tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917038523842836072024-03-08T12:22:41.769-05:00Poverty Without Compromise?Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-213496300183544012010-04-02T17:21:00.006-04:002010-05-02T20:40:21.994-04:00A Morning Meander<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">woke up restless this morning; another restless morning of a restless day of a restless week. not to allow the early morning light to slip by again, I headed “down the road” with a quickly packed bag of “gadgets” and came back with ...</span><br />
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</tbody></table>Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-75359529097684858532010-03-27T10:41:00.003-04:002010-05-02T20:41:20.983-04:00Strange Bed Fellows!<span xmlns=""></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">It's Saturday morning. I slept well and arose at 7:00 My morning plan was to lounge in bed and continue reading Shaw's, "Man and Superman." I decided to go down to my computer and check my lottery ticket first. Much to my amazement, I hadn't won! I couldn't believe it – I felt so lucky about that one!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">Oh, well! I thought I'd just check a few news headlines before going back to bed. I'm not an informed citizen of the planet and it's starting to gnaw away at my conscience. On CBC.ca I watched a video of Afghanistan's "New Year's" celebrations...</span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 36pt;"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/ID=1447311138</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">Here you get a quick glimpse of normal people defying chaos in a brief but joyous and exuberant celebration. I find it very sad; very poignant.</span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">{My caffeine level had become dangerously low at this time so I went to make a cup of coffee to bring to my desk and continue my digressions...}</span></div><span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">The Middle East crisis swirls around in my head. I can't fix on the issues, the geography and the history. It seems an incredible tangle to unravel, but I tried to acquire a measure of insight on </span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 36pt;"><a href="http://www.afghanconflictmonitor.org/conflict_profiles.html"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Simon Fraser University's Human Security Report Project</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and then on to <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=208&l=1">The International Crisis Group Web Page</a> There I read about <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?action=conflict_search&l=1&t=1&c_country=1">Afghanistan's Conflict history</a></span></div><a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">The International Crisis Group Web Page lays-out in clear, logical terms and sequence the history of the conflicts in Afghanistan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">It's now almost 2 hours since I got up to check my lottery tickets. I just made my 2<sup>nd</sup> coffee and a fruit salad.<em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: lime;">**NOTE**</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">We constantly use words and phrases learned <span style="text-decoration: underline;">contextually</span>. The word "pragmatic" for instance; I've backed-up and forwarded my browser but haven't found the page upon which it jumped out at me but before proceeding, I chose another digression to obtain its definition:</span><br />
<div style="background: #f8fcff; margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="color: #365f91; font-family: Times New Roman; text-decoration: underline;"><strong>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</strong></span></div><div style="background: #f8fcff; margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt;">The <strong>pragmatic maxim</strong>, also known as the <strong>maxim of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatism" title="Pragmatism"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">pragmatism</span></a></strong> or the <strong>maxim of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmaticism" title="Pragmaticism"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">pragmaticism</span></a></strong>, is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_(philosophy)" title="Maxim (philosophy)"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">maxim</span></a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic" title="Logic"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">logic</span></a> formulated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sanders_Peirce" title="Charles Sanders Peirce"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">Charles Sanders Peirce</span></a>. Serving as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(philosophy)" title="Norm (philosophy)"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">normative recommendation</span></a> or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulative_principle" title="Regulative principle"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">regulative principle</span></a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_science" title="Normative science"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">normative science</span></a> of logic, its function is to guide the conduct of thought toward the achievement of its purpose, advising on an optimal way of "attaining clearness of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprehension" title="Apprehension"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;">apprehension</span></a>". Here is its original 1878 statement in English<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatic_maxim"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><sup>[1]</sup></span></a> when it was not yet named:</span></div><div style="background: #f8fcff;"><br />
</div><div style="background: #f8fcff; margin-left: 108pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt;">It appears, then, that the rule for attaining the third grade of clearness of apprehension is as follows: Consider what effects, which might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object</span></div><div style="background: #f8fcff; margin-left: 36pt;"><strong>Pragmatism</strong> is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition" title="Proposition">proposition</a> is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. Pragmatism, in William James' eyes, was that the truth of an idea needed to be tested to prove its validity. Pragmatism began in the late nineteenth century with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sanders_Peirce" title="Charles Sanders Peirce">Charles Sanders Peirce</a> and his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pragmatic_maxim" title="Pragmatic maxim">pragmatic maxim</a>. </div><div style="background: #f8fcff; margin-left: 36pt;">Contemporary pragmatism is divided into a strict analytic tradition, a more relativistic strand (in the wake of Rorty), and "neo-classical" pragmatism (such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Haack" title="Susan Haack">Susan Haack</a>) that adheres to the work of Peirce, James, and Dewey</div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><em><span style="background-color: yellow;">Then, I wondered "what is the opposite of pragmatism?" Googling that thought lead me to an answer of, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">"idealism</span>" which, in turn, led me to read a web article:</span></em></strong></span><br />
<a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pragmatists--Team-Players--by-Jerry-Lobdill-080621-664.html"></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">Although he does bring the concept of pragmatism into philosophical relief by presenting an opposing state of idealism<strong>, I found one Lodbill's most compelling statements was about the training our children</strong> receive in team sports to become the future pragmatists of their corporate, political society:</span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><em>"Children in our society are conditioned early to fit in through participation in team sports. The game is a benign activity in which the score has no importance other than the conveyance of bragging rights and the pleasures of posturing and celebration. But no one gets hurt, and there is no need for concern about the losing team. They will play again another day, and all teams have their successes and failures to deal with. Losses teach "good sportsmanship"-, another term for complacent acceptance of loss of goals regardless of any consideration of the justice of the score. This childhood learning leads to adult pragmatism</em>."</span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">Although he expounds with apparent logic, I can't help wondering if Lodbill's assessment springs from failed childhood experiences with team sports and "fitting in." Team sports are not for everyone. The physical world is dominated by extroverts. There are other planes upon which to exist that are equally rewarding though not, necessarily as commanding of attention and adulation as those of the sports hero. Play and sports activities provide forums for healthy conflict. Conflict produces change. Change is the way of life and progress. Are children – boys especially – not programmed to engage in contests of physical prowess? Most of our institutions effectively beat nature out of us by the time we reach our teens. I think Lodbill is decidedly wrong to attack team sports and beat out from us one of the last vestiges of our human nature.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 12pt;">Lodbill also Mentions "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons">The Tragedy of the Commons</a>" therefore; another digression led me to find out what was behind that phrase. It is a concept that can be employed to advantage in arguments of crisis and conflict resolution; however, fraught with loopholes it doesn't stand up well to logical, factual scrutiny so I dismissed it.</span><br />
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<div style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Bell MT; font-size: 14pt;"><strong><em>It is now just over 3 hours since I woke up with the intention of grabbing the play I'd left beside my bed the night before. As usual, I've indulged myself in my digressions, but this time I decided; additionally, to document those digressions. It has been an amusing exercise! Now, I'm going back to bed to languish for an hour with Shaw!</em></strong></span></div><br />
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<h1><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">Pragmatists, Team Players, Idealists, and Democracy by Jerry Lodbill</span></h1>Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-53651449585459643162010-03-17T00:06:00.006-04:002010-05-02T20:41:40.257-04:00With Peanut Butter – A “White” or a “Red?”<span xmlns=""></span><br />
I'm too selfish with my time this week to cook for myself. I would make meals if Kyle were home but he won't be home for 4 more days. I ate horribly tonight; crackers, peanut butter, cheese, kiwis and something else I'm sure but I can't even remember now. On this crazy smorgasbord I dined with red wine by candlelight while I watched "A Farewell to Arms;" a wonderful film that wrung a few tears from me; or maybe I was just crying over my sad repast. <br />
The film's 1920's hair and makeup styles are so old-time "vogue." They look artificial to me. That used to make it hard for me to relate to the female characters of that era; however a strong story line, artful direction and sensitive character portrayal transcend the dated style focus. The pin curl waves, pencil thin eyebrows and smouldering dark eyes were, instead, a reiteration of; and not detraction from the historical, romantic theme. I found myself susceptible to the romance of the story which might have appeared maudlin and melodramatic in the hands of less skilled artists – but such is Hemingway.<br />
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A somewhat lonely but nice evening; I cleaned up my front yard before "dinner." I raked old leaves, put away toys and swept the driveway. I filled the sink to wash dishes that are still waiting for me. After my movie I settled down at my computer to sample music on itunes. New artists get promoted and enjoy wide exposure by way of a clever marketing tool. From a popular service of itunes called "I like" the listener selects favourite popular musicians, then the application returns a selection of similar free music from generous but ambitious new musicians, anxious to gain a following. It's a brilliant way to load an MP3 player with fine new and free music and to give talented new musicians a shot at going viral.<br />
I added at least a couple dozen tracks to my MP3 player and further promoted my newly-found favourites on my Facebook wall. I hope some of my friends listen to these tracks. I would like to think of myself as a "patron of the arts!"<br />
There are only 23 minutes left to a tomorrow I am trying desperately to postpone! At 9:30 tomorrow morning I face my ex in court; the final resort to secure his signature on a passport application for our 11 year old (just today – March the 16<sup>th</sup>) son, Kyle. A hundred "reasons" cannot mask the fact that his refusal is only about making my life difficult. This stupidity has consumed a staggering amount of resources – hours of time – mine, his, and the courts and reams of paperwork (I shudder to think of how many trees have been sacrificed to his spiteful cause!) I will go through the required motions (no pun intended) and obtain a final disposition; hopefully settling this matter once and for all.<br />
I would prefer to follow up a day like that with an evening bath, a glass of wine and some quiet entertainment but tomorrow evening I compete in a public speaking contest. No passive motion movement there however! I will have to rev-up and be on my game. It shouldn't really be difficult though, because acute anxiety disorder has spurred me into determined rehearsal for the past month. I'm actually hopeful of advancing to the next tier of competition.<br />
…and on that note – goodnight!<br />
<if cond="data:post.url"></if>Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-26378754095425518352010-03-04T13:59:00.003-05:002010-12-06T14:54:50.380-05:00Contest Speech…<span xmlns=""></span><br />
On Wednesday, March 10<sup>th</sup>, I deliver the following speech in the second level of the <a href="http://www.toastmasters.org/">Toastmaster's International</a> speech contest, having won my own club contest on February 22<sup>nd</sup>. Wish me luck!!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Salvation Through Tragedy</strong></span></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What is the pinnacle of every new toastmaster's goal? The achievement of their Competent Communicator designation. On September 21<sup>st</sup> of last year I was poised for that achievement. I was as nervous as a bride but I was ready – or at least I thought I was! Madame Contest Chair and most honoured judges – nothing could have prepared me for the tragedy that would shortly see my world fall apart. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">With minutes to go before the meeting I turned off my cell phone and any stray thoughts of children and work, blissfully ignorant of events that had just unfolded. Then, beckoned by our president, I found myself face to face with a police officer. In a moment macabre and surreal I listened to him deliver the dreaded speech of every mother's nightmare, "your son, Kyle, has been in a car accident!" By this time, my sister, Janis, was at my side. She clutched my arm and ordered, "Kyle is ok! You have to stay calm so you can see him!" "Stay Calm".... "See Kyle" - inward hysteria, outward calm – a walking contradiction!</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In his novel, Victory, Joseph Conrad declares "nothing is more painful than the shock of sharp contradictions that lacerate our intelligence and our feelings." That evening held a life time's worth of painful contradictions. At the hospital, I scooped my 10 year old Kyle, into my arms and held on tightly as he sobbed into my ear his affirmation of life, "I love you mom!" I looked over his shoulder at his friend, Mark among whose family Kyle had stayed that evening. Mark was in shock; unable to come to terms with the accident he and Kyle had survived but which had claimed the life of their driver, Paul Tavares, the wonderful man who would have become Mark's step-father; then, the most striking image of all, my friend, Mandy – Mark's mother, standing against the wall, eyes fixed and wide. In one horrific moment I perceived the insane battle being waged for dominance over her senses – soaring joy that her only son was alive and abject grief that the love of her life was no more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then, proving that even young minds need to tame chaos with logic, Kyle begged me through his tears; "why did this happen to me?" I tried to collect my thoughts before answering.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My beliefs – vaguely defined and lightly considered came crashing down around me as I reeled in the face of disaster. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Disaster brought about by a cataclysmic confluence of cosmic fate and shameful, human perfidy. Paul's car had been hit by a drunk driver coming home from celebrating the return that very day of his driver's license from a prior drunk driving charge.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Faced with a world he now realized could turn nightmarish in a second; Kyle felt terrified. He needed to have restored some measure of hope and empowerment. So I chose my words carefully. I told him the story of how special he was; how during my pregnancy with him the MS symptoms that had plagued me for months magically disappeared. I told him how the nurse came to me immediately after he was born and said; "this baby is blessed" then showed me his umbilical cord! It was tied in a knot! I told him that he had a gift for caring and because of this experience he could help others by telling them about the importance of seatbelts and the evils of drinking and driving. My words did not work magic but they gave Kyle a positive framework of reference from which to reconstruct his shattered view of the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I couldn't sort out my own feelings until the day after Paul's funeral when alone, I found myself at the crash site. Signs of horror were everywhere - flattened grass, a broken fence, glass and debris. I sat down on a tree stump and released my pain in a torrent of tears. I mourned the loss of innocence in 2 young boys who were no longer immortal; boys who had acquired terrible knowledge that burdened their minds and invaded their dreams – knowledge of what it feels like to roll over and over in a car, what broken windshield glass looks like, what the last 2 unrepeatable words were that might escape from a man's mouth before he dies. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">But is this the end of the story? Do pain and suffering have the final word? NO! They do not!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Socrates, the father of western philosophy, told us that "the unexamined life is not worth living." In the aftermath of this tragedy I examined my life and learned some valuable lessons. </span><br />
<ul style="margin-left: 54pt;"><li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I learned that life is too precious to lead half-awake. I do not want to squander my time here on earth. I want to live consciously, emphatically and deliberately. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I learned that life can change or expire in an instant and that life and love should never be taken for granted. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I learned that a mother's love cannot always protect her child but for its power of healing and softening the blow, there is no substitute. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lastly, I learned that when life gives us a test that challenges our faith we better know what our beliefs are because only that knowledge will see us through the darkness. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These lessons provide the cornerstone upon which to build a life of greater joy and deeper meaning. At the end of a week of painful contradictions, these lessons came as a welcomed blessing of hope and healing and, in a miraculous twist of fate, turned my TRAGEDY into my SALVATION. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">...Madame Contest Chair!</span>Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-83974507627496319592009-12-07T12:56:00.004-05:002010-05-02T20:42:25.712-04:00On Photography<span xmlns=""></span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/Sx_qURGRFWI/AAAAAAAAAIY/gga2mSjFEyc/s1600-h/camera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/Sx_qURGRFWI/AAAAAAAAAIY/gga2mSjFEyc/s320/camera.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mother loves her family. Almost more than that, she loves taking photographs of her family. As our self-appointed archivist, dear mom has dogged us relentlessly with her camera at family get-togethers small and large for the past 5 decades. It's reached the point where our pupils automatically constrict to pinpoints in mom's presence in wincing expectation of the barrage of flashes we receive at birthday dinners, graduations and anniversaries. It's one of the things about which we love to groan; in a loving way that is, every time we all get together. Her passion for capturing "Kodak moments" is often followed by disbelief at the result! Tragically, mom has a tendency to chop off heads with the reliability of the guillotine during the French Revolution. The law of large numbers prevails however; and due to the sheer volume of shots taken we have ample photographic documentation of our family's history.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mom is not alone in her passion. The consuming desire to capture the moment, preserve the memory and manipulate the resulting image can be traced back to 400 BC with a pinhole camera devised by Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti and further explored around 300 BC by Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Innovation was not rapid. The "Camera Obscura," credited largely to the Arab scientist al-Haitham, in approximately 1,000 AD, was the state-of-the-art, sole camera of little choice for many centuries. This invention gave way to image capture with photosensitive paper in the 1800s and a progressive march of triumphant technologies that have since spawned countless legions of maniacal, image-thirsty mothers in families the world over. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My own passion with photography has evolved from "old" SLR photography and black and white dark room developing in the 1970s to digital, still photography, videography and video editing. I have a part-time job and a very part-time home business. I have freed up time to explore my interests with a view to making certain that whatever remaining, sweet life I am blessed with is spent in the most creative and productive way possible! What a buzz it is to sit down and decide what work I choose to pursue and in what way I shall proceed! Technologies abound to put powerful creativity tools in the hands of the average "Jill." With a computer background, I have no problem unlocking the powers behind photo album and movie maker software. I've dabbled in photo restorations, starting with the Microsoft program "Paint." Loving this sort of detailed work, I downloaded the trial version of Adobe's Photoshop – the industry standard in photo manipulation and so much more! It puts into your eager hands hundreds of tools for obtaining every type of enhanced image imaginable. Alas, however, my trial period ended. </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unwilling to believe that free alternatives to Photoshop were not available; I put the query to my inexpendable, dependable oracle who never lets me down, - "GOOGLE". My virtual friend returned a most invaluable answer – </span><a href="http://www.gimp.org/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.gimp.org</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - the answer; "GIMP." GIMP stands for "Gnu Image Manipulation Program"; it was originally created as a university project by Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis in 1995 at the University of California, Berkeley and now, in the hands of the GIMP development team, undergoes regular maintenance and enhancements. GIMP employs a set of drawing and selection tools comparable to Photoshop; it has approximately 150 standard effects and filters including Gaussian blur and mosaic effect and has interchangeable terminology like "layers" (a concept I am still trying to master), channels and paths. I've had a lot of fun using this program. One thing that I especially enjoy is the vast quantity of video tutorials available on the internet. YouTube for instance, has hundreds of user-posted help for GIMP topics. Since discovering how much they can boost productivity and surfing enjoyment, I now work constantly using not one, but two monitors. I use one monitor for a work space and the other for my tutorial instruction (or entertainment).</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/Sx_ncxykA_I/AAAAAAAAAII/iXcG8DZ1HEc/s1600-h/DSCF2331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/Sx_ncxykA_I/AAAAAAAAAII/iXcG8DZ1HEc/s320/DSCF2331.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have also been turning, with ever-more seriousness, to videography and video editing. My "pro bono" family projects have launched me into a small home-business venture called "Time of Your Life Productions" – </span><a href="http://www.lifetimeprod.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.LifeTimeProd.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I upgraded my equipment from a DVD style camcorder to a hard disk camcorder this year. Originally excited about the new high definition technology I nevertheless opted for a standard definition camcorder – a JVC Everio, 60 GB. After doing extensive video editing on my lap-top computer I am happy to say that I made the right choice! Video editing places a VERY high demand on your computer's resources particularly on your graphics card. After a few months of editing on my 2 year old laptop computer my graphics card died which, with laptops, means a prohibitively priced "fix" so I invested in a new desktop system which has put me confidently back in business. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After working with Windows Movie Maker which comes bundled with all Windows operating systems, on my first 3 or 4 projects, I became familiar with the more advanced applications available and could no longer accept the limitations of entry-level editors. I now work with Pinnacle Studio Ultimate, finding new features to unlock with each new project. Some of my work can be viewed on my own YouTube channel – </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/juds2u"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.youtube.com/juds2u</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like many people, I love travel and wildlife photography. I stumbled recently upon a couple of blogs that feature very cool, very beautiful photos. Please visit them...</span><br />
<a href="http://anenglishgirlrambles.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An English Girl Rambles</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://nateburchell.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reductio ad Absurdum</span></a>Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491703852384283607.post-18749812181873836862009-11-29T13:34:00.005-05:002011-11-15T10:50:55.112-05:00The Price of Beauty<span xmlns=""></span><br />
As the year grows old, the sun shares but miserly portions of its light and heat and the sky turns grey; not an ominous, black-grey - the harbinger of impending celestial tumult that inspires a delightful terror - but the mournful, muddled grey of a neglected canvas left for too long in the unmerciful elements. Ever in tune with nature, my shrinking soul mourns the loss of life and colour.<br />
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If we listen to our bodies they will tell us what we need. When I'm weak in body I crave red meat but when I'm depleted in spirit I crave BEAUTY. To sate my spiritual appetite I can sample from a smorgasbord of art, literature, music or poetry - within my financial means that is - which, presently, is very mean indeed!<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/SxkdE1NgL1I/AAAAAAAAAHg/7Szntre_kDg/s1600-h/VictoryNovel%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" er="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s8HChcYaiII/SxkdE1NgL1I/AAAAAAAAAHg/7Szntre_kDg/s320/VictoryNovel%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a>Luckily, there is great beauty to be enjoyed for a song! Joseph Conrad's "Victory" that I borrowed from a friend's library and just finished a couple of weeks ago lifted at least 2 veils of mourning from my eyes. Public libraries are incredible sources of free entertainment; besides a book for every taste they also carry a wide array of magazines and periodicals, movies and music DVDs and all for free. I cannot understand how someone can be without a library card. <br />
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</div>I've had a specific craving for live music for the last little while and although I've always associated cultural events with Toronto - a city from which I elected a permanent exile when I abandoned both my comfortable, middle-class lifestyle and my narcissistic, abusive ex-husband - I've recently entertained the possibility that cultural opportunity may actually exist elsewhere. But precisely where is this "Elsewhere" located? I do not ponder such questions for long before I put them to the great web oracle otherwise known as "Google".<br />
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When I "googled", free music in Guelph" my quiet, discerning, digital friend recommended the following <a href="http://www.uoguelph.ca/sofam/">website</a>. Of course - how could I have been so dense? I live less than half an hour from the university city of Guelph, Ontario. To avail oneself of a university's free cultural and scholarly events; several of which are open to the general public, is like being granted access to your best friend's jewellery box and being further invited to select and take your long-coveted choice! The School of Fine Arts hosts a free noon hour concert series that I can neatly fit in to my busy day. <br />
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The next noon hour concert looked exciting. Selections from Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" were to be performed by musician, Ronald Hawkins (no - I do not mean the distinguished, iconic Canadian rock-a-billy, "Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins"). I mean – <a href="http://www.ronaldhawkins.com/">Ronald Hawkins</a> the pianist. Often, if not always, the skeptic; I could not believe my good fortune so I telephoned the contact person who confirmed that indeed, the concert was open to everyone. Upon that assurance I turned my attention to the concert program, J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, and resolved that for its full appreciation I would need to acquire in advance of the occasion some familiarity with the selection.<br />
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Rather, or most decidedly, out of my element now, I did not hesitate to appeal to my inexpendable, dependable Oracle who has yet to disappoint! He directed me to a most <a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~tas3/wtc.html">"awe-full" website</a>; a portal to a treasure-trove of jewellery boxes with gemstones, priceless and stunning, for the taking! With a mere click of the mouse I attained a level of critical mass that has jettisoned me into a delightful universe of new inquiry - welcome to the alien world of ADD! <br />
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The website contains music and analysis of the 48 pairs of Fugues and Preludes that constitute the masterful body of work known as "The Well-Tempered Clavier." I must say that the music sounds positively stunning on the speakers of my new computer system! The musical analysis, far from being cut and dry, is poetic, metaphorically-laden and endlessly thought-provoking. As prime example, read the analysis of <a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/wtc/ii16.html">Fugue No. 16 in G minor</a> in which the writer, Tim Smith, initially makes poetic reference to the teachings of Aristotle then quotes an adventurer's spiritually exuberant description of his epic walk to traverse the Grand Canyon in 1963 - it had "something to do with the colossal sameness of the Canyon...a sameness not of monotony but of endlessly repeated yet endlessly varied pattern." Mr. Smith then proceeds with the instructional statement, "How like the fugue! Just substitute fugue for canyon in the foregoing sentence and you've got it!" Combining sublime music with an exceptional read makes this an exceptionally sublime Internet resource!<br />
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The morning of the concert saw me working at my computer on a video project for my tiny, fledgling company, "Time of Your Life Productions." Before my work monitor, the time of my life had slipped away so quickly that, panicked, I realized I had only 1.25 minutes to get ready and be off to "MacKinnon House, room 107", the location of which I had only the vaguest of ideas. Luckily my ideas were correct. I arrived with 5 minutes to spare and situated myself; comfortable and assured after a surreptitious survey of the audience revealed that I did not stand out as unusual or out of place among the eclectic assortment of attendees. <br />
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The theatre was soothing, quiet and awash in ambient light. It was smaller than I expected and I marvelled how at least a third of the seats could be empty! Commanding the attention was a gleaming, black grand piano that claimed most of the area of the performance floor. When there is a choice of seating, the natural inclination; one which I followed, is to situate oneself at an optimal viewing angle to and distance from the focal point. I had the perfect seat to appreciate this magnificent instrument with the dramatic light cascading over top like a never-ending bolt of lightning! The pianist arrived, young, tall, poised and gracious. His introduction included a briefing of an impressive list of accomplishments and awards and I felt a quiet but breathless anticipation. When Mr. Hawkins took his seat behind the piano, I instantly regretted the choice of mine. The focal point had shifted entirely and although I still retained my perfect view of the piano, I could see nothing of the arms and hands and fingers that were making it speak to me.<br />
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It's voice; nonetheless, was heard and its message was taken to heart. I received the comfort and assurance I wanted. As the year grows old and the sun shares but miserly portions of its light and heat as the skies turn grey, beauty and life do not disappear, they simply assume other forms that, when discovered, kindle light and warmth within.<br />
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Mr. Hawkins, I thank you!!Judihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17910251221542778255noreply@blogger.com1