One Book I Really Love

Okay, this is an experiment. One of the hundreds of books I read during my "exile" is The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. If you have read his series about the colonization and areo-forming of Mars then you already know the high calibre of writing to expect from this newer book. It's a world history "what-if" - what if ALL Europeans had died of the bubonic plague. As in his Mars books Robinson delves into religious differences, trade, exploration and colonization issues, the place of women in these alternate societies, world wars, philosophical perspectives, social mores, scientific developments, ecology and economics, and spiritual matters.


I originally read this a few years ago when it first published - and given the current state of world affairs - it is as timely now as then. Beg, borrow, steal or (preferably) buy it. You will read it more than once.

I'm Ba-a-a-a-ck!!

Well, it's been over a year since I last posted - due to a self-imposed internet blackout. And I see that nothing much has changed in reference to the post below. Very sad.


Anyway, I suspect my few blog fans are horrified at the mere thought of not having internet, but here are a few things I discovered from the experience:

• Reading - yes - reading real books! The printed on paper kind! I re-read just about every book I own. Fell in love with some of them all over again and donated some to my co-op's lending library. Picked up a library card from SFU.
• I am still attractive to the opposite sex. A very interesting experience.
• I have a vacuum cleaner and I know how to use it.
• There are hundreds of TV channels but on many occasions there is nothing worth watching.
• I have friends and family with whom to have dinner, who enjoy walks along the seawall, to chat with on the phone, do things with, commiserate with, watch DVDs with and generally make eye contact with rather than sit alone and chat with over the 'net.
• I live in a very interesting neighbourhood.
• I can actually enjoy peace and quiet without needing the visual stimulation of the 'net from 8am to 12 midnight

On the other hand, I am really, really, really am happy to be back. YIPPEEEEE!!!

Aid for Pakistan? It's Complicated

It's time to get back to doing things I love - exploring housing needs in a changing world.

Just look at what is happening in Pakistan. A fifth of the country is washing away down the Swat River system. Whole cities, not to mention the main agricultural land, hundreds of centuries old villages, roads, railway systems - just gone! When flooding stops, the problems will really begin. Given the world's ever-shortening attention span, once the countryside dries up, all those millions of people will continue to need support, housing, potable and reliable water, roads, railways, bridges, sanitation, electricity, and it will all need to be long-term support.

The land is gone, the soil has washed away - yes, frequently because of very poor land management practices - all the more reason for international organizations, both governmental and NGO, to insist on accountability from the Pakistani government, such as it is, for any and all monies, goods and services the rest of the world sends its way. And given that the Pakistani government consists of wealthy landowners and business leaders (dynastic), the same ones who own the devastated landscape and all the lives within it, there is little reason to doubt the scepticism expressed by some of my Pakistani friends now living in Canada who are reluctant to send funding and aid 'home' since they are quite sure it will go straight into the private pockets of the wealthy castes.

I wish all those poor people all the best in their struggles to stay alive - can't help being sceptical, myself.

Regardless, there are millions of lives at stake - if you can find a way to help even one person, please do so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pakistan_floods