Happy New Year, Muhammad!

   All the newspapers are doing their "look-back" issues, summarizing the events of 2005 for their readers. So many of their pages are filled with stories that sell; you know, tragedy and violence. There seems so little that is hopeful and uplifting. That's why I've chosen to make my last entry for the year about one Muhammad Yunus, so that my little corner of blogdom will end the year on a note of optimism.
   Yunus, known as the "banker to the poor", runs Bangladesh's Grameen Bank. He took his first step toward his place in the world of finance in 1976, when he was an economics professor at Chittagong University in Bangladesh. He lent $27.00 of his own money to a group of poor craftsmen in the town of Jobra, and volunteered to serve for them as a guarantor of a larger loan from a bank. Yunus was sure that poor people can be both dependable in their repayment of loans and ardent in their pursuit of entrepreneurship. It was a belief not many shared at that time.
   Through his work, Yunus has become familiar with some of the soul-destroying realities of grinding poverty. He states that as many as 1.2 billion people lack access to basic necessities and views microfinance as their ladder on which to climb out of the abyss of anguish that has ensnared them.
   Another less-than-common belief espoused by Yunus was that women were the borrowers to focus on. He felt that they are the most likely to be concerned with the welfare of their family and therefore the most highly motivated to be good customers for the bank. This was something else that set Yunus aside in the traditional Muslim society of Bangladesh. Although he had to work for six years to achieve his goal of 50-50 gender distribution among the bank's borrowers, the distribution has not stayed even. Today in fact, 96% of Grameen's borrowers are women. Even more astonishingly, the bank includes a project called "The Struggling Members Program" which serves 55,000 beggars. Since it has not yet collapsed, perhaps Grameen could offer a lesson or two on serving the poor to some of the North American giants of banking.
   Yunus lets none of the proverbial moss grow under his feet. This activist, having earned the title of "genius" from Sam Daley-Harris, director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, is not content to step back and leave the work to others. He is busy attracting private capital to fund his socially driven businesses, such as Grameen Phone. In this endeavor, loans are made to individual women so that they can become "the village phone lady", using handsets and solar chargers to operate a pay phone in many rural areas of Asia and Africa. Yunus also has plans to make nutritious and inexpensive baby formula, to provide low-cost eyecare and to equip rural hospitals with video-conferencing connections to doctors in distant cities.
   Hats off to you, Muhammad. You are a credit to the human race, and a real inspiration. May you be blessed with many long years to come. Happy, happy new year, Mr. Yunus.

Rise Up, Toronto!

   Who will be there: BrassMunk, Mathematik, Shylow, 9th Uno, Citizen Kane, Red Clay, Okai, Big Jacks, DJ Linx & Taktiks, Seven:30, Starting From Scratch, P-Plus, and Son of S.O.U.L. If the list sounds good to you, read on.
   The place: The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West @ Beaconsfield Avenue
   When: January 14th, 2006 - the doors open at 8:30
   The reason: 100% of the funds raised will go to the Guluwalk Campaign . There just aren't too many charitable groups that can boast one hundred per cent delivery of funds raised to the cause they support.
   Wanna be there? Follow this link.

"Discover" a Gaff

   On page 50 of Discover magazine's special issue "100 Top Science Stories of 2005" is a one-column article titled "At Last: We Find Out Why Stupid People Die Young". The staff at Discover should hang their heads in shame. Each and every one of them. Marina Krakovsky, whose name appears at the bottom of the article, should be publicly castigated. The editors and others who did nothing to correct her should come in for a share of the disapprobation.
   In a magazine that is supposed to bring science to the public, not unjustifiable, subjective judgmentalism, there can be no excuse for this major error in discernment. Krakovsky begins by letting the reader know that researchers in Great Britain determined in 2001 that people with lower IQ's live shorter lives. She moves from there to the work of Ian Deary, a psychologist at the University of Edinburgh, and Geoff Der, a statistician at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. The two reported this year that reaction time proves a stronger predictor of life span than does IQ. Deary and Ger tested their subjects with button-pressing reaction-time tests and came to their conclusion, although they have no explanation to offer, at the moment. They theorize that either the subjects begin to slow over time because an undetected disease has begun to exert its insidious influence; or that there are fundamental lifelong differences in the speed at which people process information.
   Neither of the proffered explanations justifies the use of the abusive adjective. More testing is still needed before the two scientists feel they can give definitive answers to the question of there being direct relationship between mental ability and survival. They are approaching the issue with the behaviour that befits their callings. They are avoiding words that reek of prejudice and poor decision-making. There really is no justification for Krakovsky's use of the offensive word. She certainly can not claim to have needed an attention-grabbing headline in order to sell her article. It's already in a respected magazine and we could assume that it stands as good a chance of being read as any of the other articles do. The audience this magazine is intended for are science-minded readers possessed of intellectual curiosity.
   The title of this article is a major gaff. Krakovsky has explaining to do.

   I was just sitting with my copy of Steven Farmer's "Adult Children of Abusive Parents" in hand, working on one of the exercises in there. Yup, I fit the title. My parents fit the title, too, big time. I have left a lot of it behind, but I don't know if you ever get to leave all of it behind. One thing I do know is that none of it gets left behind without a conscious effort and sometimes one hell of a lot of work. If you fit the title, there's a lot of literature out there for you, but this is really one of the good ones. It's not too expensive - under thirty bucks - and worth the investment.
   I was on page 87, at one of the "Seeing, Not Just Looking" exercises in what Farmer calls "active looking". Especially if you were physically abused, you may have developed the coping strategy of dissociation, in order to help yourself survive. It served me well when I was little and having plastic hair-brushes and wooden rulers broken over me, but I don't want it anymore. I don't need it anymore, and I've worked for years now to be rid of it.
   This technique is defined as "a psychological defense mechanism in which specific anxiety-provoking thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations are separated from the rest of the psyche" and it means that you can actually detach yourself from the part of you that is undergoing whatever sensation is currently threatening to overwhelm you. The only problem is that invariably you get to the point where this 'strategy' is always functioning, even though you may no longer need it. It begins to rob you of valuable parts of your life, parts that you should be experiencing without any filter to come between you and them in their fullest degree. The challenge becomes how to reconnect with your surroundings, how to actually experience them first-hand, instead of through photographs or other second-hand substitutes.
   The exercise that I spent time on today is a good one, really a good one, and I came away from it feeling good about myself. I came away feeling positive, and glad to think that I have taken another step away from the destructive part of my past, and another step closer to the wonderful time that is the present.

   Last week, I posted a couple of entries about Canadian Food for the Hungry International, in the hope that at least one someone would see and would give something from the gift catalogue for a Christmas present. I sent the gift of four rabbits each to be given to three different Rwandan families in my sweetie's name, and slipped the announcement card into the back pocket of the jeans I gave him. I felt good about having done that, but I felt even better about it all on Christmas day, when I saw the present my oldest daughter gave to me. She presented me with the cutest little stuffed animal toy, a bunny, who clasped between his paws a card telling me that she had sent rabbits to one family and a chicken to another, on my behalf. Someone did see my posting! Someone did send gifts to those in need. I really hope that lots of others did, too.
   Of course, I received other presents as well, as I 'm sure you did, too. If one of them happened to be a mobile phone or a laptop, you might be interested in this news from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Scientists there have invented a device that monitors the owner's walking style, and saves the relevant data. The device works by monitoring the walking style of the current user and checking it against the saved data. If changes are detected, the device then locks down the phone or laptop. If the user is unable to enter the correct password, the equipment remains locked, thereby preventing unauthorized use. The device is patented, but not yet for sale. Keep an eye out for it.

Merry Christmas, Anyway!

   Alright, the bird's in the oven and dinner preparations are underway. Never mind opening a can, I made the cranberry sauce myself, earlier this morning, using fresh berries. Rather than the water the package tells you to use, I cook my sauce with orange juice. A few extra vitamins never hurt. Orange juice is naturally sweet (no sugar added!) and that also helps with the tartness of the berries. I use half of the called-for sugar, and it still goes great with the turkey. We never have any sauce left over.
   The bird is seasoned with garlic and onion powders, as well as sage and thyme. The cavity is filled with a bigbigbig onion, and the oven is set at 550 degrees for the first half hour to sear in the juices. I'll turn it down then to roast for the required twenty minutes/pound of turkey. Potatoes will be next on my list of "what to tackle now". I'll peel them ahead of time and leave them sitting in cold, salted water in the pan in which they will boil. That's a time-saver to help with the last minute rush. The stove top stuffing and salad can be done later. The lace tablecloth is already out on the table, as are the candles and the red & green tablecloth confetti. This is a special time of year, and a special day to be sharing with loved ones.
   It is Christmas. This year, the day itself coincides with the first day of Hanukkah, a not too common occurrence, although they often are close to each other. Still, when December 25th dawns, it will be Christmas day, no matter what else it may be as well. Christmas. It is right and good to wish people a "Merry Christmas". That is what the festival is called. No matter whether it originated as a christian festival or not, it is Christmas. Can you tell I get worked up about this? Cut the politically correct, wishy-washy nonsense. Don't wish anyone a "Happy Holiday" . The festival is not called "Holiday". Whether it is celebrated with consumerism galore or religiosity up to the eyebrows, it is still Christmas. To worry that it would actually offend someone to wish them a merry Christmas, is to take a step off the deep end of silliness.
   I am a christian of anglo/italian descent. Christmas is a part of my heritage. Don't try to take it away from me. If someone wishes to extend whatever wishes are appropriate for the chinese New Year, Eid ul-Fitr, Hanukkah, Diwali, or whatever festival is part of their heritage, I will take no offense. Why should I take offense? Why should anyone else take offense at my celebration of part of my heritage?
   If Canada is supposed to be so proudly multi-cultural, let's be sure that we remember to include in that multiculturalism the freedom for everyone to be who they are. I shouldn't have to worry about saying Merry Christmas" to everyone I meet. It is the right time of year for me to wish well to everybody, and that is how it is traditionally done. If Christmas is not part of someone's heritage, but they have an open mind and a sense of curiosity, I would be more than willing to explain it all, and to share some of it with them. I have done exactly that already, more than once. I would sincerely hope that the feeling would be returned. Certainly, if it were, it would be a wonderful step to take toward world peace. It is never anything but peaceful pleasure to share good times with neighbours, whether they be old acquaintances, or the brand new family on the block.
   So I say this with no reservations, no feelings of bashful timidity. Merry Christmas everyone! May your creator bless you with a wonderful day, and a wonderful year to come. May that year be filled with laughter and love, happiness and good health. Peace be with every single one of you.

Pope Grinch the First

The travesty du jour --- Pope NumbNuts doing his imitation of the grinch. I mean, take a good look at this face and see if it doesn't scream "grinch" at you. This is the stuff litle kiddies' nightmares are made of.

Go home, Benny, and give it a rest.

MACLEANS NAMES GULUWALK FOUNDERS NEWSMAKERS OF THE YEAR

   I promised to keep you posted on any developments surrou nding the GULUWALK, so, true to my word, here's the latest as sent to me, in its entirety.

Adrian Bradbury & Kieran Hayward GuluWalk for the children of northern UgandaMacleans magazine features duo with Bono and Nelson Mandela in year-end issueToronto, ON In the December 26, 2005 issue of Macleans, Canadas only weekly news magazine, GuluWalk co-founders Adrian Bradbury and Kieran Hayward were honoured in the Heroes section of the publications year-end double issue titled Newsmakers 2005.Bradbury and Hayward were recognized alongside 18 other notable international recipients including Bono and Nelson Mandela, as well as Canadas soldiers in Afghanistan and Justice John Gomery.

The Toronto natives were featured in Macleans in recognition of GuluWalk, their 31-day night commute in support of the children of northern Uganda. Every evening in July, Bradbury and Hayward walked 12.5 km into downtown Toronto to sleep in front of city hall. After about fours hours sleep they made the trek home at sunrise, all while continuing to work full-time and attempting to maintain their usual daily routine.There was a worldwide response to the GuluWalk that resulted in GuluWalk Day on October 22, which saw over 15,000 people in 38 cities worldwide take the first international step towards telling the story of the children of northern Uganda. GuluWalk Day attracted people of all nationality, colour, race and religion in a global show of support for the innocent victims of the worlds most ignored humanitarian emergency.Every night as many as 40,000 children living in rural northern Uganda walk into the town of Gulu and other urban centres to sleep in relative safety and avoid abduction by the Lords Resistance Army. Desperately afraid of abduction, vulnerable children as young as four years old will walk from their homes or displacement camp to sleep on porches, in school yards or other open areas. These night commuters walk from as far as 12km away and make the return trek home every single day.The success of GuluWalk wasnt just Kieran and I, but the work of so many committed volunteers, charities and advocates for peace all over the globe, said Bradbury. Weve played a role in raising awareness of this pointless conflict, but today there are still children night commuting and thousands dying every week in appalling conditions in IDP camps. Were not going to stop raising our voices for these courageous kids until there is indeed peace and opportunity in northern Uganda.About the night commuters and the conflict in northern Uganda:Children are lucrative resources for the LRA rebels in northern Uganda. The atrocities committed against these children are impossible to imagine: in captivity children as young as seven years old are tortured, beaten and raped. They are then forced to become rebel soldiers, sexual slaves, porters and laborers. Some are forced to kill, maim, beat or abduct innocent victims, including family members and neighbors, or to look on as these abuses are committed. Girls are used as domestic servants or forced into sexual slavery as LRA commanders wives. They are subject to rape, unwanted pregnancy and the risk of infection, including HIV/AIDS.The war in northern Uganda has been ravaging its people for nearly 20 years and has gone largely unnoticed by the mainstream media and the general public. In the past three years alone, over 30,000 children have been abducted by the rebel-led LRA to be used as soldiers and sex slaves and over 1.7 million people remain confined in internally displaced persons camps that offer neither security nor basic provisions. Over 1,000 people are dying every week because a war that has paralyzed an entire nation with fear, forever altering families, cultural traditions and way of life for an entire generation.About GuluWalk:GuluWalk started in July of 2005 as an attempt by two average Canadians to better understand the ordeal of the night commuters of northern Uganda. It has now grown into an urgent, impassioned worldwide movement for peace.

Put Your Wallet Away

   The newspapers are all carrying articles now about the outlay of cash "needed" for Christmas. They're quoting stats that tell the reader , for instance, that as a country, Canadians are already spending 121 % of their average household income annually. Apparently, if you ask the average Canuck when they expect to finish paying off the tally they run up on their plastic, they'll tell you they think it will be taken care of by February. George Boelcke, author of "It's Your Money! Tools, Tips & Tricks to Borrow Smarter & Pay It Off Quicker" will tell you that the average Christmas spending spree is not actually paid off until July. Kind of dismal reading.
   Put those bright and cheery articles together with the "hoildayed-out" ennui that many experience at Christmas, and the idea of finding a different way to handle it all begins to seem more and more appealing. I came across an alternative today. You'll find it here, at a website that details a national initiative begun by a group of Canadian Mennonites. Its name "Buy Nothing Christmas" makes it sound like a definitely Scrooge-like approach, until you read a little further. Then you begin to see lists of possible alternatives to the shopping mall frenzy, many of which are charming and nothing at all like the bah humbug! spirit you might have thought to encounter. They range from making a calendar for family members, with family photos for each month, to fair trade teas and coffees for those not quite ready to literally buy nothing. The latter suggestion makes your purchase an actual contribution to sustainable family businesses in third world countries, and gives you a gift that will be used until it's all used up, rather a gift that might end up just contributing to clutter. The list of alternatives includes the idea of giving to a charity in someone's name, like you can do at Canadian Food for the Hungry International. Check out their online catalogue for gifts that range from a goat or a pig for one family, to hospital equipment or motorcycles for village health workers.
   Be sure to check out the "Giving More by Giving Less" section for some really great alternatives to excessive consumerism. Among other things, they suggest coupons for some of your time. Since time is money to so many, this can be a present worth more than you could ever afford at the store. A coupon that promises a whole afternoon of your time, to spend in the garden or going for a hike or any other activity you and the recipient both enjoy can mean a lot to the person receiving that coupon. When I was a teacher, I always had my students make up coupons to give to their parents, for Christmas, but also for Mother's Day or Father's Day, and I never failed to get a lot of positive feedback from the parents, who really enjoyed "cashing in" those coupons. The coupons could be for something as simple as a breakfast in bed some morning, and could be tailored to fit the abilities of the givers. They could just pour some cereal in a bowl if that was their limit, but they had to sit and talk with Mom or Dad while they ate, and then clear away the dishes after. So many of the kids felt really good about giving a gift that couldn't be bought at any store by anyone else, no matter how rich they might be.
   There are a lot of possibilities to consider, especially if the current style of runaway consumerism is leaving you feeling less than festive.

A Snow Job

   Everyone knows, no two snowflakes can ever be alike. At least that's what we've all been told, right? Would you believe differently if you were told so by a snow researcher? Apparently, Nancy Knight, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado has reported finding two flakes which flouted tradition. Knight is regarded as an experienced snow researcher, and she claims to have collected the specimens, which she says were "virtually identical" at an altitude of 20,000 feet on November 1, 1986.
   While we're on the topic of the white crystals, did you know about Wilson Bentley? Born in Vermont in 1865, he became the first photographer of snowflakes. He first tried to draw snowflakes when he was fifteen, looking at them through an old microscope given to him by his mother. Their complexity, coupled with their quick-melting nature, made the task impossible. Not one to give up, Bentley attached a bellows camera to a compound microscope and succeeded in photographing his first snowflake on January 15, 1885. He went on to record over 5,000 specimens. It is Bentley's work that led to George Perkins, a professor of natural history at the University of Vermont declaring that no two snowflakes are ever alike. All this brings us back to Ms Knight, who published an article titled "No Two Alike?" , including a photograph of her find.
   Let me end off my little look at the crystalline wonders by mentioning my favourite "snow expert", the Archbishop of Uppsala who published a book in the mid-1500's that included more than 20 illustrations of snow crystals. Rather than the hexagonal figures of reality, the good cleric's offerings came in the form of hands, bells and half moons, among others.
What a snow job!

Once More, With Feeling

   I know, I mentioned this one before, but this is so totally the right time of year to mention it again, so here goes ... twenty dollars is all it takes. With a gift of just $20.00, you could help turn living conditions from hell on earth to a home filled with hope for a family in Rwanda. Follow the link to a page from the catalogue of "Canadian Food for the Hungry International" , and find out how it works.          Think of it this way. A couple of gifts like this could save you hours of annoyance at the mall, you know, hunting for a parking space, making your way through crowds overflowing every available inch of walking space, line-ups at the cash register, listening to "I'm sorry. We're out of stock." etc, etc.
   Give it a thought, please.

Jus' Wondering

      If there is bo-VINE, and ca-NINE, is there also dwee-BINE?

   Yesterday my husband and I went to walk through a local ravine. The park there is beautiful and has previously afforded us the opportunity to frame some beautiful photos. This time the light and the snow weren't quite coming together just right, but it still could have been a pleasant walk except for ... brainless morons on the loose!
    I'm talking about the dog owners we encountered. Their dogs were busy being canines, something you can't fault them for, but what is the problem with their owners? As we entered the area, we passed more than one sign that admonished all dog owners to keep their animals on a leash and to clean up after them, the "poop & scoop" routine. We had just passed one of the signs when charging around a bend in the trail came four dogs, all happy to be free and unleashed. Not one of them was on the aforementioned lead and all of them were running straight at us. They were all of a size, and we're talking full-grown German Shepherds. It turned out that they were not aggressive, but that's not the point. No-one can guarantee an animal's behaviour and that's the reason for the leash. That scene could have been totally frightening for someone who is afraid of dogs, especially for someone who has previously been bitten. It would ruin their outing in the park, and that's just plain wrong. How could it be right for one person to enjoy themselves in a way that destroys the enjoyment for someone else? As we walked along it happened more than once that we had to step over or around piles of dog shit marring the pristine stretches of white. Some incredible idiot even went so far as to hang from a tree branch a bag of dog shit. Was that their idea of a joke? Dogs are reasonably intelligent creatures. They can certainly do wonderful things when they work as guide dogs or furry therapists for stroke survivors, not to mention the joy they can bring to a child who shares a bond of love with their pet. No, the problem is not with the animals. The problem is with the owners who all too often act like they don't even have the intelligence level of their pet.

My Day in Court

   Or should I say my two-and-a-half minutes? At 1:30 today I had to be in courtroom E5, having been summoned as a "witness" to the car accident in which I was rear-ended while stopped at a red light, two Septembers ago. At the time, the police officer on the scene said the woman at the wheel of the car that drove into mine had "used (my) car to stop, instead of her brakes". I asked her myself what had happened, enquiring if she had been worried or preoccupied, if she'd had something on her mind. Her response was simply, "No, I just drove into you."
   After that encounter, I had to go through months of physiotherapy to get my neck, shoulder and the small of my back returned to a normal range of mobility and comfort level. I had to go through all the fuss and nonsense of having my car fixed, and the annoyance of having my insurance company notify me that they were not going to renew my car insurance because I had been in "too many accidents". After a phone call made to point out to them that I was NOT at fault for the incident, they changed their mind, and renewed my policy after all. Still, before it was finally all over, it had been quite the experience.
   Today, I dutifully answered the court summons and was there sitting out in the hall when they called me into the courtroom. Little Miss who had plowed into me was, however, nowhere to be seen. She was represented by counsel and he told the court that she was off in Japan today. A little thing like her incompetence behind the wheel and the resultant pain and inconvenience it put me through was certainly nowhere near important enough to interfere with her vacation plans, obviously. A woman (I'm assuming a lawyer) read a really, really brief summary of the incident and a man (representing little Miss Japan) explained that she was pleading guilty to a charge lesser than the careless driving that the officer on the scene had said she would be charged with. His honour, the judge, nodded wisely and accepted it all. I was acknowledged as being "the witness present" and then told I could leave. I was given no opportunity to say anything. Nothing of my "witness" status was actually allowed to impede the speed with which the whole thing was swept under the judicial rug. I came away from courtroom E5 one very disgruntled witness, indeed.

Suit Up!

   Troy Hurtubise, from North Bay, Ontario, has been hard at work on the Ursus Mark Vll. What exactly is it? Troy's pride and joy is an anti-bear suit. More specifically, he hopes it's a suit strong enough to withstand the force of an attack by a grizzly bear. His suit is made of stainless steel, heavy gauge aluminum and cast titanium. Among other things, it contains an AC unit, protective air bags, and a video screen. It also boasts fingered hands, swivel shoulders and built-in arms. Hurtubise calculates the time needed to create his suit of armour at 1,600 hours. The only problem is that Hurtubise himself says he could not exactly duplicate the suit, since he worked without plans, and made his suit more by picturing a hand, for instance, and then forming what he pictured in his work materials.
   Stephen Herrero, director of the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project in Banff, Alberta, sees potential in Hurtubise's inventiveness for scientists wanting to study the behaviour of grizzly bears, without becoming part of the bear's dinner menu. The theory is the suit would allow the scientists to get close enough to study how bears react to humans and perhaps learn more about what factors precipitate attacks by the formidable Ursus horribilis.
   Meanwhile, in a lab far away from Hurtubise's, the Hybrid Assistive Limb, or HAL, for short, (I'm guessing the inventor here did not see "2001: A Space Odyssey") has been nearing readiness for release as a commercial product. HAL is the result of 10 years of work undertaken by Yoshiyuki Sankai of the University of Tsukuba, in Japan. The assistive limb is a motor-driven "exoskeleton" that the wearer straps onto his/her legs to power-assist with leg movements. Obviously, this is something that could be an incredible boon to the disabled and the elderly. Since the current version weighs in at approximately 40 pounds, there is still work to be done to make this readily usable by those who aren't body trainers. Sankai says his aim is to make a suit thin enough to be comfy for anyone.
   Sankai has had many requests for his suits from people with brain and spinal injuries, and so he plans to extend the suit's applications to include medical rehabilitation. At the moment, the HAL 3 can help its wearer to stand, walk and climb stairs. The HAL 4 and HAL 5 do even more. They also include an upper part which will assist the arms, enabling the suit's user to lift up to 40 kilograms more than they can lift without any form of aid. It is expected that the first commercial HAL's will cost between 1.5 and 2 million yen, or $14,000. to $19,000.
   Personally, I see a whole lot more value in the work going on in Japan, then I do the efforts being made in North Bay. Both inventions could serve some purpose, it is true, but if there were a question of where to allocate research funds, wouldn't you rather see them given to Sankai's work?

   I had a really good experience yesterday, in the company of my youngest daughter and a friend. We all went downtown to the Nathan Phillipps Square in front of City Hall to take a few turns around the outdoor skating rink there. The sky was clear and the sun was shining down on us as we glided across the ice. It offered very little warmth since Toronto is presently in the grip of a cold snap that took the temperature to a wind-chilled minus 24 degrees celsius. It didn't matter. We were all layered against the cold and sharing the warmth of laughter.
    If this all has that "nice, but so what?" sound to it, let me give you one more detail about the friend I mentioned. She is blind. I am not sure I would have done what she has done, without sight to guide her through it all. She hails from Trinidad and so had no previous acquaintance with skating until she came here to Canada. Among the other things she has done in this country, she sought out and took skating lessons. Yesterday, she laced up her own skate boots and stepped out with us, totally trusting in us to guide her safely about. She declared repeatedly, "This is wonderful!" as we circled the ice, and I have to agree with her. There aren't very many things better at putting a smile on your own face than the act of putting a smile on someone else's.

   Let me pass this on to you. I have blogged about the people of GULUWALK before. Although I haven't revisited them in some time, they have not been idle, so this is an update on their activity and an invitation to add your voice. They are hoping for people to make a phone call today, specifically, and ask that the government contribute more actively to civilian protection and peacebuilding in northern Uganda.

TODAY, MAKE THE PHONES RING FOR THE CHILDREN OF NORTHERN UGANDA

Today, we need you to lend your voice.

Our friends at the Uganda Conflict Action Network have initiated a call in day, and GuluWalk is joining in. On Tuesday, December 13, today, take 60 seconds out of your busy schedule to call our key leaders.
We want them to know that thousands of people across North America have northern Uganda on their minds this holiday season. While our children open presents and build happy memories, children in northern Uganda will be experiencing the terror of the LRA.
For speaking points, and a list of key politicians to call in Canada and in the USA visit us at www.guluwalk.com.

In Canada, you can give a quick call to: Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, (613) 995-8872 & (514) 593-6020

The Off Chance

   I was looking through the "Now" gift guide. I don't need any help for my shopping, but I was checking to see if maybe the guide included the name of the agency I blogged about earlier - Canadian Food for the Hungry International - you know, just on the off chance that it might have been there. No such luck. What a shame publications like this one that have a pretty wide readership don't undertake to do some good with the opportunity afforded them.

Smarter Than Most Americans

   Follow this link to find out what the above refers to.

Why?

   Six teams working in four European countries have been striving to produce a prosthetic hand that would look real, feel realistic, and actually allow its wearer to have the feeling of his/her hand touching things. They have produced CYBERHAND, a soft and flexible prosthetic that would be attached to an amputee below the elbow and covered by several layers of synthetic material. The device would be linked to the nervous system by tiny electrodes and biomimetic sensors, letting users feel the position and movement of the hand, as well as outside stimuli. Contrast this to the pincer-mechanism "hands" still in wide use.
   The project has been funded with $1.8 million from a special European Union fund for emerging technologies. European Commission officials are appealing to governments and industry to give more financial support to such work in robotics. At the moment, the Commission and the EU nations spend $100 million annually on robotics research.
   As I perused the newspaper this morning, my vision was assaulted by one story after another about the terrorist "Swords of Truth" holding the four peace activists under threat of death in Iraq. There are pictures of candlelight vigils and the faces of the two Canadian captives, James Loney and Harmeet Sing Sooden. There are passages quoting the impassioned pleas for mercy made by the mothers and family members of the hostages. There is just so much sadness and fear; so much blind hatred and mind-boggling stupidity.
    Why? Why can't it be the opposite? Why couldn't we have a newspaper one morning filled with story after story of teams like the one working on the Cyberhand making great strides forward in the fight to ameliorate the plight of those struck by misfortune, instead of the fight to grab and wield more power than your perceived enemy? Why?

A Life-Changing Gift

   I love this, I just love it. It has to be one of the very best ways you could ever find to spend twenty dollars.
   Visit the website for the organization "Canadian Food for the Hungry International" and you'll find out how your gift of $20.00 can make a life-saving difference to a family in Rwanda. Your money will be used to buy four rabbits for the family, to let them start a sustainable business. "The animals are easy to care for and, because they multiply quickly, are soon a source of food and income. As a side benefit, their manure is great for the garden!" If you're interested, of course, there are a lot more gifts to choose from, in their gift catalogue, ranging from the bunnies or a goat, to a new well to supply clean water for a village. Be aware that this organization keeps an eye out for child-headed family groups, and helps them especially. In countries such as Rwanda, where AIDS has hit so hard, there are far too many households that are indeed headed up by children, orphaned and left alone to care for other children. If you have a few dollars to spare, and/or you want to give a gift this Christmas that will share your good fortune with others less fortunate, check out Canadian Food for the Hungry International.

The Genus Musa Masquerade

   Also know as the "banana cover", I just found out about this and had to share it with you. It's a foam banana phone cover, and it's available in both flip-phone and bar-phone styles, to convert your communication tool from a merely functional item into a high-class, subtle declaration of panache. Laird Rickard of San Fransisco came up with the idea, and now markets the covers at the reasonable price of $9.99. It's a great way to make sure that all your conversations bear fruit! To complete the package, Rickard offers Banana Holsters in alligator or buffalo - not made from real animals, as the site assures us.
    Follow the link to see the fruits of Rickard's labour.

And God Created Man

"God, I have a problem." "What's the problem Eve?" "I know that you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, as well as that hilarious comedic snake, but I'm just not happy." "And why is that Eve?" "God, I am lonely and bored, and I'm sick to death of apples!" "Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you." "Man? What is that, God?" "A flawed baseless creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vain. He will be witless and will revel in childish things. He'll be bigger than you and will like fighting, hunting and killing things. He won't be too smart, so he will need your advise to think properly. He will have a very limited emotional capacity and will need to be trained. He will look silly when he is aroused, but since you've been complaining, I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. And you most certainly will never be bored again!" "Sounds great." says Eve, with ironically raised eyebrows, "but what's the catch, God?" "Well.... you can have him on one condition." "And what's that God?" "As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring.... so you'll have to let him believe I made him first. And it will have to be our little secret. You know, woman to woman."

Going, Going, Gone?

   There is no passage to be found anywhere in the Bible to justify the Catholic position on limbo. The church has taught for centuries that infants and children who died before being baptized could never be admitted to heaven, because their souls were "tainted" with original sin. The Bible is entirely silent on the fate of such innocents. The only firm statement declaring children to be unconditionally worthy to be in the presence of god comes from Jesus himself, when he says "suffer the little children to come unto me." He doesn't qualify his command in any way by saying for instance that only those ritually prepared to enter his presence would be welcome. Not one to let this stand in its way, the money-making institution that is the church has always held parents in line by striking terror into their hearts over the possible fate of their little ones.
   Take a step back through time to the days when the church was that much more of an authoritarian presence in the daily life of a populace that struggled with the everpresent threat of infant mortality. The lack of understanding of hygiene that could have saved countless infants from death made it impossible for the situation to improve for many long centuries. How many children lived only long enough for the parents to fall totally in love with them? How many parents lived through the heart rending agony of watching their babies die? Which of those parents would not want to believe at least that the little one who had suffered here would find eternal peace and happiness elsewhere?
   Enter the church, with yet another scheme to keep the laity totally dependent on them. Alternatively, read the foregoing sentence as "yet another way to keep the coffers full". They came up with the idea of limbo, a word that comes from the Latin language, where it meant "edge". Baby had to be baptized, ASAP! If you didn't get your baby to the local clergy, and fast, you could be responsible for him/her spending eternity on the edge of heaven, forever denied the "perfect" happiness of being in the presence of God. There's a load of guilt to carry around!
   Now, Vatican theologians are "studying" the question of limbo. Italian media are reporting that the advice given to his holier-than-thou-ness Benedict will be to drop the concept of limbo into the nearest big hole. The Reverend Luis Ladaria, secretary-general of the Holy See's International Theological Commission has announced that "there isn't any binding catholic doctrine" on the question. "This belief, today, ... is in crisis", he says. I have to wonder how such a crisis could come to pass. If the church is indeed infallible in its teachings, then either every previous pope and clergyman who taught their flocks about limbo was all screwed up, or the ones questioning it today are. Which one is it?

Bible Cake

   This "recipe" is as much a riddle and an exercise in research as it is a cake recipe. If you're up for the challenge, and/or you lead kids' activities, like scouts or guides, it could be a good one to use with your young charges. Have them find the ingredients or even help them to actually bake the cake. It's an old Victorian-era puzzler. I've used it as a research assignment with intermediate school kids. You wouldn't believe how long it kept them engrossed. Just be sure to use the King James version bible, or there's no guarantee on how it will work.

Bible Cake

Cream together: *3/4 cup Judges V, verse 25, second clause *3/4 cup Jeremiah VI, verse 20.

Beat in: *3 Jeremiah XVII, verse ll.

Stir in: *2 & 1/4 cups I Kings IV, verse 22, first clause *1 cup I Samuel XXX, verse 12, second clause *1/2 cup Nahum III, verse 12 (chopped) *1/4 cup Numbers XVII, verse 8 *1 tsp I Samuel XIV, verse 25

Season to taste with: *II Chronicles IX, verse 9

Add in: a pinch of *Leviticus II, verse 13 *1 & 1/2 tsp Amos IV, verse 5 *1/4 cup Judges IV, verse 19, second sentence

Follow King Solomon's advice for making a good boy in order to make a tasty cake. Proverbs XXIII, verse 14

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan for about 1 and 1/2 hours at 325 degrees (or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean).

(See below the comments for the answers.)

Stay Home, Curtis Jackson

   Someone explain to me, please. Canada's official policy is to deny entrance to the country to those with criminal records. Mr. Jackson, aka 50 Cent is a con, but someone has decided to bypass the usual procedure and let the thug visit the true north. Let me guess. It must have something to do with the almighty dollar sign, right?
   Jackson's music glorifies violence and denigrates women. He told Reuters News on Tuesday that he thinks parents should buy his new video game for their kids and use it as "a teaching tool". I'd be fascinated to know exactly what Jackson thinks his game would teach, since it portrays him as making his way through New York's underworld with guns blazing. What a great choice this "entertainer" offers. Listen to his music to get his message of violence, or play his game to get his message of violence.
   This blight on the landscape is being given entrance by Immigration Minister Joe Volpe and his department while they give people like Wendy Maxwell a hard time. I know, she isn't a big name in entertainment. She isn't going to draw a lot of publicity or any frenzied fans, but she is trying her best to make a positive difference in the world. 50 Cent is just out to make a monetary difference for himself. Why let this criminal in? Someone explain to me, please.