Music Before the Money

Brian Jones’ Diary By Kim Kinrade will be released as an Ebook in October (We’re aiming for the 15th). Once the book is online we will post the link.

In my novel Ice Break, the platform of the book was a fictional icebreaker named the CCGS Canadian. It was longer and wider than a football field and was built with four specific purposes: ice navigation, scientific exploration, military support and tourism. And although the mammoth never really existed what is happening now with a present-day ship bears some resemblance to the purpose of the ship in my novel.

At 392.5 feet in length, 80 feet in beam, and over 15,000 tons deadweight, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent - home ported in Dartmouth, Nove Scotia - is the flagship of the Canadian ice breaking fleet.

For over thirty years, the Louis has successfully served as an arctic research platform for the international scientific community. In addition to her scientific duties, she has also provided escort and resupply services to isolated settlements and commercial operations in the arctic.

A typical crew call for the ship is 13 officers and 33 crewmen. The crew is assigned to different departments, such as the operations department and the engineering department. The departments work together as a team to make sure the ship completes its missions efficiently and safely.

Although Louis is capable of breaking very thick ice, rule number one in ice breaking is, “if possible, avoid the ice.” This is simply because it takes longer, consumes more fuel, and produces more wear and tear on the ship when battering through the ice. The most efficient way to break through ice is to find the weakest points in the ice, such as existing cracks or open areas called “leads.” When there are none, the ship will look for “first year ice”, which is often flat and 2-6 feet thick. As sea ice gets older it becomes considerably stronger, and changes color to a distinctive deep blue - up to 15 feet!

At this very moment the CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent is in the Beaufort Sea asisting the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute with the experiments on ocean currents.

Go to: http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/dispatch2007/index2007.html or click on the link to the right and see what they’re doing!

The term “New Age” has differing connotations depending on with whom you speak. However, most New Age topics adhere to a personal spiritual development. In my mind the simple definition (I will emphasize “simple”) is: the philosophy of people who are genuinely interested in learning more about who they really are, where they came from, and why they are here.

There are as many offshoots of rthe New Age movement as there are Burger Kings in the U.S. but on the whole the New Age movement provides the framework and the tools to assist people with their own personal growth and spiritual development.

The “movement” part of the monicker is somewhat removed from individual spiritual development. In other words each person is on his or her own journey of learning, adventure, and discovery.

One common thread of the New Age culture is the belief that our planet and its population are literally moving into a New Age. This New Age is one of awakened consciousness where people give up their limited third-dimensional survival mode of existence and awaken to a higher, more enlightened world. This coming New Age is an era of harmony, progress, knowing, and enlightenment.

Andrew Lutts of the Salem New Age Center has compiled an unofficial list of beliefs that some individuals in New Age may have in common:

1. You create your own reality and destiny. This is a planet of free choice, and you have your own free will.
2. You have certain challenges to face and overcome in this lifetime. If you don’t learn your lessons this time, you’ll get them again.
3. There is no such thing as coincidence.
4. There is more to life than meets the eye, much more.
5. Nothing really matters in this life unless it is done for the benefit of others.
6. We are not alone.
7. We are multidimensional beings currently having a human experience.
8. We are all receiving more help than we know, from angels, spirit guides, ascended masters and others.
9. We can heal ourselves, our society, and our world.
10. The ultimate transformation for mankind is ascension.

Whatever anyone thinks of New Age I believe that anyone heading in in a direction of self-discovery will uncover clues about themselves that can only lead to a better existence.

Press: Does it bother you that you can’t hear what you sing during concerts?
John: No, we don’t mind. We’ve got the records at home.

Press: How did you find America?
John: Turn left at Greenland.

Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I’m a mocker.

Press: Are you going to have a leading lady for the film you’re about to make?
Paul: We’re trying to get the Queen. She sell in England, you know.

Press: Beethoven figures in one of your songs. What do you think of Beethoven?
Ringo: I love him. Especially his poems.

Press: Can we look forward to any more Beatle movies?
John: Well, there’ll be many more but I don’t know whether you can look forward to them or not.

Press: Did you really use four letter words on the tourists in the Bahamas?
John: What we actually said was “Gosh”.
Paul: We may have also said “Heavens!”.
John: Couldn’t have said that, Paul. More than four letters.

Press: Do any of you have ulcers?
George: None that we’ve noticed.

Press: Do you fight amongst yourselves?
John: Only in the mornings.

Press: Do you get much fan mail?
Ringo: We get 2,000 letters a day.
John: We answer every one of them personally.

Press: Do you have any special advice for teenagers?
John: Don’t get pimples.

Press: Do you like topless bathing suits?
Ringo: We’ve been wearing them for years.

Press: Do you wear wigs?
John: If we do, they must be the only ones with real dandruff.

Press: Don’t you ever get a haircut?
George: I had one yesterday.
Ringo: You should have seen him the day before.

Press (to George): Hi, you’re not married.
George: No, I’m George.