Song of the Day #46 - MS MR

I was in HMV earlier this year and came across an album called "Secondhand Rapture" by MS MR (pronounced Miz Mister).  They are a duo from New York City with "Secondhand Rapture" being their debut full length album.  I never heard of them until I seen their album.  So I listened to it and some of the songs are pretty good.  But this song I picked I instantly liked.  The lyrical content of the song is big reason why I like it.  I can relate.

"Think of You" by MS MR
YouTube link

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Random Fact #11: French Toast

Yesterday, we were deciding on what to make for breakfast today.  My mom suggested French toast.  I thought that was good.  My mom wanted to know the origins of French toast.  So I went on a search of the origins.

French toast was not invented in France.  In fact, it was invented long before France was a country.  The exact origins are unknown.  With people not wanting to waste food, putting stale bread in a milk and egg mixture was a way to use up the bread.  The earliest known reference to doing this dates back to 4th century Rome.  It was in a cookbook and attributed to Apicius.  The style of French toast was callec Pan Dulcis.  Today, many countries make it this way.

Throughout the middle ages, it became a common practice.  They used primarily stale bread.  The term French toast means "pain perdu" meaning "lost bread."  It is called this in various places around the world.  Before the French called it pain perdu, they called it "pain ala Romaine" meanining Roman bread.

One myth about French toast is that it came from America.  The story told is that in 1724, chef Joseph French first made it.  French was never good at grammar and when named it, he simply forgot the apostrophe.  It ended up being Frenchs rather than French's.

There are many cookbooks from the middle ages in Europe that give the classical French toast recipe.  The name French pre-dates the 18th century.  The earliest known references is in the mid-17th century which is well before the story of Joseph French.  Before that time it was called German bread, Spanish bread, and various other names.  Only some had anything to do with countries.

So there you have it, a history of French toast.

Source: Today I Found Out

Skinny vs. Overweight: A Never Ending Debate

On Facebook, a page I like posted a link.  The title on the link said, "Why being fat is good for you..."  A debate was ensuing in the comments.  It's like people would rather see being thin as negative.  Sometimes you can't help be thin.  It's genetics that you are thin.  If yo want to be thin by choice and achieve it in negative ways, than that's  different.  They were trying to say that being overweight was better than being thin or skinny.  Why is there this battle between skinny, thin, or the word I like to use in slim vs. overweight, obese, etc..

After seeing this link, I went on to the good ol' Google and did a search.  I found an article by the Daily Mail and in the article it talked about how U.S. reasearchers said that being overweight can be good for you.  How being overweight helps you live longer, eliminate some diseases, etc..  That seems all well and good, but it also stats you will have other problems.  Basically, they've contradicted themselves.  Either way you chalk it up, being overweight is not good for you.  Cancer Research UK has stated that 6,000 cases of cancer in older women are linked to being fat.  Sure it's not a big percentage of the population, but still that's not something ignore.

Being overweight point blank is not healthy.  Sure you can make the arguement that you can be a healthy overweight person.  But doesn't that scream irony and oxymoronic?  Have you ever met a healthy overweight person?  I haven't.  But according to LiveScience.com, you apparently can be overweight and healthy.  In this article, they said that it's all about where you store your fat.  The bad fat is around your belly and not just under your skin.  Those healthy overweight people are metobolically more healthy.  From what I got from the article is that it has to do with your metabolism.  They also say in the article that just because you are metobalically healthy doesn't mean you shouldn't exercise and try to improve youself that way.  I agree.

You can find studies which they link in the article stating otherwise.  But it's a no-brainer, if even if you don't care, exercise and whatnot improves your health.  I know it and have been working at it slowly.  Very slowly...  Don't just take that article as black and white.  Even they state in the article that there is a grey area.  Talking about this with a friend, his stepdad said that doctors have come out and said that it's not true.

Let's switch to the otherside.  Let's look at the skiny, thin, or slim people.  I've been of the  notion that just because you are thin doesn't always make you healthy.  Just because you have the look of health doesn't mean you are.  But there are people out there that strongly believe that if you are thin than you are healthy.  That couldn't be further from the truth.

MSN Healthy Living, has a great article about thin people who are actually "fat."  It's not that they are fat on the outside, it's that they are fat on the inside.  If you don't do something about it, according to the article, you can have health problems later on in life.  What percentage of the world's population actually know that?  One thing they say, which is crazy, is that someone can have as much fat as an obese person on the inside.  Take a moment to think about that.  Mind has been blown, right?  Don't think because you have no signs or are not feeling any effects that you are fine.  For all you know you could have normal-weight obesity.  All that terms means is that you have high levels of body fat despite having body mass of 24.9 or lower and have normal weight.

You can't judge yourself based on how you look if you are "thin."  It's what's on the inside that you should be looking at.  According to Jimmy Bell, Ph.D., a professor of molecular imaging at the Imperial College at the University of London, skinny people—even supermodel types—can be superfat: “Everyone expects an overweight person to have lots of fat, but it can be a shock when a thin person has as much internal body fat as an obese, or even morbidly obese person.”

I wonder what percentage of the people in this world actually know they are fat on the inside.  They may not exhibit any signs of it, but later in life they will according to what I've been reading.  Don't let being thin fool you.  You could have more problems than you think.  You may not see them early on in life, but later in life you will.  So take care of yourself.  That's a common thing I've read.  Well, I'm paraphrasing.

The more I look into this, the more I find articles that are saying that you can be overweight and even slightly obese and live longer.  But there are also articles that refute this as well.  As I said, that doesn't mean you should be thinking you have nothing to worry about.  There are still other health risks you have to worry about.  What I'm getting out of this is that you have to find that balance.  It's hard to know which is correct in terms of fit and fat/overweight and living longer vs. fat is not fit/overweight won't help live longer.  I haven't see any articles refuting that you can't be both thin and fat on the inside.

There is so much to learn about this and you don't know who is right and who is wrong.  Certain people say their research is correct or people who refute it say their research is correct.  One thing I found while researching and looking into all of this is an article by myHealth on CTVNews.ca, they said that the American Medical Association declared obesity a disease in June of 2013.  There are people out there who are offended.  I don't blame them.  It is a cop out to call something that can be avoided a disease.  It is like giving people who don't care to do anything about it a way out.  Diseases have the potential to kill you.  Sure you will die from being overweight and obese, but you change that so you live longer or help yourself live longer.  But you can't always be sure you will live longer because you could fit and healthy, yet you could drop dead of a heart attack tomorrow.  That can do with genetics.  It is up to you to try and change that so future generations in your family don't have to worry about stuff like that.  Than again, I'm no expert.

Don't worry about what society tells you or shows you.  If you have half a brain and a mind of your own, than you'll be able to make your own decisions.  Don't let them influence how you think you should look physically.  You are smart enough to determine that.  Sure I find a little extra meat on women's bones to be very attractive.  I'm not into those ultra thin chicks that look like they should munch on a burger or two and put a little fat on their ass.  I get that some people are thin because of a variety of factors.  But each to their own.

At the end of this post, I'm just at the start of this all.  But looking at both sides, I can honestly tell you that neither side is better.  Even the sides within a side there is no one right answer.  This debate will be unending.  Regardless of that, people will think their point of view is right no what research refutes it.  No matter what, there is no right or wrong answer in this debate and in my lifetime there very well might not be.

Hoops and Yoyo

You might be thinking, "what the heck is Hoops and Yoyo?"  I've never heard of them before till today.  My stepdad had some audio clips of them on their phone he was playing.  So my mom started telling me about them.  She went on YouTube and showed me a video of theirs.  They quite funny.  Here is the first one I watched which is hilarious.

"Bring Me a Brat!"
YouTube link



They have lots of other short videos for you to enjoy.  Take a little bit of time to watch a few of their videos and have a laugh.  During the Christmas season when we are all rushing around doing a Christmas things, we all know we can use one.

Winter Songs Only Sung at Christmas Time

There are many songs associated with Christmas whether they are secular or religious.  But there are songs that have nothing to do with Christmas, yet they are only sung during Christmas time.  Songs such as "Winter Wonderland," "Let it Snow," "Jingle Bells," and "Frosty the Snowman" to name oh but a handful of songs have been woven into the fabric of Christmas music.  The fact is that they have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.  These songs don't even allude to Christmas or make any references to this great holiday season.

I'm not saying they are bad songs or anything like that.  The point of it is, that they should be sung during WINTER and not just Christmas.  Growing up, I found it odd to sing "Jingle Bells" when it wasn't Christmas as I always thought it was a Christmas song.  I've come to realize that that isn't the case at all.  Just because something like "Jingle Bells" has long been associated with Christmas does not and I mean DOES NOT have anything to do with Christmas.

I am not trying to be a Grinch.  Far from it.  I'm not saying you can't sing those winter songs during Christmas.  Besides, who am I tell you you can't?  It's more so the point that these are are not Christmas songs and shouldn't be relegated to be one.  Whoever wrote them wrote them as a winter song.  If the writer wanted to be a Christmas song, than he or she would have done so.  Sure traditionally snow has a lot to do with Christmas, but snow isn't strictly relegated to Christmas.  If you live in parts of the world that get winter and snow, you know that winter can last six months or more.

Let me ask you this: Why relegate winter songs to just Christmas time?  As stated, there are no references to Christmas in them.  Keeping on with my example and using "Jingle Bells," it was written as a Thanksgiving song by James Lord Pierpont according to mental_floss Magazine.  You can read that even though it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, that's what it was written for.  Yet people altered the lyrics and made it Christmas friendly and it has become the most performed and known non-Christmas Christmas songs.

If people bothered to know a song's background and lyrical content, than they wouldn't be so quick to lump it in with a specific holiday season.  That's just lazy on whoever's part it was to do that.  If it's a winter song, than sing it all winter long.  People like to complain about Christmas music, but if you sing a winter song all winter long, than they can't complain about it in the realm of Christmas music because it's not.  We need to get out of that mindset that songs with lyrical content about winter is for Christ time.  I doubt people will, but nevertheless, we need too.  Simple as that.

Blogging - Is it Worth Keeping up With It?

I started this little old blog of mine on because I wanted to become apart of the blogosphere.  I seen other people blogging away putting what they had to say or share in a post.  So on February 23, 2005 this blog was born.

At first I had short posts.  They were one maybe two paragraphs long.  Some. Of those posts were nothing special.  It was place to post whatever.  It still a place to do that mind you.  But looking back, I can't stand to read them as I find they suck.  I kept up with it. I kept blogging away.  I kept at it and oas time went on, my writing and posts got better.

When I saw one of my cousins this past summer at our other cousin's wedding, he said that he has checked out this little ol' blog of mine.  I thought that was cool.  He complimented me by that he can tell that I am a pretty good writer by what he reads of my statuses and whatnot on Faceook.  This affirmation from my cousin is appreciated as I find that the dedication and improvements I've made to this blog in a number of ways has been worth it.

Now, a lot friends, family, and people I know either do blog or have blogged. Some blog for awhile and some for a short period of time.  In the case of my good friend Mark, he would blog for a time, than he would stop.  Than he would get the itch to blog again.  This has been a trend for him over the years.  It's a love/hate relationship with him when it comes to blogging about certain topics.  I get it, but you have to be willing to put yourself out there when blogging in some way.  Even thought blogging can be a very good thing, Mark said that "it can easily become narcissistic and enable unhealthy ways of thinking and living."  That is true as well.  I wanted to know if he feels vulnerable when blogging. He said, "Well, writing is a vulnerable thing.  Assuming you aren't being deceptive, you are showing yourself to another person."

Vulnerability can be one of things that prevent people from doing something like blogging or blogging on certain topics.  I hope that some people can find a way to overcome this vulnerability and blog without worrying about whether or not it's too personal or it's too this or too that.  I certainly hope that for Mark.

I can empathize with not blogging all the time.  This year has the least amount of posts I ever had.  I am sort of kicking myself for not doing more blogging because there were lots of things I could have blogged about, but was lazy in doing so.

I wonder if the other people who I know that blogged stopped because of either laziness or having nothing to say?  Sometimes it can be combination of the two.

This brings me to the question that is in the title of this post.  It is worth keeping up with it?  Speaking for myself, I think it is worth it because whenever I check out people's blogs, I like to read about what they have to say about things.  It's unfortunate that someone such as Phil Loseth doesn't blog anymore.  He was one who I liked to read whenever I went to his blog.  Maybe a comeback is in order, eh Phil?

Now, Marc Vandersulys celebrated ten years of blogging on December 12.  I appreciated the honesty in that post.  He noted that he wants to take his blog into some direction, but isn't sure which direction.  I can understand.  Carving out what your blog should look like and what content it should have can be hard.  He also noted that he wants blogging to be fun again.  That I can also understand.  His noted declining number of posts over the second half of the ten years could be an indication that he needs to have it fun again and not just post to post.

You should never see a blog as something you have to do.  More as something you want to do.  Don't make a blog something you do begrudgingly.  If you go into it with the mindset that you do it for fun and the enjoyment of it, than keep it that way.  Don't loathe doing it and never do it again.  I get that you fall out of doing it for various reasons, just don't use the reason you hate doing it.  If you hated doing it, than you wouldn't have started blogging in the first place.  With that mindset, you show that it's not worth keeping up.  If you have a positive mind frame about the whole blogging process and things surrounding blogging, you show that it's worth keeping up.

I am not trying persuade anybody into continuing to blog.  But it that happens, than that's awesome.  If not, that's cool too.  I am just saying from my personal point of view that it is worth it keeping it up because you never who reads your blog, shares your posts, comments, etc..  Make it worth it.  Make it something you are proud of.  Start somewhere and go from there.  That's what I did and I've improved greatly in my nearly nine years of blogging.

I feel like a nearly nine years, or however long, of improving my blogging and writing in general would be wasted if I didn't keep up with it.  There are more good benefits than bad to keeping up with blogging.  You should see it as a joy and something fun rather than a chore.  Here is to hoping you keep up your blog and make it the best it can be.

Saskatchewan Needs a Women's Wrestling Scene

This history of professional wrestling in Saskatchewan is one that is up and down.  We've had promotions, but they've always fallen by the wayside.  One of the longest running in the country has been High Impact Wrestling.  They been around for over 10 years.  I'm proud to say that I support them.

Today on Facebook, High Impact Wrestling star, Brett Evans said, "Saskatchewan needs a female wrestling scene. C'mon ladies, step up."  I've been saying this for sometime.  High Impact Wrestling needs a women's division.  But there needs to be a scene in Saskatchewan period.

Women's wrestling is a niche.  But if it's done right ala Shimmer, Women's Superstars Uncensored, SHINE, joshi puroresu in Japan, and various other promotions; it can be really good.  Saskatchewan just needs a foundation to start a great promotion and become an amazing place for women to want to work.  Show that we have great female talent within Saskatchewan.  We need to put our mark on the wrestling map with not just men's wrestling but women's wrestling too.

In the past, High Impact Wrestling has booked the odd women's match, but they need to help be the trail blazer for women's wrestling in this province.  They could help be a forerunner for women's professional wrestling, not only in Saskatchewan, not only the prairies, but in Western Canada.  We need something to get the women's wrestling scene in Saskatchewan going.  Make it competitive that women would actually want to wrestle here.  Make it worth having them come in.  We need something.

An all women's promotion under the HIW Canada banner would be pretty sweet.  You called it High Impact Women or something.  It doesn't have to be under the HIW Canada banner, but just a women's promotion all together.  We nee something done.  We need to add some diversity to professional wrestling in this province.  Like I said, we need something to put Saskatchewan on the map in professional wrestling so people will take a step back and take notice.  Women's wrestling is one of those ways.

I hope the women's scene will start and thrive as the future wears on.  It would be awesome if they helped lead Saskatchewan in a bright future for professional wrestling.  These are a few things that one wrestling fan can hope for in this province.  Now they just need to become reality.

Merry Christmas - Should it Be Eliminated?

In the early to mid 4th Century AD, the Western Churches had placed Christmas on December 25 as the date of Jesus' birth is disputed and not actually known..  This was later adopted by the East.  This is the foundation of what is Christmas.

Jesus, peace on Earth, good will to men, family, friends, food, Christmas carols, and tons of other things are associated with this time of the year.  There are many words and phrases associated with Christmas as well.  Merry Christmas is one that has been associated with this holiday season since 1565.  Well that's the year of the first known greeting.  According what I've searched, "Merry", derived from the Old English myrige, originally meant merely "pleasant, agreeable" rather than joyous or jolly.

The greeting Merry Christmas is slowly being phased out as a greeting. That's what some are trying to do anyways.  They want all greetings to become secular and politically correct.  Some atheists, non-religious, and non-Christians want Christmas to conform to their beliefs.  But the basis of Christmas is Christian.  Jesus is a big part of Christianity.  His birth the central event of this holiday season.  If you take Merry Christmas out of this holiday than all the atheists, non-religious, and non-Christians who celebrate this holiday would not have a holiday to begin with.

The big debate currently is about removing the term "Merry Christmas."  The City of Saskatoon has had this debate.  Certain groups want "Merry Christmas" taken off their buses and replaced with the more politically correct and secular "happy holidays."  I appreciate that the City of Saskatoon basically told this one guy to screw off and that "Merry Christmas" would remain on the city buses. Essentially his complaint was denied.  The guy is known to be a shit disturber.  It's like we have to conform to what he believes.  The good thing that Saskatoon might do is add diverse holiday greetings on their buses.

People are so offended because others want to keep Christ in Christmas.  But did these people forget that it's CHRISTmas?  You cannot get rid of Merry Christmas because you rid a big part of Christmas.  A well known SECULAR Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" has Merry Christmas in the freaking title.  I wonder if they realize they are singing it. It shows you can't totally eliminate the term "Merry Christmas" from the secular Christmas realm. Is it any skin off your ass if people say "Merry Christmas?"  Is it going to effect your ability to live and breathe because someone says "Merry Christmas."  NO!

This isn't about getting everybody to say it.  This is about not eliminating it.  It is about people needing to get over it because they want everyone to become secular like themselves.  It's not all about them.  In fact the corporations, for years, have been eliminating or have eliminated "Merry Christmas" in their advertising and literature.  They say either "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings."  That's all fine and well, I guess.  But they need to appeal to all their customers.

People can try to have it eliminated all they want.  But wouldn't eliminating it be infringing on the beliefs of the people who want to say it?  Oh the hypocrisy of it all.  I bet the secularists, athethists, and non-Christians who celebrate Christmas didn't think about.  It's not all about them.  Unfortunately, we can't be politically correct all the time either.  I will say that I do appreciate those who say Merry Christmas if they are non-Christian, etc..

You can wish me "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings."  I appreciate you sending me best wishes for the Christmas season.  But I for one will say Merry Christmas to you and yours.  This guy will not have "Merry Christmas" eliminated from Christmas.  If you don't like it, than that's too damn bad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Short Sleeve Sampson - Legend, Class Act, Uber Professional

On December 5th,  High Impact Wrestling rolled through Saskatoon again as part of their Christmas Rampage Tour.  They also brought back Short Sleeve Sampson.  He was the first wrestler I met at a wrestling event ever.  The memories of that night still remains.  He was a class act on that day in 2012.

Fast forward over a year and a half later.  Sampson announced his retirement from professional wrestling after a 15 year career.  He also announced that he is going to embark on a farewell tour of about 40 dates.  Upon finding this out, I instantly post on the HIW Facebook group saying that they should bring him back.  Low and behold when they announced their Christmas Rampage Tour, they announced they were bringing him back for their three date tour.  I was so stoked.  But when December 5 arrived, I was truly excited for the event.  Thank you to Dice Steele for saving a V.I.P. ticket for me.  So I got a picture in the ring with Sampson.

Next night in Regina, I went down to King's Challenge IV.  I wouldn't miss King's Challenge IV, but I also wouldn't miss Sampson's last Saskatchewan date ever.  It great to see such a true professional in back-to-back nights.  It's too bad that he won't be back in a wrestling capacity.  I told time on Facebook the next day that it be awesome if he came back for a Q&A and an autograph session.  He seemed down for the idea.  Maybe King Kash would be up for the idea.

If you get the chance to meet Sampson, don't pass it up.  You'll regret it if you pass up the opportunity.  He is a class act.  He is one of the nicest and most chill guys you'll meet in the wrestling business.  It was great to see him again.  The Sampsonites are going to miss him around these parts.

Here is the quick story Shaw TV did on the event.  It is features Short Sleeve Sampson and Dice Steele.



Here's to wishing Sampson a great rest of his farewell tour and a happy retirement.  I truly hope our paths cross again one day.  Sampson, if you read this, like I said, if you do take a trip out this way, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Black Friday Emits the Scent of Greed

Black Friday and Black Friday sales is a tradition around Thanksgiving in the United States.  It's busiest day for shopping in the United States.  This tradition has made it's way into Canada.  A big reason that it happens in Canada is so consumers stay in Canada to shop and not cross the border.

Now with that being said, the deals are great and you can save some money.  But the problem with Black Friday is what you'll see in the following video.



This is a common occurrence in the United States.  People will claw, scratch, kick, bit, punch, push/shove, and fight (as seen in the video) to get the item they want.  In fact, a person died from being trampled.  They don't care that they cause physical harm to another person.  They just want that item that's on sale.  What's sad about this video is that these two chicks have to be restrained by the police because they are fighting over a 24 inch TV.

What is the point of such shitty behavior?  With the terrible shape that the United States is in, they spend money like they have it.  Their greedy attitude will not stimulate the economy.  One day of greedy over spending is just their materialistic self-centeredness shining through.  It's good to want such items, but do we truly need them?  When the United States is in debt, shouldn't they have their priorities in order?  You'd think so, but judging by this video as one of many cases, that is not the case.

This one day of overspending on items they don't need won't stimulate the economy like some may think.  If they want to stimulate the economy, than they need to do it the right.  This isn't going to do it.

Our North American society needs a dose of reality.  Especially the United States.  When they don't have any money to pay their bills because they frivolously spent on items they DIDN'T need, than it sets a bad example for future generations.  But I guess they will never learn.  What's sad is that this video had a millions views on the day it was posted.  I guess people like watching a cat fight over something stupid.  That's pretty sad.

Ugh, Females Sometimes

On November 10, I was texted by a now former friend.  She asked why I haven't talked to her in months.  She goes on saying, "Are we no longer friends?  I can stop texting you if that's what you want..." I told her that she doesn't talk to me.  But she was making the first step to say hi.  I mean she only talks to me when she needs something. This always leads to bullshit which falls to the wayside and we go on as normal.  But yesterday was proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.  She asked if I wanted to come over and watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. British Columbia Lions game as she asked where I was watching it.  I told her I wasn't in the mood to go anywhere.  She keep texting me and saying "awe," "please."  She wanted company.  Yet the kind of company I want is vastly different than the kind she wants.  Even if I did go over to her place, the game would have been half over.  She didn't see anything wrong with that.  I was fine and content to watch the game at home.  No matter how much she tried, I didn't go.

It goes on from there with her saying I never ask to hang out.  But whenever I do, she says "okay, we should go for coffee" or whatever, nothing ever happens.  She denied that she ever said that.  That's fine, she can deny it all she wants.  She further gets pissy saying, "bye, bye, I'm done."  She deleted me from Facebook like it would hurt my feelings.  She isn't the first one and won't be the last.  I told her that she treats me like a boyfriend even though I'm not.  She thinks there is nothing wrong with doing that.  She thinks there is nothing wrong with friend zoning someone.  You know what, I say, screw that.  She wouldn't take it if some guy friend zoned her.  So why should I have to?  She thinks it better to treat someone like a boyfriend than a stranger.  Saying that makes being friend zoned soooo much better...  The fact of the matter is that treating a person like boyfriend without the relationship is not what a friend does.

It likes she owes nobody anything.  She is so ungrateful and she doesn't even realize it.  I've bent over backwards for her in the past and she doesn't even bother to do something for someone else.  But she said I was glad I'm gone, but the irony is she all wanting me to come over.  It's like she doesn't want to admit that she actually wants me or she wouldn't beg me to come over.  She always likes to deny things because she is too good to admit anything.  By the end of that texting session she wanted to stop texting her, but another irony is she texted me first.

Why do some females have to act so immature and bratty?  It's like they can't go through life without acting the way they do.  This person acts like I have to revolve my life around her.  In fact, this summer she got pissy because I went to the Saskatoon Ex to see Great Big Sea and I didn't invite her.  So she wanted to go see Burton Cummings the next day.  So I agreed, but than bailed because "his music sucks."  Than on the Sunday she wanted to go the car derby and said it would just be the two of us.  I reluctantly said okay.  Than I got pissed because she couldn't even have waited for me to find a place to sit.  Than she said her friend, that she talks shit about, came which she said nothing about.  She lied to me saying she told me that her friend was coming.  I called her on it, but she denied it.  I told her she owed me the price of admission to the Ex on that Sunday after pulling that shit.  But knowing her, she never swallow her pride and do the right thing.  She expects everyone to bend over backwards for her, but it doesn't apply to her.

She doesn't get her boyfriend to do what she tries to get me to do.  I don't like to wish ill will on anybody's relationships, but I hope she doesn't end up like this in her current relationship or it will end before she knows it..  She got what she wanted.  She wanted a boyfriend (he makes decent coin), wanted another child which she got, among other things.  But she posts on Facebook like she is an ungrateful spoiled brat.  She posted a status saying she wanted something more.  She isn't content and if what she isn't leaving her content, than she'll wind up alone and not by choice.  She has told me a lot of things and she told she'd date someone who is 19 or 20 if they had everything she wants like a house, money, and whatnot.  She wants to not make any effort to make a life for herself and be an independent person.  She wants to latch on to someone who has made a life for themselves.

My friend Mark asked me why I don't go for a person who is independent.  I told him that I tried that and here I am.  I'm still in the same situation relationship wise.  Females say they want a nice guy, but they treat them like shit.  It's proof that females keep going back to the guy that keeps treating them like shit, than they wonder why they never have any good relationships.  Don't come crying and bitching to me about your relationships when you won't even go for a guy who truly likes you because after a while you turn some of the nice guys you want into jerks, assholes, etc. because they had enough of your bullshit.  It's nobody's fault, but their own.

The old adage of "do unto others as the would do to you" rings very true.  But in the case of this ex-friend, she'd rather get the milk without buying the cow which is sad. 

Five Alarm Funk Canada Day Show Review

On Canada I once again went to the last day of the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest.  I went to the Free Stage at Friendship Park.  You can get just as good of shows at the Free Stage as you can at paid shows.  I've been hearing and seeing the name of the band Five Alarm Funk.  So I was interested in seeing them.  They didn't disappoint at all.  I was right at the front of the stage in front of the drummer who is the band leader.

Most of the songs they played were off their 2011 album "Rock the Sky."  In fact, they played that whole album.  Between songs they would tell a story which led into the next song.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Their songs are drum/percussion and horn driven for the most part.  Yes they have some bass and guitar solos.  But mostly drum/percussion and horn driven

Some parts of the show had an element of theatrics with some comedy.  The song "The Critic" is a prime example.  The conga player plays the role of a critic well.  He was playing a few roles and doing theatrics.  They do a great stage show and put the effort into it by how hard they work.  A lot of acts don't put effort into their shows.  Five Alarm Funk does and I give them all the credit in the world for being an act that does.

Another great show with an encore.  I met some of the band and one of the horn players is apparently the cousin of Tegan and Sara which I found cool.  Here is a song they performed at the show.

"Wash Your Face"
YouTube link

The 24th Street Wailers Concert Reviews

As apart of the Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest, I stumbled upon a blues band from Toronto at the Free Stage in Friendship Park on June 27.  I wanted to go see City and Colour at the mainstage, but it was sold out.  Why would there be tickets left the day before.  But, I was pleasantly surprised when I was there at the Free Stage.  This band I've never heard before and they blew me away.  They are called The 24th Street Wailers.  They are a four piece blues band.  As I said, they are from Toronto.

They have a great presence on stage and all are incredibly talented.  The drummer/lead singer Lindsey Beaver is the band leader.  She does most of the singing.  When you hear her live as opposed to the album, she can get the bluesy grit in her voice.  It's pretty sweet.  Drumming and singing is not always the easiest things to do at the same time.  But she makes it look effortless.  I give anyone props who can do both at the same time and well I might add.  Emily Burgess is a phenomenal blues guitarist.  She makes it look effortless as she solos and plays in the pocket.  I've called her as good as John Mayer when it comes to blues guitar.  You might think that is saying something and you'd be right.  Michael Archer is the bassist.  He fills in the rest of the sound perfectly.  Jonny Wong is a such a bad ass blue saxophonist.  He is one of the hardest working musicians I've seen live. Not only that, but he won a Maple Blues Award for Best Saxophone Player.  That is pretty cool!

I went to their show on Saturday at Vangelis.  It was another awesome show.  It was because of the Free Stage I went to that show.  They played some of the same songs off their 2012 acclaimed album "Unshakeable" as well as some standards.  Their energy was present there as well.  The crowd was awesome.  Another great show.  Jonny Wong showed off his chops as to why he won that aforementioned Maple Blues Award for Best Saxophone Player.  Just so good.  A cool thing they do with Jonny and Emily is give them some space during songs to rip some solos to show their chops and their talent.  Phenomenal.  I bought their aforementioned album "Unshakeable" and got them to sign it.  As well, I got a picture with them.  It was crazy that Jonny Wong remembered seeing at their Free Stage show that Thursday and that Emily Burgess remember my name on Facebook when posted on their Facebook page.

I suggest checking them out.  They are very good and deserving of their the many accolades and being runner up in a blues competition in Memphis.  I hope they come back to Saskatoon soon!  I'll definitely go and see them.  Check out a song from their 2012 album "Unshakeable" below.

"Jack, Jim, Johnny, and Me"
YouTube link

Song of the Day #45 - Tegan and Sara

This is the video for the new Tegan and Sara single.  It is so good!

"I Was a Fool" by Tegan and Sara
YouTube link

Wake Up, It's the 21st Century

I know it happens a lot, but that's no excuse especially since we live in Canada.  If you haven't heard by now, here is the low down.  There is a business in Saskatoon called Jenny's Bridal Boutique and this isn't the first time they've discriminated against people.  Back 2011, a girl and her mom drove up from Lanigan to try on grad dresses.  But due to the girl being in a wheelchair, they were immediately told to leave the store because of the mess it would make and that there was no room.  So they went to another store and were treated very well as they were helped to make sure her wheelchair wouldn't make a mess.  Also, they've treated plus size customers like crap.  Someone posted on the Jenny's Bridal Boutique Facebook page that they had a bad experience and were will to chalk it up as only that, but after reading about the other incidents they've thought again.

The latest incident involves someone who is transgender. They were refused service by the staff at said establishment.  The owner would not help this person because they looked like a man. So they left and went to another establishment and was treated like they should have been.  The staff at the other establishment they went to was very helpful and didn't discriminate.

With that being said, this is the 21st century.  You'd think we being in Canada and Canadians have evolved since discriminating against transgender people was the societal norm back in the 1950s.  The owner and staff at Jenny's Bridal Boutique wouldn't like it if they were discriminated against.  But why they would strip someone of their dignity is beyond me.  The real stupid thing is that the owner doesn't feel bad that it happened and sticks by it.  It's no wonder they get bad publicity.  It's actions like this.  With word of mouth, people will not only tell them of these incidents, but just tell people to boycott their store if they hear of people thinking of going there.

In business, you need to keep your own personal views of a person out of it no matter race, creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation, etc..  In business you don't things that damage the reputation of your business.  Yes it will happen and that's no excuse.  Stripping someone of their dignity is shitty way of doing business.  As a person who has dealt with customers in the past, knows you don't treat people like that if they haven't done anything to warrant such treatment.

If this business wants to stay in business, they'd change their way of treating customers who transgender, in a wheelchair, or plus size.  If they show you respect, do the same in return.  In one article I've read, the business owner hasn't even attempted to write the wrong or apologize.

Here are some links for you to check out regarding the business, this story, and other related stories.

Bridal shop refuses transgender to try on gowns - CBC.ca
Transgender to file complain against bridal shop - CBC.ca
Rally for transgender rights at Saskatoon bridal shop - CBC.ca
Editorial - January 31, 2011 Lanigan AdvisorJenny's Bridal Boutique or Barbarism?

Reviews on Google+

A Female Jesus - Does Gender Matter To You?

Earlier this month in one of my Skype conversations with my good friend Mark he said that one a bulletin board in Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) had this image of a female dressed up like Jesus being crucified naked.  It was supposed to evoke a debate on whether or not it would matter to you if Jesus was a female or not.  But instead people thought it was for nothing more than sexual erotic purposes.  The following images do have nudity and are meant only to evoke discussion.  I apologize if you are offended, but please don't make it something it's not.  Thank you!

Now, you see the above two pictures are of two women being crucified like Jesus was.  What is the first thing you think of when seeing this?  Sexual, offensive, erotic, inappropriate?  Or maybe thought provoking, interesting, mind blowing?  Those or any others words or phrases are appropriate to use.  Myself, I'm of the latter with this topic and pictures being thought provoking and interesting.

I will say that these woman are beautiful, but that's not the intent of these pictures.  The intent is to evoke some discussion on whether or not you'd be okay with a female Jesus.  Are you okay with that notion and that idea?  Are you okay with a woman dying for our sins?  Are you okay with saying Father, Daughter, and Holy Spirit?  These are just a few questions of many that you need to ask yourself.

When discussing this with Mark, we both agreed with we are okay with this.  I can personally say that I don't have a problem with a woman dying for my sins.  It's the fact like Jesus, this female was chosen by God to dye for our sins.  She was the one chosen to do everything Jesus did.  I know there are lots of people that can't wrap their heads around that.  That it's mind blowing to think that a woman would be held in such high esteem as Jesus is.  They'd probably think it's sacrilegious to think that a woman would be a religious figure during Biblical times.

Here is one thing that Mark brought up and it's that we look at images, iconography, crosses with Jesus on it in churches and whatnot, art, etc. and we see a naked male being crucified.  In some cases, you can see his manhood.  So why would it be so wrong to have a woman in these same things?  Is it more acceptable to see a man in that way.  Is it because it's become more accepted in the world to see woman naked in a sexual sense?  Or is it wrong to view woman naked in this sense?  Some people might think we are objectifying women.  But it's that kind that of thinking I don't like.  Not everything that has a naked woman on it is sexual or objectifying women.  That kind of attitude is one I can't stand.  The double standard is that we don't always see a naked male as sexual or objectifying.  So why should this be any different?

I'm not the kind of person that thinks it's not such a bad thing to have a woman a historical religious figure.  If roles were reversed and women were what men are, than we'd have no problem with this at all.  But since that isn't how it is, a lot of people would be uncomfortable with the idea of a female being what Jesus was because it wasn't what they were taught.  It isn't what they know to be correct.  Maybe we need our thinking shook up and maybe we need to be challenged into thinking that this is alright.  That a woman can be the standard for a prominent historical religious figure instead of a male who was Jesus.

If you had to pick a gender, I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that would say male without hesitation.  If don't care what gender Jesus was.  If He was a female instead of male, like I said, I am perfectly okay with that.  It doesn't bother me in the slightest.  If we had open discussion on this issue, I'd be interested to see if people were okay with these two images because they certainly are okay with seeing a naked man being crucified.  Why is it wrong to see a woman crucified?  The taboo of it all and the stigma needs to be removed because that will be a big step and get a good lot of people seeing this for what it is and not for what it isn't.

I'm open to discussing this in public forums and getting people's reactions.  I want to know if people are willing to be receptive about this idea and not make it into something it's not.  But judging by what Mark told me, I don't know if that's 100 percent doable because someone somewhere will make it out to be something it's not.  We need to stop doing that and see this for what it is.  See it as a means to evoke discussion on whether or not you'd accept Jesus as a female.  Once again, I know I would.

Ottawa 2013

I'm finally getting around to posting about my trip to Ottawa last month.  It was an awesome trip.  I got to see some friends and check out the capital of Canada.

I was planning for months and months to go to Ottawa because of some friends I have close to there.  So that was part of why I wanted to go.  That and I have never been east of Saskatchewan plus to some of Winterlude and some friends.

I worked half a day on the Tuesday of my flight.  So I took an afternoon flight from Saskatoon to Calgary than Calgary to Ottawa.  The Calgary airport is like a mall in itself.  It's crazy!  So, my friend Carrie agreed ahead of time to pick me up.  So my flight got in just before midnight Ontario time.  It was good to finally meet her in person.  She gave me a big hug which felt good.  Getting a hug from a friend can feel so good if you don't get them often.  So we drove around trying to find the place I was staying at.  We drove around while I told her the directions on the GPS to get to the place I was staying.  We found it and I dropped off my stuff, than went to Tim Horton's before dropping me off where I staying.  So I decided to walk around the neighbourhood where I was staying and I found this bar called La Maison. I wanted to get a drink, but this chick who apparently worked there was outside smoking.  She was so rude and a bitch to me.  She grilled like I was walking around with a pint glass all drunk.  I wasn't even two hours off the plane and I got treated like that from some female.  She even was like, "I don't know if she will serve you."  It's shit like that that ruins wanting to go in.  But I went in, got my drink, than left after I finished it.  The place was so ghetto and such a dive (not in a good way) inside.  When I go back to Ottawa, I'll never go back to La Maison.  Such a terrible experience.  I didn't let that ruin my trip.

During the day on Wednesday, I walked to the Rideau Canal and walked on it.  I walked what I believe would be east or so, than I stumbled upon Parliament Hill.  So I walked up and walked close to the Parliament Building.  Next time I go I'll look into a guided tour of the Parliament Building.  On the steps of Parliament Hill there are people set up with signs spreading their propaganda.  One guy had one of his signs that was a picture of an aborted fetus.  Pretty messed up.  I didn't take a picture of that.  But I did take a picture of a couple of the other ones.

So I kept walking after leaving Parliament Hill and I found Sparks St..  So I walked down Sparks St. and I found this mall which, if I'm remembering correctly, was on Sparks St. and it had this food court.  I found this very good burger joint called Manhattan's Handmade Burgers.  You may think that burger joints are a dime a dozen in North America with McDonald's, A&W, Burger King, Fuddruckers, Harvey's, Checkers, etc.. But they have great burgers.  I recommend checking out one of their locations if you are ever in Ottawa.  After eating I kept walking around and found other malls one that had a theater in and another location of Manhattan's Handmade Burgers.  Keep in mind that this is in the very business area of downtown Ottawa.  I found another mall which had an Empire Theater in it.  It wasn't a huge mall or anything. but still a mall.

After I was done walking around that area, I went back and walked around the Crystal Gardens which is some of the ice sculptures apart of Winterlude.  After seeing those I walked on the Rideau Canal some more.  I walked quite a distance.  I walked to where the marker showed 5.4 km.  That was a good walk for that day.  So I walked back and went back to the place I was staying at.  My feet were soaked needless to say.  I watched TV for the rest of that night.

The next day was Thursday and I walked past some churches on my way down King Edward Ave. I pased the Angolan Embassy. I found the Rideau Centre which is the big mall.  It has a store called Happy Daze in it.  It has pop culture items in it like shirts, glasses, stuffed toys, etc..I found a couple of shirts that wanted to buy.  One for my niece and one for my nephew.  I walked past Parliament Hill again.  I went back to that Manhattan's Handmade Burgers again.  It was that good.  Than I walked down Elgin St. which took me past Sens Mile and took me past the National Arts Centre.  That's named after the NHL franchise, Ottawa Senators.  I walked pasted a McDonald's and I thought I saw this actress by the name of Sally Taylor-Isherwood who was on the Canadian show "Overruled!"  She was sitting at a window seat with a guy drinking coffee and eating a muffin.  I turned around walked back because I had to take another look because I wondered if I saw who I thought I saw.  I'll never know.  So I kept walking and found a cool store called Splash Mountain.  It's a cool candy store.  I just looked around and left.  I kept walking down Elgin St. and I seen a women walking her dog and we started talking.  We talked about dogs and she welcomed me to Ottawa.  She went her way and I kept going down Elgin St. and I passed the police station.  I walked all the way to where I found a TD Bank. I turned around and walked back to where I was staying.  Another great day of walking around Ottawa.

Friday, I walked past the Angolan Embassy going down King Edward Ave..  I ended up on Rideau St. and found a Don Cherry Sports Grill and had breakfast there.  It was a really good.  I kept walking down towards to the Rideau Centre which is the big mall.  I found the store called Happy Daze again.  So I bought a shirt for my niece on that day.  It said "keep calm and play video games" and had a picture of a Nintendo Entertainment System on it.  I walked around the mall for a few hours before going to a movie at Empire Theater in the Rideau Centre.  I saw "Identity Thief."  It was funny and had a story it as well.

After the movie finished, I walked around that area of Ottawa.  I found a place called the ByWard Market.  It is such an awesome place.  It has a farmer's market style area as well as many retail businesses and restaurants, pubs, and such.   I walked around got a free beer from a place that was giving out free beverages outside.  I was looking for a place to eat.  I walked all around the ByWard Market looking for a place.  There are a ton of pubs and restaurants in that area.  I wanted to go to the Lone Star Texas Grill, but no dice as I didn't want to wait half an hour to get a table.  So I went to Dunn's Famous.  I had the hot dog poutine.  I had to ask what that was as I thought it was poutine on a split open hot dog, but I was told it was hot dogs on the top.  It was so good!  While looking for a place to eat, I kept seeing the original Giant Tiger.  So I went and it was wasn't what I thought it would be.  I know Giant Tiger is a crappy store, but I thought there would be more to it than what it was considering it was the original.

Saturday came and I had breakfast at Don Cherry's Sports Girl.  After that I walked to the Rideau Centre.  I bought my nephew a shirt at Happy Daze.  It is from the video game "Portal" and says "the cake is a lie."  It has a picture of a cake on it.  If you know about "Portal," than you'll get it.  After that walking around the mall for a few hours, I went back to the place I was staying at for a bit.

My friend Barbara was meeting up with me and she had to get a ride into Ottawa due to circumstances beyond her control.  So I walked to city hall where more things with Winterlude were happening.  I met up with her and we walked around the Crystal Garden looking at the ice sculptures.  Than we walked down Elgin St. looking for a place to have supper as we walked to her friend's car.  Barb showed us the place she lived in when she lived in Ottawa some 25 years ago or so.  We were deciding where to eat in the car and there was mention of Greek, shwarma (Barbara goes on and on about it), and other places.  So Denny's was mentioned and her friend who was driving was set on it,  So we had to go there.  Driving down Bank St. to get to Denny's which is in South Keys, Barb was pointing out different places to eat like bistro burger joint.   So we arrived at Denny's and I had the Slamburger which was awesome.  It has bacon, fried egg, shredded hashbrowns, and cheese sauce.  It was so good.  But Barb had gave me some of her meal since she got the Lumberjack which came with a lot of food.  I put some of her pancakes, ham, and sausage on my burger too.  It was good.

After that we went to Walmart which was right there in the same big box outlet in South Keys as was Denny's.  After finishing at Walmart, we were headed to drop me off, but before that, we drove around and I was shown how to get to the Prime Minister's house.  Barb than asked if I wanted to go into Gatineau which is in Quebec.  I was up for it and we drove the main drag going to into Gatineau a ways than turned around than dropped me off.  On the way back into Ottawa, I saw the United Arab Emirates Embassy from a distance.  I showed her around the place I was staying, than gave her a hug.  It was great to finally have gotten to meet her.

I went and walked to the ByWard Market.  I wanted something to munch on.  I didn't know where to go.  So I walked around and I walked down a street past the ByWard Market and it reminded of home because of the middle class feel it had.  I turned around and walked back and walking into the little building in the Market.  It has some restaurants and shops.  The restaurants have a lot of ethnic cuisine.  You can enter through the restaurant doors or you can enter from the side.  I ended up getting a pizza from Pizza Pizza.

 On Sunday I went to church.  Throughout my time in Ottawa, I kept walking by three churches.  But I went to an Anglican Church.  It is called St. Alban's.  They are a contemporary urban church.  Evidence of this is that they did a Goo Goo Dolls song for offering.  They do parts of the service in French which is different.  After the service, I talked to some people.  I talked to some people who used to live in Saskatchewan and and one person that used to live in Saskatoon.  I also talked to a diplomat.  He said when he first became a diplomat that he traveled to some of the provinces and Saskatchewan was one of them and that he visited Saskatoon and Regina.  I explained to him the running joke about Regina.  I also talked to one of the ministers.

Here is a video from St. Alban's.



After church, I went to the ByWard Market and I walked around looking for somewhere to.  I walked around the ByWard Market building and one of the shops did this thing where they took a grain of rice and wrote something and put in this holder and which is put on a necklace.  I thought that was quite interesting.  I ended up going to Dunn's Famous for lunch.  I had the hot dog poutine.  After lunch I walked around past Parliament Hill.  I walked past the United States, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabian embassies.  I went inside the National Gallery of Canada.  But I didn't take a tour.  Next time I will.  I walked past the Royal Canadian Mint.  I decided to walk into Quebec..  I walked into Hull.  It's an odd shaped village.  It is a rectangle strip of a village.  I found that odd.  After walking back from Quebec, I went to the mall and bought a something for my other two nephews and one niece.  I also bought something for my one sister.

Monday was time for me to depart back to Saskatchewan..  Overall, it was an amazing trip and I do hope to get back there.  The weather was great except for the weekend when it was cold.

I was told by someone who I used to work with that Ottawa has an amazing aviation museum.  I told him that I will have to go there.  Ottawa has so much to do and see that I don't know if I'd be able to see it all when I'm there next time.  But I see more of the sights and hang out with my friend Carrie and hang out more with Barb too.  Carrie wasn't feeling well which is why I wasn't able to see her aside from he picking me up from the airport.

During my trip, I seen more Tim Horton's, Mac's, Subway than any other places like McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W, etc..  I found that to be interesting.  I also walked by two Ethiopian restaurants.   I don't know what kind of food would be served there.  I found that interesting nonetheless.  Also, I walked by the Ottawa "chapter" for a lack of a better term of Scientology everyday when I walked down Rideau St..  I found that funny.


When I got back, people said they noticed I lost weight.  That was attributed to all the walking I did in Ottawa.
 
I know this is a long read, but it's well worth it!

Cynicism - Being Cynical

I've noticed something I've become in the second half of last year.  It's not necessarily something I'm proud of, but it's something I have to work on.  Basically I've noticed I've become cynical.  It's prevalent in a certain area of life.  No, not when it comes to me.  But I've directed it outwards towards others whether they notice it or not.  The area of life I am talking about is relationships.  When a friend tells me they are seeing someone, whether they are actually in a relationship or not is not the issue, but based on their past history of getting hurt or what have you, I find someone thinking it might happen again or hoping it doesn't happen again.

Thinking for a moment, I get a sense that this stems from certain things that haven't fallen into place in terms of relationships.  Getting the runaround, getting the same old line about just being friends, not going to work out, looking for different people, etc., etc..  If you never get the runaround than you have no idea how cynical it has slowly made me.  I feel as though as much as some people say they understand, I don't truly believe they quite understand.

I appreciate they tell me stuff, but I get cynical at times because of their history.  I guess I need some sort of affirmation that this time is different or this is not like a previous time.  It would be reassuring in my mind if they did that much.  I just need something to put my mind at ease.  But I never always fully get what I seek or want.  Or better yet, what I need to put my mind at ease.  I feel as though they purposely avoid doing so because maybe deep down they know it's true.  Than again, I could be wrong.  Or if they tell me everything is fine, I can't help but wonder if it will be.

Plus it's not just them, but other people I know.  The stuff they post online like on Facebook that they are in another relationship when they just got out of one.  I think to myself, "I wonder how long this will last..."  Or if they say they are dating someone when they say they don't want to date for a while. I call bullshit on that because I know I can't believe it.

I used to take things at face value, but slowly I've changed and with somethings I can't.  I don't mean to, but I do it.  This is something I may have to work on.  Of course it will be hard, but it's a necessary thing I have to do. 

Reexamining Faith

On Sunday, my friend from the United States messaged me on Facebook and said she went to church.  I told her it's great she is going.  She proceeded to tell me that she went on Christmas Eve and she really enjoyed it.  This could the direction she needs in her life.

I asked her what denomination the church is.  She wasn't able to tell right off.  So she linked me to this church's website.  So I was looking around and I found which denomination they are.  It says they are independent of one denomination which is basically non-denominational.  I continued look around the site and see that this church looks very mega church by their one image.  It's an image of their stage which shows their service times located on the front page.  My friend said it is in that vain of a church.  I told her why I have a disdain for mega churches.  I've said why in previous posts.  So I won't get into it at this time in this post why I have a disdain for them.

My friend proceeded to tell me very personal stuff, which I won't say out of respect for her, that stopped her from going to church for many, many years.  Basically she said she wondered where God was when all this bad stuff was happening.  That is one legitimate concern (for a lack of a better term) that people have with believing.  But she gave up on God because she thought she didn't need Him in her life.  That is common for a lot of people.  She managed to get through those times.  Which I'm proud of her for doing.

I told her that she shouldn't have given up so easily.  She did, but it would have made her stronger to still believe amidst all the struggles she was going through at that time.  She can't change the past, but only go forward with her faith by going back to it.  I think it's great first step in rediscovering and reexamining faith to start going back to church.  I truly hope she can build upon this and that she won't lose site of her faith.

I pray for blessings upon her as she starts back in the Christian faith.  Much love to one of my best female friends.  Shalom!

Random Fact #10

The other day, I was on Facebook and the Nora Jones page posted something about her honouring the late Ravi Shankar.  So I looked into why she'd be one of the people to honour him.  But as I found out, Ravi Shankar had an affair with Nora Jones's mother.  Yes, you read that right.  Nora Jones has some Indian in her.  You'd never know it though.

Mind is now blown.  That is way I felt too.  Now you know!

Happy New Year

I didn't post about my Christmas because I didn't really have anything to say.  I could have rambled on about my mellow Christmas at my mom and stepdad's, but that would be the same as every year now.  I could have said how I spent time with some of my other family and my friend Mark.  But that would be like every year.  I'm not trying to dumb these down.  It's just that it's something I've been doing every year now.  But on the bright side, hanging out with my friend Mark is always a good time because we hardly get to hang out and chill because of him being in Winnipeg and I being in Saskatoon.  I want to try and get to Winnipeg sometime soon.

Now that it is 2013, I think what may possibly come in this year.  I'm not necessarily going to make a New Years resolution because more often than not I will not follow through with it.  In general, 92 percent of don't follow through with their resolution.  That's means a sad and low eight percent actually stick to their resolution.  Is it easier to not stick with your New Years resolution?  Is it easier to say you'll do it next year? Whatever the case is, we find it easier to just push it aside and do it some other time.

If we didn't call it a resolution, would that make it better in helping you stick with it?  Maybe not because it still is a resolution.  Why can't we just do something without it being a resolution?  Maybe that is a bit of a complex question that may need a complex answer which I don't know.  Maybe setting a resolution could be motivating.  Than again, it can't be if only eight percent actually follow through with their resolution.

I've made the odd resolution in my life.  As a whole, I don't believe in making a resolution because of it being easy to break it.  Setting a resolution isn't motivation.  There should be other reasons to do something.  For example, getting out of debt shouldn't be a resolution.  Something like that should be a no-brainer to do.  But people make a resolution to do it.  In the words of Nike, "Just do it."  But it's easier to put it off then to do it.

I'm not wanting to harp on or keep talking about resolutions.  I just want to progress in the projects that I'm doing like my videos, podcasting, blogging, and music.  I want to make money with my music and videos on YouTube so I can have that extra money to save.  I'll keep plugging away at it so I can start making money at it.  Aside from my projects, I'll try to do what is best for me personally.

Hope you have a happy New Year.  May 2013 be better than 2012 if it was crap for you.