Canada apologises for Residential Schools . . .now what?
June 12, 2008
A mere 9 months after refusing to sign the U.N. declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, Stephen Harper formally apologises to Canada’s Aboriginal peoples for a system of assimilation that has had destructive effects up until today. The residential school system, funded by the federal government and run by churches, isolated Aboriginal children from their families and communities so that they could more easily be assimilated into Euro-Canadian cultures. Inside the schools, siblings were seperated and children were forbidden to speak their languages or practice their culture in any way. Living conditions for these children were abhorrent: bad ventilation, overcrowding, bad heating in the winter and rotten food led to much illness and death. Furthermore, since the schools were badly funded, children were often forced to work on school grounds on tasks such as farming, cleaning and so forth rather than get an actual education.
Suicide and Life
March 25, 2008
A few weeks ago was Suicide Prevention Week. It got me thinking. A lot. I don’t actually have a problem with suicide. I think that, in some cases, it’s a legitimate decision for someone to take their life and start all over again, somehow. I have no idea what happens to us - our spirits, souls or whatever the hell it is that makes us US - when we die but I’m pretty sure we don’t just disappear. In any case, who is anyone else to assess the legitimacy of what someone wants to do with their own life anyway?
Of sex and scamming
March 7, 2008
I got fucked! I got screwed! I got fucked in the ass!
No, I’m not describing my first gang bang (although . . . ummmm . . . never mind). These are all phrases people would use not to describe their latest experiences as a sexual penetratee, but situations in which they were ripped off or deceived.
Dating Site Rant
March 5, 2008
Originally written Dec. 5, 2007
Come on. It’s been quite a while since I’ve ranted about anything. I’m way overdue! So today’s topic is: dating sites.I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve made much use of various dating sites in the past . . . oh . . . 5-6 years. The kinds of sites I’ve used range from innocent “friend finder” type sites for people looking to just date to adult-oriented sites for people just looking to get laid to BDSM sites for people looking for . . .well, it’s a bit too complex to explain here without oversimplifying it. One site that I’ve been on for a number of years caters to people that are into ethical non-monogamy (as in, having an open or flexible relationship where you openly communicate with your life partner and you are both aware of the sexual and/or emotional relationships that you each have outside of your relationship. This is in contrast to non-ethical non-monogamy, otherwise known as CHEATING and LYING and HYPOCRISY - been there, done that, don’t want to go back there EVER. Too stressful and you can never really look your partner in the eye and feel good about yourself after. Not to mention you’re messing with someone’s health and life, especially if you’re not careful about STIs. YMMV and who the hell am I to judge you if that’s your choice.)
Under construction
January 26, 2008
Please come back later. Wonky things happened during transfer of writings from old blogs . . .crazy weird font shit. I’ll try to fix it soon.
Gracious - A prog rock discovery that led to some weird, psychadelic stuff happening in my brain
January 26, 2008
(Originally written a long, long time ago).
Close friends know this story. A long time ago, when I was 20, I lived with a guy who was 17 years my senior. It ended in disaster (sort of) but the upshot is that, while I was with him, I was exposed to tons of excellent music that existed before I had even been born in 1973. Among this music was a gem of a band called Gracious.
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Up the Irons!
January 26, 2008
(Originally written July 29, 2005)
Well, I’m still in the afterglow of yet another fantastic Iron Maiden adventure. I don’t believe I could ever get tired of seeing the boys live and of feeling the music course through my veins in a way that just isn’t possible when listening to them on the stereo.
We were 3rd row this time and the guards at the Collisée Pepsi in Quebec would not let us move up to the gate for some strange reason . . . but it was still a great show.
An Intermittent Obsession
January 26, 2008
OK. This is a bit teenager-ish I admit, but I have this intermittent obsession with Oliver Reed. I haven’t even seen half the films he’s been in: only a handfull, actually. And he didn’t exactly age well. But man, was he ever hot in his 30s! Check out his version of Bill Sikes in Oliver! and you will know what I mean (provided, of course, you are into mean-looking bearded guys like I am . . .drool drool drool). He was also pretty hot in The Devils and in Hannibal Brooks. He was OK looking in parts of Tommy (one of my favourite movies EVER - I will probably blog about The Who’s Tommy at some point but I will have to have a free day to do that because it will be long). Most of you probably know him from Gladiator. He played the guy who trained the gladiators. He actually died during the production of the film *sniff*.
Roland’s clearing at the end of the path . . .
January 26, 2008
A word for Sheemie
January 26, 2008
(Originally written February 19, 2006 on an even older blog).
