And one more honourable mention....

• Volunteering at Concerts in the Park with the M&M family.

Lise's Top Ten of 2006

10. Boston Pizza opened a store across the street from where I work! Woo hoo!

9. December 15 - Nancy and I see the Nathaniel Dett Chorale at the Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts. Mere words can't describe the experience...and it brings forth that Christmas spirit.

8. November 10 - Liz, Tasha and I see Wicked at the Canon Theatre. We laugh as Ga-linda screws up the lines during "Popular" - making it all the more fun.

7. Wayne Johnston releases the Custodian of Paradise, which is a sequel, or rather an expansion of the story he began in my favourite novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.

6. May's patio lunch with Mom, Dad, Alex, Paul and Julie. Nice visit, nice weather, yummy food. It's the simple things that make life a pleasure.

5. December 16 - Dinner with Claudine and Minard at the David Duncan House, only this time Chyra came along too.... "Chyra and Auntie Lise eat zucchini toGETHer!"

4. Saw Pinball Clemons speak at a work event in May. He is a truly genuine human being and an inspiration - which says a lot since I have no idea what 'running back' or 'combined yards' mean.

3. Woo hoo!!! Motorcycle ride with Aunt Julie through Lorette, Manitoba in July. First time I've ever been on one that was moving. I think I sat on one that was parked when I was 2.

2. Coaching Grandpa to write his memoirs by way of asking him questions and getting him to send me answers via snail mail. So far I've learned about his first car and his early memories of Winnipeg. As well as how they kept track of time in rural Manitoba when he was little.

1. New Job! Even if it may only be for one, maybe two years (though I continue to hope for more). I now work with a group of challenging and inspirational people at in a role that, although sometimes frustrating, feels meaningful and purposeful. Yay!

Some honourable mentions:

• Groundhogs at the Assiniboine Park Zoo. They are mesmerizingly entertaining.
• Knorr Frozen Entrees - Yum.
• I discovered a new bookstore - Books on the Hill in Richmond Hill.
• Target's dollar store section.
• Hearing Rick Haldenby talk about the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture's move to Cambridge, not once, but twice.
• Rugelach at Mom's Love Delicatessen and Bakery.
• My personal discovery of YouTube (okay, I'm a bit slow sometimes).
• Getting An Inconvenient Truth for Christmas...and already watching it twice.
• Dixie Chicks concert, Melissa Etheridge concert, George Stro...whatever in person, Jackie Richardson sings the national anthem at the Inaugural Meeting of Council in Richmond Hill.
• Anderson Cooper rings in 2006 on CNN.

Here's to all the great moments to come in 2007!

Mom wishes you a Merry Christmas

Another reason why life doesn't seem fair....

Monica Lewinsky just received her master's degree. From the London School of Economics. How nice that she got a chance to do something that not many women in this world have the opportunity to do. I mean go to graduate school at a prestiguous institution. What did you think I meant?

Somehow I just think that there were harder working, more ethical women out there who try to live lives of real purpose who deserved the opportunity more.

The Hour with George

Where is the Secret of Life?

Dems in, Rummy and K-Fed out

To quote supermodel Heidi Klum, "in the world of [politics] one day you're in, and the next day you're out".

Blasphemous though it may be, I kinda wanted the Republicans to squeak through with a bare win in yesterday's mid-term elections. Now the Democrats are going to fuck it all up by trying to impeach the president or something and end up losing in 2008. I guess that statement can really be summed up with "a pox on both your houses" because they both suck lately. I mean, yeah, go and try to extricate yourselves from Iraq after messing things up there. I'm sure the Iraqis care whether it was the Democrats or the Republicans who came marching in on the white horse to save the day, only to screw it up like they have something to compensate for, if ya know what I mean. Maybe it's not a just war, maybe it's just none of your business, but when you claimed to be able to fix it and only made it worse, you have to do something more morally inspiring than the classic cut and run.

I have this vague recollection of reading about how Rumsfeld didn't like being filmed during press conferences in front of a statue of a naked woman. I tried to find it again but the search came up with too many hits on inhumane treatment by American soldiers. Just before dinner I saw Nancy Pelosi on CNN with Wolf Blitzer and he congratulated her on being the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives. Then she started talking about how she was about to be a grandmother.

So, no art, and remember not to feel proud of your accomplishments.

God knows we have so much to be embarrassed about.

Variations on Lise

1. YOUR SPY NAME: (middle name and current street name)

Christine Emeline

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your dad’s side, your favorite candy)

Helen Ferrero Rocher. I actually like any kind of chocolate, but this one sounded the best.

3. YOUR RAP NAME (first initial of first name, first three or four letters of your last name)

L. Con.

4. YOUR GAMER TAG: (a favorite color, a favorite animal)

Green Dog. But it really doesn't matter because I'm not a gamer. Whatever that is.

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Christine Winnipeg

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother’s maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet’s Name)

Condirmoj

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your mom’s maiden name spelled backwards)

Enitsirhc Skrid

8. PORN STAR NAME: (first pet’s name, the street you grew up on)

Corey Greenmeadow

9. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The”, your favorite color, the automobile your dad drives)

The Green Astro. Ironically, it really is a green astro.

10. YOUR ACTION HERO NAME: (first name of the main character in the last film you watched, last food you ate)

Nemo Gingersnap. Yes, as far as I can remember, the last movie I watched in it's entirety was Finding Nemo.

"The Divas" - Old English Sheepdogs in beads

Kudos to the "Lone Beader". Click on the title of this post for an awesome piece of art. Wow, some people have *way* more patience than I do.

Mojo on YouTube

Click here.

Word

1. One book that changed your life. The Bible...not! That's a pretty high threshold, but I would say "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Suffering need not be pointless. You can choose to take something good from your worst moments. To a lesser extent, I could add Stephen Lewis' "Race Against Time", but not necessarily because of the content, which, although powerful, isn't as compelling as the passion of Lewis himself.

2. One book that you've read more than once. Well, obviously "Man's Search for Meaning", but also "The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" which made me a voracious reader again after I finished school and recovered from overexposure to words in books. I think I've reread many Mavis Gallant stories. There's probably many more that I can't think of right now.

3. One book that you would want on a deserted island. Geez. Um, well it would have to be something huge or I'd get bored really fast. How about the entire library? I suppose that if I had nothing but time, I might read the Bible. But I'd also want to read the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, etc. Definitely not "Don Quixote". I've been trying to read "The Rights Revolution" by Michael Ignatieff for years, but it's such a snooze...maybe the island would concentrate the mind.

4. One book that made you laugh. I went through an Erma Bombeck phase that brought forth many guffaws. Nowadays when I need a laugh I go for Augusten Burroughs. "Magical Thinking" is pretty good. You can also cheat and get a podcast on iTunes that's hilarious.

5. One book that made you cry. "The Russlander" by Sandra Birdsell.

6. One book that you wish had been written. The autobiographies of all my ancestors.

7. One book that you wish had never been written. Not a one. I think freedom of speech is that important. Although I've never read Mein Kampf I'm sure there's something we can learn from it.

8. One book that you are currently reading. "The Autobiography" by David Suzuki.

9. One book that you are meaning to read. Everything else. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross but I'm not in the right frame of mind yet. "The Custodian of Paradise" by Wayne Johnston - it just came out.

Continuum

Happy Turkey Day. I'm currently enjoying my second piece of Frozen Mocha Cheesecake after finishing the first season of Arrested Development on DVD. I think I like the show because it has that same narrator feel that I've loved about Sex and the City and some other show that I can't remember at this moment that I really love. This is what family togetherness does to you...makes your mind go numb.

Which brings me to thanksgiving...and John Mayer. He's my new *mwah* since I've been too tired to watch Anderson Cooper lately. When he (John Mayer) grew his hair longer and curlier and started to get a bit politic with the lyrics I fell in love. With the music, of course. Whatever. I really like "Waiting on the World to Change" - it feels like it's music that isn't too old, or too young, but just right. For me.

Shit, I just read his wikipedia bio and he's younger than me. Shit. It's just depressing that's all. I was thinking he was the same age, maybe slightly older. Somehow that would be more comforting when thinking about his lyrics. Which brings me to the point...almost.

So I remember a time when I enjoyed family gatherings much more than I do now and I think it's because I bore no burden of having charge of anything having to do with them then. Mom took care of picking people up at the airport, coordinating when different dishes would be ready...driving Grandpa to the corner store to get cigarettes. And even though Dad did the turkey and ham, and Alex took Grandpa to the convenience store....it's not that I don't trust them with these things, but it seems like I have to be more conscious of them, which is probably my own fault anyway...

But this afternoon it made me think of a lyric from Mayer's "Stop this Train", which I really like:

"One generation's length away from finding life out on my own"

By the way, the "be your own fridge" reference in the last post isn't as cryptic as some people seem to think. See the opening line of this post...as I finish my Frozen Mocha Cheesecake.

be your own fridge

be your own fridge
Originally uploaded by raysto.

Wish you were here

So I was listening to a friend talk about her son's first year at university and thinking about mine. I wasn't partying and stuff, because I'm the boring chick, but I did feel free. Now that I know what it's like to get paid biweekly, I'm not sure I could ever find that "free" again.

But anyway, at least now I'm doing stuff in the 8:30 to 4:30 prime time slot that isn't so incredibly suck-the-life-out-of-a-person dead boring. I feel like there's an academic aspect to what I do now. Which may not be the case in the traditional sense, but I'm learning and it's a challenge and I guess I equate that with school.

I still remember what I wore to university on my first day. I remember sitting on a concrete ledge outside university centre. I remember thinking that I wouldn't like English as a subject. I remember it was hot and I was wearing a hoody and I felt free. There was a string quartet in front of Fletcher Argue. I don't think the Robin's Donuts was there yet...

Balzac's Cafe - Sept. 3, 2006 @ 4:22 p.m.

Belated

So the thing is that the longer you put off doing something, the harder it becomes to climb that mountain again. It just seems taller and the expectations seem less surmountable.

And that's really my only excuse.

Now I'm online, loading pictures from my trip to the Distillery District with Nancy yesterday on flickr. We went because I have always wanted to go there and because they supposedly have a farmers' market every Sunday. For some reason, a farmers' market can mean something as little as a table and half of questionable produce. Actually, these guys did look legit, but it really wasn't anything to brag about. However, this might serve as an explanation to those of you looking at my pictures and finding the several shots of the outdoor handwashing station. You never know when this info could be useful...

I bought an awesome pair of bronzite earrings from Ku Jewelry.

It wasn't bad, but it would have been better if it was sunny. So much for summer....I'm wearing socks this very instant. I'm starting to think about my flannel sheets. September can be depressing.

For an interesting little read, check out Catherine's tale of Bill the Koala.

"Murder" or a "Lamentable Side Effect"

In a world with George W. thank god for Jon Stewart. Just saw a video of him skewering the hypocrisy of vetoing stem cell research because "every being counts" but estimating that the loss of life among Iraqis is "about 30,000 or thereabouts."

You can see it yourself here.

Canadian paper-clip blogger travels to Kipling, Sask., to seal house trade

A Canadian blogger who ambitiously aimed to swap a paper clip for a house arrived in Kipling, Sask., on Wednesday to complete the trade. Read more from CBC.

I actually sent this guy an email ( because I was bored, and because I believe in rewarding such a simple, yet brilliant initiative) and my god he actually responded! Okay, nothing huge, but I'm still impressed. Gosh, it says a lot about us Canucks, eh? Here's the message:

----- Original Message -----
From: kyle macdonald
To: Lise Conde
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 9:31 PM
Subject: Re: congrats!

thanks!

have fun,

kyle

Kyle MacDonald oneredpaperclip@gmail.com

On 7/8/06, Lise Conde <liseconde@sympatico.ca> wrote:

Just read an article about you on cbc online. Awesome story! Brilliant idea! Have fun in Kipling next week!

Lise

From paper clip to house, in 14 trades

"There's people all over the world that are saying that they have paper clips clipped to the top of their computer or on their desk or on their shirt and it proves that anything is possible and I think to a certain degree it's true."

...click here for more from CBC

And he's going to paint the house red! Check out the whole history at Kyle MacDonald's website, one red paperclip.

Bonne Fete du Canada!

Happy Canada Day - from the Newmarket Farmers' Market. I went there, then the Markham Farmers' Market (twice) ate my favourite Mediterreanean Lasagne from Boston Pizza in the backyard for lunch, had a long nap, cuddled with the dog, updated my iPod.... Not bad for such a great holiday. My favourite holiday really...no pressure involved.

Ciao and welcome to July.

Five million dollar contribution from provincial government kicks off Heart and Stroke Foundation CEO's solo kayak voyage for stroke research

"The goal of the Centre is to develop new strategies to repair the brain after injury, specifically after stroke," said Dr. Antoine Hakim, Scientific Director, Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery. "This funding will help ensure the Centre's researchers have access to the world-class infrastructure required to tackle the new frontier in stroke research and to continue making break-through discoveries and implementing treatments."

[...]

"I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of stroke in my family,"said Rocco Rossi. "This is why I decided to embark upon this journey. I will be kayaking my way to Ottawa almost 480 km away to raise money and awareness. The Centre has campuses in Ottawa and Toronto and so this trip is intended to symbolically connect the campuses.

"There are approximately 100,000 paddle strokes between here and Ottawa and that is a metaphor for our need to redouble our efforts to deal with this deadly and incapacitating illness. The Centre represents one of the best hopes to make a real difference and I am delighted and proud to be part of it."

Botox: A Documentary in Pictures

Since it's Stroke Month, I've put together a 'documentary' in pictures of my Mom's adventures with botox. Please be advised that no moms were permanently hurt in the making of this documentary, despite what she might tell you.

Botox is actually toxic, but it can be an excellent treatment for people with muscle problems as a result of stroke and acquired or traumatic brain injury. I've heard about it being used as a treatment for migraines, excessive sweating and, of course, crow's feet. I don't know about the benefits in those cases, but for muscle spasticity, I've seen it work wonders.

Special thanks to Mom, Dr. Cullen, Annabella, Mark (the doctor in training) and all the wonderful people at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

The world needs more physiatrists!

Stroke Economics 101

Boost stroke care to prevent disability, save billions: report

"Widespread access to stroke care clinics could prevent tens of thousands of strokes and save at least $8 billion in health-care costs over the next 20 years, doctors said Wednesday."

Read more...

I'm currently out of the office, sitting on the couch listening to the dog snore and watching Oprah... (and what do you do on your vacation?)

OUT OF OFFICE AUTO REPLY
BY JIM STALLARD
(thanks McSweeneys!)

I will be out of the office on travel from June 13 through June 21 and from June 23 through June 29, 2006.

I will have e-mail access through my laptop on June 17 from 5:36 a.m. to 5:39 a.m. (GMT), but will be using the bandwidth to download an A-ha ringtone.

My work cell phone (212-555-3285) is in a rented Camry at the bottom of the Delaware River. If you wish to fax me, I suggest allowing yourself ample time to emerge from the cryogenic state.

If this is an urgent matter, my assistant Kelli Browne can be found in the third stall of the 17th-floor women's room trying desperately to locate a fresh vein.

I will be back in the office June 22 from 3:00 a.m. to 4:30 a.m., trying to erase certain financial transactions from my hard drive. From June 22 through June 23, I will be checking my BlackBerry periodically to see whether company accountants have begun to pick up the trail.

On June 24, I will be receiving messages through a dead drop in Washington, D.C. Put masking tape on the front leg of the mailbox on the southwest corner of 37th and Upton Streets, N.W., to alert me, and then write the message on the back of Lincoln's head in the memorial.

From June 25 through June 28, I will be traveling to the homes of various friends, trying unsuccessfully to borrow money, except for June 27, when I will be attending a Bobby Vinton show in Branson, Missouri.

During the afternoon of June 29 through the morning of June 30, I will be crawling through a drainage pipe connecting Chula Vista with Tijuana and will not have good reception.

Beginning July 2, you should be able to reach me through the main switchboard at the minimum-security prison in Texarkana, Texas. My pager (212-555-2946) may be with me, depending on the thoroughness of the cavity search. It will probably take me a while to call back.

If my attorney comes through, I expect to be back in the office at 9 a.m. on July 5. Have a safe holiday!

Heard last Saturday night at the Honest Lawyer in the Ladies Washroom

There is a girl in New York City
Who calls herself the human trampoline
And sometimes when I'm falling, flying
Or tumbling in turmoil I say
Oh, so this is what she means

(Paul Simon "Graceland")

Stroke: Light or Mild? Hardly...

Tipping the Scales of Progress: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada releases new data and recommendations on tobacco, obesity and disease prevention

"While the Foundation has previously released statistical reports, this is the first edition that combines data and projections with policy recommendations for governments. "

Some of their more interesting recommendations:

• encourage mixed use developments that enable people to walk or bike to a variety of shops and services in their neighbourhoods.
• (tobacco control) elimination of deceptive labeling e.g., "light" and "mild"
• remove sales taxes from restaurant foods that are ‘healthy’
• remove sales taxes from ‘healthy’ food products such as single servings of bottled water, pre-packaged salads and fruit trays in retail stores

June is Stroke Month

Nurses target stroke and hypertension

"Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada, with more than 15,000 deaths every year attributable to this cause. It is also one of the most costly medical conditions, costing the Canadian economy $2.7 billion annually (Health Canada, 1997). (...) Risk factors include obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, and the lack of regular physical activity."

Heart and Stroke Foundation: Finding Answers for Life

"Over time high blood pressure can damage blood vessel walls causing scarring that promotes the build-up of fatty plaque, which can narrow and eventually block arteries. It also strains the heart and eventually weakens it. Very high blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the brain to burst – resulting in a stroke."

Do you know the five warning signs of a stroke?

Rob's Story: A Wild Ride

bowl of heaven

100 paper stars
Originally uploaded by Vaguely Artistic.

This reminds me of people I went to elementary and high school with who used to be able to make these things out of the ends of the paper from dot matrix printers. Remember dot matrix printers? But the coloured stars make for a much prettier picture.

You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out

Driving to the chiropractor today, on the way home from work, I got a little sick of the guy subbing for Matt Galloway on CBC and flipped to another station that was playing "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis. God I loved that CD, What's the Story Morning Glory? when I was in university. Those were some songs good songs to sing at the top of your lungs as you pace back and forth on the worn down hardwood waiting for inspiration to strike. Wonder where I put that CD. Wonder if I still have it.

So once upon a time I saw this thing on the National Newsmagazine where Stuart McLean set up shop in some small town fair and offered a nickel for people to tell him a story. Ever since then I feel like that's what I would do with my life if nothing else mattered. In real life you can do a something like it, but there's always the pressure to produce something afterward. Still it has it's pleasures. Lucky for me, I was working on Wednesday morning and had a moment where I thought I was actually doing this very little dream of mine. The boundaries of my job made me hold back a bit--I mean there's only so much info I need to know for this job. But then again, part of what I do is to make connections so I guess it's legit. I just got to spend about 45 minutes asking this guy to tell me whatever life stories he felt like sharing. People like to talk about themselves. Wish we each had more time to listen.

Which reminds me of Radical Careering, a book a picked up while out with Nancy this past weekend. It has a new term-- "The Age of Intensity", defined as:

"The dawning era in which experiences become our most precious commodity. As life compresses around us, our experiences become increasingly finite, and we search for ways to make the most of every moment."

Cheap as it may sound, the most of this moment is contained in the season finale of CSI. All for now.

Another item to consider for the "It's amazing how normal we all turned out to be" file

Cookie Monster searches deep within himself and asks: Is me really a monster?

Counting myself in

No, today is not census day, but it is the day that I completed the census. A bit early. I may be jinxing it. Saying I may be jinxing it may be jinxing it.

Last Thursday we had the employee annual general meeting at work at the keynote speaker was Pinball Clemons. Here is the sum total of what I knew about him before walking into the room:

He has something to do with the Argonauts.
He's short.

I still don't know much more than that, and yet I do know what differentiates him from other rah-rah motivational speakers I've heard before: he actually may be real. I mean he just can't be that good of an actor. And I don't know that he cares enough about what other people think to bother trying to act. "We leave hope to the other team," he says. "We decide to win." Yes, it's a powerful thing to believe in yourself enough to realize that you simply need to decide to make your life count in order for it to happen.

To bad it's such a terrifying decision. And yet it seems all so simple I wonder why it's so scary.

This year I've already discovered that I'm an extrovert after years of believing I was an introvert.

What's next?

Once worked with a guy who named his cat "Dubya". Poor creature. Of course I mean the cat.

Lake Woe-is-me, suprisingly found in Canada

Took a ride up to Musselman's Lake with Nancy last night to check out a house I saw a listing for that's in the realm of something I might be able to afford. At least in the financial sense. I'm not sure if my sanity could take it since it looks to be a really great place in the summer and a hellhole in the winter. And it's a bit too outdoorsy for me. And it looks like it requires some of that "home improvement" crap that not only do I know very little about, but quite frankly care little to know about at all. I like the whimsical feeling there but I just don't think it's for me 24/7. It would make a nice 2nd property. HAHA. And maybe one day I'll be able to afford such a thing.

The whole house buying thing has been on my mind lately because I think that era of my life is fast approaching and I like to be prepared for these things...financially yes, but also emotionally, which really has a lot to do with finances anyway because money can be such an emotional thing. I don't know that I could ever have enough money to truly feel secure, so I'm left to manage my sense of security with something less that perfection, which is completely unattainable in all things anyway.

Buying a house is really about buying into a lifestyle. I can see myself in the Musselman's lake lifestyle, but only in the summer. I can see myself having a wicked lifestyle in the summer, but I hate winter, which may be the heart of the matter. And it's not about not being able to ski. Winter is pretty in Robert Frost's poems but when you have to live in it, it's stifling and oppressive. And this coming from a Canadian. Because what is Canada anyway, but the ultimate paradox.

Maybe the world is round after all...

I was just listing to CBC Radio News and heard that the Vatican may now be considering a reversal of the ban on condoms, but only in the case of preventing AIDS/HIV transmission. Here's the online article.

So it sounds like they're moving forward, but really, only very incrementally. And normally I don't totally mind incrementalism, but this is minutiae at the speed of molasses.

Still, it's kind of odd considering what we all thought John Ratzinger would be as Pope.

I know just because everyone does something doesn't make that something right, so the argument that most Canadian Catholics completely ignore Vatican directives in this area doesn't wash. And yet, the Church does not exist in a vacuum. In fact, I think the Church is the people, right? What about overpopulation and the continual depletion of non-renewable resources? What about starvation? What about the dis-value placed on human life when every child is not a wanted child?

Time for a happy moment again...

Happy day, it's the 21st, my lucky number. And Miriam Toews won Canada Reads. And K got the job. And it's Friday. And if all isn't completely right with the world, at least there are some good things to make you smile.

My Uncle Henry

It is with great sorrow that the family of Dr. Henry Theodore Dirks announces his sudden death, on Tuesday, April 11, 2006. He was 76 years old.

Predeceased by his parents, Alexander and Agnes Dirks; he will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by his wife Elizabeth (Betty); his two daughters, Mary Husband and Janet Dirks; sons-in-law, Dr. Jeff Husband and Peter Hogg; and three grandchildren, Samantha, Jillian and David Husband. He is also survived by his seven siblings, Victor (Margaret Barton), Neil (Laurette), Elisabeth, Irene, John (Fay), Rosemarie (Arnold Thiessen) and Marguerite (Rudolf Dyke).

Born in Arnaud, MB, Henry was the fifth of eight children. In his teen years the family moved to North Kildonan. Upon graduation from United College Collegiate, Henry received a BSc from the University of Manitoba and an MA from the University of Toronto. Henry felt a calling to pursue medicine and received an MD in 1959 (University of Manitoba). He was an extremely caring and devoted family practitioner, serving the Kildonan community until formally retiring at age 75. While serving at Concordia Hospital, Henry headed the Emergency Department and then became Medical Director. In addition, he was medical examiner for The Province of Manitoba for many years. In 2000 he was awarded the Martin Bergen Award for longstanding contributions to the community served by Concordia Hospital.

Henry married Elizabeth Lewicki whom he met and fell in love with at the University of Manitoba. Together they shared 48 years of happiness, enjoying travel, gardening, books, art, history and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. They also shared a deep Christian Faith. Henry was an active member of Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church for more than 40 years. Last year, Henry realized his lifetime dream by visiting Israel.

A man who was generous to the core, Henry spent a lifetime looking after people, devoted to alleviating their suffering. He was much loved and will be truly missed. In lieu of flowers, donations in Henry's memory may be made to the Mennonite Benevolent Society, 1045 Concordia, Winnipeg, MB R2K 3S7 or the Jewish National Fund: Plant Trees in Israel, 1-800-542-TREE (8733). Interment will take place on Thursday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. at Brookside Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 15 at Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church, 1771 Pembina Hwy.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God. For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10

FRIENDS FUNERAL SERVICE 2146 Main Street 339-5555.

If there's another world, he lives in bliss;

If there is none, he made the best of this.

-Robert Burns-

It's that overdeveloped left wing again...

I admit that I gave up the West Wing there for awhile, but I'm back on it with a vengeance now. And just in time for it to end, which figures. Much as the American right-wing likes to talk of liberal media bias and include the West Wing on the list, I have to say it's always felt more real to me that reality. Politicians seem to work so hard to make things look seamless and intended on the outside. It was nice to see that on the inside it isn't always so pretty. I loved how CJ and Josh and Toby regularly just fell apart emotionally at dealing with the chasm between what they felt is right and what was in the best interest of the country. That's reality. Not the regular crap about "choosing" to leave politics to "spend more time with the family." Or, "of course we knew that we would be in Iraq for a long time." I mean, I think the "end" of combat in Iraq was declared a long time ago. Wishful thinking is fiction, you know. And how can that be more real than finding a way to help the "Qumari" women?

I hear that the writers intended to make Vinick the winner until Leo's real life John Spencer passed away a few months ago. Can't leave Santos with a double whammy. And while that's true, I don't for a minute believe that they actually would have had Vinick win. Much as they tried, and at times succeeded, in making Republicans as interesting as their Democrat counterparts with Alan Alda, it wouldn't have worked. I don't think I'm going out on a limb here in saying that most of the West Wing's viewership was at least centrist, if not outrightly left leaning. Not only would a Republican win wipe out most of the cast, but it probably would have certainly started the gravedigging for the show which, in my guess, would have only lasted another season at best.

While admitting to that liberal bias that I think the show had, and that I agree with said bias, I have to say it was really nice seeing young, smart, civic-minded people debating the issues, probably in a more meaningful way than one could see anywhere else.

Further to our conversation, Nancy...

From "No Kidding", by Rick Moody, Real Simple Magazine, April 2006:

"...I understand these arguments, these disinclinations, I understand my friends who say that they will not reproduce, and I think their decision is fine, and appropriate, and some days I even think back on that time in my life with a warm nostalgia, the time when I had few complications and knew a lot less about death."

Outfront's random thought for today

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

- Nelson Mandela

I would so love to be on Outfront. Now I just have to figure out which story to tell...

reason no. 531 why I love the internet

Quick! Vote for Pomme and Kelly on Google Idol. Or at least watch their lip-synch "Respect" video. You can find out more about their rise to fame on their website.

My dearest Uncle Screwtape...

How about cutting off the head to spite (despite of) the nation

As usual, I've been catching up on American politics with Anderson Cooper. There have been some CNN stories of late on how Bush needs to "change up the team", to "bring on some fresh blood", etc. Here's the online article.

All this talk reminds me of when I was a big follower of baseball. How, when things were going bad for the team, the owner would often fire the manager. At the time I remember thinking this was stupid, because if the team isn't winning it's because the players are playing bad, not the manager. Aha, that was naive little me. Now I know what good leadership can bring to the table--now I know that it can make the table that brings everyone together in the first place.

So when the Bush administration makes a few mis-cues (if you're a Republican) or permanent fatal errors (if you're a Democrat computer nerd), I think we also need to ask ourselves: "Maybe it's not the team, maybe it's the leader?". I know, I know, that's not how things work in American politics because when you want 'em, you get 'em for four years. And then there's that nasty bit about how the cabinet is unelected (insert shining moment for Canadian politics here--they don't come that often lately).

But now let's ask the real question. Say Bush fires his entire cabinet and all his advisors and hires a brand spanking new set of Republican guard (oops, did I use that term?). Okay, now things are still bad. What does that say about Bush's leadership?

On the other hand, say it turns out that the new guard manages to get the boat afloat again. What does that say about Bush's leadership?

Who runs the country while Dick Cheney is out hunting anyway?

Lise-bert in Cubby-land

I have spent far too much of the last 7 (almost 8) years of my life in a cubicle. I believe they are evil. Which is why I clicked on this CNN article immediately after reading the headline.

I guess it's great that someone thought it would be better than totally open (and ergonomic, but where did that idea go?), I mean it is nice to have a modicum of privacy and some place to pin up my dog's picture. But the bland coloured fabric walls (often quite dirty looking) do not inspire me by any means. And they don't come close to muffling your conversations. Which means that anything you might legitimately want to keep private you are forced to whisper like a teenager when the only phone that mom and dad let you talk on is in the kitchen. And worse yet, they force you to curb your habits of inspiration to the lowest common denominator. Everyone needs to be sooo quiet. What I wouldn't do to be able to close the door once in awhile and listen to some INXS or Bebel Gilberto to get back on track with my work day.

*Argh* this must be what Les Nessman felt like.

And what's even worse it that the damn things breed until there's no more room for a lunchroom, no meeting rooms at all, which means that when you do meet you either have to keep a super quiet conversation going in your office to get to the point, or, if you're lucky enough to both be of the same gender, or let's be realistic, both be women, you can combine a pee break with a crucial step in the decision making process.

Say, how would you feel about the new vendor....and do you have any toilet paper over there?

if you're trying to hack my computer, here are some ideas (just kidding, but you already knew that didn't you?)

Today at work I spent some time trying to find a definition of "sheweth". I had a pretty good idea based on the context, but I was looking for something a bit more definitive. No luck on the net. In face one website, after admitting it had no definition for such a word, suggested I might have meant Edward Shevardnadze, former foreign minister of the equally former Soviet Union (though I think he was also a president, Georgia maybe). Anyway, the reason I wanted to know is so that I could replace it with a word that people wouldn't have to look up to get.

Rather ironically, it being an old word and all, I hard to turn to my trusty dictionary--yes an actual book, which tells me that "shew" is an archaic for "show", but I guess not that archaic because it made me think of Ed Sullivan or maybe just an impression of him done by Johnny Carson or something.

And then, weirdly enough, just as I got bored and decided to surf (wouldn't you?), I came across this article on CNN about resistance to removing unused words from the dictionary. Good thing I guess otherwise we'd never understand what Ed Sullivan was talking about before. But then again, you practically need a translator for Shakespeare anyway.

But back to the dictionary...I noticed that shibboleth was a couple of words below shew and it made me think of that excellent episode of the West Wing, which was how I learned with shibboleth meant. I really like that word. Say it three times fast: shibboleth, shibboleth, shibboleth.

*from my dictionary: Hebrew shibboleth stream: used as a password by the Gileadites to distinguish the fleeing Ephraimites, because they could not pronounce sh (Judges 12: 4-6)

Driving Home on Friday

Please ignore my dirty windshield.

So many possible punchlines...but I have some class so I won't use any

So I'm reading CNN on the web this morning and I see that Anna Nicole Smith's quest for her dead octogenarian husband's fortune continues, this time before the Supreme Court in the US.

That's America for you.

And it appears that it's not even her real legal name, which is Vickie Lynn Marshall. Why is Anna Nicole that much better? They both sound like, oops, I'll keep that to myself since if memory serves, I know someone who has a relative with that name. *nevermind*

But the kicker is this priceless line, courtesy, once again, of CNN:

"The Bush administration is siding with Smith as a technical matter, arguing that the justices should protect federal court jurisdiction in such disputes."

Did you read that? George Bush is siding with Anna Nicole Smith.

That's America for you.

Only thing to do is go over the moon!

Yesterday afternoon Mom and I watched Rent on DVD. I love Rent. Probably not as much as Liz, but I certainly agree that it's a great story, with great music and a wonderful message, which I've written about here earlier. I had trouble keeping Mom awake watching it...I kept hollering over to her to watch my favourite part (Santa Fe) and Liz's (La Vie Boheme), and even though she was only here and there with it for most of the movie, in the end I had to get her a kleenex box. Yes, it's sad, but in the end, and I'm sure Liz would agree, it's a good cry, man. And the good cry is always worth it. Even the fourth time around (for me at least).

So I was thinking about Rent this morning, as well as my conversation with Liz yesterday, and my mochaccino and ice cream with Nancy last night and thinking about how incredibly flipping lucky I am to have such great friends. I mean, there I was a few months back telling Liz about how I was interested in seeing a bunch of plasticized dead bodies at the Science Centre and how many people would immediately say "COOL" to that? Of course, as you can see from the previous post, we went. And how great is it to fantasize with her about how much better things would be if she and I were in charge of things. Okay, I know it's not really that simple, but it always makes me feel so much better when we go down that road. And it was so great to tell Nancy about my crazy life last night and have her laugh out loud with me at all the ridiculous things, tease me about the silly things and sympathize with me about the strange and scary things.

I guess what I'm saying is that good friends can TOTALLY keep you sane. So thanks to Liz and Nancy for finishing my sentences, gently pushing me back in line when I need it and keeping me from drowning in the deep end on a regular basis. And my sympathies to those of you out there who don't have such great people in your lives yet.

vivir para siempre

Went to see the Bodyworlds exhibit at the Science Centre with Liz on Friday. I'd wanted to go see it since it came last fall, but in true Lise fashion I put it off, and put it off...

But the good news is that it was well worth it. The more I think about having seen it, the better I feel about having gone. Bodyworlds is an exhibit of actual human bodies (or parts thereof) preserved through a process called plastination that allows them to be molded into specific shapes and viewed.

It's not gross at all, just fascinating. I guess I could see how some people might find it gross, but it's really not for those of us CSI-loving TLC kinda freaks.

So Alex asked me if I'd want my body donated to this program. Sorry, but the answer is no. I think if there's something in me that's useful to someone else, like my kidneys, or heart, or whatever, then donating my body to this guy is just as bad as burying me whole. I guess if it's not useful, or at least the leftover bits, yeah sure, this guy can have them.

Still, I think there is a lot of value in exposing people to the inner science of their bodies. I for one don't think too much about it...far less than I probably should really. By contrast, it also makes you think about how the body really isn't the thing that makes you you. In the end, it really is just a pile of extraneous stuff, isn't it?

Nature v. Nurture

I'm waiting for my clothes to dry so I can get into my pj's and snuggle in to watch some Anderson Cooper and in surfing random blogs I'm coming across a lot of people who say they are from Winnipeg. I suppose this could have something to do with 'cookies' (I wouldn't put it past "them"), but I prefer to believe that a lot of good and smart people come from Winnipeg.

We have only three living plants in this house left. Actually, two arrived for Christmas and I am desperately trying to hang on to them. I started out by typing "living things" and then I realized how complicated it could get writing that while having to account for the people who live here, the people who sometimes live here, my baby Moj, and well, lets be frank, the odd bug or vermin that I have yet to come across (thankfully?) and that squirrel who stayed for a bit back in January.

But the plants, yes. And this very thing may be my problem. You have to be some hardy foliage to survive here. I mean I killed the rubber tree plant after Mom wasn't taking care of it anymore. And now the two whatchimacallit Christmas plants, oh yeah, pointsettias, are mostly just sticks and dead leaves. Of course who's bright idea was it to make a plant that clearly is more suited to a warm desert like environment a Christmas tradition. Well, I guess it makes sense if your plan is to keep it indoors over Christmas. And desert like conditions is what I treat them to when I forget all about them for days on end.

I'm trying okay! And besides, Lisa says I won't be good at this plant stuff until I'm older. You have to grow into these things.

And I'd also like to point out that the dog is FINE and well watered and fed.

If only those fucking pointsettias could be a bit more self-sufficient and bark when then need something.

Be vewy vewy quiet, we're hunting I-wackies

Okay, Liz tipped me off to this yesterday...apparently the Veep shot someone. It would be funny if it wasn't so scary. On the other hand... ya gotta laugh man! I admit I shamelessly took the title of this post from this article. hehe.

But if I did, well really, what's it to ya?

It's Sunday, and I've had Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah on my mind, except in my mind it's sung by kd lang instead.

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Road to Nowhere?

I will not be complaining about snow anymore. Okay I will, but I'll feel guilty about it. Still, if you buy a house in a subdivision called "Road to Nowhere" perhaps you should have seen it coming?

So, Canadian politics has proven yet again that plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. There's Stephen Harper, appointing a guy to the Senate, accepting a maverick MP under his right wing and even giving a uniligual anglo the francophonie portfolio.

I think it's fair to say that I feel disappointed in the complete lack of leadership from every front. Consistency people! It's difficult, I know, but you have to get it together better.

Thank god!

Because it's been so useful since then....

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Of course I feel quite proud of myself for getting a perfect score, but in reality I remember nothing of 8th grade science and close to 100% of anything Anderson Cooper says...

It's so last year...

Good song. Not sure it fits exactly, but it's better than some of the options.

Your 2005 Song Is

Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson "But since you've been gone I can breathe for the first time I'm so moving on" In 2005, you moved on.

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

360

Heaven! Anderson Cooper has a blog. Well it's sort of his blog, it's for his show really, which means other people associated with the show also post to it. But hey, I'll take what I can get *mwah*. Shit, I missed him on Oprah yesterday. If I'd actually made it out of work early like I planned I might have seen him.

I've spent some time back with The National this week and stumbled on a doc about Dr. Ranjit Chandra, formerly associated with Memorial University and apparently quite a spectacular cheat. And there was MUN washing it's hands of the whole problem. It's the journals that published his whimsical imaginations about immunization and nutrition in infants that are responsible to prove his theory wrong. Even though there's a mountain of evidence that, according to the CBC and his former nurse assistant, are patently untrue.

So, you might think that MUN is equally lenient on academic dishonesty when it comes to students. Come one, come all, to Memorial and copy your friends papers word for word, we don't care, you'll get a degree all the same?

What? They don't condone student plagiarism? Sounds like a double standard.... Oh wait, maybe they get more $$ from the researchers than they can bleed from the students. That explains it!

Integrity...

...is a hallmark of a character community...is something you should think about a lot if you work in the public sector...

I heard on CBC this morning that Coretta Scott King has died. I saw her once, in a church in downtown Toronto, it was probably about 1990 or 1991. I have to admit I had very little idea of who she was at the time. And believe it or not, I had never heard "We shall overcome" until I sang it that day. Since then I've watched the entire "I have a dream speech" and become teary thinking about how things were, and how things might have been if not for the restraint of people like Martin Luther King, and the strength lent to him by the people he trusted as his advisors.

And speaking of personal integrity...there goes Catherine, off to make it happen for herself...

fall down go boom

I once met* Paul Martin...

*if met means sat in the back of a big lecture hall and shook his hand after a speech

...It was when I was in university, maybe 1994 or 95. I don't remember much about what he said, but I'm thinking the word deficit figured prominently. I also remember noting how all the Young Liberals around him in the pulpit were wearing either red pantsuits or red ties. The new uniform.

I later had this dream where I was sitting on an ugly shag carpet next to Paul Martin who was sitting in a completely unfashionable chair watching a 70s type television set. He turned to me and said "Why don't they understand?". As people are wont to do with dreams, I always wondered if this meant anything about my life. Now that he's on the outs, confirmed by the only poll that really matters, I wonder again.

I think maybe it's about the seductive nature of politics. I think most people go into the biz expecting to change the world. It doesn't really work that way. I guess as in life you make the best decisions you can with what you have at the time. As in life it never seems to be enough.

And now Stephen Harper is PM. Ironically, I once wrote a story, I think it was called "A Privy Council" and while mapping out the story line I guessed he was Reform's best bet for PM (this was around the same time as the Martin event, mentioned above). Can't remember the year I guessed him at...it wasn't part of the story, just a vehicle to understand things in my mind before committing them to paper. I do think it was a good story too, but it could never fly now, in the post-9/11 era, since in it, the PM gets killed while in Parliament.

Anyway, I think I somehow thought that if Harper won, his party would have become a lot more centrist than they are, or they seem to be, or I have been led to believe.

Have to keep an open mind about these things. I've gotta find that story again...

Commercial Intent

That last one was just a test for Catherine. I never got around to deleting it before, and since I haven't gotten to it yet....well, it'll stay.

So the Conservative Party has an ad for BC only that superimposes Jack Layton's moustache on regular people while they say things like "I want higher gas prices". You can see it from here, just look for the one called "Jack Talk".

Aside from the fact that I don't think it's true, what they say about the NDP that is (and it's also not true what "they" say, at least to a lesser extent, about the Conservatives and the Liberals), where are the people crying out against this open discrimination against the mustachioed?!?!

I said "to a lesser extent" in parentheses up there because I'm a little weary when the Conservatives don't let some of their candidates see the light of day. One would suppose it's because under the light of day, and closer examination, they are just not so pretty and "evolved" as they might seem. Yes, being an evangelical Christian is a protected Charter right, but people have the right to know how you would vote about things. And hiding like that is, well, just plain suspicious. And it's okay to let him about because democracy may be sexy but it's so not pretty sometimes, but that's kinda what makes it sexy. It's a mess. That's what makes it what it is.

As for the Liberals, well, the attack ads against them talk about being under investigation for violating the trust of Canadians. I think that might be true, eh?

I noticed that someone has added a new sign among the mountain of others at a particular intersection on my way to work. It's a lovely coloured paper, hand made job that says simply "Apathetic". Funny thing is I don't think one could spend time making such a sign if one were truly apathetic. But it's entertaining.

Blah Blah Blah

This is test of the emergency broadcast system.

Do they really believe this bullshit?

I think the answer is no, but the problem is that you might.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Toronto Star is aiding and abetting the Liberal Party. And if you've read any of my previous posts, you know I'm saying this as a person with a mightily overdeveloped left wing. What I'm saying is that it would be easier for me to support my arguments if I argued that the Star wasn't biased.

But I'm beginning to think that's just bullshit.

Today's headline is "Tory Win = Swift Change". When the article continues on page 4, the headline is "Tory plan 'incompetent:' Martin". What made them choose to put one on the front page, and one on page 4? I think if I wanted to sway soft Tory voters I'd do what they did; it's like saying "Attention People: Things will change big time and you know how you hate change". But will things really change? I mean history hasn't really indicated that this is the case. If the Liberals promised to ditch the GST, and they didn't, will the Conservatives really lower the GST after they're elected? And I'm not even really sure that I care that much at this point.

So the truth is that I don't really want a Conservative government. Not, as the Liberals warn, because I actually think that, if given a majority, they will proceed to ban abortion, illegalize same-sex marriage and the like, but because I wouldn't want to live in a place where the people in charge simply pondered such things.

When I was at Disney, there was a guy in the training who, when I said I was Canadian, seethed a bit and asked if I knew a lot of people who smoked pot. On another occasion when I was in the sunny state, two women announced to me that they were lesbians upon discovering I was Canadian, as if it meant that it was okay to talk about such things in the presence of a Canadian. Maybe they assumed I wouldn't be judgmental. And that's cool, I'm not. But fortunately for them it wasn't a Tory backbencher at that bus stop with them.

I guess my point is that I kinda like the reputation. And I wouldn't like a different reputation. And it's all about the reputation because I really have no idea how to get my hands on some marijuana even if I wanted to. But I guess now the right-wingers of this fine land want a little time to enjoy the kind of rep they prefer.

But the problem is that their kinda rep doesn't piss off Americans as much as I personally find enjoyable.

But I guess that's all just bullshit anyway. 'Cause no matter what happens, I will not be waking up on the 24th of January worried about Armageddon.

I'll cover you?

Firstly, I haven't read it, this now nefarious "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I confess I have read a few Oprah picks and I have found them all to be fairly sappy. And they all seem to have the same story. I'd heard about this one, and it sounded like it might be different, but it's still far from the top of my list. At least it was, maybe not that far any more.

So even though I don't agree with her book club choices, I think Oprah has done a great service to the American people in promoting the concept of *reading*, and sadly, most of them seem to rather desperately need egging on in this regard.

But it would now appear that James Frey lied. His "memoir" is somewhere between personal recollections, exaggerates truths and outright fabrication, depending on who you listen to. Here's the thing...we all know that Mordecai Richler was writing about his life and the lives of those he knew. He just changed the names. Oh, and one more thing, he called it *fiction*. I don't understand why it would somehow work better to call it *nonfiction*. I mean I like memoirs too, but that wouldn't make me change my mind and buy it if I wasn't already inclined to do so.

But so what if he lied, at least in this scenario. It was a good story right? Granted his publisher might have legal recourse or something, but for the average reader, does the knowledge that a story wasn't true (or totally true) after all make you enjoy the book any less in hindsight?

I think the truth is that Oprah can only get so far with most Americans. Maybe the book was good, but money is always the bottom line. And if there's a refund available....why not?

For the record, I did buy a Milli Vanilli cassette and no, I did not return it for a refund when the truth was revealed. They lied, but, at least at the time, I still like the music.

Just smile

In my humble opinion, January is not the most stellar of months. So why anyone would name a child after it is beyond comprehension to me. On the other hand, it is sort of a pretty word, independent of the snow and cold and hibernation.

When my mom was at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute she roomed with one woman who had a daughter named January. Once, in this woman's presence, my mom told me that she had met her daughter (probably about the same age as my mom), and that her name was Jan, short for January. I turned to this woman and remarked about how nice a name it was and the most peaceful smile came over her face and her eyes immediately brightened. I don't remember her name. I don't remember her specific challenge--though it was in the neuro-rehab section, so that would give you some idea. But I do remember that smile.

gonna be a happy new year

As you know, I really despise several of the holidays (specifically their baggage) so it's probably not surprising that I think of the new year more as a September-after-labour-day thing and not January 1. Nonetheless, new beginnings are often hard to come by, so why not. This year I rang in the new year with Anderson Cooper (mwah!).

Things I should be doing, right now and for ever:
Posting more often, the promise of 98% of the bloggers out there, in case you haven't noticed

Cleaning

Writing

Cleaning

Making a dentist appointment

which reminds me, I need to clean the house more

and I should also be eating healthier

and cleaning

Just as all things are possible on opening day (hey, even the Cubs could be World Series Champions) so are things at the dawn of a new year. Which is really just an artificial construction anyway, made all the more clear by this controversy over 2005 having an extra second, but, whatever...