Save us!


For only a spare sovereign you can help save us. We are but poor animals, staring up at you with plaintive eyes. We are trapped in the Tower of Spheres in the center of the Hall of Illusions by the River. Please come soon!


So, on an unrelated topic, Claude and I went to see The Bridge to Terabithia tonight at Silvercity Riverport. We both really enjoyed it, but didn't expect the sad moment in the middle. I love movies that allow me to tap into the wonderful imagination that kids have.

Anyway, it is past midnight and I must go to bed now. Poor monkey. I hope someone frees him soon.

Another candidate for rehab

Poor kermit...


I saw this a few days ago and forgot to blog it. Thanks, Stephen, for sending it to me today!

Long overdue....

I've been very, very remiss. Our photos have been online for a few months now and have yet to post a little note here. I'm sure all of you who read this (all 5 of you!) :-) are feeling very left out. Anyway, enough of that. On to the link... TA DA!!!

I also have been remiss in updating my profile pic. I haven't had pink hair in almost a year now, so without further ado... presto!

Anyway, back to searching for a good candidate for our vacant Toronto position.
Yay!
not
bye

Update: Ok, well, I tried to find a photo I was happy with, that was the right size and that I have available at the moment. Nothing really fit the description, so we're going with a photo of Arthur. He's my sweet kitty that I got from the Victoria SPCA. Anyone who knows me well, knows he isn't that sweet - only with Claude and I. He had a bit of a hard life, which led to some (severely) cranky behavior, but I've had him long enough now that he trusts me completely. In fact it was only last year that he finally decided that he liked sitting on my lap for extended periods of time. Hey, it only took 7 years!!

Add this to your blogroll... Slow Children at Play

I've forgotten how I came across this blog, but I have read the entire archives now and am waiting for him to update. It is a really interesting blog written by a man who works at at home for disturbed or developmentally challenged boys. Stokie Jaye writes with an honesty that is compelling and challenging to read at times. The reader can tell Jaye cares a lot about the kids he works with and is honest with them about what they need to do to graduate out of the group home. It is a refreshing approach from the psycho-babble you hear in the media a lot. I'm sure he has many people who disagree with some of the tactics used at the home (as is obvious by his Hate Mail section of the website) but he is honest about why they do what they do and isn't afraid to 'tell it like it is'.

Your bill, sir.

I don't usually blog on stories or events that have been Boing Boinged, but I couldn't resist this one.

The University of Nebraska has sent a bill to the RIAA for all of the time the University has spent providing information on student usage of the internet and downloading music.
Love it!

Link

Hey... that's me!

Ok, tiny bit of self-promotion... I was one of three members of LTAIG (the local library technician's association) profiled in this month's newsletter. It's a good newsletter - they started putting them out in June 2006. I have to say, the executive we currently have at LTAIG are a really proactive group of people. Good job, folks!

In case anybody is interested, you can read the newsletter on their website.

So...

I mentioned in a previous post that one of the reasons I hadn't posted recently is that I have some things that I was trying to work out. Yeah, lots going on in my head these days.

It started with India...
We had such a great time in India. It is a country that I could see myself living in part time someday. Sure, it was hard and on days it was frustrating. I definitely wouldn't want to live there full time, mostly because of the corruption that is part and parcel of the government and the society there. Other than that, there is so much to love about it. I felt alive there. I felt connected to what is really important in our lives. In India, there is a focus on people - not on what label they are wearing. They are happy to meet you and want to help you or be a good host. They aren't afraid or so aloof that they can't say thank you when you hold a door open for them. At home, I have a lot of friends and family that I love but I feel like our society is so cushioned and spoiled that we forget or perhaps put the wrong emphasis on what is really important.
(Is this a complete picture of India? No, but it is what I am focusing on right now. There are so many sides of India to talk about but, as they say, that is a story for another day.)

So, I've made some decisions. I'm going to try to keep the perspective that I gained in India. I realized while I was there that although I am just one person, if I try to make a difference in what I do (even if it is just little things) that will make a difference in the big things.

• I don't want to buy clothing that is made in sweatshops. I used to buy a lot of Gap clothing but not anymore. I've gone in, but every time I look at one of their labels that says "Made in Cambodia" I think of some of the families and women we saw over in India who make a dollar a day. I guess I never had a face to put to the reality that I knew existed. I don't want to support that industry anymore. And I don't need 10 black tops at 9.99 each. I may buy less but I'll feel better about what I buy.
  
  
• I am being very careful to recycle and be as environmental as I can. We are lucky in Canada - we have unlimited access to information to be fully aware of issues such as global warming. Not everyone has that luxury. We shouldn't take it for granted - we need to take that information and use it to make the very best of this planet we have. We need to stop acting like this problem will fix itself. Being "too busy" to take the time to recycle or use energy-saving lightbulbs or other solutions just doesn't cut it anymore, for anyone.
  
  
• I will appreciate the freedoms we have and do what I can to keep the freedoms we have. This would lead me back to Net Neutrality. I think this may become one of my causes. I feel very strongly about it and would like to have the time to get the word out. I'm not sure how I am going to achieve this - ideas are brewing up in the noggin... if anyone has any great ideas, feel free to leave them in comments.
  
  
• I am going to try to be more accepting of differences in people because you don't know where they have been and what they have experienced. One of things I loved in India was the sense of community. I wish that is something we had more of here in Canada. There is a bit more trust of your neighbour in India. Maybe that is because your neighbour could very likely be a part of your family. :-) Never-the-less, I realized that we need to take better care of each other.
  
  
• I am looking into a non-denominational charity that does work over in India with the children and families who have nothing. Both Claude and I had a hell of a time saying no to the children. There is one little girl in Delhi whose face I will probably never be able to forget. The only way I could get through that trip without giving money out was to promise myself that when we got home we would do this. I also would like to, when our children are old enough, go over to India and volunteer for a couple of months. I would like to give something to a country that I would someday like to call a home.
  

Does all of this sound a little militant or a bit extreme? Maybe. I'm not going to start lecturing everyone on what they should do, but I realize that by doing these things I will be more true to who I am.

Anyway, I thought I would put this down on 'paper'. Maybe it makes it more real. Maybe it will help me sort through all the feelings and thoughts I came home with. I don't know. I just know I wanted to.

Chickens are the peacemakers of the world.

You just need to watch the video...


Thanks, Tim!

Hello again!

So, some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted here for a while. I'll get into that a little bit later, but let's just say for now I've been doing a bit of thinking about priorities and what I need to fix in my life to live closer to what I believe in. Still a bit of work on that, but things are getting sorted out.

On to a tid bit that I just HAD to post...

The US Post Office has decided that a good retail strategy would be to remove all of the clocks in the public areas of the post office. Their logic is that it will allow the customer to focus on their experience. So far they have removed clocks from 37,000 postal outlets.

Right. So, you want people to get so excited mailing packages that they come back for more - for that special little high they get from the post?!? Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the US Postal Service has a bad rep and you don't want people to be aware of how long they are actually waiting in line???

Seriously. Who thought this up and how did they get people to support them?

Source: The Consumerist