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Yesterday we took a drive to the Elora Gorge , as part of my desire to see more of the surrounding area and go hiking (or walking in some woods) more often. The majority of the day was spent driving. We took the scenic route up, first winding our way out of Mississauga on Erin Mills Parkway, which joins Mississauga Road and becomes Highway 1, then to Highway 7. (In New York State and much of the rural US, these country roads are called "routes". I'm trying to remember that they are called "highways" here, even though they don't look like highways.) I've been told that 7 is the scenic route from Toronto to Kitchener, so it seemed like a good idea. Long ago, Lone Primate and some other readers mentioned The Copper Kettle in Georgetown for its great pub food. (It's great knowing this is all recorded somewhere on your own blog.) I got the address online, and Main Street, Georgetown seemed like an easy enough place to find. It was, but there was no Cop

Two days ago, I had never heard of Eddie Pepitone and never seen a single minute of "Flight of the Conchords" . I had heard of the show, but didn't know what it was and never bothered to find out. Last week we hung out with our friends M@ and S , and they lent us the first season of FOTC on DVD. They thought we would really like it; if nothing else, we'd appreciate the New York City locations. Yesterday morning I see a clip of comedian Eddie Pepitone on Joy of Sox . I'm not into stand-up, and very little of what many people find oh-so-hilarious doesn't even make me smile. But I really liked this. Big loud laughs. Very enjoyable. (Clip to follow, keep reading for now, ok?) Then last night, Red Sox night off, we pop Flight of the Conchords into the DVD player. We love it. LOVE IT. It's brilliant and hilarious. The music video parodies are amazing. We laugh so hard, we are crying and gasping for breath. And I did indeed love seeing New York City. And there

Native issues - the concerns of First Nations people and how those mesh or clash with the rest of the country - are in the mainstream news all the time in Canada. This is a pronounced difference from the United States, where Native Americans are invisible, except for casinos. It's something that greatly surprised me after we moved here, and which continues to strike me as a real difference between the two countries. The first time a wmtc commenter referred to "the three peoples that created Canada," I confess I had to think of who those third people might be. I don't blog about Native issues, but not for lack of interest. I am deeply sympathetic, but for me this falls under the category of "read and learn," rather than espouse. Yesterday I read a post by a First Nations blogger. I was really moved by it, and want to share it with you. Who or What is an Indian? , by Mister Beastly. They may have got it right when they issued the status card to the first Indi

I've been trying to read Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta . Has anyone here read this? It's a book of nonfiction essays about the city now called Mumbai. I saw several excellent reviews of it; I was especially intrigued to read "what Dickens did for London, what Joseph Mitchell did for New York City, Suketu Mehta has done for Mumbai". That's a little odd, because Dickens and Mitchell did completely different things for their respective cities. But I love both those writers - Dickens being one of my all-time favourites, and Mitchell being perhaps the greatest chronicler of New York City - so Maximum City seemed like a natural for me. So far, I can't get into it. I'm trying, but when I find myself going a week or more without picking up the book I'm supposedly reading, something is wrong. I'm going to put it aside and try again some other time. There are also two other books, both important to me, that I left unfinished and am de

The Toronto Transit Commission is on strike. Full disclosure: I don't rely on the TTC for my daily commute. However, I lived for 26 years in cities wholly dependent on public transportation, and never owned a car before moving to Canada. I support the striking transit workers. I support striking workers everywhere. The transit workers have power, and they should use it. I wish all workers - myself most definitely included - could wield the kind of power the transit workers can. People on all points of the political spectrum are foaming at the mouth because union leadership already had announced there would be no strike. But union membership rejected the deal, as is their right to do so. Too often union leadership pushes deals down membership's throat. This time democracy prevailed. I'm a freelance writer, and an office worker. Although in the US I belonged to the National Writers Union (to my tremendous benefit), I have little power in either of my work capacities. People

I first blogged about C-537 here , and was met by some objections I hadn't considered , from health-care workers' perspective. To summarize, I had said: Health care providers cannot be allowed to pick and choose what legal procedures they want to perform or assist with. If a person cannot in good conscience have anything to do with abortion, or any other legal medical procedure, that person shouldn't be working in health care. My friend Jen suggested this revision: I'd amend that to "If a person cannot in good conscience have anything to do with abortion, or any other legal medical procedure, that person shouldn't be working in: Labour and delivery/ER/post partum". Likewise, those opposed to/don't understand electro-convulsive therapy should steer clear of the psych units, those opposed to/don't understand harm reduction should steer clear of public health, etc. Health practice, individuals and patient needs are all to many and too varied for ther

There's a certain blog. A reactionary wingnut blog, written by a Canadian woman. Like her wingnut comrades, she's not big on facts. A lot of heat, not much light. Lots of vitriol and bile. Lots of mindless saluting and flag-waving. So what's new. Perhaps she fancies herself the Canadian Ann Coulter. That should be all the description you need. This blog supposedly gets a lot of traffic. But if what I see at Progressive Bloggers is any indication, many of those clicks are from progressives, who read her blog, then denounce her on their own blogs. They pound their fists on their keyboards. All the while, of course, publicizing her blog. I don't get it. All activists want to keep apprised of what their opponents are doing, but in my opinion, right-wing blogs don't figure into that equation. This woman is not an MP. She's not an influential writer or thinker. She's in no position to make public policy, or to sway public opinion. People who agree with her are al

There have been several positive environmental advances in Canada lately. Ontario will ban sales of incandescent light bulbs by the year 2012. This will supposedly be the equivalent of taking a quarter-million cars off the road. (I'm not sure if that's true.) Nova Scotia is phasing out plastic bags in their liquor stores by this fall. The city of Edmonton is considering banning plastic bags or taxing their use . The LCBO, which controls sales of wine and liquor in Ontario, is is also considering a ban . (Impudent Strumpet may have a better idea .) Canada will soon be the first country to list Bisphenol-A as a toxic substance , and ban its use in baby bottles. The Bisphenol-A ban marks the first time Canada has taken the international lead to ban the use of a harmful substance. The Bisphenol-A ban is being compared to the US's ban of DDT 30 years ago, which was the result of pressure from consumers and environmental groups. Quebec has already banned the use of so-called &q

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see spring. This winter was just ridiculous , even for a winter-loving person like me. I've been obsessively watching the trees in our neighbourhood for signs of leaves. The dogwoods are already in bloom, and now our little pear tree and forsythias are budding. The trees that line the sidewalk - I don't know what they are! - are still bare. Most days, we can leave the back door open and the dogs can trot in and out at will. In the warmest part of the day, Tala likes to lie on the little concrete patio and survey her kingdom. Cody lies in the hot sun until she's cooked, then over to the shade to cool off a bit, then back to the sunbathing. I like to sit in the backyard and listen to the birdsong, watch the birds skitter around. A big fat robin is working on a nest in the pear tree. It's just a small tree, and seems like an insecure spot for a nest. Yet the foundation of it survived the winter, so the bird must know what

Many of you very nice people have asked about our former dogwalker, and our canine crisis in general. D never re-appeared. She hasn't called and hasn't emailed. I was worried, and baffled, but I asked the landlord to change the front-door lock. I can't feel safe knowing someone has a key to my home and knows when we're not home, especially as she may be having other problems. So that's just hanging there, unresolved, and may remain so. Fellow doggie parents J & L filled in last weekend, so we didn't have to take any unpaid time off, truly a lifesaver. And thanks to Craigslist, we have hired someone new. She volunteers at the Oakville Humane Society and has two rescued dogs of her own. She's very knowledge about about dogs, has glowing references, and generally seems terrific. I also found someone who would work as back-up, which is really necessary with a weekend schedule. Meanwhile, we are desperately searching for someone to stay at our home while w

In the personal-is-political department, I've taken a big step towards a change I've been planning. In the warmer months, Allan and I eat dinner outside almost every night. After 20+ years of apartment life, we are mad for sitting in our backyard. I can't even express what joy and inner contentment this simple act brings me, and Allan seems to feel the same way. We grill dinner, and that usually means chicken, salmon or steak. From reading about factory farming, and especially from reading Michael Pollan , I decided I wanted to buy and eat pasture-raised, more naturally fed, meat. Some history of my thoughts is here , and here . I also asked readers about local vs organic vs industrial food. I spent some time online looking for where pasture-raised animal products are available in our area. The excellent website Eat Wild can direct you to local, organic, grass-powered farms all over the US and Canada. I was very pleased to learn that there are plenty of these farms in On

Yesterday I had a problem with my US credit card company, Capital One. It wasn't a big deal, but it required a phone call. After several minutes in their automated phone maze, I was able to "press zero to speak to a representative". If I pressed 0 before hearing this option, it was an "invalid entry". I haven't needed to call Capital One in a long time. The last time I did, you could opt-out of the automated system by pressing 0 immediately. That option no longer exists. When a rep answered the call - clearly from a South Asian call centre, of course - she was unable to help me. After some frustration, I asked to speak to a supervisor. She told me she had already handled my call satisfactorily, and hung up. She hung up. I was amazed. And not too happy. When I called back, the option to press 0 to reach a representative was no longer there . I thought, is this me? Am I missing something? I asked Allan to try. Nope, it wasn't me. It wasn't there. Do yo

Yesterday I blogged about C-537 , which I see as a stealth anti-choice move on the part of Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott. Two friends of wmtc, both nurses, objected to my objections. They explained why, and also explained their legal rights as healthcare practitioners. Some other commenters agreed with them from a patient's perspective. You can read all about it in comments here . I hadn't thought about the issues they raised, or I had, but not from the perspective of the health-care worker. They make a lot of sense, and I agree with much of it. But something still bothers me about this bill. I still perceive it as an attack on choice, and I can't put my finger on why. Is it the offensive language of the bill that would sneak a non-legal definition of personhood into the law: "...'human life' means the human organism at any stage of development, beginning at fertilization or creation..."? And my fear that language could be used as a wedge for subseque

Hard on the heels of C-484, the fetal homicide bill , another stealth anti-choice private member's bill is before the House of Commons. This one is C-537 , "an Act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of conscience rights in the health care profession)", brought by Maurice Vellacott , Member of Parliament for Sasaktoon-Wanuskewin. It's the third time this MP has introduced this same bill, which he frames as "freedom of choice for all health care workers". When Vellacott introduced the bill in Parliament, he said: ... the bill would prohibit coercion in medical procedures that offend a person's religion or belief that human life is inviolable. The bill seeks to ensure that health care providers will never be forced to participate against their will in procedures such as abortions or acts of euthanasia. ... Canada has a long history of recognizing the rights of freedom of religion and of conscience in our country. Yet health care workers and those seeki

Search string of the day: why are north americans cold and selfish people? Shut up, I'm blogging about me!

A dear friend of mine is losing his beloved dog today. I won't link to his blog, because I think he's not ready to be public yet. I just wanted to acknowledge it in case he checks in today. The dog has terminal cancer, and my friend is doing the most difficult, most loving and most responsible thing, in not allowing his best friend to suffer. As I always say, it's the only bad part of sharing your life with an animal. But it's a really bad part. Allan and I are both thinking about our friend and his wonderful dog. Update: This is David, and his dog Noah, here . Note the name of the blog.

Today is my favourite baseball game of the regular season. Every year on the third Monday of April, on the Massachusetts holiday of Patriots' Day , the Red Sox play a game at 11:00 in the morning, which is also the day the Boston Marathon is run. Patriots' Day commemorates the famous ride of Paul Revere through the streets of Boston ("one if by land, two if by sea"), and the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The Red Sox have played a home game on this day every year since 1959, and the start of the game (if not postponed for bad weather) is timed so that the game ends just as the Marathon is heading through the city of Boston. Today is the 112th running of the Boston Marathon . I take a special interest in the Boston race, as I usually know someone running in the wheelchair division. One of my favourite athletes, who I have written about many times, is Jean Driscoll , who has won Boston's women's wheelchair

The suicide rate among Canada's soldiers doubled from 2006 to 2007, rising to a rate triple that of the general population, according to data obtained through access to information requests. Last year, the number of suicides among regular and reserve members of the Canadian Forces rose to 36, the highest in more than a decade, military police records obtained by Maj. Michel Sartori show. Sartori, a Laval University doctoral student, has been gathering information about military suicides for years. It's the subject of his thesis and a topic close to his heart, since five of his colleagues killed themselves after a tour of duty in Yugoslavia in 1994. He believes the rise is linked to the intensification of Canada's mission in Afghanistan when soldiers moved into the volatile southern region in 2006. Based on the military police reports, he found that the average suicide rate among Canadian Forces military members, both regular and reserve, between 1994 to 2007 was 16 per yea

Unlike many of my cohorts, I don't much worry about North American Union, Deep Integration, and other scenarios that picture Canada losing its sovereignty to the United States. That's an old Canadian fear - and a justified one - but there's too much paranoia and hyperbole in the mix for me, and I avoid it. Wmtc had a big discussion about it a while back, if you want to catch up on my perspective, and that of several of wmtc's most thoughtful readers. This doesn't mean I think there's no issue. The current crew in Ottawa is happy to walk in lockstep with the US, and that can only be dangerous - no matter who is in Washington. We need to protect the interests of the people, as opposed to the interests of the rich and powerful. That's always the case, and it's no less true about SPP than it is about anything else. On the other hand, a highway connecting Mexico to the US and Canada - which, by the way, already exists - does not threaten Canadian sovereignty

Nine years ago today, we adopted Cody, which puts our old girl at around 11 years old. And Sweet Cody Brown is having a birthday party! While we're at work, her friends Cobalt and Denim will be over for a play date, along with their parents. You may recall, Denim is the puppy Cody fell in love with . For dog-loving readers, here's the rundown on Cody from a previous Cody day . This post about Cody and her mania for big sticks was also a hit. I was surprised to see I didn't do a Cody Day post last year. (Bad mommy!) She's a lot happier this year, now that she finally loves her new sister.

Danny Federici, long-time keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has died of cancer at age 58 . This is very sad news. Among those of us who love the E Street Band's sound, he will truly be missed. Here's a tribute to Federici in the New York Daily News . I'm so fortunate I was able to see the E Streeters last year , while Federici was still kicking on the accordion.

Marketers have discovered another way to pollute our landscape and invade our brains. It's called the Flogo, and it might be coming soon to a lovely blue-sky day near you. As kids, most of us spent time laying in the grass, watching clouds roll by and imagining the shapes we could see in the fluffy white masses. Now, one company aims to indulge those flights of fancy by actually making "clouds" in the shapes of, well, anything, from the Atlanta Braves' tomahawk to Mickey Mouse's iconic head. These clouds are actually a mixture of soap-based foams and lighter-than-air gases such as helium, something like what you'd get if you married helium balloons with the solutions that kids use to blow bubbles from plastic wands. The company uses re-purposed artificial snow machines to generate the floating ads and messages, dubbed Flogos. The machines can pop one Flogo out every 15 seconds, flooding the air with foamy peace signs or whatever shape a client desires. Rentin

Tomorrow, April 18, is the eighth Iraq Moratorium . The Moratorium, held on the third Friday of each month, is a series of decentralized actions to protest the US occupation of Iraq. I encourage you to take some small, visible action to show your disapproval of this ongoing, senseless war. At the Iraq Moratorium website, you can find a partial list of planned events , some suggestions for actions you can take on your own , and reports, photos and video from past Moratoriums. I know it can be difficult to do something visible in your workplace or your community. You feel conspicuous, even embarrassed. Take a deep breath. Put a sign in your window, or your cubicle, or your rear window. Wear a black armband, and when people ask you about it, tell them why you're wearing it. Sit on a park bench holding a sign. When the day is done, you'll feel proud of yourself. You can't stop a war by yourself, but you can join millions of others who are trying to stop it, together.

Allan and I both work long hours on the weekend. A dogwalker comes in to take care of Cody and Tala. I get home first. When I came home last Saturday, the place looked exactly as when we left in the morning. Tala is crated when we're not home. She was very agitated, which is unusual, then she zoomed outside and immediately "did both", also very unusual. I had a weird feeling that D, the dogwalker, hadn't been in. But I kept telling myself that she wouldn't do that. She's been so reliable and responsible. Had the dogs eaten? Should I feed them? I was concerned but I just kept debating with myself, was she here or wasn't she. I called and emailed but didn't hear anything. On Sunday morning I left a note and D's money. When I came home on Sunday, the note and the money were still there, untouched! Now I knew the dogs had been alone all weekend, and hadn't eaten on Saturday. To compound my guilt, Tala was in a funnel collar - we're trying to ge

I wasn't going to post about the seal slaughter this year. I usually do. In fact, I think an anti-seal-slaughter post was the first criticism of Canada I ever put in this blog - and the only criticism I felt comfortable expressing for at least another year . I was avoiding the topic this year because I'm sick of the usual, tired arguments. I eat meat, so I am not entitled to protest the slaughter of animals for fur. Answer: All killing is not the same. Killing for sustenance can be distinguished from killing for commerce and fashion. One needn't be morally pure to protest something one finds immoral. If that were necessary, no one could ever protest anything. It's a tradition. Answer: So was slavery. So was apartheid. So was women having no legal rights. So is child labour in many parts of the world. Societies change. The fact that a practice was once considered acceptable is not ample justification for its continuance. The anti-sealing activists are breaking the law.

The federal Tories have ended their flirtation with majority government territory, according to a new poll that puts them back to the same support levels that gave them their current minority. The poll shows that, while the Tories appear to be improving their standing with Quebec voters, they have lost support in Ontario since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty launched attacks on the province's Liberal government. The Strategic Counsel survey, conducted April 10-13, found that 36 per cent of voters would support the Tories if an election were held today, compared with 30 per cent who would back the Liberals. The results for the two parties match the 2006 vote. I believe this is what's known as "neck and neck" . And this is with the Liberals acting like Tory lapdogs. Imagine how the poll might read if Stéphane Dion and his party showed a little chutzpah and stood up to Harper's bullying?

Much has been written about the culture of fear that pervades so many people, especially parents, in these times. There's a lot of money to be made by exploiting fear, from home-alarm systems to war profiteering. (Get 'em over there before they get us over here!) There are websites, catalogues and stores full of products designed with fearful parents in mind. For many, the padded playground has come to symbolize parental over-protectiveness and obsession with safety. We've all read about it; I won't try to recreate the whole argument here. I see and hear a lot of stories about many parents' attempt to create a risk-free world for their children - as if such a thing is possible, and as if it is preferred. Without risk, there can be no growth, no testing of boundaries, no meaningful accomplishment. One needn't be a daredevil to know that a fearful child will have less self-confidence and have a more difficult time achieving independence. Falling on an ordinary, no

Slap Upside The Head has the final verdict on Joaquin Ramirez, another gay man denied asylum in Canada. Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board rejected Joaquin's story, asking why he didn't apply for police protection back at home before coming here. Police protection. For a gay man in El Salvador. What planet are these people living on? I guess it's the same planet where the nature of the Iraq War is not relevant to the war resisters' refugee cases, so the Refugee Board refused to hear arguments about it. See Slap Upside for lots of news you might miss, plus his kickin' illustrations. Slap says he's "combatting bigotry the gayest way I know how". He's one of my favourite bloggers.

" Mounties search Tory headquarters - RCMP searched Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa on Tuesday at the request of Elections Canada." I hope they find lots of goodies!

The Chairman of Associated Press referred to the world's most famous and elusive terrorist as "Obama Bin Laden". After addressing the journalists gathered at the annual Associated Press luncheon in Washington, D.C., today, Sen. Barack Obama, standing at the podium, took a few questions. The last one from the audience, delivered via AP chairman W. Dean Singleton, was related to Afghanistan, our troops in Iraq and the threat posed by, as Singleton put it, "Obama bin Laden." Obama quickly corrected Singleton. "That's Osama bin Laden," he said. The crowd laughed a bit. "If I did that, I am so sorry," Singleton replied. Then Obama said, "This is part of what I have been going through for the past months, which is why it is impressive that I am still standing here." Yes folks, that's the Chairman of AP, the organization described (by itself) as "the backbone of the world's information system , serving thousands of daily

I'm unhappy about the proposed changes to Canada's immigration policy, and unhappy about the way they are being moved through Parliament, tacked onto budget votes in a series of we-dare-you confidence motions. The Toronto Star 's Carol Goar had a good piece about it last month, and it's still relevant. Emphasis mine. It is possible that Immigration Minister Diane Finley wants more power to do exactly what she says: clean up her department's enormous backlog of unprocessed applications. It is also possible that she is equipping herself to transform Canada's overloaded immigration system into a lean, business-friendly recruitment tool. Both interpretations fit the available facts. The determining factor will be how the minister uses her expanded mandate. Legal experts are still parsing the changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, introduced on March 14. But the preliminary consensus is that they are much more significant than Canadians have been to

In the US, activists for democracy have reached a potential milestone. Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on HR 5036, "The Emergency Election Assistance for Secure Elections Act". We already know electronic voting cannot be trusted . Currently, only 17 states have a voter-verified paper trail with a mandatory audit. Without a paper record, the vote cannot be audited. HR 5036 would provide funds for voter-verified paper records and audits of the vote on Election Day. However, the bill does not require states to have paper trails or audits. Participation is optional, so voters would still have to fight for paper audits on the state level. Big bad feds not allowed to require poor little ole states to do anything. Howard Stanislevic, who writes a blog about the dangers of electronic voting, sees some welcome language in this bill. US voters should contact their Congresspeople and urge them to support HR 5036. This bill represents a long campaign by a lot of dedi

Search string of the day: do i have to fill out any forms to move to canada? Forms?? Oh, baby!

How did I miss this? Earlier this week, Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on world leaders to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said Tuesday he supported international protests surrounding the Olympic torch and urged world leaders to boycott the games' opening ceremony in Beijing over China's human rights record. The retired Anglican archbishop from South Africa also called on China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is seeking autonomy for Tibet. Tutu praised protesters who have put themselves on the line in Paris, San Francisco and elsewhere to protest last month's crackdown in Tibet, which claimed as many as 140 lives. In particular, he applauded three climbers who hung pro-Tibet banners Monday from the Golden Gate Bridge. "I salute them," he said. Tutu was in San Francisco to receive the Outspoken Award from the International Gay and

People are starving all over the world. People who already live on a knife's edge of hunger and need are being pushed further into hopelessness. This is scrambling my mind and weighing on my heart. I seldom say this about anything, but the global food crisis feels so huge and so hopeless to me. * * * * As societies collapse , the people clinging to the bottom rung of the economic ladder will always feel the effects first, and the people on the top will be sheltered the longest. At the very top, consumption - and superconsumption - blithely continues. The tide rises, the people on the bottom drown, and people further up the scale begin to feel the effects. We see this all around us, as formerly middle class Americans huddle in tent cities , as people riot for food , as rice is delivered in armoured vehicles . For those of us who already view the global situation as a series of resource wars , this development fits squarely into the picture. The very scary picture. If the spectre of