BERNEVAL

What I find remarkable is the carry over of the joke from one day to the next. First instigated by the Minister in referring to Charlie Angus as that famous cartoon character Charlie Brown. And then he the next day alludes to the Minister as being Lucy with reference to the famous stunt of pulling the football out from under the luckless Charlie but in this instance displaced to pulling the ball out from under Indigenous children and youth.

Oct 4, 2016

Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice was regional chief of the AFN when it took the government to court to end systemic discrimination against first nations children, but now her government has ignored two compliance orders to address the crisis of children at risk. She has the responsibility to ensure that the government meets its legal obligation, and pretending that an under-funded plan written in the final, dying days of the Harper government was somehow a response to the ruling in January is not acceptable. We are talking about children here. Will the minister respect the tribunal? What steps will she take to restore credibility in the House regarding these broken promises.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the assertion by the minister across the way is absolutely false —

Mr. Warkentin: Minister?

Hon. Carolyn Bennett: The member. One day, Charlie.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Speaker: The minister knows we do not refer to members by their first names. The Honourable Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Hon. Carolyn Bennett: Charlie Brown.

Some Hon. Members: Oh, oh!

Hon. Carolyn Bennett: Mr. Speaker, this government promised a new relationship with Indigenous people, a new way of doing things. We prepared for and then accepted the ruling of the tribunal and are committed to ending this discrimination. We have made immediate investments in child and family services on reserve, and we are working with First Nations communities and the key organizations-

The Speaker: Once I have the Minister’s attention, I would ask her not to refer to other members as cartoon characters either.

Oct 5, 2016

Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, NDP): Mr. Speaker, according to Cindy Blackstock, the Liberal government shortchanges First Nations students by $130 million this year in foster care under Harper’s plan. On education, the Prime Minister promised $2.6 billion over four years to First Nations students. An INAC document showed the Minister was given the plan to follow through on this promise, but the Liberals once again decided to pull the football out from under First Nations children. They stretched that promise past the next election, shortchanging children by $800 million. When it comes to priorities, why squeeze money from children suffering under this broken system?

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the member will recognize that the document was dated the day after we were sworn in. First Nations deserve the best start in life, and this begins with properly funding education. That is why budget 2016 provided $3.7 billion over five years for kindergarten to grade 12 first nations, which includes providing $824.1 million to implement first nations-led transformation in education and 118 school-related infrastructure programs. We will work nation to nation to ensure the goals set by first nations are achieved and First Nations-led initiatives are supported.

And what would Linus say?

And so for day 1792
09.11.2011

I first came to the poetry of Iqbal through the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and this couplet from a ghazal [translated by K.C. Kanda] triggers for me a host of reflections on the image of the candle.

The love whose candle can be snuffed by a random gust of death,
Can’t enjoy the thrill of waiting, burning, blazing, all through life.

A similar sentiment is captured in the Taoist adage,

Mieux vaut allumer une bougie que maudire les ténèbres.

Lao-Tseu

And the refrain of a song from 1970 comes to mind

Melanie Safka
Candles in the Rain

Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown

And if collecting such instances is a waste of time…

‘Not worth the candle’ is ultimately of French origin. It appears in Randle Cotgrave’s A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, 1611, where it is listed as: “Le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.”

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/260900.html

Make a wish. Blow them out.

And so for day 1791
08.11.2011

From Editing Canadian English 2nd Edition

Trademarks

11.37
Many publishers prefer to substitute generic terms for trademarks when the context allows:

soft drink or cola for Coca-Cola
jeans for Levi’s
plastic wrap for Saran Wrap
photocopy for Xerox

The Canadian Press Stylebook lists many generic equivalents as well as number of former trademarks that are now unprotected and in the public domain. These include escalator, nylon, and raisin bran. The CPS (Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties) lists generic as well as brand names for drugs.

11.59
The owner of a mark uses ® [®] if the mark is registered, or ™ [™] if it is unregistered, to indicate its intention to defend the mark. No one else is required to use these symbols.

Product placement takes on new meaning.

And so for day 1786
03.11.2011

Joseph Boyden
From Mushkegowuk to New Orleans: A Mixed Blood Highway
Henry Kreisel Lecture 2008

And so maybe these two stories, both absolutely true, serve as metaphors for my life thus far. Maybe. But one thing I have learned as a writer is not to push a metaphor too far. What is the fun in setting something up in word pictures only to go ahead and explain it? Let the reader, the listener decide.

In my reading I note a slippage between pushing a metaphor to explaining. They aren’t exactly the same type of activity. As Boyden himself demonstrates in the lecture you can push a metaphor to full blown manifesto. And some will argue that manifesto is a type of explanation. Indeed it’s a type of blueprint as demonstrated by the title of his manifesto which concludes the lecture: “If At First You Don’t Secede, Try, Try Again”.

And what is the fun in explaining this push from metaphor to manifesto? Except merely to chuckle, praise the method evidenced in any carrying through and to go ahead and explain and realize with a wry smile that there’s more, always more.

Push it further than too far. Like witnessing a hurricane (New Orleans) or spring break up (Mushkegowuk). There is something sublime in the disintegration of language that has been piled up. It is worth sometimes risking the entropy of explanation [which I hereby distinguish from “explication”].

Maybe I’ll consider writing a manifesto for explainers. Maybe.

And so for day 1785
02.11.2011

Paper cutout from 1970s.

A study in symmetry

And so for day 1784
01.11.2011