Burning Man did Dr. Seuss

Based on Dr. Seuss's final book before his death, this is a story about life's ups and downs, told by the people of Burning Man 2011. Directed by: Teddy Saunders - www.tedshots.com

American Green Dollars won't stop Harper

Stephen Harper is warning us that big green bucks of the environmental kind may flow into Canada in an attempt to thwart the legitimate conservative, whoops, I mean corporate efforts of the Ethical Oil folks.

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Today the CBC reported that the Prime Minister of Alberta and the rest of Canada "...told journalists Friday he's heard concerns expressed about the use of foreign money by interveners opposed to an oilsands pipeline proposed for northern B.C. by Calgary-based Enbridge."

So now we know that the federal government that slashed its own global warming monitoring division, is going to ensure the Environmental review of the pipeline project will get about the same amount of scrutiny as the omnibus crime bill.  And he is warning the big bucked foreigners to stay away.

Odd, Mr. Harper didn't seem to mind when the Exclusive Brethren, a secretive anti-gay religious group from the USA spent thousands of dollars delivering leaflets in Canada in an attempt to stop same-sex marriage in June of 2005.  I guess those foreign dollars are less green.

Oiled vegetation floats upstream of the Ceresco Dam

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government will look into measures to prevent the approval process for energy projects from being "hijacked" by opponents of the developments.  Suddenly I see another light coming on.  If we're (our federal government) going to put in measures to prevent those that think we should scrutinize development projects, why not just eliminate public consultations all together, it worked with the Canadian Wheat Farmers, why not the Ethical Oil extractors. It's brilliant, what good is a majority if you have to consult with people that disagree with you.

Enbridge has had hundreds of spills from their pipelines, many which may have been preventable if the company had fixed problems identified by authorities.  Two weeks before a huge break in one of its pipelines and facing many demands by authorities to fix defects in the pipeline, Enbridge asked the approval agency to allow it to simply reduce the flow of oil through the 'defective' lines.   They never got a reply to that request, the pipe burst and sent 20,000 barrels of oil into the river.  Picture this, laid end to end, 20,000 barrels would be over 14 miles long and would fill a two foot trench to the top the entire length.  Let that oil get into a river or lake and you can see what damage it could do.

Enbridge pipeline leak into the Kalamazoo River July 2010

Back to the pipeline, the general public still doesn't know much about this project.  Many people hear about a pipeline and think that's okay.  They have yet to connect the dots on this.  The raw oil product once it arrives in Kitimat BC will have to be pumped into super-sized oil tankers.   The tankers then must get the oil sludge to California and or China. That means they have to travel along BC's coast.

Oil Tankers spilling their loads is not an if question, its a question of when.   Just like pipelines and maintenance of those pipelines, oil tankers are all about accepting there will be a spill and the focus shifts to how one mitigates the damage.

Kitimat BC

When you know there will be a spill or spills, do you think it is a risk worth accepting. Big companies try to build in a cost factor. How much will it cost to maintain the ships, how well trained and rested is the crew, how much will back up systems cost and then they get into the clean up cost.  They never get into the cost of the loss of wildlife, the damage to water and decades of lost life sustaining ecosystems.

Any mistake along the way could contribute to a disaster.  The question for BC and the rest of Canada is this, is it a risk we can accept?  I suggest it isn't.

Prime Minister Harper has thrown out a 'green' herring, raising foreign money.  It's clear he will accept nothing less than a speedy conclusion from the environmental review, that concludes with a green light for Enbridge's proposal.      

I'm probably going to hell via the karma of pedantry

"I'm probably going to hell via the karma of pedantry, or at least end up 'tarred & feathered' {wink}." - Howard Ish

My friend Howard passed away yesterday, he was 50...

Howard was kinda like that crazy uncle we all know of.  I would be hard pressed to find or hear tell of someone that could match him. Eccentric is not enough to describe him, besides I think you need to be rich to be eccentric, poor folks like Howard are bat shit crazy!

A few years ago he moved to a house built for and by other fae boys. His father passed away and left Howard enough to get a car and house. Shortly after the sale of the house closed Howard got very sick.  I took him to his doctor in Kingston, whom immediately called the hospital.  He was in there in a flash, albeit he insisted on stopping to mail some bookkeeping stuff  and post cards.  He was insistent. Here I was with a guy the doctor said had to be in emergency asap and he wants to mail a postcard. Everything had stamps on them.  The irony was one of the post cards was sent to me.  I didn't know that at the time.

Jules, bless him, looked after many things for Howard after he got his house. The Patron Saint of Fae ones in need you are Jules.  Howard was in hospital for a week and Jules asked me if I would like to go down and visit and help Howard pack up his ChatchKas.  He has so many!

Jules and I drove down and this is the result of our visit...  Check out the video, Howard loved it.  After leaving Howard that night, we drove back to MacDonald's Corners.  It was after ten that evening and found we had no wine.  I had beer at the Land, alas Jules wanted wine.  Out of the blue, (Jules is going to kill me for this story) Jules said, "you know, I bet Howard still has some wine."  He was saying it shyly, not wanting to completely admit we were so desperate as to check Howard's place for wine.  "It's Kelly's," I added, "it's fortified."

"what the heck, lets go, I said to Jules. Now I had let him off the hook, It was me that said okay!  We got in the car and headed to Howie's Chatchkas palace.  Once inside, we found the Kelly's, a whole unopened bottle. (How lucky was that!)   I grabbed a cider from the fridge. It was like being in high school.  We laughed at ourselves, all the while clutching the bottle of Kelly's.  Back at Jules we sat outside and savoured the sweet Kelly's wine.  (I added water to mine, but Jules was tough, he drank it straight up).

I often picked Howard up in Perth or his house to bring him to the Land. He was always charming. Harmless really!  I would always give him a hug, pick up his bags, tent, sleeping bag and throw it in the truck. Then as I was doing it I would hear, "I can do that Ricky."  Almost always I would respond, "So can I, see Howard its in the truck." It was a game in a way. Howard was having a tough time of it. He couldn't move much faster than a turtle on the Lanark road.

At the Land, Howard would usually be the first one up after me, arriving at the Erection (Summer Kitchen folks, when you build something you are erecting!) about 6:30.  He would come in and see me. One look at me would tell him if I had my coffee and was ready for his renown waggishness!  He would get the old flower vase for water to drink out of. Fill it with ice cubes then after he settled at the end of the table, silently gathering the playing cards, positioning the salt bowl, he would start playing solitaire.  Not a word spoken between us.  Snap went the cards.  Snap, snap.  Chomp chomp went the ice.  He couldn't resist making his presence known. Finally, coffee brewed, we would move outside to the fire pit, me with my coffee and Howard with his fancy flame throwing lighter and pipe.

We would chat about lots of things.  He would entertain me.  I was a good listener, he liked that, he wanted to be liked, he tried so hard.  He made me laugh so many times. Irony was his forte. It could be about the news, or some happening at the gathering.  I have not met his equal in that department.  His quick turn of phrase was always on the mark, often irreverent, mostly  irreverent.

After moving to the country Howard often had appointments in Ottawa, He would stay at Pinkie and Roy's. He would have a a few glasses of wine, (Okay he had many). Pinkie would help Howard out and the next day Howard was still there.  It was funny, that weird Uncle thing again.  Howard would be off, back to his home.   

Howard of course had to survive in a redneck village. That did not deter him. I would often find him hitch hiking into Lanark,wearing a fur stole and Purple overcoat. I can only guess the reactions he received, yet he was able to get rides. Howard wore his life on his sleeves. He was out there and it worked.

Howard loved being a Canadian. He loved being a subject of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second. He was for a time a member of the Monarchist League of Canada. He took it seriously, trying to be more Canadian than the rest of us. He would always vote, and he voted in the US elections as well.  He hated George W Bush and Stephen Harper. He loved Bernie Sanders, the only socialist Senator in the US and a Vermontian.  He loved Vermont.

When he lived in Gananoque, he would hitch hike to Perth.  I or someone else would pick him up in Perth.  I always marvelled at how he managed to get rides. He looked kinda rough to me. He would hold up a sign that said "Harmless".  It worked.   Often at the end of the gathering, Chiplandia would load up all the beer cans and take Howard to the outskirts of Perth after cashing in the cans, handing Howard the money when he dropped him off.  Howard was struggling so it helped a little.

I will miss Howard, especially on those early mornings on the Land.  It was home to Howard.  It was his community. Howard was an important part of that community.  Below is a video of Howard singing "Run around Hugh" during one of our 'Know Talent Shows'.



Howard had many friends at the Land, aka AmberFox. Don was one of them who would stop and pick up Howard these last couple of years, run him home to get his meds, feed the cat and get another lighter because he lost the last Flame Thrower. This passed summer we heard from Howard's mother.  She had not heard from him in four or five days.  We checked the hospitals, all his friends and nothing. Don drove an hour down to Howard's and broke in through the Kitchen window. No Howard.  He was eventually found in hospital.  We were all concerned.  He was okay in the end and we rejoiced in that.

Howard, I will miss you. You lived it to the end.

Official Catholic - Get gay teachers out!

The Catholic establishment has made war against gays for years. Now they want to ensure gays do not work in the Catholic school system.  

Catholic schools must remove those practising same-sex relationships says the title of an editorial by Fr. Alphonse de Valk in the online magazine, Catholic Insight. 

This guy is living in 1958. There have always been gays in the catholic system. Today I know of three teachers personally that teach in Catholic schools.  de Valk suggests that the union representing these workers ought to have its name changed to remove "Catholic" if they approve a motion to include same sex relationships.  


de Valk also outlines the history of Catholic Insight and its fight against the 'Homosexual Agenda".  

...Catholic Insight took the homosexual agenda as the most virulent threat to society. Why? Because unlike abortion which does not leave any survivors, only victims, those practising same-sex relations grow in number and ruthlessness as their agenda is strengthened by newly coined “rights” in law and public acceptance. Supported by the enormous popularity of modern pornography, assisted by prostitution and the elimination of old restrictions on human behaviour mostly through judicial fiats, their own insatiable immorality demands public approval for more and more deviant behaviour. - Fr. Alphonse de Valk

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

The language here is inflammatory, insights hate and demonizes all of us queers.   de Valk says,  “The Church does not claim that people with a homosexual orientation are bad, or that their children are less loved by God … But what the Church does teach is that sexual intimacy by anyone outside marriage is wrong; that marriage is a sacramental covenant; and that marriage can occur only between a man and a woman. 


These beliefs are central to a Catholic understanding of human nature, family and happiness, and the organization of society. The Church cannot change these teachings because … they are the teaching of Jesus Christ…"


This is the indoctrination of youth. It is no different than those that would teach being a Jew is bad, or Blacks are inferior, Arabs are terrorists or Indians are heathens.  All of these things, the Catholic Church has said or supported over the last century.  


I know the majority of Catholics in this country do not support the views expressed by the very righteous de Valk.  It's time the people in the church took on these systemic and hate laden statements from their leaders within the church. 


my thanks to Scott Dagostino on twitter for the link to this story