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(Incoming) Mayor Halloran, far from letting staff run the city with- out having political direction, will be a mayor for the people. Long story short, she good for us. I experienced her caring, capa- bility and commitment first hand during those days, and support her wholeheartedly" as Waterloo's new mayor. With that, of card," 'i'aiuiiiiiiiua, phone calls hom kids trying to pretend they are the principal, and canceling school on their own. Just a tip, you And it's not just me. My wife is exactly the same way. In fact, some years she has been known not to come outside at all between November and May. Pan of this loathing is work related. The arrival of winter tells me I will soon be spending large amounts of my time every morning telling people whether or not they can go to school. l was thrilled when I first heard that Ms. Halloran was running for the office of mayor in this election I had the pleasure of attending several mediation training classes with her. They gave the impression of being whiney, ungracious and con- descending to our mayor elect; fur- thermore, they would have made a rather poor foundation for his con- cession speech. I dont have to shovel it, melt it, scrape B it, slip on it, drive on it or anything else BC which is way too much work than the rest of the year. I know the skiers, snowboarders and snowmobil- ers all love the arrival of winter. Great. Have a good time with that. Doesn't mean I have to. gave me three monihs of $335612": we've had in the past week for a winter, I would be more thay happy. Iwas astonished to read outgoing mayor Herb Epp's remarks quot- ed in the article "Waterloo elects new mayor in landslide victory" (Chronicle, Nov. 15, 2006). To my mind, his words only ,DOniirmed that Waterloo voters made the right choice at the polls. Not knowing the context in which these remarks were made, one can- not speculate former mayor Epp's motivation in making them. There's simply nothing good to be said about it. Oh, I 've heard it all before. " love the change of seasons," some- one will tell me. Bullpuckeyt Who says the seasons have to change that much? If you "an": ma .L--- ---- _. - . _ I have-no use for snow, ice, freezing rain or whatever other element will be thrown at us over the next few months. ASH a week of nice, warm temperatures at the nd of November, I feel compelled to announce this shameful fact. I hate winter. No, wait. I despise winter, I loathe it. Take away my beaver hat if you must. Remove my right to drink gallons of maple syrup, and discuss hockey as if I actually know what m I'm talking about. I don't care. l Halloran will be good for city As ohe of those' pei/ii,, I pledge , a warm climate so terrible? will be In respect to the safety concerns, anyone who has visited the site of the fallen tree would completely agree that it never came down on, However, its administration does not seem to trust that its experts in environmental studies, zoology, engineering. et cetera, are capable of coming up with an inno- vative solution for this problem. Waterloo prides itself on being one of the most innovative univer sities in the country. Beaver handling is a complex issue. However, the fact remains that the University of Waterloo's admin- istration decided once again to ignore its on-campus resources. The real issue that has struck a nerve with students, faculty and staff is the administration's lack of interest in consulting with its own experts. University had What's next? other options Save head lice? - __ "___ a. -, "HEW hours to feel the same. can you imagine what might be accom- plished? . W. -___.- -.,,. If Mayor Halloran's direction inspires 90,000 or so of my neigh- Ln..-" "- Ir . .r my support to help do the work that she has planned f0; this city. arrival of I - V..." ...v..5..u u" u]: will! me KOOL Morning Crew every weekday morning from 6 to Sam. on Watermo radio station 105.3 KOOL FM. And is that the reason why it seems so difficult to get Canadians whipped up about the bad effects of global warming? In the end, it's always about us, isnt it? How is that so bad? A nelativ: temperatures over the winter at degrees Sounds pretty nice to me. _ v, w. ,v..- m... we ----" climate of southern Ontario will become much more like northern Tennessee -- minus the lack of teeth and the tendency to marry your cousin. lane! L lespennoe Waterloo might want to wait for your voice to change before making that call. Or, even better, the kids who send me emails try- ing to cancel school. Trust me, we have safeguards in place, one of which is to generally ignore cancella, tion emails from principal@hotmail.com. All of which brings me to global Ill- warming. . Hear C0lyfjlsir]fiN T more of Brian's thou_gi_us on life with the However, I think there are a lot of people, like me, who hear predictions of a shorter winter and longer spring and summer, and say, "Bring it on!" Is that selfish? I suppose, but like any other issue it boils down __ for most ofus -- to "How does this affect me?" I'm filly tiieareGrthe big picture around the planet, and how devastar. ing that could be in some areas. Try a; I might, it's hard for me to get terribly upset about the prospect of our climate ttting warmer. I've mad that oyer the years that the After all, these cute" IRE; "irreerry- crawly things are also a creation of Mother Nature, aren't they? ? A relative lack of snow and What is coming next? The preservation of head lice collected in classrooms of local schools? I can't decide if the depiction of a heartless and uncaring institution by self-appointed experts on rodents should make me laugh or retch." They rise in defense of the cute and furry beaver, whose prolifera- tion poses various dangers, and needs control. Ke, os to UW for providing a " use célébre" to stalwart deni en the k-W area during the mally uninspiring post- Thanksgiving pre-Christmas peri- od. and humane tactics. more than happy to tackle this problem with more innovative Those of us on CdEp:;;eally know how improperly this situation was handled: and would have been or anywhere near a walking path 1‘L -- _ l‘ around four or five Adam Bennett Waterloo Tom Fahldy Waterloo 7 - - -vu, m"... unv- t m Lav um. I!) nearMar- shall Ward talk about his weekly column with Mary-Lou Shage na on Monday Night with the Arts. You can also listen liar on the web at www.ckwncom. Email is welcome at mtoardeuguao. --ee _._.. ... my yum. Today, the Krampus is more likely to be found on top of gift packages filled with sweets, fruit and nuts to commemorate the season, in the form of a decorative ornament like the one my daughter was given. And though the krampus may have lost much of his fearful- ness over the years, it's probably a good idea for Austrian kids to still "be good for goodness sake" lust in case. Curious to know more about Krampusnacht. I spoke with Dr. Ilse Friesen, an art historian and professor; at Wilfrid Lauri~ er University. "We lived out in the country in lower Austria during the war, and I remember the neighbourhood youth would dress up as the gentle Niccolo (St. Nicholas) and the devil-figure Krampus. and go door-to-door together -- much like Halloween." explained Friesen. "Niccolo would ask the mothers if the chil- dren had been good. If they were good, they received treats. If they were bad, the mother allowed the Krampus to run inside and storm around the room rattling his chains. it was very frightening and the fear of being punished and whipped was quite real." In my research, I also learned about Krampusumz,ge (Krampus runs), in which adolescents wear grotesque masks and dress up as the Krampus - haunting their neighbour- hoods and terrorizing young children with their menacing growls, cracking their switches and pulling their hair. Friesen vividly remembers the night teenage boys, dresses as Krampus. abducted her cousin. "I was nine years old and living in Vienna," recalls Friesen. "The Krampus came and took my oldest cousin, Hubert. I remember walking around and trying to find him in the dark - calling out to him and cursing the Krampus. We later found him lying in the snow dumped in a ditch. "It did get a bit out of hand sometimes." Like St. Nicholas. the Krampus is still a recognizable figure in Austria, and Krampus runs still exist in smaller towns - but are much less violent than in the past. ”PM-.. ALA v77 . _ Other postcards warned. You Better L Be Good, accompanied by an illustra- tion of the Krampus running through the full of children on Krampusnacht. Artists often depicted the Krampus in early l900 postcards as a symbol of lust and lechery - leering and assair ing young women while extending his prodigious and unmistakably phallic bright red tongue in their direction. The slogans often read, Seasons Greetings from the Krampus. Usnfn (n tt? FM98.5 CKWR Dec. The figure, made from figs, dates and a walnut for his head, takes a prominent place on our Christmas tree a and is indeed atopic ofconversation, - 7 - 7 --' 7 Demonic in appearance, the kram, ‘ pus is a shaggy, horned monster Cov- .\ ]\[\)\l I“ I. ered in bells and dragging chains. ‘ Am With one cloven hoof and one human ‘ CN foot, he is a bizarre and bestial hybrid 3 ' . r figure composed of both comedic and ‘ n L; frightening Characteristics, ‘ Ever since my daughter was given an ornamental figure of Krampus. handcrafted by her Oma and Opa (grandparents), I have been fascinated by this dark side of Austrian traditions and folklore. hell And the naughtiest children of them all will get carried away by the krampus, never to be seen or heard from again. Who is the Krampus you ask? Why, Krampusis the hideous horned creature who, with his guiding companion St. Nicholas, visits Austrian children on Dec. 5 _ known as Krampusnacht. the eve of St. Nicholas Day. While St. Nicholas, carrying a miter and dressed in a flowing red robe, rewards the well-behaved children with small gifts of fruits. nuts and sweets, the Krampus punishes and brings coal for the naughty ones. Bad behaviour or poor school grades will result in a good switching -- meaning whipped with a bundle of reeds. The most disobedient and defiant offenders will be beaten, shackled and kidnapped by the Krampus. then thrown into hall a Merry Krampus 'e's making a list, c naughty and nice checking it twice, gonna find out who's 4 at 7:30 pm. to hear Mar streets with a sack MARSHALL