Canada For Obama T-Shirts

I can't think of a better 'just because' gift for your favourite Activist-Canadian than a 'Canada For Obama' (PBUH) t-shirt.   Yours is already on the way, Mayor.

Order your own here.

The Order of Canada - Takin' Care Of Business

The Governor General of Canada announced the latest round of recipients for the Order of Canada, Canada's highest award, yesterday to much controversy (you can read Raphael's take on that issue here).  I disagree with Raphael (but I love his writing) and think it's unfortunate for the other recipients to have had their appointments overshadowed by such a controversial figure.  A quick look at the appointment list bears this out, after all how many Canadians heard that Randolph C. Bachman was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.   If you're not sure who Randolph is, sing along if you know the words to this tune:

Randy Bachman is one of the good guys in rock and roll.   A deeply spiritual man, his Mormon upbringing helped him stay clear of the drugs and groupies that can end a career and focused his energies on producing great rock and raising a large family.  I've had the pleasure of seeing him live 3 times, twice with Burton Cummings and The Guess Who, and the other was a great show in Kingston during his "Every Song Tells A Story Tour".   He is kind and unassuming, aware of his place in rock history, and yet unfettered by the trappings of success.

This is a man who has wrote or co-wrote some of the biggest songs in music history:  Takin' Care Of Business, American Woman, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Roll On Down The Highway, These Eyes, plus a score of great tunes that will surely stand the test of time (My personal faves include: Prairie Town, Not Fragile, and Laughing).  And let's not forget that Randy Bachman was on The Simpsons! 

Being appointed Officer, Order of Canada is a fine tribute to one of nations great musicians.  That still doesn't top his highest honour to date:  the letters 'TCB' ("Takin' Care Of Business") can be found on inscribed on tombstone of Elvis Aaron Presley.

More on Randy and his career can be found at randybachman.com.  Now go play the working overtime part!

Mitchieville Remembers June 6, 1944

The anniversary of D-Day is always remembered in the Reginaldson household as my Great-Uncle Felix landed on Juno Beach as part of the second wave on that historic morning in 1944.   I posted about D-Day last year (see here) but haven't gotten around to telling the story of Felix yet.  I'm not going to post about Felix this year either.  One day I'll write a post worthy of his sacrifice.  Till then, I'll leave things be with the inscription my great-grandparents chose for his headstone:

"Your death has left a loneliness the world can never heal"

 

(Reg visiting Felix, April 2004, Beny-sur-Mer, France)

YouTube Linky Link 

LEST WE FORGET

Friday Night Female Flesh (With a little Man Flesh)

Okay, I suck.  Last week there was no Friday Night Female Flesh for our legions of readers to ogle.   I tried making up for it on Saturday but it was too late as Lisa had already sullied the fine pages of Mitchieville with gross looking Male Flesh that made me feel uncomfortable when I looked at it.

As bad as I felt about you, the best damn readers on the Internet, I felt worse about my blogger-in-arms Logan.   You see Logan went out and found a couple of all-Canadian themed Flesh pics in honour of our national Victoria Day long weekend.  I will not let my suckiness from last week stop a good post from being posted. Seeing as this weekend is a long weekend state-side and Canadian flesh rocks, why not post that post this week!  I figure I can get away with this as:  a) your just here for the flesh;  b) I have to post something to combat the Man Flesh that Lisa is bound to post.; c)  there is nothing you can do about it anyway. I suppose you could leave Mitchieville and never return but you wouldn't do that would you? 

Here's what Logan had for us:

After Reg posted Canada's own Playmate of the Year last week (found here) and Mitchieville went ga-ga over her, I felt I had to step up my efforts. I knew there must be a semi-famous Canadian male celebrity out there who has also shown some skin.

Imagine my surprise when hottie Shawn Ashmore stripped nekkid and draped himself in the Maple Leaf flag in Cosmo UK recently. You may vaguely recognize Ashmore as the cool stud that played Iceman in the three X-Men movies.

I love it when celebrities show their Canadian pride. Especially when it's hot male Canadian celebrity. And, is it just me, or does it appear that Shawn shaves down there??

I May Be Bruised...

Some Canadian content to rock out with this sunny afternoon:

Mitchieville Reader is JFK's Illigitimate Son

The internet is buzzing this afternoon on reports that Vanity Fair magazine has tracked down the illegitimate son of assasinated US president John F. Kennedy living in British Coumbia. These same reports state that Vanity Fair sent famous photographer, Harry Benson, who has photographed the Kennedy family in the past, to BC for portraits and are waiting DNA tests results or Kennedy family confirmation before going to press with the story. My only question is: Dmorris, why didn't you let Mitchieville break the story?

Ich Bin Ein Mitchieviller

What Pamela Wallin Said - a rant by Reg

The Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan released it's report yesterday to the Government of Canada (pdf of report here) and firmly stated that Canada should remain in Afghanistan until 2011 and that NATO has to add at least another battle group to Kandahar Province to assist Canada with combat operations there (more details here and here).

The report clearly states the importance of our work there in the past, present and future. It is in a statement to the press by panel member Pamela Wallin, one of Canada's most respected and accomplished women, that tells Canadians why we need to be in Afghanistan:

I think in the past few months, we have all been profoundly changed by what we have seen and what we have heard, and most powerfully more me by the Afghan people themselves. Their spirit has not been defeated by decades of war with the Soviets, the poverty, or the unspeakable terror of the Taliban. They want to take charge of their future, not necessarily to build a democracy as we know it, but when they are able and ready, they are already more than willing to take on responsibility for the safety of their citizens.

We are in Afghanistan because we chose to be there. We, like our allies, responded to the attacks of 9/11. We lost citizens too. But the Taliban and al-Qaeda continue to pose a threat to us here and there and they try to undermine what we believe in and what we stand for. Yes, we are putting our troops in harm's way. We are at war. This is not some simple peacekeeping operation reminiscent of a simpler, easier time. But our men and women are there willingly and enthusiastically, and they take pride not only in their military operations but also in the faces of the young girls, once shrouded, who now proudly sit in school and write their names with pencils provided by our aid dollars. Success for Afghans and for us is stability and a sense of hope. That is our exit strategy.

It will take time, but we forfeit our leverage to succeed if we threaten to leave with every roadside bomb or mortar round. Our sacrifice has been very real, precious lives lost, hearts broken, but this is urgent and important. In Afghanistan, we are there because we have a moral obligation, there is a security imperative, and a monumental humanitarian need. Our work there I think rekindles our proud tradition of being participants and not just observers on the world stage.

These eloquent words should be a source of pride to all Canadians, yet on the news I saw some of Canada's opposition party leaders demanding we pull out now (and a third stammer foolishly while committing to doing nothing). These three men are wrong, they are an embarasment to Our Country, and I hope that Prime Minister Harper wipes the floor with them in the next general election.

h\t: Mr. C.

Canadian Cartoon Caper #3

Fenris has graciously offered a free copy of his book "101 Bean Mush Recipes" for anyone who can tell us who this Canadian comic book hero is:




Not to be out done, The Mayor has donated 100 Carbon Credits from his own account to whoever can tell us who this little rapscallion is. Rapscallion, RT will be so impressed I used that word in a sentence.

Canadian Cartoon Caper #2

A lock of The Mayor's curly golden hair to each person who correctly identifies this Canadian comic book hero:

Canadian Cartoon Caper #1

I've got 1000 Carbon Credits for whoever can tell me who this is:



and the winner is "Larry who also leave comments at DMB" who knew that this is Canadian comic book hero Reid Fleming, "The Worlds Toughest Milkman".

True super hero fact: possesses superhuman strength

Not so true fact: once killed a lactose intolerant bad guy by forcing him to drink a litre of half and half cream and supergluing the guys arse shut.

The View From Reg's Window

I took these two pictures a few minutes ago from the kitchen of my rural Canadian chateau. By South-Central Ontario standards we have had a lot of snow this year - more snow this winter than all of last winter - and we still have two months to go. I get the feeling that Algore has been lying to me about this whole global warming thing.

Here are my prediction for 2008:

- this time a year from now the pop-culture fad of the global warming crisis will have passed us by and been replaced by something to do with avian flu carrying monkeys or some other feigned global crisis.

- Fenris will find true love and begin his new life in California as the sire to a yet-to-be-discovered pantiless Hollywood starlet (I could be wrong, predictions are more of a Sargon thing and the morning after headache I have clouds my sight).

- Enig-Mac will post three times in the same month, possibly March.



- Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be lead an armed assault on The White House after GWB declares martial law and names his brother Jeb 'Successor and Rightful Heir To The Throne of Americaland'. The assault fails.

- In a bold play for more web traffic The London Fog will rebrand itself as the The London Smog.

- Fred Thompson dies while shagging his teenage wife.

- The Vancouver Canucks will win Lord Stanley's Cup, The Miami Dolphins will go 16-0, and The Toronto Maple Laffs will increase tickets prices after a sub .500 season.

Now then, where is my Ginsu knife at?

Other ‘FIFTH’ Things Besides Mitchieville

The voting for the 2007 Weblog Awards closed a few hours ago and it appears that Mitchieville finished a solid fifth place in the Best Canadian Blog category. Fifth isn’t so bad, and it is better than sixth right? So to cheer up our legions of supporters (we know who the two of you are), here is a list of other somewhat great things that are also fifth.

Beethoven’s Fifth


Led Zeppelin’s fifth album


The Fifth Beatle


The fifth wife of King Henry VIII



Canada’s fifth Prime Minister


The Fifth Element


Fifth Disease


The Fifth James Bond Movie


The Fifth Fleet



UPDATE: The 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division

The 5 Best Things Aboot Canada

POUTINE




PAMELA ANDERSON




CROWN ROYAL




PIERRE TRUDEAU HOCKEY





MITCHIEVILLE


Click to vote Mitchieville for Best Canadian Blog
(we would vote for you as long as you weren't competing against us)

The Log Driver’s Waltz

There isn’t a Gen-X Canadian alive who doesn’t know the old National Film Board short “The Log Driver’s Waltz” . I’m willing to bet that if you are a Canuck you probably haven’t see this in a while. If you aren’t from North of the 49th, you likely have never heard of it at all. Mitchieville, nominated by the people as one of Canada’s Top Ten Blogs, now shares this treasured piece of Canadiana with you, the voting public:




Would Kate post ‘The Log Driver’s Waltz”? I doubt it. Raymitheminx, not likely. There is only one choice for Canada's Best Blog, MITCHIEVILLE!

Click here to vote Mitchieville for Best Canadian Blog or go to heck eh!

Prime Minister Harper’s Panel on Afghanistan

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that a non-partisan panel is going to look into the various options pertaining to Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan. Having a panel study this issue a present a report to parliament is a good idea as it gets the issue out of the House of Commons for the next little while and lets the focus stay on the upcoming throne speech. While the strategy is sound it is the make-up of the panel that I find particularly interesting.

On the Liberal side of the panel we have legendary television broadcaster Pam Wallin, who at one time served as Canada’s consul general to New York. We also have the guy who should have run against Paul Martin for the Liberal Party leadership, John Manley. Manley, a former deputy prime minister, was a supporter of deploying to Afghanistan when he was in cabinet and is a Liberal from the right side of his party. Since Manley is a former Liberal cabinet minister the non-partisan optics look good for Harper. I wonder though at how long it will take the Press Gallery crowd to starting beating Harper around over his other three picks: Paul Tellier, Derek Burney and Jake Epp.

Tellier was Clerk of the Privy Council under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and it was Mulroney who appointed Tellier to the head of CN. Burney was a Mulroney chief of staff who was then appointed Ambassador to the United States. Jake Epp was a senior Mulroney cabinet minister and is considered to have been one of Mulroney's most trusted and competent ministers. The Press Gallery loves beating Harper with the Mulroney stick so I imagine that the pundits will be clubbing him with this over weekend. I doubt Harper will care.

The more I see of Harper the more I like him. I realize Harper has annoyed some of his more right wing supporter since he became prime minister, but Canada needs to be governed from the center and Harper understands this. This panel is about Afghanistan, but it is also about reaching out the old Progressive Conservative wing of the party. You know what? It's working, and I am close to declaring myself an unabashed Stephen Harper fan.

Things like reaching out to the old PC party, governing from the center, and his not so subtle bitch-slap of Newfoundland premier Danny Williams the other day are winning over the moderate Conservatives of whom he needs their support so he can get a majority government in the next election (this seems like a good place to note that I live in the 103 seat Province of Ontario). If Prime Minister Stephen Harper can get a majority in Ottawa and govern uninterrupted for a few years he may become a prime minister for the ages.

Mitchieville Remembers the Avro Arrow

She would be 50 years old today:



Fifty years ago today Canada stood at the forefront of the aviation world. The Avro CF-105 Arrow was the fastest and most technologically advanced fighter-interceptor in the world. Her delta wing design took away the breath of the nation. Rather disappointingly for the engineers and pilots of the project it was on this same day that the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 into space. While Canada was looking at a jet in Malton, the world was looking up at the stars.

The list of technological first’s that this plane introduced to the world fills a page (see the list below the Arrow specs). For two years she was the pride of the nation. At three-quarters thrust in test flights the CF-105 nearly hit MACH 2. Sighting cost over-runs and little interest from international buyers the Government of Canada cancelled the CF-105 project in 1959.

The cancellation of the Arrow in 1959 and the order to destroy of all the test aircraft was a huge blow the Canadian aeronautics industry. Just as significant was the blow to the national psyche. The cancellation of the Arrow has been a weight on the heart of many Canadians. If out of something bad something good can come about then this would be true for the CF-105 project. From Wikipedia:

"Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, CF-105 Chief Aerodynamicist Jim Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers to NASA's Space Task Group to become lead engineers, program managers, and heads of engineering in NASA's manned space programs—Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. This team would eventually grow to 32 Avro engineers and technicians…, Jim Floyd (whose design studies at Hawker Siddeley (Avro Aircraft's UK parent) on the HSA.1000 SST design studies were ultimately influential in the design of the Concorde).”

Most Canadian’s have come to accept that Canada loss was the world’s gain. Fairly or not, many see the Avro Arrow cancellation as the embodiment of a national dream crushed by a cruel government. The great John Diefebaker, never shy to controversy, defended his decision which can be seen here at the CBC Archives (the archives have a wealth of good stuff there folks, I highly recommend).

Today the few remaining pieces of the CF-105 project can be seen at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa. A myth survives that one of the aircraft escaped the cutting torches and has been hidden from the Government every since (I say she’s hiding in the Madawaska Valley). In reality the Avro Arrow only survives in memory and on the web. This site is arguably the best.

"Hello out there, we're on the air..."

The NHL hockey season begins tonight with The Toronto Maple Leafs losing to The Ottawa Senators in Kanata. I can hardly wait for that day sometime next summer when The Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup Championship. At roughly the same time the Maple Leafs will announce to it's fans that they are “rebuilding” and then immediately not sign any half-decent players in the off season.

By request of His Worship Mayor Mitch, we have “The Hockey Song” by Canada’s singing troubadour, Tom ‘The Stompin’ Tom Phenomenon’ Connors.



Don't forget to vote Mitch for Mayor on October 10!

“Margo’s got the cargo b'y and..…”

I don’t know why this just popped into my head a few minutes ago, all I know is I should have posted this a long time ago:



To all non-Canadians:

1. Yes, this is a real song
2. Yes, Stompin’ Tom is a real musician
3. Yes, the clock in the song is real
4. Yes, the clock is made out of what you think it's made of
5. Yes, as a matter of fact we do like this type of music

Lyrics

Highway of Heroes – A rant by Reg

Much has been written (link) over the past few days about an online petition to rename a stretch of Highway 401, Canada’s most heavily travelled highway, to the “Highway of Heroes” in tribute to our fallen in Afghanistan. The highway is already named ‘The MacDonald-Cartier Freeway’ in honour of two great Canadians but I don’t want to debate this aspect of the issue. As I mentioned, only a portion of the highway is being renamed.

For those not familiar with the story, a quick background. Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton is located approx. 150 kilometres East of Toronto (roughly a hundred miles). When a Canadian Forces member is killed overseas the body is flown back to CFB Trenton where it is then driven by hearse to ‘The Ontario Centre for Forensic Science’ where a post mortem is done and a Death Certificate is issued. The body is then transported to wherever in Canada the family of the deceased is having the burial service – usually through CFB Trenton again.

The hearse drives on Highway 401 to get to Toronto. It is hard to say how or when things started, but Ontario residents have taken to lining the overpasses of the 401 in silent tribute to our fallen as they make their way to Toronto. I live in the area and have seen this incredible sight a number of times. I should also add that a number of people line the fences at CFB Trenton to honour or fallen when they first arrive home.

Earlier this year, when six Canadians (link) killed in Afghan were returned home, I happened to be travelling the 401 about 20 minutes ahead of the six hearses. It was a cold, wet, dark, miserable night. Yet, there were hundreds of people out. Just as poignant, at every overpass were the cruisers of the various police forces that operated along the highway. Canadians usually don’t do stuff like this and it made me proud to see so many paying their silent tribute.

A few days ago a young lad from London, Ontario, named James Forbes created an online petition to rename this stretch of the 401 the “Highway of Heroes”. While I’m sure James didn’t intend for this to happen, politicians knowing a good opportunity when they see one jumped on the bandwagon. I see that as I typed this post tonight that the Premier of Ontario has now decreed that the highway will be renamed (link) . I disagree with both James Forbes and Premier McGuinty.

What we have had to date is a beautiful, spontaneous, and patriotic way of commemorating our fallen. The sight of the filled overpasses is sad, but heart warming. We now have politicians, pundits and bloggers (see: The Torch: 'Highway of Heroes') arguing over the merits of renaming a most unworthy stretch of asphalt. It is worth noting that the Province of Ontario named Highway 416 between Ottawa and the 401 “The Veteran’s Memorial Highway” a few years back. Here in the heart of Mitchieville Township, Highway 62 has been renamed in honour of my beloved Militia Regiment .


The more I read the more I see that my opinion is against the common wisdom (though I’m certainly not alone - link ). It especially bothers me that I oppose what a number of parents and loved ones of our fallen in Afghanistan support. I ask that they remember that their loved ones died for the noble cause of freedom and that the freedom of speech is at the very core of the freedom we hold so dear.

When I first heard of this petition the thought that came to mind was of our fallen are being driven down this stretch of highway to be worked on by a pathologist at the Ontario Centre for Forensic Science. I have this image of our fallen dead being driven down what is arguably the most boring stretch of highway in Ontario (it is certainly one of the ugliest) and then laid out on a sterile metal table and being methodically processed. This isn’t how we should be remembering our fallen. My point, though I'm not really sure I am making it very well, is that this all seems a little morbid. Perhaps it is because I think it is “too soon” as our monuments to the dead have traditionally been built after the wars have finished.

It is entirely appropriate to name something in honour of our fallen. As a nation we should name our hockey rinks, softball diamonds, soccer pitches, schools, community centres and town parks after them. I feel that we should wait a few years and erect a cenotaph or national monument to pay tribute to their sacrifice. In the meantime, let us honour them in a more appropriate way than this ‘Highway of Heroes’. This is the wrong tribute at the wrong time. It is for the right reason though, and we have to give James Forbes credit for that.

Lest We Forget


Update:I have read a number posts and news articles on this topic, and there seems to be some confusion over the spelling of ‘The MacDonald-Cartier Freeway'. I had spelled it this way, then went with ‘Macdonald’ after seeing it that way on other blogs. After reading James Bow , and consulting this blog , I can safely say that the spelling in italics above is the correct spelling.

If Only I Had Been A Sk8er Boi

aka – Reg’s Avril Lavigne story

Inspired by a our humble Minister of Finance and the continuing “Dullest Story Ever Told” series at Grant Miller Media, I have lovingly written for you, our valued Mitchieville readers, a post about Avril before she became famous. As to whether this post is dull, boring, or the best post ever at Mitchieville, I leave that up to you to decide...

Avril Lavigne and I are in many ways kindred spirits. I was born at Belleville General Hospital and Avril was born at Belleville General Hospital. Avril grew up in Napanee, my mother’s paternal descendants first settled in Napanee (in 1788. After the yanks won the Revolutionary War the relatives returned home to New York State after fighting for England to find their farm torched. The good King paid reparations by giving the family two plots of land in Camden East thus I can claim bonafide United Empire Loyalist heritage). My bond with Avril is more than just mere geography though. Years before ‘Sk8er Boi' and international fame came her way sweet little Avril Lavigne used to hang at Reg's house.

Avril has a cousin (whom we’ll call ‘April’), who lived on the street behind my parent's house in the small Centre Hastings village I grew up in. When Avril and her family would visit town the two Lavigne cousins would cut through the backyard to our place where they would hang out with my sister. Now my sister is 7 years younger than me so ‘hang out with’ really meant ‘play Barbie’s with’ or ‘played at the park across the street with’. I remember Avril coming around a few times, but as I was 18ish, and she was a little girl of only 6 or 7, I barely paid any attention to her.

Flash forward to five years ago to the Stirling Agricultural Fair “Big Daddy” Demolition Derby (where my brother will have two vehicles entered into competition this weekend). I was helping my brother get a car ready for the night when my little sister and April (who is attractive in her own right btw) stopped by to say hello. They told me that the little girl who used to stop by and play was about to be the next Shania or Celine. At the time I gave a half-hearted ‘good for her’ response all the while thinking that this was nothing more than small town wishful thinking. I saw the ‘Complicated’ video a week later on MuchMusic.

True story.