Guelph Politicast

End Credits #232 - January 26, 2022 (The House)

This week on End Credits, we've got a lot things going on. The movie choice this week, The House on Netflix, combines three different stories under one banner, so we're basically doing three movies in one. And speaking of movies that have more than one movie, we're going to run down a list of other movies that have several different movies in them.
This Wednesday, January 26, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
A Segment in 6 Parts. This week's pick is an anthology, which is kind of a rarity in the movie business; a movie that's made up of different short movies, sometimes with a different director for each segment. Before we get into The House, we will talk about some of the other anthologies you can find across the streaming sites, from stories about love in Paris, to Halloween tales, and several fun conversations around coffee and cigarettes.
REVIEW: The House (2022). This is a movie with three different stories about the same house, lovingly crafted in the nearly lost art of stop motion animation. London's Nexus Studios produced The House, which contains three tales that span different styles, different time periods, and different anthropomorphized animals or humans. Featuring the voice talents of Matthew Goode, Helena Bonham Carter, Mia Goth, and Jarvis Cocker, The House can be spooky, it can be funny, and it can be strange, but is the movie any good? We'll see.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #308 - Une maison de la francophonie à Guelph

Think about this for a second: Where can you go in Guelph if you want to use your French language skills? Seriously. This is a bilingual country, and unless you have friends or family that speak French or live in an area with a lot of French speakers, where do you go, and who do you talk to, if you want to speak French? That maybe about to change.
Thomas Gallezot is originally from France but he's made his home in Canada, first in Toronto, but more recently in Guelph, which are two places not exactly notable for their local French culture. Of course, there are francophone people in the Royal City, but where can you go to hang out with other French people? For that matter, where can you go to flex those French language skills you spent so much time honing in school? Gallezot had a similar thought.
There are actually a lot of different French houses in Canada, including one in Ottawa, where you think it would be easy to find French speakers since Quebec is literally just across the river. La maison de la francophonie d'Ottawa is a cultural centre with sports and rec activities, health services, cultural events, language courses, childcare, employment help, and services for newcomers, which all sounds pretty good, right?  So what would it take to create a maison de la francophonie in Guelph?
The person best suited to answer those questions is Thomas Gallezot, and he will talk about coming to Canada, and whether he was surprised by the lack of French facilities here. He will also discuss what a French house in Guelph might look like, and how it’s essentially about tearing down walls between Canada’s two solitudes. And finally, Gallezot will discuss the potential fundraising avenues, how the old Drill Hall might make a nice location, and what he hopes to get out of the project personally.
So let's talk about speaking French on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
If you want to help out with the cause of getting Une maison de la francophonie à Guelph, or if you want to learn more about the mission, you can go to the Facebook page set up for the project and join. 
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #361 - January 20, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, it's a "Blue Thursday" and we will tackle all kinds of issues making the rounds in what might be the saddest week of the year. Back to School was messed up by a snow day, and then we will memorialize a Canadian political legend who passed away last weekend. In the back half of the show, we will cover some sports news (?), and then we will take a frightening look at the immediate future.
This Thursday, January 20, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Backtrack to School. Monday's re-opening of schools in Ontario and Quebec was delayed by a snow day, or two, but otherwise things proceeded exactly as predicted: messily. After spending Monday playing Mr. Plow, Premier Doug Ford started teasing good news for Ontario businesses on Tuesday, even though the Chief Medical Officer of Health kind of hedge the good news pledge on Wednesday. So what happens next?
Bye Alexa. When Alex McDonough went to the Nova Scotia Legislature as an MLA for Halifax and the provincial leader of the NDP, there was no women's washroom for female representatives, because at the time, 1980, she was the only woman serving in the Legislature. That's one of the glass ceilings McDonough broke through in her political career, and this week we will remember her, and talk about her legacy.
Sports Uncentred. Actual tennis was overshadowed this week by the drama around one tennis player. Novak Djokovic says he didn't want to become a anti-vaccine celebrity, but his attempts to evade Australia's rules about being vaccinated to gain entry has made him one. We will talk about that, and we will also talk about the coming potential (and likely) disaster of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing next month.
How Deep is This Rally? This weekend, there will be several Freedom Rally demonstrations across Canada. People who are anti-mask, anti-vax, and anti-lockdown will be gathering in Guelph, Waterloo, Ottawa and all points in between, to air grievances and spread more misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories about the pandemic. So is this getting enough coverage in the media, and how should we cover it?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #231 - January 19, 2022 (The Tragedy of MacBeth)

This week on End Credits, something wicked this way comes. Because call it "The Tragedy of the Scottish Play" doesn't really sound right, we will break form and say this week, we're reviewing the new Shakespeare movie, The Tragedy of MacBeth. Before that, we will talk about other Shakespeare movies and try to limit the available options to just five or six.
This Wednesday, January 19, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
The Play's [Adaptation] is the Thing. It's hard to think if there's been an author more adapted for cinema than William Shakespeare; in fact, the first adaption of one of his works is believed to be the four-minute King John, filmed on stage in London in 1899. Before getting into this week's review, we will look back at some of the other Shakespeare adaptations that you can stream now around the internet, including the ones that don't scream, "English Lit class"
REVIEW: The Tragedy of MacBeth (2021). MacBeth has been adapted, and re-adapted, on stage and screen for decades, including a very recent, much-seen version by Australian director Justin Kurzel. This version though comes from one of the Coen Brothers, and it stars acting titans Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, so you know this might deliver something new and special, and perhaps something never seen in any version of "The Scottish Play" before. So was Joel Coen able to make much ado about something with Shakespeare instead of brother Ethan?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #307 - New Year, New Market

As of January 1, 10C Shared Space took over the management of the Guelph Farmers' Market. The goal is simple: turn an underperforming asset that’s only open five hours a week into a new economic hub and accelerator that ties together food security, sustainability, local markets, and opportunity development. Getting there is an ideal challenge for Guelph’s community changemaker.
According to the Farmers’ Market website, the property was home to Guelph’s first building, which was a market house, a central place where area farmers could sell their produce and goods. Essentially, this is was the beginning of downtown Guelph, and while the market house didn’t last, the area that became Market Square became a centre of local commerce by the middle of the 19th century.
Fast forward to last November when city council approved a plan for 10C to take over management of the market. It’s hard to think of a better partner to run the market, and 10C’s plan includes more hours, different vendors like a weekly arts and crafts market, culinary events to promote food tourism and education, and a common community space that can be used for a variety of different events. It’s a bold plan, so how does it begin?
10C co-founder and executive director Julia Grady joins us on this edition of the podcast to talk about why 10C is a good match for the Farmers’ Market, and what some of the plans are for the space.  She will also discuss the importance of a thriving Farmers’ Market to downtown Guelph, and the mandate to create a profitable market in the next five years. And finally, she will talk about how the pandemic has changed the market, and when people might start to see some of the changes 10C is initiating.
So let's talk about the Farmers' Market of the future on this week's Guelph Politicast!
To learn more about 10C, go to their website here, and to learn more about the Guelph Farmers’ Market, including a list of vendors and the current capacity limits, click here. To find out more about the potential changes coming to the Farmers’ Market, check out the highlights from November’s Committee of the Whole meeting here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #360 - January 13, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we will demonstrate for some under-reported news stories. For instance, are we putting too much on the back of the vaccine hesitancy movement, and why haven't we heard more about the far-right contenders in this year's provincial election? Speaking of the coming vote, our guest this week is one of the candidates in Guelph, and she has a lot of healthcare expertise.
This Thursday, January 13, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Med of the Class. The Omicron wave of the pandemic has replaced feelings of togetherness and fortitude with feelings of resentment and bitterness, and a lot of that is directed at people who are not vaccinated yet. But are all these people making a political stand? How many are facing barriers to the vaccine that have nothing to do with being an "anti-vaxxer"? We'll talk about the role of class in this pandemic.
All the Right's Moves. Ontarians will be going to the polls this year, and while there's always some vote-splitting on the left-hand side of the spectrum, this year will be marked with new options on the right. For the 2022 election, there will be a number of far-right challengers to the PCs, and they're being led by some of our favourite anti-vax/anti-mask/anti-lockdown politicians. We'll talk about the new contenders.
Raechelle! Raechelle! Speaking of the coming election, we will have one of the local contenders on this week's show. Raechelle Devereaux is the CEO of the Guelph Community Health Centre, so she's a busy woman already, but now she's the Liberal Party of Ontario candidate for Guelph. Devereaux will talk about her pandemic experience working in local public health, and why she wants to help Ontario do better as Guelph's next MPP.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #230 - January 12, 2022 (Anonymously Yours)

This week on End Credits, we unofficially kick off the new year by getting into some new movie reviews. Our pick this week hails from Mexico, but it has some surprisingly familiar themes if you're a big fan of stories about teenage romance. Speaking of teenage-based drama, let's just say this week's show is a boon if you're looking for something to watch in that genre!
This Wednesday, January 12, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Naught Another Teen Movie. Before we dive into this week's movie, which is a teen romance melodrama on Netflix, we will spend the first part of this week's show talking about other teen drama you can find on various streamers. From a gender-switch take on a turn of a century classic to a west coast answer to Degrassi High, from a franchise we've visited before on this show to the seedy underbelly of Palm Springs (?), we're teen crazy this week.
REVIEW: Anonymously Yours (2021). You ever get a text from someone you don't know who thinks they're texting with someone else? Did it ever end with you finding true love? Well this is the movie for you! Two Mexican teens - Vale and Alex - are you're average, everyday high school seniors both anticipating and dreading the end of school, but then a case of mistaken textual identity brings them into each other's orbit. Will Vale and Alex figure out that they're secretly texting each other while also falling in love IRL? What do you think, and what do we think?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #306 – Taking the System Out of Systemic Racism

With all things COVID back on the front burner, it’s easy to temporarily forget everything that happened in the last few years around fighting systemic racism and embracing social justice. The City of Guelph is trying to make progress towards a more equitable and representative system seriously, but let’s ask the person who knows best: Is the City of Guelph making real progress on tackling issues of systemic racism?
This week, we talk to  Sara Sayyed, the senior advisor of Equity, Anti-Racism and Indigenous Initiatives at the City of Guelph. Her job is to look at ways to dismantle systemic racism and promote racial equity in all manners of City business from policy, to planning, to the delivery services. No one wants to think that they’re a participant in a racist system, but understanding how our systems might influence society's lack of equity is an important step forward.
For a job this big, you need someone plugged into the community, someone like Sara Sayyed. She's been the community services director of the Guelph Muslim Society, and she’s served on a number of local boards including the Guelph General Hospital Board, and the Guelph Community Foundation. She’s had her finger in a lot of proverbial pies, which is why she was able to hit the ground running since being hired by the City of Guelph last summer.
Now, Sayyed joins us on the podcast to talk about what systemic racism looks like in Guelph, and whether the City of Guelph is keeping up with the pace of demand for change. Then, she discusses the 2022 Municipal Election and getting more People of Colour into local politics and running for local office. Sayyed also talks about issues of trust, the importance of having uncomfortable conversations, and how she's made the transition from being a community activist to being part of the proverbial machine.
So let's talk about the mission to end systemic racism on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can see the latest corporate update on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the November 26 council information report, and the next update will be coming up this June. The City is also in the process of updating the Community Plan to include a community standard for the elimination of systemic racism, and you can follow along with updates here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at Apple, Stitcher, Google, TuneIn and Spotify .
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.

Open Sources Guelph #359 - January 6, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we're back after a holiday break. Did we miss anything? I know, we'll tell you. Let's see, we took a sudden U-turn back to lockdown this week in Ontario, but we did make some some progress on Truth and Reconciliation. On the other hand, it's the first anniversary of that time a bunch of people tried to overthrow America for a game show host, and has anyone heard from Putin lately?
This Thursday, January 6, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Ford Have Mercy. Well, he said it wasn't going to happen again, but what a difference a couple of weeks make. On Monday, after being largely missing for nearly three weeks, Premier Doug Ford announced a soft and time limited lockdown for Ontario to make it through the Omicron surge. So was it the right call, and could have any of this been avoided if there had been some different leadership at Queen's Park?
Care Tactics. On Tuesday, the Federal government announced that they had reached a deal with Canada's First Nations people to provide compensation for the inadequacies of the childcare system. The deal was a bit more generous than the one originally mandated in the original human rights challenge. So why did the government work so hard to avoid paying the original tab if they ended up paying more?
The 6th. Exactly one week ago today, a mob of over 3,000 people invaded Capitol Hill in Washington in the name of an alternative reality where Donald Trump had won a stolen election and they were going to "fight like hell" to get their country back. But looking back 365 days later we see that the danger has not passed, and that this coup was likely a dress rehearsal for the next. We'll ask again: Can America be saved?
Ukraine, You Saw, You Conquered? Half a world away, the man that Trump admires the most, Russian President Vladimir Putin, is looking like he's going to unleash his military might on the Ukraine. Almost eight years after seizing the Crimea, Putin's forces have descended on the Ukrainian border, so is he getting ready to invade, and if he's not, just what the heck is he doing and what does he hope to get out of it?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #229 - January 5, 2022 (James Bond Ranking)

This week on End Credits we welcome you to the new year. Technically, we're still on a little post-holiday break, but this is also still technically a new episode of the show. So start off 2022 with a new/old journey through the decades and adventures of Britain's greatest super spy, from Dr. No to No Time to Die, this week is the perfect time to catch up with the 007. It's a licence to thrill! 
This Wednesday, January 5, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Bond. James Bond Movies. This year is the 60th birthday of James Bond, the movie version anyway. By coincidence, the most recent Bond adventure has hit home video and video on demand, and in the lead up to its theatrical release last fall, End Credits ran a ranking of the first 24 Bond movies. So for our first show of 2022, we will not only run the complete ranking of the first two-dozen Bond movies, we will also have a brief review of the latest hit No Time to Die.  This week's episode comes complete with some James Bond musical cues, so get ready to be shaken, and stirred.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.