On my way back to the hotel this afternoon, I stopped off and watched Star Trek in the local theatre here. I tend to go by myself to movies of which I am sure my wife would never wish to…
Continue ReadingIbby and definition of urban
I was going through my old music cassette tapes a few days ago and uncovered one of my favs from the 1980s. “The Politics of Dancing” by Reflex. There’s a line in there that says “The politicians are now DJs”. …
Continue ReadingBNB using social media
I have been saying for three years that Business New Brunswick should embrace social media. I called it “dispatches from the road” and my thinking was to engage New Brunswickers in the process of economic development. This is a good…
Continue ReadingIgnatieff attack ads
You know I don’t particularly like wading into the political realm because I have called just about every election in the past 10 years the wrong way. Nevertheless, I am fascinating by the mechanics of the political process. I wonder…
Continue ReadingWho’s the energy hub?
An enthusiastic Jean Charest launched the Romaine River hydroelectric project on Wednesday, calling it the biggest construction initiative in Canada. The Quebec premier got behind the wheel of a bulldozer and crushed a pile of sand where a road will…
Continue ReadingDon’t mix up things
I think people are making a mistake when they look at Northern New Brunswick in the same way as the urban/rural situation. They are not the same thing. Northern New Brunswick has urban centres – by Statistics Canada definition and…
Continue ReadingNothing is Written
Do you remember that powerful scene in Laurence of Arabia where they are humping it over a huge desert and one of the guys gets left behind. The locals say “it is written” and are okay with him being left…
Continue ReadingWanna buy a data centre?
Remember that guy from Sesame Street that was always trying to sell you a vowel? I get that feeling these days with data centres. They are hot and they are sexy from an economic development perspective (probably why Atlantic Canada…
Continue ReadingDonald Savoie & Diana Krall
For me, reading Donald Savoie is a bit like listening to Diana Krall. When I hear Krall with that throaty, entrancing voice I get tingles. When I read Savoie talking about regional development, ditto. His piece in today’s G&M has…
Continue ReadingPixar in Vancouver
This is a very instructive story. I have read seven stories this morning about the new Pixar animation studio in Vancouver. It is positioned as a coup for Canada. Every story has mentioned, in passing, the ‘tax break’ that got…
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