OMG, has anyone read this?!? (AKA the Wildrose Alliance wants to hate you)

Okay, so I don't actually have a lot of readers, so I don't know how effective this post could actually be. But have any of you followers of the Wildrose Alliance actually read their policies?

Check out their statement under the section entitled "human rights" - there is only one sentance - "strike section 3 of the Human Rights and Multiculturalism Act". Now, this act is a lengthy document, but if you read it, you'll see that Section 3 (see below for text) prohibits publications that discriminate on the basis of those pesky little annoyances, things like race, culture, sexual orientation, yada yada yada. They actually want to TAKE AWAY our protection against hate literature - because, apparently, the WA believes promoting hate is A-OK.

Headlines in the major newspapers are all speaking more and more lately to the fact that the Wildrose Alliance is taking Alberta by storm, snatching up the popular votes in opinion polls like Homer snatches up donuts. Does anyone else find this scary?

Next thing you know, they'll wanna take away our right to throw mandatory sex parties (just jokes. I actually don't think these are a good idea either - sorry hyperbole-and-a-half... you're sweet but I just don't think the idea will fly). The horror!

Section 3

Discrimination re publications, notices

3(1) No person shall publish, issue or display or cause to be published, issued or displayed before the public any statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation that

(a) indicates discrimination or an intention to discriminate against a person or a class of persons, or

(b) is likely to expose a person or a class of persons to hatred or contempt

because of the race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation of that person or class of persons.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to interfere with the free expression of opinion on any subject.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to

(a) the display of a notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation displayed to identify facilities customarily used by one gender,

(b) the display or publication by or on behalf of an organization that

(i) is composed exclusively or primarily of persons having the same political or religious beliefs, ancestry or place of origin, and

(ii) is not operated for private profit,

of a statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation indicating a purpose or membership qualification of the organization, or

(c) the display or publication of a form of application or an advertisement that may be used, circulated or published pursuant to section 8(2),

if the statement, publication, notice, sign, symbol, emblem or other representation is not derogatory, offensive or otherwise improper.

My playlist

Is just beginning :)

http://blip.fm/indigokid

or check out this old one on my sista's youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9758D7169C207769

I'm Yours

Questions (Is it just me, or... ?)

Ever feel like you're messing up everything around you, but you just can't stop yourself?
Ever notice you're not being as kind as you think you should be, but you're just moving to fast to be nice?
Ever feel like your head is too full of conflict to make a proper decision, or to handle important issues, but you have to anyway?
Ever feel like you have no idea what you're doing, but you have to do something, and you have no idea if it's the right thing, but you've gotta do it because it's what you believe in?
Ever feel judged?
Ever feel alone in the world and struggling to keep upright and moving forward, and wishing that someone would hold just hold your hand and tell you you're doing the right thing and to just keep going because that's the only way you'll get anywhere?
Ever feel like maybe you're just really too whiney, and should just suck it up (whatever it is that you think is hard), and just deal with it, and don't complain, 'cause no one wants to hear you complain anyway, and you're just bringing everyone around you down when you do it?

Or like you just want to reach out for help, but it's wrong of you to do so, cause GD-it you should be strong enough to handle your own sh*t?

Ever feel like you just need a hug, or a friend?


I know I never do ;) 'Cause if I did, I'd be weak. And no one would like me.

And there's no point in whining, anyway. Or feeling sorry for myself... it's counterproductive. Then again, contrary to my claims of being superman's female counterpart, I am only human. And while I would really, really like to be one of those people who's all sunshine and flowers coming out of their butt (because EVERYONE likes those people, and let's face it, as much as I say I don't care what other people think, what I really want most of all is just people to tell me I'm good - please tell me I'm good? hee heh, um, yeah. ) I can only maitain that positivity for so long before I too get dragged down by visions of doom and gloom when things start to go wrong.
So while I would like to reserve this location for cherry, chipper, and maybe even sometimes funny posts, I have to be myself and whine, at least a little, at least sometimes, I guess.

But that's enough for now.

I just hope y'all still like me :) <------ hopeful smile

4 2 da floor

b. July 15, 1981

28 years ago, it was, that...

God stood over His/er table with two cookie cutters, freshly made... S/he started with one but it split right there on the pane.

Now, God doesn't make mistakes, this was all part of the plan... though S/he thought it a bit too much for the world to use both right then.

So S/he put one aside for a year, and a little more (in His/er eyes, the briefest moment),

Used one, then the other, but this story's not 'bout the second.

Cause the two cutters were the same, but different, you see

So the story of you is like the story of me

But, being different, here there's room for only one

The most beautiful shining creature, blessed by the sun

Born in July, never too shy, just a smile from this girl makes me sigh

And swoon, and bloom, and never cry, but thankfully praise all above

For blessing me with her presence, her friendship, and her love :)

Happy Birthday to you, Natalie. Belated as these wishes are, you are brighter than every star in my eyes, and prettier too, and so it's only just that I honour you.

Catching Up

Wow oh wow, I just discovered that I can post to my blog from work - woot woot! Now I can catch up on my postings over lunch hour; that is, when I'm not busy emailing ;) What a time-saver... and now I don't have to feel guilty for not updating. Sweet.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I love posting pictures on my blog. I've recently acquired some skills in the self-portrait department; it seems I wasn't properly motivated until just recently. Said motivation has made me see myself in a new light, a light that it is worthwhile to take pictures in, to remember just how pretty I felt becuase of, well, said motivator. You know who you are... well, you better!

But anyway, I recently cleared all the pictures off of my work computer in anticipation of someone else using it in September after I've moved on. I do have some on a flash drive, but nothing current. Boo-urns. Except I did find this one picture of a billboard that I was recently discussing with my apparently better half :

Pretty innocent looking, but when you read the text, you go "Wait. what? Does that mean what I think it means? Tee hee!" Lol. Hence why I took the picture. It's funny though, I noticed on my last trip to Edmonton that that particular mall is still using the same ad campaign, but I didn't see this particular ad anywhere... and when I took this pic, it was right on the front of the mall. I wonder what that means.

I am delighted by things like the ad above... but disappointed by things like it's removal, and what that removal could possibly mean. Does it speak to intolerance? Or is it just coincidence?

What do you think?

Ok, I'm a little tapped out creatively right now... so, in a feeble attempt to please, all I can offer is these... some more pictures of me!

i love this song

I heard it for the first time when I was just a teenager still.... What I always like best about it, is the way the guy sounds just so gleefully happy when he's singing the first line of the chorus...

This is a pretty strange video though. Oh, the nineties... lol.

This is Me ;)

...patiently waiting for a kiss ;)

Pics of me, yipee !

Frame Lake

Some pictures from my walk :) 

Love More

When I returned from my recent excursion to Edmonton, I had a whole day to myself before my son and my sister returned home. I took the opportunity to take a nice long walk, and to reflect on the events of that excursion. What a time I had, what a time it was! Such delightful, delicious memories... too much to share here ;) But I had a lot on my mind, too... questions I didn't have answers for assaulted my brain. I tried to just let the thoughts float, not demanding answers, just being open... 

Then I decided to walk through this little underpass by the Co-Op Grocery Store - it connects the store parking lot to the Frame Lake walking trail. 

It was kinda creepy, 'cause it's so small, but kinda cool too. When I got through to the other side, I happened to glance over my shoulder, 

and noticed a message left behind by some aspiring urban artist: 

I smiled for the rest of my walk  :) 

Nice Wheels!

I'm so totally supposed to be studying, but we had an unexpected delivery today. Okay, well, it was expected, just not expected today; I mean, we didn't know exactly when it would arrive. But Nikoli happened to be sick these past 3 days, and so I happened to be at home with him, when we got this phone call from MATCO saying they had a massive package for us and would we be at home to receive it because buddy's arms were getting tired? Okay, so they didn't say that last part but I imagined it and that's almost as good. Anyway, so the guy came and he had Nikoli's new bike! We were incedibly thrilled to get it; Nikoli, understandably, more than myself; so I made a video to share the happy times. 

These are the best moments :D

I knew it!

Even my horoscope knows about my powers, lol. But it's kinda funny, 'cause here I am at home, all alone... where're my magical connections?

Yay for travelling!!! Boo for homework!

Ah, night class. That time has come again when I must put my nose to the grind and get educated, darn it all. But it's for the best.

Unfortunately, instead of being able to enjoy my creativity and virtual connection to the outer world, I'm going to have to spend a major portion of my free time with my nose buried in book. Sigh.

I'm officially on hiatus from daily posting; will attempt to post every 2-3 days, but can only promise once a week. My apologies to all my fans! Lol.

Oh yeah, by the way, YAAAAYY for travelling!!! Exactly one week from today I'll be far, far away - hurray!

I'm tired :(

...the title says it all. I'm just gonna vegetate tonight, hopefully store up some energy for tomorrow.

G'night :)

Amazing

I heard a snippet of this song while watching "Medium" tonight...

More from Dejah

My sister found a new use for the eyes from Nikoli's googly-eye glasses:

Freaky, huh?

No wonder I can't get anything done... :D

So I was intently pouring over the internet, reading my favorite blogs - From Day to Day, of course, and the bloggess, when my sister started rambling on about something or other, and then I noticed that she was sliding down off of the back of the loveseat right next to the computer and saying something about "no wonder people think I'm weird..." and I was all like "What?" and she was like "Well, no wonder people think I am weird 'cause here I am, perched on the back of the couch like a cat." I totally didn't notice, but that didn't stop me from daring her to get back up there and pose like a model, like a girl on top of a piano or something. She said "Okay, how much?" To which I replied "What do you mean, how much? I'm daring you, not betting-" when she interupted with "oh yeah, I guess that would be a bet.". We laughed, then she actually did it:

Then she was all like "Oh shit! Someone's coming!"

and all I could see was the above blur as she dived away like a coward! Lol, really though, she was a pretty good sport. 

The Good Side of Science

It's this kind of thing that helps me to remember that, generally speaking, things are getting better.  :D

http://uk.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=102276&videoChannel=82&refresh=true

The words are coming... yay!

I've been playing my guitar a lot lately; I'm starting to feel like my frustration is lifting and I'm getting somewhere with my musical expression. It's still slow going, but it is promising :D I feel like I can maybe start to filter life's impressions into the notes, and name them properly with my words; and, ultimately, sing them straight out into the world through the air and into the hearts of everyone who matters... this is what I've always yearned for.

I was looking over my oldest poems last night... there was only one that I thought might make a good song. I had to visit my old website to view them; I posted them there thinking it was the perfect place to store them and always be able to find them; but when I tried to sign in to the site I learned that it is being discontinued... d'oh! Now I've got to transfer all that's worth keeping. When I look at the site, I think to myself, that's really not much. I'm almost tempting to leave a large part of the poetry behind, too, because it's so very dark, most of it. But then I think that no, I can't do that, 'cause even though I don't like what my life was like then, I can't deny it. For some reason, I think there's some value in remembering where you've come from; it plays such a huge part in defining who you are.

Thinking back to those times, I am so thankful for where I am now. For the choices I'm making, the things I'm accomplishing, and for the life I'm building. And especially, for the people that are a part of it. And when I think of all the things that really matter, most of the things I think of are all about those people, and me doing my best to be one of those people that really matter, too.

Lol, I think I'm rambling now. And I'm too tired to re-read what I wrote... I hope I'm making sense. Aw, man, I gotta go to bed.

Sweet Dreams :)

Another drawing

I sketched this little number when I was bored out of my mind during a training session at work. It's pretty simple, and pretty rough, but it's the first comic strip I ever drew. It makes me think of my manager, Inga. Lol. I keep it posted on my workstation wall to remind me that she's always there.

Sketches

Just for fun, here's some old pen sketches I made :)

 



This last one is an image I saw in a dream that really struck a chord deep within me... I'm not entirely sure what it means, though it feels like a symbol of this yearning I feel for change on this planet. I can't really explain it. I intend on painting it one day :)

Old Poems - 2006

1.

sleep
dreamland
why do I persist?
why do I return?
dreamland is heaven
when lucid
waking is such a let down
all they gave, all I got
was this key to paradise...
I'll hold it always.

2.

what is a dream, what is perception,
what can I gain from self-reflection -
is this all just misdirection,
tactics of lust for indiscretion..
or my brain's endless drive to ask a question?

Pretty Pretty Sky

Family

I came across these photos when I was perusing my Aunt's facebook page. They are of my grandmother Mildred, affectionately known by us kids of Gramma. When she was my age.










It's funny, when I see look at her face in this portrait, I see features that I recognize from my siblings and me; not so much my fair haired siblings as the others. Which is kinda weird, because my fair haired siblings definitely got the lionshare of their genes from her - no one else in our family has that fair appearance. 

She was so kind. I remember loving her deeply when I was a small child.. I regret we weren't as close when I was older, before she passed. It makes me want to reach out to people more; to break out and say I am Lianna, I am here, and so are you, so who are you? Mostly, I don't. I'm shy. But, I am learning. And so far, I've learned that reaching out can reap great benefits.

I guess I'll keep on, then :)  

Have you seen this yet?

Well, now, that's refreshing!

I once had the fortune to become acquainted with a delightful man named Shane. (I love that name ever since I became a fan of the L Word). He is from Ottawa (I think?) but was in Yellowknife to conduct a training session on the new all-in-one fully-integrated real-time system our department recently adopted. So, he was only here for about 3 or 4 days... but he was an absolute delight :) Very friendly, funny, flourish-y; just fabulous! 

Anyway, he mentioned in the session one day that it was his birthday the next day; but that he wasn't sad at all (to be missing it and working instead) 'cause we were such a great class (and we were). I still thought that kinda sucked though, so I decided to give him an abstract pendant-style soapstone carving I had made as an impromptu birthday gift and souvenir of his visit to the north. I think he was genuinely touched; I mean, who ever bothers to think about the fly-by-night instructor, right? And I always have been somewhat of a teacher's pet... or, do you call that a suck-up? Lol. He thanked me, then peered at me very intensely, then said he had something, a file, on his laptop that he thought I might really, really like, that he would show/share with me after class.

Isn't is awesome? I was yet again delighted when he showed it to me, and again when he emailed me the file :) He told me it was an ad run by some french fashion house ( Versace or something like that; I'm so NOT up on fashion!) in all the major newspapers He had just happened to buy a paper and see it on the first day it was ran; he scanned it right away because it thought it was something pretty extraordinary. Apparently it was, 'cause he said there was so much controversy over it that the company pulled it the next day. Talk about good karma. 

UPDATE: Okay, so not that special now that I did a search on Google and see that the image is available all over the place. And in colour, too. But, he still brought my attention to it, and that's pretty special. And, I now know that it was banned in Italy and France but it apparently doesn't piss of americans as much 'cause they've been mocking the last supper left, right, and center.  I still think it's pretty cool :)

OMG... Xylofolks!

This is freakin' awesome:

Enjoy!

On the subject of beauty....

Yellowknife has it's downsides... more and more it seems, these days. But, there are some shining upsides; for one, this little city is blessed to have some great artists residing here. One of my favorites, Helen Croft, creates works that are absolutely dazzling to view in person. I once heard it told that for the finer details in her works, she uses just a single hair from her paint brush.

I can only think of one image more pretty than what she paints... she is more pretty than anything :) 

What's in a name?

Peek a boo!

Ha ha, just kidding. My dear Natalie asked to hear more about my habit of naming all the things in my life that I love so I went around taking pictures of all my favorite little (and not so little) ones. Allow me to introduce you to:

Nefertiti

Kikowa (pronounced kee-ko-wah)

And the Windowsill Trio:

The twins:

Mandy

and Marlie 

And, don't forget Abby!

Saving the best of the plants for last, my lovely healer,

Ali

This is my lover, Indigo

And this is Piper :) She drives me where I want to go. 

Oh yeah, and this one is called Nikoli! Lol, and my girl behind him there is Dejah, though I didn't name her that - I call her brat  inspiration  :D

And, though I definitely had no part in naming her at all, I had to add these photos... can you spot who I'm talking about?

The city is beautiful, but all the beauty I see is she.