by Heather Plett | Feb 1, 2008 | Uncategorized
Oh how I love a good singer-songwriter – someone who paints magic with words and a guitar. Check out some of these lines and see if you don’t agree with me that Martyn Joseph is one of those…
Exhibit #1
“It’s the weight of the world
that gouges the land,
shrivels the sand,
praises the bland
And it’s the weight of the world
that frenzies our fears
so when hope disappears
we start sharpening spears”
Exhibit #2
“We ask virtue to defend us
but she’s got a new career,
selling pills to make us grateful
and time-shares for our soul.”
Exhibit #3
“Faith – The other side of knowing
and a thousand questions how”
Exhibit #4
“And all I really know is that kindness is better
than any sort of terror any kind of spite.”
Exhibit #5
“But that seems like the place we could start now
Ripping prayers through the open sky”
And that’s only the words! The music adds a whole other layer to that magic painting.
That’s just from his latest album. I’ve written about some of his older stuff before. He’s been my companion for many a melancholy day. Like the day that the abandoned tanks in Ethiopia made me cry. And the day after I found out my unborn nephew has a tumour on his back.
Everybody needs a good cd or two that’s just the thing you reach for when you’re torn between melancholy and hope.
by Heather Plett | Jan 31, 2008 | Thursday thirteen
1. I’m going to a Martyn Joseph concert tonight! Yay! I love concerts and I LOVE Martyn Joseph!
2. On his online journal, Martyn referred to Winnipeg as “one of his favourite places on the planet”! No, he’s not from here. He’s from Wales. (So there – people from Calgary – you know who you are – SOME people like this place!)
3. One of my new favourite TV shows is called The Border.
4. One of my old favourite shows is Corner Gas.
5. Both are Canadian shows.
6. I’m happy to find good Canadian shows, because we’re not well known for great television programming (with some definite exceptions).
7. One of my favourite movies of this year is also Canadian. Away from Her. See it if you can – it’s definitely worth it.
8. I’m pretty sick and tired of the way this cold weather dries out the skin. I seem to be itchy all of the time.
9. I’m going to Bangladesh in March, and this week I remembered that people in Bangladesh were considered (by some researcher) to be the happiest on the planet. Sounds like a good place to make friends.
10. It’s a delightful moment when your 10-year-old daughter phones you at work and says, “Mom, where are the chocolate chips? I want to make cookies.” Smile. I’m rather fond of her. (Even if she beats me at speed Scrabble.)
11. I heard this line in a Neil Young song yesterday and it made me want to write poetry… “We know where the music is, let’s go out and feel the night.” Hmmm… nice.
12. Neil Young is also a Canadian. We certainly have raised some great talent up here in the cold north.
13. I brought some oatmeal and dried apricots to work this morning and made myself a lovely breakfast (complete with a little milk and a touch of honey). Mmmm… I think I’ll do that more often. I’m not usually hungry for breakfast until I’ve been awake for a couple of hours, so this was perfect.
by Heather Plett | Jan 31, 2008 | Uncategorized
That old blog template was getting tired. Plus I needed a little colour to help fend off the doldrums in the middle of this cold snap we’re having.
There are good reasons why the new header doesn’t include any recent pictures…
It’s because you can’t see my face these days! That’s right – it really is THAT cold!
In other news, thanks to the link from the wonderful-Andrea-who-finds-the-coolest-artsy-stuff-online I made a funky tote bag out of fused plastic bags. I love it! Don’t throw away your plastic bags!
If you live in my vicinity and have an abundance of plastic bags, I’d be happy to take them off your hands. The girls are jealous of my funky bag, but I don’t have enough shopping bags around the house to make any for them (I’ve gotten pretty good at bringing my own bags to the store).
by Heather Plett | Jan 30, 2008 | Uncategorized
Have you ever heard of Tenzing Norgay? No?
What about Sir Edmund Hillary? Of course – the great mountain-climber who was the first to reach the top of Mount Everest. We’ve ALL heard of him.
But his greatest accomplishment wasn’t done alone. He may not even have been the first to reach the top.
Tenzing Norgay was his Sherpa. He guided Hillary up that mountain and may have even stepped on the summit first. In his lifetime, he probably spent more time trekking up and down Everest than any other human being. But you probably didn’t hear about him in the history lessons. (An interesting side note: Norgay never learned to read or write, but spoke several languages.)
Which begs the question – how many great heroes throughout history were only heroes because they had the right Sherpas by their side?
And another question – are you called to be a hero or a Sherpa?
by Heather Plett | Jan 28, 2008 | Uncategorized
The premise for this show is irking me just a little. (Okay, maybe a lot.) “The Week the Women Went Away.” I haven’t watched the show, so I can’t make any fair judgement on the content, but I am certainly entitled to my opinion about the premise.
When are we going to get past the stereotypes, assuming that men just don’t “get it” when it comes to household chores and raising kids? And that women are just so much superior in those roles (and every other role they put their minds to) that they are indispensable?
My husband has survived just fine without me for up to three weeks at a time. True, the kids’ clothes might not have matched as well, but does that really matter? They were loved and well fed and they’ve often survived various bouts of sickness when I’ve been away (okay, almost EVERY time).
The truth is, I’d probably have a harder time surviving if Marcel went away. There’s a pretty good chance the kids wouldn’t be fed as well – he’s the primary cook in the family. And I might miss a few appointments or soccer practices – he keeps a closer eye on the family’s schedule.
But you won’t see any shows about “the week the men went away”. No – that would be anti-feminist, suggesting women can’t survive without their men.
Why is it that we allow the media to do lots of “father-bashing”, but not an equal amount of “mother-bashing”? Watch the average sit-com (or the myriad of shows aimed at pre-teens on the Family Channel) and you’ll see the typical sit-com family, with a relatively smart mom who holds the family together, and a bumbling fool of a dad who’s more often the comic relief than the stable and wise father-figure.
Is that okay? No, I don’t think so. Perhaps we’ve done ourselves a dis-service by allowing feminism to paint an unrealistic picture of “super-woman” for all of us women to strive toward and by painting an equally unrealistic picture of “un-super-man” for men to be beaten up by.
