Chronologically challenged

Not only have I just lost a whole day (May 3rd fell into the ether somewhere over the Pacific between LA and Auckland), I also appear to have mislaid 3 weeks...I did go to Canada, honest. I loved Vancouver. And I really did see miles and miles of untouched mountains that could almost let you forget the man's scars on the world. It's just that I'm not that competent at this digital diary thing, and am still getting to grips with my camera. Anyway, once we've overcome the logistical problem of Canada images being on Pat's mum's desktop on the 21st floor in Vancouver and me being in a full-on Korean internet games room on the other side of the world, something might be posted.

In the meantime, here's Bill Reid's sculpture, which is in the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver: Raven Discovering Mankind in the Clamshell.




The raven finds a clam shell washed up on an island and there seem to be people living inside. He prises the shell open and coaxes the little people out by saying that if they face this world they'll grow tall. The raven is known for being a trickster - he lies, cheats and steals and is my favourite incidentally - so they're probably wise to be cautious. Anyhow, the little people do make an unglamorous escape from their bolthole and I think I'm right in saying that this marked the beginning of the Haida Nation on Queen Charlotte Islands, a nation that is now particularly known for its art.

That's an eagle's head on the raven's backside - the Raven and Eagle clans are affiliated in some way (and now my knowledge runs out) and so everytime one clan is depicted, the other must also be represented. An upside-down eagle on the raven's tail isn't all that complimentary though.