Patricia Sands

Author

Social issues

Women – It’s Your Choice

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Sunday, January 22, 2012 marks the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion throughout the United States. As a result, generations of women have had the right to safe and legal reproductive choices.  Anti-choice forces and politicians never quite working to overturn this decision and to pass laws and regulations that make abortion more difficult to obtain.

PRO CHOICE PIN BUTTON BADGE LOT FEMINIST RIOT GRRL GIRL - eBay (item...

PRO CHOICE PIN BUTTON BADGE LOT FEMINIST RIOT GRRL GIRL – eBay (item… (clipped to polyvore.com)

In Canada the Roe Vs. Wade decision inspired Dr. Henry Morgentaler to openly challenge the Canadian abortion law by publicly announcing in 1973 that he had performed more than 5000 abortions at his Montreal clinic. This caused Morgentaler to be subjected to a long judicial process that finally ended when the Supreme Court of Canada declared the abortion law invalid in 1988.

In 2012 abortion access is relatively good across Canada, but some provincial governments have tried unsuccessfully to obstruct efforts to establish abortion clinics.

The court decisions in the US and Canada have optimized maternal health, protected women’s health, eliminated the dangers of illegal abortion, and increased the well-being of children. For every woman who cares about these issues, it’s vital to speak out and support these gains to ensure they are not lost.

For every important cause, voices must be heard!

If you support Pro-Choice, make your voice heard. Women deserve the right to choose. Mutual respect between Pro-Life and Pro-Choice supporters is the answer. It’s personal.

Sarah Burke – In Memoriam

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Today’s post is dedicated to Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke, a young woman who exemplified everything that is good. She was as outstanding a person as she was an athlete and a tremendous role model for young athletes. Injured in a serious training accident in Utah on January 10th, sadly she succumbed to her injuries today.  She will be missed but never forgotten.

Sarah Burke of Whistler, Canada poses with her gold medal after winning the Women’s Skiing Superpipe at Winter X Games 13 on Buttermilk Mountain on January 23, 2009 in Aspen, Colorado.  (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Sarah’s ever-present smile, along with her amazing talent and fierce determination to have women’s freestyle skiing accepted as an Olympic sport, is well-known to those who have followed her career.  It was exhilarating to watch her ski and compete.

The best-known athlete in her sport, she will be remembered for the legacy she left for women in freestyle skiing. She set the standard for skiing in the superpipe, a sister sport to the more popular snowboarding brand that has turned Shaun White, Hannah Teter and others into stars.

A winner of several Winter X Games gold medals, she also won the 2005 world championships, was the first woman to land a 1080-degree spin (three full rotations) in competition and won the 2007 ESPY award as Best Female Action Sports Athlete. This winter Burke won four gold medals in superpipe at the Winter X Games and an additional gold in the event at the Winter X Games Europe, having swept both competitions.

Her determined lobbying with Olympic officials and fine representation of the sport were major contributing factors for women’s freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle) acceptance in the Games. She was a gold medal favourite for the sport when it debuts at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Born in Barrie, she grew up in Midland, Ontario, a small community north of Toronto, and has spent the last few years in the Whistler, BC area. In 2010, she married another freestyle skier, Rory Bushfield, and they were headliners in a documentary film project on the Ski Channel called ‘Winter.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089155/Freestyle-ski-star-Sarah-Burke-dies-injuries-days-half-pipe-crash.html#ixzz1jy46Vnda

‘Sarah, in many ways, defines the sport,’ Peter Judge, the CEO of Canada’s freestyle team, said before her death. ‘She’s been involved since the very, very early days as one of the first people to bring skis into the pipe. She’s also been very dedicated in trying to define her sport but not define herself by winning. For her, it’s been about making herself the best she can be rather than comparing herself to other people.’

“Sarah was a person who I think in many ways was larger than life and lived life to the fullest. She was a phenomenal representative of her sport and of young people, and of sport in general, and her participation in what she chose to do transcended that sport and went into a larger realm …” said Judge.

She was, Judge said, as committed to the grass roots of the sport – giving clinics to youngsters and working with up-and-coming competitors – as performing at the top levels.

‘She was a great, positive person for the whole team, the whole sport,’ said David Mirota, the Canadian team’s high performance director. ‘She enlightens the room, and she’s great.’

For information on donations:  http://www.giveforward.com/sarahburke.   “Her accomplishments on skis continue to inspire girls everywhere to believe in themselves and follow their hearts. Her passing is not a cause to pack up our skis, but rather a reason to step-in and ski for Sarah and the dreams that inspired her star to shine.”

Every once in a while someone comes along who makes a big difference in their own special way. Sarah Burke was one. She was 29. Gone too soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvhPWD_iHAo

Life – the bitter and the sweet …

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Sad news last week. Our beloved neighbourhood bookstore, The Book Mark, is being forced to close. The oldest remaining independent bookstore in Toronto will cease to do business at the end of January after 47 years in the west end Kingsway area.

In spite of the competition from the large-scale chains and online retailers, The Book Mark was managing to hold on and continue offering the personal, informed service readers truly appreciate. Loyal customers showed their appreciation through four decades, often one generation following another.

With a quiet but inviting and warm atmosphere, this is a store staffed with intelligent, avid readers who know the books they sell. There was always someone who could answer your questions and provide reliable advice. You don’t find that too often any more.  Sue Houghting, her assistant manager Sarah Pietrosky,  and their incredibly personable staff will be missed .

I am personally enormously grateful to The Book Mark. When my debut novel, The Bridge Club, was first published in the fall of 2010. I took a deep breath and asked if they would consider putting it on their shelf. Unfailingly polite, they offered to have some of their staff read it and get back to me. I was so pleased unbelievably thrilled and excited … no kidding … when they called to ask me to bring in a supply. For the past 14 months they have restocked The Bridge Club on a regular basis and sold more copies than any of us had imagined. I can’t thank The Book Mark enough for their vote of confidence in my writing and the enthusiastic support they have consistently offered.

It was heartbreaking to drop by the shop to say thank you and farewell. A constant flow of customers has been expressing sadness and frustration with the situation and gratitude for all the years this was a special shop to visit.

Oh, and the reason they are closing? The city taxes are bad enough but their landlord is asking for a 26% rent increase! Ask me who is one very unpopular person in the Toronto area right now?  I have just made a note of the name I will use for the next villain I create in my writing.

Now let’s temper this bitter local news with some sweetness from Walk Off The Earth, local (well, Burlington, Ontario is just outside Toronto) musicians whose AWE-mazing video has been viewed by over four million – OMG, now it’s almost nine million! – just this week and rocketed them into the kind of visibility they deserve.

Check out their Facebook page where they have posted this message which might well  apply to indie writers too. WE CAN RELATE!

“To all the independent musicians out there. I hope this shows that you can make a name for your band with no help from record labels and management and next to no money. Stay true to your dreams and your passions, whether they be music related or not. Don’t wait for people to help you because they never will. The only time the music industry will want to help you is when you have done all the work yourself!”

Way to go Walk Off The Earth! Here’s to continued success!

Are you still fortunate to have an indie bookstore near you? As much as e-books are a big part of authors’ lives these days, bookstores still provide a special service and I am sad to see them close. How do you feel about this? Many say it is inevitable and part of the changing times in which we live.

And then … how about Walk Off The Earth’s video? Cool or what?

Toronto’s Famous People Players Inspire And Delight!

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FPP’s Mission Statement: “OUR MISSION is to inspire people to achieve more. To instill in the hearts and minds of everyone that dreams can come true when you believe in yourself.”

 

On Saturday three generations of our family laughed and applauded our way through the afternoon performance of the Famous People Players holiday presentation. Never heard of them? Prepare to be inspired.

In 1974, Diane Dupuy had a dream and a vision. Today Diane and her Famous People Players continue to live the dream loud and strong bringing joyful entertainment to audiences in Toronto and around the world. Click here to visit their website.

FPP proudly states it is a non-profit organization which employs people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Those individuals share duties in dining room management, arts administration, and theatrical and visual arts performances. With requests being received from around the world, one troupe remains in Toronto and another tours. Do yourself, your family and friends a favour and get on over to catch a meal and a show.

HISTORICAL MILESTONES:

1980 – Famous PEOPLE Players were chosen by New York’s Radio City Music Hall to choreograph, the first stage production of the “Sorcerers Apprentice”. This was a very important event, as the Famous PEOPLE Players would be officially reopening this famous Hall.

1982 – Famous PEOPLE Players was the first western group to be invited to perform in the People’s Republic of China.

1984 – Joe Cates, a highly regarded producer for television, saw Famous PEOPLE Players at Radio City Music Hall and signed them on the spot for a CBS two-hour movie of the week, “Special People”.

1985 – FPP appeared for a one-hour special on the Phil Donahue Show which was the highest rated Donahue show.

1986 – Famous PEOPLE Players opened on Broadway at the historical Lyceum Theatre. “A Little Like Magic” earned rave reviews.

1994 – New York beckoned the company once again and Famous PEOPLE Players returned with “A Little More Magic” at the Belasco Theatre. After lengthy tours, the Famous PEOPLE Players needed to settle to a place called home.

February 18th, 1994 – Famous PEOPLE Players opened the first dinner theatre dedicated to people with special needs where the veteran performers who no longer perform could further enhance their life skills. Actor Paul Newman who had become a big supporter and fan of Famous PEOPLE Players, generously underwrote the restaurant through the sales of Newman’s Own products.

Phil Collins, saw the company perform in Toronto and was ‘wowed’ by their artistic ability and interpretation of his music on stage. Meeting Phil Collins became such a major force of inspiration to the Famous PEOPLE Players that they now call him “Uncle Phil” and their theatre is called the Phil Collins performance workshop.

In 2009, FPP moved to its current spacious location (bonus – tons of free parking!) in Toronto’s west end. The walls of the new dinner theatre are covered with photos of famous celebrities who have visited and supported this exceptional group.

The black light theatre performances provided by this troupe never cease to amaze. With a variety of shows throughout the year, if you are lucky you  might still be able to snag a ticket to the current holiday production. All the details are included in the following video. Hurry – make your plans now! You will be so pleased you did.