Town Name Discoveries

      A blogger I follow has Osage Minnesota in the location. I don't know whether the blogger lives in Osage or if it's the server location.

      So the other day my curiosity led me to look in my atlas and find out where in the ???? Osage is. Now going to my atlas tells you I am rather ancient. So I looked in my trusty atlas and couldn't fine Osage. Finally I said, "Oh Look on the internet!" Osage, Minnesota came up right away and with it a total description of the town.

     Now as I was looking in my atlas and before I gave up I noticed a number of towns with the same name as towns in my home province of Saskatchewan. So I wondered did these places have any connection to each other. I knew that many Americans came to homestead in Saskatchewan. I also have read some local Saskatchewan history and remember that some places were named because of where some of the settlers had come from.

      So in about two minutes I found Wadena, Watson, Kelliher, Bruno, Ogema, Elrose, Benson, Atwater, Belle Plaine and Ceylon. All of these are also place names in Saskatchewan. I researched one, Wadena. And yes, the first Settlers had come from Wadena, Minnesota and had named the place Wadena because that's where they came from. One wonders if the settlers were so attached to the area they came from that they used the name to make themselves feel better or if they were short on imagination and creativity?

    No matter it was still an interesting little discovery. I also wonder if the Minnesota names came from somewhere else?

The Problem With Political Attack Ads: Truth

         "If we don't believe in freedom  of expression for people we dispise we don't believe in it at all." Noam Chomsky

All but a very few people know that political attack ads are purposely deceitful. To me, and I'm sure most other people the truth is an extremely valuable part of our society and how that society operates in a successful manner. So why do some politicians use negative attack ads which at times are composed of absolute lies?

         Now I admit that most of the time political attack ads don't bother me because I don't watch television. I am aware of attack ads because I read the newspaper and follow current events on the net. I like to read a wide variety of political commentary. It is healthy to read various political views and to read opposing views to your own. All good commentary and debate has the possibility to make us think and examine our own views and that's a good thing.

       Political attack ads seem to be used by those who are not able to support their own views with logic and evidence. Political attack ads are used by those who have an agenda which is not up front so the attack ads are used to make it look like their position is plausible. In other words weak ideas and weaker politicians resort to attack ads. Can't support the idea: attack the opposition on a personal basis. Make the opposition look like a weirdo or kook of some kind. So gobs of money is spent on attack ads which are not only mean and nasty but not very close to the truth and in some cases outright lies.

    So why has a bee got under my bonnet now to rant about political attack ads? Recently the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) ran an attack ad for one day. There was much criticism as people thought it was way over the line as far as truth was concerned. Questions were asked and then Michael Iggnateif came on saying, "Yes, Yes ,Yes." So things were obviously taken out of such context that there was a huge backlash to the ad. Oh yes, the CPC said they were only running it for one day????

    So why do people continue to support any  group which deals in untruths? Any group which deals in untruths should be severely punished at the ballot box no matter who they are. Truth has got to have some value to it. To me truth is crucial. We cannot allow political parties to use deceit any longer. Stand up for truth.

Old Guys Who Cross country Ski Shouldn't Fall

       Now I have posted about the great things about cross country skiing and have made my self out to be some sort of expert. But I have my limitations and I'll admit it. Yes, the old guy I fell today!

     Now for being 71 I consider myself to be in somewhat reasonable condition. I admit that when I get up off the floor it takes some effort. It's not like when I was ten and would bounce up off the floor without thinking.

     So you're saying , "What happened? Get on with your story." We have gobs of snow this year so it's excellent for cross country skiing. I've made a trail behind my house so that I can go out any time I have time. The trail is completely flat. But yesterday I suddenly went down. Now comes the fun part. How do I get up?

 The trail is hard packed. I went sideways. When I put my hands down to get up they just went down in the snow and I had no solid surface to push up from. My head was actually lower than my skis because I went down in the soft unpacked snow.. My skis were crossed. So after plunging around I said to myself wait a minute. Think! Oh ya! Get both poles on one side. Get your skis uncrossed. then pull yourself up by the poles. Up I got, full of snow.

      So a little excuse making. Usually I ski on groomed trails. These trails are even and hard. The trail I've made is uneven and the poles go down deep into the snow sometimes and then It throws me off balance. So sooner or later I was apt to fall. I know a lame excuse.

     So other than my dignity I was fine. I hope nobody was looking out their window to see me wallowing around.

Book Review: I Am Hutterite

        I am an avid reader. You can check my book list on the right side of my blog towards the bottom. A few books I read influence me to write a small review. Most books I just list as having read them.

       A book I finished reading today influenced me to post on it. The book I finished is called "I Am Hutterite" by Mary-Ann Kirkby.  It tells  "The fascinating true story of a young woman's journey to reclaim her heritage." That's what the blurb says on the cover but it tells much more than that. It also makes me think of my own journey and the journey that many people have in growing up.

     Mary -Ann describes in great detail the life on a Hutterite colony. Life on a Hutterite colony is highly structured. Their religious ideology which is built on communal living dictates daily living and all social interaction. For most Hutterites it is a very comfortable and supportive life.  For a few people who cannot fit into this closed structure life can be extremely uncomfortable and the option to leave is just as difficult.

    This is the situation that led Mary-Ann's father to "run away" from the colony. Mary-Ann then goes on to describe the struggle to make a life away from the structure of the colony. She misses the comfort and friends in the colony and finds it very difficult to fit into life outside the colony. She takes us through all the experiences of trying to fit into and be accepted by the world outside the colony. As I read I was continually predicting what was going to happen to Mary-Ann's journey. She survives and becomes a broadcast journalist. She has always gone back to the colony to visit relatives and friends. On one journey back she puts on Hutterite clothes and works with the women for a day. She finally comes to realize that even if she is not living communally she is still a Hutterite.

     So what Mary-Ann has done after many years is to discover  who she really is and she likes who she has found. What a great ending after a struggle that makes one feel great sympathy for the heart breaking experiences she met while growing up.

     I was also brought to think of my own struggle to grow up and find out who I really am. If you've read older posts I write about growing up on an isolated farm. We were further isolated by belonging to a very exclusive religious sect. My total thinking and judgement was influenced by this highly structured and rigid environment. I was a little peg who couldn't fit in and live in such a community. I felt extremely frustrated and angry. Some how I found booze and it jumped up and bit me in the butt. So I had another problem. I did discover myself and was happy with who I found and the booze problem left me. So I realize how difficult it must have been for Mary-An to make her journey.  

     I'm sure that many people face challenges when growing up. Some cope well and have a very happy ending as did Mary-Ann. I also look at the homeless people and can see that they carry a load of problems that they have not been able to deal with in a successful way.  

Dispicable Forward

        The other day I received a forward that firmly caught my attention. Most people who have email receive forwards from time to time. Forwards that I receive are usually humorous, artistic and positive. This Christmas there were many forwards making the rounds and I thoroughly enjoyed them. It's rather ingenious how Christmas topics are made from dogs, for example. Most of these I forward to people I know who would appreciate the humor or art.


      This week I received an pathetic forward from someone who mistakenly thought I might agree with the negative message. Some of you may have received the same forward long before I became aware of it.


      The forward was called "I'm Sixty-three and I'm Tired." It started out with a whiny pathetic little background to suck you into feeling sorry for this guy. He claims to have worked steadily except for five months after he finished college while he was looking for a job. Then he states that he has worked continuously since he was eighteen. Now a bigger red flag went up. He must have been a genius to finish college at eighteen!


      After that he just goes on to list the things he is tired of. He doesn't like paying taxes for those who are too lazy to work. Rather selfish guy!


      He doesn't like Muslims who do all kinds of dastardly actions. So he paints all Muslims as evil. So okay the guy is a racist. 


     The writer goes on with a litany of complaints. He has to work because the recent economic turmoil  has eliminated his savings. He was a Veit Nam veteran. He was a five term state congressman. None of this adds up. If he's accomplished all these things he should not be in a position where he cannot retire. So I became skeptical of his whole message which was one of racism. He tried the nicy nicy routine but ended up looking like an idiot.


      He's fooled many people as his piece is forwarded very often and has probably been going around for years.


     So I decided to reply to the sender who I know. We bickered back and forth a couple of times when he decided that he didn't want to discuss the issue any longer. He could see that he was on shaky ground and couldn't defend his position so the best thing for him was to dodge the issue.


     I am usually fairly tolerant of other views particularly if they are argued with some logic and backed by some research. This forward had none of these conditions and I couldn't let it go for a free ride. Ideas that are supported by inaccurate background should  not be tolerated and all of us should stand up and confront such feeble rants.

CKUA: Great Radio Station For Music Lovers

       I have posted before about CKUA radio. A couple of comments recently have given me an excuse to plug this station again.

      CKUA is a station that receives much of it's funding from private donations. The station plays almost all genres of music. They don't just play music. They provide a tremendous amount of information about the music. That's what makes the difference. You can listen to your favorite music with a ton of interesting information to go along with it.

     So click on the link and take a look at this station. You might find something you really like.

ipod Challenged

        A few posts ago I told you that Santa Claus was bringing me an ipod. Since Santa Claus isn't always punctual around my house, the ipod arrived about Jan. 10. Since I don't get up at 4:00AM to open Christmas presents, the package was not opened for a few days.

       Now I'm someone who when they get something electronic will check to see if there are batteries, install batteries and then find the switch, flip it to on and I'm on my way. Works every time.

      I knew that the ipod nano touch screen might be different. So when I opened it I looked first for the switch. To this date I have not found the switch. So plan B. Read the manual. The instructions were written on a small piece of paper in very fine print. No problem. Use my magnifying glass. To my great disappointment there were very few directions. I discovered that I had to download itunes. Just find itunes hook up the USB cable and follow prompts on the screen. I still wanted to look at  a manual. So down load the manual. To my disappointment I found that I had to have acrobat reader to download the manual. Price $199.00. Santa Claus didn't bring a manual. I'm not that confident that I will just download itunes and it's all done.

     Since I'm a stubborn old boot I will get this done sooner or later. I won't go across the street to my 14 year old neighbor who could solve all this in seconds. Not yet anyway.

    So very soon I will be enjoying music on my new touch ipod. I will also be extremely proud of how I got the ipod set up all by myself. I love listening to music so I will change all my cds to the ipod. Our local library has about 1000 cds so I will copy the ones I really like. I'm looking forward to finding more and new music to listen to. It will be so cool!