If Only…

 

 Yes, I like Tony Bennett.

Was listening tonight to THE ULTIMATE TONY. The lovely words to If I Ruled The World*, seem to have come from another century. Well, they ARE from another century. But then, they could just as easily apply to this century, this year.

*written in 1963 (thanks for finding the date, Gloria!)

Tony Bennett

IF I RULED THE WORLD

Words by Leslie Bricusse/Music by Cyril Ornadel, 1963

If I ruled the world, every day would be the first day of spring
Every heart would have a new song to sing
And we'd sing of the joy every morning would bring

If I ruled the world, every man would be as free as a bird,
Every voice would be a voice to be heard
Take my word we would treasure each day that occurred

My world would be a beautiful place
Where we would weave such wonderful dreams
My world would wear a smile on its face
Like the man in the moon has when the moon beams

If I ruled the world every man would say the world was his friend
There'd be happiness that no man could end
No my friend, not if I ruled the world
Every head would be held up high
There'd be sunshine in everyone's sky
If the day ever dawned when I ruled the world

~

One can always dream.

--Cat

The more life changes…

 The more t stays the same.

 [I published this in November, 2006. And now, almost 18 years later, what has changed? It's gotten worse. That's what!]

Two recent articles on the CBC News website caught my attention, simply for the absurdity of placement.

More working poor using food banks: study
November 28, 2006 | 12:05 PM ET
CBC News

BMO sets profit record despite fourth-quarter weakness
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | 12:01 PM ET
CBC News

I've posted the articles below, with pictures I've found. Exaggerations, maybe. Maybe not.

The Potato Eaters, 1885
by Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

More working poor using food banks: study
November 28, 2006 | 12:05 PM ET
CBC News

More people with jobs are relying on food banks despite an 8.5 per cent drop in overall use, says the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

According to the group's HungerCount 2006 report released on Tuesday, the percentage of food bank clients who are working is 13.4 per cent, up from 13.1 per cent last year.

The survey says the "working poor" continue to comprise the second largest group of food bank clients after social assistance recipients, who account for 53.5 per cent of clients across the country.

"People like you and I, people working, can't manage to feed their families," said CAFB executive director Charles Seiden.

"Low wages may be only one of several factors contributing to the working poor phenomenon in Canada. But the fact that real wages in the country have not improved over the last several years tells us that our leaders have neglected the country's labour rights and standards."

The study also showed children account for 41 per cent of the estimated 753,458 food bank clients, although they make up only about a quarter of the country's population.
Continue Article

Seiden said food bank use has risen 99 per cent since 1989, when the first food bank study was conducted.

Government must step in: Seiden

He called on the government develop policies to strengthen income and employment security and help Canadian families with housing and day care.

The CAFB represents food banks and food distribution centres across the country, serving 90 per cent of the people who use emergency food programs in Canada.

Other findings include:

* Highest provincial per capital food bank use: Newfoundland (5.6 per cent).
* Province assisting the largest share of food bank recipients: Ontario (330,491).
* Percentage of food banks with difficulty meeting demand:34.per cent.
* Years since the federal government promised to eliminate child poverty: 17.

~In Canada, a land of plenty, people can't feed, house or clothe their families. We have a large homeless population, not just junkies and binners who like the life, but poor people who cant' find that elusive thing called a home. Rather shameful. I blame Wal-Mart.

~~

The following painting depicts US senators deciding where all the money will be spent. I think it perfectly represents our banking hierarchy deciding how to milk more dollars from the customers. A pretty painting, but not a pretty picture.

Spending Uncle Sam's Money ca. 1899
by T. Dart Walker (1869 - 1914)

BMO sets profit record despite fourth-quarter weakness
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | 12:01 PM ET
CBC News

BMO Financial Group set several new records in 2006, as profits rose by 11 per cent to $2.66 billion or $5.15 a share, despite a weaker business environment in the fourth quarter.

The bank raised its quarterly dividend by three cents, or 33 per cent over the year, to 65 cents a share, giving a triumphal farewell for Tony Comper, who will retire in March after eight years as chief executive officer.

BMO three-month tradingBMO three-month trading

He will be replaced by Bill Downe, currently chief operating officer.

BMO, which trades as the Bank of Montreal, was the first of Canada's big-six chartered banks to reports its results for the 2006 fiscal year.

The 2006 fiscal year ended on Oct. 31.

Comper seemed pleased with the results, BMO's fourth consecutive year of record results.
Continue Article

"It was a good year overall," he announced Tuesday morning, noting that all three operating groups delivered a record net income for the second year in a row, while the bank met or exceeded four of its five performance targets for the year.

The bank missed one of its key targets, improvements in cash productivity, because of its continued investment in retail businesses and a change in the business mix.

The bank set the records despite a difficult operating environment. But Comper said "favourable income taxes" and low credit losses in the fourth quarter helped the bank maintain a strong financial performance.

For the fourth quarter, the bank reported net income of $696 million, up $32 million or 4.8 per cent, with a return on equity of 19.4 per cent, down from 20.0 per cent. Revenue declined by 5.9 per cent, and expenses by 0.9 per cent.

The bank was hit hard in the U.S. market in the fourth quarter, where the income of the Personal and Commercial Banking division fell by $11 million to $23 million due to a weaker U.S. dollar, the cost of integrating acquisitions and expensive technology improvements in its branches.

Income of the bank's Private Client Group rose by 12 per cent to $12 million, excluding gains on asset sales in 2005, due to higher mutual fund fees and interest revenues.

The bank expects moderate growth in the Canadian economy in 2007. The Canadian housing market is expected to slow as past increases in interest rates dampen sales and construction. But business investment is expected to remain strong, due to continued healthy gains in corporate profits.

The U.S. economy is also expected to grow moderately in 2007, boosted by a drop in energy prices. Mortgage rates will keep a damper on the housing market, but business loans are expected to grow.

Shareholders seemed unimpressed with the results. Company shares fell by $1.22 to $70.29 on the Toronto Stock Exchange by late morning.
Related
Internal Links

TSX:BMO
BMO Q3 earnings up 30 per cent

~

I don't understand why shareholders seemed unimpressed. Can they be so blasé that million dollar record profits no longer excite them? Oh, I get it -- share prices fell.

Lest anyone think otherwise, I do believe in free enterprise. I also believe in compassion. Maybe you can't have both.

--Cat

capturing dreams

[this was first published June 5, 2007 – uses for dreams]

 

We were talking about dreams, my husband and I, the kind you have when you sleep. I said it would be neat if there was a way to project the dreams onto the ceiling.  

So you could watch them, he said. No, I said. So you could watch them. (I have some very interesting dreams.)  

Taking it a step further, we could record the good ones for later viewing. One could have a whole library of dreams. Like books, like DVDs.  

Laugh all you like. Scientists may be working on this right now. We'd all become micro-movie makers. Surreal movies, for most dreams are just that. And the Academy Award for dreams goes to .... --Cat 

Magic Moment!

 Here we have another magic moment!

            2/22/2022    2:22    a.m.

--Cat

Happy New Year!

                                     Welcome 2022!

So they've learned how to dance. What's next?

Fun and kind of creepy!

 

 

--Cat

Yet Another Theory

I've been thinking… [oh-oh]

This has been a bad year. Well, that's an understatement.  I won't do details, we all know where we are.

So, this theory is that it's all in the numbers.

This is a "4" year. Most East Asian cultures [Chinese, Japanese, Korean...] believe this number is unlucky. Apparently the way they pronounce "4" is close or identical to the pronunciation of "death."

This tetraphobia is so common in China that most elevators will not include the number, nor will license plates, house numbers, phone numbers, and many other official and unofficial items.

We can't really compare such a reaction to the Western belief that "13" is an unlucky number. Although I did once work in a building on the 14th floor, then realized I was actually on the 13th floor BECAUSE the elevator did not show the number 13!

Now I don't know if I should worry or wonder – I was born in a "4" year! Has this number dictated my life? Should I be glad that I stand outside of these Asian cultures?

I turned to Western numerology, where the number 4 is considered a friendly, life affirming number, a much nicer belief, but one that doesn't quite match up to this 4 year.

Now we look forward to the year 2021, a "5" year. From what I could find, it stands for stability, curiosity, freedom, change... A better year on the horizon!

And I need to finish this now and publish it while it still is Friday the 13th!

Am I a superstitious fool? Well, coming from a family who for many years believed strongly in numerology, numbers intrigue me. Do I believe in this? That's a question for the ages.

--Cat

Goodbye, Alex

 RIP Alex Trebek

July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020)

Miss you already!

Special effects

Enjoy these extra special effects!


 


--Cat

Musical interlude

Discovered on the Internet:

Remember Mama Mia by ABBA?
Here's a timely take on the song by a group of New Zealand singers, The Starlets:







And although I don't like to get political, this is another timely song,









A great rendition of Lean On Me by many terrific Canadians!





--Cat

Mother Earth Speaks

Okay, listen up Earth People.

Stop blaming one country or another for this latest disaster.

Seven billion of you. Yeah, I feel you stomping, running, tapping, pounding, drilling, hacking, blasting… Seeking what? My heart? My soul? No.

It's all about greed. The shiny stuff: gold, silver, diamonds, emeralds, precious metals and precious stones. And of course, Oil.

I'm so tired of it all.

And when Mother Earth gets weary, she gives back as good as she gets.

Why do you think there are Volcanoes? Earthquakes? Oil spills? Cave-ins?

[Don't ask me about hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, droughts, floods, heat waves – talk to Mother Nature about those. She has a completely different agenda.]

See what I'm getting at? I have so many people-created drill holes and mine shafts it's a wonder I don't collapse like a punctured balloon.

How many toxic dumps have been created for the excess waste?

How many once pristine lakes and rivers have been fouled?

How many people can light candles whenever they turn on a faucet?

How much plastic has entered my ocean to be ingested by sea creatures and ultimately by you people? One day you're going to bleed plastic.

How about that air? You think it was always polluted and brown?

Think about it. How many cities are seeing a clear sky for the first time in years? How many urban rivers are enjoying a resurgence of fish and other river dwellers. Some rarely seen birds have returned to the cities.

I hear more bees and butterflies have been sighted, when both have been severely depleted these last few years. And what's this about wild animals reclaiming their turf? It's about time isn't it?

Maybe these animals, birds, insects etc. are all laughing, or at least smiling because so many Earth People are in a lockup situation, not unlike the zoos, cages, and aquariums that confined them for centuries.

So, all right, Mother Earth and Mother Nature are finally taking a breath. Or two. And sharing a chuckle. After all, isn't it true that those greedy oil producers are now paying out money [instead of raking it in] to get rid of their surplus "black gold"?

Isn't it ironic?


**
 
 
 Someone speculated that a tablespoonful of tainted cosmic dust from a galaxy
far, far away swirled through space and spilled onto the earth, scattering Corona particles like a fine mist. Earthlings, having no immunity, picked up, or breathed in these particles and ran with them. Or I should say flew all over the world, scattering them to friends and enemies alike.

**

--Cat

Video discovery

I came across this video, "The Evolution of Dance." Great music and great dancing. Almost like the story of my life.




-- Cat

Jake makes a commercial!

My 15-year-old grandson Jake and some friends recently made a commercial for a school project. Maybe they all have a future in the film business? [Jake is the star of the show.]






--Cat

Another magic moment

Here it is: 12/12 12:12

Remembrance day

In Flanders Fields

BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

·         

·         

·         

·         --Cat

·         

Observations

Wonderful to see so many young people demonstrating for the world. Kudos to Greta Thunberg, the amazing sixteen-year-old Swedish girl behind this climate change activism.

Her passionate speech before the UN Assembly calls out and rightly shames the culprits, the greedy industrialists, the science deniers who refuse to stop pillaging the earth and won't stop spewing harmful emissions into the air. Our air, the one we all must breathe.

The environmental concern of global warming got everyone's attention in 2006 -- 13 years ago! -- with Al Gore's book and documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Nearly a generation has passed since then, and things have only gotten worse. You wonder what is it going to take to spur people to action.

If Al Gore couldn't wake people up, then Greta Thunberg and her generation will. I want to believe this, so that the world I knew will still be there for my grandchildren.

Makes you wonder whatever happened to the Woodstock generation, the young people who protested against the Vietnam War. Fifty years older now, they seem to have lost their determination and passion.  Aren't they worried about the future of the earth? Is it because now they're comfortable with their lives and don't want to rock the boat in case their gas and oil stocks lose value?

So the deniers, the investors, let's face it, the ignorant, would just let Doomsday happen.

Speaking of which, I was watching a repeat of Criminal Minds the other day. The team was investigating a doomsday cult, and one of the characters said  people with vision problems need to get laser surgery because, well, it was doubtful LensCrafters would be in business after the apocalypse.

And that took me back many years to an episode of The Twilight Zone, where a meek character, reading in the vault of the bank he works at, survives a nuclear war that destroys the world. He searches the ruined city and discovers a library still standing. Bookworm that he is, he's thrilled that he'll be able to read for the rest of his life. Then the other shoe drops: his thick glasses shatter. He's nearly blind without them. The end. [Sad and cruel. Eager reader that I am, this story has haunted me for years.]

Makes me think of science fiction movies of the past and how many of them foretold the future, usually a sad, cruel future.

Right now hamburger meat is being replaced by vegetable matter. Can anyone else see where this is going? Does Soylent Green ring a bell? 

And what about 1984? "Big brother is watching." Yep. It's already begun, hasn't it? We have Smart Houses. Smart TVs. Smart refrigerators. Smart phones. Wonderful conveniences that do everything for us, as they keep tabs on what we're doing and saying. Cameras on every street, in every building, in drones, etc. But what if you want privacy? 

We rely so much on technology--our houses can be wired so that we only need to say, "Alexa, turn on my light. Play my music. Call my father. Turn up the heat. Close the door, open the window, yada yada yada…

Computers with artificial intelligence will run the world. Our brains will atrophy because we won't need to use them anymore. I think I'll call my computer assistant when I finally get one, "Hal." 

Before I took this trip down TV and movie memory lane, I was applauding the girl who had the guts and brains to stand up for the future of the earth and its inhabitants. Greta Thurnberg is my kind of hero. 
.
"...and a child shall lead..." 


--Cat

One year old budding scientist

Today my one-year-old grandson discovered the properties of magnetism.

He found an eight or so inch diameter metal bull's-eye identical to those found in bars and taverns. He also found the dart that goes with the set, red plastic with a small magnet embedded in the tip.

He approached the bull's-eye with the dart, and when close enough the dart clamped on to the metal.

A small look of surprise, a chuckle. He tried again with another part of the bull's-eye and the same thing happened. This was his "Eureka" moment. He gave such a delighted laugh it just melted our hearts. And of course he continued proving that metal attracts magnets.

His new favorite pastime lasted till bedtime.

What will he discover tomorrow?

"Magnetism, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators.
--Dave Barry"

We have much refrigerator space available to test and prove the reality of magnetism. And dozens of magnetic letters, numbers, pictures, etc. to keep an inquisitive child busy for hours.


--Cat

Joanne G

d. August 29, 2019

Goodbye, my friend.

Musical Interlude

Yes, it has been a while!

I asked myself recently when was the last time I "discovered" a new singer/song/music?

And I realized it has been a few years, but here are some that I would put under the heading: the first time ever I heard your voice/your song/your music.

These all fit into the country genre. [I enjoy all genres of music, but country may be a little more prevalent in my playlist.]


Chris Stapleton              Tennessee Whiskey       





Maren Morris                  My Church




Keith Urban                    Blue Ain't Your Color           --it's the song!    




--Cat

Time sprouts wings and soars across the sky...

– Yes, time flies – even when you're not having fun.



The three-month-old was fussing. The big sister, now four years old, observed, "He wants the boob."

Spoken without a giggle, just a matter of fact statement.

She had a show and tell at school and wanted to take one of her toy figures. She couldn't decide between "Tyrannosaurus Rex or Triceratops," her words. 

When did little ones grow up so fast?  



On a completely unrelated topic, we have a new national anthem:





Long may she reign!

What, that's a different song?


--Cat