How Charlton Heston's Inferno Became Mack Dunstan's Inferno

THE PITCH FOR CHARLTON HESTON'S INFERNO
Dear Mr. Fraser Heston,
I have written a manuscript about your late father called Charlton Heston’s Inferno, the New Devine Comedy.  It is about Charlton Heston’s death, how he descends into hell, where he meets victims of his pro-gun policy.  This work is very much a parity of Dante Alighieri’s The Devine Comedy.  iUniverse.com has expressed interest in publishing this work.  Pete Angleton, who works in the Content Evaluation department at iUniverse, wishes me to contact the Charlton Heston estate, and he needs to receive written permission to publish a book involving Charlton.   This written permission can be in the form of an email as long as their contact information is given.  I am told if I do not receive permission, they will be unable to publish the manuscript.
You may be curious about my background information. A few years ago, I was interviewed on at this link: http://writingfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_write_publishable_science_fiction. In 2004, I was interviewed on CTV Webmania on how I used google to find a publisher.  This TV interview is now at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imOX-Dl5OPQ .  In 2007, Etreasure Publishing published my latest book, Mystery of Everyman's Way.

I have received nine major reviews for my present book, Mystery of Everyman's Way, including a five star review from Midwest Book Review.   Some reviews can be found here at http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Everymans-Way-Paul-Collins/dp/1605301183 or at http://www.beachmetro.com/news.entertainment.html and http://www.sci-fi-online.com/2008_reviews/book/08-02-01_mysteryway.htm.   I did an online interview which can be found at this link:   http://www.dailygrail.com/node/2027  

I was previously a member of the Writers and Editors Network.  Here is their review at this link:  http://www.wenetwork.org/book-reviews.html.   An online woman's magazine recently reviewed Everyman's Way at this link http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art170884.asp This same review made it's way to http://content.usatoday.com/topics/article/Paul+Collins/0bjUgLI3sg3pF/1 , and made it's way here at this link http://topics.lifewhile.com/article/0bjUgLI3sg3pF?q=Paul+Collins Lastly, I recently got several short stories published at this link http://angiesdiary.com/author/authorpaulcollins .  Enclosed I am sending you the ecopy of Charlton Heston's Inferno, including its press release, and even the press release for one of my books, Mystery of Everyman's Way

Thanks in advance for reading this far.   If you have any questions regarding the manuscript, or any of my books, please don't hesitate to have your people contact me by phone, or email.  Thanks again for being receptive to any of us scribblers with ideas.

  

Sincerely,

Paul Collins—King without an Empire and Mystery of Everyman’s Way

 

THEIR FIRST RESPONSE!

From: Jeff Briggs <jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Subject: Heston Estate request
To: collinsenterprises@gmail.com

I am co-Trustee of the Heston Estate and your permission request has been forwarded to me for handling.

Thanks for your inquiry.  Give me a few days to review your materials and to discuss with those who have a say here, and I will get back to you.

No need to send me any additional material.

Thanks again for the request.

Jeffrey C. Briggs, Esq. 

Briggs Law

6464 Sunset Boulevard

Suite 715

Hollywood, CA  90028

jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com

www.jbriggslaw.com

(323) 461-5400

(323) 908-7275 fax

"In Hollywood, For Hollywood" SM

Ask me about Hollywood 4WRD and

Ending Homelessness in Hollywood

 THEIR SECOND RESPONSE!

From: Jeff Briggs <jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 7:01 PM
Subject: Heston Estate request
To: collinsenterprises@gmail.com

I am co-Trustee of the Heston Estate and your permission request has been forwarded to me for handling.

Thanks for your inquiry.  Give me a few days to review your materials and to discuss with those who have a say here, and I will get back to you.

No need to send me any additional material.

Thanks again for the request.

Jeffrey C. Briggs, Esq. 

Briggs Law

6464 Sunset Boulevard

Suite 715

Hollywood, CA  90028

jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com

www.jbriggslaw.com

(323) 461-5400

(323) 908-7275 fax

"In Hollywood, For Hollywood" SM

Ask me about Hollywood 4WRD and

Ending Homelessness in Hollywood

 

THEIR REJECTION EMAIL!

eff Briggs jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com	6/9/11
to me, me

Thank you for your inquiry.



We agree with your potential publisher that permission is required for
publication of your proposed work.  After careful review of your proposed
work per the materials you submitted, we respectfully decline permission to
use Mr. Heston's name or likeness in connection with this proposed
publication.



Thank you again for contacting us.





Jeffrey C. Briggs, Esq.

Briggs Law

6464 Sunset Boulevard

Suite 715

Hollywood, CA  90028

jbriggs@jbriggslaw.com

www.jbriggslaw.com <http://www.jbriggslaw.com/>

(323) 461-5400

(323) 908-7275 fax

"In Hollywood, For Hollywood" SM

Ask me about Hollywood 4WRD and

Ending Homelessness in Hollywood

Launching Toronto Novel through Social Media

She’s an award winning novelist and screenwriter with a new novel, and a very modern business plan. Jen Frankel’s new book is the first in a planned series of four with a very unique take:  it follows the heroine from ages thirteen through thirty-five. In the first book, The Last Rite, Jen’s hero, Maggie Stuart discovers she has occult powers that make her a pawn in an ancient battle for supremacy. “Maggie is an every girl,” said Frankel at Starbucks by the Old Chum City building at Rosehill. “But she will appeal to the darker side in all of us.”
Jen has been published widely in the United States in a myriad of literary magazines. A few years ago, she placed second in the Vancouver International Three Day Novel Competition with a 54,000 word autobiography. “I’m a bit of a binge writer,” says Frankel.  Still, she was unable to make headway getting either an agent or a publisher. Frustrated with traditional publishing, she took her manuscript to www.lulu.com .  “This way I can control how I spread my name, and get the book out to its potential audience on my time. I don’t have to wait for the publisher’s backlog to clear up.”
She launched her http://www.indiegogo.com/the-last-rite campaign to raise money for a publicity blast. By doing so, she’s increased her social media presence on twitter, www.linkedin.com , and facebook.com that will help when she goes on the road to promote the novel. “I can’t wait to get out to those fan cons!” The Indiegogo campaign runs until midnight, June 29th.
Her next project will be a kickstarter.com campaign for a web series about a sensitive zombie looking for love in Toronto called Undead Redhead. Jen will be the head writer and her production company, Wildcard Pictures, will produce. Watch for it filming in Toronto over the summer!
How to reach Jen Frankel
1.        http://www.facebook.com/jen.frankel
2.        http://www.facebook.com/events/242046029239025/
3.        http://www.indiegogo.com/the-last-rite
4.        http://www.wildcardpictures.com
5.        http://www.youtube.com/user/wildcardpix
6.        http://www.facebook.com/events/242046029239025
7.        http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maggie-Stuart-and-The-Last-Rite/387541651297141
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on
http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins

For an Excerpt, Please read on!
 
THE LAST RITE by Jen Frankel

Chapter One
The Magician✪
Maggie Stuart is flying again, far above the street lights and night traffic. Below, Toronto is laid out like a Mondrian painting, all blocks and straight lines.

She banks and glides, savoring the bite of the cool spring air, and flies west, deep into the suburbs, toward home. She swoops lower, letting her fingertips brush the young leaves of the apple trees, their white blossoms luminous in the semi-dark, dodging the branches with a giddy joy at her own freedom.
Over to her left, Maggie glimpses the tarred roof and yellow bricks of her own school, Westbrook Elementary, and banks toward it through the canopy of trees.
Then suddenly, with a strange transition of the sort that can only seem logical in dreams, she is walking through the subdivision, her footsteps hollow on the asphalt. Although she is still in her night clothes, it is day now and she knows she is going home after school. It is so quiet her ears buzz; it seems like she must be the only person in the whole world.

She feels more than hears something behind her, approaching, slowing down, a dark, lumbering presence. Without turning, Maggie knows it is a black car. A heavy sense of dread descends on her, making the air go almost solid around her. Helpless to continue, she stops and waits for it. . . And everything goes dark, like a flame winking out. From the blackness comes a deep voice – I have to talk to you, it says. Then her own voice in reply, heavy with foreknowledge: catch me, I’m going to faint. . .

Even as she struggles to put a name, a face, to the familiar voice of the other, everything is silent again. She stands now in the hall of Westbrook Elementary, while people flow by her like ghosts, their mouths opening and closing silently. Information barrages her, but it comes in fragments and none of it makes sense. Third period is. . . ? cancelled. It's cancelled. There's going to be an auditorium instead. She hears her own voice again, disembodied: catch me, I’m going to faint. . .
But she doesn't, doesn't truly feel faint at all, feels weightless in fact. Instead of fainting, she flies straight up, through the tarred roof of the school. It vanishes around her, insubstantial, and she's soon high above it. In the distance, she can make out the roof of her own house.
She can't see her house any more. Instead, she rises like a hot air balloon. Twilight charges the horizon with fire, then darkness descends and the world below spreads out, a vast landscape of black dotted with firefly light.
Straining to make sense of her position, she thinks she can make out something in the northern sky, somewhere far off where the lights of the city give way to farmland. . .
Then a series of images swirl between herself and the safety of the earth, becoming more disjointed as they flash around her.
. . .A candle flame, jumping and flickering; by its light she makes out a huge room, a cathedral, a cave, a design painted on the floor. . . But she can't make it out, and shapes blossom around her. There are other people flying now, wearing horrible red masks, silent, coming at her first from below then from all sides. The mouths of the masks gape, and teeth glisten within the hollow openings.
Maggie looks down, desperately seeking an escape, and sees, far, far below, the roof of her own house. She raises her arms above her head, and her nightgown billows up around her face – and she plummets down to earth like a elevator whose cables have snapped.

EI Changes should include Affordable Housing Access

The Canadian Federal Government is rejigging employment insurance in an omnibus budget bill. C-38. In this legislation they are pressuring frequent users to stop depending on the program as a yearly source of income and requiring those who rarely use it to be more aggressive when they do look for new jobs when they do collect EI.
The government believes being a seasonal worker is not an acceptable reason for turning down available jobs.  The Opposition said the Harper Government is being too heavy-handed with unemployed Canadians who have little history of EI use.
The bill requires at least seven years of work experience before one can get EI.  What the bill failed to omit were chronically unemployed Canadians. For example, a lot of teenagers, those in their 20’s to 50’s are able bodied but chronically unemployed.  In fact university students with multiple degrees or MBA’s are working counter help jobs in Toronto, or not working at all.  I have come to know some people who make money searching through homeowner trash, refixing household items, and these goods are sold online for a profit, all part of the flourishing, underground economy. What the government should include to C-38 is Affordable Housing. For example, if a lot of jobs are unfilled in Alberta, the government should supply transportation costs and affordable house to allow able bodied people to relocate to Alberta to work in jobs that go unfilled. Affordable House should be not just available to single mothers who have children through several fathers. Affordable Housing should be available to able bodied workers who would love to relocate to Alberta, not remain unemployed, or chronically unemployed, in a major city like Toronto, or Montreal, where their talents and skills would be needed elsewhere.
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins

Different Kind of Reality

For years Juliet Francis was so focused on getting a fabulous education, all to satisfy the parents who wanted her to go to the best schools.  Society stresses everyone to have that perfect career.
“I always remember,” she said. “I always remember being in dicta class and looking out the window and saying to myself: ‘I’m not going to be a person stuck in an office doing repetitive, tedious boring work.”  From that moment on she felt she rebelled. That’s where the rebellion started.
Zap into the future which was then 1997.  She was in a bad relationship. When it ended, she was at work receiving nagging house husband type calls, concerning when the cat had to be put out, when she’ll be off work which was 4pm and when she would be home, which was 4:20pm.  “Let’s just say that was the last time I ever lived in my home in Oakville,” Francis joked to herself, as she sipped a hot chocolate.  She found a number for a Catholic women’s shelter and went to it.  “I was led by a force partly inside me,” she continued, fidgeting out of force of habit. “Or outside me, to make a swift change in life.” The next day she went to church, prayed, and got a second job—so she could cover the mortgage and find her own place in the scheme of things. Within three months her next phase in her life had started. And this from following that inner knowing, that intuition, that she had kind of killed off during that relationship.
So intuition went into overdrive. She was a data entry clerk just to pay the mortgage. Intuition was guiding her all the time, but it felt she wasn’t listening.  That experience taught her how quickly reality could change once one steps up to the action when intuitive messages come knocking. The reason why she chose to teach intuition was to help people to connect to the information and ways to move forward from situations they seem to be stuck in. She clasps her hands, playing with her fingers, opening and closing them to ponder her next move. It’s not what you say, or hear, that can communicate the message. It is inward. It is the inward message that knows you should follow. “If I had known I would have saved eight years of heartache.”
Now her intuition guides her from the time she wakes up in the morning to what route she takes in her travels. “It is the driving moment that allows me to stay in the present moment.”  Juliet Frances teaches at Alternative Thinking at 758 Bathurst Street in Toronto. She has a workshop, empowering intuitive connections on Thursday from 7pm-9pm. For more information visit http://julietfrancis.com . Or you can tweet her at https://twitter.com/#!/Juliet_World .
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins

Saving Ontario Place

Concerned volunteers are now sending letters to key politicians to help save Ontario Place.  Several months ago, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the closure of Ontario Place, which is a historical landmark.  Plans are now under way to replace this public space with a privately run casino. 
Presently, a lot of concerned citizens are mobilizing to save this attraction. They want a public consultation, which could include a possible town hall meeting, where alternate visions would be discussed.  They want people to care, write their MPP and click like for their face book page at http://www.facebook.com/SaveOntarioPlace .
As sent to Minister Chan today:
UPDATE: Monday, April 16, 2012
Minister Chan;
Why is it you are being so disrespectful, secretive and deceitful in the closure of Ontario Place? I want answers to the letters and phone calls I have been placing for months now! I was one of the organizers of the rally at Queen’s Park which I know you are aware of. It was attended by both MPP’s Cheri DiNovo (my local MPP) and Rosario Marchese who both spoke openly of the lack of transparency and respect we the people are having, getting in contact with the people who made this illogical decision.
I am friends with several people who have, as I have, tried many different ways, as told to us by your government, to have our voices heard- and DULY responded to! I will say that I am most recently shocked and DISGUSTED that your government has allowed the “Digital Dreams” electronic music festival occupy the Ontario Place grounds on Canada Day weekend, after know rejection from other business entities wanting to open the park as is for all people of all ages for family recreation, no a sleazy 16+ event sponsored by Rogers, whose commercial is completely revolting. Not only that but you let THEM announce that it is being held at “The Flats” FORMERLY ONTARIO PLACE!!! What IS THIS!??? Now families have no place- and you won’t even respond or make the announcement that it is NO LONGER ONTARIO PLACE!?
This is an outrage. We knew it was a casino you had in mind, now it’s pretty obvious you had this planned all along, and think you can just sneak this by us. Well we aren’t that docile or stupid. Your casino will never happen. The ball is rolling to wreck that plan 100%, count on it. So all you have left is to return the park to us. Do it NOW. Before you cost your government another huge scandal. I really think the Liberal Party- which I used to vote for- can’t take another. Here is the correspondence that has not been responded to, add to that 3 phone calls each to your constituency and ministry offices.
From: johnstonmelissa@live.com
To: jtory@astral.com
Subject: RE: REOPEN ONTARIO PLACE IMMEDIATELY RE: NO RESPONSE TO PREVIOUS EMAIL
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2012 13:40:52 -0500
To Whom It May Concern;
I am writing to plead for the reopening of Ontario Place, and to state why I believe Ontario Place is worth so much more than what is being presented. I am very disturbed by the lack of public notice, and any plan including blueprints of what (if anything- owned by The Province of Ontario) will be there after 5 years of a graveyard on the shore of our Nation’s most populus city. These facts that should be available and widely discussed include actual & current financial statistics, the fact that they did not give notice re: due process for employees, possible environmental impact, effect on the shoreline and water animals, cost to the community in loss of; tourism, jobs, history, demolition and transportation of 1000′s tones of waste, garbage fees. What happened to teaching our children to “Reduce, Reuse & Recycle”???
When I heard the news, I immediately phoned the Premier’s office in tears. I also attended the rally held at the Main Gates of OP on the 25th of February with my mother and 2 single adult male friends of mine. I have no union affiliation. I am a 33 year old woman, with no children of my own. I have been a seasons pass holder for 7 years- except last year as everyone was refunded while the idea to get more attendance through free admission was used.
I have always waited in line for every attraction including the washrooms at Ontario Place every visit, so I wonder how it is considered so underused, I really don’t know how many more we could fit any given weekend day! The evenings and off season need to be open as well! Why wouldn’t we show new films at the brand new 3D IMAX all year round, since it is ready to go?
There is no public transit to Ontario Place. I think often about how hard it must be for the elderly, disabled and those with small children to walk so far from the C.N.E. streetcar stop, to OP where there is 40 hectares more walking to do. Many people are low income especially in the inner city where rent is @ an all time high and can barely afford entertainment, but the OP pass was perfect as it gets people out by the lake in the fresh air, and also into the C.N.E for free too.
The park has not recently been a great attraction to single adults although I know adult single pass holders who attend as is. However last years addition of a new concert venue ‘Echo Beach’ in participation with Live Nation would bring free and affordable concerts to OP, a new water slide, a new 3D projection system and upgrade of the interior of The Cinesphere, and my personal favourites the addition of the lounge pool (I have been talking about the need for that there for years), the new beach, the Eco Centre & program which brough the park to 0% waste and new green spaces allocated- are all steps toward including everyone including our planet. The seasons pass is marketed at a lower price if you buy 4 or more which also dissuades some singles and small families- how about making it $50 all around?
The government claims that Ontario Place is losing over 20,000,000 a year, but in reality OPSEU claims the average “loss” (BEFORE applying Provincial operating and property tax grants) is just over 6 million.
For example, Dwight Duncan would have people believe that OP is losing as much as 20 million a year, but after reading the OP 2009 annual report, Joe Halstead, the Chair of the OPC Board slated the loss at 36 thousand dollars after grants and ammortization. There is a big difference betwee 20 million and 36 thousand! If the Ontario Government is deliberately trying to mislead (its a better term than lie) the people so they can sell off the land to rich land developers, this is going to become front page news.
Another example is that attendance levels for 2011 were said to be as little as 300,000 by Jonathan Jenkind in the Toronto Sun, 563,000 according to Christina Blizzard of the Toronto Sun, and approx, 1 million by the Ontario Place Board.
There needs to be a comprehensive public review by someone who can understand and uncover the real numbers here so we can counter this unbelievable campaign of misinformation that is being diseminated by the Ontario Government.
The 20 million dollar figure is in relation to the requested investment for this year, to follow the previous year’s 10.8 million dollar investment that would bring the park to world class, state of the art facility like it has not been for decades due to mismanagement and disrepair.
Seasoned executive John Tevlin had been selected as the new General Manager of Ontario Place. His appointment followed an open recruitment process and took effect September 1, 2010.
Tevlin has extensive experience in marketing, operations, strategic planning and general management. His experience includes leadership roles in both the tourism and culture sectors, including President of the CN Tower (which was experiencing big losses before his term) and the Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations. Past positions have also included Director of Operations (East Africa) and Director of Marketing (Middle East) for Pepsi-Cola International.
A recipient of Canada’s initial Top 40 Under 40 award, Tevlin is also a Co-founding Partner of MJM Consulting which specializes in bringing innovative ideas to market.
This man’s vision and ideas, and the community’s needs and best interests, were enough for the current government when they invested 10.8 million of Ontarian’s tax dollars in Ontario Place for the season of 2011, Tevlin’s first season as GM. I believe that Ontario Place should open its gates this summer and the Provincial government should follow through on its recent & large investment (almost $1 tax payer dollar per resident of Ontario- even the ones too young to pay taxes) at least one season!
A casino or condos or any type of privatization of the landmark is unethical and devious. It is short sighted to sell it off for a one time gain. It is short sighted to create a graveyard of children’s dreams, family togetherness and love for our water and nature. To let rot, a gem on the shores of Lake Ontario and red carpet of Toronto, to have tourists see a decrepit amusement park like something out of a horror movie, as they come to the lake shore to enjoy a concert at Molson Amphitheater, visit the C.N.E. or use the Martin Goodman Trail.
I am opposed to the closure of Ontario Place, at the very least until a plan for the future, including blueprints and enviromental assessments are concrete and made public. I propose Ontario Place be kept open for the 2012 Season so it and the fellow Ontario shareholders, the people, can see what an amazing turnaround is just about to happen.
I would like to be personally contacted in regards to the report you, John Tory are preparing to be assured that all voices are being taken into consideration, to give you my personal view, and to be involved in altering the outcome of this travesty.
Please contact me asap & anytime @ 647 868 9675 at johnstonmelissa@live.com
If you wish to join them in their fight to save Ontario Place and stop the building of the Casino in Toronto, go to http://www.saveontarioplace.com/ and click like on http://www.facebook.com/SaveOntarioPlace .
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins

Politics Need Jury Pool Type System

There are always the memories of doing stupid things when one is young. We all have such memories. For example, I remember going as a youth delegate to the Federal Liberal Leadership convention in Calgary Alberta in 1990. 
Yes, on that ticket I supported Tom Wappel then Member of Parliament, representing the Scarborough West constituency.  When I was at the convention, I saw his supporters with tacky green shirts, only then did I become disillusioned with his bid for the top job.  In the middle of this adventure, I met future finance minister Paul Martin.  I remember a stranger approaching him, pointing and saying to Martin: “Someday this man is going to become prime minister of Canada.”  This utterance seemed to ripple through Martin as an affirmation, leading him to repeat it as fact, repeatedly!  I was disgusted by this observation, wondering how anyone could be so sure of himself when the rest of us had to struggle in life.
Yes, I sparred with him at a press conference and must have made a fool of myself. Being young one can be forgiven for unbridled enthusiasm. I did meet Pierre Trudeau in this mayhem, chatting with him for ten minutes.  As a matter of fact, I met him by sitting down in a chair, complaining out loud at the absence of celebrities at such an event. The person beside me agreed with my observation, I looked at him, and saw it was Trudeau, causing me to drop my jaw with shock.  Before an audience, Trudeau would adjust his jacket, pull a face, and look statesman like, all to bask in the glow of the celebrity applause.  In person, he appeared much like an actor but the mention of his name still is respected by immigrants to Canada, both old and new.
The night before the big leadership vote, I joined the Paul Martin key supporters for a social gathering, who had a good grasp of the issues, offered a sound debate, and could drink too!  In the morning, some of us awoke from the floor, suffering from hangovers.  In a panic, I grabbed what I thought to be my voter access badge, and I clambered out of the apartment.  In an alcoholic state, I wandered around for several hours, looking for the Saddle Dome, where the voting would take place. When I did finally find the venue, I discovered I had David Herle’ access badge.  
To add to my dismay, I noticed Herle had arrived much earlier, was in the Saddle Dome, and had an official announce my name continually on the speaker system to search me out.  Yes, when Herle saw me at the turnstiles, he raced over, and switched our access badges. “You could have waited,” he cried. “We would have gotten someone to drive us over!”  When I saw the number of Jean Chretien supporters manifested, my heart sank. Jean Chretien looked much like a cold war villain from a James Bond movie.  True to form, he won, took to the stage and faced the gathering. “We have work to do!” he roared to his celebrating supporters, repeatedly, bringing the crowd to their feet, who chanted it with him. Yes, after this victory speech, to my astonishment Chretien was behind me in line for free popcorn.  After this experience, I lost interest in politics.
Fast forward to the future!  I followed the Conrad Black trial in 2007 with interest and read the newspaper stories on his conviction.  Black was a man who owned a majority share of the Canadian media and with this power, he could decide who he wanted to be in government.  I thought back to my experiences in the 1990 Liberal Leadership convention. Why doesn’t our political system have a jury pool type system which would call forth citizens for public office? Imagine such a system in place where a year before an election, a jury type call up is issued, aspiring lawyers from the law schools would come forth and hone their prosecution skills to filter out the potential politicians.  Fresh faces would be the rule. Politicians for life, or family dynasties would be a thing from the past.  Ironically, Canadian parliament doesn’t really appear relevant for this day and age.
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins

Birds of Dundas Square

I didn’t have to go far to find a story to tell. At the corner where the Empress Hotel once burned to the ground, I saw a crowd gather.
Everyone had a blackberry, or electrical, handheld device, all aimed at the strange, natural phenomenon that had manifested before their very eyes.
A large amount of birds all flew in formation, almost trying to navigate the flashy billboards and the lights fastened upon the buildings.  It was quite a spectacle, resembling an impromptu airshow except this came from Mother Nature’s design. There was no symphony, or orchestra leader to add to this scene. No chorographer to improve the performance. There was not even a technician to adjust the lighting.  “They’ve been doing this for several weeks,” someone told another; as they viewed the scene unfold.
Just like that, it ended after ten minutes. I continued to walk across the street. More spectators were in the square, all fixed in their positions, staring up.   “It always happens every day,” said one man, who was dressed in business attire, wearing spectacles.  He was a sober faced and serious with the promise of intellectual conversation to come. The stranger seemed to be genuinely thrown off by the unexpected in the city central. “For the last few weeks this happens and seems to end exactly at 5pm,” he added with a touch of irony. “Weirdly ending exactly at 5pm.”
“Every day?” I asked at the man, blinking dumbly.
“Yes,” he replied, still staring at the billboards above, where the birds disappeared into the edifice.
So if you have time to spare at Dundas Square, come and see the creatures of the sky gather to play, only for the astute observers. Oh, come one and all, and see the birds of Dundas Square.
Paul Collins, author of Mack Dunstan’s Inferno / Mystery of Everyman’s Way
Contact him on http://www.facebook.com/#!/authorpaulcollins