Cold Turkey

Well, the children and I are off to visit my mother in Grenada for the next few weeks. (Have I mentioned this before? Maybe ten times over the last few days…)

After much reflection, I’ve decided to go down sans ordinateur! Oh lala, quelle horreur! Actually, I hope going cold turkey will re-establish a balance between my enthusiasm and obsession with blogging, bloglines and news sites (here and here), as well as free up some time to spend with the children or in quiet occupation.

I am bringing down some work: the rough London Live (the sequel to Sydney Soap) treatment, some topics for the Red Tent blog to write, and an ideas book to expand. All can be done on paper and then transferred onto a digital medium at a later point in time. Back to the basics, it’s going to be nice.

Light Years Away

Here is the most marvellous virtual red tent that I’ve seen to date. I am dumbfounded by the beauty and simplicity of this participatory online exhibit called Imagining Ourselves. It is light years away from the Red Tent Blog, but it is lovely to see that the whole concept of participatory action, finding your voice, and sharing your ideas and notions can be so successful. Take a look; it is inspiring and exciting, to boot.

Half excited, half worried

I’m starting to get very excited about going to visit my mother and friends in Grenada. It will be the first time in two years. Also, it will be my first time since Hurricane Ivan destroyed so many homes (including my mother’s), businesses, and all the beautiful trees which once lushly populated the country.

By all accounts, Grenadians' natural resiliency and nature's resiliency are very much in evidence already. Many predicted it would take up to ten years for the island to get back on its feet again. Hats off!

When to Unsubscribe

Bloglines is a program which lets you subscribe to various blogs of your choice. Initially, you set up a list of blogs, and then the program automatically tells you whether anything new entries have been written since you last opened the list.

I made up my subscription list about half a year ago, and at any one time, I read the entries to 20-30 blogs daily, but only about 10 of them remain constant on my list. The other ten to twenty blogs vary according to whether or not their content can hold my interest and whether the bloggers’ behaviour is acceptable to my sensitivities. Indeed, sometimes the bloggers just decide to stop blogging, but mostly, if the content of the blog posts steps over one of my “trash” borderlines, and then I unsubscribe (i.e., delete key) the blog from the list.

Here is a list of my trash borderlines:

• A blogger proudly announces that he is a staunch conservative from way on back and, as far as he is concerned, there shouldn’t be any gun control in the States: the more gun carriers, the merrier. (Trash factor: immediate)

• The blog has so many co-authors that every day’s input on just one blog is ten to twenty posts. I just reallyreally don’t have the time to wade through all that stuff. The information I gather from reading blogs doesn’t replace proper news sites. What I do, as in the case of the Huffington Post blog, is to just keep monitoring one or two bloggers on the blogs list. (Trash factor: over a longer period of time).

• With personal blogs of people I do not know, but whose ideas and daily occurrences I find interesting, there are three faux pas they shouldn’t transgress. First, start lamenting about the weather (admittedly a transgression I have been occasionally guilty of). Become obsessed about their health, or lack of: this includes both mental and physical health (I really don’t want to know how many forms of Prosac there are in this world). In the case of foreigners-living-in-other-countries blogs, when the only character descriptions of people you encounter in the blogger’s entries are those of people who are stupid, rude, or lazy, then something has gone wrong with the blogger’s perspective. (Trash factor: give it a while, for anyone can lose their way, yet rest assured, when the point comes you’ll know).

• With personal blogs of friends and family members: if you find out disturbing, critical or intimate details of their lives and they haven’t bothered to communicate these facts to you directly, there is something intrinsically wrong in your relationship, and no vicarious acquirement of facts is going to change this. (Trash factor: immediate).

Another collage as blog header

I made this collage for a friend for her blog.

New collages

Here are two new collages. The first one, Tango Mix, is for a CD cover.

The second one, Radical Reminders, was inspired be music I was listening to at the time from the wonderful online radio program Radio Delirio.

Rize (movie)

I just finished watching the documentary film Rize. I sat there mesmerized throughout. Washed over with moments of poetry, both in their dance movements and the eloquent articulation of their lives and dreams. It was a gift to be given the chance to catch a glimpse of a world that is totally foreign to my own.

Usually, the only glimpse I get of this culture is through commercial music and film. The “success stories” are rigged-up portrayals of people like Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, Nate Dog, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, etc.

I am both fascinated and in awe sometimes with their music. Equally, I am often fascinated and appalled by their excessive show of wealth and the flagrant waste in lifestyles.

It is not that I believe everyone has to be a philanthropist. Instead, acquiring large sums of money brings with it new responsibilities and new opportunities. Whether these fellows like it or not, they are role models for many people. I can’t figure out what a hip-hop star is trying to say when he proudly announces that he owns 36 slick, expensive cars. This is not a judgement call, it’s just… what does he do with so many cars?

Some of the people in Rize showed tremendous grace of character, richness of spirit, and profound understanding of the trials of everyday man. In my estimate, they put all of the Hollywood rappers to shame.

Warning: downtime needed

When do you know that you are spending too much time on your new computer? When your son comes into the room and says someone is knocking, you look down at your ICQ program to see whether someone has “entered” the chat room. Then your son looks puzzled at your apparent non-reaction and says, “Someone is knocking on our front door.” Oops.

Toffee pull

Isn’t it odd how long it takes some projects to truly finish? In the last months, I have “finished” about four long-term projects: moving out of my writing office, the family journal, a collection of tango music, and Talkshow Rival’s game concept. 

Reflecting back on matters, it is apparent that there are still a lot of loose ends that have to be picked up. Such a process is really a toffee pull. I wish I knew of a more enjoyable way of doing this.

Taking the Plunge

Finally, I bit the bullet and set up the new computer at work, which has been sitting unpacked in the corner for the last three or four weeks. The only reason I haven’t fired up the new mean-machine is the fact of having to set up and configure everything again. 

No matter what anyone says (i.e. one of the computer science students who convinced me to take the plunge), it is hours and hours before the computer is in the same condition (good or bad) as the last computer was, let alone proving what a fine thing it is and thank-heavens-aren’t-you-glad-you dumped the old computer.

It doesn’t matter that everything is faster or “prettier” (e.g., a new keyboard) or even bigger (e.g. memory, which is a good thing because my “organic hard disk” is suffering these days, let me tell you). A half a day of work lost, and the thing is only chugging along slowly. Still have to install a long list of programs, download other programs, set up some program options, make up my desktop… ok, all just minor things, but it is still very annoying!

Mess of slush and snow and dirty water

We have had such bad weather in the last two days. What a mess the streets are in.

It was reported in the news that there have been hundreds of car accidents in the last few days. The city workers are on strike. Tension mounts.

However, my experience is that the number of accidents is not necessarily solely due to the poor road conditions but lousy winter drivers. They just don’t “get” how zero visibility, icy streets, and grimy, slushy, slippery conditions can force you to drive more slowly or even cancel plans for an outing. It is like people here just do not want to believe weather rules.

Enough.

It’s birthday party time today. I am off to buy some balloons and other kitschy decorations. Our daughter turned eleven this week.

Today’s party agenda is: 14:00 guests arrive, birthday cake and cookie celebration, watch Spy Kids I on DVD, out to our local Italian Ice Cream Café for ice cream, Spy Kids II on DVD, a short break for party games (accent on short), off to the restaurant for their children’s special, parents pick up their daughters at 19:30.

The older Brother of the birthday girl (our teenage son) also decided to hold a DVD marathon with two or three friends today. So, he is: a) on his own with all the arrangements (e.g. food and drink), b) going to have to do the shopping for both parties, c) keep the volume down, and d) all of the above. The answer is, of course, d. If he and his friends comply with good grace, they might get some of the birthday cake, which will substitute for lunch.

New school project

There is a great new web cooperation and mobile learning project in the works. One of the English teachers in a local high school wants to substitute/replace/augment the whole tenth-grade English year curriculum (currently taken from a school book) with a project which would enable the students to study and qualify for the Cambridge BEC (Business English Certificate). At the end of the school year, the students would receive their normal school grades and an application form to write their Cambridge BEC in a separate institute.

All four parallel classes will participate in the project if all goes well. The students will be blogging all their assignments and research work. They will also use KiMM software, Moles and Mini Moles, to create multimedia interactive questionnaires and go on mobile learning field trips (e.g. European Union trade policy bare bones: where does the shelf-produce in your local supermarket come from).

International Women’s Day

Female union leaders and workers distributed roses to all the female employees at the university hospital and university research institutes today. It is a nice gesture.

My husband, a heart-felt Italian, extended well wishes to me and my like this morning, as I made my way to work. My colleague’s husband comes from ex-East Germany. He totally rejects today’s celebration of women because it has a bad after-taste of the Old Regime.

So I extend warm wishes of the day my female colleagues and all others who celebrate this day.

The Red Tent Blog Sneak Preview

I’ve been trying to get The Red Tent Blog up-and-running. Initially, that is two and a half weeks ago, I thought it would be “nice” to launch the blog on the International Women’s Day, which is a big deal here in Europe. Unfortunately, or more succinctly, typically, I didn’t have the right date in mind. The International Women’s Day is tomorrow, March 8^th and not May 8^th, which is when I thought it was.

I am in a quandary about what to do; we, the four initiators of the blog, are not ready to launch. There is still so much we have to do… just about everything. So, I decided on a link here for my friends and family and blog-readers-I-don’t-know to get a peek at the very-much-under-construction Red Tent blog. Just so you can get a feel of what it is going to be. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Can hardly believe my eyes... there is snow everywhere. I just went out for a long walk (haul) in Luebeck's snowy wonderland. The air is clear. The scenery is beautiful. The exercise exhilarating. What more could a soul wish for?

Candy Snatchers II

This is just a follow-up to the candy snatching city workers episode, which was included in my last blog entry.

The regional section of our city’s newspaper also remarked on the dubious behaviour of the men-in-orange. Apparently, they were not there on an extended coffee break, which is what I had assumed, but was too polite to mention in my blog. No, instead, they were there officially, on tax payers’ money, to clean up after the parade.

It is not often that we wee citizens witness the unbridled enthusiasm of our city workers: obviously, these gents decided to get a head-start on their clean up duties and began scooping up the candy even before their wrappers could be discarded by thoughtless littering children and other parade spectators.

Yet, to be fair, these gents, or their colleagues, do a fantastic job of cleaning up any evidence of foolhardy messy joy-making after all the numerous public celebrations (i.e. a city of parades and outdoor markets and fairs) throughout the year. You should see, for instance, how fantastic they manage to make the city streets look after New Year’s Eve. Roads that were previously a sticky mess of cardboard remains (from all the firecrackers) and littered with empty bottles or broken glass, return to pristine condition within a day of the celebrations.

So, to all the city workers of Luebeck, here’s one tax payer who says, “Snatch all the candy you want out from under the nose of children, you’ve earned the privilege.”

Scrooges at this year’s Winter Carnival

I just witnessed the most delightful start to this year’s Winter Carnival. After an eternity of waiting, the parade started with the “Princess Carriage”, containing probably the most un-princess-like princess (translate as ugly) I have ever seen. Still, she was throwing out wonderful candy to the spectators, so beggars can’t be choosers.

As is so often the case in these provincial parades, there was a noticeable disparity between the level of regimental rigour on the part of the parade participants. Some managed just fine…

And others do not know the meaning of a straight line…

Yet, considering the minus ten-degree (Celcius) weather, hats off to all.

The funniest scene I witnessed was the city workers (notice bright orange uniforms) grabbing up the candy from under the children’s noses who were standing nearby (can't see the children in the photo). 

The parade participants throw candy from the floats or bags on their waists into the crowds. Initially, I thought the city workers would hand the candy they picked up to the children. But, no, they scooped the candy up and snuck it down the front of their coats. What a hoot. What a bunch of Scrooges! Still, it’s not as if children really need any more candy than they already have…

Sometimes a Gentleman, Sometimes a Bozo

Years ago, a friend of a friend explained how she was walking through Macy’s department store in NYC, and she saw Richard Gere standing at a tie counter looking at some ties on display. She became so flustered at seeing him, “Right Before My Eyes!” All she could think of was how desperately she wanted to find a way to make contact with him. On the spur of the moment, she decided on the Canadian Moose Maneuver, barged ahead, and rammed into him.

Now, we are talking about a Big Gal here. I remember hearing that she played defence on a mixed basketball team. So, when she said she rammed Richard Gere, you have to think of a male moose during the mating season. Apparently, after the collision occurred, she breathlessly apologized to Richard Gere for bumping into him, and he said, “Not at all, the fault was all mine”.

Gosh, wasn’t that a graceful gesture on his part?

Then, I read an article on BBC News about Richard Gere accepting the Havard University Brass Pudding Award. To explain why he even came to pick up the award, Mr. Gere said, "We're really all bozos on the bus. All of us, especially in this world and this country right now, when the biggest bozo on the bus is actually driving it."

Maybe he is not always the gentleman, yet he still manages to get things right.

The Red Tent Blog

Years ago, I read the book, “The Red Tent”, by Anita Diamant. Here’s a part of the Amazon’s book description:

“The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah.”

What I was most fascinated by in this book was the concept of women retreating collectively into a place for a few days each month; relinquishing their day-to-day duties and spending the days with other women in conversation and contemplation. The days, in my imagination, must have been spent giving voice to their opinions on a wide variety of topics, medical or marriage advice, or telling stories about their personal remembrances or tribal history. 

After reading the book, I wrote up a concept for a website, a virtual red tent as it were. After discussing the project with a few women, who were full of ideas but had no technical capabilities to offer, I gave up on the idea. I didn't want to be the sole motor in the project.

Yet, recently, I reconsidered (reread) my concept and feel the time is right to execute the project. Mainly because I have been both a witness and (humble) participator in various new trends that are currently taking place on the Internet. They excite me in their technical simplicity, as in their extensive accessibility.

I have always believed that once the Internet underwent an evolution that transformed it from an information medium into a communication medium, as once happened with the telephone *, a revolution would occur. In this revolution, the “small people of the world” will finally be given a voice. Politically, economically, socially, and in the world of media, there are definite indicators (I’ll try to find a few links later) that we are at the cusp of this revolution.

So, I have talked to a few friends about setting up “The Red Tent Blog”. This will be a virtual meeting place for friends, friends-of-friends, or just interested women to exchange ideas, express opinions, give advice, recount past experiences, and reflect upon lessons about how to survive or thrive present social or economic challenges.

Stay tuned. The gods willing, “The Red Tent Blog” will be launched May 8th 2006.

* My convoluted recollection about the development of the telephone goes as follows … The telephone was originally developed as a substitute for the telegraph. This was because many of the post office employees could not decipher Morse code. It was the female post officers using the new telephone services, with their insatiable curiosity for news and their talent for spreading gossip, that instigated the change from the telephone as a device to send news rather than to talk to any person on the face of the earth. What would our world be without telephones!

Busy week

Busy week.

Busting heads. 

Bruised bladder. 

Begging for a return of balance.