Reality Show to Pick PM

From the Guardian:

Some countries have elections. Some countries have sectarian violence. Others have civil war. But in Canada, they do things differently.

Next March four former Canadian prime ministers will take part in a reality TV show titled The Next Great Prime Minister. The four will grill contestants on their leadership qualities before picking a winner in the one-hour TV special.

The cut-off deadline has been extended for one week to Friday, December 15, 2006.

All submissons must be in by December 15, 2006 by 5 pm EST

Hmmm. I can already think of several people already I'd like to see participate. Some of my choices are not doable because of age limits, leaving me with all but one candidate on my list.

Prairie Fire, this is a nontransparent attempt, from me, for you to participate!

Who would you like to see participate?

Please encourage your choice to go to THE NEXT GREAT PRIME MINISTER at CBC.ca to become a participant.

The Psychology of Conservatism

What motivates conservatives?

Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:

• Fear and aggression


• Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity


• Uncertainty avoidance


• Need for cognitive closure


• Terror management

From this brief quote it seems all the attributes conservatives have add up to one big negative. This is not necessarily true and the article outlines several positives to be gained from having these attributes.

Nothing earth shattering in the article, but if you are a political junkie like me, you will find this article to be an interesting read - Please enjoy.

(Update:)After a more careful review of the article, I have discovered it was published in 2003. I like to stay current with the information I present on this blog. In the future you will likely not find a blog entry based on anything more than a year old.

Being current, is the currency I like to deal in.

Wanting Peace is Offensive ?

"A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan."


Unbelievable. I did not think peace could be such a divisive issue. What has happened to the ideal of peace on earth and goodwill to all during the holiday season? Has humanity lost its way so badly, that peace is now the enemy to be feared?

I did miss the 60's protest movement, so maybe I just don't understand the true emotions wrapped up in this symbol. That being said, I'm still flabbergasted at the response.

Check the full article out at Yahoo.

The Dreaded Door Knockers

We have all experienced them at one time or another. Whether they are Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses, their knock at the door is not greeted enthusiastically by many. I have spent much time myself devising new ways to stop these un-welcomed intrusions.

None, however, are as entertaining and comical as what happens in this video, when the tables are reversed on some Mormons.

"Australian filmmaker John Safran is so fed up with mormons ringing his doorbell early in the morning that he flies to Salt Lake City Utah and tries to convert Mormons to atheism. Needless to say, the locals were not pleased."

(Disclaimer) I do not hate all Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses — Only everybody who knocks on my door to peddle crap.

Faithless - BOMBS

BOMBS by Faithless, is an excellent music video, contrasting our comfortable everyday existence with the reality of the wars being fought around the world. That contrast and the controversial imagery included was enough to get it banned from MTV.

And anything banned from MTV must be controversial. Right? Check it out for yourself to see what all the fuss is about.

Also for those inclined to enjoy the display of gratuitous tits and ass in their music videos, I'm sorry to inform you that this is not that type of video.

Let's Play 30 Questions, Dutch Style

No longer do the uninformed masses of democracy have to choose who to vote for based on party loyalty or a gut feeling. Thanks to technology and the crazy Dutch, voters can now make their voting selection based on a mere 30, 'agree', 'disagree', ‘neutral’ or 'don’t know' questions.

Apparently on Wednesday, the people of the Netherlands voted in their parliamentary elections. That on its own is blog-worthy, but what I found interesting is that over half of the voters used a web based voter guide to help them make their selections.

The voter guide is called VoteMatch (StemWijzer) and was provided by the Institute For The Public and Politics. IPP has also kindly provided an English version, so the curious non-Dutch speakers of the world can review the guide.

In my brief review of this guide and the news article about it, I discovered a few interesting bits of information:

• All the political parties were each allowed to submit their own questions for inclusion in the guide and all the political parties who did so endorsed the use of this guide.


• Some people in the Netherlands, attribute the shift of members of parliament to the extremes of the left right voters axis, to the use of this guide


• Some voters received conflicting recommendations: One of their top choices would be for a party on the left and the other for a part on the right.


• More voters turned out because of this guide

I'm not sure how much I believe all of these claims, as there are many variables which can influence an election. And not being an election expert, especially of the Dutch kind, I am not about to draw any hard conclusions. Overall, I think interactive voter guides and technology in general, will have a place in the elections of the future.

I do find it scary though that voter choice can be reduced to a few simple questions, but I also think anything which increases voter turn out is a good thing. I can't wait to see how such a guide will influence elections here in Canada.

What do you think of voter guides being adopted en mass by the voting public?

The Perfect Solution for Your Gift Buying Needs

It's that time of year again. Yes it is gift buying time for the holiday season. As usual, I have no clue as to what would make the perfect gift for love ones and friends. And up to a few minutes ago, I was also clueless to what I would like for myself, until I came across the Imagini Gift Finder, a neat gift recommendation web application.

I couldn't resist seeing how this gift selector works, as I needed some gift ideas and love experimenting with new technology. The web application is called Imagini and is produced by Blueorange Net Technologies of the UK. It uses a technology called VisualDNA to find gifts ideas for you or someone else.

The process of using the Imagini Gift Finder could not be simpler. Several series of pictures were shown to me and based on my preference, I selected a picture for each series. At the end of the test, I was also asked some short demographic information about myself, concluding my gift preference profile.

To my delight, the gift finder then presented me with 63 fabulous gift ideas. Some of the gifts it recommended to me, which I thought were fitting, ...wink,wink,wink...jk were items such as:

• Chronograph watch


• Digital Photo Frame


• Captain's Decanter


• Key bottle opener


• Mango trees for a farmer (for someone in the third world who's in need )

[updated] For all those curious my complete gift list is now available. [/updated]

The only downside to this gift selector is that it is UK based, so be prepared for a few questions more applicable to someone living in the UK. Even with this slight annoyance it did an excellent job of selecting gifts for me.

If you are stumped as to what to give this holiday season, I highly recommend you try out this simple and fun to use web app.

I look forward to hearing how this tool turns out for you and whether it was useful for your holiday gift buying.

Imagini Gift Finder

Shawshank In A Minute

I was light on ideas for blogging today, until Prairie Fire reminded me of the 'Shawshank in Minute' video short.

The Shawshank Redemption is one of my all time favourite movies and is based on a book by one of my favourite authors, Steven King. So, I thought I'd also share with you, my loyal blog readers, this great video short.

For those familiar with this prison classic and those not, I think you will find this video short to be a humourous synopsis of the Shawshank experience.

Picture Madness for My Profile

Michael Richards' 'Tirade'

What's your take on the Michael Richards incident? I am amazed at the total condemnation from the media and public at large over this so called racist tirade. His response to the hecklers was a failed attempt to push the envelope in what is acceptable language by a white person to direct at a black person.

He is a character and improv actor, trying to be a comedian, who has failed at his attempt. He misread what the audience and public's response would be to him using his character acting training to deliver racially provocative remarks. This does not make him a racist, it makes him a bad comedian.

Surely his career will be ruined and he will be labelled a racist. This, however, is the response we can expect from a society which sees any racist language from a white person as being bigoted and is unable to tell the difference from performance and reality.

I am shocked at the response and the media hubris.

I looked forward to your responses.

For those of you who have not seen the incident yet, check out this video clip at youtube.

It's official

And now, without further ado, enjoy my blog.