free thoughts & free thinkers

I'm enjoying the quotes that pop up in my sidebar. All too many of the random quote generators have mystical themes, or a limited list of (mostly male) dead writers. This lot seem to be a bit more eclectic.

Reading a lot of writings on secular humanism these days. Very refreshing.

I don't intend to proselytize my atheistic views in this blog, but no doubt the subject will arise from time to time.

Why is it so many espouse free speech, but so few practise free thought?

feeling slightly creative

I've made some small changes to the layout, mainly updating links. Had the urge to consolidate some of my frequent go-to sites so that I can use this as a homepage for a while. The idea being that if I come here every day I might actually get in the habit of posting. Who knows, I might even attract some readers! Not that I'm actively seeking that, this being more of a soliloquy than a polemic. You just never know, though.

This is my last day of freedom for a while. Seven more weeks in the salt mines, then my time will be my own. More or less.

There are several thousand recent photos waiting to be edited. Once I've done a few, I'll post here, or at least post links. About time there were some visual elements in this blog!

winter days & music to survive them with

Funny thing about winter, even with the short days, it feels so much better when the sun is shining. Or when music is playing...a segue into the topic at hand, what's on my current playlist.

I've been listening a lot to the Thompson family of late, that would be Linda, Teddy & Richard. I've always loved Richard's "Dimming of the Day" (as sung by Linda), among other songs, and was thrilled to see him when he came to the Ottawa Folk Festival a couple of years ago. Now, having discovered Linda's solo albums, and (via his Leonard Cohen interpretations) Teddy & his work, I wish they'd appear at our local festival too!

Check out the following for more:
http://www.teddythompson.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lindathompsonmusic
http://www.richardthompson-music.com/

You can find some good stuff on YouTube under each name, as well.

It can sure brighten up a winter day!

reasons for hope

1. 2009 marks retirement from wage-slavery for me (not until late
February, though). There are so many things I want to do that I've been putting on hold far too long.

2. There's a good possibility of a fresh election here, and yet another denial of majority for the Harper crowd. Maybe even a coalition in the centre?

3. After Obama takes over, the indictment of Bush, Cheney & other assorted evildoers becomes a little more likely. It may be dreaming to think they'd be jailed or stripped of their ill-gotten gains, but one can always hope.

4. During the current recession, corporate CEO's may be forced to take salary caps that bring them back into the real world. What's more, increased scrutiny of corporations may lead to some sorely needed reforms. Corporations should never be allowed to supersede governments - public checks & balances are needed.

I wish I could think of a 5th, for symmetry, but that's the best I can do for now. Of course, apart from the 1st, the others are pretty much wishful thinking, but in this crazy world almost anything is possible.

Happy 2009 to all of us!

irritations, large & small

Where to start? Perhaps with my Email woes. My original ISP was schlurped up by one of the big players here in Canada, Primus by name if not by performance. Now, one of the big players in the USA (a monopoly in many areas), Comcast, is blocking the mail server of my original ISP. The main reason I stayed with Primus was not to lose my original Email address. Obviously, it's time to think again. It's a big problem, since my primary correspondent & good friend is a prisoner of Comcast, which is acting a lot like Big Brother. They don't even permit users to "whitelist" their friends... It has taken me nearly a month to get decent service from Primus, although I'm now in contact with a very pleasant guy in tech support. Problem is, his solution isn't working on my PC. Therefore it must be something on my PC? Why do I have the feeling this is oversimplified? At any rate, I've used up the better part of a day's vacation trying to fiddle with the dang software, and my frustration quotient is extremely high.

And then there's family. Do I really need to go into detail? Probably not -- I've noticed that this is quite a common refrain around the mid-winter holiday season. Of course, I could echo the refrain at pretty much any time of year, but will let that pass for now. Fortunately, the visit was short, and I have the rest of this week to myself. I may calm down any day now.

I'll be spending tomorrow evening with my partner. We'll likely tune in for the finale of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, but will NOT follow that up with The Hour's interview with Sarah Palin. For pity's sake, could they not find anyone better to interview on New Year's Eve...like, any Canadian they dragged in off the street? Sheesh.

discouraging times

It's getting harder and harder to watch the news. Not least because there's often very little "news" and way too much "infotainment", mostly consisting of the inane opinions of news commentators or editorializing by management decree.

I haven't helped my discouraged mood at all by reading Susan Jacoby's "The Age of American Unreason". It's a good book, though, with some sound analysis of the "infotainment" issue, among other things. Ultimately, finding ways to encourage rational thought is the true issue, and I'm not sure there's a ready solution.

Most of us have fallen at least part way into the trap of lazy-mindedness. I don't exclude myself.

do I still exist?

If you were reading this blog, you'd certainly find that question debatable.

However, I'm convinced I do exist, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

Since I'm about to call a close to more than 30 years of wage-slavery, it's possible this blog might even begin to see a bit more action.

Stay tuned.