A couple weeks ago on my birthday weekend, we went camping at Nickle Lake which is a regional park just outside of Weyburn where Shea's parents have a seasonal camping site.
My parents came down with their camper as well (surprising Shea's folks which is an ongoing back and forth contest between them.) On the Saturday, we all drove out to Creelman which is Shea's hometown ("population: 50 if nobody died that day" as my slightly insensitive but oh so true joke. Oops, looking at that Wikipedia entry, the populations's actually 81. My mistake!) for their annual Agricultural Fair.
The Weyburn Review was out taking photos of the day's activities and though Pace didn't make the paper, he (along with the rest of the not-as-cutes in his family) did make their online gallery (see photo 15 for the shot of our crew plus a couple that Shea went to school with and their kids at the parade). There are some other familiar faces in the gallery - Shea's aunt is in photo 21 for example. And my favourite is photo 12 from the infamous "pig scramble" which we almost got Pace to enter but he changed his mind right after going into the pig pen.)
I thought about putting some video I took of the pig scramble on YouTube but I'd hate to be the person responsible for getting it shut down by PETA or whichever animal rights group monitors these things. I did come across this photo on some random photo site which actually looks like Pace's cousin who *did* win $25 in one of the heats!
So if you don't click through to that gallery to see me wearing a very sexy bush jacket, consider this your Saturday Snap of the week...
Went to my hometown this weekend for the grand re-opening of the historic Bell Farm Round Barn , a reconstruction of the original building which had been near collapse only a few short years ago which would've been a shame, both for the loss of history and also, on a more personal note, as this farm was on the way to our own family farm and I've spent much of my life driving past this building, which often inspired thoughts about the people who settled in the area and the groundwork they laid for our present lives here on the prairies.
The reconstruction used many of the same stones and materials from the original structure although with a few added touches to keep with modern building codes (the original had neither plumbing or electricity.)
It did however have many firsts and significant accomplishments including the first phone system ever operated in Saskatchewan. This was how the founder, Major Bell, kept in touch with the twenty-seven cottages where his foremen lived and worked across this 53 000 acre farm - a farm so large that that passing trains would often stop so passengers could have a gander!
Hopefully one of the areas original tourist attractions can once again regain that mantle. If you're in the area, I encourage you to check it out.
My hometown of Indian Head is one of two Saskatchewan finalists for a $25 000 make-over courtesy Kraft & TSN. You can vote for Indian Head today until noon. If we get the most votes, the money will be used to upgrade our historic ball diamonds (20 000 people used to come to our small town of 2 000 people in the 1950's for games!) and build a new kid's splash park which I'm sure Pace would love! Click on the link to vote (you can vote multiple times so feel free to do so) and for more information about these two projects.
(Anybody have any theories on where this trend comes from? When I was a kid, a rock band was lead and rhythm guitar, bass and drums, dammit! Oh, I see the band answers these questions themselves in a recent piece - they're not like those other bands except "there's a lot of us on stage" and they like the multi-member approach because it's more fun to stretch beyond the traditional rock line-up.)
This band come by their name honestly as someone told me that at least one of their members is the child of former RPL director, Sandy Cameron. And with all the good fortune and buzz from The New Yorker and Spin, they may still be the unluckiest band in Canada having had all their equipment stolen about a year ago and then recently losing it all again in a flood!
So after you download the free single (get it quick - today might be the last day!) go ahead and buy some of their other music as well!
(Warning - this chorus will be in your head for awhile...)
Jaime Garcia has launched a Money Bomb to help fund his campaign for the NDP nomination in Regina Coronation Park. He's called it "19 for the 19th" and is asking supporters and others who supporters of a new way of doing politics to donate $19 to help him reach the nomination meeting which will be held on June 19th.
Ryan Meili, who was the first Canadian politician to use a Money Bomb during his leadership campaign last year, had great success with his recent "Money Bomb 2.0" sequel which raised enough to fund his entire nomination campaign for Saskatoon Sutherland!
Jaime doesn't have the ready-made donor list that Ryan had from his first money bomb or the name recognition that a provincial leadership candidate who came in second will have. But with hundreds of supporters on his Facebook Fan page and over twenty people signed up only a few days after announcing this latest Money Bomb, there is potential for Jaime to raise some serious funds as well.
If you support progressive politics, innovative uses of technology for fundraising or Jaime and his potential as a political candidate, I'd encourage you to donate!
Here's the full announcement:
Hello friend,
Today is May 19 and that means there is exactly one
month until June 19 when the Coronation Park nomination meeting will be
held to choose the next NDP candidate for this riding.
So far,
our campaign has been a lot of hard work but very worthwhile as we
believe we are in a strong position going into the nomination meeting.
In addition to being a lot of hard work, there has also been a lot of
expense as we have spent money on buttons, t-shirts, printing, a web
site and even billboards at two locations in the constituency to get the
word out about our campaign and its themes of family, community and
solidarity.
That is why I’m asking you for your support in our
“19 for the 19th” Money Bomb. If you are not familiar with the concept, a
“Money Bomb” is a unique fundraising tool that allows supporters of a
political candidate (whether they live in the riding or not) to easily
provide support a candidate of their choice. Money Bombs were used to
great effect in the 2008 US Presidential Election but are still a
relative rarity in Canadian politics.
Between now and June
19, I am asking you to donate $19 (or $1.90 or $190 or any other amount
you choose) to my campaign to help us assure victory at the June 19
nomination meeting which will be held at 1pm at Thom Collegiate (265
Argyle Street North).
Your regularly scheduled Music Monday post will return at a later date.
But having attended the NDP Leader's Gala tonight (great event - kudos to all the organizers!), I've got politics on the brain so I thought I'd post this video of Jaime Garcia being introduced in the Legislature by MLA Sandra Morin (I guess you could consider that little "this channel is off air" motif at the start of the clip as your music for the week? )
For good or for bad, if modern politics is about a candidate's story or their "narrative" (see: Obama, Barack for the ultimate example), this video does a good job of showing that Jaime has a very compelling story himself, having come to Canada at age 11, his family having fled their home country after his father was persecuted and left as a paraplegic for standing up for people's rights. The idea that within a generation, this young man could become an elected member of our government is a powerful idea. That's not all Jaime brings to the table of course - I've touched on the various reasons I'm supporting him elsewhere - but that's part of it.
Watch for yourself...
[Oh, and Regina Coronation Park candidate, Tory McGregor posted a correction to the Facebook comparison I did of the various candidates. I've updated the list with his correction as well as current numbers for all the candidates - including a newly joined one, Roger Bucsis - and apologize to Tory for the oversight.]
I hope no one thinks they've stumbled upon NDP Watch with this post but I have to admit that I had to do a double (actually triple) take when I received the latest e-newsletter from the provincial NDP with the headline, "Leader's Gala, a snub to working people, and more policy videos."
For a moment, I actually thought someone must've hacked the NDP's e-mail servers because I read the headline as "Leader's Gala - a snub to working people".
I know that wasn't the intention but I still appreciate the unintended irony. The Leader's Gala *is* a $50 a plate fundraising event and so it probably is true that it's far beyond the reach of most working people.
I'm sure events like this are probably important to any political party, right, left or center, for reaching a certain segment of society while helping to fill party coffers. But I like the recent post at Louis Riel Trail where he commends the latest Ryan Meili money bomb as a better way to fundraise in general as you can earn similar amounts by getting smaller donations from a lot more people. The bonus of a successful money bomb is that you actively engage a lot more people as well.
LRT's post talks of the Sask Party's $300/plate dinners but if we're being completely honest, a lot of his arguments would apply to the NDP's own fundraising dinner. And this unfortunate juxtaposition only reinforces that impression.
(I mean this post as no slight on whoever compiles the newsletter. I'm reminded of an Alberta publisher I used to work with who posted their "Typo of the Week" on their office door. Or to put it another way, "shit happens". And if I had better reading comprehension, I wouldn't even be doing this post! )
Just in time for Regina's mini-World Cup soccer tournament, the WCP Cup, Jaime Garcia has added some information to his web site targeted specifically at Regina's soccer community.
Jaime has a long history of involvement with Regina's soccer community and is still actively involved as a player and a coach. So in a riding where every vote is going to count, this type of micro-targeting of a specific audience could potentially serve Jaime very well if he can convert even some of the energetic, passionate and involved soccer folks into energetic, passionate and involved political supporters!
