Barring any engineering failures, the oil cap put over the well today has stopped the flow of oil after 85 days and 689 million litres of it gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Still…
From Pearls Before Swine on Comics.com
Things that are on my mind right now:
I’m out.
I was just chillin’ on the sofa watching the game this evening and all of a sudden I see this:
Here’s one where the colour commentator loses his mind after realizing what he just witnessed:
Bring on the Hawks, baby. Bring ‘em on.
One of the most disappointing things I’ve ever read in a long time was today when I read that David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. In a game today lacking heroes, Ortiz up to this point was considered one of the few who stood out as being one of the more legendary figures in baseball with the integrity to make him someone to look up to. Besides possessing one of the most clutch bats in the history of the game, this was a guy who would tear up visiting sick children as part of his own charity organization. A respected personality on and off the field, to hear that he was on the list of 104 dopers in 2003 tarnishes what was an inspiring figure to me.
According to Ortiz, he is ‘surprised’ by the results, not quite aware of the things he put into his body at that time were the substances banned today. I’d like to take his word for it, that it was all a mistake. But with recent revelations of high profile players indicted already, it’s a difficult sell.
I’m glad our BC boys Justin Morneau, Ryan Dempster and Jason Bay still possess their squeaky clean images. I just hope no more names drop from the list of those whom I still respect in the game.
Judging by the number of packages with my name on it coming in through the mail these days, one wouldn’t think the current economic recession hasn’t been felt by me yet. Seeing box after box come through the door, my Mom just lets out a sigh as she returns to her book. ‘That boy.’
My Dad just saw several of his friends get laid off at work today. Thank God he wasn’t one of them, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t affected him: these were guys my Dad worked with for years, and while he’s not feeling it in his bank account, it’s hitting him hard emotionally. Oddly, I can relate to him. Like Dad, I grow easily attached to people just simply being there. Whether they’re close friends or not, it doesn’t really matter, just seeing them around on a consistent basis just feels normal. When they’re gone, something’s just not right. Just this past weekend I’ve seen a friend whom I’ve worked with since the beginning leave. Fuck knows when I’ll see him again. It will be weird and depressing not knowing that certain person isn’t there anymore.
But that’s slightly different.
At the same time, my Dad just got a big dose of the kind of shit that’s going on these days. You see headlines everyday about it: some rich douche bag loses millions but still keeps his name on the top 50 in Forbes, companies are asking for a bail out as their companies lose millions. I could go on.
The most telling are the stats you read: 5,000 walk the plank in BC alone. In November, 533,000 in the US. 213,000 in Canada. Startling, but in front of me they’re just numbers. I’ll feel sorry for the blue-collar man who was a part of that number. But my day will go on because you can’t see behind the stats doomsday prophets in the media are throwing around.
But there’s the emotional impact that no one really documents, how the average joe is during these trying times. Times like what my Dad is going through, the kind which makes you wonder what kind of fucked up shit this is.
It fucking sucks, but hopefully we can all get out of this without going through anymore bullshit.
When I heard this was going to happen, then a few days later this might actually be in the works, my head exploded. Exciting news: my childhood adoration for grown men coming together to produce wonderful tunes may actually happen soon. Incredible.
I saw this on High Snobiety today. With the rain coming and dragonboat season starting up, I need to invest in some rain gear. While I won’t be wearing this to practice, those casual strolls through downtown Vancouver might actually be a more dry affair than I’m used to with my cotton rain gear of years past. I’m digging the look, though methinks I’d like something like this minus the length of it. Not sure if something that will reach that far down would actually work, but then again I had a jacket like that before and it seemed alright.
I’m still going to need something for those wet dragonboat practices that’s coming up this spring. Maybe something like this?
Maybe a little too ‘delicate’ for dragonboating? I don’t know… I need something besides cotton to keep me dry.
My fashionistas! What do you think?
If there’s anything that proves the recession talk wasn’t all bullshit, it’s the figures released by StatsCan yesterday:
Canada’s job losses in January surpassed anything seen during the previous economic downturns in the 1980s and 1990s, Statistics Canada said Friday.
With the economy staggering in recession, Canada’s unemployment rate shot up by 0.6 percentage points in January to 7.2 per cent as 129,000 jobs were lost. Almost all of the job losses were in full-time work.
Since October, the battered Canadian economy has lost 213,000 jobs.
What’s also scary is that at home, BC is second to Ontario in jobs lost followed by Quebec:
Ontario lost 71,000 jobs last month, the largest monthly drop in more than three decades, Statistics Canada said. The drop pushed the province’s unemployment rate up by 0.8 percentage points to eight per cent — its highest level since November 1997.
British Columbia shed 35,000 jobs as its unemployment rate also increased by 0.8 percentage points to 6.1 per cent.
Quebec’s employment fell by 26,000 jobs, with all the losses coming in part-time work. The province’s unemployment rate rose to 7.7 per cent. January saw large declines in public administration, following gains in December associated with hiring for the provincial election.
More from CBC.ca
Count your blessings, keep those pennies in your pockets. You never know what will happen.
In the spirit of the upcoming presidential inaugration this Tuesday, I present to you this delicious work of art. I had to pimp these guys up.
From Hypebeast.
My peers know that my well-being and ability to function throughout the day relies heavily on whether or not I had my caffeine fix. Coffee rarely does it for me anymore save for mild fatigue in the afternoons but when I’m in serious shit dozing off and barely able to walk, I need those taurine-based energy drinks. Red Bull is coming out with Red Bull Energy Shots, smaller versions of their drinks with the same energy power as the regular drink. While Red Bull isn’t my first choice – I prefer buying one big can like Rockstars as opposed to two little ones – I still dig ‘em. But the question I ask about these is, what’s the point if you’re getting the same results with the energy drink as with the shot? As opposed to many other people, I actually enjoy the taste of Red Bull – yikes – and prefer to enjoy one slowly as I take it in. I guess if I were in a hurry, a quick fix would make sense.
But man, you know you’re a freak when your latest blog post revolves around an unreleased energy drink. Fuck.
More from High Snobiety.
I was reading the newspaper the other day – in the Tuesday edition of the Province – and browsing the opinion section, they had a couple letters published regarding the findings from the Robert Dziekanski case last Friday. One comment stood out from the rest, coming from a Mr. Jim Simpson from Surrey: “Isn’t anyone else tired of the RCMP being berated for restraining an out-of-control man at the airport?” going on to say that “The police are human, too, and could have suffered permanent injury at the hands of Robert Dziekanski.”
What is this shit?
Most people have already seen the video, where Dziekanski was isolated for hours without any sort of assistance upon landing and could not speak english. After being confronted by officers and clearly walking away in disgust over the situation, he was immediately seen as a “threat” and promptly tasered, a necessary move to protect the officers at the scene. The report on taser usage came in last Friday, the results of the findings nothing short of disturbing.
I find public comments made by this faggot outrageous. Maybe coming from Surrey he has some natural inclination to assume force – whether lethal or non-lethal – is needed to subdue a man clearly upset or in his own words, “out of control.” But it is absolutely outrageous to suggest Dziekanski would have harmed the officers in that situation. I was not aware police policy on taser usage also included targets walking away from them as warrenting the use of the device. Make your own conclusions, but judging by the video, it didn’t seem as if the officers were in any danger when face to face with a clearly distressed man wanting nothing more than to leave the airport in one piece. Unfortunately that was not Dziekanski’s fate that day.
But what is even more outrageous than the comments made by this asshole is the fact that the findings ruled out criminal charges against the officers, at one point apologizing for these pigs by suggesting taser policy was “loose” and under the circumstances the actions were “reasonable and necessary.”
How the fuck was it “necessary?”
Shamefully, the report would make note of the fact that Dziekanski was a chronic alcoholic despite the coroner finding no traces of any substances in his body nor explaining why and how they came to the conclusion that this man had an alcohol problem. Is the report blaming Dziekanski for his own death? How subtle.
I’ve given up hope on the justice system here. How many times have we seen law enforcement officials freed from obligation for their wrongdoings in the past, while the victims and those associated with them suffer? Besides our best friend Jim, there has been a massive outcry against the results of these findings, clearly the public and the system do not see eye to eye here. There is something wrong with the system, there has been no justice served and we are all a little more fucked up for it.
So fuck you Jim. I’m moving to Abu Dabu.