BookLust

Bloor West Toonin' 2

The latest Bloor West Journal cartoon. The guy on the sign is supposed to be Bill Saundercook, the incumbent for ward 13 in the city of Toronto. You see, election fever isn't over yet in North America; today's the Municipal Elections – the day we vote for the folks who really matter. Sadly a lot of people don't bother with voting on the municipal level, which is a real shame, because those are the folks who can really make changes in your local community (that is, of course, if you vote for someone who cares). Unfortunately there will always be those councillors who will rest on the meagre laurels of their past, and just coast through their campaign, because they know they've got it in the bag. That's what this election has been like for the most part. Pretty darn dull. But, I'm still going to vote for David Miller as our mayor. Overall I'm pleased with how he's run this city, and let's face it – he's a damn sight better than the monkey man we had before, so let's try to remember that, ok?

Now get out there and vote, dammit!

Lest We Forget

I remember looking at this picture a lot when I was living at home. It's a photo of my Great Uncle Victor Dey Smedmore, one of the brothers of my maternal grandmother. I know that it looks a bit like a painting; that's because it was common during that time to actually paint over photographs, I'm assuming to add more colour and life to the image. It certainly worked for me, because as a kid this photo used to really scare me when I looked at it late at night – Uncle Victor's eyes seemed to follow me as I walked by, a Dorian Gray-ish glare, forever demanding answers from me. I knew that my Great Uncle Victor was killed during the first World War. Gazing at this image I would experience a strong sense of sadness and loss, for a life cut short, dreams unfulfilled. And those eyes, forever asking me that question –  Did my life matter?

Victor Dey Smedmore was the second child and eldest son of William Dey Smedmore and Amanda Smedmore, formerly Brown.  He was born at Sime Street, No. 2, Port Royal, Jamaica, where William Smedmore was employed as an Admiralty Writer at the Naval Yard.

According to his younger sister, Maud Levy [my grandmother], Victor, as a child, had "seen" a soldier dressed in scarlet regimentals walking up and down the balcony of the house the family was then living in, at Port Royal.  This house may either have been a barracks or the home of a soldier, and the family apparently believed that Victor had seen the spirit of a former inhabitant of the house.

Victor went to England in 1915 and enlisted in the First Lifeguards of the Household Cavalry.  He was then 29 years old. The 1st and 2nd Life Guards with the Blues and the Royals, make up the Household Cavalry.  They have a long and illustrious history dating back to just before the Restoration of King Charles II, when a royal mounted bodyguard was formed in Holland to protect the body of the monarch.

The following is from A Short History of the Household Cavalry:
1917: At the 3rd Battle of the Scarpe River (May 1917), the Battalion fought for 14 days in the capture of Roeux Village, a subsidiary action in the greater battle of Arras (1917).  In the 3rd Battle of Ypres (1917), the Household Battalion added the honours of Broodseinde, Poelcappelle and Passchendale to the Household Cavalry's battle honours during the month of October 1917. The Battalion was disbanded in January 1918.  In 12 months it had suffered a total of 20 officers and 437 men killed in action.

The final entry on the Casualty Form -- Active Service for Trooper Victor Dey Smedmore is "Killed in action, 29.1.18."  No place is mentioned. Victor's younger brother, Owen Smedmore, received a letter, dated 13 June 1918, from a Staff Captain at the War Office which stated that "Trooper V. Smedmore is reported as buried at a point just North West of Monchy Le Preux, South East of Arras".  This letter was apparently in response to an enquiry made by Owen through the West Indian Contingent Committee.

Victor Smedmore's notification of death:

And a photo of the Arras Memorial:

According to John Chapman, Curator of the Household Cavalry Museum at Windsor:

There were no major actions from mid December 1917 to March 21st 1918, but virtually every unit was engaged to some extent or other in either raids against enemy trenches or defending themselves against German raids. Also there was a daily 'hate' when each side sent over a barrage of shells. The result was that there was a steady trickle of deaths on both sides. Generally men who had been killed would have been put into a temporary grave together with some identifying material e.g. a dog tag. However on March 21st the Germans unleashed a huge attack and overran the British lines to a depth of several miles. The result was that the sites of many of the temporary graves were lost- - trampled under, hit by shellfire and the graves and bodies destroyed. Thus when the war ended, even if a body could be found there was often no way of positively identifying it. All the men who were killed and whose bodies were not positively identified were commemorated on one or other of the massive memorials, usually the one nearest to where they were believed to have fallen.

Thanks to my mom for providing me the images, the information and the inspiration for the creation of this post.

Should I Be Surprised?

You scored as A Colouring Book

Children love you – and so do many adults. They find you approachable, simple and friendly, all of which perfectly describe you. Instead of throwing big words around, you communicate in the international language of pictures. In order to be as open as possible, you present yourself simply, allowing those around you to customize you to their liking. Sometimes this results in you turning into a primitive masterpiece, and other times you resemble a schizophrenic's daydream. So long as the one talking to you understands you, you're happy. Zen and the art of crayon-sharpening.

From the quiz What is Your Literary Personality?

How Much is that Book There in the Window?

Check it out. That National Lampoon book I had mentioned in an earlier post, the one which has six of my cartoons printed in it, has been spotted in the window of Coliseum Books on 42nd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue in New York. Of course it would have been even better if my name was on the cover (oh that delightful ego) but it's ok, I can wait for future books for that honour.

I don't really care about being sandwiched between the Rolling Stone 1,000 Covers book or that Bob Newhart book – what really rocks my world is the book next to Bob. I'm on the same shelf as a copy of The Complete Peanuts. So very, very cool. Here's a bigger view of the pic.

Thanks so much, Mike, for taking the picture!

Little Children

Meet the family.

I ended up getting a fourth pumpkin for carving – just couldn't resist. Guy did the one at the top with the fangs. On Hallowe'en night we put small candles inside all the heads. Looked pretty cool. Tooks some shots of them lit up on a yet to be developed roll of film.

Eventually I'd like to do something more attractive with that front step, but at this point have no clue (and no money, either!). Personally I prefer big wooden steps, and of course something with a handrail. And you may have noticed that the final step going into the house is far too low. We've already had a few close calls with that bugger.

I Got Posted 19

This one done in record time. One hour from start to finish. I do enjoy the stress of super-tight deadlines. Sometimes, anyway. At least this time I didn't have a crapload of other jobs to also contend with. My schedule has eased up a bit, thank goodness, so yesterday was actually a pretty relaxed day – I only did this illo for the National Post and a cartoon for the Bloor West Journal.

The article is written by Michael Ross, a former Israeli combat engineer and Mossad agent, now living in British Columbia. In this piece Mr. Ross discusses why Canada is still in the minor leagues of the world intelligence community, and why this has to change:

Canada's Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) recently issued a report expressing concern about CSIS' practice of sharing information with other nations - especially those such as Syria, which have poor human rights records. It is alleged that information provided by CSIS was used as a pretext for the United States to seize Maher Arar, and for Syria to torture him.

It is true that Arar's treatment was unfair and brutal. And it is tempting to respond to the episode by declaring that Canada will no longer share sensitive information with other nations. Unfortunately, that is not an option.

During the 1990s, I served  with the Mossad's international liaison division, Tevel, during which time I was the division's North American point man on counterterrorism issues. As such, I can attest that the exchange of intelligence between nations is critical to the battle against terrorism and other international threats.

The market for intelligence functions as a barter system: The value of the intelligence you get reflects the value of the intelligence you give. Unlike the CIA and Mossad, CSIS is a small player. And so it is very much at the mercy of the marketplace. If it stops providing other agencies with information, its own information pipeline will dry up. This would have a devastating effect. Consider that when I worked at the Mossad, Tevel brought in 60% of the Mossad's total intelligence intake.

Intelligence agents today have a harder job than they did in the days of the Cold War. In the past, you could offer a disaffected KGB officer a suitcase of money and he'd become your best friend. Today, Western intelligence agencies are trying to recruit from religiously motivated fanatics who don't care for money or cars or even life itself. Winning the war against these people will mean not only trading intelligence data with shady regimes, but also sending demographically appropriate agents to foreign Madrassas and  mosques under deep cover.