Holy Blood, Holy Grail

   Are you ready? I've been reading again, and there's one book that I really want to share with you. It is "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", published by Delta Trade Paperbacks, and penned collaboratively by the authors Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincolingualln.
   "On January 18, 1982 The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was published in England. Five weeks later, on February 26, it appeared in the United States. During the month attending publication in each country we found ourselves amid what seemed at times a kind of circus."
   This is the passage with which the authors begin their Introduction to the Paperback Edition, and once you have made your way through to the end of the volume, you can understand perfectly why there would have been a Ringling Brothers feel to the whole thing. That is, if you didn't already have an inkling just from the cover, which informs you that the book will deal with the "Secret History of Christ" and the "Shocking Legacy of the Grail".
   The book is presented in three sections: The Mystery, The Secret Society, and the Bloodline. Be forewarned, if you are considering picking up a copy. There is a great deal of incredibly dry text you will have to slog your way through.
   The Mystery carries on about Berenger Sauniere, the parish priest assigned to the French village of Rennes-le-Chateau in 1885, and his mysterious, sudden acquisition of wealth most unbefitting his station. It looks at the history of the Knights Templar and seeks any connection between the secret supposedly discovered by Sauniere, and the long ago defunct order. We are told of this priest and given multiple historical references to him and his actions, and then told that two searches of vatican archives found no mention of the man. The plot thickens! The text mentions documents extant, and refers to supposed promises to reveal "incontrovertible proof" of incredible secrets, promises that were never kept. The whole section leaves you wondering what all the blather is about. At this point in the book, I continued to read, not because of any great fascination with what they had been saying, but because of a determination to make my way through to the end so that I would learn more about part of the great fuss roused by "The DaVinci Code".
   The Secret Society deals with the Priory of Sion, looking at it from every possible angle allowed by history. Any document ever created that alludes to the Order in any way is examined here. It is, indeed, historical fact that such an organization existed, but their exact purpose remains as much a question by their end of the research as it was before the beginning. The great thrust of these 172 pages of text is to inform the reader that the order is out there, and that rumour has it that they have existed through the centuries, primarily to guard some potentially earth-shattering secret.
   Finally, the last section, The Bloodline, deals with the theory that Jesus was a mortal who did not, in fact, die on the cross, and that he had offspring with the woman he married, Mary of Magdala. This is the "explosive" section, simply because they theorize events that would upset far too many christian applecarts. The bombshells, so to speak, are right in your face most of the time. There are others that some might miss in their hurry to get to the obvious ones and lap them up, or fume in righteous indignation over them, whichever seems right to any given reader at the time. For instance, while the authors tell us that they were subjected to a litany of complaints from high ranking theologians, they also inform us that the majority of the whiners were protestant. The Roman Catholic church, apparently, "remained essentially silent". This is the point at which the reader needs to keep on registering the content in front of them. If you let your mind wander off to begin pondering this strange action and start seeing it as being part of some conspiracy, you might miss the next sentence in which they tell you that "... Dr. Malachi Martin, one of the leading authorities on Vatican affairs and former member of the Vatican's Pontifical Institute, conceded that there was ultimately no real theological objection to a married Jesus."
   Out of interest, when I read that statement, I grabbed my omnipresent dictionary and looked up 'pontifical'. It told me that the word meant "Pompously dogmatic or self-important; pretentious" Of course, I looked up 'dogmatic' next. There I learned that dogmatic means "Characterized by an authoritative, arrogant assertion of unproved or unprovable principles" That's the RC church alright, arrogant and authoritarian in its assertion of unprovable principles. They've been that way through centuries of the abuse of power that saw them burning at the stake thousands who dared to argue with them, or even just who dared to be, when the church wanted them not to be.
   That statement was a bombshell for me. How could such a statement be made by a high ranking official and not immediately result in an overhaul of the incredibly outmoded institution that is the church? How can they go on insisting that priests must remain celibate, if they do not even dispute that Jesus might have been married? How can they go on insisting on any of the things they are sticklers about?
   If you drink deeply from the Pierian spring that flows through these pages, you may come away with more than you bargained for. If you're a christian who can slam your mind shut to the possibilities presented here, you'll be fine. If you are open to learning and questioning, you may have problems with the answers you'll need to find once you finish this book. Ignorance truly can be bliss, and has been so for countless millions of christians through the centuries. Not many would know, for instance, that the fathers of the early church actually took a vote at the council of Nicea in AD 325 to decide whether or not Jesus was a mortal prophet or a a god. The decision was NOT unanimous. Two voted against. It was not until AD 384 that the Bishop of Rome was first called Pope, and the doctrine of papal infallibility was not declared until July 18, 1870. That all means that there was no "pope" at the council, and only heaven knows whether or not the naysayers were the ones who cast their votes with infallibility. A little historical knowledge can indeed be anathema to unquestioning religious belief, and this book presents its readers with more than a few little known facts.
   The details they present about the Roman custom of crucifixion are certainly not presented to many congregations during the Easter services. Neither is the average christian well informed about the compilation of the books of the bible.
   Whether Jesus married or not would seem to me to be a moot point. My dictionary states that a "moot point, however debatable, is one that has no practical value", and that is exactly right. Why should it matter if he had someone to share his nights and be there to break the night's fast with him, in the morning? Why should it even matter if anyone chooses to believe in him, or not? As long as we can believe as we choose and extend to others the right to do the same, any belief that strengthens and comforts people on their journey through life is a valid belief. What has no validity is the institutionalized intervention between people and their perceived god by an organization dedicated to the acquisition and wielding of power totally out of character with the man/god they purport to emulate.
   The authors end by declaiming that their assertions are heretical in any way, saying that they do not feel they "have desecrated or even diminsihed Jesus". They aver once again that they see no reason for his divinity to be dependent on sexual chastity, a statement that for many will ring with the strident tones of a bomb raid siren. For me, however, the cracks opened in the edifice of the great and mighty church, the corrupt promulgators of the "good news" are the real bombshells dropped by this book.

Great News

   Quebec's National Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the establishment of Islamic tribunals in Quebec and Canada, thereby making themselves the first province to explicitly ban sharia law. Copies of the resolution are being sent to all the other legislatures across the country. Break out the balloons and the party hats! This is great news.
   Sharia is a code of conduct based on the practise of misogyny, and the qur'an. It has no place here in a country that has moved forward with the times, and is currently firmly ensconced in the 21st century. Trying to bring sharia law here is trying to take a country that lives in the present and drag it backward into the past. The women of Canada should not tolerate its introduction. Neither should the men. Quebec's premier, Jean Charest, says "It's important to send a very clear message that there is one rule of law in Quebec ...we are very much an inclusive society, but a society that will govern itself by one set of rules."
   In Saudi Arabia, for instance, sharia law forbids a woman to drive a car. Try telling the women who currently hold licenses that they have to give up the freedom and the independence those licenses represent.
   In Pakistan, sharia law declares that a woman who has been raped can be flogged unless she can produce four male witnesses to the rape. You don't even have to ask to know that there would, of course, be no equivalent for any man wanting to charge another with having committed an attack on his person. This is idiocy beyond comprehension.
   Any woman who lives here in Canada has a right to share equally in the dignity and equality enshrined in our Charter of Rights. To bring sharia law here would be to strip the Canadian women of Islam of that right, and that would be an incredibly dangerous first step. Allow any one of our citizens to be treated with less than the full rights dictated by our present laws, and you have set a precedent.
   Once it begins, where might it end?

A Must See

   We went to see "Madagascar" last night. If you're looking for a little island getaway for an hour or so, this is the movie for you. We both agreed it got off to a bit of a slow start, but once the action shifts to the island, the movie takes off. The scenes where hunger is looming larger and larger for the lion are some of the most interesting because of the question they raise. You find yourself really wondering about how the dilemma of what to nosh on will be solved for the mane-man, and hoping that it won't be some of his first tentative choices. The film treats the issue with humour, but underlying currents that the younger viewers won't pick up on may remind the older ones that it has been said, we're all never more than one night and two meals away from savagery.
   The characterizations provided by the various actors who voiced the animal stars are almost all a little less than attention grabbing. The one exception is the King of the island, voiced by Sacha Baron. Some of you may know him as "Borat". He brought the lemur-monarch to life in a way that made every other part in the film pale by comparison, but even he didn't equal the gold standard that has been set by Robin Williams with his genie in "Aladdin" or Eddie Murphy with his dragon in "Mulan", and his donkey in "Shrek". Melman the giraffe is the weakest of all, and adds very, very little to the fun, but the movie has its moments, nonetheless.
    If the price of a theatre outing figures heavily for you, you'd be better to wait 'til you can rent this family film on video and make your own popcorn at home. Otherwise, (with appropriate apologia to Neil Diamond):

"Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies,
'cause everyone knows and everyone goes to Madagascar!"

Picture This!

   Hubby and I headed out to Sunnybrook Park, one of our favourite haunts, to feast our eyes on the tender greens of spring. When we got there, however, the first thing that presented itself to me was a fallen tree. After that, everywhere I looked, there was wood with attitude, looking back at me. Living, or dead, it didn't matter. Each copse was filled with stories to be told, each one of them to be narrated by beams and boles; groves and growth all given character by the passing of long years. I "listened" with my camera and recorded everything they told me. Go to gallery 32 if you're curious about what they had to say.

Elder Abuse

   Canada's population is aging, resulting in an increase in elder abuse. This problem has been hidden to a large extent, and goes unacknowledged by many, but that makes it no less horrendous for those suffering from it. It is a form of abuse that needs to be treated the same way we treat child or spousal abuse. Twenty years ago, domestic violence was largely swept under the rug of societal complacency. We needed people to come forward and discuss it in public. We needed public education campaigns to heighten awareness of the problem, and the possible solutions. Canada needs to do the same now for its seniors.
   Here are a few disquieting stats on the topic.
*Seven per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 experience some form of abuse, according to Statistics Canada
*Women are more commonly abused than men
*68% of seniors who were victims of physical abuse were abused by a family member
*In 77% of the abuse cases, the abuser was living with the victim
*42% of the abuse is perpetrated by the victims' adult children, and 31% by the spouses
   Awareness of the issue needs especially to be raised among police forces and the judiciary, as well as among health-care workers and seniors themselves. If you're interested, you can learn a little more yourself with a click here. A real hurdle to handling this problem is the fact that so many victims fail to come forward with complaints. It is supected that only one in four cases is reported. They often suffer in silence so that they don't have to press charges against a family member, the perpetrator in the majority of cases.
   The situation needs to be changed, and it would seem to me to be an issue in which absolutely everyone should take an interest. No matter what the other circumstances in your life may be, the one you can not escape is the ticking of the clock. It will bring every one of us to old age. You don't want to arrive at that point in your life and find yourself one of the aforementioned statistics, when you could have done something to prevent it today.

Let Me Pass This on, Toronto!

The North-by-North-East Music Festival (NXNE) and the White Ribbon Campaign are presenting the 8th Annual White Ribbon Concert.
This year's line-up includes:

RON SEXSMITH (JUNO 2005 Award winner for Song of the Year for "Whatever it takes")
ALEX LIFESON of Rush
JIM CUDDY from Blue Rodeo
ALEXISONFIRE'S DALLAS GREEN with JULLY BLACK
BRUCE COCKBURN
EMM GRYNER
JOHN KASTNER with ALL SYSTEMS GO
SARAH SLEAN (Check out her brand new album: "Day One")
ANDY STOCHANSKY (Drummer for Ani DiFranco, now a solo artist with his own albums "One Hundred", "5-Star Motel" & "Shine")
MATT MAYS & el Torpedo)

This event will be hosted by JESSICA HOLMES

DATE: Tuesday, June 7th

LOCATION: Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne St, Toronto)

VIP TICKETS: VIP tix at $75 get you food, drinks, grab bag goodies, and schmoozing with the stars

GEN ADMIN: $25 advance

HOW: Ticketmaster.ca or call: (416) 870-8000, Rotate This, Soundscapes or the Phoenix Concert Theatre

All the proceeds from the event go to The White Ribbon Campaign.

The White Ribbon Campaign began in 1991, and uses the white ribbon as a symbol of men's opposition to violence against women. The campaign continues to expand each year and currently receives help from hundreds of thousands of men, women and children wanting to take part to raise funds and awareness for this cause. WRC is the largest effort in the world involving men and boys dedicated to ending men's violence against women.

Hello!

   A special hello to whoever it was that visited this site from Spitfire Network Services Ltd., United Kingdom. I have roots in the U.K. from my father's side, an unending fascination with the early history of the isles, and the greatest admiration for those who flew the Spitfires in WWII. This morning when I saw that listing, the name hit me just right, and brought me the biggest smile. Thank you, whoever you are, for dropping by.

Duh!

   Christopher Hughes and Thomas Cloyd, former America West pilots, are charged with operating a plane while under the influence of alcohol. They were in the cockpit of Airbus 319 in Miami on July 1, 2002, as it was being towed to the runway for takeoff. There were 124 passengers and three flight attendants aboard the plane, when a security screener reported the two as being red-eyed and clearly under the influence, The plane was ordered back to the gate and the two were taken out of the cockpit. The prosecution says that they acted negligently and endangered the lives of those on board. Their defence attorney says they should not be convicted because they were not operating the plane yet, when they were hauled off. He says they could still "walk and see", after all.
   Now there's great criteria on which to judge someone capable of piloting the plane you're on. Won't you feel so much more safe knowing the standards are so high, if these two turkeys are acquitted? You wouldn't want to be on a plane trusting your life to a pilot who couldn't even see the crash scene as it hurtled toward him ... and, you ... now would you?
   I think the defence attorney should be taken to a bar with these two idiots, but not allowed to join in as he watches them get sloshed. Then they could all walk together (so the attorney can check that they can indeed still walk) to the plane, and buckle up for takeoff. No other passengers and no attendants should be aboard, though. The treat of having these two inebriated idiots in the cockpit should be reserved just special for their attorney.
   What do you think?

Photo Update

   Spring has returned in all its shades of green, and brought with it the first blooms of the year. While many consider the dandelion to be naught but a weed, there are those among us who see it as much more.
    I went out one day early in May and photographed its glorious gold as it peppered the grass with blazes of glowing contrasts. When I look at dandelions, I always think back to the days when my daughters were toddlers. They gathered endless bouquets of the lemon coloured flowers for me. I always brought them in to put in water, in a little baby food jar I kept especially for that purpose. As a kindergarten teacher, I was showered with the same honour every spring when my little charges arrived for their classes, and I put those towheaded stems in water, too.
   The dandelion has a long history of being used by people as more than just camera fodder. Check this site out for the list, which includes everything from salad and sandwiches to wine and beer, not to mention its pharmaceutical uses. In this photo gallery, you'll see a shot of a brave little tulip that somehow escaped the confines of the cultivated beds for the freedom of a field sprinkled with dandelions.

   About a week after my romp among the Leontodon taraxacum, I grabbed my camera and headed back out, this time in search of the darling buds of May. I am a true daughter of the north, regarding the winter as the very best season of all, but I can find beauty in the early spring, as well. When the buds are just beginning to open, the trees look as though they have been frosted with green icing. Everywhere you look, there is such promise. The spring is a past master of tantalizing with hints of glory to come. That was what I wanted to capture with my lens as I walked through nearby parks and a ravine into scenes bursting with vernal verve.

We Are Not Amused

   This is Victoria Day, here in Canada, a national holiday. It has traditionally been "planting weekend" since the danger of frost is now past. It is also the first long weekend of the summer, the one when many cottage owners open their cottage for the season, not to close it again until Thanksgiving weekend in the fall.
   In Canada, the celebration of Victoria Day is observed every year on the Monday before May 25th, as the official celebration of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Before Victoria Day became a national Holiday in 1901, people had celebrated Empire Day , beginning in the 1890s. Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India, came to the throne after the death of her uncle George IV in 1837 when she was only 18 and ruled until her death in 1901.
   After her death, an Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada establishing a legal holiday on May 24 in each year (or May 25 if May 24 fell on a Sunday) under the name Victoria Day.
An amendment to the Statutes of Canada in 1952 established the celebration of Victoria Day on the Monday preceding May 25. In 1957, Victoria Day was permanently appointed as the Queen's birthday in Canada.
   I don't know that there are too many people in Canada today who are aware of any of the above details, or who would really care about them. For most, it is simply and wonderfully, a day to sleep in late and spend time with family and friends, rather than with the boss.
   Let me leave you with a little snippet of Victoriana trivia. She may not be amused to have this bruited about, but her Royal HIGHNESS regularly took a prescription from court physician Dr JR Reynolds for a cannabis extract that she used for relief of menstrual problems.

We Love You Gordie!

   My sweetie took me out last night to the "Grand Old Lady of Shuter Street" (Massey Hall) to see a concert given by Gordon Lightfoot. The original tickets were purchased in 2002, but the concert they were for never happened, because that was the year he suffered a burst artery while playing a concert in his hometown, Orillia. In the hospital, he slipped into a six-week coma, and many were sure his career had suddenly skidded to an end. Gordie is resilient, however, and even though the recovery was long, he is back on stage and pleasing fans again.
   The man is truly a Canadian cultural icon, who has spent decades garnering awards for his work. In 1970, he received the Order of Canada citation in recognition of his contributions to the furthering of Canadian culture, and in 2004 was elevated to the level of Companion of the Order of Canada. During the years in between, he has earned five Grammy award nominations, and 17 Juno Awards. In 1997, he was presented the highest official honour conferred on Canadians, the Governor-General;s Award, for his efforts internationally in spreading Canadian culture. He has now been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters' Hall of Fame, as well. His work has been recorded by many other artists, too, like his early hit, "In the Early Morning Rain", and many others.
   Last night, when the lights went down, the crowd was ready to love everything that man did, starting with his simply walking out onto the stage. His doing that was enough to bring people to their feet for a round of applause that was loud and long. I'm sure the concert was made longer just by the applause alone. Every single song they played was followed by lengthy and enthusiastic demonstrations of the crowd's appreciation for the artists standing there in front of them. Rick Haynes and Red Shea feel just as much like old friends as Gordie himself does, and the fans were exuberant in their response to Lightfoot's official introduction of his band, as they were after every passage made more memorable by Red Shea's unending love affair with his guitar strings.
   The years have not been kind to Lightfoot's voice. Neither has the
self-abuse he indulged in through too many years of looking for the answers to his life's questions at the bottom of booze bottles. None of that mattered last night, though. Even when the great master made a false start on a song, two different times, the crowd waited patiently while he backtracked and found his place. Each time, there were loud calls of "We love you, Gordie" as he looked through his mind for the right words or the right chord. Every single time they began coaxing the first bars of another song from their instruments, there were quick intakes of breath from all sides and the sound of more than one person calling "Alright!" or other soft comments of pleasure, as fans recognized the intro to one of their favourites. Lightfoot could do no wrong, even when he struggled a few times to reach the notes he used to easily claim ownership of, in performances past. Once or twice, his voice simply failed him, and you could hear the end of a line go missing. It mattered not. His being up there, in spite of what he has gone through, and after all the demons he has had to conquer and subdue is one more part of what endears him to his fans. There were some younger faces in the crowd, but the majority of them are aging along with their hero, and seeing the accomplishments he continues to achieve heartens them, I am sure, as they face their own version of his song that reminds them all; "It's cold on the shoulder, when you know that you get a little older, every day."
   I know, for myself, that when the lights went down, there was no-one in there except for me and the man at centre stage. He was singing straight to me, and to my memories of all the younger years, the ones that sped by in a blur of emotions and events. Those years always seemed to be punctuated by a new Lightfoot release that spoke to the experiences we all share, the ones that brought us back finally to Massey Hall last night, to honour the man who said it all so well.

The Gender Gap

   To all my sisters out there, here's some travel news for you. Well, OK, it's not actually travel news, but it might just inspire you to pull up those roots and relocate to Scandinavia.
   A 58-nation survey, conducted by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum, was published on Monday. The survey covered all 30 OECD countries (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), as well as 28 other emerging markets. The 58 countries were rated on economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment, health, and well-being.
   It was the first ever study undertaken in an attempt to quantify the size of the gender gap, the divide between women and men in the countries surveyed. The results show that Nordic women have come the closest to reaching socio-economic parity with their male counterparts. Swedish women, in particular, enjoy the very best situation, worldwide. Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Finland all follow close behind in their treatment of the sisterhood. My country, Canada, came in seventh.
   Interestingly, the U.S was down in 17th position, behind the European Union newcomers Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Maternity leave was cited as one of the reasons for the States lagging behind. I just know that if you asked the person-on-the-street, U.S.A., where expectant mothers could expect better treatment - in the States, or off in Papua, New Guinea, a flash of haughty arrogance would glint from their eye as they pronounced in tones of contempt that good ol' Uncle Sam is much, much better in his treatment of the ladies. They would be wrong, wrong, wrong. Papua, New Guinea AND the States both offer 12 weeks unpaid leave. Hmm.
   Back to the results, and the question I am sure you're asking by now. Who has the proud position of bringing up the rear? The honour goes to both Turkey, and Egypt. Congratulations to the two of them. They really know the meaning of equity, don't they?

Short & Sweet

   If you're into crunching (and munching!) numbers, you should find this site interesting. It will give you diet & weight loss forums and tips, the number of calories burned for all kinds of activities, including the application of make-up, FAQ's and other "goodies", all calorie-free, of course!

A Nice Guy

   On Monday May 16th, the father of a nine-year-old rape victim apparently stormed out of the courtroom in Newmarket, Ontario, where the case was being heard against his daughter's assailant. The 45-year-old defendant has pleaded guilty to the assault but hasn't yet been sentenced.
   Maybe the dad was losing his patience over the decision-making as to whether or not the attacker should be imprisoned indefinitely and branded a "dangerous offender". I mean, really, all he did was to use violence to end that little girl's innocence. He forcibly wrested from her the remains of her childhood and consigned her to a hell of nightmares and myriad other problems that may take a lifetime to fully expunge. How could you call a man like that dangerous? Doesn't he sound just like the kind of guy you could chat over the backyard fence with, you know the guy you could invite over for a family BBQ, so he could meet the spouse and the kids?
   Legal dithering aside, it occurs to me that perhaps the father stormed out because he was hearing anything but what he wanted to hear, namely the hour and minute of the summary execution, which is all that animal deserves.

To Carb or Not to Carb?

   Another study on the benefits of whole grains has been reported. This one was detailed in the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. The findings indicated that a diet rich in whole grains lowered the risk of developing heart diease from as much as 18% to 30%. The variance is accounted for by the amount of whole grains and bran ingested.
   How can Atkins enthusiasts, and their ilk, persevere in the face of such findings? How can they carry on, for that matter, in the face (so to speak) of the resultant constipation so often incurred by the prescribed shunning of whole grains?
   They are right to turn their backs on most processed foodstuffs, and white flour is indeed an abomination, but grains are not the enemy. Overindulgence is.

Divine Trivia?

   I just love this little goodie. I've heard before about the Council of Nicea, held in AD 325. Many people have. I knew it primarily as the council at which the Nicene Creed was promulgated, setting out the main tenets of the Roman Catholic faith. I have used officially approved material to teach about this aspect of it to classes of students, and have listened to it described primarily as such at university lectures.
   Today, however, I found out something else about the council, something which I imagine is not nearly as well known, and which the church would be just as happy if no-one knew..
   It was at this council that the guardians of the early church decided BY VOTE that Jesus was indeed a god, and not merely a mortal prophet. Apparently, the vote was 218 for and 2 against. Don't you wonder why they had to take a vote on this? Where was the supposed divine guidance that the clergy are always mumbling about?
   By the way, there is no mention in the records of the Council of any lightning coming down from the heavens to strike the two who voted against.

Itty Bits

   $9 billion is sitting idle. All the money donated to the tsunami relief effort, worldwide, is gathering dust in the bank vaults while politicians squabble over how to put it to use. The building of roads, water treatment plants and homes, not to mention anything else, is all on hold, while the survivors continue to fend for themselves.
   This stinks.


   Talk about smelling a skunk ... rapper 50 Cent will apparently be allowed to skip serving jail time for three assault and battery charges, if he plays nice and makes like a good little boy. Judge Robert Kumor of Springfield District Court has offered the alternative of staying drug-free and not committing any crimes for two years. If he abides by these conditions, he will remain on the outside of the bars he really should be looking at daily from the INSIDE! How the hell does this work, Mr. Kumor? Is he getting this special deal because you like his raps? Are you intimidated by the thug? Why should he receive a deal that you can bet most "unknowns" are never even offered? Just what is the explanation for the smell in Springfield Court?


   Now, to move from olfactory insults to the sweet smell of success. Apparently a campaign undertaken to heighten public awareness about stopping domestic violence against women is beginning to blossom in Canadian courts. The campaign was begun in the 80's, at which time, a man accused of killing a spouse or partner was much more likely to walk free than a man accused of killing a woman he didn't know. A recent study, based on all known Toronto homicides from 1974 to 2002, has shown that the sentences handed down have become harsher. Of course, if you've dropped by here before, you know that I'm a firm believer in meting out capital punishment for such a crime, but hey! at least there is some improvement.


   For a change of pace, let's talk soap. Are you one of those people who has anti-bacterial soaps in your kitchen and bathroom? If you were going to be honest, would you have to admit that you're drawn to every product on the shelf that boasts the claim "kills 99.9% of germs"? If the answer is yes, you're in the middle of a whopping huge crowd. Most of North America is going nutzoid over killing everything of microscopic size that they can get their hands on ... or their moist-wipes, or their hand-disinfectants, or their cleaning solutions, or ...The list goes on and on.
   As it turns out, we are doing no favour at all to our immune systems. We might, in fact, be doing grave disservice, since our immune systems are having to contend with less and less, and this is gradually weakening them. The baby that is allowed to crawl around on the floor is maybe actually further ahead of its kept-scrupulously-clean counterpart. The families that abandon their anti-bacterial fervour are perhaps safer than their squeaky-clean brethren.
   Obviously, reasonable caution is still the byword, but a sane balance has to be found. If you're interested in getting a more realistic idea of the supposed danger posed by common "threats", get your hands on a copy of the May issue of "Wired" magazine. Read the article "Germs Aren't as Scary as You Think". You might be surprised to find that a telephone receiver is a much scarier prospect than the traditional bug-a-boo toilet handle.
   Happy reading!

Listen Up, Toronto!

   My youngest daughter plays in the North York Concert Band. They will soon be performing their one fund raising concert of the year, playing a wide variety of music in their programme for the evening, from Tchaikovsky to Duke Ellington.
   Details follow. If you want an evening of pleasant listening at a real bargain price, you want to be there!

Music Without Borders

Date and Time:
Sunday May 29th,
7:30-9pm

Location:
Al Green Theatre
Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre
750 Spadina Ave.

Price:
$15 adults, and children under 12 are free

For tickets and information, call:
Sydney Gangbar at 416-470-0272

Directions:
Take the subway along the Bloor line to Spadina station.
If you're driving, there are Green "P" parking lots available at:
365 Lippincott Street
9 Bedford Road
465 Huron St

Success?

   "The belly of success" is the term my other half tells me his colleagues have for the creeping upward of waist size that happens to so many men. He and I have 'discussions' about it. I try to suggest that he needs to consider making time for regular exercise. He assures me that he simply does not have the time. I try to tell him that he needs to make the time as an investment in his health. That's where the conversation stalls. My husband cuts quite the figure still, but I would be afraid to see him acquire one of those supposed markers of success.
   How do you get it across to someone you love that exercise truly is a magic bullet? How do you tell them that if they don't make the time, onset of a medical condition they might otherwise have avoided could force them, in a most unpleasant way, to change their mindset?
   As I've mentioned before, I subscribe to the Nutrition Action Health Letter. The May 2005 issue has just arrived and is sitting here on the desk beside me. There's a short article in it entitled "Waist Not", and it speaks directly to the issue of the belly of success. It tells the reader that in a recent study of 27,000 U.S. men, the risk of adult onset diabetes was 70% higher in those whose waists measured over 34 inches than it was for those with smaller waists. Take the measure up to 36 inches and you have doubled the risk.
   The article ends with a little blurb titled "what to do" and it says simply "Lose waist". It is not so much a question of extra pounds, apparently, as it is of extra belly that poses the threat.
   What to do, indeed. How do you get someone you love to join a gym, and go year round?

Say It Fast, Ten Times in a Row!

   Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the term used to designate the irrational fear of Friday the 13th.
   It's Friday the 13th today. I had to laugh this morning when I heard a radio announcer very seriously informing his listening audience that a certain professor at some university wanted to assure everyone that the day is not necessarily any more or less lucky than Monday the 1st. (Why that date? He didn't say. Neither did I catch the name of the professor.) I understand there are some so paralyzed by fear of the day that they suffer 24-hour attacks of agoraphobia and are forced to call in sick to work. The skeptical side of me wonders if that isn't one very handy excuse for a long weekend!
   If you want some auspicious events from May 13 gone by to help you through today, forget the Friday part and concentrate on this. In 1842, the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, collaborator with Sir William Gilbert in writing 14 comic operas, was born. In 1884, Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the grain reaper machine made his entry into our world. The one brought humour and a song to sing, the other helped to fill your stomach.
   Every calendar year contains at least one Friday the 13th, while the most number of these days that can occur in any one calendar year is three. The last time that happened was in 1998. The next time it happens will be in 2009. Think of how many good luck charms paraskevidekatriaphobics will need to stockpile for '09!
   Paraskevidekatriaphobia was the subject of a 1993 article in the British Medical Journal, which investigated the relation between health, behaviour and superstition surrounding Friday the 13th in the U.K. The authors compared the ratio of traffic volume to vehicular accidents on two different days, Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th, over a period of several years. Surprise! The study found that, in spite of fewer people choosing to travel on Friday 13th, there were significantly more hospital admissions due to accidents than on ‘normal’ Fridays. The question, of course, arises - does the study prove that the day itself is unlucky, or does it prove that there is some psychological quirk in play here? Is one study enough to prove anything, for that matter?
   All of that aside, Friday the 13th is one of my lucky days. Twenty years ago, on such a day, my youngest daughter was born, and that joyful event was enough for me to forever eschew any aspersions cast at the day. I wish you all, therefore, a very happy Friday the 13th!

Nicolas, Is That You?

   Have you read J.K.Rowling's "The Philosopher's Stone"? If you have, then you will remember Nicolas Flamel. His was the name accidentally slipped to Harry Potter and his friends by Hagrid, near the beginning of the novel. By the end of the story, the reader has learned that he is a man over 600 years old, a man actually in possession of the stone, which has given him his phenomenal longevity. He is a good man, as well, willingly accepting death by assenting to the destruction of the stone in order to ensure it does not fall into evil hands.
   Did you know that Flamel was a real person? I had no idea, until just this morning. I was munching my way through my breakfast bagel, engrossed in the latest book I am reading, when his name jumped off the page at me. There he was, Nicolas Flamel, eighth in the list of grand masters of the Priory of Sion, serving from 1398 to 1418. Now I want to ask you if you've read "The Da Vinci Code". If you're nodding your head right now, you recognize the name of that secret society as having figured prominently in Brown's story.
   The plot thickens!
   The real Flamel was an altruist, just like the character that moved across Rowling's pages. The date of his birth is not known for sure, but it is thought to have been around 1330. He worked for a time as a scrivener, or copyist, in Paris, before Gutenberg's invention of movable type. That surely was not the occupation of a wealthy man, and yet, by the end of his life he possessed incredible riches. He went somehow from being a scribe who hand wrote copies of books to earn his bread and butter, to a man who owned more than thirty houses and tracts of land in Paris alone. He was not, however, a grasping, greedy man of cupidity, as his good works would attest. By the year 1413, he had used his wealth to found and endow fourteen hospitals, seven churches, and three chapels in Paris, as well as others in Boulogne. His was a life lived well enough to capture the interest of such a man of renown as Sir Isaac Newton, (19th on the aforementioned list), who studied Flamel's works and carefully annotated them.
   Curiouser and curiouser.
   The matter of curiosity for me is why Rowling chose Flamel for her work. If her intended audience is the adolescent, and younger, set, then she is writing for a group who, by and large, would have no idea that this was a real man. Is it simply that she went searching for a name in history associated with alchemy, to satisfy herself? Is it that she hopes some one of her readers will be caught by the idea and look up the name to see if he was real? Was the name put in there for those adult readers who would already know the name?
   I am, indeed, intrigued.

More Trivia

   The American Animal Hospital Association conducted a recent survey of pet owners. Among the questions they asked was "Who listens to you best?" 45% of those surveyed named their pet while only 30 named their spouse. Another query posed was whom they would choose for a companion if they found themselves stranded on an island. 50% said they would prefer a canine or feline friend over a human!
   Hmm.


   I have a collection of strong, cloth bags which I have accumulated over the years. I often use them for my grocery shopping, taking the plastic ones from the store only when I need some more garbage can liners. Finding the following facts gave me a chance to feel good about my habit of reusing those cloth bags.
   An estimated 27 million plastic grocery and shopping bags are produced in Canada, every day. Most of these are used once, before they find their way to a landfill site, where they may take several hundred years to break down. It's really not known for sure if they will actually break down, or just break apart into smaller pieces.
   If every Canadian used just one less plastic bag a week, approximately 1.6 billion bags fewer a year would be dumped in the landfill sites. I have collected enough bags to carry home an entire grocery shopping for four, and I use them multiple times a year.They might look a little the worse for wear, but after reading about the 27 million bags, my little collection looks pretty good to me.

Happy Mothers' Day!

   The second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mothers" Day, here in North America. Whether it is the same in your country or not, I would like to wish a happy, happy day to every Mom around the world. Mothers are the underpinning of every society.
   Whether you give your love to a biological child that grew beneath your heart, or to someone you fostered/adopted who first grew in your heart, I hope this day finds you surrounded by those whom you love.
   May the sun smile warm on you today, and your world be a safe and happy place.

Let There Be Light!

   Let me just give a little background info first, for those who might be interested. 1. "Candela" is the unit defining the luminous intensity from a small source, in a particular direction. This unit was originally based on the light emission from a flame. 2. "Lumens" is the unit of luminous flux in the International System, equal to the amount of light given out through a solid angle by a source of one candela intensity radiating equally in all directions
   OK, now for the interesting part ... Surefire has produced a flashlight capable of generating 2,000 lumens. That's approximately 120 times brighter than the typical D-cell flashlight that you'd pick up at Canadian Tire. (A little plug there, on behalf of my three-i source!)
   "The Beast" weighs about the same as that D-cell light, and measures in at roughly 12 inches, or 30 cm long. This light-up-the-night goodie boasts a xenon gas bulb powered by 20 lithium batteries that nestle snug inside an aluminum handle. All together, they make a light tough enough for the US military to mount a version of it on their heavy machine guns. Because the Beast has no filament, it should never burn out, right?
   If it sounds like something you want to own, you need to get a move on. There will be only 85 Beasts made available to the public. Oh, and you'll need some cash handy, since the $2,900.00 price tag will light-en your wallet.

Stress in Song Sparrows

   Dr. Michael Clinchy and Professor Rudy Boonstra of the Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress and the department of zoology at U of T;s Scarborough campus, along with colleagues from the universities of Western Ontario, Washington and British Columbia have just reached their conclusion after conducting a study on song sparrows. They collected blood samples from 91 song sparrow papas with six-day-old offspring. They assessed levels of corticosterone (bird stress hormone) and free fatty acid (the energy molecule needed for flight).
   Their startling, insightful conclusion? "...birds in environments with limited food and many predators were the most stressed."
   Duh!
   Wonder who pays for these rocket scientists to conduct these studies? This one was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
   Supposedly, they needed to conduct this study in order to figure out that paying attention to both food and predators may be the first step to take to conserve endangered species. Wish the birds luck. I have the feeling that depending on these guys for any kind of timely help might not be the best way to fly!

Answer Me This

   On May 13, 2004, Ottawa passed Bill C-9, amending the Patent Act as well as the Food and Drugs Act. The intent was to enable Canada to authorize someone other than the patent holder to manufacture lower-cost, generic versions of patented medicines in order to export them to developing countries, and thereby help fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
   "Canada is very proud to be the first country to take concrete action to implement this important decision, which will go a long way toward improving global health," crowed the Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs. "We encourage other countries to follow suit..."
   What is there to follow? To date, not even one pill has been sent. Why not? What's holding up the works? That's the question that needs an answer. Was Paul Martin simply looking for his fifteen minutes in the spotlight and a friendly smile from Bono when he worked on this bill?
   Apparently, government officials say the Act has been "stalled by technicalities". Doug Clark, a senior official at Industry Canada Clark says the regulations have been delayed because a Senate committee studying the bill discovered a serious flaw which had been missed in the Commons. A new bill had to be drawn up to fix the flaw, and is expected to get consideration this week.
   That is, it might get consideration, unless their fairy godmother waves her wand and the conservative party get their wish for an election. In that case, the new question might become, "How long before Bill C-9 is simply swept under the rug?"

Trivia

   I just found out --- the average Canadian can expect to move 12 times in their lifetime. I better get going! I'll be 55 this summer and I've only moved four times.
   How about you? How many times have you relocated?

   This one is a nasty little bit of trivia I learned when I made a purchase at the Bay Store and was asked by the saleswoman if I would like to contribute a dollar toward a campaign to stop violence directed against women. Apparently, 51% of women in Canada have experienced some form of violence.
   I gave.

An Anniversary Couple

   Today is my first anniversary - my 2nd time around. Happy anniversary sweetheart; but it's not my husband and I who are the aforementioned couple. It was two Canada geese that we found out on the highway this morning when we were heading out for a celebratory brunch.
   Canada geese are strongly monogamous, and stories of their faithfulness to each other even unto death, are legend. When we saw these two feathered sweethearts, one was already walking out across the highway, about half way across, in fact. The other was hesitating at the side of the road, but we both knew it would step out at any moment, to follow its mate. My husband stopped the car in the left turn lane and I jumped out. Checking for oncoming traffic, I ran first to the one who was already out on the roadway. Clapping my hands together and calling loudly, I shooed him across all the way just before the first cars got there. That left the other bird to be concerned about, though. Knowing it might step out to join its comrade. I ran next to shoo it further back onto the grass. Then I crossed back to the first one, and waiting for a break in the traffic, I repeated the little herding procedure and hastened it back across the lanes of the highway, back to the side of its fine-feathered friend. A few drivers approaching us in the last lanes we had to cross, saw what was transpiring and slowed to wait for our passage. I waved a thank you to them, and then made my way back to my sweetie, and we continued on our way.
   I felt good about coming along just then, and saving those birds. While many might regard them as a nuisance when they take over the waterways in a park, I think most would hate to see them die there in such a manner. I wish them long life and many anniversaries together.