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If you’re tuned in to tomorrow’s show, you’ll hear about Heart to Heart, an Abbotsford-based charity that supports a school, church and orphanage in Grand Goave, a town about 60 kilometers west of Port Au Prince. The organization has supported these Haitians during the past two years by donating used school supplies to students attending the school.  The recent earthquake disaster has (obviously) changed the immediate focus of Heart to Heart; they are now coordinating a massive relief effort with the goal of shipping 10 large containers of food and other supplies to the Grand Goave community.
 
As part of this effort, parents, students, teachers, administrators and basically everyone in Abbotsford are being asked to bring an intact bag of white rice and a twoonie ($2 to help cover shipping and distribution) to school this week. Pick-ups from schools of all donated rice will begin Monday, January 25.  Cash and cheque donations are also being accepted.
 
Two retired Abbotsford School District principals, Stan Petersen and Bruce Nicholson, are coordinating this - they have been to Haiti a few times to help at some schools there, and were in fact enroute, just hours away from arriving in the country when the quake hit.

I’ll have Mr. Petersen on the phone tomorrow with more info on how you can help.

And don’t forget :

Oxfam Canada

Unicef

Canadian Red cross

Doctors Without Borders

National Nurses United (U.S. site)

While some people may be just cozying up to a life without their favorite vice, I’ve begun The New Year with a week of sluggishness, thus changing little from my activity level of 2009. But it’s not my fault. Blame Christmas.

A common holiday gift nowadays is the full series of DVDs from a popular television show. With six seasons, twenty shows a season, and an obsessive personality once vulnerable enough to be exploited by a brief obsession with Survivor, those ’sodes add up. I’m a guy who has a lot of free afternoon time, and since the holidays it’s been a pretty consistent pattern of horizontal inanimateness.

This show isn’t Survivor. It’s a much better show than Survivor. But because of the show’s target audience, I feel silly saying that I watch it with baited breath in anticipation of the next DVD chapter. But it’s a smart show - funny and heartfelt, and unlike most television shows, the women are interesting characters instead of merely devices of irrationality and sympathy and sexual intrigue. They still play to many chick-stereotypes and seem to spend a small country’s GDP on shoes, but for some reason, it works.

When my friends call me up and I’ve already settled in under a blanket on the couch for a back-to-back-to-back-to-back episode stare, I mute the TV before answering, lest they hear the catchy and ostensibly effeminate theme song in the background of our conversation about testicles and UFC.

My name is Steve, and I watch (and thoroughly enjoy) Sex And The City.

So I guess my New Years Resolution is to feel less ashamed of things that make me happy. And that includes figure skating for two weeks in February of 2010.

We’ve been working on it for awhile now, and i’m finally allowed to get the word out.

For those of us who’ve been waiting for the first massive event announcement for the brand new Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre, i think it’s pretty safe to say we’ve finally heard it.

This morning at 7AM, i announced that Alan Jackson will stop by our fair city to play The AESC on November 13th. George Canyon will open the show. Tickets should stay under $100 for the most part, and will be available as of this Friday morning at 10AM. You’ll be able to buy them online by clicking here.

Have you seen the new building yet? You can already tell it’s going to be a great venue for hockey, and now that shows are starting to be booked en masse, it looks like The AESC will be one of those places where the lights are always on.

I’ll catch flak for saying this - I know i will. But i need to get this off my chest.

I have a friend who insists that i accompany her to see the latest installment of the Friday The 13th series. Having seen one of the previous movies in this vomitorium saga, i’m pretty sure i’m going to continue to decline the invitation.

Look, i know slasher flicks are immensely popular, but why do people like watching people get carved up by a maniac with no legitimate motive? Does watching the human body come apart advance people’s enjoyment of life in a manner with which i’m not yet familiar? Is it some sort of need we have to live vicariously through someone who kills and dismembers indiscriminantly?

In the preview for the latest Jason Voorhees bloodbath-caught-on-film, we see a group of young, attractive teenagers off for an exciting weekend of camping and merriment. One by one, they are sliced open, disemboweled, empaled, skewered and/or decapitated by a villain whose motive for such activity dried up twelve films and twenty five years ago. In one flash, towards the end of the commercial, a young woman pleads for her life before the antagonist sinks his machete blade into her neck. How very life-affirming.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not against violence in films. When a killer has a motive i can identify with, like in In The Line Of Fire or Se7en, or when the madness of war needs to be represented, as in Saving Private Ryan or Platoon, the violence serves as a cautionary necessity, if not a justified means to an end. But when a demented lunatic walks around ruining the summer vacations of what seem to be generally good kids, the fun stops for me. It’s not a killer secretly lurking in the bushes who gradually builds the suspense over time. It’s a masked man who just walks up to random people and murders them. No suspense. No intrigue. No reason. Just an empty, unclean feeling to wash down my popcorn.

I’ve been told by female friends of mine that fear can be an aphrodesiac. That when the black cat jumps from behind the curtain and the lady screams and the high-pitched orchestral stab shatters the atmosphere, it tingles the senses and excites the soul. But horror films of the 50s are a thing of the past - and modern moviegoers are now treated to the spleens of innocent victims being removed by a pitchfork. Anyone wanna make out?

And it astonishes me that women enjoy these movies as much as they do. From the very few contemporary fright flicks i’ve seen, there only seems to be one steadfast rule : the hottest chick in the film must be killed in the most gruesome manner possible, and her murder must always involve a violation of her face. I can only assume the film-makers spent most of their teenage years in their parents’ basement having their advances spurned by cheerleaders and beauty queens, and decided to get revenge in their adult lives by disfiguring the most attractive actresses they can find. That oughta show ‘em the consequences of being beautiful! I’ve never been a champion of the women’s rights movement, but i know misogyny when i see it.

Again, i know a lot of y’all like this stuff, but i just don’t get it. The next time i watch some guy kill someone on-screen, it had better be for a better reason than Mr. Voorhees’ flawed logic.

Three hours’ wait for tables at some restaurants on Valentines Day! Do yourself a favour : make your reservation for next year NOW. It’ll be right in the middle of The 2010 Olumpic Winter Games too. Thaaaaat should be fun!

I had a very chilled-out day. Hung out in Chilliwack during the day followed by dinner at The Blustone with my roommate. I actually can’t remember the last time i was attached on February 14th. But my hair was a lot shorter and a Liberal was Prime Minister.

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News today of a mid-morning shooting at a busy Surrey intersection. A woman with gang ties got shot several times in her luxury vehicle as her 4 year old son watched, undoubtedly in horror, from the back seat. And it continues, with no end in sight.

It won’t end, by the way. To think that with massive population growth and an inevitably increased number of people using drugs will not result in more gangs and gang members vying for control of the obviously-lucrative drug trade is completely naive. I’m surprised our ultra-conservative pre-concieved notions and traditions can’t be transcended by modern-day common sense. Sensible drug policy needs to be revisited, and our elected leaders are too spooked by the backlash from a few overprotective heretics and American corporate interests to change with the times.

I’m so tired of talking about this, and what’s worse - I’m tired of thinking about it. And fatigue breeds apathy. And apathy breeds inaction. And inaction breeds … well, you know.

Happy 2009.

Speaking as someone who quit smoking just four months ago, i’m giving myself a free pass on making some sort of resolution for self-improvement at the beginning of 2009. I’m not really a firm believer of self improvement anyway, so the idea of trying to change myself based on whatever expectations others may have seems silly and counter-productive. It’s bad enough i had to give up a pack-a-day habit just to please my mother and my roommate - to try being nicer to those who get under my skin after that seems a philosophy just a tad more righteous than of which i’m capable.

I talked to a 73 year old man over the holidays who has been smoking cigarettes for over 50 years and whose wife has convinced him to quit in 2009. In speaking with him i suspected he not only had little faith in his ability to stop smoking, but also that he didn’t want to. I told him that while i appreciate his half-hearted efforts to change himself after almost a lifetime living his lifestyle on his own terms, i did advise him that spending his remaining years craving something he’s enjoyed for so long just to spend some extra months sitting around being miserable seems unnecessarily painful. I also begged him not to tell his wife that i said it.

But changing who you are to please someone else rarely works. I’m not going to give you a steaming pile of that “be true to yourself” crap, but i will say the philosophy holds true despite its emotionally-charged over-use in our modern vernacular.

So apart from resolving to update this blog a little more often than i did in the previous year, i think i’m going to spend the next year doing the things that keep me from wanting to gouge my eyes out with steak knives. Some of these actions will benefit others, some won’t. But my bookshelf will remain devoid of crutches like self help books and pilates videos for at least another year, mainly because they’re my bookshelves.

Tomorrow is my Superbowl.

But it shouldn’t be. Firstly, as a Canadian, the Federal election we just had three weeks ago should’ve been my Superbowl. Actually, come to think of it, as a Canadian sports fan, The Grey Cup should be my Superbowl. But whatever. Passionate though i may have been about the result of our last election, i somehow knew it was a foregone conclusion. $300 million thrown to the winds, by the way.

But i love election coverage on TV. I hate the mandatory 11 months of preamble, partisan rhetoric, punditry, filibustering, and mudslinging. But watching the results come in is like one big relevant awards show or a sporting event. It may not always seem like we’re making history, but there’s enough pageantry to keep you interested even if you’re mostly politically apathetic.

Normally i wouldn’t go anywhere near mentioning which candidate or party i support (and it makes no difference anyway), but i read today that 85% of Canadians are cheering for Obama. That sounds high, even for Canadians. But it’s encouraging.

And anything - ANYTHING - a broken stepladder - a tin of rice pudding with the lid ring snapped off - a paperclip -

A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G and A-N-Y-B-O-D-Y - would be better than the guy who’s there now.

Yes, even Ralph Nader.

Heck, is Curtis Pope busy?

But it’s not just Obama by default over whoever’s replacing Dubya. Seriously. In the GOP you could get a lot worse than a guy like John McCain. In another time and place, he could actually be a better choice than a Democrat opponent.

The point is that Barack Obama is a once in a generation, or maybe a once in a lifetime kind of candidate. He inspires the same kind of hope that i would imagine JFK had to move my parents’ generation all those years ago. In a time when cynicism about politicians is as prevalent as ever, it’s a shame to say i’m surprised to see someone like him.

There are rumblings from Ottawa again about banning the use of hand-held phones while driving. In Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland (Newfoundland??), they’ve already made it punishable by fines up to $200.

Now, I won’t bore you with a list of minor rebellions and instances of civil disobedience that i regularly engage in, but i’ll freely admit to having long, often involved conversations on my cell phone while driving. Yes, “famous last words” and all that, but i don’t really see how my driving is compromised by a chat with Mom or a friend in need. I, like many drivers, usually drive with only one hand on the wheel anyway. I see people driving with a cigarette in one hand, a sandwich, the newspaper - once i even saw a guy shaving as he barreled down Highway One.

Do those “hands-free” devices even work? I hate being spoken to on speakerphone, and i’m thinking it would be even worse in the car on a summer day with the windows rolled down and all. And i’m not wearing one of those Bluetooth headsets. A few folks in our office wear those, and there’s an air of self-importance they convey when they’ve got them on - not for me. I’m not nearly corporate-looking enough to pull that off.

So you’ll soon be able to add cellphone conversations to the growing list of things i’m not supposed to do but will continue to do anyway.

Yeah, stand back ladies …

I have to admit - I really wasn’t expecting to see something that impressive when i agreed to host the opening day festivities for the new Abbotsford Recreation Centre.

But whoa - That facility may very well be the inspiration for my first-ever gym membership.

Most buildings look nice at their unveiling, it’s true. But this place will look gorgeous for years to come. The ice rink and pool have never looked better. The weight room is spacious with state-of-the-art equipment. The new gym is huge, and can accomodate numerous events and activities at once (no concerts though - horrible acoustics). And the services this place offer are wide-ranging and ongoing.

When a kid is about 11 or 12, they’re at a real crossroads when it comes to how they’ll spend their lives : active and involved or on the couch and apathetic. With a new activity centre to call our own right here in Abbotsford, the odds are better that we’ll be raising Olympians instead of couch potatoes. It can be a place where kids look forward to spending their time after school and on weekends.

You’ll find it at the corner of Old Yale & McMillan in Abby. Take a look the next time you’re in the neighbourhood.

I was reading a story about kids and Halloween costumes in the paper yesterday and it made me think of the warnings i used to get as a kid growing up. The article focused on some busybody from the Tri-Cities area who was soapboxing away about inappropriate garbes for trick or treaters and partygoers. She went on about how costumes focusing on or even satirizing the sex trade are detrimental to the minds of the young and could land them in a heap of trouble with the wrong crowd, or even worse, law enforcement.

So you mean i shouldn’t allow my 14 year old daughter to dress up like a hooker for Halloween? Really?

Well, duh.

Any parent worth his weight in bite-sized Wunderbars should know that allowing his offspring to leave the house looking like something one picks up off the streetcorner is a less-than-advisable idea. If you ever meet a parent who is not fully aware of this, contact social services immediately.

The tone of the article reminded me of a conversation i heard in the mid-90s on talk radio in Vancouver regarding obscene lyrics in modern music. A woman from one of those won’t-somebody-think-of-the-children organizations was on lambasting the music industry for corrupting youth and robbing them of their innocemce, not realizing what huge buckets of gasoline she was chucking onto the inferno.

Hearing a poorly-orated argument against something about which i’m on the fence will usually draw me further towards the opposite opinion, regardless of the facts. Dictatorial positions voiced in terms of absolutes instead of moderate criticism and sympathetic yet opposing arguments tend to sound foolish and unrealistic.

Had my parents instituted a zero-tolerance policy about attire and discography, i would’ve done whatever i could have to defy them and wear that shirt or buy that album. Instead, i showed up in their kitchen one Friday night, dressed to shock, clutching the latest CD by Cannibal Corpse, expecting a reaction (and secretly wanting one), only to get a roll of the eyes and a comment about how ridiculous i looked. I wasn’t the rebel i was hoping to be - i was embarassing myself with my transparent need for attention. I went upstairs, changed my shirt, and put the CD in the closet. I think it’s still where i left it.

The louder you scream about how wrong something is, the harder a young, inquisitive mind will try to find the right in it. After all, if it’s so wrong, why doth thou protest so much? So when Junior comes downstairs on October 31st dressed like Sir Smacks A Lot, don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing it breaks your heart. Tell him he looks like a knob and that no girl his age would have him if he left the house looking like that. If he still wants to wear it, lock him in the basement for the night - there’s always next year.