to-reel (do people still use those? you bet), and Hi8 camcorder tape.
I have been reexamining the benefits of analog vs digital in the past year, after reading reports like above. After all, as an archivist, I have been using the Net to "re-publish" works that relate to my hobbies like rail rapid transit (see transportation documents on uwto.org), CBWT's former news & current affairs program, 24Hours, where 32 videos have been re-published onto YouTube.
Recently I played back a few of the old audio cassettes that have been gathering dust for a few years. It's recommended, at a minimum, to fast wind a tape from beginning to end, to ensure that the tape binder doesn't stick to the adjacent tape, causing major playback problems. One tape had me at the age of 13 or 14 introduce two news reports I recorded in 1979 or 1980 by placing a cheap cassette recorder close to the television speaker. At the time, just like anyone else, when hearing ones own voice recorded, it doesn't sound complimentary.That recording is invaluable now. However, given its age, and the quality of tape itself was not high. It is best to make a second generation copy before it gets lost or unplayable.
Five years ago I scanned in my baby pictures from the late late 1960s into the computer and have a couple of copies accessible to me. One of them is a CD-R, the other is via an online photo sharing service. However, dozens of other family photos from our collection have yet to be digitized and I hope that they can be done before severe deterioration occurs.
The best way to keep family family photographs from being lost before future generations even have a chance to see them, is to print them out on good quality photographic paper.
If you have any audio or video recordings of your childhood or your own kids, the best way to preserve them is to use good quality analog media like reel-to-reel (do people still use those? you bet), and Hi8 camcorder tape.
11.11.2007
He Roared (Like a Lion)!
I watched the movie Michael Clayton (starring George Clooney), twice, for two reasons.
First is that the story lends itself to seeing it more than once because the storyline moves back and forth telling why certain events took place.
The other reason I saw this film a second time has to do with the character of Michael Clayton and the choice of George Clooney to play the role.
Way back in 1996 I started watching ER on NBC. George was one of the original cast members of ER between 1993 and 1999-ish, when he left for a career in movie acting.
George is one of the men that I look up to as as a role model these days, because when there are so few good role models (even if it's just for the characters that they play) for men
If you get a chance to see the movie Michael Clayton, the best part is the last 10 minutes or so, when he is telling Karen (U|North's lawyer) that he is settling for $10 and no less. She says they can't afford that kind of settlement of the class action suit. Michael says "does it look like I'm negotiating here?!".
And when it's all over, Michael just walks away with a small smile on his face, the feeling of justice served (those 400 people will get their settlement money).
Then comes the best part:
He Roared (Like a Lion)!
Not literally, but metaphorically.
Great movie. 10 out of 10. And I hear that it might be nominated for an Academy Award or more.
imdb.com - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/
YouTube.com movie trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l12IQe98vE
First is that the story lends itself to seeing it more than once because the storyline moves back and forth telling why certain events took place.
The other reason I saw this film a second time has to do with the character of Michael Clayton and the choice of George Clooney to play the role.
Way back in 1996 I started watching ER on NBC. George was one of the original cast members of ER between 1993 and 1999-ish, when he left for a career in movie acting.
George is one of the men that I look up to as as a role model these days, because when there are so few good role models (even if it's just for the characters that they play) for men
If you get a chance to see the movie Michael Clayton, the best part is the last 10 minutes or so, when he is telling Karen (U|North's lawyer) that he is settling for $10 and no less. She says they can't afford that kind of settlement of the class action suit. Michael says "does it look like I'm negotiating here?!".
And when it's all over, Michael just walks away with a small smile on his face, the feeling of justice served (those 400 people will get their settlement money).
Then comes the best part:
He Roared (Like a Lion)!
Not literally, but metaphorically.
Great movie. 10 out of 10. And I hear that it might be nominated for an Academy Award or more.
imdb.com - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/
YouTube.com movie trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l12IQe98vE
10.14.2007
Bill 208 - Grandparents Access Bill
In May of 2005, the PC MLA for Minnedosa, Leanne Rowat, introduced Provincial Bill 208, to amend Sect. 78 of the Child and Family Services Act, and is intended to ease access issues with grandparents in cases of messy divorces.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/3rd-38th/vol_50a/h50a.html
The following MLAs spoke in favour of the Grandparents Access Bill:
Also present in the Gallery at the time, were members of the GRAND Society of Manitoba, a grandparents rights group, who helped design the amendment.
Christine Melnick (NDP - Riel) was the Minister of Family Services at the time the Bill was introduced.
Yes, it is truly sad when a grandparent has to fill out an application form just to spend time with his or her grandchildren. This situation is a double-edged sword, in that on the one hand grandparents now have it easier to see their grandkids, but at the same time why should this be necessary at all. Wouldn't it be better to make divorce much more difficult to begin with?
What caught my eye, was near the end of debate on May 19th, 2005, that this Bill seemed to have non-partisan support. However, the NDP government wanted to close debate because it would allow it to go to Committee, and then Third Reading. Quite impressive, I might add.
Bill 208 was indeed passed into Law on December 7th, 2oo6, and remains in effect today.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/3rd-38th/vol_50a/h50a.html
The following MLAs spoke in favour of the Grandparents Access Bill:
- Andrew Swan (PC - Minto), practiced family law at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman for 14 years before becoming an MLA in 2004.
- Mavis Taillieu (PC - Morris)
- Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal - Inkster)
- Drew Caldwell (NDP - Brandon East)
- Len Derkach (PC - Russell)
- Leanne Rowat (PC - Minnedosa) - Bill 208 was her first that was introduced into the Manitoba Legislature.
Also present in the Gallery at the time, were members of the GRAND Society of Manitoba, a grandparents rights group, who helped design the amendment.
Christine Melnick (NDP - Riel) was the Minister of Family Services at the time the Bill was introduced.
Yes, it is truly sad when a grandparent has to fill out an application form just to spend time with his or her grandchildren. This situation is a double-edged sword, in that on the one hand grandparents now have it easier to see their grandkids, but at the same time why should this be necessary at all. Wouldn't it be better to make divorce much more difficult to begin with?
What caught my eye, was near the end of debate on May 19th, 2005, that this Bill seemed to have non-partisan support. However, the NDP government wanted to close debate because it would allow it to go to Committee, and then Third Reading. Quite impressive, I might add.
Bill 208 was indeed passed into Law on December 7th, 2oo6, and remains in effect today.
4.25.2007
A Trolley For The Forks?
Winnipeg Free Press
April 21, 2007
Page B1
You're damn right there should be an electric trolley service between The Forks and other parts of downtown, Mr. August!
I spoke on the topic of a downtown trolley/streetcar loop at the May 1999 Council meeting to create CentreVenture:
http://uwto.org/articles/transit_1999streetcar.html
April 21, 2007
Page B1
The Forks CEO Jim August said he will start working next week on landscaping and a "green" transportation plan, including whether to locate parking behind the building against the rail line and how to set up some public transit or a people-mover trolley that can link the museum to other downtown attractions. A parking structure is really a last resort, August said.
You're damn right there should be an electric trolley service between The Forks and other parts of downtown, Mr. August!
I spoke on the topic of a downtown trolley/streetcar loop at the May 1999 Council meeting to create CentreVenture:
http://uwto.org/articles/transit_1999streetcar.html
4.23.2007
Issues w/ American Satellite-Cable Networks
Arts & Entertainment Cable Network - I really enjoyed A&E in the late 80s and early 90s.Then they changed focus to more recent television police drama and I lost interest in the channel.
Black Entertainment Television - They need to expand the type of programs they offer to include Jazz, and maybe have a positive roll model Black family sitcom show.
CNBC - Why is Mad Money on so much and at a time after work when I want to watch a summary of the day's business news.
CNN -- Good when there's a natural disaster or something like that, but is too Rah Rah for the War in Iraq. Ted Turner shouldn't have sold to AOL Time Warner in 2001.
CNN HeadlineNews - Used to be a great service in the late 80s and through most of the 90s. Then in the early 2000s they changed their forumula and I stopped watching. There's opinion programming where there shouldn't be -- in prime time after a long day at work I want the headlines, not some schmuck telling me his or her opinions on things. HeadlinePrime needs to be focused on delivering the news, not opining about it!
The Golf Channel -- Not interested in golf as much because the commentators forcus too much on Tiger Woods. Well guys, there are other golfers out there besides him.
Speed -- Not interested in the NASCAR channel.
The Learning Channel -- This used to be a great educational channel until the late 90s. Then they started to change the focus to women's lifestyle programming, very similar to HGTv, just what there is already too much programming of.
Black Entertainment Television - They need to expand the type of programs they offer to include Jazz, and maybe have a positive roll model Black family sitcom show.
CNBC - Why is Mad Money on so much and at a time after work when I want to watch a summary of the day's business news.
CNN -- Good when there's a natural disaster or something like that, but is too Rah Rah for the War in Iraq. Ted Turner shouldn't have sold to AOL Time Warner in 2001.
CNN HeadlineNews - Used to be a great service in the late 80s and through most of the 90s. Then in the early 2000s they changed their forumula and I stopped watching. There's opinion programming where there shouldn't be -- in prime time after a long day at work I want the headlines, not some schmuck telling me his or her opinions on things. HeadlinePrime needs to be focused on delivering the news, not opining about it!
The Golf Channel -- Not interested in golf as much because the commentators forcus too much on Tiger Woods. Well guys, there are other golfers out there besides him.
Speed -- Not interested in the NASCAR channel.
The Learning Channel -- This used to be a great educational channel until the late 90s. Then they started to change the focus to women's lifestyle programming, very similar to HGTv, just what there is already too much programming of.
4.22.2007
Issues w/ Canadian Satellite-Cable Networks
The promise of having several satellite-cable networks, called "narrowcasting" is that we would be never far away from the genre of programming that we love. However, the promise has failed to deliver. This blog entry and the next one attempt to review the current status of Canadian, American and International television networks available today.
The CRTC licensed these channels. So they are partly to blame for not keeping the channel owners on their toes when it comes to making sure they have interesting content on most of the time. But it's also a failure of the Canadian Television Fund which helps pay for that Canadian content over all these multitude of channels.
My answer to the problem is to combine some of these channels. For example, do we really need 5 music stations, licensed to play music videos and none of them do, but intead feature reality television crap? Maybe instead of MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, MuchVibe, and MuchLOUD, they should consolidate into one MuchMusic station like originally. Also MTV Canada should be allowed to air music videos. In the end we subscribers would pay less for our television service and there would be fewer channels into which better programming could be produced or purchased. Everybody wins.
BNN
BPM:tv - The only music station that still plays music videos, although most of them can be classified in the "soft erotica" category. I find I have to turn off the tv because I find the "tits n ass" in the videos offensive. There is no need for most of it.
Bravo!
Canadian Learning Television - this channel isn't educational at all. It shows too much general interest entertainment programming like Monk, The West Wing, which are not the kind of educational type programming that CLT is licensed for in the first place.
CBC Newsworld - consists of three programs "Morning", "Today", and "The National". The network needs to develop more programs like in the old days of Newsworld.
CMT Canada - I'm not a Country music fan, so this channel is useless to me.
Comedy Channel - don't like 99% of the shows
Country Canada - should combine with The Documentary Channel to create CBC-2.
CP24 - This channel I like.
CPAC
CTV NewsNet - mostly better than CBC Newsworld
Dejaview - sometimes
Discovery Channel Canada - not as good as it was in the 90s. Don't watch anymore.
DriveIn - Watch very rarely.
Encore Avenue - OK. No complaints
G4 TechTv - Call for Help I watch, but the videogame shows are junk to me.
History Television - Nothing on here is interesting to me. It's mostly about various Wars.
iChannel - was good when it first started, but is not interesting anymore. I dumped the channel last year.
IFC Canada - Watch very rarely.
Lonestar - Don't watch.
Movie Central - OK. No complaints
Movieola - has too many 1920s/1930s Mickey Mouse cartoon shows.
MTV Canada - This service cannot play music videos because of the conditions of their current license. So if I want to watch music videos there's YouTube.
MuchMusic - Doesn't play music videos any more. Useless channel that used to be very good in the 1980s.
MuchMoreMusic - Was very good when it first started in October 1998, but also no longer plays music videos. Have to go to YouTube to watch a music video.
Mystery - Useless channel to me.
OLN - Good for the one month in the year that they carry the Tour De France bike race. Otherwise a useless channel. Maybe this channel could fold and TSN could pick up the annual bike race.
ROGERS SportsNet - I watch is sometimes when I'm interested in sports. They have good baseball and basketball coverage.
Showcase Television -
Showcase Action -
Showcase Diva -
Score - Don't watch this channel. I used to watch when it was HeadlineSports in the late 90s.
Scream - Rarely watch.
Space - Rarely watch. I probably need a rest from all those Star Trek series that were on during the 90s, and the other programming doesn't interest me much because it's poorly done.
Telelatino -- would watch more often if they had musical variety programming in Italian & Spanish, but most of the time it features English language American sitcoms. You can't really call this an ethnic station I guess.
The Documentary Channel -- Too many documentaries that focus on the drug trade and prostitution. And when they do have other documentaries, they rerun them too often in the day, so if you saw one doc there is no others to watch.
The Shopping Channel -- Longtime complaint I have is that there are very few items of interest to guys like electronics, gadgets, etc... Too many items for women.
TSN The Sports Network -- Sometimes I'll watch.
The Weather Network -- Way too many frequent interruptions for advertising. And the advertising is for hair care products or cars.
Treehouse -- Nothing of interest to me. Although it looks like Treehouse has lots of Canadian content, most of it is so cheaply produced that it doesn't warrant my time to view.
Tv Land Canada -- Has some interesting programming.
Tropolis -- Nothing of interest to me. This service used to be called Prime, and it had some
magazine programs that were viewable.
YTV Youth Television -- I used to watch alot of YTV in the first 4 or 5 years, then they started to change the programming and it's been downhill since then. I'm not into anime or violent programs like that.
The CRTC licensed these channels. So they are partly to blame for not keeping the channel owners on their toes when it comes to making sure they have interesting content on most of the time. But it's also a failure of the Canadian Television Fund which helps pay for that Canadian content over all these multitude of channels.
My answer to the problem is to combine some of these channels. For example, do we really need 5 music stations, licensed to play music videos and none of them do, but intead feature reality television crap? Maybe instead of MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, MuchVibe, and MuchLOUD, they should consolidate into one MuchMusic station like originally. Also MTV Canada should be allowed to air music videos. In the end we subscribers would pay less for our television service and there would be fewer channels into which better programming could be produced or purchased. Everybody wins.
BNN
BPM:tv - The only music station that still plays music videos, although most of them can be classified in the "soft erotica" category. I find I have to turn off the tv because I find the "tits n ass" in the videos offensive. There is no need for most of it.
Bravo!
Canadian Learning Television - this channel isn't educational at all. It shows too much general interest entertainment programming like Monk, The West Wing, which are not the kind of educational type programming that CLT is licensed for in the first place.
CBC Newsworld - consists of three programs "Morning", "Today", and "The National". The network needs to develop more programs like in the old days of Newsworld.
CMT Canada - I'm not a Country music fan, so this channel is useless to me.
Comedy Channel - don't like 99% of the shows
Country Canada - should combine with The Documentary Channel to create CBC-2.
CP24 - This channel I like.
CPAC
CTV NewsNet - mostly better than CBC Newsworld
Dejaview - sometimes
Discovery Channel Canada - not as good as it was in the 90s. Don't watch anymore.
DriveIn - Watch very rarely.
Encore Avenue - OK. No complaints
G4 TechTv - Call for Help I watch, but the videogame shows are junk to me.
History Television - Nothing on here is interesting to me. It's mostly about various Wars.
iChannel - was good when it first started, but is not interesting anymore. I dumped the channel last year.
IFC Canada - Watch very rarely.
Lonestar - Don't watch.
Movie Central - OK. No complaints
Movieola - has too many 1920s/1930s Mickey Mouse cartoon shows.
MTV Canada - This service cannot play music videos because of the conditions of their current license. So if I want to watch music videos there's YouTube.
MuchMusic - Doesn't play music videos any more. Useless channel that used to be very good in the 1980s.
MuchMoreMusic - Was very good when it first started in October 1998, but also no longer plays music videos. Have to go to YouTube to watch a music video.
Mystery - Useless channel to me.
OLN - Good for the one month in the year that they carry the Tour De France bike race. Otherwise a useless channel. Maybe this channel could fold and TSN could pick up the annual bike race.
ROGERS SportsNet - I watch is sometimes when I'm interested in sports. They have good baseball and basketball coverage.
Showcase Television -
Showcase Action -
Showcase Diva -
Score - Don't watch this channel. I used to watch when it was HeadlineSports in the late 90s.
Scream - Rarely watch.
Space - Rarely watch. I probably need a rest from all those Star Trek series that were on during the 90s, and the other programming doesn't interest me much because it's poorly done.
Telelatino -- would watch more often if they had musical variety programming in Italian & Spanish, but most of the time it features English language American sitcoms. You can't really call this an ethnic station I guess.
The Documentary Channel -- Too many documentaries that focus on the drug trade and prostitution. And when they do have other documentaries, they rerun them too often in the day, so if you saw one doc there is no others to watch.
The Shopping Channel -- Longtime complaint I have is that there are very few items of interest to guys like electronics, gadgets, etc... Too many items for women.
TSN The Sports Network -- Sometimes I'll watch.
The Weather Network -- Way too many frequent interruptions for advertising. And the advertising is for hair care products or cars.
Treehouse -- Nothing of interest to me. Although it looks like Treehouse has lots of Canadian content, most of it is so cheaply produced that it doesn't warrant my time to view.
Tv Land Canada -- Has some interesting programming.
Tropolis -- Nothing of interest to me. This service used to be called Prime, and it had some
magazine programs that were viewable.
YTV Youth Television -- I used to watch alot of YTV in the first 4 or 5 years, then they started to change the programming and it's been downhill since then. I'm not into anime or violent programs like that.
4.03.2007
Informal poll shows most Winnipeggers are smart on rapid transit issue
Last January 28th I set up a web poll at NewWinnipeg.com. I wanted to find out for myself what percentage of people want different types of rapid transit (BRT, LRT, subway), those that drive cars and SUVs and don't want any, those that cycle and prefer that mode of commuting.
Well, after more than two months and 43 votes later I can confidently say that Winnipeggers are smarter than the politicians when it comes to the rapid transit issue in Winnipeg.
The question was:
What form of rapid transit should Winnipeg implement?
And the results to now are:
Bus Rapid Transit 9% (4 votes)
Light Rail Transit 44% (19 votes)
Subway/metro 14% (6 votes)
None - my bicycle is my rapid transit 7% (3 votes)
None - my car/SUV is my rapid transit 26% (11 votes)
So even if you just extract the LRT and subway percentages from this poll, 58% of people like the rail option. That's impressive Winnipeg. Thanks.
So there you have it. Though the BRT Hippies like Axworthy (oh my gawd!, Lloyd Axworthy a "hippie"?), Jenny Gerbasi, Donald Benham, and Kaj Hasselriis, can be quite noisy and vocal about their rapid transit preference; in reality most people support rail in the form of LRT or a subway (even if that's just 4-car trains mainly underground) for Winnipeg. The BRT gang are in the minority. And as the climate of our planet is changing for the worse, the BRT Hippies will one day eat their words.So I firmly believe that TRUWinnipeg is here to stay and we're on the right track. The rail transit advocates just need to make more noise than the BRT people. Soon the politicians will cave in because it'll be that mob like that Free Press article from 1990 predicted will happen if the politicians are not following the people's wishes on this issue.
Keep sending those pro subway e-mails and letters to the politicians people.
1.09.2007
Pseudo-Environmentalists Holding Back Winnipeg's Progress
As I age and as the years go by in the Internet discussions with others over what to do with Winnipeg's transportation problem, I've gained some insight as to what is keeping central Winnipeg from becoming a more lively, vibrant urban place.
There are various "factions" at work, who seem to want to stop all good progress towards this end. One of them I discuss in this piece.
Let's start off with a definition of what an environmentalist is. From Wictionary:
One who works to protect the biosphere from misuse through such measures as ecosystem protection, waste reduction and pollution prevention
But when it comes to mass transportation, they would throw out this ideal, and, in their senseless desire for "cheap" transportation, advocate for a much less desirable option for Winnipeg.
I'm not against the environment. Far from it. I recycle most of my garbage. I give away to others some of the things I don't need anymore.
But the difference between myself and the Hippie environmentalists is that I acknowledge that a rail vehicle is better than a bus for moving large numbers of people in a city.
There are various "factions" at work, who seem to want to stop all good progress towards this end. One of them I discuss in this piece.
Let's start off with a definition of what an environmentalist is. From Wictionary:
One who works to protect the biosphere from misuse through such measures as ecosystem protection, waste reduction and pollution prevention
But when it comes to mass transportation, they would throw out this ideal, and, in their senseless desire for "cheap" transportation, advocate for a much less desirable option for Winnipeg.
- They claim to be environmentalists, but advocate for things that are not -- diesel bus BRT
- They claim to be progressive, but are anti-progressive when it comes to downtown development and "alternative transportation"
- Want, in effect, a rural/country-like setting
- They advocate for "cheap" transportation, ie. cycling, Bus "Rapid Transit".
- They're generally recognized as the children of the Hippies, or are from the Hippie generation themselves
- During the rapid transit debate of 2004 news reporters referred to the pro-BRT camp as "transit advocates". Nothing could be further from the truth, as BRT will ultimately hurt transit ridership and the environment, not help these two things
I'm not against the environment. Far from it. I recycle most of my garbage. I give away to others some of the things I don't need anymore.
But the difference between myself and the Hippie environmentalists is that I acknowledge that a rail vehicle is better than a bus for moving large numbers of people in a city.
12.24.2006
24Hours is back ... Part 2
On November 30th, 2006, CBC English Tv announced that the full 60-minutes of local newscast would be reinstated as of February 2007.
Hoorray!
OK, so now they need to fill that other 30 minutes again. I just had an idea.
In Winnipeg there are only two or three people re-publishing the archives of CBWT ... newsclips from 24Hours, local station IDs and promos, and putting them on YouTube.
It would be nice if CBWT dug out their own (original) copies of its archive and started to digitize them and also put them onto YouTube or the CBC Manitoba site. There's probably stuff in there prior to consumer video recorders that would be classified as gems.
And if they featured some of this archival material, at least once a week, on 24Hours and equivalent supper hour news programs across Canada, they'd make our country a better place. The CBC does republish archival material that is of national nature, but they just haven't had the time or resources to work on the local end of things.
Anyways, hoping someone at CBWT (CBC Manitoba) will read this over and consider ...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
Hoorray!
OK, so now they need to fill that other 30 minutes again. I just had an idea.
In Winnipeg there are only two or three people re-publishing the archives of CBWT ... newsclips from 24Hours, local station IDs and promos, and putting them on YouTube.
It would be nice if CBWT dug out their own (original) copies of its archive and started to digitize them and also put them onto YouTube or the CBC Manitoba site. There's probably stuff in there prior to consumer video recorders that would be classified as gems.
And if they featured some of this archival material, at least once a week, on 24Hours and equivalent supper hour news programs across Canada, they'd make our country a better place. The CBC does republish archival material that is of national nature, but they just haven't had the time or resources to work on the local end of things.
Anyways, hoping someone at CBWT (CBC Manitoba) will read this over and consider ...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.
12.02.2006
24Hours is baaaack!
On November 30th, after 6 loooooong years, after Robbie Rabinovitch's last few months as President of the CBC, after his pal Mr. Stursburg is going to (possibly) follow him out the door, we hear that they are going to put back the full 60 minutes of locally produced news in each region.
Burn in Hell , Canada Now!
So the return of the full hour means that most likely the highly respected and loved name for the Winnipeg 'cast will remain -- 24Hours.
Anyways, three cheers for CBC Television.
11.29.2006
got subway?
Last week Premier Gary Doer announced in his throne speech for the 2006-07 Legislative Session that he intends on spending $4 Billion for maintenance and expansion of rural highways, and another $4 Billion to construct a hydro dam called Conawappa, which was cancelled when the other Gary (Filmon) took power in 1990.
So Premier Gary, where is the $4 Billion for an underground (mass transit) subway for Winnipeg? Huh?
So Premier Gary, where is the $4 Billion for an underground (mass transit) subway for Winnipeg? Huh?
10.17.2006
Marianne Cerilli
A few weeks ago, very near to the time when the Mayoral candidates deadline to register, my friend came to me and requested that I sign Marianne Cerilli's petition to run for Mayor in this years civic election.
I signed.
What a mistake that was.
I don't know much about Ms. Cerilli ... she is a former NDP MLA from 1990 to 2003 in the Raddisson area.
This friend, whom I've admired for his writings for the past twenty years, and this other person who also is a regular writer are supporting Marianne's campaign.
The first guy says, "Jim, we convinced Marianne of the need for light rail in Winnipeg."
That says it all doesn't it. This person is normally in favour of subways for Winnipeg and also has a pretty good sense of who is for and who is against rail rapid transit in Winnipeg. But I guess if you carry the "labour" card around this town, well that somehow manages to trump the other values.
Why would I support a politician who says they were "convinced" of the value of rapid transit by another person, when indeed it is common sense that if you understand the dynamics of living in a big city and how to make it work properly you shouldn't have to be "convinced" of its value, it should just naturally become part of your urbanist values, right?
Not for Marianne and her minions though.
Secondly, and this has seemed to compromise my values when it comes to gender issues.
See Marianne refers to herself as an "eco-feminist". What is that you say? Well I'm more concerned about the feminist part. There are two kinds of feminists:
So while I did sign her campaign nomination paper, based on the usually good judgement of my transit friend, I think he missed the mark this time.
I have absolutely no plans to vote for Ms. Cerilli on October 25th. None. Nada.
I may choose to vote for Sam Katz this time because at least Mayor Sam took the initiative in late 2004/early 2005 to sample light rail transit in other cities. He didn't need to be convinced of this. He had also been quoted several times in the local media that he prefers LRT over BRT.
So there you have it. I think that Marianne is just leading these men around by the nose and that she is using them to further her
What Marianne also stands for is also to sustain the poverty industry here in Winnipeg. She has worked with, or supports or is in favour of the Social Planning Council. They are part of the problem, not the solution.
Further reading:
The Black Rod
I signed.
What a mistake that was.
I don't know much about Ms. Cerilli ... she is a former NDP MLA from 1990 to 2003 in the Raddisson area.
This friend, whom I've admired for his writings for the past twenty years, and this other person who also is a regular writer are supporting Marianne's campaign.
The first guy says, "Jim, we convinced Marianne of the need for light rail in Winnipeg."
That says it all doesn't it. This person is normally in favour of subways for Winnipeg and also has a pretty good sense of who is for and who is against rail rapid transit in Winnipeg. But I guess if you carry the "labour" card around this town, well that somehow manages to trump the other values.
Why would I support a politician who says they were "convinced" of the value of rapid transit by another person, when indeed it is common sense that if you understand the dynamics of living in a big city and how to make it work properly you shouldn't have to be "convinced" of its value, it should just naturally become part of your urbanist values, right?
Not for Marianne and her minions though.
Secondly, and this has seemed to compromise my values when it comes to gender issues.
See Marianne refers to herself as an "eco-feminist". What is that you say? Well I'm more concerned about the feminist part. There are two kinds of feminists:
- Eqality or Egaliarian
- Gender
So while I did sign her campaign nomination paper, based on the usually good judgement of my transit friend, I think he missed the mark this time.
I have absolutely no plans to vote for Ms. Cerilli on October 25th. None. Nada.
I may choose to vote for Sam Katz this time because at least Mayor Sam took the initiative in late 2004/early 2005 to sample light rail transit in other cities. He didn't need to be convinced of this. He had also been quoted several times in the local media that he prefers LRT over BRT.
So there you have it. I think that Marianne is just leading these men around by the nose and that she is using them to further her
What Marianne also stands for is also to sustain the poverty industry here in Winnipeg. She has worked with, or supports or is in favour of the Social Planning Council. They are part of the problem, not the solution.
Further reading:
The Black Rod
8.27.2006
Who are they writing for?
I am puzzled over happenings at the Winnipeg Free Press. I'm wondering just who they are writing to when they create their version of the daily newspaper.
I like a newspaper to carry lots of local stories, and am interested in local politics and that.
But when I buy the weekend paper, because I have more time on my hands to do more casual reading, I prefer to have a paper like you see in other cities like Toronto, New York, etc... These are huge papers, filled with background stories of what's happening in their area and trends around the world.
But when I open the Freep, I find I flip from page to page, not finding anything to hold my interest to want to read that article.
I just want to know.... when they prepare the paper every day, who do they 'see' as their reader? It surely doesn't seem to be someone like myself.
More on this issue in further blog writings...
I like a newspaper to carry lots of local stories, and am interested in local politics and that.
But when I buy the weekend paper, because I have more time on my hands to do more casual reading, I prefer to have a paper like you see in other cities like Toronto, New York, etc... These are huge papers, filled with background stories of what's happening in their area and trends around the world.
But when I open the Freep, I find I flip from page to page, not finding anything to hold my interest to want to read that article.
I just want to know.... when they prepare the paper every day, who do they 'see' as their reader? It surely doesn't seem to be someone like myself.
More on this issue in further blog writings...
7.27.2006
St. Iggy's 9 p.m. Group
What is happening to the 9 p.m. singing group at St. Ignatius Church here in Winnipeg?
They used to be sooooo goood, so soulful, like a direct connection to heaven.
Now, after 30 years, they sing with most of the group not even there.
There used to be a drummer, a guitarist, a bass guitarist. Now we're lucky if we get the bass guitar guy, whom I love when he used play those jazzy riffs back in 1991.
Are they just losing the interest, or like, what's wrong? I wish I could fix it. If there's no drummer, then try and find a replacement. It really does make a difference.
This past weekend Jeff Doerr (the keyboardist) and his wife (singer) were gone, probably on vacation somewhere. But it wasn't that much better during the winter months.
The oomph is missing. The drums are missing, like when they sing the Our Father prayer ... (one, two, three) "Our Father, Who Art in Heaven" (boom) "Hallowed be Thy Name" (boom).
There were just the jazzy bassist and one of the singers. I had to help provide backing vocals, from the pew, because there weren't any others singing it.
And the relatives were wondering WHY Jim doesn't like going to St. Iggy's anymore, which I've been doing on a regular basis since 1982. That's one of the reasons.
They used to be sooooo goood, so soulful, like a direct connection to heaven.
Now, after 30 years, they sing with most of the group not even there.
There used to be a drummer, a guitarist, a bass guitarist. Now we're lucky if we get the bass guitar guy, whom I love when he used play those jazzy riffs back in 1991.
Are they just losing the interest, or like, what's wrong? I wish I could fix it. If there's no drummer, then try and find a replacement. It really does make a difference.
This past weekend Jeff Doerr (the keyboardist) and his wife (singer) were gone, probably on vacation somewhere. But it wasn't that much better during the winter months.
The oomph is missing. The drums are missing, like when they sing the Our Father prayer ... (one, two, three) "Our Father, Who Art in Heaven" (boom) "Hallowed be Thy Name" (boom).
There were just the jazzy bassist and one of the singers. I had to help provide backing vocals, from the pew, because there weren't any others singing it.
And the relatives were wondering WHY Jim doesn't like going to St. Iggy's anymore, which I've been doing on a regular basis since 1982. That's one of the reasons.
What happened to Classiness?
See this ABBA video from 1982, then compare this to the pop culture of today with its cell phones, trashy music videos, and reality tv:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8jqAEoogHw
I'm old enough to remember those good old days of the 1980s when Winnipeg had two department stores downtown -- Eaton's and The Bay.
This video signifies for me a certain classiness that is so missing in today's culture. To some it may seem like ABBA is acting "arrogant" or whatever, but you compare that to the crap that's put out today and it just doesn't.
You see, people like to emulate the celebrities, they kind of show the way to style and therefore create culture.
In this music video, Head Over Heels, members of the group go on a shopping trip downtown. They are dressed well and shop at the nice stores. There is no discount/bargain shops in sight.
When I was living through 1982 this is in a way my feelings in that year, it was kinda like an artsy kind of year, symphony music, and all that stuff, but nice pop music, like the Jazz from Joe Jackson's Breaking Us In Two. That song I somehow associated with morning delivery of the Winnipeg Sun -- I used to be a carrier for them at the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8jqAEoogHw
I'm old enough to remember those good old days of the 1980s when Winnipeg had two department stores downtown -- Eaton's and The Bay.
This video signifies for me a certain classiness that is so missing in today's culture. To some it may seem like ABBA is acting "arrogant" or whatever, but you compare that to the crap that's put out today and it just doesn't.
You see, people like to emulate the celebrities, they kind of show the way to style and therefore create culture.
In this music video, Head Over Heels, members of the group go on a shopping trip downtown. They are dressed well and shop at the nice stores. There is no discount/bargain shops in sight.
When I was living through 1982 this is in a way my feelings in that year, it was kinda like an artsy kind of year, symphony music, and all that stuff, but nice pop music, like the Jazz from Joe Jackson's Breaking Us In Two. That song I somehow associated with morning delivery of the Winnipeg Sun -- I used to be a carrier for them at the time.
7.25.2006
Social Planning Council Hindering Winnipeg Growth
There is a group in Winnipeg that's been around since 1919, the Social Planning Council. It's current leader is Wayne Helgason, an aboriginal.
I feel that this group is part of the problem of why Winnipeg has been growing its underclass sinc about 1987 and the skilled middle-class has been leaving since about 1990.
What has the SPC ever done to improve Winnipeg for everyone? I think they've just helped to expand the underclass here.
If Winnipeg is to grow into a large metropolis on the scale of other cities like Minneapolis Minnesota, Toronto Ontario, or Chicago Illinois, we seriously need to either:
I feel that this group is part of the problem of why Winnipeg has been growing its underclass sinc about 1987 and the skilled middle-class has been leaving since about 1990.
What has the SPC ever done to improve Winnipeg for everyone? I think they've just helped to expand the underclass here.
If Winnipeg is to grow into a large metropolis on the scale of other cities like Minneapolis Minnesota, Toronto Ontario, or Chicago Illinois, we seriously need to either:
- Re-examine the leadership of this organization
- Get rid of the SPC itself
7.13.2006
I got my MTV today
I was sitting watching tv this evening flicking the channels, and WGN of them had the Smallville Superman-related show in the IPG list. So I watched a few minutes of that.
Then after the commercial it switched to WGN-DT2, which was showing THETUBE, a "real" music video channel, started in 2005 by one of the co-founders of MTV back in August of 1981.
WOW!
True to its slogan All Music, it plays absolutely no commercials, and no reality crap. Just music videos from the past 6 decades.
Unfortunately I don't have an HDTv set yet and so this was just an error that one of the ExpressVu technicians did or maybe WGN shows this program now in the summer.
In any way, I was really happy with this program. MuchMusic has lost their way. They don't need 4 different Much* channels. We just need one that plays music videos and concerts the way it used to be back in the 1980s.
7.12.2006
OneMedia in Canada
In the Christian bible, in the New Testament section there are stories about one day everything on this planet being owned by Satan. Everything. In Canada, we're a step closer to that awful day.
Last November (2005) Allan Waters, who built the CHUMCity empire (CityTv, MuchMusic, Bravo!, CHUM Radio, etc...) died. His relative (son or younger brother) was named as the successor owner of the company.
Now today, not eight months later, we hear CHUMCity being bought up by Canada's largest private media company, Bell Globemedia (CTV, BellExpressVu, CKY, CFTO, Discovery Channel Canada, ROBTv, the Globe and Mail, etc...).
Winnipeg has CityTv (nee 13MTN, nee A-Channel Winnipeg), which in the "friendly" takeover annoncement has decided to cancel all further local newscasts until further notice.
I have to ask this question. How does this deal better serve the Canadian citizen when it comes to local programming (news)?
I hope the CRTC will look closely and scrutinize every detail of this, and force Bell Globemedia to sell off more of its holdings than just the ones they agree to (A-Channel, ACCESS Alberta).
I'd like them to sell of CityTv Winnipeg because we already have a Bell station here -- CKY (CTV). We don't need two stations owned by the same company. Even though they promise to keep the newsrooms separate, I don't have enough trust in things like this. Certainly one of the stations would be the poorer in terms of news resources.
For example, prior to this merger, CKY primarily focuses on provincial government news and local crime stories. For years their newscasts began with the words "Police". Ever since CHMI went on the air though, they've focused on local issues, and were more likely to cover City Hall.
And what of my favourite local news anchor, Glen Kirby, who was cut from the staff today due to the merger agreement? There is an opening for news anchor though at CBWT (CBC Winnipeg) because my least favourite news anchor, Krista Erickson, has married and left Winnipeg for Ottawa (good riddance Krista). So this would be a great opportunity for CBWT to hire Glen as anchor of the CBC Local News at Six here. I already sent an e-mail to John at the station. Hope something can be worked out.
Another question: It's been several hours since Bell Globemedia announced it wants to purchase CHUMCity for $1.7 Billion. Why hasn't there been a news report about it on CBC Newsworld? They're too busy covering the endless conflict in the Middle East, that's why. (sigh)
Last November (2005) Allan Waters, who built the CHUMCity empire (CityTv, MuchMusic, Bravo!, CHUM Radio, etc...) died. His relative (son or younger brother) was named as the successor owner of the company.
Now today, not eight months later, we hear CHUMCity being bought up by Canada's largest private media company, Bell Globemedia (CTV, BellExpressVu, CKY, CFTO, Discovery Channel Canada, ROBTv, the Globe and Mail, etc...).
Winnipeg has CityTv (nee 13MTN, nee A-Channel Winnipeg), which in the "friendly" takeover annoncement has decided to cancel all further local newscasts until further notice.
I have to ask this question. How does this deal better serve the Canadian citizen when it comes to local programming (news)?
I hope the CRTC will look closely and scrutinize every detail of this, and force Bell Globemedia to sell off more of its holdings than just the ones they agree to (A-Channel, ACCESS Alberta).
I'd like them to sell of CityTv Winnipeg because we already have a Bell station here -- CKY (CTV). We don't need two stations owned by the same company. Even though they promise to keep the newsrooms separate, I don't have enough trust in things like this. Certainly one of the stations would be the poorer in terms of news resources.
For example, prior to this merger, CKY primarily focuses on provincial government news and local crime stories. For years their newscasts began with the words "Police". Ever since CHMI went on the air though, they've focused on local issues, and were more likely to cover City Hall.
And what of my favourite local news anchor, Glen Kirby, who was cut from the staff today due to the merger agreement? There is an opening for news anchor though at CBWT (CBC Winnipeg) because my least favourite news anchor, Krista Erickson, has married and left Winnipeg for Ottawa (good riddance Krista). So this would be a great opportunity for CBWT to hire Glen as anchor of the CBC Local News at Six here. I already sent an e-mail to John at the station. Hope something can be worked out.
Another question: It's been several hours since Bell Globemedia announced it wants to purchase CHUMCity for $1.7 Billion. Why hasn't there been a news report about it on CBC Newsworld? They're too busy covering the endless conflict in the Middle East, that's why. (sigh)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)