Threads

A thread is a theme on an Internet bulletin board. There can be hundreds of threads running on a bulletin board, some share a commonality, others diverge to travel different paths. You can post to a thread if you are so incline, or you can quietly participate by following threads that interest you. A thread is also a long thin strand of cotton or nylon used for sowing or weaving.
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I am inclined to grasp disparate threads, weave them together, sometimes by force, other times with finesse, then attempt to interpret the results. You’ve heard me talk about threads before, (see opening page article, “Why Blog”). I believe in the intuitive power of threads that run through a being’s life. I believe you become attuned to those threads by keeping a journal, by taking time out to ponder, to reflect, and to meditate upon the intricate symbiotic patterns flaring around you. Think of yourself as a spider at the centre of your web, feeling the vibrations along various filaments, waiting and watching for the moment when several different filaments jiggle informing you a meal waits. Spotting two apparently unrelated threats, jiggling together, detonates an immediate burst of creativity that sets off a shock wave of action down a previously unseen trail. You need to cultivate this ability.
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Let me illustrate a recent detonation.
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Thread No. 1
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Two days ago workopolis.com  released a survey on Canadians’ priority list. (One note, surveys of this nature can usually be extrapolated to include all of North America. While Canadians have unique cultural and linguistic attributes, our cultures have enough similarities to draw general conclusions, if not specific ones. Plus the Internet blurs distinctions, such as boundaries and statehood.)
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The findings in the survey show an 180º degree swing form a survey conducted 5 years ago. Now 44% of Canadian job seekers place family as their No 1 priority.
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Patrick Sullivan, workopolis president said, “Five years ago we were just coming out of the dot.com and careers mattered more than people.” He went on to say, “With the low unemployment rate, perhaps employees are taking back power a little bit and saying family and my work-life balance is important to me.” Remember work-life balance, you’ll hear it repeated often.
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Five years ago the top reason for quitting a job was looking for higher pay, today the top reason for quitting is life-work balance.
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This change points to a cultural shift of huge significance.
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Take the words of Michael O Johnson CEO of Herbalife International.
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 “Corporations are no longer the engines of wealth they once where…” News stories abound about corporations cutting back on pensions and benefits to improve the bottom line.
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A paradigm shift perhaps?
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Thread No. 2
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Hands up anyone who predicted that Barry Manilow would have a NO 1 Chart topping CD (according to Billboard Magazine Feb 10^th) featuring songs from the fifties in 2006! I think I see one hand. I bestow upon you the title of genius.
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Okay, lets ask the questions. Why now? Who spotted the commercial viability of the project? What made this a success?
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What ever you think of Barry Manilow, and there are those who sneer, make snide comments, and denigrate his commercial success. According to Bill Board Magazine Barry Manilow is one of the most successful recording artists of the late twentieth century. He can afford not to care what you think. I’m not his greatest fan, yet I do have his fifties CD. Unchained Melody, originally by the Righteous Brothers, and incidentally one of the top ten most requested songs of all time, gets a credible rendition by Manilow, yet the passion which oozes though the original is lacking. However, the CD is good, and filled with emotions evoked by a lost bye gone era, or perhaps a returning theme to our harried lives?
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Now look to the recent success of people like Michael Buble and Josh Groban, and a trend emerges. The younger generation might deny a return to a gentler past; I see a sea change when you combine these two threads.
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Are we at last recovering our sanity? Can we put time back into our lives? Time for the gentler pursuits of family and friends, and shared meals that last for more that 20 minutes, of cram, bam, thank you Mom, see you later. A time for a reawakening of culture, based on something other than a reality TV show? Time to sit and meditate without guilt?
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The workopolis survey and the popularity of music from the baby boomer past, suggest change is in the wind.Â
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I am reminded of  The Byrd’s song (all you youngsters do a Google search), “Turn, Turn, Turn”. The song is taken from Ecclesiastes 3.1. There is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.”
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My ambition is to help along the change.
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So lets have a long supper with friends.
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Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chilli Pepper:
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Source: The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking  Marcella Hazan
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What You Need
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¼ cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped onion
2 teaspoons chapped garlic
Chopped hot red chilli pepper
3 Tablespoons of chopped Italian Parsley
1 2/3 cups canned Italian Plum Tomatoes with juice chopped (or same fresh in season or hot house grown and ripe)
Salt
1 ½ to 2 pounds of shrimp
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Lots of Grilled or oven browned slices of crusty bread for dipping into the sauce.
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How to Throw it Together
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Add olive oil and onion to the pan and turn on the heat to medium. Cook onion until translucent. Add the garlic, chopped chilli, and cook until just turning a golden colour. Add the parsley stir once or twice, and then add tomatoes. Stir to coat tomatoes with the oil, and then turn down to a steady simmer. Add the salt to taste. Simmer for twenty minutes stirring occasionally. Eventually the oil will break and float free from the tomatoes. Throw in the shrimp, stir to coat the shrimp with the oil/tomato mix and cook cover for three minutes only. Serve with crusty bread and a slightly chilled lighter red wine.
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In the Can Not Resist Category:
“Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.”
–Department of Social Services, Greenville, South Carolina

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