When Glyn, en route to Oregon, got to the US border crossing at the Edmonton Airport he diligently presented all of the needed documents to enter the US as a health care worker, fully accredited to work in the US.
He was denied entry.
They officer at the crossing, who appeared helpful, suggested that he was missing a single piece of paper.
It turns out that he wasnt and that the border officer made a mistake.
Glyn has lost time in his new job in the US and is, quite rightly p'd off. Very p'd off. In fact, so p'd off that he is angry.
His employer has been fantastically helpful and understanding, which is good. His professional body in the US is also, at last, stepping up to the plate.
But what a thing to have to go through.
Stay in there and win!
Update: 23rd November: Glyn successfully crossed the border today. He was interviewed by the same man who was about to deny him entry again, when Glyn challenged and showed him the document (as he had done at the week-end) which had attached to it a note from one of the border crossing agents we had seen yesterday confirming that this was acceptable. Ignorance rules. Well done Glyn - persistant, determined and focused, as always.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Anita Shreve Novelist of Substance
Novelists are often difficult to" get into". One has to persist. For example, I am currently reading Saturday - Ian McEwan (see http://www.ianmcewan.com/). Powerful, but largely because I know the style and the subtle writing, the texture, the nuances. Having read his other books - Amsterdam, Atonement, Enduring Love, Black Dogs, Innocent, The Comfort of Strangers, A Child of Time (I didn't get round to The Cement Garden) - I know how to read this complex author. Many picking this up for the first time may not find it quickly accessible.
It is with delight, therefore, when one discovers a novelist who is intelligent, accessible and poignant. I have written before about Anita Shreve's The Weight of Water (see October 9th - its in the archive) and her other excellent novel All He Ever Wanted. I also think Light in Snow is a wonderful book showing authors how to develop character. Its difficult, and she does it so effortlessly here.
One of her books - The Pilot's Wife - was an Oprah Book Club selection - bet that made her very happy (not to mention wealthy). This was subsequently a film, as was her Weight of Water (Sean Penn) and Resistance (directed by Todd Komarnicki - Terminal 29). So she's up there - an up and coming author with some fifteen books to her credit.
All authors should read as much of the work of others as possible. Anita's work is worth really looking at for its elegance, character and use of dialogue. I am enjoying her work.
It is with delight, therefore, when one discovers a novelist who is intelligent, accessible and poignant. I have written before about Anita Shreve's The Weight of Water (see October 9th - its in the archive) and her other excellent novel All He Ever Wanted. I also think Light in Snow is a wonderful book showing authors how to develop character. Its difficult, and she does it so effortlessly here.
One of her books - The Pilot's Wife - was an Oprah Book Club selection - bet that made her very happy (not to mention wealthy). This was subsequently a film, as was her Weight of Water (Sean Penn) and Resistance (directed by Todd Komarnicki - Terminal 29). So she's up there - an up and coming author with some fifteen books to her credit.
All authors should read as much of the work of others as possible. Anita's work is worth really looking at for its elegance, character and use of dialogue. I am enjoying her work.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Patent Power and Innovation
There are growing degrees skepticism among academics and others about whether such state-imposed monopolies as patent protection help a rapidly evolving market such as the Internet.
What is "novel," "nonobvious" or "useful" is hard enough to know in a relatively stable field. In a transforming market that changes weekly (just look at Google stock price today at $400), it's nearly impossible for anyone - let alone an underpaid worker in the U.S. Department of Commerce who spends on average of eight hours evaluating the prior art in a patent and gets paid based on how many he processes - to identify what's "novel." Costly mistakes get made. On average it takes $1.2 million to challenge the validity of a patent, which means it is often cheaper simply to pay the royalties than to establish that the patent isn't deserved.
"Bad patents" are the debris of cyberspace. Nowhere is this clearer than in the context of business-method patents. There are an increasing number of business-method patents that now haunt Internet space. Patent No. 5,715,314, for example, gives the holder a monopoly over "network-based sales systems" - we call that e-commerce. Patent No. 5,797,127 forms the basis for Priceline.com and effectively blocks any competitor. Patent No. 4,949,257 covers the purchase of software over a network.
To those of us connected to e-commerce development, it seems bizarre that the US Patent Office consider these ideas to be novel and nonobvious. But the real problem is the incentives such a system creates. Awarding patents of that type siphons off resources from technologists to lawyers - from people making real products to people applying for regulatory privilege and protection. An increasingly significant cost of Net startups involves both defensive and offensive lawyering - making sure you don't "steal" someone else's "idea" and quickly claiming as yours every "idea" you can describe in a patent application. It is getting silly (unless you happen to be a lawyer or someone producing lawyers).
When the world was given TCP/IP and the collection of protocols it induced, a billion ideas became obvious to anyone who took the time to think. These were not ideas that were "discovered" because some lone inventor spent years toiling away in his basement, but because TCP/IP was a language with which practically anything could be done. And with very little promise of protection by government, lots was done. The Internet revolution was born long before lawyers arrived on the scene. Now they look like they may kill it.
The question economists are now asking is whether expanded patent protection will do any good. Certainly it will make some people very rich, but that's different from improving a market or stimulating innovation. The questions are many, while good answers are few. Does it make any sense in the context of computer code to protect an idea for 20 years, let alone the 95 years that copyright law gives code? Berkeley economist Joseph Farrell has floated the idea, although he has not endorsed it, of a moratorium. Berkeley lawyer Robert Merges has proposed badly needed changes to the patent system, to force better disclosure to competitors so that the government can determine which ideas really merit protection.
These ideas are good, but they underline a more fundamental problem. Washington is obsessed with intellectual-property rights. It lives under the mistaken idea that stronger IP always means a stronger economy. No doubt it means larger campaign contributions, but whether it means a better market is a tougher question.
Rather than unbounded protection, our tradition teaches balance and the dangers inherent in overly strong intellectual- property regimes. But balance in IP seems over for now. A feeding frenzy has taken its place - not just in the field of patents, but in IP generally, as copyright protections are increased.
We should also be concerned that the U.S. Congress is toying with a dangerous database-protection bill.
Its no surprise, then, that we see the growth of open source science - for example, biology (see http://onthecommons.org/node/470 ). As some scientists challenge the idea of commercialize or perish, they model their thinking on what has happened with Linnux. Maybe there is a new model for the academy after all.
What is "novel," "nonobvious" or "useful" is hard enough to know in a relatively stable field. In a transforming market that changes weekly (just look at Google stock price today at $400), it's nearly impossible for anyone - let alone an underpaid worker in the U.S. Department of Commerce who spends on average of eight hours evaluating the prior art in a patent and gets paid based on how many he processes - to identify what's "novel." Costly mistakes get made. On average it takes $1.2 million to challenge the validity of a patent, which means it is often cheaper simply to pay the royalties than to establish that the patent isn't deserved.
"Bad patents" are the debris of cyberspace. Nowhere is this clearer than in the context of business-method patents. There are an increasing number of business-method patents that now haunt Internet space. Patent No. 5,715,314, for example, gives the holder a monopoly over "network-based sales systems" - we call that e-commerce. Patent No. 5,797,127 forms the basis for Priceline.com and effectively blocks any competitor. Patent No. 4,949,257 covers the purchase of software over a network.
To those of us connected to e-commerce development, it seems bizarre that the US Patent Office consider these ideas to be novel and nonobvious. But the real problem is the incentives such a system creates. Awarding patents of that type siphons off resources from technologists to lawyers - from people making real products to people applying for regulatory privilege and protection. An increasingly significant cost of Net startups involves both defensive and offensive lawyering - making sure you don't "steal" someone else's "idea" and quickly claiming as yours every "idea" you can describe in a patent application. It is getting silly (unless you happen to be a lawyer or someone producing lawyers).
When the world was given TCP/IP and the collection of protocols it induced, a billion ideas became obvious to anyone who took the time to think. These were not ideas that were "discovered" because some lone inventor spent years toiling away in his basement, but because TCP/IP was a language with which practically anything could be done. And with very little promise of protection by government, lots was done. The Internet revolution was born long before lawyers arrived on the scene. Now they look like they may kill it.
The question economists are now asking is whether expanded patent protection will do any good. Certainly it will make some people very rich, but that's different from improving a market or stimulating innovation. The questions are many, while good answers are few. Does it make any sense in the context of computer code to protect an idea for 20 years, let alone the 95 years that copyright law gives code? Berkeley economist Joseph Farrell has floated the idea, although he has not endorsed it, of a moratorium. Berkeley lawyer Robert Merges has proposed badly needed changes to the patent system, to force better disclosure to competitors so that the government can determine which ideas really merit protection.
These ideas are good, but they underline a more fundamental problem. Washington is obsessed with intellectual-property rights. It lives under the mistaken idea that stronger IP always means a stronger economy. No doubt it means larger campaign contributions, but whether it means a better market is a tougher question.
Rather than unbounded protection, our tradition teaches balance and the dangers inherent in overly strong intellectual- property regimes. But balance in IP seems over for now. A feeding frenzy has taken its place - not just in the field of patents, but in IP generally, as copyright protections are increased.
We should also be concerned that the U.S. Congress is toying with a dangerous database-protection bill.
Its no surprise, then, that we see the growth of open source science - for example, biology (see http://onthecommons.org/node/470 ). As some scientists challenge the idea of commercialize or perish, they model their thinking on what has happened with Linnux. Maybe there is a new model for the academy after all.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Rose Haven at Roseburg, Oregon
Glyn - the youngest son - qualified as an Occupational Therapist in the summer by both graduating from the University of Alberta School of Rehabilitation with an OT degree and also by passing the accreditation examination for Canada. He then followed this by passing the equivalent professional entrance qualification in the US.
On Sunday, after several months of hassle and having to deal with at best a mediocre professional body in the US ("we've been trying to contact you.." - no call, no mail, no fax) he is finally en route this week-end to his new position at Rose Haven Nursing Centre in Roseburg Oregon. He will be glad to start work as a skilled professional and valued member of the team. He will be excellent and will soon settle into the professional work he loves.
Its been a long journey, not always easy.
As he packs to go - and his lady Michelle will join him after Xmas - it seems both joyous and sad. He has been living with us since May and has been an excellent house guest - quiet most of the time, helping all of the time and fun to have about - we'll miss him. But its also great to see him, after a false start with his first degree (he has a Bachelor of Physical Education as well as his Bachelor of Occupational Therapy), on the road to success - which we all know he will be.
Hope it works out. Good luck Glyn!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Peter F Drucker
One of the great thinkers I have encountered in my life died this last week-end. Peter Drucker, management guru and imagineer, was ninety five. An outstanding mind.
When others were focused on trivial aspects of management, Drucker always had the grandstand seat to the future and was able to connect what he saw to the reality of executive leadership. Clear, direct, crisp and focused, his writing served to inspire the leaders of several generations - for thirty plus years he was "the man" in terms of understanding the true challenges of management.
"There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer," he said 45 years ago. Central to his philosophy was the belief that highly skilled people are an organization's most valuable resource and that a manager's job is to prepare and free people to perform. Good management can bring economic progress and social harmony, he said, adding that "although I believe in the free market, I have serious reservations about capitalism."
"In the world of management gurus, however, there is no debate. Peter Drucker is the one guru to whom other gurus kowtow," said the McKinsley Quarterly in 1996. They were right.
Here is a Drucker statement I found and carried in my day timer and used in all of my leadership roles, especially in CIM and Lifeskills:
When others were focused on trivial aspects of management, Drucker always had the grandstand seat to the future and was able to connect what he saw to the reality of executive leadership. Clear, direct, crisp and focused, his writing served to inspire the leaders of several generations - for thirty plus years he was "the man" in terms of understanding the true challenges of management.
"There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer," he said 45 years ago. Central to his philosophy was the belief that highly skilled people are an organization's most valuable resource and that a manager's job is to prepare and free people to perform. Good management can bring economic progress and social harmony, he said, adding that "although I believe in the free market, I have serious reservations about capitalism."
"In the world of management gurus, however, there is no debate. Peter Drucker is the one guru to whom other gurus kowtow," said the McKinsley Quarterly in 1996. They were right.
Here is a Drucker statement I found and carried in my day timer and used in all of my leadership roles, especially in CIM and Lifeskills:
“You must think through priorities. That’s easy to say, but to act on
it is very hard because doing so always involves abandoning things that look
attractive, or giving up programs that people both inside and outside the
organization are strongly encouraging. But if you don’t concentrate your
institution’s resources, you are not going to get results. This may be the
ultimate test of leadership: the ability to think through the priority decision
and to make it stick."RIP Peter Drucker
Friday, November 11, 2005
TAMING THE TECHNOLOGY TIGER ..
Biotechnology and nanotechnology are complex domains of work, actively engaged in by a growing number of science and technology professionals around the world. When linked with information technology (on which both of these domains depend) we have a convergent technology intensive industry emerging around the world. We should also add what are known as “cognitive technologies” – see The Cognitive Technology Journal at http://www.memoryzine.com/cognitivetechnolgy.html - which are the skills and processes required for engaging in complex tasks and the basis for simulation and artificial intelligence. These so-called family of BINC (bio, nano, info and cognitive) technologies will together shape the future of health, education and other areas.
For example, work is in progress on an artificial pancreas (biotech), which uses minute sensors flowing in the blood stream to monitor in millisecond speed the glucose level in the blood. A small implanted computer sends signals to the pancreas which then adjusts its activities so that blood sugar levels are regulated. The implanted computer uses continuous simulation of ideal states as the basis for “its decisions” as to what messages to send. (For more information see an article in The Daily Californian (http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=15896) August 31st 2004.
Using powerful computers, Professor Christoph Sensen at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine has built a powerful, three dimension space (a little like the 3D room on Star Trek) known as the CAVE. Here 3D images taken from MRI scans can be experienced – a doctor can walk inside the brain of a patient he is about to operate on and see the tumour she hopes to remove and the way it is connected to other local tissue. She can then simulate the surgery and look at “what if” using complex artificial intelligence and smart technology tools that mirror the actions of scalpels.
Another use of the CAVE is to look at "what if" scenarios. The example Professor Sensen uses is of a person injured in a car accident with significant facial damage. Using all of the available information, computer simulations of the actions of the tongue and its role in speech, swallowing and regular human functioning can be simulated. If surgery is required to reduce the size of the tongue so as to save a significant facial feature, the CAVE can help the surgeon see just how much of the tongue they can remove without it affecting core functions (or, put another way, know the full impact of the decision they are about to make).
These bioengineering examples are powerful, but become more powerful when we look at them from a nanotechnology perspective. When we coat a drug with nano substances that permit: (a) time release of the drug; (b) the drug to attach to cells that match specified characteristics – e.g. diseased cells versus healthy cells, so they only attach to cancerous cells and not to the healthy ones surrounding them; (c) the drug to send signals back to the outside world from inside the body indicating progress – then we have technologies that could massively change the way medicine works. Now imagine being able to simulate all of these cell transactions in the CAVE – how would this help speed drug design (and testing).
All of these are part of a coming wave of bio-nano-information and cognitive (the BINC world) technologies for medical developments which will, over the next twenty years, change our world.
But they raise important issues. These issues are explored fully in a powerful new book by Ray Kurzweil The Singularity is Near (http://www.singularity.com/). Kurzweil should be taken seriously. He holds some twenty patents, is widely regarded as amongst the best scientific foresight persons in the world and has an outstanding intellect – just look at his website for more (http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=1). His argument is this: the singularity is an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today. It requires us to harness the global power of intelligent machines and devices in the service of our future. He suggests that technology is a continuation of the life-improvement process commonly called evolution. DNA created biological life forms. Biological life forms advanced over eons and developed Homo sapiens. Their big brains and opposing thumbs and forefingers made them adept toolmakers. Today their cutting-edge tools -- computers, software, gene-splicing techniques and nanotechnology -- are poised for integration with human biological systems to evolve a hybrid life form.
Kurzweil says progress occurs at an exponential rate. At first, things take forever. Eons elapsed between the primordial soup and Homo sapiens. It took thousands of years for the hunter-gatherers to get their hands on the computer mouse. But once that happened, things started to get interesting, and quickly.
Now gadgets like cell phones get smaller, faster and cheaper thanks to Moore's Law, which says microprocessor power doubles every 18 months or so. Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns posits that this same exponential pace governs efforts to splice DNA, unravel genomes, reverse-engineer the brain and develop nanotech machines.
Given all these developments, converging at exponential rates, Kurzweil considers it inevitable that our own technological creations will infuse new capabilities into human biological systems that have been resting on their evolutionary laurels for the last 100,000 years or so. "We will combine the subtle capabilities of human intelligence, which is basically pattern recognition," he said in San Francisco, "with the things that a thousand-dollar computer can already do better than us."
Technological implants will improve our bodies, he claims, citing a research paper that theorizes how nanotechnologists might build respirocytes -- artificial red blood cells that can carry 236 times more oxygen than the natural alternative. "We will not just have designer babies," he quipped, "but designer Baby Boomers."
Kurzweil believes post-Singularity humans will cheat death. He writes: "When our human hardware crashes ... software-based humans ... will live out on the Web, projecting bodies whenever they need or want them, including virtual bodies in diverse realms of virtual reality."
The examples cited at the beginning of this article show the benefits of these kind of developments. When we have an artificial pancreas holding out a real solution for Type 1 diabetes just 5-6 years from now, then elements of Kurzweil’s vision of the future are desirable – technological implants prolonging life and in doing so making it more bearable.
But imagine the use of implants which are inappropriate – in the hands of Mugabe, for example.
Its time to integrate another group of thinkers into the BINC world – ethicists so that we start to explore the social consequences of the work we are all engaged in as it develops in the laboratory and before we have to confront dramatic choices which will confront us.
For example, work is in progress on an artificial pancreas (biotech), which uses minute sensors flowing in the blood stream to monitor in millisecond speed the glucose level in the blood. A small implanted computer sends signals to the pancreas which then adjusts its activities so that blood sugar levels are regulated. The implanted computer uses continuous simulation of ideal states as the basis for “its decisions” as to what messages to send. (For more information see an article in The Daily Californian (http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=15896) August 31st 2004.
Using powerful computers, Professor Christoph Sensen at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine has built a powerful, three dimension space (a little like the 3D room on Star Trek) known as the CAVE. Here 3D images taken from MRI scans can be experienced – a doctor can walk inside the brain of a patient he is about to operate on and see the tumour she hopes to remove and the way it is connected to other local tissue. She can then simulate the surgery and look at “what if” using complex artificial intelligence and smart technology tools that mirror the actions of scalpels.
Another use of the CAVE is to look at "what if" scenarios. The example Professor Sensen uses is of a person injured in a car accident with significant facial damage. Using all of the available information, computer simulations of the actions of the tongue and its role in speech, swallowing and regular human functioning can be simulated. If surgery is required to reduce the size of the tongue so as to save a significant facial feature, the CAVE can help the surgeon see just how much of the tongue they can remove without it affecting core functions (or, put another way, know the full impact of the decision they are about to make).
These bioengineering examples are powerful, but become more powerful when we look at them from a nanotechnology perspective. When we coat a drug with nano substances that permit: (a) time release of the drug; (b) the drug to attach to cells that match specified characteristics – e.g. diseased cells versus healthy cells, so they only attach to cancerous cells and not to the healthy ones surrounding them; (c) the drug to send signals back to the outside world from inside the body indicating progress – then we have technologies that could massively change the way medicine works. Now imagine being able to simulate all of these cell transactions in the CAVE – how would this help speed drug design (and testing).
All of these are part of a coming wave of bio-nano-information and cognitive (the BINC world) technologies for medical developments which will, over the next twenty years, change our world.
But they raise important issues. These issues are explored fully in a powerful new book by Ray Kurzweil The Singularity is Near (http://www.singularity.com/). Kurzweil should be taken seriously. He holds some twenty patents, is widely regarded as amongst the best scientific foresight persons in the world and has an outstanding intellect – just look at his website for more (http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=1). His argument is this: the singularity is an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today. It requires us to harness the global power of intelligent machines and devices in the service of our future. He suggests that technology is a continuation of the life-improvement process commonly called evolution. DNA created biological life forms. Biological life forms advanced over eons and developed Homo sapiens. Their big brains and opposing thumbs and forefingers made them adept toolmakers. Today their cutting-edge tools -- computers, software, gene-splicing techniques and nanotechnology -- are poised for integration with human biological systems to evolve a hybrid life form.
Kurzweil says progress occurs at an exponential rate. At first, things take forever. Eons elapsed between the primordial soup and Homo sapiens. It took thousands of years for the hunter-gatherers to get their hands on the computer mouse. But once that happened, things started to get interesting, and quickly.
Now gadgets like cell phones get smaller, faster and cheaper thanks to Moore's Law, which says microprocessor power doubles every 18 months or so. Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns posits that this same exponential pace governs efforts to splice DNA, unravel genomes, reverse-engineer the brain and develop nanotech machines.
Given all these developments, converging at exponential rates, Kurzweil considers it inevitable that our own technological creations will infuse new capabilities into human biological systems that have been resting on their evolutionary laurels for the last 100,000 years or so. "We will combine the subtle capabilities of human intelligence, which is basically pattern recognition," he said in San Francisco, "with the things that a thousand-dollar computer can already do better than us."
Technological implants will improve our bodies, he claims, citing a research paper that theorizes how nanotechnologists might build respirocytes -- artificial red blood cells that can carry 236 times more oxygen than the natural alternative. "We will not just have designer babies," he quipped, "but designer Baby Boomers."
Kurzweil believes post-Singularity humans will cheat death. He writes: "When our human hardware crashes ... software-based humans ... will live out on the Web, projecting bodies whenever they need or want them, including virtual bodies in diverse realms of virtual reality."
The examples cited at the beginning of this article show the benefits of these kind of developments. When we have an artificial pancreas holding out a real solution for Type 1 diabetes just 5-6 years from now, then elements of Kurzweil’s vision of the future are desirable – technological implants prolonging life and in doing so making it more bearable.
But imagine the use of implants which are inappropriate – in the hands of Mugabe, for example.
Its time to integrate another group of thinkers into the BINC world – ethicists so that we start to explore the social consequences of the work we are all engaged in as it develops in the laboratory and before we have to confront dramatic choices which will confront us.
Condi Rice
I have always found Condi an imaginative, intelligent, interesting, articulate woman. She has real social skills, plays the piano like a professional and can hold her own in a tough conversation. What she sees in President Bush, who knows - but she is bright and capable.On a recent visit to Canada she was pushed by reporters to comment on the US refusal to pay up the money a NAFTA panel says it owes Canada (some $3b+ ) and she was very firm - first, this is a trade dispute - no big deal - and second come and talk about it, dont just shout over the fence and offer vague threats about switching oil alliances from the US to China. In other words, "grow up". Quite right too.
She has made a sudden and unexpected visit to Iraq - pushing the agenda, working with commandars on the ground and keeping diplomatic lines open. Smart lady. Now if we could get rid of Cheney and Rumsfeldt..
So, I like Condi - think she has much to offer. Whether the US is ready for a woman as President, who know (though Gena Davies is softening them up with her new TV series, which is very well done). She'd get my vote.
Well...
Condi Rice, US Secretary of State, is in Iraq on a surprise visit. Not sure who is more surprised - the Iraqui authority or her. But that's where she is. I still think she would make a great President and a contest for the job between her and Hilary Clinton would be a hum-dinger.
Lord Litchfield, a close family friend of the Royal family, and one of Britain's most successful photographers has died suddenly. He was not very old (61 or so) but had packed a lot into his life. What always struck me about him was just how amenable he was, even on difficult assignments. Ah well..
Rememberance day. I remember well. My great grandfather lost his life shortly after WWI - he was badly gassed and my father hardly new him. Having read all of the Gilbert biographies of Churchill, several of Hitler and various books about several of the battles plus spent time on the Normandy coast, I cant forget the sacrifice. Lets hope we all prove worthy of that sacrifice.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
The Poppy and November 11th
The Poppy Campaign by the Royal Canadian Legion is something I have always supported. But why have they designed this poppy in such a way that you can guarantee it will fall out at the slightest provocation. I would prefer to pay $5 for a poppy that stayed than $1 for one that falls out. I guess they are worried that they will have a significant drop in revenue if they solve the problem - I doubt it.
John Fowles Dies
Most of us in my literary growing up group at school and University read John Fowles. In particular, The Magus was seen by me and many of my literary "gang" as a masterpiece of challenging, imaginative fiction with strong narrative qualities and a great story. Fowles was concerned, above all, with the existential freedom of the individual, with his scope for choice and the energy with which he wrestled with the mysteries of existence. The Magus, in my view, was his greatest achievement.
Here is a summary (from todays Daily Telegraph UK) of his work:
The Collector (1963) was the first manuscript he sent to a publisher, deeming it to be satisfactorily completed. Narrated successively by its two central characters, the novel told the story of a sad, lonely psychopath who abducts a beautiful girl with whom he has become obsessed, and whom he holds in a cellar in a desperate attempt to win her love.
A tortuously realistic portrayal of obsession, the book introduced themes that were to remain central to Fowles's work - the individual's struggle for physical, psychological or artistic freedom and the author's hatred of timid convention. It also explored the divide between the existential "Us" and the mind-numbed "Them," an antithesis expressed by the richness or poverty of his protagonists' language.
The book became an instant bestseller and was rapturously received by the critics, although Fowles took exception to those who portrayed it simply as a sex-and-crime thriller; he described it as an allegory, with the victim representing intelligence and culture, and the kidnapper symbolising a moral bankruptcy born of materialism. Inevitably this invited the charge of elitism, yet Fowles had endeavoured to attach sympathy to both characters, a point he made clearly in his second work, The Aristos (1964), in which he stated that one cause of all crime is "maleducation".
The enormous success of The Collector, which was made into a film starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, freed Fowles from financial concerns. He gave up teaching and moved to Lyme Regis. He had always believed that a writer needed to live in exile, and Lyme Regis allowed him to be both part of English culture and isolated from it.
His success also removed him from the constraints of commerciality. Indeed, when writing The Aristos he deliberately set out not to produce another best-seller or to become falsely pigeon-holed as a thriller-writer. Subtitled "A Self-portrait in Ideas", the book explored the author's views on a wide range of subjects, his idea being that: "If you put down all the ideas you hold it would amount to a kind of painter's frank self-portrait." The book was quizzically received, critics being surprised by Fowles's switch from fiction to a statement of personal philosophy.
In 1965 Fowles finally published The Magus, the novel on which he had been variously engaged since 1952, and on which he continued to work after its publication, ultimately producing a revised version a decade later.
This book, which became required reading for students, describes an English teacher in Greece who becomes involved with a fabulously wealthy magician, the "Magus" of the title, who draws him into a "godgame" psychodrama involving the construction of a parallel fantasy universe. Elaborate, complex and often criticised for being pretentious, Fowles's novel drew heavily on Shakespearean and Homeric allusions which gave the work the aura of myth. Fowles's intention was no less than to create a fable by which his protagonist - and implicitly the reader - might impose some order on the meaningless cosmos in which he exists.
The book was moderately received by the critics, who all agreed that, even if the novel did not quite come off, there could be no doubt about the scope of Fowles's ambition. He adapted it himself for the screen, but later attacked the film (starring Anthony Quinn and Michael Caine) as "a disaster" and vowed never to adapt another of his own works. [Comment from me - his assessment of this film is correct. Its basically dreadful!]
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) was successfully filmed, albeit adapted by Harold Pinter without assistance from the author. In the novel, a triangular love story, Fowles convincingly evoked the Victorian world with remarkable acuity. Highly experimental both in its form and its erudition, the book won the WH Smith literary award and the International Association of Poets, Playwrights and Novelists Silver Pen Award. It was an unexpected (to Fowles) commercial success.
After the self-conscious artifice of The French Lieutenant's Woman, Fowles published a collection of his poems in 1973 which were strikingly spare by comparison with the richness of his fiction.
The Ebony Tower (1974), a collection of long, short stories and a translation of Eliduc, a French medieval romantic poem, sifted themes of art and literature. In the stories Fowles developed his ideas about the primacy of language, the centrality of ideas as a condition of human freedom and the eternal mystery at the core of an individual's existence.
The book, which was televised in 1984, betrayed Fowles's love of French culture and landscape. Although he rarely travelled, when he did it was invariably to France. At Lyme Regis, Fowles had all that he needed - tranquillity, the countryside, the sea, wildlife, his library and his jazz collection. His was not a temperament that demanded society. But it was one of his rare excursions, to Hollywood to discuss a screenplay, that inspired Daniel Martin (1977). He described this novel as "emotionally autobiographical", and it concerned the quest of the eponymous screenwriter to discover his true self by recapturing his past and assessing his relationships during a trip to England to visit a dying friend. In so doing, Martin discovers "what had gone wrong, not only with Daniel Martin, but his generation, age, century; the unique selfishness of it, the futility, the ubiquitous addiction to wrong ends".
So, at 79, he is gone. But not without having left a legacy of literacy excellent. Rest in Peace.
Here is a summary (from todays Daily Telegraph UK) of his work:
The Collector (1963) was the first manuscript he sent to a publisher, deeming it to be satisfactorily completed. Narrated successively by its two central characters, the novel told the story of a sad, lonely psychopath who abducts a beautiful girl with whom he has become obsessed, and whom he holds in a cellar in a desperate attempt to win her love.
A tortuously realistic portrayal of obsession, the book introduced themes that were to remain central to Fowles's work - the individual's struggle for physical, psychological or artistic freedom and the author's hatred of timid convention. It also explored the divide between the existential "Us" and the mind-numbed "Them," an antithesis expressed by the richness or poverty of his protagonists' language.
The book became an instant bestseller and was rapturously received by the critics, although Fowles took exception to those who portrayed it simply as a sex-and-crime thriller; he described it as an allegory, with the victim representing intelligence and culture, and the kidnapper symbolising a moral bankruptcy born of materialism. Inevitably this invited the charge of elitism, yet Fowles had endeavoured to attach sympathy to both characters, a point he made clearly in his second work, The Aristos (1964), in which he stated that one cause of all crime is "maleducation".
The enormous success of The Collector, which was made into a film starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, freed Fowles from financial concerns. He gave up teaching and moved to Lyme Regis. He had always believed that a writer needed to live in exile, and Lyme Regis allowed him to be both part of English culture and isolated from it.
His success also removed him from the constraints of commerciality. Indeed, when writing The Aristos he deliberately set out not to produce another best-seller or to become falsely pigeon-holed as a thriller-writer. Subtitled "A Self-portrait in Ideas", the book explored the author's views on a wide range of subjects, his idea being that: "If you put down all the ideas you hold it would amount to a kind of painter's frank self-portrait." The book was quizzically received, critics being surprised by Fowles's switch from fiction to a statement of personal philosophy.
In 1965 Fowles finally published The Magus, the novel on which he had been variously engaged since 1952, and on which he continued to work after its publication, ultimately producing a revised version a decade later.
This book, which became required reading for students, describes an English teacher in Greece who becomes involved with a fabulously wealthy magician, the "Magus" of the title, who draws him into a "godgame" psychodrama involving the construction of a parallel fantasy universe. Elaborate, complex and often criticised for being pretentious, Fowles's novel drew heavily on Shakespearean and Homeric allusions which gave the work the aura of myth. Fowles's intention was no less than to create a fable by which his protagonist - and implicitly the reader - might impose some order on the meaningless cosmos in which he exists.
The book was moderately received by the critics, who all agreed that, even if the novel did not quite come off, there could be no doubt about the scope of Fowles's ambition. He adapted it himself for the screen, but later attacked the film (starring Anthony Quinn and Michael Caine) as "a disaster" and vowed never to adapt another of his own works. [Comment from me - his assessment of this film is correct. Its basically dreadful!]
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) was successfully filmed, albeit adapted by Harold Pinter without assistance from the author. In the novel, a triangular love story, Fowles convincingly evoked the Victorian world with remarkable acuity. Highly experimental both in its form and its erudition, the book won the WH Smith literary award and the International Association of Poets, Playwrights and Novelists Silver Pen Award. It was an unexpected (to Fowles) commercial success.
After the self-conscious artifice of The French Lieutenant's Woman, Fowles published a collection of his poems in 1973 which were strikingly spare by comparison with the richness of his fiction.
The Ebony Tower (1974), a collection of long, short stories and a translation of Eliduc, a French medieval romantic poem, sifted themes of art and literature. In the stories Fowles developed his ideas about the primacy of language, the centrality of ideas as a condition of human freedom and the eternal mystery at the core of an individual's existence.
The book, which was televised in 1984, betrayed Fowles's love of French culture and landscape. Although he rarely travelled, when he did it was invariably to France. At Lyme Regis, Fowles had all that he needed - tranquillity, the countryside, the sea, wildlife, his library and his jazz collection. His was not a temperament that demanded society. But it was one of his rare excursions, to Hollywood to discuss a screenplay, that inspired Daniel Martin (1977). He described this novel as "emotionally autobiographical", and it concerned the quest of the eponymous screenwriter to discover his true self by recapturing his past and assessing his relationships during a trip to England to visit a dying friend. In so doing, Martin discovers "what had gone wrong, not only with Daniel Martin, but his generation, age, century; the unique selfishness of it, the futility, the ubiquitous addiction to wrong ends".
So, at 79, he is gone. But not without having left a legacy of literacy excellent. Rest in Peace.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Getting our Advanced Education Right
Last week’s “flip flop” over post secondary tuition in Alberta tells us that the Government of Alberta is not sure what the real issues are that face post secondary institutions. So let us help them There are five.
The first is very simple: sustainability. Our Universities, Colleges and Polytechnics are not sustainable in the medium to long term with current levels and mixtures of financing. As their cost rise – salary increases, utility costs and cost of materials – they either need more revenue from student fees or more contributions from the Government or some combination of both. Freezing one suggests increasing the other. The tendency is for Government to want to freeze both, or at least minimising the impact of freezing tuition by minimizing the grant increases to institutions. In a presentation to the Standing Policy Committee earlier this year, Alberta’s four Universities asked for a 20% increase in base grants over the next three years so as to restore them to their pre 1992 condition. This government does not want to do this, hence the issue of sustainability.
The second issue is accessibility. There are no problems with access to post-secondary institutions in Alberta. They are all full. The real issue here is about ensuring that there are more places available at affordable prices. When we look at accessibility we are looking at questions of growth. Given that the post secondary institutions already have issues about sustainability, access becomes a more subtle question: once we have ensured that our institutions have sustainable funding, what are we then willing to do to invest in expanding the existing system. Some see making Mount Royal College into a University as a part answer to this issue. It is not, since all this does is move money from one part of the system to another. Access is synonymous with a request for funding over and above sustainability funding.
The third issue is innovation. What can our post-secondary institutions contribute to the present and future economic growth of the Province? Here we need to systematically pursue policies which differentiate between institutions. Research resources should be focused on Universities. The Province needs to increase not only its research endowment investments, create an endowment for the Arts and Humanities and systematically fund specific activities on a matching formulae with industry, but should target growth. For example, growing nanotechnology at the UofA, water research at Lethbridge, e-learning research and development at Athabasca and energy research at the UofC – each should have target resources linked to commercialization outcomes. Our Polytechnics and Colleges should be linked strongly to industry sector councils and challenged to improve the rate of adoption of best practices and to partner with firms to massively improve productivity. Without a focused approach, we will get nowhere.
The fourth issue is collaboration. This Province, through the development of Campus Alberta and the work of its institutions, is better than most at collaborative work. We need to look for more joint programs, joint research and joint challenges. The Province should challenge the institutions, working in partnership to make massive improvements in aboriginal education and to speed the training programs for key professionals. It should also look to use Athabasca University as the provider of e-learning for all post secondary students in Alberta, so that the existing institutions can focus on what they are best at.
The fifth issue is quality (and for some, this is the first issue). Alberta has the opportunity for the University of Alberta to be recognized as being amongst the top 20 in the world and for the University of Calgary to be seen as amongst the top 20 in North America. It already has one University - Athabasca University – that is recognized as best in class at what it does. Getting the previous issues wrong will adversely affect quality and will be seriously detrimental to the reputation of the Province and the future of these institutions. Whatever we do, we should strive to continuously improve the quality of the learning experience, the impact of research and the quality of the working conditions for those engaged in post secondary education. To get to the opportunity to improve the position of our institutions requires them to be sustainable, focused and effective – all pre conditions for quality.
There are related concerns and opportunities – do we have too much post secondary governance for a Province of just over three million people, can we improve the public:private mix of institutions, can we expand the system by innovative methods – but we can test the veracity of the post secondary review now underway by how it deals with these five issues.
One last thing. Cabinet government requires that key issues – and for a very large number of people, tuition policy is a key issue – be dealt with in cabinet and for there to be collective responsibility. Last week’s "flip flop" tells us a lot about governance within the Government of Alberta and its ability to govern effectively. Such behaviour does not bode well for the critical issues facing our post-secondary system.
The Real One Tonne Challenge
Whatever your view of the Kyoto Accord, it is very clear that Canada does not have a plan that anyone believes will help meet our targets for reducing green house gas emissions. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6% from 1990 levels by 2012.
The Federal Government has tried several things – modestly investing in better insulation for homes, encouraging all of us to be conscious of what we can do (the “one tonne challenge”), investing in wind power, investing in research in renewable energy, especially bio-fuels. But we will end up not meeting targets and paying for carbon tax credits in other countries, especially Russia. This becomes clear when you consider two facts: (a) the current plan is for 75% of the reduction target to be achieved by the actions of individual Canadians; (b) the industrial side of the plan is to be largely achieved by voluntary agreements.
If we want to avoid substantial sums of money going to other countries to buy our way out of Kyoto, we should consider radical solutions.
First, we could consider individual carbon credits. Now being looked at by the UK Government, the idea is that each Canadian would receive an allowance for gas on a monthly basis. Once the allowance had been used they could either buy unused gas credits from others or purchase more credits, but at a much higher price. Rather than just taxing SUV users, this taxes all carbon users and creates a natural market for gas. Incentives would be built into the scheme to encourage the use of bio-fuels and more energy efficient vehicles would become more attractive over time.
Second, as some US States have done, we could require that all cars sold in Canada after a certain date should meet certain energy efficiency standards and set these standards high enough so as to encourage the faster development and sale of hybrid vehicles. The current voluntary agreement isn’t worth the paper its written on.
Third, we could pay individuals 90% of the cost of replacing their furnaces with energy efficient furnaces and 90% of the cost of high quality home insulation. The German Government, the worlds largest generator and user of wind power, has recently concluded that energy efficient homes are a better investment than their investment in wind turbines. When cabinet Ministers complain of the costs of doing this, suggest to them that it will still be cheaper than sending even more money to another country to buy carbon credits.
Fourth, we could insist on changes to the building code for smart homes and other buildings after 2009 make the best use of new solar and fuel cell technology, thus stimulating research and development in these two sectors and creating a market for their products. This would require us to overcome the vested interests of the current generation of electricity suppliers, but they could play smart and be in the market with next generation products first.
Finally we could enhance the Federal and Provincial investment in the Energy Innovation Network – started right here in Alberta – so as to fast track development of bio-fuels, hydrogen based energy and fuel cell technology.
Leaving the Kyoto plan “as is” simply is not an option. It will not deliver the outcomes Canada has committed to. Whether or not you believe in the “theory of global warming”, this is as much about energy affordability as it is about committing to an environmentally sound future. With gas prices rising and oil staying at around $50-$60 a barrel, we need creative and bold moves to start to challenge our energy use. We cant do it as individuals, we can only do it through collective action in support of change at the individual level.
For some really insightful climate change resources see Calvin James's blog at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com/
This blog article is reproduced at http://solar-intelligence.blogspot.com/2005/11/progressive-proposals-for-reducing.html
The Federal Government has tried several things – modestly investing in better insulation for homes, encouraging all of us to be conscious of what we can do (the “one tonne challenge”), investing in wind power, investing in research in renewable energy, especially bio-fuels. But we will end up not meeting targets and paying for carbon tax credits in other countries, especially Russia. This becomes clear when you consider two facts: (a) the current plan is for 75% of the reduction target to be achieved by the actions of individual Canadians; (b) the industrial side of the plan is to be largely achieved by voluntary agreements.
If we want to avoid substantial sums of money going to other countries to buy our way out of Kyoto, we should consider radical solutions.
First, we could consider individual carbon credits. Now being looked at by the UK Government, the idea is that each Canadian would receive an allowance for gas on a monthly basis. Once the allowance had been used they could either buy unused gas credits from others or purchase more credits, but at a much higher price. Rather than just taxing SUV users, this taxes all carbon users and creates a natural market for gas. Incentives would be built into the scheme to encourage the use of bio-fuels and more energy efficient vehicles would become more attractive over time.
Second, as some US States have done, we could require that all cars sold in Canada after a certain date should meet certain energy efficiency standards and set these standards high enough so as to encourage the faster development and sale of hybrid vehicles. The current voluntary agreement isn’t worth the paper its written on.
Third, we could pay individuals 90% of the cost of replacing their furnaces with energy efficient furnaces and 90% of the cost of high quality home insulation. The German Government, the worlds largest generator and user of wind power, has recently concluded that energy efficient homes are a better investment than their investment in wind turbines. When cabinet Ministers complain of the costs of doing this, suggest to them that it will still be cheaper than sending even more money to another country to buy carbon credits.
Fourth, we could insist on changes to the building code for smart homes and other buildings after 2009 make the best use of new solar and fuel cell technology, thus stimulating research and development in these two sectors and creating a market for their products. This would require us to overcome the vested interests of the current generation of electricity suppliers, but they could play smart and be in the market with next generation products first.
Finally we could enhance the Federal and Provincial investment in the Energy Innovation Network – started right here in Alberta – so as to fast track development of bio-fuels, hydrogen based energy and fuel cell technology.
Leaving the Kyoto plan “as is” simply is not an option. It will not deliver the outcomes Canada has committed to. Whether or not you believe in the “theory of global warming”, this is as much about energy affordability as it is about committing to an environmentally sound future. With gas prices rising and oil staying at around $50-$60 a barrel, we need creative and bold moves to start to challenge our energy use. We cant do it as individuals, we can only do it through collective action in support of change at the individual level.
For some really insightful climate change resources see Calvin James's blog at http://climatechangeaction.blogspot.com/
This blog article is reproduced at http://solar-intelligence.blogspot.com/2005/11/progressive-proposals-for-reducing.html
Layer Cake
J J Connolly's novel Layer Cake is a complex thriller based in London UK and focusing on the intricacies of the illegal drug business.
The film of this book, directed by Matthew Vaughn (actor and producer in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells), is an outstanding movie. Solid acting from Daneil Craig (the new James Bond), Kenneth Cranham, Sir Michael Gambon, George Harris and others make this a realistic but intelligent gangster movie. There are twists and turns in the plot, many of them unexpected and a brilliant surprise end.
There are also smart uses of the media - split screens, actor to camera, a new kind of flashback which seems much more integrated with the story line and doesn't "jar" - which suggests that the director here has significant talent and should do well. So who is he ? Apart from being best man at Guy Ritchie's wedding to Madonna, his partner is Claudia Schiffer. He has been around the movie business for many years and was due to direct X-Men 3 but dropped out due to family conflicts. Brett Ratner replaced him.
Watch Layer Cake and enjoy and keep an eye out for the work of this young, but talented director.
Another great film, also watched this week-end, is Good Bye Lenin (2003) directed by Wolfgang Becker - in german. The basic premise is that the young man's mother is in a coma over the months when the Berlin Wall is coming down. She wakes up (oblivious) in united Germany, but as she is so fragile she cannot be allowed to know that everything she held dear has collapsed. What ensues is a comic and moving scenario - her son does his best to pretend that nothing has changed. Painfully executed, with a wry and dry sense of humour, the acting is convincing and the comedy underplayed but effective. A film well worth watching. It won several awards - Berlin Film Festival, a Bambi, a Cesar and many others - and for good reason. Watch it and see.
A ROOM WITH A VIEW
The British Government have let it be known that they intend to tax the view from your home if you live in a conservation area, next to an open space, or have a swimming pool or tennis court or enjoy full or partial views of the sea, hills, mountains, lakes or rivers.
Many many years ago (1696 to be precise), King William III introduced a window tax - all windows after the first six were taxed - the bigger the house, the more windows it had and the more taxes that house owner would have to pay. This explains the number of "bricked up" windows in large houses in the UK.
In 1851, the window tax was replaced by what was then called House Duty and is now called the Council Tax - here taxes were levied on the assessed value of the property.
What is now being proposed is that the basis of the valuation - currently the value of the property at sale - be changed to include aesthetic values (views, ambience, amenities, size) and the value of the property in use (tennis courts, pools, number of rooms etc). Using computer models and local valuations, the Government can produce a value for the property. Best estimates are that property taxes would rise by $500 - $1000 per household.
If you recognize just how serious the UK economic problems are, both for individuals (see October 27th entry in this blog) and for the Government, then it is not surprising that Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the exchequer, is looking for new revenue sources.
Another tax they are considering is an individual carbon tax on gasoline. Everyone would have a carbon credit card which would entitle them to buy a certain amount of gas each month at the standard price. Once they had used up their "allowance", they could continue to buy gas but at a much higher price. Carbon credit trading between individuals would be allowed - I could transfer unused credits to a family member, friend or colleague or I could sell these credits. (Read more at http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200506\SPE20050621a.html ). The creation of a natural market for carbon credits is part of the thinking here. It is also a key ingredient in any realistic plan for the UK to meet Kyoto - it would also spell electoral disaster.
What is interesting about these proposals is that they are appearing at the same time as the flat tax idea - one tax level for all, now allowances or tax credits - is gaining significant ground. So just as simplify and standardise is becoming a mantra for the flat taxers, public servants (and there are close to a million more of them in the UK since Blair came to power) are looking to complicate taxes and make them less understandable to the ordinary Jo or Joanna.
My prediction is that the individual carbon tax, recommended by The Sustainable Development Commission in the UK this last summer is a non starter politically, but stealth taxes for local government using a new basis for housing assessment will happen.
(To see the report and recommendations of the UK Sustainable Development Commission go to http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/news/resource_download.php?attach_id=AED2FRB-LR3M6GM-ODOEZWO-2MO4G9D )
Many many years ago (1696 to be precise), King William III introduced a window tax - all windows after the first six were taxed - the bigger the house, the more windows it had and the more taxes that house owner would have to pay. This explains the number of "bricked up" windows in large houses in the UK.
In 1851, the window tax was replaced by what was then called House Duty and is now called the Council Tax - here taxes were levied on the assessed value of the property.
What is now being proposed is that the basis of the valuation - currently the value of the property at sale - be changed to include aesthetic values (views, ambience, amenities, size) and the value of the property in use (tennis courts, pools, number of rooms etc). Using computer models and local valuations, the Government can produce a value for the property. Best estimates are that property taxes would rise by $500 - $1000 per household.
If you recognize just how serious the UK economic problems are, both for individuals (see October 27th entry in this blog) and for the Government, then it is not surprising that Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the exchequer, is looking for new revenue sources.
Another tax they are considering is an individual carbon tax on gasoline. Everyone would have a carbon credit card which would entitle them to buy a certain amount of gas each month at the standard price. Once they had used up their "allowance", they could continue to buy gas but at a much higher price. Carbon credit trading between individuals would be allowed - I could transfer unused credits to a family member, friend or colleague or I could sell these credits. (Read more at http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=\SpecialReports\archive\200506\SPE20050621a.html ). The creation of a natural market for carbon credits is part of the thinking here. It is also a key ingredient in any realistic plan for the UK to meet Kyoto - it would also spell electoral disaster.
What is interesting about these proposals is that they are appearing at the same time as the flat tax idea - one tax level for all, now allowances or tax credits - is gaining significant ground. So just as simplify and standardise is becoming a mantra for the flat taxers, public servants (and there are close to a million more of them in the UK since Blair came to power) are looking to complicate taxes and make them less understandable to the ordinary Jo or Joanna.
My prediction is that the individual carbon tax, recommended by The Sustainable Development Commission in the UK this last summer is a non starter politically, but stealth taxes for local government using a new basis for housing assessment will happen.
(To see the report and recommendations of the UK Sustainable Development Commission go to http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/news/resource_download.php?attach_id=AED2FRB-LR3M6GM-ODOEZWO-2MO4G9D )
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Queen 2B
The Duchess of Cornwall, formerly known as Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of the Princess of Wales is no Princess Diana. But she is a sensitive, smart, caring, imaginative person. She is quietly winning the appreciation and acceptance of many who have met her. If Charles does succeed – the Queen looks remarkably healthy and her mother lived to over 100, so she has some twenty or more years to go – Camilla will make an excellent Queen.
There has been some kafuffle over whether she will actually be Queen or Princess Consort. The deal is clear. Queen she will be. He will be King George VII (he doesn’t intend to take the name King Charles – he fears losing his head) and she will be Queen Camilla.
And good too. Charles obviously is besotted with her and has been all of his adult life. She is in part sexpot (we do remember the leaked phone calls and the sexy notes he has written to her) and in part mummy figure which Elizabeth never really was. She also shares his interests and passions as well as being keen on country life, which Dianna never was. She also has a teasing sense of humour, which was noticed during their visit to Washington and reported on in The Daily Telegraph, of all places.
Charles sometimes appears a bit of nerd, but he has raised huge amounts of money for charity (over £100million), his Princes’ Trust does amazing work and he keeps an eye on issues – quality of rural life, architectural standards, connecting people back to history – which others are not really doing well.
I am neither a monarchist nor a republican – I am an agnostican - but Charles has put up with one tonne of bad press. Give the lad a break and let him be happy with cuddly Camilla.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
CANADA. CORRUPTION AND THE REAL WORLD
The Liberal Party of Canada, our Federal governing party (only just), is having a spot of bother. The former Prime Minister is accused of having oversight responsibility for a program that was ultimately corrupt. Friends of the party got contracts for work (some of which they didnt do, but still got paid for) and several of these friends then used their contract revenue to make donations to the Liberal party. Messy. This messy situation was not the doing of the then Prime Minister - no one even suggests this. Rather they are suggesting that he should have had more controls in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
Our former Prime Minister, in so much as one can understand him (he speaks neither official language as far as I can tell), is not a happy man. He thinks he has been maligned. He intends to use the legal system to inhibit all of this and bring down scorn on the good judge who sat in judgement.
Some of my fellow Canadian's are all het up about this. They say it just shows what these liberals are like and that Ottawa is corrupt. Well yes.
The point is, does it really matter. Not really. In the grand scheme of things, this is all small cheese. Sure, it shouldn't have happened, sure it shows incompetence, sure it is a major problem for the Liberal party and so on. But will it be earth shattering? No. Does it make news elsewhere in the world. No.
So, get over it.
Our former Prime Minister, in so much as one can understand him (he speaks neither official language as far as I can tell), is not a happy man. He thinks he has been maligned. He intends to use the legal system to inhibit all of this and bring down scorn on the good judge who sat in judgement.
Some of my fellow Canadian's are all het up about this. They say it just shows what these liberals are like and that Ottawa is corrupt. Well yes.
The point is, does it really matter. Not really. In the grand scheme of things, this is all small cheese. Sure, it shouldn't have happened, sure it shows incompetence, sure it is a major problem for the Liberal party and so on. But will it be earth shattering? No. Does it make news elsewhere in the world. No.
So, get over it.
GOODBYE Mr. BLUNKETT
On 30th September on these pages I indicated that David Blunkett - a member of the UK cabinet and the first blind cabinet Minister in British history - was on the fall and that Gordon Brown, in picking a Deputy Leader when he becomes Prime Minister will go for JackStraw.
Well, Blunkett resigned yesterday amidst a scandal about his business interests (all over a 15,000 share holding in trust for a bio based business of which he was a non executive Director for two weeks before returning to the Cabinet table - all very silly). His political career is likely finished. He was Work and Pensions Secretary of State - not an insignificant portfolio, as it happens.
Blair - still hanging on as Prime Minister for no obvious reason - has already named John Hutton as Blunkett's successor. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and in the Blair cabinet already.
These are the dying days of the Blair administration. We should expect another suffle later this year or early next year.
Well, Blunkett resigned yesterday amidst a scandal about his business interests (all over a 15,000 share holding in trust for a bio based business of which he was a non executive Director for two weeks before returning to the Cabinet table - all very silly). His political career is likely finished. He was Work and Pensions Secretary of State - not an insignificant portfolio, as it happens.
Blair - still hanging on as Prime Minister for no obvious reason - has already named John Hutton as Blunkett's successor. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and in the Blair cabinet already.
These are the dying days of the Blair administration. We should expect another suffle later this year or early next year.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The Royle Family
One of my favourite TV shows from the UK is the Royle Family - a real sitcom where nothing happens - makes Seinfeld look like a carefully plotted mystery. BBC Canada are showing it right now. I think I like it because it could well have been the living room of almost any of my relatives on my Dad's side (and still could be) and, in many ways, it reminds me of my childhood. I also like it because there are great lines..here are some
From Series 1
Jim (scratching his backside) -“I paid a quid for these underpants, I’ve got 50p’s worth stuck up me arse.”
Nana -“It’s not worth doing a chicken just for one; it’s too much for one meal. You see, you can get four or five meals out of a chicken; you’re sick of it by Thursday.”
Jim -“Yeah, but you can just get a chicken breast, can’t you?”
Nana -“Well…I’m not that keen on chicken.”
Jim (after Denise threatens to sing) -"Remember when she sang in the bloody Feathers? What did she sing...that Whitney Houston number? She was that bad the landlord barred him bloody self out."
Denise- "I'm not pissed. I only had about 9."
Jim picks his nose.
Barb -"Haven't you got a hanky?!"
Jim -"In these pyjamas?! There's hardly enough room for me tackle!"
Nana -"I wanted to do one of those Friends and Family but I couldn't make up the numbers. Most of 'em were dead."
Denise (on Jim's birthday cake) - "Come on Dad! Blow it out!"
Jim - "I will buggery! There's five minutes left in that - save on the lecky."
Denise (reading out Dave's stars) - "As ever you are ruled by ure anus. Don't be mean with money. If someone you love gets a new leather jacket, don't moan about t'price."
Barb - "Ooh...is that Russell Grant? He's very good in't he?"
Barbara -"It's unlucky to see the Bride on the morning of the wedding."
Jim -"I don't remember seeing you that morning."
Norma -"Is this hat too far forward?"
Jim -"No, we can still see you face."
From Series 2
Denise -"We had to talk a bit about our partners and our partners had to talk a bit about us"
Barb -"And what did Dave say about you?"
Denise -"Well, he just said that I was pregnant."
Jim -"Bloody hell! That must have been a shock for the rest of the antenatal class!"
Jim -“That Richard Branson…he wouldn’t give you the steam off his piss that fella.”
Twiggy -"Don't worry about me Barb; I eat any old shite."
Jim -"One greedy, scrounging git that fella. What a bloody brass neck! Coming back here for his Sunday dinner!"
Dave -"You asked him Jim!"
Jim -"I know...but I didn't think he'd say 'Yes!'"
Norma -"Betty buried her husband on Wednesday..."
Barb -"Did you go to the funeral Mam?"
Norma -"No, I weren't invited. They wanted to keep it to those that knew him."
Denise -"Hey...when me and Dave went on our honeymoon to Tenerife, right, we was on the plane and we thought it was just gonna be the first drink that was free, but it was all free...yeah, we was bladdered weren't we?"
Dave -"Absolutely hammered."
Jim -"Nice one."
Denise -"So I'm at it 'Daddy, Daddy, guess what?' didn't I Dave?
Barb -"And did he know what you meant?
Dave and Denise -"No"
Denise -"And then I said, you know, 'I'm pregnant,' like that and the penny dropped didn't it Dave?
Dave -"Yeah. Straight away. Yeah."
Twiggy (on his ex) -"Turned out she was knocking off Duckers an' all!"
Barb -"Ooh...ooh...I AM sorry. How did you find out?"
Twiggy -"Duckers told me."
Barb -"Did he?"
Twiggy -"Well...he IS me mate!"
From Series 3
Barb -"Ooh...it is common that wallpaper; I'll be glad to get that woodchip up."
Twiggy -"You did well there Barb...pound a roll."
Dave -"I love red sauce, me."
Denise -"I don't like it."
Barb - "Ooh, it's funny that, isn't it? Him liking red sauce and you not liking red sauce, and yet you get on so well."
Denise -"Yeah."Barb -"I wonder what sauce Baby David'll like."
Barb (on Anthony) -"He's good with Baby David."
Jim -"Only 'cos he's the same bloody mental age as he is!"
Denise -"Get lost! Baby David's miles brighter than our Anthony!"
Barb (on Anthony) -"Ooh! Do you know who he reminds me of? Him! What's his name? ... Dick Whittington!"
Jim -"Oh aye. He's like Dick Whittington but without the bloody Whittington."
Dave -"I don't bother with all that out-of-date stuff me Barbara."
Barb -"Don't you Dave? Ooh...in't that a lovely way to live?"
Norma (after Elsie's death) - "In every cloud there's a silver lining. I didn't think I'd get that much wear out of this black cardigan....Do you think I could have her Senopods?"
- so if you think I had an odd childhood, after reading these, then you'd be right. Watch the show..
From Series 1
Jim (scratching his backside) -“I paid a quid for these underpants, I’ve got 50p’s worth stuck up me arse.”
Nana -“It’s not worth doing a chicken just for one; it’s too much for one meal. You see, you can get four or five meals out of a chicken; you’re sick of it by Thursday.”
Jim -“Yeah, but you can just get a chicken breast, can’t you?”
Nana -“Well…I’m not that keen on chicken.”
Jim (after Denise threatens to sing) -"Remember when she sang in the bloody Feathers? What did she sing...that Whitney Houston number? She was that bad the landlord barred him bloody self out."
Denise- "I'm not pissed. I only had about 9."
Jim picks his nose.
Barb -"Haven't you got a hanky?!"
Jim -"In these pyjamas?! There's hardly enough room for me tackle!"
Nana -"I wanted to do one of those Friends and Family but I couldn't make up the numbers. Most of 'em were dead."
Denise (on Jim's birthday cake) - "Come on Dad! Blow it out!"
Jim - "I will buggery! There's five minutes left in that - save on the lecky."
Denise (reading out Dave's stars) - "As ever you are ruled by ure anus. Don't be mean with money. If someone you love gets a new leather jacket, don't moan about t'price."
Barb - "Ooh...is that Russell Grant? He's very good in't he?"
Barbara -"It's unlucky to see the Bride on the morning of the wedding."
Jim -"I don't remember seeing you that morning."
Norma -"Is this hat too far forward?"
Jim -"No, we can still see you face."
From Series 2
Denise -"We had to talk a bit about our partners and our partners had to talk a bit about us"
Barb -"And what did Dave say about you?"
Denise -"Well, he just said that I was pregnant."
Jim -"Bloody hell! That must have been a shock for the rest of the antenatal class!"
Jim -“That Richard Branson…he wouldn’t give you the steam off his piss that fella.”
Twiggy -"Don't worry about me Barb; I eat any old shite."
Jim -"One greedy, scrounging git that fella. What a bloody brass neck! Coming back here for his Sunday dinner!"
Dave -"You asked him Jim!"
Jim -"I know...but I didn't think he'd say 'Yes!'"
Norma -"Betty buried her husband on Wednesday..."
Barb -"Did you go to the funeral Mam?"
Norma -"No, I weren't invited. They wanted to keep it to those that knew him."
Denise -"Hey...when me and Dave went on our honeymoon to Tenerife, right, we was on the plane and we thought it was just gonna be the first drink that was free, but it was all free...yeah, we was bladdered weren't we?"
Dave -"Absolutely hammered."
Jim -"Nice one."
Denise -"So I'm at it 'Daddy, Daddy, guess what?' didn't I Dave?
Barb -"And did he know what you meant?
Dave and Denise -"No"
Denise -"And then I said, you know, 'I'm pregnant,' like that and the penny dropped didn't it Dave?
Dave -"Yeah. Straight away. Yeah."
Twiggy (on his ex) -"Turned out she was knocking off Duckers an' all!"
Barb -"Ooh...ooh...I AM sorry. How did you find out?"
Twiggy -"Duckers told me."
Barb -"Did he?"
Twiggy -"Well...he IS me mate!"
From Series 3
Barb -"Ooh...it is common that wallpaper; I'll be glad to get that woodchip up."
Twiggy -"You did well there Barb...pound a roll."
Dave -"I love red sauce, me."
Denise -"I don't like it."
Barb - "Ooh, it's funny that, isn't it? Him liking red sauce and you not liking red sauce, and yet you get on so well."
Denise -"Yeah."Barb -"I wonder what sauce Baby David'll like."
Barb (on Anthony) -"He's good with Baby David."
Jim -"Only 'cos he's the same bloody mental age as he is!"
Denise -"Get lost! Baby David's miles brighter than our Anthony!"
Barb (on Anthony) -"Ooh! Do you know who he reminds me of? Him! What's his name? ... Dick Whittington!"
Jim -"Oh aye. He's like Dick Whittington but without the bloody Whittington."
Dave -"I don't bother with all that out-of-date stuff me Barbara."
Barb -"Don't you Dave? Ooh...in't that a lovely way to live?"
Norma (after Elsie's death) - "In every cloud there's a silver lining. I didn't think I'd get that much wear out of this black cardigan....Do you think I could have her Senopods?"
- so if you think I had an odd childhood, after reading these, then you'd be right. Watch the show..
HEADLINE NEWS
As a journalist, one of the worries is the headline writer - what will they put on top of the story. Journalists have little control over this, the headline writer is king. In a newsroom, there is usually some "to and fro" but for us freelancers, you never know.
Today, the Washington Post has a headline "Lesbian Minister Defrocked", which I am sure won the bet in the headline writers group at the pub today for the best one liner. While it is is accurate (such headlines usually are), the story itself is much more "mature", shall we say.
My favourite headline of all time comes from Edward Heath's time as Prime Minister. Britain was "at war" (trade war, that is) with Iceland over cod fishing and had the Royal Navy out to seize and capture Icelandic boats fishing in cod filled waters - taking away Britain's fisher livlihood. In a dramatic gesture, Heath flew to the Icelandic capital and tried to work out a deal. The Times ran a headline "Heath Seeks Cod Peace". The image this conjoured up has stayed with me for ever.
Here are some other real headlines from real newspapers - enjoy:
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Two convicts evade noose, jury hung
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
Survivor of Siamese Twins Joins Parents
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
Stud Tires Out
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Soviet Virgin Lands Short of Goal Again
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
Eye Drops off Shelf
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Shot Off Woman's Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Never Withhold Herpes Infection from Loved One
Drunken Drivers Paid $1000 in `84
War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Deer Kill 17,000
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply
Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood
Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
Air Head Fired
Steals Clock, Faces Time
Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
Include your Children when Baking Cookies
Boys Cause As Many Pregnancies As Girls
Stiff Opposition Expected To Casketless Funeral Plan
Yellow Snow Studied To Test Nutrition
Scientists Note Progress In Herpes Battle; Ear Plugs Recommended
Antique Stripper To Demonstrate Wares At Store
Sadness Is No. 1 Reason Men And Women Cry
Mayor Says D.C. Is Safe Except For Murders
Check With Doctors Before Getting Sick
Neighbors Said Sniper Not Very Neighborly
Court Rules That Being A Jerk Is Not A Crime
Now if you dont think headline writers meet in pubs and compare notes and have bets on who can get the best headline through the system and out on the street, you have never been in a newsroom. When I did book reviews for the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, the crew used to meet up at The Swan and tell stories every Friday afternoon - wonderful.
(There is a longer list of these at http://armenianteens.com/newspaper.php - collected by journalists).
Today, the Washington Post has a headline "Lesbian Minister Defrocked", which I am sure won the bet in the headline writers group at the pub today for the best one liner. While it is is accurate (such headlines usually are), the story itself is much more "mature", shall we say.
My favourite headline of all time comes from Edward Heath's time as Prime Minister. Britain was "at war" (trade war, that is) with Iceland over cod fishing and had the Royal Navy out to seize and capture Icelandic boats fishing in cod filled waters - taking away Britain's fisher livlihood. In a dramatic gesture, Heath flew to the Icelandic capital and tried to work out a deal. The Times ran a headline "Heath Seeks Cod Peace". The image this conjoured up has stayed with me for ever.
Here are some other real headlines from real newspapers - enjoy:
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Two convicts evade noose, jury hung
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
Survivor of Siamese Twins Joins Parents
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
Stud Tires Out
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Soviet Virgin Lands Short of Goal Again
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
Eye Drops off Shelf
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Shot Off Woman's Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Two Sisters Reunited after 18 Years in Checkout Counter
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Never Withhold Herpes Infection from Loved One
Drunken Drivers Paid $1000 in `84
War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Deer Kill 17,000
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
British Union Finds Dwarfs in Short Supply
Ban On Soliciting Dead in Trotwood
Lansing Residents Can Drop Off Trees
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing
Deaf College Opens Doors to Hearing
Air Head Fired
Steals Clock, Faces Time
Prosecutor Releases Probe into Undersheriff
Old School Pillars are Replaced by Alumni
Bank Drive-in Window Blocked by Board
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Some Pieces of Rock Hudson Sold at Auction
Sex Education Delayed, Teachers Request Training
Include your Children when Baking Cookies
Boys Cause As Many Pregnancies As Girls
Stiff Opposition Expected To Casketless Funeral Plan
Yellow Snow Studied To Test Nutrition
Scientists Note Progress In Herpes Battle; Ear Plugs Recommended
Antique Stripper To Demonstrate Wares At Store
Sadness Is No. 1 Reason Men And Women Cry
Mayor Says D.C. Is Safe Except For Murders
Check With Doctors Before Getting Sick
Neighbors Said Sniper Not Very Neighborly
Court Rules That Being A Jerk Is Not A Crime
Now if you dont think headline writers meet in pubs and compare notes and have bets on who can get the best headline through the system and out on the street, you have never been in a newsroom. When I did book reviews for the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, the crew used to meet up at The Swan and tell stories every Friday afternoon - wonderful.
(There is a longer list of these at http://armenianteens.com/newspaper.php - collected by journalists).
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