Today, because it is World No Tobacco Day, I am going to have a brief lament. Why is it that all of the men that I am attracted to smoke those vile cigarettes? That is the one thing that I cannot stand... smoking. Twice over the past couple of months, two men who friends said that I would be a perfect match with, have been found to be smokers. The trouble with this is that I cannot let the smoking thing slide. I cannot be with someone who smokes.

The weird thing is that one of them is an athlete. How can that be?

Friends say that people can change but to tell the truth, is it fair to think that I can make these people give up their habit? Should I not just like them for who they are? The answer for me, to both questions, is no. So, I suppose that I just move on.

Kind of sucks really...

My friend recently returned from Japan and she brought back, among other things, a book listing some of the infamous love hotels there. It was an amusing read although, I must say, like the article suggests that these cultural iconistic locations are going "upscale". I had been hoping for something a bit more racy but it turns out they, for the most part, look like the average posh hotel.

The most humourous thing about this is the stories she told about her quest to find me this book and how the shop assistants seemed more embarrassed than she did looking for one...

Are petrol prices getting you down? In Canada, the prices are rising so fast that people are confused and angry. While I understand that these costs are spiralling out of control, we should stop moaning about it and actually do something. After all, we are all aware that fossil fuels will one day no longer exist as we have carelessly used them. We should have known this day would come.

If you are wondering what action to take, read this article from the Nature Challenge Newsletter. Tell your friends. If we can band together, we can surely make a difference.

Krispy Kreme - a review.

As a favour to a friend, I ventured into a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Shop and purchased two dozen of the now infamous pastries. My question is, what is the big deal?

At first, it's exciting that you are able to watch the doughnuts being made. I was a bit more excited in that there was, what looked like an extremely delicious treat waiting for us as we eventually passed the glass window where the production was happening. Better yet, when we got there, it was a free one.

The logo and products had a nostalgic feel and the inside of the entire location was spotless and extremely well set up.

However, the charm ended there. After watching the production of doughnuts for five minutes, it quickly lost it's charm when the wait to get to the counter was actually closer to fifteen. The sample, despite being free, was overly greasy and way too sweet. And, even though the price for the two dozen I purchased for my friend was under $15 CDN, the rest of the merchandise was not quite so reasonable.

I began to wonder if this company was actually assisting in the future takeover of Canada. As I looked around the shop while standing in the queue, not one table had just a few doughnuts shared by families. In fact, even a family of four have at least two dozen open for everyone to eat. I figure that once the entire population gets hooked on the huge amounts of fat and sugar (I have been told that the distinct flavour and consistency comes from the high butter and sugar contents) we will have to open centres to treat people for addiction to these substances. Those who don't get treatment, will just make it easier for this country to get invaded. It is really a sad state of affairs.

I found this article about the possible competition between the "Canadian" doughnut chain .Tim Hortons and the new kid on the block. The truth is, Tim Hortons was bought out by the American company that owns the Wendy's restaurant chain. Conspiracy? Since the US company has bought out Tim Hortons, they are rethermalizes their doughnuts and they are no longer as fresh as they used to. Maybe Krispy Kreme had a hand in it!

As you can tell, I will never venture into a Krispy Kreme again. Not only will I avoid the sugar but this is another case where I will not follow the masses. It's just not worth the health risks

Banana Milkshak & Soup $1.99

I saw this sign in front of a bakery called Rosie's while walking back to my friend's place in the West end today. Pretty interesting combination, don't you think? (and yes, that was the way that milkshake was spelled)

That just brought to mind that catchy little ditty by Kelis. You know the one... "My milkshake, brings the boys to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours..."

I know that this news is a little old but I wanted to say that I will miss Jimmy Fallon. He announced that he will be leaving Saturday Night Live. It's really too bad. I don't know what will happen now. SNL has gone downhill as far as amusement is concerned. Let's hope that Tina Fey will be able to carry on without him.

It was such a surprise the way that they handled it, which leads me to believe that an incident that happened to me on Saturday morning was an omen. What is that event? Well, a squirrel got thrown at me... kind of...

I was leaving my house that day because I scored a ride to the local bus exchange. I was heading across the driveway when I could see something moving towards me out the corner of my eye. When I looked up, there was a squirrel being herded, and almost carried, by a crow that seemed pretty disturbed. Before I knew what was happening, I kind of let out a scream, thus alerting these creatures that I was there. The crow made a rapid ascent and the squirrel came tumbling towards me. I screamed again, imagining the nut-gathering creature would bowl me over if it hit my legs.

Mr. Squirrel now in a panick from my screaming came to a complete halt, running in the first direction it could manage and slammed into the side of the house. When he got oriented again, he took off up a tree. I don't know what he did to piss the crow off but he certainly got my heartrate up with the surprise of it all.

Then, later that night, Jimmy Fallon announced that he was leaving the show. Coincidence? I don't know, what do you think?

I have been intrigued by the news of India's new PM. I was talking with a man who is from India and he says that this is good news. He said that while Sonia Gandhi was a good candidate, there would have been too much upheaval with a foreign born leader and that many officials might have trouble dealing with it. We will have to wait and see. As I have been thinking of going to India this year, I should really keep my eye on things there.

Other than that, I have no new news with the exception that I will be going to Vancouver and Seattle this weekend and I will get my new bicycle next week.

Oh! And one more thing. I'd like to ask you if there are any art projects in your city as daft as the one they have here. Ours is called Orcas in the City and I must admit that these monstrosities are the ugliest I have seen. I have nothing against art but to deface something as beautiful as an orca with some paint is an atrocity. The painting that is done on them has nothing to do with whales, such as hieroglyphics (as far as I know, there are no whales in Egyptian culture) or painted vests with martinis or (the one that I loathe the most) with a beret and a kilt that flutters in the wind.

Okay, I know it's for charity but these things are horrible! They just add to the horrible reputation that we have here for whale-watching companies that ignore the natural order of nature and chase down these majestic creature so that uninformed tourists can take their pictures. (One good thing is that maybe if they are satisfied with taking the fake ones' pictures, they will leave the real ones alone). I just wish that I could find some pictures on the web to share with you all.

My point being that more and more we are being subjected to these tacky art projects when we could have people producing more relevant works. There is a
big controversy around art in this city. (Surprisingly enough, the guy that wrote this article is one of the orca artists). One particularly infamous art piece is the sculpture for the new arena. The original plan looks as if it is using materials from the previously demolished arena.

Okay, so my point is, what can we do about this stuff. The politicians don't appear to be listening. I was thinking that we have to take action. Then I was wondering if these orcas float. They might look awfully nice floating in the harbour here...

I will not comment about the news today except for the fact that I am just not going to indulge in it anymore. It's just too depressing. And repetitive... the players change but the events do not.

The weather has been sunny for the past couple of days and when this time of year is upon us, I tend to think of things other than work. Usually this involves many thoughts of getting my passport, packing way too many clothes and going somewhere that is not here. The only thing stopping me is the lack of funds to do so. Don't despair though, if I work hard enough and save some money, I may be in your part of the world by year end. If you can find me a job there, that would be even better.

I love to travel. I also love to learn about other cultures. Diversity keeps the world interesting. I was looking at a world event calendar and I came upon the UNESCO site for culture. I discovered that May 21 is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Sounds like a good idea... sharing thoughts on the diversity of the world. I can feel a project coming on. Stay tuned and if I can get it arranged in time, I will let you know.

That said, have a wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you are doing!

I was reading in the newpaper this weekend about blogs and the fact that George Clooney may have a secret online diary. Or perhaps it is Owen Wilson. They aren't really sure. It appears that there are people, either famous or not, creating blogs that say that they are someone that they are not. Either they are famous and are pretending not to be or they are definitely your average person trying to have their fifteen minutes of fame.

With that in mind, I wish to tell you all that I am neither George Clooney or Owen Wilson. And I am not really that famous except with a whole lot of people on a local level. Oh, and with my faithful readers...

People's perceptions about honesty really perplex me. I find it difficult to understand why people tell untruths. I prefer and must say that I insist on honesty with those I surround myself with. I have zero tolerance for lying and when I am lied to I detach myself from those people.

Sure, sometimes we omit things that we are really thinking because they are hurtful or because our individual perceptions could be incorrect and we want to give ourselves time to "cool down" before we bring the situation to light. It could also be an attempt to keep a part of yourself to yourself.

I make every attempt to be honest with people. Everything I write here is me with the exception of my name (which is written how it is pronounced in some countries). My biggest problem sometimes is being honest with myself but that hurts no one except me.

I ask the same from those around me. If they cannot be honest and their preference is to create a whole lot of untruths, I have no time for them. There is far too much lying in the world. I do not want it to permeate into my everyday life.

I went to see some movies this weekend. A while back, my friend gave me a whole lot of gift certificates to this little theatre near my house. So, I went to a couple at the cinema and then I rented one at the video store.

The first was Mean Girls. I have to start by saying I just love Tina Fey, who wrote it. She managed to catch the "catty" side of women and had some really good social commentary on this issue. She is brilliant.

As well, I saw Van Helsing. This could have been a really great movie. There was just too much going on and the character development could have been more indepth. The effects were cool, especially the brides of Dracula but it was just mildly entertaining. The concept was there and the story could have been brilliant if developed more. So, if you want to see it, don't expect too much.

Finally, I rented Party Monster based on the real life story of one particular New York Club Kid who murdered a drug dealer. I remember following the story here even before the killing had taken place. At that time, we were far more concerned with what was happening in London, however, we were able to read about Michael Alig in his infamy in magazines like Details.

The film reminded me of the fun of the eighties. While this town didn't really have a great club scene (and it hasn't really changed that much) we tried to create something like this. It makes me wonder what happened to that whole carefree (yet superficial) time of dressing and having fun without really thinking of the consequences. Could we go back to a time like that? Could I become that "fabulous"? Are any of you from that time? Did you experience the eighties in a big city? I would love to hear about it from you! (And don't forget... you MUST be honest!)

I suppose that we all just grew up. We have become something we never had imagined...

Well, that's about all from me. Take care!

Greetings all. It's May 1st. And the world is in turmoil.

I saw brief new reports of the abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Later stories on BBC World News says that Bush too was disgusted. I am sorry but the man sent those mindless individuals there without even thinking that the anti-Iraq sentiment held by many Americans would surface into something like that.

I say this again. Was Saddam a cruel dictator? Perhaps. Were these US military personel cruel and inhumane? There is no doubt. So, if we weigh things out, what's the difference? These men were Americans. They should have known better.

And for those of you out there who do not believe that there are just as many problems in the US that there are in some of these "terrorist nations", I would like to say, think again. This story is both racially and ignorantly motivated.

In my province of the world, we are having our own problems. Labour unions are threatening to shut down the entire province in a general strike starting Monday (My advice to people wanting to travel here is that they should do some research before they arrive). My place of employment was behind "protest lines" and we were told not to report to work unless it was to stand on this line. I am torn.

Part of me thinks that the government should not ask people to take a pay cut however a larger part of me believes that maybe it's not necessary for us to possess so many things and want new cars and big houses. We believe that it is our right to have a lifestyle that is considered extravagant by most of the world's population. It's the fault of our times and our society that has made us believe that bigger and newer is better. In many places in the world, whole families live together under one roof in places that we Westerners would consider inhumane. The truth is, that we all want the brass ring. So, we assume that we have a right for these things but to afford them one would have to make $20/hour or more.

I live with my parents. We don't always get along but we live together in the same house, share expenses and we try to stay out of each others hair. Sure, I could move into my own house or apartment closer to town but I choose not to for many reasons. One of those is because I think that it is morally wrong to have too much when there are others that have nothing in other parts of the world.

I don't have a car because I don't think that it is fair for me to use petrol up to drive myself around. My driving could probably cause someone else to take a few less breaths. I take the bus when I need to otherwise I ride my bicycle or walk.

I try not to judge others who do not do this but it is hard sometimes. My sacrifices are my own and on occasion I start to resent that these methods that are geared to help the world in a small way are not more widely spread. I know that I cannot tell others what to do but I do wish that we could all be a little less selfish about things. Like wanting more money.

Why do we need so much? Can't we change our way of thinking and require less? Can we change our perceptions of lifestyle? Tell me what you think!

Anyway, I should go. Things are not all gloom and doom, I suppose. I woke up this morning and that is a good thing!