Despondency and spoiled brattism
06.04.10 (9:14 am) [edit]This week I've been told that this 20-year-old dream I've had is not going to be realized (at least, not unless I do something that I do not consider feasible right now). I don't think I need to tell you my mood about it (but if I do, go look at the title again). Consequently, the Venezuelan has told me that I'm acting like a spoiled child. If you can't guess what that's done to my mood, then don't bother reading anymore, because you probably won't get it.
Background
Maybe I should start with some background: I worked in software for many years, but what I really wanted to do was hardware. But I was having too much fun in s/w and hate job hunting, so there I languished. Last November I had the good fortune to be laid off. I'm not the most optimistic Rock, but in this case I was able to be very optimistic (everyone around me was being so palliative and trite, but it was unnecessary). So I went back to school, and took a few courses, and had my resume on Monster.ca, but didn't do any serious job hunting until after exams. Well, earlier this week I got an e-mail from a guy saying "you're useless to us, but I like ya, kid, so I'll give ya some advice". I appreciate him for giving me this information (assuming he knows what he's talking about) but it was so not what I wanted to hear. It got worse and worse as correspondence continued, which was that my previous experience would be worthless as I migrate to hardware, and culminated in him telling me that I will have to go back to school for a minimum of 2 years!!! I am so fed up with school and the public sector! I was like that well before I was finished my degree. I could manage to go back for a semester, to put something on my resume from this millennium, but I'll go to hell before I go back to school for 2 years! At least, that's my feeling now.
What really matters right now
But what I was so not ready for what I was to hear last night. I was chatting with the Venezuelan about it, when she told me I was acting like a spoiled child, wanting this career. I had been wondering if that's how she saw me. I would not have faulted her in the least for having that image in her mind, if and only if she'd kept it to herself until she understood the issues. I understand that as a middle-class Canadian, I am so privileged above what she has in Venezuela. I also understand that she is not working the job that she wants, and that employment opportunities do not present themselves in Venezuela the way they do in Canada. I understand all this, and didn't blame her for feeling this way (or the assumption that she felt this way). But there's no excuse for being so certain that she's going to come out and tell me that I'm a spoiled child in my moment of weakness, before she has the chance to know what it's really all about. When I say "no excuse" I'm not forgetting the language barrier (which frequently is a necessary excuse). In this case "spoiled" was not badly translated, and I can't imagine a Latino in my situation hearing this in Spanish, and feeling any better about it.
She also continued to display her hamfisted ignorance by talking about how she never got angry at God or fought with Him when she was left with disappointment. My understanding above hers also goes as far as understanding that in her demographics, there is frequent temptation to be at odds with God, and that Evangelicals (and, I suppose, devoted Christians of any flavour) often contend with this issue, both within and with others.
What God has to do with this and me
'Thing is, this is not the most serious disappointment I've had. There were times when I was not throwing a tantrum because God wasn't buying me this toy I saw in a window; these were times I was gasping for air. When I didn't get it, I wasn't angry at God. No, I just did what anyone does when they are deprived of an essential, life-sustaining resource: I died. Now it wasn't really oxygen I was deprived of, which is why it wasn't my body that died. The man born TheRockSays died, but since his body was receiving all its necessary nutrients, it continued to live. So it was not actually me who died, it was someone else. I am just what's left over when a man dies and his body lives on. And last night, that all came flooding back to me.
Constable Jason Goss charged with assault causing bodily harm
02.19.10 (10:27 pm) [edit]I just knew if I Googled my old friend he'd turn up. Maybe he would be basking in the glory of a successful drug raid, or maybe he'd have killed someone. Well, it was something in between, and on the less glorious side of the middle. It seems that he was arresting some guy, and at the end of it, the Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) decided he was criminally responsible for the injuries his prisoner sustained.
This fits quite well with the experience I had. This goon appeared to be very comfortable with running roughshod over my charter rights when he searched me without a warrant or permission. This, of course, counts as assault, but this gorilla's been around for awhile, and wasn't going to pull any of this crap with any witnesses around. After this he seemed to be half aware that I didn't belong to the criminal class, but was already enraged by my "fucken attitude", and so spent the rest of our time together addressing that problem. Of course, there wasn't anyone around to confirm that he threatened to beat my head against the wall either. He wasn't prepared to leave there w/out making sure I knew who was boss.
According to this article the SIU has been too pro-active and "officers have had their charter rights violated, personal property seized without warrants, and investigators have entered homes without a search warrant or consent". Oooooh how I'd love to see Goss poetically humiliated in this way.
How generally corrupt the police are is fairly well known, and indifferently accepted by the public. Usually I'm a pretty conservative guy, and I used to resist this impression and before this event I was fairly confident that I could trust police officers. Well, after this incident I've learned that just because you haven't done anything wrong doesn't mean you don't have anything to worry about when the cops approach you. I was cooperative w/the Toronto Police on this occasion, and I lived to regret it. I will never cooperate with the police again, unless it's obvious what's in it for me! It also didn't improve my attitude about Toronto much. Leaf's suck!
The most perfect boring woman from another continent
11.18.09 (12:46 am) [edit]Ever since my ex dumped me (and told me that she didn't see Christ in my life, and her single emotion in regards to me was pity) I realized that I would never really know if I found the one I was supposed to be with, because nothing had ever seemed more right than her. When we were to tie the knot, the universe would end its first phase of existence, and continue on with its second. Instead, I learned that that universe was something I'd never be able to make heads nor tails of again.
So that was, oh, let's say 15 years ago. It seemed illogical to even countenance anything serious with someone who didn't seem at least as right as her. In fact, since what I had with her failed, someone else who mere feels as right shouldn't be enough–it should be necessary to find someone who feels more right. Right?
On the other hand, maybe the point isn't how I feel. Maybe I shouldn't hold out for someone I find so very exciting, and feels so very right for me. Maybe I should be with someone I can grow to love forever, is my intellectual equal, hope I don't regret getting into it... and how awful does that sound? Don't settle for someone you can live with, wait for the one you can't live without is a cheesy aphorism that I put a lot of stock in.
So, yeah, the ruler by which I measure my compatibility with a woman is calibrated against what I had with my ex. Maybe I can still feel that way with someone else. After all, I barely noticed my ex until we were proper friends for as long as a year. Well, I'm talking about this because I've been getting to know someone for that long. She's very decent and dignified, sharp as an X-Acto, my mother would love her, and she's as exciting as a trip in the country. Notice I didn't say as exciting as a trip to the dentist. She's not dull, she's just not... magical, sort of. This might be cleared up a little quicker if I was able to meet her in person. The fact that she lives all the friggin' way down in Venezuela doesn't help. Not only is she not in a city that Air Canada flies to (on which I can get employee passes) but she lives about 6 hours by bus from the airport that Air Canada does fly to! And language isn't my strong point, and I don't know any Spanish.
So for the past several months I've been asking myself if I can see her living in my house for the rest of my life, spending time with my family for the rest of my life, cramping my style, putting up with my bachelor ways, which I'm very used to, taking visits from her family, and making love. So far the answer has been: not starting with this point of my life.
Tori Amos In Canada Again: Oh God Let It Not Be So!!!
08.06.09 (10:05 pm) [edit]I heard on the radio this morning that Tori Amos is coming for a visit again. I am so sick to death of this white, whiny, middle class brat! No, she's been out of the spotlight for quite a few years now, but I've already had my fill of her to last a lifetime.
Amos made it big in the 90s. I guess she found fertile ground with the worst of us gen-xers. Then there was plenty of hype. And we had to hear all this tripe about her being a goddess, and how she embodies gentleness and sensitivity; it didn't matter how mean-spirited and bratty she really was. <MockWhining>Oh, I was abused! Daddy is a bastard! I'm a recovering Christian! All women are sisters, except those who disagree with me, who are traitors</MockWhining& gt; And I had to clean that up a bit. Grow up!
Lawyers, gotta love 'em...
09.18.08 (5:05 pm) [edit]...but I don't. I loathe them. They are a brood of self-serving, vicious, soulless vermin.
Ok, I'm not quite that vitriolic and general about all of them. In many cases it is unethical for a lawyer to behave morally. In fact, some lawyers can have a conscience. Let's explore the demonology of lawyers.
First there are lawyers who never see the inside of a courtroom. These would be lawyers who negotiate contracts, do consulting, and don't usually engage in anything messy. Basically, they just tell their clients "this will put you in a legally beneficial situation". 'Can't go wrong there.
Then there are ligation lawyers who do see the insides of courtrooms. I haven't gotten deeply involved in examining this type of lawyer, but it seems to me that if their client wants to victimize someone, strong-arm some little guy, rob him blind, or making him look like a really horrible person in front of a jury and the public, he is ethically obliged to do so.
Prosecutors: from what I can tell, these people can and must be moral people to be ethical. Prosecutors do not go after just anyone. Their client is the state, and like all lawyers, they are supposed to go after their clients' enemies, but these enemies are only bad guys. Therefore, a prosecutor is ethically obliged not to go after people who do not deserve it.
Now criminal defence lawyers are something very different. Their ethics require them to defend anyone who has been accused of a crime, make his victims look like perpetrators and sell their souls for a crapload of money. We all remember Robert Shapiro and Johnny Cochrane. They were very ethnical lawyers, but it makes me sick to recall their names.
I recently Facebooked a friend who was studying law when we were last in touch. He is now a criminal defence lawyer. I wasn't totally surprised by this, but nevertheless, I was not ready for it. And now that it's happened, I'm very ambivalent about it. First, let's get some background on my old friend.
We met when we were teens. (Actually, I don't think he was a teen yet) He was 2 years younger than me, which at that age is a significant difference. Still, we were pretty good friends, and we stayed that way for a while, and when he left the city we stayed in touch. Later we fell out of touch and stayed that way until Facebook. While incommunicado I became an engineer--something I'm very proud of, and has not caused any problems for my conscience whatsoever. My friend was always a good, honest, decent chap, with a heart for God, and all that jazz. So I find it difficult to swallow him becoming a criminal defence lawyer.
It seems that my understanding of a criminal defence laywer's ethics could do with some refinement. He told me that he hasn't defended a murder yet, and doesn't do family law or sex cases. When he applied to law school he also told the interviewer that he wouldn't defend Morgentaler, even after that interviewer pointed out that he is ethically obliged to do so. Ok, so it seems that sometimes lawyers can pick and choose who they defend. But still, even if he doesn't deal with perverts and murderers, he defends criminals. Someone who enjoys the rough-and-tumble of the justice industry requires a certain meanspiritedness that I'm sure he doesn't have. I don't see him being able to humiliate a witness or try to argue that a criminal is really a good guy.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm not sure how I feel about having a criminal defence lawyer as a friend. He's invited me to visit his home in Bermuda, and I don't know how I feel about that. The only thing I know to do about it is blog.
Canada's most evil Canadian gets the Order of Canada
07.09.08 (3:42 pm) [edit]Even if you are an abortion doctor, chances are, you are too squeamish to perform abortions on fetuses as late-term as Dr Henry Morgentaler. Nevertheless, the number of abortions he has performed were too few, and the lateness of these abortions were too early for whomever it is that decides who gets awarded the Order of Canada.
Hmm... well, a little research tells me that it is an advisory panel. It comes as little surprise that it is not our democratically elected prime minister or cabinet. But don't advisory panels just advise? Who's the final decision up to? Perhaps the governor-general gives approval, but like all her decisions, they are usually purely ceremonial, and always approvals. So it seems what we have here is a very small group of appointees who have decided on behalf of the whole country and Her Magesty the Queen, to relegate us to the abject level of Morgentaler's grisly practise.
You know what these means, don't you? It means everyone qualifies for the Order--even Clifford Olson. I'm usually reluctant to mention Olson in public, since we gets off on his notoriety. The more people hate him, the happier he is. In the 80s he killed a handful of children and youths, and then wrote his victims' families from jail taunting them--truly an evil Canadian. But I will mention him to say that as serial killers go, his numbers against Morgentaler's make him look like Mr. Dressup (someone who does deserve membership in the Order, even before Morgentaler was let in).
The CBC's message to kids
05.03.08 (11:41 pm) [edit]This morning I was listening to Go on CBC radio, which seems to be a program targeting teens. This show's theme was couples and relationships, and hosted in Edmonton, Alberta and so they had 3 couples, whom were made to run the gaultlet of game show-like challenges based on that theme.
One of the couples was two guys! Mr Kidd and Mr Wint. Wow, I didn't know Edmontonians were so *shudder*... progressive!
Seal hunt
04.05.08 (12:08 am) [edit]Well, we're in another seal-hunting season again, and once again the livelihood of a group of agrarian maritimers is being threatened by a smug gang of bleeding hearts. Fortunately, Paul McCartney stayed home this year. Unfortunately, the European parliament has gotten an economic boycott of Canadian products underway, to apply pressure to the seal hunt. It's gotten so bad that members of the industry have gone to Europe to try to educate those bleeding hearts on the fence to come down on their side.
It's not enough that the head of the... Sea Shepherds(?) called the seal hunt a greater tragedy than the death of those 2 sealers, or used fanatical, over-the-top rhetoric to describe the hunt—we've all come to expect that from animal rights activists. What I find really disturbing is a letter to a local newspaper prophesying that those sealers' deaths was God's judgement. Why did they publish that letter? That is just pathetic.
Ok, I've flamed the bleeding hearts enough. After having said all that, I should point out that I think it's a good thing that the activists are at least there. From what I've gathered, it appears that at one time or another, the seal hunt has not been as humane as it should be. That could be very old news, but the danger that sealers might get complacent and expedient in their hunting will always make the existence of activists worthwhile. Because of all the bleeding-hearted attention, the sealers are no doubt being kept very honest and on their best behavior. So I think we have good balance between activists who are enjoying partial success in embarassing the sealers straight, and a seal hunt that is not banned, and presumably well regulated by the government. Where I don't see balance is in the European parliament and in the newspaper I read this morning. Sheesh!
Now if the abortion industry experienced half the scrutiny that the sealing industry does... well, we'd be on our way to a perfect world (and we all know that there's no such thing as a perfect world).
Freedom of expression and government handouts
03.12.08 (10:25 pm) [edit]Boy the Canadian film industry is sure up in arms about this bill (C-10) that would exclude films from government tax credits if their material is, shall we say, "offensive"&mda sh;at least, that's what all the pundits are saying. Usually they are saying this at the same time they are calling it unqualified censorship. I don't know if I'm for or against this legislation, but the more I hear hotheads like Atom Egoyan bring the long battle against censorship into this, the more I like it. This whole debate reminds me of the hypocrisy behind the freedom of expression concept, that it only be to the benefit of liberals. If censorship is the government not subsidizing movies sometimes, then I guess censorship is not such a bad thing.
I'm all for censorship then! Bring it on!
The Teddy Bears' Picnic
01.08.08 (6:55 pm) [edit]If you go out in the woods today you're sure of a big surprise
You're darn tootin'!
If you go out in the woods today you'd better go in disguise
I stumbled upon a teddy bears' picnic today, and, boy, it was not pretty. I was without a weapon, body armour, or any other protective clothing. It was like dreaming I was naked in church or something.
If you go out in the woods today you'd better not go alone
It's lovely out in the woods today, but safer to stay at home
Boxing Day and sports in real life
12.26.07 (5:45 pm) [edit]I like sports. I used to play a whole lot of them, but none of my friends are into it anymore, so I don't get to participate much. But I've also come to realize that sport instinct can be applied to other elements of everyday life--now that I can't play the real thing anymore.
I used to be into amateur radio, but then the Internet came along, and the need to work a complicated radio in an unreliable medium to communicate w/someone half way around the world evaporated. Communication just became too easy, and the sport in building a power supply, antenna tuner, antenna tower, and getting the right radio was lost. (And the sport of building the radio was lost before I got into it)
I remember around 15 years ago I yearned for a sound card for my computer. Now that I've graduated and have a job that gives me a comfortable income, I can afford all the computer hardware I want. There was sport in lusting after computer hardware that I couldn't have (like I do after a flat-screen TV) and looking for the next best deal, but no more. Not only that, but I don't even like upgrading my hardware, because the next generation CPU takes more power, which creates more heat, and you have to have noisier and more numerable fans in your box. Getting new hardware is no fun anymore.
And today is Boxing Day. Over the past week I've been telling people that I intend to buy some x-country skiing equipment on Boxing Day, and their wide-eyed stares betrayed their incredulity. Most of them would deprecate the madness that this day is. Well, when I walked into the mall today, 15 minutes before the sporting goods store I targetted opened, I looked around, pounded my chest and said "I was born for this!" I haven't been shopping on Boxing Day in over 15 years, so I didn't really know what it's like. Unfortunately, I knew what I was going for, and so I went straight to the department that had the ski equipment and picked out my kit. So I didn't get to enjoy the rough and tumble of going from place to place, fighting through crowds, stepping on countless toes, witnessing fist-fights, and the like. I did get stuck in a mini-jam in the parking lot trying to leave, but I never like traffic anyway. And I only got to hear one irately long horn as I was walking to my car.
So I guess I'm just going to have to do this again next year, and the year after that! Maybe I'll go for something a little hotter, and more leading edge, like a flat screen TV! Until then, there's always eBay.
The Golden Compass and the endurance of the church
12.08.07 (12:11 am) [edit]From what I hear, the Golden Compass is due to be released soon. I've also heard that there is a lot of controversy surrounding the anti-religious message it is based on. So how come I've not heard of this movie outside of the secular media? So, far I've heard of the movie (along with the "controversy") in the newspaper, on the radio, and the Air Farce did a sketch where a religious zealot pickets a movie cinema and slams Ian McKellen for being gay. I don't think Christians are paying as much attention to, and giving this movie nearly as much negative publicity as it would like.
This calls to attention the bragging rights of the church: that it has been able to withstand 2000 years despite some very determined efforts to snuff it out, and a lot of liberal ideologies that could not completely penetrate it. And the church withstood these attacks because of its intrinsic value, and not by any ideologically artificial means. Islam, on the other hand, owes its success to conquest and coercion; it does not easily tollerate dissent.
So Chistians aren't making a fuss about this movie, because it is not a threat. The church has squared-off against far more serious adversity. No, the church owes its legitimacy to things like the Golden Compass.
Spin-doctoring and entertainment
09.23.07 (10:01 pm) [edit]On 60 Minutes today they had Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Boy did he ever look like a fish out of water. Sometimes the interviewer would ask him some very direction questions like "do you plan on making a nuclear bomb" or "are you sending weapons into Iraq" and he as the interviewer put it, he'd "dance" around the question, w/out answering it. If you ask me, he danced with 2 left feet. This is not without its predictability. Clearly he thought he'd make better connections with the west by doing this interview, but even more clearly he belongs to a political universe that has never known democracy or the free press. He needs to learn about spin-doctoring, smooth-taking, and good old brown-nosing. Here's what I think he did wrong:
- Firstly, he should have dictated better terms for the interview. No matter what your political power is, you always have the power of veto over an interview if the interviewer insists on asking questions you don't like. So he should have told the 60 Minutes guys to make their questions less direct, and not give them the luxury of returning with complaints about his answers.
- None of this was the first thing that came to my mind watching the interview. My first thought was boy is this frustrating! He needs to know how to make his answers more entertaining. In this dumbed-down age you need to use your charm (or whatever charm your advisors instill in you) to make your audience like you. If you have opened yourself up to taking a direct question requiring a yes or no answer, you have to appear to give a yes or a no, but then also give your answer a bouquet of baloney.
Advance fee scams
09.17.07 (11:00 pm) [edit]Just the other day my 11-year-old niece was stung by an advance fee fraud. Fortunately, the sting wasn't very deep, in that the scammers didn't get any money, but my niece must have been very disappointed. This has woken me up to rather a lot of advance fee scams I've come across over the years. It seems to be a very popular formula, and I was given the impression that this one was legal (although I'm not sure I believe that) which makes me wonder why these things aren't even more popular. Here are some of the ones I've come across:
Nigerian 419
Everyone knows about this one... well, almost everyone, or it wouldn't work. Someone needs to ship millions from an African country into an off-shore bank account (your account) and just needs a few measly 1000 to get it started.
Loan fees
I saw this on a news magazine. You apply for a loan, and pay a fee. You're turned down for the loan, but they fee is not refundable. At this point they stonewall you. According to the report, a fee on a loan application is never appropriate.
Modelling fee scam
There's what happened with my niece. They told her she was perfect, and that she's exactly what they are looking for, and exactly what The Bay or whatever is looking for, she'd be a star, make a really big wad of cash and just needed 300$ to get started. My brother-in-law had the unenviable task of waking her up and refusing the fund the scam. Of course, she was all stary-eyed and wasn't ready to hear this. In the end, he managed to get out of it without looking like a bad guy, and the crooks didn't get anything out of her.
Other occupational service scams
I could have got stung by this one. It was the summer of 2003. I had my B.Eng for half a year now, and was having a hard time getting someone to hire me in this post-dot COM bust. It was very frustrating. So here I was throwing around resumes, cold calling, checking job postings, and combing Monster.ca when I get a call. Some guy from an employment agency is giving me tips on my resume and showing a great deal of interest. I could tell he felt that he could make some money off of me, so why didn't these other employers think so? Then he says "gimme 1500$". Ah-ha! A guarantee of a job is worth 1500$; even a fair chance at a job is worth 1500$, but this didn't seem right at all. I never did find out if this was a scam, but it might have been something in between a scam and a very worthwhile service. I don't regret my decision.
Lottery scams
I heard on the radio the other day that there are several hundred telemarking scams running out of Montreal. The only example I was given of a scam here was one where the scammer cold calls Americans, tells them they won the lottery, and need to send a small fee to receive it. Apparently a lot of seniors fall for this one.
For me, the bottom-line is a pretty small one: if someone tells you that you are worth a great deal of money, and asks for a very small percentage to unlock your potential, then don't expect that start-up money to come from my bank account. If I represent a lot of capital that isn't money, then the capital that is money should come from elsewhere.
Cape Horn, here I come!
08.28.07 (12:43 am) [edit]And I hope I will speak those words someday. I have this impluse to sail around Cape Horn... the wrong way... in winter. I may never. This isn't something you just get up and do. It requires a lot of follow-through, and before I could finish any follow-through, I might forget why I wanted to do this in the first place.
It seems so lonely and peaceful down there, doesn't it, down in that belt where there's hardly any land? Actually, for that very reason, that belt is known as the "furious 50s" (being in the 50s°S). Without any land to get in their way, storms race around that part of the world, and then some when the Andes force storm power down to 56°S. This is why sailing around the Horn is such a rush, and half the reason the Panama Canal was dug.
So why would I want to sail through such a treacherous and stormy part of the world? I guess because in some ways it is peaceful down there. It's a part of the world that nobody has much use for, so no one goes there. So, as long as I'm sailing somewhere remote, with no one to bother me, I might as well sail the Mount Everest of boating. Another key reason is that Gordon Lightfoot has a song about it. Now how does it go...
See them all in sad repair
Demons dance everywhere
Southern gales, tattered sails
And none to tell the tales
Randy Bachman, what a flake
08.23.07 (11:40 pm) [edit]I heard Randy Bachman on CBC radio a while ago. He was being interviewed, but I don't know what for. It was probably just for his favourite issues. At one point he was asked about his Mormon past. He went on to talk about his departure from the Mormon church, and claimed that there's this worldwide movement in many churches to leave organized religion and "get into the spiritual thing" and "the earth thing". I suppose it could be true, that a large number of people could be leaving certain denominations for a do-it-yourself kind of philosophy that is vague and groundless--as surely as it could be true that Bachman is full of it! I wish I had some kind of talent that comes off very well on stage, that could make me a household name, then I could say that there's this worldwide movement to... I dunno... play the Ultima games. 'Ever heard of it? Of course not! Because no one with mass media access has ever wanted to over-represent it by dressing up its popularity as an astute obvservation!
This reminds me of the time when I saw Burton Cummings on some daytime TV talk show. As part of a greater point he mentioned that he believed in reincarnation. My thoughts at that point were boy, what a flake! Not that it is necessarily flakey to believe in reincarnation, but the way he said it and the context and everything made me feel like he's bit off more than he can chew in deciding how the world works. Then he played Stand Tall, and I realized just how hollow a song it was, with its vacuous lyrics and overly emotional overtones.
No, the Guess Who should stick to what they're good at, which is making great music. Who cares how they've extrapolated their soft, superstar lives to the supernatural?
Now all the world will know what the Toronto police are like!
07.21.07 (1:00 am) [edit]Well it seems that the Metropolitan Toronto Police have brutalized some Chilean soccer players. It's hard to know exactly who was at fault, but the Chilean government is so certain that the police were, they are making an official complaint to our government, and the Toronto police aren't in any position to expect support from me. But now that they've stomped on some foreign semi-dignitaries, well they might as well have been in front of a movie camera. I don't know how big this is in international news--it seems to be on the front page of all the Chilean newspapers--but if this gets media attention in other countries, now the whole world will know that the Toronto police are just a bunch of corrupt goons impersonating police officers!
The police are just one of the many reasons I hate Toronto. The last time I was there, those 5-0 yo-yos picked the wrong punk tax payer's head to stomp. I'll bet they were sure surprised to realize how intelligent, articulate and pissed off I was, when I filed my complaint.
Correction: stupid Muhammad Ali mask
05.28.07 (11:19 pm) [edit]It turns out that Ray Emery's mask does not have the image of Mike Tyson on it after all. I didn't think it looked like him. He took that one off after pressure, and put on the more acceptable Muhammad Ali mask. Somehow I find that more irritating. Probably because Muhammad Ali was a more irritating guy. Tyson may be a few things, but he's not that irritating.
So, the Ducks have won game one in the Stanley Cup finals, so now I'm hoping the Duck sweep the Senators to get that stupid Muhammad Ali mask off my screen ASAP. Then hopefully next season Emery will lose the mask, or Ottawa will lose the regular season.
Why I think the Sens should lose
05.11.07 (11:12 pm) [edit]Well, we're into the conference finals, and game 1 between Ottawa and Buffalo was last night. I find myself hoping that Buffalo will win as soon as possible so I don't have to look at that irritating Mike Tyson mask that Ray Emery wears. Unfortunately, last game the Sabres didn't give any indication that they are the team to get rid of that stupid mask. *sigh*
When Harry Met Sally Finale
03.28.07 (12:07 am) [edit]Well, she finally did it, just like in the movie. Actually, the title is a little confusing. I chose "Sally" as a nickname for my friend, because we are just friends, have no intention of being more than that, but people don't seem to understand that When Harry Met Sally was just a movie, and that men and women can be friends w/out the sex part getting in the way. Well, in the end Sally did get married, but that doesn't really have a parallel in the real world, because Harry represents everyone who thinks there's more to our friendship.
But, just like the movie, Sally got married in the end, and that's what my Sally did. And just like the weatherman predicted, it rained and snowed. Fortunately, it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day.
I found out a few days before that my chariot was going to be getting her to the church on time, so I went out and got some discreet fairy decorations for my car that nobody really noticed anyway in the end. I also made the effort to put on my summer tires, which have these lovely mags on them, rather than the ugly capless rims my winters have. I arrived sometime after noon and was disappointed to discover she was sick. Her boss made her sick, and on the day before he made her work. She wasn't quite right as rain by Saturday. Fortunately, it's good luck to be sick on your wedding day.
So, the photographer took some pics of us getting ready, of me eating day-old pizza. And while he took some bogus pics of her getting into the backseat of my car with her dress on (but got pics of her arriving at the reception hall in my front seat) I tried to get every speck of dust and grime off my car and my lovely mag wheels. Of course, with all the Canadian winter crap washed off my car, I was able to see the first scratch on the body. Fortunately, it's good luck to have the resale value of an expensive possession drop sharply on your wedding day.
So, we got to the reception hall, and were quickly wisked away into a back room where we waited for people to show up, and Sally had me hunting for stuff to blow her nose into. Eventually, I led her to the front, she kissed me on the cheek, and I sat down beside her mother. Her dad's dead, btw, which is why I got to perform that duty.
I thought the ceremony was a little weird. Everyone seemed to think it was appropriate to make wisecracks from the peanut gallery, and the guy who was doing the wedding (I don't know what to call him. He's not a religious minister, nor is he a justice of the peace. He's more like an RCMP officer, but in religious-looking garb) wasn't short of wisecracks. My family was also there, and my toddler-niece was rather unruly. She hadn't had a nap that day, so she was not easy to deal w/. Fortunately, it's good luck to have a cranky baby on your wedding day.
There ceremony didn't last all that long, then it was pictures, and the reception. I scored big when I went up to the best man and asked him if he knew who the blonde chick was in flip-flops. He asked if I liked her, and then told me it was his daughter. I know what you are thinking, but his reaction was the opposite of that. He tried to introduce me to her, and immediately started talking about his other daughter's bfs, and how much of bozos they are, and how I'd be a great catch! What bothered me the most about this is not the idea of being fixed up by a girl's dad after just putting my foot in my mouth, or that she's half my age. No, what creeps me out the most is having too few degrees of separation between me and this guy. His first impressions were pretty bad. First of all, when I initially laid eyes on him, I thought he looked like he'd been through a combine harvester. Less superficially, however, Harry joked that my title was "maid of honour", for lack of something more appropriate, so this guy starts making spoofs about me being gay. Being that familiar before having my acquaintance for the 30th second makes a bad impression.
So the reception got underway, after the happy couple went around all the tables and spoke to everyone. I wish I hadn't had so much bread at that time, because the chicken was wonderful! The cake wasn't bad either. The icing was so finely crafted that a lot of people wondered if some of it was plastic. It had a strange gooey texture. My nephew wanted to sit at the empty space at the head table for the cake. When I told him he'd have to wait until everyone got their cake before he could start on his, he decided he'd rather be at one of the regular tables. The strangest part of the evening was when a mouse actually showed up. I alerted one of the staff to it, but they never caught it. Fortuntely, it's good luck to have a vermin infestation on your wedding day.
So, nothing profound after that. My family went home when my niece ran out of patience, and Sally's co-workers went home w/out saying goodbye right after cake. Sally thinks it might be because one of the lesbian guests was hitting on one of them. I guess I'll find out on the weekend.
So let's all wish Harry and Sally the best. As some of you know, I've lost a bit of confidence in Sally to choose the right one, since she's been engaged twice which could only have lead to a distaster of a marriage. Ever since, I've been able to say she's been engaged 2x to the wrong guys, but she never married the wrong guy. I know that Sally would want to be in a failed marriage just as much as I would. But I guess she meant it this time.
Govn't's mudslinging apology to Arar
01.29.07 (11:32 pm) [edit]I heard Steven Harper apologizing to Maher Arar on the radio the other day. In the typical mudslinging style, popular with the Tories these days, they took the advantage to point out that the Liberals are to blame for Arar's ordeal, since this happened on their watch. To his credit, of what I heard, that was the only mention of something negative and uncontrite.
This reminds me of a comment made by Rex Murphy about Bill Clinton's apology from way back when Y2K was the 2nd biggest thing in the news. He compared it against Martin Luther King Jr's "dream" speech, or JRK's "do for your country" speech, wherein both had the nation's attention, and had the opportunity to rail against their opponents. This was a moment for either great healing or great hurting for the nation. MLK and JRK went for healing, but Rex felt Clinton wasted the moment on a relatively petty matter. I may have forgotten the finer points of his commentary, but at the time I didn't really agree that Clinton was all that opportunistic or scathing. I'd say that about Harper. For those of you who don't know, Maher Arar is a Syrian-born Canadian who was the victim of overzealous anti-terrorist intelligence gathering by the Americans and Canadians. CSIS informed the Americans that Arar was suspected of being an Al-Qaeda operative, so he was out-sourced to Syria where he was tortured. This decent, hard-working, family man's link to Al-Qaeda turned out to be completely vacuous, but none of that mattered to the Syrians, and in the end, Arar was awarded 10M$ in a settlement for his troubles. So, after all the work that appointed civil servants did (such as the Arar inquiry) our top elected official was placed in a situation where all eyes were on him for the moment, and I've already explained what he did about it.
One of my favourite mudslinging apologies was by Alexa McDonough, way back when Clinton was nothing more to us than a liberal disaster waiting to happen (i.e. the beginning of his presidency). She was called upon to apologize for the snide remarks someone in her party made in applying Nazi images to the Reform Party. She started off with an explicit appology, but then immediately went into the possible causes for the remarks, and just how Reform could have provoked it. The news piece was cut short before she finished. It was the depths of the recession, we needed any excuse to make outrageous accusations, like that of Nazism.
Montreal's marathon debt
12.19.06 (8:31 pm) [edit]Well, it only took 30 years, but Montreal has now paid off her debt for the 1976 Olympics. I guess now men can stop having babies as well.
For those of you who don't get it, Google 'drapeau olympics baby' and see what you find.
Sally's insecurity and the other woman
12.18.06 (12:50 am) [edit]Sally's always afraid that some woman is going to come into my life and bar her from it. Telling her that was rubbish, and that such a situation would be a sign that I was w/the wrong person wasn't enough. Looks like I have some partial evidence against now. Someone told me she didn't think it was a good idea to go further w/me, in part because she thinks I haven't gotten over my feelings for Sally. Well, of course I haven't gotten over my feelings for Sally, because you can't get over feelings you never fricken had! *Sigh* I can't wait to tell her the good news. At least for now I won't have to choose between a woman who's allergic to cats and cats.
Not that great, but not that bad
11.29.06 (10:48 pm) [edit]I guess there could be more insulting results:
Which OS are You?
Weddings and friendships pt 2
11.02.06 (11:03 pm) [edit]BTW, for those of you who are interested, and it seems a few are, I told Sally that I want to back her wedding the Saturday before last. She said she didn't want my money, so I said "that's ok, you don't get it, it's those money-grubbing wedding professionals that'll be getting it." She got teary, so I ended it w/telling her to think about it, and we'd talk about it later. I saw her last weekend and nothing was said. I think I'm going to bring it up again this weekend.
Don't tell her this, but I'm hoping one of the spin-offs of this would be to realize how serious a commitment she's getting herself into. I would consider it an enormous personal failure to be in a marriage that washedout--I'd prefer to be alone. I'm pretty sure she feels the same way. And like I said, I have no idea if this guy's right or wrong for her, I'm just concerned about her ability to make good decisions in this area.
I'll let ya know what she said on Sunday