Author: cultureguru

Want to make mother nature laugh? Tell her your plans.

In writing up my Italy trip, I described the “travel part of travel” as the most boring part. Well, for Christmas 2008, the travel part of travel was the big story, front and centre. And we were not immune from the fun.

We were flying North late this year—December 24, in the afternoon. Mere days after myriad flight cancellations due to massive snowstorms from coast to coast. Considering all that, we did pretty well. Yes, our flight was somewhat delayed, but that was mostly due to the airline needing to catch up first with earlier, very much delayed flights. And though we didn’t know it at first, we were actually at risk of having our flight cancelled, not so much because of weather (just rainy on this day), but because the crew were getting precariously close to their maximum work hours for that day. But boarding was extremely efficient, and they closed the doors five minutes before they would have had to call it a day and we would have been stuck in Toronto.

In the end, we arrived only about an hour later than expected.

Our flight out was scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, December 28, as we were both due back at work on Monday. Checking the weather forecast didn’t suggest we’d have any problems. Even that morning, the prediction was for just small snowfall in the afternoon—about 5 cm, no biggie for a northern community.

And then… a couple hours before we were due to flight out… Mother Nature got riled. Winds picked up. Snow flew and blew in copious amounts. Roads grew icy, visibility almost nil.

We were actually scheduled for a family brunch right before the airport drive, so we’d set up for Air Canada to text message our cell phone if the flight was delayed. The first message came through announcing a one-hour delay. No surprise there. And the storm was scheduled to end later that day.

But then the second message arrived. “Flight cancelled”. Huh.

Surprisingly, perhaps, we’d never actually had a flight cancelled before, and weren’t entirely sure what to do. It was a bit of a distracted brunch until we could get back to the house and figure that out.

There seemed to be no way to rebook anything online. We had to call Air Canada. But Timmins wasn’t the only affected site this day, so it was a long time on hold with them.

Meantime, we looked at alternatives. There was a bus leaving around 8:00 that night, which would get us to Toronto about 12 hours later. Uggh. And, there was a flight out of North Bay that night, for only $200. But how to get to North Bay?

Finally, we reached Air Canada. They could not rebook us before Tuesday, essentially ensuring we’d miss two days of work. This was not a good situation for DH, whose small office was already understaffed at this time, and whose clients have an ongoing need to breathe. So we decided to go with getting our flight refunded, and finding another way back.

We called the bus line about that night’s bus. Turns out that was unlikely to leave as well; both major highways leading out of Timmins were closed. So that meant car rental was also out. There was just no getting to work for Monday.

We continued research. I recalled that it was actually possible to take the train out of Timmins; that left the next morning at 7:45, and definitely looked like the most appealing option. A long day, still, but train travel is better than bus.

The next day dawned clear and all looked well. From the “train” station, they actually bus us first to Matheson, about an hour away, the closest town that still has rail lines. We got there on time, but were told the train was about 15 minutes late. But 15 minutes came and went and… no train.

The bus driver called us over. “So, this is what has happened. The train has broken down in Val Gagné. So get back on the bus, and we’ll figure out how to get you to Toronto.”

We were soon joined by a busload of people from Val Gagné. The bus we were on didn’t fit everyone, so they had to get a bigger one. They also had to figure out how to pick up every one in the stops between Matheson and North Bay, from where a train would be available.

In the end, we got an “express” bus ride to North Bay, while a separate bus handled the “milk run” of stops in between. And, it wasn’t so bad, since the most annoying part of bus travel is all those stops on the way.

We were in North Bay on time, but the train was not. We had about an hour’s wait there. Then everyone on that train had to get off and find their way onto various buses for the trip to points north. Then we got on, and the train turned around and went back to Toronto.

From here in, there were no further delays. We got to Toronto around 8:45, into a taxi to bring us to the airport parking where our car was, then a drive home that went well.

And we were both able to work on Tuesday. Happy new year to all!

Spectacular Spectacular

The snow had ended but the roads were still dicey as we headed out to the KW Symphony’s Yuletide Spectacular, so it was nice to see a fairly solid crowd was still in attendance. As was the news that the Grand Philharmonic Choir would live to sing another day after all.

This was a symphony concert rather light on the symphonic side of things, as they were joined by many guest performers of all types. The highlight of the first half was something I’d never seen or even heard of before, the Synergy Bell Choir. It’s just the coolest thing to see these young people (11 to 20) manipulate these bells—I wish they were on YouTube. But it sounds lovely too; we even bought their CD at intermission.

The Grand Philharmonic Choir did a very nice Gloria chorus in the first half, but my very favourite was the “Musicological Journey Through the 12 Days of Christmas”. Each day of this famously long carol is a sung in a different musical style, from Gregorian Chant to American Jazz, passing through Back, Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss, Stravinsky, Williams (John), and so on. Very cool! I searched iTunes for a version afterwards, but found I can get it only if I purchase the entire album by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir (I kid you not). Still pondering that one.

The Grand Philharmonic Children’s Choir was just deadly cute on their two numbers, “Veni, Veni, Emmanuel” and “Somewhere in my Memory” (from Home Alone). And sounded very sweet. And there were some solo singers as well, including identical twins Mercedes and Phoenix Ann-Horn (and yes, it was feeling a bit PBS-special at times, but delightful nonetheless).

Unfortunately, we frankly sitting too close to really appreciate the work of Carousel Dance, who danced a couple big numbers from The Nutcracker Suite, along with a more modern piece to Stille Nacht. It was hard not to just focus on one nearby dancer instead of trying to take in and appreciate the whole group dance effect.

And then there was the singing along, which we got to do to the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah (good thing they handed out lyric sheets, because it turns out the only lyric I knew was “Hallelujah”), “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, and “O Come, All Ye Faithful”.

“Laughter may be the best medicine, but singing is good for the soul,” said conductor Brian Jackson. Indeed!

The whole gang—soloists, adult and child choir, bell choir, dancers, and—oh yeah—the KW Symphony—got together for the final sing-a-long number, the “Be careful what you wish for” per Mr. Jackson, “White Christmas”. And we even got candy canes at the end.

I am finally in the mood for Christmas.

Heat is good

My house has central heating.

This is not normally news, but today it is.

We woke this morning to Jack Frost nipping at our nose, which is never good when you’re not sleeping in a tent (and not even so great when you are).

Turns out that yesterday’s whipping and blowing snow whipped and blew its way up our furnace input valve. The furnace detected trouble and shut itself off. Since the storm had also brought about rather cold temperatures (-16C), we were eager to have the problem dealt with.

The first call elicited the advice of turning off the furnace, trying to clear the valves ourselves, turning the furnace back on, and seeing if it resolved itself.

Five hours later, it appeared that wasn’t working. Though we were coping with the help of a gas fireplace and a couple space heaters, it was still a bit nippy. And more snow is forecast.

So with another call, the technician came out (at weekend rates) and found that one of the sensors had been damaged by the snow. He replaced that and voilà. Part is under warrantee, so it’s just the labour, and it wasn’t a huge job.

Makes you appreciate the wonder of central heating, though. Yes, indeed.

On Iggy, Izzie, Steve, and Nico

A few odds and sods here…

Ignatieff “coronation”

Someone asked if I was if I was OK with Michel Ignatieff being “installed” as Liberal leader. And I have to say, yes, I’m just fine with it, thanks. I don’t have that much fondness for the guy—took a real dislike to him during the last Liberal leadership convention—but whatever.

At least the Liberals did what I suggested by rapidly dismissing M. Dion and accelerating their leadership process. By contrast, the Conservatives never listen to my advice. So big props for that.

And frankly, now, or in May, what’s the difference? He was going to be the next leader anyway. I like Bob Rae better, but the man has serious baggage from leading Ontario during a recession. I can just imagine the Conservative attack ads on that theme.

With limited options and time, the Liberals took the best available course. Just hope this coronation works out better for them than the Turner / Martin ones.

Shark jumpin’

So, I’m OK with Iggy, but I’m not the least bit OK with Izzie. Stevens. Grey’s Anatomy?

Even if you don’t watch the show, you may have heard about its recent, most gallactically stupid plot line ever, wherein Izzie first has visions of (that was OK), then starts having sex with, her dead fiancee! No! Not OK! This isn’t Buffy! Dead is dead in this series.

Then I realized I never really liked Izzie anyway (apparently she was a great character in season 1, but since I’ve been watching this series, she’s been awful), so I could just fast-forward all of her scenes, then just enjoy the rest of the show.

That worked OK for one episode, but then I ran into problem 2: Melissa George. Introduced about the same time as the dead fiancee, she plays this super-annoying old friend of Meredith’s, now an intern at Seattle Grace. Fast-forwarding her as well proved a lot trickier, especially since she started flirting with Callie, whom I really like.

But wait… Why is Callie flirting with another girl? After doing a pretty good job of contrasting Hahn, who was just realizing she was a lesbian, and Callie, who wasn’t—but was just really taken with Hahn, this turn of events is nonsensical. (Melissa George, you are no Jessica Hahn.)

So Izzie, Melissa, Callie, and Alex (too many scenes with Izzie) are out, and now I’m little troubled about this strange new relationship between McSteamy and “little Grey”. Much more of this stuff, and there won’t be anything left worth fast-forwarding to.

Dance redux

As for more worthy television….

One more thing I liked more on the Canadian dance series: Each of the four finalist got a profile and moment in the spotlight before the results were announced. Despite the really excessive blah blah that resulted, it was much better than what happens to the runner-up on the US series—they are unceremoniously shunted aside while the winner is showered with confetti. Always makes me feel bad for them.

(And congratulations, Nico. A deserving winner.)

Steve and the Senate

As for our less deserving “winner”, Mr. Harper…

I can’t seem to bring myself to get that outraged about the new Conservative Senate appointments. P-M’s are allowed to appoint Senators. So he previously said he’d rather reform the House than appoint them. Small potatoes, really. I’m much more concerned about them stalling on Climate Change talks and underestimating the degree to which Canada is at risk from sub-prime mortgages.

I will say it is unfortunate the P-M is still busying himself with political games instead of dealing with real problems like those. But it’s unfortunately not surprising.

Also not surprising

D’oh Canada! Survey reveals Canadians barely understand their political system [This was a valid link at the time…]

Inspiring Canadians

I could make this one semi-political as well. Point out the comparisons… Four contenders, only one can win. Yet they realize that supporting the whole team only makes them stronger. They do not delight when a rival messes up. Despite their talent, they are humble and willing to admit they have much to learn. All under 30, yet all very mature, very charismatic, extremely talented. Deserving contenders, all.

So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Your unlikely source for inspiring voting options.

Nico Archambault.
Nico Archambault, my predicted winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada

But I’ll drop it now. For one, I’ve made this comparison before, and for another, it’s frankly tainting the program to compare it with the mess in Ottawa. So let’s just talk about it on its terms.

There are ways in which the American original is superior to this homegrown version. The host, for one—no one can match Cat Deeley’s easygoing charisma; she may be the best of host of any reality show, period. I also miss the little video recaps the US show inserts into judge’s comments when appropriate—they describe a jeté, we see said jeté. And the Canadian show has four judges instead of three. That becomes a lot of blah blah going on.

But, in more important ways, I’ve found the Canadian show to be superior.

Multi-cultural range of dance styles

The ubiquitous hip hop and contemporary are always here too, but there have also been so many other styles. Afro-jazz. House. Brazilian something or other that the two guys did in the last show. It’s really multi-cultural. And where the US show was praising itself to the skies for including one Bollywood number, these ones are inserted quite matter of factly, and regularly.

Less homophobia

I’m not just imagining that, am I? Certainly Nico gets praised for his masculine style of dance, but there just seemed to be less “You have to be man!” lecturing going on. And Tre advising that one dancer imagine his partner as a man, if that’s what it took? Cool.

Audition episodes

Unlike the US shows, which featured a bunch of “heart-warming” profiles of individuals (many of whom never made it very far), the Canadian shows featured primarily dancing. So much better! There is a lot of dance talent in this country. Which brings me to….

Better dancers

When American judge Dan Karaty commented that he worked with So You Think Can Dance all around the world, and that the Canadian program was “second to none”, I could believe it. Because really, it’s an amazing group of dancers.

Take the solos. On the US show, last season’s solos, by pretty much all contenders, were largely boring. They seemed short and pointless. The Canadians have no more time, but do so much more with it. Natalie picks a completely different style every time. Allie sticks with ballet, but does it to a wide variety of music. Early contender Dario did some of the most amazing, original dances I’ve ever seen.

And look at Miles, the “B-boy” who’s managed to make it to the top four. Probably, on technical skill, Sebastien should be the one there… But this guy has acquitted himself extremely well. To my mind, much better than Twitch, whose presence in the US top four kind of made me twitch, and Dominic the year before, much as I was pulling for him. Miles deserves his spot.

(And on a completely shallow note, holy jeez, what a good-looking bunch.)

So there you have it. If you haven’t watched yet, it’s not too late to start. Finale is tonight at 9:00, and they will be redoing all the best of the season. And if that whets your appetite, on New Year’s Day, be a couch potato and watch the So You Think You Can Dance Canada marathon. All on CTV.

… And Parliament goes on vacation

Well, it’s disappointing. Truly, the GG’s precedents for this were thin on the ground, so this decision was as valid as the other, but it’s still disappointing. It amounts to a reprieve for the Conservatives. Now they can wander off and cobble together a budget that takes all the best ideas from the coalition and present it and have the other parties look silly for voting against it.

Of course, it’s good if this actually reins the Conservatives in. But it’s unfortunate that it means we’ll likely continue to have a Prime Minister whose character is so clearly deficient, so far from what the country needs at this time.

And also, can we afford to have no federal action for two full months? Not exactly the best time for them to be off on vacation on our dime.

What’s been good

Well, it’s certainly engaging many Canadians in a way I’ve rarely seen before. Thousands of comments on news articles, pages full of letters to the editor… There’s very far from being a consensus of opinion on this. And more thoughtful commentary than I would have expected.

Opinions I have little patience with

“It’s a coup, it’s undemocratic, it’s a power grab, we didn’t vote for a coalition…”

Realizing my impatience with it will not make this opinion go away (especially with the Conservatives running ads on this theme), we elected a Parliament. The way we always do. We do not elect Prime Ministers. The elected members of Parliament can organize themselves in whatever combination they wish to form effective government. Coalitions, while rare in Canada, are perfect valid and completely in line with our democratic system.

“We need to have another election first.”

I actually can’t believe some people are of this opinion. Shall we just convert every vote in the House to an election then? For heaven’s sake! We just had a freakin’ election. We can’t afford the time, expense, and sheer aggravation only to likely end up with pretty much the same thing.

These are the people we elected. Let them find a way to govern for a little while, one way or another.

Opinions I’m more sympathetic toward

“I don’t want Dion as Prime Minister”

Yeah. Much as we don’t literally vote for Prime Ministers, I still think Canadians clearly expressed that they didn’t want Mr. Dion to be P-M. Hence his resignation from the leadership post the next day. Realizing they didn’t have a lot of time, I still wish the Liberals had gone with another interim leader for this coalition. (I wish Mr. Dion had recognized that could be in the best interest of the country as well.)

And regardless of what happens next, the Liberals seriously need to think about electing a new leader sooner than May. That’s too far away. Frankly—and even though I don’t particularly like Ignatief—I still think any of the three Liberal contenders would be a better bet than anything else on offer from the other parties (Duceppe’s separatism and May’s lack of a seat in the House rather hobbling these otherwise decent options).

And speaking of Duceppe…

“I don’t like that the coalition includes separatists”

The Bloc are annoying fact of Parliamentary life, but the math says the only way to bring the Conservatives down is to get Bloc support. And if it weren’t for the Bloc, the Conservatives would have their majority, and the other parties would have lost their financial capacity to fight them in future elections.

So while sympathetic with that point, me, I can live with them being involved. (Just like Stephen Harper could back when he was in opposition.) They wouldn’t actually sit in government; they’d just agree not to bring it down for 18 months. Seems an acceptable compromise.

What not to lose sight of

This crisis is Stephen Harper’s doing. Period. He has not taken responsibility for that, and he has not shown one iota of remorse for it.

So what do you think of your coalition now?

Now that the Conservatives have blinked, it’s more complicated.

They’ve dropped the funding cut to political parties. And also the ban on the right to strike. And, they pledge to bring forward a budget, with stimulus package, earlier, in January.

And yet the coalition agreement was signed, with Dion as Prime Minister, members of the NDP in cabinet, and the Bloc agreeing to support it for at least a year.

Politically, I don’t know how wise this is. The unpopular leader, the deal with separatists, leaving the party with the single most seats out in the cold—it’s just going to make a lot of people really angry.

On the other hand… It really is cooperation, isn’t it? And isn’t that exactly what a lot of people say they want? Three parties agreeing to work together for the good of Canada. Of course, their motives are nowhere near pure. But, it’s still a little refreshing.

And, I kind of like some the policy statements I’ve heard from the coalition side so far. Dropping the NDP demand to cancel corporate tax cuts (thank goodness). A stimulus package sooner. A blue chip economic advisory committee. Possibly restoring arts funding. Elizabeth May, Senator.

On the other hand (I clearly need more hands), it’s really hard to have great confidence in this group. The Liberals are still in a fair amount of disarray, and the NDP campaigned on a completely unrealistic platform. One hopes the NDP would learn from actually governing, but Canada isn’t in the best position right now for them to practice on. And Dion, despite some definite virtues, has not exactly shown himself to be a great leader.

I guess there isn’t any way for us to get Barack Obama as leader without actually joining the US? No? Well, OK then…

In this article I just found [link no longer valid!], Andrew Steele lays out Harper’s options.

  1. Preemptively Remove Michaëlle Jean.
    To which I say, wow, he can do that? I don’t like that one. It’s not right. And I like Ms. Jean.
  2. Reschedule the Vote again.
    How long a delay would be long enough? Eventually, someone has to govern…
  3. Appoint Opposition MPs to the Senate.
    This option is too boring to even contemplate.
  4. Caretaker Prime Minister.
    This apparently means admitting defeat, to some extent, and seeking to find a coalition partner. He would just be a “caretaker” Prime Minister in the meantime, with more limited powers. Interesting. Would he actually do this?
  5. Prorogue
    i.e. Cancel this session of Parliament and start again. This is the one he wants, but which admittedly limited precedent suggests the G-G shouldn’t grant.
  6. Apologize, fire Flaherty, and reach across the aisle.
    Is it a big enough gesture? And would he do this?
  7. Request an election.
    No! Not another damn election! No!
  8. Convince Opposition MPs to support the government.
    They’d need 12 turncoats.
  9. Seduce the Bloc into supporting the government.
    They’re already running anti-Bloc, so doubtful this is still a viable option.
  10. Step down as Conservative leader.
    Which is also what the Globe Editorial today recommends, and would, I think be a big enough gesture to appease the opposition (at least the Liberal party). But would he do that?

“May you live in interesting times.” Really is a curse, eh?

See? This is why you shouldn’t have voted Conservative!

Well, that didn’t take long.

I actually cannot believe that Parliament has just opened, and Stephen Harper already has me in a blind rage.

Step 1: Economic statement focus

Earlier in the week, I heard that the government’s economic statement was to focus on preserving a small surplus, plus some initial cuts.

I thought that was a very strange approach in a time when most economists, including conservative (small “c”) ones, seemed to be saying that spending and stimulus were the most important priorities at this time.

Still, I was only mildly irritated at this point. Sure, it suggested the Conservatives were bad economic managers. But I already knew that, and there is some comfort in being right. Plus, I still have a job, for the time being at least, and it’s Christmas. So why fuss about politics now?

Step 2: Cutting federal funding for political parties

This, I was not happy about, even before all kerfuffle arose.

Bully for the Conservatives that they’re so great at fund-raising they don’t need any help from the taxpayer. That’s what happens your party is the one that attracts most of the rich people.

But parties who attract more lower-income people who can’t afford to donate (NDP, Greens), or are currently in some disarray (hello, Liberals), still have the right to exist. No, more than the right; they must exist, or we don’t have a democracy. We have a Conservative dictatorship.

Step 3: The opposition rises

That is some hubris that caused Harper to think the other parties would actually vote for their own demise.

Now, it may well be politically wise for the other parties to say it’s the economic statement itself, and not the cutting of federal funding to political parties, that is the tipping point. I’ll come back to that.

But my opinion is that the party funding alone is enough reason to defeat this bill.

  1. It’s unbalanced. This bill came in to compensate for loss of other ways for political parties to raise money. Previously, corporations and unions could donate; now they cannot. Previously, individuals could give as much they wanted; now they’re capped at $1000. You can’t take the funding away without making other legal changes that allow the parties to compensate for that loss.
  2. It’s undemocratic. Funding is calculated on a per-vote basis (with the exception of parties earning less than 5% of the popular vote). It’s one of the very few ways in our system that (almost) every vote counts. Some people, particularly Green Party supporters, do cast their votes exactly for that reason: to get federal funds to their party of choice. Taking away the funding disenfranchises all who voted for a major party.
  3. It doesn’t help the economy. The amount is too small to matter. Now, there is something to be said for the mostly symbolic gesture. Freezing top-level government salaries and cutting perks also probably doesn’t really help the economy, but it’s just bad optics to be flying all over in first class while people are losing their jobs and savings. But party funding isn’t a luxury; democracies aren’t completely cost-free.

    If the Conservatives don’t want their share of that funding, they can give theirs back and dare the other parties to do the same (knowing that they won’t). That way the Conservatives can get on their high horse, where they like to be, without kneecapping their opposition.

But party funding probably is a dicey thing to defeat a government on, so the opposition is instead focusing on the content of the economic statement. And frankly, there is plenty to be against there, too.

  • Claiming they already stimulated the economy with 2006 tax cuts. Huh? Even ignoring that they selected the most non-stimulative form of tax cut possible—the GST—something you did three years ago is not going to have a new effect now.
  • Claiming a surplus based on bogus number, such as inflated projections for the price of oil.
  • No infrastructure programs at all, though it’s not difficult to find excellent candidates for these across the country.

But even at this point, I wasn’t quite in a blind rage. I was really kind of excited that the opposition was showing some teeth, and acting cooperative, and refusing to roll over for the bully at the helm. Until…

Step 4: Harper claims a coalition government is undemocratic

While we have been working on the economy, the opposition has been working on a backroom deal to overturn the results of the last election without seeking the consent of voters. They want to take power, not earn it.

Stephen Harper

Overturn the results? No consent of voters? Makes me crazy ever time I read or hear it.

Mr. Harper, the majority of Canadians voted against you and your party.

The majority of Canadians voted for four center-left parties who agree on a number of major issues.

Three of these parties won seats. Two are discussing forming a coalition government, with the backing of the third.

This could be the closest Canada has ever had to the makeup of the government reflecting their actual votes.

Step 5: ?

Who knows how this plays out. But if the Conservatives don’t change their statement, they deserve to go down over it. And that better not lead to an election!

In the midst of a global economic slowdown that may plunge Canada into a deep recession and threaten the livelihood of many Canadians, it would helpful if there were some adults in Ottawa. … While there is certainly a crisis, there is no semblance of crisis leadership here, and therefore no chance for national cohesion. The responsibility for that lies squarely on the shoulders of Stephen Harper.

— Globe and Mail editorial, How to compound an economic crisis

Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when men would be judged “by the content of their character.” By that benchmark, Stephen Harper has proved himself to be a nasty little man.

— Peter Blaikie, letter to the Editor, Muzzling the opposition

The miscalculations have been stunning. Mr. Harper’s strategy has accomplished already the near-impossible: to bring the Liberals and NDP together.

He had so many other, less partisan options at a time of economic crisis and grave national concern. That he acted in this fashion, at this time, was enormously revealing. And very sad.

— Jeffrey Simpson, Economist with a tin heart, politician with a tin ear

Whatever the debatable merits of distancing parties from taxpayers, this isn’t the time or way to change payments peripheral to dangers facing Canadians. It won’t save a single job, meaningfully reduce the ruling party’s runaway spending, or somehow make the democratic exercise cost free.

— James Travers, Harper has needlessly provoked this crisis

How can I resist you?

We saw Mamma Mia this week.

No, not the movie—that, we caught on the flight from Rome to Toronto.

It was a live stage play at Centre in the Square. An American touring production.

Darn, that was fun!

We had really great seats. In renewing the Broadway series subscription, we chose the new night being offered, and thereby ended up in the seventh row, right in the centre. Except for the bother of walking by so many people on the way to our seats, it was pretty much perfect.

And the show is just so entertaining. It moves along well, it has lot of humour, the singers were better than Pierce Brosnan :-), and you get to dance along at the end.

DH also enjoyed it, to his surprise. He asked how it compared to the Toronto production I’d seen some years ago, but I couldn’t remember that well enough. (Except I know my seats weren’t nearly as good.) I didn’t recall the TO production being quite as racy as what I saw, and I hadn’t remembered all the encore songs. But that could well be my memory and not actual differences.

Show we saw was sold out, but it’s also playing all next week. If you want a fun night out, I’d recommend it.

Trip to Italy

We really enjoyed our two-week trip to Italy.

For details, see Planning a trip to Italy in two weeks.

Or for just photos: Italy 2008.