The Breadbin

Sorry for the lack of a blog about, as Charlie Stross called it, the "fertility ritual involving an amiable but allegedly none too bright helicopter pilot and a conventionally pretty party planner".Mr. Stross can be forgiven his anti-monarchism, him being Scottish and all. I myself have much more positive attitudes towards William and Kate and indeed (most of) the royals in general; as such, I have been gravely remiss in not offering congratulations and best wishes. May the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge achieve lifelong happiness. I rather think they have a shot at it: for royals, both of them are about as close to 'just plain folks' as it is perhaps possible to be.
I did see most of the wedding ceremony. I was nowhere near as captivated by it as I recall being thirty years ago. But then again, thirty years ago, I was nine. My mom and stepdad had just married, nine days previous, in the tiny chapel at Storybook Gardens in London, Ontario...the total antithesis of West…

Another newspaper got crumpled into a little ball this morning chez Breadbin and tossed into the fires that power my fingers. This time, it's the Waterloo Chronicle, a free rag more befitting a town of 10,000 than a city ten times that size. Its main purpose is to serve as wrapping paper for a dozen or so weekly flyers.
This time, it's not a letter to the editor that has my knickers a-twist: it's a political ad.
On page 4--and you'll have to take my word for this, since I can't find a reproduction anywhere online--is a full page ad for Andrew Telegdi, the once (and future, he hopes) MP for my riding. Last election, he was dethroned by all of seventeen votes: the closest outcome in the country. All reports I've read suggest this riding is, again, too close to call. Before I lambaste this ad, let me say I have no personal opinion one way or the other about Mr. Telegdi. My wife does, and hers is not favourable, based on one less than pleasant interaction. Be that a…

I'd be more inclined to support mandatory voting if every ballot included the choice of None Of The Above. To make this choice would be more constructive than to destroy one's ballot, would send a sobering message to those who did not earn the "X" and, I dare say, give legions of voters a chance to finally vote according to their true sentiments.--Bruce Rhodes, as published in The Globe and Mail, 4/26/11
Letters like the above drive me around the friggin' bend.
It's a given that I will endure the blatting of this particular 'none of the above' opinion at least ten times every election campaign. It's usually offered as an ironclad justification for a refusal to vote at all; if not, it's a whiny-voiced "do I have to?" that takes me right back to kindergarten. What I NEVER hear hard on its heels is some description, any description at all, of the apparently legendary beast called
A POLITICIAN WORTH VOTING FOR
We all have a picture of this fa…

At Eastertime my thoughts always turn to matters spiritual and religious. Not that they often have far to go. But I make a point of reading at least one spiritual or religious tome every year, usually around this time. This year's selection is by Tom Harpur, a Canadian ordained minister and theologian who reminds me very much of my Grade 13 Classics teacher, Rev. Roger McCombe. Harpur is one of the more liberal Christians you'll ever run across. Indeed, the book I'm reading--Water Into Wine--goes out of its way in the very first chapter to brashly assert that there is no credible historical evidence for the existence of Jesus. One would think it impossible to maintain any semblance of a Christian faith if one doesn't believe in a historical Jesus. Strangely, or not so strangely once you understand where Harpur's coming from, his faith is both wide and deep. Harpur believes, as did Rev. McCombe, in the power of myth. The working definition of a myth, according to …

If I'm Jack Layton--and man, I wish I were, right now--I'd be saying the following every chance I got:
"Hey, Canadians. We've tried the Liberals, and we got AdScam. We've tried Harper..." (big shrug of the shoulders) "Now let's try something different."
I have to admit I've been impressed with 'ol Jacky-boy. As a former staunch Conservative, it feels kind of odd to even type that. Layton has lost that smarmy used-car salesman persona he used to wear like a cheap suit. Now he looks engaged and trustworthy. I'm a little leery of the NDP platform--I'm not keen on cap and trade, for one thing, and although it claims to be fully costed out with a surplus, I suspect voodoo economics. But I will say this: I like NDP priorities a whole hell of a lot more than Harper's.
For the first time in a long time, this election isn't a foregone conclusion. Oh, it's a pretty safe bet the Conservatives are going to win again. But second pla…

Before I get to the meat of my post, I would like to congratulate the entire University FreshCo team on a job well done. Our store's opening day set a record for the chain: no FreshCo anywhere has been that busy on opening day, or indeed on any day. We did three and a half times the normal Wednesday volume. I hope we can sustain the momentum.------------ A couple of "must-reads" have cropped up on my sidebar over the past week. Catelli has posted an impassioned lament of the state of the Canadian political "game". The rules for this "game", he says, are bass-ackwards: you win power and lose respect when you lie, but lose power and gain respect by telling the truth. In a society that claims to value truth and respect, this makes no sense. And it never will, according to the second must read I've found this week. John Michael Greer has outdone himself with his latest: "Alternatives to Nihilism" instalment. Democracy, said Winston Churchill,…

The boss's wife estimated sixty people outside before open. Twenty minutes after the ribbon-cutting, all 180 carts were spoken for. Ten tills going full bore all day, usually lined at least five deep, occasionally fifteen or so. It was BUSY. I knew it would be, of course, but there is a vast gulf between knowing and experiencing. When you have to plan each step because no matter where you walk, you're in somebody's way...it's a challenge. When you find out your warehouse is out of stock on a lead item (Simply Orange Juice, 1.75L, $1.97)...it's a challenge. When you listen to some of our esteemed customers bitch...it's a challenge to keep your mouth shut. "You have to pay for carts now? I'm never coming back here again." Riddance. You don't pay for the cart, you rent it...for the measly sum of two bits. You want your precious quarter back, simply return the cart. Small inconvenience that helps us keep our carts. 'Cause, you know, each cart ru…