Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Shit Morons Say ... about changing.

My father and grandfather were traditionalists. I am not like them and I am not going to change.

This was said by the ex-Minister of my Mother's church in his final sermon. Basically, in the years he has had the church, 3/4 of the congregation has left because of what he is like. It is either his way or the highway. It has gotten to the point where the church can't even afford his pay.

Here are some of his high points;

Used money slated for the church youth group to buy himself a new computer and printer.

When a parishioner's grand daughter died he called her on the phone because he didn't want to visit her in person on the weekend.

When another parishioner had a death in the family he was too busy to be there for them.

He told many parishioners that being a Minister is just a job. When he leaves the church he is off duty. In fact he was never really on duty.

So in his final sermon, poorly attended mainly by the baglickers and asskissers who brown nosed during his whole tenure, he railed against those who didn't like him. He seemed to think that by saying he was non-traditional and all but calling the "nay sayers" idiots he excused himself.

Sorry douchebag, you took a church that had no financial trouble and money in the bank and almost destroyed it. It had nothing to do with being a non-traditionalist and everything to do with a person who never should have been a Minister.

Instead of firing him with cause, he is a fucking moron, they let him go for financial reasons. I am not big on religion but this guy is one of the worst excuses for a Minister I have ever seen and yet another asshole that never takes responsibility.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

My Dog's Life.

There are some things I don't write about or don't write about at the time they happen because they are too personal or too raw. Another reason is because I hate seeing people post stuff looking for a pity party or just to get people to say how great you are.

While I mentioned my dog, a German Shepherd, was dying of cancer I never really talked about it or him. He passed away over 5 weeks ago, on Victoria Day. He was never in pain, although the size of the tumour on his leg would make you think he must be. Right to the end we walked 3-4 times a day. Every day. He wouldn't let you rest if he didn't have his walks. The morning he died he had 2 walks. A while after the 2nd walk his tumour started bleeding everywhere. It was time. :(

We have always had dogs. Often 2-3 of them. He was the best of all of them. I have never seen a dog with as much personality and character as him. I would swear at times he would talk to you. Instead of barking it was like he was mumbling or talking.

When he wanted to go out in the back yard he wouldn't bark. First he would go to the door, scratch it a couple of times and maybe let out a mrrrmph. If you didn't come he would go to where you were sitting, smack you in the leg with his paw a few times, and mumble at you.

After I got home from Korea he was my alarm clock. Hell, I am still conditioned to wake up at 7AM because of him. As soon as my mom went to water fit he would come downstairs to my apartment and wake me up. At first I thought it was because he wanted out. Nope. As soon as I was up and out of bed he would either go back upstairs or lay on my couch. The non-water fit days he would let me sleep until 7:30 or 8.

It would be kind of funny at times when you were on the phone. If he wanted something, even if it was just some attention, he would start talking.mumbling at you. The people you were talking to would think there was someone in the room talking.

He is the only dog I ever hallucinated about too. :) A couple of years ago, my 2nd last in Korea, I got really sick. I thought it was food poisoning but it turned out to be the flu. Not swine flu, it was pre swine flu hysteria. Thank god Stig was around, he made sure I had lots of liquids and toilet paper. Stig is one of my best friends ever. But I digress.

So there I was in bed. Feverish. Half to three quarters out of it. And I start seeing my dog beside me. He was comforting me. I was talking to him, patting him, hugging on to him as I drifted in and out of consciousness. He helped get me through the worst part of the illness even though it was all a figment of my imagination.

I probably owe him my life right now too. Physically I was a mess when I got back from Korea. Partially out of guilt for missing so much of his life and partially because I wanted to change my life I started walking him. We worked up from 1 small walk to 3-4 long walks a day. I dropped a LOT of weight because of him. I have no doubt I would have died in the next 5 years or so because of my health and weight. I still have a ways to go but that fear is gone. Thanks to him. I still walk but it just isn't the same.

Fuck I miss him. The house isn't the same. Life isn't the same. Even if I get another dog in the future it will never be the same.

Shit People Say ... that I don't care about.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

That was the last line of an email sent to me from a friend. Maybe I woke up cranky. Maybe it is just because I haven't finished my 1st cup of coffee. Regardless, who the fuck cares where an email was sent from and over what network?

Ok, if he went on a surprise vacation to an exotic locale that might be different. If it was 'Sent from my coconut phone atop an elephant in Thalaind." THEN it might be interesting to inform people about.

I know people often have stupid tag lines, or sig files, or whatever they call them now. It just seems like the height of stupidity to have to announce how you sent an email and the service provider you use. Or pretentious. Who the fuck cares?

Should I end every email with "Sent from my Laptop on the Eastlink Network." with every email? Of course not! It would be stupid. So now, every email I get from this friend, will tell me the same stupid turd of information. And I still won't care.

War of 1812 (History Channel)

I just watched the part mini-series War of 1812 from the U.S. History Channel, as opposed to the Canadian one. It was disappointing.

Going by the show you would think that the war started when the British invaded the US. Also there were only 3 battles of note, 2 of them connected. The sacking and burning of Washington and the subsequent battle of Baltimore. Lastly, the Battle of Baltimore, which took place after the peace treaty was signed. I expected the series to be US-centric but it not as bad as it was.

If you REALLY want to learn about the War of 1812, in all its glory as well as stupidity, I would suggest reading Pierre Burton's 2 book series on it. It is well written, researched, and shows both sides fairly.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Gomez could go?!?!?

It is almost enough to make me find religion. Gomez, the amazing black hole of hockey statistics, could actually be traded because of the increase in the salary cap. Teams who have to make the minimum salary level can actually use his bloated contract to reach it. that would be sweet. :)

Friday, June 24, 2011

Shit Morons Say ... about young adults.

"He's just a kid!"

"He's just a child!"

I read this one on Facebook. The morons who said it were talking about 17 year old Nathan Kotylak. He became infamous for being id'd as one of the rioters in Vancouver with pictures of him trying to light a police car on fire splashed all over the internet.

17 is NOT a kid nor a child. At 17 you are SUPPOSED to be a young adult. By the time you are 17 you should know that rioting is wrong. If not your parents REALLY failed you. Hell, at 10 I knew that was wrong and at 10 you REALLY are a kid. At 5 I probably knew enough to know that setting something on fire was wrong and at 5 you ARE a child.

I find that it is more of an excuse for bad behaviour than anything else. It is used to try and explain away someones stupid actions. I remember hearing it used earlier this year when one moron was talking about one of the idiots who burned a cross and shouted racial slurs in Nova Scotia. The "kid" in question this time was in his early twenties!!! 17 is closer to being a kid than 22 but really neither are kids. they are people who should have known better.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Being Sick

The Chinese have a saying that goes something like this;

In order to truly appreciate being healthy you must be sick.

Or to quote Anthony Bourdain;

"Only when you have been through a really bad time, do you really know what good is."

Regardless of which one you like it is so true. I was sick the last couple of days. Not sniffly sick but vomiting and hershey squirts sick. Strangely enough, had some of my best sleep in a while, and some freaky dreams. Feeling like your guts are going to explode into your lap makes you cherish the times you don't feel that way.

This is my 1st time really sick since coming back from South Korea. I used to get sinus infections on a regular basis there. The ENT doctor I went to blamed it on the air pollution and yellow dust. I used to get cellulitis annually in my legs. The doctor I went to for it said it was common in SoKo. Since coming home I haven't had any major health problems until now.

It would be easy to blame it all on Korea but that wouldn't be honest. A part of the blame has to go to me for the unhealthy lifestyle I led. I didn't look after my health properly most of the time. By the time I started to, well, it was a long road back. While I am sure the pollution had an impact on my health it wasn't the only factor.

Since coming home I finished making the changes in my lifestyle I started my last year in SoKo. They have paid off a lot. A lot of it was due to my dog, may he rest in peace. If he didn't get walked 3-4 times a day he wouldn't let you rest.

Anyway, I am starting to digress again. Being sick really does help you appreciate being healthy.


Monday, June 20, 2011

Nathan Kotylak Apologises.

Nathan Kotylak is in the news again. This time making a public apology for what he did during the rioting in Vancouver. (For some strange reason the online and in printed article are different and some of the quotes used below come from the paper article I read today.)

"He told Global Television that he wasn't looking for any sympathy. But he told Global that he wanted people to know that there had already been "serious consequences" and he anticipated there would be more.

While I will give him credit for apologizing I don't know if I would call being suspended from the water polo team "serious consequences". Though he is right, there should be serious consequences coming.

His lawyer calls him a very brave young man for publicly taking responsibility for his actions.

"He is a good kid who got caught up in the moment and made some bad choices," Findlay said. "It's actually refreshing to see somebody as brave as him to step forward, accept responsibility and man up in the way that he has."

While I applaud him FINALLY taking some responsibility for his actions I do find that there is something missing. To hear his family and lawyer talk you would think Nathan did something wrong and turned himself in of his own free will. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Nathan turned himself in days after he was exposed online as being one of the rioters. Even in light of the pictures and video his father was trying to slough it off as being misleading and that he did nothing wrong. While he has NOW stepped forward they need to stop making it seem like this is something he did without being publicly ID'd ahead of time. Stop trying to spin it.

Having ranted about this I do have to say his lawyer was kind of right. Nathan is a young man who found himself in a bad situation and made some bad choices. We all make mistakes and Nathan's was a serious one. Hopefully he will be punished appropriately, learn from his mistakes, and be able to move on with his life.



Go The Fuck To Sleep

A friend put a link up on Facebook about an audio book. It was "Go The Fuck To Sleep" read by Samuel L. Jackson. It is some seriously funny shit. :)

Almost as funny is the way the Christian Group Family First reacted. They lobbied to have book sellers in New Zealand not carry the book. They just can't seem to grasp that the book is aimed at adults not kids. I wonder if the sequel book will be aimed at idiots like them and called "Shut The Fuck Up".

Sunday, June 19, 2011

P.E.T. on Nationalism

... nationalism was logically untenable since every group that considered itself a "nation" contained even smaller ethnic minorities that could themselves claim independence. If the nationalist trend were followed to its logical conclusion, human societies would become hopelessly fragmented . The solution lay in broader, not narrower, definitions of community.

- from Trudeau and Our Times, page 82-83

I started reading the book this week and that comment stayed with me. It reminded me of the debate over Quebec possibly separating from Canada. The Separatists tried to take the view that Canada is divisible but Quebec isn't. All of Quebec would be forced to leave Canada even though large parts of it wouldn't want to. They wanted the right to leave Canada but were unwilling to accord the same right to those who didn't want a part of their new Quebec.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Here comes another one ..... Nathan Kotylak

And another one mook from the Vancouver riot has been ID'd. Nathan Kotylak, future Olympian and World Class Mook. Nathan is 17 and was on Canada's junior water polo team. Word is he has been suspended pending a review.

According to CBC Newsworld Nathan's father said while it is him in the picture he didn't do it. Wow. That clears everything up then. His father also said;

"He added he wishes his older son had been there that night to look out for his 17-year-old and described the photo as "misleading."

He is on video and was photographed putting a rag into the police car gas tank and lighting it, as well as participating in the riot, but hey that is misleading. Nathan is innocent. Yet another parent with their head up their ass. We have already seen how your parenting has worked on Nathan. why should anyone expect his brother to act differently?

Then you have this;

A family member told The Province that the media should be cautious about feeding into the lynch-mob mentality which is occurring on Internet sites as a result of the astonishing pictures.

The person said the youth was egged on by the crowd and noted that the young man is currently under a great deal of pressure.

Poor baby, he is currently under pressure ... and who exactly created the pressure?

According to the latest reports in the news, from the father, Nathan is going to "do the right thing" and turn himself in. Do the right thing? Not being a fucking mook and rioting would have been doing the right thing. And how about "going to turn himself in"? Are we supposed to believe he would have done the right things if the photos hadn't surfaced? They make it sound like like turning himself in now, well after the fact, is some great act of nobility. While at teh same time they try to deny he did anything wrong.

To Nathan and his family I say this. I understand he is your kin and you feel you have to defend him and try to protect him, but take some fucking responsibility and quit making excuses!

I remember when I was 17 and what my father would have done if I had torched a car and rioted. I would have been turning myself in rather than facing him! Luckily, my parents raised me better than Nathan's so I never had to go through that.

There are a couple of sites I have found that are working on bringing as many of these mooks into the public light as they can. Public Shaming Eternus and Name That Criminal. Both are worth a look.


Eat shit!

(A big tip of the hat to Bill Maher for mentioning this on the latest episode of his show.) How many times have you been told, or told someone, to eat shit? Now, thanks to Japanese scientists, they can without the social stigma attached to someone sticking shit in their mouth.

Japanese scientists have found a way to create synthetic meat (steak) from human feces. I think I will pass on trying that. They tout it as an environmentally responsible way of making food and a solution for the world food shortage. Once you get past the fact that you are eating shit.

What is next? Apple juice from urine? Vanilla pudding from semen? Are they trying to convert the Japanese porn industry into a food industry? Bukkake pudding for everyone!

Friday, June 17, 2011

What the ...prognostication?!?!?!?

I decided to check the weather report before heading out for my morning walk. I knew what it looked like through the window but I was interested in what the weatherman (woman) had to say. After seeing what they said for Dartmouth on CBC Newsworld I had to switch to the weather channel and see what they said. They confirmed what CBC said.

According to both of them it was very foggy in Dartmouth (they said Dartmouth specifically) with limited visibility. The sun was expected to burn through in a few hours leaving a cloudy sky. Want to see what a very foggy day with limited visibility looks like?




I took these pictures about 5 minutes after seeing the weather reports.

How in the blue hell do weathermen keep their jobs? What is the stat I have heard, weather reports are wrong 70% of the time. I mean seriously, can't you just look out the window? Or if you are sitting in an office in another part of Canada get someone in the area you are talking about to LOOK OUT THE WINDOW? Kind of Les Nessman's I Witness Weather.

It amazes me that they can be THAT wrong about current weather yet expect us to have faith in their long range reports. I wonder if it is too late to be trained as a meteorologist so I too can get paid to be wrong.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Thank You Anthony Weiner

I have to say a hearty thank you to Anthony Weiner. His resignation today caused most of the US media to forget about, or downgrade reporting on, the Vancouver riots. :)

Disgusting.

It is disgusting that a bunch of idiots spoiled the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by rioting. They give all Canadians, not just those in Vancouver, a black eye. In some ways we should be grateful that Mr. Weiner decided to resign from Congress today as it took a lot of the US focus off of the riots in Vancouver and onto ... Weiner.

There have been some nice things to see come out of the riots. The way people are coming together to help clean up the mess. The way people are posting their pictures and videos of the rioters so they can be caught and punished. Hopefully they can id and prosecute all of the idiots.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Family Meals

"We know, for instance, that there is a direct, inverse relationship between frequency of family meals and social problems. Bluntly stated, members of families who eat together regularly are statistically less likely to stick up liquor stores, blow up meth labs, give birth to crack babies, commit suicide, or make donkey porn. If Little Timmy had just had more meatloaf, he might not have grown up to fill chest freezers with Cub Scout parts."

— Anthony Bourdain (Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook)

Before going to South Korea I would have scoffed at this. However, one of things I missed was the sit down family meal. Something I rarely engaged in but found myself wanting when it wasn't available.

I rarely ate at the table since my teen years. All meals were pretty much eaten in the living room, in front of the TV. Instead of catching up with family on what was going on in life I would catch up on TV. I never really knew what I was missing.

When I came home on vacation I started finding myself eating at the table. I would use the time as an opportunity to catch up on what my family was doing.

Now that I have been home for a year I find I always eat at the table. Even if it is just me there. I use the time to converse as well as eat. It feels good. I look forward to the big family sit down meals. It makes what Anthony said ring true with me.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A Cook's Tour - Mexico

I was watching A Cook's Tour - Mexico - Tamales And Iguana Oaxacan Style and some of the food started making me think about Korea.

Bourdain was given a soup called Menudo to eat. It is supposed to be good for hang overs and for stamina. It is made out of tripe (Bourdain's had belly, eye, heart, leg, lips, head, and liver. This is added to some crunchy veg and a hot spicy broth. All in all, it reminded me of sunjae haejanguk without the congealed blood but with the same colour.

Yes, Bourdain did crack wise about the Mexican group Menudo being named after tripe soup. And rightly so. :)

While I have never had a hangover my friends in Korea swore by haejanguk. I still remember the 1st time Dave had it. He was half dead when he started and within 20 minutes he felt human again.

When I lived in South Korea kamja tang was my comfort food. it reminded me of how my Mother made ribs. Now I find the reverse, Mom's ribs remind me of kamja tang and South Korea.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Facebook Behaviour

A friend posted a link to this site/video on Facebook. It is hilarious and so true. If we acted in real life like people do on Facebook it would make us look insane and creepy to people.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Internet Nutjobs

The Bill Maher comment about cybersex reminded of my LPMud days and one mudder in particular.

I first knew him as Etu, a Swedish woman who played on the mud I helped run. She was interesting to talk with but seemed addicted to cybersex at times. She kept wanting a friend (another guy) and I to participate in it with her ... I declined. It just isn't something that turned my crank.

Then I met Saerdan, a Swedish man who played on our mud. It turned out that he was Etu. He used Etu to meet women, find out their interests etc. so he could then hit on them with his male character.

Call me old fashioned but that is a little fucked up. Especially the lengths he went to. A lot of people were pissed off when they found out she was a he because she was cyberslutty, and so were they. :)

Kind of reminds me of the K-Blogger who created a Korean female identity so he would have his "main" id who was seen as a moderate and the female one to attack and belittle people. Kind of fucked up too. The lengths some of the internet whack jobs go to is amazing.

Anyway, he ended up meeting his real life wife that way. She is an American and ended up moving to Europe to be with him. About a year later they had a big spat. She went to the US because her daughter was seriously ill. One night she freaked out online because he was cyber-cheating on her. She had been trying to get a hold of him for days online and off with no luck. Turns out while she was away he was online being cyberslutty. She "caught" him on another mud in flagrante delicto. A fancy way of saying he was doing the cyber deed.

After lots of public drama and recriminations she forgave him for his cyber infidelity. Until the next time. And the next time. And ... well ... you get the idea.

There are some big nutjobs out there and a lot of them are online.

Bill Maher defines cybersex.

I watched Bill Maher's show Real Time yesterday. It was a good one. The comment I loved the most ... still has me chuckling ... came (no pun intended) during his monologue at the end of the show.

... that is all cybersex is. An annoying person saying "Do me! Do me!" while you are a thousand miles away trying to maintain an erection while the cat walks across the keyboard.

That pretty much encapsulates cybersex. :)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Stanley Cup FInals: Vancouver vs Boston Game 5

Damn tight game. Lots of back and forth. The things that really really stick out ...

Burrows. What a diver. At one point one of his own team mates touched his shoulder from behind to stop him from skating back into him and Burrows flopped to the ice as if he had been elbowed in the head. I hate crap like that.

Max Lapierre. I didn't like him when he played for Montreal and I still don't like him. When he played for Montreal I found him to be a coward. He would start shit with other players to provoke them into taking a swipe at him. Then he would turtle. If you are going to get someone to fight you don't wussy out just so they get a penalty. Have the testicular fortitude to back it up. He isn't much better with Vancouver.

Vancouver won. YES!!!!!

Anthony Bourdain - The Nasty Bits

"Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt."

Thursday, June 9, 2011

No Reservations - Japan

They were showing the episode of No Reservations where Bourdain went to Osaka a few years back on Travel & Escape. One of his comments when he was in a restaurant with 2 comedians was so true and so sad.

They were at a restaurant where you grilled up your own octopus balls. Bourdain quiped about how this would not flay in the US due to liability issues. He said something to the effect of "alcohol, hot grills, and sharp objects mean this would never work in the US". It is true for Canada too.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

What the ... smurfing smurf?!?!?!?

Antoine Bueno has written a book about ... the Smurfs. He says the Smurfs are an;

"archetype of totalitarian society imbued with Stalinism and Nazism".

And he sets out in his book to prove that. He looks at old views on blacks, Jews, dictatorships and the like and tries to tie it all together to prove that the Smurfs are deeply racist. The Smurfs are likened to white colonists, Gargamel is a money grubbing Jew, Papa Smurf is Stalin. He does make some interesting points but a whole book on it? Meh.

In an interview he does claim that his work was serious but also tongue in cheek. Bueno asserts that those who have problems with his book have no sense of humour. Which doesn't really jibe with the description of his work as a

" ... critical and political analysis" that ruthlessly deconstructs the world of Smurfs, known as Schtroumpfs in French.

It sounds like someone is taking it uber-seriously and without any humour. Someone who isn't a detractor.

Bueno also claimed that he wasn't accusing Peyo, the creator, of being a racist. Feel free to correct me but if you say someone created something that perpetuates racism aren't you implying the creator is a racist?

He does have a point though, societal prejudices do show up in our shows, be they cartoons or with real people. Whether it is by design or subconsciously. But to write a whole book about the evil undertones of the Smurfs? Smurf please!

And then you have the detractors who say things like;

"What a disgrace to soil the legends of our childhood," writes Bibouille on the "Schtroumpfmania" website.

Not my childhood. I hated the Smurfs. Now if he stared dissing Battle of the Planets or Starblazers I would have some problems.

"It's not hard to find anti-Semitism in Shakespeare or Balzac."

So two wrongs make a write? Actually, this statement helps Mr. Bueno's argument that the cutural norms and prejudices of the times appear in shows. If only he had used examples like that to bolster hsi argument instead of just focusing on the Smurfs.

"The author's arguments spring from his own obsessions ... the hooked nose of a wizard is neither Jewish nor Goy, it's traditional for wizards."

Really? I think you mean witches.

As a kid I hated the Smurfs because they were too happy and perky. The song always annoyed the piss out of me. Why did no one kill Jokey? Just how many smurf berries did it cost for a romp with Smurfette? Then again, maybe that was my subconscious rebelling against the Nazi/Communist influence? ;)

I don't know who is stupider Bueno for the book or some of the detractors for what they say? Oh smurf me, they are all a bit 'tardish.





Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Why does the NHL look stupid at times?

It is no wonder the NHL looks like it has idiots doing the discipline when decisions like the latest punishment to Rome were handed out. Granted, I believe Rome DOES deserve a suspension for what happened. But, if what Rome did was heinous enough to result in a 4 game suspension why didn't Chara's hit on Pacioretty in the regular season? This kind of inconsistency in delivering punishment is what makes the NHL officials look bad and gives fodder to the conspiracy theorists.

Aaron Rome (Vancouver) hit Nathan Horton (Boston) middle of the ice, a la Scott Stevens, after the puck was no longer in play. Definitely an interference penalty and deserving of extra suspension time. Horton is concussed and out for at least the rest of the season. While the hit evolved from a hockey play that happened quickly it was a late hit and did result in a horrible injury.

Talking about the incident and punishment Mike Murphy pointed out that it was a late hit, the puck wasn't in play (textbook interference penalty), he thought the head was hit, and the severity of the injury were all taken into account.

Zdano Chara (Boston) hit Max Pacioretty (Montreal) along the boards and pushed him head first into a stanchion, after the puck was no longer in play. Pacioretty is concussed, has cracked vertebrae in his neck (ie broken neck) and who can say if/when he will play hockey again. Definitely an interference penalty and deserving of extra suspension time, although NONE was give.

In the Chara-Pacioretty incident they never talked to Pacioretty or even considered the severity of his injury. The decision was handed down before they even knew how bad he was hurt.

This is where the conspiracy theorists now have ammunition when claiming the Bruins get special treatment. Why wasn't Chara's hit not punishment worthy yet Rome's was?

It still amazes me to hear my Nephew-In-Law whine about a league conspiracy to prevent the Bruins from winning the cup. I have always been a Habs fan but never as rabid as this. A bad hit is a bad hit. A bad call is a bad call. If you ignore one while whinging about the other you are a hypocrite.

The NHL itself just confuses the hell out of people over whet is or isn't wrong when they continue to hand out inconsistent penalties. Hopefully this will change when Campbell is gone as Head of Discipline, but I doubt it will.

Mind you, as rabid as NHL fans can be it is a good thing they aren't as bad as the South Koreans.


What the ... bureaucratic insanity?!?!?

This story sickens me. It makes me wonder just how civilized a country Canada is. Or at least how civilized our Government is. It confirms all the negative stereotypes we have about government bureaucracy. Especially when they put money above the life of a special needs kid.

The Maeng family has been here 8 years. They have a business and contribute to the economy! Their eldest son is studying at Dalhousie University. Now, after EIGHT FUCKING YEARS in Canada, some bureaucratic asshole has decided they can't stay in Canada because their youngest son is autistic and has epilepsy. Something the family NEVER hid, and was a reason why they came to Canada from South Korea. So their son could get proper treatment.

There has got to be something that can be done to stop this. Their lawyer has filed an application to have them stay on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. Unfortunately, considering the Harper Government's right wing view of immigration, I doubt the Government will be of much help. Compassion and Humanitarianism aren't words that one usually associates with the Harper Government.

The Maeng family have been told to leave Canada by June 30th. If you are Canadian contact your Member of Parliament and tell them what you think of this bull shit. Here you have a family that contributes to Canada being shit on by the Government.

Something needs to be done to let the Maeng's stay here!

You can email the Prime Minister (or at least his office) or go to his website and send a message.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has a website you can visit as well. I found it funny in a sick way to see the headline on their website to be "Protecting Foreign Workers" when I opened the page.

June 8th There is an update about this on What The Kimchi? including a link to an online petition.

June 13th Another ... hopefully final ... update about the Maeng's ordeal. It is over. The government has rescinded the order. :)

Interesting Phrase.

My buddy Spock recently posted an interesting phrase he encountered in a Buddhist magazine, Sedentary Agitation. It is defined as being regularly upset by something, yet not getting out of the chair to do something about it.

I like it. :)

No Reservations - South Korea

"You know, when I get back to New York I am going to be pouring that stuff on my cheerios in the morning."

Anthony talking about soju.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Well said Coach Julien.

Claude Julien, the Head Coach of the Boston Bruins was asked after game 2 about the lack of a Burrows suspension for biting in game 1. Burrows had 2 goals, including the game winner in game 2 of the finals. Julien's reply:

"That has nothing to do with that. I never thought about it that way," Julien said after his "no comment" to the silly question. "They made a decision. We moved on. For us, if we start using that as an excuse, we're a lame team. To me, it's not even a consideration."

Well said. Unfortunately most many Bruins fans are using it as an excuse to whine and just be, to use Coach Julien's choice of words, lame.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Don't you hate it when ...

Don't you hate it when people with bad memories try telling you things that happened, especially involving you, and swear black and blue that it happened. They will get defensive and say they are right and you are wrong. It drives me crazy sometimes.

My mother has a habit of doing that. She forgot one of my sisters sent her a gift card for Christmas when asked about it by her a month ago. That caused a bit of a problem between two of my sisters. Another sister gave the card to mom for her ... and the 1st was now being told it was never given. In actuality, it had been given. Mom forgot. The next day she was trying to tell me who I saw in concert in '88 and was wrong. Of course she wouldn't give. She had to be right and me wrong.

Hilda used to be bad for shit like that too. She would prattle on about how great her memory was. Yet, too many times, she forgot plans she had made.

Spock has a horrible memory but he knows that and doesn't try to kvetch about it. Me? I like to think I have a good memory but I am also willing to admit I can make mistakes.

Friday, June 3, 2011

More Whine and Cheese with the Bruins.

While I am on the subject of whining Bruin's fans and bad calls by referees I HAVE to mention the diving penalty that Steve Downey of Tampa Bay got in a playoff game. Tampa Bay was playing Boston at the time. Downey got his head smacked into the glass from a cheap hit by a Boston player. The Boston player got a penalty and the referee gave Downey a penalty for diving.

Downey had trouble getting up after the hit. He had trouble skating to the bench. He never returned to the game because of the after effects of the illegal hit. Yet the referee gave him a diving penalty. THAT was bloody ridiculous. Bruins fans were amazingly quiet about bad referee calls then.

One of the TSN announcers, god I hate having to watch hockey on TSN, made the comment that Downie's reputation preceded him. That struck me as a monumentally idiotic thing to say. Downie has a reputation for being too aggressive. In the past he has been given some hefty suspensions for being too violent. He does NOT have a reputation for diving. How his reputation for being too physical has anything to do with a diving call is beyond me ... unless you REALLY REALLY stretch reality and then some. But I digress.

Whine and Cheese with the Bruins.

The intensity of the whining of Bruins fans after their loss on Wednesday is deafening. I get a kick out of the lengths they will go to blame their loss on anything but being outplayed. (And I gotta say it was only outplayed by a little bit. Both teams played well that night. )

One fan whined on Facebook saying

I would love to hear the leagues take on how someone is not given a penalty if you bite another player or punch someone directly in the face. Just a question for the NHL, I know Boston is playing and nobody wants to see them win, but it would be nice to at least give them an equal chance of making something happen...

Yeah. They should mete out punishment to anyone and everyone who put there hand in someone's face! Oh, and in between your sobs can you please tell me exactly how Bergeron's finger got INSIDE Burrows mouth?

and to say there is no conclusive evidence that burrows bite him, ahhh, all you have to do is watch the replay?????????????

I watched the replay. It could go either way. Burrow's may have bit but then again his face was being pushed around. If the officials believe it was a deliberate bite then he should be punished. At the same time, Bergeron should also be punished for hitting him the face.

Knowing the fan who is whining I just have to harken back to the Chara hit on Pacioretty and his take on that. He felt it was a good clean hit and that focusing on the picture of Chara guiding Pacioretty's face into the stanchion was unfair. The picture didn't show things in context and made it look deliberate. The picture wasn't ... conclusive evidence. Funny how he reacts when the shoe is on the other foot.

My reply to the Bruins fan is simple, a quote from Charles Pierce of the Boston Globe after the NHL did nothing to punish Chara.

There is one good thing to come out of the NHL's abdication of its duty to protect people like Max Pacioretty yesterday. That is -- the fans of the Boston Bruins now have lost forever any right to complain that "the league" is out to get their team, and that the Montreal Canadiens have some kind of pull inside the NHL home office. That Zdeno Chara got a complete pass on what he did obviates that talking point forever.

If he whined about bad officiating, against both teams, I would have had more sympathy for his view. There were some horrible calls both ways. In light of the Boston-Tampa Game 7 where the teams were allowed to play and NO penalties were called the officiating was bad in Game 1 of the finals.

Suck it up princess. The Bruins have a great team this year and I would be surprised if they didn't bounce back with a vengeance. Mind you, I am hoping the Canucks win. :)

Unlike the Fan, who is my niece's husband ;), I have no problem saying when a team I don't like is good. I am a Habs fan and have been since as far back as I can remember. I haven't liked Boston (the club) since Bobby Orr left. However, that doesn't mean I can't say they have a great team or that they outplayed Montreal. Only an idiot tries to deny reality.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Cell Phones and Cancer

I was listening to the news as background news when I heard something that made me pay attention. They were talking about a new report stating that using a cell phone may cause cancer. Talk about your flashbacks.

I worked for AT&T Wireless in the late 90's as a customer service rep. Basically if you had a problem or wanted to pay a bill you called us. Boy did we get some fucking morons calling in.

One night a customer called in to order a new phone. He wanted the one that was used in The Matrix with all the bells and whistles. As I filled his order I watched the price going higher and higher. Finally, he was finished giving his order and I told him the price, around $1000.

The guy flipped out. He started going on and on about how we (AT&TW) had to give him a new phone for free. I got him calmed down enough to explain why. He said that he saw the news story about how phones can cause brain cancer (there were a few stories going around back then). So, to test it he left his phone on all night in the cage with his pet rat. (He actually said rat, not mouse, gerbil, hamster. He had a pet rat.) When he woke up the rat was dead and it must have been the phone that killed him. Therefore, AT&TW owes him a new phone that won't cause cancer.

It was hard not to laugh at the stupidity of this guy but I managed not too. We had been "briefed" on how to deal with these types of calls. If they persisted we were supposed to promise that a Tech person would call and talk to them. That wasn't enough for this guy. In between cursing and moaning that we were killing him he kept trying to tell me I HAD TO give him a new phone.

I ended up passing him on to a supervisor. Unfortunately, or luckily because it was hilarious to listen to this twit, I had to stay online listening while the supervisor dealt with him. Basically, he gave him the same spiel I did and the guy kept cursing and moaning. After about 5 minutes the supervisor told him that he wasn't getting a free phone and ended the call.

He wasn't the first person I had to deal with freaking out over cell phones and cancer, nor was he the last. However, he was one of the funniest.

Don't you hate it when ...

Don't you hate it when people take Virtual reality, be it YouTube, Facebook, or anything else, too seriously and it starts messing up their "real life" (RL)? Some people get obsessed with virtual reality (VR) and the "friends" they make there.

Recently a guy I know has had a "friendship" ended because the guy had an infantile meltdown. This friend then started broadcasting personal stuff he was told (about the guy I know) that he was told in confidence all over the net. The cause of the meltdown, he commented that he didn't like a video the twat made. He didn't slag it or swear. A simple post saying "I don't like this video." and then the BS began. Some people just can handle criticism of any sort which makes you wonder why they put themselves out there on the net.

The BS reminded me of an ex-friend, let's call him Jimmy. We had been RL friends for about 17+ years. Due to the way life works we lost contact for a while but were actually in Korea working at the same time, reconnected, and renewed the friendship.

Jimmy was obsessed with YouTube. He was always making videos. They ranged from vlogging to comedy skits. I have to admit that I got into it a little, doing a few skits with him, and doing a lot of vlogging. Mind you vlogging is no different than blogging. It became more of an obsession with Jimmy.

He was (maybe still si I don't know) married. I always felt a little sorry for his wife because he would actually ignore her to "work on YouTube". (I always found that strange. I never ignore the internet mroe than when I am in a relationship.) When I would go and visit I spent more time hanging out with her than him because he was "working" on videos. When they came to visit me she enjoyed it because she had someone to talk to and do things with. He would be ... wait for it ... wait for it ... working on videos part of the time. She was always telling him how much fun I was and how she liked it when we hung out.

What ended the friendship? I am not sure. Supposedly because I made a joke at his expense. He had said good afternoon in a video when it was morning. I replied later in the day with a joke saying it was now afternoon. According to him that made him look like an idiot to his Youtube friends and on the internet. If that is how I really think of him I am a fucking asshole. And he then removed me as a Facebook friend and banned me from commenting on his Youtube site.

Was that the REAL reason? I don't know. He never said anything else. It seems like kind of a childish over reaction. If I was to speculate I could see where it may have because his wife enjoyed hanging out with me more than him. But I am not going to speculate, I will take it at face value. He had a childish meltdown. Which makes his actions even more fucktardic than if it involved jealousy.

Being Jimmy I know that the odds of ever hearing from him again, unless he REALLY needs something, are slim to none, and slim just left town. Even if he decides he was wrong he isn't the type that will apologise or try to reconnect. I say, so be it. If that is what he is really like no big loss.