Happy Holidays

Number 2 Son arrived this morning, a long long trip from Ottawa and tomorrow we go to Viet Nam for the holidays. 8 days or so in Hoi An, in central Viet Nam, and then up to Hanoi for three days over New Years where I will be collecting a very special art piece I had commissioned when I was there in October. Stay tuned.

 Back in the new year - Happy Holidays my friends.

Sand sculpture in Puri, India.

Back Up, Back Up, Back Up

Well what a 24 hours this has been!

Last night I installed, or tried to install, a so-called security update for my computer. Everything froze, couldn't reboot, or boot or safe boot or whatever.

Well well well. Don't we know this WILL happen? Eventually? For sure! No doubt! And what do WE do to plan for such a thing? Like...not enough?

So there I was, on the other computer looking up what to do. Climbing up on a ladder to find the box with the install disk. Turning the thing on. Turning it on pressing  "C". Pressing "Shift". Pressing every fucking thing.

Nada. Rien. Nothing. Forget it.

Last night was awful. I think I had about three hours sleep total. Got out of bed at one point, back to the desk for a couple of hours to look up more potential fixes. Lay in bed asking myself in this darkness ..."So when did I last back up???? BIG question, What about my address book? What about all those confirmation emails for this that or the other things? What about the sensitive stuff, the VISA pdf's, the passport and id stuff? Who haven't I written back? Who has changed their email address?  How will I find them? What is going to happen when I LOSE MY LIFE?????"

Well, that's what happens at 2:30 a.m. That deep, insomniac hour.

I know - we ALL know - that it WILL and DOES happen. Your computer WILL crash. What is my backup strategy? Uhhh...STRATEGY?

It was a nightmare. But on another level, one thing I do know is that "the darkest hour is just before dawn" (although unfortunately I don't always remember that while it is going on). I also know (although also don't absorb this while it is going on) that whatever your worst fear is, it NEVER manifests as bad as you think it will.

I learned this a long time ago.

When I was a girl in Montreal, my friends and I used to, shall we say, experiment with things. One of these experiments had to do with raiding my parent's liquor cabinet and getting into, of all things, the sweet vermouth. We had our little tipple and then replaced it with 7-Up or some darned thing. Oh they will never notice!!!

Or will they?

One evening my mother was entertaining her girlfriend. They were sitting on the back porch and I checked in to say hello. Mom was asking her friend "Would you like a glass of vermouth?". "Well, Patty yes indeed I would!" Which was my cue to get the hell out of there. Oh my God, they will know what I have done! I took off down the back lane at a hellish pace in search of my friends, to console me in my hour of need.

"I'm caught. I'm IN TROUBLE@!!!"

I hung out as long as I could before I knew I had to head back. They were going to taste that rot gut and realize it was coloured 7-Up. I'm IN TROUBLE!!!! I was in agony, sweating it, oh oh oh, I'm IN TROUBLE. It was a nightmare - I was dead, killed, eliminated - in TROUBLE!

I dragged myself down the back lane, through the back gate, through the back yard and up the stairs to the back porch where my Mom's friend was sitting. Mom, who was cooking something in the kitchen through the porch door, called out, just as I was dragging ass up the stairs, "Oh, Mabel, would you like another vermouth?" "Oh, no thanks, Patty, I'm really feeling this first one!"

What??!!!! "Feeling it?" ("Feeling what????") SAFE!!!!!!!! Whew, dodged that one!!!

The punishment was all about the anticipation of the punishment. It always is. The mind builds it up and builds it up until it almost explodes. However bad you think it will be is never as bad as it is.

So back to my laptop problems.

After this last  horrendous night I packed up my computer and this morning, headed out to the Apple store, expecting who knows what. TROUBLE!! But young Paul, technical support, (love him madly) was behind the desk, playing a computer game on the marvelous Apple big screen, yacking on line to friends, while solving my problems. No big deal, from his perspective - a huge big deal from mine. Paul, my Hero! I love you! It booted!!! All is fixed, back in action. For awhile at least, this is, after all, a 4 year old computer.

So... am I finally going to learn from this and make a plan to back up properly? Well I hope so. But on the other hand I have long maintained that it sometimes (often) feels like that not only am I not getting older and wiser, but in fact, with the "older" often comes the "stupider".

What next?!

As if the Philippines hasn't had enough of disasters this year... The Mayon volcano, located about 310 miles south of Manila, has been spewing ash and lava and looks like it is set to erupt. 50,000 people are being evacuated from their homes.

Photo Reuters

A View from Below

Last week I was at my desk in front of my window at my 30th floor perch, when I noticed out in the distance a heavy smoke rising from somewhere in downtown Manila.

This is always a heart-stopper as these fires, not at all infrequent,  are usually in really poor, congested squatter neighborhoods and result in hundreds of families losing what little they have. As I watched the thick black smoke out in the distance I could tell this was a bad one. It went on for hours and hours.

Today I saw this shocking picture on the front page of the International Herald Tribune (the story warranted a small paragraph in the Manila paper). Apparently two toddlers (age 1 and 3) who had been left alone at home died as well as a firefighter battling the blaze. 15,000 people have been left homeless. The fire, as is usually the case, just swept right through these flimsy, flammable, shanties - illegally constructed in a neighborhood with only one hydrant. The roads and walkways between the houses are often not big enough for fire engines to get through.

This is squatter life in metro Manila.

This photo was taken by Francis Malasig, European Press Photo Agency

They're Baaack

Not that they ever went away.

80 year old Imelda Marcos is running for Congress in Ilocos Norte, the Marcos province, in the May 2010 elections.

Her daughter, Imee, is running for Governor, a position that her brother, Bong Bong had before he became a Congressman. Bong Bong is now running for the Senate. Imee used to be a Congresswoman. She is now running against her cousin. Following all that? The usual political dynasty musical chairs.

Meanwhile, President Gloria, who's term is ending, is now going to run for Congress. Some say that she's doing this to avoid prosecution for her crimes while in office. No doubt she'll win in her riding (although generally she is hugely unpopular elsewhere, thought to be completely corrupt) as she has travelled to her riding many many times in the past year dispensing cash, scholarships and public works projects to her constituents.

Another former President, Joseph "Erap" Estrada, who was forced out of office in the early part of this decade for graft and corruption, was convicted and spent 7 years under house arrest before being pardoned by the current President, is also once again running for the Presidency.

In a lesser office, a former mayor of a town in Aklan, Fred Arsenio is running again, trying to regain the office he had held in 2004 but failed to finish the term. The reason he failed to finish it is he apparently murdered a local journalist, a radio broadcaster and went into hiding for a year and a half after the arrest warrant was issued. He surrendered last year and has been in custody ever since. He is far from the only politician in Philippine election history to have conducted his campaign from jail.

President Gloria by http://caricaturesbynadz.wordpress.com/

Poster Girl

A never-before seen home movie made in the late '50's of Marilyn Monroe smoking pot is going on sale this week on eBay. The current owner of the film bought it for $275,000 and says:

"This is the late '50s so she is already very famous, but this is a personal side of her we've never seen before.  People have never seen her in such a relaxed pose."

I'll bet. This was 50 years ago. I still can't believe that, 40-odd years after my first puff, this stuff is STILL illegal.

Guns Goons and Gold

Well 'tis the season, and there is no fa la la la la to this story.

The election season is upon us and the first reported election violence has hit the nation in a big way. Last week 57 civilians, many of them women, including more than 30 journalists, were massacred in southern Philippines. Apparently this is the deadliest single slaughter of journalists ever reported in any country in the world.

There is a saying  in the Philippines that politics here is characterized by "Guns, Goons and Gold".  Gold being the money to bribe the voters, guns the alternative method of persuading those voters and goons being the thugs who wield their guns. Guns are also a means of dissuading political rivals from running, which was the scenario last week. Another way to describe it is, simply, fraud and terrorism.

The sitting governor of this southern province is being challenged for the position in the coming elections by another "warlord" as some call them. This challenger had been warned about proceeding with his plans so he put together a plan which would enable him to file his election papers without getting blown away. He sent his wife, and other female family members and supporters as well as a bunch of journalists in a convoy to do the paperwork, in the belief, mistaken as it turned out, that women would not be targeted and the journalists were there as witnesses. Paperwork.

He also asked for convoy protection from the local police, which was denied. Local police are clearly in the pockets of the sitting governor and are themselves implicated in the massacre.

The convoy set out, was stopped on the main road by about 100 armed men, and diverted down a sideroad to a site where a backhoe sat. This backhoe had been taken to this remote site 4 days previously and had dug the holes where the bodies and vehicles were to be buried. Premeditation? Oh, and the backhoe was government property and just happened to have the name of the sitting governor's clan on it.

All the people were murdered and dumped in the mass grave.

The stakes are high in local politics. Political office is a way to amass huge wealth, through bribes, favours, kickbacks. Private armies are common. Buying votes likewise. Family political dynasties are the way things work. Once Dad has completed a term limit, Mom takes over, or the son or daughter and this continues through the generations. Other family members hold other local political posts. Local political challengers are often threatened or shot.

But apparently this latest massacre goes way above and beyond in recent history. President Gloria is - as usual - being criticized for not moving very quickly to bring the perpetrators to account.  Apparently Bad Guy Sitting Governor is her political ally and in the last election delivered the votes in his province for her election. Delivered them so well, in fact, that in many ridings there were zero votes counted for her opposition candidates. Zero. Job well done Mr. Governor. As of now, his son who is a mayor in the province has been charged and is in custody. He has been identified as having been at the massacre directing operations. Government prosecutors and judges as well as the Justice Secretary are now receiving death threats, being told to "go easy" on the members of the clan.

Reports in this morning's paper are that the demand for custom fitting of bullet-resistant vehicles has doubled as the 2010 elections approach.

In Memory

I had an email from a friend on the weekend telling me some shocking and very sad news. A colleague from our former workplace, someone I was very fond of,  passed away "in her 65th year" as the obituary puts it. Far too young.

Since then I've had a couple of wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-can't-sleep nights, something that happens fairly frequently at the best of times, but in this case I am thinking about her and those years I spent in the office, seeing her smile of welcome every morning. I can see it now, clear as day. What I'm also thinking most about are her children and their own young families, and how they have lost her too soon, too soon. Which brings me round to thinking about my own mother who I still miss so much after all these years. Also left too soon.

I read about people who have survived something or other and talk about a new appreciation for life - "live each day as if it were your last" type stuff. I don't really know what that means. If you do that, does that mean you won't be afraid? Because now that I am closer to the end than the beginning, it is something that scares me.

Maybe what the poet Auden meant was "don't be scared" when he wrote:

Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day
Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Quite by chance, another friend sent me this quote in an email this morning. George Carlin:

Life's journey is not to
arrive at the grave safely
in a well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, 
totally worn out, shouting
'..holy sh*t .....what a ride!'

 My mother retired when she was 65. She was a great traveller but one of the places that she hadn't yet been to was Greece. She didn't much like the heat but, as a schoolteacher, she could only go in July and August. She saved that particular trip to her retirement years and was looking forward to being able to go anytime she wanted, in cooler weather. She never did. Within a year she was diagnosed with Parkinson's and her travelling days were to be over. She used to tell me, often: 

Make hay (while the sun shines).

OK, maybe tomorrow. Today I'll just be sad for awhile.

Hat-Making in Manila

I'm starting a new project. I'm building a model Venetian theater complete with Carnevale actors in costume. 1:12 scale. Well, not exactly. The actors may be 1:12, about 6 inches tall, but if I made the theater to real scale the stage would end up being about 7 feet wide. Instead, it will likely be about a little larger than roombox size, about 2 1/2 feet wide, deep and tall.

I don't really know how to do all this, but figuring it out should keep me off the streets for awhile. There are two of us in this house with a passion for miniatures - one with 1:12 scale and the other with HO scale model trains. It may be a race to see whose eyesight goes first.

 My friends and I who have seen the movie Julie and Julia are laughing over the scene where Julia Child as the "trailing spouse" of her diplomat husband in Paris is advised by some well-meaning soul to take up hat-making to keep her busy, to give her something "to do". The expression "hat-making" has entered our vocabularies as a shorthand joke, laughing at some activity or another.

The truth is, however, that there is SO much creativity among my friends. Some of them are photographers putting on exhibitions of their work, some are making jewellery, some writing and publishing articles, designing fashion, painting, taking dance classes, making music. They are traveling, studying history, exploring contemporary art, producing events...did I mention playing mah jong??? Lots of time for the creative life. Hat-Making. And look what happened to Julia when she finally settled on cooking for her creative outlet!

Speaking of hats, last week was the Melbourne Cup in Australia, a VERY important horse race in that country. Here in Manila the ANZA group (Australian-New Zealand Association) put on a great event at the Peninsula. This is the third year I've attended and it's a blast. Everyone gets all dressed up and wears fancy hats (I've worn a hat three times in my life - there), bets on the horses and watches the race live on a huge screen via satellite. Followed by a great lunch, lots of fun and laughter. We start drinking champagne at 11:00 in the morning which is definitely trouble, no doubt about it. The Aussies sure do great party.

The theater pictured was created by artist Arline Smith.

All Hallows' Even

My favorite holiday. When The Boys were little I used to spend hours and hours creating their little costumes - I have bragging rights on the fact that My Boys had the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes ever, designed and hand-crafted by me. I'm pretty sure that that piece of trivia is only significant to me. Dad would take them trick or treating while I would delight in answering the door and seeing all the little kids in their costumes. Sometimes I would dress up too. Magical times.

My most memorable (!) Halloween night was in Ottawa when we lived in the Maple Ridge townhouses. That October 31st was amazingly balmy for Ottawa - really really warm (October 31st is NEVER warm in Ottawa). My neighbor Denise and I set up lawn chairs outside between the houses and her husband Vaughan started feeding us martinis as we doled out the candy. We stayed out there quite late, enjoying the warm night, sipping endless martinis.

God, it was awful the next morning. I haven't had a martini since.

Happy Halloween.

These images are from the brilliant miniature artists Jodi and Richard Creager. These figures are no more than 6 inches tall. http://www.creagers.com/

Home Alone Part 2

It's been almost 3 weeks since my news blackout began and I felt better literally from day one. Much better. Last night I was flipping channels and couldn't help but see a news scroll along the bottom of the screen. An explosion. I quickly went by. Some people are mad at some other people somewhere and families are suffering. That's all I need to know.

It's been a very creative time as well, planning my next projects. Lots of dreaming, both asleep and awake.

Last weekend I went downtown with some friends for lunch and on the way back I recognized that we were driving along the same streets where we had been stuck on that horrible night (Trip from Hell). It was good for me to see it again - dry, in sunshine, with people living, not just trying to survive on that dark and stormy night. Helps to put those memories in their proper place - as memories.

I rediscovered some fabulous music hidden in too many CD's. Virginia Rodriguez, a Brazilian singer with the voice of an angel. Angelique Kidjo, who I hadn't listened to enough until now. I also created a new playlist in honor of being Home Alone - Those Jazzy Blues Gals - old favorites (Billie, Lena, Nina, Etta, Ruth Brown, Koko Taylor) along with (for me) a new one, Ruthie Foster, recommended by Bonnie Raitt on a radio interview I heard recently.

The movies have been great as well.

 

 

 

And, for a little light entertainment:

I think I've seen Apocalypse Now maybe 15 times since it first came out, but most of the time I stop at the end of the river voyage. I always thought the Marlon Brando section of the film was nonsense, that it seemed there were 2 different films, and when I read about the making of the film, indeed I was right. Brando ruined the film with his "creative input" that Coppola couldn't manage at that time. I always thought he (Brando) was overrated anyway.

I've been pressing the delete button a lot, literally. My computer keeps nattering at me that my hard drive is full, so I've been getting rid of some of the 7000 photos I have on it. Here's a few that remind me of the Viet Nam trip.

On the streets of Hanoi, there are streets that are totally devoted to one type of product. For example, there may be block after block of mostly small paint stores or appliance stores or whatever, all clustered together.. Near our hotel there was a street with many stores carrying nothing but jeans, with  half mannequins spilling out into the sidewalk. I laughed at the sight of these teeny little jeans for teeny little people - so small they didn't even fit the little mannequins. I didn't, ahem, shop there.

Everything they say about Hanoi traffic is true. There are SO many motorcycles. Streets are crowded with them and sidewalks are bike parking lots. Street lights and stop signs appear to be only suggestions, and crossing a street as a pedestrian is an art form. The trick seems to be - once committed, DON'T STOP. The bikes will go around you (you hope) but heaven help you (and the traffic behind the approaching bike) if you stop. At least that's the theory. A friend of mine who was there 15 years ago said at that time it was a similar scene but they were all bicycles. If all these people ever one day upgrade to cars, that will be the end of Hanoi.

Every trip has to have its ewwwwgh, dare ya,  food moment. Here's a plate of grilled sparrows:

We took a day trip to a place where you rented a boat (and boat rower) for a trip down a river with beautiful karst scenery. During the trip you travel through three underground caverns.

Oh shit, there's a mountain on top of our heads!

A little Stevie and Mikey at the temple pond.

Speaking of Viet Nam, I've spent many hours arranging our Christmas trip - back to Viet Nam. This time we will spend 8 or 9 days in the center part of the country at Hoi An, and then will return to Hanoi for a few days at New Year's. Number 2 Son is coming to join us, so Happy Christmas to me!


Earlier Home Alone post.

Spirit House

The Spirit House has arrived.

Last July when we were in Chiang Mai, Thailand I bought the most beautiful Spirit House in the world and shipped it home to Manila. It finally arrived this month.

Ever since I started travelling in Southeast Asia I have been intrigued by these little houses. Perhaps because they resemble dollhouses and I'm passionate about miniatures. Or perhaps because they are cared for on a daily basis and obviously mean a great deal to those who do care for them. In any event I was determined to have one in our house and went looking for just the right one in Chiang Mai.

You can see Spirit Houses in every garden (sometimes on balconies) of every house or office building or shop or temple in Thailand, and also in Laos and Cambodia. They represent an old practice rooted in the animistic religion that predates the arrival of Buddhism. Old animistic beliefs and practices co-exist with Buddhism today (even here in the Philippines certain old beliefs exist alongside the widespread Catholicism of the country). Apparently, Spirit Houses are shrines placed to provide an appealing shelter for the spirits that inhabit the property, to make them happy so they won't cause problems for the inhabitants. Daily offerings are made to appease these spirits and if you look closely at the Spirit Houses, you will see all kinds of things placed in front of them - food, flowers, incense, candles, water, little statues, cigarettes, wine.

They can be made of wood, stone or concrete. Some are painted beautiful colors. They can be very modest, or very elaborate. Big or small. I've taken many pictures of them walking down the streets of Thailand, Laos or Cambodia.

The idea of house spirits is not unique to Southeast Asia and can be found in many other cultures as well, including in European mythology and practice. I bought ours as art and while I'm not at all sure that potentially malevolent spirits inhabit our 30th floor apartment, nonetheless it doesn't hurt to provide a constant supply of fresh flowers, along with those given to The Elephants and The Buddha (Welcome to the Elephants).

Just in case.