meliphore and aptitude

…. Meliphore means sweetness bearer so it is an ENDEARMENT.  Have you hugged your meliphore today?

As for aptitude, I must say that I am fortunate that I have by some happy accident surrounded myself with people with a very great aptitude for friendship.  I’d like to thank Paul for lunch, walkies, music and clipping Kira’s claws; I find clipping cat claws restful, which I suppose can only burnish the kneecaps of my reputation.

New-ish song (“Grateful”)

Early in a city morning
there’s a moment that is soft and still
then far off, you can hear a dog bark
farther off a car alarm trill
and the overcast has cleared
and the stars seem near
as childhood recollection
and now I am old
and the stars are far away
and still I feel the same connection

And yes I am so grateful
for the stars so far away
for knowledge is an ocean of stars
… let’s go swimming today, let’s go swimming today

There’s a moment early in a love affair
When you really want to make time stop
and if you’re foolish you hold tightly
and if you’re wise you let it drop
for that love will still be there
throughout all of time
by the standard that I use to measure
I do not rifle through the past for love
for it is an eternal treasure

And yes I am so grateful
for the love along my way
for love is an ocean of stars
… let’s go swimming today, let’s go swimming today

There’s a moment early in a project
when you think you’ve gone completely mad
the best you have is mediocre
and the rest of it is really bad
So you step out for some air
and try not to care
How you got stuck in this rutted canyon
And the stars, serene, as ever they have been
will be the staunchest of companions

And yes I am so grateful
for the work that’s come my way
for work is an ocean of stars
… let’s go swimming today, let’s go swimming today

 

Oh for the love of Pete

My investment counselor sent me something today “Here’s two economic indicators showing it’s time to buy!”  Bogus indicators.  Here’s what I wrote back.

 

I’m not convinced.  The markets in China and Brazil have fallen off, there are signs of an ugly power struggle coming to light in China, the euro-zone crisis is nowhere close to being resolved, and we’re close to historic highs for food prices in a large number of flashpoint countries including large chunks of the Arab world, already experiencing a lot of turbulence.  Traditionally when the food price index bumps above 215 you may have food riots, and above 240 you’re pretty much guaranteed of food riots.  All of this will bring a steady feed of turmoil to the markets so that every bump up on good economic news out of the States will be levelled off by bad news somewhere else as the markets are looking for excuses to be timid, not brave.

Our government is getting into a pissing match with Iran as a proxy to the US, and that is going to direct state sponsored terrorism to Canada within the next couple of years.

Unless Global Security has some investments for me in retirement homes, food coops and hacker spaces, I’m going to sit it out. I may also buy land, but I haven’t figured out where.

Oddiculosis

I am full of weirdness.  Just found out from LTGW that he used the Thousand Sided Dice to come up with his twitter name!  He was thrilled with it… I’m just glad it’s Substantially Complete.

Paul’s Birthday celebration is tomorrow.  I took the liberty of inviting half a dozen people to it… also, I’m thawing salmon, always a good idea for a bbq.  Sadly, all the cherry wood charcoal is gone, so we’ll have to suffer without it.

I am having to deal with the stupidity of the UPS store Beacon gets photocopying done at.  I FraCKING HATE BEING TREASURER.  I’m going to run away to Courtenay, see if I don’t.  Actually, Jeff and I very briefly discussed this and whether it really happens will be in the lap of the gods.

Okay, back to contending with busy people who don’t keep good records.

And while I’m dreaming, fetch me some lobster

I have a dream. I want to create “The On Call Brass Band” which can be flashmobbed to show up and play one of several tunes.  eg When the Saints, O Canada, The Pompous Ass March, Liberty Bell, Un Canadien Errant, Deutschland Uber Alles, I Will Survive, and Electric Avenue.  That way no matter what event they show up at, they’ll have something appropriate to play.  What, no Freebird?  (Full Disclosure, the PAM is my composition, very sprightly and cheery and nobody hearing it would realize it’s a poke in the eye).

ER

I may have mentioned Jeff and I are working our way through the entirety of ER (when we need a palate cleanser, 2nd season SG1).  We’ve had 8 seasons of getting to know, love and hate various people.

I took a book out of the library about Must See TV, the part of the nineties when NBC had groundbreaking shows like Third Rock from the Sun and ER and Seinfeld and Cheers and Frasier and Will and Grace and Mad About You and Friends, shows that were ALL ABOUT THE WRITING.  In the last chapter of the book, it was made abundantly clear that NBC no longer gives a tinker’s cuss about writing – sales and marketing runs the show and they run the least offensive shows that cost the least amount of money to make.  In defence of the current iteration of talent management and development at NBC, ER had a 44 market share and a top ten hit show in 2012 has a 13 (Julianna Margulies was comparing ER and The Good Wife, her current show), and it’s because there’s a lot more TV happening especially competition from HBO and AMC and Showtime, so it’s harder to have a hit.  But honestly, folks, without the writing and the courage to try something new, good tv DOES NOT HAPPEN.  It’s happening on cable  – that’s where the action is.

Well, in my little universe of time-shifted tv, main character Mark Greene just died of brain cancer, and I wept non stop for an imaginary character for 20 minutes.  Under the circumstances, mocking the ability of other people to believe in God seems a tad uncharitable…. must resolve to quit every doing it.  My imaginary friends…. sigh.

And Anthony Edwards, the actor playing Mark Greene, is back on TV, and the show description is so lame I don’t want to watch it.

Wrote 850 words of backstory on Midnite Moving Co last night.  Oh lady of the deep waves, how I love you.  Trying to write a human alien character who doesn’t speak is freaking hard….  But I now have the story of how she met George, from his perspective.  Writing it from hers will be very hard.

Off to church now.

I salute thee cherished female progenitor

My mother kept an email correspondence going with her cousin Reck for about ten years, until shortly before he passed this past spring. I have just edited 150 pages of it (it’s 800 pages in total) being the portion just before and just after Obama was elected. IT IS AMAZING. They talk about politics and family history and philosophy and ethics and Reck casually mentions that he emailed Malcolm Gladwell regarding an idea – which may have contributed to his thinking when he wrote Outliers. And my mother defends atheism with a verve and trenchancy I could only dream of emulating. Just feeling blown away right now.