"I love arts," he said.

A few days ago, I mentioned the mayoral debate on the arts. What a surprise - Rob Ford made a fool of himself. "I love arts," he said. "I took dramatic arts in Grade 13."

Here's an excerpt of Martin Knelman's report in the "Star."

... Front-runner Rob Ford quickly got himself into trouble, confirming his image as a dangerous Philistine almost every time he opened his mouth ... Ford seemed almost ludicrously ill-prepared to address hundreds of dedicated arts lovers, and with each blunder, he became more and more the buffoon the crowd loved to hate.

I'm glad I didn't go. There's no need for more rage in my life. My daughter said yesterday, "Don't worry, Mum. He won't get in." And I believe her. But the other day, a friend from the Y with whom I've chatted for years but never in depth, amazed me by launching into a rant about immigrants. "Here we are responsible about population growth but they're not, their numbers are exploding," he seethed, "and then they feel the need to come over here, and we take them in! I'm going to get myself 100 acres and a shotgun." This, from a mild-mannered, British-born, career civil servant. That's the anger they're all talking about, fuelling Ford and Sarah Palin. People disappointed, unhappy with their lives, finding scapegoats, a highly visible target - immigrants; easy answers to extremely complex questions; and an unscrupulous politician who'll stir their fears and appeal to their basest natures. "I guess you're going to vote for Rob Ford," I said. "I sure am," he replied.

Let us pray.

Here's the brand-new "Globe," how spiffy is the new design! How jazzy and snazzy and up-to-the-minute, with all that colour and shiny paper. Apparently this renovation cost many millions. I wonder if they're paying their writers any better. For example, "Facts and Arguments," still occupying most of one entire page - payment to contributors, $0.00.

Biked off to the market this morning, and by the time I was half-way there, my hands were frozen. Came home and dug out my hats and gloves. This is the first real fall day. The great bundling has begun.