Not the actual beehive, of course. Think vuvuzelas, in quantity. A strange place to find inspiration? Maybe. They've certainly inspired complaints from World Cup viewers around the world. This is about a different, if related, kind of inspiration.
Mi esposo is embedded in the World Cup. When he isn't on the tennis court, he's glued to the HD screen, ruining his eyesight and hearing in one fell swoop. A Nederlander by birth, it's no mystery who he's backing, as is most of his family, apart from the Argentinian in-laws. I'm not a great afficionado of the game, but am quietly rooting for New Zealand, a rank underdog. What was it someone said? Oh yes, 3 pre-game hakas and they're toast!
But, I digress.
The World Cup is a very strange place for me to find inspiration, consisting of huge, generally mindless crowds and team sports which I typically find abhorrent in principle. However, football, or soccer as it's known here in the upper two thirds of North America, is the least obnoxiously violent team sport. Apart from the fans...
I used to listen to CBC Radio 2 a lot. (No, not another digression). Lately not so much, after they squished out most of the classical music, but I still have my alarm clock set to it, for when I bother with an alarm. Most of the drivel that issues from the mouth of the morning show host is utter garbage, but this morning he surprised me. I was only half awake, so can't quote him accurately, but I was sufficiently impressed by his comment that I wanted to share it.
So, to paraphrase Bob Mackowycz of Radio 2 Morning:
After the World Cup they should ship all the vuvuzelas to Toronto, for use by the protesters at the G8 meetings later this month. Perhaps, like international World Cup fans, the attendees will be so anxious for the noise to stop that they'll commit to some real action to address the needs of real people rather than the privileged few. Like seeking some realistic solutions for problems like world hunger, health of women & children, managing international debt, to name just a few.
Perhaps a faint hope, but worth a try!
2010-06-15
2010-06-09
I'm ashamed
that a minority government, voted for by only about 35% of the 65% of us who bothered to vote in the last federal election, are spending more than a billion of our tax dollars pandering to the G8, G20, and the slavering media hounds who lick their Armani shoes.
that religious-right-nutbar ideology is being used to justify withholding of funding from organizations from groups they don't approve of, including women, gays, working poor...and that they would withhold access to safe abortion as a component of international funding for the health of women and children.
What on earth has happened to Canada? We've become the laughing-stock of the world, that's what.
It's called c.R.a.p.
that religious-right-nutbar ideology is being used to justify withholding of funding from organizations from groups they don't approve of, including women, gays, working poor...and that they would withhold access to safe abortion as a component of international funding for the health of women and children.
What on earth has happened to Canada? We've become the laughing-stock of the world, that's what.
It's called c.R.a.p.
2010-05-19
Mixed bag of musings
We just got back from a visit to my family, down in the Niagara Peninsula. It's always lovely down there, but spring is one of the best times. As with so much of the rest of the province, spring has been very hasty this year, so flowers, shrubs and fruit trees have all bloomed in a short space of time. Most people seem to find the time to do a little gardening, and the whole area was in bloom. Lovely. Lately though, it seems there's always a diseased branch on that blooming shrub. Sometimes more than one.
While I'm a dedicated wine lover, and always enjoy visiting wineries & sampling their produce, I do miss the orchards that used to line the QEW from just past Stoney Creek right through to the Falls. These days, fruit trees are a liability, it seems, and have been yanked out in favour of lakeside condominium developments, strip malls, and vineyards. Ironically, the vineyards can go on much poorer soil than fruit trees require, but the saddest thing is that most of the prime agricultural land in that very special region has been lost to housing and industrial development. If urban planners had the foresight they claim, development below the Niagara Escarpment would have been forbidden, and the greater part of the development would have been on the top, in the southern part of the Peninsula. Now, every time we make that drive, there are more strip malls & less agricultural land. What a waste.
Much of the development is driven out of Toronto. When I was growing up, we thought of Toronto as "our" big city, and it was even known as "Toronto the Good". Even today, when it's more commonly known as Canada's 1st American city (Calgary's hard on its heels), you can find pockets of greenery and relative peace in unexpected corners of the city. We were there just last weekend, and enjoyed a ferry ride out to the Toronto Islands, where there is a small residential area among the parklands. A welcome relief from the downtown fug, and still within the means of most. There are only a few emergency vehicles allowed, so it's all walking or cycling. We went to a shapenote sing in an old wood-panelled church, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It took some of the bad taste of the last few weeks' political events out of our mouths.
Provincial politics in Ontario are currently focused on a new amalgamation of federal & provincial sales taxes, which is going to result in an increase in the cost of many essentials for people at all income levels. Not a popular move. However, it's one we can & will have to bear. Less easy to bear is some of the posturing at the federal level. Those who follow G8 and G20 news may have heard of the maternal health care initiative. Our Harpocritical minority Prime Minister and his vegetative colleagues only reluctantly agreed to entertain the issue of birth control as an essential component of the health of women & children, provided that abortion was "off the table". This thinly veiled push to impose their own narrow views on other countries when Canada is a country where a woman's right to choose has been well established has encouraged anti-abortion fanatics here to demonstrate to challenge Canadian women's right to choose. Many of our aid organizations who assist women have had their funding withdrawn, & those remaining appear to have been successfully intimidated into believing that if they speak out theirs will be cut too. I find this both sickening and unnerving. We have had numerous indications, including a wall of silence from the minority regime, that their political tastes are of the totalitarian kind. This should be a wake-up call for Canadians to put pressure on (a) the current regime for maintenance of our right to choose and (b) the other parties who must find some working coalition to depose these petty tyrants at the next opportunity. And some leadership that will have the balls to call for a vote of non-confidence to force an election before the current gang of thugs does any more damage to our culture.
And what am I doing, you may ask? At the moment, a lot of letter writing. Drafting petitions. Talking to people about the situation. Exercising my rights of free speech & choice, and my responsibility to speak out about issues that concern all of us. And, if it comes to it, my marching legs aren't what they used to be, but if necessary I'll rent a scooter!
I suppose our political affairs here don't seem like much with the lunatic fringe holding "tea parties" south of the border, the usual market paranoia in full swing, and most of the Gulf under a film of oil. They're pretty dang serious for us, though.
While I'm a dedicated wine lover, and always enjoy visiting wineries & sampling their produce, I do miss the orchards that used to line the QEW from just past Stoney Creek right through to the Falls. These days, fruit trees are a liability, it seems, and have been yanked out in favour of lakeside condominium developments, strip malls, and vineyards. Ironically, the vineyards can go on much poorer soil than fruit trees require, but the saddest thing is that most of the prime agricultural land in that very special region has been lost to housing and industrial development. If urban planners had the foresight they claim, development below the Niagara Escarpment would have been forbidden, and the greater part of the development would have been on the top, in the southern part of the Peninsula. Now, every time we make that drive, there are more strip malls & less agricultural land. What a waste.
Much of the development is driven out of Toronto. When I was growing up, we thought of Toronto as "our" big city, and it was even known as "Toronto the Good". Even today, when it's more commonly known as Canada's 1st American city (Calgary's hard on its heels), you can find pockets of greenery and relative peace in unexpected corners of the city. We were there just last weekend, and enjoyed a ferry ride out to the Toronto Islands, where there is a small residential area among the parklands. A welcome relief from the downtown fug, and still within the means of most. There are only a few emergency vehicles allowed, so it's all walking or cycling. We went to a shapenote sing in an old wood-panelled church, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. It took some of the bad taste of the last few weeks' political events out of our mouths.
Provincial politics in Ontario are currently focused on a new amalgamation of federal & provincial sales taxes, which is going to result in an increase in the cost of many essentials for people at all income levels. Not a popular move. However, it's one we can & will have to bear. Less easy to bear is some of the posturing at the federal level. Those who follow G8 and G20 news may have heard of the maternal health care initiative. Our Harpocritical minority Prime Minister and his vegetative colleagues only reluctantly agreed to entertain the issue of birth control as an essential component of the health of women & children, provided that abortion was "off the table". This thinly veiled push to impose their own narrow views on other countries when Canada is a country where a woman's right to choose has been well established has encouraged anti-abortion fanatics here to demonstrate to challenge Canadian women's right to choose. Many of our aid organizations who assist women have had their funding withdrawn, & those remaining appear to have been successfully intimidated into believing that if they speak out theirs will be cut too. I find this both sickening and unnerving. We have had numerous indications, including a wall of silence from the minority regime, that their political tastes are of the totalitarian kind. This should be a wake-up call for Canadians to put pressure on (a) the current regime for maintenance of our right to choose and (b) the other parties who must find some working coalition to depose these petty tyrants at the next opportunity. And some leadership that will have the balls to call for a vote of non-confidence to force an election before the current gang of thugs does any more damage to our culture.
And what am I doing, you may ask? At the moment, a lot of letter writing. Drafting petitions. Talking to people about the situation. Exercising my rights of free speech & choice, and my responsibility to speak out about issues that concern all of us. And, if it comes to it, my marching legs aren't what they used to be, but if necessary I'll rent a scooter!
I suppose our political affairs here don't seem like much with the lunatic fringe holding "tea parties" south of the border, the usual market paranoia in full swing, and most of the Gulf under a film of oil. They're pretty dang serious for us, though.
2010-05-06
Is it really THAT long ago?
I didn't realize that my last post here was actually LAST YEAR!
Well, there are some good reasons for that.
1. Spent 65 days travelling in New Zealand (will try to post some pics, sometime, don't hold your breath)
2. Got talked into a couple of consulting contracts that took more of my time than anticipated.
3. Tax season (yuck)
4. Starting my indoor garden so I'll have stuff to transplant outside later this month
5. General procrastination
All of the above, in effect! I simply haven't been doing much in the way of writing, other than keeping a trip journal, which I did the old-fashioned way, with pen & paper. Really haven't been on-line as much, either. However, I'm back now & plan to post semi-regularly, when I have something to say.
Missed the chatter here, but it's impossible to catch up nearly 5 months, so I'll just have to start fresh.
Well, there are some good reasons for that.
1. Spent 65 days travelling in New Zealand (will try to post some pics, sometime, don't hold your breath)
2. Got talked into a couple of consulting contracts that took more of my time than anticipated.
3. Tax season (yuck)
4. Starting my indoor garden so I'll have stuff to transplant outside later this month
5. General procrastination
All of the above, in effect! I simply haven't been doing much in the way of writing, other than keeping a trip journal, which I did the old-fashioned way, with pen & paper. Really haven't been on-line as much, either. However, I'm back now & plan to post semi-regularly, when I have something to say.
Missed the chatter here, but it's impossible to catch up nearly 5 months, so I'll just have to start fresh.
2009-12-15
Book Review: "The Disappearing Cemetery", by Tom Cordle
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!)
“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!
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