Mary Soderstrom's Blog, page 112

Saturday Photo: A Pile of Wood

Lee, after more than a year of post-fire tribulations, is back in business as a furniture maker.  He had to spend 8 months away from his work shop while the house was repaired, and the following months were busy with redoing what had been done poorly.

He still has a number of mainteance projects underway, but he has been able lately to turn his attention a bit toward his great love: fine furniture.  He finished up benches that had been in the works when the fire happened, and now has gone on to planning a chest of drawers/changing table for Lukas and Sophie's baby, due in early September.

He made one in yellow birch for Jeanne, which has been most useful and is also extremely lovely.  Sophie and Lukas chose cherry wood, and that is what you see in the photo, taken last March when it was sitting the basement, acclimatizing.  Now, after a couple of weeks of planing, he's got the sides ready level and ready to glue up.  Progress is being made, thanks goodness!

Cicadas Are Back, Summer Is Really Here

I heard the first cicadas on Sunday--just one,  tentative buzz.  But by now the buzzing begins in the early morning and continues through the heat of the day.

One of the sounds of summer...

Cicadas Are Backl, Summer Is Really Here

I heard the first cicadas on Sunday--just one,  tentative buzz.  But by now the buzzing begins in the early morning and continues through the heat of the day.

One of the sounds of summer...

Okay, So I Succumbed to the Social Media Business

Goodreads finally caught up with me, and so I've joined.  One of the things they have is book giveaways, so here's one for my novel about people who make mistakes and then have to live with them.  The background is the beach, specifically Ocean Beach in San Diego, which is where I spent a lot of my time growing up. 

But don't take my word for it: here's what Jacqueline Turner of The Georgia Straight said: "This is a thoughtful book, one with a mysterious plot and a dramatic twist. Perfect reading for any beach."

If you'd like to join the giveaway, here's the link.  Or you can buy the Kindle version directly from  Amazon.com.

Quebec Going to the Polls in Early September, It Looks Like

The rumor mills are buzzing with the news that Jean Charest's Liberals are going to call an election for Sept. 4 or Sept. 10.  Which makes it quite apparent that he is planning to make student protests of tuition fee hikes a major element in the campaign.

The draconian Law 78, passed to cool things off in May, put off the continuation of the winter term in 14 cegeps and several university departments until the middle of August.  Today one of the student groups has begun a tour of the province (with a sortie into Ontario) to rally the troops.

This sets things up for some pretty hot August days when students are supposed to be back in school (according to the govenrment) but student groups are in the streets, continuing unfinished business from the Printemps érable.

This is in line with what I've been expecting all along: why else let a rather simple conflict fster and grow unless you want to make political hay from it?  Charest doesn't want social peace, he wants social subjugation.

The Death of Wisdom Comes When You Refuse to Look for the Truth: More Harper

Yesterday Canadian scientists protested the cuts to scientific research included in the recently passed omnibus budget.  Facebook was full of "shares" of this photo and others similar showing scientists and their colleagues "burying" research and truth. 

Their protest got some good press, but that didn't stop the news this morning that the federal government will be financing research into the health effects of windmills as electrical power generators.  The anti-wind power  advocates are delighted, and so, I imagine, are all the fossil fuel folk.   Studies into the  health effects of oil sands and other fossil fuel exploitation projects haven't got the same kind of support lately, to say the least.

And, as the scientists said yesterday, if you don't study something you don't have the facts to make decisions...

The Draft Again? The New York Times Suggests It Might Be a Good Thing

In an op ed piece in The New York Times today, Thomas E. Ricks says: Let's Draft Our Kids.  He writes;

"In late June, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, called for reinstating the draft. “I think if a nation goes to war, every town, every city needs to be at risk,” he said at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “You make that decision and everybody has skin in the game.”

"This was the first time in recent years that a high-profile officer has broken ranks to argue that the all-volunteer force is not necessarily good for the country or the military. Unlike Europeans, Americans still seem determined to maintain a serious military force, so we need to think about how to pay for it and staff it by creating a draft that is better and more equitable than the Vietnam-era conscription system."

Very interesting proposition, particularly since the major reason the US quit the draft system was because Main Street was affected by it, prompting massive protests over the War in Vietnam.  I thought that argument was over, particularly since so much of the jobs formerly done by grunts are now done by contract workers with the profits spread around quite cozily. 

But maybe it will be open again, which might be a very good idea.  As Ricks ends his essay: maybe "having a draft might, as General McChrystal said, make Americans think more carefully before going to war. Imagine the savings — in blood, tears and national treasure — if we had thought twice about whether we really wanted to invade Iraq"

O Povo Formidável: The Portuguese Continue to Make Waves

Two very interesting things coming out of the Portuguese connection. The first is the Portuguese Sundays being held on Montreal's St. Lawrence Main for several Sunday this summer.  Music, dance, poetry: should like a lovely way to spend the end of a summer afternoon.  I didn't make yesteday's which was the first, but I certainly will try to get there in the future.

The second is not new, apparently.  According to YouTube it was first posted 8 or 10 months ago, when all financial eyes were turned toward Portugal and its debt.  The video--which would appear to have been aimed at an upscale, foreign audience--demonstrates the creativity and strength of character that I admire in the Portuguese and the Lusophone world in general.  They are formidável!

Saturday Photo: The Loveliest Flowers in the World

Just got back from delivering Jeanne and Elin home after a shower for Sophie and baby Thomas (not to mention Lukas.) 

It was delightful to see how Sophie's friends wanted to help out with a party and material aids.  Also nice to realize that a good portion of the gifts were recyled or re-purposed. Foir example, one was a booster chair that had been passed on to a young woman without kids, who thought Sophie might like it.  Since Thomas is not due before early September, several months will elapse before he's ready to use anything like it, but one of Sophie's friends has a 20 month old girl who can use it right now.  So an exchange was made on the spot, and the Parent Underground continues.

Needless to say, Jeanne had great fun with all the attebtion.  Among the guests were two very small babies (two weeks and three months) whose mothers allowed Jeanne to kiss.  Grandmaman Andrée and Grandpapa Marc (Sophie's parents) were also patiently indulgent with their future grandson's cousin.

Then I took them home to be greeted by the gernaiums that Elin and Emmanuel's landlords display so warmly on the front steps.  They are Italian, and I grew up in California, and the love of these brilliant flowers from South Africa unites us.

Ying Jia:" Success" of a Chinese Couple As Owners of a Depanneur

Great  reportage on the life of a corner store owner in Quebec, done by the National Film Board and Le Devoir.   Check it out: part in English, mostly in French, but its a story about the immigrant experience tht goes beyond language.