To cut right to the chase, I enjoyed this book! It was a very good read, & would make a great gift, to yourself or someone else, see http://tomcordle.com/ for this purpose!
“The Disappearing Cemetery” is billed as the story of “two thousand years of history from the perspective of a mountaintop in Tennessee…a reflection on war and the never-ending struggle for the high ground”. It’s all of that, and more. This is a book that makes you think, about the personal and how it interacts with the world at large.
Tom blends history with story with poetry, and the writing itself is often poetic, in the very best way. I’m sure someone has already said “all history is fiction”, but perhaps it might be better said that all history is a story told by a single writer. We hear a lot of the conventional points of view, writers of battles and dates and kings and politicians, but not enough of the people on the ground or the stories of small places and their happenings. Tom has taken a section of the Appalachians that he identifies with personally, and made it the focus for his history. It's not conventional history, but not quite an historical novel. Something in between.
There’s a clear sense of continuity, from the origins of the participating groups, whether First Nations or Europeans, through their meetings and development, successes and disappointments, triumph and tragedy. The hard subjects are dealt with honestly, but fairly, as are the ridiculous ones, leaving us with some cautious optimism for the future.
Tom also has a companion CD “Voices from The Disappearing Cemetery”, but I didn’t buy that one. I should, because I’d like to hear more of his lyrics set to music. They read well, and they sound great. (I reviewed "Children of Columbus" and "Soul of Hawk" briefly in an earlier post.)
Thanks, Tom, and thanks to Open Salon, without which venue I’d never have come across Tom’s work.
Tom, one last thing -- I find your work much in the spirit of Howard Zinn's work, and for anyone lucky enough to see "The People Speak" last Sunday on the USAmerican History Channel (not broadcast in Canada yet, but I've seen numerous clips), I'd liken this story to those others of individuals caught up in the whirlpools of history. I hope you find this to be a compliment, Tom, because in my mind it's one of the highest.
(I missed a couple of cross posts earlier, I did finish NaNoWriMo this year!)
2009-11-01
NaNoWriMo!
That's me, for the next 30 days.
I've participated in previous years, "winning" (writing the required 50K words in 30 days) in 2004 & 2005, but had work & personal issues get in my way the past 3 years. Now that I'm retired, I'm back in the game.
If you've never done this, I recommend it, lots of fun. I know all my connections here would have NO trouble meeting & exceeding the word count. See http://www.nanowrimo.org/ for more information.
The principle is to switch off your internal editor & get on a roll. I find it helps me to have some idea of what I want to write ahead of time, even an outline of sorts, but to meet the rules you mustn't actually start writing until November 1st, and must meet the 50K word target by November 30th. Wish me luck!
By the way, since I last posted, we went to Jamaica for a week. When I take a break from Nano'ing I'll post some pictures.
2009-10-10
scattered bits (includes brief CD review)
I'm as puzzled as the rest at the Nobel Committee's decision, but just perhaps it might be something of a reward to the USAmerican people for having finally dumped the neo-cons? Even if by a very slim margin... Remember this time last year when everyone was still saying he was unelectable because of racial issues? I just hope he follows through, actually, I hope he CAN follow through.
It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, time for turkeys to duck & cover and to bring home more squash from the market than any family could possibly consume. This year we're going to in-laws for turkey, so instead I cooked us up a duck, with garlic eggplant & a broccoli-red pepper stir fry. Oh, & home-made cranberry sauce, the rest of which is going along with that squash to the family dinner tomorrow. Like Christmas, a meal with way too much rich food. Luckily only a few times a year are this bad for the waistline & the arteries.
A while ago I ordered a CD from Tom Cordle. I got 2 CDs! (also a book, but I haven't read it yet). Tom writes historically based lyrics from a native American point of view, marries them with good tunes, & plays & sings his material with great emotion. I found both CDs ("Children of Columbus" & "Soul of Hawk") both moving & a good listen. I'm looking forward to reading the book, "The Disappearing Cemetary", but it's a hard cover so won't be travelling with me. More on that later. Thank you Tom, I really enjoy your work!
We're going to be away for a couple of weeks, so I don't expect to be in here until later this month. I hope all my friends here either remain in good health or recover from whatever ails them. Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!
It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, time for turkeys to duck & cover and to bring home more squash from the market than any family could possibly consume. This year we're going to in-laws for turkey, so instead I cooked us up a duck, with garlic eggplant & a broccoli-red pepper stir fry. Oh, & home-made cranberry sauce, the rest of which is going along with that squash to the family dinner tomorrow. Like Christmas, a meal with way too much rich food. Luckily only a few times a year are this bad for the waistline & the arteries.
A while ago I ordered a CD from Tom Cordle. I got 2 CDs! (also a book, but I haven't read it yet). Tom writes historically based lyrics from a native American point of view, marries them with good tunes, & plays & sings his material with great emotion. I found both CDs ("Children of Columbus" & "Soul of Hawk") both moving & a good listen. I'm looking forward to reading the book, "The Disappearing Cemetary", but it's a hard cover so won't be travelling with me. More on that later. Thank you Tom, I really enjoy your work!
We're going to be away for a couple of weeks, so I don't expect to be in here until later this month. I hope all my friends here either remain in good health or recover from whatever ails them. Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!
2009-10-05
documentaries of some interest
I was given passes to the preview showing here of Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story", which I saw last Thursday. I found it both a better-constructed documentary (albeit in classic MM style) & less funny than his average one. He almost sounded like he wished he didn't have to charge people money to see it at all. Almost.
Take away message? Capitalism = EVIL. My view = undecided, but inclined to agree that Military-Industrial-Agribusiness Mega-Corporations = EVIL at the very least.
Not being quite terminally depressed after the screening, I dug out a link to another film that I'd picked up on the recommendation of a friend:
The New American Century
I have to be careful to say that this is NOT a conspiracy theory film (at least, not in my opinion), since it does include bits that sound like it. However, it's an interesting film to watch & gives a decidedly different view from the usual. You'd never see this one on Faux News! And it's much more global in nature, trying to dig up some answers to the questions "what/who are the neo-cons, where did they come from & what the heck are they trying to do?"
I've never been one for conspiracy theories anyway, however as a sometime student of history I'm well aware that it is part of our culture to develop organizations that compete to be the ones who run things. At all levels. Thus, I find the whole ne0-con business not only mundane but all the more scary for being so.
Take away message? Neo-cons & all their works = EVIL. Well, d'oh. But it does no good to state the obvious, if nobody actually does anything about it. (Now I'm not only terminally depressed, I've got a pounding headache.)
What can be done, now that neo-con politicians, radical religionists & the military-industrial-agribusiness complex have all joined forces, and propagandized the unsuspecting (& unthinking) population at large? Sounds to me as if like-minded people from the other points of view need to be getting together & mobilizing our resources to prevent the juggernaut from crushing us all. (And all this without even thinking about environmental change or Gaia's revenge &c.)
Why? Because I still believe there are more people who don't want the kind of world the neo-cons are in the process of creating, especially not if it's run by them, than there are those who honestly do want it. But we need to be informed, & to inform others in a way that will get them both to take away the message & become more active against all that evil.
As a first step, I've locked up all the razor blades & sharp knives, at least until this headache goes away.
As a second step, I am joining the campaign against the version of the neoCons now infesting Canadian politics. My USAmerican cousins will have to pick up the ball south of the border.
This isn't paranoia, it's just rational thinking trying to emerge from the woodwork.
Take away message? Capitalism = EVIL. My view = undecided, but inclined to agree that Military-Industrial-Agribusiness Mega-Corporations = EVIL at the very least.
Not being quite terminally depressed after the screening, I dug out a link to another film that I'd picked up on the recommendation of a friend:
The New American Century
I have to be careful to say that this is NOT a conspiracy theory film (at least, not in my opinion), since it does include bits that sound like it. However, it's an interesting film to watch & gives a decidedly different view from the usual. You'd never see this one on Faux News! And it's much more global in nature, trying to dig up some answers to the questions "what/who are the neo-cons, where did they come from & what the heck are they trying to do?"
I've never been one for conspiracy theories anyway, however as a sometime student of history I'm well aware that it is part of our culture to develop organizations that compete to be the ones who run things. At all levels. Thus, I find the whole ne0-con business not only mundane but all the more scary for being so.
Take away message? Neo-cons & all their works = EVIL. Well, d'oh. But it does no good to state the obvious, if nobody actually does anything about it. (Now I'm not only terminally depressed, I've got a pounding headache.)
What can be done, now that neo-con politicians, radical religionists & the military-industrial-agribusiness complex have all joined forces, and propagandized the unsuspecting (& unthinking) population at large? Sounds to me as if like-minded people from the other points of view need to be getting together & mobilizing our resources to prevent the juggernaut from crushing us all. (And all this without even thinking about environmental change or Gaia's revenge &c.)
Why? Because I still believe there are more people who don't want the kind of world the neo-cons are in the process of creating, especially not if it's run by them, than there are those who honestly do want it. But we need to be informed, & to inform others in a way that will get them both to take away the message & become more active against all that evil.
As a first step, I've locked up all the razor blades & sharp knives, at least until this headache goes away.
As a second step, I am joining the campaign against the version of the neoCons now infesting Canadian politics. My USAmerican cousins will have to pick up the ball south of the border.
This isn't paranoia, it's just rational thinking trying to emerge from the woodwork.
2009-09-21
fall is definitely here
What with the cooler nights (great for sleeping) & the leaves definitely turning colour, fall is here for sure. OK, it's also the equinox, but that's purely incidental. In fact this is about the only season here that times out with those traditional quarterly dates. Winter here comes a lot earlier & lasts a lot later than the winter solstice or vernal equinox, & spring is more of a wave in passing as we flip the switch to summer...at least, most years.
It's time to think about putting the garden to bed. Cool nights spell the end of most new growth, although some of the zucchinis are still setting fruit & the tomatilloes continue to ripen. It was a poor year for hot peppers, with all the rain & cool weather in July, almost a crop failure really. Beans, sugar snap peas, greens & onions did well, as did herbs in containers. I passed on tomatoes this year to give my poor little garden a rest (very hard to rotate spots for them, & they're susceptible to soil-borne pests & diseases) but will try again next year.
Every year we say we're only going to buy plants at the market or garden centre, but when the seed catalogues start to arrive in November I can't resist getting seeds to start in March & April. I'm sure it will be no different this year. Hard not to want to get a jump on the season, with our winters as long as they are.
These pics are from 2007, but are pretty typical of what we're starting to see:
It's my favourite time of the year!
It's time to think about putting the garden to bed. Cool nights spell the end of most new growth, although some of the zucchinis are still setting fruit & the tomatilloes continue to ripen. It was a poor year for hot peppers, with all the rain & cool weather in July, almost a crop failure really. Beans, sugar snap peas, greens & onions did well, as did herbs in containers. I passed on tomatoes this year to give my poor little garden a rest (very hard to rotate spots for them, & they're susceptible to soil-borne pests & diseases) but will try again next year.
Every year we say we're only going to buy plants at the market or garden centre, but when the seed catalogues start to arrive in November I can't resist getting seeds to start in March & April. I'm sure it will be no different this year. Hard not to want to get a jump on the season, with our winters as long as they are.
These pics are from 2007, but are pretty typical of what we're starting to see:
It's my favourite time of the year!
2009-09-17
film recommendations from TIFF'09
I just spent the past week at the Toronto International Film Festival. This is a really quick list of films I saw & my impressions.
You can look up the basic blurb on these & other films at http://tiff.net
Excellent:
Creation (aka Nature) -- bio of Charles Darwin during the period he was writing Origin of Species; picked up by Canadian distributor but USA distributors a bit cagey owing to fears of reaction from "religious right" (hey, it's all good publicity) -- this is great & I plan to see it again
The Road -- good adaptation of the post-apocalyptic Cormac McCarthy novel; Viggo Mortensen carries this one & does a great job; bleak of course but not totally unbearable; may be a bit difficult emotionally for parents of young children; even better on the second viewing
Chloe -- Atom Egoyan's latest & one of his best; widespread audience reaction at end was "holy shit!"; excellent cast, story, directing
Pretty Good:
Harry Brown -- Michael Caine is excellent as an elderly vigilante in the London projects; a bit too gory for my usual taste
Up In The Air -- not your usual Hollywood treatment; George Clooney & supporting cast are very good
Whip It -- coming of age meets roller derby; purely entertaining, nothing profound here; it's fun
The Invention of Lying -- great premise, well done, perhaps a little dragged out but good overall, especially if you enjoy Ricky Gervais
A Single Man -- it's obvious why Colin Firth won the acting accolade at Venice for this one; adapted from an Isherwood story
OK:
Bright Star -- bio of John Keats (he's dead by age 25 so you know this can't end well); Jane Campion can do better than this
Don't waste your money:
Leaves of Grass -- pure shite, don't bother; waste of a good cast; degenerates into something similar to Straw Dogs (remember that piece of crap?)
Like I said, a pretty good festival -- 9 of 10 films were OK or better. There was only one I'd have walked out of if I wasn't boxed in the middle of a row.
TIFF is a fun festival, one of the few truly accessible to the filmgoing public. While their ticketing system is truly arcane & frustrating with it, once you clear that hurdle the event itself is great. This was my 5th year attending with a friend, & I recommend it to anyone who loves films. The chance to hear director & cast in Q&A sessions is unique. There are plenty of associated free events & of course Toronto has a plethora of galleries, museums, restaurants &c to add to the general enjoyment.
Added to which we had great weather!
You can look up the basic blurb on these & other films at http://tiff.net
Excellent:
Creation (aka Nature) -- bio of Charles Darwin during the period he was writing Origin of Species; picked up by Canadian distributor but USA distributors a bit cagey owing to fears of reaction from "religious right" (hey, it's all good publicity) -- this is great & I plan to see it again
The Road -- good adaptation of the post-apocalyptic Cormac McCarthy novel; Viggo Mortensen carries this one & does a great job; bleak of course but not totally unbearable; may be a bit difficult emotionally for parents of young children; even better on the second viewing
Chloe -- Atom Egoyan's latest & one of his best; widespread audience reaction at end was "holy shit!"; excellent cast, story, directing
Pretty Good:
Harry Brown -- Michael Caine is excellent as an elderly vigilante in the London projects; a bit too gory for my usual taste
Up In The Air -- not your usual Hollywood treatment; George Clooney & supporting cast are very good
Whip It -- coming of age meets roller derby; purely entertaining, nothing profound here; it's fun
The Invention of Lying -- great premise, well done, perhaps a little dragged out but good overall, especially if you enjoy Ricky Gervais
A Single Man -- it's obvious why Colin Firth won the acting accolade at Venice for this one; adapted from an Isherwood story
OK:
Bright Star -- bio of John Keats (he's dead by age 25 so you know this can't end well); Jane Campion can do better than this
Don't waste your money:
Leaves of Grass -- pure shite, don't bother; waste of a good cast; degenerates into something similar to Straw Dogs (remember that piece of crap?)
Like I said, a pretty good festival -- 9 of 10 films were OK or better. There was only one I'd have walked out of if I wasn't boxed in the middle of a row.
TIFF is a fun festival, one of the few truly accessible to the filmgoing public. While their ticketing system is truly arcane & frustrating with it, once you clear that hurdle the event itself is great. This was my 5th year attending with a friend, & I recommend it to anyone who loves films. The chance to hear director & cast in Q&A sessions is unique. There are plenty of associated free events & of course Toronto has a plethora of galleries, museums, restaurants &c to add to the general enjoyment.
Added to which we had great weather!
2009-09-08
Recommended reading: James Lovelock
The writings of James Lovelock are of special relevance for anyone who has been feeling reassured by the media hype & political/corporate disinformation about "renewable" or "alternative" energy vs. nuclear power, or who still thinks the human species can continue to increase (or even renew) its population with disregard for the biosphere & the carrying capacity of the planet. But it's also worth more thought from everyone. And action, if one so desires after thinking about it.
There are others who write on the subjects of planetary ecology & climatology & our species' impacts on them, but the clearest, most succinct & well-balanced voice for a general audience is that of the multidisciplinary scientist James Lovelock. He is the originator of the Gaia theory (briefly, that the Earth is a living biosphere, with life as a whole exerting dynamic effects on climate & the composition of the atmosphere/oceans/soils, which systems are as yet poorly understood & subject to multiple feedbacks that may be beyond our means to actively control). You can find more about the man & his work at http://www.jameslovelock.org, http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock.
Now, Lovelock is human, capable of error as we all are. He's also quite the iconoclast, which in my view makes him more interesting, but he does have a tendency to argue the opposite of almost any commonly held view. Not that this necessarily makes his views incorrect. Frankly this is one of the things that makes him a good scientist. Unlike most iconoclasts, he does offer some possible, partial solutions, although not with much optimism. I don't happen to agree with everything he says because of my own opinions on certain subjects, & I'm sure other readers won't either. But his views on population & the benefits of nuclear power ring true to me, as do his remarks on the amount of misinformation & outright disinformation about so-called renewable energy sources.
In the short term, generation of electricity using nuclear power plants makes very good sense, & the arguments against it are mostly paper tigers. I'm disappointed that the Ontario provincial government has scrapped a planned new nuclear generating station, when one is so sorely needed. But then, politicians are really good at short-term thinking.
I also find it discouraging that so many individuals still believe it is their right to have as many children as they want, including the unwarranted use of in vitro methods resulting in multiple births. In my mind, it is the ultimate in selfishness to propagate our species unthinkingly. Bad enough for it to continue in parts of the world where women are repressed both socially & politically, & where education & access to cheap & effective birth control are both inadequate. For politicians & religious leaders in developed countries to condone or even encourage population increase is irresponsible when considered on a planetary basis. But then, politicians are really good at local thinking.
Until we can find ways to make long-term, planet-wide planning & action sufficiently attractive to those who make the decisions & write the cheques, it seems we are doomed to slide down the slippery slope into a Malthusian solution. It's not nice to think about, & we probably can't do much about it, but the signs are not good that we're even trying very hard. Maybe it's better this way -- our species has survived drastic reductions in population & survived through evolution in the past. Perhaps this time around the species will emerge more empathetic & sensible.
This is Lovelock's latest (& possibly final) book:
"The vanishing face of Gaia: A final warning"
Worthwhile reading, available everywhere, including your local public library. Go ahead, read it (it's not a lengthy book), I'm interested in other opinions & rational discussion.
Are we indeed "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? It may well be so. Perhaps it's selfish, but I'm very glad I have no children. It's not going to be a pretty world in 50 years. Maybe not even in 20. Or less.
There are others who write on the subjects of planetary ecology & climatology & our species' impacts on them, but the clearest, most succinct & well-balanced voice for a general audience is that of the multidisciplinary scientist James Lovelock. He is the originator of the Gaia theory (briefly, that the Earth is a living biosphere, with life as a whole exerting dynamic effects on climate & the composition of the atmosphere/oceans/soils, which systems are as yet poorly understood & subject to multiple feedbacks that may be beyond our means to actively control). You can find more about the man & his work at http://www.jameslovelock.org, http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock.
Now, Lovelock is human, capable of error as we all are. He's also quite the iconoclast, which in my view makes him more interesting, but he does have a tendency to argue the opposite of almost any commonly held view. Not that this necessarily makes his views incorrect. Frankly this is one of the things that makes him a good scientist. Unlike most iconoclasts, he does offer some possible, partial solutions, although not with much optimism. I don't happen to agree with everything he says because of my own opinions on certain subjects, & I'm sure other readers won't either. But his views on population & the benefits of nuclear power ring true to me, as do his remarks on the amount of misinformation & outright disinformation about so-called renewable energy sources.
In the short term, generation of electricity using nuclear power plants makes very good sense, & the arguments against it are mostly paper tigers. I'm disappointed that the Ontario provincial government has scrapped a planned new nuclear generating station, when one is so sorely needed. But then, politicians are really good at short-term thinking.
I also find it discouraging that so many individuals still believe it is their right to have as many children as they want, including the unwarranted use of in vitro methods resulting in multiple births. In my mind, it is the ultimate in selfishness to propagate our species unthinkingly. Bad enough for it to continue in parts of the world where women are repressed both socially & politically, & where education & access to cheap & effective birth control are both inadequate. For politicians & religious leaders in developed countries to condone or even encourage population increase is irresponsible when considered on a planetary basis. But then, politicians are really good at local thinking.
Until we can find ways to make long-term, planet-wide planning & action sufficiently attractive to those who make the decisions & write the cheques, it seems we are doomed to slide down the slippery slope into a Malthusian solution. It's not nice to think about, & we probably can't do much about it, but the signs are not good that we're even trying very hard. Maybe it's better this way -- our species has survived drastic reductions in population & survived through evolution in the past. Perhaps this time around the species will emerge more empathetic & sensible.
This is Lovelock's latest (& possibly final) book:
"The vanishing face of Gaia: A final warning"
Worthwhile reading, available everywhere, including your local public library. Go ahead, read it (it's not a lengthy book), I'm interested in other opinions & rational discussion.
Are we indeed "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? It may well be so. Perhaps it's selfish, but I'm very glad I have no children. It's not going to be a pretty world in 50 years. Maybe not even in 20. Or less.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
