Admittedly, though do not thoroughly understand it all, but Edmonton is in a state of bliss for the following reasons: 1) The Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the 2nd round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs by dispatching the Los Angeles Kings in 6 games. So what happens next?you just might be asking yourself. Here is a partial answer. It looks like the Oilers are going to play the Las Vegas Golden Knights here in Edmonton at Roger’s Place on May 8 and May 10. If necessary they will in Edmonton on May 14. But if you really want to know what is going on, Google it yourself.
2) The other exciting news is the temperature. My goodness it was 82 degrees Fahrenheit the other day. I did learn how to turn on the air conditioner in my apartment but it has not been necessary at this point. I did figure out how to open a window or two and that has worked. Purchased cotton sheets at Winners to replace the flannelette ones. This morning a Severe Weather Alert was posted. There is a moderate possible threat to life or property. “Temperatures reaching 29 degrees celsius combined with overnight lows near 14 degrees Celsius are expected . But they give us hope. Temperatures will cool down by the weekend.
Of course, readers in the Middle East are laughing out loud. There would be a cold weather warning if such conditions existed there.
Faithful readers will recall that I left my summer clothes in Riyadh. Good news came from hardship. My laundry room developed a leak, SSS was called in to repair. It was the air conditioning unit – a part ordered and replaced (just in time, I might add). The water leaked all over a cloth suitcase – opened it to find a collection of summer clothes, soaking wet. Had forgotten all about them. The clothes immediately washed/dry cleaned. Therefore I shall be stylishly dressed awaiting my return to Saudi Arabia to claim the summer wardrobe, the abayas and the hijabs. PHEW.
Now back to the exciting and amusing Alberta election. Election Day is May 29, 2023, also my 80th birthday.
This is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. (So help mr God) “Conservative strategist Steve Outhouse has been running the UCP campaign since December.” I do hope that Steve’s last name is not a treasured family heirloom or an Indigenous name but Outhouse?? Perhaps as a strategist he might think of changing his name? One possible suggestion, which I offer, free of charge, is O.F.F. (Old Fashioned Facility). The spirit of the name would therefore continue.
This from AB Today (which has become a daily source of humor) “Kim Campbell, a former prime minster of Canada tweeted a wingnut alert (such a quaint phrase). “Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell tweeted “serious wingnut alert!” in response to a column by Don Braid in the Calgary Herald about UCP Leader Danielle Smith’s admiration for American Republican politicians, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.”
So it has been said that Premier Danielle Smith (hereinafter PDS) admires Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem.
Me: PDS almost almost all Americans hold these two men in ridicule and contempt. They are jokers and you are admiring them???
PDS: Well how was I to know? I do not have the time to read American papers, magazines or their media.
Me: You could limit yourself to the New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz it would clue you in. .
PDS: What is satire?
Me: This is going to take a long time oo long to explain I fear. Even after all that I am not sure you would ever understand. I shall therefore supply an example.
Andy Borowitz has often satirized Ron DeSantos, this from April 20, 2023.
TALLAHASSEE (The Borowitz Report)—Facing backlash from Republican donors, Ron DeSantis has abruptly ended his feud with Disney and launched a scorched-earth campaign against the Smurfs.Harland Dorrinson, DeSantis’s top political aide, called the Florida governor’s pivot to the Smurfs a “strategic masterstroke.”
Now that is funny!! A scorched-earth campaign against the Smurf’s being a master store. But the jokes continue. “Ron has the anti-Smurf lane all to himself,” he said.In a major policy speech, DeSantis accused the Smurfs of spreading a message of “blue supremacy” and vowed to ban the teaching of Smurf studies from his state’s schools.“Florida is where Smurfs come to die,” he declared.’
DeSantis is always messing with the curriculum of Florida’s schools – that is the knowledge that makes this SO funny. Accusing Smurf’s of spreading the message of ‘blue supremacy”.
There is humor closer to home. Days ago quotes from Albertaview writer Fred Stenson hit the pages of this blog. He speaks of reality, contrasting it with the ’comments’ of the misinformed rabble rousers. These are the final two paragraphs of “Election Fever.
“Besides, this is a provincial election, not a federal one. Why aren’t we talking about the UUCP’s proposal to take Albertans out of of the federal CPP system and put our life savings in some smaller, less provincial pension schemes. And what about the proposal to start a provincial police force, when most of us want to keep the RCMP?
This misinformed rabble rouser response to this. “Clearly we’re dealing with a socialist federal government troll. His computer should be seized and destroyed. He should be muzzled. He should be sent for conversion therapy to rid him of liberal communist tendencies. Next thing he’ll be remaining the convoy. And that’s something we cannot stand for!”
Still close to home, this is serious containing some insider information which makes it laughable. This again from AB Today. The Alberta Federation of Labour held a commemoration on the National Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace on Friday, saying the UCP has made workplace safety worse.AFL secretary treasurer Karen Kuprys charged that the UCP changed laws in 2020 to strip workers of health and dental coverage and allowed employers to not rehire recovered injured workers; removed the benefit of the doubt for workers at a medical panel review; and ended the Fair Practices Offices.Kuprys also noted that when Danielle Smith took over as premier, there was no minister dedicated to occupational health and safety or labour code, and the government embraced anti-masking and anti-vaccination views.
How can that possibly turn funny? Premier Danielle Smith did not appoint a minister dedicated to occupational health and safety or labor code but she did appoint a new minister for culture. Never before had there been an office of culture. At the time I did report it was a brand new office, it announced Culture on a paper sign , not lettered on the door as were established offices and miniseries.
Me: So there is a minister and office of culture. However, it is in the basement, the Premier’s Office is on the top floor. Not sure if its influence will be felt.
Alter Ego: Did you go into the office?
Me: Actually I did. I asked one of the people in charge how they got the job. She said she was just a paper pusher.
Alter Ego: What did you say?
Me: I said Ok, guess that makes sense. However, they were busy so pushing papers that day, saying they did not have the time to talk.
Alter Ego: Are you telling the truth?
Me: Of course it is the truth. I always tell the truth except sometimes, on rare occasions, I exaggerate. No need to exaggerate in this instance. PDS has a strange sense of priorities. A minister of culture but no one to uphold occupational health, safety or labor code provisions. No wonder she admires De Santis, a man who has declared a’ scorched earth policy’ on Blue Smurfs. Hahahaha
The excitement soars in Canada, this Commonwealth country . There is soon to be a Coronation. Everybody happy about that, including me. Prince Chuck (as I used to call him) is looking good, as is Camilla (who is 75, by the way). There is an excellent Rebecca Mead story in the New Yorker, ‘Can Charles Keep Quiet As King.’ I shall give you the link, so you can read it. No excuses please. I insist my readers be informed. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/05/08/can-charles-keep-quiet-as-king-coronation?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker
Two photos. One, the unbelievable sunset from two nights ago. The other the April page from my Inuit calendar. I must frame it next year.
