Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Going Political 3

Adam Lambert at the American Music Awards



I am all for equality, you may have already figured that out if you've been reading regularly.

For years, women have been breaking barriers in the music industry through their choices of costuming and dance and through their overt portrayal of female sexuality. Way to go ladies, we have succeed in becoming hot objects of lust. Now we have a man attempting to do exactly what the women have been doing ever since Madonna donned her Gaultier corset and it is completely unacceptable, bad TV, too sexy, too raunchy, and just too much for North American media to wrap its brains around.

If we can, as a culture, accept and objectify women as sexual creatures via music, movies, TV, readily accessible soft-porn as movies, books, magazines, why is it so terrible that a man would want to be objectified in the same manner as his female musical predecessors?

You tell me... because I don't understand.
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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Something For Me

In an unusual turn of events, I made a piece of jewellery just for me. The only pendants of my own that I wear are because the stone is chipped and happened in the setting process and I am uncomfortable selling it that way.

A friend blessed me with this lovely piece of Baltic Amber that was acquired in Istanbul and given to the friend and mentor of my friend. From the moment he passed it to me, I knew that I wanted to set it and wear it for me. I also wanted to include the chakra colours in the setting.



It is comfortable and joyful to wear this piece.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Going Political 2

From CBC News

Vandals damage Fredericton cenotaph


Members of Fredericton's Royal Canadian Legion are asking vandals who destroyed part of the city's cenotaph to turn themselves in as the organization prepares for Remembrance Day.

Jean-Guy Perrault, the president of Branch 4 of the Royal Canadian Legion, arrived at the cenotaph on Monday morning to decide where to place the crosses for Wednesday's Remembrance Day ceremony. That's when he noticed that the cenotaph had been heavily damaged in places.

"I almost fell on my knees. It hurt. Like I said … how can people sleep at night who did that — for the poor soldiers who fought for our country, for what we have that is so beautiful," Perrault said.

The cenotaph is the site of the main Remembrance Day event in the provincial capital. A three-metre-high granite cross atop the monument was toppled to the ground and smashed into pieces.

David Smith, who worked with the Royal Canadian Legion on the cenotaph project, said it will be difficult to explain to veterans when they arrive on Nov. 11 why this vandalism took place.

"I think its devastating to take into consideration the number of fallen people that we've had and this is a heck of a way to remember them and at this time of the year," Smith said.

"And to devastate this particular monument is terrible."

Perrault said while he thinks the cenotaph can be fixed, he wants the vandals to step forward.

"Please come forward, excuse yourself, the damage is done … come forward, why did you do that," Perrault said.

"Please I'm begging, come to the legion, come talk to me, please. My heart is broken, really broken."

Fredericton police are investigating.

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I am disgusted with this act of vandalism. If it was true vandalism, why not do it Halloween weekend? Why wait until the week of Remembrance Day? My personal opinion is that was done as an anti-war statement against Canada's contribution to the NATO war effort in Afghanistan.

My personal feelings on the war have varied over the years and I am finding that I disagree more and more with the Canada's policies on the war effort as there are things that could have been done differently far sooner to have made more significant and stronger impacts on the war and in Afghanistan. My issue is with the politicians who make the decisions, not with the troops who serve.

The troops who serve, are men and women who enlisted in the CF for a job. They didn't know what the job could be.

20 years ago it was all peace-keeping, either UN or NATO led. Peace-keeping presented its own issues to our troops who were situated in the Balkans and Kosovo in the early 90's. It was a violent situation, rife with human abuses and because it was peace-keeping, there was no way to engage the 'enemy' to make them stop raping and torturing. Perhaps being able to stop the abuse with the shoot-first policy of war is better?

Since 2002 it has been a NATO led war. Some of our CF members that are serving and have served in Afghanistan signed up well before 9/11 was ever thought possible, some signed on after because 9/11 was reality.

I will continue to support our troops because they are doing a job, just like you & me. I am sure that they are not always thrilled with their job everyday, like us, but everyday they go and they do what they are asked by the "Boss". In their situation, the Boss happens to be the Canadian Government, the Canadian Government was elected by the people of Canada, ergo, they work for us so we damn well better realize that until we choose a government that will treat our employees better, that we should stand behind them and show them our support.

Bluntly, we put the politicians in the Parliament that put the troops in Afghanistan so regardless of how we voted last time and feel about the war effort, as citizens of a free and democratic nation; thank you to all World War Vets for that, and to all since who have fought, died, been wounded, kept the peace, seen the worst and best of humanity for making Canada the nation that she is; we have a right to bitch about it but we don't have a right to destroy and degrade.

I miss my friend that is currently serving oversees. Stay safe, stay well and regardless, you are remembered.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

What a difference....

... a year can make.

I shot some nature photos this time last year and posted them here. I went back to a couple of the same places and re-shot the same formations. The most intriguing is the fungus formation on the stump, the amount of decay over a year is significant but more interesting still is the new life that is growing with it.


This is the entire top part of the stump. The hole in it is greatly enlarged.



This is the new fungal growth. It wasn't there in the photo from this spring.



This is the old growth which itself has started to decay. Instead of the rich browns and greys that it held last year, a portion of it is blackening and there are distinct bands of green forming in the growth. It is also sprouting its own fungal growth that is new on feeding on its decay.



On the 5th I took shots of the witch hazel, which is exactly one year ago from the previous images of it in bloom. The blossoms were well formed and fresh.



Today I snapped the blooms again and the frost from last night is starting to shrivel them a bit more. The flowers are such fringed little things, not much more than 2-3cm in size when fully extended.



It was cold enough last night to produce one more thing that fascinates in the late fall: hoar frost.



Small fragile crystal flowers of ice and soil.


Cascading upwards over small pebbles, bearing the weight of the disturbed earth on the tips.



Moss growths on maple bark.



Bright holly berries and the ruddy leaves of impending winter.



A completely accidental shot. The bright sunlight behind the aging sumac blossom imparts an ethereal quality to an otherwise ordinary entity.

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Suffice it to say that the natural world is not the only place where a year or even a few days has made evident changes. One of these days when I am not so fascinated with the visual I may write about it.

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Show Season

It's that crazy part of the year with only 52 days left till Christmas.

There are three big shows coming up in the next short while. Prince Edward Island Crafts Council show in Charlottetown 13-15 November, and the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council Show 20-22 November. Back to back weekends away.

There is the potential of a fashion show on the 28th and there are classes to teach in the midst of all this.

December brings the Ottawa Originals Show for 10 glorious days of Christmas shopping from the 10th -20th. Just remember that show is closed on the 14th.

I am looking forward to seeing friends and regular clients at the shows and hopefully having a bit of time to catch up with a few of the denizens we count as dear friends in each of the cities.

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