I decided I wanted to watch a movie last night (big surprise there), so I essentially forced Maxine out of the room so I could do so. (My wife has the unfortunate habit of talking to me about unrelated matters when I am trying to watch television, be it a movie, sports, sitcom, whatever. I can handle this for anything except "24", which demands close attention, and movies, which I desire to pay close attention to. The result is that I never watch a movie on my own with her in the room. Any time I have tried, she has made me feel - and I am certain this is not intentional - like I was cheating on our time together. Better to push her off to bed so I can cheat in private.) I elected to watch "Big Fish" on TMN, and can say it was the first Tim Burton movie in a long time, including recent reviewings of his Batman flicks, where he didn't annoy the hell out of me. An interesting story that had me a little choked up at the end, fine actors - Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito (as a werewolf!), and the still-too-gorgeous-for-words-at-(then)54 Jessica Lange - and Burton's fun-but-not-irritating visual style lead to a very enjoyable film.
But that's not what's on my mind today. I often say that I feel like I live in an animal shelter, with two cats, two guinea pigs and a goldfish joining the four of us in our roomy-but-not-enormous three-bedroom apartment. The fish has been very boring since we stopped giving him companions. He was obtained gratis with one other fish and they got along quite well for the week we had them until the other leapt to his death one night. I have since come to the conclusion that he was murdered. Along with buying a cover for the tank that morning, I also bought two other fish to keep the survivor company. Before too long, they were both dead, one of them from a gory-looking gash which we naively assumed was accidental. When their two replacements died under similar circumstances, I concluded we had a killer amongst us. Sure enough, it is not unusual for goldfish to be very territorial and strike out at newcomers. His reward has been two years of solitude. When - if - he expires, he will be replaced by several of his type, which should be more interesting for us to watch.
The cats are a constant under-our-feet and in-our-laps presence, and thus do not starve for attention. But I often feel that the guineas are being neglected in their cage, which should be bigger but we just don't have the space. They are over four years old and were bought from the Toronto Humane Society about 15 months ago after months of begging from Brittany, who almost immediately lost interest in them and turned their care over to me. As time has passed, and with no disrespect intended to my 12-years-old-next-week cat McManus, known as Mac, they have become my favorite pets. I highly recommend guinea pigs to anyone seeking a low maintenance animal with a friendly disposition. They are very affectionate (well, ours are), don't cost a lot to keep (I would estimate $20 to 30 Canadian per month, at the most) and don't require a lot of space. Plus, they are kept safely in their cage and therefore do not try to sleep on your head or start head-butting you at 4:30 a.m. because they're hungry. (Damned cats!)
So last night, while watching the movie, I took each of them out one at a time for some serious cuddling. After a somewhat stressful day at work, it relaxed me completely to hear their pleased snorts and giggles. Maxine says they are definitely my pets by the way they respond when they hear me speak any time I arrive home. Part of this is probably just that they associate my presence with food - seriously, 90% of their energy appears devoted to filling and emptying their stomachs - but I don't mind. It's just nice to be appreciated.
Guinea pigs live about eight years or so, and Maxine has resolved that there will be others in our future. She also states there will be no more cats after Mac and his running mate Ohana (who is only three) leave us. I can't say I agree with this, to say nothing of my hope to get a beagle when we have a house in the near future. But I have no problem with more guinea pigs. They're just too sweet not to have around.
* * * * *
Although the federal election is almost two weeks away, I have to vote this weekend at an advance poll owing to my presence in school on election day evening. I have complete distaste for the Liberals, do not trust the Conservatives and have expressed in this space my loathing for Jack Layton and general disdain for the NDP. This has me leaning towards the Green Party. While many would consider this a wasted vote, this is only if the only purpose of voting is to put someone in power today. Given the vapidity of the leadership and agendas of our three main national parties, to say nothing of the corruption of the Liberals - corruption which the Conservatives and NDP would gladly replicate if given the opportunity, as both have done in the past whenever granted power - it seems the best choice is to try to develop an alternative. I don't know yet whether the Greens are the best way to pursue this, and certainly intend to investigate what exactly they stand for in the next few days. But a vote for the Green Party may help push them towards greater funding from the public purse, as all political parties of some determined size receive, as well as help them to sustain previous growth and thus gain more attention for their agenda. In this way, they will have the opportunity to grow and become a presence on the national political scene. Seen from this perspective, even a vote today for a losing Green Party candidate could be a small step in effecting the change needed to eventually elect a Green to parliament, and whatever may follow. If I elect to vote Green (whose leader is running in my riding) or even for the candidate from the Progressive Canadians (comprised of, it appears, holdovers from the old PC party who rejected the alliance with Reform that resulted in the present-day Conservatives), I will see my vote through this lens.
In the end, I think the best-case scenario for the long-term health of the country is for the Liberals to be destoyed in the election, forcing them to clean up their act and bring in fresh blood and new ideas. The Conservatives should win a minority that is strong enough that they can govern with help - most likely, sadly, from the Bloc - but not so strong that they can push their right-wing social agenda. The NDP should win just enough seats to keep everyone else honest, as long as none of those seats are filled by the copious asses of Jack or Olivia. Eventually, the Conservatives will be forced by the more radical elements in the party to start altering social policy, leading to an in-party revolt by the old PC wing and the party's defeat, just in time for a revived Liberal Party to assume their rightful place in Ottawa, led by someone young, dynamic and, most importantly, honest. Sure, it's a pipe dream. But the alternatives - more Martin! a Conservative majority! the Bloc in long-term control of Parliament! - are simply too frightening to consider for any Canadian who believes in the rights of each of us to pursue his or her own bliss free of government intrusion.
But that's not what's on my mind today. I often say that I feel like I live in an animal shelter, with two cats, two guinea pigs and a goldfish joining the four of us in our roomy-but-not-enormous three-bedroom apartment. The fish has been very boring since we stopped giving him companions. He was obtained gratis with one other fish and they got along quite well for the week we had them until the other leapt to his death one night. I have since come to the conclusion that he was murdered. Along with buying a cover for the tank that morning, I also bought two other fish to keep the survivor company. Before too long, they were both dead, one of them from a gory-looking gash which we naively assumed was accidental. When their two replacements died under similar circumstances, I concluded we had a killer amongst us. Sure enough, it is not unusual for goldfish to be very territorial and strike out at newcomers. His reward has been two years of solitude. When - if - he expires, he will be replaced by several of his type, which should be more interesting for us to watch.
The cats are a constant under-our-feet and in-our-laps presence, and thus do not starve for attention. But I often feel that the guineas are being neglected in their cage, which should be bigger but we just don't have the space. They are over four years old and were bought from the Toronto Humane Society about 15 months ago after months of begging from Brittany, who almost immediately lost interest in them and turned their care over to me. As time has passed, and with no disrespect intended to my 12-years-old-next-week cat McManus, known as Mac, they have become my favorite pets. I highly recommend guinea pigs to anyone seeking a low maintenance animal with a friendly disposition. They are very affectionate (well, ours are), don't cost a lot to keep (I would estimate $20 to 30 Canadian per month, at the most) and don't require a lot of space. Plus, they are kept safely in their cage and therefore do not try to sleep on your head or start head-butting you at 4:30 a.m. because they're hungry. (Damned cats!)
So last night, while watching the movie, I took each of them out one at a time for some serious cuddling. After a somewhat stressful day at work, it relaxed me completely to hear their pleased snorts and giggles. Maxine says they are definitely my pets by the way they respond when they hear me speak any time I arrive home. Part of this is probably just that they associate my presence with food - seriously, 90% of their energy appears devoted to filling and emptying their stomachs - but I don't mind. It's just nice to be appreciated.
Guinea pigs live about eight years or so, and Maxine has resolved that there will be others in our future. She also states there will be no more cats after Mac and his running mate Ohana (who is only three) leave us. I can't say I agree with this, to say nothing of my hope to get a beagle when we have a house in the near future. But I have no problem with more guinea pigs. They're just too sweet not to have around.
* * * * *
Although the federal election is almost two weeks away, I have to vote this weekend at an advance poll owing to my presence in school on election day evening. I have complete distaste for the Liberals, do not trust the Conservatives and have expressed in this space my loathing for Jack Layton and general disdain for the NDP. This has me leaning towards the Green Party. While many would consider this a wasted vote, this is only if the only purpose of voting is to put someone in power today. Given the vapidity of the leadership and agendas of our three main national parties, to say nothing of the corruption of the Liberals - corruption which the Conservatives and NDP would gladly replicate if given the opportunity, as both have done in the past whenever granted power - it seems the best choice is to try to develop an alternative. I don't know yet whether the Greens are the best way to pursue this, and certainly intend to investigate what exactly they stand for in the next few days. But a vote for the Green Party may help push them towards greater funding from the public purse, as all political parties of some determined size receive, as well as help them to sustain previous growth and thus gain more attention for their agenda. In this way, they will have the opportunity to grow and become a presence on the national political scene. Seen from this perspective, even a vote today for a losing Green Party candidate could be a small step in effecting the change needed to eventually elect a Green to parliament, and whatever may follow. If I elect to vote Green (whose leader is running in my riding) or even for the candidate from the Progressive Canadians (comprised of, it appears, holdovers from the old PC party who rejected the alliance with Reform that resulted in the present-day Conservatives), I will see my vote through this lens.
In the end, I think the best-case scenario for the long-term health of the country is for the Liberals to be destoyed in the election, forcing them to clean up their act and bring in fresh blood and new ideas. The Conservatives should win a minority that is strong enough that they can govern with help - most likely, sadly, from the Bloc - but not so strong that they can push their right-wing social agenda. The NDP should win just enough seats to keep everyone else honest, as long as none of those seats are filled by the copious asses of Jack or Olivia. Eventually, the Conservatives will be forced by the more radical elements in the party to start altering social policy, leading to an in-party revolt by the old PC wing and the party's defeat, just in time for a revived Liberal Party to assume their rightful place in Ottawa, led by someone young, dynamic and, most importantly, honest. Sure, it's a pipe dream. But the alternatives - more Martin! a Conservative majority! the Bloc in long-term control of Parliament! - are simply too frightening to consider for any Canadian who believes in the rights of each of us to pursue his or her own bliss free of government intrusion.
posted by George @ 12:19 p.m.
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