I was starting to think I had imagined it

For a few years I have had a vague memory of a television show from my childhood. Basically all I could remember was that there was dancing and that the the title was something along the lines of The Rockets.

Shortly after I mentioned this to Jeannette, though she had no recollection of the show, found a few clips and the theme online.



[Embedded video]

It turns out that the show as pretty much as I remembered in that it had some kids, dancing, and a Rocket based title. Apparently it was filmed in Winnipeg.

Now that I have reacquainted myself with the show I just want to know how long the show was on the air and why I possibly would have watched it. Also, does anyone else remember this show? I can't ever remember anyone talking about it.

And if it turns out that this clip really gave you a taste for more you are in luck, it seems that a number of episodes are available on YouTube.

Where's the CanCon?

I recently noticed that a CBC story about the impending arrival of Tropical Storm Maria in Atlantic Canada was supported with two different graphics from the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even though they talked to someone from the Canadian Hurricane Center about the storm for the story. And I should make it clear that it is not the case that the Canadian Hurricane Center doesn't have visualizations of the storm projections. They do and they are available to the public through their website.

At first I couldn't quite figure out why the American images were used. And while I still don't have a conclusive answer I wonder if it may have something to do with copyright and that the images produced by the US government are easier to use than those produced by the Canadian government?

This seems like a plausible justification for the occurrence as materials produced by the US government are not copyrighted in the traditional sense. They can be, and frequently are, reproduced by others at no charge and without the need to clear such reproductions. Canadian government content, on the other hand, is not so easily reproducible. The Canadian government retains copyright and more actively controls the reproduction of the content that it produces.

So might this more restrictive approach to government information have lead to the CBC, a public entity funded by the same government that funds the Canadian Hurricane Center, to favour foreign content over domestic content?

How ironic that this might be the case in a country such as Canada that places such emphasis on the creation of domestic media content.

A Few Quick Notes 246

-We have had several hours of a combination of rain and snow today. Unfortunately, this precipitation was mixed with a little wind, making for a less than pleasant day.

-On Sunday evening I cooked a 7-pound picnic for dinner. While 7 pounds may not seem like all that much in the universe of picnics and hams, it was a fair bit of meat for three individuals. Not surprisingly, we didn’t even come close to finishing the hunk of meat at dinner. I have since chopped the remaining meat and will use some of it in soup while it is likely that the rest will be consumed in a haphazard manner in the coming days, though so far our consumption of this meat has been slower than expected.

-I am presently in the midst of making chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. It is likely that I have add more carrots than necessary, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless.

-It seems the class that I expected to have tomorrow has been delayed by a week. While this will mess things up a bit at the end of the term, it should clear my schedule in the interim.

-In less than a week the class for which I am TAing will be submitting their third assignment of the term. It will be my responsibility to grade the papers once they are submitted. I must say that I am a little worried about the process and how much time it might take. Hopefully everything will be smoother than I imagine it will be.

-The classes that I did have this week were quite rousing, at least from my point of view. In both instances I was quite involved in the discussions that took place. Furthermore, I may have managed to get people agitated in today’s class by taking an anti-CanCon position (but while not being opposed to Canadian content).

-Several days ago I pruned/removed some of the bean plants that had recently died. This basically means all of the beans that aren’t in my room. Now that the planters are devoid of living plants I may try to re-arrange things so that the plants that are still alive have access what is left of the daylight that enters our apartment.

While the bean plants didn’t provide as many beans as I had hoped they would, I really did enjoy seeing them grow. I think that I may try to start again in the spring, once we start getting a little more sunlight.