Archive - Oct 2008

From the Globe and Mail:

"TORONTO — A trio of the Liberal Party's pre-eminent mechanics have joined the leadership camp of Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff, suggesting that a major shift is under way in the party's plate tectonics."

I personally have learned nothing 'factual' about the impending '2x the charm' race for the Liberal leadership. However, if I follow the metaphor (metaphors, multiple), than voila, a striking image of Ignatieff et al, hanging out with some dirty smocked mechanics in tents pitched on the House of Commons lawn, trying to keep a seismic shift from disturbing the parliament buildings. Yes, did I get that right?

I *rocked* OAC English, so IMHO, it's the plate tectonics that really take this sentence into the land of bad prose. C+ good effort, terrible writing.

I am reading the rest of the article now, and the writing makes the 'rivalry' between Ignatieff and Rae sound somewhere between a space-war, a soccer match, and a boyscout troops gang fight.

I am going to cut and paste the whole text here and give an annotated metaphor analysis.

"Growing up in the Bowling Green neighborhood of Sacramento, I was taught how to read and mark houses with the Halloween Candy Code. For kids with an early curfew these codes were invaluable. Once we tagged a house, our peers could use our marks to reap the best full-size chocolate bars while avoiding Chex mix and dried apricots."

For Reals???

I will give all my candy to the person who can crack these two codes without clicking the link above. We're going by internauts code of honor so if you cheat and click the link and like pretend to guess, I will come to your house and smash your pumpkin with my fist.

The Globe has published a handy "interactive tool" so we can get to know candidates for the Liberal leadership. (Also known as the most thankless task since stretcher bearers were made redundant by technology in the second world war). I wonder how long this leader will last, and what they will have to fail at before they get the boot. It would be strange if the liberal party got more reactive and erratic, not less, for the next 4- 7 years.

You know what freaks me out, that politicians now diffuse satire by 'getting' the joke. The irony of this sketch is that it's basically an apology to Palin, and makes Fey look like the bitch.

Not that I don't love irony, but I agree with La Tina who apparently didn't want to share the stage with Palin. A person is either pro Palin as Palin or pro Fey as Palin, it's difficult to appreciate a satire that reaches out and gives it's target a big hug.

Palin as Palin on SNL:

Ps : Sorry I have been awol, life is exceedingly complicated and busy right now, and someone lent me the Blackadder collection on DVD. Best quotes so far: "I have a plan so cunning, you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel." and "You see, the thing about heaven is that heaven is for people who like the sort of things that go on in heaven. Like, well, singing, talking to God, watering pot plants."