Monthly Archive for September, 2007

Will Education Decide the Next Election?

Published on September 18, 2007 in Leah. 0 Comments

Today’s Globe and Mail says that 71 per cent of those surveyed said they totally oppose John Tory’s suggestion that the province fund Jewish, Muslim and other religious schools – yet 37 per cent of Ontarians think Mr. Tory is the best person to be premier (the survey shows Dalton McGuinty trails with only 31 per cent).

These numbers promted me to actually read part of a politician’s platform – a first for this girl. I’m still a bit undecided on this issue of funding for faith-based schools. If Tory is elected and remains true to his platform, he’ll also tackle issues such as child obesity and special needs students as part of his plan to provide good education. Are these parts of his education plan enough to make me see the benefits – or at least overlook – his funding ideas for faith-based schools? I’m not sure yet….

And do other voters hate McGuinty enough, want a change in power enough, to support public funding for faith-based schools? Over the next few weeks, we’ll see if McGuinty smart enough to keep this unpopular issue in the spotlight – or if Tory figures out he needs to move on and focuse on other issues that might help him win.

Red Sox Suck!

Published on September 18, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Funny. 0 Comments

From The Boston Herald

Talk about sore winners.

Red Sox Suck!Griffin Whitman, a 10-year-old Red Sox fan from Swampscott, was excited to attend his first Yankees vs. Red Sox game Friday night. The young autograph -collector was even more thrilled to score Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan’s signature before the game. That is, until Griffin read the message from the 27-year-old rookie: “Red Sox suck! Shelley Duncan.”

“It was cool to get his autograph,” Griffin said. “It didn’t make me feel happy when he wrote that.”

Griffin’s mother, Karen, blasted the Yankees slugger’s bad manners.

“This is someone who wears the Yankee uniform and is on the payroll and should be setting an example for 10-year-olds,” she said.

Duncan, son of St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, has become a fan favorite in the Bronx for hitting mammoth home runs since he was called up from the minors in July.

Yesterday afternoon, a Yankee spokesman declined to comment until he got a chance to speak to Duncan.

* Photo by Mark Garfinkel

Max Is Not Dead, He’s Only Sleeping

Published on September 14, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Funny. 1 Comment

Fare Hikes, Taxes, Etc

Published on September 12, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Complaints. 0 Comments

Why is it “breaking news” that the TTC fares are going up? When the cost of bread, or milk, or anything else that more people use than the TTC it goes without mention. And when the cost of living goes up every year, we just call it inflation, but it’s not news.

When a politician suggests that s/he is going to cut taxes, freeze fees, etc, we should all look to a different politician as cuts and freezes are never going to work in the long run. Sure it might get them elected, so their own goals are achieved, but shouldn’t politicians be more interested in the greater good than their own personal success?

The cost of everything increases – get used to it. A 2.5% increase per year should be standard operating procedure for the TTC. Taxes and user fees should increase at a rate based on inflation every year. I know that this is an attitude that many will frown on, but if the last few mayors of the City Of Toronto had increased taxes/fees each year we would not be in the situation we are now where they are forced to close community centres, etc.

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The monthly metro pass was increased by $9 per month. This works out to a total monthly fee of $109. In order for a rider to make it worthwhile to buy a metro pass they now need to ride the TTC 49 times per month in order to break even vs. tokens/tickets (40 times vs. the cash fare). For the average rider who only goes to and from work Monday through Friday, this is barely achievable. For the more casual rider, there is absolutely no point in getting a pass. The monthly pass should be priced to attract the majority of riders. The goal of the monthly pass should be to sell as many as possible. Get more people buying it, people who buy it because it’s a bargain, and you remove them from their vehicles – reducing highway congestion and wear and tear on the roads – which saves the City and Province money. It’s a simple circle as I see it.

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As well, Toronto needs a rail line from the airport to the city centre, and a subway route along Queen Street. More on this later…

A Ha Ha Ha

Published on September 10, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Funny. 0 Comments

Britney.

Published on September 10, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Music. 1 Comment

Last night I did not watch the MTV VMAs because they have next to nothing to do with music or videos, nor awarding the most deserving or best musicians. The VMAs are a joke, and if there was any question about this, Britney Spears confirmed my opinion with her “performance” last night.

That is how they chose to open the show. Case closed. It’s official, the M in MTV does not stand for Music.

Talk to people who grew up in any decade before the 90s, and they talk about bands and musicians who actually sang and played their own instruments. The megastars of their eras really were stars and had talents that the average joe did not. The Beatles were four guys who could all write music, sing, and play a variety of instruments. And do all three things better than almost every one else; and create music that appealed (and still appeals) to almost everyone!

What can the Britney’s of today do? Sing? Nope. Write music? Nope. Play even a single instrument? Nope.

We need to change the music industry. Remove the industry and make it about the music.

Is it possible to have a community made up of condo dwellers?

Published on September 8, 2007 in 2007, Chris, Complaints and Condo. 0 Comments

We live in a condo. In a condo “community” known as Mystic Pointe. The sign on the highway actually reads, “Mystic Pointe Neighbourhood” but there is nothing neighbourly about where we live. There is no community in the sense that there is no social network, there is no local meeting place, nothing. No local businesses, nothing to encourage the people who live here to actually LIVE here.

There are currently 4 condo towers (a fifth is under construction with more planned) and a collection of townhomes (with many more planned). The main floor of one of the towers is the perfect location for the basics of a community. There are a number of vacant storefronts – they’ve been vacant for at least the last 2 years aside from the condo sales office – along with a corner store, a dry cleaner and a pet groomer. These businesses need neighbours. More shops to keep the citizens of this community in the community. As I cannot get all of the basics in my community I am forced to get in my car and drive to another area; since I am already making a trip, I do what I can to make it as effective as possible which means that I take our drycleaning to the cleaners near the video store, drug store and grocery store. I have no reason to do things in my neighbourhood as we are lacking so much.

A Dentist/Doctor, a video rental place, a drug store, a coffee shop/ place for an after work drink, and a diner would all be welcome additions to our neighbourhood. These additions would keep people in our neighbourhood, increase pedestrian traffic, (which helps curb vandalism – another issue in our community), and reduce the use of vehicles – another concern that has seen multiple Town Hall meetings called.

Despite all of these pros, the city councillor for our region seems opposed to doing anything about this issue – or maybe he is just opposed to having to work. (Either way the lure of politics is starting to take hold. I’m going to start with our condo corporation Board of Directors and see how that goes.)

From the makers of Knocked Up and Superbad…

Published on September 6, 2007 in Chris and Movies. 0 Comments

…comes Drillbit Taylor starring everybody’s favourite sad clown, Owen Wilson.

New iPods

Published on September 5, 2007 in 2007 and Chris. 0 Comments

Apple, just released a new generation of iPods and I am impressed. But then again, I’m an Apple-fan so why wouldn’t I be? At least that seems to be the line that I hear more and more lately. But seriously, Apple-fan or not (and is there another company out there that has fans like Apple does????) the new iPods are wicked.

The past week saw Apple in the headlines of the entertainment papers detailing the end of their contract with NBC to sell their shows through iTunes. With the release of these new iPods, and the integration of the iPods directly with the iTunes Store without the use of a computer, I think that NBC and their experts are really going to be wishing that they hadn’t abandoned Apple.

Stranger Than Fiction

Published on September 5, 2007 in 2007, Chris and Movies. 1 Comment

Last night we watched “Stranger Than Fiction” and despite its short run at the box office (or what seemed like a short run) it’s actually a pretty good film. The premise of the story is a neat one in that the life of the protagonist is being narrated. But only he can hear it. And the narrator is also the antagonist.

When I saw commercials for this film, I thought that is was simply a flick about what I just described, but it’s actually a sweet love story with a cool twist.