The Hail Storm
Southern Alberta (hailstorm alley) experienced a severe hail/rain storm Saturday night. According to news reports, 48.7 millimetres (1.8 inches) of rain fell between 7 and 8 p.m. Some parts of Calgary saw hailstones the size of tennis balls that fell at speeds of 80 to 100 km/h. They punctured house siding and broke windows; pockmarked car bodies and caved in windshields.
We were fortunate this time. We got the rain but the hail was small and didn’t do much more than put holes in the rhubarb leaves. We haven’t always been so lucky, as you can see here, here, here, and here. (We are so glad our house still has 40 year old cedar siding – a blob of paint quickly covers the gouges a hail stone can make…)
The Covid-19 Storm
Alberta is lifting restrictions. At our house, family and repair people have been coming and going. We’ve personally relaxed some of the more diligent social distancing and mask rules – but our visitors are certainly welcome to distance and mask in whatever way they feel comfortable.
‘Autonomous Zone’ Storm
I’ve declared our home and yard to be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ – free from the authority structure in which we are embedded. I’m working on my manifesto, but rest assured it will grant equality to everyone, including pirates.
I was inspired to make this declaration as a result of the occupation in Seattle by Antifa and Black Lives Matter. They call their zone the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone – CHAZ.
The biggest difference between their zone and mine, however, is that I’m not displacing any people and businesses. That seems too much like colonialism.
CHAZ is doing a few other things that seem similar to the actions that are frequent targets of other protesters:
– CHAZ put up barricades and walls – an act very similar to the contentious construction of walls between Mexico and the United States.
– CHAZ posted armed security guards around their perimeter (courtesy a self-appointed police force led by a rapper named Raz Simone) – an act in direct contrast to demands for greater gun control.
– CHAZ required residents who live within the boundaries to show ID to prove they “belong” there – an act very similar to segregation
– CHAZ assaulted a street preacher (who was apparently saying things that upset people) – they supposedly pinned the man to the ground. This seems very similar to the police brutality that they oppose.
– CHAZ welcomed the homeless into their land (and discovered that the homeless took all their food) – well that is just too funny to even comment on.
Other than those items, and maybe some things I don’t know about, I’m in full agreement about freedom from the authority structure (Canadian Liberalism) that I am embedded in…
After the Storm Music – Hello Cello
It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.
– Johann Sebastian Bach –
Speaking of which, just imagine what went into taking 8 cello tracks and turning them into one song!
The Cello Song is based on one of the most recognizable classical pieces ever written, J.S. Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1: Prelude… Steven Sharp Nelson decided that this piece needed some accompaniment… Adding some original material and 7 more cello parts stacked on top of each other…
– The Piano Guys –
What positive things are starting to happen in your part of the world?
Amusives 