Eygpt - what are they thinking?

I find it a bit depressing to see on the news all that is going on in the Middle East. It can not end well. Now that all of the western European/North American have decided that they need to support those who want the President gone - it is only a matter of time. But I keep on asking myself - where are the intellectual leaders  (as defined by Gramsci)? Why haven't they talked/taught about the need for change before this in a way that gives people the tools to make reasonable decisions? (not that we do any better in Canada in terms of making rational political decisions)

There seems to be two positions. The first one is the one that now appears to be the politically proper one - that is - get rid of the dictator. And immediately, according to some of the protesters, there will be both a democracy and even more importantly such things as food prices will drop down and there will be jobs for all.. There is no proof in any country that a capitalistic democracy insures that everyone can afford to feed their family. All of those young people who are out there, sometimes risking their lives to protest the current regime, desperately want a change so that they can have freedom, also want to get a job and to have a reasonable economic future. I am afraid that they are going to be disappointed on one if not both counts.

The other positions argues that things are not so bad under the present regime and that Egypt needs a strong (read dictatorship) leader. They appear on the TV news to be slightly older. They want the protest to stop so that they can get on with their lives. One has to wonder how many of those who support the President are unemployed and/or poor? Of course those who are doing well under the present systm want to keep the status quo.

This is not just a protest to get rid of a president- it is also, and perhaps even primarily,  a class struggle between those who have and those who do not. Until that is understood - any changes that occur will just be placing a band-aid on a festering wound.

 

Getting Old

I think if someone had asked me when I was 20 - I would have made the assumption that by the time I reached 60+ - life would be, if not easier, at least be more organized. That somehow the chaos of adolescence would be long gone and that life would be, relatively smoothly, rolling along. In fact I think I would have said that it would be so predicable that it would be boring.

That is not happening. I am not asking for a boring life, or even one that was always predicable - else why would I hitchhike? But good heavens!! Could I please a little bit of control over something? There are days when I feel as if I know far less than I did when I was 20, and that my knowledge will continue to diminish. There are times when life seems so complicated that breathing is difficult.

I think that that 20 year old would have made the assumption that I would, by this age, at least know which direction I was moving in. I think I have accepted that my life does not move in straight consistent lines. I would however, be happy if I was even going in circles - but this zig-zaging is rather confusing and tiring.  I am starting to realize that life is a full time job  - or rather if one wants life to be interesting you have to participate in living - not just float along. Life might be a river flowing to the sea - but I guess we have the choice to either float down it on the river tube or we can at least attempt to paddle our own canoe - no matter how frustrating that might be.

Changing technology - a minor rant

I need a new 5 disc CD player. I bought the one that I have now at least 6 years ago from a second hand store. I think I paid $35 for it so it owes me nothing. I want one just like it.

I can't find one. Oh I can buy one for $300,00 but generally it appears as if they have stopped making cd players. WHY you ask Because everyone is using their IPods!!!!

I don't want an IPod ( actually I have an Apple shuffle and a MP3 player) I want a cd player not only so that I can ply my CDs but also so I can listen to books.

Why do things have to change? Why can't things that work (button down shirts, CD players) be always available?


Guess I  will have to go shopping at the pawn shops again....

Next day...... went to a pawn shop - got one for $50.00 - seems to work fine. I don't know what I am going to do when I can't find a second hand one.

Playing with wool

There are times when I am consumed with playing with wool. I look forward to it most evenings - if I don;t have wool in my hand - I feel as if I have not accomplished anything that day.

I have finished washing and carding my second fleece of the season. It is an OK fleece from an older ewe and it would probably have been a great fleece if she was not so dirty. It is not the mud/manure that is a problem, it is all of the bits and pieces of straw, seeds and sticks. I have probably thrown away 1/5 of the fleece because it was unsavagable. But then what can one expect for $10.00. Actually it was probably a good deal. A great fleece that is fairly clear of vegetable material can cost $60.00 to  $75.00 or even more. So I am not complaining.

I did so well on my little bags/pouches/purses that I am going to make a pile more. A friend has suggested that one of the sizes that I had made for the Christmas sale is perfect for I-phones - so I will make 15-18 of that size to sell at the Farmer's Market latter this year.

I have one more fleece left which is a coloured fleece ( which means it is either gray or brown - in this case it gray). Think when I get it washed - I am going to tint it either blue or green - something I have not tried before . I have been told that if I do it right - one gets just a touch of green or blue amongst the gray.

But for now I spin the ewe's white ( actually it is sort of a ceamy colour) fleece and latter this week I will have enough to dye and then I start to weave.

It all feels good.

Buses and trains

I went to Toronto yesterday - which in itself is not a big deal. 1.000s of people do it everyday - but I don't so it was a bit of an interesting trip. I decided not to drive in part because it seemed to make more ecological sense to use public transit, but also I didn't want the stress of traffic, parking and worrying about missing my medical appointment ( a MRI at Sunnybrook).

The Go bus from Peterborough to Oshawa was great as was the Go train to Union station ( but not cheap $33.00 return). The subway and the bus to Sunnybrook was equally as efficient. But what struck as being different from other bus rides was the mess of the city bus.

I have been on a lot of buses in various parts of this country. However with the exception of Victoria buses, my travels through the great ( and not so great) cities of Canada have been in the summer. I have gotten use to looking out of the window. You can't see out of the windows of the Toronto buses - they are covered in slush and sand sprayed by passing cars. I am certainly not blaming the TTC or anyone else - just making a comment that the trip through parts of Toronto was far less enjoyable because I could not see the houses or anything else.

Inside the buses the floors were mucky and wet. Again it is understandable given the weather but still it was rather miserable. People sometimes talk about how unfriendly people are in Toronto and they do appear to be less friendly than folks in other cities but I have always wondered if it is related to the weather. In Victoria the buses are clean both inside and out. But then the road seldom need to be sanded or salted. There is nothing to track into the busies. The seat coverings can be made of softer, more comfortable and attractive fabrics because they don't need to stand up to all of the sand and salt. You can always see out the windows - and of course things look so much nicer for much of the year. But perhaps most importantly, people when they get on the bus in Victoria are not burdened down by thick coats, heavy boots and wool hats pulled down over the ears. They are not physically exhausted from shivering and trying to burrow their heads between their shoulders.

So it is not that people in Toronto are unfriendly - they are just over burdened by clothing and  tired of winter before it starts - and they are depressed by the state of their buses. Probably nothing can be done about it - but if I had to travel everyday in such conditions - I would be depressed and appear unfriendly too.

It is worthy to note that only one person said thank you to the bus driver as they got off the bus. Torontonians need to work on that.

p.s.  the MRI at Sunnybrook - something ordered by my cardiologist was a piece of cake - I thought I might be a bit claustrophobic but it was no big deal - a bit boring in fact and of course noisy.

strange dreams

I have been sick for the past few days – it started off with a normal cold but after flying in from the West Coast late on Thursday night, it has gotten far worse. Not only am I coughing up some rather ugly looking phlegm but I have a bit of a fever that gets much worse at night. These fevers have produced some interesting dreams/hallucinations.

I “wake up” feeling very hot and sweaty and damp. I immediately try to remember where the   control is for the electric blanket. I can’t find them, which is not surprising as I don’t have an electric blanket. But the search goes on for some time (in my half waken dream state). I get more and more frustrated as I can’t figure out how to turn off the heat.

 I then get into an interesting debate with myself/another being. I insist that I am real in that I have arms and legs etc and that the world around me is real. The bed is real as are the furnishings in my room. The other part of me argues that nothing is real - that while we do exist, it is a being without form.  That we all live in a world where our existence as we imagine it is exactly that – our imagination.  I have this partial imagine in my mind – millions of bubbles drifting in an otherwise empty space – each containing an entity – the bubbles touch each other – bumping gently and for a time some of them stay connected – but each bubble creating its own world.

It is hard to explain in the cold light of the morning but in the middle of the night, as I toss and turn, trying to find some way of arranging the pillows so that my sinuses can drain, it makes absolute sense to me – we all exist in isolation and we all have complete control over our environment.

 Which gets me to the point of all of this. Why can’t I make this damn cold go away?

jet travel

It seems somewhat surreal being on the West Coast without having to work for it. While flying consumes far less time - it is not nearly as interesting. One can only people watch for so long before it comes a bit boring.

Surprisingly cold on the West Coast - not cool- down right cold. No snow but lots of frost on the ground in the morning until the sun melts it away (that's right - there is sun here - lots of glorious sun. From my son's new house I can see the mountains in the distance - quite nice.

Has been a great Xmas holiday so far - got to attend the live Nativity play (including fire works) on Christmas Eve with my grand kids, open stockings with them in the morning and have lots of time to go skating and tobogganing. As well got to play with all of their new toys - there are some pretty neat toys out there.

Then after a few days at home to visit with my mother, brother and sister, I flew out here for a week. Was even allowed to "babysit " with my grandson for a few hours on New Year's Eve while the "young ones" went out to a party.

Can't imagine a better holiday - except of course if I could do it forever - going back and forth between Duncan and Sudbury - wouldn't need a place to live.....