back in the saddle
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| my city is still breathing back in the saddle |
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Saturday, June 26, 2010 I am starting a new blog. kimsaid.wordpress.com . If there's anyone out there still reading this maybe come have a look (but give me some time, I'm building......) posted by kim | 1:41 a.m.| (0) comments Monday, July 10, 2006 I can't sleep. I stayed up an hour or so later than I should have, finishing off Khalad Hosseini's The Kite Runner, and now find myself unable to sleep. Part of it, I'm sure, is the book and the ideas it has brought to my head, and part, likely, is me, unwillingly, returning to the nocturnal state that I often find myself in - that my body seems to prefer... The Kite Runner has left me uncertain about my feelings on Afghani-American relations, or Afghani-Canadian relations, or, even, Afghani-WORLD relations. While I realise the book is a biased work of fiction, the way the Taliban are depicted in the book (and, the way we have seen them on the news over the years) leaves me almost applauding the American's eventual entrance into Afghanistan, even if it was for, possibly, the wrong reasons. And makes me question why a united front didn't go in there sooner... That said, I wonder, as well, if anything they're doing, or we're doing, I guess, could possibly help, could possibly change things... I mean, wasn't it, arguably, a foreign power that got Afghanistan to the place they were at in 2001, and who can say that another foreign power will get them out of it. Is civil society at a place today in Afghanistan that one can see a democracy, or some other form of relatively stable government, forming? Either way, is the right way to get to this point really for Americans and Canadians and other Western powers to go in? I, at one point, would likely have said no. And I'm still torn on the subject - part of me thinks the entire idea of pulling out or not going in or letting the people there deal with their own problems is akin to ignoring it altogether, and you really can't ignore ethnic clensing, can you? That said, I still don't know what sending in the guns will do, especially into a country that's already lost so much, especially in terms of population and infrastructure. And what right do we have, way over here in North America, to tell someone half a world away how to run their country and live their lives? But what right do we have to turn a blind eye to the injustices happening in them, or to acknowledge them with a slap on the wrist? I realise this debate has been raging for 5 years now, but this book has led me to re-examine my feelings on the whole issue. I don't have any answers, but at least I've begun to think about it again... posted by kim | 4:23 a.m.| (0) comments Tuesday, April 04, 2006 rush out to your local record store and buy Exit Music - Songs With Radio Heads. Now. Marc Ronson's cover of Just alone makes it worth the asking price. Apparently it doesn't come out until April 18, but you can get it on iTunes already. posted by kim | 4:14 a.m.| (2) comments Saturday, February 11, 2006 Today two Jehovah's Witnesses buzzed my apartment to tell me about the way of the lord. or something. After a minute or so my intercom automatically hangs up on whoever's out there. So I only got to hear a minute worth and neglected to answer the phone the next time it buzzed. They did leave me a very nice message, though, telling me to have a great afternoon. So I sat there and watched them buzz every apartment in my building on the closed circuit and kinda started to feel bad for them. I mean, imagine having to spend your weekend going door to door telling people about your faith as a precondition to be accepted into your church. I often wonder how many of these people, especially the younger ones, really want to be doing this or are just doing it to make their families happy or to remain in the good graces of their peer group. It is really quite depressing. The one that was not doing the talking looked especially bored, pacing around in front of my building. I wondered about how many people actually answered the phone and how many of them were polite to them and what kind of reactions they got. I can imagine it would be quite interesting to follow Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons around for a day or two simply to see how people treat them. I can imagine it would be quite frustrating and/or disenheartening - to watch all these people not accept what you believe so feverently to be true. posted by kim | 1:32 p.m.| (2) comments Monday, January 30, 2006 Lloyd Axworthy should run for Liberal leadership. He's the only one that could make my recent experience of voting Liberal a semi-permanent thing. posted by kim | 11:11 p.m.| (1) comments Wednesday, October 12, 2005 I am so happy the CBC strike has ended. I was ready to kill the robot voice doing the radio3 podcast. and I missed listening to the news on the radio.. posted by kim | 3:58 a.m.| (0) comments Tuesday, October 11, 2005  
posted by kim |
8:38 a.m.|
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I'm amazed at how quickly autumn took over. Out of nowhere I have found myself walking home from work in the dark (after both day and night shifts!!), kicking aside the dried leaves that are suddenly littering the sidewalks. I'm almost looking forward to winter, although I'm sure a week in I'll be constantly complaining about people that don't clear their walks and having to defrost my entire body twice a day. And the fact I have to use the blowdryer. Still, I'm looking forward to pulling out the winter jacket and mitts, wearing a touque, seeing the sun reflect off the snow... winter's kinda grown on me. posted by kim | 7:53 a.m.| (0) comments Thursday, August 25, 2005 I recently moved from just north of downtown (up centre street) to just southwest of the core. I live much closer to work (and many other places I frequent), but really miss the walk in from my old place. Every morning I'd get to walk down Centre St., down the hill (but through the green areas of Crescent Heights - not on the street) and look over my city and the river valley first thing in the morning - when the sun had just come up and the city was waking - rush hour was just beginning and the air had that nice, fresh morning feel. Or, when on nights, I'd walk down just after all the suburbanites had evacuated downtown for their backyards and barbeques, and it would be quiet - not the 3 am quiet of my nightly Timmy's run, just the pre-nightlife still when you know anyone who actually lives downtown has already gone home from work to change or make dinner or whatever. And still, that chance to look over the city I've chosen to call home. My new walk is about half the distance, and leads me by some great stores or some beautiful tree-lined streets, depending on my route. I pass some of the most amusing street people, men using great lines like "I need $5 to see a man about a horse" or "wanna share your umbrella? I don't mean give me it, I mean share". They often make me smile. But I miss the walk through Crescent Heights and the view. And looking out over my city at the start of my day. But my city is still breathing.... posted by kim | 11:47 p.m.| (2) comments Sunday, July 17, 2005 they've moved me to days, as of today. my sense of time has become even more warped. when I wake up at 4 pm it's ok to eat popcorn for breakfast, but at 4 am it seems wrong. I might have to go buy milk. gasp. posted by kim | 4:40 a.m.| (1) comments |
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