It really is such a shame

... when you really adore some man and he just doesn't, ever, really, make you scream.

It just won't work.

I'll be there

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2009

What do Suaad Hagi Mohamud, Abousfian Abdelrazik and Maher Arar have in common?

Canadian citizenship. Immigrant background. Muslim/Arab name. And violation of their rights by their Canadian Government.

Something has gone wrong: Isn't government's role to protect its citizens and their rights?

Octopus Books tackles the topic by hosting a timely panel discussion with Abdullah Almalki, Canadian Citizen who was detained, interrogated and tortured in Syria; Yavar Hameed, human rights lawyer and counsel for Abousfian Abdelrazik; and Maureen Webb, human rights lawyer, co-chair of Civil Liberties Monitoring Group and the author of the Illusions of Security: Global Surveillance and Democracy in the Post-9/11 World.

The discussion is moderated by Bill Skidmore, human rights instructor from Carleton University.

The event takes place in the the Scotton Hall of the Glebe Community Center (175 Third Ave) on Wednesday, August 26, at 7:00 p.m. Venue is wheelchair accessible. Admission is free.

For more information please contact Laura Koivisto-Khazaal at Octopus Books at 613-233-2589 or events@octopusbooks.ca.

Octopus Books
116 Third Ave
Ottawa ON K1S 2K1
www.octopusbooks.ca

Happy Monday

tea and blueberries

Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.
— Albert Schweitzer

My Sunday is usually Monday or Tuesday. But not this week. Anticipating its loss.

le sigh.

Today ...

I want to eat nothing.
• had 1 croissant
• 1 big glass of orange juice
• 1 big glass tea
• 2 litres of water already and could not make myself eat my lunch .....

ah well.

Yesterday I ate ....

• half a stale piece of homemade banana bread
• huge Earl Grey tea
• 1 baked chicken samosa
• cooked spinach w/ paneer
• 1 Kiwi
• quinoa, kale and half a small piece of salmon
Water: 3 litres. Carefully measuring it.

Today I ate ...

• Booster Juice, "regular size," High-Impact Açai - no dairy
• half a half of chicken breast, boston lettuce, raw red pepper, apple
• puy lentil, kale cumin dish. too hot to cook rice, so no rice.
• 3.5 (and a bit of chlorinated pool water) litres water. FAR away from the dangerous five litre zone.

I maybe coulda eaten more. *shrug*

Think I did well with three meals.

A normal day

Imparted the experience of my day to good friend Laura, including description of the very-expensive ice cream I bought just for her at the Farmer's Market and the flourishing of a rare zit that began Friday.

The ice cream made her intrigued, the zit turned her on.

I jest not. To wit, the conversations:

Ice cream
Me: "I bought you some very expensive ice cream today."
Laura: "Oh dear. How expensive was it?" [Am sure she was remembering the other very expensive ice cream I bought to feed her pre-, during and post-pregnancy habit which turned out to be awful]
Me: "This is great. It's spicy chocolate — real cream, real chocolate and full on spice."
Laura: "I do like spicy chocolate. So they were not shy about the spice?"
Me: "Absolutely not. Like a wall of spice. Tried some and knew you'd love it."
Laura: "NIiice."
Me: "Almost bought you the avocado lime ice cream, but then tried the chocolate and knew you'd kill me if I did not bring it to you."
Laura: "I have eaten two whole avocadoes in as many days - is that wrong?"

Zit
Me: "So that zit on the end of my nose has gotten bigger."
Laura: "Well I saw the beginning of it Friday, I can imagine where it was going to go."
Me: "Yeah. It's got a white head but is ...."
Laura: "Arrrrgh. White head? When are you coming over."
Me:" Ohhh I am *so* not coming over. You are getting nowhere near this thing. Sides, it's too deep to pop yet."
Laura: "But I am so good at coaxing them out..."
Me: " I do not care. It hurts. It hurts a lot. Even when someone looks at it, it hurts. The very pressure of their gaze ... "
Laura: "Good thing you are not dramatic at all. I'll take care of it for you. Won't hurt at all. "
Me: "Pffft. No. Give it up. Problem is, I do not really know how to deal with these things. It's almost a textbook zit now, with a perfect red ring around it a deep, white head ..."
Laura: "Oh my god that sounds glorious. You're killing me. This is like porn."
Me: "You are so weird."

nature or culture?

Visceral need to be truly hedonistic is being hampered by the protestant, "level-headed" Swedish-tinged upbringing.

hm.

(continuing my answer to you-kno-who-you-are)