Umm..., My Own Home Page Last Updated March 15, 2010

Nicknames: Big Dave, Daypid, Taavelli
From: Sioux Lookout
Occupation: A Wannabe Astronomer and Astro-physicist, but that's not my day job :-(
Hobbies: Astronomy, physics, history, culture, golf, weight lifting, x-country skiing, outdoor stuff, running
Quote: umm....

Umm...

Gliese 710 15-03-10

This is pretty interesting. In about 1.5 million years from now, give or take a few years, an orange dwarf star named Gliese 710 is heading in our direction and has an 86 percent chance of the smashing through the Oort Cloud which is located in the outer part of our solar system. What does this mean for us..., well..., it could have the devastating effect of scattering the icy Oort Cloud objects causing them to plunge toward the sun and the inner planets, potentially bombarding Earth with comets. Not good news for us earthlings. In 1997, the European Space Agency's Hipparcos spacecraft analyzed data from 100,000 stars, compiling what is known as the Hipparcos Catalogue. 156 of these local stars are of particular interest to astronomers as the sun was thought to be a lot closer to them in the past and there is a high possibility they will make a close approach again. Interesting stuff...

Something like this must have happened 65 million years ago. Million and a half years from now isn’t that far off..., mind you my body would have evolved into something else..., my matter would have decayed..., turned to soil..., then turned to grass..., then eaten..., then eaten again..., then eaten again..., decay...., grass..., eaten again..., hey..., kinda sounds like the Hindu revision of spirituality..., reincarnation but more pragmatic than spiritual. Maybe that is why they hold the cow as a scared animal.., all their ancestors are sitting in that beast. For us..., we have no problem chewing down on a steak with a glass of milk..., Mmm..., steak... Yup...

Food Inc and The Cove 03-14-10

We just turned out clocks ahead. I kinda like the old system better. I just watched Food Inc..., umm..., I think it should have won an Oscar too because aren’t dolphins free range (The Cove).

Avatar Snubbed 03-10-10

I have to wonder about this one. Avatar was an ok movie..., I liked it but for myself, I’ve seen better movies. These other movies were not immaculate as Avatar but better written for what I like. Nonetheless it is the highest grossing movie of all-time, like Return of the King and the Black Knight didn’t even come close to Titanic. I thought for the longest time that it was impossible for any movie to match Titanic but this movie eclipsed it... So far 800 million more in sales than Titanic. I see this movie like the first time they put sound into picture or even colour picture. Sure 3D has been around before but not like this.

The story line is straight forward. A mining company comes in, displaces an Indigenous population on a different planet to get at the natural resources. The British, French, Spanish, Chinese, American and Russian governments have been doing these for decades, some centuries. They effected the livelihood millions of Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Right now I would say it is mostly done by the American and Chinese governments but others do have blood on their hands.

“The Hurt Locker” which won best pictures with best directed, is a story of a group of army personal that disarms bombs in Iraq. Everyone with common sense knows thee only reason the US went into Iraq is for the oil and nothing else. Ironically Iraq under Saddam’s rule (I am not saying this man was a saint, far from it) was the most progressive in terms of healthcare, education and woman’s rights. His was the only Muslim government in the region who had woman in high government positions and paid for everyone’s education right to university (which included women). He invested billions in upgrading the infrastructure in Iraq because he wanted to model Iraq after western European countries. How did he pay for all of this? He nationalized the oil industry in Iraq and put the monies into his country. The American and British oil companies lost billions in profits because that profit was going to support the people of Iraq. Now the American and British oil companies are back in charge (little media coverage on that, imagine that). The word they are using is royalties being paid to the people of Iraq. This is the exact system as before when Iraq had no infrastructure, healthcare, paid education..,etc...

You have one story of Indigenous peoples taking a stand and winning, then you have another..., Indigenous peoples being occupied by another for their natural resources. The heros of the film “The Hurt Locker” are a group of soldiers as they defusing bombs and dealing with the threat of insurgency. Umm..., insurgency??? I thought the plan was the American forces would be greeted as liberators so why are the people of Iraq and Afghanistan fighting back..., go figure... Why would the people use remote controlled bombs against their liberators. Some of these people even strap themselves with explosives..., walk into these military establishments, detonate bombs taking their own life so they can use their own life as a weapon similar to what the Japanese did with their Zeros crashing them into the American Fleet. Maybe because they don’t want them there I guess.. That is the best answer I can come up with..., exactly like the fictitious Indigenous peoples of Pandora who didn’t want their world being exploited. What if all the Indigenous peoples stood up??? That is why I think the Hurt Locker won and Avatar didn’t...

The White Superior Race 02-27-10

My most favorite quote from any movie has to be this. It is from the movie “Clear Cut” starting Graham Greene. The a movie filmed in Thunder Bay and north of Superior. You see the Landmark in there..., Ouimet Canyon.., stuff like that. So anyways the Graham Greene’s character along with the reserve’s lawyer was in the Landmark then these reporters were next door partying up a storm. Graham Greene says to the lawyer (whom is non-native) ..., asks them politely to be quiet so he did and they didn’t stop..., knocks on the door again then boom..., Graham Greene goes in..., well you have to see the movie. I won’t do it justice by describing it. So anyways..., he talks to this lady reporter while she is all tied up in duct tape and says “so you’re the white superior race, white good looking superior race”... I haven’t seen the movie in more than a decade but those words are still ringing in my head. It’s a classic. The other quote I like is when they kidnap the Mill’s owner and the owner says to them..., “hey.., do you want a job at the mill..., is this what this is all about?”. They don’t make movies like that anymore.

I was listening to this CBC radio show one afternoon talking about these Eskimos that went to Europe during the late 1800's... They were showcased in zoos as an exhibit and they attracted thousands and thousands of people. The family did so willingly. The interesting part was that the Eskimos kept a journal of everything that happened and so did the Europeans. Their view was that the Eskimos were almost the missing link type of deal..., an example of when man first became homosapiens..., primitive man at the basic level. Listening to the journal of the Eskimos, you would think the primitive man were the Europeans. Then there was this German doctor who specializes in Anthropology or something like that went into great detail how surprised how they could play musical instruments, how they picked up German, English and blah, blah, blah but still they were very primitive.

The view of the White Superior Race goes way back to before the industrial age where they thought all races other than Europeans were consider primitive. To this day you can still see evidence all over the place of this pattern of thought. My kids want certain things that I can only pick up at Safeway. I always purchase a “Care Package” of various food items for the food bank. It is nothing really..., $10 a bag. I don’t know how many times over the years that when I purchase that "Care Package" that I’ve been asked if this is for myself or the food bank not matter how many people standing in line behind me. I have the good kind of coffee with my stuff..., if I wanted to buy no name peas, beans and noodles..., why would I buy it in those packages. You would think these ladies would be smart enough to put two and two together but I guess that is why they are cashiers... The other day I picked up this hitchhikers He starts telling me that he just came out of treatment and will be going on disability because of the voices he hears in his head. I ask him what does he hear and his reply, "they want to beat me up and kill me". Then he starts explaining he wants to move but not Kenora because there are too many drunken Indians drinking Listerine. I give this nut a ride and all he could find to say us drunken Indians drinking Listerine. The arrogance..., wow...

This point of view comes from a wide range of classes from the poor, middle class to the rich. I am not saying everyone but the mentality is there. When I first started this one job, I was asked by this non-native where did I work before and I explained my experiences including working for the bank. He says..., oh..., you worked as a teller and I replied no..., then he says..., was it “special” Aboriginal training program and I said no, I applied and got the job as a banker. This is a guy who has his degree working for an Aboriginal organization for many years suppose to be helping our people. He couldn’t fathom the thought of an Aboriginal banker that didn’t go through some SPECIAL you’re an idiot training program because you need it. I didn’t fit in his view of Aboriginal people. I don’t know how many times I’ve encounter that mentality in Aboriginal organizations that are suppose to be helping our people to become self-sufficient. This past summer someone asked if they could down a tree and fell it in my yard. I said no problem. They go about their business but at the end of the day..., someone parks in my driveway. They could have very easily parked on the road or anywhere for that matter. I have to make it to Johnny’s so I jumped in and waited for them to move. They didn’t and this guy Non-Native guy who wanted me in my own yard drive on my grass so they can continue talking. He motions to me to drive around. That is true arrogance of being superior to Native people. Certain people do make their living from Aboriginal people and we have people with the same mentality working with us. The problem we have is that we let them get away with these things so we in actuality are re-enforcing their view of the superior to Aboriginal people.

I keep on saying this..., we have to start believing in our own people... We’ll never get anywhere with these people at the helm.

Blog Archive

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In case you are wondering where the hell Mattice, Ontario is on Highway 11 (where I grew up), look for this dinosaur on the side of the road. Also if you are parched after hours..., this is the place to be along with 9 other excellent locations to serve you.

This is me in a Lapplander Traditional "Dwelling" in Finland Near Fort Severn's Goose Camps Near Tampere, Finland Me with Grandpa Sandy

Back in the day in Mattice

Quotes

"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for insects as well as for the stars. Human beings, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance." - Albert Einstein

"Let sleeping dogs rest" - unknown

"I intend to live forever, or die trying" - Justin Neegan

"Ninty-Five percent of enjoying the wilderness is knowing it's there" - John Sills in reference to the people of the south.

"When traveling (abroad) ..., sometimes it is hard to tell someone what they just ate, it could be a monkey, dog, anything..." Osmo's answer when I asked what I ate for breakfast.

“Donna Orr, the only Orr I know besides Bobby” - Ted Nolan

"...keep your goals as high as you can dream, and if you fall short they will be higher than is you aimed too low." - Dale

Religion is the opium of the masses - Tom Wassakeesic

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. - Albert Einstein

Gas to Calstock: $40.00, Food for the road: $40.00, Getting to Calstock at 4:30am, no one awake, going to Hearst for a hotel, no rooms available, heading to Mattice at 5:30am for other hotels and finding out there are no longer any hotels there: PRICELESS - Tanya Spence

Locks only keep the honest people out - Mike Peltenon

“..... if the coffee is too strong, just add water. You can make strong coffee weak but you can’t make weak coffee strong..” - John Perry's memo to KO staff

“The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

"I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty." - Groucho Marx

"I am too lazy too type, I call!!!" - Graeme Bouchard-Wood

Have a Safe and Merry Christmas!!!

I cartooned myself and this is what I got......