test blog #10

Once upon a time I told you the saga of getting my refund from Time Warner Cable . And once upon another time I told you about my love of VoIP phone . Here is a new VoIP saga. Now, this is not VoIP's fault. I still love VoIP. Vonage, however, has some seriously lousy customer service. There's a huge disconnect between the customer service and the tech sides of the company. I would switch to Rogers VoIP (called "Rogers Home Phone") in a heartbeat, if only I could keep my phone number. But because my phone number is from Vonage (not from a Bell Canada), I couldn't keep it with Rogers, so I don't switch. Fortunately, I never need Vonage customer service - everything is self-managed on the website, which is completely self-explanatory, easy and efficient. But on the extremely rare occasions when I have needed customer service, it's always been for something complicated - and it's always a nightmare. The saga. When we moved here, we took our VoIP equipment ...

Once upon a time I told you the saga of getting my refund from Time Warner Cable . And once upon another time I told you about my love of VoIP phone . Here is a new VoIP saga. Now, this is not VoIP's fault. I still love VoIP. Vonage, however, has some seriously lousy customer service. There's a huge disconnect between the customer service and the tech sides of the company. I would switch to Rogers VoIP (called "Rogers Home Phone") in a heartbeat, if only I could keep my phone number. But because my phone number is from Vonage (not from a Bell Canada), I couldn't keep it with Rogers, so I don't switch. Fortunately, I never need Vonage customer service - everything is self-managed on the website, which is completely self-explanatory, easy and efficient. But on the extremely rare occasions when I have needed customer service, it's always been for something complicated - and it's always a nightmare. The saga. When we moved here, we took our VoIP equipment ...

With the recent death of former US President Gerald Ford, New Yorkers and former New Yorkers everywhere must remember some of the most famous words never spoken . The story in very brief. In the 1970s, New York City - like all of urban America - was falling apart. New York was on the brink of bankruptcy, and City officials were seeking a federal loan to stay afloat. According to the New York's Daily News , this was the response: By now we all know Ford never actually used those words, but the headline may have cost Ford (who was both an unelected vice-president and president) the presidency the following year: Jimmy Carter narrowly carried New York State. Not only did Ford never actually say "drop dead" - although he arguably implied it - he soon changed his mind. Only a few months later, Ford signed legislation providing federal loans to New York, which were repaid with interest. Now, taking the revisionist history one step further, people who were involved with the City...

So one man is killed . One man who called himself President, and caused the death of many human beings, is put to death. Another man who calls himself President, and has caused the death of many human beings, continues to live in the White House. One man is killed. The UN estimates that 100 Iraqi civilians are dying each day in the violence caused, directly or indirectly, by the US invasion and occupation. One man is killed. The US death toll in Iraq is now at 2,990. The other day on CBC, I saw a crawl that said, "US death toll in Iraq now surpasses the number of people killed on 9/11, which started the war..." My eyes popped. I shouted at the TV. Which started the war???? 9/11 started this war??? Please tell me I didn't just see that on CBC Television. 9/11 didn't start any war, let alone the one in Iraq. Orwellian revision happens so quickly, we get whiplash as the new truth spins around our heads. One man is killed. On the one hand, we should never celebrate th...

I thought we would start to do some serious traveling in Canada in 2007, and had planned to start with Newfoundland. But between moving expenses, adopting a new dog, and some other obligatory (but fun) trips that are coming up, we really can't do a Big Vacation this year. That's not easy for me, but I'm resigned. But the year will be broken up by lots of shorter getaways, which should really be fun. First, we have The Anniversary Trip. In early March, I'll visit my very close friend AWE, who left New York City for southern California at the same time we moved to Canada. We miss each other a lot, and are really looking forward to a four-day gabfest. (Special bonus attraction, meeting David Cho and his dog Noah!) Allan's oldest friend, who lives in Vermont (where they grew up), is getting married this summer. While we're there we'll also visit some elderly relatives. I'll go to New Jersey and New York City at least once, probably twice, and we hope to hav...

January 2007 will be a very eventful month. We move on January 2, so we start the new year in a new home, our fifth home together. As much as I'd rather not leave this neighbourhood, I'm really excited about the new place. It's a nicer house, in better shape than our current rental, and it comes without the insecurity of a non-renewed lease. The backyard is still large, but more manageable than the one we have now, and more private. And the neighbourhood, while lacking the small-town feel of Port Credit (which is very rare in today's suburbs), is spacious and leafy. Once we get past the enormous inconvenience of the move, I think we'll be very happy there. On January 3, we celebrate 20 years of domestic partnership. Twenty years! I can hardly believe it. And we're probably in the best place our partnership has ever been, both figuratively and literally. On January 22, we take a very special, slightly crazy trip to celebrate that anniversary. I don't want to ...

We took a break from packing last night to have dinner in T.O., see the lights and the skaters at Nathan Phillips Square , and have a semi-spontaneous drink with a friend . The lights (which we skipped last season) were very nice, but had a little too much build-up from proud Trontonians. Toronto is best seen when not compared with New York. The drink was much better - which brings me to my topic today. Any time now, this blog will temporarily disappear as I change over to WordPress, then re-map the domain name. It could take a while, and I don't know exactly when the process will begin, so I'll do my year-end wrap up now, a few days early. Our first full calendar year in Canada is coming to a close. Compared to the preceding year , among the most eventful and emotional of my adult life, almost anything would be calm and normal. Mostly we settled in, and lived our new lives. The highlights are few, and mostly good. I lost the best writing gig I ever had, and had to face the pro...

Tonight we're going to a hockey game, Mississauga Ice Dogs at home against the Barrie Colts. We went to one Ice Dogs game last year, and this will probably be our one game this year. We'd gladly go to a few more, but they're usually playing during our work hours. This game is a great coincidence for me. Between periods, there'll be a sledge hockey demonstration by a local junior team. I interviewed two of the players and their parents for the upcoming issue of Kids On Wheels . One of the dads is the coach, and he invited me to this game, which happened to be on a Thursday night. They'll have an information table set up, and I'll stop by with a stack of KOW magazines. I very rarely meet any of the kids I write about, so this is a treat. It's been my personal mission to include some Canadian content in every issue of Kids On Wheels , but this last one got a little out of control. We try for geographic balance, but it's more important to balance gender, ag...

James sent me this yesterday. It was perfect timing, as I had been combing through old wtmc posts. Pre-Canada, Paul Krugman was my number one source. I still read him regularly, but hardly ever post his columns anymore. Here's his piece from Christmas Day. Helping the Poor, the British Way By Paul Krugman It's the season for charitable giving. And far too many Americans, particularly children, need that charity. Scenes of a devastated New Orleans reminded us that many of our fellow citizens remain poor, four decades after L.B.J. declared war on poverty. But I'm not sure whether people understand how little progress we've made. In 1969, fewer than one in every seven American children lived below the poverty line. Last year, although the country was far wealthier, more than one in every six American children were poor. And there's no excuse for our lack of progress. Just look at what the British government has accomplished over the last decade. Although Tony Blair ha...

Shortly after we moved to Canada, a long-time reader told me that I seemed less angry, more calm, almost serene. We never spoke or met in person, this was based only on wmtc. His observation amazed me. I did feel a huge sense of relief in being here - both from leaving the US and from finally achieving our goal - but I didn't think it was so obvious. For the last few days, I've been going back over wmtc from the very beginning, to label every post with categories. (I've stopped because I'm not sure the labels will import to WordPress. Much time wasted.) It's been very eye-opening, seeing how this blog has changed over time. If you've been blogging a long time, and you write regularly, your blog has probably undergone changes that you're not even completely aware of. Your writing reflects your mood, what you're going through at the time, your comfort level in writing for an audience. Every time you sit down to blog, you're a slightly different person ...

We saw a good movie last night - very funny, and sweet without being saccharine: "Seducing Dr. Lewis" , or in the original French, "La Grande Séduction" . It takes place in a poor seaside town in Quebec, an once-proud fishing village, where the sons of fishermen now queue up for welfare cheques. They are trying to attract a factory to their town, but in order to get the factory, they first have to get a doctor. They set about to lure a big fish to their little boat - to seduce a young Montreal doctor to fall in love with their town and set up a practice on their little island. You could say it's "Northern Exposure" meets "Waking Ned Devine," but it's better than either of those. Once again, the best Canadian movies we see are made in Quebec. I've gotten to really trust the French Canadian recommendations on Zip.ca . We also saw "Neil Young: Heart of Gold," Jonathan Demme's film of a Neil Young concert. From the promo: I...

I just learned that James Brown died today. The self-described "hardest working man in show business," the Godfather of Soul, was 73. James Brown's career spanned more than 50 years. As singer, songwriter, dancer and front man par excellence , he was an immeasurable and pervasive influence on modern music. Not to mention hair styles . One of my favourite music critics, Jon Pareles, describes James Brown's music as "sweaty and complex, disciplined and wild, lusty and socially conscious". Beyond his dozens of hits , Mr. Brown forged an entire musical idiom that is now a foundation of pop worldwide. "I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know," he wrote in an autobiography. The funk he introduced in his 1965 hit, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," was both deeply rooted in Africa and thoroughly American. It found the percussive side of every instrument and meshed sharply syncopated patterns into kinetic polyrhythms that sim...

WordPress looks very cool. I am definitely switching. I can't do it right away, since their importing tools need to catch up with New Blogger. Ironically, if I had never switched to New Blogger - which sucks for me - I could have changed over to WordPress right away. But then, if I had never "upgraded" (ha!), I wouldn't have been so frustrated and looking to get out of Blogger in the first place. But as soon as WordPress can accommodate New Blogger blogs, I'm outta here. The amazing thing (to me) is that all the new features that Blogger is crowing about have been available on WordPress all along. The drop-and-drag dynamic template, publishing on the fly, categories, improved archiving - all of it - has all been on WordPress, there for the taking. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't realize this sooner. My host, Laughing Squid , prefers WordPress, and I should have realized there was good reason for it. I'm beyond sick of looking at this template, wh...

Happy Christmas to wmtc readers who celebrate it, and an extra happy un-christmas to those who don't. We both work this extended weekend and next, but with greatly reduced hours. We move next Tuesday, Jan 2, so the extra time off is great timing. And this paid time off - what a concept! It almost makes up for having a day-job. Almost. Today we're having our newly traditional Mississauga un-christmas: dim sum. Can two years in a row be called a tradition? Why not! A typical New York City Jewish Christmas means Chinese food and the movies. The whole Jewish population of the city - sizeable, as you know - goes out for Chinese food, and everyone of any background who's had enough of their family goes out to the movies. The city's gazillion Chinese restaurants are packed, along with every movie theatre. On our last Christmas in New York, we pulled out all the stops . Last year, our first in Canada , we ventured to a dim sum restaurant recommended by then-new reader - and n...

I don't know what to do about this blog. I've been waiting on two things: Talented Designer Guy , who's designing a new look for wmtc, and Blogger beta to accommodate externally published (FTP) blogs, meaning blogs without a blogspot.com address. TDG is almost done, so I'll soon have my New Look. A couple months back, Blogger announced that beta could now support FTP blogs, but I was too busy to deal with it at the time. Then, in a weird coincidence, the day I had slated to finally upgrade to beta, Blogger announced they were out of beta. Now there was only old and new Blogger. I switched. Then I found out that many of the new goodies I was waiting for in beta/new Blogger are not available to FTP blogs. I'm really disappointed. I wanted the improved archives, the ability to use labels and sort by categories, and of course, I wanted to publish on the fly, without the dreaded spinner. I did get some other improvements, but not the ones I most wanted. Investigating thi...

Last night we watched the DVD extras on "Why We Fight" . I highly recommend, even if you've seen the movie, seeing it again on DVD to watch the extras. One jaw-dropping highlight was the revelation of "The Missing C". Eisenhower originally called the Military Industrial Complex the "Military Industrial Congressional Complex". He removed the word "Congressional" from the final draft of his famous farewell address so as not to offend anyone in Congress. Stunning. This in turn reminded me of something I meant to blog in my earlier post but forgot. When I said "In a country where there are no jobs, the military looks increasingly attractive," I meant also to include members of Congress who approve military appropriations that benefit their districts by generating jobs. A piece of the B1 bomber is famously constructed in every state in the US, thus assuring that Congress will always approve its funding. That fight for jobs in home dist...

Ancient peoples all over the world lit fires and torches on this darkest day of the year. I've heard that outdoor Christmas lights are the modern equivalent. If it's true, it makes sense, given the other pre-Christian symbols that have attached themselves to Christmas. Port Credit at night is beautiful right now. People do really creative things with lights on trees and hedges, and the outlines of the old homes. It's a nice tradition. Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any insane one-upmanship around here, the kind of people who use up end up on the local news. I mean, can you imagine living near this guy ? Who cares if it's for charity? There are ways to raise money that don't suck up this much energy. When I see the words "synchronized to music," I read "neighbourhood menace". Happy Solstice. If you hate the darkness, the nice thing is we start getting more daylight tomorrow. Back to packing.

We saw "Why We Fight" last night, the incredible movie by Eugene Jarecki. I know this ran on CBC recently, and I hope many of you watched the whole thing. If not, rent it. Don't miss it. It is stunning. "Why We Fight" is about the US military-industrial complex: where it comes from, what it does, how it dictates policy, how it works in the world. Jarecki follows the thread of three lives: a young man who enlists in the military to escape his empty life and his grief over his mother's death, a high-level female officer who retired from the military, and, most movingly to me, a New York City cop who lost a son on 9/11. (I always think I can't cry any more about September 11th, and I'm always wrong.) Jarecki masterfully weaves these threads with interviews with knowledgeable people on all points of the political spectrum: William Kristol, Chalmers Johnson, John McCain, Gore Vidal, and the son and granddaughter of Dwight Eisenhower, among others. There...

Funny that the day I choose to finally switch to beta is the day Blogger declares beta is no more . Here's hoping for a painless FTP upgrade tomorrow. We saw an incredible movie tonight. More on that tomorrow, too. I've noticed that whatever happens in my life now, I run to report it to you guys. Hmm.

Ahhhh! All my writing assignments are in, all my deadlines are met, and I've worked my last full work-week for a while. What a great feeling. Besides lots of short days and days-off for these various holidays - Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve - I get an extra vacation day in place of Boxing Day! Because Boxing Day falls on a day I don't work, I can either get an extra day's pay, or take an extra day off in 2007. Christmas happens to fall on a day I do work, but if it didn't, I'd get another freebie for that one. Who says I don't love Christmas?! Allan's been packing for a couple of weeks, and now I can join the fun. But today, there's something very important on our agenda: the switch to beta. Blogger started offering beta to FTP blogs (i.e., blogs with a non- .blogspot.com address) a while ago, but I had too much going on to deal with it. I've been dying to do it - which was good incentive to hurry up and finish all my assignments. Fro...

Yesterday we learned that the highest law enforcement in the country was spying on Tommy Douglas as if were a criminal. Douglas shares that honour with every great US reformer, and thousands of minor ones. Like so many of Canada's shameful moments, this one sounds like a diluted version of what goes on south of the border. Perhaps fittingly, the file contains articles noting Douglas's concern about rumours of RCMP surveillance of Canadians, though there is no indication the politician suspected he was being watched. "Setting people to spy on one another is not the way to protect freedom," he wrote while NDP leader. RCMP security and intelligence officers amassed files on 800,000 Canadians and actively monitored thousands of organizations, from church and women's groups to media outlets and universities. Markings indicate Douglas's file is one of more than 650 secret dossiers the RCMP kept on Canadian politicians and bureaucrats as part of a project known as t...

Another look at Dion's dual citizenship, from Paul Wells . Now playing: The Parisian Candidate Fade in... Interior. Stornaway, the residence of Canada's leader of the Opposition. Packing crates are everywhere; men in overalls carry boxes back and forth. Stéphane Dion enters, leading his dog Kyoto. Dion: Well, here we are, almost moved in after only a few weeks as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada! There is a knock at the door. Dion: Who could that be? Dion opens the door. The French Ambassador enters, a menacing figure in a black cape, who bears an odd resemblance to Angela Lansbury. French Ambassador: Would you like to play zee cards, Monsieur Dion? French Ambassador begins shuffling a deck of cards. He pulls out one in particular: the red queen. Dion is instantly hypnotized. French Ambassador: Ah, I see your training still work! You are starting to rememb-air zee mission, aren't you? . . . Read it here , it's quite amusing. Many thanks to self-described "long...

I love palindromes , and I love anagrams . I guess it's my love of words and language, combined with my enjoyment of puzzles and games. I can't make palindromes at all, and maybe that's partly why I like them. For reasons unknown, Allan recently started making anagrams of Red Sox players' names . (Scroll down.) I joined in - and then continued because it was annoying a neocon. (Did I ever claim to be mature?) So there I was, wracking my brain to use up all the letters, only to learn that Allan's astounding anagrams were more easily acquired: he used one of the many online anagram generators. So folks, anagrams for "we move to canada"? The only rule is you've got to do it on your own, no using anagram sites. You're on the honour system. Be (or be like) good Canadians: pay your fare, don't cross against the lights, and think up anagrams on your own. I'll warn you, we do have a Scrabble champion in our midst.

We're ignoring the late-December madness completely this year. We don't celebrate any of these December holidays - we wait for the Most Important Date in the Kaminker-Wood household: January 3, the anniversary of our domestic partnership. Some years we send holiday cards, and some years we do our version of going all-out and make our own card . But this year, we're moving, we have an anniversary trip planned in January - and Tala is coming ! A lot to look forward to in January, and December is just another month. Except for the ads, the Christmas muzak, the co-workers reciting litanies of what they bought for whom... This year I'm finding it pretty easy to tune out. Not working in Rockefeller Center sure helps! I've noticed something new this year. Long ago, I blogged about platitudes , meaningless expressions that drive me nuts. Nuts! This year I'm hearing one that's new to me: "Why do the worst things always happen around Christmas?" The answer...

Figures, doesn't it? They can never admit they've made a mistake. Americans take a turn smearing Arar Thomas Walkom For Maher Arar, it never ends. It wasn't enough that the Canadian computer engineer was deported by the U.S. to Syria to be tortured. Nor was it enough that, even after he got home, unknown Canadian government officials deliberately leaked false and damaging information to the media in an attempt to smear him. Now, after a painstaking 34-month judicial inquiry finally cleared his name, the U.S. government has decided that it is its turn to smear Arar. The smear was delivered by David Wilkins, U.S. ambassador to Canada. In a statement released yesterday, he said that Arar will stay on a U.S. watch list that denies him entry to that country "based on information from a variety of sources." The ban also means that the B.C. resident won't be able to fly domestically within Canada if — as is the case with many flights between Vancouver and Toronto —...

When will I feel Canadian? We've talked about this here, and I think it's very interesting - questions of nationality, identity, how the two are the same or different. When we were in Peru, our first time out of North America since emigrating here, people asked, "¿De qué país es usted?" . What country are you from? We were so happy to say "de Canada" ! And that's true, we are from Canada. But when will I be Canadian? Citizenship questions aside, here's my theory. I'll know I'm Canadian when I pronounce "Ottawa" and "hockey" the way people do here. Those words are a dead giveaway. How do you guys do it?

Allan Thompson, whose "World Citizen" column in the Toronto Star I recently quoted at length , has been revisiting the subject of Stéphane Dion's dual citizenship. I'm disturbed by what some his readers have to say. The revelation that new Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion holds French nationality triggered a new twist on the dual citizenship debate: Should the person who seeks to lead this country also hold the citizenship of another? The answer from many quarters — including the editorial board of this newspaper — was "no." And after a few days of media attention to the issue, Dion conceded that he would forfeit his French nationality if the dual citizenship bestowed upon him at birth by his Paris-born mother proved to be a political liability. For what it's worth, I would like to give some space to readers who sent email messages about this issue to World Citizen. Several pointed out an error in last week's column: If Dion were to win the next electi...

How do you guys feel about Harper's Senate reform bill ? The whole concept of the appointed Senate seems so odd to me. But then, Canadian Senators have little power - or traditionally they don't exercise that power - so does it matter? If Senators were elected, would they have play more of a role? Would we want that? If they were elected, wouldn't they have to campaign? That is, how would we know who we were voting for? When a certain conservative from Alberta frequented this blog, he used to talk a lot about wanting an elected Senate - the "Triple E" Senate . Does Harper's bill bring us one step closer to that? Or is this bill useless window dressing? After asking all these questions, I can't participate much in the answers, as this is crunch week for all my current writing assignments. But I'll be reading, so please feel free to chatter away.

From Gun Guys , "Where Everyone's A Straight Shooter": The United Nations passed a resolution [on December 6th] that could lead to an international treaty on small arms around the globe. The vote on the treaty was 153 to 1. Take a guess who was the sole vote against. Over U.S. objections, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Wednesday that could lead to the first international treaty on controlling the trade in assault rifles, machine guns and other small arms. The nonbinding resolution asks the secretary-general to seek the views of the 192-member General Assembly on the feasibility of a comprehensive treaty "establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms." Global trade in small arms is worth about $4 billion a year, of which a fourth is considered illegal. The arms cause 60 percent to 90 percent of all deaths in conflicts every year. The resolution asks the secretary-general to submit a report in...

In Toronto and the GTA, entire parks are designated as "dog parks" - fenced-in, leash-free zones were dogs can run and play freely without bothering non-doggy park users. We think this is incredible. The dog park where we take Cody is huge and beautiful, with big, open areas for romping and trails through wooded areas for a little hike. In New York City, thanks to the advocacy of urban dog lovers, most parks have small, fenced-in areas that are designated dog runs. They're not big, but they serve a vital function. There's also been an informal, unwritten agreement that in parks without a dog run, dogs can play off-leash after 9 p.m. or before 9 a.m. If your pup is romping off the leash one minute after 9:00 a.m., you'll be handed an expensive ticket, but early in the morning, New York parks are a doggy paradise. I was horrified to learn that recently this might have changed. And I really liked this piece by the writer Jonathan Safran Foer. My Life as a Dog By Jona...

We saw another very good movie last night: "Mysterious Skin" . It's about two boys, a trauma they suffered when they were very young, and how it plays out in their lives as they grow into adulthood. It's excellently done. I'd caution anyone who's been touched by child sexual abuse, either as a survivor or someone who loves one, to tread carefully. I'd want to be in the right frame of mind when I saw it. But I'd see it. This movie reminded me of another overlooked movie, "Things Behind The Sun" , written and directed by one of my favourite filmmakers, Alison Anders. That movie also explores how the past plays out in our lives - and how the past will continue to poison the present - until it is dealt with head-on. "Things Behind The Sun" never preaches, never has a character stand on a soapbox to educate us, but speaks volumes about surviving rape. Anders, a rape survivor herself, returned to the place where she was assaulted to make ...

Courage To Resist , which supports soldiers with the courage not to fight, just finished three days of events in cities all over the US. Iraq war resisters have very little visibility, and receive very little support. That's why I always revisit. Just to remind us. One resister I've never blogged about is the one whose story touches me the most deeply: Suzanne Swift . Swift served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, where she was raped and sexually harassed by superior officers. Earlier this year, facing re-deployment - which would mean serving under the command of officers who were complicit in the assaults - and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Swift went AWOL. Swift was arrested at her mother's home in June of this year. She faces court martial for being AWOL and "missing movement". The army claims it conducted an investigation of Swift's charges and found them unsubstantiated. (What a surprise.) After members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veter...