Anita Baker,

Here's one of the true originals. She has completely her own marvelous sound. One of the great, great jazz singers.

Headlines From Mars

The move by Gordon Campbell and Rich Coleman to purchase some old hotels and upgrade them for the people who live in single rooms seems praiseworthy enough. I hedge my bets by saying "seems," because seeing Gordon Campbell as a saviour of poor people is not something to which I have been accustomed. Nevertheless, it "seems" a good thing.

A better thing will be an announcement of a steady and thorough plan to build social housing in the way that CMHC used to before it became as useless as tits on a lamp post.

What is definitely peculiar is the screeching way, way, over-the-top headline in The Rag's editorial today. "BC Government takes a big step toward making homelessness history."

Whoa, Rebecca!

When the folks who scripted that fairy tale all long dead and gone, homelessness shall still be amongst us.

Buying a few hotels is fine and good, but "making homelessness history?" Where do I get whatever Happy Juice these smiley faces are drinking? I gotta get some of dat!

Slaughter House

The plight of chickens is not my usual concern.

But an advertisement on the net caught my attention this morning.

The ad is sponsored by PETA and it is about the "atrocities" of KFC chicken plants. The video is presented by Pamela Anderson and it is not pretty.

Now, the whole issue is more than difficult.

All through the "food chain" something is eating something else. That's the natural given. But is this kind of cruelty and neglect and mass production necessary or reasonable or even human?

Look at that page and watch the video. It's not fun, but it may get you thinking the next time you think about wings with that beer.

Judges Out of Tune

There has been considerable, and deserved, reaction from the public, politicians, the media and others about yesterday's announcement of a sentence reduction for a murderer.

The man at the centre of the story stole a car. He tried to steal some gas from a gas station, but a young employee interceded. The killer drove over the employee and dragged him screaming to his death over several kilometres.

The killer was charged with manslaughter, and yesterday had his sentence lowered by several years because of 3 mitigating factors: 1)his young age at the time of the offense (16 years), 2)his aboriginal status and dreadful family history, & 3)time already served.

The public is right. The critics are right.

Even the grandfather of the slain gas station attendant is Metis and he is right when he says that ethnicity and age are no excuses for murder.

All of this might have been debatable, save for one salient fact, which seems to have escaped the attention of the judges who reduced this man's sentence.

After the SOB did his killing, he bragged to friends about the deed. That's all you really need to know.

He should be in prison for life, and the erring judges should be pumping gas.

Peggy Lee

The video is dark, but this piece from The Johnny Cash Show is the definition of The Singer as Story Teller. It's only phenomenal.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Iran will release those captive British Sailors. That's the very good news.

The bad news is everything else about the President of Iran and his marvelous objectives.

Rich Man, Poor Man

The NY Times has a valuable editorial about the gap between rich and poor in America today.

It's worth a look. Then we might ask ourselves about Canada. Are we suffering the same disparities? And, if we are, why?

Remember to Remember

Are you old enough to remember the highs and lows of the 60's? Were you there? Did you dance? Did you mourn?

This was the headline on April 4, 1968.

Amazing Story from a Commentator

Our vehicle bit the dust before Christmas, needing a new one rather quickly, my husband found one at a dealer near our home, who happened to deal with a financial institution where we bank as well. They set up the financing, my husband took care of the paperwork, only my signature was still needed. I just had day surgery and we went from the hospital straight to the "bank" to sign the papers. I must have been still a bit groggy, only the next day did I see that we were expected to pay for life insurance. I called the finance officer handling our file and explained, that we have our own life insurance and don't need any from the bank. The bank manager came on the phone, telling me, part of the deal on getting the loan, was that we got life insurance from them. I explained again, that we didn't need it....going back and forth, the manager got quite rude, saying, we could try to get financing elsewhere, and good luck trying to unravel the contract, that was the condition to get the loan ...I forced myself to stay calm and polite, repeating that we didn't need it...finally he consented, saying we could write our life insurance over to them. I called our insurance agent only to find out, that it is "illegal" for any finance institution to "tightsell", as it's called, life insurance. I got financing from my own bank, where I've been a customer for over 20 years, they were great. I called ENQUIRY B.C., who'll connect you with the right branch of the government, that deals with businesses that break the rules. I refused to talk to that rude manager again, my husband phoned to tell them we didn't want their loan, we had no trouble getting the contract dissolved. I had a special constable come to my house and interview me about my dealings with that particular credit union. They haven't heard the last of this yet. Don't even get me started on the car dealership!! And Air Canada! My daughter traveled as an unacompanied minor, to see her grandparents in Europe, she got ill and vomited in the bathroom, they made her clean the toilette! Would they have done that with an adult? I doubt it, no apology, just excuses. They've lost us as customers.
April 3, 2007 8:58 AM

Stand-Ins

Remember Adscam? Remember Gomery?

Well, Jean Lafleur remembers and he ain't smelling so great these days - wherever he may be.

Seems the good Monsieur has flown the coop, gone into hiding, perhaps running a hot dog stand on the Kona Coast. After all, he's only wanted for 35 counts of fraud. He only stole Millions of Canadian taxpayers' hard earned dollars.

Well, I have a suggestion for the constabulary.

While we are waiting for Lafleur to magically re-appear, why don't we hold Jean Chretien as hostage or material witness or maybe just as bargaining tool?

Am I awake yet? Am I dreaming again? You mean real life isn't like the movies? The bag guys don't get caught in the final reel? Sheeesh!

Krusty the Klown Takes Baghdad

You had to see Arizona Republican John McCain strolling casually through a Baghdad market the other day to see what desperation really looks like.

This man is so desperate to be the next President of the United States that he has a contingent of 100 US soldiers shepherding him through a carefully pre-screened market, all the while wearing a flak jacket.

But that was only the beginning of the Gong Show.

The highlight came later at the press conference, where, lying through his capped pearlies, the good senator told us all about "the progress" here in Iraq that just isn't being reported.

Hahahahaha...

Politicians are really something, aren't they? They will do anything, tell any fib, create any myth to get into that office. What ever happened to getting a good job and working for a living?

The Daily Number

Canadian Bank profits are up FIFTY PER CENT.

That may auger well for some sunny optimists and investors, but I say, "Auger f--- yourself."

This is an indicator of a strong economy, we are told. Or maybe it's an indicator that the banks are taking more of our money for fewer and cheesier services.

The glass is half full, or it's FIFTY PER CENT bigger.

And Speaking of Weather...

Many of my friends believe that Global Warming is a case of Chicken Little, a melodramatic non-crisis encouraged and staged by alarmists.

I don't agree with them.

And I am somewhat encouraged by the actions of the Australians today. It was lights out. Read about the chosen darkness here.

Lots of Weather We're Having, Eh?

Yesterday, we walked for almost 4 hours.

First, we covered most of Queen Elizabeth Park, including visiting the macaws and parrots perched among the exotic plants of the Bloedel Conservatory. We considered playing Pitch & Putt Golf, but at $11.75 per, plus a dollar for each club, plus balls and tees, this seemed an unnecessary extravagance.

Then, after enjoying a wonderful coffee and pastry outside at the Epicurean Deli, we went to Kits Beach and beyond to the rocks and sand and huge, gnarled driftwood below Point Grey Road.

In all, between both our tiny digital cameras, we snapped 80 photos. Too often, the bright and most welcome sunshine washed away faces.

Then, last night, at about 11 pm, a snowstorm hit.

What the devil?

Remembering a Great Actress

I’ve been thinking about Anne Bancroft.

It’s not often that an actor finds the perfect role and then inhabits the role so utterly that we can scarcely imagine another person doing it.

Lerner & Lowe wrote the songs especially for Rex Harrison.

Could anyone other than Brando have been Terry Malloy or Don Corleone?

The list of people who were offered and turned down the lead in Lawrence of Arabia is astonishing. But finally, there is O’Toole up there. Singular and unforgettable.

So, just think of the impact that Anna Maria Italiano had in her five decades on stage and in the movies and television…as Anne Bancroft.

And look at these two – that’s right, not one, but TWO – characters that she completely owned: Annie Sullivan and Mrs. Robinson, above.

The other day, I caught the last act of The Miracle Worker. Bancroft won both the Tony and the Oscar for playing the role of Helen Keller’s teacher on stage and in the film. Patty Duke was young Helen, blind and deaf and wild and unteachable.

The climactic moment happens at the well. Annie Sullivan is making an out-of-control hysterical animal-like Helen pump the water. She repeats over and over the finger signs for the letters, w-a-t-e-r, when suddenly the world stops. Where there has been nothing until now, no hint of cognition or recognition, no connection between substance, sound, touch, idea and language, suddenly The Dawn appears. Helen gets it. Then she gets ground and face and Mother and Father and teacher.

I confess. Every time I see this moment, including but a few days ago, I behave crazily. I yell and scream and sob and cry. It seems to touch something so elemental and primal in me that I just completely lose it. It seems to me one of the great moments ever put on film.

If you’ve never seen this classic, I encourage you to rent it now. But be warned. Its power is irresistible.

No Escape from the Evils of Mankind

Yesterday morning, shortly after posting several items to the blog, I headed out into a cool and fresh and sunny day for my daily walk.

I put on my headphones and heard Rick Phillips welcoming us to his CBC Saturday Noon Hour show “Sound Advice,” in which he plays and reviews new music releases.

“Today,” he told us, “we are going to focus on classical music for children.”

Good.

He began with a new recording of a children’s opera called “Brundibar.”

What followed was the unavoidable inescapable nightmare of the Twentieth Century.

A man named Hans Krasa wrote “Brundibar”. Mr. Krasa was seized by the Nazis and sent to the completely false show camp at Terezin, a piece of staging so canny it even fooled the Red Cross at the time. The opera was performed in the camp by children.

All of the children and Mr. Krasa were, like most of the inhabitants of Terezin, sent soon enough to their deaths at Auschwitz Birkenau.

The new recording was from a Seattle group called The Music of Remembrance.

Thus on a brisk and sun-filled morning in Vancouver in March 2007, feeling our unbearable lightness of being, our vitality, breathing in the spring blossoms and the sight of children playing in their yards, we are confronted once again with The Horror.

No matter the books written, the symposia held, the movies filmed and heralded. This Obscenity stays with us, like a yapping dog, never silent, always snapping at our heels.

We are capable of the worst. And often we will do it.

So you are a Jew, a black, a Chinese, a homosexual, a Catholic, a man with or without conviction, a soul without attachment other than to the brand of automobile you chose or the hotel chain you prefer, or a passionate believer in an ancient system of ideals. Does it matter? There is always some hater, some killer waiting at the next station to declare that you and your kind do not qualify.

Yes, there is kindness and grace.

But it is like one drop of rainwater on a single flower.

John Legend - Save Room

Pretty Hot and Sexy video from John Legend, who acquits himself so well on Tony Bennett's "Duets" album.

Stools for Stooges

Would someone PLEASE explain the kitchen counter stool obession?

Every single advertisement in the last 5 years for a new condo development and even new, large luxury homes, feature these idiotic, unstable, uncomfortable eyesores as some kind of high fashion bonus.

Now I can understand that, in the typical 600 square foot condobox, now selling for minimum half a million dollars in Vancouver, that, when the so-called "kitchen" is, in fact, a tiny area with a stove, fridge and fake marble countertops, that you might want to sit at your little fake counter because THERE IS NO WHERE ELSE TO SIT!

But, now even the glossiest of high end home and garden mags can't resist this cliche. If the kitchen has a "work island," then inevitably there are the Wobbly Ones.

What ever happened to sitting down in a chair?

Closed for Business - As Usual

Yesterday, I had one of those special Canadian Business experiences that go a long way to explaining why we have one of the lowest GNP per capita in the civilized world.

I walked into a very large and fancy and one-of Travel offices, thinking I would talk to an agent about my current desire to go to the Galapagos Islands.

Here’s what I e-mailed the owner of the business when I got home.


"Why do we have the lowest GNP per capita in the Western World?

A visit to your offices this morning around noon explains all.

I live in the neighbourhood. I stopped by hoping to discuss with an agent a trip tp the Galapagos Islands.

Your receptionist looked at me like I had just emerged from a space ship. When I told her what I was looking for, she told me that all the agents were in a meeting.

Now, no doubt the meeting was fruitful and important.

But more important than a customer at the front desk? A call couldn't have been made to bring one agent out from the meeting on the off chance that YOU MIGHT DO SOME BUSINESS?

Your website tells me that you are a "full service agency." Do even know what those words mean?

I grew up in the service industry and do you know what I say about your shop?

I say, "Hahahahaha...good luck.""

A good friend points out that it’s time to write that book about horror stories in Canadian service.

Please add yours in the “comments” section below.

Guest Editorial from V.

I'm sure you followed the story of Rebarman. This is the guy who killed a junkie by driving a rebar through his head down in the DTES. The junkie was flailing along the street cursing loudly over the bad outcome of a drug deal. Rebarman was a refugee wanted on drug charges in the USA and "known" to the Vancouver Police. Junkie threw Rebarman's girlfriend to the ground because she asked him to stop cursing in front of her toddlers. Rebarman went into an alley, grabbed some trash rebar and did his deed.

I found this this pastoral vignette to be a perfect encapsulation of the insanity of both our drug policy and refugee policy. Undoubtedly, Junkie would have turned his life around if provided with a free squat through Simple Sam's Silly City program. And Rebarman was undoubtedly a victim of oppression in his native Honduras.

And we pay for this dreck.

Reminds me of an old Yiddish saying from Czarist Russia, sardonically muttered at times of state oppression. "For these pleasures, we pay taxes."