Okay, so apparently all it takes to get me writing again is the public declaration that I need to step back and do some thinking and therefore may not be writing much. Awesome.
This is just a quickie (omg! double entendre! She's letting that evil sexuality taint her already--a lost cause, this one), to say how much I love THIS.
It makes me happy. So very happy. Even if there are actually people who think this way in all seriousness--which, really, ought to frighten me more than it amuses right now, but what can you do?
Part II is here.
25 August 2008
Gone Astray
I haven't been posting much lately.
It's not because I don't have things to say--I do; lots, in fact--it's just that I feel like I'm drawing too much on what's outside for my inspiration. Or, to put it more clearly, I'm immersing myself in cultural and social issues that aren't my own. This isn't in itself a bad thing, as a little cross-cultural understanding (or attempts at it) can do a lot of good, and since racism, sexism, mountaineering and the environment (yeah, yeah: one of these things is not like the others) are important anywhere. That said, I don't think I should be diving head first into how these things look in the States without a clear understanding of how they function up here.
The more I read about the current climate and political situation in the US, the more it feels alien to me and the ways in which I think. I want to figure out if this disconnect is happening because I'm a weirdo (highly likely, but not necessarily the answer), or because it doesn't reflect my reality in Canada (which I suspect is largely the case).
And so, it's back to the drawing board for me. I value a lot of what the American bloggers I read have to say on issues I care about (and those that maybe only they do), and I will continue reading them, but I need to step back, and maybe step inside myself a little.
Time to plug myself into what's going on up here in the Great White North, and to what matters most to me, mine, and the world that I live in (on the neighbourhood-city-country scale; I'll get back to dealing in depth with the rest of the continent when I've gotten that straight).
It's not because I don't have things to say--I do; lots, in fact--it's just that I feel like I'm drawing too much on what's outside for my inspiration. Or, to put it more clearly, I'm immersing myself in cultural and social issues that aren't my own. This isn't in itself a bad thing, as a little cross-cultural understanding (or attempts at it) can do a lot of good, and since racism, sexism, mountaineering and the environment (yeah, yeah: one of these things is not like the others) are important anywhere. That said, I don't think I should be diving head first into how these things look in the States without a clear understanding of how they function up here.
The more I read about the current climate and political situation in the US, the more it feels alien to me and the ways in which I think. I want to figure out if this disconnect is happening because I'm a weirdo (highly likely, but not necessarily the answer), or because it doesn't reflect my reality in Canada (which I suspect is largely the case).
And so, it's back to the drawing board for me. I value a lot of what the American bloggers I read have to say on issues I care about (and those that maybe only they do), and I will continue reading them, but I need to step back, and maybe step inside myself a little.
Time to plug myself into what's going on up here in the Great White North, and to what matters most to me, mine, and the world that I live in (on the neighbourhood-city-country scale; I'll get back to dealing in depth with the rest of the continent when I've gotten that straight).
15 August 2008
Shit, shit, SHIT
This.
I get that the home country is paranoid as fuck about the Russians getting land-grabby again, considering their behaviour in the past century alone, and I get that the U.S. is the symbol of everything that is wonderful about the West mostly because, well, it ain't Russia, but setting yourself up to get bombed out of existence by a nation that hasn't been afraid of stomping all over you in the past has bad idea written all over it. In neon.
From the International Herald Tribune:
Shit. I fear for my country and my family. Even if these are just empty threats to get the Poles to back down, the situation is bad fucking news.
So much for regained sanity.
ETA: I know, I know: Russia actually bombing Poland into oblivion and/or invading isn't really going to happen. Especially now that we're in the EU. I've simmered down a bit and am no longer panicking about our imminent destruction.
But here's the thing: the situation stinks. It stinks because it's stupid posturing that just aggravates existing political tensions. It stinks because bad relations with Russia will have a political and economic impact on Poland. Mostly, it stinks because nothing will happen to the States. And they know that. Because what they've done is exploited Poland's bad history with Russia and our fear of Russian expansionism and used it to set us up as their cannon fodder.
I hate feeling that my people are being exploited again, that we are being treated as disposable again, and that this is further proof that, so long as it stays profitable, the western powers will continue to throw us under the bus whenever they feel like it.
I'm tired of our being used, and that's what this is about for me.
I get that the home country is paranoid as fuck about the Russians getting land-grabby again, considering their behaviour in the past century alone, and I get that the U.S. is the symbol of everything that is wonderful about the West mostly because, well, it ain't Russia, but setting yourself up to get bombed out of existence by a nation that hasn't been afraid of stomping all over you in the past has bad idea written all over it. In neon.
From the International Herald Tribune:
At a news conference Friday, a senior Russian defense official, Colonel General Anatoli Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to serve as host for the antimissile system. Such an action "cannot go unpunished," he said.
Shit. I fear for my country and my family. Even if these are just empty threats to get the Poles to back down, the situation is bad fucking news.
So much for regained sanity.
ETA: I know, I know: Russia actually bombing Poland into oblivion and/or invading isn't really going to happen. Especially now that we're in the EU. I've simmered down a bit and am no longer panicking about our imminent destruction.
But here's the thing: the situation stinks. It stinks because it's stupid posturing that just aggravates existing political tensions. It stinks because bad relations with Russia will have a political and economic impact on Poland. Mostly, it stinks because nothing will happen to the States. And they know that. Because what they've done is exploited Poland's bad history with Russia and our fear of Russian expansionism and used it to set us up as their cannon fodder.
I hate feeling that my people are being exploited again, that we are being treated as disposable again, and that this is further proof that, so long as it stays profitable, the western powers will continue to throw us under the bus whenever they feel like it.
I'm tired of our being used, and that's what this is about for me.
14 August 2008
Happy to Be Alive, Indeed
It occurs to me that the subtitle of this blog has been rather poorly represented up until now. Not that the ranting isn't fun, but it's been a bit grouchy around here.
Turns out I just needed a vacation. And so, after a week of this:
I am doing much better. Minus the sunburnt nose, that is, but it's a price I'll willingly pay for my sanity.
Turns out I just needed a vacation. And so, after a week of this:
I am doing much better. Minus the sunburnt nose, that is, but it's a price I'll willingly pay for my sanity.
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