I’m reminded of a passage from Salinger’s Just Before the War with the Eskimos:

“… She reached into her coat pocket for her purse and found the sandwich half. She took it out and started to bring her arm down, to drop the sandwich into the street, but instead she put it back into her pocket. A few years before, it had taken her three days to dispose of the Easter chick she had found dead on the sawdust in the bottom of her wastebasket.”

Move on. Let go. Easy to say, not so easy to execute.

But if you can do it, I mean really, really do it, then there’s freedom in letting go. I’m not saying you should forget; embrace what you’ve done. Learn from your past. And then move on.

I, for one, am going to make a concerted effort not to hold on to dead chicks.

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,
Jack Layton

Being an early adopter comes with a certain amount of bragging rights, I suppose, but it also comes with a lot of unknowns, and potential pitfalls, especially in the tech world.

Using social media is a lot like dating, trying to break into a new social group, or starting a new job. You spend a lot of time trying to break into the fold, wanting to be selected. After all, it’s human nature to want to be wanted. Often, it’s only once you’re in that you stop and ask yourself “Did I really want to be here in the first place?” But hey, I guess you don’t really know unless you try.

So, what are Google + circles good for? It’s hard to say at this point. This function seems to be a sort of amalgamation of Facebook friend links, Linked-In business contacts and miscellaneous plug-ins all housed in a sort-of Gmail contact card. How these classifications evolve, and what/if there is any practical application, is yet to be determined.

So far, my favourite explanation comes from HappyPlace.com, who’ve outlined 21 Google Plus circles you can actually use:

Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac – Think About It from Agusia D. on Vimeo.

Turns out something good did come out of my strep throat after all. Long after I can eat something other than Frozen Yogourt, I’ll remember this song, and the enduring message;

Take on the situation but not the torment
Now you know it’s not as bad as it seems…

I run a copywriting company, so you’d think someone applying herein would take the time to spell check, but I’ve received some applications which make the spelling below seem downright sophisticated. Though sadly, none of my applicants have ever sent a headshot like this one….

Resimay

To hoom it mae cunsern,
I waunt to apply for the job what I saw in the paper.
I can Type realee quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting..
I think I am good on the phone and I no I am a pepole person,
Pepole really seam to respond
to me well. Certain men and all the ladies.
I no my spelling is not to good but fi nd that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety.
My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,

I can start emeditely.  Thank you in advanse fore yore anser.
hopifuly Yore best aplicant so farr.

Sinseerly,
BRIAN

PS : Because my resimay is a bit short – below is a pickture of me.

Employer’s response:

Dear Brian ,
It’s OK honey, we’ve got spell check.
See you Monday.

Beautiful Jenna

But then, Jenna’s course changed. In December of 2010, she was diagnosed with Grey Zone Lymphoma, one of the rarest forms of blood Cancer. Like everyone else who knew her from our days at McGill, I swallowed the news with a grain of denial, and a heaping spoonful of anger. Jenna took the news and turned it into a mission. Not only was she going to conquer cancer, but she was going to educate the rest of us while doing it.

“While I willingly accepted the fact that cancer would cause unavoidable physical changes, I was unwilling to allow the disease to rob me of my voice. For the past six months I have struggled with what it means to hold on to my voice and eventually reclaim it. There were moments when I could not talk, but I was communicating. There were moments when I was quiet, but I was really screaming. As I desperately tried to find my voice and struggled to be heard, I realized that I would need to embrace Cancer in order to beat her.” – Jenna Benn

In the past five months, Jenna has gone from old college buddy to respected life teacher. With her poignant and honest blog, Kill it in the Butt, Jenna takes a pragmatic look at life, Cancer, and all the good things that can come from embracing a less-than-ideal situation. Whether you’re a cancer patient,  the friend or relative of a cancer patient, or just someone looking for some good solid life lessons, you’ll be touched by Jenna’s honesty and candid humour.

Today, in the midst of her treatment, when most people would be hiding, Jenna became a featured contributor to the Huffington Post. We can all learn a thing or two from this amazing woman.

To learn more about Jenna and her journey with Cancer visit Kill it in the Butt, or check out her Vimeo page.

Elizabeth Taylor

She was a movie star, yes. But she was also a person to be admired. She was an AIDS activist, and a true survivor; in her career, in her terms of her health, and in her personal life.

Here’s a little tribue to Elizabeth Taylor narrated by Paul Newman:


So long, Cleopatra.

Earth to Canadians and Americans living on the East Coast: IT SNOWS EVERY WINTER.

Having lived most of my life in Quebec, where we actually know how to deal with snow, I can’t help but laugh when I see how the other half lives. I drive a Jeep, with snowtires, and I own a shovel. In January it is totally acceptable to show up at a bar wearing Sorels. When it snows we don’t cry, we go skiing.
I live in a city where snow is pretty well cleared. And best of all, it acts as a nice filler for those pesky potholes downtown. Ok, so Quebec is far from perfect, but at least we don’t ignore an entire season and hope it will go away!

I mean really Ontario and New York – It might be time to purchase some actual snowplows. And I don’t mean gardening trucks with makeshift attachments. Or are you just hoping that Global Warming will make this problem moot? Maybe, but that’s another blog post entirely.

Reminds me of this fun clip:

Happy January!

Notice how Luca, the wheaten, who is four times as big as Palmer, adjusts herself so they’re equal playmates.

Love my puppies!