The Cormac MacSweeney Blog - 660News Calgary

In case you didn’t know it, it is damn cold outside.

Forgive the strong wording but minus 50-degree weather is absolutely ridiculous and like some unlucky people I was stuck for a long time in the deep freeze. It wasn’t exactly a fun morning but these sorts of stories are the ones that come with the job. I unfortunately can’t avoid them.

I’m sure you understand what I mean when I say we all looked like the Michelin Man today and if you didn’t you were probably cold. So many of us were walking around and finding it hard to move because of the layers of clothing we had piled onto our backs. Some people say they had three layers altogether.

I’m sure I speak for most of us when I say Jack Frost should get the heck out of town and as quickly as possible. This is why I was absolutely astonished to find a couple of people who were telling me they enjoyed this kind of weather. Excuse me if you are one of them but I think that’s insane.

One man argued that this is Canada, and specifically Calgary, and this is a part of living here. He specifically said he loved these cold temperatures and will just bundle up and have fun out doors. Not only did he defend Mother Nature’s cold heart but he then proceeded to mock those of us who can’t stand the cold let alone the wind.

I’m making him sound like a jerk but he wasn’t. I am just bitter about the bitter weather. He was actually a very pleasant man named Gordon.

Whether you like it or not, I hate the cold and I am not looking forward to the next couple of days when this frigid snap continues.

Is it wrong to consider taking a hit out on Jack Frost?

I know not many are into politics the way I am but the writ is about to be dropped (so I am told) and I am pumped up.

Political pundits say that good ole Stelmach will call an election either the day of the Throne Speech or the day after. This means that as early as February 4th we could get the word that we will be heading to the polls in about a month.

If all the rumours aren’t enough for us to realize there will be an election, the “goodies” the PCs have been throwing out should be. In recent months, and days, we have seen a crime strategy, a pump of cash into the University of Calgary, an environmental plan, and even some money for arts and culture.

The writing is in the headlines, even if it is speculation. All of the major parties are gearing up for a battle to represent you, the voter. I’m sure you have noticed all of the brochures in your mail box, or maybe you have even had some politicians at your door step.

Some insiders say this time around it is going to be a bumpy ride for the Tories but that may not be the case. Recent polls show a large amount of undecided voters but if you count the decided voters, then the PC’s will still be in majority territory. The challenge for the opposition of course is to attract the undecideds to their side of the political spectrum.

Whether the polls show it or not I will be very interested in this election…whenever it happens (insert sarcasm). I believe you should be too because this may surprise even the voters. Don Braid with the Herald points out Social Credit was the easy favourite after 36 years in power, and a man named Peter Lougheed caught us all off guard.

The Sales are on and it’s time to elbow, shove, and kick your way to the best deal.

Boxing Week is a time for the shopping strong to prove they have what it takes, and the claustrophobic people who hate crowds to stay at home. The malls are packed, the deals are great and if you went out on Boxing Day like I did, you’d think you just entered a mosh pit.

I found out the hard way this year that I should avoid going shopping with my girlfriend the day after Christmas.

I wanted to get up at 7am to be the first to get the deals and avoid most of the crowds. She let me know the day before that she was “not” getting up that early for shopping. So after awaking at 10am I rushed her out the door and to Chinook.

We got lucky and found a parking spot when a car pulled out of a stall. It took us just seven minutes to park which is good considering the amount of people in the mall. Almost right after we stepped through the doors my girlfriend (her name is Melissa) put on a sour looking face and clung to my arm, not letting go even if she was knocking into people.

She had a gift certificate for a clothing store and she immediately started to express her dislike of the crowds once we got inside. She even threw down some jeans saying she’d pay 20 bucks more and come back in January because she couldn’t deal with it.

Of course I’m not a jerk and wouldn’t make her stay when she looked like she could snap at any second and hurt someone…or me, so we came to a compromise. As long as we got just one thing I wanted then we could grab lunch and leave. Things didn’t get any better when we entered a department store looking for a new TV.

Thankfully we grabbed an awesome salesman after looking for 20 minutes for an employee. He pulled us over to wear the fridges were and did the whole transaction without any crowds or yelling or shoving. Melissa was able to relax but refused to go into mall again for food so we had to grab some drive thru and basically head home.

I’m a Boxing Day shopoholic and have had experience in the busiest mall in Canada battling other shoppers to get the deals. It helps to have experience in many mosh pits at rock concerts I’ve attended. But when the art “moshopping” (yes I made up a word) can’t be used…I feel disappointed.

Next year Melissa and I have decided to go our separate ways on December 26th. She will remain in bed while I kick shins and bite arms to pick up a digital camera or Nintendo Wii game.

No the Junos are not here yet, but they will be and I’ll be there for all the action.

Tonight I meet up with my News Director and some of the communications people from the Juno Awards to discuss the events during Juno week and how everything is planned out for us reporters.

I’m not sure if you remember but last year it was announced that the 2008 Juno Awards are being held in Calgary. I personally can’t wait because I get to be one of the reporters who is mingling with the stars and on the red carpet. I’ll also get to attend the Juno Cup and watch Avril Lavigne face off against the Tragically Hip.

The Juno’s aren’t until early April so until then I will be waiting in anticipation for all the glitz and glamour. Hopefully you are as well because there will be many events for you to take part in and maybe even see your favourite artist. First off there is the Juno Festival where Canadian musicians perform on a stage for your listening pleasure. Then there is FanFare where you can meet Canadian artists and get your CD’s, posters, skin, or even that 1980’s jean jacket signed by them.

At the end of it all of course is the awards show. It will most likely be better than the Golden Globe’s because in the Great White North we have writers who are actually working.

On Friday I got the honour of heading to Sunshine Village for Avalanche Awareness Days.

Right off the bat I will tell you the coolest part of the day was when I got to see an avalanche. It was controlled of course, so there were no safety issues for all of the members of the media who were there. They set off an explosion on the side of a mountain to cause the snow slide so we could see how dangerous and massive an avalanche could be.

We were far away but in a spot with a perfect view. When the explosives were detonated there was a quick cloud of smoke and it took about 4 full seconds before the soundwave hit our ears. The amount of snow that fell down the slope was phenomenal and it’s surprising to think that many people are able to survive an avalanche.

To prove that point, there were a number of people speaking who have lived to tell about their avalanche experience. The most amazing tale was of a man named Rick Tams who was buried in an avalanche while snowmobiling with his father. Before he could be pulled from the snow he stopped breathing. Other snowmobilers, who were all trained, were able to revive him, saving his life.

It truly was an amazing experience hearing the stories and watching the demonstrations. If you are a back country skier I suggest you consider taking an avalanche rescue course…as I learned this weekend it may just save your life.

There is a new casino in Calgary, on the Tsuu T’ina Nation, and it’s going to be a big one…the largest in our city in fact.

The Grey Eagle Casino is not only creating 400 jobs, but is also boasting 600 slot machines, a 24 hour poker room, 59 gaming tables, a couple of restaurants and bars, TV screens throughout the facility (so you can watch the game wherever you are), and adequate parking with 11-hundred stalls. The casino cost 40-million bucks and stands proudly at the corner of Glenmore and 37th St. SW.

But the casino is already wrapped in controversy…and it doesn’t even open until this afternoon.

The issue that people are talking about is smoking. As you may know, the province has passed legislation making every public building, including casinos and bingo halls, smoke free. But the casino has every right to not follow this law. As you may remember from your high school history courses, reserves are federal land and don’t necessarily have to follow provincial legislation, only federal.

Representatives from the Tsuu T’ina will address the issue and announce their decision on whether to allow smoking or not just before the grand opening.

If you think about it from a business standpoint, it may be a good thing for the Grey Eagle Casino to allow smoking. The casino could be the last haven for smokers in the city, who would be allowed to walk around freely with a cigarette in hand and not be bothered. But when my fellow reporter Kevin Usselman hit the streets today some people were not seeing things the same way.

Some non-smokers (along with some smokers) said they felt it was unfair because everyone else has to butt out but they could get to keep on puffing. Some believe it’s an unfair playing field and the Casino should choose on its own to become smoke free on January 1st.

If we look at this from an unbiased position (as journalists are supposed to) the arguments come down to this…some say it’s unfair and unhealthy, others may argue they have every legal right to do as they please on the matter and it could be good for business to allow people to light up. In a city with several casino’s, competition can be vital.

By mid-afternoon I guess we’ll find out what the casino decides. Oh and in case you are wondering, no I am not a smoker.

When I got to work this morning it was freezing outside.

The overnight low was minus 23 and just one or two minutes in the cold made you feel like your fingers would fall off from frostbite. It’s days like this I dread my job. Not for the reporting I have to do but for the frigid temperatures I have to endure for hours.

You can imagine the fear I had walking into the newsroom, thinking I would be sent to the streets downtown or up in the north-west to try and talk to you about the use of tazers by the Calgary Police Service. As I walked up to Radana Suk (my editor) to get my story for the morning I had my head hung low and a dreary look on my face.

After discussing possible locations, I was overjoyed to find that we all agreed I would go to the Talisman Centre for my streeters. At the Talisman Centre I can walk through the front doors and talk to people as they come in for their morning workout. I can take off my jacket and relax, knowing that people will talk to me about whatever subject because it’s nice and warm indoors. Winter is possibly the worst season to do streeters because no one wants to talk to you with the cold.

This is why I hate Jack Frost and am crossing my fingers for a permanent Chinook till July.

I noticed on Ted Henley’s recent blog talks about his new year’s resolution, so out of pure competitive nature I will talk about mine.

Ted is trying to get healthier by cutting back on coffee…but I have set a more general goal of simply getting healthy. Since I moved here more than two years ago, I have found I no longer play sports, I eat a lot of junk and I sit on the couch for hours at a time, watching Newsnet, MTV, MuchMoreMusic and even CPAC! Basically I’ve become a slob.

To start this goal in a proper way, I’ve started a herbal cleansing program. It started on Friday and will end on Friday — and I have to revamp my whole diet through the process. So far, it has been interesting because this is the first ever cleanse I have done.

The only problem I have faced is bathroom issues. I’m not going into detail but as you might know, you have to drink a lot of water through a cleansing. This means I have had (on a number of occasions) to run to the closest bathroom as fast as possible.

Coupled with the cleansing, I have joined a gym for the first time in my life. I get to work out at the Family Leisure Centre, which means I also get the benefit of having a sauna, hot tub, and steam room to relax in after spending an hour biking running and pumping iron.

Hopefully I will actually be able to follow through with my resolution this year…because I love hot tubs.

It’s that time of year again, when every homeowner is dreading the envelopes they find in their mailbox.

That’s right, it’s time for property taxes. Today, the city released the details of the 2008 tax assessments for your home (or business).

As usual with city hall matters I was so early it wasn’t funny. I generally get started on my way to my second story around 8 a.m. I arrived at the municipal building today at 8:20 a.m. and didn’t have a thing to do until 10 a.m., when the news conference began. I’m not sure if you’ve ever decided to walk around city hall on your free time but there isn’t a lot to do.

After waiting around for an hour and forty minutes, the news conference finally kicked off. I was very interested in the explanation of how the property tax system works, but wasn’t prepared for a news conference that lasted a full hour.

Despite all the waiting, there was some good news. Nearly half of the homes in our city will see their property taxes decrease. My community is not one of them…in fact, if I lived across the street I’d be in a community with a tax that falls, which makes me grumble under my breath.

I’ll be honest with you — like many, I had no idea how these city mathematicians figure out how much we have to give them. Thankfully, after getting an hour of an explanation I dumbed it down into a paragraph.

Each year the city figures out what the average is of a rise in home values. For instance, this year, our property value rose 25 per cent across the city. Then, they look at how much your place rose and base the tax increase or decrease on that. If your house rose in value by 30 per cent you will see your taxes jump…but, if your condo only went up 15 per cent in value then we’ll get a tax break.

Make sense? I hope so. Before I go, I’ll let you know that we get a bonus this year. We don’t have to pay these taxes until June 30, so we have about six months to save up.

That’s it…it’s all over, no more holidays until Family Day.

Of course, many of us will be suffering from a holiday hangover for the next week or so trying to get back into the swing of things. I will be among those wishing I could once again sleep in on a Wednesday, or overindulge on a Christmas dinner.

But, the newspapers are now our saviours, giving some tips on how to get your body back into shape.

One of the first and most important things to do is to flood your stomach with water. Drinking lots of water not only keeps you hydrated, but also helps flush your system after stuffing your body with toxins…especially after New Year’s Eve.

Another couple of tips include drinking lots of juice…”real” juice, eating healthy snacks before you feel hungry, and when you do sit down for meal, make sure your portions are small.

But, let’s face it, and let’s be real: are any of us going to work that hard at getting our bodies back into shape? I’m sure there will be a few of you who do. They will start going to the gym and eating healthy.

But, I will be a part of the majority who would probably go to the gym once, eat a few salads for lunch, feel good about myself and my new healthy lifestyle, and then munch on four Big Macs in two days, making sure my couch stays warm this winter with my behind comfortably in place.

Maybe next year…just maybe…I will finally follow through with a resolution to make my body better, but don’t hold your breath.