Music II

The 20 tunes in my Kazaa share folder that I will admit, PUBLICLY, that
I like!

So there!



20. Mmm-bop, Hansen

19. Love of Mine, Alannah Myles

18. Viva Forever, Spice Girls

17. I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night, Kiss

16. Armageddon, Prism

15. And We Danced, The Hooters

14. Marathon, Rush

13. I Only Wanna Be With You, Bay City Rollers

12. Bed of Roses, Bon Jovi

11. King of Spain, Moxy Fruvous

10. Heaven In Your Eyes, Loverboy

9. Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead, XTC

8. Mony Mony, Billy Idol

7. Magic Power, Rik Emmett

6. I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock 'n Roll, Nick Lowe (and his Cowboy Outfit)

5. Paint the Sky With Stars, Enya

4. Give a Little Love, Capital Sound

3. Gloria, Laura Branigan

2. Rapture, Blondie

1. Making Love Out of Nothing At All, Air Supply



Thank you all. I feel much better now. Please excuse the interruption.

Music

Alrighty .. here's a totally meaningless post .. see what anyone who reads these missives might thingk ...

Let's play "What's sitting on my Kazaa shared folder" .. the top 20 significant
tracks you've downloaded from 'The Internets' ((c) George Dubya Bush, 2004)

20. One To One - There Was A Time (when we were young),

One To One (or One2One) was the quintissential CanCon group, but unlike
some of the other beneficiaries of that legislation (Hello, 54:40!), they were actually
good! I mean *really* good. They put out some tunes that even today sound
fresh and catchy .. "There was a Time" could hold its own alongside the best of
Cyndi Lauper or even Pat Benatar, and yes, I *am* serious.

19. Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55

Probably the one tune that's been responsible for more speeding tickets
than, say, 'Bad Moon Rising' (though one could argue you might be speeding
*away* from that .. ). Screamin' Sammy is in fine voice, though, and it's
always been a guilty pleasure, especially on a hot summer's day, driving
along with the windows open, along a nearly empty highway .. yes, officer,
license and registration ... of course.

18. Yakkity Sax, aka the "Benny Hill Show Theme".

Yes. I stayed up late on Saturday nights to watch Benny Hill. It was
funny. I laughed. A lot. So there.

Hmph.

17. Iko Iko, The Belle Stars (aka the 'Rainman' Theme)

It's just a good, catchy tune. And no, I have no idea what they lyrics mean ...

"My grand-ma and your grand-ma were
Sit-tin’ by the fire. - my grand-ma told
Your grand-ma: "i’m gon-na set your flag on fire."

16. White Squall, Stan Rogers

I've always been a sucker for a good maritime tune (so, blow ye winds hi-ho! .. )
Stan Rogers does them with the best .. he was tragically killed in a fire that broke
out on an Air Canada jet in the early 80s, but left behind some timeless tunes .. 'The
Mary Ellen Carter', or 'Barrett's Privateers', are, I think, now mandatory in every
Celtic bar-band's playlist. White Squall is different, as it tells of the life (and death)
aboard the freighters that work the Great Lakes. It's a great tune, and reminds me
just a bit, of what Northern Ontario is like, in the winter.

15. Conjunction Juncion, Schoolhouse Rock

I defy anyone who grew up in the 70s or early 80s to *not* know
every tune Schoolhouse Rock ever did .. all together now ..
"Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl .. "
" Three is a magic number .. "
"Noun .. it's a person, place or thing"

and, of course ..

"We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union .. "

Ah, Saturday mornings just haven't been the same since

14. In the Arms of the Angel, Sarah McLauchline

While I've never been a huge fan of Sarah McLauchlin, I've always
enjoyed her music. This is one of my favorites of hers, though, and it
always takes me back to my very first trip overseas .. coming back on
Canadian Airlines from a wonderful 3 1/2 weeks touring Europe, one of
the first tunes that came on the sound system was "In the Arms of the Angels",
and it just seemed so appropriate, to be hearing that, zipping along at 600 miles
per hour, high in the stratosphere, and heading home after a great vacation.

13. Gitarzan, Ray Stevens

He of 'The Streak' fame came out with this little ditty, lord knows when,
but it was a staple on the much lamented Dr Demento radio show. Listen to
it. It's stupid, and maddeningly catchy. You'll have an earworm before you know it

12. The Glory of Love, Peter Cetera

Karate Kid, and Karate Kid II were *phenoms* when they came out. Especially KK2 ..
which featured this tune as one of the themes in the soundtrack. It was one of the few
that stuck in my head for years afterward, and, well, there it is.

11. Last Train Home, Pat Metheny

To me, this tune, along with Dire Straits 'Your Latest Trick' are two of the finest
bits of music to accompany the long walk home after a long night on the town .. quiet,
atmospheric, a little haunting, and vey catchy.

10. Get to France, Mike Oldfield

This tune, along with Jean-Michel Jarre's Rendezvous VI were probably the two
biggest Euro-tunes around when I was in highschool. Both are still timeless,
wonderful pop tunes, and have worn their years quite well.

9. Down Under, Men At Work

Great, Great, GREAT tune! I've always loved this song, but after visiting
Australia, I *really* love it. One of the best memories from a month in Australia
came when I spent a couple days on a little island off Queensland called 'Magnetic Island'.
It's a subtropical little spot, with about 2500 residents, many of whom are artists of
some form. One night, I headed out to a little courtyard for a bit of people-watching
and found myself int he midst of a sing-along, featuring the bartender of the local
nightclub playing a mean acoustic guitar. He rattled thorough a number of other
tunes, but started "Down Under" and the small crowd around lit right up .. singing along,
dancing, surrounded by possums, kukaburras, fruit bats, and high, fragrant palm trees
and flowering shrubs. It was a great night .. this tune brings me right back.

8. La Bamba, Los Lobos

The movie, La Bamba came out in 1987, the first year I worked as a flying instructor
with the Air Cadets. This was, no doubt, one of the best summers I've had .. imagine,
being 20 years old, and getting paid to fly! Doesn't get much better than that. There was
a radio station near Belleville, which played top-40 tunes every morning, and La Bamba
was played with what was likely a sickeningly frequent rotation. We didn't notice, and
every time it came on, everyone in our crew van started bouncing up and down,
singing along, and just having a grand time

7. Au Nom De La Raison, Laurence Jalbert

Laurence Jalbert is an amazing performer. I tend to describe her as something
like a French Canadian Bonnie Raitt. She's got an amazing voice, and, while I'm far
from fluent in French, seems to write very moving lyrics. This is, IMHO, one of
her best tunes, quiet, moving, very spiritual.

6. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, John McDermott

Everything proud, sad, virtuous and desperate about war, and remembrance day
wrapped up in one tune. Our church often plays this during the Remembrance day service
just after reading the names of the locals who died during WWI, WWII, and the Korean War

5. Perhaps Love, John Denver and Placido Domingo

One of the nicest ballads ever written. Gives me the sniffles, still, when I hear it

4. Hold On Tight, Electric Light Orchestra

Yeah, they tried to be the Beatles, or so say music critics .. but they could
put out some pretty catchy numbers. This one, and maybe 'Don't Bring me Down',
were among the best of the time

3. Riverboat Fantasy, David Wilcox

Once described as what it would look like if your dad started playing the blues,
I always thought David Wilcox was a pretty underrated guitarist. For a while
in the late 80s, he was *everywhere*, appearing regularly at Carleton University,
and being played regularly on radio. Despite the hype, he could play a mean blues
guitar ..

2. I Only Wanna Be With You, Bay City Rollers

Velour. Bell-bottoms. Mood Rings. Roller Disco. And the Bay City Rollers.

Oh, yeah ..

Truth be told, they did have some pretty good tunes .. this one and S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y
(hey!) are two of the staples of anything themed in the 70s, but like some of the Bee Gees
tunes, they've worn the years well.


And lastly, but not leastly

1. Real Dead Ringer for Love, Cher and Meatloaf

Oh. My. God. I had forgotten about this tune until not long ago, when I stumbled
across it being played on either City TV or the MuchMusic retro channel. I quickly
realized two things .. the video is utterly ridiculous (and fascinating all at once, like
a 4-minute long trainwreck, in stereo), but the tune is actually pretty good. It reminds
me of all that was unabashadly cheesy and great about Rocky Horror Picture Show,
and even has a bit of 'Little Shop of Horrors' to it .. and how can you help but love a tune
that has lyrics like

'Rock and roll and brew, rock and roll and brew,
They don't mean a thing when I compare them next to you"

What a rush!

Well, that's that.

The play I've been a part of since January (!!) had its final show on Sunday, and
now all that's left are memories .. but what memories they are.

It's funny how things kind of get under your skin after a while .. I started out looking at this production as a fun little side-project, that would get me out of the house a couple nights a week. When it started I was still job-hunting, and was mired in the midst of a cold, dreary winter. I didn't think that much of the script and had a few reservations about some of the cast, who seemed quite inexperienced, not to mention our director, who indicated he'd never directed a full-length play before. The script didn't strike me as being particularly funny, set, as it was in the midst of a dysfunctional family whose mother had died from alcoholism years before, whose father had basically abandoned his kids, and whose protagonist (me!) had hired an escort to pose as his fiancee while hid dad came back for an unexpected visit.

Like I said, it didn't scream comedy the first time I read it .. nor the second, for that matter .. nor even the third, fourth .. and so on.

However, as we began to get down to the business of rehearsal, something happened .. something even to this day I'm still not quite certain, but something quite amazing, nevertheless. Somewhere along the way, I think we actually became a little family .. within the context of the play, and what had started as just a fairly ordinary-looking script, became the story of five people who found themselves together for one very unusual night.

I can honestly say that I've never worked harder during a production .. the role was big, and challenging, and forced me to play against the type I'd usually been cast in, which was often either obnoxious goofballs, or tough guys .. my character, Joe Todd, was a slightly beaten-down ordinary guy, who felt trapped in a loveless existence, who was estranged from his family, and who really didn't see much future for himself. But through the course of the play, he discovers there is more to life than he'd anticipated, and a number of long-simmering conflicts finally begin to be resolved ..

But the big question, is was the play funny .. unequivocably, yes! We really didn't know *how* funny, though, until opening night .. we had an audience almost double the size we were expecting (over 100 people, the largest crowd of the run), and within the first minute of Act I, they were laughing .. and not just politely laughing, but really out-loud, full-hearted laughing and they stayed with us right to the end of the play, when a few audience members acutally began a standing ovation.

As one of the other folks in the cast indicated in her journal, it was really a magical night .. I've been involved in a number of community productions before but I can't ever recall people being so overwhelmingly *happy* at the end of an opening night .. all of us in the cast were a bit awestruck, I think, standing with smiles glued to our faces, accepting compliment after compliment, almost not believing that we'd pulled it off.

The second performance was probably our roughest .. I think we were all a little tired, still (opening night cast party went well into the wee hours), and maybe were still a little stunned from the glowing reception we'd had the previous night .. The second night was a good crowd, but quieter and responded differently than the previous night. I think we were all a little disappointed when that one was finished.

Third show, though, now that was the barn-burner! Again, we had a great crowd .. most of the cast had friends or family in the audience, and we were all better rested and, I think a little annoyed at the previous night, and were determined to do better. And did we? We *nailed* it .. it was, about as close to flawless as I've ever seen a community group do, and the audience, though slightly smaller than opening, was the warmest and most receptive group I believe I've ever performed before.

Afterwards, we all went to our director's house for an after-party, and it was one of the grandest nights I've had in ages. It is such a joy to spend time with funny, friendly, quirky and creative people .. people who can sit around at 1:00 in the morning, talking about quantum physics, and not only is it interesting, it's amusing as well.

So, overall .. a huge, huge success. Gerry, our rookie director allowed us the leeway to find our characters and not once did we ever feel pressured or rushed .. and I think this contributed to how comfortable the play felt once we finally performed. Katie, the rookie of the cast, who'd never before acted in her life, did a brilliant job as Carrie, the sister of my character Joe. Katie managed to find a wonderful balance in Carrie, who is a bit of a difficult character, but made it not only believable, but funny as well. Sue and Alian were the actors who played Ivan (Joe's dad) did a good job with their characters, giving them both a warmth and believability that was essential to the roles. But my biggest bouquets go to Nadine, who played Renee, the escort Joe hires to pretend to be his fiancee. I'd known Nadine somewhat from improv workshops we'd attended, and knew her to be a talented, and very funny performer, but I was astonished at the energy and humour she managed to put into Renee. I've had many great times in community theatre, but among the best are the scenes with just Joe and Renee, where Nadine was periously close to cracking me up, and on more than one occaision managed to do just that.

And so it ends .. but what an ending! I can honestly say, I threw everything I had into that play, and while I'm a bit melancholy it's over, I believe every performance we did was absolutely the best we could do, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it.

Endings ...

Greetings, everyone.

Happy Passover, and belated Happy new-pope day to those of both the
Jewish and Catholic traditions ...

It's been a hectic couple of weeks since we last met. I've been working, at
*four* (count 'em) four different jobs .. sadly, three pay pretty much squat,
but one is relatively lucrative.

I've been working as a contractor for a software company for just over a month,
now, testing software, writing testcases, reading design documents and
experimenting with various systems. It's proving to be an interesting position,
actually far more interesting than I'd initially anticipated, and it will be
difficult to leave behind in July, when my contract ends.

This has been a week in which the notion of endings really hits home.

I've been involved in a play, now since January, and this week, finally is
opening week (and closing week, too .. we do four performances,
and that's it). Three nights a week since the second week in January,
we've met in a community centre in the west end of Ottawa to painstakingly
rehears, block, re-hash lines sort out characters and at times, just cut up and act like goofs.

And now, in just over 72 hours, all that will pay off.

As this will likely be my last performance in community theatre for a little while, it's
been a bittersweet time .. and again has reinforced the notion of passage and endings.

The cast of this play (http://www.lakesideplayers.com) has been great, and while I've got to know them all well (since there's only five of us), I've got to know one or two better than the others, and if anything it's been a reinforcement of just why performing can be so addictive. Indeed, I've been very fortunate over the years to get to know a number of talented, unique people, who bring colour and energy to what is, at times a pretty bland world. I've learned so much from them .. not only about performing and theatre, but about celebrating the silly, and oddball side of life, and about relishing the opportunity to play, and to be kids once again.

It's always a slightly melancholy time when opening nigh draws close. The adrenaline starts to run high, and the nervous energy starts to pick up, but at the same time, the beginning of the run also signals the beginning of the end, and the knowlege that soon our time in this little universe we've created, will be done. There have been some plays that have been a chore to complete, where as rehearsals dragged on, I wanted nothing more than for the play to be done. But even there, once performance time came around, the fun was back and the wish for just one more performance was still there.

As well, I've begun to start putting my affairs in order to move this July. Not a little piddly move, no siree. Nope, I will be moving to Japan for a year .. to near Yokohama and Tokyo, in fact, where I will spend what I hope will be a fascinating 12 months teaching English to a variety of students. As I sit in my comfy chair surrounded by all the things that are familiar and routine, I wonder if I'll be able to adapt. But then, at the same time, I know I've adapted to many situations and circumstances in the past, and ceratainly can adapt to this, as well. But then, as the play draws close, I begin to think of the people, the friends the familiy I won't see for a while, and the realization of what I'll be leaving behind hits me once again.

It's a melancholy feeling. Like the end of summer, just before school starts, or the last night of a play's performance, and I know I'll be wishing for just a little more time, or one more show, or one more friendly coffee, before I'll have to say goodbye.

And so it will be, but it will make the reunion all that much sweeter.

Friends

In the past year or so, I've come to realize just how certain people can touch your life, and provide gifts of unimaginable wonder and beauty. And, sadly, I've also come to realize that there are people who can, and at times do, break your heart and seem to have no guilt, or understanding of just how hurtful and thoughtless their actions can be.

It's been a long day, and I'm tired, so, yeah, this one's gonna be a bit on the schmaltzy side

I've long been a sentimental soul. I get weepy at the end of movies like ET, and Edward Scissorhands. I can remember, at times, the locations and circumstances for the significant events in every significant relationship I've had, and at times, it's like I'm re-living those events, as they happen. The vividness and immediacy of these moments can at times be quite overwhelming.

This past year has been a difficult one. It's been a year of loss, of recovery, of introspection, of soul-searching and of healing. There have been many times, when I've felt utterly abandoned, and forgotten. People I'd counted on, that I'd cultivated friendships with vanished, their presence in my life evaporated, like water on a hot stove.

And so, this year, if anything has been something of a litmus test for those I'd seen as friends.

Firstly, to those who stuck by me ...

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank you's. You are the rock on which my foundation rests. You are the rare gems in the bedrock of life .. the people who truly make life a lovely, enriching and rewarding experience. It was you who helped me to grow and to let go, to appreciate the opportunities this past year offered, and to maintain my faith that things would, one day work out.

To Donna .. while we haven't spoken in months, your honesty and compassion helped me re-discover the kindess and gentleness that had been missing from my life for a long time before. I pray for you, and for your daughters, and hope that one day, soon, we can re-connect and I can thank you properly for being in my life at such a crucial time.

To Eun-Young. While you, too, have faded from my life .. for a time, it was our chats, and lunches together that helped keep my spirits up, and kept me from worrying too much about the many uncertainties in the future. Your intellect, curiosity, and humour were wonderful things. I wish we could have had more moments, where we could be friends to one another. I miss you, and wish you all the best.

To Patti and Clancy. You are my family. You have shown me the power of persistence, and how healing can happen. Please keep the faith in each other, and in yourselves. I'll miss you both, greatly over the next year, but I will be back, and look foward to being an uncle, brother, friend and cheerleader for all the adventures you'll face in the years to come.

To Susan. You may not know it, but you and the gang at Vintage Stock were the life preserver tossed to a drowning man. You, and the others in the troupe gave me something to look forward to, and further confirmed just how wonderful, odd, quirky and magnificent the people who are attracted to the theatre can be. I have enjoyed every production, rehearsal, and performance I've been involved with with you, and look forward to many more once I'm back from my adventures in Japan.

To David and Claude. You are gentlemen, in the truest sense of the word. Your generosity of spirit, your humour and kindness have been something I've looked forward to, and treasured since the first moment I came aboard in Vintage Stock. Thank you for letting me share time with you, and for showing me how creative, and generous people can be.

To Kathi. You are, without a doubt, one of the finest teachers I've ever known. Your passion for theatre, your energy, and your unflinching efforts to get the best performance from everyone in your cast set a very high bar. I carry the ideals you've taught me into every performance I've been involved with since, and keep your lessons fresh whenever I perform.

To Johnson. I only knew you a few months, but your presence has reverberated every month, every year since. You were the first to show me just how unabashadly joyous performance can be. You were the first to celebrate the kooky, the oddball, the eccentric and the wonderfully creative element of the people around you. Through you, my eyes were opened to just how rich and colourful the people around me can be, and through you, I've discovered how to be as unabashadly silly and playful as you were. Your body may have failed you, but your heart lives on.

To mom and dad. I don't say it often enough, but I wouldn't have made it through the past couple of years without you. You provided the encouragement, and support that wasn't there. Your unflagging faith was, at times the only thing I had to reassure me that the whole world hadn't conspired to destroy me. I wish the best for both of you. I with all the wonder of the world be yours. I wish that someday, somehow I can repay the kindness and love you've shown me. But, until then, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To Nadine and Phil. What can I say? You two rock my world. Though I haven't known either of you that long, I've come to know you as two of the kindest, most generous and most decent people I've encountered. Nadine, you are, without a doubt, one of the smartest, funniest and most talented people I've encountered. Your heart is as big as any I've known, and your mind takes more weird and off-beat turns than just about any I've encountered. You are one of the most unapologetic and wonderfully off-beat people I've known, and I'm so grateful for that. Phil, while I don't know you quite as well as Nadine, you are a decent, generous person, a great thinker and a wonderful improviser. I'm so grateful to know both of you. Thank you both.

To Monique and Lorne. We haven't kept in touch as often as I'd like in recent years. I'm sorry for that, and whatever I've done to contribute to our seperation, I'm sorry. I am so glad to know both of you, though. I treasure your creativity, and enjoy your photography and your adventures. I hope to see both of you before heading to Japan, so I can tell you, in person how much you've meant to me in the past several years.

To Martin. We've had our differences, in politics, philosophy .. even in hockey teams, but I've always appreciated the chats and rituals we've created. There are times I've wished our chats weren't so rushed .. that the time could be more leisurely and less frantic, but I have always enjoyed trading ideas and opinions with you. Having recently seen the film 'Fever Pitch', I can perhaps understand a bit better how strong your attachement to the Leafs might be .. I wish you the best, and perhaps, later this year, we'll be sharing a beer or two in Japan, and trading stories once again.


To Edwige. You are, without a doubt, one of the most talented, and creative people I've known. You taught me so much about performance and dedication during our time together in Office Hours. I wish you the best in your career, and hope we can meet up in the next months.


Man .. this sounds something like an Acamey Awards acceptance speech. But, in reality, I feel that we often don't say 'thank you' nearly often enough to the people who have given of themselves to help us through the difficult stretches in life.

Thank you, all. And while I'm sure there will be difficulties in the years to come, to those that I've mentioned, and to those that I've forgotten .. thank you. I won't forget you. Please don't forget me.

Election Fever

Well, it's that time again, apparantly. The knives are out, and they're aimed
squarely at the beating hearts of Canadian Liberals, both in Parliament and
around the country. The Gomery inquiry has unearthed a slew of fairly unsavory details
of advertising executives foisting huge, fraudulent invoices on the Federal
Government, and then, in turn kicking significant chunks back to the Liberal
Party functionaries in Quebec.

This post isn't going to be about Quebec, nor is it about political ethics (some would
say, that would be a very short post, indeed .. ho-ho! Sorry, Ottawa Sun humour .. won't
happen again) It is, instead about how I believe the Canadian public
may be on the verge of doing something really stupid.

We have a minority government at the moment, which means there are more
members of Parliament who are *not* Liberals than there are who *are*
Liberals. Of the five main federal parties, the Liberals have the most seats, but
still less than 50% of the total seats. Thus, there's more of 'them' than there
are of 'us' (and yes, I consider myself a Liberal .. a moderate one, but a Liberal
nonetheless. If you happen to be a conservative and are reading this, and wish
someday to use the term 'liberal' as an insult towards me, well .. sorry. Ain't gonna
work).

With the questions of illicit funds and shady deals swirling, the opposition
parties have begun circling like sharks in a tank filled with fresh minnows.
Odds seem to be increasing that this spring, a snap election will be called, and
most people feel this will result in the Liberals losing power in government.

Which brings me to the mistake, I think the Canadian public is about to do.

The scandal (Adscam, as the local right-wing rag has nicknamed it) is certainly
a black eye, but one thing that has been abundantly unclear, is whether there
has been *any* link whatsoever between any sitting MP, including Prime Minister
Martin, and any illicit funds. There is a concerted effort to prove guilt by
association .. if someone is a Liberal, they must be corrupt, and thus deserve
to be tossed out.
Paul Martin, not one of the strongest Prime Ministers this country has seen, may
well be one of the most persistent. It's clear the past year has been a rough one
on him .. he's seen this scandal come out about a year ago, has seen a very
close, nasty election faught, in which his comfortable majority was reduced to a
minority, he's seen his government sued by cattle farmers, he's been battered
almost daily by scurrilous rumours and innuendo, he's been snubbed by
Dubya Bush, chastised by the Ontario provincial Liberals, by the opposition
by members of his own party, and has managed somehow to persevere throughout.
He's sued the various people and companies who siphoned the funds
away, he's opened the books to the party to the inquiry, and even in the
most ardent right-wing press, I have yet to hear of any obstruction
posed by the current Prime Minster towards the inquiry.

News reports often fail to identify what more, exactly, Paul Martin
could do to address and account for the scandal. He's fired every top-level
public servant that's been implicated in the testimony, he's allowed the
inquiry to operate with quite unfettered access to the highest levels of the
Liberal party, he's testified, himself, and he's gone on record as being 'personally
offended' by the kickbacks to the Liberal party. Most people seem to believe that
since Martin is a Liberal, he must, simply by association, be knee-deep in the
mess, as must every other Liberal. Guilt by association; indictment by brand-name.

Thing is, it's nonsense.

I worked for Nortel for five years. Recently Nortel has been scandalized because
of some very questionable, and illegal accounting practices. The CEO, and other top
executives were fired, and the books have been under review, now for nearly two
years. There was corruption, and kickbacks, which nearly brought the
company to its doom. To use the line of reasoning used by many of the Conservatives, and
local right-wing writers and radio personalities, since I worked at Nortel, I must
also be part of the corruption. Simply being part of an organization, no matter
how huge, immediately implicates one in all of its dirty laundry, and I would have
had to have been punished as hard as the CEO, CFO and the executives
who actually committed the crimes.

You see the problem, I hope.

There has been *no* evidence so far of any linkage to the Prime Minister,
any sitting MPs, or any *current* advisers or functionaries within the
party. To vote them out, would be to punish them for the misdeeds of
others, many of whom are now retired, or working in private industry.

And who, pray tell, would replace the Liberals should this election take
place? The Conservatives, such as they are, bear as much resemblance
to the Progressive Conservative party of Joe Clark and Robert Stanfield
and Jean Charest and John Diefenbaker, as a local radio station, called
CHEZ-106 has to the station I listened to incessantly while I was in
highschool. The current crop of Conservatives are an uneasy alliance
between the old PC party, and the Reform/Alliance party .. an odd mix
of moderate, small 'c' conservatives, and hard-core right-wing social
conservatives. Stephen Harper, the current leader, is a socal conservative
dressed in a moderate's clothing, and has never struck me as either much
of a leader or a statesman, both of which a Prime Minister must be, in order
to influence this vast, and varying country.

The NDP remains as they have always been, a left-of-centre voice .. probably
too liberal for most, but true to their ideals and principles. Jack Layton, the current
leader, is an articulate, and intelligent person, but barely represents a blip
on the radar screen outside of the major metropolitan areas of Canada.

The Bloc Quebecois is an odd amalgam of federal politics and radical seperatism.
The Bloc was formed in the wake of the 1990 failure of the Meech Lake accord,
which once again, failed to bring Quebec aboard as part of Confederation. Ironically,
this failure led not only to the creation of the Bloc, but to a referendum in 1995,
and, ultimately to the creation of the unity fund, from which many millions of
advertising dollars were siphoned off in the current scandal. The Bloc has never run
candidates outside Quebec, and never will, and thus will never hold the balance of
power.

In my opinion, it would be a grave mistake to get rid of the current government
without hearing a definitive linkage between the missing funds. The current
government has bravely soldiered through a difficult time, bringing a number
of controversial, and critical pieces of legislation .. same-sex marriage, national
daycare, increases to military spending, implementing the Kyoto accord .. all of which
was promised during last year's campaign, and all of which are now being
moved forward.

Such is my opinion. Will it make a difference? Who knows . If Paul Martin
reads blogs, drop me a line .. I'll buy you a beer, and we can talk strategy.

Wow!

Well .. it's been quite the month.

When we last saw our intrepid hero, he was lost in a dilemma, was short of income, and long on free time. The opportunity to sleep late most days, while the rest of the 'civilized' world rushed off to office jobs was certainly welcome, but not particularly well paying.

Well, life certainly has some interesting tricks up its sleeve.

Just over a month ago, a fellow I used to work with called ... out of the blue, and asked if I was looking for employment. I said I was, and very quickly we arranged an interview at the small software company that he's been with for a couple years, now. The good news .. I went for the interview, though it was fairly brief, it seemed to go okay and the people I met seemed nice. The not-so-good news ... just a few days before the interview, I had come down with a horrendous flu, was feverish, wobbly and had almost no voice. Not exactly the impression one wishes to make when attending the first technical job interview I've had in over three years.

Nevertheless, it went alright, and while I didn't really expect much to come from the interview, it was a good experience. In the interim, the offer I'd been semi-expecting to go to Japan came through, and I accepted, knowing that this was a good opportunity, and was certain employment for at least a year. I had figured I'd go digging for part-time jobs .. maybe slinging coffee, or stocking shelves, to build up some cash before heading to Japan in July.

The best laid plans ...

Just after the contract for Japan was signed, I heard back from the interview, and they wanted me to come aboard! Not only did they want me, but wanted me in the next few days! Holy smokes! As it happened, March Break was just about to begin, and (for those following along at home) it was a big time at the Diefenbunker museum and was committed there during that week.

So, late March came, and I headed back to the first techie-type job I'd had since September, 2001. So far, so good .. it's an interesting experience, so far ... not tremendously stressful, but time-consuming and tiring at times.

What is a challenge, though is keeping everything on track. The contract runs until June 30. I'm involved in a play that opens at the end of April. I leave for Japan on July 14. As you could imagine, there are many things that need to happen before all of these dates come to be. Don't get me wrong .. I feel very blessed to have these opportunities .. it wasn't that long ago when it seemed the world had forgotten about me. Friends had drifted away .. which was quite gut-wrenching, as I'd asked many of them to keep in touch while I slogged through the transition from Algonquin to, well, whatever came after .. there still weren't many opportunities, and my income dropped to nearly zilch.

My cup runneth over

If all these things weren't enough, it seems even *more* people are interested in
me. I received two interesting letters in the mail this week. One was from Queen's University
indicating I'd been accepted in the B Ed program for this fall .. given that it's a challenging
program to be admitted to, I really didn't expect I'd be offered a spot. Not only was
I offered an opportunity, but it was exactly for the program I'd applied for (upper Elementary
school). And then, I received a letter indicating I'd been put on the short list
for the JET program, a program with the Japanese Government that places
Assistant teachers in Japanese public schools for a year. It's a competitive program
and I was amazed that I'd been considered, let along short-listed. I'm somewhat older
than most people who apply, and again, didn't think the interview went great .. but
evidently it went better than I'd thought .. ;)

So, after all that .. is there any downside? Well, I could sure use a bit more sleep, and
my dishes and laundry don't get done as often as I'd like .. but given the alternative,
I'll take this, any day .. ;)

Kids

I've worked as a tourguide for nearly a year, now .. it's a strange job ... it can be wonderfully enjoyable, or excruciatingly tedious .. it can be enthralling or stultifying. I've had tour members from six-month-old babies, to a 94-year-old gentleman from Estonia, still more spry and energetic than some people half his age.

But, what I find is that I've come to enjoy the kids' groups perhaps more than any other.

I should qualify that. Kids' groups are typically one extreme or the other. They are either the most enjoyable, amusing and curious people to have on a tour .. or, they're a walking advertisement for Ritalin and solitary confinement.

Recently, I've experienced both extremes. At the Diefenbunker, we've recently had a number of school groups come through the museum. Given that all of the kids aren't old enough to even remember that Germany was once two countries, and the the USSR was, for decades the scariest presence on the planet, it's sometimes a challenge to find ways to relate their experiences to the Cold War. From one school, came a group of kids who had obviously studied the Cold War, and Canadian politics, and asked remarkably mature, intelligent questions, and were fascinated by the experience of walking through the largest nuclear bomb-resistant bunker in Canada. By the end of the tour, I wanted to keep them all, let them stay overnight and take them on another tour the next day.

However, not all groups can be quite so terriffic. There have been some groups where not only was their attention lost within the first 10 minutes of a 90 minute tour, I have seen the supervisors actively egging on the bad apples in the group ... giving them the attention they crave, and, if anything encouraging their misbehaviour. I have seen kids look at me, almost daring me to stop them as they try to pick up artefacts or grab onto hardware which is not only fragile but potentially dangerous. Inside the Diefenbunker is a bank vault, once owned by the Bank of Canada, and in there, I have had kids screech as loud as they can .. in an enclosed concrete environment, you can only begin to imagine the racket that can be generated.

However, a good kids' group will make my day. To see the look on their faces when they realize just how scary the cold war was, and how fortunate we are that nuclear conflict never broke out makes the time spent all worthwhile. So see their imaginations captures by this big, weird underground building, when they realize the Prime Minister, the Governor General, cabinet ministers and even CBC reporters would have lived in the bunker for a month is a priceless occurrance.

If anything, I have come to appreciate the job done by some teachers, and some parents, as this can make all the difference in the world. Teachers and parents who tend to treat their students and their children with firmness, but kindness, with respect but authority are, in my opinion, miracle workers. They are the embodiment of the role models that these children will take with them into later years, and they remind me of some of the outstanding teachers I had when I was in elementary and highschool.

School kids, I believe, do not want, nor do they need buddy or a bully as a teacher. They want someone who they can look to, someone they can count on to be respectful, consistent, calm and empathetic. Kids are remarkably preceptive, and can often immediatley tell whether someone respects them, or wants to dominate them.

Whenever I have kids on my tours, I never talk down to them, nor do I assume they don't understand the complexities of politics and engineering .. often kids will have an amazingly intuitive understanding of things, far beyond what adults may give them credit for. For instance, in the Diefenbunker, it was necessary to replicate all the essential services available outside in order to survive for a month. I usually ask the kids what they think must have been inside the building for this to happen .. they'll quickly rattle off the most obvious ones .. water, food, beds, air .. but often will think of some of the more obscure requirements as well .. electricity, a jail, a hospital, an emergency escape. Moments like that, when kids have a moment of inspiration, are wonderful.

So, kids are fun. They're energetic, curious, inquisitive, honest and often very much not shy ..

I don't have kids .. yet. But I believe that having this experience will make me a better parent, having seen what the results of excellent and abysmal teaching and parenting can do.

The die is cast

Well, at least the decision is made

I decided to accept the offer to travel to Japan later this year, and teach English for a year.

I plan to stay at least a year, maybe more, to pay off my debts and save some cash
for graduate school. The program I'm looking at is a master's degree in Policy and
Administration which will hopefully lead to a career in either the federal government
or with a non-governmental organization.

And there you go.

Sounds so simple .. now all I need to do is to do it.

There are many, many emotions running through me at the moment. I'm excited, certainly
as this will undoubtedly be an adventure unlike any other. This will be an opportunity to travel and see part of the world that I haven't seen. This will be an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends and grow as a person and build up new skills.

Of course, there are a million unknowns as well, and as someone who is uncomfortable making decisions based in large part on faith, this scares the hell out of me.

I hope this will be a great experience .. of course I recognise the possibility that there might be difficulties .. personality conflicts, health problems, natural disasters .. any of the above. There is the possibility that I may have difficulty fitting in with the Japanese style of working, that I will have difficulty communicating with my students .. I really won't know the answers to any of these 'til I get there.

I know I'll do my best to work well with my students and colleagues, and to enjoy the experience .. I will be receiving an information package from Aeon, the company that has hired me, on Monday, which should answer more of the questions I will have.

There *have* been many indications that this is the right thing to do .. some conventional, and some quite unusual. Late last year, in the midst of a very confused time of life, I found myself sitting across from a woman who called herself a psychic .. we chatted for about 20 minutes, and among other things, she said that 2005 would be the year in which things change for the better. Further, she mentioned that teaching in Japan would be a positive opportunity for me. As well, she said that by the time I turned 40, my financial situation would have been finally taken care of, and I would, at last, be free of the debts that I currently carry. A friend of mine, a little older and often quite a bit more resistant to change than me, travelled to Taiwan last year and taught English for 11 months. He returned, saying that this was one of the best experiences he'd ever had, seemed much more content with the world, and is looking forward to doing it again, in another country, possibly Japan. I happened to be chatting with the receptionist at an organization called the Ottawa Talent Initiative, a grassroots group for out-of-work technical people. I mentioned that I had been considering teaching ESL, and she immediately lit up, saying over and over 'Do it!'. It turned out that she had lived in Japan for five years, and has wonderful memories of the time there.

And so it goes .. this really is the realm of the unkown for me. I know I will miss the people and places here, that I've become familiar with, and only can hope and have faith that they will be here when I return.

Well, there's the beginning. If anyone's reading, come on along for what should be an interesting ride.