How would Cherry feel? | Privacy and the Sports Locker Room

Posted on April 30, 2013 by admin

 

Copyright 2013 CBC

Copyright 2013 CBC

For many of the politically correct, Don Cherry is still flexible enough to insert foot in mouth at 79.

I’ll admit upfront, that I am a Cherry fan. Always have been and always will be. He’s tough, opinionated, still old school in many ways but in a world where there really doesn’t seem to be any ‘school’ any more, many of the days of yore rules of respect and conduct should be refreshed in the minds of our youth.

Sure, Grapes does blurt out questionables from time to time. We all do don’t we, but because he is a public figure on international television, he should be more in control and conscious of how his words may be perceived by each and every person from every walk of life? You’re surely thinking Duncan Keith should have had this in mind as well.

Where Keith and the ‘perceived’ slash are concerned, the act should warrant a minimal suspension because it’s unsportsmanlike. Whether it was hard or if Daniel Sedin even felt it is not relevant. Some punishment decisions should simply keep in mind that our children are watching and this is not the message we want to inspire in our youth.

While Keith’s postgame comments themselves surely come off as sexist, if the focus of this conversation is truly about equal rights, what about Keith’s right to be able to wind down from a game in a media-less dressing room meant for teammates, coaches, and trainers. Why just because they are paid athletes, do we think they owe it to us as fans, media, and critics, to open up every moment of their lives to us? Why do we feel they don’t deserve any privacy?

In football, there is a media room where all members of the press can ask players and coaches questions (good, redundant, infuriating, and questionable) about the game. I see it as a place where players and personnel have had a chance to shower, de-sensitive themselves from the game, and prepare their responses for the media. Perhaps if Duncan Keith had been able to enter just such a space be it a conference room setting or a second locker room where players can be interviewed in less of a ‘hands up’ setting, he would have been possibly less inclined to be shocked by such a question which as angering as it may have been recieved,  was warranted.

Kieth did go overboard in his interview with Karen Thomson and he knows it and has apologized as he should have, but it doesn’t mean that process should remain status quo.

I can almost guarantee you if a male reporter who looked like he had never played a day of sports himself asked the same question of a Duncan, Keith’s response in the same setting at the same time, would have been of a similar nature. The comment still wouldn’t have been okay, they perhaps would still have been of a macho, sporty nature, but his perception of a reporter who doesn’t understand the emotions of the game would have been similar.

I am not justifying his remarks at all but am am justifying his right to be frustrated with the insinuating lines of questioning reporters often ask of players and we expect these athletes full of post-game adrenalin, to remain calm and watch their tongue?

As for Don Cherry’s comments on Hockey Night in Canada, perhaps he too went a bit far by saying that woman shouldn’t be allowed in the dressing room, as I would agree with Ron that it is and has been for quite some time, about equal rights. However, Don is right, but not about woman not being allowed to be in the dressing room. I would adversly agree that no media should be allowed in the dressing room. If one player is uncomfortable with media being in the locker room, the rules should change for all.

That would be an equal opportunity solution to who should or should not be allowed in the dressing room occupied by any amateur or professional athlete.

Allow athletes time to desensify. Give them their privacy in the locker room, and provide a place where players are fully clothed or decent to their comfort level, where media can access them.

How about a room where no less than 10 players from each team have to be available to answer questions from the public, with star players required to log so much post-game media time each month?

You can look at what Duncan Keith said as merely sexist and inappropriate, and think the same of Don Cherry’s response to the incidence, or you can put yourself in their shoes and look at where league rules pertaining to the medias rights might be inappropriate in their own right.

We are told to never make a harsh decision when we are angry or tired or upset. Take time to unwind and clear your thoughts. Ever been pushed by someone who is in your face whether it be a reporter or a spouse. We are all individuals and need to desensify differently.

This likely wouldn’t have happened, had Keith been able to unwind in a matter that suits his internal needs and it’s not up to you or I to determine how he should have to accomplish this.

Keith has apologized. Step away from the woman’s rights ledge and think about everyone’s rights. Cherry was defending a friend and not unlike Keith’s remarks, Don’s rebuttal was a little fresh off the cuff.

How would Don Cherry feel about reserving the dressing room, simply for those that are dressing?

 


Scene from ‘Any Given Sunday’ CAUTION! Mature subject matter.

 

Further reading: 
As Bruins coach, Cherry welcomed women reporters in locker room

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Super Saturday – A New Generation

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Lawrence
Shaking Hands

Shaking Hands

My childhood is a blended memory of the scent of fresh brewed coffee and first batch donuts, Zamboni exhaust, pneumonia, arena pizza, the fizz of swamp water and of course, that sweet smell of hockey sweat.

The love for that collage of otherwise foul smells however, wasn’t something that grew overnight. I think I remember not liking hockey at first if my parent’s tales of dragging me kicking and screaming onto the ice are any indication of the emotions associated with my own early exposure to this game.

In the midst of difficult times in my life, I seem to revert back to my hockey youth for some sort of direction; grounding; to remember that infatuation for something that made me feel so alive and of the joy and drive that ran free and wild within me playing this game.

In August of last year, in the midst of one of those difficult times, hockey began calling loud and clear but on this occasion, those memories seemed to be reaching out for more than just my hand.

Come October, I grabbed hold of my little girls hockey gloved palms for the first time with both of them padded head to toe, and brought them along on this journey down the blue-lined path of my hockey youth.

Skating at Ivor Wynne

Skating at Ivor Wynne

My girls, decked out in their pink hockey helmuts, and I had already been skating on a few occasions before including a memorable skate around Ivor Wynne in January of 2012. When I asked them if they wanted to play hockey last summer, their yes was no doubt devoid of any knowledge of what their naivety had gotten them into – what we had gotten ourselves into.

It hasn’t been an easy year both getting them to let go of my hand, and dressed and on the ice in the first place. I know it’s been a lot for them with everything else going on in their lives but I believe through it all, it has been a memorable year for the three of us. I have absolutely adored this time with them on the ice, in the dressing room, and in the stands taking in a bit of hockey ourselves the odd Sunday afternoon after their hockey. I am grateful that they have humored their daddy if only for one season.

I believe there has been hope within all of us hockey loving parents as our children reach the age of hockey maturity, that they would take an interest in this game. We also want them to be free to make their own choices and to be their own people, but we also realize this far into the parenting venture that sometimes, our children need a gentle push. Even if on occasion it’s with them kicking and screaming.

If not for that push from my own parents at this age, I would very likely have missed the magic that was my own childhood. If allowed to succumb to my fears and left to the solidarity of my comfort zone which was a big pile of dirt overgrown with grass, piled in the centre area of our townhome complex and littered with dinky cars.

There was definitely some kicking and screaming this year from not only my girls, and not just from my own girls, but I think this past Saturday if nothing else, left a positive and lasting memory of hockey in their hearts.

When I think back, beyond time spent sharing this game with my two beautiful girls, the image I will carry with me always is of the big laughing smiles looking back at me through hockey cages, flat on their backs, of brave souls who turned tears into courage and then jumped back up on their skates for more.

Silliness at Ivor Wynne

Silliness at Ivor Wynne

Children remind us through all of the things their expressions tell us, of the emotions that once ran through us as kids and how simple life can be if only we could remember what it was like to be a child. There is nothing as rewarding as the sounds of children’s laughter. The innocence in their smiles, the wonder and curiousness in their eyes, and the bravery in what they can take and still get back up for more.

As our winter adventure came full circle, I watched from the players bench in awe reflecting back at how all of the Scott Park children had developed, from crying that they didn’t want to go onto the ice or darting for the exits when they fell. From not wanting to let go of a father or coach or volunteer’s hand, to venturing off on their own and eager for the Zamboni doors to close so that they could rush out onto that ice. Stepping slowly down the rink like tin solders afraid to tumble, to tagging us in a game of cops and robbers. Struggling to get back up after the umpteenth time they fell, to jumping up on their own (with their hands on their head even), and continuing on their eager way.

Maybe some of them won’t want to continue on with hockey but either way, they all did great and should be staring at their trophies this week proud of what they accomplished these past six months.

Perhaps Saturday was their last game. The last time they put on their shin pads and shoulder pads, or the last time they pulled a hockey jersey over all that bulky gear. Maybe we have all gathered on one knee in a circle at centre ice screaming ‘good morning’ for the final time together. Maybe however, these arenas and some of these guys and girls, will be the places and people they remember the most when they are old like me, talking to friends and family or the teams they coach, about what hockey meant to them growing up.

You should all be proud either way for trying hockey and for coming out every weekend to attempt something new. You all participated in Super Saturday this past weekend because you didn’t give up. You are all better then you were the day us parents all watched you fall onto that ice in unison that very first day.

That’s all that matters. That you tried. That you grew to not be afraid of the unknown or trying something new. You didn’t give up even though you wanted to so many times.

There are so many more important things in life than hockey. School, our health, our family and friends, but hockey is a great way to bring all of that together. The lessons we will all learn, adults and children, about life from the cold air of a hockey rinks, will last a lifetime.

There are a lot of things in life that will scare you and you will be afraid to try. Every time you fear something in the future, think of being afraid of stepping onto the ice that first time. Remember it? Now look at you. You did it.

If you can conquer your fear of falling on that ice, you can accomplish anything you want to in life. Learning how to balance on such a slippery surface and learning how to not be afraid to fall, getting back up again even though sometimes it hurts, is very brave.

You crashed into one another, tripped over your own excitement and determination, and kept trying not because falling stopped hurting even if just a little bit, but because you fell in love with something so much that the fun of learning to play Canada’s game far outweighed the pain.

First Times

First Times

As another beloved part of Canadian culture and tradition once sang, “The good old hockey game, is the best game you can play.” This year, a new generation, our children, have been implanted with the seed that no matter if Saturday was their last game or the start of an eternal addiction to the thrill of skating up and down the ice, the memories of this year and what it all lead up to, Super Saturday, will stay in their hearts forever.

For me Super Saturdays was right up there with Christmas morning growing up. It was fun sharing the experience of this very special day with all of you. We all worked hard this year from practicing your skills, consoling a fallen child, or cohersing a sleepy tyke to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning when iPods and cartoons and fuzzy jammies, seemed such a cozier way to spend a weekend morning.

I know I didn’t sleep for days leading up to this past Saturday, both full of anticipation for this exciting day, and nervous, hoping that everything was going to be just right for my girls and their friends. It’s been a long time since the anticipation of Super Saturday had kept me awake at night.

Thanks to HMHC, Velenosi Hockey School, the Quad Pad arena who hosted all of the hockey school kids from around Hamilton on Saturday, the Scott Park folks, the adult and child volunteers, the parents and the children themselves, Super Saturday was a day I know my girls, all of those children and their families, won’t soon forget.

All of us parents are proud of you kids. Congratulations. You are all champions.

Coach Larry

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Blackberry 10 is intriguing this non-techie

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Lawrence

New gadget’s don’t normally impress me anymore at a month shy from 40. I was happy with my (then cool) flip phone and the occasional multiple button push (44 (H) pause 444(i)) text message I would send on it. I rarely talked on a phone anyway. For me a cell was more of an emergency thing. I have never been much of a phone person.

Then work gave me a Blackberry so I could be contacted in an emergency outage situation.  Blackberry’s were really cool then.

The phone became a great way to keep up with emails when not at my desk. Texting wasn’t a long, painful process anymore. I am a fast typer on the computer so the blackberry typepad made it easy to carry over that swiftness to a phone. I was sold. There was no going back.

That was a few years ago now and I am still using an old Curve. It’s been replaced a few times including recently, but for the most part the Curve is a no frills, no camera flash model and many apps are clunky.

Once upon a time so many people I knew had a Blackberry. I rode the bus and train a great deal and everywhere you turned, someone was clicking away on their multi-color Blackberry.

The past 6 months to a year however, it seemed all those same people who were once hooked on their RIM devices, had been making the switch to alternatives like iPhone, Samsung, etc.

The buzz seemed to be that Blackberry was nearing death but with 10 in the works, seemingly RIM’s last opportunity for redemption, execs were obviously calling ‘ALL HANDS ON DECK’. It was now or never for a company that once ruled the cell phone market.

Like Apple computers, iPhones had the pizzazz and all the toys and I like many others, were watching our friends convert, leaving us drooling over their Instagram’s, large screens, and all the other perks of these newer generation smart phones.

A fellow BBM’er posted a video about the new 10 the other day so I took a few moments to check it out. For some reason I didn’t think I was going to be impressed. I was surprisingly mistaken.

From the videos I have watched over the past couple of days, this non-techie who still has a VCR, record player, tape deck, and countless tube televisions in his home, was intrigued and wanting the new Blackberry 10 yesterday.

It’s been easy to be a Blackberry/RIM supporter in the past. The phones were great for business, BBM messenger was a very handy, secure and affective way to stay in contact with friends and everyone was on it not so long ago. Not to mention, headquarters is just up the road from where I live. It’s no secret that I am a buy Canadian/local advocate so there were many reason’s to support RIM.

It seems the team at Research in Motion have turned what seemed a flat lining situation into a technological revolution and are not only prepared to jump back into the pool with both feet, from what I have seen they are back to take a lead in the smart phone market again.

I am not a gadget reviewer so I’ll let the videos take it from here.

First off, here is a short video previewing Blackberry’s new camera technology. I am waiting for a ‘Howie Do It ‘ episode for this cool little photography trick. Amazing. With the popularity of Instagram, I thought this was a feature that would capture your attention fast.

This is Timeshift.

Timeshift feature on the new Blackberry 10

 

For those of us in the business world who are known to type long emails on the train commute into work, I think it’s safe to say we love our ’3-D’ BB keypad. It’s the complaint I hear most when phone users switch from a Blackberry to other popular smart phones. They miss the keypad most. RIM knew the importance of this Blackberry feature to their users when they began designing a touch screen keypad and from videos anyway, it seems they are not going to disappoint when they launch the BBB10 January 30th. Here is a quick video about the features of the new keyboard.

Blackberry 10 Keyboard

 

The below video is long but I found it intriguing to learn about how RIM is working with App developers to ensure everyone’s favorite apps and then some, are ready for the January 30th launch. You’ll see a handful of demo’s from some of these software developer’s. The gaming capabilities in themselves, are unreal. Blackberry means business but they understand the need to play during down time. Never far from play however, is the ability to easily ‘peek’ in to the notifications that are coming through while you are blasting away the enemy.

Christopher Smith, Vice PresidentApplication Platform and Tools
BlackBerry Jam Americas 2012 Keynote Video

 

Lastly, I’ll share a demo of the blackberry hub and flow technologies and of course not to be left out, BBM in 10. Fun bit of data in this video, BBM is now in the dictionary. Also, do you speak multiple languages? You’ll love the 10 minute mark of this video. My favorite feature hands down, is the ability to instantly switch from ‘work’ mode to ‘personal’ mode like you seamlessly would using a virtual machine to manage multiple operating systems on your computer.

Live Demo with head of software portfolio for Blackberry, Vivek Bhardwaj,
and RIM chief Thorsten Heins

 

In closing,  this is an intriguing initiative in line with the January 30th 2013 launch of the new 10.

In the Right Hands

 

If I was to summarize what I thought the launch of 10 meant to the market and the business world in general, I would say the Blackberry 10 acts like an office assistant because of it’s ability to manage your time, contacts, data and as stated above, it’s ability to separate our personal lives from our work environment. I wish I could do that on my laptop.

Staying competitive and our success in the business world is all about being organized and technology’s ability to keep up with our hectic, long, fast paced, work days. If the 10 lives up to everything I have viewed about it, welcome back RIM.

Are YOU ready?

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Walk Off the Earth – Red Hands EP

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Lawrence

New EP from WOTE

Walk Off the Earth Display Range on ‘R.E.V.O.’ – EP Premiere

Internet breakout stars deliver their four-song debut ~ Rolling Stone

 

Now I don’t pretend to be in music circles. Being a dad is about all I am right now. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

That being said, I love music and supporting local.It’s not hard to have your cake and eat it too when you live in the Hamilton area alone. Some of my favorites are Jeremy Fisher, Arkells, Steve Strongman, an old elementary school friend of mine Alfie Smith, and Tom Wilson (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings). Bands/artists I would enjoy hearing more from on ‘mainstream’ radio.

Another one of those bands, is 2012 YouTube sensations Walk Off the Earth.

Remember those guys/gal? January 5th 2012 to be precise, was the day their lives changed. They seem to be quiet in the local news but nothing about their progress since their big YouTube break, has been.

I’ll have to admit, I haven’t checked in with Sarah Blackwood and the guys in awhile myself. What brought me back was the fact that the two pieces I have written about Walk Off the Earth on my blog, continue to be two of my more popular posts. The last few days have been busier than normal and seemingly due to WOTE curioso’s.

So I ventured over to Walk Off the Earth dot com this morning, and got caught up on their new EP Red Hands released late in 2012, and a couple of their newer videos.

I am not a music critic so I’ll put it quite simply and just say it’s all good. Their new tunes, videos, all of it. They are a great band that I personally feel we should be plugging a lot more locally. Once again, that is if we aren’t already and I just haven’t caught the buzz while buried in the pink and purple of my daily adventures.

I hope for big things for these great local talents. They are fresh, fun, and hey, they are one of many who are making it easier for us consumers to ‘shop local’.

For $5 I just added a half dozen WOTE tracks to my music library.

Sarah and the guys play in Michigan on January 17th before hitting Europe. First stop, Vienna, Austria.

Check out if the band will be in your backyard in the next few months.

I chose to post the Summer Vibe video because it seems like they invited a couple of friends down to the beaches of Hamilton and jammed a bit and shot a video while they were at it. I have come to really appreciate the fun in just jammin’ myself in the past couple of years so this video caught my attention. It also represents what I love most about their self-made videos. The fun that is quite evident that they have in making them.

Do check out the Red Hands video though. It’s very powerful.

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Let’s celebrate Ticats’ season in Guelph

Posted on January 4, 2013 by admin

University of Guelph

It’s a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to forge new bonds with our neighbour to the north

Originally posted on The Spec dot com

With the host city now revealed for the 2013 Tiger-Cat season comes an opportunity to embrace the opportunity to get to know our neighbours to the north a whole lot better. For Hamiltonians, it’s an option. Guelphers now have no choice but to get to know Hamilton (at least the Hamilton portrayed by those who make their way up Highway 6 next season), rather intimately, with some 15,000 people planning to knock on their city’s door on multiple occasions next year.

They’ll be forced to listen to “Oskee wee wee” cheers and “Argos suck” chants. We’ll be bringing Pigskin Pete, TC, Stripes, and hopefully our hibachis. I’m sure they won’t kick our cheerleaders out of town for eating chips, but accompanying those mesmerizing pom poms comes the face paint, hard hats, heads leaning out windows of long lines of buses screaming “I’d rather be a Tiger than a …” (well, you know the rest), and numbers rarely seen unloading onto the grounds of University of Guelph.

Continue reading on TheSpec.com here.

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No Such Thing as a Referendum in Canada

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Lawrence

Bill 76 and Our Prorogued Provincial Government

Original published on Raise the Hammer dot org here.

In Canada, a referendum has no force of law. It is nothing more than a non-binding plebiscite, or a glorified, expensive opinion poll.

We have seen the word “referendum” pop up more than once over the course of the past few months with regards to talks about the possibility of a new Casino in Hamilton. Most notably, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath herself had asked the Liberal government to have Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) provide more time for Hamilton council, and other communities across Ontario, to make their decision so that we could hold local referendums on the issue.

In the meantime, a Bill was before the Ontario Legislature but died with its prorogation, titled Ensuring Local Voices in New Casino Gambling Development Act, 2012.

The bill would have ensured that all municipalities which have had the casino carrot dangled before them would have the opportunity to hold referendums. It was set to pass this fall.

Long-time Hamiltonians may remember that on the 1997 municipal ballot, there was a referendum item that asked voters whether or not they wanted a Casino in Hamilton. 64 percent of Hamiltonians said no.

In 2001, the newly amalgamated City of Hamilton adopted a Casino from Flamborough, grandfathered in and a location that only housed slots and horse racing. However, there was no full service casino in our downtown. So far, the 1997 referendum was being honored.

Four years after Amalgamation, City council passively sidestepped the referendum ballot when, in 2005, they approved an amendment to the Downtown Master Plan that would allow a Casino to locate in our city core.

I asked City staff to identify where it states this in our zoning By-Laws, and was told that any zone in 05-200 that permits Commercial Entertainment may include a Casino as one of the possible uses.

Continue reading the original publication on Raise the Hammer dot org.

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A Rogue Referendum

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Lawrence

Run by the people. For the people.

Also published on The Hamiltonian.

 

Dear Hamilton,

We seem to have passively resolved that a referendum held outside of an election, is a cost we are not prepared to incur to solve our cities dilemma with regards to a proposed new Casino in Hamilton.

After attending the Wards 1, 2, & 3 Town Hall at City Hall hosted by Ward 2 councilor Jason Farr, it inadvertently reminded me of the many flaws in our voting system. Although the room seemed to lean heavily towards the side of keeping a Casino out of our downtown core, the night was a good balance I thought, of the pros and cons of what a Casino brings to a city – good and bad.

Although I was on the side of Andrea Horwath and her very public desire to have the OLG give Hamilton time to hold a referendum on this issue, I left the Town Hall session that night feeling otherwise. I have great respect for Ms. Horwath, but the discussion made me realize that so many of the opinions we hold with regards to issues facing our city, the world, and people, are ones often held without all of the facts. At least all of the facts from a diverse collective.

Either way, it seems council is going to upset half of Hamiltonians if you take all polls floating around to date, but in an ideal community these major decisions should be made with the wishes of the citizens at the forefront.

One issue among many surrounding this debate, is that mountain residents on the surface seem fine with a Casino going downtown, but those who live in the lower city mostly seem set against it. I would think in an ideal voting system, weight would be given to the home community on such a decision. I am not sure how the math would work but I don’t think people would take too kindly of me voting to put a garbage dump in someone else’s backyard. Perhaps two different things but I think the point has been made.

I do still think this is a decision that we should be making ourselves, but you could almost have a referendum to discuss how the referendum should be run.

Below are my opinions as to how I think we can hold a referendum on this issue, and for zero capital.

  1. Volunteer run
  2. Representatives from all local media would volunteer their time from CH, The Spec, radio stations, to Raise the Hammer, The Hamiltonian, CATCH, and many of the independents selling,  reporting, and heavily involved in our city like Joey Coleman, Matt Jelly, Adrian M. Brassington of This is Our Hamilton, and the list could go on.
  3. All of these outlets would publish content that was very objective and didn’t use bashing tactics to sell the benefits of the side they personal lean to. It’s all about the facts and the assumptions would be ones that all of these outlets believed were safe assumptions to advertise to the masses.
  4. All of these groups would have to QC one another’s articles to ensure as a collective, they all agree on the points being made. Perhaps every outlet publishes the same pieces to ensure we have attempted to reach every single outlet that a Hamilton resident would read, watch, listen to, and all with the same level of objectivity.
  5. Existing articles would all be removed from the sites of the organizations above, until the collective agreed upon their message or they were changed slightly to remove bias.
  6. Any ads that were placed would also not lean to one side. Our main goal of this practice would be more about changing the face of politics, the bullying tactics, the secrecy, the blame of others, the judgment, etc. All we want is what’s best for everyone with trying to understand on another’s needs from job creation to social programs, to growing the city and the individual communities.
  7. Make it mandatory for all voters to have either attended a public forum not unlike the Town Hall meeting hosted by Clr Farr but a new one that travels around the city with the same speakers and general content at each session, or a taping of one of these town hall meetings shown over a live stream where users are logged and tracked so we know that residents have attended a session – that their opinions are informed.
  8. Referendum counts if we manage to get more voters than our last municipal election. If not, the fate is in council’s hands.  If the voter turnout is low, we can assume that the majority are okay with leaving this decision up to their elected officials.
  9. Voting system is up to this volunteer committee to decide. We have some extremely technical folk in Hamilton that could develop databases, electronic means to vote, ways to vote in person or online or every possible way we can think of to get the folks to cast a ballot including if they are out of town/country during the balloting period. Perhaps there isn’t even any one voting day.
  10. I think we have the dedication, expertise, and creativity within our city to turn this referendum project into something extraordinary. Even if your ‘side’ loses, I think what we stand to gain most from such a process is an enlightened, involved, innovative, and inspired community.
  11. This isn’t ‘Our City Our Future’ vs. Go East Mountain. This is Your City Your Future. No for or against. Just FOR honesty, integrity, openness, and oneness.
  12. Perhaps a volunteer run, organized, and designed referendum would not hold up as ‘legal’? In that case, perhaps our elected officials would still be the ‘official’ vote but they would promise to cast their ‘ballot’ based on our volunteer referendum results should the numbers exceed last elections voter turnout.
  13. Percentages should have to be 60% or more in favor or it be deemed the public is in the middle about the issue. Once again, the vote would sit in the hands of council.
  14. With representatives from all levels of Hamilton’s public forum, perhaps voters and officials would believe more in its results than a typical municipal, provincial, or federal election. Take the recent US voting system glitches as an example of what turns the voting populous off of this ‘democratic’ system.

 

These are just some of my thoughts as to how we could still hold a form of referendum on this issue without the exorbitant costs normally associated with holding them outside an election. We have recently received a decision extension to 2013 so would this give us time to devise such a plan?

How could all of us as partners, working together to get the word out there and to encourage people to head to the ‘polls’, change the face of citizen involvement in Hamilton?

There is a considerable trust issue with regards to politics in general so let’s put that trust in the hands of a greater more diverse collective, to ensure the message that is carried across our city on  this very important issue is one that the community as a whole agrees with.

There are too many different variations of polls being circulated which is also a problem because there are also two issues at stake here really as I see it.

They are in my opinion:

Do you want a Casino in Hamilton?

  1. Yes, downtown
  2. Yes, keep Flamborough Downs
  3. Yes, anywhere but downtown
  4. Yes, anywhere period
  5. Maybe a 5th option would be simply, ‘Let council decide’

 

If we keep Flamborough Downs…

  1. Allow expansion
  2. Do not allow expansion. Respect the area as a conservation, Greenbelt district

 

Or something to that affect.

I wouldn’t think that we need anyone’s permission to venture into such an undertaking as this. It’s just a matter of whether holding such a rogue referendum, would be accepted politically.

We’ve said no to a Casino once and one Hamiltonian put something very important into perspective on one of the local public forums. They intriguingly pondered that since a vote has been cast on this issue in the past, the only way to reverse that decision should be by hosting another referendum.

Some food for thought.

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What fills your bucket?

Posted on October 29, 2012 by admin

For more on filling buckets, visit my Life After Forever blog.

Perhaps the one hobby of mine that brings the most euphoria to my soul, is playing the harmonica live in front of a room full of strangers. My band mates and I do play live from time to time but for the most part, we simply jam in private once a week to unwind and let loose. It had been quite awhile since I have played my harp on stage and I have been missing that high. Tuesday, I decided to check out the new ‘Striving Artists’ Open Mic/Open Jam night at Homegrown Hamilton hosted by local musical talent Dave Gould (World’s Greatest Looist), and Wally London.

I have played a couple of songs on the Homegrown stage before with Adam Carter(The Human Race) who was also in attendance Tuesday night, but this was to be the first time I was to gather the courage to jump in with many talented musicians that I didn’t know. I needed to get over this fear of venturing outside the comfort zone built up around the friends I jam with, and Dave made it easy to not be afraid to venture up to the stage.

Earlier in the night when I was introduced to him, he asked if I was going to play something and I mentioned that I had my harps with me. Later on when the jam started, he basically called me up. There is no greater way to feel welcome and more at ease towards joining in, then the host openly encouraging people to ‘come on up’.

I have seen Dave perform before during a James Street North Buskerfest, as well as having met him for the first time many years ago at a local arts fair downtown were fellow writers and I were releasing a chapbook of short stories we had written, and Dave was selling his newly released “Passion of Bobby Bedeque”. Dave has been more recently known for his toiletry tricks, recognized locally as the ‘World’s Greatest Looist, but bottom line he is a multi-talented artist who was nominated last year as one of Hamilton’s best drummers for the Hamilton Music Awards.

There is an odd contraption that was donated to Dave recently by a Homegrown Hamilton patron, that seems a cross between a tambourine, a straight wooden cane with a stick to bang it, and jingle bells. When someone asks to take his spot on the drums during the open jam, he grabs a hold of the peculiarly creative instrument and bangs it off the floor, taps it with the wooden stick, and runs his fingers up and down his xylophone-esk tie, stomping his feet as well to the music. He isn’t shy towards picking up the guitar, plopping in behind the bongos, singing, shouting, hooting, hollering, or whatever he needs to do to liven the crowd. He is a true entertainer whom I enjoyed watching myself as he moved about the room and the stage like he had ants in his pants. It’s hard to smile when you are playing harp but playing with Dave, it’s also hard not to.

I played with Dave, Adam, a very talented woman who could make her saxophone talk, a guy who could dance up and down the ivory with ease, host Willy , and a few others who took turns on the drums or the bongos, for about an hour. Dave drove those drums and my lungs to the limits, forcing us to take our breath and remove our sweaters, but what a great workout.

A few laughs, spiritual satisfaction, old acquaintances met, and new friends made. To have people stop you after to comment you on your performance, is quite a high. Thanks to those who filled our buckets with praise and cheer.

My spirits have been full all week thinking back to the rush of that evening.

If you are looking to fill or have your buckets filled, stop by Homegrown Hamilton at 27 King William St downtown, on a Tuesday evening for $5 all you can eat beans and rice, and a night for those of all levels to get up and show everyone what you’ve got from comedy, to bringing music into the night. Hosted by Dave Gould and Open Mic host, Willy London.

Here is my favorite vid of Dave Gould performing.

Categories: Independent Music, Music | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Love is Forever

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Lawrence

I wrote this story in reflection of  the end of my last long-term relationship and the lessons that love taught me. As the dust settles on the long, drawn-out, two year path of  my marriage separation,  I believe the moral of this short still stands true. I had started to finally wonder as the months became shorter between the end of my thirties and the birth of my forties, if there were limits on the notion of forever love, but many recent reminders have shown me how deep love buries itself in our hearts and how everlasting allowing ourselves to love deeply is.

Just because a relationship ends, doesn’t mean the love has to die. With every love that is lost, new life lessons are gained. Remember the good, embrace what this romance taught you about life and yourself, and adore them always for the gift they gave you. To be loved and trusted with the heart of another, is something to cherish always. It’s a gift that shouldn’t be handed back upon separation. It’s a keepsake to place in the locket of your soul forever.

Love is Forever by Lawrence Thomas

Splashing my freshly shaven face, I looked up into a faded mirror. Grasping the outer edges of the water basin, I stepped into my reflection. I removed one hand briefly to run my fingers through my sodden hair, and then I leaned in to take a closer look. Into my weary eyes, I searched desperately for the man that I once saw staring back at me. I clenched the basin tighter, lowered my head and I realized that I don’t like the image the mirror revealed anymore. My eyes had once been so full of dreams; full of passion. They expressed a lust for life and everything it had to offer. Now their vision discolored, infatuations and a lifetime of aspirations all but forgotten.

For the better part of my twenties, Elaine’s soft blue eyes had been the last image I had seen before falling asleep. Many cold nights her warm figure curled into me, as I lay awake searching endlessly for answers, and many mornings I awoke to the same lost and lonely reflection of my tired eyes staring back at me.

I spent so much time searching my heart for the grounds of my unhappiness, that I hadn’t allowed myself to appreciate the little things that made her so special. My uncertainties really had nothing to do with her. I did love her, but for some reason, I was not content with what we had together.

I tried desperately to push her away, because having her hate me seemed so much easier than letting her go. As I stood disappointed, staring into that mirror’s image, I could see how much trying to push her away was slowly breaking her. Yet, even with how hard I tried to distance myself from her, she still remained by my side. I suddenly appreciate that she couldn’t hate me; she didn’t have it in her heart.

As I rummaged through my thoughts, gaping into that murky basin drain, I realized I had to let her go.

One last dinner together, final thoughts passed as we drove about a winding countryside, and as the colors of autumn leaves change, so did the seasons of our lives together. Somehow I had never found her more beautiful than I did that moment.

As I rested my eyes in hers, I took her hand and looking into her soul, and told her one last time that I loved her. Even with how hard it was to say goodbye, we both know that it was the right thing to do.

Maybe we had been holding on to the memories of so many years ago, or quite possibly we were fearful of being alone. Maybe we worried about hurting one another? Perhaps we were really afraid of living because neither of us could honesty say that’s what we were doing those final months – at least not the lives we had both dreamed of.

In those final moments, I realized that no matter how much I loved Elaine, my dreams would always live somewhere in my heart. I knew that if I didn’t start to listen to the desperate cries deep within me, that in being afraid to live, those dreams and the passions my soul lived to feel, were slowly dying.

I truly believe it’s our unhappiness with ourselves that questions the fate of a relationship. The problem is we either don’t know it, or simply don’t know what we are unhappy with.

Many years have gone by now, and since moving on, I have felt my heart thank me for finally giving the thoughts that circled hopelessly through my soul, the opportunity to live. I have felt the inner peace of not being afraid of life anymore.

As I look up, I see the reflection of a man once more full of life; full of passions; a man with not only dreams, but visions that have been realized. I have felt the sometimes painful, yet magical infatuations of love again. I have allowed myself to be inspired by the wisdom life offers us when we not only yearn for more from it, but do something about getting more out of it.

Regrets, I don’t believe in them, but I certainly wish we didn’t have to hurt the ones we love searching for who we are and what it is we want from this journey.

Even when a relationship is not meant to be, it’s hard not to continue caring for someone in some way, for everything they were to you and for what they taught you about love, life, and especially about yourself. I hope Elaine knows I will never forget the way she looked into my eyes when she said she loved me. To be loved in that way by anyone, is the greatest gift life will ever share with us.

In the end, with our painful expressions of separation, we didn’t do or say anything to make that moment one we would later regret. We both knew those final words would last in our hearts forever.

Breaking up is always a painful memory, yet by ending that part of our lives with a smile and by expressing how much those past years meant to us, the last feelings we shared weren’t full of anger or hatred; just the one thing that kept us together through it all – Love.

No matter whether a relationship ends through infidelity, a difference of opinion, or simply different dream paths, one of the many things my time with Elaine taught me, is that in the end, whether you want it to or not, love lives on somewhere in the heart, and always will.

Elaine was the first woman I ever loved, and for understanding me, always believing in me, and for loving me through it all (even those cold lonely nights when I couldn’t find it in my own heart to love myself), a part of me will love her forever. I will never forget how wonderful it felt, to be loved the way she loved me.

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Posted on October 9, 2012 by Lawrence

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