Ideeahs

Hi there...long time no speak.  It has not been due to a lack of ideeahs.  Lack of time is my excuse.  Not a good one.  If you want to listen to me speak about my book "Avoiding the Blues" listen to this interview, aired on November 15th.  Hope you like it, get why I wrote the book and maybe, if it sparks your interest, gets you to buy it!  :-) Audio Recording: 'EP. 480 - Olivier De Sousa; Linda Andersson' From 'Cutting Room Floor' Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

I was just catching up on the news and Google News had these two stories next to each other.  My hometown and my adopted hometown.  There are so many ways one can contrast Montreal and Vancouver.  Weather is definitely one of the ways. Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

March! Finally the month where, in this part of the world, things become habitable again. Sometime over the next few weeks our gardens and lawns will start peaking through the melting snow.  The snow will recede leaving in its wake the gravel and sand that has been spread on surfaces for the last four months.  Neighbours will again start speaking to each other as they leave or enter their homes, no longer in a rush to get in from the biting cold and driving wind.  Our moods will improve as the smell of wet earth, three month old dog shit and flowers lifts into the milder air. The question of why (and how) so many people live in such imposing conditions will recede into memory as we once again consider ourselves lucky to live in such a unique, safe, prosperous corner of the world. Depending on the source this was either the coldest winter since 1979 or since 1904.  All I know is that I am so sick and tired of it. March, I welcome you with joy and hope. Let me know what you t

You may have read over the last week that the Mars One Mission announced its 100 finalists to become the first humans on the red planet.  Fifty men and fifty women have been selected to proceed to round three of the selection process.  This once again reminds me of what an amazing animal us human beings are. The need to know more, to explore, to go where humans have never gone is so strong across humanity when taken as a whole - as a system.  As individuals we may not all share the same level of interest in climbing Everest, diving into the Mariana Trench, walking on the Moon or, now, taking a one way trip to Mars.  As a group of seven billion we are remarkably adventurous however and have that inquisitive minority to thank for much of the progress, and leaps, we have made to date. Even if many of the discoveries stemming from these adventures can be used by those less interested in the greater good it still is true that, on the whole, they  build human knowledge and therefore inc

Hello world.  It's been sometime (just over two years!) since I have written to the blogosphere.  Who reads?  Who cares?  Who cares! For those of you who have read past blogs you'll know that there are two topics I have often written about.  One is Japan and the other is the use of rules in our society.  This post marries both topics. One of the things that most impresses me about Japan is the respect that its citizens seem to have towards one another, towards public property and personal space.  Many say this is due to the close quarters the Japanese live in.  I happen to think there is much more to it than the close quarters. I can recall multiple examples of respect but the one that pops into my head now is riding on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo.  Close to 4 million people ride that line on a daily basis.  I rode it one morning during rush hour.  I was in a sea of humanity.  At most a few centimetres separated me from my fellow riders.  More impressive than the sheer num