Mother's Day + The Politician

Some of my "friends" on Facebook are writers, artists and politicians.

One federal liberal politician,Bob Rae, gave the following admonition yesterday:

"Bob Rae is wishing mothers a happy mothers day and asking children everywhere to send flowers, chocolates, and MAKE THAT CALL."

21 people said they liked this.

Then I wrote: The greeting card industry thanks you.

Then a fellow named Barry Clark Simpson wrote:

Barry J Clark Simpson at 19:35 on 09 May
"this is a really disappointing response ... Mark

BR's comment is not a greeting card industry evocation for whatever reasons it seems you are not on the same page as his good intentions were
perhaps there are reasons why you can't understand that?

what do I know?"

------

I responded:

I didn't know this was a choir from which we all had to sing a part...We all have our perspectives. Bob's a great guy but also a politician...and you know politicians see babies, apple pie, mothers day as places where political capital can be generated. I guess I don't have perfect faith like others might have...

Mr. Simpson wrote again:

Interesting response
Mark there's no choir in my mind on this - that i know of
I just show up from time to time for activity and perhaps adjudication... Read more
there's no room for faith in politics it's like a very corrupt entertainment industry
in lots of ways

I like Bob though - he is thoughtful and available it's a big job - he has
I'm sort of glad he's not the leader that gives him all kinds of flexibility

And he's no Stephen Harper

he is also open to being human

I give him that

I really give him that

it's a mess in Ottawa

I just like to support human beings that seem to deserve support even though they are are in the industry of Politics

That Bob checks in every day on Face Book is to me endearing.

Then I indicated I agreed. Mr. Simpson then wanted to find out more about me - on Bob Rae's channel "Who are you?" "What is it like with your preschooler...etc"

I answered some of the questions (that I was nobody noteworthy, and that my preschooler sees me more like his valet than as a superhero...)

Finally, in the end, the great man writes in himself:

Glad I could help you work this out - lol - and sorry to hear Mark's rampant cynicism about "politicians". Oh well.

Postscript: On an earlier occasion, when Bob Rae said he was going to Washington, I said "Why does this remind me of Jimmy Stewart and Mr. Smith goes to Washington?"

I should have also mentioned that the movie "The Candidate" with Robert Redford in the 70s was very revealing about these questions.

Kierkegaard Query

When I was in my 20's, for diverse reasons, I read a lot of Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard was an influential 19th century Danish existentialist writer of great wit and intellect who wrote many religious/philosophical works. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard.

I found his mission quite ambitious and was impressed by the many challenges he created for his fellow citizens (in a good way), e.g. 'Attack upon Christendom' etc.



Soren Kierkegaard 'The Danish Socrates'...

Out of curiousity, I asked a number of different people named 'Kierkegaard' on Facebook whether it was a problem living with that name. Denmark is a small place (5.5 million) and I thought the reputation of Kierkegaard the writer might interfere with the identies of modern individuals with the same name. This would be especially ironic, as Kierkegaard did his best to protect the individual from interference as much as possible.

From my query, I received a number of responses from men and women of different ages and backgrounds to the question:"Do you or other 'Kierkegaards' found it difficult to live with the name? Does Soren Kierkegaard's history cast a shadow over modern Kierkegaards?"

Two people demurred in answering the question.




One person gave a very thoughtful response:

Well I feel it does commit to have that name. Many have asked me about his thoughts and philosophy, but I do not have any special insight. My part of the family comes from SK's brothers side. I find SK very interesting, allthough very complex. One of my favourites from is;

Individual human beings constantly find themselves in a state of “paradox” (a crisis that needs to be resolved) and hope to find a ”truth”. (a resolution of the crisis, after making a commitment to a particular kind of action).
So it is not just a matter of finding out how things are, but more a question of commiting one self to certain specific action.

Some of the younger respondents thought it was pretty cool:

Hi Mark! actually it dosen't hurt me at all, I just think that it's cool sharing blood with such a famous person. And my dad is even pretty look alike to Soren. And it's not just that we share the same surname we really are relatives. Where your from btw?

Another young respondent was non-plussed:

I don't really care. How do you feel about your own name "winston"?

A middle age female also echoed the younger respondendents:

Hi - not at all! My family members are all very proud to be related to Soren Kierkegaard and we like finding similarities when comparing our male members and statues of Soren in Copenhagen.

Some respondents answered in a relgious way:

Hola Mark W..
No.. Søren Kierkegaard lived many years ago.. And I haven't seen any shadow from him. Soren is in heaven, and there is no shadow in heaven...

Other respondents simply answered in a kinship way:

Hi
No - not a problem at all.... actually it is my husband's family relationship. The family are descendants after Soren Kierkegaard's brother...

Another respondent did indicate it was a problem, but only because of the literal meaning of 'Kierkegaard':

No, Søren does not bother at all. The only problem with the name is the teasing when you are a small child, because in danish, kierkegaard means cemetary.

Another responded philosophically:

Well... Besides being passed up by strangers on facebook every now and then, there are few consequences with bearing the same surname. Søren didn't have any offspring, and variations on the surname are numerous and not uncommon names in danish: kirkegård, kierkegaard, kierkegård and so on. In danish, kierkegaard means graveyard/churchyard.

Having studied philosophy, existentialism in particular, I am his intellectual descendant. He lived as a worthy and decent human - you shouldnt believe everything the press wrote about him in his own time, -- and I respect him very much as an ideal. His writings, especially Either/Or, has impacted me greatly, and helped me cope with my own existence.

I hope this is a satisfactory answer. Please excuse my english. It's not my native language.

These and others I did not quote, generally found no interference in their individuality by the 'grandfather of existentialism.' I guess this is as it should be. Had I put money on this, I would have lost this bet. Cheers.

Hyper-parenting, Play, Tears

Last night there was a documentary on the importance of play for children and how parents by 'hyper-parenting' and scheduling every aspect of a kid's life, have eliminated his/her opportunities for free play. It emphasized that free-play was a kid's way of learning adaption, problem-solving, and creativity. It also mentioned that kids today only have 1/9th their 'play-radius' compared to what they had in 1970 and that with all the organized activities they are involved in, they don't play enough by themselves. Unfortunately, I fell asleep at that time and missed out on how the whole thing turns out!

I find it interesting that my almost 4 yead old kid is obsessed with play, especially by himself. Last week, I bought him a $3.99 car carrier toy:

He was so obsessed with this toy that he played with it for hours and the next day, cried when he could not take it with him to daycare!

A week earlier, I took him to Harbourfront with him and bought him a 'modern' train:

This too, obsessed him for a number of hours. I don't want to give the impression that I buy him lots of toys (I don't) or that he grows bored with them quickly (he doesn't). Lucky for us, he plays with them for a while, then puts them away, and later brings them back into circulation a few weeks later.

Yesterday, he showed me something new. He picked up a stick, put it beside his head and told me he was a 'reindeer.' I took his picture at his request:

I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts about the nature of play and childhood and their experience with it. I like to think kids are pretty resilent, even in the face of 'hyper-parenting.'

Advice from a 3 1/2 year old:

Last week, while walking around Harbourfront, my 3 1/2 year old leaned in close to me and said: dad, if you're outside and have to go, you can go behind a tree.

Who knew a preschooler could be such a useful source of information?

Personal Moments (Odds & Sods)

I've had a lot disparate experiences over the last couple months that have been bouncing around that I thought I would now share.

1. Handling Pirate Attitude

There is a definite challenge in looking after a preschooler with a prankster sense of humour. He can just easily say "dad, I love you" and then steal your cell phone just to see if he can do it. This attitude gets enhanced after tv shows like "Backyardigans" tell him that if he really wants to be a pirate, he has to develop "pirate attitude." It's never defined, but he knows what they're talking about. Or, a show like "Max and Ruby" where younger brother Max always disobeys older sister Ruby because he has his own ideas of self-actualization (or self-determination if you will). My preschooler watches these interactions with diligent rapt attention. My strategy for overcoming these influences is by keeping the kid off-balance. Example: Today, my kid, who I'll call Child of the Corn, acted very well at Sky Dragon Dim Sum and his mother told him hours later that he was "amazing." I asked him why mom thought he was "amazing," he didn't know any tricks did he? He said no. 10 minutes later he came back and said, dad, watch this. Then he did a somersault. So, I reluctantly agreed that that could consitute "amazing." The point is I didn't let the kid get away with gratuitous praise while he's acting out his pirate attitute lifestyle.

2. Movies

A friend recently asked me if I saw the movie Slum Dog Millionaire. I told him that the only first run film I saw this year was "Wall-E" which was appreciated by my 3 1/2 year old, as it was his first time in a theatre and he felt unselfconscious about standing on his seat and yelling at the screen. Few movies offer this opportunity.

3. Books
I usually don't read as much fiction as non-fiction. But, I want to thank Charlie Huisken of This Ain't the Rosedale Library for inviting me to his biweekly bookclub which has had a lot of interesting books. These have included:

History of Love by Nicole Krauss

The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett

A Trip Around Lake Erie by David McFadden

I won't give descriptons of these, only that I recommend them. And to support independent bookstores like This Ain't the Rosedale Library, 86 Nassau St. Toronto.

4. Facebook

I've been on Facebook now for about six months. I don't know exactly how to value it, though I enjoy it.

Pros:

Possibility of meeting very interesting, smart, accomplished people who might agree to share their ideas and friendship with you;
Find journalists, writers, artists, academics and politicians who agree to talk to you about their areas of interest;
Finding people you lost touch with.

Cons:

Hard to find groups that interact as well as individuals;
Hard to separate superficial interaction from non-superficial;
Having to figure out why complete strangers asked you to be their Facebook friend;

Santa Sentiments

Last week someone called me up and asked me whether I was for Christmas. I said if it had Santa in it, then yes, if not, then no.

My 3 1/2 year old wants to know why he has to go through Santa to get toys when he can just pick out what he wants on store shelves. Me: "Look, Santa's elves make the toys and give them to those who make it on Santa's nice' list. The toy manufacturers came later and are just trying to muscle in on the territory, don't worry about them." Or, "I didn't invent the system, just work with it."

I also love this time of year because I can influence my kid's behaviour by telling him if he's not careful, he'll get on Santa's 'naughty' list...He asked what happens then? I told him he'll get 'girl toys' (not that there's anything wrong with that, he just happens not to like these....)

He picked up on this idea when we visited our local mall Santa. Santa heard what the kid wanted and then asked "what should we get daddy for Christmas, good health?" The kid answered "No, get him girl toys!" Then Santa said, "he got you dad..."

The Demise of Frank

I appear to be the only disconsolate one.

Canada's flagship satire magazine, Frank, has foundered, for the second time. (See: http://www.thestar.com/article/526011)

Yes, it hurts that they stiffed me for two subscription fees, but that's ok.

What's not ok is now Canada will be a little less funny.

Michael Bate, Frank's publisher and chief writer, sounded tired and dejected about it all. He talked about the magazine's no longer being part of the zeitgiest as a result of the internet.

Satire doesn't stop because of the internet ?!

Frank provided the most cutting,searing, stylized satire in this country. The fact that many don't know this, is more a function of poor marketing or poor business acumen. This is not uncommon in the writing community. This does not mean the magazine deserves this fate.

A Modest Proposal:

Now is the time for other satirists to come forward and help one of their own.
Come on Sean Cullen!
Come on 22 Minutes!
Come on Rick Mercer!
Come on Air Farce!

Now is the time to hold a telethon for Frank. Maybe this is ridiculous, but good satire is hard to come by and doesn't get enough respect for how difficult it is to achieve. Frank deserves some support. (I've e-mailed all of the above, including Russell Smith, but haven't heard back yet. Except for Russell Smith, who said he is not a fan...but then I forgot that Frank sent him up in a recent issue too...Damn him, can't he take a joke?!).

Frank, I miss you already.