On Sunday, 15 November 2020 the Kitchener Festival of Neighbourhoods held its Mosaic of Neighbourhoods online meeting. Allison Brown, the Celebration Planner/Multi-Media Specialist with FON sends us a report featuring highlights from the meeting. It’s in two parts, the first features the Neighbourhood Exchange program and the second part is the feedback from the discussions. Allison writes “Bear in mind that this audio all comes from Zoom, so it’s not the best.” You can read all about it on their website: Festival Of Neighbourhoods 2020: A Mosaic Of Neighbourhoods.
The Women’s Crisis Services Waterloo Region is holding their Gift of Hope campaign during the holiday season. By donating to Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region you are providing essential services to women and children who have experienced domestic violence and come to WCSWR for support. Donate today!
How Bob came across WCSWR looking for podcasts on WR Dashboard; Jen Hutton explains what Women’s Crisis Services is and does; statistics on domestic violence; the kinds of abuse that women suffer; listing the 24 Hour Support Lines: Kitchener-Waterloo: +1‑519‑742‑5894 or Cambridge: +1‑519‑653‑2422, both available to rural townships as well; how to access shelter support; better to prevent domestic abuse from happening in the first place;
What happens when someone calls the 24 hour support line; receiving calls from family and friends; planning, and things to consider when leaving; what a shelter is like — hotel style, communal dining area; staying at the shelter until housing is available; working with community partners like thrift stores and food banks; providing outreach support after moving out; a network of shelter support services across Ontario;
Talking about the She Is Your Neighbour podcast, hosted by Jenna Mayne; origins of the podcast; introducing episode 3: A Childhood Experience of Domestic Violence with Chris Linklater
Kevin California’s origins in Waterloo and travels elsewhere, developing as a musician, using his degree in kinesiology, doing production work on his albums, credits to the staff working on Timeless, describing the Timeless video
More chatting with Kevin California: More album credits, how to shoot a music video, preparing footage for the next video and the next album. Introducing Currency.
Bob Jonkman talks to Mack Rogers and Katherine Arruda. Mack explains Life Literacy Canada and National Literacy Month; moving the Money Matters program at Kitchener Public Library online. The goal is to raise people’ confidence with finance, how to save, how to take out a loan; making sure the program is accessible to everyone. Working with TD Bank experts to explain financial products, and to be an on-going contact for participants. Katherine explains the contents of the program, how people get signed up (through the library). Providing access to financial resources online. Katherine teaches Bob the basics of financial literacy – ask questions, review budgets, get companies to reduce their rates. Talking about investments and retirements. ABC Life Literace continues to do online learning with community groups, these are all free.
56m00s
2 Lane Blacktop Lies and Bob gives the end credits and a plug for the 25 Hour Xmas Radiothon starting Thursday at 8pm.
Chuck Howitt talks about his time at The Record; how BlackBerry Town came to be; the research involved in writing a book; a rival book, Losing The Signal appears; finding a publisher with the help of Steve Izma; Lorimer Publishing accepts, but imposes a deadline. Chuck writes to meet the deadline; changes suggested by Lorimer made it a better book. Not a history book, but about people and stories and technology. Chuck explains what happened with RIM and its stock options. Talking about patents, patent trolls, and RIM’s patent lawsuit. What took BlackBerry down? Chuck thinks it was distractions (buying hockey teams, physics institutes), complacency, and failure to innovate. Discussing the technology offered by the competition. With RIM’s centralized infrastructure, how secure was the BlackBerry technology really? Chuck Howitt reads some excerpts from BlackBerry Town. Talking about other technology companies in Waterloo. “Unicorn companies”, worth billions of dollars on paper, but what are they really worth? Promoting the book in the media. Chuck is now writing a blog. How to buy the book: Online at Lorimer, IRL at Words Worth Books. Audio book on CKMS-FM? Stay tuned!
57m10s
Empty To Fill
and Bob Jonkman gives the end credits
Jim Stewart and Riani de Wet of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition return to CKMS Community Connections to talk about the new legislation for Long Term Care facilities and privatization of health care.
Ford’s 4-hour long-term care announcement too late:
Need commitment to deal with staffing crisis now
Toronto – While the Ontario Health Coalition is happy that the Ford government has finally adopted the 4-hour minimum care standard as policy, the timeline that they have given is so long that it is meaningless for the people who are suffering and dying in long-term care now, warns the Coalition. The Coalition has been working to win a minimum care standard in long-term care for more than 20 years, since the Harris government removed the existing care standard in the late 1990s. For at least 15 years this has been a priority issue and the Health Coalition has held countless events and activities to pressure consecutive governments to bring it in. Today the Ford government announced that it has adopted the 4-hour target but will not commit to implementing it until 2024/25, four years and a provincial election away.
“Too much of the government’s response to date has been focused on PR at the expense of concrete measures, said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “There is much more that the Ford government could do right now to save lives and get care levels up, so announcing a care standard four years from now is just not good enough.”
“Ontarians need to know what concrete recruitment and training is going to happen right now to get staff into the homes and to move us toward the four-hour minimum average care level as quickly as possible,” Ms. Mehra went on to say.
For example:
4 months ago, at the beginning of June, Quebec’s government launched a recruitment drive backed by the full power of government and funded fully to get 10,000 PSW-equivalent workers, paid them $21 per hour for training, increased wages to $26 an hour and is deploying this small army of workers into the homes.
British Columbia’s government took action 6 months ago to provide full time work and an increased wage of $21.75 per hour for PSWs in long-term care to stabilize the workforce.
In contrast, Ontario’s government did nothing substantial in the summer months when there was a lull in COVID-19 cases and should have been planning for the fall. Finally in September, they announced funding and training for 2000 PSWs along with a series of piecemeal funding and training; no big recruitment drive, no full time work, no improvement in wages and working conditions that would attract people to this work. They also renewed the pandemic pay until March, but at $1 per hour less than it was in the summer.
“We are happy that the minimum care standard is finally, belatedly, adopted as policy but we cannot allow this to be the way that this government tries to shut down the legitimate criticism about their inadequate response. We desperately need staff in the homes now. It is in this government’s power to do more. Why will they not do it?” concluded Ms. Mehra.
Almost Four Dozen People Who Applied to Testify Before the
Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Bill 218 Limiting Legal Liability for COVID-19 Harms for Long-Term Care Homes and Others,
Cut Out of the Hearings Today
Toronto – Increasingly frustrated with the lack of accountability for the response to COVID-19 in Ontario’s long-term care homes, Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra called today’s revelation that dozens of people who applied for standing in today’s legislative hearings on Bill 218 which limits legal liability for the home operators, “Injustice heaped upon injustice,” for the families of those who have died.
A number of family members and their lawyers were among those cut from the hearings, as the Ford government has limited the hearings to one part-day meaning that there are only 15 spaces for people to be heard. The government gave almost no notice for the hearings, which are being held this afternoon, so families spent hours in the past two days reliving the horrors of the last days of their loved ones lives while trying to write up their presentations, only to find that they will not be heard, Ms. Mehra reported. “It is heartbreaking, just so wrong,” she said.
Fifty-eight people applied for standing and only 15 are being heard. The practice of severely limiting public hearings has reached unprecedented levels under the Ford government which has also changed the rules of the Legislature to enable themselves to pass bills with unprecedented speed.
“There is no reason that the government cannot extend the hearings to one more day to hear from people who have been directly impacted in the most devastating of ways,” she said. “We are calling on the government to extend the hearings and give the families the ability to have input on this legislation that directly impacts their attempt to seek justice.”
Bill 218 raises the legal bar for those suing for COVID-19 harms to gross negligence from simple negligence. It redefines “good faith effort” which usually means a reasonable and competent effort to say that long-term care and retirement homes, among others, just had to make an “honest effort, whether reasonable or not”, thereby making it both harder to sue and easier to defend. It makes these measures retroactive to March 17, 2020, the week that COVID-19 began to spread in long-term care homes, impacting more than two dozen class action and legal suits that are already underway against for-profit long-term care homes that were responsible for more than half of the COVID 19 deaths in Ontario’s homes in the first wave of the pandemic, a trend that is shaping up to be the same or worse in the second wave, reported the Coalition.
The Health Coalition, which opposes these measures for long-term care and retirement homes, will testify before the Standing Committee on Justice Policy at 1 p.m. today and will call on the committee to extend the hearings.
Bob Jonkman and Jim Stewart talk about the state of the Covid pandemic in Ontario, and are joined by Riani de Wet to discuss long term care legislation.
58m01s
Ridin’ With A Thief
while Bob gives the end credits.
Bob Jonkman speaks with Aaron Dawe about the music of Dichroma, the band itself, how Covid has affected the band, and the production of their new EP, possibly called Two and possibly to come out this Friday, 30 October 2020.
The interview starts at 5m55s. Sadly, the phone connection was not very good.
John MacDonald of the Kitchener Festival of Neighbourhoods
John MacDonald joins Bob Jonkman on a web conference to talk about the Kitchener Festival of Neighbourhoods, what the organization does, how it operates with the City, and the upcoming festival on Sunday 15 November 2020.
Thanksgiving, Covid safety, introducing Alt.Pop.Repeat, explaining “Counterculture”, the joy of podcasting and community radio, listing the episodes, finding counterculture, researching counterculture.
Taking pictures, retro-counterculture, having Alt.Pop.Repeat on Dash Radio, producing podcasts is timeconsuming, new episode on Tuesday 13 October 2020 about Yoga with Faith Hunter
Excerpt from Alt.Pop.Repeat‘s episode Legally High: The Cannabis Episode (w/ Tommy Chong) and the analysis, “The Sync”. The structure of podcasts, launching WR Podcasts, finding people for podcasts, podcasting is publicity, podcasting is informing people about differences and similarities, the cycle of counterculture to pop culture and back again, contacting Chrissy Newton and Alt.Pop.Repeat
David Marskell Bob Jonkman chats with David Marskell of THEMUSEUM about the operation of a museum, the exhibits, the history, and upcoming exhibits. And we play some CanCon and local KWCon music too!
Bob reads the bio for Bano, now known as Astral Gates. Chatting with David Marskell: The state of THEMUSEUM during the pandemic, both physical and online. Reviewing some current events at THEMUSEUM. A bit of history, how THEMUSEUM came to downtown Kitchener. THEMUSEUM is still open for weddings; other collaborative exhibits with the CNE and Bingemans. Permanent exhibits as remnants from The Children’s Museum, some more history. Still open for walk-in visitors, seniors’ program, couples. About the Alarm exhibit (open until January 2021), the Land Back Camp exhibit, Music and Islamic Art. About the Underground Studio, a makerspace for STEAM.
Chatting with David Marskell about the branding of THEMUSEUM, with no collection it is officially THEMUSEUM of Ideas Transcending Objects; David Marskell’s background at other organizations; staffing at THEMUSEUM; partnerships with other museums and organizations; working online. Talking about funding THEMUSEUM.
Bob reads Jacob Bradshaw’s e-mail to the station. Chatting with David Marskell about show business; the structure of THEMUSEUM – Board of Directors, volunteering, marketing. Introducing the upcoming blockbuster exhibition: The Rolling Stones | UNZIPPED
56m40s
Gimme Shelter and Bob Jonkman gives the show credits
Please pardon the persistent on-screen graphic. I was trying out some new-to-me software (OBS Studio), but I don’t have enough hands to do both radio and video at the same time…
Shiv TalwarRobyn LeBron-Anders Shiv Talwar and Robyn LeBron-Anders join Bob Jonkman to talk about the Spiritual Heritage Education Network (SHEN), the upcoming “Teaching Unity in Diversity” conference, the books they’ve written. Shiv even conducts a breathing workshop for Bob!
Deep Breathing Sessions with Shiv Talwar are held every Monday evening from 7:00pm to 8:30pm on Zoom through the Civic Hub Online. Workshops are on hold while Shiv is giving lectures and preparing for the conference; they’ll resume on Monday, 5 October 2020.
Talking to Robyn LeBron-Anders about her books and the work she’s done on creating world religion courses. Final thoughts: Think of your children and grandchildren, and how they can live in harmony with the rest of the world.
Amanda Di Battista Amanda Di Battista, project coordinator with the Laurier Centre For Sustainable Food Systems joins Bob Jonkman to talk about the research work of the Centre, and the Handpicked Podcast.
The interview starts at 5m56s.
Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems Online:
Introducing Amanda Di Battista and the Handpicked Podcast; sustainable food systems from seed to compost: localized, ecologically regenerative, socially just, fair, economically viable.
1 in 8 households, and 1 in 6 children are food insecure, don’t have access to or are unable to afford healthy food. It’s worse in Indigenous and Black communities. We need to move people out of poverty so they are able to eat well, and have culturally appropriate food. People across Canada have some of those solutions which are culturally appropriate and help combat climate change.
Discussing how climate change affects people’s food supply, affected by stewardship of the land. Through the Handpicked Podcast researchers are sharing information across communities in new ways.
Talking about reslience at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, including dealing with Covid-19. Dr. Theresa Schumilas and the Open Food Network offers a new way to participate in food markets, allowing people to pivot and respond to the pandemic. It’s totally Open Source and socially just. Allows both producer to retailer, and direct to consumer, eg. Bailey’s Local Food.
Talking about researchers in the field, eg. Dr. Schumilas, looking at food sovereignty, people’s right to food, and linking that with technological sovereignty, the right for people to control their own data. Building trust relationships with communities, determining what research will meet their needs. Working in “Participatory Action Research” or “Community Driven Research”; the Centre works on several projects, amongst them FLEdGE (Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged), international projects in Brazil and Kenya, as well as policy work at the national and global levels.
24m25s
Climate Rag (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace Change)
Talking about the City Region Food Systems toolkit, including pandemics and Covid-19 response. Using the UNESCO chair to build more robust networks in Waterloo Region.
Sustainable Food Systems as both a cause and a solution to the global climate crisis, a lever for change. Also, Covid-19 is a window into interesting solutions.
Dr. Alison Blay-Palmer is working with CC-UNESCO, other universities, on how to recover from Covid-19, keeping the environment and food systems in mind. The Building Back Better task force, and position papers in iPolitics. How/where to spend recovery money to have the biggest effect. Prioritizing equity, social justice, and the environmental in the recovery.
Funding for LCSFS comes from Laurier University for operational costs; research is funded through grant writing, some from SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), government support (some international). No industry funding, so no conflict with research.
Handpicked: Stories From The Field is the LCSFS podcast. There are six episodes in the first season, hosted by Amanda Di Battista and Laine Young, available on all the regular podcast outlets. Telling the stories of the researchers at the LCSFS. This is a way to get the research out into the public, directly from the researchers themselves. Quick synopsis of some current episodes, and next season. Talking about Season 1, Episode 6, the Open Food Network, activist coders, Open Source Software, and the Free Software resources in Waterloo Region.
Talking about Hold The Line celebrating municipal legislation and protecting rural areas from urban encroachment. How other municipalities imagine their roles in sustainable food systems.
Podcasts as a research tool, provides open access to research. Podcasts bring research to life.
Show Notes are in progress! Check this page later for updates!
Show Notes
In this episode we talk with Mike and April of “Struggles of the City: Kitchener Waterloo”. We discussed their backgrounds and what made them want to become involved with the less fortunate. Also, their work with “Struggles of the City” and how it came gained traction. We also talk about their involvement with Lot 42.
Mike Ingenue & April Desrochers from Struggles of the City: Kitchener-Waterloo
We cover both Music and Arts today, as we chat with Gabriel Baragan of the band Beast & Fish, and Allie Brenner from local arts venue Button Factory Arts. Gabriel Baragan and Cristian Iesan of Beast & Fish
Camping, weather, day jobs, introducing the band: Gabiel on guitar, Cristian Iesan on drums, and Rick Boulter on bass; about White Rock, BC; Covid difficulties, working on new songs and a new album; everybody listens to the songs; sounding like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Stranglers? Introducing Green
A blues band? Recording at Cosmic Pig Recording Studios; about the name of the band, the album artwork, distribution channels, picked up all over the world, No. 24 on the Top 100 in Pennsylvania, playing for the fans, back in the studio in winter to release an album, CKMS-FM will be the first to know!
Allie Brenner from Button Factory Arts tells us about the building, the history of the organization, the arts programs offered, cancellations due to Covid. Creating a safe space for people to participate in activities: enhanced cleaning, reduced hours, limited public traffic; opening 15 September. Call for The Once Unknown photography exhibtion.
Allie Brenner tells us how the public can help Button Factory Arts with a Go Fund Me campaign, make a donation, buy a membership, or buy a tulip bulb. Talking memberships, the Board structure, run as a non-profit charitable organization. Introducing the staff: Executive Director Heather Franklin and Operations Manager Erin Stamoulos, and the Program Director is Allie Brenner. Upcoming events: Photograpy Exhibit, Fall programming, workshops, classes, including still-life drawing, watercolour basics, fused glass, embroidery, printmaking, and writing as performance. The upstairs space at the Button Factory is available for rental.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs on Thursday from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Mo Markham on CKMS Community Connections 1 July 2019 Mo Markham is back, but not in the studio. Because of Covid the studio is still closed to guests, so Mo joins us online.
The same is true for KW Vegfest. After the huge turnout in Carl Zehr Square at Kitchener City Hall the last two years, this year KW Vegfest is going virtual. Mo and Bob Jonkman talk about how that will work.
Bob announces the played tracks, and reads artists bios for Tye Dempsey and Kiana Smith, but Bibo remains an enigma. There’s also a phone call, but it’s not Mo Markham.
Bob introduces the Korol Music School, Melotika, and Parallax Error; a bit more information on KW Vegfest, and a promo for Liberation Hour which airs Fridays at 8:00pm on CKMS-FM
Regan Sunshine Brussé
Regan Sunshine Brussé is an anti-poverty activist working with Alliance Against Poverty, and is now working to find shelter for those left unsheltered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela, Aleksandra Petrovic, and Charles Nichols Angela, Aleksandra Petrovic, and Charles Nichols from the Social Development Centre join Bob Jonkman. We talk about housing, the need for experienced living in policy making, and get some practical experience running the CKMS-FM sound board for a future SDCWR show and podcast.
If you’d like to volunteer or be interviewed by Charles Nichols for the podcast please call the Social Development Centre at +1‑519‑579‑3800
There was so much Social Development to discuss today that we didn’t get to all the artists on our playlist. Never fear, they’re in our digital music library and will be played on future episoses!
04m20s: Royal Tusk — Die Knowing from their second album Tusk II
09m37s: Angela, Aleks, and Charles talk about the Civic Hub WR, the SDCWR Tax Clinic, and supports for affordable housing through RENT, Disability and Human Rights group, ALIVe; using volunteer opportunities and technology to enable social justice actions.
45m17s: How to volunteer for an interview with Charles Nichols: Call +1‑519‑579‑3800; the Civic Hub is available to any small, grass-roots organization, see https://civichubwr.org/
48m45s: Lexxicon — Lucky Lucky from Bashment Trap House
51m37s: Get training to start your own show on CKMS-FM; summing up today’s talk.
55m45s: 100 mile house — Worth The Wait from the Love You Or Leave You album
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs on Friday from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Tamara Lorincz talks about peace, nonviolence, the arms trade, militarization, Canada’s interference in international affairs, the military’s excessive additions to Canada’s carbon footprint, and lists the many events, rallies, and protests coming up in Waterloo Region.
5m19s: Tamara Lorincz talks about Martin Luther King Jr. and the film showing MLK: A Call To Conscience, Canada’s military interference in other countries and domestically, extractive imperialism, the need for peaceful foreign policy, the climate crisis and military GHG emissions, the Peace With Iran rally
53m40s: Summary of events: Protests at CANSEC, Peace Conference in Ottawa, Peace With Iran rally in Waterloo Public Square, film screening MLK: A Call To Conscience
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs on Friday from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Bob Jonkman chats with Caterina Lindman from Rise4ClimateWR. We discuss local climate action, Indigenous climate action on unceded Wet’suwet’en lands in British Columbia, and upcoming climate events in Waterloo Region.
What: Film and Potluck about the Wet’suwet’en struggle in British Columbia When: Tonight, Monday 13 January 2020 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm Where: Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre, St. Paul’s Unversity College Location: 190 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario Facebook: Wet’suwet’en Solidarity Event: Filmscreening and Potluck
What: ALERT Climate Strike in support of Wet’suwet’en When: Friday, 17 January 2020 from 12 Noon to 1:00pm Where: In front of THEMUSEUM Location: 10 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario Facebook: ALARM Climate Strike in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en
What: ALARM exhibit When: From 18 Jan 2020 to ??? Where: THEMUSUEM Location: 10 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario Website: Upcoming exhibitions – ALARM
What: Angela Carter lecture — “Hope amidst the Climate Crisis : Our role in Waterloo Region” When: Thursday, 23 January 2019 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm Where: THEMUSEUM Location: 10 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario Website: 55 & Better: Hope Amidst Climate Crisis: Our Role in Waterloo Region Note: Free admission for seniors 55+
25m16s: Talking about the Wet’suwet’en blockade, film and potluck at St. Paul’s University College, Fridays4Future climate strike at THEMUSEUM, the ALARM exhibit, Angela Carter’s lecture. Caterina’s involvement many organizations, finding plant-based foods.
35m07s: The Soviet Influence — Secret Space from the album The Price of Vigilence
38m22s: Still other climate organizations; the solar furnace; carbon taxes, fees and dividends; changing corporate business models; recap of upcoming events.
51m47s: Joseph Martone — The Deal from the album Honeybirds
54m53s: End credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs on Friday from 2:00pm to 3:00pm.
Join the Write For Rights letter writing campaign with Amnesty International Group Nine:
What: Amnesty International Group 9 Write for Rights When: Saturday, 7 December 2019 from 11:30am to 4:30pm Where: Seven Shores Cafe Location: Unit 4 — 10 Regina Street North, Waterloo, Ontario
Come to the monthly meetings:
When: 7:30pm on the first Tuesday of the month — Next meeting: 7 January 2020 Where: The Fretz Seminar Room (4224), Conrad Grebel College Location: 140 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario
Podcast
Some technical difficulties at the start of this podcast, and lots of noise from construction in the studio building.
The white poppy symbolizes peace. It is meant to remind us of the civilians that are killed in war — over 90% of the casualties in recent wars are civilians, not military troops. The white poppy shows us that we embrace a culture of peace, not the glorification of war. And the white poppy honours those people who practice that culture of peace by refusing to participate in military service.
In Canada Peace Poppies Vancouver have been distributing white lapel poppies. You can order from their website, White Poppies.
The book discussed is Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot Be Won on the Battlefield by Ernie Regehr, not Tom Regehr. My apologies for the error.
Graham Hafey
Graham Hafey
Graham Hafey is a Canadian veteran who now runs V2V Black Hops Brewery in Victoria, British Columbia.
Elizabeth McCallister and Mark Kempf Today we’re joined by four members of The Arlington Six poetry society: Elizabeth McCallister, Mark Kempf, Lin Geary, and Jim Tomkins.
Lin Geary and Jim Tomkins
Show Notes
Here are some of the poems read on the show, along with a few others that we didn’t get to.
“Paintings are like poems, they are thoughts abandoned” Stan J. White
Music Hall
by Stan J. White
Sex is something
God has thrown in to ensure
We do not confuse ourselves
With deities, with angels –
a kind of tether
that never lets us stray too far
from freshly turned earth after rain
and in the pathos of it all
a constant reminder
of vaudeville, of burlesque.
An Ode to Beer
by Jim Tomkins, 7 November 2011
Oh, amber elixir crowned with golden head
whence came your magic mystical mixture
of barley mash, crystalline water and fruity hops?
Brewed hodgepodge in containers from Sumeria to China
through cellared wooden kegs to Pilzen caves
and glistening copper kettles row on row.
Drunk in litres, pints and Aussie schooners,
halves, viertels and even once,
in six ounce ten cent drafts.
Oh, wine where is thy claim?
Full muted by this tasty honest brew
from ancient cloudy ale to new craft sips
past charcoal stout, beach blond lager
hoppy pale, sweet chocolate mild.
All sips tease lips, tempt discerning tongues
foaming moustaches form in the tingling wake
of fermented flavours gliding down.
Quaffed, not guzzled,
savoured, not chugged
each nuanced batch unique.
Taste, robust or delicate,
stirs heightened eloquence,
smooth patter, bravado’s hope.
Enter the intoxicating dreamland
of ambrosial brew
Biere, cervesa, live on!
Oh, amber elixir crowned with gold.
My Wreck Beach Haiku
by Lin Geary
my new raincoat
for Wreck Beach–
clear plastic
Buried Deep
by Becky D. Alexander
details from a memoir by Sergeant Jim Alexander (MM) Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Holland, 1945
In the kitchen, from the doorway to the hearth,
lying on the floor like some colossal cigarette –
a log , one end in the fire, burning slowly
as flames surround a bubbling pot.
It mystified the Canadian soldiers, those kept
after the war – troops retained
to rebuild a battered country, one
that refused to be swallowed back into the sea.
The explanation provided to the curious, Because the Nazis took all of our metal:
axes, pitchforks, scythes and hoes, even kitchen knives –
a last ditch effort to build more weapons.
Allied saviours shared meals of boiled tulip bulbs: ‘the most gawd-awful things you ever ate’
along with Red Cross chocolate and rationed tins
of bully beef: bitter meals of freedom.
Under our barn, wrapped in oiled burlap,
We have our tractor and plow – buried bits cloistered away
following the final swoop of the flag of black on red. They never found them. Soon, we will plant.
—
This poem appeared in the anthology Tamaracks: Canadian Poetry for the 21 st Century, edited by James Deahl, Lummox Press, California. This anthology is available through Amazon.ca.
The Muffin Man
by Elizabeth McCallister
At two and a half,
He’s got it all figured out.
How to find his T.V. shows
and how to reach those muffins.
He takes one glance over his shoulder
as he stretches out his fingers.
He’s a bad boy though.
It’s his third,
but Mommy’s talking on the phone
so she can’t stop him.
He fixes sad brown eyes
on her to say
“I need this chocolate chip muffin.”
To peel back the golden skin of enriched white flour
and get to the centre.
Pick out each chocolate chip.
Set it aside on the coffee table
filled with his sticky fingerprints
and the goo of cooked muffin and chips
mixed with his saliva.
Place them there for later.
Make a happy face with
eight chips curved in a smile,
three for the eyes and nose.
He’s got his time alone with Mommy.
His big brother and Daddy are
off at Scout Camp together.
At night, he sleeps on top of her
so she can’t get away and leave him.
Until he goes off to playschool,
and sees his girlfriend Chelsea.
He’s decided his name is Sean.
It sounds better.
One day, he’ll fix
those big brown eyes on another woman.
She’ll melt like those chocolate chips
in his hot little fingers.
That’s the way it works.
Not the least Oedipal.
Just practising on the first woman
who loves him, picks up after him, feeds him.
Poem for Reading in a Bar
by Dave Margoshes
Hey, you, you in the back,
come a little closer. The poem
is warm, but its voice is soft.
And you, you over there,
don’t be afraid, the poem
bites, but only the ones it loves.
And you, yeah, I mean you,
looking so smug, do you really
think you’re immune to poetry?
This poem will get under
your skin, you’ll find yourself
thinking about it tonight
as you’re trying to fall asleep,
your lips moving in the dark,
alone in your bed with a poem
you hardly know. When you wake
the bed will be empty, the sheets
soiled, only the poem’s scent
on your pillow to let you know
it was there, only its footprints
in the snow outside your heart
—
From his collection Purity of Absence , (2001) Porcepic Books. Still available for purchase.
Six for the Solstice
(haiku from my garden) by Lin Geary
first time for raised beds–
tender lettuce, red chard
chipmunk and sparrow
cirque du soleil–
these endless wire tents
for the seedling peas
brand-new
pistol-grip
econo-watering
thing
I water my shoes
the neighbour’s tom
brings his best invisible act–
doubtful blue jay
what will I serve with
this 64 dollar
vine-ripened tomato?
sister skunks
stroll under my hammock
lesson in prayer
Worship in the Boreal Forest
by Elizabeth McCallister
Our vespers were whispers to the moon,
and our matins sang the sun awake.
We drank in the summer’s long afternoons.
Began knitting blankets with the first snowflake.
We fell in love to the dance of butterflies.
Their white wings wove a spell of enchantment.
Breezes’ touch on our needles were our lullabies
serenading our young to sleep’s contentment.
We were the high priests within our temple
celebrating rites to our gods’ abundance.
Air, earth, water, light – our needs were simple.
The two-footed fiends stole away our innocence.
There are no songs when each breath is an effort.
All the brown-needled branches are our scars.
Dying, we entwine our roots for comfort,
and sighing send our sorrows to the stars.
—
These two poems were in the collection Notes from Suburbia, 2013, published by Craigleigh Press, Cambridge, ON. It isn’t in print but you may be able to obtain some of the last copies at the Green Heron bookstore in Paris, ON.
Santiago
by Jim Tomkins
On his shoulder tilts a rod
pointing the path so often trod.
In this town of Ford and Chevy
he strides determined to the levee.
Dew-dappled Levis, faded cuff
along dusty curbsides scuff.
Runners crunch the pearly gravel
keen to angle migrants’ travel.
Slimy pylons split the stream
hindrance to the caster’s dream.
Breezes push the sightless odor
sulphuric-past the tugboat’s motor.
Through Ambassador’s massive arc
stand unlit towers of the park.
Oriole, Indian, Yankee teams
thwart the Tigers’ pennant schemes.
Today fishing is his only care
minnows splash, striped bodies glare.
The run is over school is out
time to sell the pseudo-trout.
Scale-stained pockets, shiny dimes
magic simple childhood times.
Two-scooper from the inverted cone
Young Santiago trundles home.
Ashes
by Jim Tomkins, May 9th 2012 Mothers’ day
Her grey ashes sit
in a pressed board box
on an attic shelf
next to light lace doilies
with lavender scent.
Below a trunk’s contents:
sepia family photos known to her
stamps from a bygone era
sleeved in cracking plastic,
crocheted samplers, musty address book
her favourite sherry glass.
I’m happy that is the scene.
No need for flashy urn
to adorn the mantel.
She is far from discarded
her memory’s embedded
a bond from womb to life’s end
Mother to son.
The haiku that won the 2012 International Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival: Haiku Invitational, and rode the Vancouver buses for a couple of months:
by Lin Geary
morning tai chi–
all the prams
slowly turning pink
at the cenotaph
by Lin Geary, 2018
on a skinny cold day
bespoke in black
the long lamb coat, the boot-lined comfort…
there, alongside my fellow Canadians
it’s time to jut out my chin
in once-a-year pride
to stand curbside guard
to miscount the endless placing of wreaths
to breathe out the thoughtless mind-frost
into thin, thin air….
and the mic kicks in, then out
as a faultless child sings the Queen’s old anthem
and we all raise out descant and filler voices
not missing a beat…
till Henry calls the Colour Guard to attention…
Present Flags!
it is only then the tears begin
cloud my eyes and bite my cheeks
because Henry has led the parade
because Henry is my long-widowed neighbour
because Henry is 92, bent and strong
and I think Happy Birthday, Canada
because it is the 11th of November…
100 years of armistice after a war
that birthed our nation
and here we stand, still firm, still cold
in perpetual grief
still hoping for peace
Maeve 3
Jim Tomkins, 2017
Rhythmic patter of sidewalk
slowly droops her eyes
gentle bump of each slab
confirms her comfort
a tiny hand protrudes
retreats returns to rest
wee nose below cap’s brim
contains genes of the stroller
as do tiny ears
peeking under pink flap
instinctual feeling confirms
the link
a generation apart
together strolling in the Annex
a primal confluence
pulses in the air.
11 Days
by Jim Tomkins, 2013
ebony locks beside miniscule digits
snorfly flared nose, flint coal eyes
endlessly curious in bright moments
of sight
one tiny nicked ear, peach-tinted cheeks
insatiable mouth, slight doubling chin
eagerly chomping in maternal moments
of milk
fuzzy cute sleeper housing jiggling legs
scrunched like a turtle thrusting out
kicking, declaring the embracing
Of life
The Poet
by Jim Tomkins
He sits
Glasses perched
Contemplative frown
Over hunched shoulders
Ancient desk and messy pen
His hair
Stands alert in silver halo
Around his warty pate
The lidded eyes closed in reverie
His thoughts
Provoke tugs of mustache
On bristled upper lip
Above careless shaving scar
He ponders
Lists of grasped images
Written on scraps
And stuffed in random pockets
He recalls
An endless selection
Of captured memories
That rooted themselves over time like saplings
His scribbling
Whisk him back in time
And force his aging brain
To organize. To prioritize. To choose
His words
Spill forth and write themselves
In haste and fear of loss
Like escaping prisoners
His poems
Speak not to another
Not to his audience
But to him alone
As he sits, glasses perched
At ancient desk and quill.
Death of the voice
by Jim Tomkins
For generations they came
first with mouth pieces
mounted on walls with hand held
receiver cones in touch by party line
then with dials and cradles
for decades used to keep in touch
clunky cordless devolved to flip
to ironic smart
communication ended
dumbed down by texting
muffled by instagram
silenced by Facebook
voices no longer heard
or listened to
the chat castrated
the telephone a eunuch
in the harem of the algorithm
A correction — Mark Kempf writes: “I am so embarrassed to say but happy to report Wendell Berry is not dead as I so confidently mentioned yesterday — I wanted to let you know as soon as I could.
My confusion is completely indefensible, and not sure why I thought it now.”
The #Lights4LibertyKW vigil was held on Friday, 12 July 2019 in Waterloo Town Square to call for an end to both the migrant detention camps in the United States and those in Canada.
Christine Mayor a PhD student at Laurier University and a trauma therapist, spoke on the vigil organization and Canada’s own problems with refugee detention.
Kira Williams, a post-doctoral student from the International Migration Research Centre at the University of Waterloo spoke about international migrant detention issues.
“Lights for Liberty is not about one lone day of action. It’s a chance to elevate orgs that’ve been doing this work for years, to get involved, to demand change AND to fight for it. Join us.”
—Lights for Liberty international organizers/hosts
Write to and call your MP calling on them to end migrant detention in Canada and to end the Safe Third Party Agreement with the United States.
Write to and call the Minister and Deputy Minister of Immigration Refugees and Citizenships and of Public Safety Canada calling on them to end migrant detention in Canada and to end the Safe Third Party Agreement with the United States.
Donate to an organization in the United States that is working to support migrants and refugees. There are a lot of options including RAICES, Immigrant Families Together, and ACLU.
Share articles on social media about the migrant detention camps in the U.S. and about migrant detention in Canada. Encourage others to take action and help them figure out how.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about some aspect of this work that’s important to you – ending migrant detention; being a welcome community for refugees and immigrants; the racist past and present of immigration policy in the U.S. and Canada, or closing the camps in the United States.
Donate to an organization in Canada that supports immigrants and refugees. There are lots of options including Canadian Council for Refugees, Migrante, No One Is Illegal Toronto, and Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre.
Write to and call your MPP about reversing the Ford government’s cuts to legal aid for refugees and immigrants.
Advocate for a professional association or community organization that you’re a part of to formally call for an end to migrant detention and join relevant coalitions or working groups.
Connect with other participants from the Lights for Liberty event to organize another event – panel discussion on migrant discussion, fundraiser, film festival, demonstration, etc.
Get involved in Provincial and Federal politics – ensuring that migrant detention and services for immigrants and refugees are key election issues.
Join the mailing list for and follow immigrants’ rights groups on social media so that you can continue to learn and take action
The Lights For Liberty vigil was announced on CKMS Community Connections on 8 July 2019.
Music List
The playlist today is entirely from Nation of Iron by J.P. Mortier, a singer, song writer and artist from Montreal. It’s a double album consisting of 24 songs clocking in at 2 hours and 19 minutes. On this album, he targets the totalitarian powers that be: governments, corporate power, religion, ideology, technology and other tools of destruction that want to rule our society. It seemed appropriate, given the topic for today’s show.
We dip into the album selections throughout the show, interspersed with talking to our in-studio guests.
Krista Hovsepian is creator, writer, executive producer and actor for Wholesome Foods, I Love You… Is That OK? (WFILY). WFILY is a comedy about a neurotic yoga teacher in search of love at her favourite organic supermarket. Catch the website at https://www.wfily.com/
8 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register) A Night To Inspire with Brian Bourke, Ella and Eva Hanson, Jeff Heer, MP Pam Damoff, “Fashion Santa” Paul Mason, and Tim Louis will be performing
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm (Register) Dan Walsh and Laura Mae Lindo
Tue, 13 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register)
Concert with Tim Louis and Allister Bradley
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register)
Concert with Jesse Parent and Laura Mae Lindo
Thanks to Jeff Stager for inviting me on to his @RadioWaterloo show to chat about the Wilmot Terry Fox Run's coming events. Not only did Jeff let me play four tracks from our On the Road CD, he even bought the copy we played! #TerryFoxLivesHerepic.twitter.com/2hUdHnP3P9
— Wilmot Terry Fox Run (@WilmotTerryFox) July 22, 2019
CKMS Community Connections
(single)
Festival of Neighbourhoods
A Kaleidoscope Christmas
(video)
(single)
(single)
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and deriviatives works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders.
single
(single)
Remixes for Christmas
Timeless
Virtusoso
BlackBerry Town
Sex Love & Chaos
Just Beyond the Shine
Virtuoso
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
One
Dreamonic
(single)
Changemakers Without Borders
Vagabond
Elliott and the Audio Kings
Lara MacMillan
End Of A Perfect Day
Cowboy
Astral Gates
Let It Bleed
CKMS Community Connections
Sidestreet Dive
Cinacoustic
Eddie
Keep It Simple
Field Guide
Single
Softly
The Ridge
Gemini
You can donate to the Unsheltered Campaign funds at the CanadaHelps portal
I, The Mountain
J.P. Mortier
Jean-Paul de Roover
Royal Tusk
Union Duke
Fettish
Lexxicon
100 mile house
The Soviet Influence
Jake Feeney
Wilfred N and the Grown Men
The Respectables
Brandon Solomon
The Soviet Influence
Joseph Martone
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Creative Commons Attribution Only
