One of the most amazing sessions at last May’s Social Change Institute at Hollyhock was a presentation by Vickie Cammack and Al Etmanski of the PLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship. They do amazing work helping families and circles of friends ensure a secure, rewarding future for loved ones who have disabilities.

They’re also hosting the national tour for The Ties that Bind, an NFB film about a family struggling with a son’s decision to pursue a more independent life. The tour takes them to Burnaby on Nov. 30; the rest of the dates are below:

The Ties That Bind National TourPLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship, in partnership with five national organizations, is hosting a cross Canada tour of this award winning film to assist families to plan for the future for their relative with a disability. From October through November 2006, local organizations will be co-hosting screenings and workshops in the following locations:

Oct 7, Fredericton, NB
Oct 14, Medicine Hat, AB
Oct 14, Ottawa, ON
Oct 19, Edmonton, AB
Oct 20/21, Regina, SK
Oct 21, Lethbridge, AB
Oct 26, Vernon, BC
Oct 27/28, Kelowna, BC
Oct 27/28, Thunder Bay, ON
Nov 3/4, Chatham, ON
Nov 4, Medicine Hat, AB
Nov 4, Montreal, PQ
Nov 4, Seattle, Washington
Nov 17/18, St. John’s, NF
Nov 24/25, Peterborough, ON
Nov 25, Prince George, BC
Nov 30, Burnaby, BC
Dec 2, Calgary, AB

The Film – The award winning NFB film, The Ties That Bind, takes us into the lives of the Jordan family. Kathleen and Bill struggle to let go as Chris, their son, strives for a more independent life.
Click here to view a short clip of the film.

The Discussion – Following the film, a panel will lead off a discussion about the complexity of achieving a good life and peace of mind.

[Burnaby] Date: November 30, 2006

Time: 6:00-9:30pm
6:00-7:00pm – Reception and seating
7:00-8:00pm – The Ties That Bind
8:00-9:00pm – Panel and discussion

Location: Electronic Arts
4330 Sanderson Way
Burnaby, BC

Co-hosted by Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, Electronic Arts, and PLAN Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, this event is one of the last stops in the National Tour of The Ties That Bind.

The film will be introduced by the director, John Ritchie.

David Driscoll, well known community leader will moderate a discussion after the film, which will begin with a presentation by family members and persons with disabilities.

This event is free to attend but pre-registration by is required.
Deadline for registration is: November 24, 2006.
To register:
Email your name and phone number to:reception@gobaci.com
or phone: 604.299.7851 and leave your contact information.

As Republican desperation grows in the looming prospect of losing both houses of Congress, the party is reverting to form with a series of brutal attack ads. And Canada is emerging as a handy source of tar to slather onto Democratic politicians.

Earlier this month, the national Republican campaign targeted Democratic candidate Harold Ford with an ad that took a swipe at Canada’s supposed lack of military involvement in the world.

Now they’re doing it again, with an attack on Texas Democrat Ellen Cohen in a state race: “Hello. I’m Martha Cohen, the tax-increase lady. And I moved here from Canada, the land of big government and big taxes.”

Who knew that Canada was so scary that just one whiff of maple syrup would be enough to send war-weary voters running back into the clammy embrace of the Bush administration?

Oh, and that new relationship we were going to have with the U.S. once Stephen Harper was elected? Apparently the term for our new role is “bogeyman”.

• Best of the Best Web 2.0 Web Sites
  Real World Software Development’s list of their favourite Web 2.0 sites. A solid starting point, especially if you’re trying to navigate this field for the first time.
  (tags: web2.0 list reference sites)
• MAPLight.org finds the links between money and California politics
  “We shine a light on campaign contributions and show their related legislative outcomes, which leads to a more informed public and election reform.”
  (tags: database politics usa california money influence government contributions nptech)

• What if a field title ends with a question mark?
  One of those little niggling, irritating things about Drupal just got solved by Jeff at Lullabot.
  (tags: drupal theming php code fix punctuation lullabot)
• Baby in a briefcase: 13 tips for parents on business travel with kids
  Alex distills the wisdom gleaned from her recent travels. Worth reading if you’re thinking of taking your baby to your next conference… or sitting beside someone who did.
  (tags: business travel children parents parenting baby conference)

• Should Web Apps Hold On to My Data?
  Darren Barefoot is looking at moving away from Basecamp. But for now, his data seems to be a hostage…
  (tags: 37signals basecamp data)
• theballot.org
  Create and share voter guides, including endorsements, for the upcoming midterm elections. This Ruby-on-Rails site looks really, really cool.
  (tags: election guide politics usa social_networking)
• sustainablog: Nation’s Largest ‘Brightfield’ to be Dedicated on Thursday
  brownfield: a contaminated piece of land. brightfield: a brownfield topped with solar collectors. Who knew?
  (tags: brightfield renewable energy brownfield sustainability)

Big news from the For Immediate Release podcast team of Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson: they’re joining fellow heavyweights Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman along with five other fine folks in a new-marketing venture known as Crayon.

In honour of this auspicious event – and it really is; I can’t wait to hear what these folks are up to – I’ve created the FIR colour-coded new PR alert status thingy. (Worked for hours on that name. Catchy, no?)

I recommend FIR heartily, and not just so you’ll get the various inside jokes in the graphic. It’s a great way to stay up to date not just on developments in the world of digitally-enabled PR, but the conversational currents swirling around them.

• Project Blackbox
  Sun has created a datacentre that fits in a freakin' shipping container. Suddenly our front yard seems sad and barren without one.
  (tags: sun microsystems prototype datacenter shipping container cool)

• Jack Slocum’s para-by-para WordPress comment system
  Via Kate Trgovac (www.mynameiskate.ca), this would make an amazing collaborative tool, more structured than a wiki for working on a draft document. Someone port this to WordPress itself, fast!
  (tags: wordpress comment collaboration dialogue)
• ErrolDa-Blog.com
  Also via Kate, an Alliance Atlantis exec v-p hits the blogosphere, minus comments or trackback. But we’ll keep watching…
  (tags: blog alliance_atlantis business)