Important Deaths

Does anybody remember what the most important news was a couple of weeks ago? It was people protesting the results of the election in Iran. People were being beaten and some were killed.

Then the death of Michael Jackson pushed all of this to the back burner. It seems that the world cares more about the fate of his three children than millions of people in Iran. Heck, the death of Billy Mays, the guy who hawked Oxy-Clean on the television, has been given greater prominence in the last few days.

Indeed, it seems that there are some deaths more important than others. If we can put a familiar face to it, then it touches us more dearly.

Michael Jackson

He died today. Many around the world will be writing about his life. I will be brief.

There are those in life who are so rare that they are beyond comparison. Michael Jackson was one of those people. Rather than representing culture and society, he helped define it.

Razor Blades

It all started with a single blade with two edges in the good old days. It did a great job of removing the hair from your face. It also did a very good job of scraping half of the skin from your face and slitting your throat at the same time. You would then splash on some cheap after shave, something like Aqua Velva or Brut if you were more adventurous, let out a scream like Tarzan and apply a roll of toilet tissue to the open gash. You felt that you gave less blood to the Red Cross, yet they used to call this a "safety" razor.

Next came the twin blade. Smoother shave, less blood, more efficient and a bit pricier.

Hmm, how do we improve it? Let's allow the head to pivot, and charge people a bit more. And then we can put a Teflon strip to help it glide better.

What comes after two blades? Three, of course! And we will get the pivoting head, the Teflon strip and add a battery-operated vibration to nick those little hairs in style.

You guessed it. They have one with four now. How long will it take before there are ten blades.

I like progress, though. I also appreciate the skin that has been allowed to grow back on my neck. However, there is something that has got me pretty steamed up.

Razor blades cost too much. I remember when you used to get ten of the original safety razor blades for less than a buck. I just bought eight triple blades and the bill came to over twenty-nine dollars. It can't cost even close to that to make them.

Since one of the Gillettes owns the New England Patriots, I figure I am financing the football team with my grooming aids. Now I like football, but I figure Tom Brady can make a few million less if it means cheaper razor blades.

What is a man to do? Do I protest by growing a beard? At this stage in life, I don't need more white hair. I am surprised that somebody hasn't started making generic blades. My guess is that there is some sort of patent on the design so it can't be copied.

I have an idea. I should create a holder that fits into the Gillette razor that holds blades made to my design. I could make millions. I might be able to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton. Wait, somebody has just tried to do that and failed. Anyway, I could have a lot of fun with my money.

Or maybe I could find a way to go back to the original double-edge safety blade, that is if they sell them anywhere. I may go even one better. I will buy a straight edge razor, the one you see barbers weild in the old westerns. You have to sharpen them on a leather strop, but they seem to give a pretty close shave and at a fraction of the cost.

New Relationships

A call came out of the blue the other week. It seems I had signed a contract in 1994 with a company that gave it certain "electronic" rights. It was creating a problem in today's world because the meaning of what these rights entailed had changed. My feeling is that most people in 1994 would have had a hard time envisioning just what electronic rights would mean in 2009. Things have change that much. The question becomes, when the technology changes, does the meaning of the word changes. Also, does somebody have an obligation to accept the new meaning, one that couldn't have been predicted, when he signed a contract under a different set of circumstances?

This line of thinking has more to do than with legal contracts. Our relationships have changed immensely over the past decade. We are more in touch with people, many of them strangers, than ever before without touching them. Text messaging, Facebook and Twitter have brought new dimensions to the way we interact with each other.

Just like my legal contract, how do we maintain our relationships in a world where the very meaning of that word often changes faster than we can keep up with it?

The Doldrums

I remember learning about the adventures of Christopher Columbus and his trips to the West Indies. One of the problems he encountered was the lack of wind - the doldrums - when his ships entered the Sargasso Sea.

Well, as far as the thoughts of Johnny V., I have hit the doldrums. I still think about lots of things and I have the odd interesting thought. It's just that I don't feel any desire to write very much these days. My inspiration just isn't there. Hopefully it will return. It is as if the wind has been taken out of my sails.

I look forward to the days in the future when the gusts will pick up and I will feel the force drawing me towards my destiny. It just isn't happening right now.

It has been said that people have to suffer for their art. I find that my writing is quite the opposite. I write best when I have a zest for life and feel it coursing through my hair. That just isn't happening right now.

The Tamil Protest

I understand that innocent people are being killed in Sri Lanka. They are also being killed in many other parts of the world, too. However, there is something about the way the Tamils in Canada are bringing it to our attention that bothers me.

Canada is already involved in Afghanistan and many are saying that we should not be involved there. How is Sri Lanka any different?

From what I have read, the situation is quite different, though. There have been many attempts to negotiate peace on the island once known as Ceylon. The 2006 attempt failed. A Wikipedia entry on the Tamil Tigers (the LTTE)states:

Further peace talks were scheduled in Oslo, Norway, on June 8 and 9, 2006, but canceled when the LTTE refused to meet directly with the government delegation, claiming its fighters were not being allowed safe passage to travel to the talks. Norwegian mediator Erik Solheim told journalists that the LTTE should take direct responsibility for the collapse of the talks.

So now there are Tamils in the street of Toronto trying to force the Canadian government to take action. Why are they trying to force us to do something? As I understand, we are being told that this disruption will continue until we do what they want. Why should we forced to enter into a civil war that has been going on for years? Why can't the Tamils themselves become the agents for peace in their own land?

Yes, there may be many things I don't understand about the situation, but the actions of the Tamils in Canada are not making me feel sympathetic about their cause, particularly when there appears to be close ties with the Tamil Tigers, a group that Canada considers a bunch of terrorists.

If I am wrong educate me, but don't threaten me.

By The Time I Get To Phoenix

Concerning Research in Motion's Jim Balsillie's (on the left) attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes franchise and move it to Southern Ontario, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly (on the right) had this to say:

"It doesn't take into consideration all the people and the money that has been spent on and devoted to the Coyotes franchise here in Glendale, both in the creation of a new building that was paid for largely by taxpayers and in the emotional and financial connection Coyotes fans have with their team.

"In any situation we believe, once you've committed to a market, you have to give the market a fair chance to succeed or fail and I don't think this market has had that chance at this point of time."

I can think of two words to say to Mr. Daly - Winnipeg and Quebec. My guess is that there would be few tears shed by the departure of the NHL team in Phoenix. The people of Winnipeg would dearly love to have another crack at a franchise.

Are people worried about too many teams around Toronto? New York has three teams and New York citizens don't have the same passion for hockey Canadians do. No, this is not a convincing argument.

So, what's the problem? There is no doubt that a Southern Ontario team would be a success financially and in fan interest. Many are saying that much of it is the struggle of egos between Jim Balsillie and league commissioner Gary Bettman, which is why Daly made the most recent response. I think there is something else to consider.

The NHL keeps trying to convince the Americans that it is a major player on the sports scene. It's all about marketing. Looking at the current Canadian teams, Toronto and Montreal are solid. Because Calgary has hosted the Olympics and Vancouver will be hosting them, Americans are aware of them. Edmonton has been on shaky ground for years. Going there is compared to being sent to Siberia. In the league's eyes, if the American public doesn't know or care about a city, it is expendable as in Winnipeg, Quebec and Edmonton.

You can imagine, then, the tremors the league's brass has when they contemplate hockey night in Hamilton or Waterloo. To them, Kansas City and Portland are more recognizable to Americans. Putting a team into these city will give the league more credibility in the eyes of the US media. Forget what is in the fans' hearts. My guess is that Moscow or Toyko has more of a chance of a franchise than Jim Balsillie's attempt to put one into a hockey-starved Southern Ontario city. Of course, Canadians don't share or accept this view, but try telling somebody in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles that his team has to fly to Hamilton, Ontario. Where?

Don't believe me? Tell me, which city has a greater population, Kansas City or Hamilton? It's Hamilton. Hamilton is bigger than Buffalo, too, and about the same size as Portland, Nashville, Seattle and Baltimore. Who would have thought that? Not many. But which cities will capture the hearts of Americans as being seen as a sport having arrived in prominence? Not any of the Canadian ones except Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

And that is probably why Jim Balsillie has met his Waterloo.