Summer's hit the island and the sad decline of the Panditas...

It's late at night at my dad's place on cherry point road near Cowichan bay. I had a nap earlier, so I'm kind of wide awake now trying to wind down. Everything is beautiful here, my Dad's flowers are all in bloom, he has the green thumb and knows all their names all I know is that the whole property is permeated with the warm, humid smell of intermingling flowers. All the stars are out and, aside from the TV, I can only hear the sprinklers outside. The Rhodis are in bloom and smell great.

My Mom's dog Morgan is here and doing well, chasing robins and rabbits. Spirit and Ruffles, our two cats are as spritely as every and are happy to have me over again.

I got a great deal of progress done on the China paper today, mainly just outlining Wallerstein's World Systems Theory for use later in application to China's shift from external to core nation after the death of Mao. It's the type of paper I love to write. I'm all over political sociology and development studies. The better the grades in this course, the better that chance the CUSO will look at my application. Their application states that work overseas will help. I'd definately consider living cheaply in Marrakesh or Tunis if I could find work. According to Lonely Planet though, I'd have to be plugged into the ex-pat neighbourhood, and unemployment's high, I'm no teacher, and the jobs should really go to the Africans. Hopefully, I'll have most of the paper done by tommorow evening.

In a couple of days I'm taking a traditional climbing course in Squamish. With weather like this, it's going to be amazing and gives me every reason I need to stay off the smokes.

Ah, yes, the 'Panditas', Sanskrit for Scholar and origin of the word bandied about the American network news chats 'pundit' as in 'poltical'. Is Fox news anything but the mouthpiece of the Bush and Cheney administration. It is stunning how well that network of "scholars" has served the administration in: acting as apologists for administration, reporting selectively, keeping the fear level at its highest whenever popular, and ruthlessly attacking the Democrats (i.e. comparing the President of Iran's recent message to the President to Democrat talking points). Okay, so you say, yeah, I watch Jon Stewart too but who really believes Fox. The answer: The same people who've ensured that the Bush Administration has served two terms. Many of them in the Bible belt, blaming jews and homosexuals for 9/11 (Fallwell), and while holding the Bible high know so little about religions in general as not to know:

A. Jesus was a Jew.

B. Allah is Arabic for "the God" not God, and refers to bringing the people of Mohammed into the correct faith of the followers of Abraham (the first prophet) and Jesus (who is seen as the second prophet). One God that Jews, Christians, and Muslims pray to.

Say that to the average Texan and over a dinner party.

signing off for now...