<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Liveblogging Hallowe'en on the Official Residence Circuit</title>
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                <description><![CDATA[ Liveblogging Hallowe'en on the Official Residence Circuit]]></description>
                <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:38:09 GMT</pubDate>
                <lastBuildDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 0:00:23 GMT</lastBuildDate>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:42 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:42:56 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Well, just as I feared, they're not actually letting me into 24 Sussex -- I know, what can you do? I am, however, stationed by my fellow fourth estateholders, and can report that there is, in fact, a line of pumpkins stretching up the lane, some of which may or may not be carved in a whimsical fashion.There's not a bad lineup of trick-or-treaters outside -- a half a blocks' worth at least. No familiar faces in the crowd, although we did see a carful of PMO comm staffers sail past in a minivan, accompanied by what appeared to be a costumed dog. ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:44 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:44:19 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[i should note as well that the contrast between the relatively open Rideau Hall and the deeply gated and micromanaged 24 Sussex is quite remarkable.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:45 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:45:33 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Associate press secretary and official PMO metatron Dimitri Soudas has now emerged from his vehicle, and is presenting his dog -- which appears to be dressed as a bee, although I may be missing the nuance. ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:48 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:48:53 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Okay, so the first family in line -- actually, scratch that, i have no idea if they actually *are* a family, or just a random collection of strangers thrown together by the vagaries of Hallowe'en timing -- include a princess, a transformer, an angry clown and a cook.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:54 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:54:21 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Ninjas! Teeny, tiny ninjas -- and a spiderman, or, as he likely prefers to be called, Spider-Man  -- seemed to be on the verge of storming the barricade, but were mollified at the last minute by the imminent opening of the gates. (Another is dressed as a Wii, but on the plus side, it's a homemade costume, which diminishes the commercialism.   ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[5:55 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:55:23 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[I'm in! Thanks to the benevolent powers that be at PMO! i take back all the grumbling I was planning to do. ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:00 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:00:23 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Other costumes going past -- hippies!  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:06 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:06:19 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Also, the pumpkins deserve mention -- they were, of course, carved by staffers, and are actually pretty darned impressive, considering the unforgiveability of the medium. i can see a Munchean scream, a Fleur de Lis, a shark -- it's actually preTy amazing.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:06 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:06:45 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Also, the pumpkins deserve mention -- they were, of course, carved by staffers, and are actually pretty darned impressive, considering the unforgiveability of the medium. i can see a Munchean scream, a Fleur de Lis, a shark -- it's actually preTy amazing.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:10 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:10:46 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Okay, so the PM isn't in costume -- not that anyone really expected him to be -- but he seems to be having fun; he's posing with each gaggle of children allowed past the RCMP gauntlet. Laureen is -- either dressed as some beloved popular character with which I am not familiar, or following her husband's lead this year. Oh, and I'm not sure what they're giving out -- white bags that appear fairly well stuffed.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:15 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:15:52 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Ooh, we're allowed to shoot some pumpkins, apparently! I wish they had labels. What Would Guy Giorno Carve?  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:28 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:28:48 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[And we're done! Okay, that really was a lovely spread -- and yes, many pictures were taken, and I'll post them as soon as I'm back at a desk -- but it's time to head off to Stornoway, not on foot, thank goodness, courtesy of one of my CBC colleagues. Oh, and as it turns out, the seal protester is here too. Of all the days to dress up as a furry animal, this is probably the least effective, in terms of noticeability.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:36 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:36:09 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[And here we are --- at Stornoway, the entrance of which is decorated in a cornstalk motif, but which seems considerably less lively than 24. There are actual children here -- two -- who are sounding a little weary when asked if they'll stick around for a picture. Meanwhile, Ignatieff is -- tragically -- not in costume, nor is his wife. They do pose happily with a pair of tiny hippies. "Like we used to be!" he tells them; the wee pair too respectful, it seems, to bring up that whole Iraq/torture thing. That, or they just want to get back to trick-or-treating.   ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:37 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:37:37 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[There appears to be a shortage of children in Rockcliffe -- that, or they're all up at the 24/Rideau Hall juncture, and plan to make this the final stop.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:39 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:39:50 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Hurray! Children! And -- Michael Ignatieff, with beer for the media!]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:41 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:41:16 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA["The one thing I love is the smell of burning pumpkins," he muses. There's just nothing you can possibly add to that, is there? ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:47 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:47:13 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Alright, we appear to be scaring away the few children brave enough to venture down this street, so I'm heading back to Rideau Hall, the final stop on this chilly Hallowe'en. ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:51 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:51:24 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Oh, gosh it's cold. I was sorely tempted to skip this leg of the journey, but my stupid work ethic clicked in, and im now wnadering into what we've been led to believe is a Wild West ghost town; the eerie sound of a train whistle greets us on entry, and there are various vaguely-Deadwoodish looking characters shambling about. I wish I'd gotten here earlier, because there's not going to be much point in taking pictures, what with the pitchness of the dark, so you'll have to bear with word pictures instead. Extremely chillythumbed  word pictures.  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:55 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:55:03 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Disembodied piano-playing hands! A tiny covered wagon, which for the first ten or so years of my life I thought was actually called a "cupboard" wagon, which I blame on a critical misinterpretation of that dog food ad, and various cackling spook-ers; sadly, it transpires that there is no Governor General, as she is out of the country. Which frankly is a good enough reason for me to bail; it's a far less extensive spread than last year, and it seems that by this point, I may have done the full circuit. ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[6:57 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:57:42 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Alright, that concludes the Ottawa Hallowe'en tour. Happy evil-doing, everybody! Video to come soon!  ]]></description></item>
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                    <title><![CDATA[7:00 ]]></title>
                   <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 0:00:23 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[<br style="line-height: 3px;"><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/index.php?option=com_altcaster&task=register&referral_code=LiveBlogReferral" target="_blank"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/coveritlive/static/templates/coveritlive/images/cil_thanks_en.jpg" border="0" /></a><br><br style="line-height: 3px;"></div>]]></description></item></channel></rss>