Butterfly

There have been so many butterflies flying around the past two months and lucky me I only got one picture of one. Oh well, I enjoyed them anyway.

Here Comes The Sun...

I'm back people - did you miss me? I've spent the past few days down in Sydney, having a little time away with Mick and Flynn ( more on that at a later date ). Home last night, and off to our regular Thursday mothers group meeting today. And what a glorious day it was!

The sun has finally decided to make an appearance around these parts after weeks of wind and rain and overcast yuckiness, so we mumma's took a little bubba's down to the local park for a play. I was kind of excited because its the first time Flynn has really been able to enjoy going to the park - he's at the age now where he likes going on the swings ( especially ) and can interact a little more with other kids and the equipment. Plus, it was the first chance he's had to wear his sun hat and didnt he just look adorable:

Loving his Vegemite sandwich - and his favourite tractor!

Hopefully we're blessed with gorgeous weather next week as we have plans to have our mass playdate at the local Japanese gardens, which should make for some nice photos. Now, onto tomorrow, which is forecast to beautiful, warm and sunny. Perhaps we could take Daddy to the park?

Strong Wind To Starboard

Some still don’t take the Tea Party seriously, even after they’ve gathered over and over, all around the country, in huge numbers, and protested big government’s unconstitutional expansion. Mostly they’re smug liberals who consider themselves to be intellectuals. They think they know what’s best for the rest of us and they’re running the country - right into the ground. Bernie Marcus, one of the guys who founded Home Depot, thinks they’re tenured academics and “They don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about.”

“They come out of Harvard,” he said. “They come out of Yale. They’re all on tenure. Tenure means they get paid whether they work or not. Tenure means they’re on insurance for the rest of their lives. Tenure means they don’t ever have to worry about anything because they were there for a number of years, but America is not that way . . . If the president got out of the White House and started moving among the peasants, which is everybody else in the world except for Washington. Washington has their own insurance plan. They got their own pensions. They don’t abide by the rules everyone else abides by . . . When I talk to people who are creating jobs today - these are not villains. These are not monsters.”

“And you think they’re being portrayed that way [by the White House]?” asked the host.

“Oh, there’s no question about it. Yeah, we’re monsters and we are disgusting human beings . . . for creating 300,000 jobs
. . .”

Marcus is pissed. So is the Tea Party. The elitists still don’t get it. They will after November 2nd though.

These tenured liberals have lived all their lives in academic echo chambers and think they know how to run the world - its health care and its economy. They’re still predicting an economic recovery to follow the $800 billion stimulus that spent $2 million for each job it created. But ordinary Americans understand that no recovery is going to happen that way. They know Obama, Pelosi and Reid only made things worse by putting us $800 billion further into debt. They know our health care system was much better before that triumvirate “fixed” it by making it more complicated, more expensive, and less effective. They know we won’t have a recovery until they take back their government - and they will.

Senator John Kerry, for whom I used to work when I was a young and foolish liberal, made some nasty remarks about Tea Party victories in last week’s primaries. “The news from Delaware is crystal clear: It’s Sarah Palin’s party now. We [must] defeat the Tea Party extremists.”

Extremists? The Tea Party is extremist? Not smug elitists like himself who tripled our deficit and turned recession to depression? Tenured elitists think Republicans are being hijacked by the Tea Party and they’re right. The Tea Party wants to pull the Constitution out of mothballs, dust it off, and apply it the way the founding fathers intended. That’s extremist to Ivy League elitists like Kerry, who think they’re much smarter than Jefferson and Madison. They don’t want government to be hampered by the Constitution. They know better how to create jobs better than people like Bernie Marcus too, even though he’s actually done it and they haven’t.

They’re right that the Tea Party has been concentrating on Republicans - to clean liberals like Castle, Murkowski and Crist out, because there’s no point having two liberal parties. That makes other RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) like Maine Senator Olympia Snowe nervous. If Mike Castle can lose a primary in a liberal state like Delaware, Snowe can lose one in liberal Maine too - and she’s up in 2012. Some expect her to come out of the closet as a Democrat soon. Will Susan Collins be far behind? She’s up in 2014.

Now that the primaries are over, the Tea Party will focus on defeating liberal Democrats in November. How many will drop? Hard to tell. I happened to be passing through Portland, Maine last Monday when Lady Gaga showed up to pressure our two Lady RINO senators into breaking ranks and repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The pierced and tattooed turned out to cheer their liberal Democrat heroes who warmed up the crowd with speeches - like 1st District Congresswoman and Pelosi Pet, Chellie Pingree. The contrast between that crowd and a Tea Party crowd in nearby Westbrook where Pingree’s opponent, conservative Republican Dean Scontras, spoke the day before could not be more profound. Pingree’s web site pledges to “Stop the Tea Party,” but which constituency will prevail in Maine and America on November 2nd? Maine’s 1st district is the bluest part of a very blue state in the azure northeast - a sanctuary state with generous welfare benefits for illegal immigrants and a homosexual haven. Pingree is ahead in opinion polls 48% to Scontras’s 37%, but 15% are undecided. Scontras is a tireless campaigner and Pingree is worried. She looked pretty haggard when I saw her Monday. She knows that 15% is likely to break for Scontras and sink her.

If Scontras beats her November 2nd, our two Lady RINOs will probably start tacking to starboard as John McCain has in Arizona. In spite of Lady Gaga’s pressure, they didn’t break ranks when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came up in the US Senate on Tuesday. They have their fingers in the wind - which will become a gale in about five weeks.

With Carol Shea Porter (D-NH) on one side of me and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) on the other, it’s been difficult, but both may well go down in only forty days. I can’t wait.

Good bye Burt Bacharach, Sitting at the Rectors Table, and the NMC Standards, Transformed

Since writing last week’s blog I have travelled some 1941 miles on University business (Helsinki –Tallin-Helsinki-Copanhagen-Manchester-London-Manchester-Manchester-Newcastle- Manchester). It has been a week where trains, boats and planes have lost their appeal. And for me, Burt Bacharach never had any appeal. However, as they say, it was worth it.

As part of this week’s travels, I went to the Imperial College London. I was there to support one of my colleagues, Denise Megson, who was presenting her work as part of the Stellar HE Leadership Programme. This is a strategic executive development programme for Diverse Leaders (BME) in Higher Education. It has been designed specifically to develop and implement leadership strategies that reflect the unique challenges and experiences of black and minority ethnic academic and professional staff across the whole of the University sector. Stellar HE is a unique leadership development programme that draws on 21st century leadership approaches and thinking to further leverage the effectiveness of Diverse Leaders. The programme aims to address issues of institutional race discrimination, level the career playing field, and provide equal access to promotion, professional development, and increased retention of talented staff. Denise was there presenting their work alongside academics from eight other Universities – Greenwich, Imperial College, Leeds Metropolitan, Loughborough, Oxford,  Bradford, Cardiff and Glasgow. Denise presented her work well and was a great ambassador for the School.

The meeting was held at the impressive 170 Queen's Gate (the Imperial College Rectors House). This magnificent building was designed and built in 1889 by Norman Shaw, one of the most important English architects of the 19th century. His work is characterised by an ingenious approach to creating an open plan feel to his buildings. Although he worked mainly on big projects, the country house, and commercial buildings, his designs were adopted on a more modest style, in the mass produced housing of London and Leeds at the start of the 1900s.

On Thursday I was at Northumbria University, in that very privileged role of external examiner at a PhD viva. Whilst the surroundings were not as impressive as those at Imperial, the scale of scholarly work and endeavour was. These opportunities always touch me. Hearing a fellow academic defend their work (and often this is done with such passion), is a special experience, and not one to be undertaken lightly.

At the end of the week we had a School Development Day. Part of the day was a brilliant presentation from my colleague Margaret McAllister, Professor of Nursing, from the University of the Sunshine Coast (what a wonderful place name). She had travelled some 10235 miles since last Sunday to get to Salford. For me it was worth it. Margaret shared with colleagues her experiences in developing transformational learning approaches with and for her pre-registration nursing students. Drawing on some very creative examples from practice, Margaret provided us all with a powerful learning experience.

The timing was spot on as finally, the NMC published the standards and guidance for the new pre-registration nurse education this week. Some 5,000 individuals and organisations across the UK contributed to the development of these long awaited standards. It is these standards, which will provide the foundation for future pre-registration nursing programmes. In our School, Jane Jenkins and Karen Holland have over the last 12 month, led colleagues in developing a framework for our new programme, which we will launch in September 2011. This programme will reflect the new standards. Part of what we heard from Margaret in her presentation, was the importance of developing a ‘language of possibilities’ for our students – whilst we already know of some of the words, it is now up to us to write this particular dictionary.

Why Don't YOU Cover Up?

I know i've blogged about this before but i found an article today that had me so riled up i just had to make mention of it. Well, not so much  the article, but the storm of comments following it : should breastfeeding mothers have to cover up while feeding in public?

The majority of comments seemed to be supportive of women being able to breastfeed their babies whenever, wherever, and however they wanted to, or supportive of the right to feed but asking for discretion. But there were some comments that just made my blood boil. This one in particular -

Breast feeding
Posted by: no interest, perth, on 17/09/2010 10:34:16

Just because you have your offspring attached to your breast doesnt mean you can automatically get it out wherever you like and start feeding your litter. Most people have no interst in seeing such things, its just not called for in public. Have a bit of self respect and respect for those arround you and put it away or at least cover it up. While we are at it try putting a leash on the rest ofyour litter while in public and perhaps a muzzle as well, parent shouyld take control of their brood and stop them from running wild and screaming like animals, however I guess if the litter are to run wild then perhaps the parent can breast feed in public like the rest of the live stock.

 

Pardon my language but - what.a. fucking.cockhead. I just wanted to reach through the computer screen and punch this idiot in the throat. How insulting to mothers everywhere, regardless of whether they breastfeed in public or not. And believe it or not, this wasnt the only comment likening breastfeeding to nursing animals. One other person said mothers who breastfeed in public should be made to do so out in the paddock like the rest of the cows (!) and numerous people compared the natural act of breastfeeding to the natural act of defecation - and then said we arent allowed/it isnt polite to defecate in public view so why should it be any different for breastfeeding.

 

Attitudes like that make me absolutely sick and i was shocked that they even exist in todays society. Yes, i can appreciate that some people may not know where to look when faced with a breastfeeding mother ( my advice? If you're not sure, just look away ) but that doesnt mean women should be forced to feed their babies in dirty public toilets or be made to stay home with their babies because thats we're new mums and babies belong ( both of which were suggested by commentors on this article ). Nor do breastfeeding mothers feel they are untouchable and that they're rights come before everyone elses ( also a prevailing attitude in the comments section ) but rather want their babies to have the same freedom to eat when they are hungry that every other person has. Its as simple as that. Anyone who suggests otherwise, or that thinks breastfeeding mothers simply just want to get their boobs out in public and flash them to the world ( give me a friggin' break.. ) is out of touch, out of their minds and out of order...

Friday Flip Off Time

Like i said last week, i dont think anyone is hosting Friday Flip Offs anymore but i've enjoyed doing them so they are ( for now ) staying a permanent fixture on my blog. Its a light-hearted type of carthasis for me, so i only see fit to keep it going. On to this week:

To my state manager, The Bell - as i put it to my father today: i hate you, i hate your guts. I have no idea how you came to be in your position of relative power because you have zero people skills and only the barest of empathies for your employers. You have known since December of last year that i intended on returning to work in the first week of October. It is only now, 2 weeks before my intended return from maternity leave, that you have decided to throw a spanner in the works. It is so typical of you to operate this way - you've done it before - and, frankly, it shits me to tears. If it were a viable option ( which it isnt right now ) i'd quit and find myself another job.  And i may yet do that, in time - at which point you will be politely told to FLIP OFF!

To the half dozen people who have overtaken me in a school zone whilst speeding - you are idiots. The speed limit in a school zone in NSW is 40lm/h there fore it is not only illegal to round me up doing at least 70km/h ( dickhead... ) but stupid and dangerous aswell. I dont know whether you're in a big rush to get somewhere or you just think you wont get caught but whatever the reason, its not going to be good enough when you hit a little kid who is trying to get across the road to school. Grow up and stop speeding, you wankers - go FLIP OFF!

To the two women who have dismissed my idea of going to Tresillian - screw you both. I know one of you actually entertained the idea of going herself with her youngest child, so i dont know where your attitude is coming from. The second one just thinks she is damn Superwoman or something. She can take her idea of how to make a baby settle ( " just turn him on his side, leave the room and let him cry, doesnt matter if its for 3 or 4 hours " !!!! ) and shove it up her damn jumper. What kind of mother does that? I've tried controlled crying, and i'm not a big fan, but even that technique doesnt leave a baby alone to cry for hours on end. Neglectful much? So to both of you, with your ideas of what is a waste of time and what is not needed FLIP OFF!

Waning Summer

Most people know I'm a teacher around here. "Summer's over," they tell me at the Post Office, the store, the gas station, because school started three weeks ago. But it's not over. Waning, yes, but it hasn't ended just because the school busses are running. It started early and it's been a grand one.There was very little rain. Water grass on Lower Kezar Pond exposed some nice red stalks. It was a nice day for kayaking.Out for a walk one day with granddaughter Claire and daughter Annie. Another granddaughter is incubating about three feet down to the lower right. Can't wait to see her. Life is good.Claire likes me.Saw a bald eagle annoyed with an osprey one day over Kezar Lake. Chased him all over the sky for about a minute. It was quite a show.The sun came up behind a spider web the next day. I was running late, but stopped anyway for this. Got my shoes all wet in the dew, but it was worth it. Gotta take time for beauty.Afternoon clouds gathered in the western sky.Alway liked mills like these in Saco. Oak logs were floated down the Saco River - possibly from here in Fryeburg/Lovell - to hold up the floors. Local brick, local wood, power from the river. All so ruggedly built, they survive to this day. Many have been gutted and await commercial tenants looking for office space, but a slow economy and glut of commercial real estate threaten these magnificent old buildings. Hope this sunset over the mills isn't foreshadowing.Sunset over Kezar Lake. Is that a dolphin? A character from "Neverending Story"?