Well it is officially December, and as much as I hate to admit it, I need to start shopping. After making a list last year (And even delivering some of them!), I decided to post my shopping list here on my blog, lord knows I would find a way to lose it anyway.
So for Christmas in 2008, I would like to give...
...a taste of his own medicine...to Prime Minister (for now) Stephen Harper. After running his own party, and his own country with an iron fist for far too long, things seem to be unraveling for the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. He lucked out with Dion's trepidation during the last Parliament, and thought that he would get another free pass. I just do not see how trying to remove opposition party subsidies, and get a surplus in the face of a recession. Also, after writing a letter to the Governor General in 2004, asking her to consider allowing him to form the government after Martin's government was falling, really makes any of his points of a "power grab" by the opposition moot. But I suppose one can never expect him to remain consistent.
...Chinese Democracy...well maybe not the album, since I am pretty indifferent about the snippets I have heard over here (it is rather banned). However, I would like to give people the results of an experiment in Democracy in China as chronicled by the PBS documentary Please Vote for Me.
Although, it seemed to work when I did it back in 2007.
...maybe I'll just stick to the album, it's easier to wrap after all.
...a non-violent resolution...to protests in Bangkok. There is some rather scary stuff going on down there, as (coupled with attacks in Mumbai) it appears that South Asia is a much more volatile region than it was not so long ago. This is exceptionally terrifying for someone who has booked a flight into Bangkok at the end of January.
...untold riches and unquestioned subservience...to our future squid overlords! Check out this video of a squid found 2.5 kilometres underwater. Oddly, it looks like it has elbows, and I don't know for certain what it is doing when it's head is flapping, but I can only assume that it controlling our minds somehow.
...some justice...for everyone who voted for Proposition 8 in California. Part of me hopes that you know it is like to have rights taken away from you for no good reason other than hate. But I know that if I gave into that anger, then I would be at your same level.
Love is never wrong, and homosexual marriage has nothing to do with you. Listen to The Beatles man, and just let it be.
...decisions...made by people who have been teasing me with the Arrested Development movie for the past year and a bit. I want this movie, and I want it now!!! Make it happen, come on!!!
...this song...to all who haven't heard it. Yeah, I gave a song last year, but I like this tradition. This year I present you with "Imitosis" by Andrew Bird.
...direction...for my Ottawa Senators. What a rough, rough year this has been for my team. They need to blow up and start over again, and it pains me so much.
...the new Harry Potter trailer...for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's just plain awesome.
Hells yeah, Quiddich is back!!!
...co-operation...between Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, as the Democratic Primary's runner up was officially named Secretary of State. Hopefully these two are able to disagree enough to keep things interesting, but able to work things out. The "Team of Rivals" is a great idea, and goes a long way to restoring partisan divides, but it does have a lot of potential to stop things from getting done. I just hope that Hilary will not try to steal the show too much.
...a happy holiday...for all who read this message. If you stumbled across this, or have been reading my blog since the beginning, I hope that you have a great, and safe holiday season.
Until next time,
G
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Monday, December 01, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
On the Precipice of Hope
I don't think that I could be anymore excited.As I sit half a world away, my eyes are squarely fixed Eastward across the Pacific, to the United States. Over the last eight years, we have watched this country go from bad to worse, as each decision of the Bush Administration proved more disastrous than the last. Now finally, in 28 odd hours, things will start to change.
While the time difference and busy schedule are going to get in my way, I know that I will be following these results as close as I can, and as each state goes blue I know that my heart will skip a little bit. I am fully expecting to shed a tear when he passes the magic number of 270, and we can finally declare that the baby Bush years are behind us.
After years of feeling downtrodden and dejected by the state of the world, there is finally a chance for something new and exciting to come our way. I am excited to imagine that the world that we go to bed tomorrow will be a better one than the one which we woke up to. Really how long has it been since we've been able to say that?
Yes, it's audacious, but I'll be damned if it's not hopeful.
Watch - "One Day to Change the World"
Watch - "There's Nothing We Can't Do"
Until next time,
G
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
"Welcome to the Jungle Baby..."
Last week was a wonderful time here in China, Golden Week. A time when everyone in China gets a week off for holidays. Now the thought of traveling around with 1.3 billion other people did not appeal to me all that much, so I hoped a fairly cheap flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. After spending a day or so in KL (as all the cool kids call it) I hoped on a bus to Taman Negara, a jungle park.
Now getting to this jungle paradise is quite the process as it first takes a three hour bus ride from KL to get to the tiny town of Jerentut. This is followed by a twenty minute bus ride to a dock, and then (the coolest part) a three hour boat ride up river on something that is little more than a canoe with a motor on the back of it.
The boat was really crowded, but still comfortable. There wasn't much to do other than make a few friends, lay back, and enjoy the view as the jungle got thicker and thicker. Needless to say, I felt like I was in Apocalypse Now, all I was missing was someone yelling "Charlie don't surf!" sadly that never happened. The closest thing that I got to that was having the water splash up and damage the book I was reading.
After reaching my destination, I didn't exactly find Colonel
Kurtz, but rather a small, charming little town called Kuala Tahan (why nobody ever referred to it as KT is beyond me). This town was literally across the river from the park, and had clearly developed as a place for tourists to stay while exploring the park. Despite the obvious recent development, KT (as I shall be calling it, hear by establishing the trend) maintained a great small, woodsy charm. The town had a wide range of accommodation going from some very minimalistic hostels to some very grand resorts. One of the coolest things though was that the actual town lacked any restaurants, instead they were floating on the river.
After surveying the town, finding a place to stay, and learning the hard way why they call it a "Rain Forest" (I'll give you a hint: it involves a lot of water falling from the sky), I settled down for the night since I had some big plans for the next day.
After I woke up the real adventure began. See myself and a few other travelers ended up hiring a guide to take us on a short (two day, one night) trek into the jungle, miles and miles away from the civilization of floating restaurants. Coolest part? That one night was to be spent sleeping in a cave.
Feel free to re-read that to absorb that awesomeness.
But before I could get to my cave filled slumber, I had to get there. En route, we stopped at the pre-eminent tourist stop in Taman Negara, the Canopy Walk. Now, there is not much to describe this place, other than it is a plank suspended a good 50 meters (that's 167 feet for those of you stuck in the Imperial system) above the jungle floor, and it's very shaky while you walk on it.
Needless to say the views were stunning. Also needless to say, it was simply terrifying for those of us who are afraid of heights, or more aptly, afraid of falling from high places. After taking many pictures, and gasps for breath, we made on our way farther up the river to start hiking.
Now I consider myself to be reasonably in shape, and more than capable of handling the 8.5km hike that was put in front of me. How wrong I was. The reason I had these pre-conceived notions is because my long hikes have predominantly been in Canada, with Canadian weather. Here I was in Malaysia, with equatorial weather and humidity. After an hour of walking over tangled brush, I had to start rationing my water for fear of running out.
Our guide was truly great at his job. He would stop and tell us all about different trees, animals, or tracks we saw. He was so patient in dealing with us Westerners who had never experienced anything like this before. We would have been in a huge amount of trouble if not for him that's for sure.
I put in a picture of a giant ant that he caught, because I couldn't really think of a better place to put it in the context of this post, and it is pretty awesome.
Apparently they bite, but E, super guide, wasn't scared.
I would be remiss to not mention the leeches. If the only leeches you have seen are in the swamp or Stand By Me, you have no idea how vicious those blood suckers can be. See in the jungle, they walked around on the ground, crawling like an inch worm, and would stand up vertically, dangling around trying to latch a hold of something warm to suck on. Scariest part? They can crawl through your socks and latch on, enjoying dinner on you. You have to physically pull them off, in a slightly painful, but extremely horrifying and bloody experience. If you don't want nightmares from this, scroll past the picture posted below, which is one after it fed.
Don't say that I didn't warn you.
Apparently all of the leeches slowed us down, because we ended up well behind schedule. As a result of this, we got another reminder as to why it is called a "Rain Forest" (hint: It's not because of the snow). Hurrying to fight the elements, we ended up watching the sun disappear, and darkness surround us.
At this point it is worth noting, that I have a very active imagination, and being in a group of six in the middle of the jungle at night, with a bunch of very strange noises, is quality material for a monster movie. If you can imagine how scared I was becoming, then you are not even half-way to imagining the pure horrors going on in my mind at this point.
After trekking for what seemed like an eternity, we ended up at our home, sweet cave for the night. It was a miraculous place, made out of lime stones and had all sorts of melted "sheets", that I couldn't quite capture on film, given the strange lighting. I slept soundly that night, without even thinking about the things that go bump in the night.
Waking up I got one of the greatest views I have ever arisen to:
Spectacular, eh?
Sadly, this was one of the final pictures that I was able to take before my camera went haywire saying that it had "Camera Error #E21", so no more picture for the rest of this trip, but don't worry, it's fine now. Not that it really matters for the purposes of this blog post.
After waking up and having a hearty breakfast we set on our way, having another 8.5km to stroll through before reaching the boat again. Again, let me restate: 8.5km through the jungle is a far greater challenge than 8.5km damn near anywhere else on the planet, since the first day's hike took us a solid 7 hours (including stops) to make.
Thankfully, the second day was much easier, and less eventful. We made a stop at another cave, but this one was full of the most terrifying animal on earth, bats. That's right, those winged-mammalian pets of Satan where everywhere, flying all around me and smelling, like well, bat shit. After we looked around, we saw a snake perched on a ledge inside the cave. Our ever intrepid guide, E, decided that he needed to touch this snake (saying it was a hobby of his), so after chasing it around, and assuring us that it was not poisonous, he got it. I went to go and touch the snake, and E decided to rest it on my shoulder, at which point it wrapped around my neck. Yes another chance for me to be terrified.
After unraveling the reptile from my larynx, we moved on and continued our long march. Over the course of the several kilometers we had to walk, we had to cross many streams and creeks, building small little bridges out of rocks or logs. At some point on this day, we came to a steep creek, which had the usual rock/log bridge, but it also had a much cooler way to cross the river, a vine.
As previously mentioned, my camera did not work at this point, but here is the closest visual representation I can find to my crossing of this creek.
Yeah, I Tarzaned it. Can't say that I've ever done that before.
The rest of my hike back was pretty uneventful, but then again, what can top being strangled by a snake and swinging on a vine?
Anyway, after reaching the boat, it was night time. All I could do was stare up as the stars slowly appeared in an unfamiliar pattern.
I realized, it was the first time that I got to see the Southern Cross, further knocking one more thing of my life's "To-Do List".
I'll wrap this one up with some random jungle shots that didn't really fit anywhere else, followed be a few songs to soundtrack that journey...
Guns n' Roses -- "Welcome to the Jungle"
The Fugees -- "Rumble in the Jungle"
Kool & The Gang -- "Jungle Boogie"
The (mother f'n) Time -- "Jungle Love"
The Tokens -- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Lion King Theme -- "Circle of Life"
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young -- "Southern Cross"
Until next time,
G
Now getting to this jungle paradise is quite the process as it first takes a three hour bus ride from KL to get to the tiny town of Jerentut. This is followed by a twenty minute bus ride to a dock, and then (the coolest part) a three hour boat ride up river on something that is little more than a canoe with a motor on the back of it.The boat was really crowded, but still comfortable. There wasn't much to do other than make a few friends, lay back, and enjoy the view as the jungle got thicker and thicker. Needless to say, I felt like I was in Apocalypse Now, all I was missing was someone yelling "Charlie don't surf!" sadly that never happened. The closest thing that I got to that was having the water splash up and damage the book I was reading.
After reaching my destination, I didn't exactly find Colonel
Kurtz, but rather a small, charming little town called Kuala Tahan (why nobody ever referred to it as KT is beyond me). This town was literally across the river from the park, and had clearly developed as a place for tourists to stay while exploring the park. Despite the obvious recent development, KT (as I shall be calling it, hear by establishing the trend) maintained a great small, woodsy charm. The town had a wide range of accommodation going from some very minimalistic hostels to some very grand resorts. One of the coolest things though was that the actual town lacked any restaurants, instead they were floating on the river.After surveying the town, finding a place to stay, and learning the hard way why they call it a "Rain Forest" (I'll give you a hint: it involves a lot of water falling from the sky), I settled down for the night since I had some big plans for the next day.
After I woke up the real adventure began. See myself and a few other travelers ended up hiring a guide to take us on a short (two day, one night) trek into the jungle, miles and miles away from the civilization of floating restaurants. Coolest part? That one night was to be spent sleeping in a cave.
Feel free to re-read that to absorb that awesomeness.
But before I could get to my cave filled slumber, I had to get there. En route, we stopped at the pre-eminent tourist stop in Taman Negara, the Canopy Walk. Now, there is not much to describe this place, other than it is a plank suspended a good 50 meters (that's 167 feet for those of you stuck in the Imperial system) above the jungle floor, and it's very shaky while you walk on it.Needless to say the views were stunning. Also needless to say, it was simply terrifying for those of us who are afraid of heights, or more aptly, afraid of falling from high places. After taking many pictures, and gasps for breath, we made on our way farther up the river to start hiking.
Now I consider myself to be reasonably in shape, and more than capable of handling the 8.5km hike that was put in front of me. How wrong I was. The reason I had these pre-conceived notions is because my long hikes have predominantly been in Canada, with Canadian weather. Here I was in Malaysia, with equatorial weather and humidity. After an hour of walking over tangled brush, I had to start rationing my water for fear of running out.
Our guide was truly great at his job. He would stop and tell us all about different trees, animals, or tracks we saw. He was so patient in dealing with us Westerners who had never experienced anything like this before. We would have been in a huge amount of trouble if not for him that's for sure.
I put in a picture of a giant ant that he caught, because I couldn't really think of a better place to put it in the context of this post, and it is pretty awesome.
Apparently they bite, but E, super guide, wasn't scared.
I would be remiss to not mention the leeches. If the only leeches you have seen are in the swamp or Stand By Me, you have no idea how vicious those blood suckers can be. See in the jungle, they walked around on the ground, crawling like an inch worm, and would stand up vertically, dangling around trying to latch a hold of something warm to suck on. Scariest part? They can crawl through your socks and latch on, enjoying dinner on you. You have to physically pull them off, in a slightly painful, but extremely horrifying and bloody experience. If you don't want nightmares from this, scroll past the picture posted below, which is one after it fed.
Don't say that I didn't warn you.
Apparently all of the leeches slowed us down, because we ended up well behind schedule. As a result of this, we got another reminder as to why it is called a "Rain Forest" (hint: It's not because of the snow). Hurrying to fight the elements, we ended up watching the sun disappear, and darkness surround us.
At this point it is worth noting, that I have a very active imagination, and being in a group of six in the middle of the jungle at night, with a bunch of very strange noises, is quality material for a monster movie. If you can imagine how scared I was becoming, then you are not even half-way to imagining the pure horrors going on in my mind at this point.
After trekking for what seemed like an eternity, we ended up at our home, sweet cave for the night. It was a miraculous place, made out of lime stones and had all sorts of melted "sheets", that I couldn't quite capture on film, given the strange lighting. I slept soundly that night, without even thinking about the things that go bump in the night.
Waking up I got one of the greatest views I have ever arisen to:
Spectacular, eh?
Sadly, this was one of the final pictures that I was able to take before my camera went haywire saying that it had "Camera Error #E21", so no more picture for the rest of this trip, but don't worry, it's fine now. Not that it really matters for the purposes of this blog post.
After waking up and having a hearty breakfast we set on our way, having another 8.5km to stroll through before reaching the boat again. Again, let me restate: 8.5km through the jungle is a far greater challenge than 8.5km damn near anywhere else on the planet, since the first day's hike took us a solid 7 hours (including stops) to make.
Thankfully, the second day was much easier, and less eventful. We made a stop at another cave, but this one was full of the most terrifying animal on earth, bats. That's right, those winged-mammalian pets of Satan where everywhere, flying all around me and smelling, like well, bat shit. After we looked around, we saw a snake perched on a ledge inside the cave. Our ever intrepid guide, E, decided that he needed to touch this snake (saying it was a hobby of his), so after chasing it around, and assuring us that it was not poisonous, he got it. I went to go and touch the snake, and E decided to rest it on my shoulder, at which point it wrapped around my neck. Yes another chance for me to be terrified.
After unraveling the reptile from my larynx, we moved on and continued our long march. Over the course of the several kilometers we had to walk, we had to cross many streams and creeks, building small little bridges out of rocks or logs. At some point on this day, we came to a steep creek, which had the usual rock/log bridge, but it also had a much cooler way to cross the river, a vine.
As previously mentioned, my camera did not work at this point, but here is the closest visual representation I can find to my crossing of this creek.
Yeah, I Tarzaned it. Can't say that I've ever done that before.
The rest of my hike back was pretty uneventful, but then again, what can top being strangled by a snake and swinging on a vine?
Anyway, after reaching the boat, it was night time. All I could do was stare up as the stars slowly appeared in an unfamiliar pattern.
I realized, it was the first time that I got to see the Southern Cross, further knocking one more thing of my life's "To-Do List".
I'll wrap this one up with some random jungle shots that didn't really fit anywhere else, followed be a few songs to soundtrack that journey...
Guns n' Roses -- "Welcome to the Jungle"
The Fugees -- "Rumble in the Jungle"
Kool & The Gang -- "Jungle Boogie"
The (mother f'n) Time -- "Jungle Love"
The Tokens -- "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Lion King Theme -- "Circle of Life"
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young -- "Southern Cross"
Until next time,
G
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Summer That Was...2008 Edition
Since we just had Getting Glenergized's season premiere earlier this week, I figure it is a great chance to rehash a post I did a little over a year ago, as I look back on a busy summer and provide a series of mini-blogs for things that I would have put otherwise.
Radiohead Changes My Life
McCain Goes for Blood, Obama Stumbles
The summer has surprisingly been a tough one for my American-Political-Man-Crush, as John McCain has slowly widdled away on Obama's once large lead. Of course, while the Democratic National Convention takes place this week, Obama is getting a much needed boost. However, it remains to be seen if such a bump McCain will get next week during the Republican National Convention.
Personally, I still have the utmost faith that my boy Barrack will pull this one out. In the past few days Obama has addressed his perceived inexperience, by getting Joe Biden as his running mate, and tackled those crazy Clinton supporters by having both Bill and Hilary give him a rousing endorsement at the convention. Hopefully those two things will help sway those independents, women, and just plain nuts into voting for him as opposed to joining the dark side. No matter, I fully believe that Obama can redraw the political map just enough to not only beat McCain, but beat him well enough. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Obama tops 300 electoral votes, for a pretty handy victory.
New Homes for Hossa, Campbell, and Boyle, Sundin still Golfing
I plan on doing a more in depth analysis of the NHL Free Agency later on, but it certainly was busy summer in hockey with Detroit, Chicago and San Jose making the boldest moves. However, Mats Sundin still waits on the sidelines while all sorts of teams have been throwing money in his general direction, and yet he is still in Sweden. I think that he will play at some point this season, perhaps not until Christmas or so, and it will be for Montreal if anyone.
Radiohead Changes My Life
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Radiohead on August 15th in Toronto. Not much to say other than they are phenomenal live, and if you ever have a chance to see them, take it.
Until then, enjoy my personal favourite track from In Rainbows, "All I Need".
PUNK WINS!!!! PUNK WINS!!!!!!
Imagine my shock when one of my favourite wrestlers pulls out the ultimate surprise and wins the World Title by defeating Edge on an episode of RAW? After winning the Money in the Bank Match at Wrestlemania 24 CM Punk proceeded to loose to just about everyone on the roster, and then on June 30th, he does the unthinkable and cashes in on an opportunity against the Ultimate Opportunist Edge.
Missed it? Well have yourself a gander at a truly memorable wrestling moment.
Great eh?
Olympic Ordeals
The 29th Olympiad really is one that people will remember for a long time. From the partial faking of the broadcast of the opening ceremony, to China completely dominating, to the huge crowds of predominantly local people, the impact of these games really can't be understated.
For a country like China, to have spent most of its history closed to outsiders to welcome the entire world in for a very big event, is a monumental thing. And for a country that was once very poor to be able to afford something so grand really is a testament to this country's amazing development.
Granted, as a Canadian, I was a little disappointed with some of the results, as I really expected us to get more medals. But that's ok, we always have the winter games on our home turf.
Speaking of China...
I moved there a week ago today, liking it so far. Keep coming back here for any zany stories that are sure to follow.
Until next time,
G
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Summer Sabbatical
Well it's that time of year again, where I say goodbye for a little while. I head back up to Kodiak for a 6th summer tomorrow (I know, I know, I said that I wouldn't, but here we are...), where I will stay for all of July. After that, my August is mostly going to be devoted to my family and packing up to move to China. So I doubt that I will be posting for a while.
I may make a post or two in August, but don't hold out too much for it, just keep me on your RSS feed and something will pop back up when I arrive on the far side of the world. Until then, be sure to enjoy your summer, if you feel like dropping me a line I can be reached at this e-mail address for all of July.
Enjoy your summer!!!!
Maybe with some Ella Fitzgerald....
...or Sublime...
...or Brian Adams...
...or Modest Mouse (sorry this video is weird but it's an awesome song)...
...or John Travolta and Olviia Newton-John portrayed by Lego characters....
...or Everclear...
...or Bananarama...
...or, well you get the idea....enjoy your summer no matter what!!!
Until next time,
G
I may make a post or two in August, but don't hold out too much for it, just keep me on your RSS feed and something will pop back up when I arrive on the far side of the world. Until then, be sure to enjoy your summer, if you feel like dropping me a line I can be reached at this e-mail address for all of July.
Enjoy your summer!!!!
Maybe with some Ella Fitzgerald....
...or Sublime...
...or Brian Adams...
...or Modest Mouse (sorry this video is weird but it's an awesome song)...
...or John Travolta and Olviia Newton-John portrayed by Lego characters....
...or Everclear...
...or Bananarama...
...or, well you get the idea....enjoy your summer no matter what!!!
Until next time,
G
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Finally...
After months of debates, mud flinging, cries of elitism, disenfranchisement in Florida and Michigan, a Wrightmare, eerie assassination talk, re-enfranchisement in Florida and Michigan, and a host of other twists and turns, I can finally say something that I have wanted to for so very long.
Obama wins.
That's right, after having an insurmountable lead since February, the numbers have finally caught up to reality, as Barack Obama has passed the magic numbers of 2,024 and 2,118 delegates after South Dakota and Montana held the last primaries of the season.
In case you missed it last night, here is his amazing speech...
As anyone who follows this blog will know, I love Barrack Obama, so needless to say I am completely overjoyed at this moment. I think, hope and pray, that the United States may just be heading in the right direction. While I live North of the Border, I still could not be any happier, as Canadian Politics has always experienced an "echo" effect to American ones (They vote in Kennedy in 1960, we go for Trudeau in 1969, they get Regan in 1980, we go for Mulroney in 1984, Bush down there in 2000, Harper up here in 2006, to name a few). Meaning, that in some way, shape or form, Change is coming to Canada and I, for one couldn't be happier.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me focus on the near future instead, and where exactly the three major Presidential Candidates will be going from here.
John McCain -- Having clinched the nomination way back in February, McCain has been pretty quiet. After all, he didn't really need to go on the offensive against Obama, since Clinton had been doing a lot of that. He has been able to bide his time, and let those two go after one another.
McCain needs to figure out a game plan from here. What will his issues be? Will he keep trying to distance himself from Bush, or try and cozy up to him? Will he go on the offensive and start attack Obama, in typical Republican fashion? Judging by his poorly timed, and even more poorly executed speech last night, the answers will be: Iraq, distance, and yes.
Don't believe me? Well here is the speech I am referencing, I loved the part where it gets cut away to declare Obama the nominee...
When contrasting it to Obama's speech (shown earlier), it really makes McCain look second rate. Like it or not, speaking and looks matter in an election, and McCain looses out on both of those big time compared to Obama. McCain needs to really step up his speaking abilities in the next few months, or he will be severely outclassed by Obama in the fall debates.
In retrospect, McCain probably should have waited from giving a speech on that night, and given it tonight, or in a few days. He needs to try and downplay the negatives of his campaign, and having people get to watch his speech first, followed by Clinton's, followed by Obama's, really made Barrack seem like the Main Event of the evening, which only hurt McCain.
McCain will need to spend the next few months trying to figure out a running mate, with Tim Pawlenty being the apparent front-runner. However, if McCain wants to downplay the historical aspect of Obama running as an African-American, he should consider Condoleezza Rice, to appeal to both the woman and black vote.
Barrack Obama -- STRAIGHT TO THE WHITE HOUSE BABY!!!!111
Sorry, I had to get the fanboyness out of my system.
After last night, Obama is sitting in a great position. All three made a speech, and his was clearly the best. Instead of focusing on himself (like Hillary did), or on his opponent (as McCain did) he focused on America. This combined with his amazing line directed at McCain saying "I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine" really makes him seem like the bigger person, and not giving into "Politics as usual" like the others appeared to have.
Combine this with the fact that the GOP's image seems to be fading fast, and things look great for Barrack. However, he does have some interesting choices as to who to pick as his running mate. Sure everyone is talking about Hillary but that can't happen (for reasons I will get to in a moment) with names like Bill Richardson, Michael Bloomberg, Chris Dodd, Kahtleen Sebelius, and Evan Bayh, bound to receive a lot of talk in the coming months.
In the interest of prognosticating, I am going to go with Richardson here, he would really bring in Latino voters, and could bring New Mexico and maybe even Texas onto the Blue sides of things in November, and that sure would change things.
Between now and November, I expect Obama to concentrate a great deal on his grassroots fund raising, which has been spectacular thus far, and to continue his "Nice Guy" image, against the sure fire attacks bound to be coming from the Republican side of things.
Hillary Clinton -- Now here is the real wild card of this whole thing.
While she was mathematically eliminating last night, she still refused to quit. While I do have some respect for her tenacity, I really am sick of her now. While I have been very critical of her a few times before on this very blog, so it may be a bit of a challenge for me to examine this objectively.
Last night should have been about Obama and she tried to make it about her. Don't believe me? Well her is her speech last night...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Now, I forget which one, but one of the CNN talking heads referred to Clinton's speech as showing "Deranged Narcissism", and I don't know if there is a more apt term than that. She (falsely) claimed that she won the popular vote, which only happens when you don't take into account any of the caucus states and/or the "Uncommitted" votes in Michigan, which is odd since Hillary repeatedly preached that she wanted "Every vote to count".
With her talking about how many votes she got, she really sounds like she is trying to bully Obama into naming her as his running mate. My lord can this ever not happen.
Obama needs to set himself up as a Change Candidate, and someone who has already lived in the White House for 8 years does not represent change at all. Plus, if she can't let Obama have his night when he mathematically wins, can she really let him have four years to Be the Man? Somehow I doubt it...also, there is that little shadow called Bill who would be standing behind the two of them. A good VP needs to be sure to give the limelight to the person at the top of the ticket, and that really is Obama.
I think that the best option for Clinton, would be for her to support Obama, campaign for him, and get a high profile spot in his cabinet. Either way, I really hope that she heeds my advice from my last post on her..."SHUT UP"
One way or another, I am glad that this is finally over, and more importantly, the good guy won. It should be a very interesting five months for the US, and for all of us watching.
Before I send off let me make yet another prediction. In November it will be Obama winning, with the popular vote going 56-44.
Until next time,
G
Until next time,
Obama wins.
That's right, after having an insurmountable lead since February, the numbers have finally caught up to reality, as Barack Obama has passed the magic numbers of 2,024 and 2,118 delegates after South Dakota and Montana held the last primaries of the season.
In case you missed it last night, here is his amazing speech...
As anyone who follows this blog will know, I love Barrack Obama, so needless to say I am completely overjoyed at this moment. I think, hope and pray, that the United States may just be heading in the right direction. While I live North of the Border, I still could not be any happier, as Canadian Politics has always experienced an "echo" effect to American ones (They vote in Kennedy in 1960, we go for Trudeau in 1969, they get Regan in 1980, we go for Mulroney in 1984, Bush down there in 2000, Harper up here in 2006, to name a few). Meaning, that in some way, shape or form, Change is coming to Canada and I, for one couldn't be happier.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me focus on the near future instead, and where exactly the three major Presidential Candidates will be going from here.
John McCain -- Having clinched the nomination way back in February, McCain has been pretty quiet. After all, he didn't really need to go on the offensive against Obama, since Clinton had been doing a lot of that. He has been able to bide his time, and let those two go after one another.
McCain needs to figure out a game plan from here. What will his issues be? Will he keep trying to distance himself from Bush, or try and cozy up to him? Will he go on the offensive and start attack Obama, in typical Republican fashion? Judging by his poorly timed, and even more poorly executed speech last night, the answers will be: Iraq, distance, and yes.
Don't believe me? Well here is the speech I am referencing, I loved the part where it gets cut away to declare Obama the nominee...
When contrasting it to Obama's speech (shown earlier), it really makes McCain look second rate. Like it or not, speaking and looks matter in an election, and McCain looses out on both of those big time compared to Obama. McCain needs to really step up his speaking abilities in the next few months, or he will be severely outclassed by Obama in the fall debates.
In retrospect, McCain probably should have waited from giving a speech on that night, and given it tonight, or in a few days. He needs to try and downplay the negatives of his campaign, and having people get to watch his speech first, followed by Clinton's, followed by Obama's, really made Barrack seem like the Main Event of the evening, which only hurt McCain.
McCain will need to spend the next few months trying to figure out a running mate, with Tim Pawlenty being the apparent front-runner. However, if McCain wants to downplay the historical aspect of Obama running as an African-American, he should consider Condoleezza Rice, to appeal to both the woman and black vote.
Barrack Obama -- STRAIGHT TO THE WHITE HOUSE BABY!!!!111
Sorry, I had to get the fanboyness out of my system.
After last night, Obama is sitting in a great position. All three made a speech, and his was clearly the best. Instead of focusing on himself (like Hillary did), or on his opponent (as McCain did) he focused on America. This combined with his amazing line directed at McCain saying "I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine" really makes him seem like the bigger person, and not giving into "Politics as usual" like the others appeared to have.
Combine this with the fact that the GOP's image seems to be fading fast, and things look great for Barrack. However, he does have some interesting choices as to who to pick as his running mate. Sure everyone is talking about Hillary but that can't happen (for reasons I will get to in a moment) with names like Bill Richardson, Michael Bloomberg, Chris Dodd, Kahtleen Sebelius, and Evan Bayh, bound to receive a lot of talk in the coming months.
In the interest of prognosticating, I am going to go with Richardson here, he would really bring in Latino voters, and could bring New Mexico and maybe even Texas onto the Blue sides of things in November, and that sure would change things.
Between now and November, I expect Obama to concentrate a great deal on his grassroots fund raising, which has been spectacular thus far, and to continue his "Nice Guy" image, against the sure fire attacks bound to be coming from the Republican side of things.
Hillary Clinton -- Now here is the real wild card of this whole thing.
While she was mathematically eliminating last night, she still refused to quit. While I do have some respect for her tenacity, I really am sick of her now. While I have been very critical of her a few times before on this very blog, so it may be a bit of a challenge for me to examine this objectively.
Last night should have been about Obama and she tried to make it about her. Don't believe me? Well her is her speech last night...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Now, I forget which one, but one of the CNN talking heads referred to Clinton's speech as showing "Deranged Narcissism", and I don't know if there is a more apt term than that. She (falsely) claimed that she won the popular vote, which only happens when you don't take into account any of the caucus states and/or the "Uncommitted" votes in Michigan, which is odd since Hillary repeatedly preached that she wanted "Every vote to count".
With her talking about how many votes she got, she really sounds like she is trying to bully Obama into naming her as his running mate. My lord can this ever not happen.
Obama needs to set himself up as a Change Candidate, and someone who has already lived in the White House for 8 years does not represent change at all. Plus, if she can't let Obama have his night when he mathematically wins, can she really let him have four years to Be the Man? Somehow I doubt it...also, there is that little shadow called Bill who would be standing behind the two of them. A good VP needs to be sure to give the limelight to the person at the top of the ticket, and that really is Obama.
I think that the best option for Clinton, would be for her to support Obama, campaign for him, and get a high profile spot in his cabinet. Either way, I really hope that she heeds my advice from my last post on her..."SHUT UP"
One way or another, I am glad that this is finally over, and more importantly, the good guy won. It should be a very interesting five months for the US, and for all of us watching.
Before I send off let me make yet another prediction. In November it will be Obama winning, with the popular vote going 56-44.
Until next time,
G
Until next time,
Saturday, May 24, 2008
This Just Needs to be Watched...
My man crush on Keith Olbermann continues...watch this...
Unreal eh?
I really have nothing else to add here, he explains it all. Hillary really will stop at nothing to win, to vaguely reference assassination in respect to Obama is startling. People have been long convinced that he would be walking the line between life and death by a) running as a black man and b) taking on the political lobbyists.
As HORRIBLE and terrible as this was, she really has gone farther to hurt herself, say (God forbid) something bad does happen to Obama, don't you think that conspiracies will start to roll?
I have had a certain respect for Clinton, but right now it's gone. After Sniper-gate, the racial remarks, the Florida-Michigan hissy fit, the attacks from bitter gate, the all but endorsment of McCain over Obama, and so much more, I really don't understand how people could support Hillary Clinton after this one. These are NOT the actions of anyone that should hold the highest office in the world.
So if by any chance Hillary or any of her advisors are reading this, I would like to offer you some advice.
SHUT UP!!!!
Until next time,
G
Unreal eh?
I really have nothing else to add here, he explains it all. Hillary really will stop at nothing to win, to vaguely reference assassination in respect to Obama is startling. People have been long convinced that he would be walking the line between life and death by a) running as a black man and b) taking on the political lobbyists.
As HORRIBLE and terrible as this was, she really has gone farther to hurt herself, say (God forbid) something bad does happen to Obama, don't you think that conspiracies will start to roll?
I have had a certain respect for Clinton, but right now it's gone. After Sniper-gate, the racial remarks, the Florida-Michigan hissy fit, the attacks from bitter gate, the all but endorsment of McCain over Obama, and so much more, I really don't understand how people could support Hillary Clinton after this one. These are NOT the actions of anyone that should hold the highest office in the world.
So if by any chance Hillary or any of her advisors are reading this, I would like to offer you some advice.
SHUT UP!!!!
Until next time,
G
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wishing you a Happy Earth Day!!!!
Yes, yes, yes, I know what many of you are thinking, Earth Day is not today, but rather it was way back on April 22nd. Well, to some extent you are right, but there are a few things that are worth considering. For starters, I am a firm believer that every day is in fact Earth Day (so I may wish you a Happy Earth Day later on) but my timing was planned. Since today is of course, Mother's Day.
Since I am writing this post very late at night, it may in fact be too late for you to call your mother. However, you can't forget your other mother, the Earth, on this very special day, and since she is all around you, you can always show her that you love her.
I have recently been leading an Environmental Service group at school, and one of the many things that we do is send out weekly e-mails with Eco facts. Here are some of the more interesting ones that we have found:
- During the March 29th, Earth Hour the city of Toronto saved 264 000 000 watts of electricity. That’s enough to run a lap top computer 17 600 000 days or around 48,219 years!!!! (Info courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund and Solar Wind Canada)
- In Canada alone there are over 8 billion disposable cups sent to landfills every year!!!That translates to 15, 220 every MINUTE (that’s not a type-o!!!) (Credit: Go Green Tips in the Toronto Star)
- In the United States approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year (Student Environmental Advisory Counsel)
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours (Ibid)
So if you are looking for something to do to help out your Mother on her special day (i.e. every day), it really does not take much effort. Little things like turning off the lights when you aren't using them, walking instead of driving, buying a travel mug, reusing, recycling, and (most importantly) reducing go a long way to helping.
If your biological Mother was sick, and crying out for help, would you ignore her? What if you knew your actions made her this way, would you continue?
Certainly I hope not.
So why is it different for your Earth Mother?
Until next time,
G
P.S. I found this GREAT video on ted.com with Al Gore discussing Climate Change in further detail. Enjoy!
Since I am writing this post very late at night, it may in fact be too late for you to call your mother. However, you can't forget your other mother, the Earth, on this very special day, and since she is all around you, you can always show her that you love her.
I have recently been leading an Environmental Service group at school, and one of the many things that we do is send out weekly e-mails with Eco facts. Here are some of the more interesting ones that we have found:
- During the March 29th, Earth Hour the city of Toronto saved 264 000 000 watts of electricity. That’s enough to run a lap top computer 17 600 000 days or around 48,219 years!!!! (Info courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund and Solar Wind Canada)
- In Canada alone there are over 8 billion disposable cups sent to landfills every year!!!That translates to 15, 220 every MINUTE (that’s not a type-o!!!) (Credit: Go Green Tips in the Toronto Star)
- In the United States approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year (Student Environmental Advisory Counsel)
- Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours (Ibid)
So if you are looking for something to do to help out your Mother on her special day (i.e. every day), it really does not take much effort. Little things like turning off the lights when you aren't using them, walking instead of driving, buying a travel mug, reusing, recycling, and (most importantly) reducing go a long way to helping.
If your biological Mother was sick, and crying out for help, would you ignore her? What if you knew your actions made her this way, would you continue?
Certainly I hope not.
So why is it different for your Earth Mother?
Until next time,
G
P.S. I found this GREAT video on ted.com with Al Gore discussing Climate Change in further detail. Enjoy!
Sunday, May 04, 2008
A Video That Needs to Be Shared
After realizing that today is also Star Wars Day, I learn another important fact about May 4. Today is the 38th Anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. I found this amazing video tribute to those events, played (of course) with Neil Young's classic "Ohio".
Amazing, eh?
Until next time,
G
Amazing, eh?
Until next time,
G
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Some Random Videos to Share
Yeah I haven't done this in a while, I guess I've been distracted with hockey/school/life...anyway, here are the results from my latest bit of YouTube screening for your benefit...
Let's start with a great song from a great band, that many of you have probably never heard The Guillemots new single "Falling Out of Reach".
Yeah, I love Obama, no questions asked. Here is a clip where he admits to "Inhaling Frequently" on The Chris Matthew Show.
This next video is a little long, but was made for Earth Day last week. It's really powerful, and make me not want to anger our Photoshopped god.
Here is a wicked/awesome video of the best goals scored in the NHL this season...I think it should have just been the Nash against Phoenix goal played for the whole time, but what do I know?
Now this, is why we have Birth Control ladies and gentlemen...
Like Stanley Kubrick movies? Well how about ALL of them?
Here is a fantastic duet by M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel singing "You Really Got a Hold on Me"...amazing...not sure what the heck the video means though
In the last one, I give you an even more amazing duet...Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson....can you say surprise Presidential Candidates?
Awesome eh?
How could I possibly top something awesome with another video?
Until next time,
G
Let's start with a great song from a great band, that many of you have probably never heard The Guillemots new single "Falling Out of Reach".
Yeah, I love Obama, no questions asked. Here is a clip where he admits to "Inhaling Frequently" on The Chris Matthew Show.
This next video is a little long, but was made for Earth Day last week. It's really powerful, and make me not want to anger our Photoshopped god.
Here is a wicked/awesome video of the best goals scored in the NHL this season...I think it should have just been the Nash against Phoenix goal played for the whole time, but what do I know?
Now this, is why we have Birth Control ladies and gentlemen...
Like Stanley Kubrick movies? Well how about ALL of them?
Here is a fantastic duet by M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel singing "You Really Got a Hold on Me"...amazing...not sure what the heck the video means though
In the last one, I give you an even more amazing duet...Snoop Dog and Willie Nelson....can you say surprise Presidential Candidates?
Awesome eh?
How could I possibly top something awesome with another video?
Until next time,
G
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
I'm Out...
Tomorrow morning I head off for a two week service trip to Laos. Needless to say, I'm pretty freakin' excited about it. I'm hoping to post some pictures soon, but until then enjoy this horribly cheesy video about Luang Prabang, the city I'll be located in.
Until next time,
G
Until next time,
G
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Some Random Videos to Share
So I haven't done one of my random YouTube-Trollings-for-Blog-Content-so-you-can-Save-Time-and-I-Don't-Have-to-Think-Up-New-Content style posts in a while, but my lord, there is a lot of great stuff on this thing called the internet.
I'm going to start out with one of the best goals of this century, scored by Future-Superstar-of-Tomorrow, Jonathan Toewvs of the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm sorry for the annoying commentators, but just revel in the awesomeness that is this goal.
On the spirit of such awesomeness, here is the video by Will.I.am, with Barack Obama, for "Yes, we can". Man it's inspirational...
On the other end, we have Hilary Clinton, saying "Shame on you", I guess she's going for a different kind of inspiration to get people to vote for her, the kind that you get when your mother is nagging and guilting you and you have no choice but to do what she says...I guess that could work...
For the record, Hilary says that she doesn't support NAFTA, yet she claims to be part of the other Clinton administration, which you know, signed the thing into being...interesting...my last political video comes from the site "Barely Political", promoting their YouTube Channel, I must say "I'm not paying shit for this" is possibly the funniest line I've heard in a while...
The most logical transition from American Politics is to religion! Well sort of, because the following clip really makes me believe in reincarnation. See it is a National Geographic clip of a group of the Japanese Giant Hornets attacking a hive of regular honey bees.
Why does this make me believe in reincarnation? See, I'm fairly certain that Nazis, rapists, and people who don't recycle will get reborn as honey bees that anger these hell-spawn wasps who extract their karmic vengeance by ripping them in half en mass. The last thought running through their brains as they watch their torsos fly away, is knowing that their freakin' children will be fed to baby Hell-spawns, who will grow up and rip you apart in your next life...that'll teach them for not sorting their garbage.
To lighten the mood after that thought, here is a 3 year old retelling the story of Star Wars!
Adorable eh?
And I'll end this off with my latest musical crush, move over Lily Allen, you've got some competition in the name of Ingrid Michaelson.
Until next time,
G
I'm going to start out with one of the best goals of this century, scored by Future-Superstar-of-Tomorrow, Jonathan Toewvs of the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm sorry for the annoying commentators, but just revel in the awesomeness that is this goal.
On the spirit of such awesomeness, here is the video by Will.I.am, with Barack Obama, for "Yes, we can". Man it's inspirational...
On the other end, we have Hilary Clinton, saying "Shame on you", I guess she's going for a different kind of inspiration to get people to vote for her, the kind that you get when your mother is nagging and guilting you and you have no choice but to do what she says...I guess that could work...
For the record, Hilary says that she doesn't support NAFTA, yet she claims to be part of the other Clinton administration, which you know, signed the thing into being...interesting...my last political video comes from the site "Barely Political", promoting their YouTube Channel, I must say "I'm not paying shit for this" is possibly the funniest line I've heard in a while...
The most logical transition from American Politics is to religion! Well sort of, because the following clip really makes me believe in reincarnation. See it is a National Geographic clip of a group of the Japanese Giant Hornets attacking a hive of regular honey bees.
Why does this make me believe in reincarnation? See, I'm fairly certain that Nazis, rapists, and people who don't recycle will get reborn as honey bees that anger these hell-spawn wasps who extract their karmic vengeance by ripping them in half en mass. The last thought running through their brains as they watch their torsos fly away, is knowing that their freakin' children will be fed to baby Hell-spawns, who will grow up and rip you apart in your next life...that'll teach them for not sorting their garbage.
To lighten the mood after that thought, here is a 3 year old retelling the story of Star Wars!
Adorable eh?
And I'll end this off with my latest musical crush, move over Lily Allen, you've got some competition in the name of Ingrid Michaelson.
Until next time,
G
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
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
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
Monday, January 07, 2008
"You'll see the good in everyone"
“You'll see the good in everyone”
-- Sloan
Right now I sit on a flight from St. Marteen to Charlotte, en route to finding my way back home after a fantastic Caribbean adventure, where I was apparently too busy having fun to pay any attention to this little nerdy space in my life. Here at 34,000 feet I find myself reminded of one of life's little lessons.
As I boarded my flight to leave, we taxied out on the runway, and sat there waiting for fuelling. The muffled voice of the pilot told us that there had been problems earlier in the day with the fuel truck and flights were delayed all day. He apologized for the inconvenience and asked us to be patient.
I adjusted my seat, grabbed the magazine I bought for the flight, and nervously checked my watch, I only had an hour and 15 minute lay over in Charlotte before my flight was scheduled to leave for Buffalo. “Ah well” I thought “Not much that I can do about it”.
I read a few articles, I waited.
I listened to my iPod for a while, I waited.
I cracked open a new book for a bit, I waited.
I stared out the window, I waited.
I waited, I waited.
Finally, after a solid 2 hours of waiting the fuel truck arrived and started doing its job. Upon refuelling, we appeared ready to take off. Ever the optimist, I thought that maybe, just maybe I might be able to make my flight to Buffalo if they were able to make up enough time and there were some delays. Then, I heard something that made my jaw drop.
“Ladies and gentlemen” the captain muffled over the speakers, “While we have finally refuelled, there are some passengers who are demanding to get off the aircraft, and in order to accommodate them, we need to taxi back over to the terminal and unload them.”
Yes, you read that one right, after two hours of waiting, people decided at the last possible moment that they were going to get off of the plane.
Needless to say a chorus of “boo”'s, “Oh my God”'s, and “What the hell?”'s followed.
As the plane got back, a couple, perhaps in their 50s got up, and began collecting their belongings. The remaining passengers all turned towards these two, and mustered up every ounce of glowering that we could. As they finished collecting their things, a round of applause broke out. I really never thought that it was possible to clap with biting sarcasm, but now I know better.
After the people got off the air, I heard the now very familiar voice of the captain say “We can't believe this any more than you can, and unfortunately according to safety regulations we have to get these bastards luggage off of the aircraft.”
Yeah, the captain said “bastards” over the intercom, that almost made it worth it to me.
We waiting for another half an hour or so to find the luggage of these people before finally taking off, thus making it seem impossible for me to get to Buffalo, and therefore home, on time.
Now in my 25 years on this planet, I have seen, and done some pretty selfish things, but this really has to rank up there with most despicably low in my mind. I understand being angry about the delay, and anxious about the possibility of missing a connecting flight, but there really is no excuse for that sort of behaviour. They made every passenger even more delayed on their trip, and also gave the flight crew and even longer day, and they really don't deserve it.
So while the Bible, and a great band tell us to find “the good in everyone”, there are situations like this when I remember one of the most important lessons I have ever learned in my life, some people really are just assholes.
Until next time,
G
-- Sloan
Right now I sit on a flight from St. Marteen to Charlotte, en route to finding my way back home after a fantastic Caribbean adventure, where I was apparently too busy having fun to pay any attention to this little nerdy space in my life. Here at 34,000 feet I find myself reminded of one of life's little lessons.
As I boarded my flight to leave, we taxied out on the runway, and sat there waiting for fuelling. The muffled voice of the pilot told us that there had been problems earlier in the day with the fuel truck and flights were delayed all day. He apologized for the inconvenience and asked us to be patient.
I adjusted my seat, grabbed the magazine I bought for the flight, and nervously checked my watch, I only had an hour and 15 minute lay over in Charlotte before my flight was scheduled to leave for Buffalo. “Ah well” I thought “Not much that I can do about it”.
I read a few articles, I waited.
I listened to my iPod for a while, I waited.
I cracked open a new book for a bit, I waited.
I stared out the window, I waited.
I waited, I waited.
Finally, after a solid 2 hours of waiting the fuel truck arrived and started doing its job. Upon refuelling, we appeared ready to take off. Ever the optimist, I thought that maybe, just maybe I might be able to make my flight to Buffalo if they were able to make up enough time and there were some delays. Then, I heard something that made my jaw drop.
“Ladies and gentlemen” the captain muffled over the speakers, “While we have finally refuelled, there are some passengers who are demanding to get off the aircraft, and in order to accommodate them, we need to taxi back over to the terminal and unload them.”
Yes, you read that one right, after two hours of waiting, people decided at the last possible moment that they were going to get off of the plane.
Needless to say a chorus of “boo”'s, “Oh my God”'s, and “What the hell?”'s followed.
As the plane got back, a couple, perhaps in their 50s got up, and began collecting their belongings. The remaining passengers all turned towards these two, and mustered up every ounce of glowering that we could. As they finished collecting their things, a round of applause broke out. I really never thought that it was possible to clap with biting sarcasm, but now I know better.
After the people got off the air, I heard the now very familiar voice of the captain say “We can't believe this any more than you can, and unfortunately according to safety regulations we have to get these bastards luggage off of the aircraft.”
Yeah, the captain said “bastards” over the intercom, that almost made it worth it to me.
We waiting for another half an hour or so to find the luggage of these people before finally taking off, thus making it seem impossible for me to get to Buffalo, and therefore home, on time.
Now in my 25 years on this planet, I have seen, and done some pretty selfish things, but this really has to rank up there with most despicably low in my mind. I understand being angry about the delay, and anxious about the possibility of missing a connecting flight, but there really is no excuse for that sort of behaviour. They made every passenger even more delayed on their trip, and also gave the flight crew and even longer day, and they really don't deserve it.
So while the Bible, and a great band tell us to find “the good in everyone”, there are situations like this when I remember one of the most important lessons I have ever learned in my life, some people really are just assholes.
Until next time,
G
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Mr. Jobs and the Death of the Video Star
I continue my reflections on 2007 today with a look back at technology, counting, and a damn good song.
In 1979, The Buggles prophetically declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star". Twenty-eight years later, it seems that the commercial has in fact killed the video star.
If you were anywhere near a television this fall, chances are you saw this commercial, in which the lovely, and talented, Ms. Leslie Feist, taught the world how to count and Steve Jobs introduced the world to a truly great Canadian songstresses.
Now this commercial did help Gonzalez achieve a great deal of personal fame, but it really has not been at the same level as Feist's explosion has been. So what was the difference?
While you can point out all sorts of grave differences between the songs and the artists, I think that the main difference is in the commercial itself, and where the viewers attention goes. In the Sony ad, the attention is on the thousands of bouncing balls, with the music being a melodic accompaniment to the chaos. Where as in the Apple ad, the attention is firmly on Feist. For every second that commercial is playing, you can see the artist and hear her song. The fact that it's a commercial for an iPod really is secondary. Sure the iPods get picked up, or moved around, but the viewer still remains (rightly) transfixed on the artist until the split second shot at the end when it reminds you to buy a Nano.
This ad presents a marketable shift in the use of music in advertising, it places the artist at the forefront, above the product. The one tag line that the ad shows is "A little video for everyone", reminding the consumer that you can watch this video whenever you want, if only you own an iPod. While of course, this is an advertisement for an iPod, it really comes across as an advertisement for Feist, implying that being able to watch this video at any time is well worth the price of an iPod.
The other main difference is that the Apple commercial features the actual video for this song, which had came out months prior to the release of this commercial. So why was the ad so much more effective than the original release of the video?
I think that the main reason is pure and simple laziness. Watching a video takes a certain effort, either by switching to MTV/MuchMusic (during the 20 minutes of hte day when they actually play videos..) or following a link to the YouTube video. Commercials on the other hand take a certain effort to avoid watching. You need to find the remote and another channel where you know something else is on, and really it's just easier to passively lay there and be bombarded with your consumerist message.
The explosion of this song really is textbook 2007. It demonstrates the power of the media, the power of the brand, the direct relationship between artist and fan, and more importantly, the power of a damn good song.
Until next time,
G
In 1979, The Buggles prophetically declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star". Twenty-eight years later, it seems that the commercial has in fact killed the video star.
If you were anywhere near a television this fall, chances are you saw this commercial, in which the lovely, and talented, Ms. Leslie Feist, taught the world how to count and Steve Jobs introduced the world to a truly great Canadian songstresses.
Now this commercial did help Gonzalez achieve a great deal of personal fame, but it really has not been at the same level as Feist's explosion has been. So what was the difference?
While you can point out all sorts of grave differences between the songs and the artists, I think that the main difference is in the commercial itself, and where the viewers attention goes. In the Sony ad, the attention is on the thousands of bouncing balls, with the music being a melodic accompaniment to the chaos. Where as in the Apple ad, the attention is firmly on Feist. For every second that commercial is playing, you can see the artist and hear her song. The fact that it's a commercial for an iPod really is secondary. Sure the iPods get picked up, or moved around, but the viewer still remains (rightly) transfixed on the artist until the split second shot at the end when it reminds you to buy a Nano.
This ad presents a marketable shift in the use of music in advertising, it places the artist at the forefront, above the product. The one tag line that the ad shows is "A little video for everyone", reminding the consumer that you can watch this video whenever you want, if only you own an iPod. While of course, this is an advertisement for an iPod, it really comes across as an advertisement for Feist, implying that being able to watch this video at any time is well worth the price of an iPod.
The other main difference is that the Apple commercial features the actual video for this song, which had came out months prior to the release of this commercial. So why was the ad so much more effective than the original release of the video?
I think that the main reason is pure and simple laziness. Watching a video takes a certain effort, either by switching to MTV/MuchMusic (during the 20 minutes of hte day when they actually play videos..) or following a link to the YouTube video. Commercials on the other hand take a certain effort to avoid watching. You need to find the remote and another channel where you know something else is on, and really it's just easier to passively lay there and be bombarded with your consumerist message.
The explosion of this song really is textbook 2007. It demonstrates the power of the media, the power of the brand, the direct relationship between artist and fan, and more importantly, the power of a damn good song.
Until next time,
G
Saturday, December 15, 2007
The Hit and the Astericks
I looked at the calendar and I realized that there are only 16 days left until 2007 is gone forever. To celebrate the greatness that this year has been, I have decided that I am going to dedicate several posts to some of the memories of this year. The first installment looks at drugs, punctuation, and the pursuit of a legacy.
On August 7 Barry Bonds was up to bat in a game against the Washington Nationals. Facing a full count, the San Fransisco crowd began chanting his name. A crack of the bat and 435 feet later, history was made. Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homerun, passing Hank Aaron for the all-time lead.
Just in case you missed it that night, or on the countless replays later. Here it is...
While the crowd in San Fransisco was elated that Bonds hit this homerun, the majority of people were not. While few would argue Bonds remarkable abilities, he has not been a man without controversy.
In 2001, Bonds hit 73 homeruns, breaking Mark McGuire's single season record to the shock of many. Given the mans age and his previous high of 49 homeruns, people assumed foul play. Greg Anderson, Bonds person trainer during this time, was later indicted for supplying anabolic steroids to professional athletes. In a 2006 book entitled Game of Shadows, the authors made several allegations against Barry Bonds concerning steroid use. The authors stated that during the 2001 season, Barry Bonds was a veritable chemical cocktail, stating that he was on at least 6 different types of performance enhancing drugs.
During Anderson's investigation, Bonds vehemently denied using steroids, or that Anderson had given him any. However, in 2006, federal investigators began looking into the fact that Bonds may have committed perjury, and in fact had received steroids from Anderson.
The ball used to hit this historic homerun was put up for auction in September, and was bought by fashion designer, Marc Ecko for $752,467. Ecko set up a website to allow the people do democratically determine the fate of the ball. There were three choices, to donate it to the Hall of Fame, to brand it with an asterisk (implying that the achievement was tainted), or to send it off into space.
After millions of votes, 47% of people decided that ball should be marked with an asterisk, before being sent to Cooperstown. Showing that many people feel that Bonds' achievements were tainted.
To me, this really is our generations Watergate. Before any of you get ready to post some angry comments, insulting my intelligence, hear me out.
Before Nixon's imfamous scandal, politics was considered to be a very pure, and noble thing, the altruistic act of devoting your life to public service. However, the findings that the President himself was at the centre of political wrong-doings, opened the world's eyes to the corrupt underbelly of politics. This has ushered in a wave of cynicism towards the democratic process, whose effects can still be felt.
This asterisk really is the sporting-equivalent. Sports have a certain mythos for being a pure test of athletic excellence, and baseball has long propagated this perception with its reliance on a host of heroes from Ruth to Mantle to McGuire.
Now we find out that one of the greatest players of this generation, allegedly owes a great deal of his success not to abilities and determination, but to needless and oils. While Bonds is, of course, innocent until proven guilty, the majority of people have already thrown him to the snake pit, accusing him of being a blatant cheater. Gone appear to be the days when our sporting great would be held in the highest regard, instead they appear to be the victims of constant scrutiny as modern cynicism engulfs them as well.
I feel really bad for the next great athlete to come along and shatter this (or any other) record. People will not be revering their accomplishment, but instead they will be met with constant accusations that they were on some sort of performance enhancing drugs, similar to the CeNNa-gate story that I touched on a while ago.
As a foot not to this story, the allegations against Bonds, were the catalyst for a full scale investigation into steroid use in baseball. The findings of this investigation, the Mitchell Report, were just released earlier this week with staggering results (Click here to read the entire thing, or here to just read an article about it).
The report gives many, many, examples of players using various performance enhancing drugs over the past several years and lists several players, including Roger Clemens, as culprits.
The report even states that it would be impossible to find every player who has used performance enhancers, implying that there are a very large amount of them.
If steroids, and other drugs, are as rampant as Mitchell states, I really need to wonder why it took so long for it to be so well known. If so many players are using drugs, then surely the managers and/or owner of the teams must have known somehow, someway. While the players themselves are responsible for their own actions, there must have been a large amount of people who encouraged them, either directly, or by turning a blind eye to the process. Everyone in baseball, really is to blame for the current state of the game (including former Texas Rangers owner, George W. Bush, yes that George W. Bush). And really, if baseball is so drug-ridden, who is to say that any other sports aren't the same?
The date of Bonds' trial, and the presentation of the asterisk ball to the Hall of Fame, should be some of the more interesting moments of 2008. However, when we look back at the homerun, the asterisk, and the investigation, we will remember 2007 as a very important year in sporting history. It is the year that teamwork, dedication, and integrity all went out the window in favour of the pursuit of excellence, winning, and money at all costs.
In other words, sports has lost something that it may never be able to get back, it has lost its innocence.
Until next time,
G
On August 7 Barry Bonds was up to bat in a game against the Washington Nationals. Facing a full count, the San Fransisco crowd began chanting his name. A crack of the bat and 435 feet later, history was made. Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homerun, passing Hank Aaron for the all-time lead.
Just in case you missed it that night, or on the countless replays later. Here it is...
While the crowd in San Fransisco was elated that Bonds hit this homerun, the majority of people were not. While few would argue Bonds remarkable abilities, he has not been a man without controversy.
In 2001, Bonds hit 73 homeruns, breaking Mark McGuire's single season record to the shock of many. Given the mans age and his previous high of 49 homeruns, people assumed foul play. Greg Anderson, Bonds person trainer during this time, was later indicted for supplying anabolic steroids to professional athletes. In a 2006 book entitled Game of Shadows, the authors made several allegations against Barry Bonds concerning steroid use. The authors stated that during the 2001 season, Barry Bonds was a veritable chemical cocktail, stating that he was on at least 6 different types of performance enhancing drugs.
During Anderson's investigation, Bonds vehemently denied using steroids, or that Anderson had given him any. However, in 2006, federal investigators began looking into the fact that Bonds may have committed perjury, and in fact had received steroids from Anderson.
The ball used to hit this historic homerun was put up for auction in September, and was bought by fashion designer, Marc Ecko for $752,467. Ecko set up a website to allow the people do democratically determine the fate of the ball. There were three choices, to donate it to the Hall of Fame, to brand it with an asterisk (implying that the achievement was tainted), or to send it off into space.
After millions of votes, 47% of people decided that ball should be marked with an asterisk, before being sent to Cooperstown. Showing that many people feel that Bonds' achievements were tainted.
To me, this really is our generations Watergate. Before any of you get ready to post some angry comments, insulting my intelligence, hear me out.
Before Nixon's imfamous scandal, politics was considered to be a very pure, and noble thing, the altruistic act of devoting your life to public service. However, the findings that the President himself was at the centre of political wrong-doings, opened the world's eyes to the corrupt underbelly of politics. This has ushered in a wave of cynicism towards the democratic process, whose effects can still be felt.
This asterisk really is the sporting-equivalent. Sports have a certain mythos for being a pure test of athletic excellence, and baseball has long propagated this perception with its reliance on a host of heroes from Ruth to Mantle to McGuire.
Now we find out that one of the greatest players of this generation, allegedly owes a great deal of his success not to abilities and determination, but to needless and oils. While Bonds is, of course, innocent until proven guilty, the majority of people have already thrown him to the snake pit, accusing him of being a blatant cheater. Gone appear to be the days when our sporting great would be held in the highest regard, instead they appear to be the victims of constant scrutiny as modern cynicism engulfs them as well.
I feel really bad for the next great athlete to come along and shatter this (or any other) record. People will not be revering their accomplishment, but instead they will be met with constant accusations that they were on some sort of performance enhancing drugs, similar to the CeNNa-gate story that I touched on a while ago.
As a foot not to this story, the allegations against Bonds, were the catalyst for a full scale investigation into steroid use in baseball. The findings of this investigation, the Mitchell Report, were just released earlier this week with staggering results (Click here to read the entire thing, or here to just read an article about it).
The report gives many, many, examples of players using various performance enhancing drugs over the past several years and lists several players, including Roger Clemens, as culprits.
The report even states that it would be impossible to find every player who has used performance enhancers, implying that there are a very large amount of them.
If steroids, and other drugs, are as rampant as Mitchell states, I really need to wonder why it took so long for it to be so well known. If so many players are using drugs, then surely the managers and/or owner of the teams must have known somehow, someway. While the players themselves are responsible for their own actions, there must have been a large amount of people who encouraged them, either directly, or by turning a blind eye to the process. Everyone in baseball, really is to blame for the current state of the game (including former Texas Rangers owner, George W. Bush, yes that George W. Bush). And really, if baseball is so drug-ridden, who is to say that any other sports aren't the same?
The date of Bonds' trial, and the presentation of the asterisk ball to the Hall of Fame, should be some of the more interesting moments of 2008. However, when we look back at the homerun, the asterisk, and the investigation, we will remember 2007 as a very important year in sporting history. It is the year that teamwork, dedication, and integrity all went out the window in favour of the pursuit of excellence, winning, and money at all costs.
In other words, sports has lost something that it may never be able to get back, it has lost its innocence.
Until next time,
G
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Musical Goodness
Tomorrow evening I will, once more, take advantage of the fact that I live in and around Toronto, by partaking in a fantastic concert. Tomorrow evening, one of the coolest and most unique indie sounds this country has to offer, Apostle of Hustle, is going to grace the stage at Lee's Palace. Now I don't have nearly as much of a crush on this band as I do on Stars, so I am not devoting a week to them. Sorry to disappoint any Hustle fans out there.
But I just wanted to include a few videos here. Sorry I may be light on the content, but I'll make up for it by being high on the awesome...
Here is "National Anthem of Nowhere"
...and now we have the amazing video for "Kings and Queens"
Lastly, we have a live version of him playing "Folkloric Feel"...it may be long, but it is well worth it!!!
If you like any or all of those songs then come by Lee's Palace in Toronto tomorrow at 8:30, my tickets were only $15, so come on and check it out!!!
Also, on a slightly tangential note, if you like good musics, be sure to check out McNutt's countdown of the best singles of the year (with best albums coming next week...), it really is one of my favourite features on one of my favourite blog. For the record, I'm picking "Stronger" for best single and Neon Bible for best album. If he says otherwise, he is just trying to make me look stupid...
Until next time,
G
But I just wanted to include a few videos here. Sorry I may be light on the content, but I'll make up for it by being high on the awesome...
Here is "National Anthem of Nowhere"
...and "Cheap Like Sebastien"
...and now we have the amazing video for "Kings and Queens"
Lastly, we have a live version of him playing "Folkloric Feel"...it may be long, but it is well worth it!!!
If you like any or all of those songs then come by Lee's Palace in Toronto tomorrow at 8:30, my tickets were only $15, so come on and check it out!!!
Also, on a slightly tangential note, if you like good musics, be sure to check out McNutt's countdown of the best singles of the year (with best albums coming next week...), it really is one of my favourite features on one of my favourite blog. For the record, I'm picking "Stronger" for best single and Neon Bible for best album. If he says otherwise, he is just trying to make me look stupid...
Until next time,
G
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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.
...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
...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.
...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
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