Freshie Initiation

I was sort of watching this episode of Family Guy entitled "Jungle Love." It was a re-run. Basically Chris ran away because he was initiated as a freshman in high school. Chris wanted to escape the terror of being known as a freshman. When Chris was initiated, he was beat on the ass with a cricket mallet.

Seeing this lead me to thoughts of initiation when I was in grade nine at Wesmor High School. The initiation wasn't to this degree, but it still was initiation. It made me think how lame freshie initiation is. Sure it was only for one week. But the point of it was lame. "Welcome to Wesmor grade nines" than something happens. You should let the freshman's fade into obscurity. Besides, it is not like freshman's are worth a grade twelvers time. Or so you would think.

I am not saying that it was a traumatizing experience or anything like that. I am saying that they probably won't give a rats ass who you are for the rest of the year. I would think that some grade nine student is not worth my time. Plus, the whole freshie initiation is just lame to begin with. At least when I entered grade ten in Carlton Comprehensive High School there was no freshie initiation. They didn't have some lame yearly ritual of initiating the new students in grade ten (this was before they had grade nine).

Hazings and initiations will always be around in sports teams to fraternities and everything in between. I guess some people like to welcome new members of a team or new students in possibly cruel and just plain stupid ways. In some news stories, there have been cases of initiations that have gone over the line. But my only experience, that wasn't the case. It still didn't take away from the fact it was lame and pointless.

Before I leave, I have to ask... what is the point of freshie initiation?

Giving Gifts & Non-Believers

We are now in the midst of the Christmas season. Through audio, video, and visual images in newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, Internet, flyers, brochures, billboards, and even word of mouth we see and hear the sounds of Christmas. As well through these mediums of media we see and hear about the many ways to save money in stores while buying Christmas presents.

This brings me to the topic at hand and that is giving gifts and non-believers. There are non-believers and non-Christians everywhere you go. For example there are atheists, agnostics, etc.. Now a good percentage of world celebrates Christmas in one form or another. Combine the two and you have something that may seem a bit odd. Well, at least recently I think so. I find odd how non-Christians and non-believers have taken what came from the Bible and made it non-religious (for a lack of better term). The part that I am talking is where the Three Wisemen gives baby Jesus gifts. Now you see most of the world generally non-Christians and non-believers have adopted that and turned it in some commercialistic, money making part of the Christmas season. They are trying to make money off this aspect of Christmas.

I have heard a number of people, especially my mom who works in retail, say that they have become obsessed with the commercial aspect of Christmas and she is right. Christmas is not about the commercialization of Santa Clause or where you can get the best bargains on certain items like video games, CDs, DVDs, clothes, computers, etc.. Christmas is about the birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. But with the way the western world is today, it seems like Christianity has become a dirty word and of course they don't celebrate the birth of Christ. They celebrate Christmas all its pagan traditions like putting up a Christmas tree. Actually, to quite honest even Christians puts up Christmas trees. But you get point that Christmas should go back to its original intent and that caring, loving, sharing, helping the less fortunate, being with friends and family, and most importantly celebrating the birth of Christ.

I understand if that is not your beliefs, but Christmas is not about the almighty dollar. That is unless you are one of the big capitalist corporations.

I'm Feeling You

I. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, Napster, Yahoo Launchcast, etc. on shuffle.

II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

III. You must write down the name of the song no matter how funny it sounds.

IV. If you post this on Facebook, than tag eleven friends.

Just to let you know, I used Yahoo Launchcast. It will be a lot more random.

1. If someone says "is this okay," you say?

"Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money

Does this mean I will say something I will regret?

2. What would best describe your personality?

"Custard Pie" by Led Zepplin

3. What do you like in a guy/girl?

"Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)" By Vertical Horizon

4. How do you feel today?

"Downfall" by Matchbox 20

5. What is your lifes purpose?

"Bring It" by Chuck Loeb

Bring what?

6. What is your motto?

"Infidel" by Five For Fighting

7. What do your friends think of you?

"I Am Afraid Of Americans" by Star 13

Only the ones I talk to at my place of work collecting debt... ROFL, like that happens.

8. What do you think of your parents?

"Simple" by Collective Soul

9. What do you think about very often?

"Free" by Elliot Yamin

Being free is great!

10. What is 2 + 2?

"The Silent Man" by Dream Theater

11. What do you think of your best friends?

"All I Want" by Staind

This is true!

12. The person you like?

"Thoughts Of You" by Jonathan Butler

I do think of them from time to time.

13. What is your life story?

"What Up B?" by Brian Culbertson

I am not a poser or wigger!

14. What do you want to be when your grow up?

"Roll On" by Kid Rock

A roll on what?

15. What do you think about when you see someone you like?

"Underneath" by Alanis Morissette

16. What do your parents think of you?

"Roundabout" by Yes

Round.... YES!

17. What will you dance to at your wedding?

"God Put A Smile On Put A Smile On Your Face" by Colplay

You wouldn't be sad at a wedding would you? Especially your own anyways!

18. What will they play at your funeral?

"Break Me Shake Me" by Savage Garden

What does that mean?

19. What is your hobby/interest?

"On Our Side" by Chris Tomlin

20. What is your biggest secret?

"Forever" by Ben Harper

21. What do you think of your friends?

"Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas

22. What's the worst that could happen?

"Secret Prayer" by Joe Satriani

What is this world coming to?

23. How will you die?

"Lose This Life" by Tait

Harsh way to look at it!

24. Does anyone like you?

"Hometown Boy" by Guy Forsyth Band

You can read into this however you like as long as you know I don't swing that way!

25. If you could go back in time, what would you change?

"Dancing In The Dark" by Beegie Adair

Dancing in the dark is such a problem!

26. What hurts right now?

"Let That Boogie Woogie Roll" by Robert Plant

27. What will you post this as?

"I'm Feeling You (Radio Edit)" by Santana and Michelle Branch

28. What do you think of your ex?

"Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback

It may not be a nice feeling, but it does have to be somebody.

29. What do you want to do right now?

"Go Back In Time (Radio Edit)" by I-29

That would be a trip.

30. What would you do to get revenge on someone?

"Those Sweet Words" by Norah Jones

Let the words do the talking.

31. What makes you feel good?

"Up In Smoke" by Blackberry Smoke

32. What does your crush think of you?

"How Does It Feel?" by Candlebox

You tell me!

33. What do you think of drugs?

"Say You Loved Me" by Fleetwood Mac

34. What is something you want to tell people, but you can't?

"Wabash Blues" by Chris Barber

My thoughts exactly!

35. What do you think about your enemy?

"Light My Fire" by The Doors

36. What is your favorite memory?

"Poterville" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

I love that place!

37. What does your Facebook status mean?

"We Don't Have to Look Back Now" by Puddle Of Mudd

I guess we look to the future.

38. What is the biggest lie you ever told?

"Still People Are Moving" by Scott Miller and The Commonwealth

39. What do you think about yourself?

"The Island" by Stanley Turrentine

40. What are you doing tonight?

"Spinning Wheels" by Blood, Sweat, & Tears

Sounds better than working.

41. What are you doing this weekend?

"For All We Know" by Nat King Cole

Great idea, lets be spontaneous!

42. Describe your life:

"Woodstock" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

My life is one big messy, mud filled concert. AWESOME!

43. Describe what you feel when you see the one person you hate the most:

"Colors" by Amos Lee

44. How do you feel when you are made to do something you don't want to do?

"Come Dancing" by The Kinks

45. How do you feel when you see your crush?

"Slow Ride" by Foghat

Taking it slow is good.

46. Do you play by the rules?

"When I Am Sixty Four" by Kenny Ball

Does that mean only old geezers follow the rules?

47. What does your ex think about you?

"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson

Maybe she thinks I am sitting, waiting, and wishing she would take me back.

48. What do you want to tell the world?

"Let's Rock And Roll (Endless Road)" by Choosen Son

Hells yeah!

49. The song that describes you and your friends:

"It Only Hurts" by Default

Sorry, I didn't mean it. Seriously!

Does Paradise Exist?

I have been thinking about this for recently and I am not sure if paradise exists or not. You see all these commericals on TV that show you these great places where you can vacation or live. Places in the Carribean have white sand beaches and sparkling blue bodies of water showing a calm and peaceful way of life. But as the title of this blog post asks... Does paradise exist?

Sure you can say it does, but does it truly? I get that you don't have to vacation in places where it has white sand beaches and sparkling blue bodies of water. I guess the images that we in North America are bombarded with have in way become acustom to thinking that only these place are "paradise."

But the earliest "paradise" that most people know of is the Garden of Eden. There is one question that I have to pose is.... Do our modern paradises measure up to what the Garden of Eden was? Also, are we setting ourselves up for a disappointment by going off the images we see? There is more to "paradise" than just these images we see. Another place some Christians think that is "paradise" is heaven. But does heaven exist? That is another blog post for another time.

In the Eddie Money song "Two Tickets To Paradise" some of the lyrics say:

I've got two tickets to paradise
Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight
I've got two tickets to paradise
I've got two tickets to paradise

Maybe I am reading too much into it, but it seems that Eddie Money wants to go to this place called "paradise" to escape the reality of where he currently is. If so, where is this "paradise?" Or maybe it could be more metephorical in the sense that he mentally wants to escape to "paradise." In either case he talks about this place called "paradise" and going there.

Again I ask, does "paradise" exist? Or perhaps "paradise" is what you make of where you are no matter the circumstances. Whatever it is, I don't know one way or another if "paradise" does exist.

Iced Earth

I got my ticket to go see Iced Earth and yes I booked that Sunday off. Iced Earth is a thrash metal/power metal band. This is going to be great. I haven't been to a concert in a while. Well a concert that I paid to see. So November 16th is the date of the concert and it is being held at the Odeon Events Centre. I can't wait!

Tales The Fish: Is It Our Duty To Vote?

Mr. C.C. returns with an issue and a question many people face during election time or post election time even. Is it our duty to vote? Some say yes while others say no. Here is what Mr. C.C. has to say about voting. He will also attempt to see if it means anything to vote.

Hey yo and welcome to a post Canada Votes 2008 edition of Tales From The Fish. I am your favorite none voting columnist Mr. C.C.. Days after the voting all in Canada has concluded and the ballots are being tallied, I will talk about voting and what will to see if it means anything. So mark you ballot with an X or a check mark and lets get to voting.

Dictionary.com defines voting as (in democratic terms): the means by which such expression is made, as a ballot, ticket, etc..

That is what people did in Canada on October 14th, 2008. Canadians headed to the polls to elect a new government. Now, I bet you are asking yourself if I voted. No I didn't vote. The only reason being is I didn't know where to vote. I guess that I could have made the effort to find out where to vote. But is it really our duty to vote?

Some people would say yes, but other would say no. For some and yes I have said this that we don't know who to vote for. In the last federal election here in Canada, I had no idea who to vote for. But that wasn't the case this time around for me. Another reason I hear people say is because they think that their votes won't make a difference. A third reason is your classic "I don't care." Finally, all politicians are the same.
I will expand on the common excuses.

1. I Don't Know Who To Vote For:

I do get that people don't know who to vote for. But if you truly look at the issues each candidate is putting forth and study them, than you would have a better understanding and can then make a better judgement on who to vote for. Unfortunatly people don't vote on who will do the best job. They vote based on their favorite political party. I probably would do the same thing, but I don't have a favorite political party. But what I do know is that I am not a fan of the Conservatives in Canada, but if they had the right platform, than never say never in terms of voting for them.

2. My Votes Won't Make A Difference

You say your votes won't make a difference. But think about this way, what if you vote means the difference between the person you want to vote being elected or not being elected. I read this blog by Vannessa Gate entitled "Lame Reasons Not To Vote In The Election" and she made a good point that if everybody who said their vote doesn't count voted than it would make a difference. I couldn't agree more. It would be mind boggling the numbers of votes that would be cast. Than you couldn't complain that the person you voted for didn't win. It would be the fact that the others didn't vote for the same person. Or you couldn't complain that the person wanted to vote for didn't win. One vote can mean the difference between a person winning or losing as I said.


3. "I Don't Care"

A classic response to being asked if you are voting is "I don't care." Again Vanessa Gates brings up another good point that I agree with. She says that if you don't vote, than don't complain. Those words can't be any truer. People complain about taxes, arts and culture, healthcare, amature sports funding, etc., yet they won't bother to exercise their right to vote. But than again as a culture we do tend to complain. But voting is a way to be proactive even if they think their vote doesn't mean a thing.

4. All Politicians Are The Same

Yeah.... NO! If you followed the election than you would know that not all politicians are a like. Sure some politicians have similar ideas and views doesn't mean all do. For instance, Stephen Harper has a different view on arts and culture than say NDP leader Jack Layton. Just take a look on where those two men stand on that issue and you will know that they have differing views. That again goes back to the first point and that you need to study the issues and make an informed decision

There are people who are so against voting because they think it is a farse and they will go as far to give your proof as to their reasoning. For them, some people may think it is a conspiracy. But for just your average voter, you are giving up your a way to make a small difference even if you don't think your will vote will do any good. I guess for the next federal and provincial election I should get out there and vote. Make sure you get out there and smackdown your vote or you maybe kicking yourself afterwards if the person you wanted didn't win. As I have said one vote can mean the difference between winning and losing an election. This is one of those voices we have and we should unite and vote because we can change to course of history. You don't want someone like Stephen Harper in office again which unfortunatley happened.

In the end voting can be seen as important. But nobody can force you to vote. Just think about those points and see that you are being just too lazy to vote. Than again most people that don't can be considered lazy. After all this election 58 per cent voters turn out. Even lower than the election in 2004 I believe. Sadly I am one of the voters who didn't vote. The highest voter turn out was in 1958 when 70 per cent of the people who turned out to vote. If we made it 100 per cent of the people who voted, who knows what would happen. The more people vote, the more able we are to change the course of a countries future. If you don't vote than you don't care about your countries future yet you would rather sponge off them when need be. That is sad but true and this happens not just in Canada, but all over the world. Wether you mark your ballot with a X or check mark, just get out there and vote.

St. John's Royal Church Vandalized.... Yet Again

The Prince Albert Daily Herald newspaper is reporting that the St. John's Royal Church got vandalized again. The link is as follows:

Country church vandalized

My family has been associated with St. John's Royal Church for many, many years. It is sad that it was targeted for vandanlism again. Why this happens, I don't know. I just hope something can be done combat this. Plus fixing up whatever was vansalized shouldn't just be done by my great uncle Jack Sheldon, but a community effort. How much longer will he able to look after the church? He been looking after it for many years without complaint.

I just think that something needs to be done. What that answer is, I don't know. Maybe having the RCMP patrol Royal Road in which the church lies. But it is sad that some people don't have respect for the history. What do they get out of vandalizing this historic church? I don't know. St. David's Anglican Church are the ones that use this church. Please them in your prayers and hopefully they move to a decision on what to do.