Childhood is an awkward, but fun, time. We play dodgeball, crush hard, and develop frienships. In some families, childhood means school after school; religious indoctrination the name of the game.
In Egypt, this could be your kid:
and in America, this could be your kid:
Note how the different kids make you feel. Is one more scary? Why? Why is an Egyptian kid terrifying and an American one cute?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Song In My Head
I haven't blogged in a bit. Jack Layton was and is something that made street kids like me better. And I'm a bit bummed. MAN, how do I eulogize a cat who actually saved my butt? Well, I cannot..
So Olivia and Mr. Jack, I offer this song, an important one. My favourite song, dedicated to a gent and a family that will always rock.
Buy this awesomeness from Andre Rieu HERE
So Olivia and Mr. Jack, I offer this song, an important one. My favourite song, dedicated to a gent and a family that will always rock.
Buy this awesomeness from Andre Rieu HERE
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Song In My Head
I live in a building with 42 small units, the majority of which are rented by single men. As one of the few women in the building, a lot of the gents have taken a shine to me, even though most are around my dad's age. One of them has Parkinson's Disease and likes to visit me because I'm a reasonably nice person and I live on the same floor. But, being a guy, he just can't let it be. Dude has a crush on me, and I am so not interested.
WH frequently comes over to try to flirt and talk my ear off, which is kind of difficult since he's become difficult to comprehend as part of his disease. Earlier this evening, I went and watched a movie with a pal. When I came back, there was a pitcher of water and plate of food at my door. One of the guys said he saw who dropped it off, and sure enough, it was WH, who also stopped by later on.
Now, I have a problem. This guy has it for me and I'm not really sure how to let the guy down. Even thinking about having to crush the guy gives me anxiety. After all, I moved in to this building to get some peace and quiet and dudes keep trying to hook up with me.
For the rest of tonight, I'm going to quietly pretend I'm not home or am sleeping due to the 3 or 4 guys who don't quite get the drift.
Has this happened to any of you? How exactly do you get the message across that you aren't looking, and do it convincingly?
While I plan my exit from this most recent awkward situation, let's enjoy this 1985 oddity from Animotion
Property of Island Def Jam Group. Buy now on iTunes here.
WH frequently comes over to try to flirt and talk my ear off, which is kind of difficult since he's become difficult to comprehend as part of his disease. Earlier this evening, I went and watched a movie with a pal. When I came back, there was a pitcher of water and plate of food at my door. One of the guys said he saw who dropped it off, and sure enough, it was WH, who also stopped by later on.
Now, I have a problem. This guy has it for me and I'm not really sure how to let the guy down. Even thinking about having to crush the guy gives me anxiety. After all, I moved in to this building to get some peace and quiet and dudes keep trying to hook up with me.
For the rest of tonight, I'm going to quietly pretend I'm not home or am sleeping due to the 3 or 4 guys who don't quite get the drift.
Has this happened to any of you? How exactly do you get the message across that you aren't looking, and do it convincingly?
While I plan my exit from this most recent awkward situation, let's enjoy this 1985 oddity from Animotion
Property of Island Def Jam Group. Buy now on iTunes here.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Walk-Off Strikeout
Tonight, terminal braincramp Christine O'Donnell decided to go on Piers Morgan Tonight to promote her book because nowadays, every shitty political wannabe that is completely decimated in an election writes a memoir.
Things were going fine until the pithy host decided to ask Miss O'Donnell a few questions, namely about gay marriage. Apparently, Christine didn't realize that when you're on any station other than Fox, hosts actually may be inclined to be inquisitive.
And just like that, the 43-year-old virgin walked off of the show. all Piers did was ask a few very mild questions about the content of the book and -boom- she was outta there like Piers had asked her about her favourite masturbatory techniques or what she's done with the $925, 000 in leftover campaign contributions or something.
Christine O'Donnell needs to realize a few things, namely that as a former candidate, she will be asked about policy issues. You can't bring about the "second American Revolution" or whatever nation-hating Teabag takeover without being able to discuss where the country would go after you win the next Civil War. Number 2- If you go on national television to discuss a book you have purported to have authored, you may just be expected to keep your end of the bargain. If it's "all in the book", why aren't you willing to talk about it? Is it because, like so many others, you didn't actually write it, and as with the constitution, you have no idea what the hell you're talking about? But most of all, Christine O'Donnell seems to have forgotten that fame is fleeting, and infamy can be moreso. Her clock is at 14:59 and plum opportunities for free promo only come so often. she's virtually screwed herself out of appearing on any non-Fox channel for shameless self-promotion. Sure, her pals will blame the lib-tard media, but the fact of the matter is that there are people who wouldn't have tuned in to Fox, but watch CNN. Because of O'Donnell's petulant behaviour, none of them are rushing to Barnes & Noble.
Christine O'Donnell has proven what voters dictated. You can't be political material if one or two softballs causes you to unravel. If you're in session and a debate comes up, you can't run into a corner, crying for your mummy. Politics is hard business, and Christine O'Donnell is not just a complete and utter twit, but she's an absolutely spineless twit, and we should thank our lucky stars that the good people opted to keep her out of a public payday.
Things were going fine until the pithy host decided to ask Miss O'Donnell a few questions, namely about gay marriage. Apparently, Christine didn't realize that when you're on any station other than Fox, hosts actually may be inclined to be inquisitive.
And just like that, the 43-year-old virgin walked off of the show. all Piers did was ask a few very mild questions about the content of the book and -boom- she was outta there like Piers had asked her about her favourite masturbatory techniques or what she's done with the $925, 000 in leftover campaign contributions or something.
Christine O'Donnell needs to realize a few things, namely that as a former candidate, she will be asked about policy issues. You can't bring about the "second American Revolution" or whatever nation-hating Teabag takeover without being able to discuss where the country would go after you win the next Civil War. Number 2- If you go on national television to discuss a book you have purported to have authored, you may just be expected to keep your end of the bargain. If it's "all in the book", why aren't you willing to talk about it? Is it because, like so many others, you didn't actually write it, and as with the constitution, you have no idea what the hell you're talking about? But most of all, Christine O'Donnell seems to have forgotten that fame is fleeting, and infamy can be moreso. Her clock is at 14:59 and plum opportunities for free promo only come so often. she's virtually screwed herself out of appearing on any non-Fox channel for shameless self-promotion. Sure, her pals will blame the lib-tard media, but the fact of the matter is that there are people who wouldn't have tuned in to Fox, but watch CNN. Because of O'Donnell's petulant behaviour, none of them are rushing to Barnes & Noble.
Christine O'Donnell has proven what voters dictated. You can't be political material if one or two softballs causes you to unravel. If you're in session and a debate comes up, you can't run into a corner, crying for your mummy. Politics is hard business, and Christine O'Donnell is not just a complete and utter twit, but she's an absolutely spineless twit, and we should thank our lucky stars that the good people opted to keep her out of a public payday.
Bow To Your Master
This is 98 year old Keiko Fukuda, and she isn't retired. Sensei Fukuda is a San Francisco judo instructor and the last surviving student of the discipline's founder, Kano Jiguro, who encouraged her to become an ambassador for the sport .
The daughter of a jiu-jitsu great, Sensei Fukuda grew up in Japan in a time where women could have a career or family, but not both. She dedicated her life to her fighting art and became a 5th degree black belt in the 1940's, but her rank was stalled for 30 years because the later overseers of Master Kano's Kodokan dictated that they didn't think that women could achieve a rank higher than 5. In 1972, she was working at Mills College in Oakland when she received her 6th dan designation, a first for all women. Every time fellow judoka pressured the Kodokan to raise the Sensei's rank, they balked and reiterated with their "but no woman has ever achieved this" retort, keeping the woman who went from rookie to 5th dan in well under a decade stagnant record wise. And just like every other time, she pressed on, determined to change the way women were portrayed in the sport.
This month, Sensei Fukuda became Master. She is the first woman and only American to ever hit the judo ceiling. She joins 3 Japanese men as the only 10th degree black belts alive.
She cried upon hearing that she had reached her life's goal and now I may need a Kleenex.
Girls, never let anyone tell you that you can't play with the boys.
The daughter of a jiu-jitsu great, Sensei Fukuda grew up in Japan in a time where women could have a career or family, but not both. She dedicated her life to her fighting art and became a 5th degree black belt in the 1940's, but her rank was stalled for 30 years because the later overseers of Master Kano's Kodokan dictated that they didn't think that women could achieve a rank higher than 5. In 1972, she was working at Mills College in Oakland when she received her 6th dan designation, a first for all women. Every time fellow judoka pressured the Kodokan to raise the Sensei's rank, they balked and reiterated with their "but no woman has ever achieved this" retort, keeping the woman who went from rookie to 5th dan in well under a decade stagnant record wise. And just like every other time, she pressed on, determined to change the way women were portrayed in the sport.
This month, Sensei Fukuda became Master. She is the first woman and only American to ever hit the judo ceiling. She joins 3 Japanese men as the only 10th degree black belts alive.
She cried upon hearing that she had reached her life's goal and now I may need a Kleenex.
Girls, never let anyone tell you that you can't play with the boys.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Gordon Campbell: Living Large On Taxpayer Millions
To the average reader, Canadian politics doesn't really register on your collective radar, so I'll make this outrage short, sweet, and easy to read.
This man here is Gordon Campbell and he was the Premier of British Columbia for 9 years, when he and his band of old Reform, Conservative, and social Credit buddies took over the Liberal Party and won 3 consecutive elections. It goes without saying that the party was Liberal in name only during this recently-ended period.
During this time, Gordon Campbell sold off many of BC's natural resources and privatized profit-making provincial corporations, selling all to his stable of cronies. There is now an inquiry into Campbell's corrupt sell-off of BC Rail, which was essentially given to a friend. People are rightly pissed at his selloff of BC Ferries, which went to another buddy, and the fact he sold 3 ferries to their manufacturer for 10% of their value. His party had numerous offices raided and members arrested for things which included registry violations. Gordon Campbell was convicted of drunk driving while in another country while in office and took a bribe to institute a wildly unpopular tax that mainly affects lower classes. During his time in office, hospitals and clinics were closed, teachers and therapists laid off, and homeless people forcibly relocated so the city of Vancouver wouldn't look so bad during the Olympics.
Times were bad when Gordo was in office. He was so hated that he resigned after massive protests. His approval rating the day he stepped down was 9%- the lowest of any politician in Canadian history. Gordon Campbell wound up with a pension that us mere mortals could only dream of, but he got the hell out of his seat, and we were happy for it.
Cue to today, when the Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, decided it was time to appoint some diplomats. The usual faces, like Sanjeev Chowdhury, were shuffled to new locations and there were a few brand new diplomatic faces. And one of those was our pal Gordo. Yes, Harper named Gordon Campbell Canada's High commissioner in Great Britain; the second-most important diplomatic job in the country. It includes loads of fun in London, full medical and dental, a $1.5 million salary, and another pension which he can keep along with his existing one. The guy who financially mismanaged Canada out of billions of dollars and caused one province to crash while others flourished is getting the royal treatment.
Decisions like this one show you exactly how out of touch with everyday Canucks Mr. Harper really is. Dreadful appointments, adding "Royal" to our country's institutions, and turning the rare surplus into a deficit by giving tax breaks to the rich are just the beginning for our version of George W.
I understand that since P.M. Harper was voted in with a majority, he can do anything he wants; however, offering the most plum available post to one of the nation's most hated men will come back to bite you in the ass come next election. I can guarantee it.
During this time, Gordon Campbell sold off many of BC's natural resources and privatized profit-making provincial corporations, selling all to his stable of cronies. There is now an inquiry into Campbell's corrupt sell-off of BC Rail, which was essentially given to a friend. People are rightly pissed at his selloff of BC Ferries, which went to another buddy, and the fact he sold 3 ferries to their manufacturer for 10% of their value. His party had numerous offices raided and members arrested for things which included registry violations. Gordon Campbell was convicted of drunk driving while in another country while in office and took a bribe to institute a wildly unpopular tax that mainly affects lower classes. During his time in office, hospitals and clinics were closed, teachers and therapists laid off, and homeless people forcibly relocated so the city of Vancouver wouldn't look so bad during the Olympics.
Times were bad when Gordo was in office. He was so hated that he resigned after massive protests. His approval rating the day he stepped down was 9%- the lowest of any politician in Canadian history. Gordon Campbell wound up with a pension that us mere mortals could only dream of, but he got the hell out of his seat, and we were happy for it.
Cue to today, when the Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, decided it was time to appoint some diplomats. The usual faces, like Sanjeev Chowdhury, were shuffled to new locations and there were a few brand new diplomatic faces. And one of those was our pal Gordo. Yes, Harper named Gordon Campbell Canada's High commissioner in Great Britain; the second-most important diplomatic job in the country. It includes loads of fun in London, full medical and dental, a $1.5 million salary, and another pension which he can keep along with his existing one. The guy who financially mismanaged Canada out of billions of dollars and caused one province to crash while others flourished is getting the royal treatment.
Decisions like this one show you exactly how out of touch with everyday Canucks Mr. Harper really is. Dreadful appointments, adding "Royal" to our country's institutions, and turning the rare surplus into a deficit by giving tax breaks to the rich are just the beginning for our version of George W.
I understand that since P.M. Harper was voted in with a majority, he can do anything he wants; however, offering the most plum available post to one of the nation's most hated men will come back to bite you in the ass come next election. I can guarantee it.
Michele Bachmann Makes An Idiot Of Herself Of The Day
Michele Bachmann is no stranger to using the memories of deceased American icons to her benefit. As we brought you before MSNBC did, Mrs. Bachmann famously forgot which John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa (Gacy), but today we have an extra special treat for you.
Today, Mrs. Bachmann gave one of her usual self-promotion speeches, in this instance co-opting the memory of Elvis Presley, who she wished a loud happy birthday to that can be seen and heard here. the problem is, Auguast 16th is not Elvis Arron Presley's birthday. It's the day her famously died of a heart attack on the crapper.
A little less conversation and a little more research, Mrs. B.
Today, Mrs. Bachmann gave one of her usual self-promotion speeches, in this instance co-opting the memory of Elvis Presley, who she wished a loud happy birthday to that can be seen and heard here. the problem is, Auguast 16th is not Elvis Arron Presley's birthday. It's the day her famously died of a heart attack on the crapper.
A little less conversation and a little more research, Mrs. B.
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