12:30 AM - 05.04.05
Review
Getting up was hard to do this morning. Back in the dark. Sunrise was beautiful though - watched from my desk. Seemed everyone else was feeling the effects. An hour shouldn't really make that much of a difference, but I suppose there is that psychological effect too. Talked with my tech early on. We need to follow up on some logistical issues around the building. The conduits for the cabling between floors? Is there a freight elevator? If not, how are we going to get all those truckloads of furniture, supplies and equipment into the offices in a timely fashion. Niggling little details, but ones that could really mess us up if not addressed before the other shoe drops.
Despite all the posturing in Parliament, there likely won't be a call this week. Even the Prince of England has put off his wedding to go and honour Pope John Paul II. I wish the media would just leave him and Camilla alone. The Prince has shown tremendous forebearance with their mean spirited attacks on every aspect of his life for several decades now. If there is blame to lay in Diana's death, the largest proportion of it lies at their doors. Anyway, I think about 15 to 20% of Canadians are Catholic. No matter what the political stakes, I don't think any party wants to offend them - and so lose their votes - by such a showing of a lack of respect for more important issues. Doesn't mean that there won't be action the week after that though.
Based on some comments made after my conversation with my tech and a subsequent call to the building manager to ask some questions, it appears that the fact I am carrying two jobs right now is making other co-workers feel very defensive about their work habits. I deduct the time I use on phone calls from the banked time I've built up by taking shorter lunch breaks or by not billing for the first 15 minutes of the work day. Some thing can only be done during business hours and my supervisor seems fine with that. I choose times that are quiet, so it doesn't interfere with either users of the library or the staff, but they are still taking it as a personal offense. "Making us look bad". Not much I can do about that perception, but it does mean I need to be more careful I guess. Even though I have no choice, I am likely to be on the receiving end of some retaliation for their projection of their own shadows on to me. More comments about my choice of clothes seems to be part of it too. Who do I think I am dressing like that. Don't know. Second hand clothing that is very modest really is threatening isn't it?
I got an email from the owner of the dance studio after a couple of calls from him asking for clarification on a couple of technical points. Staff organizing different events are allowed to work on their tasks during work hours and I did get confirmation from the chair of their committee that the help of consultants is welcome too. I did feel a bit uncomfortable, because that is usually forbidden in most companies, but I enjoy doing that kind of volunteer work. Creating play time for people is important too - right? One of the women who has been hostile was listening in on the one conversation just before noon. I couldn't get in to my email, so I asked her if she could tell me what the new fax number was - changed last week - with Mercury retrograde no less. She rapped off a number then went off for lunch. Turned out it was the wrong one, but by then the email problem was fixed - not certain what it was but all of a sudden my account was able to receive messages again - and the schedule he had sent me nearly half an hour before arrived. It actually looked like a lot of fun. Classes in how to survive Carnival in Rio, complete with suggestions for playing with the locals. Guerilla languages lessons in Spanish and Portuguese - the two hour intensive version of the 100 most important words and phrases needed to travel in Latin America. How to make your own cuban cigar - techniques for curing and rolling. Latin food - and lots of it, what to expect and how to make the most of it, and of course the dancing. Sent it off for the planning committee to approve at their afternoon meeting.
My cheque for last week's wages was dropped off at reception just after that was done, so I popped up to the mailroom to claim it. Just in time to replenish that empty well of a bank account. Called home to see if the cheque for the week before had arrived yet. No - nothing. Decided to wait until I got home to deal with that. That's a personal matter between me and the agency. It really isn't something I want to discuss with all those ears around. They obviously listen to any conversation one has and a few seem bent on making as much negativity from that as possible. Don't want to give them anything else to use do I?
I had resheduled my chiropractor appointment for lunch today and that was a good thing. All that stair climbing the past couple of days while I was cleaning had retriggered the knee issue. Not as bad a before, but still uncomfortable enough to affect my ability to walk comfortably if I sat at the computer for more than an hour without moving. He had hurt himself a bit playing hockey the night before and was a bit rueful about that. Favoring one arm quite obviously. Still didn't affect the care I got, since I felt much better after.
Popped in to the music store after depositing that one cheque and picked up the new Will Smith CD. I like the fact that he can rap or sing hip hop as well as the other artists without using one foul word. Sort of the Robin Williams of the genre I think. He did use several of the songs for social commentary and I think that might explain why the radio stations aren't giving his work the air time it deserves. One song - MS Holy Roller - was very interesting. The conservative forces in North America have almost set up rappers and hip hop artists as their very own "golden calf" in a backhanded way. To promote their beliefs and values, they have to create an "enemy" that can be given a high profile without threatening their temporal power in any real way. A lot of the rappers, by using foul language and crude lyrics, hand them exactly what they need to create their illusions in the mind of other Americans. The fact that most of those young adults come from parts of society that the conservatives have frequently exploited and always excluded makes it even easier for them to demonize. There is that demand to wallow in righteous indignation, even though a lot of what is said in the lyrics, behind the crudeness, is absolutely verifiable.
Mr Smith on the other hand, addresses the conceits that the holy rollers use directly and has some very incisive comments to make about the house of sand they've built into an empire. Then he sings one piece with Mary J Blige - "Why" - about the religious fanaticism that creates the conditions that allow events like the 9/11 Trade Centre attacks to occur. The parallels aren't limned directly, but the similarities are obvious. The song itself - sort of a recap of his conversations with his son about it - made me cry. Good thing I face a window - no one can see my face. It was a very powerful statement. It had a similar impact on me as Eminem's song "Sing for the Moment" a take off on Aerosmith's "Dream On". Maybe they should collaborate one day - two really good artists who are discounted as being "real", because they don't and won't fit the marketer's profile, but who are played against each other in the media. Divide and conquer or United we Stand. Interesting choices.
The one other song that probably was the last nail in his coffin with respect to air time was likely the song that followed the two I just mentioned. "I Wish I Made That". He talks about how rappers and hip hop singers have been tricked into becoming the new negative stereotype for the disenfranchised groups that most are drawn from. He points out that the public is being told he isn't a real artist because he doesn't get into guns fights, or act like a pimp, or steal or any of the other activities that seem to be the rite of initiation the industry puts those "legitimate" artists through in order to get air time/notoriety. His message clearly exposes the subliminal caricatures that are being created by the marketers within the consciousness of anyone who listens. They are laid bare for anyone who wants to see what is going on. Interesting CD where almost every song requires an emotional investment from the listener. Where one might feel empathy for some of the other artists through their songs, this set demands feeling with the singer. As a parent, I've felt everything that he talks about with respect to trying to help their children make sense of the world. The bonus is that all three versions/mixes of the main song "Switch" are all really fun to listen to each in their own way. Too bad there isn't a station with the cojones to play the video when some of us actually are watching. They'll get my business, because I won't be giving any of it to the stations or advertisers who back the people trying to stop the message from getting out. At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
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