This week I was swarmed by many people asking me questions. The following letters were the most important (to me).
Dear Smutton,
I was happy to discover that you edited the last issue of MacNews,
and I was wondering if you were planning to edit more issues.
Happy
Dear Happy,
I haven't exactly decided when (or if) I will edit MacNews again,
but if I do, the readers will be the second group to know.
Dear Smutton,
My hatred of you is festering...... I will attack you soon..... But
first I will torture you and destroy your life.
Happy
Dear Happy,
As always, mail is appreciated, but I think you need some advice.
Seek professional help. Lots of it. That is all.
It is time to close up my mailbag. I know some of you are disappointed that my feedback column is going away for at least another week, but do not fret..... I'll be back soon with another great article.
Smutton
On Wednesday, November 12th, the grade 10 and 11 medallion English classes went to see the play Harlem Duet presented by The Canadian Stage Company.
The play, written and directed by Djanet Sears, wasn't all that bad.
It had an interesting story. A man divorces his wife and leaves her for another woman. Then the woman goes psycho and tries to kill her husband. This crazed, obsessive, murderous plot would have made it a really good play except for the strange, confusing parts (Why did the shaving guy die twice?). It turns out that the woman's ancestors also killed their husbands after they were left for other women, but I won't spoil the whole play for you.
There were some very sick parts that I won't go into full detail of, such as the dead fetus in the freezer and the... ahem... private... um... things that were preserved in a jar. These things were accented by the copious amounts of swearing and the scene in the bed (don't worry, they were clothed). These things lead me to wonder why the medallion classes were barred from the first four minutes of Passion last year because the first scene wasn't deemed appropriate for our "young, innocent minds", but that's another story.
This play was pretty well done, but could have been better without so many time changes and more actors and actresses; after all, they only had five.
So, in closing, I give this play three and a half stars out of five. It must have been entertaining because I didn't fall asleep during it. Not that I ever did that, especially during the plays last year. After all, I'm a good student, right? Don't answer that.
Stoopid Head & (my alter ego) Smart Foot
Monday, October 27th
Day 1: 126 000 teachers and administrators throughout the province go on strike, braving sub-zero temperatures and early morning snow and sleet. About 10 000 people protest at Queen's Park in the afternoon.
Macdonald Student's Point Of View: Yay! Sleep-in!
Day 2: The Ontario government seeks a court order to legislate teachers back into classrooms as early as the coming Monday. When interviewed about his opinions on Bill 160, Chretien remained neutral. The Ministry of Education's "homework" website receives thousands of hits. Some "homework" suggestions include encouraging children to watch educational television programs and helping measure amounts in baking.
Mac Student's POV: Woo hoo! Let's go to the mall!
Day 3: Museums, malls, libraries and other public places continue to be flooded with kids. Approx. 5000 teachers protest at Mowat Block.
MSPOV: Kay! We can, like, buy clothes 'n' stuff!
Day 4: Three picketing teachers are injured after being hit by a car. The driver was apparently making an unsafe left turn. Teacher unions offer the government a 5-point-plan, but the government rejects it.
MSPOV: Yeah, and we can go see that Ethan Hawke/Uma Thurman movie...s/he's such a babe! What's it called again?
Day 5: Over 500 teachers, administrators, parents and students (including this reporter) protest at Dave Johnson's constituency office in East York, many wearing Halloween costumes. Some of the best ones include a Vegas-style Elvis carrying a cardboard guitar reading "Bill 160's Got Me All Shook Up", a person in a radiation suit and gas mask ("Welcome To The Common $en$e Revulsion"), and a vampire ("Bill 160 Sucks"). The majority of passer-bys in vehicles give support.
MSPOV: I think it's called Galactica. Who cares? I'm broke. Let's go trick-or-treating without costumes instead!
Day 6: Justice Macpherson denies the provincial government's bid for an injunction to stop the political protest.
MSPOV: I am very, very bored.
Day 7: Talks break down as both sides stand their ground. "No end in sight" is the deadline on the front page of "The Toronto Star".
MSPOV: I am oh so very bored.
Day 8: More and more parents, mostly of children in elementary school, complain to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to try and end the strike. Talks break down again, yet the teachers show signs of faltering.
MSPOV: This is very sad. I actually miss school...
Day 9: About 20 000 people hold a huge rally at Queen's Park in protest of Bill 160. Approx. 8000 Peel Region teachers rally in Mississauga. The teachers were described in "The Toronto Star" as being "militant".
THE WEEKEND: Three out of the five teacher unions decide to go back. The other two soon follow suit. The strike is officially over, but the fight against Bill 160 continues...
MSPOV: Uhhhh...maybe I should have done my homework...
Sofi, ed.
We recently came back from a two-week long work stoppage by the teachers of Ontario. Many people believe that this is because the teacher unions have given up and are not fighting Bill 160 and the Harris government anymore. This is not true! Teachers, their unions, and parents are continuing the protest in other ways. They are issuing a court challenge, and parents have also organized the Green Ribbon Campaign. This campaign is similar to other Ribbon Campaigns of different colours, but the green is in support of education.
During the ten-day work stoppage, I made regular visits to the picket lines at Tyrrell and Macdonald. The teachers all shared the same view: they were forced to picket by the government. If the government wanted to stop the work stoppage, they could always have announced that they were going to review Bill 160 for a while. Instead, they pushed it through as fast as they could, forcing the teachers to take drastic action.
The teachers on the picket line did not want to keep students out of school, and many were happy to be back in class. However, with the government in its current position, the protest is far from over.
Nony LaSouris
For I am no one
Without love
For with love comes life
With life comes people
Making me a person who can love
Without force.
Appearances mean nothing.
What is in the heart is what matters.
We are people with souls.
That is what truly matters.
anonymous
Anyone following the recent election for MegaMayor may have wondered if someone may have tampered with the results of the vote. There I was watching TV, when the numbers came in. They came in slowly, with not much of a difference between the two sides. Only a couple hundred votes separated the two.
After a while the numbers were into the thousands, then ten thousands, then hundred thousands. Both sides had roughly a hundred thousand or so votes. But to everyone's amazement, the votes for Barbara Hall dropped drastically to about 60 000 votes, giving Mel Lastman a big lead of more than 50 000 votes. The people at CityTV reported it as a computer glitch. But perhaps it was more than just a glitch? Perhaps sabotage?
I also find it odd that Toronto would hand count their votes instead of using a computer. This leaves more room for errors.
All the polls said that it would be a close race between Barbara Hall and Mel Lastman, but in this was not the case. So what went wrong? Was it really a fair vote? Maybe we'll never know.
Wreck
You may well already know about the new channels being offered by your local cable company, but did you know that one of the funniest television shows ever produced (in my humble opinion) is being played on "The Comedy Network"? You didn't? Then peruse this article further, my friend.
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988-1994) used to play on YTV, but was pulled two years ago. I protested with a letter printed in Starweek, but it was not put back on. Not until now, that is.
Whose Line... is a British improv show where talented actors and comedians "compete" against each other to be the winner of that particular episode. Through various types of improvisation games, the contestants make up scenes, songs, and sketches on the spot. Hilarity always ensues.
One of the most refreshing aspects of the show is that the contestants vary from week to week. Some of them have gone on to bigger, better things since then. Ryan Stiles stars as Lewis on The Drew Carey Show. Tony Slattery had roles in The Crying Game and Peter's Friends with Stephen Frye (another contestant). John Sessions was in A Midwinter's Tale. Mike McShane played a mechanic on the short-lived Brotherly Love series with Joey Lawrence. Colin Mochrie is a regular on Canadian shows like Comics!, and can still be seen at The Second City. Jonathan Pryce starred in Brazil and Evita.
Two back-to-back episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? can be seen on the Comedy Network weekdays from 8 a.m. - 9 a.m., and 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. Set your VCR if you must.
Sofi Papamarko
Elated ed.