The Cedars of Lebanon

Psalm 92

It is good to praise the Lord

and make music to your name, O Most High,

proclaiming your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,

to the music of the ten-stringed lyre

and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;

I sing for joy at what your hands have done.

How great are your works, Lord,

how profound your thoughts!

Senseless people do not know,

fools do not understand,

that though the wicked spring up like grass

and all evildoers flourish,

they will be destroyed forever.

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies, Lord,

surely your enemies will perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.

You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;

fine oils have been poured on me.

My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;

my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

planted in the house of the Lord,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;

he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Those of you that know me know that I am, how to put this, not religiously inclined at all. In fact I am pretty much anti religion. So you know that I am not suddenly filled with the holy spirit and have decided to rejoin the ranks of the sheep when I put this Psalm down in this blog. I started thinking about the imagery of the Cedars of Lebanon, or the Cedars of God as they have been referred to, so I went to the source to see what was what with regards to the religious meaning. So here is Psalm 92 for your perusal. 

I have included the whole thing so as to not be accused of cherry picking a line out of context. I think there is more than enough of that already when you can take a line or two and use it as a basis for blowing yourself and a crowded market up in the name of destroying the infidels or attacking an abortion clinic or denying basic rights to homosexuals...more than enough. 

I've read through this a few times and I have to say it pretty well encapsulates what I think is wrong with religion in general. Blind acquiescence, righteous superiority and an appalling lack of plurality. It literally makes me mad to think of people that I know and have known that bandy about their particular "ism" as a way of raising them above the crowd...a massive throat punch here. And to be clear, any "ism" would deserve the wrath of my disdain. This is not simply geared to religious zealots, atheists as well, who seem to believe that their lack of belief in God makes them better than everyone else. 

So while this started as an idea around the beauty and strength in these cedars I got pulled into, by my own self of course, a diatribe on the failure of man trying to convey God. Because that is what religion is to me. Man trying to explain the meaning and purpose of God. How arrogant of us to presume that we can know this. How did we ever get here? Crazy I say. 

But wait. Maybe I can help steer the conversation back to what I wanted to talk about.

In grade four or five I had to illustrate and put words to something in nature. I chose a tree and drew the worst picture ever of a large tree with roots reaching down into the ground. I somehow showed the roots reaching for a pool of water in this picture, badly I am sure as I have never been good with the visual aspects of any artfulness I may have. But the words must have worked because I recall the teacher telling me it almost made her cry. I spoke of the struggle that the tree faced everyday for the simplest and most powerful need to us all....water. 

Those roots sought out life giving water, all the while growing stronger and going deeper, providing more sustenance and more stability, ensuring it's growth and longevity. In turn allowing it's influence to spread, helping the forest to thrive and grow. Purifying the surroundings, fostering growth of other living things and offering protection to others still. The Cedars of Lebanon, the Great Forest of the North, The Boreal Forest, The Rain Forest....we are these things. We men and women can be all these things to our brethren. 

So unlike the co-opting done by the religions of the world we can take back the tree as a symbol of inclusion, of life and of plurality. Not for the righteous but for all of us. Churchill said that "history is written by the victors", well, if this is true, then the chapter around the soul of us all needs a re-write. Not based on winning, as this implies someone losing, but on the simple idea that we are equal and part of this world together. Those roots reaching down as a foundation for us all while the limbs and leaves reach up to show us the beauty around us.

Brought to you by the riot of colour at this glorious time of year right outside your window.

Ciao

D

Dead Poets Society

YouTube is a wonderful invention I must say. It taught me how to trouble shoot and fix a problem with a water pump in my house a few years back, made my mouth water with food porn videos, scratched that itch for the song I wanted to hear and left me blubbering with countless videos that meant something to me. Oh, and made me laugh more times than I could ever relate.

It is also really great for little clips of movies that have been opened up to me, recently one of these being Dead Poets Society. A movie I never saw but will soon enough. Why? Because Carpe the fuck out of that Diem! That's why!

How did I not see this movie? Just from the clips I have seen it is amazing, it is inspirational and it is another example of what I have been saying for some time now...the answers are all out there, all we have to do is hear them, read them and see them. That and Robin Williams is one hell of an inspirational actor.

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play 'goes on' and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

At first my thought was to say, damn, I wish I had a teacher like this growing up. Someone crazy enough to throw off all conventions and let it all hang out in the hopes of truly inspiring a mind. Well, I may not have had this romanticized version of it but you know, I did have a few teachers that to this day I would point to as people that have affected me and my life. Profoundly really. People that have helped to point a new direction out, opened the door a crack on a different way of looking at life. I may not have realized it all in the moment but I did figure it all out in the end. And here they are...in no particular order.

Mr Reid: Ah, Mr Reid with the comb over. You were the first person that seemed to sense in me an ability that I didn't know I had. That is to be a leader of sorts. Thrown into a situation that I didn't want I came out the other end as a winner, not as an individual but as part of a team that I was leading. The first trace of the type of leader I have become. I don't know why you did know or even if you knew but today I still think of that time in grade seven as the beginning.

Mr Chiovetti: The gentle giant. The soft spoken intellectual at the crossroads of science and religion. The guy that blasted me in front of the class for mixing solutions that you had painstakingly prepared for a class on saturation or something like that. You spoke about the conundrum of religion and science in a way that still resonates with me. You encouraged me to run and I did, cross country races all over the city. You saw potential and you gently encouraged me to reach for greater heights...the first time I really wrote was in your class. When I graduated with that award, thus ending my time in elementary school, I knew it was you that had given me the accolades.

Mr Raso: The rebel. That picture of you in a long longshoreman's cap and long hair as if you had just landed in Frisco after having pulled a great escape from a whaling expedition firing squad. The social conscience I have began with you sir. Most of us from those days in high school would remember you railing against the oppression in El Salvador and Nicaragua...and I know today you are still standing up against Drumph and his ilk. Like my father you may be small in stature but taller than all others in passion and conviction.

Mr Cursio: Make it two beers. You were one of the first to show me that you don't need to fit the idea of what a teacher should act like. You allowed yourself to be human and make mistakes. And when you did, you laughed about it. Chefs have a quasi paramilitary reputation out there, fear being a tool to keep the machine going. I am as far from that as you can imagine and a lot of it has to do with your approach to teaching. A ready smile and a story or two that related to what we were learning. How you tied in electronics to your escapades at the cottage I do not know but you did and it worked.

Chef Mike McFadden: Nobody could hang a primadonna moniker on you despite your speciality being a pastry chef. Unlike so many other pastry aficionados I have come across you had the chops in every area of the kitchen. If I had a question about anything I came to you, you seemed to know it all. From your time in Switzerland making rosti potatoes by the hundreds to your time at Expo. You have the wisdom and temperament that made you stand out from the pack, your skills were the icing on the cake. 

Writing these has allowed me to think of other teachers that have influenced me as well, to varying extents and than I realized that that's the point. We are not one person so of course it stands to reason that we would have many influences. Those have shaped, cajoled and directed us into the people that we have become. Mr Shoreman and his "out damn spot" soliloquy. Ms Shanahan and her direction and encouragement with my independent study that I stretched my brain for. Chef Donadio, who brought me on as his assistant and let me do what I needed to do to become his right arm. Ms Mamon (who I called mom a few times), for being the only teacher that seemed to understand the difficulties I was having when I switched in the Catholic system.

Maybe Robin Williams character in the movie is an amalgam of many teachers. Wrapped up together and given the starring role in shaping a life. Regardless, that noble and vital calling is calling to me again...I hope I can once again step into that world with the honour and opportunity to perhaps shape a mind for the future. In the mean time, thank you to all my 'teachers'.

I miss Robin Williams

Ciao

D

Loyal is as Loyal Does

"One never knows how loyalty is born"

An interesting quote from the show Mad Men that highlights the idea that we really don't know what's coming for or at us. Chance encounters and unexpected circumstances sometimes lead to wonderful things. Where loyalty will come from and in what manner and how it shows itself are fascinating thoughts to ponder.

The loss of loyalty is easily connected to trust and betrayal. Whether in a relationship of the romantic kind or the platonic kind, what does it really matter after all, it's hard to think of something worse then betrayal when discussing relationships. I'm sure we have all had our fair share going both ways...it's not a pretty thing is it?

I consider myself a loyal person. Staunchly so. The fact that I am loyal to those that are loyal to me is easy, that's the way it should work. But I work in a world where personal integrity matters as a badge of honour. Along with your willingness to suffer through pain and injury while holding up your end of the line. I'm sure it's like that for many people as we don't have the market cornered on integrity or loyalty, but like the military or any team environment with intensity I do think there is more expected in return for that degree of allegiance. It never seemed to be as important when I watched other departments of the less intense type function, on the contrary there seems to be an almost gleeful excitement in knifing your fellow employees in the back. Loyalty being replaced by fealty to one person as opposed to one team. Your fortunes being tied to the fortunes of another persons whimsy and conniving. You can imagine my response to this skulduggery...throat punch much? Having it foisted upon me on a few occasions I can tell you that it is completely tiring and completely counter productive to the smooth running of an operation. Sometimes you simply have to endure.

While the picture I just painted is a negative one this thought certainly is not. I have seen first hand on numerous occasions the benefits of properly based loyalty. Be it with an individual or an entity the world seems a little less onerous when you have a loyal group of people to go to war with. I suppose that is why the military goes to such pains to instil it amongst its young shaven recruits. I have been part of amazing teams that were completely "all in" with the group and we accomplished great things together. And, sadly, I have been on teams that could't punch their way out of a wet paper bag because of the lack of cohesion and trust amongst them all. It's a vicious cycle that does so much more harm than can be appreciated....literally sucking the will to live out of you. But even here, whether out of shared camaraderie or simply like minded people coming together, loyalty has been born. Out of the ash heap of dysfunction grew trust and kinship. I'm sure my more predominately positive approach to life plays here and I am glad it does...the thought of living like a bitter old miser wondering who was coming to stab me in the night seems almost unbearable.

There are no cryptic messages here, I simply say it how I mean it. Loyalty is intrinsically related to honesty as it is to trust so simply be honest and open. I wish more people were like that, it just feels like we would be a lot happier that way if you know what I mean. Like any relationship it doesn't need to be so hard. So full of things that really need not be there. Of course there is a good to better chance that I am full of shit and have been dropped on my head too many times but there you have it.

Peace unto you
Ciao
D

A Better Way?

I'm not an economist, a policy expert on fiscal and social matters or even someone you should listen to. I'm just a guy with an opinion. OK, maybe more than one opinion but for the sake of this post today I'm talking about one thing.

The idea of a basic universal income has been kicking around for a while now and even tried out to some small degree as pilot programs and interesting experiments in social policy. Let me give you my ill informed opinion on the subject.

I say do it. And I say go all in while we're at it. Without facts and figures or even an idea on how it would all work out, allow me to strip the idea down to the basics as I see it. Certainly I will be missing things and possibly even large things but that means a thorough investigation by qualified people is needed.

This is what I propose, everyone over the age of 18 gets a guaranteed monthly payment, let's say $1200 a month. It doesn't matter if you work or not, here's $1200. If you earn over say $150,000 a year you're not getting the money. To help balance out the ledger, we remove EI, Child Tax Benefit, CPP, and probably most types of social welfare that are as diverse and cumbersome as this great country is. I don't how that all washes out but I would wager it's not as far off as some might believe. Maybe, like CPP, the employees make contributions to the system that funnels into an investment fund to help pay for it over the long run. A social investment and dividend if you will.

To my thinking this is what I see:

• Reduction is bureaucracy, both the cost associated with running multiple programs and the headaches in dealing with it on multiple levels
• Reducing, if not eliminating the stigma and shame that many people must feel when forced to deal with essentially begging for money. Justifying to some drone the reason why you lost your job or why you can't afford to feed your kids, as if that wasn't enough of an issue already. Why are we compounding it? This seems much more dignified
• An injection of capital into the economy
• An injection of capital into the social fabric of our society
• Peace of mind

I know opponents will say how do you pay for it and how about people milking the system, rewarding lazy people and so on. Well, let me say this about that: You pay for it by paying for it. If we decide as a society that we feel like this is the right thing to do, to help each other out and to restore some dignity to peoples lives then we will figure out a way to make it work. A path will become clear once you decide on the destination.

There will always be a percentage of society that will take advantage of or milk a system to their own benefit. It doesn't matter what you have in place. So that's a wash as far as I'm concerned. This isn't about crib to grave socialism, which in some ways we already have...it's about making the system more efficient and actually doing some good. The quagmire of programs can be made more user friendly and manageable if we simply move in that direction.

Alarmists amongst you will decry the end of life as we know it, claim the communists have taken over and tear our country into two. Much like people argued when universal healthcare came in. You know what? We're still here and envied around the world my many that think we finally got something right. Is it perfect? No, of course not. But I don't worry about having to go to the hospital for a kidney stone and declaring bankruptcy after the fact because of it. So that's not bad, right? Maybe, just maybe we are ready for a huge shift...a momentous change in our lives.

We are already paying money in vast sums to people but I think we do so inefficiently. And we do so while tearing down dignity. The system can be better. We can be better. I'd truly like to see a cost comparison study. A full account of the ramifications. Pros and cons. But please, strip out the political double talk and ideological clap trap. I'll call you out for it and may even show you the business end of a 2 by 4.

You want to hear something funny? Coming out of high school, Ayn Rand and small "c" conservatism as my political stripe and an entrepreneurial bent already being fomented you wouldn't think I would have turned into a bleeding heart liberal as I have. I've always had a social conscience and my conservatism stemmed from the idea that laissez faire was the way to go for the world. Over time though I have come to think as I do now. We are our brothers keepers and sometimes people can't pull themselves up and in the end, right is right. So while I do believe in the individual reigning supreme we must consider this within the context of humanity....we all share this little blue dot in space.

Ciao

D

Words

Earlier this year when looking around for someone to do my tattoo I ended up in a recommended parlour speaking with a rather large heavily tattooed bearded guy about my idea. I wanted "no dress rehearsal, this is our life" as my first and maybe only tattoo. I didn't care for his response. He suggested that I should think of those lyrics and what they mean to me and come up with a visual that represents what that may be. At first I thought, OK...let's see if that is something I can do, even enlisting a few people to brain storm ideas. It didn't take long for me to throw that idea out the window because in the end, the words matter...that was the whole purpose of my decision to permanently mark my body. For a few years I have thought about a tattoo but could never come up with something that made any sense to me, nothing that truly resonated with me, until on a first date with someone that has now become a close friend and she talked of her idea for a future tattoo, song lyrics that meant something to her. Of course! A quote makes complete sense...duh!!! Words matter.

Which leads me to something that I came across today, actually just a minute ago. It was that much of a thing that I sat down to write this immediately. The question is this: If every word you ever said showed up on your body would you be more careful with your words? My first thought, after the initial "hmmmm", was that that's a lot very small print, nobody would be able to read it without a good magnifying glass. And boy I do use the word fuck a lot. Truth is, my gut reaction is to say that no, I wouldn't...this is me, like it or leave it I am going to be honest and if it is uncomfortable for you, the reader, well stop reading. And that magnifying glass is burning my skin so get the fuck away from me. If anything comes from this blog, for me personally, is a reaffirmation of the idea that this is who I am...I like me and I have no regrets. But maybe not having regrets is not about being careful with my words. In other words, thinking before speaking.

I'll admit that on occasion I have spoken without thinking, maybe a few more times than I care to think about. OK, you wouldn't think I was that flexible to be able to put my size 13's in my mouth the way I do. But I do. To be honest I think that might be part of my charm, the "oh honey, you're so pretty" moments when the mouth simply out paces the brain. My own naivete coupled with my fast mouth make for some stupendously stupid comments from time to time.

The flip side of the coin is the idea that I say things that might be hurtful to the listener because I didn't fully appreciate what they might hear. Knowing your audience is good advice. It is a rare time that I say something to deliberately hurt someone, not that I don't have those thoughts, I do...plenty of them, but I don't often verbalise them to that person that my malice is meant for. Not anymore at least, one of the benefits of growing up a bit. But I have said hurtful things to people, I know I have. It doesn't matter if sometimes they were taken the wrong way, or I didn't articulate what I was trying to say or any other excuse that might be available, the end result Is that I have hurt people. I may not have meant to hurt you but I did, and for that I am sorry.

So maybe I would be a little more careful in the words I say if they ended up scrawled across my body, a permanent and visible embodiment of how my mind works and what comes from it. Not changing the essence of me but acknowledging that words matter, especially the ones that I whisper and scream.

Ciao
D

The Brothers Blue

"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses."

"Hit it."

If you know this quote as well as the back of your hand, we can remain friends...if not, go now to Netflix and watch The Blues Brothers and enjoy the ride. Come back as friend again.

"We're on a mission from God."

They really are. Maybe in the movie it was to save the fat penguin's orphanage but to me it was about introducing me to the music. Throw in the ridiculous and downright zany slapstick humour and you have, in my humble opinion, one hell of a great movie. Racing through the streets of Chicago in their bargain basement reformed cop car with cop tires, cop motor and cop shocks, lovingly known as the Bluesmobile, they elude the law, Illinois Nazi's and by the end of it all, seemingly, the entire US Army, in an effort to raise $5000 to pay the tax bill for the Saint Helen of the Blessed Shroud orphanage.  Aaron Sorkin it is not but holy hell is it ever funny.

And than the music. Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker and James Brown to name a few. How could it not be great. From James Browns Reverend Cleophus singing the Old Landmark and shuffling like only he could shuffle to Ray Charles getting us all to shake our tail feather. From Aretha Franklin demanding respect to The Blues Brothers themselves giving everybody some love. 

"Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... 

sell them to me. Sell me your children!"

This movie was about excess from the get go, why crash one car when you can crash 75 of them? Why use a gun when you can use a rocket launcher to kill the man that left you at the alter? It's completely silly to think that two sunglasses wearing ex cons would need every cop in Chicago, a SWAT team as well the US Army with a tank to take them down but they pull it off because you know they are on that mission from God. That and trying to run over the fucking Illinois Nazis endears them to us all. You want one more song, one more zany twist...hell you want twenty more.

"We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. And we would especially like to welcome all the representatives of Illinois's law enforcement community that have chosen to join us here in the Palace Hotel Ballroom at this time. We certainly hope you all enjoy the show. And remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there're still some things that makes us all the same. You. Me. Them. Everybody. Everybody."

For me, it's a kind of escapism that really presses all the buttons. Music, first and foremost, that hits the right chord. Being a rocker by nature anything blues related, the mother of rock 'n roll, is sure to grab my attention. As has happened often enough, being exposed to a, new to me, genre through a movie or TV show opened the doors to further exploration. I remember when I was learning to badly play the bass I had a blues instruction record that I learned to play to...I really enjoyed those impromptu jam sessions that were based on some simple chord progressions that even I could understand. Simple and complex...and pure.

And than the comedy. Not at all nuanced, it is right there in your face all the way through. Both ridiculous and zany but delivered with such dead pan perfection. Who good forget this piece of diner gold as Jake and Elwood looked for Matt Guitar Murphy and Blue Lou to rejoin the band.

May I help you boys?

You got any white bread?

 Yes.

I'll have some toasted white bread please.

 You want butter or jam on that toast, honey?

 No ma'am, dry.

 Got any fried chicken?

 Best damn chicken in the state.

 Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke.

 You want chicken wings or chicken legs?

 Four fried chickens and a Coke.

 And some dry white toast please.

 Y'all want anything to drink with that?

 No ma'am.

 A Coke.

 Be up in a minute

All rock musicians today owe a debt of gratitude to those that came before them, the ones that took the blues electric, added drums and amplification...you stand on the shoulders of those that fell in love with the blues and made it their own. There is almost a purity to the music and I owe my appreciation of it to this little movie...not to mention, in no small part, my sense of whacked humour.

Hit it

Ciao

D

Tick Tock

Well, another day, another milestone. Today was spent with my youngest daughter accompanying her around the campus of Kings College for an open house and early admission. She hasn't fully decided on which path she will take but it looks like she will start at Kings before moving onto Dal...time will tell in the end but here are her first steps into the next chapter of her life. Such an exciting thing to be a part of as a parent.

While we sat through the normal sales pitches and student accounts I thought about how we were both looking at the day from different perspectives. She's nervous, probably a little terrified at what is coming down the mountain at her...the whole adulty thing. While she is thinking about how much reading and essay writing she will have to do compared to her high school studies and wondering if she can manage it all, I'm thinking about the wonderful opportunity in front of her and how I wish I could simply go back to school just because. Perspective here my friends.

And then a professor got up to do a short lecture on the Odyssey, which was really interesting for me. Not only for the subject matter but for the interpretation that he brought to the table. You see, I never went to university and I have always felt like I missed something important to the education of me. The exposure to an entire world of literature is one thing, the opportunity to discuss, debate and have my mind opened to new ideas is what I am talking about. Critical thinking. It's a thing.

Next came a journalism prof talking about the "gods" of today, corporate interests, politicians and celebrities that vie for our attention while using us up like so many disposable napkins. Interesting again, he related the previous talk on the Odyssey to todays world and how journalists play a vital role in informing the public. I was loving this. I leaned over to my daughter and told her that maybe I would like to sit in on her classes sometime...you should have seen the look of horror on her face. So you know I will be going at some point.

I started to think about how experience shapes our view of what we are doing, seeing and reading. My daughter is seventeen and I am nudging fifty, of course, our experiences are going to colour the view of the prism we look at the world with. This talk of the gods brought to mind a quote from the West Wing and Aaron Sorkin, who was quoting Oscar Wilde who was probably quoting an Italian proverb...and I now quote here.

"Quando dio vuole castigarci ci manda quello che desideriamo." 

"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers."

Which got me thinking about the laugh the gods must be having with Drumph in office. I guess that's a roundabout way to critical thinking or as I like to call it, my tangential brain. A "what if" moment comes to me here, what if I had gone to university? What if indeed. Who's to say really but just thinking about that road not taken is an exercise in opening the mind a bit.

As a side note, at the end of the day we gathered in a lecture hall for the final message and notices og acceptance and lo and behold, the dean of students got up to sppeak and he could easily pass for Aaron Sorkin...hilarious.

But back to the point at hand. That ticking noise in the background is the passage of time for another significant day in the life of my daughter and in mine. I'm not ashamed to say I teared up, again, at the significance of the moment. Shyly and with some trepidation she will be venturing out into the world. Discovering new things, making new friends and taking even more steps into the future....you're going to be just fine sweetie. And daddy is always here if you need something.

Ciao
D