Night Music: In The Mood

Wise Words

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“It has always seemed strange to me … the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.”

… John Steinbeck

Ads Displaying Great Abilities

Here are three wonderful TV commercials from the UK. They are designed (with huge success) to play off people’s view on disability.  They are all brilliant.

“Back in June, Channel 4 announced that Maltesers and ad agency AMV BBDO had won its Superhumans Wanted competition, which offered £1 million of the broadcaster’s commercial airtime to a brand that featured disability in its ad campaign. … In keeping with the ‘Look on the Light Side’ theme established in earlier Maltesers ads, they see characters taking a humorous look at awkward and embarrassing situations, which in these new ads have all been inspired by real-life stories from disabled people. Check out the three spots below:

Save Britannia School

Britannia Secondary School has been an important part of the Grandview landscape for well over a hundred years. Now, it is on a list of schools that could potentially be shuttered because the BC Liberals refuse to fund education for the people (as opposed to their extravagant funding of private schools).  In addition, as many will know, the entire Britannia Community Services complex is up for renewal and that must affect the school’s future.

Britannia School is one of those “invisible” markers showing the socio-economic changes affecting our neighbourhood.  Rightly or wrong, Britannia has a reputation as a rough (i.e. “working class”) school and, regardless of the community’s needs, many of the people who have moved into Grandview during this current gentrification era refuse to send their children to the school, preferring to bus them out. They are encouraged by the privatize-at-all-costs Fraser Institute (the American Koch Brothers own “think” tank) which regularly scores Britannia with a failing grade. And this gentrified thinking reduces the school registration.

This coming Thursday, an activist group seeking to protect Britannia Secondary is holding a public meeting to discuss the issue. It takes place at the former Astorino’s (NW corner of Venables and Commercial) from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.  Everyone welcome!