Pining for the Pines

This time of year really makes me itchy to get up north to Agawa Bay outside of my hometown. Situated in beautiful Lake Superior Provincial Park (as I write the park pamplet) with awesome hiking trails, waterfalls, beaches, lakes, forest, rocky shores etc... It is a place where the spirit sings and after a few days your body gets into the rhythym of the land. A healing place filled with power and spirit.

Sweet Dreams

"...it's memories that I'm stealing, but you're innocent when you dream..." Tom Waits

Nesting Update

The chicks have hatched and have now flew the nest. We had two nests actually, one at either end of the deck. The adult robins would get territorial on the ground, but they left each other alone when nesting even at such close proximity. Here are a few pics of the last two chicks just before they left the nest.

Corina, Corina

Corrina, Corrina,Gal, where you been so long?
Corrina, Corrina, Gal, where you been so long?
I been worr'in' 'bout you, baby,Baby, please come home.
I got a bird that whistles,I got a bird that sings.
I got a bird that whistles,I got a bird that sings.
But I ain' a-got Corrina,Life don't mean a thing.
Corrina, Corrina,Gal, you're on my mind.
Corrina, Corrina,Gal, you're on my mind.
I'm a-thinkin' 'bout you, baby,I just can't keep from crying.

--Bob Dylan--

Man I love this song. Always have. Always will.

The Davinci Code

Theo's family came for another visit on Friday and as usual a good time was had by all. I let them drag us to Tillsonburg to see the The DaVinci Code being the good host that I am. Besides, if McKellan, Bettany, Tautou, Reno, Molina are in it, it couldn't be that bad. I expected the worst and although it is not a film in my top 100 I can't say it was all that bad. What I do really enjoy about this film/book is the debate it has created. I love anything that makes religious zealots squirm and pound their chests in attempts to defend their faith. My way of thinking is: if you are a spiritual person you would never think of defending your ideals. Your sense of spiritual being is what it is. No amount of arguing is going to change that and being a spiritual person you would know that no amount of arguing is going to change someone else. Arguing about your faith is a sign of weakness in your spiritual makeup. It is a need in yourself to continue to reinforce your concepts of faith, or, moreover, to fill the holes in that concept. I find most religious orders help breed a sense of superiority, hence religious wars. The Muslim believes the Christian an infidel while the Christian believes the Muslim a heathen etc... I have always marveled at how people so zealously defend their faiths especially when one takes into consideration that their faith is most likely arrived at by their geography. I mean the ratio of conversions in the hotbed of any religious order is next to none. Instead of an acceptance that most religions have one central all-powerful being, the world revels in the opportunity to cling to the differences which in turn alienates creating sides thus creating friction. Most religions preach love for humanity, yet wars are fought over religion. I marvel at our blindness. Our sheepish unyeilding march towards spiritual poverty.

Titanic

The movie "Titanic" was on this afternoon. If I remember correctly it won an academy award for best film. It is, to my way of thinking, one of the worst movies ever made mostly due to poor direction. I tend to judge a director more harshly than I do actors for it is he/she who can control the performances. Travolta in "Pulp Fiction' was amazing, yet he sucks in most of his other films. A good director can take a bad to mediocre actor and get a great performance out of them while, conversely, a bad director can take a good actor and make them look ordinary. Theo was watching "Titanic" today when Rain entered the room and began watching with her. Theo thought that the film had some historical merit and so allowed Rain to watch it with her. A scene near the end of the movie has Kate Winslet foolishly declining a seat on a lifeboat to remain with Leonardo DeCaprio. She runs into his arms while he admonishes her "Rose, you're so stupid. So stupid" while he showers her in teary-eyed kisses. It is at this point that Rain looks at Theo and says "Now that is some really bad acting". Cassidy takes this all in and grabs Theo by her face and says "Mommy, you're so stupid" and showers her in kisses. She knows she is being very funny. When two children ages 4 and 7 can identify movie tripe you have to wonder who is voting on the Academy board.

Incompetent Bell Update

After further review Bell has established that they were in fact in error. They were also pleased to inform me that they owed me money and would be applying a $207.00 credit to my present account. This just days after a collections agency threatened to ruin my credit rating after being told I missed the three month window to appeal the charges even though I just found out about them three weeks ago. I believe Gilliam could have used this material in "Brazil".

The Royal Daulton Collection

Theo's parents, George and Steffi, often come together when they visit us which is interesting in that they have quite a turbulent history of 16 years years together before they divorced some 25 years ago. Also along for the 1 1/2 hour trip from Toronto to Port Dover is her fathers second wife, Theresa (pronounced Tedessa) who is an awesome person. George is an engineer who has next to no social skills. If he had not seen you for a lengthy period he might say something to the effect of "Hey, man. What happened? You got so fat." Steffi is very superficial with most of her conversations revolving around people who have lots of money, movie stars or shopping. Theresa is very down to earth, thoughtful and a joy to be around. The three of them were sitting at my kitchen table recently. Steffi and George have Bulgarian accents while Theresa is Peruvian.
Steffi: When I retired the staff gave me these beautiful Royal Daulton figures. I mean they are just to die for. Anyways, I read in the paper that Michael Daulton was going to be in-store and would personally sign any figure you purchased that day, but I thought why not bring my new figures and try to get him to sign them. So I went and got in line and when I met him, he is a very nice man and very classy you know. You know how some people pretend to be nice, but he wasn't pretending. He asked me where I was from and he has been to Sophia. Anyways, I asked Michael to sign my figurines even though I did not buy them that day and told him they were a present for my retirement from my staff and he was so nice and he signed them. It was very nice of him because he didn't have to sign them because you were supposed to buy something, but I thought it was worth a try. You know, why not?

George: Wow, that's terrific Feffe (his pet name for Steffi). So you met Michael Bolton

Steffi: Zjorro (her pet name for George) it was Michael Daulton not Michael Bolton.

George: Oh come on man. Michael Bolton signed your statues. That's great man.

Theresa: Oh George (sigh)

Steffi: It was not Michael Bolton. Honestly Zjorro are you that.... It was Michael Daulton who is owner of Royal Daulton.

I don't say a word. I just hide my smile and try not to laugh out loud. When I look over I can see that Steffi desperately wants to call George stupid, but just as she is about to she remembers his wife is sitting next to him. I can see her smoldering as she battles the strong compulsion to lay into him. George lives to upset people and his 16 years with Steffi makes him an expert on pulling her chain. Theresa is smiling and calm, but secretly she loves watching the two of them getting on each others nerves. George will later piss off my step-father enough that he confides to me later what an asshole George is. George will also dismiss the death of my brother as inconsequential, but I don't get upset with him anymore. After 14 years I can laugh at his lack of diplomacy and have learned that by turning the tables on him I can get him very upset. The family dynamic is a beautiful thing. Oddly enough, I love every one of them and wouldn't trade them for the world.

Hagersville Station Grain and Feed Restaurant

Last night Theo and I took Rain to a play performed from students at the local Elementary school called "The Case of the Wolf vs. the Three Little Pigs". It was a musical set to 50's music "Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip muh muh muh muh muh muh muh muh daduh sha na na na sha na na na na" which pitted the Big Bad Wolf against the Three Little Pigs in a courtroom. Hogney Dangerfield was the prosecution lawyer and the standout of the play "Pigs get no respect. Pigs get no respect. Put any old dog in a movie and they win an academy award. Put a pig on stage and they call him a ham". Prior to the play we took the opportunity to experience some of the local cuisine, hence the name of this posting. Now, we should have known right away from the restaurants name what we were getting ourselves into, but we were hungry and the choices slim. We entered and took a booth near the door and sat waiting for our waiter. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited. There was one other table; an older couple and they waited also. After a few minutes a waitress appeared with heaping mounds of ribs, potatoes and vegetables (it was a daunting amount of food) which she dispatched to the waiting couple and then made her way over to us. We asked for menus and were told they really don't have menus and she proceeded to peel of the items available. Chicken nuggets and fries were Rain choices while Theo and I could choose between ribs, steak, roast beef dinner or burgers. Theo went with the roast beef (a la yorkshire pudding) while I settled on the striploin. We were just ordering our drinks when Rain got my attention by directing my eyes to a number of red ants crawling on our table (Run away!!!). We decided to persevere and moved across the room. I was instructed upon receiving our beverages that my meal came with a salad and that the salad bar was around the corner. I headed for the meager fixings only to find no utensils to serve myself. Seconds later the waitress appeared and saw my dilemma and offered her apologies. She explained: "I am pretty new to this. The usual waitress always does this stuff, but she's drunk". "Drunk?" I asked. "Yep. Completely tanked" she replied. "Wow" I said. "Yep" she replied. "So much for dependable help I guess, eh" I said. "Oh she's here. She's in the kitchen. She's just too drunk to serve" she said. At this point I became relatively speechless. It was either shut up, nod and grin or laugh hysterically. We could not eat all the food they gave us. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be though the atmosphere (country music in the background) was pretty frightening. As I washed up after dinner in the facilities I spied (I could not miss it in its enormity) a framed wall hanging in what appeared to be inked onto a sheet of fleece. The scene was a sleigh being pulled by three horses with two voyageur looking men riding inside. They were being chased by what appeared to be a pack of wolves through the forest. One voyageur had a giant hoop earring (bigger than his ear) while the other sported a beard and a rifle. You can not buy experiences like this. They just happen when the planets are properly aligned. Although I know I shouldn't, I have to bring people to this place just to screw their heads up.

Caledonia

The protest by Six Nations people in Caledonia seems to be getting a lot of flack from the media to say nothing of the townsfolk. Some facts on the matter:
1) The Den Mothers began the peaceful protest
2) Whites have alluded to the fact that the band coucil does not back protest. What they fail to notice is that the coucil was formed by the government and is not recognized by the Six Nations people.
3) Warriors were not present at the protest until the Den Mothers were threatened by the townspeople.
4) The 500 white protesters that stormed the police barricade flung racial slurs and threats of violence towards the Den Mothers. Hence, the presence of the Warriors.
5) This land dispute has been in the courts for 12 years, yet this parcel of land has been allowed to be sold.
6) This is a peaceful demonstration by Six Nations. Any violent outbreaks will be initiated by whites.
7) The Den Mothers have banned any criminal element from the demonstration and insist on peaceful demonstration unless violence is committed upon them.
8) If the government were actually concerned about this issue they would fast-track the legal process.
9) The residents of Caledonia seem quite content to form their opinions on misinformation and propaganda.
10) Most likely this will end up badly.

The New and Improved Incompetent Bell Canada

I received a notice from a collections agency last week stating I had better pay such-and-such amount to Bell Canada for an account in arrears from last year at my old address. Believing I was finished with the old account and everything was square I had them send me the bills for the time in question to investigate the matter. What I found was that they were trying to bill me once again for a modem that was not returned which of course had been returned. I spent a good five hours of my time on the phone to Bell last summer trying to sort their mess out for them and by the end was assured everything was hunky-dory. Today I got to spend another hour of my time straightening out the re-created mess with another session coming Monday morning. This time I was in no mood for their attempts at niceties. Comments I made were: A) I have never seen such incompetence other than the Toronto Maple Leafs front office of which your company is a sponsor B) Maybe if you had a meal program the chimpanzees wouldn't make so many mistakes C) If your accounts people have this much time on their hands that they can dredge up old files that have been cleared perhaps they should be donating some time to charities D) Taking a village idiot onboard is kindhearted. Taking every idiot from every village is going a little too far.
There were others, however, I am proud to say, I used no profane language. It started off as a real bother, but by the end I was quite enjoying myself.

The Musical Mind

I can go through dry spells in my music where I pick up the guitar and the same songs keep coming out. These dry spells can be quite lengthy and even when you sit down to strum with the intention of doing something new, nothing comes out and you find yourself returning to the songs of your past. But, there are those moments when I sit down to play when my mind lets my fingers roam to new places and out comes a melody entirely new. Part of my love for movies comes from their ability to trigger in me the creative spark. A while back I watched the movie "Code 46" with Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton and the music near the end of the film really got me in a tizzy. I sat down and wrote some of my best lyrics ever and was on a roll over the next few days where I wrote a number of songs. Most of the songs I write I will forget over a period of time, but some have staying power. This new batch will have to stand the test of time.

Drive-by at the House of the Lord

I was driving by a church this morning that had one of those portable billboards standing in front of it. It read: "The Lord accepts all kinds of worship". So I said "Yo Je, nice package".

World at War

I was just watching a movie of short films put together dealing with the events of 9/11/01. It is horrifying to watch those people jumping out of windows, flailing away as they rush towards the earth. Horrifying to think of those passengers aboard the planes that crashed and the terror they felt. It made me think about others in this world who live in terror. From those people who quest for enough food to survive another day, to car bombings in Israel to shells falling in Palestine, people devasted by natural disasters. Natural disasters aside, the other events are mostly man-made and made me think about who the real enemy is. People killing in the name of religion, for power, for oil, ethnic cleansing. The real enemies of this world who see human sacrifice or the sacrifice of the environment as a justifiable cost in their pursuit of their goals. How I wish people could see the real villains of the world and unite against them. Take up arms against the multi-nationals and crooked governments and tyrants of the world. You want to prevent another 9/11? The root of that evil, as are others, is easily seen if you look. Until then, innocent people will continue to die while others make their fortunes. Where are you Rainbow Warriors?

Turkey Anyone?

Saw one of these guys closeup this morning chowing down some road kill. As ugly as they might appear, they are very graceful fliers and skilled hunters that work very well together.

Who'd a Thunk It

Who'd a thunk I would have wound up with such a beautiful wife and have two beautiful girls with her. Have a lovely home in a picturesque little town. Nearing completion of a University degree and soon to be a teacher. Who'd a thunk it of "ol Rich? My wife and kids for starters. Obviously I do. Thats all I need.

Recipe for a Nature Treat

Take one kitchen window overlooking deck. Add a shrub just under the window. Add two cardinals; one male and one female. Have the male sit across from you and look curiously at his surroundings. Have the female sit under the window within two feet of you on shrub and eat buds. Be amazed at the colourings of both birds and the novelty of having the couple together in plain sight. Be thankful.

Gotta Love the Country Music

The custodian at Theo's school likes to pump out country music at the end of the day through the P.A. system. Walking down the hall yesterday afternoon towards the staffroom I heard these lovely lyrics wafting through the air:

We got cowboys, we got truckers
Broken-hearted fools and suckers

I could not help thinking as I walked through the halls of an academic institution that this lyricist could have used a little more attention in the classroom and a little less time learning how to make beef jerkey. I was reminded of that joke about what happens when you play country music backwords----> you get your house back, your wife back, you find your truck, your dog comes back to life and there are no tears in anyones beers.

You Idiots

Why the hell would you vote Bush into office a second time you dumbass Americans. Seriously, do you take a look at the reality of whats being created by getting your source of news from Fox and CNN? Who owns these "News" stations and who gives huge amounts of cash to politicians? "Uhhh the same people?" It is one thing to be patriotic and entirely another thing to be zealots blinded by patriotism to the point where it becomes an effective tool to dupe the masses into backing immoral (unchristian) wars. And if you are going to blame these opinions (as many have of others of the ilk) don't even try with the "jealousy" copout. Believe me when I say the rest of the western world is quite content with their way of life and harbour no desires to be the "greatest" country in the world. Understand this; if you were English then England would be the best country in the world. If you were French then France would be the best country in the world. etc... You get it?

Nukes

This is why your forefathers wanted the seperation of church and state. They foresaw religion as a cause of destruction (which is entirely accurate). This is heaven right here pals. Earth. Don't fuck it up!

Settling In

Theo has an Ed. assistant for her program named Helen who is just the nicest person. The two of them get along famously and have fast become friends. Yesterday Helen held a scrapbooking party *cringe* at her home to which Theo was invited. Having my parents back from Arizona (hurrah) we left the kids with them and off to Cheapside we went. While the hens scrapped and ate chocolate, Helens' husband Brian decided it was time he and I looked at some tools. He drove me to three different tool stores in search of a portable planer. There is a part of me that finds the whole thing comical (the manly search of tools, the womanly pursuit of bordering pictures with frilly things) yet, Theo and I enjoyed ourselves and the company we were in. We also spied a house nearby that was for sale which got our wheels turning. Since we have grown accustomed to what life has to offer in these parts, we have been contemplating a move into the country where we could have more property to set up a greenhouse or two powered by wind and solar energy. Dreaming is free.

On another note, I happen to play Counter-strike:Source and often play on a server that carries a specialized tournament called "gun-game". Last night I played and was rewarded with my first victory. I am now ranked 45 out of 1067 players which I take pride in being that my reflexes are no longer as sharp as they were when I was 20 which is around the average age of players.