Funny Headline

From tsn.ca:

Thornton, Elias get offers; not Satan

Something is forthcoming

Read Rebecca's post (with comments) and follow-up, then go over and check out this piece by Curt.

A response is forthcoming. However, it maybe a long time coming. I got home from work a couple of hours ago, only to be called back in! D'oh!

I hope to duplicate my perspective in as classy a manner as my fellow Brigade members.

Now would be a good time to pray

Pray for the safety of the astronauts orbitting out planet, that is.

Colby asks an important question. A really, really important question that really, really needs to be answered.

Used Car Saleswoman

A friend of mine here in Smithers has started her own blog. It is called Terangela, and has great potential to reach blog super-stardom. If she gets there before me, I'll be pissed.

Nonetheless, if you are in the market for an economical, sporty, reliable car, and you live around-abouts central B.C., be sure to check the stats on her vehicular unit. Having been in it myself, I can say it is a quality ride to be sure (and I'm not getting paid to say that). And do not be scared by this:

Friends and family would get it for a friend and family rate.

She doesn't really mean it :-)

Sick

Disgusting:

A trial in western France has convicted 62 defendants in a mass pedophilia trial. The sentences ranged to up to 28 years in prison for the rape and prostitution of 45 children between the ages of six months and 14 years.

And who are we to blame?

Lawyers for some of those convicted argued the crimes were the fault of state social workers for leaving dozens of children vulnerable to the ring that preyed on them.

Could you imagine having to use that line in your defence?

Geez.

There he goes again!

Thanks Monte, I'm feeling especially patriotic right now thanks to you:

Canada isn't a great country because it has "free" healthcare, swell highways or nice scenery. Canada is a great country because it is a free country. A country where people can overcome their circumstances and chart their own course.

Yeah, baby. Now we're talkin'.

There they go.

Godspeed to each and every one of you fine folks.

Update 7:56am - "...peacekeeping is a fine thing to do when there is a peace to keep, but it's a fatal mistake when other people are trying to kill you."

Hey, A Guy Can Dream...

It is extremely doubtful that the Vancouver Canucks will be paying anyone more than 5.5 million dollars to play for them in the coming season. But if they do decide to go out and sign a big name player, this guy would be worth every single cent.

He played novice hockey in Cassiar, B.C. (his brother, Rob, was born there), and has always been one of my favorite players. In my opinion, the best defenceman in the NHL.

Pronger? Sack of wet drywall.
Jovanovski? As inconsistent as the gravy in a grade 9 cooking class.
Blake? One injury away from retirement.
Leetch? Well, he signed with the Leafs... that says something about his career right there.

Scott Niedermeyer: I ask, nay, beg you to please please please sign with the Canucks. From one ex-Cassiarite to another, PLEASE SIGN WITH THEM!!!!!!

The Lights are Out

Toronto Tory is reporting on the blackout in Toronto.

Reminds me of the time a few years ago when the power grid failed and all of Vancouver was in the dark. As I recall, my cousin and I had just finished watching the Red Wings beat the Canucks 4-2 at GM Place, and at a sushi place on Robson getting some late-night goodness. Before we got our order, all the power went out in the restaurant. The walk home in the dark was really quite something, and there were tons of cops out trying to direct traffic (both human and automobile!). Someone set fire to one of the dumpsters outside my cousin's apartment bulding, and the fire department had to come and put it out.

It was a memorable night, to be sure.

That's how I feel today, too.

Wow. That describes my feelings as well.

Frightening, really.

Q & A

Answer: Be up front about it, but do not be too pushy.

Question.

It is amazing how people find WCC.

Monday Morning Blues

If only things were different...

The Don tells it like it is.

Donald Trump on the proposed refurbishing of the UN building in New York. He comments on the insane pricetag, the incompetence of the project manager, and the world's richest architect. But my favourite quote of all has to be:

In New York City, we have a lot of asbestos buildings. And there's a whole debate about asbestos. I mean, a lot of people could say that if the World Trade Center had asbestos, it wouldn't have burned down. It wouldn't have melted, okay? A lot of people think asbestos...a lot of people in my industry think asbestos is the greatest fire-proofing material ever made. And I can tell you that I've seen tests of asbestos, verus the new material that's being used, and it's not even a contest. It's like a heavyweight champion against a lightweight from high school. But in your great wisdom, you folks have said asbestos is a horrible material, so it has to be removed.

What can I say though? I'm biased. I grew up in a northern community that mined asbestos.
And asbestos is bad.
So they closed down the mine.
And the town.
Because asbestos is bad.

Thanks, Don. You kick ass.

Stanley Cup ring to Ghost of a Flea.

Metro

Metro

Together we are alone,
Beneath the pavement, between the stone.

Tightly pressed we squirm
In the belly of this mechanical worm.

As we rush headlong
On to the places we belong.

A human underflow,
Carried in an urban undertow.

Neither at home, nor at work,
In this stale limbo we lurk.

Under the wheels and the feet
We wilt in this still heat.

Neither enemy, nor friend,
We are merely an indifferent blend.

At each station we stop,
As inside and out are swapped.

On to our lives and our commerce,
From this metal commons we disperse.

In pursuit of our own ends,
As civilization's connections extend.

And with these invisible links as our tethers
Alone we are together.

Throwing down the gauntlet

Ed the Robot Guy has issued a challenge.

I hope someone can prove him wrong. But I'm sincerely doubt that anyone will.

And what a fantastic slide it is.

Jimi on a Thursday night.

And the wind began to howl... hey! 


Idea stolen from Popilop (who should be returning soon from his European tour, the filthy rotter)

More blasts in London

Four more explosions in London today.

Fortunately, these ones do not seem to be nearly as large in intensity as the 7/7 bombs were.

"The casualty numbers appear to be very small," he (police chief Ian Blair - ed.) said. So far, only one person has been reported injured.

That is certainly good news.

I am not sure what to make of this. A terror attack that causes annoyance and frustration, but does not kill anyone? Perhaps a group of lame-brained copycats are just trying to impress their infantile friends. It's all still speculation at this point, of course. But I'm certainly glad no one was killed.

He left a legacy

James Doohan, who played Scotty on Star Trek, has died.

His contributions to pop culture are extraordinary.

"I'm givin 'er all she's got Captain... if I push it any harder, I think she's gonna blow!"

Thanks for all the great memories, James.

Update 12:36pm - A fitting tribute to a true Canadian icon and hero.

No time left for you

Yeesh, this week has been atrociously busy and it's only half over.

The few moments I have had on my computer have not been overly happy ones, either. What do I stumble across, but the sad tale of Peter Rempel (Rempelia Prime link now broken) closing his blog. A real blow to the Canadian blogoshere; he was one of the good ones.

And the Liberal establishment in Canada breathes a collective (pun intended) sigh of relief.

Red Ensign Standard 26

Robots, is there anything they can't do?

Slogging through the Red Ensign blogroll is no easy task, but Robot Guy does it, and does it well I might add.

Thanks, Ed. Great Work.

Southeast Asia Adventures

The continuing adventures of Asylum in Southeast Asia.

Just click the link and scroll, scroll, scroll. Crazy stories, you won't believe it.

I wonder if she defecates on the side of the road too....

Update 4:05pm - more Asian adventures here... I think I'm a lot more prepared now if I ever go there.

Errrr... well, alright then

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh that's hilarious. Seriously funny stuff.

My Mantra

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Rampaging across the wasteland, attacking with a bladed baseball bat, cometh Temujin! And he gives a booming roar: "I'm going to pound you until you're translucent, then make toast!"

Find out! Enter username: Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys

Stanley Cup Ring to Michele

It. Is. Finished.

Glad there is finally an agreement. An end to the NHL Lockout.

"At the end of the day everybody lost..."

Thanks a lot, you miserable sacks of pooh. That's right, all of you. Players, owners.

Phooey on you all.

Now where are my season's tickets?

Enemy of Civilization.

The true face of our enemy.

A suicide bomber who set off a blast as American soldiers handed out candy on a Baghdad street has killed 27 people, including 18 teenagers and children.

May he roast eternally in a never-ending lake of burning horse manure and hydrofluoric acid.

The children had been crowded around a U.S. military Humvee that had driven between houses when a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into the crowd and exploded, said Iraqi officials.

Freedom fighter, my ass. Insurgent? Not quite good enough. TERRORIST (I'm looking at you, BBC).

Twelve of the dead were 13 or younger, while six others were less than 18 years old, Iraqi officials said.

The U.S. military said an American soldier also died.

Safe in the arms of the Almighty, I might add. And for that US Soldier, accompanied by the words "well done, my faithful servant..."

The attack took place in a poor neighbourhood made up mostly of Shia Muslims, who form the majority in Iraq and dominate in the country's government.

Ahhh, that CBC. Gotta get their dig into the Iraqi government when they can. Those dominating Shia's... how dare they dominate in such a dominating fashion. Evil elected dominators! They deserve what they get for dominating so much. Dominate, dominate, dominate, that's all they ever do. Filthy Dominating Caliphates!

Tell me again who the enemy is?

London Calling

I'm back safe and sound from my little escapade down south. My car handles like a dream, and it's got some spirit too. Made the 12 hour drive from Chilliwack to Smithers a little more bareable. The biggest highlight of my drive was when I hit Boston Bar (nestled in between Cache Creek and Hope), and passed a house just off the highway that had a Red Ensign flying in the front yard. Had I not been in such a hurry to return to Smithers (dear lord I never thought I'd ever hear myself say that...), I probably would have knocked on the door and said hello. You don't see a lot of Red Ensigns in front yards. A shame, really.

As well, there was construction all over the place, including at Spence's Bridge (see above link). It appeared as though they were re-decking the bridge. Or at least, the south-bound half. I had forgotten that section of HWY 1 is full of twists and turns, not to mention the sweet tunnels. An interesting drive, though cruise control is an absolutely useless option on that section of the road.

Lost in all my travels and such was my knowledge of the London terrorist attacks. Much has been said by better bloggers than I, so there isn't much I can add. But I will say this: England will not back down.

And Canada needs to show it's support with more than mere words.

7/7 Never Forget.

Liveblogging from...

From the library at UBC!

With a little help from Pei Yusei, and his UBC card, of course.

What a great campus. Makes me wish I had shelled out some coin and bought myself a stinking digital camera so I could post the pics here next week.

Question: Am I the only one who thinks it is stupid that we have to pay 7% GST on a used car? How ridiculous. My grandfather shelled out two grand in taxes for the thing, and now I have to pay more on top of that.

Stupid taxes.

Welcome to Vancouver International Airport

Dang, one dollar for ten minutes at these stupid email kiosks... and they have blocked access to blogger blogs. How stupid... I can post to my blog, but I cannot view it.

Nonetheless, I've got some time to spare before my connecting flight to Vic, and what better way to spent it than blogging?

Fascinating tidbits from my flight:

My grade 11 english teacher was seated two rows behind me, he's also heading to Victoria.

I sat next to a guy who is the landlord for three apartment buildings in Smithers. I clean the carpets in those apartments when tenants move out, so it was cool to chat with him. He was born in Tunisia, grew up in Paris, and moved to Vancouver a decade ago or so. He has lived in Smithers for nine years, but often goes on long trips back to Europe or Africa. It was fascinating to hear his story.

Flying over the Bulkley Valley sure is cool. It was pretty cloudy and overcast throughout my flight though, so I didn't get to see much scenery.

...till next time...

Victoria Bound

Blogging may be nonexistent over the next few days. I am flying to Victoria tomorrow morning in order to take physical possession of my grandfather's PT Cruiser. The plan is to drive my new car to Chilliwack on the 7th, and spend a night or two with Pei Yusei (yes, he still lives), then drive from there to Smithers on the 9th. Would like to make it back in time for church on Sunday, but we'll see.

Should be a nice little holiday, if you want to call it that. If you are the praying type, pray for courage on my behalf. Yeah, that's it. Courage.

Cheers to all.

The Standard is Raised

Ray has raised the 25th edition of the Red Ensign Standard.

Fantastic job Ray, I love the pictures.

Happy Thoughts to Me!

Robert McClelland reads West Coast Chaos!

Now I know, most of you are probably thinking, "Who is Robert McClelland?", and you would be right to ask such a question. An obscure, fringe blogger like Robert isn't exactly a household name. Certainly no comparison to WCC, whose author has global fame and universal recognition. However, he reads my blog, and felt the urge (or, some kind of urge I imagine) to comment on this post here.

Now Robert, I know you think all of us knuckle-dragging conservatives are out to get you, but it simply is not the case. I've done more than enough research into the subject at hand, and I know there are plenty of good things being done for our troops. I have discovered that, in general, I do not hear much from bloggers I read.

And by the way, if you are going to call me an "ignorant buffoon" on my own friggin' weblog, at least have the courtesy to throw up a link on your blog. You could post something like: If you are an Ignorant Buffoon like Temujin, be sure to take part in this idea by RightGirl.

But I'm sure you'll agree the idea put forth by RightGirl is a fantastic one, and worthy of a link. So what are you waiting for, Robert? You support our troops, don't you?

Crappy thoughts to you.

Shamelessly stolen from Darcey 

Darcey, I ask your forgiveness. I stole this pic from you.

But, at this point in time, right now...

It is highly appropriate.

Hope you are the forgiving type...
*burp*

It's about time.

Say, did you know there are Canadian troops in Afghanistan right now?

I don't know about you, but I often forget that we have brave men and women fighting tyranny on our behalf. Nine Hundred and Fifty of them, in fact. Not content with simply ensuring that those terrorist slimeballs get what is coming to them, our troops are also training the Afghan National Army, maintaining and reparing infrastructure, as well as surveillance and reconaissance. You know... all that stuff needed to help a new democracy grow and see those Afghanis flourish in their freedoms.

Right honourable folks, I'd say. Incredibly, amazingly, right frikking honourable.

And what do we do for them? Squat piddly all, that's what. The US Forces in Iraq get care packages and letters from total strangers*. I have never heard of any organization dedicated to doing the same here in Canada. SO WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH US CANADIANS???

It is time, and long past time in fact, that someone took charge and did something about this absolute travesty of justice. Ith at Absynthe and Cookies has turned my head towards RightGirl and her July 4th post. When you scroll down past the patriotic cartoons (no need to scroll too fast, though. ed.) you will read the following,

So what of our Canadian soldiers, stuck in Afghanistan with nothing but a rusted Korea-era tank and a potato gun? Nothing. No blogs that I could find, and worse still - no letter-writing organizations. They've been forgotten. By our government, by our media, by our citizens, and by our charitable Christian women's hearts. They fight shoulder to shoulder with their American brothers and sisters, who receive care packages from perfect strangers, and the Canadians remain unthanked.

She goes on to say that she plans on changing that (thank God there are still women like her out there).

I've signed up. I'm gonna show my support for our troops with more than just words on a blog. And you should too.

RightGirl, anything I can do to help you with this one, you just let me know. What a fantastic idea.

God bless our troops, and God bless Canada.

*This should in no way be interpreted to mean that I don't think they deserve it. Those troops are doing a helluva good job, and have earned all the respect, gifts, and accolades we can give them. The emphasis is on the fact that we enlightened and progressive Canadians fall waaaay short of our American cousins when it comes to showing real support for our Armed Forces.

My kind of Olympics

As regular readers of WCC know, I often look to the "Watercooler" section of ABCNews.com for funny, odd, or quirky stories. Once again, I go to the well, and pull up a bucket of cold, fresh water.

Redneck Games Celebrate 10th Anniversary

Bobbing for pig feet, the mudpit belly-flop, the armpit serenade they're all part of the Redneck Games, a series of good ole'ympic events for the ain't-so-athletic celebrating their 10th year in middle Georgia.

After much turmoil this week, I needed something to make me smile. It'll make you smile, too.

Go read the whole thing.

Context? Bah!

Zechariah 9:10

... And His dominion will be from sea to sea, ...

Yes. It will.

Thanks, G.

My Pledge on Canada Day

Happy Canada Day.

I am a Canadian, a free Canadian,
Free to speak without fear,
Free to worship God in my own way,
Free to stand for what I think right,
Free to oppose what I believe wrong,
Free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom, I pledge to uphold,
For myself and all mankind.

Stanley Cup Ring to Darcey, two of 'em.