FYI

   Risk taking may be great in some situations, but most of us would rather not put ourselves at risk for disease. The link here will take you to the Harvard Center website "Your Disease Risk" where an interactive tool helps you assess your personal risk for developing 12 types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and stroke. After you follow the steps to estimate the risk for each, you will be given personalized tips to cut that risk. If you have a couple of minutes to spend, this might be a good site to investigate.


   Bananas! That's right, bananas! A study with 61,000 women at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that that those who ate 4 to 6 bananas a week cut their risk of kidney cancer by 54% compared to the women who didn't eat any bananas at all. I have never heard of that one before. Have you?



   I stumbled across this bit of trivia just today. I had been researching Canadian heroes for a student of mine, new to Canada from Jamaica. We've looked at some names of distinction from his first country, and now we're looking for some from his second country. I was reading about Canadians (British North Americans, at the time) who fought in the American Civil War. I knew that an estimated 30 to 50 thousand had done just that, but what I hadn't known before was that 29 of them won the Congressional Medal of Honour for their acts of bravery. They included one Corporal John McVeane from muddy old York, (Toronto) who was fighting with the 49th New York when he captured the colour-bearer and colours of the 58th Virginia Infantry at the Battle of Salem Church on May 4, 1863. I'll have to be sure to include Corporal McVeane in our list of special Canadians, especially since he fought for the north in this war to put an end to slavery in North America.

No Names Needed

   Earlier this week, I was up in Barrie to accompany my 83-year-old Aunt to the Royal Victoria Hospital for her cataract surgery. She's fiercely independent, living alone in her own house still, and doing well at it. She still does most of her own yard work, and shovels snow in the winter. Quite the one for doing things on her own, but this was one time she had to accept some help.
  When she was called to begin the procedure, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and watched her walk off beside the nurse, then I headed down the hall to the "Royal Cafe" for a morning cup of coffee. I had three hours to put in, and knowing that beforehand, I had brought along my crocheting, ready to pass the time. The cafe is a beautiful, bright spot, with a roof that vaults three stories high, and an edging of plants that make their way around the entire area. Most of the tables around me were empty at that moment, no-one sitting at them yet. I bought a large coffee, and settled down with the lap robe I was working on at the moment. It was nearing completion and since I felt sure that my Aunt would be fine, my only concern was if the lap robe would present me with enough work to occupy me for the three hours.
   Only a minute or two after I began wielding my hook, a woman approached my table. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, average height, with long brown hair tucked behind her ears. You could see that life had not been treating her very kindly on that day, because her face looked haggard, and her eyes were red and swollen. One glance was all you needed to see that the tears were hovering, just one thought away. "Would you mind if I sat here for a bit?", she asked. "Of course not," I replied and she sat down opposite me. We sat there in silence for a moment, and I wondered what I could best do for her. Did she simply want some companionable silence? Did she want not to be alone for a minute? With so many other tables, empty, she must have sat with me because she needed something more. I stood up then, and took a step toward her, lifting up my crocheting so that the length of the lap robe showed. I told her what I was making and then draped it across her lap. Involve all the senses you can, I thought, get her to be totally present in this moment and leave whatever else behind for just a little time. She fingered the yarn, stroking her hand across the work, and then a tiny smile braved its way past the threatening tears and lit up her face. That was my signal.
   I sat down again and launched into an animated recounting of my crocheting, telling her I was thoroughly addicted to it. I told her how I crochet my way through Toronto Maple Leaf hockey games, crocheting faster when we're winning, and stabbing the hook through the yarn when we're losing. I told her how I have been crocheting for so many years that I have now littered Toronto with my doilies, and afghans, and baby blankets. I talked about giving my creations to family and friends until there was no-one left without at least one of my pieces. All the while I watched her to see if she was still coming along with me on my little journey away from the difficulties of that day. Her eyes were fixed on me, so I continued.
   I began to tell her about how I also give a great deal of my work to a women's shelter that I know of, here in Toronto. I told her the story of how I first became aware of it, more than two decades ago. I dragged out all my best story telling techniques, to take her back with me to the days when my daughters were very young, and help her to see them as they raided their piggy banks each Christmas to buy some drug-store chocolates for the women and children at the shelter. I used all my best adjectives to draw a picture for her of the girls standing at the door, chocolate purchases clutched proudly in hand, looks of earnest importance on their little faces while they went through the ID process to gain entrance and then presented their gifts to the woman who opened the door.
   As I talked, I could see her shoulders relaxing. She began to look more composed, and I saw that the tears had retreated. Then she stood up and thanked me for spending the time with her. "Thank you, thank you," she said," for letting me sit here with you. I needed someone to be with." Then she turned and walked away. As I watched her make her way past the coffee counter, and down the hall, I realized we hadn't even given each other our first names. That wasn't what was needed. She had needed a momentary haven from the weight that was pressing down on her, whatever it was. She had needed a space in which she could hide while she collected herself again, before she went back to confront whatever awaited her. I had needed to give that to her.
   Whoever you are, my friend, wherever you are, I hope that life is treating you more gently today.

From One Thing to Another

   Ambrose Kirkpatrick is a second world war veteran who was promised a free bus pass when he enlisted in 1939. That was before conscription so he was a volunteer in the ranks. We owe him, and every vet, an enormous debt of gratitude. It seems he was employed as a bus driver before he enlisted, and that's why he was promised the pass.
   Now, all these years later, failing eyesight has forced the old warrior to give up his driver's license. He went to ask for the old promise to be made good, and was turned away. Whoever was the powers-that-be in this situation, they were too bloody cheap to provide free transport to the elderly Mr. Kirkpatrick. Instead, the honorary consul for the Netherlands in Kingston, Ontario came up with a six-month supply of bus tickets for the old gent. Someone needs to hang their head in shame over this one.


   Is the 15-year-old Ram Bahadur Banjan really the reincarnation of Guatama Siddhartha, as so many believe? The youth spends his days sitting cross-legged and motionless among the roots of a tree in the jungle of Bara, about 160 miles south of Kathmandu. He is supposed to have been meditating there since May 17, and the word has spread. Thousands are said to come each day just to get a look at him. They want to see this wonder who does not move, not even to defecate, urinate or take in any sustenance. That's quite a feat, to manage something like that, wouldn't you say? How come the folks from the Guinness Book of Records haven't been there yet? You don't think it could have anything to do with the fact that his followers keep him hidden from public view every night, do you? If they really want to start selling the souvenir trinkets with this kid's picture on them, they should keep a floodlight trained on him from dusk to dawn every day, just so we ordinary folk could get a really, really good look at the wonder of Buddha's second coming.



   This is a kind of cool gift, if you're looking for the right something to please that hard-to-shop-for type on your list. For $50.00 you can give him or her a piece of the Trans-Canada Trail. They'll get a personalized trail certificate and their name will be inscribed in one of the pavilions along the trail in the province or territory that they love. Your money will go toward the completion and maintenance of this 18,000 kilometre coast-to-coast that accommodates walking, cycling, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. If you think this sounds like a gift you've been looking for, follow this link.



   "Elimination communication" is something I just heard about today. 18 years after I went through toilet training with my youngest, I hear about this method that has supposedly been around for "eons" and uses little to no diapering. Something like that could save a lot of money, and would certainly be ecologically sound, but how the heck is a working mother supposed to accomplish this feat? Following this approach means beginning to take a child to the toilet when they are just weeks old. You know this movement is never to garner a huge following among D.I. families.

Use a Moniker, Buddy

   It seems someone went wandering through my archives and found my entry about Teilhard technologies, and their patent on a "SYSTEM FOR TRANSFORMING AND EXCHANGING DATA BETWEEN DISTRIBUTED HETEROGENEOUS COMPUTER SYSTEMS". I was a little less than overawed by the corp. and its patent, and said so. I purposely indulged in a little misuse of the Queen's English to express my scorn. Obviously upset by my lack of respect for the great Teilhard, Mr. or Ms Courage-of-their-Convictions left the scathing retort quoted below, as a verbal slap on the wrist for me, and signed it "anonymous"
At 4:16 PM, November 21, 2005, Anonymous said...
RTFP. Cdn Patent 2,241,767 is for integration of legacy data and does not cover inter-office memos. I realize limited mental capacity (and perhaps even a proper relationship with english) can be a barrier to understanding the rather obtuse language of patents. However, one should nevertheless control the urge to engage in a tenuous criticism of something without the the necessary foundations for understanding.
    I have less respect for the "anonymous" blowhards of the world than I do for a fresh pile of horseshit. At least the aforementioned excreta can be put to good use as fertilizer, and that's not tenuous criticism, either. That's right in your face, fullblown objurgation. But wait! What if my response is worded a wee bit too obtusely for my anonymous friend? Let me stretch my "limited mental capacity" to more clearly phrase my response to you, Mr/Ms Anonymous.

   Fuck you.

Rosa Parks Road

   A small group in suburban Atlanta's Clayton County are lobbying for the change of a road name. They want Tara Boulevard, named after the plantation from Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the WInd' to be renamed in honour of the mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks.
    What a radical idea! Imagine the local yokels taking a step to leave behind the plantation mentality. To paraphrase a GWTW quote, I can just hear the members of groups like "The Daughters of the Confederacy" now. "Lawdy lawd, Miz Rosa, we doan know nothun' 'bout birthin' no new road names!" What do you think? Will those backward thinking powers-that-be in Clayton County be capable of taking a step forward into the brave new world?

Pesticide Free!

   The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a decision made by the Ontario Court of Appeal in May. That court upheld the bylaw passed in T.O. to ban, with few exceptions, the use of pesticides on private property. The chemicals in question are supposedly "safe" for us all. Or are they? They have been linked to several childhood cancers, as well as breast cancer. Deposits of the chemicals have been found in the testes of men who worked for years at such jobs as grounds keepers on golf courses where the chemicals are sprayed liberally. Just who is it declaring these chemicals to be safe?
   Croplife Canada is, for one. This is a trade association that includes - surprise! - pesticide producers. They are the group who challenged the decision reached by two previous courts to uphold the ban. They funded a study in 2003 and 2004 that found 80% of fresh foods tested to be pesticide-free, and 90% of processed foods to be the same. What a surprise that their study should show such results. Who ever would have expected that?
   There are two sides to every coin. You can look at a weed growing on your lawn and see a hideous blot on the landscape. You can also look at it and see a wild plant that does no actual harm, even though its presence may annoy. On the other hand, pesticides do harm. They kill. You know, pesti-CIDE, from the Latin verb "cidere: to kill". If they kill anything, maybe they are capable of killing more than you might want them to. Maybe it's a little harder than the good folks at Croplife Canada think it is to get the chemicals to be good little chemicals and only harm those nasty-wasty dandelions. How exactly do those good folks instruct chemicals not to harm the people who inhale them, and track them into their houses on the soles of their shoes, where they can get into every corner of their house; every molecule of their very being.
   Just for once, couldn't a corporation like Croplife care more about people than it does about the dollar sign entries in its financial records? Haven't they noticed that they're no more impervious to the deleterious effects of chemicals than the rest of us are? Don't they ever stop to think about their own children going out to play in all those weed-free, chemcial-ridden playgrounds of pestilence - oops! I mean pesticides?

   I was driving along in traffic today, when a car passed me. Nothing of note there, but the rear bumper on that car really got under my skin. There was a flag of the Confederacy - from the U.S. civil war - and a sticker that read, "Never apologize for being white". I'd be willing to bet that was a white supremacist driving that car.
   My husband often jokes about wishing he had a machine gun mounted on the front of the car, for those occasions when some moron makes a dangerous move in traffic. Too bad it's only been a joke. I think this morning might have been a time to have used it.

The "King" in Drag?

   Want a laugh? Apparently Michael Jackson, self-proclaimed "king of pop", was caught in a woman's washroom in Dubai on Saturday. He was wearing a T-shirt, trousers, and a traditional Arab women's headscarf. What was he doing in there? Touching up his make-up.
   Michael, you don't need anyone else to make a mockery of you. You do an amazing job all by yourself.

Diaper Daddies

   Sociologist Andrea Doucet, a professor at Carleton University has conducted a study in which she interviewed more than 100 stay-at-home dads, to examine their attitude to their caregiver status. Apparently, all of them report "loving" the experience. They are part of the more than 100,000 dads in Canada who currently stay at home to act as the primary caregiver while their spouse goes out each day to bring home the bacon. Their numbers have jumped by more than a quarter in "only a few years", says Doucet. Her work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to study the impact of this phenomenon on how the children cared for by stay-at-home dads fare, and how societal beliefs about these men may be changing. If you're interested in what she found, keep an eye out for her upcoming book, "Do Men Mother?"
   Doucet feels that these men, who were viewed as workplace failures five years ago, are now accepted. She quotes as her basis for this statement the appearance of daddy-run playgroups and support circles. She says too that the children in such arrangements are doing well, and that "dads are just as capable as moms at nurturing". Once again, the media is responsible (see the entry below) for molding some of society's perception of these men. Think about the Eddie Murphy film "Daddy Daycare". IMDb gives the plot outline as follows: "Two men get laid off and have to become stay-at-home dads when they can't find jobs." (emphasis my own) How many films have you seen depicting the father as willingly staying at home to take on the caregiver role?
   Maybe this trend is a good one. Maybe it's the sounding of the death knell for one more of the stereotypical expectations that have encumbered moms (and dads) for these many years. Maybe.

Real Beauty

   Dove has been here in Toronto, seeking new models for its "Campaign for Real Beauty". The campaign was launched in 2004, after the company had funded a global survey of 3,200 women from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The "Real Truth about Beauty,: A Global Report" based on the data gathered in the survey was released by the research firm StrategyOne, in collaboration with Dr. Nancy Etcoff and the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University, with consultation from Dr. Susie Orbach of the London School of Economics.
   More than 2/3 of the women agreed that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that is unattainable for the majority of women. More than half agreed that the definition of physically beautiful attributes is dismally narrow. All of this has had its effect, as demonstrated by the fact that only 2% of the survey's respondents felt comfortable describing themselves as beautiful.
   The campaign has met with world-wide acclaim, inspiring Dove to continue it, and to search for new models. Toronto was the fourth city combed for new faces-of-beauty to add to their roster. The originals represented a wide age range, from Leah Sheehan's 22 years to Irene Sinclair's 95 years. They also represented a range of sizes, from small to ample. Everyone of them is beautiful, if the eyes of the beholder have the ability to see their appeal. There are so very few eyes, however, that remain unclouded by the smoke screen thrown up by our society, worshipping youthful skinniness, as it does. If you think this is an exaggeration, just take a good look through the ranks of the current stars. Search carefully for wrinkles among those who are older. Search carefully for "full figures" among those of every age. You'll find it a challenge indeed.
   Dove's campaign is wonderful, but it is not enough. The world needs more done to free one-half of its population form the shackles born of stereotypes. Follow the link above. Read the whole article. Give it a little thought. Even if you're male, there isn't a one of you without at least one woman in your life, without a mother. If you're male, give a little thought to what you could do to give that woman the gift of self-confidence. If you're female, give a little thought to what you could do to help us all reclaim the awareness that we're beautiful, each and every one of us.

Nibbly Bits

   I know about herbivores and carnivores. You do, too. But have you heard this one before? I just came across it today - locavore - and I like the way the syllables slither across my tongue, like a satin shawl sliding off bare shoulders. It's newly coined, I suppose, to denote the folks who eat locally, year-round, like Canada's Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon do on their "100-mile diet". Their motivation for doing do is either, "lunatic luddite scheme" or "fossil fuels bad" as summarized by the duo themselves.



    For a little diversion, along the same kind of lines as the sustainable food systems theme, try this two-minute flash animation movie "The Meatrix", starring Leo the Pig and Moopheus the Cow.



If you want something a little more to sink your teeth into, check out "Adbusters Magazine". Their goal, among other things, is to challenge the way the food industry "set their agenda(s)' in order to "forge a major shift in the way we live in the 21st century."

But Do They Need Washing?

   Biodegradable socks are on their way to a store near you. They will make their debut in Japan sometime next year, because of Japan's supposed environmental consciousness. ( I have my reservations on that one. Just how environmentally friendly can such a super-consumer society be?) Still, that's the chosen debut locale. If the socks are a hit there, the makers - Fox River Mills Inc. of Iowa, W.Y. Shugart and Sons Inc. of Alabama, Harriss and Covington Hosiery Mills and Twin City Knitting, both of North Carolina - will take them next to the European and North American market.
   The socks are made from a corn-based fiber, called Ingeo, that is produced by NatureWorks LLC. Ingeo has all the benefits of a synthetic fiber, according to NatureWorks. The drawback to it at the moment is that it is being produced from GM corn, although NatureWorks says that the Franken-corn is not essential for the fiber's production. It is just cheaper than the real thing. GM or not, the product's profits would blossom and grow (a little horticultural humour there) if it had a big name behind it. Ingeo will get just that when Moby stages his next tour of the UK. The tour T-shirts will be made from the wonder fiber. Even better than that, Versace Sport is beginning to stock items made from it as well.
   All I want to know is, do you wear them and them toss them on the compost heap, or into the washer?

   Did you miss me? I hadn't written anything this week 'cause of all the hectic back and forth that's been going on to help my 89-year-old Mother move into a retirement residence. The deed is done, and I hope she settles in. She's moved to a residence that is part of a "chain", with more than one site in the GTA. Amica likes to declare that they run their residences on the "cruise ship philosophy", and the place is beautiful, from the crystal chandeliers in the dining room, to the internet lounges on every floor. It could be one heck of a place to call home. If only this little lady, who has fought change tooth and nail all her life, will allow it to be.
    Fingers crossed!

Does the U.S. Torture?

   The U.S. Senate has added an amendment to a $440 billion military spending bill, an amendment that would ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of any prisoner in American hands. The White House threatened to veto the bill if the anti-torture terms were added, but 90 members - 43 Democrats, 46 Republicans, and one independent - voted to include them, nonetheless. The amendment would require that all American troops and federal agencies follow the interrogation standards outlined in the Army Field Manual on detention and interrogation.
   Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of the torture ban says, "If you don't practise what you preach, nobody listens." The government of the States has already drawn more than enough negative attention to itself over its treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. The passing of a bill such as this could help in restoring some of the world's faith in the U.S. If the Bush regime were to accede to the establishment of the independent commission to investigate detainee abuse that the Senate Democrats are pushing for, they would show themselves as willing to be held accountable for their actions. By accepting this bill, Bush would show that his government does not stoop to the practices it condemns in others. Terrorists may hold in contempt all strictures of decency in their treatment of others, but do those who fight them have to do the same?
    When asked on Monday about the treatment of prisoners, Bush said, "We are finding terrorists and bringing them to justice. We are gathering information...We do not torture." As fine a non-answer as you could possibly ask for, but not one that will carry much weight. There have been too many photos circulated, too many accusations made and stories told about the U.S. military for such an answer to ring true. Representative David Obey of Wisconsin says, "...the $21 million in this bill for victims of torture (will be) a joke and a sham." if the bill is not passed with the anti-torture terms intact. The White House, however, has sent the Senate a policy statement that says if the anti-torture portion of the bill is retained, senior advisors would recommend to Bush that he veto the bill. In case the bill is passed by both chambers, Vice President Dick Cheney has been lobbying Republican Senators for an exemption for the CIA.
   Why doesn't Bush simply declare himself God? It would save him so much hassle with those annoying types who actually want him and his regime to display a little humanity.



The following quote was pointed out to me by a reader who feels it connects directly to the above entry. These particular words were uttered by Nazi kingpin Hermann Goering, at the Nuremberg trials, but they really don't seem that far off of the attitude Bush exhibits.

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

It's What We Should All Do

   If you want a real feel-good story, the kind that can restore your faith in our species a little, I've got a great one for you to read. It has all the elements of the perfect story - someone helpless in the face of life-threatening danger, and two people who shrugged off their ordinary identities for a few hair-raising moments, in order to become the heroes of the day. Go take a look.

Hate Rap

   Women's right activist Valerie Smith has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against HMV because she says they are peddling hate rap. Her claim is that "(T)he company is discriminating against women." She is filing this claim with the OHRC because the human rights code makes reference to "discrimination... based on sex (which) includes...sexual harassment or inappropriate comments and actions of a sexual nature,,,offensive remarks...rough and vulgar humour or language related to gender.". Smith feels that in selling rap, HMV is selling "goods that contain significant amounts of gender-related verbal abuse." Click here to read the article about Smith's complaint in "Now" newspaper's Nov. 3-9th issue.
   Smith's complaint highlights a disturbing truth. Women, as a group, are not covered under the hate propaganda law. That means it's pretty much open season on us, year round. Rappers can say what they want, when they want, to denigrate women. No-one is willing to do anything about it because misogyny is still so much a part of the very woof and warp of our society. Do we need to continue bolstering it in forms that make the cash registers ring? Is the dollar sign actually the biggest part of our continued societal tolerance of it?
   Try to tell me that there isn't an overload of "rough and vulgar language" in rap aimed straight at women. Vulgarisms are liberally sprinkled through every line by some rappers. Look to the "works" by the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dogg and 50 cent. Snoop Dogg describes himself as a motherfuckin' pimp. Isn't his attitude toward women clearly evident in every syllable of that succinct little phrase?
   As if Snoop Dogg (et alia) didn't already have enough influence with the easily led, now he's shining with the golden glow of corporate approval, as a spokesperson for Chrysler. Can you picture them filling the position with a rapper who openly declared racism or homophobia? Inconsistencies in societal attitudes toward hate mongering are rife so spewing hatred toward a full half of the world's population is OK. Give a rapper that mainstream cloak of approval and he pretty much becomes invincible to any criticism. The OHRC is not likely to do anything about this complaint. Who can fight the big bucks of our society's consumerism?
   Maybe Smith won't succeed with this claim, but she has made waves before, and bless her for continuing to try. She did, for instance, succeed in pressuring Bell Mobility to stop offering their $2.50 downloads of "Pimptones". She wages her war while others waste time arguing about whether or not teens are influenced in negative ways by such lyrics. That's an argument I don't have the time of day for. I spent years teaching 13 and 14-year-olds. I saw their never-ending efforts to look and talk just like their rap idols. You wouldn't believe how many times I have seen "2Pac" inscribed across damn near every notebook, textbook and piece of furniture in the classroom. Go read a little about this thug's life and then tell me if you would want your kid idolizing him. Most parents are happy to see a son or daughter idolizing someone who they feel would be a positive role model, but how many would openly rejoice at the selection of someone like Adolf Hitler to emulate? Stop and think about it for a moment. Exactly how do you explain and justify the difference between hate mongering directed at one group and that directed at any other.
   I am not trying to suggest that our kids need to look for perfection in their choices of role models. Bill Clinton sure fell short of that mark, but he also has a lot to offer in the way of leadership to someone interested in world peace, or humanitarianism. Princess Diana was not a saint, but she extended herself to so many of the world's needy, at the same time as she struggled with her own demons. A person interested in helping the less fortunate could include Diana in their pantheon of good examples. On the other hand, someone who leads a hedonistic lifestyle, while they sell messages of hatred to finance their luxury is not necessarily the best influence there is. At least to feel like your kid was following someone with a brain, a brain they actually used, would be a measure of peace for a concerned parent. To know that they were walking around every day with earphones attuned to non-stop vulgarisms might be cause for second thoughts.
    Let's just give the dictionary the final say on rappers and their vernacular. Vulgarisms, says the dictionary are "words or phrases used chiefly by uneducated people". Fabulous role models.