Author: Dave Cournoyer

According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, 0.3% of University Professors count themselves as Pagans.

I decided that today I would write a post not about Gomery, corruption, publication bans, or any of those other things that has ticked me off in the past few days. Instead, I’m going to write about a good book.

Last summer, in order to escape what had been some of the 4 most stressful and trying months of my life (I’m not going to elaborate on this), I spent a month doing some solo backpacking across Canada’s Maritimes. I made my way across Gaspesie, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and enjoyed every moment of it. Sleeping in hostels, bus stations, airports, ferry terminals, on ferries, and meeting the most incredible people.

FYI Halifax is an awesome party town: 6 nights partying in Halifax here, here, here, and others that I can’t remember = tonnes of fun, some very wild times, a game of frizbee at 4am on the front lawn of the Lt. Gov’s residence, stealing street name signs – then losing them, and a huge dent in my bank account. And St. John’s NFLD was just as good. George Street was awesome.

But, as much as it was a great time to party, it was also a very spiritual, soul searching time. There’s nothing like meditating on an Atlantic beach (wear a hat, it’s usually windy).

The entire trip was great, but the best part was being on a boat 10 feet away from 3 humpback whales – one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It is an incredibly beautiful part of our country.

While I was in St. John’s, Newfoundland, I stopped at a used book store to find some interesting reading material (I had bought the DaVinci Code in Halifax, and had finished it by then). What I found was one of the best books I can say i’ve ever read. For $1.50 at the Afterwords Bookstore (I still have the receipt in the book) I bought ‘History on the Run: the “Trenchcoat” Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent‘ by Knowlton Nash, the former National Anchorman for CBC News.

In this book, Nash writes about his time as the top CBC reporter in Washington DC during the turbulent 1960’s. The Kennedy’s (John and Robert), Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Vietnam. It covers it all. What I found what touched me the most were the personal acounts Nash had with Robert F. Kennedy, including being one of the last reporters to interview him on his last trip to California, where he was shot and killed. It found it to be a very powerful acount of an important point in US history. I also liked Bobby Kennedy alot more after I read this.

So, if you are in the market for a really good book, check out “History on the Run” by Knowlton Nash. You won’t regret it.

If even half of this Gomery stuff is true, I am hugely disappointed.

Shame.

Reading: Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
Listening: The rest of my life by Sloan
Drinking: Orange Juice (with pulp) by Tropicana
New Favorite Website: Dog Judo

My sister just sent me an email from Rome… apparently it’s nice, warm, sunny, and she’s loving Italy. I am hugely jealous.

Cheers M! Can’t wait ’till you get back!

D : )

TGIF!

I have again updated the sidebar to your right –>

I’ve moved the links sections around a little and added a bunch of new blog links (scroll down) – check’em out – half of them are interesting, the other half are filled with crazies! – you decide which is which.

I’ve also added a new poll – for those of your paying attention to this, this, this, and this, and of course this, this and this you will understand what I mean.

Here are the results of the former poll:

This is what happens when a politician gets desperate to save his own skin.

Makes me wonder how this guy could get elected and re-elected four times in a row.

Only in Alberta. Only in Calgary. Bizarre.

I keep on thinking that I am going to wake up and say “woah, what a weird dream. Thank goodness that would never happen in real life!“

I’m going back to bed.

On a non-political note, last weekend, I did something that I had planned to do for the past five years.

Five years ago, I spent some time traveling across Europe (it was my second time there) and had the privilege of visiting Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge being the location of a major battle fought by Canadian troops in the First World War.

Any Canadian who has the chance to visit the massive monument, the preserved trenches, and scattered cemeteries with rows and rows of white tombstones, walks away feeling differently about life. I know that I had a hard time describing my feelings to my friends and family back in Canada when I got back – it was an emotionally charged and exhausting day. For me, it was a life changing experience to visit such a historic Canadian site.

The reason I brought this up is that when I was there, I collected a maple leaf from one of the hundreds of maple trees which were planted there. Since my return to Canada, my Vimy Ridge maple leaf has been kept safe in my 2000 edition of the Canadian Encyclopedia and then between two sheets of wax paper. This weekend, while at my parents house for Easter dinner, I collected my maple leaf, brought it back to my apartment, and framed it.

So, now, after five years, my Vimy Ridge Maple Leaf is proudly displayed on my living room wall.

I love it when this happens, a positive article in the Edmonton Sun!!!

well, I hope not. Not in the mood one bit!

why can’t these guys just get along???

for those of you interested in some elections of the provincial flavour, the BC Election Prediction Project website is up and running in preparation for May 17.

The current predictions are (currently in the Legislature):
BC Liberals – 33 (73)
BC New Democrats – 19 (3)
BC Greens – 0 (0)
Democratic Reform BC – 0 (1)
Other – 0 (2)
TO CLOSE TO CALL – 27
TOTAL – 79

Continuing on a lower post – I thought I would place some predictions for the rest of the vacant Senate seats…

My picks are:

New Brunswick (1)
Ray Frenette, Liberal Premier 1997-1998 (so says the Globe & Mail)

Prince Edward Island (1)
Stompin’ Tom Connors, Canadian Music Icon (I think this would be cool.)

Quebec (3)
Carole-Marie Allard, former Laval Liberal MP (2000-2004)
Nathalie Rochefort, former Liberal MNA (my fun pick)
Daniel Johnson, former Liberal Premier 1994-1994

Manitoba (1)
Lloyd Axworthy, former Winnipeg MP (1979-2000) & AWESOME Foreign Affairs Minister (My pick – I LIKE LLOYD!)

British Columbia (1)
Mike Harcourt, former Mayor of Vancouver, and NDP Premier 1991-1996
David Haggard, former President of the Allied Workers of Canada, and 2004 Fed Liberal Candidate

PS> I have nothing but pure intutition to base these predictions on…

It’s about time!

Is anybody wondering why Prime Minister Martin appointed 9 new Senators when there are 16 vacant Senate seats?

There are still vacant seats in New Brunswick (1), Prince Edward Island (1), Quebec (3), Manitoba (1), and British Columbia (1) = 7 Senate seats which are still vacant…

Just wondering if anyone else thinks this is a little weird.

Canada’s 9 new Senators
(Name – Province (Party))

Jim Cowan – Nova Scotia (Liberal)
Romeo Dallaire – Quebec (Liberal)
Lylian Dyck – Saskatchewan (New Democrat)
Art Eggleton – Ontario (Liberal)
Elaine McCoy – Alberta (Progressive Conservative)
Grant Mitchell – Alberta (Liberal)
Robert Peterson – Saskatchewan (Liberal)
Nancy Ruth – Ontario (Progressive Conservative)
Claudette Tardif – Alberta (Liberal)

Well, tonight I’m going to post some comments about the federal Conservative Convention. I don’t usually blog about federal politics, but for your enjoyment, I will make an exception.

I watched a bit of the CPC Convention this weekend via my laptop on CPAC (I don’t watch TV and hence don’t have cable). I was able to catch Conservative Leader Stephen Harper‘s speech to the Convention on Friday night and some of the policy sessions.

As usual… I have some thoughts about it…

1) “Promises made, promises broken“ – Well, for those of you who don’t get it – during Mr. Harper’s main speech he harped back to the federal Liberal Convention a couple of weeks ago when Prime Minister Martin boasted the slogan “Promises made, promises kept” a ridiculous amount of times. Seeing as how I thought the Liberal version of the slogan was hokey enough, I found the Conservative version equally annoying (but I’ll give them points for semi-cleverness).

2) Jane Taber of the Globe & Mail wrote an interesting article this weekend about the blossoming relationship of young love between Conservative MP’s Peter Mackay and Belinda Stronach. Interesting article. It had me wondering, what is going to happen when Ms. Stronach becomes Prime Minister, will Mr. Mackay be in her cabinet? I think it could make for some interesting cabinet meetings.

3) Youth-Wing – I heard that the delegates at the convention voted down a motion to create a youth-wing within their party. One of the arguments against this motion which I heard were that some youth didn’t want to be relegated to a “sandbox” in the party… I found this interesting. Now the CPC has a group of young MP’s and I think this is great, but I would think that an official institutionalized youth-wing should be fundamental in any political party. As a younger person involved in political organizing (albeit for a different and much better political party), I do find it interesting… I think I may write more about this later…

4) Elsie Wayne – As lovable a Grandma figure as she looks, this former St. John MP still has a voice that can send shivers down my spine. As much as I disagree with pretty much everything she says and stands for, I kind miss seeing (no… hearing) her on the news.

That is all for now.

Cheers.

D : )