Settler words&music in S'ólh Téméxw, (leanpub.com/upsun) living where privilege meets precarity in MST country. she/her/they———– Novels: Midnite Moving Co., Upsun; Sweep Off Those Waves coming soon, Hair Sinister after that. —Restore All Indigenous Lands!
Bloody rain. Goes on forever and forever. Sleeping in sheets of rain. Must think of the big yellow ball in the sky. Sigh.
In my relentless search for cute animal pix I found the picture shown, by famous illustrator Lawson Wood. Seeing as how there’s nothing I’d like better than to stay in bed all day with a hot water bottle, I thought it was quite apropos.
I am very pleased to report that tea tree oil works GREAT for jock itch. Apply and remove in the shower. One word of warning, however; if you get it on your mucosae, not only will you sing in the shower, you will dance as well. Those of you who didn’t take my warning will be saying “I SO did NOT want to know that.”
John’s Unitarian Jihad Name is Brother Tonfa of Friendly Persuasion. Keith is Brother Daisho of Inherent Worth.
Paul is flying to Japan, can you believe it? He has to work on an airplane and then fly back tomorrow. Hope he is successful and gets enough sleep.
http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/opre640/partXIII.htm#rhowtoavoid
Man, I had no effing CLUE how many ways I could avoid making a decision! Next time something really tough comes up I’ll have a menu to choose from, and that makes me sincerely happy.
Wolfgang Droege, the Toronto-dwelling neo-Nazi, was shot to death yesterday. I am sorry he died before coming to an understanding and correction of his errors and felonious ways, but in other respects I concur with what the immortal Moms Mabley said upon hearing that Richard Nixon had gone to his reward. “Say nothing but good of the dead. He’s dead. Good.”
As I only have about another five minutes before I run to the bus, I think I’m going to do my ‘takeoff cycle’ and peruse my favourite sites, then skid out of here.
There’s nothing wrong with me that quitting caffeine and losing 40 pounds wouldn’t fix. I promise faithfully that the next time I think there’s something wrong with me I’ll go for a walk instead of visiting my doctor.
The 14 Characteristics of Fascism
by Lawrence Britt
Spring 2003
Free Inquiry magazine
Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism (“Fascism Anyone?,” Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine’s policy.
The 14 characteristics are:
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Labour Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labour is the only real threat to a fascist government, labour unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Copyright 2003 Free Inquiry magazine Reprinted for Fair Use Only.
Off to work now and the cardiologist this afternoon. As John’s boss John remarked, “Ah, so they are going to find out you have one?”
In revenge, I will tell a small story. Our John bought Boss John a little brass sign that had his name and title (President) on it. He then ceremoniously affixed it to the bathroom door at work. His boss one-upped him by leaving it there.
Have a nice day, yall.
Oooh. Forgot to mention that Monny brought two ‘friends’ over last night. I don’t know which one is weirder, Fanny, who looks like lightning in a bottle, or Chachka, who pooped Mcdonald’s (trademark) toys all over my house, and I mean ALL over. If the little bugger had found a way to glue them to the ceiling he would have (he, she?). When I have a minute I’ll describe their visit in more detail.
Rabbits say, A single cloud feels lonely (full marks if you get the reference) and I say, “You didn’t think there’d be just ONE monster, did you? Remember, if there’s a monster under every bed in the world…. that’s a hell of a lot of monsters.” And yes, the little toys were gone by morning, like fairy gold, but it was still disconcerting to turn the bathroom light on and have Elastigirl (trademark) glaring at me while I tried to take a leak.
I’m just praying that a monster who followed me around for months when I was living in Toronto doesn’t show up here. You think Monny was ugly!? This guy is *so* scary and repellent. Brr.
John, did you know that Fungus the Bogeyman is a kiddie show in Britland? I was very amused to hear that. Monsters mean money.
Katie’s finished math. Yay.
RRRR! Can you believe it???? Somebody is reading this blog, deciding I’m being disrespectful to Paul, and emailing him for his comments. Paul, being very used to my ‘whims and humours’, reviewed the offending paragraph, and went hunh?
Well, buddy, you go back and read this blog, and you will see that when I am not whining about Paul, I am praising him to the skies. And it isn’t just the fact that he turns to mush when he sees baby animals, or how well he looked after Keith in the hospital, or how he prevented me from throttling Kate, or cuddled me after a nightmare, or sang “The Street Where You Live” in the car while I practically cried with happiness, or made me laugh a thousand thousand times, or loves to be read to, or he’s one of the most competent and well rounded people on the planet, or that he shares much of my spiritual outlook, or because he’s grown immensely as a person in the last 20-odd years, it’s because of this: Of all the people in the world who have reason to hate me, he’s definitely the one with the grievances. But he loves me, and he proves it every bloody day. Everything I know about forgiveness, which is the kernel and essence of love that lasts, I learned from him. So there. I suppose I could fold my hands together and never say anything bad about Paul again, but he’d just poke me in the ribs once in a while and say, “You KNOW you want to say it!” and bloooooosh, Vesuvius. He knows me, and I know him. I wouldn’t live with anybody else for all the oil between China and Taiwan! And I love him more than I could possibly say, although I have tried to put it in poetry, which you obviously haven’t read! And I’m not going to pretend I’m never annoyed with him, because that would really misrepresent what is essentially a growing concern. RRRR!
2019 SEZ Janice Murray, who was very cheerful about ensuring that Paul got out of his relationship with me a few years later, is the person I’m whinging about here. She can go fuck herse’f. I could say any manner of rude an’ actionable things, but…. nah. She’s got the life and the face she deserves, and I need no part of either.
Pictured are a Badger, A Traffic Cone Fan, a Dr Filk and a Furry Socks, singing on the steps of the Musée.
I neglected to mention that I have a Unitarian Jihad name now. I am Sister Birch Rod of Sweet Reason. Tam Tam, bless her, is Sister Molotov Cocktail of Compassionate Togetherness. Please email me with your Unitarian Jihad name; I need cheering up. If you need help, think of a weapon or torture implement, and then think of a Unitarian virtue. Use either Sibling, Sister or Brother at the front and you’re done. There IS a name generator floating around the inertnet but it sucks, so I’m not posting it. You can borrow these if you like:
Sister Branks of Strawberry Socials; Brother Sai of Potluck Dinners; Brother Bunker Buster of Streamkeeping; Sister Iron Maiden of Consensus; and then of course if you bust open a Munchkin game, you’re ALL OVER weapons, like the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment, Boots of Buttkicking, etc.
However, you could try Brother Nerve Disruptor of Silent Prayer; Sister Katana of Sister Phaser of Mediation; Sister Humvee of Playfulness; Brother FighterBomber of Earthwisdom; Sister Epee of Innate Worth; Brother ME109 of Balance; and I’m still trying to figure out how to work in some Ian M Banks names for space ships. Everytime I read the name “Frank Exchange of Views” or “Clear Air Turbulence” I crack up.
Check out www.freecycle.org …. Brother James passed this along. I think I will be joining this.
In the time it took me to get the camera, the dawn changed colour. Very annoying.
Tomorrow I go see the cardiologist. Today, I try to wring meaning from life because you already KNOW what the cardiologist is going to tell me. He’s either going to tell me to stop eating anything that makes life fun or he’s going to tell me I’m imagining things, possibly both.
Neglected to mention that I had a nice long chat with Liz the other day. Liz is my oldest friend from my long stint in London ON, and she and all of her clan are fine, except for the ones who need a slap upside the head to realign their neurons. We commiserated for a very long time over the death of the Pope (and anybody overhearing our conversation would have been calling 911 on the dangerous loonies) and then commiserated even longer on the joys of raising teenagers.
Liz, I will share with you what Jim A shared with me after I made a particularly ripe denunciation of Katie, about three years ago, at the lunch table at work. He said, All kids give an equal amount of trouble and heartache. Some do it all at once and get it over with… others spread it out over time. But in the end it’s all the same. I pass that along in case it helps at all. Time to stuff and shower.
I can’t find anything interesting on the internet. Who turned it off? I demand a recount. Okay, the stuff about nanotechnology on eurekalert.org. Specially the stuff about nanotech and the third world.
And this morning I head back in to work.
The spit yesterday at Giraffe in White Rock was delightful, as always, and food exquisite.
Spent the rest of the day reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell; was very happy when Stephen killed the fairy king. Man, I don’t think I’ve wanted to see an author kill a character more since Dunnett invented Gabriel. Absolutely LOVE the characters of Childermass and Vinculus. It will be Childermass that the actors fight over… of COURSE they are going to film it; the guy who wrote Dangerous Liaisons has been hired to write the script, which is a relief; at least the script will be literate.
Previews of Hitchhikers Guide say that it makes the Phantom Menace look like a film. Sigh.
I am trying to get in to work a bit early to clear email, so I’m outta here for now, more later….. oh, and to the DD fans, Brooke is already on book III of LC, having started (yup) BUYING them. I innocently asked her if she likes Vikings. This is a joke that only DD’ers will get.
Paul has started reading a Manual for Living, which is a re-vision of the philosphy of Epictetus (as written down by his students). He is very much enjoying it but says most of the advice is a lot easier to give than take. Seeing as how it is sometimes referred to as “the Mother of all Self-Help Books” I can see his point. It’s a tiny little book, too. Quite the inverse of what I will refer to later…
Paul’s off to Delta Air Park for the fly in breakfast… and yes, he’s driving there. I am off to a Spit at Giraffe in White Rock. I am very much looking forward to it – Spits are always grand fun. A Spit, as I explain again, is a gathering of Dorothy Dunnett fans.
I’m back in Doorstop country as of last night – I am reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and the damned thing COULD be used as a doorstop, it’s over a kilo, and I’ve got big divots outta my thumbs from holding it. I’m at page 316 and there are ONLY 782 pages. I’ve been told by all the reviewers that I’ll be sad when it ends.
Got the front flower bed adjoining the house straightened out last night, with most help from Paul. We mucked out the bottom of the compost bin; at one point the smell was so bad I almost pulled a Victoria Lady and tried to run away.
Spent a good chunk of yesterday drooling on the Lee Valley 2005 gardening catalogue. Why, o why, am I so sorcerously drawn to useful pots? Review of the spit later. Also, someone has sent me a cryptic email telling me to join the Unitarian Jihad. Can such things be?
I make no apologies for posting this picture.
In an earlier post, I mentioned a camel costume. Okay, what was he using the camel costume for????
The picture shown is of, not the dreaded Japanese War Tuba (just show me where to blow….) but an acoustic locator for aircraft. That’s the emperor and some other dude walking by it. I am indebted to Drew Curtis of Fark.com for posting the link that led me to this.
In other news, my dinner par-tay was a big success. Keith is not happy about the lack of Munchkin, but we sang and played. Since my mother will want to know, I will post the menu. Very rare roast beef. Butternut squash; carrots, potatoes and parsnips; green beans, salad provided by Peggy, garlic bread, beets with lemon juice and basil, rolls provided by Peggy. I scratch made two apple pies and tapioca for dessert. (Ben had seconds of tapioca, I was watching.)
We are going to turn the leftovers into soup, beautiful soup.
The sun just came out. I have to go out and pull weeds for a while. Or not.
In case the editor shrinks the picture past the point of readability, the license plate holder says Places to Go People to Annoy. Taken in the 6th and 6th mall parking lot yesterday.
We’re all home today because the kids aren’t in school. This means that I can concentrate on cooking and somebody else can clean, although that shouldn’t really be a problem – the place is still remarkably tidy from last Sunday’s cleaning binge.
Everybody is in a good mood… the sun is shining, and life seems pretty durn good. If you want to stay cheerful, don’t go to copvcia.com today… it’s the usual spate of bad news.
From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, all rights deserved, etc etc. Something about this struck me as being extremely Canadian, as well as Australian. Many things about the Australian character much appeal to me. We could discuss it over a lager sometime.
Baggage handler dons passenger’s camel costume
A man who had a camel costume removed from his checked-in luggage at Sydney airport says the event raises questions about airport security.
David Cox was waiting to board his Qantas flight when he saw a baggage handler wearing the costume on the tarmac.
He says he was shocked to realise his luggage had been interfered with.
It’s the kind of larrikin thing that an Australian would do but given the current situation, particularly with Schapelle Corby, the issues of airport security and privacy and your luggage remaining secure, it’s obviously a poor decision, Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox says the airline dealt with the matter promptly but says it raises issues about airport security.
I obviously was flabbergasted, my jaw dropped to the ground, he said.
I went to the customer service desk that happened to be right behind me and said, Look I’ve checked my luggage through … someone’s obviously been through my luggage, taken something out, now is wearing [it] across the tarmac, what’s going on?
The Transport Workers Union has renewed calls for surveillance cameras to be placed in the areas where baggage is handled at airports.
The union representative Glen Nightingale says an investigation is under way into the incident and he is meeting with workers and Qantas today.
Mr Nightingale says closed-circuit television surveillance would protect both travellers and workers.
We’re concerned about the security and the lack of security at the airport and we’ve been rallying for the last three or four years for the Federal Government for the appropriate screening, not only of the workers but also of luggage that comes through these areas, he said.
Feeding folks tomorrow. Got a very nice slab of prime rib, hopefully it will be somewhat edible. Made lasagne and chocolate banana muffins for dinner… I think the kids could really get used to me not working, but it’s back to work Monday, and thank God, after all the appointments and the holter monitor and having to take Kira to the vet tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow morning Paul is taking me to drop in yoga.
Paul nearly caused me to expire from the effort of controlling my temper today. He appears to be under the impression that getting powers of attorney and representation agreements should be like 40 dollars or some reasonable amount of money. That’s four documents for two people for about 700 and taxes, and the RA MUST be drawn up by a lawyer – it isn’t legal unless it is. Since you need the same info twice, it’s actually reasonable, but the way Paul was going on about it you’d think I was planning on blowing 700 bucks on the frikking slots. The joys of married life.
However, I know perfectly well that he is capable of lifting a phone and asking a bunch of other lawyers for representation agreements and how much it would cost, but I was lazy and went for the first lawyer who actually called me back! Can you believe it? Between the two of us we called half a dozen law offices and only 1 had the courtesy to return the call. I said, He’s got the business; I prefer to deal with someone whose staff actually know how to apply their index fingers to a keypad in the effort to keep their paycheques coming. The rest…. well the pic tells the story, and my butt is damned near that big.
I must say I liked the lawyer. I always meet lawyers prepared to despise them, but this guy is fine. The last rays of the setting sun are bouncing off a building down on 6th street in New West, and it’s very beautiful, in a cubist sort of way. And that is one of my favourite colours, molten gold….
Is everybody holding their breath for the Pope’s funeral? It’s like there isn’t any news happening, or something.
Canada leads the world in the delivery of government services via the Internet. Hmph. However the Accenture study still says that none of the government departments ever answer their bleedin’ phones (emphasis mine, and not stated well or accurately). I left a phone message to get a certified copy of my divorce decree and subsequent to a bunch of emails got it for free, so I guess I can’t complain about the state of service delivery in this fair land.
Unless I get up at 6, which I no longer do because I’m going to bed as soon as I can, like 9 o’clock, and getting up as late as possible, like 7, I have to cede the computer almost immediately to Keith so he can do his morning routine.
Had a dream about frogs last night, it was most amusing and the last thing I dreamed before I got up. There was a frog highway in the trees, and some of the bigger frogs kept missing the exit ramp and tumbling. The kids were no longer their current age – they were 10 and 8 again – and the three of us stood around giggling because it looked so funny.
Lousy night but I expected it. At least I get these danged wires off me today.
2019 SAYS SHE IS NO LONGER ‘ACTIVE’
John came home night before last from his eastern rambles, bearing (among other things) a CD with a couple of tunes by Mary Prankster. If Nancy White woke up with a potty mouth, a penchant for casual sex and a punkass band, she’d sound exactly like Mary Prankster. The first time I heard “The World is Full of Bastards” my jaw dropped open and by the second verse I was laughing helplessly. I can’t even post the title of the second song, but I was laughing even harder. As soon as Katie got home last night I sat her down and said, “OMG ya GOTTA listen to this.” Katie laughed! She thought it was funny. Well, now I have to go and get a holter monitor. My arrhythmias are going to go from legend to fact, or so I hope, and if you can frikkin believe it I got a cardiologist consult in less than a week, so it’s pretty bif bam boom in terms of timing. Still haven’t thrashed out the details of the representation agreement (living will) with Paul, but that will be today after I get back – and I’ve printed out the checklist. Thank God I am not yet so hirsute in the chest that I will have to be shaved for the holter monitor. The joys of growing older! The politician who wrote me back said, “Good luck getting any more responses, I get 400 emails a day.” This is a paraphrase, but true to the spirit of what he wrote. I had a somewhat better night’s sleep, but that might have been the beer. Still don’t understand why drinking beer makes my heart work better…. it all seems pretty strange to me. Okay, back to the dishes. Okay, not quite yet. Paul washed the comforter off the bed and hung it to dry in what appears to be the only good weather we’ll get this week, so the bed smells “line dried clean” right now. Ah. Domestic bliss.
I got an intelligent and grammatical response to my letter already, actually written by the elected official – who isn’t even from my riding. I am thrilled. I responded and thanked him profusely. Since I don’t intend to make fun of him, I will include him at the end of this process and prior to the election as one of the angels, so that if you are so inclined, you may let it influence your vote.