Guelph Politicast

End Credits - December 12, 2018 (The Christmas Chronicles)

This edition of End Credits will be filled with the spirit of Christmas. We're reviewing what might be the new holiday classic, Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles, but in the news, it's the slings and arrows of awards season that has us concerned. We'll talk about the Golden Globe nominations, and the quick tenure of a new Oscar host. We'll also mark a notable anniversary, and why remakes are not necessarily Child's Play.
This Wednesday, December 12, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Golden Groats. The Golden Globe nominations have been announced, and it's the the usual collection of odd choices, and all stars as the Dick Cheney bio-pic Vice stands out at the early frontrunner in the awards race, and right behind it is A Star is Born and Green Book. But let's talk about who didn't get a nomination. Ryan Gosling can play the first man on the moon, but not get a nomination for it?! Mary Poppins Returns can be a Best Musical without the music being nominated?! We'll discuss the inconsistencies.
Hart of the Flee. Comedian Kevin Hart was all set to become the host of the 91st Academy Awards in February, but as is the style of the time, no one thought to check his social media accounts for anything untoward. So now the Oscars are without a host, and another takedown credited to past comments coming back to haunt has been pressed into the history books. Is anyone clean enough to host the Oscars?
Punished Again. Punisher: War Zone turns 10 years old this year. Not only was this the third film to feature Marvel's skull shirt-wearing vigilante, but it was a hard R-rated, ultra-violent action film that stands fittingly next to new hits like Logan and Deadpool, plus, it was directed by a woman! Marked as a failure when it came out in 2008, the same year as Iron Man and The Dark Knight by the way, we'll talk about why War Zone has became a cult classic.
Terse of Chucky. There's a remake of Child's Play in the works, and there's a TV series about the killer doll also in the works. One of these is being supervised by Chucky's creator, Don Mancini, and the other is not, and Mancini is kind of mad about that. Can you blame him? He's made Chucky his life's work, and MGM wanted him to rubberstamp their remake and let them put his name on it. Why aren't more creators this mad in remake happy Hollywood?
REVIEW: The Christmas Chronicles (2018). Imagine if Santa Claus was real, but instead of a jolly, old fat guy, you found out he was middle-aged, fit and kind of bad ass. In the Christmas movie you've probably been waiting for, two young people encounter not-that-old St. Nick and accidentally set things on a course for a cancelled Christmas. Can Santa and the kids stay ahead of the Chicago police, local street toughs, and an unhelpful public to rally the reindeer, find Santa's sack of presents and save Christmas? Surely you jest!
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #150 - Royal City Musical Productions Inc.

All the world's a stage, and that includes Guelph. And in Guelph, the realm of the big, lively, stage musical belongs to Royal City Musical Productions Inc. It's not Broadway, but it can be just as good, and even more conveniently located. This week, we take a peek behind the curtain.
RCMPI just wrapped up it's fall show, the first show of the company's 4oth season in Guelph. They performed Annie, the Broadway classic about a red-haired orphan that finds happiness and belonging when she goes to live with the wealthy Daddy Warbucks. It's been staged several times in venues across North America, even once before in 1994 in Guelph by RCMPI. It was one of the the last shows the company did in their previous venue, the E.L. Fox Auditorium at John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute.
This was also back in the day when RCMPI only staged one show a year; since 2003 they've been doing two. So while this episode's guests came by while catching their breath after Annie's completion, they're now actively developing their next show, holding auditions for both a youth production and their next full-out musical.
On this edition of the podcast, we hear from Tyler Livingstone, the current Treasurer of the RCMPI Board, and Karen Allen, who has held many roles in the organization as her involvement in the company goes back to just a few years after it got started. Through them, you'll hear about how RCMPI chooses what shows they're going to stage, what their challenges are, where musical theatre ranks in the Guelph arts scene, and just how much time, effort and energy goes into staging a musical by the all volunteer cast and crew.
So let's raise the curtain on Royal City Musical Productions in this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Next up for RCMPI is Disney’s Aladdin Jr., which opens on March 1 at the Guelph Little Theatre on Morris Street, and then the main company will tackle Sweeney Todd, which opens on April 25 at Co-operators Hall at the River Run Centre. For more information about how to get involved with RCMPI, or if you’d like to assist them in their theatrical efforts, you can get click here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - December 6, 2018

With episode 200 out of the way, this week on Open Sources Guelph, we're going back to the current news, and there's a lot of news to consider. This week, we travel the world as world leaders met in Argentina in a comedy of errors called the G20. Back home, we're still worried about oil, and in Ontario we're worried about nepotism. We'll then wrap up the hour with a tribute to latest member of the President's Club to take his leave.
This Thursday, December 6 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
"Get Me Outta Here." The G20 unfolded in Buenos Ares last weekend, and what a weekend it was as U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled and uncancelled a meeting with Vladimir Putin, had an awkward photo op with Argentina's president, and then reached a detente with China which was quickly undermined when Trump called himself "Tariff Man". The new NAFTA was signed, although Trump had some trouble with that too, and though Trump stood alone in not pledging to act on climate change, he at least didn't bro out with Putin and Mohammad bin Salman. We'll talk about the G20's takeaways.
Induction Oil. If we don't do something soon, Alberta will die! That's almost the message we've been getting as the price of Alberta crude hit record lows, which has prompted calls for the Federal government to do something: More train cars, less production, or just build the pipelines, dammit. The concerns look to eclipse any other issue that will be before the First Ministers meeting this week, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is forced again to walk a tight rope between supporting the oil patch, and giving up any pretense of a green agenda. Can Alberta be helped to their satisfaction in the short term?
Another Fine Ford Controversy. It's been another long week at Queen's Park. It started last weekend with members of Ontario's labour movement getting angry at the PC government's inaction after GM's announcement on the closure of the Oshawa plant. As the week began though there were bigger questions about what influence Doug Ford had in the hiring of a family friend as the new chief of the OPP. Of course, Ford claims that there was nothing untoward about the hire, and that he wasn't involved, but with the 407 scandal under OPP investigation, can we trust a Ford family friend in the role of Ontario's top cop?
41. The passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, has stirred a number of emotions. On the one hand, people remember Bush the Statesman. They remember a man who could work well with others, even people he disagreed with; a man who was humble, and elected to do the right thing governing even if it meant defeat politically. On the other hand though, people also remember Bush's missteps on the AIDS crisis, they remember his pardoning of players in the Iran-Contra Affair, and they remember some of the nakedly racist politicking that was done is his name. We'll consider the Bush 41 legacy.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 5, 2018 (Creed II)

This week on End Credits we get ready to rumble. Of course, there are times that our reviews are a very respectful kind of rumble where we use our words, but this week the rumble is real (and reel) as we dig into the boxing legacy sequel, Creed II. So there's that, plus we'll take a break to hear from another show about movies with a political theme.
This Wednesday, November 28, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Let's Get Political. At the end of every year over on Open Sources Guelph, we do a movie show. Adam A. Donaldson and Scotty Hertz choose two movies with political themes and talk about them, and why they matter or are just otherwise cool. So this week, in a touch of community radio synergy, we replay part of the political movies discussion from last year, and remind you that this year's OSG movies show will play Christmas week on December 27.
REVIEW: Creed II (2018). In 2015, Ryan Coogler did something completely unexpected and re-contextualized the Rocky franchise by putting the focus on the son of the Italian Stallion's  friend and rival. For the sequel, Creed II, young Adonis Creed (played by certified movie star Michael B. Jordan) comes face-to-face with the man who killed his father in the ring, and his own son who's looking to build a boxing legacy. It sounds hokey, but so did, at one time, the hero's journey of the son of Apollo Creed who seeks guidance from Rocky Balboa.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #149 - The Moraine Discovery Tour

It was a cool, crisp, and sunny late-fall afternoon. It was the perfect weather to enjoy a little time outside, learning about the vast swath of land that the City of Guelph wants to develop for 25,000 new residents.
This past Sunday, the Protect Our Moraine Coalition - a group made up of the Wellington Water Watchers, Nature Guelph, and several others - hosted a bus our of the area affected by the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan. The details of the plan have been controversial, but how many of us are familiar with the land itself?
About 50 people got a little more familiar with the area and it's unique challenges as the bus stopped at South End Community Park, went along Maltby Road, and down Clair to Gordon and finally to the Marcolongo Farm, where tour guide Mike Marcolongo would like to see the creation of a new heritage park and affordable housing. Marcolongo has been one of the loudest skeptics about the City's plans for Clair-Maltby.
For this edition of the podcast, you'll hear excerpts from the tour, which in the end was about three hours long and a bit unwieldy to hear unabridged. What's in this podcast will hopefully provide insight into the important issues being considered in crafting the finished Secondary Plan in terms of density, wildlife and water protections, traffic, parkland, and community design.
Before beginning, let's be clear: this is not a protest. No one's saying to put the brakes on the development completely, but what the Protect Our Moraine folks are suggesting is that the plan, as it stands, falls short in terms of the what people have come to expect from a public policy leader like Guelph. Has the development of the secondary plan so far met the aspirations we have for our City? I guess we'll see.
So let's tour the lands of the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can find all the materials for the development of the Clair-Maltby Secondary Plan so far here, and you can stay up to date about any and all future consultations by emailing clair-maltby@guelph.ca. In the meantime, the City will be accepting feedback about the Policy Directions for Clair-Maltby through January 2nd, and you can learn how to communicate your thoughts and concerns here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - November 29, 2018

This week's edition of Open Sources Guelph is a special occasion. Of course, every episode of the show is a special occasion - we're just that good! - but in terms of the numerology, this week's show is very special indeed. Behold: Longevity in community radio!
This Thursday, November 29 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
200th Episode. This week, we mark almost four years and 200 episode of Open Sources Guelph! In honour of the occasion, we'll take a look back at the last 47 months using the familiar frame of our annual awards show. Adam and Scotty will each choose their Best Politician, Worst Politician, Good News Story, and Dumpster Fire from the show's first 199 episodes, and recount some of the ups and downs (mostly downs) that we've covered in the last four years. Trudeau elected! Trump elected! Ford Nation! Me Too! Electoral Reform! Climate Change! And shootings, shooting, and more shootings! It's been a rough ride so far, but we hope to find some signs of light.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.

GUELPH POLITICAST #148 - Guelph Stuff: Closed Meetings, High Speed Rail & What's Next

You know those podcasts where two people talk about the news like they're some kind of experts on the subject? Well, this is like that, except about Guelph news!
On this edition of the podcast, new Politico contributor Eli Ridder makes his official introduction. You might remember Eli from his recent run to be city councillor in Ward 4, but by day he's a Media Studies student at the University of Guelph-Humber, where he's the founding editor-in-chief of The Avro Post.
So among Eli's Politico responsibilities will be "Guelph Stuff", a monthly round up and discussion of Guelph news.
So in this inaugural edition of "Guelph Stuff" we will discuss the limits of closed meetings after the fourth complaint on them to the integrity commissioner. We'll also talk about the provincial government's pause on developing high speed rail and what it means for regional transit. And last, but certainly not least, we'll look ahead to the new council, which just so happens to sit for the first time on Monday.
So let's talk about Guelph Stuff on this new edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Eli Ridder will be contributing articles here on Guelph Politico, and you will start to see that shortly. The next Guelph Stuff podcast will be later this month, and if you have any suggestions about topics to cover, feel free to let us know.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

End Credits - November 28, 2018 (Ralph Breaks the Internet)

This week on End Credits, it's all about the sequels! Yes, we review the Wreck-It-Ralph follow-up Ralph Breaks the Internet, but there's a lot of sequel talk in terms of what next chapters that people are eager to see, what sequels we're definitely going to see next, and what sequels failed to materialize. Also, we talk about a little foot-in-mouth concerning the recent passing of a legend.
This Wednesday, November 28, at 2 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Remake Delights. For some strange reason, The Hollywood Reporter decided to gauge the interest of the general public in seeing new entries in several venerable franchises, and the one they were most excited about was Back to the Future. For the record, there is no Back to the Future remake or sequel in the works, but it seems that despite the criticisms, people just can't wait for more of what's old and what's familiar. We'll take a deeper look at the numbers.
Maher in the Headlights. In the widespread outpouring of grief for the passing of Stan Lee, one lone courageous voice dared to ask, "What's the big deal?" Comedian Bill Maher, to paraphrase, said that only a country that takes comic books so seriously could elect someone like Donald Trump, which caused a rare unanimous wave of outrage. What did Maher get wrong about Lee and his legacy, and why double down on the comments?
The Lightening Brief. In the wave of YA adaptations following the success of Harry Potter, the most obvious choice to replicate that success was Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Directed by Chris Columbus, who launched the Potter franchise, Percy Jackson didn't become a big ongoing franchise, and the author of the original books, Rick Riordan, thinks it's because the studio didn't listen to him. But how much power should an author have over an adaption?
Once Upon a LEGO Aquaman. Everything is awesome in the land of big sequels and franchises. This past week we got a new trailer for The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, the final trailer for Aquaman, and a trailer for Once Upon a Deadpool, AKA: the PG-13 re-release of Deadpool 2. Which of these trailers are we excited about? Which of them could we do without?
REVIEW: Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). In Disney's first big screen sequel since The Rescuers Down Under, we return to Litwak's arcade where video game characters Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz are still best friends, and stuck in their nightly routine. All that changes though when Old Man Litwak hooks his arcade up to wifi, and Ralph and Venellope are all allowed to explore the internet with all its wonderful ephemera. But can their friendship survive all the Easter eggs and inside jokes?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 2 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #147 - Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians

The next Federal Election in Canada is less than 11 months away, and while all eyes are on the Conservative Party as the most direct threat to the re-election of Justin Trudeau's Liberals, there are a lot of people on the left-hand side of the political spectrum that aren't exactly fans of J.T. either. It's probably safe to say that Brent Patterson is one of them.
You can be assured that one of the things you'll be hearing about Trudeau from left-wing activists like Patterson next year is that he's failed progressives. Look at the last week: the Federal government ordered postal employees back to work, they were unable to act to save good, well-paying middle class jobs in Oshawa, and there continues to be a lack of any real action on climate change. In other words, Trudeau looks vulnerable from the left.
Patterson, who's been the political director of the Council of Canadians for 18 years, intends to turn up the heat on the Liberals, but that heat comes with a warning. In a recent rabble.ca post, Patterson said of the Trudeau Liberals, "The disappointment that followed the broken promises of electoral reform, respect for Indigenous rights, and a phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies has led some -- perhaps for the first time ever -- to consider not voting this time."
Obviously, Patterson doesn't find that option acceptable.
So on this edition of the podcast, Patterson talks about what effect the recent employment news will have on the perception of Trudeau and the Liberals, how Trudeau has painted himself into a corner on oil pipelines, and how we might finally be seeing progress in getting action on climate change.  There's also some discussion about the things that we should be considering as activists, including some much needed hopefulness, and how not to burn yourself out on your own anger.
So fasten your seat belt because we're going to take a sharp turn to the left on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Brent Patterson will be in Guelph tonight - Wednesday November 28 - immediately after the AGM of the Guelph chapter of the Council of Canadians. His talk, "What is to be Done? Thoughts on How Activists Can Navigate the Current Political Moment," begins at 7 pm in the community room on the second floor of the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. You can also read Patterson's writings on various topics on rabble.ca.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - November 22, 2018

This Open Sources Guelph is going to be a dire one. We're going to talk about Brexit, which is going about as well as everyone expected. We're going to talk about sex abuse, which seemed to have been baked into the culture of a prestigious Toronto school. We're going to talk about the lack of support for trans rights in the governing PC Party. And we're going to talk about our country's environmental failures. Hold on to your butts.
This Thursday, November 22 at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Brexit Bad. Things went from bad to worse for the U.K. last week when the draft of the Brexit deal was released, and it satisfied absolutely no one. The hardcore Brexiteers were the most unsatisfied saying that the deal doesn't go far enough to separate the U.K. from the European Union, while the remaining Remainers are trying to convince the government that a new referendum is the way to go now that the full extent of the effects of Brexit are understood. Either way, it looks likely that Theresa May is the one that's going to lose. Can May stand even as Brexit falls apart around her?
School Busted. St. Michael's College, a prestigious private Catholic School in Toronto, has been embroiled in scandal the last week after journalists broke a story about hazing and sex abuse in the ranks of the athletic programs at the all-boys school. It was only after those initial media reports that the police got involved and charges were laid, but there are big questions about why it took the mainstream media to get involved to prompt St. Mike's to tackle the problem. There are also concerns that despite the attention, the school is working from the inside to mitigate the damage. Did the system fail the students here?
Trans Fights. Tanya Granic Allen returned to the news last week by bringing forth a successful resolution to have the PC Party debate on whether gender identity is a liberal conspiracy that shouldn't be taught in schools. Cool. Doug Ford tried to clean it up Monday, saying that the debate is "Done", but how can it be "Done" when a majority of the party voted overwhelmingly for having the debate? What are trans people supposed to think when the governing party thinks their existence is a liberal conspiracy? How genuine should we then take Lisa MacLeod's statement of support on Trans Day of Remembrance?
Green Look. It's brutal news for the environment on a near daily basis, but for Canada specifically, it seems that we're lagging behind in meeting our climate change targets set by the Paris Accord, 90 per cent our plastic is not being recycled, Ontario just canned the environment commissioner, and there's pressure to get more help to the oil patch as prices have hit rock bottom. Despite the warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there's been no renewed effort to address the issue even as the experts say we're running out of time. What can we do as the clock ticks down to oblivion?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 6 pm on Thursday.