The One of a Kind Show - Toronto

Definitely an experience! Should probably be called "Many Things of Many Kinds" because there were hundreds of vendors (painters, clothiers, potters, wood turners, home decorators, jewelers, soap makers, health food suppliers, a couple of every kind) with thousands of products they wanted you to buy. Huge crowd. We even lost each other once among the zillions of people. The mass of people makes it a practical impossibility to walk the rows in your own pace. But that's probably the idea. Make you to stop at every booth. As I saw, we were not the only ones ending up completely exhausted by the end of our tour. It was really a great relief to arrive home and have a well-deserved rest.

Still, we saw some truly fantastic ideas, so it was worth it. Some beautiful pottery by Anne Armstrong, Deborah Doran and Melissa Schooley (Raging Bowl Pottery), exquisite turned wood pens by Larry Tucker, cool cutting boards by Gary & Nick Kennell, or highly unorthodox wooden seats by Guerrilla Design.

The show is on until March 24th.

The end of an Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke, one of my dearest Sci-Fi writers has passed on to another reality.

There was a period I was just reading Arthur C. Clarke books. One after the other. The Prelude to Space, his first published book, then 2001: A Space Odyssey to be followed by three more in the series, the Rama series, Sunstorm, and then on. All filled with great vision, adventure, humanity and of course brilliant fantasy. Fantasy that while always probing ultimate possibilities in space exploration and the possible scenarios for encounters with beings from other worlds, was never far removed from plausibility defined by the excellent scientist in him. His short stories ("The Nine Billion Names of God" from 1954 is my all-time favourite) were also written with remarkable skills that engage the mind in challenging the boundaries of possibilities.

"overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out"
from The Nine Billion Names of God

Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong

Many people say and write many things about Islam nowadays. It is a hot topic, no two ways about it. I wish a great number of other critically important things received this much attention. Still, the reason Islam has suddenly become so relevant is probably that is was relatively unknown (as in 'it does not exist if it does not affect me') to the average person of the west. So when on September 11, 2001 believers of Islam committed unprecedented acts of terror against the United States, people had to suddenly realize how little they knew about the religion that sprang from the Prophet Muhammad's teachings. People started desperately looking for answers, explanations, motivations, or at least some understanding. Karen Armstrong's book attempts to provide the historical perspective for those who wish to have a better understanding of how Islam came into being, it's expansion into a vast empire whose influence has been a determining force shaping world history, politics, religion, and culture. The author also offers a brief summary of Islam's current issues.

I found the book to be highly informative, packed with great content, especially for the pre-20th-century period, written with an engaging style. The reality is that one cannot expect that an introductory-level book of mere 272 pages could possibly cover all aspects of Islam. One has to compromise in one's expectations of what is relevant. Karen Armstrong attempts to focus the reader's attention on facts of history spanning from the early days of Islam. She does not offer value judgment. She sticks to those facts of history that can be and have been well researched and not challengeable from the perspective of current events. This, in my view, is a good thing.

As her other relevant books on related topics (History of God, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism or The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions), this one is a well-researched, interesting read. One that stays away from the trap of overlaying history with various filters of ideology and political or religious bias.

Let it snow, let it snow!

We are gearing up to breaking our all-time snowfall record (just over 2 metres) of the 1938/39 winter. This year alone we have received 177 cm of the fluffy stuff. Starting this afternoon another 25 cm is on its way from the sky above. I think we are good shape for the new records considering it's only March 7th, and this month alone is usually responsible for almost a quarter of the snow in a season.

I like snow a lot. Maybe not this much, though.