Thursday Thirteen #6

The TOP THIRTEEN Albums of the 1960's

brought to you by the TOP FIVE (Yes, only Five) BANDS of the l960's

This is NOT based on anyone's opinion, but rather album sales,

so don't BLAME ME if you're fave 60's band isn't represented.

And if you didn't already know

THE BEATLES RULED THE 60's!

13. Blood, Sweat and Tears: Sold over 3,000,000 copies. You can click on my favourite song titles to go back in time 4 decades. My favourite from this album is: "And When I Die" . This video is from a 1970 tour in Japan complete with Japanese sub-titles!
12. Crosby, Stills & Nash: this album sold over 4,000,000 albums (and this was pre-Neil Young!) My favourite song on this album is Suite: Judy Blue Eyes and the video is an amazingly good clip from Woodstock 69.
11. Meet the Beatles: Later released as With the Beatles this album sold 5,000,000 copies. I have a lot of favourites on this album, but I'll go with "I Saw Her Standing There" as it was the best one to wiggle your hips to. I still know all the words by heart. Awwwwww. This video is from the live performance on the Ed Sullivan Show (which I watched as an 8 year old - completely swooning!) Sound isn't so great - you can hear John attempting to harmonize.
10. Revolver: More Beatles selling again over 5,000,000 copies. Released in l966, two years after Meet the Beatles but so much more sophisticated. Fave song: "Eleanor Rigby"
I chose America Idol contestant David Cook's version of this song as I am picking him to win it all!

9. The Monkees: Released in 1967 when I was 11 and I fell in love with another bass player - Mike Nesmith (#1 of course Paul McCartney). I loved The Monkees I am not ashamed to say. My fave on this album "Last Train to Clarksville" and the video is from their self-entitled TV show which I used to watch every Sunday night at my grandma's house because we couldn't get the channel at my house. Dedicated huh?
8. More of the Monkees: Released in l967 to take advantage of their popularity I imagine this album sold more than 5,000,000 copies including the one I still have in the basement. So many great songs - I'll go with "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" - this version is from their l967 tour.

Either they were badly stoned or the sound is distorted?

7. Rubber Soul: What an album! Released in l965 it sold in excess of 6,000,000! Wowzer! Tough to pick just one but here it is: "Drive my Car"

6. Magical Mystery Tour: The Beatles yet again with another 6,000,000 copies sold in l967 - can you say cagillionaire? I have chosen "Baby You're a Rich Man" to symbolize their, well, riches!

5. Led Zeppelin I: No l960's list would be complete without a little Led Zep. Their first album sold a mere 10,000,000 copies, not too shabby. "Good Times Bad Times" represents their short tenure as a band yet their lasting fame. 4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - released in l967 - the Beatles were nothing if not prolific songwriters. It's hard to pick one from this album as it's a start to finish kind of album but here goes: "With a Little Help From my Friends". Here's Ringo singing it in 1987 at the Prince's Trust. Oh yeah, this record sold 11,000,000 copies.
3. Abbey Road: Is this my favourite of all time? Maybe, a definite maybe. Sold 12,000,000 after its release in l969. Take a listen to "Because" -so sad because the end was in sight. So absolutely beautiful.
2. Led Zeppelin II comes in at number 2 with sales of over 12,000,000. Here's my personal fave - "Heartbreaker!"
1. The number one selling album, a double album no less, was The Beatles White Album, released in 1968, contained thirty songs and sold (drum roll please......) over 19,000,000 copies. There isn't a bad song, even a mediochre song on these LPs, but I always loved "Sexy Sadie" so here it is.

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday - Jack Daniel's Straight Up & Hurry!

Alrighty then...

Neil Young Hey Hey My My (acoustic) Farm-Aid '85

HAPPY BELATED FLIPSIDE FRIDAY!
Although the concert took place in the U.S. Neil Young will always be one of my favourite Canadians - a man with a vision. I thought this song he sung at the first Farm Aid Benefit Concert was appropriate considering my recent topics focussing on foor and water.

An Embarrassment of Riches

My Can Cupboard

I've heard the first step in resolving a problem is first admitting you have one. Alright then...I have a problem. I call it my "Little House on the Prairie" syndrome and I have been this way since first moving out on my own....32 years ago!

As a young girl growing up I used to go to the village library at least once a week to take out 4 books. The librarian, Miss Lossing, knew my card # by heart, I didn't even have to get it out to show it to her (#222 - yes it was an easy one). Miss Lossing also served in the role of censor, shaking her head slightly when I veered too close to the young adult section of the library. Rats, caught again. Was it a coincidence they were located behind and just to the left of her desk? I think not!

As a result I read and reread all of the books in the Little House on the Prairie series and fretted along with Ma and Pa as they worried whether they had stored enough food in the loft for the upcoming long cold winter season. No trivial event to run out of food in the midwestern United Stores in the days before corner stores...or close well-stocked neighbours!

My Refrigerator

So while that is my excuse I really have no valid reason to stuff my cupboards, fridge, freezer and pantry with enough food to feed a small nation for a month. Believe it or not there is only my daughter and myself to feed. I could very easily not shop for a couple of months and we'd still eat quite nutritiously.

My Freezer

In these scary days of increasing food prices, looming food shortages, grain being diverted to make ethanol, drought, and dwindling reserves I feel embarrassed, nay ashamed, by the riches in my kitchen.

My Pantry

We are used to such variety in our diets. Although I eat oatmeal every morning (but that's another story best read about at my group blog) my daughter is quite accustomed to eating a different cereal each day of the week. Watching the Free Rice video where children were so grateful to eat rice for every meal made me feel kind of sick.

So, while I can afford to eat pretty much anything I want, should I? Will my good fortune continue in this uncertain world of vanishing resources or should I begin to prepare for a more meagre future? Where should I start? Well, I can think of a few places.... I need to get my food purchasing under control. No matter how long winter is here in southwestern Ontario I can think of half a dozen grocery stores within walking distance - I'm not gonna starve!!

Stay tuned for future developments.

Free Rice

I have had my students playing this game since October when I discovered it. It's fantastic to see the results - I'll be showing my students this video tomorrow so they can see that what they do is making a difference.
FreeRice.com is an amazing concept...that works!

Water Woes in the North

The threat of flooding in the northern communities of Kashechewan and Fort Albany is bringing about 2000 residents south to take shelter in community centres around the province. The waters of the Albany River continue to rise while large ice jams damage the dikes set in place to prevent flooding.
This is the 4th annual evacuation in a row for the First Nation residents as the repaired dikes continue to crumble. Apparently it is easier and more cost-effective to evacuate (by air using more than a dozen helicopters, military transport planes and charter aircraft) the townspeople every year and spend millions on repairs than it is to relocate them to higher ground.


You see, back in 1957 the federal government decided in its infinite wisdom that moving the Cree-speaking people to a flood plain was a sensible idea. So much so that they are considering spending $200 million on repairs and flood protection. Mistakes are costly after all, and one doesn't go about broadcasting mistakes of such magnitude if one can help it. Well, not if you're the federal government.


Out of sight, out of mind.

If you're thinking the name Kashechewan sounds familiar, it could be because of the mass suicide attempt by 21 teen boys, including a nine-year old, that occured just over a year ago. What level of despair must exist for such a tragedy to occur?

Or perhaps it was the tainted water scandal of October, 2005 when residents were evacuated due to high levels of e-coli in the water. Severe rashes, blisters, nausea and diarrhea endangered especially the young and the elderly. People had been boiling their water off and on for five years before water purification machinery was installed. Again, someone (aka federal government) upgraded the treatment system, but did not move the intake pipe, which is downstream from the sewage lagoon. Result - e-coli every time a tap was turned on. Is it any wonder many people prefer bottled water? Remember Walkerton, Ontario?

How can we help our First Nations people? Donate to the Red Cross. The Red Cross is providing all the necessities of life to the evacuees and welcomes financial donations.

Warm Weather Keeping Me Outside!

I've been putting a few miles on my sneakers this week. In southwestern Ontario we've been treated to about a two week preview of late spring/early summer weather and it has been heavenly after a long winter of being cooped up inside. So at lunchtime and after school I've been strapping on the sneaks and walking around the neighbourhood soaking in the sights and sounds of spring.


Many flowering trees are in bloom, along with forsythia bushes and the ever popular pussy willow. Robins are nesting, sitting on a new brood, and the air is filled with the chirping sounds of a variety of very happy birds. It's a good time to be alive. The other day my neighbour and I toasted the beginning of BBQ season by sitting on my newly cleaned up patio with a glass of wine. Ah.....good times.


Of course, all of this outdoorsiness means less time spent in front of the computer but nature calls, so to speak. This past weekend saw me up at my trailer just outside of Bayfield raking leaves and discovering new plants and flowers poking up. I also spent 4 hours taking apart a 20 year old sofa bed as that was the only way to get it out of the trailer. A light rain fell for part of the morning but I was very cozy inside with my hammer and screwdriver, tunes playing from my iPod, the raindrops hitting the metal roof, coffee close to hand.


The good news is that I can now access the internet at the trailer park so will be posting from the comfort of my hammock this summer as I watch the hummingbirds at my feeder, the white geese ambling across the road and the little chipmunks chase each other around the silver maple.

Bliss!

Wordless Wednesday: Maurice 'Rocket' Richard

A few words are needed: After last night's despicable riots in Montreal I have lost respect for the fans -so I felt a tribute to one of the brightest stars in the Hab's huge hall of fame would be more in keeping with their fabulous history.

Happy Earth Day: 300 Pesticides Banned in Ontario by 2009

Good news that the Ontario government is going to ban 300 pesticides by 2009. Too little, too late for children like Carlitos, the son of farm workers, whose birth defects are directly contributable to the use of pesticides.

Too little, too late for my mother who developed Parkinson's disease in her late 60's. She suffered terribly from dementia and became almost unrecognizable toward the end.

But this isn't a rant, I am relieved to know I won't have pesticide signs going up around my neighbourhood NEXT spring and kudos to the David Suzuki Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society whose determined lobbying produced today's resulting ban.

We still have a long way to go however, as pesticide use will still be allowed by the farming and forestry industries and for the purposes of controlling health hazards like mosquitoes. Oh, and did I mention golf courses are exempt? Huh?

So, let your children roll around on the grass in your backyards, at the park, but keep them away from the golf courses.....and the woods... Oh.... and fruits and vegetables....and grain products.....

It's a beginning, only the beginning.

Drought in Canada

Pictured above: Georgian Bay taken while hiking in Lion's Head, Ontario

I must apologize for something stupid I wrote the other day.... "I have an endless supply of fresh water" ...I stated in this post called Living Simply vs. Simply Living. Perhaps I can be forgiven for thinking that way as I live in an area surrounded by lakes - Great Lakes to be exact. I can take a short drive south (40 minutes, 30 if I hurry) and walk out into Lake Erie, pictured below.

I can cross the border and get up close and personal with Lake Michigan, pictured above during last summer's trip to Chicago.
Or I can drive for an hour north-west and watch the sunset over my beloved Lake Huron. All fresh water, seemingly endless.


However, I am wrong....very wrong. This chart shows where the world's water supply is located and freshwater lakes account for only 0.0070% of which 20% is located in Canada.

Estimate of Where the Earth’s Water Can be Found
Oceans, saline lakes and other saltwater 97.4800 %
Icecaps/glaciers, frozen and underground freshwater 2.5100 %
Freshwater lakes 0.0070 %
Soil moisture 0.0009 %
Atmospheric water vapour 0.0009 %
Marshes and wetlands 0.0009 %
Rivers 0.0002 %
Incorporated in biota 0.0001 %
Total 100.0000 %
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/freshwater/1

Approximately 60% of our fresh water drains to the north while 80% of our population lives close to the Canada/U.S. border. I sense a problem here. Also, over the past few years our prairie provinces have been experiencing drought conditions, and with the effects of global warming this situation will only worsen.

At http://www.goblue.org/ you can calculate your water footprint with a one-minute calculator. The average Canadian uses 125,000 litres of water per year while in Europe the average per person is only 73,000 litres per year. I was a little worried but then happy (sort of) to see that I am using less than half the national average. My water footprint is about 67,292 litres per year. That number still seems unacceptably high. The challenge at this informative website is to cut your annual water useage in half.

I think I am up for the challenge but I may have to cut a foot off my daughter's hair! Tee hee. Seriously though, I think there are some things I can do to decrease my water consumption. I am going to go over all of the tips at Go Blue and I'll get back to you.

Flipside Friday: "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies

This might get me some hate mail but the only good music to come out of the '80s, IMHO, was The Pixies led by Black Francis and former college roommate Joey Santiago. Thought to be the precursors of the Grunge style, or should I say "non-style" of the '90s, I love their toe-tappin', hip wigglin' melodies and their dark, rather tawdry lyrics (all rather tongue-in-cheek dontcha think?)
As I am always totally bagged out on Fridays I thought posting a "music video" (this one stretches modern views on music videos) NOT from the current Top 40 would be a good way to end the work week.
Hope you enjoy this quirky "video" shot by students through a fish-eye lens in order to promote The Pixies break-through hit.
Depending on who you listen to, the lyrics are about hobos riding boxcars through earthquake-prone California or dropping the H-bomb on Nagasaki. Take your pick!

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Reasons Why I Hang at Tim Horton's

Mostly because I have no choice - one must go somewhere during one's child's interminable lessons whether they be dance, piano or whatever

and I don't enjoy going to malls and wandering around aimlessly

and besides, my daughter's dance lesson is in a small village

where the only places that are open are the local Candy Shoppe,

Subway, a gas station and Tim Horton's.

And beside's, it's a Canadian Tradition, hence the capital T.

1. The Free Tea Bag: as I mentioned in a previous list, Timmy's gives you an extra teabag (on the side) when you buy the extra large size. Just add hot water.

2. Foot Stools: not really, but they don't seem to mind if I put my feet up on the seat across from me, I appreciate that after a long day on my toes.

3. Rolling up the Rims: once or twice year Timmy's has a Roll up the Rim contest. I've never won a big prize but usually win a few free coffees and muffins. I like free stuff... a lot.

4. Cheap...oops I mean Economical: although there was a recent hike in prices a coffee at Timmy's is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less than the more upscale competitors. And I don't know what to say in those other places - I'm a dinosaur.

5. HOCKEY: It all began with Mr. Tim Horton - called NHL hockey's "strongest man" by Gordie Howe, Horton is often credited with inventing the slapshot! He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs during their golden years, winning 4 Stanley Cups during his 18 years with the team. As a Canadian and an avid hockey fan, my heart belongs to Timmy's.

6. Entertainment: yes indeedy, there are some mighty interesting folk coming in and out of Timmy's at all hours of the day & night. I once whiled away an hour talking to a woman about her divorce woes as she showed me legal document after legal document that told the tale of a long, drawn-out and highly unsuccessful battle. It's not highbrow stuff, but you get what you pay for.

7. Staff: the staff at Timmy's are perky and friendly, as witnessed last night as one female worker whizzed by throwing a loud "sick hair" out to the slicked up hairstyle wearin' customer next in line. (Sick means good these days for you other dinosaurs.)

8. Food: beyond the usual coffee, donuts, cookies and muffins Timmy's offers some substantial fare that is yummy and nutritious. Everything bagels, egg salad on a whole grain baguette, minestrone soup, chili, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

9. Hours: no matter the time of night or morning, no matter the day of the week, or indeed, day of the year - you can always find the welcoming lights of the Tim Horton's famous sign ON! This comes in very handy when you need to pick up a cake at 6:30am for a student's birthday on the way to school.

10. Ice Cappuccinos: Ice Cappuccinos.

11. Location: you could literally drive from coast to coast in Canada (the TransCanada Highway is 7604 km long!) stopping only at Timmy's along the way. Although I must confess, there are very few to be found in Quebec! The picture above shows the only one I could find while driving arounr the entire Gaspe Peninsula.

12. Jobs: they hired MY child.

13. Environmentally Conscious & Charitable: their cups/lids are recycleable, they sell only sustainable coffee, and they send thousands upon thousands of kids to camps every summer.

Enjoy your TT, and have a cup of java on me!

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - LES HABITANTS

Hope springs eternal. I am hoping this is the year for the Montreal Canadians!

Living Simply vs Simply Living

Recently we held a multicultural day at our school. We do so every year because we have students from over 90 different countries at our school and we like to set one special day aside to celebrate our diversity. At an assembly that morning Kathy Mueller from London's A Channel came to speak about her trip to Sudan. She had accompanied a group of fire fighters who were helping to build a school.

One thing that Kathy said really stuck in my mind. It was a quote from Ghandi who had said we should "live simply so that others can simply live." I've been thinking about that a lot. This past Sunday my pastor spoke about what it means to have "an abundant life" and how different that is for us, in an affluent country, as opposed to the billions who struggle to "simply live" from day to day.

This morning when I got up for work I took a shower. I really enjoyed that shower, as I do every morning. I made the water as hot as I could stand it and by the time I was done I was wide awake and ready for another day of teaching. I don't think my shower is under 3 minutes, a record set by my famous relative ceeb at Four Mugs and a Crock (see this post for other water conservation tips), but it isn't much longer. I have to be quick, you see, because my 17 year old gets in next. We use more water each morning to make coffee, brush our teeth and flush our toilet.

I live an abundant life and I take it for granted. When I walk over to the tap I don't worry if anything is going to come out. I don't even have to think about it. I have an endless supply of fresh water. Once at work I make more coffee and after a second cup I switch to drinking water for the rest of the day - refilling my bottle several times over the course of the day. It's so easy. Perhaps it's too easy.

Kathy described how a woman's day in Sudan is all about obtaining water and food for her family. That is her career. Instead of walking over to the tap a Sudanese woman walks to the river or a well, perhaps a two hour journey or more. With jugs of water full she walks another two hours to get home, through countryside that hasn't seen rainfall in many months. No pitstops along the way for an iced capuccino. No car or bus to hasten the journey. While she is away her babies are looked after by the older children.

The New York Times reported today that 3.2 million people in Sudan face food and water shortages due to civil unrest and a longlasting drought. Food drops have already begun.

The next time you turn on your tap and fill a glass full of clear, clean water stop and think for a moment. Feel gratitude for your abundant life and find ways to conserve and share your abundance. There are many ways to help - CARE is one of them.

Walk Don't Drive

With the nicer weather I have felt compelled to get outside more - I've wanted to see firsthand the many signs of spring that you can't see as you're whizzing around in your car.


With a busy lifestyle as a single parent and Special Ed Teacher I had to get creative to find the time to get out and about using my own two feet.


So I've started to do my daily errands by walking to local businesses in my own neighbourhood.



First stop yesterday was to the local video store to drop off a movie. It had been a very windy day and the sand from a long winter of sanding roads and sidewalks was turning into an interesting pattern of sand dunes. (note to self - find a synonym for the word sand).


Next stop was the local bank where I used an ATM to deposit a cheque from my insurance company for my daughter's last trip to the dentist.


A sure sign of spring there was the young boy selling chocolate bars outside the front door. No I didn't
buy one tho' I'm sure it was for a
good cause :(

As I made my way across the street on my way to the Giant Tiger store my heart soared with joy as I noticed a Zeller's employee sitting atop bags of fertilizer perhaps waiting for someone with a key to the Gar_en Shop! Yes - the Garden Shop is getting ready to open! (We'll take a short pause while I dance my happy dance!)


Then I briskly walked on to the All Canadian Giant Tiger store so I could purchase an umbrella for my daughter. Battling hurricane force winds and rain that morning (her words) on the way to the bus stop her umbrella had turned inside out so many times it was a tangled mass of broken spokes.
Inside Giant Tiger everything related
to spring was on display: BBQ utensils, beach towels, gardening tools, swim suits and sandals. I was tempted, but only bought an umbrella.


As I headed homeward, I walked by the local cinema to see what was playing. I am very lucky as my cinema shows films that are a few months old and a matinee is only $2.00. I was happy to see that Juno was still playing, as I haven't seen it yet.


I arrived home with errands finished and more sure than ever that spring is here to stay. I also have to say that walking through my errands is much more pleasant and relaxing than racing around stressed out in my car looking for parking spots in a myriad of over-crowded parking lots, and a lot more environmentally friendly.

And the view is infinitely more interesting!

Thursday Thirteen #4

Thirteen Random Items Found in the Dark Recesses of My Purse (I Was Bored)When Stranded at a Tim Horton's in Lambeth, Ontario While my Daughter was Learning some New Dance Stepsand Having Left my Book on the Table by the Front DoorI was Forced to Look Deep Inside my Purse for InspirationWhat I Found was Indeed Surprising and Rewarding! 1. The instruction book for my cell phone purchased in November - handy for those moments when I forget how to access a phone number or (gulp) send a text message. Yes, I am tragically inept when in comes to using a cell phone. 2. My cell phone - dead. 3. Deoderant - I have recently taken up walking on my lunch hour (it's not really an hour, more like 40 minutes) now that the snow has retreated for another year. Always good to freshen up afterwards! 4. Forgot about these - baby pictures of my one and only....that I've now been carrying around for almost 18 years. Awwwww. 5. The one thing I use on a daily basis - my To Do List notepad. I update it daily. I am a fanatic about crossing things off of lists - 1) get up 2) shower 3) eat breakfast... you get the idea. Only problem - I always have items to carry over to the next day. In the same category - a notepad to jot ideas into. Last used in the summer when I went to Chicago and encountered a really good beer with a really good name that I wanted to remember: Goose Island Honker's Ale. 6. Cheques for my line of credit because you never know when you might need to write a big cheque on the spur of the moment for that ridiculously cheap diamond necklace in the Birk's store window you walk by on your daily walk at lunchtime. 7. A Koins for Karen film container to collect coins for Lent - empty. 8. Five unopened packages of gum. Explains the empty coin container. Also, I read Hans Brinker at an early age and want to be prepared for any leaky dikes I happen to come across. 9. Nine pens and a pencil all rolling around the bottom of the purse...not a one in the handy-dandy pen holders the purse came equipped with and attracted me to buy it in the first place- yet I never seem able to find one when I need to write a cheque for a diamond necklace. Good thing. 10. Foo Fighters tickets from the concert on March 20th. Note to self: give to daughter who still collects such things. 11. Expired cat food coupon, Capt'n Highliner coupon, and Blockbuster Video coupons. Note to self: look into purse more often. 12. Oh Wow! The extra chai teabag Tim Horton's gives you when you order an extra large chai tea. 13. OMG! The "Free Coffee" I won ripped off a coffee I bought a few weeks ago at Tim Horton's during their Roll up the Rim contest. I found a free tea and a free coffee during this purse search. I am so lucky!! W00t Woot! P.S. As the search continued I also found a five dollar bill stuck in a wrong fold in my wallet. Who knew that such a mundane activity could turn into a veritable treasure trove. I also found a five dollar bill a couple of days ago in a spring jacket left there from last year - don't ya love it when that happens? Happy TT everyone!

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Wordless Wednesday - Eddie Vedder

Two for the price of one: Eddie Vedder takes on Hamilton, Ontario (Sept. 06) and wins us over wrapped up in the Canadian flag while singing Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

Beach Donkeys Lay Down for Their Rights!

As I lay back on the bed, I closed my eyes and luxuriated in the soft music, dimmed lights and the gentle touch of a stranger's hands as they carressed my arm.


Yes, it was my regular blood donation day.


As a single parent of an almost 18 year old girl/woman, you take your pleasures where you can.


In that twilight zone of lightheadedness combined with no actual responsibilities for the next 45 mintues or so, my thoughts ran to solutions for those poor beleaguered beach donkeys so recently featured in the local rag.


(That was after my usual fantasy that the nurse was suctioning fat out of my hips as opposed to blood out of my vein.)


You see, there are some 900 beach donkeys hard at work on England's beaches lugging about increasingly supersized burdens on their already swayed backs. Donkeys UNITE! Well, they have and now limits are set on the poundage of the children allowed to be placed on a donkey's back. About bleeding time! Have you seen the size of some children these days?


As I became ever more lightheaded I came up with what I thought were some good solutions to this problem of child obesity so that any donkey would be happy to see them clamber up. I mean, how mortifying to have to step on a scale before getting on the donkey of your choice: "Sorry Mortimer" (that's what they call their children in England) "you're a tad bit over the limit lad, sorry ol' chap, can you say Atkins?"


So here are my solutions:


1) Fat Transfusions: If we can donate blood to someone who needs a transfusion why not suction off a few gallons of child fat and ship it overseas to all of those starving children in India and Africa? What with the increase in population and decrease in food production it seems a win/win solution all around.


2) Or, even better - Student Exchange: last year we had a student from France stay with us and then my daughter went and stayed with his family. Why not send those obese children to Ethiopia or Kenya and take a child or two or three in return (equal in weight to the obese child) and unexchange them when they have either fattened up or slimmed down. Think of the opportunities here for cultural exchange, learning a new language and so on.


Perhaps when my blood levels get back to normal I'll see things a bit differently, then again, maybe not!

Lukiwski Aplogizes for being an "A"

Conservative MP, Tom Lukiwski made an impassioned apology to the House of Commons today hoping to salvage the remnants of his career (nothing can save his reputation) over remarks he made 17 years ago that revealed his homophobic sleazy side in living colour.

A disgustingly smarmy Lukiwski can be seen on Youtube explaining the difference between "A" people and "B" people (you can watch the video clip here but you'll need a very strong stomach - I could only listen for about 3 seconds before clicking away - it's that obscene!)


Today he said:


"First and foremost, I want to apologize to all of my friends and colleagues who are gay or lesbian. I have no idea what they must think of me now. I have no idea what they were thinking when they first heard or read about my comments. To say that I am ashamed is not putting it in context and certainly not putting it in strong enough terms." (Read entire apology in today's Globe and Mail)


Mr. Lukiwski has no idea what his "friends and colleagues who are gay or lesbian" think of him now? Would he like me to enlighten him?

To sign a petition for Mr. Lukiwski's immediate removal from public office head on over to Four Mugs and a Crock. The fact that this man is an MP and that this footage took 17 years to come to light is a travesty. Let's fix this mess!

Thirteen Dating Acronyms to Help Save You Time in this Busy Cyberized World we Live in.Any Resemblance to Someone you Actually Know is Purely Coincidentalbut go ahead and use these anyway!These are the guys (gals) you want to avoid - quickly!Oh yes, it's time to celebrate because tomorrow is POETS day! 1. "No, I won't introduce you - he's a real NOONG." (Not one of nature's gentlemen) 2. "Sure, go ahead and date him if you like VESTs." (Very egotistical stupid twits) 3. "Well, you have to take the bad with the good when you date a LOMBARD." (Loads of money but a real dickhead) 4. For that annoying co-worker - "Let me give you my neighbour's number, you love him...he's just a piece of FLUF." (Fat little ugly fellow) 5. "Meet this guy in a public place - he's AMAT. (All mouth and trousers) 6. "Yeah, I know, he looked good to me too at first, but then he turned out to be BHNC. (Big hat no cattle) (Female version - FCNK Fur coat no knickers) 7. "Sure, you can have him, I have no interest in LAMPs. (Lower academically-minded person) 8. "He's cute but he's LANO." (Lights are not on) 9. "We've been out a few times, but I don't know, there's just something NQR." (Not quite right) 10. "I guess if I run out of options, I'll go with the SUBARU." (Still useable but all rusted underneath) 11. "You know, I wouldn't mind staying home once in a while but he's TATT!" (Tired all the time) 12. "Well you could always go with a WOOP." (Well off older person) 13. "Man, everyone I meet lately seems to be a BURP. (bankrupt unemployed rejected person) One more for good luck: "You could have dated him, but I TOBASHed him." (took out back and shot)

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Wordless Wednesday

Friday, March 28, 2008 in front of my home in London, Ontario. Brave little snowdrops - I see how you got your name. You give me hope that this eternal winter will indeed end, maybe not tomorrow, but soon.