Here's a copy of the commentary I read to begin the June 19 show:
Do any of you identify with a political party? Do any of you care whether you do or don’t?
I do. In fact, I’m going through a political equivalent of an identity crisis.
I’m going to tell you a little about that, at the risk of offending Liberals, Tories and New Democrats – and boring people who don’t care about party politics at all.
Throughout the 90s I was quite discouraged. Though not a card-carrying member, I’m a natural Liberal, but didn’t like Jean Chretien and never thought Frank McKenna was a Liberal at all. He was quite right-wing, actually - aggressively pro-business, and a social conservative who fought hard to keep Henry Morgentaler from setting up an abortion clinic in New Brunswick.
I was heartened when Paul Martin and Shawn Graham came along. But then Martin got clobbered by the Gomery inquiry, and we ended up with our very own George Bush in Stephen Harper. And then the Graham Liberals took a hard right turn when they took office.
They’re now energy hub boosters that pay scant attention to the environment. And social conservatives too. Last year, several Liberal cabinet ministers joined an anti-abortion rally on the streets of Fredericton.
You hear a lot of Saint John Liberals grumbling about the party, especially in wake of the debate on closing the university and the decision to scrap early immersion in French.
Some of those formerly loyal Liberals are mad enough, it seems, to vote Tory – even though the party has no leader, no clear policy alternatives to the Liberals, and are allied with the Harper Conservatives.
Here’s where my identity crisis comes in. I have voted Tory in the past because I supported local candidates. But I held my nose when I did it, and don’t think I could do so again. I voted NDP when there were standout candidates like Elizabeth Weir to vote for, but in general the party just isn’t relevant here right now.
What I really want is for the Liberals to liberal again – Trudeau Liberal, Martin Liberal, Louis Robichaud Liberal.
I just don’t know if that’s going to happen any time soon, at least not here in New Brunswick. Their latest policy proposal is straight out of right-wing Alberta - a tax reform program that would include a flat tax that would favour high-income earners, and significantly reduced taxes on big corporations.
On the show tonight, we’ll talk about the flat tax with a policy analyst from Alberta, the only province in Canada with a flat tax system.
Also on the program tonight: Mike Parker examines legislation that would give police the ability to crack down on suspected drug dealers. And UNB introduces a summer film series to be held at the New Brunswick Museum uptown.
But first up: Pop Goes the City - an 80s music festival for Saint John.
Here this episode online at: serrcitysj.mypodcast.com
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Rosie O’Donnell leads gay and lesbian cruise into Saint John
Serf City Exclusive: Rosie O’Donnell leads a gay and lesbian cruise into the Port of Saint John. On July 15th, the Norwegian Dawn will dock in Saint John with 2,200 people, mostly gay and lesbian families on a tour of the Maritimes. It will be an especially festive occasion for 21 couples that will get married on their stop here. On the June 19th edition of Serf City, Mark Leger spoke with Gregg Kaminsky, a partner in O'Donnell's company R Family Vacations. Here the interview at: serfcitysj.mypodcast.com
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Urban gardeners
On tonight's show: the urban gardeners - conversations with members of the north end community garden. Plus: the suburban songwriter. Ken Tobias relfects on life on a leafy street on the east side since he moved back from Toronto in 2004. And Mike Parker makes the ultimate sacrifice - a night with city council while his friends frolic beneath a setting spring sun.
Serf City is posting podcasts once again! Check out sercitysj.mypodcast.com or tune in Thursdays at 6 pm at 107.3 FM CFMH.
Serf City is posting podcasts once again! Check out sercitysj.mypodcast.com or tune in Thursdays at 6 pm at 107.3 FM CFMH.
Friday, June 6, 2008
The suburbanization of Starbucks
Here is the commentary I read to kick off the June 5th show:
When the Starbucks chain was originally launched in North America, it mimicked the cozy street-corner urban café - the kind of neighbourhood place you could walk to, and have a coffee with friends who lived or worked nearby.
Starbucks has moved a long way from that original concept – just go the new one on the east side and you’ll know what I mean.
It’s in box store country - surrounded by malls, chain restaurants, home improvement centres, and ironically enough, the corporate office of the Canadian Automobile Association!
Its most distinctive feature – for those of us more familiar with Starbucks in the downtowns of big cities – is the drive-thru!
Saint John is car country – Alberta East, you might say.
While the rest of the world is beginning to talk about the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Saint John is cranking up its dependence on fossil fuels – the explosion of box stores out east, the buzz around a new oil refinery.
The Telegraph-Journal calls Troy Northrup a visionary for blazing the trail of new mall developments out east.
The CBC has a weekly feature on the price of gas, which has a loyal following of suburban commuters anxious about skyrocketing fuel costs.
Not much talk here about conservation and alternative energies.
Perhaps this is why the provincial government is so behind other provinces that are enacting bold plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Why would the Graham government act aggressively when its voters are still so dependent on their cars and promise of economic growth from new energy projects?
Tonight, we’ll speak with environmentalist David Coon about how New Brunswick stacks up against provinces like B.C., Quebec and Ontario, all of which have adopted bold plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We’ll also talk with two dancers who are performing at Imperial Theatre tonight. Dancing Bodies: Sum of the Parts begins at 7 pm, just as we wrap up tonight’s show. So perhaps you can listen to the end of Serf City in the car on the way to the theatre. Or perhaps walk from your uptown apartment.
But first up on tonight’s show: an interview about the Mike Hughes Benefit concert series.
- Mark
When the Starbucks chain was originally launched in North America, it mimicked the cozy street-corner urban café - the kind of neighbourhood place you could walk to, and have a coffee with friends who lived or worked nearby.
Starbucks has moved a long way from that original concept – just go the new one on the east side and you’ll know what I mean.
It’s in box store country - surrounded by malls, chain restaurants, home improvement centres, and ironically enough, the corporate office of the Canadian Automobile Association!
Its most distinctive feature – for those of us more familiar with Starbucks in the downtowns of big cities – is the drive-thru!
Saint John is car country – Alberta East, you might say.
While the rest of the world is beginning to talk about the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Saint John is cranking up its dependence on fossil fuels – the explosion of box stores out east, the buzz around a new oil refinery.
The Telegraph-Journal calls Troy Northrup a visionary for blazing the trail of new mall developments out east.
The CBC has a weekly feature on the price of gas, which has a loyal following of suburban commuters anxious about skyrocketing fuel costs.
Not much talk here about conservation and alternative energies.
Perhaps this is why the provincial government is so behind other provinces that are enacting bold plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Why would the Graham government act aggressively when its voters are still so dependent on their cars and promise of economic growth from new energy projects?
Tonight, we’ll speak with environmentalist David Coon about how New Brunswick stacks up against provinces like B.C., Quebec and Ontario, all of which have adopted bold plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
We’ll also talk with two dancers who are performing at Imperial Theatre tonight. Dancing Bodies: Sum of the Parts begins at 7 pm, just as we wrap up tonight’s show. So perhaps you can listen to the end of Serf City in the car on the way to the theatre. Or perhaps walk from your uptown apartment.
But first up on tonight’s show: an interview about the Mike Hughes Benefit concert series.
- Mark
Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance
Here is the commentary that I read to kick off the May 29th show:
When I was in Ghana last year, I traveled to the northern part of the country to deliver some workshops on journalism.
At a community radio station in a small town, a reporter asked me what kinds of stories they should be covering.
In Ghana, as in Canada, media outlets largely focus on politics and business. Elected officials and business people, here and there, get most of the ink and hog the airwaves.
I told them to speak more with everyday people. Talk to them about the things they do that are interesting, creative and contribute something to the community.
When we left the station after the workshop was over, a scene across the street caught my eye. There were a couple of kids riding a makeshift wagon, surrounded by five or six others, impatient for a ride themselves.
I walked across the street to have a closer look. It was a bike and auto repair shop. Old parts and half-built motorcycles and cars were scattered around the yard. The kids were riding this little wagon that looked like it had been built with spare parts.
The kids kept laughing and hollering; they took no notice of us, even though Westerners rarely visited this remote community.
A man emerged from the shop, smiling and hand extended in greeting.
He told us he made stuff like this for the kids in the neighbourhood.
No Wal-marts or Toys R Us here. If you want toys, you make them yourself. Needless to say, this guy was the hit of the neighbourhood.
I thought of him today when I met Paul Reeves. He’s known as the “bicycle man” in his north end neighbourhood for the cycles he fashions out of old bikes and spare parts.
He has an exhibition of his bikes at the Saint John Arts Centre. It’s called “Reecycles.” We’ll talk with Paul on tonight’s show.
Also on show: we’ll speak with Ashley Durdle, who won the Aliant Business Plan competition with her idea for The Happy Hopyard.
But first up: the rise and fall of the Loyalist City Music Festival.
When I was in Ghana last year, I traveled to the northern part of the country to deliver some workshops on journalism.
At a community radio station in a small town, a reporter asked me what kinds of stories they should be covering.
In Ghana, as in Canada, media outlets largely focus on politics and business. Elected officials and business people, here and there, get most of the ink and hog the airwaves.
I told them to speak more with everyday people. Talk to them about the things they do that are interesting, creative and contribute something to the community.
When we left the station after the workshop was over, a scene across the street caught my eye. There were a couple of kids riding a makeshift wagon, surrounded by five or six others, impatient for a ride themselves.
I walked across the street to have a closer look. It was a bike and auto repair shop. Old parts and half-built motorcycles and cars were scattered around the yard. The kids were riding this little wagon that looked like it had been built with spare parts.
The kids kept laughing and hollering; they took no notice of us, even though Westerners rarely visited this remote community.
A man emerged from the shop, smiling and hand extended in greeting.
He told us he made stuff like this for the kids in the neighbourhood.
No Wal-marts or Toys R Us here. If you want toys, you make them yourself. Needless to say, this guy was the hit of the neighbourhood.
I thought of him today when I met Paul Reeves. He’s known as the “bicycle man” in his north end neighbourhood for the cycles he fashions out of old bikes and spare parts.
He has an exhibition of his bikes at the Saint John Arts Centre. It’s called “Reecycles.” We’ll talk with Paul on tonight’s show.
Also on show: we’ll speak with Ashley Durdle, who won the Aliant Business Plan competition with her idea for The Happy Hopyard.
But first up: the rise and fall of the Loyalist City Music Festival.
Famine of feeling
Here is the commentary I read to kick off the May 22 show:
One morning last week, I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling anxious about the things on my to-do list – something university students, with their procrastinating ways, are prone to do. Unfinished papers, research work to do for a professor, a thesis to get started on. All manageable, small concerns, but they were troubling me nonetheless.
Then the phone rang.
A voice called out over a crackling line, “Hello, Mr. Mark.”
It was Victor, an old friend from my time in Ghana. He had lost his job, and couldn’t afford the school fees for his daughter. He asked if I could send some money so she could finish the term?
I said yes, and hung up the phone after a brief conversation.
Rather than return to bed, I made a cup of coffee and read the morning Globe and Mail. Burma and China still dominated the headlines: thousands of children died when schools collapsed in the Chinese earthquake.
My own concerns suddenly seemed so small. I sent Victor some money and also made a donation to the Red Cross relief fund.
But the next morning, I was still wide-awake at 4 am, preoccupied with my relatively ordinary concerns.
Human beings have big hearts, but I’m often struck by our limited capacity to truly emphathize with the world at large. Most us remain preoccupied day to day with our little worlds – our families, friends, and co-workers. Every so often, we awaken to the outside world – a call from a poverty-stricken friend in a developing country, or an earthquake in a place like China.
I often wonder I could keep the concerns of the world always top of mind.
Buddhists have a form of mediation called metta practice. Metta means “loving kindness.” The idea is to meditate on the compassion you have for yourself, your family, friends, and even enemies and strangers. Some Buddhists believe this practice can actually have a healing effect on people a world away.
Last night, I meditated with a group in the north end. We were asked to include the suffering people of Burma and Myanmar in our practice.
Personally I have a difficult time actually feeling that compassion, and an even harder time believing it really does any good. But I suppose people must be credited for at least trying to transcend the cares of their own families and immediate communities.
Tom Hayden is an anti-poverty activist and well-known leader in the 1960s student movement. He says we must care for the entire world, not just the world around us. In reference to the persistent poverty in the developing world, he says the affluent West is suffering from a “famine of feeling.”
On the show tonight, we’ll speak with someone who is certainly not suffering from a “famine of feeling” when it comes to China. Li Song is here to talk about a fundraising campaign for the victims of the Chinese earthquake. She is from China and a graduate of UNBSJ.
Also on the show tonight: James Wilson, the Hampton photographer who is on the shortlist for this year’s Strathbutler award for excellence in the arts; and Ashley Durkle, who won this year’s Aliant Business Pitch competition for her plan to start an organic hops farm.
Listen to the entire show at: serfcity.mypodcast.com
- Mark
One morning last week, I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling anxious about the things on my to-do list – something university students, with their procrastinating ways, are prone to do. Unfinished papers, research work to do for a professor, a thesis to get started on. All manageable, small concerns, but they were troubling me nonetheless.
Then the phone rang.
A voice called out over a crackling line, “Hello, Mr. Mark.”
It was Victor, an old friend from my time in Ghana. He had lost his job, and couldn’t afford the school fees for his daughter. He asked if I could send some money so she could finish the term?
I said yes, and hung up the phone after a brief conversation.
Rather than return to bed, I made a cup of coffee and read the morning Globe and Mail. Burma and China still dominated the headlines: thousands of children died when schools collapsed in the Chinese earthquake.
My own concerns suddenly seemed so small. I sent Victor some money and also made a donation to the Red Cross relief fund.
But the next morning, I was still wide-awake at 4 am, preoccupied with my relatively ordinary concerns.
Human beings have big hearts, but I’m often struck by our limited capacity to truly emphathize with the world at large. Most us remain preoccupied day to day with our little worlds – our families, friends, and co-workers. Every so often, we awaken to the outside world – a call from a poverty-stricken friend in a developing country, or an earthquake in a place like China.
I often wonder I could keep the concerns of the world always top of mind.
Buddhists have a form of mediation called metta practice. Metta means “loving kindness.” The idea is to meditate on the compassion you have for yourself, your family, friends, and even enemies and strangers. Some Buddhists believe this practice can actually have a healing effect on people a world away.
Last night, I meditated with a group in the north end. We were asked to include the suffering people of Burma and Myanmar in our practice.
Personally I have a difficult time actually feeling that compassion, and an even harder time believing it really does any good. But I suppose people must be credited for at least trying to transcend the cares of their own families and immediate communities.
Tom Hayden is an anti-poverty activist and well-known leader in the 1960s student movement. He says we must care for the entire world, not just the world around us. In reference to the persistent poverty in the developing world, he says the affluent West is suffering from a “famine of feeling.”
On the show tonight, we’ll speak with someone who is certainly not suffering from a “famine of feeling” when it comes to China. Li Song is here to talk about a fundraising campaign for the victims of the Chinese earthquake. She is from China and a graduate of UNBSJ.
Also on the show tonight: James Wilson, the Hampton photographer who is on the shortlist for this year’s Strathbutler award for excellence in the arts; and Ashley Durkle, who won this year’s Aliant Business Pitch competition for her plan to start an organic hops farm.
Listen to the entire show at: serfcity.mypodcast.com
- Mark
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Check out this week's podcast
Listen to the May 22nd episode: serfcitysj.mypodcast.com. On the show: Jarrett Laughlin, a researcher with the Canadian Council on Learning, talks about why Saint John is one of the top five improved communities on the nationwide Composite Learning Index. Hampton photographer James Wilson is one of three finalists for the Strathbutler award for the arts. Li Song and Summer Mu, graduates of UNBSJ, raise money for the earthquake relief effort in China. Plus: tunes from musicians who will perform at next week's Loyalist City Music Festival.
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