Jian Ghomeshi - The Real Reason...

Those who can give justice are owed justice.
John Rawls, A Theory Of Justice, p. 510

First, right off the bat, Jian Ghomeshi is no Peter Gzowski, and Q certainly is not Morningside. But the Oracle of Ottawa has certainly to give the young Jian an A++ for even have the guts and balls to even try to follow in such large footsteps. Imagine the Oracles amazement at the first sound of the news on Friday morning, thereabouts, that the young Jian was taking "time off for personal issues"! In about one nano-second the Oracle of Ottawa's bullshit alarm went off, in warning mode. Perhaps the youngster was a little shell shocked from all the events in Canada in the last week, in preparation of the 'Harper Government' self-coup, which will be started in earnest in the week coming.

Jian Ghomeshi (right)

 It was while the Oracle of Ottawa was Sunday driving up to the Ottawa Valley from Ottawa that he heard on the 4:00 p.m. CBC Radio 1 news, just before Cross Country Checkup, that Jian was no longer with the CBC. That the CBC had come into "certain information" whereby they could no longer have Jian about the premises of the CBC. Sound familiar? It seems that the Prime Ministers Office is firing CBC on-air personalities just like certain female 'Harper Government' cabinet Ministers!

Now of course the Oracle of Ottawa's bull shit alarm was sounding full blast in lock-on mode! Upon return from the Oracles appointed Sunday rounds, he was determined to get to the real cause of this cultural genocide, and to share the truth with his worldwide audience of Dear Readers, as a social service of course.  A search here, a search there, it will not be an impossible task.

Well Dear Readers the Oracle of Ottawa is happy to report that he is virtually certain that he has located the smoking gun, so to speak, that sealed the young Jian's fate. It did not take very long at all. And it had nothing to do with the introductory essay on the events of the Ottawa Shootings of Wednesday past, which was aired on Thursday last, although the Oracle of Ottawa could certainly detect the certain left of center bias in the young Jians words.
 

 No Dear Readers, it was another segment of the show that aired the same day. It was in interview with the young Justin Trudeau, Canada's next Prime Minister, that must have ignited a very large mushroom cloud in the Prime Ministers Office. The Oracle of Ottawa has secured a copy and it is included above this humble paragraph. The major offense occurs at 2:15 of the interview whereby Jian mentions that the CBC is the worst funded public broadcaster in the world! Case solved! There are other bits where Justin and Jian take turns trashing Jimmy Moore. You would probably enjoy watching the whole clip at least twice. The Oracle did.

On the 6:00 p.m. CBC Radio 1 news, it has been revealed that Jian has filed suit for a small amount of money not un-adjacent to the amount of fifty million dollars!! And of course, being a union member, has also filed a labour law grievance, in full knowledge that as a union member, he is entitled to his entitlements. The Oracle of Ottawa can find no fault.

For my world wide Dear Readers, the Oracle of Ottawa has also included a video of Jian in another life before he became a cultural pillar of Canada. Yes, he was the handsome, sexy, although vertically challenged, front man of the pop group Moxy Fruvous! Now as you listen carefully to the lyrics, you will quickly realize that the message is not conducive to Conservative Party of Canada's code of Family Values  and Conservative Purity as dictated by the Duck's Ass, Alberta Base Commission.      

 In closing the Oracle of Ottawa must advise his Dear Readers not to pine nor fret for the young Jian. While he was a Canadian pop star, he only sold about 500,000 albums in Canada and the United States. The royalty checks will certainly more than cover the paltry cost of a year long sabbatical, plus meals and guitar strings. Next year at this time, at the latest, Jian will be reinstated by Prime Minister Trudeau. As to the fate of Peter Mansbridge and Rex Murphy, all the Oracle can say is: Book your mover now...  

Is Ben Heppner Finished?

Night has come. It is good to obey the night. 
Homer, The Ilaid, Book 7.286, Barry B. Powell Translation

At the time of this writing Ben Heppner is probably the most famous opera singer that Canada has ever produced. He has sung all over the world, and has performed darn near all the starring roles. He has won a ton of awards including seven honorary doctorates, and the highest level of the Order of Canada that a Canadian could possibly get. He also has an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, the poshest classical music label on Earth, and the oldest established surviving record label on Earth! All signs seem to point to a very successful career.

Don't ask me! I can't figure it out either...

 You would think that an opera singer with these bona fides would be constantly in the Gulfstream G650 winging his entourage from one great city to the next in an unabashed orgy of major earning power, like that old Italian guy did until he died, whose name at present and out of respect alludes the Oracle of Ottawa at the time of this writing. It seems that Ben Heppner has taken on a lesser job in the opinion of the Oracle of Ottawa.

On Saturday the Oracle of Ottawa does his coveted Saturday Routine, and while he his going from stop to stop, he has Saturday Afternoon At The Opera on the car radio. As of late the oracle of Ottawa is puzzled as to why and how someone like Ben Heppner is on the Oracles car radio as a mere host! Shouldn't I be hearing about Ben Heppner as he tours to packed recital halls, instead of hearing from him in a play by play from the deep subterranean basement studios of the CBC? What is up with that Dear Reader? What ever could be wrong with Ben Heppner?   

Barry B. Powell - Homer For The Rest Of Us!

No one sings about glorious deeds performed in an imaginary war.
Barry B. Powell, Homer, The Iliad, p.25

For a very long time the Oracle of Ottawa has wanted to read the great works of Homer. At the time of this writing the Oracle of Ottawa has four different English translations of The Iliad; the Chapman, the Fitzgerald, the Lattimore and the Barry B. Powell. I know, how sick is that? The Oracle has made many attempts in his misspent youth at attacking the great work. But each time the Oracle was put off by the place names, the character names, and the nagging level of missing basic information of the setting of the great story. The Oracle of Ottawa came to the conclusion that to get through the Ilaid, and actually understand the times and all, you had to have at least an Honours Degree in Classical Studies.

Barry B. Powell at the Walls of Troy - Bona Fide!!!

 Another problem was that the Oracle always insisted on the best and most pure translation. Research at an actual old fashioned public library informed the Oracle of Ottawa that the works of Homer were always in something called dactylic hexameter. The works were sung by singers, until someone invented writing. Now from watching the movies, the Oracle of Ottawa roughly knows what Homeric Greek actually sounds like. But alas, the Oracle of Ottawa found none of the same music in the big three English translations.

Troy - Not just a 'story'...

 It was just after Christmas when the Oracle of Ottawa was out hunting for something awesome to read with his new Christmas book money, when he happened to spot a never before seen new translation of the Iliad by some guy called Barry B. Powell. The Oracle of Ottawa picked up the new hardcover book, without much hope, and marveled at the perfect cover illustration and design. The Oracle's interest was further peaked when he noticed that the book was published by Oxford University Press. Surely the Oxford University Press would not publish just any new translation of Homer.  

Thetis picks up new armor for Achilles...

 The Oracle of Ottawa cracked the book open and was floored at the perfect sparse double opening title page in perfect good taste, that actually matched the contents of the included work. The Oracle of Ottawa marveled at the detailed, but yet accessible, introduction by Barry B. Powell, that alone is worth the price of the hardcover. The Oracles little literary heart quickened. This is the stuff that the Oracle of Ottawa has always longed for. The maps, diagrams, and pictures. Especially that picture of the translator at the walls of Troy! How bona fide is that Dear Reader? And the fact that the translator had the same goal in translating the masterpiece that the Oracle of Ottawa has always dreamed of, to make the English translation take on the music of the ancient Homeric Greek.

The ultimate test Dear Reader is of course in the reading. The Oracle of Ottawa turned to Book I, and read the first line. The rage sing, O goddess, of Achilles, the son of Peleus... and no word of a lie, tears come to the Oracles eyes! This translation is the Bomb! This is the one. All the weird bits were very well noted at the bottom of the page and that doesn't bother the Oracle in the least. And yes, I read every damn one of them notes and was very grateful to the translator and his publisher at giving him the freedom to include them all.    

The book cost a little over thirty dollars in Canada, a mere pittance for something of such awesome quality. Again Dear Reader this was the one. The Oracle has finally put The Iliad under his belt, so to speak, but this is only the beginning. This was the translation that reached out and in and had the Oracle completely enthralled. Even reading carefully and slowly, not wanting it all to end, the Oracle had the great work wacked in less than seven days, with his copy full of underlines and notes. Something has gone off in the Oracle of Ottawa. This translation is a masterpiece. It captures the flavor of the music of the words of the Homeric Greek into our English. This is a great, great, feat.    

'Harper Government' - The Other Vagrants

A just system must generate its own support.
John Rawls, A Theory Of Justice, p. 261

When the House of Commons broke (early) for the Christmas break last year, the young punks in shorts at the Prime Ministers Office wiped their sweaty brows in utter relief, in the fact that they had managed, just, to prevent the whole mess from caving in and falling from a non confidence vote. At the onset of the New Year, they were sure that the Vagrants Tour, which started just last week, to all the accursed sand spit micro states of the Middle East would be a sure lift for the bosses numbers. Surely in the middle of January nothing could possibly happen to upstage the 'Harper Government's Divine message. Surely the Vagrants Tour - 2014 would steal all the first slots of every news cycle for its total duration. Well not exactly...
 

Canada - Time for a new crew?

  Right from the get go of leaving Ottawa on Conservative Air, full to the brim with pilgrims, the blessed event started to not have the desired effect. But surely when the chrome domed eminence addressed the klutzedupsenate surely that would steal all the first slots in every news media cycle right through to the start of the next session of the House of Commons, starting on January  25 coming... Well not exactly....

The monumentus speech to the vagrant micro states klutzedupsenate barely caused a ripple here in Canada's news cycle. It seems that the 'Harper Government's other vagrants back home, completely rose up all together and stole all the top spots of the national news cycle for the last 72 hours at the time of this writing. As the Oracle of Ottawa pounds out this humble missive, the 'Harper Government' is sitting at level eight of the CBC News internet page! But they had serious competition from other Conservatives all over the country all at the same time! What are the chances of that? Not even the Oracle of Ottawa could make this up.

Level one of the news cycle at the time of this writing has been stolen by  the vagrant provincial Conservatives of Alberta, as the Health Minister Fred Horne glibbly announces that only 625,000 Albertans have had all there confidential information lost on a laptop, probably by a minimum wage contractor, the Minister is seeming to have a very hard time to explain to the press all the money that was saved by firing the civil servant that used to do it right....

Level two spot was stolen by the insane antics of one of the closet and dearest friends of the 'Harper Government', Mayor Rob Ford, the conservative mayor of Toronto has had the nation transfixed as the CBC plays the video over and over again, as the Mayor of Toronto made his most successful dinner theatre debut last night, some where in Toronto. The only thing that was missing was the black face make-up! Oh Mammy indeed...

Level three of the news cycle was stolen by yet another conservative provincial Premier, in Newfoundland this time, when one Cathy Dunderdale resigned as Minister of Darkness, it seems that the lights always go out when there is a conservative running things, is there truly a pattern? Well the Oracle of Ottawa has seen that he has gone on far to long. But for the sake of completeness that Oracle of Ottawa has checked out the level of the 'Harper Government's vagrant tour level in the news as I close and at the time of this writing, it is now at level 8, way at the bottom of the page, just above Health, Community and the fine print....        

Neil Young Is Not A Rock Star

As are the generation of leaves, so are the generations of men.
Homer, The Iliad, Book 6, Lines 145-146

You would think that a blogger could take some time off! Especially in that the last 539 posts, that amount to very near the length of an epic Russian novel, the Oracle of Ottawa thought he was due. But no, the idiots in short pants, now resident in the Prime Ministers Office, of the doomed 'Harper Government', have made the blogging fruit hang so low, that it is all but impossible for the Oracle of Ottawa to let it all merely slide by.

Neil Young

 It all got started recently when that nice Toronto boy by the name of Neil Young stood up on his back legs and let it whale on the skanky Alberta tar sands, the 'Harper Government',s favorite and pet project. It was  like watching a triple launch of Exocet sea skimming missiles in terminal lock on, hitting a great hulking cruiser or aircraft carrier of yesteryear. To the Oracle of Ottawa's eyes from where he as sitting in the last few days, it appears that all the missiles were a total hit right above the water line.  

The 'Harper Government' realized that if the Native Peoples efforts at legal fund raising are an absolute success, they could easily go to the Supreme Court of Canada, and on a good day with the right argument, could quiet well get an injunction that could shut down the tarsands until such time, that all Treaty issues were hammered out to the  Native peoples satisfaction! Imagine the carnage on the Toronto Stock Exchange, not to mention the local Canadian Tire Stores in Fort McMurray! (Also known as Newfoundland Tire and Speed).

There was of course the usual ordered wailing of the CBC of the old style vulgar media by the Prime Ministers Office to try and make old Neil look bad. But as the efforts increased in intensity, old Neil Young was looking better and better by the second. Doesn't anyone know in the Prime Ministers Office that old Neil once took on Richard Nixon in the US and totally won that one? The Oracle of Ottawa figures that if a mere rock star could shake the government of the mighty United States, the mere pale shadow of the ever increasingly doomed 'Harper Government' is all about in and done, like dinner.

No Dear Reader, Neil Young is not a rock star, he is a freakin' LEGEND!!   

Marxian Thought - The Best Introductory Lectures

In fact of course, this 'productive' worker cares as much about the crappy shit he has to make as does the capitalist himself who employs him, and who also couldn't give a damn for the junk.
Karl Marx, Grundrisse, Notebook II, The Chapter on Capital, p. 193

It was just in the recent past that the Oracle of Ottawa wrote a little missive on the best introductory documentary on the life of Karl Marx. The post was written to share with what I suspected would be one or two of my Dear Readers that might become interested in such a topic. Much to the Oracles surprise it has been garnering much more hits than first suspected. No doubt it would be really a great public service to the world wide readership of this 'umble blog if the Oracle of Ottawa could direct you to a very high quality introduction to Marxian thought and theory. 

Richard D. Wolff - Feisty as Hell!!

This of course was a bit more difficult than fist imagined. But by total accident the Oracle of Ottawa has found a most excellent source for your continuing Marxian education. There are very many people talking about the works of Marx on You-Tube, but alas, most all of them prove after just the first few words that they have never read any of the great mans work ever in their lives. Wouldn't it be great if there was just one lone Ivy League prof that had somehow gone completely rogue, and became utterly obsessed with spreading the Marxian message?

Well Dear Reader, Richard D. Wolff is your man. Harvard, Stanford, and Yale! Is that wicked or what? And not only that, he was a student of the great Paul A. Baran , The only tenured Marxian prof in the United States, and as fate would have it, one his students was Richard D. Wolff! Well as fate would  again have it, (and doesn't it always?), the wheel of life has turned another full revolution and it is now Richard D. Wolff that is practically the only prof of Marxian thought in the Western Hemisphere at the time of this writing.

The main reason that the Oracle of Ottawa has singled him out is that you don't have to come to Richard D. Wolff already completely read up on Karl Marx. He will instruct you to all the reasons why knowing about Karl Marx is important. He will not harangue you to read Capital, (like David Harvey), after one or two Wolff lectures you will be starting your own collection of the works of Marx, you will be inspired, you will read Capital all on your own, and thank your maker that Doctor Wolff was generous enough to post his lectures on You-Tube for your free viewing and learning enjoyment.

He yells, he spits, he curses, he implores, he sweats. Damn! You won't forget it any time soon. This guy is not very concerned about making the faculty lounge for happy hour. Now the Oracle of Ottawa knows that someone with a resume that contains Harvard, Stanford and Yale, regarding the study of any economics could be hauling a great salary as an indentured slave of a galaxy of corporate over whores. Yet the good Doctor continues to spread his message. The Oracle of Ottawa would love to know what made him go rogue, what the full circumstances were. The Oracle of Ottawa suspects that would be darn near as good as one of Doctor Wolff's lectures. 

Rammstein - Waiting For The Opera

Even if my pencil doesn't do justice to the model, my intention always does.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Grammar, IV, 58

It would probably come as a great shock to most of my Dear Readers that if you asked the Oracle of Ottawa who was the greatest rock band in the world today at the time of this writing, the Oracle would have to reply instantly; Rammstein! Even though the Oracle of Ottawa is six years older than Till Lindemann, and has seen very many of the most awesome rock bands of all time in his misspent youth, including the first seven tours of Canada's greatest rock band Rush, the Oracle stands by his choice.

Till Lindemann

Rammstein was in Canada in the recent past, out on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. The Oracle of Ottawa seriously considered attending, one last big blowout in honour of his misspent youth. But alas, age and the serious misgivings of my significant other forced me to change my plans. It was a good thing too. The weather of the night of the concert was still over 85 degrees. When the Oracle saw the clips on You Tube and on the CBC of the actual blow out event he was relieved that he wasn't there. It was insanely hot and the Oracle at his advanced age would have surely wilted as a delicate flower.

The Oracle always tells anyone who will listen that Rammstein is much, much more than just a flashy rock band. Many of their works are going to be standards of German classical Leid in the centuries to come. You should see the strange looks the Oracle gets when he lets that one off in public! Although you can't even easily buy a Rammstein CD and it is impossible to get the concert DVD's in North America the Oracle strongly believes that we haven't seen nothing yet. 

What impresses the Oracle the most is the utter commitment of the members of Rammstein to their art. They will undergo any discomfort and social moral restraint to get the desired effect across. All of the members at some point have suffered personal injury in their performances that would put many of today's Rock and Roll Hall of Famers out of commission for ever. But again the Oracle of Ottawa strongly believes that there is much greater stuff to come. Like a full and serious Wagnerian style opera. The Oracle strongly believes it is in Till to bring us a stunning modern German opera in the greatest classical German tradition. The Oracle feels that the subject matter will pretain to ancient German archetype with the effects of the New World Order on the fate of the world....

Postscript: Could you imagine Geddy Lee or Mick Jagger going this far out on a limb for their art? Till can make the baddest Academy Award winning Joker look like a harmless cub scout! Now that is true art...

George Jones - Someday My Day Will Come

I'll be the one I want to be
Someday my day will come...
George Jones, Still The Same Ole Me, 1981

It was with great surprise that the Oracle of Ottawa heard of the passing of George Jones. What surprised the Oracle of Ottawa even more was that he died cared for, and in bed, and that he lived to be 81 years old. It is a hell of a long way from Saratoga, Texas to being a pillar of Western Popular Culture. Many readers are no doubt surprised that the Oracle even knows who George Jones was, but the Oracle must come clean and freely admit that between the most excellent rock concerts of my fondly misspent youth, the Oracle would always crank up the radio when a George Jones song came on in the car. And growing up in the Ottawa Valley we had one of the first FM Classic Country stations, CKCY. and everyone up the valley tuned in, and back in those days it was all Classic Country, and if you listened you were very familiar with George Jones.

George Jones strikes a wicked Hunter S. Thompson pose
and see's it all to the end.

The Oracle of Ottawa comes from a generation that can very easily remember the sound of the Grand Old Opry coming in through an AM radio on a Saturday night in the 1960's. And of course we all heard the stories of George as he became more and more famous and his life careened more and more out of control. And in recent years as more and more details availed themselves from George himself, the Oracle of Ottawa was forced to realize that Keith Richards was really just a ribald amateur compared to George Jones!

The excess was legendary. The Oracle can't help but comparing the similarities of the lives of Hunter S. Thompson and George Jones. Both were equally famous in their craft at very nearly the same time in American cultural history. One in the printed word and the other in song. One survived it all and one did not. There are some very important lessons here. The first is that is very hard to kill a Marine, and George Jones was a Marine. And the second lesson is that a man will survive most anything if he does not give up on his God(s). And the Oracle was always impressed with the Possum's deep underlying faith. So much for Fredrich Nietzsche...

Stompin' Tom Connors - In Memorium

For in hope we are saved.
The Letter of Paul to the Romans, 8:24

It is with great regret that the Oracle of Ottawa will attempt to extend his sincere and heart felt condolences on the news of the passing of Stompin' Tom Connors, a great Canadian. Born into trying circumstances, that today, are virtually no longer in existence, Thomas Charles Connors discovered early his great gifts of perseverance and dogged grit. A man born of great gifts which he continued to develop all his life, Stompin' Tom never deviated from the truth discovered in himself.

Stompin' Tom Connors OC

 It is a very fond memory of the Oracle of Ottawa that the first "Rock Concert" he ever attended was Stompin' Tom in Arnprior, Ontario in 1970 or was that 1971? When the number one song on Canadian radio was Big Joe Mufferaw. The venue was the church hall of Saint John Chrysostom Church in Arnprior, which of course was sold out well in advance. The Oracle of Ottawa remembers with crystal clarity the Stompin Tom Tour vehicles; the honking brand new white Ford Thunderbird's with the largest set of Texas Longhorn horns you ever saw, attached to the front grill of said vehicles. You just can't make this stuff up.

It is truly amazing how long greatness adheres to memory. There he was in the full vigor of youth and on the start of his meteoric career path, Live and in Person!. Stompin' Tom had great stage presence, similar to the likes of Johnny Cash and Gordon Lightfoot. His shows all through his career were of a special electric quality, and the Oracle of Ottawa knew even at the age of thirteen years that this man would continue to be a force to reckoned with for a very long time. His works will enter the folk song cannon of Canada, and the Oracle of Ottawa will predict that at many times into the far distant future there will be many rebirths of his songs as the spirit and forms of this great construction of Canada will require. You know, like John Tavener, is in England, but much more important.

It is not as widely known as it should be, but Stompin' Tom was a man of very great depth and assorted talents. He wrote not one but two memoirs! And without a ghost writer, thank you very much. Which is quiet impressive when you discover the true amount of time that Mr. Connors actually spent in a classroom. And the Oracle of Ottawa will help you out here, it was not very much...The Oracle of Ottawa discovered the real man several years ago when he released his complete works of songs and some other very interesting things that occupied the mind of Stompin' Tom Connors. It was all bound in a surprisingly large hardcover of red cloth and in quarto size, no less. In the back of the book, after the hundreds of awesome songs, there is a description of a rather awesome algorithm for a perpetual calendar that Stompin' Tom created and if memory serves, had patented!

Today we all feel a loss, and lesser in and of ourselves, but the mans words and thoughts will live in the Canadian archtype as long as and no doubt longer than Canada lasts. Another Great Canadian; Northrop Frye, often said that all life is a quest, and it's greatness is measured in the fullness of its realization. Stompin' Tom Connors has painted out for us its importance...  

New Canadian Twenty Dollar Bill - Five Major Errors

There is nothing like our ideas existing in the bodies themselves.
John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, p. 87

It was brought to the Oracle of Ottawa's attention today by a young lad cashier in a Chapters store somewhere in Ottawa. As I was paying cash for a gift for my significant other, I was reaching into my pocket for the required amount from a pile of new twenty dollar bills that I just retrieved from an automated cash machine, when I again noticed how much the new twenty's are a lot like the 'Harper Government' of the day, slimy and yet greasy at the same time! When relating my utter disgust and contempt for the new bills the youngster mentioned that the Arms of Canada were nowhere to found on the notes!

The Oracle of Ottawa was aghast! Surely it was worked in somewhere! And the youngster also mentioned that he line "This note is legal tender" was not visible! And for the life of the Oracle of Ottawa the little whipper snapper was correct! This would get more and proper investigation when the Oracle of Ottawa returned to his fortified compound, somewhere in Ottawa - South.

Well the Oracle of Ottawa found the "This Note is Legal Tender" printed in very small letters to the right of the Obverse (i.e. front) of the note in a very small group of letters printed in an elliptical curve. Upon closer inspection, with several different kinds of peepers, the Oracle of Ottawa found FIVE major errors in the bills design! I will innumerate each with an actual real life image. So here we go!

Arms of Canada - Missing...

Error I:  These new polymer banknotes are the first Canadian banknotes in 58 years that do not have the Arms of Canada visible on them!  The arms of Canada are the arms of the Sovereign and signify national sovereignty and ownership. They also act as an easy security feature. Is the 'Harper Government' trying to tell us something subliminally? Has Canada, entering into the China - Canada Foreign Investment Protection Act changed things that much, that Canada is no longer a nation - state in its own right any longer? I guess we will never know, since the details are secret! Now we know why they are secret?

Peace Tower aspect and details totally wrong...

Error II: Peace tower detail in security strip inaccurate and wrong! Get a peeper and if you are very young and of good eye sight you will be able to see the error(s). The observation windows under the clock face are distorted and not in the right place! The second deck of observation windows are missing! And under this is missing much stone work detail. (and the griffins and gargoyles don't match...) This image certainly was not done by Canada Banknote!

Poppy colour and leave shape wrong...

Error III:  The poppies (?) on the reverse (i.e. the back of) are not the correct colour! And the leaves that are displayed to the left of the banknote are not correct to the poppy of "Flanders Field" . Of which the correct scientific name is: Papaver rhoeas I have included a link so that it can be corrected at a later date? Or not...

Vimy Memorial  -  Aspect ratio's incorrect...

Error IV: Now we are getting into the real serious and bad stuff. On the reverse of the new twenty dollar bill is an image of the Vimy Memorial. Now we all know how the ' Harper Government' loves to milk the the war stuff. How it is the best friends of all war veterans, well, at least until you actually require the services you are entitled to! So the Oracle of Ottawa would think that the image of the Vimy Memorial would be the last thing that would have to be worried about! But the Oracle of Ottawa was wrong again! And you don't even need a peeper.  The image included is clickable and can be enlarged. Compare it with the image on your new twenty dollar note. The aspect ratio is wrong, i.e. it is distorted, isn't it?

Vimy Memorial - Nipples on females of wrong ethnic group...

Error V: The Oracle of Ottawa has also heard that the new twenty dollar bill is the first one that has naked breasts on it! Well, the Oracle of Ottawa must inform you that you would be wrong! Check all the Canadian Banknotes before 1954 very carefully. It seems clear to the Oracle of Ottawa that Canadian men prior to 1954 were big breast men through and through. But that is not the problem. And yes, the girls on the Vimy Memorial are naked and showing their "titties"! I mean how bold is that? But if you enlarge the picture and check out the nipples, you will find that the said features are very fine and dainty, perfectly characteristic of the sculptor using French models as was most certainly the case as the Memorial was fashioned in London, England. If you get a peeper and check out the nipples on the back of the new twenty, you see that the naked nymphs are sporting monster Latina Woman nipples! Now the Oracle of Ottawa has figured out how this mistake of proportion could have possibly happened. You see the contractor that did the image was located in Calgary or Edmonton, which is most deficient in fine featured French girls. So the little contractor went to his basement and woke up three pretty Columbia Latina's currently working at a Tim Horton's in Calgary as temporary foreign workers! Q.E.D.

Does this match what's in your wallet?

The Best Karl Marx Documentary

The process is so complicated that it offers ever so many occasions for running abnormally.
Karl Marx, Das Kapital, Buch II, p. 500

It is a great comfort to the Oracle of Ottawa that there are still in existence some organizations that have the greater good at the top of mind. One of those organizations is the great BBC of the United Kingdom, and another is the Open University. Recently they have collaborated to produce a series of documentaries of the worlds greatest economists. The first episode covered the legacy of John Maynard Keynes, The second episode was on Hayek, and the third and greatest episode was on the subject and modern rising influence and seeming rebirth of Karl Marx.

Karl Marx - 1870

 The series was hosted by a most beguiling young lissome lass by the name of Stephanie Flanders. The host and the series reminded the Oracle of Ottawa of John Kenneth Galbraith and the series The Age of Uncertainty. It was eerie how Ms. Flanders has the same ability to captivate as did the great John Kenneth! The Oracle of Ottawa loved the lavish production in HD. And the stops at all the major way-points of the life of Karl Marx. It was just entrancingly fascinating. You could really tell that Stephanie Flanders totally "gets" Karl Marx, and it truly did shine through and is most worthy and without fault.

Stephanie Flanders

 What the Oracle of Ottawa enjoyed the most, and found most impressive, was the quality of guests that made themselves available for very frank and candid interviews for the Karl Marx segment! The Oracle of Ottawa won't give them away, save for one, Sir Mervyn King, yes that Mervyn! Governor of The Bank of England! Damn! That Stephanie Flanders sure has some kind' a pull. The Oracle of Ottawa damn near fell of his chair! And dear reader, it was all awesome, and perfectly and seamlessly edited. And Sir Mervyn really knows his stuff, you could tell that he actually read a lot of the texts of Karl Marx.

Could it be? This documentary was very recent. Could it have played a role in present day events? Could this appearance and rather forthright honest opinions have cost Sir Mervyn his reappointment? Is this the real reason that Mark Carney, the Judas head of the Bank of Canada and the International Stability Board has been named the next Bank of England Governor? The Oracle of Ottawa is of the opinion that the only thing that Mark Carney knows about Karl Marx is that he never made partner at Goldman Sachs...

But be that as it may. The Oracle of Ottawa digresses. There were two small omissions that were missed that would have really rubbed salt into all the right wingers watching the aforesaid segment, that the Oracle of Ottawa must really point out. The first being the lack of mention of Karl Marx's neighbor in Highgate Cemetery. And that is the fact that Herbert Spencer  , who coined the term "survival of the fittest" has a forever face fronting view to the great monument erected in the honour of the now great and again up and coming friend and contemporary Karl Marx! In one of the most ironic grave placements in the history of economics and science, they are forever "grave buddies"! And as you watch the whole episode you can readily see who has won the prize for fame for all time! The second slight omission  was at the last of the episode when the question was bandied about what change could be possibly made or what could replace capitalism as it now exists. 

Well the Oracle of Ottawa has the answer for this! It is the greatest economic concept that you have probably never heard of. And it was coined by the aforementioned John Kenneth Galbraith. And that concept was called "countervailing power". Perhaps you should look into it.

The fastest and most brilliant hour of television of 2012... They can't make this go away, it will always pop up somewhere... (But as of January 2015, it has been made to completely vanish...)

Canadian Museum of Civilization Goes Disneyland

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapter 10

 As any reader of this blog already knows, the Oracle of Ottawa greatly resents having conservative darwinist western canadian pigs screwing with the Great Canadian Institutions. The Canadian Museum of Civilization has been called the Canadian Museum of Civilization since 1856! Why the "brand" of the Canadian Museum of Civilization is older than Canada itself! How dare some come lately pig of a pinhead in the bloated form of James Moore dare to even think of screwing with it?

Corporate sponsorship pending.....

The Oracle of Ottawa got first wind of the change when one Andrew Cash of the NDP opposition stood to his seat in Question Period Monday last and asked the "government" for clarification of the foolhardy move.  The  fool in the overly rotund form of James Moore confirmed the "re-branding" and actually seemed to relish the utter outrage of the Opposition! The new name is to be The Canadian Museum of History or a similar play on the words thereof...

The Canadian Museum of Civilization is renowned for its permanent galleries depicting over 20,000 years of human civilization. Well that is all soon to be gone dear reader. The stated focus now will be only on "Canadian history" as seen through the pig eyes of the conservative party of canada. Translated, that means that only the sanitized version of Canadian history as approved by the Prime Ministers Office and its minions and communication contractors will be the only approved version that will be allowed to be seen by Canadians from now on. Curators take note... 

Great Hall - like Canada now soon to be a memory....

 The Oracle of Ottawa has got wind of some of the new permanent  exhibits. The much loved Great Hall will become the Preston Manning Hall of Mirrors, with each mirror cracked just right to provide a gross and repulsive image. Western knuckle dragging hicks from Ducks Ass Alberta will truly love this! The real reason all the ancient galleries will be hidden forever is that the residents of Ducks Ass Alberta, the home of the Conservative Party of Canada Ideology Purity Committee have reminded the PMO that all the artifacts could not possibly be real since the Earth was created in six days sometime around 4000 B.C.!

Another new exhibit will be known as Great Conservatives of The Past, this of course will not require very much space. A utility closet that at present holds all the toilet paper and hand soap, has been deemed more than large enough to contain the proposed exhibit....  But the high-lite exhibit is going to be a real crowd pleaser! The Oracle of Ottawa has found this out from a very reliable source.... There is going to be a life sized awesome look-a-like of Sir John A. MacDonald(!!) at the very height of his great and august career. And just as Old Faithful goes off every twenty minutes down in Yellowstone National Park, Sir John is going to puke on his shoes just as he did in last campaign, deep in the throes of alcoholism and early onset dementia. Yes, the Oracle of Ottawa knows his Canadian history.

Well, it has come to the end of the day. The rotund James Moore and that skidmark from Barhaven, who does not required to be named, have made another great contribution to the 'Harper Government' legacy; that incredible ability to take something that was once whole and complete and transform it into something less...

Conniving With Caravaggio - At The National Gallery Of Canada

"Roman society had a history of violence, and artists were no exception. Fights and brawls were frequent in this world. This became the world of Caravaggio."
Caravaggio; Exhibition Program...

It was twenty four years ago that I took a really hot French girl to see the Degas exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada for a first date. It was awesome! The show included all the known extant works of Degas! It was simply a once in a lifetime experience that today would be utterly impossible to duplicate in today's unstable world. Last Friday, me and that really hot French girl, still together, after all these years decided to go see the Caravaggio exhibition that is on at the National Gallery until September 11, 2011. These special shows take forever to organize and are simply the best educational, cultural and entertainment value for your dollar anywhere! And with the philistine Conservative Party of Canada in power I thought it doubly prudent to make this show just in case the National Gallery is turned into a Walmart Sam's Club! I wish I was joking here, but with the right wing bible thumping wacko's you just can't never tell....

Caravaggio - A Doctor of his time...

 Much to my surprise (and chagrin) there was a ton of space still left in the under-ground car park, no line-ups at the ticket booth and nearly no one at the exhibition! How can you explain this? Perfect fine art observing conditions! The security guys were pretty burly, but very mild mannered. He took our ticket stubs and pulled open the massive door and motioned us through!  This exhibition contains forty works of Caravaggio and a whole wack of his contemporaries! If you have any soul what so ever the grandeur of it all takes your breath away! The patrons of the arts back then loved their art LARGE! Out of the whole exhibition on display there were only about three paintings that would fit correctly into the largest modern house! All the rest require a National Gallery or a freaking Castle! The Oracle of Ottawa just can't start putting into to words the effect this has on a person. But I can assure you with the utmost confidence that seeing these great works of The Old Masters will make you a better citizen of the world and a better human being!

Saint Jerome and the angels... (4 feet high by 6 feet wide!)

It is a real double good day when at an exhibition like this that you get to see something that you always wanted to see and it was totally unexpected! Friday was a double good day! The great painting of Saint Jerome and the angels by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi is also included in this wonderful show! It is a painting that I have always wanted to see. Cavarozzi did not share the darkness of Caravaggio! The contrast is near overwhelming! This huge painting radiates warmth, mercy and humanity like a blast furnace radiates heat. The Oracle of Ottawa found himself unable to tear himself away from this magnificent work of art. How did they get a painting to seem to glow?

Caravaggio - The Sacrifice of Isaac...

The one thing the Oracle of Ottawa has learned is that even the best and most modern digital images do not in any way capture the power and masterful grace of an Old Master painting! Somehow, no matter what, the captured image is always way too dark!  The Sacrifice of Isaac was to me the most memorable. The angels face in reality is as radiant as a modern Klieg light! This again is a huge work many feet high by many feet wide! And they are even more imposing when you see them in their original massive frames! I could almost here Abraham; " Say What?" Deliverance is at hand, (the angel), evil is at bay, (the goat or ram), and Isaac has the look on his face that says "when I get my hands untied, I am going to rip your wings off!" You have to see this and soak it up. The look on the faces, especially Abraham is not soon forgotten...

Here in closing is a little video to get you in the mood of Caravaggio. After seeing the great works this is the video that leaves you with the feeling that I am sure you will experience. Don't miss this if you are living in Ottawa and/or visiting Ottawa. To see all these great works in one place for a mere fifteen bucks is an incredible deal! Just think, if even you had all the time and money in the world, and you went to each paintings home gallery, it would take months and hundreds of thousands of dollars! Don't miss it! Support the fine arts and the fine folks, who, at the National Gallery of Canada slave for years in total obsessed dedication to make these events happen! 

Sun News TV - Krista Erickson - The Saddest Thing

In order to recognize a symbol by its sign we must observe how it is used with a sense.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico - Philosophicus, 3.326, p.19

Watching the 21:00 slot of Brian Lilley on July 02, 2011, I was amazed to learn that there are now over 4,000 public complaints with the appropriate public authority concerning Sun News TV! Why that can't possibly be true! According to their ratings that means that darn near everyone that watched complained!? And I was very shocked to hear Mr. Lilley himself admit that the very on-air presence was being threatened!

I was also shocked, shocked to hear of the news that the great man Theo Caldwell as of June 27, 2011 is no longer with Sun News TV! I suppose that means that the Caldwell Account has been closed? And much to my amazement and utter surprise the great mans article on Wikipedia is now a mere shadow of itself! And is again up for Speedy Deletion! (unreferenced claims, self promotion and lack of notability..ouch!!)  Everything is happening so fast!

Under Siege...

But alas! The main subject of this humble missive concerns the subject of the Krista Erickson interview with the Great Canadian Margie Gillis.Although this interview happened on June 01, 2011 it has taken that long for the fragile left leaning presence and persona of the Oracle of Ottawa to heal and repair.. But onward we must go! It was at the end of the interview that just floored me. I have included that video below for reference. I will align all my comments, to the time signature of this video so that you can follow along.. I am sure that there will be a ton of people at the authorities that will also appreciate this...

At 1:40 Krista goes on about why the Canadian Government should not subsidize something that is not profitable? Just before this whooper she somehow compares funding of the arts to the 155 young Canadians that have fallen in Afghanistan? But yet the Conservatives seem to have all the money in the world to "subsidize" war! So is Ms. Erickson telling me that the Conservatives are making money from the war in Afghanistan?

Krista Erickson (2:00-3:00) gets on the very dodgy argument and takes great offense with Ms. Gillis when she rightly points out that the Canadian society is starting to lack compassion. But again all I can think about here is the lack of compassion of the Conservatives as they send our flower of youth to die on a flea infested road. And I also remember, and very well (see earlier post..)  about how I overheard a minister of the Crown  (i.e.a former Defense Minister..) being advised in a Hortons coffee shop, somewhere in Kanata, that if you want Canada to be a "World Power" that you had to get the population over the upsetting fact of young men returning in body bags! Point to Ms. Gillis....

Poor Krista ( 5:00-6:00) still seems to be under the impression that when you receive grant money that the artist just goes away and pisses it away in a huge debauch! I have a very strong feeling that it does not work this way! Receiving grant money is a lot like signing a book deal... you get an advance of money, but you are legally obligated to provide something in return as specified in the contract! For example in Ms. Gillis' case she would no doubt be obligated to hold a certain number of master classes, in Canada and abroad representing the finest that Canada has to offer to the world. Now 1.5 million dollars over a 39 year career is not much better then working at a third level Canadian media outlet! 

The saddest part was right at the end! (8:00-10:59) Where Margie says that if you had a solution to world conflict wouldn't you want to do it, to try it? And the reply of Ms. Erickson; "But were not going to take money from the tax payers..."  That was the saddest thing I have ever heard a Canadian say...

Part II of the Margie Gillis interview. time references to the bits that really troubled me and why as per above.... God help us all...