There is this accepted assumption that if you are NOT hiding away in a hole somewhere protected by a publishers army, then you are fair game. Open season. And not just with the hackling idiots with no lives, but, guns cocked and ‘take aim’ by the very institutions we call ‘the news’.

In my view, and many other former subscribers’ opinions, one of our local media outlets  has become nothing more than a gossip column. And, online, nothing more than cyber-bullying.

Imagine, if you will, this scenario:

A student at St. Jean’s School has broken the law (It doesn’t matter what law he broke, but he broke the law). The Principle found out through the grape vine and has decided to post a photo of the student in the lobby. There is a sign next to the photo that says “FEEL FREE TO TRASH THIS STUDENT. WRITE YOUR COMMENTS HERE. IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL SUPERIOR.”

We would never let THIS happen, but we let IT happen.

We allow some local media outlets to practice a form of public flogging without any accountability. And we, the people, are participating in it full on.

By no means, should anyone take this bitchy blurb as a slam at local media outlets only. I’m slamming us all. Local media outlets should be more responsible, no doubt. They are, after all,  ’professionally trained’.

But like the school scenario above, its one thing to encourage people to publicly shame their peers, but that we jump in and say YES to this method of perceived punishment is beyond anything humane to me. We think we have moved away from the stocks and pillory, but have we?

Let’s take ‘stock’ of a different kind, and resist delving into the darkness of our own personal (and professional) insecurities and inabilities when responding publicly to what is happening around us.

This place is way too small to be spreading the hate. Any place is too small.

Its definitely not a new discussion or argument, but where we get our news and how the ‘new media’ has influenced public input and what we think of as ‘journalism’, in general, gives more flavour to Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message”.

It used to be that we read the newspaper and watched the news on the TV. Done deal. Commentators were featured from time to time and a few would write letters to the editor or if they felt like expanding on their views, an op-ed. Traditional media.

Those were simpler days, albeit somewhat void of the varied and constant barrage of opinion we are used to these days. Weblogs, blogs, whatever you want to call them, started out so innocently, with regular people from regular places writing about what they cared about. People could randomly comment, adding opinion, ideas, criticism and encouragement. More often than not, these people identified themselves as who they were, communities were created,  and weblogs became a ‘trusted space’ . The business world caught on and weblogs also became very effective PR machines.

When the traditional media made the leap to the world wide web, the reporting and commenting on the news changed. A newspaper would post a story on their website, but not print it in their paper. The purpose, to evoke interest in something a little more eye-catching in hopes that people would comment and therefore bring more attention to the story, and in turn sell more papers or click-throughs on the website ads.

And it wasn’t soon after that the TV news jumped on board with their version of ‘news’ weblogs. Open commenting became the norm and a new era in defining ‘freedom of speech’ took hold.

And today’s debate from all of this? How far do we go with freedom of speech?  It would appear that things have teetered a bit off the totter. So much so, that the media are the ones being criticized. Their readers and viewers are not happy with the anonymous comments. The ‘trusted space’ has been seriously affected in such a way that it has turned anti-social.  CBC is even reconsidering allowing anonymous comments.

Then there is Facebook, where people control who their friends are and know who there friends are. Facebook has become the new ‘trusted space’, and for good reason. Discussions and debates, ideas, criticisms and encouragements all have their place on Facebook. And not to be outdone, the ‘traditional media’ now uses Facebook as a tool to get the message out there. Users such as politicians, musicians, artists, real estate agents, grandmothers, NGO’s … all see the value in expanding their world through a mutually agreed upon method of communication.

So where will the news go from here? How will the news outlets adjust, or will they? One thing is for sure, people who don’t mind identifying themselves online will always strive for those ‘trusted spaces’. Those who choose to remain ‘anti-social’ and not use their freedom of speech in a responsible way will continue to look for ways to pollute the ‘airwaves’.

Personally, I stopped reading the local rag or watching the 6 o’clock news years ago, and have resisted visiting the aforementioned’s websites for the past couple of years. I have blocked non-spam people from my weblog, facebook and twitter and am choosing my news according to a collective sense of credibilities. I have become more focused on issues I truly care about and have annihilated the ‘noise’ from my medias. I could claim on a positive note that I am thankful for this open media I have come to participate in and hope that it continues to evolve.

That’s it for now but I’ll leave you with these McLuhan ‘messages’:

“Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication.” – McLuhan

“Far more thought and care go into the composition of any prominent ad in a newspaper or magazine than go into the writing of their features and editorials.” – McLuhan

“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.” – McLuhan

January 2012

Byblos (LD) – Belvedere Ave.

Casa Mia Café (L) – Queen St.

Daniel Brennan Brick House (LD) – Sydney St.

Globe World Flavours (LD) – Richmond St.

Lot 30 (D) – Kent St.

Redwater Rustic Grille (LD) – Grafton St.

Sims Corner (D) – Queens St.

Sushi Jeju Café (LD) – Grafton St. East

Tai Chi Gardens (LD) – Pownal St.

TA-KE Sushi (LD) – Queen St.

L=Lunch, D=Dinner

Every November/December I perplex myself with the ‘why’s’ and ‘how’s’ of the over-indulgent, drippingly frothy, wretched way the Christians put on a birthday party . It’s not that I’m query-free for the rest of the year, but as the stench and roar of the consumer engines revving in the foreground jams my senses this time of year, I’m jolted in a more poignant way than, say, mid-July whilst riding my bike along the North Shore of paradise.

Aside from any historical data or theories that might challenge our assumptions in celebrating the birth of Jesus in December, we do know that Ancient Romans held ‘end of year’ celebrations to honour Saturn the harvest god and Mithras their god of Light – other Europeans did the same as the end of all harvest season. And part of the celebrations included special foods, home decorations, singing, dancing and gift giving.

Well let’s just assume that we innately carry this cultural premise with us in our current understanding of why we may celebrate this time of year. Let’s GIVE ourselves the benefit of the doubt that we are not stupid nor victims of mind control.

So we buy gifts. Not just one gift for each person we love, but several. (In fact, one might think that we’ve been told that if we don’t, the economy might collapse. But wait… IT DID! …[and all the money didn't go to keep more elves working in Santa's workshop but to the deep pockets of infinite-dipping executives] .

Several gifts x 6 (modest list) = debt. A likely formula for the rest of us (non-infinite-dipping executives). But we (to clarify ‘we’ as a participating group, not necessarily ‘you and I’) do it anyway. Interesting, keeping in mind that we are  GIVING ourselves the benefit of the doubt that we are not stupid nor victims of mind control. There has to be something else behind our decision to do this year after year.

Guilt for not spending enough time with our families throughout the year… maybe
Peer pressure for those struggling with individuality…perhaps
Because God wants you to give ’til it hurts…no doubt
It’s just fun… who doesn’t like surprises

We also buy food and decorations. It costs a bit more to throw a good turkey scoff, but the task usually falls on the lap of one lucky volunteer per family, so the extra costs tend to revolve, in accordance to healthy family practises. The decorations are what they are. The make-up of Christmas. The glistening foundations of tinsel under the blush of red felt, highlighted with the mascara of stove pipes hats and lipstick of mistletoe. As tacky as a plastic Jesus stuck to a cradle with hot glue. And as simply as one can imagine making dinner and decorating, conversely it can be just as complicated and stressful.

Its alarming when you really think of it. A wee, saviour child was (apparently) born to a virgin in a stable and this is how we end up interpreting the event. (I am reminded of the Sunday shopping issue here on PEI and how those who were opposed to it often touted themselves as Christians, yet at the same time, were the same ones I ran into while out Christmas shopping.) Not to over-generalize, but the whole thing seems a bit hypocritical.

For those who are hanging on by a nostalgic thread of childhood Christianity and still going through the motions, maybe its time to let go and find new meaning to the Season. Or revert to Ancient Roman times or other versions of seasonal passover. The Christian story has no meaning to me, but I have chosen to continue the tradition of celebrating this season. I, did, after-all,  buy a fake, made -in-China Christmas tree last year and I haven’t heard the end of it yet.

If I have any rules for myself during the ‘holiday gluttony’ season they are as follows:

1. learn how to make something
2.  if you can’t make anything, buy locally made or previously-loved gifts.
3. if you have to ask for it, it is not a gift
4.  be with your family, or the next best thing.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ONE AND ALL!

For those who had been following the Federal Government’s decision from 2010 to change the mandatory long form census to a voluntary survey, you would have been particularly interested in Dr. Fellegi’s talk this afternoon. He prefaced his lecture by sharing some history with regards to the development of the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

At the end of the eighties the countries of Central Europe began to change from centrally planned economies to market-oriented democracies. A few years later the Soviet Union was dissolved. Among the many changes that these developments generated was the need for complete transformation of the national statistical systems. Part of this transformation process was about redefining the role of official statistics, as well making it clear to governments and other users of statistics that a good system of official statistics must meet certain general criteria. In order to get this message across, and to assist heads of national statistical offices to defend the position of their institutes, the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics were developed.- Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics website.

Fellegi then set the tone for his lecture…. Canada led the world in the development of these principles. Little did we know we would be where we are with regards to respecting those principles, re: the 2010 decision.

When asked after his lecture whether or not he knew why the Federal Government made this decision, he had no clear answer and did not speculate…. as easy as that would have been.

He did not hold back and was very persuasive with his assertion that political interference had been committed by the current Federal Government. He wondered why the Minister responsible did not adhere to the Principles, or why he did not appear to even know the Principles existed. He also talked about trust, something he feels is the key to his profession. He believes the current methodology in collecting statistics in Canada does not deserve the trust of Canadians.

I found  this in a Toronto Star article where Fellegi was interviewed about his job in 2002:

Unbeknownst to most Canadians, (Stats Can) is considered the world’s best statistics agency, because of the quantity, quality and credibility of its work, which is free of political interference.

He ain’t singing that song anymore.

But more to the point, I have never NOT had a blog. Cynthia Dunsford dot com was my political weblog (minus the commenting option). And now Cynthia King dot ca will be my post-political place to go on about things.

To clarify and understand, as well, that I realize this website is no comparison to my early years of blogging as a way to reach out and form new communities and engage in discussion. The anonymous element to the ‘blog commenting barf’ did me in long ago. Not interested in participating in such crap, thank you very much. So it is what it will be… a place for me to write. I will more than likely hit the FB ‘share button’ on my posts and use the  commenting option FB provides. At least its a non-anonymous platform.

Several of my friends and acquaintances have also asked if Parkdale Doris is coming back. My smart-ass answer has been, “she never went anywhere, she just worked in a different theatre.” But the real answer is, I don’t know if she will be back. I’ve got 6 years of PD material stored on my puter. Like those books you might have high up on a shelf where you can’t reach to dust them off. That’s kind of how it feels.

All of the losing, retiring, unwelcome change-type clichés apply and believe me I have heard them all:

“You’ll land on your feet”

“You are resourceful”

“Keep your head up high”

“Everything happens for a reason”

Or my mother’s line, “now you can come visit me more”.

And that my friends is my new reality. I can visit my Mom and Dad more often, I can spend more time with my beautiful grandson, Fin. I can go to the grocery store in my sweat pants.

Life DOES goes on. I have two awesomely creative kids, Ash and Ian, and a wonderful partner, Derek. There is much, much more to explore and I look forward to the climb.

10-4, Over and out…

This photo is of the October, 1927 Fifth Solvay International Conference on Electrons and Photons, where the world’s most notable physicists met to discuss the newly formulated quantum theory. The leading figures were Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr.
But the reason this photo hung in my office for the past 4 and half years was because of the lone female scientist in the photo, Marie Curie. Of the 17 Nobel Prize winners in this photo, she was the only one to win twice in two scientific disciplines. I will always be inspired by women who step forward to work in male-dominated fields.
Good luck to Carolyn Bertram, Kathleen Casey, Paula Biggar, Janice Sherry and Valerie Docherty. Be yourselves and stay strong.

Thank you to my election campaign team: Tanya, Kathy, Daniel, Ron, David, Donna, Della, Dave and Peter. Plus all of the other volunteers who helped get the message out.

Thank you to Derek, Ash and Ian, Christopher and Craig, Sebastian, Brian and Phyllis, Mom and Dad.

Thank you to all of my former colleagues for your friendship and guidance. And congratulations to the Liberal Team for another majority and clear mandate to do more good things for PEI.

Thank you to the residents of Stratford-Kinlock for the privilege to serve our great community and PEI for 4 years. I truly loved my job.

I will retreat for a short while, gather my thoughts and figure out my next move. In the mean time there is still lots of good biking weather left.

Peace out and much love.
Cyn

Share the Road, Stratford Rd.

Cyclists across PEI have been trying to educate and activate governments, both municipally and provincially for decades. It is great to see the City of Charlottetown listening, learning and implementing plans for safer cycling.
Over here in Stratford, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal has included ‘share the road’ signage and wider shoulders for cyclists.
Progress is happening and those who have been working on this should be congratulated for the work done to date:
Cycling PEI, all of those cyclists who have called and emailed TIR and their towns and cities departments, the governments and planners themselves and of course, motorists for learning how to share the road better with cyclists.

As mentioned, TIR has been working in my district of Stratford-Kinlock to make things safer with signage and wide shoulders:

- 12 Share the Road signs in high traffic areas in Stratford.
- 1.5 metre shoulders on both sides of the Stratford Rd. between Barclay and the blue church.

The City of Charlottetown now has these two areas with official bike lanes which includes painted lines and bike stenciled logos:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Brackley Point Road to Mount Edward Road;
- Maple Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Ash Drive.

Immediate plans to create dedicated bike lanes are in the works for the following areas:

- Belvedere Avenue, from Mount Edward Road through the new roundabout to Queen Street.
- Queen Street. The road doesn’t have the necessary width for a dedicated bike lane so the city will be putting up ‘Share the Road’ signage.
- Oak Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Pine Drive, from Brackley Point Road to Maple Avenue.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to the roundabout. That section will also be completely resurfaced.
- Allen Street, from the roundabout to the Confederation Trail.
- Allen Street, from the trail to Queen Street will be designated with ‘Share the Road’ signs.
- Mount Edward Road, from Belvedere Avenue to Woodlawn Drive. Work is now taking place on the shoulder of the road.
- University Avenue, from Belvedere Avenue to Capital Drive.

Let’s keep those wheels turning and make PEI safer for cyclists! in fact, let’s get out there and ride our bikes and get some exercise, save money on gas and help reduce our carbon footprint!