Ottawa from the 28th floor

...which is really only 27 stories from street level, because the Marriott at Queen and Kent Streets doesn't have a 13th floor. Who are they kidding?
Anyhoo, I took these shots while having lunch today at Merlot, the revolving restaurant which occupies said 28th floor.
This truly is a beautiful city.Parliament Hill (Duh! Yeah, really)
The Canadian War MuseumThe Supreme Court of Canada. If you look closely enough, you can see workers in fluorescent vests, cleaning snow off the front steps.

Ohmygawd, the sky is falling!

How will this country survive with less Ben Mulroney on TV? Oh, the pain... (sarcasm intended)
CTV cancels Canadian Idol for 2009

Rob Salem
Television Critic

Canadian Idol, once a competition-crushing ratings juggernaut for CTV, will not be produced in 2009, the network confirmed tonight.

Citing a less-than-idyllic "economic climate," CTV said Canadian Idol will be taking a "rest" for the broadcast year.

But CTV still retains its Idol licence, and says it has every expectation of bringing the crooner competition back again the following season.

Times must indeed be tough for the network to suspend production on the second most-watched Canadian-originated show in the entire country - right behind CTV's other adopted franchise, So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

But even with impressive ratings that ranged between 1 and 1.5 million in the final weeks of its sixth season in September, that is still roughly half the Canadian audience for its sister sing-a-thon, American Idol.

The American show, also cutting costs this year by cancelling its annual American Idol Gives Back fund-raiser, returns for its own eighth season January 13.

My datebook is full as far as lunch dates go

So we had our staff Christmas party on Saturday, and there were draws for several great prizes, including free parking for a year, a week of vacation time, Senators tickets and more. I won the $1,000 tab at Sami's Grill, the lunch counter in our building run by the sweetest Lebanese couple you could ever meet.

Now, all of a sudden, I have more people offering to have lunch with me. Fickle freaks.

But I'll tell you one thing: It sure felt good this morning, when I bought a coffee and a muffin, to say in my best announcer voice, "Put that on my tab, please."

So there's a transit strike in Ottawa

Don't let the exaggeraters fool you. The city has NOT ground to a halt.
Sure, it's a pain in the ass, especially if you have to drive on the Queensway during peak periods, but it still isn't the 401 on the best of days.

And one advantage of an OCTranspo strike: Fewer buses on the road. Just STO buses from Gatineau. AND Rideau Street outside the Rideau Centre isn't as creepy as usual, because there are fewer freaks hanging around the bus stops.

Finally, justice is done...

...and its name is OJ.
May you soon be some big guy's bitch.
Rot in jail, you murderous scum.
How dare you try to portray yourself as a victim, and stage that tearful act of contrition. Maybe you're not such a bad actor after all. But for that, too, you should be ashamed.
Rest well, Nicole and Ron. It took a while and on another case, but the end result is a small measure of justice for you.

Merci beaucoup, Mme Gouverneur-General

May sanity prevail.
I will preface my next remark with the caveat that I did NOT vote Conservative in the October election.
Stephane Dion is a bitter, pitiful little man who is running his own deficit of brain cells. He can't even run a party well enough to get a recorded address delivered to the TV networks on time, and in a format they can use.
I don't know what to think of Jack Layton right now.
Gilles Duceppe, I must say, is crafty as a fox. You don't have to support his party's raison-d'etre, but you have to agree that he's taken advantage of a big gift being handed to him.
As little as I want another election right now, I say bring it on. I will vote Conservative, just because I'm so disgusted with the rest of them, and their disregard for the way our political systems works. And I predict a massive Conservative majority, for the very same reasons.
Take electoral defeat with a bit of class. If you don't like the system, work from within it to change it. And don't put personal goals and ambitions ahead of the good of the country.

The Devil and Coffee Cat

Poor "Coffee The Prettiest Cat Ever" (it's really her title, registered with Buckingham Palace and everything) just lived through four days of HELL (lower case just doesn't convey the severity).
This is why:
Sandy, who you'll notice, has many of the same letters in her name as Satan does. Sandy's earthly body is that of a one-year-old terrypoo (half Jack Russell terrier and half poodle). She has chosen my aunt and uncle to feed and house her. The three of them were guests in my home from Friday afternoon until this morning, under the guise of my aunt and uncle attending the Neil Diamond concert on Sunday. It was all a ruse for Sandy/Satan to unleash HELL on poor, unsuspecting Coffee The Prettiest Cat Ever.

Sandy/Satan portrays a playful, lovable, affectionate, full-of-kisses puppy. But if Coffee The Prettiest Cat Ever was actually a boy named Johnny, there would have been a fiddle-off, with the stakes being Coffee's soul up against a golden fiddle.
Sandy/Satan took over the entire house, playing with Coffee's toys, running around like an orangutan and worst of all, dominating Coffee's Daddy's attention -- not to mention Coffee's favourite snoozing place, between her Daddy's knees when he's reclining in his Lazy Boy chair.
Now, Coffee The Prettiest Cat Ever is no wuss. She knows how to defend herself and her territory, even against tactics from HELL. When Sandy/Satan would get too close and/or try to get Coffee to play her devilish games, Coffee would let go with a devilish hiss that even made Sandy/Satan back off. I did not witness it myself, but I'm told that at one point Saturday afternoon, Coffee even tempted fate by belting Sandy/Satan in the head, knocking her for a loop. And all weekend, Coffee kept Sandy/Satan at bay (most of the time) with a stern leer from six or eight feet away. "Go ahead, Devil," the leer conveyed, "make my day. My food and water dishes might have been relegated to the basement to keep you from using them, but I will prevail!"
Coffee The Prettiest Cat Ever is now claiming victory. Sandy/Satan has gone back to Cochrane with her earthly hosts, and Coffee's soul is still intact. She is now once again the dominant creature within these walls. She can now brag that she has been through HELL and back.
Touché! Now, about that golden fiddle...