test blog 5

I've got to blog about it , right? The release of the long-anticipated Gomery report is The Biggest News here, so how can I not mention it? Trouble is, I don't have much to say. Just observing. So Paul Martin was exonerated, but most people don't believe his hands are clean, and the Liberal minority government may be in trouble. Got it. But what is the alternative? The Conservatives, Bloc and NDP will form an alliance against the Liberals? That seems unlikely, no? Jack Layton especially can't be counted on to do that. Now there'll be an election , but will the results produce a substantially different government? I write this with much humility, aware of my ignorance, as I have been observing Canadian politics only for about two years, and on this nitty-gritty level, for less than a year. What's more, this kind of politics is not really my thing. I like issues; this is distraction. But I do understand the potential importance of the Gomery findings, so I'm ...

The dogs are going wild this afternoon, tussling and tumbling all over the living and dining rooms. For a while they were chasing each other around and around the dining room table - until Buster discovered he could go under . I swear he was mugging for the camera. It's impossible to catch this action with a camera. I'd have to post a video to really show it to you. But for what it's worth, here are my maniacs.

Does anyone know the Soulpepper Theatre Company of Toronto? I have links and info online, I'm wondering if anyone has personal experience. I love theatre. I've been seeing theatre literally all my life. My parents, who were big Broadway theatre-goers when they were younger, took us on a regular basis. Special gifts for graduations or other milestones often involved tickets to a Broadway show. In college - university, I think I'm supposed to say - I started working with a professional company in Philadelphia, learning the subscription marketing business, and after I graduated, I went into theatre administration. I worked for two well-known off-Broadway companies in New York. I met great people, learned a lot, saw tons of theatre, lived on poverty wages, and wondered when I would write a novel. Unlike most of the people I worked with, I wasn't driven by a serious Theatre Bug, hadn't been doing theatre since I was 10 years old, wasn't living my lifelong dream. I w...

Two. That's how many trick-or-treaters we had. Two. The doorbell rang once. There were two somewhat older kids dressed as a cowboy and a cowgirl. The end. Would anyone like a bucket full of candy? Yes, I should have asked the neighbours . But there are so many kids in this neighbourhood! They must all be avoiding us because we're American. Um, if you just started reading this blog, that's a joke.

One of you crazy people nominated we move to canada for a 2005 Best Canadian Blog award , in the personal category. Whoever you are, I thank you. I notice that two of my favorite Canadian blogs, Canadian Cynic and The Gazetteer , were nominated in the liberal category. Now everyone go stuff that ballot box! I'm kidding. I don't even know who votes or how the voting works.

Would-be Canadians, take note. Lead story in today's Globe And Mail : Ottawa plans to unveil sweeping changes to immigration, starting today with an increase in the annual intake of new Canadians, and a promise to increase much-needed temporary workers and tackle the enormous backlog of 700,000 prospective immigrants. Immigration Minister Joe Volpe, who will table his annual report to Parliament today, says Canada hopes to be taking in as many as 300,000 immigrants a year within five years, and will start by raising its target for next year to between 225,000 and 255,000. Canada is on track to accept 245,000 this year, the very high end of last year's target. "We have to start thinking about the Immigration Department as a recruiting vehicle for Canada's demographic and labour market needs ..... we are the lungs of the country," said Mr. Volpe in an interview with The Globe and Mail. "We are producing more jobs than the labour market has workers for. ..... We...