TubaOrNotTuba

My favourite king of all time is a dude named Canute; he was the monarch that believed he could hold back the tides with his power of kingly command. History fails to report on his rate of success, but I suspect it matches the efforts to discourage telephone solicitors. Not lawyers or barristers, solicitors. Telemarketers. I imagine that if ever a “do not call list” is actually put into place, we’ll still have people phoning at 19h30 to see if we’re interested in being included/removed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Now here’s a thought: what if the contest to be the president of a large neighbouring nation was decided with a singing contest? We could spend the next few weeks (months?) watching all of the qualifying candidates performing songs chosen from a random hit parade list. All the necessary rights would be paid to the copyright holders, of course, and we could travel around the continent with our posse. I think I’ll call my program Idol Politician. It works on several different levels, and the advertising derivatives would be enormous.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today, class, we’re going to examine one of the words that our language has received from the Greeks. I trust they’re proud, because the word is hubris ( ὕβρις ), or excessive pride. I have decided to present you with two examples from the daily press; one would suffice but two is better.

Read the rest of this entry »

Playing in a minefield is something that the wise avoid. That applies to the virtual along with the real. I live in a cultural minefield, one where the next innocent pile of dust might virtually destroy your leg. You see, language goes to the very soul of policy with the governance of this country. Pick a level, any level; sorry, you lose. Next.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of those strange synchronistic moments came this evening as I flipped through the channels. On a local news outlet, the report that the refinery across the river had a slight leak, due to a fissure in a pipeline. Ever since yesterday afternoon, when someone happened to notice some new black on white detailing on a hillside heading down toward the river, the crews have been working hard to “pick up” an estimated 8000 litres of viscous oil. [[On February 01, the refinery updated their estimate to 200,000 litres; time to replace the calculator battery]]

Read the rest of this entry »

The article, deep in the daily newspaper, was akin to a bank of clouds overhead on an otherwise sunny day. In our city, due to a municipal regulation aimed at saving me from myself, the installation of solar panels is forbidden. No shadow of a doubt like in other cities where “out of sight, out of mind” is the policy. Here in the Capital, the idea of a green alternative to Hydro (owned by another level of government) is enough to see you declared an outlaw.

Read the rest of this entry »

I looked at the clock, looked at the rented DVD beside the player, considered the moral penalty imposed by returning to the videostore a little bit later than I should and decided to treat myself. After all, when it’s been a full week and I still haven’t found time to watch a movie I had chosen, then perhaps it’s time to make time, if you know what I mean.

Read the rest of this entry »

They were obviously just a couple of friends. Not too close, probably former classmates, apt to compete for attention. And, just as obviously, they were beginning another term in community college, with some new courses full of new ideas, new books, new knowledge. And, obviously, we were at the end of the Chapter One stage.

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s something about the business model of pro sports teams that eludes me. The press goes to great lengths to reveal the absurdities of the contractual rewards reaped by the players, and that same press takes great pleasure in letting us know every time a general manager or a coach is “sacked”. Not the football quarterback sack (hype for the Superbowl) but the kind that says that a rich man who did something or other will now have to find another city to do something or other. Maybe it’s akin to a lunch sack; the wrong one from a countertop, on a busy morning.

Read the rest of this entry »

An interesting (as in odd) political model was presented this week by our current mayor; less is more. Not equal; more. In an attempt to “teach those municipal employees a lesson”, his proposal is to reduce the number of city councillors, because we would then reduce the salary envelope. An example to the fellows on the sand/salt trucks or the lawnmower pilots. If we need fewer elected officials to “get the job done”, we could also do with less of you overpaid/underworked blue collars.

Read the rest of this entry »