Flowers wilt. Chocolates melt. Roaches are forever.

Can't decide on what to get that special someone for Valentine's Day? Sometimes the answer is all around us, and right where it's been for millions of years—like cockroaches! How better to express your appreciation for that special someone than to name a Madagascar hissing cockroach after them?

http://www.bronxzoo.com/name-a-roach/

~*~

Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Bogartmas!

... and a Happy New Year!

A Social Network Christmas

Happy Holidays!

All I want for Hanukkah is a tankard of coffee... Please.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

A little diversion for those of us not celebrating in more traditional ways.

Remembrance Day

Today is always an odd day for me. As a pacifist, I sometimes feel a conflict with my patriotism, as there are times when pacifistic ideals are not consistent with what the general public sees as patriotism. To a pacifist, I guess, the love of one's country does not spell out, "My Country, Right or Wrong," but is invested in wanting the best for the country, but also expecting the best of the country. Remembrance Day, then, is a conflicted day for me, especially since it has been adopted by less-clear-cut wars.

The Canadian involvement in WWI and WWII were, in terms of human effort, nothing short of heroic, even for those of us who don't often use that term in connection with soldiering. These were not wars of aggression, as Canada stood to gain no territory, and in many ways they were fought to halt aggression, according to history. Yet, I do not see them as purely altruistic wars. Yes, WWII saved the lives of millions of Jews and other prisoners in Nazi occupied territories, but the myth that WWII was waged to save the Jews is as erroneous as it is harmful.

They were actually wars fought to support the mother country, Britain, and, to a lesser extent, other allies. And, in this, I can see the point of the French and the Irish who resisted conscription on the basis that England was not their mother. Protecting ties is not altruism; it is merely protecting the symbiotic web upon which you rely.

And, while history records these wars as "Good Wars," I also have a deep-seated discomfort with claiming any war "good"... though, I suppose since Canada did not start these wars, we cannot primarily pin the bad on them.

Having said all that, there are in fact three interconnected reasons why I, as a pacifist, wear the poppy and keep Remembrance Day (aside from it being deeply soaked into my Nova Scotian roots).

First, Remembrance Day reminds me that WWI was Canada's birth. Though the nation factually dates to Confederation, Canada did not actually shed its colonial identity until WWI, and the way we see ourselves is deeply embedded in the trenches of Vimy Ridge, Ypres, Passchendaele, Beaumont Hamel... Places of unimaginable muck and gore, but also of strength and incredible will power. For a nation who claims that having no identity is our identity, we seem to get an awful lot of our sense of selves from these places. Like that legendary crucified soldier, we see ourselves as tireless workhorses, dedicated to our causes, and plain but powerful. Canadians, if nothing else, stand our ground, and work without complaint in some of the roughest conditions (or so we like to imagine).

It was WWI were Canada first fought not as a corps of the UK, but as Canadians, and it was WWI during which Canadians learned that people thought of them as "Canadians," a reputation that took on a specific character during WWI that has stuck.

Second, I wear it not out of support for the nations who wage war like bloody games of life-size chess from paper-strewn offices, but for the men and women who died. I don't give into the rhetoric of "they died for my freedom" as much as others do, but I can express grief that they died, nonetheless. The brightest flower of multiple generations was snuffed out during the world wars. And the poppy is worth it, for that reason alone, but it also shows solidarity with the now old men who gave up their carefree youthes to see what most of us, thankfully, do not have to witness.

Third, I wear the poppy to remind myself of all these, and the million other, ambiguities of war. The bright, cheerful head of the poppy waves over the bones of people killed in ways I cannot fully imagine. Today, we feel pride and sadness, horror and also a kind of happiness. War made Canada, but we are something of a peaceful nation. A crucified soldier might be forever in glory, but he remains just as dead, and just as mutilated. Blood and mud and excrement, the reality, gives way to this bright, shiny thing in history, which is also a type of reality for those of us who live in the fruits of their labour. And every time I put on my coat, I am reminded of that ambiguity of war, which keeps me neither too patriotic, nor too pacifist.

So, yes... I am a conflicted pacifist wearing a poppy today. And a Canadian, whatever that means. Most of the time, I am simply in the trenches of life trying to keep my matches dry. But, today, it's good to remember.

happy hallowe'en!

Doesn't Feel Much Like Hallowe'en Around Here...

Yet!

But today, I must sally forth and find a clown wig, some face paint and some small spooky prezzie for the special little man in my life. We will hang the Hallowe'en pumpkin on the door, and maybe head to the park to carve the real one (leave those seeds for the squirrels, yo!). Maybe we'll see what little treats we can scare up, as well.

Festivities for the next few days will be hot and heavy - grad ceremony tomorrow, trick-o-treating on Sunday, and possibly some Ghostbusters fun somewhere in between.

Happy Hallowe'en, all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shana Tova Umetukah

long weekend

So, what's everybody got planned for the long weekend?

Here, if the humidity is indeed better, I plan on taking care of some long overdue house chores:

• deep clean the kitchen and bathroom
• clear out fridge and freezer
• picking up everywhere and doing the floors
• catching up on back laundry
• getting rid of all that recycling piling up
• boxing up all extra books, etc, to unload them on a book seller
• clearing out the bedroom for a play room
• convert crib to tot bed

That's a lot to do in one weekend, but I can't put it off any longer. I can't just delay it any more because tot will get in the way - I'll just have to work around him.

So, not really exciting plans for the long weekend, really, but I'm enthusiastic about it, at least. :)

Friday the 13th

Given my recent luck, Friday the 13th could go one of two ways: oddly great, or exceptionally bad - the kind of bad that become the stuff of legends.

Something for Grandpa on Father's Day

Yup, that's Betty White - on a nudie deck in the 1940s (which was surely part of the war effort), looking as cute as a button.

Happy Father's Day!

Imma Barf Now

Memorial Day - to me, one of the most significant weekends in my life, since my son was conceived on or about Memorial Day weekend in 2007 (sorry for TMI, but I feel it's a powerful anniversary to keep in mind).

BUT - the little gems around the net about how Americans should feel this day keenly this year for the sake of all those HEROES OVER THERE FIGHTING AND DYING FOR *OUR FREEDOM* makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

Sorry to be political, but really? Freedom in North America depends on this war, does it? Honestly?

Since when did illegal actions fought over misinformation, grudges and the free access to pipelines constitute *OUR FREEDOM*?

Oh, right - our freedom to drive SUVs.

OK, carry on - enjoy the fact that another Iraqi baby was likely just melted to death by spent uranium in the time it took me to type this post, and have a great Memorial Day weekend.

sigh.

Having a Lovely Day

• Slept in til 9.30am!
• Had huge breakfast featuring French toast and bananas
• Called both grandmas (one was wisely still asleep - will call her back later)
• Watched some cartoons and a fluff movie while we coloured and played some ball
• I had a coffee while soaking in a bubble bath
• Simple lunch

Plans for later: I'm making bean sprout chow mein and soy chicken stirfry on rice for supper tonight, and then we'll watch When Harry Met Sally...! We might take a walk before dark (possibly to go score a can of mushrooms for the stirfry); the length will depend on naptime and how cold it is out.

My best gift today: the tot has been an absolute angel today! I got plenty of kissies and hugs, and no tantrums thus far. Just what I always wanted!!!

I hope all is well!

weep with those who weep

The daughter of an online friend is surely weeping today.

Today is her first Mother's Day as a mother, which should be a joyous, special occasion in the life of a young woman.

But today, this daughter of my friend weeps, because, a few months ago, her first and only son was born not alive.

I pause to remember those mothers mourning their children today, and those children mourning lost mothers.

All the best for Mother's Day to those weeping today.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is something the tot and I made for Mother's Day. I will hang it on the wall, despite the fact that it nearly drives me into sugar shock with its sweetness.

And if you do not think it is darling, I pity you your cold and withered heart. Or, you know, you and I have differing opinions on what constitutes darling, to put it in less dramatic terms.

(Day off from Defence Stuff today!)

:(

I can't take this any more. I just sent an email to my advisor telling her I am withdrawing from the program... just a day short of handing in my dissertation. It was just too flawed, and I have not the time to fix it.

Not sure what to do now, except sleep...

Read more here.

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