Playing catch-up
Is what both the Canadian Liberal Party and I need to do. My excuse is that I've been down with a cold for the last three or four days that would have sidelined a musk-ox. I'm not sure what the hell Paul Martin's excuse is. After all in the last 12 years he has, finance minister and PM, take Canada's economy from teetering on South American status to the most stable in the G8, he's managed to chart an independent foreign policy, mostly maintain social spending without hiking taxes and generally walked the centerist line. And most importantly he's not Stephen "Canada is a broken Northern European Welfare State" Harper.

My own father noted in a telephone conversation this weekend that there are a lot of people in Canada that are angry with the Liberals, I presume over the sponsorship scandal. Given that there are alway a certain percentage of people who are angry at "the government" and angry at "liberals" this justified anger over Liberals spending public money in Quebec on pro-unity advertising that got funnelled back to the party's coffer is unfortunately timed. Dad also said that "Harper has run a really smooth campaign" --- well, good for him, he's managed not to trip over his own extremism for a change. I think you'll recall that Brian Mulroney also ran a smooth campaign and we all remember how that worked out for us. He famously said "give us ten years and you won't recognize this country" -- like that was a good thing. Well, we gave him nearly nine years and we are still cleaning up after that corrupt corporate whore. People are angry about corruption during the Chretien and Martin years - think back to Brian Mulroney's day. He lost an average of a cabinet minister a year to corruption or stupidity, but that another posting.

In Harper's case, a smooth campaign means "muzzling the lunatic fringe that make up a significant portion of the party"

Have a look at the quotes from prospective Conservative cabinet ministers listed on Rick Mercer's site (linked to below) and tell me they would stick to the center. Canadians like to think we live in a more rational, sensible, group-oriented, tolerant society than our neighbours to the South. Well, if the Tories get in for any length of time you can forget that. A party endorsing this kind of nutcase as a candidate is not going to be moderate in any way, shape or form. And then there are clowns like Myron Thompson Jason Kenney and Monte Solberg who think we should be in Iraq.

Speaking for myself, if you think Jesus has a direct role to play in Canadian politics, you should not be voting, nevermind holding office -- you should be down at the church praying for the Rapture to come.

Despite their best efforts to conceal it, the Conservative Party of Canada is trying to do what the US Republicans have successfully done - harness the lock-step unity of the Religious Right as a voting block with the clout, connections and weath of the country club conservatives, and back up the two with the media-birthed pro-ignorance faction of the small-government self-proclaimed libertarians (ie: FOX viewers, Sun readers, people who rant in coffee shops about how the commies in the public school system are turning their kids queer and how brown people smell funny and don't talk English good) also known by their scientific designation as "boneheads".

Now is not the time to teach the Liberal a lesson. Not unless you want to see fights over teaching "Intelligent Design" in school. Not unless you want to see mandatory jail time for simple possession of marijuana. Not unless you want to see gays and immigrants discriminated against. Not unless you favour Christian-only prayer in school.

What's that I hear you say? Lower taxes? Oh yeah, Stephen Harper will lower your taxes. So what if we start to run a deficit again, or have to pay for our own health care expenses out of pocket - he's going to give us all $25 a week for child care! Why, that will almost buy the little tykes' lunch with enough left over to pay the busfare to Grandma's place across town. And wait until you hear what he's going to have to cut, like support for research and development, university tuition and social services.

When I was a kid, I don't remember seeing canned food drives at holidays and food banks. I don't think I ever saw any homeless people until partway through the 80's. Admittedly I grew up in nice neighbourhoods, but I used to take the bus downtown in Sault and in Hamilton and I never saw anyone living in cardboard boxes. By the mid-90's I was seeing these people in small towns, not just in the less fashionable bits of Toronto. The neo-conservative agenda of the 80's produced the problem and the Liberals in the 90's didn't do much to solve it (Hell, the Harris Tories in Ontario did their level best to punish the poor). Social services are not a luxury. And anyone who thinks that they are too generous should try living on them for a few monthes, one step ahead of the landlord and bill collectors. Thanks to Paul Martin, the economy is booming. Under Stephen Harper, will it continue to do so over the long haul without money for R&D? With more people falling between the cracks? With educational standards slipping thanks to the rise of U.S. style religious fanaticism?

Give Stephen Harper ten years and not only won't you recognize Canada, you won't even be able to find it on a map. North America will consist of Mexico and the United Christian States of Amerika.

Return of the Blue-Eyed Sheiks
New report says there is black gold in them thar hill, Calgary coffee, oil that is.
Note to the White House - We don't have any WMD or ties to Al Quaida and the 101st Puking Parrots would freeze their tailfeathers off in Cold Lake, Alta., so don't even think about invading.

Why you must vote Liberal
For those watching the polls in the Great White North, the most terrifying 16 words in the English language right now are these:
"Stockwell Day is perhaps the most experienced and most talented member on the Conservative front bench." - the Konservative Kabinet

UNSC seats are not for sale

The Japanese government is pushing for a seat on the UN Security Council and making noises about how if they don't get one they will have to reconsider paying their dues. Japan has the second largest economy in the world and thus pays the second largest amount of UN dues.
Their finance minister this week chided Kofi Anan saying that contributions should reflect member nations authority and responsibility in the UN. You want a seat on the security council, make a contribution like this one and then come talk to me. More than 100,000 Canadians have served on UN peacekeeping missions since Lester Pearson thought up the idea, which frankly, to my way of thinking, is a larger contribution than just cutting a cheque and doing what the United States tell you to do.

Tales of Hoffman(no, not you Pete)
Albert Hoffman celebrates 100th by staring at his hands, giggling, and searching for Ravi Shankar tape. See more here
We're so sorry Uncle Albert, but we haven't done a bloody thing all day. Now I could go and track down the usual testimonials from people like Hunter Thompson or Timothy Leary to mark the occasion, but here is one from an unlikely source.
Feed your head, but mind the bats.

the rules

Rule No. 10 Actors are short. Comedians are shorter.
Rule No. 11 There is nothing that can be marketed that cannot be better marketed using the voice of James Earl Jones
Rule No. 12 No talking at the urinal.
Rule No. 13 The team mascot sleeps alone.
Rule No. 14. White cars look good only on Fantasy Island
Rule No. 15. Though jazz and brunch are acceptable when separated, the two should never be combined.

In yer ear
Kevin Wood / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
CAT POWER
The Greatest
P-Vine, 2,415 yen
The latest from the enigmatic and dramatic Chan Marshall shows the singer-songwriter moving forward into the past artistically, with The Greatest taking some cues from classic Memphis soul.
Marshall is backed here by longtime Al Green guitarist "Teenie" Hodges and a host of Memphis studio aces. While the somber title track and several others, notably "Willie" and "Where is My Love" could easily have come from previous Cat Power albums, others such as "Could We" and the catchy "Living Proof" kick up the power and the tempo a notch with the aid of funky strings and Stax-Volt style horns.
While the Memphis soul trappings are a slight departure, the songs are pure Cat Power--built on slow, simple, repetitive progressions and packing an emotional wallop. Another constant is Marshall's unmistakable voice. Equal parts plaintive, dreamy, soulful and sweet, Marshall has sufficient power to launch a song into the heavens, with just enough earthy huskiness to keep her feet on the ground. Her songs are intimate and raw without ever being rough; textured and polished without a hint of slickness.

WILCO
Kicking Television
Warner Music 3,570 yen
Wilco manage to capture the mercurial spark of the their previous two studio outings, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, on this two-disc 23-track live album recorded last year in Chicago. A few other, older songs, such as Summerteeth's "Via Chicago" and a cover of '70s funkster Charles Wright's "Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)" make the set list, but for the most part the amalgam of pop, punk, avant-garde electronica and dissonant guitar rock seems to be where the band is at these days.
Wilco's resident auteur and frontman Jeff Tweedy isn't much for stage banter, preferring to let his guitar do his talking. The exacting songs from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot such as "Ashes of American Flags" are given freer rein and short pop poems from Ghost such as "The Late Greats" and "Handshake Drugs" are fleshed out and given room to run free.
Sonically, the album covers the waterfront, ranging from roaring guitar feedback to buzzing, bleeping synths to sweet, Beatlesque piano. Live shows Wilco at the top of its game and makes a good case for marking them down as the best band on the U.S. rock scene today.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Newport Folk Festival
Video Arts Music, 4,935 yen
Murray Lerner's chronicle of the pre-hippie heyday of the Newport Folk Festival from 1963 to 1965--including the day Bob Dylan went electric--this 90-minute black-and-white documentary is by turns inspiring, compelling and frustrating.
It's inspiring in that it showcases a staggering array of talent ranging from a woman playing "Turkey in the Straw" on her cheeks to the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Judy Collins in their prime. The compelling discourse on the blues by Son House and Mike Bloomfield combined with hypnotic performances by Howlin' Wolf and Mississippi John Hurt is worth the price of the DVD alone.
Frustratingly, not one of the dozens of performances recorded are shown in their entirety, with director Lerner giving us a teasing glimpse of the banquet without letting us sit down to eat--Dylan's paradigm shift to electric rock is represented by only a single verse of "Maggie's Farm." Festival is an excellent appetizer, but it leaves the viewer ravenous for more.
(Jan. 5, 2006)

Clap harder
Sisyphus Shrugged does the heavy lifting so I don't have to, but you really should read about the astounding success in Iraq

Land of the Free
I love the General (in a strictly manly hetrosexual way of course) for his relentless war on born again Christian hypocrisy and the many angry laughs he has provided. But this just isn't funny. And the first one to mention breaking eggs to make omlets wins a boot in the plums. A salute to Jesus' General for his fine work.

Get rich quick!
A guy could make a million bucks today if he had the Congressional dry cleaning consession, because an awful lot of people are going to need a change of pants

Somewhere, Pierre Trudeau is smiling
I guess this explains why the Conservatives are in bed with the separatist Bloc Quebecois. Another ex-Reform Party reactionary shows his true colours.

Tory campaign manager resigns over web posting
Internet remarks threatened push for Alberta separation

Archie McLean
CanWest News service
Published: Sunday, January 01, 2006

Edmonton Conservative MP Peter Goldring's campaign manager resigned Friday over comments he posted on an Internet message board that suggest local Conservatives will start working toward Alberta separation if the Liberal party is re-elected.

The President said "We do not tortiere"
Which is his tough luck really. Here in the Woodshed, we tortiere every New Year's. You can take the hoser out of Canada, but you can't take the Canuck out of the hoser, or something like that.




My recipie for this typical French Canadien holiday dish is pretty simple.

Ingredients
750 grams/1.5 pounds of ground pork or ground pork and beef
One large onion diced
ground cloves one teaspoon
two or three dashes cinnamon and nutmeg and red pepper
worstershire sauce one teaspoon
two small potatoes, mashed
Bisto gravy starch, one teaspoon
garlic, one piece, chopped fine or crushed
salt and pepper

Brown the meat, onion and garlic in a pan on medium heat. Add spices, potato and three quarters of a cup of water, bring to a boil. Add gravy starch premixed with a quarter cup of water. Reduce on low heat until most of the gravy is very thick.

follow the recipie on a crisco shortening can to make a pie using the above mixture for filling. Bake for about 40 minutes at 425 F or 220 C
Serve with steak sauce or gravy.

Goes well with heavy ales or a hearty burgundy. Great as leftovers

More New Year's Stuff


Gate latern at the local shrine. The tree behind it is more than 350 years old.

The lovely Hiromi, also known as Mrs. the Rev. Paperboy

Lucy and I after returning from the shrine. The big pink bag is cotton candy purchased just outside the gates from a street vendor. It was that or octopus ball - trust me, don't ask.

Hiromi and Lucy

New Year's Day
Here in Tokyo, people go to Shinto shrines at New Year - Meiji jingu, one of the largest in the center of Tokyo gets about 4-5 million people on New Year's eve alone, which means standing in line for a long, long time. We went to the local shrine in Urayasu and still stood in line for about 30 minutes



People write their wishes and prayers on these slips of paper and prayer boards and tie them here. Later, the priests will burn them in a special ceremony.

The kids and I in full kimono ---stylish but not built for warmth

Nick in front of the shrine fountain. Before you pray, you have to wash your hands and rinse your mouth.

A smaller side shrine adjacent to the main one.

The main shrine. When you get up to the ribbons, you toss your offering in a box - 5, 50 or 500 yen coins preferred for good luck --ring the bell to get the gods attention, bow twice, clap twice, pray, bow and make room for the next pilgrim

Happy New Year

In the immortal words of Max Webster
forget that fear of gravity

russian climbing - Google Video

Rubber Chicken Radio
The Blues, the Beats, Mongolian throat singing, sound poetry and peach brandy!
Look way down at the bottom of the link list for Rubber Chicken Radio and tune in now for a four hour broadcast as I guest star along with neighbour and poet Jesse Glass on magician, comedian and clown-prince of Tokyo Steve Marshall's internet radio program.

"I love a man in uniform"
Sez armchair general Stephen Harper, who is getting all gooey about the military in the current election. I agree that Canada should spend a little more money equiping our armed forces -- they need new helicopters and some icebreakers and more money in general, especially in the pay packets of the ranks. Harper, however wants to turn the Canadian Armed Forces into an occupying army in their own country for some reason

Vigilantes and vigilance

From the Times, December 22, 2005

Rail 'groper' chased to his
death
From Leo Lewis in Tokyo
"A commuter who allegedly groped a
college girl on a crowded train collapsed and died after being chased along a
platform by fellow passengers.
The 40-year-old office worker fled the train
when it pulled into a station after the student screamed and accused him of
groping her bottom and legs.
Four male passengers, including two off-duty
policemen, gave chase, bringing him to the ground as he tried to escape. He died
later in hospital from a heart attack."

This story was all over the Japanese press and made the BBC and the Times of London. I can only speculate as to why it didn't appear in certain publications. Can anyone tell me why this was not on a certain front page?

Christmas photo blogging
A brief sketch by my lovely and talented wife used to sign a Christmas card. Believe me, there is more than a passing resemblance.

We were very lucky that Kentaro recovered from the mumps in time for Christmas. He isn't fat, he just is just swollen in this shot. We called him "hampster cheeks" for about a week.

the wife and kiddies on Xmas day, 2005, outside the Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza, following a Xmas day performance of "The Little Match Girl" and "The Three Little Pigs"

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.....

A little nightmare for Christmas

A truly scary example of the President spying on citizens without a warrant