I know it's not Canadian Thanksgiving, but I sure do love food. Here's a great little piece from the NYT for you to enjoy. Interesting to note how well the methods of food production would fit in Carleton County...
And take some time to savour these photographs. Metaphorically, of course. Next year's Dooryard Festival is going to be unreal!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I've changed my mind
I am reading a fantastic new book called "Evolve Your Brain." If you are are interested in brain science, how we learn or how our thoughts affect our bodies, you should read this book too. In it, Dr. Dispenza talks about how we create our personalities through habitual thoughts, and the biochemistry and physiology of how that works.
Repeated thought patterns lead to habits, and those are hard to change if we don't acknowledge that we have created them, that they are not innate. I think this has a lot to do with the NB Power deal, for a couple of reasons:
1. NB'ers historically have been a "have-not" province and we are used to that. By selling NB Power, the government is only reactivating that network in our brains that we can't have anything important or profitable.
2. We do not see ourselves as "fighters" so the public is hesitant to speak up and oppose the deal.
As opposed to our francophone neighbours, who probably would have rioted by now if Hydro Quebec was being sold to Ontario Hydro....
In the book, Dispenza talks about how people say they've "changed their mind" about things. What that really means is their brain has been rewired to consider things differently than before. Your mind has changed, along with your opinion.
Interesting to think about how our thoughts create our realities, isn't it?
Repeated thought patterns lead to habits, and those are hard to change if we don't acknowledge that we have created them, that they are not innate. I think this has a lot to do with the NB Power deal, for a couple of reasons:
1. NB'ers historically have been a "have-not" province and we are used to that. By selling NB Power, the government is only reactivating that network in our brains that we can't have anything important or profitable.
2. We do not see ourselves as "fighters" so the public is hesitant to speak up and oppose the deal.
As opposed to our francophone neighbours, who probably would have rioted by now if Hydro Quebec was being sold to Ontario Hydro....
In the book, Dispenza talks about how people say they've "changed their mind" about things. What that really means is their brain has been rewired to consider things differently than before. Your mind has changed, along with your opinion.
Interesting to think about how our thoughts create our realities, isn't it?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
In defense of faith
I have a small but rotating list of personal heroes. Feels cheesy to use that word, since we're all supposed to be cynical now, and believe only in the power of money and not the power of people. But nevertheless, some people are inspiring, and not because they have the letters after their names to prove it.
I love hearing about people who have triumphed over adversity. There was a book about Martin Luther King Jr. in my grade 6 classroom and I must have read that book once a week all year. Of course, it was the closest thing to my desk, and I was usually done my work early, but it was worth reading again and again because of the courage of the characters.
David Adams Richards is on my list of 'heroes,' mostly because he is an excellent writer, but also because he didn't follow the conventional path in life. He has a new book out called "God Is" and here's a great interview talking about it (fast forward 3/4 of the way, he's at the end). His honesty cuts to the bone. He can see people for who they are, flaws and all, and yet still sees them with such dignity.
I think New Brunswickers have a salt and a sophistication to them that most people will never comprehend (you gotta live here to get it, right...). Talking about hell being his drinking habit and sitting at bars with murderers and realizing that as the start of his faith. Although he doesn't claim to have answers, he gives a very dignified defense of people's right to choose a faith tradition for the right reasons. These dark months are good times to think about this stuff.
I love hearing about people who have triumphed over adversity. There was a book about Martin Luther King Jr. in my grade 6 classroom and I must have read that book once a week all year. Of course, it was the closest thing to my desk, and I was usually done my work early, but it was worth reading again and again because of the courage of the characters.
David Adams Richards is on my list of 'heroes,' mostly because he is an excellent writer, but also because he didn't follow the conventional path in life. He has a new book out called "God Is" and here's a great interview talking about it (fast forward 3/4 of the way, he's at the end). His honesty cuts to the bone. He can see people for who they are, flaws and all, and yet still sees them with such dignity.
I think New Brunswickers have a salt and a sophistication to them that most people will never comprehend (you gotta live here to get it, right...). Talking about hell being his drinking habit and sitting at bars with murderers and realizing that as the start of his faith. Although he doesn't claim to have answers, he gives a very dignified defense of people's right to choose a faith tradition for the right reasons. These dark months are good times to think about this stuff.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Joy
... is about enabling other people's stories to be heard, at the same time.
Enjoy this video. Then think about what it means for your life.
And one final word of advice, from Ricard Strauss - "never look at the trombones, it only encourages them."
Enjoy this video. Then think about what it means for your life.
And one final word of advice, from Ricard Strauss - "never look at the trombones, it only encourages them."
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
They're still dancing in Montreal
This comment was made yesterday by the leader of a Madawaska union local, outside the legislature.
It was an interesting event, fairly well-attended for a workday. New Brunwsickers are the most polite protesters ever. They don't want to yell because it's rude and they don't want to say mean things because it might hurt somebody's feelings. Which is good at the dinner table, but problematic when your own Premier is selling you down the river.
Apparently the protest could be heard inside the legislature, and everyone who spoke against the deal acknowledged that it's going to be a long battle. Take the time to email if you haven't already - Shawn Graham is going to pretent to consult people and let his PR spin team do the talking instead.
It was an interesting event, fairly well-attended for a workday. New Brunwsickers are the most polite protesters ever. They don't want to yell because it's rude and they don't want to say mean things because it might hurt somebody's feelings. Which is good at the dinner table, but problematic when your own Premier is selling you down the river.
Apparently the protest could be heard inside the legislature, and everyone who spoke against the deal acknowledged that it's going to be a long battle. Take the time to email if you haven't already - Shawn Graham is going to pretent to consult people and let his PR spin team do the talking instead.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Our democracy at work
So, the legislature resumes tomorrow. The Graham government will introduce its agenda and outside the 'people's house' citizens will protest the proposed sale of NB Power.
Shawn Graham has made it very clear that he intends to proceed with this deal without a mandate, contrary to his own campaign promises, and over the objections of the auditor general and the owners of NB Power, the people of New Brunswick.
I will be going to Fredericton to show my opposition to this deal. Many people are uncomfortable with protests but in this case, your silence will be interpreted as support for the deal. Failure to speak up, either via email or in person, will lend support to this backroom deal.
It is tempting to let apathy take over at times like this, but if you are oppose to this deal it is your responsibility to speak up now. Complaining after the fact will do nothing to absolve our inaction when it counted most. Get in touch with me if you'd like a drive to Fredericton, the rally starts at noon. If you can't or won't go, you can contact all the provincial MLA's at the same time using these addresses:
Liberal MLA's - leglibmla@gnb.ca PC MLA's - legpcmla@gnb.ca
Shawn Graham has made it very clear that he intends to proceed with this deal without a mandate, contrary to his own campaign promises, and over the objections of the auditor general and the owners of NB Power, the people of New Brunswick.
I will be going to Fredericton to show my opposition to this deal. Many people are uncomfortable with protests but in this case, your silence will be interpreted as support for the deal. Failure to speak up, either via email or in person, will lend support to this backroom deal.
It is tempting to let apathy take over at times like this, but if you are oppose to this deal it is your responsibility to speak up now. Complaining after the fact will do nothing to absolve our inaction when it counted most. Get in touch with me if you'd like a drive to Fredericton, the rally starts at noon. If you can't or won't go, you can contact all the provincial MLA's at the same time using these addresses:
Liberal MLA's - leglibmla@gnb.ca PC MLA's - legpcmla@gnb.ca
Sunday, November 08, 2009
From the air
People out fishing and working in the woods are being sprayed with pesticides. Companies have admitted there are ways to clear brush from tree plantations without using chemicals, but it costs so much money and labour.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Hiding in the "Heritage Pool"
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Now There's a Staff Room I'd like to visit!
Found this paragraph is Claude Levi-Strauss' obituary in the NYT this morning:
From 1927 to 1932, Claude obtained degrees in law and philosophy at the University of Paris, then taught in a local high school, the Lycée Janson de Sailly, where his fellow teachers included Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. He later became a professor of sociology at the French-influenced University of São Paulo in Brazil.
Must have been interesting to teach at that school....
From 1927 to 1932, Claude obtained degrees in law and philosophy at the University of Paris, then taught in a local high school, the Lycée Janson de Sailly, where his fellow teachers included Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. He later became a professor of sociology at the French-influenced University of São Paulo in Brazil.
Must have been interesting to teach at that school....
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Liberals hire Gulf War PR Firm to sell us the deal
Shawn Graham's government is preparing to spend 1 million dollars to convince us that we should let him sell NB Power out from underneath us. There are less than a million people in the province, so that tells you Graham knows that it will be an uphill battle.
Among the PR firms he's retained? Hill & Knowlton, best known for their misinformation campaign during the first Gulf War. Don't be surprised if fake citizen's groups promoting the benefits of this deal start to appear. Here's what they did during GWI:
Hill & Knowlton, then the world's largest PR firm, served as mastermind for the Kuwaiti campaign. Its activities alone would have constituted the largest foreign-funded campaign ever aimed at manipulating American public opinion. By law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act should have exposed this propaganda campaign to the American people, but the Justice Department chose not to enforce it. Nine days after Saddam's army marched into Kuwait, the Emir's government agreed to fund a contract under which Hill & Knowlton would represent "Citizens for a Free Kuwait," a classic PR front group designed to hide the real role of the Kuwaiti government and its collusion with the Bush administration. Over the next six months, the Kuwaiti government channeled $11.9 million dollars to Citizens for a Free Kuwait, whose only other funding totalled $17,861 from 78 individuals. Virtually all of CFK's budget - $10.8 million - went to Hill & Knowlton in the form of fees.
Just thought y'all should be aware of the tactics. One million dollars would put a lot of books on library shelves, provide legal aid to a lot of people, provide social assistance to others who need it. That money could also be used for a referendum or listening tour or meaningful public consultations, however you like it.
Among the PR firms he's retained? Hill & Knowlton, best known for their misinformation campaign during the first Gulf War. Don't be surprised if fake citizen's groups promoting the benefits of this deal start to appear. Here's what they did during GWI:
Hill & Knowlton, then the world's largest PR firm, served as mastermind for the Kuwaiti campaign. Its activities alone would have constituted the largest foreign-funded campaign ever aimed at manipulating American public opinion. By law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act should have exposed this propaganda campaign to the American people, but the Justice Department chose not to enforce it. Nine days after Saddam's army marched into Kuwait, the Emir's government agreed to fund a contract under which Hill & Knowlton would represent "Citizens for a Free Kuwait," a classic PR front group designed to hide the real role of the Kuwaiti government and its collusion with the Bush administration. Over the next six months, the Kuwaiti government channeled $11.9 million dollars to Citizens for a Free Kuwait, whose only other funding totalled $17,861 from 78 individuals. Virtually all of CFK's budget - $10.8 million - went to Hill & Knowlton in the form of fees.
Just thought y'all should be aware of the tactics. One million dollars would put a lot of books on library shelves, provide legal aid to a lot of people, provide social assistance to others who need it. That money could also be used for a referendum or listening tour or meaningful public consultations, however you like it.
Well, I've been doing my homework on this NB Power deal. I read the Wikipedia articles about Churchill Falls and Hydro Quebec, the Memo of Understanding (terms of the deal proposed), and this great commentary from the Gleaner.
My major misgivings:
1. NB'ers will pay to decomission plants Hydro Quebec doesn't want - 4.7 billion won't cover this.
2. The transmission lines will not be open to small producers in NB (ie. wind/tidal projects).
3. Hydro Quebec will not pay corporate taxes in NB.
4. We will have to pay for power consumed (in excess of the "Heritage Pool") after 5 years. This could be a lot of money, nobody knows right now.
5. Our residential rates will be frozen but not taken down to HQ current rates.
6. Does HQ intend to rebuild or decomission the Mactaquac dam in 15 years?
6b.) If they decomission it, what are they going to do with the reclaimed land along the banks of the Saint John River?
7. HQ gets to keep the carbon credits from hydro electricity generated in NB.
8. NB will pay Lepreau cost overruns the feds decide not to cover.
9. There are no guarantees or rate caps on our power after 5 years, and the deal allows for more energy "generation expenses" to raise our rates.
9b.)If HQ wants to expand their reach to Pensylvania or Maryland, will our plants/rates be paying for that?
10. If selling electricity to other jurisdictions is so profitable, why not do it ourselves and make a profit for the shareholders, the citizens of NB?
Frankly, I think an election needs to be called. This deal is a direct violation of the Shawn Graham's"Charter for Change" and New Brunswickers deserve a better democracy than poorly-negotiated backroom deals are going to give us. A rally is being held Nov. 17th at 11am, when the legislature resumes.
My major misgivings:
1. NB'ers will pay to decomission plants Hydro Quebec doesn't want - 4.7 billion won't cover this.
2. The transmission lines will not be open to small producers in NB (ie. wind/tidal projects).
3. Hydro Quebec will not pay corporate taxes in NB.
4. We will have to pay for power consumed (in excess of the "Heritage Pool") after 5 years. This could be a lot of money, nobody knows right now.
5. Our residential rates will be frozen but not taken down to HQ current rates.
6. Does HQ intend to rebuild or decomission the Mactaquac dam in 15 years?
6b.) If they decomission it, what are they going to do with the reclaimed land along the banks of the Saint John River?
7. HQ gets to keep the carbon credits from hydro electricity generated in NB.
8. NB will pay Lepreau cost overruns the feds decide not to cover.
9. There are no guarantees or rate caps on our power after 5 years, and the deal allows for more energy "generation expenses" to raise our rates.
9b.)If HQ wants to expand their reach to Pensylvania or Maryland, will our plants/rates be paying for that?
10. If selling electricity to other jurisdictions is so profitable, why not do it ourselves and make a profit for the shareholders, the citizens of NB?
Frankly, I think an election needs to be called. This deal is a direct violation of the Shawn Graham's"Charter for Change" and New Brunswickers deserve a better democracy than poorly-negotiated backroom deals are going to give us. A rally is being held Nov. 17th at 11am, when the legislature resumes.
Monday, November 02, 2009
All she wants to do is dance, dance, dance
This poem, written by the wonderful Don McKay, is dedicated to my hardworking band of RiVa buddies, you throw one heck of a Halloween partay. And also to Mr. Dancing Dracula, who ever he is. That guy can really cut a rug!
TO DANCELAND
No one is ever happier than when they're dancing
--Margaret McKay
South through bumper crops we are driving to Danceland, barley
oats, canola, wheat, thick as beaver pelt, but late, she said,
late, since June had been so cold already we were deep
in August and still mostly green so it was nip
and tuck with frost and somewhere between Nipawin and
Tisdale finally
I found the way to say, um, I can't dance
you know, I can't dance don't ask me
why I am driving like a fool to Danceland have flunked it
twenty-seven years ago in the kitchen where my mother,
bless her, tried to teach me while I passively resisted,
doing the jerk-step while she tried to slow, slow, quick quick
slow between the table and the fridge, her face fading
like someone trying to start a cranky Lawnboy
nevertheless
step by sidestep
we are driving down the grid, Swainson's hawks occurring every
thirty hydro poles, on average
to Danceland
where the dancefloor floats on rolled horsehair
and the farmers dance with their wives even though it is
not Chicago
where the mirror ball blesses everyone with flecks from
another, less rigorous dimension
where the Westeel granary dances with the weathervane,
the parent with the child, the John Deere with the mortgage
where you may glimpse the occasional coyote lopes and gopher hops
where the dark may become curious and curl one long arm
around us
as we pause for a moment, and I think about my mother and her
wishes in that kitchen, then
we feed ourselves to the world's most amiable animal,
in Danceland.
from Apparatus (1997)
TO DANCELAND
No one is ever happier than when they're dancing
--Margaret McKay
South through bumper crops we are driving to Danceland, barley
oats, canola, wheat, thick as beaver pelt, but late, she said,
late, since June had been so cold already we were deep
in August and still mostly green so it was nip
and tuck with frost and somewhere between Nipawin and
Tisdale finally
I found the way to say, um, I can't dance
you know, I can't dance don't ask me
why I am driving like a fool to Danceland have flunked it
twenty-seven years ago in the kitchen where my mother,
bless her, tried to teach me while I passively resisted,
doing the jerk-step while she tried to slow, slow, quick quick
slow between the table and the fridge, her face fading
like someone trying to start a cranky Lawnboy
nevertheless
step by sidestep
we are driving down the grid, Swainson's hawks occurring every
thirty hydro poles, on average
to Danceland
where the dancefloor floats on rolled horsehair
and the farmers dance with their wives even though it is
not Chicago
where the mirror ball blesses everyone with flecks from
another, less rigorous dimension
where the Westeel granary dances with the weathervane,
the parent with the child, the John Deere with the mortgage
where you may glimpse the occasional coyote lopes and gopher hops
where the dark may become curious and curl one long arm
around us
as we pause for a moment, and I think about my mother and her
wishes in that kitchen, then
we feed ourselves to the world's most amiable animal,
in Danceland.
from Apparatus (1997)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Uncle Sam says: we want your power
A little background from the Globe and Mail on why Hydro Quebec wants to buy NB Power:
This comes as U.S. officials pressure eastern Canadian utilities to merge, a move that would make it easier to co-ordinate production and transmission of electricity to the eastern United States. Given that the region's most important source of electricity is Hydro-Québec, U.S. officials are eager to see it take over its smaller rivals in the Maritimes, the government official said.
Full analysis here. This is a very, very bad move, selling public assets. Contact your MLA and the Premier and tell them they don't have the authority to sell NB Power without a public debate. All it is going to take to stop this deal is for a couple of Liberal MLA's to cross the floor and trigger an election. The consequences are going to be enormous, and shady backroom deals are never in the interest of regular people - our residential rates are not going to decline under these terms of sale.
This comes as U.S. officials pressure eastern Canadian utilities to merge, a move that would make it easier to co-ordinate production and transmission of electricity to the eastern United States. Given that the region's most important source of electricity is Hydro-Québec, U.S. officials are eager to see it take over its smaller rivals in the Maritimes, the government official said.
Full analysis here. This is a very, very bad move, selling public assets. Contact your MLA and the Premier and tell them they don't have the authority to sell NB Power without a public debate. All it is going to take to stop this deal is for a couple of Liberal MLA's to cross the floor and trigger an election. The consequences are going to be enormous, and shady backroom deals are never in the interest of regular people - our residential rates are not going to decline under these terms of sale.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Let the waiting begin
Packed house for the meeting last night - ten times more than I've ever seen. The proposal for rezoning was put on hold in order for PAC and Council to review the new drawings submitted by Mr. Cronkite. If Council proceeds with the next step and public hearing, they will likely take place in early December. I'll keep you updated.
In other news, Kerry O'Toole won a national sculpture contest at St. Andrew's Kingsbrae Gardens. His flying geese will be installed permanently in the gardens. Congratulations Kerry! Kerry had originally offered this sculpture to the Town of Woodstock for placement downtown but they declined to purchase it.
In other news, Kerry O'Toole won a national sculpture contest at St. Andrew's Kingsbrae Gardens. His flying geese will be installed permanently in the gardens. Congratulations Kerry! Kerry had originally offered this sculpture to the Town of Woodstock for placement downtown but they declined to purchase it.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Speak up for the Weslyan church
Boy, there's a lot going down in the downtown.
The Weslyan church will be torn down and replaced with another vinyl apartment building unless Woodstock Town Council votes "no" on the rezoning next Monday night. October 27th will be the first of three readings necessary to demolish the historic church and establish apartments. Neighbourhood residents are opposed to the demolition.
I will be going to council and I encourage YOU to make time and go, if you're concerned about the preservation of historic buildings in "New Brunswick's First Town." We need a vision for our historic downtown, and vinyl isn't it! Sorry to be so blunt but if this keeps up we are going to be another drive-through town in the drive through province.
Make your municipal democracy work and get out there!
The Weslyan church will be torn down and replaced with another vinyl apartment building unless Woodstock Town Council votes "no" on the rezoning next Monday night. October 27th will be the first of three readings necessary to demolish the historic church and establish apartments. Neighbourhood residents are opposed to the demolition.
I will be going to council and I encourage YOU to make time and go, if you're concerned about the preservation of historic buildings in "New Brunswick's First Town." We need a vision for our historic downtown, and vinyl isn't it! Sorry to be so blunt but if this keeps up we are going to be another drive-through town in the drive through province.
Make your municipal democracy work and get out there!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Ahoy, me Canadian pirates
Turns out we host 4 of 5 of the world's best/worst file sharing websites. This is a complicated situation, but three things are for sure:
1. The downloading genie will never go back into the copyright box.
2. Internet file-sharing has changed the role of information and culture in our society.
3. Our "intellectual property" laws and ways of thinking about information sorely need updating.
Over and out.
1. The downloading genie will never go back into the copyright box.
2. Internet file-sharing has changed the role of information and culture in our society.
3. Our "intellectual property" laws and ways of thinking about information sorely need updating.
Over and out.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We're gonna kick it up a notch
So, RiVA is having its first ever membership drive. At the oh-so-obvious risk of appearing recklessly partisan, here's why you should go to Fusion Thursday night at 8pm and buy a membership (or several):
1. Carleton County needs an arts centre and that takes money.
2. It will get you into the Halloween party for FREE, and your name on our VIP list.
3. The more members we have, the more clout we have locally in lobbying for cool projects.
4. You will have a chance to make a cool mask and hear some good tunes.
5. You never know what might happen. Really.
Your support means a lot. We have spent the past six months working, sweating, dreaming, and fighting for this to happen. The parking situation at 702 is coming to a head and whatever happens, we'd love to know you're on our side. Cheers!
1. Carleton County needs an arts centre and that takes money.
2. It will get you into the Halloween party for FREE, and your name on our VIP list.
3. The more members we have, the more clout we have locally in lobbying for cool projects.
4. You will have a chance to make a cool mask and hear some good tunes.
5. You never know what might happen. Really.
Your support means a lot. We have spent the past six months working, sweating, dreaming, and fighting for this to happen. The parking situation at 702 is coming to a head and whatever happens, we'd love to know you're on our side. Cheers!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Support the library book rate
The library book rate is a partnership between Canada Post and libraries. It helps reduce the cost of sending books and information across our sprawling country. It will expire at the end of 2009 unless the public demands the government support it.
Do your part, take 15 seconds to email Harper here. Happy reading!
Do your part, take 15 seconds to email Harper here. Happy reading!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Two nightcaps on writing
So, a reporter's paper shuts down, throwing him out of work. His response: buy his own paper, get back to work, double time.
Also, here's an excerpt from an interview with Toni Morrison. She was asked where her ideas come from and how she overcomes the difficulty of the blank page.
TM: It's that being open - not scratching for it, not digging for it, not constructing something but being open to the situation and trusting that what you don't know will be available to you. It's bigger than your overt consciousnessor your intelligence or even your gifts; it is out there somewhere and you have to let it in.
PH: And does being open in that way to your writing spill over into other areas of your life?
TM: I feel more friendly when I am writing, nicer to people, much more generous, also wiser. I am full of a kind of tenderness towards people and all they have to hide, all they have to construct. Not pity, not sympathy, just tenderness. Knowing that the job of being human is so hard, and it is the only job there is left - though we keep on pretending otherwise. If I am in that good place, and I run into someone I dislike, I feel more human and they seem more human.
PH: Connected.
TM:Precisely. I keep telling everyone whenever I get a chance that it took 60 million years to make a human eye. And before that, it was just a little cell at the bottom of the ocean that was sensitive to light. Just think of how complicated and truly magnificent a human being is. When you think of all we are capable of - being able to love each other, and being willing to do something good in the world for no recognition . . . I am not saying there are not people who want to step over each other, who want to maim and kill, but that is a perversion of the beautiful things human beings are made for.
There are all sorts of ways people try to stay connected, try not to live in hate. Religion may be one of them, but for me the central thing is the writing. The art itself. Putting my intelligence and my humanity to the best possible use, and I get better because I am doing it. The writing teaches me that I can't just reach some little plateau and say that's it, this is the place. It is always a search.
PH: And that's the good news.
TM: That is the good news.
Also, here's an excerpt from an interview with Toni Morrison. She was asked where her ideas come from and how she overcomes the difficulty of the blank page.
TM: It's that being open - not scratching for it, not digging for it, not constructing something but being open to the situation and trusting that what you don't know will be available to you. It's bigger than your overt consciousnessor your intelligence or even your gifts; it is out there somewhere and you have to let it in.
PH: And does being open in that way to your writing spill over into other areas of your life?
TM: I feel more friendly when I am writing, nicer to people, much more generous, also wiser. I am full of a kind of tenderness towards people and all they have to hide, all they have to construct. Not pity, not sympathy, just tenderness. Knowing that the job of being human is so hard, and it is the only job there is left - though we keep on pretending otherwise. If I am in that good place, and I run into someone I dislike, I feel more human and they seem more human.
PH: Connected.
TM:Precisely. I keep telling everyone whenever I get a chance that it took 60 million years to make a human eye. And before that, it was just a little cell at the bottom of the ocean that was sensitive to light. Just think of how complicated and truly magnificent a human being is. When you think of all we are capable of - being able to love each other, and being willing to do something good in the world for no recognition . . . I am not saying there are not people who want to step over each other, who want to maim and kill, but that is a perversion of the beautiful things human beings are made for.
There are all sorts of ways people try to stay connected, try not to live in hate. Religion may be one of them, but for me the central thing is the writing. The art itself. Putting my intelligence and my humanity to the best possible use, and I get better because I am doing it. The writing teaches me that I can't just reach some little plateau and say that's it, this is the place. It is always a search.
PH: And that's the good news.
TM: That is the good news.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Good Place or No Place
Before you get finished your turkey day, or your Tofurkey day, take 15 minutes to listen to this excellent talk about food and how it should be central to our thinking. My life in large part revolves around food, so of course I liked this talk, but I think when we get back in touch with real food and real human company, we will be on the road to recovering from this industrial hangover.
Bon appetit!
Bon appetit!
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