Exercise your right to vote

VOTE NOW! It doesn't matter if you are Canadian or not. Go and vote for Don Cherry. He's in second place! HE MUST WIN!

No blogging is better than blogging

For a guy who isn't blogging, he sure knows how to blog well. Took the words right out of my mouth, he did.

Liveblogging from Abbotsford

Oh yeah, first post ever from the CBC campus!

I just took a brief tour with my former roomates, and the place looks great. It was quite something to stand on the grassy field beside the cafeteria... the very same place I live for eight months last year before they tore down the guy's dorm.

I recognize a lot of faces already, including a former dormmate who I seen in the cafeteria. It was good to see him again. Hopefully I'll get to do some more visiting while I'm here.

At any rate, I'm glad to be back in Abbotsford. I've been reminded of how much I dislike living in Smithers.

Hey Pei, why don't we go halfers on an apartment? Your half will be the rent, mine will be the blogging.

Sounds good to me.

Conning a Con Man

Well, I've been tricked.

Rather than surprise a couple of friend in Abbotsford, I was instead surprised by them today in Kelowna.

The squeeler is trying desperately to make amends for wrecking my plans, but to no avail! Not to mention, my very own co-blogger was in on the whole thing!!!! WHAT A DEEEEEEEEEED!

I should revoke your blogging priveliges, PEI!

But I won't. Instead, I'll enjoy some humble pie along with the chicken and pizza and beer I consume tonight.

The Kelowna Rockets are playing the Brandon Wheatkings tonite. Hopefully they play better than they did last night. After that, I'll be in Abbotsford for Sunday, and fly back to Smithers on Monday.

It's bitter when you get conned, but I'll get over it. As I said before, normal posting will resume on Monday, and I expect that the dour persona that hase corrupted my blogging will have disappeared by then. It really has been a good week.

One other important thing

I received an email from Misha. It reads:

Thank you so much for your very generous donation. Your compassion humbles me
and I ask that G-d may Bless You and Yours in return.

How cool is that? What a great guy.

So you all know

The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated. I have been extraordinarily busy this week taking care of some things that should've been taken care of a long time ago. I am happy to report that normal posting should resume on Monday.

Thanks a bundle to Pei for bailing me out here. I dunno what this place would look like without you.

Osama for Kerry!

Although he'd never admit it, and he makes one statement to suggest this isn't the case, Osama Bin Laden's Arabic TV message would appear to be an indirect display of support for John Kerry:

One of bin Laden's more explosive statements on the tape was that al-Qaeda's suicide airplane attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, would have been less severe if Bush had been more vigilant and acted more quickly. Instead, he said, Bush continued listening to "a little girl's talk about her goat and its butting."

As well as:

The al-Qaeda leader said the hijackers had planned to have all the attacks take place within 20 minutes because they were sure the Americans would react quickly and start shooting down errant airplanes. Bush's delay "gave us three times the required time to carry out the operations, thanks be to God," bin Laden said.

Statements like these coming mere days before the US election . . . I'd call them telling indicators of who Bin Laden's supporting this time around. It'll be interesting to see which man canvasses more trust from American voters: President Bush or Osama Bin Laden.

Pray for Yasser!

Get well soon, big guy! You're too young to die!

Well, in reality I'm not losing sleep over Arafat's health, but I'd have a lot of difficulty harbouring resentment towards a 75-year-old man. Hell, all he's really guilty of is doing his duty as leader of the Palestinians, am I right? hehe

Good ol' Hannibal!

Hannibal Lecter returns!

Unfortunately only in book form. The days of Anthony Hopkins as "Hannibal the Cannibal" may be over forever. Actually, I have mixed opinions on these films. When Silence of the Lambs first came out (actually, about five years later, when I was allowed to watch it) I loved the movie. But over the years I've begun to question the ethics of portraying a murderous psychopath as a romantic kind of character who we're basically supposed to cheer for by the end (especially in Hannibal, which made Lecter's victim and pursuer, Mason Verger, into the real bad guy). The films make for great entertainment, but I don't necessarily appreciate the way they create an attitude of sympathy for someone as twisted as Hannibal.

But what the hell . . . a good movie's a good movie's a good movie, as they say.

Commodore better than any other

It's times like these when you just wish there was something you could do to show your appreciation, but then you realize it would probably mean spending at least an hour trying to figure out how to contact the guy (Commodore), and then another hour finding a good card and a nice thing to write in it, and then another hour to send the thing off, and I'm not quite that appreciative.

But I wish every hockey player could be like Commodore. The problem with unions is that they pretend to be on the worker's side, but more than half of the workers wish they would just go away. And the moment you speak out against the union (i.e. John Madden, Steve Thomas), you find yourself surrounded by Pharisees with stones . . . "Retract! Retract! Rectract!" My hope is that Commodore will play the part of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60) . . . "Lord, do not hold this terrible thing against them!" . . . although the consequences may be dire.

Science and Religion

Okay, before I get into this, I must make a quick disclaimer: I didn't take the necessary time to properly source this thing, so some of the data I present may sound like it's just conjecture coming out of the arse of yours truly. If you have questions about anything in particular, just comment or email me, and I'll try to provide some sources.

How many of you have been in the frustrating position of arguing about something theological or biblical with someone, but their response is “I believe the Bible for what it says, and that’s it...” The people I’m referring to are those who assume they can read the Bible through entirely literally, and accept each detail as if it were a step in a manual for an IKEA product. The most famous and exasperating example of this is seen in the young-earth-creationists' approach to the account of Genesis 1-2. I’m not saying you can’t take the creation story literally . . . that’s a perfectly valid approach, if it floats your boat. In the end, it shares exactly the same message for us all whether you take is literally or not – that God created the world. But there is a whole culture of people who think that if you don’t take the story literally, then you don’t believe the Bible. Furthermore, if you tell them that you approach the Bible in a different way, or with a different “philosophy” (a word that can get you in a lot of trouble with such folks), they may view this as cause for burning you at the stake as a heretic.

The bottom line is that these people, like everybody else, have a worldview, or a philosophy, or a something that is speaking to their interpretation of the Bible. Nobody is approaching Scriptures with a pure, untainted, objective mind . . . but this is what some people (perhaps even most people) think. Those who read the Bible completely literally and think they’re reading it the way it is meant to be read somehow forget that they live in a culture that is (up to) four thousand years removed from the culture of those who wrote the book. I’ve heard someone argue that God had this in mind, and that He wrote the Book to be relevant to all cultures . . . well, can you get any more idiotic than that? Yes, the Bible is relevant to our culture; No, the Bible is not relevant to us in the same way as it was to those who wrote it. For one thing, there’s this all-so-important element of literary criticism called “author’s intent” that can mean a whole world of difference between whether a passage should be approached literally or not. There is a human being on both sides of the coin: a writer and a reader. The writer has an entire history of experiences and ideas that influence the intent behind his writings, and the reader has an entire history of experiences and ideas that will influence his interpretation. You can’t just divorce the experiences and ideas of the writer and the reader and expect to come up with “one correct reading” of the passage.

Looking at the Creation story in particular, I will only note that Moses was attempting to convey the message that God created the world (and even slipped some theology of the Trinity in there), which is a literary form found in the holy books of practically every religion as a way of establishing a foundation for where we come from, and Who we belong to (called a cosmology). The fact that it’s written in a highly poetic fashion, sounding more like a song than a science lesson, should perhaps suggest a more symbolic reading of the account (never mind this day-age or gap theory nonsense, which even a cursory glance at the text must render illogical). The question we must pose ourselves is “why would God choose to create the world in such a simplistic, easily-explained manner, when nothing else about the created order seems simple at all?” I mean, look around . . . for thousands of years, people have devoted their lives to studying the stars and discussing human origins, and we are none of us the wiser for understanding these things on human terms. The next question is “why would God want us to have such a simple account for how He created the world?” The answer to this is really very easy:

If you study the Bible, you will be struck by a very primitive scientific outlook. When they looked up into the sky, they saw that it was blue. On occasion, this blue mass would spit water at them (read: rain). They therefore concluded that the sky was a mass of water above the earth. Similarities to Genesis 1:6-8, anyone? Some creation literalists have argued that indeed, there once was a water canopy existing as a kind of “zone” above the earth (giving long life to human beings and allowing for the growth of massive creatures like dinosaurs). They say this water canopy fell on the world during the Flood of Genesis 6-8, therefore bringing an end to dinosaurs and long life in humans. Well, this might make sense, except that we see several more examples later on in which biblical writers refer to the “waters above the earth”. What’s the meaning of all this? Quite simply, that the people of the Ancient Middle East really didn’t have a clue about anything scientific. They thought that the sun crossed the sky every day, and then spent the night circling back to repeat its routine. They thought that the world was flat, and that it was within man’s power to reach the “ends of the earth”. They thought that hell was at the center of the earth (which gave route to the still widespread tendency to view hell as somewhere underground). Do you really think that God created the stars three days after the earth, and that He momentarily took these objects out of the laws of science to ensure that the light from these stars had reached earth immediately, in time for Adam to be able to experience the light of the sun and stars on day 6? Do you really think that the plants of the earth existed an entire day (or age of years, if you’re a day-age theorist) without the sun to allow for the process of photosynthesis?

What would have happened if God, through Moses, recorded for the people exactly how he made the universe? You don’t think they’d be a little bit confused by the concept of millions of years passing in which all sorts of creatures existed before humans (such as dinosaurs, and other extinct species)? No, clearly God was condescending to their understanding of time and space. No doubt, people thought that the sky was a large expanse of water long before Moses wrote the book of Genesis. In including that concept in the creation story, God was simply speaking their language. He wasn’t trying to confuse them. What’s humorous to me is that there are thousands of Christians today trying to create a modern science out of a few snippets of poetry in which God (through Moses) was making the creation of the world sound as simple (and, indeed, beautiful) as possible.

So, why I am writing all of this? I think that the reason people say “I read the Bible for what is says” and can’t look at it in any way but literally is because they are afraid that they could be wrong. If they allow themselves to think somewhat objectively in other disciplines, such as science, they’re afraid they’ll compromise (and lose) their faith. But I say we all need to be intelligent people. We need to read and study in all areas. I’m not saying that if you’re an intelligent person you have to believe in evolution. After all, that’s still just a theory. However, far too often the attitude among Christians is to avoid anything that makes them feel uncomfortable, and that just won’t do if you want to be taken seriously by the world.

Anthropology

And with every new anthropological discovery comes a young-earth-creationist backlash. Still waiting to see what this one will be.

But now that we're on the subject . . . actually, I'll save this for my next post, which shall discuss the futility of a science vs. religion "warfare".

He loves to streak

I've weighed in many times on my blog about my love for the Canadian Football League. The last few weeks have seen some exceptional games, and with the playoffs just around the corner, some teams are gearing up, while others are contemplating what they'll do with their winter vacation.

Colby's been pontificating about his favourite team, the Eskimos. That is one impressive playoff streak, fo' sho'.

But alas, Colby will have a bitter pill to swallow when the Esks get tromped in the first round of the playoffs!

And no one is beating the BC Lions, not even the powerhouse Montreal Alouettes.

This must be read and passed on to others

No doubt about it, Steyn is brilliant.

Freedom, sweet Freedom

So, I'm skipping out of church today... sort of. I went at 9:30 for the Sunday School session. Now I'm on a "break" while everyone is singing. One word: "Worship" that's all you need to know.

I'll go back in half an hour or so, once the Pastor starts preaching.

I had a hard time sitting through Sunday School today. They were discussing Mark 13... the "signs of the end of the age". Needless to say, the hermeneutical approach of many in my church is, how shall I put it... less than stellar. Not once did anyone bring up the fact that Jesus' prophecy was time-period specific. Instead, the conversation ebbed and flowed between "well, the Second Coming is gonna happen soon, it says so right here" and "it's not about when it will take place, the important thing is that it WILL take place".

Blech. Blech blech blech.

Mark 13:30- I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

THIS GENERATION.... ALL THESE THINGS. Sounds to me like everything described in Mark 13 takes place while the generation Jesus is speaking to is alive. Hello Preterism!

I should have brought it up, I know, I really should have. If I really think my brothers and sisters are in error, it is my duty/responsibility to point it out. However, my concern is that I would be looked at like a freakin' maroon. In fact, according to most, my views are downright heretical. Now, I'm not usually scared of that, but this specific setting wasn't really the right one to do it in.

I hope the sermon is good. There are a lot more productive things I can do with my time. Like, for instance, blogging.

There are no terrorists in Canada

Yeah, right.

VANCOUVER - A Canadian man killed in Chechnya attended a mosque in Vancouver where imams promoted holy war and compared Jews to monkeys and swine.

Roast away in Gehenna, you filthy rat bastard. Hope you're enjoying it.

That's my Sunday feel-good message today.

Of Flowers and Money

Lots of people are up in arms over the Canadian Mint's rather poor effort at honouring Canadian troops. Apprently, the coloured poppy on the quarter rubs off rather easily, making the quarter look only slighty sillier than the regular ones. Those of us who feel strongly about Canada's military history feel this gesture on the part of the Mint wasn't really thought out very well. In fact, I find myself thinking a rather sarcastic "nice try".
In this comment thread, the author of this blog (caution: click at your own risk... it's a leftie blog), links to a short history of the poem and it's author (John Macrae), who died in WW1. Macrae penned the legendary poem entitled "In Flanders Fields", a beautifully horrific poem that was written in the midst of some of the worst fighting of the Great War (The poem can be found at the above link as well).

Trench warfare.
Waves upon waves of human target practice.
Cold.
Wet.
Dirty.
Rat-infested.
Lice-ridden.
Diseased and deceased laying side by side.

The poem was written during the second battle of Ypres. Thousands of Canadian, French, British, and German troops died for what amounts to a couple hundred square kilometres of muddy real estate. John Macrae was there, in the midst of it, and nearly 90 years later, Canadian school children recite his poem on November 11th (on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month).

Why is it so damned important to Canadians? Why do we get pissed off at our Liberal Government for hacking our military into a shell of its former self? Why do we feel angst and anger over something as silly as a stupid quarter? Because, as history tells us, Canadians weren't always weak-kneed pacifists. The contributions of the Canadian military in WW1 cannot be understated:

What of the aftermath of the battle? Firstly, the Germans did not follow up their advantage. The attack was essentially a testing ground for the new weapon and not a major offensive. As a result, the Germans, dubious of any major success, had failed to provide sufficient reserves with which to exploit the initial resulting gap. Had the Germans broken through to Ypres and continued southward along the Yser Canal, they would have cut off 50,000 British and Canadian troops and removed the salient. But through the determined defence of the Canadians, they could not carry through with the forces at hand.
On the Canadian side.... The Canadians to a man seemed obsessed with the idea that this was their particular battle and that they would perish where they stood rather than give way. The nationalistic policy of keeping the Canadians together as a unit received strong reinforcement from this battle. The "colonials" had made good and were fitted to take their place, as a separate entity, by the side of the finest British and French fighting divisions. Everywhere throughout France and Belgium the word "Canada" was greeted with enthusiasm and the work of the division was appreciated to its fullest value. ***
Second Ypres proved to be the worst battle the 1st Canadian Division would fight in the course of the war, however its result was the starting point of the strong reputation Canadian troops developed during the war.

Emphasis Mine, and proudly so. Before WW1, Canada was still a dominion. Perhaps not technically, or even officially, but we were most certainly a satellite of the former British Empire. After WW1, We were a nation. We were Canada. We were independant and strong. And everyone knew it. Especially the Germans.

Ypres played a huge role in confirming our identity

But as long as brave deeds retain the power
to fire the blood of Anglo-Saxons, the stand made
by the Canadians in those desperate days will be-
told by fathers to their sons; for in the military
records of Canada this defence will shine as brightly
as, in the records of the British Army, the stubborn
valour with which Sir James Macdonnel and the
Guards beat back from Hougoumont the Division
of Foy and the Army Corps of Reille.
The Canadians wrested from the trenches, over
the bodies of the dead and maimed, the right to
stand side by side with the superb troops who, in the
battle of Ypres, broke and drove before them the
flower of the Prussian Guards.
Looked at from any point, the performance would
be remarkable. It is amazing to soldiers, when the
genesis and composition of the Canadian Division
are considered. It contained, no doubt, a sprinkling
of South African veterans, but it consisted in the
main of men who were admirable raw material, but
who at the outbreak of war were neither disciplined
nor trained, as men count discipline and training in
these days of scientific warfare.
***
The graveyard of Canada in Flanders is large.
It is very large. Those who lie there have left their
mortal remains on alien soil. To Canada they have
bequeathed their memories and their glory.

I get teary-eyed just thinking about it, and I'm not known for my teary-eyedness. Here we have a prime example of heroism at its finest. A magnificent coin would be the least we could do to honour the past. But a pathetic, piffy, faulty coin is no honour, it is an insult.

We can do a lot better than that. We should do a lot better than that.
When you wear your poppy on Remembrance day, think about what it symbolizes. Wear it with pride.

And Never Forget.

Everyone must see.

Everyone must watch this.

Stolen Honor. Online for free.

(Stanley Cup Ring to BCIT and the Rottie)

Bwahahahah!

Now THAT's funny.

(Stanley Cup Ring to Kin for the link)

Note: Extreme Drink Warning

Just too freakin' funny.

And then he comes up with this. Folks, that's why he's a large mammal, and I'm a slithering reptile.

I've done my part.

Read this, and then this.

I've been reading the Rottie for a long time now, and it has made a huge impact on me. I've often thought that if I were ever to meet Misha, I'd most certainly love to share a couple of brews with him, and spend a fine evening discussing everything from guns to history to war to politics... and all points in between. He's going through a rough time, and even though I've never met the guy, it just doesn't seem right for me to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. I've already helped out in the past (albeit, a small help), and I've decided to help out again.

It isn't much because I can't afford much. I've got to look out for Number One as well. But it would be the height of dishonor for me to sit here and do nothing. He has done so much for me with his writing. This is the least I can do.

Keep on keepin' on, Misha.

The Black and Green is no more

A makeover to end all makeovers! Dipnut has prostituted himself by changing his blog template.

I must say, it's a little nicer on the eyes than basic black and green. But I dunno, there is something not-quite-right about it.

But if it means he will post more, then I say "Bring on the white and blue!"

Hot Diggidy Shizz!!!!

Sweetness!

Glad to hear that Chris Muir will be returning with his "Day by Day" cartoon. Things are looking up!

Extreme Drink Alert

Put down your drink, and then go read why the William Teach (arrrgh!) is voting for Bush.

Put down your drink. You have been warned.

Fight Fight Fight!!!

Hardcore nastiness going down at the Motor City Madman. Read the article, check the comments, and add your two cents.

But be nice!

Bwahahaha!

Everyone has tripped and fallen before. It sucks. Moreoften than not, it is the pride which stings more than the bruises.

Hard to tell which hurts more for ol' Fidel.

I laughed my ass off when I saw the fall on tv. That may sound cruel, but I think it was stinkin' funny.

Kerry Blames Bush for Reversing the Curse!

Okay, maybe not, but it's an attention-grabbing title, dontcha think?

Scotts got an interesting idea here. He wonders aloud if Democratic voters in New Jersey/New York (both quite heavily democratic states) will vote against Kerry because he is a Red Sox fan!

Hey, ya never know.

Greatest Canadian

Be sure to vote for Don Cherry in CBC's Greatest Canadian Contest.

Why Cherry? Why not Cherry?

GO VOTE NOW!

(Note to all American Readers, you can vote too! Now do it!)

The Tradition Continues

Dipnut has Spoken.

Don't forget to read his After...errr... Foreword, as well.

Incredible.

A smile on my face

Watching Michele liveblog the ballgame is priceless. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Hmmm.....

Well, I've honestly sat down a number of times to post, but just haven't got around to pushing "publish" over the past few weeks. Life's been a tangle of insanity, so I apologize. Ah yes, but I can honestly say that I've missed posting and that I've missed putting my two cents into this coming US election, which most of our readers are interested in, thanks to Temujin's diligent efforts in my constant absence.

Another thing that's been on my mind is hockey, or the lack thereof. But what's really struck me lately is how little I give a damn. Yesterday, Vancouver would have been playing Calgary in their (Calgary's) home opener. Admittedly, that would have been exciting. But then again, if it means seeing the owners win this lock-out bitch-slap contest, I don't mind waiting two years for hockey. Hell, it gives me more time for my more intellectual pursuits, such as scrubbing the sides of my car until they're as silvery-good as new . . . or watching every last Strong Bad email until my sides are literally splitting apart, thus hopefully spilling my innards over the floor in one fell, life-ending swoop.

Actually, I'm not really suicidal, but the idea of dying laughing has always appealed to me.

Well, until next time, keep it real, readers.

Now there is a diner I'd eat at

Joe's Diner! After reading this, I'd like to add a hearty: "uh huh, you got it."

Nice work man.

(Stanley Cup Ring to the Showcase)

Interesting

den Beste (who isn't blogging, by the way), has come up with something rather interesting regarding US election polls over the last few months.

A Real War Hero

A real War Hero speaks out.

(Stanley Cup Ring to B.C.I.T. at the Rottie)

This guy is a mentor?

What the crap?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The national security adviser under the first President Bush says the current president acted contemptuously toward NATO and Europe after Sept. 11 and is trying to cooperate now out of desperation to "rescue a failing venture" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Acted contemptuously towards Europe??? Erhm... what goes around comes around, I suppose. Europe (ie France, Germany, the UN) wasn't exactly all "smiles and niceties" upon hearing that their cash-n-carry little dictator Saddam was about to get his ass handed to him. Funny how that is, eh?

Brent Scowcroft, a mentor to the current national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, also said in an interview published in England that Bush is inordinately influenced by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Those Jooooooooos! It's always those cursed Joooooooos! What mental hospital was this guy just released from?

"Sharon just has him wrapped around his little finger," Scowcroft told London's Financial Times. "I think the president is mesmerized."

The Joooos' new mind-melding neutron ray-gun of filth has made this President go mad! Maaaaaaaad!

Scowcroft said the Bush administration's "unilateralist" position was partly responsible for the post-Sept. 11, 2001, decline of the trans-Atlantic relationship.

Uni-what now?

Although slightly diminished since then, the unilateralist policies remain fundamentally little changed, Scowcroft said. Recent overtures to cooperate in Afghanistan and Iraq with the United Nations and NATO was "as much an act of desperation as anything else ... to rescue a failing venture."

Is that really what he thinks it is? An act of desperation? Obviously he didn't hear the President speech before the UN last month (a speech that, naturally, fell on mostly deaf ears). This is an opportunity for the UN to prove that they aren't a useless sack of bureaucratic bumblers and insignificant panderers. Unfortunately you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You can only watch as it helplessly lives out the rest of its life.

Act of desperation, my ass.

On Israel and Sharon, the former security adviser said Sharon calls Bush after strongly retaliating for a Palestinian suicide attack and says: '"I'm on the front line of terrorism,' and the president says, 'Yes, you are.'"
Scowcroft said Sharon "has been nothing but trouble."

Those horrible Joooos and their retaliations! Why can't they just live in peace with their death-cult suicide-loving neighbors?
I've got news for you, Sowcrap, Israel IS on the front lines in the War on Terror, and have been for fifty years.

Idiot.

The Ann-swer

Dang, I love Ann Coulter. With a headline like this:

Fall Fashion Preview: Cowboy Boots In, Flip-Flops Out

You know it's going to be a good article.

The Center of the War on Terror

Great article at Tech Central Station by Melana Vickers entitled "Where's the Real Center of the War on Terror?"

Her final conclusion?

If the U.S. is to find the centers of this war on terror and eliminate them, it must maintain a flexible military, strengthen its intelligence and special operations capabilities, and hone its ability to focus on several fronts at once. On balance, then, President Bush's recognition that there are several "centers of the war" on terror, is more accurate than Kerry's Afghan myopia. But neither candidate -- in words or deeds -- is properly on the mark.

Fascinating, and proably true. Go check it out.

(Stanley Cup Ring to Hofer for the link)

Now THAT'S the kind of disorder I want to have!

I thought this was funny:

CANBERRA, Australia Oct. 15, 2004 — A woman seduced and had sex with strangers while she slept and later had no recollection of her infidelities due to a sleeping disorder, her Sydney doctor said Thursday.

Put another shrimp on the barbie!

The middle-aged woman had no idea that she was sneaking from her house at night in search of sex with random strangers until her partner awoke, discovered she was missing from the bedroom, and found her having sex with another man, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital sleep medicine physician Peter Buchanan told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Talk about a rude awakening!

"It is very complex, elaborated motor behavior during sleep," Buchanan told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Thursday.
"People are often stunned and overwhelmed when they're told what they've been doing," he added.

Well, I guess so!

The partners and doctors of people suffering from the disorder often do not believe the acts were committed while they slept, he said.

Well, I guess so!!!!

I wonder how many other people "suffer" from this disorder!

Capitalism at it's finest

Well done, young man.

Rattle rattle, shake shake

Oh my:

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - A strong earthquake hit Taiwan on Friday, shaking tall buildings and shutting down the subway system in the capital, Taipei.

I hope the Asylum is alright. I trust that she rode through it on her trusty motorcycle.

The quake struck with a magnitude of 7, according to the Central Weather Bureau. It was centred beneath the ocean, about 110 kilometres off Taiwan's eastern shore.

At magnititude seven(or ten on the Modified Mercalli Scale), buildings shake vigorously and can collapse, the ground can split (causing major damage to highways and bridges), and landslides occur as a consequence of the shaking.
As the report goes on to say, the last earthquake in this range to hit Taiwan was a 7.6, and 2300 people lost their lives. Lets hope that is not the case this time.

I don't know if I'd be able to do it.

But I hope I'd have the guts to, if it ever came down to it.

Well done. It's a horrible situation, but you did the right thing.

(Warning: bad taste alert in effect due to graffic desciption of a deceased animal)

Dweebus Incompetus

M'heh

More debate blogging

Seth, in fine Sethian Fashion, blogged the debate as well.

Definitely worth a read.

Talent

Don't forget to check out Cox and Forkum's latest cartoons. Dang, are they ever talented.

The Right Call

You know, when you look back over your life, there can be many decisions that you regret. That person you could have helped, that word you could have spoken, that gift you could have given...

It's times like these that you have to remember the positive decisions in your life. And Asylum, you made the right decision, baby!

Congrats on the new purchase! I'm a little disappointed at the colour... but I suppose it suits you! I must say, I'm incredibly impressed that you went "against the grain" on this one. Fight the majority, that's what I always say.

Sorry to hear about your accident, but keep this in mind: those stupid scooters are no match for Pinkee. Run them down next time.

Oh yeah, and I've already voting in your latest poll. EXTREMELY STOKED!

Da bite out of Debate

Becki's got all you need to know about the third Presidential Debate.

I didn't get to see it, but now I'm informed. Thanks Becki!

Interesting indeed.

I've been working like a dirty deed this past week and a half. I've got some essays in the works that have sadly been postponed. Also, Pei emailled me, and we got into a little discussion about Stem Cell Research.... *sigh*.... yet another topic I wish to tackle, but cannot due to time restraints. Instead, I'm just gonna wander around the blogosphere and pick out the obscure, the interesting, or the down-right funny.

First up is the WarMonger, who has a rather interesting post about the Kerry/Reeves connection. As a bonus, he even talks about Stem Cell research, and says it better than I ever could. In fact, I just wrote in an email to Pei precisely the same thing the WarMonger just wrote.

Next link comes coutesy of the Beaker, who has a revised "terror alert level", a la John Kerry.

Last, but certainly not least, Joel has revved up his blog (I love the blue!), and as always, has a number of good posts up. I'd link to them each individually, but you'd better just go read the whole blog. It'll be easier that way.

GO NOW!

Babble me this

The babbler is quickly becoming one of my favorite daily reads. And it's because of posts like this.

A first-rate smack-down on Warren Kinsella, everyone's favorite Canadian Loonie-toon.

Update Oct 13, 8:48pm- The link has been removed, see comments for details. And to anyone with any knowledge in Canadian Law, kindly offer your services to the Babbler.

Yep... more reminders of death

The Election Projection is remembering his father.

Sounds like a great fellow to me. "Well done, my good and faithful servant"

If I live half the life he did, I'll hear those words, just like he did.

Something you don't see everyday

M'heh:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Oct. 12, 2004 — A load of pig entrails sloshed out of a truck hauling the guts to a dog food plant, leaving the slop across a busy Little Rock intersection.

Too funny... and too gross as well! I bet my friends from Prairieview Pork in Southern Manitoba could share similar stories...

Police said Day (the truck driver, ed.) was ticketed for having an unsecured load.

I wonder how much a ticket is for having an "unsecured load"?

Maybe I should change the title of this blog...

Like, perhaps, to the "obituary blog". Seems i'm doing a lot of it lately. Christopher Reeves has died.

Well, he's flyin' now. Rest in peace, Superman.

Hope those news legs are treatin' ya fine.

The best laid plans...

I had grandiose plans for uber-blogging today, but they fell apart when I got an emergency call from work. There was a house fire in Houston, and I had to go help remove contents.

I spent most of this evening up to my ankles in soot and ash, hauling couches, televisions, clothes, and eveything else from the house to our warehouse back in Smithers.

So, I'm calling it a night. Unfortunately, tomorrow doesn't look too good either, because we have to finish the job. Hopefully the Pei-master will step it up and earn his keep around here. Yeah, that's right, it's been a while since you posted anything!

But time flies when you're a lazy sack of shunt, eh Pei? heh!

Have a great weekend all. Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.

Deterrence

Bill Whittle has written another essay, this one entitled Deterrence.

Stop whatever you are doing, click that link, and read the entire thing. It will take you 15 minutes to half an hour, but you will not regret it.

Go now.

Addition to the blogroll.

Please note that I've added Mount Virtus to the American Pride section of the blogroll. He's telling all centre-right bloggers out there to perservere.

Good call on that one.

Be sure to give him a look.

Afghan Elections

Scott Norvell is in Afghanistan covering the elections. He submitted an article for Tech Central Station. Go read the whole thing, right now.

What's making it a success -- violence or no violence and regardless of who wins -- is that the Afghans are being handed a fishing rod instead of being given a basketful of fish.

Amen to that.

The Scoop has officially been picked up

Joel has put to bed the whole idea of "Republicans will bring back the draft". Not only does he put it to bed, but he lays the smack down on the DEMOCRAT who introduced the bill into congress.

The Blogosphere: pyjama-wearing slackers who fact-check like it's going out of style.

A Lesson from the Master

The Warmonger has himself a little visitor!

Sadly, I don't have Haloscan for my comments, just regular ol' blogger. I haven't had a troll quite like the Warmongers though, so I haven't got much motivation to switch.

But if I ever need to track down an IP, I know who to talk to.

Safe Deposit Boxes: Not so safe.

Someone's in trouble:

HONG KONG - A Singapore-based bank has offered to repay customers for lost cash, documents and expensive jewelry after a contractor accidentally removed dozens of full safe-deposit boxes and crushed them as scrap metal.

That would suck! Could you imagine being the guy that has to make that phone call? Or the person receiving it! Dang.

Customers were angry that some of their most precious possessions had been lost, and local media say DBS will be on the hook for millions of dollars in losses.

I bet they were angry, and justifiably so. How do you repay a priceless heirloom? Or a family treasure?

Acting on orders, construction workers removed a total of 920 boxes, 837 of them empty. The bank was replacing the safe-deposit boxes with larger ones during a branch expansion.

Uhhhh uh huh huh huh "branch expansion" uh huh huh huh.

In other, more personal, news, I was supposed to clean the carpets at a consignment store in Houston. Unfortunately the vacuum unit in my van acted up, and I had to cancel the job. The owner of the store was PISSED. She's the kind of person that no matter what do, it is never good enough. When I did her estimate last week, she was all huffy and puffy because the cost was too expensive, and blabidy blah she wants a discount etc. She ranted in and raved at me for several minutes. I looked her straight in the eye after she was done, said "I'm sorry, but I'll see you tomorrow with a different van"

She told me that if she could get someone to do it sooner, she would. I thought, "good luck". I get the distinct impression that I'm going to drive all the way to Houston tomorrow just to hear her say, "I don't want you to do them anymore".

I'll update you on this story tomorrow.

Not Surprising

But still very concerning. I hope the rescue goes well, and that no casualties come out of this.

Update October 6, 8:21pm - Sadly, there was one fatality on board. Lt. Saunders died as a result of smoke inhalation. A hero, whose life was not lived in vain; whose death potentially saved his fellow crewmen.

More passings....

Chris Muir, one of the best political cartoonists around, lost a family member to cancer last week.

You find get more details at the Rottweiler.

Keep on, keepin' on, Chris.

A real trophy hunter

I wonder what the hunting is like in paradise? I suspect that it's a little less... errr... violent, but nonetheless, I'm sure this kid is having a ball. Those bears don't stand a chance against this sharpshooter.

Joel, they won't stand a chance against your son either.

Liveblogging the debate

Everything you need to know about the Cheney/Edwards debate can be found here. The Vodkapundit is the best drunkblogger I've ever come across. Period.

I don't get no respect, no respect at all

Rodney Dangerfield has died.

He was freakin' hilarious. A comic genius whose one-liners will live forever. My personal favorite was in the movie Ladybugs. Rodney plays the coach of a girls soccer team, and upon looking at his minivan stocked full of soccerballs, says "All I know is... I gotta lotta balls!"

Classic.

He will be missed.

Shizzolate

Go Shizzolate my page. It is freakin' hilarious!

Oh, my!

Mmmph... mehmph... erhmm

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Best Bumper Sticker Ever

Go order one now! Or, at the very least, cut n' paste the image and print it up. muahaha!

Filthy capitalist swine! How dare you try to make money! Evil!

Free Will Indeed

Free Will Aaron: Doin' his Thing.

Great work as always.

What the crap?

I swear, these search referrals are getting weirder and weirder all the time. I guess I need to watch what I write in my posts!

Addendum

Post-script to this, it appears I am in Reptilian Fashion, after all. Sweet!

Movin' on up... to th' east side... we've finally got a piece of the PIE!

A Tragedy

This is a real tragedy. John Cerutti will be missed.

I wonder what the pitching mound looks like in paradise.

The Chase... in Fine Chasian Fashion

Dangit, why can't I write like this?

Sheer Brilliance.

John Kerry covers all bases

Put your drink down, and then proceed to click here and listen to John Kerry, in his own words, flip-flop more times than the breakfast special at the International House of Pancakes.

John Kerry: he's on your side... no matter what.

Stanley Cup Ring to the BC Torturer at the Rottweiler)

Something for my friends from Winnipeg

This story warmed my heart and touched my very soul.

A few tidbits:

"...the B.C. Lions pumped themselves up and scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter to roll over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42-31 in a CFL game Saturday night."

"The Lions found their roar in the third quarter. They thrilled a crowd of 29,170 by scoring touchdowns 72 seconds apart."

"...defensive end Brent Johnson ran over Bomber quarterback Kevin Glenn like a steamroller..."

"It was the second consecutive loss for the Bombers, who are 6-9-0."

Muahahahah! Lions all the way to the Grey Cup! Huzzah!

Way to go, Ralphie!

Dang, I love the Premier of Alberta:

SANGUDO, ALTA. - Electing John Kerry to the White House could translate into bad news for Alberta farmers hard-hit by the U.S. ban of Canadian cattle, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said Saturday.

It's a bold statement, but probably true!

Klein accused Kerry of being a protectionist because the U.S. politician signed a letter in April that called to continue the ban on live cattle.
Kerry has also been quoted as saying that the Bush administration has not done enough to safeguard the U.S. beef supply.

Granted, I'm not too impressed with the way the Bush administration has handled the whole mad-cow, ban-canadian-beef thing... but Kerry's statement gives me no hope at all that a resolution is forthcoming.

And that's what I love about Ralph Klein. He tells it like it is, and is willing to make tough choices and stand by them. If only BC had a premier like him.
But the best quote of all:

"With politicians, sometimes what they say before an election and what they do after are two entirely different things," Klein said. "Unless you're talking about me."

Muahahah! Good one, Ralph!

No Missile Defence in Canada!

At least, that's what 200 raving lunatics said in Ottawa this weekend at a rally:

A group calling itself Raging Grannies believes that the system will eventually lead to the weaponization of space.

I'm not even going to touch that one.

NDP MP Alexa McDonough, who spoke at a rally, called on Prime Minister Paul Martin to abandon any ideas of participating in the defence system.
In Vancouver, NDP leader Jack Layton who was attending a protest rally said, a free vote should be held in the House of Commons on the issue.

Well, I guess that makes it 202 raging grannies. Conservatives in Canada know that Layton is an absolute loonie-toon, but I will say this for Alexa: at she isn't a complete liberal moonbat. She does have a history of trying to bring her party towards the centre.

But if only a few hundred people protested this weekend, that makes me think that the majority of Canadians just don't really care about the "evil" missile defence program. They aren't buying into the scare-tactics and hype of the left.

More Dead Terrorists.... it's been a good weekend.

This seems like good news:

JEBALIYA REFUGEE CAMP, GAZA STRIP - The Islamic Jihad group claims that an Israeli air strike killed two of its members near the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday.

And before anyone goes off on how those big, bad Israeli's are killing innocent Palestinian "resistance" fighters...

This latest fighting started Wednesday after a rocket launched by the Hamas Islamic Resistance Movement killed two Israeli preschoolers.

The people who commit atrocities like that aren't "resistance" fighters, they are piece-of-shunt terrorists, plain and simple.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has called the Israeli offensive a "monstrous, criminal inhumane attack" on his people and the Palestinian cabinet has called for international intervention and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

But of course, killing preschoolers isn't monstrous, criminal, or inhumane. After all, the preschoolers were only Jews.
I wish Arafat would receive a package, long-distance, via the Israeli Defence Force.

As proof of insurgency activity, Israeli government officials in Britain have released pictures taken from surveillance aircrafts. They apparently show Palestinians loading rockets into a United Nations-marked vehicle in the Gaza Strip.

The UN says it is investigating the report.

"investigating the report". Don't make me laugh.

In a first-ever news conference, members of the secretive Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, showed off their arsenal of weapons inside a mosque in Jebaliya on Saturday.
Four Hamas gunmen wearing black masks displayed assault rifles, grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and homemade anti-tank missiles.

That can't be right... after all, the peaceful Islamonazi's would NEVER use a holy sanctuary to store weapons.

Can somebody explain to me why religious sites such as these aren't levelled to the ground? It is obvious to anyone with half a wit of intellect that Hamas is taking advantage of this situation. Why doesn't an undercover agent light a firework in the foyer of the mosque? By the sounds of things, that would be enough to light the rest of the ammunition!
The terrorists have no excuse.

Yeah, right... what he said!

I concur 100%:

After analyzing everything I heard out of Kerry I have come to the conclusion that he will cut and run in Iraq. Picture this: Kerry is now clearly on the record as saying the war in Iraq is a mistake. How can he then justify asking our troops to risk their lives in order to continue fighting the war. It doesn't make sense. It would be even more unrealistic to think that Kerry would be able to bring in additional allies to assist us in a war which he now has called a mistake. I can hear Chirac now. "Why should we get involved in your mess monsieur Kerry". I can see German chancellor Schroeder telling Kerry " Eich Darf Doos Via Loochen Cop Scheizer!"

Sidebar Note

Notice the Sidebar, it is at the bottom of the screen.

I believe this is due to the badger picture in the previous post. The sidebar should return to normal when that post slides nicely into my archives on October 3rd. If it doesn't, I'll be pissed.

But for now... I'm a badger!

Something fun

Heh:


What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

I wonder if my friends would agree?

But more importantly.... is there a Badger in the Ecosystem?

(Stanley Cup Ring to the Heart of Canada for pointing out the quiz)

M'heh

Extreme Bad Taste Alert! Viewer Discretion is advised.

Filthy, but funny. And oh-so-accurate. All hail the Beaker.

She's Back!

After a two-month hiatus, Simone has returned to the blogosphere!

Georgetown just got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more appealing.

That reminds me, I think Smithers needs more Korean girls.

Just so everyone knows...

I only need one or maybe two more links to become a Slithering Reptile.

Just sayin...

(Note: I'm not a link-whore like some people I know!!! heh.)

There ARE other things to talk about rather than hockey

For example, Tony Blair had freakin' heart surgery this week.

I'm really glad to hear that he is doing fine, and is expected to recover completely. According to the articles, it was a minor repairative (hehe, did I just make that word up?) operation to correct his irregular heartbeat. But with a name like "supraventricular tachycardia", and a procedure that involves "inserting a catheter through the groin and up to the heart. Then radio-frequency energy is used to kill cells that conduct extra electrical impulses to the heart", it ain't exactly like taking a walk in the park. Anytime the ol' ticker is involved, it is something to pay attention to.

When I was 12 year old, I contracted pericarditis. LEt me tell you: it was not a lot of fun, and was pretty scary for me. For a week I couldn't get up off the couch. My chest hurt everytime I breathed, and it was mild torture just getting up to go to the bathroom. I was ambulanced from the hospital in Cassiar, BC to Watson Lake (in the Yukon). From there, I was flown via emergency jet to Vancouver, and checked in the Children's hospital. I had X-rays taken of my chest, and upon looking at them, the nurse asked me if I had a pillow in front of me, because there appeared to be a big white area covering my heart and part of my lungs. In reality, it was my inflammed pericardium putting pressure on my heart and lungs. A normal pericardium is 4 to 5 millimetres thick(a quarter-inch for the Yanks), mine was nearly an inch-an-a-half.

The doctor inserted a needle through my chest in order to drain the excess fluid from around my heart. When I came around after being drugged, I remember looking at my chest and hardly being able to move. There was a big-ass tube coming from my chest! It was two days later (I think) when they removed the needle. I was fully conscious for this one, and let me tell you: it was the creepiest feeling EVER to feel a needle being pulled out of your heart and out your chest. But I have not suffered any symptoms, nor have I had a relapse.

Get well soon Tony, and get back to running the country in which many are ignorant as to how fortunate they are to have you as PM.

A funny one to start the weekend.

Lo and behold, I and flipping through my referral logs, and check out how someone found me!

Instead of using Google, next time I recommend the Famous Players website.

I mean, it would seem logical, wouldn't it?