test blog 5

I still see several visits a day from the infamous Big Soccer thread in my referrers. Thanks for the page views guys - and for not leaving comments! I can imagine that they're pretty pleased about a supposed conservative resurgence in Canada. Last time I looked they were speculating on whether I would move to France. I guess they don't understand that a Canadian conservative is not that much different from an American moderate liberal. In the immortal words of RobfromAlberta : Bill Clinton could easily qualify as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Say no more! **** Allan and I are being interviewed today by a writer with the Kyodo News Service for a story about Americans who are emigrating from the US. He originally asked us to meet where we could be photographed with the Statue of Liberty in the background, which we found pretty amusing. (And way too inconvenient!) I'll let you know how it goes.

I was just wondering what happened to him! Darius McCollum made headlines in 1980 when, posing as a subway motorman, he took over a train and successfully piloted it for several trips, before taking a turn too quickly and getting nabbed. It turned out he was a 15-year-old, self-taught subway expert. The city was fascinated with him for a time, and many people urged the MTA to give him formal training and hire him. Since that time, McCollum has periodically resurfaced in the news, and always for the same reason: getting arrested for impersonating an MTA employee so he can work on the subways. Clyde Haberman, a very good local columnist, gives an update . It's a sad story: By all accounts, he has shown himself to be quite skilled. Never has he hurt anyone. Indeed, people who know Mr. McCollum describe him with words like "affable," "gentle" and "guileless." But his actions are crimes. Not even his defenders excuse what he does. And official tolerance of ...

From today's New York Times : Dennis Kyne put up such a fight at a political protest last summer, the arresting officer recalled, it took four police officers to haul him down the steps of the New York Public Library and across Fifth Avenue. "We picked him up and we carried him while he squirmed and screamed," the officer, Matthew Wohl, testified in December. "I had one of his legs because he was kicking and refusing to walk on his own." Accused of inciting a riot and resisting arrest, Mr. Kyne was the first of the 1,806 people arrested in New York last summer during the Republican National Convention to take his case to a jury. But one day after Officer Wohl testified, and before the defense called a single witness, the prosecutor abruptly dropped all charges. During a recess, the defense had brought new information to the prosecutor. A videotape shot by a documentary filmmaker showed Mr. Kyne agitated but plainly walking under his own power down the library st...

Today baseball fans will witness something they've never seen before: a World Championship Flag waving over Boston's Fenway Park. At the Red Sox's home opener this afternoon, the flag will be raised and the players will be given their World Series rings. The 2004 American League Pennant - harder won, and almost more precious - will also be hoisted. By fortunate coincidence, the New York Yankees, who failed to win that flag four games in a row , will be there, too. When the players get their World Series rings today, they will be the first Red Sox players ever to do so. There were no rings in the early days of baseball, and in Boston's last championship - 1918, in case you have already forgotten - the players were denied their pins. You can read all about that here . Congratulations to the Red Sox and all of Red Sox Nation. 86 years in the making

ALPF, of course, sent this very helpful link explaining Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Curling. I'm feeling more Canadian by the minute.

Several people have very kindly inquired about Buster, so here's an update. We took the B-boy for a second opinion, and confirmed that we're on a good course. The two treatable conditions - glaucoma and uveitis (inflammation of the eye tissue) - are under control, and the long list of untreatable conditions are stable for now. We're going to continue using the various medications indefinitely, as long as they keep working. There's a good chance that at some point, they will stop working, and Buster will lose his eyesight. If that happens, there's a simple laser surgery procedure that can alleviate any pain, but not save his vision. We also learned about surgical options, which are a big gamble. Apparently surgery works brilliantly in humans, but in dogs, not so much. The same surgery might work permanently, or the condition might return in a matter of months, or even days. Surgery that worked would save money (and effort) in the long run, but there's no indicato...

This clearly insane person is attempting to document New York City. All of it. Every block, every building. The photographs aren't particularly good, in my humble opinion, but what he lacks in talent he makes up in volume. In this link he captures New Yorkers' response to the war in Iraq. In brief, we no like. The photos of September 11, 2001, and the days following, are good, appropriately harrowing because they're such a ground-level view. I won't link to them, but they're at the bottom of the main page if you're interested. I was hoping to link to my street or my building, but it seems he hasn't worked his way that far uptown.