Scarborough Music Theatre's Annie on easy street.

Scarborough Music Theatre's Annie, presented at Scarborough Village Theatre from November 4-20, 2010 is already completely sold out so they need no boost from me -- but I'll give them one anyway.  Having seen the show, I would say it's a winner.  Though the show was inspired by Harold Gray's popular Little Orphan Annie comic strip (first published in 1924 and only just recently canceled in June of this year!), this presentation of Annie brings what could be a 'cartoony' piece to life with fully fleshed out and believable characters who charm and entertain their audiences.

Amanda Sinclair, first time Director, has pulled together a fantastic cast including James Robert Woods as Warbucks, Zandee Toovey as Hannigan, Patty Sullivan as Lily St. Regis, John Palmieri as Rooster Hannigan, and, of course, the charming and talented newcomer, Devin Cecchetto as Annie.  Amanda has presented a solid, minimalized staging of this show.  Unfortunately, some of the scene changes were cumbersome - a common problem on that stage.  And there was, unfortunately, some unevenness in the overall production but this was outshone by the obvious warmth and investment of this very talented cast and Director.

Len McCarthy, Musical Director, steered his cast to some beautiful vocal work.  However, the orchestra was, sadly, not clean and tempos were a bit strange, suggesting that Len was struggling.  Also, the orchestra, at times, overpowered the singers and could have used a bit of ramping back.  However, vocally, the show was very strong and enjoyable.  Cheers, to Len and his cast.

Choreographer Amy Helsby did an excellent job of capitalizing on the talents of her cast, inserting choreography seamless with the blocked action and with absolutely appropriate physical styles -- from the gymnastics of the orphans to the prim and proper movement of Warbuck's household staff.  Occasionally, the focus of the moment was a bit unclear; however, very solid work from both the cast and the choreographer.

The orphan ensemble was excellent and full of energy, and it was obvious that each had worked hard on developing an individual character.  I did have some trouble understanding them at times, though, both because of miking and vocal placement.  However, their dancing and acrobatics were stunning, making them a joy to watch.  Congrats to these very talented young people.  The adult chorus was called on to play numerous roles during the show from the down and out, to servants, to performers in a radio show and rose to each occasion with distinct character work and a solid focus throughout. Kudos to them and their Director.

There were so many highlights in this show. Zandee Toovey (Hannigan), John Palmieri (Rooster), and Patty Sullivan (Lily) burned up the stage with "Easy Street" easily making the presentation of this song one of my most memorable moments in community theatre.

James Robert Woods (Warbucks) and Devin Cecchetto (Annie) had a lovely chemistry and warmth which charmed the whole audience.  Both performers sang beautifully and were a joy to watch.

All in all, SMT has a winner with Annie, an enjoyable show for all ages.  There will still be rush tickets available (despite the sold out show - there were empty seats in the theatre last night).  Just get yourself down to the box office early on a show night.  If last night was any indication, you have a good chance of seeing a great show.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee gets it right.

I took my family to see Encore Entertainment's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Sunday afternoon and we enjoyed the show immensely.  Director, Mario DAlimonte, Music Director, Ellen Kestenberg, and Choreographer, Larry Westlake have put together a strong ensemble cast to present a tight, enjoyable show.

Spelling Bee tells the story of a group of quirky kids trying to win a regional spelling bee.  It's a cleverly written, funny show and, as part of the action, audience members (who volunteer) are called up on stage and participate in the bee.  Much of the action is adlibbed and this talented cast pulls off both the impromptu and scripted work beautifully.

This is truly community theatre as it should be and I highly recommend you go see it. 

Saying no.

I am a director in theatre.  I love it.  Love it.  And I think I love it partially because the essence of art is a positive.  It's saying yes.  Yes to new opportunities, yes to crazy ideas, yes to the humanity of it all.  I love to hear the word yes, as well.  It's my favourite word, in fact.  In my own personal philosophy, yes is life affirming. 

So, why, do you think, am I saying no a lot, lately?  It's got me a bit worried because I do so much like yes.

Well, what am I saying no to?  A lot of mainstream society, right now.  I am saying no to television, to fast food, to the daily grind, to playing games on my cell phone when real people are sitting right there.  I am saying no to standardized education for my daughter.  I am saying no to buying a new car every four or five years, to redecorating my house every three, and to buying a whole new wardrobe as the seasons change.  I am saying no to....

Uh, forget it.  Nothing to worry about, here.  Move along.

No Excuses - Our rights are ours to lose.

We are in a period, worldwide, in which society is more restricted.  They're even ramping back on liberal minded policies in Denmark, for goodness sake.  So, so...the pendulum swings.  However, basic human rights (should I say human necessities) are starting to be restricted here in Canada.  This is scary.  Recently, Alex Hundert (one of those jailed in the fallout from the protests of the G20 meeting in Toronto) was offered bail.  He refused because the conditions were so draconian:  he was not allowed to express his political views, or consort with political activists, or plan political meetings or marches.  Huh?  This is a guy who is not yet convicted.

I keep wondering how this kind of censorship could possibly be thought appropriate in a free society?  And no one seems to care.  Why not?

I would have said ten years ago that folks simply didn't know.  That the mainstream media wasn't reporting what they should and few folks read the papers anyway.  But now?  Well, now there are loudmouths like me.  And there are tons of mes out there, just waiting to jump up and down and do their lollies over this kind of thing.  Okay, I'm not doing my lolly.  I am a little too stunned that the courts attempted to so completely control Alex Hundert.  However, the internet is full of folk like me who are darn happy to put this information in your face(book).

So, no excuses.  It's not ignorance.  Perhaps we just don't care. 

These rights we have, this freedom, it is ours to lose.

We should keep our lunch money.

When we discuss keeping  corporations operating in this country, employing lots of Canadians, we all think that our current neo-liberal measures make a lot of sense:  taxes reduced systematically since the 1970's, laws eased, environmental disasters cleaned up or ignored by government, massive mistakes bailed out by governments, obscene remuneration packages and bonuses ignored.  Oh yes!  We must take care of these corporations.  Why, the fabric of society is at risk.  Everything we've worked toward will be lost if we don't help the corporations.  Where will we work?  We all need our cubicles!

Well, that's just the lobbyists talking and the media parroting..  Are we really supposed to listen to lobbyists?  Should we really listen to the media?  Uh, no.  Yes, I understand that businesses could pack up their balls and go to the States, but I bet this simply wouldn't happen.  Other countries (Scandinavian) have proven that reasonable taxes and humane, moral laws do not send businesses running.  Even in our own country, we have seen that banks (under much tighter restrictions than in the States) are still humming along happily with lots and lots of cubicles.

The fact is this:  in pandering to the corporations, we've given our lunch money to the schoolyard bully.  And we all know from childhood that the bully will never be assuaged.  He will want this day's lunch money, and the next day's lunch money, and then, our new pair of running shoes, and then...  Where does it all stop?  Why are we so eager to let this happen?  Could it be that we are, truly, all living in fear?

I think the answer is yes.  The baby boomers en masse are, obviously, entitled, whiny, snotty-nosed wimps.  It's on our watch that this all happened.  We're so scared that we're going to lose these cubicle jobs and the benefit packages that go with them.  And what's the result?  Pretty much what you'd expect on any playground.  We are, of course, getting what we most fear.  The fabric of our society is currently unraveling; the middle class disappearing; there is a war on poverty and the environment.  Fear has sent us down a road to certain failure.

Maybe we need to stand up and give these corporations a bit of a black eye, metaphorically speaking.  Maybe we need get our lunch money back (get taxes back to 1970 levels, make corporations accountable for their own environmental impact, insist on a reasonable minimum wage, heavily tax insane bonus packages).  Why not?  Currently we are standing in the schoolyard with an empty tummy and bare feet.

And, really, what are we risking by taking a stand as a people?  A bunch of cubicle jobs that everybody hates.  Hmmmm.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

The rise of Rob Ford in Toronto is confusing.  The man is clearly anti-transit, anti-arts, anti-city, anti-humane.  Is this a triumph of stupidity over reason?  Of selfishness over care?  Of crassness over thoughtfulness?

It's funny. I always wondered how the heck Julius Caesar could have won power in ancient Rome.  Clearly, he was an egotistical punk, willing to do anything to gain power and, clearly, those who knew him would have been smart enough to know that.  Now, unlike Rob Ford, Caesar was brilliant, don't get me wrong.  There's not a lot to compare the two.  But a violent punk, nonetheless.

Could it be that the liberal factions in Rome were split then just as the liberal factions in Toronto are split right  now?  Could it be that there were too many reasonable voices and not one strong voice around which we could all rally?  Watching this happen in Toronto makes me think that, perhaps, split liberal factions was one of the factors that allowed Caesar to power and helped the Republic devolve into an Empire.

What devolution will we experience in Toronto, if Mr. Ford gets into office, I wonder?

I would call for the leading liberal candidates to come together.  I know you believe your platforms have little in common but compared to Rob Ford, folks, you are all, practically, running the same campaign.  I have no idea how you could choose among you.  Play a game of rock, paper, scissors if you have to, but pick a leader, get behind her or him, and win this fight against Rob Ford.

I know; I know.  Some of you will have to put personal considerations and personal ambitions behind.  But if you don't, you run the risk of damaging that very thing you are running to protect.  And, when Ford leaves, there will be more of a mess to clean up.  So, come on.  You can do it, folks.  Rock, paper, scissors.

All or Nothing

In Ontario, the government funds not only a public school system but a Roman Catholic School system as well.   Sounds rather magnanimous of the people of this fine province, huh?  Especially since the number of practicing Catholics has dropped so much, it's not in the toilet, it's more flushed out into Lake Ontario somewhere.

But it makes me wonder?  If we are funding the Roman Catholics, shouldn't we be funding absolutely everybody else?  The Jewish, the Buddhists, the Taoists.  The Islamists, Bahai, Hindu, Confusionists, Jainists, Shintoists, the Sikhs...the, the, the....

Phew.  Funny about systemic discrimination.  We don't really think about it.  But it isn't really fair, is it?  We can't fund one religion and not fund all the others.  We would be implying that the only real religion is Roman Catholicism.  That's the one we should trust to teach our children.  You know, the one that is sodden with pedophile priests.  That one.

Hmmm.  On second thought.  What about the 'nothing' option.  Let's not fund any of them at all.  Let's have public education be public and any religious instruction be the responsibility of the parents.

Huh.  Maybe that's too radical....

A thirty second difference.

Well, I was wondering about line ups the other day, thinking about folks lining up to buy the latest gadget or other.  I, personally, appreciate those folks because they make things cheaper for me.  They are willing to pay premium prices for having something first.  In our house, we just wait about a year or so and then buy the thing.  At one tenth the price.  Nice.

But I started to wonder, why?  Why the heck would folks be so desperate to have this little gadget?  Why do we suddenly need this so badly that we are willing to stand in line for hours and pay top dollar.  Makes no sense.  Okay.

The first thing that came to mind is the television because we are contemplating stuffing ours out the window --  partly because it would be fun to destroy the thing, partly because most of the programming is crap, but, also, partly because of those pesky slick, well-designed and produced thirty second spots between the crappy shows:  the commercials.  I hate that children are exposed to commercials.  I have always been plain about how a child needs a bit of protection against the media machine.  There is nothing more predatory than creative director trying to sell a child some crappy thing he or she doesn't need.

But here's a little tidbit:  The average Canadian watches about 25,000 commercials a year.  That's some number of days.  Days.  Per Year. Those little thirty second spots seem like nothing but it all adds up.

So it struck me.  Never mind the children, how can the adults stand it?  How can the average person stand up to that many messages telling her she's inadequate, needs to invest her money in mutual funds, buy a car, have a personal relationship with her mop?  How can we?

Well, we can't, of course.  Commercials are not there to inform.  They are designed to push emotional buttons that are hard wired into our psyche, emotional buttons that advertising execs have been counting on for decades.  See enough commercials and suddenly we desperately need an i-phone.  Those 'crazy' folks who stand in line to pay premium prices make way more sense to me if the sheer volume of TV advertising is factored into the equation.  And that's not even considering billboards and signage and ads in the subway....

Further, it's pretty clear that rampant consumerism is currently a part of western culture.  What is fueling that?  Couldn't be those eight days you watch commercials a year, eh?  Sure.  How much better would the world be if we didn't 'need' so much.  How much greener?  Cleaner?

It's not just the children who need a bit of a buffer from the media machine.  It's also the adults. Saving yourself thirty seconds might just save the world.

Because it's sexier.

A growing body of work is suggesting that the human brain is very similar regardless of sex.  Another growing body of work is suggesting that both sexes want exactly the same things in life.  These studies imply that the two sexes are not as different as we are told as we grow up.

But when I discuss this topic with folks, they just don't want to know, don't want to hear about it.  The denial is almost absolute.  They put their hands over their ears and close their eyes.  Folks WANT the sexes to be different.  Why?  When pushed, most of them feel it just wouldn't be very sexy if everyone were the same; it's what's different that makes us attractive to the opposite sex.

Huh.  So where does that leave competitive women?  Or submissive men?  Where do these folks fit into the grand scheme of things?  Well, they are usually labeled as odd and shunted off to the side with all the other fetishists.

However, I believe that current 'norms' in sexual behaviour are actually fetishist and, further, if we just allowed folks to be themselves, sexual behaviour might ease into a more natural expression of honest emotion or honest desire as opposed to being rife with power plays as it is now.  Who cares who's submissive?  Who cares who's in charge?  Who cares who makes the most money?  It's just sex.

Society has so much to say about sexuality -- 'normal' behaviours, professions, even colours to wear.  Such small boxes to force people into, very tight patterns of living.  Now.  Why does society push so hard if people are naturally this way?  Surely, there wouldn't be so much pressure to conform if folks really developed gendered behaviours naturally.

Answer?  You wouldn't have to say a thing if folks naturally developed stereotypical behaviours along gendered lines.  So, so.  People do not naturally develop gendered behaviours.  They conform to them.  And some folks at great cost.

And wouldn't it be great if you could just be yourself?  Because, honestly, I think that's sexier.

Subversive by Walking

I am honoured to know and pal about with some fantastic people.  We talk a lot about what's wrong with the world and how to save it.  Sounds a bit arrogant, eh?  I'm not sure who we think we are, but there it is.

Some very good folks feel powerless, however.  They can't see how to get out of the matrix, if you'll forgive me, of modern life.  The cycles of consumerism, the idiocy of distraction, the pressures to conform.

Just how do you give up your nice house, your SUV, and your two weeks in Florida when that is all we're told we should want from the moment we understand speech?  The answer seems to be this:  Be yourself.

Be yourself in all your quirky goodness.  Turn off the TV (it will only make you jealous and needy, anyway) and indulge yourself in your bug collection, your fascination with fungi or the cosmos, or writing the next great Canadian novel.  Or fiddle about doing a bit of theatre, like me.  Whatever, whatever.  Just make sure that you are doing what you love when have a bit of time to do something.

You'll be too busy to watch TV, then, I think.  Too busy to care about Lost or what Brangelina are up to.  How radical.  How much more at peace would you feel if you miss those dozens of commercials every night telling you you're too fat, your house is too dusty, or your teeth are too yellow?  And just by walking, by breathing and being, you get to be subversive.  Awesome.

All that talk I indulge in with my friends?  I am aware enough to know that it amounts to very little.  It's the walking that does it, really.

Give yourself a shake.

I have often said that the current Canadian government is supporting policies that, somehow, seem anti-Canadian, anti-humane, and anti-me.

I look at a website like http://rethinkalberta.com and I am reminded, again, about the mentality of the type of people who are, clearly, funding Mr. Harper.  The pictures, the video, the dirty, nasty truth of oil extraction from the tar sands in northern Alberta seems not like reality, but like a nightmare.  And when one realizes that the oil companies (who are willing to pollute the land so horribly for a few barrels of oil) are providing the money behind Mr. Harper, a lot of things make sense. Only a certain kind of mentality would willingly pollute such a beautiful country when alternatives are to hand.  This kind of rape of the land and its people has to stop.


I am pretty sure that there is too much at stake here to trust government or big business to do what's right.  They are chasing the big bucks of popular opinion and, by definition, cannot show us the way.  So we must change popular opinion, change the minds of the people who consume the energy.  One mind at a time, I suppose.  I wish I could just give every Canadian's shoulder a gentle shake.  Wake up!  I would whisper it, gently.

Perhaps just getting the word out will help.  Maybe less people will consume petroleum products.  Maybe less people, by their consumer choices, will fund Mr. Harper.  Maybe.  You never know.

A new study suggests...

Right, right, right. Can someone please link to the study so I can read the bloody thing myself and make my own determination about what it says.  (And I know someone out there will read this blog and google the study better than I did and send me a link...but why not cite the darn thing in your newspaper article...!)

For example, some comprehensive study on working parents and the effect on their children was recently done in the UK.  17,000 kids were included in the study.  Right, great.  Leah McLaren of the Globe and Mail did what the Globe and Mail always does:  assuages its readers that everyone should be working (in a ridiculously sexist way of course, assuming that the mother would be the only one making the choice to stay at home).  Other takes on this study suggest that children in homes in which both parents are working experience an unhealthy lifestyle.  Still googling, folks.  As soon as I get my hands on the info, I'll get back to you on my take.  And I'll include a link to the study itself.

However, I am starting to believe that because we are all human (not machines) that the very act of choosing a parenting style makes it the right choice for your family.  If we do what we believe is right, this choice often happens to work out best for you.  So, so.  Some parents are ambivalent about parenting; it's probably better if they go to work.  Some parents are committed to the idea of hands on parenting.  So let them.  It's all good.  I am uncertain why we have to come out one side or other.

And while I'm at it, can we please start using the word 'parenting' and stop using the word 'mothering'.  Anybody?  Anybody?

Because we create our own future.

Why would Stockwell Day want to spend billions of dollars on prisons we don't need?  Doesn't make any sense.  The crime rate is down and has been dropping consistently for a long time.  So, when queried, Mr. Day told us that he is building these prisons on spec because of the huge rate of unreported crime.  Um, sorry?  Obviously, this makes no sense.

But what if we look at this in another context?  What if it's not supposed to make any sense?  What if this a tactic designed to make us feel a little more uneasy, to distract us?  What if this government is trying to emulate another, equally scary, regime?  What if Stockwell Day is doing his bit to be like the Dubya?

And just when you thought George Bush was finally gone.  Here, there be his ghost.  Fear mongering was a favourite tactic of the Bush administration, allowing Bush to encourage the people of his fine nation to wage (what I consider to be a largely personal) war, ignore real financial crisis in the making, and lock their doors against the monsters that lie without.  Well, we now know that there were no weapons of mass destruction, no real external threat.  We know that we should have been more vigilant and that banks can't be trusted.  And still, the crime rate is dropping.

What was the result of Dubya's largely successful attempt to distract his public?  Where there was no real threat before, now there is anger.  Violent anger directed at the United States.  Not that folks didn't resent the country before, but now?  Well, now they're more motivated.  Funny how we can create our own reality.

So, Mr. Day, I am inclined not to be distracted so that you can get your pet project built. Why not just admit that you were putting the funds where they're not needed and move on.  I know.  Instead of trying to scare me, why not spend some time trying to find out where the funds could really help?  It's radical, I know.  But I think you can do it. 

And this way, you won't create a reality in which those prisons are filled.  I don't want that future.
 

On summer camps and the wind.

I have never really felt more disconnected from current society as I did when I read this article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/back-to-school/students-in-year-round-schools-do-better-study-shows/article1663859/

Essentially, this article reports that children do better at school if they stay in school (or school-like activities) all year around.  Why?  The children don't have two months to forget their lessons.  Subsequently, teachers don't have to waste time on review and can pick up immediately in September as they left off in June.  Okay.  So all those parents who paid thousands of dollars putting their children into enrichment camps all summer can heave a sigh of relief and feel that they are, truly, giving their children a better start.  Funny, I always thought summer camps were glorified baby sitting services.  Well, perhaps I was wrong.

But I can't help asking myself this question:  Are schooling scores a true test of a great education?

Similarly, I often ask myself if money is really a true test of the wealth of a human being.  The answer to this questions is no, of course not.  Some of the greatest human beings in history were as poor as the wind and the grass but they managed to make real, positive, and lasting contributions to society.

So, summer vacation.  Does it have a real, positive, and lasting contribution to make to childhood and, subsequently adulthood?  Who knows?  It's never really been studied.  But I remember those long, long summer days and how I invented myself over and over in imaginative play.  How I was free to make my own way in the world, to make my own decisions, my own rules. And I cannot imagine what kind of person I would have become had I been told what to do all the time.  Would I be this independent, this creative, this bloody minded?

Well, I expect I would be more docile, more likely to do what I was told by whatever expert has an opinion.  Perhaps, instead of writing this blog, I would be watching TV.


I have chosen to let my child run freely as much as possible.  She has done exactly no summer camps in the last three years.  She's over at the park right now with her friends.  Right now in the wind and the grass.  Inventing herself.

I'll take my chances.

Coming Clean

I am trying, very hard, to cut out nasty chemicals from our household.  A few months in, I have a few observations on Green Cleaning:

1.  It is just as effective as the noxious household cleaners.  The bathroom is sparkly.
2.  It requires a little more elbow grease.  And I don't mind mucking in now because no longer are the fumes making me feel ill.
3.  I have to clean a little more frequently.  My husband and I thought about this and both assumed that chemical household cleaners leave some kind of residue.  Fine, I will clean a little more frequently and skip the residue.

That's it for now.  No idea whether this is cheaper or not.  Just feeling better about the overall air quality in the house.  Cheers.

Hankering for a Simpler Time

Just reading a post on Shakesville (http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2010/07/feminism-101-your-underdog-lovelorn.html) about the way potential rapists can hijack our romantic cultural assumptions for their own devices.  Rather chilling was a romantic movie trailer displayed with an ominous soundtrack.  Very interesting.  Makes us question.  Keeps our eyes open.  But, it's sad, really, that even sweet romance might be leading us astray.

Always makes me hanker to go back to when life was simpler.  When life was simple, we trusted our politicians, our institutions, our police.  Ah, yes.  I look back with wistful tears to when life was simple:  Spring, 2010.  Before the G20 meeting in Toronto.  Before we understood that about 1,000 folks could be incarcerated illegally simply for being on the street.  Before we knew that folks could be shot, beaten, verbally abused, thrown in cages, denied basic rights and respect.  Oh, those were the days, eh?  All the way back in May.

I wonder what I might have done had I understood beforehand that I could not trust the politicians, the institutions, or the police.  Folks, until about sixty days ago, I wouldn't have believed that a story like this one (http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alex/2010/07/woman-shot-g20-police-speaks-out) was possible.  Not in the fair City of Toronto.  Not in Canada.  No.

So, I am resolved to have no romantic cultural assumptions of any kind.  I will not aid and abet a potential rapist, just because he has a great story of romantic love and is carrying a bouquet of flowers.  And my respect for politicians, institutions, and the police remain but it is no greater than I would respect, say, the McDonalds Corporation or Walmart.  Eyes open.

Nice Review for Who's Under Where

"...the perfect way to send audiences off this summer."  Read the whole review at http://www.wordsnimages.com.

Life is a Moving Target, Chapter 2

Available for download:

http://wordsnimages.com/writing.html

Knowing how to cap a well.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/835075--conservatives-say-no-to-summit-security-probe

So, the Conservatives have said 'no' to an inquiry into what happened at the G20 in Toronto.  No surprise, but definitely a clue to what lies deep in the Tory backrooms.  Sad that it's so dark.  It's like they've left their well uncapped and a black slick, as toxic and life threatening as the oil slick in the Gulf, is starting to ooze over over Canada. 

The only thing that will cap this well is knowledge.  The public needs to know who was behind all these questionable decisions, where the mistakes were made, what was done and not done.  It is our right as a people to define what we deem acceptable in our country and not the right of a chosen few, operating behind closed doors, 'blackwashing' laws, rights, and personal dignities.

Like BP and the Gulf, we, the people, are ultimately responsible for what happened on our soil.  It is up to us to make our leaders accountable.  And just like BP, knowledge is the key to fixing the problem.  To formulate a strategy for capping any out of control well, you need to know where the problem started in the first place.

Polanski, a chalet, and a get out of jail free card...

I wonder if the Swiss were ever really going to take the US extradition request for Polanski seriously.  The movie director wasn't held in prison, you see, but had been released to house arrest in his chalet in Switzerland.  Life must be like a game to Polanski.  Has he ever paid for this crime?

Clearly, the world is telling us that this lamb sacrificed on the alter of pop creativity is justified.  So, of course, let him be released to his chalet.  We wouldn't want him to feel discomfort or hang around real criminals.  And anything he wants...including more thirteen year old girls, I suppose...can be brought straight to his door.  An important man like him should be comfortable.

And he doesn't have to worry about losing this game.  His target (the thirteen year old he raped so many years ago) appears not to be important enough for society to bother.  Besides, it's her fault for being so gorgeous, anyway.  So.  She's his 'get out of jail free' card.

Must be nice.  I'd say I'd love a 'get out of jail free' card (something that exonerates me from any one specific crime I choose to commit on children) but the thought of it makes me sick.

New Website

Finally dawned on me that my life has changed considerably in the last ten years.  So, I have redone my website to reflect that change.  This site will be updated as I start new projects or as I finish them.   Go ahead and have a look.  http://www.wordsnimages.com.

The Pope will apologize? Let's throw a graduation party.

At the centre of my criticism of the RC church -- or any church, really -- is the confirmation of infallibility on the very human intermediaries who claim to have a direct line to the Dear and Fluffy Lord.  I wait, therefore, holding my breath, for the Pope to say 'sorry'.  Wouldn't that be the coolest ever?

So, the process of questioning that began a few hundred years ago...of questioning our kings and queens, our politicians, anyone in a uniform, even our parents can be complete.  It's time for us to grow up and realize that we can believe what we need to believe (whatever gets you through the night).  But don't trust any other human blindly just because he or she wears a long skirt and has mastered the art of looking serious.  It's time for us to use our brains.

Now, if we could only get folks to question their homeopathic practitioners....

Misplaced Faith - the Harper governement's approach to maternal health.

I keep wondering if anyone in the Harper government has ever read anything at all except, of course, the christian bible.  I read a lot because I love it and I have thirst for knowledge.  Two or three newspapers a day, a host of blogs and opinion pieces from my RSS, scientific journals, and (of course) lots of fiction on the subway.  I am moved by what I read.  It shapes me, shapes my thoughts and, consequently, my actions.  I believe that I am a better person for it.

Knowledge is (if not power) essential to rational decision making, critical in these confusing times when so many of our buttons are being pushed, wantonly, by advertisers and marketers everywhere we look.  We need to be in charge.  We need to make clear decisions after seeing what studies are reporting, not just go with the gut or first impression.  Otherwise, we might spend far too much buying very expensive, but useless, vials of water to treat our illnesses.  Or we might decide not to fund abortion rights to women who desperately need our help.

I have trouble understanding the poor souls who shape their opinions based not on fact but on religious dogma.  Like Mr. Harper.  Now, look.  I know that he's figured out that some industries have developed over the last two thousand years.  He seems to be aware of the auto industry, for example, and the subsequent oil industry which keeps the west wealthy.  No, he's definitely figured that out.

But don't you think it might dawn on him that there may have been developments in other areas of human endeavor and that these developments, if not quite as shiny, could help rid the world of needless want and suffering?

Well, it's not dawning on him because he's got faith. Not faith in a god, really.  But faith in the teachings of human beings, the human intermediaries who claim to have a hot line to heaven.  Faith in a sorry old book written thousands of years ago.

But Mr, Harper!  And are we not frail creatures? Do we not err constantly?  Does it not follow that a lot of that book might be faulty?  Or how about the very human beings who translated, re-translated, and re-translated it?  Could they have made a mistake or two?

No!  Because Harper has faith.

It's just our bad luck that he has faith in a this bible and not in what we've learned since.  What a backward country we will become if Harper continues to allow that book to shape his thoughts and actions.  Oh, wait!  We're pretty much already there.

As it happens....

So, some grenades have exploded in Bankok.  One person dead, seventy wounded.  Shocking and sad.  Following the blast, there is violence in the streets.

So on twitter, if I choose to follow, are an army of reporters posting every few minutes.  Short, terse notes (it's twitter, after all) complete with pictures of blood in the streets, the damage, rioters being arrested, hard to see photos of police trying to deal with the situation.  Live news as it happens.

(The Globe and Mail have reporters there, for example:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/one-dead-50-wounded-in-bangkok-blasts/article1543209/)

And, then, something weird.  As I scroll down and wait for the next update, it's not sad, anymore. It's interesting.  You've got me.  You've got my full attention.  But it's not sad.  It's entertainment.

I think I'll un-follow.

A fresh start....

After rereading my earlier posts, I've decided it would be wise if I started over with this blog.  My interests have changed somewhat over the last two years (uh, meaning my early posts were stilted and flat); so, I thought I'd delete all the crap and start again fresh.  Fresh as a daisy (appropriate since it's officially Spring).  So....

I am, currently, on The Little Crusade.  The Little Crusade is simple:  Try to get folks to think critically about people who wear robes and not immediately place their trust in anyone.  But, specifically, I mean priests and nuns in the Catholic Church.  

I notice today that the RC Church is finally taking the complaints of its assaulted and raped charges and parishioners seriously and is talking about righting these wrongs.  Too little, too late, I feel, because the Roman Catholic Church, like me, needs to get rid of all the crap (including its current pope) and start again.  Only if it rids itself of those who committed and abetted these horrible crimes does the RC Church have any chance of winning back the love of its flock.  That's what I did.  Got rid of the chaff.   And I only committed the crime of being a bit boring.

I recognize I am a hyper-rationalist.  In my perfect world, there would be no RC Church (or any other church for that matter).  However, science tells us that millions of folks cannot help but believe in something.  All I ask is this:  Belief in a god should not automatically confer instant belief or trust in any human representative of said deity.   No person who calls herself or himself holy should automatically deserve our respect.  They, like all of us, should earn our respect, our faith, and our trust.

So, maybe, if the RC Church dissolved the institution in its current form and its preachers walked out humbly amongst the people, clean and fresh as the flowers outside my window this beautiful Spring day, maybe I could halt my crusade.  But as long as there are large political institutions hiding behind the sheep's clothes of religion, demanding absolute faith, obedience, and respect from their followers, My Little Crusade is on.