Tomorrow, (July 1) is Canada Day!

I would encourage you to celebrate this day...wherever you are! If you would like any ideas on how to do this, leave a comment. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to post it as well.

I found a couple of Canada Day Quizzes on the net today and I thought I would share them with you. The first plays the national anthem (you can even sing along) and has lots of information. The second, from last year, is quite brutal and I will have to do some reading up on it.

Which leads into this story about how much Canadians really know... I suppose this shouldn't surprise us much as most of the history I learned in school was American history. (Something I could never really figure out) No wonder Canadians spend so much time arguing that they have a identity separate from that of America.

Nevertheless, I am happy to be a Canadian!

Me? I'm going to watch a new batch of Canadians get sworn in and then perhaps go the watch the Marcus Tipton Memorial Drag Ball Game & Picnic afterwards. Sorry, there is no official link, you'll have to just scroll down to the Events section of Monday Magazine.

Late Addition!!! It appears that The Land Conservancy is offering working holidays this summer. If you are visiting BC this summer, you should check it out!

I don't know if I mentioned before but a while back I submitted some of my photographs to the Sooke Fine Arts Show again this year. None were chosen for the big show in August and so I have been thinking that I would like to have another show for all of those who were outright rejected during the selection process this year. It just seems like the right thing to do.

Surprisingly enough, I was not bitter or even that disappointed. It sucked, of course, but I am guessing that my work is just not commercial enough for this show. I have to expand my horizons and show in places that are more suitable for my genre.

In the meantime, I think about my "Not the Sooke Fine Arts show" idea and try to get the word out. And, I suppose that I will have to look for a venue. Do you know anyone who got rejected this year? If so, please pass this on to them and maybe we can make a go of it.

It's Canada Day next Tuesday. I couldn't find an online schedule for what's happening then so, I have opted to do what I did last year... go and watch the swearing in of new citizens to our country. How much more patriotic can one be? (Well, I suppose that I could go and drink myself silly like Bob & Doug MacKenzie, eh?)

So, hey, transportation is on my mind today. That and insanity...

Transportation, because I saw this story about automobiles of the future. And, insanity, because when I tried to suss out the story on the old internet, I could find nothing about it. So, I apologize now because I wasn't able to find anything to link to today's entry. If anyone can find anything, I would love if you would pass it along.

It seems that in Washington, they were demonstrating a new type of bus that didn't require a driver. This bus drove along special routes in which magnets were laid into the streets. I suppose that you could call it a Smart bus. As well, they showed cars that were equipped with a special sensor that would detect when a car was travelling too fast towards a red light and would thus stop the car in it's tracks before it could move into the intersection. Interesting, don't you think?

After putting a little more thought into though, I can begin to see more negatives than positives to systems like this. First of all, all people would have to drive them because if they were manual, I can see it making for more interesting accidents when there would be no warning to other drivers when the system went into effect. And as far as the buses are concerned, why in the hell would you need buses that ran on roads without a driver. Isn't that what subways and light rail are for? Well, I suppose it would be cheaper that building track lines for the systems.

As well, the buses had seats for a driver, so I suppose that they would be there to monitor the system. As they would be freed up from the mundane task of driving, they would have more time to argue with passengers that didn't pay the correct fares or for wrestling unruly passengers off the moving vehicles. I don't know. What would all of the out of work bus drivers do?

This just makes me think more about how technology is robbing people of their usefulness and any meaning in their lives. Once people are considered redundant, they lose any meaning in their lives. No wonder people are so depressed nowadays.

Perhaps we need to stop handing out the antidepressants so much nowadays and give people their livelihoods back.

Wanna make your way into hell a whole lot quicker? Try this!

I find it funny that there was a lot of uproar of the rights of women in Muslim countries and, yet, in the US there are still places that insist on widening the gap of equality of the sexes.

Take for example, Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia of which Jerry Falwell is the Chancellor. It seems that there is a very strict dress code for both women and men! (I am surprised that they just didn't adopt the bourkha for women.) I suppose this means that going braless is also frowned upon for both sexes.

Thanks to JP for passing this on...

Sometimes, something happens that reminds me that we are not too far removed from being animals. On my way out of the building to enjoy the sun today, I happened upon two young women who were "grooming" each other by tweezing the other's eyebrows. It reminded me of those documentaries where the simians pick through each others hair to remove insects.

Wow! I was just interrogated over the telephone by the Canadian Passport office because I was asked to be a reference for a friend who is reapplying for a passport. We have a new requirement (that doesn't appear to be on the website) that you must have two references in Canada that are not family members. I have been listed as a reference before but never been called so it was quite a surprise to get the call this time. Even though she was applying in a different province, the interviewer asked me to describe her (I hadn't seen her for a long while before) and to describe where and how we met.

It was a little surreal. In fact, I felt like I was in the interview scene for the movie "Green Card" but I wasn't being interviewed about a spouse...

Good luck E! I hope that I answered all of the questions correctly...

I went to Qualicum Beach this weekend to visit an old friend and to visit some people from the UK who may belong to my family tree. Seems like a pretty nice place, from what I saw of it. And my visits were great! However, now I feel a little out of touch with the "big city" of Victoria and I am still irritated from driving.

I don't usually drive but decided to rent a car to go up. What a mistake! Just ended up getting too uptight from dealing with other people's bad driving habits. I even developed a few of my own. I didn't think I would ever say this but I am so glad to be a slave to public transit today...

I am glad to be at home but not very focussed on going to work... Just feel like slacking off and doing nothing. (and, no, I don't always slack off - for those of you who were thinking it..)

A little behind the time, I know, but this site that was linked to Toast and Coffee over the weekend is brilliant. Most kids want to rush off and join a circus but, as an adult, I would like to run off and join the Bollywood Movie industry as a backup dancer. Want to take a look at the industry in India? Here is Bollywood Dreams by J. Torgovnik.

I think an award should go to P. Diddy for contributing to the destruction of the environment. It appears that he is now designing a special edition SUV and we all know how efficient they are at keeping air emissions down...

Just what is it nowadays that many celebrities use their power to promote materialism in today's world? It's bad enough that we live in a "disposable" world but what is worse is that one does not get acceptance if they don't have the right car or clothes. I know that this has always been the case but now we have celebrities designing clothes, shoes, cars and loads of other things that fans just gobble up because their favourite has created it.

I just don't know...

Hey! City Lights Bookstore is celebrating it's 50th year!

I think that I will have to reread the copy of Queer by William S. Burroughs (that I bought at City Lights in 1996) just to celebrate.

It looks like Rasmus from Acutecut.com is looking for photography models. If you are interested, you might want to check out his site! He's quite the impressive photographer as well as an interesting guy!

I rented the movie Secretary over the weekend and watched it at home. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite what some people said about it. It's the quirky story about a troubled girl (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who goes to work for a lawyer (James Spader) and develops into a confident, strong young woman who gets what she wants. If you like movies that explore the dark side of humanity, then this is a film for you. However, if you are disturbed by dominant/submissive relationships and scenes of S&M, you might wanna pass...

I just love James Spader but I also loved that this was just an extreme example of the what men and women do or feel in relationships. I mean, what woman has not said to herself about the object of her affection, "what do you think he meant by that. Does he really like me?" And, what man has not had to experience the "quirkiness" of women?

Yesterday, I went out to see Hollywood Homicide and while it was a pretty formula type film, it had the most hillarious chase scene that I have seen in a long while. Well worth it to see Harrison Ford riding a pink bicycle through the streets of LA and Josh Hartnett explaining the journey of lige to panicked children in a minivan ...

As well, this weekend, I attended a couple of dance performances. One was a flamenco performance by a friend of mine and the other was the same friend doing bellydancing. Although I enjoyed the flamenco performance very much, I was more mesmerized by the other performance that was put on by her school Aiewa. I was so impressed that I have signed up for a beginner's class in July. I can't wait!

I wanted to say a special hiya to D & S in Wales. It was great talking to you!

My friend just forwarded his website address to me. If you like, you should check it out! There is some interesting and amusing stuff on it!

Also, I just checked out the dullest blog in the world. It's brilliant!

I just wanted to ask if no one has anything to say... Don't be afraid, leave a comment!

Today, I am annoyed by caffeine. Not because I am drinking it but because there are people who believe that it is actually good for you. One comment I heard was that, if you have a headache, you should drink coffee and the headache will disappear.

I used to be a coffee drinker but since both my GP and my naturopath told me that it was not good for me, I gave it up. It was a struggle, let me tell you, but I must say that I am much happier than I was then. Before, I was suffering from depression, lethargic, irritable and just generally unhealthy but now am much more aware and my depression has lifted. Occasionally, I have ventured back into the world of tea and when I do that, I pay dearly. So, that's my story.

Let's face it, caffeine is a drug. However, unlike tobacco or alcohol, it is not really regulated like a drug and is freely available to everyone. People enjoy it. They also become addicted to it. There is also nothing I can do about it...

What I just want to say is that before I let caffeine go, I was very angry. Angry at others and angry at myself. Giving it up was the best thing for me. Depression filled my life and I couldn't see anything positive. I truly believe that caffeine filled my body with anxiety and toxins and I paid for it. Things are much better now.

I don't want to have you think that I am judging those who drink coffee. It will always be there. And lots of people don't think that there is a problem with caffeine and that is fine. I just want to express that in today's society, there are many people who feel ill and many of them cannot find a cause. I believe that caffeine might be one of the reasons. There are others but perhaps I will leave that for another day...

Have a wonderful weekend...

"Do we want a society where we're so controlled that we cannot do anything at all? Do we want a society where people can't go out and enjoy themselves?," Read here why lawyer Roger Diamond says this. Quite frankly, I think the city of Angels is in danger of much more...

On another note, a friend yesterday told me something someone had told her and I thought I should share it with you. She was told by a non-Asian male that Canadian women were selfish and even though they insisted that women in the west were independent, that they were in fact the opposite - quite dependent. And that Asian women didn't have these qualities.

I didn't find this comment offensive, as maybe I should have, and in some respects find it to be quite true. In some ways, we in the West often judge Asian women as subservient and weak when, in fact, this is not necessarily true. What is true is that our lifestyles are quite different - some women pursue careers and family and others decide to stay at home and manage the household. The trouble is that many who do decide to stay home and have children and not work are judged as not being as worthy as those who juggle career and family. There is something very wrong with this way of thinking.

As well, the comments about Canadian (and I suppose Western) women being selfish and dependent does ring a little true. When I returned from Japan the first time, I found that even though we were telling everyone we were independent people, able to express ourselves and our styles, we were so very concerned with "fitting in" with our peers. The group mentality does exist here in the West and is more prevalent than we care to admit. We all look for acceptance and love. If we tell people that we don't, we are really lying to ourselves. It is human nature to belong.

I was talking with another friend about this over the weekend. She was saying that her teenaged daughter was having trouble with her best friend because the friend did a 180 degree turn in her behaviour because of a boy. Why do children today still learn this behaviour? It reminds me of the same time in my life that friends seemed to abandon our friendships because of a boy. I don't envy teenagers this at all. It is a very difficult time. How do we console these girls on the verge of womanhood?

And it continues into adult life as well. I have seen very intelligent women change their whole way of being when the man that they desire comes around. They do not express their opinion honestly and conform to this whole "do it to please my man" kind of attitude. (Or perhaps they were not being honest with the female friends initially) Should we work at changing this behaviour for the sake of young people everywhere? (Not just for the girls but for the boys as well - so this type of behaviour is not expected or the norm) Or is it natural in the competition for a mate?

Perhaps this is why I am still single. I don't like to play games. I insist people to be honest with me and I will be honest with them. It may hurt but it makes us stronger in the long run.

What do you think? I think that this warrants dialogue! Share you opinions... both male and female!

Hey! Accordian Guy will be on MuchMusic on Tuesday. Make sure you check it out! More details here!

Well, I deleted Saturday's entry because I couldn't stand to be reminded about the whole day. It has been way too hot and so I was getting a little irritated. The entire city is sunny yet over my office there is a foggy patch and it seems like it is getting a little cold. So much for wearing sandals...

Didn't do much, I'm afraid so I can't share any of my adventures but I must say that I was shocked and amazed to hear that Barry Manilow broke his nose. What is really interesting is that the story that I linked to is from the Times of India online. It was number one when I googled the story. Go figure! Barry is famous everywhere!

I hope the surgery goes well...

It's too hot to think today already. I might just take a break until my mind is able to adjust...

Quote of the day (week/month/year...you choose):

"I woke up one morning to the unpleasant truth that publishing poetry in the late twentieth century was equivalent to playing with my dick on a busy street corner--and having everyone ignore me."

Brian Fawcett, from The Tides are Caused by the Moon's Gravity, Not By Ours: A Personal Essay on the Future of Poetry

Hey! What's with Jarvis Cocker of Pulp? He is now Darren Spooner. Leave it to Jarvis to shake things up...

A friend sent me this message and link for feeding animals for free. If you are interested, please read the below and then click the link. Personally, I am not big on having pets but I know that others are and so I have included this...

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "feed an animal in need" for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Click here to help out.

It's a beautiful day here in Victoria. Too bad we have to spend the day inside! Have a great one!!!!

Gunnella of Langavitleysa Gunnellu had link on her blog to a Kabalarian philosophy site in which you could check out the meaning of your name. Below is what mine had to say... (for those who know me, what do you think? I would like to think it is true...)

Your name brings opportunities for success in business and financial accumulation. It fires you with ambition and promotional ideas, ideas that are original, progressive, and large-scale. With this name, success to you is a foregone conclusion, for you cannot conceive any reason for not reaching all your goals, as you have self-sufficiency, supreme confidence, boundless energy, and enthusiasm. As long as you have a sense of freedom from monotony and drudgery, and can see progress being made, you feel buoyant and optimistic. However, obstacles and frustration can give rise to feelings of impatience, intolerance, and depression. The ever-present desire to progress does not allow you proper relaxation or the proper expression of the softer feminine qualities of sympathy, encouragement, and affection. Others see you as rather shrewd and calculating. Your intense, restless nature can bring on tension which affects the solar plexus and digestion, or the female organs.

Also, a friend send this to me. Guess who Madonna is distantly related to?

I have been thinking about lacrosse a lot lately... So, I accessed our local teams webpage just to see what's happening with Victoria's Shamrocks. Perhaps I should check out a game or two...

I suppose if you attach your name to a film about cultural differences and understanding that you have to be more sensitive culturally. This story is about David Beckham encouraging fans to behave themselves so that they don't ruin the Manchester United's chances at winning in Europe. I must admit that I appreciated his remarks about being less racist in the UK. That was one thing that I felt was quite prevalent when I was there...

And how could I have missed this? World No Tobacco Day. What a cool idea. Read about it here!

Have you ever read the reverse side of a packet of Sugar Twin Original low calorie sweetener? It states:

One pack sweetens like 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Per Packet
Energy 2 cal/8kJ
Protein 0 g
Fat 0 g
Carbohydrates 0.5 g

Contains dextrose, sodium cyclamate (33%). Take only on the advice of a physician.

My question is this. If one should only take on advice of their physician, shouldn't one need a doctor's note to get it in restaurants? Doesn't that leave restaurants open for lawsuits from those who might have some sort of reaction to it?

In my opinion, these kind of sugar substitutes are evil. My cousin who is a RN says that aspartame (which also goes under the name Nutrasweet) changes into formaldehyde due to the heating processes in the body once it is consumed. Sounds scary to me...