[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Reading People Magazine’s American Idol Tribute ]
So last night the husband unit and I went to the National War Memorial to participate in the Vimy Vigil.

This event was organized by Canadian actor R. H. Thomson, a national treasure. It saw the projecting of the names of the 3,598 Canadians who died at Vimy Ridge in WWI onto the Memorial. Hundreds of people were there. Many parents brought their children and tried to explain what Vimy meant to Canada. It was very powerful and brought me to tears. They also interspearsed the names with photos of some of the men. As I said to the husband unit, "they were all so young."

What made it all so bittersweet was that six more Canadian soldiers died Sunday in Afghanistan.

For more info the vigil try here and here.

[  Mood: Confused ]
[  Currently: Watching Days of Our Lives – Again ]
So I sent an email to my local CBC radio station along the same lines as Rant On!

They read it on the radio and then the host said – "Well there’s one vote for paying for parking!"

I guess sarcasm is a dying artform in this post-modern era.

[  Mood: Angry ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
So, as you may or may not know, I am a teacher. Well, my school board is facing a budget crunch and they are looking to cut where they can. One of the trustees got on the radio and said that they should charge teachers for parking, since most other employers do. (They don’t, BTW). She tried to package it as a green measure and one that would improve health, but since her interview kept refering back to the budget crisis, her argument didn’t hold water.

My take on parking? Absolutely. Not a problem. Unfortunatey since I am on a limited budget, that money is going to have to come from somewhere. I can’t run a deficit like the board has been doing for years. So I guess it will come from the thousand or so dollars I spend on classroom supplies and resources every year. Novel sets, stickers, resource books and art supplies will all have to be cut back on. As will the pizza parties I use to reward successes. Remember, no provincial auditor is going to come to my house and help me find savings.

This trustee also said that there wasn’t much left to cut. Ummm – yes there is. Other boards in this city have rationalized their delivery in the last few years. They have bit the bullet and closed schools. This has allowed them the leeway to experiment with new types of program delievery. The OCDSB has not done that. Every time they even think about closing schools, the parents start rallying and the board caves. Perhaps if they stood up to the parents the way they are pretending to stand up to the fat cat teachers we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Example: In my area alone there are five K to 8 schools. One of them doesn’t have a kindergarden anymore because population in my area is dropping due to the cost of housing. One of the schools needs to go. But a teacher in that school proudly boasted that her school would never close because their parents wouldn’t let it happen.

See the problem?

With leaders like this trustee, is it any wonder we have a deficit?

Yesterday

[  Mood: Silly ]
[  Currently: Reading Strange Candy ]
So the husband unit and I were talking about th collective nouns the Victorians gave to everyone and everything. You know, a Harmony of Larks, a Crash of Rhinos, a Murder of Crows. Yes, the Victorians had way to much time on their hands. Probably due to all the sexual repressions that was going on.

Anywho, we were wondering what collective noun one would use to describe Trekkies?

We have our suggestions, but want to hear yours.

Submit away!

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast – Toast and a nice cup of Ginger Peach Black Tea ]
So the signority lists came out at work, and once again the universe seems to be proving that I am a geek.

My position on the elementary teachers senority list? 1999

I have literally told everyone I know about this – including you. Geek thy name is Ubal.

[  Mood: Very Sad ]
[  Currently: Reading Dragonsinger ]
So I was catching up on some TV recently and was watching the CSI:NY. Suddently Detective Danny loads his falshlight with batteries. Now this is not a casual action. The camera focuses on the Duracells and the whole plot stops as he puts the batteries in the flashlight. No talking, no shot of Detective Danny’s face, just the batteries and a disembodied hand putting them in the flashlight.

I thought to myself – wow – we have come far.

When I was a kid, comercial products never made it on TV. They were either made in the props department or had stickers covering up the brand names.

Then came the brave new world of product placement. Character A would offer Caracter B a soda and would toss them a Coke.

Then we moved to Character A offering Character B a Coke.

Then we moved to the partner thing that we saw in American Idol, Survivor and Amazing Race. This is where the host would get the joy of pimping products by talking about the Coke Lounge or the T-Mobile phone, etc. Sometimes they would be integrated into the challenges – like the time when they had to search for the Travelocity Gnome in the field on the Amazing Race. Oh Phil, how could you!

But that was Reality TV. CSI:NY is a drama. A step forward, or backward, depending on your point of view.

Clearly Duracell paid for this placement and paid well.

So I found myself asking what’s next? Are we going to cover characters’ clothes with labels like a NASCAR driver? Or will it be like the purebreed dog and horse world where corporate sponsors insert their names into the characters’ name. Sleezer’s Fertility Center‘s Mr. Spock anyone?

I am worried.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to O’Reilly on Advertising ]
So my husband and I have come up with a spin-off of the PVP t-shirt.

(On the front) Han shot first . . .

(On the back)leaving Leah disappointed, yet again.

Sort of a coming and going 3-D experince if you pardon the pun.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Tetes a Claques ]
Back in my seaQuest fandom days, I edited a little satirical paper called "UEO Gazette". We parodied what was happening in the episodes and generally tried to make light of the abismal stuff that was happening to our beloved show.

Among my contributors was the fabulous Nibor, who was obssesed with Mentos. So when I saw an ad for these, I thought of him.

He wanted to be a TV writer and I often wonder what happened to him. We met briefly at QuestieCon, but I think I scared him with the hug I gave him. I am a little on the touchie, feelie side. Nibs, if you are out there, email me. Cause Mentos has made a gum!

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Watching Daily Show ]
So I was catching up on my TV (God Bless the PVR – the Canadian TiVo) and I was watching the lovely Colbert Report.

Apparently Marvel has read Steve Rogers’ will and the Captain has left his shield to Colbert, the only other Steven with "balls red, white and blue enough" to follow in his footsteps.

How much do I love that Colbert is a geek?

(How much do I regret that the 1990 Captain America movie is not available on DVD? Not much, but then I am more of a DC girl.)

[  Mood: Neutral ]
[  Currently: Reading Mistral’s Kiss ]
Television Without Pity (TWOP), one of the premier television websites on the web (And Canadian – BTW) has been bought by Bravo. Yes – they of Project Runway and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

For those of you who have never heard of the fabulous TWOP, they are a website that provides snarky, but thorough summaries of some of the best (and worst) TV shows. They do Doctor Who and Battlestar for those of you insist on genre content. They also create and sell limited run T-Shirts based on said TV shows. (The aquisition by Bravo may explain why they are having a massive sell off of said t-shirts. No more vague, almost copyright infringement stuff allowed now that you are owned by the man. I sense a Revolution SF opportunity.)

TWOP partnered with Yahoo! a while back, and two of their writers got to critique the Oscars, but I suspect that went nowhere fast as they got lost in the Yahoo! Entertainment bog.

Tara Ariano and Sarah D. Bunting, co-founders and co-editors of TWOP, also released a book this past year. I own it and have read it and loved it. Full of snark.

What will this mean for TWOP? Well they are saying "nothing will change", but I am leary. Yes, Bravo also owns BrilliantButCancelled.com, but it is still a network. Will they allow the recappers to go after Michael Kors or Tom Colicchio the way they have been doing in the past? Will stars with fragile egos (I am talking to you Trump!) stand by and let a website owned by a network owned by NBC say mean things about them? Time will tell, but I, for one, am worried.

The Internet has lost one more piece of its independence.