To Nog, or Not to Nog?

   If you want a combination that makes for an interesting challenge, try weight-watching and party-going. New Year's Eve parties and family get-togethers on New Year's day could really compound your problem, if you like eggnog. According to the Reader's Digest December 2004 issue, one cup of eggnog would cost you 600 calories. Unfortunately,they do not make it clear whether or not that "cup" is an actual 8 oz. (250 ml) measure. They do make themselves very clear, however, on an alternate choice you could make. For that same 600 calories, you could have NINE glasses - that's 3 1/2 oz. each - of red wine, punch, (they don't list the punch ingredients) and champagne. Wouldn't that make for a much more lively party anyway? Put the bowl of eggnog down on the floor instead, where Fido or Fluffy can get into it. That way, while you and your guests enjoy the alternate beverages, you'll have an entertaining "floor show" to watch.

They're Helping

   Major Canadian aid agencies report they are taking in record-breaking donations in response to the need in Southeast Asia.

The Red Cross has passed $7.4 million.
World Vision passed $2 million.
UNICEF passed $1 million.
Oxfam passed $500,000.

The children in one Ottawa family broke their piggy banks and handed over $274 — money they were saving for a trip. Some people are taking donation forms from official agenices and going door-to-door with them in their neighbourhood. "Canadians know how to donate when the time calls for it," said Melanie Brooks of Care Canada. "And they're doing it now" The disaster that has struck southeast Asia is likely the largest scale disaster of modern times, and the emergency response will be the largest one ever needed. Open your hearts, everyone, and pitch in.

Please Help

   The death toll from the earthquake/tsunami disaster has risen to over 100,000. Wherever you are, please send what help you can. Can you give some food or some clothing? They will need so very, very much. If you are here in Toronto, there are already several places set up to collect donations. The Toronto police are accepting cash donations at every one of their stations. For a listing of the locations,click here.
   If there can be anything good deemed to arise from this horrendous calamity, then the following might be a positive result. "The disaster, which has killed more than 22,000 in Sri Lanka, "will bring peace and unity," predicted Srimal Abeyewardene, a Sinhalese journalist who covered from Colombo the rise of guerrilla war in the 1980s. "It's a good launching pad for peace because the two sides have to participate together to get supplies around, to bury the dead. Everyone is devastated: the army, the navy and the Tigers." The Tamils and the majority Sinhalese have been at war for more than two decades with a death toll mounting to over 64,000 people because of the ethnic feuding. If only they could have found a way to make peace before nature leveled the playing field. Natural disasters play no favourites, so Tamil and Sinhalese both died. Perhaps, in honour of those who were swept away, the wilful bloodshed can finally be brought to a halt. Perhaps, too, this peace-from-disaster could be brought to other areas of former strife that were hit by the tsunamis. Perhaps.

What's for Breakfast?

   A good friend of mine came over for a late breakfast this morning. I made scones and scrambled eggs, and served them up with a pot of fresh brewed coffee on the side. It was wonderful. The scones were made with whole wheat flour and the conversation and laughter made a much better spread than butter ever could. Make them tomorrow for someone special - your family, your significant other, yourself!

Breakfast Scones

*2 cups whole wheat flour *1/2 cup sugar *3 tsp baking powder *1/2 tsp salt

Mix all these together in a large bowl.

*1/2 cup cold butter, or margarine

Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter or margarine, until crumbly.

*1 egg *2/3 cup milk (I have used skim milk. Use 1% or 2% if you prefer a richer scone.)

Beat the egg into milk and then pour into the dry mix. Use a fork to stir up a soft dough. Flour your hands and then pat the dough into two circles, about 6" diameter. Place the rounds on a greased baking sheet, and use a very sharp knife to score the top into 6 pie shaped wedges. If you want a crisper, sweet finish, brush the scones with milk and sprinkle them with sugar before baking. Bake in a 425 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes, until the scones are risen and golden brown. Let cool on the pan for ten minutes before you split and serve them. Bon appetit!

   Now, let's talk about that coffee you're going to serve with them. Where do you buy your java? Have you considered buying Fair Trade coffee? Here in Toronto, Kicking Horse Coffee, one Fair Trade brand, is readily available for those with discerning tastes and a sense of social justice. Central and South American coffee growers have been hard hit lately by falling prices and a glut on the market. The World Bank has aggressively promoted coffee growing in Vietnam, and it has all come together to mean a loss of livelihood for far too many struggling families in the 'coffee climes'. Research tabled in a report by Oxfam indicates that coffee production has increased at a rate twice that of production, a state of affairs expected to continue for some years more. It has left millions destitute, while companies like Nestle and Starbucks are announcing record profits. Farmers receive 30 cents or less for every pound of coffee sold in America, while pickers get 14 cents average. Think back to the last pound of coffee you bought. How much did you say you paid for it? Maybe by now, the word "rip-off" is entering your thoughts. It's not just you though. It's that farmer and his family back in Nicaragua, or Brazil, or Mexico. They're getting ripped off, too. The next breakfast on their table depends on your help. For the multinationals who are doing the ripping-off, it's all a game of creating, and then satisfying consumer demand.
   Make those scones I gave you the recipe for. I've been using it for decades, and my family and friends can all tell you - it's a good one! Sit down to enjoy them with that cup of coffee close at hand, and give a thought to the people who grew and picked that coffee. While you're eating, look around the table at the smiling faces, and the plenty on your table. Talk with the people there about heading back to wherever it was you bought your coffee and asking them if they stock Fair Trade coffee. If they do, buy some. If they don't, demand to know why. After all, you are the consumer they want to please.

Hell Will Not Want Them

   Osama bin Laden declared holy war on the upcoming U.S. backed election in Iraq, and his declaration was followed by a string of attacks on Iraqi security forces and other targets that left at least 24 people dead. All this comes just after the quake in the Indian Ocean that sent tsunamis to bring hell on earth to so many in their wake. The toll has already climbed above 52,000, but there are tens of thousands still unaccounted for, and the disease and starvation sure to follow the first disaster will take the terrible numbers higher still. With all the suffering and death that nature has just dealt out, the whole world should be involved in helping the surviviors. If bin Laden wants to declare any kind of "holy war" it should be on the ravages wrought by this tragedy. Instead he takes upon himself the right to declare who should live and who should die. No matter what he and his followers may think they know of god, they are wrong. No matter what name you choose to call god, when these f-ing bastards finally have the decency to die themselves, they will learn their mistake then. When they seek entrance to the heaven they have declared others unworthy of, the creator will spit on their souls before he damns them for all eternity. Hell will refuse them entrance as well , for even the devil has standards. Then the winds of desolation that they fanned during their miserable time on earth will blow upon their spirits and shred them as a morning breeze does the fogs of night, and the world will be cleansed of a great filth.

A Fan Favourite Tough Guy

   The Worldstar ten game, seven country tour is over, ending on December 22nd with a 4 - 3 win in Poland. European hockey is played with a different emphasis than in North America, and "enforcers" are rare, but it seems a lot of the game's fans across the pond know at least one of our tough guys. He didn't drop his gloves once during the tour, but he did score one of the Stars' goals in the final victory. Tie Domi found himself the centre of much attention and autograph seeking while he toured with the team. The experience, he said, was "something I'll cherish forever." Apparently it has moved him to consider playing in Sweden if talks to resolve the NHL lockout are a bust. More and more it looks like that will be the case. A moment of silence, please, for the bereft fans on this side of the pond.

The Aftermath

   So the big day has come and gone. Now all that's left to do is the clean-up. You'll be getting out your manual vacuum cleaners and making your way about the house, or ... By any chance, did you ask the old gent in red to bring you one of the new robotic vacuums? If you did, sit back and pour another cup of coffee. All you have to do is pick your feet up out of the way while it cleans a swath through the room. iRobot Roomba Vacuums range in price from $40.00 to $230.00, not counting the dollar signs on the accessories. The top model, the iRobot Roomba Discovery, is the one that gets the nod from Wired Magazine as the one to buy. They say unswept hardwood floors will be transformed into visions of cleanliness by this little wonder, but they also say "when it comes to deep-cleaning carpets, these bots blow." Oh well, that's what you've got a hubby for, right, ladies? While they tie on their little frilly aprons to finish the cleaning, you can head back to the drawing boards and design the one bot that really will do it all.

From Me To You

Merry Christmas World! To each and every one of you, whether you be christian or not, I have a wish for you. May this day be filled with happiness, and the nearness of loved ones. May you share laughter and love this day.

Mistletoe

   Mistletoe, a parasitic plant with its signature white berries has somehow managed to make itself an important part of our Christmas traditions. It has had an interesting journey on its way to its present positon. The plant has been used asa symbol of fertility, and as a good luck charm for a dairy herd. Mistletoe has done duty as an antidote for poison, a fire suppressant, a protection against evil spirits, a pain reliever for rheumatoid arthritis and as a gift of peace between warring neighbours. Today it is is hung over doorways to entice the exchange of a kiss.
   The history of its name is even more fun.The name is derived from the ancient belief that mistletoe was propagated from bird droppings. It was accepted wisdom in those days that life could spring spontaneously from dung. Mistletoe would often appear on a branch or twig where birds had left droppings. "Mistel" is one of the Anglo-Saxon words for "dung," and "tan" is "twig". So, mistletoe means "dung-on-a-twig". Not a name you might normally associate with romance, but nonetheless, today we hang it in a doorway and wait beneath it for a kiss. If you do kiss beneath the mistletoe, it can be deemed to mean anything from simply a little peck to a promise of marriage! I love the following poem about kissing 'neath the sprig.

Mistletoe

I did not know she'd take it so,
Or else I'd never dared:
Although the bliss was worth the blow,
I did not know she'd take it so.
She stood beneath the mistletoe
So long I thought she cared;
I did not know she'd take it so,
Or else I'd never dared.

Countee Cullen

A Poem for the Season

December

I like days
with a snow-white collar,
and nights when the moon
is a silver dollar,
and hills are filled
with eiderdown stuffing
and your breath makes smoke
like an engine puffing.

I like days
when feathers are snowing,
and all the eaves
have petticoats showing,
and the air is cold,
and the wires are humming
but you feel all warm...
with Christmas coming!

Aileen Fisher

We've had a beautiful snowfall overnight, and there's more on the way. I love a snowfall that spreads its beauty over the Christmas season. The poem above says it all just right!

Do Tell!

   To bring yourself good luck for the coming year, wear something brand new on Christmas Day. Just be sure it's never a pair of new shoes, or they will walk you into a catastrophe.

A saying of the North American pioneers of British descent, this belief has lasted. Many North Americans today still quote -and practise- the first part, but have left aside the second.

Carol of the Brown King

This Christmas poem was penned by Langston Hughes, called the "poet laureate of Harlem". I loved teaching it every year in my classroom, and used it with every grade from 4 up to 8.

Carol of the Brown King

Of the three wise men
Who came to the King,
One was a brown man,
So they sing.

Of the three wise men
Who followed the star,
One was a brown king
From afar.

They brought fine gifts
Of spices and gold
In jeweled boxes
Of beauty untold.

Unto His humble
Manger they came
And bowed their heads
In Jesus' name.

Three wise men,
One dark like me -
Part of His
Nativity.

I always wondered why none of his work was ever included in any of the anthologies selected by the schools for use in the classrooms. I used to bring a couple of his poems in myself. Another one of his that always sparked great debate among the students (I used it in grades 7 & 8) was "A Dream Deferred". What a work that one is. Read it and ponder the question it poses. It's a hard one to answer.

Start Your Own Christmas Traditions

   Yesterday, I suggested that you carve a little more than just the turkey on Christmas Day. If you can carve out some time from your schedule to spend with your kids, you're on your way to reclaiming the big day from the consumerism that constantly threatens to engulf it. The ideas you find here can be adapted for use throughout the year, and are great for small group use, too, like that Brownie or Girl Guide troupe you lead, or the daycare charges you have. Try some or all of the things you'll find here today and in the previous entry (cards and small gifts), and your family might decide they've found things they'll want to do every year ... your own traditions.

Finger Licking Fun
   The house should smell good on Christmas and home baking can scent the whole domicile! However, if you don't have the time or the talent for the baking, don't despair. There's a way around the problem that the kids will love. Make some old-fashioned pomanders and place them in every room of the house for the same festive fragrance. Use lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruits, and whole cloves that you bought in bulk for this project. Poke holes first with skewers or nut picks or the ends of metal nail files. (For the younger artists, Mom or Dad could poke the holes under the artist's supervision.) Make the holes in designs or make them at random. Of course, that hole poking is going to result in juice dripping onto small hands, but it's totally edible, so let the finger licking begin! Push a clove into each hole.The more cloves you get into that fruit, the better your pomander will do at scenting a room, and the longer it will last. While it is still sticky, roll the fruit in cinnamon, and it will smell even better.Make a couple for each room, even the bathroom! Tie ribbon or plain string around them to hang them,or nestle them into a basket to display. Even the basket can be a source of pride if you have any of the small green plastic mesh baskets like the ones that cherry tomatoes are sold in. Buy some "wraphia" at Michael's, or use wool leftover from that sweater you knit last year, or some pretty ribbons. Have the young artisan weave the material of choice in and out of the basket sides and you'll have a work of art in which to display those pomanders.


Wrapping Paper

   Start with a roll of kraft paper, or use butcher paper, shelf paper, or newsprint. Lay down a work surface of old newspapers and then spread out your soon-to-be wrapping paper. If your son or daughter has a small gift to present to someone (like yesterday's "Smell Pretties" or Soapy Soap", they can prepare paper lunch bags for their wrapping.

Sponge Painting Use cookie cutters, or freeform, to help you cut sponges into Christmas shapes, or any other favourite. Dip these into paint (kids' tempera paints work well, or use poster paints) and print away! Straight down and straight up works best, but smudges can also be regarded as artistry. If you let the first layer dry, you can then use the same shape or another to do a second layer. Use a darker tint of the same shade, or layer on a whole new colour. When the masterpiece is dry, wrap those gifts and put them under the tree.

Vegetable Prints Have you ever cut an apple in half across its width? Try it and find the surprise hidden inside! Dip that into poster paint thickened with just a little cornstarch, and press it on your paper. Magic waiting to happen! Don't stop with that apple, though. Let imagination guide you and the whole crisper drawer becomes an art depot. Cut the top off a green pepper and you have a handle provided for your "paint brush". Slice an onion and paint away! Time is your only limit.

Funny Paper Use the weekend's coloured comics and you have exactly that - funny paper! It's amazing how much kids love this idea, and it requires the least clean-up of all!

Seamingly Sew Easy! No mistakes there, the spelling is intentional. This idea is for the older kids and the families with a sewing machine. (My two first headed to the controls of the machine when they were ten.) Head out to a store like Zellers or Wal-Mart and buy some inexpensive dish towels, in plain fabric or Christmas prints if they have them. You can also go to the fabric outlet and buy a variety of festive prints. If you buy ready-made, you have a minimum of finishing to do, because all the edges are already finished for you. If you buy fabric, plan on cutting 40 x 70cm (16 x 28 in) pieces. Of course, size is something you can vary, according to the dimensions of the gifts you want to wrap.The width of the fabric will determine how many you can get out of a metre. Take the ready-made towels to the machine, fold them over in half with the right sides together, and sew a straight seam down each side, leaving the top open. Turn it right side out, and there's a bag ready to be used as wrapping paper that can do an imitation of the energizer bunny. It keeps going and going, Christmas after Christmas. That will really save some trees! To close them, just tie off the top with some bright ribbon. For the fabric bags, once you've cut your basic shape, fold it in half too, with right sides together and then stitch straight seams up both sides. When the sides are done, fold a little edge down all the way around the top, and then fold it once more. It's like the motion of rolling up your sleeves. Now sew that edge down all the way around. Remember to backstitch a little at the end of each seam so that the stitches are locked and it never unravels. Sit beside the kids and talk them through the project. (A little practice on some scraps first will let them get used to the feel of the machine and the way to control it.) Then sit back and watch the pride on their faces on their when they see their finished creation. Giving your son or daughter the chance to feel accomplished is a gift that shouldn't be limited to Christmas only. Who knows? If you take the time for this one, you may be starting the next
big- name fashion designer on their way!

   All of the above ideas come with an ecological bonus. When children are involved in the making of anything, they tend to be more receptive to the idea of using it carefully. Use this activity as awareness raising about the value of trees and the thought that needs to be given to cutting them down. If your child really gets involved in this idea and they're a reader, it could be the basis for one of their gifts. Give them a book written by, or about Dr. David Suzuki and you may be helping to inspire one of our next environmentalists, who could help to save the Earth.

   Speaking of books, (and keeping your sanity too), reading aloud is always a very calming pastime. Too many people tend to think of it as something you do only at bedtime and only with the younger set. That's a sad misconception. Resurrect this idea, but add a new twist. Have everyone get comfy in the family room, or the den, snuggled under afghans or stretched out on their tummies beside Fido or Fluffy. Now get out that book and give it to one of the kids to read. Let the whole family take turns with the reading, especially if it's a chapter book. My two are now 19 and 22 years old, and our family still gathers for reading. We read books like the "Lord of the RIngs" that way. Your family may like it so much, it will become a year-round activity. For the festive season, there are all kinds of titles available. You can try "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss. The Bible account of the Nativity can be practised for reading aloud on Christmas Eve by one of your family's young readers. This way to spend time together is so much better than endless time in front of the TV, and it helps to bond families like the TV simply can not. Give it a go!

Christmas Craft Ideas - Cards and Gifts

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat,
Please to put a penny in the old man's hat,'
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!

   School is out, and you've got kids to keep busy ! You'll either get fat right along with that goose, because of stress-induced overeating, or you'll drop pounds at an amazing rate, because of stress-induced undereating. Of course, there is a third possibility. You could make it successfully through to the big day, with a minimum of frazzled nerves and a gaggle of your own happy little goslings.You need to give this a little bit of time, but planned activity will do the trick a whole lot better than hours in front of the idiot tube will. Depending on the activities you undertake, it might accomplish something as well, like helping the kids to learn that there really is more to the season than just commercialism.
    Start with cards to send. Sit down with your child(ren), and make a list of all the relatives they'll see at the family get-together on Christmas. If that list is too big, narrow it down. How about just their grandparents, or just their cousins? Make a few adjustments until they're right with the list,
cause each name will be the recipient of a home-made card. Now gather your materials.

Post Cards

   Head off to the nearest craft goods store, and buy a package of blanks. Include some clear-drying, non-toxic glue and some sprinkle-on sparkles. Penny wise? Cut several cards the same size from an old box, like the one last year's shirt for dad came in, that you kept "just in case". Now sit the kids down with an array of crayons, pencil crayons, and markers. If you have them work in green and red, even the efforts of the littlest ones will still look decidedly festive! After the design is drawn on, a few accents can be made with the glue. (Just splop a little here and there.) Shake on some glitter right away wherever you put the glue. Let the card sit to dry, then gently blow off the excess glitter. Done!

Folded Cards

   The simplest folded cards start with a piece of construction paper folded in half. That's all it takes. More ambitious? Fold your own out of 8.5 x 11 paper Use plain white, or start bright with some printer paper in bold colours, that you can buy at Staples, or any like place. Use the same technique as for the post cards, or consider a variation on the theme. If your artist is really gifted, have him/her produce one on the folded section that will be the front, then head off to a printer and have the right number of copies made. That way junior's cards look more like the boxed sets you buy, and it can feel very important to some of the younger set to be doing things the "grown-up way". When you get them back home, the insides of the card have to be decorated and personalized. Use stickers - some places sell them by the weight unit in bags which should last forever ... or at least long enough for all the cards to be finished! Did you save any of the cards you received last year? If you didn't, it's a good habit to get into. If you did, let the kids pick the pictures or motifs they like, cut them out, and glue them onto their creation. You could also let them cut from scraps of wrapping paper and glue on whatever they choose. If you fold standard size paper, you can buy a package of envelopes that will fit the cards, and then the envelopes can be decorated as well, especially if they will be hand-delivered on the big day and you don't have to worry about the post office reading the address through a plethora of stars and stickers. "Play these cards well" and the kids can be happily occupied for the whole afternoon, or for a few sessions spread out over a couple of days.

For the Super-Creative (or Brave!)

   Get an ink pad, or several in different colours. Have the artist press their index finger or thumb firmly onto the pad, and then straight down onto the paper. No rolling or moving those fingers, Straight down, and straight up! Practise runs on scrap paper first are a good idea. Now what do you see in that finger print? Use a fine-tipped marker, and draw on two ears, some whiskers and two eyes, and you'll have a mouse. Give him a wee Christmas hat to wear. Feeling really inspired? Use your fanciest handwriting (Calligraphy?) to write in the line "not a creature was stirring, not even this mouse!". Maybe your thumb print will take just a few details to become Santa, or a reindeer, or an apple or a pineapple, or ... the list is endless.

If you tackle the card making and things are going great, don't stop there! Here are a couple of easy-make, real hands-on gifts for your little elves to create for the special people on their lists.

Smell Pretties

These are really old-fashioned sachets to scent a dresser drawer, but kids get more of a giggle out of the above name.
   A fabric store or a store like Wal-mart is the place to buy the needed supplies. Start with Christmas-print fabrics, and buy .2 metres (18 inches long) to make approximately 6 sachets. How many people are on the list, and how many beautiful prints are there? If your budget allows, stop at a craft store before you head home and buy some of the special-edged scissors available. Otherwise, use ordinary scissors or pinking shears. You also need to purchase potpourri or scented bath salts.
   At home, you can use several approaches to getting the fabric ready. You might need to cut the fabric yourself for the younger children, but if your little craftmeister can handle cutting fabric,trace 15 cm (6") circles on the fabric. You can even let them use a plate of the right size, and trace around the plates themselves.
Spoon one or two tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of the potpourri or bath salts into the centre of the fabric circle.
Help them to tie the smell pretties snugly with narrow ribbon, or fancy lace, or even some left-over hem lace. They're ready to give!

Soapy Soaps

   You need Ivory Snow flakes, some food colouring, and a pair of willing hands. That's the basic list, but you might also use molds or cookie cutters and plastic wrap.
Mix 75 ml (5 tbsp) of warm water in a bowl with food colouring . The more colouring, the deeper the colour of the soap. The less you use, the more pastel the soap will be. Gradually stir in about 500 ml (2 cups) of Ivory Snow. Squeeze and knead it thoroughly. (Kids love that part.) You're after a play-dough consistency that's not sticky.
To shape, simply roll it into balls, or let the crafter's imagination take free form. Alternatives are to press the mix into a mold lined with plastic wrap for easy removal later, or pat it out flat and use the cookie cutters to cut it into shapes.
Set the soaps aside in a cool, dry place and leave them for two or three days to be sure they're properly dried and hardened. Make these tomorrow and they'll be ready in time to go under the Christmas tree!


   Come back tomorrow. I promise I'll have some more ideas for you. If you can give the time to these projects, you'll accomplish several things with them. There's nothing to make a little one feel better than having Mom or Dad all to themselves for a few hours, especially if Mom or Dad sit down and make some of the same items right along with them. You'll show your child that there is more to the season than just heading off to the nearest store and taking out your wallet. You'll give them a chance to experience pride in their own accomplishments, and feel the joy of giving a bit of themselves when they present their handmade treasures. Grandmas and Grandpas can usually be counted on to love the present no matter what it might look like to more critical eyes. Be sure while you are working with them to reserve your criticism, too. Remember, the joy is in the giving and the Lord does love a cheerful giver. The gift does not have to be "perfect" by commercial standards, only by the measure of how much love went into its making.

Landfill

   Karla Homolka is coming up for release in July 2005. The mother of one of her victims is dealing with the recurring nightmare of shopping at the local mall and meeting this filth face-to-face. Attorney General Michael Bryant is considering "restrictions that could curb (Homolka's) lifestyle". I know what I'm hoping for. There's been so much violence in the papers lately, especially youth-on-youth. Seems the local population is going to hell in a handcart. That's what's got my hopes up. Just one more act of violence, that's all we need. Yes, I said "need". Let's keep our fingers crossed for a little vigilante justice, so that Homolka could be sent off to hell, too, for real. Then we could finally get something good out of her perverted existence by using the corpse for landfill. I know, the way she was when alive might mean her corpse would be nothing but toxic.Still, we could cross our fingers and hope that she would make decent fertilizer. Maybe we could get some flowers growing, and close off the chapter of her blight on the landscape with a cover-up of blossoms.

Safer Schools?

   "Every student has the right to feel safe and be safe in school and on school grounds," says Ontario's Education Minister Gerard Kennedy in an announcement made this week. The government plans to spend $9 million in the 2004-05 school year to put into place their plan to make the schools of Ontario safer places. The plan includes the installation of electronic monitoring devices and bullying hotlines.
   I hope all this will achieve something good, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in it. I think it's a bit of a band-aid being slapped onto a huge gaping sore. The reason I have these doubts is because I have been out there on the front lines. I have seen the way this whole problem is handled by the people who are as important or even more important than those cameras are going to be. I'm talking about the school staff, the teachers and the principals above all. I'm thinking back over way too many times when I have seen these front-line workers let the kids down, badly. More than not, our kids are out there on their own. The teachers are too often useless as allies in a victim's struggle to survive, and the principals are just as often no better. The seemingly impossible has to be done somehow. We have to get these people involved and caring, and ready to fight. If we don't, all the cameras you want can be installed, but they will not provide the looked-for protection. Think about it. The bullies are not totally stupid. They will know about the cameras, like everyone else, and all they will have to do is make sure they carry out their vicious little campaigns in places where there is no spying electronic eye. The lens may capture some incidents on film, but they will be the minority.
   "They set themselves up to be bullied" Ever heard that line? I have and it enrages me. The people who have said it to me were former colleagues. No-one sets themselves up to be tormented and harassed, sometimes to the point of suicide. Anyone who accepts that line is f-ing stupid. You know what? That describes way too many of the people standing at the front of your sons' or daughters' classrooms. I could go on with a list longer than you'd have time to read. I can tell stories of kids who were suffering when they came to my grade eight classroom, kids who had no faith that there was any help for them, kids that I went to battle for. I'm no saint. I just couldn't stand by and see these kids endlessly unhappy, without trying to help. Where were all the other teachers the kids had before me" Why hadn't they done something?
   When I had kids in my room who were being victimized, I always started by telling them they did not need to tackle the problem alone. I always told them to come and talk to me. Too many times their response was, "Teachers always say that, but they never do anything." How awful that they should feel the situation was hopeless! A male student that I taught once had a stutter. It wasn't the worst one you've ever heard, but it must have felt like that for him. He wouldn't even answer questions in class at the beginning of the year. When asked something, his response was always the same. He shrugged his shoulders and would say nothing. After marking his books several times, I knew this was a smart individual, and I began to investigate the situation. Talking to him one-on-one at quiet times finally allowed me the chance to hear him, and hear the stutter. That was when we began to work together to remediate things for him. It took more than a couple of session of stopping the whole class, (whether or not the schedule said it was supposed to be math time or whatever else), to discuss the concept of the golden rule. Those discussions took many forms, but they always came back to the same idea. No-one has the right to purposely make another's life miserable. Another year, a student of mine was a boy born with a cleft palate. The marks were there on his upper lip for anyone to see, the marks that set him apart from anyone with a cruel heart. By the time he walked into my room, he had encountered more than a lifetime's worth of that kind. His response to me was the same as the boy with the stutter. A student I had still another year was a wonderful girl, warm and friendly, if anyone gave her the chance, but almost no-one did. Her problem? Well, she was "too tall" not fashionably slim or fashionably attired, and "too smart". She was already so self-deprecating, it was heartbreaking. When I spoke with her, her reaction was the same. Each one of these kids was with a group of students that they had started kindergarten with. The groups stayed more or less the same, with only a few changes, until they graduated from grade eight. If the child came to the kindergarten with the "problem" and the teacher there was not a front-line fighter, then good chances are that the die was cast and the pattern set for years of isolation, and torment. Sometimes the transfer to high school was the only hope they had for things to get better. That's wrong, totally wrong, but how do we fix it? Not with cameras alone, as far as I am concerned. I am not even sure what can be done exactly, but I know it has to come more from those staff members who too often sit on their fat asses and do nothing.
   I wear glasses. I have since my own year in kindergarten. If I take them off, the iris of the left eye may wander over toward the inner corner of my eye. It's not drastic, but you can see it happening. I've paid my own dues because of it, but when I became a teacher, I finally found the silver lining in that particular cloud. The first year that I went to bat for a student of mine who was being victimized, I quickly found that appealing to reason was getting me nowhere. Without thinking it through first, I went up nose-to-nose with one of the ringleaders, and took off my glasses. I stared at them in silence for a moment while they and the whole class wondered what was coming next. Then, in a calm voice I said, "Go ahead. You're looking at someone who's just right for you to make fun of, aren't you? Go ahead and do it. If you want to make fun of someone, make fun of me. I look different. I don't "fit in", do I? Make fun, but just do it right to my face. Tell me how dumb I look. Go ahead." I have played that scene out more than once in my years in intermediate classrooms, and every time it has been the same. The "chosen one" I squared off with has stood there in silence. There was no making fun. The least I ever got was stony silence. The most I ever got was a student breaking down in tears, and offering me and her former victim profuse apologies right on the spot. Even if all it seemed that I got for my efforts was that silence, I found that it was instead a door being opened, a door that the whole class could begin to walk through together. It was a doorway into freedom for everyone. Every group I worked with found that after a while, they all felt more liberated to be themselves in the class, to be less afraid of what the others might say or how they would respond. Every group I worked with gradually drew closer together. Some managed it much better than others, but it worked for them all. I had parents more than once who sat in tears in my room during interview time, thanking me for the difference I had made in their child's life. As I said before, I am no saint. It was just that I could not let it go on, and so I had to try as best I could to help.
   The successes I did achieve came at quite a price to me. I finally slammed into the brickwall of burnout. One of the big reasons why that happened was that most of the time, I was fighting the battle on my own. The other teachers were so constantly in denial. "We don't have any bullying in our school" they would mouth endlessly. The principals were no better. If you have read my blog before, you have seen the entry about the principal who failed to call the police to investigate a letter of threat aimed at several classmates by one of my students. You would also have read about how angry he was when he found out that I did call the police. Last year, the situation was dishearteningly similar. One day, a couple of the boys in my room were loudly discussing the breasts of several of the girls. They had not seen me behind them. When I went to the principal about it, he did nothing. Have you ever heard of the nightmares called "rating halls" in the high schools? That's where this situation was headed. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen, but it was. Now you tell me, how would an electronic monitoring system help with that one? Last year as well, a boy in the room devoted a great deal of his time to tormenting one of the girls. More than once when I went for help, the response was "I'll talk to him". Big help that was. All the little shit had to do was sit there for a few minutes and wait for the principal to finally shut up, then go on his merry way. When some of the boys threatened me with physical harm, guess who ended up calling the police? Once again, I was berated for having done so. How would a camera on the wall have ameliorated that situation? No, I think those cameras will help perhaps with apprehending the perpetrators AFTER the fact, but that won't make better a life that has been shattered. When are we going to do something BEFORE the fact? If those "bully hotlines" aren't lines straight to the police, then I don't believe they will be any particular help at all. We need something not much short of a miracle in our schools before they really do become safer, better places where every one of the students can be happy.

Idiots Inc.

   At a Primus Worldstars' game in St. Petersburg on the weekend, Anson Carter skated onto the ice and had a couple of bananas thrown at him by a "fan". "You can't really fault the whole population — one idiot doesn't tarnish the reputation of everyone — but at the same time, there was that one person out there," Carter said. The Los Angeles Kings' right winger happens to be black. The person who threw the bananas happens to be brain-dead.
   I've seen this kind of thing so often in the classroom. It's never the kids who are really decent types who indulge in hate mongering. Only once have I seen it truly be a mistake on the part of the kid. She simply had not had anyone explain the situation to her before. Once, she allowed herself to be involved in making another person's life miserable and since it happened in my classroom and I learned of it, she found herself seated for a LONG talk, first. Then she found herself involved big-time in helping to bring to the stage a class production about stopping racism. By the time it was all finished, this girl had completely turned herself around.She went on to become a true champion of rights for everyone; a real social-conscience kind of person. She's the only one I've ever seen make that kind of change. With the others who indulge, it has been because they are already rooted in the belief that they have some kind of superiority, that they only have to exist in order to be worth more than others. I'm talking about 13 and 14 year olds! Even in them, this kind of belief has proven itself to be intractable. Bang your head on a brick wall and you'll have more luck at getting people like that to see reason.
   I always feel that the "superiority" evinced by these individuals is actually a false bravado. I believe most of them are actually afraid of the world. At a very deep level -likely one they never articulate, even to themselves- they are so insecure in their own place in the world that they are driven to gouge out some of the security that belongs to another. Only by reducing someone else's comfort level can they find more for themselves. They have to constantly perform these destructive acts to reinforce their flagging egos. If they lived in a cage, they would just be sad specimens to stare at. Since they live around others, they are disgusting filth.
   It has also been my experience that these people are never intellectuals. Even if they have university letters after their name, they are only specific-book-smart. Racists are woefully lacking in any other kind of "smart". I am sure that the banana-throwing moron has heard of Egypt. If (s)he knows anything about its history, however, it's probably limited to the National Geographic cover of King Tut's death mask, a picture everyone has seen. I have serious doubts that they would have opened the magazine and actually read the accompanying article. There is every chance that they have no idea about the University of Alexandria. They would not know its location even, let alone its list of illustrious alumni. If they did know, do you think it might suffice to help them change their bigoted little minds, at least a little?
   Alexandria nestled itself into the bosom of ancient Egypt, and sent forth such great minds as Archimedes, Euclid and Hypsicles. All this was going on while the ancestors of the banana-tosser were likely wandering about the steppes, blissfully unaware of the concept of higher learning. 2,300 years ago, Alexandria was regarded as the cultural and intellectual hub of the world. Not so the steppes. A team of Polish and Egyptian archaeologists finally located the site of the ancient seat of learning last May. There were 13 identical lecture halls, lined on three sides with rows of elevated benches for the students to sit on while they drank in the wisdom offered by the lecturers. They drank deep from the Pierian spring, long centuries before this little banana-throwing pea-brain was born and they did so in a part of the world that the fruit-tossing dullard seeks to belittle.
   There will always be others better than you at anything and everything you care to name. There will also be those who do not achieve to your level. So what? What does it really matter what the ancestors of each of the people involved in the scene at the St. Petersburg arena were doing long years ago? Instead of wasting time on one-upmanship, why not appreciate others for the uniqueness that each has to offer. You are who you are. Only that and nothing more. If someone else is different than you, celebrate the differences. Without them, life would not be as interesting. Explore the differences and seek to learn from them. Realize that we all have so much to teach each other, if only we have the wisdom to listen, and hear.

Photo Gallery Update

   Check out the two new additions, galleries 21 and 22. Here you'll see photographs taken on a cloudy, cold day in late November. I was wandering through a favourite park in the town of Newmarket, just north of Toronto, and I found myself struck by the sense of anticipation all around me. It seemed to me that the earth and the trees, the plants and the birds were all waiting for something. It was as though Autumn itself was holding its breath, waiting for the arrival of winter. I know many people see the last days of autumn as a "dead" time. They seem to see only the grey tones. But I see the promise underneath those tones. I see joyful anticipation, when the earth has done the proper preparations, and left everything ready for winter to decorate all of it with the sparkling enchantment of snow and frost. The world is ready and waiting to be decked out in winter finery, and I am eager to see the magic.

Just Plain Annoying

   I solve a lot of crossword puzzles. I am addicted to them, in fact. Those who create them drive me off the deep end, however, on a regular basis, when they take liberties with the clues and the word-answers. This morning's puzzle, for instance, needed a four-letter answer to the clue "very pale". The solving of the puzzle area around that spot made it clear that the answer was "ashy". Please, people. It should be "ashen". The dictionary defines this word as meaning "having the colour of ashes; being very pale". I'll go back again tomorrow for my next fix, but I do protest.
   Now for the second fly in today's ointment. I belong to a women's only gym, a small around-the- corner establishment. Most of the time it suits me fine, but they were pushing the limits this morning. A woman who works there in the morning often plays Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and so I have discovered that many of the numbers in that collection work out to a perfect rhythm of 58 rpm's on the elliptical trainer. That's OK. That music was meant to have a beat. Today, however, they were playing a never-ending medley of Christmas carols, all imprisoned in a studio-remix style of driving beat. They fit to the 58 reps, and that's just plain wrong! I'm not talking "The Jingle Bell Rock" either. They had wreaked their aberrated havoc on such stately beauties as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "Silent Night". Give me a break!

ESL Classes Made More Interesting

   I have been helping out a friend who has come here to Canada from Colombia. She is taking ESL classes at school, but is eager to do more learning than what the hours in the classroom afford her. Since I am a teacher, and have worked with adult ESL students, she comes to me for help. I am doing what I have done before, and taken her to the music of Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian artist who has been awarded the Juno sixteen times. He has so very many great songs for a student such as her to hear. Lightfoot has become a Canadian icon, and his song "The Canadian Railroad Trilogy" has made it into history textbooks. His songs are more than just an exercise in listening to English being used. Lightfoot's music has been described as part of the fabric of Canada. As with the trilogy, they offer an insight into Canadian culture for the newcomer to our shores. They are sung in his strong, clear, easy to understand style, and uncluttered by excess instrumentation. They touch on subjects that adults can relate to readily. They are the perfect aid for the ESL teacher and the student, both!
   I have recommended the album "Don Quixote" for her listening. To facilitate her learning, I have typed out the lyrics to every one of the songs, and will be giving them to her in hardcopy. (They are available for your use, too, here on my site.) The idea is for her to make sure she understands them first. She can use a dictionary, and consult with her teacher to ensure that.Then she can listen to him sing as she follows the lyrics. Hopefully, she will soon start singing along. This can be done in private, if she is shy, or right out in the midst of everyone, if she has enough confidence. Listening to his lyrics will help her in more ways than one. She will learn expressions that she can use when she is speaking, and she can practise understanding the spoken language and its idioms. It's a technique that can produce great results. It's also a form of study that doesn't feel quite as onerous as spending hours in front of a textbook, so it's easier to persevere with it.
   On this particular album, "Christian Island" is a peaceful, pleasant tune about the singer's love of sailing and of his sailing boat, above all, but it also gives the chance to learn a little about the geography of Ontario. In a classroom setting, Lightfoot's mention of the "whiskey of the highlands" would allow for a little leisure-time-pursuit comparison, and the students could share descriptions of the beverages of their home countries. Likewise, "Alberta Bound" is a great lead-in to discussions about the experience of homesickness, and the longing to see kin. Also like "Christian Island", it offers tremendous learning opportunities about the geography of Canada, as the singer makes his way across the prairies to the mountains. The mention of the Chinook wind presents an opportunity for students to compare accounts of the weather and weather-related phenomena in their countries of origin. When he sings of the "skyline of Toronto", of course, the talk could be guided to the CN Tower, the world's tallest free satnding structure.."Ode to Big Blue" leads right into discussion of the history of whaling in Canadian waters, and learning about some of the native marine wildlife. "The Patriot's Dream" is likely to be ever current, unfortunately. At the moment, it could lead right into a debate about the war in Iraq, as well as stories that some of the class members might have to tell about fleeing war in their previous homes. There is so much of value on this album, and to harvest the benefits, all you need to do is equip each student with a copy of the lyrics, and the classroom with a CD player, plus one copy of the album. Then, everybody sing along!

NHLPA Offer

   The Players' Association has laid quite the offer on the bargaining table. In September, they had made a salary rollback offer of 5%. Now, they have offered an immediate rollback of 24% off all existing contracts. That would save $270 million in the first year. Their offer includes a restriction on rookie contracts to $850,000.00 a year for three years, where last season's level was $1.2 million. Free agent restrictions, and a chance to use arbitration in a system similar to that used in baseball could save $400 million in the next six years. A luxury tax would penalize teams 20 cents for every dollar they spend between $45 million and $5o million, and the rate goes up from there. The players have laid a six-year proposal down in front of the NHL, and that bounces the ball right into their court now, or at least, it slaps the puck in the direction of their net. If we don't see any of the good ol' game this season, there's no way you'll be able to convince me or a whole lot of other fans that it isn't because of Gary Bettman. If he comes back with his usual yada-yada about the salary cap, and sets a "drop-dead" date, instead of accepting the offer, then I know one thing for sure. There's going to be a lot of hockey fans wishing Bettman would drop dead, himself, on that date.

An Irreverent Little Giggle

   You've probably seen that I have ads by Google. You know the routine ... they scan your site and map words that they find to their key word list. It's supposed to make for context sensitive ads. On December 9th, I wrote a short entry about Queen Elizabeth ll of England. Her Royalness was appearing in an official capacity. I commented on it, and Google picked up the name, but not entirely in what you might call a "sensitive" manner. They stuck in some ads for cruises on the Cunard liner, and that's where the giggle comes in. I don't think Mr. Consort-His-Princely-Philipness would find much to approve of in the idea of the common masses "cruising" on his wife!

Watch Out, Guys!

   You gotta' take good care of the family jewels, right? That means there's one place that a laptop should never be, and that's on your lap! It seems that a laptop is a great way to achieve a rise. It's just not the 'rise' you might want.Raising scrotum heat has been linked to male infertility, and your laptop is just the thing to raise the temperature. When men sat with their legs together to balance a laptop that was turned on, a recent study found the temperature in the area around their testicles rose 2.8 degrees centigrade. That's just enough to fry those little swimmers, and then there goes your rep as a stud. Better find somewhere else to sit that laptop!

Honesty Pays, in Spite of the Government

   Securicor was delivering cash to a TD Canada Trust on Kingston Road, here in Toronto last Monday when something went wrong. A spokesperson said a review of procedures and an internal investigation is being launched. Something needs investigating. Debbie Peliti was passing by when she found a plastic bag filled with $40,000.00 in cash lying on the street. She took it right inside to the astonished employees and then returned a few minutes later with more bills she had found blowing loose.
   After turning in the money, the mother of six was given a $2,000.00 reward for her honesty. Since Peliti is on social assistance, and receives only about $1,000.00/month, the reward was a much-welcomed windfall, especially given the time of year. Next thing she knew, however, Welfare was informing her that she had to give the money back, or have it subtracted from her monthly cheques. It seems the government policy is that welfare recipients are not allowed to have any "good luck".
   The story ends at the Legislature yesterday, where she was given a standing ovation by the MPPs and a promise from the government that she can keep the $2,000. Said Peliti: "The whole house cheering and clapping was something else ... this thing is playing out like some movie on TV." It made a great photo-op for Dalton McGuinty and his Liberals, who have not been the most popular people lately. They have been perceived as incredible promise-breakers and not a lot else by so many. I am sure they grabbed on to Ms. Peliti and her honesty like a drowning man does to a straw. I am not sure their allowing her to keep the reward is motivated by altruism.
    Official policy re welfare recipients seems to hover on the edge of criminalization of the poor . Yes, of course, there are those who scam the system, but they are in the minority, and others have been made to suffer so much because of them. It's a long, uphill struggle that has to be undertaken, to make the system more humane.
   In the meantime, the mistreatment makes it all the better to know about a government brush with embarrassment based on welfare. Mary Walsh, of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", in her role as Marg, Princess Warrior went hunting for Mike Harris once, while he was still in office as Premier of Ontario. It seems the fair-thinking man had announced his government would be introducing mandatory drug testing and treatment for the welfare recipients of the province. suspected of drug or alcohol addictions. (underlined bold print emphasizes what to me seems a very important word). Marg surprised the Premier when she accosted him on November 28, 2000, and told him Ebenezer Scrooge was somewhat like him, "like a little bit cold-hearted, just a tiny bit uncaring about the people who weren't as well off as himself," she said. "But of course even Scrooge didn't insist that Cratchit and them have mandatory drug testing." Then the Princess Warrior asked him for "a little something" and handed Harris a urine sample bottle. She must have had one hell of a good time, doing that.

Noshing for your Neurons

   Discover magazine has published its 2004 edition of the 100 Top Science stories of the Year. It makes for great reading, and since none of the stories are very long, it could be science in palatable doses for those who are curious, but don't like lengthy articles. The info never stops, coming at you right up to the very last page, where they end the issue with "2004: Year of Calamity". Take a look at that one and you see, condensed in a way even a mental midget might be able to understand, the reasons why all that technology we have should be turned to peaceful use, rather than new and improved ways of killing each other. Nature doles out more than enough tragedy, without our contributing to the horrors. There are stories of the immediately obvious, like mud slides and floods carrying away more than 1,000 lives. There are also entries with ominous import for our future, like "Antarctica: Formerly landlocked glaciers move into the ocean, threatening sea levels." Get the issue and spend a while perusing the meaty morsels contained therein. Food for thought, indeed.

Have You Had Some Today?

     I'm talking about nuts. This morning I sat down here to pick away at the keys with a handful of almonds to nibble at while I typed. I've nibbled on nuts and peanuts for decades now, using them frequently as a meat substitute ever since I turned off eating anything that makes its way on four feet. Back in the 60's I first came across advice from Edgar Cayce urging everyone to eat almonds every day. His reasons for it were vague and couched in terms of his ESP meanderings, but that doesn't mean he wasn't on to a good thing. The mighty Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide now repeats Cayce's words, but phrases them a little more scientifically. They do begin with a caveat about the fat content in nuts, saying that they should be incorporated into regular meals and not used as snacks. Then they continue to list all the wonders of the little nibbles, and to assign them some kind of order according to content. It seems that almonds, peanuts, and walnuts come out on top, although they hedge their bet by saying that there is no absolutely conclusive rating, so mixed nuts, unsalted, and eaten in moderation are the way to be sure you're eating the right ones. Cholesterol-lowering diets that contain nuts do reduce LDL cholesterol by 9% to 20%. There's great news for those of you who want to avoid medications. Their list of goodies includes copper, fiber, folate, and Vitamin E, among others. Go on! Go grab a handful of nuts! It's good for you, in more ways than one!

We Are Not Amused!

   After all, she is a grandmother, and like any other grandma, I'm sure she wants her grandchildren to have a chance at growing up. That likely explains why she has put in her two cents worth, or wait, should I say two pence worth? On November 3, 2004, Queen Elizabeth ll opened the Anglo-German conference on climate in Berlin. She urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to pressure the U.S. government to take more action. I suppose she was thinking that the good buddy relationship between the two might mean Bush would listen. I have no faith at all in that one. Bush and the mighty U.S. will do only what they want, and only when they want, and if it doesn't come with a dollar bill sign of promise to the States, it' very unlikely that they will want it, no matter what "it" is. Nonetheless, jolly good try, Queen Liz!

Trivia for the Office Party

Some of these would just make such great ice-breakers. Use 'em at this year's party and you're guaranteed one of two outcomes. Either you'll have everyone gathered around you, hanging off every word, and laughing out loud, or ... you'll have a very wide circle all around you, that no-one will enter. I dare you, give it a try!

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes.

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death.

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off.

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field.

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.

A cat's urine glows under a black light.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Starfish have no brains.

Polar bears are left-handed

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.

Tie Domi's Santa on Wheels - Helping to give a kid a Christmas

TORONTO, Dec. 6 /CNW/ - Tie Domi revealshis soft side with his significant involvement in the 8th annual Santa on Wheels charity program. The charity benefits an underserved segment of our community... kids who find themselves homeless in shelters and hostels throughout the city. Tie and his wife Leanne have personally donated over 30,000 gifts valued at over $500,000 over the last seven years to ensure that every child in a hostel receives a gift for Christmas. Every year, thousands of kids, through no fault of their own, find themselves having to cope with the stresses and the upset of losing their homes, their friends, their schools, their way of life. These children
fall through the cracks of other gift-giving initiatives, as you need an address to qualify for many of the programs.
Tie Domi's Santa on Wheels ensures that kids in their greatest time of need do not miss the innocence and joy that Christmas can bring. The Domis have been quietly doing their part to support this program for years. Each year about 100 of these "forgotten" kids are treated to a
Leafs' practice at the Air Canada Centre and receive a Christmas gift from Santa along with meeting Tie and Leanne Domi. Even though there is no Leaf hockey practice to watch, this year will be no different. Domi has arranged for over 100 kids to be bused down to RICOH Coliseum to
watch the "Primus Worldstars Tour" team practice on December 7 at 9 a.m. prior to the team leaving for Europe. Upon arrival, the kids will be treated to a snack, be entertained by Puma's "The Freestylers" by Madskills Inc., visit with Santa, Tie and Leanne Domi, and receive a gift bag for Christmas. They will then watch the practice and send off the "Primus Worldstars Tour" to Europe.
As the need increases every season, Tie Domi has asked the public to rally behind the Santa on Wheels Program to "give a kid a Christmas." This year over 1,000 children will benefit directly from Tie Domi's Santa on Wheels program.
For information on donations, please call Anna Manguera 416-392-9206.
Or you can e-mail Tie directly at tie @tiedomi.com and view children's smiles at www.tiedomi.com

Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: RICOH Coliseum, Exhibition Place, 100
Princes' Blvd.

Tossing Barbs at Low-Carbs

   Robert Atkins, the "low-carb" guru died in April 2003, leaving behind a mountain of contentious material - products he promoted and sold, and books he wrote about his wonder way to lose weight. One charge levelled at Atkins is that his diet produces rapid weight loss, but no safe guard against regaining the weight. His diet does not really promote a significant change in the lifestyle that produced the need for loss, in the first place. The charges are also laid that the diet leaves its followers open to heart problems, cancers, constipation, fatigue and bad breath. The Atkins diet has been effecting some real reductions, however. They're just not the reductions you might have expected from a diet.
   The reductions being caused by this wonder diet are in the income of the wheat and potato farmers, not only here in North America, but also in Europe. The drop-off in demand for spuds in the U.S. of A. equates to approximately 6.5 pounds (2.95 kg) fewer per consumer. This means the American potato farmers were able to harvest 70,000 fewer acres (28,340 hectares) of potatoes in 2004. The fallout from the Atkins craze has hit farmers across the pond, as well. Here in Canada, an Ipsos-Reid poll of last August revealed that 61% of Canadians currently limit their intake of carbs, and 6% are on a low-carb or a no-carb diet. It's no wonder. Ontario's chief medical officer has recently warned that we are becoming a province of epidemic-level obesity. The problem is not limited to Ontario, though. It makes its waddling way across the whole nation, as it does south of our border.
   The only real way to combat obesity, however, is one that few are willing to tackle. You have to practise, REALLY practise moderation, and when you push away from the table, you have to head out to get some exercise. You have to do this for a lifetime, and then you won't ever need Atkins or any of the other buy-my-product-line quacks out there. It's just not what most people want to hear. The government is jumping on this bandwagon too, only not the way that Atkins Nutritionals would like. New labelling regulations will take effect next year that will force food and beverage packaging to eliminate all references to low-carbohydrate benefits. Carb content must be listed on the packaging, but other carb-related claims, including those in the product's brand name or trademark, will be prohibited.
   Put it all into perspective, people. It comes down to making sure your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach. Eat smaller first portions, and NO SECONDS! Go out and work up a sweat once in a while, and when you get back, have a big drink of water. That's it. That's all. I know you might think this is just too simplistic, but really, it works. Want it rephrased? OK, listen to these porcine pearls of advice from Miss Piggy. "Never eat more than you can lift."

Remember

   December 6. A sad day for the women of Canada to remember. A day that speaks to women everywhere. It has been declared National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women by the Canadian Government and commemorative events occur annually across Canada to remember the women killed.
May the souls of the 14 rest in peace.

Lincoln Was Late

   Travel south of the 49th parallel and suggest the following if you're ready to face the flak. Honest Abe didn't sign the Emancipation Declaration on January 1st, 1863, because he was an egalitarian. He did it, instead, to bring the South to their knees by breaking their economy. Plain and simple.The Americans love to extol the virtues of the president from Hardin County, making him out to be the first shining star in the firmament of abolition, but they conveniently forget, or (more likely the case) are woefully unaware of the Tsar Liberator. When Alexander came to the Russian throne after the despotic reign of his father, Nicholas l, he began the daunting task of modernizing the nation. One of his most important and daring reforms was the emancipation of the Russian serfs from their landowner overlords in 1861, two years BEFORE Lincoln put pen to paper. It was an idea that had been bandied about before, but no-one had done it for fear of being murdered by the privileged class who opposed it. Alexander's move ended what had been a state of slavery for the serfs. To help them succeed in their new freedom, he also instituted some democratic reforms in the countryside. Lincoln simply said "You're free. Good luck!"
   You know what, America? You haven't had a president yet that spells his name G O D. Surprise, surprise! You are not the Garden of Eden. Neither are you the saviour of the world. Why don't you go back and open your history books? This time, pay attention to the fact that there are other countries sharing the planet with you. This time, try opening more than your books. Try opening your minds.

Another One!

    Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge has announced he will not serve a second term.Thompson is the eighth member of Mr. Bush's 15-member Cabinet to resign since the Nov. 2nd election. Outside of the Cabinet, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, sent Bush notice of resignation, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife. Ridge brought the number of cabinet resignations to eight out of fifteen. Some people say it is a normal enough occurence for there to be resignations when a president takes a second term. I say it brings to mind the image of rats scurrying off a sinking ship.

Fighting for Life

   Eugene Lazowski was a doctor in Poland when the Nazis overran it in World War ll. He refused to fight the invaders with any weapon of destruction, but he wanted to find some way of resisting their evil tyranny. He did find a way, in collaboration with another doctor, that allowed the two of the men to save the lives of thousands in 12 Polish villages. He and the other physician used the German fear of typhus, and a little medical sleight of hand to save the villagers, who otherwise would have been sent to prison, slave labour camps, or death camps.
   While they were conducting their campaign, the two kept their actions secret even from their wives. They have not been a great deal more communicative about the story since the war, either, although eight years ago, the two did co-author a book entitled "Private War".In 2000, Ryan Banks, a college student began work on filming the story of the two intrepid medics, saying he hoped it would make them celebrated heroes. The men are modest about what they did. When Lazowski returned to his hometown for the first time in 56 years, he was given a hero's welcome, but it made him uncomfortable. Lazowski smiled and shook hands with his admirers, but says he didn't always know what to say to them. "I felt very uncomfortable," he said. "I was just trying to do something for my people. My profession is to save lives and prevent death. I was fighting for life."
   This is a story that needs to be told. It's great that a student raised enough funds to take on the project, but it should also be taken on by the big budgets of Hollywood. Tinseltown should take a little break from some of the mindless drivel it churns out, and dish up some inspirational viewing. It would do us all good to sit down for a couple of hours for a story worth telling, about a man worth knowing.

This Is Cool!

   Thale cress is regarded as a weed by many. It's quite the opportunistic little individual of the plant kingdom, seeding itself even in dry, sandy soil with success. Perhaps that's why so many regard it as the bane of their horticultural life. When they strive to create a carefully planned garden, it must be really annoying to come out some morning to find this cress has crept in where it is not wanted. Still, there is reason to take a second look at this unpresupposing specimen before they rip it out of the ground and toss it on the refuse heap.
   This small weed has already made history by becoming the first plant to have its entire genetic code read by scientists. Now, it is set to revers its role as the aforementioned bane. Danish scientists have discovered something life-saving about this little wonder. When it is engineered genetically, the plant's normally bright green leaves turn red whenever its roots are exposed to nitrogen dioxide, a gas released into the soil by degrading land mines. At the moment, there is one land mine out there for every 52 people in the world. Since land mines kill or injure 26,000 people in 45 countries each year, sowing fields with Arabidopsis thaliana to show where the land mines lurk, could mean an absolutely staggering difference in the saving of life and limb. This has to be one time at least when everyone could agree on the benefits of genetically engineering plants.