Phendrana Drifts

Atlantic Canada appears to be in. The results:
Liberals 22, Conservatives 7, NDP 3

New Brunswick
5 Liberals
2 Conservatives
1 NDP
Andy Scott, Claudette Bradshaw, Greg Thompson are winners. John Herron is a loser. Saint John goes Liberal though, after Elsie leaves the stage.

Nova Scotia
6 Liberals
3 Conservatives
2 NDP
Scott Brison (yay!), Robert Thibault, Alexa MacDonough and Peter MacKay are winners. No surprise losers. All imcumbants took their seats.

Prince Edward Island
4 Liberals
PEI stays Liberal red.

Newfoundland and Labrador
5 Liberals
2 Conservatives
Rex Barnes loses to the Liberals. St. John's stays Tory, the rest go Liberal.

Made a new banner for election posts while I await results. As I type this Canadian Press reports 16 Liberal, 7 Conservative and 2 NDP while CBC reports 18-7-3. Waiting... waiting. Waiting.

Edit: Newfoundland looks like 5-2-0 for the Liberals, PEI going all Liberal, and a mix in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We shall see as the night goes on. An hour and fifteen minutes to the closing of polls in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the territories.

Rex Barnes appears to have lost his seat in Newfoundland. 4 Liberals, 2 Conservatives and Labrador still waiting to count. Plus interesting stuff in Nova Scotia so far.

11 votes have been counted. No... 44 altogether. 1 Liberal and 1 Conservative are leading in Newfoundland.

Ah!!!! Eight minutes. Who the heck is counting those ballots? Didn't you count throughout the day?

Man, I'm impatient. I'm used to learning who won when the coverage starts. Still no seat called, and it is 5:05.

I have moved our computer into the living room on the card table. The TV is on CBC. Thankfully, the cordless keyboard and long mouse cord make it to the couch. It is election night.

For the record... here are my predictions for tomorrow:

Liberal 127
Conservative 111
NDP 19
Bloc 50
Green 1

Excitement in the air. Looking around at informed opinion, I sense a Liberal minority, but a conservative minority is far from impossible. Regardless, I think minority is the key word here. And although seat distribution may be determined tomorrow, the next Prime Minister might not be known for a couple of days. Or more.

Duncan picks up the beer. Walks coolly over to the clerk, behind Jordan and Alex. The clerk smiles as she asks Jordan (22) for his ID. She rings in his Moosehead. Alex (also 22) is next. She smiles but doesn't ask for his ID. He pays for his Sleeman's and waits. I'm up.

Clerk: Hi.

Duncan: Hi.

Clerk: Can I see your ID?

Duncan: Umm... well, I have this piece of paper... and my health care card...

Jordan: Darn it, we told you to wait in the van, son!

Sigh. Asking your friends to boot for you when you are 25 (and older than everyone else, including said clerk).

I'm lonely.

I can't wait for my Duncan to hurry home.

I love you Baby!

I love the Sugar Bowl. Beside my office, the perfect coffee shop. Great coffee, nutmeg, amazing food, a beer for very hot days after work. Amazing.

This is me. Attractive? Perhaps enough. But if there was one defining feature about me, it would likely be that I look young. I mean, I was born on October 7, 1978 which makes me 25 years of age. More to the point, I am legally allowed to consume alcohol and be in an establishment such as a bar or a public house. Yay for me!

25 is also old enough to marry, which I am also about to do. I went to the nearest registry today to get my marriage license, which of course was good. While I am there I decide to also change my driver's license, to update my address and change my status from probationary. The clerk at the registries duly took my license, took down my address and sent me for my new picture. She took it, smiled, and said my new license would arrive at home in two weeks. Then she hands me this:

Note the lack of a birthdate. Or a picture. You can't really tell in the scan, but it also says it can't be used as identification. I get ID'd almost everytime. Do you think they will ID me at my bachelor party? Hmm...

Please, please, please. All of my Canadian readers over the age of 18, do me and everyone else a favour and VOTE!!!

What did I do this weekend? I helped landscape our yard!

I have decided to endorse four candidates in the current federal election. I have met each of the following, except the Raphael, whose endorsement comes because I want to endorse a Green candidate. The Greens have good post-secondary education policy, are running candidates in all 307 ridings, and have generally been crapped on by the mainstream media, despite polling above 5% among other things. If someone knows of a Green candidate who deserves more attention, drop a line in the comments and give them a plug.

Rahim Jaffer, Edmonton-Strathcona

Rahim is a stand up guy. Naturally I don't agree with everything he has ever said (he was a Reform and Alliance MP) but he is earnest and honest and is an important influence in his caucus. He was quick to critique his own party when it was wrong (at least to me, and there were reporters there) and is open to making the Conservatives a government for all Canadians. And let's be honest, if his party is to form government, all of Canada would want people like Rahim in that room (in the Cabinet room, even) presenting the voice of conservatives like myself when people like Rob Anders stands up to speak. Speaking of which...

Justin Thompson, Calgary-West

Does Justin make it on this list just because he is running against Rob Anders? No. He genuinely seems like a guy who thinks my old stomping grounds deserves better representation. And he is right. Not to mention he is smart and quite knowledgable about the issues I care most about.

Melanee Thomas, Lethbridge

Mel is more than the NDP candidate on this list, she is my predecessor at my job. I worked closely enough with her last year to know she is competant and professional, and would work tirelessly for her constituents, not to mention be aggressive on PSE and related issues. Plus, I can say she didn't steal from previous employer (I know, I do the books) and that seems like a good thing in Ottawa these days.

Rapha�l Thierrin, Ottawa-Vanier

I may update my choice here if I find a better Green candidate, but as Toby said, he is interesting and a U of C grad. Good things. And so is the Green Party policy. Very mature given the nature of the party and how little funds they have, I am very impressed and should be on this list.

Who did it? I got to know.

E-mail #1:

Attached was a PDF forum. I didn't open it, on the off chance it was a virus because of course I had no idea what he was talking about. So I replied.

E-mail #2:

To which the reply came.

E-mail #3:

Interesting. That wasn't the problem I had. So I wrote again.

E-mail #4:

There. That would explain everything.

E-mail #5:

So, who did it? A long conversation from someone in Nelson? Who do I know in Nelson?

A weekend. And it looks like the weather will be good. Should be good times.

Thinking about who to vote for... what do you think? Who are you voting for and why?

So my first live blog in awhile. Interesting, huh?

Well, this likely isn't the very best forum to say what precisely happened to the blog. The short story is that someone whose opinion I care about was worried about parts of my blog. Because of the nature of the worry and how it was directed towards me, I had to take down the blog for a period of time. But we are back up and live... which of course is a good thing. Because I love blogging.

So, to celebrate... well what can I do in the virtual world? I barbequed and had a couple of caesars. That is a good celebration. I did other stuff too, but it isn't blog material.

Very soon blog. I hope I will continue to blog once I republish. I worry though.

You are nearly back blog.

It is interesting looking at Malcolm Azania's predicament while mired in my own similar situation. If you want to know where mine came from, read this and project how some might misinterpret that as coming from my employer.

Regardless, I'm not sure how I feel about Malcolm. The vast majority of my thoughts are political (I'm not an NDP supporter anyway, and I live in Edmonton-Spruce Grove, not Edmonton-Strathcona) - can Malcolm still possibly win, if not, should he step down to save some embarassment for the NDP, etc. But naturally I am comparing his little situation to my own. Of course what he said was far more inflamatory than what I said but also happened a lot longer ago (10 years vs. three weeks). Of course, the big difference is that I hold elected officials to a higher standard than I do ordinary citizens. I expect elected MP's to work more than 37.5 hours a week. And I expect them to hold a certain level of decorum. Of course, Azania said these things quite long ago. Hmm. Well, if I were Jack Layton (scary thought, I know) I would not ask Malcolm to resign. I think he can still stand in front of the voters of Edmonton-Strathcona and ask for their judgement. And they may forgive him. Not likely though.

Would I vote for someone who said those sorts of things? Interesting question. I mean I believe in sexual orientation diversity as much as racial diversity, and politicians say some pretty hurtful things about GLTB lifestyles, even today. But it is my vote. No, I wouldn't. Unless I believed they have changed their views. Has Malcolm? It would certainly seem so. Occassionally he and his supporters and commentators have analyzed his past comments and tried to defend them (trust me, I don't see how they are defensible - check them out yourself here) which is a bit annoying. Malcolm apologized. He qualified the remarks slightly (explaining that he was not using white supremacy in its classical context) and then said he was wrong. I admire that. It is hard to say your political beliefs were dead wrong. But he did. It certainly would have been better if he told everyone he was wrong before it was dragged up in the middle of a campaign, but such is life. Still, we are left with looking at the NDP... I think Edmonton-Strathcona would be best served with their sitting MP, Rahim Jaffer. But maybe that is just me. Currently they are listed as "Too close to call" on the Election Prediction Project. But I think Rahim will get by. And possibly look for a new title: Minister Jaffer. But of course that means Prime Minister Harper. And that makes me wake up in a cold sweat.

Sheesh. On Monday it will be two weeks. My whole world has changed since then. Flames lost... OK, well little else has changed. But it was a pretty big thing.

Speaking of the Calgary Flames, anyone else think that Darryl Sutter got robbed by Tortarella for the Jack Adams Trophy? I mean the Flames weren't even expected to make the playoffs, not be a contender for the Stanley Cup. Tampa is good. Very good. Everyone knew they would do well this year. And Darryl deserves the credit. Robbed again.

Wow, I want this weekend. Of course, for me the weekend is only a day long since I have to go to a conference here in Edmonton on Sunday. I also have to get ready for going to Calgary Tuesday night for a meeting and a funeral service. Which reminds me, I got to clean my black suit. I hope I can get away with Dryel once more.

And for anyone who hasn't checked it out yet, the trailer for Fahrenheit 9/11 looks pretty good. And a June 25 release looks pretty good too. Sadly I will be away from Edmonton on the evening of June 25. Which leads us to the immortal question: if you see a movie without your girlfriend, but she doesn't know, did you really see it without her?

Oh blog... we are nearing two weeks. Soon, we shall publish.

Happy second living in sin anniversary baby! Do we still celebrate it once we are married? Because it is no longer an extension of living in sin. I guess it will become a moving in together anniversary.

We are now nine days without publishing. I almost feel like making a "Free Phendrana" banner for others to add to their site. But of course, my blog is the logical spot to distribute such a banner. And it is down. A self-induced irony. Regardless, when I do republish, I'll pass on the story behind the exile here.

It is still painful, but honestly, tonight my heart is filled with wonder and gratitude. Wonder not that we made it so far, but wonder that a team evoked so much emotion from me and my hometown. Wonder that I could care about sports that way again. I missed that feeling. Not the smug overconfidence of watching Team Canada in the Olympics or the simple enjoyment of a sports game with a beer at a bar - but watching a game. Being consumed by it. And being rewarded by it.

And let us not forget gratitude. This team went so far not just for themselves, but for me. Did I lose faith over the years? Possibly. Calgary never stopped being my favourite team, and over the past three years I saw my faith somewhat restored. I watched with glee Iggy's season two years ago. And again with glee at the couple of games I went to last season (we won!). But even in October I still felt the malaise of disppointment. And then Miikka. And then... well and then it wasn't just the games I went to that we won, it was the games I watched. And then the games I didn't catch as well. And I saw why. It wasn't because we had more talent, or more money. It was because we worked harder. Because we were better as a team than we ever were. In the biography I read on Scotty Bowman the author suggested that a good coach can win you 20 games. I didn't understand that until this year. Sutter and Playfair have made a team into a team. And Iginla showed the leadership we knew he could. And some 25 guys showed they could step up and produce the very best of their careers, for my team. For me. I'm honoured.

The morning after. It still hurts.

My heart is broken. I know there is so much good and happiness, but right now it is so painful. I wanted the win. I wanted to see them drink from the Stanley Cup. I wanted to see their dreams come true, and mine with them. I want them to want it next year. I am sure they will.

They did so well. They should be so proud. If I were in Calgary, I would be heading to the airport to greet them. They made me believe - I still believe. Anything is possible. I had doubts. Dark doubts. But now I believe. The Stanley Cup will return to Calgary. We can do it.

The new Stanley Cup Champions will be crowned in about 14 hours. I bet I will I shed a tear when Iggy picks it up. I'm so excited.

It is very interesting how not having any new content takes a hit on the web stats. Almost no one comes to my page anymore.

Calgary 2, Tampa Bay 3 (2OT)

Flames in seven! Flames in seven! Too bad, and too bad about Marty's goal not being recognized for what it was. But that's ok. Every player and every fan dreams of seeing their team play in game seven of the Stanley Cup final. And that's where I'm going. Well, really I'm going back to Edmonton. But we'll watch it there.

Originally this post appeared as my main page while I worked out some issues someone had with my blog. Just in case you are wondering where it came from.

So I have to say a bit more. The Calgary Flames are poised to win the greatest prize in hockey, and more than anything I want to blog about it. In fact, I have. And I will blog more. Of course, due to certain circumstances my blog is currently offline. I am working to fix them and hopefully Phendrana Drifts will be back very soon. If you have any questions or thoughts - drop me a line at duncanw@shaw.ca

- Duncan

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