Section 2

It's been a long time coming

Apologies.

Blogging has been relegated to the bottom of the old proverbial priority list lately.

I'll say this: Monday is going to be insane. Insane. Trial by fire.

I've been assigned to the Nepean-Carleton riding where Defence Minister David Pratt could just get unseated by a young Conservative upstart named Pierre Polivere. I'll be spending the night at the Conservative's headquarters. If there is an upset, I will be in the eye of the storm. A cabinet minister, unseated, by a relative nobody...?

Oh, it's gonna be a party.

Stay tuned.

Dirty

I never thought I'd be that journalist. You know the kind. The creep.

But for the past two days I've been chasing a story about a young woman who died in a car accident last weekend while overseas. Since her family is local, the paper is interested in the story.

So there I was yesterday afternoon... my heart in my throat... my stomach in knots standing on the doorstep of this poor family, my notebook in tow, ready to talk to them about the accident.

They weren't there. Sigh of relief.

But I stayed on the trail. "Find old classmates, old teachers, anyone who knew her," I was instructed.

Onward with my search. Didn't find enough to run a piece for today. Spent today on the same story. Got the mother on the phone. She didn't want to talk. Couldn't blame her. All friends and family members were likewise instructed to keep away from me. I am the pariah.

And so it goes. And it continues. Still on the assignment until I can unearth sufficient details to run a story, even though the family wants to keep it private.

More experienced journalists are telling me 2 things. First, everyone in the field has had to do this. Second, it's just part of the job. You get used to it.

If I ever get used to this then I'd be losing more than my sensitivity. I would be losing me. I never want to reach the point where this sort of reporting is okay. It isn't okay. It just isn't.

Going to the Candidates' Debate

Is it just me, or does a somewhat tanned, newly coiffed Stephen Harper not resemble JFK in the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate?

...Still watching the seemingly neverending leadership debate...

Crickets on the Lawn

I watched a cricket match on the pitch at Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada's Governor General, on Saturday afternoon. It felt as though I was watching a BBC production of some Jane Austen novel... I could almost picture Mr. Darcy striding around the pitch, his whites perfectly pressed, his brown locks tucked beneath his cap. *sigh*

Here's a link to a piece about the Ottawa Cricket Association, and its ties to Rideau Hall.

The So-Called Sex and the City Vote

Clinton courted the "soccer mom vote".

Dubya's after the "NASCAR dads".

And, according to politicos, the untapped block up here in Canadia is the so-called Sex and the City Vote which consists of 20 and 30-something women.

Hmm. I conducted a very unscientific poll this afternoon in Ottawa's Bayshore Mall. I stopped 40 women in their twenties. Not a single one would/could answer my question about how Mr. Harper is coming across in his campaign.

"Who's Mr. Harper?"

"I don't read newspapers."

"The election is bullshit, anyway."

Etc., etc.

Some voting block.

(Forgive me, but I'm feeling a might discouraged...)

Canada, Great Britain... Who Cares -- They Aren't America

Good Ol Whatshisname
By DAN DUGAS

MONTREAL (CP) - Former prime minister Brian Mulroney may be advising the Conservatives during the election campaign but he's not a household name in the United States.

Mulroney was a guest on CNN's Larry King Live after the death of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan. Speaking from Montreal, Mulroney reminisced about his friendship with Reagan and what he meant to politics.

King knew the two were close, but apparently was not sure about Mulroney's former job.

Here's the transcript of the end of the interview Monday, as published on the CNN website.

"Mulroney: 'Good to see you, Larry. Thank you for having me and delighted to be with you.' "

"King: My pleasure. Good guy. Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister of Great Britain.' "

A Political Shift?

So I'm looking out the window in my hall this morning, as I tend to when I'm up at the crack of dawn, to see the reflection of the orange orb in the clock of the Peace Tower. It's an inspiring sight, no matter your interest in politics. But this morning something was a miss. The Peace Tower wasn't there.

What?

That's right. I couldn't see the Peace Tower.

Why?

4 letters.

S-M-O-G

Gross. Maybe it is time to vote Green...

Nightcrawler no Longer?

As someone who has built their reputation (well, at least in part) by being a chronic insomiac and late night troller, my latest shift change has got me in a tizzy.
I'm working at 7:30am this week. Yes, 7:30. That means I'm up and at 'em at 6. Yes, 6. There have been times in my life (in the not-so-distant past) when 6am would have been bedtime.
Nowadays bedtime comes before Lloyd Robertson.

Does this make me an adult?

The Green Brigade

Canada's Green Party, after being left out of the televised leaders' debate, is fighting back with a new commercial addressing the diss.

Here's the text:

Silence can be beautiful. (PAUSE)
Sometimes. (PAUSE)
But if you’ve been shut out of a conversation, (PAUSE)
Or if you’ve ever been silenced, (PAUSE)
We know how you feel. (PAUSE)
We’re working toward a better quality of life, (PAUSE)
Now and for future generations, (PAUSE)
For women, First Nations, students… (PAUSE)
…For all Canadians. (PAUSE)
We have a firm commitment to a better electoral system. (PAUSE)
We now have candidates in over 300 of 308 ridings, (PAUSE)
But broadcasters chose to exclude the Green Party from the televised leaders’ debate. (PAUSE)
What is it that they don’t want you to hear? (END)

Oh What a Week

Since last Saturday I've moved to Ottawa, started a job as a reporter at the Ottawa Citizen, and landed a front-page byline that went coast-to-coast in Canwest owned papers.

Wheww...

Surreal? Yeah, you could say that. But I'm happy. Exhausted. And happy.