Nik Wallenda

Tuesday October 16, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday October 16, 2012

Because it’s there

In 1924, asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, Englishman George Mallory is famously reputed to have answered, “Because it’s there.” A similar sentiment was likely on the lips of Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner on Sunday before he jumped out of a helium-filled balloon 39 kilometres above the Earth.

Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, died in their attempt to conquer the mountain, demonstrating, if nothing else, that extreme feats of courage and idealism can end badly. Baumgartner landed, happily and literally, with both feet on the ground.

In his descent of more than nine minutes, and before popping his chute at 4:18, he reached a speed of 1,324 kilometres per hour in free fall, or Mach 1.24, faster than the speed of sound. No person has fallen so far or so fast.

Humans have always attempted the impossible, for no better reason, it seems, than to prove it is not impossible. Escape artist Harry Houdini broke out of steel padlocks and chests buried underground in the early 20th century. Aviatrix Amelia Earhart flew by herself across the Atlantic Ocean in 1937. Just last June, the daredevil Nik Wallenda became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

Every generation is transfixed by these feats and every generation thinks that the limits of human accomplishment — if not human foolishness — have been reached. But only one thing is certain: a new Everest will always be there. (Source: Winnipeg Free Press) 

 

Wednesday May 2, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday May 2, 2012

Daredevil Nik Wallenda will try to cross the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope June 15

The seventh-generation member of the Flying Wallendas spent months getting the necessary permissions from Canada and the United States for the cross-border stunt.

Conrad Black Cartoon Gallery

Organizers told a news conference in Niagara Falls, Ont., today the contracts have been signed and the date set.

Wallenda’s stunt will merge two pop culture traditions — his own family’s death-defying feats on the high wire and the daredevil acts at Niagara Falls that date back more than 100 years. 

Meanwhile, debate continues regarding the return to Canada of convicted criminals kept in jail by U.S. officials.

The Globe and Mail recently reported that Lord Black cannot be admitted to this country “without the special permission of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.” 

So, since Lord Black is a controversial figure who very publicly, and some of us would say quite insultingly, renounced his Canadian citizenship long before his legal troubles began, and whose contributions to this country’s public life are furthermore subject to widely divergent perceptions, Minister Jason Kenney really can’t wriggle off the hook by blaming his decision on faceless officials in his employ.

No, for good or ill, whether or not he decides to allow Lord Black to return to Canada, and whether or not all Canadians approve of his decision, the Chief Gatekeeper and Censor of Canada who banned George Galloway from our shores and who has actively road-blocked the return of the child soldier Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen who has done nothing to warrant criminal charges in this country, is going to have to wear this decision himself. (Source: Rabble.ca)