Category Archives: Spin da News

Taking a news item/story/whatever and taking a persepective that argues its goodness.

Sod Off!

sod wheelSome enterprising grad students at Dalhousie in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have taken the park on the road. The architecture students were exploring the concept of public and green space and came up with this groovy way to always walk on the grass!

“”We’re looking at the idea of green space in the city,” said grad student Kevin James. “Even in the Public Gardens, you’re not allowed to walk on the grass.”

Halifax Downtown Coun. Dawn Sloane says they’re right, except for the Public Gardens statement. In fact, playing on the grass is allowed in the children’s area, but the problem is nobody knows about it.

“I think our biggest issue right now is that not only is our green space being utilized for some of the wrong reasons, but they’re under- utilized by the communities, and we do need more,” she said.”

The concept isn’t perfect because when the sod is over your head dirt falls on you. If the concept really dries up then maybe they’ll turn it into a hot tub.

Belgian Orchestra for Sale on E-Bay


When the Belgian Chamber Orchestra discovered they would not be recieving their government grant for 2007 they did what any organization would do. Yip! They put themselves up for bid on E-Bay! Suprisingly in just one week the bid rose from 1 euro to 8000! The group usually works with a budget of just over one million euros, so they still have a ways to go. But hopefully someone with a love of Beethoven and a few million euros will get up on E-Bay and save the day for the innovative musicians, who are not going out without exploring every option they can. Someone also put the Flemish Ministry of Culture and a list of all it’s members on E-Bay. It’s gotten no bids.

Bush Protects Environment???

With all the stories lately about the U.S. president avoiding important environmental issues, this recent news is a truely refreshing change. President George W Bush has recently established the largest protected marine area in the World, in Hawaii. The Northwestern Hawaiian Island Marine National Monument stretches 2,600 kilometers across the central Pacific Ocean and is home to a variety of species that are not found anywhere else on the planet. It is also the largest and healthiest coral-reef system in the United States.

Protection of the area will ensure that unauthorized passage of ships will be prohibited, as well as unauthorized recreational or commercial activity, removal of coral wildlife minerals and other resources or waste dumping.

Viewers Want Realistic TV for a Change

I find this report to be a bit of shock, TV viewers acknowledge that they have a negative view of the developing world. Of course, it’s not their fault, but TV’s and viewers want that to change.

Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to journalists that we want critical analysis about the world and not just sports, boobs, and celebrity gossip.

“Reflecting the real world? How British TV portrayed developing countries in 2005 compliled by volunteer agency VSO, with DFID support, reveals that television viewers have an overwhelmingly negative view of the developing world and that they hold TV responsible. The report shows that viewers have a real appetite for richer representations of the world outside the UK and calls on broadcasters to invest more funds, creativity and talent in bringing the world to UK audiences. “

Taxes Don’t Need to be Taxing

Taxes stink, right?

Not according to a new Finnish organization: the Happy Taxpayers’ Association. The purpose of the organization is to help taxpayers to focus on all the good that their dollars are doing, rather than the obvious negatives. This doesn’t mean that they’re blithe about it; in an interview on CBC Radio, the founder stated that the group strives to be “happy and critical, rather than happy and stupid.”

Remember, taxes pay for things like roads, health care, public art, and my salary. Do you like these things? I think you do.