Guelph Politicast

End Credits #255 - July 6, 2022 (Elvis)

This week on End Credits we're going to drop the needle. Even though we're a movie show, our focus this week is music, or rather movies about music. We talk about the now in theatres story about the one and only Elvis, and to match it, we're going to spend the first part of the show talking about movies we like where music and musicians are the star.
This Wednesday, July 6, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Sing for the Movie. Since the addition of recorded sound to movies, there's been a long-time, mutual benefit agreement between movie makers and musicians; they provide the sounds, and they later provide their life story as inspiration for other movies. Before getting into the big screen recap of Presley's life, we will talk about some of our favourite musician bio-pics, from other icons of the 50s to punk rockers in the 80s and a couple of points in-between.
REVIEW: Elvis (2022). Elvis Presley was the King of Rock 'n' Roll, so it is probably appropriate that the movie that bears his name is out-sized, over the top, and larger than life. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, his first film in nearly 10 years, Elvis covers Presley's career from state fairs to the Vegas stage, and all under the watchful eye of Col. Parker who is not what he seems. Anchored by Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Parker, Luhrmann's trip through music's past is infinitely fascinating, but is the movie as good as the music that spawned it?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #331 – The Edinburgh Conundrum

The rail crossing on Edinburgh Road has been the site of some controversy lately. The City of Guelph initiated the study of seven different street level rail crossings along the Metrolinx line across town, and they determined that there was one crossing that they had to look at a lot more closely. The implications could be big, so this week, we're going to sit down and talk things out.
Back in 2020, just a couple of weeks before you-know-what, the City of Guelph announced that they were closing the intersection at the Metrolinx train tracks near Kent Street along Dublin. The surrounding neighbourhood was angry about such a sweeping decision, but the issue was safety; the increased frequency of two-way GO trains through Guelph, and the increased speeds by which they travel, required a more cautious approach across the whole line.
That’s why the City’s transportation department started that public engagement on the seven crossings earlier this year, and why they wanted to take a closer look at Edinburgh Road. The potential options range from “do nothing” to constructing an overpass or underpass, which would mean properties in the area might have to be expropriated. That’s when the proverbial stuff hit the fan. People are concerned about their homes and businesses in the area, and they're not sure what to think about any of this.
That's where this week's podcast comes in. Jennifer Juste, Transportation Planning Manager at City Of Guelph, is the guest, and she's going to tell us step-by-step how we got here, and where we go next. She will talk about the all the players' roles, the changes coming to the Metrolinx line because of the expansion of service, and why the focus has landed on Edinburgh Road. She will also explain why this is the beginning of the process, not the end, and how you can stay informed as things develop.
So let's explain what's happening on Edinburgh on this week's Guelph Politicast!
You can stay up to date about the Environmental Assessment of the train tracks on Edinburgh by visiting the City's Have Your Say site. It’s too late to provide comments, but you can still subscribe to receive updates about the project. If you want to stay in touch with the Metrolinx side of things, they put out a monthly newsletter about the latest developments in Guelph and area.
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 #383 - June 30, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we end the month by catching up with the news, and boy there was a lot of it. From the United States will talk about the inevitable and closer to home we will talk about the new front bench at Queen's Park. In the second half of the show, we'll look at the UCP leadership race out west before tracing our way back home and the potential reprise of everyone's favourite convoy.
This Thursday, June 30, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Roe Out. They finally did it. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, voted to overturn Roe V. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that made abortion a constitutionally protected right. As a result, a patchwork of laws around abortion have taken effect across the United States, some places have completely outlawed abortion, and in others it's much, much more complicated. So what happens next and why should we care?
All in the Family. Premier Doug Ford announced his new cabinet last week, and it was mostly made up of returning favourites in the roles they played before the election. But one of the new faces is none other than Michael Ford, who is the new Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, and he says he definitely didn't get the job because his uncle's the premier. We'll talk about this and other developments.
Eight is Enough. Oh yeah, there's a leadership race happening in Alberta right now. Since Premier Jason Kenney announced his intention to step down last month, there have been eight different people who have stepped up to succeed him, and while they all agree that Kenney has to go, and that the NDP can't win in 2023, they all have some very different ideas about Alberta's future, but are any of them a winner?
Convoy BeBack. This weekend is Canada Day, and the perfect way to celebrate is to demand the end of government tyranny caused by mandates that no longer exist. The Freedom Convoy and its supporters, are planning a return to Parliament Hill on Friday, but they may find a less tolerant Ottawa Police. Still, organizers met with Conservative MPs last week, so this ain't over and we must talk about it. Did we mention that Tamara Lich was also re-arrested?
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #254 - June 29, 2022 (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

This week on End Credits, we recognize that this is only one version of the show. In the unlimited spectrum of the multiverse, we may have reviewed Everything Everywhere All at Once already, or we may not have reviewed it at all. But we did review it this week, and along with that, we will take a look at other movies dealing with multiple realities.
This Wednesday, June 29, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
Altered Slates. There are an infinite number of alternative universes out there, each one created by slight variations from this reality; whenever you zigged instead of zagged, you zagged in at least one other universe. That's the multiverse in a nutshell, which is one kind of alternative reality, and that's what we're talking about this week. From time travel, to virtual reality, to the butterfly effect, we will talk about some movies with a different level of what's real (or not).
REVIEW: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). There's been a lot of talk about the multiverse lately courtesy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it was always going to be up to the guys who made Swiss Army Man to take the narrative to its illogical conclusion. Michelle Yoeh plays all possible versions of herself in a technobabble-filled sci-fi action movie that's the candy coated shell for a deeply emotional comedy-drama about one immigrant family's struggles in modern day America. Do you dare to press play on something this audacious?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #330 – Still COVID (Series Finale)

It was at the beginning of March 2020 when Dr. Mercer first appeared on the Guelph Politicast to talk about COVID-19: What would happen if, and when, COVID-19 came to Canada? A few weeks later, COVID was here. After that, Dr. Mercer became a regular guest on this podcast, stopping by once every quarter to talk about the pandemic, and now we have arrived at this, the final edition of "Still COVID."
Since the last "Still COVID" in mid-March, we’ve seen a lot of the mandates rolled back, and even holdouts like the University of Guelph have announced that they will be ending their masking mandate on July 1. Still, mask mandates at the Guelph General Hospital remain, and they also remain at most medical settings, which may speak to this current conundrum: Is the pandemic over? Because we’re sure acting like it is.
We’re also not seeing the cases go down as far as we’re used to, there are still around 100 active cases in this region, and we don't have the same testing capacity we did this time last year. Is it because we’re going maskless? Is it because the new COVID strains are so potent? Is it because our vaccines’ potency is waning? Is it all three? And what happens in the fall when we starting going back inside, and hanging out together maskless?
That is one of the questions we will put to Dr. Nicola Mercer this week, along with whether the pandemic is over, and if being the only one in the room wearing a mask really makes a difference. She will also discuss public health’s COVID plans for the fall, rolling out the next phase of vaccines, and the best strategy to avoid getting COVID now. And finally, Dr. Mercer will tell you why you don’t really need to worry too much about monkeypox with some very limited exceptions.
So, for the last time, let's talk about why we're "Still COVID" on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
You can stay up to date with all the latest information concerning the pandemic, as well as the now weekly case count, at the Public Health website.
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 #382 - June 23, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we consider change. Out of Toronto there was a report about policing that proved the worst case scenario, but will those numbers make a distance? Also, might this be the last session of the Canadian government led by the current prime minister? Some people think it's possible. In the back half? We will work through some change of our own by talking to some local Indigenous voices.
This Thursday, June 23, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Police Story. Last week, the Toronto Police Service released a report into racial discrimination in law enforcement, and to no one's surprise, especially the Black community of Toronto, racialized people are more like to get the harsher end of law enforcement whether that's guns drawn, use of force, and strip searches once in custody. So are the police now finally going to address systemic racism in their ranks?
Tru-done? The latest session of the House of Commons is scheduled to come to an end this week, and not a moment too soon because a lot of pundits are saying that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is checked out, disengaged, and other non-superlatives. Unfortunately, inflation and a new scandal involving the RCMP have captured the media and the opposition's attention, so is this summer going to be Trudeau's big goodbye?
Live, Sort of, From the Park. Tuesday was National Indigenous People's Day across Canada, but the Guelph festivities were in Riverside Park, the first in-person event for this occasion in two years. In lieu of a guest this week, we will play some of the audio from the event along with interviews with an Inuit artist, an Ojibwe drummer and drum maker, and the local president of the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #253 - June 22, 2022 (Hustle)

This week on End Credits we will get into sports, or as we like to call it, "the final frontier." (Film nerd joke.) We're reviewing the new sports drama Hustle on this edition of the show, and of course we're here for the acting, and not the ball throwing. And since we're already here for the acting, we're going to talk about comedic actors who can make you laugh, and make you cry.
This Wednesday, June 22, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Tim Phillips will discuss:
Why So Serious? This week's movie features a normally comedic actor doing abnormally good dramatic acting. Adam Sandler has shown those acting chops on a couple of different occasions, most recently with the excellent Uncut Gems (also on Netflix), but he's not the only funny man that has tried to show he can do more than deliver jokes. To kick things off, we will talk about some of the funny people that could do more than make us laugh.
REVIEW: Hustle (2022). What makes a good basketball player? Is it the ability to fling a ball at a hoop from mid-court? Is it the speed? Is it the shoes? Maybe it's all in the eyes of the scout. Adam Sandler puts on a serious face, and a serious beard, to play a talent scout for the Philadelphia 76ers, and when he finds a street baller in Spain (played by real-life NBA player Juancho Hernangómez), no one else sees the raw talent that Sandler's scout does. So Sandler gets serious in this straightforward sports movie, but does it work for him and us?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.

GUELPH POLITICAST #329 - Reconciliation, As a Municipal Matter

With this being National Indigenous History Month it seems appropriate to look at how our local government is adapting to make Indigenous communities a more active part of governance at City Hall. How can we acknowledge the history of the land and then refuse to give the traditional landholders more of a say in what happens upon it? We can't, and staff members at the City of Guelph are working on that.
It was this time last year when we were all reckoning with our thoughts and feelings about the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential school sites. The City of Guelph has had an official land acknowledgement for almost six years now, but there was a pressing need to do more. A new position called the Intergovernmental Advisor Specializing in Indigenous Relations was created with the goal of leading the City’s relationship-building with key First Nation and Métis government partners.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Trevor Bomberry from the Mohawk Nation and a member of Six Nations of the Grand River was hired to fill the part, but in an example of just how in-demand smart, talented, and forward-looking Indigenous leaders really are, he's already moved on. Instead, we will address questions on this topic to Guelph Museums manager Tammy Adkin, and the City’s manager of policy and intergovernmental relations Leslie Muñoz.
In this edition of the podcast, Adkin will talk about how perceptions of the past are changing, how the museum staff are changing with the times, and how we can celebrate the existence of Guelph and Canada while acknowledging our difficult past. With Muñoz we will talk about the mechanics of engaging with the various Indigenous groups represented in Guelph, encouraging more participation, and the ongoing difficulties in trying to fill the new City's position meant to facilitate some of those changes
So let's talk about Reconciliation out of City Hall on this week's Guelph Politicast!
The City of Guelph is currently in the process of hiring a new Intergovernmental Advisor Specializing in Indigenous Relations and that job posting can be found on all the major job sites if you know someone highly qualified and looking for work. If you missed this year’s National Celebration of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in Guelph, we will have some audio from the event on this week’s Open Sources Guelph. 
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 #381 - June 16, 2022

This week on Open Sources Guelph, we get back into the swamp. We go back south of the border to talk again about the long corruptible coattails of Donald Trump, and we will also take some time to catch up with the latest from the Conservative leadership race here in Canada. For the second half of the show, we will say an official goodbye to another Friend of OSG who's decided to retire from politics.
This Thursday, June 16, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
"It's Bullsh*t." After over a year of in-camera investigation, the January 6th Select Congressional Committee has started to release their findings, and the word "damning" doesn't quite say it. Essentially, everyone told former U.S. President Donald Trump that his claims of election fraud were you-know-what for two months leading up to the insurrection. Now the big question: Will any of this matter to voters this fall?
Deep Blue, See? Summer is here, so that means a lot of travelling to community events and barbeques for the six people that want to be the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. The race still seems to be Pierre Poilievre's to lose, even though he's gotten dinged over his cryto-dreams this week, and Patrick Brown is started to wonder if he's made a huge mistake (or the media is). We'll have an update from the trail.
Theory of James. A couple of weeks ago, Ward 2 City Councillor James Gordon announced that he would not be seeking a third-term at Guelph City Hall. He's going back to being a full time rockstar, but before he does, he's going to spend a couple of minutes talking to us about his time on city council, the things he's proud of, where he wishes he did a little better, and why he wants to foster new and different representation.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits #252 - June 15, 2022 (Jurassic World Dominion)

This week on End Credits it's din-o-mania! If it's summer, then it's time to start running and screaming from CGI dinosaurs, and that's what will happen again with our review of Jurassic World Dominion, the sixth in the series. Before that we will go back to the summer of 1993 and talk not about the original Jurassic Park, but other non-dinosaur movies from that year.
This Wednesday, June 15, at 3 pm, Adam A. Donaldson and Peter Salmon will discuss:
Class of '93. Famously, the original Jurassic Park cam out in the summer of 1993, and it easily won the box office. Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg released a second movie that year, the Holocaust drama Schindler's List, which secured the director's place as both a commercial and an artistic filmmaker. That's one way that 1993 was a consequential year for movies, and we will pull a couple of other titles that are worth a revisit.
REVIEW: Jurassic World: Dominion (2022). In a world where humans and dinosaurs have been thrown together in the same spaces, only one thing can save us: Nostalgia for a 30-year-old movie! All your favourite (?) Jurassic World characters team up with the stars of the original Jurassic Park for a globe-trotting adventure through a world turned upside down now that dinosaurs (and giant killer locusts) are back in the mix. The film is guaranteed to be a massive box office hit, but is this a movie worthy of all that cash, or even worth seeing at all?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Wednesday at 3 pm.