POST # 89
Upon arrival in Hawaii one tends to notice a similarity to the words used. After some quick research I discovered that there are only twelve letters used in total. The seven consonants, p,k,h,l,m,n and w, and the five vowels, a,e,i,o and u.
The title of today's blog is the Hawaiian word for twelve.
Tropical fruit, geckos, and coqui frogs, as well as warm breezes and peace and tranquility are my impressions so far.
I am thankful for small joys these days.
Mahalo nui
Happy trails
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
http://youtu.be/mlCiDEXuxxA
THOUGHTFUL: showing consideration for others; occupied with or given to thought; contemplative; meditative. WANDERER: moving from place to place without a fixed plan; or having no permanent residence; nomadic.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
DO YOU REMEMBER ?
POST # 88
The opening line in the embedded video is "Do you remember, the 21st night of September?"
My memory of this coming night, will be one of hanging out at Vancouver international airport in preparation for my upcoming journey, tomorrow morning early, to the big island of Hawaii. It will be an all day affair, traveling first to Denver, then Honolulu and finally Kona on the big island.
And as the sun sets on September 21st, it will mark the end of the summer season for 2013 as the first day of Autumn begins tomorrow. The way things are shaping up around the world, it looks like it will be an Autumn to remember for sure. Fukushima comes to mind. In spite of the lack of reporting on that topic, the ongoing disaster there continues to unfold. Perhaps I can re-visit that topic again in late December as the season changes once more.
My thoughts right now are wandering off in a multitude of directions, and so instead of trying to concentrate on extending the words in this latest entry, I think I'll just leave it short and sweet. Meanwhile, The Thoughtful Wanderer will allow his thoughts to continue wandering wherever they may go.
Enjoy Earth, Wind and Fire. Thankfully for now at least, we still have music.
Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Saturday, September 14, 2013
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING
POST # 87
Earlier this week, I believe it was Monday, news came to the world that Tokyo has been chosen as the venue for the 2020 Olympic games. These days, I don't have any interest in the Olympics, and the only reason I mention them is because of the location.
Couple this with the fact that Japan has suffered the worst nuclear meltdown in history, with quite a few knowledgable people suggesting that at some point in the future, Tokyo may have to be evacuated. Now of course you won't get this in the mainstream media, but the information is out there for anyone willing to take the time to look.
Of course, by choosing Tokyo, it helps to give the appearance at least on the surface that everything in Japan is A-OK and nothing could be further from the truth. Conditions at Fukushima continue to deteriorate, and so far at least it seems that no one has a handle on coming up with a fix for this mess.
I can imagine that the talking heads in the press will continue to gloss over the nuclear situation in favour of promotion of the 2020 Olympics until possibly a time may come when an evacuation is necessary. How will they spin the story then? How about this? We need to move all these people in order to make room for a large Olympic village and for all of the people who want to visit Tokyo. Absurd as that sounds, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
We now live in a world where there seems to be two realities, the one in which all is well, business as usual, and everyone lives happily ever after, and the other where things aren't quite as good as they seem on the surface. I can understand how humans would want to believe in the former view, however by doing so we have neglected to "look under the carpet" as it were and find some of the nasty things hidden there. Perhaps if we would have done some looking way back when, we might not have found ourselves in this situation in the first place. But it's much too late for that now.
I will watch with interest how this story unfolds, both stories that is. My guess is that the "official" good news story will continue to dominate the airwaves, at least until we perhaps see scores of individuals booking one-way flights to anywhere away from Japan. That hasn't happened yet, and it may not happen at all, but if it does, the talking heads will have to be extremely creative in crafting a story line that the public will accept.
_________________________________________________________________
AND IN OTHER NEWS CLOSER TO HOME
So my final days are winding down here on Vancouver island and by early next week I'll be back on the mainland for at least a while. The time here has been very relaxed and peaceful, and somehow I even managed to co-exist with two teenage boys. It's a big house and we seem to have been able to do our own thing with no conflict, so I am happy about that.
Perhaps in the future I can add teenage boys to my list of "pets" however if the truth be known, I sill prefer the four legged kind.
Happy trails
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Earlier this week, I believe it was Monday, news came to the world that Tokyo has been chosen as the venue for the 2020 Olympic games. These days, I don't have any interest in the Olympics, and the only reason I mention them is because of the location.
Couple this with the fact that Japan has suffered the worst nuclear meltdown in history, with quite a few knowledgable people suggesting that at some point in the future, Tokyo may have to be evacuated. Now of course you won't get this in the mainstream media, but the information is out there for anyone willing to take the time to look.
Of course, by choosing Tokyo, it helps to give the appearance at least on the surface that everything in Japan is A-OK and nothing could be further from the truth. Conditions at Fukushima continue to deteriorate, and so far at least it seems that no one has a handle on coming up with a fix for this mess.
I can imagine that the talking heads in the press will continue to gloss over the nuclear situation in favour of promotion of the 2020 Olympics until possibly a time may come when an evacuation is necessary. How will they spin the story then? How about this? We need to move all these people in order to make room for a large Olympic village and for all of the people who want to visit Tokyo. Absurd as that sounds, it wouldn't surprise me at all.
We now live in a world where there seems to be two realities, the one in which all is well, business as usual, and everyone lives happily ever after, and the other where things aren't quite as good as they seem on the surface. I can understand how humans would want to believe in the former view, however by doing so we have neglected to "look under the carpet" as it were and find some of the nasty things hidden there. Perhaps if we would have done some looking way back when, we might not have found ourselves in this situation in the first place. But it's much too late for that now.
I will watch with interest how this story unfolds, both stories that is. My guess is that the "official" good news story will continue to dominate the airwaves, at least until we perhaps see scores of individuals booking one-way flights to anywhere away from Japan. That hasn't happened yet, and it may not happen at all, but if it does, the talking heads will have to be extremely creative in crafting a story line that the public will accept.
_________________________________________________________________
AND IN OTHER NEWS CLOSER TO HOME
So my final days are winding down here on Vancouver island and by early next week I'll be back on the mainland for at least a while. The time here has been very relaxed and peaceful, and somehow I even managed to co-exist with two teenage boys. It's a big house and we seem to have been able to do our own thing with no conflict, so I am happy about that.
Perhaps in the future I can add teenage boys to my list of "pets" however if the truth be known, I sill prefer the four legged kind.
Happy trails
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Saturday, September 7, 2013
LAMI BON AMI, THE CAT FROM OZ AND THE WANDERING FURBALL
POST # 86
Now, I have come to know plenty of dogs in all my travels, however the dog here called Lami has certainly become a good friend (bon ami) since my arrival last month. I could call her "glue" dog or "24hr" dog and both titles would suite just as well. She is constantly by my side and she has been a wonderful companion. I can see now why the owner thinks so highly of Lami. I will certainly miss her company when I leave here later this month.
The cat from Oz which goes by the name of Polly is somewhat like Lami in the fact that she is usually in the same vacinity as I am. This goes for bedtime as well, and even though I sleep in a very large bed, Polly snuggles up to my right side, and Lami on the left, so that I am the human "meat" in the pet sandwich. It took a couple of nights to get used to this but we all seem to have found our spots and the night passes uneventfully.
The third member of the four legged tribe is Peugeot the cat. Peugeot could also be called Wanderer or MIA cat as he pops in every now and again. I'm not quite sure where he gets to and sometimes he's gone for a day or two, and then, poof, he appears and the bed becomes even more crowded than before.
Together, they make an interesting group of critters, and it's been a joy to get to know them all, over these last couple of weeks. I am quite sure I will miss them after I leave, however I know there are more animals right around the corner to keep me amused.
The area here in North Saanich is very rural and extremely peaceful, and I do like that aspect of it. It's only a few kilometers from Sidney, so any supplies that I may require are close at hand.
Having just done a proof read of this latest blog, I would have to come to the conclusion that it is certainly one of the least interesting blogs I have composed, however, sometimes my brain isn't as creative as I would like it to be, or else it is somewhat pre-occupied with other things at the moment and I think it's the latter, that is the case today. Perhaps next week will be different.
Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Now, I have come to know plenty of dogs in all my travels, however the dog here called Lami has certainly become a good friend (bon ami) since my arrival last month. I could call her "glue" dog or "24hr" dog and both titles would suite just as well. She is constantly by my side and she has been a wonderful companion. I can see now why the owner thinks so highly of Lami. I will certainly miss her company when I leave here later this month.
The cat from Oz which goes by the name of Polly is somewhat like Lami in the fact that she is usually in the same vacinity as I am. This goes for bedtime as well, and even though I sleep in a very large bed, Polly snuggles up to my right side, and Lami on the left, so that I am the human "meat" in the pet sandwich. It took a couple of nights to get used to this but we all seem to have found our spots and the night passes uneventfully.
The third member of the four legged tribe is Peugeot the cat. Peugeot could also be called Wanderer or MIA cat as he pops in every now and again. I'm not quite sure where he gets to and sometimes he's gone for a day or two, and then, poof, he appears and the bed becomes even more crowded than before.
Together, they make an interesting group of critters, and it's been a joy to get to know them all, over these last couple of weeks. I am quite sure I will miss them after I leave, however I know there are more animals right around the corner to keep me amused.
The area here in North Saanich is very rural and extremely peaceful, and I do like that aspect of it. It's only a few kilometers from Sidney, so any supplies that I may require are close at hand.
Having just done a proof read of this latest blog, I would have to come to the conclusion that it is certainly one of the least interesting blogs I have composed, however, sometimes my brain isn't as creative as I would like it to be, or else it is somewhat pre-occupied with other things at the moment and I think it's the latter, that is the case today. Perhaps next week will be different.
Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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