Lowdark

The Boys is definitely worth it. And while your there, may I also suggest Supreme Power by J Michael Stracynski (a nice take on the impact superheroes could have in the "real world," using some very familiar archetypes). As far as comics go, anything by JMS and Brad Metzler will catch my eye. I agree with the Christopher Moore recommendations wholeheartedly. He's that rare author who makes you stop and laugh out loud while your reading. Anyone who likes Moore would love Why We Suck by Dennis Leary. Even if you disagree with his take on some stuff (and you probably will), it's still biting and relentless and laugh out funny as well. If your into fantasy, George R.R. Martin. His books are all epic in length but they absorb you and hold onto you. Game of Thrones has been adapted into a show for HBO coming this spring. His two collections of short stories and novellas called Dreamsongs might be a good place to start if your not ready to committ to thousand page fantasy tomes. And I gotta mention j.K. Rowling. I loved the harry Potter books (not so much the movies though). Pure story and pure fun.

Decided to enjoy the beautiful spring weather we had today by going for a walk. Noticed some construction on the sidewalk up ahead with a pair of big orange cones and huge red sign blocking my path instructing pedestrians to use the sidewalk on the other side. As I crossed the street, I noticed there was a sign on the other side of the construction indicating the same thing. And I watched with curious fascination as a steady stream of people walked around the sign, through the mud where a sidewalk used to be, around the rather large hole in the ground and right through the cluster of construction workers digging said hole and around the sign on the other side back onto the sidewalk. Somehow I got the feeling this story might relate to the topic at hand.

Good points, but I have a suspicion that if we come out with another Conservative Minority, Ignatieff will either step aside or be pushed by the Liberals, paving way for leadership convention (and everyone might remind Ignatieff that he has tried to distance himself from the idea of a Coalition during the campaign). I don't see the Liberals forming a Coalition without a leader. And Jack may also step aside for health reasons, allowing the NDP to look for some fresh blood. Besides, I think he's taken the NDP as far as he can. And even Mr. Harper's job may not be safe if he failed to lead the Conservatives to a majority in his third try. The Left is sufering from the same problem the right did during Jean Chretien's years. Chretien was elected to three consecutive majorities while conservative voters split their votes between the PC and Reform and then the PC and Alliance.

Agreed. Harper has absorbed a lot of criticism for his proroguing Parliament (some of it quite valid), but mostr of those critics seemed to overlook Chretien doing it so he could exit stage left before the Adscam bomb exploded. It was a pretty malicous thing to do as well because he deliberately left that ticking little gift on Paul Martin's desk, and Martin was the one who fell because of it. I am by no means a fan of the Liberals, but I was interested to see what Paul Martin might have been able to do given the chance. He was, after all, the brains behind Chretien for all those years.

Personally, I would pay more attention to the party right now that addressed these matters with legislative solutions. A pipe dream, I know, but if anyone had the courage to include legislating actual transparency and failsafes to insure accountability, they'd definitely get my attantion. And perhaps, many other Canadians as well. Right now, if you can see past the Contempt issue, the entire campaign seems to be about each party's own personal grab bag of milque toast economic goodies, assuming that we could trust them to impliment them if they were elected. And how often have Canadians gone down that road only to realize it's a dead end?

Lou's post touches on a major point in this election. Polling seems to indicate that more voters are concerned with economics than ethics. The Conservatives have a long laundry list of their own ethical collapses (but many who are planning to vote in May remember the list the Liberals compiled during their years in office-i.e. Adscam). So far, this election seems to be shaping up about who you trust with your money more than who you trust period. It's made me wonder if voters feel that voting on ethical issues is a luxury reserved for more stable economic times. Either way, it looks as though when we wake up May 3rd, we could very well have spent 300 million to get the same thing we had when we went to bed the day before.

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a good one!

Happy Belated Birthday. Hope it was a good one.

Perhaps pimp isn't the right word. Now parasite . . .

It would be a waste of your time and resources and would lower yourself to his level. He sounds like a class A moron, let him rot-he's obivously unhappy and one of those people who can only find some measure of satisfaction in belittling others.

Best of luck! Here's hoping you find everything yur looking for and take good care of yourself.

The debate over the necessity of the aircraft aside, the real reason their purchase shas proven to be an angry bees nest is because their true cost has always been lowballed and hidden from Canadians, and by a government that has lectured everyone else on accountability and transparency. The cost should never have been hidden (and I wonder, if the thinking was that people would balk at the true cost, did the governement not think anyone was going to find out?). As for the CBC, if we are going to keep it, we need to rethink it. News and sports and culture only; and stop selling commercials. It isn't fair to private broadcasters to compete for precious advertising dollars when the CBC gets a billion dollar subsidy and its losses are absorbed by the taxpayer. If people are truly worried about its reform (or loss) on Canadian impact may be, divert some of the money to the Canadian Television and Movie Fund and tighten up rules on Canadian content.

There was one ting touched on in a previous post about the pay of MP's. Regardless of what one thinks, 155K is still pretty generous and more than any firefighter, police office, peace keeper or paramedic makes. Those are the people on the front who protect us and safe lives, often at their own peril. Personally, it turns my stomach a little to see any politican making more than a fire fighter who charges into a burning building to save a child or a police officer who has takes a bullet in the line of duty.

No doubt she thought she was entitled to whatever she stole; people have an amzing capacity to convince themselves that their actions are moral or justified. It's just a shame there couldn't be some way make sure she she spends the next decade working to pay back the man she vicitmized.

Shortly before I discovered CERB, I saw an SP a few times who hinted at needing a co-signer for a car loan. She told me she had asked one of her regular clients for it who had said no (he had spent a lot of money on his daughters for Christmas if I remember correctly), and while she never came out and asked, I knew she was inquiring if I would do it. I didn't (and if memory serves, I didn't see her again after that) and fortunately I can only imagine what might have happened . . . Perhaps more just sentence would have been to give her six months to find a job and then garnish her wages until she paid Mr. Macklem back the full amount PLUS interest. And she could spend her weekends and holidays in prison until she paid him back. What amused me about the additonal piece on her husband in Jamaica was that while he openly confessed to being a drug dealer and money launderer, he took offense at being associated with the fraud. He was quoted as saying that people who knew him were upset that he might have been involved. But apparently they're OK with him dealing drugs and laundering dirty cash. That's a real high quality of friends he's got there (then again, they're about the same quality as his wife).

I get the impression from your post that you may have already begun to adopt this little boy into your heart. If that is the case, I think you may not be able to turn back. Apprehension is normal but the best thing I can add is that no one can be loved too much by too many people, especially children at such a young and tender age. It sounds like your daughter already loves him and once she marries his father, he'll officially be part of your family. And like I said, it seems you may have already made him a part of your spirit, which will always be stronger than flesh and blood.

I will be spending a lot of time considering my vote this time around, (I'm currently leaning against the major parties), but its the strategy that interests me the most. Notably the lack of it in the Liberal and NDP ranks. The Conservatives will most likely win again. Recent polling reveals that Canadians seem far less interested in issues of accountability and principle than with economic ones. Few voters seem to give the recent Contempt ruling and other revelations about hidden spending much more than a passing glance. And if the Liberals are planning on trying to make that issue the centre of their platform, everyone planning on casting a vote this time around will most likely remember the Sponsorship scandal, the issue that originally toppled them. Plus, not too many swing voters (who form the majority of people who go the voting booth these days) seem to like Micheal Ignatieff. And simply put, if voters don't like you they don't vote for you. Harper isn't exactly Captain Charisma, but he seems to be tolerated more than Ignatieff is liked. The one plus the Liberals came out of the last election with was their ability to replace Dion with someone who could inspire more people to vote Liberal. After the whole coalition debacle, they did indeed turf him; only to replace him with someone who seems to be just about as unpopular with voters. And has anyone seen the Liberals platform yet? Their current battle cry seems to be "Vote for us because at least we're not the Conservatives!" And if you want to form a majority you have to win Ontario. Most of the seats in Quebec will go to the Bloc, so Ontario is the key. And it just so happens that Ontario is gearing up for a provincial election next fall and a lot of voters are very upset with Dalton mcGuinty's provincial liberals over things like the Health Care Premium and the HST. Wonder how much of that discontent translates into votes for the Conservatives? The funny thing is, if the Conservatives win a majority, it will be at the expense of seats gained from the Liberals and NDP, who helped precipitate this election (another bullet in the Conervative spin-gun; even though they knowingly provoked it with their budget). And if on May 3rd Stephen Harper wakes up the leader of a majority government, he should send Micheal Ignatieff and Jack Layton some roses in thanks.

I'd love to see the Jets return to Winnipeg and the Nordiques play in Quebec City again, and under the current CBA and revenue sharing system, I'm confident they'd be financially viable and competitive. But I'm afraid their won't be any more new teams north of the border as long as Gary Bettman is running the NHL's show. Additional Comments: I poke a lot of fun at the Leafs and their fans but I have to admit they have a lot of hope for next season (and the fans would turn out in droves even if the team went without another twenty seasons without a playoff appearance-that's either a perfect example of loylaty or obsession).

That was utterly priceless.

There may also be a reason no one has mentioned. Is it possible that the young lady in question was not entirely honest in her interview? I'm not saying that she was, perhaps she endured true unhappiness and exploitation and if that is the case I feel for here and am happy she is out of any potentially dangerous situation. But a lot of the things she said in the interview seemed to parrot many common stigmas and sterotypes about SPs, and seemingly portrays Mr. Carson as a bit of a White Knight that saved her. Is it possible she may have been bending the truth a little to spin some of the negativity off him? I do worry about the possibility that some of the women I have seen are perhaps not in a good place. I have always strived to treat them with respect and dignity (and I have had the privilege of them returning the respect). As others have said, we may never really know. But a part of me wonders if perhaps this interview wasn't a bit of politcal theatre and spin. Just a possibilty.

I'm actually surprised that some guys think it's cool to walk up to a lady in public and carry on or arrange dates like that. Indiscreet much? Would they like it if a lady came running up to them at the coffee shop in front of their friends and family on their time and begin carrying on like that? I have actually bumped into a few ladies out and about but managed to be discreet.

The passing of an icon . . . . Rest easy Miss Taylor.

Given how horrible Edmonton's done this year, the cheerleaders are probably the only selling point the suits have for getting pople to buy tickets. Makes you wonder why the Leafs haven't tried it yet.

This is a situation that no one, child or parent, should ever have to endure. And I agree with everyone that says the only opinion that truly matters is yours. But if your mother is indeed using the threat of removing you from her will to manipulate you, perhaps you should consider removing the weight of that threat. Instead of divorcing yourself from your family altogether, counter her threat with an agreement. That any money she may have left you can be put in a trust account for your childen and can only be touched by them on their 18th birthday. That may remove the threat against you and may just cause her to reconsider her stance. Just an idea. Either way, I truly hope the situation works out the right way. Best wishes.

Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good one!