I have not blogged much lately and i doubt if i'll be doing much more of it during November. Next week im going for surgery to have an eye removed. Lost vision in it at an early age and the pass few years it has really been bothering me to the point that i have to get it removed because of the daily pain. I have not been blogging but i have recently read a few good books and would like to recomend this one to everyone out there in the province of NL.

If we did it
By O. J. & Byrne

The title of this complex yet completely absorbing novel co authored by two people accused of crimes really griped my attention. The minute i began until the minute i finished, i was intrigued by every page and turn in the stories. Both authors so far apart in walks of life but so close and with the same goals in mind, to catch the real culprits and get their life back. Both so revered by the people who put them on pedestals and deserted them when they fell. If you read one book this year! Read "If we did it!"

Lest we forget.

Ekklesia ,a group i only heard of recently says that the white poppy has a universalism which the red one lacks for some people – it is not used in Germany, and it is not understood by many Muslims, for example. The problem of war, the think tank says, is now a global issue and needs to be symbolised in that way - recognising also the suffering of civilians and the work of nonviolent peacemakers.
Looks like the beginning of the end for a 85 year old tradition of wearing the Red Poppy to honour those that fought to preserve our freedom. White poppies have existed as a secular, pacifist alternative symbol since 1933 some say. I never heard of that until i googled a few results today. That's just fine i say,let those who want to wear one do so! I'll wear the red one that symbolizes Flanders Fields. Going to elementary school in Port Aux Basques,NL in the early sixties we came to know that the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month was a special time set aside to remember those that died so we could be educated there. Our teachers taught us the way their teachers taught them. We came to know of a Canadian, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)who probably wrote the most memorable war poem ever written. We recited the words and came to know the meaning well. At our school assembly we saw the veterans of several world wars and back at class i remember my teacher Ann Gillam tell us why the old veterans hands shook when he sat there with his old uniform on and red poppy in his lapel. As i progressed through school the old men from the great war who sat in chairs trembling at our rememberance day assemblies gradually grew smaller in numbers. I'll remember them through the Red Poppy and the Ekklesia think tank can go about their business promoting the white ones. They can do that because those old men with trembling hands gave them the freedom and right to do so.

First Snow


The first snowfall of the season has arrived here. It was just a few centimeters but it made the Table Mountains look great. On the way to work i shot a few pics of the beauty and also witnessed the negative side. Several vehicles had gone off the road but luckily,no injuries. The day before the snowfall i took a few hours off work to take my oldest granddaughter for one last walk this season. We have made many since early May and i explained this would be our last one of the season. She's just four and wants her own camera for next years little excursions. I have shown her how to take a few shots with mine and the results are pretty good so far. It's great to live in rural NL at times. On our little walks and ATV rides this year we hardly saw another person out and around. We did meet one couple from the mainland who have purchased a summer home here and seem to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. I wonder at times why more from my community don't take advantage of the miles of beaches and trails here.Yet when they move away from home they always claim to miss it.

Borat


Sacha Baron Cohen seems to be taking the comedy world by storm. For those who don't know him by that name, try "Borat." I have not seen him appear outside of the character he portrays and somehow he seems to remind me of the late Andy Kaufman. So far just 800 theaters are planning to show his film but will eventually expand to 2,200 theaters by next weekend. I have a feeling he's going to be around for quite sometime and not just for his 15 minutes of fame.

Danny has the bomb







Glorious leader Danny Williams has the bomb and rumors are he will be testing it somewhere along the new Trans Labrador Highway. A special edition of Land & Sea will carry the detonation along with the timeline it took to build the bomb and where the funds came from to develop such a weapon. Interviews with Chris Montague will also be shown where Montague asks why was there no enviromental assessment and consultation with the Metis before ground zero was decided on. The program will be carried on CBC ,Tuesday,7pm on the island and 7:30 in Labrador if it's still there.