Home
The Spectacle of Grief
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 1776
There's been a tragedy, it's all over the news, 24/7. the spectacle of grief, young lives cut short, an accident.
There's fundraising and in-depth profiles of the victims, pictures at the scene, interviews with spokespeople for the survivors, people that knew them, family, friends.
Commonplace utterances, things like "We'll miss them" and "They brightened our lives" and other such banalities, they shouldn't publish this, air it, but the news, they're in the business of tragedy, of grief, and this is great. The "human" angle, how ordinary people cope in the face of extraordinary adversity, imagine, it could be you, your loved ones, your family, wife, child, husband...
There's fundraising, because, well, because money mitigates grief, huge sums are raised, the community comes together, rallies, people from all around the world donate, exceeding all reasonable expectations, the survivors, they can afford the best of medical care, the fatalities, well, they can have statues built in their honour, the line between victim and hero is blurred, no longer are they victims, they're martyrs, heroes, inspirations to us all...
Now, on the news, darker tales emerging, people "exploiting" the tragedy, selling merchandise, twee sentiments and support emblazoned on Tee Shirts and Ball-Caps, without proper accreditation or generous charitable donation of royalties, the media is outraged, this tragedy, it was theirs alone, for the amusement of their viewers, their sponsorship, their paid adverts, the thought that anyone else might stick a finger in their pie, well, it's incomprehensible, villains, indignation, disgrace, scandalous, more news, more sponsorship, more ads sold, buy, buy, buy, life insurance, extended medical coverage, no one rejected...
There's been a tragedy. It's called The News.
Garage Sales - 21-4-2018
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Found
- Hits: 1128
The Season begins, a couple of weeks early. Wake up, get motivated, head down first to Taghum, where there's a couple of Kayaks on sale, a good price, but at the moment some deals have to slide.
From there, to Ymir, really wasting time here, there's nothing of interest, unless you want to chat with the proprietess, from here to Nelson, coffee, a couple of the expected garage sales there called off due to a spring thundershower that rolled through, then north again towards Kaslo.
Not a promising start to the season.
In Kaslo, the same storm that hit Nelson, most garage sales called off, and I hit the only one I can find.
My luck has turned around, mostly kitsch, vintage garbage, but a few finds:
Postcards, vintage, some old copies of some famous woodgravings illustrating parables and saints:
this one reminds me of the old bosses nephew for some reason...
And then a few of the old plastic ones that represent a scene in 3D, these are great, I have only to white out the writing on the back to use them again:
tipping the postcard gives depth to the field, others, Alpine landscapes, a few tacky German ones, a few from classic locations, they'll all work with my vintage stamps...
But the real find, the one that's given me the taste for the season, well...
...can you guess?
A crystal holography healing kit, "light therapy", with guide to acupuncture points, crystal holograms, wands, acupuncture electric stimulators, various other quack medical devices, total retail in excess of $1000 US, all mine for a mere $25 Canadian. After a bit of haggling, of course, but now, now I'm practically a Nelson Doctor. Dr. Rod.
And so it begins...
Hobosexual
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Conversations
- Hits: 1255
A late night at the bar, the woods' got a cop and a homeless guy, they're talking, both are local, they're swapping dating stories, the cop has a few but the homeless guy won't be outdone, long dirty blonde hair and a beard, he tells us proudly that he's a "hobosexual', I've read "Down and Out in London and Paris", I know what he means, I want to listen but I gotta close this bar up and leave him to regale the cop with the tales of his omnivorous voracity ...
Fargo
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1389
The daughter's recommendation "It has the best villain EVER", and so I commit to season 1. And binge watch them all.
They're OK, I thought I recognized Martin Freeman from " The Office", and after later googling it realized it was him, although he's aged considerably. And Colin Hanks, others, and Billy Bob Thornton is a good (not great) villain. But, somehow it's...well, it sucks you in a bit, it's good, but the "folksy Minnesota humour" is done to death, what was charming done once in a movie is overdone in the series, in the end the real joy lay in recognizing locations around Calgary, largely Inglewood, and some of the outlying areas.
But it inspires you, there's no need for a big budget, this story could be told without the big names on a fraction of what it would cost to film most other TV shows, what is important is to know some talented people, have a good writer, some careful editing and directing, and you'll be off...
And so if there's a value to it, this is it.
Page 515 of 1086