Family, friends, and fans, take note: I will be returning to Winnipeg Saturday, June 19, at 11:30 pm. I bought my ticket online from Air Canada at noon today. I thought it was cool that I was given the opportunity to choose my seat from a map of the cabin, which indicated which seats were available. I was unimpressed that the website only told me that there is a $10 seat selection charge after I picked my seat (I declined).
When it comes to politics, we Canadians have ours heads in the sand
I just finished watching CBC's "Canada Votes" election special, and I am excited about watching the next 35 days of campaigning. I'm glad the NHL playoffs are almost over so CBC news doesn't have to be preempted too often!
One report I saw tonight disturbed me. It presented the results of a recent CBC/Environics poll on Canadians' political knowledge, or lack thereof. Get this: only 84% of Canadians polled knew who our current Prime Minister is, and only a third could name the leader of the opposition. (You don't need those links, right?) Ninety-seven percent of Canadians could name the president of the United States. The poll also revealed that Canadians are quite cynical about the political process. This comes as no surprise to me, but raises the question: on what basis, if we don't pay any attention?
One aspect of this story, which the web version omits, is that it is Canadians aged 18-29 who are the most poorly informed, and that this has been a strong trend since at least 1990, when only 5% (?) of Canadians could not name the sitting PM. This is quite sad.
I love the spring here in Toronto as well, the city looks so much nicer with all the leaves on the trees and the blooming flowers! Jeremy and I did some lawn work on the weekend. Our back yard is now actually enjoyable. Here are some photos I took of me and Jeremy in our yard! I am now hunting for the suitable soundtrack for this beautiful weather here. I hope you'll let me know if you find one...
Actually, now that I finally finished this entry it is raining like crazy and there is even a thunderstorm! Well, at least we "had" nice weather during the last few days!
Spring this year in Toronto is beautiful. All the flowering trees seem to be in bloom right now, and it's amazing. I am particularly fond of the magnolia tree, which I had never seen in flower before a couple of weeks ago. Its large, plentiful, white-pink flowers are so awesome that I made a magnolia I photographed this blog's new banner image. (Although it doesn't quite fit the colour scheme.)
All the references I've found rate this tree as hardy for zone 4 or 5 and up. Winnipeg is rated as zone 2b, meaning its average annual minimum temperature range is -40.0 to -42.7°C. Even so, I am determined to find the right location and try to grow one of these back home.
April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flurries bring?
My brother took this photo about about twenty minutes ago. It's my Winnipeg backyard. And the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press has an article about the crew of the Robin Williams movie The Big White, being shot in the city, using fake snow on set just yesterday:
It was sad to leave Winnipeg last night, but there are some benefits to being back in Toronto. It is currently a sunny, humid 24°C here.
The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting on its front page (subscriber-only) that Mayor Glen Murray will announce tomorrow he is quitting the mayoralty to run as a Liberal federally. CJOB says the announcement may come today. Murray will run in my home riding, Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia, which current MP John Harvard will leave for appointment as Manitoba's next lieutenant-governor.
I'm disappointed because Winnipeg will lose a great mayor. This can only be a good thing for Canadian cities, though, since Murray will bring his new deal agenda to cabinet, where I expect him to be shortly. I wonder if John Harvard will remember me from my Ottawa days? It might be fun to attend a swanky party at Government House.
My good friend Peter has his own "Peter's Ponderings" section on the Mennonite Church Manitoba website. His most recent essay describes his Lenten fast from "being right." Peter admits that his "rampant lust for being affirmed" was hurting his potential for healthy relationships:
You see, it dawned on me that the need to be right can destroy some beautiful bridges that God is building in my life right now. Bridges that could be linking me more effectively to loving relationships with my friends and family. Bridges that could be linking me more deeply to the love of God and Christ. Bridges that could be linking me more graciously to my enemies. Bridges, even, that could take me from the desolate plateau of my corrupted self, across the chasm of selfishness, and into the lush rolling hills of my selfless, Christ-infused, True self.
Peter, you're getting poetic here. But this speaks to me. I know that my own relationships have sometimes suffered due to my insistence on being right. There's a reason why I once received the card below as a birthday present. Peter suggests that people like us want to be right because we long to be appreciated, and that when in conversation with others, we can't acknowledge their rightness — we can't appreciate them — because then our own needs will not be met. As if appreciation were a zero-sum game.
I think Peter's fast is a good idea. Not that I ever considered him particularly "personally righteous," as he puts it. It does, however, serve as a good reminder to be conscious of my own need for rightness, and its effects on my relationships.
There are several blogs that I read on a daily basis, if not more frequently. One of my favourites these days is Hugo Schwyzer's. He describes himself as "a progressive, consistent-life ethic Anabaptist Democrat (but with a sense of humor), a community college history and gender studies professor, an avid marathoner, aspiring ultra-runner, die-hard political junkie, and proud father of a small chinchilla." Almost every day, Hugo posts a fairly long, thoughtful essay, often touching on topics of faith, history, gender issues, and politics. His is definitely the most personally enriching blog in my blogroll.
The Subservient Chicken link has been floating around the web for a few weeks now. It's an excellent example of "viral marketing." The website was originally launched on April 7 and only 20 people were told about it. Shortly after the launch, people who had heard about it through emails and word of blog were bringing the site considerable traffic. Since then, its address has appeared at the end of some Burger King TV ads, and as of April 15th, the site had received 15 to 20 million hits.
Snopes has a good write-up on the site, including links to other Subservient Chicken resources. (I'm not explaining what Subservient Chicken is; see for yourself.) Reportedly, most visitors spend an average of six minutes exploring exploring the site. What an advertising coup! I suppose I am being played by savvy marketers by propagating this ad virus, but it is original and entertaining, so I really don't mind.
In exactly 72 hours I should be in Winnipeg for my extra-long Leadership Retreat/Mother's Day/Visiting weekend. I will be returning to Toronto Monday evening.
