Liberals exposed!

Last Friday was the English debate. In summary, most think it was a tie between Harper and Martin.

This campaign is not only turning out to be a clash of ideology between socialism and progressive capitalism on economic lines, but it's also beginning to become a clash of ideology between Trudeau's centralized federalism versus provincial autonomy -- something the old Mulroney PCs used to do well in Quebec on. Harper appears to be playing Brian's old card. And it's working.

Anyway, I wanted to summarize what Paul Martin and the Liberals have been saying and doing over the campaign, and I think it's all going to backfire come January. Watch their war room salvo a massive negative attack against Harper on Jan. 2nd.

1. Quebec Campaign

Martin and Couchon making the Liberal campaign in Quebec about a choice between federalism and sovereignty, saying a vote for the Bloc is a 'Yes' vote in the referendum is not working. Last week, Martin challenged Duceppe to a debate on "any street corner in Quebec", so Duceppe makes such a challenge which Martin declines! Then Harper steps up and offers to debate Duceppe.

Harper is also getting support from Liberal Premier Charest and ADQ leader Mario Dumont on Harper's vision for a decentralized federal gov't. Harper gets credit for saying the Liberals prefer the PQ in Quebec so Martin can look like the saviour. While the Conservative Party's best chance in Quebec is 3 seats -- likely none, they are splitting the federalist vote there, causing the Bloc to shoot way ahead. Currently, polls show the Bloc at 60% and the Liberals dropping to 20%. This could be a Bloc sweep.

2. The Americans

Martin's Liberal war room has been planning to use the anti-U.S. card at the right time in the campaign. At a Montreal international conference on global warming, Martin with Bill Clinton targets the U.S. on not participating in Kyoto, that they're not following the "global conscious" was quickly responded by the American ambassador to Canada. All the while emissions in Canada are up 24% while in the U.S. they're only up 13%. Harper brilliantly jumps in the frey and says Martin is irresponsible to begin a war of words with the Americans during an election campaign with softwood lumber a major trade issue, while at the same time, says the U.S. ambassador shouldn't get involved by staying out of the federal election.

But this was all planned by the Liberals from the get go. Separately released Liberal TV ads show a different message, but obviously recorded with the same people at the same time... I guess they assume Canadians are really that dumb. Speaking of which...

2a. Liberal Ads

In trying to show average Canadians supporting the Liberal record, the truth came out in exposing that the people in the ads were actually Liberal workers, and some relatives of Liberal candidates.

3. Day Care

The "Beer and Popcorn" gaffe by Paul Martin's chief communications guru, on top of Martin saying that they would never suggest that parents don't know how to spend their money, automatically ended the debate and declared Harper the winner. How do I know? Well, Martin's response to this was to lambast Harper on same-sex marriage.

4. Holiday hours! Liberal campaign workers go back to work ... at the gov't.

Over the holiday season, campaign workers paid by the Liberals will go back to work at the gov't, but won't be collecting cheques from the Liberals. Why? The Liberals are broke. Usury?

5. Handguns

Harper points out that Martin's declaration to ban handguns is frugle since THEY ARE ALREADY BANNED! Martin's living in desperate times.

6. "Take your NRA gun loving ass back to the U.S!"

The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Page: A5
Section: News
Byline: Glen McGregor
Column: Highway 308
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

Guns & Drugs
Elie Betito is known in political circles as the chief spokesman for
generic drug company Apotex, and can often be seen on the Hill helping the
company in its ongoing campaign for changes to patent drug rules. But Mr. Betito
got a splash of ink this week for something entirely different over an e-mail he
sent to Stacey Cherwonak, a sport shooter and forensic firearms expert with the
RCMP in Ottawa.

As a volunteer on Liberal candidate Bonnie Brown's campaign in Oakville, Mr. Betito fielded Mr. Cherwonak's angry e-mail last week over the Liberal announcement about further restrictions on handguns. He closed his e-mail with, "you lying bastards."Mr. Betito e-mailed back: "take your NRA , GUN LOVING ASS BACK TO THE U.S. WHERE YOU BELONG, E. BETITO." Mr. Betito admits the e-mail was written in "a moment of insanity," and says he was provoked into the foolish move by the tone of Mr. Cherwonak's message and his concerns about the Dodge City environment in the Toronto 'burbs. He has resigned from Ms. Brown's campaign and apologized to Mr. Cherwonak.But Mr. Betito says he now feels like he's the one in the crosshairs.

Once his e-mail was posted on a blog, it spread rapidly among the guns 'n' ammo set across North America. He says he has received hundreds of e-mails from the U.S. and Canada, many threatening in tone."I have been bombarded," he said. "I got concerned about my welfare. I never knew the reach and breadth of these groups." Mr. Betito says some e-mails are suggesting a boycott of Apotex's drugs and others were sent to his bosses to demand he be fired.One message confused his gender and began with the salutation, "You Liberal slut." One website posted his home address.

'This is the greatest level of intimidation I have ever seen,' Mr. Betito said, and
that's something coming from someone who regularly picks fights with the most
powerful industry in the world -- the brand-name drug companies.

And Take Your Beer and Popcorn With You
Meanwhile, Mr. Cherwonak is giving some serious consideration to taking Mr. Betito's advice. "I may be taking my gun-loving ass to the U.S. after all," he said. He is reconsidering his future in Canada because of the Liberal approach to gun control. He calls Liberal leader Paul Martin's proposal on new handgun restrictions "a grub for votes in Toronto," that may force him to relocate if he wants to continue competitive sport shooting. The message from Mr. Betito did not surprise him, he said, given the party's past position on guns. It was one of only a few replies he received after blanketing Ontario Liberal MPs with his e-mailed message of protest. One reply from a Liberal campaign worker came with a suggestion: "It said you better practise because Harper's going to send you to Iraq," he said.

That's all for now. Those are the major Liberal blunders, in case you forgot to keep track.

Liberals, Fiberals...

Believe it or not, this election seems to be coming down to an ideological war.

On one hand you have the Martin Liberals, with their "parents will spend the money on beer and popcorn" paternalistic statist view of child care, compared with Harper's Conservatives -- libertarian views that people can make their own choices about how to raise their kids.

Simply put, Liberals would rather that they control and provide for your whole life, from cradle to grave, using your own money.

Methinks the Liberals think government knows how to spend your money better than you can. And when that dirty envelope money gets passed to a Liberal-friendly adfirm under a table at a restaurant which is then passed on to the Liberal party itself, I guess they must be right.

Do they think Canadians are that stupid?

Well, if Ontario votes Liberal again, there's your answer.

Walk [Above] the Line...

The comparisons between "Ray" with Jamie Foxx and "Walk the Line" with Joaquin Pheonix are out. So striking that the stories of both musicians growing up in the south, from a child who loves music, his brother, his parent, making it in music biz, drugs, wives, the road, groupies, cheating, a mistress, kids, seem to be common for growing stars in the 50's and 60's trying to balance stardom and a normal Christian life.

So, yes, let us compare.

So since both stories are similar and both were delivered in relatively the same manner, I'd say that "Walk the Line" wins out slightly. Why? "Ray" seemed to drag in places, where "Walk the Line" was more to the point, much like Johnny Cash's style.

And "Ray" did very well, as did Jamie Foxx. I expect a bit more success for "Walk".

Jamie Foxx really looked like acted and sounded like Ray Charles, as he did some method acting of being blind to get into the role and hung out with Ray himself.

But did the plot and dialogue carry Foxx's portrayal? Don't get me wrong, Foxx did an amazing job, but now in comparison to Phoenix, I can now see the difference and slight lack on Foxx's part. Slight. But I wish to emphasize that slight made a big difference.

Johnny Cash fully endorsed Joaquin Phoenix's typecasting. Phoenix, in my opinion, is an underrated actor. Not anymore.

I especially wondered if Phoenix poured his own soul and life into the role. He could honestly relate to Cash's life, as he too lost a dear brother to an accident and continually suffers from drug addiction. Now THAT's method acting--when your own life is similar to the person you're portraying. And I believe that aspect, coupled with Phoenix's many talents, gave him a slight edge over Foxx.

The camera production was excellent. When Johnny was drunk and on pills, you could FEEL it and relate to the character as the camera gave you first person view of the blur he felt. Yes, I know, can't really do that with a blind guy. But why not? Why didn't they black out the screen and only have sounds? Instead they went with flashbacks to Ray's childhood as the underlying theme.

You won't find flashbacks in "Walk" and I think it was more effective. Johnny seemed to lock up that pain of his brother dying and his drunken father telling him "the wrong kid died" way way down for a long long time, until decades later when it finally comes out at the Thanksgiving dinner table. But was it yelling? No. You could hear that pain and anger in his voice and see in his eyes.

This is a story about being saved. I didn't get that feel as much from watching "Ray".

Johnny needed saving. He loved his older brother, who was destined to be a preacher, as his best friend and companion. But no matter how successful he got, nothing was good enough for his father. The music that came out of his voice reflected that lament and suffering. He so badly wanted forgiveness. And early on in the tour with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, etc. he met June Carter and realized right there that she understood him like no one else.

So Big kudos to Reeses Pieces Witherspoon for an outstanding performance. Absolutely spot on to June Carter, a strong talented witty woman who saw that special something in Johnny and even after 40 marriage proposals (although he was still married!), dressing room trashing, spending time in jail for drugs, we know she finally says yes.

But before that, when her career wasn't taking off, she married a stock car driver but that relationship wasn't doing well. Johnny and her hadn't seen each other in a while until a music awards ceremony. He asks her to join his tour and says he'll provide for her no matter what. This was the first time Johnny truly offered anything to June and was a big turning point in their unusual relationship.

But while Johnny turned to other substitutes for salvation, he always knew June was the one. It was June and her parents who ultimately saved him from drugs by fending off dealers with double barrel shotguns from his lake side country home. He finally recovers and they get married. While not shown, you can tell his father is finally proud of him.

Phoenix's true and real method acting got to the core and soul of the character so much that I could really feel the emotion and relate it to my own life. And this made me understand Johnny Cash the man.

The only wish I had for the movie was showing more interaction with the other big stars of the 50's, like Elvis. There were a couple scenes, but Johnny's focus was always on June.

Snaky gives "Walk the Line", 4.12 fists out of 5.

Queens 4 -- Nails 2

When you go see a live band, what do you want to see and hear? You don't want to just hear the album.

The other day I was invited to go the Nine Inch Nails (NIN) with Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) concert. I know a few QOTSA tunes, and thought I might recognize a couple NIN tracks and I heard their show was pretty cool, so what the hell. I accepted the free ticket.

So last night, six of us dudes went to Rexall Place. The radio and the ticket said QOTSA started at 7pm and we got their at 6:50 and they were already playing. So I grab a couple beers and we find our seats near the top back of the coliseum. We all then moved up to the standing 'room' part so we could place our beers on the ledge. It was perfect.

The crowd was right into Josh Homme's haunting smooth voice and trying to find the off time rhythms in one of the tightest and original bands I've ever seen live. Unlike Pearl Jam, they weren't jammin'. They were cookin'. While most of us were musicians ourselves, we quickly picked up the timings but by that time, the band was already zooming onto another part. We simply couldn't keep up and I appreciated every nuance. Even one of the guitar players jumped on the keyboards for a very original groove undergroundish rock tune.

They say Josh used to do a lot of heavy drugs. Well, they sure churned out some originality, weird note patterns, lyrics, and textures that you were sure they were probably on 'em during the writing process. Tell you what, if they're pumping out killer progressive tunes like that consistently, I'll let 'em do all the drugs they want on my behalf.

We then hear Josh talking to some dude in the crowd on the floor who was apparently lipping him off or something. Josh showed a lot of class in his responses: "Hey dude, we're just tryin' to have some fun here. Am I right folks?" (Crowd roars.) This "conversation" continued for a few more songs but then Josh steps it up and insults him, his mother, and the whole crowd laughed. Then he says, "Okay, this next is for you, man. It's called 'Little Bitch'". And then of course they go right into 'Little Sister', an awesome hit and they nail it.

I mentioned to one of the boys that most of their songs are about four minutes. Put a shoe in my mouth, 'cause right after I say that, they play a wickedly fast 1 minute instrumental. Good variety.

The sound at the coliseum is wanting, but I was surprised at how good the Queens did sound. I guess it's because they play so tightly that the sounds don't blend into each other when it reverberates on the back wall.

Then they encore with their big hit, which my band also plays, "No One Knows". But the Queens decide to speed it up ... a lot! See, wasn't expecting that. Then they play quieter and quieter (is that a word?) to nothing and Josh beautifully sings out the words ... pause, and finally they kick into the last part. But I was disappointed they didn't do the solo of the song, which is really really freaking difficult for a band to play -- trust me, I know. We've worked on it and worked on it, and Queens decide to not even do it! Oh well, it still kicked ass.

Needless to say, at no point of watching QOTSA was I bored. Actually, I was blown away. They had enough stage lights that complimented the music nicely, flashes in time with the drums, etc., but the music is what was really bright. I would definitely see them again.

Then...

The stage was then box curtained in a transparent white. The lights go off. The music blars and Nine Inch Nails takes the stage in silouette behind the curtain. Very cool stage design, lots of power lights, and a high energy show all 'round.

But I think only a couple songs actually stood out. The rest were all basically the same and the cool light show seemed to be making up for a lot in the lack of originality. Sure NIN is different than the mainstream, but compared with their own music, there didn't seem to be a lot of variety.

Then for about 20 minutes, they refused to play because everyone at the front was pushing forward. It was general admission on the floor. I wanted to skedaddle, but we stayed and I even heard some people chanting "Let's go Oilers!" Funny.

Finally they came back but projected news footage on the front curtain screen for about two songs, showed George W and Laura ballroom dancing. I thought, "Are we at the movies?" "This is CNN." I'm all for visuals, but this wasn't artistic. I really don't like musicians getting involved in partisan politics, because they really don't have any sway, nor do they have anything to say. USE YOUR MUSIC TO COMMUNICATE DUMBASS.

Anyway, then some droning unoriginal and depressing piano part comes on. I sat down. I fell asleep. That's right, I fell asleep. I yelled out "BORING!" But I don't think anyone heard.

Finally at 11:30pm, the show was over.

Keeping in mind I probably recognized 5 songs total that night...

Snak gives Queens of the Stone Age a 10/10 for musicianship, 6/10 for stage show. So an even 8/10.

I give Nine Inch Nails 2/10 for musicianship, and 8/10 for stage show. So 5/10.

But since we were at the coliseum:
Queens 4 -- Nails 2.

The Answer To Life, The Universe, and Everything

This isn't necessarily a critique, just some deep thoughts about the universe and God. As a Mason, I continually challenge myself to pursue this of all subjects, reading about science, exploring the cosmos, and how religion fit in. Some say science and religion should stay far away from each other. I don't, dogma aside, I think they fit just nicely.

Remember when Einstein used to say things like "God does not play with dice"? He was able to keep God into the scientific mix so well and always made us wonder. He showed that yes, science is limited to what we can observe or theorize based on existing facts and calculations. But what IS beyond that?

Not long after that, Hubble showed that the galaxies were moving away from each other. This gave us the first notion that they must have been closer together and even closer ... and even really really close -- that they formed a singularity and exploded into the Big Bang.

So they've recently calculated that our universe is 13.7 billion years old, that it is expanding exponentially (or perhaps like the Fibonacci sequence ???).

There are theories like Cosmic Inflation that say the universe will continue like that forever into a cold dark spance or that it will reach a point that gravity will pull it all back into the Big Crunch and maybe it all starts over again, because total energy doesn't change.

So in one sense, the universe is finite because it is expanding, in another it is infinite because we'll never know or see the end of it. But that's because of human limit, from our ego, from our limited mind.

So if our universe is finite, then what's beyond that?

What about multiple universes? If there are multiple universes, then they must be finite otherwise they would all be one in the same. Think about a bunch of bubbles that get bigger and bigger, but what's between them? Nothing? Do they collide? Do bigger ones swallow smaller ones? So what's holding all these universes? Another universe? And what holds that? Now were into infinity again. Whew.

Now let's go the other way. Nuclear physics continually explores smaller and smaller things. Everything is made of something smaller. We're made of cells and our cells are made of things like mitochondria, then DNA, which is made of chemicals, which are made of elements, atoms, protons, quarks, ... it just keeps going.

So will we ever come to the end? Science still does not explain everything, and perhaps it never will as long as things are infinitely large and infinitely small. It seems when atheists use science as their mantra, they can only go as far as we know.

Stephen Hawking is another well known physicist whose explanations on black holes, the universe, light, gravity, time, quantum theory, string theory, relativity, are fun to read and understandable. He, much like Einstein, does not count out God in the equation. In fact, he says that's what we're doing with discovering theories and exploring science -- is knowing the mind of God. What motivation!!!

Because when we ask "Why are we here?", who do we expect to answer this question? Is it chance that we're here, or IS there a reason?

So now the question is, "Is God playing with dice, or is He blowing bubbles?"

Report du Gomery Part Un...

So the report is out.

Justice Gomery puts the blame on Chretien and his cronies. Gee, I coulda told you that!

He also exonerated Prime Minister Paul Martin, yet blames the entire Liberal gov't cabinet at the time of the scandal 10 years ago, when Paul Martin was the Finance Minister.

I'm guessing that Paul Martin knew full well what was going on, but took active steps in making sure it looked liked he didn't know and made sure information was given to him at arm's length. Smart move on his part.

What's interesting is just under two years ago in December 2003 when Paul took the reigns of the PMO, he ordered a full sweeping audit of gov't finances, but this was not done by the Auditor General. To me, that indicates he knew something was up before the AG did her bidding on the gov't who eventually exposed the whole scandal.

Well, with the second part of the report due in February, and Paul promising to call an election 30 days after that, we're now looking at an April election. Isn't it nice for all those post-secondary students to get closed out of participating in the election while they study and write final exams? Isn't that ... oh, I don't know, a bit convenient?

About as convenient as not blaming Paul for gov't finances.

Hallow's Eve...

I love Hallowe'en, don't you?

As the world gets more populated, countries ever more diverse, and religions of all sorts are further subdivided, North American society has continued general stat holidays for Christmas, but Hallowe'en remains on its own.

While I don't wish to be politically correct by any stretch, Hallowe'en is great because it doesn't matter what religion you are. All the witches and devil outfits fly in the face of religious fanaticism and further proves its what's inside that counts, not what you wear.

And like Christmas and Easter it's about the kids, isn't it? Kids love dressing up. They get to be something else for a day. You see them in a Batman or Catwoman costume, it doesn't matter, as long as it's fun.

And the chocolate. My oh my. Neighbourhoods opening up their doors -- house decorations, scary fun stuff indeed. Kids from all religions take to the streets. They don't know or even care if Sunjit loves Jesus, or if Kwan prayed to Allah today. We can learn a lot from kids.

The kids love the mystery of it all. They love their Harry Potter (well ... so do I!). "What are you going as?" "Not telling 'til you see." Again, it's all about the kids.

Well, I gotta go put on my costume again and head off to a party. I love it!

Happy Hallowe'en!!!!!

Governance by Polls

We no longer have a democracy in Canada.

This was recently confirmed by an article I read that the federal gov't was going to look into lower and middle class tax cuts due to the upcoming budget surplus (read: the money they owe you).

The Liberals think this is a good idea to quash any backlash they'll get from Gumgate. What's Gumgate? Well, although I made it up, it's a term I'm "coining" (ha!) for former Canadian Mint CEO David Dingwall's crazy expenses, which allegedly included a pack of gum.

So, if there was no Gumgate, then they wouldn't have to look at tax cuts. WOW. That's vision. That's real leadership.

"We'll wait and see what the polls say about this."

Nevermind what you elected them to do based on their platform anymore.

We're being governed by polls. What's the point anymore. We could have a bunch of lackies in ttawa, umm, wait, .... UNELECTED lackies (there that's better, or we could just say bureaucracts I guess) UNELECTED lackies conducting polls to determine the will of the people.

Of course many of these polls are conducted in friendly areas. Do a straight poll here in Alberta and see what kind of reaction the federal gov't would get.

Reason #843 why I'm an Alberta Separatist. (In case you didn't know.)

Full Circle or Highway to Hell?

Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.

Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.

Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.

Music of today condensed two and a half decades in just two and a half years and we, my generation has been listening to a perverbial hell. Kids today don't know it though. But I do. I remember.

What the h-e-double-hockey-stick am I talking about?

As mopesters Theory of a Nickelfault continued on their guitar solo-less radio friendly 4 chord songwriting careers, I knew this new sound wouldn't last as soon as it started. And it didn't.

People got quickly tired of it and demanded something new and fresh, like buns in bakery.

A couple years ago, when classic rock appeared to be making a comeback, we were inundated with new bands like Jet, The Trews, and The Darkness, rehashing old styles from the 70's, if not blatently plagerising. ("Are you gonna be my girl?" is EXACTLY like "Lust For Life" is it not?) Don't get me wrong, I liked the comeback. I'll take it over moperock any day.

But then what happened? Well, after we had a brief stint with classic 70's rock, I thought, what's next, punk? Yep. Inspired on by Green Day, we had high school "punk" skater revival where every beat was snare drum and every song had 3 chords. Fuck, even Avril Lavigne outgrew all that.

So then I thought? Wait a minute. I see a pattern here. Hmmm, I'm starting to hear more keyboards on the radio? Oh no, not again! Next up was that every freakin' new band was named The Blahs and led by The Killers, 80's retro rock made a comeback. Mod styles were in again, and then there was that day I sauntered down from my office to Holt Renfrew and what doth I see on manakin man? It was like a freakin' time warp where Miami Vice meets Chet the homosexual tennis player and pink alligator shirts were once again the rage. But thankfully, that style ended quickly, the starch thrown out, and the late 60's early 70's hip style (that's why it's the best period in fashion ever) remained. Gee, were sales going to shit?

And as the music got poppier, I thought, "Uh oh, here we go. What's next, 80's glam metal ballad rock?" Sure as shit. But who were the new bands reviving the cheesy hair spray? Well, there weren't any? You know why? YOU FUCKING WANNA KNOW WHY? I'll tell you why. Because a lot of those bands from back then, a whole freakin' 20 years ago, ARE STILL AROUND. And they were touring! And they were selling out! Sometimes TWO SHOWS! Case in point: Motley Crue. Even Quiet Riot came back, then Def Leppard, ad nauseum. Dead horses everywhere!

But then there was the icing on the cake. I couldn't believe it, but wasn't surprised. Nickelback releases their fourth album. How does a band get shitter after each album? What the fuck was Chad thinking? Oh, I know. "Well, it seems 80's glam metal ballad bands are making a comeback. Why don't I write some and fill the void?" What's even sadder is he doesn't even stack up against those shmaltzy songs. I'll put a Whitesnake, Europe, shit even Brighton Rock (remember them?) tune up against Chad "Can't sing higher than middle C" Kroeger. His voice does not warrant it. Hehe, Warrant. Get it? Chad, stick to the gut wrenching growly rocker riffs, or you gettin' soft?

Okay, enough of the Nicklebashing (for now anyway). As I've said in other postings, there are some bands that have transcended and perservered through all this repeated crap and actually sound original, even though some of them are a mish mash of the old . Even then, at least they have vision. Let's list a few, shall we?

- Queens of the Stone Age
- Audioslave
- Velvet Revolver
- Foo Fighters

But let's look at this though. All the guys in these bands were in what bands that emerged after 80's glam metal died? Early 90's grunge! The Seattle alternative sound! I don't need to list all those bands do I? You reading this should know. If you don't then stop reading this blog!

So you can guess what music style is just around the corner can't you? I know, I'm not looking forward to it either. Go pull out your CD collection from 10 years ago and you'll see. Then the next thing you know, Nickelback will make a comeback.

I'm on a highway to hell.

Alberta, Alberta, won't you come on home...

Well, my home province just turned 100 years old last week. The fireworks were awesome. As I watched, I began to reflect on this province's rich history and all the people involved in building an infrastructure out of nothing. Look how far we've come! There is such great opportunity here. People are moving from all over to be in this great square borderland that had a bite taken out of its corner.

Then I thought, "Hey wait a minute.... It could be better!" A province so rich in oil revenue right now with massive budget surpluses should give back to its citizens, directly, and permanently. No one time cheque. No super spending on a program to bloat bureaucracy. Some simple things.

1. Eliminate the health care insurance premiums. This tax hurts those just above the exemption cut off, which I think is only $12,000. Mine get paid by my company as a benefit, but most who have to pay are students over 25 who haven't landed that cushy job yet. It's tough, I know. I've been there. It's a real pain in the ass. The gov't gets $500 million in revenues from this. We have a surplus of $2.6 billion and growing.

2. Tax cuts. Alberta has a flat tax of 11.5% that was introduced back in the late 90's. It's been a while. Reduce it.

3. Roads and infrastructure. The "Highway to Hell", i.e. the one from Edmonton to Ft. MacMurray needs to be widened. Ft. Mac needs a lot of infrastructure as this is the place that's fueling the gov't surplus in the first place! Workers living in tents is not good. Housing is a huge issue there.

4. Force universities and colleges to cap tuition and force them to find ways to save money. We all know how bloated these bureaucracies are (the U of A is the worst). Tuition goes up not necessarily because of a lack gov't funding, on the contrary, but because the university doesn't have the guts or mindset to eliminate their own waste and mismanagement.

There. If there are any PC leadership hopefuls reading this (ha!), take note. This means you Dinning, Norris, Hancock, Oberg, and Stelmach.

Or maybe Ralph will beat you to it again.

Concert Review: Pearl Jam

I saw Pearl Jam live for the first time last night. We were sitting in the upper bowl behind and to the side of the stage. They had no back curtain, so my first thought was this show was going to be about the music, not flashy video and gimmicks.

I was impressed with how we could easily see everything on the stage, the lights, the gear, and the band, who would often turn around and rock out to us "behind the scenes". However, while there were a few speakers pointed our way, I could barely make out the in-between song talk from Eddie. No idea what he was saying. The sound in the coliseum sucks to begin with, but if they're going to have a full concert bowl with a quarter of fans behind them, the sound needs way more work.

I didn't recognize a lot of the songs, as I've never been a hard core fan, but I was still expecting a decent mix of tunes, and that they'd play their more popular ones. One of my favourites they play, and our band even plays it, is "Alive". I waited and waited. And after a full two hours, two encores, even playing with the house lights up, they never played it. You could feel the anticipation in the air, and then a lot of disappointment.

I've always said that Pearl Jam picked up where Led Zeppelin left off and this concert reminded me of watching old Zep videos of their long jams and solos, with blues, and the like. However, having two to three guitars at a time, was a bit much, and hard to distinguish the intricacies and detail of these talented musicians. There's no doubt these guys enjoy playing live, lots of movement from the guitar players, but without a doubt, the focus was on Eddie.

So then a song like "Better Man" comes along with a single light pointed Eddie Vedder, long hair and all, and his Fender Stratocaster. I had no idea HE was the one who played it at the beginning and this was a surprise. Then with all the lights out, the crowd inundated the bowl with lighters. Reminded me of the time I saw George Bush Sr. make a speech in the same spot 10 years ago about "A Thousand Points of Light". You could hear the crowd sing along "Waiting. Watching the clock, it's four o'clock, it's got to stop..." while pretending you're floating in space looking at the stars. Truly a moment I won't forget. Then it kicked up with lights on and it was great.

But then they'd play some really slow long drawn out songs, that didn't seem to go anywhere. This was that boring mope rock at it's finest. I could make out some of his political diatribes. I've never been a fan of artists mixing wtih politics. They really have no pull whatsoever. Stick to the music. I don't mind a charitable cause, as Pearl Jam brings needed attention to Crohns Colitis disease. I also like the Free Tibet campaign many artists get involved in, but partisan politics doesn't fly well.

Eddie's a funny guy though. "Tomorrow we're going to Saskatoon. Saskatoon. Do they have electricity there?"

Anyway, I hear that die hard fans loved the show. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I would have preferred to see them in a more intimate setting at a smaller show. Will I see them again? Sadly, no. Most concerts I go to, there is an element of "WOW!". There were a couple times that almost happened.

Snaky gives Pearl Jam live in Edmonton 2.6 fists out of 5.

Liberals taking in $10 billion more

$10 billion
$10,000,000,000

That's a lot of money when you think about it. That's about $300 for every Canadian, or $650 per taxpayer. Geez, I sure could use $650 right now. How about you? What would you spend it on? Or would you pay down some of your own debt, or invest it and make it grow? RRSP contribution would be nice. Then you write off some of your income against it and save even more money.

You see how this works now?

And $10 billion is THIS year's "surplus". From the Liberal government who told you last election there wasn't enough for tax cuts.

Well, simply put. Fuck 'em. It's my fucking money and I want it back right fucking now. And why are they calling it THEIR surplus, like they OWN the fucking money. Oh yeah, it's real hard to slave me into automatically taking money off of my paycheques to pay for their stupid programs that don't work; to use MY money to pay for buying votes; scandals galore, the list goes on.

Oh and people say, we should pay down the debt. Well, excuse me, I wasn't a fucking taxpayer when the debt got cranked up during the 70's and 80's, so why the fuck do I gotta wait around until I get my goddamn money back? Give it to me now so I can spend it at businesses which will create better jobs and more taxpayers. THEN you can use those extra taxpayers to pay down the fucking debt.

And it's not a gov't surplus. It's what they owe us this year ... at least! On top of all the bloody waste and mismanagement in the bureaucracy, as pointed out by our Auditor General every single year, there's probably another $20 billion (at least!) kicking around. Then there's the $40 billion EI surplus. Uh, hello? The gov't is obviously taking in way too much. But do we see a reduction on our ..er.. reductions? Fuck no. They think it's their money.

How much money does the fucking government need to not solve society's problems? Apparently, in a country of 33 million, they need $200 billion to figure it out.

Tax cuts now! Give the gov't less money and let them figure out how to reorganize themselves, because well, they keep taking more and more from you, and they don't give two shits how you have to adjust your life.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "The Five People You Meet In Heaven"

Directed by Lloyd Cramer, starring Jon Voight, who plays Eddie, and 83 year old WWII vet and likeable maintenance worker at Ruby Pier Amusement Park.

Based on the book by Mitch Albom, the movie is very long, but worth it. I don't want to give away any plot lines, but the title obviously indicates what the movie is really about. Jon Voight is an excellent actor and doesn't disappoint showing a range of emotions. You are taken through the life story of Eddie in his initiation into heaven where he is guided by 5 people in his life who have died. The movie seems a bit drawn at times, but as I said, totally worth it in the end. I mean, we are talking about viewing a man's entire life and how he has influenced so many people -- that we are all connected, that your actions and words affect your surroundings, which influence other people, and so on, so the length is understandable.

Interestingly, my friend wanted to see a war movie, and I wanted a religious one. This certainly had both. The longest scenes were Eddie's time as a soldier and P.O.W. and how it greatly affected his life from that point on. The 5 people he meets help him heal and forgive, pointing out that while we are on earth we do have a chance to do the same thing--to love and not to hate, to forgive and not to grudge, and to realize that we were all a "somebody".

The music score was perfect, never seemed intruding, and most of the scenes were beautiful, yet somewhat intentionally surreal, yet I don't think that was the desired effect, so a bit of a drawback. I grew weary of seeing the amusement park, and I wished it showed a few more scenes of children playing and laughing to give it more of that fun feel, but again, perhaps this annoying feeling was intentional, as you then truly sympathized with Eddie having worked there all his life.

While I kept watching, at certain milestone scenes I'd say, "Excellent movie", but it was the ending that really hit home. I mean, big time. I won't spoil it for you, the long wait, like I said, is totally worth it. I knew there was a reason to see this movie and confirmed a lot of things for me at my age and reflecting back on it over the last few years. What will be interesting is to see how it affects your life and what you learn from it. You do affect people positively or negatively everyday. Take your pick and find peace my friends, while there's still time.

Because of the high emotion ending, I can go from a 5 scale down, with the downsides being the movie's length, bad bluescreening, and some draggy moments...

Snaky gives "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", 4.23 fists out of 5. Keep water nearby to get the lumps out of your throat and watch it with a female, even if you are one.

And if I were to compare this movie to the predictable overhyped drivel of "The Notebook", "Five People" is a WAY better movie if you not only want some sappy love, but want and expect much more from a good feel-good story.

The new Rob Thomas album...

Despite a friend's strong recommendation, this album is crap, unoriginal, and uninspiring. After one listen through, I thought, "Where's the band?" proving that when you have a perfectly great band as Rob does with Matchbox Twenty, you go and get all gung-ho with your big ego from being front-man and lead songwriter with talented musicians that a few years ago recorded one of the best albums out there, get reduced to an overproduced, directionless has-been.

I was really looking forward to the next Matchbox 20 album, Rob spoiled that ideal. The edginess you found on Matchbox's last album is completely gone. The piercing gutty guitars, super groovy walking bass lines, anthemic choruses and choirs, powerful lyrics, all supported by dynamic, sharp, and smashing drums really made that album awesome. You'd think Rob would learn something from it. Did he? Nope.

Gone are all those great things I mentioned. What's left? It sounds like NKOTB trying to be Menudo at times. You remember Menudo don't you? Yeah, Ricky Martin when he had no pubic. It's like Rob was trying to reinvent what he did with Santana, but just fails miserably. The vocals are forced around poor arrangements and bad idealess production centered on "cool beats" from a soulless drum machine with rhythms sounding like they were downloaded for your cellphone.

Needless to say, this album, which I don't know the name of, 'cause well, it's not memorable, is one disappointing effort. There's some not bad songs, but I don't remember how they go.

Snaky gives Rob Thomas' new album 1.52 fists out of 5.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "Wedding Crashers"

So there I was on the lounge patio with some friends at Edmonton's ritziest, the Hotel Macdonald. Two weddings were on. Was I dressed for such an occassion? Nope. I had my black leather jacket, brown 70's shoes, messy hair, dark faded jeans, and a brown striped untucked shirt. We had a few glasses of pino when it was time to head off.

But as I walked down the deco'd hallway on the east side, wedding guests passed me in their suits, tuxes, and with hotties in their shiny dresses. They stared, wondering, who's this guy?

But then there it was -- the big black Yamaha grand piano tucked into the corner where the hallway did a 90, and it sat there quietly asking me, "Play me! Play me!" So I pulled it away from the wall, sat down on the perfectly provided bench, and started my little jazz/blues on the ivories.

Wedding people began gathering around. I got requests. Played "Piano Man" and everyone sang along, even the father of the bride. Then after some more crooning, I bid them adieu, "I have to go." But they pleaded for me to stay and I replied, "I'd love to stay, but I have another wedding to crash!" Hearing laughter as I walked away I then put my arm around the father and said, "Congratulations sir, she's a beautiful girl." He said "Thanks!" and off I went.

Motivated and inspired? Damn straight.

Wedding Crashers, starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Christopher Walken, is a really fun movie. The first part depicts two divorce mediator attorneys who see no need for the matrimonial institution in their lives go incognito during wedding season, partying, socialising, befriending, and hooking up with every hotty available, even at ethnic weddings.

And you'd think the movie was just about all that right? Of course not. There's gotta be some plot and a change of hearts.

Vince Vaughn is superb and on the money. His adlib comedic acting style shines through and he has the funniest lines. He and Luke Wilson work seemlessly together as partners at work, and partners in crashing. But you see the inevitable breakdown and conflict coming don't you? That part of the movie was a little weak.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of their con artist antics at a couple weddings. I think even more laughs could have been generated there and I needed more tips.

The show appears to be a simple fun comedy, but then in the second half, it drifts off into the romantic side and Owen Wilson gets so sappy at times, I wanna puke. But Vince, being the good buddy, sticks by for wing support and falls into countless acts of physical abuse by random happenstance. These comedic parts reminded me of some of Stiffler's antics in American Pie and thankfully at least keep the movie on the comedy side of things. The second half drags on, some scenes could have been deleted.

But if you want a laugh, because there's no other comedies out right now, go see Wedding Crashers, but not with a chick. Even if you are a chick reading this, take a guy. Heck, take me again. That way, I can reminisce about my crashing days and this time, take some notes.

Snaky gives Wedding Crashers, 3.1 fists out of five.

It's the terrorists, stupid!

With the recent cowardly terrorist bombings in London, Brits were polled asking if they thought the attacks were result of British involvement in the Iraq war. A clear majority says this is true.

Well, they need to blame someone accountable. Tony Blair, you're taking the fall.

But this logic is well, ... completely illogical. With the recent terrorist attacks in Egypt, why aren't they asking that question there? Egypt's not involved in the war at all. They're an Arab nation!

And remember Bali? Oh, but some will say, "Australia's involved in the war and there were a lot of Australian tourists killed." Fits real nice doesn't it?

And Spain.

And of course, Iraq itself. These terrorists are killing innocent "fellow" Muslims all the time there. You can be certain that even if the U.S. pulled out, the new Iraq gov't, military, and police force will still be easy targets for terrorists.

Basically, terrorism is an industry unto itself. Here you have a worldwide secretive organization, with sleeper cells, that when called upon, execute a well oiled plan to kill innocent people. Money flows from donations and other shady means.

When the hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and almost the White House, the U.S. was not at war with Iraq then. Neither were the Brits.

Canada didn't go to Iraq because we simply couldn't afford it financially, nor do we have the resources. We're not the big peace keeping nation either (35th on the list actually), but we still sent our men to Afghanistan.

And as more Canadian troops were just sent there to fight this terrorist haven, are people saying we'll get attacked because we're there? No. Well why not? It's the same reasoning isn't it?

It's just Iraq. So this reasoning really doesn't make any sense. Unless this is all about the battle for Iraqi oil.

But again, why was Spain, Bali, and now Egypt attacked?

Terrorism is terrorism and they'll attack where they think they can. Are there more attacks to come? You betcha. Do we know where? Intelligence tries to figure this out, but when you have young men brainwashed into thinking that by carrying out this great act, Allah will reward him with 70 virgins awaiting in heaven. "Well, my life kind of sucks compared to the Christian, and this sounds like a better deal."

So you think the suicide bomber gives a rats ass where he carries out this most horrific act?

Whether there's a war in Iraq or not, terrorists will still terrorize, threaten, and cause fear. As I said, it's an industry. So don't blame the countries like the U.S. and U.K. for fighting terrorism on different fronts, because Canada is doing it too.

It's the terrorists, stupid!

Slow the Summer Down

It's been a month since my last post, but I've been pondering our current society and where it's headed.

Are you working 45 hours a week like a crazy ape just to make ends meet while half your tax bill vanishes? You're tired, aren't you? Gas just hit 91.5 cents/litre. All levels of gov't still like to overspend and overtax us. Airfares just jumped due to high oil prices, which are at $60 a barrell. Housing prices are going up and up, people are getting fatter because cheaper food is fattening and healthy food is more expensive. You're in debt aren't you? Big time, actually. The air doesn't seem as clean does it?

You know, despite all this, I remain optimistic. I mean, compared to other places in the world, we do have it pretty sweet here.

But I think we're overworked. Why can't we slow down a bit? What's the rush? Oh right, the money thing. You gotta work to have money, yes, but at what price? Your health? Time with your family? Your sanity?

So this is just a friendly reminder to slow down a bit, enjoy life. We don't get much summer here, so get out there and soak it all in. Spend more time with friends and family -- the dishes can wait.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith"

If you haven't seen the movie yet, go see it now before you spoil it for yourself. Then when you're done watching the 2.5 hour movie, pull out your Episode IV DVD and watch that. The two movies blend very well together. Just as I expected.

Many of you know I had predicted when Episode I came out 6 years ago that Episode III would become the biggest selling movie of all time. Well, it's on its way. I also said it would be the best of the new trilogy. Well, it is.

This is a very dark and disturbing movie. You go into it knowing the outcome, but how does it all transpire? Well, many months ago I wrote my prediction on this blog site. Let's see how close I was, shall we?

In Ep. III, I predict we will see the clones obviously winning the war --
strengthening Chancellor Palpatine's power.

• Well, we see the war in space, which is awesome, and Palpatine gives himself sweeping powers to control the senate away from separatists (which he created) and thus begins the Galactic Empire. He blames this on a Jedi plot to over the Republic.

Anakin and Queen Amidala, who were secretly married, will have a couple of children (who become Luke and Leia). But the Jedi find out (Obi Wan) and shame Anakin for his marriage.

• This was obvious. But while the Jedi don't blatantly shun him for his marriage, they don't promote him to Master either, although he could sit on the council.

Amidala is then killed by Darth Tyranus and this fuels Anakin's rage and conversion to the dark side when he kills Darth Tyranus in revenge and because the Jedi basically disown Anakin.

• Nope. Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) doesn't kill Amidala (Padme), Ani does it on his own! But I did predict Anakin killing the Count! Didn't expect Palpatine to be right there ordering him to do it. That was cool and unexpected - especially seeing Dooku's shock of betrayal.

The Jedi then secretly take Leia to Bail Organa - Viceroy and First Chairman of Alderaan and Luke will head off to Tatooine to his uncle Owen by Obi Wan. Darth Sidious then takes on an angry Anakin as his new apprentice and Anakin becomes Darth Vader, who kills many Jedi. Yoda obviously flees to his swampy planet, while Obi Wan becomes a hermit on Tatooine.

• Yep. Nailed all of that but not quite in that order. Wasn't expecting Vader to kill the Jedi younglings though. That was very disturbing, but foreshadowed in II when he even killed little sandpeople. But I definitely wasn't expecting "Order 66". That reminded me of a holocaust clip. I was absolutely devistated and shocked. I don't know if I'll recover.

So not bad with the predictions, I'd say.

Okay, here's the nitty. I just didn't find Hayden Christensen's acting convincing enough, did you? He was surrounded by superior actors who carried him - especially Ewan McGregor - great job. Who knew Anakin would take so fondly of having a child. His love for Padme was strong, yes, but so was his love of being a Jedi and being powerful. When he found out Palpatine was the Sith Lord, why wasn't that more shocking to him? He just didn't seem angry enough to convert yet. Yes he violated many Jedi orders, but who knew he'd give up and join the dark side so quickly, even after killing Mace Windu. His dedication to the Republic over the Jedi wasn't as convincing as I'd hoped.

That said, I felt that the scene of Anakin's conversion to the dark side was weak. This was the guts of the movie and the entire raison d'etre of the Star Wars series. The only explanation that can carry this up to original standards was that Darth Sidious' power of the Force was soooo strong that he was able to subliminally convert Anakin. This is backed up by the fact the Jedi, even Yoda, didn't even know that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. While the Jedi Council had suspicions of Palpatine's maneuveres, how could they not figure it out? This should have been played up a bit more in the movie and the one I'm going to have to accept in my own mind.

All in all - it was what I expected, but not what I expected. The scene and set shots were amazing. I truly felt like I was in hell on the lava planet. The many lightsaber battles were excellent. The near end of the movie had the battles you'd always dreamed of: Yoda vs. Sidious, Kenobi vs. Anakin - just unbelievable. Yoda kicks ass.

But hearing swinging Wookies bellow out like Tarzan was too cheezy. Why oh why?

But the scene on the lava planet with Anakin burning and Obi Wan telling him the ways things are is an awesome scene and excellent dialogue - right up there with Luke telling Vader to shove it in Empire Strikes Back.

Then soaking in the scene we've all been waiting for - the physical construction of Darth Vader was an absolutely frightening moment and the haunting soundtrack from John Williams gave me the chills. But even more frightening was Vader's reaction to the Emperor telling him that he was the one who killed Padme. Ouch.

But instead of hearing Hayden's voice for Vader, you get the classic James Earl Jones. Instead of seeing Hayden's boyish cockiness, you get the jet black mask, the cape, and the heavy breathing. Too bad Hayden's acting wasn't as up to snuff as Anakins abilities with the Force, because I, for one, am glad it's now all hidden away.

The final scenes of Yoda and Kenobi going into exile were seemless, especially showing Luke with his aunt and uncle on Tatooine, the two setting suns. Lucas couldn't have done it any better.

Overall, an excellent movie. Not as good as the originals, but better than the new ones. I'm not even sure kids under 10 should see it, it's that disturbing.

But I'm definitely going to see it again, and again, and again.

Snaky gives Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith a big 4.17 mechanical fists out of 5.

May the Fours be with you, always!

Belinda, Oh Belinda

Belinda Stronach, MP for Newmarket Aurora, former Conservative leadership hopeful, former CEO of Magna, just crossed the floor to the Liberal party. Paul Martin offered her a cabinet post in Human Resources Development. What's odd is that Belinda was instrumental in uniting the Canadian Alliance with the Progressive Conservatives. She donated money to make it happen.

So what does Snaky have to say about this? Whore. She's a blatant whore tied deeply into the eastern elite. Although I always knew she wasn't a true conservative by any means, how anyone can do this only shows she lacks real principle by supporting a corrupt party and government. This says several things about this country:

1) It's controlled by the Mafia. The Liberal sponsorship scandal revealed what many of us already knew -- that the Liberal party has had dealings with the Bonanno crime family. Yes, the Mafia itself. Its deeply rooted in Montreal and has been there since the days of Capone and the like. The Mafia is moving to protect its people during the Gomery Inquiry and is setting up patsies.

2) Belinda's dad and the Ontario elite have been moving and shaking to control the country. That's why she ran for leadership of the Conservatives in 2004. That's why she just crossed the floor. That's why she'll take a run at the leadership of the Liberals some time in the distant future, whenever Paul Martin is done (hopefully soon). Belinda's comments that Conservatives don't understand the size of this country is a slap in the face and an insult to western Canadians. She's the one who doesn't understand that Canada has 4 western provinces who are sick and tired of people like her.

3) The western "provinces" will continue to remain as colonies. We're underrepresented in the House of Commons and the Senate.

4) Proof why we need to keep the Queen as Head of State.

5) Western seperatism just got some more legs.

And I want to remind you that just last week, Belinda voted with the Conservative caucus on a non-confidence vote. That's right, she voted to defeat the Liberals. Then she joins them because Paul Martin is desperate.

"There are no grand principles at play here. Just ambition." - Stephen Harper.

Budget Vote on Thursday May 19, 2005:

So where are we at for Thursday's budget/confidence vote in the House of Commons?

(Liberals + Stronach) + (NDP - Broadbent) + Parrish (independent): 151 seats
(Conservatives - Stinson) + Bloc Quebecois + Kilgour (independent): 151 seats

Chuck Cadman (independent MP from Surrey, BC) is still undecided but will be there for the vote. So it comes down to him. He was a Reform MP from 1997, then Canadian Alliance in 2000. He ran for the nomination in his riding for the Conservatives but lost because it was stacked. So he ran as an independent and still beat out the Conservative candidate.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "The Interpreter"

Well we got Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman -- two hot actors that can steam up any movie. Sorry, but not this one.

Nicole plays Silvia Broome, a United Nation's interpreter who hails from Muboto, Africa. The movie starts with a security scare at the U.N. in New York, so everyone is evacuated. Silvia then goes back later to get her African flutes that she left behind. Going into the interpreter booth, she overhears a conversation on the U.N. floor about a potential plot to assassinate the Muboto president. But we don't actually hear what they said. We have to take her word for it, or do we? But the next day, she reports it to the U.N.

Sean Penn plays Tobin, a U.N. secret service agent who is assigned to Silvia in the investigation.

Well, I don't want to get into the details of the plot, but basically, Tobin doesn't know whether to believe her or not.

This movie could have been really good, so it was a bit disappointing. There are plot twists, but a keen mind can figure them out. I'm really tired of movies that use blatant foreshadowing. I won't give those bits away, I trust you'll notice them early on. There's so much more that could have been done with these two excellent actors. Either the dialogue doesn't utilize their talents or they just don't put enough effort into it. I'll go with the lousy dialogue. The steaminess just doesn't go anywhere.

There are times where the plot tension is really hot, but it tends to drag, then the cinematography just doesn't make the climax uberexciting.

Political plots are some of the most confusing ones, especially when an individual schemes to play both sides (see Star Wars - Attack of the Clones). This movie makes it difficult to sort everyone out and a better dialogue emphasis would have certainly helped.

Snak gives "The Interpreter" 2.76 fists out of 5.

Next review ... "Kingdom of Heaven". Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson star in this crusader blockbuster about the Christian Knights Hospitallier and Templars who are at war with the Saracens under Saladin. Ridley Scott directs (thankfully). My prediction ... it's gonna kick ass, but not as much as Braveheart.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "Sideways"

"I'm not drinking Merlot!"

This movie isn't for the boys who read Maxim, Stuff, or skateboard magazines.
This movie is for the men who read GQ, Esquire, "Barely Legal", and Wine Makers' Weekly.
This movie isn't for dads. It's for the men a year or so before they becomes dads.
So it's not a family movie.

And it isn't for women either. It's not for women because women won't ever admit that they don't understand men. Men fully submit to the fact that trying to understand a woman is the greatest mystery.

It's a real guy movie. And I emphasize "real". It's sophisticated and deep. Any man who doesn't understand the movie, is simply not a man, and should go back to the superficial and easy dumb guy movies like American Pie, Road Trip, and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

I really can't think of another movie like Sideways, except for Swingers. Sideways is the sequel. For those who don't understand it, will find it slow, but those who do, will soak up every ounce of it and appreciate the finer qualities.

Ah yes. It's very smooth. The obvious metaphor between the delicacy and preference of a Pinot Noir grape and Miles' middle aged crisis is simple yet brilliant. His description of the grape to Mya on the porch is the crux of that metaphor and part of the script that put this movie at the top of the Oscars.

If you've had Pinot Noir wine, you'll know that it is a very fine rare wine. It's taste is mild and relaxing. If you've had Merlot, you'll know that it is a bolder wine and readily available.

The juxtaposition of the two characters, Jack and Miles, emphasizes their personality differences on the extremities of typical lonely middle aged men. On one hand you have Jack, the extroverted, sexually active, well dressed, party guy with everything going for him including his upcoming wedding, contrasted with Miles, the introverted, shy, bald, fat, drunk, poorly dressed, divorcee and failed writer. Despite these polarized traits, both men have a breakdown. Jack's admission about his true feelings of his fiancee show he too, like all men, have fragile egos. For the man with everything and the man with nothing, the spirit can be shattered by a woman in an instant.

Despite his cheating, Jack does marry and Miles does finally get the courage to hook up with Mya. And notice the similarity in the names? Miles and Mya - both divorcees looking to settle down again, without the pressure.

All men can go sideways from time to time. While they think some happiness lay on a detoured path that satisfies their desires and rubs their ego, they realize at some point of epiphony that this is temporary and should probably get back on the long responsible road of virtue. However, those who never taste the Merlot, and don't explore bold new things, lose a passion for life, and the long road ahead never seems to end.

This is the essence of men and we freely admit it. Women don't. There's no wine to compare them to. Okay, maybe a blush, but there's no small firey red grape that can represent a woman's ego. For that, you'd probably need an orchard the size of California.

The only drawback to the movie is that it could have been funnier. It does have its moments, but I was hoping for a few more chuckles.

But I digress. This movie is great because it makes a man stop and really think. I mean, look at how much I've talked about it already. And I could go on and on about it, but I won't. For now, I think I'll go have a glass of Shiraz. I'm not drinking Merlot.

Snaky gives "Sideways" 4.69 fists out of 5.

The German Shepherd

I don't think there could be a better short description of the new Pope, Benedict XVI. It describes his nationality, and the common religious metaphor of tending to sheep (ie. Catholics), but it also describes a vicious dog. What about Eggs Benny? Okay, maybe not.

Some Catholics, particularly liberal women, aren't so happy about Cardinal Ratzinger becoming Supreme Pontiff. They don't think there's going to be any progressive change in the church with Benny in St. Peter's chair.

I say ... so what!

Catholicism has rigid doctrines such as no pre-marital sex, no abortions, no gay marriage, no women in the clergy, etc. Pope John Paul II stuck by them and his right hand man, Cardinal Ratzinger, did too. IN fact, Ratzy was known as the "Rotweiller" when it came to this. But why shouldn't they? Who else is going to advocate these things to 1.1 billion people (if not more)?

What if no one had pre-marital sex? There would certainly be very few abortions.

"We should just forget about all those people with the crazy extreme right-wing conservative opinions."

Oh come on already. I live in Canada, I hear that typical liberal mantra on a daily, if not, hourly basis. It's tiring, and most of all it's insulting and intolerant to those who do have the belief, faith, and prinicples of Catholicism -- whether you agree or disagree with them. It's like telling an estout Muslim to start drinking beer. It doesn't wash with them, nor does gay marriage and many other "conservative" similarities.

I can even tolerate with the no women in the clergy thing. I mean, look at how some of these priests get hot and bothered with young boys. Ah, but they didn't follow the no pre-marital sex rule. In fact, priests can't get married, so they shouldn't be having sex at all. End of point.

But I think once you allow women in the clergy, which I agree with, then why can't they all get married? Speaking of marriage, with gay marriage, the Holy See's doctrine is that a gay couple is not God's will. God's will in this sense would side with nature where a man and a woman in love, created by God, is the only means by which procreation, the most wonderful of things, can occur. This is true. Once the Catholic church allows gay marriage, they can kiss the no pre-marital sex rule goodbye. A domino effect occurs. Who knows where it will lead. Polygamy? Oh, that's just around the corner folks. Will you tolerate that?

But the whole gay marriage thing was decided a long time ago when atheist and agnostic heterosexual couples got married. The church had no business here because God wasn't on the invite list.

However, like many things, the gov't should then stay completely out of the debate altogether and let individuals and individual churches to decide. But gov't likes to control marriage and what rights you can have (when you already have by just existing by the way). So why bother?

The answer is simple. Taxes. The gov't likes to control who pays taxes.

The church was one of the first institutions to implement a tithe - a 10% flat tax on everyone. Then they got you to pay so you have your deceased loved ones be moved from purgatory to heaven. Sounds like how the government says you have to pay taxes or the country will fall apart with no central control - you know, because of the separtists and child welfare.

So you're thinking, what does yippin' about the gov't have to do with the new Pope? Well, for those liberals who want the church and Pope to change relieving control over its followers should take a good hard look at their own government and demand the exact same thing - less dependence and control from the government. While I commend their efforts on one hand, they should look at the other side, otherwise their demands and beliefs are wholly (Holy?) fruitless.

However, like the government, don't expect the German Shepherd to obey you.

Movies & TV suck

We wanted to go see a movie yesterday. But there was fuck all in the theatres, so we didn't go.

Only good shows on TV now:

"CSI"
"Trailer Park Boys"
"Mythbusters"
"Question Period in the House of Commons" on CPAC (ooh, it's getting really nasty - true reality TV)

What happened to the greatest comedy ever - "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on Showcase?

And now that there's no hockey, can someone please tell me why the CBC is still on the air? And don't say North of 60, or the umpteenth Anne Murray special.

Thank God summer is around the corner.

More Kyoto Accord...

Read the following article and you'll see the proof of why I've been stating that the Kyoto Protocol is a sham, will not curb global warming, and is a UN scheme to create an international socialist system. Sad thing is, Canada just bought in big time - a whole $10 billion dollars worth. And the guy behind it all is Maurice Strong, who's been linked to the U.N. Oil for Food - Iraq scandal. And did I mention that Maurice Strong had Paul Martin as his assitant at Power Corp for many years?

http://www.torontofreepress.com/2005/cover042105.htm

The world is not what is seems. Don't believe the hype. There are other ways and means to control pollution. The Kyoto accord does none of this. It has NOT been scientifically proven that recent global warming is caused by humans. Even my climatology professor said so. The earth was much warmer than it is today many years ago. We should be concerned about POLLUTION and SMOG not natural GREENHOUSE GASES!!!

Canadians will pay on average $30/month for the useless Kyoto protocol to buy international emission credits.

It's amazing that the entire U.S. Senate, Democrat and Republican, voted unanimously to not sign on to the Kyoto protocol. Australia didn't sign on either. But Canada did! Why? Ask Maurice Strong's buddy, Paul Martin.

One Tonne of Bulsh*t

Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Did you know that the Liberal gov't just spent $10 BILLION dollars on trying to meet the Kyoto Accord targets? $10 billion! First it was a few million, then a few hundred million, then 1 billion, then 5 billion, now 10 billion. Stop the insanity! Looks like another boondoggle, but this one is the biggest in history! Just imagine what that money could have really done for this country rather than buying off to other countries for Kyoto credits (read: international socialism). With about 15 million taxpayers in Canada, that money could have been a simple income tax cut, or forgive some student debt, or invest it and have it grow for a few years.

So you're thinking - "But Snaky, global warming is affecting our future - our children's future." Well of course it will. But the earth has been a lot warmer in the past and a lot colder and a lot warmer, etc. Well listen up, the Kyoto Accord will do NOTHING to circumvent Mother Nature, or smog.

Why? Let's explode some of the myths regarding "Global Warming" shall we? Please visit this website 'Envirotruth.org'

Here are a few myths:

"The hypothesis that rising CO2 levels result in a direct increase in
temperature originated in 1896 with Swedish chemist, Svante Arrhenius. However, the concept was abandoned in the 1940s because global temperatures had not even remotely matched the 1°C rise predicted by the theory. Since then, the rate of global warming has slowed despite the acceleration in industrialization and CO2 emissions."

"Many people support the Kyoto Accord because they believe it is a clean air treaty that will reduce pollution. It is not. Kyoto is a treaty designed to
reduce human production of so-called 'greenhouse gases' (GHG), the recent increase of which has been associated with unnatural global warming by some scientists.

Greenhouse gases include water vapor (99% of all the GHG in the atmosphere), methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. Only about 2% of all GHG are produced by human activity; the rest is produced by nature. The first time frame of the Kyoto Protocol requires 38 industrialized countries (including Canada and the United States) to reduce their overall emissions of GHG so that their yearly average between 2008 and 2012 will be an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels (targets vary - for example, Canada's is a 6% reduction; Australia's is an 8% increase). Since most of the developed world's production of GHG is in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), this means that Kyoto is mostly about reducing CO2.

Many commentators refer to Kyoto and other treaties that address CO2 levels as
'pollution treaties', implying that CO2 is somehow a pollutant. This is incorrect. CO2 is a benign 'trace gas', constituting only about 0.037% of the earth's atmosphere. It is colourless, odourless and not toxic in any fashion.

Besides helping keep the earth from being locked in a perpetual ice age with average global temperatures 33°C lower than they are now, CO2 is a plant nutrient critical to the process of photosynthesis. "

So despite these myths, what's the Liberal's plan? Rick Mercer. That's the plan. You've seen the ads. "Come on Canada! Take the One Tonne Challenge." One Tonne my ass. Seriously, I've probably gassed out one tonne of you-know-what from you-know-where in my lifetime.

The Liberal government has doled out more than $26 million in a dubious two-year advertising blitz to convince Canadians to cut pollution - including an $85,000 commercial fee for comedian Rick Mercer, Sun Media has learned.

Simply put, global warming caused by humans is still not a proven scientific fact - it's a myth. A big $10 billion myth. This "One Tonne Challenge" is one tonne of bullsh*t. Don't buy into it. Oh wait, you already have.

Liberal Corruption is biggest scandal in Canadian History

HOLY CORRUPTION!

Not like it's really a surprise. We all knew it, but didn't have the proof. The details of what happened are shocking and disgusting. Now that for the first time ever, I don't get anything back on my taxes this year, I'm even more angry. Why? Because my tax dollars in the past went back to the Liberal Party and to the separatists. You heard me! THE SEPARATISTS!

Now that the publication ban has been mostly lifted, we're now getting through the iceberg and finding out who in the Liberal party was behind all this.

Basically, before and during the 1995 Quebec referendum period, the Liberal government handed out grants to advertising firms, like GroupAction in Quebec, often for no work returned, or money and jobs handed to cronies, likely the Montreal mafia (that's right, I said the mafia!), to Jean Chretien's brother, and other scum bags.

We're talking millions of dollars.

Then the firms turn around and donate back a bajillion to the Liberal Party, as well as to the provincial Parti Quebecois! (See... there's the connection). Why do they donate? So they can continue to get contracts?

But it was federal Liberal Party henchmen in Quebec who threatened GroupAction to donate back to the Liberals in the first place or they wouldn't receive the federal advertising contracts. The federal Liberals in Quebec were $3 million in the hole and needed the money for the upcoming federal elections.

Paul Martin, our current Prime Minister, was the Quebec deputy of the Liberal caucus at the time. So this money WOULD have gone to his campaigns directly in 1993, 1997, and 2000.

I don't care if he's mad as hell and is getting to the bottom of it now. He should have put a stop to it 10 years ago.

Taxpayers should get their money back. The Liberal party owes it. Jean Chretien and Paul Martin are the biggest political crooks in Canadian history.

It's time this hegemony ended.

Yes, I want my money back, but more importantly I want my country back.

Remembering Pope John Paul II

I'm not a Catholic, nor do I ever want to be. The history of the Catholic church is brutal, and to me, in its holy hippocracy actually went against what Jesus Christ was trying to preach in the first place. Jesus spoke out and was crucified. But those who spoke out against the church were tortured and killed. It was a repressive regime upon Europe for many centuries. It stayed quiet during the holocaust. The history of the papacy is no better. Many popes were political pawns, some were dictators, and there's even one who was a gay pedophile. Not pretty is it?

So you're thinking, how is this a way to remember John Paul II? Call it contrast. In my opinion, Pope John Paul II was the greatest man of both the 20th and 21 centuries. He was a deeply spiritual man. His faith enabled him to endure nazism, communism, a tumor, getting shot, and Parkinson's disease. His courage was a symbol for the Polish people especially during the fall of communism. While Sinead O'Connor may disagree, he was highly regarded by leaders of all religions for his openness, tolerance, and warmth.

I remember when I was young and my parents really never explained religion to me. I didn't even know which religion I belonged to, or what made Jesus so great. I thought the Pope was the leader of all of Christianity, when in actual fact, he's only the leader of the Catholics. However, in Pope John Paul's case, I'd say he WAS the leader of all of Christianity, including mine.

I remember when he got shot. I remember the newspaper headlines after the Pope forgave his assailant: "Why Forgive?". What I didn't remember until seeing an old news clip on TV recently was the Pope actually visiting this guy and hugging him. Wow. Who could do that? The Pope could.

I remember when he came to Edmonton. This town was in a frenzy. I didn't know why. Years later, I figured it out and now regret not seeing him.

You've probably already heard how many times he travelled the globe, how many miles, how many people he spoke to, who he met with, etc. He had many "firsts" for a Pope, like the first to step into a mosque. He also moderized the Vatican with regards to communication channels, technology, and openness. He and Ronald Reagan shared a unique bond. Both were leaders in bringing down communism. With balance and grace, he also carefully warned all the U.S. presidents against excessive capitalism and immorality.

What irks me is all the pinko pundits out there right now who questioned his stance against abortion, same-sex marriage, ordaining women, and other things. They say he was too conservative. Oh give me a break already. Whenever these people get a chance to spew their opinion they do it. In this regard, Pope John Paul II was a man who stuck by his prinicples. I don't care if you disagree with them, you should respect them regardless. Could you imagine if he didn't? The entire Catholic Church and other Christian religions would crumble. But that's what some of these pundits want. They're socialists - they believe the government sets the standards for society and many of these governments have been going against what the Pope believes.

Pope John Paul II negated all the historical wrongs of the Church. To say he wasn't modern, is ignorant. He was the greatest of men. When he began his papacy, he was a mover and a shaker, always on the go. He accomplished so much. Even in the last few years, even with severe Parkinson's, he still raised a hand to wave, still said something. I believe it was divinity that allowed him to be with us through Easter this year. It will be a special one no one will forget. Like Christ, as his body deteriorated, his soul grew even more powerful than ever.

I've watched and read stories of people who've met him and how completely humbled they were by his presence -- how he would embrace them and tell them that they are blessed. With his courage, his dignity, and his love, he touched everyone on the globe. He was a beacon of peace and hope. His legacy and his spirit shall be a part of me forever.

I prayed for the Pope in his dying days. I cried when he died. God had a shepard on earth, and now He has a good friend in heaven.

God, make room, John Paul II has risen.

Terry Schaivo

She died this morning after 13 days without food or water because the courts ruled to take her feeding tube away.

American law has failed. The law is supposed to protect people from injustice. And the greatest injustice has just occurred. She died a painful death - perhaps the most painful of all - starvation.

If Terry Shaivo truly said to her husband that if she were ever in a vegetative state to simply die, I doubt she meant that during the last 13 days. A brain damaged person with no food or water lived for 13 days! To me, it's obvious she was struggling for her life as this is about the normal length for non-brain damaged people.

However, I had a recent experience where my pet cat just decided to not drink water or eat food. I tried to feed him but it was obvious he didn't want to live any more. I probably waited a couple days too long to put him down. So the question remains for Terry is: Was she dying prior to the feeding tube being removed? Because she'd been in that state for a couple years, I'd say 'No' she wasn't dying.

Maybe pets have it easy. When they get put down, they inject them with an overdose of anasthesia. If you've never had a general anasthesia before you simply don't know how wonderfully painless it is. Quite amazing really. I had a double dose when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. You feel a gentle rush coming up to your head and quietly, you close your eyes. It's really the best way to die, rather than suffer the immense pain of starvation. For those who die in their sleep, I guess they're lucky.

The Right To Die issue is a slippery slope. Where is the line drawn for the law to agree that a person has a right to die due to medical pain if they have stated so in a living will? If you had terminal cancer and it was very painful, do you have the right to choose to die? According to American law, you don't. As far as I know though, Terry did not have a living will, just her husband's word. Was it her choice? Her parents would say 'Definitely not.' But perhaps the time has come to draw the line, so the law doesn't fail again.

Many of you know, I'm a God fearing/loving person. But let's leave God out of this one for a moment. Say you're in an uncurable pain every moment and you simply don't want to live anymore. Do you have the right to choose to die?

Now, where do we draw the line between physical pain and mental pain? Maybe the person's physical pain isn't as bad as it is, and they use it as an excuse to relieve them from the mental pain they're feeling. So now is it suicide?

Suicide, in some cultures, is considered a noble act. Some, it is not. So who's right? What if all the bad people in the world decided to kill themselves for the benefit of mankind? Well, that won't happen. But what about suicide or kamikaze bombers?

I've heard of people who knew when their time had come and they go visit family and friends once last time, then the next day they're gone. I don't know about this. Then I hear they drank themselves to death or something - I guess its induced death then.

Survival is an animal instinct and humans are no different. While your body may be about to die, humans have had the tendancy to hang on and struggle for life no matter what. Death can be painful, and our instinct is to pull away from pain. It's a remarkable capability we have. Life wouldn't exist if it wasn't worth it to be alive.

Okay, so now let's bring God back into the issue. God, to me, is the energy force of everything - especially this instinct of life I mentioned. For this, we humans also need emotional, mental, and physical energy to live a good life. For Terry, she had loving parents who gave her that emotional energy at her bed side and they say she communicated it back to them. The feeding tube provided her physical energy. How a person feeds themsevles is irrelevant to the debate. The Pope is being fed in a similar manner right now. Now mentally, who knows what's going on in her mind, so I think it's best to assume that she had mental capabilities -- even if she was in a vegetative state.

The fact of the matter is that her husband was about to run out of the medical money to sustain her and he gave up trying for more. Interestingly, now that the money is gone, he came out saying that she wanted to die. May God have mercy on this man when his hour approaches, because for Terry in her last 13 days, the law knew no mercy as she was obviously struggling for her life.

The issue is simply: respect the life you are given and of the lives of others well.

Terry Schaivo is a hero, not because she's a martyr, but because she struggled to prove the most important thing -- life.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "Following"

You like da black n white? Good. 'Cause it's better. Colour is so distracting isn't it? And how many characters do you need anyway? Well, only a few for this movie, and it works - to a point.

Think of this concept. You're a 20 something broke and bored writer living in a small flat in London. You need ideas for your writing, so you decide to start following people randomly examining their day-to-day proceedings. Then one day, one person you follow catches you and calls you on it. You deny. But your pathetic, so you fess up and tell the whole truth to this stranger. Then he tells you what he's been up to.

Oh yes, it's an intriguing movie. Have you seen "Momento"? Same good shit on a different pile. It's got one plot line, but once again, you're given bits of the future, the past, all rolled up into one and they're spit upon you cleverly. But that's the thing with only having a few characters in a weaving time plot, you can't make it too complicated. People are only so smart you know!

So the key to figuring out where ... um .. er ... I mean WHEN you are is to notice the lead character's hair. That's right, I said hair dammit!

Are there plot twists? It wouldn't be good if there weren't any right? So yeah, there's plot twists alright, but you can't help but feel for the pathetic 20-something writer. One of the plot twists I figured out, but not the others.

However, that said, those other plot twists weren't presented as shockingly as plot twists usually are. I didn't go, "Holy crap, he sees dead people!" I was more like, "Well, isn't that cleverly typical, no?" So because of that, it drops a whole point.

Would I recommend this little greyscale British mind fuck? Of course! Would I watch it again? Nah. Would I watch Momento again? Of course!

Snakaramadingdong gives "Following" a 3.72 fits outta 5. Hey, did you know this film got a bunch of awards and shit? Well it didn't. Just a bunch of nominations.

A Comfortable Conservatism

The Conservative Party met in Montreal over the weekend for their "first" policy convention. I say "first" because the old Reform Party used to have these every two years and then the Canadian Alliance had one which brought forth some of the old Reform ideas, only not as well thought out. The old Progressive Conservative Party was a bit too top down for my liking and the Reform/CA party was too bottom up. With the mix of these parties now, we have a bit of both and I think it's actually where most Canadians sit as well. While I'm not big on linear political spectrums, this party sits closer to the centre on social issues, but has maintained its economic policy on the centre-right, while also not going too far on the democratic end.

I watched a bit of the convention on TV. I must admit, this new Conservative Party is basically EXACTLY where I like it to be on policy. Here's why...

1. No youth wing. As a former campus Reform Club president we fought hard to maintain the status quo. One youthful MP, Rob Anders, who actually helped me build the club to the largest one in the country, said, "Don't segregate the youth to a sandbox." I couldn't agree more. The youth wing of the old PC party was a party but they weren't treated as regular members. Equality doesn't mean creating all these wings of a party. Once you have a youth wing, you'll have all these other wings, which at this time in the party's growth, it doesn't need factions - it needs unity. This was maintained. Youth have and always will stay involved with the party. In fact, the Conservative caucus is the youngest in Canadian history. Yay on no youth wing.

2. No recall. I've never really agreed with this. If the MP is that bad, the party, media, and constituency association have means to remove an MP is so terrible. Why a party who wants to form government wants to allow recall isn't a smart move. By-elections are expensive.

3. Equal ridings. I'm siding with Peter Mackay and the old PC idea on this one. Each riding, no matter how many members, is allowed to send 10 delegates to a convention. Each riding has one MP, so this makes sense to me. One member - one vote (OMOV) is dangerous in signing up truck loads of people from one region to dominate. It's a national party that needs to act like one. It did.

4. Traditional marriage. I'm a firm believer that a stable male-female marriage for a family is the building block of society. The Conservatives proved they were actually conservatives this weekend. A gay marriage is certainly not a traditional one, but if homosexuals want to get married, go ahead - doesn't affect me none.

5. Abortion. The Party voted down a resolution to prevent late term abortions. While I agree with that idea, for a party to delve into these sticky issues circumvents the democratic principles of free votes - which if a bill like this came forward, likely a private member's bill, would simply be a free vote amongst all MPs - which is the way most votes should be anyway.

Overall, I'm pleased with the direction of the party. Paul Martin's Liberals voted a couple weeks ago to legalize prostitution, but when asked by the media, Martin said he wouldn't legalize it. What was the point of the Liberal convention then? Dither dither dither.

I think Canadians can now find palatable policies in the Conservative Party and Stephen Harper who has stymied the pundits by keeping this conservative movement together. Centre-right Canadians can now stop voting for a directionless gov't such as the Liberals, who have a leader that disagrees with his own party's policies and have no guts to cut taxes and waste.

Snak's Intermittent Movie Review - "Ladder 49"

So you're new to the troop/ fraternity/ team/ squad/ corps/ tribe/ company/ school/ department/ ward/ engine/ ladder/ terrorist group/ gang/ mafia/ etc ...

Goofy things then happen. Teasing, pranks and mild hazing of the rookie takes place. Then he gets his first crack at the big time and makes it. They celebrate. He sees a new rookie who was just like him and puts him through the "intiation" to keep the tradition going. He meets a woman who becomes his wife and mother to his children. He toils for years learning the ropes. He sees his best buddies get hurt and die. They get mad and frustrated with each other but the leader keeps it all together - that's why he's the leader and they're not.

The team then takes on a big job -- like bombing Germany, no wait, like taking a mass exodus of patients, no wait, like playing against the toughest team in the league, no wait, like conducting covert ops against a gang, well you get the idea. And when it looks likes the end for this lead character/hero/protagonist ... (well, I don't wanna give it away!)

Snak gives Ladder 49 a big ol' 2.94 fists out of 5. Although a typical formula movie, not bad, but not great, it did make me reflect on my life and how little money these firefighters make. Women will cry. Men won't. Okay, now I gotta get back to office work and get the new guy to make coffee. Cheers.

Why I Like The Number 33

Some of my favourite basketball players wore the number 33 -- Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Both were All Stars and soon to be Hall of Famers. They both won the NBA Championships many times. Larry is white. Kareem is black. Kareem was in Edmonton the other day to give a speech and got paid $33,000 to do it. Too bad he was an asshole. Larry was born in a town called French Lick. It’s in Indiana. Larry went on to coach the Indiana Pacers. He won Coach of the Year. He doesn’t coach there anymore. Kareem was in the movie Airplane as a pilot. When little Billy was in the cockpit, he told Kareem that his dad thought he was lazy on the court. Kareem got mad. Kareem was also in a Bruce Lee movie doing karate. He looked funny trying to kick little Bruce.

Jesus supposedly died when he was 33. Conflicting histories say that he was at least 40 when he was crucified. East Indian mythology says that he didn't die on the cross, was nursed back to health and then he and his mother Mary went to India to a town now called Muree, and Jesus stayed and taught until he was over 80! Yet other stories say that both Marys went to what is now France. They say Mary Magdelene was pregnant with Jesus' child and thus started the bloodline of Christ - the Holy Grail (Sangraal) if you will. But the story of the Holy Grail wasn't published or known until about the 12th century when a guy named Chretien de Troyes wrote it. There are many other versions of the story. It then kind of morphed into the story of King Arthur - drawing from history that occurred at the end of the Roman Empire. I liked the movie Excalibur. First Night was okay, but Richard Gere is a shitty actor. Too contrived he is.

33 is one of those numbers where both digits are the same. Remember how cool it was when you were 11, or 22? Okay, maybe not.

But at 33, you're supposed to be married with children, right? Wrong! But I liked that TV show. Al was so funny. I remember when he couldn't afford to go on a holiday, so he stayed at home and cordoned off the couch and TV area in his living room. Everyone pretended he wasn't home and ignore him. Then he pretended he was in an airplane landing and he even had his luggage! When he got out, his family was waiting to greet him. They were so happy. Great show.

So, um, yeah, 33 -- not a prime number, but an odd number, nonetheless. When I was 16.5, I was entering Grade 11. Ten months later, I got my first job as a produce clerk at Superstore. I got the job because I played rugby. You see with high school rugby, we won the city championship that year. I played second row. I ended up working at Superstore for six years. I took a buyout package because I was making too much money I guess. I didn't know when my last day was, so I just stopped going to work. I remember in the backroom we all talked about what we were going to do on our last day. I said I was going to eat all the kumquats - because they're so expensive and filled with vitamin C. One guy said he was going to ride one of the hand jacks around the store during the day running into people. When you picture that, it's pretty funny. We used to do that during night crew but there was no one to run into. But it was fun regardless. Fucking unions.

Canada lags behind U.S. in standard of living...

Here's an article on how the recent federal budget only puts Canada further behind the U.S. in terms of standard of living.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050303.wxrliving03/BNStory/Business/

I would also like to make a correction to my previous article on the recent federal budget in regards to tax cuts. It's not $250/per that we're getting back, it's ... check this out ... I know you're excited .. a whopping .. yes, here it comes, .... a ... whole $12. That's right, I'll spell it out -- twelve dollars per year. I know Boobie will be able to buy that one extra CD he complains he never has enough money for. I can buy a mickey of CC.

What a fucking joke this Liberal gov't is! They think that as more and more money is put into social programs that they're helpling the people they tax right out of the middle class! Well they're not. People who earn $10,000 pay taxes, then are supposed to get it back anyway in social programs. Talk about waste. Talk about slowing productivity and preventing money from really flowing in the economy. Talk about preventing people from earning their potential, from paying down their debts. Canadians are in debt more than ever before and this stresses them out, which is at a high, which is not good for one's health. See the cycle? Income and payroll taxes are the cause of all of life's problems. And the one's creating it are the federal Liberals.

I'm so sick of these greedy bastards with their "surpluses". They're not surpluses - they're simply taxing us too much. Rest assured, I hope in the fall, that this minority gov't gets defeated and we're back at the polls to put in place a real budget that seriously eliminates and cuts taxes, say by thousands in a year, not just a meezly $12.

You too Klein! Get your fucking act together.

Federal Dithering Budget

With the Liberals sitting in a minority gov't situation, they had to play tip toe around ideologies of all the opposition parties, so they can get the budget passed in the House and not be defeated, which no one really wants right now anyway.

Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale released the 2005 budget today. With most budgets of late, they always announce what they're going to do not just for ONE year, but for the next FOUR or FIVE, so it may seem like a lot of money, but when you divide by the number of years, it amounts to JACK SHIT! And sometimes they reannounce money they're going to spend. Keep in mind the gov't takes in about $191 billion a year and is sitting on at least a $12 billion surplus. Over the next few years the surplus will total $40 billion. There's only 33 million people in Canada. You figure it out. Here are my likes and dislikes.

Likes:

Military spending. Let's face it, our soldiers are some of the best in the world and our pilots are rated number one. But the equipment they use is old and unmaintainable. It's crap really. It has killed our servicemen. It's embarrassing. But what may seem like a $12 billion infusion in one year is really spread out over five years, so more like $2.4 billion a year. Woopdie fucking doo. We'll now have 60,000 in our armed forces - a 5,000 person increase. Yay.

Tax Relief. Any tax cuts of any form are always good. They're not cutting personal income tax rates, just corporate rates from 21 to 19%. They're only raising the personal exemption, which they do anyway to meet inflation increases. So what are you gonna save each year for the next four years? About a whopping $450. But after their usual inflation increases, it's really only about $250. I think I'll buy me a bottle of scotch with that. Woopdie fucking do. Think about how much the gov't wasted in Adscam, in the HRDC boondoogle, the useless gun registry and coming soon to an environment near you...

Dislikes:

KYOTO. What a fucking pile of shit treaty we signed. Does anyone realize that our gov't just handed over $5 billion dollars because we needed credits to pollute? But does the gov't have a plan in place to actually combat smog (which the Kyoto protocol does NOT address)? Nope. Jeez, that $5 billion could have been used to pay some debt down or tax relief for working families couldn't it? COULDN'T IT. Instead, it disappears to some international socialist treaty. So I'd like to formally welcome all Canadians to the first stage of a world socialist gov't. And you can thank Paul Martin's buddy, Maurice Strong, who got him the job at Canada Steamship Lines for putting Kyoto together. Oh did I mention that Strong is U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan's top advisor?

Child Care. Former hockey star Ken Dryden is in charge of this dep't. Let the provinces run it. Use the money you'd spend on it for tax relief so working families can at least have a parent at home. More socialist programs will only create more useless bureaucracies that the gov't can't seem to keep their spending down on.

Indian Affairs. Now here's a classic example of a funnel system. Tonnes of money goes in at the top and by the time it has to get down to the real needy aboriginals there's nothing left. It's time to get rid of the entire department of Indian Affairs. It does jack shit for aboriginals except waste money and time.

CBC. With no hockey, what's the point?

Health Care. Hello? I'm sick of hearing that we'll never have a private two-tier American style system. Well guess what folks? When you go to the local clinic for a checkup, it's a PRIVATE clinic but your Alberta Health Care Insurance picks up the tab. So why not MRIs or anything else? Is it so hard to figure out?

Oh, you know I could go on and on. Simply put: If you give me more of my money back, you won't be so inclined to waste it. It's human nature, but I forgot, Liberals aren't really human anyway -- they're stuck somewhere between a fossil and an old tree.