Rants and Raves

[tipou]

"gool". really.

wasn't kennedy already out on friday? i heard on the news that she renounced to the throne.
although i dont see why she would not take it, might do as well as other people who buy seats and still dont have a clue how to do the job...

but then, american politics will forever leave me astounded and wondering.

like... "filibuster". what kind of a word is that? everytime i try to use that term, its the word "flabbergasted" that comes to mind.

i mean... i live and vote in canada. in the province of quebec, where we are masochistic enough to pay taxes to, not one government, but two.

i know that, in the ottawa house of parliament, a man was paid, from 1945 well into the early 80's, to sit in a staircase and guard a special tulip given by princess julianna of netherlands (just about the time when said country started to send us 10,000 tulip bulbs every year, want it or not) - only, when the guy died and they got to wonder if they should replace him, they found out what he was supposed to do, and that the damn flower had died... well probably in 1945.

i live in the country where céline dion is allowed to scat while supposed to sing the national anthem.

i lived for a while in montreal, living one block away from mcgill university, where political science graduate students once spent part of an afternoon painting the name of ozzie osbourne on one of two 6 foot spheres ornating the entrance gate to the main campus.

i live in the country of pierre elliot trudeau, who was a notorious playboy at the time he became prime minister, and whose ex-wife allegedly had an affair with mick jagger - but then, who hasn't.

i live in the province which should be and independent country, but whose independentist political party opened a branch on the federal level just to spite them, and which hilariously once almost became the official opposition party in ottawa.

i live in the country where governments regulate maple syrup, and yet allow monsanto to spoil fields in the western provinces.

i live in quebec, which last year was ruled by, not one, but two minority government, one in quebec city, one in ottawa.

yet, i have never heard of a canadian member of parliament who has been allowed to stall government procedures by reading a cook book.

[ambra]

I agree. The fillibuster needs to be done away with and we also need the line item veto to keep politicians from tacking on expensive pet projects to bills that have nothing to do with what the individual politician wants funds for.

And I have a personal rave--My brother and his girlfriend got an account on webnursery.com and I got to see pics of my new newphew, Zachary, today! He's a beautiful little boy, all 7lbs 4oz of him, although I know I'm biased! He has a head full of dark brown/black hair, the same color as Rufus' but I couldn't tell what color his eyes are. He's in FL so I don't know when I'll get a chance to go down there and "meet" him, maybe in the spring if I can get some time off from work.

[tipou]

CONGRATS, AUNTY AMBRA!
be sure to show us zach when you can. i am a fool for tiny babies. they smell so good.

[ambra]

Thanks tipou! Being an aunt is great! I can spoil 'em then turn them back over to mom and dad! The webnursery site is having some technical difficulties at the moment but I'm going to try and post a link to one of the pics when it's up and running again.

[rueful]

That's wonderful, Ambra! Congratulations to you and your family. That is really something to rave about. Is he your first?

I'd say this is a great excuse for you to visit Florida in the winter, but I hear their weather is not exactly tropical right now.

tipou, I loved your post about Canadian politics. It warms my heart to know that ineptness, greed, and corruption are there for the citizens to enjoy worldwide, and not just in my corner of it.

Kennedy was claiming she renounced, and others claim she renounced only hearing after she was not picked, and it's a delightful bit of political bickering. Not as delightful as the theater in my state, involving Governor Hair Helmet and the Sale! Sale! Sale! of a certain senate seat, but pretty good nonetheless.

[rugirl]

Congratulations, Ambra. Being an aunt is great, wish I had appreciated it more when I became one (but then again, I was 9, so don't think I could have done anything differenly!)

As for the Canadian politics bit, Tipou, that is priceless! Goes to show you that we humans have many more similarities in common than we think.

Or as the great Mark Twain said, "Humans are the only animals that blush. Or need to".

[tipou]

mark twain... another hero... the more know people here, the more common interests i find...
i love this place!

[peach]

Ambra, congratulations to you, very happy news.

Tip you are spot on, I live in NY where bilking you local school board is and embezzling is normal behaviour.
I think the electoral college should be dismantled once and for all. It was appropriate 200 odd years ago, no longer.
I live in a state where your birth right and last name almost always guarantees you a political seat (thankfully for us, Mrs. Sclossberg took herself out of the running.)
I live in a state, although this applies to almost anywhere nowadays, where politicians think they are above the law. Charles Rangle wrote the tax laws for our country and he forgot to pay his, shocking.
I live in a state where corruption runs rampant and no one is willing to do anything about it, from MTA workers literally sleeping on the job, then claiming false back injuries and collecting medical compensation, to party majority leaders stealing from state coffers, it's no wonder people have become so disillusioned.
I suppose it could be worse, I could be living in the great state of Illinois, or Louisiana, where political corruption was borne.

[tipou]

ok i have one rave, for a change... so you know i dont whine all the time.

i LOVE spring.
when the last snow banks melt away under a warmer sun, when kids jumps in puddles instead of sliding on ice, when plants in the garden strive to grow, even through snow, when goose fly back from the south and barks all night, when trees... no, there are not dead! they grow buds again!
oh i just cant wait. counting the days.

[rueful]

That was very poetic! And from your lips to God's or Mother Nature's ears!

[peach]

yes here in NY it's a whopping 20 or so degrees. Spring is my favorite time of year, then fall. I love to garden so I too am counting the days.

[tipou]

a fellow gardener!!! oh i like it here!

[tipou]

oh, i am sorry, but i have yet another MAJOR PEEVE.

maybe i should keep it to myself since most people here are from the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, but then, don't take it personally. i just zapped through 2 news broadcasts, and i heard the same irritating thing on both, and this has been bugging me for a long time, and i have no one here to whine to, so there you go.

BRIEF GEOGRAPHY COURSE: AMERICA IS A CONTINENT. NOT A COUNTRY. in fact, it is two continents. NORTH AMERICA, and SOUTH AMERICA. in each of these continents, THERE ARE MANY COUNTRIES. sorry to break it to you, american broadcasters, but THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONSTITUTE ONLY ONE COUNTRY WHICH IS PART OF ONE OF THESE TWO CONTINENTS.

it is NOT EVEN THE LARGEST. largest country in north america: canada. largest country in south america: brazil. a simple verification of a map on wikipedia will back up this information.

SO WHY DO EVERY U.S. BROADCASTER, AND SO MANY AMERICAN CITIZENS, CALL THEIR COUNTRY "AMERICA"? the proper name is UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, for god's sake!!!

whenever i hear "america is a great nation", it suddenly feels like canada, mexico, central america, and all of south america suddenly disappears, they are all so insignificant they might as well not exist at all.

i really should cam down, i am very tense, today.

[rueful]

It is partly arrogance but mostly laziness, I think. It's emotional shorthand, and especially for politicians, who love to have more substance than content in their speeches, they can use the term "American" and conjure up mental images that have been passed down from generation to generation. Personally I wouldn't mind another term for us citizens besides "Americans," but United Statesians is kind of awkward. ;D I am very sorry that it bothers you (and probably many others) though--Canada is our friend!

How can you be tense, though, when you just spent hours watching Rufus in a short skirt?

[tipou]

not enough shots of the short skirt, that is how.

i dont mind the term "americans" that much - here, they started using "états-uniens" and, yes, it does feel awkard.
we know who "americans" are, and there is no other term available, as of now.

but there is definitely an alternative to "america" when designated a country! if its laziness, they should use U.S.A. !!!

in fact, for a better understanding to my "state" of mind on the subject, i have to refer to the excellent hugh laurie and stephen fry, who long ago made this skit on their show:

ca.youtube.com/watch?v=z4tDP-yMwXI

no, really, watch this, this is truly hilarious.