For the Love of Africa · Sunday March 9, 2008 by colin newell
If you love Africa as much as I do, you are going to want to mark your calendar for Sunday, April the 6th, 2008 for an event in Victoria B.C. Canada.
For the Love of Africa is hosting a coffee and chocolate event from 11AM til 4PM.
8 of Vancouver Island’s best coffee roasters will be there doling out samples of their product. And there is most definitely a chocolate component to this event.
So. What about this Love of Africa group? For the Love of Africa has been in existence since 2005, the Society having had its roots in an original team of fourteen people who visited Dodoma, Tanzania in September of 2004 to assist in the construction of the new Kizota School and Student Centre.
They are a humanitarian society interested in projects which focus on two key areas – Education and Health. The issues are critical to the long term development and stability of both Tanzania and Africa in general and they feel it is in these areas that they can most effectively make a difference.
Based in Victoria BC, Canada, they welcome people from across Canada and around the world, thanks to the internet, to join them on their journey in the hopes that together we can bring health and hope to one small corner of the African continent.
Avril Lavigne launches World Tour from Victoria · Thursday March 6, 2008 by colin newell
Overheard moments after the concert ended…
“How does a Vancouver Canucks game differ from an Avril Lavigne concert?”
Well. It seems that after paying over $60 for her, slightly over one hour, show…
Well… “You are the loser.”
I am aware that she has, what, 2 songs that have garnered radio play in the last 2 years or so…
Lemme see… Sk8r Boi… and… Thinking… Thinking…
At a little over $1/minute for Avril (hey, Video games cost more than that!), the average fan might not notice the time passing – but as a music reviewer, it is like being in a room of heroin addicts after a quad-shot of my favorite espresso.
And as a devoted fan of American and Canadian Idol (more pre-fab music in the works), I have noticed that there is a finite pool of musical talent on this continent… and with each trip to the trough, that supply gets more and more scant. And no, I am not saying that Avril is not talented… because she has broad appeal to her legion of teen and pre-teen girlfriends…
It’s just… I hope this is not the future of live music: Where (largely prefabricated) bands trot out their hits in staccato fashion in under an hour… and graceless at that.
Canadian Theocracy Chapter 1 · Wednesday March 5, 2008 by colin newell
The Stephen Harper minority Conservative government has drafted guidelines that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show that it deems offensive or not in the public’s best interest.
The proposed changes to the Income Tax Act would allow the Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to projects deemed offensive, effectively killing the productions.
Morality experts from Heritage Canada and the Department of Justice will determine which shows or films pass the test.
Woo!
Game shows, news, sports, and reality television are already excluded from access to the tax credits. So, the proposed prohibition would cover a range of material, such as anything explicitly sexual nature, excessively violent or without educational value.
Ouch!
So whose idea was this anyway?
Apparently a well-known evangelical crusader is taking credit for the federal government’s desire to cut tax credits to TV and film productions that contain sex and violence or lack moral fiber.
One Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, said his lobbying efforts included discussions with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, and “numerous” meetings with officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Oh joy!
“We’re thankful that someone’s finally listening,” he said yesterday. “It’s fitting with conservative values, and I think that’s why Canadians voted for a Conservative government.”
Christian Conservative values?
Now, the last time I checked, Christian Conservative Values (C.C.V’s) seemed to exist in small pockets in Alberta and British Columbia – home to book burnings and other scary behaviors…
And to be precise, we have a Conservative minority government…
Which means… more or less… than the Christian Conservatives, in Canada at least, exist at generally safe levels for the rest of us – meaning few…
Thank you God.
The Story of Stuff · Sunday March 2, 2008 by colin newell
Love or hate Al Gore and his message on global catastrophe, you have to stop and think for a moment… what our actual impact, our individual impact on this frail little planet is.
And whether you are sitting in a Tim Horton’s doughnut shop right now, rolling up the empty rim on your empty paper and wax cup (after having a soothing cup of hot Tim Horton’s coffee and couple of artery shattering Maple Dip doughtnuts (like I did yesterday on my way to the B.C. Ferry Terminal in Tsawsassen British Columbia…) or sitting in your idling S.U.V. at the McDonald’s or Starbuck’s drive-through with your wailing spawn in the 6 pull-out seats…
You have to think… for just a fleeting moment… between sips of that soothing beverage or nibbles on that wonderful fatty goodness…
That maybe, just maybe… something is a little amiss… or out of balance…
or ever so unsustainable… in the way you share this planet with your fellow Man.
And if Al Gore’s obvious and inconvenient message is a little too wordy for you (It was for me…) than maybe getting lectured by Annie would be more suitable.
Annie Leonard’s 20 minute flash video presents a sobering message with straight and uncomplicated talk… kind of like my Grade 1 teacher who reminded me of the consequences of wrestling little Raymond Rafferty to the ground and leaving his nose bloody… actually folks, she was lecturing Raymond about not pushing my face into the clay… but that is another story.
Living in a highly developed nation, like Canada (and for some of my readers, the U.S. of A.) we have an obligation to, at least, try and get it… to try and look around our World and maybe, just maybe just lift an arm or two to try and make a difference.
So. If you have even the slightest inkling that something is a little out of sorts in the way we Westerners live… well, PLEASE have a look at this video or the You-Tube shorts.
Some prerequisite reading for this article – Roll up the Rim to Pollute!
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