De Show

I couldn't resist - we've been throwing around the "de" in front of everything all day, because of the ueber-talented Michael de Adder. It was a pleasure to meet him today and I got to thumb through his book during hour number 3 and I really think he is the best cartoonist in Metro and definitely one of the best in the country. He can so succinctly sum up a mood of a city, and even the entire country, in one drawing. It's incredible! Like I said before, I'm a huge fan, but I didn't really get a chance to chat with him because of the demand for the book. I must have entered at least 70 names in the draw, so it was a busy hour for me! Congrats to Ray, who won the book. It's a great book, good for a Christmas present, and it's only 14.99. What's not to like?

I have to tell Dawn Sloane her new nickname compliments of Barry (the one vehemently against the sign at the Freak Lunchbox downstairs). He called Dawn "The Amenderator" today. Catchy.

I had to laugh today when Rick called the Senate of Canada an "old folks' home". Ha! If you want to read a book about how much of a joke the Senate is, you've got to read "Nice Work: The Continuing Scandal of Canada's Senate" by Claire Hoy. It's dishy, not at all educational, but very entertaining. I was just reading the review on amazon.ca where one very literate reviewer gave it one star - a senator, perhaps??

One thing I'm having a very hard time understanding is why there are so many concerns about the Guardian Angels. They are a volunteer organization who will patrol the streets, call the police if they see something happening and intervene if necessary. Rick talked about their desire to intervene. Curtis Sliwa said before, if they saw someone getting their butt kicked, yeah, they would step in. I would hope we'd all do the same. They are unarmed, meaning their training isn't going to be that intense, because they aren't getting weapons training like police. They will probably be familiarized with the law in terms of a citizen's arrest and how you cannot exert more violence than someone has perpetrated against you, etc. Bring it on! Curtis Sliwa does talk tough, but it will be Halifax residents simply walking around the street being "Guardian Angels", trying to protect people by being extra eyes where police might not be. It's not that big of a deal, I can't believe people are freaking out so much. Again, they are unarmed and it's free.

I still haven't had a chance to watch Fifth Estate with Sandy Munroe last night, but I'm hoping I can do that tonight.

Anyway....lunchtime!

Have a great day! I'm excited because I did break down and turn on my heat, but it's going to be so balmy over the next few days I'm cranking it off again!

Cheers,

Amber

P.S. The entire Halifax Regional School board is on tomorrow!