Not what you expected

I know I promised that the Campaign for Pope 2025 would start today in my last blog post. And I suppose in private it has. But there are a few things going on in the world and personally right now that's taking up my time. So we'll start next week with some nice Photoshopping and fresh ideas. 

For today, I'm going to go back to maybe a more traditional journaling format and let you know some of those things I'm up to that are taking up my time this week. 

First off, Canada held its 45th election yesterday. I've got some pretty mixed feelings about the outcome. As of this writing, we know that the Liberals will form government under Mark Carney, but it's still unknown if that will be under a minority or majority government. I've always been a fan of minority/coalition governments because I think it puts an extra check on power. But there's something about the current situation and the tension between Canada and the US that makes me wish there was a clear mandate. If the BQ are given the balance of power, I think it will only exacerbate the feelings of Western alienation in the country, and that could be problematic. 

The fact that my favourite federal MP and my least favourite federal MP lost their seats in the election also adds to my mixed feelings about the election. Jagmeet Singh resigned as leader of the NDP last night, and the poor NDP took an absolute beating, primarily at the hands of the Tories last night. Gross feeling. 

Also worthy of mixed feelings is that Pierre Pollievre lost his seat, but the Conservatives picked up a lot of seats. Which I read to mean that despite the threat of neo-conservatism coming from the US, some Canadians still felt that the party was the solution. Although I've seen a lot of arguments that the Tory vote was more about crime and affordability - which is a genuine issue that we as Canadians need to start working on. 

All in all, nothing's changed much, but at least we don't have to listen to PP anymore, and maybe we'll see the Conservative Party of Canada actually become a more traditional conservative party again. 

In other news, I'm rounding the corner on making my job as a Communications Consultant permanent. I've been doing the role on a temporary basis for the past 3+ years, and a permanent spot has finally opened up. I'm a bit nervous and there's so much to do, but standing back a few steps, I think I'm the person who will get the job. At least I hope so. I've got the most experience in the company and in the department. I've passed the written assessment, and tomorrow is my interview. 

The interview looks like it will be pretty intense. I need to do a presentation on four things I'd change or update about the media relations team, and then we follow that with the usual, "tell us about a time you were butt-hurt and what kind of cream you used to soothe the burn." 

I've got the presentation built. After basically running the place for the last year, I've got more than four things I'd like to change. But I'm focusing on a few that I think will resonate and that I can connect to the company as a whole, or to larger trends in the world. Less complaining about things I don't like and more insight into ways we need to improve. 

The "tell us about a time" section is maybe a bit deceiving. On one hand, I feel over-prepared for it for the first time in the dozen or so times I've done an interview. The Company started doing a new staff review process called "PDP" a few years ago, and part of that process is collecting stories to show that you do certain things, like work with people or overcome a serious butt-hurt. So I have three years of collected stories to draw from. I just worry it's giving me too much confidence, and I'm going to be less prepared than I feel when it comes to the interview.  

Also, I need to file my taxes tonight. 

All this to say, I've got lots going on this week. So next week, right as the 2025 Conclave is about to start, I'll be starting the campaign to make Denis the next pope. 

The campaign begins - next week.

If there's one thing people have always remembered this blog for, it's my campaign to have my Dad named Pope during the 2005 Conclave to replace John Paul II. 

I didn't repeat the campaign in 2013 because I'd never experienced a Pope stepping down, so I wasn't sure of the legitimacy. Plus, I wasn't blogging at the time. 

But things are much clearer in 2025. Plus, with the current eligibility requirements that the Pope be under 80, it might be the last chance to make him Bishop of Rome. 

Since we're still in the novemdiales (period of mourning), I'm not going to break out the campaign signs or start sending my large *ahem* "campaign contributions." Yet. But I think we'll be near enough the end of that by next week to really kick this thing into gear. 

 But I would also argue that the world is in a pretty delicate place. Democracy seems to be at risk everywhere. Life is getting more expensive, and for the first time in history, war isn't just death and fighting, it's economics and computer hacking. Pope Francis was important in bringing people wisdom and hope during this time. In fact, Popes have always had an important role in times like this.

That's why I argue we should not be leaving the Vatican in a leadership vacuum. We should appoint a temp-pope. I wrote a song about it. 

Missed it by that much...

Last weekend, I stumbled across a fun mini-doc on YouTube about one of my favourite cartoons from back when I was a kid, Inspector Gadget. 

For the uninitiated in the ranks, Inspector Gadget follows the adventures of the namesake character along with his neice Penny and their dog Brain. Not to be confused with that other Brain. Inspector Gadget is sort of like RoboCop or the Six Million Dollar Man in that he's been bionically enhanced with a bunch of gadgets that ostensibly help him solve crimes. I say ostensibly because, as regular viewers will know, Gadget never solves anything. It's usually left up to Penny and Brain to do all the hard work. 

I was really surprised to learn from the documentary that the show was only produced from 1982-83. Perhaps even more surprising is that the production company just stopped making the show because they just didn't need to make it anymore. It wasn't cancelled, and the lead voice actor didn't quit in some sort of dramatic controversy. They just stopped making it. 

Who does that?!

Even more surprising is that despite stopping in 1983, it kept being shown and enjoyed for years and years to come. 1983 makes me too young to have enjoyed it during its initial run - I would only have been 1-2 years old. Yet I watched Inspector Gadget a lot - in the late 1980s and even into the 1990s. I'd even guess that the Navigator probably watched the show. 

It is so strange in our modern world of fast entertainment and 30-second attention spans that something could run for a couple of years and continue to have entertainment value for a decade or more after production is completed. I was thinking the other day how, despite all the Star Wars content we've been given over the last few years, nothing has had rewatching value to me. Even the best of it, Andor and The Mandalorian, have only been a one-time watch. But I bet I've seen The Empire Strikes Back at least 3 dozen times. Heck, I've even seen each of the prequels a handful of times each. 

Conan O'Brien has commented a few times on his podcast that people should not be able to make new content, that we've got more than anyone could ever consume in a lifetime already. As a creator, I don't love that idea. I'd like to think there will always be an outlet for the things I make. But I get what he's saying. How can anyone expect their things to be consumed when there's just so much to be seen? Not to mention, your cut of the attention pie gets smaller and smaller as more and more content is produced. It's going to become increasingly hard to make a living out of being creative.

I took the kids to see the Minecraft Movie this weekend. It's the second time since Kendrick Lamar's SuperBowl Halftime performance that I've felt like I've enjoyed something that's actually part of the larger culture. Something that's more than just my little niche of videos about old computers and dusty guitars. The movie was pretty good for what it was, and I was very impressed that this generation has found a way to interact with something in a real way. People were yelling stuff at the screen in unison, and there was massive applause at the end. It was a genuine, real experience with real people. 

It made me realize that while we've all been driven into doomscrolls and Trump-hating, at any age, we really just want to go out with others and enjoy ourselves. It gives me hope that my own creativity will have a place in the real world. I had the pleasure of playing guitar with and for my co-workers a bit over a week ago. We had so much fun singing together, sharing jokes and enjoying a shared experience. It wasn't people stuck on our phones; it was a group hanging out and just having fun. 

Maybe the world is on the way to a reset. Maybe in time, we'll get back to concerts and festivals and doing things together. There's something so shallow about an internet comment, just trying to illicit such a thing for this fleeting little bit of attention in words on a screen. 

What do you think of the current world of entertainment? Are we headed for a connection renaissance? COMMENT BELOW! 

Vaughn and Healy

As I get older my relationship with music has started to come full circle in so many ways. It's always interesting to me to hear some music that I really liked in my youth and get a chance to rediscover it. It always surprises me how good my taste in music was very early on. And how complex some of it was. 

I had one of those moments this week when I stumbled on this video of Jeff Healey and Stevie Ray Vaughn playing "Look at Little Sister" on an old CBC show in the late 80's. According to one of the comments on the video, SRV was in Toronto for some shows, saw Healy at a bar and invited him to perform with him on TV. It's also apparently the only time these two miraculous legends played together.

I've loved Stevie Ray Vaughn for as long as I can remember. He's not someone friends introduced me to, in fact I wouldn't find another person who loved him as much as me until I was in my 20's (RIP to my friend Steve Deschambault). I first caught wind of him on a PBS broadcast of Austin City Limits where SRV and Double Trouble just absolutely melt the roof off of the venue they play at. It was only in researching this post that I learned how old some of that performance was - going back to 1983 - when I was only about 2!

Jeff Healy also captivated me in my youth. Because of my own vision issues and love of guitar, he was constantly brought to my attention because of his own vision impairment. And while his achievements are all the more notable for overcoming that challenge, I always found the way he played guitar across his lap like a pedal steel to be even more interesting. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that vision impairment makes it any harder to play guitar in the standard position.

The things I've read say that he did this so he could have both hands on the fretboard which does make a bit of sense. But he also started playing very young - at age 3 - and it's said he developed his own style. Apparently, the lap-style posture lent him more strength in his playing. I think that his lap style was more about learning young than about learning blind. Either way, as a guitarist, it's more than impressive to see him play the kind of music he did in the style he did. 

The most melancholy part of that video is that it's the only time these legends play together. SRV would go on to help Healy's career and raise his profile, but this one song is the only time they're both on stage together. 

Stevie Ray Vaughn died in a helicopter crash in 1990 and Jeff Healy passed away in 2008. I missed an opportunity to go see Jeff Healy in the early 2000's. He was doing more jazz stuff than blues at the time and I chose to skip the show - and it's been a regret ever since. Just like Tom Petty a decade later, he would die shortly after he came around and I never got a second chance. 

I try to to bemoan missed live shows too much. I'll never see Pink Floyd or the Beatles play. And I've been lucky to see a reunited I Mother Earth when I thought that was impossible. Some people will see the band that would never reunite, Oasis, soon. But at the end of the day, we have recordings of performances like these that we can enjoy. I can go see Pink Floyd play their most spectacular show in the Imax in the next few months and maybe that's what I need to be grateful for. 

In defense of microwave popcorn

 There are so many ways to make popcorn. You can cook it in a pot with oil or use an air popper. For the especially adventurous out there you can use the explosive Chinese popcorn maker (maybe called a popcorn cannon?). 

But, it occurred to me this weekend as I was fending off a large black bear while enjoying a bag of Orville's best that microwave popcorn is growing on me as the best option. 

On the pro column, it's easy to make, perfectly seasoned, and when it's fresh out of the microwave, it's just the most delightful hot and fluffy flavour. Plus, even once you've finished all the popcorn, the bag is still so well seasoned and it's a delightful treat in and of itself. 

On the con side, yes it makes extra garbage, you can't control the toppings and it's quite a bit more expensive than just making it yourself. Plus, I haven't found a dependable microwave for when I'm camping. 

There are a few ways to circumvent some of those negatives, though. I found a homemade microwave popcorn recipe that would make it customizable to season and could be made in a reusable container like a silicone bag or a bowl. I'd heard that you can do it in a paper bag before, but that just creates more waste again. 

But you know... I seem to remember grabbing a silicone bag a few weeks ago for my sandwiches at lunch. Should I... do an experiment for my blog?! 

YES! 

Before - just kernels and potential

I started with maybe 1/8 a cup of popcorn kernels and a little tiny bit of oil - basically enough to coat everything. I tossed it in the microwave and hit "popcorn". 

PRO TIP - Leave a little vent in the bag when you close it. The damn thing inflated like a balloon! This led me to stop briefly midway and crack it open before it exploded. 

And did it work? 

Yes

Yes, it worked! 

It was a tiny bit overcooked. I think this is mostly because I had to stop halfway through and vent the bag (as mentioned above). It took another 20 or so seconds after restarting for the popping to continue and I'm sure that contributed. But otherwise, this was just great microwave popcorn! 

I'll have to chase this recipe around a bit now. It needs butter and I only did a little tiny bit. I'll have to run some experiments to see how much I can cook at one time without filling my microwave with popcorn. It gets pretty hot when it cooks so I would certainly recommend sticking to silicone or glass when cooking. But the microwave works great. There is no special voodoo in those microwave popcorn bags. 

I would recommend pouring the popcorn out into a bowl, it's starting to stick to the sides of the bag as I monch on it finishing this post up. If you're looking to do this yourself, I got this stylish Star Wars silicone bag at Dollarama for like a buck. So this thing starts paying for itself pretty quickly. 

So here's to a fun new approach to popcorn - and a new way to stick it to Big Popcorn and their microwave popcorn markup!