HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-05-10, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007. PAGE 5.
Bonnie
Gropp
TThhee sshhoorrtt ooff iitt
ALiberal woman minister has hit New
Democratic Party leader Howard
Hampton – it can safely be
said — below the belt in the Ontario
legislature.
Economic Development and Trade Minister
Sandra Pupatello complained Hampton said
she does not do enough for her home city of
Windsor when she was away from the
legislature. She said he did not have the
courage to say this to her face.
Pupatello said she would like to take
Hampton to an engineering company in her
city and “get him some ball bearings so he can
ask me a question in the House.”
She drew cheers from Liberals for her
suggestion Hampton does not have enough of
those parts of the male sex organs jocularly
equated with valour, which polite people
normally do not talk about.
Apart from being untrue, because Hampton
regularly takes on the whole massed ranks of
Liberals every day and revels in it, it was in
poor taste.
Conservative leader John Tory interjected
that Pupatello may think she was clever, but if
a man referred slightingly to a woman’s
female organs in the legislature he would be in
trouble.
This is true – when a Liberal said not long
ago a woman New Democrat debating
passionately was having “a hot flash,” he was
quickly and properly forced to apologize.
Pupatello’s attack was not unusual, however,
because her party suddenly has become prone
to use words many consider offensive.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government
has launched a campaign to encourage people
to turn off lights called Flick Off, but with two
of its letters so close together it looks like and
is meant to resemble a commonly used
obscenity.
Proponents said it is cutting edge and having
fun with words and will appeal particularly to
young people. McGuinty said it will not
offend most Ontarians.
But the obscenity is one most residents
deplore and discourage their children from
using and when McGuinty makes it the
centrepiece of a campaign he inevitably makes
it more acceptable.
Some will say if the government uses it, why
can’t I? The Liberals who control the
legislature do not allow the obscenity to be
used there and the implication is they are
saying it is suitable for lesser mortals who
don’t have as high standards.
The Liberals also applaud their play on
words as original, but anyone who has been
around will recall about three decades ago a
Toronto-made movie called Flick, whose most
memorable feature was the title letters
squashed together jumped off the page.
McGuinty also referred recently to
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper
as “that bastard Harper” and reporters felt he
was not expressing wry admiration of some
federal strategy that frustrated him, but
annoyance.
The nearest McGuinty previously had come
to using a swear word was “frigging,” as in
lamenting “frigging newspaper headlines,” a
corruption of one of the most used obscenities,
and he said his mother uses it.
Until now the Liberals have barely been
known for expletives. Progressive
Conservative premier Mike Harris was a clear
trail-blazer in this field with several
comments.
The Liberals are starting to catch up and this
may be partly because the election is getting
close and they feel a bit nervous.
Some Liberals also may think they are being
trendy and modern, but they will have to be
careful they do not leave most Ontarians,
particularly those who vote, behind them.
A deserving performance
My pal Henry has a good question.
How come, he wants to know, the
only people smart enough to balance
the budget, fix our health care system, win the
Stanley Cup and bring about world peace are
all driving taxis?
He’s got a point.
Some of the most spirited (if one-way)
conversations I’ve ever sat through have taken
place in taxis. They weren’t conversations,
really…more like monologues.
You don’t want to get disputatious with a
guy who’s careening through downtown traffic
like Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, all the while
tossing bon mots over his shoulder into the
back seat.
I’ve had cab drivers who know for a fact that
Elvis is alive, that the U.S. Government is
hiding a flying saucer in New Mexico, that the
World Trade Towers were dynamited by
Rosicrucians and the problems in the Middle
East are all caused by unleavened bread.
(“It’s zinc. Them Arabs don’t get no zinc in
their diet. Give ‘em white sliced bread –
problem solved.”)
Ah, well. If Matthew Rothschild gets his
way, we won’t have to worry about loquacious
cabbies much longer.
We won’t be able to hear them over the
commercials.
Rothschild is a 24-year-old whiz kid from
Victoria whose latest brainwave is video
commercials in cabs.
Here’s how it will work. You’ll hail a cab,
climb into the back seat, give the driver your
destination, and just before he takes off – flip,
bam! Down comes a DVD video screen out of
the ceiling where the dome light used to be.
Will the video screen offer baseball recaps,
news bulletins, old Sopranos re-runs?
No. It will play advertisements and nothing
but advertisements. Rothschild is currently
flogging ad space in 15-, 30-, and 60-second
clips – and it ain’t cheap. A 15 second clip will
set an advertiser back $750 a month. For a full
minute the rate is $2,450 a month – and that’s
just for the time. Advertisers will also have to
pick up the tab for getting the ads created and
produced on DVD in the first place.
Right now Rothschild has six minutes of
uninterrupted advertising lined up and ready to
go, but he hopes to up that to 15 minutes,
because he reckons that’s the length of the
average taxi ride.
Gee, I guess if you took a longer ride or got
stuck in traffic you’d get to see the ads all over
again.
Is this idea going to fly? It already is.
Rothschild, who is president of MegaMedia
Advertisements, Inc., has struck a deal with
the Yellow Cab franchise in Victoria, B.C. As
of this month, 90 Victoria Yellow Cabs will be
carrying DVD screens which, says Rothschild,
drivers will be instructed to ‘activate’ at the
beginning of their shift.
So I guess that means that the taxi drivers
will get to hear the advertisements over and
over again throughout their whole shift. They
must be beside themselves with excitement.
But you’ve got to give it to Rothschild – he’s
tracked down and cornered perhaps the last
captive audience available – the defenseless
taxi passenger. We’ve grown used to being hit
in the earhole and the eyeball with
commercials in airplanes and shopping malls,
in fast-food joints and hospital waiting rooms.
They’ve even got video ads in elevators for
heaven’s sake. It was only a matter of time
until the sanctity of the taxicab was breached.
How did Matthew Rothschild come up with
this umm, brainwave? Actually, he’s been
working on it for the past two years, but the
lightbulb came on for him about five years
ago.
“I was in the back seat of a cab and thought
there had to be something to make the ride
more interesting” he says.
Actually there is, Matthew. They’re called
windows.
Call me a Luddite and a curmudgeon, but I
don’t think I’ll be hailing any Yellow Cabs in
Victoria anytime soon. I’ve got enough
unsolicited commercials infesting my life.
On the other hand, if it’s raining, and a
Yellow Cab’s the only one around, I’ll hail it.
And if the driver starts to try and tell me how
the Maple Leafs could win the Stanley Cup –
I’ll ask him to turn on the video commercials.
Arthur
Black
Liberal minister hits below the belt
Fiery crimsons, flaming oranges and hot
pinks. The colours lit the sky through
fluffy cloud cover or in a glorious blaze
against clear, deepening azure blue.
I spent this Saturday looking at sunsets, over
and over and over, boasting their brilliant glory
in different places and circumstances. Of all
this world’s gifts perhaps none is more
glorious than this sinking twilight display of
power and beauty. It’s the day’s dénouement,
another’s promise.
The exhibit, Last Light, which opened on the
weekend, features the work of camera buffs
from the area and further afield. Some 50
photographs of the setting sun graced the
shelves in a room of the Goderich Library,
while about 150 others could be viewed in
albums, creating an impressive display that
will remain there until May 19.
The exhibit is in memory of our family’s
much missed friend, Sarah Mann, a young
woman who loved to capture life from a
camera lens. The world around us was one of
her favourite subjects, whether it was in the
bloom of a daisy or the setting sun.
As I perused the work on display, I thought
how pleased Sarah would have been that this
exhibit had inspired so many to see what she
always had — there are visions worth hanging
on to. I knew that dimpled smile would be
beaming about the fact there were people who
had literally been chasing the perfect sunset to
be part of this tribute to her.
Then there were the others, people who had
those perfect end of day, blaze of glory shots,
but, weren’t exactly sure where to find them or
which was the best one. These folks spent time
looking through old pictures, an exercise that
brings back good times and memories. Making
the right choice required studying each ‘last
light’ picture in detail, and with a critical eye.
This is a pretty incredible world. Yet, often
we are too busy to appreciate it. Granted the
sinking sun is usually an impressive enough
spectacle to catch our attention and our breath.
But there are so many other things, subtler
beauties, that we often overlook, forget or take
for granted.
When was the last time you let a sight stop
you in your tracks as you hurried through this
life? When did you last let the eye-popping
beauty of a rose pull you in for a sniff of its
heady fragrance? Do you really listen to your
music, the dynamics, the power, or just let it
float in the air around you? Do you simply
touch a child’s hair, or do you take a second to
appreciate its texture, the soft, silky proof of
purity?
It’s unfortunate that the good stuff isn’t like
the bad, coming up to slap you in the face if
you’re not paying attention. We are required
instead to seek out life’s bonuses. The beauty
of that is they are abundant, from the majestic
to the minute, found in the skies above us and
in the grass beneath.
So, we all really do need to slow down and
look at what we have. And I intend to practise
what I preach. I will smell the flowers. I will
run barefoot in the grass. I will look, really
look at the faces of the people I love. And of
course, there will be sunsets, each similar to
the one before, but none that should be missed.
The other evening twilight was falling as I
ran around trying to accomplish a multitude of
tasks indoors. Dashing by a window, I glanced
and noticed a splash of crimson setting up
above the horizon. For an instant I almost kept
going. Then I remembered and decided I could
spare the time. Such a performance, and I,
come to think of it, deserved it.
Other Views This cab ride brought to you by…
Eric
Dowd
FFrroomm
QQuueeeenn’’ss PPaarrkk
Letters to the Editor
THE EDITOR,
On behalf of the Alzheimer Society of
Huron County I extend appreciation to all the
volunteers, donors and attendees who helped
with the “sold out” fifth annual Forget Me Not
dinner auction. Collectively we raised
$12,200 for programs and services in Huron
County for persons affected by Alzheimer’s
disease.
Cathy Ritsema
Executive Director
Alzheimer Society Huron County.
THE EDITOR,
Just a wee note to say hurrah to the Blyth
Public Library in having the foresight to allow
the Huron County Good Food Box space for a
few hours each month.
With 40 plus boxes of fresh, mostly local
produce, it seems to have really taken
off. Several interested volunteers show up to
help unload and repack the boxes for
recipients.
Often library members return borrowed
material and find more interesting books,
music and movies to enjoy at home. With a
situated like that it is a win-win deal for
all of us.
Patricia Ham
Auburn School House
6-year volunteer at the
Huron Good Food Box.