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 . . .

Cultural Ambassadors

Check out this great slideshow from the New York Times. It's photos from the Cold War when jazz musicians were sent to play music and build rapport with people in other countries, especially countries with strong Soviet influence.

What a fantastic example of diplomacy-sending ordinary musicians to talk about their experiences as citizens. Certainly, as Black Americans, these people weren't going to pretend everything was all bread and roses. Apparently, when the State Department tried to instruct Gillespie about how to respond to questions, he replied "I’ve got 300 years of briefing. I know what they’ve done to us, and I’m not going to make any excuses."

Musicians occupy a special place in society- they transcend a lot of class boundaries and the non-verbal nature of music gives it the potential to unite people across langauge and cultural barriers.

We should be promoting New Brunswick this way - send out our musicians as ambassadors, without any beauraucrats. I bet that would be far more effective than any waving at the border, or flyers at gas stations. Hot Toddy, Isaac and Blewett, Jens Jeppesen, the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, these are the people I'd like to represent us.

Growing and growing

Had a great chat last night about agriculture, corn, and population growth. Basically, the only reason we can have 6 billion people on the planet is because we produced enough food to feed them.

Now we are faced with feeding many more mouths without the 'revolutionary' increase in food yields made possible by synthetic pesticides and oil-based fertilizers. With the cancer epidemic being what it is, and with oil prices continuing to climb, it's time to look past petro-chemical farming.

But that transition is going to be painful, and not everyone sees the situation this way. This article explains the huge gains being made by 'agribusiness' companies, and how they plan to invest 1.5 billion dollars in coming years to continue increasing crop yields.

I know it's political suicide to say it, but what we really need is not 1/3 more food. It's 1/3 less people, especially if all those people are eating meat twice a day and commuting to work.

Good music never goes out of style

Shout out to my sister Tracy on this one...

Another blow to freedom of expression

First there was the Senate bill to censor movie funding. Now, this. What is the world coming to?

That old time environmentalism

One of the strangest things about my grandparent's house was that it had no garbage can. It had compost, a woodstove, and plastic bags so well re-used they were as soft as cashmere. I know I could never run my house without a garbage can (although we do recycle and compost), although maybe that's a goal to keep in mind for the near future.

Here's Judith Timson debating which generation is really the greenest.

We prefer the term "tailings impoundment areas"

Most people refer to these as a "lake." You know, the large body of standing water suitable for habitat and recreation . . .

It turns out the Harper government is reclassifying 16 lakes in 4 provinces and territories as toxic waste destinations for mining by-products.

This is beyond insane.

Don Wright's tips for jingle-writers.

It's not Shakespeare, but it pays the bills . . .

Don Wright earned his nickname, the Jingle King, by composing catchy ditties for such products as Coffee Crisp, Tide and Carlings Ale.

Before his death in 2006 at age 97, he gave away millions of dollars to support music education at Canadian universities. Here are Mr. Wright's tips for successful jingle writing:

1) The melody line is most important.
2) The bass line is next in importance.
3) These two lines should imply the chord structure.
4) The words must come through. Study grand opera!
5) Keep the mood of the words. 6) Support, not hinder.
7) Do not fill until necessary.
8) No fill should cover the initial syllable, or any other important part of the word.

Enjoy~

Thinking About Residential Schools

I've been reading a lot about the Residential School Apology. Most people seem to feel the weight of the words uttered in the Commons, although some feel that the issue of genocide needs to be addressed. I will put a collection of links at the bottom if you feel like investigating.

Personally, I was stunned by the power of Native leaders on the floor of Canada's law-making house. Phil Fontaine, in his headress, addressing the Prime Minister nearly face to face, made me realize that as a European Canadian I have no idea what it means to negotiate with First Nations on a "nation-to-nation" basis. Jack Layton (like him or not) even acknowledged that the Residential School policy was 'racist,' calling us all to take a deep look at our own views towards Native people and our government's dealings with them.

On a local note, I came across a photo of a residential school near Woodstock. I would like to know how long this went on, and whether those survivors are still in the area. Given that Woodstock First Nation recently settled a land claim with the federal government, and that they have been involved in litigation about Native people and their right to cut wood on "Crown" land, it's not possible for us to pretend that quiet old Carleton County is not affected. People tend to ignore these topics because it means confronting their role as participants, however slight.

I'm not saying that absolutely everything is the fault of Europeans, but it's time to look at the situation with new eyes. We have begun the "truth" part of the "Truth and Reconciliation" commission. The "reconciliation" will take honesty and courage - let's hope we can find it.

Links: Quebec Native Women's Response

Rex Murphy "The Day The House Stood Still"

Ward Churchill "Healing Begins When the Wounding Stops"

Globeandmail.com "School-abuse apology widely backed"

What's a jingle-writin' lady to do?

It's a man's world, in music and especially in hockey. But that didn't matter to Delores Claman, who cranked out arguably the most culturally important tune in Canada. And it's an exciting bit of music, too.

Honeymoon Waning

According to Celtic myth, the Gods used to get married in May. That meant mortals had to wait until June, when the full moon was referred to as "the honeymoon." Lovers were married, and used to go for midnight picnics.

At 182 Houlton, we're writing a musical about this, interwoven with stories of murder, resurrection, betrayal and the search for "the Good Life." We will give one backyard performance next Friday, June 20th, which is the summer solstice (and the honeymoon will be waning). If you would like to attend, please email guestlist@honeymoonwaning.com. And bring a lawnchair and fly spray. The show starts at 9:30 pm. Bring your friends and family.

Long dusty thoughts for a warm day . . .

I have no thoughts of my own to offer this week, so here's a transcription of Doris Lessing's speech at the Nobels.

When she was awarded the prize, she commented that it was likely because the literary establishment suspected she might soon"pop off." Let's just say the lady has a way with words. . .

Music hath such charms

Utah Phillips, American folk singer, passed away recently. Asked about his living as a travelling musician, he said: The trade is a fine, elegant, beautiful, very fruitful trade. In that trade, I can make a living and not a killing.

So many times I've felt this too, and although I haven't been playing shows all over the continent, I am so thankful for the music in my life. Last night some friends were in a low mood. We started working on our backyard musical and it sorted itself out, laughs were had and people felt better. I've seen this with students countless times, with myself nearly everyday. Mostly I am in love with the peacefulness inherent in music-making, when so many jobs involve destruction.

I read an article about Joni Mitchell where she recounted that a fan once told her he used her music instead of taking anti-depressants. I think that's a better plan for all of us. Our brains are already wired for the dopamine, it's free, it fosters strong social connections, and it doesn't have a hangover.

Yep, of all the ways to make ends meet, making music is the best. Sorry to all you people who do something else, but I couldn't trade it, even if I wanted to.

Audience participation: leave the name of a song that cheers you up. Could make a great cd . . .

Chew on this for the weekend...

Came across this online and froze in my tracks...metaphorically, of course.

Marshall McLuhan once called on us to notice that all machines are merely extensions of the human nervous system, artifices which improve on natural apparatus, each a utopianization of some physical function. Once you understand the trick, utopian prophecy isn’t so impressive. Equally important, says McLuhan, the use of machinery causes its natural flesh and blood counterpart to atrophy, hence the lifeless quality of the utopias. Machines dehumanize, according to McLuhan, wherever they are used and however sensible their use appears.

I think there is definitely some truth in there - I am a piano player and whenever I stop and think about how complicated my hands really are, it blows my mind. And even computers, for all their processing power, can't outperform the human brain. Humans can integrate all information and evaluate it simultaneously, but computers can only trudge away, mechanically finishing one task at a time. Compared to my hand, the piano is a simpleton's toy.

Thinking about this also makes me think that the crises of modern life - obesity, diabetes, depression - are precisely those examples of "atrophy" that McLuhan is talking about. Of course, the good new in all this is that recovering our humanity is as simple as manual labour and real thinking.