August 30, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Deja Vu All Over Again

We're attending a wedding this weekend, and so for the next three nights we're staying at the Hilton Suites Hotel in Markham, north of Toronto. So, what's the big deal with that, you ask. Well, a little over 21 years ago this hotel was known as the Markham Suites Hotel, and this is where my wife and I spent our wedding night! In a way it's a little bit like coming home. Now, of course, we have an 8 year old in tow. The weekend will not be quite as private or intimate as that stay 21 years ago was, but it's still interesting to be back. I think 21 years ago we were in a different section of the hotel. The room we have isn't as nice as that one was. Frankly, it seems to be a little bit cramped. And I'm a bit surprised to discover that we have to pay ($12 a day) for wifi access. I'm choosing to use the ethernet cable that they're gracious enough to provide for free. No way am I paying for wireless access when you don't have to. And $12 per person for a continental breakfast! A bit ridiculous. Personally I appreciated the Days Inn that we stayed at in Jekyll Island. It was a big and spacious room, free wifi access and free continental breakfast. But, on the other hand, I can tell everybody that we stayed at the Hilton. And it brings back memories of our wedding night!

August 29, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Most Expensive Drink In The World

I don't drink. Alcohol that is. Well, I might have the odd beer, or even more rarely the odd glass of wine (always red; I don't care for white wine at all) but given how often I drink either of those things - I can actually say that I really don't drink. The truth is that I don't care much for the taste of alcohol. Which may be a good thing, because I might not be able to afford to do anything else if I ever developed a taste for the stuff. It can be an expensive habit. The most expensive drink in the world is called "Flawless." I should hope its name is accurate. From its listing in a website: "With a name like Flawless and a price of $54,426, this drink must really be something special. It was served during the 2007 holiday season at the Movida nightclub in London, which is often frequented by A-list celebrities. Served with an 11 carat Flawless diamond and 24-karat gold glakes floating in a cocktail made from Louis XIII cognac, Cristal Rose champagne, angostura bitters and brown sugar, the drink was so prized that patrons ordering it were provided with two security guards from the time the drink was prepared until it was finished." Now, I want to make sure you noticed the price: $54,426. Yes. $54,426. I don't know if that's US or Canadian - but at the current rate of exchange it doesn't make much difference. The thing costs $54, 426. I'm speechless. And happy that I'm not a drinker. It's a habit I definitely can't afford! Here's the full list of the 10 most expensive bar drinks in a slide show format. Happy drinking!

http://www.chacha.com/gallery/4444/10-most-expensive-bar-drinks

And here's a picture of "Flawless"

August 28, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Operation Frozen Jumbo

It seemed to me that this was very relevant. Well, if not relevant, at least important. Well, if not important, at least interesting. That you can't deny. At a zoo in Vienna, Austria a female elephant has been impregnated with frozen sperm - for the very first time. A first has to count for something! Right now the baby elephant is really just a five month old, 10 cm long elephant embryo - but it's alive. Elephant gestation being elephant gestation, of course, it's going to be about a year before we see this marvel of the animal (and scientific) world. The baby is due in August of 2013. The sperm used to impregnate Tonga (the name of the female) was taken from a sedated (I should hope so) wild male in South Africa using a process known as electroejaculation. Apparently, an elecric probe was inserted into the elephant's rectum and placed against the prostate gland, where it delivers a mild electric shock. After 2 or 3 cycles, the result is ... well .. you can figure that out for yourself. The frozen sperm got held up in France by French customs, because apparently French customs had no idea what to do with frozen elephant sperm. It wasn't anything they'd ever encountered before. African elephants (and, even more, Asian elephants) are endangered in the wild due to loss of habitat, so this type of captive breeding is considered an important way of ensuring the survival of the species. The impregnation of Tonga has been dubbed "Operation Frozen Jumbo," and it's a joint endeavour of the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Berlin's Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, France's Beauval Zoo and the Pittsburgh Zoo in the United States.

Here's Tonga, the mom

And here's her unborn baby in an ultrasound:

August 27, 2012: One Interesting Thing - U.S. Interstates

I love the Interstate Highway system in the United States. It has to be one of the most impressively designed system of roads anywhere in the world. On this most recent trip, I haven't used a lot of them. 90 & 190 in New York, and I've been on 75, 95 and 16 in Georgia. But I've been on others over the years, and they are magnificent. Sure, driving them is rather boring, and you don't get much of a flavour of wherever it is you're passing through - but you get where you're going, and you get there pretty quickly! They link together perfectly, they have wonderful rest areas scattered through. The closest we have to compare to them in Canada is probably the 400 series Highways in southern Ontario - but they lack the rest areas certainly, and there's really no national, linked network of highways in Canada, which is a factor of mostly geography I suppose. The system was designed on the pattern of the German autobahns, which Dwight Eisenhower was exposed to after World War II. He was so impressed by the autobahn system that he actively pushed during his presidency for the establishment of a similar system in the U.S. which eventually became the interstate system we know today - officially called the "Eisenhower Interstate System." The system was begun in 1956 and the original portion of it wasn't actually completed until 1991. As of 2010, it had a total length of 47,182 miles. A very impressive system.

http://www.interstate-guide.com/

August 26, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Georgia Southwestern State University

I had a chance today to visit the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia. My niece is a student there and, while we're in the state, we drove down to see her and to see the campus. It's a small school, with a very compact campus - especially compared to the spread out campuses at York University or the University of Toronto where I've studied, but even though it's small, I really liked the campus. It seemed to have everything a student could possibly need. Georgia Southwestern was founded in 1902 as an agricultural and mechanical school but it didn't grant its first Bachelor's degrees until 1968. It took its current name in 1996. It's apparently quite admired for its program in education, which is what my niece is hoping to do over the course of her time there. Among the alumni of Georgia Southwestern is former President Jimmy Carter, whose home town of Plains, Georgia isn't too far from Americus. The major library I saw on campus is the James Earl Carter Library. The current enrollment at Georgia Southwestern is 2811 in undergraduate programs and 235 in graduate programs. The campus has 44 buildings on 250 acres and even has an 18 hole golf course. One interesting thing I discovered is that students have to take some athletic programs for credit as part of their program - so my niece is doing step aerobics this semester. That's an interesting idea, I guess to promote physical fitness. One of the things my niece is very proud of is belonging to the sorority Zeta Tau Alpha. I don't know much about fraternities and sororities, never having belonged to one, but it obviously gives her a sense of belongings. Annual fees to attend Georgia Southwestern are $12,012 for Georgia residents, and $23, 626 for out of state students.

August 25, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Jekyll Island, Georgia

Having just left Jekyll Island this morning it seems appropriate to pay it tribute this evening. We only stayed here for 3 nights, but I can honestly say that this was one of the most relaxing couple of days I've ever spent anywhere. This is what a vacation should be about. The island was uncrowded, the beaches were spacious and the water was warm, and in spite of the fact that it's a fairly small island there's a lot to see and do, so that you don't get bored at all. On our way back to the Atlanta area we made a little side trip to see Savannah and Tybee Island, and my feeling is that I'd take Jekyll Island any day of the week as a vacation spot. Spain was the first European country to claim the island in 1510, but England had taken control by the early 1700's. The island was named after Sir Joseph Jekyll, a British Member of Parliament who donated 600 pounds to help fund the colony on the island and was rewarded by having it named after him. He was apparently a well respected MP who was known among other things for his staunch opposition to intoxication - so staunch that he enraged the public and had to have a guard at his house at all times! The island became best known as a retreat for the ultra rich when the Jekyll Island Club, founded in 1888 with a membership restricted to only 100 people. Members over the years included folks like J.P. Morgan, J.P. Morgan, Jr., William Rockefeller and Joseph Pulitzer. Apparently the legislation for the U.S. Federal Reserve System was drafted during a meeting of the high and mighty at Jekyll Island in 1910. It's not quite so high and mighty anymore. Commoners such as myself now have full access to most of the Island. The Club closed in 1942, then was re-opened and run by the state of Georgia as a public resort until 1971. Then, in 1985 it was re-opened again and is now the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. It's probably not like it was in its grandest days though. We were fortunate to be there during the week after school had re-opened in Georgia, so there weren't many people there at all. Today, as we left the Island, there were a lot of cars heading in, obviously to enjoy a weekend at the Beach!

http://www.jekyllisland.com/

August 24, 2012: One Interesting Thing: Dolphin Watching

Tonight, as we prepare to leave Jekyll Island tomorrow, we went for the highlight of our stay - an evening Dolphin Cruise with Sunset Dolphin Cruises. It was a great experience and we saw a lot of dolphins and learned a lot of other things. The dolphins were fascinating. They seemed to have no fear of the boat at all. If anything they seemed a little bit curious about us. And there were a handful that were becoming somewhat - shall we say - amorous. What I can definitely say after this evening is that dolphins are not shy! And apparently, according to our guide, the whole pod takes part. I didn't ask any more about that! But this was more than just a dolphin cruise. It was a delightful 90 minutes out in the water, and we learned a lot about other types of wildlife in the area. Who knew that there were pelicans in Georgia. But there are! And alligators. I knew farther south in the swamps approaching Florida there would be some, but apparently - although we didn't see any - there are some on Jekyll Island as well. Not to mention manatees. I never thought they would come this far north, but apparently they do, and they're not uncommon here on Jekyll Island, although we didn't see any tonight. It was a fascinating evening with a fun and friendly and knowledgeable captain and first mate and a beautiful sunset on the way back to the dock. We couldn't have asked for much more. I'm glad we got to take it in.

August 23, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Georgia Sea Turtle Centre

This afternoon we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island in Georgia. I was very impressed. It's quite a fascinating place. A lot of excellent displays inside, and then you get to go into the "hospital" where many turtles are being rehabilitated. There was even an opportunity to watch a particularly large sea turtle receiving medical treatment. This is a beautiful area, but I have to say that (although we've only been here for a couple of days) this has probably been the most interesting thing we've done. We unfortunately missed nesting season for the turtles. The first week of August there were apparently a lot of just hatched baby sea turtles wandering the beaches at night. Now, we're told that you'd have to be lucky to see one. Sea turtles can live for up to eighty years. Magnificent creatures!

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia

August 22, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Courtroom Humour

According to the Massachussetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal, the following exchange actually happened in a Massachussetts courtroom during a trial:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?

WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

I just had to share it! Priceless!

August 21, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Nicholas McCarthy, A Left Handed Pianist!

I cannot play the piano to save my life. Well, the truth is that I guess I'm a little better than that. I can figure out a basic tune using more or less one finger but don't ask me to do anything too complicated on the piano. I mean, it takes me a significant amount of time just to figure out where "do" is and then to go from there to figure out the right key to hit for the first note of whatever song I have the sheet music for. I'm actually proud of myself for knowing enough about sheet music to be able to figure out what the first note is and where it falls on the scale and on the keys! But given my obvious limitations in this area, I am truly in awe of those who can sit down at a piano and produce the most beautiful and complicated sounding pieces of music. And I'm especially in awe of Nicholas McCarthy. Nicholas McCarthy is a one-handed pianist! Well, actually, so am I for the most part, but that's because I can't figure out how to use two hands. He uses one hand and makes it sound like he's using two hands! He's 23 years old and was born without a right hand. As far as anyone knows he's the youngest solo-left handed pianist ever. As a teenager, he was denied admission to the Royal College of Music because of what they called his "disability." They probably feel foolish at this point. He's hoping to perform for the athletes at the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in London, but may not get the invitation to do so. That would be a shame in my opinion. It seems to me he'd be quite an inspiration.

http://www.nicholasmccarthy.co.uk/

August 20, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Anneliese Carr

Just recently I watched a TV movie about Marilyn Bell - the first person to ever swim across Lake Ontario in 1954. Since then, a lot of people have made the swim - 56 according to Solo Swim Ontario. It really doesn't seem to be that big a deal anymore. Until yesterday. Anneliese Carr is 14 years old - and yesterday she became the youngest person ever to make the 52 kilometre swim across Lake Ontario. Marilyn Bell was 16 years old when she made the swim. Carr's swim began in Niagara-on-the-Lake at about 6:00 Saturday night, and ended at 9:00 Sunday night when she arrived at Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto. That's 27 hours of high winds, cold currents and leg cramps. In making the swim, she raised more than $90,000 for Camp Trillium - a summer camp for children with cancer. Carr is from Walsh, Ontario (in Norfolk County) - about a 2 hour drive west of where I live. During her swim she was "given food and water every hour. The water was delivered by tethered bottles and the food passed using a lacrosse stick. Based on the rules set by Solo Swim Ontario, she wasn't allowed to touch any boats throughout the swim." (from the Toronto Star article on her swim.) If you'd like to make a donation to Camp Trillium:

http://raiseathon.ca/arc/

August 19, 2012: One Interesting Thing: The Dieppe Raid

It was 70 years ago today. The Dieppe Raid - one of the bloodiest and most controversial campaigns ever fought by Canadian troops, who assaulted the German held French town on August 19, 1942. It was originally supposed to be one of a number of Allied raids on the French coast that were intended to provide assistance to the Soviet Union, who were fighting the Germans on the Eastern front, by diverting some German attention and troops. Dieppe ended up being the only one of the planned raids to actually happen. In a way, it was a test - was it even possible to raid a French coastal town and take control? That was obviously a question that needed to be answered as the Allies looked down the road to an actual invasion of France. The operation included about 5000 Canadians, 1000 British, 50 Americans and 15 French. Throughout my time of studying Canadian history, the basic idea has been that the raid was a total failure and had no chance of success - the thinking being that the British sacrificed mostly Canadians because they didn't want to throw too many of their own into a doomed battle. It's obvious today that Dieppe was a failure. The port wasn't taken, and over 3600 men were either killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The Allies always argued that the lessons learned at Dieppe were put to good use on D-Day two years later. Einston Churchill later said: "My Impression of 'Jubilee' is that the results fully justified the heavy cost" and it "was a Canadian contribution of the greatest significance to final victory." More recent evidence, though, uncovered by historian David O'Keefe, points to a much more significant reason for the Dieppe raid than simply being a forerunner for D-Day. Apparently, the main raid was to be used as a cover to sneak an elite group of commandos into the German Naval Headquarters in the town to steal the German "Enigma" codebooks (and possible even an "Enigma" machine - which would have been a huge development in the war if it had succeeded. It didn't The raid failed, and the commandos didn't get either an Enigma codebook or an Enigma machine. But - whether it was useful or not - let's honour the memory of those that fought and those that died on that bloody day.

August 18, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Shortest Presidential Term Ever

I'm not talking about William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States who served for only one month before dying in office. His term of office was a marathon compared to: Pedro Lascurain, who served as president of Mexico for about 45 minutes (although some say as little as 15 minutes; some as long as 55 minutes; but everyone agrees it was less than a  hour) on February 18, 1913. 45 minutes! That's apparently the shortest term of office ever served by a head of state in the entire history of the world! The 1857 Mexican Constitution provided that succession to the presidency went to the vice president, the attorney general, and then the foreign minister and finally the interior minister. On that notable date - February 18, 1913, General Victoriano Huerta overthrew the Mexican government led by president Francisco Madero. But Huerta didn't want to come to power by means of a coup. So Madero, under arrest, was "persuaded" to resign, along with the vice president and the attorney general, neither of whom were sympathetic to the coup. That placed the presidency in the hands of the foreign minister - Pedro Lascurain - but the drama wasn't over yet. Lascurain's one and only act as president was to appoint Huerta as interior minister. That meant that, in the absence of a vice president and attorney general (both of whom had "resigned") and with no foreign minister (because Lascurain had succeeded to the presidency) Huerta was now next in line to be president. And guess what. Minutes after appointing Huerta as interior minister, Lascurain suddenly resigned as president - meaning that Huerta was now the legally and properly installed President of Mexico, having succeeded to the office completely in accordance with the Constitution of Mexico! Lascurain declined to serve in Huerta's cabinet, retiring from politics and taking up the practice of law again, until he died in 1952. A fascinating story!

Pedro Lascurain

President of Mexico

February 18, 1913

(For a few minutes, anyway!)

August 17, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Memories of the C.N.E.

The 2012 version of the Canadian National Exhibition opened today in Toronto. It's the 134th CNE, and it - as always - runs through Labour Day, September 3. I don't have any plans to attend. I actually haven't been to the CNE in - well - I don't know how long it's been. But when I was a kid the annual visit to the CNE was a big - a VERY big thing. Those were the days before there were big amusement parks. There was no Canada's Wonderland just outside the city. There was no Darien Lake just across the border. If you wanted an amusement park, you had to go either to Fantasy Island in Grand Island, NY - but that was very little kid oriented - or you had to take advantage of the Midway at the CNE. That was it. Getting to the CNE was fun. Express TTC buses, or the GO Train, or the Bathurst street car - they all worked. I spent a lot of time on the rides at the CNE. Two of my favourites are gone: The Flyer - the old & rickety wooden roller coaster and The Alpine Way, that would take you across the grounds at dizzying heights. I remember the House of Mirrors. The games, the smells, the noises. They come back when I think about it. I remember, of course, the food building, but when I was a kid it was different. From what I hear now, the battle seems to be over who can come up with the absolute grossest and most disgusting concoctions of food possible. Back in my childhood days, it was real and delicious food. My best memories are probably the annual CNE Air Show. Lots of great planes and sights there. And, of course, the CNE always had a tinge of sadness to it. When it was over, it meant "back to school." I won't be going this year. But I do have some great memories.

http://www.theex.com/

August 16, 2012: One Interesting Thing: Madonna's Wardrobe

All right. I admit it. This is not earth-shaking. But still - take a look at the picture below. From what I've come across, Madonna is being blasted by some people for wearing a supposedly "age-inappropriate" wardrobe at the opening of Moscow's Hard Candy Fitness. What exactly is "age inappropriate"? And who gets to decide what is or isn't "age inappropriate"? First of all, Madonna is Madonna. Her being dressed in a way that others might consider outrageous isn't exactly news. And, as I look at the picture below, I'm struggling to figure out what's "age inappropriate" about it? She's 54 years old - and, to be blunt, she looks pretty good! So - in the words of a critic - it's a "bra-exposing black mini with knee-high leather boots, net stockings, and ridiculous fingerless gloves." Who really cares? And what makes the critic the authority on what Madonna (or any woman, or man for that matter) can or should (or can't or shouldn't) wear? The particular critic who wrote the piece on her is named Matt Whitfeld and he writes for Yahoo! This makes him authoritative? Between Google and Facebook and Twitter does anybody actually use Yahoo! anymore? (I came across this "controversy" only because somebody posted it on Facebook!) I don't use Yahoo! I haven't in years. So, do I care if a Yahoo! critic thinks Madonna is dressed in an "age inappropriate" manner. No. I say to her and anybody else - wear whatever you want to wear. Life's too short to be criticizing people for their choice of wardrobe!

August 15, 2012: One Interesting Thing - That's A Lot Of Pumice!

Right at this very moment, there's 7,500 square kilometres of pumice bobbing around in the South Pacific Ocean. It was discovered by New Zealand's Royal Navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. That makes this piece of pumice more than 6 times bigger than the State of Rhode Island! Drop a few people on it and you could declare it an independent country! The Republic of Pumice! One sailor described it as "the weirdest thing I've ever seen." This particular floating rock is about 250 nautical miles long by 30 nautical miles wide. Pumice is formed by lava that cools very quickly into a slid, frothy, lightweight state after an eruption. Obviously, this particular island of pumice was formed by an underwater volcanic eruption, although scientists right now aren't sure which volcano - there are several in the South Pacific - but one named Monowai has been known to have been recently active, and there also the Havre Seamount farther south. Both are part of what's known as the Kermadec Arc, northeast of New Zealand. On July 17 & 18 there were 157 earthquakes recorded of between 3.0 and 4.8 on the Richter scale in that area, so that's probably when this piece of pumice was formed. It's extremely lightweight in spite of its size, so it represents no threat to anything.

August 14. 2012: One Interesting Thing - Rest In Peace, Ron Palillo

Back in the 70's, I loved "Welcome Back, Kotter." I don't see it very often, now. It's not big on the rerun scene, and on the odd occasion when I do see it pop up, I can understand why. Somehow it really wasn't that great a show. Back in the 70's, when I was a teenager, it seemed like it was, but it doesn't seem to have that timeless quality that a lot of shows have - "MASH," or "All In The Family" for example. But I watched it. I can remember the theme song - "Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about. ..." Gabriel Kaplan was the "star" as Mr. Kotter. Not a great actor, to be honest. A much better writer. John Travolta became the big star, of course. He's still around. Still a big star. The others supported the show. And I heard today that Ron Palillo - who played Arnold Horschack - had died at the age of 63. How could Horshack possibly be 63? That can only mean I'm getting old! I always had a sense of kinship with Horshack. Maybe it's because I was never one of the cool kids in school, and even among the sweathogs, neither was Arnold Horshack. So I could relate to him in a way - except I got better grades than he did! Ron Palillo died of a heart attack early this morning.

Ron Palillo (1949-1963)

The Welcome Back, Kotter cast

The Welcome Back, Kotter theme song

August 13, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Berlin Wall

It was 51 years ago today. On August 13, 1961 the Communist authorities of the then German Democratic Republic (East Germany) began building a wall that would separate the eastern part of Berlin from the democratic West Berlin. The excuse for the wall from the Communist authorities was that it was to shield their citizens from "fascist" influences. The truth, of course, was that it was to prevent their own citizens from fleeing their bleak existence on the eastern side of the city for the more prosperous western side of the city, which about 3.5 million people did between the advent of Communist rule in the East and the bulding of the wall. After it was built, only about 5000 people tried to escape, with perhaps as many as 200 being shot and killed during the attempt. It represents a very different and now strange-seeming time in history, the Cold War having ended more than 20 years ago, but I can remember always thinking how strange and how sad it was that a country would have to build a wall to keep its own citizens from escaping. The Wall was officially called (by the Communist authorities) the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart." In West Berlin it was often called the "Wall of Shame." One of the great lines of modern history was spoken by President Ronald Reagan during a visit to West Berlin in 1987, when he said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." The Wall was finally torn down in 1989, one of the first events (after the Communists lost power in Poland) that led to the end of Communist dominance in Eastern Europe and the final collapse of the Soviet Union. This is a date worth marking, with perhaps a lament for those who died in their efforts to escape East Germany and build a better life.

Graffiti decorated portion of the western

side of the Wall in 1986.

August 12, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Drive Thru Prayer

I like the idea in theory. In the video posted below, I discovered "drive thru prayer." I'd never heard of it before. The story comes from Winnipeg, where a group of people essentially set themselves up in the parking lot of a church and offer drivers the opportunity to pop in and be prayed for while remaining in their car. It's really not a bad idea. There are a lot of people who probably for whatever reason don't want to be caught going to church but might not mind stopping for a couple of minutes to be prayed for. And, in an era when we need newer and more interesting ways to share the gospel - why not? Apparently this isn't new. A bit of research tells me that drive thru prayer is happening in at least Florida, Georgia and California - and probably more. It's an interesting idea. And it's not all evangelical churches doing it either. There's at least one United Methodist Church in on the idea near Atlanta. It wouldn't work for us at my church. We're not on a major street, so there's not enough traffic, and in any event we barely have a parking lot to set up shop in. But I do wonder what would happen if we tried it? Having watched the video, the one thing that concerns me is that it seems to reinforce the stereotype of Christians as being elderly and gray-haired (but, then again, that's generally who would be available to do this sort of thing on a weekday, isn't it.) There are some valid questions to be raised about it. Does it really establish any sort of relationship with people? Or is it a buy-in to a consumer mentality that says "make everything quick & simple - and make it about me, without anything being asked of me in return?" I don't know. It might send that message. Somehow, though, I still believe there's a valid and worthwhile ministry here.

August 11, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Supercentenarians

The Bible says that we get seventy years to live our lives - or eighty, if we're strong. As I've sometimes said at funerals (usually just to families that I know or who have shared this particular character trait of the deceased with me) that means if you make it to ninety it must be because you're stubborn! The oldest person I've ever conducted a funeral for was 104 years old. That's extra stubborn! Then I came across a story about the oldest woman in Canada. Neither her name or where she lives has been released, so some speculate that this is really a tall tale, but the story is that she's 113 years old and lives somewhere in Saskatchewan. Apparently wheat and potash promote longevity. Now I read the story a couple of days ago admittedly, and she's supposed to be 113, so I'm hoping as I write this that she's still with us! Apparently (although the list changes regularly as you might imagine) this woman would be the 16th oldest person alive in the world today. The oldest is a 115 year old woman named Besse Cooper in Georgia, in the USA. Apparently the oldest person ever was a woman named Jeanne Calment, who lived in France and survived to the age of 122 until her death in 1997. If you make it to more than 110, you're referred to as a "supercentenarian," which is kind of a cool title. I'm not sure I want to be one. I suppose if my health were good and I had at least modest independence and my wits about me - sure, but I know too many people well shy of supercentenarian status who don't have those things. On the other hand, this woman's story reminds me that in relative terms, I'm still a kid - less than half this woman's age. I've got a long way to go, baby!

August 10, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Nose Hill Gentlemen

It's an interesting story that's made the news in the last few weeks and that has led to one of the great "hashtags" of the Twitter-verse: #NoseHillGentlemen. A while back an off duty police officer from Kalamazoo, Michigan was visiting Calgary, Alberta during the Calgary Stampede. As they walked along a path in the Nose Hill district of the city they were approached by two men who called out "Have you been to the Stampede yet?" They didn't answer, so the men repeated the question. The off duty officer responded with something like "Gentlemen, we don't wish to talk with you. Leave us alone." (Not an exact quote, but it captures the spirit.) Then, just a few days ago, the officer sent a letter to the Calgary Herald, bemoaning the fact that he didn't have his gun on him to defend himself against these villainous Stampede-inviters, as well as the fact that in Canada, only police officers and criminals carry guns. Well, basically he's right - which is probably why Canada has so few gun crimes on a per capita basis than the US. In fact, in the most recent statistics, Kalamazoo had only one fewer gun killing than Calgary - in spite of the fact that Calgary is well over 10 times the size. Interesting. Anyway, the online world has been rife with people mocking the officer (and I confess, not that I'm proud of it, that I weighed in with a #NoseHillGentlemen tweet of my own.) But the more I think about it, the more I realize that we shouldn't be mocking the officer. We should really be feeling sympathy for him. He's a product of what is obviously a very sick society which fills people with fear at the sight or sound of a stranger, and in which "shoot first, ask questions later" is increasingly becoming the accepted way of life. And, had he had his gun with him in Calgary, two men might be dead for asking he and his wife if they'd "been to the Stampede yet." What was in his mind? Maybe American criminals are different, but I really don't think that many Canadian criminals lead in to their heinous crimes by asking their intended victims whether they've recently attended a major cultural festival. I just don't think they do. So we have a classic example here of the gun culture, and the way it warps people's minds. I don't think I'll be travelling to Kalamazoo any time soon, but if I do, I'll be sure not to talk to anyone - especially a police officer. I might be taking my life into my own hands.

August 9, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Chickens Come From Southeast Asia

I've heard of the "out of Africa" theory about the origin of human beings. Now I've added another one: the "out of Asia" theory about the origin of chickens! Apparently research has found that all modern chickens are descended from a region in southeast Asia, and they're calling the common ancestors of all chickens "the great-great grandmothers of the chicken world." I'm very glad that someone has researched this, because lately I've been waking up every morning with that question on my mind - "where did chickens originate?" OK. Sarcasm over. This is, indeed, interesting. Chickens have apparently been domesticated for about 5400 years and humans have carried them along every time we've gone globe-trotting, making it difficult to actually determine where the cycle started. But apparently, studying the origins and ancestry of chickens actually is of importance to human history. Chickens don't really fly very far and they don't swim at all, so they don't really migrate. Wherever they are, they're there because people took them there. So, tracing how chickens spread across the world (and to do that, we need to know where they started) tells us a lot about human migration and ancient trading routes. So, this is actually interesting. Here's a fuller version of what I just summarized:

All Chickens Descend From Southeast Asia

August 8, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Texas Executions

Yes, this is an uncomfortable subject, and I'll lay my own feelings on the line - I oppose the death penalty for any reason. I have my reasons for being totally and completely opposed to the death penalty. It has to do mostly with faith, and with my understanding that Jesus made it impossible for us to take the life of another person for any reason at all with the words, "whoever is without sin, let him cast the first stone,"  in reference to a situation where a capital offense had been committed and the penalty was about to be carried out - completely properly according to the law. As I read that, Jesus opposed even "legal" execution, because no executioner is actually worthy to be an executioner. That's a summary of my views. But I was both intrigued and appalled by something I read this morning. A man in Texas, who's IQ has been measured as being as low as 61, was executed last night. His crime was murdering a police drug informant. He may deserve to die, although I do wonder if a man with that low of an IQ can really comprehend the nature of his actions or differentiate right from wrong. But that's a legal issue, and apparently "the law" (represented by the Texas courts) said he deserved to die. Once again, though, I'm stuck on this issue: if only those without sin (according to Jesus himself) can "cast the first stone" - if it takes a sinless person to actually execute  another person (even one properly tried, convicted and sentenced), then how did the State of Texas find an appropriate executioner? It seems to me that only Jesus fits that description - and in John's Gospel he declined the job. The other (and more secular) thing  that bothered me (and it truly bothered me) about this execution is that Texas has a unique way of determining if a person is "mentally retarded." Apparently, according to the Texas courts, such a person is supposed to be compared to Lennie - a simple-minded fictional character from John Steinback's novel "Of Mice And Men." The example of a fictional character is being used to help determine whether a person should live or die? Even Steinbeck's son said that if his father was still alive, he'd be appalled and ashamed that his novel was being used for such purposes. Only in Texas, I guess. I, for one, am happy to live in the civilized world, where we understand that killing (all killing) is wrong. As God might say, "what part of 'do not kill' don't you understand?"

August 7, 2012: One Interesting Thing: Kingdom Bound at Darien Lake

I spent pretty much the entire day at the Darien Lake amusement park east of Buffalo today. The church youth group was going, because it's the annual "Kingdom Bound" event - a Christian event featuring Christian speakers and bands. The real appeal, to be honest, is that you get cut rate ticket prices for the park and the chance to go on the rides. Frankly, I found much of the Christian content that I heard quite questionable in terms of theology. Nothing that I would want to bring into my church. I ended up attending one session for men, which started with a thinly veiled attack: something alone the lines of "we have to tell the National Organization of Women and all the gay rights groups that plugs don't fit with plugs and sockets don't fit with sockets." Frankly, that's pretty crude. A lot of "men are the head of the houseold" and "man is the head of the woman" kind of stuff. The now cliche generalization that "men don't respond to regular church services." It did little for me. The closing concert turned out to be a very (VERY!) long monologue by a Christian comedian whose theological message (we need to be holy and not just OK) was all right, but who wasn't very funny and who was scheduled to go on way too long. The band wasn't coming on until 9:30, and then only for a half hour, so we left a bit early. Of course, we did spend much of the day on rides. This was the first time I had a chance to go on roller coasters i a number of years. They have some pretty big ones. I survived, but by the end my brain was feeling just a bit scrambled. Apparently I'm not 25 anymore. Still, we had a good day with a good bunch of kids.

August 6, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Mars Rover "Curiosity"

Mars has always held a lot of fascination for people. The Roman God of War. The Red Planet. Countless stories of invasions by Martians - War Of The Worlds and even Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Mars has the highest known mountain in our solar system - Olympus Mons, possibly 22 km high - and the largest canyon known in our solar system - Valles Marineris, more than 4000 km long, 200 km wide and perhaps 7 km deep in places. We know there's water on Mars - most of it frozen in the ice caps - and there's some evidence that at certain times of the Martian year there might even be flowing water on Mars. So far, though, there's no evidence of any life on Mars. Very early this morning, humanity made another visit to the red planet - at least our technology did. The NASA vehicle Curiosity (a kind of car-sized rover vehicle) was successfully landed on the surface, with a basically very simple mission: to see if Mars ever had the right conditions to support life! In all honesty, I'm not a big believer in extra-terrestrial life, but the possibility fascinates me. If it exists, I have my doubts that we'll ever contact it, distances in the expanse of outer space being what they are. Still, missions like this arouse the "curiosity" in me. When I was a kid I had an interest in astronomy; in learning about the universe. I believe that to some extent that curiosity awakened my inner spirituality. Now, I'm still fascinated by things like this.

 

A NASA satellite in orbit around Mars caught this picture of Curiosity parachuting through the Martian atmosphere.

A picture of the Martian landscape taken by Curiosity

For more on Curiosity and its mission

August 5, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The US Brig Niagara

I toured the Niagara about 3 or 4 years ago when it was docked here in town for the Canal Days Festival. It's an annual visitor to town during the festival. Having seen it once, I've not bothered going back until today, when I felt called to do so. This morning in church, you see, we had a couple of crew members from the Niagara attend our service. I figured if they took the time to visit me in my place, I'd take the time to visit them at their place. It's a relatively small ship. The crew's quarters below deck are unbelievably small, so that you have to walk through them almost doubled over, so low are the ceilings. This is not the actual Brig Niagara. It's a replica. The original was built in 1813 and was the relief flagship for a nine ship squadron of American vessels that fought the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, during the War of 1812. The Americans won the battle, and the victory led to one of the most famous lines in military history, contained in the message of victory sent by American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. Having captured the six ship British squadron, Perry's message stated, among other things, "we have met the enemy and they are ours ..." The original ship was scuttled in 1820. It was raised in 1913, rebuilt between 1933 and 1943 and became a museum, and again between 1988 and 1990, when it returned to the water as an active vessel. It's also the official ship of the State of Pennsylvania, and since 2005 it's been a designated Sailing School Vessel. Now it plies the Great Lakes for friendlier reasons, commemorating two hundred years of peace between the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Brig Niagara

August 4, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Canal Days

This is THE big weekend in Port Colborne, Ontario - and not just because it's a holiday weekend. This weekend is Canal Days - a celebration of Port Colborne's marine heritage - Port Colborne being at the south end of the Welland Canal, which joins Lakes Erie and Ontario, and allows vessels to avoid Niagara Falls. I was especially looking forward to this year's version. To be honest, this is our 8th Canal Days since we moved here, and by the last couple of years I really thought it was getting a little bit stale. Same old, same old. Never much different. There are a few things this year that are different. This morning I attended a re-enactment of a battle of the War of 1812. It was a bit barebones and not especially exciting, and I think (from comments I heard) that more than a few people felt the same way. But at least it was different. There's an astronomy exhibit from the Royal Ontario Museum this year. I haven't checked that out yet. I've heard that the midway has more rides than usual, but we're not really a midway type of family, so that doesn't matter. One change I'm not happy with is that there's no ferris wheel this year. My daughter and I used to love the ferris wheel. But for some reason, it's not here.  Basically, though, it's still the same thing. Which is fine, I guess. It brings a lot of people into town, and if you're looking to bring people in, then they don't know that it's the same every year! And one thing I don't mind that's the same every year are the food vendors. There are some pretty good ones. A little pricey, but that goes with the territory. What hurt today was the heat. On our back deck it was 36C/97F in the shade. On West Street it was oppressive. Crowds were low, parking was easy to find - you just couldn't stay out in the heat for very long. Hopefully, tomorrow will cool off a bit. If you're in the neighbourhood - drop by. Canal Days is worth a visit if you've never been before!

August 3, 2012: One Interesting Thing - Medieval Bras

How can you not make a comment about this? I'm certainly no connoisseur of women's underwear, but this story certainly caught my attention. Apparently no one really knows when the bra was invented. Somehow you would think someone would have noticed, but apparently not. They began being mass produced about a hundred years ago, but how far back their origins go is a bit of a mystery. No one though thought they went back quite THIS far. Archaeologists from the University of Innsbruck in Austria were working in a castle in East Tyrol, when they discovered - bras! Bras with "distinctly cut cups!" Bras that dated back to the mid 1400's! From the picture below it can't be argued that they don't look pretty much like today's version. Apparently in that portion of the world that studies the history of women's underwear this is quite an exciting find! Apparently there are references from this period in time to "bags for the breasts," but there are no explicit references to anything resembling modern bras. I don't know that this is exactly what I would consider an earth shaking discovery, but it sure caught my attention!

August 2, 2012: One Interesting Thing - The Privilege Of Being A Pastor

I just got home from our local hospital a few minutes ago after being called in late at night on a pastoral care emergency to be with a family who had just lost a loved one. It's not an uncommon event. In this case the family had strong connections with the church, but quite often in such circumstances (especially when I was volunteering as an on call chaplain) I would be called into such a situation for people with no connection to the church but who, in the immediate situation, felt  a need for spiritual comfort and asked for a pastor. When I was ordained (now almost 20 years ago) I hadn't really thought of this part of ministry. I knew I'd be preaching and doing funerals and weddings. I never thought about emergencies like this. What I've discovered in such situations is the sheer privilege of this calling I've been given by God. It never ceases to amaze me that in such a situation, as a pastor I can walk into a hospital room and I'm immediately accepted; treated as if I'm part of the family; there's no question about whether I should be there. To have the chance to be with families at the most personal and vulnerable times of their lives - that's what I've discovered I really love about this vocation.

August 1, 2012: One Interesting Thing - A Badminton "Racket"

Stress on the "racket!" Truthfully, we're kind of used to being disillusioned when it comes time for the Olympics. They're full of politics, and there are always doping scandals, and doping accusations. It's really hard to know just exactly who's above board and who's not sometimes. This one really took the cake though. 8 badminton players at the London Olympics (the reigning world champions from China, two teams from South Korea and one from Indonesia) were thrown out of the Games today - for not trying. NOT TRYING! That one is discouraging. At least with a doping scandal (or for that matter most cheating scandals) you know that the athletes involved are trying to win. These 8 were trying to lose! I haven't come across any video, but I saw something on television - the players deliberately serving weakly into the net, deliberately shooting the cock wide; no one trying at all; no one so much as working up a sweat. The fans were booing (quite properly and quite understandably), the players were being warned by the referee, and it just kept going on. Finally, they were disqualified. The reason apparently has to do with the tournament format. A loss would somehow have set these teams up with more favourable opponents in the next round. That sounds kind of weird, but it's absolutely no excuse. Thrown out they should have been - and, frankly, the fans sitting there watching the farce should have had their money refunded, but the London organizers - to their discredit - are saying "no way" to that. In my opinion, these 8 shouldn't just be disqualified from this tournament, they should be banned from the Olympics. The sad thing is that this isn't the first time teams have apparently tried to lose. In the Winter Olympics several years ago the Swedish hockey team apparently is suspected of deliberately losing to get a weaker opponent. Does it get any sadder. The South Korean coach had the nerve to get whiney about this: "The Chinese started this. They did it first." Please. He sounds like a 7 year old on a schoolyard. They should all be ashamed of themselves.