Mega Moon Adventures From a Lost Inlet

And so it was. The opportunity arose to have ourselves a little portage, and then witness the full moon rise whilst meandering about the ocean. Our vessel was a canoe, and our velocity was governed solely by our arms. After a rewarding portage, we boarded the nautical watercraft and broke away from the soupy saltwater inlet known as the Goose Spit. After testing the reliability of the canoe through an ancient and highly secretive set of orchestrated maneuvers, we pointed our bow towards the city of Vancouver. With Denman and Hornby Islands to our right, and Texada Island to our left, we positioned ourselves perfectly for an ocean view Jacques Cartier would have been envious of. As the moon's outer edge began to break through the rusty hue hanging over the great city of the Best Coast, we got our first glimpse of the Mega Moon. I was in absolute awe of the power of Earth's primary satellite, as its influence was all around us. From the steady rocking of the tide to the creatures taking advantage of the changing water levels, Mega Moon was a palpable force. With the moon now suspended above the smog by commanding cosmic forces, it finally revealed its true beauty. One could distinctly make out the lighter lunar highlands, and with even greater clarity, the darker lunar maria. Its cosmic reflection in the oceanic mirror before us stole our breath. Marvel and wonder were upon us, and we all appreciated the beauty with which only nature could produce. For us, Mega Moon provided an efficacious partner, and we were very humbled guests.

(forgive me)

Oh Internets... as I'm sure you have guessed by now, I have met someone else. That someone is life. I have however, come back, and I ask for your forgiveness. I'll try harder to stay committed, as I think the two of you can co-exist nicely. Let's move on together shall we? So it has been 12 months to the day since I arrived on planet Vancouver Island, and it continues to amaze me. Its roots are twisting and turning around my heart, and I can't imagine going to sleep without the ocean breeze or going on a fern-less walk through the woods. Every weekend something new is discovered - take the picture below for example. A random hike eventually led to an amazing waterfall with a few nice chaps serenading mother nature with their guitars. Edward Sharpe would be proud of those folks. I will be posting with greater frequency, so I hope you all stick with me for the ride.

Heavy

Idle No More, Occupy (insert your city), Arab Spring... what is happening here? Are these just the fashionable proclamations of a bored youth? Blind societies voicing discontent with their own life decisions? People frustrated by a poor economy? No, No, and wellll kinda. I think this last point starts to scratch the surface, but it is much deeper than that. These aren't uneducated movements, and they certainly aren't just gatherings of naive "commies and hippies." While at an Occupy rally last year, I was in a small discussion group with 2 university professors, a medical doctor, and a lawyer. This wasn't a gathering of nihilists, these were people genuinely concerned with the state of our communities. A look at what has been happening around the world hints at a common thread. The arteries of the world have just been given a shot of discourse-tinged adrenaline. A confidence is now running through the veins our world's inhabitants, and I like it. The courage to stand up for what you believe in is spreading quicker than skinny jeans. While we still sit with embarrassing voter apathy in North America (just over 60% voted Stevie Harps in), people are getting frustrated. Frustrated with inequality, environmental degradation, corporate hegemony, government dominance, lingering sexism in the workforce, so on and so forth. This is global angst. I don't have to agree with everything other members of a particular movement believe in, but it is an amazing thing to find common ground and stand together on united issues. The fact that apathy is being eroded is a great sign. I just hope this societal awakening can create enough of a seismic shift that it reaches everyone from safe suburban homes to decaying housing complexes. The question is... will it be enough? Here in Canada, we have Enbridge's push to dissect our surreal Great Bear Rain forest, a Conservative government hell-bent on crippling environmental protection for our lakes and lands, and the usual Corporate supremacy. There are only so many times you can steal cookies out of the cookie jar before it is empty. The oven is broken, no cookie dough is left in the kitchen, and we are going to have to go to our neighbor's house for supplies. But guess what? They are running low too, and they just upped their prices. Let's think of our next generations folks. Kid's kids and things like that. Ok, next blog to be lighter.