nostalgia is progressive procrastination

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?

Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.

One for my master, one for my dame,
and one for the little boy
who lives down the lane.

I grew up singing that nursery rhyme to myself, and I grew up watching Star Trek (DS9). I grew up watching Stickin' Around and I liked reading my dad's old copies of MAD magazine.

I totally dug this little magazine put out by the Toronto Blue Jays. I liked the drawings and the dog, too.

If I remember correctly, Rodney and I liked Sonic The Hedgehog 3 better, but we played the second one more often. I was always Tails and he was always Sonic.


I remember when we got our first computer in the summer of 1998. It was a "286" and somehow my dad had heard of a guy getting rid of them from behind this one building in downtown Toronto (which is now where the Four Seasons Centre For the Arts is situated).

It totally ran on MS - Dos and I can recall the family event of seeing how the computer worked, and what would happen when you typed things in after the pixelated white C:/DOS> letters on the fully black screen.

Eventually, we upgraded (it was exciting) and I remember, one time, going 'into' a chatroom and lying about my age and talking to a girl in the States about jazz music. I was nine years old.


Remember those big 8-inch floppy disks?


I remember going to the Christmas parties held by the doctor's office we went to. They always had Chinese Santas (and Garfields apparently, as well). Our 'Hello, my name is' stickers always had numbers instead of names.


I remember playing by myself for hours, I remember playing 'House', I remember seeing how high I could go on the swing before it would jump a little bit at the top. I remember reading anything I could get my hands on, I remember the amazing sweaters and the treats from the dollar store my grandparents would give me and Rodney.


Man, childhoods are pretty good.

he calls it "truth"

I subscribe to an acquaintance's, stranger's, if you will, someone I know through a friend-of-a-friend's blog. And I really like his last post. And I am going to re-blog it, so to speak. Because it is true, and interesting, and powerful. These are not my words, but Andrew's.


"Genesis 2:18-24 -

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

I think God knew our propensity as humans to push away community, relationship, and pursue independence. It's interesting that God brought Adam all the other created creatures and no suitable helper (or, as it's sometimes translated, partner) was found. God knew that Adam would need someone created as his equal (not the same as him but equal to him) to be his partner or helper.

It's also interesting that God took a part of the man's side for Eve to be created. I believe that God's choice of body part was highly symbolic. He didn't use Adam's foot, which would have symbolically put Eve below Adam. God didn't use a part of Adam's head, which would have put Eve above Adam. God chose a part of Adam's side (traditionally, his rib). I believe this symbolically put Eve beside Adam in the things of life, under his arm for protection, and near his heart.

In contemporary society, we praise independence and we pursue casual relationships that cost us little and have nearly no benefit to our lives. God's plan for us is that we would live in families and communities that were close-knit. In these environments, accountability flourishes, deep friendships bless us, and we are given a safety net in case of life's upsets."