River City Writer

Contrary to popular belief, Mingus Tourette reproduces asexually.

Via Warren Ellis.

Despite the fact that, just 2 days ago, the media was reporting that rodeo would be Alberta’s official sport, the news now is that it won’t be. Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett curtailed the motion, saying that there are other sports just as deserving, and that rodeo should not be given any special status.

Kevin Taft, of course, was upset that he won’t be able to leave this small legacy behind when he steps down as Liberal leader next month.

Read the full story…

Quite a few days ago, I mentioned on my other blog that I would be writing a review of Pub 1905. I’ve put it off for quite a while now because I wasn’t sure what to write about that I haven’t already covered in my review on Yelp.

Here are the main points from that review:

• Pub 1905 is my new favourite Edmonton pub.
• The drink prices are good; where else can you get a pint of Guinness for less than $7?
• The servers are among the friendliest bar staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of being served by.
• The menu is incredibly diverse; do you know of another pub that serves escargot or warmed goat cheese?
• They have some of the greatest hot dogs in the city, perhaps even better than Fat Franks.

The only thing I can think to add is the reason why Pub 1905 is now my favourite pub in the city. Obviously, the points listed above are major factors, but there’s a bit more to it than that.

For quite a long time, I’ve wanted a place I could go that felt like “my place;” a place where I might be on a first name basis with the staff; and a place that felt, in some ways, like home, despite being a public space.

I had this to a certain extent when I used to frequent Halo, but I’m not really clubber anymore, and I lost that intimacy when I stopped being a regular customer.

In addition to wanting a place that like feels “my place,” I wanted a place that isn’t a part of a chain or a franchise. As much as I love, for example, The Sherlock Holmes, it doesn’t meet this criteria. Plus, there are just too many faces coming and going on both the customer and server side to ever really get that feeling of home.

Pub 1905 is different. It’s not a chain. It’s an independant pub. Even on a night when there is a hockey game, it’s not particularly busy, and the music is kept low enough that you can actually hold a conversation without having to yell across the table. (Speaking of the music: it’s eclectic as hell, Johnny Cash followed by Green Day followed by ’80s electro-pop followed by…)

There’s also an odd, undefineable quality about the place that just makes me feel happy. It feels welcoming and personable. Even though I’ve only been once, it feels like my place.

Plus, there are those hot dogs. Those wonderful, wonderful hot dogs.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

List of Remembrance Day Events in Edmonton

I recently wrote a post about why I disagree with Kevin Taft’s proposal that rodeo be declared Alberta’s official provincial sport. It turns out that I’m not the only one who disagrees with the idea.

Fellow Edmonton-blogger Mack Male made his distaste for the idea very clear, with two simple words: “Um, no.”

St. Albert book-blogger Peter Bailey wasn’t quite as terse in expressing his opinion, saying that Kevin Taft has either:

lost his mind from the pressure of trying to convince Albertans to vote Liberal;

misjudged the effectiveness of political stunts (Sarah Palin?);

come up with an unusual way to get complimentary tickets to Canadian Finals Rodeo this weekend;

got the wrong idea from What Not to Wear when a man was told to “wear more hats - they look good”; or

grown tired of waiting for ice time at his local hockey rink.

Of course, these are just three voices opposed to the idea. Maybe Mack, Pete, and I are in the minority. Maybe most Albertan’s welcome the idea of rodeo becoming the province’s official sport. Where do you stand on this issue?

For anyone who watched the CFL Eastern Semi-Final this weekend and wondered why the Eskimos are playing in the Eastern Division, the CFL website has a handy explanation of how and when the crossover comes into play.

If the fourth-place team in division A has more points, not tied, than the third-place team in division B, the fourth-place team will crossover to division B, replace the third place team in division A, and compete against the second-place team of that division.

I was unaware of this rule, myself, and couldn’t figure out why the Esks were playing in the Eastern Semi-Final. I didn’t much care, as my team was still in the running for the big cup, but I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

If the Esks manage to pull this off and win the Eastern Final and make it to the Grey Cup, they’ll be the Eastern Division Champions. Very weird. Of course, as long as I get to see the green and gold go for the Cup, I don’t care if we’re pretending they’re from the east.

Alberta Liberal Party leader Kevin Taft has announced that he’ll be putting forward a private members bill this month to have rodeo declared Alberta’s official sport. While I have nothing against rodeo, and a part of me even enjoys certain events, I don’t like this idea, for a couple of reasons.

Rodeo & the Perception of Alberta as Hick Country

Despite the fact that Alberta is an urbanized province as much as any other (nearly 2/3 of the province’s population lives in the Edmonton and Calgary metro regions, let alone the province’s other major cities), we continue to be thought of as a province of rural rednecks by the rest of the country. Adopting rodeo as the official sport of the province will only help to reinforce this belief.

As I said, I have nothing against rodeo, nor do I have anything against rural people. I do, however, take issue with the rest of Canada viewing this province as some kind of inbred, backwater province that’s only worth keeping around because we’ve got all of this oil. Do we really need to give them more reasons to feel this way?

Rodeo is not a Sport

The other issue I have with Taft’s proposal is that rodeo is not a sport. Rodeo is a series of sporting events. Chuck wagon racing is a sport. Bull riding and bronco busting are sports. Rodeo is not a sport.

Calling rodeo a sport is like calling the Olympics a sport. Yes, it’s an exhibition of sporting prowess in a variety of areas, but it is not, in and of itself, a sport.

Of course, some sources will disagree with me on this point. Even Wikipedia says that “Rodeo is a sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia.[1]” And I understand that by declaring all of rodeo (rather than a particular event) as the official sport, the province would be highlighting Alberta’s rural heritage in a broad way.

Still, it seems to me that declaring rodeo as Alberta’s official sport is like saying that our provincial sport is track & field. While you may want to call it a sport, it’s closer to being an event that exhibits a number of different-but-related sports.

Ultimately, adopting rodeo as the province’s official sport will likely result in nothing other than another photo op for Kevin Taft—a photo op that won’t gain the Liberals any of the rural support that Taft is likely expecting to win as a result of this move—and another punchline for the rest of Canada to use against Albertans.

Congratulations Kevin Taft, you’ve successfully managed to continue to illusion that Alberta is a rural province; a province where urban centres are just places for the “liberal elite” (i.e.: you); and a province that’s still stuck in the 19th century. Maybe you’re not so different from Stelmach’s Tories after all.

Numerous Edmontonians on Twitter are reporting that the city centre currently smells of manure. As one commentator put it, “[it] smells like someone just drove a herd of cattle through the centre of Edmonton.”

I’m fortunate enough to work in an office that is not downtown, and which has so far not been subjected to the mysterious shit-stench. Unfortunately, I live downtown and will be heading home very soon.

If anyone has an explanation as to why the city core smells like bovine feces, please let me know.

Close-up of Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale Label

I should have written about this before Thanksgiving, but here it is: Edmonton-based Alley Kat Brewery has released it’s fall seasonal beer, Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale.

Yes, that’s “pi” as in 3.14159, not “pie” as in, well, the stuff you eat. Maybe I’m missing the joke, but I don’t quite understand the math reference. Is it just a pun, or is there more to it than that? The label, however, does make reference to the number pi, having “3.14″ carved into the jack-o-lantern that graces the label.

There’s also a reference to Peanuts, as each label carries the phrase: “So much better than a warm blanket while you’re sitting in a cold pumpkin patch waiting for you know who!”

Putting the odd combination of mathematics and newspaper comic strips aside, is Pumpkin Pi a good beer?

Honestly, I have to say that it’s pretty average. It’s a nice novelty beer to drink on Thanksgiving or Halloween, but it’s certainly not the best brew to come out of Alley Kat’s vats.

The head is pretty much non-existant, and vanishes almost immediately after being poured; and it’s a bit too light on carbonation for my preferences (it borders on being flat, to be honest). Despite these failings, there are definite hints of pumpkin and noticeable spices (mostly nutmeg, I think) that make Pumpkin Pi an interesting drink.

Pumpkin Pi was originally commissioned by Sherbrooke Liquor (11819 St. Albert Trail), but it’s now available in other liquor stores around the city (I bought mine from the excellent Chateau Louis Liquor Store).

I certainly wouldn’t make Pumpkin Pi Spiced Ale my regular beer if it were available year-round, but it’s a nice novelty to drink on occasion during the fall season. While it isn’t mindblowingly good, it’s definitely unique and well worth picking up a case or two before it disappears for another year.

Despite the financial crisis being faced by much of the world, Edmonton is still a boom town. However, while many of us are reaping the rewards of this boom, others are suffering from a financial crisis of their own.

The cost of housing is outrageous in much of the city, forcing many of our fellow citizens to live in slums that they can hardly afford. We have a startling number of working homeless: people who have jobs but still can’t afford a place to live.

I live on 107 Avenue, in a part of the city called the Avenue of Nations. It’s one of the poorest areas of the city. Mostly, it is inhabited by immigrants and other people who have the unfortunately distinction of being on the bottom of our social totem pole.

By virtue of where I live, I see a lot of poverty on a near daily basis. I see people who are poor for all kinds of reasons. Some are struggling with addiction, some with mental illness. Some may be immigrants whose credentials are not recognized in Canada, forcing them to try and support a family of 5 on a taxi driver’s salary rather than on a doctor’s salary.

Whatever the reason, it is the responsibility of a just society to help these people—or at least to help those who wish to be helped.

Unfortunately, I’m not an expert on social issues. I don’t know how to eliminate poverty. I’m not necessarily sure what the root causes of poverty are (though, I think I managed to touch on a few of them). All I know how to do is to draw attention to the problem.

If enough people bring this issue forward, maybe someone with solutions will step forward and make a difference.