Book II

This week's book for Stephen Harper is Animal Farm by George Orwell. But you've all read it,haven't you? You see, when the higher-ups in the curriculum department in who-knows-where-land decide on which books to include in the high schools reading lists they have 2 requirements:
1. It must be depressing. Teens who are already hormonally depressed must be convinced that the world really is a crappy place.
2. It must make you lose your faith in the human race. Goodness in some can be in the story, but it certainly can't win out in the end.
1984,Animal Farm,The Pigman,Lord of the Flies,As For Me and my House... It's amazing we all didn't just jump off a bridge.
There are a few exceptions to this. Very few. To Kill a Mockingbird-okay it IS depressing and paints a bad picture of humanity, except it is one that makes you aspire to be better instead of giving up in disgust.
Were there any inspiring books of note that you took in high school?

What IS Stephen Harper reading?

I heard a wonderful interview on CBC today. Yann Martell(Author of Life of Pi.If you haven't read it do so immediately!) who lives in Saskatoon was lamenting the budget cuts the Conservatives have made in the area of Arts funding. He decided that Stephen Harper should read some good books that would open his eyes to the power books(and the Arts in general)have to enrich and change us. He started a project where he would send the P.M. a really good book to read every two weeks. He would pick books that were 'short and powerful'. He would post any correspondence on his website(whatisstephenharperreading.ca), and the first book would be The Death of Ivan Ilych.Tolstoy. HA!! I read it when I was a teenager going through my Russian Novel phase. That was after my science fiction phase and before my American Civil rights books phase. I used to read a lot. This has inspired me to read the books that Yann Martell sends the P.M. I'll let you know how it goes.

Funny Phone Calls

As most of you know,I co-own High Days and Holidays, a party decorating company. Party Decorators are very common in larger centers, but not here where people tended to have large extended families to do their party decorating for them. More and more we're hearing,especially from older brides, that they don't want their families to be working like dogs on their wedding day. They want them to come and enjoy themselves too. The worst part is the 2 a.m. takedown. Anyway, since we started this business people are becoming more aware of what a party decorator is and does. Not so when we first started. I would have thought the name Wedding and Party Decorators would have been fairly clear. However, we've had calls asking if we rent ferris wheels, Sumo wrestling suits, book carricature artists, and the list goes on. When you say "No, we don't. We decorate for parties." it doesn't end there. They argue. "Are you sure? Because we really need a ferris wheel!" Uh, just a minute and I'll check the back yard and see if I overlooked the circus rides....

Holy Week

Holy week hits like a storm... Honestly, you should see what it's like at the church. As the Art and Environment person, I am there a lot on Holy Week.Lent is quiet- you pare down all the decor at the church, put up something meaningful and purple(the liturgical color of repentence) and leave it like that for the weeks of lent. Easy. Then comes Palm Sunday. A riot in red and large palm arrangements everywhere. Take it down the next day and replace the purple, Then get ready for the Triduum, the three days of Holy Week. White is the color for Thursday. Most people think of Thursday as being the day when we focus on the Last Supper-communion. It is a big part of that liturgy, but the real focus is on the washing of the feet. It starts out as a colorful, flower-decorated rich and beautiful mass, then gets more somber as the mass ends and we completely strip the altar. Everything, furniture too, gets taken away, leaving an empty altar area. The Eucharist and flowers are processed in to the waiting chapel- we decorate it to look like a garden, full of branches and greens and water features and candles and the white roses from the liturgy. The chapel stays open til Midnight for prayer. The next morning we put everything away for Good Friday. Red. After mass we set up a large cross on a stand, surrounded by dozens of candles, and there is all-night prayer. Saturday morning at 8 is morning prayer and then we take the cross down and prepare for Easter. White, with flowers evrywhere. The Vigil that night is my favorite mass of the year.Fire and inscense and candles and bells and people being baptised and joining the church. And a wonderful wine and cheese party after,with everyone bringing their Easter breads to share.