Uh oh, she's angry!

The Drill Wife is PISSED at Michael Moore! You can read her outrage here and here.

If I was Moore, I'd be scared crapless! I wouldn't want her pissed at me! It's best to keep Southern Women on your side!

Stop the Insanity!

What a cool blog

This is the coolest blogger blog I've come across. Everytime you click on the page, some funky little stars sparkle all over the place. How cool is that?

Alright, I admit it, I've been watching too many soap operas. hehe.

Bah! Humbug!

Oh geez, Joel puts out the word that he's dissatisfied with being a rodent, and now everyone and their dog has linked to him! A marauding marsupial??? Crikey Manikey! I'm just wishing to get out of Fish-dom. Is that too much to ask???

All kidding aside though, Joel deserves it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's a premier blogger. One of the best I've ever come across.

And I'm stinkin' proud that he links to me.

Cracking the thousand mark

Well, there it is... I'm over a thousand on the Sitemeter stats. Still no word from whoever hit the mark. Oh well, their loss!

Bizarre Search Request

Someone found my sight through google. That's not much of a surprise... but look at the search terms they used.... bizarre!

Final Reminder

This is the final reminder for the Screen Cap contest.

Love the Monger

I seem to link to this guy a lot, and since he's on my blogroll, I know that all of you are reading him daily.

Be that as it may, I've GOT to point you all to three great posts.

This guy is pure Canadian Pride. I love it.

Free Blogshares! Sweet!

Thanks for the free blogsharesJTB! You kick ass, man! I got rid of Shawn's Korea Life stuff too, thankyouverymuch.
I'd return the favor, but with a total portfolio of $38,162,660.39 in 32 blogs, I think 1000 shares of WCC would just clutter up your system!

Thanks again dude, and thanks for the kind words (as noted for all to see).

More new arrivals in the blogosphere

Go on over and congratulate Giles on the birth of his daughter. I told him not to let her out of the house until she's 25.

What can I say, I'm a tad liberal.

Stanley Cup Ring to Simon, whom you congratulated last week on the birth of his son.

Movin' on up!

Hey folks, the sitemeter stats are really close to a thousand! If you are #1000, please let me know!

My email addy is on the right hand sidebar. It's getting close! I'm so excited!

Hat Tip, Schmat Tip

Colby asks an interesting question about how to cite sources on a weblog. I always give the credit by saying "Stanley Cup Ring to...", but different blogs do different things.

I kinda think getting a Cup Ring is the highest honor a guy or girl could get! Of all people, Colby should know that!

Don't forget about the sitemeter stats

Be sure to check the sitemeter stats on the right hand sidebar. If it reads 1000, you're in for a treat. Click here for more details.

Now THAT is a big time ass-whoopun'

Holy cramole's! 57-16!
Eight touchdowns in a single game. Excitement Deluxe. The CFL doesn't get the credit it deserves.

More Kerry Linkage

The Watcher, ofAxis of Weasels fame, has a particularily interesting piece on Kerry. And really, with a name like "axis of weasels", how can they not be on my blogroll? That situation has been remedied.

And since I've been talking about my traffic lots lately, perhaps I'd better be careful what I wish for.

I've never emailled den Beste before. I have been close a couple of times... but I always backed out at the last second. This guy gets like, a bazillion emails a day, and like the graphic says at the bottom of that post, a lot of it is pedantic nitpicking. Now, my emails weren't of the nitpicking type; rather, they were always positive in nature (and I usually thanked him for his writing). But he doesn't need to hear that. I'm sure he'd appreciate it, but he isn't writing for me or anyone else. I think the best gift I could give him to thank him for his hard work is to not email him. Rather, I'll link to him, and leave it at that.

It seems like a nice problem to have... "too much fan mail"... but I guess the grass always seems greener on the other side.

One Track Mind

Eric at the Republican section of Watchblog discusses the broken record that is the Kerry Campaign:

Kerry's campaign continues to consist of a single qualification. Vietnam. For instance when responding to a candidate questionaire from Humane USA, the Humane Society Political Action Committee, Kerry wrote...

"I have always had pets in my life, and there are a few that I remember very fondly," Mr. Kerry replied. "When I was serving on a Swift Boat in Vietnam, my crewmates and I had a dog we called VC."

A dog called 'VC'? You know, so much of Kerry's life experiences seem to have happened in Vietnam. Please forgive me for being incredulous. But this sounds alot like other memories which were 'seared, seared into him.' Memories which make convenient stories for whatever political purpose is at hand.

"...so much of Kerry's life experiences seem to have happened in Vietnam". Amazing, since he was only there for four months! He's nearly 61 years old, and yet everything he says reveolves around a four-month period in the late 1960's. Does anyone else see a problem with this?

And since I'm on the Subject of Beautiful Atrocities...

Great guide to the Blogosphere for newbies...
BUT...
*ahem*
Where oh where is West Coast Chaos in all of this?!?!?

I guess 900+ visitors isn't quite enough to qualify me for Blogosphere Stardom.

Baby Blogs

Heh... I remember my first post too...
Have fun, Wilms.

The Deep South

I've been to Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana, but never Arkansas. Now that I know what it is like, I don't think I want to go there either!

Hey Seth, say "Hi" to Twyla for me.

Oh man, it's just too good!

Sheer Brilliance on the part of the B.C. Torturer. And Sir George serves up a sublimely mastered setpiece.

John Kerry's dreams of being President are as good as over.

Sitemeter Stats

So, I'm noticing that my Sitemeter is nearing 1000. This is kinda important to me, and I was thinking that I'd like to do something special.
So, here's the deal: if you view my site, and the meter reads 1000, take a screen cap and email it to me. There will be a prize for whoever reaches the milestone and emails me the screen cap.

If you've got a weblog of your own with paypal, I'll drop a tip in your jar. If you've got a wishlist through Amazon, I'll get you something you've always wanted (provided that it isn't too expensive... I've got Student Loans to pay for, fo' cryin' out loud!).
I'll keep linking to this post so as to remind everyone. Keep watching the meter!

Oh yeah, and thanks Pei for the great blogging while I've been sick/on holidays/etc , and thanks to everyone who has visiting my site, and a big thanks to those who've linked to me and sent me traffic. You kick ass.

Real men do what???

Real men do not watch Days Of Our Lives. It's nothing but a silly soap opera with bad actors and lame plotlines. After all, who cares about Bo and Hope's marriage? Or the whole Sami/Lucas relationship? And don't even get me started on Marlena... that chick has been through more bizarre incidents than a contestant on Fear Factor! And then there is the "new youth"... the ones that Ken Corday hopes will give the show popularity amongst the younger crowd. How lame are they! Err... Uhhh... erhm.... hehehe...
In my defence, I will say this... Oh Jennifer, my Jennifer!
She's always been my favorite. I was glad when they brough her back. Dang, what a hottie!

John Kerry's War Plan

Interested in knowing how John Kerry would respond as president to such adversity as 9/11 and the threats of psychotic dictators? Liberal Larry from Blame Bush has the answer!

As President, John Kerry will appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission to investigate the committee looking into forming a bipartisan board of commissioners charged with presenting a 1500 page plan of action for possibly forming another commission concerning whether troops should shout "Ollie Ollie Oxen Free" before engaging the enemy. With a less streamlined, more bureaucratic chain-of-command, Kerry will insure that no trigger-happy jarhead will ever return fire on the enemy without first completing a form B79873-A. In triplicate.

Check out the whole thing!

This girl is smart beyond her years.

Oh yeah, she knows the score.

Keep on Keeping on, Sabi.

And speaking of the Sidebar....

Pei's blogroll has been updated. This one really should be under "Jokes & Satire". It's freakin' hilarious!
Blame Bush!!!!

And Stay THERE!

The Sidebar Issue seems to be resolved. I figure that one of my "referring web pages" at the bottom of the sidebar was an especially long link. Steve from Blogger Support informs me that an extra-long link often results in the sidebar going haywire. Thanks for the prompt reply Steve! See... Blogger gets a bad rap, but they ain't so bad after all!

But I still blame Pei... he was prolly screwing around with the template again.

What the crap?!

Okay, I'm sick to death the way hockey media continues to turn Bertuzzi into a hardened criminal. Bertuzzi's plea of not guilty would suggest that he plans on proving that a cheap shot delivered on the ice is not a federal crime. However, from the sound of the quote below (taken from The Hockey News), you would think that Bertuzzi's fate has already been decided by the common man:

Bertuzzi punched Moore in the head from behind and then jumped on his back and drove him face-first into the ice, knocking him unconscious.

What the bloody shittzle is this guy talking about? Yes, Bertuzzi punched Moore in the back of the head. Yes, it was a cheap shot. But will somebody please take a look at the tape with at least one objective eye? It seems to me that Bertuzzi knocked Moore unconscious before he hit the ice. That one punch was enough to render Moore insensible, thus making his fall inevitable. There is nothing in the tape to suggest that Bertuzzi did anything remotely similar to "jump(ing) on (Moore's) back". The tape still leaves questions about what was going on in Bertuzzi's head after the initial punch. If you look closely (sorry - I couldn't provide the tape...I searched online for about five minutes and then gave up), there is evidence that Bertuzzi's falling on top of Moore may have been due to his tripping on his stick, which clearly hits his skate blade before he falls. Moore was already in the process of crumpling to the ice like a bag of potatoes, and if Bertuzzi really was tripping, then his fall too would be inevitable. But even if he wasn't tripping - even if it was a tackle: the popular statement "he drove him face-first into the ice" is a misleading expression. You're looking at the effect - the fact that Moore's face hit the ice - and putting all the weight of the cause on Bertuzzi and assuming that it was his intention. Even if you don't assume that is was his intention...the language used would create that belief.

When he falls on Moore, his glove again moves towards Moore's face, and while most people have claimed that this is Bertuzzi trying to punch Moore again, there is no way to prove that. Undoubtedly that's what it looks like to the anti-Bertuzzi-biased eye. It has been said by some possessing pro-Bertuzzi-biased eyes that he was protecting Moore's face from the onset of several Colorado players, who created the ensuing dogpile.

For my part, I wouldn't presume to judge which of these two suggestions is true (if either). The only reason I'm going on like this is because I'm sick of people taking the popular route on this one, and assuming that Bertuzzi was out to kill Moore. I'm sick of the media blowing up Bertuzzi's actions into something akin to Charles Manson. It's all about the language used when talking about this issue, and all I'm seeing is a "death to Bertuzzi" bent that I can hardly stand.

Some words of wisdom from a democrat

Ah yes...this man never ceases to crack me up. Thought I'd link someone for once, because up until now, you've had to settle for whatever floats Temujin's boat. Not that that's a bad thing...hehehe.

Do I hear 35... 40.... 45????

Thirty-four unique visitors today and counting! A new WCC record!

Was it something I said???

I bow to Sir George

Sir George is doin' what he does best.
A fisking worthy of a Paladin, if ever there was one.
Go read the whole thing. Oh yeah, and read this too. Dang, he's on fire!

Cursed Blogger Template!

Does anyone else notice something missing from the right hand side of your screen??? Hmmmm let's see, oh I dunno.... maybe MY STINKIN' SIDE BAR!!!!!!
I dunno if I erased something from the Template by accident, or what is going on, by my stupid sidebar is at the bottom of the page! GRRRRR!!!!!!

If anyone has any ideas, I'm open to suggestions!

Seth does it again

With all the talk about the Swift Boat ads, Kerry criticizing Bush for not condemning them directly, etc etc etc, Seth writes:

Hmmmm..... When was the last time Senator Kerry condemned the hate-filled MoveOn.org material, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, the short novel about two guys plotting ways to assasinate President Bush, Senator Ted Kennedy's remarks about needing "regime change" in the White House, Howard Dean's kook conspiracy theories about Bush knowing about 9/11 beforehand, and Bush' unfounded AWOL charge?

All that needed to be said has already been said. I couldn't have written it better myself (which is literally true, and I'm so stinkin' jealous... stinkin' Seth and his stinkin' blog...), so I'll just add: "I concur" and be done with it.

Taxi!! Taxi!!!!!!!

Only at the Olympics:

ATHENS (AP) - A taxi driver returned a silver medal left in his cab by Dutch rower Simon Diederik, Olympics organizers said Wednesday.

***************************************************************
The driver will be given a gift for returning the medal, organizers said

Why can't the cabbies be this nice in Vancouver???

A Picture is Worth...

Jessica's Well brings us her perspective on the media's relationship with John Kerry. My only question is, what about CNN?!?!

(Stanley Cup Ring to Kerry Haters, the very best source for scoops on Kerry).

A little on mimetic desire (or perhaps a lot)

Okay, this is a really long read, but I promise you, it's worth it. I started writing this a while ago, and only came back to it this evening as I was sitting around, wasting my life playing computer solitaire. It's based on a philosophy of religion that I've been studying for several months now. Much of this I've already discussed at length with Temujin, who seems to concur with some of it, at least. Please read it. Whether you agree with it or not, it would be interesting to actually have some dialogue on the topic. So anyway, here goes:

Have any of you ever taken time to ponder why there are thousands of religions, and thousands of sects and denominations within these religions…and how on earth any one of these religions can claim to teach exclusive truth? I will quote by good friend (well, at least, I’m his friend for my part, but I’m pretty sure he’s never heard of me) René Girard, who said that organized religion is the product of man’s attempt at blameshifting – that religion is all about finding a scapegoat who we can point to any time something goes wrong. This leads us eventually to begin “clubs” – groups which have insiders and outsiders. Girard’s argument is that this tendency to group ourselves in opposition to others is actually basic to human nature – that no matter what we do or say, there will always be two against one – the good guys against the bad guys. You get it with children: two children with a low self esteem may gang up on a smaller child to prove their worth. You get it in marriages: a man and woman grow further and further apart based on their differences (stemming originally from pure selfishness), and both look to their families and friends to rally support against their spouse. It would be impossible to explain all of this properly without introducing the concept of mimetic desire, which Temujin mentioned in his infamous post on marriage. Jealousy… envy… coveting… whatever you want to call it… becomes the key figure in all of this. One person wants what somebody else has, and in order to get it, that person will build an army – a club – a religion – which will make as its goal world conquest.

In ancient times, the viewpoint in most cultures was that any time something bad happened (i.e. a terrible catastrophe), it was because the gods were angry with someone, or some group of people. This eventually led, among other things, to human sacrificing. Thousands of years passed, and in that time, these god-myths became religions – the world religions of today. Let’s take Jihad as an example. Jihad is a product of scapegoating. Those who are on the inside (the fundamentalists of Islam), look at the rest of the world as evil, because it is not like them. Likely there is a lot of envy, because North America has become so prosperous despite its denizens’ lack of devotion to Allah (or God). There is also a lot of resentment built up around their perception of American bullying, and the apparent American agenda to force democracy on the rest of the world (yes, that is an oxymoronic statement; and no, that was not an attempt on my part to criticize the Americans). But the long and the short of it is this: the Islamic fundamentalists hate and declare war (in general; there may be some exceptions based on political reasons) on those who are unlike them – who do not adhere to the rules and regulations of their own religion. Now, if you’re Arab, and you’re offended at what I just said…keep reading. Despite being a Christian, my critique of Christianity will be similarly harsh.

All I have to do to make Christianity look bad is mention the Crusades. Anyone who knows about the Crusades recognizes that Christianity as a religion also falls under Girard’s category of “scapegoating”. Just take a look at this illustration taken from a website dedicated to the medieval crusades:

The year was 1095 CE, William the Conqueror had united England under one crown 30 years earlier. The French had been dividing properties amongst their sons for generations, causing bloodshed between brothers over small pieces of real estate. In reaction, Pope Urban II expanded "The Truce of God", which outlawed fighting from Sunday to Wednesday, and banned fighting involving priests, monks, women, laborers and merchants on any day of the week. Italy was a collection of city-states, constantly being overrun by invading hordes, the latest of which were the Normans, who had just started to become "civilized".

There was also the Byzantine empire, ruling from Constantinople, whose emperor at this time was Alexius Comnenus. To his East, the Turks were rapidly encroaching on his empire, and had begun attacking pilgrims on their way to - and in - Jerusalem, causing him great distress. He wrote to his friend Robert, the Count of Flanders, in 1093, telling him about supposed atrocities committed by the Turks on the Christian pilgrims, and Robert passed this letter on to Pope Urban II. Urban, an opportunist, saw this as a perfect way to solve some of his local problems. He personally promoted a Holy Crusade to reclaim the Holy Lands from the barbarian Turks. Thus, the First Crusade was launched in 1096 CE.

These are descriptions of the politics behind the “holy” wars. In the first case, you have a mess of French landowners, displaying mimetic desire in their bloody escapades for more land. In reaction, the Pope joins people together – giving them common purpose as Christians – and even has the audacity to put God’s authority on it by calling it “The Truce of God”. In the second case, you have a Pope hungry for more land (the attractive prospect of the Holy Land, in fact), who goes about obtaining this land by using God as an excuse. Both cases are riddled with desire, deceit, and, most importantly, the common appeal to a higher power for the purpose of uniting people “spiritually”. And, you will note, neither case displays the heart of what Jesus himself lived and taught. Pope Urban II united people for the sake of destroying others. Jesus united people for the sake of salvation.

From the two major examples of world religions, you can see that mimetic desire and scapegoating are both important elements that lead to violence. It is the goal of religion and religious leaders to be conquerors in the world, and they make this attempt by creating moral guidelines by which all members of each particular religious group must abide. By disobeying these guidelines, people and groups set themselves up against that religion, or force, or voice, and by doing so, they make themselves into the scapegoat. By the way… don’t get the impression that this would end as soon as everybody in the world became a perfect Christian, or a perfect Buddhist, or a perfect Muslim. The moment the entire world is converted to one religion (which would, by the way, never happen without supernatural intervention), subgroups would be created, which would eventually become different religions. As proof, I would point to any single Church or religious group in the world. Show me one Church that does not have constant internal strife of some kind or another. Churches are constantly splitting… there are thousands of denominations because of this.

By now, you’ve inevitably asked yourself why I am a Christian if I believe all of this to be true. Well, once again I will introduce the philosophy of René Girard. Girard’s philosophy comes out of his research as a literary critic. He first stumbled upon the concept of mimetic desire while perusing the works of William Shakespeare…all of which contained the same elements of jealousy, rage and violence. After establishing a new theory of human nature, he began studying world religions…believing them to be the ultimate expressions of a basic trend that exists between every individual human being. Religion was something that put up walls…something that made it possible for there to be ultimate insiders and ultimate outsiders. I’ve already provided ample evidence for what I’m talking about above with the examples of Jihad and the Crusades. Even the religions that seem to have a more “peaceful” character still fall prey to the goal of world conversion (and thus, domination). Friedrich Nietzsche referred to this as the exercizing of the will to power through subtelty.

In his study of world religions, Girard eventually came to Christianity…and what he discovered astounded him. While all other religions and philosophies seemed to preach that there are bad people and good people – insiders and outsiders – the Bible seemed to approach everything in a completely different way. Consider the first story of the Old Testament – the story of Adam and Eve – a story in which humans envy God (component of mimetic desire) for his wisdom, and his knowledge of good and evil, so they eat the fruit to become gods. The very next story, of Cain and Abel, is the story of a jealousy pushed so far that it leads to the murder of an innocent. Time and again, Girard found this message in the Old Testament – the message of mimetic desire, leading to scapegoating, and ultimately, violence and death. The Old Testament seemed to reiterate over and over again exactly what Girard himself had been conceptualizing about human nature. He came to view the Bible as a story about humans (even more than it is a story about God).

But his astonishment at his discoveries in the Old Testament was nothing to that of his discoveries in the Gospels. Suddenly, a Character enters the scene – a God/Man whose whole life centers around renouncing scapegoating as a way of life. Jesus comes to earth and lives a life in which, instead of condemning people and forcing them to conform to a code of conduct or a moral lifestyle, he forgives and blesses them…looking for the most lowly of people to invite into his Kingdom – the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s no coincidence that Jesus came in a time when the religious leaders were at their pinnacle of hypocrisy – a time in which to be a religious leader was to have it made. To be a Pharisee was to be at the top of the social ladder. The way of the Pharisee (according to the New Testament) is the way of the scapegoater. The Gospel writers never failed to point out the behaviour of the Pharisees. They constantly emphasized the Pharisees’ condemnations of those who failed to meet their religious standards. It’s no coincidence that Jesus arrived at a time when religious ritual was everything. This is what Jesus came to condemn! He came to tell us that scapegoating is not the way – that mimetic desire is for the dogs (well…not my dog…she’d never scapegoat anyone :). And this story came to the absolute most fitting close in that Jesus became The Scapegoat for humanity. He died so that we might be a part of his Kingdom on earth through faith in him. That’s the message that led Girard – a formerly anti-religious man – to accept Christ as his Saviour.

As it would turn out, the Christianity of the Crusaders (and, largely, the Christianity of today) is simply a humanized, corrupted version of what Christ had envisioned. In place of the fatherly arms of forgiveness and blessing were raised the daunting towers of domination and destruction. Humans forced the stamp of human nature on what was meant to be a Kingdom of blessedness. Evangelism in the name of love became Conquest in the name of power. And this is why religion…even my religion…is so distrusted in the world today. Nobody can believe in a God who purposefully sets people up in division against each other. Ultimately, it took God to become a man and be the one and only example of real life as it should be, and thus redeem the world through his death on the Cross (a further mystical reality that can never be fully comprehended, but must be believed).

And that’s all I have to say for now. Please comment below whether you agree or not, or if you have questions. It's very difficult to give an accurate description of Girard's philosophy in so short a space.

That Right Wing Troll

He's got a very good point:

In all reality, what sort of idiot would make the centrepiece of his presidential campaign four months of proud service in a war he's best known for opposing? Even more, in another flip flop, Kerry was going around huffing and a-puffing that, if Bush wanted a debate about Vietnam, "Here is my answer: BRING. IT. ON," he's now gone to ground and is demanding Bush call it off.

I concur.

Awww geez...

Well, despite the fact we got two medals today, I'd still consider the day an overwhelming failure for Canada. Why? Because I'm a bitter pessamist. But really...did anybody watch the Canada/Cuba baseball semifinal? That was almost enough to give me an ulcer. We're up 3-2, bottom of the eighth, and what do ya know?...our pitching goes to baseball purgatory, and we give up six freakin' runs. My goodness gracious! It's not entirely fair to blame the pitching though...that inning also saw some horendous play by our third baseman, Peter Orr. He blew a chance for a double play by overthrowing a routine second-base out. DAMMIT! I guess it didn't help much with the shunty umpiring either. It was okay for most of the game, but the first base umpire totally screwed us over in the seventh inning by calling our runner out on a play in which he was clearly safe. Apparently pro-Cuban umpiring has been something of a pattern in international baseball. Go figure. But anyway...such a close ending. We were one meter away from a grand slam home run at the end, which would have put us ahead. But then again...I shouldn't have got my hopes up - after all, it was team Canada. Yes, they always find a way to lose.

My heart goes out to poor Perdita Felicien. What a way to lose a race, eh? And thanks again to great Olympic reffing, there was no hope for a re-run...despite the fact that Felicien foiled the efforts of that masculine Russian hurdler. Oh well...these things just go to re-establish my contempt for the summer olympics. Well, maybe I don't hate them - but sometimes, I swear I could do some serious damage to the respiratory organs of all those associated with "The Man" in Olympiad.

Back to the Passion

If you are a regular reader, you are aware of this blog's opinion of Michael Moore and his little film. I recently found an interesting comparison between the critiques of both F9/ll and the Passion of Christ made by liberal critics. It is interesting to see how often these critics point a finger at Mel Gibson for deviating from the historical facts of the story of Christ, or making it too narrow, while simultaneously applauding Moore for his accuracy and knack for telling the truth. They see Gibson's movie as religious propoganda, and Moore's movie as an artistic masterpiece. Go ahead and read all of the comments...and if you haven't yet knocked yourself unconscious with any large objects sitting around your computer, comment here.

OH NO!

Oh my goodness! We lost the first game...an exhibition game in which we were missing three of our players, including our precious captain. We're doomed! Doomed, I say! Okay...I'm being sarcastic. And yes...I am obsessed with the World Cup. This is my third post in two days about it. But anyway, there's no reason to be concerned. Canada always starts this way. As you'll remember, our first game in the Olympics of 2002 featured a 5-2 loss to Sweden - a game in which Canada was outworked in every conceivable way. Tonight's game saw Canada outshot by a wide margin. The reasons are obvious. Canada goes into tournaments thinking they're all that because they're roster so extremely out-classes any other team. Then they are forced to remember that in any hockey game these days, the most important element is effort. And you know who suffers the most for this? That's right - it's us fans.

But don't worry...Canada will win gold.

Oh...and one more thing... GO JAYS!

Those Swift Boat Vet Ads.

There's tons of talk out there that Bush should come out and denounce the Swift Boat Vet ads. Today in a press conference, he didn't so much as say it, but he did condemn all "soft money" ads.

Since Democrats and Republicans can only spend a certain amount of money on advertisements, these affiliated-but-not-really groups purchase ad time on television in order to promote a candidate, or attack an opponent. In essence, they promote a candidate withiout costing that candidate any of their own money. There is some good information here on what candidate can and cannot do. As well, the Washington Post has a good article on soft money.
I guess the whole idea with these laws regulating Republican and Democratic spending is that it puts in place limits to what the uber-rich can do. After all, a billionaire has more resources than a millionaire, and can use those resources to buy up air time (both tv and radio), and basically drown out the competition. With these laws in place, it puts the election race on a more even keel.
This is where soft money comes in. The Swift Boat Vets are, based on the words of their own members, a non-partisan organization. By that, I assume that there are veterans of the swift boats who are republcan, and some who are democrat. They are funded by people across America, and draw their support from a variety of sources. Based on what I've seen of their first advertisement, they are not coming out again the Democratic party, nor are they demonstrating hardcore support from the Republicans. They are simply stating their dislike for the notion of John Kerry as President.
Naturally, any advertisement against the Democrat is going to be good for the Republican, and vice versa. Groups like Moveon.org have put out some of the craziest ads I've ever seen attacking Bush. When Bush condemns all soft money ads, he is denouncing the work of both the S.B.V's and Moveon.org.

For the most part, soft-money ads are indistinguishable from hard-money ads. The main difference seems to be that with hard-money ads, the candidate's voice will be heard saying "I'm *name* and I endorse this advertisement", or something to that effect. The soft-money ads do not have this first-hand endorsement. They cannot, because it would muddy the waters between what is a legitimate hard-money ad by the Republican or Democratic nominee, and what is a soft-money ad put out by an "independent" group (in quotation marks, because most independent groups that put out ads have a definite agenda). In the case of the Swift Boat ads, their agenda is to tarnish Kerry's reputation and make people see him for the phony opportunist that he is. But a side-result of this agenda is that they are promoting Bush. After all, he's the alternative to Kerry. The Democrats within the SBV are aware of this, yet their dislike of Kerry overwhelms their Democratic party loyalty.

I don't think the US could ever ban all soft-money ads, and I don't really want them too. What would the election look like without them? We'd have to rely on the candidate's themselves to give us their own pictures of themselves. As well, political junkies like me would have to trust the news networks to give us the inside scoop on each candidate. Someone once said that "The Swift Boat Vets are doing now what the mainstream media should have done a long time ago- analyze Kerry's war record". I'm not sure who originally said that, but it's so stinkin' true! Kerry has been running on his war record all along. He hasn't mentioned anything about his time in the Senate. If that is what he wants to do, then he better be prepared to answer questions about his record. He cannot just expect people to leave it alone, especially when he makes it the centrepiece of the campaign. Sorry John, you can't have your cake and eat it to.

I'm getting a little off-topic, but to conclude: who decides what a soft-money ad is? Michael Moore's Farhenheit 9/11 is set to be released on DVD in October. That is like, the biggest soft-money ad in history! In fact... people PAY to see it! But no one is seriously suggesting that it be banned during the election (although it's obvious Moore knew what he was doing when he timed the release).

There's no easy solution to that one either. I think candidates just need to be more willing to answer the tough questions. Whether it is Bush or Kerry. And the media needs to more willing to ask them, and to investigate.

Olympic Shunting Devices

I've been pretty disappointed with the way Canada has done at the Olympics. But I know each of them is trying their best, and sometimes you just don't get the lucky break you need to win. However, I after watching the Vault event this morning, I know that Kyle Shewfelt's fourth place finish has nothing to do with luck, and everything to do with stupid-ass judging:

Dragulescu left the crowd in awe with his opening vault, which earned him a whopping score of 9.900, the highest score of the competition.
But just when it seemed like the Romanian had the gold medal wrapped up, he stunned onlookers when he landed awkwardly on his second vault, stumbling sideways and putting two hands down to prevent him from falling off the mat.

For a moment, it looked like Shewfelt might stand on the podium for the second straight night. However, the judges awarded Dragulescu a generous 9.325, giving him an average of 9.612 and ending Shewfelt's hopes of a second medal in Athens.

"We believe the score of Dragulescu was mathematically impossible," said Caron.
"His start value is a 9.9 and based on what we've seen, a fall with two hands on the floor, plus he also has a few steps on top of that, would be at least a minimum of .7 deduction."

After watching Dragulescu's first vault, I conceeded that Shewfelt's medal hopes were dashed. But his second vault was a polar opposite. Earlier in the competition, a guy did essentially the same thing, and received a 9.1. Yet Drags gets a 9.325???? What the crap was that? One of the judges gave him a 9.4-something! UHHHHH!!?!?!?!?!
It's crap like this that really turns me off the Olympics. And it's not just Canadians that get the shaft either, it happens ALL THE FREAKIN TIME!
Hopefully, when all is said and done, the Judging commitee's for each sport will sit down and say "alright, no more pissing around, we're gonna judge the same everytime, no matter what".

In other news though, we did win a silver in wrestling! Nice work Tonya!

As well, I watched a racing even in which Americans won gold, silver and bronze! I think it was the 400metre. All I could say was "Holy Crap!"
That's pretty stinkin' impressive... running the table and having three countrymen on one podium! Do they have enough US Flags to raise at the medal ceremony???

Maybe I spoke too soon

Is it a coincidence that the very day I profess my confidence in Lemieux on this exceedingly popular blog (ahem), something like this would happen to shake me up all over again? Well...I guess it's not his fault that he fell - it may not be a sign of the degenerative effects of aging. But I seriously hope he's gonna be good to go.

If you want entertainment

Look no further than this thriller, if you haven't already seen it. Yet another great Tom Cruiser. Alright...I'm a little behind, perhaps (I saw it on opening night), but you all know this blog hasn't been my top priority over the past month.

Strategies for making lots of money

This is more of a cry for help than anything. I need money....and fast. Why? You'll have to email me. When? Fast. How? However. Where? In my ass pocket. What? I need money.

So...if you know of any quick (and legal) means of making lots and lots of green, comment here.

World Cup of Hockey

Here's a weird one... half of the games in the preliminary rounds of the world cup of hockey are being played in Europe. Actually, this is good news. It means that the games will span all hours of the day - which means more hockey for all of us, instead of having to stick to Canadian games only and follow scoreboards.

Ah yes...my views have undergone some change. You'll remember a while ago I decided to give Mario Lemieux the biz'ness, and I wrote something about how he would likely take a back seat to such players as Sakic and Iginla in terms of leadership (despite the fact that he has been made team captain). Well, since I wrote those unkind words about Mario, my feelings have been altered by nothing in particular, and now I'm really happy that he's leading our team. I guess I just remembered that he's a decent playmaker or something...um, yes...well...that's all.

Can a finish be more bitter?

If anyone watched this match, you understand what I'm talking about. Some of the best beach volleyball of the olympics...mark my words. I happen to love beach volleyball....both playing and watching (at least, when the stakes are high...it's not so fun when nothing's on the line). But this match-up was fantastic. It was a nail-biter, to say the least, but it had a bitter ending. Canada was up 13 - 10 in set 3 of a split match, and they blew their lead and ended up trailing towards the end of the set. That was the story of this match...they always seemed to be playing catch-up, with the exception of the beginning of set 3. Anyway, I was very disappointed because I was expecting a medal from Child and Heese, but the volleyball gods had different plans, it would seem.

See... Westerners know what they're talking about

Another note about the Olympics, Laura's got it right:

I love the Olympics, but can't stand the hype!

Ohhh... all that, and she's a Baptist too!

Iraqi Soccer

Sometimes I really hate the Olympics. There can be a lot of over-emotionalism, crass commercialism, not to mention the accusations of doping and cheating.
However, one thing that brings a tear to my eye, is the sight of the Iraqi men's soccer team advancing to the semi-finals.
Why does it bring a tear to my eye? Because win or lose, no Iraqi athlete in soccer, track & field, swimming, baton twirling, or whatever other event they participate in will be subject to torture and abuse upon returning home.
That's right. No torture for athletes who "fail". None. Nada. Zip.
Not too long ago I couldn't make such a statement, but I can now.
Go kick some Paraguayan ass in the semi's, boys, and bring home the gold.

Lions win again... barely

I just finished watching the Lions/Stampeders game. The Leo's did everythign they could to lose the game, including throwing interceptions, fumbles, stupid penalties, receivers not catching the football... but they won it in overtime.
The Stampeders made their share of mistakes as well, but were kept in the game by their defence, which bashed and brutalized QB Casey Printers. He left the game in the fourth quarter after being run over for about the twentieth time.
At 6 wins and three loses, the Leo's are sitting pretty, but hopefully this is a wake-up call of sorts. Penalties and stupid plays will kill you, even if you are one of the best teams in the league.

And dang I hope Printers is okay.
Update 11:36pm Here is a better link that recaps the game

A Shout-out to a Lutheran

I've gotta mention Twylah's blog, Lutheran in a tipi! There are lots of good links, thought-provoking articles and posts, and some super-cool pics too. If you're into any and all things Jesus-y, give them a look.
Recommended Post A
Recommended Post B

The doctrine of Baptismal Rengeneration is fascinating. Of course, as a Baptist I have all the answers on Baptism (!), but nonetheless, it's always cool to get other people's insights.

Funny

Bwahahaha!

Babies are alright... if you like that sort of thing.

Go congradulate Simon on the birth of his son!
Actually, congradulate his wife, who delivered a 51 centimetre, 8 pounds and 8 ounces cutie!

Starbucks Monstrosity

In the land of the Great White North, there ain't a lot of Starbucks around here. But I remember hangin' at the 'Bucks in Abbotsford with Pei, doing Effective Teaching homework and other such nonsense.
Hey Pei, did you ever have an experience like this guy?
It's like that old story about the guy who goes to Mcdonalds and orders fries, and the waitress asks "would you like fries with that?"
Sheesh!

More Extreme Bad Taste Alerts

You've been forewarned. If you're at all sensitive to coarse language or grade 6 boy humor, don't click.
Otherwise, check out the Sexlympics top ten!

We've all been there, buddy

Anyone whose been in grade one can relate to this experience:

There I am. It's my first grade class. All of my friends are there. There's my teacher. Hi teacher! I'm at my desk. I'm in my chair. The day is going perfectly normal. We learned some math. Maybe a little bit of reading and writing. I wonder what letter we learned to write that day? Did we have gym class? I don't recall. Lunch was good, as usual. Just your plain old, completely normal, very usual day of school in the first grade. Until.... I got THAT feeling.

Go read the whole thing, it's hilarious. And I know we can all relate!
(Stanley Cup Ring to Seth)

Not much I can add to this

But I will recommend that everyone click and enjoy Seth's latest work.

Preaching to the Choir

Holy Crap Sabi, you took the words right out of my mouth!

It's no news that my parents have never got along. And seriously, there's a limit to what I can take. I'm not a goddamn counselor. Nor am I your best friend. So stop bitching about each other to me. I can only solve your issues to an extent, beyond which it is entirely your affair. And I've come to this point where I am encouraging both of them to finally get a divorce. Apparently they dont want to get a divorce because it would have a negative impact on us. Right, and this is fucking sane, isnt it? Dysfunctional to the core.

Now, my parents don't really bitch to me about each other, and for the last couple of months things have been really chill... but there have been times when I've wished they would just split up and be done with it. I actually thought they'd be happier going their own ways (not to mention my brother and I wouldn't have had to go through so much shunt growing up). When things are good, they are really good, but when things are bad... well... it sucks to be around them. Sabi uses the term dysfunctional... well, my family puts the FUN in dysFUNctional (or should I say, the "D-UH in d-uhsfunctional")!
Alright, enough talk about my parents. I love 'em... really I do.

More on Joel....

I blogged earlier about Joel at No Pundit Intended, and his desire to move away from his title of Rodent.
How I managed to forget about this, this and this is unbelievable. This guy is a great blogger! He really should be at least a Playful Primate in the Ecosystem

Oh yeah, and his caption contest is rated R! Extreme bad taste alert!!!!!! You have been warned!!!!!
Filthy but Funny

Love that Emperor

The Rottweiler has been one of my favorites ever since I started reading weblogs. Lately he hasn't posted much, and it seems he's got some real life stuff that is getting in the way (some of it not very nice stuff either). But his co-bloggers, affectionately called Imperial Bloggers have been doing a terrific job in his absence. Don't believe me? Go check out this masterpiece by Sir George on the wonderfully wonderful UN.
In fact, just go read the entire blog from start to finish. It may take you a month, but it is totally worth it. Both Sir George and the B.C. Torturer have been doing a fabulous job in Misha's absence.

Alice Cooper Rules!

Go check what Aaron found via Right-thinking

All I've got to add is a hearty "hehe" as well.

He's never satisfied!

Joel's moaning about moving up in the TTLB ecosystem! Can you imagine the nerve!?!?! He's now an adorable rodent, and granted, it isn't the best title to have, but he's still ahead of me! That's it, I'm never linking to him again.

Ooops, oh crap.

The American Pride is Overflowing

Welcome to AP, MJM Drill Wife After perusing this article, you've got yourself a spot on the WCC blogroll.

I truly do not care what so and so wore to the Oscars or who is shacking up with whom but this is part of the news and so I clip some of the articles as well. So, predominatately in the entertainment news is Reality TV. I just don't like it..it's so SHALLOW. I have never understood the entertainment in watching women or men herded up like cattle and picked over and someone falling in love (supposedly) by weeding out the one's that they just don't like...whatever..I do, however, enjoy makeover stories (just b/c it's fun to watch the transformations) and shows on TLC such as "Birth Day." I could care less about such programs as "Who Wants to Marry My Dad," or "The Bachelor."

Go read the whole thing, especially the part about General Boykin.

New Addition

Welcome to Canadian Pride, Ian!
I don't know much about you, but anyone who makes a post with this title is okay in my books!
And it's high time I updated the C.P. section of the blogroll!

Speaking of being right

The Drill Wife has it right on John Kerry:

He has nothing more to say except that he will start bring troops out of Iraq within 6 months. Ok, that's well and good but it seems that we need to finish what we started. That scares me to death being my husband is a service member but we cannot be sitting ducks for these horrible terrorists..so even though I may not agree with everything Bush has done during his reign, I take more issue with Kerry's nonchalant way of doing things..

Smart, those Southern Women.

I hope this guy's right

Well BM, I know I'd like to see the Seahawks win their division.

The long-awaited Manitoba wrap-up

I have returned safely to Smithers. It was a glorious week indeed, full of crazy-coolness, and some wonderful surprises. Here, as promised, are the highlights:

• I arrived in Winnipeg last Wednesday night. To my delight, both Yams and Chap were there to greet me! My first words were "And I said why the F___ not Winnipeg???" It was a historic quote that needed to be repeated.
• That night, we went to Tony Roma's restaurant in the Peg. $100 dollars later, the crew was stuffed with ribs and steak and beer (well okay, I was stuffed with beer!)
• On the drive home, we stopped in a field to check out the stars. Awesome meteor shower last week in the Northern Hemisphere! Hope you all caught some of it if you could.
• Drove to a place called Schanzenfeld in Southern Manitoba to drop off Yams at his place. Say it with me: Schanzenfeld!
• Ended the night in Gnadenthal, found out I was sleeping in Mini-me's bed! He took the floor in his parents room. Thanks Mini! You rock, dude!
• Thursday night: Blue Bomber Game. The Bomber's did quite well, and managed to beat the star-laden Eskimos. We sat in the upper deck, North West corner of the stadium (Section 6a). They were excellent seats, but since all the scoring was done at the south end of the field, we were a little disappointed! Chap and I were also a little peeved, because during the Highlight Reel Play by Derrick Smith (48 yard td pass, beating off two tackles, avoiding a third and diving into the endzone), we were walking down the stairs to get some refreshments! All were heard were 27,000 fans go ballistic, and we just looked at each other and said "awww crap!" Yams had a good laugh at our expense, and I began to wonder if God was perhaps trying to tell me something... since it was my desire for beer that made me miss the play. But then I thought, "nah, couldn't be" and enjoyed the brew.
• After the game, we went to another restaurant I've never been to before: Kelsey's. It was a pretty cool place, but $14 for a "party platter" that consisted of enough food for one guy just wasn't cool.
• On the way home, we were talking about the lack of police officers in Southern Manitoba. I said that if they pulled us over, I'd say "Hello Ocifer, how are you" hehehe. Well, the reaction I got from Yams spawned a new saying: "I'm attracting some ocifists". It is what you say when you take a wiz in a field. Muahaha! And we wondered if perhaps the plural of Ocifer would be Ocifi... but thought ocifists sounded cooler.
• One Friday, I got to work on the farm a little. Essentially, it was three hours of shovelling gravel. But it was something anyways. After that we played baseball, and I met a whole bunch of dirty cool Manitobans, and got re-acquantied with some dirty's that I had met earlier in the year. It was a ton of fun, and I even hit a couple of homers. The last one was dedicated to Prince George :-)
• Saturday morning, and my back was KILLING me! It was SOOOO SORE! But again, I shovelled dirt for four hours. This time, Chap and I were trying to build a base that could be covered with concrete. It would form the foundation for the new silo Chap's dad wanted to build. It actually helped the back... once I stretched it out, I felt fine. That night, it was Harvest Festival time! How totally Manitoba! Oh yeah, and how could I forget... we had a fantastic steak dinner at Yam's house. Hot danny can his dad cook!!! Best steak I've ever had, bar none. We also spend the night there, and in the morning Yams woke up to the rather infamous CBC Underwear (for more information on that, email me as well!)
• Sunday is church day. There isn't much to say about that :-) We attended Blumenort Mennonite Church. They are affiliated with the General Conference of Mennonites. All in all I can't complain about the service. The lead singer was... erhm... well... hehehe (for more info, email me)!!!! The preaching was good, and I knew most of the songs. In his sermon, the Pastor referred briefly to the hope we have in second coming of the Lord. That was about the only thing that I disagreed with, and when he said it, Chap looked at me and smiled. Ah well, whattya do?
• Monday was an exciting day. We went into the Pig Barns!!!!!! I helped breed seven sows!!!!! SEVEN!!!! The process involves passing three boars in from of the sows, lubricated a cathedre, sticking up the sows' you-know-what, and attaching a bag of boar sperm to it! And gravity does the rest! Huzzah! After that, I went to something they call "processing". It is really more like pig torture!!! The newly-born piglets (I think 5-7 days old or so) and given shots of iron to fortify their systems. That isn't the bad part though... the females are tattooed on their ears with a plier-like instrument, and a bingo dabber is used to color in the holes left behind! What is worse, is with the males, two slits are made wear their gonads are, and the handler proceeds to rip out the gonads one at a time! DANG DOODLE! I wasn't quite up to doing that part, but everything else I did.
• From "Processing", I went into another part of the barn where I helped give a bunch of gilts (female pigs less than a year old that have not had a litter of piglets) their vaccinations. They get three shots, and a mouthful of something that I guess makes them healthy! The system of moving the gilts from their pens, to the injection site, and back again is quite something... especially when the stupid pigs walk the wrong way!
• Finally, I gave birth to a Piglet! Well, not in the literal sense of course, but Chaps sister asked me to help her after I was done with the vaccinations. She had a big plastic glove on that covered her whole arm. I said "uhhh... I don't think I want to help you!!!" But, she led me to the birthing station, and there was a sow lying down with three little piggies that had just been born. She said something to the effect of "these three piglets were born in rapid succession, but there hasnt been any born for about twenty minutes. I need you to go in and see if there is a piglet stuck in the sow". So, with relatively little hesitation, I lubed up the left-handed glove, got low to the ground, and... erhm... "entered" the sow with my hand! SOOOO DIRTY!!!!! Immediately, I felt two little legs. Chap's sister said "grab and pull!", so I grabbed and pulled. Out popped a teeny tiny little piglet. Within a few moments, he was up and about, walking towards the nipple of milky nourishing goodness! I think he got it from my mom's side of the family... we were all early walkers :-) Now that I think of it... I can't really recall whether it was a male or female... Hey Chap, ask your sister if she remembers!!!!!
• That night, we went to Rosenort to visit with some fellow CBC'ers. It was really awesome to see the Dueck again, and I must again say that if you buy his CD, you will not be disappointed. His drumming is excellent, and well worth the ten bucks! It was also cool to see "Badminton Boy" again. (Note to Juice: All kidding aside dude, you kick ass, and I'm beyond proud that you consider me a friend... we will re-match someday, I promise!) I found out that the Dueck's dad is an avid reader of West Coast Chaos... well... perhaps not avid, but a reader nonetheless! No wonder he gave me such a gruff handshake! Now he knows how truly dirty I am!
• Tuesday I slept in, while Chap worked in the pig barns again. We ate lunch, and drove to the Peg to catch my 4:00pm flight to Vancouver. That pretty much wraps up the trip, from Vancouver I flew to Prince George, where my wonderfully wonderful parents picked me up and drove me home.

It was an excellent vacation. I still can't get over how flat it was though. I've also gotta mention poor Yams... he stayed up with us pretty late, and then had to get up really ealy and go to work! HEHEHE!!!! What a great guy.

If any of you out there would like to tour an amazing pig farm facility, I'm sure the awesome folks at Prairieview Pork in Gnadenthal, Manitoba would be more than willing to show you around!!

Oh my!

Well, my humble apologies to all five of our regular readers for my long absence. My mind has been obsessed with other things, but I'm happy to say that I'll be around here posting more for the next little while. Ah yes, well, I'm sure you're all wondering where I have been. To tell you the truth, I've been here...at home...sitting around watching the olympics and hanging out with friends. I could have been posting, but I chose not to, because I was lazy.

This has led me to a new realization about life. You know when people are always going on about how busy they are, and they use this as an excuse so they don't have to do anything. Well, I think that in general, people can find time for things that are important to them. Now...there are exceptions. There were two weeks this summer when I worked 85 plus hours...absolute insanity...and in that case, I really didn't have time for anything that wasn't work related. But in general, people only work between 40 and 55 hours a week, and yet they're always too busy to, say, return your emails, or give you a lift to work in the morning, or have dinner at your house, or whatever.

It all comes down to a few important factors. One is how motivated you are as a person. I've gone through phases in my life where everything becomes a monotonous cycle. I get up early in the morning, go to work, get home in the afternoon, make supper, watch some tv, and then go to sleep. This will go on forever if something doesn't happen to wake me up. Lately, I've been doing the opposite (well, up until last week, that is). I've begun a habit of making to do lists....not just lists for menial tasks that must be done...but lists of things I can do to improve my existence in every way possible (and any way that is worth the trouble). For example, I've been coveting an electric guitar that my friend owns for months now, but haven't really taken any steps to saving towards one like it....not until a few weeks ago, that is. When I started writing to do lists, I put "guitar" up at the top, and now I've started looking for ways to make more money so I can get this guitar...while at the same time keeping in mind my intention of visiting Mongolia sometime next summer (another financial endeavour)...as well as schooling (I'm attending a school in Fall where tuition is $380 a credit hour....which is $1140 per 3-credit-hour course).

Well, the long and the short of it is, ever since I started making to do lists, I've been far more motivated to get things done, and it all seems to work towards one goal, which is the betterment of my existence. Now, before you get all preachy with me about making plans without the inclusion of God, let me share quickly my philosophy on this matter. Some people see the life of faith as a life in which there is no planning from their own (human) end. They kind of live life by the seat of their pants....making decisions last minute....avoiding things that may make them happy because they haven't heard God orally command them to do it. In a sense, I respect these people for their brand of faith. I always respect people who live out their beliefs with integrity. However, nobody....I repeat...nobody lives this out to completeness. I've never heard of a person who doesn't make little decisions every day without consulting God. What we'll eat for breakfast in the morning...who we'll have lunch with today....what kind of hobbies we'll take up for a while. Let's look for a moment at this last example. You may think it's a small matter, taking up a hobby. But who knows....it could turn into a lifestyle before you even realize it. I have a friend who started taking courses on pottery...just for fun. He didn't even intend on spending more than an hour a week on this hobby. He also didn't fast and pray for two weeks before taking his first course (which, for him, wouldn't have been surprising). Well, before you know it, Todd's a professional potter running a business out of his home...and actually making decent money off it. And all because of one little course he took more out of curiosity than anything.

My point, you ask? Well, simply this...that more often than not, we make decisions from our hearts that end up being (in my opinion) exactly where God's will is, even though the decision felt like it was completely our own. Where do you think the desires of our heart come from? One of the desires of my heart is to visit the European countries like England, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, and so on. I'm resolved upon going some day, and I'm as good as certain it'll happen. However, if God doesn't want it to happen, it won't. But there's nothing wrong with planning for it, because it's something I've been dreaming of, and those dreams don't usually exist unless there's some spark of the divine within it.

Well, I wasn't intending on writing this much when I sat down thirty minutes ago...and I won't bother checking it for spelling, grammar and flow, because I'm just too damned lazy. Talk to you all later!

- Pei

A Riddle... A Conundrum...

What do Ginny, a poo-poo homie bear, and an existentialism class have in common?
Not much at first glance, but according to the True Fresco numbers on the sidebar, they have all referred to West Coast Chaos. I can't see any signs of referral anywhere, but oh well, whatever!

Nice work, ladies!

Sweetness, we've got a medal!
Hopefully there is more to come. I haven't been watching any of the Olympics while in Manitoba, but my flight home is scheduled for this afternoon, so not only will my television-watching increase, but posting should as well. It's been a really fun week, with lots of craziness! As promised, there will be a full report, but for now I'd like to point everyone to the fact that I'm now a flippery fish in the TTLB Ecosystem. Movin' on up! I hope this continues!

What a weekend!

Well, its been a fun couple of days in Southern Manitoba. But I haven't got much time to post right now, so the gory details will come soon. Right now though, I've got to make a quick mention of what is going on at Kerry Haters. It is well worth your time to spend twenty or thirty minutes perusing the entire site. The fine folks over there have dug up some pretty amazing stuff on John Kerry, specifically his claims about being in Cambodia at Christmas time. Go check it out if you have any interest in US politics... or if you want to see an example of REAL journalism, compared to the useless shunt we are force-fed on ABC, NBC, and CBS.
As well, Seth has an excellent example of what real logic looks like, as opposed to the quasi-emotional horsedung the DNC has been spewing.

fianlly, Canada is sucking at the Olympics, but Mongolia has its first medal! Nice work, Tsagaanbaatar Khashbaatar!!!!!

Gnadenthal Post!

Ohyeah baby! I'm in Gnadenthal right now! Huzzah!
The trip was quite something. We didn't leave Smithers until 2:05 am! We arrived in Prince George at 5:55, but by the time we found the airport, it was around 6:30! And let me tell you, the lineup for the WestJet check-in was HUGE! It was 7:00 by the time I checked in! Just enough time to run to my gate and board the plane!
So, one hour from PG to Vancouver. Twenty minute wait. One hour from Vancouver to Calgary. Two hour wait. Two hours from Calgary to Winnipeg! Hooray!
It was good to finally tough down. I was so stinkin' tired, that I fell asleep through The Bourne Supremacy! hehehe! But it was alright, I caught the most important parts... good movie, go see
it.
Will blog again after the Bluebombers lose to the Eskimos tomorrow! We need to find two other people to come with us, since two of our friends cancelled out. Two tickets up for grabs! Any takers?

This could be it for a while

I'm headed to bed pretty quick here. I've gotta get a couple hours of sleep before the drive to Prince George. It's four hours to get there, and so I figure if we leave at 1 or 1:30 am, we'll get to the airport by 5:30, and that will give me enough time to get checked in for my 7:15 flight. This also give us wiggle room, should there be a flat tire, or engine problems, etc. With the crazy week I've had, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened, but I hope it won't.

Hopefully the Pei will step up with lots of posts (hint, hint). There's no shortage of things to blog about, and I hope to get the chance to blog from Manitoba. Heck, I'd better post at least once!

Emailling will probably be light as well. But then again... none of my "friends" ever email me anyways! You bastards! heh.
Be sure to visit the sites I've linked to in the sidebar. There is tons of great stuff out there. So click and read and enjoy!

New and Interesting Ways to Hurt Myself

My second last day before goin' to Winnipeg... and I succeeded in hurting myself multiple times! The worst was when my vacuum hose wacked me in the nose... pushing the frame of my glasses into my nose! I honestly thought I had broken my nose, it hurt so bad. I hopped up and down, cussing silently in my head and rubbing my wounded schnoz. The self-inflicted blow resulting in an inch-long cut, which bled rather profusely until it finally clotted several minutes later! And then, about twenty minutes later, I introduced my vacuum wand to the side of my head! Man.. I can't wait for my vacation.

Ahhhh.... DQ Miracle

The Cricket comments on DQ's blizzard promotion for the month of August. Having worked there as a teenager, I can honestly say I was quite embarrassed by their lame-ass commercials. However, that has all changed, and I love their commercials now: they are hilarious! I especially liked the one where the guy and girl are sharing a blizzard, and while she is closing her eyes and savoring the flavor, he is shovelling it into his mouth fasting that lightening, in the hopes that she won't catch him mowing down! HEHEHE!
Now if only Apex would do some good commercials...

More God talk

Interested in Christian theology? Check out the BloggingTeen, he's got tons of good stuff to think about.

Hofer's got the right idea

Jim Hofer's point is well taken.

Kill 'em.

the Ideablogue?

Indeed, the Ideablogue. I agree Luke, but I do have one point of contention to make: people SHOULD be dressing up like Vulcans and Klingons... it's a cryin' shame that more people don't!

Otto von Smart-mark

Truer words were never spoken! Nice work, Otto.

Mongolia Globetrotter

This is fabulous! Mongolia's first Harlem Globetrotter! Sweet!
Stanley Cup Ring to Kapla for the link). Actually... no Stanley Cup ring for you! Only fits of jealousy are pointed your way!)
Go look at Kapla's pictures from Mongolia. Holy Crap am I ever jealous.

Blogroll Additions...

I've added the JPerspective in two different locations: American Pride, and Michael Moore Exposed.
He's got an excellent list of Moore quotes which would make any sane person shudder.

I'm Wide Awake

And you should be too, after reading this masterpiece by Chase.
He makes a lot of sense. Go read the whole thing.
(Stanley Cup ring to Simon's Showcase for the link)

The Buffalo Theory

The Physics Geek has made a discovery which, if true, has dramatic repercussions for beer-drinkers everywhere!
(Stanley Cup Ring to Harvey for the link)

Oh yes, I'm back

It's obvious now, but I have returned from my foray into the wilderness. It was a pretty good job. Myself and another guy worked for 18 hours yesterday (including travel time). Some highlights:
-Huckleberry Mine is located 120 kilometres south of Houston, British Columbia.
-At the 115 kilomtre mark, our van got a flat tire! D'oh!
-Our job was to clean the hoods and vents in the camp kitchen.
-The vent system contains two large stacks, which suck grease and other crap from the fryers and grills, then sends them about fifty feet in the air and blows it outside.
-We duct-taped a large piece of plastic around the outside of the whole vent system in the kitchen, then sprayed degreaser (hello Easy-Off!) throughout both stacks. We had to attach rods to the spray unit in order to reach the very top of the stacks.
-We also set up our vacuum line undernear the plastic, and cut little holes to allow the run-off to drip into buckets, then sucked up the gross remains with our vac hose.
-It took about three hours to spray and rinse out both stacks, and let me tell you, it was SOME KIND OF DIRTY up there. Lots of chunks of caked-on grease... mmm! There were a couple of guys watching who said "I can't believe all that was up there!"
-Our intention was to spend the night there, and drive home today. We finished about 1 am, and decided to skip sleep and just drive home.
-There are four or five pretty large lakes near the camp. Can I say: Fog Deluxe? Don't mind if I do!
-The 120 kilometres from the mine to Houston took nearly two and a half hours! We couldn't drive any faster than 60 or 70 because of the fog, and mostly it was more like 30-40 kph. For those American readers who aren't familiar with the wonders of metric... 40 kph is around 20 mph. SOOOO SLLOOOOOWWWWW! But I couldnt see past six feet, and I didn't want another flat tire!
-We got back to Smithers at 4:40am. I missed church today because I was too stinkin' tired. I wonder if Brendan made it! He'll never let me hear the end of it!
-Oh yeah, and I saw a fox at the camp. He was rustling around near the kitchen, probably looking for a bite to eat.

So, if any of you are travelling through BC and want something of-the-wall and adventurous to do: phone the mine and ask for a tour. It is a pretty cool place. Lots of crazy-cool mining equipment, and really nice people too. Did I mention, great food? Oh yes indeed!

It's all about Oil!

We all know that the war on Iraq was just about oil, right? I mean, it's not as if those filthy capitalistic, imperialist Americans care about the children in Iraq.

Great work, Michelle.

Your Vote Does Count

Colby the Great reminds us why voting is important. Your Vote Counts!

Kerry the Question Fairy

Enough said. Go read the entire blog. It's well worth it.

Another reason to vote for W!

Well, admittedly, this isn't the best campaign slogan, but I like it anyways.
The whole thing started here, so if you're up for it, go check out the Bush/Kerry intelligence debate!

Why Canadian Football is better than American Football

The CFL really is more exciting than the NFL. Naturally, I'm biased, but let me state my case.
The passing in the CFL is incredible. With only three downs, quaterbacks HAVE to make the big play in order to advance the football. They can't fart around with three 4-yard rushes. Because of this, the scores are often astronomical, yet defense is so incredibly important. The Montreal Allouettes went 6-0 to start the season. While Anthony Calvillo did a tremendous job of quaterbacking the offense, a key reason for their success was the fact that they freakin' blitzed on every single play!
With such craziness on offense, anything can truly happen. Last-minute comebacks are not nearly the novelty they are in the NFL. Just ask the Calgary Stampeders, who were up 15 points with 5 minutes left in the game, and lost in the last minute to the Renegades.

All in all, I've just really gotten into the CFL the last couple of years. And it helps that the Lions are doing really well. Tonight, they beat the Renegades 47-27! Their back-up quarterback, Casey Printers, threw for 313 yeards. Now, you might say "well that is pretty good, but NFL'ers do that all the time too". You would be correct, except that Printers threw for 313 yards IN THE FIRST HALF! He ended the game with 542 yards passing, including a 102 yard toss to Frank Cutulo. ONE HUNDRED AND TWO YARDS... ON ONE PLAY!
Truly, the CFL kicks ass.

United Arab Emirate

I was checking my site meter to see whose been viewing my blog. Thanks to the push I've been getting recently, WCC has become even more global than before!
It seems as though I've had a visitor or two from the Middle East. I find that fascinating!
So, if you're out there (and you know who you are), thanks for dropping by, and I'd be interesting in knowing how you found my little blog, and whether you liked it or not.

Waffles

Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles Waffles

I enjoy blueberries on my waffles

This Googlebomb brought to you by Kerry Haters, who receive an almighty Stanley Cup Ring for alerting me to this most excellent idea.

Sir George doin' his thing.

Sir George does a masterful job of dissecting one of John Kerry's heroic tales.
Go read the whole thing, it's fascinating. I tip my hat to you, Sir George.

An apology for lying!

Pei, I made a mistake. It turns out I'm not cleaning the mining camp until tomorrow! I went into work today with an overnight bag, all ready to spend a night at Huckleberry Mine, only to find out that I'm not going until tomorrow! D'oh! I felt like a dumbass!

So, I'm posting tonight, but I'll be gone tomorrow and won't be back until late Sunday night. I'm counting on you Pei to do your West Coast Chaos Duty....
Post away, my posty friend!

Motorbike, or scooter?

I know I've pushed this online poll on you all before, but Asylum will never be convinced to buy a motorbike with these numbers!
Get over there and vote for the motorbike!

I Concur

I agree Seth!
If the Bible says it, then that's good enough for me!
Update 9:35pm And I found this quite fascinating as well. Welcome to American Pride, Seth!

School, glorious School

I wonder if Pei can relate to this guy!

that's it, nothing left to do. who woulda thunk it. four years later. i can remember the first day i attended. in fact, i remember driving down for the weekend for freshman orientation.
...
4 years later, im exhausted. school has beat me down pretty bad in the last year. working part time and managing at least 14 hours a semester (16 in the fall, 14 in the spring) was rough, but i dont regret it.
im already starting to think about grad school, and i havent even had a full week off yet.

Sound familiar, man?

Awwwwww

But don't be too disappointed Maria, Temujin still loves you.

A Story that isn't really a Story

Ya know, everyone is all in a huff about the way Pres. Bush often misspeaks.
CNN reports on his latest speech:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush offered up a new entry for his catalog of "Bushisms" on Thursday, declaring that his administration will "never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people."
Bush misspoke as he delivered a speech at the signing ceremony for a $417 billion defense spending bill.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," Bush said.
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

This really isn't much of a story, except maybe to grammar professors at university. It's kind of in the same league as when person A says "I'll miss you", and person B responds by saying "me too". Obviously we know that Person B isn't going to miss themselves! What they mean is that they reciprocate Person A's feelings. In the same way, the President is saying that although our enemies work tirelessly to find ways to harm us, we are aware of their schemes and will work tirelessly to defeat them.
The point is, the President's speech made perfect sense to anyone without an axe to grind.
I think I hate CNN.

Oh Clinton, you crack me up

Bill Clinton was in Toronto today promoting his autobiography. The Lefty socialist scumbags at the "Centre of the Universe" were, of course, enthralled by his visit. Naturally, the CBC has to add their little spin to the story. Their Headline reads:

Clinton would have believed Blix over U.S. intelligence aboutWMDs

Since everyone knows that our god Hans Blix was looking out for everyone's best interests while searching Iraq for WMD's! The money quote from the article has be this little gem from Clinton:

"I certainly would have believed it enough to put (the war) off and try to build more support," he said, referring to getting more support from the international community before invading Iraq.
"I mean, what was the hurry?" asked Clinton, who was in Toronto to sign copies of his memoir My Life.

What was the hurry? What was the hurry??????? WHAT WAS THE HURRY?????????????? Hmmm, lemme think here... uhhh... what was the hurry? Oh, how about this? or this? How about trying to make up for the fact that we didn't intervene while this was going on???
What was the hurry? Jeebus Criminy! The fact that four hundred UN resolutions bogged down any attempt at stopping Saddam wouldn't contribute to "the hurry" now, would it? Oh no, and all the best intelligence from the US, UK, and EVEN RUSSIA said the threat posed by Saddam was real... but that's not important to you, is it??? You stupid ignorant spineless twerp! I wonder if the twenty five million Iraq's that are free from a tyrant could offer up any reason for "the hurry". If you had read the freakin' warning signs, maybe something could've been done sooner. But instead, you're signing books in T.O. which describe the terrible anguish and laments you feel over getting a blowjob in the Oval Office. Bill Clinton: you are a grade "A" Assclown.

"What was the hurry". Sheesh.

Win Ben Stein's Money

I saw Ben Stein on CNBC this afternoon. I don't know what the title of the show was, and I can't seem to get anywhere with their website, but dang was he ever intelligent! I've always loved the guy for his wit, but always kinda figured him for a typical lefty-Hollywood type. Not at all! He was arguing for the President's re-election and even took a few stabs at the prevailing Anti-Bush sentiments in Hollywood. I wish I had a link, or a transcript of the show, but you'll just have to trust me: he was excellent.

Will there be a day....

when Pei posts regularly, with more than one post a sitting? That is what I'm sure at least one person has asked in the course of my tenure as a blogger on this site. Admittedly, I would like to post more. But I'll admit also that the reasons I post so rarely are embarrassing. First of all, I spend very little time online (especially lately). In fact, I spend most of my online time reading Temujin's posts and links. The rest of it I spend checking out guitars and musical equipment... one of my primary hobbies. The rest of my spare time away from the office is spent either playing guitars, reading novels, walking by the river, swimming in the lake, or leaving Sardis (usually in the general direction of Vancouver). Secondly, I only really enjoy posting if I feel that I have something worth saying... and these moments are few and far between. People have commented that they enjoy my writing, but I feel adverse to writing just for the sake of writing. At times, I'll stumble upon a topic that interests me, and I'll ramble about it passionately for an extended period of time.... this is why most of my posts are so long. But I don't spend enough time online to be able to provide you all with great links like Temujin, and I'm not quite interested enough in American politics (nor can I get well enough beyond my marked contempt for Canadian politics) to spend a lot of time on that topic. Beyond these reasons, my only other complaint is that I prefer writing with a pen to paper over typing, so a lot of the material that I could be publishing here never makes it past my notebook. So, all I can say now is that I would like to post more, and there may be days when I seem to be post-happy, and other days when you wonder if I'm still alive.

If you wish to Donate...

Oh yeah, and as a follow up to the previous post: if you wish to donate to thye Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, click here for their mailing address. It's a VERY GOOD cause.
(Stanley Cup ring to Polipundit)

John Kerry Served in Vienam?

The brave hero! Erhm... uhh... nevermind.
Go read the whole thing, and watch that video clip too.

Whoa...

Amazing! Hope everything works out for them.

Five hundo and counting...

Note the SiteMeter: 500 and counting.

Huzzah!
Oh yeah... and thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

You're all the best... I'm at five hundo... can you feel the love???

Layin' down some words of wisdom

Something's really been bothering me since the Democratic National Convention. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it (and granted, a lot can be said about the DNC!), but after about a week of thought, I think I've finally figured it out. This may take a little while to explain, and I apologize if it doesn't seem to make any sense, but I think I'm onto something here.

I discovered the reason after a conversation I had with my father. We were talking about my upcoming trip to Winnipeg, specifically my flight from Prince George to Winnipeg. We talked about the possibility of a terrorist taking over the flight! If it wasn't such a serious matter, it would really be quite laughable, because the very thought of a hijacker picking my flight to Winnipeg is REALLY REALLY remote. But it raises an interesting question. Why would I do if the flight was hijacked?

Naturally, it is difficult to say for certain what a person would do if put in that situation. But the conclusion my father and I came to was that we would fight. WE would pick the seemingly best time to attack, and we would do so. Example One: If there was one hijacker with a knife: I would wait until he was distracted or had his back turned, and I would either poke his eyes out with my stubby little fingers, or I'd stab him in the throat with a blunt object (ie pen, broken plastic drink glass, etc). Example Two: The hijacker has a gun. Same thing as above. In the event that I was shot in the chest or lower body, I would fight with all my strength to gauge out his eyes, or at least throttle him and cause him severe discomfort before I died. The bottom line is: I would NOT go gently into that good night!
Example Three: two or more hijackers. This would take a bit more strategy. Ultimately, I would take at least one of them out. Chances are I would die in the melee, but I'd take at least one of them with me.

Now, I'm not an aggressive type of person. In fact, at 5'6'' and 145 pounds, I'm not gonna be strong-arming anyone anytime soon! But in a situation like a hijacking, it does not matter how big you are physically. Anyone can take down a person if they do it right. I've also never been shot before, but from what I've heard, it takes a shot to the head or the heart to disable a person, and even then, the human body can still stir up enough strength to fight back. Heck, if I was a hijacker and shot someone, only to see them get up and charge at me, I'd crap my l'il terroristy pants! The bottom line is, I would NOT simply resign myself to my fate. I would at the very least risk my life to save others. Even if I died, perhaps my death would result in someone else having enough time to take out the hijacker permanently.

Where does this desire come from? Is there a word that describes this kind of thing? I see this kind of thing in so many people, and in so many different ways. For example, during my college days, I was increasingly worried about getting a job once my studies were over. At Christmas time last year, I helped a friend of mine at his job. He put in a good word with his boss, and the boss saw me working one day, and the next thing I knew, I had a permanent, full-time job waiting for me when I finished the spring semester. Now I know for a fact that my friend put in a good word for me. And I also know that getting a job offered to you is not standard procedure- I know plenty of people who search tirelessly for work, only to be rejected at every turn. What caused my friend to stick his neck out for me?

In another way, I think of the firemen who rushed into the WTC when it was on fire. Who the hell does that kind of thing, really? The WTC buildings were burning, and most certainly doomed. I've seen the pictures, I know what it looked like. And yet, despite the obvious danger, over 300 firemen rushed into the WTC in an attempt to save others. What causes people to do that sort of thing? Who in their right mind would do that?

Then I think of Jason Anderson. Jason was 13 years old in 1998 when he died of cancer. In the midst of certain death, with cancer ravaging his little body and causing more pain than anyone should have to endure, he told his classmates at BVCS to "Never Give Up". To this day, those words are inscribed underneath his memorial at the school. In a month I'll be 26 years old. Twice Jason's age, yet at times I feel like half the man he was. What causes someone to say those words?

I can't think of a word to describe this sort of thing. All I can say is that it (whatever it is) is what makes Canadians, Canadians. It is also what makes Americans, American. It is a truly selfless attitude. It is one of responsibility and respect, integrity and decency.

I think a part of what makes these people unique is their perspective. I can't speak for each and every person, but it seems to me their decisions are basedon what they know to be right. They don't do things in order to simply please others. We do things because those things are the right things to do, not because we care about how we look in the eyes of others. That is why my friend stuck his neck out for me. That is why the firemen ran into a doomed building. That is why a 13 year old kid never gave up. That is why I'd fight the damn hijacker even if the situation was hopeless and I'd certainly die. Because it's the right thing to do.

To try and bring this thought around to its conclusion, I think what really cheesed me off about the Kerry/Edwards DNC show-a-rama, was their slogan "Stronger at home, Respected in the World". Respected in the World??? When I think of what they must mean by the "World"... I think of Jacques, Kofi, and Kim. Are these really the people we want to look "respectable" to??? A Wine-drinking scuzzball, a dictator-coddling assclown, and a Certifiable Nut-job Lunatic?!?!?! If I was an American, I'd NEVER vote for a guy who says we need to be more respected by the World!

The only ones who you shuld worry about respecting you are your family. Although its nice to have respect from your boss... you can always change jobs. Although it's nice to have respect from your friends... friends come and friends go. But as long as my folks respect me, I know no matter what that I've got a square meal and a bed to sleep on if I'm ever in dire straits. Family matters. You look out for those who look out for you. When America makes decisions, they shouldn't be concerned with what Kofi thinks. They should be concerned about the freedom and rights of their brothers and sisters. The same applies to Canada. It is a said state of affairs when the country that gave this world Paul Henderson, Terry Fox, John Foote, and Billy Bishop (to name a few), spends it's time worrying about whether we are 1st, 2nd, or 3rd on the UN's list of desirable places to live! Who gives a flying red fiddle!?!?!?!

So, to sum it all up, if anyone is thinking about hijacking my flight, they'll be in for a fight. Also, don't vote for John Kerry if you live in the US, he's a bad bad man!!!!! I guess that's all for now.