I remember when I lost my mind I suppose they might not be very similar at all, but when I recently started seeing trailers for that new movie "The Holiday", I kept thinking the story seemed familiar. I kinda thought I'd read the book years ago. I couldn't remember the title or specifics about it, but just that idea of two frustrated women who impulsively decide to switch homes for a while, one in England and one in the U.S., seemed like a very familiar concept to me.

Well, I did some digging and discovered that I was thinking of a Maeve Binchy book called Tara Road. It definitely has been years since I read it, but it was really good, so naturally I was curious if it was the basis for this movie idea. After more digging, it doesn't appear so. The woman who wrote this screenplay wrote this one with particular actors in mind (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black), and I don't see anything about a book-based idea.

[/Random tidbit.] I hope the movie is good.  | ¶ 1:00 a.m.

  just 'cause you're right that don't mean I'm wrong It's my last week of classes - did you know that..? I remember this feeling, though, when you get to the end of the semester and you're still pushing your way through paper-writing and falling behind on reading and barely feeling like you have the time to attend class but knowing you have to so get the final exam tips. So, like, no sense of relief or anything. Just a bit of shock that it's the end and you feel like there's so much more you could have done to stay on top of things.

I submitted my IPE paper late the other day. After the distraction of the weekend drama, I took a while to produce a not-very-long paper (standard for me), but hope it's solid enough on content to earn me a decent mark. And I ended up switching my position back again, in case you were wondering. Despite the inequality that results from capitalism, I argued that the developing countries could "catch up" to at least a level of reasonable economic activity. Or something. I threw in a tidbit about "why would they want to be as wasteful as us" point, though.

This dude, Andre Gunder Frank, wrote a piece many years ago called "The Development of Underdevelopment" which basically proposed that many former European colonies in Africa and elsewhere would likely not be in such rough shape if they hadn't been brutally abused during a phase which could have been critical stage of growth. I used this quote:

"We must conclude, in short, that underdevelopment is not due to the survival of archaic institutions and the existence of capital shortage in regions that have remained isolated from the stream of world history. On the contrary, underdevelopment was and still is generated by the very same historical process which also generated economic development: the development of capitalism itself."

(You know me, I hate capitalism. Yeah.)

My people are suffering under the minus forty temperatures in Calgary this week. It feels chilly here, but with temperatures hovering near the freezing mark, I probably shouldn't complain. I'm just glad they're getting that craziness done with before I get there for Christmas..! I expect patio weather by Boxing Day. Heh.  | ¶ 12:49 a.m.

  there's really no way to reach me
This makes me laugh.  | ¶ 1:29 p.m.

  and if we're lost, then we are lost together Today the New York Times Magazine has a really good - but heartbreaking - piece about a family's struggle with their 14-year-old anorexic daughter. They opt to try a family-based treatment plan that basically entails forced feeding, but through patient coaxing. Seems timely because of that model who just died and Kate Bosworth wandering around with her skeleton hanging out. It's a bit long, but if you have the time, read it over here. An excerpt:

On Day 2 of refeeding Kitty, our younger daughter, Lulu, turned 10. We had cake, a dense, rich chocolate cake layered with raspberry filling — one of Kitty's favorites. Of course she refused it. I told her that if she didn't eat the cake, we'd go back to the hospital that night and she would get the tube. I hated saying this, but I hated the prospect of the hospital more. The tube felt like the worst thing that could happen to her, though of course it was not. Five minutes after Kitty was born, I fed her from my own body. Now the idea of forcing a tube down her throat, having a nurse insert a "bolus" every so often, seemed a grotesque perversion of every bit of love and sustenance I'd ever given her.

She sat in front of the cake, crying. She put down the fork, said her throat was closing, said that she was a horrible person, that she couldn't eat it, she just couldn't. We told her it was not a choice to starve. We told her she could do nothing until she ate — no TV, books, showers, phone, sleep. We told her we would sit at the table all night if we had to.

Still, I was astonished when she lifted the first tiny forkful of cake to her mouth. It took 45 minutes to eat the whole piece. After she'd scraped the last bit into her mouth, she lay her head on the table and sobbed, "That was scary, Mommy!"

Oh, and speaking of food, join our potato thread over here.  | ¶ 12:40 p.m.

  and now you're dead inside, still you wonder why it's all over I'm not really a hard rock music person. I like a certain amount of pop rock, I suppose, like U2, and, well, that's the only one I can think of. I certainly haven't been into what I'd call "angry" rock since high school (back then Pearl Jam was heavy enough for little me anyway). For some reason, though, I recently downloaded the Three Days Grace album (called One X) and I'm loving it. It's so not my typical style - one of my favourites is a song called "Animal I Have Become" - heh. Anyway...

My self-discipline comes in spurts this semester. I find the class schedule to be too lax and not structured enough for me, so I don't often make the best use of my time. I'm planning an action strategy for next semester to avoid this problem - for one thing I'll have a morning class everyday that at the very minimum gets me out and about. That should help.

One thing I've been getting better at, though, is jogging. Who knew that this far into November, there still wouldn't be any snow and the weather is decent enough (i.e. not freezing and not pouring rain) for a person to get out and exercise. And if I don't run outside, my building has a small gym with two treadmills.

Granted I don't run super-far. I've stuck with the 3.5k loop that I plotted out early on. Because I don't have a strict regimen, I don't have a ton of endurance built up, so this is still enough of a challenge for me most days. Hey, it's better than nothing. I still do plenty of ab work, yoga and weights to complement the cardio. So I'm feeling good about that.

Because I resist with all my might bringing my personal dramas to this website when they involve other people, I won't talk about what's been happening in my life the last couple days. Suffice it to say that there has been a lot of terribleness and people seeing sides of people that they really don't like. To say it is unpleasant would be an understatement.

I cranked the angry rock music today. And I ran.  | ¶ 7:57 p.m.

  lie too much, I think that I've had enough this is a test  | ¶ 1:42 p.m.

  you wake up to realize your standard of living somehow got stuck on survive The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists.

~ William J. Clinton  | ¶ 7:50 a.m.

  sometimes I don't have the energy to prove everybody wrong Interesting turn of events in politics yesterday. Like they're saying, noboby saw this coming, for Harper to propose a motion recognizing Quebec nationhood within Canada. Very interesting. I'm not sure if it's because of his wild unpredictability or because of this image, but I find myself becoming more fond of Stevie recently. Excerpt from Maclean's article:

"However unlikely it seems, even in hindsight, Canada's great political drama of 2006 culminated Tuesday in an afternoon of remarkable theatre - one that surely establishes Ignatieff as the most influential Canadian politician of the moment.

Consider his achievements in just the past few months.

The rookie MP's musings on Quebec's nationhood have dominated the Liberal leadership race this fall and hijacked the party's internal discourse. Now, his views have proven so inspiring that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been forced to acknowledge both Quebec's special status and the need for national unity - a move that has now united the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP in rare solidarity against the Bloc Quebecois. At the same time, if Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe's words are followed to their logical end, Ignatieff may have also inspired another referendum on Quebec sovereignty."

How the Liberal leadership candidate plunged Canada into a national unity debate nobody saw coming  | ¶ 1:58 p.m.

  I may know the word but not say it I was checking out Rick Mercer's blog this morning and then wandered over to the Mercer Report page. It's nice that they have a whole bunch of video clips from his show so if you miss it, you can basically watch the whole thing on the website. I had a pretty good laugh watching this week's visit with Alexandre Despatie, a championship diver in Montreal. Rick admitted that he'd never dove before, so Alexandre gets to give him some lessons and it's pretty funny. Check it out if you have time.  | ¶ 9:52 a.m.

  I would have stayed up with you all night, if I'd known how to save a life I spoke to my dad last night, and it was refreshing. I gotta give my father credit - he's worked hard at staying healthy and positive over the years, and he does it well. I always describe him to people as "the fittest man alive", because my entire life of memories of him consists of him doing lots of running, lots of biking, lately rollerblading, weights, yoga, pilates - you name it, he's done it. And not the latest, quick-fix fads; he's disciplined and in it for the long term. When you see him you can tell he's worked at it. Does that look like the body of a 63-year-old?

My father isn't just about physical fitness - he's always talked about the mind-body connection and the importance of positive thinking. Here's an example of the good habits my father practices and recommends. He stops by this page now and then and he mentioned that he'd seen the email from my prof recently with the accolades of praise. Dad told me to "print that out and save it for a bad day". He's told me before of a file that he keeps with some of the positive comments he's received in recent years in case he's ever looking for affirmation when he's bummed out. Well, he also says he hasn't had to resort to that yet, but it's just an indication of the healthy coping habits that really make sense. We should remind ourselves of the good stuff more often, because it's easy to focus or brood on the bad stuff we hear about ourselves, but it doesn't do us any good.

I once wrote down another quote that has inspiration for me: "Regularly document your accomplishments; internalize completion". This one is good for people (like me) who always feel like there's so much to get done and fail to pat themselves on the back for all they've already done. It's a reminder to say to yourself, Hey, look how far I've come!  | ¶ 12:29 p.m.

  well I've been here before, sat on the floor I got a little depressed earlier after reading a 2004 editorial from Monthly Review. Some of the more discouraging excerpts:

In the United States in 2000, income inequality was greater than at any time since the 1920s, with the richest 5 percent of all households receiving six times more income than the poorest 20 percent of households, up from about four times in 1970. A study by economist Paul Krugman estimated that perhaps as much as 70 percent of all of the income growth in the United States during the 1980s went to the richest 1 percent of all families. With respect to wealth, in the United States in 1995, the richest 1 percent of all households owned 42.2 percent of all stocks, 55.7 percent of all bonds, 44.2 percent of all trusts, 71.4 percent of all noncorporate businesses, and 36.9 percent of all nonhome real estate. As with income inequality, this inequality has been increasing, at least for the past 20 years.

In China and India, the world's most populous nations and two of its fastest growing economies, inequality is growing rapidly. In China, once an extremely egalitarian country, income inequality is now barely distinguishable from that in the United States. China has witnessed perhaps the greatest income redistribution in history. In India, "Most of the benefits of...rapid economic growth are going to the wealthiest 20% of society." There, "350 million [persons] - more than a third of the population - live in dire poverty... In Calcutta alone, an estimated 250,000 children sleep on the sidewalks each night."

...the richest 1 percent of people in the world get as much income as the poorest 57 percent. The richest 5 percent had in 1993 an average income 114 times greater than that of the poorest 5 percent, rising from 78 times in 1988. The poorest 5 percent grew poorer, losing 25 percent of their real income, while the richest 20 percent saw their real incomes grow by 12 percent, more than twice as high as average world income. World inequality grew because inequality grew between and within countries. The rich nations grew richer and the poor nations grew poorer; the rich within each country grew richer at the expense of the poor.

Mainstream economists have argued that the poor nations are simply on a low rung of a "development ladder," and that over time, especially if they adopt "free market" principles, they will become rich countries too. This hypothesis is difficult to demonstrate. While a very few formerly poor nations, mostly in Asia, have become relatively rich ones (South Korea, for example), most have remained poor.

I'm beginning to think that economic development is a lie people tell themselves so they feel less guilty. It's becoming more and more clear that unless there is a mass shift in priorities on the part of more than just some prominent activists, not enough will change. Man, we have it so good here in Canada. But my paper is now officially going to be one of doom and gloom. Oh, and it's going to be a day late. I need an extra day to write about such misery...  | ¶ 12:49 a.m.

  désolé, if someone is prayin' then I might break out I was right. This is hard. I'm referring to my paper writing for IPE - "can developing countries catch up to developed countries?" There is a ton of research on a zillion aspects of this, so it's even difficult to narrow down the focus and decide which points to cover. I've got a bit written already, so I'm feeling okay about it, but it's a tough slug.

Oh yeah, what I've read so far isn't terribly encouraging, either. One study that I just finished reviewing basically says that even though the World Bank has these stats showing improvements in developing nations, that these are misleading because the World Bank changed the way it calculates key figures and you can't compare the new numbers to the old ones. Great, eh. Oh, and another study says that although we're seeing all this crazy growth in China and India, if you remove them from the numbers, there's not much improvement in other countries at all. Oh, and add to that the increasing disparity between rich and poor even within the poorest of countries, and the picture is looking pretty grim.

And I started out this paper intending to demonstrate that the LDCs ("less developed countries") COULD catch up with effort and time.

The good news is that after 52 of the last 64 days being rainy ones here in Ottawa, we have sun and blue sky today, and it's forecast to stay that way for the week. That's a relief.  | ¶ 12:31 p.m.

  sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same Recent indulgences:

• The Fray. froo sent me their song called "How to Save a Life" which was featured on the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. It is a very good song. Then Devin acquired the rest of the songs from their album and shared them with me. I totally recommend these guys - their sound has been compared to Coldplay and Counting Crows, among others. Lots of good songs.
• Rosemary focaccia bread. Yesterday on our outing for an obscene amount of groceries, we picked up a fresh loaf from the bakery section at Loblaws and I think I'm in love with it. It's pretty similar to the stuff they serve at Earl's with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I just load it up with olive oil margarine. Yum.

  | ¶ 12:27 p.m.

  Get psyched - Christmas is coming!!   | ¶ 9:11 p.m.

  I'm grateful for whatever breaks the silence of this room Okay, time to settle in for the next marathon round of paper-writing. Ready? My IPE paper is due next Wednesday, and the topic is "Can developing countries catch up to developed countries?" Based on my preliminary research I think this is probably going to be a pretty complex topic to tackle. I think it's rather timely, though, that the dude who just won the Nobel prize is one of the originators of "micro-lending", which is playing a big role in changing the status of poor people in some of the most dire situations in developing nations. That's a nice aspect to address, because apparently his approach is incredibly effective. I like it. I will be reading research papers all weekend...

But first, to blow off a little steam and celebrate the accomplishments of the week, I decided that last night was a good one to head out for a few beverages. Devin and I headed to Hooley's again, where we tried a fun meal - a donair pizza. That is, a pizza made with donair instead of tomato sauce, and donair meat and cheese. It was quite tasty. Later we were joined by Pat, and then the three of us headed over to Carleton to hang out with some fellow students. That was a bit of a mistake.

Kids don't mind waiting in line for a very long time, I remember. The line-up to get into Oliver's, the campus pub, was pretty long and not moving at all. Pat had his name on the guest list so he headed to the front, but Devin and I decided to go upstairs to the "grad student lounge", which at least had open tables, but was hot and smelly. We had only one drink before deciding to bail on the student scene.

It may have been the tequila shot that he insisted we consume before we ate our pizza, but Devin is not feeling so hot today. And he doesn't have the luxury like me of staying home. Eep. At least I get to sit here in my pyjamas while I research. Yep, this is the life... or something...  | ¶ 1:04 p.m.

  stones taught me to fly, love taught me to cry She likes to get close - sometimes that means huddling up on the computer!
  | ¶ 2:02 a.m.

  you're not the only one refusing to go down I handed in my third of five papers today. My papers always come out a little on the short side, so I was aiming for 3500 words and only got 2689, but whatever, eh. I think it ended up pretty decent. I was actually super-productive today and got more done in a day than I usually do. But then it was go-time and I had to run like pants-on-fire to catch the bus to school to get it in before the end of office hours. I made it there on time and even had perfect timing to catch the end of my IPE class. Professor can't-get-exams-marked was bringing the midterms to class for us to pick up, so I dropped by to grab mine. After I emailed her earlier to let her know that I wasn't able to retrieve my mark from WebCT (turns out nobody could), she'd emailed me back with my mark, so I already knew I got 75. That's my recurring mark of the term, and I'm pleased with it.

Just two more papers to go.  | ¶ 5:51 p.m.

  it gets so complicated, all the things you've gotta be Okay, now I think she's just being mean. Prof:

"Almost all of the grades are up at this point. I still have about 15 to get through but, as it is 4:30 AM when I'm posting this, I'll get to them later on today."

Don't you know it, I'm magically one of the ONLY people she hasn't provided a mark for. Oh, and this was posted yesterday morning, so even her new promise to get to them "today" has already been meaningless.

I just want my mark. :(

The other update concerning this mini-crunch-time I'm in is that I've been plodding through my Confederation paper and have made decent progress (it's due tomorrow), and Devin actually helped me a LOT on my Public Affairs paper that was handed in this morning. It was the annotated list of Canadian think tanks, and it turned out pretty good.

Also, we seem to be in the rainy season here in Ottawa. The sky looks kinda wintery, but it's warm and green and super-rainy. I might actually be in Vancouver, I think...  | ¶ 3:29 p.m.

  so don't let me fool around no more I'm in trouble. Motivation issues, big time. Argh. You know when the stress about not caring starts to overwhelm you, but you still can't make yourself care? And I find myself wondering what I'm trying to prove - I already did this, got the degree, proved it to myself, so now what.

I'm reading some excruciatingly boring history documents for research on my Confederation paper. It's not that the subject matter is boring, but I haven't stumbled on any well-written accounts of the time period as I would have expected. You can read entire (and lengthy) speeches made by Nova Scotia politicians in 1868, but it seems like these guys had a talent for using a heck of a lot of words without really getting to the point. I gather that Nova Scotia wanted out of Confederation before the ink was even dry on the agreement, so they debated the matter in their legislature for years afterwards, but I haven't come to the point where they stopped fighting it yet.

It sure gives you some perspective on current day Canadian politics, specifically the struggle between the provinces and Ottawa regarding who gets to make decisions about what. In my research on democratic and electoral reform, I always thought that this particular tidbit was a key element in maintaining Canadian unity:

Canada…does have one significant check on prime ministerial power that is largely lacking in other Westminster-style democracies – a strong federal system. It is a point that bears close consideration. Essentially, while power may be highly centralized in the hands of the prime minister, the same holds true for provincial premiers. In other words, prime ministerial power and ambition can be easily checked by strong resistance from some of the larger provinces.

From the very early days of Canadian Confederation, it has been the provinces that keep Ottawa in check. And almost every province has taken issue with the federal government at some point - does it not make sense that this power should be harnessed and used as leverage? Alliances can be formed and favours can be traded, because although the "fathers of Confederation" intended that the federal government should predominate, the system that actually evolved is not what they envisioned. What we have now is a system of democracy where neither level of government is superior to to the other. Ottawa cannot dominate.

These days I'm gaining a better understanding of the Quebec separation issue, from both a historical perspective and then in a modern day context. I don't typically like to weigh in on issues that I'm certain I don't know enough about, and I'm still not ready to take a position on the concerns of Quebeckers, but I thought it was interesting to read the following quote from Justin Trudeau regarding Quebec:

Trudeau called the idea of [Quebec] nationalism one "based on a smallness of thought that closes in, that builds up barriers between peoples and has nothing to do with the Canada we should be building."

In one respect I do fully agree with his position. When most nations are in the process of breaking down barriers and seeing the benefit to be gained by creating partnerships, this notion of separation seems very backwards. Then again, maybe that's what it will take for this group of people to feel the good faith necessary for that type of relationship. Who knows, man.  | ¶ 11:26 p.m.

  here I go, on my own; don't need nobody, not anybody I'm doing research today for one of my papers due next week. This one is for Canadian Political History and the paper topic is sort of a federalism debate from the days of Confederation.

"Why were the fathers of Confederation strong federalists in the 1860s and why did Ontario rebel against this role in the 1880s? What does this conflict tell us about the nature of Canada? Where do you stand in the centralist vs decentralist debate?"

It's interesting to note that the premier of Ontario back then, Oliver Mowat, had a serious conflict with John A. Macdonald over who had authority over what. We forget, in these days of conflicts between Alberta and Ottawa or Quebec and Ottawa, that back in the day, even the province of Ontario took issue with the claim to broad federal power in Confederation.  | ¶ 2:12 p.m.

  lost in a sigh were we On October 17 I wrote my IPE midterm (that's Global Political Economy). It was hard, but I thought I did pretty well, so I've been impatient to get my mark back. We have a pretty big class - it's a big auditorium-style theatre, easily 100 students - but I understand our professor is marking all the exams by herself. She's young, so maybe she still has the energy and enthusiasm for this mass marking exercise, but it's completely slowing down the process.

To compound the frustration is that she keeps committing to delivery dates for the posting of our marks, and keeps failing to meet these self-imposed deadlines. She said she'd have them up by the end of last week. Then a new note went up saying she was going away for the weekend and would get it done Sunday. Then nothing until Tuesday where she said she'd have them up before class yesterday. Then in class yesterday yet another promise to have them posted before she went to bed last night. Still nothing..!

I'm getting pretty annoyed. I hate when people say they're going to do something and don't follow through. If you can't do it, why bother putting it out there? She's the one creating the expectation. Grr. I know, silly student concerns, but whatever - this is my life.  | ¶ 1:09 p.m.

  maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late, it's never too late I'm not sure but I think I deserve some kind of prize for this:

Dear Stacey,

In 36 years of being on faculty, I have never received a rebuttal of this quality. I will think about my substantive response before providing an answer. But I assure you that the quality of your response is such that I will treat it as if it were a major contribution to seminar group discussion, thus boosting your final grade. Far from longwinded, this is a concise and cogent missive.

Most sincerely,

CW

This was in response to my argument regarding the question I posted earlier, for which I provided a lengthy argument. I selected (a) as my answer and he was saying it was the "all of the above" option - others were fighting to prove that (c) was wrong and I was trying to show that (b) was incorrect. It's nice that he's open to argument, I suppose, although he doesn't exactly say whether he'll give me the mark for the question.  | ¶ 11:12 p.m.

  I've been running like a sentence never begun My Public Affairs prof has provided the following question that will be on our midterm tomorrow. I'm having trouble selecting an answer - any thoughts?

Of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s imposition of an extra tax on distributions from income trusts, it may be correctly said that:

a) The movement of corporations to income trusts threatened government revenues
b) The movement of corporations to income trust status threatened the economic stability and growth of the economy because corporations are far better able under current tax laws to reinvest than income trusts
c) The accepted wisdom is that the Martin government should have taken action but didn’t because it tended to avoid making decisions
d) All of the above
e) None of the above  | ¶ 7:06 p.m.

  a thousand miles from the place I was born Something crazy is going on. There is a disturbance in the force.

I'm watching Stephen Harper on TV giving a speech here in town at the War Museum, and I have to say that he looks spectacular. He seriously must have taken my advice and gotten a wardrobe consultant, because he's looking almost prime ministerial today, in his navy suit and red tie, and perfectly coiffed hair. Well done, Stevie.  | ¶ 2:19 p.m.

  when you think you're safe, you fall upon your knees I just read this new interview that Madonna did with Time Magazine. I like that she's getting defensive and feisty about her choice to adopt the little African dude. It's true that the controversy this has generated is totally misdirected and stupid. Good for her. An excerpt:

You've been through other hazing periods in your career. Is this one different than...

Yeah, because a life is at stake. And in all those other hazing periods people were just trying to fuck with me. Now they're going into a village and terrorizing innocent people who live simple lives, terrorizing the father, terrorizing the children that I already have. There are a lot of people who are indirectly being effected by it. That's the difference.

From The Empress Strikes Back.  | ¶ 9:44 a.m.

  help me believe it's not the real me Yesterday Devin and I headed out for some more exploring of our yet-to-feel-like-home city. There are a lot of areas we haven't been to, so I had it in my head that we should find some "suburbs", get a coffee, and maybe, just maybe, I would try driving "MY" car for only the second time since we've been in town.

As chief navigator, I scoped out a distant neighbourhood that looked like it either was Nepean or was near Nepean. Ottawa has annexed all these surrounding communities, so the maps aren't really clear on where these former towns begin and end. It was definitely suburbia, though, with the cookie-cutter homes looking like every outlying neighbourhood in Calgary, all centered around a commercial zone with box stores and Starbucks. It was amusing to find that this particular Starbucks had NO people in it - in the middle of the day on a Saturday! We settled in with our pumpkin spice lattes to read the newspaper and my new Vanity Fair magazine.

And then we found a quiet neighbourhood and switched places in the car. God, I still really suck at the driving of the non-automatic vehicle. I think I have a little-known special impairment of the brain which prevents switching over to a standard after half of one's life spent driving an automatic. I drove round and round the peaceful little suburb until I was fed up with fending off the panic attack (those four-way stops were killing me). Jesus, you'd think I'd never driven a car before. You have no idea how much I miss my car.

I have another midterm this Tuesday, and then it's crunch time on the paper-writing. Two due next week, followed by another the following week. It's gonna hurt, I think..!  | ¶ 12:27 a.m.

  lay all your love on me I have to publish this photo because it gives me so much delight I must share it in case you haven't seen it before. This is Chuck, Heather's dog. What a costume, man.  | ¶ 7:31 p.m.

  too many moonlight kisses seem to cool in the warmth of the sun Okay, now THIS is interesting:

"On September 19, the Prime Minister acted recklessly when he ordered his Finance Minister, Ralph Goodale, to wade into the income-trust market like a proverbial bull in a china shop. On that day, investors were put on notice that their popular income trusts were going to be targeted by a Liberal government seeking higher tax revenues from companies and investors.

The government continues to overtax Canadians and run multi-billion dollar surpluses, yet their first instinct is to attack an investment vehicle that can make the difference between bare survival and a dignified retirement for millions of Canadians.

As my party's finance critic, Monte Solberg, says, the success of income trusts represents a rare triumph for investors over the tax man. Let's not be so naive as to assume that the Liberals will do the right thing to protect taxpayers. We'll need to fight hard to keep what we have, and even harder to gain ground.

It's time to stand up to Paul Martin and stop his attack on seniors and investors."

This was written by Stephen Harper in an October 2005 opinion piece in the National Post.

You should see the outrage being expressed yet again over on the Globe and Mail message boards. For example:

Thank-you very much to the government of this country for once again helping the responsible in our country for trying to help themselves through frugal savings and investment, rather than rely on CPP and old age security. The premise that they are helping me/us by making the corporations that I have invested in pay fair tax is flawed. If I spent every dollar I ever earned and was not invested, then I would applaud this move, because unfairly taxed corporations would require the goverment to get their funding from the private citizens pockets. However, private citizens that have been frugal and saved cash for investment, are being penalized, by being asked to take a hit on their investment to fund this latest move.

This can't be good for Stevie.  | ¶ 2:15 p.m.

  what am I to do with my life Some of my profs really frustrate me. There are a couple who seem a little too pleased with themselves and don't put a ton of effort into delivering quality lectures.

Yesterday my Public Affairs Analysis professor was trying to put me to sleep again. This dude is smart but doesn't seem to prepare much for class. We start out by bringing up topics from the news headlines that he gives his impression of (don't believe what you read is his general message). Then he checks where we are in the syllabus, grabs a textbook and starts going through the chapter's table of contents and telling us which sub-headings we can ignore and gives a short blurb on a selected few headings. He completely improvises, and it's not terribly useful improvisation. I'm regularly struggling to stay awake in that class.

And this morning in my Research Methods class? Well, we spent over 30 minutes of a 60 minute class with the prof calling the names of all 120-ish students to the front so he could "whisper" our midterm mark to us. Seriously, this guy needs a lesson on using WebCT, which is what a lot of courses use to distribute notes, review materials, study guides, and MARKS. What a ridiculous use of class time. Then again, his lectures are often off-topic and show-offy anyway (today we got a lesson in dressing for the "next job" we want, in which we learned that he wears Oxford shirts --> useful stuff, eh), so we didn't miss much, I wouldn't say.

For some reason I expected a higher caliber of teachers at Carleton. My history professor is fabulous, I must point out. And my IPE lady is pretty efficient, too. These two guys, though. Makes you a little annoyed. And for the girl who's being pretty productive at home preparing to write term papers, it's getting hard to convince myself that attending class is a good way to spend my time..!  | ¶ 1:28 p.m.

  ...and Mary's boy-child jesus christ (...was born the day after Halloween?)

Umm, it's started, people. My Ottawa radio station has started playing Christmas music this morning.

Merry Christmas!  | ¶ 8:24 a.m.