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This week the Battle of Vimy Ridge has been in the Canadian media on a daily basis. It's the 90th anniversary of that World War I slaughter, which, according to legend or myth or possibly fact, forged Canada's identity as a nation . From the Canadian War Museum : Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded. The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. [Map] Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties. ... Although I know a fair amount

It occurred to me that my current job search is another example of what I like about getting older. It's a great feeling to be confident in your abilities, to have senior-level experience on your resume, and to walk into an interview knowing you can project that confidence. Thinking back to interviewing, say, 20 years ago - the nerves, the apprehension, the self-consciousness - this is a breeze. I've always enjoyed getting older. It helps that I have an incredibly positive role model for aging. My mother remade her life when she was in her early 50s by leaving my father (a move that was long overdue), and has been enjoying her life to the fullest ever since. She never whines about her age; she embraces it. As I wrote in an essay somewhere , aging is another word for living. In my 30s, when I would hear younger friends or acquaintances complaining about growing older, I always insisted that getting older was great. Now that I'm closer to 50 than 40, and some of the less ple

I'm holding off Cheap Firm as a potential safety, and Better Firm isn't making a decision until mid-April. Meanwhile, I had a great interview yesterday at Even Better Firm. Here's a great lesson in being proactive in a job search - or in anything. I haven't been waiting to see weekend jobs posted or announced. I'd like all the human resource people to have my resume and know that I'm available. Weekend staff is hard to find, and I want them to know that an excellent person is available. To that end, I've been emailing my resume and cover letter to the HR managers at all the major downtown law firms. It helps that I'm part of this famous dissolution ; our resumes are getting a little more consideration. This week I heard about another firm with a good reputation, and sent. The following day, I received this reply: "Even Better Firm doesn't currently have weekend staffing, but we've been talking about implementing it." !! She told me the

We watched "For Your Consideration" the other night, the latest Christopher Guest spoof. If you like his movies, this is a good one. Other than a clunky ending, it's very funny. The prescence of Ricky Gervais was an unwelcome surprise for me. I loathe that character he does, and as far as I know, it's all he does. But I'm sure for many people his appearance is a bonus. Some of the jokes in this movie will be much funnier if you're Jewish, so you'll want to convert before viewing. My favourite of Guest's spoofs and mockumentaries was "A Mighty Wind" , a send-up of folk music culture. For me that was both the funniest and the most dead-on since "Spinal Tap". I know most people loved "Best In Show," but that was my least favourite, although it had its moments. As in most of the Christoper Guest spoofs, "For Your Consideration" affords many opportunities for us to turn to each other and say, "Canadian" (E

Did you see this guy? That's Westminster Abbey. He's an uninvited (and unexpected) guest, and he's telling the dignified assemblage: "This is a disgrace," referring to Britain's refusal to apologize for their part in the slave trade. Cool, eh? Read more here.

Ah, the backyard. After living in an apartment for all of my adult life, I cannot get over the simple pleasure of sitting in my backyard, enjoying the peaceful quiet, listening to the birds chirp. As I always say, living in New York, the only thing I missed was having some private outdoor space. But I really missed it. And now, I enjoy it immensely. Allan and I both couldn't wait for the snow to melt and the weather to warm up, just so we could sit outside, have a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and watch the dogs play. Yesterday was our first opportunity. Cody's our first dog to ever have her own backyard (Buster lived briefly in the old house, but he couldn't play off the leash, and the backyard wasn't fenced in, so it wasn't the same). Now Tala is our first dog to never know apartment life. When I watch them play, I still sometimes feel bad that Gypsy and Clyde never enjoyed this simple luxury. It's ridiculous, of course. We took them to the park all the tim

I could have used this when I worked in Rockefeller Center . Thanks to James for sending me this. Check out some great photos of his puppy.

I had two job interviews yesterday , both for positions with the hours I'm looking for. One firm uses archaic equipment, is in the technological stone age and is obviously tight-fisted with salaries and benefits. They're almost sure to make me an offer, but it doesn't seem like a great place to work. The other firm seems like a more comfortable work environment, and more competitive, but they're still talking to other people. Allan thinks I should turn down Cheap Firm regardless of what Better Firm says. It's hard to pass up work when I keep hearing how what I'm looking for (three 12-hour days) is scarcer than ethics in the Bush administration. Then again, are these positions as rare as everyone thinks? Allan has one, I'm leaving another, and I've already interviewed for two spots, after only two weeks of looking. It's certainly less common than straight Monday-to-Friday positions, but possibly not in the hen's teeth category. Plus, I'm emplo

Do any wmtc readers have opinions on the results of the Quebec election ? Want to share?

Here's a lovely picture from TGNOTFOTE. Mary Rose Derks was a 65-year-old widow in 1990, when she began preparing for the day she could no longer care for herself. Every month, out of her grocery fund, she scrimped together about $100 for an insurance policy that promised to pay eventually for a room in an assisted living home. On a May afternoon in 2002, after bouts of hypertension and diabetes had hospitalized her dozens of times, Mrs. Derks reluctantly agreed that it was time. She shed a few tears, watched her family pack her favorite blankets and rode to Beehive Homes, five blocks from her daughter's farm equipment dealership. At least, Mrs. Derks said at the time, she would not be a financial burden on her family. But when she filed a claim with her insurer, Conseco, it said she had waited too long. Then it said Beehive Homes was not an approved facility, despite its state license. Eventually, Conseco argued that Mrs. Derks was not sufficiently infirm, despite her early-s

I've been blogging about this for a very long time. Now more proof has been uncovered by the excellent New York City journalist Jim Dwyer. I can only assume I was included in this one . City Police Spied Broadly Before G.O.P. Convention By Jim Dwyer For at least a year before the 2004 Republican National Convention, teams of undercover New York City police officers traveled to cities across the country, Canada and Europe to conduct covert observations of people who planned to protest at the convention, according to police records and interviews. From Albuquerque to Montreal, San Francisco to Miami, undercover New York police officers attended meetings of political groups, posing as sympathizers or fellow activists, the records show. They made friends, shared meals, swapped e-mail messages and then filed daily reports with the department's Intelligence Division. Other investigators mined Internet sites and chat rooms. From these operations, run by the department's "R

I forgot to mention the gruesome task we accomplished this week: our taxes. You single-country folks out there, no complaining. As Permanent Residents of Canada and US citizens, we have to file in both countries. We don't owe taxes to the US - we get a "foreign tax credit" - but as long as we are citizens of that country, we are required by law to check in with the IRS. I know I said the same thing last year , but this might be the best reason to give up that citizenship when I'm eligible.

The mainstream media is portraying the supplemental spending bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, as a bold step towards ending the war. The word "timetable" is on everyone's tongue, as if the United States has committed itself to withdrawing its troops from Iraq. But in fact, the US has built permanent bases in Iraq , and is building more (privately contracted, of course). When the House of Representatives authorizes an additional $100 billion towards the occupation of Iraq - $25 billion more than the Resident asked for! - I don't call that moving in the right direction. And when a supposedly progressive group endorses the move , I don't call them an antiwar group. Howard Zinn asks, "Are we politicians or citizens?" As write this, Congress is debating timetables for withdrawal from Iraq. In response to the Bush Administration's "surge" of troops, and the Republicans' refusal to limit our occupation, the Democrats ar

I'm reading a novel by one of my favourite authors, Roddy Doyle : Oh, Play That Thing , the second part of "The Last Roundup" trilogy that began with A Star Called Henry . It's terrific. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of Doyle's books. Although my long-running fascination with Ireland and Irish history has finally run its course, Doyle remains a touchstone for me. And although I read so many New York City historical novels that they started to all blend together, and I vowed to take a good long break from that subgenre, Oh Play That Thing takes place in New York City and Chicago during Prohibition, a good 50 years after most of those books are set. If you haven't read anything by Roddy Doyle, I recommend Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha , winner of the 1993 Booker Prize, which is narrated by a 10-year-old boy, and The Woman Who Walked Into Doors , which is narrated by a 40-year-old woman. "The Barrytown Trilogy" is also very enjoyable: The Commitments ,

I've been impressed with all the changes planned for Toronto. It seems like every week I read about some new major plan or design. A re-designed Nathan Phillips Square and a bold new transit plan are the most notable. Mayor David Miller's long-range plan to reduce greenhouse emissions also has the potential to radically alter the city landscape. When we first moved to the area, I was impressed that two major museums were being renovated and expanded, both with designs by famous architects, but that's old news now. And of course this is in addition to the endless construction of condo towers, mirrored by the endless construction of townhouses in the suburbs. Living in Mississauga, I don't feel as connected to these changes as I would if I lived in Toronto itself, but I like it anyway. Big plans like these avoid that small-time mindset that a city must attract an outside event, like the Olympics or an Expo, to revitalize it - as if there isn't reason enough alrea

Especially when it's great publicity ! Sports Illustrated - wow!

I'm sure wmtc readers in the US already know this, but just in case... Please call your representatives today. The House of Representatives could vote today to authorize another $100 billion towards the endless war. Democrat House leadership is trying to portray the supplemental spending bill as a positive step toward ending the war. Even certain organizations that claim to be progressive support the bill and claim it is a step towards peace. The peace movement strongly disagrees. Please call your Congressperson and urge her or him to vote no on the supplemental , to vote no on the "Iraq Accountability Act" , and to support military funding only for troop withdrawal (the Lee amendment). You can call the Congressional Switchboard for free at 888-851-1879. Ask the operator to connect you to your Representative's office. If you are not sure who represents you in Congress or how to reach her or him, try this site .

What is it with conservatives and the support-our-troops game? "I can understand the passion that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for the Taliban prisoners," Harper said. "I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers." His comments were quickly followed by boos and jeers from Liberals in the House. Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said he was shocked by Harper's suggestion and demanded an apology. Harper continued with his barrage. "I would like to see more support in the House of Commons from all sides for Canadian men and women in uniform," he said. "I think Canadians expect that from parliamentarians in every party. They have not been getting it, and they deserve it. Historically, has this been as typical in Canada as it is in the US? I know everyone likes to say that Harper's team follows the Bush playbook, but Bush didn't invent the support-the-troops bait, and the Liberals ar

We saw "Borat" last night. I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. He is really an amazing talent. If any wmtc readers read a lot about the making of this movie, I have two questions. How did they get the bear? And, was Pamela Anderson in on it? Because if she wasn't, that would have been an absolutely terrifying experience. As she's running around - and as Cohen is evading capture - it seemed improbable to me. For anyone curious about the much-hyped DVD extras, they are, in fact, hype. There's nothing "too outrageous" for the film. The promo clips are very funny, but all the good scenes are in the movie itself.

Last November I was verbally attacked for not voting in the US elections. Then as now, I don't feel I have the ethical right to vote in the US anymore, despite what is technically true. More importantly to me, I feel the system is fatally corrupt. I believe US elections are a sham, a palliative to present the appearance of democracy, to make us believe things aren't as dire as they really are. I just feel finished with it. And even if I could stomach the system, I can't stomach the Democrats. They sicken me and the idea of voting for them sickens me further. Without my help, the Democrats won the day, and there was much jubilation over the supposedly good guys - the better guys, anyway - taking back Congress. And what has happened since then? For the last four months, the Democrats have had the power to end the war. What have they done? In what may be the largest supplemental in U.S. history, the House appropriations committee passed a $124.1 billion emergency funding bill

From Frank Rich, courtesy of truthout : In the broad sweep of history, four years is a nanosecond, but in America, where memories are congenitally short, it's an eternity. That's why a revisionist history of the White House's rush to war, much of it written by its initial cheerleaders, has already taken hold. In this exonerating fictionalization of the story, nearly every politician and pundit in Washington was duped by the same "bad intelligence" before the war, and few imagined that the administration would so botch the invasion's aftermath or that the occupation would go on so long. "If only I had known then what I know now ..." has been the persistent refrain of the war supporters who subsequently disowned the fiasco. But the embarrassing reality is that much of the damning truth about the administration's case for war and its hubristic expectations for a cakewalk were publicly available before the war, hiding in plain sight, to be seen by a

As we approach the 4th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, there were more than 1,000 actions for peace around the United States, and many more throughout the world. On this thread from Democratic Underground , you can see photos from various demonstrations and vigils. (Thanks to Evil DUer Redsock .) If you have photos of your own, or links to photos from other demos, please feel free to post them in comments. * * * * On a personal note, it kills me not to be in Washington or New York City for every major protest, and many minor ones. However, I'm about to re-launch myself into the movement in a way I'm really excited about. Details as they develop.

Recently I achieved some clarity on a dilemma about my time, my writing, and the direction to take in the near future. Here's the background. I write for a magazine called Kids On Wheels , a unique, progressive magazine for young people who use wheelchairs. I'm one of three writer/editors who comprise the core of the magazine; we've all been with Kids On Wheels since its first days as a resource guide . Like all my writing, it's something I do out of interest, passion, and dedication. I do get paid, but a young, specialized magazine cannot afford very much. Over the course of the year, the fees add up, but it's less than half of what I would earn from a large commercial magazine. On the other hand, my experiences with large commercial magazines have ranged from frustrating to hellish. I like to be paid for my writing, but that's not my primary goal. If all I wanted from my writing was income, I'm sure I could be writing full-time, but my goals are more compl

As Movie Season winds down, we saw another good one last night: "The U.S. v. John Lennon" . It's a documentary about John Lennon's transformation from apolitical musician to peace activist, and his fight to stay in the U.S. - specifically in New York City - despite the politically motivated deportation proceedings against him. Through that lawsuit, Lennon's paranoid beliefs were confirmed: he had been under FBI surveillance . There are clips of interviews with Walter Cronkite, Gore Vidal, George McGovern, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Bobby Seale, and on the other side of the divide, G. Gordon Liddy, and a former FBI staffer, as well as Yoko Ono and close friends of Ono's and Lennon's. The movie is also full of archival clips from the 1960s and 1970s, but it's not the usual footage that we've all seen hundreds of times. Filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld used some eye-opening clips that really held my interest. "Held my interest" is

In case you haven't heard, the three girls who were suspended for uttering the evil word "vagina" onstage at a school event have had their suspensions rescinded . Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues," will speak at the school, at the parents' invitation. Also, Ensler and the three girls will address the district school board . The school faculty supports the three girls, and will hold a discussion about the play. This outcome is more consistent with the suburban New York State I grew up in. I had been wondering if wingnuts had taken over Westchester County, and am relieved to know that reason has prevailed. Bill O'Reilly disagrees. Thanks to M@ for alerting me to the follow-up, as I was lost in a writing assignment.

The customer service manager at Zip.ca told me they were changing some procedures, and service would soon improve. It did. Whether the improved service was coincidental to my complaint, or a function of it, I don't know. But since I complained, we've been receiving our top priority movies, even after I added many titles back on our ZipList. The race was on to see which would come first, "The Departed" and "Borat" DVDs, or baseball season. We just mailed back "The Departed," and Zip says that "Borat" is on the way. Yay! I'll actually be out of town for the first two weeks of baseball season, so my first real games will be the Red Sox here in Toronto. Double yay!

We saw "The Departed" this week, which we both really enjoyed. Highly suspenseful, great plot twists, brilliant writing and the usual fantastic filming and directing from Scorsese and his crew. I even liked Jack Nicholson's performance. In recent years he has seemed like a caricature to me, playing Jack Nicholson more than anything else. Perhaps the Scorsese touch resuscitated his talent, or perhaps it was the material, but I found Nicholson's performance very credible and compelling. But that's not why I'm blogging about this. "The Departed" on DVD comes with a bonus disk that is well worth your time. There's a fascinating featurette on some of the real-life underpinnings of the movie, the notorious Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger and the Irish-American neighbourhood of South Boston that helped shield him. There's also an entire second movie, Scorsese On Scorsese , which originally aired on Turner Classic Movies, part of their Directors on

The law firm where I work three days a week is dissolving . This firm has been a Toronto institution for more than 40 years, and the news is rocking the Toronto legal community. My co-workers are all freaking out - and of course everyone will be going after the same jobs. My situation is different, since I want to work on weekends. There aren't many weekend positions, but there are even fewer good people to fill them. Plus, I was already looking - trying to find something with better hours. Of course, I was hoping to be employed while I looked, but hey. The firm is paying us until June 6. That's a decent amount of time to find something. And if nothing comes up, I can always temp.

Our green recycling bin was delivered yesterday, the next step in the long-range plan for waste in the Peel Region. First, some months back, we were able to combine all our recycling into one bin - paper, plastic, glass, foil. Next, we received several information bulletins about organics recycling, what it would look like, how it would work, when it would be implemented. Then yesterday our green bins were delivered: one large container with wheels and a locking cap for the garage, and a smaller container with a lid for the kitchen. The contents of our collective green bins will be composted. Organics recycling for Peel begins on April 2. In October, the three-bag standard for garbage - that is, how many bags of trash you can leave at curbside for pick-up - will be reduced to two. The eventual goal is to divert 70% of Peel's trash from landfill by 2016 . People who already have green-bin recycling have told me that their weekly trash output is one grocery bag's worth of garba

I have a deadline this week, and am feeling a bit pressured. It's possible that by the end of the day, I'll be in great shape and ready to blog again. Until then, please feel free to post off-topic, recommend websites, link to YouTube clips, mangle the English language, or ridicule the government. Any government will do.

Here's something else from a New York Times book review. Jacob Heilbrunn reviewed two books that are highly critical of the Bush regime - one ostensibly from the left, Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here - Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush ( which I blogged about , and which I feel transcends the left/right divide), and one from the right, Michael Tanner's Leviathan on the Right - How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution . Michael Tanner is a Reagan Republican who feels the promise and glory of Reaganism has been squandered by those who would be his successors. "To dramatize this fall from grace," Heilbrunn, the reviewer, writes, "Tanner evokes a lost conservative golden age that stretched from Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan." Then, much to his credit, he reminds us: Tanner is a lucid writer and vigorous polemicist who scores a number of points against the Republican Party's fiscal transgressions, but he has ultim

Catching up on some book reviews yesterday, I came across something pertinent to one of our recent discussions . Patricia O'Connor, reviewing two language books for the New York Times Book Review , writes: Get a few language types together, and before long someone will bring up the great divide between the preservers and the observers of English, the "prescriptivists" and the "descriptivists" — those who'd rap your knuckles for using "snuck" versus those who might cite Anglo-Saxon cognates in its defense. The truth is that the divide isn't nearly as great as it's made out to be. Most grammarians, lexicographers, usage experts and linguists are somewhere in between: English is always changing, but that doesn't mean anything goes. Ben Yagoda, the author of "When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It," is with the right-thinking folks in the middle. His book, an ode to the parts of speech, isn't about the rights or wrongs of Engli

I have another thought to share from The Promised Land . Immigration to Western Canada was planned, purposely and methodically, by the federal government, both to create farms to feed the East, and to increase the market for Eastern-made goods. Immigrants were lured to Canada with the promise of freedom: free land, and freedom from the semi-feudal system that was still entrenched in Europe. The settlers came mostly from Eastern Europe, Sweden, Germany, and Britain. They also came from the US - where land was extremely expensive and trade was controlled by monopolies - in droves. In the early part of the 20th Century there was "an American invasion" that helped shape Western Canada. Americans, with their money, their optimism and their industriousness, were very welcome in Western Canada (as long as they were white). There was, of course, the usual fears of annexation, but not necessarily among Canadians. The American invasion caused considerable soul searching on both sides o

I've finally finished Pierre Berton's The Promised Land , which I first blogged about here . This excellent book completes Berton's tetralogy (one more than a trilogy) about the settling of the Canadian West. Now I've read all four. My next Canadian history project will be - at some future date - Berton's three books about the War of 1812. In the early days of wmtc, one of the principal readers and commenters was a guy named RobfromAlberta . Rob (he doesn't blog anymore) is a Western conservative with a lot of animosity against Ottawa and Ontario, and an advocate of Alberta secession. There was always a lot of spirited debate between Rob and some other commenters, and through those discussions, I learned something about Western Canadian disaffection and alienation. When I asked what caused such regional dissension, some people said it dated back to the National Energy Program, or NEP , when the federal government nationalized oil production. Well, reading The Pr

I've been trying to stay away from email. Not my personal email, I'm as obsessed with that as ever. But I'm trying to check the email listed on this blog a little less frequently. No more than once daily. Or even to skip a day now and again. I mean, what's the point, why am I so obsessed with email? Here's why. Yesterday I got an email from a reporter at the Toronto Star , who wanted to interview me for an article about Conservapedia in the Sunday paper. He emailed on Thursday afternoon, but I didn't see it until Friday morning, and by that time his deadline had passed. That could have been some very nice publicity for wmtc! That's what I get for trying to be less obsessed.

Although I ask people on this blog not to correct each other 's spelling, usage and grammar, this is not to say that incorrect usage doesn't bother me. It does. Sometimes it drives me nuts. Yet people who are very nitpicky about other people's grammar and usage also drive me nuts. I think we should all be more generous with each other, and that what's important is that we communicate, not that we communicate according to a specific set of rules. Clearly these two modes of thought come into conflict. And it's with that preface that I write this post, which is not aimed at anyone in particular, certainly not at anyone on this blog. When it comes to language, the thing that drives me the nutsiest is the spread of fake words or meaningless expressions in the media. If you follow a sport, you see this all the time in the sports media. Words spread through interviews like wildfire cliches. One season everything will be prefaced with "obviously" or "and agai

Is everyone still alive? Did anyone have a heart attack when they saw the title of this post? By now you've probably all heard about the three girls who were suspended from school for saying the word "vagina" . At a school event, three honour students at a suburban New York high school read a selection from Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues". They were warned in advance not to utter the terrible word, but they did. The girls say, "We want to make it clear that we didn't do this to be defiant of the school administration. We did it because we believe in the word vagina, and because we believe it's not a bad word. It shouldn't be a word that is ever censored, and the way in which we used it was respectable." School officials insist the girls were not suspended for what they said, but for insubordination: they were told not to do something, and they did it anyway. But why were they told not to? Because, according to the New York Times , &quo