The Even Greater Hiatus

So, how have you been doing?

Uh huh.

Have you been working out?

Me neither.

You look great, though.

No, not "marvellous", just great.

Oh, me, nothing much, just working, and stuff.

Yes, I know everyone has stuff to do.

No, I'm not using spending time with my family as an excuse for neglecting you.

Stop judging me, you're just a gaping maw that takes in everything and then asks for more.

It's not like you ever show up with delicious cookies, ice cream and a perfectly brewed cup of tea!

And also, you're a figment of my imagination.

So, there's that.

There are changes afoot for the blog, including a change of address.

I'll be back soon, I promise.

Related video

Free journalism

Now that I have your attention, the closure of the The Kamloops Daily News compels me to comment, after all everyone has an opinion and I’m an asshole. (I’m not completely convinced that expression was explained to me accurately.)

In the Beginning
I chose to leave the car business in 2006 against some advice to study photojournalism.

My career had stalled, I had become both bored and frustrated with my work and I couldn’t bear the thought that being my future for another thirty years.

After prayer, contemplation and gaining some insight into who and what I am, journalism became a welcome, interesting and exciting direction to pursue.

The Great Hiatus

Holmes and Moriarty fighting over the
Reichenbach Falls, by Sidney Paget.

When I started blogging, some time slightly before the founding of the Ottoman Emipire and after the fall of the Roman Empire, (did you know Istanbul used to be called Constantinople?) I read an article on another blog which advised if you’re posting after an extended absence don’t start with an apology for not blogging, just write your article, post it and move on as if nothing happened.

I’ve generally followed that advice when it’s been too long between posts, but this most recent absence has been a bit unreasonable.

It’s been over a year since my last post, and three months before the post prior to that.

My excuse for my blogging absence, which the aforementioned article suggested not going into, was working full-time (yeah!) having a second job for a few months (yeah!) and two people at home who I very much enjoy spending time with.

My wife is gonna be PISSED

You owe me one.

So, I'm at home working on a proposal to fix a company's online presence (they have five Facebook pages and one Facebook group. They really need me.) when I get a phone call from 604-259-0402.

I assume (well, actually, hope with fingers crossed) that's it's someone ready to offer me a full-time job so I can pay off some of the creditors who are also calling.

[Hire me, I'll fix your Internet presence for food. (I mean cash, I'll fix your online presence for cash. {Cash which I can use to buy food!}{I miss food.})]

So, I answer the phone and Bonita tells me I've been selected to receive a Disney vacation including:

• Seven days six nights Caribbean cruise
• Rental car with unlimited mileage
• Disney World
• Orlando Magic card good for discounts on attractions

Because I registered for it.

Celebrate the bullet

In a another lifetime my buddy Marc and I would rent the video (no not the DVD, the VHS video, which lets you know how long ago this was and in what galaxy this took place) Bullitt so we could fast forward to watch the legendary ten minute 53 second car chase.

Then we'd watch whatever other videos we'd rented.

We never watched the rest of the movie. It was years before I finally watched the complete movie, and, with all due respect to Steve McQueen, that's a terrible movie.

A really, really terrible movie.

I don't recommend it.

So, I have good news for you!

Best. Spam. Ever. (continued - now with more crazy)

Speaking of crazy...

Way, way back, shortly after the earth cooled I received an email. (Yeah, that's right, I had email before it was cool. [That's right, I had email before the earth cooled. {I know, I know, but it seemed like a better joke before I typed it, and if I had to suffer through it, then you do too; and the email I'm referring to arrived in April, this year}]).

Anyhoo, the this email was appropriately caught in my spam filter which I have to check periodically because there is the remote possibility someone will have offered me a job in my field of training paying well enough to pay off my training.

(Will write words, make video or take pictures for food.)

Ampersand

There's only one reason I have any idea what that word means: the car magazine Road & Track.

I actually never had a subscription, I paid full price to buy it off the magazine rack.

I did this for years because I enjoyed it that much.

I once had a subscription to Car and Driver, but I became tired of the libertarian politics.

And I think P. J. O'Rourke is over-rated.

(I also never got the show Seinfeld, so I admit I may be the one with the problem.)

Politics VS Sport

My editorial published in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, November 10, 2010.
I have done this myself as a political geek, and I’ve seen it done on television and heard it on the radio.

The misdeed is referring to politics as a “sport”.

The comparison is an obvious and easy one to make, which is why it is so common.

But it overstates the importance of sport, while understating the importance of politics.

Well, except for hockey.

And football.

Oh, don’t forget soccer.

And if you’re going to mention soccer, you may as well bring up cricket.

Sports can play an important role in society with the benefits of exercise, socialization and the opportunity to test one’s resolve.

Reflections on Father's Day

Yes, I imagine my father as Bing Crosby.

This was my first Father's Day.

Not just because this is my daughter's first Father's Day, but because this was the first Father's Day I participated in in a meaningful way.

As has been mentioned previously, my father was not a part of my life, for reasons which are not, and likely never will be, clear to me.

I've also not had a male equivalent in my life, so there was nothing to note.

Kind of like being Jewish at Christmas, there's all this stuff going on, but it has nothing to do with you.

Like so many things about fatherhood for me, Father's Day is new ground and I have no previous frame of reference.

Yes, there is TV, but I don't think The Brady Bunch should be a frame of reference for anything except hairstyle's in the 1970's.

My first Father's Day was great, I received cards from my daughter, wife, and, surprisingly, my mother (she says I'm a cool dad [no, she doesn't]) and good wishes from many friends.

My daughter and wife are my blessing and I'm looking forward to our life and the memories we'll create together.

Related video

Politics, it’s a good thing

My editorial ublished in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, October 20, 2010

Politics can be an admirable occupation.

It isn't always, but it can be.

At its best it ensures all people are persons, all persons are free and not owned, and those free persons can be the kinds of people they would like to be.

At its worst, wars are started based on specious theories, certain people are made scapegoats for societal ills and the state is reshaped to benefit few, rather than many.

It's unlikely a municipal by-election in a small town in Northern British Columbia would address such heady topics, but politics at the local level affects people's lives on a daily basis, and can affect how they live in profound ways.

We are fortunate in Kitimat to have six people willing to put themselves in a position to serve the public in such a way.

Municipal politics is unique in the three levels of government in Canada in that, municipal politicians serve and live amongst their constituents.

At the senior levels politicians go away to work, and even their "local" offices may not be local for all the constituents in large ridings such as ours.

Municipal politicians are always at hand, and even more so in a small community.

Regardless of any disparaging thoughts one may have of the current and past mayors and councils, we would be much worse off if people did not think enough of Kitimat to be willing to serve the city and its people.

The situation Kitimat finds itself in is not unusual, it did not happen overnight and it will not be corrected overnight regardless of who is elected in the by-election or next municipal election.

In choosing to run for council, the six candidates have made themselves vulnerable and exposed.

For this, all six candidates and past candidates, whether successful or not, should be commended for their courage.

We in the media have an integral role, not to make sure politicians get their message out, but to ensure the truth of the candidates is known.

Citizens also have an important role to play.

It’s not just to vote, but to vote in an informed way, to know what we believe in and learn which politicians support our beliefs.

Muppet addendum

Okay, I really, really like the Muppets.

Yes, I love my daughter and my wife.

Could you give it a rest?

As part unusual level of extensive, broad-based and intensive research I do for each and every blog post I came across this video of the Muppets performing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Well, more accurately, performing a version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody because there's some pretty serious deviation from original lyrics.

This video, released in 2009, and even the video from the previous post are new releases from the now mostly Disney-owned Muppets.

Okay, go

Ernie on the left while Bert looks on.

I'm blessed to live a full, rich life.

Among the many, many things I love, The Muppets are a top ten for me.

I grew up watching them on Sesame Street and my greatest ambition at the time was to grow up to be like Ernie.

After all, he got to eat candy and he lived with his best friend. Who wouldn't want that?

And no, I don't believe the rumours.

Best. Spam. Ever.

And I quote via copy/paste:

Attn: This is to inform you that we the fbi have a warrant to arrest you if we dont hear from you immediately,this is the final warning you are going to receive from the fbi office do you get me? I hope youre understand how many times this message has been sent to you. We have warned you so many times and you have decided to ignore our e-mails we have been instructed to get you arrested immediately, and today if you fail to respond back to us with the payment then, we will close your bank account and jail you and all your properties will be confiscated by the fbi.Robert Mueller, III FB I Director

A few things to take note of in this email,

• the text above comes from the subject line of the email, not the body. There was no text in the body.
• I don't think it's being overly pedantic to suggest the actual, real Federal Bureau of Investigation would capitalize its initials.
• I'm not an American, and I don't live in America (mind you Marc Emery wouldn't have said "yes" to either of those points either.)

I, like most people, have to check my spam box occasionally to make sure I don't miss critical (hire me!) emails.

I'm on the Internet, hire me

I'm on Jeff Gaulin's Job Board.

The board is a database of journalists looking for work and work available listed by province and media type.

You can find me under the section for journalists looking for work.

I've used the board previously with good results, receiving work from Media Q and landing the job in Kitimat.

I've also had inquiries about jobs both here in the Lower Mainland and in other provinces.

My bio from the board:

Anthony was born and raised in the Lower Mainland, and is familiar with the issues and concerns of people in the area, from housing costs in Vancouver, to transportation South of the Fraser River and even where to find sushi in the suburbs after 9:00 p.m.
He is a professional journalist who conducts probing and insightful interviews related to politics, human interest and the community.

I'll never do this again

From left, Christina Kiesel, Ronnie Seterdahl Negus, Reiko
MacKenzie, and Mary Zilba. Not pictured Jody Claman.
Photo by Stephen Hui via Georgia Straight.

It's embarrassing to admit, but I'm a sucker for the Real Housewives franchise.

Don't judge me.

I liked the original from Orange County, I watched the New York, New Jersey and Atlanta spin offs.

I can't explain why I liked it, I didn't identify with most of the people, I didn't like most of them and the lifestyles seemed vacuous.

And yet I watched.

When I heard there was going to be a Real Housewives of Vancouver I was inwardly pleased.

And ashamed.

Yeah, it's complicated to be me.

Citation provided

I'm perfectly willing to admit I Google my name periodically.

Part of this is because I'm looking for work (hire me!) and so I need to know how I'm presented online.

An the other part is, um, well, you know....

Don't judge me!

Recently I decided to use Bing, Microsoft's search engine.

Yes, I Googled with Bing.

Or, I Binged to Google myself.

Alternately, I Googled on Bing.

There was a time, not that long ago, when those sentences wouldn't have made any sense. 

Somewhere there people in marketing departments who read this blog regularly (I'm sure it must happen) who are horrified by how badly I've just eroded their brand's value.

You can go home

My editorial published in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, October 6, 2010.
I wrote this just after I returned to Kitimat from my wedding in New Westminster.
It’s good to go home.

They say you can’t go there, but you can it’s just an exorbitantly expensive flight.

The thing to recognize, is that both you and your home will be different when you get there.

I returned to my home town, New Westminster, to marry the woman I love.

The wedding went well, as I predicted we were married by the end of the day regardless of anything else that went exactly as we planned or not.

The thing that didn’t go well was the traffic.

More than once, while stuck in gridlock at about 2 p.m., I remarked, “If we were in Kitimat we’d be there by now.”

Traffic in Vancouver can be challenging, to the point that Vancouver is the first city in North America to have a radio station that only broadcasts traffic reports.

The traffic was particularly bad due the amount of construction going on on highway one and its approaches.

It wasn’t that bad during the Olympics.

Even on my alternate routes to get from point A to point B, I could find my self sitting in an unusual amount of traffic during what should have been a quiet time of the day.

Rush hour was worse.

Besides the scenery and the people, the other thing I love about Kitimat is it’s five minutes from end to end.

Even if you’ve forgotten you’re supposed to be somewhere, as long as you can just hop in the car, you’ll be there in five minutes.

Why I crossed the road

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity" - Simone Weil.

Whether you are familiar with Christianity or not, you're likely familiar with the parable of the good Samaritan from the book of Luke.

In it Jesus explains again in the most oblique way what it is to be a good Christian (well, Jew, I suppose since there were no "Christians" at the time.)

The story goes like this: a guy is beaten, robbed and left on the side of the road and all the fine, upstanding citizens of the day pass the victim leaving him to presumably die.

Except for this Samaritan guy.

We are a species of contrasts

My editorial published in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, September 15, 2010.
I wrote this before I left Kitimat for my wedding in New Westminster to help support the upcoming Terry Fox run, unfortunately the run was cancelled due to lack of interest.
Oh well.
The next Terry Fox Run is scheduled for September 16, 2012.

I love science fiction.

And the term is "trekker", not "trekkie".

One of the things I love about science fiction is the opportunity for the investigation of the human condition in very specific, narrowly defined ways.

A recurring theme in science fiction is the seemingly incongruous and inexplicable contrasts of humanity in general and some humans in particular.

This is usually noted when an alien of some sort notices that humanity is capable of great art, selflessness and horrifying atrocity.

Normally the alien is determining some sort of judgement against humanity during which a dashing star ship captain makes an impassioned plea to just let us have one more chance, pointing out in his (usually "his") conclusion that if the aliens did choose to destroy humanity at this point wouldn't that be a somewhat hypocritical thing for an enlightened alien to do to another species.

Bay leaves are a scam

This will be my most controversial blog post ever!


My wife and child have been moved to a safe location in anticipation (you know how to say it) of the fall out from this scathing, extremely well researched and sourced (shut up) blog post.


Yes, after years of exploitation I'm uncovering the truth of Big Bay Leaf and the way they've attempted to control our lives.


How much money have you spent on bay leaves in the past year? StatsCanada data show it is as much as tens of dollars per household annually! [It's from an obscure report you'll never find. Trust me, don't bother with an FOI.]