2005

happy new year everyone! i feel so blessed to have had the year i did. i was going to write something summarizing 2005, but every time i try words aren't cutting it.

best to you all in 2006.

christmas ships

my boss invited me out on his big boat for the annual running of the portland christmas ships. basically a bunch of boats cruise up and down the willamette river at night with a bunch of lights on their boats. there's food and drink and good times. it was freezing cold but we had a really beautiful clear night. there were about 14 boats in total. portland is such a beautiful city and seeing it from the water and cruising underneath all the bridges was a real treat.

i've posted some pictures of the ships and my new face. people were worried after those last pictures, but as you can see, its healing nicely.

happy holidays everyone!

the kite runner

by Khaled Hosseini. This book is on the NYT bestseller list and has been for awhile, and for good reason. Though the overall devices and structure that Hosseini uses are a bit simplistic for my tastes, the subject matter was riveting and haunting. His descriptive powers are intense - actually his non-descripritve powers are intense. Instead of detailing horror he alludes to it just enough to send your imagination flying off into the possibilities and as the novel climaxed I found myself more and more wanting to put it down because it seemed a bit too terrible. But I was engrossed, and would highly recommend the read. While the middle east is in the news spotlight daily, this novel serves as an important cultural and humane insight that is so often lacking in the daily orgy of journo-politicking of the region.

my new favorite site

just when you thought the internet wasn't impressive anymore, another example of collective amazingness emerges.

the most important posting

i met a beautiful canadian couple while travelling in new zealand (and we randomly ran into each other in thailand too) named laura and chris. as it turns out, chris personally knows one of the peace workers who were recently kidnapped in Iraq.

please take 30 seconds and sign this petition by clicking here.

i've included chris' email here:

You know that I do not like to send email blasts with frivolous messages, but this is very personal and important, so please take a look at this forward and the link below.

Many of you will know that four peace workers were recently kidnapped in Iraq. It just so happens that I (Chris) know one of them well from my days at Columbus Boys' Camp and Sault Ste. Marie. His name is James Loney and he has been an advocate for peace and social change locally in Toronto and globally as well. Knowing that's being held captive has really brought the horror of the Iraq war home. The charges laid against him for spying are absurd and we must do something to help.

We've all felt helpless with this war, and now Lara and I are hoping that by signing the petition and sending an email to the Muslim media outlets, we can make differenc ein the war. By freeing Jim we are allowing him, and others that are as brave as he, to continue their work with the real victims of the war, the poor and forgotten in Iraq.

Jim was the kind of guy who helped the poorest of the poor. One summer at Columbus Boys' Camp, where we helped underpriviledged boys in the GTA, Jim felt so passionate about helping even needier boys, that he went to the inner city in New York. He brought back a group of kids who needed our kind of love and care. That's just the kind of person he is, selfless and kind. Please take a few minutes to help him out.