tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84015604990920902442024-03-12T18:41:39.168-07:00Recent ReflectionsI like to think about things, more importantly, I like to ask questions about the world around me. I like to find out how other people think, and why. In short, this is my curiosity spelled out on a page.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-39836860644391862013-04-30T14:49:00.001-07:002013-04-30T14:53:03.458-07:00What's with our schools?This could turn into another long post.<br />
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Did you like grade school? High School? Not the friends, not the sports, not the memories of getting in trouble or getting to third base with the lead cheerleader. Did you enjoy the part where you were taught things? Did you have teachers that inspired you? Did you learn what you needed to learn to prepare you for "life"? Were you prepared for university? Were you prepared to life on your own or with roommates?<br />
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My parents took a lot of time trying to prepare me. And I was not prepared.<br />
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I was, much like many of my classmates, correct in the assumption that most of what we learned, would never be applied to real life. What I learned from education before University? How to get along, and work with people I don't like. Where are the schools where you learn many of life's lessons? Where are the schools that have entire faculty invested in the best interests of our children? It's an unfortunate reality that our Canadian schools are very lacking. Much like America, teachers are being forced to teach a very basic curriculum. Money is being taken away from our schools, and its costing us more money than we can ever imagine.<br />
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What's happening? Our children are not getting the education they deserve, and where many households rely on two incomes, it is increasingly difficult for parents to pick up the slack. Our children have less exposure to just what is out there and available to them. How are our children supposed to figure out "What they are going to do when they grow up" if they are only exposed to the very basics of education and even then, don't have sufficient time with their teacher to explain concepts they don't understand.<br />
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How can we fix this? I don't know yet. But I think we need to develop a system where our children can advance at their own pace, and teachers serve as mentors, and educators, not babysitters. I'm writing this blog on my iPad, I'm sure somehow a curriculum can be developed using this technology. Students could use "apps" to learn, and can be graded on tests, in the app. Teachers can be available to start the theme of the days lessons, answering any questions, and then the students are free to go at their own pace, leaving the teacher free to help any students who need it.<br />
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Wow, rant wasn't that long this time.<br />
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CheersAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-70879432069710880552013-03-26T23:52:00.001-07:002013-04-29T21:51:10.622-07:00"Religion, again." Or "How to make a world full or idiots."1<br />
Religion is like an exposed nerve for me. A critical topic if you will. If both fascinates and revolts. I love movies and stories about angels and demons raging a great unseen war across the heavens for the souls of mankind. I am energized by the great debates of the meaning of the word of God and the histories of the emerging idea of the Christian Faith. To me, it's a wonderful story much like Lord of the Rings, or any Final Fantasy game. <br />
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Back in time, Religion was a way to explain why the sun came up, why the seasons changed, why people died, and how we came to be. Because of the simple ignorance of the world we inhabited, combined with the yearning to know the answers to every question beginning with "Why?". It also often sprang up around great idealists who believed truly noble things, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, these people all believed that humanity should be a moral and good people. These beliefs built up around these noble idealists became so paramount to our way of life, that challenging it was inviting ridicule, exile, or even death. in times where towns were small and venturing into the wilderness was extremely dangerous, these penalties carried heavy weight, and usually death. Now then again, why would anyone challenge ideas like "Do onto others as you wold have others do onto you."?<br />
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I have relatives who are very religious. To them, religion serves as a moral guide, a way to live their lives so that they can be happy with themselves and their contribution to the world. "It fulfills their soul." Whatever that means. I think it means it brings them happiness, if so then it is a good thing. Most people who goto church go because they feel this same sense of fulfillment of the soul. They are the ones every week, giving to the church, even if they themselves are on hard times. They are organizing food banks, homeless shelters, care packages, fund-raisers, and everything else good that comes out of the church. Then they are the others, and unfortunately they are the ones in charge.<br />
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For a select few, Religion has become an institution. It has become a powerful entity with many abilities. For some it is a means to control the masses, from conception to death, literally. There are folks who use the power that their titles within the church to abuse, rape and inflict great pain on people. Religion is a tool used to justify war, social injustice, and every crime that is strictly forbidden in the Christian bible. The greatest atrocity, the unforgivable sin that Religion has been most accountable for, is breeding stupidity. <br />
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This is why I believe Religion should be abolished. I know we can't just make people stop being Spiritual, people will believe what they believe, no matter how stupid it sounds to others. I think we as a society as a whole can move past the need for an exterior omnipotent entity to guide our every action and explain the world around us.<br />
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The earth was flat once, flat, and the sun, planets and stars revolved around Jerusalem. That was the belief once, it has since been proven false, even the church has acknowledged their misjudgement. How did we find out? Did it take someone to finally sail across the world? Did we believe that the sun revolved around the earth until we went into space? Well, no, actually, science figured it all out. Or, rather people did. A man named Eratosthenes supposedly figured out around 240 B.C. that the earth was round, he even roughly calculated the circumference of the planet! Yet, somehow, the belief that the earth was flat continued until Columbus set sail in 1492 and didn't fall off the edge of the world. Galileo was put under house arrest because he argued that the earth and planets revolved around the sun, his calculations proved correct and we thankfully did not have to go into space to prove it to the world.<br />
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Science can and should replace our exploration and explanation of the world around us and the universe at large. It is a tool to be used to understand the workings of everything. The application and investment in science has been responsible for every advancement society can attribute to its improvement in quality of life, ease of travel, communication. Everything. The last advancement Christian Religion gave us was Jesus, who taught people to love one another, care for each other and to help each other. Great for morality, don't get me wrong, science is not a moral code nor should it be. Science should be guided by sound moral principals, always, but it should not be bound by Religious Dogma. Peer review has always kept the integrity of science. If a scientist claims that "By doing X, we can get Y", then other scientists attempt the same feat. If others do so, and the majority of the community agrees that the findings hold true, then the theory is proven, and everyone is happy. If other scientists cannot reproduce the experiment, then whoever claimed "By doing X, we can get Y" is proven wrong, and the theory is false. Simple as that.<br />
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For morality, we only have to look into our own brains. There are chemicals that are released when we do something nice for someone. It makes us feel good. Morality explained. Being good to people makes you feel good. Very simple concept, does no require you to hate, or discriminate against anyone biased on their belief structure.<br />
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See, I think religion has become outdated. And there is no church on earth that follows all the tenants of whatever aspect of the faith they believe in. Dancing, in one Christian faith is forbidden. Hardly noticed anymore, although it took a great Kevin Bacon movie to really bring the absurdity of it to light. Faiths preach that their structure will make you a good person, and you will be rewarded for being obedient to those laws. Time has passed and many of those laws have become outdated and, even the church itself has changed these supposed Holy Laws, passed down by God. If God is all seeing, his laws would have accounted for the future. <br />
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We live in a world, where almost every species we see requires, a male and a female to mate to create progeny. Requires. Yet there are faiths that demonize half our population. In this world, would a faith that placed men below women in the grand scheme of things be popular with men? Doubtful. I honestly wonder at the women who, with fiery faith, and blind righteousness further their own reduction to their biological function. What benefit is it to us to simply ignore, or belittle anyone biased on gender? For us boys, do we honestly think our mothers know absolutely nothing, and can teach us nothing? Laws that allow the slaughter of millions of people because they don't believe in the same magic man in the sky. Laws that allow people to be made slaves. Laws that state fundamental principles against murder, hate, violence, yet stand silent when breaking such laws serves their needs. We desperately need to come up with a new way to define our code of conduct to each other, one that doesn't undermine anyone because of their gender, race, age, or beliefs. I include belief because that can change with education, and time, hopefully. What we are using right now, isn't working.<br />
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Religion provides answers to the deep questions of the universe. Such as, "Why am I here?" Or so they claim. In fact, religion is just a cult. It's a way for one person, or a group of people to hold power over a larger group of people. It boils down to "If you listen to me, everything will be alright." People want everything to be alright, the world is a big place full of things that are intimidating and unknown, people want to feel secure, they want to know that they are doing things right. Everyone wants to feel as sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. Other people recognize that, and use that to wield great power. I'm not saying that all priests are priests because they want to have power. I am saying that people listen to priests on all sorts of matters of life. Priests, are effectively scholars of the bible, Ph.D's in fact. Would you consult a geologist on matters of your love life? Maybe if he or she had a great marriage, or gave good advice. And if that geologist gave you great advice, and helped you. Would you then expect that all geologists are good marriage councillors? No. Simply put, when you create a system where power over many people can be obtained simply by studying a religion and convincing others you subscribe to those beliefs... Well, you can get problems. I would not mind so much if said religions were good at policing themselves, but that is another rant.<br />
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The problem with relying on a metaphysical abstract entity that cannot be seen or touched, but interpreted by scholars, is that these scholars have come up with all kinds of really strange ways to explain the way the world works, because they have no idea themselves. Flat Earth Theory, for example. When people accept these, obviously false explanations of the world, it really opens them up to believing in all sorts of other stupid nonsense. If you believe that there is a magic man in the sky who created you, and all things in the universe, and loves you, is it so hard to believe that people can be turned into animals? Or that Gold will rain down on you if you pray hard enough? This is where the people looking for power have flourished, this is why there are so many extra laws and tenants attached to so man faiths. Men wanting power, and control over people, and because they "Believe" in the religion, they must "Believe" in all its laws, even if they don't really make much sense.<br />
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"Don't worry. Stop digging in that dirt, stop looking up in the sky, stop doing your experiments. I have all the answers you seek, I have been given all the answers, and I will give you these answers if you believe in me and follow my rules." That is Religion. That is a Con. That is the first step to shutting down your reasoning. If you believe everything you are told, you are being programmed to BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU ARE TOLD. If that does not scare you, then nothing further in this article will be any benefit to you, go away.<br />
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Why is this pissing me off so much? Well, normally it wouldn't, for the most part, I viewed religious nuts as nuts rockin' away in their stuffy churches. Fine by me. But, alas, as time passes for some reason, religion has been leaking into the rest of society, again. Politicians cannot get elected unless they believe in God. Canadian politicians would never dare such a thing, but lately, even that is changing. Religions ridiculous explanation of how the world came it be is being taught alongside evolution. We can prove evolution. We actually have seen evolution at work. But no, a very small minority is dictating it's fucked up retard nut-job belief structure of the rest of society, and now our children are getting infected. They are being taught, that they don't have to think for themselves. Hell no.<br />
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See, according to these nut jobs, they are trying to make society better. If everyone just, did exactly what they were told, we wouldn't have any problems. Just as long, as its these nut jobs who are the ones barking out the orders. And the way it's going, it will be the nut jobs barking the orders. They are the ones with the guns. We are the people who use our reason. We don't need guns, because we don't have irrational fears about terrorists invading our homes to steal our daughters and our beers. See where this is going?<br />
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How do we stop it? We, since we are dealing with people who believe a magical man in the sky has given them diving right to kill in his name provided the murdered was a non-believer, I'd say we are in a bit of a pickle. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-14932626115082439002012-11-05T06:09:00.001-08:002012-11-05T06:09:06.688-08:00Webseries Update Wow, so we shoot next week. Both Nervous and Excited. Learning lines... *gone*Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-77537270940541792382012-10-30T14:23:00.000-07:002012-10-30T14:23:46.408-07:00Webseries on the go I've always been a dreamer. Even to the point of leaving reality behind on some days to get lost in my thoughts of other lives to live, other people to be, future hopes and past what if's. It's kinda the thing I do, when I can. More often than not, I dream of filming my own little series, or acting in a show watched by people.<br />
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So, I wrote a series. Gonna act in it. Got cameras, lights, AC cords, diffusion, gels, markers... I got all the equipment I need, and people to use said equipment. Think I'm going to try and use IndieGoGo to raise some funds so I can feed everyone and give them a wrap party they'll never forget. (Well, some might forget due to alcohol... but that's another story.)<br />
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I'll keep ya updated.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-64424900382310748912012-10-27T21:41:00.001-07:002012-10-27T21:44:44.248-07:00Praying to God for Election Day I am not an internet junkie. At least, I don't think I am. I also don't own a TV, I get my news from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">here</a>. So I don't watch Fox, or MSNBC, or CNN. A few years ago I realized that it was not Hard Journalism, but instead, Entertainment News. I finally signed up to this <a href="http://www.reddit.com/">little internet nugget</a>. Oh my, who are these people who have been elected by the american people?
So, reading that a few senators actually spouted that pregnancy from Rape is "Gods Will", and then to say, that if it's a legitimate rape, the pregnancy will terminate, cause as we all know that a woman's body has ways of shutting that whole thing down, I have some concerns.<br />
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Almost half of the country is backing the thinking of people who think science is evil and that an invisible powerful man in the sky is going to watch over them and protect them from harm. (<a href="http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/27/gop-rigging-elections-for-romney/">Well, maybe even less after reading this article</a>)
That's a lot of people, who truly believe things like God hates fags, or God sends the souls of dead babies to hell because they haven't been baptized, or black people have pacts with satan. Half! Half of them truly believe that if they perform some ancient magical ritual it will protect them from bad things. Who are these people? Generally, they are rapist and pillagers, they loot the land, work the people and ravage the women. Do half of the american population believe that if they vote for these "Godly Men" somehow they'll be able to catch a few coins that slip out of their pockets? I imagine so. I can't help but think of all those people as well, morons.
What has these religions brought us? Tolerance? The Churches are even slower in change than politicians. Respect for mankind? How many wars have been fought in the name of God? Has it made a positive impact on people's lives? Yes, but it also has had negative impacts. Can you be a good person without religion? Yes.<br />
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I'm at a point where I can't even write anything, cause my mind is racing with so many angry thoughts. I cannot express enough how much I think Religion is totally useless, senseless and utterly moronic. However it is obvious that many millions of people want to live in a dream world where a magic man in the sky controls everything that happens in their lives. No wonder they don't care who they elect as their leaders. Their God will save them in the end, God will make the stock market crash, or recover, it's all Gods will.
I really can'y wait until these old, white nitwits with their idea that the fifties was the best era ever, die. Maybe that old, racist, narrow minded, misogynistic culture will die with it.<br />
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If there is a magic man in the sky, I pray he takes a closer look at the people who supposedly speak on his behalf. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-64057429219850022642012-03-25T05:28:00.000-07:002012-03-25T05:28:56.182-07:00Do you know what your child is learning at school?I didn't want to raise any alarms, I didn't think it would be a problem, but I'm seeing this in our schools and homes, and I cannot be silent any longer. There is a problem and we need to act <b>fast</b>.<br />
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Did you know that your young girls are being taught that they are the property of their fathers, or their husbands and that they must always submit to the dominate male figure in the household?<br />
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Did you know that our kids are being taught that racism is not only okay, but that it's a good thing?<br />
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Did you know that children who had no history of violence are being exposed to extreme violence without you, the parent's permission?<br />
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Did you know that your children are being taught to believe in creatures that cannot be seen, heard, smelled tasted, touched, measured or quantified, and they are tested on the understanding of this imaginary entity.<br />
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That's right, your children are being taught <b>RELIGION</b>. And according to the people who believe in the talking fire-bush, Dinosaurs and man lived side-by-side, and any real scientist is just "Trying to cover your eyes to the real truth." <br />
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So we gotta make a decision: Do we follow science, which can be measured, quantified with our five senses, gives us answers to questions in the real world or, Religion, which is interpreted by an old guy who reads a collection of old books, and gives us answers about a world which might exist, somewhere else.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-68277528379973925692012-03-11T16:15:00.000-07:002012-03-11T16:15:28.217-07:00Daylight Saving TimeOkay <b>Enough with the nonsense</b> We are not creatures that rise and set with the sun anymore. Can't we just set the clocks back a half hour next time and be done with it? Is there any point to screwing up our circadian clocks twice a year. Ugh, I can't even talk about this anymore, it's so silly<br />
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I'm out!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-72647305960818029502012-03-09T10:05:00.004-08:002012-03-09T10:18:33.055-08:00Politics, and the $%!*storm it's causing.I still watch about one Documentary a day, I try my best to keep away from the political ones because usually they use rhetoric and images to cause feelings of anger in the person watching it, so they feel they should stand up for what's right, good and just. <br />
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I don't necessarily object to watching something that causes me to feel emotion, either anger, fear, pity, etc. etc. I just wish, for a second, that we could get out of the mindset that if we 'elect' the right person, we will be taken care of.<br />
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Fuck that.<br />
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If someone tells you that they have your best interests at heart, they are either;<br />
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a) Your loving and caring mother, who has done nothing but try and provide you with the best start to life possible. (I say this because there are some mothers not so caring and loving...)<br />
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b) A liar.<br />
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See, when anyone tells you, especially a large group of you, that they have your best interests in mind they are lying, they have to be, because there is no way that one person can work for the better interests of millions. People have different needs and interests. Beyond basic shelter, food and health, we are all very different entities. The moment any politician leaves a podium after a speech that leaves the country feeling unified, he has to pander to special interests groups, and that's just so that politician can get re-elected. It costs so much money for elections, that corporate money is necessary, meaning that all politicians have to sell their soul in some fashion, just to stay in the game. Politicians can only keep the peoples interests, if it is also the interests of the money-train funding that politicians election. You cannot get elected if nobody hears your message, fact.<br />
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Part of me would love to give up and just live off the land, turn my back on the world, and look after me and my own. Unfortunately, for most of the developed world, that just isn't possible, there are laws Prohibiting hunting all over the world, and what if we all tuned into hunters? Could the diminishing wildlife sustain us? I don't know, doesn't seem likely if the food industry needs so many growth hormones to keep up with the current demand. It's not legal to build yourself a house and live in it. There are codes to make sure that the home you have is safe, notice also, there are laws protecting the contractor if the house is later proved, unsafe or uninhabitable. In essence, we're stuck in our urban jungles we created. In order to survive, we need hard currency, dollers, dollars, pounds, won.. etc. etc. In order to get currency, we have to work. To get a job, one needs some form of education, money again.<br />
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So what do you do? Well that's the thing, you, or rather, "We" let it get to this. We are the reason life sucks so much for us, because we decided that it's okay to let other people make all of our decisions. it's easier. You want a democratic system that works? Well you have to take part in it, you have to keep up with the debates, the bills, the laws, you have to keep reminding the people WE voted for, that WE are their bosses. When we elect someone to represent us, and then never bother to question or persist or even follow what they are doing, we are giving them the right to dictate how we live. If we don't even care about what happens to us, then the people we elect surely won't give a damn either.<br />
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You want to find someone to blame for the state of the world, look in the mirror, then educate yourself on the matter. We have all but given up our power, laws and bills have been passed that allow citizens to be detained indefinitely, without charge, without trial, and even without evidence. We demanded that, for our "safety" and peace of mind, so we can eat our TV dinners, laugh at Sheldon's opinions of Penny and pretend we got the life that dreams are made of.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-73061987700649025432011-09-08T14:13:00.000-07:002011-09-08T14:13:36.090-07:00Gothic Horror for HalloweenWell, it's official, just started work on a production of Dracula. Slightly terrified, directing always strikes me as a very fine art in balance, and hopefully, my scales are properly aligned. Still though, can't help but feel the super giddy-ness of excitement as the beginning of the process. Everything is potential now, nothing is set in stone, anything is possible.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-66636143619063849302011-09-04T10:29:00.000-07:002011-09-04T10:29:30.217-07:00Haven't said anything in a while...It's not that I don't have an opinion about anything recently, just been concentrating on getting into the routine of keeping the household together and nice. It always takes some getting used to when a new person moves in. Especially if that new person the one you call your love. I can't really say when she moved in, cause they day she declared it, she had only a small book bag with clothes in it. Men joke about the slow "invasion" of their space, but it is somewhat true in many cases. (The bathroom is usually the first foothold) In my case, I encouraged it, thankfully this one I gladly accept into my space, even though I have to change a few of my habits.<br />
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Oh, also finally finished editing a pilot to a web series, you can check it out below!<br />
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Written and Directed by Me!<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c0kr1AFq_A">BFA!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-61268840515723896442011-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:002011-07-10T07:50:34.143-07:00Google+ and the possible mass exodusSo I have been playing around with Google+ for just a few hours now and already I think I will be making the switch from Facebook, the reason? Circles, Circles and more Circles. I first heard about Google+ from a former classmate, Robert Snow, check out his blog at <a href="http://robertsnow.wordpress.com/">http://robertsnow.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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So, Circles. They remind me of groups in Facebook but with one very simple yet very fundamental change. In Google+, any contacts you add to your social network will have to be organized into Circles. You begin with 4, Friends, Family, Acquaintances, and Following and also allows you to create as many circles as you want, whenever you wish. You then can separate your contacts amongst those circles. Very great idea, since there have been many embarrassing moments due to the fact that on Facebook, all your contacts can see everything posted your wall, and any pictures that are tagged with your name, this will be cut down with the circles idea, because you can choose what circles of contacts you can share any bit of information at any time. Here is an extreme example, say a contact in your friends circle tags you in a photo where you are at a party, say you call your work and claimed to be sick to be at that party, your boss, who is in another circle, is much less likely to see the incriminating photo of you boozing it up while you were supposed to be in bed dying from the horrible flu that you lied about.<br />
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It seems that Google+ looked at what was working with Facebook, and also looked at what could be improved, and did just that. You can create photo albums, you have a wall to display your thoughts (and you can choose what circles see those thoughts, neat, huh?) and one of the best features I think, is the ability to create hangouts where you and up to nine of your friends can video conference, this particular feature appeals to me, why? Well I have been a pen and paper Roleplayer for many years. In high school, it was very easy to get everyone together for a game as we did not have the responsibilities of adult life. Now that everyone has jobs, significant others, and many of my RP friends have moved out of the Provence, there is now a simple platform we can all use to video conference and play the games we love, despite being separated by thousands of miles.<br />
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I am eager to see if there is a mass exodus from Facebook. Everyone I know uses Facebook to keep up with their friends or people they have newly met, will Circles be the new thing? Should Facebook be worried? If so, will we see an upgraded version soon to compete with Google+? As few people have the time and patience to keep up with two networking platforms, it feels like an online war may be brewing, the weapons of this war; the iconic Like button, and the new +1. Who will win? I'm on the edge of my keyboard.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-50792282049551689052011-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:002011-07-01T09:41:14.973-07:00Memorial Day, Canada Day, and our Rights and Responsibilities.I am so very lucky, so very honored, and so grateful, that I am a Newfoundlander, and a Canadian. I live in a place where I can walk the streets or dark paths at 2 a.m. and not fear a mugging. I can strike up a conversation with someone while waiting at the bus stop, and it isn't awkward. I have the right, as a Canadian, to free speech, health care, if I lose my job, there are provisions made to help me along until I can get back on my feet, if my country is threatened, there is a group of very dedicated and courageous men and women who will defend my right to lie in my bed at 1:37 in the afternoon.<br />
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Lots of rights were paid for by the blood of our ancestors, a whole lot of blood, thousands upon tens of thousands of lives worth of blood. Think about that for a moment while you read this, look at the numbers of lives that have been lost to date in protection of our rights and lives. Just in World War One, the total number of civilian and military casualties are numbered around 37.5 MILLION, 16.5 Million of those were deaths, while around 21 Million were wounded, and that's just in the first World War.<br />
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So on a day like today, we remember those brave souls who so long ago took up arms against a menace so far away from home. We run ads, donate a few dollars out of our pockets, come November we buy poppies for a few cents, some of us will give a lot, but I don't think anyone gives enough. We just don't seem to care as much now, our shit's just more important.<br />
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Bullshit.<br />
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Our Rights, my rights, his rights, her rights, right to freedom of the press, right to freedom of speech, right to a decent wage, right to a safe environment to raise our children. Everywhere I look, I see people screaming that they have rights to do this and that... I never hear about their responsibilities.<br />
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Yes, you have the right to say whatever you want. But you have the Responsibility to ensure you are not stopping others from exercising that right.<br />
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Yes, the press needs the right to freedom of information, but they have the Responsibility to ensure that they convey that information in an unbiased and transparent way, using only facts.<br />
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Yes, you have the right to a decent wage, but you have the Responsibility to do your job, the way you agreed to do it, when you were hired.<br />
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Yes, you have the right to a safe environment to raise your children, but you have the Responsibility to be an active participant in ensuring the safety of that environment.<br />
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These are just a few examples, but with every right, there comes a Responsibility, I hear everyone demanding their rights, but I only see a few living up to their Responsibilities. You know who you are.<br />
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Final note: The Military. Let me tell you a story. In South Korea, I was in an airport, in a little room with an open ceiling, it was the smoking room and I lit up like many of the Koreans around me. A man in a Korean military uniform came in and he searched himself for his pack of smokes. I could read on his face that he suddenly realized that he must have forgotten his pack somewhere else. He reached for the door, and before he could even touch the handle, EVERY other Korean in that little room, offered him their pack, bowing in respect. That is how our Military deserves to be treated. We may not agree with the reasons they fight, but that isn't their choice, they follow the orders of our leaders. If we do not agree with the military's actions, then it is OUR responsibility to take that up with our leaders, not with the people who's job is to take orders, and to pay the price of blood.<br />
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Our Military has a hard enough job, don't make it harder on them. Instead, help make sure, that our brave men and women, aren't sacrificed in vain.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-84895165841958396742011-06-29T14:37:00.000-07:002011-06-29T14:37:37.745-07:00Creationism, ID, and The Theory of EvolutionSo, what bothers me most about Creationism, Intelligent Design, and what it's called now, Teaching the Controversy is that people who teach it as a science use unscientific means of proving so called facts. I have never faulted anyone for having faith. I am a fairly spiritual person, (Spiritual, not religious) and I can make pretty dramatic leaps of faith when it comes to understanding the world around me. For example, I believe that the Holy Catholic Bible has many stories in it which have very real, and very relevant guidelines on living a good life and being a good human being, it also attempts to answer questions on the origin on life. (It has also been proven, that this very Bible, was edited, many many times, as many Holy Scriptures were left out because of conflicting viewpoints or stories those priests way back when decided, didn't fit with their image of God.) Thousands of years ago, where there was no modern science to help understand the world around us, people used stories, metaphors, and supernatural beings to explain why the world worked the way it did. We didn't know then what we know now, and I'm not saying that all that knowledge of the past is moot, but I do find it rather primitive minded to deny things we can prove, and do prove, on a daily basis. It seems to me that those who wish to believe that Creationism, or Intelligent Design is in fact the truth, would simply have to shift their way of thinking, just a little bit. Maybe God created evolution, church goers are always told that God is everywhere and that God made all things, so maybe, just maybe, God did make everything, he just didn't make it all at once. Maybe he set into motion, the building blocks of life that would eventually produce, us, Humans in his own image. Maybe.<br />
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The second problem I have with Intelligent Design is that people actually believe this conflicting 'science' should be taught in schools right next to regular science, and we can let the children decide what they believe. Unfortunately, the majority of students are idiots, I was an idiot in high school, I thought I knew everything and nobody could tell me better, it's part of the maturing process as we let go of our ego-centric behavior and realize that we are not the most important thing in the universe. To me that's like saying, "Okay in this version of math, 1+1=2, but we are going to teach an alternative math where we can show you that 1+1=3, and we will let you, the students, decided which you prefer." Banks would never go for this, as I would bring in all my loonies two by two, and make a mega profit by simple addition.<br />
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The third problem I have with Intelligent Design is that it requires you to take things based on the word of another person, not research they have done, or not done, in many cases, and we are to take it as fact. While the church behind intelligent design, recognizes that they have erred many times, for example the fact that the world was flat and that everything revolved around the earth was recognized as incorrect, albeit many many years after this theory was able to be proved.<br />
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Religion, in my opinion, originated as a way to control people, but I recognize that my opinion cannot be proven. Religion has been proven, to enrich peoples lives by adding a spiritual element. But why should that interfere with our quest for knowledge. I don't see a conflict with science and say, the 10 commandments. Because those commandments regulate how decent a human being we are, but it does not regulate learning, nor does it conflict with evolution.<br />
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And there is my thoughts for the day...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-81642108633521422482011-06-28T10:41:00.000-07:002011-06-28T11:04:52.593-07:00Do you remember?Enjoying the island of Fogo, i came across these in a little corner store. For some reason, I only bought one, but I fully intend on going back to collect them all. Do you remember?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxX34kG4xu1Z7t_Bx_mYQOv6mhju_O_HWJuc1cxD6M6_JK9irO9pVM8FV4i4g05KAU4rBeh9LPkwGAz1nI0W8p33R5QgS-_hz9c29-wqPpjMl4yBsAKH6cs9bNyZYpTjWmWxLJvTA8vgD/s1600/Photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwxX34kG4xu1Z7t_Bx_mYQOv6mhju_O_HWJuc1cxD6M6_JK9irO9pVM8FV4i4g05KAU4rBeh9LPkwGAz1nI0W8p33R5QgS-_hz9c29-wqPpjMl4yBsAKH6cs9bNyZYpTjWmWxLJvTA8vgD/s320/Photo+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It is amazing how the littlest things can bring back a flood of memories. I can recall almost losing an eye to one of those little plastic propellers. Good times! These things are made with good old fashioned Styrofoam and even had adjustable flaps. From what I can recall, you had to adjust them in their up position in order for any of these things to have decent air time. The kid in me wants to rip open the package and act out epic air combat situations while the adult in me wants to save them for some unknown reason.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8401560499092090244.post-11799597682968383972011-06-27T18:37:00.000-07:002011-06-28T11:04:06.374-07:00DocumentariesI love watching Docs. More specifically, I love to learn about the world around me and the people living in it. I have a new favorite website <a href="http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/">http://topdocumentaryfilms.com</a>/ and I've been feeding the mind with countless bits of data, and I just love how information flows. For example, I was watching a Doc called McLibel, which is about a court case in England where McDonalds sued two regular people who wanted to inform regular citizens about the food McDonalds was serving. In the documentary, I saw an interview with a beef farmer who had said that the harsh chemicals he used to make the cows grow faster caused negative health effects for his workers. He said that he was sure that a lot of his beef, ended up in McDonalds. I wondered, where did the rest go? I looked for other Docs on the subject, found one on Chickens, and how many chickens can't even stand or walk around properly because of the growth hormones given to them to plump up their breasts.<br />
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I thought to myself, "What about DDT?" Do you remember DDT? Check it out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT</a> to summarize, it was widely used as an insecticide shortly after world war 2, that's 1949. However, scientists found that this chemical was very effective in killing insects, however, this compound didn't end there, in fact it didn't break down at all. It was found in higher concentration in the things that ate the insects, and then found in a higher concentration in the things that ate the things that ate the bugs! (Meaning us, humans, and yes, a high enough dose can kill you) Long story short, it was a disaster, thankfully, scientists backed by research data got the wide use of DDT banned around the world. Scientists even attributed to the return of the Bald Eagle (Nearing extinction at one point, which baffled me with America's importance on symbolism) to the fact that DDT was no longer used. DDT was banned from the US in 1972, that's 53 years of use before the effects were found to be harmful to the environment and to humans.<br />
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Okay, present day. 53 Years of use before a product was banned due to it's harmful effects to humans. I wondered how long were these growth hormones and harsh chemicals used on our food tested before they were put into use. Were they tested for 50+ years? I highly doubt it. I haven't found a single doc talking about this possible danger. I say possible because the chemicals used may very well be harmless to humans. I just don't know, and I would love to know...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07418847866781998486noreply@blogger.com0