Scared About Life Without Oprah

The official countdown has begun to the END OF THE OPRAH SHOW (at least on national TV)! Noooooooooo!

[Maxine Lapiduss, you rock, sister! *wink*]

In all seriousness, I will miss Oprah. Sure, she can sometimes be superficial, silly or preachy, but she also often shines a light on some very serious issues. Certainly she deals with some things that otherwise never get much airplay or discussion on mainstream TV, such as the important role of spirituality (not religion) in a well-balanced life. She has used her life and immense wealth for good, not evil. And she has been a true friend to the LGBT community over the years too.

But will I now shell out extra money to subscribe to the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)? Personally, no. But I suspect My Rare One might have a different opinion on that. She luuuuuvs her Oprah, big time.

Today We Honour ALL Moms!

[Cartoon by William Haefeli of The New Yorker]

It's World Labyrinth Day Today!

World Labyrinth Day is celebrated every year on the first Saturday of May. Held since 2009, this new event was created by The Labyrinth Society in order to celebrate labyrinths "as a symbol, a tool, a passion or a practice." Some ways to celebrate include: educating the public, hosting walks, building permanent or temporary labyrinths, creating labyrinth art, etc. As you may recall from a previous post, The Labyrinth Society also helped to create the popular World-Wide Labyrinth Locator.

This morning I will walk the Riverdale Labyrinth here in Edmonton. And this afternoon I may rake and tidy up our backyard labyrinth if the soil is now dry enough (the snow has only recently melted in that part of our yard).

My Terrorist [Repost]

The recent news of Osama bin Laden's demise got me thinking again about the time I was unwittingly acquainted with a terrorist. So I thought I'd repost my old blog item from February 2009 on that topic.

I once had a brush with an international terrorist in Winnipeg in the mid-1990s. No, it's true! Everyone shows up in The Peg sooner or later, you know.

Anyway, there was a very pleasant young Arabic or Pakistani guy who pumped gas at my neighbourhood gas station. He was good-looking, lovely to deal with and seemed to be genuinely engaged with his work and customers. I remember thinking, "Why can't more people be like him?"

Then one day I read an item in the Winnipeg Free Press about a local man who was arrested by American authorities at the border trying to sneak explosives into the States in the trunk of his car. The accompanying mug shot was none other than my friendly gas station attendant! Of course I recognized him immediately. It was so shocking!

The media didn't really make a big fuss about the story. This happened at least 5 or 6 years before 9/11 and we were all still blissfully ignorant of things like jihad, al-Qaida and sleeper cells. I certainly didn't grasp the full significance of the story until after 9/11.

I never saw any follow-up story about my terrorist, so I can only assume he was convicted and imprisoned. Who knows where he is today? Still in jail? Deported? Dead? I imagine him holed up in a cave somewhere with Osama bin Laden and saying "Well, at least we're not in Winnipeg!"

And Now, In Other News . . .

Federal Election Today!

Vote early and vote often, my Canuckian siblings! Canada expects every hoser to do their duty!

This evening I'll be glued to the CBC, hanging onto Peter Mansbridge's every word. I'm pretty sure Rex Murphy will be there too, that handsome silver-tongued devil. And can I also hope to see Chantal, My Chantal? I sure do luuuuuvs me some Chantal.

My Annual Beltane Snit

Every year at the beginning of May, I go into my annual Beltane snit. This is why.

The pronunciation of Celtic words is impossible to figure out just by looking at them. They are never pronounced the way they look. That's why you need to put a bit of effort into determining how to pronounce them correctly.

But it's a losing battle here in North America (and maybe even in Britain, for that matter). Every pagan I know pronounces Beltane exactly the way it looks (BEL-tane) instead of its correct pronunciation (BOWL-tan-a), which I learned years ago from The Magickal Year's pronunciation guide to Gaelic/Welsh mythological and pagan words.

But this will be my last Beltane snit. After many fruitless years of attempting to lead by example, I now concede that it is impossible to stand against this tide of popular mispronunciation. So I hereby throw in the towel and from now on I will celebrate BEL-tane like everyone else. It's just easier to go with the flow.

*heavy martyred sigh*