On the Snowshoe trails with Special K and Ninja. There’s porcupines in them there hills. They sit
searching for serenity in a steaming hot outdoor pool in subzero temperatures. Special K promises to take
pictures of Ninja if the podcast is turned off. Ninja follows the winter stream instead.
Ninja thinks the ability of the body to adapt is marvellous. She shares highlights from New Scientist’s January 07 2009 article about the technology being developed to provide
better prosthetics. The
human body proves even more interesting as we listen to one blind man’s
ability to navigate himself and many others out of the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
Ninja knew there was reason she didn’t want to see He’s Just Not That Into You. Is it just because
she isn’t a fan of chick flicks? No. Seems that homo stereotypes are still alive and well in the movie industry. She shares
highlights from a review
she found at queerty.com.
Valentine’s day mustard. Charlie meets or rather almost misses Special K and Ninja at the market for some breakfast and
shopping. Special K shares a close call with mushy peas. Small children are fascinated by Ninja and it may be the most popular
she has ever been on Valentine’s Day.
Ninja and Special K have moved. Blogmatrix is no more. But Hot Fossils lives on. BLOGMATRIX will no longer be
serving up the podcast - so please use the following links henceforth to find us:
A one more word of warning - MEVIO is just my parking spot for now. I'm looking for a permanent host for the
podcast. I'll keep you posted for as long as BLOGMATRIX is still active.
Announcement: I have changed my podcast hoster - at least for now. You can subscribe to the show
using the following RSS feed file: http://www.mevio.com/feeds/hotfossils.xml in iTunes or your favourite podcatcher. If you search for the show
in iTunes, pick the entry that displays “Ninja” as the artist. That will point to the new feed. The old feed will
no longer be accessible after February 2009.
Ninja and Special K attempt to grow crystals in their science laboratory. Alchemy will never be the same. Ninja
figures the whole experiement will be as successful as growing grass on a chia pet or raising sea monkeys. She is pleasantly surprised by the results.
"I love coffee. I love tea..." Special K is finally given license to discuss one of her favourite topics: the
Java and the best places in the world to find it. Join us for an exploration of the cuppa. Visit the
Delocator for independent coffee shops in Britain,
Canada and the U.S.
Redesigned and enhanced by Frank Gehry, the renovated
Art Gallery of Ontario impress Ninja and Special K.They wander around the old and new exhibits,
compellingly arranged.Special K enjoys
the new architectural improvements.Ninja finds herself intrigued by the Cree artist Kent Monkman's
eerie landscape painting The Rape of Daniel Boone Junior,the welcoming interactive piece
called Urban Disco Trailer #3, and the international art award winner, The Index, by
sculptor David Altmejd.
Oh I have things to say alright - but not in the podcast today. Instead a written post:
On Sunday Morning the weekly CBC televsion
newsmagazine, a Montreal actor and dubbing director, Michael Rudder was interviewed from his hospital bed in Bombay. He’d
been shot at least four times last week in the Mumbai attacks. He was shot in the arm, the leg, the buttocks and as
of this writing, there is still a bullet lodged in his stomach. Eating in the hotel restaurant, he had heard shots
and asked about them. He was told by restaurant employees, that it was only gangsters. A strange remark indeed.
(As strange as the remarks made during a Mexican murder aftermath in 2006. Then, Mexican officials publically
declared that an Italian couple killed in a resort near Playa del Carmen was the work of Canadian
mobster hit women from Thunder Bay. That murder is another act of violence that outrages me.) Rudder doesn’t
understand why, but assumed he and his party were not in danger. Moments later he and the patrons found themselves
in a hailstorm of bullets. He believes that extremism is on the rise. I think that this is nonsense. Extremism just is and
sometimes it causes loss of life.
With innocence still and perhaps naivety Rudder continues in the interview, ” ...as long as people think that their
hatred is more powerful than the wisdom that their mothers’ would have taught them…they will respond in such
ways.“ This sentiment, of course, assumes that their mothers have a wisdom that prevents hatred. In my
skepticism, I am not so sure that is true. I could exercise a generosity of interpretation and suppose that
“mothers’ wisdom” is a symbol for an attitude of peace, love and nuturance. In that case his statement is very
much worth thinking about. But who is teaching the attitude? I am not sure that human nature has changed in all of
recorded history and I fear that the chance of that happening is very slim. Every second a new baby on this planet is
born, a stranger in a hostile land, a tabula rasa that his or her culture and economic position will imprint itself on,
forever repeating the same patterns be they for good or ill.
Einstein said thatinsanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results.That’s humanity. That’s what we do generation after generation. We hate and
fear the other and seeking vengence for real or perceived affronts is very human. The philosopher, Judith Butler, discusses revenge in a 2003 interview in
The Believer Magazine. She
says that when choosing non-retaliation: “Many people consider that refusing to strike back is a masochistic way
of handling oneself when one is in a condition of injury, or that such a refusal is tantamount to political paralysis, but
I actually think it is an adamant and vigilant stand, a difficult stand against violence itself.“ She reminds us
that:
“War begets war. It produces outraged and humiliated and furious people…it is precisely because we’re constituted
with aggression, it’s precisely because we are capable of waging war, and of striking back, and of doing massive injury,
that peace becomes a necessity…[Peace] is a commitment to living with a certain kind of vulnerability to others and
susceptibility to being wounded that actually gives our individual lives meaning. And I think this way of viewing things is
a much harder place to go, so to speak. One can’t just do it alone, either. I think it needs to be institutionalized. It
needs to be part of a community ethos. I think in fact it needs to be part of an entire foreign policy.“
I think these are the things we should be teaching our children.
Guillain-Barre is considered a rare syndrome that causes progressive muscle weakness and paralysis. It develops over a few
days or up to about four weeks and lasts several weeks or even months. As a temporary inflammation of the nerves, it often
follows recovery from a viral infection such as a cold or gastrointestinal infection. In some cases it is seen after
immunization for flu. It causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nervous system. The syndrome is an inflammation of
the covering of the nerves, the myelin, the surrounds nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord. Also, the elongated portion of
the nerve cell, the axon, can be damaged. The axon conveys electrical signals to distant areas of the muscles and from one
nerve cell to another. This damage and inflammation cause muscle weakness, loss of sensation and paralysis because the nerves
cannot transmit the required signals to the muscles. The individual can become dysautonomic, meaning he or she becomes unable
to feel heat, cold, and pain. Approximately 95% of people who develop the syndrome recover, most of these, fully.
There are three main courses of treatment for Guillain-Barre. One treatment is to let the syndrome run its course, since it
normally is a temporary condition. Another treatment that is used is known as plasmaphoresis, or plasma exchange. Antibody
laden blood plasma, which is the liquid portion of blood, is removed from the body. Red blood cells are separated and put back
into the body with antibody free plasma. This treatment lessens the symptoms and hastens recovery time. A third treatment is
the administration of intravenous immune globulin which also lessens the symptoms and hastens recovery time. Sometimes both of
these last two are administered to the patient. Physical therapy and exercise is also usually part of the regime to full
recovery.
I had an opportunity to talk with Ed Nyman who got and recovered from the syndrome in April 2008. And this show
focuses on his experience.
That's what we love about Scarborough Dude, the host of Dicks 'n Janes
podcast. He'll raise the difficult questions and not let them go. I don't want him
to let them go, despite anyone's opinion of them. He's an activist that you'd rather have on your side than against you. Still
he adamantly refuses to be on anyone's but his own. I always listen to the dude, because he always has
something to say to think about. This is part two of the geek fest held on October 18 at the Imperial
Pub during which Scarborough Dude takes issue with us not wanting to talk about our day jobs. I spent some
time talking with Steve Saylor. a writer who shares his superhero and
adventure mystery novels on the internet. You can find the Black Shadow at http://stevesaylor.net/node/264 or http://feeds.feedburner.com/the12thdisciple. His newest
effort is The 12th Disciple at http://stevesaylor.net/node/301
orhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/the12thdisciple. We discuss
his novels, his artistic process, copyright issues and finally the size of podcaster egos. Also featured is The Closet Geek of
closetgeekshow.com If you listen carefully you can hear
him eating popcorn in the background while barely concentrating on our conversation.
Put simply, net neutrality means non-discriminatory treatment of traffic. That is, outside of limited exceptions such as
spam and known viruses, the companies that deliver information over the internet have treated all information the same,
delivering each package of information as quickly and efficiently as possible (often referred to as the “best efforts”
internet). Under this regime an internet user is free to use any equipment, content, application or service on a
non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. Network neutrality means that the network provider’s
only job is to move data – not to choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.
Legislation against net neutrality is not as simple as censorship if governments get their way. Censorship is just an evil
by-product. It's all about making a buck. The less net neutrality we have, the more ways to charge me for use of the web. But
since there is more than one way to solve a problem, I shall just wait for the hackers to get around it. And get around it they
will. In the meantime - please help save our net.
On October 18, Toronto hosted another podcaster's meetup. Things got pretty meta
with Omar Ha-Redeye (Law is Cool), Connie Crosby
(Community Divas) and Shadow and James. Ninja is surrounded by lawyer types. We talk about Omar's voice, podcasting,
podcamps, twitter and finally politics.
Honey. Much sweeter than
wine. The secrets of honey, their delicious properties and their healing properties. Honey supplies instant energy and
many are better for you than refined sugar. Ninja goes to the New Zealand honey counter at the market and samples all the expensive ones.
Are you afraid of the dark? Well, you will be after you hear Ninja's ghost story, from Alfred Hitchcock's Ghost
Stories for Young People, (an LP released in
1960). Happy Halloween.
Ninja and friends hang out in Harbourfront on a warm, beautiful, thanksgiving day. Topics covered: politics,
movies, work, memories, love, the Monkey King and theme cakes.
Yom Kippur is known as a time of renewal, meditation and reflection. It means literally the day of repentance or day of atonement. The intent is for observants to reflect on the past year and look forward
with hope and a fresh outlook to the new year. The new year begins in the autumn season in Judaism. Ninja shares some quotes,
a short tale for you to think about, and then a soundscape recorded during the canadian thanksgiving weekend.
Know the limits. Know your stats. Separate media hype from science fact. For example, how many people died
of the Ebola virus
in the Congo in one year versus the Congo civil war. Well the ratio is a staggering 255 to 2.9 million! So how
afraid should you be of the Ebola virus? Very large and very small numbers are discussed. Better have your bit conversion calculator on hand.
I have no idea where I am. I hope I'm over here. More nonsensical audio from Ninja wondering why
she goes to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) every year where it's hot and too many people. Too many people. Did I say
too many people? We give it up for Marty on the trampoline, eat a Philly cheesesteak at the Schwarzwaldhaus (Black Forest Inn)
and sample the Tibetan singing bowls.
On the last day of Podcamp, Ninja interviews Adam Silver and he shares his artistic and cultural
passions with her as they walk to the Boston T (subway) stop. A former teacher and school principal, Adam retired and opened
The Asian Cultural Center in Battleboro, Vermont which also is the home of the CX Silver Gallery.
Born in October 2007, released in alpha to the public only this summer, Seesmic is another social
networking tool. It is unlike YouTube or podcasting in the sense that it interactive and considered by the creators and
participants to be more intimate than any of twitter, facebook, or chat. With Seesmic, you can visually converse with your
cyberfriends and colleagues. How is it different or the same from Webcam conversations or another new videoconferencing tool,
OovOO? Well we'll have to see what it has to offer in the coming months. In the meantime, I spent about forty-five minutes with
Tiil, an artist and Seesmic zealot during Podcamp Boston in July to get his enthusiastic testimonial about Seesmic.
Famous Hollywood celebrities mentioned: Steven Speilberg, Harrison Ford. Famous New Media
celebrities mentioned : Chris Brogan, Freida the retired art teacher who was involved in new media in the 80s. Other video
messaging tools mentioned : OovOO. Famous Investors mentioned: Niklas
Zennstrom and Janus Friis (who sold Skype to Ebay).
A queer lifestyle podcast delivering observations, commentary, reviews, performance pieces and interviews. Sometimes serious. Sometimes not. Sometimes hot.
