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Saturday Snap – “Do you need a campaign volunteer who has helped candidates win at least 10% of the campaigns he’s worked on?”

Chief Cadmus Delorme of Cowessess First Nation is one of, if not the most, high profile Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan for his work in business, child welfare and much more.  (Unfortunately, part of his high profile,including an interview for CBS’s “60 Minutes” show, is for very tragic reasons.)

Above is a pic of myself and my Union President talking to Chief Cadmus Delorme in the lobby just after he spoke at the recent CUPE convention.  Near the end of his presentation, he all but admitted that he had just announced he won’t run for a third term as Chief of Cowessess First Nation, both to support his wife and spend more time with his family but also with an eye to his political future (to do politics in the “White Man Worldview” way as he puts it in his powerful presentation which you owe it to yourself to watch below.)

 

Given his comments and my personal interest (I thought I had even made a cryptic reference to hoping he might run for Sask NDP Leader during their most recent leadership race on this blog but can’t find it now), we chatted politics and he said all parties have approached him and depending on the topic, he leans left on some things, right on some things and is in the middle on some things so he has a lot of decisions to make but wouldn’t reveal more than that.

As an outside observer, I think he has two obvious options – run for the Federal Liberals (giving a loving gaze to Justin Trudeau during one of their previous meetings is a key punchline in his presentation), possibly in Ralph Goodale’s former Regina-Wascana riding or run for the Federal NDP, possibly against Andrew Scheer in Regina-Qu’Appelle.  (In fact, my introductory comment to him was: “Is your friend Justin giving you French lessons by any chance?” because I’m subtle like that.)

Later in our chat, I couldn’t help but go into “political advisor” mode and gave him a suggestion (well, framed as a question) that I think would help his chances if he were to run (because I have such a great track record in that area having lost *way* more campaigns than I’ve won that I’ve been involved in!)

Anyhow, this was the second time I’ve heard his presentation in as many months with him having spoken at the RPL Staff Day in January.  But he’s an awesome speaker with a great presentation – facts, emotions, humour – that’s worth a listen (especially knowing you might be hearing a future MP speak!)

Posted 11 March 2023 § Jobs § Library § News § Photo § Politics § Saskatchewan § SaturdaySnap ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

Friday Fun Link – Archive of All Wordle Answers

I haven’t been doing the Wordle regularly like I used to but still occasionally do it.

And it recently occurred to me that if you have a regular “starting word” and you looked at an archive of all previous Wordle solutions, that would let you know if there was still a chance you might hit a “hole in one”.

My start word (which I don’t use every time but I’d say 90% of the time) is “TREAD” and it’s not on the list so who knows – might end up getting my second “hole in one” (the first was a total lucky guess!)

Posted 10 March 2023 § Meme § MemoryLane § PopCulture ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Throwback Thursday – #tbt – CUPE Convention (March 2015)

I’ve spent a few days at the CUPE Sask convention this week and I honestly thought it was my first time attending but turns out my Covid brain fog is real because I found a pic I took when I was there in 2015.

It’s of Sask Party Minister, Don Morgan, trying to be relatable to a less-than-friendly crowd by telling a story of how he was a CUPE member when he worked at a grocery store as a teenager.  (Didn’t work and then, on top of that, he tried to cut library funding a few short years later threatening the livelihood of CUPE members across the province.)

Anyhow, I looked back in my journal and I can see why it’s not a strong memory – I got asked to sub in at the last minute for a registered delegate from our workplace who had been extended in a temporary position with CUPE HQ (and who I got to catch up with today) so I was basically there without a lot of thought or planning.

Posted 09 March 2023 § Library § MemoryLane § Photo § Politics § ThrowbackThursday § Work ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Happy International Women’s Day!

I need to get a more recent photo of the four most important women in my life!

Words can’t capture how much all four of them do in so many ways (yes even Sasha!) to make all of our lives better.

Posted 08 March 2023 § Family § MemoryLane § Photo § Sasha § Shea ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

With Apologies to William Carlos Williams (aka Emails I Send To Branch Staff)

This Is Just To Say
I have drank
the diet ginger ale
that was in
the SV icebox

And which
might have
belonged
to you

Forgive me
if it was yours
I could not remember
If it was mine

(There are also a couple Coke Zeros in there that might be mine too – let me know if either the Diet Ginger Ale and/or the Coke Zeros belong to you and I’ll replace/keep my grubby hands off in future!)

J.

PS – Original poem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Just_To_Say):

THIS IS JUST TO SAY
By: William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold[4]

Posted 07 March 2023 § Humour § Library § PopCulture § Randomness § Work ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Music Monday – Rush E

My daughter told me about this song which is apparently the hardest piano song in the world and impossible for a human to play (although the one video below claims to do it).

 

Posted 06 March 2023 § MusicMonday § Sasha § Video ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Secular Sunday – “That’s God Blowing Your Love Around The World”

Sunday March 5 is our 20th wedding anniversary and there’s a fitting story from our Mexican Beach Wedding for Secular Sunday.

We used a wedding coordinator in Mexico to make arrangements including specifically requesting a non-religious officiant.

The guy showed up the day of our ceremony and it was clear that he actually was *quite* religious – with his comments and a few other things he did/brought – but we were locked in.

Luckily, we (well, I – Shea called me “bridezilla” for a reason!) had scripted the whole ceremony so as long as he stayed on script, there was little chance of a prayer or invocation or blessing sneaking in.

We got through the ceremony and I think it was right around the time that the picture below was taken where the wind came up and there were even a few light drops of rain.

“Oh, that’s just God blowing your love around the world,” he quipped.  Shea and I laughed that he simply couldn’t help himself and it was so pure and unrehearsed that we even forgave him (how Christian of us!). Of course, for twenty years, have used this as a catch-phrase whenever the wind comes up at an inconvenient time.

(I also chuckle at the thought of God blowing anything at our wedding!) 😉

After our recent 20th Anniversary Trip, we have gained another new catch phrase: “Vamonos as we always say in Colorado!” but I’ll wait for my Grand Sirenis review to share that story!

Posted 05 March 2023 § Family § MemoryLane § Photo § SecularSunday ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Saturday Snap – Varadero Sunset

Yes, we were in the Mayan Riviera, not Varadero.

Yes, I technically quit drinking booze at the end of last August (but with the caveat that I *mostly* quit which allows me to still imbibe occasionally – or more than occasionally if I’m at an all-inclusive resort!)

But yes, this drink we invented a few years ago after a full day on the beach in Varadero which ended with us as the only people left on the beach is a great counter-point to the famous “Tequila Sunrise.”

In Cuba, it was simply heavily blended rum cream and ice that we were drinking.  In Mexico, I improvised and had it made with Baileys and Kailua and yum – boozy milkshake! 🙂

(Oh, and I’m not a big wheel dropping $20 tips.  That’s 20 pesos which is like a buck fifty at current exchange rates.  Honestly, I think part of the subconscious reason Americans and Canadians like all-inclusives is it’s a way to feel rich when you aren’t – leaving 20 and 50 and even 100 peso tips like you’re Puff Daddy or something.)

Posted 04 March 2023 § MemoryLane § Photo § Travel ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Friday Fun Link – The Only Good Thing To Come Out of NHL Trade Day For The Calgary Flames

The Flames have *sucked* this year – terrible goaltending, terrible coaching decisions, players not performing up and down the lineup, boring hockey, losing a league-leading number of one-goal games, only team in entire NHL to not have a comeback victory when trailing going into the third, and also sucking in 3-3 overtime (if they’d won even half the dozen or so games they lost in OT, they might still be squeaking into the playoffs.  Hell, I don’t think the NHL tracks this but would swear they’ve set a record for hitting posts!)

As is frequently the case, they’re a bubble team and so the NHL Trade Deadline, where a team might load up for a final push or accept their fate and sell of assets, is where the Flames made perhaps the most boring trade in Flames history – two grunt brothers for each other along with an exchange of crappy d-men.

Heck, I’d think this trade is just to save money on getting a name plate made for a jersey as much as anything!

The only good thing to come out of it was the edit someone made to one brother’s Wikipedia page:

Posted 03 March 2023 § FridayFunLink § Humour § Sports ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Throwback Thursday – #tbt – Snow Seats (January 2011)

A lot of snow in our old house’s front yard back then…

Posted 02 March 2023 § Family § MemoryLane § Pace § Photo § Shea § ThrowbackThursday ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,