Today I went downtown to pick up my new passport. I had last been in the passport office on the 29th of January to submit my application. Although I had to pay extra for expedited processing (needed for a trip to New Jersey tomorrow) the passport was done in about 10 days. This was my third passport, and each time the process has been faster and more streamlined. Everyone passport office employee I’ve dealt with has been very pleasant and helpful.

During the current spat of TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) incidents and complaints, a number of people have said “What else would you expect from unionized government employees but laziness and a sense of entitlement?” as if any other kind of behaviour would be impossible.

Well, the Passport office proves that being staffed by unionized government employees doesn’t mean that “Service with a Snarl” is inevitable., so i don’t buy the concept that the TTC cannot improve as long as a government and a union are involved.

Instead of treating the hapless TTC rider as their common enemy, both management and employees of this troubled organization need to stop pointing fingers.

Unless they’re in front of a mirror.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

I took the photo below around midday today on the subway in Toronto. What appears to be a large pile of dirt in the photo is actually the remnants of snow dumped by the road clearing crew this winter.

remember the days of my youth when snow was white …

I

Tags: Snow, Toronto

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

On Sundays, my family and I tend to have McDonald’s for lunch, and we tend to go through the drive-through. We ordered food for 4 people, but when we got home, we found nineteen ketchup packets had been included. That’s almost a soup course. It certainly is a waste.

When my wife was a teenager, she had a part-time job at a McDonland’s. She was once criticized for handing out two packets of ketchup instead of one; how times have changed.

It seems that the era of plenty (for us lucky ones) breeds contempt for food resources. Given recent food riots, and the rapidly increasing price of food, we may have to change our thinking sooner rather than later.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Note: Before I start talking about snow in Toronto, let me first say I am a native of Montreal, and spent a good part of my childhood out west in Saskatoon , so I know about harsh winters

Recently, it seems that many people in those parts of Canada outside of the Greater Toronto Area are having a laugh at our expense, pointing at our reaction to the large amount of snow we’ve had so far this winter, and to a degree I think some of the ribbing can be justified; some of the more hysterical residents of this city need to remember that a) they live in Canada and b) it’s Winter. What did they expect?

This reaction to unusual weather can work both ways though. In the summer of 1985, my sister and I went back to Saskatoon for a visit. From what I recall from my years in Saskatoon (1968 – 1975), the summers could be very hot, but also very dry, and as a result not particularly uncomfortable, compared to the steambaths we can get in Southern Ontario. When we were out there, for a day or two it was ever so slightly more humid than normal, and the people we were staying with were just dying from the humidity, while my sister and I felt quite comfortable. Of course, we didn’t feel the need to point mockingly at “those wimpy Westerners.”

It’s all about what you’re used to.

And given that a few days ago over 50 people were killed in tornadoes in the U.S., we have no business complaining. Shoveling snow is nothing compared to burying the dead.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

TheStar.com | GTA | TTC rolls out hybrid buses

It’s great to see these new buses come into service, and as I read this article I was impressed with the spec.’s under Environmental benefits.

One thing I did find funny was the seating capacity — 36 seats with a “crushload” capacity of 53. It’s ironic that there wuld appear to be a term used for overcrowded buses, and the term crushload makes the bus sound more like a garbage compactor on wheels.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: TTC, Environment

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Ottawa cuts song from concert after Christmas controversy

I would like to contrast the travesty above with the experience I had attending my younger daughter’s Holiday concert this past Wednesday night. My younger daughter, like my older daughter before her, has had the privilege of attending William Burgess Public School in Toronto. This public school, located in central Toronto, has an extremely diverse student body; classes tend to look like mini United Nations. All faiths, creeds and traditions are represented at this school.

When it comes to the holiday concert, this school does not censor the word Christmas, or shy away from Christmas songs, even the religious ones. Rather, it makes sure to include music and content representing as many traditions as possible; this concert had references also to Ede, Hanukkah, Diwali, etc. The concert was also interspersed with quotes from various students about what they did at the holidays, and what the holidays meant to them.

The school gym was jam-packed (as always) with parents and other family members, many of course not of a Christian background, and guess what? No race riots, no angry murmurs or grumbling, no picketing of the school etc. Everyone enjoyed the concert, and the students are enriched by the exposure to different traditions.

I think the school in Ottawa could take a lesson from this.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: Christmas, Political Correctness, School

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

This morning I returned a car I had rented for a couple of days for a trip out to London. I had requested a midsize, but didn’t specify a model; I don’t really care that much. I was amused when I got a Dodge Avenger.

What a name for a car, and perfect for drivers in Toronto, who seem to love to transform their drives into a cathartic release of frustration and fury, avenging their dead-end job, lack of friends and/or meaningful relationship, small penis etc. by driving like maniacs, trying to regain the illusion of some sense of power and control.

The name Avenger just seems to invite and validate this kind of behaviour.

I want to see more accurate car names; how about an SUV called the Planet Killer? A two-seater sports car called The Mid-Life Crisis? (Available in regular and Erectile Dysfunction models). A high end Luxury Sedan called The Poor Mocker? A Stretch Limo called The More Money Than Taste?

Anyone else with suggestions?

Tags: Cars, Environment.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Last evening, in what has become a yearly tradition, about ten of us from the morning choir of St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, fresh from a brisk Thursday night choir rehearsal, decided to relax by going to Sarah’s, a pub on the Danforth in Toronto, to do more singing!

The singing was unabashedly Christmas related, and by that I mean Christmas carols. We did not sing Silver Bells, The Christmas Song, Jingle Bell Rock or other songs of that type. What is neat that the reaction has always been very positive in the pub — we haven’t been thrown out, or told to stop singing yet; the other patrons of the pub have always seemed very appreciative. There was no hand-wringing politically correct awkwardness at the Christian content.
Last night was special though; we had a back room reserved, from which the sound of our singing reverberated into the rest of the pub. At one point, another patron stuck his head in and thanked us for our singing, and wished us a Merry Christmas. We returned the holiday wishes and kept singing. When it came time for us to pay our bill, we were told that this man had paid our tab on his way out!

What a nice gesture, and how privileged to be part of a musical moment that obviously meant so much to this man.

Tags: Christmas

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

680News – Transit improvements on the way

On its face, this is good news, but I want to see how much of this money gets to the Toronto Transit System, the most underfunded public transit system in North America.

Blogged with Flock

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

This story tells the tail of a United Church minister who cannot get her REV JO license plate renewed. So far she has received the following reasons:

1. Encourages Speeding
2. Promotes Christianity
3. Rev is an alcoholic cooler-type beverage

The story also mentions a case from a few years ago of someone who had the plate JEHAD; after 9/11 he was told the plate was offensive, but in the end he got his plate, and an apology. I have no problem with his plate, but it seems a double-standard is in place here. It appears to be another case of what I call Zero-Sum Multiculturalism.

The basic theory is that there is a finite amount of cultural expression or tolerance possible in a society, and in order to promote one, you have to suppress another. This is often seen at Christmas time, with Christmas trees being re-labeled as “Holiday Bushes” and employees in stores being told to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. Those responsible for such obscenities will at the same time go out of their way to promote every other tradition’ celebration in order to be “inclusive.” I am reminded of the language Police in Quebec, ever vigilant in their search for the illegal use of one of Canada’s official languages, as these P.C. functionaries attempt to stamp out every last sign of the Christian aspect of Christmas from public space.

Whenever any cultural assets are hidden from view, we are all poorer as a result. Why can’t “being inclusive” mean supporting cultural expressions from all cultures, including Anglo-Saxon or Judeo-Christian?

Or is having the word “REV” on a license plate an act of cultural genocide?

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post