*

Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year

Remember;  The celebration of Mass for Jesus Christ starts on the eve of the 25th of December and continues for twelve days ending on the 6th of January.

Aerospace 20 - Bombardier Turboprop Era Ends

The writing has been on the wall/s for a very long time.  Bombardier’s relationship with the de Havilland name comes, finally, to an end … truly the end of an era.

Bombardier has agreed to sell the Dash 8, Q400 programme, together with the de Havilland name, to Longview Aviation Capital, the parent company of Viking Air for $300 million.

Longview will continue to produce the Q400 at Downsview, Ontario, and Bombardier will transfer the Global business-jet assembly to Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The entire de Havilland product line is now reunited under the same banner.  Having transferred the C Series programme to Airbus, Bombardier was seeking options for its remaining aircraft business.  “We decided to sell the Q400 to a better owner.” said Bombardier President and CEO Alain Bellmare (A very intriguing statement).

The interesting result of this agreement is that Longview Aviation Capital (Viking Air) now, owns the type certificates and manufacturing rights for all de Havilland Canada aircraft from the DHC Chipmunk, Beaver, Otter, and Twin Otter, through to the Dash 7/8 turboprop series and the CL-215 amphibious aircraft.

Not quite the end of an era yet, it seems, even though Bombardier has, just, announced the lay-off of 5,000 positions globally.  The government’s opposition is going to have a field day.

Food 11 - Black Trumpet

Continuing to place a restaurant review within my Blog may be a need to refer to it as a journal.  Nevertheless, being sadly, unable to encourage Followers (or anyone else) to make politically correct comments … here is another.

The Black Trumpet restaurant in London, Ontario, has the most wonderful, Indonesian teak inspired, interior decor found anywhere.  The name, seemingly, inspired by the black trumpet (black chanterelle) edible mushroom.  The whole area is divided into a number of comfortable and varied sections permitting both individual and group settings.

I ordered an entree of Seafood Linguine comprising;  sautéed shrimp, scallops, overrated mussels (Please chef, study the long list of ingredients found on a list of sea food), spinach, and cherry tomatoes, in white wine dill cream sauce, which had signs of prior preparation, confirmed towards the end by a complete loss of temperature.  Nevertheless, the dish was saved by a very palatable glass of sauvignon blanc (Map Maker, New Zealand).

Seafood Linguine

The chosen dessert was, truly, a wonderful surprise;  Black Chocolate Brownie with caramel sauce, fragments of fruit, and ice cream.  This was absolutely delicious and deserves a Gâteau du Grand Prix.

Black Chocolate Brownie

During the summer, meals (or an afternoon glass of wine coupled with a slice of Black Chocolate Brownie, ‘smile’) may be enjoyed on the patio of a beautiful, private, Zen-inspired garden.

A couple of McDonald’s-inspired reviewers who, obviously, prefer plastic chairs, have ignorantly, and incorrectly, complained of expensive dishes, which should not influence your choice for a visit.

https://blacktrumpet.ca/

Quotation - Truth

It is interesting to note that [Vicomte] Antoine de Saint-Exupéry only hyphenated his name whilst living in the U.S. because, to his annoyance, he was usually referred to as Mr. Exupery.

He was well-known as a French air force pilot in World War II (Recipient of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre), and the author of the novella, Le Petite Prince (The Little Prince), written and first published in Québec, Canada, in 1943.

15,000 Views

Summary

The ‘Blazar’ (Did you notice the subtle change?) has climbed to 15,000 views and I present the statistics here in a form of personal audit.

Each time I do this, usually following each period of 1,000 views, certain interests come into focus.  This time, the Statistics represent both the period since last reported, together with the overall period of eight years of publication.  This places the following Posts (and their comments) in the five most-read positions.  It seems that, although political discussions may be frowned upon, my Followers focus onto that subject … which is quite satisfactory ... I suppose.

By the way, I have embellished my sidebar with more global photos representing places where I have lived and worked, i.e., not including vacations (Except Ireland).

2018

• Put Up, Shut Up, or Get Out  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2018/08/politics-20-put-shut-or-get-out.html
• The Power, Jesus, and a Life Force. http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-power-jesus-and-life-force.html
• The Demise of NATO. http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-demise-of-nato.html
• Mr. Putin Takes A Question. http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2018/05/mr-putin-takes-question.html
• ‘Don’t Step Out Of Line’ Confidential Report ….  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2018/01/dont-step-out-of-line-confidential.html 

2011 -2018

• Percentage Formula.  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2013/08/politics-8-percentage-formula.html
• Multiculturalism.  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2011/08/politics-2-multiculturalism.html
• Vladimir Putin, A Question.  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2015/01/politics-10-vladimir-putin-question.html
• South East Asia (Bangladesh).  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2012/08/travel-5-south-east-asia-bangladesh_5.html
• A Ticking Time Bomb.  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.com/2014/11/education-10-ticking-time-bomb.html

Note:  Photos and Quotations, etc., are not included in the above statistics.

Views by country (Leading five):  

• Canada
• United States
• France
• Russia
• United Kingdom

Leading browsers

• Chrome
• Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Safari
• Opera

Operating systems

• Windows
• Macintosh
• Linux
• iPhone/iPad
• Android

Travel 14 - Dublin

There’s a general saying, “Milk it for all its worth.”  So, I will.  Having, already, written about a day in Baltinglass … then, that's grand!  It is probable that, although most of you live with a few drops of Irish blood in your veins, you have never been to Ireland and, although I was there for just a few days, I may be able to introduce more colour into your existing picture.

Exiting the Dublin airport’s Terminal 2, I was surprised by the complexity of the public transport system.  There were double-decker buses (both airport express and local city), comfortable coaches (both airport express and long distance), small limo vans, limo cars, and taxis.  You would be well advised to use the frequent and inexpensive (€7) airport express coaches.  It should be noted that only the limos and taxis will have an hotel drop-off, which could be a consideration if you have checked heavy baggage.

Trinity College (Library Square) - Dublin

If touring the country, hotels should be booked ‘with a view’, but in Dublin a quiet room would be the preferred choice.  Additionally, choose a location within a reasonable distance of Trinity College (Dublin University).

Trinity College Main Entrance

This is not going to be a 'grand' review of Dublin.  Phew!  There is the valuable Lonely Planet guidebook for that.

The Irish Great Famine Memorial - Dublin

Free city maps are available in abundance but, from my experience (and other’s) they do not illustrate the city structure.  Therefore, my initial advice, for the first day, would be to use the frequent Hop-on-Hop-off buses.  There are numerous city buses with complicated routes not designed for tourists, not to mention a rapid-rail system, and taxis are expensive.

An example of the ships that took emigrants to North America

I’ve often described myself as ‘living-to-eat’, thus, before my journey, I studied the Internet with that in mind.  Gone were my thoughts of Irish pubs serving Guinness and fish-n-chips.  (Perhaps one regulatory visit to a pub and the Riverdance show would be sufficient).  There are many Micheline-starred restaurants in Dublin and, here, was my greatest disappointment of the whole trip.  Most restaurants in the haute cuisine category were not open for lunch, those that were would not accept reservations for less than two people (which also applied to dinner reservations) and, together with my hotel's reception, I was unable to find one good restaurant that would take a reservation within one week.  I, honestly, felt like jumping into the River Liffey.  But, I can assure you that I never entered the swing doors of any McDonald’s. 

Well, who doesn't know Molly?

In short, wistfully, I concentrated my visit to Trinity College, focussing my dream of being there in a previous life.  There was a queue of hundreds in Library Square hoping to look at the Book of Kells, such that I strolled to College Park to watch a lazy game of cricket.

I could visit again.  Probably … in my next life.

Religion 12 - Celibacy

Once again, I find myself compelled to comment to this morning's media essay about celibacy in the church that seems controversial enough to suit the pages of this Blog.

Celibacy is, of course, an issue.  Whether it is the most important issue, or not, is irrelevant.  The Church should respond to the issues of the twenty-first century, and sexually-related issues are written about on the front page of all newspapers, both in terms of, for example, adult rape and paedophilia.  

What is religion?  Is the married Anglican priest that is only allowed to become a deacon in the Roman Catholic church any less religious than an unmarried priest?  Would it lead to married bishops, and … sacré bleu, women too?

Certainly, celibacy needs not to be mandatory. 

When asked, many people describe themselves as spiritual rather than religious, and I wonder if there may be a stigma by admitting to be religious, which begs the question, again, what is religion?  After all, isn't everyone religious (spiritual) in one form or another.  Being agnostic is acceptable, but no one has the intelligence to be an atheist. 

Could we ask, what is God?  Would the answer begin with, “She ….” (in Los Angeles) or “It ….” (in a science class)?

Is this too personal to reveal your soul (or qi)?

Travel 13 ― My Irish Village

I have always known of my Irish ancestry.  How could I not know with the family name of McCann (Clan of Anna).  But for many years, it was possible to only know that my family had links to the city of Liverpool in England, just a short trip across the Irish Sea from Ireland.  In the past, that was it — no records showing an obvious connection with Ireland, until earlier this year, when ancestry.com found additional records showing that my great-grandfather (x4) was born in 1781 in a little village called Baltinglass, in County Wicklow (62 km SE of Dublin).

Thus, this was a good reason to make my first visit to Ireland, via Reflavik (Iceland) to Dublin.  In the past there was a local railway which, unfortunately, was got rid of, and the station building still remains today as a political statement for tourists.  Now, a comfortable coach winds its way through main roads that seem like country lanes, in a little more than one hour.

(Click to enlarge)

The next day, I awoke very early, enjoyed a good Irish breakfast, and boarded the coach to my destination.  Upon arrival, I found my way to Saint Joseph’s Church, a 15-minute walk from the bus stop (The bus, actually, couldn't drive into the village).  Walking through the entire village centre, I met a total of about five friendly nodding villagers.

“Good morning”, I would say.  “How are you?”

“Very grand”, she said.  “What are you looking for?’

“The church”, I replied.

“Is it the Protestant one you need?” she asked. (I was obviously from away).

“No”, I said, “The Catholic one”.

“Oh, that’s Saint Joseph’s”, she said.  “T’is a grand church”.

“Thank you”, I said, realizing that simply everything is ‘grand’ in Ireland.

Walking through the village, I had an interesting feeling that I had been there before.  The church seemed quite large, probably the largest building in the village … no doubt it would be described as ‘grand’.

The priest was away (But not in another country), but the church secretary was available and, now, I was to get some bad news.  The church records went back to about 1850 — 70 years after my great-grandfather was born — built upon the ruins of an earlier church.  It was noted that there are Stone Age ruins in the area.  I was advised to visit the cemetery as it contains graves older than the present church but, unfortunately, such graves were in a state of ruin and unreadable.  I met an old cemetery caretaker who told me that he remembered the McCann family who owned a hardware shop in the village … but they left about 50 years ago without any trace.  Questions at the local inn confirmed their presence there too.  Today, I guess that they would just be very distant cousins.

It was time to have lunch at the restaurant where I was persuaded to try a Guinness (One sip was enough and the bar girl agreed with me) and, then, I walked to the the other side of the village to look at a tourist attraction, the ruins of the old Cistercian Baltinglass Abbey that dates back to 1150.  It was destroyed by King Henry VIII’s campaign against the churches in 1536.  Incidentally, one can walk from one far side of the village to the other side in about 30 minutes, which was useful when the last coach back to Dublin is at 3:00 pm (Outside the village).  I had a grand day.

Trump wants Pompeo to study ‘killing of farmers’ in South Africa

OPEN LETTER

(I hope that Stephanie will excuse this publication of our personal discussion of such an important subject).

A fairly well balanced article methinks. It is a very very sensitive issue and the USA must stay out of it. S.A. does not comment on Trump's crude stupidities. 

The main problem will be that those who get land will not necessarily be farming material. Will they also take on the debt on the drought-collapsed farms? The Bantu men have never been farmers — with cattle yes, sat and drank a lot of beer and fought while the women planted, hoed and reaped.

Big trouble ahead. Some squatters have moved onto private farms already with threats … and one farmer I know of has already fled his land. 

Interesting times?  I don't  think so. 

Steph

————————————————----------------

Yes, it’s a sensitive issue but, I hope not an issue to be hidden.  You can be sure that the US government will not try to affect physical influence (Except, perhaps, within the UN) but it’s worth noting that the President isn’t always in step with the government … and he likes (non-crude) sanctions.

It’s obvious, to me, that the S.A. situation is both cultural and political, and will worsen before improving.  These kinds of problems usually take generations to overcome and, although it has existed for generations, already, today’s children (on both sides) have been indoctrinated towards a status quo.  Therefore, not within our lifetime.

Often, it's to be wise after an event, but because of the huge timeline, it was unforgivable of the white farmers to not educate the huge, majority, black population because they appeared to be unintelligent — a fallacy that still exists, although the underlying motive was to impose domination.  There can be no reason for 10% of the population to privately own 90% of the land (Widely estimated figures).

Perhaps, one unpopular answer would be for the government to permit every farmer (black and white) to be officially entitled to no more than 50 acres (A definition of a creditable small holding) of land, and other lands to become government-owned for development into co-operatives (Accessible to all South Africans).  Just an obscure thought.

Bernie

———————————————————

Politics 20 - Put Up, Shut Up, or Get Out

In today's copy of Maclean's magazine, Andrew MacDougall writes the following Opinion; “Bernier’s warning about ‘radical multiculturalism’ has outraged Canadians, including fellow Tories — and will test Scheer’s leadership of the post-Harper Conservative Party” .

In the same edition, Scott Gilmore writes; “In the long list of problems facing Canada, multiculturalism doesn’t even make the top hundred. Let’s give Bernier’s rant a pass.”

Mr. Bernier was, no doubt, referring to the PM’s statement, “Diversity is what makes Canada strong.” A statement that, on its own, may assume some merit but, which, hides a multitude of problems equal to those in Pandora’s box.

Suffice to say that I am enraged by their foolishness in the face of facts, only for political gain, especially when we are referring to a Conservative party.

It is said that, surely, Mr. Bernier would not have criticized the Ukrainians who farmed the Prairies, the Italians and Greeks in Montreal (not to mention the Irish) or the Chinese in Vancouver, but we seem to have a multiculturalism problem today, that is identified by mismanaged immigration. In my view, whether multiculturalism is a curse or not, we need managed immigration (not xenophobia) but we do not need anyone who believes that Sharia laws are inevitable. Thus, Islamophobia is not going away, because we are sensitive to the anger from our great-grandchildren who will curse our souls.

I hope that Mr. Bernier has the courage of his convictions.

Please comment

Ribs & Craft Beer Festival, Eh!

It is said that simply starring at this photo for too long will make you fat.

Victoria Park, London, Ontario

(Click to enlarge)

Food 10 - David's Bistro

This week's adventure in my search for interesting restaurant food photos took me to David's Bistro, another leading London restaurant.  Not surprisingly, and always refreshing, is a menu comprising items rarely found at other restaurants.  It is David's special touch, no doubt.  I chose the Chimichurri* glazed flat iron steak with potato, shallot and roasted pepper salad, and crispy taro root*.  The term 'flat iron steak' gave me pause and pleasantly surprised when the adequate amount of sliced steak arrived.  The term 'salad', correctly described, grammatically, as a mixture of small pieces of food was also misleading, nevertheless delicious.  Accompanied by a glass of rich Shiraz red wine.
 * Chimichurri is a South American uncooked sauce used for grilled meat.  It is made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar.  The dominant flavours are parsley and garlic.
 * Taro root is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms.  It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants, and very rich in vitamins, especially B₆ and E.  It failed as part of this meal, being placed in the sauce and, thus, tasteless ... and not crispy.  I would suggest the use of cooked taro leaves in future (May be toxic uncooked, but vey rich in nutrients).

Chimichurri glazed flat iron steak with potato, shallot
and roasted pepper salad, crispy taro root.

The Demise of NATO

The following conversation appeared in a Comments section of a newspaper this morning and, as I was one of the antagonists (loosely speaking), I feel that it is acceptable to publish a slightly edited version here to permit, and extend, an anonymous Internet conversation.

Anonym A:  ”...over the past few decades, NATO’s primary focus was on peacekeeping operations in distant places, rather than on its core function of territorial defence...But this attitude changed in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and launched secretive military incursions into Eastern Ukraine."

Excuse me? What's changed? Annexation of Crimea was a local, albeit unexpected move by Russia - ask the Crimean population how they feel about finally being a part of Russia and it will be a 87% approval rate. Yes, a crime is a crime, but weren't Kyev's actions towards the Crimean population since Ukraine's independence totally unacceptable? So, this "reason" may be dismissed.

Eastern Ukraine had been suffering the same attitude from the Ukrainian state as Crimea, including the constantly diminishing status of the Russian language in this practically Russian part of Ukraine.And then Maidan (in 2014) declared a total ban on use of the Russian language as the second official language in the country. That was way too much!

Again, this conflict has nothing [to do] with the safety of other European states.

So, as it appears, all this drum beat is about money. Russia's actions are just a convenient excuse!

          Anonym B:  It goes without saying that the slow, measured, and deliberate invasion by the USSR into the region of Slav, Turkic, Greek Crimea, makes the 87% vote by the Russian population unsurprising.

Anonym C:  NATO is functionally dead. The U.S. is detaching itself from Europe, so Europe needs to learn to defend itself. As a start, it must (a) learn more about how Russian troll farms have infected European political discourse so that this menace can be effectively fought; (b) wean itself as quickly as possible from all Russian energy sources, so as to deprive Russia of valuable foreign exchange; and (c) separate itself from unhelpful U.S. influence as much as possible. The U.S. has become an enemy, not a friend.

          Anonym B:  (a) Goes without saying. (b) To "wean" is ungrammatical, but to reduce the influence of Russian energy sources is a sound idea, not withstanding the possibility that Russia could discover an alternate solution. (c) To describe the U.S. as an "enemy" based on the policies of the present President is another Liberalization ... simply put.

          Anonym C:  If by “functionally dead” you mean no longer dependable, you are spot on. Your 3-part plan, moving forward, I think is good, assuming that as Europe distances itself from the US, they likewise re-arm to fill that void. This is all unfortunately true. Putin has somehow (through illegal political funding - at a minimum) decapitated the GOP president and congressional leadership. Will the truth ever come out

          Anonym B:  It would be lacking foresight to "re-arm [sic] to fill that void". Russia's obvious tenacity regarding its desire to regain previous territory will make it quite possible to eventually cherry-pick the smaller nations regardless of their weaponization. The increasing Communism of Europe thus becomes a future threat to North America and ... the wheel turns once more.

Anonym B:  The Plan (if you have not realized it) is for our great-grandchildren to experience a North America with a brutal Red Bear on the Atlantic side, and an inhumane Red Dragon on the Pacific side.

Aerospace 19 - Airbus A220

At one time there was Canadair — then De Havilland (Canada) — both merged to become Bombardier Aerospace.  Then, the innovative CSeries airliner emerged to challenge the two giants Airbus and Boeing.  Unfortunately, Bombardier suffered from financial teething troubles coupled with new engine problems that was especially developed for the airframe by Pratt & Whitney, not to mention WTO threats from Boeing (Aerospace 17) .

Finally, Airbus SE stepped in to buy a 51% share of Bombardier’s CSeries division (Bombardier continuing with total control of other aircraft divisions, e.g., Q-400, and CRJ, etc.).

Now, under control of Airbus, the aircraft titles C-100 and C-300 have been changed to A220-100 and A220-300 respectively.

It is going to be an interesting time, from now onwards, to see if this will have an affect for future sales.  It is quite evident that the A319 will eventually concede to the superiority of the A220-100, a position with which it shares.  

Today, an MOU for 60 A220-300 aircraft was signed by a group of investors led by the CEO of JetBlue for a planned new airline, so far unnamed (The rumour says ‘Moxy’).

Food 9 - The Tasting Room

This restaurant is well known downtown in London (Ontario) and is conveniently located near to  the Grand Theatre.  I visited, recently, having planned (for some time) to experience the lunch menu of appetizers coupled with a ‘flight’ of wines.

There is an extensive variety of appetizers.  I chose the Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps and the Duck Wings, each described by the server as ‘finger food’, something that I was about to regret later.

For wine, I selected the Sauvignon Blanc Flight comprising four 2 oz glasses of wines from South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand.

Duck Wings and Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps

The Duck Wings, described as;  a confit, crisped and tossed with an Asian chili [sic] sauce (that removed any crispness) with meat that should have benefited with additional slow cooking … although duck would rarely be described as succulent, however cooked.  Firstly, I tried the Roojberg wine from South Africa, and found it basically tastless, or earthy, on both nose and palate, i.e., not “packed with … fruit flavours” as described.  I also tried the Chilensis wine from Chile, and just found it correctly described with having “citrus fruit” aromas.

Next, the Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps, described as;  including charred corn, pickled onions, cilantro and piquillo pepper salsa wrapped in Boston bibb lettuce.  All together, these ‘wraps’ were absolutely delicious.  BUT, they were not wrapped (as one may expect spring or cabbage rolls to be wrapped) but open, which meant that the lettuce became salsa-saturated, limp, and incapable of holding anything … even with two hands.  The finger-dipping bowl hardly satisfied the continual need.  I suggest putting this on a children's menu.  I tried the Mount Fishtail wine from New Zealand here, correctly described with “lush tropical fruits … and a touch of sweetness.  I finished with a wonderful, fruity (expensive) Map Maker wine, also from New Zealand, making New Zealand the go-to country for Sauvignon Blanc wine … at the moment.

Finally, after washing my hands, I ordered a coffee.

Canada Day, Eh!

 ... and wannabe French Canadians flock around the nearest poutine vendor, eh!

 ... unless they're Greek Canadians, nai!

Food 8 - Garlic's of London

There was a time in my life when I frequently wrote restaurant reviews on an Internet Travel Website but, then, I retired — only to discover that the government’s pension scheme precludes such extravagances.

Recently, I decided to visit one of my favourite restaurants, Garlic’s OF LONDON 

and, smartly, I remembered to take my camera.  The result follows:  
This restaurant has a comfortable and attractive interior;  the staff are attentive, knowledgeable, and always friendly.  The food is appetizing, well presented, and tasty ... and I would not hesitate to recommend the examples illustrated below.

My only caution is the uncommunicative 'manager' ... but that shouldn't spoil your visit.

Perhaps, we ought to meet there one day.

PAN SEARED TROUT

Steelhead Farms’ Ontario trout, fingerling potato salad, capers, lemon herb butter

LEMON TART

Lemon curd, flaky short crust, meringue, passion fruit ice cream

Mr. Putin Takes A Question

I am always conscious of my inclination to discuss politics.  But what else is there?  Could we pause for some humour?  Let us try.

__________________________________________________________________

Vladimir Putin, wanting to get on the good side of voters, goes to visit a university in Moscow to have a chat with the students.  He talks to them about how powerful a nation Russia is, and how he wants the best for all the people.

 

At the end of the talk there is a section for questions.  Sasha puts her hand up and says:

"I have two questions;  Why did the Russians take Crimea?  And why are we sending troops to the Ukraine?” 

 

Putin says: "Good questions”. 

But just as he is about to answer, the bell goes, and the students go to lunch.

 

When they come back, they sit back down and there is room for some more questions, another girl, Misha, puts her hand up and says: 

"I have four questions”

"My Questions are - 

Why did the Russians invade Crimea? 

Why are we sending troops to the Ukraine? 

Why did the lunch bell go 20 minutes early? 

And ... Where is Sasha?"

13,000 Views

Summary

The ‘Blazon’ has, now, climbed to 13,000 viewing figures and I present them, here, mainly to inflate my famed ego.

Each time I do this, following each period of 1,000 views, certain interests come into focus.  This time, for a change, the Statistics represent the overall period of seven years.  This places the following Posts (and their comments) in the five most-read positions.

• Politics 8 - Percentage Formula.  04/08/2013,  409 views.
• Politics 2 - Multiculturalism.  01/08/2011,  234 views.
• Photo - Muscat and Oman.  17/07/2011,  184 views.
• Photo - Du Fu’s Garden.  18/06/2011.  179 views.
• Politics 10 - Vladimir Putin, A Question.  02/01/2015.  171 views.

Comment:  I am intrigued by the interest in the photo of Du Fu’s Garden.

Statistics (2011 to 2018)

Views by country (Leading five):

• Canada, 4,701 views.
• United States, 2,918 views.
• Russia, 666 views.
• France, 570 views.
• United Kingdom, 395 views.

Leading five Browsers:  

• Chrome. -  48%
• Firefox. -  19%
• Internet Explorer  -  16%
• Safari  -  13%
• Opera  -  1%

Operating Systens:

• Windows  -  42%
• Macintosh  -  34%
• Linux. -  14%
• iPhone  -  3%
• iPad  -  1%

Comment:  Today, Macintosh is at 72%.

Religion 11 - The Power, Jesus, and a Life Force

An intense on-line discussion encourages me to copy my thoughts on the subject here:

We have been indoctrinated with theological meanings of the two words, Heaven and Hell (Initial Caps) and there are variations in all religions.  We are but grains of sand in the universe and simply know little of our reality, and we refer to it, today, as the supernatural, a word unknown a thousand years ago.  But man (woman) needed something to believe in … and ‘wise’ men took us for a ride.  They convinced us that Heaven was something to look forward to and non-believers would go to Hell (The word ‘Hell’ was simply a necessary antonym for Heaven).  All awhile it was necessary to humanize these things;  God, our Father, the old bearded man, and the Devil with horns.  The sun, moon and stars were beyond belief, which is unfortunate, as the universe is, probably, closer to the truth.

Thus, how was the Universe created?  We have yet to discover the answer.  It may have been created by a God (a humanized term) but, a more probable theory, easier to accept, is the creation by a huge supernatural Power (Described in the Star Wars Trilogy ⎯― not to belittle the idea) related to the Big Bang theory (a life force).

Jesus, a sentient being, was of course a real person, written about during his time, a philosopher of great respect, and capable of ‘miracles’ that, today, could be better explained.  Surely, he lost a lot of blood on the cross, but did he die … and was there an ascension?  Remember, the Buddha died a natural death, there is a tomb, and Buddhism is alive and well.

Then, there is the Holy Ghost, sometimes referred to as our Soul ― within us but unseen by a CT-scan, for example.  Asian people refer to the Qi, a traditional Chinese culture, qi or ch’i, believed to be a vital force forming part of any living thing.  Qi translates as "air" and figuratively as "material energy", "life force", or "energy flow”.  Qi is the central underlying principle in Chinese traditional medicine and in Chinese martial arts. The practice of cultivating and balancing qi is called qigong.

Therefore, could we believe in the Power, Jesus, and the Qi?

Being, often, without words for a blog, I should transfer this here.  But it’s here already.

See:  http://berniesblazon.blogspot.ca/2011/08/religion-2-are-you-religious.html

May The Power be with you.

An Emergency

It seems that my recent 911 call for the emergency services has attracted some attention, such that its implications should be brought to a wider audience.  So, for those interested, I shall expose.

Last month, I suffered an almost unbearable stomach pain that would not go away.  If you have ever suffered from a gall stone attack, then, you will have some idea.  In fact, and this may sound stupid, I let it persist for more than 24 hours (TUMS was useless).  I should also mention that my gall bladder had been removed many years ago.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

“Brr, brr.  Brr, brr ...”

“What service do you require?”

“Ambulance.  Please.”

“What’s the problem?”

(I wanted to say that I needed an ambulance … but I didn’t)

“I have a serious stomach pain.”

  (Some detail removed here)

“Ok, they will be there shortly.”

I sat down near to the window to await their arrival.

“Bang, bang, bang ...”

They were at my apartment door.  There had been no siren, no call from the lobby.  Scotty must have beamed them up.

Dressed in my pyjamas and a dressing gown, I was told to get onto the gurney, just given time to grab my wallet, phone, and meds, and wheeled towards the ambulance.

Without any further delay, we quickly, but silently, drove to the hospital.  I asked if the ambulance was sound-proofed, because I couldn't hear a siren.  “We only use the siren in an emergency.” she said, “It’s too dangerous for other traffic.”  I became very thoughtful, but kept my naive questions to myself.

Upon arrival at the hospital (about 45 minutes after my call) the gurney was wheeled into the Emergency Department and lined up behind four other gurneys … and we waited … and waited.

  Note:  University Hospital, London, Ontario.

After a period of about 20 minutes listening to the chatter between the ambulance teams, my team advised me that they had another call, would put me in a wheelchair, and transfer me to the main lobby.  Why just me? I thought (According to regulations, patients were not to be left alone until handed over to the duty doctor).  It was still winter, and I was, now, in the draughty main entrance wearing only pyjamas.  I must have been there for, at least, 50 minutes watching many walk-in patients come and go before I heard my name called.  Not having a wheelchair license, I attempted a clumsy journey to the other side of the room.  Then into a ward, where I was asked to wear a gown and lay on a bed   (Nearly 2 hours since my phone call).

The doctor, after listening to my story, decided that a blood test would be a good idea.  After about 25 minutes, I was officially admitted and wheeled upstairs to share a room with a guy recovering from heart by-pass surgery, who seemed to be mumbling a strange mantra behind a screen.  I was hooked-up to an intravenous drip line and additional blood-work was done.  Night came and a very nice nurse suggested that I try to sleep.

Next morning at 5 AM, more blood was taken, then, after breakfast (Remind me not to complain about airline food any more) I was told that the previous tests had revealed nothing.  Later, I was taken to the ultra-scan department and, hours later, more blood was sucked from me … I listened for the sound of Dracula.

The next day, I was sent for a CT-scan, given lunch, and informed that I could leave.  There I was, on my own, in my pyjamas, and very embarrassed standing in the main entrance trying to wave down a taxi.

I have a follow-up appointment with the hospital doctor next month but, so far, no one seems to have any idea of a diagnosis which doesn’t please my G.P.  Would it be wrong to say, “To be continued?”