Tomorrow is September 1st, a thought that make me sigh .

Already I can feel a bit of chill in the air, at the end of what was a very rainy summer here in Toronto. For the first time in many years, lawns are still green in August, not the burnt-out brown that usually comes from our normal lack of summertime rainfall and scorching heat.

Soon the parliamentarians will be back on stage, playing out their roles in this never-ending tragicomedy, narrated by Lloyd Robertson and Peter Mansbridge. This installment promises to be more interesting, as more of the elected folks will be having a say in how much we pay for cigarettes, and those who don't will be yelling louder than before their extended began. Because this play, cast in June, will be recast again in a fairly short time, and our political actors want to assure themselves of a spot in the limelight and in the minds of their audience.

This blog will be back in full production soon as well (to the relief of nobody) once the earth tilts a littler further.

"George W. Bush surrounds himself with smart people the way a hole surrounds itself with a donut." —Dennis Miller

"Democrats were quick to point out that President Bush's budget creates a 1 trillion dollar deficit. The White House quickly responded with 'Hey, look over there, it's Saddam Hussein.'" —Craig Kilborn

"Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he is going to ask President Bush for help with the budget. What better way to deal with a $38 billion deficit than get advice from a guy that created a $450 billion deficit." —Jay Leno

"Campaigning in Iowa yesterday President Bush vowed he will not raise taxes in the next four years. He said I believe it is hard, very difficult to raise taxes when you are not president." —Craig Kilborn

Talking 2 Americans
what's it all aboot?

Does anyone else get tired of having Americans say "you said aboot"? It's cute as first but after a while it starts to become reminiscent of some Beavis and Butthead episode.
"Hey Beavis, that guy said aboot..."
"ya, ya hehheh that's pretty funny"
"Canadians talk funny..."

Anyway, those of us who deal with yanks daily have stories that rival Rick Mercer's foray's into the US with his comedy show "talking to Americans". Basically Americans seem fond of Canada, they seem fairly aware that Canadians have pretty much the same culture as they do, but they don't really know much about us other than that. Probably it's because they don't see Canadian television shows or movies (neither do we usually either).

IN THE NEWS Wed, Aug 18, 2004

Absolutely nothing is happening on the Canadian political scene (remind me, who won the election again?).

Canada performing mediocrely at the Olympics (congrats to Émilie Heymans and Blythe Hartley).

Monty Python's Meaning of Life on CityTV Wednesday night.

What do the NHL playoffs, Canadian federal and provincial elections, other random political events like the Queen's visits and referenda, the olympics, and other international sporting events all have in common?

If you're quick, you can catch your local Stephen Harper supporter watching the CBC. Don't be surprised a week later though, when they go back to bashing the mother network.

BBQ Season


The concept that politicians can get away with pretty much whatever they want during the summer (in Canada at least) crossed my mind on Saturday, while I was at a big old barbecue north of Coboconk (Coby to the residents) on Saturday.

It was the 4th Saturday in a row I've been to one BBQ or another, playing sports and basically having a wonderful summer weekend. During the winter we are all stuck inside, so there isn't always a nice release from thinking of problems of work and the world. There are winter sports and stuff to do during those months, but most of our time is spent in one warm building or another, or travelling between, and as we get older, we see less of the outdoors during the winter months.

So what is Paul Martin up to? I've heard rumours about him going to the territories, but I don't particularly care. Harper and Layton? No clue what they are up to. Don't care.

I've watched the 11 o'clock news maybe 3 or 4 times since the election. Caught the bit last week about Bush accidentally stating that he's looking for ways to harm his country. Not a serious blunder, but funny nevertheless.

It's Monday, noon, and I'm looking forward to the weekend, making plans. Somebody e-mail me if anything happens in the news.

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we,"

George Bush slip-up, Aug 5 2004

Bush is hilarious. I'm almost starting to hope he wins again, just for the comedy value of having him in the White House.

***
call me Mr. Gullible. I told everyone at work that Maggie Thatcher had died yesterday, after a friend e-mailed me this story from the Guardian :

Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister, died today aged 79. 'Maggie' has apparently been in failing health for some time now.According to insiders, Thatcher has been waking up at 2 AM, getting dressed and summoning her bodyguards to escort her to her next meeting. Thatcher would also ask where her dead husband is. The onset of her condition coincided with the death of her husband last June. Connie Lingus reports from Whitehall that Experts in geriatric illness were called in to examine Thatcher, but she died peacefully before tests were completed. Ex Miner, Warrick Hunt, 57 from Mansfield Woodhouse was with her as she slipped away. “I was just wishing her well,” he said “I hated her for so many years and I decided it was time to let go of my anger and hatred.” Mr. Hunt is also the son of a greengrocer, just like the late Lady Thatcher. “We’ve got a lot in common, she knew her onions.” He added.

Today marks the one year anniversary of My Grandmother's death. The family got together yesterday in Oshawa, however it was not primarily to mark this particular occasion, rather it was to mark the engagement of my cousin Cherie to her army boyfriend, Mikk.

Maybe we spend too much time marking anniversaries. We start by marking wedding anniversaries, our birthdays, and other important events in our lives. But then we also have a bad habit of marking the dark moments in our lives, thus we have the one, the two, and soon the three year anniversary of 9-11 . Some folks mark the death of Princess Diana on a annual basis.

Some of our dark moments are worth remembering year after year. In June we marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day, and soon we'll be marking the anniversary of V-E Day, and next year the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima and V-J Day. Next year will be the 61st anniversary of D-Day, and there won't be as much hoopla, simply because the number of years since the event is not divisible by the number of toes on our feet. Still it's worth marking, at least as long as some of the participants are still alive.

In 9 days I will be quietly celebrating the 20th anniversary of the boating accident that took my life. True, the emergency workers brought me back to life, but I was paralyzed for a short time and spent 6 months in hospital. It was a life-altering experience for a 16 year old. Is the 20th anniversary of this event an important anniversary, any more important than the 19th anniversary? Probably not.

And for that matter, why is the 365 day anniversary of my grama's death any more important than the 359 day anniversary? Is she any more dead? Not at all.

Still, it kinda hurts.