Thoughts on food

While listening to this podcast about urban agriculture, I began wondering why our local food bank doesn't contract with local farmers to deliver fresh, nutritious, local produce (including meats) to local families in need.

It seems to me that this is a much healthier, environmentally friendly, sustainable and community-minded way to feed people. For the price of 6 boxes of Kraft Dinner or Hamburger Helper, you could buy a good chunk of REAL food from a farmer.

Why should they wait for donations (let's face it-people often give the items they least like to eat) of corporate food when we have any number of struggling farmers right here in the county. That seems silly to me.

Ok, ok, I get it!

What is left to cut?

Gold: It's What's for Breakfast

I have finally figured out why I didn't win 8 Olympic gold medals this year. It's because I can't eat a 5-egg omlette, 3 chocolate chips pancakes and 2 pieces of French toast for breakfast (and a partridge in a pear tree. . .). Apparently Michael Phelps drinks a bucket of Gatorade at every meal. The way I figure it, he must have a small army working to feed him. I can only imagine how loud his tummy must be when it growls. Probably that, too, would set a world record of some kind.


On the subject of medals, congratulations to Matt Clark, whose baseball team won bronze at this year's Canada cup. Not bad for a province of less than a million!

Holy subprime, Batman

If you're interested in the US financial situation, read this article. It's a lengthy interview with an economist at New York University who believes that the US "doesn't have a subprime mortgage system, it has a subprime financial system." Ouch.

The man behind Can-Lit

No, it's not Northrup Frye, though he is mentioned. And it's not Alice Munro either, who cites him as the single greatest champion of her career when she was an isolated suburban mother, writing perhaps one short story each year. Unbeknownst to me, Robert Weaver encouraged dozens of Canadian authors and poets at a time when the idea of "Canadian Literature" was, according to Margaret Atwood, not only unheard of, but "embarrassing." The podcast is the first in a series "Ideas" - the best program on CBC radio - is doing. Well worth a listen.

On the subject of encouragement, I'd like to dedicate this post to Dr. Jane McLean, English teacher at WHS. Congratulations on the PhD. and thanks for introducing me to the wonderful literature and poetry we have in Canada. And finally, here's Paul Wells on the need for a "Canadian canon" of concert music. Say that five times, fast.

Culture Coverage in NB - As elusive as the Eastern Cougar?

Holy Cow.

Today I read the following (Irving) publications: Bugle-Observer, HERE (Fredericton), Telegraph Journal. Out of 60+ pages, less than 5 articles contained significant coverage of NB artists and their work. One notable exception was a short feature of Kyle Cunjak, who (pardon the semi-pun) is a very talented jack of all trades. To be fair, the "Salon" section of the Telegraph contained decent local arts journalism, but it's only once a week.

Still, I think we could do much better, considering that one of those articles was merely a reprint of the press release sent out by this lovely little gallery . Check it out, it's worth seeing. But I refuse to accept the premise that weekly coverage is enough, or that "there's nothing going on." I think there are a lot wonderful artists quietly working away in rural studios, doing great work but receiving very little recognition.

New Brunswickers are not known for trumpeting our best and brightest, despite the fact that we've produced our fair share of nationally and internationally significant artists and thinkers: Northrup Frye, David Adams Richards, Peter & Beth Powning, Freeman Patterson, Millar Brittain, Measha Brueggergosman, Douglas Lochhead, John Peters Humphrey, Wendy Nielson, Lord Beaverbrook, Alden Nowlan, George Stanley.

Without these New Brunswickers, we might have lost WWII, had a totally different Canadian flag, have no UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have a totally different perspective on literary criticism, poetry, painting, craft and sculpture etc. etc. And those are only the anglophones-please excuse my ignorance of significant First Nations and Acadian people.

How are we supposed to know who comprises the next generation of artists and thinkers if they don't get any exposure? Sheesh.

Thus ends my rant for the evening. Hope you made it to the end-look up some of those names if you don't know them. And if this is getting to be a bit much for you, check out this little NB comic strip. We might not be mighty, but we know how to laugh at ourselves. I vote we elect this guy as our next Premier.

Still marching . . .

"I think goose stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of burning them."
Sean Connery, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Even our local paper has noticed the Harper government's contempt for artists. The consensus around our house this morning is that he is okay with Canada failing to win a single medal in Beijing, and he is okay with the rest of the world knowing absolutely nothing about Canada. What a shame. Then again, Harper thought Newfoundland joined confederation in 1867, so it sounds like he could use some serious education about our country. Even on the science front, Harper is criticized.

More cuts to arts and culture programs were announced this morning, on a Friday, when reporters are unlikely to cover the story. What I don't get is how this obviously business-oriented government fails to understand that exposing Canadian artists abroad brings money back into the country and draws tourists - who would like to have something interesting or unique to do while they're here. That would be like the New York City not funding Broadway because they find the language in Avenue Q objectionable.

One final question: So much of the debate on these issues - bill C-10, the PromArts program, the latest cuts, has been spun using people's supposed resistance to that nasty "F" word. What I want to know is: has Harper ever said 'it," and do his MP's get kicked out of caucus for using it? Does he hold his political strategists accountable for uttering it in meetings?

Somehow I doubt it.

Update: "General radical" Avi Lewis defends the PromArts program.

Going loopy

I will admit my bias up front here- I don't have a cellphone and hope I never do.  Yes, I realize this puts me at odds with many busy people who rely on their phone to 'stay connected.'  But I think this article makes some interesting points about how the phone can actually disconnect us from  what is happening in the moment.

Everyone reading this has probably experienced attempting a conversation with someone (a teenager, perhaps?) glued to their cellphone, droning "mm, right, I see" only to suddenly look up at you and declare they have no idea what you're talking about.  I think the question is "connected to whom?"  Is it a 'net loss' for the human race to communicate using only consonants and eight-word sentences?  

Harper's Artless Army Marches On

This week the federal government eliminated over 13 million dollars in arts funding, money that was doled out one plane ticket, one exhibition at a time, to promote Canada's image abroad. Apparently the US spends half a billion annually-is it any wonder the world can't tell us apart?

This government has been an utter disaster on the arts. Thinking about it depresses me-for a supposedly nationalist politician, Harper shows no interest in anything authentically Canadian.

He's too busy thinking about how to eliminate equality challenges under the Charter, win votes in Quebec, and destroy the environment. And please note, I am not politically affiliated, this just makes me crazy...

Something in the Water

I am pleased to note that 3 out of 5 acts nominated for CBC's "Galaxie Rising Star" award are connected to Carleton County/Western NB. Excellent work, gentlemen. Must be all those potatoes . . . Check out the nominees - the prize is 1500$ cash and a performance at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Fest in Fredericton this fall.

Good genes?

Interview with Marie-Monique Robin, who just finished making a documentary about Monsanto. You might remember Monsanto from such experiements as PCB's and Agent Orange. Now they provide 90% of the world's genetically modified crops, which they claim is safe for human consumption and the environment.

As Dr. Vandana Shiva notes in the opener, food is the best way to control populations. Learn about the company that controls a large portion of what you eat, and what's floating in the air you breathe.

The doc is "The World According to Monsanto" and the bigwigs there refused to be interviewed for the film. Must be good. . .

And, in unrelated news, here's a tasty column from the Telegraph, pointing out Shawn Graham's lack of a mandate, and his willingness to enact changes not discussed in an election.

Battle of the Kent County premiers.

What is all this hullabaloo?

The local.

The global.

The past.

Those to come?

Happy NB Day

Read this article about Nebraska "public power." If people living in cow country can get ahead for the future, why can't we?

I quit my job

On the occasion of my 99th post, a collection of bits and pieces about work and life. As the daughter of a hard-working Protestant, working is dear to my soul. But at the same time, it depends who I'm working for, and what kind of work it is.

Lots of people have remarked to me that their jobs are interfering with what they'd really like to be doing. Here's an article about a man who works like crazy, but hasn't had a "straight" job in 20 years. And another about a man so desperate to work and provide for his sons that it drove him to tragedy. And finally, the 182 house classic "I Quit My Job" by Old Man Luedecke.

Enjoy, and don't work to hard (or do).

Pesticide Consultation

The NB government is asking for public input on the use of cosmetic pesticides.  You can use the online questionnnaire, call or email the office.  

It's kind of ironic this link is posted not long after a look at what Agent Orange did to the various communities where it was manufactured, tested and applied.  Many of the active agents in today's pesticides are chemical relatives of Agent Orange and its ilk.  It's time we stopped poisoning ourselves.  Add your voice . . . 

And now, a poem

I try to present the world honestly, flaws included. But I think there is a fine line between describing something with ruthless precision, and bringing people to hopelessness. So now, in reply to the Agent Orange post below, I offer a poem by Don McKay.

Some Functions of a Leaf

To whisper. To applaud the wind
and hide the Hermit thrush.
To catch the light
and work the humble spell of photosynthesis
(excuse me, sir, if I might have one word)
by which it's changed to wood.
To wait
willing to feed
and be food.

To die with style:
as the tree retreats inside itself,
shutting off the valves at its
extremities
to starve in Technicolor, then
having served two hours in a children's leaf pile, slowly
stir its vitamins into the earth.

To be the artist of mortality.

Gagetown, Elmira, Hanoi

There are a lot of unnerving connections between NB and the Vietnam War, at least where chemical defoliants are concerned. It bothers me to see the suffering Agent Orange caused in these three places. Vietnam was a long time ago, but we're paying the price over and over, in cancer, birth defects, spoiled water supplies and more.

It makes me angry to see how people in rural areas and small towns and 'third world countries' (that's what Vietnam would have been called at the time) are completely expendable to powerful people. Let them test their chemicals on their own men, women and children.

Lately I have been thinking about New Brunwswick and colonialism. I see how removed we are from centres of power, how poor the people are (44% of all households make less than 25 000$ per year), how we struggle to educate ourselves and retain our best and brightest. This could be a description of many 'third world countries,' yet we still see ourselves as 'Canadians,' with all the privilege that entails.

In other news

A contest is now underway online to determine the most mediocre Canadian. This is gonna be tough . . . greatness is often viewed as 'too American'.

Hot enough for ya?

I don't usually think too much about opinion polls. But this one I found interesting. Despite the fear campaign of Big Oil and their consume! consume! consume! friends, more Canadians believe that 'agressive' action on climate change outweighs the importance of paying less for gasoline.

I think deep down, we know on a global scale we're rich and that we will adjust. If anything, Canadians know what it's like to be taxed. If it's for the general good they will whine but pay up anyway.

That, and I think we are ready for the big governments to step up to the plate and make changes that only they have the power to enforce. Like fuel-efficiency regulations, and mandated emissions reductions, real investments in public transit and incentives for sustainable housing.

The idea that citizens are somehow going to solve this problem with flourescent bulbs is laughable. Governments are the largest actors in most economies, and they know it. We give them powers like taxation to solve problems like this. If only they'd get started. . .

Not quite Elizabeth

I have a feeling a mild obsession with photo galleries might be headed my way. You have to admit, the internet has made the text-and-photo display possible in a way that newspapers and books can't. It's much more affordable and isn't like photo books, which are lovely, but how many times will you look at it, really?

So, here's one of a Korean author dressed up in fine English costumes, a la Tudor or Rose or Windsor. As you like it . . .