My New Year's Project

One of the nice things about having New Year's Day fall on a Monday is that it gives us a long weekend to start the year with.

I have decided to spend the next few days painting some miniature soldiers. I will definitely paint my 54mm Gladiators (including bear and lion) and will possibly paint either my 54mm Indian infantry or my Napoleonic French general staff figures.

I realize that this is perhaps not the most productive use of time, but I think it is a good way to keep out of trouble.

I Feel ... Sad

The hardest working man in show business, James Brown, is working hard no more. After a tumultuous career, he died in hospital in the wee hours of Christmas Day. True to form, he had checked into the hospital because he was coming down with something and he had a show to do on New Year's Eve.

James Brown is one of those great entertainers who was able to transcend boundaries of nation, culture, and genre. You don't have to come from the Projects to appreciate songs like I Got You (I Feel Good) or Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1. Nor do you have to be African-American to identify with Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud), Pt. 1, as the movie The Commitments so wittily pointed out.

The news reports say that Brown had an impact on a wide range of popular musical genres including soul, funk, rock and roll, and even rap. I don't know to what extent this is true, but I do know one thing -- hearing James Brown belt out "I feel good!" is a thrill no matter how many times I hear it.

Rest in peace, James. You don't have to work so hard any more.

Great Debates: Wounded Knee

On this day, 116 years ago, the last major engagement of the western Indian wars was fought at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. 500 troopers from the 7th Cavalry Regiment, supported by several pieces of light artillery, found themselves engaged in a fire fight that resulted in the deaths of 25 troopers and over 150 Lakota Sioux. The 7th Cavalry had been dispatched to escort the Lakota to transport which would take them to Omaha, Nebraska. Twenty soldiers won the Medal of Honor for their actions in the fight.

On this day, 116 years ago, American soldiers perpetuated a massacre of Lakota Sioux that resulted in the deaths of approximately 300 Lakota, most of them women and children. Colonel Forsyth, the commander of the 7th Cavalry, alarmed the Lakota with his clumsy attempts to disarm them. Shooting broke out and many on both sides fell from gunshot wounds. Up to half of the Lakota casualties resulted from victims freezing to death in the cold December night. Twenty soldiers won the "Medal of Dis-Honor" in the fight.

Highlander

This is a photograph of one of my 54mm plastic soldiers. It is from the Armies in Plastic kit of highlanders that served in the 1882 Tel-El-Kebir campaign in Egypt (kit #5416). As is the case with other AiP kits, the figures have a real retro feel to them and look as if they are old-fashioned tin soldiers.

This soldier is from the "Bogmont Highland Regiment". In other words, the figure does not reflect an historically accurate uniform but rather is intended to create a nice looking highlander in all his scarlet Victorian glory.

Merry Christmas, No Matter How It's Said

Merry Christmas

Fröhliche Weihnachten (German)

Feliz Navidad (Spanish)

Merry Keshmish (Navajo)

Joyeux Noel (French)

Miilad Majid (Arabic)

Shuvo Naba Barsha (Bengali)

Feliz Natal (Portuguese)

Chung Mung Giang Sinh (Vietnamese)

Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiin)

Subha nath thalak Vewa (Sinhalese)

God Jul (Norwegian)

Meri Kirihimete (Maori)

Buone Feste Natalizie (Italian)

Shub Naya Varsh (Marathi)

Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad (Farsi)

Zalig Kerstfeast (Dutch)

Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun (Cantonese)

Melkin Yelidet Beaal (Amharic)

Kala Christouyenna (Greek)

Jwaye Nowel (Haitian creole)

Sung Tan Chuk Ha (Korean)

Mitho Makosi Kesikansi (Cree)

Veselé Vánoce (Czech)

Selamat Hari Natal (Indonesian)

Boze Narodzenie (Polish)

Shub Naya Baras (Hindi)

Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal (Tamil)

Srozhdestvom Kristovym (Ukrainian)

Maligayamg Pasko (Tagalog)

Geseënde Kersfees (Afrikaans)

Hyvaa joulua (Finnish)

Meri kurisumasu (Japanese)

Nollaig Shona Dhuit (Irish Gaelic)

Great Debates: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Today being Christmas Eve, it seems a fitting time to address one of the great debates in modern life: should one open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

In the interest of transparency, I have to reveal that I grew up in a household that was firmly committed to the Christmas Eve camp. Our usual drill was to leave the home to attend the Christmas Eve service. Invariably, my father forgot something in the house, so he went back in to collect it while my mother, my siblings, and I sat in the car waiting for him. The service would drag on, the ride back home would take forever, and then we would enter the house -- only to discover that Santa had been there before us. Somehow, the floor beneath the Christmas tree was littered with gifts by the time we got back.

In time, I came to realize that many people were not blessed by an early visit from the jolly fat man. My less fortunate friends had to wait the entire night to discover what Santa Claus brought them. I was never sure of the reason, but I suspected it had something to do with going to that evening service on Christmas Eve.

Now that I am much older, I think I would change sides if I had children. As much as I enjoyed opening gifts on the 24th, I think it is even better on Christmas morning. It gives children an extra evening of anticipation. It gives adults something to do between Christmas dinner and the groaning board of desserts laid out by overly generous hosts.

In the long run, it doesn't really matter whether you are an Evist or a Dayist -- Christmas is more than just a day to open gifts. Whomever you are, wherever you live, I hope you have a great day celebrating according to your traditions.

Merry Christmas to all.

Happy Festivus

Today is December 23rd, or Festivus. I know -- in some households, Festivus is celebrated on December 24th or even December 25th, but I am an orthodox Festivite and I celebrate it on the same day as the venerable Costanza. I don't have a Festivus Pole, but I have eaten the Festivus dinner, aired the grievances, and performed the feats of strength. All in all, it has been a great holiday.

Today's Playlist - Gabriel Faure

I have been listening to the music of Gabriel Faure a lot this past week. Or rather, I have been listening to two of his works a lot this week

Faure was a major figure in the world of French classical music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a composer, an organist and pianist, a teacher, and the director of the Paris Conservatory. Faure was one of the foremost composers of his time, but this week I concentrated on listening to Opus 48 and Opus 50.

Requiem in D Minor (Opus 48) is one of my favourite classical pieces of all time. Most requiems are written to commemorate a specific individual, but Faure stated that he composed his requiem "for the pleasure of it". Although he composed it after the death of his father, Faure explained the piece's significance in slightly different terms:

“Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”

The piece runs about 35 minutes long and consists of seven movements, including my two favourite parts -- the Piu Jesu and In paradisum, which is traditionally included in the Order of Burial instead of a Mass for the dead. The libretto is sung entirely in Latin, but the words and music blend so well that the voices become another instrument.

Faure once commented that someone described the Requiem as a "lullaby of death". If you listen to Opus 48 you will agree with this observation, but you will probably join me in feeling that the Requiem is also a lullaby of life. Like many other beautiful works of art, the piece provides reassurance that there is a meaning and a purpose to life that we often only suspect exists.

Opus 50, the Pavane in F Sharp Minor, provides me with a similar glimpse at the "face of God", if you will. A pavane (or pavan) is a slow, stately dance that originated in the Spanish court in the 17th century. Although Faure's Pavane was meant for orchestra and not dancing, it retains the elegance one would expect from a court dance.

Pavane in F Sharp Minor reminds me of nothing so much as the ocean. It begins softly -- almost too quiet to hear -- and builds to a series of musical climaxes that rise and fall like the ebbing and flowing of the tides. As was the case with the Requiem, there is something comforting about Opus 50, something that provides an intimation of the existence of God.

Charlie Brown Sans Linus

Today is December 21st, the first day of winter. There are less than four days left to Christmas and I still am not in the spirit of the season.

I've been to the shopping malls, but I am so uninterested in the vendors and their wares that I have resorted to the loser's standby -- gift cards. I have bypassed the kiosk that Purdys sets up each holiday season. I have not listened to a single Christmas album yet, not even the Bruce Cockburn album that I love. I can't even bring myself to watch The Grinch or A Christmas Carol because the protagonists give up in the end.

I know the reason why, though. I feel like Charlie Brown in the Christmas special. I see other people getting into the swing of things, but I just don't seem to connect. I sense the commercialism, but I don't have an alternative explanation.

There is one big difference, though, between me and Charlie Brown -- I don't have a Linus to put things into context. There is noone to dim the lights and step up to the mike and give me something to hold onto.

All the News That Ain't Really News

I think I am going to quit watching the news.

One of the big stories in last evening's news was the story that Tara Conner, the reigning Miss USA, has been given a second chance by ubiquitous ham Donald Trump. The lovely Ms. Conner, or so it has been claimed, had sullied her title by drinking whilst under age, doing drugs, and making out with Miss Teen USA. This behaviour clearly violated the high standards that the American public expects its beauty queens to uphold.

To be honest, I don't know which was more disconcerting -- the fact that the potential firing of a beauty queen was considered news or the fact that the potential firing of an American beauty queen was considered news on a Canadian network. Given the truly important issues facing Canadians -- Afghanistan, globalization, and the environment spring immediately to mind -- I find it hard to believe that anyone cares if Miss USA was seen kissing Miss Teen USA.

You know, sometimes I feel as if I am watching the decline and fall of my civilization, but at least I can rest assured that the news media will help keep beauty pageant winners accountable to the general public.

News from Borneo

The World Wildlife Federation made a remarkable announcement in Geneva today. Scientists discovered no fewer than 52 new species of plants and animals on the island of Borneo since 2005. The new species included:

• two tree frog species, including one with green eyes;
• six species of Siamese fighting fish;
• a catfish with suction cups on its belly to anchor it to rocks;
• the world's second tiniest fish that measures less than a centimetre in length;
• twenty-two other species of fish;
• sixteen new species of ginger;
• three species of trees; and
• one broad leaf plant species.

These discoveries were made in a 15-month period from July 2005 to September 2006. The volume of new species is amazing in itself, but it was only in April of last year that the WWF reported that 361 new species had been discovered in Borneo in the decade between 1994 and 2004. These new species included:

• 260 insect species;
• fifty new plants of various types;
• thirty new freshwater fish species;
• five species of crabs;
• seven frog and one toad species;
• six species of lizards; and
• one species of snake.

This cornucopia of biodiversity is not surprising, considering the fact that the island of Borneo is home to one of the largest remaining rainforests in the world. Of course, the downside is that the rainforests of Borneo, like rainforests everywhere else on earth, are under pressure from humanity.

Maintaining this incredible diversity -- including those species that have not yet been identified -- may come down to people deciding that a one centimetre long fish is more important than cheap rubber or palm oil. The trouble is, we humans don't have a great track record of doing what is right for our fellow species on the planet.

Now Its Time to Emancipate Minds

On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution became law. The Amendment abolished slavery as well as involuntary servitude. With the passing of the law, the "peculiar institution"of slavery became a thing of the past.

At least, it became a thing of the past in a legal sense. I am not entirely sure that it has become a thing of the past in a psychological sense.

I am reading a business book on organizations and their values. It is written by an American-born consultant who has lived in Canada for years. I know the author. He is intelligent, articulate, and genuinely interested in people. He is liberal enough to pass as a Canadian. He also refers to "race" in his book, even though race as a biological concept does not exist. (He uses it in the sense that people should be judged according to merit, not gender, age, or other characteristics, including race.)

The case of Michael Richards is an indication of how deeply ingrained the divide between white and black is in the American psyche. I have no idea how heckling can lead to racist, violent imagery, but that is exactly what happened. I somehow doubt Richards would have responded with comments about invading small countries and marching in unison if the hecklers had been of German stock. The fact that Richards used the "N" word is bad; the manner in which he came to use it is even worse.

A final bit of evidence of the deep psychological wound that still exists can be found in the December 4th issue of Macleans magazine, which profiled Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. The article addressed whether or not Obama, who has a white mother and an African father, is "black enough" to be considered black.

Apparently America cannot get beyond the "one-drop rule" (which states that if a person has even one drop of non-white blood, he or she is to be considered coloured). I think this is a shame -- and a danger. As someone who likes Americans and wishes them well, I think it is time that they emancipated their minds from this artificial construct of race. It is time to fully accept that all men and women are created equal.

Happy Belated Anniversary, Wilbur and Orville

Yesterday was the 103rd anniversary of the first flight. That's right -- the Wright brothers first slipped the surly bonds at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. The first flight was a 12 second hop that traveled 80 metres. From this inauspicious beginning, the world began to shrink. Over the next half century, peoples of the world became tied in ways that no one would have imagined on that cold December day on the beach in North Carolina.

Glücklicher Geburtstag, Ludwig!

On this day in 1770, in the city of Bonn, the world's greatest classical composer was born. That's right, today is Ludwig von Beethoven's birthday.

Had he lived, Beethoven would be 236 today, which would also make him the world's oldest person.

Take that Mozart!

Happy Hanukkah

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. The celebration has its roots in the rededication of the temple after Judas Maccabaeus defeated Antiochus IV, the Seleucid emperor who defiled the holiest site in Judaism.

Hanukkah is more than just the commemoration of an historical event -- it is a metaphor for the rededication of one's life to a higher spiritual calling. Christmas, which is a mere ten days away, is a similar call to reflexion and rededication. Perhaps this year, people will heed the call of the season. Perhaps this year, so will I.

Death of a Dolphin

There was sad news out of China earlier this month, when the Xinhua News Agency announced the demise of the Chinese River Dolphin.

The species, which lived in the Yangtze River, had been under pressure from hunting, the destruction of its environment, and the loss of food sources. Construction of the Three Gorges Dam had a huge impact on the degradation of the dolphin's habitat, while noise pollution from increased waterborne traffic led to collisions with ships.

The last sighting of a Chinese River Dolphin, or baiji, was made in September, 2004. The event that caused Xinhua to declare the species extinct was a recent 6-week survey of the Yangtze River in which no dolphins were sighted. Some experts argue that this was simply a result of bad weather and murky water conditions, but even if there are survivors, there are probably too few left to keep the species viable.

The passing of the baiji is the first time a cetacean species has been exterminated entirely as the result of human activity. Its relative, the Chinese White Dolphin which lives in the waters off Honk Kong, is also under serious pressure, with a population estimated at less than 150. It is likely to share the same fate as the baiji.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ... Easter?

I hate to sound like one of those weather fanatics whose favourite television chanel is The Weather Network, but I am intrigued by the winter we are having. Today it got up around 12 degrees Celsius (that's 54 degrees Fahrenheit). We have had very little snow thus far this year, and what snow we had was gone within a couple of days. We've had more rain than normal.

I don't know if this is evidence for global warming or not. I realize that it has, on occasion, still gotten below freezing at night. On the other hand, I find it worrisome when I am able to see buds on the branches of trees on the 14th of December.

I do know one thing -- a lot of people will not get into the full Christmas spirit until the winter weather comes.

My Playlist

I am listening to some CDs that I have not played in a while -- albums from the African section of my music library. Some of the albums are compilation albums, while others are single artist albums. The titles I have listened to since Sunday are:

• The Queen of African Pop - Brenda Fassie (1964-2004)
• The Best of Miriam Makeba, The Early Years
• Spirit of African Sanctus, The Original Recordings by David Fanshaw (1969-1973)
• The Very Best of Africa
• The Best of Africa, The Millennium Collection
• Women of Africa (a Putomayo presentation)

The great thing about African music is its wide range. There are traditional songs, dance music, and fusions of jazz and traditional music. The next group of CDs I listen to will broaden the range, because I will be listening to artists such as Angelique Kidgo, the Kutis, Youssou N'Dour, and Ali Farka Toure.

Christmas Shopping Blues

I have been shopping for Christmas presents this week and I have to admit that I have not been enjoying it. I don't know why, but I just don't seem to be in the Christmas mood this year. In the past, I actually looked forward to some of the shopping, but with the exception of a quick trip to the Masterminds toy shop in Aurora, I have not really enjoyed much of the shopping. I don't know why I am not in the holiday spirit, but I am sure that as the day comes nearer, I will be more festive.

... Or is it?

I may have spoken too soon. I just walked home for lunch and it didn't seem too bad. The sun is out. There is no wind. The roads are wet, but snowless. I didn't even have to put on a hat or gloves.

Winter's Here ...

I know that winter has been hitting western Canada pretty bad for weeks already, but yesterday was the first real day of winter in Toronto as far as I am concerned. When I listened to the radio, the temperature was -8 degrees Celsius (that's 18 degrees Fahrenheit). With the wind chill factor, it was down to -18 C, or 0 F. No matter how you slice it, it was a day for a hat and gloves.

In Memorium - Les Femmes de Montreal

17 years ago today, a disturbed young man went to the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and committed the worst act of violence against women in Canadian history. The gunman (whom I shall not refer to by name) forced men out of an engineering class and began shooting the women. He then attacked people in other parts of the Ecole.

By the time the gunman finally shot himself, he had killed 14 women and wounded nine women and four men. His reason for the violence? He had applied for admission to the engineering school, but had been declined. He blamed this on affirmative action and on the women's movement in general. The murders were his response.

Today, people across Canada will gather to remember the victims of the Montreal Massacre, as well as other victims of violence against women. Let us remember them by name:

Genevieve Bergeron
Helene Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganiere
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

Happy Ninja Day

Today is a most auspicious day -- it is the third annual Day of the Ninja.

The ninja, as you may or may not know, were warrior families who practiced a particularly stealthy form of warfare in samurai-era Japan. They are often held as models for secretive special operations soldiers.

The Day of the Ninja was created in 2003 to celebrate the ninjas. According to the official Day of the Ninja website ( http://dayoftheninja.com/index2.html), appropriate activities include dressing like ninjas and spreading ninja-related information on the internet. This is my contribution.

I realize that this posting is a bit late in the day, but celebrating your ninja-ness on the 6th is just as ninja as celebrating on the 5th -- since nobody will be expecting it! In case you don't know how to be a ninja, check out any of these sites:

http://www.ninjaburger.com/employment/manual/ninjamask.jpg (how to make a ninja mask)

http://www.folds.net/tutorial/models/shu_2_piece/shu_2_piece_diagrams.html (how to make a paper throwing star)

http://www.penofchaos.com/ninjas/ (a website en francais)

http://quizilla.com/users/aeonite/quizzes/Are_You_a_Ninja (an on-line quiz to determine if you are a ninja)

My Celebrity Sighting

So there I am in Michelle's Baguette on St. Clair (or as the locals pronounce it, Sinclair). I had just gotten in line behind a man in a bomber jacket when this tall dude with platinum hair and a large platinum moustache walks by me and grabs a bottle of water from the cooler. He tells the guy in the bomber jacket that he was taking a water, and that guy paid the cashier.

As he walked past me, I notice that the tall man looked kind of familiar. A second later I realized that the man who had grabbed the bottled water was none other than wrestler Hulk Hogan. The whole encounter took less than 10 seconds and then it was over, but I was left with one overpowering thought -- I thought he was taller.

I mean, I am a little over six feet tall, but Hogan couldn't have been more than two-and-a-half inches taller than me. He was still impressive -- especially considering he is 53 now -- but he looks way bigger on television. I wonder if that is true for all professional wrestlers.

Tripping Down Memory Lane

I spent the weekend listening to cassette recordings. It is funny how I have not listened to them in years. I am not really a technophile, but once I started purchasing compact discs I stopped listening to tapes. Or maybe, once I bought a car without a cassette player, I started listening to CDs more.

Some of the cassettes were in rough condition. A few did not work at all. Others squeaked so much that I couldn't hear the music. One got tangled up in the workings of the stereo. Most did work, however, and it was a lot of fun reacquainting myself with old friends like Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba, Clannad, the Wolfe Tones, and 90% of my blues and jazz collection.

I suppose I could do the same with my vinyl LPs, but I don't have a turn table. Good thing I was smart enough to record my albums to cassette when I had the chance.

Book Review - Voyage of the Turtle

I just finished reading a most excellent book by Carl Safina. Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur is the story of the plight of sea turtles in general and the leatherback turtle in particular.

These massive beasts -- males can weigh up to a ton -- have been on earth for over 100 million years, yet today they face mixed fortunes. In the Pacific, leatherback populations are under siege and numbers are dropping. In the Atlantic and Caribbean, on the other hand, populations are on the rebound after years of decline.

I love animals. I especially love frogs and reptiles, but I had never given sea turtles much thought before reading Safina's book. Now that I have read it, I am amazed that I had not paid much attention to sea turtles before. After all, they are magnificent animals capable of voyages across vast oceans that stagger the imagination. In many locations, however, they are facing extinction.

Fisheries -- especially shrimp and longline fisheries -- have played their role in the turtles' decline. In some cases, turtles are actively sought as prey; in others, they are the accidental by-catch of factory fishing. Some of the saddest passages in the book are when Safina describes the fate of turtles entangled in nets.

The major cause of concern is not the fishing industry, however, but rather a concerted assault on their eggs. Whether it is degradation of nesting sites or poaching of eggs, the smaller number of females who come ashore to breed are finding it difficult to replentish their race. Little hatchlings that can fit into a man's palm have always had a tough time making it to the water's edge, but the odds against survival seem higher than they have ever been.

Voyage of the Turtle contains scenes so achingly sad to make you cry. It also contains stories of unnecessary loss that will make you mad. But the book is not all doom and gloom. Safina leavens his tale with stories to give you hope for the future survival of these beautiful, gentle giants of the sea.

I have never seen a sea turtle, but now that I have read Voyage of the Turtle I long to do so. Until then, I will say a prayer for the little hatchlings that struggle to make it to the ocean and I'll say a prayer for a species like mine that exterminates these wonders of creation with so little thought.

Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur
Carl Safina
Henry Holt and Company, New York 2006
ISBN: 0-8050-7891-6