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)
4.24.2008
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.
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