LATENIGHT - MIRAMICHI

Friday, April 30, 2004

Sunrise again, behind my house

Summer is here! Okay, sure it's actually spring and normally feels like winter, but the temperature reached 29 degrees Celsius in Moncton which was where I was! I spent the day with my friend Colin, his sister Chandra, and her son Mikey. Mikey had gotten good reports from school and was being rewarded with a day trip where he could visit Toys 'R' Us and Pets Unlimited. I was looking for an excuse to get out of the city for the day and opted to tag along to buy some art supplies which are pretty much impossible to find around here. Colin, on the otherhand, was eager to give his new Impalla a road test.

The day was fantastic. People were out and about everywhere. The mall was full and entertaining. The salesman at the art store sold me on a set of somewhat expensive pens and I am happy he did. I got a chance to try them out on some doodles when I got home and they make nice, crisp lines. I also managed to find an ink sketchpad which solves my problem with bleeding ink. I was running out of the sketchpads that I bought in Korea and this was the first one I found here that provides and good texture for cartooning.

We broke for lunch (grand slams at Wendy's-- 1 lb. of hamburger spread over 4 patties) and then dropped in on my cousin for a visit. He's in a new house with a new baby named Hannah. She's very cute and well-behaved. The house is in a nice spot of Moncton too. It's not too far from the downtown (maybe 10 minutes walk) but it's in a quiet suburb near Jones' Lake.

It's also nice to know that Colin and Chandra haven't settled down either. They still lambaste each other savagely. Mikey is obviously used to it. It was quite entertaining to watch one set the other two up against each other. The combatants switched each time, as did the devilish provocateur.

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Falling star, courtesy of Venus and a contrail.
Photo taken at my grandmother's house.

Meet the Mayors

I continued my schmoozing on Wednesday night at the Kin Center across the river. Like other cities in New Brunswick, there will be a municipal election on May 10, so this was a chance to hear the mayoral candidates speak. Many of them are familiar... actually all of them have a history in politics, likely close to 75 years between just the four candidates before. I got a chance to meet a few of them afterwards. I also was asked to join the Rotary Club which I can't help thinking of as a bit nerdish but I'll seriously give it a thought. To date I've joined my local business group, but it'd be good to join something which is river-wide and encompasses the whole city.

It's local politics so I'm going to keep my bias down a bit on this. I will give you a short bio however. We have four people running for mayor and a couple dozen people running to be councilors. Of the mayoral candidates, we've seen them all before. None of the speeches were entirely original or unique, I am sorry to say.

Frank Trevors is currently the deputy mayor. He's a bit hard to hear though. He spoke fast, and mumbled a lot into the mic. Of the words I caught, his prepared material sounded good enough.

Gerry Cormier is currently a councilor. He words were more simple but he gave them with a hint of passion that has to make you smile. He's a bit famous however for making a motion in council a couple of months ago-- and then voting against his own motion.

John McKay is also a councillor right now, but it probably more well know from the days that he served in the McKenna government as a local MLA. That experience could work for or against him him. While there's no official party politics at the municipal level, Miramichi is the kind of place where you party affiliation hovers over your head at the supermarket, the gas station, even bingo.

Arch Pafford is also a provincial veteran, but his parties no longer exist. He founded both the C.O.R. (Confederation of Regions party) and the Grey party (senior citizens advocacy-type party). It's his time with C.O.R. that colours his current perception however. C.O.R. was a single platform party essentially. It sought to combat official bilingualism. In fact, when a question about billigualism was posed Wednesday night, the question was specifically directed at the other three candidates while Pafford was intentionally left out of the answers. That's going to attract a certain kind of voter. In defence of the guy, he's also the president of the local S.P.C.A., and he's the only candidate who is running that isn't already serving on what is perceived to be an infighting and ineffectual council.

Whoever wins, they must be prepared to try again to unite the two sides of the river, although it gets increasingly difficult when only Newcastle gets any funding. The business around me on Waterstreet Chatham are good examples. They're all going bankrupt. Even the one remaining nightclub, Choo Choo's is rumoured to be closing-- as is "Ben's" hamburger stand. That place has been a family-run business for over 60 years. If it goes, you'll see rats on rafts shortly after.

Sunrise in Napan

The Task Force Breakfast

I was present at the breakfast with the premier this morning. Although the report had already been released, the breakfast served as a formal acceptance of 14 of the 16 recommendations, and the announcement of funding to that end. Not long ago, a similar process saw $25 Million being injected into the Acadian peninsula. This actually led to a lot of speculation here since English/French rivalries still make up a good deal of local politics. In light of the government's budget cutbacks this year, and a perception that French areas receive more funding, people suspected the Miramichi package might ring in lower. It didn't. The Times & Transcript broke the story in its morning paper and Miramichi received a full $25 Million to "top up" its development fund, separate from any pre-existing funding or programs that are active now. It led to a rather buoyant breakfast.

For me, it was my first time in the Rodd River Lodge hotel. They have a great banquet room which was filled by 230 eager listeners as the speakers presented. Star of the show was Premier Lord. After the announcements, I got a chance to speak to my MLA, Michael "Tanker" Malley, who could best be described as the ultimate "grass roots" politician. He was on cloud nine. Tanker took me over and introduced me for the first time to the premier. I suppose I can say that my business received the first benefit from the new fund... the premier asked to buy a cartoon. *grin*

The ironic thing was that while this fund clocked in at $25 Million, a local millworker's fortune overshadowed it. On Monday, a worker at the local UPM mill won the largest ever cash prize in Atlantic Canada-- $30 Million-- in the Lotto Super 7 draw last week.

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Sunset on the river

I'm happy to report that the ice has been gone for over a week now. The picture above is out of date. In fact, yesterday I was putting in an all-nighter at the office to get some things finished and as I stood outside for a breath of fresh air at sunrise, I caught a horde of ducks flying up the river. The ducks were all flying single file, about a couple of feet apart, and the column stretched at least three or four miles. I kept watching and they kept coming. It was quite an impressive sign of spring.

Promising Prosperity
As part of my startup, I received my invitation to join the local business group. Along with the bundle came a notice of a special breakfast next week, at which the Miramichi Prosperity Task Force will be officially presenting their report and the premier will be on hand to announce funding for their ideas. The total amount of funding to be expected is hard to predict however. Times are tough (as usual) and even though the French communities on the Acadian peninsula received $25 Million after a similar report there, it seems that we're not going to be in for quite the same level of support.

It's no matter really. The report's already been unofficially released, so its recommendations are known. I have to admit that I was quite disappointed. Most of the promising elements are either left vague, or don't go far enough. Many recommendations seem to be there for the sole purpose of hiring staff to allocate money, rather than determining where the money will go. This river has a habit of seeing it's economic funding disappear into the pockets of a very select few. I suspect that this will be the case again. Whether the premier offers $25 Million dollars or 25 cents, the end result will be just as invisible when seen through the eyes of 98% of the people here.

It's a bit long to fisk on the main page, so click here if you want to read the recommendations and my take on them.

Friday, April 09, 2004

The indecisiveness of Spring.

Happy Easter Weekend all.

I had a lot of energy and ambition when I arrived home a month ago. But the snow on the ground is really cutting into it. I hope it's gone soon but there's no way to know. Even the ice in the river has been enigmatic. After reading in the Times & Transcript that the ice would be staying around for quite some time, I opted to do Friday's cartoon on the fear that it might not be gone by the time salmon fishing season starts next Thursday. As soon as I finished, I put my pen down and looked out the office window to see the it was finally cracking. So much for the cartoon, but then again: so much for winter.

LINK: The government publishes a "River Watch" website to keep residents informed about river levels and any dangers.

Sunday, April 04, 2004

The gates of Point Pleasant, Halifax

I took a quick trip back to my old stomping grounds this weekend. Things have gone well in my hometown, with the business now set up and work beginning to come my way. I wanted to get away for a moment before I found myself too swamped.

The above picture was taken Saturday night, while walking with a friend of mine in the south end of Halifax. The weather was very foggy-- no rain-- just steam coming off the snow. We walked quite a distance but the mist was very refreshing.

Point Pleasant has been decimated by hurricanes, icestorms, insect infestations... the whole gamut of Revelations blights, modified for boreal forests and northerly climes. The road leading in still boasts a treeline, although you can tell that the growth thins out not far from the edge. Parked just to the left of the photo was a logging truck, loaded down with timber destined for disposal. The bright lights of the nearby port illuminated the scene to virtual daylight which is the reason for the eerie lighting in this photo.

Sorry to anyone I didn't get to see. I'll make my way back soon enough.


	Moonlight missives from Atlantic Canada ∙ MIRAMICHI, New Brunswick
	Friday, April 30, 2004 Sunrise again, behind my house Summer is here! Okay, sure it's actually spring and normally feels like winter, but the temperature reached 29 degrees Celsius in Moncton which was where I was! I spent the day with my friend Colin, his sister Chandra, and her son Mikey. Mikey had gotten good reports from school and was being rewarded with a day trip where he could visit Toys 'R' Us and Pets Unlimited. I was looking for an excuse to get out of the city for the day and opted to tag along to buy some art supplies which are pretty much impossible to find around here. Colin, on the otherhand, was eager to give his new Impalla a road test. The day was fantastic. People were out and about everywhere. The mall was full and entertaining. The salesman at the art store sold me on a set of somewhat expensive pens and I am happy he did. I got a chance to try them out on some doodles when I got home and they make nice, crisp lines. I also managed to find an ink sketchpad which solves my problem with bleeding ink. I was running out of the sketchpads that I bought in Korea and this was the first one I found here that provides and good texture for cartooning. We broke for lunch (grand slams at Wendy's-- 1 lb. of hamburger spread over 4 patties) and then dropped in on my cousin for a visit. He's in a new house with a new baby named Hannah. She's very cute and well-behaved. The house is in a nice spot of Moncton too. It's not too far from the downtown (maybe 10 minutes walk) but it's in a quiet suburb near Jones' Lake. It's also nice to know that Colin and Chandra haven't settled down either. They still lambaste each other savagely. Mikey is obviously used to it. It was quite entertaining to watch one set the other two up against each other. The combatants switched each time, as did the devilish provocateur. posted by Ian at 10:18:00 AM - link ... 1 comments ... Wednesday, April 28, 2004 Falling star, courtesy of Venus and a contrail. Photo taken at my grandmother's house. Meet the Mayors I continued my schmoozing on Wednesday night at the Kin Center across the river. Like other cities in New Brunswick, there will be a municipal election on May 10, so this was a chance to hear the mayoral candidates speak. Many of them are familiar... actually all of them have a history in politics, likely close to 75 years between just the four candidates before. I got a chance to meet a few of them afterwards. I also was asked to join the Rotary Club which I can't help thinking of as a bit nerdish but I'll seriously give it a thought. To date I've joined my local business group, but it'd be good to join something which is river-wide and encompasses the whole city. It's local politics so I'm going to keep my bias down a bit on this. I will give you a short bio however. We have four people running for mayor and a couple dozen people running to be councilors. Of the mayoral candidates, we've seen them all before. None of the speeches were entirely original or unique, I am sorry to say. Frank Trevors is currently the deputy mayor. He's a bit hard to hear though. He spoke fast, and mumbled a lot into the mic. Of the words I caught, his prepared material sounded good enough. Gerry Cormier is currently a councilor. He words were more simple but he gave them with a hint of passion that has to make you smile. He's a bit famous however for making a motion in council a couple of months ago-- and then voting against his own motion. John McKay is also a councillor right now, but it probably more well know from the days that he served in the McKenna government as a local MLA. That experience could work for or against him him. While there's no official party politics at the municipal level, Miramichi is the kind of place where you party affiliation hovers over your head at the supermarket, the gas station, even bingo. Arch Pafford is also a provincial veteran, but his parties no longer exist. He founded both the C.O.R. (Confederation of Regions party) and the Grey party (senior citizens advocacy-type party). It's his time with C.O.R. that colours his current perception however. C.O.R. was a single platform party essentially. It sought to combat official bilingualism. In fact, when a question about billigualism was posed Wednesday night, the question was specifically directed at the other three candidates while Pafford was intentionally left out of the answers. That's going to attract a certain kind of voter. In defence of the guy, he's also the president of the local S.P.C.A., and he's the only candidate who is running that isn't already serving on what is perceived to be an infighting and ineffectual council. Whoever wins, they must be prepared to try again to unite the two sides of the river, although it gets increasingly difficult when only Newcastle gets any funding. The business around me on Waterstreet Chatham are good examples. They're all going bankrupt. Even the one remaining nightclub, Choo Choo's is rumoured to be closing-- as is "Ben's" hamburger stand. That place has been a family-run business for over 60 years. If it goes, you'll see rats on rafts shortly after. posted by Ian at 1:47:00 PM - link ... 1 comments ... Sunrise in Napan The Task Force Breakfast I was present at the breakfast with the premier this morning. Although the report had already been released, the breakfast served as a formal acceptance of 14 of the 16 recommendations, and the announcement of funding to that end. Not long ago, a similar process saw $25 Million being injected into the Acadian peninsula. This actually led to a lot of speculation here since English/French rivalries still make up a good deal of local politics. In light of the government's budget cutbacks this year, and a perception that French areas receive more funding, people suspected the Miramichi package might ring in lower. It didn't. The Times & Transcript broke the story in its morning paper and Miramichi received a full $25 Million to "top up" its development fund, separate from any pre-existing funding or programs that are active now. It led to a rather buoyant breakfast. For me, it was my first time in the Rodd River Lodge hotel. They have a great banquet room which was filled by 230 eager listeners as the speakers presented. Star of the show was Premier Lord. After the announcements, I got a chance to speak to my MLA, Michael "Tanker" Malley, who could best be described as the ultimate "grass roots" politician. He was on cloud nine. Tanker took me over and introduced me for the first time to the premier. I suppose I can say that my business received the first benefit from the new fund... the premier asked to buy a cartoon. grin The ironic thing was that while this fund clocked in at $25 Million, a local millworker's fortune overshadowed it. On Monday, a worker at the local UPM mill won the largest ever cash prize in Atlantic Canada-- $30 Million-- in the Lotto Super 7 draw last week. posted by Ian at 2:25:00 AM - link ... 1 comments ... Thursday, April 22, 2004 Sunset on the river I'm happy to report that the ice has been gone for over a week now. The picture above is out of date. In fact, yesterday I was putting in an all-nighter at the office to get some things finished and as I stood outside for a breath of fresh air at sunrise, I caught a horde of ducks flying up the river. The ducks were all flying single file, about a couple of feet apart, and the column stretched at least three or four miles. I kept watching and they kept coming. It was quite an impressive sign of spring. Promising Prosperity As part of my startup, I received my invitation to join the local business group. Along with the bundle came a notice of a special breakfast next week, at which the Miramichi Prosperity Task Force will be officially presenting their report and the premier will be on hand to announce funding for their ideas. The total amount of funding to be expected is hard to predict however. Times are tough (as usual) and even though the French communities on the Acadian peninsula received $25 Million after a similar report there, it seems that we're not going to be in for quite the same level of support. It's no matter really. The report's already been unofficially released, so its recommendations are known. I have to admit that I was quite disappointed. Most of the promising elements are either left vague, or don't go far enough. Many recommendations seem to be there for the sole purpose of hiring staff to allocate money, rather than determining where the money will go. This river has a habit of seeing it's economic funding disappear into the pockets of a very select few. I suspect that this will be the case again. Whether the premier offers $25 Million dollars or 25 cents, the end result will be just as invisible when seen through the eyes of 98% of the people here. It's a bit long to fisk on the main page, so click here if you want to read the recommendations and my take on them. posted by Ian at 4:58:00 AM - link ... 1 comments ... Friday, April 09, 2004 The indecisiveness of Spring. Happy Easter Weekend all. I had a lot of energy and ambition when I arrived home a month ago. But the snow on the ground is really cutting into it. I hope it's gone soon but there's no way to know. Even the ice in the river has been enigmatic. After reading in the Times & Transcript that the ice would be staying around for quite some time, I opted to do Friday's cartoon on the fear that it might not be gone by the time salmon fishing season starts next Thursday. As soon as I finished, I put my pen down and looked out the office window to see the it was finally cracking. So much for the cartoon, but then again: so much for winter. LINK: The government publishes a "River Watch" website to keep residents informed about river levels and any dangers. posted by Ian at 9:34:00 PM - link ... 1 comments ... Sunday, April 04, 2004 The gates of Point Pleasant, Halifax I took a quick trip back to my old stomping grounds this weekend. Things have gone well in my hometown, with the business now set up and work beginning to come my way. I wanted to get away for a moment before I found myself too swamped. The above picture was taken Saturday night, while walking with a friend of mine in the south end of Halifax. The weather was very foggy-- no rain-- just steam coming off the snow. We walked quite a distance but the mist was very refreshing. Point Pleasant has been decimated by hurricanes, icestorms, insect infestations... the whole gamut of Revelations blights, modified for boreal forests and northerly climes. The road leading in still boasts a treeline, although you can tell that the growth thins out not far from the edge. Parked just to the left of the photo was a logging truck, loaded down with timber destined for disposal. The bright lights of the nearby port illuminated the scene to virtual daylight which is the reason for the eerie lighting in this photo. Sorry to anyone I didn't get to see. I'll make my way back soon enough. posted by Ian at 10:41:00 PM - link ... 1 comments ...	Bread 'n' Molasses Cafe Harpo Escape Artist FatKat Animation IanRoss Dot CA Mighty Miramichi Mysteries (Wiki) Wikipedia YouTube Bread 'n' Molasses Blog Charles LeBlanc David Cadogan Gypsy-Blog It's the Economy, Stupid! Mighty Miramichier Blog Quixotic Realm ShinJaeJun Spink About It Canada East CBC NB CTV News The Dominion [Can] The Globe & Mail Google News Miramichi Leader The Rabble.ca [Can] Keep movin'... An old photo from our nature hik... Time for a change of wall paper here. I promis... Indigo-glow sunset on the Miramichi River. I on... I was very interested to read a Canadian Press sto... Through the camera... Kouchibouguac at dusk.I'd l... All the tea in China, and all the ink in Woodstock... Are we reaching Miramichi? Hay in Napan I've adde... Woodpecker at French Fort Cove I just wanted to ma... For anyone who hasn't heard, Yeji and I tied the... If anyone is looking for a Christmas stocking st... 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 also see LATENIGHT KOREA and LATENIGHT HALIFAX