Capt. Mondo's World o' Mondo-ness

Lick’s Burger Poll

Ugh, I just hope this informal poll doesn’t reflect how people will actually vote in the Federal election in just over a week’s time. As I remember they have been fairly accurate in the past, and I find the results even more surprising since The Beaches are traditionally left of centre, re-electing the incumbanr NDP member of parliament in the last provincial election and placing the Liberal MP Maria Minna in Ottawa during the last Federal election. Many of the The Beachers who work in film (a significant proportion, including my dear wife) haven’t forgotten – or forgiven – the Liberals for cutting Telefilm funding in the year that SARs hit Toronto. But it’s hard to believe that a Conservative MP would be any more generous to the film industry, so I think (and hope) that people will take the real vote a bit more seriously than a vote with their burgers.

NDPer Peter Tabuns has been campaigning hard in this district, and I’ve run into him about 3 times already in the past couple of weeks, hoping his second outing against Minna will prove lucky. Prior to seeing this poll, I would have said he would be a shoe-in this time around. Will have to see what happens on Election Day.

Vanessa's Kindergarten Graduation
I arranged to work at home today, so I was able to go see Vanessa at her Kindergarten graduation ceremony today.

Around 11am all of the kids from Mme. Gingerich's class filed out, most decked out in their Sunday-bets clothes, and paraded through a Paparazzi composed of their parents with every type of camera and video camera under the sun. All of the kids wore mortarboard hats, and were duly given a little rolled-up diploma and their tassel moved from one side of the hat to the other.

While I managed to see this happen, most of my attentions were paid to little Annie, who was clearly jealous of the attentions paid to Vanessa, and I kept her amused and happy while Erika took most of the pictures and movies of Vanessa. At the end of the brief ceremony all of the kids rushed over to a nearby picnic table where homemade cookies, Tim bits and juice boxes were offered to the "graduates" and their proud parents.

It's funny how graduation ceremonies for every sort of academic transition - high school to College/University, grade school to junior high, and this Kindergarten ceremony -- are becoming more and more prevalent. I never remember having a Kindergarten graduation ceremony, or from moving from public school to junior high, but these things are increasingly common now. I'll never forget the time one summer a couple of years ago when I was working in Oakville and saw a trio of white stretch limos carrying high school students dressed to the nines not to their prom (it was too early in the day for that) but to their graduation ceremony. I can understand the celebration behind University and college graduation, where you invest years of real academic pursuit and your own money which ultimately marks the transition from the academic to the working world, but I find the other ones "over the top".

This ceremony was not over the top, what with its cardboard cutout hats and simple tassles, and I was very happy to see Vanessa "graduate" from Kindergarten.

Man, time seems to pass so quickly...