The Calgary Stampede is just a party, a chance to playact and let your hair down. It’s fun and an opportunity to socialize with friends new and old. That’s it’s charm.
Canada has no history because the winters erode everything. And stick houses with -maybe- brick veneers are not particularly designed to last.
The NDP could have Olivia Chow as leader assuming she’s interested . Given Matt’s comment about the Toronto garbage and crime rate - not to mention homeless encampments - she appears eminently qualified to take the Canada helm for MCMA (Make Canada Mediocre Again) and would be a worthy successor for nostalgic Trudeau fans.
After last year’s costume for pride in Toronto, I cannot unsee that side of Olivia Chow’s quirky image. The tolerance for loud street disturbances in Toronto that have mixed police control favouring Hamasniks, makes me long for the former Toronto circa 2007.
Its free pancakes and coffee Matt, whats not to get?
Apparently the Premiers breakfast also had fruit and eggs.
A person could wait thirty minutes in line and have three Canadian premiers serve them food.
You can't tell me thats not an extraordinary display of institutional trust and wholesomeness.
Next year Matt needs to go to Stampede instead of Europe, so he can get the full emersive experience of the pancake breakfast. Besides, the jet lag isn't as bad on the return trip.
Matt and Jen, I have a question about Matt's observation on the cleanliness of the cities in Iberia that he visited. Jen posited that perhaps it was that he wasn't going to the "correct" [my awkward phrasing] part of town and Matt agreed that there may be an element of that but he still found the cleanliness of those cities as compared to Canadian cities quite amazing.
I offer a possibility and ask if you have any comments on my possible explanation. First, a (Canadian) political observation. We have, generally, three levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal. It is my observation that many people in Canada really don't understand the particular responsibilities of each level, very particularly including politicians. The result, in my observation is that each level is very busy taking on responsibility of one (or more) of the other levels sometimes because the other levels do things poorly or sometimes because the other levels have explicitly said they thought the particular action (which was actually their responsibility) not something that they wanted to do and the first level disagreed and said, "Well, then we will do it!" - with taxpayer dollars. The result is that all levels of government are doing far, far, far too much with too few dollars.
Put differently, each of our three levels of government are spreading themselves ten miles wide and one half centimeter deep [you did notice the mix of measuring systems, didn't you?] and as a result cannot do much of anything well - insufficient money, you see.
So, that is my explanation for Canada's downfall in terms of clean cities. Is it possible that the Iberian cities that you visited have avoided that particular problem?
Enjoyed the podcast, but stating that Vancouver has 'no go zones' is absurd. If we're talking the DTES: yes, there is a terrible drug problem very visible there and it's rough to see. I wouldn't leave my car parked there overnight, but for the most part, it's pretty safe.
I enjoyed your topics today. Your references to historical European remnants caused me to think about homelessness and the need to quickly build shelters. I recently drove the highway east from Vancouver into the Fraser Valley and noticed a large empty store in a Chilliwack strip mall. I wondered why there are not more examples of repurposed housing using such large facilities. In Vancouver developers have ruled far too long. They get huge civic and provincial concessions, make tons of money and fail to meet the need. Why does the Carney Crisis Cabinet not make a project out of making new homes from former businesses? What about those empty Hudson Bay buildings?
I think the answer is, "Someone has to pay for it." If that someone is the future tenant, then we can talk. But if the government is going to pay to build "affordable" (i.e., subsidized with tax money) housing (or free shelter for addicts) or expects the landowner to rent out the space for less than market rates just out of some duty you feel he owes society, ain't gonna happen. You can't make someone do something with his own land that he doesn't want to. You can try to get him to agree to do something in return for concessions. But you can't just tell him to fill an old Bay store with hundreds of bunks and a couple of toilets for homeless people and not let him redevelop the space as he sees fit. It's his land, not yours. Nobody except activists actually wants social housing. We'd rather they just stayed on the street.
Repurposing existing commercial buildings by retrofitting them with hundreds of plumbing and electrical services to make proper dwellings is hardly ever worthwhile. Best to just demolish the now useless building and start over. But now you are looking at vacant land. Any developer is going to put subsidized housing at the very bottom of the list of anything he'd be interested in doing with it. And no neighbourhood, even in a Chilliwack strip mall wants a magnet for addicts and dealers built in their midst. Do you not have some vacant space in your own neighbhourhood that you could volunteer for them?
The Line really needs to re-think how they do sponsorship. You are hurting your credibility.
Take a look at how Advisory Opinions and The Dispatch Podcast does paid advertising. Like you they have a mixed subscription & free model with their podcast having ads. Unless there is some political angle to Aura Frames and things like that, they're not expending their credibility on law and politics to bring in sponsors.
So far the line has run paid endorsements of the political positions of TikTok, AirBNB and the cigarette company Phillip Morris, Benson & Hedges. (Yes, that's what UnSmoke.ca really is... it's a political campaign from cigarette companies... although that's not in the copy they have Matt reading... I'm not sure if that's astroturfing, but it sure is something.)
I get that The Line sees these as advertisements and not editorial endorsements, but at the end of the day, you're running political ads on current political topics... you're endorsing their political argument with your voice and platform and being paid for it. (With the cigarette companies hiding their identities.)
Guys... get new advertisers! Maybe Aura Frames wants to branch into Canada.
The uncommon sponsors has been something I have noticed. Where's the matress and razor companies? But as long as they fully declare any conflicts, I think that's fine.
As a premium subscriber to the Dispatch, I pay so I don't have to hear ads on their podcasts and would do the same for The Line.
Agree with you on Unsmoke and Airbnb, agree with The Line on Forestry For the Future. I am here for the content and ignore the Ad side of it as a minor irritant.
I agree with the point - indeed, I would have subscribed at least half a year earlier, at a higher rate, had it not been for the tobacco sponsorship.
As an aside, Aura Frames is already serving Canadian customers. Their site also says "Want to partner with us? Email partnerships@auraframes.com to ask about our influencer and affiliate programs or current advertising opportunities." https://ca.auraframes.com/contact
Andrew, I also don't like the ads generally (although I do like the Metis Nation of Ontario ads - very informative). Now, having said that, I still read a hard copy newspaper along with various digital copies of newspapers (and magazines) and they all have ads.
As it happens, I pretty much ignore the ads and I tell myself that I either paid a reduced rate or paid nothing because the ads subsidize me. I therefore accept that ads are a good compromise for me: I'm too cheap to pay a lot for a pristine, ad free product so I just ignore the ads.
Of course, you could offer to pay very substantially more and have an ad free video, much later than the general video is available, so that additional paid staff can scrub the ads.
As a lawyer I knew, used to say when he was (politely) threatening people, "Govern yourself accordingly" when you choose the model that you really, really, really do desire.
Also, my wife and I spend two weeks in Japan in April, and the day after we came back I had a podcast industry event in Queen West. The juxtaposition of spotless, efficient, and respectful Japan to filthy, broken (buses 25 minutes late with no updates or explanation?) and seedy Toronto was very noticeable. And there are 40 million people in Tokyo. This is clearly not a ‘Toronto is a big city’ issue.
This is a very Toronto-centric comment, so please forgive me.
I was listening to this podcast on my Saturday morning walk along Queens Quay to the St. Lawrence Market. Matt was talking about cobblestones in some areas of Spain and Portugal needing to be leveled. Well we recently put in cobblestones along Queens Quay and they definitely need releveling in many places -- and I suspect that they are much younger than the ones Matt was talking about.
And the brand new St. Lawrence Farmers Market building was build without automatically opening doors. People typically have their arms full leaving the place but no one thought about that. The older building on the south side has them.
Just for your information, Matt and Jen: closed captions and subtitles on the YouTube videos have ceased ever since you started uploading the podcasts as "streams".
Yes, Stefan, you are correct and it is annoying for I am hearing impaired (polite way of saying functionally deaf - but, screw polite). Yes, it seems that the Friday version of this podcast has no closed captions. On the other hand, at the end of the weekend we get the full dispatch along with the same video and the closed captions appear to be on that version of the video.
Further, the On The Line videos do not have closed captions.
Sigh! I do hope that G & G are not trying make me stop watching and (frequently not) hearing the videos; the closed captions are so useful for me!
The Calgary Stampede is just a party, a chance to playact and let your hair down. It’s fun and an opportunity to socialize with friends new and old. That’s it’s charm.
Canada has no history because the winters erode everything. And stick houses with -maybe- brick veneers are not particularly designed to last.
The NDP could have Olivia Chow as leader assuming she’s interested . Given Matt’s comment about the Toronto garbage and crime rate - not to mention homeless encampments - she appears eminently qualified to take the Canada helm for MCMA (Make Canada Mediocre Again) and would be a worthy successor for nostalgic Trudeau fans.
After last year’s costume for pride in Toronto, I cannot unsee that side of Olivia Chow’s quirky image. The tolerance for loud street disturbances in Toronto that have mixed police control favouring Hamasniks, makes me long for the former Toronto circa 2007.
It is very nice and very kind of you to call her core essence - it is not her image - quirky, since you know that there are far more direct words.
Canada has already been mediocre for decades, and in that regard needs no help from Olivia Chow.
Thanks. I was being sarcastic!
"MCMA (Make Canada Mediocre Again)"??
I rather think that we would be unable to rise that high.
Leftoloons might, but not many realistic people will miss No Democratic Party.
Its free pancakes and coffee Matt, whats not to get?
Apparently the Premiers breakfast also had fruit and eggs.
A person could wait thirty minutes in line and have three Canadian premiers serve them food.
You can't tell me thats not an extraordinary display of institutional trust and wholesomeness.
Next year Matt needs to go to Stampede instead of Europe, so he can get the full emersive experience of the pancake breakfast. Besides, the jet lag isn't as bad on the return trip.
What you got against pancakes, man?! I’d eat pancakes every day if I could. (Plus, you can put maple syrup on them… what are you - unpatriotic??) ;)
Prediction: JWR as NDP leader.
Matt and Jen, I have a question about Matt's observation on the cleanliness of the cities in Iberia that he visited. Jen posited that perhaps it was that he wasn't going to the "correct" [my awkward phrasing] part of town and Matt agreed that there may be an element of that but he still found the cleanliness of those cities as compared to Canadian cities quite amazing.
I offer a possibility and ask if you have any comments on my possible explanation. First, a (Canadian) political observation. We have, generally, three levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal. It is my observation that many people in Canada really don't understand the particular responsibilities of each level, very particularly including politicians. The result, in my observation is that each level is very busy taking on responsibility of one (or more) of the other levels sometimes because the other levels do things poorly or sometimes because the other levels have explicitly said they thought the particular action (which was actually their responsibility) not something that they wanted to do and the first level disagreed and said, "Well, then we will do it!" - with taxpayer dollars. The result is that all levels of government are doing far, far, far too much with too few dollars.
Put differently, each of our three levels of government are spreading themselves ten miles wide and one half centimeter deep [you did notice the mix of measuring systems, didn't you?] and as a result cannot do much of anything well - insufficient money, you see.
So, that is my explanation for Canada's downfall in terms of clean cities. Is it possible that the Iberian cities that you visited have avoided that particular problem?
Enjoyed the podcast, but stating that Vancouver has 'no go zones' is absurd. If we're talking the DTES: yes, there is a terrible drug problem very visible there and it's rough to see. I wouldn't leave my car parked there overnight, but for the most part, it's pretty safe.
I enjoyed your topics today. Your references to historical European remnants caused me to think about homelessness and the need to quickly build shelters. I recently drove the highway east from Vancouver into the Fraser Valley and noticed a large empty store in a Chilliwack strip mall. I wondered why there are not more examples of repurposed housing using such large facilities. In Vancouver developers have ruled far too long. They get huge civic and provincial concessions, make tons of money and fail to meet the need. Why does the Carney Crisis Cabinet not make a project out of making new homes from former businesses? What about those empty Hudson Bay buildings?
I think the answer is, "Someone has to pay for it." If that someone is the future tenant, then we can talk. But if the government is going to pay to build "affordable" (i.e., subsidized with tax money) housing (or free shelter for addicts) or expects the landowner to rent out the space for less than market rates just out of some duty you feel he owes society, ain't gonna happen. You can't make someone do something with his own land that he doesn't want to. You can try to get him to agree to do something in return for concessions. But you can't just tell him to fill an old Bay store with hundreds of bunks and a couple of toilets for homeless people and not let him redevelop the space as he sees fit. It's his land, not yours. Nobody except activists actually wants social housing. We'd rather they just stayed on the street.
Repurposing existing commercial buildings by retrofitting them with hundreds of plumbing and electrical services to make proper dwellings is hardly ever worthwhile. Best to just demolish the now useless building and start over. But now you are looking at vacant land. Any developer is going to put subsidized housing at the very bottom of the list of anything he'd be interested in doing with it. And no neighbourhood, even in a Chilliwack strip mall wants a magnet for addicts and dealers built in their midst. Do you not have some vacant space in your own neighbhourhood that you could volunteer for them?
The Line really needs to re-think how they do sponsorship. You are hurting your credibility.
Take a look at how Advisory Opinions and The Dispatch Podcast does paid advertising. Like you they have a mixed subscription & free model with their podcast having ads. Unless there is some political angle to Aura Frames and things like that, they're not expending their credibility on law and politics to bring in sponsors.
So far the line has run paid endorsements of the political positions of TikTok, AirBNB and the cigarette company Phillip Morris, Benson & Hedges. (Yes, that's what UnSmoke.ca really is... it's a political campaign from cigarette companies... although that's not in the copy they have Matt reading... I'm not sure if that's astroturfing, but it sure is something.)
I get that The Line sees these as advertisements and not editorial endorsements, but at the end of the day, you're running political ads on current political topics... you're endorsing their political argument with your voice and platform and being paid for it. (With the cigarette companies hiding their identities.)
Guys... get new advertisers! Maybe Aura Frames wants to branch into Canada.
Don't forget the Metis Nation of Ontario, which is not even recognized by the Manitoba Metis Federation: http://mmf.mb.ca/the-red-river-metis-la-nouvelle-nation
The uncommon sponsors has been something I have noticed. Where's the matress and razor companies? But as long as they fully declare any conflicts, I think that's fine.
As a premium subscriber to the Dispatch, I pay so I don't have to hear ads on their podcasts and would do the same for The Line.
Agree with you on Unsmoke and Airbnb, agree with The Line on Forestry For the Future. I am here for the content and ignore the Ad side of it as a minor irritant.
I agree with the point - indeed, I would have subscribed at least half a year earlier, at a higher rate, had it not been for the tobacco sponsorship.
As an aside, Aura Frames is already serving Canadian customers. Their site also says "Want to partner with us? Email partnerships@auraframes.com to ask about our influencer and affiliate programs or current advertising opportunities." https://ca.auraframes.com/contact
Maybe we can get a French German or Australian company instead…. Maybe someone in Canada selling frisbee golf equipment.
Andrew, I also don't like the ads generally (although I do like the Metis Nation of Ontario ads - very informative). Now, having said that, I still read a hard copy newspaper along with various digital copies of newspapers (and magazines) and they all have ads.
As it happens, I pretty much ignore the ads and I tell myself that I either paid a reduced rate or paid nothing because the ads subsidize me. I therefore accept that ads are a good compromise for me: I'm too cheap to pay a lot for a pristine, ad free product so I just ignore the ads.
Of course, you could offer to pay very substantially more and have an ad free video, much later than the general video is available, so that additional paid staff can scrub the ads.
As a lawyer I knew, used to say when he was (politely) threatening people, "Govern yourself accordingly" when you choose the model that you really, really, really do desire.
Also, my wife and I spend two weeks in Japan in April, and the day after we came back I had a podcast industry event in Queen West. The juxtaposition of spotless, efficient, and respectful Japan to filthy, broken (buses 25 minutes late with no updates or explanation?) and seedy Toronto was very noticeable. And there are 40 million people in Tokyo. This is clearly not a ‘Toronto is a big city’ issue.
This is a very Toronto-centric comment, so please forgive me.
I was listening to this podcast on my Saturday morning walk along Queens Quay to the St. Lawrence Market. Matt was talking about cobblestones in some areas of Spain and Portugal needing to be leveled. Well we recently put in cobblestones along Queens Quay and they definitely need releveling in many places -- and I suspect that they are much younger than the ones Matt was talking about.
And the brand new St. Lawrence Farmers Market building was build without automatically opening doors. People typically have their arms full leaving the place but no one thought about that. The older building on the south side has them.
Sigh.
But the Boomers chose Carney to prevent pain for Canada. Who do they chose when our economy starts to hurt?
How does PP get women to stop hating him?
Do Liberals raise much money at the Stampede? I thought their total would be nominal.
Just for your information, Matt and Jen: closed captions and subtitles on the YouTube videos have ceased ever since you started uploading the podcasts as "streams".
Yes, Stefan, you are correct and it is annoying for I am hearing impaired (polite way of saying functionally deaf - but, screw polite). Yes, it seems that the Friday version of this podcast has no closed captions. On the other hand, at the end of the weekend we get the full dispatch along with the same video and the closed captions appear to be on that version of the video.
Further, the On The Line videos do not have closed captions.
Sigh! I do hope that G & G are not trying make me stop watching and (frequently not) hearing the videos; the closed captions are so useful for me!
Again, sigh!