what price honour?

A few weeks ago, there was a bizarre news item telling of the drowning deaths of 4 women, three sisters and their aunt, who were found in their car at the bottom of the Rideau Canal, near Kingston Ontario. It seemed especially odd since there were no signs of how they could have gotten there, past various barriers, without leaving so much as a skid mark.

Today, the papers are full of the arrest of the girls' parents & brother, supposedly while attempting to leave the country:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/family-members-charged-with-murder-in-submerged-car-case/article1228868/

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Family+members+charged+with+first+degree+murder+Kingston+canal+deaths/1820277/story.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/07/23/canal-arrests023.html

While the reports vary a little, it appears that the "aunt" was in fact the father's first wife, unable to have children & so supplanted by the second wife.

This is the kind of incident that makes many average Canadian citizens scratch their heads over immigration policies that foster a very broad interpretation of multiculturalism, in that this enables extremist views that would have been well left in the country of origin when emigrating to a country with clearly different mores & standards. Some of our own more extreme elements would have immigrants attest that they will abide by Canadian laws & social customs when living here, & given the above I'm sure there will be more calls for such. Tolerance can, after all, only go so far.

We don't tolerate polygamy, purdah, so-called honour killing or suttee. What makes some people think that they can bring such traditions here, or worse yet, start cults that do such things? This is not exclusive to Islamic extremists, although this particular case is illustrative of the reasons why sharia law will never be adopted here and there is so much resentment about the attempts to do so.

Canadians would, on the whole, are pleased to embrace most multicultural novelties. Food, literature, art, music, philosophy, & certain aspects of dress come to mind as crossing cultural borders. However, when it comes to systematic marginalization of women by extremist groups, whatever their origin, we draw the line. We tolerate headscarves, but not burqas. One may be a fashion statement, the other is clearly not. Adult women have a right to self-determination & independence. Children have a right not to be molested or otherwise abused by their families or others in the community. These are the compromises that OUR culture demands of immigrants. These are the things that should be left at the border of the country of origin.

Sadly, these 3 girls and their aunt/step-mother will never have the opportunity to benefit from Canadian culture, because the culture of their parents' homeland was applied to abrogate their rights.

As for the supposed honour, does the classification of one of the girls as "willful & rebellious" in any way justify her death? Not here. We have no room for such distorted conceptions of honour.

health care insurers obviously desperate

For those who have been following the machinations of the USAmerican health care "industry" to stave off public health care reforms, and who may have heard some horror stories about how poorly served Canadians are by our public health care system, you might be interested in reading this article, with associated links & comments:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/07/21/shona-homes-health-care.html

I'm sure some of you have seen this (conservative funded) spot, which forecasts dire consequences if the USA were to introduce "Canadian style" publicly administered health care. The woman in this story claims to have solid evidence of how horrible our system is, & how much better the current USAmerican system is.

While I'll be the first to agree that our system isn't perfect, at least we don't have a bunch of corporate bottom line feeders running (ruining?) our health care system. Although we need to keep a close eye on our current neoCon federal administration, so that we won't have them in future. Most of us are hoping that the arguments against public health care (which I remember from when I was growing up) have been concluded, in favour of the public, and health care. That element of our social safety net is still in place. True, improvements could be made. That's true of any system, isn't it?

There is some 2-tier medicine here already. For example, dentistry, unless it requires hospitalization, is a private-care system. Some of us are fortunate to have access to inexpensive dental insurance (note here that the dental plan insurers sure act a lot like HMOs when it comes to in-office dental surgery, giving us due warning of what that system would be like if implemented for medical as well).

Most of us carry supplementary medical insurance, but that's to give us a higher level of hospitalization (semi-private or private room) plus cover about 80% of our prescription costs & appliances such as glasses & hearing aids. And since we have a lot of generic pharmaceuticals (most made by the original pharma group but packaged by the generics, so of equivalent quality) we aren't being gouged for drug costs either. I'd like to point out here that supplementary medical plans neither cost a fortune nor are based on denial of service without a lengthy fight. The term "pre-existing condition" is essentially unknown here. We find it ludicrous that the very fact of becoming sick may lead to you being denied reimbursement by your insurer, and can't comprehend why there hasn't been an effective grass-roots rebellion in the USA against such corporate thievery.

I'm personally irked by some of the restrictions on legitimate therapies under our system, like the classification of joint replacement as an "elective" procedure (obviously the plan's administrators have never suffered extreme joint pain), but the fact is that the surgery wait times are usually not extreme for non-life-threatening illnesses. However, I'm quite willing to believe that there are others in greater need than myself. We do need more & better hospital facilities. But at least we're all triaged under the same system when it comes to hospital care.

The woman in the story is by no means unique. Just as in the USA, those who have or can find the money to get their treament faster may choose to do so, but generally speaking they do so off-shore, because Canada's sytem isn't governed so much by the almighty dollar as it is by need. True, mistakes do happen, and lives are lost unnecessarily. However, not as frequently as in a system where so many are denied even basic care because of inability to pay.

Perhaps we don't have all the latest & greatest bells & whistles when it comes to surgeries or therapies, either. However, you're unlikely to undergo either an experimental or inappropriate treatment here just because you can pay for it. Can the same be said in the USA?

If the USAmerican HMO system is so great, why do we pay more than twice as much for travel medical insurance when visiting the USA than when I go anywhere else in the world? And why does nobody I know feel comfortable going across the Canada-USA border for as much as 5 minutes without such insurance?

I'm sure nobody would be surprised to learn that the woman in the story was handsomely reimbursed by her interviewers...say, to the tune of USD 100K? Plus a bit for her trouble, of course, & to salve her conscience, if she has one.

one good book leads to another

(update of an earlier post)

The queue of books by my bed is getting bigger again. It's not quite the leaning tower of death I had a few years ago, and I've got most of them on a chair that's far enough away from my pillow not to crush my head if they fall, but between the books I've bought over the past few months and the ones I keep getting out of the library it comes to quite a stack.

I have this distressing habit of not being able to pass a bookstore without going in and almost always end up buying something. You could call me a bookaholic, & I have no intention of entering rehab, either. If this is a vice, it hurts nothing but my bank account.

Another part of the problem is my habit of surfing our library's web catalogue, where we can order as many books on reserve as we like, and have them delivered to our local branch. It's a wonderful system, but it can get out of hand. My tendency is to search out every book on a topic I get interested in, and either order it or put it on a wish list for later. I keep thinking I'll run out of "enthusiasms", but there always seems to be a new one around the corner.

Right now, I've got several topics on the go, including travel guides to Jamaica & New Zealand, consulting handbooks, archaeology & anthropology tomes, some mystery series whose authors I came across recently (Alan Gordon's Fools Guild series is one, Stieg Larsson's Millennium a second, Yrsa Sigurdarsdottir's & Arnaldur Indridasson's Icelandic-set mysteries yet others), and songbooks from the 60's and 70's.

It's not too hard to understand this grouping. I've recently retired, thus the consulting handbooks since I'm starting up a small consulting business. We'll be travelling to both places for pleasure & to keep in touch with former colleagues, and also to escape some of our usual abysmal winter weather. New Zealand has become our favourite winter getaway. A bit distant, but a wonderful place to go. I'll have to post some of my pictures from previous trips one of these days.

I've always been interested in the distant past, and there have been some excellent texts and syntheses published in the field lately, which I've been devouring as fast as our library can get them in. Added to which we have recently participated in the Genographic Project, adding our bits of DNA to the effort to establish ancient patterns of human dispersion around the globe, something I only learned about via a library book!

The songbooks are to get more material to work on with my voice coach (I take singing lessons for fun), and the novels are pure relaxation. OK, I also have aspirations to write mystery fiction, so it's good to keep up to date in the genre. I also like to alternate fiction and non-fiction, more or less, so that I have something to learn & something to read before I turn out the light.

Our local public library system is fabulous -- I can't speak highly enough of them. We have access to books from across our entire region, both urban & rural libraries participate. They have DVDs and music CDs as well. We are very well served.

However, I still have that queue waiting for me to make my way through it. I'm sure I will, eventually. Given that it's a rainy summer, I'm making steady progress.

I wouldn't mind getting more book recommendations, though. One good book leads to another.

is it just me?

OK, I'm as sad as the next person when someone dies. Especially someone I know personally, but also when I hear of someone noteworthy for their achievements in life. And there's nothing like a good wake to celebrate their passing. Just last weekend I was at yet another memorial for a friend.

What I just don't get is the insatiable thirst for a final piece of the action around celebrity funerals. Are these people not hounded enough during their lives? Death should have an intrinsic dignity, but these days it just seems to unleash the rumour mill to an even greater frenzy.

Frankly, it looks to me more like vultures gathering around the corpse than sincere sorrow. And what's the point of exposing children as participants in public spectacles of grief? It reminded me so much of the public response to Princess Diana's death. Not in a good way.

Obviously I'm referring to today's lamentable media circus around the remains of Michael Jackson. I suppose you could see it as a giant wake, generously shared with his innumerable fans.

All I see is a lot of crocodile tears.

So, am I the only one?

silver threads among the gold

Just returned from a lovely weekend in Altamont NY, where we revelled in traditional music of & for all ages. The Old Songs Festival of Traditional Music & Dance has been around since 1981, growing out of the previous festivals at Fox Hollow. Some material from their early years can be seen here.

The key to Old Songs is its blend of traditional in the sense of historical or "true" folk music & dance forms with newer material crafted by today's performers, either via the "folk process" that operates on all oral traditions, causing small but often significant changes over time, or through new writings & forms that honour & make use of the traditions to create material that may or may not stand the test of time. The creators/performers themselves say that the greatest compliment that can be paid is for their material to become so embedded in the tradition that most people forget that it was newly written and just think of it as "an old folk song/tune".

Performer highlights for us included:

Peggy Seeger, of that celebrated musical family, who shared her stories from the original BBC Radio Ballads, and sang many songs both old & new. She is best known for women's movement songs like "Gonna Be An Engineer", and around these parts, for her collaboration with her husband, Ewan McColl, on "Springhill Mine Disaster" (one of those "old folk songs" written by them in 1958 after the Springhill, Nova Scotia event). Interesting that Jez Lowe, also at this year's Old Songs, has recently participated in some new Radio Ballads. (If you can't be bothered to visit the link, but are curious, Radio Ballads feature a part of British life as experienced by people who are interviewed by songwriters, and whose words then form the basis of the songs about their lives. But it's worth reading more, so go on & visit the link!)

Josh White, Jr. , who we had seen just last year at a concert with Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez Seeger, here in Ottawa. His range of material & skill with voice & guitar are incredible. He paid tribute to his father & that generation of performers, bringing their material to newer audiences. Wonderful. Wish I could play like that...

Christine Lavin, who is simply hysterical! One of her songs, "What Was I Thinking?!" was brought up to the minute with a scathing new verse about a certain recently & very publicly delinquent senator, and contained a classic bit "Don't you just love it when Republicans are exposed for the hypocrites they are?" (well, it certainly appealed to me!) And frankly, who could fail to love the writer of "Cold Pizza For Breakfast"?

Steve Gillete & Cindy Mangsen, who perform both solo & together, and have been around the folk circuit for eons...how long? Well, Steve's song "Darcy Farrow", another of those "old folk songs" was recorded by Ian & Sylvia in the 60s... Pretty long. And Cindy's song about how their cat got its head stuck in the disposal cracked me up. Versatile & talented, & consummately entertaining.

Louis Killen, who made me like sea songs when I first heard him more than 30 years ago, & can still send a shiver down my back today. He concentrates mostly on the historical & traditional, and his voice, firmly stamped with his Tyneside roots, is perfectly suited for his immense repertoire. A fount of great stories, too.

Lou & Peter Berryman should be listed as national treasures in the USA. From the infamous "A Chat With Your Mother" (widely known as "The F-Word Song") to the pseudo-patriotic "Your State's Name Here" to the geriatrish "Older Than Everybody"...I give up, there's no way I can list all of their incredible songs, parodies, rants, &c, you'll just have to listen to them yourselves. Unique if slightly bizarre sound, wonderful lyrics, you will pee yourself laughing, guaranteed. And I love Peter even more because we play the same kind of guitar, a Guild 12-string.

My husband, who's of Dutch origin, particularly enjoyed Nanne & Ankie and the Hudson Crew, a Frieslander group who put on a play about Henry Hudson (that I missed, being at a different workshop at the time). We saw them together at a sea shanty workshop & they were fabulous. Having a great time singing in Dutch & Fries (pronounced freeze btw), which of course very few understood, but they were having such a good time that who cared.

Peter & Mary Alice Amidon were, as always, featured in the Shape Note Workshops led by Peter, that we participate in every time we go to Old Songs. We sing mainly from a book called The Sacred Harp, with some songs from other books, and some newly written by living composers. This traditional form of sight-reading using shaped note heads is an early North American form dating from the days when few musical instruments were available, and was kept alive in the Deep South until revived during the folk revival. Today there are singings all over the USA & Canada & other countries of this form, & of the closely related West Gallery tradition in the UK. It's a wonderful form of 4-part community singing, mostly of old hymns, but today largely sung in a secular "sing the poetry" spirit. I can't recommend it highly enough, if you like to sing. And you don't have to be all that good a singer, either, you will just be swept up in the music.

I first saw John Roberts & Tony Barrand doing a Morris dance at the Mariposa Folk Festival on Toronto's Centre Island in 1971. They don't do much dancing these days, but their voices & songs are just as great as they were then. If you haven't heard "Oor Hamlet" sung by John Roberts, as we were lucky to this weekend, you need to find a copy. And Tony Barrand's tenor rings out unmistakeably, even in a larger group like Nowell Sing We Clear.

Last, but definitely not least, is an Old Songs fixture, Michael Cooney, who I also saw in that first Mariposa experience 38 years ago (yikes!). He's got a long white beard to complement the curly black hair these days, but he still has a wonderful voice, terrific guitar-playing skills (on a 12-string, no less), and an incredible repertoire of songs & jokes & tunes & stories. A true gem & another USAmerican national treasure.

If you visit the links I've given, you'll be able to get a taste of all of these great performers. There were others of course, but Old Songs has such a diverse program on so many stages that it's impossible for one couple to get to them all. Oh, and did I mention that they have fabulous food? You simply have to taste Eric Bean's Traveller's Kitchen's quesadillas & potato pancakes. To die for!

I'm sure I've convinced at least some of you to get there next year, or at least, I hope so. Events like this are unique & culturally important, and need the support of music lovers for them to continue. Old Songs is for all ages (great kids' areas too) & many musical tastes. You can meet friends to jam, listen to concerts, participate in singing, & talk to everyone.

See you there next year!

contemplating mortality

I recently attended a memorial for a close friend's father. He lived a full life of nearly 90 years, and will be much missed. Alert until his final hours, he chose when to die during a period of rapidly deteriorating health, by declining further treatment. As a fellow atheist, he also chose to have no funeral (donating his body to science) and requested a gathering of friends & family to exchange stories about his life.

What struck me most about this event was the genuine feeling demonstrated by the more than 70 in attendance. I have been to many (always too many) funerals, with the usual visitation of the carefully embalmed body preceding, and some form of religious ceremony followed by interrment. All too few have shown any sign of true grief among any but the immediate family. This was a spontaneous outpouring of love and grief for a good man, by all assembled. There was much laughter (he was a great character) and a few tears. Emotions ran high - I have tears in my eyes again as I write this.

Death is a fact of life. There is not a shred of evidence that there is anything following cessation of brain activity. Once you're gone, you're gone. The only known afterlife is the continuity of memory among your family & friends. For some, their works also continue, in the larger population's memory.

I don't find this a particularly distressing thought. Then again, I've not attempted to find the quasi-immortality many do through their children, and I have no expectation that the impact of my life works will continue for long, either. Many people appear to find the finality of death it so terrible that they must delude themselves, customarily via a variety of religious beliefs, that there is some continuity of their intelligence or spirit beyond death. Even the words used - "passed on", "passed over", &c - imply continuation into another as yet unidentified existence. People in general appear to be desperate to achieve some kind of immortal state, preferrably a good one.

Most religions use the carrot & stick model of behaviour modification to cajole or threaten adherents with some form of heaven & hell (you rarely see one without the other). Since neither has any concrete evidence of its existence outside our hyperactive imaginations, there seems little point to prolonging this way of thinking. The only justification appears to be for indoctrination and mind control of the majority by a collection of self-serving oligarchies. Religious altruism is a very thin veneer on this fundamental state.

It's so much more important for us to live well, day by day, in as much harmony with our fellows and surroundings as possible, than to spend those days in preparation & expectation of something beyond. We need to make our heaven here, or it will surely become a hell. All that's required is for us to use our brains for what they're good at - observing, evaluating, deciding...for ourselves, not according to the dictates of religio-political oligarchs. And the fear of death should be the least of our worries in doing so.

Death is shocking, harsh, and final. There is no good way to prepare for this. Loved family members and friends who die are mourned, rightly, for they are never coming back. They can also be remembered & celebrated, and I find this the most comforting form of continuity possible.

good intentions meet gardening season

All my good intentions about blogging more often collided with my equally good intentions to do more gardening now that I'm retired. While good intentions are most often found paving the road to hell, this time the garden path won out & blogging came a distant second.

There have been plenty of ridiculous news items for me to rant about lately, not least of which are various local & national politicians in court for -- wait for it -- lying to the public about *gasp* misuse of public funds & power...but, I digress. This post is not a rant, but a rave. About spring, of all things.

Our climate, such as it is, flipped the winter-to-summer switch a couple of weeks ago, and there are at least 20 different shades of green on bushes & trees outside my window alone. It's a whole rainbow driving around town, with all the tulip beds in full bloom and everything from magnolias to crabapples blossoming in a mad dash. I'm not kidding when I call it flipping a switch, either. Spring in Ottawa is so short that you might miss it if you blinked. The early bulbs & flowering trees don't last long at all.

We've planted a lot of the Victory garden, too. That's V for vegetable, mainly, with a few herbs and some flowers to add a bit of colour. It's a very nice thing to be able to get some of your veggies out of your own yard. So far this year we've put in sugar snap peas, onion sets, salad greens, coriander, basil and parsley. All things that can be grown from seed starting fairly early in the season. I've got some plants inside that won't go out until early June, though, because we can count on the odd hard frost overnight until at least the end of May. Starting seedlings indoors is a good way to get a jump on spring, and makes late winter a lot less depressing.

Our property is on clay soil, and our front yard used to turn to hard-pan every year, until we xeriscaped it in local shrubs & trees. Now, the only maintenance it needs is pruning & mulching. Just our little bit for the environment.

Blogging is just going to have to wait for a rainy day.