A year in review
This is what my 2008 looked like, in a nutshell:
January – Ottawa got hit with record amounts of snow. Phenomenal Michael Buble concert.
February – Lunar eclipse. First Family Day.
March – Friend Sarah has baby girl.
April – Hilarious Avril Lavigne concert. Cousin Jen has baby boy. I start doing street outreach with Ottawa Innercity Ministries.
May - My sister and her husband visit. Fabulous Starfied/Shane & Shane concert. Cousin Sharon gets married. Parents celebrate 30th anniversary.
June – Travel to Vancouver, Banff and Dawson Creek to visit family.
July – Camping at Sandbanks Provincial Park with family. Go skydiving. Ottawa Bluesfest. City Chase.
August – Cottage with extended family. Niece Allie Grace is born. Cousin Sheri has baby girl. Go caving and zip lining in Quebec.
September – Complete a year with Metroland; work in Arnprior for a few weeks. My birthday. Friend Emily gets married. Cousin Amy has baby girl.
October - Siblings from B.C. visit. Brother and his wife leave for Africa. Federal election. Hot air balloon ride.
November – Visit Hawaii with cousins; I go parasailing. Nephew turns three years old. America elects its first biracial president.
December – Harper gets Parliament prorouged after Liberal/NDP coalition. World Juniors in Ottawa. Skijoring. Flying lesson. Christmas.
Top stories of 2008
The Canadian Press announced what their polled editors believe are the top news stories of the year. Here they are:
1. Liberals and NDP form a coalition to topple the Conservative government
2. The stock market meltdown and economic downturn
3. The Greyhound bus beheading
4. Maple Leaf’s listeriosis outbreak
5. Gas prices
6. Stephen Harper’s apology for the residential schools
7. Feet washing up on B.C. shores
8. The changing of have/have not provinces
9. CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada theme song controversy
10. The Maxime Bernier and Julie Couillard affair
I would agree with the list – definitely the coalition should be number one.
Prime Minister Harper was recently named the Newsmaker of the Year, something I also concur with.
Canadian politics were extremely interesting, controversial and outrageous this year, and each time I got over my surprise with the latest developments, I couldn’t help but love living in the capital in the middle of it all.
Environment Canada released 2008’s top 10 weather-related news stories today. Here’s the list:
1. Wettest summer in eastern Canada
2. The continuing thaw in the Arctic
3. A nearly record-breaking long winter
4. Crazy amounts of flooding in New Brunswick
5. For the first time since 1971, the entire country had a white Christmas
6. In Saskatchewan, hail fell every day in July
7. The March 8 storm, when Ottawa got about 52 cm of snow
8. Hurricanes … one brought 104 mm of rain to Saint John in one day
9. Temperatures dropped to -60C with the wind chill in January
10. Prince Edward Island got 32 hours straight of freezing rain
Significant Vessel
My brother’s band, Significant Vessel, played a show on Dec. 27. I missed the first few minutes but managed to get there in time to grab some sweet shots of the rockage. Enjoy.
My bro is the drummer … the Ryno himself.
Gabe is quite expressive in front of a mic, so it’s easy to get good photos of him singing.
Wayne … so steady. Just chilling while he rocks out a guitar solo.
The guys.
The show was probably one of the most fun things I’ve ever shot, thanks in part to Ryan’s new lens that he let me borrow. Good times.
Immanuel
“… She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1: 21 – 22
… God is with us.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Observations of the Observations
Santa Claus a Canadian
Don’t you just love what our media is writing about?
“The Government of Canada wishes Santa the very best in his Christmas Eve duties and wants to let him know that, as a Canadian citizen, he has the automatic right to re-enter Canada once his trip around the world is complete,” said Jason Kenney, the minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, in an official statement.
Okay, I know it’s Christmas in two days and everything … but an official statement? On Santa’s citizenship? I would like to think out government has better things to do …
Senators
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced his appointments to the Senate. Conservatives will fill the 18 empty seats. More vacancies will pop up in the next year as people retire, so Harper might be able to put more people in the Chamber if he can keep power long enough.
Here’s the list of those being sworn in next month:
For PEI
Mike Duffy – CTV political analyst and host of Mike Duffy Live
For Ontario
Irving Gerstien – head of the Conservative fund
Nicole Eaton – chair of the last two Tory conventions
For New Brunswick
John Wallace – ran for Parliament
Percy Mockler – MLA
For Nova Scotia
Stephen Greene – former chief of staff to Preston Manning
Fred Dickson – former advisor to premier John Buchanan
Michael MacDonald – party supporter and organizer
For Newfoundland
Fabian Manning – ran for Parliament and failed in last election
For British Columbia
Nancy Greene Raine – Olympic medalist in alpine skiing
Yonah Martin – ran for Parliament
Richard Neufeld – former Liberal MLA
For Quebec
Michel Rivard – former PQ MNA
Patrick Brazeau – chief of the Aboriginal People’s Congress – will be the youngest sitting Senator at age 35
Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis – former MP
Leo Housakos – long-time Conservative supporter
For the Yukon
Dan Lang – former Yukon Party member
For Saskatachewan
Pamela Wallin – former Toronto Star reporter, broadcaster and consul general to NYC
I understand the uproar over his appointments, as Harper has said he wants Senators to be elected.
However, since his reforms have so far been rejected, he didn’t have much of a choice. Sure, he could have just left the vacancies open and hope he stays in power long enough to fill them later, but with this timeline, at least the Senate will be a little more even. I would agree more with people who think he’s pulling a fast one if these appointments made the Senate Conservative-heavy, but the Liberals still outnumber the Tories.
Christmas cheer
Don’t be disturbed. This is what we do around here at this time of year. All the staff get their heads cut out and placed on other people’s bodies. It’s … good times … ?
Yes, I am now a large black man. By past, I hope that means it will be okay if the Gnome mysteriously disappears. By future, we mean we’re recruiting Dwight.
A celebrity in the office
I stumbled across this video from several weeks ago while cleaning some files on my computer. It needed to be shared.
And there you have it. A little piece of the awesomeness of our office.
Skijoring
My borrowed boots were clipped into cross-country skis; my mittens wrapped tightly around poles too tall for me. My harness, meant for rock climbing, was attached by something like a bungee cord to a sled dog named Griffen.
Heather Adeney began the countdown: “Five, four, three, two, one.”
After years of racing, I guess having a novice strapped in behind him threw 12-year-old Griffen off, because he didn’t move.
I went skijoring a few weeks ago. Read the whole story here and check out photos below by the talented Katie Mulligan.
I’m ready … waiting ….
Turning around …
And I’m done … just chilling with Griffen after a fun run.
Meet Chester. He waited patiently until it was his turn to be let loose on the trail.
Check out www.skidogs.ca if you want to learn about this unique winter sport.
Cheryl