Dog Days of Winter

         Now I know you'll be saying "dog days of winter!" What's he talking about? I know I'm borrowing very heavily from dog days of summer. I also know that dog days of summer refers to the hot muggy uncomfortable time when the best of summer is over. I also know that for the ancients they knew that the most prominent star at the time was the dog star and that's how we think we got the term "dog days of summer."

       I like to think that we are in a very uncomfortable part of our winter which is slowly moving toward it's end. February here has been brutal this year. We usually think that once we get to February that we will get a cold spell but it won't last long as we will get a mild spell. Not this year. We've just had one long cold spell with only one little break where it was mild enough to thaw. We've had snow cover for 110 days. We have about 50 cm (20in.) of snow on the level. We've had high winds and blowing snow. Blowing snow here in the city is pretty rare.

       So I feel that the term "dog days of winter fits pretty well. I will apologize to dog owners ahead of time if they take offense to me using the term dog in a negative sense. We are all tired of the long cold spell and really look for a break when the forecaster said , "It's going to be a cold spring!" That's too much!

      Now I know I'm ranting and raving. I even changed my mind yesterday about posting such a rant on the weather. I had read a very positive uplifting blog post and for a short time it cheered me up.

    However, I know that spring is soon to appear and our snow will start to melt and all of this will seem like a bad memory. I promise to post about beautiful spring time conditions when they get here.

You "Gotta" Listen to Vinyl Cafe

         The Vinyl Cafe is a CBC radio program hosted by author Stuart McLean. Stuart McLean believes that written stories should be read out loud to and an audience so that was the basis of starting the show. McLean also likes music and looks for up and coming new talent to perform on his show. So the show has two things that I like: a good story and good music.

        Stuart McLean has written a number of books which consist of stories that he tells. Some of them come from places he has travelled or from people he has met. He usually tells the stories in a humorous fashion.

      On Vinyl Cafe his stories are based on a family with two children and a dog. From this fictional family he can go in many different directions with the same basic characters. So the stories are called the Dave and Morley Stories. Sometimes it features the rather inept Dave and his misadventures or it could be the son Sam and his challenges in growing up. Of course, it's convenient to have neighbors the Churlingtons and the interactions with them. Dave's mother is still living so there are the visits and worries about his mother in Nova Scotia. It's convenient that when he goes back to Nova Scotia he can tell stories about his boyhood.

      Dave Played in a band when he was a young man and now he has a record shop for a business. So you see the Dave and Morley stories can go on forever.

     About one third of the shows are done before a live audience so they tour to all parts of the country. Tickets go like, well hot cakes! He also tours in the U.S. as well since his show is picked up by some American stations. Stuart tries to find local musical talent in the locations he visits . For example , when he's in Yellowknife he will find someone suitable in the area. I saw his show when he toured Red Deer and thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

    So take a listen to the Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean. I'm sure you"ll like it.

Types of Blog Writing

        Since I've been shopping around blogs this last while, I have noticed that there are many types of blog writers. Since I'm looking for blogs to follow I have been looking with a somewhat critical eye. I'm looking for something to follow which is interesting and related to areas that interest me.

        Many bloggers blog about their daily lives. I'm amazed at how many of these writers are able to make their daily activities very interesting. Some just have interesting lives so that makes it easy. One blogger I follow hikes at least once a week and sky dives from time to time. Others have the knack for telling an interesting story. They provide detail and description. They are able to build up their story to some kind of climax.

       Other bloggers have an area of expertise which they tell about. Cooking, gardening and bird watching seem to be popular. I've also seen some pretty neat art blogs. A personal friend and former teacher blogs about teaching strategies. He's really good at it and new teachers could really benefit from his blog. (It's too late for me! I retired fourteen years ago but I still read his blog.)

      Many bloggers develop a special column which appears in their blog on weekly basis. One blogger only posts a picture on Sundays. I always look forward to this photo. Another blogger has a special Wednesday feature which I look forward to. Other bloggers set up contests.

     Some bloggers have a personal writing style that makes their blog posts interesting. One blogger who expressed concern about her writing ability and wished she had learned more in her English class brings authenticity to her blog by her use of country language. It works well. She has many followers and she can skip the grammar. Another blogger who constantly worried about his posts was a natural at telling a good story. His stories built up to a climax. You were drawn in to read his posts.

     Photographers have great fun taking pictures and posting them to tell a story or to show off places, flowers or birds. Many artists use a blog to display their art or to produce art. I asked an artist friend of mine what I could do to improve my blog and his instant answer was , "More pictures!" He thinks visually so he helped me develop another aspect of my blogging. I really had to work hard at this one. I finally had to take a picture and then build a post around the picture.

    So in shopping around for blogs to follow I have pleasantly learned more about blogging.

Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

       I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea by David Oliver Relin. It's a biography of Greg Mortenson and shows that you can run against the grain and do great good in the world.

      Greg Mortenson is an American who grew up in Africa. When his family came back to the States Greg had many various experiences. A life changing experience occurred when he had a spectacular failure in a climbing attempt of K-2. He bumbled into a village and was aided in his recuperation. Before he left the village he saw that they badly needed and wanted a school. This was in 1999. Greg struggled to raise money to build the school. There were many challenges but finally the school was completed.

     Greg some how or other came to trust the judgementent of the local villagers and they trusted him. Other villages in the area also wanted a school. The rest of the story is how Greg went on the build many schools and other projects that helped the Muslim people in northern Pakistan. Unfortunately for Greg he was in Pakistan when 9 /11  occurred. He was very fortunate to get back to America. By this time of his life he was committed to building as many schools as possible and there was no end of requests for schools.

      Greg strongly believed that education was what would prevent radical Muslims from influencing other Muslims being recruited to terrorism. For this stand Greg received all kinds of hate mail and death threats in America. These worried him but did not prevent him from carrying on.

      The story is a page burner as you worry about Greg's success and safety. He goes from one tight spot to another.

      I agree with Greg's idea that education is key. I spent 37 years in education so I would naturally agree as I know that education brings freedom, independence and power.

      It's ironic though that Greg should receive death threats from his own people who are well educated? Education is just one piece of the puzzle. Greg found that the American Government's failure to deliver on aid projects was one of the challenges he faced in his work.

     I great to see that one individual could go against the the general thinking of his country and make such a difference at a basic level.

      I quite often ask avid readers what they are reading. In that way I find really good books to read. Two readers  were my friends Eileen and her husband Mike. We often talked about the books we read and recommended books to each other. A week before Eileen died in May she told me that Three Cups of Tea was a book I had to read. So for Eileen, I've finally read Three Cups of Tea and as you said it was a great read.

       So I highly recommend that you read Three Cups of Tea.

     

Where Do All the Good "Bloggin" Names Come From?

        I have been looking through quite a few blog rolls lately as I'm looking for some more good blogs to follow now that I have some more time. I look for some half decent writing, pictures and topics I'm interested in. I'm interested in nature, music, daily life, humor and something that takes me to new experiences. I appreciate blogs that make me think. Many things catch your eye and you say, "I'm going to have a look at this blog for awhile." Yes, sometimes it's just a catchy title!

       There are many reasons why people choose their blog name. I didn't know what I was doing when I chose Hiawatha House. I had spent nine years in a one roomed country school house and I wanted to honor that place. Great sentimental choice, but when it comes to search engines I don't think it really works. You can see many examples of names where people pick something which has sentimental value to them. I just looked at "Ash Lane Farm."

      Some names are fantastically creative. I really like "Muddy Boot Dreams" although I haven't  looked at the blog yet.  Some names are somewhat whimsical as "On a Quirky Quest" which also has some pretty neat alliteration. Some blogs are great at giving their main topic as in " Journey into Elderhood" or "Cottage Country. Many seniors blog so there are names such as "Far Side of Fifty" and "Retirement Chronicles."  There are double entendres although I don't have a good example. Some really catch your attention as "A Little Spark of Madness " and "Out of my Multiple Minds."    

      Now if I was more ambitious I think a really great song could be made using blog titles! Go For it! I can see somebody setting this up as a contest! You're welcome to steal my idea! Just let me in on the songs.

     I often wonder about the practical terms of blog names. I think those that clearly indicate the blog topic are probably the most successful. However, for a browser (person) catchy names probably catch more fish.

      So back to looking for more good blogs to follow.
      

IPod Epilog

       I have posted twice about  my ipod. I know some might say, "Well dry up!",  but I have one more observation.

      My first post covered how I got my ipod and began trying to find out how to use it. I made reference to kids helping me learn how it works.

      On my second post I dealt with how I had found out how to use the ipod and how proud I was of myself.

      Now when you write things you can always look back and see evidence of what you said and did. The facts stare you in the face.

      So now that I am using the ipod and enjoying it I have to look back and say , "What in the world was so hard about all that?" It's really easy once you get the hang of it. No wonder kids find it so easy to use ipods and many other electronic devices. So it's interesting to see how inadequate I felt and was almost talking myself into failure. It was a good learning experience and I will be much better prepared for the next challenge.

More Political Future With the Internet

         A few days ago I posted apiece about the influence of the internet on the Egyptian and Tunisian political upheavals.

        I asked many questions that I'm sure have been asked before and was quite certain that developments were taking place some where on the use of the internet for good or evil.

      I was most surprised to hear a commentary a few days ago to the effect that the Obama administration is looking at the effects of a total shut down of internet communication. In other words they were saying if we have to shut down the internet to control communication what might be some problems.

      I was amazed the hear this thinking from a democratic country. I could see a third world dictatorial country shutting down internet communication but I never thought a democratic country would shut down internet communication. I thought our right to communicate and free speech would have been held at a higher level. I'm sure that somewhere in Canada they are looking at a similar scenario.

      How sad that in countries that have a high regard for freedom and democracy that they would consider restricting speech and communication.