Ever since I was I was a boy, I have been fascinated with robots, and today I have quite a collection of battery operated ones. Little and not so little ones that roll all over the house, amuse my friends and scare their dogs. But there are no robots that fascinate me more than the ones exploring Mars. So today I am in mourning.
For about a week, along with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, I have been keeping an online vigil for 95-year-old Harry Leslie Smith. Harry had been battling pneumonia in a hospital in Belleville, Ontario. He fought bravely, but early this morning that battle finally ended.
Early this morning, about 1.2 billion kilometres away from Earth, an amazing 20-year voyage came to a sudden end. When the Cassini spacecraft crashed into Saturn. And I must admit that when it did, I found myself moved beyond belief.
When I saw the first pictures of the Pulse nightclub shooting, and I saw the ambulances converging on the scene. And then because there weren't enough of them, I saw the wounded being loaded onto the back of pick up trucks. Two thoughts went through my mind. What bloodthirsty maniac did this? And how are the hospitals going to handle the load?
I must admit when I first saw that 300 South African firefighters had arrived to help battle the Fort McMurray wildfire I was a bit shocked. I wondered didn't we have enough firefighters in this country to finish the job ourselves? But then I saw them singing and dancing at the airport, and I thought oh never mind. Who could complain about such a fabulous group of young men and women? But I didn't realize what a truly great story it was until I learned this.
When I saw all those people trying to escape the fire they're now calling The Beast, I tried to imagine how they must have been feeling. Not only having to flee their homes, and worry whether they'd still be there when they returned. But also in many cases having to leave their pets behind.
The other day I told you how Scotland was getting ready to welcome its first group of Syrian refugees, and how that small country had been working hard to try to make them feel at home. In a country so different from the ones they were coming from. Well now they have arrived, on a miserable cold wet afternoon in Glasgow, which must have made at least some of them wonder to what icy grey hell had they been condemned. But they did get a warm welcome. And this picture probably sums up how many of them were feeling...
When I see how the tragedy in Paris has some of the bigots in this country crawling out of their holes, to spew ignorance and hatred. Like this ghastly joker. Half maniac, half beast. Or I read the comments from those who are so afraid, they would deny desperate refugees safe haven in Canada. And by so doing play into the hands of the ISIS death cult. I like to think of the message Antoine Leiris, who lost his wife at the Bataclan club, had for her killers:
It's hard enough for an adult to understand the horror of the Paris massacre. Or how some people can be so cruel and vicious. So imagine being a parent in that city, and having to try to explain that horror to children. So I have to say I thought this dad did a really great job.
I like to think that in some refugee camp in the Middle East, a mother and her children have just found out that they could be in Canada in just a few weeks. And that they are a lot happier than they are in this photo. For they have been living in hell. So you can imagine how I felt when I saw that Brad Wall, the Premier of Saskatchewan, the Little Con on the Prairie, the ferocious oil pimp, thinks they and 25,000 other refugees should just cool their jets. Because he thinks they're too dangerous.
We are still awaiting our first case of Ebola. And even though the risk of a major outbreak in Canada is almost negligible, in the emergency rooms of the nation, doctors, and nurses, are already struggling to contain an epidemic of fear. Not just the irrational fears of their patients, but legitimate fears over their own safety. Linda Haslam-Stroud, president of the Ontario Nurse’s Association, said Tuesday that her organization is particularly concerned that nurses are not being offered all the equipment they might need to protect them from contracting the virus, as a Texas nurse did last week. And as might have been expected, the response of the Harper regime has so far been woefully lacking.
When I heard the freezing rain tap tapping against my bedroom window the other night I feared the worst. It brought back memories of The Great Ice Storm of 1998, and I wouldn't want to live through something like that again. But when morning came I saw I was lucky. The storm had only sideswiped the waterfront. The trees in the neighbourhood were shining with ice, but still standing. And we still had power. Unlike so many other Canadians.
When I heard the news that Nelson Mandela had died at first I was sad, like billions of people all over the world. For he was my greatest living hero, and somehow I had hoped that he would live forever. “Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” South African President Jacob Zuma said in a sombre speech to the nation just before midnight, broadcast on all major television channels.
“He is now resting. He is now at peace. ... Although we knew this day would come, nothing will diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.”
On Tuesday night, as New Yorkers struggled to cope with the fury of Hurricane Sandy. A Twitter account with the handle ComfortablySmug tried to cause even more fear. By sending out a series of alarming false messages.
I just can't help myself eh? I just had to insert the Cons, like an ugly alien probe, into this amazing story.
The US space agency has just landed a huge new robot rover on Mars.
The one-tonne vehicle, known as Curiosity, was reported to have landed in a deep crater near the planet's equator at (05:32 GMT).
It will now embark on a mission of at least two years to look for evidence that Mars may once have supported life.
Except for one woman who would just sit there on her plastic chair looking sad, never said a word, and couldn't be reached by anyone.
It bothered me a lot. Because if loneliness hurts when you're young, when you're old it must be devastating. And if you can't reach them you can't do anything to try to cheer them up.
So you can imagine how I felt when I saw this video about a lonely old guy and the magic of music...
As you know, I don't think we're doing enough to fight bullying in Canada. Even though it's terrorizing children, and corrupting our culture, from sports to politics.
And I wish there were more anti-bullying programs in our schools, and ads on TV, like there are in some countries in Europe.
So you can imagine how happy I was to see that a wonderful Canadian program is being introduced into schools.
He was the greatest leader I have ever known. His words will inspire us forever, and lead us to victory one day. And of course now he's a legend.
But one of the things I liked most about Jack Layton was that he was a REAL human being. Not a phony like so many other politicians.
And he could be so funny...
Can you imagine Stephen Harper being able to make fun of himself?
I can't.
Can you imagine Stephen Harper in a Gay Pride Parade?
No.
But there was Jack on a brutally hot day, weak from his battle against cancer, cheering his team on...
That song may seem sad now. But really it isn't, because his memory will survive, it will empower us, and lead us to the promised land. Or a land without Harper.
And I'll always remember Jack disappearing down the road with his horn and his rainbow umbrella. As the gay people cheered their friend.
Yup. He was one of a kind.
I've never been so eager to fight the Cons as I am now. Thanks Jack.
Monday was the 93rd birthday of my greatest living hero, Nelson Mandela.
Tributes poured in from all over the world, and South Africans celebrated by singing songs for him, and performing small acts of kindness.
It's a day when people in South Africa try a little kindness — 67 minutes' worth — in honor of the 67 years that Mandela worked for equality in the African nation, from 1942 until his retirement from public life in 2009.
They are all good ideas, but 67 minutes, or even a whole day, seem to me far too puny to honour a giant like Mandela.
I admire him for so many reasons. But it's for helping an angry, sometimes violent, bullied teenager understand that seeking revenge for what others might have done to you is not the way to go, that I am most grateful.
As Sebastien said: "He could have hanged a racist from every tree in South Africa. He had every reason to demand revenge for all the years his enemies stole from him. But he was better than them so he didn't."
So now I try to fight injustice in different, better, more peaceful ways, to help keep his legacy alive.
And try to become a better person.
One way to carry on his legacy is to live by his example. Take a few minutes to examine prejudices you may have. Make a personal resolution to let go of them. Encourage the people in your life do the same.
Speak out against injustice when you see it. Don't accept prejudice. Learn to recognize bullying and harassment.
Today I set out to hand out some chilled bottles of water to the homeless in my neighbourhood, because it was brutally hot. The mission was a complete failure. The homeless weren't there, thank goodness. And I had to drink half the water to keep from passing out myself. Duh.
But it doesn't matter. It's the thought action that counts. Tomorrow is another day.
