Fancy Furniture Famine

Here's the furniture the facilities people moved in to replace the fancy MLA furniture. It was still a pretty nice office. Not shown: sofa. 

Fancy Furniture Feast

For a couple of days in 2008, I had fancy MLA furniture in my office at the Legislature Annex. Then they came and took it away. Which is fair, after all, because the furniture is meant for MLAs and there's only so much of it to go around. Dig the fancy TV I had to monitor Question Period. 

Crossed Sabres

Photo by Naomi Littlewood. An outtake from back  when she graciously shot my campaign photos for the 2008 Alberta provincial election. 

A Career in the Dumpster

Yesterday Sylvia and I took some stuff to the dump. Along with an old bar fridge, a trio of ancient computers, and a few bits of scrap metal, I also threw away most of my leftover campaign signs from the 2008 Alberta provincial election. I hadn't intended to attribute any significance to getting rid of old junk that was cluttering up the house, but when the signs hit the bottom of the dumpster I must admit I felt a little sad. So I snapped one last photo to mark the occasion.

Strange Sean Stories: Manlift for Hire

While cleaning up my (somewhat vandalized) campaign signs after the 2008 Alberta provincial election, Sean and I spotted this sign. So something good came from that experience. 

Laddie Come Home

Everyone that knows me knows I'm not a dog person. I'm deathly allergic to them, and the barking and sharp teeth make me a little (well, a lot) nervous. I completely recognize that my fear of dogs is irrational, but despite my best efforts I've failed to warm up to man's best friend. It's a failing that's caused me a great deal of guilt and discomfort over the years. In a way, it's sort of like not enjoying sports; it puts you well outside the mainstream. Many of my friends love dogs and other pets, including my wife, and I'm more grateful than I can say for the patience they've shown regarding my unfortunate phobia.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I encountered a number of dogs on the campaign trail when I ran for provincial office back in 2008. Most of the time there were no problems, but at one doorstep the homeowner allowed his massive dog - a creature taller than I was - to leap up onto my chest, wrap its claws around my neck and drag its tongue all over my throat and face. I'm surprised to this day that I didn't suffer a panic attack, but my politician's mask remained in place; I used one hand to pet the slobbering canine while offering my campaign literature in the other. My heart didn't really start to race until I moved on to the next house, but I'm sure I didn't earn the dog owner's vote. While I remained calm, I'm sure he could tell that my affection for his pet was a little forced. I'm afraid I did the already soiled reputation of the political class no favours that day, coming across as just another insincere glad-hander willing to do anything for a vote. To be fair, though, as much as I wanted his vote, I was just as concerned with not hurting his feelings; I've learned that a lot of people take it very personally when you don't like their pets.

Despite my hangup, I can certainly appreciate why most people like dogs; they're affectionate, they can be trained to perform simple tasks and many of them are quite handsome, including Laddie, the Etsell family dog pictured above. Laddie died before I was born, or at least before I was old enough to remember him, but Mom certainly speaks of him with great affection. Despite my discomfort around dogs, I find this image quite peaceful. Laddie seems at ease, enjoying the sunrise (or perhaps the sunset), secure in the knowledge that his family loves him. And that's the whole point, isn't it? I've never wanted a pet, but I'm very glad that dogs and cats and so many other creatures bring joy to countless people around the world every day. The world would be a colder place without them; just imagine how bleak the wintry scene above would seem without Laddie's calming presence.

Earl in V-egg-reville

Earl and the world's largest pysanka. Photo by Sean Woods.

Almost four years ago, I realized a lifelong dream by participating directly in the democratic process, serving as the Alberta Liberal candidate for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville. I placed a distant second, but the experience was well worth it: I met hundreds of very nice people, I lost about fifteen pounds door-knocking, and I learned about the people, geography, industries and issues of east-central Alberta. And I finally laid eyes upon the famous Vegreville pysanka, the world's largest.

Pints and Politics with Kent Hehr

Last night Kent Hehr, Alberta Liberal MLA for Calgary-Buffalo, hosted the first of his popular Pints and Politics get-togethers to be held in Edmonton. Somewhere between 30 and 40 people of various ideologies and affiliations showed up to eat, drink and discuss Alberta politics. MLAs, candidates for provincial and federal office, political party members, caucus staffers and politically-minded citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds gathered together for mostly cordial discussions of the issues of the day.

Even folks in the same party can disagree over specific points of policy. Actually, Kent and I are just posing here, using the "rhubarb rhubarb" trick for fun. I think he looks more convincing than I do - probably why he was elected in 2008 and I wasn't!

John Santos was David Swann's Executive Assistant, and he's transitioned to a new role as Alberta Liberal Caucus media liaison. Once again, I've forgotten to take off my security pass after leaving work. John was kind enough not to point this out, (unlike some of my former colleagues, cough cough).

Several ex-coworkers showed up last night, and it was great to see them again. Even as roles change, connections remain, and the ties of common citizenship bind us all together.

Photos by Andrew Fisher.

Exit Ed Stelmach

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach won't run for office again, throwing Alberta politics into an even unsteadier state of flux. But that's okay; change is the lifeblood of democracy, and now 2011 will be a very exciting year for our province, with new ideas from every party and politician competing to determine our collective future.

As a past candidate for provincial office - in fact, I ran against Ed in the 2008 election as the Alberta Liberal candidate for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville - it's tough to be objective about the man. I can say without hesitation that I admire his public service; being a politician can be a pretty rough job, and he stuck it out for a quarter-century, doing what he believed was best for the province of Alberta. Maybe this sounds like boilerplate politeness, but it's true. I'll never forget getting lost in the House of Commons back in 1987; I happened to walk past Joe Clark's office and he had his head in his hands, clearly agonizing over issues that could determine the fate of millions of people. That kind of responsibility can't be easy for anyone, no matter what their political stripe.

I was a little disappointed that the Premier didn't show up to debate me and the other candidates at the election forum in Fort Saskatchewan, but I didn't make an issue of it; as the leader of a provincial party in an admittedly safe seat, he had bigger fish to fry. Perhaps my political instincts were way off base, but I didn't think I'd gain anything by calling the Premier out. (On the other hand, given the election results, surely he could have spared a day to face a public grilling from his constituents, just as the other candidates did. Hindsight is 20-20, of course.)

I met the Premier only once, at the 2009 press gallery Christmas party. I introduced myself and he was kind enough to pose for the photo above, despite our ideological differences. I thought that was very gracious.

Albertans will form their opinions of Ed Stelmach's legacy based on their own ideological preferences. As a progressive sort who believes that government is (or can be) good, I strongly support public institutions such as schools, libraries, public health care and a social safety net for the disadvantaged. As one of the Deep Six social/fiscal conservatives and as a cabinet minister, Premier Stelmach was responsible for many of the program cuts that have, in my view, harmed Alberta for the long term, and more importantly, harmed many Albertans, some of them quite vulnerable. Those who feel that eliminating the debt as quickly as possible was Alberta's biggest concern will, of course, have a different view.

I won't speculate on what Premier Stelmach's sudden departure means for the Alberta Liberals or any other party. People deeply involved in politics obsess over this sort of thing, but in the end Albertans will collectively decide who will represent them in the Legislature, and who will lead them as Premier. At this point, only one thing is certain: it won't be Ed Stelmach.

Thanks, Kevin

Earlier this month, former Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft announced that he will not run for reelection. I was saddened but unsurprised by this news. Kevin has poured heart and soul into provincial politics for a decade; he's more than done his bit for democracy.

It seems a little odd to say that one could ever be a fan of a politician, so reviled is the breed. But I was and am a fan of Kevin Taft. I was a fan even before I started working for the Official Opposition.

I've never told anyone this, but I first became aware of Kevin because my friend Leslie edited Kevin's first book, Shredding the Public Interest. Because of my interest in Leslie's work, I read the book, and I was impressed by Kevin's clearheaded, nonpartisan analysis of the Klein government's unneccessary cuts to public services. A few months later, I happened across Kevin in person; he was giving an interview to a television crew at West Edmonton Mall. I almost worked up the nerve to introduce myself, but at the time I figured that Kevin was probably a busy man and didn't want to be bothered. I should have realized that politicians by their very nature actively pursue meeting new people! But the moment passed, and I went back to my job at Hole's, working on gardening books and writing speeches for Lois, who was either University of Alberta Chancellor or Lieutenant Governor of Alberta at the time - I don't remember the exact year I bumped into Kevin at WEM.

I've always defined myself as progressive, meaning that I believe in the importance of public services, I'm a strong believer in free speech and human rights, I don't mind paying reasonable taxes, and I think that instititions that serve the common good are vital: libraries, schools, public transit, public health care, museums, universities and so on. Kevin's writing and his statements in the Legislature and in the media earned my respect. At the same moment, I was writing speeches for one of the most impressive and progressive politicians in Alberta - Lois Hole. Of course her position was supposed to be apolitical, but she always encouraged me to push the limits of what was deemed acceptable speech from a Lieutenant Governor, and so I had the freedom to write about passions we shared: public libraries, public education, public health care and all the rest.

Even so, there was only so much Lois could or should say in a viceregal position. I began to feel that one day, sooner or later, I would have to take a more active role in provincial politics.

After Lois died in early 2005, I found myself somewhat adrift. I did work for her successor, Normie Kwong, for a few months, and I kept writing gardening material with Lois' son Jim, and I enjoyed both jobs. But it wasn't the same. So in late 2005, I applied for a job with the Official Opposition, starting in January 2006 as a writer, or more officially, a "Communications Coordinator." I first met Kevin officially at a Christmas-week meeting a few days before my official start date, and in retrospect I'm a little embarrassed by my behaviour; I think I sputtered a couple of fanboyish lines like "I'm a big fan!" and "I'm so honoured to be working with you!" Not exactly the cool, collected image I was hoping to present.

Working for any opposition party in Alberta is a tough gig, but Kevin's conviction and his desire to do the right thing for the people of Alberta always motivated me to do my best. As I got to know Kevin and his wife Jeanette, my conviction that he (and they) were in politics for the best of reasons grew firmer. I've never had a shred of doubt that Kevin wanted to be Premier for anything but the most altruistic reasons; Kevin saw the flaws in Tory governance, and wanted to fix things. You can't ask for more than that from a politician. He even married Sylvia and I in 2007, and he did a wonderful job.

Kevin will continue to serve as the MLA for Edmonton-Riverview until the next election is called. If my services are still needed, I'll be staying on to help Kevin's successor, Dr. David Swann - another good man of excellent character, full of compassion - fight the election. But I'm going to miss Kevin, and whatever he and his family choose to do afterward, I wish them all the best.

Moving Heaven and Earl

Mom and Dad were kind enough to lend Sylvia and me their truck for our move, and Sean loaned us his brawn. As a result, we're mostly moved in, with much gratitude to my family!

Just a few dozen more boxes of books to go...

"I thought you said you'd see me in hell before you moved these boxes."

"Well, now I've seen hell. Contrary to popular belief, hell is not other people, and it's not the absence of god. It's boxes of books piled to the ceiling. Get an ebook reader for the love of all that's holy."

Now that we have a bigger place, Mom and Dad don't have to store my leftover campaign signs from the 2008 provincial election. Or my old Star Wars action figure...or my grade school report cards...

Still Nearly Famous

Back in 1984, when I was working on CBC's pilot If Your Parents Split, one of the actors gave me a button that said "I'm Nearly Famous," a reference to my just-granted role of show host.

Twenty-five years later, it looks like I'm still merely "nearly" famous. Today, my old electoral foe Ed Stelmach is Wikipedia's featured article of the day:



(I find it amusing to refer to the Premier as "old foe" or "nemesis" not because I take myself that seriously, but because I find it incredibly amusing that he probably doesn't even know who I am, given his landslide victory over me, seen here, in my brief appearance in Ed's Wiki article:



So there we are, my footnote in history, at the losing end of a whopping 10,000 vote margin. Still pretty cool to be in Wikipedia, though, even if it is just my name beside some numbers!

Congrats to the Premier - and the Wiki editors who wrote the article! - on being named feature article of the day.

My Pitch on Breakfast TV - Alberta Election 2008

For those that missed my appearance on Breakfast TV during last year's provincial election campaign, here it is. (I'm the third guy in, for the Liberals.) I lost my train of thought a little bit at the end, but overall, not too bad, I think.

Of course my cockeyed optimism sounds a little funny now, having been defeated by 10,000 votes or so - I can hear Grand Moff Tarkin barking, "I think you overestimate your chances!" in my ear.

UPDATE: On second thought, I probably shouldn't have posted the video - intellectual property and all that - although I think you could claim that it's just an excerpt of a two-hour long show, and therefore falls into the "fair use" category...

If you'd like to see the video, shoot me an email.

2008: The Year in Review (Or: Why Earl Hasn't Been Blogging)

Yes, this is how old I was the last time I blogged...



2008 has been a weird, wacky year. In late January, the Alberta Liberals asked me to run in the provincial election - in Premier Stelmach's constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, no less.

The Premier chose not to show up for our debate.

With little preparation and only a few thousand dollars to spend, I was realistic about my chances. But my family and friends really came through for me, Sylvia most of all, and I treasure the experience. In the end, I lost by a mere (cough) 10,000 votes or so.



And of course, the Alberta Liberals lost the March 3rd election by an even wider margin. (This photo of us watching the results come in ran in the Edmonton Sun. They really captured the moment...) For the last few months, we've been dusting ourselves off, figuring out what went wrong, and doing our best to serve as responsible opposition. That's what public service is all about.



One good thing happened on March 3rd - Sylvia started her new job. And she's performed superbly thus far. Sylvia is a very dedicated public servant doing important work for the Alberta Pensions Administration Corporation, and I couldn't be prouder of her.



Losing the election also meant I had the freedom to attend Gaming & Guiness III over at Steve Fitzpatrick's place...unfortunately, I wound up with a horrifying headache just a few hours into the fun. The rest of the gang had a good time, though, geeking it up with tiny armies of orcs, trolls, and space beasties.



Norma and Claire, who served as Sylvia's bridesmaids at our wedding, presented us with an evening at the Fantasyland Hotel as a wedding present, and we finally took advantage of the opportunity in April. Huge hot tub!




Later in April, I was seized by a bout of temporary madness and attempted to combine two of my favourite board games - Bruce Lee Game! and Zombies!!! - into one mighty epic, Bruce Lee vs. Zombies.

"What the hell? I can't possibly win, even if I roll all tens!"

With typical eloquence, Mike expresses his opinion of my creation.

Playtesting did not go well. There's a reason that professional game designers exist. Oh well - it was nice to see Colin again, anyway - he made several trips back to Edmonton this year.



In June, the University of Alberta Press launched a collection of Lois Hole's speeches, edited by political writer Mark Lisac. I couldn't be happier with how the book turned out - Mark did a superb job. Bruce Keith, my old colleague at Hole's, was kind enough to send me a couple of shots of the event.



A couple of times a year, Sean and I visit our parents to annoy them with shenanigans, and Sylvia tags along to watch with stunned bemusement.



And then there was Pete, and his sinister list.



Sylvia's dad celebrated his 65th birthday this year, so we went over and jammed. I cannot actually play guitar, which is why I'm not posting the video. Mr. Boucher is very good, though.



Yolande came back from her studies in Ottawa to visit, and Sylvia and I enjoyed a delightful lunch with her. She's such a sweetheart, and she's going to be a great journalist.



Along with the election, the biggest event for Sylvia and I was our first anniversary, which we celebrated with a trip to Honolulu. By bizarre coincidence, presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived for a vacation of his own just a few hours after we did. So, acting on impulse, Sylvia and I braved the heat and the crowds and wound up just a couple of metres away from Obama at the one and only rally he'd give during that visit. It was quite an experience. The man's an incredible orator, and it was fun picking out Secret Service agents.



Of course, there was a price to pay. It wouldn't be a real Earl vacation without an agonizing case of sunstroke.



We also took a submarine voyage. Here's Sylvia on the sub deck, preparing to board. We only went 100 feet or so below the surface, but it was still pretty cool - especially when the sub made that "ah--OOOOO-ga" sound and the pilot shouted "Dive, dive dive!" It had all the makings of a James Cameron epic. I got a kick out of the very excitable Japanese tourist, who shouted in rapid-fire wonder, waving his arms over his head at the sight of the artificial reefs, tropical fish and giant turtles.





Sylvia enjoyed playing on the beach most of all. She's so tiny that the waves tossed her around like flotsam (or is it jetsam?). I had to rescue her a few times, and she wound up with so much sand in her ears that a post-vacation trip to the doctor's office was necessary. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire practice," the doctor said, laughing as she flushed the pebbles out of Sylvia's ears. "Oh my God, Sylvia. Oh my God. What were you doing?"



On August 11th - the actual date of our first anniversary - we attended a luau. The food was merely okay, but the entertainment was great. Those fire dancers are pretty awe-inspiring.







Like good tourists, we also splurged on a helicopter tour. The views were beautiful, but I was most interested in the history - it was quite something to see Pearl Harbour from the air, and to follow the route the Japanese Zeroes took during their 1941 sneak attack. And of course, I was thrilled to witness pop-culture touchstones such as the dock the SS Minnow departed from (seen above) as well as Gilligan's Island itself, and the forests of Lost and Jurassic Park.





Our hotel had a great little restaurant - I loved the virgin strawberry daquiries, and drank them up like liquid candy. Delicious.





On our last day, I took a quick solo tour of Pearl Harbour and downtown Honolulu. The USS Arizona memorial was a quiet, sombre place, as you might expect, so it was a good thing that I ended the trip with some Hawaii Five-O shooting locations.



Our parents and my brother came over for Thanksgiving for food and Wii bowling. Mom turned out to be pretty good, which isn't surprising given her real-world bowling experience. According to family legend, she once cast a strike in the wrong lane.



We celebrated Sylvia's 40th birthday in October, and this unidentified young woman joined in the revelry. Sylvia's blue hair was clearly a big hit.



On Halloween, Sean was attacked by a miniature skeleton. Oooo, scary!



In December, Albertans (at least those who were paying any attention) learned that Dr. David Swann would take over from Dr. Kevin Taft as leader of the Alberta Liberals. David Swann is a wonderful man, a terrific human being, and I have high hopes for his leadership. A warm, gentle, and overwhelmingly compassionate man, David is the kind of person that makes you proud to be an Albertan.

Kevin Taft made me proud, too, and Albertans owe him a great debt. Kevin took on the toughest job in Canadian politics, rebuilt a party that had been on life support, and led the official opposition with integrity and honour. He would have been a great premier, and I feel deeply privileged to have worked for him. Thankfully he's staying on as MLA for Edmonton-Riverview for at least this term, so Albertans will still benefit from his insight and dedication.



And of course, there was Christmas. A new tradition is developing: Sylvia's parents visit for Christmas Eve, then we head to my parents' place for Christmas day. Always a pleasant way to end another spin around the sun.




Santa Sean





May 2009 be a year of peace and fulfillment for you and yours and all the citizens of Earth.