Life is a highway...

I must say, riding round these roads, the dynamism and change that is inherent in a city that is alive, that breathes, is palpable. That being said, the difficulty fraught in a city this large also leads to homogeneity and urban despair.
Cases in point: have recently gone by a childhood church, and saw that it was completely gone. An overgrown plot, surrounded by chain-link fence, awaiting re-development into a townhouse complex. Sad. Stood clinging to the fence for a while, peering into my imagined church, remembering learning how to use the stairs there and awaiting retreat buses...
Another friend actually has bought a place just steps from where I grew up. Haven't walked by there for years, perhaps even well over a decade. Going by and pointing out where we used to play hopscotch and imagined that we were pirates and pioneers was something...
On the other hand, recently drove from Brampton to Markham along Highway 7. Now, -that- is a loooong pit of despair. Mile after mile of Mr. Subs, Mr. Lubes, Esso stations, HBSC banks, McDonalds and Pizza Pizzas over and over and over and over again, without remittance and without pity... This, I thought, is supposed to be the epitome of civilization? This is what we aspire to achieve? This is supposed to be called 'progress'?
Also was trying to kill a couple of hours the other day, so went with some friends to a nearby mall. We nearly died of boredom (to be fair, none of us had gone there specifically to purchase/consume anything, thus completely defeating the purpose of going to the mall in the first place). Ambling up and down the hexagonal/triangular/oblong-shaped units, the sheer homogeneity of the place was staggering. We could've been in any mall in the city, in any mall in the country, in any mall in the Western world, and we would not have known. Aisle after aisle of clothing and shoes... the palpable pressure of looking good/fashionable/sexy and keeping up with what -they- think we should look like... bah.
But on the third hand, I have been caught up in the middle of a miracle. That's always cool. Watching a church grow, develop, bloom... seeing its brickwork and beams come together for something that is far greater than simply a Sunday building... now that is progress...

FFT

I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head, and have been ruminating on it for weeks... and now with everything else that's going on in the world... though I suspect someone's going to read this and call for jihad on this guy's head...

The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It is Islam, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power.
-Samuel Huntington

Not for the faint of heart

Is it possible to be racist against ear wax? I mean, I have to deal with a surpringly large amount of it on a weekly basis, and I must say, I am not particularly fond of dealing with certain ethnicities' ear wax... I don't think this is exactly the place to explain exactly -what- is so distasteful about some people's ear wax compared to others, as I think my reasonings would probably turn some readers' stomachs... But what I am particularly wondering: Is racism fundamentally not wanting to associate, or be affiliated with, certain ethnicities or people groups because of certain unchangeable attributes of that group? If so, am I being racist if I don't particularly relish, and in fact, am quite reluctant to, clean out certain people groups' ears?

Greetings from Satan

Sometimes, I cannot believe the conceit of the West.... actually, likely most of the time I cannot believe our conceit.... for really, why do we count our lives as so terribly valuable? That's the paradox... our lives mean very little to nothing at all at the end of the day, yet we are (why? That is an infinite mystery...) infinitely valuable. However, our lives really do mean little more than our fellow Sudanese, our fellow Lebanese, our fellow Somalians, our fellow Cambodians, our fellow Shiite Muslims from Afghanistan... yet HOW did we become so conceited as to believe we as the West are more important? That we have a greater right to live? How have we been so coddled, so dulled, so indoctrinated in the life of ease and leisure (would someone PLEASE shoot all Christians in the West who talk about how they are being 'persecuted' for their faith, how they are 'suffering'????) that we somehow think that is what we are OWED?
Certainly, I fall faaaarrrrr short of this. I too, at the end of the day, don't want to be gang-raped, have my tongue cut off so I won't scream, hacked to pieces starting with my limbs and then ending with my head, and have my corpse being eaten by dogs (well, actually, that last bit doesn't actually bother me very much). I too, would like to live in a cozy nook, with a cup of tea and a good book, surrounded by adorable grandchildren at my hearth, telling me where I left my glasses. However, the conceit, the conceit, the conceit.... the selfish abandon with which we pursue such things... under the guise that they are 'blessings from God'...

Happy birthday to the Pole

That's all I really had to say...

Working, 9 to 5....

You know, all I really want to do (well, at least just work-wise, and at least just for now) is just go to work, have some fun for the day and not want to pull out my hair or scream (much), and then come home. Is that really too much to ask?
I don't go to work so I can deal with politics and pettiness and money grubbing and power struggles and stuff like that; in fact, I PAY MONEY so I DON'T have to deal with that kind of stuff.... why is it chasing me down and stuffing me into its gullet?
I can't figure it out; is it because I'm fairly low maintenance? Is it because people get greedy? Is it because I'm not paying enough money to get people to please stop complaining? Is it because I'm part of the problem? Part of the 'man', the 'system'?
Bah. I think it is in the nature of man to complain. I think also, different things irk different people at different intensities. I mean, I am all for being treated fairly and being compensated fairly for work one does and all, but I think also that there are some things that are probably not worth getting all riled up about.
Bah.

Patmosian paradise

Do you suppose that this is the beginning of the end? That the cities of Tyre and Sidon are again overtaking the Israelites, that the cows of Bashan are going to try to take back what is theirs? Certainly, if the mutterings of Syria and Iran, let alone the rest of the Arab world is any indication, then perhaps, just perhaps... If so, despite how lukewarm and spittable I might be, maranatha....

Worst-Case Scenario Handbook

So the government's sent me this HUGE package in the mail to my house, containing, gowns, gloves, face masks, antiseptics, and who knows what else, in case of an "outbreak".... now, tell me if I'm wrong, but SARS was about four years ago now.... (now who says government isn't efficient?!? Yippee for civil servants... they obviously know how to respond to the pulse of the population... they are SO SMART! I can't stand it! ) ... also, I am not entirely sure what exactly I'm going to do with them in the house... We could wrap the plants, deck them out in gowns and gloves, or maybe some of the furniture, but heck, this house will be prepared in case an outbreak of disease X should occur.... perhaps I should consider adding it to my everyday wardrobe, to protect against overblown diseases like West Nile... or bubonic plague... or Ebola virus...

Italian Patient

OK, so another two stories to add to the pile... and people wonder why I'm so terribly cynical...

It's all a big conspiracy!!!

Hmm, it's difficult, the choice between acne or suicide... it's not as clear as it looks...

Iron Chef Changimoto

After an eight year hiatus, grand master Chang regaled us with meat! Not burnt! Well made! (Of course, we think of most of it stems from his lovely assistant...)
We now look forward to the innovation involved in pastry within the next decade...

FFT

Western Christianity is no more than the religionization of capitalistic culture.
Emile Durkheim

Another Vietnamese cliche

Where is my Absalom?

E, I, E, I, Oooooo

So finally, FINALLY, made it out to The Farm. Mulched to my heart's content, admired the rare-breed chickens and pure-bred cows freely grazing in the fields, ate beef for the first time in almost two years (knowing who the cow was, who the farmer was and who the butcher was) which completely underwhelmed me, ate from the bounty of the fields, was philosophically challenged in an adobe hut about the nature of faith and belief when worldviews clash; in total, feeling like perhaps I was living a little slice of heaven...

The Madness of Genius

Seriously, if one more person says I'm "brilliant", "insightful", "a genius", "an eloquent speaker", or some other thing like that anymore, I think I'm going to scream...

Eulogy for Gabriel

Oh tiny little perfect one, a little nubbin for a nose, fine small eyelashes, hoped for so desperately, loved so deeply, treasured, held, sung to. A million dreams, all in one little soul. Who suffered, was loved, and will be missed, much more than many could dream of in a lifetime.
Oh mommy, who cradled and dreamt of this little one since he was no bigger than a pea. Who hears the echoes of her heart in the caverns of her womb. Who feels the throbbing in her veins rather than the acrobatics of his feet. Who sings for joy, and for grief.
Oh daddy, always, always, so strong and so able (has always been that way). So strong, carrying the family. Grief that is loving and brave. Hope for strength and a sure foundation. Hope for healing, hope for tomorrow.
I love you all very much.

Blue Suede Shoes

OK, saw this brilliant video a week ago, and finally found out where it actually is sourced from:
www.evolutionofdance.com ... I'm sure some of you have already seen it, but check it out! Lemme know what you think!

Query

OK, I must say, most months, I really love reading Dr. Ursus. Sometimes I wish that some of my colleagues would read him more...

Q&A

I was reflecting today, you know, when it kind of strikes you, facts about people, or new insights that you never thought of before... and I thought: brilliant, brilliant blessings... ones who have 'awoken the sleeping giant'... like Gandalf commanding King Theoden to breathe the free air again... like in The Secret Garden when Mary and Dickon bring Colin there and start encouraging him to start to learn to walk again... and, of course, friends... maybe I should tell them...

Sheep or goat? Sheep or goat? Sheep or goat?

Curiously, one person (who shall remain nameless, as per his request) thought that male sheep were called goats. Had thought so his whole life. Was surprised to find out, in fact, male sheep are rams, female sheep are ewes, and baby sheep are lambs. Goats are an entire other species.
This, of course, leads to very interesting (though irreverant) theology: Were sheep female, and goats male, then Jesus' separation of the sheep and goats, with the sheep being welcomed to the Kingdom and the goats being relegated to weeping and gnashing of teeth, would actually be pretty funny....