The Mystery of the Blue Train

The blurb: The daughter of an American millionaire dies on a train en route for Nice…

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again – for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing.

The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board…

My review: Picking up an Agatha Christie, as part of my ongoing request to read all the Christie books, is like taking a reading holiday. I know I’m going to enjoy the experience and that I’m with a safe pair of hands. Never has that been truer than with the Mystery of the Blue Train.

Hands down, this is my FAVOURITE CHRISTIE. Now I’ve only read about ten – the first ten – and like many authors I’m sure she gets better as she progresses but this has got to be a classic. It’s a fantastic example of the genre and with Hercule Poirot being his usual modest self, the whole thing reads like a charm.

All the elements are here to make this book sparkle. Poirot, an international plot, a seemingly cursed jewel with a blood soaked history, intrigue and romantic betrayal, an elaborate trap to catch a killer – all in all it’s perfect! This book comes highly recommended from me. If you want to dip your toes into the world of Agatha Christie, you couldn’t pick a better outing than to jump on the blue train!

10 out of 10 stars! **********

BUY ME! The Mystery of the Blue Train (Poirot)

There’s another project I care more about cleaning up first, so I’ma do that. And, you know, get a day job and pad my 401(k) out.

Jensen Ackles makes all the right faces.

    There are several aspects to the Harper Governments approach to the militarization of Canada. First, it has become apparent that this government believes words speak louder than actions. The Action Plan ads are a good example. Call it communications, spin, re-branding, advertising, what have you, it is all a form of propaganda.

    Gone is the vision of Canada the “peace keeper”. From the ham-fisted attempt at stirring up some kind of jingoistic martial spirit with the War of 1812 “celebration” to (more recently) the rewriting of our history, to the more subtle renaming of Canada’s forces to ensure that we are all aware that they are “armed” they appear to be beavering away to get us all into the right mindset. We can add to this what is, to date, a PR campaign with respect to Iran. Then there are the adventures in Libya and, of course Afghanistan. Maybe Harper, like Reagan, will find Canada’s Grenada (it turned out Mali wasn’t it) Maybe like Grenada it will result in lots of medals all around. They could repurpose the Jubilee medals. There must be a gross or two in the PMO somewhere.

    Canadians dying for nothing in Afghanistan have their bodies paraded on the “Highway of Heroes” . Apparently Canada’s Valhalla is a piece of the 401 highway. And I mean dying for nothing because they are not defending Canada (the second D in DND) but some corporate vision of Canada. It may well give some closure to the loved ones left behind but it is theatre. It is propaganda.

    And its not that the Harper government is a great fan of military personnel per se especially the injured and the vets (they, having lost their utility). It would not be at all surprising, in fact, that the Harper Government looks with a jaundiced eye at DND in general, having been gamed by them to some extent with respect to acquisitions. The F-35 comes to mind.

   So why this social engineering? Why the militarization?

   We have only to reference the hegemon to the south. I am sure Harper et al look with envy at the U.S. military industrial complex with its attendant (and bloated) security establishment. It is a capitalist’s wet dream, sucking in trillions (with a ‘t’) of dollars. All that is required is perpetual war, which appears not to be a problem. Social fabric and infrastructure be damned. Let them “pursue happiness” through the ruins of cities like Detroit and Buffalo.

    Canada has devolved into a one trick pony resource center. Its manufacturing sector hollowed out and shipped overseas on the cheap. A homegrown military industrial complex would be another source of bucks, lots of bucks, for the Friends of Harper. This type of industry has two “advantages” in particular. Being part of National Security(TM) it is sacrosanct when it comes to trade deals and the restrictions pertaining thereto. It is a wonderful source of political pork (which we are told transforms itself into votes). In the U.S. It has even resulted in the manufacture of arms that the military does not need nor even WANT. Gone would be the days of mere gazebos and fake lakes. The opportunities to further control a population via a security establishment (have you seen the new CSIS HQ??) would also sit well with a control freak like Harper.

    Let’s look at some of the weapons systems that the Harper Government proposes to buy.

    Why would Canada require F-35s? Almost entirely in support of NATO war missions i.e. In support of the American Empire. Let’s not pretend that NATO is a “partnership”. Domestically, that is to say, in the actual defence of Canada they would not have much utility. Drones can fulfil just about any mission in the North that an F-35 could and at a fraction of the cost. Some say the F-35 is inappropriate for such a mission in the first place. One dimbulb in a blog somewhere suggested that they would be used in defence against the Russians. In that extremely unlikely event they should be good for most of a day, probably less.

    The lifetime of an F-35 is said to be 25 to 30 years. It is not a huge leap to imagine that drone technology will render them into very expensive clay pigeons inside, say, 10 years. Drones will be like very smart SAMs … that will not miss. Able to outmaneuver anything containing a meat puppet.

IN WHICH MY PARANOIA SETS IN

    The purchase of drones by DND and the RCMP is worrying because it has possible implications beyond defence and law enforcement. Even at the height of the Bush/Cheney years could anyone have imagined that today the President would take upon himself the power to kill Americans without charge or trial and perhaps even to do so on U.S. soil? Is it entirely ludicrous to imagine that something untoward could “happen here”? (I leave you with a mental image of Vic Toews).

  Even more disturbing, to me at least, is the purchase of tanks. In an age of drones and “smart” missiles buying tanks is the military equivalent of buying horses for your cavalry in order to fight the Wehrmacht. The life of a tank on a modern battlefield will be measured in hours, if not minutes. Why would Canada ever need tanks?

    One possibility presents itself. Tanks have another proven purpose. Look at Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, Tiananmen Square in 1989. Look at the militarization of police forces in the U.S.

  Tanks are effective in the repression of civilian populations.

   Are we expecting trouble?

What were the most popular names of 2012, you ask? Well, drum-roll please, #1 on the boys side topped out with Jacob. There were 18,899 boys born last year that were named Jacob. I can’t complain. I like the name Jacob and the nickname Jake. I might be bias though. My first crush was a guy named Jake. #1 on the girls side ended up being the super popular name Sophia. Normally, I really don’t like the most popular girl’s name, but I have a soft spot for Sophia. It makes me think of the name Sophie, which I prefer over Sophia, and for some reason beyond me, I just find it adorable. 22, 158 little Sophias were born last year. Frankly, I don’t think I’ve used the name Jacob or Sophia in any of my stories. I’m sure lots of other people have though. These names are well used right now.

Now that we have the names at the very tippy top of the list all investigated, I’d like to go over the Top 50 names of 2012. I’m going to handle them in groups of ten per gender at a time. I’ll likely comment on them. I won’t be giving the exact number of births per name for each one. So, I’m going to start from the top and work my way down. That seems like fun today.

On the boys side, we already know that Jacob ranked #1.
At #2, we have Mason, which was actually just under 50 births short of being the most popular name of 2012. It had 18,856 births. Look out School Teachers, you’re going to have a lot of Jacobs and Masons to deal with soon.
#3 is the name Ethan. My ex named his baby Ethan. Like Jacob and Mason, I actually kind of like it.
#4 is the name Noah. I’m actually using this one in a story. My friend Lentay liked it when he saw it in the book, and I can’t help but agree that it’s pretty cool.
#5 is the name William.
#6 is the name Liam. That’s interesting, isn’t it? Liam is merely a diminutive of William. I wonder if it will ever surpass William on the Popular Names List. It’s actually fairly close in number of births, they were only 39 births in difference. William had 16,726 births and Liam had 16,687 births. This could be an interesting couple to keep an eye on. Maybe the masses are leaning more towards the fun, trendy Liam as opposed to the old-fashioned, proper William.
#7 is the name Jayden. This name just keeps climbing the list. My best friend really loved it, once upon a time. It’s too popular for her now. It’s a cute name though.
#8 is the ever-present name Michael.
#9 is the name Alexander. This name is everywhere, all the time, and I still really like it. It’s a classy name, in my opinion; common but classy.
#10 is the name Aiden. This is a name I really liked until I realized how popular it was. It the name of one of the characters in “Blood and Chocolate” by Annette Curtis Klause. Hopefully the 14,779 Aidens born in 2012 will be a little less weak than that Aiden though. He’s a great character, fits the story well. It’s my favorite book, so I highly recommend it.

On the girls side, I’ve already told you that Sophia hit that #1 spot.
At #2, the name Emma has the silver medal when it comes to most popular names in the United States. I’m still really not fond of this name. I’ve explained why a few times. It’s just the sound. I really just don’t like the sound of it.
#3 is the ever popular name Isabella. This name used to be in the #1 one spot. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
#4 is the name Olivia. I really like this name. I like a lot of variations to this name. I’m actually pretty happy it’s so high up on the list, because that heightens my chances of someday meeting some awesome person named Olivia. She’d probably be significantly younger than me, but it could still be really awesome.
#5 is the name Ava. … I prefer the spelling Eva, just saying.
#6 is the name Emily.
#7 is the name Abigail. When I was little, before I developed a pretty intense fear of dolls, I had a doll named Abigail. I still have her somewhere, despite the fact that she creeps me out. I love her, but she’s scary, just like all other dolls.
#8 is the name Mia. As Americans, we’re really enjoying the Italian names, aren’t we?
#9 is the name Madison. My friend Lentay’s daughter was named Madison. In 2012, 11,319 little girls were born and named Madison as well.
#10 is the name Elizabeth. With this name, the number of girls named actually dropped significantly between 9 and 10. 9,596 girls were named Elizabeth. That’s a 1,732 difference from Madison.

My favorite names of the top 10 were probably Mason, which sits at #2 on the boys side, and Olivia, which sits at #4 on the girls side. I just really like those names. It’s kind of exciting that they’re popular, so that I can see them more often. I would only use them in a literary context, but I do love that I’ll see these names around a lot in the future. Who knows, I might see them so much that I get warn out on them. My least favorite names of the top ten were Michael, at #8, and Emma, at #2. I won’t keep harping on the fact that I don’t like the name Emma. Michael was my least favorite is because its a really old name that doesn’t seem to have left the popular names list, ever.

#11 on the boys side ended up being the name Daniel. We’re going to have a lot of old men called Dan around some day. That’s going to be some generation’s “Old Man Name”. I can just see it.
#12 is the name Matthew. I’m fond of this name, but I seemed to meet mixed personalities with it. It’s one of the few that I meet a little of both sides of the good and bad spectrum with.
#13 is the name Elijah.
#14 is the name James. This name is just everywhere, always.
#15 is the name Anthony. I see this name a lot too. I’m not as worn out with it as I am the name James though.
#16 is the name Benjamin. I really like this name. I think it’s really cute. I like the nicknames. I just really like it.
#17 is the name Joshua.
#18 is the name Andrew. I have a soft spot in my creative heart for this name.
#19 is the name David. You can throw a rock in a crowded room and probably hit lots of Davids.
#20 ended up being Joseph.I always find it to be quite a treat when I meet someone that actually calls themself Joseph, as opposed to Joe or Joey. I don’t find that often.

#11 on the girls side of the list was almost a tie with number #10. It’s the name Chloe. 9,595 little girls were named Chloe and 9,596 girls were named Elizabeth. That’s one little Elizabeth that beat Chloe out of the top 10 names. I used to be so disappointed when I would come across the name Chloe. I would constantly mistake it for the name Cleo, and when I was much, much younger, I thought that one of the most awesome names someone could be called. The name Chloe has grown on me a bit more now though. I know lots of pomeranians named Chloe.
#12 is the name Ella. I dislike this name as much as the name Emma for the exact same reason.
#13 is the name Avery. I’ve always considered this to be a masculine name. I would use it for a tomboy character or a boy in my stories. Apparently parents thought it was the perfect name for 8,272 little girls.
#14 is the name Addison. I like the name Addison. It’s cute and the nickname Addie or Addy is really cute too.
#15 is one of the greatest names of all time, Aubrey. My youngest niece is an Aubrey. She’s incredible and I adore her.
#16 is the name Lily. This is a really cute name. I look forward to seeing more Lilys out there.
#17 is Natalie. Is it bad that I prefer the French spelling, Nathalie?
#18 is the name Sofia. This is pretty cute. I like it better than Sophia, and considering it’s right up there with the name Sophia, I don’t think either of these names are going to far from the top 20 names any time soon. Also, this is my preferred spelling for Sophia.
#19 is the adorable name Charlotte. I don’t know why I love this name so much. I just instantly love it every time I see it.
#20 is the name Zoey. This name has been gaining popularity for ages. Someday, we may even see it in the top 10. You never know.

My favorite names of the teens section of the top 20 has to be a tie between Benjamin, at #16, and Andrew, at #18, for the boys. I can’t decide between the too. I love the name Benjamin. It would be so cool to meet a kid/guy/man/gentleman that actually called himself Benjamin. I also really like the nicknames Benny and Ben. I yell “No Ben” quite frequently (which is a quote from the movie “Willard”) whenever something is about or has gone wrong. I just have a strong attachment to this name. I also really love the name Andrew. It’s such a strong, masculine name. It just feels so regal, yet useable. I love it. I also like the nicknames Andy and Drew. My favorite name on the girls side is Aubrey. I must admit, I’m SUPER bias. I love all my nieces (and my nephew). My niece Aubrey is amazing. I love her, I love her name. It instantly tops out at my favorite. If I had to pick a different name, if we excluded the name Aubrey, I would say Charlotte though. Aubrey was #15 and Charlotte was #19. My least favorites were the names Joshua, which ranked #17, and Ella at #12. I do know some cool people with the name Joshua. It’s my cousin Samuel’s middle name and I had a friend in Des Moines named Josh. I haven’t talked to him in ages, but we used to be friends. Unfortunately, I’ve met more guys named Josh that have wronged me than I have met good ones. There’s my ex who was extremely abusive, co-workers that seemed to hate me, guys I went to school with that were very rude people, and one guy that I considered dating but ended up being a really unpleasant individual. This name has just ended up being a big warning flag for me because of how many bad or disagreeable guys I’ve met with this name. It’s not like every guy with this name is awful, I’m just wary of it is all. I have the same complaint with the name Ella as I have with Emma. It sounds like someone forgot the alphabet or how to spell some other name, so they just decided to go with the sound they made as a name instead. Literally is sounds like, K-uh, L-UH, M-UH, N-uh, O-uh, etc.

On the boys side, #21 is the name Logan. I really like this name. I see it a lot, and I’ve known a lot of very lovely Logans.
#22 is the name Jackson. This is really close to my nephew’s name. I prefer his spelling (Jaxson).
#23 is the name Christopher. How often do you meet a guy named Christopher that actually goes by that? That is a HUGE treat for me.
#24 is the name Gabriel. I love this name. I have a Zebra Finch named Gabriel. He was named after a character in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I also used to know a really cute little boy named Gabriel. His father was a Gothic Elitist. He named him after the angel in hopes that he would find himself to be strong and righteous in his life.
#25 is the name Samuel. My cousin’s name is Samuel. I think it’s a cool name.
#26 is the name Ryan. I know lots of Ryans. I’m not worn out on the name though, and I have an ongoing “tv crush” on the guy from the show Oddities, who’s name is Ryan. He’s just so handsome, I can’t help but admire him and his AWESOME personality.
#27 is the name Lucas.
#28 is the name John. This is another name that is forever in the top 100.
#29 is the name Nathan. I know a few Nathans.
#30 is the name Isaac. I don’t think I’ve met an Isaac. It’s a cool name to look at. It’ll be interesting to meet someone with this name some day

On the girl’s side, #21 is the name Grace.
#22 is the name Hannah. I use this name for side characters in my stories, namely the short stories. I’m not particularly fond of the name, but I don’t hate it. I do enjoy pronouncing it HAH-nah though.
#23 is the name Amelia. When I was a little girl, Amelia Earhart was my hero. I loved that she was a strong, brave woman. I naturally gravitated towards her when we were forced to pick a historical figure to research and place on a pedestal. As such, I will always have a place in my heart for this name.
#24 is the name Harper. I like this name because of Harper Lee, the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
#25 is the name Lillian. I actually prefer this name over Lily. They’re pretty high on my list of common names that I really, really love.
#26 is the name Samantha. I’ve met a lot of Samanthas. Shockingly, they’ve all had fair hair and a stalwart demeanor.
#27 is the name Evelyn. This is one of those retro names that I love. I love to use it in writing, but it’s fantastic meeting people with this name too. I’m eager for the day that I see some little girl run by and her Mom calls after her, “Evelyn, get back here!”. That will easily make me smile.
#28 is the name Victoria. I love this name. I think it would be a cute girl-girl twin name if it was pair with Elizabeth.
#29 is the name Brooklyn. This is actually the only Brook-name that I don’t internally cringe at.
#30 is the name Zoe. Zoe is the name of one of my characters in my series. I’m quite fond of her. 6,383 little girls were named Zoe last year.

My favorite names in the twenties section of the Top 30 names has to be #24 on the boys’ side, Gabriel, and #23 on the girls’ side, Amelia. My least favorites were #27 on the boys’ side, Lucas, and #21 on the girls’ side, Grace. I have nothing agains the name Lucas. I just didn’t like it as much as the other names. As for Grace, I’m just sick of hearing the name. It’s a virtue name that everyone seems to use, especially uber-christian-bible-thumping families. It’s as over-used as the name Faith.

#31 on the boys’ side was only roughly 10 births away from being #30. It’s the name Dylan, with 9,920 names, as opposed to Isaac’s 9,928 names.
#32 is the name Caleb. I love this name. One of my favorite characters in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series was named Caleb.
#33 is the name Christian.
#34 is the name Landon. This name reminds me of an episode of Family Guy. I can’t get past that.
#35 is the name Jonathan. I know a few Jonathans.
#36 is the name Carter. That good Josh I mentioned earlier, the one I knew in Des Moines. His name Was Josh Carter. He was awesome. I love this name because of him.
#37 is the name Luke. This is a pretty decent name, in my opinion.
#38 is the name Owen. I really like this name too. The only person I’ve met with this name, that I’m aware of, was an older gentleman. He liked to travel, so he had a lot of fun stories about river rafting and adventuring through white water rapids. He was a pretty cool guy.
#39 is the name Brayden. I used to work with a lady that named her son Brayden, back in 2012. He was one of 8,451 babies with that name last year apparently.
#40 is the name Gavin. This name seems to hover around my best friend for some reason. I don’t know why. We haven’t been able to figure it out. It’s an interesting name though. Who wouldn’t like it?

#31 on the girls’ side is the name Layla.
#32 is the name Hailey. I’m not fond of this name because I haven’t met a Hailey that wasn’t rude to me right off the bat. I hope that changes.
#33 is the name Leah. I don’t like this name, but every Leah I’ve met has been incredibly nice.
#34 is the name Kaylee. This name seems to have been climbing the charts. I remember a lot of controversy about it on the baby name forums because of that poor little girl that died that is similar to this one.
#35 is the name Anna. Pretty old name.
#36 is the name Aaliyah.
#37 is the name Gabriella. This might seem crazy, but I don’t like this name as much as I like the masculine name Gabriel. I think it’s because I don’t like the nickname Gabby.
#38 is the name Allison. I’m using this in my series.
#39 is the name Nevaeh. My cousin’s half-sister has a daughter named Navaeh. She’s cute.
#40 is the name of one of my other nieces, Alexis. I adore her and her name too!

My favorite names for the thirties section of the Top 40 names were Caleb, in slot #32, and Alexis, in slot #40. I adored that character in the Anita Blake series, Caleb. He wasn’t liked by Anita at all. In fact, he constantly seemed to be on a fast track towards death or being seriously injured. I loved him for being a bit of tool and the definite underdog. I haven’t actually met a real person named Caleb yet. The one’s I’ve heard about haven’t been too wonderful to my acquintances, but I still look forward to meeting a Caleb some day. I love the name, and I can’t imagine not having some bit of care for the person that has it. As for the name Alexis, I love it. I was actually pretty indifferent to it before my niece was born. She owns it though and she’s such an awesome kid. I brag about her all the time. My least favorite names in this section were Landon, in slot #34, and Hailey, in slot #32. The name Landon makes me think of that episode in Family Guy where Peter goes undercover at Meg’s school. If I try to move past that, all that comes to mind is a bully. I just don’t like the name, sorry. As for Hailey, I’m still looking for a nice Hailey. I used to like this name, but I come across Haileys somewhat frequently, and they’ve always been rude. If they’re kids, they tend to come across as spoiled to. I know not all Haileys are rude, is the thing. That’s why I get frustrated, because I seem to meet at least one new one a year and they all seem to give off this same base impression. That’s why it’s my least favorite. I did use it in a story though. There is that.

In the last section, we have #41, the name Wyatt. I like this name. I’ve met two people this this name, and both of them have told me they were made fun of for it. I really like it though.
#42 is the name Isaiah. I have a cousin (by marriage) with this name. It’s best if that’s all I say about that.
#43 is the name Henry. My cousin Tyler’s cat’s name is Henry. I really like this name for humans, but it fits this cat like a glove. I like to be a weirdo can call him King Henrik and Heinrich for fun though.
#44 is the name Eli. This name is fairly androgenous, and that’s what I like about it.
#45 is the name Hunter. I’ve known someone close to my age named Hunter. He was nice. We had to hang out because our parents wanted to hang out. It was one of those awkward things. I also know a little boy named Hunter. I had to baby-sit him once, but I didn’t do too great of a job. He’s the first and only toddler that I ever tried to take care of. That experience is also the reason I don’t think it’d be good for me to have kids. I didn’t do well with this kid for a few hours, if I had my own, it’d be for a lifetime. I already feel bad for these hypothetical children.
#46 is the name Jack. My maternal grandfather’s name was Jack. He was very revered and very loved in my family. He’s sorely missed. I suspect that one of my cousins might use his name if they ever have children.
#47 is the name Evan. I like the name Evan for boys. I know the really pretty lady from the show Oddities is named Evan, which gives me mixed emotions about it being used for girls. That lady is pretty epic. I still prefer this name for boys though. I’m glad it’s in the Top 50 for boys.
#48 is the name Jordan. My bias here is again based on people I’ve known. I have VERY mixed feelings about this name for either gender.
#49 is the name Nicholas. I love this name. I really like the name Nick, but I LOVE when I meet a guy that actually goes by Nicholas. It is SO COOL. Maybe a few out of the 7,653 boys named Nicholas in 2012 will actually go by Nicholas. Here’s hoping!
#50 is the name Tyler. My cousin, who is only about 11 months younger than me, is a Tyler. We were once very close, like brother and sister. People actually mistook us for siblings a few times. I still love him like a brother, and I always will.

#41 on the girls’ side was probably made popular due to the retro trend and the memory of the beautiful Audrey Hepburn. Audrey is a lovely name.
#42 is the name Savannah. When I think of this name, I think of a character from Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. Savannah was never one of my favorites, but she is an interesting character. It’s a great series, and I’m sad to see it end.
#43 is the name Sarah.
#44 is the name Alyssa. I don’t remember what spelling my mom used, but she wanted to name me Alyssa or Alisha, something like that. My dad wasn’t having it. I’m thankful for my name. I meet a lot of Alyssas. They’re lovely, but there’s a lot. Also, my childhood best friend named her daughter Alisa, that’s pretty close.
#45 is the name Claire. All I think of is Resident Evil, but that so isn’t a bad thing.
#46 is the name Taylor. I don’t like this as a girls name. I just don’t. I know it’s considered Gender Neutral, but I don’t like it.
#47 is the name Riley. A former co-worker named her baby Riley. She’s turning 1 years old soon. She was one of 4,786 baby girls born last year.
#48 is the name Camila. I haven’t come across this name in person before. I’m shocked it’s so high on the list.
#49 is the name Arianna.
#50 is the name Ashley.

In this section my favorite boys name was probably Tyler (#50). My cousin means a lot to me and that puts his name in pretty high regard. I liked a lot of the boys names though, such as Nicholas (#49), Henry (#43), Eli (#44), and Jack (#46). I would just have to say that Tyler is my favorite of those though, for family reasons. For the girls, my favorite name was Claire (#45). Yay for Resident Evil! My least favorite boys name was Isaiah (#42), for family reasons that I am choosing not to go into. For the girls, it was Arianna(#49). When I was in middle school, there were two girls that bullied me mercilessly. We hated each other. One’s name was Adrianna and the other’s name was Bethany. They were best friends and I have no idea why they hated me so much. They were huge bullies though, and they acted like they were better than everyone else. They weren’t. The name Arianna is just one letter from Adrianna. My bad history with the name Adrianna overshadows a few names that I would’ve probably liked otherwise.

 
That was the Top 50 of the updated list! What were your favorite names? Which names did you like the least? Why did you like certain names or dislike certain names over others? Are there any names you find to be over-used? Are you excited to see any of these names on the Top 50 list? Feel free to commment, I’d love to know.

References:
http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/popularnames.cgi

Like the raindrops of a brainstorm, refused ideas begin to pile up, either literally or simply in the mind. What is one to do at this point? Inspiration must be courted —it’s certainly not about to pop up like some unexpected friend… or is it? Just ask Irving Harper.

Harper, the director of design at George Nelson Associates in the early 1960s, discovered the stress-relieving –and triumphantly transformative –power of crumpled paper while designing some of the eras most memorable interior design trends; he is responsible for the creation of the marshmallow sofa and atomic clock, and started his paperwork (doh ho ho ho ho!) as a means of stress-relief.

Image from Design*Sponge

Isn’t it delicious when hobbies eclipse our “normal” jobs?  For the last four decades, Harper has been putting origami to shame, creating sculptures out of paper, wood, and wire, even incorporating unexpected items such as pine cones and glass eyes; his work inspires this all-too-anxious bag lady, particularly because his initial inspiration was borne out of nervous energies.  A new book, Irving Harper: Works in Paper is now out from Skira Rizzoli Publishing; it is a must-have, as it’s as close as most of us will  get to owning one of Harper’s eclectic pieces of stress-management magic.  Feast your eyes on some of his astounding artistry!

English: Channing Tatum at the ‘Fighting’ press junket at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Taken by his official site ChanningTatumUnwrapped.com. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Description:

Eighteen year old Harper has grown up under her career Marine of a father’s thumb. Ready to live life her own way and experience things she’s only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father’s unit; she’s on her way to college at San Diego State University.

Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family and emotions. Some she wasn’t expecting yet, and others she never knew she was missing.

She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with her boyfriend Brandon, and her roommate’s brother Chase. Covered in tattoos, known for fighting in the Underground and ridiculously muscled…they’re exactly what she was always warned to stay away from, but just what she needs. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both adore and would do anything for Harper, including stepping back if it means she’s happy.

Her first year away is turning out to be near perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.

Sandy’s Review:

Molly McAdams has a thing for love triangles and boy was this one is a doozy. The two men in this book of course the good guy and the bad boy. Harper has lived a very structured life as a military brat so when she goes off to college she wants to experience everything. Of course she meets a gorgeous straight laced guy (Brandon) who sweeps her off her feet. Then there’s the bad boy (Chase) who she cannot resist. The drama from this situation is crazy at times and you feel relief once she chooses one but of course it is not that simple. Molly McAdams has to throw a curve ball in and I will never forgive her for it. This book was heartbreaking on every level, so make sure the Kleenex is not to far away.

Purchase book here:Taking Chances

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• Stealing Harper by Molly McAdams ~TEASER #6~ (flirtyanddirtybookblog.com)
• ~STEALING HARPER by Molly McAdams~ Cover Reveal and Synopsis (flirtyanddirtybookblog.com)

Peace, Love, and Scav,
UChicago Girl Problems BFF

Notes:

Harper saw an increase in WAR last week, despite a poor hitting week due to improvement in his defense metric.  For most of this season Harper has had an uneventful time in the field.  He didn’t have a chance to demonstrate his + range he showed last year in CF

Desmond added a week of #steak to his WAR with a big uptick in the batting component

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Toronto Star – Roll back corporate tax cuts to pay for transit Corporations have never had it so good in Canada
Canada has emerged relatively unscathed from the recent global economic slowdown, boasting growth since 2009, unlike our G20 counterparts. Still, Canada and Ontario have reduced taxes on big business to skeletal levels with little or no economic stimulus to show for it. These corporate tax reductions are precisely why we cannot afford to pay for transit and infrastructure. They need to be reversed — and the additional revenue should be tied to transit expansion.

BULLYING AND SECRECY

iPolitics (Michael Harris) – Harper comms 101: When cornered, blame a bureaucrat
It is bred in the bones of this regime. Everyone knows that the Harper Conservatives have made a policy out of excluding sitting MPs from events to announce federal initiatives in their ridings. It’s dirtbag politics at its grimiest and the message is as unambiguous as a punch in the gut: “All goodies come from Steve, not your MP, or the government of Canada.”

Toronto Star (Editorial) -Ontario judge blasts Harper government’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda
We’ve known for some time that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “tough on crime” agenda carries a stiff and wasteful price tag. Canadians are spending $5 billion more a year on the criminal justice system since the Tories were elected in 2006, even as the crime rate has plummeted. Those billions would be better invested in economic growth, productivity and jobs.

What’s less well-recognized is the corrosive effect the government’s punitively blind obsession with crime is having on the justice system itself. Changes to the Criminal Code have cast what one respected jurist calls a “dark shadow” on foundational principles of proportionality and restraint that hark back to Biblical law thousands of years ago. Today sentencing seems to be more about exacting vengeance than about deterrence, rehabilitation and making good.

CBC News – Emails shed light on politics of RCMP report release
Newly-released documents obtained under Access to Information legislation shed more light on the role played by the office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews in how the RCMP communicates with reporters and the public.

That letter, released to reporters soon after it was sent to Paulson, blasted the commissioner for the scope of the report, which Toews characterized as analysis that “confirmed issues that we have all known to exist within the Force.”

He ordered Paulson back to the drawing board and gave him three weeks to come up with an action plan. Toews’ correspondence also made it clear he was not happy that Commissioner Paulson had talked about the gender based audit to reporters before he’d had the chance to see it with his own eyes.

Toronto Star (Linda McQuaig) Harper stokes resentments in discreet class war
Canadians don’t like Harper’s anti-worker agenda — when they notice it. That’s why there’s been such a public outcry since the temporary foreign worker program was exposed as a mechanism by which the Harper government has flooded the country with hundreds of thousands of cheap foreign workers, thereby suppressing Canadian wages in the interests of helping corporations.

Apart from this clumsy fiasco, the Harperites have been adroit at keeping their anti-worker bias under the radar. Instead, they’ve directed their attacks against unions, portraying them as undemocratic organizations run by “union bosses” who ignore the interests of ordinary workers.

HARPER GOVERNMENT JOB CREATION – FOR TFW, LAWYERS AND ADVERTISING AGENCIES

G&M – Harper cites civic pride in defending ‘economic action plan’ ads
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is justifying the more than $100 million his  government has spent on economic advertising by pointing to Canadians’  confidence in the economy. Taxpayer-funded government ads are supposed to inform citizens about programs and services, according to Treasury Board guidelines.

Guelph Mercury – Temporary foreign worker program could be distorting labour market needs: report
Canada’s temporary foreign worker program was under renewed scrutiny Tuesday, as a new report suggested the increasingly controversial system “could be distorting” the natural supply and demand of the country’s labour market.

The study from the University of Calgary’s school of public policy suggests Canada isn’t facing a wide-scale labour shortage, but rather is experiencing a “serious mismatch” between the skills of its residents and the demands of the labour market.

CBC – Temporary foreign workers hired in areas with EI claimants
The minister responsible for the temporary foreign worker program was told last year that employers were hiring temporary foreign workers in the same jobs and same locations as Canadians who were collecting employment insurance, CBC News has learned.

On May 29, 2012, the deputy minister for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada wrote a briefing note to the minister, Diane Finley, which cited four examples in which there was deemed to be a “disconnect” between the temporary foreign worker and employment insurance programs.

One example cited in the briefing note revealed that “in January 2012, Albertan employers received positive confirmation for 1,261 TFW (Temporary Foreign Worker) positions for food counter attendants. At the same time, nearly 350 people made a claim for EI who had cited significant experience in the same occupation and province.“

NO SCIENCE, NO EVIDENCE, NO CONSULTATION, NO COOPERATION

G&M – Scientists find new obstacles to freshwater research base
Scientists who study the effects of pollutants on fresh water say they are being barred from the Experimental Lakes Area and their work is in jeopardy despite Ontario’s promise to put up money to keep it operating.

The federal Conservative government stopped most scientists from entering the world-renowned freshwater research station in northwestern Ontario at the beginning of April, saying the ELA no longer fits with the mandate of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

CBC.ca- Canada drops out of race to tap methane hydrates
Canada is abandoning a 15-year program that was researching ways to tap a potentially revolutionary energy source, just as Japan is starting to use the results to exploit the new fossil-fuel frontier: methane hydrates…

Despite the success, Canadian federal funding from Natural Resources Canada for research into exploiting methane hydrates was cut as of March 31 — just a couple of weeks after the offshore production tests in Japan. The ministry told CBC News the decision was made in 2012.

Huff Post – National Household Survey That Replaced Long-Form Census Is Unreliable: Experts
Economists and statisticians are skeptical about the accuracy and usefulness of data that begin to trickle in this week from the inaugural 2011 National Household Survey. The Conservative government decided in 2010 that the survey would replace the mandatory long-form census, despite their acknowledgement that the decision was made without consultation, an ensuing outcry over the hasty move, and warnings it would jeopardize the quality of Canadian information.

Canadian Association of University Teachers – Transformation of NRC short-sighted, misguided and unbalanced
“Basic research that forms the core of all scientific advances and innovation is under siege,” warned Turk. “It is disingenuous of Minister Goodyear to suggest that universities will pick up the slack left by the abandonment of basic science at the NRC because his government has drastically cut back funding for fundamental academic research.”

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Original description by Ted Buracas: Stephen Harper at the Telus Convention Centre on January 23, 2006. He’s just won a minority government, and is the Prime Minister elect. Description by the uploader: Stephen Harper gives his victory speech to party faithful in the Telus Convention Centre, Calgary, Alberta. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Preston Manning (former leader of the Reform Party of Canada) at British Columbia Universities’ Model Parliament – Victoria, BC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, Yeah, I’m active. I walk Trudy four times a day.

But really, the only way to keep from vanishing – surrendering to bread and circuses (in my case, bread and less circuses because I don’t have TV) the only way to survive is to keep knowledgeable about what’s going on, and to put a word in, now and then.

I’m watching the Harper Conservatives with great dis-ease. The background Harper, et al,  were covering is beginning to seep out like a bad smell. As an Albertan, I can remember some of the incarnations of the machine. First there was Preston Manning and the Reform party, which became the Alliance, which merged with the Progressive Conservatives in 2004. The Conservatives (they wisely dropped the Progressive) formed a minority government in 2006, and have been with us ever since.

There is this whole sub-text, though. Some of the things we weren’t suppose to notice:

• Harper was President of the National Citizens Coalition from 1998 to 2002.

• Economics Professor Robert Mansell, a member of the group in the University of Calgary known as the “Calgary School” introduced him to Preston Manning, in about 1987.
• Harper went straight from high school to the U of T to the mail room in Imperial Oil, although not in the same place his father worked. And then shortly to the University of Calgary, school of Economics.
• Imperial Oil has had a research facility at the University of Calgary since 1961. There is a very tight tie with the oil sands.

Question: Does Imperial Oil have a scholarship program for its employees?

Ok — the last is just spleen, as we used to say.

So: write down the Conservative platform and recent actions. Then read about the Calgary School and the National Citizens Coalition. I’m not saying. Just have a look.

This week we have 4 shows, 3 in upstate New York: Hamburg 5/14, Rochester 5/15, Syracuse 5/16 and Boardman, Ohio on 5/17, which is a great opportunity for blues, world music, harmonica, and slide guitar fans near the Cleveland and Akron areas to hear a unique aspect of rock music.

I always post new tour dates in the “Tour” section of http://www.AngeloSantelli.com . The band’s official website Harper.biz is always updated first with new dates. I hope to see you guys at a show soon!

-Angelo

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A young woman playing the celtic harp on the city wall of Saint Malo, Brittany, France. 2010.

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Below is a video I came across last week week of a TED talk about charity. In this video, presenter Dan Pallotta goes on to talk about overhead, and how it’s not the Big Bad Wolf many people seem to think it is. Rather than write a lengthy post explaining the video, I invite you to watch it for yourself, and comment below on what you think.

Dan’s company spent 40% on overhead, compared to the 82% the United Nations is currently spending. While I don’t have a detailed report of where the overhead is going specifically, if that percentage is helping to raise more money for the convention, than I’m happy with my tax dollars going to it. Canada is now the only country in the United Nations not taking part in this program, and the way our government went about withdrawing really concerns me.

The Conservatives did not give the United Nations the one year notice they were required to, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he did not receive written notice until Thursday afternoon that week – 3 days after CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) told CBC News they had delivered the letter. Before this happened, I didn’t pay attention to politics at all – but now I’m doing all the research I can on each party to try and get an idea of who I want to vote for in the next election. One thing is for certain – it won’t be the Conservatives.

Harper Conservatives receive harsh criticism for abolishing the Canada Census as the low response rate from the new voluntary “National Household Survey”, renders the data practically useless.