Photo-Finish Friday -- Life Goes On

An ordinary day in Santa Clara, Cuba.

Enlarge the photo and you'll see laundry on the second floor and a woman hanging out the wash on the top floor.
This building is across the street from one of the most sacred sites of the Revolution. It looks over the wrecked train that Che Guevara toppled to cut off supplies to the military. Castro entered Havana a few days later.
Life goes on.

Not a Thief of Time

Don't fear the spud.

The commercial for the following product irks the hell out of me.
It's a simple unadorned potato product ready for use and the ad for it starts out about how you don't have the time to mash potatoes. It is a sad statement on people's priorities if they can't even organize enough time for that.
McCain Purely Potatoes (TM) are clearly meeting a need and good for the company for realizing it and going after the market.
All that aside, the mere fact there's a market for potatoes that are already peeled and cut and ready to cook bothers me.
Seriously, how long does it take to peel a potato or three?
What delights me, though, is users of this product still mash their own spuds once they're out of the microwave or off the stove.
Consumers are being sold on the notion that they're saving time by using this product.
What are they saving? The potatoes still take as long to cook no matter who peels them. Any sitting afterward, or additions of milk or butter or garlic or what-have-you take as long.
It takes a few minutes to get the potatoes, and then peel, wash, and cut them. It takes not quite as long to get the package from the freezer and open it.
Fair enough. I'd say a consumer of this product does save 3-5 minutes.
But tell me something, how much money is it costing them to save those minutes?
A 10 lb. bag of potatoes is relatively cheap on it's own. Compare it against a ready- to- go product and those become some very costly minutes.
I think that's what galls me the most about the commercial for this product. It's not the humble spud itself; it's the idea that we don't have enough time to feed ourselves and underneath it is the suggestion that if you do have this time, then you are not part of the current culture.
You have time? What's wrong with you? Where are you failing in you life that you have enough time to peel your own potatoes?
I say enough is enough. Having the time to prepare your own food is not a sign of failure.
People, take a stand. Grab a peeler and take back your life, one spud at a time.

A View from a Hill

This is the hill above Fort Assiniboine, Alberta. It's been cut down some over the years and the bottom curve's been smoothed out, but those are minor changes.
It's still the hill I rode down every morning when I went to school and the hill we took to get anywhere that requited going through the Fort.

Something about this descent calms me. I look out over the vast green forest, gaze at the sure steady flow of the Athabasca River, and let my eyes rest on the faraway rise to the south and it could be any year, any season.
Time has ceased.
I am any age and every age, but mostly I am young again. As I look out over this scene and into the village I am reminded that anything is possible.

I Got An Award! Yay!

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff gave this to me. I was thrilled. I still am.

The four rules governing the award are simple.

1. Give it to five others.
2. Invent something about each of the five.
3. Link to them.
4. Link to the poster that gave it to you.


Nancy at Life in the Second Half is the spiritual founder of the Sensible Ideas Movement and has asked me not contribute.

The Bag Lady at Bag Lady's Blather will be taking over the world soon and promises to cook for everyone.

Reb at Sibu Pegasus Power will be photographing the Bag Lady's ascension to power and later helping with the dishes.

Redbush at Redbush's Brambles is spending the summer teaching bears to paint. Their first show will be followed by an auction, dance, and hibernation.

Lil' Nan at The Fifth Sparrow knows the secrets of the Universe and will be spilling all once the Bag Lady is in power.

Enjoy your awards, everyone. You've earned 'em.

Gratitude Monday - Flowing Better Edition

The Weeping Wall in Banff National Park

We visited the Weeping Wall during our recent drive along the Icefields Parkway. I am grateful to pass along the waterfalls on it look healthier than they have in the past few years.
I love this spot. It's peaceful, protected, and shaded. There's a good-sized pullout on the opposite side of the road which makes for good viewing, and there's a very pleasant body of water along the road.
It's a nice place for a break during the drive and I take one there whether I need it or not. Water, running or still, restores my soul.
The Weeping Wall is flowing better this year. I am, too, for having seen it, and I am grateful for it.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake in Banff National Park from the lookout at Bow Summit.

Tasty Tourists

Tourist try for that perfect picture of a feeding black bear.

Sometimes I think we've gotten too far away from nature for our own good. This is an all too typical sight. Visitors to bear country want to get a good picture and forget all common sense in doing it.
Bears, no matter how engrossed they are in their food, simply cannot be trusted. These men are doing something that no one should do.
As for my pic of them, I have a healthy respect for any bear. I used a zoom lens, shot quickly, and knew that the bear would have to eat his way through both of them before it got to me. I had plenty of time to get away.