DESK OF BRAD

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

New Blog

Hey all. Check out my new blog.

http://bradsdinners.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008 Wrap-Up

It's that time again! As I get ready to celebrate years end, I'll do what I do every year, take a moment and reflect and recall what I remember...

I guess I should update on my own life, but rather than blather on and on, I'll wrap up my year in just a few words - I worked hard, worked some more, met lots of people, made lots of new friends, saw lots of cool stuff, lost 26 pounds, became single, and all told have a pretty positive outlook for 2009.

Anyhow, as I don't normally like to blog about my own life, moving right along... what was I watching, listening to, and following in 2008:

BEST MOVIES:
Cloverfield
The Dark Knight
Definitely, Maybe
Hamlet 2
The Other Boleyn Girl

BEST MUSIC:
Die Mannequin - Unicorn Steak (best-known track: "Do it or Die")
Billy Talent - Billy Talent II (best-known track: "Fallen Leaves")
Kings of Leon - Only by the Night (best-known track: "Sex is on Fire")
Metallica - Death Magnetic (best-known track: "The Day that Never Comes")

BEST PEOPLE:

5 - Dalai Lama
"We are the superior species on Earth but also the biggest troublemakers."
In the face of relentless and ruthless cruelty against his people, he remained calm, decisive, and extraordinary. He has a ring of the Gandhi of this generation, and I believe history will view him in such a light.

4 - Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
In the face of Iraq's 60% unemployment rate, staggering poverty, and relentless violence, this seamstress has employed over one hundred women and has become an activist and a hero, and is a shining example of a glimmer of hope for Iraq post-US-invasion. Despite endless threats to her life, she perseveres and exemplifies the success and pride for women living under the threat of oppression.

3 - Dr. Mehmit Oz
Here is a man who brought the reality behind overcoming western sloth and obesity to the masses. His regular appearances on network television, his tireless work promoting healthy living, his mind-bending work on heart surgery, and his universal dissemination of practical and realistic health strategies has, I believe, contributed to the prolonged and healthy lives of thousands.

2 - Harold McGee
Ah, a man who speaks my language. From his book, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" to his lectures, this man helps us crack the code of the science behind food, what we love, what we need, and how to evolve in this most primitive aspect of survival. For cooks and non-cooks alike, he will recharge and reinvigorate your love for food - both its preparation and consumption.

1 - Tim Russert (RIP)
At only 58 Tim Russert had become the political news mogul of this generation. He was one of the few, if not the only, high-profile journalist who could both sense the evasion of questions and diversion from logic, and actually call people on it; whether you were a Senator or the President. He was truly the measure of true-form journalism and one that every journalist should emulate.

2008's Worsts:

TIE:
Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada
& Stéphan Dion and the Liberal Party of Canada

In a similar vain as trying to piece together the political tragedy that was GW Bush last year, I'm completely at a loss as to where to begin, because I could write a book.
Suffice it to say, this government has yet to make a policy decision that is even intended to benefit the economy or Canadians writ-large. By all accounts, and according to economists, journalists, and pundits of every stripe, this is the most ideologically-driven government in Canadian history, bent on reinventing the social fabric of this country and squashing opposition. Each decision leaves the country's leading economists reeling and scratching their heads asking, why? It's a lesson that this country will sadly learn in retrospect - the only objectives accomplished have been spend, spend, spend, while decreasing revenue, shifting money to ideologically-driven initiatives, and endlessly insulting the intelligence of Canadians with a barrage of overtly partisan and often jaw-dropping political spin, manipulation, and truth-stretching, if I may be diplomatic.

As far as the official opposition goes, they allow this to go on through their inability to pull it together, and their stubborn refusal to obliterate their only true stumbling block; that is, to oust their leader. And the one chance they had to get it right - to form a coalition - they even bungled that by insisting Dion would be prime minister - a move that caused the initiative to collapse in terms of public approval. As if it wasn't bad enough we have a prime minister with only 37% of the popular vote; they wanted to install one with 23%! Way-to-go, lug-nuts!

Other DIShonourable Mentions:
Pope Benedict XVI
Rupert Murdoch
Ottawa's Amalgamated Transit Union
The Mormon Church

I guess I needn't say that the biggest newsmakers were the election of Barack Obama; the global economic downturn and the olympics. Too big to even warrant discussion, really.

So that's it. Here's to a strange, but overall positive year, and to what will hopefully be a progressive, happy, and healthy 2009.

Cheers and Happy New Year

Monday, August 11, 2008

Good Old Canadian Solidarity

Brace Yourselves... I'm about to Defend Stockwell Day...

Horror, I would imagine, cannot describe what the family and friends of Tim McLean as well as his community felt was killed two weeks ago aboard a Greyhound bus. It's the kind of thing you would expect to see in a bad horror movie, but nothing describes the disbelief when we realise it's happened on a Canadian highway.

It's the kind of thing that actually makes you re-process what you've just heard to make sure you're hearing it right.

So one could imagine how that horror was exacerbated when members of the Westboro evangelical church decided this was an opportune time to protest Canada's "liberal" policies on homosexuality, abortion, and adultery, and to protest the funeral because of McLean's "filthy way of life"; also referring to him as "emblematic of Canada's moral decay."

Just a bit of background - this is a large church sect from the southern US that pickets the funerals of people who've died of AIDS with placards containing slogans such as, "God Hates Fags" and even did so at Heath Ledger's funeral because he played a homosexual in a movie. After the invasion of Iraq this same group began doing the same at the funerals of US soldiers and have literally danced on their graves. And while I think that is one of the most barbaric things I've ever heard, I still find it ironic that it wasn't until this group started doing this at the funerals of soldiers that the Bush administration did anything about it (enacting a federal law that prohibits picketing at a military or state funeral... they didn't seem to show such objection to it being done to regular civilians who happened to be gay or gay-friendly).

I digress... in any case we know the sort of mentality we're dealing with... the same as what many of you may have seen in the documentary, "Jesus Camp." For those that haven't seen it, this is a must. What's brilliant about it is that it is not through the eyes of an atheist, but rather other Christians (like me) who feel that the name of God has been hijacked by a neo-fascist movement in the US to promote hate and violence. This was by far the best look into the world of the evangelical, and will horrify you to no end. I've never seen anything quite like it.

So in essence, this baptist church decided it would send young mercenaries to Canada to spread the word that this most gruesome and barbaric of violent crimes was actually an act of God as punishment to Canadians for allowing rights for sexual orientation, abortion, and adultery. And this church has openly advocated criminalisation and execution of people who commit these acts.

When the Government came into the information and that this group was going to cross the border into Manitoba for their demonstration, the Minister of Public Safety issued an order to the Canadian Border Services Agency to block them and send them back. Of course, most Canadians applauded the move, but you still had the barrage of news feed basement commentators and bloggers crying foul that this was an act against free speech.

In principle, some of their points are well-founded. Yes, we need to allow speech that doesn't openly advocate specific violence or persecution of a group, no matter how idiotic, no matter how illogical, no matter how far from the nucleus of sanity. That is what allows democracy; that is how we maintain freedom. We deal with people who hate via our own rationality, and we vow to defend our safety and our lives should these people ever attempt to enact the things they promote. But no matter how far to the left or right, or upside down or inside out, everyone has the right to express their views.

There is no question that there is a delicate line between public safety and free speech. And it's that delicate balance that we have to continually work to maintain between our laws and our Charter... it's what makes Canada great.

But here's the thing, to all these people who came out with guns blazing against Stockwell Day over the weekend... This group is not Canadian, therefore the Charter doesn't apply to them, and the grounds for keeping visitors out used by the Minister (that they would cause undue civil unrest) do apply, so fuck them! Visiting Canada is not a right, it's a privilege. If our Minister sees fit to stop you at the border from coming across to promote hatred, insight violence, and traumatise this community even more, then I stand behind him firmly with the other 99.9% of this country that has a shred of sanity.

I may despise the sitting government's stance on most things, but I'll stand with it when it comes to protecting the interests of our citizens.

And that's just it. What was even more spectacular was the 600+ citizens who stood in a human chain around the church where the funeral was being held to ensure the evangelicals couldn't get close enough to disrupt. Luckily, Day's order paid off just in time and the vast majority of them were turned away at the border, and so thankfully, there was no confrontation to speak of.

In a statement, the church slammed Day for his "lawless" blockade of their group by border agents... lawless... I guess they really need to brush up on Canadian border laws, and perhaps someone needs to remind them that Canada is not a US state, and so no, they don't have the right to come here.

So for one day, I lay down my virtual skewer and tip my hat to the Minister. But of course he didn't act alone - I tip my hat to each of the Manitoba citizens who were willing to risk their own safety to protect their family and their community. And of course, foremost my grievances

Monday, July 14, 2008

Vacation Week 2

Mommy! It's over!

Back to work tomorrow. And I shant whine. I feel invigorated and refreshed and anxious to pick up where I left off. I found myself so desperate for cognitive stimulation this past few days that I actually read the first three chapters of an old Neuroscience textbook... that's no joke - and at 2a.m.!

The second half of vacation was more about unwinding and setting up the priorities for the rest of summer. Although I did manage to take in some of Ottawa's Blues Fest (and jazz fest, which I forgot to mention in the first half). Watched a great performance by one of my favourite bands, Three Days Grace - so awesome. Got caught up on some household projects as well as some much overdue guitar playing, and caught up on some reading.

That's pretty much it for vacation part 2, other than continued hiking and biking. The good news is that the hill in Gatineau Park that used to nearly make my chest explode is no longer giving me trouble... a sign of getting in shape - that, and I've lost 10 pounds. Might have put it back on with what I've been eating this past few days though.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Vacation Week 1

My first vacation in four years has been rewarding and well-earned. I'm also glad we decided to "vacation at home", particularly given that we're new here and still hadn't seen much of Eastern Ontario or Western Quebec.

For the most part, given the obscenity of the cost of fuel, our activities have been physically-based, and I don't remember the last time I felt this good.

There was a slight delay in the start of officially enjoying the outdoors, as the first three days of my vacation were thwarted by severe thunderstorms and torrential rain. After that, though, tons of BBQ and the outdoors.

With some friends we hit the arduous day-long McKenzie trail in Gatineau Park, which was great for about 70% of it until we were overwhelmed by mosquitoes and eventually hornets, with our friends collecting about 50 or more bites between them, but Melissa and I being lucky enough to escape with only a handful. Then a trip to the beach.

Canada Day was astounding. We found the best "seats" in the house with our friend in Gatineau sitting on the edge of the Ottawa River with our feet practically in the water behind the Museum of Civilisation facing the back of Parliament Hill. There was no better view. And they were certainly the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen. They even impressed Melissa... and you know how hard that is.

Between hiking and finding a kick-ass bike route that I've been doing frequently, we also took in some museums in the area that we hadn't seen, including the War Museum, which was incredibly fascinating. There were parts that made me weak in the knees and become overwhelmed with emotion, particularly watching an elderly man break down while looking at one of the films, and when I had to fight tears watching the presentation on the Battle of Beaumont Hamel.

We also took in some modeled nature at Parc Oméga. We drove through the site feeding dozens of large (and small) deer and wild boars - the drawback being that my car was completely covered in slobber when I returned. We saw bears playing in the water, wolves, coyotes, bison, goats, pigs, rams, birds of prey being fed... and even kittens... no the birds weren't eating the kittens. We even witnessed a couple of raccoons barely escape a nasty fate of being ripped apart by foxes when they wandered up to the visitors' centre, and the twit chalet clerk decided to shoo them down the chain link fence where the foxes were. Had it not been for a handful of us good Samaritans making a lot of noise, stomping our feet, etc., one of them would have certainly had its leg pulled off... good thing we were there.

It was also nice to see some rural Quebec. Also saw my first zoo since I was 4.

Spent a lot of time with friends, and even got to meet up with Dave for a quick lunch while spending the day in Montreal, which was great. Got to see some of the attractions like the Biodome and the full walking tour of downtown (along with the obligatory shopping and cafés), and spent much of the afternoon soaking up the sun in Parc Mont Royal.

I've even re-introduced myself to the concept of sleeping in. After having gotten used to getting up at 5:30 every morning, sleeping in wasn't easy at first, but today after nearly 5 hours in commute to and from Montreal, and 10 hours on my feet and hiking the city, sleeping in until 11 this morning was no chore.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Best Rupert Murdoch Impression Ever

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#24939448

Saturday, May 31, 2008

First White House Insider to Come Forward

...and hopefully the first of many.

Here's Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan's interview on Countdown with Keith Olbermann that aired this week just before the release of his book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush Whitehouse and Washington's Culture of Deception." Surely Colin Powell admitting pre-Iraq invasion intelligence was forged, exagerated and cherry-picked helped to break the ice for such revelations, but this seems to be the first insider to admit to an overtly deceptive campaign, and that an invasion of Iraq was inevitable no matter the events leading up to that point. It's truly tragic that he's only decided to come forward now instead of four years ago when it would have mattered.

I also finished reading Valerie Plame Wilson's book, "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House" - a book that would truly make you jump, about the deliberate outing of this former covert spy as an act of revenge against her husband for producing evidence refuting the White House's claims about Iraq. Had that been any other time, any other president, any other situation, those responsible (Lewis Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney, and Karl Rove among others) would have been charged with treason and been sentenced to life imprisonment. But as most know, Libby was the only one convicted and had his sentence commuted by the president. Truly amazing book. I look forward to reading McClellan's soon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24882715#24882715
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24882794#24882794
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24882846#24882846
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24882882#24882882