Frank Roch 2.0, Pippa Middleton's butt and remembering 2011

I wanted to begin my last blog of 2011 by apologizing for the lack of “Frankly Speaking” blogs over the past several weeks.  I return refreshed and ready to kick 2012 firmly in the ass!

I’m jokingly referring to 2012 as the launch of “Frank Roch 2.0”, a year that will see me tackle a couple of important changes in my life, some of which are long overdue.  As many of you know, I have been working on a business venture called “Virtual Shows Canada”…I’ll spare you the technical details but let’s just say that it is essentially a virtual conference centre that will allow us to host conferences, special events, guest speakers and contests online throughout the year.  The development of this project has taken up a lot of time over the past few months and I look forward to its launch and continued growth over the next several months and years. 

I’ve also grown concerned about all of the time I have spent at home over the past year.  I thought owning a home-based business was the ideal thing for me but I’ve realized that it is important for me to be out in the public.  As such, I have structured the work plan for Virtual Shows Canada in such a way that it will allow me to look for some contract work or even allow me to get some part-time work in at a business that needs an honest, professional, charming and (somewhat) mature employee J If you know of anyone that’s looking, drop me a note! 

I’ve also decided that it is time for a change in scenery, and I don’t mean painting the walls of my house a different colour.  I will shortly begin the process of preparing myself to relocate.  I’m not sure where I am going or when, although I do have a couple of ideas, but after 14 years of life in Timmins, I feel like the time has come for me to move on.  As someone told me recently; “Frank you have been feeling a little stale in Timmins for a number of years, it’s just that you no longer feel like tolerating the staleness”.  I’ve made a number of dear friends in the years since I’ve moved to Timmins after finishing school and they will remain friends no matter where it is that life takes me next.  As a bonus, Facebook, Skype and other social media sites make it a lot easier to keep in touch with people than it used to be!

The final component of “Frank Roch 2.0” will be the launch of a personal website that will include not only my “Frankly Speaking” blog but also three other blogs that I will be launching in the early part of 2012.  The cool part is that the blogs will sometimes be in video format and might even include guests!  As you can see, a lot on the plate for 2012 and it all starts with this last blog of 2011. 

5 things I’ll remember about 2011

5.  The sinking feeling in my gut when the Boston Bruins beat my Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the playoffs…

4.  Watching the ceremonies relating to the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 and realizing that my parents' generation had both a tragic (JFK assassination) and a triumphant (Neil Armstrong walking on the moon) “where were you when moment” while my generation now has its tragic moment and we are still left pining for that moment of triumph (…although the Berlin Wall coming down comes close)…

3.  How Twitter and Facebook became better tools for me to contact people than email…

2.  Pippa Middleton’s butt…

1.  Being able to be there for a friend when he wasn’t feeling well…

On that note I wanted to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and successful year.  Let’s all kick 2012 firmly in the ass!!!

Getting older, warming up with poutine, occupying Timmins and "Birth Tourism"...Uh???

In a couple of weeks I will turn 42 and I bring it up not so that the readers of this blog will note it and send me birthday wishes that day but because of an interesting conversation that I had with a friend earlier today.  The essence of our conversation was that I don’t feel 42.  It only seems like it was six months ago that I figured what I wanted to do when I grow up and, quite frankly, I feel like I’ve just started getting down to the work that will eventually be part of the legacy that I hope to leave behind.

There is also the fact that who I am today, how I feel, how I live, how I act seems so far removed from what I would have described as the likely 42 year old me back when I was in my early 20’s.  I’m not saying this while yearning to go back and change things, I’m actually quite excited about where I am in life and feel like every step along the journey led me to where I am (…wow, and I didn’t even take a philosophy class back in university!).  Obviously, hindsight being what it is, there are certainly a number of things I could have done better, there are certainly a number of decisions that I would make differently but that is the fun with making decisions when you are 20, 25 or 30; you don’t always know what those decisions will mean when you are 42…but I digress.

At my age, John Kennedy was a Senator and only two years removed from being the leader of the free world.  At my age, Joe Clark had already become the Prime minister of Canada and had already lost that very position.  Not that I lack confidence in myself but, really now, can any of you see me as the leader of the free world…didn’t think so 

This leads me to my question…am I the only one in my age group that really does not feel like he thought he would in his early 40’s.  I still sit on the floor and lean back on the couch to watch TV, I still enjoy reading Sports Illustrated more than I like reading MacLean’s Magazine.  I’m still a night owl and do most of my paper work and, yes, I write most of my blogs late in the evening.  I still call people older than me Mr. and Mrs. (…except for my buddies of course).  Ultimately, what I’m trying to say is that I’ve changed a lot less in the past twenty years than I thought I would.  I think that’s a good thing but I wonder what others in my age group think!

Random thoughts:

·        Last week as I was flipping channels I saw an item on “Conspiracy Theories”.  Anyhow I did a search on “conspiracy theories” online and thought I’d get the usual “second gunman on the grassy knoll” and the fact that there are aliens being preserved in a bunker deep in Area 51.  To my surprise it would also seem that man never actually walked on the moon, that the World Trade Centre was actually blown up with explosives by the American Government and that the Pentagon was actually hit by a ballistic missile and not a jetliner!!  Wow...some people have WAY too much time on their hands.

·        So Kim Kardashian who seems to be famous for being famous gets paid close to 20 million for a reality show season that ends with her wedding being filmed as the finale.  A little over a month later she files for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences” because her new husband wants her to move to Minnesota where he plays professional basketball and she wants to stay in California where all of the good parties and paparazzi photographers are…it might be hard to keep being famous during the cold Minnesota winter.  My gut tells me it was all staged and that the next season of the reality show will be all about her dealing with the impact of a failed marriage…gotta love Hollywood.

·        Saw a report on TV the other night on “Birth Tourism”.  Yup, it seems there is a market in China for couples coming to America where the woman gives birth to a child that automatically becomes an American citizen.  This makes it easier for the child to go to school in the States and also makes it easier for the whole family to get Green Cards.  It’s amazing the crap that goes on that we in the general public would not even think of! 

·        So I wonder how long it will take for an “Occupy Timmins” protest.  I think they should set-up outside of Chez-Nous Restaurant so that if it gets too cold in their tents they can go in at 4 a.m. to warm up and have a poutine while they are there.

·        Here’s a good one, if someone from Canada, which happens to be a Commonwealth country, applies for a British passport, they need to send the application to the British Embassy in Washington D.C. to get processed.  Looks like the Queen really was pissed off when we repatriated our Constitution back in the early 80’s!

A personal plea

So I thought I would finally put “pen to paper” on a very important subject, one that had a great impact on me when I was a child and a young adolescent.  A subject that, truth be told, we as a society are not doing enough to address.  I was bullied!  There, I said it…I was bullied!  It took me years to figure out why because I was not any of the things that stereotypically attracted bullies.  I was not fat, I was not gay, I was not disabled, I did not have a learning disability.  My “fault” was that I was a book worm who decided early on that it was better to listen to my folks than be a rebel “to be accepted” by my peers.

It did not help that my parents were friends with the teachers at my school or that the local police officers and their families were often at the house for dinner and social gatherings – I remember going to my mother and begging her while in tears to take back the $5 I’d won in the Halloween costume contest in Grade 5, the other kids were saying my Mom had gotten the teachers to vote for me because she was friends with them.   How is an 11 year old supposed to process having his best friend since we were 4 (…my parents practically raised him) walk up to me in school, slap me behind the head and tell me he’d no longer hang out with me because I was a loser and then have the other kids start yelling “…hey Roch, how does it feel not to have any friends” and putting their fingers in an “L” shape on their foreheads?  How does a 14 year old kid, who is already dealing with all the joys that early adolescence brings, deal with having to ride a school bus one hour every morning and every night and have to listen to other kids call the bus driver a bunch of names…by the way, I called that bus driver Dad! I was in my own little hell for five years and there was not a visible bruise or scar.  Those are but a few examples of the things that made waking up every morning something I would have liked to avoid at the time!  Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones!  By my second year of high school I had met a new set of people and had removed myself from the environment that had caused me such trauma from Grade 5 through Grade 9.

I’m writing about this on my blog not for therapeutic reasons but because I get so upset when I hear of young kids that take their own lives because they could not deal with the bullying they had to endure from their peers.  I get especially outraged when I hear otherwise very intelligent adults say: “…well it can’t be that bad”.  It CAN be that bad!  Trust me I know firsthand how hard it can be to be bullied and I did not have it anywhere near as bad as the stuff we read about today.  I can’t even begin to fathom how difficult it must be to be a gay adolescent, trying to figure out a whole lot more than the average teenager has to, while being endlessly teased and harassed by other kids, often in demeaning and brutal ways. 

When I was kid, bullying was portrayed as someone taking another kid’s lunch money…the stakes in 2011 are much higher!  Our young people are killing themselves because the adults around them are too busy or too ignorant to address the issue!  I commend everyone, specifically school teachers and law enforcement that have taken stronger stands over bullying.  But we need to do more, we need to care more!  

If you are reading this blog and have children of your own or are around children please look out for the subtle signs.  These kids are so innocent and to have their childhood ruined because of bullying should be unacceptable in our society

If you get a chance please watch this video clip from Rick Mercer!  Thanks Rick!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1jNAZHKIw&feature=youtu.be

Indifferent voters, Tiger Woods, sour grapes and flying turkeys

In one of my previous blogs I made a plea for the people of Ontario to go vote in the election of October 6^th.  To my great disappointment, we reached a new low in voter turnout with a little more than 49% of the people actually caring enough to exercise their right.  Now, I understand that my blog is only read by a VERY, VERY small portion of the Ontario electorate…hopefully some day that number will be large enough to have some impact on voter turnout but at this point it certainly does not.  However, I was far from the only individual, blog-writer, media personality and/or public figure to urge the people of Ontario to care enough to vote and we still got the smallest voter turnout in Ontario history.

The optimist, and the Liberal Party of Ontario, would have you believe that the low voter turnout was due to the fact that people were satisfied with the current government and the direction of our province.  The pessimist would have you believe that the low turnout was the result of people really not believing that there is a suitable alternative to the current government.  Sadly, I believe that the problem is much larger than that.  I believe that the people of Ontario, and the people in many other areas of Canada have developed a sense of apathy towards politics and it will be a difficult trend to reverse.

I will not pretend for one minute that I have a grand solution to this problem but I can tell you that it is important that the federal and provincial governments as well as all political parties in our country work together to identify strategies that will motivate the electorate into playing their important role in our democracy.  This is not an Elections Ontario or an Elections Canada problem, it is a Canadian problem.  It needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed by the people most impacted by voter turnouts, politicians and political parties from throughout the country. 

In certain countries, such as Australia, voting is mandatory and people are fined if they do not vote.  Ironically, if there was ever a referendum in Canada that asked if voting should be mandatory, the voter turnout would likely be extremely high to vote en masse against the movement.  So, the trick is not forcing people to vote, it is making them care enough to vote.  This is the challenge that I hope our political leaders will start taking more seriously while addressing said problem in a pro-active manner! Doubt it…but a guy can hope!

A few random thoughts:

·        I was intrigued by the mass reaction when Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, passed away last week.   At its peak there were 6,049 posts per second mentioning his death on Twitter the night he passed away.  That’s right, 6,049 posts “PER SECOND”!  Although it is easy to exaggerate while providing tributes when someone passes, I think it is fair to say that he was one of THE most important innovators of my generation.

·      When I listen to American politicians on TV, I get the feeling that if either the Republicans or the Democrats came up with an infallible plan to end child hunger in their country, the other party would figure out a way to oppose it.

·      I’m getting increasingly annoyed by the number of companies offering social media workshops, seminars or consulting services only to visit their twitter feeds and realizing that they’ve only sent 40 Tweets and are being followed by a grand number of 18 followers.  How the heck are they supposed to provide people and businesses with “insider tricks” and strategies on how to utilize social media to generate more business when you don’t even do it successfully themselves?!

·      Call me a capitalist but when it comes to labour disputes in professional sports, I will always side with the owners.  If someone is willing to pay you millions to play a sport…shut up and play!  If you “must” go on strike, don’t insult the people who pay to see you play by telling us through the media that you are simply trying to “feed your family”.

·      Tiger Woods is an idiot for what he did to his family and if I had a daughter I would not let her anywhere near him.  However, it is becoming increasingly clear just how important he is to the success of golf as a professional sport.  When Tiger was at his best and in contention at just about every Major Championship even casual sports fans watched.  These days, when he is often out of contention by the weekend, even hard core golf fans stop watching.

·      Saw Cindy Crawford being interviewed on TV the other day and she hasn’t changed a bit since we dated back in the late 80’s!

·      I’ve always been a big Don Cherry fan but I think it’s time to say goodbye Grapes!

·      Every year on Thanksgiving weekend I think of the following clip…a classic from one of my favourite sitcoms growing up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST01bZJPuE0

Voting matters, Shania Twain, Idols we don’t remember and ignorant old hags…

Every time we approach an election in this country, whether it be federal, provincial or municipal in nature, I think of, and am disappointed by, the number of people that do not exercise their right to vote.  Let me begin by saying that I fully understand that one of the rights we should have in a free society is the right to decide whether we will vote or not.  So, if per chance you are one of the few people who actually do not vote because they are consciously exercising that right then please forgive the following observations.

In the last provincial election in 2007, only 52.6 per cent of eligible voters exercised their right, the lowest number in an Ontario election since 1923.  In May of this year, only 61.4 per cent of eligible individuals cast a ballot.  Those numbers are appalling and embarrassing.

There are no excuses when it comes to someone not exercising their right to vote, a right that was handed to us by generations of men and women who fought on foreign soil and gave their lives to protect our freedom.  Go back and look at the opening sequence of the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.  You know, that part where soldiers head towards the Normandy shore in landing crafts and when the door lowers they are shot within seconds.  It happened in real life folks, throughout both World Wars and other conflicts, thousands of Canadian soldiers; fathers, brothers, husbands, and friends killed as they defended our right to live in a democracy.  The fact that barely half of the eligible individuals show up to vote in our elections is an insult to their sacrifice and their memory.

The fact that this happened over 60 years ago is no excuse.  If you have time to go get your double double at Tim Hortons on election day; if you have time to go grab lunch at Subway on election day; if you have time to go get that laundry detergent that is on sale on election day and if you have time to go to that aerobics class or do your regular workout on election day then you have time to go vote!  No excuses…we owe it to my grandfather and every other man and woman that represented Canada on foreign soil and defended our freedom.

Random thoughts

·        Last week, there were a number of people who spent an inordinate amount of time on Facebook writing about how they were upset that Facebook had changed the layout of their profile page. It was amusing to watch the sense of entitlement that people have developed regarding Facebook even though it is a service that they do not even pay for.  By the way, those of you threatening to leave Facebook as a result…I have some news for you.  First, with over 800 million users on Facebook, I’m not sure Mark Zuckerberg will notice you are gone. Second, you’ll be back before you know it.

·        A note for the local Wal Mart manager…letting a woman with a cart of full of stuff stay in the express lane when there were 12 people in line behind her after your cashier told her to go to a regular line might have kept the ignorant old hag happy but it pissed off the other 12 people in line.  The customer is NOT always right!

·        There are so many singing competitions on TV these days which is perplexing since the winners in many of these competitions barely make a ripple in the industry following their victory.  Does anyone remember who Ryan Malcolm is?  Taylor Hicks? Michael Grimm?  See told you!  Apart from Carrie Underwood and perhaps Kelly Clarkson the rest of the Idols, America’s Got Talent, Sing-Off, etc. winners have been pretty forgettable.

·        A note to the NFL, NHL, NBA and other professional sports.  I don’t care how popular a player was when he was still active, if he can’t put two coherent sentences together without sounding stupid, he should not be part of your broadcast team.

·        In the near future I will do a full blog on Shania Twain, the Shania Centre and it will probably piss off every single coffee shop expert in town…well, at least the three coffee shop experts that actually read this blog!   In the meantime, have a look at her most recent video.  You might see her outside of a building, standing next to a mini-van…she did not have to do that, but she did...just sayin'!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMciyWyugKY

9/11 from 1500km away

I’ve lived in Northern Ontario for most of life and, to be honest, it is a pretty insulated area when it comes to natural disasters and terrorist activities.  Apart from the odd flood and forest fire, our biggest concern is figuring how many inches of snow will fall during the next snow storm.  When it comes to terrorism, luckily, it is something that we have only ever lived through the images and sounds that we see on TV.  Even though I was over 1500 kilometres from either New York City or Washington at the time, September 11^th 2001 is the day that terrorism really hit home for me and probably for a number of other people that live in Northern Ontario and in other parts of Canada. 

On this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, there will be hundreds of people with much better writing skills than I that will write blogs and stories about the events of that day.  There will be others who were either involved or impacted directly by the attacks that will write stories that will be gripping, tragic and insightful.  As for me, well...here are my most distinct memories about that day:

·        Like many people, my first call after the magnitude of what was happening that day set in was to my Mom.  Strange how when you are observing something that shakes you to your core your instinct is to reach out to someone whose voice has comforted you in the past.  Although I was 31 at the time, it was almost as if I needed to hear my Mom tell me that everything was going to be ok.  Truth be told, she was as shocked as I was so it was a short, choppy conversation but I remember feeling better after hearing her voice.

·        I remember watching part of the coverage that afternoon with two co-workers on a small 14 inch TV in an industrial trailer where we could get a TV signal…it was as quiet in that room as it ever was when all three of us were in the same general area.

·        I vividly remember sitting at home that evening, watching coverage on TV and thinking that I was glad that I did not have any children because I would have no idea how to explain that day to a child.

·        I remember a local reporter getting the number of a former Timmins resident who was working in New York City at the time and calling the individual on his cell phone to get a “scoop” story.  All he managed to do was speak to a terrified individual who really had nothing more to give to the story than what we already knew and had seen on TV.  It was small town, bush league journalism at its worst.

In the days following 9/11

·        I was never a big fan of George W. Bush when he was President but I will never forget his words through a bullhorn at Ground Zero surrounded by firemen when, in response to someone who yelled that he could not hear the President, he said:  “…I hear you, the rest of the world hears you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon”.

·        To this day, the photo of “Falling Man” haunts me when I see it in a media story either on TV or online.  A chilling reminder of what the people stuck high in those towers must have gone through.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/The_Falling_Man.jpg

·        I’ll always remember David Letterman’s somber monologue at the start of his first show following the attacks or the strange yet compelling sight of CBS news anchor Dan Rather breaking down in tears of anger when talking about the attacks later in the show.

·        I also remember how surreal it was that day when several of the specialty channels such as TSN and Much Music were showing live feeds from news channels and other networks such as The Food Network went off air completely that day.

Looking back today

·        Many people mention that Canada was not directly impacted by the events of 9/11.  Tell that to the families of the Canadian soldiers that have lost their lives in the “War on Terror”.

·        Are we safer today than we were on 9/11?  Well, there are still major terror networks throughout the world and if they had the resources, creativity and patience to plan and execute the attacks of 9/11 than perhaps we should never feel totally comfortable.

·        I recently watched some of the live coverage from that day on Youtube.  It was fascinating to listen to initial coverage and interesting to note all of the inaccuracies in the coverage amidst the confusion of an event of this magnitude. 

Have a good and safe week everyone!

Hurricane Anderson, social TWITS and bad leadership....

September 6^th

I’ve been told that over the past few weeks I’ve been a little harsh in my comments towards the City Council in my hometown of Timmins.  That I am calling into question their leadership ability.  Although I stand by the content of my previous blogs, the comments made by these individuals got me to thinking about leadership, specifically in the political arena, and whether or not the era of great leaders has come to and end. 

The question becomes whether or not men like Churchill, Kennedy, Trudeau, Levesque and others would have been viewed as great leaders had they lived in an era where politicians must deal with a vast array of media outlets, social media networks and various communications tools that capture their every comment or action.

It has gotten to the point that by the time a candidate announces their plan to run for office, specifically on the national level, the media has gathered enough information to scrutinize everything from where they went to school, to what type of social life they have, to the different relationships they’ve had, to the people they had lunch with 23 years ago on a Tuesday in June.  I acknowledge the fact that knowing more about a candidate’s previous professional, political and social activities will provide voters with some insight as to what they could expect from them as leaders.  However, I would also argue that it does not really matter if they inhaled, if they failed Grade 12 biology, if they once dated the sister of a guy whose best friend’s brother got arrested for selling drugs in college.  What I want to know is where they stand on the issues and how they have performed in their previous political offices.

My friends will tell you that one of my great frustrations with today’s politicians, be they municipal, provincial or federal, is that none of them seem to have the combination of intelligence, charisma, idealism, courage and political intuitiveness that many of the great leaders seemed to have.  Quite frankly, I would be hard-pressed to name any current Canadian politician that has the qualities required to become a great leader.  I will continue looking for that fresh new face with the qualities needed to eventually become a leader that voters will gravitate to and who will enhance our country’s standing internationally.  When I think that I’ve found him or her, I’ll let you know!

Random thoughts

·        Last week when Hurricane Irene was less intense than expected when it reached New York City I commented on Facebook about how Anderson Cooper would be disappointed that he’d gotten out of bed for this.  Following is a video clip seemingly confirming my point.  He actually sounds disappointed that the storm is not stronger! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON_-Nz56hkk&feature=youtu.be

·        Over the past several weeks I have found myself watching the odd show on HGTV such as “House Hunters” and “Selling New York”.  It’s official, I really need a new hobby.

·        The NBA is currently in a lock-out and last week, one of the players accused the owners of making it difficult for him to “feed his children”.  This from a guy who entered the NBA draft right out of high school because he failed to meet the minimum academic requirements yet has made over $70 million, yup…$70 million dollars paid to him by these same owners, even though he could not spell alphabet if you spotted him all the letters in the right order. I know many men, including my Dad, who managed to feed their children even though they made less in their entire 30 year careers than this bozo makes in a couple of months…just sayin’!

·        Is it just me or is Twitter still an under-utilized social media too in Northern Ontario.  Everybody and their Grandmas seem to have a Facebook page but few people I know are on Twitter.  If you happen to be on Twitter my account is @frankroch look me up! By the way, one does not send twits or twitters, one sends tweets. 

·        By the way, if you are ever interested in getting more insight and information on current social media trends, new applications etc, there is a weekly podcast that I listen to occasionally that is quite good.  It is called “The Social Hour” and each episode can be viewed at www.twit.tv.  No, the link is not a joke “TWIT” stands for This Week In Technology.

Minor Hockey, pregnant men and Lady Gaga...Uh?!?!

The minor hockey season is about to get into full swing over the next few weeks.  You know, that time of year where young hockey players are simply happy to be back on the ice with their friends while their parents are in the stands plotting their child’s easiest possible road to the National Hockey League. 

Maybe it’s because I grew up playing outdoor hockey in a small community with no arena.  Our eyelids would freeze shut on occasion making it hard to hit the top corner. We would put our skates near heaters in between periods to warm them up and have hot chocolate while our parents were outside scraping the snow off the ice.  We had two teams each composed of a “big line” and a “little line” as we did not have enough players for atom, pee wee or midget teams.  There were no false illusions of making it to the NHL.  It was all about having fun and having bragging rights at school on Monday morning.

Each year I am amazed at the level of politics and in-fighting that exists in minor hockey, mostly as a result of parents that firmly believe that if their child has the right coach and the right teammates, they will make it to the NHL.  Minor hockey should be about kids having fun, being physically active, learning teamwork, learning leadership, oh and did I mention, having fun.

A quick reality check for the parent of every “future NHL star”:  There are 30 NHL teams with roughly 25 players per team (including scratches) which means there are 750 NHL spots available.  In 2010-2011, 55% of the players in the NHL were Canadian which adds up to 413 Canadian in the NHL.  If you consider that during the 2010-2011 season there were roughly 570,000 children playing minor hockey in Canada, that means that only one out of every 1380 playing in minor hockey last year will ever make it to the NHL. 

Dear hockey Mom/Dad, chances are little Ronnie or little Susie is not making it to the NHL so let him have fun and stop yelling at him.  If you find hockey to be too expensive an investment if your son/daughter likely has no chance to make it to the Show, than perhaps you may want to re-visit your priorities or introduce your child to another sport.

A few hockey notes

·        I really want to take international women’s hockey seriously.  However, until the tournaments get more competitive, it is hard to get excited about it.  Sure, Canada and the USA have provided some classic battles but when every other game finishes 12-1, it does little to improve the state of the game or its international appeal outside of Canada.

·        I hope that the Winnipeg Jets have a good year for their fans that waited a long time to get their team back.  It is so nice to see the NHL finally put a team in a city that truly cares about hockey!

·        I watched parts of the Little League World Series this weekend…it is always so much fun watching kids enjoy themselves despite being on such a grand stage.  As a footnote did you know that Pierre Turgeon and Stephane Matteau, both former NHLers, represented Canada as members of a team from Rouyn-Noranda at the Little League World Series in 1982

Random Thoughts:

·        I watched the Jack Layton funeral on Saturday and was moved as I usually am while attending or watching anyone’s funeral.  I still do not agree that this was a “transcending” moment in Canadian history as others have stated. 

·        I get so annoyed when a guy says “…my wife and I are pregnant”. Guys, your wife gets to be nauseous for several weeks, starts to crave jalapeno peppers on her vanilla ice cream for 9 months and has to give birth…all you did were a few pelvic thrusts, rolled over and had a nap.  Conclusion…she’s pregnant, you are not!

·        Why do so many people feel compelled to “ride out the storm” when officials declare evacuation areas while a hurricane or other major storm is approaching?  Mother Nature has a way of winning most of the fights she starts yet every time an emergency is declared we see yum-yums on TV saying “…this is my house and no one is going to make me leave”.   Inevitably, after every major storm, we hear stories of people dying because they failed to evacuate even though they could have.

 

·        I don’t get the whole Lady Gaga thing…she seems to be a talented singer so why does she not simply just sing. 

Jack Layton, fence posts, boobs and bacon...uh?!?!

Like most Canadians it seems, on Monday I posted a note on my Facebook page mentioning that I was saddened by Jack Layton’s death while highlighting the courageous battle he fought against a disease that has had an impact on just about every person and family I know.  Over the past few days I have been startled at how Mr. Layton is often being positioned in both social and traditional media as a man who was a future “savior” of our country. I get it when people overreact in their comments following someone’s untimely death but Jack Layton was NOT the “chosen one” nor would he have been the savior of our country.  He was a good politician who worked hard and who ended up in the right place at the right time in Canadian political history.  The NDP’s newfound status in parliament has a lot more to do with the mess that is the Liberal Party at this point in history and the fact that the NDP became this election’s “flavour of the month” for Quebec voters than anything else.  The NDP gained 66 in the last election, 58 of them in Quebec…hardly a national movement.  They became the latest benefactors in Quebec’s habit of voting “en masse” for one party or another in federal elections.  It used to be the Liberals, and then it was the Conservatives, then the Bloc Quebecois…now it is the NDP.  Who knows, by the next election maybe Quebecers will have gone Green.

Rest in Peace Mr. Layton and may your family and friends find some solace in the fact that you are no longer suffering from the awful disease that is cancer!

A few more political thoughts:

·        Weird times in Canadian politics.  Only one of the federal parties has an actual leader.  The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois all have interim leaders.  In a related note, does anyone else find it strange that the interim Liberal leader has more experience as a member of the NDP than the interim leader of the NDP?

·      I wish there was a “training school” where we could send municipal politicians after the first year of their term.  Two courses I’d like to see offered at such a school would be: “Introduction to the 21^st century 101” and “Removing that fence post from my posterior 101”.  Does anyone else have suggestions?

·      I think that any political advisor, strategist, party rep that appears on Sunday morning television shows should be yanked immediately off-stage by a crotchety old guy with a hook just like in the old cartoons if they do nothing but repeat the same “talking points” as opposed to answering the questions they are asked.

A few random thoughts:

·      Does Much Music even show music videos anymore?  Frankly, I don’t want to “keep up with the Kardashians”.  As for Jersey Shore, the predecessor to that show was on CBC in Canada years ago was much better.  It was called Bob & Doug McKenzie…less boobs, more beer and bacon!

·      I really hope that Sidney Crosby is ok and can return to play at the start of the NHL season.  I don’t care if you hate the Penguins, guys as talented as him are important to the league.  By the way, did I mention that he scored “The Goal”!

·     Tried to tell someone that I was surprised that she looked younger in pictures from 10 years ago because in my mind’s eye she had not aged over the years.  Note to all the guys who read this blog, there is no out on that one.  No matter how I tried to explain, it came across has her looking older…inside voice-outside voice! Luckily the person in question tuned me out years ago!

·     Finally…I wish there was a way of getting accurate crowd counts for events that do not have a gate and/or paid entrance in my community.  I’ll admit that I’m a bit jaded from my past as an organizer of events where tickets were sold and accurate counts were kept.  For that reason I get annoyed when I see “out of whack” estimates of how many people attend the “Summer Concert Series”, the “Kayak Challenge” and other events in Timmins.  These are good events that should continue.  To attempt and add to their credence and feasibility with inflated attendance numbers is an old trick that should not be necessary.

Multi Sports Complex creates a "ground swell"...or does it?

On October 25^th of last year, the people of Timmins did its best to impress upon our municipal leaders that it was time for change.  There were four new Councillors elected and all but one of the re-elected incumbents had a real fight on their hands on election night.  I’m not one of those high-priced political pundits you see on Sunday morning television but it was pretty clear back in October that we as a community wanted things to change at City Hall.

I preface my blog with the above reference because it became clear while reading reports from the discussion that took place at Council on Monday regarding the idea of building a multi-sport complex in Timmins that several Councillors have forgotten the message that was sent to them in October.

More than anything I have gotten frustrated by the “double-talk” of certain Councillors who think they can get away with talking out of both sides of their mouths.  I understand that it is important for our Councillors to take into account the financial impact that large projects will have on the community.  This is due diligence and I would expect Council to do their due diligence on every decision they make on our behalf.  However, it is difficult to listen to certain Councillors that argue with great passion that sport tourism should be one of the key areas of focus for the community and then refusing to support the development of a facility that would help the community position itself as a sport tourism mecca for the region and beyond. Notwithstanding the Under 17's and a few high school hockey tournaments which we've successfully hosted, our local arenas are limited in the scope of events they can host.  Furthermore, a new facility would also include additional space where local s ports associations could expand their programming and where new sports could be introduced. 

I also find it amusing when certain Councillors that raise a ruckus because they got a complaint from “a lot of people” (…usually that means 2 or 3) start arguing that there is not a “ground swell” of support for a project.  The irony is that the membership for the Facebook page created for individuals that support looking into the construction of a new multi-sport easily doubles the number of votes received in the October election by three of the four Councillors who seemed opposed to the idea at Monday night’s meeting.  How’s that for a ground swell?

As for hearing from the “silent majority” through a municipal referendum on the issue… well, that would not happen for another three years anyway because Councillors opposed to the idea would argue that the costs of organizing a referendum outside of the regular municipal election would not be cost-effective. If they do go forward with a referendum, I suggest that they only allow the eligible individuals that voted in the last municipal election to vote in the referendum.  If people didn’t care enough to have their say on who was going to decide what is done with our 100 million dollar annual budget over the next four years by voting in our municipal election then why should they be given a say on whether or not we will move forward with the construction of a multi-sport complex?!

At some point in the future when the City is actually forced to build a multi-sport complex due to the continued deterioration of our existing facilities, I hope that an intrepid journalist will do his/her research and find out how much the City will have spent on “patch-work” repairs to these facilities and how much money each facility has lost from 2011 until the time the complex is open…only then will we know how expensive the current Council’s lack of foresight was if it decides not to pursue the construction of a new complex

21st Century Garbage

Well…it is an exciting day in Timmins today!  It is one of those days where our community begins the process of implementing a monumental shift in the way we do things.  Yup, today is the first day that we get to use our new garbage and recycling bins as provided by the City of Timmins.

So as we make this huge leap into the 21^st century, I was left with a few questions:

Can these bins withstand the bitter cold that we Northerners often get in the winter?  One would expect that City staff did their due diligence and researched how the cold impacted the bins in other areas where the bins are already in use.  However, did they do their research in communities where it gets as bitterly cold as it gets in Northern Ontario.  I offer as an example, the Vancouver Olympic Torch Relay Committee that organized the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.  The local committee thought these folks, in charge of a multi-million dollar cross-Canada relay, would have done their due diligence and would use equipment that would not freeze in cold weather.  Alas, when they arrived in Timmins with our - 41 weather on January 1^st 2010, the hydraulics on their stage were frozen and, unbeknownst to most in the crowd, our local Torch celebration took place on what was supposed to be a viewing platform for guests and people in wheelchairs.  We were told that they did not expect it to be this cold.  Hmmm, Northern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the middle of January, someone definitely did not do their homework.  All this to say…let’s wait and see if these bins will survive our cold winters!

The second question that came to mind was how maneuverable these bins will be, specifically for older individuals and people with disabilities and especially in the winter.  You have to know that snow and/or ice will build up in and around the wheel wells of theses bins which will make them next to impossible to roll.  I can see it already; Councillor Doody voice cracking, tears welling up in his eyes imploring City staff to find a solution to this problem that could cause injury or health risks to a lot of people he has spoken with.  I for one think that this particular issue will be met head-on by a few industrious young people who will do garbage/recycling bin duty for others in their neighbourhood for a small weekly fee.  See, the City was thinking!! These new bins might very well create a new sub-industry in our community…who needs paper routes!

The third question will be how many of these bins will become the cause of “fender benders or “bin benders” over the winter months?  In the winter, more often than not, most secondary streets in Timmins have no sidewalks and no distinguishable “curbs”.  People will be pretty much placing their bins on the edge of the street, as opposed to garbage bags or small bins which could be place on a snow bank.  On those mornings when the roads are icy, prepare yourself for a new sport…garbage bin bowling!!

All that being said, There are a lot of good people that work for the City and I’m sure they’ve anticipated these issues and they are not as much of a concern as some people in the general public might think.  All the same, it will be fun to watch.

A lot of people!?

Welcome to the very first edition of my new blog – “Five Minutes With Frank”.  This blog will sometimes be funny, sometimes serious and sometimes cynical.  The blog will sometimes present well thought out arguments and sometimes will be just me ranting or raving about something I liked or disliked.  Sometimes the blog will be nothing more than a Top 5 or Top 10 list and sometimes the blog might even focus on an interview I've done with someone.  I may not always be politically correct and may occasionally use a curse word or two so be forewarned! However, I will always be honest and i will always try to make the five minutes you spend reading blog entertaining or at least interesting!To borrow a line from an old high school friend, all I really want to do with the blog is start good conversations.  So please enjoy and please provide your feedback!!

A lot of people!?

There were a number of issues that I considered for my first blog over the past several days and ironically, the subject I am writing about did not come up until yesterday evening.

I want to talk about “…a lot of people”.  Not so much individuals or even a group. Rather, I’d like to talk about the saying itself and how it is effectively used to lend false credence to different things.

As a former civil servant I can attest to the fact that the phrase “…a lot of people” get thrown around repeatedly, specifically by politicians.  Several years ago, I had a Councillor tell me that he would not support us continuing with a successful event that we had hosted for a couple of years because; “…a lot of people had contacted the police to complain about the traffic issues the event was causing”.  Well, as luck would have it, someone on our committee was married to a police officer and we found out that only one person had complained about the traffic during the event and it happened to be one of the Councillor’s relatives”.

I once stormed out of a committee meeting because a representative of a local organization declared during the meeting that “…a lot of people were disappointed with the layout of a publication we had worked on”.  When I asked the individual what they meant by “a lot of people” they refused to get more specific.  I had no problem re-visiting something if 20 people thought it was crap but if it was two people, specifically if they were part of the group that did not provide feedback when they had the opportunity to do it, then I was not going to have any of it.

One final anecdote, a few years ago a former co-worker at the Shania Twain Centre in Timmins was confronted by a guest over something he had heard from “…a lot of people”.  Well, that particular co-worker could be pretty persistent and finally got the man to admit that, in this case, “a lot of people” meant two of his buddies at the coffee club.

I guess my message is that if we have a bone to pick about something then we should pick it and not hide behind vague phrases such as “a lot of people” to lend false credence or importance to our position or argument. 

On that note I hope “a lot of people” will share their stories or thoughts on the use of this phrase and others like it in every day conversations!

Frank