Panties for Peace

The Canadian Press ran a story a few days ago informing us that Canadian women are being asked to send panties to the embassy of Myanmar in Ottawa as a form of protest against thatcountry's military junta. According to the group that launched the campaign -- Panties for Peace! -- the generals fear that contact with women's underwear will sap their power.

I know that the connection is somewhat tenuous but I, for one, applaud PFP!'s initiative. After all, women have been throwing their panties at Tom Jones for years and he certainly has not been oppressing the people of Myanmar.

Talk About Irony

I came across a news item earlier this week that talked about how much time Canadian kids are spending in front of a screen. According to its annual report on children's physical activity levels, Active Healthy Kids Canada claims that 90 per cent of Canadian kids fail to meet guidelines on physical activity. A contributing factor: children in the 10-to-16 age group typically spend 6 hours a day in front of a television, computer, or video screen.

As alarming as this was, it paled in comparison to the realization that I heard about this news item on the television news -- and then came across it again while checking out the news on-line.

A Fly in the Ointment

The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled today to dismiss Martin Mustapha's appeal.

Back in 2005, Mustapha sued Culligan of Canada Ltd. and was awarded damages in the amount of $341,000. The basis for his lawsuit? He found a dead fly (and part of a second fly) in a large bottle of water that Culligan delivered to his house.

Now, Mustapha was not awarded over $300K just because of the presence of insects in his water bottle. No, he was originally awarded the settlement because his response to those tragic circumstances was insomnia and depression. Oh yeah, his business and sex life were also adversely affected.

Today's SCC ruling not only quashed the original ruling, but Mustapha has been ordered to pay Culligan's legal bills. Although the case seems a bit silly, it does establish rules for "reasonableness" that should result in fewer frivolous lawsuits in the future.

Unfortunately, it also means an end to Retirement Plan # 3. I guess it is back to the old drawing board.

A Day Which Will Live in Famy

Today is a good day to be Japanese-American. That's right, today all Americans of Japanese descent can bask in the glow of Kristi Yamaguchi's impressive victory in the most recent season of Dancing with the Stars.

The lovely and talented Ms Yamaguchi did not let the fact that she basically danced on skates for her entire career as a figure skater keep her from seizing the moment -- and the crown.

Can it get any better than this?

The Devil Is In The Details

I got off the subway this morning and walked past a group of construction workers who were smoking and drinking coffee outside of their work site. The youngest of the group was wearing a t-shirt with the large, yellow initials "F.B.I." on the chest, in imitation of the police services apparel that one sees in movies and on television shows.

I've seen "F.B.I." shirts before, but there was a slight twist to this one. Usually they declare the wearer to be a "Female Body Inspector", but this shirt proclaimed to the world that he was a "Feminine Body Inspector". The funny thing was that he did not look particularly feminine. In fact, he looked as butch as any of the other construction workers.

Something Odd Out of China

There was an earthquake in China the other day. Thousands have died, and many others remain unaccounted for.

The Summer Olympics are scheduled to start in a few months, so the Chinese government felt obliged to reassure tourists that China is safe.

I don't know which is worse -- the fact that they feel they must make such a statement or the fact that they think it will actually have an impact on Olympic tourists.

Green or Red or Yellow?

I am of two minds regarding the local ban on pesticides and the resulting proliferation of dandelions. On the one hand, my eyes are constantly itchy and red from allergies, and I do not understand how cities can ban pesticides that the federal government says are safe. On the other hand, I find the carpet of yellow flowers visually stunning.

R.I.P. Civility

There was a time when my favourite city's nickname was "Toronto the Good". Not anymore. At least, not when Torontonians are riding the public transit system.

Every day I see the same acts of rudeness:

1. Perfectly healthy young men and women sit on subway and bus seats while pregnant women, parents with small children, and the elderly are forced to stand.
2. People of all ages place backpacks, briefcases, and shopping bags on the empty seat next to them, so as to drive other commuters to seek another seat elsewhere or to stand.
3. People playing their music at incredibly loud levels which can be heard across the bus or subway car.
4. People conducting conversations about work, their personal lives, the personal lives of others, the presumed personal lives of others, or the desired personal lives of others at such loud volumes than one cannot help but become party to the information.
5. People heavily salting their conversations with obscenities including that perennial favourite, the "F-word".

[If you happen to be the young lady whose telephone conversation I overheard would make a sailor blush, may I recommend Paul Fussell's excellent book on the Second World War, Wartime. Not only does his chapter on said word use it almost as much as you did, but he does it in a witty way, which your conversation was sadly lacking. But I digress.]

I won't even get into the lack of civility on the roads -- especially around intersections on yellow lights.

Saturday Night Music

I have had a musical evening.

From 7:00 til 9:00 I listened to Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio 1. This week's show was the third in a series profiling songs that got stuck at number two on the charts. In addition to playing the second-place song, Bachman played the song that kept it out of the number one slot. The show covered the early 1970s so Bachman was able to play two of his own number one hits, or rather three, since No Sugar Tonight was the B side of The Guess Who's American Woman single. (The other single, by the way, was Bachman Turner Overdrive's You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.)

After 9:00, I listened to music and worked compiling my database of music recordings. This evening I worked primarily on listing folk, blues, and world music CDs. It gave me a chance to listen to several west African albums that I had not heard in quite some time

Life in the VIP Lane

I found myself in traffic with a lot of very important people today. In fact, I suspect they were surgeons rushing off to perform life-saving surgery.

At least, I presume that is the case. It is the only way I can account for the incredibly large number of people honking their horns at the slightest delays in traffic.

I hope all the patients survived.