Internal Mono(b)log

CBC was full of discussion this morning about Bill C36 passing. It’s big news and nice for a change for Canada to be leading the way with politically sensitive issues. Yay CANADA!!!

The discussion on CBC was contentious and started me thinking that we needed a new Internet Meme. Please share this with anyone you would like to 🙂

1. Are you Canadian?
2. Where you born in Canada? If not, where were you born?
3. Do you consider yourself as politically active?
4. Do you consider yourself religious? If so, what denomination?
5. How old are you?
6. Do you agree with gay unions?
7. Do you agree with the use of the word marriage for gay union?
8. Do you think that democracy was well served in the passing of the bill?
9. Do you think that this topic will continue to haunt parliment? If so, for how long?
10. What do you think the next challenge to same-sex couples will be?

Isn’t it funny how sometimes you have time on your hands to ponder your navel and come up with amusing thoughts to share and at other times you’re run so ragged that you seem to just go from 1 task to another with no time to think about anything.

Lately, I’ve been running in the latter mode. June, July and August are going to be *crazy*. A wedding the 1st week of June with the attached rehearsal, Stag & Doe and reception. A week of camping at RE:Union in June. 2 long weekends in July and another long weekend music event at the house in August (at least we’re hoping the house event comes together). The event schedule combined with work, commuting, trying to run (although lately that’s been not so successful), being social, being at home, getting stuff done around the house, showings, etc. ACK! Calgon take me away! 🙂

I know there are provocative thoughts running around in my brain somewhere… it’s just trying to get them out in a manner that makes sense.

No, my internal monologue hasn’t been silent over the last few days and weeks. I’ve just been swamped and haven’t had the time to put to writing.

I’m sure you know how it is. Spring changes to early summer, the days are longer, its nice to be out and about rather than cooped up infront of a computer.

There are a number of rants rolling around in my brain, taking shape, maturing (so to speak). Rest assured that they’ll explode into this forum soon.

Today I sat for 4 hours of tattooing on my Haida Raven and Sun tattoo. This is obviously not complete (another 4ish hours to go), but Daemon (of Urban Primitive) is a creative genius and I’m not about to rush body art that I’ll live with for the rest of my days. 🙂

Here’s some pics of where we are today. Part 2? June 30th.

Big special thanks to Kim (my honey) for funding this artistic endeavour.

Not terribly busy at work today. Not because there isn’t work to do, but rather because I just can’t be bothered to do any of it.

I commented on an image on our receptionist’s screen, she pointed me to:

http://www.deviantart.com/

Nice site. Lotsa pretty pictures 🙂 GREAT time waster!

Over the years I’ve been involved with several large groups of people that referred to themselves, sometimes loosely, as being a community. Some of these groups have been very functional, others… well.. not so much.

Each of the communities I’ve belonged to, for whatever period of time, has always had a strong unifying bond. Church groups, pseudo-military, music lovers/ravers, etc. all have a central theme that forms the core focus of the group. With many of those groups, when the focus is gone, there is little else in common. The thread holding the people together is gone, and so are they.

Now it may not be the case that the thread of continuity for the community has gone, but perhaps that the individuals decide to detach themselves from the thread. Perhaps their individual interests change or mature over time, perhaps they just outgrow the organization they were a part of. In either case, that thin thread of community isn’t enough to keep them and they move on, leaving the community behind. I have friends who refer to a community we left as a “communicable” because it’s more like a flu-bug than a functioning, healthy, spirit-full community. Funny and sad.

I’ve recently tripped across a group in Toronto called the Freespace Collective. A group of anarchists (anti-current-corrupt-establishment, not disassociative-anarchy) who organize (underground) Techno parties around Toronto. Certainly there’s the music thread at their core; however, they are trying to expand their thread of community into more than their initial reason d’être. Another group in the Toronto area, Sumkidz, are doing the same. Music is the core that brought them together, but they’re aiming to be more. To take the thread of focus that started the community and weave it into a tapestry that is rich and diverse.

These groups, I believe, have figured something out: a Community is not like a motorcycle club, where there is a single focus that unites its members. Rather, a Community is rich with unities on all different levels. A Community cannot bind itself to a single thread, a single ideal or a single person. Those that do are bound to crumble over time. A Community has to be diverse, flexible and constantly growing.

I said a long time ago: Anything that doesn’t grow is subject to decay. I wish these groups and others like them continued growth and success.

In conversation around my dining room table the other night, the concept of the internal monolog was bantered around following an uncomfortable moment of “hoof in mouth”. I couldn’t resist the urge to see if internalmonoblog.com was registered. If it had been, the universe would have gone on mostly unchanged.

But alas, such is my destiny to change the world of those around me. Internalmonoblog.com was available. I’ve bought the domain and in the coming days, weeks and hopefully years, you’ll find my rantings and ravings chronicled here.

Enjoy.

To Whatever Energy is Tuned to This Frequency:

ENOUGH ALREADY!

Just because I take my Anubis masks out of the closet and wander around in them for 10 minutes and because Kim brings her Ganesh shrine from out of her closet and *temporarily* puts it on the mantel, does not mean that the Yazwinski University of Pagan Studies (YUPS) is open for business and taking students.

Really! It doesn’t!
Read more… »

I’m *SO* glad that finally we’ll get to stop hearing about how hard done by the hockey players are and how greedy the owners are (or vise-versa). The season’s officially dead! Thank the Gods!

A couple of things that really struck me today:

* the press was calling the strike a “labour action”. Lets get this straight. These guys *play* hockey for a living. It’s a *game*. It may be their jobs but I can tell you that the Jr. teams would have *played* in their place for *significantly* less money.
* someone interviewed on the radio today asked if hockey had been a habit or a passion for themselves and had concluded that it was a habit that they didn’t miss now that it was gone.
* movie stars make a lot of money to star in a movie, but, the movie also makes a lot of money with theatre runs, dvd cuttings, etc. Unlike hockey, movies are run as businesses. Who’d have thunk?

It’s time for the NHL to smarten up. Bring up the Jr teams and fire the current “professional” teams. Pay the Jr players a reasonable salary and drop the prices to attend the events. The events will be well attended because they’ll be affordable. Those who make money from the services at the events will be better off. Everybody (except the babies who currently staff the NHL teams) wins!

Show me any self-respecting geek who wouldn’t want this:

I have no idea what I’d make it do… probably nothing. Just having it on your desk would be empowering, don’t you think!

With thanks to Engadget.