The 411

It’s another slow, soggy Monday. I’ve applied for yet another job that I may never get. I’m still getting over the shock of finding out that I can’t apply for any student jobs.

For those not in the know, here’s a quick explanation.

I’m over 24. Fortunately….According to the Government of Canada’s rules: Their “student” status goes up to the age of 30. (Yay!) And I’m going to school in the fall. However, I wasn’t in school during the past school year. (Boo!) Therefore I’m not really a student. At least not for their purposes.

Last week a young lady at the local student employment center explained this to me. Somehow I didn’t believe her. I went into the general employment center. The same fact was confirmed by a different person. And because the third time’s the charm, just now I phoned the Government’s information hotline.

I spoke to an employee who was very sympathetic. We even discussed The Assumption: The government usually assumes that folks who have been out of school have had the opportunity to bulk up their resumes. Hence no breaks for outsiders–those like me, who are trying to worm their way back into academia.

It doesn’t help me to know that a lot of student summer jobs are dream jobs. Including a sweet teaching position that’s within walking distance of my house. If anyone asks, I’m in a corner, licking my wounds…

Soul Plane

I hate this movie and I haven’t even seen it yet.

A home-grown review describes it as, “…a comedy that feeds this feverish conspiracy theory I have in the back of my brain, that the Klan has been fending off bankruptcy selling bits to black entertainers.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

What’s wrong with everyone? The people who believe in stereotypes and think they’re worth depicting onscreen, the actors who are desperate enough to play roles in films like these….The writers who come up with this sh–, the producers and directors…

And then there are the fools who will go see it.

I want to see all overtly stereotypical media–like Soul Plane–banned. There aren’t any merits to these types of productions. I thought we had outgrown minstrel shows.

Ever striving to improve…

I just discovered a copy of George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language. Sometimes my writing goes on forever and I can’t help it. Other times it could use a good tightening. Nothing wrong with a little self control…

My Fellow Canadians! (And *Others*)

Take heart, for I have not forsaken you.

Our Righteous Leader, Prime Minister Paul Martin, has called an election for June 28th. And though I know he’ll win, it’ll be fun watching others try to kick his…butt.

In case you’re wondering what I think of the state of voting in this country, read this.

For those who aren’t familiar with Canadian politics, I’m going to give you a run-down of the candidates. At least, as I know them. (Keep in mind that I know NOTHING about politics.)

Paul Martin of the Liberal Party.

(American Equivalent? Democrat.)

Involved by default in the Sponsorship Scandal, aka Sponsorgate(TM Some News Reporter). To summarize…A lot of taxpayers’ cash was misspent. (And if you’ve never heard of it, “misspent” is just a nice way of saying “wasted“.)

Somehow Paul wants us to believe he had nothing to do with it. Personally, I think he’s being honest. There are people who could have acted without his knowledge. However his initial declarations of innocence seemed a bit dodgy: When the clandestine monetary dealings went down, he was our country’s Finance Minister.

Odds? : Rick Mercer once did a comedic presentation called “Why the Liberals Will Rule Canada FOREVER”. I couldn’t help agreeing with him. (And I can’t find it online, otherwise I’d have linked to it.) Sponsorgate aside, Paul Martin hasn’t really done anything objectionable. At least, as far as I know. In a recent newscast, I heard that the Liberal Party has governed Canada for 68 out of 100 years. Plus, Paul’s plan presents pleasant promises (hee!). He kicked things off with his plans for our nation’s healthcare. I expect more goodies to come.

Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party.

(American match? Probably Republican.)

Stephen Harper Said, as set up by the Liberals, does not paint a favorable picture. Mr. Martin recently stated that “…Harper wants to do to Canada what Mike Harris did to [the Province of] Ontario”.

Who, pray tell, is Mike Harris?

Lord have mercy.

*wincing at the memory*

For the Americans–and other readers–picture, if you will, a leader who did not seem to care a whit about the needs of his constituents. Someone who had a one-track minded approach to running your country, even if it meant that he was sending it straight down, into the fiery pits of–

What’s that, Toto? So you do understand why Steven Harper could be bad, bad, bad for Canada.

Yes. *rubs hands together* Very bad indeed

*cue evil laughter*

Odds? : Canadians as a whole don’t know a great deal about Mr. Harper. His party is very new, as is his leadership. And if you’re going with the Tried ‘n True School of Voting, sometimes the Devil You Know…Has more reliable horns.

Jack Layton of the NDP (New Democratic Party)

(American equivalent? Unknown.)

Jack is very dapper. He’s very dedicated. He’s always struck me as a very passionate leader. Olivia Chow is his intelligent, accomplished wife. She’s also a politician. Sweet, sly Rick Mercer once said that Layton reminded him of a porn star from the 70s.

I…can’t comment. I was a toddler in the 1970s. Porn for me back then would’ve involved Ken kissing Barbie.

Nevertheless, Jack seems intelligent and affable. He has ideas, but I don’t know what most of them are. (My fault, not his.) The one thing I heard yesterday is that he plans to exempt our poorer citizens from paying income tax. The faith Mr. Layton has in his convictions seems infectious. Overall, I like Jack Layton. But I don’t know him well enough to say he’s a keeper.

Odds? : Jack Layton’s an experienced leader with some excellent achievements. I think (hope!) people will vote for him before taking a chance on Harper.

Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois (That’s BLOk Keh-BECK-Kwa to you, Buster.)

(American Equivalent? None that I can think of.)

And here’s where we get to play Imagine.

Pretend that there’s a governor of one of the United States’ states with a–Capital A–Agenda. S/he wants to preserve said state’s heritage. Say…California, or Texas, or…New York. Let’s suppose previous governors had strove to have that state’s originality recognized and failed.

Well, not exactly.

The SpecialState has already been considered unique via the Nation’s culture and history. SpecialState has its own language which All Americans MUST Learn–at least until they start high school. In public places in SpecialState, such as a store or a bar, you might get ignored–or be treated rudely–unless you speak SpecialStateLanguage (SSL). And even if you do…In some instances you may still be treated with disdain. After all. Just because you use the correct SSL grammar and syntax, that doesn’t mean you actually speak with the voice of a Native Speaker.

Trust me. SpecialState’s citizens can tell.

It’s all in the accent.

And just because you’re American, that doesn’t make you good enough for SpecialState. Because there is, in case you couldn’t guess, one thing that SpecialState has wanted but never gotten. The true hallmark of SpecialState’s uniqueness. Independence. And believe me. SpecialState wants its independence. Since yesterday.

Welcome to the world of Quebec, as it relates to the rest of Canada. I will admit it. I have never been there. I’ve stated a few generalizations in my SpecialState example that need to be clarified. I should point out that I’m sure most Quebecers aren’t linguistic snobs. Many of them don’t want to separate from the rest of Canada. And I loved studying French. I took it for years after it was mandatory. And I miss it.

But over the years I’ve been exposed to various news items, Political Science text books, first hand accounts of attitudes in La Belle Province, and…I’m Canadian, born and raised. If you can make it here past the age of 25 without hearing the words October Crisis and knowing that there’s a faction that still wants “Quebec for Quebecers” then…

Then take me to your planet. If even for just. one. day.

What’s this got to do with an election? Gilles Duceppe still wants His Land for His People. That’s certainly the impression I have. I couldn’t find a single link in English on the Bloc’s web site. And there are Anglophones in Quebec.

You never know. There could be an Anglo who supports the Francophone separatists’ cause. Or at least would like to read about it.

Odds? : I don’t know who will vote for the Bloc Quebecois aside from Quebec Sovereigntists. I haven’t thought about what will happen if they obtain the requisite amount of seats to impact our Nation’s Capital. I just want to learn French and eat poutine.

*ducks*

*Please don’t hate me. I’m poor. And I’m just teasing.

That, in a nutshell is what I know about our current election’s candidates. Writing this post just reminds me of how much I have to learn…

*hangs head*

This just in!

Diversity is one of my passions. I’ve already mentioned how I feel about the word “tolerance”. Oddly enough, I was visiting Tolerance dot org when I came upon this article.

Once again, the media is afraid to reflect reality. They seem to have no trouble with depicting gratuitous sex or violence. But a family containing people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, a bi-racial couple–or even better–a bi-racial couple featuring people who don’t fit the “favorite taboo” (black-white) mix?

Somehow it’s too much for them.

I realize

What this is. (I’m talking about my job search neglect, etc.) A part of me still doesn’t think enough of myself.

Your Life

Your life as you know it,
As you want it, will not happen without you Contributing
Taking a step, making your own song to sing
Reaching out, facing forward ready to feel
The Rhythm of Life that only Death can conceal.

What’s up?

In case you read this thing to actually find out what’s new in my world:

I’m still unemployed. Since last night I’ve been angry with myself for not fighting hard enough to get a job. I woke up, checked the computer today. I found one job online and applied. I decided to do write-ups for a set of jobs that a friend of mine had sent me via email. I became furious with myself when I realized that the deadline for applying to the positions I wanted had passed. WTF is wrong with me?

*Kicks own arse*

I’d cry if I wasn’t so mad at myself.

Now you see it…

I know someone who’s involved in various university experiments. He pointed me to some information re his area of research.

Notice the subtle changes in scenery and people. Cool, eh?

It seems it really does pay to be alert.

Fresh off my mind…

From one of my posts on a bulletin board. It’s me, in semi-raw randomness. Some people have been complaining about having to learn “proper” English in the black community. I was an English major, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to read their comments. Someone used the “English is a bastardized language” excuse. Here’s my very slightly edited reply.

English may be a bastardized language, but like it or not, it’s reached a standard level that North Americans are expected to use.

And I know people were snarking when I mentioned language problems in other communities. [Why do people complain when you mention that their problems are shared by others? Is it “poor me” syndrome?] Nevertheless, I have a relevant example.

One of my ESL students used to give me a very hard time. One day, in her own broken way she asked me,”So, Ms. N, why do I have to learn English?” She wasn’t naive. Rather, she was being her usual stubborn self. [Take it from me. If you’d seen her expression and heard her tone…] I politely explained to her why it was important for her to learn how to read, write, speak and understand the language. My reply was an edited version of what I thought inside: “Don’t you want to be able to function properly in society? Don’t you want to succeed? Don’t you want to be able to get a job?”

I don’t have any issues with how this woman communicated at home. In fact, I strongly support people being able to communicate in their mother tongues. I don’t want people to be ashamed of their roots. And I don’t believe English is a “superior” language. But complaining about having to learn “proper” English…It just seems like people are trying to get out of doing something purely because they don’t feel like it.

My point?

You couldn’t go to Quebec/France/Haiti, etc., and expect to get away with using your own brand of French. You’d have to use the version that was appropriate for the location. (I say “appropriate” knowing there are slight variations in French as it is used throughout the world.)

Or would you complain about having to communicate using “proper” French? [Sadly, I know there are people who would.]

I will never understand people who think that illiteracy is ok.