Mb Speaks
Well it was 19 years ago today I sat with Rick Kemp putting out the very first Wire Magazine. It was a Christmas issue and had Peter Cragg on the cover. It featured stories on Christmas indulgence & the waste of paper in society, plus entertainment updates on Rick Fine’s old band “Loose Change”, Greg Wells, Rev. Ken and the Lost Followers, the CKPT HomeGrown LP and even a hockey update! A lot has changed since then. We’ve seen wars come and go and stay, elections that changed nothing, a growing environmental catastrophe on the horizon. Today we look across the globe and stare down the barrel of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, Darfur, Liberia, Sudan and the list goes on. And while we complain of a crashing stock market and a shrinking job market, others are dodging bullets and eating mud cakes for breakfast. It’s not that our problems aren’t problems too, it’s just that they pale in comparison to what most of the world faces everyday, often for an entire lifetime. This season don’t forget what makes humans a small step above the animal kingdom and reach out to someone who needs your help. It could be across the ocean or just around the corner, but the rush you’ll get from giving will overshadow any discomfort you maybe feeling at “the pumps”. Also important to remember, our environment and the onslaught of packaging it’s about to attempt to swallow. And all those plastic toys which will live with us forever in the form of giant mounds or floating waste islands in the Pacific, try to consider more eco-friendly gifts for your kids like art supplies, clothes and cookies! What kid doesn’t like cookies! And speaking of cookies, when the house is asleep and not a mouse is a stir, be sure to creep down those stairs and leave the fatman something to eat. It’s a long night ahead and a heavy burden to carry. There’s nothing like a little sweetness to make the night go faster. Happy Holiday Everyone and thanks for all your support.
Keep the Faith
Mb
The Many Faces of Christmas by Randy Wright
The occuranence of the winter solstice was once a time marked by great festivity all over the world and our Christmas has become a modern tradition stemming from this original celebration. The winter solstice normally falls on December 21. It's officially the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter. Ancient cultures were very in-tune to this phonomenon. Almost ever culture observes solstice in one way or another. From aboriginal natives to ancient Romans, feasts and festivals were held to commemorate the returning of the sun and celebrating the solstice is one of the many traits that tie us together as one planet.
The Christmas Tree started with ancient Egyptians cutting down palm trees and bringing them inside. The Druids of northern Europe honored Odin by tying apples to the branches of trees and during the Roman festival of Saturnalia trees were trimmed with trinkets and small masks.
Gift giving was also a common tradition. Roman Emperor Caligulla created a law compelling his subjects to present him with gifts each year. Early gifts were usually symbolic. The giving of laurel, olive or myrtle branches but as time went by it became popular to buy more favour by giving silver or gold trinkets.
The "Yul Log" is a throw back to the Scandinavian celebration "Juul" when they lit a great bonfire as a symbol of light and life. 4th Century Greek scholor Libaius states "There is food everywhere, heavy rich food. The streets are full of people and coaches while all the children are free from the dread of their teachers."
So how did Christmas end up on the 25th? Saturnalia was a festival that lasted from December 17th until the end of the year. During the weeks of celebration normal Roman life was turned upside down. Slaves ate with masters and drinking and fornication was rampant. On the 25th, a religious cult known as the Mithraic celebrated the "Day of the Unconquered Sun" which was also a popular party amongst the Roman soldiers. Then in 350 AD, to appease the military, the Vatican chose the 25th as Christ's birth date. They endorsed the Army’s day of party while slipping in their own message and agenda. Eventually the party turned into prayer and the church began curbing the accesses of the season.
By the Middle ages, Christianity had for the most part replaced paganism. But though, on Christmas believers attended church, they celebrated raucously in a drunken “orgy” just the same. It became so “rowdy” that each year a beggar or student would be crowned the "Lord of Misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would terrorize them with mischief. Perhaps in fear, Christmas became a time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining the less fortunate.
Meanwhile in Canada, Jacques Cartier spent his first Canadian Christmas in 1535 but it was scarcely enjoyed in a tiny palisaded fortress on the banks of the Ste. Croix River (now the St. Charles), near the present City of Quebec, (then an Indian Village called Stadacona.) The buildings could not keep out the penetrating cold. There were no cellars in which to keep supplies. All the drinkables were frozen hard, and melted snow had to be used for water, as rivers and streams were frozen over. Salt meat and stale vegetables formed the greater part of the diet, and by Christmas time their health began to suffer. The first mentions of the dread disease of scurvy was whispered. After Christmas, as many as 85 French settlers fell ill from lack of Vitamin C. Twenty-five died during the winter months, and the rest recovered after receiving an Iroquois potion made possibly from fronds of Cypress trees. Fifty of the Natives died over the same winter, thought likely from European diseases to which they had no immunity. Not very "merry".
Meanwhile back in England.... By the time the Puritans took over the English Parliament in 1645, Christmas was declared a heathen practice as they suggested Christ would not take kindly to taking a day of work to just drink and eat! Eventually they canceled Christmas all together. Not until Charles II returned to the throne and restored the popular holiday did the gifts start to flow again. In disagreeance, the Puritans left and went to America to escape the party. Once settled in Boston they passed a law in fining Pilgrims 5 shillings for anyone caught celebrating! By contrast the merchants and their families of Jamestown settlement continued to enjoy the gathering, which "passed with out incident”, according to those in attendance. But after the American revolution English customs fell out of favour and few took part. It took years before it was declared a Holiday in 1870.
The 19th century was marked by a period of class conflict, and discontent was often displayed during the Christmas season. In 1819 Washington Irving wrote a book which included a series of stories depicting a country squire who invited peasants into his manour for the holiday. In contrast to the real world, the book depicted a mingling and respect across classes. At the same time Charles Dickens penned his famous "A Christmas Carol" which espoused a lesson of charity and good will towards all mankind regardless of class. (Less you been shown your horrifying future by spirits) perhaps out of fear, Christmas reinvented itself as a time of generosity and giving. It also became a day when parents could spoil their children and help lift some up and out of their dismal surroundings and poverty.
With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, a vast array of gifts became available and shop keepers and manufactures were keen to capitalize on the commercial potentials. By 1900, the T. Eaton Company distributed their popular Christmas catalogue, and began offering such gender specific toys as "Beauty Dolls", the staple of every young girl's Christmas. Boys waited anxiously for Tin Trains and skates) To feed wood to the fire, they began sponsoring Toronto’s annual Santa Claus Parade.
For next 100 years the materialism of Christmas just gathered steam, with a a few momentary pauses during World Wars I & II, until we reach the shopping frenzy of today. Ironically studies show that those with the lowest income tend to spend proportionately the most and without budget. This year, thousands lined up in front of an American Walmart store to take advantage of the sales. When the doors opened the crowds stampeded forward and trampling a worker to death. On the other side of America two men shot each other to death after an argument over a toy in a Toys R Us. So we ask the proverbial question, “My Gods, What has your Christmas become?” Will they answer, “A boon for Chinese manufacturers, a way to buy your children's affections or nothing more than a full on assault of our landfills?” Will they be unable to identify what once a way to celebrate the returning of the sun, a time to consider everything and everyone and drink, eat and be make merry? What’s your Christmas like?
Car Woes Go by Robert Blackman
All the talk about the decline in the car industry and we talk like it’s a bad thing? I guess it is when you have to pay to keep it going! Law makers south of the border are talking a $25 billion (U.S.) bailout. Even Industry Minister Tony Clement says he's investigating the possibility of a joint Canada-U.S. bailout of North America's ailing auto industry.
Canadian automakers have said they need more than $1 billion in loan guarantees to help tide over the sector until demand recovers for North American-produced vehicles in the U.S.
And when will that be? Domestic car sales continue to tank as the Big 3 fail to give the consumer what they want. While other automakers showed off their small, fuel efficient vehicles at this year’s Auto Show in Paris, GM led with the Hummer, the Camero and the Escalade. Hello McFly?
This year alone GM sales in Canada fell by 20%. And not to single out GM, with Chrysler at 14% and Ford at 12%, the big 3 comprise of a mere 46% of sales, a far cry from dominating the market only decades ago.( Meanwhile all the Asian car manufactures have seen double digit increase in sales.)
GM reported a $2.5-billion loss in the third quarter and warned that its cash levels could fall below what's needed to run its business by the end of the year if the U.S. economy doesn't turn around and it doesn't get government aid. There’s even talk that they don’t have the pension money to pay out its workers and the Government will have to pony up that as well if they hit the ditch. According to documents available only to plan members and regulatory officials, actuaries estimate GM's pension plan for 43,717 hourly rated employees, retirees and survivors in Canada would be short 43.5 per cent of the money needed to pay all pension promises if GM failed, based on estimates as of November of 2006. If GM could make no further contributions, the deficiency would be $4.9 billion, or the equivalent of about $112,000 per plan member. This so-called solvency or windup shortfall was about $1 billion more than in 2004 and five times the shortfall estimated as of 2000. This compares with a 9.3 per cent shortfall at Chrysler Canada as of May last year.
Though the Canadian government doled out over 1 billion dollars in subsidies to the Big 3, 16,587 people lost their auto jobs in Ontario between 1999 and 2009
– a staggering 36% of GM, Ford and Chrysler's combined 1999 workforce.
So why have companies that were once the darlings of Wall St now reduced to junk status? People are still buying cars, so where’s all the money going?
Well workers at the Big 3 auto plants have been doing well bringing home a average hourly wage of $77 including their benefit package paid to CAW workers. This is almost double what he Japanese automakers pay their employees. And then there’s the executives .GM CEO Rick Wagoner makes about 2 million a year plus bonuses. His base pay alone works out to about $961/hr. That’s a lot of latte! If GM merge, it’s suggested he’ll receive an additional $15 million in severance and at age 60 be able to tap his executive retirement plan worth a further $19 million.
So what’s the answer? The government suggests that GM needs to make fuel efficient cars and take advantage of the subsidies they’ve been given to develop new vehicles and technologies.
Introducing the GM Volt. From the same company that killed the EV1 in the 90’s, we’re now to believe they’ve had an about face and are no longer going to pander to the wishes of Exxon and BP.
And what about other electric car manufactures? Are they getting help? Well in Ontario a Toronto-based company, ZENN Motors, has taken the lead in the production of electric cars. The problem, however, is that we can't buy one. Although the car is now available for sale in 48 US States, no Canadian government has approved it for sale in Canada. In fact, Queens Park refused to even entertain the idea until Al Gore cornered Dalton McGuinty earlier this year and insisted that he make it happen. Perhaps the problem is the ZENN electric car eliminates the need for petroleum completely. Not good for Harper’s Alberta.
With zero emissions being the promise of electrics it’s useless when the source of the electricity is a dirty coal-fired plant or some other sort of environmentally unfriendly power station. Turns out, even if 10% of consumers opted for electric cars, our power grid wouldn’t be able to handle the new consumption as owners plug in at night to recharge, a time electric companies count on for little usage which allows their transformers and substations to cool down. To add to the complication would be thousands of toxic batteries and the cleanup that would face us in the future.
Solution? Consider more mass transit, car pooling, bicycles and walking and most of all support politicians and activists that are helping make the change happen.
The Search for Local Foods by Christopher King
Locally grown food can be elusive in today's marketplace; most supermarkets stock their shelves with produce from faraway industrial farms, and there is little advertising to point consumers in a different direction. However, finding local food is not as difficult as it might seem.
Many farmers offer sales right from their own gates, while others make their products available at farmer's markets or local retail outlets. Kawartha Choice FarmFresh is a network that easily connects the consumer with the rich variety of local produce in the Kawartha region; their website (www.kawarthachoice.com) allows you to search by product, location, or by the name of the producer or retailer. In addition to this, Kawartha Choice FarmFresh acts as a brand for local producers, so that local produce sold in supermarkets is distinguished from the rest.
One does not even need to leave the comfort of home to find fresh local produce. By The Bushel is a service that offers weekly home delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables to residents of Peterborough and Lakefield. Their "Bushel Baskets" come filled with 11 to 13 different kinds of organic goodness. Their produce is drawn mostly from local growers, and the baskets emphasize seasonal vegetables. They can be reached by phone at 876-8058, or online at www.bythebushel.ca.
In the Haliburton region, a growing directory of local producers can be found at www.haliburtonfresh.com. Like Kawartha Choice, this website lets consumers know who is producing what and where to buy it.
It is well worth discovering local food. Fruits and vegetables grown in the area are likely to be fresher, more flavourful, and more nutritious than produce from overseas, as they will be picked when ripe, at the peak of their potential. Additionally, buying local will cut the carbon emissions needed to transport the food long distances, and will support local farmers.
Green Purchasing: How to avoid the Greenwash! by Stacy Kirkbride
The rise of ‘green’ products and services has been both exciting and a tad confusing! For starters, consumers are now faced with a growing number of options, but with very little information. The growth of this so-called “eco-capitalism” raises many questions for the environmentally-minded community. The most pressing concern being ‘how do we recognize genuine eco-friendly products?’ Unfortunately, there is no easy answer, but for ethical shoppers there are many tools you can use to help protect yourself against greenwashing. First and foremost, read the fine print and fully examine packaging and labels. It is equally important to ask questions. Some products labeled as eco-friendly simply don’t live up to the array of buzzwords they are using. The most important step in examining and questioning is to understand the full ‘life’ or stages of the product.
Some questions to start with include: What materials are used: Are they natural, organic, sustainable and/or recycled? Were the materials sourced locally? Is alternative energy/transportation used? Are attempts made to reduce the consumption of resources, energy and/or materials? What is the impact of the product after disposal? It is not only important to think of the environmental impact of your shopping choices, but equally important to understand the social repercussions. Consider asking a company or researching online their management practices and values. This includes whether or not they support a local community which includes local sourcing and staffing. You may also want to consider if the company has any program in place to return investments to the local community either through educational, environmental or economic development initiatives. Fair trade and ethical shopping also go hand in hand. If you are purchasing something that cannot be sourced locally, pay attention to trade agreements which may govern such things as work standards and wages, ensuring workers are protected.
In the end, it is important to recognize companies who are able to acknowledge their own shortcomings. Nobody is perfect, but effort and initiative can go a long way. Any company truly working towards sustainable business practices should be able to recognize their own best and worst practices. The benefits of green purchasing are multiple, but naturally, as consumer demand increases companies must respond. By becoming educated shoppers, we can help push for stricter labeling and certification standards. Need help getting started? The Ontario Ecotourism Society has just launched their new “Responsible Supplier’s Guide for Travel and Tourism Ontario”. This online guide has been developed to help both ecotourism professionals and travelers find sustainable product suppliers and services in Ontario. The listings in the guide provide a good starting point for researching responsible products in Ontario and include a variety of categories ranging from food and beverage, landscape and garden to outdoor recreation equipment and energy technology. The guide can be found by visiting www.toes.ca and questions can be sent to admin@toes.ca
Interview: Country Music Diva; Michelle Wright by Michael Bell
I first met Michelle in the early 90’s just after the release of her self titled debut album. Back then, few knew who she was. Well times certainly have changed. Since those days she has released 7 more albums, including a Greatest Hits, written an autobiography “ A Year In The Life: The Journals of Michelle Wright”, recorded with country legend Patsy Cline, received countless music awards including 2 CCMA's Fans' Choice Entertainer Of The Year awards, sold close to 2 million albums, performed on every continent in the world, all the while maintaining a down to earth humanistic outlook and lending her talents to such causes as World Vision and many more. With the release of her latest CD “Everything and More”, Michelle is getting herself ready for a full on assault of the European market in 2009, but not until she makes a number of stops in Ontario this month to sing some favourites and spread some Christmas cheer. I spoke to her by phone from her home in Nashville...
Mb: Hi Michelle, how are things?
MW: All is well! We're all looking forward to getting this tour together. I've been getting some cool emails from my band mates saying "All right... we're ready!" Mind you, we haven't even started rehearsal yet, so we'll see how they feel after some 10 hour rehearsals. (laughs)
Mb: Now, this isn't the first Christmas tour...
MW: This will be our 5th year. We have had some real fun with it. We just started out… we did 7 dates in Ontario our first year and then we've taken it across the country. Finally now we have it into regions which I'm very happy about because a few years ago we went from Newfoundland to Vancouver and that was quite a grind in that amount of time.... flying and busing and vans and ridiculous travel to try to get to all the gigs on time.
Mb: This time it looks like a lot of Ontario.
MW: It is all Ontario, so I'm very happy. That was one of the goals that I requested. After doing the tour for a couple of years I said "Ok guys, if it's at all possible let's see if we can do this regionally every year."
Mb: So, do you like Christmas?
MW: Love it, love it… love it all. Love everything about it.
Mb: So you're a real Christmas junkie...
MW: Ya, I think I'm kind of a family home person, so I love all the things that go around those kinds of holidays. We're also a faith based home as well so it's kind of a special time for us in our home... you know?
Mb: So what's your favourite Christmas song to sing?
MW: That's a little difficult to say. I love the arrangement we did on "Joy to the World" on this Christmas record. It's very challenging for me, so I look forward to singing it every night. So that would be one I'd think of. And then my friend Patricia Conroy, who's a great Canadian songwriter and just a lovely human being, wrote a Canadian original on the record which I love, a song called "I Know Santa's Been Here" which is just cute and fun and it's got a Texas swing vibe about it that I really like.
Mb: So this new record is your first record in 10 years.
MW: It's my first country record in 10 years. I did a Pop record with Wyndham Hill out of Los Angeles and in 2000 we released a Greatest Hits album that I worked, for a couple of years and toured and then I signed the deal with Wyndham Hill and wrote that wonderful record. That was one of the greatest times in my career. I wrote in Los Angeles and New York and Toronto and Nashville and traveled everywhere and wrote with these wonderful writers and really co-wrote most of that record. I worked that for a couple of years and then decided to do a country record again with a producer, a great producer, but he and I weren't connecting musically. We spent about a year together working, and then realized "Hmmmm. We don't seem to be on the same page." So we decided to go our separate ways and I started working with the guys that ended up producing this record.
Mb: What possessed you to make a Pop record?
MW: Well, I knew my record deal with Arista was coming to an end. I'm an artist, but I'm also someone who pays attention? (laughs) You can stick your head in the sand if you want or you can go "Hmm, I'm not selling as many records for this label as I used to. I wonder how they're feeling." (laughs) So when I saw that writing on the wall... I really didn't know what was going to happen. I was like "Well? I wonder if there's record deal for me." I got a phone call... Jim Brickman, who was with Wyndham Hill, he and I put a single out called "Your Love" that was pretty big hit for us in Canada and also a top 15 AC hit in America, so with the success of that single, they offered me a record deal. I thought, “That's nice! You don't get those everyday, I think I'll take it!" So they said "Go make the record you want to make", which was also very cool. It really was a combination of Pop and AC and Country and R&B... I got some support here in Canada and some in America... it didn't set the charts on fire but it was a great opportunity for me and sustained the career.
Mb: And an opportunity to reinvent yourself?
MW: It was an interesting thing. It was really just an extension... my mother was country singer. She had one radio station and no TV and therefore her influences were so limited...but me…. and this generation, it's unbelievable
what their influences are, and the skill that we're seeing coming out of the new generations, cause they start so young being exposed to such a diverse number of artists. So the Pop record I did was one way of reinventing myself, but kind of an extension of what I've been doing. If you listen to that record and then my country record, it's not like it's that different. I guess I'm a contemporary cross over artist. It was a great opportunity and I'm glad I had a chance to do it.
Mb: Did you want to play drums on it?
MW: I didn't! But it's funny you mention that because I've been thinking about getting behind the drums again... we'll see. My husband just said "Thata girl!" (laughs) My husband's brother plays in a band and they were just here and we had a fun weekend and he's the drummer with that band… and he's so good.
Mb: And you haven't been practicing?
MW: And I have NOT been practicing… not for years! But you know what? And I mean this in a "for one song kinda thing", it's not like it's too foreign a thing cause I do get behind the kit once or twice at every rehearsal.
Mb: Until they tell you to stop?
MW: (laughs) Ya, cause I kinda only know one song. I think it's Honky Tonk Woman. (laughs)
Mb: To change things up a bit, I want to talk with you about your trip to Afghanistan and the other trip to Zambia with World Vision. What made you do that?
MW: Well, you know… people calling me and asking me if I'd like to? That's where it starts and then choosing to do it and thankful that I have. As you can imagine, those kind of experiences not a lot of people get in their life time. I did it and they were amazing and both experiences altered my life and altered my point of view. It's actually altered everybody in the organization. When we tour now I bring out a World Vision representative and we set them up in the lobby and tell people "You want? There it is! Sponsor a kid tonight" So every night we change at least one kid's life, some times 10 or 20.
Mb: And do you sponsor?
MW: Oh yes, we have two families actually. My husband has actually built both of the family's homes. When I told him the story about the suffering for these families it really affected him, so he got on board. So that's a fascinating thing to think you can use your life and your career to help people. It seems insurmountable, but for that family or that child who is getting fed today, they're not thinking about much, other than "I feel good today because I've got some food in my stomach." And then the Afghanistan situation was just really... you can't imagine it until you just go. The most amazing thing that I walked away from that with was, I was so impressed with our Military, these guys and gals with their focus and their disciple. They're a force to be reckoned with.
Mb: So what other aspirations does Michelle Wright have?
MW: It's always been the same. My desire to sing and play and be on the bus with the band...
Mb: No hobbies? You don't want to sit home and do puzzles? Become the puzzle champion of the world?
MW: Well, I love my home life. I'm a homebody and we have a very cozy place here...but one of things I'm excited about is, we've released in Europe again, which I haven't done since about '97 or so. We've got some dates booked, music being released and distributed and doing it up the right way. We're going to try to book about 20 dates a year over there. My husband's going to come and travel a bit with me, cause he's never really done much of that... you know? Travel and play music that's what I love to do and I'm looking forward to writing the next record.
Mb: How will the next record come? What are you thinking?
MW: You know, maybe this isn't such a new idea, but I'd like to combine country and Motown. That's what I'm writing and trying to do, so we will see. I have one song I've written so far that has that vibe. What is that vibe? That's the question. I'm curious to see... I hear the bass part and I hear the rhythm part and then I think.... I just don't know yet.
Mb: Are you working on your James Brown spins?
MW: (laughs) That's funny. Actually the cape thing is what I need.
Mb: So what do you want to leave our readers with? Come to the show and.....
MW: This Christmas show is really a special night out. I almost thought "This Christmas stuff isn't hip enough", but I love it. I'm surprised at how much I love it and I think it's because we've created a musical journey throughout the evening from country to the Christmas record that has everything from Reggae to R&B to Pop to Texas Swing to.. I think it's an interesting night of music. And it's the vibe we create, as well. We have all the modern technology... video wall... flat screen video on the stage and all those kind of modern technologies as well as your basic Winter Wonderland with the decorations. I just want to tell everyone that it's just a fun night out of music and Christmas. It's great for families... we are a family friendly band. (laughs) You're cheeks will be sore from smiling so much! |
