The Oppenheimer Report 3/10/14

ENOUGH ALREADY !!!

Shauna and I went to a CD release dinner/show at Michaels on Main up in nearby Sundridge last Thursday evening to celebrate the release of local singer/songwriter Sean Cotton’s newest CD, entitled Sean Cotton's Wooden Spaceship. Also on the bill was Scott Gilson, another talented local artist, who capably performed several of his own original tunes. While there wasn’t a huge crowd – it’s tough to get people out on a school night, especially during this oppressive winter - it was one of those magical nights I wished I’d recorded. Sean was “in the zone” and he impressed both Shauna and me with his songwriting and performing skills. He simply reinforced what I have come to know over the past several years, namely that this little community is brimming with talent. Sean is an interesting guy, and while I don’t pretend to know him well - in fact I just met him a month ago - I have grown to respect him for what he is doing. He moved up to Burk’s Falls about 4 or 5 years ago after working as a successful professional musician in Toronto for about 15 or 20 years. If I can read between the lines, he got tired of touring with a band, and of the toll that takes on one’s personal life. He moved up north to Burk’s Falls to settle down and focus more on his family life. His quality of life may have improved but he has done anything but settle down. He is actively involved in the burgeoning local music community and, along with several of his musical colleagues, has formed Tree Ring Records, a sort of loosely based musical consortium, focused on shining the spotlight on the huge pool of local talent. He is a modest, remarkably talented musician and songwriter, and he has been a great influence on the local songwriting community. I hope that I have the opportunity to collaborate with him in the near future.

I thought Mayor Rob Ford came across as relatively sane on Jimmy Kimmel last Monday. He remained standing after nine rounds of Kimmel pummeling him with those incriminating videos, and that was no mean feat. I am reminded of the very contrite Hugh Grant appearing on Leno years ago to make a public apology after he had had sex with some Hollywood hooker. Somehow that did not really hurt his career, other than that he lost his girlfriend, British supermodel Liz Hurley. The beleaguered Toronto Mayor kept his composure and took the abuse, looking appropriately embarrassed, yet not falling into the trap of trying to defend himself. The subtext: let he who has not been so completely hammered that he forgot that smoking crack was outrageously bad judgment cast the first aspersion. Face it, haven’t we all been there? No? Most people would think Ford was insane to put himself at the mercy of a guy like Kimmel, but I suspect it was a good public relations move. Really, what has Ford got to lose at this point, the guy is the most recognized international buffoon of the year? He has already suffered about as much public infamy and ridicule as any one man could fear to achieve, and as I said in last week’s report, now it’s time to let the dysfunction work in his favor. Ford is basically saying yes, my personal life is a bit of a train wreck, but I don’t take any crap from the hypocritical politicians with whom I work; and oh, by the way, who among them is without sin? It may come down to lies, damn lies and statistics. Has he actually done good things for the Toronto taxpayers, as he claims he has, or is it all crack smoke and mirrors? He still denies that he has a drinking problem, and I think this is going to bite him in his gargantuan ass. Whether or not the Toronto police chief, or Ford’s other political enemies want to smear his reputation, he is digging himself a pretty deep hole. Even some of his own supporters must wish that his circus would pack up and move to another town. Appropriately, he looked somewhat clownish on Kimmel’s show, dressed a bit like a 40s gangster, all in black with a bright red necktie and handkerchief. All that was missing was the Tommy gun. Again, if this hail Mary spin works, what is the down side?

Just after they did such a nice job hosting the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia has sent troops in to occupy the Crimean Peninsula, and threatens to annex it. Sabers are rattling, and I wonder if we’re headed for another cold war. A Malaysian Airlines jet disappeared from radar en route to Beijing, and so far no one knows where the jet or its 239 passengers have gone. Rather strange that two of the passengers on the flight were carrying stolen passports, but so far no one seems to know what happened. There was a scary segment on 60 Minutes last night about data brokers, the companies that harvest your personal information every time you log on to the internet. If you thought it was your little secret that you have been visiting that bestiality website, guess again. Seriously, I do not think about the fact that someone is watching my every click on the internet, but I have always suspected that this was going on. All those "cookies" are not for eating. We may think we are password protected, but the horse is out of the barn and he didn't look before he leapt.

I wonder what kind of dirt we'd find on Rob Ford’s computer?!

  -  Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED