The Pope is a moron!

A friend pointed out an article reporting on the Pope's Christmas address to Cardinal's and other church workers in Rome. The Pope basically said that pedophilia and child porn is normal.

“We cannot remain silent about the context of these times in which these events have come to light,” he said, citing the growth of child pornography “that seems in some way to be considered more and more normal by society”

Seriously? What a fucking whack job. If it is so normal why did he help HIDE it, and abusive priests, when he was a Cardinal?

Next he will be saying it is the victim's fault they were molested.

Weather Forecasters

Weather Forecasters have got to be some of the most useless pieces of drek to populate the Earth. They are wrong what 70% of the time? What other job can you be wrong that often and not get fired? Yet every time they present their report they try to make it sound like a certainty.

Case in point the weather around Christmas here. Now one thing to keep in mind about the Maritimes is the old adage "if you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes and it will change". Who would actually believe in their ability to accurately predict the weather if it can change even a 10th of that quickly? Meteorologists of course.

TWO fricking weeks before Christmas the twits are trying to tell you what the weather will be like Christmas Eve and Day. TWO WEEKS! They went with the no-brainer ... it will be a green Christmas. We get a green Christmas more often than naught ... but still two weeks ahead of time? They fuck up 3 day forecasts and they are trying to make a 14 day one?

So they put that nugget in people's minds ... it will be a green Christmas ... no snow. People are bleeting the party line. Well, most people, I wasn't. Now, the same forecaster's who called for a green Christmas are saying there is a GOOD CHANCE OF SNOW Christmas Day. Now, when we are in the middle of a rain and wind storm, a 'Nor Easter, that is battering the Maritimes, TWO DAYS before Christmas, they are calling for snow Christmas Day. Two Weeks before they were certain it would be a green Christmas, now when it REALLY looks like a green Christmas they say it will snow. What the kimchi?!?!?

Why the hell make a 2 week forecast when you will probably be wrong?

More on Assange

And the fuckery continues. A British court granted Assange bail pending his hearing on extradition to Sweden. The bail decision was appealed and he had to spend 2 more days in jail awaiting the appeal hearing. The appeal was overturned and the original bail ruling was held.

Where is the fuckery you ask? Well, according to CTV reports this morning the Crown says they didn't appeal the bail decision it was the Swedish. The Swedish are now saying they didn't appeal it, it was the British. Evidently phantom prosecutors can put forward anonymous appeals in the British courts. Appeals that actually get heard.

Cross Burning in Nova Scotia

In February some twats thought it would be funny to burn a cross in the yard of a mixed-race couple. Two brothers did this to their cousin who is living with her black fiance and their kids.

Her fiance said to the media

"I just seen a big cross out there, and it was on fire and it had the rope around the neck, and it was hanging down, and it was on fire. It was about seven feet tall,"

"By the time I got outside, there was nobody around. All we heard was, 'Die, nigger, die.' I was scared for my kids and my life. I don't know what is going to happen next. If it's a joke, then I don't know what it is. I don't know how to take it."

The two brothers who did it have been convicted of criminal harassment and inciting racial hatred, and are currently awaiting sentencing.The one who built the cross and lit it may be facing prison time. They, and people defending them, maintain that it wasn't racist. It was just a mistake of youth.

An uncle of the MEN, one is 20 and the other 21, said

“I’m not saying it should have been done because it shouldn’t have been, but everyone makes mistakes when they’re young, I’ve done foolish things that I’m not crazy about, but that’s life.”

You know there always seems to be some fucking morons who can renew my faith in the stupidity of man. Burning a cross isn't racist? Shouting "die nigger die" isn't racist? If that doesn't qualify as racist then what the hell would?

Burning a cross on a black persons lawn has been a symbol of racism, and more particularly the KKK, for well over a hundred years.

A mistake of youth? They aren't kids! They are 20 and 21 and god damn well should have known better.

Luckily, it is only a few asshats who are saying it wasn't racist. Mind you that is a few too many.

It is nice to see the Police and the Justice system take it seriously. Some jail time is just what the morons need. Even if they don't learn from it a message will be sent to other like minded idiots that this kind of bullshit will not be tolerated.

Julian Assange

A reader sent me a link to a Huffington Post article written by Naomi Wolf. It concerns what is going on with Julian Assange and the rape charges. Wold set the tone for her article perfectly in her opening statement.

How do I know that Interpol, Britain and Sweden's treatment of Julian Assange is a form of theater? Because I know what happens in rape accusations against men that don't involve the embarrassing of powerful governments.

She cites her experience dealing with women's issues world wide and makes a strong case for what an insult the handling of this is to the victims of rape world wide.

Keep Assange in prison without bail until he is questioned, by all means, if we are suddenly in a real feminist worldwide epiphany about the seriousness of the issue of sex crime: but Interpol, Britain and Sweden must, if they are not to be guilty of hateful manipulation of a serious women's issue for cynical political purposes, imprison as well -- at once -- the hundreds of thousands of men in Britain, Sweden and around the world world who are accused in far less ambiguous terms of far graver forms of assault.

The charges should be investigated, and if guilty he should be punished. However, it is easy to see why he is being dealt with so harshly when others who have done the same or worse never even got investigated. Politics and the fact he embarrassed the US. I just have to think of Roman Polanski and how he is being dealt with to see the rank hypocrisy in what is happening with Assange.

Don`t you hate it when ...

... you are sick with a sore throat and have trouble talking yet people keep trying to talk with you?!?!?

I have been sick lately, just getting my voice back today. Over the weekend I could barely talk, and shouldn't have been. Even today if I talk too much my voice starts to go and you can tell that as soon as I start talking.

For some bizarre reason there are people that will STILL try and hold a conversation with others who are that obviously sick. Even if you tell them, in an email or text, they will still fucking call you to talk. A few friends and family members fit into that category. Hilda was HORRIBLE for doing it.

If someone who could barely speak answered a phone I would (and have) told them I would call later when they were better. They wouldn't have to ask. If someone sent me a message saying they couldn't talk I wouldn't turn around and call them. It seems like common sense. I guess I just forget how uncommon common sense can be at times.

Amazing Race (Spoilers)

The finale is done. The winner is crowned. Things that stood out.

The contestants were PUSHIER than Koreans getting off the KAL flight in La. :) Gotta use those elbows like an adjumma!

Poor Jill and Thomas had the worst taxi driver in LA. He couldn't understand English that well and kept telling them he had internet when all he had was a GPS. He really hosed them over. While they wouldn't have won they would have been second.

Mind you I also find it hard to believe the contestants couldn't answer at least 2 of the 3 questions without the internet. Seriously, they didn't know don Quixote or The 7 Year itch?!?!? Then again, maybe I am just showing my age. ;)

All in all it was a good season.

Cockiness 2

The latest episode of Top Chef had the perfect example of what I was talking about in Cockiness. One of the Chef's, Jenn, had the worst dish according to the judges.

Right from the get go she was cocky and defensive. When one of the judges talked about how her team should have plated things individually she actually attacked the judges for not speaking up and asking for that while being served. Her steak and egg dish was the worst according to the judges. As one judge said

"Listening to Jenn describe her dish and the exact way it was supposed to be and as sure of herself as she was I kept thinking in my head that is not the dish I ate."

It is one thing to say you thought it worked. It is another to defend the indefensible and do it in such an arrogant and rude way. When four people who are judging you all agree that your dish wasn't good and for the same reasons you need to listen. Bland and bad texture.

Jenn's reaction was to attack even before they got to her dish. Once they critiqued her dish she just berated them for their opinion. She wasn't willing to believe she did anything wrong.

She just couldn't accept that they didn't like her dish or that she was picked as the one to be eliminated.

As she left she was cursing about the decision being bullshit and how she wasn't even close to having the worst dish. She considers herself a great chef and a great person.

In the after elimination interview she went on about how shocked she was and how great her dish was. She tried to attribute her elimination to being to vocal. Then she went on about being robbed of her chance and it not being right. Definitely not the most gracious loser ever. Maybe one of the worst.

Her cockiness and bravado was more like hubris and whining. I often wondered about the people on reality shows who act like this. Do they have problems getting work in the real world? Who would want to hire someone who acts like they do.

I think one of the best examples was Joseph in Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen. The guy oozed attitude and when asked a simple question "Who do you nominate and why" gave Ramsay a lot of shit. He ended up getting in Ransay's face, challenging him to a fight, and getting tossed out of the show. As he stormed out Joseph was ranting on about how any kitchen would be proud to have him. Really? Proud to have someone who would physically threaten the head chef and act like a moron? Unless this was staged for ratings Joseph is on some wicked drugs.

Cockiness

I like watching the reality cooking shows like Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef. One thing I have noticed a lot is the cockiness to the point of stupidity of some of the "chefs".

Take the latest Hell's Kitchen and two of the final four, Trev and Russel. In the individual competition to make a fusion dish Russel's wasn't that good. Three of the top local chefs were the judges. They weren't impressed with his dish. Of course that just meant that they were stupid according to Russel because he KNOWS he is the best. Even Ramsay commented on Russel being too cocky and thinking winning is a sure thing.

Then you have Trev. The worst of the final four. He is painfully worse than the rest. Yet he thinks he did the best. I don't know whether he was on some wicked drugs or is just that deluded. Odds are, he is just that deluded.

These asshats, and others like them, will go on and on about how great they are despite reality. One guy, in an earlier Hell's Kitchen, who got tossed left droning on about how he would open a restaurant beside Ramsay and put him (Ramsay) out of business. Confidence is one thing. Some cockiness is good too. These folks just make themselves look like morons.

Hearing about people.

When I don't like someone I don't care to know what is going on in there life. It isn't even that I hate the people in question, I just don't give a shit about them. For some strange reason a lot of people feel the need to try and fill me in on what people I don't like are doing.

My mother started to do it last night, which is what brought this to mind. For some reason she started to tell me what was new with the woman who gave me too much fucking information the first time I met her. Why she would think I wanted to know what the nutjob was up to I don't know. Even after I told her I didn't care and didn't want to hear about the woman she kept going. I had to be extremely blunt in order to get her to stop. Hopefully she doesn't do it again.

I have known quite a few people in my life who do this and it still boggles my mind. Hilda used to be horrible for doing it. She kept in touch with one of the South Africans we used to work with, so she could use her to dog sit, and would try telling me what that lying waste of space was up to. Why the fuck would I care? You could tell Hilda you didn't care until your face was blue and the next time she would do the same thing.

I guess some people like to gossip even when you tell them to stop.

Amazing Race

Just watched the latest episode of Amazing Race that took place in South Korea. It was a good episode. I liked the challenges they had to do. Speed Skating and ginseng are definitely South Korean things to experience.

Brook and Claire are idiots. One of them doesn't know how to skate so they choose to do the speed skating challenge. What morons. Jill and Thomas weren't much better. :)

It was hilarious to watch Brooke and Claire in the taxi after the speed skating. The taxi driver starts telling them how beautiful they are and asking if they are married. The only thing missing was him asking her to marry him. The camera must have had him on his best behaviour. :) Mind you Brooke did have to give him a kiss when they left the taxi, the 9th kiss she had to give a Korean man. The taxi driver then started making "woo woo woo" sounds.

Then you had Thomas getting on Jill's case for asking an old person if they spoke English. "You can't ask old people." What an asshat.

All in all it was a fun episode to watch.

What the ... warning label?!?!?

I love dry roasted peanuts. Planters makes the best. I didn't see any Planter's ones at Sobey's so i picked up some "Compliments" dry roasted peanuts. They were good but no where near as good as Planter's.

As I was preparing to throw out the empty bottle I read the back label and saw one of the most retarded warning labels I have ever seen.

Yes. you read it right. The warning label for a bottle of dry roasted PEANUTS warns you there are peanuts in it. What the hell? Seriously? I know there are some stupid people out there but THAT stupid? They can't understand that a peanut snack contains peanuts? Damn. That is rpetty fucking stupid.

Dog Mooks

It is nice to see people bringing plastic bags to pick up after their dogs. Nothing is worse than walking over a trail coated in shit. What I can't understand is the mooks who bring the bag, pick up after their dog, and leave the fucking bag on the path. Why the hell even bother if you are just going to leave the plastic bag sitting on the path (or the side of the path)? The whole purpose of picking up their shit is to dump it in the garbage. What a bunch of fucking mooks.

Interpol's Most Wanted

Reading the South Korea Times, aka An Idiot's Tale, talking about Julian Assange made me think of something.

As I type, Assange is now on Interpol's Most Wanted list for a rape charge in Sweden. Strangely enough, there is no photo on Interpol's site but it does say he is wanted for sex crimes and that if you have any information you should contact your local or national police.

Then you have someone like Roman Polanski. He raped and sodomized a 13 year old girl. Then he fled the US to avoid his sentence. He is NOT on the most wanted list. He is on Interpol's site, and a photo is included. The picture is from decades ago, not a current one. There is NO mention of his crime. He doesn't even have a Red Notice.

According to INTERPOL's website a Red Notice is issued in order "to seek the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition."

I won't argue that Assange doesn't fit the criteria to have a Red Notice. He does,and he should have to answer to the charges and if guilty. Let's just say I have a dim view of rapists and if he did it I hope they throw the book at him. But Polanski, who some European countries have HELPED hide, who the US has been seeking to extradite for decades, does NOT even have a Red Notice?

Mr. Assange quickly made the Most Wanted list but someone like Polanski who has avoided extradition for decades isn't? I am not saying there is a conspiracy but something doesn't smell right.

Walking Dead

As I said before I am enjoying the show. But damn they make some pretty fucking stupid decisions. If I am even in a zombiefied world I hope I make better ones. ;)

NCIS

Great quote from tonights show, a repeat damn it.

Zhiva referring to Tony and McGee "You two are like an old married couple."

Gibbs "No their not ... they are still talking to each other."

Love the show. It never fails to make me chuckle.

Wikileaks

I am torn over the recent wikileaks.

On the one hand they are private communiques. Would I like it if my emails, IM's, or text messages were made public? No. Who would.

Yes, they were from the government not an individual but why should that be any different? Hell, think of what we tell others about friends, family, co-workers, people we have interacted with. Would you want everything you said made public? Of course not.

On the other hand some of them are damn interesting as is the damage control. As are the people getting pissy about some of the leaked documents. :)

When it comes to the stuff released/mentioned about Canada so far is ... laughable. The comments about "knee-jerk anti-Americanism" by Canadians was made by ... a Canadian. Former CSIS head Jim Judd when talking with a US State Department official. The yanks didn't say it.

The other Canada related one floating around that makes me laugh hasn't even been released yet. There is a lot of speculation, or warning, that some of the as yet unreleased ones will contain talk about the "inferiority complex" of Canadians. Why not wait and see what it actually says and in what context before getting excited? Oh wait, that is a sign of an inferiority complex.

I am a Canadian and BOTH of those statements are TRUE to a degree. Canadians often have a knee jerk reaction about things that can be anti-American. Why that happens would be more interesting to look into than the fact that is appears in a US diplomatic cable. Also, many of us do have an inferiority complex when it comes to the US. Hell many Canadians actually define themselves as Canadian by saying it means they aren't American. Neither statement is a surprise.

If those are the worst things to be found related to Canada in the wikileaks then the US has nothing to worry about vis-a-vis the US and Canada.

Amazing Race

Interesting, in the preview for next weeks Amazing Race it shows them going to ... South Korea. I can't remember a race ever going to South Korea before.

I wonder what they will make them eat?

Amazing Race

The latest episode of amazing Race (Season 17 Episode 10) was the pukiest I have ever seen.

They all had to go to a chinese Buffet and one person from each team had to find 1 of 5 PIECES of fake food that was mixed in with the real food. Claire from one team puked at least twice and Vicki from another team puked at least once. It took a while for most teams to get through.

I can't remember a challenge where there was this much puking. Even the stinky tofu challenge in a previous race didn't have this much puking. Lots of gagging but not this much puking.

It was funny to hear Claire`s partner talking about how this was the way they did it during the Reneaissance ... eat, puke, and then eat more. Binge and purge baby! Binge and purge!

R.I.P. Leslie Nielsen

Leslie Nielsen is dead. :(

He is one of the greatest comedians and actors to come out of Canada. Whether his movies or his television appearances (Due south) he never failed to make me laugh.

You will be missed.

Funny memory.

Ever have one of those days where you just keep making silly mistakes? My friend Mike had one back when we were in University.

It started when he came over to my place. He was channel surfing while I got ready. As I walked into the room a movie was just ending. In the last scene you see a male and female walking into the water from a distance.

Mike says "She has a nice ass."

I had seen the movie before and laughed at him. I said "Dude. She is 11 years old!"

Mike didn't have much to say.

About 10 minutes later the TV was on Much Music. You could see a lot of swirling blonde hair and a face.

Mike said "Damn she is cute."

Once again I had to laugh. I said "Mike, that is Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. I didn't know you swung that way.

An hour later we hooked up with a couple of friends and went to the store. We needed some rum and mix. As we got out of a car everyone noticed a convertibleabout 5-6 rows away. You could see someones denim clad ass sticking up. They stood up and you saw a lot of blond hair too.

Mike sighed and said "I'd do that!"

Then the person turned around. I almost peed myself laughing. It was a guy.

Poor Mike. They say things happens in threes and his faux pas' certainly did that day.

Yes Minister - Open Government

Open Government:

Government is actually more open when it is less open. Open government is rather like the live theatre: the audience gets a performance. And it gives a response. But, like the theatre, in order to have something to show openly there must first be much hidden activity. And all sorts of things have to be cut or altered in rehearsals, and not shown to the public until you have them right.

Double Entendres

I was at a family dinner at my brother's tonight. The subject got onto foods of the world.

One of my niece's had been to a Korean restaurant in Halifax called Seoul Retaurant. She was telling me what she had, and what she liked.

Jokingly, I said "Damn, I should have told you to order boshintang."

I got a lot of strange looks from around the table. Another niece said "Wouldn't you have to go to the strip club (Ralph's Place) for that? Doesn't it come with the bearded clam?" and everyone chuckled.

Then the lightbulb went off over my head. "Ahhh! No. Dog soup. Boshintang. Not Bush and Tongue."

Of course this brought out another story from back when I was in University. I was with 3 friends at a local bar, Big league's, for lunch. The drink service was horrible but the food service was good and they had a hot new waitress.

Our friend Dave was having trouble choosing what to get. he was torn between the breaded shrimp or getting clams and chips. The waitress showed up to get our orders. Everyone but Dave ordered. When it was his turn he looked up from the menu at her. I guess he was taken by her looks, not that the rest of us blamed him for that.

He blurted out "I'll have the bearded clam!"

Then he looked mortified and said "I meant the bearded shrimp. The breaded shrimp! The breaded shrimp!"

Luckily, the waitress had a good sense of humour and didn't take offense with Dave's brain fart. She did end up getting a good tip from Dave too, who was still flustered when we left.

Yes Minister - Code Language

Civil Service Code Language

1) "Something is not in the public interest." = It is in the public interest but it is not in the interest of the Civil Service.

2) "Public opinion is not yet ready for such a step." = Public opinion is ready but the Civil Service is not.

3) "This is an urgent problem and we therefore propose setting up a Royal COmmission." = This problem is a bloody nuisance, but we hope that by the time a Royal Commission reports, four years from now, everyone will have forgotten about it or we can find someone else to blame.

4) "I think we have to be very careful." = We are not going to do this.

5) "Have you thought through all the implications?" = You are not going to do this.

6) "It is a slightly puzzling decision." = Idiotic!

7) "Not entirely straightforward." = Criminal.

8) "With the greatest possible respect, minister." = Minister, that is the silliest thing I've ever heard.

R.I.P. Pat Burns

Damn, I didn't watch the news, I tend to avoid the news, and was surprised by this. Pat Burns, former Habs coach (and a few other teams) passed away today. He was great behind the bench and from anything I have read a nice guy. There aren't a lot of coaches out there today with his character.

Don't you hate it when ...

... you are trying to lay down and rest because you feel like crap and the fates conspire to disturb you? If it isn't the god damn phone ringing, and any other time it wouldn't be that busy, it is the dog wanting in and out or someone at the door.

Mike Richards .... whiney baby?

So, Mike Richards has his panties in a bunch about P.K. Subban. Richards' team lost 3-0 to the Habs and Richards felt he had to single out Subban for his "actions".

Richards said

"It's just frustrating to see a young guy like that come in here and so much as think that he's better than a lot of people. You have to earn respect in this league. It takes a lot. You can't just come in here as a rookie and play like that. It's not the way to get respect from other players around the league.

"Hopefully, someone on their team addresses it, because, uh, I'm not saying I'm going to do it, but something might happen to him if he continues to be that cocky."

What did Subban do that was so cocky and wrong? He played very hard, getting 3 minor penalties and talked about it. When he was pushed around on the ice ... he fought back.

I wonder what, if anything, critical Richards had to say about Steve Downie's rookie year as a Flyer?

It sounds like a lot of sour grapes and a way for Richards to try and deflect things away from the flyers being shut out by the Habs.

The Walking Dead

I have been watching the new TV show The Walking Dead. It is pretty much a zombie movie made for TV, based on a comic book of the same name, but it is good. Interesting characters and adventures.

The group hiding out in the woods confounds me a little. They are worried about zombies showing up but have built NO defenses. Even a rudimentary palisade would at least give them time to get in vehicles or get ready to fight back.

Yes, Minister! Consideration.

What's the difference, to a Civi Servant, between "under consideration" and "under active consideration"?

"Under consideration" means they have lost the file. "Under active consideration" means they are trying to find it.

Yesterday

... and I am actually talking about yesterday, not the Beatles song Yesterday. ;)

I spent the day out with my best friend. We hit the Halifax Municipal Archives in the morning. What a great spot, and one not many people even know exists. It is a treasure trove of information on the area. The staff is excellent. Very helpful and informative.

My main purpose was the afternoon excursion to the Nova Scotia Public Archives. I wanted to do some genealogical research. While I didn't find information about my grandfather I did locate some information about a great great great great great grandfather that had been confounding me for decades. (I started doing Family tree research when I was in high school.) As with the HMA, the staff here was great. They helped me find information I hadn't even thought of looking for.

Lunch was a bit of an adventure. For old times sake we went to Pizza Corner and ate at Sicilian. My friend thought there was some donair sauce on the table and kind of ignored it. A few minutes later a bird flew in and started walking around. I thought i had seen one fly out when we were walking towards the place but figured I was imagining things. The staff did nothing to get rid of the bird and continued to leave the door open. The donair sauce on the table was probably bird shit. To top it off, the pizza slices just weren't that good. The sauce had little flavour and they skimped on the pepperoni. I won't be eating at that place again.

What the ... wedding announcement?!?!?

What is the top news story in Canada? Prince William is engaged to get married. Evidently this is a much more important story than Canada continuing it's role in Afghanistan. Or the explosion in Mexico that left Canadians dead and wounded. Or the economy. Or jobs. Or anything else that is more relevant than an engagement.

CBC NewsWorld devoted 10 minutes at the top of the hour to prattle on and on about the engagement. What did you get to hear?

The announcement of the engagement which actually happened last month.

The British PM blather about how the engagement is so important he was interrupted in a Cabinet Meeting to be told about it.

How the Cabinet stopped the business of running the country to cheer.

A CBC talking air head (female) say "As William got older I started liking the younger Prince more." What a creepy cougar. Imagine if a male announcer said that about a young woman?

CBC NewsWorld devoted almost 10 minutes of the opening news hour to THIS story???? Give me a fucking break. I can understand the news reporting this but as the top story with so much time devoted to it? That is retarded.

This is one of the reasons why I try to avoid the watching the news. It is shite. They will blather on about crap like this as a top story while much more important things are going on.

Yes, Minister! Inverse Relevance

The law of Inverse Relevance: the less you intend to do about something, the more you have to keep talking about it.

Best line!!!!

I was watching Shit my Day Says and heard one of the best lines I have heard in a while.

Dad: A job is like a woman. You find one that's easy. You hang on to it until you can't stand it anymore.

Great analogy! :) The sons comment was good too, but not as good.

Son: Or until it gives you crabs because it banged some bartender on Spring Break.

I love this show. Hope it does more than one season.

Yes, Minister! Kinds of Silence.

From Yes, Minister ...

The Three Varieties of Civil Service Silence

1) The silence when they do not want to tell you the facts: Discreet Silence.

2) The silence when they do not want to take any action: Stubborn Silence.

3) The silence when you catch them out and they haven't a leg to stand on. They imply that they could vindicate themselves completely if only they were free to tell all, but they are too honourable to do so: Courageous Silence.

In Flanders Field

In Flanders Field

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Storming Juno

As part of Remembrance Day the History Channel is showing the movie Storming Juno. It covers the efforts of the Canadian forces at Juno beach during the Normandy assault.

I like the way it is showing things from different perspectives. They shows things from the point of view of select Armour, Infantry, and Airborne units. The mix of real footage and new is interesting.

An hour into it and it is still worth watching. My main problem is that I was expecting a movie, as in an action movie, but this is more of an action-documentary. Docu-drama? Action-ary?There is action but there is a strong element of a documentary. Still, a good watch, but not quite what I expected.

There is a very interesting website too.

Lest We Forget!

Added later: Now, an hour and twenty minutes into it, it has turned into a full documentary. This REALLY isn't what I was expecting from all the commercials leading up to it.

Lucky Mook

Fucking mook on the way home was lucky

My Great Aunt, more like a sister to my mom, is dying. We spent the evening at her bedside.

On the way home I came to an intersection. There is a short merge lane to the right and then two regular lanes. I waited just to be safe. There was an SUV coming but he was far enough back that i could have made it out into the regular lane. You can never be sure or drivers so i just pulled out into the merge lane.

Sure enough the cunt had sped up as soon as he saw me starting to turn into the merge lane. Next thing I see in the driver side mirror is this asshole stopped ... in the REGULAR lane ... behind me. He is blasting his horn, flashing his lights, and screaming. Keep in mind I am in the MERGE lane ... haven't even come NEAR the regular lane.

I wait about 8-10 seconds and the asshole is STILL stopped and acting out. Screw that noise, I start driving and pull into the regular lane. Thank you Mr. Mook.

He ends up behind us at the next lights. Once again there is blasting of the horn and lots of swearing. Fuck You this and pussy that. All I can do is chuckle, and fight the urge to give him the finger. My mother is starting to get concerned though. Is he going to try following us home? Is he going to try cutting us off? THAT started pissing me off. It was a hard enough night without this stupid piece of shit scaring my 78 year old mother.

I tell her not worry. Assholes like this don't usually have the stones to do anything. They are all show and no substance. You encounter a lot of them in Korea.

Sure enough. Asshole ends up beside us hiding behind his tinted windows b ut keeping pace. I grin at him. He peels away fast as he can. Fucking pussy. Part of me is glad he did that because my mother was getting worried. Part of me wishes he had gotten out or followed me because I have a lot of frustrations and could use someone to beat them out on.

Yes, Minister.

I used to watch the British comedy Yes, Minister which eventually became Yes, Prime Minister. It poked fun at the politicians as well as the civil service. (Having been involved in politics and worked in the civil service I found a lot of what was said to be spot on about the trouble with both.) Although it was about British politics some of what was said was universal. There are some great quotes from the show. Some of the applicable to life today. Here is a good one.

The facts of life according to the Civil Service.

1) Ministers come and Ministers go. The average Minister lasts eleven months in any Department.

2) It is our duty to assist the Minister to fight for the Department's money despite his own panic reactions.

3) However, the Minister must be allowed to panic. They need activity - it is their substitute for achievement.

4) The argument that we must do everything a Minister demands because he has been 'democratically chosen' does not stand up to close inspection. MP's are not chosen by 'the people' - they are chosen by their local constituency party, i.e. 35 men in grubby raincoats or 35 women in silly hats. The further 'selection' process is equally a nonsense: there are only 630 MPs and a party with just over 300 forms a government - and of tehse 300, 100 are too old and silly to be Ministers, and 100 are too young and too callow. Therefore there are about 100 MPs to fill 100 government posts. Effectively no choice at all.

5) It follows that as Ministers have had no proper selection or training, it is our patriotic duty to arrange for them to make the right decision as often as possible.

A moron said what?

FOX news never fails to amaze us with the sheer stupidity of their talking heads.

Lynda Carter was on Fox and Friends. (For what I am talking about here look around the 3min mark.) Of course a lot of the talk was about Wonder Woman. At one point one of the FOX idiots, err talking heads, I believe his name is Brian Kilameade but I could be wrong, stammered out something so moronic even the other "Friends" were stunned.

"Why do you think that women commit crimes but we need woman to find criminals. "

The look on Carter's face was priceless. I never thought it possible but Gretchen was more stunned than usual. She actually said "What?" loudly instead of just sitting there with a plastic smile.

Kilmeade then said "Women don't commit crimes. I just realized that. "

What the hell?!?!? As if the first statement wasn't stupid enough to follow it up with "women don't commit crimes". Tell that to the victims of Karla Holmoka you moronic piece of shit. Where in the hell does FOX get these idiots?

Rainy Season?!?!?

Holy hell it feels like I am in Korea for rainy season. Here I thought I had missed it this year but Nova Scotia is getting hit with record rainfall plus winds. For the last 6 days it has pretty much rained every day, most of the day. It is supposed to continue for another day or two!

There are areas in the province with no electricity. There are places in the province that are closed off due to flooding. There are places that are flooded. A dam in Yarmouth county is threatening to burst. It is looking pretty bad, and hitting other Maritime provinces too. Luckily no one has been killed.

The weather is supposed to change for the better come Thursday. Is it Thursday yet?!?!?!?

Iraq

A friend sent me a job ad for Iraq. You would work teaching English to the Iraqi security services. It pays about $150,000 US for 1 year. The money is damn inviting ... but Iraq!?!?! I thought seriously about applying for it for a few minutes.

Last night I had a dream. I was teaching English in Iraq to Iraqi soldiers. A bomb blew up my building with me in it. Not a good way to wake up.

Canadian security problems?

I heard a lot of blathering in the news about Canadian security dropping the ball when it came to the Chinese man disguising himself and getting on a flight to Canada.

If you haven't heard, a Chinese man disguised himself as an old white man. He then used fake ID (passport) to get onto a flight to Canada in Hong Kong. Reports first said he only used an Aeroplan card but now they are saying he had fake ID.

Now, he never once went through Canadian security. So how the hell is Canadian security to blame for him getting on the flight. He got through Hong Kong Airport's security. He got through the cursory checks made when a person picks up their ticket or boards the plane. You could make a case for saying Chinese security dropped the ball. Airline security screwed the pooch. But Canadian security? Sod off.

$7.5 Million Dollar Mistake

Scott Gomez can play hockey, his past proves it. But that was the past. Why the hell Montreal acquired him from the New York Rangers is beyond me. The fact the Rangers were willing to get rid of him for so little should have been a warning sign.

Montreal got Gomez, Tom Pyatt, and Mike Busto. In exchange they gave up Christopher Higgins, Ryan McDonaugh, Pavel Valentenko, and the rights to Doug Janik. None of those four are with the Rangers now.

Christopher Higgins went to the Flames and is now with the Panthers. McDonaugh's rights are still owned by the Rangers. Pavel Valentenko never played with the Rangers. He is playing for Dynamo Moscow in the KHL. Doug Janik never played for the Rangers and is now playing for the Red Wings.

Basically, New York gave Gomez away. They knew he wasn't worth the price and wanted to free up cap space. They traded him for players who never even played for them. You would think the deal would have sent out huge warning signs to Montreal. Unfortunately, it didn't and they made the trade. Glenn Sather must have been surprised to find a rube to take Gomez off of his hands.

Gomez is still playing in Montreal and does produce. But he is NOT worth the $7.5 Million Dollar price tag. So far this season he has been extremely disappointing. The way he is playing he is on his way to a whopping 16 point season. That works out to about $500,000 a point. What a waste.

I thought the trade was a stupid idea when it happened and nothing has happened to change my mind. The Habs would have been better served by not wasting that cap space and using it to keep or pick up other players. Yet another of Gainey's mistakes.

Saving Private Ryan

I am watching Saving Private Ryan on the History Channel now. It never fails to make me think of my father, he was a WW 2 veteran.

The scene where Mrs. Ryan is told all of her sons but one died never fails to tear at my heart.

The History Channel is having a week of shows leading up to Remembrance Day.

A South Korean movie called TaeGuki is often referred to as the Korean Saving Private Ryan. I never liked that label. It is TaeGuki. The war was different. The personalities were different. The story was different. It was good on it's own merits and not because it was inspired (was it really?) by saving Private Ryan.

The Book of Negroes

I just finished reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. It is about the life of a woman named Aminata Diallo, Meena. From her childhood to slavery and beyond. It is a work of fiction with some basis in reality.

The name of the book comes from the book the British and Americans used to record the names and information on Black Loyalists who left America after the Revolutionary War, The Book of Negroes.

I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it. It is well worth picking up.

One of the things it reminded me of is how much of our history gets shunted aside and ignored. We, Canadians, like poking at the Americans about slavery. "Blacks fled to Canada to escape slavery!" we will crow but we tend not to talk or hear about what blacks went through in Canada, then British North America, before and after the British abolished slavery. It wasn't all peaches, cream, and equality for the blacks who came here. That is something we should never forget.

Double Down

Odds are if you have a TV you have seen a commercial for KFC's Double Down sandwich. Sandwich is a misnomer as it has no bread or bun. My interest was piqued by the ads. I wondered how it would taste, but I just couldn't bring myself to try one. A couple of times I almost pulled into KFC for one but then reason won out. It just doesn't look that good.

Now I don't have to try one. Stig decided to have one and he didn't sound impressed. In fact, he pronounced it too salty. Considering Stig uses more salt in cooking than I do, and likes things salted more than I do, for him to say it was too salty would probably equate to me saying it is way too fucking salty.

Desire to try one ... gone.

Loto Winners

Damn. An elderly couple won over $11.25 million in the lottery ... and gave ALL of it away.

They gave it out to family and charities not keeping any for themselves. What a magnanimous gesture. One not a lot of people would do. It warms the heart to see what they did. Especially considering what they have been going through.

Canadian Idiot

Hilarious song and video by Weird Al Yankovic.

While I have swilled beer and am a hockey nut ... I prefer rum. :)

Now if you will excuse me I have to go oot and aboot, eh.

Website Ads

I am SO sick of the fricking ads on websites with sound! Usually they are ads for games or porn sites. It is like commercials on TV the volume level of the ad is HIGH. Too fucking high!

Pirates Bay used to have the same ad for Evony on the top AND bottom of the page. So you had to scroll to the top and shut it off THEN to the bottom or you had twice the crap blasting at you out of synch.

They have found ways to stop pop-up ads. I can't wait for a way to shut these annoying fucking things off. If you know of a way please let me know.

EA Sports NHL series

God Damn them to hell!!!

I enjoy playing two hockey games on my computer. Eastside Hockey Manager 2007 and the EA Sports NHL series. EHM 2007 was the LAST version put out and a lot of stuff is hardcoded in. In spite of that, fans have kept it going and it is a great, very in-depth, manager game. The EA series allows you to be a player and a GM. It is pretty fun.

May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in their pubic region!!!

They do not make a PC-CD version of the NHL series anymore!!! The bastards!!! If I want to play it, and the latest version sounds damn sweet, I have to get a frickin PS3. I don't want a PS3. But if I want NHL 11 I need one.

I hope I run into a mook or two so I can relieve my frustrations!

TMFI!!!!

Sometimes you will meet a person who, the FIRST time you meet, gives you Too Much Information about their life. I ran into one who gave Too Much Fucking Information!

My Mother volunteers at the local food bank. She makes sure that needy families who couldn't make it to the food bank get groceries too. So, I help her by delivery them. There is one place I won't be going anymore.

It was the first time I had delivered to her apartment. The woman just went on and on about stuff I have no need to know. About her divorce, custody case, sex life. According to her, her husband said he found naked pictures one of their daughters and had them on his computer. So she got one of her sons to steal the computer. Do you think she did something wrong? Evidently the police and the judge do. but she doesn't. (There weren't any pictures.)

Or how her and a daughter wrote a lengthy essay about her father fucking around and what a sleaze and bad father he is. They "accidently" brought the stamped envelope with the essay in to the store where his current girlfriend worked. The other daughter "accidently" gave it to his current girlfriend while she was at work. She went on and on about stuff like this for over 10 minutes. The whole time whining that she is misunderstood and it isn't her fault.

I actually tried to get away after 5 minutes at her door. She followed me outside onto the landing and kept rambling on and on for another 5+ minutes.

I wanted to tell her to fuck off. It was hard but I bided my time and kept my mouth shut. I was representing my mom and the food bank so I couldn't do and say what I wanted.

"Why the fucking hell are you telling me this you stupid bitch?!?!? You just met me!!!! TOO MUCH FUCKING INFORMATION!!!! Yes you were WRONG!!! Don't be surprised when the custody case goes against you. I really couldn't give a good god damn about you or the fucking mess you call your life."

Finally I made it to the safety of my car, which I immediately locked. Just in case. I won't be delivering anything to that apartment again.

Some people really need to see a psychiatrist instead of talking to strangers. You just don't tell shit like that about your life (or someone else's) to complete strangers.

Amazing Race

One of the things I have always found stupid about the Amazing Race is that being first doesn't always give you an advantage on the next leg of the race. Yes, you may start before the others but too often all you do is hurry up and wait for an airplane or some building to open. Instead of being ahead of the pack they are right at your heels.

What the ... unprofessional priest?!?!?

I am not a religious person. While I have my beliefs I don't push them on others. hell, I don't really talk about them.

My mother is very religious. Her and my dad were there from the start of her current church, when they held services in an Elementary school gymnasium while saving money to build a church. She was active in the choir, outreach programs, women's group, presbytry, most committees.

Now she has cut back a lot of what she does and the main reason is the minister. He is a bit of a twat. Ok, I lie, he is a huge twat. Since he took over from the former minister well over half the congregation has left. He isn't that good a minister and certainly doesn't inspire his flock.

To me the robes of the minister are his uniform. Well, from what I have heard, he doesn't usually wear his robes. He often just wears casual clothes.

IF I had been a parishioner what he did this past Sunday, Halloween Day, would have seen me standing up and telling him off before I walked out of the church. His father was a minister as well. He wore his fathers robes for the service and told his congregation, during his sermon, that this was his Halloween costume. Seriously! He wasn't joking

To me he disgraced his uniform and his father by saying that. It is no wonder the the church has lost 3/4 of the congregation if that is what he is like. Hell, things are so bad they may have to change him to a part-time minister because they aren't bringing in enough money to run the church.

On the one hand it reinforces my feelings towards most organized religions. On the other hand, it bothers my mother and for that I would like to go upside his head with a 2X4.

Poppy Volunteers

Remembrance Day is coming up November 11th and I always try to wear a poppy for it. That was harder to do in South Korea of course. Much easier now. Or it should be.

I went out to get some groceries and saw the poppy stand. As I approached it an older couple got there first. The woman who was volunteering at the stand must have known the other women because a gab fest ensued.

I figured the volunteer would say a few words to her friend, deal with me, and then go back to her friend. Boy was I wrong. Five minutes later they are still flapping their gums. The woman's husband looks at me and shrugs his shoulders.

I decide to be patient and wait. Five more minutes pass and they are STILL yapping away. Instead of telling her she is fucking moron, after all she is volunteering for a great cause, I left. They were still yapping 5 minutes later when I left the store.

As I said, the Poppy Fund is a great cause, so I just donated my money and got a poppy elsewhere instead of not giving any money. They would be better off without volunteers like that woman though. If it had been a charity I don't normally support an incident like that would be enough of a reason for me to NEVER support them.

She volunteered her time to help the charity. If she had that much to say to a friend, at elast 15 minutes worth while ignoring people who wanted a poppy, she should pick her fucking phone up on her own time and call them! instead of showing some manners and class she ended up causing a few people, not just me, to NOT donate their money at that time. Some of them may not donate at all now for all I know.

If you honour Remembrance Day and don't have your poppy I encourage you to get one. If you run into a moron like I did just find another kiosk.

Mook of the Week

Actually this should be Mooks of the Week.

My mother and I had to go into Halifax. Actually, the other side of Halifax. On the way back we came upon a garbage truck making pick ups. The street was windy and going down a hill to the Bedford Highway. Visibility wasn't good because of the turns in the street. Add to that the solid line indicating no passing.

Mom decides to wait for the truck to move a bit since she can see cars coming up the hill. This caused the mooks behind us to get pissed off.

This stupid cocksucker actually blasted his horn at us while heading INTO oncoming traffic! Unfortunately I couldn't get liscence plates because of the glare. If we could see the car coming you know the moron in the truck could.

We moved a bit before the truck stopped again. Even being behind the truck we could see more cars coming up the other side.

This idiot actually started passing the cars behind us, he wasn't the one right behind us he was about 3 cars back, while everyone was moving. The garbage truck had just stopped.

Even though they could see the cars coming these assholes decided to tromp on the gas and pass.

The truck on the left actually had to pull to the side and stop because assholes like this mook decided it was their right to pass in the no pass zone while traffic was coming.

It was mooks on parade in Halifax. A parade I wish I had missed. I also wish the glare hadn't been so bad then I would have had some tags to put up too. Morons like that shouldn't be allowed on the road.

Halloween

What happened to Halloween while I was away in South Korea?!?!?

We had about 13 trick or treaters in 3 hours. That is all! We used to have over 100. One year I stopped counting at 140. Now ... it was boring. Did the dynamic of the neighbourhood change THAT much while I was away?

The weather wasn't great but it wasn't horrible either. The rain stopped mid afternoon. Hell, when I was a kid we didn't let the weather stop us from heading out and getting all the candy we could.

Someone told me that Halloween parties are more popular now. What the ki...errr hell?!?!? If you didn't go trick or treating you didn't celebrate Halloween!

I always liked seeing the different costumes. You always get some great costumes, and sometimes some yummy mommies dressed up as well. Some Halloweens I would get dressed up myself and scare the shit out of some of the trick or treaters.

My first Halloween in a loooooooooooong time and I find that the Hagwon Halloween was more fun last year. Damn!

I hope you had a better Halloween.

Reporting

It is nice to be back in a country where a piece of shit rag like the Korea Times is not the norm. Well, outside of Fox News that is. However, there are other problems related to the media.

THE NEWS now, at least in Canada, is all about Colonel Russell Williams. The piece of shit makes me wish Canada had the death penalty because he is the poster boy for using it.

The reporting of the case has been, in my view, excessive. Yes, it is an important story. It needs to be told. The amount of detail however is not necessary. Seriously, the news HAS to show the pictures of Williams dressing in the lingerie of his victims? really? They have to drone on and on and on about everything? You would think there is no other news story in Canada except this.

It reminds me of the stupidity that went on during the Homolka trial. The media actually wanted to get a hold of the tapes that were made of the girls being raped and murdered. What the hell?!?? Why?!?!? They actually went to court to try and force the release of the tapes! That is fucking twisted.

The last thing the family of the victims needs is to have things like that handed over to the media and circulated. Why in the hell would anyone want to watch the rape and murder of the girls? Other than for some twisted sexual fetish?

Reporting the news doesn't mean that every salacious detail has to be exposed. While the lingerie photos aren't as bad as trying to get the tapes it still isn't necessary to reporting the story. Considering that Williams plead guilty to the charges it isn't as if any of the evidence is being disputed or even needs to be presented. Yet the media feels the need to air it all because the sensational nature of it will get ratings. It isn't that they are reporting the story it is how they are doing it or over doing it. Then again, I never had a high opinion of the media and how they operate.

Being Blunt

"I am just being blunt" is an over used, and often inappropriately used term. I had a friend who used to go around saying that she was very blunt with people. Apologists often say the reason Koreans say nasty things is because they are a blunt people. Often "being blunt" is just an excuse for being a nasty bitch.

Being blunt doesn't mean that you have to be nasty or cruel. Nor does it mean that you are so stupid you don't know when it is not appropriate. It is supposed to mean a person is frank, direct, to the point. They tell it like it is. You can do that without being deliberately cruel.

The friend who prided herself on her bluntness could be pretty cruel, whether to strangers or friends. Case in point, when one of my Uncles died (I lost a few family members while I was in Korea) ... her idea of being blunt and comforting was to say "Well, they were old. You should expect it." Yes, she actually said that to me, and on more than one occasion. When talking about concerns over my mothers health she would make comments like that. "She is getting older you know." And if you got upset at her she would hide behind "just being blunt" and then get indignant with you.

I have seen Koreans walk up to people they don't know and say things like "You are a fat pig." or "You are ugly." and apologists slough it off as them being blunt. I mentioned in a previous post about the Korean walking up to a black guy and saying "You are black. You are a nigger." That was sloughed off by apologists as just being blunt.

It isn't being blunt, it is being an twat. It is trying to hide the fact that you are just bitchy and rude behind the mantle of being blunt. It is just an excuse some people use for being assholes.

There is a lot to be said for being blunt. I prefer people to be direct. However, there is such a thing as compassion and appropriateness. I have been referred to by friends (some of who consider themselves to be blunt) as being politely blunt. Well, I would rather be politely blunt than an asshole.

Christmas Craziness

One of the things I did not miss while I was living in South Korea was the deluge of ads, carols, and commercialism that comes before Christmas. It used to be that right after Halloween the craziness started. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing Christmas stuff for sale and hearing carols. Usually the switch over would start Halloween night and the stuff would be there on display the next day.

I went to CostCo with my Sister-in-law the first of the month. It was my first ever visit to a non-Korea CostCo. What really stuck in my mind though was the plethora of Christmas crap that was already out. There was more Christmas crap (lights, wreaths, cards, stockings, etc) out than Halloween stuff!!! The first of October? What the hell??!?!?

Chilean Mine Rescue

Damn. They are getting ready to send the rescue capsule, with rescuer, down to the Miner's. Instead of delays things continue to happen sooner. I almost typed thank god things continue sooner and if you knew me you wouldn't expect that.

I can't imagine what the miner's and their families are going through. I just can't fathom what it would be like to be trapped underground for this long ... expecting it to last longer. I think I would go mad. While I like to think of myself as a strong person, I think that would have broken me.

Then to hear that the miner's are all volunteering to be the last one up ... it makes me believe in the goodness of mankind. Once again, I would find it hard to believe I would volunteer to be last. While I would HOPE that I would do something like that I find it hard to believe that I wouldn't be volunteering to be 1st. I would want out of there.

Those guys have huge brass balls. I knew they had big ones to do the job they do but damn they must be the size of basketballs.

Here's hoping that everything goes smoothly and they are soon back on the surface in the arms of their loved ones.

As an aside ... here is hoping CBC News World starts covering it more completely soon so I don't have to watch CNN's coverage. I don't know how much more of their inane babbling mixed in with comments about American Pride in the rescue I can take. (Yes, they actually started making it about America ... as you can tell I tend to watch non-American centric news like CBC and the BBC.)

What the ... rights of women?!?!?!?

I recently read an article about a video made by the the Quebec Federation of Women. They made this video to protest Canada having troops in Afghanistan. Instead they managed to insult our soldiers and their parents and basically make themselves look like morons.

The stupid bitches (and I had to force myself to tone down what I was going to say. I was going to call them a bunch of stupid c***s with no censoring.) had an actress in the video playing the role of a mother whose child died in Afghanistan say

"If I had known in my life that I would be making cannon fodder, I may not have had children,"

as she held an AK-47.

They have since removed that section of the video and apologized. It left me asking the question though ... if it had been a comment denigrating women would they accept an apology? Of course not.

They had to hire an actress? You think the fact that no mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan (odds are no mother of a soldier) would ever appear and say that would give these idiots a clue to how insulting and wrong this was.

Ok, this left me asking more than just one question. One of the biggest questions is what the hell does the war in Afghanistan have to do with the rights of women in Quebec?!?!

The Quebec Federation of women was started in 1966 to fight for women's rights in Quebec. Considering that until the early 70's women weren't allowed to own property in Quebec it was a necessary movement.

According to Alexa Condrati, the head moron of this group

“Our mandate is to defend women’s rights, and we have to do that in whatever political climate we’re in,”

This year they joined a movement to boycott Israel. What does this have to do with women's rights in Quebec? In Canada? In Israel? How is their latest stupidity supporting Women's rights in Afghanistan let alone Quebec?

What political climate is this ditz talking about? Is their some wellspring of anti-women sentiment being espoused by Canadians that I missed hearing about? Is the Canadian army being used in some was to repress women's rights in Canada? Hell, in Afghanistan?

Maybe Condrati is having acid flashbacks and thinks she is still running Quebec Solidaire? What a bunch of ignorant fucking whack jobs.

What the ... nachoes

I want to have chili cheese nachos tomorrow night for the hockey game. Since I already have chili and cheese the hardest part was done. It should have been easy to just pick up some nachos and be good to go. Should being the operative word.

What the hell?!?!? I would never have thought it would be that hard to get normal corn nacho chips at Sobey's or any other big grocery store but it was insane. They had umpteen varieties of nachos but none of them your basic regular nacho. They bite size, multigrain, multi flavour. Someone please explain to me why the fuck I would need salsa "flavoured" nacho chips when one normally dips the fucking things in salsa?!?!?!?!?

I started to feel like Denis Leary trying to get a cup of coffee flavoured coffee. All I wanted was regular flavoured and shaped nachoes. In the end, after 5+ minutes of searching 2 shelves, I ended up with Old Dutch Restaurant Round style but at least they are regular flavour.

I had less trouble getting nachos in South Korea! Indian brand nachos were at every Home Plus and a few other places. There was no other choice but them however they were nachos not the crap multi flavour crap Tostitoes and others put out.

What the ... PC Bullshit?

I am not a fan of baseball but a recent headline caught my eye.

It turns out that when the Cincinnati Reds won the National League title last Tuesday they celebrated with victory cigars. Oh the humanity!!!

This was seen on TV and some "people", 7 supposedly, who have nothing better to do in life called up and reported the Reds for violating the No Smoking law.

I don't smoke cigarettes but I do like the occasional cigar. Smoking Nazis like the ass hats who called and complained about the victory cigars irk me. It is like the morons who whined about Scotty Lago celebrating his Olympic win or the way the US media whined about the Canadian Women's Hockey team celebrating their gold medal win.

So now the Health Department has to conduct a private visit or two to make sure there are no more incidents. If there are the fine is a whopping $100 for the 1st offence.

How much money will be wasted on the "investigation" that could end up with a $100 fine at the most? All because some puritanical pieces of shit got their panties in a bunch seeing the Reds smoke a victory cigar. Ain't Political correctness fun?

TV Warnings

I have been watching the odd episode of Man vs Food lately on OLN and noticed something. OLN airs a disclaimer about language being offensive to some viewers on the show. Every time they come back from commercials the disclaimer is aired.

The strange things is ... there is no swearing on the show. Unless they are worried that a vegan might see it and meat is a four letter word after all I can't understand why they would put up the disclaimer. Constantly. On ONE show where he had prairie oysters he made a ball joke. That is it.

Now while watching the show, and just before supper time, an ad comes on. It is a charity looking for donations to help lepers and fight leprosy. They show some pretty graphic pictures of what leprosy is and does. VERY graphic.

The show has to have a language disclaimer but there is nothing in front of this very graphic commercial? What the hell? Talk about taking political correctness to the point of insanity.

Facebook yet again.

Ok, this time the stupidity that is Facebook is actually hitting me and not a friend.

An old co-worker, 9 or so years ago, sent me a message to say hi. We decided to re-connect and I sent a friend request. Or rather I tried to. I got a message from Faebook saying I COULD NOT send them a friend request!

I had to ask contact Facebook and ask THEIR fucking permission to to be friends with someone. What the bloody hell?

So, I follow their link to request THEIR permission to send a friend request to my old co-worker. I have to say what I am trying to do and explain why AND tell them about my recent friend request activity. What the fuck? All they have to do is check their fucking logs and they can see my friend request activity or lack thereof.

How do I know they have logs? They have used them to temporarily ban my friend from sending friend requests. you know, my other posts bitching about the stupidity of Facebook. About the only thing I have done lately is suggest some friends to other friends.

Then there is the kicker, a warning message of sorts. The warning is that it could take a while for them to see and address my "request" because they are so busy. Of course the fucktards are busy they create so much extra work for themselves!

All I wanted to do was send a friend request to an old co-worker. They were an adult when I worked with them 9 or so years ago so i assume they haven't regressed and are still an adult. Which means I am not some pervy adult trying to send friend requests to kids they don't know. Why the blue hell do I have to go through so much bullshit just to send a friend request? Because the powers that be at Facebook seem to be a bunch of fucking assholes that like to micromanage everything.

A friend of mine is taking a month off of Facebook. If I run into more bullshit like this I will just be tossing Facebook. It isn't worth putting up with such rank stupidity.

Just tell China to piss off!

Damn. Once again someone backs down from China.

This time the Japanese are releasing the Captain of a Chinese fishing boat that ran into Japanese patrol boats. Instead of prosecuting him they are kowtowing to China's demand to release him.

A couple of years ago Chinese fishermen illegally fishing in Korean waters murdered a Korean Coast Guard officer. It was one in a long line of problems the South Koreans have had with Chinese fishermen. The fishermen come into Korean waters armed. They have kidnapped coast guard officers. Beaten them. Murdered them. And the South Korean government did jack shit to back up the Coast Guard. They refuse to arm them and not much happens to the Chinese fishermen.

Hell, even George Bush blinked after the Chinese ran into a US patrol plane and forced it to land in China.

If you are just going to let China ram it up your ass you may as well hand your country over to them now. It makes me shake my head to see countries just take the shit China is shoveling.

Shannon Park

Halifax and Dartmouth have always been military cities. Maritime Command, the naval part of the Canadian Armed Forces, is based here. When military spending cuts are made this area usually felt them.

This is what happened when personnel cuts were made in 2004. Shannon Park and Wallace Heights. Defense cuts in the late 90's saw some of the housing was made available on the civilian market in Wallace Heights. A friend of mine, serving in the forces at the time, lived there when this was starting to happen. Eventually all of Wallace Heights was made into civilian housing.

Shannon Park wasn't so lucky. The housing there was shut down as the military personnel were reduced. Those who weren't let go were relocated to military housing in Willow Park, Halifax. Shannon Park has pretty much sat empty since then. The High School became an Elementary School. The hockey rink is still used. Everything else is closed down.

The apartments that could house, I read 300 families, sat empty. There were plans to convert the area into an athletes village if Halifax got the Commonwealth games but that went the way of the dodo. Now, the area is a health hazard. The apartments can't be used due to mold. They are now a toxic mold health hazard.

What a waste! Think of all the people that could have benefited from the housing there. Instead it sat empty until it became uninhabitable.

Below are some photos I have took of the area, from the outside.