Dandelions. Dent de Lion (lion's tooth, sharp & scary). A life force that isn't desired, like sin, or maybe unrequited love, a nuisance that persists. . . Source: www.organiclifestylemagazine.com The term weed is subjective, generally unwanted in human-controlled settings, dandelions stomp in every morning. Spring fever. Like love, lust or sin, for some, the dandelion feels near impossible to control. It invades us & strips us of those civilized controlled environments we may think we desire. DANDELIONS is also the title of a story I've been working on - rampant with weeds, human sin, and possibly even poetry. On the weekend, I was eradicating my yard of dandelions and rewrote the opening lines: On the morning of the party, Mrs. Goodman was kneeling in the shadiest garden bed, yanking dandelions--each extraction more vehement and savage than the last. From across the way, Heidi kept one blue lazy eye on Sarah Goodman. At first, Heidi didn't think anything of it, but later she realized that it was at that moment: everything fell into place. . . Read an excerpt from Dandelions here It's that time of year: some of us wonder while others wander. In French, we call dandelions pissenlit (piss in the bed) Garden beds or lovers' beds? [I wonder] At the mercy of nature, no matter how we try to fool ourselves, our attempts to master nature--whether our personal natures, or mother nature--are all for naught. . . . . .Except in poetry: The First Dandelion. Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging, As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been, Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass-- innocent, golden, calm as the dawn, The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face. --WALT WHITMAN. Have a great week everyone! Dina (aka TartanFrog)
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Source: bharathin.blogspot.com
Here I go again, reading articles like Tim Bousquet's in the Coast that make me want to rant about dull-eyed, bovine, quasi-sentient demi-apes... It's no surprise that I'm disgusted with misogyny, but I'm also entirely disillusioned with politics; no more than that, I'm disillusioned with democracy. I've never been a staunch believer in it to begin with. So-called democracy has me living in a country dictated by the likes of Harper, after all. When the documentary Why Democracy? aired I was still floating in the wake of teaching global history & enjoyed Stanley Fish' article in the NY Times. Here's a quote: “Whom would you vote for as President of the World?” I know whom I’d like to vote for. Someone wise, learned, strong, courageous, compassionate, authoritative, incorruptible, inspiring, capable and good-looking. No one living (or dead) came to mind, so I settled for a fictional character, Atticus Finch, at least as he was played by Gregory Peck. And you see, therein lies the problem. Atticus Finch would never get elected in a democracy. And whether or not you agree with Atticus Finch as leader of the world isn't the point. The point is: Democracy is a popularity contest. The principle behind democracy is that the majority knows best what is good for their community. Example: Source: thebackbencher.co.uk Minorities (I include minorities in power here also, e.g. women) only rise in our current social paradigm if they appear somewhat consistent with the majorities' desires. If you think the Charter, or the police, or our legal system will protect us, good luck with that. Majorities are also wrong. All the time. All the f*cking time! Of course, I take this personally because a) I'm a woman, and; b) my ancestors were almost wiped out because they took a stance for pacifism (well that & the whole ethnic cleansing mentality). Source: zerobs.net The problem with placing all of our faith in democracy is best illustrated with a cliche that many of you have undoubtedly read before: Imagine you have a vote in a hypothetical election. There are two candidates that can be voted for: Candidate A was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium at university and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening. Candidate B is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, has the occasional beer and hasn’t had any extramarital affairs. Who would you choose? I assume you’ve figured where this is going: Candidate A is Winston Churchill; Candidate B is Adolf Hitler. (note: neither option was a woman) 'Nuff said. <end of rant> Image: www.thisnext.com We all have soul toupees! The best writers absorb them and regurgitate them into the most memorable characters. Here, in Canada, I think of Alice Munro and Carol Shields as masters of the soul toupee. BUT, WHAT IS A SOUL TOUPEE, YOU ASK? In We Learn Nothing, Tim Krieder wrote: "Years ago a friend of mine and I used to frequent a market in Baltimore where we would eat oysters and drink Very Large Beers from 32-ounce styrofoam cups. One of the regulars there had the worst toupee in the world, a comical little wig taped in place on the top of his head. Looking at this man and drinking our VLBs, we developed the concept of the Soul Toupee. Each of us has a Soul Toupee. The Soul Toupee is that thing about ourselves. . . Read conclusion What's your favourite writers' block exercise? BELLA DESVEAUX DEAD AT 106; SLEEZY EX-NUN, CENTENARIAN AND CROTCHETY OLD SOURPUSS FINALLY KICKED THE BUCKET Better yet, someone may have kicked the bucket for her. On April 15, 1912, two fiascos reeked havoc in this zoo we call history: first, at 2:20 a.m., the RMS Titanic sank in the northern Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg. Less than an hour later, no less catastrophic, Bella (b. Aucoin) Desveaux tore through her poor mother’s uterus, the first of a long list of cruel acts she would inflict on her, and later on others, notably on the Catholic Church. It was Papillon’s coldest April on record when the weak and shivering Patronille and her husband Hypolite Aucoin first glimpsed their daughter: face like a slapped arse and smelling funny. Hypolite cut the umbilical cord himself with a rusty pocketknife and then doused the baby with moonshine to ward off infection. And, as if her rumoured affair with notorious artist Diego Rivera didn't create enough racket in these parts...At least, Bella was deprived of her secret wish—to be lauded as the woman who found and brought back a treasure that saved those of us condemned to live out our years in this god-forsaken hellhole. Sadly, the overdose—whether self-administered or with a little help from her friends—didn’t make her death as slow and painful as she deserved. Bottom line: Bella was about as useful to society as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Her only redeeming quality was her skill at canning lobster. She’ll be cremated tomorrow following a funeral service she ordered for happy hour, 5 pm at Eglise Saint Paul. A lobster boil will follow hosted by one Matante Bijou, Bella’s 'mad as a hatter' sister-in-law. Hallelujah! Papillon, Cape Breton’s Weekly News June 26, 2019 APOLOGIES & RETRACTION On behalf of the editors & staff of L’Acadie Weekly Star, we would like to offer our deep-felt apologies to Isabelle Desveaux for the unfortunate obituary that appeared in last week’s paper. It appears our on-line version of the paper was hacked and we are fully cooperating with Officer Cassianni, a rookie the RCMP assigned to the case. LOCAL NEWS On that note, we’d like to welcome Officer Todd Cassianni and his wife Belinda. We certainly hope you’ll be joining us at the July 1st Canada Day picnic. We’d also like to send our best wishes to Paulette Muise, our long-suffering editor Marguerite’s niece. We heard you got your wisdom teeth pulled and we’re rooting for you (pun intended:) ISLAND NEWS Inverness Boy, 9, saves his sister in a near drowning accident at Moody Lake. “I wouldn’t do it again,” says the hero, “she’s been a royal pain ever since.” Given the almost-tragedy, the parishes of Inverness and Papillon have joined forces to fundraise for a water safety course. There will be a special envelope available at the back of the church at this Sunday’s fisherman mass. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Oops: French President’s Camel Accidentally Cooked in Stew (Huffington Post) – That’s right. "According to reports, a family in Timbuktu has eaten Francois Hollande’s camel." Get the full story here. Rooftop beehives create buzz above French parliament (Reuters) - The roof of France's National Assembly is ready to buzz with activity after the arrival of three large bee hives this week as part of a project to promote pesticide-free honey. Get the full story here. L’ACADIE STAR OF THE WEEK And now, it’s time for L’ACADIE STAR OF THE WEEK. Our star this week is none other than…sound the drumroll: Sabine Poulain-Desveaux! That’s right Bella’s granddaughter (Isabelle’s daughter) will spend the summer with us. A little bird whispered in my ear that she’s angling for the job at the new waterfront art gallery. Probably means none of my brother’s kids have a snowball’s chance in hell of landing it, but good for you, Sabine. We sure wish you a happy homecoming! Source: torturedcreative.blogspot.com Rehtaeh Canning is the Halifax teen who committed suicide following an alleged gang rape & online bullying. Since Rehtaeh's father's blog about his daughter has been overwhelmed by responses, I've decided to post my message to him & Rehtaeh's loved ones as an open letter here: Dear Mr. Canning, There are simply NO words to express the deep-felt sympathy I, and countless others, feel for you, your family and Rehtaeh's loved ones. Someday, many of those loved ones will want the answer to the following question: Why do we continue to fail our children, children just like Rehtaeh, in a country like Canada? Every single one of us has a responsibility to the children in our communities, and especially our governments: ALL levels of government. Yet, how many times do we hear that issue on the eve of any election? Although I have no children of my own, I have spent many hours contributing to the lobby of all those government levels, both as a teacher and as the former education manager of an organization that advocates for children's rights. I was once asked in an interview if there was something I hoped to convey through my writing. An excerpt of my answer: "I want to convey the depth of my conviction that our greatest failure has been and continues to be our repeated dismissal as a society of every child's right to grow up in dignity in an equitable world - a world safe from war and fear. Conversely, our greatest accomplishments are those times we've chosen to uphold and protect those fundamental rights, in creating communities where children can play, and laugh, and learn and grow into their full potential." Some days on the journey to upholding and protecting children's rights, the complacency of many is incomprehensible. However, there ARE others: Compassionate, creative and determined people who want to help change this for our children. Find these people. Keep the one's you've already found close to you. Let them hold you up when you feel you are about to fall. The best ones may lift you up. May your positive memories of Rehtaeh live in and through you forever. That is my heart-felt wish for you & your loved ones. Sincerely, Dina Source: allthingsd.com Way to go, Jason who got it right first! There are so many memorable quotes from the show, Northern Exposure. A slew of them were broadcast by the character of Chris Stevens, the ex-con turned disk jockey, better known as the "Voice of Cicely". Chris has unique insights on love, life, and the 'whole karmic enchilada', on KBHR - Cicely, Alaska. My top 3 today: (one even shows up in my 2nd novel) Star Wars meets Nietzsche Quote Source: www.tylertarver.com "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vadar in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness, stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. Give that old dark night of the soul a hug! Howl the eternal yes!" The Meaning of LIght Quote Source: www.slideshare.net "Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry, "More light." Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlight. Neon, incandescent lights that banish the darkness from our caves to illuminate our roads, the insides of our refrigerators. Big floods for the night games at Soldier's field. Little tiny flashlights for those books we read under the covers when we're supposed to be asleep. Light is more than watts and footcandles. Light is metaphor. Light is knowledge, light is life, light is light." DISCONNECTED OR BLISSED OUT QUOTE Source: blogs.crikey.com.au "The day is coming, and it ain't going to be long, when you ain't even gonna have to leave your living room. No more schools, nor more bodegas, no more tabernacles, no more cinneplexes. You're going to snuggle up to your fiber optics baby and bliss out." Do you have any favourite quotes or memories of the show? If you do, I'd love to hear them. Hoping you're all living out your great karmic enchilada! Peace out, TartanFrog (aka Dina) Photo by Sally Carpenter I love the pic (above). Made me rethink self-publishing whereby I could chose a cover for my next novel....hmmm. The house in the photo is my mother's abandoned family homestead. So you see, when I say humble beginnings... I REALLY mean humble beginnings! Don't get me wrong - I'm well aware of my privileges & my challenges. What's the point, you ask? See, over the weekend, I was chatting with a writer-friend about a recent book launch we attended. We both noticed that lately writers keep emphasizing their connections to hard times & the rural poor, & THE DISENFRANCHISED... (oh right, like using words such as disenfranchised isn't a sign of privilege) One of these confessions came from a white, university-educated guy who grew up in an urban, affluent family & whose main connection to poverty was a paid trip to get in touch with & help the needy in poor countries. Seriously? What IS that all about? Must writers look back at every miserable obstacle & look equally miserable as a precursor to success? Source: Grumpy Cat Can we not BE more creative? Or, is it that age-old stereotype that without poverty & hardship, a writer couldn't possibly dip into the well of human dimension? Last I heard, Stephen King's riches are not hindering his creativity, nor his characters' dimensions. concluding thoughts |
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December 2015
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