Back - I hope!

Not that I've REALLY been away - more that it's been a busy few weeks and I have been unable to blog as I would hope.

I've wanted to express my relief at the rescue of the Chilean miners this week who were pulled out of a collapsed mine after 68 days underground ... and my disappointment at some dismissing this as just another flash in the pan Princess Diana dies/Paris Hilton gets arrested story.

I've wanted to express how impressed I am at how people have come together in light of so many LGBT youth who have been bullied to the point of suicide/suicide attempts during this still-young school year ... and who knows how many before.

I've wanted to explain how important it is, as municipal elections come up here in Ottawa (and I think Ontario more broadly), and mid-term elections are coming up in the States, what an important civic duty voting is - especially in the United States where the only party worth their citizens' trust runs the risk of losing Congress this time around.

At the same time, I've wanted to express how that party needs to stay true to their ideals - especially the current Democratic administration, for whom I have nearly-unlimited respect in the light of healthcare reform, financial reform, etc., but in whom I am currently very disappointed as they appeal the Federal bench's repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a policy they express disagreement with in the first place. You just got your way with no political fallout folks - come on.

I've wanted to express my sadness this week as celebrity couples (shock of shocks I know, but ones who seem to have cared about each other) Courteney Cox and David Arquette, and Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, have broken up (nowhere quite near the level of the other stories of course ... but nonetheless caught my eye).

I have done all those things now - although in nowhere near as timely a fashion as I'd like, nor in as much detail as I'd have liked. That's just the kind of week it's been ... in OUR world as a whole, and mine in particular.

May God bless you as we head into a new one. XO