tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81401620703834295622024-03-18T21:48:49.794-05:00DriveGoddess - crossing those lines everydayTravel, life, love and lust, dislikes and peeves, politricks, food, passion. Hang on to your seats kids, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-53996506481960520592011-07-10T16:44:00.001-05:002011-07-10T16:45:15.325-05:00A Bike Ride, some Pale Ale and an Irish Journo - yes, I am back!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1aBzBwjaNfDKxkze7l95BC5naT97kwy3lKJBMDYIwlhjvnU_ENVlJlPzyO6KwCuacBQLq3tNnl1zP2ExZRfjNzLLIMONO4zk2KBbvPKrqfoHTNEIlNptdqCP2ARy6RS_UNrRPT9YNw/s1600/July+long+2011+143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1aBzBwjaNfDKxkze7l95BC5naT97kwy3lKJBMDYIwlhjvnU_ENVlJlPzyO6KwCuacBQLq3tNnl1zP2ExZRfjNzLLIMONO4zk2KBbvPKrqfoHTNEIlNptdqCP2ARy6RS_UNrRPT9YNw/s320/July+long+2011+143.JPG" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, self-portrait, at Pine Point Rapids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have been away for awhile, literally and figuratively, and for that I do apologize. I was on a <a href="http://www.hotelkitchentales.blogspot.com/">kitchen mission</a> and while it was a good one in other ways it made me realize that some things can just not work out the way one would like. That being said I would still go back to that kitchen if certain conditions were changed.<br />
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And it was not just the kitchen but a few broken promises, promises that I thought would maybe set me up for the rest of my life (well maybe not the rest of it but a damned good start to a "new" phase of Ownership) as an owner as opposed to an employee. Hard sometimes to get things done when there are so many variables at play. And before anyone starts to think that I was victimized in any way - no. I met some very kind and generous folks.....I am still in transition I suppose.....that is my monkey on my back to deal with and no one else's.<br />
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I felt guilty for a time not writing. Everytime I tried I just felt dejected or that I would be on some sort of placation mission. That is not good writing. Good writing comes from inspiration and in the case today, comes in a very natural way by virtue of meeting another fellow writer.....<a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Eoghan-Corry/108292459192655">Eoghan Corry</a> I salute you. I also think you are hot but that is for another day....heheheh.<br />
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I love my bike rides for I never know what may happen.<br />
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Our conversation today was seamless and for that I was grateful. It is rare in one's journeys to meet up with folks who when you meet them realize and say to you that they felt like they have known you for years.....that was so....I dunno, uplifting - not like my bra but much better. We could talk as colleagues and joke and flirt as humans.<br />
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I almost felt like I was being interviewed and I rolled with it for like my Irish counterpart I too love to share stories and anecdotes. I would not be happy if I could not tell stories....after all, why do shit if one cannot share in it. Kind of a base way to put things but I do not care. There will be many more chances to get more academic perhaps with my discourse. Today is not that day.<br />
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It was kind of sad knowing that Eoghan and his travel mate ( god I forget his name so focused i was on Eoghan's grilling of me) were leaving today....these were two gents that I would have gladly taken back to my home just so we could all talk some more. But this is a part of travel life that I know all too well - that meeting of the minds and the bittersweet partings....sometimes in life we manage to stay in touch and other times we lose sight of those we met fleetingly....it's just the way things go in our fast-paced world.<br />
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What was my point? Oh yeah....I am back. Well sort of - I am off next weekend for a private cheffing gig and a chance to work further on the manuscript. I love being challenged and today I was....<br />
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Gracias Eoghan (Owen)....I hope someday to meet you again. It was so nice to meet someone who was appreciative and someone that I felt comfortable enough with to be just me, a DriveGoddess.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com1Pine Point Rapids, Division No. 1, Unorganized, MB R0E, Canada50.109936 -95.57134150000001749.669577 -96.505179500000011 50.550295 -94.637503500000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-4938124089972765052011-02-20T14:05:00.003-06:002011-07-10T16:12:50.924-05:00Women and bylines - not enough says many of us!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kSHAhjD4tBW6KG7-NngQRUp_GliBBYlfsBTe9XgoWiXRWP6gj2doxEOBfKZtAez9bDsqUvw_WgZqRBXb8vXI8JmfuDOOUavOs1STnPOMrEr1Dx5zVYdXC6tT5SGRr2PmeMq4QdZ2pg/s1600/womenwriting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kSHAhjD4tBW6KG7-NngQRUp_GliBBYlfsBTe9XgoWiXRWP6gj2doxEOBfKZtAez9bDsqUvw_WgZqRBXb8vXI8JmfuDOOUavOs1STnPOMrEr1Dx5zVYdXC6tT5SGRr2PmeMq4QdZ2pg/s320/womenwriting.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>I am ticked off today and not for the usual reasons but rather for the one main one being that it is my belief that as women in journalism we have not progressed much. Our voices are still relegated to the Siberia of arts, style, culture - you know it as "fluff". And for those of us who choose to explore, seek adventure and excitement we are warned or almost discouraged by our colleagues, both male and female, that bad things may happen to us. Or, as sadly in my case, denied further opportunities because women just don't do this kind of work or that men wouldn't read it so it would not sell.....wow. Is that not a limiting statement regarding men or what?<br />
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I do not believe that nonsense for one second. No, I just think there are still those individuals for whatever reason who have this need to protect some status quo and at the expense of those of us who just love our craft. I call bullshit on your "limitating" of my opportunities based on untrue axioms, the safety one being an insult to both genders.<br />
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So what? Bad things can happen to me in my own city for crying out loud. Hell, as a woman I know that all too well and the "bad things" take on many forms.<br />
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Goes without saying but I will say it anyway - I have done work that many men would never do and no, I did not engage in certain activities to make a point but rather because like other correspondents before me I felt DRIVEN to do so. My curiosity had to be satisfied and not by proxy.<br />
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As well, another belief that is false is that women do not have strong voices like men because we are unsure of ourselves. Bullshit again. We have strong voices but we are tired of being called bitches, ball-breakers, aggressive, strident or hysterical because we choose to exude qualities and belief in our work the same way our male colleagues do.<br />
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So in saying this RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT FRIGGIN NOW I put forth a challenge to any editors, publishers and producers that since some of you feel that there is a "dearth" of strong female voices and such out there in the wider media diaspora then by all means get in touch with this woman who has worked in BOSNIA, KOSOVO, GUATEMALA (as covering conflicts) and as one who has traveled solo in some dangerous locales, sought adventure, had a great time, has an excellent sense of humour, is a bit of a pirate?<br />
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I KNOW that folks will want to read or listen to my opinions for many already have. I have a fan base.<br />
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Today's musings btw? I owe thanks to the wonderful <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/shows/2011/02/20/women-in-publishing---mmr-autism-scandal---phil-ochs-documentary/">Michael Enright of CBC Radio who had a panel of publishers and editors today discussing this very topic</a>. I will be sending notes to one in particular once my blood has stopped boiling.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2i5G8RJOEWZXx3a76LDGQstzhyHACwskqQl5UyZUo4r7F1YpDpV1vzsYH7C52_zO_7rszscxF17PXsJ0C7r3sNk5ZCa66sSVSi6XapclCN60PNAJgXVQiIO5tOHGepm3h_3Tqm4Xpg/s1600/fuckyou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2i5G8RJOEWZXx3a76LDGQstzhyHACwskqQl5UyZUo4r7F1YpDpV1vzsYH7C52_zO_7rszscxF17PXsJ0C7r3sNk5ZCa66sSVSi6XapclCN60PNAJgXVQiIO5tOHGepm3h_3Tqm4Xpg/s320/fuckyou.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>Stay tuned kids.....this woman is about to toss some pretty strong words out there and no, they will not be in jest.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-76660789743144897602011-01-30T17:12:00.001-06:002011-01-31T11:02:39.945-06:00Holes in the Ice....an update to Black Water, Thin Ice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmfa57GxUeTQAcFIEvPWwBbdE1NrdIMVyotFGCqkqKZpdCla9kW_8zp49owQKEZ7LyFQVs9l1lkb-5Dpp-ZdVFI5rTUzQFTHL421fMGWfLYVNHAyhznaluQyTMVhcRNf8smkwCdIejQ/s1600/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmfa57GxUeTQAcFIEvPWwBbdE1NrdIMVyotFGCqkqKZpdCla9kW_8zp49owQKEZ7LyFQVs9l1lkb-5Dpp-ZdVFI5rTUzQFTHL421fMGWfLYVNHAyhznaluQyTMVhcRNf8smkwCdIejQ/s320/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A view of the warming up area for the Winnipeg Police <a href="http://drivegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/12/black.html">Dive Recovery </a>operation. In the background is the Disraeli Bridge, near where little Nathaniel and his brother fell through the ice just before Christmas....His older brother was rescued but little Nathaniel is yet to be found.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3UJ_XvQP7Sck18C-3a-IYY1dS05JFXqlyq8b1erfgbM3bBeC2iAse3f4TxKwmMZs85g6yVTZ0OiWg-aBQ4ZtlWPREHyD-K0c-_lFy1IrksFGjkt9NVknp8wHvLNyvN7YssI7NX34gg/s1600/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3UJ_XvQP7Sck18C-3a-IYY1dS05JFXqlyq8b1erfgbM3bBeC2iAse3f4TxKwmMZs85g6yVTZ0OiWg-aBQ4ZtlWPREHyD-K0c-_lFy1IrksFGjkt9NVknp8wHvLNyvN7YssI7NX34gg/s320/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sgt. Rob Riffel, Team Dive Leader, observes the Sonar from the warmth of the tent.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPHhDMXtWl6Qb5lgR7mmg_pvDipUAC9rG6OQXYQxtBN8B_0_tBCPvrOjoUuq7A_scUx0FNwX5ZLo2xr-Sgmr98XQU5uiHAWaUAUXr60gUIeB3p6w4HkpfaJ-CEtQQRTsUISjKxndoSQ/s1600/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqPHhDMXtWl6Qb5lgR7mmg_pvDipUAC9rG6OQXYQxtBN8B_0_tBCPvrOjoUuq7A_scUx0FNwX5ZLo2xr-Sgmr98XQU5uiHAWaUAUXr60gUIeB3p6w4HkpfaJ-CEtQQRTsUISjKxndoSQ/s320/SNOW+AND+RIVER+ICE+RECOVERY+043.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Several ice auger blades have been spent in the efforts to recover Nathaniel. As of January 28th, 2011 it is estimated that 1,000 holes have been drilled into the 40 inch thick ice on the Red River. The depth of the river here is around 18 feet and the current is sluggish. The team wants the recovery before the spring thaw because this year the forecast is for massive flooding.<br />
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From near perfect temperatures of minus two centigrade on the 28th to today's temps of minus 30, minus forty with a windchill, conditions are not the best for these divers but perservere they will and must if anything to bring closure to the family of this boy.<br />
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Newslink for today, January 31st - <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2011/01/31/winnipeg-redriver-boy.html">Dive Recovery Called Off..... </a>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-32736522619671951062011-01-30T11:01:00.062-06:002011-02-06T12:53:12.748-06:00Memories of a Guatemalan camping trip....1993<a href="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya/maya-map9.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya/maya-map9.gif" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 800px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 601px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Brief Foreward.......<br />
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</span>I love to go back to other blogs where I have left comments just to see what has been followed up. This morning I was left somewhat disappointed in that one remark, pointing to a bit of veteran travel and expat living humour I had left, really stung and it stung in a way that still speaks to the sexist notions in that women are not expected to be adventurers or possess a certain "edge" when it comes to their discourse. That women with strong voices are "scary". Then again, I could be wrong but because I run into this so often an unclear remark can be taken the wrong way.<br />
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It got me to thinking that if this person thought my humour or attitude was scary now then he or she should have been traveling with me back in 92/93' back when road tripping solo as a woman was downright dodgy. Still is in some regards but back then I had no idea as to the craziness of the times such was I immersed in my missions of photography, learning Spanish and learning to believe in myself.<br />
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Yes, very scary at times but it was always my strange sense of humour that got me through some surreal moments. I guess some folks just cannot handle certain realities. To them I say what is the purpose of your snarky remarks if not to cast aspersions on someone who through years of experience has learned that it is best to be who you are for that honesty and integrity of character is so appreciated in many countries. And in turn I learned that one does not know everything. That is often the hardest lesson of them all - to body check one's ego. (and yes I am being a bit egotistical right now) I am older now (20 years have passed since that inaugural road trip to become the first of many) but still just as feisty if not more so - I just move a wee bit slower and laugh at myself more.<br />
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So, Mr. or Miss Anonymous judge keep in mind that being scared is limiting....and a terrible way to be.<br />
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Oh well, let us move on to the stories.....always fun to take a trip or five down memory "rutted road"!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">CAMPING AT MAYA RUINS.....<br />
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</span>I had already been driving since December of 1992 through Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras where upon "discovering" the Bay Islands I called my husband John in Canada and urged him to fly down to meet me for some dive time in Utila. Once he rendezvoused with me we both completed our Advanced certification and I had an invite to come back the following year to do my Dive Masters.<br />
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He had taken three weeks off and was raring to explore the back roads as was I. A nice component I had worked into my months of travel was the documentation of the many Maya sites and ongoing archeological works - at that time I think there were five "new" sites (since then many more "discovered") some of these sites accessbile only by boat. For this part of the trip though being that I had to drive John back to Belize City to catch his return flight we mapped out a strategy that would not have us rushing around, one that would play nicely into my readings of <a href="http://www.xoc.net/schele/">Linda Schele's examinations of glyphs</a> and the great society that once was.<br />
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We caught the Cessna from Utila and waiting for us at the La Ceiba airport, quite dusty with the musings of Hondurans finger-written into the dust was my trusty Honda Accord sedan. The teens who hung out at the airport were quite proud that they had "guarded" my car so well and were thus rewarded as I had promised two weeks prior. That seemed to be a theme for those many months, folks wanting to look after my wheels whilst I took off back country....<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Santa Rosa de Copan and onwards.....</span><br />
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I had stayed in Santa Rosa at the Hotel Elvir believing that I was going to meet up with some other Winnipeggers a few weeks back (they went to Roatan and I wound up on Utila - that story to be told another time)...to this day the gang of us still laughs at the mixups but this was back in the day when the net and cell phones were virtually unheard in many places.<br />
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John and I arrived mid-afternoon and the staff was very happy to see me again. Within minutes of checking in there was a timid knock on my door and upon opening it I was greeted by the laundry lady, grinning and holding up a pair of fancy hiking socks I had forgotten. I loved their rooftop washing area and would go up to work on my diaries after a day of exploring, cold beer beside me.....I made sure before we left that a "propina" got into her hard-working hands.<br />
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After a night of relaxing it was off to the ancient <a href="http://www.copanruins.com/">"city" of Copan</a>, not be confused with the village of Copan nearby that since then has grown to accomodate the needs of the thousands that arrive each year to take in this Honduran wonder.<br />
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There are not enough superlatives to describe in full the wonder of this place, of any of the ruins sites for that matter for each one has its own particular history and style. The world of the Maya was not homogenous but was rather more like several city states, sometimes warring with each other and other times engaged in commerce. There is so little we know but I highly recommend the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Schele">writings of Linda Schele.</a> That we never crossed paths (and we did come close) is one of the few travel regrets I have.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2009/06/93971,xcitefun-copan-ruins-honduras-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://img.xcitefun.net/users/2009/06/93971,xcitefun-copan-ruins-honduras-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Majestic Trees and Killer Bees.....</span><br />
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It is difficult for me sometimes to tell some of these stories, the ones where for portions of these travels I was not alone for the person with whom I shared some of these journeys with is no longer my traveling companion and co-conspirator in all things adventurous.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span> Not to be a downer here but I had to eventually come clean.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
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The plan that day was to hang around Copan and cross into Guatemala sometime in the afternoon. Given that we were only 7 miles from the El Florida crossing it made sense. We figured we would keep driving until we got closer to the next <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/149">Maya site in Guatemala, Quirigua.</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
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Copan that day was blessedly uncrowded and very quiet except of course for the gaggle of children who laughingly accosted us in the parking lot hoping to sell some handicrafts to us - later we were to oblige these entrepreneurs, the necklaces made out of local plant bits still hang in spots in my home. We were quiet as we took everything in trying to guage the light and make the most of what we figured would be about two hours of good shooting before the light got too harsh.<br />
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In the background, blending in with the sounds of cicadas that would rise and fall, was the sound of men grooming the expansive lawns with machetes. These descendents of those who once ruled, perhaps, these cities, still small in stature compared to their ladino countrymen, maintained a connection to their heritage and took great pride in their tasks at hand no matter how menial it may have seemed to a casual observer. These men whom I came to have great respect for in subsequent years traveling, working and living in the Maya diaspora were very eager to drop what they were doing and teach us things that being on a tour would rarely be revealed given that the tour guides invariably were well-off "blanco" students from the cities who had nary a clue for the most part as to what rituals were still performed, in subtle ways, on these manicured grounds. I will not go into here, the plethora of plants growing there that have been proven to have medicinal qualities....so much to learn.<br />
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more to come regarding bees and such.....the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-29009939670973289922011-01-27T20:59:00.007-06:002011-01-30T11:00:41.586-06:00HAPPY ANNIVERSARY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/canada-day-fireworks-celebration-in-montreal-city-pierre-leclerc.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/canada-day-fireworks-celebration-in-montreal-city-pierre-leclerc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I keep thinking of that cheesy song....of that same title.....but yes, as of January 28th, 2011, this blog has been ONE YEAR STRONG!!! And what a year it has been!<br /><br />Ok, I congratulate myself, me and I.....I have provided entertainment and vexation to and for folks from places like Turkey, Bosnia, FYROM (former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia) , India, South Africa, Finland, Denmark, Holland, England, Wales, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Brazil, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Greece, the United States of America, most of Canada, somewhere near Nigeria on a sailboat, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Norway, Germany, Spain, Portugal......and YES france!!!!<br /><br />I love you all.....my fans, stalkers.........tomorrow I update....maybe? Tomorrow is another day and the beginning of a new blog year.<br /><br />We are in fractious times.....but good times in that social media is becoming - or is it already - a force to be reckoned with.<br /><br />Cook good food, make love, make art, speak, sing......love your children if you have them.....hell, love anyone who deserves it.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-81025983772199975902011-01-14T13:26:00.005-06:002011-01-14T14:35:40.929-06:00Sirius Satellite Radio - good customer service but issues nonetheless<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.robink.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/radio.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 368px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.robink.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/radio.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I love radio......I have loved radio since I can remember which has been for a long time. Growing up on the prairies and tuning in for skip signals from Chicago back in the glory days, the last glory days, of "hit" radio when Deejays ruled and not the corporations.....ahhh, nostalgia - it hurts sometimes. <br /><br />Yeah right it did when I fell down into the granary from the barn loft messing around with my jerry-rigged antenna....hahaha....man, was my ass ever sore!!! But to hear Wolfman Jack and that one station from Nawlins' and the Grand Ole' Opry....wow. <br /><br />I grew up and discovered college and FM radio in the late seventies......I am not going to give a history lesson here but let it be said right here and now radio is but a shadow of its former self. It is now a conglomerate, faceless, nameless and without soul in some cases as dictated by the folks at Clear Channel amongst others and no I am not gonna link to you bastards.....not unless you pay me to.<br /><br />Hey, does anybody remember Radio Free Europe? Or the "real" Pirate Radio that operated in a converted trawler in the English Channel? That was pure radio. <br /><br />In my many journeys worldwide I could still find fascination with this medium for in other countries there were not the corporate shackles nor programming ones.....well, in some cases anyway. One of another long set of fave radio memories had me driving at 12,000 feet up in Guatemala on some shite road getting skip signals from Guatemala City where the DeeJay said para it ahorra LOS GUNNERS!!!! His reference to Guns N' Roses......I had to stop the car just so I could "feel" the music as the mountain fog enveloped me......yes, something classical may have been better but for some reason that moment, that heavy music of Sweet Child o' Mine worked its magic.<br /><br />That being said another radio evolution had to happen, that of satellite/internet radio, an almost-live experience, free of censorship and one that allowed its "personalities" to do what they did best, explore their tastes and in turn educate in so many ways via the rich history of music - but not just music but talk too.....Howard Stern, are you reaching? I think he pretty much made Sirius.....and as much as sometimes I think, no, believe that he embodies the archetypal neurotic and insecure JewGEEKboy (of whom I love dearly) who really wants to be loved? He is also a very astute arbiter of what the public will not only tolerate but crave because there is a JewGEEKboy in all of us.....oh yeah. (BTW I can make these assertions because I am OTT so fuck you any PC detractors)<br /><br />When <a href="http://www.sirius.ca/en/index.aspx">Sirius Satellite Radio</a> first came out in America I was ecstatic and could not wait for it to be implemented here in Canada. Once certain concessions were made to the CRTC by Sirius with regards to CanCon they were good to go here and I was one of the first of the 50,000 subscribers. I regret to this day having not dropped the five hundred bucks for a "lifetime" subscription but back then we did not know how well this company would fare. <br /><br />Maybe Sirius will toss me a bone? <br /><br />I did this for a very good set of reasons, one primarily being that at that time I did a hellacious amount of road travel throughout North America and points south. I was a great guinea pig so to speak in that I could track just how well this system worked within this hemisphere.....all one has to do was look at the sat tracking and take it from there.<br /><br />But history aside this is not why I write this piece today. I write for another reason and one that involves access via particular operating systems online. I had been running my craptop via Microsnot Vista and it crapped out in terms of net access so I installed a Linux CD, not full install, changed the BIOS and pretty much did a backdoor entry for my net. <br /><br />That methodology had been working great up until I wanted to log on for Sirius....seems that online Sirius does not recognize a Linux platform.<br /><br />The customer reps at Sirius were good in that they extended towards me a small concession on my bill but since I pay for a year's worth of service in advance it is but a small consolation when I cannot access a service that I "own" via the means that I choose for whatever reason.<br /><br />Yes, I have one of the original receivers but because I live downtown the signal can get corrupted so I access Sirius online.....I run a cable to my speakers.....works great, that is until this past week when I switched to Linux. <br /><br />Today, with regards to customer service, I had to educate the good folks at Sirius in that more folks out of sheer frustration will be switching to Linux from Microsnot and sorry folks but you cannot tell me that net access is complimentary from the receiver that I pay for because I have this account and it should not matter a fig in terms of how I get my signal.....get it guys? If I have to supply a password then I have an account - a paid-for account. Logic rules okay, don't be obtuse.<br /><br />Time for Sirius to take seriously the fact that there is a world outside of Microsoft and Apple.<br /><br />Now if I could I would tell of Sirius hacks that I know of but no, I pay, and pay gladly and thusly will not "broadcast" as such certain "services" that would serve to undermine my integrity.<br /><br />So dear Sirius corporation it is time for you to step up to that plate of progression that you so readily tout.....I am waiting.<br /><br />BTW more links to be added....I need a tea break.....the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-62763692906576711402011-01-10T19:02:00.007-06:002011-01-10T19:50:40.841-06:00KINDER EGGS - another Weapon of Mass Destruction?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e146/fayevanflute/Kinder_Surprise_Egg.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 348px;" src="http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e146/fayevanflute/Kinder_Surprise_Egg.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2011/01/10/man-kinder-surprise-border.html">This story</a> has to be filed under another yet <a href="http://drivegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/11/united-nations-and-womens-rights-wtf.html">WTF momen</a>t.....maybe I should have a WTF Hall of Shame...hmmmm, that sounds cool. Tragic in some cases but in others definitely cool.<br /><br />Anyway, today's WTF moment comes courtesy of the border folks at the Pembina, North Dakota, key port of entry from Manitoba to the United States of America.<br /><br />It seems that a Winnipeg mom was crossing the border with her children and what should have been a routine crossing turned into a farce.<br /><br />Now for those of you who need to be schooled in terms of cool things made of chocolate that also contain really neat toys I have found no better example than that of the <a href="http://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/kinder_egg/">Kinder Surprise egg</a>. Man, these are so much fun to eat and to open up (to find the surprise toy) that many of my friends who own businesses no longer stock these concoctions because they wind up eating them and opening them up and.....you get the drift.<br /><br />Kinder Eggs, not just for children but for us old farts too!<br /><br />It seems the Americans have deemed these treats "dangerous" and thusly have banned them. Hmmmm......yet, even if one is a total psycho they can go out in some states and buy a gun and ammo without having to have a vetted permit and perhaps subsequently kill children amongst other humans or critters? Yeah, file that one under "farcical".<br /><br />Kinder Eggs have been available in Canada since.....hmmmm, decades. I cannot recall hearing a story on the news whereby some kid died as a result of the egg itself. Of course there are many stupid and uncaring parents out there who whilst passed out or busy on angry conservative chatrooms may not be able to watch their kids.....oh that is a load of crap. We have I would imagine just as many per capita stupid, neglectful parents in this country! So why ban the egg?<br /><br />I mean seriously, look at this chocolate egg.....the "surprise" is encased in this plastic capsule and trust me on this, it is a hard bugger to open up. I lift weights and make bread and I still have to get a guy to open this thing up! And logic would follow in that if I cannot open up the capsule what makes the US government believe that a toddler could do that?<br /><br />Stupid, stupid and stupid....and not fun. But you wanna hear what is really stupid? The woman has to now send a letter to the authorities giving them permission to destroy said contraband but that if she wishes to challenge their authority she will be charged for storage of said $2 chocolate egg.....the cost - $250.<br /><br />You know guys, readers, fans, stalkers? - if this is not crazy I do not know anymore....btw that their edicts and such were worded in a seven-page letter? How many words does it take to say, sorry, but this is not permitted, have a nice day?<br /><br />I think I will have some chocolate now.....mmmmmmmmm. Better already.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-88019494833942981732011-01-08T20:56:00.006-06:002011-01-08T21:08:21.883-06:0021st CENTURY ANGRY MAN - music, mayhem and murder in Arizona<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.politico.com/global/news/00910_rep_giffords_605_ap.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 605px; height: 328px;" src="http://images.politico.com/global/news/00910_rep_giffords_605_ap.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I wrote about this tragedy today for another site that I blog for on a weekly basis. In light of today's shootings in Arizona where a<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shooting/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1"> child of nine was murdered</a> I am left wondering why all this anger in our privileged society? Why?<br /><br />I cannot write anymore about this until more details come out.....for now though I will send positive thoughts to the survivors, primarily though Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is in critical condition after taking a bullet to the brain.<br /><br />Please follow the title that links to the full article.....thank you.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-12309213422099065062011-01-07T11:39:00.006-06:002011-01-07T13:48:47.364-06:00Winnipeg - One weird City.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.winnipeg.ca/Council/photos/Katz-c.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 315px;" src="http://www.winnipeg.ca/Council/photos/Katz-c.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tvsa.co.za/images/shows/d/sam_big.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 430px;" src="http://www.tvsa.co.za/images/shows/d/sam_big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Okay Homies this gal is vexed and for those of you out there who know me you know that this is not gonna be good for those who have raised my ire. I will comment to my anger in a short while but first please allow me to entertain you with what I see to be a huge cosmic error......the tale of the two Sam Katzs.<br /><br /><div>On the right is the very lovely South African model Sam Katz and on the left is the Mayor of Winnipeg, Sam Katz. </div><div><br /></div><div>Which one, when looking at the picture, does not create an urge to vomit? I leave that up to you dear readers to decide.</div><div><br />Now that that bit of weirdness is over and done with (Google you win again!) let us get to what is pissing me off (other than this bitterly cold weather) today. (If I am not pissed off about something at least twice a week then I have lost my purpose for living)<br /><br />Our wonderful mayor, a man who is known to have done some ahhhhh very "creative" things in his business affairs decided to implement some time ago this informational system whereby you, the citizen, dial 311 and speak with some person on the other end of line instead of dealing directly with the civic department that you need to speak with. Yep, the City of Winnipeg is closed for business in my opinion. Its public servants no longer want to deal with the public - not as if they ever did anyway but that discussion is for another day.<br /><br />Now this is nothing new as this system has been in place for at least two years but because I had to call them, reluctantly, I get to bitch about it now.<br /><br />Last night coming back from a meeting I had to catch a bus. I am an infrequent user of the bus systems being that I really hate being around people who are coughing and sneezing and who wear knock-off perfumes....tacky, tacky, tacky.....but I digress. I love to walk (when it is not brutally cold) when I can but there are times when I do not walk too well and in the summers I am on my bike so my experiences with Transit Tom are few and far between.<br /><br />I decided to take my chances and catch the one bus that would get me within a block of my house as I was reluctant to walk any further in the cold. I was lucky, or so I thought, as I looked at the schedule - I would only have to wait a mere five minutes. Fifteen minutes later.....good thing he showed up as my toes were getting numb....not good.<br /><br />I boarded, said hello and laughingly said dude you are late! He glared at me. He was not a happy man. Minutes later I am about to get off at my stop and yes, I exit through the rear door as is proper unlike most folks in this city who even though they are closer to the rear door will still jostle and shove and exit through the front one as folks are trying to board but that discussion is for another day....Winnipeg - so much to bitch about and not enough time.<div><br /></div><div>The door opens and what do I see but one of those ubiquitous piles of snow....as I said earlier some days I do not move too well and this day was one of them. I politely brought this to the driver's attention and asked if he could move the bus up just a couple of feet. The bastard ignored me. I asked again and still there was no response. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is difficult to exit from these newer buses at the best of times in that one hand must be kept on the door in order to prevent it from closing on you so imagine what it is like for someone who has balance issues like most MS sufferers like myself do....makes life really fun sometimes. I exited but was extra cautious because I did not want to slip on the snowbank - that would have landed me under the bus and with this asshole driving who knows what would have been done....probably fuck-all.</div><div><br /></div><div>I made it off safely if but awkwardly and shook my head in disgust and yelled out thanks to you asshole!!!! I hope he heard it.</div><div><br /></div><div>So now this brings us back to the 311 BS......I call, hoping to be connected to someone in the Transit Department who can handle my concerns but no I have to talk with some flunky operator who tells me that it could take up to 27 days for my concern to be dealt with. I had to request that someone actually call me. The operator said why and I said because I want to talk with someone in that department. This is not going to be swept under the rug I said.....so my information was taken.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am not going to wait no stinkin' 27 days. Oh no. I am tossing down the gauntlet here and giving these jokers until Monday - high noon. If I hear from nobody by that time I will then contact my blind City Councillor and make that bugger work. Since this is an issue of disability rights and safety I figure he may act on it.</div><div><br /></div><div>311 is a joke and an insult to the citizens of Winnipeg. It is high time this system got scrapped and that the city workers deal directly with the public. After all, what have they got to be worried about? They are doing a fine job right?<br /><br /></div></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-38209309329591967632011-01-05T16:14:00.014-06:002011-01-06T11:23:15.715-06:00FUBAR - A really neat word<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://tech911inc.com/images/computer_broken.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 351px;" src="http://tech911inc.com/images/computer_broken.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.bigoo.ws/"><img alt="myspace layouts" src="http://media.bigoo.ws/content/clip/dance/dance_156.gif" border="0" /></a><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><a href="http://www.bigoo.ws/"> </a></p>Ahhhh, FUBAR.......a wonderful acronym that means "fucked up beyond all repair" and today I had my first New Year FUBAR moment. Vista, a pig of a program if there ever was, has been acting persnickety for a couple of months now, slowing down my system when I am online making data entry painfully slow when I am FaceCracking and other bits of surfing a pain in the neck. I had been considering for the last while to strip my system and start from scratch but had not gotten around to it yet....blame it on <a href="http://drivegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/01/procrasturbation.html">procrasturbation</a>.<br /><br />Sometimes it takes a good kick in the ass to foment needed change and action. Today, again, my ass is sore. I think this will be the theme for 2011 - having a sore butt. Oh well, no pain, no gain right? Aaarrrgghhh!<br /><br />The day started pleasantly enough, the sun was shining, my coffee perfectly brewed and a game plan already formed in my head as to what I was going to tackle creatively-speaking. I go to check my email and nada....same thing with the social network....no forward momentum to be had. Do a restart. Wait, and wait and wait....only to get the "problems with connection" BS on Mozilla. Go next to the evil Internet Explorer because who knows, Mozilla could have been inaccessible right? Nada there too at good ole' IE.<br /><br />Did more restarts, full shutdowns, checked router and unplugged that - everything I could think of and then got my son to start researching via Microsnot on his machine. He did everything as well that they suggested and still no connecting to the outside world.<br /><br />Hours had dragged by this time. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. I was worried as well for what if my data was to disappear too?<br /><br />We decided to risk data loss by engaging in a system restoration. Nope, that did not work either so we were left with one possible solution - Ubuntu, a linux-based CD computer bypass.....neat. Basically we halted Vista and used this CD as our operating system. Yes, I can still read my hard drive and retrieve stuff to send out if need be but I am limited for now to basic functions. At least I can be online and get my work done.....sigh.<br /><br />FUBAR no more but I am angry for the frustration and loss of productive time. I will not be going back to Microsoft products after this. I call bullshit on that company after having been a loyal PC user (but yes I love Macs too) who has seen equipment and service deteriorate over the past few years. I could go on for pages as to the corporate ethos, or lack thereof, these days but I think I would be preaching to the choir here?<br /><br />If Vista was such a "crap" program as even Gates has been quoted as saying then why did Microsnot force it on folks such as myself when they knew fully well that it was a transition program between XP and Windows 7? I was told that because I missed the "window" by a couple of months when I had purchased this fab Toshiba that I work on, I would have to pay to have Windows 7. Unfortunately Microsoft I could not afford to wait another two to three months to acquire a computer and I was out of the country working so I could afford the computer. Not everyone was lucky enough to have shares in your company Mr. Gates.<br /><br />I call this extortion. I call this computer fascism. How dare this company use millions as guinea pigs in this fashion? I do not mind having to exchange something or to have it fixed if it is a problem that goes back to faulty design and such but why should I have to pay to call your company up, once via my cell (where I could be on hold for over an hour) and secondly being charged by your so-called tech support which is contracted out to god knows where?<br /><br />Your shoddy design repair should come off of your dime and not mine.<br /><br />When I strip this bitch I will not be loading up Windows 7. Hells NO!!! I will make the switch to a Linux platform. Yes, it will be difficult at first to change certain habits and adapt to new protocols but I think I can handle that. What I cannot handle or abide however is being handed shoddy goods and being told "too bad, your problem, not ours".<br /><br />BTW that was a good seven hours of mine and my son's business time today and because we are both incredibly multi-talented individuals? Hmmmmm I believe my time and stress and his time and stress shall we say valued at - oh this is tough cuz' I don't wanna come across as an arrogant bastard - oh, fuck it - one fifty an hour for the both of us, shit, that's a deal Bill.....now that comes to the grand sum of $1,050.00 Now surely even in these tough times your company could afford that invoice?<br /><br />Maybe I just may be a cheeky bastard and do just that.....why not? At the very least this sort of exercise would be time wasted by my choice which in that case would not be a waste at all.the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-16624958863386913322011-01-01T18:08:00.007-06:002011-01-01T18:42:37.733-06:00Cranberry juice is not healthy......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUoHIaeWasGVR3uVfUqBCukRAClFTdueiXoCka5pyVpLBLUylkf1YBVRBDyDGqqsgAUWi0AJbq0WcLi6wGD4ceMqq9gpJUo4E-G_u45cx4ok2XQ9-HflOW4pnBWfKfb2kKi_lCeanUA/s1600/GIOS+NEW+YEARS+EVE+2010+017.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUoHIaeWasGVR3uVfUqBCukRAClFTdueiXoCka5pyVpLBLUylkf1YBVRBDyDGqqsgAUWi0AJbq0WcLi6wGD4ceMqq9gpJUo4E-G_u45cx4ok2XQ9-HflOW4pnBWfKfb2kKi_lCeanUA/s320/GIOS+NEW+YEARS+EVE+2010+017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557374865676467682" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, I lie.....it is very healthy unless one mixes it with massive amounts of Vodka.......but hey, I rarely go out and the urge came over me last night - I had to be fabulous. Besides, my ticket proceeds were for a very good cause<a href="http://www.gioscares.org/"> (Gio's Cares)</a> and there was a trip to Vallarta to be possibly had. Plus, for a change I decided to end my year of forced, horrible frugality by spending money on my favourite charity of all - ME!!!<br /><br />It really was a perfect night even though it was colder than the proverbial witch's tit. Alcohol consumption makes one feel all nice and warm inside.....and then you wake up the next day and realize that it is not a party in your mouth you are tasting.....hahahaha. No regrets. I danced my ass off and had my ass smacked several times (quite hard actually) by a DUDE.......now some of you are wondering what is so weird about that? Well, the party was at the <a href="http://www.gios.mb.ca/">gay bar</a> and in these modern times of blurring the lines, sexually-speaking, I suppose it is not weird after all. My ass BTW is still a little sore.<br /><br />2010 was not a spectacular year for me but it was not a bad one either. I only see my "stock" going up, slowly, but this next year should be okay if certain malcontents do what it is right by me and allow me to flourish as being tragic is just not my style.<br /><br />Today I extend to my friends, fans and stalkers (yeah, I know who you are, where you work - hehehe) wishes for prosperity (nothing wrong with being prosperous) reasonably good health and in the case of the one stalker, that her bosses figure out that she is using company time to follow my fabulous life. Oh well, when one is not fabulous I suppose the charitable thing to do is to not concern myself with the shortcomings of others and give them a taste of something interesting.<br /><br />I had a great time. It may have been brutally cold but so what? People in this town know how to have good time no matter what.<br /><br />BTW the photo was taken last night - a tropical theme in a cold prairie city. Happy New Year.....now I can go back to watching Daniel Craig - too hot for words. I would not mind slapping his ass.....oh boy. Yummy.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-52537856843923426452010-12-31T18:10:00.007-06:002011-01-03T12:32:32.201-06:00Out With the Old? same old same old more like it.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt4QZWg-K-_6sR2jDAgsNwAni2wFhraDKbz2lhEq_GXnl7U3SBekJh7K7WxkNr0jUHVIp0kZf-7nTkuSy7y7jrBnFnPhIK8yhn7uFXbJE43OLX6O5O-huVTxN0lPqXeC7Q3SSjbNsWg/s1600/haiti+earthquake+girl.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt4QZWg-K-_6sR2jDAgsNwAni2wFhraDKbz2lhEq_GXnl7U3SBekJh7K7WxkNr0jUHVIp0kZf-7nTkuSy7y7jrBnFnPhIK8yhn7uFXbJE43OLX6O5O-huVTxN0lPqXeC7Q3SSjbNsWg/s400/haiti+earthquake+girl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557007017722665986" border="0" /></a><br />In less than two weeks into the new year will be the one year anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake and in this last year what has been accomplished?<br /><br />There are warehouses full of relief gear such as portable water purification units, clothing, tools and all sorts of other imaginable things that if let out to the agencies to distribute and organize would be wonderful assets for short and long-term recovery.<br /><br />That there is right now a huge cholera outbreak and still hundreds of thousands almost a year later living in tents makes me wonder where the fuck are the brains of those who run this corrupt little country? Are your needs to be rich that great that you would rather see your countrymen and women and children literally live in shit so you can drive a Benz 4X4? Is your need for baksheesh that fucking great??? How much more do you need?<br /><br />I am so disgusted with the state of some countries, with those MEN, yes men, who run these countries.....running them into the ground more like it. Where the hell is the UN stepping in to say enough is enough - open up the warehouses, stop trying to extort the aid agencies and please allow them to do their work? Yeah, that is right, the UN is male-dominated too.....hmmmm....sorry boys but I call bullshit on your entitlement and diplomatic immunity.<br /><br />Haiti was the first place to divest itself of black slavery (1791-1804) but what has happened since emancipation? Haiti has had since then to unfuck itself so why now, almost one year after a disaster of unimaginable proportions is a status quo allowed to deprive its citizens of the very basic needs of life? Why are these bandits allowed to continue the legacy of the "docs"? I am sickened.<br /><br />I think back to disasters past that I have covered as a reporter, those disasters that I also in part experienced and the one thing, the one truism that was always painfully there was that unlike those whose suffering I was covering, I could leave their area, go back to a comfort zone and feel somewhat normal.<br /><br />But do I? Feel normal? What the hell is that? As long as I am painfully aware, months and years later as to what has not been accomplished? Yes, I will remain angry. When I see how simple it is to rectify or rather help and not for huge amounts of money - shit - it makes me bristle to no end. If some folks took the time to step out of their comfort zones and instead of sending donations just instead traveled to some of these places.....wow......there would be so many voices out there saying hey wtf is going on?<br /><br />I heard the excuses this past year with regards to sending assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the most devastating floods - excuses that yes, in some ways made sense regarding corruption in that country and the possibility of funds trickling into the hands of the Taleban but where do we as those who want to help, genuinely help, where do we make a stand and how do we do as such?<br /><br />Or better yet, who are we to judge? Charity, assistance - whatever......does it have to have benchmarks? Rules? Purposes?<br /><br />Aid is aid.....it is about time that those of us who can provide it speak up and force so-called governments to hear our voices and accept our manpower....set aside egos for crying out loud. This world, this precious world - I wonder on this new year's eve just what it holds.....for me - perhaps a semblance of promise for so as long as some folks read these words and maybe put into action in their own lives a proactive sense of caring and doing, then maybe there is hope in this world.<br /><br />Hey, one street, one hood, one city, one province, one country, one continent and one world - yes.....Feliz Ano Nuevo.<br /><br />Addition made on January 3rd - here is a link to a <a href="http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/haiti-rape-earthquake-mac-mcclelland">disturbing article run in November of 2010</a> regarding the horrible state in Haiti, focusing on the high instance of rape.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-28734549445222129012010-12-11T10:40:00.006-06:002011-01-31T14:51:41.233-06:00Black Water - Thin Ice<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIelSAtX1I7Tqwv9M2sSKkcXSx5BCTNHA5nsqPVifMnXmXLcxuBFXF4En_ltluir-uUslfSvGXSNAsiDELpj3z9NeTYINQmJlmkju9vqf36NT8dizKTufOdvBl8sOd7_d-u6RaddM9A/s1600/WINTER+DIVE+RECOVERY+019.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549499814804516610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIelSAtX1I7Tqwv9M2sSKkcXSx5BCTNHA5nsqPVifMnXmXLcxuBFXF4En_ltluir-uUslfSvGXSNAsiDELpj3z9NeTYINQmJlmkju9vqf36NT8dizKTufOdvBl8sOd7_d-u6RaddM9A/s200/WINTER+DIVE+RECOVERY+019.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeHODllYj4v7Rkr_PO33QRMnJXR04IJ1pjou6zYEeKJEDOgbOwbu8EuqqZBIDYeDw67unznkSRVutsQrGl6DDdIZ61cGO8nGMEvjrlbTH9gHpVqtr-iGmCrTEI1EpxdWm9xzn7k-YQA/s1600/WINTER+DIVE+RECOVERY+006.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549498935045281506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeHODllYj4v7Rkr_PO33QRMnJXR04IJ1pjou6zYEeKJEDOgbOwbu8EuqqZBIDYeDw67unznkSRVutsQrGl6DDdIZ61cGO8nGMEvjrlbTH9gHpVqtr-iGmCrTEI1EpxdWm9xzn7k-YQA/s200/WINTER+DIVE+RECOVERY+006.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a><br />
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There is a road in my neighbourhood that is not really a road but rather part of an original dike established after the great flood of 1950, a massive thrusting of the mighty Red River that engulfed an entire city, humbling its citizenry, reminding them that there are some forces that are far more powerful than those of mankind.<br />
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Water is a force unto itself, a powerful element and one that not only are we made of but one that we need to survive for without it we dry up and eventually perish. Over the millennia we have worshipped it and tried to tame it but in the end the force of water always wins.<br />
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And so it was<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/12/10/mb-body-red-river-divers-private-winnipeg.html"> last Saturday that the Red claimed a life</a>. Two brothers who had just moved to the area were off on an adventure as only excited children can embark upon. The ice was not yet thick enough and they both fell into the icy, treacherous waters.<br />
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A young man happened to be driving by and was able to rescue the older brother but it was little 6 year-old Nathaniel who would be lost.<br />
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The Police Dive Team was deployed the next day in what would now be a recovery mission, a heart-breaking one indeed that due to zero visibility would yield no results. Imagine being in a black, cold space feeling your way around branches and other detritus, your only "security" being a line you are tethered to....you are encased in a dry suit, with two heavy tanks attached....you are literally flying blind and all the time wondering just what it is you may be feeling in those cold, swirling currents. On average a diver will spend between 45 minutes to an hour in this black, icy void.<br />
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By Wednesday on the eighth of December the search was called off as conditions were deemed too dangerous to continue the operation.<br />
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The river at present is running higher than normal so it is a guessing game right now as to where little Nathaniel may be. The curves of the river and the dense brush that is underwater both serve as two forces unto themselves. He could be trapped in the underbrush or by the vagaries of the currents he could be further down river. Optimists want to believe that he will be found not too far from where he fell through the ice.<br />
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This is where we come to today's events......another team is continuing the search under the auspices of the Manitoba Search and Rescue and <a href="http://www.castcentral.ca/">Canadian Amphibious Search Team</a> - Central Region. The mood at the staging area is sombre, the temperature with the wind chill a miserable -35 Centigrade. Warming tents have been set up and the community of Point Douglas has rallied around to feed and assist in whatever small ways possible these dedicated volunteers who are putting their lives at risk to bring closure to a grieving family.<br />
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I walked down that lonely dike road last night because I had to see for myself where it had happened. I could see the flashing lights under the ice that the police team had put into place last weekend......blinking away randomly they were eerie given that this is the season of festive lights. The wreath with the Teddy Bear placed lovingly near one of the bridge buttresses, a lone sentinel of grief, was a stark reminder of what had recently taken place.<br />
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As I trudged home, legs and hands going numb from the biting cold I could not help but think of the fragile little boy, his body suspended somewhere in that black void.<br />
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I was not going to go to the staging area today but I changed my mind as that old siren call of the journalist was too strong to resist but there was another reason, several actually, that drove me to make that frigid journey today for you see I am a trained rescue diver and divemaster, albeit one who works not in cold water but who has worked in recovery in the tropics and yes, I have been through a recovery operation.<br />
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One can watch on the telly all they like about operations involving danger and the recovery of bodies and other various human tragedies and think to themselves "what is the big deal?" Yes, there are folks like that out there who by virtue of never having had to deal with this sort of scenario really have little clue as to the emotions going through the mind of one who has to set aside sadness in order to do a job that is trying under any circumstances.<br />
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That this is the recovery (hopefully) of a child makes it all the more difficult to take. I do not envy any of these individuals today and I wish them all the best in their sorrowful task but the pragmatist in me knows that no matter how well-coordinated this effort is, in the end it will be the River and several mitigating factors that will determine the final outcome.<br />
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All one can do is hope for the best.<br />
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Link to an <a href="http://drivegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/01/holes-in-icean-update-to-black-water.html">updated article posted</a> January 30th, 2011 <br />
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<div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-14987566109658676452010-12-03T10:09:00.006-06:002010-12-03T11:36:13.696-06:00Fear is the Mind-Killer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ulY81cwtoArVgX9SlQYl45IWUs6NDqyIU5U_4g9KtJxBvZzVqyYBwY4dqgujOg0g-_udzFrW2ifmcYb7WpIaJtz7AVZOXkI-SE60wI_7lHg_ulzAXB5y5gYLO51AOLAfi9SstfXtIg/s1600/dune_final2-thumb-550x440-21913.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ulY81cwtoArVgX9SlQYl45IWUs6NDqyIU5U_4g9KtJxBvZzVqyYBwY4dqgujOg0g-_udzFrW2ifmcYb7WpIaJtz7AVZOXkI-SE60wI_7lHg_ulzAXB5y5gYLO51AOLAfi9SstfXtIg/s320/dune_final2-thumb-550x440-21913.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546491951586991234" border="0" /></a><br />I have been grappling with for quite sometime now several notions as to why our society seems to be on this crazy downwards trajectory. For the longest time I had been unable to pinpoint an exact reason and then I realized that one cannot look at a perceived collective mania as emanating from an absolute but rather as something that has been festering for decades. And I speak not just to the political lunacy but of an overall malaise that I have observed in my last year or so back in the land of the big PX. (military store reference where being back home means you can have everything you have missed materially or otherwise)<br /><br />One thing is for certain however and I believe that this is true for just about anything we can encounter in life and that is the existence of the monster that is called "fear". All fear needs to sustain itself is more fear and in these days of uncertainty and rapid changes the monster called FEAR has an unlimited food supply and there seems to be no shortage of individuals willing to exploit this situation for their own gains, whatever they may be although I could hazard some damned good guesses as to what kinds of gains could be made. <br /><br />I was cooking the other night at a local eatery, a "live" production of sorts and invariably after rambling on about some of my foreign food experiences, and yes a few had gathered around to hear my tales, one woman expressed the one word that makes me bristle when talking about travel to Mexico (or almost anywhere these days) and that is "safety". I knew that a frown crossed my face, perhaps too quickly, so I immediately apologized to her after uttering the phrase "what a bunch of shit!". She asked me why and I launched into a my diatribe regarding the fear-mongering of late that to me serves to discourage folks from leaving their immediate environs. After adding some sidebars as to other experiences in places like Bosnia, Kosovo and Guatemala she looked at me and said innocently, but seriously, "is there anything you are scared of?" Without hesitation I said "BEING POOR, truly poor but let us not discount being in constant FEAR for it is fear that I find so limiting and crippling these days and with so many folks, including you, in that fear is stopping you from engaging in an adventure that you so obviously have a desire to pursue." <br /><br />Yes, that is more or less what I said.....but there are other fears too that can be just as insidious in their own right and these are unfounded fears based on lack of communication, low self-esteem - of being left out perhaps, misperceptions - many of these can be drawn to that one notion of EGO.....I ain't no buddhist philosopher but I do know that ego has been the downfall of many and yes, including myself at times.....having confidence is one thing but not recognizing that sometimes one has to shut up and just listen? Wow, that can be hard at times especially if one is fearful of the great whatevers being generated by some who should perhaps in their own right should shut up as well as they know not of what they speak. <br /><br />Some games are not mere games - not when it comes to the often-times fragile human psyche. And these days there are just too many games being played and it leads me to ask the one question of why and more so what are the gains to be had in terms of generating and fostering a culture of fear?<br /><br />Conspiracy Theory buffs would say that the notion of "control" is at the front and centre regarding a fear-based culture. Keep folks scared enough, keep them within sight toiling away and buying more crap for their homes that they seem reticent to leave and you have a willing set of pawns who will buy into whatever notions are being peddled by the power-brokers. Perhaps the present political climate in the United States would be a great example of this theory - connect the dots right? All connected dots lead to key individuals and groups that while they may look disparate on the outside philosophically there seems to be one agenda and that is one of unbridled profiteering. I believe the term these days is New World Order.<br /><br />The cynic in me would rather not address or give credence to conspiracy theories but rather speak to other aspects of the fear malaise. <br /><br />We are a superstitious bunch regardless as to how progressive we may believe ourselves to be compared to say certain tribal malcontents who still insist on murdering women because they are witches. And when I say "tribal" I do not mean the obvious inferences for what are we humans but a fractious bunch of "tribes" fighting over turf, assets and power. We, in our pampered and entitled society, we are a bunch of scared little children who would rather have our agenda for living dictated to us rather than us shaping an overall worldwide agenda that at the outset may seem daunting but if for just one moment there was an event or perhaps in a holistic way, a collective will to foment positive change - wow, that could be something incredible.<br /><br />So there it is, my confession of unbridled idealism......yes, child-like sometimes on my part these desires to see "progress", foment dialogue open to all, eradicate suffering that should not exist in a modern world like the suffering that comes with not having clean water or a reliable food source.....it goes back to my initial expression of "real" poverty being my primary fear for I have witnessed it but by the same token I have seen far more dignity, honesty and spirit in the eyes of those whose daily struggles are usually swept aside by those whose fears do not even come close to being "real"....now that is a loaded statement to be sure but in the greater scheme of life as it exists on this planet what some in our privileged society deem as being worthy of being fearful of - sorry, but I am wont to yell out SNAP OUT OF IT!!! You/we have it good. <br /><br />Or do we?<br /><br />We live in a society where anxiety disorders are part and parcel of an active, worry-filled life. We worry about everything even if some of those worries will most likely never affect us. We are told, spoon-fed even, what to fear and that the great boogie-Man is lurking around every corner when in reality we are our own boogie-men......yes, we are our own worst "enemy" so to speak.<br /><br />Fear is the mind-killer because unbridled, unjustified fear ( how can one justify a particular fear construct if they have never really experienced it?) stymies or retards those very thought processes that are key to problem-solving, discovering, exploring and yes, even living fully as not just a citizen of one microcosm but a citizen of this planet, the only one thus far that we can live on.<br /><br />This is why above all else I truly fear the notion of such for it limits me from perhaps achieving great things, wonderful things and in turn being able to share those successes and foster intellectual and community growth.<br /><br />Stop feeding the monsters people......they are more than sated, they are engorged and ready to implode.....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-45600325200339350872010-11-14T14:45:00.008-06:002010-11-14T15:58:51.835-06:00Visual Misgivings, Oliver Sacks - compensation and limitations we deal with....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKnSnnHx2L_oIBN5uSJ_kzhdYWUNKtufcYom7Hq8YyxNliDvN5htmOOB_p5ABVZMn-7jpk-M3uLP3dneXAKz29s6rb2tUutzARAcyTjlWEIXKM8pPphE4CnE1oYUgK50vMYP-TWOhCg/s1600/OliverSacksBig.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPKnSnnHx2L_oIBN5uSJ_kzhdYWUNKtufcYom7Hq8YyxNliDvN5htmOOB_p5ABVZMn-7jpk-M3uLP3dneXAKz29s6rb2tUutzARAcyTjlWEIXKM8pPphE4CnE1oYUgK50vMYP-TWOhCg/s320/OliverSacksBig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539511229677330242" border="0" /></a><br />I first heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sacks">Dr. Oliver Sacks </a>the same way millions of others did - via the 1990 movie "Awakenings", a wonderful film that I wished could have delved more into the frustrations and limitations that the characters were portraying but alas, only so much can be dealt with in two or so hours.<br /><br />The next time I was to reacquaint myself with Dr. Sacks was when I was living in Oaxaca and my friend Richard Orlandini turned me on to Sack's book <a href="http://www.oliversacks.com/books/oaxaca-journal/">Oaxaca Journal</a>, a must-read for anyone interested in Ferns and micro-environments such as one finds on Oaxaca's Highway 175, a road that I never tired of exploring and experiencing. Sacks also captured many of the other delights unique to the Oaxacan culture and geography that at that time I was embracing wholeheartedly and at present miss quite dearly.<br /><br />And then there was today, this afternoon, listening to one of my favourite radio programs, CBC Radio's "Tapestry"....today's episode entitled <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/episode/2010/11/14/face-time/">"Face Time"</a> - a nice montage on faces, sight, perception and featuring an interview with Sacks no doubt due to his latest book release <a href="http://www.oliversacks.com/books/the-minds-eye/">"The Mind's Eye" </a>which further explores the notions of perception and how some compensate for various shortcomings. Sacks also shares his experiences dealing with a particular visual ailment he suffers from as a result of a cancerous eye tumour.<br /><br />No, this is not a freebie for Dr. Sacks courtesy of me but rather an acknowledgment and at times confessorial with regards to the hiding of certain afflictions and the problems that in turn can occur due to lack of understanding and empathy by those with whom I deal with on many levels.<br /><br />Sometimes the impatience of others, that inability to "see" beyond their own experiences can be more vexing than the malady itself.....I must rest now for awhile. I do promise to expand upon this essay. Unfortunately, fatigue is but one of many symptoms that I go through on a daily basis.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-34534777446301723852010-11-13T11:21:00.006-06:002010-11-13T12:37:22.067-06:00United Nations and Women's Rights - WTF are you idiots smoking anyway?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1d7tyaZh4Ec8BWe-ZRpmrgkTTJPXuPEfbweqIvWnfhPqDvOJ6sOW5GGKVEJ2QRas6qSw0-VvHLeiFwdv68RfaesTNNP0NXoaI09NLiESU1rjbD1NGuQSLHWMgldqSJX_YH0UxBGAMA/s1600/saudi_women.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1d7tyaZh4Ec8BWe-ZRpmrgkTTJPXuPEfbweqIvWnfhPqDvOJ6sOW5GGKVEJ2QRas6qSw0-VvHLeiFwdv68RfaesTNNP0NXoaI09NLiESU1rjbD1NGuQSLHWMgldqSJX_YH0UxBGAMA/s320/saudi_women.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539098011050964402" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Moribund and male-dominated, the United Nations has proved beyond a reasonable doubt just how out of touch with reality that body can be. The decision this past week to have a <a href="http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2010/ecosoc6452.doc.htm">Women's Board</a>, ostensibly operating as a think-tank of sorts regarding women's rights, and have countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (a country famous for its high instance of Rape) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Wahhabist misogynists) be elected to this board has to rank in my eye as probably one of the biggest WHAT THE FUCK moments ever in the history of this agency. And I have seen some real boners pulled off in the name of "humanitarianism".<br /><br />Canadian writer and muslim feminist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irshad_Manji">Irshad Manj</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irshad_Manji">i, </a>author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trouble-Islam-Today-Muslims-Reform/dp/0312327005">"<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Trouble with Islam Today</span></a>", gives a nice sketch of UN blunders, corruption and manipulation as of late especially regarding women and the political arms of Islam in her recent <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/when-it-comes-to-women-the-un-flogs-its-own-integrity/article1795708/">Globe and Mail article.</a> To <a href="http://www.irshadmanji.com/">Manji</a> this latest action illustrates the loss of integrity in an agency that many of us used to look up to as an example of what we could achieve as a cohesive, caring voice. <br /><br />I lost faith in the UN years ago when working in the Balkans and it has been downhill from there ever since. Can we say "Rwanda"? I know that some have vilified me for my stance but unlike those professional bureaucrats, some who have become quite adept at kissing ass in order to maintain a particular lifestyle, I do not engage in my profession in order to curry favour or elevate my status. Rather, I do certain things because I seek a set of truths that may or not emerge, based on my observations and interactions with those affected by a myriad of issues, many of which could be easily eradicated if the will was there to do so. And no, I do not travel around on fat expense accounts nor in bullet-proof land Cruisers. I get down and dirty and have never been afraid to open my mouth - not a good quality to possess I suppose if one wants to join the ranks of the foreign service or barring that advance as a professional woman.<br /><br />It seems that even in the ivory towers of a so-called progressive and proactive agency the agenda of making the lives of women and girls better is nothing but a joke behind certain closed doors.<br /><br />Seems to me that it is never a good time to get tough on the asshole nations out there who allow Female Genital Mutilation - heaven forbid we offend someone's culture, right? Rape, "honor" killings, kidnapping little girls for sexual services - the list of atrocities committed by men (and some women) against women and girls is increasing and little has been done except the holding of conferences, the writing of position papers and other forms of "lip service" in the name of human rights - the cynic in me calls it JOB CREATION for the well-educated and connected.<br /><br />This so-called Executive Board is an insult to this woman. This board should be vehemently protested. <br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-80524733197917848532010-11-05T15:04:00.010-05:002010-11-05T16:17:37.253-05:00How Convenient - Keith Olbermann's "indefinite" Suspension from MSNBC<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7v-g9J19Pm3c8f71hJqA4WQ_Kc6Em3PmR5u-LV-2i3lYqfm0LKjUYnwBzlL9TwZRZDUfLfK7ShfWfZu6F6litn1hWBOZzFL22I0TmlOEDhxoopNXU-BKDuVyscut1Oq8fBGuLARDyQ/s1600/keith+olbermann.jpeg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7v-g9J19Pm3c8f71hJqA4WQ_Kc6Em3PmR5u-LV-2i3lYqfm0LKjUYnwBzlL9TwZRZDUfLfK7ShfWfZu6F6litn1hWBOZzFL22I0TmlOEDhxoopNXU-BKDuVyscut1Oq8fBGuLARDyQ/s320/keith+olbermann.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536170815800706674" border="0" /></a><br />Well kiddies I read this morning that MSNBC news anchor <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann">Keith Olbermann</a>, host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/05/nbc-anchorman-suspended-donating-democrats">indefinitely suspended</a> not because he made three $2400 contributions to Democratic contenders but because, HEAVEN FORBID, he did not get permission to do so from his boss, Phil Griffin. Talk about alpha male pissing matches or what? As a <a href="http://networkedblogs.com/acfyo">friend and colleague</a> posited to me today, what about all the other MSNBC employees who may have made contributions to whatever party - did they all have to grovel for permission too? I highly doubt it.<br /><br />This action, which could not come at a worse time, was precipitated more than likely by Olbermann's rocky relationship with his boss. What the hell is Griffin drinking cuz' it sure ain't a "smart" drink. I can bet that certain pubs in Manhattan will be packed today with journos from all sides either spewing venom or rubbing their hands in glee. There were far better ways Mr. Griffin, to deal with this matter. Was it your intention to make your competitor's day? Read: NewsCorp? Sir, you made the wrong move and the Twittersphere is tweeting away rapid-fire as we speak.<br /><br />We need divergent voices now more than ever in these fractious times and Olbermann's is one that is informed and entertaining enough to have drawn in a substantial amount of new viewers to MSNBC and in a rather nice offset effect make <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/">Rachel Maddow </a>as well, a household name. Like Olbermann or hate him - that is not the point. What is of primary importance is diversity in an otherwise very corporate media sphere. Strong, capable and independent voices are in rare supply in a world where being as such is strongly discouraged. The emasculation of media that has been going on now for a good 20 or so years only benefits those who are wealthy enough to play the Wall Street games.....the rest of us just want the information damnit and not hysterical opinion masquerading as fact.<br /><br />Mr. Griffin - today <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K2pLo8JV5Y">YOU ARE THE WORLD'S WORST PERSON!</a><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-30782270342061992192010-11-03T18:40:00.008-05:002010-11-03T20:31:33.983-05:00The Rise of the Demagogue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX66VPWNSrkiF7gaZ3pL9Bqf20ivaA2t13Wcc10wnZcu_Ayq4dJSAo3IqpzfAZ1XUFBj5CVl5arEYjg3TwFq4enEZG0lEHffgpDAjGvJWW8Lp9qJx0cYuO8KdiJxL5591YrEqGaR6yuA/s1600/Joseph+McCarthy.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX66VPWNSrkiF7gaZ3pL9Bqf20ivaA2t13Wcc10wnZcu_Ayq4dJSAo3IqpzfAZ1XUFBj5CVl5arEYjg3TwFq4enEZG0lEHffgpDAjGvJWW8Lp9qJx0cYuO8KdiJxL5591YrEqGaR6yuA/s320/Joseph+McCarthy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535500335160623586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bFvrT0dZDPK18LSqeVqOQsd9Vf3-BsB03WarrTOvO724jHdaH_ztqodEMTD-7bLKQyikNnKcvfmYr85Mv47pNtO5hWtfU1vzOwKxQ5kFPD8fw1rQJwslNlRwClxCAlL5OCSWTZdQjQ/s1600/hitler.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bFvrT0dZDPK18LSqeVqOQsd9Vf3-BsB03WarrTOvO724jHdaH_ztqodEMTD-7bLKQyikNnKcvfmYr85Mv47pNtO5hWtfU1vzOwKxQ5kFPD8fw1rQJwslNlRwClxCAlL5OCSWTZdQjQ/s320/hitler.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535500139995004402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogy">Wikipedia</a>....<b>Demagogy</b> or <b>demagoguery</b> (Ancient Greek: <span lang="grc">δημαγωγία</span>, from <span lang="grc">δῆμος</span> <i>dēmos</i> "people" and <span lang="grc">ἄγειν</span> <i>agein</i> "to lead") is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes. What qualifies as demagogy has been the subject of debate and ambiguity since Aristophanes first used the term, in reference to Cleon.<br /><br />Okay so I may not know who Cleon is but I do know that yesterday's election results were partially as a result of the latent whipping up of prejudice (look no further than some of the racist antics that have been played out by some on the ultra-right), emotion (hear them yell and scream at town hall meetings!!!), fears (oh my god!!! Commies!!!) and expectations of the public (whaddaya mean TARP would not instantly work???) and yes, that word "demagogue" kept permeating my pea brain today.<br /><br />So today my friends let us salute demagoguery - it is the "right" way! <br /><br />Oh, and a big shout-out to Joseph McCarthy and Adolf H. - demagogues 4evah!!<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-19166258999913849662010-11-01T13:35:00.004-05:002010-11-01T14:46:34.481-05:00National Novel Writing Month<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FFMVPQhKmZu1cmPvXs_NOQcLY0dtWcA1s7Hj0nkncfpIkRhOZ9Lg8pv0YI7Jj4ew50tMScjlwI4gvAvWwcqEUxnLL683Du3vK6_ZLwox4L4oyQcZMibzNL6-hGVoX2csHh7ArCrh7A/s1600/writers-block.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FFMVPQhKmZu1cmPvXs_NOQcLY0dtWcA1s7Hj0nkncfpIkRhOZ9Lg8pv0YI7Jj4ew50tMScjlwI4gvAvWwcqEUxnLL683Du3vK6_ZLwox4L4oyQcZMibzNL6-hGVoX2csHh7ArCrh7A/s400/writers-block.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534669289645826066" border="0" /></a><br />The goal - 50,000 words in one month, starting TODAY. The website is heavily trafficked being that it is the start today so keep on trying to log in regardless of timing out issues. <br /><br />Why I am doing this? I am normally a non-fiction writer and this may be an interesting way to look at my crazy world in a different fashion, to step out of my regular "voice". Or this could be humiliating and thus fall under the category of enforced masochism. We shall see. <br /><br />I have sent out some challenges to friends who also write. If anything it will give us more excuses to get together and drink beers whose names are unpronounceable.<br /><br />Let the writing begin - No guts, no glory and kids, braggin' rights are worth something!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo......</a> click away and challenge yourself!<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-11541410226206273072010-10-23T23:55:00.005-05:002010-10-24T02:15:51.393-05:00The Council of Conservative Citizens vs. the NAACP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopS5cOK6K5qi-Gv-FNDBBNCcgLZHgPupLBracoSdnOw2HhpQmsi0CIMZLiGEtMarGQRxnf1Q_ZkaPAYP2KkGvyCwAukJEsgeJ7RpPTH3Qlebl8cP84Y_kBusQOXEw1er4gqb2PmoDiw/s1600/racist+writings.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopS5cOK6K5qi-Gv-FNDBBNCcgLZHgPupLBracoSdnOw2HhpQmsi0CIMZLiGEtMarGQRxnf1Q_ZkaPAYP2KkGvyCwAukJEsgeJ7RpPTH3Qlebl8cP84Y_kBusQOXEw1er4gqb2PmoDiw/s400/racist+writings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531496998203193378" border="0" /></a><br />Underneath an ad for "historical" flags is this little informational tidbit on the website for the <a href="http://cofcc.org/">Council of Conservative Citizens</a> (CofCC), a group that calls the<a href="http://www.naacp.org/content/main/"> National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)</a> a "militant race lobby".<br /><br />"Shocking Statistics<br />Between 1976-2005, blacks made up 13% of the US population, but committed 59% of felony murders. Overall, blacks are 9 times more likely to commit murder than whites.<br />Source: US DOJ"<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>It does not matter what link one clicks, this very important nugget of info is always there, on the right hand side, just in case you, the angry white American, did not have the inclination to read in its entirety the <a href="http://cofcc.org/introduction/statement-of-principles/">"Statement of Principals"</a> where certain leanings of this group are unabashedly outlined.<br /><br />Reading this manifesto the word "irony" keeps dominating my thoughts - and "stupidity". Read the following....<br /><br /><strong>"(2) We believe the United States is a European country and that Americans are part of the European people.</strong> We believe that the United States derives from and is an integral part of European civilization and the European people and that the American people and government should remain European in their composition and character. We therefore oppose the massive immigration of non-European and non-Western peoples into the United States that threatens to transform our nation into a non-European majority in our lifetime. We believe that illegal immigration must be stopped, if necessary by military force and placing troops on our national borders; that illegal aliens must be returned to their own countries; and that legal immigration must be severely restricted or halted through appropriate changes in our laws and policies. We also oppose all efforts to mix the races of mankind, to promote non-white races over the European-American people through so-called “affirmative action” and similar measures, to destroy or denigrate the European-American heritage, including the heritage of the Southern people, and to force the integration of the races."<br /><br />Holy shit. Where do I begin? Do I start laughing or should I be scared? This group calls the NAACP a militant race lobby but I cannot recall ever seeing in any NAACP literature an exhortation to ensure that only Americans of "color" should dominate the landscape.<br /><br />This group states that its objective is to bring power to what they call "the silent majority" of conservative Americans by organizing at the local levels - just like the Tea Party, hmmm? That is a pretty tall order to be making but it does lead one to wonder just what the hell is going on in American political discourse these days and if one has the time or the inclination as they should then it is high time Joe and Jane Average started to do some research before the polls open in November.<br /><br />That old rub of politics making for strange bedfellows is not too far off the mark.<br /><br />The NAACP recently commissioned a<a href="http://www.teapartynationalism.com/"> report</a> on the efforts of ultra-rightists, white supremacists, radical christians, militia types (and yes, even David Duke gets a mention) and their strategies being employed to jockey for position within the fractured but in some ways very powerful Tea Party movements. This is why the C of CC has a hate-on for the NAACP. The proverbial cat is now out of the bag.<br /><br />Groups like the C of CC while easy to dismiss as whacked out loonies have their genesis in other nationalist, racially-based ideologies and it is often during times of economic upheaval that the radical elements gain momentum and in these days of instant communications it is he who fires the first salvo that gets heard. Does not matter one iota if what "he"is saying is based on conjecture but what does seem to matter is one's ability to pander to those ugly sentiments that are just under the surface of some skins.<br /><br />Loony or not, these folks are organized, manipulative and they are gaining momentum. Wake up America, please? For those of you reading this who do not want to read the entire 96 page PDF file on the NAACP website there are several excerpts on <a href="http://www.teapartynationalism.com/">this page</a>.<br /><br />I found their analysis to be spot-on and in many ways they were almost apologizing to the Tea Party for even digging this stuff up....I would say they are far more charitable in their discourse than those on the "right" who put down the NAACP. <br /><br />"I hope the leadership and members of the Tea Party movement will read this report and take additional steps to distance themselves from those Tea Party leaders who espouse racist ideas, advocate violence, or are formally affiliated with white supremacist organizations. In our effort to strengthen our democracy and ensure rights for all, it is important that we have a reasoned political debate without the use of epithets, the threat of violence, or the resurrection of long discredited racial hierarchies."--<strong style="font-weight: normal;"><strong></strong></strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Jealous"><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><strong>Benjamin Todd Jealous</strong></strong></a><strong style="font-weight: normal;">, President and CEO of the NAACP</strong><p><strong> </strong></p>Just sayin', casual observations notwithstanding there is some pretty inflammatory language being used these days the likes of such that has not been heard since the heyday of the civil rights movement.<br /><br />So much for forward momentum.....<br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-58961940367516834302010-10-21T21:03:00.005-05:002010-11-01T15:53:21.128-05:00A Shout Out to my Macedonian Fans.....I love tracking software....Hello good peeps from FYROM and Skopje!!!! I guess I should add more stories?<br /><br /><a href="http://drivegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-kiss-ever.html">link back to original story....hehehe</a><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-82292587850769661372010-10-19T14:07:00.007-05:002010-10-19T14:32:40.039-05:00Why are the lights on in BROAD DAYLIGHT?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeexoNTISoA_sR7hmYt8LsOcgPL4iJ6vu6tSGvKTllc1OpvR-eckZpxtNS4T_QIC4jUJDK8ijPVPf9DX58ofM9QiR-ND4ezkf8qjDUKIKtQuWs-gwtWyM-CRaXF0LPyFIr9qfthEJZA/s1600/street+lights+007.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeexoNTISoA_sR7hmYt8LsOcgPL4iJ6vu6tSGvKTllc1OpvR-eckZpxtNS4T_QIC4jUJDK8ijPVPf9DX58ofM9QiR-ND4ezkf8qjDUKIKtQuWs-gwtWyM-CRaXF0LPyFIr9qfthEJZA/s400/street+lights+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529840079204202114" border="0" /></a><br />It is an honest question and it plays to the whole notion of our very wasteful, and sense of entitled society....why? Even though Manitoba has "clean" and "cheap" power, the cheapest on the planet in terms of pennies per kilowatt hour, we, the consumers, are fucked because of waste, pillaging of the pubically-owned corp known as Manitoba Hydro by our very government who started it - oh man....I am pissed off to no fucking end.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LET THE RANT BEGIN....and from some very practical standpoints.</span><br /><br />I converted my house several years ago to be heated via electricity. I figured at the time that I would save money and then the juggernaut known as Manitoba Hydro took over the gas company.....I am no economist but does that not scream monopoly???? So much for the New Democratic Party being "socialist" and "caring".....they are all about the money honey.<br /><br />I have lived in so many places where power was an issue and a costly one and I tend to bristle when some asshole from a Crown Corporation starts telling me to conserve, all the time when they are wasting a resource that is powered by another resource that with Global Warming could be no longer a resource? Wow.<br /><br />These fat, white guys, in their marble-floored offices, overlooking their empire based on entitlements.....how many boards does Bob Brenneman sit on anyway? Obviously many as his arse looks like it has been firmly planted in many comfy seats of power.<br /><br />Ad hominem attacks aside, there are those of us who practice conservation not only because we have to but because it is an intelligent thing to engage in.<br /><br />So why has our government locked into several contracts to sell our precious resource, power, cheaper to the greediest of consumers, Americans ( or rather some ) and in the meantime try to tell me that if I do not pay my one hundred dollar household bill (a bill that took four months to accrue? ) I will be cut off? And this edict is being said to me while I look up in broad daylight at two in the afternoon at bright, blazing street lights???? BTW the bill was paid....as they always are even under financial duress.<br /><br />Wow. Guess the government coffers are running dry.....just like someday the rivers that power these behemoths of waste will do as well....whatever. As long as that status quo maintains, I guess all is good in the land of Nod.<br /><br />And our great gods ( all male of course ) of government want to start more hydro mega-projects....that notion however is for another day, another specific topic-focus. For now, I shall enjoy a cold drink, courtesy of my energy-efficient refridgerator.....and not courtesy of a bloated crown corp....peace out....live large....and be kind to hamsters, especially fat ones.<br /><br />BTW did I say it before? The posted image was shot at around 2 PM today, October 20th when the sun was out in full-friggin' force....arrrggh.<br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-36782473845344102202010-10-15T10:03:00.016-05:002011-01-30T15:04:27.003-06:00Water Barrels - from the prairies to the tropics, lifelong practices in appreciation and conservation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRngA5id2QefpysqXOm6HWqV62J2QtjMkWTdwlK0Zxc92UQNRIEm_VGAh9i"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 193px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRngA5id2QefpysqXOm6HWqV62J2QtjMkWTdwlK0Zxc92UQNRIEm_VGAh9i" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">First Realizations.....lessons learned in childhood</span><br /><br />My mother held up the mason jar that had been sterilized, inspecting it closely to make sure it was perfect. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she did this. As she talked with her father I heard the words lab and alkaline being bandied about.<br /><br />Like just about every farm in our district we had a well, a very deep one, housed in a little red building, the interior immaculate. No farm detritus contained in there, just shiny buckets and tightly coiled hoses. We children were always told to stay out the well house but for me staring down into that perfect deep and shimmering pool it was a magical portal to another kingdom promising of adventures to come. For my mother however that well was the bane of her existence.<br /><br />Mother trudged out to the well house with her jar and when she returned minutes later the jar had been filled and sealed with a colorful wrap. She dutifully wrote down the date and placed the jar into a carton festooned with very official-looking words like "Norquay Water Labs Test Samples". When my grandfather departed later that day the box with the jar went with him.<br /><br />I didn't give the jar much more thought as there were more important things on my youthful mind like going out on my bicycle to explore the prairie world around me. Water? What was the problem? We had a well. What could possibly be wrong with that magic nectar? We had a creek and a small slough and in some springs we had too much water that would flash flood our yard when the snows in the escarpment mere miles west of us would rapidly melt bringing with the melt a deluge.<br /><br />Two weeks later the phone rings - one long ring followed by two very short ones - our dedicated party line ring. Mom answered in her very official Good Morning voice and within a minute her brows again were furrowed. I could see her nodding her head up and down for yes and then several times sideways for an emphatic no and then she said Thank You Very Much and ended the conversation. She sat down at the kitchen table, heaved a big sigh and poured herself a cup of tea from the china pot that never seemed to go empty and said "R----" we have alkaline water....only she said it like "alkalye" so it took me awhile to find the right word in the family dictionary.<br /><br />The lab had recommended that we do not use our well water for drinking or cooking. Yes, we could occasionally partake of a glass but to continue imbibing it was not good. Salts, while necessary for our survival, can also be deadly. It seemed that in the case of our well, we had a little bit too much of a good thing.<br /><br />Good enough for the chickens but not good enough for us. We had to get our water for consumption trucked in after that day. Stored in several barrels in the basement it was to be my task as a child to bring up buckets of water daily for our cooking and drinking. It was a task that stuck with me and those memories of conservation and practical uses came in quite handy when many years later I would find myself in a similar situation, several times over, thousands of kilometres away.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wet Season, Dry Season...Honduras, Jamaica, Belize and Mexico </span><br /><br />There was a neatly lettered, encased in plastic-wrap sign over the communal sink at the hotel where I lived. It stated as such that no taps were to be left running, toilets only flushed with seawater and that showers should be limited to five minutes or less as the hotel relied solely on rain water stored away during the rainy season, which at this time was winding down quickly.<br /><br />We were coming into the dry which would last for at least six months and even though our cisterns were full and on some days, overflowing when a late-season squall would come roaring in conservation of this precious resource was maintained and enforced. Those of us who were living on Isla Utila, part of the Bay Islands chain in Honduras - a mecca for folks pursuing diving careers, we knew the drill all too well being that many of us had already lived in other places in the tropics that were slavish to the wet/dry seasons. We had to be, what would seem to some, tyrannical in our approaches to wanton waste.<br /><br />Yes, there were some lucky folks on our island who had wells with beautiful, sweet water and they were indeed the lucky ones but even they did not waste what they had for these old timers knew the vagaries of the skies and in the evenings sitting over beers would regale us newcomers with stories of deprivation during their childhood.<br /><br />I took my stewardship duties seriously as the one long-term resident of our hotel. Most of the guests who would only be there for a week or two had no problems adjusting to these rules but on occasion the Duena or myself would be in the awkward position of having to correct a guest and in doing so incur their wrath. Hate to say it but the paradigm of Urban versus Rural would be an all-too-common theme in my subsequent observations regarding conservation habits.<br /><br />One could always tell apart those who had an appreciation for our situation from those who just did not give a shit. One morning I heard one the guests go into the breezeway to use the sink to wash up and brush his teeth. I could hear him cursing about the bucket that we used to draw seawater for the flushing of the one communal toilet that was not hooked up to the cistern supply. The latter invectives being hurled did not trouble me but what he did next bothered me to no end.<br /><br />He turned on the tap and I started a mental count. I could hear him brushing his teeth but what I did not hear was the sound of the flow of water being interrupted for brush cleaning. This dude was leaving the tap running while he was brushing. Why do people do this? When my count got up to almost thirty I got up from chair where I had been reading, walked over to the sink and turned off the tap, subsequently pointing at the sign which was in English, Spanish, German and French.<br /><br />He stopped his brushing, forcefully spat out his toothpaste and asked me why I turned off the tap. I went on to explain why and he interrupted me saying I am paying to stay here and I will use as much water as I want to!!! I was shocked at his arrogant attitude and not just because he was paying the princely sum of around six bucks a day to stay here but because he felt it was his right to do as he wished without a care for those of us who months later would obsessively measuring what water was left in those cisterns.<br /><br />The Duena, hearing the heated discussion, came upstairs, looked this man right in the eye and said I have the right to ask you to leave. The look of shock that registered on his face was priceless and no matter how strongly he pleaded it fell on deaf ears. Within the hour he was gone and our household was peaceful.<br /><br />Thankfully I did not run into this stroppy character too many times and like most tourists he was gone shortly thereafter leaving the rest of us to deal with those day to day rituals that were far from mundane.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oaxaca.....beach camping and water barrels...</span><br /><br />Prior to living out in the islands I got my first foreign lesson in water scarcity when I was camped out (in my Westphalia) in the fishing village of San Agustine, in the very arid state of Oaxaca, Mexico. At that time it was a sleepy, quiet place, perfect for someone like me who was more or less, self-contained.<br /><br />I had a ten-gallon capacity in water tank, more than sufficient for my meager needs but how to stay clean? Yes, there I was right on the gorgeous, rugged Pacific Coast but how to get the salt off of me? Where I had parked and set up camp was perfect. Agosto, the gentleman whose land I was staying on had just that year built a cabana for bathing. I was in heaven. For the incredible sum of one whole dollar a day I could dip a bucket into the barrel, bathe and rinse out my clothing. Primitive yes, but I did not care. I would learn some valuable skills here that I would be able to apply years later when living in Jamaica and Belize.<br /><br />Agosto gave me the conservation lecture over beers and I immediately understood. All one had to do was look up into the hillsides where the only green was that of the succulents and cacti that dotted and dominated the landscape. This was not the tropics of the rainforest.<br /><br />Near the bathing cabana was a small cabin whose resident, a retired police officer from Seattle, was already a veteran of conservation. We got along famously and once in awhile he would lament our water shortage, having lived in a region that is dominated by rain, but he agreed that by slowing down our lives, parsing out and recycling our water, we were forced to appreciate a situation that millions if not a couple of billion folks elsewhere had to contend with everyday, for years on end, not on their journeys like us. We had that option of returning to civilization with its abundance and sense of entitlement.<br /><br />Cop Richard, as I came call him, helped me string a line to allow the sea air to "cleanse" my whites. I would only wash when absolutely necessary and when I "bathed" it was standing over a large tub that I had bought so I could capture the washing water to use later to water our veggie plants near the cabana.<br /><br />We had a good system going and we could stretch out that water barrel's contents for days.....until that is, two more hippie van groups showed up. This encounter was to be for me very telling regarding that sense of entitlement that many travelers have, an almost elite and arrogant care-not attitude. I find it disgusting.<br /><br />The cabana was not for bathroom duties. In fact we had no bathroom except the wide open sea. I had an army-issue folding shovel, more buckets and of course my own waste paper. I had no problems with venturing into the sea, my front yard at the time, to take a piss. The only time it got dodgy was when the rip tides were in full-force. As to ahhhh, bowel evacuations that is where the shovel, bucket, bleach and asswipe came in handy. Richard kept a chamber pot in his cabin and I would take my bucket into the cabana for my privacy. After using it I would go out for a walk, dig a hole, dutifully bury my waste and then return to camp to clean out my bucket, rationing of course my water use and making good with the bleach.<br /><br />When these other campers showed up us gringos, at Agosto's insistence for his English was spotty at best, were in charge of educating the new arrivals. Within less than one day the barrel was depleted and the cabana stinking of piss. We were livid as was Agosto, who was also insulted by the sheer stupidity of these "pinchay cabrones". He was in a tough position as he sold cold beers, made wonderful seafood out of his beachside stand, did some fishing etc....in other words he could not afford to toss away these six travelers but ask them to leave he did.<br /><br />My respect for Agosto's integrity tripled that day and I promised him that I would make sure that I would consume as much beer as I could so he would not be broke.....well, the laughter that erupted from him....precious. As to my liver? Well, that story is still evolving....hahaha.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Catching the rains in Jamaica.....</span><br /><br />Jamaica, always being advertised as the perfect island paradise, abundant supplies of clean, fresh water and having a fecundity that is the envy of the Caribbean. Yes, that may be the case but it is not so everywhere.<br /><br />Perched up in the hills overlooking the sea about ten kilometres outside of Negril were homes ranging from tidy little cottages to the sprawling estates of the mega-rich but there was one thing all those dwellings had in common - cisterns. The very rich of course had no issues with water but those of us who had smaller cisterns were always aware and governed our usage accordingly.<br /><br />Westmoreland Parish is one of the driest regions of Jamaica and your average tourist who visits the famed seven mile beach of Negril never has to worry about how much water that twenty minute shower uses. The average tourist would never go into the impoverished Negril neighbourhood of Red Earth where squatter's shacks were plentiful and water hauled by the bucket out of rusty barrels. Bathing was done in big old tubs or by using a gravity shower whereby water was hauled up to a container above the shower where the user could pull a string and water would be come out of a calcified and rusty shower head.<br /><br />My friend Miss Jan's home was thankfully not of the rustic variety and was one of those beautiful homes perched on an escarpment with the priceless seaview. Unfortunately though this location was problematic in that the clouds, swollen with rain, rarely dumped down on us....such are the vagaries of the winds and climate.<br /><br />We had been rationing for weeks, waiting for rainy season to begin. The cistern was almost empty and we had been forced to drive into town to get water for drinking and as to our bathing routines well, we had an interesting system for that as there were several beach side hotels where we were known so we were granted pool and shower privileges. We were grateful for this kind gesture.<br /><br />One day, on one of those torrid days when one finds themselves lolling about, tired from the heat and conserving their energies, the skies darkened and we heard the not-too-distant rumble of thunder. We didn't pay it much attention having been "teased" like this several times in just the past week. We did not stir. And then it happened - one humongous burst of thunder the crackle of lightning so close that our power got knocked out. Immediately the deluge came and we women moved fast.....Jan barking out orders to grab whatever plastic tubs and get them under the drain spouts that collected precious rain water.<br /><br />She had gone to open up the lids of the cisterns so that we could transfer the precious cargo.....yes, the cisterns were fed off of the roof but why waste what was coming down? It was a rather comical affair as her porch was a polished cement and therefore not given to having lots of traction at the best of times. I must have fallen on my ass at least a dozen times with these damned buckets but continuing catching and filling I did. This deluge went on for an hour and at the end of it all the cisterns had been replenished to half of their volume.<br /><br />Over beers, soaked through we laughed and celebrated our ingenuity. It is a memory that I cherish to this day and one that I could appreciate and that was to be repeated just a few years later at my own little cabin in Belize.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bakabush and the Rotoplas....a rain celebration after deprivation in Belize</span><br /><br />It was those experiences in Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica that enabled me to apply sound stewardship of my own water resources and had in many ways brought me back full circle to my formative years and that damned salty water well.<br /><br />My elevated cabin although in the part of Belize that received around 55 inches of rain during the wet season was close enough to the sea to render the ground water unusable even for watering plants. I did not even like showering with this water, so slimy and smelly it was so when we first designed our water system I told my then-husband that we needed to build a platform on the upper deck by which to capture the water from the roof so it could feed into the barrel and then allow for gravity to carry it into the kitchen and bathroom. We had an additional ground tank that caught the rainwater as well that had an electric pump hooked up to it so the upper barrel could be filled but that second barrel came more than a year later so for the longest time I made do with a 450 litre container.<br /><br />I had all sorts of tricks at my employ. Like those camping times in Mexico I made excellent use of laundry lines so my towels and linens would always stay fresh. My gravity fed shower water was never wasted either as I stood in a tub whilst showering, saving the grey water for my fruit trees. Little things like saving my drained pasta water for cleaning out my pots and pans.....we never think about things like that in urban society as we have it all, hot water too, at the flip of a tap.<br /><br />For me, living in what many of my neighbours felt to be very primitive conditions, I was happy and did not mind adhering to these practical routines. The dry season that year had dragged out and many of the more well-heeled foreign residents faced empty cisterns and were on waiting lists for water to be hauled to them. One never knew where this water came from but one day I made the discovery and I was none too pleased when I caught the water man pumping his cargo out of a stagnant canal where folks tossed their garbage and sometimes animal carcasses. Disgusting to say the least. To say that I felt a bit of schadenfreude when telling some of these snooty bastards where their water came from? Oh well, one cannot always be nice.<br /><br />I was down to probably my last twenty or thirty litres.....the barrel had been invaded by frogs and geckos seeking comfort from the searing, dry heat....in other words, it was a skanky, slimy mess and I had to empty it and bleach it out. I had no choice. I was worried though what I would do for household water once cleaning out the barrel as there was no rain in the immediate forecast.<br /><br />A few hours later, cold beer in hand, relaxing in my hammock I heard the rumble. I got up to see the clouds quickly rolling in, the skies darkening and the temperature plummeting. A smile came across my face as the first drops hit the roof. I whooped and cheered as the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof sounded like a freight train rumbling through my home. It was so loud that I could not hear the music nor did I care.<br /><br />I grabbed the cell and hurriedly dialed my husband in Canada and yelled out my joy. Yes, he could hear the rains. I stripped down and stood outside on my deck not giving a care in the world as to who may have driven by and maybe seen me. I was ecstatic. Now I knew how desert dwellers felt when the rains came.<br /><br />For the next few months I had too much water, the barrel was never empty but the lesson remained and even after I installed the second barrel I never lost sight of how I had to respect the wet and dry seasons and adjust accordingly my usage of water.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ending thoughts.....</span><br /><br />Now that I find myself back here where I grew up, in the land of 100,000 lakes - the remnants of glacial retreat and probably one of the largest watersheds on the planet, I still have what some consider water saving eccentricities. I use my grey bath water for plants, I capture rain water in the summer for my garden and in the winter I leave my hot bath water in the cast iron tub so it can give off needed moisture and extra heat. I only run the dishwasher when it is totally full and no, I do not leave the taps running when I brush my teeth.<br /><br />Maybe if we all took the time out to just for one week, change some of our habits, I wonder how much water we could save? I regret never measuring empirically what my daily usage was in those far-off locales but I can safely say that it was nowhere near what the average North American uses in one day - the contents of my Rotoplas or rather around 450 litres.....wow.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-74333355927844805052010-10-13T23:45:00.003-05:002010-10-14T00:01:57.472-05:00Everything is a fucking metaphor regarding...lossA lightbulb burst tonight in my stove in a rather spectacular fashion and it was not the fact that it burst into shards almost getting into my breads that bugged me but rather the memories of the one who would have had been there to ensure that all was well, it can be replaced and I will help you clean up the shards.....<br /><br />He is no longer here.....yet, in this big old house I am sometimes confronted, maybe even assaulted, with the reminders of him. It could be something as innocuous as seeing his writing on a label on one of my spice jars....he had very distinctive ways of printing. <br /><br />When well-meaning folks say to me, go forward - you will heal - blah, blah, blah.....there are times when I would love to smack them down hard for they have no idea as to how I truly feel. I am an emotional fraud in that I rarely show my real feelings for it is one thing I have learned hard and that is this - one always gets kicked harder when they are down. <br /><br />My ass is sore....as are several other body parts suffering too. <br /><br />Ah, the metaphor part....that may have to wait.....am I building up to something? Yes. Some stories are best told, or in my case, spewed, when the time is right. Consider this part of a dry run.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8140162070383429562.post-58187620183699445492010-10-11T11:12:00.003-05:002010-10-11T11:18:25.293-05:00Blog Action Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCOME4_GEVHBcBJs37xWqZdHg-OtITMoJolsuQc8arTc_UjjGfESCowu5xCxgspW9JIGLSlY4qipdvcyKDoXYbUykdKUATAp_mkM4QuwqK4whd0yL_jhaC2qm7Ikxv3zqZixFcaKewQ/s1600/water+dropping.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 94px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCOME4_GEVHBcBJs37xWqZdHg-OtITMoJolsuQc8arTc_UjjGfESCowu5xCxgspW9JIGLSlY4qipdvcyKDoXYbUykdKUATAp_mkM4QuwqK4whd0yL_jhaC2qm7Ikxv3zqZixFcaKewQ/s400/water+dropping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526823159708921682" border="0" /></a><br />Four more days until I post my essay on water.....I am torn as to which way to address this very important issue or do I just go off on one of my usual free-form string-of-consciousness diatribes? We shall see.....until then click on the title link to register your blog. It is an issue that affects ALL of us equally yet many take it for granted....<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>the Stiff Rodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12153354006982911125noreply@blogger.com0