h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I once heard of a South American airline called BYOC, which people called "Bring Your Own Coffin".

Hmmm airport names.....

Douglas Corrigan
Charles Shultz
Herman Goering
Max Smart

Brazil was one of the first DVDs I bought when I first got a DVD player. Excellent film (and having watchjed 12 Monkeys as well, it is easy to see they are by the same director, something about the feel/atmosphere). Class film.

As for airlines and mention of airline names is not complete without Aer Lingus which provided many a jobbing comedian with material by speculating about a merger with Cunard.

Airlines: I heard of Wahpiti Airlines, and the pilot having a road map and asking a passenger (my boss) to point out to him where the airport might be. Anyone ever flown Bearskin Air? The plane seems to drop straight down over the trees to Red Lake airport. Flying the Bear is an adventure.

I once flew out of the downtown airport in Edmonton. The office I'd been visiting was in a bank tower, and the boss's secretary told me to watch for her at the Head Office windows and she'd wave to me. I thought she was joking, but I saw A*** standing at the window waving as the plane banked around past the building.

The first time I was ever in an airplane I flew Service Air from Victoria to Vancouver in a Hercules. (I was a WREN). The sailors, finding out it was my first-ever flight, and being the fine, upstanding young gentlemen they were, told me the wings flapped (they did!), and that it would cost me $1.00 for my flight--to rent a parachute (lying a******s)

Brazil and 12 Monkeys aside, there should be a Leslie Nielson Airport in honour of Airplane!, the single greatest crash disaster comedy every made!

$1.00 for a parachute! What a deal!!

Wait a minute.....A***?? Her name wouldn't be Anne, would it?

Since no one commented, I thought I would note that Douglas Corrigan is better known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan....

I well remember a flight from the grass-covered, hacked out of the jungle airfield at Yaxchilan, Mexico. I was seated directly behind the pilot. As we barrelled down the runway toward the Usamacinta River and Guatemala beyond, a red light flashed on the control panel and a warning bell sounded. The pilot glanced, slightly startled, at the light and then, somewhat to my surprise, pulled the nose up and we rose over the river and briefly banked through Guatemalan airspace. After levelling off, the pilot reached behind himself with his left hand (right next to my left knee) and calmly pulled the door of the airplane closed.


On a different subject, I just phoned the Premier of my province and asked that he kindly shut the f*** up about the same sex marriage thing as it's none of his bloody business. I also phoned my MP (conservative Rahim Jaffer) and suggested that he do what he can to make sure the government bill gets passed into law as quickly as possible so that governments don't tell us who we can or can't marry and so that religious officials can marry or not marry whomever they want. If there ever was an issue that should be a non-issue, this is the one.

My favourite small plane flight was into Bella Bella on the North coast of BC. We got there to find the small cargo door of the plane was wide open and all the camera gear was literally ice cold, covered in frost, and hanging slightly out the opening. This was about $100,000 CDN worth of gear for a documentary.

Anhaga, DON'T WORRY! Civil ceremonies are a federal matter, the provinces can jump up and down all they want. As far as the solemnising (sp?) ceremonies are concerned, they are entirely the choice of the particular religion or subset of religion. I still don't understand why the media can't get those simple facts into their pointy little heads. No branch of government can tell a minister what he can or can't do as long as he or she doesn't break common law. And no provincial government can effectively pass a law that changes federal jurisdiction.

Klein is planning to badger every MP in the Commons to vote against the bill. That's my problem. He's doing the badgering with taxpayers' money. And I'm worried that if he badgers enough, he'll get enough idiot MPs to vote against it. And if there's no federal law in place, then Klein will continue with his unconstitutional meanderings (Senate election, etc.) and decide by fiat who can and can't get married. Then it will be up to some ordinary couple to go up against the Alberta Goverment in a court case.

I know that there is nothing Klein can legally do about it, but there are lots of illegal avenues open to him, and he's shown that he's not afraid to use them.

Someone should let him know how many gays and lesbians, as well as heterosexual supporters of same-sex marriage there are, and that those individuals mean votes..... votes that those MPs who have guts enough to stand up to him and his equally backward dinosaur-riders are going to get next time around....

A few statistics:

The 2001 Census is the first to provide data on same-sex partnerships. A total of 34,200 couples (that is 78,400 individuals) identified themselves as same-sex common-law couples, accounting for 0.5% of all couples in the country. Statistics Canada, "2001 Census," 2001.

A 2002 public opinion poll found that 53% of Americans believe that "sexual relations between two adults of the same sex" is "always wrong," and an additional 5% believed that it was "almost always" wrong. "Attitudes about homosexuality and gay marriage," American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, April 23, 2004.

What was, on the "Focus on Family" website "A slim majority" (54%) of Canadians say they support same-sex marriages, while 44% say they are opposed to the proposition. The proportion of Canadians who support same-sex marriages remains unchanged from June 1999 (55%), which had nominally increased since August 1996 (49%).
Ipsos Canada, June 13, 2003. (Does the difference between the 1999 stats and the 2001 stats make any sense???)

From http://glcensus.org/press/02052004.html :
"What is your current same-sex relationship status?" This was one of many questions posed by the soon-to-be released 2003-2004 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census, conducted this past August.
Single 26%
Single and dating 15%
Partnered 52%
Civil Union/Civil Registered/Married 5%
Widowed/other 2%

Of those who said they were in a same-sex relationship, the length of their current relationship is:
Less than a year 11%
1 - 3 years 31%
4 - 7 years 29%
8 - 11 years 14%
12 - 15 years 6%
16 - 19 years 4%
20 years or more 5%


http://opuscommgroup.com/whoarewe.html

The thing about Alberta, however, is that the ridings have been gerymandered in a very particular way: there are a great many rural ridings full of old white people who have always voted right wing and young white people who, if they have any concept of homosexuality either beat it up or are beaten up for being it. These ridings vote for Ralph Klein's party. The city of Calgary is made up of a whole lot of rich company executives and those who depend on providing services to big company executives. Their concerns are taken care of by Klein's attitude to big business ("give them the keys to the place and walk away"). There are a disproportionate number of ridings in Calgary. They vote for Klein's party. The city of Edmonton is made up of a whole lot of University professors, students, people of colour, poor people and single-parent families. Each election seems to see more Edmonton ridings amalgamated. Edmonton's ridings have disproportionately large populations. Edmonton votes overwhelmingly for parties in oppostition to Klein's government.

Klein doesn't give a crap about the votes of gays and lesbians and those who support them: they don't live in the areas that support him; they live in Edmonton.

Are you sure marriage certification is a federal matter? I recall provincial documents purchased at a municipal office, but it's been a while.

Provinces decide who gets to officiate. Federal government decides who can get married.

" The "frozen concepts" reasoning runs contrary to one of the most fundamental principles of Canadian constitutional interpretation: that our Constitution is a living tree which, by way of progressive interpretation, accommodates and addresses the realities of modern life. Read expansively, the word "marriage" in s. 91(26) does not exclude same-sex marriage. The scope accorded to s. 91(26) does not trench on provincial competence. While federal recognition of same-sex marriage would have an impact in the provincial sphere, the effects are incidental and do not relate to the core of the power in respect of "solemnization of marriage" under s. 92(12) of the Constitution Act, 1867 or that in respect of "property and civil rights" under s. 92(13).

Section 2 of the proposed legislation is ultra vires Parliament. In pith and substance, s. 2 relates to those who may (or must) perform marriages and falls within the subject matter allocated to the provinces under s. 92(12)."

http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/html/2004scc079.wpd.html

Is that clear enough.

Red Lake Ontario? I flew there once out of Winnipeg on a Beechcraft something or other. I remember there was a patch on the wing that looked a little less than professional.
Made a few flights to logging camps in the ubiquitous Beaver a plane so basic that I'm sure I could fly one. Sort of the Volkwagen of the air.

Ralph's hissy fit about gay marriage makes me wonder why he worries about it so much. He must spend too much time around the Focus on the Family crowd. They seem to be convinced that there is a secret "gay agenda" to convert all our children to homosexuality by force. Having a number of gay friends over the years I really think there are much more important things to worry about that who marries who.

On a related note. After the revolution in the American colonies Canada experience a large influx of United Empire Loyalists. With the current climate in the U.S. turning against gay marriage I suspect we will see an uptick in immigration by gay couples seeking a more welcoming atmosphere. Bring them on I say. Same sex couples tend to be on the upper end of the economic and educational spectrum and will, I think, be a postive influence on Canada since they will be here by choice rather than accident.

Ralph's an arse. That sums it up.

"Pray While Aloft"

"Leslie Neilsen Airport"

people to name airports after

Billy Bishop
Wop May
Buddy Holly
Stan Rogers

***Catch up***

Some bargain for a military parachute!

No, not Anne, but close. Just didn't think it was right to use her name.

Red Lake, Ontario, worked at Red Lake Mine - 21 days on at 11 hours a day, 7 days off. Flew back and forth Winnipeg to Red Lake, Red Lake to Winnipeg once a month.