Category: News

No help for Parrsboro after all

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It looks like the employment optimism that took over my hometown a few months ago has come crashing to the ground. It all sounded pretty fishy from the start — adding 1500 jobs to a town of 1300 people? — but I still hoped for the best.

Sadly, for the past few days I’ve been reading about the apparent collapse of the deal on (former elementary schoolmate and now reporter) Andrew Wagstaff’s blog, and now the story’s showing up on the CBC site as well. It’s too bad, but I can’t say I’m surprised; this guy Kerry Martens sounded like he had more style than substance. I’ve dealt with enough “visionary sales” guys to know that 90% of what they say is horse shit.

That town’s in such dire need of jobs…I think it was even crueler to dangle this in front of them and walk away than to never have mentioned it in the first place.

[tags]parrsboro, headz games, griddly headz, andrew wagstaff, kerry martens[/tags]

November rain moderate temperatures

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Canadian weather is severely messed up at the moment. It’s 12 degrees in Toronto — going up to 15 tomorrow and 17 Wednesday, according to forecasts — while it snows in Vancouver. Poor Vancity…so much rain they were expecting an ark, and instead they got a blizzard.

17 degrees on the 2nd-to-last day of November…something not right about that.

[tags]toronto weather, vancouver snowfall, vancouver rain[/tags]

Foiled. By agents of SPECTRE, no doubt.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

We tried to go see Casino Royale today, but it was sold out. Drag.

The movie theatre was abnormally busy; at first we thought it was related to all the suburbanites who drove into the city to see the Santa Claus Parade [warning: WORST WEBSITE EVER], but that seemed unlikely as those folks were all pushing their strollers to wherever they’d parked their Caravans. It’s not that popular a movie (in North America, anyway); it didn’t even win the box office weekend, losing to a bunch of animated penguins.

.:.

The elephants are as mad as hell, and they’re not gonna take it anymore.

All across Africa, India and parts of Southeast Asia, from within and around whatever patches and corridors of their natural habitat remain, elephants have been striking out, destroying villages and crops, attacking and killing human beings. In fact, these attacks have become so commonplace that a new statistical category, known as human-elephant conflict, or HEC, was created by researchers in the mid-1990s to monitor the problem.

Call me insensitive, but I’m rooting for the elephants.

[tags]casino royale, santa claus parade, angry elephants[/tags]

Adverse to human health and happiness indeed

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The Bush administration has appointed Eric Keroack head of the federal Office of Population Affairs, which is responsible for federal family planning program and budgets. Dr. Keroack is also the medical director of A Woman’s Concern, “an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion.”

My guess is that this is Bush’s way of saying “fuck you” to the Democrats, who can do little about this, if anything at all.

.:.

Making a Johnny Cash / Neko Case concert CD doesn’t make much sense. Then again, maybe it makes all kinds of sense.

.:.

If you haven’t checked out today’s Daily Dose of Imagery, you really should. In general, if you don’t look at that site every day, you really should.

[tags]bush, eric keroack, office of population affairs, johnny cash, neko case, daily dose of imagery[/tags]

What's the Deal With the Hulk's Pants?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Via Cinematical we learn that Bill O’Reilly is very concerned about horror movies. What delicious irony; most of the world thinks that Bill O’Reilly is a horror movie.

.:.

Seen Reading is a very cool little blog written by Julie Wilson, set here in Toronto, where she spots what people are reading and writes about it online. I’ve found a new favourite morning read. [via Torontoist]

.:.

My brother points out why you should always read more than just one newspaper. Bonus: if you stick around for the comments, you can see him flick a narrow-minded Ontarian in the ear. Metaphorically, of course.

.:.

Right, off to dinner.

[tags]cinematical, bill o’reilly, seen reading, julie wilson[/tags]