This is a hard time of year for me.. And it’s worse in this election season, so quickly following on our snowiest winter in years, with its ugly plethora of inane commentary and what I would call weak coverage.
I have to say I’m equally disappointed with the petty grumblings of all three major political “leaders” and more so with their various political promises for the next government, most of which don’t seem to me to augur well for the future of our country.
The media - which usually claims “we only report” - I don’t see as helping a great deal with somewhat creative and biased coverage, perhaps to help make up for the lack of real “meat” in the election rhetoric.
What’s happening is exacerbated for me by piles of hard-packed snow still on the front lawn, despite my best efforts chipping away at it and throwing it on the road and around the yard.
There are fat robins sitting in the tree outside, and they seem to be looking in the window at me, clearly dissatisfied with my efforts and wanting me to get back out and get the rest of the snow off the lawn.
Maybe I’m taking it too personally, but it feels a lot like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The early bird may still get the worm, but not through four feet of dirty grit-filled snow. I’m trying to help, guys...honest!
Demons hockey is over and the NHL playoffs haven’t started. Leafs fans are slowly acknowledging no playoffs this year and putting the parade plans back in the drawer – like another three of the six Canadian teams in the league.
Parity, the salary cap and the draft doesn’t seem to be working out too well for Canadian hockey ... but never mind, the best of young Canadian hockey players will still do their bit for their teams, to the chants of “USA...USA..USA...”
Have you got it yet...I’m feeling a bit of early-spring cabin fever.
To make things worse, I’m watching way too much TV and reading too much on the internet.
To get away from Britney Spears, Charlie Sheen, Justin Beiber, Lindsay Lohan, Oprah, Donald Trump, dancin’ stars, singin’ idols, survivor men, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney et al, I’m watching and reading far too much CBC, BBC and CNN news, which means I’m overdosing on the weather, the election, Libya, Japan, along with the HD nature channels and all their sharks, monkeys and alligators.
I’m getting too much e-mail from newsletter and blog outlets, but fortunately the weekly provincial government back-slapping review seems to have petered out.
I can’t help but wonder if there is a lot of difference between the rantings of Charlie Sheen and the indignant burblings of Michael Ignatieff.
In fact I may just have had enough already of the election – the patient dismissals of complaints about his party and his “style” by Stephen Harper, the “commonsense” homilies of Jack Layton and the seemingly never-ending self-promotions of Peter Mansbridge, Lang and O’Leary and Evan Solomon.
I like the CBC, but the ever-so-earnest determination of every CBC-News crew that Canadians need to know every vague and obscure detail of the upcoming Royal nuptials, six thousand miles away, is also getting me down. Although NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN are no slouches either...
I worry about watching the prime minister playing street hockey, riding in a fire truck, chatting in hay barns and driving ATVs with his wife for the media cameras.
Is this what the election is all about? Photo opps are one thing – but not at every stop along the election trail. Will it be bungee-jumping next?
We’re spending another $300 million,
after all! Politicians have to go through some hoops for that kind of money.
Worse still, to my enquiring mind, was the storm in a teacup about how all of the political parties (except the Conservatives) were “buying” carbon offsets from firms in Montreal and Toronto to “trade off” the climate change impacts of their election travels.
Come on! If that’s so, hurry up Stephen Harper and end the taxpayer dollars going to political parties in Canada. It’s obviously being wasted. Let them ALL raise their own election funds.
I looked at the websites of two of the named carbon offset companies – but could not make head nor tails of any of them. Sorry! Opportunistic nonsense.
I won’t miss Green Party leader Elizabeth May at the debates, either. Get a seat!
I think I need to get out and wash my truck again.
ahewitson@telus.net