Geoffrey's blog

2009-05-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

I received the first item I ever bought on ebay yesterday, a copy of a novel, Follow my leader, written by James B. Garfield in 1957. I read a paperback reprinted version of the novel as a boy. It is juvenile literature. It tells the story of a boy named Jimmy Carter who loses his sight in a playground accident. It is a rather inspiring story of how he learns to cope with his blindness, is given a guide dog he calls Leader and comes to forgive the boy who caused the accident. The seller from whom I bought the book is honest. The price for the book and the shipping charges were very reasonable and I received the book within two weeks of purchasing it.

I studied children's librarianship and children's literature when I was in library school. I worked briefly as children's librarian for the Smiths Falls Public Library many years ago. I was hired as a replacement for the librarian while she was away on maternity leave. I still have an interest in literature for children and young adults and this particular book, in my opinion, ranks among the best. It is still available in reprinted editions and I strongly recommend it for young readers.

2008-12-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

It looks as though the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition has failed. Polls show that Canadians want none of this coalition and overwhelmingly support the Conservative government. I am cautiously optimistic that the Conservative government can reach an agreement with enough of the opposition to bring in a budget that will meet with parliamentary approval. The governing Conservatives and the opposition Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois will have to compromise to make this possible. There are elements on both sides of this sordid drama who are loathe to make concessions. I notice in the news today that gorgon Rebick was hosting a rally in favour of the coalition in front of the parliament buildings yesterday, just as the Prime Minister advised the Governor-General to prorogue parliament. Rebick and the rest of the rabble/babble crowd's hatred for Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada is manifest. It must be heart breaking for them to see their fantasy of a "socialist-feminist" putsch crumbling. However, not being one to count his chickens before they hatch, I wait with baited breath, hoping that cooler heads prevail and this crisis is resolved either with the Conservative government remaining in office, or if the government is toppled, a general election ensuing in which Canadians can choose either the Conservative Party of Canada or the Liberal-NDP coalition to form a new government.

2008-12-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Governor General accepted the Prime Minister's request to prorogue parliament. Good. Let cooler heads prevail, think carefully about this Liberal-NDP coalition and hopefully lay it to rest. The problem remains that for people who harbour a profound dislike for Prime Minister Harper or the Conservative Party of Canada or the outcome of the election that was held on October 14th, 2008, they will support any effort, no matter how unrealistic, to topple the Conservative government. If this coalition is given the green light to form a government, it is likely it will collapse in short order. The Liberals and the NDP have very different agendas and bases of support. The Bloc Quebecois is in a league of its own. The three parties have been at odds with one another up until they decided on this hare-brained coalition. It will unfold probably much the same way as the Canadian Alliance in 2001. Time will tell.

2008-12-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

I am watching the absurd drama unfold in parliament which started with the general election held on October 14th, 2008 in which the Liberals and NDP who were both handed their collective hats in the recent general election, the Liberal leader, Stephane Dion was handed his hat by his own party too. Dion led the Liberal Party into its most sound defeat at the polls in history. The Conservative government, headed by Prime Minister Harper, was re-elected with more seats in parliament than they had going into the election. They have less than a majority, but still more seats than the Liberals and NDP combined. Despite the outcome of the election, the Liberals and the NDP have decided that what this really means is that it is the Conservative government that does not have the confidence of the Canadian electorate.

To this end they have formed a coalition with the aim of toppling the Conservative government and taking its place. If this Liberal-NDP coalition is to fly, it needs the backing of the Bloc Quebecois, a regional rump party that only puts up candidates for election in Quebec. The Bloc is essentially a separatist party. It serves only the "national" interest of Quebec. Its only mandate is to demand "what's in it for Quebec." Despite the fact the Bloc has more seats in parliament than the NDP, under the terms of this proposed coalition government, the Liberals and NDP will form a cabinet, with six cabinet posts allocated to the NDP. The Bloc will have no representation in cabinet, but this is moot as the Liberal-NDP coalition will be entirely at the mercy of the Bloc to prop it up. In effect, it is the Bloc, the "what's in it for Quebec" party who will be governing all of Canada if this comes to pass. This has got to be the most hare-brained scheme anyone could have imagined. Heaven help us if this comes to be.

2008-05-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Political correctness is rearing its ugly head in Toronto yet again with the recent announcement that Mayor Miller and his toadies on City Council intend to cancel the leases with two shooting clubs on city property and enact a by-law prohibiting any new businesses in Toronto from manufacturing or wholesaling firearms. I cannot say I am surprised by this. Toronto has a silly history of imposing inane, politically correct policies including the ban imposed against a home grown pop band, the Barenaked Ladies, from performing on city property on the grounds that their name "objectifies women." The ban was overturned, but not before the Toronto City Council had become a continent-wide laughing stock.

The CHIN Picnic was run off city property by the City Council, because it features a swimwear competition. Young men and women, aspiring fashion models no doubt, model swimwear in this competition. The competition is one of the more popular events I understand. Ah, but this is offensive to the slavish adherents of political correctness, particularly the rabble/babble crowd whose swimsuit sizes typically range from buffalo butt to Rebick rump. The CHIN picnic continues to draw large crowds and the swimwear competition goes on in spite of the politically correct prigs on the Toronto City Council.

A Christmas tree is put up every year at Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall at Christmastime. It was decided by a city bureaucrat that the tree would be referred to as a "multicultural" tree so no one would feel excluded. Mayor Mel Lastman put paid to this foolishness when he pointed out that "anyone can see it is a Christmas tree!" Anyone, it seems, save the politically correct can see this.

Two shooting clubs that have operated for decades on city property without incident are having the rug pulled from under them by Mayor Miller. The club members will no doubt continue their sport, they will have to take up membership in clubs that do not operate on city property. The arbitrary closure of these shooting clubs is supposed to stem the problem of gangs and shootings with black market guns. For anyone who believes this, I have the title to a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

I have never liked Toronto. I feel like a fish out of water in larger cities. I have no trouble at all in continuing to avoid visiting Toronto. I hope Torontonians finally come to their senses and turf the prize purple twit Miller out of office in the next municipal elections.

2008-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why, but my genuphobia is particularly acute this past week. Everywhere I go I am seeing people's naked knees, which is making me excessively squeamish. I really do not understand what causes phobias in people or why knees frighten me so. I am doing my best not to pay attention to or think about knees, as hard as it is do do so at times. I hope this episode passes soon. Sometimes I really wish knees had been abolished.

2008-03-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

I notice the rabble/babble crowd is gloating over the dismissal of a libel case brought against the crown and Pierrette Bouchard, the author of a publication entitled "School Success by Gender: A Catalyst for the Masculinist Discourse," by Ken Wiebe, a father's rights activist in British Columbia. This document was published by Status of Women Canada. Wiebe publishes a website for B.C. Fathers, a support group for fathers in custody cases. Wiebe and portions of his website were featured in Bouchard's publication in which he is characterized as an anti-woman hatemonger. He took exception to this and sued, arguing that this was defamation of character. The case was dismissed as the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that the though the characterization was defamatory, it falls well within the bounds of fair comment. Fair enough, but I wonder if the rabble/babble crowd appreciates that fair comment means that they and their pet causes are subject to defamatory characterizations, provided they keep in the bounds of fair comment. Based on what I have observed of the antics of the rabble/babble crowd, somehow I doubt this very much.

2008-03-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

I see that in the UK fire extinguishers have been prohibited in private and public apartment housing blocks. It seems that the British powers that be decided that ordinary citizens lack the basic competency to use a fire extinguisher, that they would put themselves at undue risk if they were to try to put out a fire themselves, that they should just leave the premises and wait for the fire brigade to come put out the fire. I sincerely hope this does not come to pass here in Canada. Back in 1995 I had a serious fire break out in the house I was sharing with three housemates. I used a ten pound fire extinguisher to stop the fire dead in its tracks before the fire department arrived.

I remember the incident well. It happened in the time it took one of my housemates to leave the house to buy a bottle of pop at the confectionary a block away from the house and come back. It was a windy night in October. A housemate had put out candles as we were having friends over for drinks that evening. A freak gust of wind blew the drapes hanging in the living room window into the flame of one of the candles, and the drapes ignited. I had just gotten out of the shower and slipped into my socks and drawers when I heard the smoke alarms start shrieking. My first thought was "that's odd, the smoke alarms don't usually sound after someone showers," but then I put two and two together, thinking candles! I rushed to the top of the stairs and could see flames through the doorway leading into the living room. I went downstairs to find the drapes ablaze in the living room. After an instant when the shock set in, the training I received while serving in the Canadian Army kicked in. I turned back toward the stairs and shouted "Fire Fire! Get out! to the two housemates upstairs. Then I ran to the basement stairs where the fire extinguisher was mounted. I retrieved the fire extinguisher and brought it into the living room. By then the flames were covering the front windows and coming across the ceiling. I snapped the plastic tie on the fire extinguisher, pulled the pin, aimed the nozzle and squeezed the handle. There was a big puff of yellow dry chemical and the fire was extinguished. I gave the handle a second squeeze to be certain the fire was out, then directed my housemates to open the windows and retrieve a fan from the basement to put in the rear window to clear the smoke. I grabbed a flashlight to check to see that the fire was out and heard the sirens of the fire trucks approaching, so I went out to the porch and signaled to the fire fighters with the flashlight.

The fire fighters came storming into the house and noticed that the fire was out. One of them pried away at the wall and ceiling with an axe to make certain the fire had not gotten underneath. I stood there in my socks and drawers, shining the flashlight on the ceiling for him. He noticed me standing there and said "this smoke is not doing you any good." I was given the bum's rush out of the house onto the lawn in full view of the neighbours. Paramedics put a blanket around me to preserve my modesty and had me breathe oxygen for a while. They thought I must have been suffering from smoke inhalation as I was not hysterical. I told them I had been trained how to keep a cool head in a crisis and to fight fires when I served in the Army. The Fire Chief told me I had done a good job in putting out the fire. The insurance company was happy too as I had stopped the fire before it had done much damage to the house. I have always taken pride in my ability to be self-reliant. I was concerned at first that I might be prosecuted for having taking matters into my own hands, but it seems that private citizens in Canada still have some leeway in taking initiative in dealing with emergencies. A few months later a house across the street from us was gutted in a fire. Its occupants left the house and waited for the fire department, but by the time the fire fighters arrived, there was little to do but extinguish what became a smouldering ruin.

I am left wondering where on Earth does the nanny state crowd get the idea that people cannot take care of themselves, that they must be made to be completely dependent on big brother for their welfare.

2008-02-28T09:44:00.000-08:00

Robert Latimer is a murderer. He freely admitted his guilt, that he did kill his twelve year old daughter Tracy in 1993. He used the exhaust fumes from his pickup truck to gas her to death. He was duly arrested and charged with second degree murder. He was convicted in two trials of second degree murder and following appeals up to the Supreme Court of Canada he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for ten years. He maintains that he killed his daughter Tracy, because she was severely disabled and suffering a great deal of pain, that killing her was an act of mercy. He was prevented from using this argument as a defense in court, but to this day insists he did nothing wrong. He has just been granted day parole. He is to be gradually released back into society. It is true that he is unlikely to re-offend, but the fact remains his daughter's life was not his to take. Canadian law does not allow anyone to perpetrate a "compassionate" homicide. I sympathize with the plight he and his family faced in caring for their disabled child, and hope that he can rejoin his family and get on with his life before too long, but the public record must show that he is a convicted murderer.

2007-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

My last hope of getting cast in a play this year was dashed at an open audition call with the Ottawa Little Theatre last Sunday afternoon. The audition call was for a production of The Miser by Moliere. I gave two cold readings in two different scenes just to be interrupted by the director with a curt "thank you," midway into each reading. Fair enough, this is the reality of open audition calls. I showed up at the audition brimming with confidence, only to have my hopes dashed summarily. I just smiled and left the stage. People of my generation were taught to lose gracefully. We learned growing up that you do not always win or get what you want. Failure is a part of living, an unhappy fact of life. However, despite what I was taught as a child, winning is everything. You realize this is true so well when you lose a job competition. If you are unemployed, losing a job comepetition can mean you are facing destitution. If you are employed it can mean being passed over for promotion, which may not be as bad as having no job at all, but still is a pretty hard knock. How well you play the game matters little when you have destitution staring you in the face.

I will rebuild my confidence and go on to the next audition, whenever that may be. I auditioned a number of times this past year and was cast in only one production. However, I was told the directors who called me back to say they could not use me that I had given a good audition, and invited to audition for future productions, which is nice to hear. I will continue to turn out for auditions in 2008 and hope for the best.

2007-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

I viewed with some astonishment posts in the feminist forum on rabble/babble yesterday in which a babbler who goes by the nick sven was bold enough to challenge the doctrinal truth: it is for no other reason that men and men's penises tenaciously cling to their power over women there is disparity of incomes between the sexes. Actually, in the rabble/babble universe this doctrinal truth, presumably revealed to the rabble/babble crowd by the Goddess of Historical Materialsim applies to everything in terms of relations between the sexes and the condition of the planet, Western Civilization, etc. Men and men's penises are to blame for everything from the last ice age to everything else that is wrong with the world. Anyone who challenges this doctrine is typically branded a heretic and silenced. Strangely though, sven was granted latitude to develop his argument, even in the face of name calling, insults and threats from moderators that he would be silenced. Can it be there is hope that the rabble/babble crowd can be plied with reasoning and rhetoric? Perhaps this is wishful thinking on my part. On the basis of what I have viewed on rabble/babble since its creation, my impression is that this is to what George Orwell was referring when he wrote ignorance is strength.

2007-07-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

I witnessed justice served to a rude, aggressive Ottawa motorist last Saturday morning. I was driving back from the parklands where I take Maggie for her daily training run. I was cruising along Riverside Drive at about 70 kph, just slightly over the posted limit, but still among the slowest vehicles on the road. Some cretin came speeding up from behind me in the right-hand lane, swerved in front of me without signalling and sped on his way. Too bad this cretin executed this manoeuvre under the gaze of a policeman who in an unmarked car was on the lookout for just such a rude and stupid motorist. I saw the policeman chase down and pull over the cretin. I had a chuckle as I drove past the scene. I hope the cretin was served a hefty fine for his rude and reckless driving. I am confronted by motorists of this sort on an almost daily basis. It is so refreshing to see that some are caught and sanctioned.

2007-07-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

While I was out walking Maggie late last night I saw a cat toying with a mouse. The cat let the mouse run out onto the road where Maggie spied it. When the cat saw that Maggie intended on making a meal of the mouse, he scooped it up and made off with it. Maggie likes to chase cats, at least the cats she sees outside when I take her for a walk. She was fine, however, with my mother's cats indoors when I visited mum and dad last Christmas. Cats generally have nothing but the greatest of disdain for dogs, although there are some cats that really take to the dogs with whom they are kept. One thing about cats is that wherever you go you can pretty much count there being cats watching you. I see cats perched in the windows of the houses I pass by, sitting on porches and verandas, hiding in the shrubbery and under automobiles, always giving passersby a baleful glare. Sometimes an outdoor cat will come up to you looking for a friendly pat, other times they scurry away. One night I remember seeing a cat that had just been run over and killed by an automobile. Another cat was sitting with it as if keeping a vigil. I scooped up the dead cat and moved it off the road. I put its remains near a house whose occupant leaves food and water outside for the stray cats. I thought this person might see that the deceased cat was given a more dignified disposal. There are still plenty of cats to be found in the district of the city where I make my home. There is no shortage of people who like keeping cats as pets.

2007-07-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Roman Catholic Church asserts that its legitimacy and authority is derived from the Sacred Scriptures and the Apostolic Tradition. This is not unlike Judaism which has the Torah and the Talmud, i.e., a sacred text and sacred tradition in which the text is interpreted. Protestant Churches accept neither the primacy of the papacy nor the Apostolic Tradition. Skeptics consider religious belief nothing more than stuff and nonsense.

That the Roman Catholic Church asserts its primacy in Christendom should not surprise anyone. If you are a practicing Catholic this is nothing new. If you are Protestant, you disagree and maintain that the authority of the Church rests in the Sacred Scriptures alone. If you are a skeptic, you likely could not care less. There are some interests who have an axe to grind with Christianity, Roman Catholicism in particular, rabble/babble crowd comes to mind, but so what? The principle of the separation of church and state prevails in Western societies. Religious leaders are free to pontificate, and religious organizations are free to operate their own hospitals and civic organizations, but government remains steadfastly secular. If you are not an adherent of a particlular religion in the Western world, you are not subject to the rules of said religion. Get on with your life and live and let live.

2007-07-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

I wonder at times if I am too passive. Everyday as I drive to the fields where I run Maggie I am confronted with rude, aggressive motorists. People frequently barge ahead of me without signaling or looking to see if the way is clear, they run stop signs, yield signs and red lights, tailgate (like they think tailgating me is going to make the vehicles ahead go faster), lean on the horn when I insist on coming to a full stop at stop signs and red lights. It makes me angry at times, but I try to let it go. I drive defensively; I expect the worst from other motorists, and they usually do not disappoint me. Occasionally, cretins bellow "asshole!" at me if I refuse to let them cut me off. Does the fact that I refuse to take the bait or succumb to road rage mean I am overly passive? Is it worth risking a collision or a confrontation with a rude and aggressive motorist over who has right of way? I have been driving since I got my driver's license at sixteen years of age. I have never received a speeding ticket and the only collision I had was when a man driving a pickup truck skidded into the back of my car on black ice. Damage to my car was minimal, a chipped tail light; whereas the front of his truck was badly damaged. I kept my cool. He asked me not to file a claim with my insurance company, offered to pay for repairs to my car, because this was not his first collision. As there was no damage to my car to speak of, I told him not to worry about it. I hope to maintain my spotless driving record as the years go by, but wonder if maybe I should stand up to rude, aggressive motorists more often.

2007-06-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

Maggie is spooked about something. She does not want to go for a walk outside the house. It takes a great deal of coaxing to get her to come outside for a brief walk, just long enough for her to empty out. She is a funny little dog sometimes. She went for a good long run in the fields I take her everyday for her daily run. This came as a relief. While we were out I found a cedar waxwing's nest under construction, checked on the eastern kingbird's nest and found a robin's nest. I was careful not to disturb the birds in all cases. I have mastered the ability to view wild birds on their nests unobtrusively. While I was out running Maggie, I practice my audition piece. I took the day off yesterday as I was concerned about Maggie and feeling anxious about the audition yesterday evening.

As for the audition, I arrived in good time and found another actor, a younger man who was reading for the male lead. He is English so he has the desired accent. He was called in to read repeatedly, so I am guessing he must be in the running for the part. Three more men arrived while I waited my turn. A younger man who was auditioning when I arrived joined us. He was asked to read once more then departed with a wave. I was called in to read alone before the director. I performed my audition piece and read a scene with him. He said thank you and asked me to wait as he wanted to have me read with another actor. A short time later I was recalled and read the same scene with the other actor. At the end of the reading, director said thank you, "thank you, I have more auditions on Wednesday, will be casting sometime after that." I left with mixed feelings. Can you ever know what a director is thinking? I chatted with the other actors while waiting my turn and found they hate auditioning as much as me. Directors always say thank you when you audition, even when you are not cast. Only thing to do now is hope I made a good impression and move on. If I get cast, great. If not, just move on to the next audition.

2007-06-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

I have an audition coming up on June 25, 2007. I am auditioning for a role in a comedy called The Lady's Not For Burning by Christopher Fry. I read through the script. The script is in blank verse which will be a challenge. I have training in Shakespearean performance and want very much a chance to apply it. I am reviewing my notes on Shakespearean performance and practicing the delivery of lines using Friar Laurence's opening speech in Romeo and Juliet. My biggest fear is that I will come across as one of those deluded wannabes you see on those Idol shows. Putting yourself out in front of directors and casting directors at auditions is very difficult. I try to remain positive and recall the good notices I have received from directors and professional actors with whom I have performed. While I always hope to get cast, I realize that not every audition leads to landing a role. What is important to me is giving a good audition. Every good audition helps boost my confidence. Bad auditions are particularly devastating, especially if the director is making a video recording of your audition. You leave the audition wondering if this recording is going to turn up on YouTube under the caption Losers giving bad auditions. Mercifully, this has not happened as yet.

2007-06-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

I spied a letter to the editor in today's Toronto Star from Ron Charach. It is no secret that Charach does not like guns. Today he claims that "the systemic problems that stoke violence are not uniquely local and include such variables as male youth unemployment and boredom, lack of positive male role models, searing summer heat that fosters aggressiveness, drug trafficking and addiction, and the availability of high-powered, concealable weapons that give angry young men a destructive capability." He repeats his tired old canard that it is "availablity" of guns that causes a few miscreants in Toronto to take up a life of thuggery, but not just guns, but summer heat among other things. He continues with the claim that "the black community seems to be increasingly stepping up to the plate and condemning youth violence with a unified voice. The gun-collecting community remains stuck in a "Don't blame us" posture, decrying the most sensible gun-control initiatives, aided and abetted by a federal government that is more into cops 'n' robbers than real prevention strategies."

I really am missing the point of his latest rant. There is no one to blame for the spate of violence among black youths in Toronto except the miscreants themselves. The claim that licensed gun owners and manufacturers of firearms are somehow to blame for this is just plain stupid. This makes no more sense than claiming it is breweries, distilleries and automobile manufacturers who are to blame for the people who drive while impaired. When a drunken motorist is caught and put on trial, claiming that the booze is to blame and rather than driver is not accepted as a defence in court. Neither can it be offered as a defence in court that it is the firearm that is responsible in assaults, robberies and homicides. Individuals are responsible for their actions and must expect to face the consequences when they they wilfully choose a life of thuggery. Race, ethnicity or class does not matter. We are all equal under the law.

2007-05-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Musophobia reigns in my workplace. The woman who works in the work station next to me found a mouse had gotten into her stash of snack foods over the weekend. She was a little distressed over this. Mousetraps were baited and set in her desk drawer and under her desk. Later in the afternoon I heard the snap of the mousetrap being sprung followed by a little scream from my coworker. I went over to her desk and found her flustered. I checked the desk drawer and found the mousetrap was still set. I looked under her desk and found the mousetrap sprung and the mouse kicking its last. I retrieved the mousetrap, removed the mouse carcass, put the carcass into a plastic bag and took it outside where I deposited the bag into a garbage can. The mousetrap was reset and so far no more mice have turned up.

2007-04-19T09:10:00.001-07:00

There is a great deal of debate going on in the blogosphere about the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. This debate is over values. Gun owners are enduring the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune anew from the ranks of gun prohibitionists. Gun prohibitionists want prohibitions on gun ownership applied to private citizens, the "only policemen and soldiers should have guns," refrain is put forward again. They cite studies that claim a positive correlation between gun ownership and shootings and use the tired old post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy in claiming that the "availabilty of guns" causes people to commit assaults, homicides and suicides with guns; therefore, guns must be banned. In doing so, they get it "bass ackwards." Individuals form the intent to murder or to commit suicide. This was the case in the Virginia Tech tragedy. It is reported that "...authorities disclosed that more than a year before the massacre, Cho was accused of sending unwanted messages to two women and was taken to a psychiatric hospital on a magistrate’s orders and was pronounced a danger to himself. But he was released with orders to undergo outpatient treatment." Because of this, under Virginia law, Cho Seung-Hui, was prohibited from possessing firearms. In fact, the US Bureau of Justice Statistics report "Survey of State procedures related to firearms sales, 2005," with regard to the sales of firearms in the state of Virginia. Virginia law prohibits: possession of a firearm by a person who is acquitted of certain offenses by reason of insanity; purchase or possession of a firearm by a person who has been adjudicated incompetent or incapacitated, or involuntarily committed.

That Cho Seung-Hui was prohibited from possessing firearms under Virginia law should have shown up on the routine background check that is required before a firearm may be lawfully purchased. This point was noted in a report in the New York Times from which I quote "the special justice's order in late 2005 that directed Mr. Cho to seek outpatient treatment and declared him to be mentally ill and an imminent danger to himself fits the federal criteria and should have immediately disqualified him, said Richard J. Bonnie, chairman of the Supreme Courtof Virginia's Commission on Mental Health Law Reform." This being the case, had existing laws been properly enforced the Cho would not have been able to lawfully acquire a firearm. Unfortunately, this would not have made any difference. Cho was determined to go forward with his killing spree. He would have turned to the black market to acquire firearms for this purpose. The sad reality is that there is no stopping an individual who is intent on mayhem. It is stupid and insulting to liken hunters, sport shooters and collectors to the likes of Cho.

2007-04-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

The student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario published a spoof issue as an April Fool prank on March 30, 2007. Included in the spoof issue was an article entitled "Labia Majora Carnage." The article pokes fun at a campus feminist organization, its annual Take back the night event, and the prurient fixation some feminists have with sex organs. The article is decidely raunchy, to say the least, it includes rape jokes, but it is put forth as satire. In spite of the intent of the editors to satirize, there is now a terrible hue and cry being raised. Campus feminists are up at arms over this complaining they feel as though they were raped among other things. The Rabble/Babble crowd is fuming over this too. It strikes me as odd that the left-leaning and politically correct interests are reacting so emotionally to a raunchy article in a spoof issue of a student newspaper. It seems that satire and humour is only appropriate when it is the politically correct who make nasty and vindictive mockery of individuals and institutions they dislike. I cite, for example, the occasion when Rabble/Babble's cartoonist, Mike Constable, published an animated cartoon featuring a caricature of Pope Benedict giving a Nazi salute to a statue of the Virgin Mary and saying "Heil Mary." This cartoon was very offensive to a great many people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. I quote the Rabbi Reuven Bulka who called the cartoon “horrible, unwanted and an inexcusable insult” saying “there is no room for this type of satire in this civilized world”. "How dare Rebick and her cohorts play loose with all this, with the Pope's dignity and with the life of devotion he has led and continues to lead." Despite the criticism this cartoon generated, the publisher of Rabble/Babble, Judy Rebick, insisted she “finds the cartoon funny,” and points to Canada’s well-known “history of satire, sometimes biting satire.” Why, then, cannot the campus feminists at UWO and the politically correct denizens who frequent Rabble/Babble just accept that "Labia Majora Carnage" is just in keeping with Canada's well-known history of satire, sometimes biting satire, and move on?

2007-03-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am well into rehearsals for GOYA Theatre's production of Half Life by John Mighton. I auditioned at a general casting call and was cast in the role of Stanley. Stanley is a computer featured in a scene where the scientists who constructed him hold a contest to see if one of their colleagues can determine, within five minutes, whether Stanley is a man or a machine. It is one small scene, and I do not appear on stage, I am the voice of Stanley, but as Norma Desmond says in Sunset Boulevard, "there are no small roles, only small people." The director saw fit to cast me out of the great many people who responded to the audition call. As I have just the one scene, I am helping out with this production in gathering music and sound effects. I took part in constructing the set too. Rehearsals continue and a good cast was assembled. I am confident this will be a top notch production. GOYA is one of the higher end theatre companies in Ottawa. The play goes on at the end of April at Ben Franklin Place in Nepean.

2007-01-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

I am finally enjoying the silence in my home. Last week I had a tradesman come in and install insulation in the walls I share with the neighbours living on one side of me. Before the insulation was installed, in my living room and bedroom, I could hear everything on the other side of the walls, and, presumably, they could hear everything going on on my side of the walls. The neighbours can be counted on to make a plethora of disturbing sounds from their fighting and humping to disgusting snorting and horking sounds. The snorting and horking sounds could usually be expected whenever I sat down to eat. I do my best to keep the noise down at home, for the sake of the neighbours on either side of my house. As you may have surmised, I live in a row house. The noisy neighbours never hesitate to complain if I, or anyone else, is disturbing them, but can be counted on to tell you to "it's our house and we can do what we want" when you ask them if they can be a little quieter. Their methods of communicating their displeasure typically consist of damage to your property. My television cable connection was mysteriously severed a few times. This only stopped when I put a webcam out to keep an eye on the cable and informed them I had filed a police report. Why they never thought to come ask me to lower the volume on my tv, assuming that was what was bothering them, I have no idea. I am a reasonable man.

I can still hear the murmur of their voices through the living room wall, but it is nowhere near as bad as before. I may add another layer of drywall to the living room wall later this year to make the sound barrier that much more secure. The bedroom wall was already quite soundproof. The new layer of insulation adds a little assurance for peace and quiet. It is such a relief to be spared the disgusting sounds coming through the walls I share with these people.

2006-12-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

There is a fair bit of discussion going on in the blogosphere over the recent announcement by Judy Rebick, pictured here in a characteristic pose, i.e., screeching into a microphone, that she no longer supports the Green Party of Canda, because of comments made by its leader, Elizabeth May, concerning abortion. Rebick, you see, is the Lucy Van Pelt of the left-wing fringe in Canada in that she is crabby, bellicose, believes women are superior to men, falls back on some very topsy turvy reasoning to prop up her beliefs, is shameless in bullying her cronies on the left into accepting her ex cathedra pronouncements on abortion and other issues of the day. One gets the impression that the Green Party must be in despair now that it has been declared anathema by Rebick. Somehow, I expect the Green Party folk will carry on, stand by their leader, Elizabeth May, and still fail to win any seats in Parliament in the next general election.

2006-12-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Carleton University Students' Association voted not to extend funding to campus groups opposing abortion. It seems the intent is to stifle the thoughts and opinions of those on campus who oppose abortion. This is unfortunate in that a university's mandate is to promote intellectual freedom. Whether you are opposed to abortion or not is a matter of personal conviction, but everyone has a right to make up their own mind on the issue and express their thoughts and opinions freely. Students who oppose abortion have as much right to organize themselves on campus as do students who favour free choice on abortion. My own thoughts on the matter of abortion I will keep to myself, but as a librarian, I am disturbed when I see efforts to stifle freedom of thought and of expression, particularly at an academic institution such as Carleton University, which is publicly funded and has clubs on campus representating a broad range of interests, both ecclesiastical and secular, including such controversial topics such as abortion. I sincerely hope that either the current membership of the Carleton University Students' Association or a subsequent membership will reconsider this decision and undo it.