Tag: opinion

Uninspired

 

 

Lately I have been feeling very uninspired. Oh, it’s not like there’s nothing going on in the world, just nothing that is sparking my interest. In the past week, we’ve been bombarded with a lot of “news” that I couldn’t care less about.

For instance, I don’t care if some young “actress”, that I have barely heard of, cheated on her overrated actor “boyfriend”. This only answers my question of who she had to sleep with to get famous… directors, apparently.

 

Who are these people and why does anyone care?

 

 

And pardon me if I yawn when I see yet another “story” about Tom and Katie and how they parent their precious Suri differently.

 

While Katie chooses the, down to earth, taxicab option…

Tom buys his daughter’s love with a helicopter ride.

Oh, and why exactly am I supposed to give a damn about the publicity seeking Jackson family and their so called drama that seems to be occurring just before young Paris’s first movie is about to debut?

The Jackson kids with their Grandmother/guardian/missing person/ not guardian/ co-guardian, Katherine.

Now I may be jaded, but I am just so sick and tired of all of this manufactured celebrity drama creeping into my consciousness. It’s everywhere you look. It’s impossible to escape knowing all the intimate details of these attention whores’ lives. The best part is when they say they want us to respect their privacy. Meanwhile they are tweeting, calling TMZ and giving interviews to US Weekly and People magazines.

Enough is enough. Isn’t there any actual news worth reporting? Isn’t anyone on the planet doing anything worthwhile? If anyone knows of such a person or persons, please let me know, I could really use some inspiration.

A saying that is making no one ‘happy’

 

Lately, I have been hearing far too many men and women use the saying, “Happy wife, happy life.” Men say it in front of their wives, who, in turn, nuzzle into them and agree with a smile. Women say it to their husbands who then, roll their eyes and shrug with a grin. What are these idiots grinning about?

As far as I can tell, happy wife, happy life is said when the wife wants something that the husband doesn’t really want or can’t really afford, but acquiesces because he doesn’t want to hear his darling spouse harp on it any further. This saying is incredibly insulting to women because it is akin to saying, SILENT wife, happy husband. But apparently married women these days don’t care to notice the insult as long as they are getting granite counter tops in their new dream kitchen.

 

 

The husbands won’t be happy for too long if they find themselves frequently chanting this mantra either. If you treat your wife like a petulant child and continually give in to her demands, not only will you lose respect for her and yourself, but your bank account will soon be as empty as your head for thinking that this kind of behavior is a good idea.

 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t marriage supposed to be an equal partnership where both the man and the woman are working towards the same goals in life? Maybe that’s where my expectations are too high. I am assuming that people who get married are fully grown adult MEN and WOMEN and not boys and girls playing house.

I have never understood why men always seem to want their wives to shut up. Why would you marry someone you don’t want to talk to in the first place. And why does it seem that women are intent on pushing their husbands away with constant nagging for ever more expensive things? If he is not enough in some way, isn’t that your fault for marrying him in spite of this shortcoming?

Instead of spouting cutesy sayings that belittle each other and the marriage itself, perhaps you should try thinking of yourselves as allies that help and support each other and see how that goes. Just because something rhymes doesn’t make it a good idea upon which to base your marriage.

It’s all in how you look at it

Drinks or Death? What do you see?

Recently, I changed careers. This change came with the need to downsize my lifestyle a bit. Currently I live in a two bedroom apartment and am making just enough to cover my monthly existence. That means no extra cash to go to dinner, a movie, go to Montreal Comiccon, or even to put anything into savings. I am not using my second bedroom anymore. It was set up as a massage room, but since I have changed careers, I haven’t used it at all. This led me to the decision that a one bedroom apartment, in the same building, at a monthly savings of over $400 is the way to go.

I was talking to my Mother about this decision yesterday and she said something that stuck with me. She said, “Don’t look at it as a step backward.” The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I have long considered myself to be a pessimist, but apparently I have some optimistic tendencies. I am looking at this move as a way to a better quality of life.

 My apartment is like this glass, twice as big as it needs to be.

I will be in the same building with all the amenities that I have been enjoying over the past year. In fact, I will be living just across the hall from the apartment in which I currently live, making this the easiest (and possibly cheapest) move I have ever made. All my furniture will still fit into my new, smaller space, so I am not giving anything up… with the exception of a dishwasher (that is a tough one to take, but it’s more important to me to be able to take a trip in a year, than to have hassle free dish washing).

If I do this…

I can be in Berlin that much sooner.

I guess it really is all in how you look at things. So no, I don’t see this as a step backward. For me it’s a step toward the life I want to be living.

A Canadian director’s horrifically beautiful body… of work.

Another quintessentially Canadian artist is the focus of today’s Canada week entry. There are quite a few famous Canadian film directors, James Cameron, Atom Egoyen, Norman Jewison, Ivan Reitman (and his son, Jason), but my favourite, by far is David Cronenberg.

David Cronenberg.

I am a lover of dark subject matter, that questions the mainstream perception of beauty, in both books and movies. So, it would seem, is David Cronenberg. His films often deal with topics that challenge people’s of fear of body transformation and infection and have been labelled ‘body horror’.

I still remember the first Cronenberg movie I ever saw. It starred Jeremy Irons (one of my favourite actors on the planet) as twin gynecologists , Dead Ringers. That movie haunted me for weeks after the first viewing. So much so, that I found myself watching it a second and third time, just to try to figure out what it was that triggered me so deeply.

That’s the thing about a Cronenberg movie, they really mess with your mind and challenge your perception. After Dead Ringers, I sought out more of Cronenberg’s films. The next one I saw was Videodrome, a movie that challenges the psyche on a very base, sexual level. Another thing I like about Cronenberg’s movies is that he takes as many risks with his casting choices as he does with the subject matter. In Videodrome, Deborah Harry (of Blondie) is cast as a sado-masochistic psychiatrist and radio show host… a non-singing role for a celebrity mainly known for her singing was risky at the time. Perhaps, a more famous casting risk that payed off for Cronenberg was in the movie Rabid, when he cast porn star, Marilyn Chambers in the lead role.

In 1999, the same year the Matrix was released, Cronenberg released a movie called Existenz, which also dealt with the perception of reality (among other things). It didn’t do near as well in the box office, perhaps due to less CGI effects, less of an advertising budget and less black patent leather, but for my money it was the superior of the two movies. The story was riveting and far less convoluted than that of the Matrix and much more cleverly written (by Cronenberg, himself).

By far, my favourite David Cronenberg movie is Crash.

I am a fan of the author J.G. Ballard, whose novel of the same name, the movie is based on. I saw Crash in a theatre in Toronto the day it was released. There was not an empty seat in the house. I knew exactly what to expect from having read the book and was very much looking forward to seeing how Cronenberg would deal with showing some of the more graphically sexual scenarios. The film did not disappoint, even in showing the two male leads in a steamy scene, which I was almost sure wouldn’t make the final cut. Kudos to Cronenberg for, not only remaining true to the original text, but for being brave enough to show two men having a sexual encounter and not just imply it.

While, I have yet to see all of the films in his catalogue, there is no denying David Cronenberg’s impact on the way I view the world around me and the people in it.

A Canadian that “Everybody Knows”

Canada week continues today with a tribute to my favourite Canadian singer/songwriter, Leonard Cohen.

With his deep, gritty voice and dark songs, Leonard Cohen has carved out his own niche in the landscape of Canadian music. He has accolades upon accolades, being inducted into multiple Halls of Fame (American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame) as well as being a recipient of Canada’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada.

A native of Montreal, Cohen’s unique style is unmistakable. While listening to his songs, I find myself transported to a dark, smoky club filled with a distinctly French, world weariness and an underlying sexual tension.

His songs are often topical. Everybody Knows, for example,  is about sexual relationships during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in which “the naked man and woman are just a shining artifact of the past.”

Cohen’s songs have been covered by many other artists over the years, most efforts falling far short of Cohen’s original, both in style and artistic impact. His song, Hallelujah has been covered by almost 200 different artists in various languages. For me there is only one that can hold a candle to his original. Ironically that cover is by another iconic Canadian artist, k.d. lang, because she is able to make the song entirely her own. Below are versions by both singers.

Leonard Cohen is a gifted artist if he can get an atheistic heathen like me to share not one, but two versions of a song entitled Hallelujah.

All kidding aside, Leonard Cohen truly is a living legend and a national treasure.

Vagina Schmagina. This means war.

Rep. Lisa Brown

The Republicans in America have been vehemently denying that they are waging a war against women. They claim it’s a Democratic red herring. All the while they are trying to legislate away the rights of American women. Recently, in Michigan, there was proposed legislation on abortion regulation that would make the rights of a fetus past the age of 20 weeks override the health of the potential mother and female house democrats were understandably fighting against this. Two of those women, Rep. Barb Byrum and Rep. Lisa Brown were subsequently blocked from further speaking on the house floor because they did not respect the “decorum” of the house.

What was it that these two women did that was so horrible that got them barred? In Barb Byrum’s case it was the possibility of saying the word vasectomy (she never actually got to speak, so she never actually got to say the word). In Lisa Brown’s case it was saying the word vagina.

Republican men seem to have absolutely no problem drafting and passing legislation that tells women what they can and cannot do with their vaginae, but turn into sniveling little babies when a woman dares to speak the word aloud in their presence. If they really don’t want to hear the word, then maybe they should keep their laws out of the vaginae of American women. Without further going into my own opinion on the matter, I will instead show you their rebuttal, as they say it so well.

Just how stupid do Republican men think women are? We know that men speak with their actions. It’s actions like this, the silencing of women, who, by the very nature of their elected off ice are perfectly within their right to speak, that make it clear that, not only are they waging war on women, (who make up 50.8% of the population) but that they have no idea just how hard women will fight back.

A while ago I posted a blog entitled Is it just me? in which I stated that I think the Republicans don’t really want to win this time around. It is stunts like this that make me continue to think that this is true.

A moo point

Holy Cow

In my last blog, I talked about how I think assisted suicide should be legal. On Friday June 15, the British Columbia Supreme Court took the first step toward making that happen by calling the current law, which bans assisted suicide, unconstitutional. To read about the ruling, click here http://ca.news.yahoo.com/laws-banning-assisted-suicide-infringe-charter-rights-b-183058665.html I was very encouraged by this ruling. Then, today, I read on the Huffington Post that the Catholic Church is weighing in on the subject. While I do believe that they are entitled to voice their opinion (as I am doing right now), it is my fervent hope that the legislature sees it as just that… an opinion. To read the article, go here http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/16/archbishop-michael-miller-assisted-suicide_n_1603063.html?utm_hp_ref=canada

In Canada, a secular nation, we take the separation of church and state seriously. No election is ever won because of the religious beliefs of the candidate. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what religion Stephen Harper is, even if you had a gun to my head. There is no prayer in our public schools… and that’s the way we like it.

In the article Roman Catholic Archbishop Michael Miller states that  the decision “sadly reflects a distorted view of equality rights that emphasizes autonomy over human dignity and the value of life.” I don’t understand how he can say that it is more dignified to die in excruciating pain, begging for death with medicine prolonging the inevitable, than to die peacefully, without pain with help from a morphine drip… when YOU decide enough is enough. Of course, I am an atheist heathen who thinks that it’s my life and I will end it when I see fit and does not believe that a god exists… any god. But that’s also part of my point about the separation of church and state. I do not want any church telling me what I can and cannot do with my life, and thankfully, this is not something I have to worry about. The church’s opinion in this case is a moot point because the legislature must rule for everyone, not just those who believe in religious doctrine. The Church already has quite a few members who live their lives according to religious rules, why does it feel the need to tell the rest of us how to live… or die?

So speak up and voice your opinion all you want, Mister Archbishop. Thanks to the separation of church and state, the lawmakers will be forced to see it as they would a cow’s opinion… a moo point.

Happy Father’s Day

Fathers are often taken for granted. They are expected to be excellent providers, but not to spend all day and night at work, to be strong and brave, yet vulnerable and in touch with their feminine side. These mixed messages that we send our men are unfair. We should be praising them for what they are doing in the midst of all the nagging about what they aren’t doing. After all, for all of our complaints, isn’t it easier to be a parent with them there?

This Sunday is Father’s Day and to mark the occasion, I thought I would post some tender moments between Fathers and babies. It’s not just Mothers who are capable of loving and nurturing their children… and besides there’s nothing sexier than a big, burly man holding an innocent little baby.

Yes men holding babies is truly a wonderful sight, that is until baby needs a diaper change and Mom is nowhere to be found. Then Dad is running to the next door neighbour with the baby at arm’s length and a diaper in his back pocket… or maybe that was just my Dad and this guy…

I think someone may have made a stinky.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!

From the sublime to the ridiculous

Usain Bolt

Not only is he the world’s fastest man, but Usain Bolt is one of the most good natured as well. Today, after he won yet another race in Oslo, a young girl ran directly into his path  with a bouquet of flowers, as he was still slowing down. Bolt nearly ran the girl down, but made every effort to make sure she never hit the ground, smiling the whole time. This girl ran across the lanes, directly into Usain Bolt. A thoughtless action like this could have caused Bolt a career ending injury, but  Bolt (at the risk of making a bad pun) took it all in stride and even looks as though he is more concerned about the careless girl than his own safety. He was perfectly within his right to get angry at the girl, but instead he showed the world that he is a true sportsman and a real gentleman.

Usain Bolt shows grace under pressure

Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have yet another entitled rant from Charlie Sheen.

Charlie Sheen

Also, in today’s news, actor Charlie Sheen blew a gasket during the Stanley Cup Final at the Staples Center. After he left the venue to smoke he was denied access back into the arena. Apparently Sheen was not aware that the Staples Center has clearly designated indoor smoking areas, or that the policy of the venue clearly states, if you leave, you are not permitted back in (no matter who you are or how much you swear). He also forgot negotiation rule number one. When you are trying to get someone to do something for you, you don’t yell expletives at them, you charm them and perhaps, slip them some cash. This entitled bad boy routine was tolerable when he was in his twenties… but now that he’s nearing 50 and has children of his own that he should be setting an example for, it’s just pathetic and sad.

Charlie Sheen’s temper tantrum- courtesy of TMZ

The Tipping Point

When did it become a bad thing to be educated in North America? I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. It’s hard not to when you see scientists, economists and other great minds vilified by idiots on a daily basis. When the media is more interested in whether or not the Secretary of State is wearing make-up than in the job she is doing.

One of my favourite comedy films of recent years is called Idiocracy. It’s set in America 500 years in the future and is about how the country becomes  a uniformly stupid human society devoid of intellectual curiosity, social responsibility, and coherent notions of justice and human rights. It shows where the country is headed unless it changes it’s current course. Athough it’s a comedy, it brings up some very real points. Even as technology is moving at lightning speed, the average person in North America is not getting smarter. It only takes one look at the nightly TV lineup to prove this. The American government is slashing funding for education on a very consistent basis. Tech jobs are being outsourced to countries who ARE funding and pushing the education agenda. So my question is when… or, more importantly, why is it more important to be cool than to be smart in North America?

My theory of when the tipping point occurred is that it became too dangerous to trust the scientific intelligentsia in the 1940’s. This was during the time when the Manhattan Project was formed and carried out the task of creating the world’s first atomic bomb. This group of highly intelligent men of science embarked on a very dangerous path when they said yes to a government contract, effectively tossing aside their morality in favour of scientific curiosity. When the Manhattan Project was disbanded in early 1947, was when we saw the emergence of Rock and Roll music and culture. The two things may seem like two completely separate events, but to me, Rock and Roll was a rebellious backlash against the evil, dangerous and untrustworthy scientific community. It was during the emergence of the Rock and Roll era that it became more important to be cool than to be smart.

The smart are never cool and the cool are rarely smart (or if they are, they must hide it under a facade of jokes). This is also when bullying started to happen. The smart kids became nerds, geeks, Poindexters and squares. They were teased, hazed and beaten up on, while the jocks and cool kids/rebels were lauded and celebrated as aspirational. This kind of social change created generations of adults who passed down this mindset to their kids and so on until we have a world where Education is getting less funding than the President’s Helicopter cost over the last 6 years. It’s this kind of thinking that got George W. Bush elected… twice. This kind of thinking also make the kids from Teen Mom and the Jersey Shore into celebrities. Smart people don’t vote for a President because they think he’d be fun to have a beer with or emulate 15 year old girls who got pregnant, just because they are on TV.

Snooki from the Jersey Shore

There are small signs that the pendulum may have started to swing back the other way. The current US president is smarter than the last by by leaps and bounds. TV shows like the Big Bang Theory are showing us that you don’t have to make a drunken ass out of yourself in order to be looked up to. Scientists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson are becoming more and more well known as household names and personalities in their own right. Even rock and rap stars are involved in projects like the FIRST Robotics Competition that encourage students to explore science and technology. Let’s just hope that this next scientific boom will learn from the scientists of the Manhattan Project and won’t favour curiosity over morality like they did.