artbag

2010-12-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

my son, the swedish hero

2010-02-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

If that loads too slowly, try clicking here

no' bomomo

2010-01-22T01:55:00.000-08:00

I did thees one at somewhere else (here, actually) on the interwebbing netsicle.

rock concert - easter island

always clicky the pic for biggy sized

More control than the bomomos, and the self comes through more.

my bomomo to you

2010-01-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

conjunction

8416

totem

building weather with a gadget

tubewormholes - a life saver for Schrodinger's cat

first

bomomart

2010-01-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hector -

Hector -

Hector -

Hector -

Hector -

K b rework

mo' mo' bomomo

2010-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

I did this one "rain-soaked graffiti in an undisclosed location"

K b responded with "thursday nite art class with the ghosts of art past"

mo' bomomo

2010-01-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

This is my "707 - in the city"

and K b responded with her re-working of it - "when the steely eyed fish rose from the water , it was an all symbols & systems go"

restoration smudgefish

2010-01-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

Hector sent me a link to bomomo.com - a place where you can spend unlimited hours building computer artworks. I will post them as I can, along with tweaks by my friends the freaks - Her Kookiness K bee & The Famous Mr. Hector Rhendindski.

Clicky pic for biggerness

restoration smudgefish

This is a failure of format, which I had to take into the Photoshop for a sound thrashing. I straightened that canvas out...

canvas

This is one I started early on, but J played with it, and "wrecked" it. Luckily I had it saved before she got to it.

cartographer

bantam rooster in just a few pixels

2010-01-06T01:14:00.001-08:00

So, I needed an avatar...

2009-12-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

2009-12-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

talking cat

2008-11-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

places I've been

2008-10-26T20:03:00.001-07:00

create your own visited country map

ode to the ikefish

2008-09-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

These fish were jammed into this fence by Hurricane Ike.

This is my ode to them;

like rumplestiltskin, wrinkled and wasted,
not one hair on the chinny-chin-chin.
a flounder in the fence,
I'm an ikefish,
oh fuck, I'm fucked,
how did it come to this?

my friend over there,
comes complete with garnish,
easy lunch for a skinny cat,
with ribs like twigs,
fragile window slats.

I didn't ask for such a fate,
fuck! I was just swimming around
like nobody's business.
just one more wash of water,
please, oh please.

alice

2008-08-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while...

But check out this excellent video.

tweaking

2008-05-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

I tweaked the contrast on this one for fun (the bug was a pale sage green).

less tweaked, but still tweaked.

14 month old finger tweaking the butterfly.

perverts

2008-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

I had, for a time, pictures of my kid on this blog. No nudies, nothing weird, just nice pictures so friends and family can see them.

That attracted perverts - as evidenced by the logs, which revealed a Google search that had the words "sexy boy girl babby". Here is the IP information;

Referring Link http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=sexy boy girl babby&btnG=Search&meta=
Host Name cpc1-leed3-0-0-cust114.leed.cable.ntl.com
IP Address 81.104.188.115 pervert [Edit Label]
Country United Kingdom
Region England
City Leicester
ISP Ntl Infrastructure - Leeds
Returning Visits

Scum bag.

I have removed all of those posts.

toxic love

2007-12-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

With Crassmess coming up, the question of what to get for the kiddies comes up. Tommy the Toxic Tank for little Timmy? Mouthful of Magnets for little Martha? Lead Lozenges for little Larry's stocking? Fun for the Whole Family! Watch Baby's new teeth fall out as Baby stares stupidly into space!

I just had to post this video for a laugh. The Sweet Potatuh is going to get a new wooden spoon and an old pot lid for his presents. Maybe some steel wool and a battery if he is really good.

Have a laugh!

self portrait

2007-06-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have written before about my artist friends kari and hector rhendindi, and how we send writings (sometimes inspired by spam) back and forth. It's happening again, and this is where we are.

kari started it with a self portrait in beet root and cheese and tomato and no anchovies please and cardboard.

From: kari
To: hector
Cc: dreamroom
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:58 AM
Subject: self portrait

how about a self portrait , she thought.
yeah whatever
get a life , art warrior.
sure as shootin'
there was plenty to beak off about
and perameters had to be drawn
and so did i.
i used an old beet root butt that i found in the compost
and an old pizza box.
it was not too bad of a job
perhaps Andy Warhol may have liked it.
perhaps The Voop von Poop Gallery may want it
for their washroom.

From: "dreamroom"
To: "kari"
CC: "hector"

Subject: Re: self portrait
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 22:33:51 -0700
----- Original Message ----->

cool like the cool blue glass shard
that I found at the new park
which is an old dump
It was near sunrise
or maybe sunset
so I gathered my strength
and cut myself

I dipped a blackberry leaf
into my blood
and painted a twig
I used the twig
to paint a tree
with which
I painted
the sky

but it was blue

I must be royalty

King of the Scoop-da-Poop
Doggy-wag-my-day-care

Jack the Ripper might have liked it

----- Original Message -----
From: hector
To: dreamroom
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: self portrait

warm unlike the yellow ice smoked
in doorways of unwanted love
which is the big downtown
in the big sunlight on the big street
I felt small inside my skin

I found a quarter in my lint corner pocket
dropped it on the sidewalk
with the forgotten things
once important enough
to be carried
across any threshhold now defunct

all the people are willing to know me
if only for an exchange
of a recycled dream
once lit up inside the head
of a caterpillar looking for the painted twig
once used to paint a skyward tree.

From: "dreamroom"
To: "hector"
CC: "kari"
Subject: Re: self portrait
Date: 28 June 2007 08:37 PM

from the rocky caterpillar
a cocoon
a chrysalis
and then a moth or spider
with legs like crooked piano strings
and wings the size of Jupiter

what was that light
that burned deep
in the hint of being
of never having been known?
or was it forgotten
in the end of the dream?
out cold on the wet pavements
of uncaring places

and what of that quarter?
what will it buy?
not an elastic sweater
to hold in the weeping heart
as it sags
and goes to sleep hungry
with a feast laid out before it

and still
in the doorways
the unwanted
love only themselves
while others care not for them
with puffs of yellow smoke
and sleight of hand beneath
the ashes and sack clothes
of the wanderers
spread thin again

flowers of a gardener

2007-06-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

A few "flowers" in my garden.

eye candy

2007-05-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few random pic's to change things up a bit.

Dried out daffodil in my kitchen window.
Rain drop on bleeding heart leaf
I can't get enough of this cool ruby glass bauble.. .
Grandma's bleeding heart in my garden
Cool, 1950's toy car from Grandma's store. It is in perfect condition.

sense outta nonsense #2

2007-04-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

This is Hector's response to the Gargoyle spam -

Clueless with it all, besides the option of using full metal jackets, the Teddybears stayed back looking thinner than ever, so that the space dissolved before them. Nothing had changed, as the floodlights exposed sleeping men rich with poverty tickets ready to marry the Dutchess and impregnate her with incested ideas. Distortion was in mode. A success was easy. The delusion of love clouded the lakes within, rippling down legs like veins pulsating ink. Therapy class was scheduled twentyfourseven as soon as the door opened to the cellar performance where the wine was changed to tea. Some smoked it seeing how it was green. Dave apparently brought it in the side door of the Tivoli while texting on his cell, coffee in hand.

25 minutes later, kari sent this poem -

me dance, Dave do tai chi

the clothes had been flowing & flapping
in the sun and wind
but the wild ride was over now
it was time to unclothespin the clothes
and fold them and put them away
the clothes seemed content
no matter what their circumstance
she looked out the window
at the beautiful gigantic backyard
she wished she was dancing out there
or watching dave do tai chi

and 15 minutes after that -

3 new poems

rhyme & reason
____________

for there is a reason
so let it be had
none of this stuff
can fit in the cab
and ride oh so sweet
past street after street
and cry wolf and baby
to all we meet
and deep into night
ride waves from the hip
and know in my heart
the smell of bullshit
and try as we may
to segue seams
and present and project
our smiling sun dreams
to all the fine saviours
of will filled might
and prissyass prissy's
ass of so tight
if it ain't broken
make it last all night
and speed god dates
take out and take flight
while i look to the left
instead of the right
and thank you to those
who had insight

*
last troika in castlegar
( ode to "last tango in paris" )
_________________

came in your name
wrote of your flame
tied myself
to things of the same
spied me love
and drank its fuel
lost in a knot
that keeps me hot
but found something
that keeps my attention
a wheel for my well
of love retention

*

of this love
________

it is an important love
the hardest kind to see
for it is almost invisible
sure , you could put a few
obvious components together
but it would take more than
tally's and conspiracy affectionado's
to really give a good synopsis
on this love
the calm of this love
the silent claim
of the motherlode of it
the secret pulse
unobvious to most
heard and felt
only by a select few

I followed up with this -

when I had the sun, it knew it,
big in my heart, like a big guitar,
a sound that I could only see.

what came then was stratospheric,
some lyric, some panegyric,
the melody, atmospheric.

I can only wonder.

Lot's more to come, so check back soon.

sense outta nonsense #1

2007-03-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

So, I wrote some time ago about a few e-mails that went between my friend Hector Rhendindi and me that were originally inspired by whacky spam that attempted to beat the spam filters by including very poetic nonsense. We used that spam as a basis for more poetic nonsense, and had a lot of fun at it.

Now a mutual friend - kari-kari has joined the fray, and things are "hetting up". Kari is a whacky artist/poet/mom friend who I became acquainted with through my friend Hector (he held William S. Burroughs' doddering old hand). They (Hector and kari) did a great Skin-Up thang for a coupla years, and it was very good. I promised cuts here, and will someday get to that. Really(?)

However, for now, I wanted to include here some random correspondences between us three. They make no sense, while making perfect sense. If you are looking for the wisdom of the ages, you may, or may not, find it herein...

Here is my first (I think) communique with them -

I took the pikcher. I call it cool ruby glass cherry background. I'm going to paint it cuz it's cool dissolving ruby glass cherry blossom weird autofocus aperture shutter speed goofy, and I kinda like it.

Some groovy spam slipped through my defences today. So I wrote something.

Perceiving This...

I don't know about you, but I choose not to Gargoyle,
what, with all the flatulence that goes along with it.

You may have noticed, that the train is never mentioned,
despite my robust objections over that censorship.

I saw kari flying down the road in my head.
She started that thought.
Along came Pippi Longstocking,
with a Purple Heart,
and orange socks.
blurry,
like an old movie,
or an old memory,
or a watercolour in the rain.

And me. I never mentioned Dave.

As the honourable spam below claims,

Perceiving this, as well as the fact that there were no more of the awful bangs to come from the revolvers, the Gargoyles advanced in a swarm as thick as bees, so that the air was filled with them. Again the scene changed, and within a dingy, underground room, hemmed in by walls of stone, and dimly lighted by a flickering lamp, a body of wild-eyed, desperate men were pledging an oath to murder the Emperor and overthrow his government. Fatality was not significantly different Failures were significantly more common with combination therapy Among all trials we found no evidence for any potential prevention of infection by resistant isolates with combination therapy

I will post their various responses over the coming days (I don't want this post to be an epic - though it most likely will become one!).

the cool ruby glass series

2007-03-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

I took these pic's of a very nice ruby glass ball that was, at one time, the top of a lamp. I have no idea where the rest of the lamp is, but it must have been beautiful.

I was really just messing around with a new camera, and trying to figure out how to focus manually. Some very nice pic's are the result. I really like the ones with the mountains, trees, and cherry blossoms as background. I am going to paint these because I like them so much.

I particularly like the one where the ruby glass appears to be dissolving in the background of white blossoms. Sometimes (often, actually), the accidental shots are the best ones.

Enjoy.

41 weeks and 5 days, and waiting

2007-02-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, babby is almost two weeks overdue, and the waiting is getting crazy. I am a very patient guy, and I don't have a lot of expectations of others, but this is getting whacky.

I was very pleased to be having an Aquarius, but now it will be a Pisces - which I have never been crazy about. They are water, and I am fire... So, a lesson about expectations? I guess so. Interestingly, an acupuncturist once told me that I had too much yang (male/fire) and not enough yin (female/water). Maybe I need some water to cool me down? I don't know, I'm pretty mellow already.

Maybe the message is to throw away the ideology of horoscopic influences? Ya, maybe. It can't matter, because this is my child, and I will love it for the rest of my days. Maybe my fire will warm it's water - which is much more pleasant than cold water. Oops - horoscopic ramblings again.

But it will be born in the Chinese year of the Golden Boar, and that is supposed to be auspicious. I'm not superstitious. I don't think so, anyhow. OK. I am.

We went for the check-ups at hospital yesterday, and babby and mummy are just fine. I think that babby realizes that it is in Heaven, and wants to dream as long as it can. I don't blame it at all. It is in the safest place that it will ever be, after all, but geez, it's gaining about a half a pound a week. Yikes!

Stay tuned...

40 weeks and 2 days (and counting)

2007-02-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here is J whilst I cast her belly. I did it about two weeks ago, but
I had to get clearance from her to post this publically. She was nude when I did the cast, so I had to photoshop some panties onto her. Now if I could just photoshop the babby in her arms...

Ah well, the babby will come when it is ready. I have been doing a soapstone carving for J of the sheela-na-ig - to give her encouragement for the birthing, but I have been so busy that it is slow going. Maybe it is us who are not ready. Plus, J strained her back on Friday and had to go to the chiropractor. She is feeling much better today, but there is still some residual discomfort. I told her that once the endorphins of birth kick in, she won't be bothered, and the chiropractor confirmed this.

In our pre-natal reading we have discovered that 40 weeks gestation is not necessarily the case. In the beginning of the 20th century, gestation was commonly considered to be 42 weeks. The medicalization of birth has pushed that back to 40 weeks or less. It's become all about schedules - of the medicos, of the working mothers, etc. We want this birth to be as natural as possible.

Induction of labour is more and more common, but as soon as one starts intervening in the natural process, it can (and most often does) create a cascade of interventions - right up to caesarian section. There are non-medical ways to induce labour though. The most simple (and enjoyable!) is intercourse, and nipple stimulation. Human semen has a lot of prostaglandin, and that "ripens" the cervix. Nipple stimulation causes uterine contractions.

So, I'm off to induce labour!

38 weeks

2007-01-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Here we are. J is 38 weeks pregnant.

The above pic' is not J. She is much more beautiful than that. We are going to make a body cast tomorrow (hopefully!). There is no time to waste, as the babby has already dropped in her belly, and she could go into labour at virtually any minute.

We are as ready as we can be. The "crash bag" is packed, we have the kit to collect the umbilical cord blood, my camera is ready - with batteries charged, the video camera is ready - with 5 blank tapes and two charged batteries. We have the baby seat in the car. I have two packs of smokes packed. We have a bassinette, crib, change table, breast pump, contact numbers, e-mail addresses, popsicles (for labour), homeopathic remedies (for pain and swelling), perinial wash tea, babby clothes, money in the bank, no names..., and so much more, and less.

I am putting together music for the labour and birth - I hope to have Maria Callas singing O, mi babbino caro when the babby is actually born. And you wonder why I have not been posting here? I have been up to my elbows in aggravated elephants, and having a hard time making lucid posts every day at my real estate blog. What will happen to it all when the squalling babby arrives?

We know not whether it is a boy, or a girl, but we are both hoping for a girl. I will post here as soon as we know (and I have a chance...).

My apologies to any who have been checking for scintillating and/or salacious details of my life. It's been hard to keep up...

it's been a while...

2007-01-17T22:09:00.000-08:00

I've been really busy, and can barely keep my real estate blog going these days (link on sidebar to right), but I wanted to post this video of my 15 month old nephew finding his legs.

He's my sister's kid, and is a cute little gaffer. She is a great Mom, and a great sister.

more of the same

2007-01-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

The above pic' is from our last winter storm. Today, we had more of the same.

High winds up to 60 mph blew down more trees, took out traffic lights, closed the Lions Gate Bridge, blew down more of Stanley Park, and brought more driving rain that has now turned into more snow.

And to think that it's the weather that has kept me here for 19 years...

Tomorrow I'm going to have my head examined.

the illusionist

2007-01-08T17:57:00.000-08:00

I saw this last night with wifey and babby-in-utero.

I liked it.

J liked it.

Babby had no comment (just a couple of kicks and squirms).

tagged...again

2007-01-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

My little (40 year old) sister has tagged me to state 5 things you might not (definitely don't) know about me over at her blog.

OK then...

When I was 12 years old my mother wanted me to be a ballet dancer, so I went and auditioned at the National School of Ballet in Toronto. I was readily accepted, in fact, they really wanted me. My brother started calling me a "fag", and of course, at that age, I did not need my sexuality to be questioned, so I backed out. Instead, I went to a boys' school outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we did lengthy canoe trips (600 + miles), snowshoe runs (up to 53 miles), weekend dog sled expeditions, and did all the cooking, cleaning and maintenance for the school. This time set me up with great inner strength that has stood me in good stead throughout my life.

I have always wanted to be a father - since I was about 18. Now, I am finally going to be a father at 45.

I speak French, Spanish and Portuguese, though I am not fluent in any of them. Spanish is easiest for me. Of course, I am fluent in English.

I came to Vancouver for a two week vacation 19 years ago, and have never left. I met my wife here 19 years ago, but it took us 18 years to get married. We got married last June 21st - our 18th "anniversary", and the longest day of the year.

Everyone is different, but I'm not the same.

Done!

for Tara

2007-01-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Tara wrote and asked that a new picture be posted (or an eye patch given to the dead man), because it was starting to freak her out.

I like Tara, and I don't want her to stop visiting, so I am putting up a random image for now.

I've been terribly busy lately, and just haven't had the time for blogging. Bummer. Things might get even more sporadic as the baby comes, and after... Only 5 weeks to go.

Stay tuned, I'll try to post more frequently. Honest.

eye for an eye - the hanging of saddam hussein

2006-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

I am disgusted today. Today is tomorrow in Iraq, and even as I write this, they are either fitting a hempen cravat around Saddam Hussein's neck, or they have already hung him.

There is no debate that Hussein was a very bad man, like so many brutal dictators supported by countries like the US and Britain. There is little point in rehashing the history of Iraq either. It is a convoluted lie - like so many histories popular.

The point is (for me) that there were irregularities to his trial. The government of Iraq, and it's institutions, have been set in place by the American gov't - just as in Afghanistan. There are other crimes that Hussein was charged with, that he won't be tried for. The inconvenient truths will not be revealed.

The crime that he is being hung for at this moment occurred in the early 1980's after an assassination attempt. The French, and the Americans, carried on a relationship with him until he ruffled feathers by drilling at an angle into Kuwait's oil reserves - with technology, and tacit approval afforded by the Americans. Then came Gulf War I. Then came sanctions and no-fly zones. Then came 9.11, and the perfect smokescreen to invade Iraq on false pretexts. And now the little shrub from Texas is probably sitting with eyes glued to some satellite feed so that he can watch Saddam struggle and kick at the end of a rope. What a pair of pricks they both are.

The British, Americans, Russians, Israelis, etc., assassinate people all the time, and when people stand up against it, they unleash incredible military might - killing women, children, men young and old - by the tens and hundreds of thousands, but it's in the name of democracy, so it's ok.

Finally, I just do not agree with capital punishment. I can understand revenge killing in the heat of battle. I can understand killing to protect oneself, or someone innocent in danger, but capital punishment is done clinically, and in cold blood. To me, that is a crime.

I heard an Iraqi man on the radio today who told of his father being one of those killed by Hussein. He did not want Hussein to be executed. He did not believe that it was right, and further, believed that it will inflame the mayhem in Iraq ten-fold. There are crazy mulef*ckers running things that want Armageddon. They are going to get it - and so are we. Hussein is not afraid to die, but he asked to be executed by a firing squad, instead, they want to hang him like a rat - for the spectacle.

It's a terrible day today (tomorrow in Iraq). Nothing unusual about that.

EDIT -

For those of you fascinated with snuff films, who have been hunting for the video of Saddam being executed, here is a link. It does not show him kicking at the end of his rope, but shows him dropping from sight. I did not really care to see it, or not, but did want to provide the link.

I do have to say that he showed a lot of courage for someone moments away from his end, but did look a little like he was going to cry.

Interesting comment from Scotsman.com - TV plans tasteful coverage of Saddam execution. How the hell does one have tasteful coverage of an execution?

I still maintain that it was wrong to kill him. It was not justice, but vengeance.

winter

2006-12-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting much as of late. Nothing exciting these days.

The snow is all gone now, and we had a sunny day today. It's been mostly raining and dreary for a while. I'm always glad of the Christmas lights. They make things more cheerful. I have them up in the house year-round. It's a good light source - not too bright - and I like the colours.

Here are a few more shots of the winter wonderland we had in November. It's long gone now, but I like the pic's.

Enjoy. (click on any image for a larger view)

happy christmas (or kwanzaa, hanukka, solstice, whatever)

2006-12-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is me in 20 years...

oops! bah!

2006-12-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

It seems that I have a lump of coal for a heart...

You're a Total Grinch

Ouch! You make the Grinch seem like Santa Claus. Holidays definitely aren't your thing.
Just relax, and create your own tradition. Even if it's drinking spiked hot chocolate and heckling carolers.

Are You a Grinch?

thank you Tara

2006-12-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

Tara, over at eclectic spaghetti, is on my sweetness list for making me a virtual birthday cake - and that for a sour-puss who hates his own birthday...

Thanks so much for thinking of me. You are an angel.

happy flippin' birthday to me

2006-12-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

Agh! Birthday again.

I'm not very big on my birthday - fact is, I don't like December at all.

Born 3 days before the longest night of the year. Darkness and brooding.

Born on a Monday afternoon - Monday's child is fair of face... Certainly I am better looking than my brother (huh?), but I ain't no Brad Pitt (it's his birthday today too...)

December just keeps on getting grimmer. When I was in university, my best friend was killed in a car wreck two days before my birthday. My Grandma, who I loved so dearly, died the day before my birthday in 2003. Then, last week, on the 14th, we had to euthanize one of the best friends I have ever known - our wonderful, beautiful dog Que. All I really look forward to is the days getting longer again after the solstice.

Don't call on the 'phone, don't e-mail me. Just look forward to spring.

I'm here in my silent Scream...

a deus sweet que

2006-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

Que is gone.

Our wonderful vet - Sue Hughson - came this morning and gave Que a lethal injection, and she was gone in just a couple of minutes.

I'm too upset to write about it now. I will deal with it later.

Good bye Que. We love you.

stephane dion

2006-12-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago, Stephane Dion was elected as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I have not written about that yet because I do not know enough about him.

I have no affiliation to the Liberal Party, and have never voted Liberal. I never liked Chretien, and was ambivalent about Paul Martin. The whole sponsorship scandal was really quite boring to me, and I was never outraged by it. Cynically resigned would be a better measure of my feelings about that.

Although I never cared for the Liberals, I was hoping that they would beat the Conservatives because I detest Herr Harper, and most of his cabinet. I feel that they are divisive, and petulant, and I am quite a bit more progressive than they could ever be. I did take interest in the Libearal leadership race because I was hoping that they would elect someone that could beat the Conservatives, and get their own party back on track, and maybe even get Canada back on track.

I felt that Bob Rae might be a good choice because of his experience in the trenches. He was much vilified after his tenure as Premier of Ontario, but I felt that it was unfair. Rae took power just as recession set in, and he had not much to work with after the Liberal gov't of David Peterson. But Rae would have had a hard time sloughing off that baggage, and would have been hurt in the important jurisdictions of Ontario.

Gerard Kennedy caught my interest too - especially as the only one that spoke against the notion of Quebec as a nation. (that is a subject that deserves much more time than is afforded me at present) I did not think that he could beat Harper though, and I never had a good sense of what he was all about.

Ignatieff makes me physically ill (almost, anyhow) with his ego and insincerity. I prayed that he would not take the brass ring. I hope he runs back to his beloved Amurika, and leaves Canada to Canadians.

Dryden is smart and sincere, but lacks vision and experience - in my humble opinion.

Who else was there? Never mind, they probably left as little impression with you as they did with me.

Back to Dion. Largely unknown outside of Central Canada, and has some baggage in Quebec as a result of his activities as Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs. Some pundits say that is a liability.

I saw a couple of interviews with Stephane Dion this past week, and have to say that I am impressed. Would I finally vote Liberal? I don't know about that, but I do think that Dion can clean the floor with Harper, and would feel a lot more comfortable with him as P.M. than I do with Harper.

He is smart, animated, and passionate. What I have heard from him so far makes me think that he can win the next election, and at least form a minority gov't. He could probably work well with the NDP (who will never form a gov't - in my view, and I wouldn't want to see that anyhow), and maybe even with the B.Q. I think that it would provide more stability in gov't than what we have had for a few years now.

So far, I like what I have seen. Dion needs to polish his English a bit, but because he seems so passionate, and erudite, I don't think that it will be a problem for him. He comes across as someone who doesn't listen well, but that is the hallmark of an intelligent mind. He seems to anticipate the crux of questions, and does not have the patience to bandy about platitudes and fluff.

I hope that the Liberals form a minority gov't, and maybe even form a loose coalition with the NDP. I hope that Layton stops trying to undermine others for a few extra votes, and is willing to work with the Dion Liberals for the good of Canada.

euthanasia and the medal of bravery

2006-12-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

Poor old Que. She has been such a trooper. A good and loyal dog. Even in her days of illness and weakness, all of the other dogs still respect and fear her - as do the cats.

I have been writing about her saga for a while now. It all started in the summer, when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was 14 in September, and so has lived a good, and a long life by dog standards. She has not seemed to be suffering any pain, only blows to her dignity, so we have avoided euthanasia. I have been changing her bandages and washing her daily for the last 6 months. We tried arsenicum to give her her own decision on whether to keep going, but it is time for us to make the hard decision.

We have a babby coming in 2 months, and the stench of her cancer is pervading the house. She has also taken to crapping in the kitchen lately. Last night and this morning, she had horrific smelling diarrhea, and it was all over the kitchen, and her. This has become untenable with the imminent arrival of the babby. I am just too worried about bringing a new-born into a house full of disease.

We have decided to end it this week. J called the veterinarian this morning to arrange to have her put down this week. It breaks my heart to do it, but I feel that we have little other choice. She can barely haul herself up the 4 front steps to get inside, and her world has shrunk to the kitchen, and the front yard and sidewalk in front of our house. She has absolutely no quality of life left.

I have given her this medal (from the Bataan Death March) for her heroism in defying death. We will not receive any such commendation, as we have succumbed to the inevitability of it for her.

I'm very sad today, and humbled.

blotus

2006-12-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

Blotus was my friend. He lived in my kitchen window for about 8 months through most of last winter. He came in the summer, and we would catch bugs for him and feed him. He got very big and fat - hence the name "Blotus"

The winter before that we had Brutus, and the winter before that, Boris the Spider.

We fed them all, and they caught their own too. The weird thing is that they got used to us feeding them, and would get all in a dance when we went near. So yes, one can even train spiders.

We don't have a spider this year, and we think that Moses the cat caught and ate Blotus (cats love to eat bugs...).

one of those days

2006-12-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days.

I was going to help J, and we would have been done quite early, but...

First, we were going around and doing our pick-ups, and I shut off the motor to save gas, and so that J wouldn't have to breathe in exhaust fumes. When I tried to re-start the van, all I got was some clicking sounds. The battery had decided that it's useful life was finished. We called BCAA to come and give us a boost, and we were told that they were very busy, and that it would be about an hour.

Judy called a friend, who came and got her, and took her home to get my van so that she could continue to do pick-ups while I waited for BCAA. BCAA finally came over two hours later (they have been swamped all of this month). I got a boost, and went home to wait for BCAA's mobile battery service. That came about another hour and a half later, and I had a new battery installed for 150 bucks. Cost of doing business.

Shortly thereafter, J called me and said that my van wouldn't start. I was pretty sure that it wasn't the battery, because I had a new one just a couple of years ago. J called BCAA again, and they arrived about an hour and a half later, and determined that the starter was shot. They did get her going, and she continued on to drop off all the dogs. She had to leave the van running for every drop-off, as she wouldn't be able to get it going again.

She got my van to the mechanic, and it will cost about $250 for a new starter, plus another couple of hundred for labour. Meanwhile, my master brake cylinder has been failing for the last six months or so, so I asked the mechanic to replace that while the van was there. He looked at me and asked if we had won the lottery. The master cylinder will be another $300 or so - plus labour. By the time the day was over, we had incurred well over $1000 in vehicle repairs.

One step forward, and four giant leaps backwards...

I'm awfully glad that we don't do Christ! mas, though I'm sure that we just made the mechanic's Christ! mas a lot rosier.

My head hurts.

hector rendhindi and me

2006-12-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

Hector with William S. Burroughs

me with a reefer

This is an e-mail exchange that went back and forth over two days between me and my friend "Hector Rendhindi".

"Hector" is a whacky artist/poet/musician whom I have been friends with ever since I came to Vancouver. He moved away to Ontario last year, and I miss his whacky ways.

There are a few of these exchanges that I will post as time goes by. There is a certain weird poeticism in our streams of conciousness.

From: "dreamroom"
To: "Hector"
Subject: I decided not to German
Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 23:45:54 -0700

in the same way that a crack in a mirror reveals the illusory nature of a reflected image. I decided not to German, and instead, walked to the nearest smoke shop. The proprietor was not in (he never was in those afternoon days of sunken sunlight that I remembered so well before they ever transpired to pass.), so I stood in the summerbreeze rain and gaped at the raw reflection that I saw. It was then that I realized that this wasn't The Edward Hopper painting - not really anyhow - this was real life! But it wasn't my own. Oh no. Not by a longshot as a rivulet of Alizarin Crimson caromed past. "On it's way to somewhere, I guess". At least that's what I thought, but, I suddenly realized that I was floating. But I was not the only one on that cool midnight blue Saturday before dawn, Uh-Uh - not by a long shot....

>-----Original Message-----
From: hector
Sent: May 22, 2005 3:15 PM
To: dreamroom
Subject: RE: I decided not to German

unlike a brick wall reminds you of another brick wall. I couldn't make up
my mind to Inuit, and instead, ran to the nearest monestary. The bumfu*ker was
there ( he always was in those late nights of rising stars that I forget so often as they keep on coming, so I layed down in the winter snow and closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with anything. It was then that I had no idea that this was a Bateman sketch, really, this was phoney, and I owned it. Period!, as a chunk of dried Hookers Green remained permanent on the palette. Going nowhere fast. I wasn't thinking. I was sinking. And I was the only one that hot burnt sienna day just after dusk, oh yes it was happening........

>From: "dreamroom"
To: hector
Subject: RE: I decided not to German
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 17:39:34 -0700

I had counted seven - I say, seven - giraffes by the time we had
arrived back from South-east Gillander. M. de Rivar was still with us, and
he spoke of a time when he was still indebted to James. As I think you must
know, James had an older sister named Frieda. She was a sordid type, and her
cohort referred to her as Frank. It was sometime after the "Little War", and
she had been more-or-less absolved of her mis-deeds, and of her infamous
gluttony (she still refused to admit to inspiring Munch's "Scream"). She had
taken to leashing herself, and parading herself around like some demented
poodle. I guess the positive thing was - James had still not returned from
his sojourn to the tropics. Anyhow, we had all been at the cathedral, and
found it to be quite fascinating. We had seen several nuns (they didn't seem to be lesbians) tending to what we had thought might be sheep, though on closer examination they turned out to be drunken Ethiopians without their parasols. Oh, but they were the envy of the Crumdites! They had glistening teeth and voices like gypsy-hog banjos. When they walked, they had a certain je ne sais qua - a swagger I suspected... But we were having none of that! Goodness no! There was much stained-glass strewn about, but it also turned out to be quite different than what we had expected. In fact, it wasn't stained-glass at all, but a strip-mall in Kentucky! Oh my, but how I laughed at their gullibility! Last Friday I had another letter from my Aunt's brother's cousin, ( you might remember her from our school days - it was her
Grandfather's son who invented the laser trousers that we wore with such glee when we arrived in Athens that day). She said to say "hello" - should I be talking to you. I think she has had a thing for you since that time in Penetanguishine. Ha! You must remember that escapade all too well? None-the-less, I should remember to send her some of the marmalade that we made from those tangerine berries. What a joke!

----- Original Message -----
From: hector
To: dreamroom
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 7:11 PM
Subject: RE: I decided not to German

there was only two ducks-you said,two by the time we had returned to Northwest Squamish. M.de Rivar was never there at all. He was James lover, as was his younger brother Fredrick. Just before the big bang he had inspired Monets unknown painting titled "Corn Hole Over Them Fu*kin' Lilies",lashing themselves and galavanting ariund like some bitch freak on a hot pride day.The only negative thing was is that James returned that day from Ohio.
We hated the cathedral and passed on going there. Earlier we had seen some
nuns rug munchin each other out back so we avoided it. Heres where you passed out from your pills and we had to cancel our appointment with monsieur.You woke up screaming " I wanna lollypop" so the male nurse hauled you into the other room where he said he gave you an oral sedated.

> >
> ><<>>
>
>_________________________________________________________________

6 weird things about me

2006-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

I have been "tagged" by Tara and babybull
to claim 6 weird things about myself. I guess tagged is like playing tag, but electronically, and now I'm it.

Here goes -

1) I don't like sweets, and never have. I don't like ice cream, soda pop, candies, cake, lolly pops, chips (not sweet, but still junk food...), pie, cookies, whatever. I never have, and when I was a kid, never even ate my birthday cake. I used to put it in the freezer, and save it for years.

2) I count my steps. Stairs, how many steps to the corner store, etc. Every step is counted.

3) I don't really get any older. People consistently think I'm ten years younger than I am.

4) I have a weird effect on clocks and watches - I slow them down. For this reason, I cannot wear a watch. When I used to visit my Grandma, her clocks would be about an hour slow after me staying there for 10 days or so.

5) I can tell you what time it is within three minutes - even if I have not seen a clock all day.

6) This is the weirdest thing. I asked J last night what was weird about me, and she said nothing. When pressed, she said I was not like other people, but that I am not weird, they are. Huh?

There are hundreds of things that I could tell you that could be construed as weird, but I don't want to freak anyone out.

Why do people run from solipsist?

You wear clothes from the sixteenth century and yell All the World is a Stage over and over

'Why do people run from you?' at QuizGalaxy.com

the belly, the babby

2006-12-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots of the-belly-with-the-babby-in-it. We're at 7 1/2 months now. I wonder at how big that belly will get. J is small, and I am big, so I trust that her body knows how big to grow that babby. I was over 10 lbs when born. Hoping for no more than an 8 pounder here.

I have seen the babby pushing out for the first time. What a strange sight. The little gaffer was stretching or something, and it was weird to see. Reminiscent of an alien or such.

A couple of J's friends threw a baby shower for J yesterday, and she received some nice gifts. Babby clothes, books, etc. I read a Dr. Seuss book to the baby this AM. It is a book that Dr. Seuss wrote before he died, and is meant to be read to the babby in utero. It tells of all the Dr. Seuss stories that will be read when the babby is in this world. It was kind of fun. I liked the Hop on Pop story, as I'm sure that I will be a Pop that's a good spot to hop upon.

We chose not to know the sex of the babby before it was born (I admit that I pushed that), because we wanted the surprise. I'm so old-fashioned in some ways. J would like to know now, but she is cool with waiting. We just don't know what colour of clothes to get. We both really want a girl, but the divining done yesterday indicates a boy. No matter, I told J. If it's a boy, we'll just raise it as a girl. I'm kidding! Just so long as we don't get any Oedipus thing going.

We have no firm ideas for names because we both think it's silly to name someone that we do not yet know. The babby will reveal it's character, and we will name it then. The only sure thing is that we will honour my grandparents. McConkey for a middle name if a boy (my Grampa's middle name), Pearl for a middle name if a girl (Grandma's middle name). Names are very important, so we want to do it right.

Stay tuned.

snow bound

2006-12-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Ugh!

Snowy week. Crazy city. The weather is warmer, but the snow is hanging on. This was the wisteria on my back deck on Wednesday. Things still look much the same, but the snow is slowly melting.

The problem in this city is that no one knows how to drive in snow (well no one knows how to drive period), so it's a flippin' nightmare trying to get anywhere. I had to drive all week, and trips that should have taken 10 minutes took a half hour. At least no one smashed into me. A lot of people did smash into each other though. I saw a lot of dented and bruised cars around.

The bright spot is that it is only 19 days to the solstice, and the days will start to get longer again after that. The spring will come, and we will have a new baby to usher it in. Yikes!

brrr! snow...

2006-11-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

This was the scene on my street this morning. Very unusual for November. We usually get a couple of days or so of snow around Christmas, but had about a foot of it over the week-end.

It's supposed to be -11 degrees Celsius tonight - also very unusual. I think that is the coldest in all the time I've lived in Vancouver. Brrr!

The boil water advisory was lifted today - after 12 days. That is also a first (the boil water thing) since I've lived here.

Here's another shot that I took in the forest today while out with the dogs.

For some reason, blogspot is squishing this pic', and I'm too brain-dead to figure it out. Click on it if you want to see it full size.

after the rains

2006-11-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

I took this shot on Friday while driving around. It had been raining, and yucky all day, until a break in the weather opened up this vista. It is always a bit of pleasure to see the mountains covered in snow after a week or so of grey skies and rain.

There is still a boil water advisory 11 days on. Maybe the snow will turn the water white, instead of it's yellow tinge that it has had.

The skiers and snowboarders will be happy about this.

bean and the crow

2006-11-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is a cool shot taken the same day. Bean was not chasing the crow, it was just brave (the crow).

I like this shot because it is quite dynamic.

flying bean-dog

2006-11-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favourite photo's of our Ridgeback - N'kosa Zulu Blu - aka Bean, Bean-dog, The Bean, Red Dog, Red Dog One (I'm Red Dog Leader), QUIET!, GO LAY DOWN!, ON YOUR BED!, Baby Girl, Crazy Girl, etc.

She is a character, full of beans, and full of life.

time to build an ark?

2006-11-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

The rains continue, and still, 1 million people in the Lower Mainland are under a boil water advisory.

Things are better, but there are still thousands without power after 5 days. There were reports of fist fights over bottles of eater. Restaurants and cafes were advised today that it is "safe" to serve hot drinks, etc. as long as the water reaches 74 degrees Celsius.

The fact is that the media makes it sound much worse than it really is - as if we are a city under seige, or something. I have lived here for 20 years, and have seen this water after big rains before. No one got sick, and no one died. This is the first-ever water advisory, and I have seen worse.

Perhaps I just feel unaffected because we have been drinking spring water from 18 litre bottles for many years. I have absolutely no concerns about washing my dishes, or brushing my teeth with the pee-coloured water from the tap.

Hype. It's all hype.

The silver lining may be that people decide that Vancouver is not the best city in the world and stay away. Then, we may see some saner prices in our real estate.

standing strong

2006-11-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

I wrote about the final chapter for Que a bit ago, but I have under-estimated her yet again. The deterioration reported then was due (we think) to her swallowing a large chunk of bone (her teeth aren't so good anymore), resulting in an intestinal back-up. She cleared that, and has been pretty good since.

She started seeping profusely again a couple of days ago, and yesterday I went and picked up another dose of Arsenicum Album (50M), and started dosing her every half hour last night. I don't expect the arsenicum to push her into her good night, but it does almost stop the seeping, and makes the old girl a lot more stable.

Watching and waiting.

third world class

2006-11-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

This was originally published at my other blog, but I thought that I'd post it here for those of you who don't make it over there. That, and the thing about me liking to post every day, and I haven't been doing so. I'm busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest...

Welcome to Vancouver! Home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (well, unless the snow doesn't show up in sufficient quantities).

Vancouver is a world class city! It fits in comfortably with Mexico City (though we don't have the weather that they have, and they had the Olympics 38 long years ago), Tegucigalpa (though their water is more potable), and Addis Abbaba (though their mountains are not as spectacularly snow-peaked), and Los Angeles (though they only had the piddlin' Summer Olympics, and their cops are tougher).

Yesterday there were 2 million people in the Lower Mainland who were warned to boil their water. Today, that number was halved to merely 1 million people. One million pregnant women, children, elderly, and the heavily mortgaged. The news spread far and wide very quickly. Last night I had three calls from other parts of Canada - concerned for our well-being. I also had an e-mail from the US with the same concerns. I didn't even know of the advisory before receiving these calls.

Hotels in Vancouver were quick to spread the advisory to all hotel rooms, and offered bottled water to their guests. Coffee shops and restaurants were hit where it hurts as they had to refuse their clients anything involving tap water. There were a lot of cranky, caffeine-deficient people in Vancouver the last couple of days.

I can just imagine visitors filling up their bathtubs with the murk that is on tap, and thinking that they might be better off to smell bad for their flights out of town. And what if any of them become sick with Giardia (classically known as Beaver Fever. How very Canadian...), Cryptosporidium, or such. And what if they sent their nice white shirts to the hotel laundry, and they came back looking as if someone had pissed all over them?

I was not personally affected - we have been drinking spring water for years, and have a good supply of 18 litre bottles stocked (because of the chlorine, we avoid tap water for drinking. At least there is no fluoride added.). I have also had amoebic dysentery, and Giardia, and have a pretty tough intestinal tract, but I had those infections in the Third World - where it can be expected. But Vancouver? That's some bad press man.

Third World Class. The city where people live on the streets. Where you can't even brush your flipping teeth unless you use bottled water (good luck finding any). The city where the middle class can't afford to buy the crappiest house.

Are we over ourselves yet?

la pluie

2006-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

This was the view in Vancouver today. It does not show the downed trees and hydro wires, nor does it show the collapsed buildings.

It was an horrendous day. Not fit for man nor beast, yet J braved it this morning with six dogs, and I braved it this afternoon with 7 dogs. J got the worst of it, as it was pouring swimming pools of water, and the winds were very high. I had it better with intermittent downpours and lashing winds to 90km/h.

Was glad to get home after all that. It's nice to have a roof over one's head on a day like today.

balance

2006-11-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

balance

Another example of improbable possibility.

expensive post

2006-11-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

This is just an illustration of what I was babbling about in the previous post.

Expensive because this painting lists at $1,000.

cheap post

2006-11-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

This is a photoshop image that I made from a photograph I took at Trout Lake. I intend to paint it (someday) because I like it's Impressionistic mood.

I have done quite a few "walking on water", and walking in mid-air photoshops and paintings. It's a fascination that I have for making the surreal appear to be perfectly normal, and even likely.

Are there any psychologists out there that can make sense of this?

Never mind, just enjoy.

Cheap post - because so little thought went into it, and it means nothing.

remember

2006-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is George Muggleton who fought in WWI.
He was a family friend of my Grandma, and it was he who wrote a letter to her from the trenches.

lest we forget

2006-11-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late on this post - I don't seem to find the time until the afternoon, or until much later at night.

Today is Remembrance Day. Let us remember all of the young men and women that died fighting for something they believed in. And let us remember all of the innocents that died too.

Canada has not had to protect itself since the War of 1812, but Canadians have always gone to war in support of the British Empire. In WWI it is said that we defined ourselves as a country by stepping up to help to defeat aggression in Europe. We did it again in WWII, Korea, Bosnia, Rwanda, etc. Now we have soldiers in Afghanistan.

I think a lot about this at this time of year, but I never wear a poppy until November 11th, and wear it only on that day. It seems that Remembrance Day has become Remembrance Month, which is not neccessarily a bad thing, but to me, diminishes the meaning of the day.

I learned the depth of that meaning from my Grandma, who lived through WWI, WWII, etc. She lost schoolmates and friends in WWI, and one of her most prized possessions was a letter from a family friend who wrote to her from the trenches in WWI. I have that letter here, and intend to give it to the grandson of the author. Grandma was a teacher, and lost a number of her former students in WWII. She took this day very seriously, and I learned from that. I remember all of that horror by proxy. As our Quebecois cousins say Je me souviens, although what they remember is not the same as what I am writing about.

What makes me very sad about this day is that we have not learned, and although we remember those who died fighting for their beliefs in freedom, we never listened to what those brave men and women tried to teach us - Never again!.

Tra-la Rummy

2006-11-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Glummy image lifted from somewhere and scaled

Well that mid-term election to the south was a relief. The people have spoken, and they are saying that they don't like what is going on at all. The Democrats have re-taken the Senate and Congress, and will be able to exert a lot of influence. I am heartened greatly. But it still has a long way to go. I don't think it so much matters which party has the Presidency so much as who the leader of that party is. Rumsfeld - one of the most detestable people I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on - is gone. Good riddance.

But who will replace him? Another of Daddy's boys of course. Sounds like a few of Daddy's boys will be stepping in to clean up Junior's broken toy. Are they less odious? Not as I know of them. Looks like Cheney might be resigning too. Hey, how about an impeachment? And a trial for crimes against all of humanity, and specifically against the united States of America*.
*This is the original as spelled on the Declaration Of Independance

Good news in Canada too. The people do not like the neo-con, evangelist bullshit of the Conservatives either. They have barely a point on the Liberals, and those dufus' don't even have a flipping leader. And whatever leader they do come up with will not be much more than uninspiring in my view. Stephane Dion would probably be the best bet, but in these times of image being more important than substance, Dion does not have the presence needed to engage the voters. He's kind of like Preston Manning in that way - somebody that can be trusted, but it's a liability exacerbated by sincerity. Oh well.

We could use a few personalities like Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, Fidel, tempered by a few Joe Clarks, Diefenbakers, and Elizabeth Mays, with a dash of Jackie O. We need some fun.

Finally;

This is one of the most poignant images I have seen from the Iraq invasion and occupation. There are 100,000's of images of maimed babies, men, women, children, soldiers, of prisoners being abused, and on 'til we become inured to the suffering of the innocent. I do not mean to diminish all of that, but this poor horse, with a leg blown almost off, really got me.

How much more innocent can you get than that? No one to comfort it in it's suffering, no one to heal it. And no one to put it out of it's misery.

When I hear people trying to justify this kind of ...I just want to...

Nice work Rummy.
photo from iraqi horse (click on image or link for larger)

the hangman

2006-11-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

image montage by author

I have been trying to get to this post, but have been very busy... Further, this story is so huge and convoluted that it will be hard to do it justice here. There is so much background and history to be studied to truly understand this.

So, an Iraqi court has found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in the town of Halabja. There was an uprising there that needed to be quashed. Hussein didn't actually kill them, but as the leader of the country, he is responsible. Ironically, this incident is part of what the US administration cited as justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq (along with Hussein being responsible for 9.11, possessing non-existent weapons of mass destruction, having missiles that "could reach London" in 40 minutes, and whole lot more bullshit.), meanwhile, G W Bush signed the death warrants of 150 people in Texas while governor - including juveniles, and mentally handicapped citizens. And who can forget his brutal sneering at, and mocking of, Karla Fay Tucker? Saddam Hussein is an under-achiever in comparison.

Now what is this picture about? Rumsfeld congratulating Hussein on following the directions provided by the US on how to effectively kill Kurds with nerve gas? This photo was taken in December 1983 - not too long after the 1982 atrocity. No condemnation there.. Oh, and the elements that were used to make the gas, and the helicopters used to deliver them, and billions of dollars in loan guarantees, and other assorted military equipment, were supplied by the US.
image from tinyrevolution

They also intend to try him for genocide for the gassing of Iraqi Kurds in 1988. There is a bit of a problem with this though, because Hussein's conviction goes to automatic appeal, and once that appeal is ruled on, and the death sentence upheld, they have 30 days to kill him, which could well preclude the genocide trial.

There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is an evil man, but he has been backed by a coterie of evil (American) men since 1979. He was/is an asset of the CIA (along with bin Laden). Everything was fine until Hussein announced that Iraqi oil would cease to be sold in American dollars, and henceforth would be sold in Euros. We know what has happened since then.

Hussein has been attributed with causing the deaths of over a million people, but what is never mentioned is that those deaths were around the 8 year long Iran/Iraq war - that was sponsored by the US after their man the Shah was overthrown. There are all kinds of numbers thrown around - most of them specious, or convenient. I have heard about 5,000 Kurds, 100,000 - 300,000, a million, blah, blah. Over 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of UN sanctions against Iraq after the first Gulf adventure in 1991 (Bush Sr., did not invade Iraq then because it was illegal to do so - just as it was in 2003.) The British medical journal The Lancet, Amnesty International, the Red Cross, Johns Hopkins, and many other reputable sources, have put Iraqi deaths at 655,000 since 2003. These deaths are all attributed to the mayhem that prevails now. It does not count the future casualties from radiation poisoning caused by the thousands of tons of depleted uranium munitions used by coalition forces. More American soldiers are dead than civilians died in 9.11. Mercenaries, private contractors, and journalists are not counted. And those are just battle field deaths. Deaths of wounded in transport, in hospital, suicides, etc. are not counted. Many more thousands are maimed forever.

The Iraqi constitution and courts were imposed by the US (just as in Japan after WWII), which is in contravention of the Geneva Convention -

The Geneva Convention, Article 54 reads: "The Occupying Power may not alter the status of public officials or judges in the occupied territories, or in any way apply sanctions to or take any measures of coercion or discrimination against them, should they abstain from fulfilling their functions for reasons of conscience." This is confirmed in the The Hague War Convention, also signed by the earlier existing US, before it became a totally lawless dictatorship.source

geneva conventions.org

Amnesty International, and others - including American judicial experts, have stated that there is more than a little doubt as to the fairness of Hussein's trial. Defence lawyers, body guards and witnesses have been intimidated and/or murdered. There is also doubt as to whether the man in the prisoner's dock is Hussein. He is known to have had many Dopplegangers, and this guy may be one of them. Hussein's wife says that it is not her husband.

It's a frickin dog and pony show put on to eliminate - er, that's a Freudian typo. I mean - manipulate the minds of America - especially at this important election time. Wag-the-Dog.

On top of all of that, I am firmly opposed to capital punishment. I used to be all for it, but now I would rather see evil people imprisoned in a very small cell, with no view to the outside, and the most meagre of rations, for the rest of their lives. That's punishment. It blew me away that 76% of Canadian respondents to a survey on the net were for Hussein's execution.

What are we coming to?

Euthanasia - the final chapter

2006-11-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

I have written (here and here) about our old dog Que, and about her cancer, and our dilemna about euthanising her.

We did not choose to euthanise, and after the last round of high-dose (50M) arsenicum, she was almost like her old self again. The weeping of the serum dwindled to almost nothing, she went out with the pack a few times, the tumour(s) shrank, and we thought that she might hang on until the babby comes.

Today that all seems to have changed. She went out to relieve herself this morning and collapsed on the lawn. She just laid there for a while until J coaxed her to come back into the house. She wouldn't eat today, no wagging tail, no interest in anything. We feel that she may have finally decided that enough is enough. Her breathing seems a bit laboured, and she is just laying in her spot in the kitchen. She won't even loft her head to look at us. She is either very pissed off at us for some reason, or she has given up. Right now, I wonder if she will make it through the night.

We have taken the bucket/lampshade/whatever that she has been wearing to keep her from ripping off the bandages (and eating them), so that she can die in peace and with dignity. She is a very proud and dignified old lady, and she hates that bucket.

We are on a death watch now, and I will keep you up to date.

(The photo above is from about 4 years ago)

fall detritus

2006-11-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

geranium

2006-11-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

Grandma's geranium after a frost.

paradise

2006-11-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

bird of paradise Madeira, Portugal

sun

2006-11-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

lisbon train station 89

You may notice the rain in this picture.

rain

2006-11-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

rain gif "gifted" by Telus

Oh, brrr! Yuk!

Out and about with the hounds again today. Usually, this is an idyllic interlude from being rooted in front of this infernal machine, but today it was detestable. Cold and rainy it was.

The Ridgebacks (also known as Sun Dogs, or Lion Dogs) hate the cold and the rain just as much as I do. They are warm weather dogs who love to lay around in the sun and the shade alternately. I am a warm weather dog too. It's interesting, because they have the identical colour of hair as I, and are easy going and languorous in demeanour. Hey, they are really good-lookin' too!

J got soaked (as usual), but she likes to walk in the rain because there are less people around to take exception to a group of 6 or 7 dogs. I don't care about the people - I need warmth!

At least it is well above freezing. There is snow and very cold temperatures elsewhere. I still long for Mexico when this time of year comes though.

autumn's last gasps

2006-11-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of shots that I grabbed today.

November begins

2006-11-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Out with the hounds again today. It was cold and bright again. Last night it was down to -2 deg. Celsius. Brrr! I'm a warm-weather person, so I don't like that much. It's better than living in Winnipeg, or Nunavut though.

It was "Club Ridgeback" today, with four of them. On Friday I'll have five - maybe even seven if Simba and Biko come. I love having a group of Ridgebacks, they are such cool dogs. They have very gentle mouths when taking anything from one's hands, and are stubborn, aloof, and lazy.

It is Uncle Allan's birthday today. Happy Birthday Uncle.

October ends

2006-10-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the hounds that I walked today.

It was cold and crisp and bright. Summer is gone for sure.

I've been really busy working on my new blog - It had over 850 hits on it's first real day.

What have I done?

cola + mentos domino effect

2006-10-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

This is wacky, with catchy music to boot.

cleaner air?...Beta 2.0

2006-10-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post here I wrote about the (neo)Conservatives' "Green Plan" (makes me green around the gills).

Yesterday I stumbled upon this blog - Far and Wide (a good read), and was led to Progressive Bloggers, where I found this countdown clock to cleaner air.
codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0'
width="250" height="150">

height="150" loop="true" type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode="transparent"
pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash'>

"Lord Kitchener's Own" wrote;

I wonder what the internet will be like, far in the future, when the clock hits 0.

Of course, I also wonder what the WORLD will be like in 2050 when the Conservatives hit their target of 50% reductions in Greenhouse Gas emmissions.

I hope we still have Polar Bears!

I'll only be 75, so I should make it and see.

I'm not sure if I'll live long enough to see them raise PEI back out of the ocean again, though. One can always hope!

My only criticism of this clock is that it is actually 16,060 days until the target is reached (Edit - Steve V from Far and Wide commented that the clock was keyed to smog and ozone, and that the emissions targets are for 2050. My apologies for any misrepresentation.), and as LKO says ...After 44 years of unquestioned Tory rule, I'd imagine it'll be a very different place indeed.

Indeed.

You can get the code for this counter @ Progressive Bloggers if you want to put it on your own blog or web page (I believe that Steve V wrote the code).

James Lovelock (the author of the Gaia Hypothesis) wikipedia link predicted that by 2100 there would be only 200,000,000 people surviving on this planet - concentrated above the Arctic Circle. 6.1 billion people will have starved, drowned, or been stricken by emerging diseases. This prediction is only 94 years away from fruition (?), and as we prepare for the birth of a child in February, I wonder what hell we are bringing this child into. My old Grandma always said to me to "get some land where you can grow some food", and I believe her prescience was accurate. The thing is though, it will be hard to defend that food against 6.1 billion starving people.

I have always thought that there have been 5 great civilizations of mankind on Earth (the present one being the fifth - the fourth was the Atlantean civilization), and that there will be another "cleansing". The sick part of it is that our greed and rapaciousness will be our own undoing, and the undoing of the innocents not yet born.

Man, I hate Mondays.

dark freesia

2006-10-29T23:03:00.000-08:00

sea anenomes

2006-10-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

taken at Long Beach, Vancouver Island

tangled web blog

2006-10-29T11:27:00.000-08:00

Badajoz at dawn
photo by author

Web.
Blog.
Blog on Web.
Web on Blog on Web.

When I started this blog, I was not sure where it would go, or what it would turn into. I wanted it to be organic, and to evolve naturally. Looking back over the past month, I recognize that it is becoming a tangled web, dripping with dew, and catching nothing.

I am all over the place - politics, paintings, photo's, (un)real estate, ponderings upon ponderings as I wonder at the feast that is my life. Thus, I think that I will set up at least one more blog, and separate the ideas. People interested in my (un)real estate views are not necessarilly interested in my cat, or my alarm clock, etc., and those interested in morphs between photo's and paintings are not necessarily interested in politics.

Bear with me while I sort it out, and I will provide links to what you are looking for.
Edit - the link to vancouver (un)real estate is now in the sidebar.

Get the mad off the streets

2006-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

elderly man on the streets of Lisbon
photo by author

I heard on CBC radio yesterday that the Campbell government sees the need to start helping out the mentally ill by reinstitutionalizing them, and increasing shelter benefits for those on Social Assistance. At first blush, it seems like a good thing, and I was surprised that this government was giving the issue attention (link to online story) - it was, after all, this government that slashed tens of millions of dollars from the budgets of Riverview Hospital, and other facilities for the mentally ill (edit - it was not actually this government - a lot of those funding cuts happened before this gov't came to power). Many of these afflicted psychiatric patients ended up on the streets, where they are helpless, and prey for all kinds of predators. The shelter allowance for those on social assistance has been $325/month since 1994. Meanwhile, the cost of housing has more than doubled, and many of the SRO (single resident occupancy) hotels have been shut down and torn down (the land is too valuable), or converted to boutique hotels, or condos.

So, I am a slightly cynical person (rendered so by the cynicism of governments at large), and as the day wore on, I continued to wonder at the sudden (and uncharacteristic) philanthropy of the Campell "Liberals". First thought to mind was that there is a desire to hide the homeless problem in Vancouver in readiness to show a good face for the 2010 Winter Olympics (I still have to publish my rant about the Olympics) - that is what was done in the run-up to Expo '86. Then I began to wonder if homelessness would become evidence (to the government) of mental illness - why would anyone be indigent in this booming economy? Perhaps a sinister new version of vagrancy legislation. Round them up, and lock them up for the duration of the world's focus on Vancouver.

I can't remember who was attributed as saying that the measure of a society is how it takes care of it's elderly, sick and downtrodden, but by that measure, this society is failing (and has failed) miserably. Cynical laws such as the Safe Streets Act - which basically makes it illegal to ask for money on the streets, and enables police to jail those who are fined and cannot pay the fine. What a choice to make (for the indigent) - beg for money, or starve. Receive a fine (up to $2,000!) for begging, and either beg for the money to pay the fine (and receive another fine), or be imprisoned. Now there will be a new tool - you must be mentally ill, so off to Riverview - and you will never get out of there until the government slashes the funding again, and you will again be on the streets.

Qu'elle vie.

A story on poverty at The Republic

Safe Streets Act links;

Tyee article
SFU Peak article
Vancouver Courier article

Edit;

The Safe Streets Act specifically stated that there was to be no pan-handling in front of liquor stores, banks and pay phones. Tonight I stopped to get some fermented grape juice, and there were 4 young lads collecting money (pan-handling) in front of the liquor store. If I was really mean-spirited (like the "Liberals" are), I would have called the police to complain about it.

"Black-Box" Voting

2006-10-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

So, we know that there were "irregularities" in the last couple of Presidential elections in the US. In 2000 Bush "beat" Gore to take the election. There were extreme irregularities, in Florida specifically, with "African-Americans" (were they born in Africa?, or is that just a politically correct way of saying black, coloured, Negro, nig.....?). Many non-Caucasians there were denied a vote because they were falsely listed as felons (there is a world of information out there about who was responsible for that...). Then there were the "hanging chads", "dimpled chads", etc., the absentee votes that were never counted, the recount stopped by the Supreme Court, and Gore's concession to Bush (how many of you know that they are actually cousins? That's another story though...).

In 2004, there was another huge mess, and obvious "fixing" of the results in Ohio and New Mexico that led to Bush "winning" by a spurious number of votes.People were forced to wait in line (in the rain) for hours to vote, and then saw their vote for anyone other than Bush magically register in front of their eyes to be a vote for Bush. Exit polls indicated a clear win for the Democrats, but for the first time in history, anywhere, they were wrong. Another stolen election.

There is a mountain of information regarding all of this, but everyone has forgotten - distracted by wars, nukes, public servant scandals, plasma tv's, real estate bubbles, and so on. I fully expect the 2008 elections to the South to be suspended because the country is "at war", and it is perfectly "legal" to do so. The only hope for our American cousins is to impeach those lunatics before they have the chance to do that. Bush keeps repeating that America is at war - to drill it into people's heads. It is a "war" that will never end, because the "enemy" is a ghost. It's different ideas at war, not different countries. It's an invasion of people's minds - besides actual lands. It's psychological/ideological warfare.

I have been warning against "black hole" voting in Canada for quite some time, and am very concerned about it. Harper is a Bush sycophant (psychophant), and is bound to take a page from that book to make voting in Canada even more irrelevent, and when that day comes, we will have to refuse it, and demand paper ballots.

Below you will find two links to the recent "black hole" voting experience in municipal elections in Quebec. In one riding there was a vote that defied 130 years of history. And guess who provided the voting machines? If you guessed Diebold, you would be correct.

Watch out for this kind of travesty in your riding.

wired.com on black-box voting

Macleans on black-box voting in Quebec

Video by an organization of American citizens to "Video the Vote" in the upcoming Congressional/Senatorial elections in the US of A.

morphin'e .5

2006-10-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

This is another "morph" that I created using a photograph of myself, and morphin' to a self-portrait that I painted.

80 years in a plymouth

2006-10-23T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is a 4 second morph I did from two photo's of my Grandmother.

The first photo was taken around 1921 with Grandma in front of her first car - a 1920 Plymouth.
The second photo was taken around her 100th birthday in front of a 2001 Chrysler (Plymouth) that I rented while visiting her.

My Grandparents never owned anything but Plymouth/Chryslers. Hence the name of the vid. ...

ice floe

2006-10-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

click on image for larger view

This is a picture that I took of my Grandma on her 102nd birthday. We decided that it was time to cut 'er loose, and in the tradition of the Eskimos, set her on this ice floe to drift off to her maker.

Ah, I'm just leading you on. It really is a picture of Grandma on her 102nd birthday, but the picture was taken in the garden of the nursing home where she spent the last six months of her life. I "Photoshopped" her onto the ice floe because when I signed the papers for her admission to extended care, I felt that I was setting her on an unstable piece of ice in the Arctic. And, I'm an artist...

Goos the water lovin' cat

2006-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the video of Goos chasing water that I promised.

This goofy little white cat loves water. She comes running whenever I water the garden, brush my teeth, wash my face, have a shower...

Enjoy

call to prayer

2006-10-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

I bought this alarm clock in Abu Dhabi while I was working there. It plays a tinny rendition of the call to prayer that I just love. J hates it though, so I keep it in my office.

I loved the call to prayer (live) while I was there. It is a beautiful sound floating across the steaming air - especially at dawn, and dusk. It left me feeling that I was in Casa Blanca, or Lawrence of Arabia or such.

2:56 of electronic caterwauling will ensue when you hit the play button.

Enjoy.

Vancouver Unreal Estate 2.1

2006-10-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

I lifted this from Vancouver Housing Market Blog.

It illustrates what can be bought for $499G's in Ottawa, and $499G's in Vancouver.

The weather here isn't that fantastic, and I don't ski. So what's the big deal with Vancouver anyhow?

Garth Turner

2006-10-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

image from the Burlington Post Oct. 20, 2006

I posted the following at Garth Turner's blog (link at sidebar). Although I am as cynical about government as the next person, I cannot ignore it and pretend that it has nothing to do with me.

I have never belonged to any political party, (and likely never will), never voted for a Party, but always have voted for someone that reflects my own values. Federally, I have voted for the Reform Party, Progressive Conservatives (remember Joe Clark?), NDP, and Canadian Action Party. Politically, our country is in a mess, with few decent people representing us. I have never known what to think of Garth Turner, but I am glad that this tempest in a tea-house has blown in.

I await, with bated breath, the outcome of this. We are at a critical point in our history, and the future of Canada is up in the air.

Seriously Garth,

I hope that you don’t join the Green Party - they don’t need you.

I have suggested the Canadian Action Party, and I see that they have been here making the same suggestion.

We need change in a very big way - this is not about “Stevie” Harper, it’s about our country, our National identity, and our sovereignty. We have been sold out in increments since Mouldroney and NAFTA - at least. Connie Fogal (leader of the CAP) is the widow of Harry Rankin - a great man. Ms. Fogal was instrumental in revealing the MAI to Canadians, and was the impetus that stopped that travesty. Take a look at their philosophy, and I think that you will see that it is a good fit for you. They may seem at first to be socialist, or wingy, but it is Canadians at-large that interest them the most.

Canada is slipping into the same corporate fascism that the US is dying under. Harper seems to be bent on the same “Deep Integration” that Martin and Cretin (sic) worked towards.

The fact is that the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party are as about as different as the Repugnants and Dumbocrats are in the US. It’s all about money and power, and The People be damned.

The hegemonic, fascist, kleptocratic doctrines that have become so entrenched in Western governments have made us all poorer in every way. We are ripe for a revolution of thought. This (present, and failing) government that we have is hopefully the shake to awake us from our slumber.

What we need is men (and women) like you - who will speak for common sense, and stop playing popularity games to hood-wink the populace and maintain power and entitlement. We need coalition governments of independants.

I welcomed minority government for the last two elections, and hope that we never see a majority again. Let’s rid ourselves of the personality cults, scribes and pharisees. There are too many diseased minds throughout our political spectrum.

I hope that Harpercrit gets toasted soon, and that the Liberals do not select Ignatieff as their leader (but Rae has too much baggage, and is just another pharisee). We need people like Ed Broadbent (so sad to see him go), Alexa McDonough, Connie Fogal, Garth Turner, hell, even Trudeau - Canadians who are Canadians, and want to stay that way.

No more secret conclaves of oil barons and military psychopaths in Banff.

Please look at the Canadian Action Party at least. Give Connie a call (if she hasn’t called you yet), and hear her out.

still smokin'

2006-10-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

click on image to enlarge

This is an e-mail that I sent to my friend Rags, who had a great blues band named First Thing Smokin'. He also did an ongoing poetry thang called Skin Up with Kari, which was recorded by Danny at Dubvibe Productions. Very cool too. Someday I will get some cuts up here, or on my website.

Hola mi Amigo, mi hermano,

Como as estado? Ooops, wrong amigo - you can read Engrish...

This beautiful flyer for junk food came in the junk-mail with the Courier, and when I espied it, it reminded me of First Thing Smokin' being ripped off by the Village People - what with all the fruity lookin' "firemen" and all.

So I scanned it for your amusement, and then for my amusement, photoshopped some dogshit onto the plate. Mmm-mmm good. They sure do look happy and hungry, and how about those fries?

I wonder what happened to the Dalmatian - it's missing.

I am now looking for a Korean fast-food flier that features spotted dog and kimchi.

Stay cool mi hermano,

K

clean air?

2006-10-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Great - the Conservatives have come up with a clean air act that will reduce emissions to "45%-65%" of 2003 levels by 2050. Never mind that the earth is melting, that cancer is more and more prevalent - as is asthma, COPD (Coronary Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), plants are choking and going chlorotic, etc., etc.

It is telling that Rona Ambrose is the daughter of an oil executive. We now have the same problem with our government as the Americans do with theirs (vis-a-vis the environment), in that the fox is in charge of the hen house. The Conservatives have also said that the economy is more important than the air we breathe. The proposed regulations will not be enforced if they "hurt the economy".

Rona Ambrose is a piece of work. She is scary. Where the hell did they pull her from? The Sydney Tar Ponds link? She is just making crap up. Example:

OTTAWA -- Environment Minister Rona Ambrose is under fire for statements to a committee that appear to have been inaccurate.

Sun Media has learned that costing figures cited by Ambrose during testimony to the environment and sustainable-development committee don't match estimates offered by the purported source.

Ambrose told the committee last week that electricity costs would rise 65% in Ontario and 40% in British Columbia if Canada tried to meet its Kyoto protocol commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 6%.

When asked where the numbers came from, officials in Ambrose's office said they were extrapolated from a study by M.K. Jaccard and Associates in Vancouver.

The company's general manager Chris Bataille said Ambrose's projections for the electricity figures don't match the company's analysis.

"Looking at our latest calculations, they should be more like 26% for B.C. and 32% for Ontario," Bataille wrote in an e-mail. Minister's Kyoto figures questioned -Toronto Sun

She (Ambrose) trotted out some pie-in-the-sky ideas such as Transit Pass Tax Credit - which, it was claimed, would take 56,000 cars off the road every day. That is assuming that people will get out of their cars, and use the woefully inadequate (in Vancouver, anyhow) public transit systems. The tax credit will only really benefit those who already use public transit.

“Just based on the ridership that we have today in Canada, the transit pass tax credit alone is the equivalent of taking 56,000 cars off the road, every day,” Ambrose said. “That’s a lot of greenhouse gases.”

Michael Roschlau, president and chief executive of the Canadian Urban Transit Association, said he was mystified as to where Ambrose was getting her numbers.

“I’m not familiar with those figures,” Roschlau said. “They certainly didn’t come from us. We have no way of measuring that at this point.”link

The Conservatives have put forward the idea of a 15% tax credit on a monthly transit pass costing $80 ($12/month). For the projected 56,000 drivers leaving their cars for public transit, that adds up to $672,000/month, or $8,064,000 per year. If every household in Canada changed just one 60w incandescent light bulb for a 20w compact fluorescent bulb, it would save the equivalent of 64,000 cars off the road.

I think that it would be more effective to subsidize the lightbulbs.

Vancouver Unreal Estate 2.0

2006-10-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is the house next door to me. It was bought sight-unseen for $450,000 in April 2006 (the house was intact then). It went on the market again right away at $550,000. A few people looked at it and walked away.

In July it was reduced to $539,000, then to $499,000. Finally, the guy that bought it decided to tear it down, and build a new place. It has a great view (over the laneway, and the house behind it) of the city, and the North Shore mountains.

Now here is what you can get in the South-East of France for the same money.link

Vancouver Unreal Estate

2006-10-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Vancouver or France?

A sickening comparison between two houses priced roughly the same (the French Chateau being $109 less!...).

This was posted by 'exvancouverite' over at the Vancouver Housing Market Blog, and again at Vancouver Condo Info, and it gives a shocking comparison between house "values" in Vancouver and (in this case) France.

Here's the (West Side) of Vancouver house: $1,280,000 link

and here's the French "house": 899,000 Euros ($1,279,891 CAD)link

The Vancouver house is sitting on a 40'x~120' lot, while the French lot is over 1 acre...

If I had the $1.3 million to drop on a place, I would opt for the French place without more than .25/second of thought.

Which would you go for?

It should be noted that the Winter Olympics will not be hosted in the beautiful Loire valley in France, while the 2010 Winter Olympics will be hosted ~ 3 hours (by road) away from the Vancouver pad.

Ahh, now I see it - the Olympics have added huge value to the Vancouver pad because they might be able to rent the spare room out to Olympic visitors for $200/night.

I will be posting other such comparisons in the coming days, and will also be posting a rant about the 2010 Winter Olympics (if I can ever compose myself from my frothing lividity), so check back soon.

El Nino

2006-10-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

El Nino is supposed to affect us this winter, with warmer, drier weather. I like that kind of weather, but it is delusional to hope for it. We depend too much on the rain. This is, after all a rainforest, and we need more vegetation, and less fires.

September 21st is officially the last day of summer, but summer held until this past weekend - when we had real rain for the first time in months, and the daytime temperatures dropped from 20C to 12/13C. Just as well really, as we needed rain, and will need it over the winter to replenish the snow pack - else we stand to have water problems next summer. It's pretty good though, it is the weather that kept me here - cloudy with light rain in the morning, then sunshine in the afternoon, and then maybe rain at night.

I do welcome El Nino home none the less.

North Korea's Dangerous Toys

2006-10-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ha! Let's have fun!

I got this notion from Stromboulopoulos on - CBC's The Hour

He got on to The Democratic Republic of North Korea's webpage, and sent an e-mail from their contact link, asking for an interview.

How about if we all spam them and ask them to quit playing with dangerous toys?

If you are really good, I will send you this badge -

CC your e-mails to artbag and I will post them after removing your e-mail address and any identifying information. Send me any replies you get, and I will send you this badge too -

Euthanasia 2

2006-10-15T17:20:00.001-07:00

Well, today Que seems better. The Arsenicum does that - slows down the seepage, and makes her more like her old self. Weird.

So, no euthanasia this week.

The resolve falters...

more Goos

2006-10-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

just because I can.

lighter

2006-10-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

OK, so maybe things are a little hard-edged the last couple of posts. I'm going to try to lighten it up a bit.

This is "the Goos" (aka Luz, Luce, Lucy, Goos, Goosey Lucy, etc.). She came to us in May. J has always wanted a white cat to compliment our orange cat - Moses (aka Fat Boy, Fag boy, Piggy, The Orange Cat) and our orange and white cat - Puss-Puss (aka Puss), and she got the Goos just before she found out that she was preggers.

We named her Luce for "the bringer of light", and indeed, she has brought light - we found out about the baby just after she came (the cat, not J!).

She is crazy for water, and comes running whenever I am watering plants, brushing my teeth, washing my face, when J is in the bath, anything to do with water. She chases the water from the hose when I water the garden, and gets completely drenched, but still loves it. She has also insisted that the dogs love her, and has absolutely no fear of them. The younger dog is confused about that, and the older one is just resigned about it. The Goos is a character through and through.

I have some video of her chasing the water from the hose (and getting soaked), and will post it here as soon as I figure out how to do that.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

2006-10-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th. Ho Hum.

Should I be scared? Are you scared?

So what is it about the number 13, and especially Friday the 13th?

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of the Friday the 13th, and triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, and it shows in quite a few places.

Buildings often have no 13th floor (well they do, but they number the 13th floor the 14th floor. Does this make it any "safer"? It is after all still the 13th floor).

Many people (in the western world) avoid work, driving, eating in restaurants, etc. on Friday the 13th. There is an irrational fear attached to this day. Why?

13 is the sixth number in the most primary Fibonacci sequence - 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. Fibonacci was a 13th century mathematician.

13 is a prime number - divisible by only one and itself.

There used to be 13 months of 28 days in a year (364 days), and 13 signs of the zodiac (the Gemini twins each had their own zodiacal sign). Women have 13 menstrual cycles (28 days) over the course of a year, and there are 13 moon cycles related.

Strangely, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky. Psychologists have found that some people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday the 13th. This has been attributed to such people feeling a heightened state of anxiety on that day (see nocebo effect). The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday the 13th because people will not fly or do business they would normally do. (from Wikipedia - link).

Some say that Friday the 13th gained it's reputation after the Knights Templar were arrested on Friday, October 13th 1307. Most of them were tortured and executed, and all of their holdings were seized. Some say it goes further back - to the Garden of Eden.

The name "Friday" was derived from a Norse deity worshipped on the sixth day, known either as Frigg (goddess of marriage and fertility)(is this the root of the word "frigging"?), or Freya (goddess of sex and fertility), or both, the two figures having become intertwined in the handing-down of myths over time (the etymology of "Friday" has been given both ways). Frigg/Freya corresponded to Venus, the goddess of love of the Romans, who named the sixth day of the week in her honor "dies Veneris."

Friday was actually considered quite lucky by pre-Christian Teutonic peoples, we are told — especially as a day to get married — because of its traditional association with love and fertility. All that changed when Christianity came along. The goddess of the sixth day — most likely Freya in this context, given that the cat was her sacred animal — was recast in post-pagan folklore as a witch, and her day became associated with evil doings.about.com

The Mayans did some pretty freaky stuff in observing time. They calculated time over 100's of millions of years - pinpointing specific days, in one instance at Tikal, 400 million years ago. They had cycles of 13 days, 20 days, 260 days, 52 years, etc. Interestingly (and simplistically), it all revovles around the number 13. The Mayans were also aware of, and using zero even befor the Arabs discovered it.

Some say that the world will end (according to the Mayan Calendar) on December 21st 2012 - the end of the 13th Bak'tun, but the Mayans actually indicated that the world would "end" on October 13th 4772 - or did they?. Gird your loins none-the-less.

2012 Mayan calendar
The end of the 13th b'ak'tun is conjectured to have been of great significance to the Maya, but does not necessarily mark the end of the world according to their beliefs, but a new beginning or time of re-birth. According to the Popol Vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the Quiché Maya of the colonial-era highlands, we are living in the fourth world. The Popol Vuh describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fourth world where men were placed. The Maya believed that the fourth world would end in catastrophe and the fifth and final world would be created that would signal the end of mankind.

The last creation ended on a long count of 13.0.0.0.0. Another 13.0.0.0.0 will occur on December 21, 2012, and it has been discussed in many New Age articles and books that this will be the end of this creation or something else entirely. However, the Maya abbreviated their long counts to just the last five vigesimal places. There were an infinite number of larger units that were usually not shown. When the larger units were shown (notably on a monument from Coba), the end of the last creation is expressed as 13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0, where the units are obviously supposed to be 13s in all larger places. In this age we are only approaching 0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.13.0.0.0.0, and the larger places are nowhere near the 13s that would match the end of the last creation. (Schele and Friedel 1990: 430)

This is confirmed by a date from Palenque, which projects forward in time to 1.0.0.0.0.0, which will occur on October 13, 4772. The Classic Period Maya likely did not believe that the end of this age would occur in 2012. According to the Maya, there will be a baktun ending in 2012, a significant event being the end of a 13th 400 year period, but not the end of the world.Wikipedia

So there is the tip of an iceberg of facts, conjectures, superstitions, etc., relating to the number 13, and Friday the 13th. I will, over time, be commenting on numbers and their strange qualities. There is indeed a lot of strangeness to look at.

Happy Friday the 13th!

A Deus Pai

2006-10-11T21:20:00.001-07:00

J's Dad died this morning in Toronto.

He had been suffering with Alzheimer's the last few years, and had been in long-term care for the last while. He had his breakfast this morning, went to sit in his favourite chair, and quietly shrugged off his mortal coil.

He brought his wife and 12 children to Canada from Portugal in 1967. He spent his whole life here working his heart out to support his family until he retired. He started declining after that.

He lived for his faith, and we fervently hope that he has found his heaven.

Let angels sing him to sleep.

A Deus Pai.

nihilism, nukes and North Korea

2006-10-09T18:35:00.001-07:00

So, North Korea purportedly did an underground test of a nuclear bomb yesterday. If the 4.3 Richter reading reported was a nuke test, it could not have been a plutonium bomb, and is thought to have been a dud.

We all knew that N. Korea was working towards possessing a nuke capability, and there has been much sabre-rattling, and posturing on the part of the United States administration, but over-whelmingly, I have sensed almost an ambivalence to the issue. China seems to have distanced itself somewhat, and has hinted at restricting energy aid to N.K., but ruled out food aid restrictions. Iran seems to be ambivalent as well, and is likely watching to see what happens as they pursue their own nuclear ambitions. North Korea has been thought to have the bomb for the last ten years, or so, but not the delivery system (missiles capable of carrying it). If they do have it, they are the 9th country (although Isreal has not admitted it yet).

So what to do about it? Cut off aid? Impose sanctions? That will accomplish little - as the North Korean people have been dealing with famine and such for years. It seems that the military (and bomb and missile making) have been higher priorities than the people for a long, long time. A naval blockade? That could trigger problems with China - who for sure has nukes, and delivery systems capable of reaching into North America. Send in ground forces? Umm, North Korea has a highly trained standing army of about a million soldiers. The U.S. is bogged down in Iraq, so unless they draft a huge segment of the population, where will the troops come from? Other options? Well, the U.S, or the U.K., or France could nuke 'em, but a) isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? and b) it could set off a nuclear conflict to destroy all life on this planet. Ignore it and hope for the best (as in India and Pakistan)? Diplomacy?

And why shouldn't N. Korea, or Iran, or Luxembourg, or Honduras, or Calgary have nukes? Because the U.S. and her allies don't want them to? If the bully in the school yard (and his coterie of wannabe thugs) have big sticks, and are constantly threatening to take (and are taking) your lunch money, and beating the crap out of the other weaklings, why wouldn't you arm yourself with your very own big stick? This is the so-called nuclear deterrent. Mutually assured destruction is a good reason not to pick on the weaker states of this world. N. Korea has never seemed to have any itchiness for empire, so what might they do if they do have a few bombs? Protect themselves from bullying is the first thing that comes to my mind. When you give the school yard bully an unexpected shot in the nose, he tends to gain respect for you, to lose interest in you, and sometimes even changes his ways.

Further, the U.S. has basically thrown out the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty by developing small-yield nukes, bunker-busters, working towards "Star Wars", and what about all that depleted uranium dumped in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq? That is poisoning all of us thanks to global air currents.

Nukes for everyone.

Don't hesitate to bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye.

Edit: I failed to point out that Canada - who has been known as a fair-minded, peace-keeping country for a long, long time, has joined that coterie of wannabe thugs lock, stock and barrel (literally). Rather, our government (a minority with only about 32% of the vote) has made that move. Most Canadians do not want to be involved in aggression, just as, I'm sure, most Americans, or British do not want to be at war.

So why do governments act as they do? Do governments really represent the citizens of their respective countries? England's Blair has been lying to his countrymen. Bush and Co. have been lying to Americans. The Canadian government is doing the same. Voting is a sham - we still end up with governments that do all kinds of shiite that is diametrically opposed to the intent of the citizenry. What can be done about that? Over time, I will attempt to open up that discussion here.

Stay tuned.

Euthanasia

2006-10-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

This is our old dog Que (kee-a). She has been with us since she was 4 months old, and has been a great dog. She is brave (was a great bear dog - keeping them away from our camps, and chased them without fear, would stand up to anything, but is very gentle with people), loyal, and has been a big part of our life for 14 years. She has traveled everywhere - across Canada as far as Montreal, to Mexico twice, and spent ten summers with us while we planted trees in northern B.C. She has gone after porcupines, and received a face full of quills - in the mouth, and up the nose, and let J take them out with pliers - without anaesthetic. Five years ago she had two huge lypomas removed (weighing almost 4 pounds together). Tough as nails she is.

This spring she started to grow new, huge lumps in her abdomen and chest, which turned out to be a type of haemosarcoma - cancer. We immediately accepted that that was the beginning of the end, and that we might have to consider euthanasia eventually. In July we decided to give her a homeopathic remedy of arsenicum album (10M), which was meant to help her make the decision to let go of life by herself. I was very upset when I gave it to her because I did not want to cause her death. Our veterinarian (who is great) assured me that it would not cause death, but would help Que make the decision on her own. She did not succumb, and still wagged her tail, was interested in her food, and still wanted to go for walks (although she was barely able).

In August, we decided to try the Arsenicum again. As with the first dose, she seemed to improve for a while, but by now the cancer had ulcerated, and a lot of serum and blood was leaking out, so we had to start bandaging her. She kept ripping off the bandages, and eating them (in an attempt to hide her weakness from the world, or out of hygiene - a question unanswered), so we had to put a "lampshade" on her to keep her away from the bandages. The serum smells very foul, and she needs the bandages changed, and the site washed frequently.

In September, we tried another dose of arsenicum, but she still hangs on. She couldn't walk much more than a block by then, and her legs kept failing her, resulting in numerous face-plants.

With every dose of arsenicum, we said that if it didn't work, we would have the vet over to administer a lethal dose of barbituates, but Que did not seem ready to let go, and we don't feel that it is right to force the end on a beautiful creature that does not want to go. I have put animals who where obviously suffering out of their misery before (a cow with a broken back, a pelican with a broken wing - starving on the beach, a couple of very sick hamsters, and various mice and birds that the cats caught and were torturing), but I had no attachment to them, and it would have been cruel to let them suffer. Que shows no sign of being in any pain, and does not seem to be suffering.

Last week I got another dose of arsenicum for her (50M this time), and we have decided that if that doesn't work, we are going to decide to have the barbituates by the end of the week. It remains to be seen if we have the resolve though

My Grandma lived to be 102 years old, and enjoyed pretty good health and strength until she was about 98 (although she was stone deaf, and had only 10% vision in only one eye). She went downhill slowly after that, and beginning around the age of 99 she started to tell me that she was ready to die, wanted to die, and wondered when she would. She eventually made the decision to stop eating, and died about three weeks later. She was well cared for at the end, and did not suffer (she was given morphine patches to eliminate any pain). I would never have made the decision to have her euthanized, so how to make that decision for a creature that cannot speak?

A Perfect Indian

2006-10-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

this is one of my favourite paintings. I did it a few years ago after having a dream about a daughter that I did not have.

I titled it A Perfect Indian - inspired by a Sinead O'Connor song containing the line - with eyes like a wild Irish Sea.

I am hoping that the babby coming in february will be as beautiful as the girl in this painting.

First Posting

2006-10-08T23:10:00.000-07:00

welcome to the blog it's a new game for me, so bear with me.

for a couple of weeks, I could not figure out how to get back here, thus the dearth of posting here. I have lot's to say, but I forget what it was.

gonna be a father for the first time in february. that is pretty cool. I am pretty freaked out. will I be a good pappy? everyone says that I will, but I wonder. I suppose that is normal.