The ubiquitous wailing & gnashing of teeth in the international media over the "case" of one J. Assange and his organization, WikiLeaks, continue to astound me.

In particular, his arrest and bail denial on what may or may not turn out to be a proven charge, one that some might say… Read full post »

Only caught snippets of the rally this afternoon, among other things going on in my house, but I have to say that it looked like a fun event, the most a-political thing I've seen coming out of the USofA in Lo! these many years. And bravo to those 2 great satirists,… Read full post »

Not the actual beehive, of course. Think vuvuzelas, in quantity. A strange place to find inspiration? Maybe. They've certainly inspired complaints from World Cup viewers around the world. This is about a different, if related, kind of inspiration.

Mi esposo is embedded in the World Cup. When he isn't… Read full post »

that a minority government, voted for by only about 35% of the 65% of us who bothered to vote in the last federal election, are spending more than a billion of our tax dollars pandering to the G8, G20, and the slavering media hounds who lick their Armani shoes.

that religious-right-nutbar… Read full post »

We just got back from a visit to my family, down in the Niagara Peninsula. It's always lovely down there, but spring is one of the best times. As with so much of the rest of the province, spring has been very hasty this year, so flowers, shrubs and fruit trees… Read full post »

I didn't realize that my last post here was actually LAST YEAR!

Well, there are some good reasons for that.

1. Spent 65 days travelling in New Zealand (will try to post some pics, sometime, don't hold your breath)

2. Got talked into a couple of consulting contracts that took more… Read full post »

To cut right to the chase, I enjoyed this book! It was a very good read, & would make a great gift, to yourself or someone else, see http://tomcordle.com/ for this purpose!

“The Disappearing Cemetery” is billed as the story of “two thousand years of history from the perspe… Read full post »

 Miss me? 

Well, I did it! And in record time, too. According to the word count verifier at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ I rang in at 51,825 words, as of yesterday evening.

The "novel" itself is pure shite, full of unrealized characters, hanging plot threads, gaping holes and far too many adve… Read full post »

So far, I've made it to 31,222 words, and it's the halfway mark today.

It's not much of a story, but I'm getting back into the writing habit. I've written several (crappy, unpublished) novels already. This will make one more.

See you all on the other side.

That's me, for the next 30 days.

I've participated in previous years, "winning" (writing the required 50K words in 30 days) in 2004 & 2005, but had work & personal issues get in my way the past 3 years. Now that I'm retired, I'm back in the game.

If you've never… Read full post »

I'm as puzzled as the rest at the Nobel Committee's decision, but just perhaps it might be something of a reward to the USAmerican people for having finally dumped the neo-cons? Even if by a very slim margin... Remember this time last year when everyone was still saying he was unelectable… Read full post »

I was given passes to the preview showing here of Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story", which I saw last Thursday. I found it both a better-constructed documentary (albeit in classic MM style) & less funny than his average one. He almost sounded like he wished he didn't have to charge… Read full post »

...because I have very little to say!

 Well, that's not strictly correct, I have lots to say, but little inclination to say it right now. A lot going on in real life at the moment, so the blogosphere is temporarily on hold, at least as far as writing in it is… Read full post »

What with the cooler nights (great for sleeping) & the leaves definitely turning colour, fall is here for sure. OK, it's also the equinox, but that's purely incidental. In fact this is about the only season here that times out with those traditional quarterly dates. Winter here comes a lot earlie… Read full post »

In making a comment on a post by Kanuk, I noted that "Christian charity" has become an oxymoron in the hands of the religious right or so-called "moral majority", a more mean-spirited bunch than I've come across in Lo! these many years.

That got me to thinking about oxymora (that's… Read full post »

I really never intended for this blog to be so political. Honest.

Some issues really do need more exposure, though, & since I have this place to vent, might as well use it.

Racism continues to rear its ugly head in Canadian life. I'm ashamed of our current federal regime, led by Harper… Read full post »

Muriel Duckworth, a lifelong peace activist, has died aged 100.

While strong in her own views, she remained open-minded, often bringing a note of… Read full post »

A few weeks ago, there was a bizarre news item telling of the drowning deaths of 4 women, three sisters and their aunt, who were found in their car at the bottom of the Rideau Canal, near Kingston Ontario. It seemed especially odd since there were no signs of how they… Read full post »

For those who have been following the machinations of the USAmerican health care "industry" to stave off public health care reforms, and who may have heard some horror stories about how poorly served Canadians are by our public health care system, you might be interested in reading this article, with… Read full post »

The queue of books by my bed is getting bigger again. It's not quite the leaning tower of death I had a few years ago, and I've got most of them on a chair that's far enough away from my pillow not to crush my head if they fall, but between… Read full post »

OK, I'm as sad as the next person when someone dies. Especially someone I know personally, but also when I hear of someone noteworthy for their achievements in life. And there's nothing like a good wake to celebrate their passing. Just last weekend I was at yet another memorial for a… Read full post »

Just returned from a lovely weekend in Altamont NY, where we revelled in traditional music of & for all ages. The Old Songs Festival of Traditional Music & Dance has been around since 1981, growing out of the previous festivals at Fox Hollow. Some material from their early years can be… Read full post »

I recently attended a memorial for a close friend's father. He lived a full life of nearly 90 years, and will be much missed. Alert until his final hours, he chose when to die during a period of rapidly deteriorating health, by declining further treatment. As a fellow atheist, he also chose… Read full post »