James Bow's Blog, page 122
January 27, 2010
Oh, Beautiful iPad. Why I Won't be Buying Thee
As an Apple fan, I can't help but feel a warm glow in watching other Apple fans get excited over a major new product release. Whatever you might think of Apple, I find their products to be sleek, elegant and, most importantly cool. So, when the buzz started to rise around a possible new tablet computer, I paid attention. I'm typing this here, now, while Erin watches President Obama's State of the Union address. As inspiring as Obama is (and he sounded to be in fine form), I bet you can guess ...
On Partisanship (Again)
Image via Wikipedia
Given that the anger of the 25,000 or so Canadians who marched on the streets this Saturday against Stephen Harper's prorogation of parliament is pretty clearly focused on one man and one party (although I note that one speaker at the K-W rally criticized the Conservatives and Liberals equally for their past undemocratic actions), it's understandable that supporters of that man and that party would seek to downplay and dismiss said anger. And given the nature of our...
January 23, 2010
Make Perogies, Not Prorogation
Well, I'd call that a successful outing.
The Kitchener-Waterloo chapter of Canadians Against the Prorogation of Parliament organized a rally protesting Stephen Harper's move to prorogue parliament. It started as scheduled today at 11 a.m. at the newly-minted Waterloo Public Square at the corner of King Street and Willis Way, and continued for two hours. I arrived with Vivian and Nora around noon, and found the public space comfortably full. Estimates I've heard put total attendance around...
January 22, 2010
World Building (Icarus Down Gains a Soundtrack)
The photo above is entitled Gantries and is by Young Yun. It is used in accordance with his Creative Commons license.
Icarus Down Scorecard:
Word Count: 34,830
Increase Since Last Report: 23,629 (Nov 15)
The story of Icarus Down seems to be coming together. The structure is in place up to, but not including, the climax, and it's now a matter of choosing which scenes appeal to me most at the moment, and adding in the details. The story may or not have the advantage of the fact that it is...
January 20, 2010
Democratic Exercise
As impressive as it is for a Facebook group to gather over 200,000 Canadians united in opposition to Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue parliament (especially compared to the 127,000 Canadians who joined the Facebook group against last year's coalition proposal), a question has to be asked: where do we go from here? Because, as impressive as that number is, it doesn't take much effort to express one's opinions on Facebook. Although you have heard some people signing up to Facebook...
January 19, 2010
Canadians Are Not Ashamed to be Elite
Image via Wikipedia
It would appear that a lot of Canadians disagree with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue parliament, effectively shutting down government until after the 2010 Olympics. In spite of Conservative supporters claiming that nobody cares about parliament and Harper could abuse the system with impunity, the Conservatives' numbers have slipped, with some polls suggesting that the party may now be in a tie with the opposition Liberals. There has also been a storm o...
January 17, 2010
In Praise of Mall Playgrounds
Image via Wikipedia
As we've only recently become parents, we've only recently became aware of a wonderful feature known as the mall playground. We first encountered these in Des Moines, when I happened to spot an area for children in a local mall known as South Ridge. I considered it then to be quite a savvy development, especially for the frigid winters of the American Midwest. The malls engender a fair amount of good will, at least from me, in giving us space to keep the kids happy. And...
January 15, 2010
The Unchristians, Part 2
Image via Wikipedia
I was horrified to hear about the devastating earthquake that hit just outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti. If ever there was a country that has had a terrible lot in life, it's Haiti or, as my wife succinctly put it, "Haiti! Oh, God! If a direct portal to Hell were to open on Earth, it would probably open in Haiti."
The blogosphere is stepping forward and gathering up as much useful information as possible for those who would like to help. Here's a page from Dr. Dawg. The work...
January 14, 2010
Things that Made Me Chuckle Today
Fourteen hours ago, the co-founder of the Blogging Tories, Stephen Taylor, posted the following note on Twitter:
Ignatieff tour continues through Montreal and Toronto and is greeted by protests (photos) http://bit.ly/4Lo0qp #cdnpoli #roft
Fourteen hours later, I couldn't help but respond:
Yo, @stephen_taylor: some of your anti-Ignatieff protesters could use a spell check: http://tinyurl.com/ydosb9x #fb
Why? Well:
Heh. Hat tip to Big City Lib Strikes Back.
January 13, 2010
Yo, Catelli: You Missed a Podium (Why the Governor General Should Remain, and Remain Appointed)
One thing this prorogation controversy has stimulated is the beginnings of a debate on how our democracy should be structured. Individuals wishing to stop the prime minister from abusing his constitutional powers again have suggested making prorogation — the dissolution of parliament at the end of a parliamentary session — a decision taken by parliament alone. And given the Governor General's role in allowing Stephen Harper to prorogue parliament, the blogger Catelli (formerly known as the...
