Page or Reed? "Read" ergo sum

I used to babysit for this woman who had a friend who was having a baby who announced that it would be named Page (girl) or Reed (boy).

And speaking of books...

I've been reading Jose Saramago's "The Double" for the past few days. I don't usually read books that are translated from the original works because, while I appreciate the effort of some excellent translators to get great works out there to the masses, I just think that it doesn't work well to rework the original words of the author, even for such a noble cause. It's for this reason that I am ashamed to admit that I have not ever been through an entire book of Gabrielle Roy. I know, it's like blasphemy, eh? Get over it.

So maybe it was last year that I read the synopsis of Saramago's "All the Names" and picked it up. Naturally, I was attracted to the idea of working in the area of vital statistics, because it's closer to my own experience than many other working situations featured in novels. It was dark, definitely a difficult read, but overall a positive reading experience. I tried out "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" but it didn't work. The topic wasn't enough for me to get over the complete lack of appropriate punctuation, which I will not fault Saramago for, because of my lack of knowledge of Portugese and how it might be properly translated into English.

But now I'm onto "The Double" and perhaps rather ironically, it feels like a double of "All the Names". Creepy loner guy gets obsessed with something which takes over his life. For now I'm going with it...we'll see. Finished "Children of the Day" by Sandra Birdsell before this. I really liked "The Russlander" and this one was equally good, though I prefer "Russlander". Overall she's a great writer.

Far too many books on my shelves, and far too little time. I still have Stephen Lewis to devote some time to as well.

Race Against...Apathy and Frustration? And a Horse Race?

So I spent Friday night at the Massey Lectures at Convocation Hall--fuzzy pictures on my Flickr Photo page. Not to say that AIDS in Africa is the less important message, but I really feel like I needed to have my week horribilis capped off by spending time in the presence of a man who so passionately believes in his work, that's work in the sense of vocation or calling rather than the thing you do to put gas in the car. He clearly relishes being a vehicle for the underdogs, which is all the more remarkable given the abject disinterest there is in the world for the needs of the African continent. I was impressed by how deftly and respectfully he responded to questions as well, even from one woman who was clearly off her rocker a bit.

And then there was the undeniable and evident mutual respect between Michelle Landsberg, his wife, and himself. He credited her with much of his ideas and in turn she sat in the front row, rapt with attention for a text she had in all likelihood read several times.

So, AIDS and HIV are ravaging Africa and very little is being done about it. Very little beyond the promotional events that likely resulted in more downloads than donations. I guess the question is, is it enough to worry about it when Bono tells you to, or do you have a moral responsibility to know more? And is that moral responsibility worth the pain? I mean I just feel so overwhelmed about all that I should be responsible for lately, everything from Mojo's dental health to the education of women in the third world. Clearly they are not all equally important in the global sense. But they all matter to me. And I have a race against my time running out and my energy dipping low at the end of every day, every week. I don't know how he does it.

It's not enough, all around. But I did go and listen. And I will read the book. And from now on when I read about AIDS I'll have more information filed away for background with which to make informed decisions about my opinion. And according to Mr. Lewis, there will be a federal election in April....so, ya never know what will happen. Candidates on the hustings beware, you never know what I might hold you to account for.

It's political, in a bad way

Unicef takes note of the plight of children with AIDS in Africa, the UN sends out a news release, it gets coverage on CNN, and no mention of Stephen Lewis. Huh?

Interesting that this all happens the week that Mr. Lewis embarks on his cross-country Massey Lectures, speaking on, not surprisingly, AIDS in Africa.

Why appoint him as UN Envoy for AIDS in Africa and then not quote him somehow?

I suspect it's for the same reason that there's an ashtray right outside the front door when by-laws clearly prohibit it:

"It's political"

Any Given Sunday

Sundays are guilt days. Sunday is the day of the week where I thrash myself for not having gotten more done. It is the day I usually spend doing nothing and feeling consumed with guilt about it.

Sunday is like September, once a week. Friday night is like May, when everything seems possible.

Mushaboom

Here are a couple of good blogs I've been perusing lately:

Holler at your girl, k, specifically, check out the October 19 post called "My super sick bar-mitzvah". Good stuff.

The Chronicles of George. This is so funny I found myself stifling scary sounding laugh noises while in my cubicle on Friday.

I found the previous blog by linking through "Blunt Trauma: Life after the Cow-orker" (misspelling is the author's, on purpose). Same vein as George, not as haha funny, but equally amusing in it's own way.

Then of course there is Google Earth. Not a blog, but it totally rocks. Check out how you can read the words painted on the runways of McCarran Airport.

All for now...

Personal Responsibility and the McDonald's Cheeseburger: An Expository Essay

CNN reports that the US House of Representatives approved a bill that would stop people from suing fast food chains because of their obesity. It still needs to get approval in the Senate before it can become a law, and apparently that's not a sure thing, even though 20 states have similar legislation in place.

You're right, you can't legislate personal responsibility. But then how come smokers can get away with suing? Although Philip Morris is far from a golden boy, I didn't hear him (okay them) claiming that their cigarettes were healthy, just not addictive. And neither is a McDonald's cheeseburger. Right. Have you ever had one? And I used to work for self-righteous Mickey-Dees, so you would think if anything would turn me off them, that would be it.

But here's the wrench in the plan. If the BC government can sue Big Tobacco for recovery of the tax dollars being flushed down the neverending black hole toilet of smoking related health care costs, than why can't the same province (or another, or all of them) sue Big Fat (for lack of a better term) or Big Sugar (not the band, but the Hershey people, etc) for the same reason?

Now I realize they don't have public health care in the US, but they do have medicaid or something. Which means they could sue McDonald's for those costs. But they won't. You know why?

It's the same reason that Ontario isn't suing Big Tobacco like BC. It's Money.

Fast food is big bucks to the US government. And so is tobacco harvesting in Ontario. And I guess either health care costs related to tobacco/fat represent less $$ in this trade off, or they make for some votes, or party donations, or something.

Or it could just be that our collective overriding feeling on this is that it's a matter of personal responsibility. And I guess you think there's less fat and crap in McDonald's healthy menu Fruit and Walnut Salad than their Cheeseburger. Look again.

See you in the dark

Today I heard Diane Dupuy speak. She's the founder of the Famous PEOPLE Players. Her topic related to the thought du jour (quite literally), Character Community Day. October is for inclusiveness. How fitting.

You know how I love to hear about people who overcome obstacles, about the underdog coming out on top. This was one. Nearing the end, she commented on how values aren't taught to children as much as they should be, sometimes not even at all. In that absence, children learn values from TV. Or I guess, if you're not paying attention, they learn their values from us, but not the kind that we wanted to pass on.

Normally, having become politically aware in the Dan Quayle vs. Murphy Brown era, I cringe at hearing the word 'values'. I think of the conservative, holier-than-thou thought police who want you to go away if you think a woman's right to choose, is just that, her right. It's not inclusiveness, but exclusiveness.

But that's not what Diane meant. She was talking about values in the sense of having value for yourself, your talents, and what makes you special and unique in this world. She was also talking about having value for the talents and specialness of other people. Having compassion for their hurts and validating their needs. Being human.

One of the stories that she told that I found particularly good was her recollection of being in school and seeing one of her classmates have a seizure. The rest of the class just laughed and pointed at the kid. Alternatively, during one of her first puppet performances, ironically (or perhaps divinely) to a group of people who happened to have mental disabilities, the group ran to help on of their own having a seizure. She said she then thought to herself, who are the people that society really should be calling "retarded".

I love how she brought something into existence that validates and makes alive the dreams of a group of people who were once (and unfortunately still are) shunned. I love how when a person is doing the thing they are meant to be doing in this world, when they are able to fulfill their dream, all the other labels and dis-abilities just fall away. I guess that's why PEOPLE is capitalized.

“What you see is sensational...What you don’t see is inspirational”

Mojo sleeps after a long day...

f train

mmmmmm.....Shasha cookies.

So Jordis sang this song on Rockstar:INXS awhile ago and I never really caught the title at the time but I liked it and it sounded familiar in some weird way...

Then I'm napping this afternoon and it comes to me. It's the theme of CSI: NY. Apparently it was also featured in an episode of House. More on that in a link below.

It's Baba O'Riley. By the Who. And what throws me off completely, is that "Baba O'Riley" is some kind of inside joke because those words (arguably a name) do not appear in the lyrics at all. In fact one might find themselves calling it "Teenage Wasteland".

So now I find myself thinking about other songs that have a title with little apparent connection to the words of the song. And lo and behold, my beloved Wikipedia is helping me out again. Check it out, they have an entry called "List of songs with titles that do not appear in the lyrics". What did I do before the internet again? I can't remember.

Remember "59th Street Bridge Song"? Feelin' Groovy? I think I was near it when I was in NY in September. I remember telling Liz about it. But in true wiki style, the list differentiates between those titles that, while not lyrics of the song, nevertheless describe the song. They deem the Bridge to be one of these. I can see that.

But then there are those that are truly perplexing, especially without internet access. Such as Baba O'Riley. Such as "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35". But I don't understand why "Celebrity Skin" is on the list, because in my mind it clearly fits in better with Feelin' Groovy.

I remember the Prof I had in the semester of 1st year English. He said that sometimes it's better to start with a title so you don't get off track from where you're going. You can look a the top of the page and remember to keep to the point. Sometimes the title reveals what the author was going for. Sometimes the title reveals you to be confused. You're not alone.

What do you think of when I say the name "Jim Bob"?

Probably, you're thinking of a guy, maybe he lives in Arkansas, maybe he has 16 children with names that range from Jinger to Jedidiah.

How ironic that you'd be correct.

Mom delivers 16th child, thinking of more

Remember, there's nothing that says you have to live up to a sterotype. Break out of the mold. If God does bless you with another mouth to feed, why not name him "William Jefferson" or something? Or maybe you're Republicans. Interesting that the article doesn't mention that seeing as how Jim Bob previous ran for the US Senate.

Oh well, I guess you've gotta be famous for something.

UNICEF bombs Smurfland

If you click on the title of this post, you'll get the scoop on what I'm about to ramble on about.

It's been a long time since I've thought about the Smurfs. I had several of their records as a kid. Did you hear that? A kid. Sure, nasty, awful, terrible, tragic, horrific and indecent things happen everyday. Why don't people get that and do something about it? Maybe because seeing it is so common and so overdone to get ratings. I mean, would I feel shocked to see, oh, I don't know, some group of marauders dragging a dead US soldier through the streets? Probably not, I've seen it before. Many times in fact. I only recall knowing about it happening once, but I've seen that clip several times. It's harder and harder to get in touch with the part of myself that truly feels that sense of shock.

So come on, don't go and co-opt something inherently kiddie and make it scary. I think you might end up defeating your purpose. If the kids start seeing the Smurfs terrorized, maybe when it happens to us it won't seem as much of a human tragedy. Let kids by kids and sing along with Papa Smurf. Preserve the debilitation of their sense of shock until they're, I dunno, twelve maybe. Wait until the baby blues of Anderson Cooper are enough of a trade off for the nasty news of the world to make it seem okay.

You know, I had a button when I was little that said "Equal Rights For Smurfettes"...it was kinda weird that there was only that one girl.

Division Street, heading south

When I was in OAC Politics (my god, in 1992? 93?), we learned about the concept of a 'philosophical-operational dichotomy'. That's when you believe in freedom of speech but are against burning the flag. When you believe in the welfare state but want lower taxes. When you believe in the Catholic Church, but pop The Pill anyway. It's sort of about being able to believe in opposing ideas or concepts simultaneously.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about that 'Disney difference' lately. I've been wishing that I didn't have to live in the philosophical-operational dichotomy. I've been wishing that the philosophical would become operational.

Of course, I also believe in the sanctity and comfort of order. Operationally, as my living quarters and office drawers would suggest, I waver. I should sign a waiver.

And yet, I have to try.

It may be Monday, but...

Finally, there's a deal between the CBC and CMG (okay, tentative, in principle, whatever, I'll take it!). Thanks Tod for reporting it! I'm going to miss all the 'unplugged' and 'unlocked' media, but I look forward to real news on the CBC website again. And Andy Barrie! Woo hoo! The conspiracy theorists among us would point out that this probably has something to do with the imminent return of hockey and the 'political' problems associated with no Hockey Night in Canada, especially after a cancelled season as a result of labour distruption. These conspiracy theorists would be right. And I suspect Amber and Rabinovitch would admit it.

So now I wait. Until. Andy's. Back.

On an entirely unrelated note, Bush has nominated White House Counsel to the Supreme Court? Yes, it must be Monday, Dubya is screwing things up again. On the upside, I guess that's better than in Toronto, because if he worked there, he'd be nominating his tweaked out nephew or something.

Pope on a rope, and a sturdy one at that

Although usually a reference to the specific branch of Christianity, the word "catholic" has historically meant "universal" or "found everywhere". See google for the list. How ironic then that Catholic is not really catholic; not universal, not found everywhere--not even within what we call the Catholic Church.

Now that we in Canada have taken a step towards embracing gays as lesbians as people (just as God always intended), there is some discussion that Pope Benedict may refuse communion to our elected leader, perhaps even excommunicate him. Now kudos to Paul Martin, who is able to differentiate between church and state, and notes that he is a practicing Catholic. Although, one does have to ask how effective the Catholic Church is when one who identifies himself as 'practicing' can hold a simultaneously opposing view, but since I'm on the side of the angels here, I won't ask.

My bias here, in case you haven't alreday figured it out: I'm a recovering Catholic. I no longer consider myself Catholic.

But how fair is it for the Pope to target Paul Martin on this when he clearly didn't really have the balls to make the decision anyway and is following the lead of the Supreme Court. And how fair is it that the Supreme Court made it's decision, not only in light of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but also with clear indications of support, or at least indifference, from the people that make up this nation?

Excommunicate us all (or at least those of us who still care). It's hard enough to get good people interested in public office (and I'm by no means suggesting the current company falls into this catefgory), and now they must risk being forced into a crisis of faith? Do you have to be an agnostic to be a leader? Hmmm, wonder how this would play out for Muslims and Jews....

Thoughts on Grocery Shopping...

Why do some people insist on getting dressed up to go grocery shopping? At 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday there is no plausible reason you should be in a suit and heels/tie to get your tomatoes and french bread. If you work the night shift, surely you don't need to be that dressed up. If you have to work on Saturday, surely you should already be there.

I had occasion to be waiting in a car with the dog, sitting in front of the grocery store this morning. There was one woman, with a teensy shiny purse, a white overcoat, shiny heels and sunglasses who came out an fished around her tiny purse for way too long, to find her cell phone. Then she held it. And didn't use it. And then she started to walk off the step and into the parking lot. And when she got to the point where she had to stop to avoid being hit by a car backing out, she abruptly turned around and walked all the way back to the curb in front of the grocery store, still holding her phone. There are drugs for that honey.

Never did see what happened to her, but note that she did not have groceries. She was in the grocery store, but didn't buy anything. Window shopping? The grocery store does not seem like a logical place for this. It was a stand alone store, so really the only reason you should be going there is because you need something that you believe is sold there. Perhaps she was looking for new bedroom furniture and surprised it wasn't on display? This may not be as irrational as you think, because I think Loblaws sells the stuff. Did I mention it was Sobeys I've been talking about?