I miss my old VCR...

The VCR we used to have had one great feature - it automatically fast-forwarded through all commercials. As a result we seldom watched any 'live' broadcasts.

It broke a year or two ago and its replacement does not have the same functionality. As a result, we can no longer watch anything without seeing some sort of attack ad.

It was bad enough earlier on when we could watch the Democrats and Republicans south of the border blather at one another. Now that's escalating with Republicans using ancient comic routines from Democratic Senatorial candidate Al Franken to show that he's 'out of control' and the Democrats say incumbent senator Norm Coleman is in bed with big business.

And federally, the McCain camp says Obama is too inexperienced. The democrats don't have to say anything. Just think of McCain's age, try and figure out when he'll have the 'big one' and see if you really want his running mate in the big chair. Just Google 'Palin' and 'global warming' or 'Russia' and figure it out for yourself.

Then, thanks to a needless election call by Steve Harper, we now have Canadian election attack ads fighting for airtime as well. And it took about, oh, 14 seconds after the writ was dropped before the Tories started the ball rolling by slamming the leaders of the other parties. And that begat the mud-slinging by one and all.

It makes me long for the good old days when party policies were what mattered, not whether or not the leader spoke perfect English, had laminated hair or was 'too slick.' Frankly, none of this group of leaders up here give me any cause to think of them in the same breath as Churchill, Kennedy or even Trudeau.

More like Harpo, Zeppo and Groucho.

I'd even settle for the bad old days when you voted for the guy who bought a round. At least then you knew what your vote was worth.

I almost expect opposition politicians to attack, but that's not the decorum I expect from the Prime Minister. He should be above that.

So Steve, if you expect my vote, respect my intelligence.

Now let's see if I can fix that old VCR.

The music has ended

It's been a rough year. A week ago I attended my brother-in-law's funeral in Brandon. This was the third person close to me to pass away this year and by far the hardest.

Larry Marshall and I were very close. A journalist, he taught me a love for language, whether it was reading a piece of his prose, playing Scrabble together until the wee hours of the morning or groaning at one of his outrageous puns. We had the usual journalist vs PR type discussions but never let it get too intense.

He taught me humility (usually at the Scrabble board). He showed me his love for music. We had a contest each year for who could give the other a worse album for Christmas. One year I gave him an Original Brady Bunch Xmas CD. The next year he blew me out of the water with a musical CD from Ed Whalen, former host of Stampede Wrestling in Calgary.

He loved to cook, but even more important, he loved to share a new recipe he found - at least 50% of my favourite recipes came from him. I think he may have showed me how to live.

Larry's passion was music
He delighted in unearthing, playing and sharing gems
Larry's life was words - from journalism, to Scrabble, to puns
Larry connected with people, ideas, music, stories -- and good cooking.

Larry Marshall was only 63 - much too young. Goodbye, my friend.

What would I miss...?

Recently, a very good friend of mine left Winnipeg for the bright lights and opportunities of the nation's capital.

Jason and I have only known each other because we worked together for the past three and a half years. We became close friends perhaps because we were total opposites. I'm round while he struggles to keep weight on. He's got decades of work/life/family ahead of him, while the somewhat dreaded 'r' word is slowly creeping into my vocabulary.

I can't blame Jay - the opportunity to design video games for a growing company is fabulous ('sexy' is how another former colleague put it), Ottawa is across the river from his family home and there is so much opportunity for career advancement...

But his departure made me think of how comfortable I am in Winnipeg. It is my home, and I passed on the chance to move away three times. But if I ever decided to pull up stakes, what would I miss about the place? What would I do if I ever came back for a visit?

So here's an insider's view of some of the things to crave about Peg City:

• Salisbury House - most consistent burgers in town and their blueberry pancakes or sausage-and-egg breakfasts are to die for.
• Sargent Sundae - great soft ice cream, especially this time of year when you can get pumpkin pie flavour, with pumpkin puree mixed in.
• What commute? Getting to work on the bus in less than half an hour.
• Vic's Fruit Market - the finest fresh fruit and veggies for 1500 miles in any direction. The strawberries are so good all year long you'd swear there's a hot house in the basement.
• Winnipeg Goldeyes - few things in life more relaxing than spending a summer evening in the best place to watch baseball anywhere.
  
• Summer nights - don't buy all that garbage about this being the mosquito capital of the Universe. A sunny June night with a bit of a breeze is heavenly.
• The sky - this place should be called Big Sky Country. Most days (even in the winter) the sky is clear and reasonably smog-free. There's sunsets unlike anywhere else on earth when the sky is a million shades of orange/pink/peach/purple. And drive to the edge of town and you just might see the night sky lit up with the northern lights. One night we were lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis and a meteor shower together.
  
• Fude - my favourite funky restaurant in town. We have so many great restaurants here (going out for dinner is the number one winter recreation activity for Manitobans), but Fude is my upscale fave, with tasty Manitoban fare like pickerel or bison ribs. Mmmm.
• Store clerks and owners who remember your name and say hello, even if you see them away from their jobs.
• Dry cold - yeah right. Actually, I'll take a -20 day here over a -20 day in Ottawa or Montreal anytime. The trouble is, we have a lot more of them than Ottawa or Montreal in any given winter.
  
• My friends and family - you know who you are.
  

Gustav runs up the Gulf

With the news that Hurricane Gustav and may reach category 5 status, my heart goes out to the people of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf. I hope and pray that it diminishes before it hits land.

The mayor has ordered an evacuation of New Orleans and most people have packed up and gone. To those who have stayed behind to provide emergency services, Godspeed to you and your families. To those who are staying behind to protect your homes, I say Don't be so bloody stupid!

I used to work in emergency services. Thankfully hurricanes don't hit the Canadian plains, so I have yet to experience the wrath of one of those storms. But I have worked floods, forest fires, train derailments and other natural and man-made disasters. I have heard stories of emergency personnel who have risked life and limb to save some bozo who figured he would be safe, and if it wasn't he wanted to be at home to protect his belongings from looters.

Perhaps if you stay behind and you get saved, you should also be responsible for all the costs associated with your rescue?

And more about New Orleans - perhaps Dubya should move the headquarters for FEMA to the Gulf. Maybe then they'd get more attention. Then again, maybe if they were rich, white and Republican they'd get more attention...