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 I've written several (crappy, unpublished) novels already.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 »

All my good intentions about blogging more often collided with my equally good intentions to do more gardening now that I'm retired. While good intentions are most often found paving the road to hell, this time the garden path won out & blogging came a distant second.

 There have been plenty… Read full post »

Misdirection, disinformation and outright lies. Do these make good neighbours?

Here’s the latest from supposedly informed and reputable politicians in the USofA. If that isn’t an oxymoron.

Canada more lax than U.S. about whom it lets in, Napolitano says  (Clarifies comments tha/… Read full post »

I honestly don't know where to start. I've contemplated posting several times in the past few days, but was too hot under the collar on several counts to make any sense.

The continued abuse of women in much of the Islamic world is obviously a sore spot, with recent events in Afghanistan… Read full post »

Excellent op-ed article in the Globe & Mail today:

When Wealth Became A Character Flaw

I find this particularly apposite, since I had an interesting exchange over the bridge table the other night. I've been playing bridge with the same group of women for more than 30 years. We've all moved… Read full post »

Having vented my spleen in a couple of posts about politics, it's time to talk about something else.

Nearest and dearest to my heart is books. My partner accuses me of living in a library, and complains that there will soon not be room for him in the house. Of course,… Read full post »

More disturbing news on the Canadian political scene. Not surprising, but disturbing.

The current Conservative-Reform-Alliance-Party's Science Minister has interpreted a question on science (specifically, evolutionary science) as a challenge to his religious beliefs, refusing to answer a questio… Read full post »