Update On My Shame

I was searching the Internet, and it turns out my local paper did in fact advertise the Festival with an article. This of course means the blame must be shifted to the people of my city, a fact about which I am not in the least bit surprised. The surrounding area of my city has 200 000 people, meaning less than 0.1% came out to support multiculturalism. Nice job rednecks. Appologies to the local reporters who may have felt slighted by my earlier comments.

Ashamed Of My City, Going To The Garden To Eat Worms

Recently my northern hick town decided to hold a festival to honour the various "foreign" cultures that comprise our city. It was a beautiful gesture, and one I was looking forward to appreciate first hand.

Due to prior engagements I was only able to see half of the performances that day, but what I saw was inspiring none-the-less.

The first act I saw was a group of Ugandan drummers and dancers. One of their dances was exceptionally lively, and I was told by one of the performers that it was designed to mimic the sound of the cows dancing in the field.

Next came some belly dancers. I'm pretty sure this was a local belly dancing class that was asked to perform because of the obvious exotic nature of the art, although not necessarily the members themselves.

The definite highlight of the show though, was the Vancouver-based capeoira group, Ache Brasil. These guys were professional and it showed. I don't know how we got them to come up to Hillbilly Hell, Alberta, but I'm glad we did. They had colourful costumes, traditional instruments galore, and some of the most incredible tumbling and dancing you've likely not seen before.

While the performers were great, and I once again applaud the city for putting the festival on, the turnout was nothing short of dismal. In a city of about 45, 000 people (maybe less after everyone left following the recession), you'd think you could get more than the roughly 200 people who dotted the hillside in the park to watch the dancing and singing. However, you'd be wrong.

I can't fault the people who showed up, since they were there, and I'm not really faulting those who didn't show up, because they probably did not know about it. The blame lies squarely with the local media. I know they knew about it, because I saw multiple photographers from the paper there taking pictures. However, when I checked the paper that afternoon, after the show, though, I found what I suspected: no advertising (update: I have since found that there was an article, read here for more information).

I guess I can't say there was no advertising. There was a tiny side-bar mention of the festival burried in one of the pull-out sections of the paper. This might be enough for the local Junior A hockey team's next game, since people are going to be searching for the game times anyway. But when you are bringing in a top-notch performing arts group like Ache Brasil, why would you not at least write up an article on the event sometime during the preceding week? It is baffling how badly the ball was dropped this time, and this for a city where the ball has been dropped so many times I've taken to counting the number of times it has been held onto instead.

But what of the people who were there? Surely they would appreciate what a great event they were witnessing, right? Wrong. In my generous estimate, only 20% of the people there could be said to have been actively participating, and that is a very generous estimate. On numerous occasions the ungrateful cretins were asked to move forward and participate more, and by more than one group, but unsurprisingly they chose to sit put on their asses instead.

When I expressed concern, even anger over the situation, I was told not to worry about it. It might be tempting to let it go, but what's the point? What else do I have to do? And more importantly, WWHHD?

"With the joy of responsibility comes the burden of obligation," is what Hank Hill would say, not to mention "with great power comes great responsibility" (Stan Lee, with a nod to FDR and Luke). With the power to recognize evil, I have a responsibility to be angry about it, and with the responsibility to be angry about it, I have the obligation to turn into the Incredible Hulk. DFM Angry! DFM SMASH!!!

In all seriousness though, it was a pretty low moment for a city I didn't think could sink any lower. Here we have a wonderful chance to show the world that we aren't just a bunch of selfish rednecks, and what do we do? We show up to a free event and refuse to participate. Smooth. We had a duty to be good neighbours and welcome these visitors, and we failed. Hank Hill did not keep novelty mail boxes out of his neighbourhood for all these years just to see this happen; he must be rolling in his cancellation grave.

This unbearably grey cloud did have one slim silver lining though. The behaviour of my fellow city folk was so reprehensible that it has eliminated any doubt in my mind that I will ever come back to live in this soul stealing nightmare ever again. Nope, instead this is the beginning of the future for DFM. From here on DFM will be a nomad, a man without a home, attempting to live in every province and territory in Canada (where he will find a home, thereby contradicting his earlier statement).

Keep tuned to to The Kindergarten Cop over the next 10 to 75 years to hear how it goes. The journey starts in three weeks when I head back to Seoul, then hopefully to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pass me the Maynards Wine Gums, I'm going on an extended road trip, Woo-hoo!

Fight Stupid People

I love trains.

I admit that I may be somewhat biased towards using trains for long-distance travel because I do not own a car. However, my experience riding trains in both Scotland and Korea has taught me that they can be an exceptionally beautiful way to travel, and it is for this reason I like to lend my support to the seemingly outdated mode of transportation.

Because of my affinity for rail transport, I was rather disappointed to read recently that the engineers for VIA Rail felt it necessary to go on strike. Apparently the engineers and other rail workers had been working in good faith without a contract for over 30 months (also disappointing to hear).

What disappointed me most though, were the attitudes and views of some people who chose to comment on the CBC website's article. For example, one commenter with the handle "Nampally" wrote:

In this tough economic times, the Harper govt. should have passed a bill to ban all strikes for 2 years or until we are on the road to recovery.

First of all, why are the "Train Drivers" called Engineers? Do they have a professional Engineer certification? If not they have no right to call themselves "Engineers".

Secondly It is shameful on the part of the "Engineers" to exploit the situation in such an irresponsible manner. What were they doing for the past 3 years with their negotiations? I have no sympathy for such strikers. They should be legislated back to work immediately.

Such stupendous stupidity displayed by Nampally would have normally caused me to spiral into an ever-increasing state of despair over the sorry state of humanity, but thankfully I was rescued by another poster - the one-man truth brigade known as organMike. In response to Nampally, organMike wrote:

Nampally said this:
***
In this tough economic times, the Harper govt. should have passed a bill to ban all strikes for 2 years or until we are on the road to recovery.
***

Hello?
That's COMPLETELY illegal. There's so much wrong with that idea that it's hard to begin counting the issues.
To say nothing of the fact that we weren't in "this tough economic times" two and a half years ago when the contract expired.

Note that - They have NO contract. There is no legal way to force these people to work.

***
First of all, why are the "Train Drivers" called Engineers?
***

Because they drive an engine. They've been "engineers" since the dawning of the rail era.

***
Secondly It is shameful on the part of the "Engineers" to exploit the situation in such an irresponsible manner. What were they doing for the past 3 years with their negotiations?
***

What were they doing? Working without a contract. Negotiating
Did you not read the article?

Part of capitalism is negotiation. And part of that is saying 'no.' Part of it is determining what your services are worth.
It's odd seeing such a strong anti-capitalist position from a group of people normally associated with hypercapitalism.

***
I have no sympathy for such strikers.
***

No kidding. But I find it hard to believe that you have sympathy for anyone at all.
You also haven't got much in the way of logical capacity, nor sensibility, nor legal or legislative experience.

I would like to say that reading such a response filled me with hope for the future of mankind, but sadly I would estimate that people like Nampally must outnumber the organMikes of the world 4:1 (9:1 in my town). The situation seems so grim I often wonder if there is any point in fighting the forces of stupidity (I often get told there is none by most of my friends).

Over the past few years though, I've finally matured to the point where I do not care if I am fighting a losing battle. The battle is there, and it needs to be fought, and so I might as well be the one to do it. For all of you people who feel the same way I say to you, stand up! Be proud of not being an idiot. Take the red pill and say "bah!" to anyone who criticizes you for doing so. The world can and should be a beautiful place. Don't let it be hijacked by morons.

Where's The Pro-Life Activism For Animals?

Before I start, let me preface this article by saying that I am not attacking hunters individually or as a group. In fact, many hunters have worked alongside various conservation organizations to prevent the extinction of animals. I am instead attacking the attitude of many in Alberta who act as if they think greed is a virtue of which to be proud.

For those of you who haven't the foggiest about what I'm saying, read here to enlighten yourself on the boneheaded Alberta government/University of Alberta plan to sterilize wolves, in yet another attempt to keep Alberta in the 1950s.

In 2008, the Alberta Government, with help from the University of Alberta, proposed a bone-headed plan to raise ungulate populations by sterilizing Alpha male and female members of various wolf packs, and killing their wolf pups.

Apparently, the wolves were getting out of control. Wolves were allegedly responsible for dwindling ungulate populations, despite the fact that wolves only prey on the weakest members of the herd, thereby strengthening the herd as a whole. The fact that the government's own 2005 study found that predator control would not succeed in helping ungulate populations to recover, and that the same plan had already backfired in BC seemed to conveniently escape them. Perhaps it was the sound of the cash register ringing in $100-plus Million in hunting and fishing liscence revenues.

While the idiotic plan was eventually defeated by a storm of protest from the conservation community (and thankfully so), I found it odd that I heard little from Christians or catholics on this matter. Catholics especially seem to hate any form of birth control, and I find it ironic that Alberta Catholics would miss a chance to put a bumper sticker saying something ridiculously obvious, like "Sterilizing wolves prevents baby wolves from being born," on the back of their fifteen-seater family vans.

Dr. Strange Nam-hee: Or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Tent

Upon returning from Korea I began to actively seek out other Koreans in an attempt to better remember the wonderful time I had just had traveling. I soon met Nam-hee, who had come to Canada to study English.

Nam-hee admitted that when he first came to Canada he thought my small city was "very peaceful," but when it came time to spend his first Canadian weekend he found it "very boring." This was not surprising for me as I also find it very boring, but I was a bit disheartened that my new friend would not enjoy himself in Canada. Remembering all the kind people who went out of their way to show me a good time while I was living in Korea, I decided that now would be the perfect opportunity to repay the favour.

I had my doubts, but if there was anything exciting to do in my boring city I decided to dedicate myself to finding it. I was not just searching for Nam-hee though, I felt the experiment would be a positive personal development exercise since I would soon be leaving to a potentially even more boring town and would need to be able to entertain myself.

About this time MandDFM propositioned me to go hiking in the Alberta Rocky Mountains. Thinking this would be the perfect opportunity for Nam-hee to escape all the "peacefulness" I invited him along as well.

While I love hiking, I have generally disliked camping for as long as I can remember (the original a hotel, but [d]evolved into tenting). However, with the self-imposed responsibility of entertaining Nam-hee on my shoulders I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. MandDFM hates camping even more than I do, but he got into the spirit by educating Nam-hee and the two other Koreans with us about the various species of wildlife that live in the area.

Whether it is because most East Asian countries have destroyed all of their wildlife or otherwise, it is my experience that in general Asians (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc.) are petrified of wildlife. Consequently, this was a necessary cultural exchange for the three Koreans, who surprised both MandDFM and myself with how eager they were to see an "oolf" after the lessons.

Apart from the feelings of pride over our "students'" new found love of nature, the Koreans also provided their own, more tangible benefits during the weekend. Nam-hee's parents are farmers back in Korea, and the country boy proved himself invaluable when it came time to start a fire with wet firewood and keep it going during the rain. Furthermore, have you ever had a feast like the one pictured below while camping before? Eating and sharing food is a cause for celebration in Korea, and Koreans do not let the absence of stove or appropriate utensils get in the way of eating samgyeopsal and kimbab.

In exchange, MandDFM and I attempted to share the "Canadian tradition" of roasting hotdogs and marshmallows with the Koreans. However, in what was perhaps the single funniest/greatest moment in camping history, Nam-hee decided he would combine his joy by combining the meals. From Korea with love, I give you Hot Mallows.

After we returned home, Nam-hee thanked me for giving him such a "wonderful opportunity." I told him that by coming along he also game me a wonderful opportunity to repay the kindness shown to me by other Koreans on my trip.

If you cannot find a Korean to take camping, do the next best thing and make the World a better place by sharing the story of a great experience or potential experience at my new website http://fromthecentre.com.

Traveling Is The Difference Between Visiting the Zoo And Living In The Jungle

My new website is up and running at http://fromthecentre.com, and I've been writing a ten part series on what I learned whilst living in Korea.

Today I came across an article on the CBC website, by Don Pitts, that supports exactly what I am trying to say at my new website.  I will re-post a portion of that article here:

I remember as a young traveller taking "a year off" to see the world, we Canadians vied with Australians for being the most footloose. Why those two nations were over-represented in the hostels and trains remains a mystery to me. Canadians were rich in world terms, but so were Americans and Swiss. My guess is that it was a combination of being outward looking, and having a feeling of security that blowing the earnings of a summer job on travel would not limit our prospects.

Whatever the costs, there were benefits as well.

The most important lessons were the little ones. The sudden realization that the conventions of "normal" were merely arbitrary. That people ate garlic rice porridge or baguettes for breakfast instead of cereal and milk. That French workers started the day with a glass of vin rouge and the Spanish with a small glass of brandy, rather than O.J.

As a budding economist, I noticed that conventions of value and pricing depended on culture. That in places like Korea and Switzerland alcohol was cheap and coffee expensive. That unlike in Canada at the time, students could not pick up a $200 car and drive it. That for most of the world at that time, cars and many other things Canadians accepted as commonplace, were a luxury.

Travel teaches you that the world is not full of scary foreigners, but regular people who do things a little different.

I couldn't agree with Don Pitts more.  To read the full article, click here.  Otherwise visit my new website to have your chance to share what you've learned through traveling or otherwise.

My New Website

My new website is up and running!  My new website is called From The Centre and the address is http://fromthecentre.com.

The goal of my new website is to create a place where anyone who has learned something in their life can share their knowledge with others, through a single article or a series of articles.

Anyone is welcome to submit his/her article for posting, so long as the content of the article is something on which you are passionate, and it is written with an attempt to educate others.

I hope to see you there.