What we do is secret

We first heard about this last year, as The Bronx, one of our summer faves, had been reported to play Black Flag in this biopic about Germs frontman Darby Crash. The film has Shane West (the rock n' roll doc from ER) playing Darby, and Rick Gonzalez as Pat Smear. Bijou Phillips rounds out the band as Lorna Doom. Trailers for the film, What We Do Is Secret, are available here.

While we were never terrible fans of the Germs, we do find the early L.A. punk scene fascinating. The contributions of hardcore, to punk and the counterculture in general, are mostly underappreciated. A lot of histories and narratives basically say "Things were cool until Black Flag and the hardcore kids showed up". Yes, bands like Black Flag and the Germs marked a dramatic change, not only in terms of musical style (less garage rock camp, more UK noise) but also in terms of audiences, drawing a crowd that was a lot younger and less educated than the former college scenesters.

Supposedly the movie opened in L.A. a few days ago, but no word on when it is going to be making it our way in Calgary. You can be sure that it will make one of our Kino Matinees!

Espresso Update

One of our local coffee haunts was clearing out some inventory, and knowing of our love of testing different coffee brands, tossed a bag of Saquella's premium espresso roast, along with one of Moak. While the Moak is a recent fave, the Saquella was something of an unknown quantity - but no longer! Over the last week we have given our test buds a work-out on it's fairly robust favour. Lurking somewhere in the background however, has been an unusual aftertaste, as if we had added shots of grappa to every cup (without the alcoholic buzz). At first we checked the expiry date and then cleaned out our espresso machines. Granted, the aftertaste was less noticable in the Gran Gaggia, but only because that one has been running too hot, making the espresso somewhat acidic. In the end, we can only assume that the quinine-style notes are part of Saquella's charm.

In related thoughts, under the recent heat wave in Calgary, our office thermometer has registered a few forty degree afternoons, causing our thoughts to turn to our southern Italian friend, Kimbo.

Early Books of Summer

We freely admit that the last few weeks have seen a decided slow down in book circulation through our offices, perhaps because the lack of cool air circulation makes reading indoors in well-lighted areas uncomfortable. However, a few pages have found their way to our fingers, most notably Jon Savage's history of adolescence, Teenage. As Savage notes, it is very easy to forget that the idea of the teenager is a relatively recent creation and looks back at the early, turn of the century work of G. Stanley Hall, a leading figure in the identification of adolescence as a formative period of personal development. While many earlier writers, such as the Enlightenment author Jean-Jacques Rousseau, had described adolescence, Hall was one of the first to analyze it on a wider scale and suggest that it was as much a social construction and a psychological one. What follows then is a look at the role played by youth in the emerging developments of mass culture consumerism, subcultures, and political movements over the sixty year period of 1890-1950. As keen followers of the development of "sub" and "counter" cultures, we have found Savage's work to be fascinating.

In a similar, but considerably lighter vein, The Art of the Band T-Shirt by Amber Easby & Henry Oliver, is precisely what you'd expect. A short history of the t-shirt in the United States is followed by a quick photo survey of samples from almost forty years of rock and roll fashion. Some key moments include a look at the history of the Rolling Stones iconic lips logo, as well as the backstory of the infamous "This Is Not a Fugazi T-Shirt".

Also, speaking of rock and roll subcultures, we are particularly enjoying Brad Warner's Sit Down and Shut Up. Warner, a member of the early 1980s Akron, Ohio hardcore band Zero Defects, spent his post-hardcore life becoming increasingly involved in Zen Buddhism (not unusual, as resident punk historian Sean Marchetto points out, though Krishna consciousness was also a big draw for straight-edgers looking to go the next step). Eventually relocating to Japan to indulge in his love of sci-fi monster movies, Warner deepened his committment to Buddhism, becoming ordained as a priest. Sit Down and Shut Up is his second book on buddhism, a follow-up to Hardcore Zen, and is an introductory level explanation of the Shobogenzu, a work by a medeival Zen Buddhist. Unlike many other books aimed at a religious, philosophical, or new age crowd, Warner specifically aims at his fellow punks, making this especially enjoyable.

Finally, we have recently completed Continuum Books' indepth look at Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation, as part of their expanding "33 1/3" collection of critical essays on popular albums. Perhaps a little too reminiscent of an English Lit graduate seminar, we are neverthless looking to track down the other twenty-five titles.

As the dust settles . . .

Finally, with a long-awaited thunderstorm beckoning on the horizon, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede draws slowly to its close for another year. The ten day event with a tendancy to polarize locals, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city, and boost beer sales into the stratosphere is just about over.

With our long and varied relationships to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, we here at The Daily Wenzel, tend to try and avoid the Stampede, but even we have been interested in a few Stampede events:

1. The suspension of all downtown construction - granted, this is a bit of an unconfirmed rumour since we haven't actually ventured outside of Bridgeland for the last two weeks, but people sometimes forget how strong an economic pull the Stampede has for Calgary. The Stampede is much more than just a rodeo, and with its recent mixed use expansion plans, its attempting to be much more than just an entertainment destination. If the many construction projects were in fact halted, then it would be more evidence that what the Stampede wants, the Stampede gets.

2. We loved the reports from the tourists about the growing disparity of wealth in Calgary. This is something that's been painfully obvioius from the types of news stories certain television media outlets have been trying to pass off as news (instead of lifestyle hyperconsumerism), but never has it really been presented as something to be ashamed of - as if all this talk of a homeless, and unaffordable housing problem, has been happening somewhere else.

When Rafael Nadal advanced to centre court yesterday, the rivalry that everyone in tennis had hoped for, finally arrived. Nadal has been dogging Federer's steps for the last three years, but last year at Wimbledon Federer made it known that Nadal may be the King of the Clay Court Sandbox, but Roger still ruled the playground. His convincing dismantling of Rafa seemed to indicate that Federer was still peerless on three of four major surfaces.

Not so this morning.

Nadal's stunning early play in the first and second sets demonstrated that play on grass was no longer a mystery to the Mallorcan. How much playing six straight days on grass benefited or hurt his game we may never know, but the way he rushed the net and deftly delivered half-volleys took everyone, including Federer, by surprise. The Swiss maestro was clearly undone in the fourth set, as much by his surprise at Nadal's play, as by Hawkeye, the electronic line review system.

Easily one of the best matches of the last seven years, it signals the arrival of a rivalry that has been long if the offing. No longer is Roger Federer the default favourite, nor is the No.1 ranking without doubt. There is a very real possibility that Nadal could take the U.S. Open, as there was the moment when it looked like Wimbledon was in his grasp - you could see it plainly on Federer's face.

This fall, Flushing Meadows will be a very interesting place.

Federer vs Safin

We are unapologetic Safin fans, drawn to him like moths to a flame. For us, this is perhaps the most anticipated match up of Wimbledon, though really, we think our headline ought to be Marat vs Safin, because in our estimation Federer, majestic as he may be, could very well be relegated to by-stander status, overshadowed by the internal character drama that Safin can bring to the match. A Federer/Safin match is unusual for Safin, of whom one commentator remarked "He displays more talent falling out of bed than most players show in their whole careers." As the chronic underachiever, it is not that often that Safin is faced with a player obviously of equal or greater calibre than himself. Getting psyched up for this match should not be a problem for Safin. Maintaining composure may be, after all, Marat is something of a Doesteyosky novel played out on a tennis court.

IfMarat Safin shows up ready to play, then we may have a repeat of the last match-up of these two, in Australia 2005, where Safin eventually went on to win it, after beating Federer in the semi-finals, and the level of play provided one of the most fascinating games of recent years.

The Best Bar In The World

In one of our rare spare moments we came across this somewhat blurry photo from our SXSW sojourn earlier this year and it caused us to reflect on just what it is that we would look for in a drinking establishment. In the photo, we are outside in an alleyway, next to the stage where Cursive is about to play. The fellow with the white bucket in the centre of the picture has just set up a bar in the alleyway, and it strikes us that this is just what we want.

Despite our democratic tendencies and our belief in liberty, fraternity, and the whole egalite thing, sometimes we just want to be alone. Or rather, almost alone save for a few friends in some small dark hole in the wall. This little bar set-up, in this tight corner of the world, captured for a moment the whole transistory dream-like quality of a night out in the demi-monde, offering the opportunity that everyone longs for: this bar might never be here again, and this night will never be experienced again, yet for those select few who were there, it provides a shared moment in a rather exclusive secret.

Is The Boom Over?

The newspapers were awash with predictions from the provincial Finance Minister that the decade of unbridled oil wealth is coming to a close. Sure, Lyle Oberg admitted, the provincial surplus from oil revenues was the second highest in provinicial history, but a sharp decline is coming. This announcement follows recent reports that the summer months could bring with them much labour strife, as hundreds of provincial unions have contracts that expire. This fact makes Oberg's news seem very likely to be a bit of posturing to help prepare the public for the government's position on holding down wages. However, casual conversations heard on the street, in shops, and even in grocery store check-out lines, speak to the feeling that new oil discoveries are becoming harder and harder to find, lending some credence to Oberg's stance.

More interesting though, are stories of more and more people leaving Calgary, either disillusioned with their inability to find adequate housing, or that the promises of good pay cannot match the ever-increasing cost of living in Calgary and Edmonton. As well, a number of educated, middle-class bureaucrats are also checking out of the major urban centres, cashing in on the real estate boom as they move back to the cheaper climes of Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia.

Is the boom really over then?

The last fifteen years have perhaps done significant damage to the social infrastructure of the city. First, the nation-wide recession of the early 1990s inhibited all sorts of growth, while encouraging youths to enter post-secondary education (since fewer and fewer out-of-high school jobs were available). Unfortunately, the glut of university graduates produced during the period of 1992-1997 infamously saw degree-holders mired in entry-level service sector jobs, that did little to encourage any form of social stability, and in fact increased worker mobility (ie, I can just as easily get a crappy job elsewhere as here). This transience delayed marriages, home-purchasing, and even child-rearing. Without significant income, this population remained part of the renting class and very few were able to take advantage of the subsequent dramatic rise in real estate values that began in the late 1990s and approach significant levels in recent years. More recent graduates however, have had something of an easier time finding post-university careers and are enjoying a larger degree of prosperity than those five to ten years older.

One wonders if we are not something of a lost generation, but the pain has not been limited to the university education. Residential values in working class neighbourhoods remained flat throughout the 1990s, only recently increasingly significantly. This contributed to the sharpening division in Calgary between the rich and poor. Those who were barely surviving in 1991, continue to barely survive, while those who were even somewhat ahead are now tremendously further afield.

Furthermore, the recession, coupled with the budget slashing of the deficit fighting years prevented much necessary infrastructure work from occuring. The social services, designed to adequately cope with a population of approximately 650,000 were reduced by ministerial order, even as the population began to rocket towards a million. Many of the major projects that are currently causing traffic chaos, are projects first designed in the last decade, some even longer.

The wealth generated in this province, very little of which has been used to deal with these problems in a sustainable or constructive manner makes things all the more frustating.

Paul Virilio vs. Facebook

Having recently finished Paul Virilio's 1998 text on the nature of science in the age of the Internet, The Information Bomb, as well joining Facebook, we could not help our Facebook experience inform our reading of Virillio, nor could we prevent Virillio from colouring our views of Facebook, for the two make an interesting pairing.

On one hand, and at the simplest level, Facebook does nothing that email does not, except that Facebook would be an email program that allows one to search other people's address book as well as letting you spy on other people's notes to each other. The increasing popularity of the social networking site, however, has led to the development of numerous applets and widgets that people can use to customize their Facebook pages. In this sense, Facebook appears to be more of a synthesis of many singular aspects of the Internet. They've even added a marketplace option.

The Information Bomb, while not necessarily easy to follow, nor concise in it's thinking, was the French philosopher's take on the whole Internet experience. Given the apparent failure of various space exploration endeavours of the 1990s, Virilio became convinced that we were entering a period of internal colonisation. He was also concerned that the American government had not abandoned all of its designs for the military origin and applications of the Internet. Indeed, this is where the title comes from, for he ominously suggests in the closing pages of his book, that perhaps the marketing campaign and push for publicizing the Internet was just another avenue to ensare the citizens of the globe in an American net. As soon as one established an online presence and became dependent on it for access or exchange of information, one became vulnerable to any American attempt to disrupt or limit service.

However, there is also an intriguing sort of sidebar story to The Information Bomb that Facebook clearly illustrates. Virillio was somewhat fascinated with the introduction of webcams and declared that the ability to peer at live events any where in the world marked the collapse of "local time". Many earlier commentators have mentioned how the rise of the twenty-four news channels had shrunk the world, but for Virillio the web cams were something different. First of all, they were incredibly mundane, but more importantly, the user/viewer had more control over what to watch. One did not have to wait for a particular point in the news cycle to find out what was going on, one simply went online and watched it live.

With Facebook, we find out instantly what is happening among our friends and family. Where Virilio talked about the telescoping effect of technology, we can see that the sixteen hours and thousands of kilometers between Calgary, Canada and Sydney, Australia, are no barriers to the immediate flow of information. We can find out instantly what is going on anywhere in the world provided we have a Facebook friend online. Granted, Facebook does not seem to have to capacity for live video (yet), but with the ability to post immediate photos and captured video, it's pretty close.

Early Morning History in the Making

It has almost become a ritual, a match-up we all wait for Nadal vs. Federer, Roland Garros. One of these two men will make history this morning, but it remains to be seen just how large of scale, that history will be. Will it be Nadal, becoming the first man in over twenty years to win three consecutive French Open titles? Or will Federer become well and truly on his way to winning the first Grand Slam in men's tennis since the 1960s?

These two met a few weeks ago at the finals of the Hamburg clay courts, and Federer dismantled the young Spaniard with authority, ending his impressive clay court unbeaten streak. It was the first time that Federer beat Nadal on clay, and it could not have come at a better time. Federer wants the Grand Slam, having won everything else tennis has to offer, but as Bud Collins said, Roland Garros is the gateway to the slam, and Nadal is Cerberus.

The G8 and the Future of Canada

We have spent the last two weeks or so watching and reading reports coming out of Germany predicting and the reporting on Canada's behaviour at the recent G8 meeting, asking ourselves, what need for commentary is there? The Harper government's position has been abundantly clear on the issue of climate change, and even the rumours that Canada was attempting to block or delay an aid package to Africa was not as surprising as it might have seen on the surface, given the government's own treatment of minorities and disadvantaged groups at home.

Upon reflection though, what is becoming increasingly surprising is the rapid change that the Harper government is bringing to the international Canadian identity. For quite some time now, Canada has been active in the international arena, acting as something of an intercessor, or go-between for developing nations seeking access to other members of the G8. That role, along with a host of other international roles that Canada has played, seem now to be over.

It is no longer surprising, but perhaps becoming alarming, the degree to which the international Canadian position is changing. If you consider the issues that dominated the last Canadian election, where Harper eked out his minority government in January 2006, there was very little debate over internationalism. There was discussion over the Canadian role in Afghanistan, which as moved now from a more "traditionallly Canadaian" peacekeeping role, to something more aggressive under NATO auspices, as well as debate over Kyoto which the majority of Canadians continue to report they agree with, at least in principle, and the Harper government has effectively walked away from. Now, to peacekeeping and a history of pushing environmental causes (the CFC ban in Montreal 1976, Mulroney's role at the Rio Summit), the Harper government is shifting Canada's role in the developing world.

Vancouver, City on the Edge of Tomorrow

(Alright, so we've stolen another title again, though props to whoever knows where this one's from!)

For quite a few of us here at The Daily Wenzel, Vancouver is like a home away from home, though in recent years we have not been able to spend as much time there as we would wish. With the city speckled with friends and relations, we always manage to find a welcome as warm as the summer days. However, as we said, the last few years have found us making only periodic trips, every other year or so. This somewhat spotty record has caused the recent construction boom in Vancouver to hit home hard. Our last visit came in 2005, after Vancouver had been awarded the 2010 Olympics, and already the construction crews were at work, converting old homes into row townhomes, such as we had seen in Calgary and Montreal. This time, office and apartment towers were sprining up along the banks of False Creek, while the suburbs of Burnaby, New Westminister, and such, were in the process of growing proper downtown cores of their own, anchored by the now ubiquitous office/condo tower complex.

With all this building, traffic in the City With No Left Turn Lanes has grown almost interminable, as rush hour no stretches unalleviated throughout the day. One of our enduring images from this trip was flying over the Lower Mainland early in the morning and seeing the long lines of cars already slowing down the main arteries. At three hours behind the eastern stock markets, businessmen begin their commute by six o'clock, starting a day that ends early in the afternoon. To capitalize on this rush, the city's numerous coffee workers also move out onto the streets to welcome the captains of industry with a warm cup of java. Flex-time workers in involved in national organizations and shuffle between home and office, also awake early to see how the rest of the world has unfolded, before making there own way into the downtown cores of their respective conurbations by mid-morning. All of these staggered arrivals and departures means that the streets of Vancouver have very few moments of respite.

Speaking of streets, we were very happy to spend time on one of our favourite strips in Canada, Commercial Drive, whose development we have enjoyed greatly over the last fifteen years, including one moment in time where it housed some twenty-seven coffee houses in nine blocks.

The Information Economy, Update

A few weeks ago, we posted our thoughts on the meaning of the information economy, where products are imbued with a stories, or detailed information. In a bygone era, products were often viewed as elements of status, with goods designed in, or designed to mimic luxury materials. But in our current age, the luxury is not material, but temporal - time is the new gold standard, and having excess time, or rather the illusion of it, is the new status symbol. Products geared for consumption in this economy come with excess amounts of details, so that their owners can draw upon a wealth of product information, as if they personally had the time to investigate every aspect of the product.

This is no more obvious than in the May 2007 issue of Wallpaper. In "Score Draw", Nick Compton (who has given us economic inspiration before) interviews Jolyon fenwick and Marcus Husselby of the Internet luxury goods distributer 20ltd. On speaking about the origins of the company, Fenwick states "And we thought it a pity that luxury goods were only ever sold by identity marketing, the promise that if you buy this, you will be like this. It was also becoming less effective. And we knew that people were becoming more interested in the product stories." Elsewhere, Fenwick highlights the importance of product story or "surplus information" (insteasd of value), saying "When people look back at our time, all they will see of our luxury product is Kate Moss. There is nothing said about the design or the way things are made. That is wrong."

Late, late night kino

With the temperatures in town remaining high well into the night, the Daily Wenzel office has been running showings of Dean Martin's satirical espionage series, Matt Helm. While based on the hard-edged novels by Donald Hamilton, Martin & Co. brought a decidely lighter atmosphere, infusing them with the same pop sensibilities as Adam West's Batman. Likewise, just as one can only watch so much Batman, four nights of Matt Helm left a few of us longing for weighty fare.

However, aside from acting as a license to break out the cocktails and 1960s loungewear, Matt Helm also provided a window to some particular behaviours that we would often like to think we have outgrown. For starters Dean Martin and friends were widely known as rampant alocholics, and often played up this angle during performances. Thus, Martin, as Helm, is constantly drinking, frequently while driving. While this is obvious meant as self-parody, given our current attitudes towards drunk driving, we wonder if these scenes would even be allowed. Another rather startling facet of the Matt Helm movies is the blatant objectification of women as sex objects. Again, parody is a function here, as the movies are filmed during the heyday of feminism and are meant to lampoon the womanizing of James Bond, altough Martin's own reputation as a member of the doll-chasing Rat Pack, highlights the aspect of self-parody.

In case our ramblings have you thinking that we were taking things a little too serious, the Matt Helm movies, with Dean Martin as the womanizing fashion photographer turned superspy, was of course the inspiration for Austin Powers, with Mike Myers effectively capturing the tongue-in-cheek whimsy of the original.

Turning Pages

Never talk politics or religion at the dinner table, goes the old adage, but that doesn't stop us from swapping literary opinions on the topics. For starters, we were very pleased with Chantal Hebert's French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date With Quebec. Hebert, who writes for Le Devoir and the Globe and Mail, echoed our earlier election analysis, highlighting the importance that Quebec played as she focuses on the factors that led not only to the (heavily predicted) collapse of the Liberal party, but also the complaceny within the Bloc Quebecois that prevented it from successfully warding off the Conservatives' late surge. While her focus is Quebec, Hebert is able to construct a national context for Harper's victory and compares it to the coalition of diverse interests that allowed Mulroney to maintain power in the 1980s.

The differences between Mulroney and Harper though are perhaps best illustrated by Linda McQuaig, and her new book Holding the Bully's Coat. McQuaig's book on Canadian complicity in post-9/11 American military adventurism has been passed rather quickly through our office. Sean Marchetto even had the pleasure of sharing a cup of coffee with McQuaig on the patio of our favourite coffee shop, Higher Ground. McQuaig's concern with the increasing Americanization of Canadian political and social elites, long documented in her other works, extends here to argue that our history of peacekeeping and reputation as an honest broker, have been placed in jeapordy by the Harper government's eagerness to expand their military roke in the Middle-East. Once the key points to McQuaig's book was the Harper government's permissive attitude towards the torture of Afghan detainee's, a subject that's been all over the Canadian media in recent days.

On a lighter note, we have discovered Continuum Books 33 1/3 series of album reviews and are currently reading Daydream Nation and look forward to the many others they have published over the last few years.

Music Update

Our musical taste of late have run decidedly electronic. In addition to a resurgent taste for the Beastie Boys ouvre (we're stuck on Paul's Boutique), we've been giving the latest albums from Dj Vadim and Armand van Helden sound fairly constant attention. Soundcatcher, Vadim's latest, is one of the best downtempo albums of the last few years, combining a dense sonic landscape with poignant guest appearances, reflecting the anti-Bush/Blair atmosphere prevalent in particular London neighbourhoods. The globe-trotting musical influences that Vadim displayed with his "band" One Self have settled down a bit into dub and Asian influences.

If Vadim's is a slow expansive, somewhat serious and international style, then van Helden's Ghettoblaster is an out-an-out party album. More than a little tongue-in-cheek, the record is thoroughly evocative of early eighties Brooklyn beat-rock, even before the samples calling for the return of "old school New York hiphop" kick out the speakers.

Also on the stereo, but not quite finding a home, is the two disc best of Antoine Clamaran. Perhaps it's the all-too-adequate lighting and the lack of mirrorballs, but the current French House master is simply failing to register, although we were rather interested in his inclusion of samples for use by the home DJ set.

Toxix Nation Update

Just a quick little something that caught our attention this weekend.

Earlier in the year we had reported on a suggestion by Health Canada to monitor a sample of women and children for chemical exposure. At the time we announced our support for the idea and called for its expansions, something the House of Commons reported on Friday might be a good idea.

While we realize that some may be afraid of such a wide-ranging and potentially invasive measure, we ultimately feel that our unprecedented exposure to chemicals of unknown long-term effect, certainly justifies the governments plans (though an initial volunteer stage would be ideal).

Environmental Fallout

According to a recent Decima poll, the Federal Conservatives and Liberals are tied in the court of public opinion. Negative reaction to the Conservatives climate change plan has further distanced their more "liberal" wing, while the once-staunch supporters in Alberta are beginning to question their favourite party. What is more troubling for the ruling federal party is that their support in Quebec, among the most pro-Kyoto of the provinces has fallen to below 20% while the Liberals are cruising at 34%. Given that the Conservatives election success was the result of stealing seats from the Liberals in Quebec, the Conservatives are in real trouble should an election happen soon. The trouble could be especially dire if the Liberals were to steal a seat or two from the Conservatives in the Western provinces.

Elsewhere, the Premiers met to discuss "best practices" regarding climate change, and expressed their own disappointment with the Conservative Climate Change plan. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach was the lone voice to support the "intensity targets", but found himself in good company when he dismissed a potential suggestion for emission trading among the provinces. Stelmach said, "I’m not one that looks forward to issuing licenses allowing to pollute more," he told reporters. "Especially if we’re going to be trading with other countries."

We find the statement curious, given Stelmach's support for intensity targets, a strategy that would allow total emissions to rise. Perhaps Stelmach simply does not like to issue licenses - this would be consistent with his lack of desire to regulate the oil sands. Furthermore, in refering to other countries, perhaps Stelmach feels that it would be too difficult to devise a made-Canada plan that would be compatible with international standards which are often more strict than those suggested by both the Stelmach and Harper governments. Ultimately though, the biggest barrier to foreign trade in emissions is Environmental Minister Baird's own dismissal of the idea.

In a story that really ought to be getting more coverage than it is, the Alberta government is set to considered a motion to use nuclear energy in the oil sands. Currently, natural gas is used to convert three barrels of water to steam needed to produce one barrel of oil. In order to cut down emissions, the government wants to consider replacing the gas with emissions.

We are, quite frankly, aghast that our leaders would consider nuclear waste as a solution to help clean up the oil sands.

Yann Martel

After spending the weekend thinking about Guy Debord's statement that, in a society of the spectacle the economy has grown to encompass all spheres of daily life, it was quite refresing to stumble across the following quote by Yann Martel, author of The Life of Pi. Martel was explaining his rationale for vowing to deliver Prime Minister Harper a book every two weeks as long as Harper is in office to help raise awareness for the arts.

"It goes way beyond dollars and cents. It's a question of waking up the prime minister to the fact that we're not just economic beings, we're full beings. Quality of life is not just an economic matter — it has to do with the environment, with art and culture."

We also loved that the first book was Animal Farm. Read it for yourself online here.

For more on the story, click here.

Climate Change Potshots

It seems people are lining up to dump on the Federal Conservatives plan for dealing with Climate Change. At a time when the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is convening to discuss and evaluate proposed measures to deal with the problem, Yves de Boer, the UN's Executive Secretary for the Framework Convention on Climate Change took time to criticise the Tories plans. For starters, he echoed many concerns that intensity targets do not offer any real guarantee of reducing emissions since they do not place any restrictions on production.

Secondly, de Boer stopped short of calling Environmental Minister John Baird a liar when Baird claimed his plan was the most aggressive in the world.

“The Europeans have put a proposal on the table to reduce their emissions by 20 to 30 per cent vis-a-vis 1990 levels, this new proposal is certainly less ambitious than that,” de Boer said.
“California has made a proposal to reduce its emissions by 25 per cent from where it is at the moment. This is also less ambitious than that.”

For more, click here.

We are curious to hear what the IPCC decides and how it compares to both the Alberta and Federal proposals. For more on that, click here.