In 30 days......

 Well. Here we are. You're starting this thing, and so am I.  A little back story, I'm a 56 year old man, single, oft addled, and about to run for government. In 30 days, Canada will have elected it's 44th session of parliament, and I, he of little means and big dreams, learned today that we will go to the polls on September 20, 2021 - less than 2 years into the 5 year mandate of the Justin Trudeau Liberal government. I have spent the past five years wrapped deep in a web of global intrigue and peril.  Real life James Bond kind of shit I tell you, a story so incredible that I'm balls deep cheering for the side that will one day reveal the story. For those requiring perspective, we are in the year 2021, and there has been a war raging between the globalists - of which our PM is a Golden Boy of - and some fierce patriots, throngs of people the world over who know the death grip of global tyranny when they see it and are finally speaking up against the gang tactics of the collectivist mobs.  Hyperbole?  Perhaps a bit, but the degree to which the soft leftist will seethe with distain when confronted with a non conformity, you begin to see the truth in the saying that Liberalism is a mental disorder.  Far from insulting, or being trite, I have many friends and family who break character and act out uncharacteristically when their politics are challenged.  What should be a civil discussion usually sees blanket rejection, characterization and bias confirmation by inventing a reprehensible individual to match the pre existing emotion.  But how is that emotion there in the first place?  How is politics woven so deeply into our sense of self and personal value system?  I hope to find out as I attempt to fire up the old manic master that could glow red orange auras while moving mountains.  I've spent the bulk of these past five years hunkered down, mining the internet for the truth in an ever shrinking body of evidence.  We are seeing a clampdown in a big way, people are reacting differently, but we are definitely seeing two camps emerging, the do as you're tolders and the nah I'm gooders - globalists and nationalists, collectivists and individualists, truthers and normies.... it's election time in Canada and I'm running for a brand new populist party, The Peoples Party of Canada.  We stand apart from the mainstream party and pay the price for it as we struggle to gain traction, gain momentum and eventually, gain victory.  A dark horse to say the least, the seat is  held by socialist poster-boy Matthew Green, that perfect "Obama Lite" version of the manufactured new left politician.  No longer is the NDP the party of grizzled steelworkers, now its white collar unionists in the schools and the hospitals. This riding - the heart and guts of  Hamilton is always a safe haven for the left, but a true populist just might have a chance.  I have been here for almost 40 years and many know me from many walks of life I've taken a few steps in.  The last 15 years has been about music and new media.  I know the insipid and corrupt legacy media is self destructing and will be replaced by the litany of amazing independent journalists out there, so much talent, so much potential.  The eyes that once rolled at the "conspiracy theorists" are now rolling their eyes at the newscasters who repeat the same mantra you'd expect from their counterparts in a Netflix series. Bullshit.  Whereas when I ran for office in 1997 at the age of 32, I was spry and full of energy - I'm beat down and full of doubt and resignation.  It's more a case of knowing what's coming and if the expense and effort will be worth it...but I know - I really know that I have to do this.  So few could afford themselves the opportunity to attempt the impossible and win a seat in parliament, with a fringe party, against the heavyweight champ New Democrats and Trudeau's Libs on either side, breathing down their damn commie breath. It's Sunday August 15th 2021 and the P.M. called the shot today.  Kind of penniless and hopeless, somethin tells me that this ride will make for a good story regardless of how it ends.  May the best person win.

O.M.G

I've been thinking a lot about religion lately. When one is a parent and would like to set certain examples. religion is surely a minefield that one can avoid, tiptoe through, or march confidently into with respect to the teachings that resound for lifetimes. As someone who considers myself a somewhat spiritual, free thinking proponent of free will, theological questions raised by children give pause for thought.  My 8 year old daughter understands that there is a god, there is a heaven, and daddy has a big family bible that contains stories about god and his son Jesus.  She also believes that her grandmother's spirit visits in lady bug form, and Santa Claus can certainly pull off his yearly logistical nightmare. That, is the privilege of childhood - the grace of being deliberately kept in ignorance of the truth, so that happiness can be provided easily.

I have tried to have an open mind about god and religion.  My own personal journey included stints at church with family as well as by myself. I guess it is with some comfort that although my father was never religious, he didn't preach intolerance of religion. My mother perhaps more spiritual and respectful of the institution, took us to the United Church in small-town Ontario but for the most part, my sister and I were allowed to explore that world ourselves. I am older now. When I think of religion now, I can't help but to see it as a blood thirsty enterprise that uses the texts and tenets of humanity to rule and prosper as they have for years like the corporations and governments that pull .  Having faith by definition requires letting go of doubts and trusting your teacher. Like any paradox - the greater the possibilities, the greater the possibility of abuse.

But god is good right?  I mean, they're all good. Do I choose my own god or is god chosen for me?  If the I hadn't had my kids with me Saturday morning, and if I had happened to smoke a joint before the "soft" knock on my door - I might have entertained the two attractive Jehovah Witness disciples on my front porch.  Wearing my Barney purple bathrobe, I could have educated AND entertained myself.  As it were, I shook them off with a disappointed shake of my head as it was clearly pancake and pj time at Chateau Heathen. We had a Winterfest to attend nearby as half the neighborhood was jacked up to go to the warehouse between the French school and City Housing. The big, old place was full of bouncy castles, games, live music, face painting, coffee, hot chocolate, snacks...all free of charge.  Packed with hundreds of kids and staffed with dozens of smiling, helpful people, this was not funded by any level of government. No, Winterfest was basically a PR/info gathering exercise by a religious based organization who is planning on converting this warehouse space into their new place of worship.  Not your father's church - these people are clearly media savvy, motivated and well organized. What seemed to strike me - and kinda creep me out, is that the people all seemed so happy and focused..two things I crave at times.  I'm not sure if all the people there cared they were being farmed and filtered by a group for the power and economics they might provide or if it happens so often they see it as normal. Maybe they just really want to share the secret of happiness.

Cutting the cable

Well - I did it. Due in part to financial justification and time management, I have reached (and acted upon) the decision  to effectively give up television. I also choose to stop paying my local cable provider the 55, 60, 70 or however many dollars a month they decide to charge. Plus the phone - plus the internet. Not only do I hope to dramatically increase my creative output and lower my bills, but I'm going to stop allowing the fuzzy memories of our past obscure the fact that she is now but a crass whore.

Having grown up in the glow of her cathode rays, I was blessed to see television through the early years of innocence, the awkward teens, the cocksure but dumbass 20 something, the conceited know it all, the insecure aging starlet - and now, finally, the electronic hybrid of Joan Rivers and William Shatner  - the shameless splaying of former greatness.

My demographic mirrors that of television and I will shit you not that my background and careers (for lack of a better description less odious than this explanation) have all been connected to television. From Broadcast Journalism to retail video, video production, television production, television market research, my whole damn life was somehow centered around this thing that could somehow quiet the hyper kid and teach the unteachable kid. It always seemed bright, exciting, noble...not any more.

The advent of computers shoved TV and newspapers into denial, and then eventually into the dumpster. Wherein cable television had enough time to amass a great deal of money, they were amassing a large overhead. The effects of that trickle down is at the point where single advertisers now own majority advertising rights to a 30 or 15 minute show and play their 15 second ad up to 16 of the 32 potential timeslots. Yep, you get bombarbed with 32 - 15 second commercials every time you watch a 30 minute show (8 min pr. 30) ..pretty sick eh?   That is also why most all TV ads are aimed at women - men simply don't watch them.

So - I will be forced to re-learn all my bad habits of watching shit for no reason. I will have to get many things done because the computer will make me blind and more crippled than I already am if I attempt to use it as my full time fix.  The forums, movies and docs available on line are fantastic, and I'm in control for the first time.  It stops when I do., it doesn't just keep going and going and going. The best thing however, is that I will be saying goodbye to an unhealthy relationship that has run it's course.

Goodbye baby.

The thoughts and visions I cannot start
Another night, spent apart
Torn, and damaged
Lovelorn and famished
Just desperate for a piece
Of paradise.♥

Big Pants

If you think you know who runs the show, I'm betting you might be suprised.

There is little to be gained on my part to make my case, other than I fail to see any holes in what my logic - and appreciable gut - have told me for years.

Please humor me - and invest the following evening taking some simple notes while watching television.
Although TV is far from the sole media choice available, its relevance and experience is unquestionable for this experiment.

Beginning at the beginning of your regular TV time - (be it one half hour, or 12 hours - it matters not),  - take a single sheet of paper - or a data device if you wish - and record the following basic information.

• Who is being targeted in the ad?  Or in another context - which member of your family does that ad look like, speak to, make look strong and powerful?
• What type of product is being shilled? Does it involve a large - or a small amount of money to buy?
• Is anyone being demeaned or insulted in any way?  Again, which member of your family does that person most resemble?

Well, there you have it.  Take it from someone with a media background, a stint at a very, very large market research company - and a lifetime love affair with the set.  Nothing - I mean nothing gets the green light until it is researched six ways to Sunday.  Slippery numbers and soapy toads aside, it's always a matter of who CONTROLS the money.  In a capitalist society - one needs only to follow the money to see who has the power.

Foot Volume/Foot Size

                             

The harpist who doesn't harp

The advocate who speaks soft
  
The breeze and the shade

The connection made
          
Speak volumes

Without trying

Too hard

All Thats Right

with all thats wrong
wrung from the veins
of a tired and fallen hero
take heed of days like these
golden in their splendor
warm and inviting
inclusive harmony
fleeting - but for an instant
greater than thee, without perception
genuine from beneath - support - cradle
reassure us all for life
is fleeting