Uninhabited Spaces

In the last minutes of Sunday the US House of Representatives narrowly passed a landmark bill that will provide medical insurance to some 32 million Americans. The 219-to-212 vote in favour of the legislation follows the Senate's approval of the bill in December 2009. A simultaneous package of amendments to the bill is currently on the boards and will head back to the Senate. The legislative victory will most likely bolster Barack Obama's approval ratings and help overcome the cries of disappointment his faithful have been mourning. The challenge to reform health care has been a ferocious moral and political battle. Credit will deservedly go to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (pictured holding the gavel) for her steadfast corralling of Democrats. Pelosi is now certainly the most powerful Democrat in the land after Mr. Obama himself. Together they have accomplished a remarkable feat.

I awoke to the sad news that yet another 80s star, Toronto-born Corey Haim, has passed away today. What makes this extra poignant for me was that, like me, Corey was born in December 1971. So, being almost exactly the same age, I grew up alongside Corey throughout his various movie roles. Corey was effortlessly cute and had charisma, charm, and was just a sweetheart. Just try not to fall in love with him in "Silver Bullet" (1985), the movie version of Stephen King's story about a paralyzed boy who takes on a werewolf. The apex of his fame, however, came with "The Lost Boys" (1987), a film the Robert Pattinson obsessed throngs should be forced to watch. Now there was a real teenage vampire film! There wasn't a goth alive who didn't get "TLB" on VHS just to be able to watch it over and over again. "The Lost Boys" also marked the first collaboration of Haim with Corey Feldman, later nicknamed "The Two Corey's". Haim and F