The idea is that good books should not be condemned to a life of dust collecting on my bookshelves.

Also that bookshelves should be dynamic places, with room made for new books, new authors, new ideas.

But what to keep? What to donate?

Woolf? G Greene, Nietzsche, Sontag, Joseph Campbell, 19th century novels, travel lit.

Asterix? – no, Asterix stays, ditto Wodehouse & JK Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat – the funniest book every written (IMHO).

What is your criteria for keeping vs. letting go?

So I put out a call for lyrics for Blood on the Keyboard.

The Tartan Taxidermist – also known as Tonardo – responded. Doc sent some lyrics too.

Today being VD, I thought I’d post them.

Here are Tartan Taxidermist’s lyrics

Blood on the Keyboard:

In the dark of night
Your love is thrown away
So be careful of knives
In the light of day

Accusations are hard to make
When you can’t point finger
But the blood on your keyboard
Shows the pain still lingers

Leave your screams of agony
Leave your need to eviscerate
You need warm arms around you
And in love to commiserate

Accusations are hard to make
When you can’t point finger
But the blood on your keyboard
Shows the pain still lingers

And here are Doc’s:

Blood on the Keyboard

(in slow bluesy, smoky voice)
Blood on the tracks,
Blood on the keyboard.

Blood on the tracks,
Blood on the keyboard.

I can’t reach my cocktails and snacks,
You gotta he’p me Oh Lord!

(blues guitar solo followed by two verses that compare the pain of your finger with the broken hearts of the world and poverty in Africa)

Thanks guys.

Happy VD everyone.

Canada, Britain and the US do not recognize the name Myanmar because it was imposed on the country by the military junta in 1989. They say Burma. Pro-democracy campaigners also call it Burma.

The New York Times, United Nations, NATO, and National Geographic call it Myanmar because that is the official name.

The CBC calls it “Burma, also known as Myanmar.”

According to the CBC new editor’s blog,

Here is what we advise: “First reference to this country should always be Burma, also known as Myanmar. Subsequent references can be Burma. “

But the BBC just says Burma. No Myanmar.

It’s general practice at the BBC to refer to the country as Burma, and the BBC News website says this is because most of its audience is familiar with that name rather than Myanmar.

When this typist crossed the border from Thailand to Burma in ‘92, the sign said Welcome to Myanmar. It wasn’t actually that welcoming, but I wasn’t about to kick up a stink to the jackbooted, military officials patrolling the border.

While this typist applauds the CBC for covering all basis, it really should choose. “Burma also know n as Myanmar” sounds clunky and indecisive, as though they are wringing their hands over what to call it.

It’s either Burma or Myanmar. But not both.

The GT style guide rules in favour of Burma because that is the name most people recognize and it is the favourite choice of pro-democracy campaigners.

Spare a thought and maybe a donation for the good people of Burma.

Ditto Happy Tuesday-Sunday.

I don’t mind Thank God It’s Friday, or (Tell me why) I Don’t Like Mondays. I don’t mind Good Day or Hello, either. I don’t even mind Eff Off, if it’s delivered with a modicum of flare.

But Happy Monday irks me. It’s a bossy busybody greeting, part of that glib-everybody-pretend-you’re-happy movement that has swamped N. American society.

When I hear “Happy Monday” I just want to say No. That’s it. Just No.

No. No. No.

This little glibism seems to be infecting our national public broadcaster. You hear “Happy [insert day of week] ” often on the CBC’s Q program, the national arts and culture afternoon show. I gather this is supposed to pass for wit.

And our local afternoon CBC program splatters its patter with “Happy Monday!” greetings. (And there IS always an exclamation point! or three!!!) These Happy greetings are generally followed by little bouts of shallow laughter at unfunny things. Hahahaha!!!!!!!

Happy Monday is “bland”, “vacuous”, “insincere” and “insipid.”

Dump it. Kill it. Now.

This amazing blues and jazz musician and musicologist died from cancer at 41. I didn’t even know he had a relapse of the disease that robbed him of his eyesight when he was just a young child.

I saw Jeff Healey rip up the blues guitar a number of times in the 80s and 90s. He was one of those musicians who made you smile until your face hurt. His hit Angel Eyes was sweet, growly and soulful. In the right mood, it could bring tears to your eyes.

And I listened that base-tone voice talking jazz and blues on his CBC radio show. He was an authority on old jazz and blues and drew on a vinyl collection of over 30,000 records.

He was a musician’s musician and played with likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Harrison and B.B. King.

He was about to release a new album called A Mess of Blues.

Jeff Healey was a young talent with an old soul. We are going to miss him.

I’m not a one-book-at-a-time sort of reader. I don’t feel I need to finish one book before starting another. There is freedom in dipping into this book or that one at your pleasure. I finish most books I start, although I don’t force myself to read something that is poorly written, badly drawn and a waste of time. (DaVinci Code).

I’m not a book freak. I don’t preach on my or anyone else’s need to read. I just like having things that interest me at arm’s length. Books satisfy that. So do taped TV shows, rented videos and good friends.

My choices are non-fiction. A lot of fiction I’ve read over the last few years has underwhelmed me, even the “good” stuff. But I’m not anti-fiction, just a bit short on inspiration at the moment.

I’m a sucker for a hardcover and all but one book on this list are hardcover. I’m always open to new suggestions so please tell me what you think I’d like.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan. a seminal work on food, the food industry and our twisted relationship with food. This is a break-out book, like Fast Food National of a few years ago. He has a new one coming out called In Defense of Food which wants to put the fun back in food.

Teach Yourself Adobe Creative Suite 3 – All in One - This is work-related reading. The book covers the basis of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver and Acrobat. I’m getting there with Photoshop , Acrobat and Dreamweaver, just beginning Flash and In Design, and still lost in space with Illustrator.

Cook with Jamie , Jamie Oliver – After a long, long break, I’m going back to cooking for fun. I love food and used to enjoy cooking. Jamie Oliver is an engaging character who is passionate about food and cooking. My first Jamie-cooking foray was the other night – Pot-roasted Poussins Agro Dolce with Sticky Saucepan carrots. It was a roaring success.

The Long Tail, Chris Anderson – This was the buzz book of last year. It provides a good explanation of the new business model in the Internet era. This is a world of unlimited choice, aggregators, niche markets and virtual communities that congregate around one interest. Anyone doing business, communications, manufacturing or delivering any service would benefit from this book. (Update since writing this post: I’ve finished this book. I can recommend it)

The Canon, A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science Natalie Angier – Written by the science correspondent for the New York Times, this book is an eloquent and lyrical exploration of the subjects so many of us feared in school. She makes physics a joy to read. Ditto chemistry, evolutionary biology, astronomy and geology. Last night I read about the laws of thermodynamics and was thoroughly charmed and engaged. The world needs more good science writers like Angier.

Sound Bites, Alex Kapranos – Some of you may know him from Scots rock band Franz Ferdinand. This book is an eating diary recorded while he was on a world tour with the band. He discusses what he eats, where he eats it and the people he eats with. A fun book.

The (like) Language Report (for real), Susie Dent – part of a series, this book takes you to the front lines of the rapidly evolving English language. It’s not judgmental and fearful of change as some language books can be. I particularly enjoyed the Headlines section. One notable was “Dirty Harry” which appeared in The Sun after Prince Harry visited a lap dancing club.

The Mitfords, by Charlotte Mosley – letters of the six infamous Mitford sisters who shocked the world with their politics, novels, marriages and aristocratic antics during the 20th century. Their friends included Adolf Hitler, Queen Elizabeth, Evelyn Waugh, and President Kennedy. You could say that the Mitfords were the Paris Hiltons and Britney Spears of the 20th century only the Mitfords were wittier and less banal.

Quotation Marks, Marjorie Garber – written by a heavy hitter English professor from Harvard, this collection of essays applies sharp academic thinking to pop culture, among other things. Only read one of the essays, an exploration of the Jewish angle in the whole Monica Lewinsky affair. This stuff is smartly written, well referenced and a delight to read.

E= Einstein: His Life, His Thought, and His Influence on Our Culture, edited by Donald Goldsmith and Marcia Bartusiak. I’ve been at this one for about a year. It’s a collection of essays on the man’s life, his theories, family and politics. I find his physics interesting, especially Special Relativity, but the way he came up with his ideas is riveting to me. He used instinct, creativity and critical thinking to come up with his ideas and then his scientific genius to prove them.

Books on my bedside table but not yet cracked: On Beauty, Zadie Smith and Night Watch, Sarah Walters.

Bad Tempered Zombie 100-things meme count for this post: 12

Bad Tempered Zombie 100-things meme total: 35+12 = 47

International headlines are blaring with dire news of a global sell-off and international market melt-down brought on by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Thousands in the US are losing their houses and thousands more will do so in the next six months. Jobs will be lost forestry, manufacturing and financial services. Credit bombs are going off and money is drying up. There are runs on banks. Canadian banks are vulnerable. Pensions are vulnerable. The R-word looms.

And in my sleepy little part of the world, the local CBC radio station is doing a friendly interview with a mortgage broker pushing the benefits of super-long term 40-year mortgages.

AS IF NONE OF THIS IS HAPPENING?

“It’s every Canadian’s dream to own a home,” the broker says without a hint of irony in his voice. “Longer pay-down periods give Canadians the house they need at prices they can afford. Most people are not concerned with paying down their mortgage. The house value will increase.”

A satirical sketch could not have done this better.

No, no, no it’s got nothing to do with the sub prime troubles they’re having in the US, the mortgage broker says smugly. Here in Canada we’re more conservative. We don’t have sub primes.

Excuse me? Trouble they are having? Has the man looked at the TSX in Toronto? Those losses belong to Canadians with investments in those sub prime mortgages, whether they know it or not.

But it’s the CBC* that holds the bag here. Not only are they NOT interpreting this whole mess for local listeners, they are feeding us the same mortgage-broker junk that got us into this mess in the first place.

To air this interview this morning shows a spectacular lack of judgment on the part of the CBC producers, to say nothing of bad timing.

I’m not into spreading doom. Business and trade go through cycles and this credit crunch won’t last forever. But it is serious, and if the local CBC wants to be taken seriously, it should document this sub prime mortgage crisis credibly. Providing platforms for mortgage brokers to sell bigger houses at lower monthly prices is not a credible way to do this.

Or maybe it is just me. Maybe I’m the one in the coma. Maybe none of this is happening in this little part of the world and it will all just go away. I’d really like to be wrong about this rant. So please tell me I am.

*BTW, I’m a supporter of a strong CBC and of public broadcasting but they do occasionally require a little friendly-fire criticism from their supporters.

The local CBC radio station launched a 10-Reasons-to-get-Letterman-to-Nova Scotia contest after local gal Ellen Page appeared on his show. It was all sort of fun until the politicos and branding people hopped on board. Then things started to get embarrassing.

Premier MacDodo pitched a YouTube video listing his top ten reasons to get Letterman to Nova Scotia. Then he showed the funny man of New York City how the Premier of Nova Scotia can fiddle and step dance – at the same time.

Mercifully, Letterman’s people politely declined the invitation. But no is apparently not enough and the campaign continues. The local CBC station is sending a care package and another plea for Letterman to visit.

Enough. Stop. They’ve said no. Call it a day, folks.

Sadly, I’m left with no choice but to give GT’s 10 reasons Premier MacDodo, the CBC and Nova Scotia should Leave Letterman alone now:

10. He said no. Presumably no means no in Letterman Land.

9. Saying you’d like to visit Nova Scotia while interviewing local gal Ellen Page and actually planning to visit the place aren’t necessarily the same thing. He was drawing out his charming interviewee by talking about her hometown and saying he’d like to visit. People do this all the time in conversation.

8. Telling Letterman that you can have a free triple-bypass in Nova Scotia (as Premier MacDodo did in his YouTube pitch) is a rather tasteless cheap shot to throw a quadruple bypass recipient from a country that does not enjoy the benefit of free health care.

7. Telling Letterman the triple-bypass is free in Nova Scotia is also a wrong-headed pitch as an American would not be entitled to free health care in Canada.

6. Nova Scotia hospitality was cited as a top reason Letterman should visit on CBC’s contest. The announcement of the winning entry was followed this morning by a story on the diabolical scandal of Nova Scotia taking $100,000 from immigrants who enrolled in the failed business mentorship program. Most of these people got no such training and were left out to hang dry by the Nova Scotia politicians who have been ducking and diving ever since. Some immigrants managed to get their money back but many haven’t. Is this Nova Scotia hospitality? No, it’s incompetence by Premier MacDodo and his band of Dodos.

5. Premier MacDodo says it’s 30 minutes to the sea anywhere in Nova Scotia, 35 in traffic. Clearly MacDodo has never sat on the Bedford Highway in rush hour traffic when it takes an hour to get from one part of the city to another.

4. Premier MacDodo thinks Letterman would get a laugh out of the sign to “Shag” Harbour. Hmmm, given his track record in the “Shag” Harbour department, perhaps he ought to leave well enough alone.

3. Trying to woo Letterman with stories of a love-struck moose in Cape Breton is a similarly injudicious pitch given stories of another Love-struck moose from Cape Breton.

2. Premier MacDodo’s attempt to one-up Huckabee makes him look like a Wannbe.

And the number 1 reason why NS should stop pestering Letterman:

1. Letterman is funny, witty and smart. Nova Scotia’s premier MacDodo is none of these things and having the funny man meet the dull-witted man would be excruciatingly embarrassing for the province.

A of P explores the power and techniques of media, public relations and advertising in culture and politics. The shows are cleverly produced, fun and very informative.

Interestingly, A of P is not a CBC production, but an indie production by Pirate Radio for CBC. This indie feel is evident in the sound and style which is decidedly not CBC-house style.

This indie model is used by BBC radio for much of it’s radio documentary, drama and humour programming. These programs are second to none.

The indie-production model was a major battle ground during the last CBC strike with CBC staff protecting in-house production and CBC management promoting the use of more independent productions.

If O’Reilly’s Age of Persuasion is an example of how this model can work, then bring on more indie production for public radio, I say. It’s good use of tax dollars and it treats the CBC listener to excellent content on their public airwaves.

Now, will somebody pal-lease tell the CBC radio announcers to pronounce the man’s name correctly.

It’s Putin with the T, not Poo’n like CBC announcers seem to think. A couple of months ago this typist accused the CBC of lazy elocution in the post “Disputin’ the pronunciation of Poo’n.

And I thought I detected an improvement. But there it was again today on the 4 pm radio broadcast: Poo’n.

You don’t necessary expect it from the person on the street, but the national broadcaster should be able to do better than Poo’n, shouldn’t they?