So on the train trip up to Napanee for March school break Oliver and Catherine ended up overnight in a train car filled with sophisticated Ontario kids returning from their school break. And they all had handheld video games, which captivated Oliver. They didn’t actually share, but that seems to have only heightened his curiousity.

Upon their return home I conducted a full debriefing with Oliver, and, aided by Google Image Search, we were able to determine that the handhelds in use on the train were of the Ninetendo DS variety.

Now given that Oliver already has unfettered access to 100 Prince Street iMac, and his own $100 laptop, it seems a bit absurd to be debating the ethics of bringing a Nintendo into the house — the bridge over the Rubicon away from a peaceful electronics-free childhood was crossed long ago.

But we wrung our hands nonetheless. And ended reasoning that the “being a regular kid” upsides of the pro-Nintendo argument outweighed the “buying into a lifetime of brand-focused consumer entertainment” downsides (I realize that the same arguments can be made in favour of teen smoking).

And so on Saturday we got in our car, went out to Future Shop, and plonked down our (my) $139 for a brand new Cobalt Blue DS Lite. And with $20 off the first cartridge included in the price, we spent an agonizing 20 minutes poring over the selection before picking out Dora Saves the Mermaids (Dora at least has the “he’s learning Spanish!” sop for we theoretically brand-averse parents).

Reasoning that we might as well dive in completely, we stopped in at microplay on the way home and rented a couple of additional games so that we could get a better lay of the land.

And so, after 7 years of parenting, I was forced to confront the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the body that video game publishers outsource their “content ratings” to.

On the surface I should appreciate the help: one of Catherine’s provisos when agreeing to open our home to the Nintendo was a blanket “no war” policy on incoming video games, and sometimes it’s hard to tell from the game title or box alone.

The ESRB tells us, for example,that the DS title The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, contains “Fantasy Violence,” which they describe as “Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.” Hmmmm. Does that mean Mr. Tumnus gets his still-beating heart ripped out by Maugrim, or that cartoon Aslan goes down to the White Witch on an animated Stone Table?

While I don’t necessarily begrudge the information the ESRB provides, as you scratch beneath the surface of their self-described “concise and impartial information,” you quickly realize that their rating system and “content descriptors” reflect a particular world-view and set of “inappropriate” behaviours.

So we can find out whether a given game has “Use of Drugs,” “Use of Alcohol,” “Use of Tobacco,” or even “Comic Mischief,” but there are no descriptors for “Strong Religious Themes” or “Imperialist World View” or “Extreme Anthropomorphism.”

Browsing through the Nintendo DS titles, it was hard to find any that weren’t Rated E for Everyone — it is, after all, a device that tilts at a younger demographic — and so ultimately the ESRB was of little help in finding out which games were any good.

So we guessed, ending up with MySims (Rated E, with the “Simulated Gambling” descriptor) and the video game version of Over the Hedge (“Mild Cartoon Violence”).

So far, even though it involves the most reading, and is somewhat hard to figure out, MySims has been getting the most gameplay. Dora and her Mermaids, which is simple to figure out, and requires no reading, is getting almost no play at all. And Over the Hedge seems to have a 3D environment that Oliver, at least so far, finds a little dizzying.

I’ve a feeling this is only going to get more challenging from here…

Another interesting statistic from the 2006 Canadian Census is Mode of transportation to work.

In Charlottetown 16% of workers walk or cycle to work; this is twice the rate of Vancouver and Toronto. The only capital cities of with a higher rate are Yellowknife (24%) and Iqaluit (32%).

The Penguin Café Orchestra…

…started out as an imaginary ‘concept’ ensemble following a dream [Simon] Jeffes had during a severe bout of food poisoning in 1972. In its earliest incarnation the PCO existed only as a recording project. Over the next 25 years this gradually fleshed out into a unique, 10 person hybrid of pop, avant garde and chamber music which fetched up performing all over the world.

Founder Simon Jeffes died in 1997. Listen.

I don’t really know what this is. But it has a certain addictive beauty.

The International Symbol of Access:

The same symbol, as rendered in the Fitzroy Parkade in Charlottetown:

From Pedro comes a pointer to Torino Colors:

Torino colors rappresenta un caso unico di mappatura urbana cromatica complementare a quella toponomastica. Un criterio intuitivo con cui è possibile orientarsi all’interno della città, migliorandone la fruizione, da parte di chi la vive, permanentemente o occasionalmente. Un unicum, ambizioso ed impegnativo, ma con ricadute, per l’immagine interna ed esterna della città, sicuramente straordinarie.

Or, for those of you not familiar with the Italian:

As Pedro describes it:

The Torino Colors project aims to change the way we navigate a city, the image I’ve reproduced here is the colored map for the Torino city in Italy. The idea behind it is very simple:

STEP 1: pick a color for each region of your town.

STEP 2: paint all the city appliances and structures (like trash bins, light posts, sign holders, etc.) with the corresponding color…

With a little twist and it’s here that this idea really get interesting:

STEP 3: As soon as you start moving in any direction, you add some blending to starting color, or simply put, when you walk in any certain direction towards another part of the city, the color will react to your movement and start to blend with the color selected for the region where you’re headed.

Anonymous friend of the blog Murky has created a much more interesting mix tape than the one that I threw together yesterday (although I would argue that my inclusion of a Fleetwood Mac track gives mine a certain kind of something). Listen:

Found here today: an MP3 of Nebulous by the Leslie Spit Treeo.

Back in my radio days, I had the Leslie Spit Treeo in the studio at Trent Radio for an interview. Somehow they ended up interviewing themselves, which was okay by me. Then then went next door to the Jolly Hangman and put on a barnburner of a show.

One of the best experiences I’ve ever had buying clothing was the time I walked into Hambly & Innis Men’s Wear Clothing on University Avenue looking for a pair of pyjamas. Clarkie Innis sized me up, went into the back and found me a pair of flannels that I’m still wearing 10 years later. It felt like it was 1922.

I’ve walked by Hambly & Innis on my way to work almost every morning for as long as I can remember; although their stock was tilted about 30 years older than my demographic, rare is the day that I haven’t entertained the thought of finding a reason to by a fedora, or a yellow and blue checked spring jacket.

John Clark Innis died yesterday at the age of 94. His obituary reads:

A well known and respected Charlottetown businessman, John Clark “Clarkie” Innis, died on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was 94 years of age.

Both Clarkie and his son Kenny operated a very successful Hambly & Innis Men’s Wear Clothing Store in downtown Charlottetown with a history that dates back to its inception in 1949. Up until recently he worked in the day-to-day operation of the family business.

Mr. Innis was the beloved husband of the late Kathleen “Kay” (nee Acorn) Innis, and dear father of Gloria (Ross) Gilmore of Dartmouth, NS and Ken (Pauline) Innis of Charlottetown. He will also be sadly missed but fondly remembered by his grandchildren, Jason (Karen) Gilmore, Jill Gilmore both of Dartmouth, Ryan Innis and Kyle Innis both of Charlottetown; and his numerous nieces and nephews.

The last surviving member of his family, he was predeceased by his parents, Roderick and Laura Jane (Clark) Innis, sisters and brothers, Arabelle Baillie of California, Charles Innis of Ontario, Jean Grenier of BC, Eleanor Innis and Smith “Doc” Innis both of Pictou County, NS.

As Hambly & Innis closes — as The Guardian reported this morning — Charlottetown will lose its last real haberdashery and, in Clarkie Innis, it’s last real haberdasher.

Thoughts tonight to his friends and family.