Life is ebbing away

I'm 54 years old and I'm dying. I don't have cancer. I don't have heart disease. I don't have any terminal affliction at all. As I was watching a documentary about the making of the 1957 movie Sweet Smell of Success (starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Martin Milner, best known for Adam-12), something I've been feeling for a few years now suddenly became clear. Every time another celebrity from my early life passes away, so too does a piece of me. I have seen hundreds of heroes and villains alike go to the great beyond. This evening, it felt like there's very little left of me to die.

It doesn't help that I have lost interest in some of the things that used to inspire, enlighten and fill my life with joy. I haven't been to the movie theatre in four years, before that, it was ten years. Between the years I was five and twelve years old (early 60's), I used to go to the movies once a week. It shaped my early impressions of life. Later, when I was about 20, I returned to my weekly habit of movie-going. That lasted about 10 years. It seems that the biggest draw became special effects.

I had the misfortune of having a formative mind just at the time that rock and roll was born. Misfortune, because once the explosion and subsequent wave of incomprehensibly historic music waned, for me, it was as if music had died altogether. Hip hop just doesn't cut it after living through Elvis, The Twist, Beatle Mania, The British Invasion, Woodstock, Heavy Rock, etc.

I never realized how much some of the celebrities who were a part of my life meant to me until they were gone. I don't even understand now why watching an episode of the Dean Martin Roast series on YouTube practically brings me to tears even though I might have a huge grin on my face. I mean other than the fact that probably about half the guests from those shows are ghosts now. It's as if the death of each figure from my childhood takes a little of the colour of my soul away and soon I will be invisible...like them.

I wasn't ready for it, although it's perfectly logical that a point would be reached where the rate of dying celebs from any era would reach a crescendo. At my current age, many of the actors, musicians, comics, etc. that I watched, listened to, laughed at and idolized in my early life, who were just establishing themselves are now about 65-75 years old--right about life expectancy for them. I have mourned so many of the older ones already; I feel I don't have the heart to endure any more. Here is just a sample of the prominent figures who met their maker in 2008...

Suzanne Pleshette - Emily on The Bob Newhart Show.

Roy Scheider - French Connection, Jaws

Sir Arthur C. Clarke - 2001-A space Odyssey

Richard Widmark - Judgement at Nuremberg

Charleton Heston - Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes

Dick Martin - Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In

Harvey Korman - Carol Burnett Show, Blazing Saddles

George Carlin - Comic

Larry Harmon - You probably know him by his "other name"--Bozo the Clown

Isaac Hayes - Wrote the theme from Shaft, the chef on South Park

Jerry Reed - When You're Hot, You're Hot, Amos Moses, Smokey and the Bandit

Paul Newman - List too long

Bettie Page - 50's pin-up model, early Playboy centrefold

Van Johnson - Actor

Rock and Roll Heaven

Ripped from the headlines

I saw a headline for this story on the TV listings channel and then hopped over to my PC to find the full story.

A homeless man who couldn't find a warm place to spend the night was rudely awakened by police in the bank lobby he was was catching Z's in. As punishment for his crime, he was sentenced to 30 days in a larger, warmer room, this one with free meal service. I'll bet he won't want to go through that ordeal again.

The Story.

Now, you know

This video is so compelling, it just flies by. It explains the urgency with which we need to act to prevent a catastrophic meltdown of the planet--not necessarily due to global warming, but to many of the systems we take for granted every day--financial, food production, globalization, density, consumption, environment, etc. These systems are all based on infinite expansion, which is not only unsustainable, it can and will come to a screeching halt much sooner than most people think. World renowned Canadian author, broadcaster, environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki explains:

Do Not Call or Do Not Care?

Unscrupulous telemarketers (mostly based outside North America) are actually using the list as a source of names to call. In Canada, the CRTC (government body) requires telemarketers to pay a fee (dependent on which area/how many names) to download a DNC list with a risk of a $15,000 fine if they call anyone on the list. Some of these low-lifes are paying, for example, $50 for 600,000 live names on the Toronto list--it's a telemarketer's wet dream!

And just now, I stumbled upon a website whose only business is to supply telemarketers with DNC lists at wholesale prices! They are registered with the national DNC, download a fresh list each day and then resell the names at a discount to anyone who wants the names. Kind of restores you faith in humanity, doesn't it? Now, you know why you're still gettting calls.

And unless these people are based in the country they are calling, there's nothing anyone can do about it--they are out of the jurisdiction of authorities.

I am outraged and ashamed

There is no bigger proponent of multi-culturalism and racial diversity than I. I am also a proud Canadian trumpeting far and wide on this medium how great a place Canada is as the most culturally diverse country in the world. We seem to get along much better than most countries, celebrating our differences in so many ways--via parades, food fairs, picnics, festivals, etc., some of these events attracting over one million participants, many travelling from other countries to join the festivities.

But this past week, an incident has tarnished Canada's image. It is alleged that three drunken Vancouver-area, off-duty police officers brutally assaulted and robbed a man of colour. In the process, the victim alleges that one of the officers uttered a racial statement. As of this writing, no charges have been laid, but it seems very likely that there will be soon.

You may be asking yourself why I'm bringing this to light. I'm conflicted about it, really, but let me try to explain. It's not the Canadian way to sweep things under the rug. If we do wrong, we acknowledge it, hold those responsible accountable, make reparations, and fix things that need fixing. Hopefully, the publicity this case attracts will inspire authorities and politicians to work that much harder to ensure that conditions that allow something like this to happen, are rectified.

For anyone to commit such a heinous crime is appalling, but for members of those sworn "to serve and protect", it is nothing short of sickening. I just hope that justice will be served in the way of severe punishment for the guilty. The last thing we need is for the poor victim to be victimized again.

The Story.