Ms. Betty Bowers hits the highlights of christian religious folly from 2014.
I know what you’re thinking. “Fascinating subject Arb, do tell us more!”
Okay, perhaps not as gripping the other newsy bits we we have around here but none the less a subject that shouldn’t be casually swept aside. Living in Alberta means that for three to five months of the year, snow will be on the ground. The lovely first fall of snow marks the official end of mosquito season and the transition to having ‘exposed flesh stick uncomfortably to metal season’. Some might balk at all the freezing rain, sleet and snow – but really – it isn’t that bad.
One of the civic expectations of snowy Edmontonian existence is keeping the public sidewalk in front of your place of residence clear of snow and ice. Our civic authorities mandate that from the time of the last snow event forty-eight hours are given in which to clear your walks in order to make them safe for people to walk on.
Sound reasonable?
Seems workable to me and thus after each snow I make my rounds with my trusty shovel and ice-scraper. My goal is to get down to the concrete to ensure a safe and solid footing for all those who would come to see me, or merely have to sojourn past my property. For my work to be done, my walks need to pass the inappropriate winter footwear test. If I can confidently make my way in my sandals –
Then, and only then, my job is done. :)
It takes some time and work, let me assure you. Many factors are working against you in the valiant quest for clean sidewalks it is here my arch nemesis must be named.
Freezing Rain.
A glossy, slippery, unchippable horror that can only be bested by the most potent weapon in my winter arsenal.
Glorious sidewalk-salt. That being said, one must consider the bitter-salty implications of using this dread weapon on icy sidewalks. Salt is not conducive to the growing and maintenance of grass or anything else organic for that matter.
Observe.
The battle for clean sidewalks is necessarily a delicate balance. A fateful alchemy of dedication, perseverance, and Na Cl. It is a fine line that must be walked during snow-season in Alberta.
Domestic violence is an issue that deserves more time in the basket labeled “things society cares about.” I am only one generation removed from a time when women were widely thought as of the property of their fathers, then their husbands. Then Radical Feminism got into the mix and started to analyze, deconstruct and protest this unacceptable situation. Andrea Dworkin from Women Hating Right and Left:
Putting ideas and concepts together so that they can be shared, and more importantly passed on, to the next generation is so frightfully important, yet it is not being done. I did not even know about Andrea Dworkin and her writing till very recently. Outside of a few tumblr’s and few Woman’s Studies courses that haven’t drunk too much of 3rd wave kool-aid you just won’t find mention of one of the key figures in feminist history.
I’ve read a lot of Dworkin and sometimes it is really all over the place, but at others (see the above quote) she focuses in like a laser to give words and then understanding to the the problems facing women. Dworkin’s insights must be handed down and shown to the next generation(s) of women – lest we invoke another historical chestnut – those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it blah blah blah.
Are we repeating?
I’d like to see in my time the quote from above (and others like it) get into the history books and stay there.
The last big bump has been before the long yawn that is January and February has just been crossed. Happy New Year everyone.
The mighty Jimquisition, with the help of a three foot long purple dildo lays the smack down on the worst games of 2014. And of course, thank god for Jim Sterling.
This is but a pale shadow of a New Year’s Resolutions List. I’m not into NYR’s because the psychology behind NYR’s pretty much dooms the person to failure.
Think of our habits, both bad and good, as grooves on a phonographic record. One does not simply scratch the needle out of the old behaviour groove and into another new one expecting the new groove to be as comfortable and worn as the old set of behaviours.
It just does not happen (in regular circumstances).
So rather than go about announcing sweeping changes and what not, I intend this year to smooth a few more grooves here and there, lay down the base for a few new ones and continue forging the small changes I’d like so see happen with regards to my blogular activities.
So yeah, in terms of blogtacular goodness, I intend to continue to forge the idea that women, indeed, are people too and deserve all of the rights and benefits that come with being thought of as fully human in society. I intend to continue the analysis of the downward spiral of crony-capitalism that is currently plaguing Canada, and show how social democratic ideas can be used to make this country a better place. I’ll continue to call out and mock the shit-for-brains people on the internet who jangle my SIWOTI nerve to the nth degree. I’ve got a new irony-meter for Xmas, so we’ll see how long the “new and improved” model will last.
What I’d like to move toward in blogging in the next year is to see more pieces from the zesty nest of authors here at DWR. Most of the gentle readers here are familiar with my opinions by now and how I generally look at issues – fresh insight from The Intransigent One, Mystro and Bleatmop would be welcome additional variety to the crusty second-wave dirge I usually follow. I think we should talk about anything we would like to share with the internets – Gaming, crotcheting, tech stories, pretty much anything is fair game – let’s try and run the gamut this year of things we can be biasedly opinionated on.
That’s all for now. :)
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…