Heart of Canada

Upstarts and usurpers beware: Don't do this at work

Just so it's perfectly clear and the record is set straight, I founded the oral history project . The project started in 2000, not in 2002, and the first public announcement about the project was made in May 2001, although some public awareness of it already existed earlier than that. Two research data collections were completed on the oral history project before the lifestories project was ever even embarked upon. The first data collection was a study of Ukrainian perspectives on parenting, and the second was a videotaped collection of interviews with Ukrainian leaders in the province.

Also, I proposed the lifestories project to the college in 2001, before any other researchers later involved in the project were ever employed there. In 2002, other associated researcher(s) asked me to participate in the oral history project because, allegedly, of a high level of interest in my work on oral history. I let other(s )participate in the project by co-facilitating on the project I had previously proposed. So, no matter how far around the globe other researchers go, no matter how many newsletters are published, no matter how many merit increments anyone makes off of my original data and work, I always will be the founder of the original oral history project.

I suppose I should be publishing this notice and correction in an academic journal, not just on a blog.

*sigh*

I miss blogging.

I like blogging.

I should blog more.

Just...Wow

Photo: Ray Mickshaw/FOX

Taylor Hicks!

Dala Girls

This album is so awesome...

Check out Dala Girls!

Hiatus

So, here's the thing...I just don't feeling like blogging, so I'm going on hiatus. Hats off to whoever wins the election, about which I feel rather ambivalent.

Cheers,
HofC

Results: Give 'Em The Boot Bingo

The NDP posted a bingo game on their site to play during the leaders' debate tonight. The game was entitled "Give 'Em The Boot Bingo." The strategy was psychologically brilliant because the game encouraged listeners to pay more attention to Martin's catch phrases and trite expressions than to what he was actually saying.

Interestingly, Martin seemed to utter fewer catch phrases than usual, which made me wonder if he had a little list to remind him of what he should avoid saying, lest too many people win at giving him the boot. So, I marked off the catch phrases I heard (or those that were very close), but I also ended up keeping track of the very many times he said something else instead. By the way, last I heard, over 38,000 people had downloaded the game prior to the debate.

Here are my results on tonight's Give 'Em The Boot Bingo.

Martin's Liberals Getting Spanked

I thought this election campaign was going to be boring...all nastiness and reiterated rhetoric. However, it seems that the Conservatives and the NDP have both gotten their respective roles right this time. The Conservatives needed to lay out good policies, and the NDP need to attack the Liberals, their fiercest competitors for votes.

Heh, heh. I liked what Layton had to say today, according to CTV news:

Martin has nothing to show for all his bluster about softwood duties, said Layton, who favours recovering the money by slapping an export tax on Canadian gas and oil shipped to the United States.

"Otherwise, we're just leaving our people completely helpless,'' Layton said.

"It may sound firm, but I think what's appreciated in international relations is a firm and clear position. I have to say we haven't been getting it from our current government....''

Layton also accused Martin of electioneering by calling on the U.S. to join the Kyoto accord on climate change when the Americans have actually done a better job of reducing greenhouse gases than Canada.

"He thinks he can stand up and wag his finger at George Bush and somehow impress somebody,'' Layton said. "It's time he started delivering results. That would allow Canadians to be able to speak to the world.''

Martin has also taken a verbal spanking from U.S. ambassador David Wilkins for criticizing the country that's supposed to be Canada's greatest friend and trading partner.

"Canadians have known that the Liberals will say anything in an election to get elected,'' Layton sniffed. "I think now the ambassador has discovered the same thing.''

Right on.

 

Monkey See, Monkey Don't Do

No, this article is not about politics. The NY Times has published an article about what might make humans unique from chimps in their learning. Apparently, children learn heavily by imitation but chimps don't necessarily do this in all circumstances. I find this research finding interesting because I could swear that my dogs imitate each other and learn in that way. Maybe dogs aren't like chimps either, but, if dogs learn by imitation in the same kinds of circumstances that children do, then the chimp/child  research findings wouldn't make us unique in the world of mammals. Anyway, this is conjecture and would have to be studied empirically.

A Thought For The Weekend

Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
--Saint Francis of Assisi

Cutting The GST

"The government has money to waste, the government has money to steal, the government has money to spend on benefits for a few .... It's time for benefits for mainstream Canadians, hardworking people who pay their taxes, who play by the rules."
-Stephen Harper

"...this approach to the GST may be good politics..."
-Ralph Goodale

Link