Arctic Blast

In 1999 the map of Canada changed for the first time in 50 years. A new territory was carved out of the Northwest Territories and returned to the Inuit people, formerly called Eskimos. Inuit means "The People" and the name of their new country is called Nunavet, which means "Our Land." The vast arctic region they inhabit is larger than the State of Texas, even though their population of 27,000 could comfortably occupy Chicago's Sears Tower (except for the lack of caribou.) With its sub-zero winter temperatures few of us are surprised to discover there is no population explosion in Nunavet.

In case you didn't know, Eskimos are racially distinct from the Native American Indians that inhabit the more hospitable climates of the North American Continent. In Eastern Siberia, Alaska, Labrador and Greenland they're still called Eskimos, which in Algonquin meant "Eaters of Raw Meat."

While growing up it seldom entered my mind to think of Eskimos in terms of their diet. Like most people, I always made the association of Eskimo with cold, inhospitable environments, and igloos. As it turns out, Eskimos live in all sorts of houses, including tents made of skins and underground sod homes, though most live in ordinary houses like ours. Certainly the Arctic environment places demands on these people to which most of us are unaccustomed, though it also helps reduce panhandling and street people.

One of my favorite short stories from high school days was Jack London's To Build A Fire. The story takes place in Alaska's Yukon region. It is a life and death struggle between a man and the elements, with everything hinging on his ability to build a fire. At the beginning of the story the man spits and he realizes, by the crackling sound of the spittle turning to ice in mid-air, that it is more than fifty below, colder than he realized.

Three decades after I first read this story I was clearing my driveway one December night in Duluth, Minnesota. There had been a fair dump of snow followed by a blistering cold Alberta Clipper. I knew it was cold, but discovered how severe the wind chill was when I spit and it became a marble before hitting the crust of snow and rolling away.

I knew right then it was cold. Fortunately that kind of weather is not the norm, even in Minnesota. Now for really cold conditions, think about what it's like to live in the arctic. The average December temperature at Gate of the Arctic National Park is twenty below during the day and forty below at night. Add wind chill temps and you've got weather!

This week, we had the pleasure of getting a spearhead of arctic air in Minnesota that dropped temps by more than fifty degrees in twenty-four hours in most places. My thermometer went from forty above to minus twenty-four overnight. That is a sixty-four degree drop, plus wind chill.

Funny how wind chill works. Usually it goes this way: the temp is zero with a wind chill that makes it feel like minus twenty, or it's minus twenty but feels like minus fifty. Why can't we have minus twenty temps that feel like twenty above? Guess that's not in the cards any time soon. In the meantime, do your best to stay warm. An extra sweater or two never hurt anyone.

Line Art

A few drawings from my sketch book. Not much to say this morning. A picture occasionally says a thousand words, though in this case that might be generous. Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, have a great day.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge

Politics As Usual

"With a Democratic response to George Bush's final State of the Union address that will be instantly forgotten, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius delivered a bland "Join us, Mr. President" call for bipartisanship that did nothing to advance her much-ballyhooed prospects as a contender for her party's vice presidential nomination." ~ The Nation

Oh well, it's that time in the election cycle again. Forgive me if I just can't get up for it this year. I participated in 1984. I half follow all the stories, but it really does feel like the same old same old all over again all over again. Politicians move their lips, and they are immediately assailed by other politicians who take a posture. The pit bull types get attention. If they are thoughtful, reasoned and considerate, like Governor Sibelius in her response to last night's State of the Union address, they are slapped silly by pundits for not being vicious.

Don't we have enough viciousness already in this country? It's no wonder we don't have sensitive artist types in political careers. Running for office means getting smeared with dung and other rotting filth, not to mention blood, usually one's own. Ross Perot (with thicker skin than many) did not have the heart for it. Others have stood on the shore while their ships left the harbor because they, too, hadn't the desire to be fed piecemeal to the sharks.

I'll vote in the fall because I usually do, but this whole game in between is not going to give us the best candidates.

Besides, when push comes to shove, and the facts get laid out before the new president and he or she sees how things really were and how it really is, this new president may not behave any different than previous presidents. My guess is that we'll continue to meddle overseas in other nations' affairs that we do not understand, that government will continue to get increasingly bloated, that taxes will continue to suck up our personal incomes and we'll all pretty much accept it because we do not like to seriously consider the alternative: anarchy.

Like America's convenience stores, the political shelves will remain stocked with Coke and Pepsi products, I mean Dems and Republicans. A truly radical departure from this tradition is simply not in the cards.

Nevertheless, the media love it because the war chests are full for buying up air time which provides oodles of capital for the networks, which thus enables them to pay large paychecks to all their talking heads so they can bash the candidates, or damn them with faint praise.

Yes, 'tis the season. And it's politics as usual.

Labyrinths

The notion of labyrinths traces back to ancient mythology, but is found throughout history. In essence, a labyrinth is a maze, a puzzle, a complicated route that leads to, or conceals, something.

Many writers have made reference to labyrinths in their work. Jorge Luis Borges was fascinated by the idea of labyrinths, which appear repeatedly in his short stories. Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose was inspired by Borges in this fascination.

From ancient and medieval times to the present, labyrinths have had their appeal, as real structures to be built or as an idea. The mind itself is said to be a labyrinth. Numerous characters in literature, from Cervantes' Don Quixote onward, have become lost in the labyrinthine worlds of their imaginations.

One of Andre Gide's most fascinating works is his story Theseus, about the Athenian hero who navigated the labyrinth in Crete to slay the half-man, half-bull Minotaur aided by Ariadne's thread. It is an entertaining read, with unexpected twists, and comes with my highest recommendation.

Of course my first encounter with the Internet was somewhat akin to the notion of a labyrinth. If one considers each page a room, from which one must exit to enter another room, you can imagine the whole world wide web as a labyrinthine universe. You can lose yourself in it forever.

It was based on this concept that I created a small labyrinth when I first started building my personal website thirteen years ago. And if the Internet is a Labyrinth, then where is the Minotaur?

A Link to my LABYRINTH

Remembering the Wounded

Life is long, and whether early on or late in life, nearly everyone experiences some kind of pain due to loss, illness, failure or disappointment. We go through our various life courses interacting with wounded people every single day.

The ancient philosopher Philo of Alexander once wrote, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." Life is not an easy road.

It is good to reflect on these things in our interactions with others. And let's not forget the many who are homebound, or families with a member in prison, or the many needy who are out of sight and out of mind. Our kindnesses make all the difference in the world for those who hurt.

Remember the wounded.

Mourning Buttercup

It seems strange. Buttercup, our last pygmy goat, passed away this week. Death is not romantic. That it's part of life is a given. The longer we live, however, the more loss and grief we'll experience. It is actually all around us on a daily basis, but we are usually oblivious. A fallen soldier usually shows up in the newspapers, but so many beloved pets are lost each year... yet there are no obituaries.

This is a brief notation that our beloved Buttercup died this week and we'll miss her. She was a sweetheart.

Momentum

One of the basic principles of marketing success is momentum. I think here, for example, of a giant concrete wheel with a tiny handle. To get the wheel turning takes a great effort. At first, it takes all your strength to simply get it to budge. But then, once you get it started, it takes less effort with each revolution until it seems to have a life of its own. To keep it spinning at a high velocity then requires a minimal effort on your part. You can't neglect it, of course, because it will eventually slow to a stop and you are back to where you started.

Well, companies have momentum, too. As do careers. It seems to take an inordinate amount of energy to get a brand established. The power and value that accrues can become startling to the one who initially invested so much to get that wheel turning.

In baseball and football, professionals understand the psychological power of momentum. In baseball, a series of base hits can do more to damage the competition than a home run. The thrill of the rally ripples through the whole stadium. Likewise in football, the ability to assemble long drives is much more devastating than a chance long ball touchdown pass. Those drives show dominance, and instill respect.

Is your life moving in a direction? Are you building momentum? If you know what you are about, don't let you energies be diverted. If you have become distracted and gotten off course, step back and re-center. The future is in your hands.