If this works, CR is one of the most fun guys I know to rock out to - a Vancouver summer tradition if you ask me. Plus - ooh, fancy - video.

Outside they say it's June but it still looks like May - no real summer yet, no beaches, and just more of the same. I wrapped up my first course last week and it was splendid, but now the next looms, set to start just days from now while I'm still finalizing marks from the last one. The world's a fascinating place but I just haven't had time for revelations lately. Maybe it will help being at one school instead of three this summer.

In my free time lately (ha! free time?) it's been the new Zelda on Wii. Mmm slaying trolls. There something about the way an RPG never strays too much from the classic format that has made the whole game make some sense to me even though I've never really played anything like it. Follow the clues about "strange goings on," and collect items until you're powerful enough to take on (insert name of evil wizard or demon thingy here). Ahh the simple life, when good and evil is determined by "can I target it?"

But now it's back to marking exams. See you at the beach.

It's G8 time again, and once again, the leaders of some (okay, most?) of the world's most powerful nations have gathered and are in danger of being up to no good. Our own (sigh) (groan) leader Stephen Harper (there, I said it, okay) is hopping on the Bush boat to global warming land - I think he opes it'll make Canada the next tropical tourist destination or some shit. What a clever (small minded, backwards) man.

In addition, they always seem to spend a good part of these meetings explaining why they haven't been able to live up to their past promises and agreements. If you cut past all the spin and bullshit (then there's nothing left?) what you'd hear would be something like: but we were under public scrutiny and there were like these angry protesters and it was getting all messy, so we had to say we'd do something about (insert global catastrophuck here). We didn't intend to actually spend and time or money on it, just a few words. This year, getting the supersized G8 shaft: the 2005 pledges on global poverty, aids, and education.

Thankfully (yes, end on a positive note, then they might come back), this year's G8 is being held in vunderbar Deutschland, a suitably progressive place, and the public there is giving them HELL! Thanks Germany! I wish I were there to help! Alas, sometimes life just doesn't allow for last-minute trans-Atlantic hops, but there is still something we can do from our side of the pond: sign some petitions. These have been rapidly gaining signatures and are being presented to the G8 leaders. Do your bit! (Because what's in a name? when did you last use it for something better than this?).

Go to: http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_summit/
and/or http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/G8_Petition_May_2007.cfm

I don't know where my original post on this ended up. I posted it and blogger promptly crashed on me - the same old song and dance - so here's the redux.

Last week was the Adult Ed. Graduation, held at JO for all of the grads from our 6 different schools. It was my first, and I found it a particularly moving event. In all my grad-going days I've never seen a prouder looking bunch, and I think that's a testament to all of the diverse barriers our grads have overcome by the time they walk across that stage. At any grad, you can usually tell which election is coming up by which level of government sends the most candidates, and the upcoming civic elections were made more than obvious by the swath of counselors who were a part of the platform party.

A full eight seats on stage were occupied by civic politicians: four school boards trustees and four counselors. Not bad when you consider the whole city gets 11. I wish I still had the note where I scribbled down their names during grad, because frankly, the performance they put on was DREADFUL! Not a third of the way through the ceremony, before any of our valedictorians had spoken, the entire flock of eight less one trustee evacuated the stage. Can you imagine? Midway through a graduation and half of the platform party walk off the stage? It was atrocious and very obvious political maneuvering. Clearly they weren't actually there to honour our hard working grads, but rather just for the few minutes of air time in a packed gymnasium. Cheap.

And they seriously all got up and left the stage at once, before a single grad had walked across it. So thanks for coming counselors, but if you're going to use our ceremony as just another opportunity for political opportunism and behave disrespectfully towards our grads, then please, don't come. Judging by how the people I talked to this year felt about the whole thing, if it were to happen again I suspect the resulting letter to the editor campaign would be even more damaging than just being eaten away by the guilt of knowing you acted shamefully on what may be the most important day yet for hunderes of young people and new Canadians. It might even damage a political reputation or two, and based on what I've seen, that's the one thing they can't abide.