Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 75

Three Trips to the Moon and Back: Outlasting Winter

Hmmm, will the well-worn pages of my field guides bridge me over another winter or will impatience get the better of me?

Around this time of year, I begin to get a little bit antsy. It has been a couple of months since the last butterfly or dragonfly retired for the season. The migrating birds have long since vacated our fields and woodlands for warmer southern locales.

Even though winter has been kinder and gentler this year (so far), I am already looking ahead eagerly to the bloom of spring and the abundance of summer. But for now I will have to indulge myself in contemplating some of those marvels of nature that never cease to fascinate me.

… The Artic Tern, an elegant and graceful bird weighing all of four ounces, makes the longest migration of any animal – a 71,000 kilometre trek between Greenland and Antarctica. Researchers estimate that, in its 30 year lifespan, it may log 2.4 million kilometres during migration – equal to three trips to the moon and back.

… Peregrine Falcons claim the honour of the fastest living creature. They reach speeds of as much as 168 miles per hour while catching prey birds in midair.

… Dragonflies are masters of flight. Their four wings can be moved independently – beating up and down in the classical sense or rotating on their own axes like an airplane propeller. They can fly forwards, backwards, hover, fly rapidly straight up or straight down and turn on a dime.

… Dragonflies have the finest vision in the insect world. They possess compound eyes, comprised of as many as 30,000 "simple eyes", which allow them to detect even the tiniest of movement in the distance.

… Many butterflies can taste with their feet. Why would they want to? It enables them to determine, before they lay their eggs, whether the leaf they are sitting on is suitable to be their caterpillars' food.

… Butterflies can be speed demons – attaining a flight speed of up to 50 kilometres per hour. But they are cold-blooded and need to bask in the sun to absorb heat before they can fly.

I'll admit that winter has its own charms. But I'm inclined – aside from brief forays when cabin fever gets the best of me – to hibernate from its chilly grasp. I'll pass the days pouring over the pages of my field guides to let nature's metaphors of wonder curb my impatience.

Only 11 weeks until the first day of spring!

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

The 2012 Phenomenon: Prophecy, Heresy or Ours to Decide?

Hmmm, will 2012 be the year of the apocalypse, the beginning of a marvellous new age or the end of the world as we know it?

I must admit to be woefully uninformed about the so called "2012 Phenomenon". I stumbled upon it when I was Google surfing for 2012 predictions. As I  understand it, December 21, 2012 marks the end of a 5,125 year cycle in the "Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar" – a

non-repeating calendar used by a number of ancient cultures including, most notably, the Maya.

Various interpretations exist of the significance of the completion of that cycle each with their own prediction of what will happen on December 21, 2012.

The doom and gloom camp asserts that an end-of-the-world catastrophe will occur such as the earth's collision with a black hole or passing asteroid.

The optimist camp counters with the prediction that we will undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation and enter into a glorious new age of wisdom, peace, love and understanding.

I'm not prepared to jump on either bandwagon just yet. I am, however, inclined to believe that 2012 will be a year of particular significance. I don't have a crystal ball or a psychic pipeline to the future. But I do have a growing consciousness of change in the air.

Civil unrest is gaining momentum around the world. Angry citizens in one country after another are rising up and saying, to quote fictional newscaster Howard Beale: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." Oppressive regimes are falling like dominos.

Mother Nature also seems to be at a boiling point of discontent. Natural disasters are occurring withdisturbing frequency: the Japan tsunami and earthquake, devastating drought in Eastern Africa and flooding in Australia, Brazil and the Philippines to name just a few.

Continuous ripples are cascading through the world economy in response to these turbulent times. It is anyone's guess where the next financial crisis will catch fire. Economists and other financial experts seem to be about as reliable as the weather forecasters in predicting where things are headed.

So perhaps the "2012 Phenomenon" is closer to fact than fiction. We're all struggling to adjust to the idea that instability is the new norm and that there is no guarantee of what tomorrow may bring. We might be better off shifting our attention to the notion that we're on the threshold of a new reality and that we have the ability to influence what that reality will be.

I rather like the way Ellen Goodman, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winner, turns the New Year's metaphor on its head:

"We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential."

It might just be that the shape of the 2012 Phenomenon is ours to decide. We each have the potential to nudge the universe a degree or two in a new direction. If we all resolve to nudge in the same direction, the glorious new age of wisdom, peace, love and understanding can be a reality.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. I nstructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

Random Act of Metaphor: A Smew that Heeded the Quiet Whisper

Hmmm, what possessed that female Smew to stray 3,500 kilometres west from her normal wintering territory?

No doubt you're wondering: What in heaven's name is a Smew? A Smew is a small diving duck in the sawbill family. Normally, they occur only in Eurasia. In the winter they are found in England through central Europe and southern Russia to China and Japan.

However, against the odds, a female Smew has recently appeared in Whitby harbour of Lake Ontario. She is creating quite the stir among local birdwatchers that are flocking (pardon the pun) to Whitby for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to add this species to their Canadian list.

Smews are one of a handful of Eurasian waterfowl known to show up here on rare occasions. North American field guides refer to them as "accidentals". It is suspected that many of these "accidentals" are aviary or zoo escapees. But no one knows for certain.

I like to think, as improbable as it may be, that this intrepid little duck did make the 3,500 kilometre journey from her homeland. I imagine her hearing a quite whisper that urged her to do something extraordinary. Little Smew, summon your courage and make a transcontinental journey. Mankind needs small wonders now and then to remind it that great things are possible.

An intrepid Smew defying the odds in a minor Christmas miracle – a random act of metaphor to remind us to never stop believing in the improbable. Our most inspired moments happen when we heed the quite whisper and aspire above and beyond the limits of reason.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

My Christmas Wish: Beyond the Window Dressing

Hmmm, it does not look much like Christmas when I look down from my 18th floor window. The hope for a white Christmas appears to be a long shot. It seems Old man Winter is reluctant to take hold. Perhaps he is a bit weary from protecting his turf against global warming.

But looking west in the gap between apartment buildings I can see a corner of the Bramalea City Center parking lot. A steady stream of cars is flowing like a river along the outer road. Inside, no doubt, last minute shoppers are scurrying and jostling like salmon fighting their way upstream to breed.

I've completed all my preparations and now have leisure to turn my mind to a few Christmas wishes for this madcap world of ours.

I wish that there was no need for soldiers to spend the holiday season in a foreign land away from their families. I salute them for their willingness to do so and for the sacrifice they are making to protect our freedoms. But I wish we didn't need them to stand guard on Christmas day. My wish is for a pandemic of peace to break out and spread like wildfire.

I wish that no one had to spend Christmas day at a movie theatre because they have no family with whom to gather round the table. Yes, movie theatres are open on Christmas day. I wish it were not so.

I wish that the automated banking network was not pushed to the limit of its bandwidth. The joy of gift giving and receiving is a blessing. But the millions of dollars that are spent can overshadow that simple joy. I wish that the gift of spending time together was enough.

I wish that there were no people wondering if they will make it through to Christmas before they take their last breath. Cancer haunts the lives of far too many. I wish for a cure for this dreaded disease so none will have to succumb to it.

I wish that I could listen to Christmas songs on the radio and not have to hear how a certain artist makes $400,000 every year just from the royalties of the Christmas song he wrote and recorded. As naïve as it may be, I wish that wealth could be evenly distributed and our worth not measured by dollar increments.

I wish that we could strip away all the distractions, slow down, breath deep and contemplate the realreason for the season. Whatever your religion, or your system of beliefs, I wish that Christmas day could be on the one day of the year that we put aside our differences and celebrate our common humanity.

Christmas metaphors come in many forms. But they are only the window dressing. This Christmas let us rise as one from every corner of the globe and wish for but one thing – brotherly love from ocean to ocean, from continent to continent, from earth to sky and everything in between.

Merry Christmas and God bless.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

When I Grow Old and Wear the Bottom of My Trousers Rolled: Point Pelee

I grow old… I grow old…

I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled

~ T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Hmmm, when I grow old and wear the bottom of my trousers rolled, and I yearn for freedoms lost, I will find my way to Pelee in the treasure trove of memories I have stored for such a time.

Passing through the gate in the awakening hours of a crisp May morning. Car window down to welcome in the chattering and warbling of the latest wave of birds to make the arduous, nighttime crossing of the lake. The half risen sun over Sanctuary Pond slicing through the lush canopy of trees. Rush of anticipation and the awakening of joy.

Straight on past the Cattail Café, Sleepy Hollow, Black Willow Beach, DeLaurier Homestead and Chinquapin Oak Trial. (These are for later in this day of unbridled self-indulgence.) Out of the car at the parking lot at kilometre 6. A rainbow of warblers already in abundance – Yellow, Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Black and White, Redstart… Is that a Hooded?

The obligatory tram ride to the tip. (No cars beyond this point.) The day count already gathering momentum – industrious woodpeckers, flitting flycatchers, cavorting sparrows and warblers by the bushel. Binoculars at the ready for the first aha! sighting of the day.

The legendary tip where rarities await. Hang back a bit to let the crowd disperse. Straight up the middle boardwalk as the rapture of the day unfolds. Orange splash of an Oriole. Exuberant red of a Tanager. Deep blue of a Bunting. And there – Golden-winged Warbler!

Emerging from the trees, the boardwalk ends. The most southern tip of mainland Canada a full nine kilometres from the gate. Counting off the terns as the sand shifts underfoot – Common, Foresters, could that be a Royal? Scanning the waves for Mergansers – slender, long-bodied, shaggy crests and red spike bills.

Working back down the east beach. The warbler bonanza continues – nondescript Tennessee, sprightly Nashville, regal Black-throated Blue, fire-throat Blackburnian. Overhead an Osprey soars with long, crooked wings half white, half black.

Back onto the tram for the trip back but jumping off at the Woodland Nature Trial. Winding through the wooded swamps. Thrushes by ear – their ethereal fluted notes. The nasal ank ank ank of Nuthatches. Quick

glimpse of a skulking Waterthrush. And there, a Pelee specialty – the glowing yellow of a Prothonotary!

Arriving at Tilden Woods by late morning. Slowing the pace now as the endless treasures of spring Pelee quiet the spirit. Overhead, a Yellow-throated Vireo looks down curiously. A Northern Parula announces its presence with its trademark zeeeeeeeeeee-up. Scanning from the beach brings its own reward – a noble Peregrine.

On the Chinquapin, the beee-bzzzz of the Blue-winged Warbler is almost guaranteed but still a delight. The day list of warblers continues to swell – trilling Pine, striking male Bay-breasted, elusive Blackpoll. Strident tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle of a Carolina Wren.

On to the history-steeped DeLaurier Homestead Trail which always holds a surprise or two. A reclusive Chat working a thicket, a Green Heron dead still only feet away, a gorgeously coloured Cape May, a lone Olive-sided Flycatcher in its telltale perch on a dead tree.

The day winds down with a stroll around the Marsh Boardwalk. Tallying Great Blue Heron, Coot, Swamp Sparrow and Moorhen for the day list. Marsh Wrens pop up for quick look. A Harrier glides out over the cattails.

Pelee is a truly magical place in the burgeoning days of mid-May. Migrating birds of every size, shape and wondrous colour funnel there on route to their breeding grounds. It is a living metaphor of abundance, harmony and the rejuvenating powers of nature.

When I grow old and wear my trousers rolled, and my legs no longer find the strength to carry me beyond my door, I will call upon the treasure trove of Pelee memories to free my spirit from the confines of old age. Ever will it be my land of dreams.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com  or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

Follow Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm regularly at this site. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Originating at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 .

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Fire From Heaven: Pandora's Box of Nano and Bio Technology

Hmmm, what will everyday life look like 100 years from now if mankind keeps push the technological boundaries?

Occasionally, I get the urge to take a look ahead at where the world is headed. Truthfully, my reaction to this impulse is usually to reach for some comfort food, hunker down and hope that the urge will go away.

But today I succumbed to the urge and googled "Top Jobs of the Future". It's not at all surprising that the top 10 jobs on the list all involve intimate knowledge and skill with technology. We live in a techno crazy world where the power of the keystroke is mind boggling.

It is a bit disconcerting, however, that the top 10 list is dominated by engineers, scientists and technicians. The number 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 spots belong to these

fields.

Electrical / Electronic Engineers and Software Engineers are number two and three on the list. Apparently, our appetite for high tech gadgets, gizmos, games and the like is only going to increase. I can't help but wonder what percentage of these gadgets will be devoted to giving us creative ways to waste our time.

But number three, four and five on the list are probably the most telling: Nano-tech Engineers & Scientists; Bio-Tech Engineers & Scientists; Robotics Engineers.

Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. It is part physics, part chemistry, part biology and part science fiction.

Biotechnology involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology and medicine. Think genetic engineering and stem cell research

Robotics, of course, deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots. It sounds tame enough until you consider that artificial intelligence is part of the equation.

What makes me uncomfortable, when I contemplate these frontiers of science and technology, is that what we are talking about is fiddling with the very building blocks of life. The possibilities are endless – but so too are the risks.

Ironically enough, the metaphor that jumps to mind comes from the far reaches of history and the world of mythology – namely "Pandora's Box". I won't get into the finer details of the myth. Suffice to say that the Gods and mankind came into conflict which resulted in Pandora's Box being opened. All of its contents (except one) were released – all the evils of the world.

When I contemplate what everyday life might look like 100 years from now, I can't help but worry that mankind's forays into the outer reaches of technology might result in a Pandora's Box scenario. One miscalculation by a well-meaning scientist could unleash a doomsday scenario.

In the myth of Pandora's Box, the one remaining item that was not released was hope. So let us hold onto the hope for a brighter future where the scientists and engineers are wise enough to not to steal attempt to steal fire from heaven.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary

Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of  Life Journal" aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its Internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To Instructions" in the right sidebar. If you are reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once per week.

Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

 

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

Snowflakes, Idiosyncrasies and the Corporate Shuffle

Hmmm, in a world where control is slipping away from us, is there a way we can fight back?

Let me begin with a confession. I specifically organize my life so that I am as self-sufficient as possible. It's not that I'm antisocial. I just don't like being dependant on other people or, more specifically, on things beyond my control. It's one of my idiosyncrasies (of which there are many).

But I'm finding myself butting up against more and more situations where I am at the mercy of someone – or something – over which I have no control.

Nowhere is this more evident than the high tech box that sits on desk proudly flaunting its inscrutable nature. When something goes wrong with my computer, or any peripheral device attached to it, I'm completely helpless. Cursing at it does no good aside from venting my frustration.

In this situation, I have to put myself in the hands of a technical expert at a handsome hourly rate. He or she can tell me just about anything they wish. I have no choice but to trust them because the world of computer technology is a complete and utter mystery to me.

I quite resent being in this helpless position. But there seems to be no relief in sight until they invent computers that can trouble-shoot and fix themselves. Then, of course, I'll be at the mystery of the device itself which is even more distasteful.

It is much the same scenario with my car. Years ago, when I first started driving, cars were much simpler machines. Back then a good mechanic could often identify a problem based on a description of the symptoms alone. Those were the good old days!

But now cars are jam packed with technology. They've become temperamental wonders-on-wheels that can virtually drive themselves. The problem is the technology built into them is so complex and quirky that only another computer can diagnose their ailments. I loathe taking my car in for service because I know there is about a 50-50 chance that the first "fix" won't take.

But it's not just the world of technology that leaves us wandering in the wilderness of powerlessness. The business world has become a fearful, unpredictable place. There was an era when showing up on time, doing a good job – and going the extra mile now then – was enough to assure you of job security.

Not so anymore. We're all just numbers in the corporation equation. At regular intervals, the corporation reaches a point where it needs to shuffle the deck and cast aside a few units of production. We go to work each day knowing that we could be given the not-so-golden handshake before the day is over. We are powerless to influence the equation in our favour.

I could go on and cite numerous other examples – waves of economic uncertainty world-wide that have us  on a continuous roller coaster, new virus strains that jump species and sneak up on us from the back door, and so on.

I don't mean to sound like a prophet of doom. We're not facing Armageddon quite yet. But it does seem to me that there is an increasing tally of situations where we have little or no power to influence the outcome.

So where do that leave us? The one area that we still have control over is how we interact with one another. We can choose to accept each other for who we are – without preconceptions, without judgment and without imposing our own agendas. We can give one another the power to be as unique, quirky and original as we choose to be.

Let us adopt and embrace the snowflake metaphor – no two quite alike, each one an original creation. Now that's a power worth having.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

Dueling with the Mad Hatter of Software

Hmmm, do my software programs really need daily updates or is there an endless tea party in the rabbit hole at the bottom of my screen?

A prompt box pops up at the bottom of the screen practically every time I fire up my computer. "Look at me! Look at me!", it begs, announcing that an update is available for one of my

software programs – Adobe, Flash, Java and so on.

I tend to drop kick the prompt box off the screen the first couple of times because, quite frankly, it annoys me. But ignoring it isn't particularly effective. Half an hour later it's back again like a pesky mosquito buzzing in my ear.

I can't help but wonder if all of these updates are really necessary. What if I simply choose not to acknowledge them? Would my software programs go into self-destruct mode a la

Mission Impossible? Would my hard drive cough, sputter and go into seizures?

Eventually, of course, I give in and run the updates. Often, the installation wizard runs its mandatory lap in only a minute or two. I'm half inclined to believe that nothing is

actually happening. Just smoke and mirrors to make me believe that the software company is working around the clock to provide me with critical updates.

I'm tempted to keep ignoring the prompts for days on end to see what consequences, if any, my inaction brings. Or start the update and stop it halfway through each time. I

like the idea, however farfetched, that someone at the software company might be getting an annoying notice on his computer each time I rebel. Turnabout is

fair play, after all.

At the heart of my discontent is the fact that I have no idea what really goes on inside mycomputer. Is there a furious, non-stop sequence of electrical impulses racing along a million microscopic pathways? Or could it be (conspiracy theory time) that the inside is actually a hollow shell and that my every keystroke sends a spark through miles of cable to Bill Gates fortress of solitude and world domination?

I'll be honest. My computer and I don't have a particularly good relationship. I want it to be simple, fast and trouble free. Doesn't seem like much to ask. But it insists on being mysterious and unintelligible. Just this minute I hit some key by mistake and the page zoomed to 150% of its original size! I suspect the Intel Core microchip is having a good belly laugh at my expense.

But I digress. My original rant was about those constant software update prompts that live in a rabbit hole at the bottom of my screen. The Mad Hatter of software seems to

have taken up permanent residence there.

Speak of the devil. The Java update prompt is blinking again! I don't even know what Java is nor do I want to – unless its free coffee.

I am loath to admit it but this "Update me now! Update me now!" chorus is a rather apt metaphor for the high tech times we live in. The technology warlords have decreed that nothing is to stay the same for more than a day. Planned obsolescence is their sacred creed.

I'll keep on ignoring the update prompts the first few times they appear on principle alone. It's a small victory, I know. But I like to think of it as a form of passive resistance. So go away Java update. Today is not your day.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions

for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

Random Act of Metaphor: Going Off-Line When the Headlines Rewind

Hmmm, has my empathy reserve run almost dry or have I just become too good at tuning out bad news?

I went for a quick lunch at Tim Horton's today. Ducking out to Tim's, for a brief diversion from the hustle and bustle of a typical work day, is a tool I've added to my arsenal of modern life survival tactics.

I snagged the last table available and settled in with a sigh. As I was consciously putting aside the day's 'to do' list, I slipped a gear and found myself tuning into the ambient buzz around me. It was a constant babble of voices, mixing, mingling and tripping over each other, which melded together into an unintelligible din.

Not at all the relaxing break I had in mind. And yet, I've been there at several times before without being bothered by it. It's quite fascinating the way we can calibrate our brain to tune in or tune out what is happening around us.

It's a useful, and sometimes mission critical, survival skill we often have occasion to call upon in our over stimulated world. But it's also easy to abuse.

I've allowed myself not to think too much about the earthquake in Turkey this week. Or the long road back for the Japanese after the devastating earthquake and tsunami there. Or the drought in Africa. My empathy reserves, it seems, are in need of replenishing.

The selective consciousness we practice, often without intending to, is today's random act of metaphor – reminding us that we sometimes need to consciously tune back in even when we would prefer not to. Putting our empathy off-line is a bad habit to get into.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to "Michael's Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm" at its' internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the "Subscribe to this Blog: How To" instructions page in the right sidebar. If you're reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

Howard Beale, Corporate Greed and January 4th

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." ~ Howard Beale, Anchor, UBS Evening News (1976 satirical film Network)

Hmmm, should we surprised at the anti corporate greed movement that has erupted in recent weeks? Or should we only be surprised that it hasn't happened long before now?

If you've been ignoring the news (which admittedly I do occasionally) and haven't heard about this development, a quick backgrounder is on order.

It originated two weeks ago as "Occupy Wall Street" with protestors camping out in a park near New York's financial district. The movement quickly spread across the US (with similar protests in Washington, Boston, Chicago, LA and Miami), migrated north of the border to Toronto and across the ocean to Asia and Europe.

The stated demands of the movement vary a bit from region to region. But it boils down to a demand to end the unequal distribution of wealth in the world and reform of the economic and political systems that seem designed to keep things that way.

I'm all for the movement. It is a sad fact that something like 40% of the world's wealth is owned by 1% of the population while the bottom half of the population makes do with barely 1%.

I did a little Google searching and came across an October 2010 article that really put things in perspective. The author translated some statistics, from a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives survey, into terms we can wrap out heads around:

Canadian will work full-time throughout the year to earn the national average of $42,305. The top 100 CEOs pocket that amount by 1:01 pm on January 4 – the first working day of the year.

You have to go down to #19 on the top Canadian CEO salaries list to get to one who earns less than $10 million per year. Care to guess what the CEO who occupies the #100 spot pulls down? He's raking in $3.2 million.

There will be those who argue that these executives are steering the ship of multi-national corporations that earn billions and billions of dollars in revenue. From the corporation's perspective, the ROI on the balance sheet looks good.

But isn't that what the anti corporate greed movement is all about? Calling to task large corporations – and the economic and political infrastructures which support them – that exist solely to earn massive amounts of money by whatever means possible. They are perpetual money-making machines programmed to extract as much money as possible from their customers while paying out as little as humanly possible in the process.

I won't pretend to understand the complex economic principles that are at play here. They're far behind my comprehension. And honestly, I really don't want to know.

But I do think we're long overdue for the Howard Beale metaphor to take hold. Yes, I know that character in Network had gone off the deep end. And I know that the move is about how the network ruthlessly exploited him. But maybe, just maybe, his catch phrase can still be our cry out for justice.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of "Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel" – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael's website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

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