DIY Pharmacy...Or, Please Make Me Come Over There And Count My Own Pills...

Clematis

Had this conversation with my local pharmacist the other day.

[I, BTOG, just handed over my prescription]

Mr. Pharmacist: So, do you find yourself going through a lot of this stuff?

BTOG: Well, I have good days and I have bad days [regarding usage]... Why? Is there a problem that I should know about?

Mr. Pharmacist: Skin cancer.

BTOG: I beg your pardon...did you say cancer?

Mr. Pharmacist: Yah, skin cancer is a possible side effect...

BTOG [clearly startled]: Wow, I didn't know that. What are the chances of me coming down with skin cancer?

Mr. Pharmacist: I don't know. This whole business about side effects is very complicated. There are many variables involved. I don't have time to explain it.

BTOG: Are there other effects I should know about?

Mr. Pharmacist: What I'd suggest you do is google the drug's name. There are quite a few websites that will give you more info on the drug and possible side effects.

Postscript: Suffice to say, I was blown away by his suggestion to google it. So, I went home and googled several influential online pharmacy sources for drug info. Skin cancer was not mentioned as a side effect...hmmm.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - It's a Dog Eat Dog World Out Here...

Mother and child, Mulit, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia...

Looks like it's a no go with the minibus to Bahar Dir. I give up. It's too bad. I know it's a pointless debate because foreigners/tourists will never get a fair shake with most transactions here or anywhere in the world for that matter. For example, back home there's a tourist trap called the Calgary Stampede.

Everyone and their dog is susceptible to being burned. The Rasta Man, resident travel agent of the Taitu Hotel, has a white English girlfriend. Nothing is beneath this guy, eh. He sold her a bus ticket for a whopping 150 birr. That's dog eat dog my friends.

Well, I thought seriously about jumping on the Rasta Man's bus but earlier tonight I baled and canceled the ticket. It's back on the big bus. It will add a day to the process but I should still make it in time for the Monday train to Wadi Halfa.

PS. Checked the forecast for Khartoum. It's going to be 45-46C for the next 5 days. Then there's a cooling trend down to 40C. I'm just going to wilt.

PPS. I apologise for all the whining. If I catch any of these bastards in Canada, I'm going to sell them a 6 dollar cafe latte... ok, that's it.

Out of Canuckistan: A travel blog, May 6/07
Bigtubofgoo.com
Buy Bubba a Beer Now!

mystery fruit #56

what is this mystery fruit?

what's hot/what's not...

what's hot? backpacks with side pockets made of mesh material. young people like to fill these with colourful nalgene bottles filled with plain water. cool.

what's not? the playlist in my mp3 device. i was driving to the airport when i noticed the sequence of songs emanating from the machine was similar to that of a "soft rock" radio station. ugh. not cool.

rants of the day...

part I.

did you see the videotape of that guy, a polish immigrant, getting tasered at the vancouver airport? brutal. really brutal. although i don't know all the facts of the case, i believe that the whole taser incident could have been averted by the obviously incompetent airport staff/management. i mean there were reports that the man's mother made numerous inquiries to find him. perhaps they could have searched or took her back to the luggage carousels? did they do everything possible to find him? it's a matter of basic customer service in this case. apparently this airport is run like a home depot.

as for the cops, who am i to question what it's like to be on the front lines? police work is tough. they are targets. my solution: get rid of tasers. their efficacy is pretty much a crap shoot. some suspects live. some die. police should just use their guns to subdue suspects.

whatever happened to common sense?

part II.

poor brian mulroney.

i thought we were finished with the guy when he sued us for a couple of a million bucks a couple of years back. yet look at what the cat (in this case, an incarcerated bitter to-be-deported german super entrepreneur/hustler) dragged in.

i agree with our honourable ex-PM. he's name has been and always will be good. now leave him alone. let him fade gracefully back into the wood work, again.

yet steve, the current PM, had the nerve to authorized another pointless, drawn out, expensive make work project for the lawyers association of ottawa to rehash brian mulroney's squeaky clean record.

what a waste...

crap, 1 or more years of poor brian mulroney in the news.

i dunno if i can handle that prospect.

movie review... The Railrodder (NFB)

wherever i go, people ask, "bubba, what movies have most influenced you in life?"

well, i remember, as a wee toddler in elementree school, watching a film about a strange funny looking guy (Buster Keaton) who traveled across this great land of ours aboard a weird looking open railway cart like vehicle.

he'd putted along the railway, from nova scotia to the west coast of BC. hilarity ensued of course. the funny looking guy "lived" aboard, pulling out all sorts of stuff to do that out of a small red box. i loved the segment where he camouflaged the cart for hunting for ducks/geese.

i couldn't help but notice how beautiful the landscape was.

i could do that (traveling and all), i thought. it looked like a lot of fun.

well, since the early viewings of the railrodder in elementree school, i haven't crossed canada yet.

the railrodder did inspire me to embark on some pretty epic journeys though...

get the railrodder dvd at your local calgary public library!

rating: 5 out of 5 overdue fines.

when spell check goes wrong

figure 1. interesting species of fish/crustacean...

figure 2. i'll have what he's having...

during my travels i inevitably end up in some really bizarre traveler hangouts. the red sea resort town of dahab, egypt is not the least of them. local businesses such as restaurants cater to tourists from all over the world. in an effort to make their establishment more user-friendly, they are good enough to publish their menus in english, much appreciated by mono linguistic oafs like myself. however, sometimes their efforts go wayward as illustrated in the above photos. humorous, unless you actually contract the actual offending items. (photos courtesy of my very good friends sally and richard whom i shared 3 glorious weeks with in dahab. menus courtesy of the staff at the legendary 7 heaven motel and restaurant and grill located in the heart of the sinai. allah wa'akbah my friends. thanx for letting us play backgammon in your midst for 21 straight days while ordering absolutely nothing. my advice boys: get some beef shin on the menu.)

rant of the day...

the neighbourhood 7-11 is closing it's doors.

yup, the midnapore (a community just north of here) sev will be terminated sometime next year.

news of the shutdown brought tears to my eyes. i couldn't believe it. a man works like a dog, breaking his back in a dead end job 24/7, has one thing to look forward to at the end of the day: a giant big ass coca cola slurpee. now da man is denying him the most basic of human rights.

you 'd think it's the sev's parental unit, southland corporation, is at fault. oh no, the land the sev sits upon is owned by evil exxon. its gas station will be transformed into a super mini-mart complete with a tim horton's donut dispensary that will more than likely sell a unsatisfactory "slushy" drink. weak.

how pathetic. if i wanted a donut (i love donuts by the way), i'd walk across the street to a real full-fledged tim hortons outlet.

so, what am i really saying?

damn the man, fight the power and bring back the slurpee...

while i'm at it, damn suburbia...

video of the day...

you thought american football was boring? think again...

it's autumn in them thar woods...

pretty orange leaves...

my cup of tea...

delicate, fluffy plants...

the gig is up, for now...

9 Oct 2007, 3:19 PM

Distance: 2.15 km
Time: 11:41
Pace: 5:24 min/km
Calories: 181

well, the above nike+ipod data says it all. i gave my ailing right hip two days rest then ran on tuesday. it felt ok for a while then i succumbed to my weakness. how embarassing... the plan now is rest it for at least a week rest then try again. i'm going to lose some endurance but there's no choice.

good news is that i can still ride a bike. i love biking. however, unless you bike at lance armstrong-type speeds and distances you won't get the same workout as running. maybe i should just leave the bike in the highest gear possible. ha!

now i'll have to buy a bike 'puter. yikes.

rant of the day.

they canceled the 2007 Calgary Santa Claus Parade. what the hell? too much construction happenin' downtown was the lame excuse. weak, i say.

why not run the parade down 4th Ave and or 3rd Ave (i'm sure the ho's approve)? nothing being erected or blow'ed up on them streets. am i right?

it just goes to show you what this city's priorities are. work, work, work... the all mighty buck. give it a rest, eh.

now the all the kids have to look forward to is a "party" on olympic plaza. nothing like watching santa traipse around on stage... i'm gonna be so excited the nite before the "party".

bubba's conclusion: to the organizer's of the former parade, screw'em...

happy thanxgiving 2007!!!

this song has been swirling in my head for weeks now. thank you steve jobs for killing me slowly... the consolation is the fact that the singer is the canuckistani version of bjork.

nike+ipod update...

here's the last run:

6 Oct 2007, 3:59 PM

Distance: 8.52 km
Time: 46:09
Pace: 5:24 min/km
Calories: 717

not a bad run. average. two problems: 1) i was 6K from home, and 2) i badly tweaked something in my right hip. i thought i could gut it out but it really hurt. i could not lift the leg.

it feels ok today. i haven't done much but give it rest for a couple of days. i may rest it or cut back tomorrow.

i am weak.

contrary to popular belief, i'm not training for a marathon. well, realistically, i'm not sure if i can get to that distance before snowfall. right now i'm at 14.5 km. that's before my little set back. a half marathon is definitely possible. 3/4 marathon in a month's time. that takes me into november. brrr... if i can run 2 complete 3/4 marathons in november, a full marathon is possible.

even if i did kill myself like that, i'll only run the sundance super marathon. that involves running loops around my neighbourhood and hiring a kid to take care of the drink table set up in the driveway. knowing the kids around here, he/she will hand me a hot coffee.

qtlibrarian update

is anyone tracking her progress to austin, TX? i have. she's a pretty tough cookie. i did not know the bikin' went into the wee hours of the nite...

my favourite quote so far: "I'm so tired I practicially fell asleep in my pancake this afternoon!" i'd probably be napping in my food as well. slobbering on my buns.

i am weak.

rant of the day...

major oil/gas companies in the alberta oilpatch like encana have predictably threatened the peoples of alberta with economic sanctions if royalties were to increase.

my verdict: screw'em. the multinationals, i.e.

caddyshack 3.

here's your youtube moment of the week.

re: gainer the gopher...

i think this kerfuffle over "Gainer" (or is it "Gaynor"?) the gopher, mascot of the saskatchewan roughriders of the canadian football league (info for my abundant overseas readers), being banned from the green (yet fake) acreages of mcmahon stadium for the playoff game between the said 'riders and my beloved calgary stampeders, is ridiculous.

it's a party for gad sakes!!! bring it on!! the people, calgary or saskatchewan fans, have paid big bucks for pretty mediocre football this year. they demand entertainment.

for the luv of god, this is not the NFL (No Fun League)!!

if perchance gainer starts digging holes in the turf, i will personally rush onto the field and fill them in.

i will not apply the garden hose though... i'm a closet buddhist.

FREE GAINER THE GOPHER.

my predictions for the first round of the 2006 Grey Cup playoffs.

the west.

1. Gainer will make an appearance ON the field. This was just a publicity stunt.

2. Gainer will be triumphant in all this. there's no such thing as bad publicity.

3. Calgary by 3 (low scoring game) without Gainer.

4. Saskatchewan by 2 (with Gainer). last second tie breaking safety when a stampeder player is taken down by an asian guy who appears to be filling in a gopher hole in the endzone.

the east.

i'd like to say the winnipeg blue bombers. it's difficult to win if you don't have a quarterback though.

i'll say the toronto argos by 7 but hope for an upset.

cubist killer or just a blockhead?

door knob of the week...

steve wynn, las vegas real estate moghul, is the winner of the golden "door knob" for poking a hole in his 139 million USD picasso with his elbow. congrats! please give generously to retinitis pigmentosa research.

let's play password...

garth turner... (silence)

gaaarth turrrrnnnner... (silence)

garth...turner.

dooced!!

ding, ding, ding. you are correct!!!

steve's plan for the environment...disclaimer: i'm not a right wing fascist bloggist.

ding, dong. kyoto is dead.

time to break out the bubbly.

if it weren't for oil/oilsands, we'd all be toast, sitting on a calgary downtown street begging for loonies.

my favourite part of his green plan is the objective of reducing greenhouse gases to 45-65 percent of 2003 levels by the year 2050.

good on ya, steve-o.

if it all works to plan, i'll be pushing daisies by then.

pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance... sun tzu in the art of war.

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting... sun tzu (above pic is summit lake, waterton national park)

i can't believe i'm quoting Sun-tzu. but, he was wise, my grasshoppers.

i have this theory.

fact: canadian troops are dropping like flies in afghanistan.

i'm not a peace-nik, in this case.

however, i think they are going about the war on terrorism in the wrong way.

first, and this is a biggie, they shouldn't have tipped off the enemy in this latest battle which saw 4 canadian troops die. don't warn the locals of the impending battle. that was suicidal. it showed a certain disrespect for the abilities of the taliban and a bit of arrogance on the part of the canadians. once you become overconfident, you're toast.

it's like going into the superbowl, giving the opposing team your playbook, shouting out each play beforehand, and still believing you're still going to win...not likely.

the overall strategy as communicated by the head honchos seemed to be to maintain the "nice guy" image of canadians. well, four of them are dead as a result.

second, the canadians are using conventional means and weapons to defeat an insurgency. well, forget the armoured vehicles traveling in convoys. forget the uniforms. even forget the base at the kandahar airport. instead, wear the local garb. buy some toyota pickup trucks. mount a machine gun in the back of each truck. live amongst the villagers. establish 1-2 man outposts surrounding the villages. get to know the people. recognise strangers in the villages. stay quiet. gather intelligence. wait.

it's called a counter-insurgency my grasshoppers. it's time to think and fight like the taliban.

at the rate the canadian army is adapting to the situation on the ground, they will never win nor put a significant dent in the aspirations of the taliban. until they do, they will be sittin' ducks.

for that reason, steve should bring 'em home.

1,000,000 little calgarians or bottles of beer on wall...

an apple pear in portland courtesy of my sis.

happy millionth citizen, cowtown...

ahhhh... mayor bronconnier's on the boob tube announcing a newborn baby as calgary's millionth inhabitant. how glorious!!! how the hell does he know this particular baby is the lucky millionth? it could have of been some guy from lebanon just stepping off the plane. i was confused until my bro pointed out the bronco's PR ploy of exploiting this poor cute infant.

why would he need to pull off a PR stunt like that? i dunno. unless he wanted to hide the fact that the population explosion has resulted in unmitigated suburban sprawl (which he denies to this day), huge taxes, out-of-this-world real estate prices, massive construction, and billions spent on more roads/overpasses, and above all, dilapidated bike paths.

i'm all for living in a vibrant, exciting calgary but c'mon it's outta control.

i guess i should just feel lucky that i live in such a fantastic city. can't wait to read the first comment telling me to get outta town, eh.

i had a dream...an awesome dream.

some lebanese observations...

the evacuation so far has been a boondoggle. i love saying boondoggle.

having said that, it's a miracle the government has actually moved this fast considering how much real world experience it has.

there is something like 40000 canadian expats/tourists in lebanon (crap, that's alot of people) of which only 15000 are tourists. there's been alot of discussion over the net about the status of the rest being canadians of convenience. personally, if we're going there in the debate, we might as well lump in the bazillion snowbirds that inhabit the warmer climes of arizona and florida.

why were all these canadians in war-torn lebanon in the first place? what were they thinking? good questions but not everyone's an amazing kreskin or karnak. 6 years of relative peace followed by a idiotic hezbollah move to abduct a couple of israeli border guards. who would of thunk? i could have been there.

DO NOT rely on canadian consular services while travelling. the canadian passport is meant for foreign governments. other than to finance another tier of canadian bureaucrats, i'm not sure what value you get with an 85 dullah passport.

looks like globetrotting steve has ordered his plane to make a u-turn from france to pick up 120 evacuees in cypress. there better be a really good onboard movie or methinks its going to be a long long measured flight home for steve.

other news...

talking about a boondoggle, they should drop the proposed passport requirement to get into the states. first, it's a cash cow. second, travellers are law-abiding citizens. canadians have been traveling for centuries. it's a right. third, real terrorists don't declare their intentions. so, how's a passport going to stop them from doing their thang?

i saw a bit of the new karaoke reality show, the one, last night. pretty boring. i felt kind of bad for strombolopoulous. what was he thinking?

white-tailed jack rabbit (Lepus townsendii) and world cup 2006 update.

bunny in the garden...

bunny in flight...

bunny snacking on dandilions...

world cup 2006 update...

1. is this the world diving championships or is this the world cup of soccer? oh, brasil hasn't played yet... i've seen a few dives that would challenge for the olympic gold, eh. i would suggest that FIFA implement NHL type manpower shortage-type penalties for divers. that should take care 90 percent of the diving in soccer.
2. world cup games should not be awarded to upper-tier cable channels.
3. the american soccer commentators (on ABC) talk way too much.
4. the sound mix for the TSN's day 1 coverage was terrible. could not hear the commentator over the crowd. maybe that was for the best...
5. where's the BBC coverage?
6. i like trinidad and tobago's team. if they can qualify a team why can't we? they're puny in comparison.
7. it's fun watching countries like portugal play their ex-colonies...
   
8. bhutan 1, montserrat nil. bhutanese commentator's line of the game: the ball will reach heaven before it reaches the goal... (source: the passionate eye doc called "the other final")

mystery #44 or having fun with google earth...

mystery #44: just to the right of centre is a large asian public space. it appears as white in colour. 3 questions: 1) what is the name of this square? 2) what is the building in the southern half of the square...? clue: beach volleyball.

quotable quotes.

just some interesting quotes in the news that grabbed my attention the last few days...

too much mexican wacky tobacky and tequila...

the RCMP held a news conference with regards to those 2 canadians who were murdered in a hotel in cancun. a RCMP spokesperson defended his mexican colleagues and the integrity of their investigation. according to him, "We have full confidence in the Mexican police and in their ability to carry out this investigation in a proper fashion..."

that's hilarious. man, i got some swamp land to sell, if the Gravel Road Cops are interested. the mexican cops must be besides themselves. man, those gringos are so gullible, eh? i nearly busted a rib laughing the first time i heard this. haha...

shut up ralphie...just shut up...

"I don't need this crap," said ralphie, in response to the opposition liberals' alternatives to his "third way" plan for healthcare in alberta.

immediately thereafter, he threw a yellow pages-sized copy of the opposition document at the messenger, a 17 year old female legislative page, in a fit of uncontrollable rage...

critics have likened this assault to ralphie throwing a cream pie. c'mon, give the guy a break. he was having a bad day. he is NOT losing it. he has no previous history of this kind of rash, objectionable behaviour.

ok, i forgot there was that time where he, in a drunken stupor, threw money at poor people in a homeless shelter. ok, that was pretty bad. but, c'mon give the guy a break.

i gonna miss that guy when he hangs it up...

shoes on the other foot, inshallah...

i was watching news the other night on the cbc when they had an article on the stoppage of canadian aid money to the palestinian projects because of the election of hamas, a terrorist organization, as the new palestinian government (long sentence, eh?).

apparently, we as canadians, fund alot of feel good projects in palestine. educational funding that keep kids off the streets and give them hope for the future.

when confronted about this termination of canadian funding, a palestinian teacher said, "why should canada judge our nation by the government we elect..." i couldn't believe my ears. i did a double take. wahoo!!! the shoe's on the other foot.

i dislike it when islamists lump us "westerners" in with terrorist goverments like dubya's. i have nothing to do with the US government. yet, i'm identified with it and am subject to terrorist threats like 9/11. i bet those two canadian hostages in baghdad would have been really pissed off after hearing that comment. or, would they?

upon second thought, maybe it'd be a more peaceful world if we just accept people for who they are. live and let live... only if we can talk above our governments...

theoretical solutions...

i was on my routine AM run today. dang it, that was cold... the regular route takes me by centennial high. who the hell named that place, eh? lame. i digress. i was running by the front doors when some dumb ass kid threw an apple at me. what the hell?

theoretical solution: get rid of high school. i mean that too. i'm a firm believer that once the kids learn how to read, rite and do the 'rithmetics they should move on out to the "real" world. i'd say if you haven't learned the basics by the end of jr. high you are in big trouble, my friends.

i know most hi school students are bored out of their minds. so, we should take this chance to rid ourselves of hi school.

show us some luv mr. stephen.

i luv canada.

phew... glad i got that out of the way (it didn't hurt too much, eh).

mr. stephen was batting 1.000 yesterday on day 1 until he brought up the gay marriage thing again. i can see the other parties clamping on to that lil' sound bite. who needs ralphie throwing a wrench into the conservatives' plans when mr. stephen is an expert at it himself?

when will the conservatives present themselves as the viable alternative?

theoretical solution: make conrad black the new leader of the tories... i jest say you... well, i was watching the author of "rescuing canada's right: blah, blah, blah" (the same book that qtlibrarian was floggin' at ezra's loft) on the news yesterday. according to her, the author, mr. black is deeply revered in conservative circles in canada. he has made extraordinary intellectual contributions to conservatism in this great land.

i can see myself supporting mr. black...

politics ain't rocket science...

marc garneau is the newest "star" liberal candidate in quebec. this guy's a fully qualified, card carrying astronaut and he wants to be a politician?

theoretical solution: quickly, someone slap some sense into this guy. i just can't understand this one...

hot gases are expensive...

dang it's cold out there. as i tepidly tap out this weak entry, i'm huddled in front of the 'puter drawing on any available heat given off by the crt and motherboard. why? have you seen my last natural gas bill? last i looked the ambient temperature in the house was 67 F. dang that's cold. i'm aiming for 65 F. should be seeing my breath by then...

how am i going to survive this winter?

theoretical solution: every hour on the hour take a walk outside in the minus 13 weather for 15 minutes. come back inside and admire how hot your house is.

things i never knew...

it's amazing what my brother's company, enersul, does. for years, i knew they did stuff with sulfur. i thought they made match sticks.

little did i know they are at the forefront of forming elemental sulfur from sources like sour gas. they have the patent on forming sulfur into lil' spherical pellets. when enersul-brand sulfur pellets run off the conveyor belt to form piles on the ground or in a container ship, the piles are shorter in height compared to similar masses of cheap, imitation, run-of-the-mill of pellets. apparently, this is due to the rolling properties of the enersul pellets.

moreover, in the formation process (liken to the genesis of hail in cumulo-nimbus clouds), the enersul sulfur pellets are desiccated and have less moisture content than those of the competition.

so, there you go... shorter piles and reduced moisture content of enersul sulfur mean big bucks.

funny what you can make a living at...

i thought that was fascinating. if you don't know what your sibling(s) do(es), ask today. i think you'll be surprised.

pet peeves...

the opposition parties of the parliament of canada are the biggest wusses in the universe. bring forth the vote of confidence today!!!

i watch CFL football on tv whenever i can. TSN coverage is ok except for the fact that they are totally incompetent with the graphic (a yellow line) that runs across the screen marking the yardage for a first down. sometimes the line is crooked or moves as the camera tracks the action. what the hell? how complicated could that technology be?

i still think football broadcasts are much better without commentary. hockey for that matter...

i hate it when people criticize football players for "excessively" celebrating touchdowns.

we want our money back. click here.

grass revisited...

grass by the creek...

the cbc a.k.a. "apocalypse now"

gomery part one is coming out tomorrow. times like this i wish the CBC lockout was still in effect.

i was watching HNIC part deux this last saturday. i can see now why the CBC fired chris "world's biggest oilers fan" cuthbert's ass during the lockout. jim hughson's amazing.

halloween 2005 redux

halloween was ok.

i gave the kids (LG and LB) some sage advice during the pre-trick or treating pep talk: 1) use a pillowcase for higher capacity 2) wear streamlined costumes for maximum dexterity 3) hit high density housing (e.g. townhouses) 4) if you can, empty your treat bag once in a while for higher "donations" 5) run 6) push your way to the front 7) if you can, do not embellish the customary scream of "trick or treat" with the line about smelling one's feet...

the kids started at 6 and came back at 7. pfft... i sent them back out. way too early to quit.

best costume at the door was a solitary spongebob square pants. too bad it violated rule #2 - see above. poor kid needed the assistance of a parental unit.

i was looking forward to kids bringing back cans of soda pop (yes, people give out cans of pop) and candied apples for their beleaguered uncle. nodda. people are getting pretty chintzy.

my nephew (LB) was collecting for unicef. he brought back $1.53. what is wrong with this picture?

i had only one kid come to the door with a unicef box. the kid forgot to mention it. doh.

nearly ran out of candy.

kids know exactly what you give them and how much.

looking forward to halloween 2006.

mo' better nuts...

talking about nuts...

read in that news that ralphie is rejecting the idea of setting up a registry of lobbyists in the province. yikes. apparently, he thinks it's a bad idea because he can't tell a lobbyist from a bump on a log. maybe he should review the list of PC party campaign contributors.

it's a given. everyone in canada ought to have fresh, safe water to drink. it's pitiful what happened in northern ontario. why do governments sit on their hands till they are severely embarassed? is it racism or the fact these folks aren't part of the "core" liberal vote?

it's nuts that some hockey "experts" think the game has gone downhill (well, it has if you compare it to the long gone smaller nhl). less fighting? less hitting? less clutching and holding? more speed. more skill. i don't get these complainers. are we watching the same games?

omar shamsoon...

to connoisseurs of day-old regurgitated news:

who the hell is omar shamsoon? well, the fox network is reaching beyond the neocons of america and exporting it's best show, the simpsons, to the middle east.

america's favourite family, speaking in a peculiar egyptian dialect of arabic, will be transformed into the "shamsoon's". homer becomes omar. bart becomes badr. d'oh becomes inshallah.

all references to bacon have been removed. homer's favourite beverage, beer, has been replaced with "pop". donut's, mmm...donuts, is replaced by that venerable arabic cookie snack, the kakh... mmm... kakh. that's going to work...

an early review of the dubbed series by an arab-based blogger who calls himself "the angry arab" said, "I watched a promo segment and it was just painful...They were so unfunny and so annoying, those Arab actors ... the guy who played Homer was one of the most unfunny people I ever watched."

methinks these dubbed episodes will end up in al-qaeda recruitment offices worldwide.

inshallah. and, by the way, death to america...

the daily show.

i stayed up late last night to watch the daily show. special guest was bill o'reilly. bill called jon stewart a pinhead. ha! by the way, bill is still very bitter about the French. get over it and the "freedom" fries, eh.

jon stewart informed us that donald rumsfeld is again dropping a bit of shock and awe in asia. he was in china criticizing the communist regime about hidden and overwhelming spending on it's military. this was quoted from rumfeld's speech:

"i think it's interesting that other countries wonder why they would be increasing their defense effort at the pace they are and yet not acknowledging it. that is as interesting as the fact that it's increasing at the pace it is."

donald, dude... we have problems understanding you. just think how confused the commies are...

the calgary rag herald...

front page story on monday's rag: "will klein be cast as villain?"

according to a "renowned" u. of t. poli sci prof, the federal Liberals will cast as the villain to woo eastern voters in the next election. prof nelson wiseman said, "they will pick on ralph klein again and say they are against private healthcare..."

surprise, surprise...

look, einstein, no that's dr. wiseman, dude, that train left the station a long time ago. water under the bridge, my friend... political vilification works both ways in this country. the feds bash ralphie but don't think ralphie hasn't torn a strip off the feds when drumming up support in the homelands.

it's not news...mr. herald.

yolks...

well, i woke up this morning. the morning after the same sex marriage was made into law...

the sun was shining. the birds were chirping away. the neighborhood kids were out playing (and screaming at the top of their lungs as usual). their parents, i suspect were still obliviously happily or miserably married or maybe single. nothing out of the ordinary.

me? i felt ok. not anymore morally decayed than usual. i wasn't fearful of anything.

but i did feel happy that this debate was over. i was puzzled that it took so long to confirm a human right...

but was this debacle really over...?

i got dressed and jogged over to the library to return some cd's. through the neighbourhood, over macleod trail, and by the wal-mart. the canadian flags over the wal-mart were at half mast. interesting...did someone important die i thought? i should of dropped in to ask the MOD why the flags were down.

let's see wal-mart is american and owned by a pretty conservative family... it can't be about same sex marriage, eh? naw... i'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

this same sex marriage debate is not over...

legislation is good in principle, but it can't change people's biases, at least not overnight. it has nothing to do with gay people getting married. it has to do with hate of the gay people getting married.

canada prides itself with being a tolerant society, but there's a strong undercurrent of mistrust, ignorance, hate. i know it's there. every once in awhile it rears it's ugly head like this last little while with the same sex marriage "debate".

for all people who have felt it's wrath, today is a celebration. it's a small step towards equality for all and that's good...

i don't get it...

The NHL is considering the implementation of wider goaltending nets. The rationalization is that it will result in more goals per game which equates to a more exciting "product". It's a stupid idea. I don't get it. Why don't they just reduce the number of teams from 30 to about 15? That will get rid of alot of mediocre or poor players who can't score on the regular net. as well, the entertainment value may go up.

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JP2: "listen up!! don't call me. i'll call you!"

What's up with the flocks of groupies who hang around the Pope all the time? You know the type. The sheep who camp out in St. Peter's Square and his hospital. The Pope is ill. He's a human being albeit old. He needs rest and relaxation. I'm not sure what all these people expect. I hope they're not expecting him to give a bible thumping sermon or to do a lil' jig. quit egging him on... He looks frustrated because he can't utter a word. Instead of shouting, in reply, "I can't hear youuuuu", go away people! For awhile at least...

***

Looks like the defunct airline Jets-go is on its way back. It's an plausible idea, according to Jets-go's president and CEO, Michel Leblanc. After all, the name Jets-go has brand recognition value! I didn't get it at first. Who in their right mind would book tickets with Jets-go? definitely, fly-by-nighters. Which airports would grant them landing rights? Then I thought: Canadians love a bargain... They love a bargain so much, they've given money to Monsieur Leblanc for the previous 3 incarnations of Jets-go. Give them cheap seats and they will come...

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The UN is finally sending peacekeepers to the Sudan. Before we get too excited over the news, the troops will be sent to the south where the Sudanese regime has signed a peace agreement with rebels and not to the Darfur region to the west where the government has been launching genocidal attacks on the non-Muslim population. I don't get it, man...

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Bob Mugabe: "four more years!!! four more years!!!... whatever..."

Dictator of the Week: Robert Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Your assistance in liberating Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) from white rule is to be commended but the past 5 or so years of your rule has been pure hell on your country. oppression of political opponents, hasty eviction of white farmers, resultant food shortages, famine etc. have had catastrophic effects on Zimbabwe. I was there in 1994. The people were really nice... They deserve better but unless you're deposed things ain't going to get better. That's unlikely. Elections are tomorrow. Like dung beetles on elephant shit, they'll be rigged. Congrats Bobby...

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Michael Jackson will be found innocent...

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Bonus Track

As an added bonus, upon popular demand, it's been on be the blog before (albeit briefly), the following clip:

click here. (only in quicktime format)

It's fairly self-explanatory. It's my car commercial debut. Thanx Dave...