“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn’t a Canadian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag…. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.’

Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier 1907

I couldn’t agree with this more, finally a prominent politician that feels the same way I do about immigration. It’s just a pity he was in office over 100 years ago. We need more politicians like him, men and women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind, who aren’t concerned with bending over backward to every minority and special interest group.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, and become a Canadian citizen, you should do so “in good faith”. Your heart, mind and soul, every faucet must become a Canadian. You must be loyal to Canada, and only Canada.

Canadians in general don’t appreciate nor tolerate discrimination, but it becomes increasingly easy to discriminate when immigrants don’t learn at least one of our official languages, our customs and our laws. When immigrants are ungrateful for what Canada represents, or when one ethnic communities group together in isolation from others. Isolation and an inability to communicate in an official language only slows our growth and divides our nation.

I grow tired of hearing immigrants using language as an excuse for ignorance of our laws, and of immigrant communities wanting special laws and exemptions. I’m sick of hearing immigrants complain about Canada, and tell me how much better their homeland is. If it’s so great, why do you not move back?

People come here to live in one of the greatest nations in the world, to have a higher standard of living or for better opportunities. If you want what Canada offers, you must embrace what has made it great. 

Don’t get me wrong, Canadians are proud to have a multicultural nation; a mosaic rather than a melting pot. However, if Canada is to move forward and become a prominent world leader, and we know it can, we must do so united as Canadians. We must consider ourselves to be Canadian. Not French Canadians, Indo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians or African-Canadians. No more hyphens. I think of myself as a Canadian. Not an Anglo-Scottish-German-Russo-French-OnlyGodKnowsWhat-Canadian. I am Canadian, and damn proud. That is what the future of our great nation must be.

Matthew Bleasdale,
(No hyphen) Canadian

When I heard a Star Trek convention was coming to Vancouver for the first time in years, I was very excited. I checked the promoter’s website (Creation Entertainment) often to see which celebrity guests we’re being added to the event.

After noticing that both Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner were appearing, I bought tickets for my friends and I as soon as they we’re released. The two of them are acting legends, and not to be missed. Furthermore, Nimoy will soon be retiring from both acting and the convention circuit.

The convention ran Friday though Sunday. We had tickets for the Sunday, the only day Nimoy and Shatner appeared on stage. We arrived late in the morning, skipping appearances by Jacob Kogan (child Spock in the new movie) and Michael Barrier (3 appearances in the original Star Trek), because really who cares?

For a sold out event, it was poorly organized. We had our tickets in hand, but had to wait in a long line with those still hoping to buy tickets just to register for our wrist bands. Next we found out they didn’t have schedules printed for the days events, nor was their one posted anywhere. Also, they didn’t have enough seats for all the tickets sold (we were one of the lucky ones to get a seat). Finally, the vendors room (which should be one of the highlights of the events) was down right pathetic. I could count the number of vendors on my two hands, and still have fingers left over.

There were collectible cards, tons of signed 8x10s, t-shirts and hats, some poorly made Star Trek weapon replicas (non-functional) and the opportunity to meet and get autographs from Deep Space 9’s Admiral Ross, Leeta and Rom. There was also a corner with some very nice, and reasonably priced prints. However, those guys were ripoff artists. They only had display models, no inventory at the convention. Purchases would be shipped to you. So after you purchased your $15 dollar print, the price quickly sky-rocketed to $50 plus dollars after unreasonable shipping. Who knows if it would even arrive?

There was no original memorabilia, no props, no quality replicas, no models, no toys, no posters etc. Very disappointing.

We had hoped to hear Jon Povill (associate producer of Star Trek: The Motion Picture) speak, and hear some insight on the making of a Trek film. However, we only caught the tail of it because we spent so long in that damn line when we arrived.

Next up was the “no-minimum bid” Star Trek auction. Don’t let the no-minimum bid part fool you, there was most definitley a minimum bid (as decided by the auctioneer). There was some very cool items up for bid, but unless you have hundreds to thousands of dollars to burn don’t bother with this event in the future.

The saving grace of this day was the appearances of Nimoy and Shatner. The two of them were hilarious both seperatley, and when they got together. They took some questions, and talked a little Trek, but what I found most interesting is the look into their personal lives, their professional careers past and present outside Trek, their relationship, and just how funny and sharp the two of them are. Shatner told a hilarious story about his experiences at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony in Vancouver. Both of them reminisced about their time spent in Vancouver in the past, and in Canada in general. A nice touch to engage the local audience.

Ice cold water and wine glasses were provided to everyone free of charge during the event, another nice touch.

I hoped to ask for some memories of Vancouver born actor James Doohan, Star Trek’s Scotty, but didn’t get the opportunity.

They two of them definitley made it well worth the $48 in the end. If you have the opportunity to see either of them speak, I recommend it. If I was to go again the in the future, it would depend solely on the guests appearing. Everything else about the convention was sorely lacking.

PS - After Shatner and Nimoy were done speaking, autographs and photo ops were available. However, you had to purchase an additional ticket for each autograph and photo. The prices bordered on outragerous to the average young fan or family: $80 for a photo, $200 for a photo with both of them, $80 per autograph. If you have the extra money, the $359 gold weekend packages is the way to go (tickets to all 3 days, autographs from all the guests, reserved seating the in first few rows and a cocktail party with the guests Saturday night.)

It was cool to see people walking around the streets of Vancouver in the Star Trek uniforms and other costumes.

Video & Pictures of the Event
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6y0lB3OC24

The view from my seats (zoomed in a little)
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs127.snc4/36704_522733053416_180501249_31002015_1868376_n.jpg

Hey everyone! It would be awesome if you could all take a moment to vote for my character in the Conan O’Brien Character Design contest! All you have to do is follow the link to Facebook and “like” the picture. It’s that easy! Thanks!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4167509&id=248312408772

I visited the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia this past weekend. Despite it’s location very near my residence, it was my first visit to this Vancouver jewel. If you appreciate anthropology, history and/or art, I highly recommend it. While it has exhibits from around the globe, the museum’s primary focus is on British Columbian and Canadian First Nations peoples.

I’m a big history buff, and while the First Nations people of Canada have a rich and diverse history, what always strikes me is the art. Simply put, it’s amazing.

Most of us in BC are familiar with First Nations art, it’s everywhere. The beautiful craftsmanship, colours and detail of the totem pole dot this land. Galleries and gift shops are filled with everything from masks, to carving, to prints, to massed produced coasters and t-shirts.

The art influences local graphic and logo design, sports teams uniforms, public mural and sculpture, and even the look of the Olympic Games. It’s a huge commercial industry. Some people feel it has become over used and gimmicky in the Vancouver lower mainland.

However, the art that fascinates me is not what you’d find in a Robson street boutique gallery or an YVR airport gift shop. The First Nations peoples of Canada had an appreciation for art and detail that permeates the mundane and everyday.

The amount of care, craftsmanship, tradition and detail was put into common items that we now take for granted is truly awe-inspiring. We live in a country with strong roots to the European tradition, so it’s easy for some us to slip into a modern euro-centric view of traditional art: paintings, photography, sculptures and etchings, neatly displayed in an almost sterile setting.

The First Nations peoples, however, mixed art with functionality and necessity. Beautiful weaving, beads and embroidery create a palette of colour on mats, baskets, hats, sweaters, parkas, pants, leggings, mittens, shoes and boots. Skilled carvings adorn house posts, simple tools, cutlery, bowls, combs, canoes, kayaks, and even weapons. Some of it tells a story, some a family history, others depicts the natural world around us. One thing all this art shares in common is the time and dedication that would put into crafting everything.

Pablo Picasso once said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”. Centuries earlier, the First Nations people took that statement even further and mixed art with the everyday life. What would our world be like if art filled our everyday lives? If aesthetic, quality and craftsmanship were more important than speed, profit and fame? Perhaps here is a valuable lesson for western society, a mindset long forgotten.

Do you remember the dawn of the Super Soaker water gun? I sure do. It was the summer of 1990, and friends and I had gathered in the Cul-De-Sac for another water fight. We had the usual arsenal of hydro-weapons: the traditional squirt gun, buckets, water balloons and the garden hose.

Our screams and laughter must have attracted some boys from just down the street, and they came running. Their arrival, however, would change the summer water fight in our neighbourhood forever.

They came armed with the latest in H20 pumping technology. The size of the weapon and it’s neon glow struck us with awe. Surely it was from the future, or at least from a really expensive toy store.

I’m speaking of course, about the original Super Soaker 50. It held more water, and utilized manually pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt guns. It immediately made everything else obsolete. Never again would a dollar store water gun be good enough.

As the sun began to set, we all scrambled home to tell our amazing tale to our parents, and beg them to buy us one. I remember I finally convinced my grandmother to buy me one. She didn’t understand it’s significance, but none-the-less took me to several different malls before we found one (they were all sold out).

Some weeks later of course some rich, spoiled kid, traded up for the Super Soaker 100 - and the water fight arms race was born. Kids today just don’t understand the kind of power that they wield. They don’t remember the way it used to be; tiny little streams in short bursts, traveling only a few feet. Remember kids, with great power, comes great responsibility.

The traditional, puny squirt gun.

The Super Soaker 50

The King: The Super Soaker 100