a little child shall lead them

"12-Year-Old Stuns Pro-Choice Teacher and School with Pro-Life Presentation"

earth hour - 60 minutes for lights ON!

Sometime today - in the evening when it's dark, I guess - we're encouraged to celebrate Earth Hour by dousing all the lights. This from the great environmental establishment to get us to contemplate, in the dark, how we must reduce our carbon footprint.

I like the National Post's quasi rebellious editorial stance (clicked on front-page link headlined "Earth Hour is a joke" - I like it):

"Once you’ve had enough of sitting in the dark, think about what it means that you can go back to that switch on the wall and put the lights back on. Electric light, now regarded as a banality, was in fact a breakthrough technology that expanded our great-grandparents’ universes radically: It transformed the productivity of businesses and workers, enabled round-the-clock transportation, made the night less terrifying in both imaginative and practical respects, and — let Canadians never forget it — allowed humans to settle the realm of short winter days without being required to basically hibernate.

To renounce that — and all that it represents — even symbolically, is to renounce ourselves."

But even more, I like Joel Johannson's idea of turning on the lights during earth hour in defiance of all the killing that's happening in abortion mills (read mostly public hospitals) throughout Canada:

"My one hour of all-lights-on action represents for me the eleven or twelve pure, innocent, helpless babies being savagely “aborted” on just that hour, on “Earth Hour”, in Canada. (275 will be “aborted” that whole 24-hour day, including the “Earth Hour” of cult darkness.) All will be aborted at taxpayer expense against my conscientious objections, mostly in public hospitals, largely for utterly no reason except convenience and cosmetics and birth control for idiots who have, given the choice, chosen to shirk the highest and most sacred responsibility given to humans, and who as a result will choose to engage in the most disgusting, most egregious act ever thought of by humans.

I call it “human hour”.

Way to go Joel! We're with you!!

mistrial for googling

When you're a juror, Googling to do research on the case you're hearing, or twittering, updating Facebook, your blog can lead to a mistrial according to a March 23rd National Post article "Google Mistrials' derail courts."

A couple of tidbits from the piece:

"We are so hooked on this instantaneous communication, we can't seem to drop it even for a short period of time in order to discharge a civic duty."

"He (Alan Young - law school prof) believes jurors go against judges' instructions more often than the legal community would like to think, at least partly due to modern society's addiction to constant communication and information consumption."

And this telling little paragraph:

"The law is not about truth-finding. It's about, ‘Can we convict this guy based on the rules of evidence?' " he said. "That's something that really has to be stressed over and over again" (bold mine).

I'm thinking rather than endangering all future court cases by maintaining the status quo, we'd be better off updating the judiciary to fit with our technology - oh yeah, and making the process less about semantics and more about convicting on the basis of truth (a novel concept indeed and - in Canada at least - one that may well net one the conviction of contempt of court.)

exploring canada's poorest postal code

E. and I went on a field trip today - to the Vancouver Downtown Eastside.

A little about the Downtown Eastside (DTES). It's about a 10-block-square area which is home to approximately 16,000 people of which 4,700 are intravenous drug users and 1500 are homeless. There are apparently as many people on the streets as there are in shelters. Police report that 50% of calls they get from the area involve mental illness. The DTES has the dubious distinction of being Canada's poorest postal code.

Today we went with a group from our church. CLA's history of helping out on the Downtown Eastside began most directly when a former pastor (Gordon Wiebe) decided to go there as a missionary. Sometime in the early 2000s he resigned his position and moved from his home in Langley into one of the DTES rooming houses. The story of what happened is told more fully here.

Now, seven years later, he lives in the Dodson Hotel and through Community Builders helps run three rooming houses - the Dodson, the Jubilee Rooms and Powell Rooms. In the last year people from our church have been going down the Dodson (25 East Hastings) every two weeks to lend a hand. They work on building relationships with the residents as well as helping with upkeep (cleaning rooms, plugging mouse holes, fixing plumbing etc.). In the last few months they've also helped with a renovation that will see the former pub converted into a kitchen and a meeting room.



This very rainy cold day started out as we boarded the bus at 9:00 a.m.


Even some politicians were in attendance (Mark Warawa our MP and Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender).


Thank you to Lisa who was an amazing tour guide. She filled our drive into Vancouver with interesting facts and stories about her DTES experiences and helped us debrief on the way home.

Lisa

Gordon Wiebe

When we got to our destination, Gordon Wiebe boarded the bus for a few minutes and talked about the "Ten Competing Forces in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside." (I really like the list he gave us of ten helper types with their various philosophies - like harm reduction, missions, social housing, activism etc. It has given me a set of pigeon holes into which I can now file the things I hear about the DTES.)

Next our assignment was to break into small groups and:
1. do a walkabout, looking for examples of the ten forces listed on our handout.
2. eat lunch (we were issued a list of eateries).
3. make our way to the Dodson for a brief tour.

It was about 11:00 a.m. when we got started and we were in the capable hands of "orange shirts" Kevin and Esther, who are frequent helpers at the Dodson. Kevin piloted us to the Carnegie Center where we used the clean public washrooms.

Then we braved the rain again and walked several blocks past the Jacob's Well (one of the DTES missions) to The Jubilee Rooms.

Jacob's Well

It and the Dodson which we toured later, are very old buildings - 100 or so years. The common room at the Jubilee housed a TV set and a chair. There was also a minimal kitchen where people could heat water, make toast. The girl who was watching TV when we came thundering up the stairs was gracious, but I felt a little awkward, coming through her living space as if this was some sort of exhibit A.

Outside the streets were pretty quiet, but it gradually grew livelier as the noon hour passed. Though many locals carried umbrellas or wore jackets with hoods, they still looked cold, waterlogged, and miserable.

Community garden

From the Jubilee Rooms we made our way back to the Carnegie Center for lunch. The Carnegie is a central community meeting place with a library, a room with tables for games, even a gym, and of course the kitchen and dining room for meals. Kevin told us memberships cost $1.00 a year. The washrooms are lit with UV bulbs to discourage shooting up in them, and there are no spoons - a handy shoot-up tool - in the cutlery trays. We lined up with area residents for a choice of chicken-mushroom pie or rice with curry sauce, and green or beet salad. It was served in generous platefuls, very yummy and only cost $1.75 (cooked by volunteers).

A reminder to even the most stoned

Later as we made our way to the Dodson, we passed the infamous Insite clinic (where people can inject illegal drugs in a supervised and clean environment using sterile needles). Next to the Dodson is a recycle place, which was busy with men and women doing trades of all kinds on the street. Across the street from the Dodson is the Pennsylvania Hotel - an old hotel which the government took seven years to renovate and now contains 44 suites of social housing (it was a big good-news item on the six o-clock a couple of nights ago)

The Dodson - the building with the star

The day was eye-opening and in some ways depressing. The thought of people being out in the cold rain all day and all night is hard to fathom. As Gordon Wiebe said, people in the Downtown Eastside are tough.

The trip gave us lots to think about. Issues are tough and solutions are complex. Would you be able, in good conscience, to run a rooming house where people don't have to be off drugs to be allowed to stay? What are the options? We had a long discussion when we got home (all the while giving thanks for creature comforts - coffee, muffin and the cozy fireplace).

frivolous friday

modified logos for hard times...

oops - my roots are showing

(I didn't write this, but got it in an email. It made me chuckle, seeing I grew up Mennonite and all)

Canada and a Mennonite Nation

-- Now that the Quebec nation is recognized within a united Canada, there is growing demand for a Mennonite nation within Canada.

In light of the recent parliamentary motion regarding the nationhood of the Quebecois, many feel that the Mennonites should also be recognized as a distinct nation within Canada. Once recognition from Parliament has been achieved, the Mennonite nation should then proceed to exercise its right to land claims in the Fraser Valley, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba and select portions of southern Ontario.

A sovereign nation should then be declared, with provincial capitals located in Yarrow, La Glace, Rosthern, Niverville and Waterloo (Abbotsford and Winkler can fight it out for federal capital) and Low German functioning as the second official language. A fully operational social safety net will be set up, including food banks and soup kitchens serving up borscht and pluma moos three times a day for the less fortunate - then put the bums to work picking hops.

It is to be anticipated that a big argument will break out. Already people are asking - who is a Mennonite?

Friesens and Dycks who go to a Mennonite church are in for sure. But what about a Peters who goes to an Alliance church? Will a Johnson who goes to a Mennonite church disguised as a "community church" qualify? Will culinary Mennonites who simply say they enjoy borscht get citizenship? Before you know it everyone buys sausage at Rempels or shops for groceries at Funks will claim they are Mennonites. It is even conceivable that anyone who ever went to an MCC sale might claim they are Mennonites. Then there will be more Mennonites than non-Mennonites and Mennonites could lose minorty status.

You think that the pacifist Mennonites will take all this lying down? The Quebecois question is easy compared to the Mennonite one. No?

Maybe turn it over to a committee of GC's and MB's to write a clarity act? Good luck!

(Thanks Marilyn S.)

controverisal "Expelled" not in Canada - yet

Ben Stein's movie "Expelled" is doing well and making waves in the U.S. since it opened on April 18th.

The NY Times movie list from last week, where it's number 11, describes it as: "One of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time, 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed' is a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry."

Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) writes this tirade on Richard Dawkins.net (you'd almost think the movie had hit a nerve).

Viewing this 7-minute trailer may give you some idea why it's controversial.



Here are a few bits from a review by Matt Barber:

This is not your father's documentary. “Expelled” rocks the house both literally and figuratively. It's gripping, music-packed, comically wry and always entertaining. But its entertainment value is yet surpassed by its educational merit.

...there are those who won't like it, not one little bit...

As the movie masterfully illustrates, we live in a cultural climate where secular elitists in academia, the media and the courts chew up and spit out anyone who dares to question the gospel according to Charles Darwin. They're absolutely terrified to follow the scientific evidence wherever it may lead.

Consequently, it's no wonder “Expelled” has Darwin's disciples scurrying for the shadows. Those secular humanist one-trick-ponies in the media, throughout academia, on the blogosphere and elsewhere are in full damage control. They're doing everything possible to discredit the film before it even opens. It's even been reported that two major networks are refusing to cover the movie. (Gotta love that journalistic objectivity.)

“Expelled” is a must-see. If you're already a person of faith, prepare to have your faith strengthened. And even if you're not, you can't possibly walk away without at least admitting that the debate over who we are and how we got here is far from over.

from Matt Barber's review on Townhall.com

Lorna Dueck and Patricia Paddey did a feature on the movie in a recent "Seeking Truth" segment of Listen-Up TV (about 30 minutes).

I am looking forward to "Expelled" being released in Canada. The Theatre Locator on the movie's website says not till the summer though.

pod school

This Christmas I finally joined the i-poders (got a very slim and streamlined ipod touch!). Besides loving the portable music, I wanted to own this toy to be able to download messages and teaching. Here are some sites I've found from which you can download sermons, talks, interviews etc.

The podcast page at Oneplace.com is an index of Christian ministry podcasts, including such popular programs as Focus on the Family and Desiring God Radio (John Piper).

Ravi Zacharias's mp3s (Let My People Think) are listed here.

Joyce Meyer's teaching podcasts can be found on this page:

If you enjoy some of the literary stuff on the CBC, their radio broadcasts "Between the Covers," "Writers and Company" and a slew of others are available as podcasts. You can subscribe to them here.

Happy listening (and learning)!

shopping

Bargain Warriors
(West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton Alberta)

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: ANYTHING (Your all time favorite photo, Your favorite photo from last year, A photo of anything,...)

craigdarroch castle - 3

craigdarroch - 1
craigdarroch - 2

Organ Alcove

Up the stairs in an alcove midway between the first and second floors is the organ. Although the 1895 reed organ is not original to the house, Craigdarroch experts believe that the space was used for music performances.


Mrs. Dunsmuir's Sitting Room

Joan Dunsmuir (70 years old) spent time managing the family business from this room. The black dress shows that she's still in mourning.



Second Bedroom

Elizabeth Harvey lives with her grandmother Joan. She is being 'laced' by a maid. She is wearing drawers, a chemise, a boned corset, and two petticoats. The Japanese kimono of red silk on the bed is worn as a dressing gown.



Billiard Room

This was the Dunsmuir's afternoon entertaining area. Set for an 'at home' tea, women servants would pour tea or wine and serve sandwiches and desserts.




Green Bedroom

Robert Dunsmuir Harvey, Joan Dunsmuir's grandson, may have used this room. He moved into the castle with his grandmother in 1890 but left a year later to attend school in the east.



Family Bedroom

Euphenia Dunsmuir (Effie) is 28 and not yet married. This is her room. The maid has laid out her formal evening wear for a party in a home nearby.



Tomorrow - up another level to the dance hall and the tower.

craigdarroch castle - 2

craigdarroch - 1

Robert Dunsmuir's unexpected death in 1889 brought with it one big (and nasty) surprise for his thirty-something sons James and Alex. For contrary to their father's spoken promise that he would will his business holdings to them, he left everything to his wife Joan.

After Robert's death, the sons supervised the completion of Craigdarroch while their mother toured Europe. Joan finally moved into the 39-room, 20,000 square foot mansion in 1890. With her came three unmarried daughters and two orphaned grandchildren. And for 18 years, until her death in 1908, Joan lived in Craigdarroch.

Main Hall

The ornate clock on the mantle is original to the castle.


This carved bear hall stand occupies the Garden Entrance.


Library

Notice the yule log sitting by the fireplace. On December 25th it was put in the fireplace and burned for the full twelve days of Christmas to bring prosperity and good luck.



Drawing Room

The room is set up for late afternoon tea.





The toys underneath the tree date from the late 1890s to around 1910. The tree decorations are reproductions of 19th century ornaments.



Dining Room

The table is set for a family Christmas supper. The hostess will spend as much time decorating the table -- arranging menu cards, placing salt shakers containers between the guests etc. -- as fussing with the food.

Servants will set the table, serve the meal and clear the table later.




Tomorrow we'll tour the castle's upper floors.

craigdarroch castle - 1

The first home of Robert Dunsmuir, his wife Joah and their three young children was a rough-hewn log cabin with a dirt floor in Fort Rupert (near present-day Port Hardy). They settled there in 1851 to begin a three-year contract with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) after a 241-day crossing from Scotland.

After three years they were transferred to Nanaimo where the coal-master in Robert's blood kicked in. In 1855 the HBC and Governor James Douglas gave Robert and another man permission to prospect for coal independently. Fourteen years later in 1869 he discovered the richest coal seam on Vancouver Island near Nanaimo.

Now Dunsmuir showed himself to be business savvy. He got together some friends and they formed Dunsmuir, Diggle & Co. With the British Royal Navy stationed nearby and the growing population of San Francisco providing voracious appetites for coal, Dunsmuir & Diggle soon flourished.

In 1883 Dunsmuir bought out his partner and then secured the contract to build the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railways. By then he also owned ships, collieries, an iron works, a sawmill, a quarry (source for the castle's sandstone exterior), a dyking company, a theatre and real estate, making him one of the richest men in Canada.

Four years later, in 1887, Dunsmuir, now living in Victoria, began building Craigdarroch Castle in the middle of his 28-acre estate on a hill overlooking the city.

Craigdarroch (rocky, oak place in Gaelic) was a "bonanza castle" -- one of the massive houses built by men who got their wealth from the industrialization of North America. With this castle, Robert wanted to announce to the world that he was the richest, most important man in western Canada.

We visited Craigdarroch in early January this year. It was decked out for Christmas so I waited till the Christmas season to share it here.


It was soon obvious to us that Robert had spared no expense outside or in. He commissioned Warren Heywood Williams of Portland Oregon to design Craigdarroch (later completed by Arthur Smith of the same firm when Williams died). Then he brought in materials, mostly from America, to give it the highest Victorian quality and style.

The first thing that struck us when we entered and looked up at the Porte-Cochere entrance was the western red cedar paneling. Other paneling in the castle is made of white oak and was fabricated in Chicago. Parts including stairs, doors, window frames and 2182 panels were pre-made then shipped from Chicago. Other woods like cherry, Hawaiian koa, walnut, jarra, rosewood were used in the parquet floors.


Another amazing thing about the castle is the collection of stained and leaded glass. Almost every room has a stained glass window somewhere -- along with a fireplace. I overheard a guide say there were 17 fireplaces!





The sad thing is Robert Dunsmuir never got to live in his castle. He died in 1889 and the castle wasn't finished until 1890.

Tomorrow - the scandal that surrounded his will and a tour of the main floor rooms.

less than rave reviews

The Golden Compass opened in theaters this weekend. So far the reviews are less than rave.

"... is this sucker dull. Indeed, even the element of the novel most likely to make a movie adaptation interesting – the allegedly "anti-religious" subtext of Pullman's narrative – has been as efficiently nullified and purged..." Goeff Pevere - toronto.com 'Golden Compass': Wrong Directions

"An uneven, often frustrating and altogether incomprehensible beginning to an epic story, The Golden Compass will have to recalibrate its instruments in the second outing if it wants to realize its dream of becoming a timeless classic." Katherine Monk (CanWest News Service) Golden Compass doesn't point anywhere

"What can I say? The Golden Compass is a rushed film. It moves forward at warp speed, never slowing to give us any quieter character moments, motivations, or story points. Where did the Gobblers come from? How many kids were missing? Was this some sort of epidemic? We are never told; the facts are just there with no supporting evidence. Overall, the movie is a bit of a slog....Not Recommended." Chris Beaumont - Blogcritics review

Peter Chattaway (a Vancouver film reviewer who reviews films for B.C. Christian News): Golden Compass bombs in North America

Chattaway also does an every-which-way number crunch to show how films that cater to religious audiences fare as opposed to films that take a skeptical view of religion in "The Golden Compass doesn't bomb overseas".

more Golden Compass

The controversial children's film The Golden Compass releases tomorrow.

Read Peter Chattaway's email interview of Philip Pullman (September '07). He interviewed Pullman in preparation for writing Christianity Today review "The Chronicles of Atheism."

Albert Mohler (president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) reviews the film in "The Golden Compass -- A Briefing for Concerned Christians."

food for thought

How much does your family spend on groceries in one week? Here are examples of other families from around the world.

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Germany : The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week : 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods : fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding

Japan : The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week : 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods : sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

Kuwait : The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week : 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe : Chicken biryani with basmati rice

China : The Dong family of Beijing
Food expenditure for one week : 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week : 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe : Okra and mutton

Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week : $31.55
Family recipe : Potato soup with cabbage

Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week : 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods : soup with fresh sheep meat

Photos are from the book Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel. See more of the photo essay "What the World Eats" here.