What John Said

Posted on 05 July 2020 by Isabel Gibson

It’s been a busy few weeks: the last of my proposal career, I swear. I took on a piece of work that I shouldn’t-a. Which reminds me of a goofy song from my yute.

But the work will be over soon. Or I will.

Anyway, my half-formed plan to do a new video for Canada Day went nowhere. My half-hearted hope to get funky new shots of the Parliament buildings (since, you know, they’re not being used at the moment)? Likewise.

Instead, I offer a link to a John Robson article, where he says what I think about Canada. (How did he know?) I hope you had a good Canada Day. And I hope to be back to my normal activities next week.

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Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Feeling Clearly, Through Canada | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

In Movement Status

Posted on 04 July 2020 by Isabel Gibson

Meanwhile, human body
is not recommended in movement status.

There’s a reason technical manuals and product instructions read like this.

I used to think it was because the person writing it was working in their second language. Or their fourteenth, maybe, judging by the output.

I was wrong. Well, I’ve changed my mind. I might still be wrong. Continue reading →

Posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently, Management and Work | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Good as the Best

Posted on 26 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

What’s in a name?
That which we call macadam
By any other name would be as strong.

OK, the Bard I ain’t, but it *was* a heigh-ho moment when I read about macadam in the afore-mentioned book by Simon Winchester (he covers a lot of ground, no pun intended). In his chapter on American roads he devotes a few paragraphs to one John McAdam, a Scot I had never heard of.

Or had I?

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Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Through History | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Scissors Face 2

Posted on 24 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

I have a pair of needlework scissors that were my grandmother’s. They need to be sharpened but I’ve been using them to cut knitting yarn.

After 45 years in my house, the other day they finally winked at me. I just caught it out of the corner of my eye: two small bumps looking like slightly bulging eyes (I’m thinking of crustacean eyestalks, I guess) and a screw serving as a rosebud mouth or a button nose. And the handles? Antlers, I guess. Yeah, that’s it: Antlers above the eyestalks.

As is often the case with these encounters, the closer and more directly I look, the weaker the resemblance.  It’s a thing best seen in passing.

Accidental scissors face

Posted in Photos of Faces | Tagged | 6 Comments

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes to the Molehills

Posted on 22 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

I was impelled, even compelled, to look up the definition of “industry” by a casual website reference to the “hearing hygiene industry.” (I believe they meant “hearing-hygiene industry” but let’s let that go, shall we? Not every hill can be one to die for. [However, it does seem to me we’re getting a series of — if not mountains — then at least low ridges here. Like, they’re not just molehills.]) Anyway. Back to the definition.

Industry: noun

1a : manufacturing activity as a whole // the nation’s industry
b : a distinct group of productive or profit-making enterprises // the banking industry
c : a department or branch of a craft, art, business, or manufacture especially : one that employs a large personnel and capital especially in manufacturing
d : systematic labor especially for some useful purpose or the creation of something of value

2 : diligence in an employment or pursuit especially : steady or habitual effort

3 : work devoted to the study of a particular subject or author // the Shakespeare industry

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Posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently | Tagged , | 2 Comments

They Grow Up So Fast

Posted on 20 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

It seems like only last week that they were babies and now they’re out on their own.

Wait a minute. It *was* last week.

With my camera set up on a tripod in our front hall and me sitting where the door frame blocked their view of me, I took photos of the nest from first glimpse to last farewell. We saw evidence of hatching on June 5 and what seemed to be feeding activity on June 8, but our first view of the young ‘uns was on June 14.

Robin with fragment of egg after hatching

June 5

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Posted in Appreciating Deeply, Photos of Fauna | Tagged | 8 Comments

Feeling Centered (or Close to It)

Posted on 19 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

I have a history of sorts with centres of sorts.

In 2014, on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, the Big Guy and I visited a monument close to the equator. Not exactly at the equator, you understand, but close.

In 2016, on a trip through South Dakota, the Big Guy and I set out to visit the Geographic Center of the United States, with less than stellar results. We got close to it, you understand, but not exactly there. Or maybe we did get there. No one really knows.

So it was with some mixture of dread and empathy that I recently clicked on an article about visiting the Geographic Center of North America, widely agreed to be in North Dakota. There is less agreement over exactly where in North Dakota. Plus ça change . . .

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Posted in Another Thing, Laughing Frequently, You are Here | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Who’s Smart, Who’s Thought-Provoked?

Posted on 17 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

Somewhen, I forget when, my Firefox browser started offering me articles from “Pocket: part of the Firefox family.”  I believe they mean “Pocket: a company owned by Firefox” but let’s let that go, shall we? Not every hill can be one to die for.

Anyway. In curating THE MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING ARTICLES, per their website, Pocket recommends ARTICLES on a curiously wide range of THOUGHTS. In my most-recent assortment . . .

Could Bruce Lee Win a Real Fight?

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Posted in Laughing Frequently, Wired | Tagged , | 11 Comments

A Curiously Unmodified Railroad

Posted on 15 June 2020 by Isabel Gibson

A mysterious stranger
joins forces with a notorious desperado
to protect a beautiful widow
from a ruthless assassin working for . . .
the railroad.

I neglected to note the movie for which this was the description, only because I had no intention of watching it. But the description caught my eye as an obnoxious example of the type.

“What type?” you ask enquiringly.

“The writing-with-unnecessary-modifiers type,” I explain explanatively. “And the writing-inconsistently type,” I add under my breath.

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Posted in Language and Communication, Laughing Frequently | Tagged , | 7 Comments