Saturday, December 02, 2006

Weather and politics

It is coming to the end of the fall semester at my university. This means all sorts of things. First it means marking - tons and tons of marking (or as a friend calls it 'grading' - I wonder if that is an American/Canadian thing - do we mark in Canada and grade in the states?). It also means xmas holidays. I enjoy the holiday for many reasons. The education building is quieter and between xmas and new year's it is dead quiet - I get lots of work done - prepare for the new semester and this year I will have a lot of editing to do for the 2007 NABTE Review.

But the coming end of the Fall semester also brings something else - winter. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate winter? I can never get warm enough. The ice and the snow make walking dangerous turning us all into slow, seemingly decrepit people. Driving is an art - which many people have not mastered. But thank the lord for the sun. In Regina it can be -40 with a windchill of -50 but the sun will be shining brightly. It may feel as cold as hell but it looks like paradise.

There is nothing more beautiful to me than the huge prairie sky over glistening white snow and every color of the rainbow represented in the ice crystals dancing in the air.

Today was one of those days where I never got warm. The wind blows, the snow moves, twirling and sliding, and my car takes less time to get me to where I'm going than it takes to warm up.

A most interesting development today in the election of Stephane Dionne as the leader of the Liberal party. I would have bet money on Bob Rae - but then I have always appreciated that hazy line between some of the Liberal policies and some of the New Democratic Party policies. Politics in Canada today are a bit confusing and frustrating. We face a minority government who can do well in one area and who can be so screwy in other areas. Perhaps a Liberal party with a leader will make life a little more interesting for the Conservatives

So I have talked about the weather and politics - I've only left out religion. I'll leave that for another day.

Ann as the old joke goes - the attorney was reading Mr. Smith's Will "and for my cousin Bill who wanted to be remembered in my will - Hi, Bill"