Another One For The Books

Well, it is almost the end of another year -- less than six hours to go where I live. I feel as though I should write something profound, but the reality is that I have nothing to say.

In some ways, this was a very good year for me: I took some time off after working for 15 long, hard years in a very stressful industry; I spent two wonderful months volunteering at an orphanage in Tanzania; I found a new job at a company I like; and I made a lot of friends. I do hope, however, that I won't be hurting 2007's feelings if I say I hope 2008 is even better.

I hope that 2008 is a year of peace and health and prosperity for you and those you love. Come to think of it, I wish the same thing to those you don't love, too. Let's all work together to make 2008 the best year ever.

Remembrance of Oranges Past

I bought a box of Christmas oranges today, which in and of itself is really not terribly noteworthy. However, it got me thinking back to what it was like when I was a kid.

Every year the children of my church put on a Christmas program involving songs and readings and every year we were rewarded for going through the trauma of performing in public with a small paper bag of treats. Most of the bag was filled up with peanuts, but there was always usually a couple of other nuts, including the most prized of all nuts -- the Brazil nut. There was also always a few pieces of sugar candy, a chocolate or two, and a tiny, perfect orange from Japan or China.

Back then we called them Christmas oranges, because they were only available in the stores at Christmas. These days we call them mandarins or clementines, depending on where one lives in Canada. I think our name was better.

After the Storm

We had a major snowstorm in Ontario yesterday. The roads were a mess. The sidewalks were a mess. There were white out conditions and, in the Toronto area, "thunder snow" -- snow fall accompanied by thunder and lightning. If you didn't have to be out, it was kind of pretty.

I walked home from the bus depot earlier this evening and saw just how pretty it had become. The sun had long set, but the sky was clear and the snow that covered the ground sparkled like diamond dust or like stars in a milk white sky.

My Silence is Red Hot

I have not updated this blog much lately. You might think it is because I have nothing to say. The reality is that I just cannot find a way to talk about things calmly. It seems every time I turn on the news or pick up a paper, there is one more thing to get angry about.

I've tried blogging lately -- I really have -- but every time I start, I erase what I've written. This is just a glimpse of the topics that I have not had the heart to blog about:

• the murder of Aqsa Parvez and a society (Canada) that is so afraid of being culturally insensitive that every fucking comment is couched in phrases designed to soften the blow, as if people who condemn the heinous act are condemning Islam;
• the major league baseball steroid scandal and the decline of the only sport that I truly enjoy watching in person;
• the total fucking hypocrisy of the two-faced sons-of-bitches in the Conservative Party and their idiotic, myopic, short-sighted, totally-fucking-out-of-their-heads-insane position on climate change and how they ought to be ashamed for the role they played at sabotaging international discussions at Bali and, earlier, at the Commonwealth meeting;
• how sick and tired I am that Steve Harper constantly announces initiatives like he did in Tanzania recently without actually adding any additional money to the budget, and how he reduced the GST (the only fucking tax that the wealthy in this country can't weasel their way out of paying) instead of using the money to improve the infrastructure of Canadian cities;
• how totally fucked this country is politically because neither Stephane "Deer in the Headlights" Dion nor Jack "70s Porn Star Moustache" Layton have a snowball's hope in hell of ever being anything other than a footnote in Canadian political history, thereby giving the Weasel King Harper a free reign to continue to ride roughshod over the very things that made this country worth living in;
• the entire Robert Willie Pickton case and how long he was able to continue preying on women because nobody gave enough of a damn to look into their disappearances;
• Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Amy Winehouse, and any other celebrities who are in the news for anything other than their professional performances;

Wow, I just swore more in this post than I have in the past two weeks, but I can't help it. I feel as if the entire world is out of whack and I don't know what to do to restore balance.

First Response

Robert Willie Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder the other day. When his lawyer was asked how he took the news, the reply was something to the effect that Pickton was responding the way you would expect when someone has been convicted of six counts of murder.

To be honest, I really have no idea what he meant. How does one respond to such news? No doubt, one's first reaction is shock. Second, one would hope, is a sense of remorse and a sense of regret at the harm one has caused the victim, the victim's families, and others. Of course, if the murderer were like the newly sentenced Lord Conrad Black, one might respond with protestations of innocence, lardered with a strong sense of injustice and a sprinkling of persecution complex. From what I can tell, Pickton did none of these. He just sat, like he did for most of the trial.

Another Species Discovered

It seems more than a little ironic -- the environment is under heavier pressures than ever before, and yet new species continue to be discovered. Take the case of the world's largest cobra, Ashe's spitting cobra (Naja ashei), whose existence as a separate species was recently announced. Previously, the species had been considered a variant of the black-necked cobra, but blood and tissue analysis have determined it to be an entirely new species. One has to wonder what other species are out there waiting to be properly identified.

Confessions of a Nerd

I joined the modern music age today -- I bought some songs on Napster.

I suppose it is typical of me to take so long to purchase music on-line. I mean, I was still buying cassette tapes three years after CD players came out. And when I finally bought a CD player, it had a single tray.

Oh well, better late than never, I suppose. I just hope they don't change the technology on me.

Is It Too Late to Bah Humbug?

I am in the midst of doing Christmas cards right now and I am beginning to wish that I emulated Ebenezer Scrooge. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything major against the whole Christmas card thing -- its just that I can no longer see the wood of my kitchen table because it is hidden under a mountain of cards and envelopes.

The Opposite of Today in Toronto

Mtumbwi on the beach, Kendwa, Zanzibar Island, Tanzania

The Best Christmas Ever

It is only the 2nd of December and it already feels as if I have been barraged with Christmas for weeks. Two weeks ago, I was put hold by someone at work and I heard Christmas carols as the hold music. Last Tuesday, I watched an episode of Bones in which Santa Claus and Christmas trees played prominent roles. Friday I went to the mall to get some jeans and I was already lost in a sea of Christmas shoppers. I am not even prepared to discuss the November release of the Fred Claus movie.

Judging by comments I have heard, a lot of people are trying to figure out what presents to buy people who already seem to have everything. If you are lucky enough to fall into this category, permit me to make a suggestion: why not help educate an AIDS orphan in Africa?

Having spent two months living at the Olof Palme Orphan Education Centre just outside of Dar Es Salaam, I can tell you that even a small amount of money goes a long way in Africa. $40 is enough to pay for one child's school books for a year. $75 is enough to pay a teacher's salary for a week. $80 will buy school supplies for one class. Even a gift of $10 will help feed the children.

If you are interested in making a donation, simply click on this link: http://vad.aidmatrix.org/vadxml.cfm?driveid=2096. The site accepts donations by Visa, MasterCard, Discovery, Diners Club, or American Express.

You just might make it the best Christmas ever for some very special young ladies.

An Unhappy Anniversary

Today is World AIDS Day. In the19 years since it was first observed, people have continued to get infected with HIV. People have continued to die. Some estimates say that as many as 25 million people have died of the disease. I know that most, if not all, of the girls at Bethsaida had lost close family members to the disease.

I know there has been progress since 1988, but the number of infected people is still growing (as is the number of people claimed by this killer). Maybe one day we will observe World AIDS Day to commemorate its eradication. I just don't know how long it will take.