Ode to Yoga at the YMCA

Wow, I almost missed my Saturday blog. Yikes!

Okay, here goes. I'd like to discuss the merits of doing yoga at the YMCA above going to Rama Lotus or another of the $17 per yoga-class places. As my fellow bloggers know, for some years I've been a yoga enthusiast at Rama Lotus, and other expensive yoga establishments in Ottawa.

Recently I signed up at the Ottawa Y, with a membership that includes free access to all the classes. So, I signed up for two yoga classes: hatha and power, and attended them both this week for the first time. I was shocked by how wonderful it was.

First off, did you know that the Y is actually a charity? Your membership is going to help keep the place going, and helps those less fortunate stay healthy. It's good to be a part of that. Apparently, no-one is ever rejected from being able to work-out at the Y -- if you don't have enough money, they'll work out a deal where you pay what you can. Really, it's the yogic way.

Anyway, reasons why Y-yoga classes are better than Rama Lotus classes:

1. They provide the mats, for free. So, I don't have to lug a mat to work.
2. The instructors are volunteers. Makes me feel that I'm being taught yoga by generous souls.
3. I wore a t-shirt and gym shorts to yoga, and didn't feel I was embarrassing myself with a poor fashion sense.
4. It didn't cost $17 a class, it was free (kind of, I do have a Y membership).
5. There were between 3 and 7 people in my class, not 50 of us scrunched together. It felt like a community.
6. The yoga instructors were very good.
7. The class is one hour, not 90 minutes. After work, a one-hour yoga class is enough.(If not, I can always do a workout!)
8. I can leisurely get changed and have a shower afterward, without bumping into 40 different people sharing the 10x10 change-room.
   

That's it for now. Namaste.

The Politics of Elgin Street

Sure, we all know Ottawa Centre was won by the NDP in the last two elections, and that before that Mac Harb represented the Liberals for a few rounds of Parliament. And you probably even know by how many votes each won by, so that even in this first-past-the-post system, you could get a sense of how strong of a mandate the winner had. For Ottawa Centre, Paul Dewer got 37% of the vote in the last election, beating out his next best rival, Richard Mahoney (two-time loser? Ouch) by almost 8 percentage points. You might have also known that the Greens did not do too shabbily in the last election. David Chernushenko got over 10% of the popular vote in Ottawa Centre, making it among the best performances for a Green Party candidate in any riding.

But here at the ESI, we really could care less about the 90,000 odd electorate of Ottawa Centre. We are far more parochial about our political interests. Even Dwarfie thinks you might as well live in Kanata if you move west of Preston St. That being said, I would like to present, with thanks to folks at Elections Canada, some analysis of the results of Elgin Street from the last election:

Zoom and click on the google map below to get the results for each highlighted poll.

View Larger Map

Poll 116 – Lower Elgin Street, east side

Analysis: The NDP had few problems capturing almost half the votes here. The remaining votes were almost evenly split between the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Strategy: It’s clear that being so close to the police station, these voters have become complacent. They feel safe and secure. The “tough on crime” agenda that usually follows the Conservatives is not working. For the Conservatives, I would suggest things need to be stirred up in this part of town. Home invasions are usually good to scare the odd voter. Maybe those guys you send around to put signs on our lawns could do some double-duty, if you get my drift.

Poll 115 – Lower Elgin, west side

Analysis: The Green’s had their best performance on this part of Elgin Street, getting about 13% of the vote. This is clearly because most of the voters were the homeless people that live on the green space around the Museum of Nature. They have a vested interest in making sure there is grass to sleep on and shrubs close by for other activities.

Strategy: For the Conservatives it’s easy: Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

Poll 113 – Middle Elgin, west side

Analysis: The NDP got about the same number of votes as the combined Liberals and Conservatives.

Strategy: The western side of the Elgin Strip can definitely be a ‘swing’ poll what with all the clubs and bars located there. I think in this instance, the Liberals and the Conservatives have to combine forces to put pressure on the NDP. That is probably best done at pep rallies with the assistance of some of the (ahem) capable serving staff from any of these fine establishments. Also, they may try keeping those Dippers that drink at the Manx from getting out to vote.

Poll 103 and 104 – Maclaren & Elgin, east side / St. Moritz Apts.

Analysis: The Liberals make huge inroads on this part of Elgin Street getting about 36% of the popular vote.

Strategy: Paul Dewer is going to have his work cut out for him trying to win back these polls. Pool sharks (Maclaren’s Pub) and retired old ladies (St. Moritz Apts) who probably once escorted Mackenzie King to his séances are not easily swayed by NDP-style social justice. However, if the Conservatives can get John Baird and Laureen Harper to knock on a few doors, those old ladies may wax romantically about days of yor.

Poll 102 – Maclaren & Elgin, west side

Analysis: The NDP get strong results here at 40% of the popular vote.

Strategy: This side of the street clashes with its east-side counterpart and probably represents well-entrenched political positions. It looks too Northern Ireland / Palestine for my liking. Best we put up a wall down the middle of Elgin Street from Somerset to Gilmour. It can be are own little Berlin. Years from now, when things settle down, we can tare it down and sell it to tourists to help pay down our city’s debt from the Siemens lawsuits and unfinished transit tunnels.

Poll 94 – Elgin Street, upper east side

Analysis: Liberals edged out the NDP by only 1% point.

Strategy: Maybe it’s the similarity between Belgian waffles at the Mayflower to Liberal policy that gives them the edge on this part of Elgin Street. Maybe it’s the closer proximity to Parliament Hill for Canada’s natural governing party. Either way, the NDP could get the jump here with a few key moves. The former Goldsteins grocery store is vacant and must have some possibilities for buying votes from the electorate. How about a platform of returning it to its former glory, but this time employ the panhandlers from the neighbourhood as check-out cashiers. For once, they would be giving us some change.

Warm Fuzzy Blues

Shortly before the latest federal election call, Canada's PM suddenly popped up in ads trying to show him up in his (ahem) best light.

Apparently I'm not the only one disturbed by the strained warm fuzzies of the infamous blue sweater vest, bringing out the warmth of his zombie-blue eyes and fetchingly setting off his Fiberglas® hair. I guess the idea was to tell us Steve is badly misunderstood, and the private man is really a charming, pinano-plunkin' family-dad type, not a robotic freak who can't smile for a TV camera without grinding his teeth to powder.

Apparently it has escaped spin doctors that Canadians are not voting for a private dad. They're voting for a public Prime Minister. This one's public performance has been that of a vindictive, over-ideological control freak who is not above the, ummm, occasional fib to gain elected office, or the occasional cheap partisan potshot once he gets there.

I'm disturbed by the contempt with which this warm fuzzy ploy holds voters. Apparently, a few weeks of stilted advertising should be enough to blot out all memories of the man's smirking yet paranoid performance in front of a minority Parliament he called 'dysfunctional' because: a) his own partisan maneuvering made it that way; and, b) it wouldn't do exactly what he wanted.

Coyotes may be fuzzy-headed - and largely missing from Elections Canada voter lists - but I don't believe democracies usually work that way for minority governments. Maybe, as cowboys from my old stomping grounds used to yell as they took potshots at me, I have shit-fer-brains. Or maybe the PM blatantly maneuvered into place for a quick potshot at a majority government before a global economic malaise, largely caused by a Neo-Con to the south that he seems to admire, starts to really mess up his electoral chances.

What baffles my fuzzy head about the PM's claims to strong leadership, is that his own tax cuts and benefits have been cosmetic pandering that - according to many economists, even conservative ones - are not good governance. What concerns me even more is the fact that top ministers in a pretty thin cabinet - Messrs Baird, Clement and Flaherty - all sat on the inner circle of Mike Harris' provincial government. You know, the one that not too long ago, about burnt Ontario to the ground on the basis of ideology. Warm fuzzies, indeed.

Saturday Night Premonition

"You have access to the Internet again!" I mumble loudly in a half awake state.

"What? Did you say something?" asks my sleeping mate waking up startled and confused.

"Oh, sorry, I was dreaming about a group of blogger friends who haven't been blogging recently. We were at our usual spot, and I was standing on the table and yelling at them that they all have Internet access."

My bed mate gives me a bemused look, mutters something in a patronizing voice, rolls over, and goes back to his sonic boom snoring.

Remember, keep your brush on the ice

City hockey fans have yet to recover from the whooping that Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins inflicted on the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs last spring.

Now we hear that Sid the Kid recently took time out from being a shinny phenom to create some art for a charity auction to benefit people stricken with Parkinson's disease.

Is there nothing those penguins can't do? Apparently not.

Behold Patrick, flightless bird, artist, philanthropist. The little critter's work will be part of next Tuesday's Art by Animals auction sponsored by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Maybe the on-ice Penguins can put the NHL Senators to shame. But charity or no, we can't let real penguins show up our genuine senators.

Colin Kenny, surely you have some etchings that could fetch a few bucks on eBay for a good cause?