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The Emperor’s Club, A Fifteen Year Foreshadow?

Certainly Donald Trump wouldn’t have carried the school boy swagger of Sedgwick Bell but the type casting in their privilege, quest for political theatre, and propensity for a wayward deed puts

    The Emperor’s Club

back in the limelight in 2017. Set at St. Benedicts boys school, actor Kevin Kline (Mr. Hundert) earnestly teaches Greek / Roman history to boys enraptured by the antics of classmate Bell. A dynamic relationship of mentorship between teacher and student ensues after some fuel filled words of motivation from Sentator dad, Mr. Bell.

Subsequently, the quest for class Julius Caesar (contest) is transfixed by one class clown turned book worm while the teacher pupil dynamic imbibes a particular value based reference (saving you plot). Boys’ adolescent wonderment is served along with theatrics of competitive scholastics.

Their twenty-five year class reunion marked an occasion for testing the virtue of time on past fortunes of fate.

Professional critics give acclaim while general audience were left indifferent. Personally, I found protagonists to deliver poignantly with a message direly needed fifteen years hence in the context of government’s ethical ambiguities.

Lifestyle

Declutter At Your Peril?

There are particular recreational and general interest items which you need at the ready in order to stimulate the brain at home. Don’t let your spouse throw out that harmonica that you haven’t used since last year’s family reunion. That book with the marker at page 23 is still going to get read but maybe not tomorrow. How many of you think it would be nice to learn a language but there’s clearly no evidence of learning aids amidst that tidy end table by your TV chair? Someday, right? The discovery of some old dancing shoes may just be the re-think required for reworking old West Coast swing moves. How about that crochet project which isn’t happening because of some subconscious dilemma of tidiness? Is there a family bonding opportunity lost because the scrabble board is tucked away in storage while junior obsesses over some phone app?

We downsize and right size and retool as we grow. Then grandchildren are suspicious of the person of old. Sterility takes hold and the culture becomes cold. Can we live in the new lost from soul sustaining symbols of identity?

If your work commute is more than 45 minutes, it’s detracting from your quality of life and possibly impacting your health. Could the associated fatigue be a cause of waning interest on a home hobby? Perhaps it’s the behaviour modifying influence of a roommate or spouse? What is the cause of deteriorating mental health? Is it all physiological in need of mind altering chemicals? Is there some correlation between the suppression of a creative outlet through the sterilization of home and mental fitness? What about the social impact of a conglomerate of such individuals?

Lifestyle

Embracing Calgary’s Winter

You either hide behind your smart phone, TV, tablet or get out there and bask in the sun’s glory when it’s minus eleven, no wind and the snow has settled perfectly awaiting the crispy crunch of your footsteps or ski boots. I for one prefer the slippy slide of skis whether it’s X-country or downhill. I’m typically setting the pace by marking trails for others who look up from the doldrums to discover that winter has its place in an outdoor fitness regime. Calgary has oodles of acres of green space within its park system and public spaces due partly to inept urban planning. You might as well pay tribute to your health while others navigate traffic on their way to the mall. Makes good sense, right?

You can hum and haw at the prospect of finding a fitness friend with all the coordination and texting for confirmation while knowing full well that it’s not of their highest priority, or you make that one time commitment of acquiring some affordable equipment for those occasions of spontaneous winter thrill while leading the charge. Whether it’s from the annual ski swap, Value Village, Sport Chek, or cousin Harry’s garage – winter sporting equipment is available to all who seek refuge from the germs of the gym and electronic frequency.

Speaking of the annual ski swap, a volunteer at the event back in October took time with me to discuss his upcoming ski adventure plans. He had his multi day multi hill pass all picked out which was going to mean fulfilling its benefits by travelling to distant resorts while arranging logistics, rides, time off, and the opportunity cost of time from his studies. There will be the inevitable disappointment of friends, some poor winter road conditions, and lift line ups during the high season. He was perplexed why I picked up the early bird season pass at Nakiska.

Lifes Lessons

Government of Alberta Believes Men Lack

Social engineering is now where your tax dollars are headed. Some sick Hollywood producer assaults women and now the Alberta Government is compelled to fix “the man” in the work place with a “program” for you to attend with $50,000 of your tax money. Let’s be clear. This garbage is the precise kind of policy that puts men like Donald Trump in office!

For every man reading this piece, your government believes you are less than whole. They think you’ve been conditioned to treat women poorly. Whether it’s the single parent family, genetics, your psychological make-up, the influence of a program peddler (Benevity Inc.), the effects of gaming as a child, or shear misogynist rebuke to blame, your socialist government has now put itself in the business heading down the road of “fixing” half of its population. Well, it’s only $50,000 you ask and the half of Alberta could not possibly be served with such a sum. There’s no sugar coating the message and the principle.

Revelations of Harvey Weinstein of whom Hollywood women and men apparently failed to hold to account over the years during numerous episodes of apparent rape and sexual assault of which laws on the books would have saved tens of women from his wrath, have apparently inspired one woman in political power in Alberta to seize opportunity of media buzz around the travesty by patronizing the good men of Alberta.

The good women of Alberta…. you have naturalized power with your tongue to deal effectively with any “a@@hole” in supervision. No government can sanction legal conduct of a person with poor moral character. It is every employees’ right to leave any such man without his soldier’s energy to win at the capitalist pursuit. If you are assaulted, it is your solemn duty to report the crime so that this man can be dealt with in the justice system. If your justice system is ineffective and does not provide you with the timeliness and dignity of proceedings, it is then your duty to assemble as an advocacy for improvement.

The good men of Alberta….if you witness any man in supervision treating a woman or another man carelessly in the workplace or any other place, it is your duty to confront this man and take up his behaviour with him. If you witness a crime committed by this man, it is your duty to report the crime to authorities. This is not rocket science.

This Albertan is getting sick and tired of a government that wants to inject itself into places where it does not belong.

Politics

Calgary Mayoral Candidate Bill Smith Campaign Lesson

Things he could have done better:

1. Acknowledge issue of massive urban sprawl and management plan.
2. Profess exactly whether public funds should be used for the purpose of a new arena.
3. Strategy for getting taxes down.
4. Circulate ideas vibrantly in Nenshi strong North East Calgary.
5. Prohibit receipt of campaign financing from elite interests. Ie. maximize donor amounts.
6. Refrain from exclaiming “I love the Flames and Stampeders”. Calgarians expect impartiality.
7. Express with indignity the funding two ridiculous public art projects.
8. Clearly express position on proposed Green Line.
9. Clearly express position on prospect hosting Olympics with perceived implications.
10. Opine on at least one city expense item for reduction.

By speaking in broad strokes during the election campaign, Bill Smith in my opinion played the safety card of attempting not to offend anyone who may be leaning right. In so doing, his vagueness created the image of mistrust. The electorate has been down this path before and is growing resentful of politicians more interested in the office than in representing absolute ideas for change.