Is Canada The New China

No, Not due to the recent typhoon. This comparison is purely censorship driven. What does censorship have to due with living in Canada you might wonder. The lock on the telcom/internet world is an arm wrestle between a couple of players here in the great northern enclave of Canada. The carrier that hosts the service in the apartment has a devilish way of blocking out or redirecting DNS searches. I can't access google at the oddest of time. No, I don't have a online porn habit that needs to be curtailed by the Rogers Telephone control freaks, but in the last week (notice my lack of posts??) Weird re directs occur on my machine when I have attempted to google ANYTHING... be it a search, a gmail account, or my urbanfirefly account. In what appears to be a violation of Net Neutrality by Rogers Cable, Digital Home readers ( me included) are reporting that Rogers High Speed Internet service has begun redirecting customers "Server not found pages" to webpages laden with Rogers advertising.

The hijacking of the webpage appears to be attempt by Rogers to use its Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology to cash in on the mistakes of its users.

Pissed off is really an understatement. So who do I rant to? Well the first stop was the customer assistance line at Rogers. Of course after feigning ignorance on any re-direct from any where, it was deemed that perhaps I needed a refresher course or how-to- surf the Internet. Even recommended where to find the classes. As if.

My very Canadian service rep soon heard a stream of expletives come pouring from my mouth, I vow to take the censorship to the ether and have it reign down upon f#$K face Rogers Internet for redirecting and basically controlling where I surf. China has this in spades, but Canada...

He Shoots He Scores

I think we have a new nick name for Bill Clinton. Catnip. Catnip Clinton was on a "private humanitarian mission" to see his little friend Kim Jong-il and discuss the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, of San Francisco-based Current TV. Both women had been taken into custody in March near the border with China while reporting on refugees fleeing North Korea. They were sentenced to hard labor for illegal entry and "hostile acts." Bill Clinton had "expressed a deep apology that the [two female reporters] entered the country illegally and committed hostile acts against the republic." I feel your pain.. but we have cocktails awaiting and a plane to catch.
I wonder if Catnip brought along boot leg DVDs of current Hollywood blockbusters to break the ice and put a smiley face on a situation his wife Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton merely described as petulant and childish (referring to Kim Jong-il and those pesky nuclear tests from a few weeks ago.)

I would have loved to have had the fly on the wall experience of eavesdropping on what I imagine: the scene of Kim and Bill, enjoying a bowl of Kim Chee while watching Hangover, laughing about frat boy antics and comparing notes on the best lap dance in Vegas.

Who else is ecstatic? H.E. Mr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly has gotta be doing the happy dance. This Catnip Clinton gesture places a band-aid of sorts upon the recent North Korea United Nations resolutions defiance of nuclear arms.

What about that inconvenient tie between Clinton inner circle stiff guy: past VP of The United States of America/past CEO of Current TV Al Gore? Why not invite him along for a few cocktails flying first class. Clinton's spokesman said the former president had left Pyongyang with the two reporters and they were en route to Los Angeles.

Mr. Clinton has gotta be thinking "it's good to be me" today. I couldn't agree more. Especially if this could pave the way to direct nuclear disarmament talks. He shoots He scores- Pure Catnip.

Complacency: A Canadian Cultural Trait

After a month here in Canada, I have an opinion about the overall lack of initiative on the part of environmental groups. The recent strike could have -should have -would have been the catalyst for change. Except no groups stepped forward to seize the moment.
Excuses, excuses. These ranged from :not enough time to organize (37 days) to summer vacation.

The people who consider themselves "environmentalist" must have been up at the cottage. For those not familiar with the cottage concept, picture in your mind a season of three months and a crazed urgency people exhibit for getting away to visit the land of the black fly and mosquito. Seems like a lot of work to me, but then I am used to having a longer runway of nice weather to enjoy. Talk to me in the spring, and perhaps I will be singing a different tune. But really- each and every free moment of the so called summer season for many here in Canada is time spent lakeside.
It's much like the Tahoe phenomenon in California with a highly evolved myopic view of venue.

With the Canadian love of nature, and sustainability worn on the cuff of everyone who weathered this strike for the past month, a few observations came to mind. This could be considered a rant by Canadian terms, so avert your eyes as the following paragraph o' vitriol.

The media places the blame for environmental complacency to: summer vacation. Yes, here in Canada the environmentalist rabble rouses, pot stirrers and soap box fans all take a break from their pot stirring. Hard to believe, but the local press blames this summer vacation phenomenon for the lack of any activist messages aimed at enticing people to make smarter choices when shopping. Puchasing goods with less packaging, being a vocal forefront for changing consumer habits-but instead of seizing the opportunity to make politically charged socially important messages framed by a backdrop of garbage bags we got..... nada.

Sometimes marketing opportunities just don't get any better than the recent visual of football field sized waste holding areas, too bad none of the environmental groups here capitalized.

Complacency accompanied with a fine set of rationalization runs deep here. Of course I'm just a pushy American (suppose that's redundant too.) but at least I know an opportunity when I see one, and that too is very American .

Evoke change? There's always next time.

The Staycation

Sloth. Couch Potato. Slacker. Today it's an easy fit for any of the three adjectives. Despite the beautiful weather the most productive thing accomplished today: reading the paper. Weirdly enough the Sunday paper here in Canada is pretty thin. I suppose the assumption is that an August Sunday should be spent doing more arduous tasks than reading the paper.

The city is looking it's spit polished self again with the city municipal workers back on the clock. Garbage collection has taken place around the clock, along with ferry service to the Islands that loom just beyond a quick sail across the lake. Even that fabulous view couldn't unseat me today.

I've noticed the media and marketing wizards of the world have coined a term for this sort of no plan, rudderless agenda at least when it coincides with a three day holiday weekend: Staycation.

Unlike a vacation with posh hotel room service, and delicious over priced mini bar delights my staycation culinary highlight of the day was an online pizza order/delivery.

Yes, it is an oxymoron to actually post a blog about sloth like behavior, but hey- it's a cathartic reason of sharing my guilt of missing a beautiful day. Especially when beautiful days are considered a scarce commodity in this part of the world. Maybe a few evening hours left of sultry summer weather can tug me from my ivory tower life here in T.O

Cocktails & Croquet anyone?

Bless Me Father...

What does Snoop Dogg and the Pope have in common?

No it's not the fondness of wearing big bling or a cool lid. Weirdly enough, both his holyness and the hip hop rap rock star are represented by Geffen Records. Word is, the November release of Pope Benedict XVI's album entitled, "Alma Mater," will contain songs and prayers to the Virgin Mary. My first question is who did the market research for this one? Will itunes carry the cd, and when will the video be released.

I wish I could throw my hat in the ring for directing the creative for video produced. I envision a pussycat dolls meets his holiness dance video with lots of cleavage sporting large crucifix necklaces and super short parochial school tartan print skirts. Embellish with high heels (for the dolls, not his holyness.) Sex sells, even the Vatican must see that. Why else choose an American icon of entertainment as representation?

Radio stations typically receive swag or merchandise to giveaway when promoting new albums/cd's. This is a marketing persons' wet dream: worldwide exposure meets endless open ended promotional opportunities- pope in the pizza, holy water bubble wands. Then there's the tee shirts... Why do I need to write about this you ask? The sheer strangeness of Snoop dogg and the pope receiving record royalties from the same corporation, it's just too bad this isn't an April fools joke.

Dee-licious

The old saying of you don't know what you have till it's gone? Well I am here to say that the truth rings true in this cliche. My beloved Mini Cooper was sold a few months ago before exiting stage left from California. The California car culture is so tied to peoples' persona's that it's a cliche in and of itself. Of course a few of my favourite people on the planet don't even own vehicles, so I suppose cars and the charisma of automotive muscle is lost on some folks. Not me.

Enter stage right, Zipcar. The stateside phenomenon sweeping the urban set as an option to the unwanted burden of car ownership. Think time share. Think no-tell-motel by the hour set...yeah baby. This is the perfect mix of ease, accessibility and gas fumes all coalesced into a bit sized sampler box: Drive a Mini,(my ride of choice today) an Audi, a Honda... whatever wherever your little heart desires. Did I mention how easy? A credit card from the Zipcard folks unlocks the car. You simply walk up, swipe the card against the windshield. The car unlocks and the key is on a zipline next to the ignition. Adjust your mirrors, apply lipstick and most importantly turn the radio up really loud and off U go! (ipod aux- in available for those too groovy for radio.)

No fuss, no worry about door dings or even where to park.. Grow weary of the car? Drive something else next time around. It's like being single again. Variety IS the spice of life, and Zipcar is a lot like a fling: fun, fast, and on the fly....How can you not be smitten with the frivolity of that?

Did I mention that a gas credit card is included? Yes, cocktails are on the house (it is sort of like that..)

All in all it was great fun. I'm hooked. It's the best of all worlds. Next time you feel up for an afternoon of city driving angst or a quick hop to the beach look no further than Zipcar.

Now if they only offered a surf rack for my windsurf gear-

Drip Drop

Enough of this rain already.

The romantic notion of misty evening city walks washed down the rain gutter after the third downpour today. What's up? Where is the hot weather, since this is after all almost August... The meteorologist had this to say this morning "We have found summer and it's vacationing in the North." Yeah, and did it happen to mention that it might swing our way east?

I love the calm cool demeanor of the Canadian Culture. What I am not liking, at least at the moment is the lack of summer. Northern California has not really enjoyed a good soaking in a few years. I for one really missed this, as the smell and taste of the air is altered. The ozone and smog washed away and clear sky's beam as far as the eye. I suppose the grass really is greener right now this moment in time. Mean while I have windsurf gear collecting dust as I await the sultry summer season, wanting to be drinking Vino Verde on a beach blanket here along the water front.

Wishful thinking reins as we wait out the rain in Toronto. Maybe Cuba is balmy... I can get there from here. Hmmmm....