Oh Boy, Has the Ontario Liberal Party Lost Touch…

I always had a hunch that come the Ontario Provincial election this fall that the Ontario Liberal Party was in for a huge defeat at the hands of the Conservatives. Tim Hudek has some great plans, and add to that, in times of a recession, you must have a fiscally conservative government in power to keep the economy moving.

I also figured with the absolute demise of the Federal Liberal Party – and that former Ontario Premier Bob Rae is their interim leader – that would indicate the Ontario Liberal Party is in for a very tough ride.

No I can confirm it.

On Friday morning on my way to the office I arrived at the Eglinton West subway station and standing just outside the doors, in a pink dress shirt looking quite lost and out of place was an older man with some pamphlets in his hand.

As I approached – sunglasses on and ipod blaring – he decided to start talking to me. I yanked out one ear bud as he was talking to me.

“…So do you live on the North side of Eglinton or South side?” he asked me.

“South side”, I replied as he yanked back his hand with the shiny pamphlet he was slowly offering me.

“Oh” he just stood there for a second slightly puzzled. “I’m Mike Colle. I represent the Liberals in the riding just north of the station”.

“Oh!” I replied. “I used to live in your riding. We only heard from you around election time. How are things going so far?”

“They’re okay”, he replied, still not giving me a pamphlet.

“We need to vote back in the Liberals because it’s not fair to have Conservatives in all three levels of government, right?”

“Is that your platform?”

“Yes. It’s not fair, right?”

So I replied out of kindness, “No, it’s not fair. Good luck with your campaign”, and I walked into the subway feeling sorry for a party that knows it’s going to get slaughtered and stayed in power regardless of debt, controversy, scandal, or waste and now they’re hopelessly out of touch with the electorate and it shows.

Colle had an opportunity to stop any of the younger people heading to the subway but he let them pass and stopped me. It’s the same way that generation is going to see past the Liberals and vote for the NDP or the Greens to be second to the Conservatives.

Attention Ontario Liberal Party: You need a shake up and you need it now!

Guest blogger post – Matt P of therealmattdaddy.com

It’s guest blogger time again on urban daddy, and today’s post is an wonderfully creative post from Matt P. of The Real Matt Daddy (his URL is below). This post compares Canada vs. The US from an American point of view and this is a must read post.

I did not edit or touch this post in any way, however, I will say that on the weather side, when Toronto was 50 degrees celcius (122 farenheit for our American friends) in July and the hottest place on the planet, I would dispute that Canada is “Cold”. Big yes, but not cold all the time. That’s all.

Please read. Enjoy, then drop by Matt’s blog and say hi.

Hello Urban Daddy readers, my name is Matt P. and I’m a blogger over at The Real Matt Daddy (link to www.therealmattdaddy.com). I was invited to guest post here, so I thought I would have a little fun with my neighbors to the north and create a pop-culture showdown between Canada and the USA. I have to admit, this idea came from the fact that I know next to nothing about Canada, other than it being big and cold.  So this post forced me to do a little bit of research.  I hope you enjoy, and feel free to debate my totally subjective Americentric point of view in the comments section below.

Television

Canada has had a few great shows that have truly made a cultural impact, and I have even seen a few of them! So, let’s compare each of these shows to its obvious American counterpart.

Degrassi vs. Saved by the Bell – Winner: Saved by the Bell – While Degrassi probably dealt with common issues in a more serious manner, Saved by the Bell was always used humor to make their point. It was a cultural “must” for any kid growing up in the ‘90’s. I also think the Saved by the Bell spinoffs were more successful than the Degrassi spinoffs, mostly because, although Wikipedia says they exist, I have never actually seen any of the Degrassi spinoffs.

The Red Green Show vs. Sanford & Son – Winner: The Red Green Show – This was really close. While I love Sanford & Son, I don’t think it was as widely appreciated as The Red Green Show is in Canada. The Red Green Show is just plain funny to watch, especially late at night, which is the only time it seems to come on in the US.

Kids in the Hall vs. Saturday Night Live –Winner: Saturday Night Live – You can’t argue with over 35 seasons of success. Had Kids in the Hall lasted that long, we would argue that there were weak points, but it only lasted five seasons. I do appreciate the Kids in the Hall series though, and I have seen many episodes that are funnier than the average SNL sketch.

Canada 1, USA 2

Movies

I could have debated about Canadian comedians versus American comedians all day. After all, Canada has given us greats like Jim Carrey, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Norm McDonald, Howie Mandel, Caroline Rhea, Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, and young talent like Will Arnett and Seth Rogen. But what I found was that for each great Canadian, there is also an American from the same time period that is at least as funny and successful, so I chose to ignore this category as it would most likely end in a draw.

David Cronenberg (kinda scary) vs. John Waters (kinda weird) – Winner: David Cronenberg – Canada, you don’t know how lucky you are to win this category. If I were judging solely on each individual’s most successful work, John Waters’ Hairspray blows away anything that Cronenberg has ever done, including Crash. I also think that John Waters is the better all-around artist, but if you look at pop-culture, you have to look at what is cool. I think that Cronenberg’s classic horror flicks like Shivers, Scanners and Videodrome outdo anything that Waters has on his résumé when it comes to “cool”. What Cronenberg wins with are his most recent works including Crash, A History of Violence and Eastern Promises. So, USA, blame it on Viggo Mortensen, because he made two out of those three movies totally awesome.

Strange Brew vs. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle – Winner: Strange Brew – The winner of this category mostly depends on if you are drunk or high. Both are awesome movies, but only one is a “classic.” Harold and Kumar made it close with Neil Patrick Harris, but not quite enough to win.

Canada 3, USA 2

Food & Beverage

Since I have never actually tasted a traditional Canadian dish (unless fries and gravy counts) I did not feel as though it would be fair to compare actual cuisine. In the same light, the USA has so many foods that are popular regionally, that it is hard to decide what the quintessential “American” food is (probably a hamburger or pizza, but neither were invented here). So, I picked several brands that each country likes to claim as their own, and I decided to compare them.

Nestlé vs. Hershey’s – Winner: Hershey’s – First of all, the only reason that Canadians claim Nestlé is because they have a huge plant there, and Nestlé purchased the European parent company that made Kit Kat and Smarties at this huge plant. This company used to make a lot of other candies that are famous in Canada and Europe as well. But if you’re going to go to war with Hershey’s, you have to bring more than Kit Kats and Smarties. Hershey dominates the candy market, second only to Mars, Inc., and also has an awesome theme park, a zoo, a gigantic garden, a children’s school, various charitable foundations, an creamery, a decent concert venue, not to mention the Hershey Bears, an AHL hockey team that has won eleven Calder Cups! You hockey fans have to appreciate that.

Molson vs. Yuengling – Winner: Yuengling – If I was voting on alcohol content alone, Molson wins with 5.1% to Yuengling’s 4.4%. Molson is North America’s oldest brewery and Yuengling is America’s oldest brewery, so the age argument is null and void, both are old. The first reason Yuengling wins is on taste. I have tasted both beers, and yes, Yuengling is superior. The other reason Yuengling wins is because the brewery is still family owned and it is the second-largest family-owned brewery in the U.S. (The Boston Beer Company, which makes Samuel Adams, is the largest. And for the record, Sam Adams would also slightly beat Molson. Sorry Canada, but at least your beer is better than any American beer giant like Bud, Miller, or Coors – the company that owns Molson.).

Red Rose Tea vs. Luzianne Tea – Winner: Red Rose Tea – Luzianne was the biggest US run tea company I could find. Honestly, I don’t know which tastes better, but you get a ceramic figurine with Red Rose Tea, and I used to collect those as a kid. Way cool, Canada, way cool.

Canada 4, USA 4

Sports

CFL vs. NFL – Winner: NFL, duh.

Hockey – Winner: Canada, eh. Even though there are some good American teams, Canadian kids are born with skates on, and their players dominate the NHL, AHL, and the Olympics too.

Blue Jays vs. Yankees – Winner: Yankees – As much as I hate to admit it, the Yankees are the best team in baseball history. The Blue Jays had a good run in the early 90’s, but most of the time, they are fighting for third or fourth in the AL East just like my home team, the Baltimore Orioles. Plus, the Blue Jays play on turf.

Basketball – Winner: USA – Raptors and, at one time, the Grizzlies… sorry, Canada, one of your guys might have invented it, but he did it in our country and we dominate you.

Curling – Winner: Canada – You guys do rock the rock. The US has only medaled once, and it was a bronze.

Canada 6, USA 7

Music

Canada’s Best vs. USA’s Best – Winner: USA – Canada, your top artists are Alanis Morisette, Justin Beiber, Nickelback, Celine Dion, and Avril Lavigne. I hate, and I mean literally hate, Alanis and Nickelback. I’m too old for Beiber, too young for Celine, and Avril is only good for karaoke. Sorry, Canada, Bryan Adams doesn’t win you any awards here and Neil Young is only good when he sings with those American dudes and that British bloke.

Canada 6, USA 8

War of 1812

Burned most of Washington DC to the ground vs. We won the war – Winner: Canada – We won the war, and we get to sing about it at sports games, but you guys actually came down here and burned our capital city. That’s pretty badass.

Canada 7, USA 8

90’s Female Hottie Then

Pamela Anderson vs. Cindy Crawford – Winner: Canada – Everybody in America had a C.J. Parker Baywatch poster on their wall or tucked under their mattress.

90’s Female Hottie Now

Pamela Anderson vs. Cindy Crawford – Winner: USA – Cindy Crawford still looks amazing. No kidding, check out her website. She’s still hot. After seeing what Tommy Lee did to Pamela on that boat, she just looks kind of “used”. Too bad, Canada.

Final Results – Canada 8, USA 9 – WINNER: USA!!!

Wow, that was closer than I thought it would be. Great job Canada! You totally surprised me. You’re not just a massive tract of land that is famous for lumberjacks, Mounties and beavers. The real winners here today are the Americans who read this list and discover some great Canadian culture. Thanks to Urbandaddy for letting me take over, and make sure to check out The Real Matt Daddy (link to www.therealmattdaddy.com) if you get a chance.

“Dads are Becoming some of the Most Popular Bloggers on the Block” reports CBSnews.com

At around 2:15am last night I was chatting on email with a colleague from our Australian head office when I decided it was time to head to bed, since the kids wake us up around 6am, some sleep was needed and quickly.

Before I went upstairs to bed, however, I decided to check my blog hits for the day and I found a pretty solid number of visits and views again today.  What a huge difference from even a couple of years ago where I would see 10 views a day which I always thought were my visits.

I looked a little further to see where the viewers were coming and what posts they were reading, when I noticed that there was a URL which appeared to come from CBSnews.com and it resulted in a grand total of four hits this day.  I automatically presumed it was spam, so I was unsure if I should open it or not, but foolish me decided I had to see either way, so I clicked on it, and was taken to an article on their site which was titled;

Celeb blogger turned daddy dishes on fatherhood – Eye on Parenting – CBS News

The link to the original article is here.

In that article, which I encourage all of you to read, celebrity blogger and former Wall Street corporate tax attorney Fred Mwangaguhunga mentioned my blog as a blog he enjoys reading!!!  I thought because of the fact that he works in the taxation industry, as do I, and that he has three children, as do I.  Whatever the reason is, I am absolutely flattered and the fact that I have been mentioned is exciting for me, and for this blog.

The piece of the article is below;

“It turns out with more fathers staying home or taking a more active role, mommy bloggers aren’t the only trend-setters these days. Daddy bloggers are also making their voices heard through At Home Dad, Daddy’s Home, and NYC Dads Group, among others. Fred refers to Urban Daddy, The Triplet Connection and the Manhattan Twins Club.”

Later in the day I noticed that CBSBoston picked up this story… Sort of, and in their article entitled “Stay-At-Home Dad Bloggers Emerge Online”, I read this; “With an array of sites like The Daddy Files, DaDa Rocks, The Busy Dad Blog and Urban Daddy, dads are becoming some of the most popular bloggers on the block.”

I looked at the link thinking it must have been for urbandaddy.com, but when I hovered the cursor over it, my link showed up there too.  I clicked on it just to be sure, and sure enough, it led right back to my site.

Here is the article in Boston;

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/07/11/stay-at-home-dad-blogs-emerge-online/#comments

Needless to say, all this attention is very cool and greatly appreciated.  I hope I can one day pay it forward too.  Fred, if you are reading this, I want to thank you very much.  You made my day!

Stuff that bugs me…

I saw an article that the 3-year-old daughter of Jamie Lynn Spears, the little sister of Britney Spears, was singing one of Britney’s songs and I think it was placed on YouTube.

This item was actually trending quite high for the day – ahead of the global financial crisis, the tragedy in Norway, the famine in Africa and many other important events.

My immediate thought was this; Would you, as a parent, think any of Britney’s songs are acceptable for children, let alone the fact that Britney is not exactly the best role model for little girls – marriage, kids, meltdown, lack of underwear…

 

Why does my stupid spellchecker never auto correct when I type “myslef” instead of “myself”. Can I not program it to do it automatically since I’ve typed it wrong my entire life and cannot for the life of me figure out a way to fix it other than typing VERY slowly…

 

I know Toronto is a hockey town – baseball too when the Jays are winning, but did you know that the NBA players were locked out by the owners July 1st? I certainly did not.  Granted that sport is messed up, when all the players get guaranteed contracts of tens of million of dollars, then get bought out and sign where ever they want for that amount plus whatever the new team will pay them. It’s dumb.  It also shows in the games as a bunch of millionaires are playing a bunch of billionaires and no one wants to get hurt.  That and the hugging before and after the game.  These are not rivalries, it’s a group hug.  Memo to NBA Commish. David Stern… Fix it!

 

A while back I posted about businesses putting up signs for their stores which did not clearly indicate what the store was and how I felt that was a bad marketing move. In doing this, I was specifically referring to a restaurant on Avenue Road, simply called, “The Vault”. I passed by this place in my car for a year never knowing what it was until one day I walked by it and noticed tables nd chairs inside which resembled a place where people would eat.

Considering this location was renovated for a long time and that it was a very large location, I would have thought that a description of what was inside might have been beneficial on the sign, for example, to indicate 1) that it was a restaurant and 2) what type of food it served.

Well, last week, I drove on Avenue Road towards the highway and sure enough “The Vault” was closedand the building up for lease.

I somehow feel justified in my thought, but sorry that I never got to go there and check it out.

 

What is bugging you right now?

Hey, Where is Bill Watters?

For those of you who listen to the radio on the way to and from the office, as I do, you may have noticed that on the afternoon drive, Bill Watters no longer graces the airwaves for AM640. Instead, the Arlene Bynon show has taken over that time slot.

So I immediately suspected that I would need to find a new AM talk radio station to listen to while sitting in traffic. Turns out I was wrong, and I still get my Wilbur, but in a different time slot.

I find it kind of funny how some things come full circle in the oddest ways.  Growing up, my father loved listening to 98.1 CHFI and I detested that station due to the “oldies”, the monotone dj’s and, well, because he liked it.  One of the DJ’s that particularly annoyed me was Arlene.  She never interested me and I found her delivery to be quite bland – better suited for older folks, like my parents.  So how ironic is it that with Bill Watters gone from the afternoon drive slot, that Arlene has taken over that slot.  I have to be honest, I was not sure I could do it, but I did.  I listened to a couple shows and I have to say Arlene’s style and approach (and her right-wing leanings) are not that bad at all.  I have listened more to her segment than the Fan590, which is saying a lot.  In actual fact, I’m really enjoying her shows.  Shhh.  It’s saying I’m old.

I liked Watters for his insight and for saying things without really saying them.  Often he would comment on a player or an agent that he had dealt with or had heard about and was very clear in his opinions of them.  Case in point, Ilya Kovalchuk.  Not sure what happened there but I recall many a conversation with Watters calling Kovalchuk selfish.  There was a definite dislike.  Watters was removed from the station the last week of July, 2011, probably beacuse AM640 felt they needed more than sports to be discussed in that timeslot and apparently did not feel that non-sports fans could take Wilbur or Jimmy Ralph seriously so the move was made.

It took me a while to appreciate Watters whom I liked from TV and before that from being the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  I always listened to the Bobcat, Bob McCown instead on the FAN590.  I found that McCown was never afraid to ask the tough questions but more recently with his co-hosts, or panel, including Damian Cox, Dale Tallon and John Shannon, they seem to have mellowed a bit.  If my memory serves me correctly, McCown had strong opinions about certain sports and very little insight into others, but more than qualified to talk about them as a business, than a sport.  I liked when something was stirring in his bonnet, like when he got upset with former Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets GM’s Doug MacLean for joining with Jim Balsilie.  That was a great feud.  It was good radio.

I think nowadays both McCown and Watters were forced to speak about all sports and delve into other topics to appeal to the masses – maybe because of the Team1050, TSN sports radio – but they’re not there yet.  I’ve listened a few times and there is not much worth listening to yet… In that afternoon time slot, the Dan Patrick show is on – it’s an ESPN show and it never talks about anything Canadian / Toronto, so it’s a giant waste of airspace.  When I’ve tuned in since then, it sounds like a bunch of guys chatting about stuff and it’s difficult to follow and not enjoyable to listen to.

I had hoped Watters would turn up on the FAN, so he can assist in any time slot and have his voice heard.  Heck, with the vacancy made by the release of Andrew Krystal, you never know.  While I do like listening to Doug Faraway quite a bit, I’m overwhelmed at having to listen to Roger Lajoie or Gord Stellick.  I’ve been listening to them since the FAN first aired.  I go that far back… Yes, I’m old.

So where did Andrew Krystal go this time? Last I heard, AK was on the 12-3 show or something thereabouts then he was moved to CP24 to get an on-air reporter and now, I don’t even know.  I found it hard to follow him as he has a penchance for talking over guests and trying to crack jokes and he was difficult to listen to.  So when I was in my car heading to the bank the other day, I noticed he was no longer on the radio, so I Googled it upon my return and found out he left (fired) the FAN590 at some point in late June. Oops.  I won’t miss him… His style stressed me out.

So with all these changes what do you listen to?  Do you listen to AM radio? 

I do like the morning drive on AM640 for the right-wing talk and for The John Oakley Show and the Happy Capitalist himself, Lou Schizas.  I’m hit my saturation point for Lorne Honickman from his City Pulse days, but I also like Greg Brady a lot on the FAN590, so I’ll flip back to hear him talk.  Brady and I are the same age, born in 1971 and as such we share common interests growing up.  Oddly enough, right now, his twitter image is a Toronto Blizzard logo, while my lunch bag is a Toronto Blizzard bag that I got at a game growing up.  Needless to say, I get him.

Coming home in traffic used to always be the Bobcat.  I used to flip over to Wilbur if it was a slow day, but now I find it’s AM640, or I’m listening to the Jason Ellis show on XM Radio.

So… Talk to me!

Quick Random Thoughts on a Late Night

I see that Wendy’s has added a “Double Cheddar Baconator” to their menu… Why?  Are they trying to kill off a generation with heart disease?  The Double Baconator, according to Wendy’s “nutrition” section on their website has 930 calories of which 520 are from fat.  25 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of trans fat, 195mg of Cholesterol, 1890mg of sodium, 41g of carbohydrates, 10g of sugar, 1g of fiber, and 59g of protein.  WOW.   Now… Add 2 slices of cheddar cheese.

I guess if this is your only meal for the day you’re pretty much okay, right?  Just drink a LOT of water.

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Recently I bought a pair of prescription Ray Ban sunglasses.  Okay, I admit it, I’m a loser because I had no idea what they were.  But these things come with an instruction guide and in inner-geek in me forced me to read it.  I wanted share the warnings.

“Warnings – This product is not suitable for direct viewing of the sun and for exposure to UV radiation produced by artificial sources,  It is not suitable for nocturnal use or in poor visibility.”

So for those of you who own a pair of Ray Ban’s, please do not stare at the sun, wear them in a tanning bed, in the dark or in the fog.  They won’t work.  (Shakes head).

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Last night we ate dinner at Tokyo Sushi on Eglinton Avenue in mid-town Toronto.  First time I ever ate real crab sashimi, and scallop sashimi.  It was incredible!  Just before dinner my sister gave me a gift; Mint chocolate M&M’s.  SUPER YUM.  My 4-year-old saw them and said, “Daddy, can I please have one”.

“Sure”, I replied, “but not before dinner.  I have not opened them yet”.

“But I want one NOW!”, he replied.  “If not, I’m going to take off your glasses and break them”.

Shocked and quite annoyed, I looked at him and repeated, “You may have one, WHEN I open the package, but I am NOT opening it now, AND you have NOT had your dinner yet”.

He glared at me further.

I continued, “… And if you threaten me, you will not only NEVER get to eat one, but I will eat them in FRONT OF YOUR FACE and you can watch me enjoy them.  Get it?!?”

To which he looked at me, his demeanor lightened and he said, “Okay Daddy, Sorry.  Can I please have one now”.

Doh.

So I put the package under the stroller and out of sight.

Man, these full day camp days are throwing this kid off.  If only he would sleep past 6am… He might be civil.

What is on your radar?

Here are some items on my radar right now which may or may not make their way into a real blog post down the road;

1. I understand there was a shooting at the Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana). Some idiot shot one of the dancers then fired into the crowd while ignoring the police telling him to drop his gun so they shot him.

WOW.

I think he set back the carnival 10 years.

I’m not sure if the police killed him or not, but if they didn’t he should pay the organizers a lot of money for ruining what looked like a great event.

2. Rob Ford went to this event. He didn’t go to the Gay Pride parade but he came here. Oh boy… This is going to be a wonderful Ford-bashing week by the lefties.

3. Roberto Alomar was elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame last weekend and today in Toronto at the Blue Jays game the team held an on-field celebration to honour him.  I remember Alomar for the game-tying home run in the playoffs off of Oakland A’s ace relief pitcher and a player I detested growing up, Dennis Eckersly. I also remember Alomar for spitting in the face of an umpire. What I didn’t remember was that he was only a Blue Jay for 5 years. I thought it was much longer and when I searched his stats on the net I was surprised to know that he played for the Orioles for 4 years with Cal Ripken Jr, and then with the Indians, Mets, White Sox and finally retiring after signing with the D’Bax. I knew he came from the Padres to the Jays but the rest I could not recall. Odd.

4. Is it just me or do watermelons suck this year? I recall reading and blogging about a field of exploding watermelons from China – the result of too much water and genetically modified melons with thinner rinds – and I think about every melon we’ve had this year which has been over ripe and lacking of any real flavour. Maybe the melon farmers should go back to the real melon seeds and sell a tasty product and not mass produce garbage.

If I took back every crappy melon to the store I bought it, I would not have paid for any this year.

5.  Hey, look at that!  It’s August 1st today, and that means we’re in the stretch run for back to school… Already. Man do Toronto summers go fast, especially when the first month is all rain, and the previous month no rain and a ton of heat. 

With the fall coming that tells me it’s time for;

• vacation
• taking the kids apple picking
• taking the family to see beautiful fall colours
• back to school shopping
• the CNE!

6.  In what I feel is a mistake that could happen in Toronto if the “Downtown Elite” got their way, the President of the US agreed to raise the debt ceiling for the states.  What that means???  It means they are prepared to take on more debt without going bankrupt.  This ostrich like behaviour is going to come back and bite them in the ass big time and will for sure prolong the recession. 

Until both the republicans and the democrats agree that lavish spending and ridiculous compensation for CEO’s and professional athletes are brought back down to earth, the recession will not end.  Since a recession is essentially a view of public confidence in the economy the government has to appear to be doing something to equal the playing field before we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Case in point… HSBC.  Last week they cut 10,000 jobs, and this week 25,000 more.  I can’t see a company as well run as that shedding 35,000 jobs and then suffering, so that tells me they have 35,000 more positions than they needed.  WOW.  That’s a huge hit to the workforce no matter where the jobs are located.  And this is just one example.

7.   Ford recalled 1 million trucks due to faulty gas tanks and socialists everywhere are prepared to descend on Toronto City Hall looking to blame either Rob or Doug…