New Books!

Preparing for a lengthy dl session while in Kingston, I visited a few local bookstores and replenished my dwindling supply of dock-reading.

New Arrivals:

Cliff Schecter, "The Real McCain" and
William Shatner, "Up to Now"

A bit of light reading to be sure. Schecter's book will not change my already low opinion of McSame, but it is always fun to read a good polemical screed against such a failed human. The Shatner book, well, aside from breaking ground as the space-Lothario Kirk, Shatner deserves a read if only for having the brass cahones to give a bizarre spoken word version of Elton John's classic drug odyssey, "Rocket Man." I am not generally prone to celebrity bios, but this one just looked like some late August fun!

Incidentally, I have just figured out the spell check function on Blogger - so I hope to limit many of my previously unchecked errors. I assumed it was on by default, and being accustomed to let Word check my work, I inadvertently let many embarrassing errors slip by!

Waiting, and Waiting........Still Waiting...

I finally made it into town to take advantage of a great local cafe called The Sleepless Goat. Aside from having great tea and wonderful, healthy, organic foods, they also have free high-speed internet.

I have been plagued at the cottage by endless MS downloads that hog the connection and take days if not weeks to download. As well, I wanted to get some new podcasts, music, and games for my iPod Touch. When iTunes started it informed me of a new software update and I decided to dl and install. However, with the MS update going at the same time, I have ended up sitting here for hours trying to dl everything before I go back to the lake and my usual dial-up. (high-speed is prohibitivley exspensive on the island.) Incidently, this is the same cafe I used to spend my days in while working on my MA, and consequently, I have discovered that the anxieties associated with that era have returned. I feel like I am under a deadline that in fact, does not exist. But this is really a minor concern, and is a situation exaserbated by too much cafeine.

After these two main downloads, I have to dl and install MS Framework 3.5 in order to get Paint.NET to function so that I can better edit pics for this blog and other applications. I was accustomed to using irfanview for this task on my desktop, but for whatever reason, the version I have will not allow me to save any of the changes I have made to my images. I have tried an unistall followed by a clean install, but to no avail. If anyone has any thoughts, I would greatly appreciate some help!

Anyway - back to watching the little green bar move very, very, slowly!

It was a Dark and Stormy Night...

The winners of one of my favourite contests have just been announced. The results of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest are in, and its a good crop this year. I liked the 1st runner up best, as it sums up how I feel about bad fantasy writing. (I do love good fantasy - eg, Tolkein, Robert Jordan -well the first 7 books anyway, but that's another conversation.) The premise is that each contestant has to create the worst opening sentence for a non-existent novel. Its good fun!

More here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080814.wbulwer0814/BNStory/Entertainment/home

Slow day today - Thanks Micro$oft!

I am trying to use the web here at my secret island location, but I am on dial-up. To make things worse, Micro$oft is forcing a new update on me (not SP3 - got that one already) and it is killing my ability to surf and post. I will have to take my laptop into town and find somewhere to download this new critical update more efficiently. That may not be possible until Saturday.

The Real Value of Prayer

I realize this has been posted all over the place, but I never get tired of it. Besides, I thought it went well with my previous blog post about FoF and Dobson.

James Dobson - Evil Scumbag

For the most part, I don't have a problem with people who practice their religion privately and don't try and cram it down my throat. I may not agree with their worldview or their easy acceptance of what seems to me a tragically ridiculous premise, but that's o.k. I neither need nor want everyone to agree with me.

My problem lies with those who insist they know the mind of god and are determined to make me live in their 12th century view of the world. No one is better at this self righteous nonsense than James Dobson and his crazy cult of loony-toon christian fundamentalists in Focus on the Family. (Incidentally, I have to get one of those bumper stickers that reads "Focus on your own damn family!") And, I suppose, a car on which to put said sticker.

Just posted on http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/13/dobsons-focus-on-the-family-humiliated-by-pray-for-rain-video/ is the latest in Dobson sponsored hatefulness.

For a really good read on these Dominionist christians, check out Chris Hedges's book, American Facists. It is well worth the read, and truly terrifying. http://www.amazon.com/American-Fascists-Christian-Right-America/dp/0743284437. I understand Hedges has writen a new book with an annoying anti-atheist sounding title, but I have not had a chance to read it thus far. Anyone have any thoughts about this book and any others on this topic?

Rainy Day on the Lake...

Usually I am up and on the water by now, but given the rain and warnings of thunderstorms, it looks like I will be spending the day indoors, reading, surfing and hanging with my cat. So, here is a pic of what it should be like today.

A few random thoughts: I gave up coffee three weeks ago. I really miss it. I still find myself reaching for a non-existent cup, and am disappointed to find it replaced with green tea. Don't get me wrong, I love green tea, but it is a pale substitute for black gold. Still, I am slowly getting used to it and I find myself feeling better for having switched. Fear not, I have not become an anti-coffee evangelist. Sadly, coffee upsets my stomach and is now more likely to make me jittery than it used to do.

Second random thought: Thanks to Jaakko for inviting me to post my blog on the Atheist Blogger facebook page. I created the blog following his invite and I am really enjoying getting back to writing every day. I have been enjoying other blogs from that page and I hope that some of the other members will read my humble page. I have added many of the members of Atheist Bloggers as friends; I hope none of you mind.

A thuderstorm has just started crashing around me, so I am logging off for now.

The Dazzeling Campaign of Senator John McSame

It seems that McSame's recent comments regarding the celebrity status of Obama are more telling than I had first thought. Clearly, McSame has no interest in pursuing a dynamic, energetic campaign...or perhaps such tactics would arouse his base from nap time:

Image taken from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/12/121117/668/777/566719
More on this rousing bunch at http://www.americablog.com/2008/08/meh-cain.html#disqus_thread

As noted by John Aravosis, the creator of AMERICAblog.com, there is so much to see in this picture, the closer one looks. What can you find? I'll start off by pointing out the guy with the Capote hat and the walker in the third row. Have fun!

Books I am reading

I can't stop reading. As a Master's student and then a PhD student, I have developed a disturbing capacity for reading. I am always looking for suggestions in any and all genres. Here is what I am reading right now:

Bernard Lewis, What went wrong: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East
Dean Koontz, The Good Guy
Daniel J. Levitin, This is Your Brain on Music

As I no longer have cable television (best choice I've made in years!) I tend to have several books on the go at any given time. I compare it to watching tv; when I have read enough of one book, I pick up a different one.

Beware Friends Bearing Dinner, Part II

Early the following morning, I received a message from Harold asking me to stop by. I had been out on the lake rowing and had missed his call. Grabbing a pen and paper I readied myself to take down his return number. The number he left however, was mine. A quick glance around the cottage assured me that he was not lurking in the shadows. A second message from Harold was also waiting. Realizing his mistake, he had called again to leave the correct digits. Again, he failed, leaving a New York cell number with an Ontario area code. Undaunted, I got in my boat and headed down the lake. In my head I had visions of me heroically carrying a stricken Harold down the path to the boat and driving him to medical help. Or, perhaps something less dramatic. I could imagine him needing help chopping wood for his fire. I happen to enjoy splitting wood - it gives me a chance to clear my mind and relieve any pent up frustrations or lingering anxieties.

When I arrived Harold was asleep and stretching and yawning came to the door. Any thoughts of a daring emergency rescue were laid aside. He asked me in and given that the internal temperature of the cottage was somewhere around 90F it was no wonder he and the missus were asleep. It was their custom, he informed me, to crank up the heat and take a morning nap. To each his own, I suppose.

Putting on his shoes he bade me follow out the rear doors to his patio. "Mark," he said, "let me outline what I need from you." I was immediately suspicious. He took me to the edge of the patio and we peered over the edge. It is a good 15 foot drop to the steep incline of the forest floor, which trails off in a mass of underbrush and poison ivy into the water some 50 feet beyond. "What I want you to do, Mark, is get down their and take out anything that has green leaves." This, I thought, was not the sort of help I had in mind when I offered my services. There is nothing heroic to be found in chopping down saplings amongst an angry array of skin-irritating, rash making, toxic plants. I sighed and thought, oh well, I can do this in a couple of hours. Maybe it wont be so bad.

As it turns out, the patio has three sides, and he wants the entire perimeter cleared. Growing increasingly skeptical about doing such a job, I said, ok and made for the door. Harold was undaunted by my maneuver. "Oh," he said, "There is more." We walked around his cottage and down a lonely path. It seems the dead branches of a thousand trees have spoiled his rare walks down the path and he told me that all offending dead wood had to be removed. I asked him where on earth all this material was supposed to go. "Well, I suggest you get a rope and lay it on the ground. You can collect the wood and branches and place them on the rope. When you have a good sized stack you can tie it in a bundle and drag it to the point. Now, the only point I can think of on this island is about a kilometer away. As well, the sheer amount of debris would have required 20 or more such trips. At first, I was annoyed at the volume of what he was telling me needed to be done. However, at this point the entire scene had entered the realm of the bizarre.

When I first realized I was not going to be saving any lives, I began to anticpate a small job. Harold quickly disabused me of this notion and began to outline the project in terms of "priority sections" begining with "A." By the time we reached priority "G" I told him I didn't think we needed to go any further as it was extremely unlikey I would get much beyond "A." Ignoring me, he continued to itemize which branches (all dead and lying on the ground!) were to be removed, and which, due to their asthetic qualities, were to be left unmolested. (Again, dead and lying on the ground!) I remain unclear by what criteria he made his Caesarian judgement. For the life of me, they all looked remarkably similar. At any rate, after an hour and a half trapsing around his island the impossible journey mercifully came to an end.

Now came the hard part for Harold. When during the previous night's meeting I had agreed to a far more limited kind of help - like pulling them from a raging fire, I had not even thought of money. Harold, to be delicate, likes to keep as much of his money as possible; fair enough, it was hard earned and he is retired. But, as I said in my opening post, I am 37, not 18 and in need of a summer job. I am financially stable. And, it should be noted that it is currently 2008 and not FDR's second term. Frankly, I think FDR would have blushed at offering unemployed Americans "Harold" wages even at the peak of the depression. Harold, it seems, had confused me with a starving Oakie on his way to Californee to pick apples on a company farm. Things ain't that bad for me just yet. But the issue isn't the 1890s wages he offered, or the cap he placed on total potential earnings, (was I to work for free after $100 and 7 days of hard labour?) The real issue is that he would try and take advantage of me in such a shameless manner. To make things worse, Harold began to backtrack on the concept of a cash payment. He took me to the underside of his cottage and showed me a 35' coil of 3 year old pvc tubing, which he asserted was worth a couple hundred dollars. When I stared at him blankly, he proceed to try and trade an old propeller for a long dead outboard engine for my labour. Apparently, he tried to trade that same propeller to my father some 20 years earlier.

I left feeling dumbfounded and amazed that someone would so shamelessly take advantage of my good nature and willingness to help. Today I called my father and laughing, told him the story. Lest you think I am mocking an elderly man who has lost his mind, know that according to my father, Harold has been at this routine for 30 years. In fact, he is something of a legend inthe area. My dilema is to figure a way out of this mess. Well, writing this has helped me laugh it off. Oh well...

Beware Friends Bearing Dinner

I have been alone for several days on the island, and as I am a rather sociable entity, I sometimes find this isolation a little difficult to bear. So when the elderly parents of a childhood playmate from upstate New York, who have a cottage a mile or two down the lake from me called with an invitation to dinner I was pleased to accept their invitation.

Around 5pm yesterday, I jumped into my little runabout and sped off to enjoy catching up with them and take in a meal that was cooked by someone else for a change. We had a lovely afternoon feasting on shrimp and a platter of vegetables with a mysterious brown dip. Delicious, but hitherto unknown to me. Noni excused herself to tend to something in the oven and Harold asked me to come to the fire-pit and help him with the chicken. We wondered over to a small lean-to and had just begun to cook when Harold, suddenly appearing even older than his 75 years, leaned towards me and putting his hand on his shoulder said, "Mark, as Noni and I get older, its important for us to know that we have friends we can count on." I have known for years that their health was in decline and was expecting Harold to ask if they could call on me in times of need. I was right. And I happily assented, offering my unequivocal support and aid, should anything come to pass. It felt nice that someone would consider me to take on this important role. Harold thanked me, and it seemed as though a weight was lifted from his shoulders, which now seemed a little less stooped, his back a little straighter.

We carried our well barbecued chicken indoors to the screened porch and sat to enjoy fresh corn, salad and potatoes. Just before digging in they clasped hands and thanked god for the bounty he provided. Now, when people say grace before a meal they invariably thank some deity but never seem to mention the farmer who grew the food, nor the almost invariably underpaid and unappreciated migrant worker who picked the crops, nor even the corporation that provided the grocery store in which they purchased the meal. However, being a polite guest I went along with the farce, but did not chip in an "amen" at the end, opting instead for a polite smile. At that point, as if sensing the moment was not yet awkward enough for me, Noni chirped, "and Thank you heavenly mother and father for bringing Mark to our table." (No mention of Exxon for providing the necessary petrol, or me for driving the boat, but I digress...) Having been suitably mortified, I tucked into this divinely delivered meal. Jesus, it seems, left the corn in the microwave a bit too long I thought, but since grace was done, I had no appropriate way to bring it up consequently let it be.

The conversation was light and lively. We discussed our families, shared memories, and railed against the horrors of eight years of W in Washington. After a while, the light began to fail, and having no lights on my boat, I thanked them for the wonderful meal (again, I let the corn issue fall to the side, after all, the potatoes were sublime) and bade them farewell. Each taking hold of an arm, they told me how dear I was to them, and what a blessing it was to have me. Alarm bells were ringing like the air raid sirens during the London Blitz. After all, aside from a brief encounter a few weeks earlier, it had been perhaps 15 years since we had seen or spoken with each other. But then they let go - it seems the Jesus-Luftwaffe had been called back to base in the nick of time. I headed to the dock and sped away, left largely with positive feelings for the evening. After all, they had not tried to convert me, and had not even brought my religious beliefs up for discussion and they had proved good company and provided a tasty meal. When I got home I called my parents and a friend and told them about the lovely evening I had shared with two kind, elderly people. I went to sleep patting myself on the back, proud that I was able to brighten the lives of two lonely seniors. "I" I said to myself, "am a good person!"

Little did I know, they had smelled blood in the water...

Orange Cat Speaks

Hello and welcome to my blog.

First, I should tell you something about myself. I am a 37 year old Canadian male, currently living on an island near Kingston, Ontario.

How did I come to live on an island, you many ask?

Perhaps a little more detail regarding my personal history is in order.

I grew up in Toronto, Ontario and still think of that city as home. After high school (notice I am skipping a few years for brevity's sake) I went out east and majored in drinking and carousing. While I excelled at these ventures, the University of King's College at Dalhousie University refused to recognize my achievements, and while I passed (barely) my year, I decided the academic life was not for me. So I took a long train ride from Halifax to Toronto (google map it!) with a $5 bill and not much else in my pockets.

Upon returning to the city I worked as a daycare assistant for almost 3 years; a job I loved and had they payed a living wage, I might still be there. However, I was offered the opportunity to work in Toronto's burgeoning film industry and leaped at the opportunity. I was thrilled! At last a place to put my skills as an apprentice alcoholic to use! I was employed as a set dresser for almost ten years before I finally decided I had had enough of that life. I met many brilliant and wonderful people in those years, many of whom remain close friends. The main problems I encountered with the industry were long hours, relentless partying, and no significant work for the winter months. In short, it was a brilliant part-time job, but outside of Hollywood, not a particularly realistic way for me to make a long term living. For some, it was perfect. But, being somewhat disposed to being, well, irresponsible, I had to move on.

In 2001 I was working on one of the worst TV shows ever made: Doc. With Billy Ray Cyrus. With the mullet.

I had reached rock bottom personally and professionally.

I left my job and my friends, said goodbye to Toronto and eventually headed east and a little north to the small city of Peterborough, Ontario. There I enrolled at Trent University, a small liberal arts university and re-started my academic career after a ten year hiatus.

My life changed.

I found in this academic community a place not only where I fit in, but a place that challenged me both personally and academically. I loved it and thrived in this new environment. I chewed through books of history, philosophy (many of which I still don't fully understand!), english literature and political theory. I was in my element. I pushed myself hard and finished my 4 year BA in 2.5 years.

After graduation I went to Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario and did a Master's degree in history, and my focus was on American (US) religious history. I chose this line of inquirey not because I was religous (more on that to come) but precisely the opposite. I have never been a believer in god or the supernatural. I chose my area of study because I was trying to understand why people held these beliefs, and why the United States in particular has held such strong religious views while its neighbor to the north went resoundingly in the other direction. I have always been curious as to why religion plays such a vital and integral role in American public life.

From Queen's I moved back to Toronto and began my doctoral work at York University, studying, you guessed it, US history. After two years I have become tired and burned out. Personal difficulties, illness, and family matters have made my studies increasingly difficult, and for that reason I am on a leave of absence this year. I will be returning to my PhD full time in September 2009, much refreshed and ready to kick some academic ass.

That is the short explanation as to why I am living on an island (for the duration of the summer!)

Because I am a driven, obsessive type, I cannot totally divorce myself from my academic pursuits. So this is where my blog comes into play. Part of what I hope to accomplish in this blog, but I will in no way restrict myself to this topic, is to futher my understanding of American religous culture. This, dear reader, is where your feedback and comments will be greatly encouraged and appreciated, no matter your country of residence, or religous beliefs (or lack thereof). I firmly believe that discussion, argument, and conversations in even the broadest terms makes all of us a little bit richer for having engaged in the process.

But thats not all. I need to keep in the habit of writing in order to improve. I also want to use this blog as a forum for some of my other interests; in particular, politics (US, Canadian, and European - well, from just about anywhere really!) and literature, again, from anywhere in the world. I am a US political junkie (GO OBAMA!!!) and a voracious reader. I am always looking for book suggestions and I am always pleased to recommend books I have read.

I am an open book. No question is out of bounds, should you care to ask. I cannot gaurentee you will get an answer, after all, some things really are personal! But always feel free to ask.

I aim to post a few times a week, using text, links, and even photos from my time on the island. I hope you will enjoy reading my comments and that eventually enough people will read this to have some kind of ongoing discussion on religion, atheism, books, politcs, and just about anything else that comes up!

Thats all from Buck Island....for now.