The Summer That Was...2009 Edition

Well other than one quick post last week, I have missed a great deal to blog about over the past few months. So for the third time ever here, I'll do a quick recap of a few different things.

So without further ado, here is a recap of the last few months...



The King is Dead

Obviously the story that received the most media attention this summer was the passing of Michael Jackson. While it is certainly sad to see anyone pass away at a mere 50 years, I am certainly in the camp of people who say that this story was massively overblown. I have certainly always been a fan of his music, but his all too bizarre public persona left a great deal to be desired. I am wondering exactly where all of these fans and celebrity friends of his were when he was slowly poisoning himself with drugs and on this sad downward spiral that we all played witness to. From all reports it seemed like Jackson took the media's fascination with his self-destruction to heart, causing him to self-destruct even more.

While any of Jackson's choices remain his own to make, the media, and those of us who consumed any story about how weird he got with great zeal need to shoulder some of the blame for what happened. Everyone talks about how tragic his death was, but the reality is that his life was the real tragedy.

Of course, yesterday there was a huge bomb dropped, where it was revealed that his death is being treated as a homicide. I'm not sure what to believe anymore. I'll reserve comment on that for a later time I guess.

The Point Guard Makes the Pass...or Something Like That

Another huge story over the summer was Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. I know that I was certainly surprised by this one, yet in hindsight I don't know why. Since bursting onto the national stage less than a year ago, she has done everything she can to stay in the spotlight. As she returned to Alaska people started to forget about her. She needed to jump back into centre stage, and Alaska is certainly not the place for her to do that.

I do not truly understand the appeal that this woman has. It's as if someone in the Republican Party said “Hey, George Bush is not stupid, folksy, Evangelical, or hawkish enough” and Palin was born from that. I honestly feel that this woman is the biggest threat to the United States in the world, and the thought of her holding the highest office in the land is downright terrifying. For some reason the Rush Limbaugh wing of the party seems to love her, despite the fact that she proved to be a disastrous addition to McCain's campaign and ultimately lead to his downfall. She is just as much of an empty headed celebrity as they claimed Obama to be.


Free Agent Frenzy

Yet again the NHL's annual summer auction was fast and furious with all sorts of big names changes homes. I will have more to talk about this one later on, but I think that the signings of Cammalleri and Komisarek were the best, with the Hossa and Gaborik signings being the worst. I also really liked the Pronger trade, for both teams, and I think that it places both teams in a solid position when the fall starts.

Heel Turn of the Century

Once more I am going to talk a bit about internet darling CM Punk, who shocked the world when he cashed his Money in the Bank contract in at Extreme Rules on Jeff Hardy. Since then they two have been involved in one of the best feuds that the wrestling world has seen in a while which seems to be wrapping up now with Hardy leaving the company.. I couldn't be happier with this as Punk was made to play a heel, and I'm frankly surprised that it took the WWE this long to cash in on the heel potential of Straight Edge wrestler. (For the record: I CALLED IT...even if I didn't think that it would happen this soon).

Lockdown

After a series of civil unrest in China and Iran, internet censorship is back in full force. Web 2.0 in particular has been blocked. With Twitter, Facebook, and yes even Blogger all getting blocked. Right now I am posting through a VPN. This slows things down and makes life rather difficult.

While I am complaining about it as a mere inconvenience to me, there are many people who are under severe oppression as a result of this. Ignorance remains strength.

On a Personal Note

I had the pleasure of returning to Canada for the first time in almost a year for most of July. It was fantastic and surreal to return after so long, as I truly missed a great deal about home. I also got to head to New York City for the first time ever and I was able to travel for a bit in Western China, which was both all kinds of awesome (read about those adventures here).

Now for the first time since I graduated from Acadia in 2004 I will be doing the same thing for two years in a row. While I find the familiarity of returning to Suzhou a touch daunting, I am excited to be a little bit more settled, even if it is for just a short time.

Until next time,

G

The Eighth Layer of Injustice

Date: November 4, 2008

Prologue: Does love deserve a chance to live and die on its own? This past year many people thought that it didn't, and tried to put a stop to love...



Like many states in America, groups in California had presented a ballot measure during this falls election. There was a choice to ban gay marriage or to allow it. While California was far from the first state to have such a measure, it stood as the best hope for gay rights activists.

Not only has California long had it's laissez-faire attitude, but the California Supreme Court had already struck down a ban on gay marriage that spring. However, any hope was for naught, as Proposition 8 (also dubbed Proposition Hate) was enacted, and gay marriage was once again banned in California.

This marked the first time in America that people have democratically elected to take away the rights of others.

There has been a lot of blame thrown around as to why Proposition 8 passed, everything from homophobia in blacks, to money from Idaho, to a nasty smear-filled campaign have taken centre stage.

No matter what the reason for this change, one important question does remain. Why are so many people opposed to gay marriage? I mean, really, if you don't like gay marriage then DO NOT GET ONE!!! Who are you to stop anyone else from getting one?

It really is amazing that so many people got so involved in an issue that really has nothing to do with their lives. In no way did the Supreme Court say that any churches had to perform any gay marriages, thus giving them the full authority as to who they want to allow to get married and who they do not. Really for the "Yes" crowd, gay marriage is nothing more than an inconvenience, something that they do not want to see, but does not do anything to them.

However, for the people who had their rights repealed, it is an entirely different story. They were allowed one of the most fundamental rights and had it taken away on a whim. Somehow or another, getting married was not considered to be an element of "the pursuit of happiness", and ws not deemed unalienable enough.

Epilogue: There have been protests against Proposition 8, and a public outcry over this. However, it appears that it will be a long time before this can be changed again. Until then, gays will have to continue to be second class citizens.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Year in Review Posts:

The Fall of the Prophet - January 6th
The Rise of the Ice Queen -January 7th
An Unlikely Fruition - January 7th
Attack of the Three-Headed Terror - January 9th
A Most Sincere Inquiry - January 10th
The Golden League - January 14th
The Fall from Grace - January 16th
The Eighth Layer of Injustice - January 16th
The Transmuter of Nations - January 22nd

Looking Back at My Crystal Ball

Well it's that time of year where I look back at my most daring of predictions that I made back at the start of the year. After doing fairly well predicting 2007 with a 9-2-2 record, I can only hope that the spirits were as kind to me this time around...

1. Obama vs. Huckabee - Well I was half right!!!! To be honest, when I made this prediction, I thought that I would be half right, but I couldn't quite figure out which half. Needless to say, I am still a little shocked at Obama's amazing rise from obscurity to celebrity. Gotta say, good on me for this one :)

I'll call it a tie...

Glen's Prediction Record: 0-0-1

2. Prolonged Strike - In reference to the Hollywood writer's strike said "I would be shocked if this is over by spring time.", and well, it was over by spring time, colour me shocked. I'll count this one as a loss.

Glen's Prediction Record: 0-1-1

3. Abrams will not Disappoint - Uhhh...did you see Cloverfield? Also, how awesome was the finale of Lost? I have high hopes for Season 5!!!

Glen's Prediction Record: 1-1-1


4. Score one more for California - Yes, I foolishly predicted that a team from Califronia would claim the Stanley Cup, and funnily enough, I thought that my Ottawa Senators had the best chance of ruining my prediction. Needless to say with both Anaheim and Ottawa winning a combined 2 games in the playoffs, and the Sharks bowing out the next round, I was wrong on that one.

Stupid Red Wings...

Glen's Prediction Record: 1-2-1

5. Another Three Countries Scratched off the List - Heck yes!!!! I sure was right on this one, or will be by next week. Back in March, I went to Laos, in October I got to Malaysia, and next week, for Christmas Holidays, I will be in Cambodia. Looks like I am up to .500!!!

Glen's Prediction Record: 2-2-1

6. The Temperature Will Continue To Rise - Yeah, an easy prediction, global temperatures continue to rise, what a surprise.

Glen's Prediction Record: 3-2-1

7. Another Conservative Minority - Perhaps truer words have never been spoken by me than "...I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were another Canadian Federal election, I just don't see much coming about it."

That was almost as obvious as the temperature thing...

Glen's Prediction Record: 4-2-1

8. More Record Label Rebellions - Hells yeah!!!! A free album by Nine Inch Nails proves me right again. While it wasn't as well-publicized, or even in the same artistic league as In Rainbows, it was still a coup against the record labels. Hopefully we have much more to follow from this.

Glen's Prediction Record: 5-2-1

9. The Patriots will Lose - As January rolled on I was really starting to doubt myself on this one, but in the end when I said "I don't know why I think this, but I have this sneaking suspicion that the New England Patriots will NOT win the Superbowl, making their 16-0 season completely worthless." I was so right, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Glen's Prediction Record: 6-2-1

10. Samoa Joe will FINALLY win the TNA World Title - March proved me right here!!! Thankfully TNA got their heads out of their asses and gave Joe the big belt. Sadly, they really messed up with it once they gave it to him. Ahh well, at least this Main Event Mafia thing is going alright. Hopefully he'll get it again soon, and they can do something great with him.

Glen's Prediction Record: 7-2-1

11. Further Republican Misdoings - Yeah, another easy prediction. The Republicans are a bunch of screw-ups right now. I don't know which ones to event point out, but the idea of investigating which Democrats are pro-America is a good place to start. Perhaps we can finish with any of Palin's bizare witch hunts or Trooper scandals.

Glen's Prediction Record: 8-2-1

12. Someone will Follow in Feist's Footsteps - Not sure I was right on this one. While there have been some breakout musicians in 2008, few can even hold a candle to Feist's massive iPod related explosion last year. What a shame...

Glen's Prediction Record: 8-3-1

13. I will have a great year - Hells yeah!!! I had a great time teaching in Canada, and now I'm in China. Thigns have been busy but pretty great over here, so no complaints!!!

Glen's Prediction Record: 9-3-1

Well not quite as solid as my record from last year, but pretty close. Tune back for my predictions for 2009! Also, while you're here. Due to my time constraints, and my plan to go on a trip next week, I will be holding off on my 2008 in review series until the New Year, it should coincide with yet another new look to the blog to debut in 2009. I hope that you enjoy it.

Until next time,

G

The Red Detachment of Women

Last week, I had the opportunity for a unique cultural experience, I got to go to my first Chinese Ballet. It was an important and very popular number called The Red Detachment of Women. After I saw the production, I wanted to run right home and right a blog all about it, but for one of the few times in my life, I was absolutely speechless. It is only now, after some reflection, that I am able to properly explain what I witnessed.

Allow me to provide a bit of context and history first. The Red Detachment of Women, was the ballet shown to Richard Nixon during his visit to China in 1972, and it is one of the "eight model plays" which were the only operas or ballets allowed during China during the Cultural Revolution. Therefore, it is very, very pro-communist. Do not believe me? Well here is a scene from the film version of the movie. Pay extra attention to the oh-so-subtle Party overtones at around the one minute mark.



If you had trouble reading between the lines, understand one thing: she loves communism, and communism loves her.

The basic plot synopsis, is that the main character, Wu Qinghua, escapes from being a slave by an evil lord. She stumbles upon the Red Army (and in particular their female detachment) and joins them. They strike back against the lord, save the day, and continue to march on to victory.

Moral of the story: Workers of the world always unite.

At first viewing, myself and my friends were absolutely blown away by the shear blatancy of the Red-love-in. However, after doing some thought, we came to an important conclusion. It is not that different than most American films, especially from that time frame.

So many Western movies, even today, are centred around the idea of Freedom, and Democracy. The villains are Russian, Chinese, Arabic, or Latino, and the good guy comes in to free the day, and allow America to prosper over all.

Don't believe me? Watch Saving Private Ryan or any John Wayne movie.

My point is that proganda pervades entertainment in any culture, at any time, however it is always easiest to see it in different places and different times. So obviously, the question must remain, what exactly are people trying to get us to think right now?

I have some ideas, but I have a feeling that future generations will have a much clearer picture. Until then, I think that I'll continue criticizing these happy soliders.




Until next time,

G

Presidential Hangover

Pardon to any regular readers for the latest week long absence. Normally I have some reason, either professional or personal for any such sabbatical. However, this time it is something completely different.

I am hungover.

That's right, I over-indulged, and now I am paying the price. Only this time, I didn't overdo it on alcohol, I took in just too much information. Over the past several weeks (hell, months) I have been pretty consumed with the U.S. Presidential Election. Any information on Obama I would drink up, get delighted, and seek out more. I went too far.

In the past thirteen days since hope was reborn, I have been drained. All of my energy and enthusiasm went into one major event, and since then I've been a little bit lost, with nothing left to focus on. However, I've had a cold shower and a couple of Red Bulls, and I'm ready to talk about something else. Here are a few random things that I have observed in the past few weeks:

Rae vs. Ignatieff: Finally, some worthwhile political news from my own country! As sad as I was to see Dion resign (being only the second Liberal Party Leader in history to never serve as PM), I am rather hopeful for the future. There has been a lot of speculation and interesting announcements and moves, but the Liberal Leadership Convention, scheduled for this spring appears to be coming down to the two favourites from 2007, Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff.

While these two competed a few years ago as favourites, they were shocked by the plucky Dion, who emerged as a compromise candidate. This time, however, things are a bit more interesting, as both men must realize that this is their last chance for the top spot in the party. I expect them both to come out swinging at one another.

Even more broadly, this represents a very important decision for the Liberals, who are in dire need of a change. Do they go for the more Left-Wing Bob Rae, or the more Right-Wing Ignatieff? Do they try to win voters back from the NDP and Greens, or try to take advantage of Canada getting more conservative (note: small c)? If they go for Rae, expect to see some jump to Harper's team, and if they take Ignatieff, I think that NDP might just end up with some more disaffected Liberals.

Pay attention to this one, because it should have a pretty profound effect on Canadian politics for the next few years.

The Hottest Free Agent in Town: Oddly in the NHL right now, the most sought after free agent is not a player, but rather a General Manager. Last week, the Anaheim Ducks and GM Brian Burke, parted ways, in a move that should fundamentally alter the NHL's landscape.

There has been a lot of talk about Burke going to Toronto, and it appears to be the most likely situation. However, there is reported interest from both Chicago and Ottawa, as well as Blackberry Billionaire, Jim Ballsille, who is still looking for his own NHL franchise.

Burke is considered one of the best GMs in the league, having build a solid team in Vancouver, and winning a Cup in Anaheim, so interest is high, especially in Toronto, who needs to turn things around quickly. However, there is an issue if MLSE will allow Burke (or anyone) the kind of control that they are looking for.

Classical Departure: In my obligatory wresting topic, it appears that TNA Wrestler, Christian Cage, may be headed back to the WWE. This comes almost three years to the day that he jumped to the Orlando-based company in a move that fundamentally altered the wrestling landscape. While this has not pushed TNA into direct competition with WWE, it served as a precursor for Kurt Angle and Booker T walking away from the WWE and joining TNA.

Also, in the mean time, Christian has improved in leaps and bounds. He has been one of TNAs top performers for the past three years, and shown t hat he genuinely belongs in the Main Event. If he returns to the WWE, expect him to have a secure place in the upper-midcard, and a very likely feud with either Chris Jericho or Edge.

Lastly if this does work for Cage, then we could expect to see other young wrestlers who are lost in the shuffle (including the recently released Kenny Dykstra and Elijah Burke) to head down south, hone their craft and come back for more money and a bigger limelight.

Lesnar Wins!!!: Speaking of wrestling, former WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, shocked the world by defeating UFC Champion, Randy Couture to claim the title. I think that this goes a long way to legitimizing professional wrestlers as athletes.

A Few Trips Booked: Allow me to get personal for a moment, but I have booked a few trips for upcoming holidays. Over Christmas, I will be heading to southern Vietnam and Cambodia, while for Chinese New Year (early February) I will be going to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Expect more stories of these to follow.

The Cabinet Fills Up: In the past week, speculation has been rampant about the upcoming cabinet. Apparently, Hilary Clinton has been offered the high-profile position of Secretary of State, but it remains to be seen if a) this is true, or b) she will accept the offer. If this is the case, then this goes a long way to Obama establishing a "Team of Rivals" as he has claimed interest in building.

George W. Bush talked a great deal about bridging partisan divides, but he ended up surrounding himself with exceptionally conservative people, showing that he was all talk (yes I know Colin Powell was the exception, but he didn't last both terms). Obama has already left Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense, and he and Joe Biden haven't always seen eye-to-eye in the Senate. If he adds some more high profile Republicans, or other Democrats that he's had issues with, expect him to go much farther along that his predecessor into healing some old wounds.

Yes, I know it involved Obama, but only tangentially...forgive me...

Just in Case You Want More Election: Newsweek has an EXCELLENT seven part story about the election. It contains many behind-the-scenes looks at the campaign, going all the way back to the primaries. It is well worth the time.

Damn, I couldn't get through an Obama free post. Ah well, I suppose that admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery.

Until next time,

G

Predicting 2008

Well after doing fairly well with my 2007 Crystal Ball, I think that it's time for me to try and build on this success by looking forward to the coming year. After staring into a crystal ball, reading some tea leaves, and depriving myself of all sensory stimulation for 24 hours I have came up with the following GUARANTEED* predictions for the following 12 months.

* Guarantee not valid anywhere



1. Obama vs. Huckabee - You heard it here first, the election this year is going to come down to an African-American proponent of change taking on a baptist minister who once equated homosexuality with necrophilia. It's going to be a wild, wild ride...

2. Prolonged Strike - The crystal ball tells me that the Hollywood Writers Strike is going to last a very long time. I would be shocked if this is over by spring time.

3. Abrams will not Disappoint - I have HIGH hopes for both season 4 of Lost, and for Cloverfield. Because really, how awesome does this look?



4. Score one more for California - Mark my words, either the Anaheim Ducks will repeat as champs, or the San Jose Sharks will finally take that next step. As a Senators fan, I desperately hope that I am wrong on this one, but we'll see here...

5. Another Three Countries Scratched off the List - Sorry while I take a break for the personal here, but I think that I'll get to visit another three countries this year. I know that I'm going to Laos in March, but I have a feeling that there will be two more there, somehow, someway.

6. The Temperature Will Continue To Rise - Sure I made this prediction last year, but I don't see much changing on that one...

7. Another Conservative Minority - Sure last year I predicted that we would see a Liberal Minority, but I think that the opportunity to see that has passed, unfortunately. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were another Canadian Federal election, I just don't see much coming about it.

8. More Record Label Rebellions - So Radiohead started something by releasing the amazing In Rainbows on-line for free, I wouldn't be shocked to see some other major bands follow in their footsteps.

9. The Patriots will Lose - I don't know why I think this, but I have this sneaking suspicion that the New England Patriots will NOT win the Superbowl, making their 16-0 season completely worthless.

10. Samoa Joe will FINALLY win the TNA World Title - Yes, another repeat from last year. I think that even Vince Russo is not dumb enough to keep the gold off of Joe for another year.

11. Further Republican Misdoings - This may be the easiest and vaguest prediction I could ever make, but I am certain that we will find out about something incredibly schemey and evil that Bush, Cheney, and co have been up to, that will even push Fox News's ability to present them in a positive light.

12. Someone will Follow in Feist's Footsteps - Another Indie-Darling will break into the mainstream in a big way, just like Lesley Feist was able to do thanks to Steve Jobs.

13. I will have a great year - My third redo from last year. I figure that this is a safe one, 2007 was pretty dang good, and 2008 seems like it could be even better.

Just like last year, the spirits are keeping their signs to only 13....I'll look back sometime next year and see if I can top my 9-2-2 record!

Until next time,

G

Looking Back at My Crystal Ball

Last year, I made some bold and daring predictions for the Year 2007, and now, 367 days later I see how my clairvoyant abilities turned out....



1. A Liberal Minority – Wow, was I ever wrong with this one!!!! While I still think very highly of Mr. Dion, he has not exactly set the country on fire, as the Conservatives are still leading the poll, and somehow, someway, Canada avoided an election during 2007.

2. The Arcade Fire’s New Album Will Kick All Sorts of Ass – Alright so this one was a bit of an easy prediction, as Neon Bible was my pick for best Album of the Year, in a year that really was full of some artistic brilliance. Follow this link to find out exactly why I loved this one so much....

3. Canada Will Win More Hockey Gold – I thought that I was going out on a bit of a limb here, as we don't always win the Men's World Hockey Championships, but hoorah, the boys won a medal for me!!! Also, add to the fact that we won yet another Women's World Championship, we took the Under 17 tourney, and of course the Under 20 just a few days ago, and things are looking up for hockey in our country.

4. I Will Go To At Least Three New Countries – Done and done. I went to China and Vietnam in April, some jaunts into Hong Kong and Macau in May (while sort of part of China, they have their own border patrols, and currency, making them more of their own country than say, Scotland), plus I just made the trip to both the French and Dutch West Indies, not sure if those count as separate entities from their mother countries or not...either way, I'm up on this one.

5. “Here We Go Again” by OK Go Will Remain the Coolest Music Video I Have Ever Seen - Duh...



6. I Will Retire from Kodiak – I'm still non-commital on this one, I think that I won't be heading to my Home Away From Home for the entire summer this year....we shall see though.

7. The US will not leave Iraq, but Canada will leave Afghanistan – A half-botch here, as the US, predictably decided to stay in Iraq, and sent a "surge" to boot, where as Canada has stuck around in Afghanistan, despite a growing amount of opposition and repatriation ceremonies.

8. This Blog Will Hit 200 Posts – Well this is my 216th post, so...well met.

9. Some New Indie Band Will Blow My Mind – The term "Indie" is a hard one to define, as many of these bands are in fact on major labels. But I will say that it came true, as I fell even more in love with Stars and Wilco than before, discovered Guillemots, Besnard Lakes, LCD Soundsystem, and The National. Surely one of those must be an Indie Band of some sort.

If you don't know any of those artists then type some of their names into YouTube and be prepared to be amazed, if you are too lazy here is "Fake Empire" by The National



Awesome, eh?

10. I Will Not Eat Meat – That's right still going strong without the flesh. In fact, I think that I've become a bit more passionate about this over the past 12 months, as more and more
has made its way onto this blog.

11. Samoa Joe Will Win the NWA World Title – Man, oh man, another epic fail!!! Samoa Joe has every right to be World Champion, yet somehow, someway, TNA has failed to do so. They had three EXCELLENT opportunities to give him the gold this year and botched every one of them.

12. The Temperature Will Only Get Higher – Can I point out that yesterday in Toronto it was 15 Degrees outside? Can I also point out that it's F'n JANUARY?!?!?!??!?!

Score one more for the G Man

13. I Will Have a Great Year – This year was yet another Roller Coaster for me, but what the heck, I wouldn't want it any other way, so yes, another great year for me.

I guess that leaves my final score to be 9-2-2, not bad I dare say, even if some of the picks were pretty obvious. Over the next few days I will put forward some more predictions for 2008, and I hope to have an even better record in the coming year!

Until next time,

G

Christmas Shopping List

Well now that December and the snow are upon us, even the most grinchy of us (i.e. me) can not deny that the Christmas season is upon us. I suppose that means that I need to start my shopping....uggh...I have came up with the following list for a few people, hopefully you can help me add a few more. So, I would like to give...

...a clue and a conscience...to all of the world leaders descending in Bali this week. They are going to be meeting with scientists and activists to discuss the key issue of our time, Global Warming. Their plan is to draft a follow up to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in a few years. Hopefully they can learn from the mistakes of Kyoto, and maybe, just maybe there will be some buy in from the important players who skipped out on the previous rulings (i.e. Canada and the United States).

...a few more wins...to my Ottawa Senators. They have been slumping a lot lately, yet still have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Kind of bitter sweet to be honest. I'm sure it's just a little slump, they just need to make sure that they don't loose four games in a playoff series.

...a rattle-free saber..for Bush, Cheney, and co. Given the recent intelligence report that Iran STOPPED their nuclear weapons program over four years ago. Maybe, we can stop talking about bombing them to prevent World War III.

...the ruins of the Statue of Liberty...to future generations. This is because the apes are clearly taking over. A recent study in Japan showed that a group of chimpanzees outperformed University Students on memory tests. I just hope that they remember that the doll talks...damn dirty apes.

...this song...to everyone who hasn't heard it. It's just awesome and full of great advice, easily one of the best of 2007... It's called "Thou Shalt Always Kill" by Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, by the way.

Embedded Video

...cruel, delicious irony...for the Conservative Party of Canada. Having won an election in 2006 with a platform of accountability, they now find themselves dealing with their own mess, as Parliament begins to investigate the relationship between Schreiber and Mulroney from over a decade ago. Pardon me while I laugh about this one.

...763 career homeruns... for anyone not named Barry Bonds. Let's get that cheating ass out of the record books.

...an understanding of limonene...to the entire planet. Limonene is an oil found in orange peels, that can be mixed with regular old carbon dioxide (yes THAT carbon dioxide) to make a renewable, biodegradable, plastic. How cool is that?

...some alternative source of revenue...for the good people at Facebook. While they have made my life easier in all sorts of ways (i.e. helped me stay in touch with people by making virtually no effort), I hate how many ads are creeping into my Facebooking. So what if my status is listed as single, it doesn't mean that I am going to go to an on-line dating site!!!!

...anti-Zombie spray...for everyone. Because we all know that Zombies will try to take over the world someday. However, there is no telling if this will come before or after the apes get us...better be ready for either eventuality.

...a happy holiday...for everyone reading this blog! Thanks a ton for wasting some of your free time on this site. I hope that this holiday season is a good one for all of you!!!

Until next time,

G

The Robots are Taking Over!!! One Species at a Time

Pardon the paranoia, but I recently dugg up this little ditty. So forgive me if I'm a little scared of our mechanized friends at this moment.

For those of you too lazy to click on the underlined blue text, you've got a lot of nerve. But it is a link to an article on the National Public Radio website about a recent experiment involving robots and cockroaches. To summarize, the scientists were able to make a robot infiltrate cockroach society and guide any group decisions. They did this not by making robots that looked like cockroaches, but by making robots that smelled like cockroaches, seeing as how scent is their primary sense.

This little smelly robot was originally programmed to prefer dark spots to rest (a typical cockroach trait) but then after collecting some data, they changed it, making it prefer lighter nesting places. This influenced the other roaches and had them follow the robot into the lighter areas.

While I think that this is simply fascinating, and I realize that there is enormous potential in having us unlock knowledge about animal societies, I do have my concerns. First off, I think that it is scary to think that scientists are able to program a machine to think like an animal. Sure, cockroaches are pretty dumb, but today if is just insects today, what is to stop it from being fish or birds? And if fish and birds are ok, then what about pigs and cows? And then if those are ok, then what about dolphins or, heaven forbid, humans.

The thought of having a pre-programmed robot infiltrate human society should scare the crap out of you. Sure it's something that we may not have to worry about for a while, but still, it's a creepy, creepy thing! I don't want to end up falling in love with some girl, only to find out that she's actually a machine in disguise! And to fully integrate into human society they would probably be programed to NOT know their true identity, since it would be some sort of a give away.

Maybe I'm just a technophob, but I have serious concerns wondering just what kind of future artificial intelligence hold for us. In fact I think it could probably look something like this...




Yeah Han Solo is in all of my visions of the future...

I guess the fact that I chose that trailer explains my point perfectly. I have seen too many movies where technology goes horribly wrong. For every Blade Runner, Matrix, Minority Report, Dr. Strangelove, or even Jurassic Park there is a warning about something horrible that could go wrong. While I don't plan on taking any blue pills any time soon, I can't help but wonder just what potential for disaster there is any attempt to push the limits of human ingenuity.

While the gains are potentially monumental, the loses are potentially catastrophic. Because if someday a scientist is able to duplicate a human brain and have them infiltrate our society then we have lost something huge. We lose our identity, we lose our ability to be human if someone out there is able to make something "More Human Than Human".

Until next time,

G

Responsible Jorunalism

Before you start reading know one thing. The title of this post is meant to be sarcastic, very, very sarcastic.

Last week CNN aired a special documentary on professional wrestling, that has created quite a bit of controversy of late. The main focus of attention has been the heavy editing that took place during an interview with former WWE Champion, John Cena. Here are both editions in one video clip.




Quite the difference, eh?

There are a few major issues that need to be addressed here. First of all, and most obviously is journalistic integrity. I have ranted before about a new agency pushing their own agenda as opposed before, so I don't think that I have much more to add here. Needless to say, I find it absolutely despicable that any network that refers to itself as "The Most Trusted Name in News" would blatantly violate any trust that they have. It really makes me worry as to what other stories that they are doctoring, and it makes me worry even more just who believes them.

I really have to wonder just why they decided to attack Cena like this. He is one of the few "good guys" in professional wrestling, as he has never tested positive for steroids, despite his excellent physique, and he manages to stay out of trouble. There are so many "bag boys" in the WWE, that they really did not have to attack Cena. The current WWE Champion Randy Orton, has failed several drug tests, has reportedly trashed a hotel room in a less than sober rampage, and harassed many of the female wrestlers. Or any of the wrestlers involved in the Signature Pharmacy Scandal could have been much, much easier targets than Cena.

But the biggest thing about this, is that through all of this, the WWE appears more credible than CNN. The WWE was outraged at CNN for this and has demanded an apology, and even gathered some media support. I find it incredibly ironic that in this showdown, a company that stages combat, shows violence against women, and produces some ridiculous storylines, including have a woman in her seventies give birth to a hand, is more credible than "The Most Trusted Name in News".

The WWE has earned a great deal of the criticism it has gathered over the course of it's history, but for once it is able to legitimately be on the giving , as opposed to the receiving end of it all. And if a company that stages fights, arising from contrived storylines through imaginary characters is able to be more credible than a world news provider, it kind of makes you wonder just what it is that you're reading now doesn't it?

Until next time,

G

Remember, Remember...

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'Twas his intent.
To blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below.
Poor old England to overthrow.
By God's providence he was catch'd,
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip Hoorah !
Hip hip Hoorah !
A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,'
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head,
Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.

-- British Nursery Rhyme

I'd like to wish all of the anarchists out there a Happy Guy Fawkes Night! I believe that this is one of the coolest days of the year. Now, 365 days ago, I wrote explaining the history of this day and my own personal experience. Today, I'm going to talk about what it means to me.

While Guy Fawkes Night had it's origins as a method of sticking it to the Catholic Rebels, I believe today it has evolved to have the exact opposite meaning. Today is a day about rebellion. It is a day about the little Guy that could. It is about the individual breaking down the establishment. It is about freedom.

Today is about speaking out against the injustices of our time and doing your part to make a difference and believe me, there are all sorts of injustices going on around us, women aren't getting paid the same as men, blacks still aren't allowed in some country clubs, Middle Eastern countries are invaded for oil, the planet is suffering and politicians do nothing, the poor constantly get poorer, the press are either lied to or are busy lying to us, and really that's not that different that Catholics being treated unfairly in 17th Century Europe.

While Mr. Fawkes' methods may not have been the most efficient, it does not change the validity of his message. Things weren't fair and he didn't want to take it anymore, and you know what? They still aren't fair...

Until next time,

G

The Outing of Albus

San Diego is burning, the US is getting closer to invading Iran, the World Series is about to start, scientists are now beginning to think that they can treat HIV, and of course there's still that pesky global warming. Sounds like we should have a lot to read about in the news right? Then why is the most talked about story this week about the sexuality of a fictional character?

Last weekend, J.K. Rowling made the startling revelation that Albus Dumbeldore, the late head of Hogwart's is in fact gay. This has caused a huge backlash in parts of the Evangelical Right, who already consider the fantasy series to be full of pagan references. This has inspired some Red Staters to claim that some like the late Jerry Falwell, who you may recall first claimed that Tinky-Winky was one of many "undisclosed gay characters" in children's entertainment, are vindicated.

Now I am not going to try and make an argument against the Falwellers, I feel that would be giving too much credit to a horribly ignorant view point. And you know what? They don't deserve my precious key strokes.

But what I do have issues with is Rowling's whole posthumous outing of Mr. Dumbledore. As a fan of the series, I find this deeply insulting, and not for reasons that any of the intolerant Bible-thumpers may.

Rowling herself has called the series a "prolonged argument for tolerance", and that has always been something that I totally respect about her work. From Harry the wizard in a mogul world, to Hermionie the mogul-born, to Hagrid the giant, to Snape the weirdo with a good heart, the main characters in this series are a host of misfits and oddballs who are able to overcome the prejudice both at the personal level (Malfoy) to an institutional level (The Ministry of Magic).

They are able to do this by overcoming any inherent differences they may have, accepting one another and then finally smiting evil in the end. That in itself is a great argument for tolerance, and it is a message that any reasonably intelligent reader/movie-goer should be able to gather. These lessons of accepting people for who they are can easily be extracted from the magical world to the real world we live in right here. Just change mogul-borns to lower socio-economic classes, giants to different races, Snape to emo-kids, and that creepy spider to homosexuals, and ta-da, there we are, a perfect lesson for kids and adults alike. Give people a chance to overcome your first impression and you too can kill Voldemort and excel at Quiddich!!!!

By revealing Dumbeldore's sexuality, Rowling is hitting us over the head with the moral of her story. It's completely unnecessary at this point. This would be equivalent to William Shakespeare showing up at the end of MacBeth to tell us "Don't get power hungry", or Steven Spielberg telling us "Don't kill Jews" after watching Schindler's List. It may be a great message, but they've already given it to us.

Secondly, I found this announcement to be offensive, because, frankly, Dumbledore's sexuality -no matter how fictitious - is Dumbeldore's business and none of mine. It is something that does not come up at all in the novels, so why bother bringing it up now? For all we know, the series could be full of gay characters. I mean, Crab and Goyle always were a little TOO close to one another, and one never really knew what to make out of Doby the House Elf, after Snape got rejected by Harry's mother, maybe he embraced a different kind of love, right? In fact, when you think about it, there are very few characters whose sexualities were ever really reveled. Sure Harry had a girlfriend, but maybe he was bisexual, who are we to know? More importantly, who are we to care?

I feel that by referencing Dumbeldore's sexuality outside of her novels, Rowling has unintentionally committed an act of intolerance herself. She made an issue out of someone's sexuality, when really it shouldn't be an issue at all. From the many conversations I have had with homosexual friends of mine, they have told me that they want to just be treated like everyone else. In her outing, Rowling, has treated the homosexual character differently than any other characters. To treat Dumbeldore fairly, she really should list every single character's sexuality, and that may take a while.

So while I applaud Rowling for her attempt at spreading such great values of tolerance around the world, I really don't feel that this was the best way to do it. Perhaps instead of talking about fictional characters sexuality, she should wave her magic wand and say "Homosexualis Toleroso" instead.

Until next time,

G

Double Dose of Fear

I have recently dug up two frightening tidbits of information that I feel the need to share with you, my beloved blogees. And somehow, neither of them are about Global Warming or Meat. Intrigued? Well read on!

The first one is a frightening news article from the good people at The Observer it is about a computer worm going around referred to as "Storm". Now this originally came hidden in e-mail attachments with the line "230 dead as storm batters Europe", but has since changed into all sorts of different forms from eCards, to spamming on blog comments, to YouTube invites. According to the article, the worm is particularly insidious since it does not show any immediate symptoms. Instead, it gives hosts certain roles, like an insect colony. Some computers are assigned to spread the worm, some are designed as "Host Servers" to control the spread of the worm and others are currently waiting for other assigned tasks. Creepy eh?

Nobody really has any ideas who the makers of Storm are, how many people have been infected, and worst of all, what they plan on doing with the infected computers. If the estimates as high as 50 million infected computers is right, then whoever is controlling this worm could spread some major havoc if they really want to.

So I really urge everyone out there to not open any suspicious e-mails of any kind, just flat out delete them, and if you get anything weird from me, please let me know!

Secondly on my pre-Hallowe'en fear fest, is an eerie video featuring some former employees of Fox News. As scary as a potentially apocalyptic computer virus may be, the thought of people telling a series of half-truths and/or blatant lies under the guise of being "Fair and Balanced" has far more dire consequences.




If the line "We weren't necessarily, as it was told to us, a news gathering organization, so much as we were a proponent of a point of view" by Jon Du Pre doesn't send shivers down your spine then I don't know what will. It is frightening that this sort of vicious propaganda can be pushed under the guise of legitimate news. While this clip only targets Fox, there are many other media outlets that are just as guilty of this sort of behaviour.

This is a prime example of one of the greatest ironies of our time is that quite literally, every piece of information is available at our fingertips, yet the truth has never been so hard to come by.

Until next time,

G

True Parity Love

We did it!!! We finally did it!!!!

That's right, this week for the first time in 31 years the Canadian Dollar traded at par with its American counterpart. After spending the late 90s and early 00s trading around 70 or 80 cents US, we are finally on an even currency field with our neighbours to the south. It seems that every major media outlet has been constantly reporting our exchange rate over the past few weeks as we inched closer and closer to that magic $1.00US mark.

On Thursday, the day we broke even (henceforth referred to as P-Day), the excitement was almost palpable as many Canadians were excited about our currency reaching that magic number. Sure there may be all sorts of frightening side effects of our currency rise such as a lessening of tourists coming north of the border and exports going south, but economic uncertainty doesn't matter because we are even with the Americans!

The Canadian psyche is such an interesting one to look at sometimes. While we have a wonderful country, and are a leading middle power (does that term even make sense?) in the world, we are very clearly the Jan Brady of the G-8. Like all good middle children, we seek and revel in any opportunity we have to look better than our older siblings.

Don't believe me? Well how much sweeter did our 2002 Gold Medal taste because we beat the States in the finals? How patriotic did you feel when the Blue Jays won the World Series? How many times do you point out that a famous actor/musician/inventor is Canadian? How many times do we try to point out the "stupidity" of Americans with such shows as Talking to Americans?

We celebrated when our hockey team won the gold, but the Americans still took home more medals than any other country during those Olympic Games. We proudly sang the national anthem as a Canadian team won the championship at the Americans National Past Time, but our "Canadian" team had no Canadian players. We proudly talk up Mike Myers, The Bare Naked Ladies, or Alexander Graham Bell, but they still did most of their best work south of the 49. We laugh at Americans for thinking that Canada is covered in snow all year, but we further our own prejudices by thinking that they are all stupid.

Our country clearly has some deep seeded insecurities when it comes to our older sibling. We always long to feel better then them at something and this is no different. We celebrate our rising dollar, but a typical American is still 20% wealthier than a typical Canadian. Once more, we celebrate a small victory but continue to loose the forest for the trees.

This story is already blowing over and unless our currency skyrockets even more, things will once more be about "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia", and we will be left looking for some other way to get our parents attention.

Until next time,

G

"Andy, did you hear about this one?"

It's 2007, out Space Odyssey is a good 6 years behind. But with further funding cuts to NASA and the Russian Space Program being a shell of its former self, we stand here looking for someone to stop both Stanley Kubrick and Hannah Barbara from becoming filthy liars. Who should be the one to step up to the plate?

Why who else but the good people at Google! That's right, the people who brought you both Google Earth and Google Sky have team up with the X-Prize foundation to offer $30 million (U.S.) in prize money for private companies to land a robot on the moon and takes some video and pictures (Check out the full article on BBC with all of the details). Part of that money includes $5 million for taking pictures of old Apollo equipment to prove (or disprove?) that yes, the moon landing was real.

So if this is the first step, will the next prize be to a company that sends tourists to the moon? How about setting up a lunar base? How about landing on Mars? What's next after that? While this is all very exciting, I can't help but wonder about the long term consequences in removing governments from space travel. What rules would govern a company that has set up shop on the moon? And what if a corporation is able to set up a base on say Mars before NASA is able to? Does that mean that the company would own that section of the planet and able to set up their own government?

Maybe Chuck Pahalniuk was right in Fight Club in saying "...when deep-space exploitation ramps up, it will probably be the megatonic corporations that discover all the new planets and map them. The IBM Stellar Sphere. The Philip Morris Galaxy. Planet Denny's. Every planet will take on the corporate identity of whoever rapes it first..."

Enough corporate terror talk, I'll give you what you really wanted to see...



Should any of you be interested in attempting to land a robot on the moon here is the promotional poster/link for more information. I warn you though, I've already started finding ways to duct tape my camera to a remote control car. All I need is a rocket and I'll be rolling in the dough.

I never knew that the original moon was outdated, I figured it had served us well for long enough, but what do I know? I guess we need a full lunar upgrade...

Until next time,

G

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Earlier this week we saw the tragic return of Britney Spears to performing as she "sang" and "danced" at the MTV Video Music Awards. The use of quotes was really quite intentional. But I'm not going to talk about how abysmal she performed, I'm sure that you've already heard enough about that over the past few weeks. I am going to talk about some of the reaction that has came to the former Mrs. Federline.



First off, I don't care if anyone calls her talentless, out of shape, washed up or anything else directly related to her performing abilities, because, frankly, they were atrocious. What I do care about is how have dared to call Britney fat. First off, take a look at that picture invading the left side of your screen. Does this woman look fat? Sure she's not quite as toned as she was a few years ago, but let's remember that she has had two children, which would not be easy on a gals weight.


Now I'm not upset about those comments for Britney's well being. I've never met the gal, and don't imagine that I ever will. But this drives me crazy because of the impact people calling Britney fat would have on any women out there. I have known my share of family members/friends/ex-girlfriends/students who have their share of completely unjustified body issues, and it completely staggers my mind. But this completely blows my mind out of the water.


If people are talking about Britney's weight, why is nobody mentioning Timbaland's? He's clearly much bigger than she is...ohh right, he has the wrong type of genitals to be compared to an impossible standard. I have never really got why so many women are compared (either in reality or through their own perception) to some sort of Barbie ideal, while men get off so easy. It's pretty clear that there are many different "types" of ideal male bodies, so those of you who aren't as buff as I am can be compared to say Justin Timberlake instead of a Greek Adonis. However, it is never ever noted that there are many different types of attractive female body types, not all of which are made of plastic.


I am amazed that nobody has really tried to take it to the media for this deathly serious issues - yes, I used the word deathly serious on purpose, check out this article on the growing anorexia rates. They are creating a generation of seriously unhealthy women, both physical and emotionally, and yet they are always in the clear, simply unreal.


I'm just going to close with an odd paradox that I don't really know the answer to. Why do anorexia and bulimia rates keep raising, while the obesity rates are sky rocketing? Doesn't make a lot of sense now does it?


Until next time,


G

Doubting Teresa

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." -- Mother Teresa

Today a decade ago, we lost someone very special, at the age of 87 Mother Teresa passed away. This was of course over shadowed by the death of Princess Diana which had occurred just a week earlier, but it is still important none the less. Of course Mother Teresa's death was due to the passage of time and not due to some tragic accident, but Mother Teresa is one of very few people to have lived in our lifetime who will achieve sainthood, pretty cool I dare say.

In a recent issue of Time, there is a fantastic article about a crisis of faith that Mother Teresa faced for the better part of 5 decades. It references a series of letters she shared with a priest and friend of hers. Here is an excerpt of a letter she wrote to Jesus at the suggestion of a confessor.

"When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?" -- Click Here to see the article I took this from

Pretty interesting that someone as dedicated as Mother Teresa could doubt herself so much. I find it fascinating that she could continue doing what she considered to be the work of God, all the while feeling nothing but darkness, coldness and emptiness. But after decades of searching and confronting her own doubt she eventually comes back into the fold and finds the light.

I think that there are some pretty powerful lessons to be drawn from Mother Teresa's doubt, even for the non-religious/spiritual. At one time she believed that God loved her and had given her a task, but then for a period doubted that, yet she perceveered. I think that any of us who ever experience any sort of doubt can easily look to Moth Teresa for some inspiration. You can very easily apply her lessons and struggles to any other relationships. At one point or another we have all been filled with doubt and veer off of our paths in some capacity.

I guess Mother Teresa shows us that even if you think that you are neglected, even if you think that you are unloved, you really just have to do some intense soul searching and find out that you are indeed loved and are someone special no matter how empty and alone you may feel. That’s a pretty important lesson for anyone regardless of your faith level.

I would like to end this blog entry with another quote from Mother Teresa that really blows me away.

"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. " -- Mother Teresa

Good advice, eh?

Until next time,

G

Remembering a Princess

First off, I'd like to apologize for not posting this on Friday, I was a wee bit busy and went to my Dad's place, which is still in the stone ages and free of internet access.

I remember August 31, 1997 really well. The whole week, hell summer, was a period of intense turmoil for me. My mother, sister and I were in the process of moving from Ontario to Nova Scotia, and I was quite torn on the whole thing. I was looking forward to making a fresh start but nervous to leave my friends and the remainder of my family behind. Anyway, to make an insanely long story short, I decided at the last minute to move in with my dad and stay in Trenton and my flight back to Ontario was scheduled for August 31, 1997.

The night before I was busy packing and was quite anxious about the day ahead of me so I stayed up late playing on the old 486 that I had in my bedroom at the time and listening to the local Truro Radio Station when a news bulletin came on. I don't remember the exact wording, but it told me that Princess Diana, Dodi Al-Fayed, their bodyguard and the driver had been involved in a car accident which had killed the driver and left Diana and Dodi in critical condition. I was concerned for a moment, but ultimately indifferent, I was 14 years old and these were people I had never met after all. I eventually went to bed getting ready for the long emotional day I was about to face.

I wake up earlyish on my fateful day and as I just finish brushing my teeth and reach to turn the water on I hear a knock on the door. It was my mother, looking visibly shaken, told me that Princess Diana had died. To be honest, I thought that she was emotional since I was leaving, but in retrospect I think that it wasn't only my impending departure that had left her shocked.

After an emotional day, I leave for Toronto to be greeted by my dad and grandparents. After unloaded my stuff and complaining about the airline food, we head out to the car. I was shocked to see my dad talk to a complete stranger about how sad the events surrounding Diana were. I mean, talking to a stranger about another strangers business. It appeared so very odd.

Like everyone else, I was shocked at the events that followed, Buckingham Palace littered with flowers, intense US media coverage, the Queen staying in Scotland, the public backlash, the State Funeral, the Queen's eventual tribute, the traditionally stoic Brits bursting into tears, and of course a hit Elton John single. And like everyone else, I proceeded to allow these events to slip from my conscious and get replaced with my more immediate, tangible concerns.

Fast forward to April 2007. I was teaching in China, and the first lesson that I had to do was on British Politics and Culture. I had to watch the second half of the movie The Queen (which by the way is HIGHLY recommended) and then lead a discussion on it. Now I had never seen this movie before, and for those of you that haven't, it chronicles the Queen's tumultuous few days between Diana's death and funeral. It focuses mainly on the public backlash that she receives and how she responds to the situation. I found it especially powerful because it mixes in a variety of news clips from the time to add an intense sense of realism to the movie.

Due to my schedule, I had to repeat the lesson 6 times, each time I watched the movie I got more and more involved. I shook my head in disbelief every time I saw all of the flowers at Buckingham Palace and I was touched by the powerful words of Earl Spencer as he eulogized his sister. As I discussed the video with my classes I was amazed at how my perception of the events had transformed over a decade.

For some reason I missed Princess Diana, I wanted her to still be around, I wanted her to make a difference. I wondered what cause she would be fighting for right now. I imagined what would have happened if she had spoken out against the War in Iraq - would the Brits have even gone if she said no? How much awareness could she raise for Global Warming? What about AIDS? She did a ton of work for AIDS victims in her lifetime, how much more work could she have done in a decade?

Fast forward a little bit more to last Friday, the 10 year mark. I sit alone at my dad's place watching the news, and CBC does a special retrospective on Diana which I watch in amazement. I am amazed by all of Diana's achievements but ultimately I become amazed at myself. I was in awe of what I was doing, something that I hadn't done a decade before or 4 months previous when I was discussing it. I sat there and I cried.

Now I don't know if I was crying for a life lost, or for two motherless children, or for a better world, or maybe I was crying because I was reminded of my own personal situation.

It doesn't really matter why I cried, but the point is that I did cry, and after a decade of holding those thoughts in let me tell you, it felt good.

Until next time,

G

Shock and Horror

Tuesday morning there I was, sitting at the Rec. Hall at Camp Kodiak, when my friend Jeff gets a text message. He checks it out, says "Holy shit" and reads it out to me.

I felt like I was going to throw up. This was the first time that I heard about the Chris Benoit story.

I thought about what to put here. Do I decry a man I once adored? Do I try and defend a brutal murderer? Do I reflect on my own personal Benoit memories? Do I say nothing, since this story has already gotten enough attention?

Still as I sit here and type, I don't know is going to come out.

When people ask me why I'm a wrestling fan, I usually tell them about March 2004, a large group of my friends and I gathered at Kory's brother's place to watch Wrestlemania XX. Triple H, the wrestler I hated the most at the time was stepping into the ring with his long-time rival, Shawn Michaels and our working class Canadian hero, Chris Benoit. I was convinced that Shawn Michaels had no right to be in the match and he was going to steal the win and the title from Benoit, something which the Canadian deserved. At the close of the match, Benoit had Triple H in his signature move, the Crippler Crossface. I stood up with some of my closest friends, and cheered. I yelled "Tap, you son of a bitch!", expressing the feelings of not only everyone in the room, but many at Madison Square Garden and around the world at that exact moment. Finally, after intense drama, it happened.

I remember watching Joe Carter hit "The Home Run". I remember watching Jarome Iginla add that assurance goal in the third period against the Americans. But this topped it. This was the one moment where I felt like a true fan. I had my shared expression, I had my triumph, I got to see the good guy win, and damnit, I couldn't have been happier.

After the match was over, Benoit's long-time friend Eddie Guerrero (who had successfully defended his Title earlier in the night) came down to the ring to give Chris a hug. The two embraced as streamers flew from the ceiling. As the broadcast went off the air, Benoit was joined in the ring by his wife and son.

After Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away from heart failure in 2005 that moment seemed surreal. Now it seems disturbing.

I am really torn about how I feel now when I think about that moment. We all have a tendency to revise our memory to fit with our current schema. Right now I am horrified by the actions of Chris Benoit, but a little over 48 hours ago, I considered him to be a hero of mine, someone I genuinely looked up to and respected.

We all have such a strange relationship with our media stars. We are usually able to forgive people if they are still able to entertain us. Don't believe me? Well how many football fans cheered for Ray Lewis after he was charged with murder? How many of you out there still dance to "Ignition" or "Billy Jean" after their respective artists sexual endeavors? Maybe why this is so incredibly hard. There is no way for Benoit to redeem himself now, he is gone forever. Or maybe it's just that murder is so incredibly reprehensible that it can't be redeemed. But shouldn't we say the same about pissing on an 11 year old?

I guess I have some deep thinking to do for the next little while. In the mean time though I will not throw away my Chris Benoit DVD, which I was so excited to receive as a gift one Christmas. But I'm not making any special plans to watch it.

Should any of you be interested in following this story, be sure to check out one of my most favourite sites on the internet, 411mania for all of the info, including this excellent retrospective on Chris Benoit's wrestling career.

Until next time,

G

The Death of a President

Last night, I sat down and finally watched The Death of a President. I had heard about this controversial film for months and was initially outraged at the thought of this film, but then gradually my disgust turned to curiosity, as it always does.

The trailer is intriguing, but does not give away a heck of a lot, but definitely peaked my interest. Take a look yourself...



After watching The Queen, I became a huge fan of the inter-mingling of drama with news archives to create a strong sense of realism. However, I was very curious as to how it would be done with a fictitious story as opposed to the retelling of true events, as was the case with The Queen. More than anything though, I was curious as to how the man would be portrayed. I am far from a Bush supporter in any way shape or form, but the last thing I would want to see would be for the man to get shot.

I don't want to give away the film (although one spoiler: Bush gets shot), but it is filmed as a documentary of October 19, 2007 (don't worry, you haven't taken a long nap...the day hasn't happened yet) and the assassination of President Bush in Chicago. It then deals with the aftermath of the investigation, including the introduction of "Patriot 3" and the search for the assassin.

I fully expected this movie to take a strong anti-Bush stance, but two of the main characters interviewed were the Head of the Secret Service and President Bush's speech writer. These two characters display a closeness and reverence for George W. Bush as both a man and a President. It is hard not to get caught up in their sadness, I found myself holding back a tear when Dick Cheney delivered a eulogy for George Bush.

Yeah you read that right, an uber-hippie liberal was sad at the though of one of the worst and most damaging Presidents ever getting removed from office early. Why you ask? Well the movie did a wonderful job at showing the repercussions of such an action. I realized that the Republican Government did an eerily wonderful job at removing civil liberties after 9/11 and spinning the national tragedy for it's own good.

I couldn't help but think just how far they would take the assassination of a President. I couldn't help but think just how terrible the world would be if George Bush were to be made into a martyr. It was Jim Morrison who first said that death was a great career move, and what better move for the uber-right than to have one of their own cast into the pantheon of assassinated Presidents? You ask almost anyone out there who they think that the best President of all time is and I guarantee you that most of them would say Lincoln and/or Kennedy. The thought of having Bush mentioned in those same ranks is enough to bring anyone to tears.

Until next time,

G