It appears that the next Canadian Federal election has been called after a non-confidence vote toppled the current minority government here. For more information, please read this. (There are loads of stories all over the world, as I discovered this morning while searching out an appropriate link... Funny, I didn't think that Canada's woes were such big news)

I don't know about the bulk of Canadians but I really don't want another election any time soon. We had a minority government voted into power during the last one and that isn't always the best of situations but it is an opportunity for our politicians to work things out on a more even playing field. In effect, it should keep our politicians more "honest" if that is at all possible. However, it hasn't.

Instead, all I can see from the media is this jockeying into position of all of the parties to get what's best for them and not what's best for the people. I mean is it necessary to spend $300 million CDN for another election when we've only just had one...

My other thought is that, if the politicians cannot work together and "get along" how can we expect our young people to do the same? After all, these adults do set an example for the youth of the country even if they are not directly accessible to them. Can we demonstrate cooperation and working together to those children who fight in the schoolyard if we do not insist on the same from our leaders? I don't think that is fair. It's all part of the "do as I say, not as I do" mentality.

I cannot deny that we have our share of troubles in government here and I will refrain from giving any personal views because then it turns into a huge debate. However, I would be happy to hear any of your views about the parties in Canada or who you think should get in. Even if you are not Canadian, it would be great to hear what you've been hearing about our country and it's politics.

Hey, I stumbled onto a blog called one red paperclip. It sounds like an awesome and cool idea and is a challenge to broadcasters. (but I imagine anyone can do this) Please check it out!

"Who" says scifi isn't very titillating?

It appears that the Dalek's (of Dr. Who fame) have a starring role in a porn film. It also appears that the Beeb is not too amused about it.

Rumour has it that the DVD is still available on eBay.

Thanks to A Welsh View for this jem of a story!

By the way, it snowed here last night! No major accumulation but lots of idiots out trying to drive without snow tires and very little experience of driving in the white stuff.

(Mr. Suzuki, is it you that keeps linking from "The Dangerous Mind of" blog? Are you checking up on my words? If you are going to visit, leave a comment!)

Today is the 35th anniversary of the ritual suicide of Yukio Mishima.

So, I was commenting on clicknathan and something came to me. I'd like to share it with you.

In Nathan's post, he was making comment on how the rest of the world, while complaining about America, did little to stop the "Americanization" of their own countries. While I must admit, as a Canadian, I do have my problems with the country to the south, something else came to mind. And that is that WE allow all of this to happen and that we, too, have to take some responsibility for it.

Just as women are to blame as well for the attitudes of men in the world (I will discuss that a little later), we as world citizens must take personal responsibility for the ills of our world. Many of us do not speak up about things that are not copacetic with us and thus, we allow huge corporations to dictate our lives. Sure, you can use the argument that we do not have the power to make such change, but to me, that's just a cop-out. We DO have the power and that is that we have the currency and the ability to make good choices.

It is our decision to frequent establishments like McDonalds and to max our credit cards buying things that many of us do not need just because the neighbours have one or because we believe the advertisements that say things like it's cool, or it's convenient. If we were really upset about the obesity of people or child labour, we would just stop buying things from the corporations that promote them. However, I do not see that, I still see Nike selling shoes when they at one time used child labourers. Do you really believe that these companies have a conscience? If they had a conscience, they would have affordable products created by workers in conditions that were safe and healthy. Ever figure out the markups on some of these products? I can only guess that the profits are huge. Let's face it they are in it for profits not the well-being of the world.

You can argue that some of these corporations give money to charities so they can't be that bad but as far as I am concerned, it's all a big write-off to create higher profit margins...

Anyway, as I was saying, if we want to cure the "ills" of our societies they we have to take a stand. We can buy locally from companies that are small and help to support our communities. We can ignore the incessant barrage of advertising and "just say no". We can create economies that keep us in jobs that are specific to areas in fields that are needed. We can depend on ourselves to have those things that we need versus what we want.

We have allowed our world to become one where families have both parents working to afford the things we buy. We have to have more and more daycare to help parents to do this. We need to take stock of what is really important to us and force government and huge corporations to take notice.

What I am suggesting is that people decide what is important to them. If you want to be a stay-at-home parent, that should be acceptable. If you want a career, you should evaluate whether you have the time to put into being a parent as well. We tend to look at things and are in denial that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. We are doing this because huge business has convinced us that that is the way it should be.

We have the power to create change and the world that we really want to live in.

My world is one where we respect nature and live within our means. I know that this is what is best for humans as well as nature. We don't have to have huge food processing plants to create pre-prepared meals. We just have to insist on change and slow down a bit.

Finally, I suppose that I should address the "women are responsible for the attititudes of men" comment I made earlier. What I meant by that is that we all complain that men are insensitive and there are many other things we assume about them but it is women who are the mothers. As women, we have a responsibility to create well-rounded adults out of our children but we don't. God forbid your boy be have a sensitive nature. We need to stop letting society pull us away from our boys. It is entirely possible that if we work together we can create this type of men instead of the one's that assume that men are stronger and have more power.

Finally, I'd like to say that we all have the strength to make change. We just have to believe it. If we don't want to "become America" (no offense Nathan) then we have to have the strength to change it. Have the strength to stand up against McDonalds, Walmart, Gap and any other countries. We can do it!

I'm so sorry to be having these online battles of a personal nature. It must be a total drag for everyone out there in blogland that just happens to be reading this. It's a temporary frame of mind.

I have been carrying my camera around everywhere, trying to be creative and for the most part, I have been shooting rolls and rolls of film. It's a good thing really however I am a bit frustrated that the "fog" shots that I want to get are eluding me. Either there is no fog or I manage to be without a vital piece of equipment. For days, I have been sitting around at the same restaurant waiting for a change in the fog status.

Last night, I decided that I was going to give up on this particular project because the weather wasn't cooperating. I am still, however, carrying the camera around in case anything catches my eye. It's good to be creative.

Anyway, I will depart by saying that I am now making a conscious effort to get out there and be both more creative and positive. That means that, hopefully, this will be a whine-free blog for the time being.

Have a great day!

There are too many voices in my head lately.

Many of these are not my own but those of others. They are the dramas of those who have not yet experienced the joys and tribulations of life. They are young and inexperienced and will have to learn some hard lessons.

I tire of these voices and have begun to banish them from this head. I will no longer be plagued by their selfishness and their conceit. My life is not about them, it is about me.

I know that they will not understand. They cannot because they are so self-absorbed. To tell the truth, I don't care either.

Just go already!

Well, wasn't I in a pissy mood on Friday?

I don't know what came over me except for my feelings about a certain "artist" who is becoming increasing more difficult to be around. I suppose I had just reached my limit of having to deal with this person's lack of confidence and the fact that every day is a performance. I suppose that, now that I have thought about it, what more can I expect from those in their early 20's. It's all about them and that is just part of the nature of that age. It would be best if I could remember this.

Anyway, after my Friday of discontent, I decided to get out there with my camera. There has been a most amazing fog here for the last five days or so and I have been trying to take every opportunity to get out there and photograph it. I have no expectations, I just wanted to shoot off rolls of film and see if anything good comes out of it. It's also a way to feel more creative. I am continuing to shoot off film until I run out of the rolls that friends have brought me from Japan (film costs 1/3 of what it does in Canada). All so far have been black & white. I'm gonna be broke from the developing costs but I am sure to get some interesting images.

Other than being the queen of the camera, I met friends over the weekend, went to my usual hangout, took some friends to this amazing Persian restaurant that I love to go to, and then, (I couldn't resist) I went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I must say that I really enjoyed it despite the fact that they had to pare down the story quite a bit. Can you imagine an eight-hour film covering the whole book? I could do it (after all, I can sit at my desk at work for that long) but children probably couldn't. (Hey, not a bad idea... kids not jumping around, talking and being generally obnoxious.)

My question after seeing this is "Were 14 year old boys that cute when I was that age?". The guy who played Ron Weasley looked like he had been spending time at the gym and they all got much taller. When I compare them to my nephew, who is 13, they look way different than him. (In case you are wondering, it is not in my nature to oggle little boys. I am simply making an observation...)

I must just be getting old...

Sadly, that was my weekend. I should probably shot more film than I did but if it is any consolation, I have been lugging my camera and tripod around for days and will continue until my film runs out. Then, I think it is time to take my camera in for a check up. It's about time and I want to ensure that it's ready to keep up the creative work for the next year.

I suppose that I had better finish this up. I will part saying that it's time for me to start thinking about resolutions. This year, I plan to be much more diligent at sticking with them.

Does anyone out there remember a short-lived comedy sci-fi series in the late 1970's called Quark? I vaguely remember watching it when I was in high school but it disappeared never to be seen again...

Steve P. Did you call Gisele yet? I'm betting she needs some support right now...

Okay. So I have tried several times to write this objectively but it is totally difficult. Please bear with me.

I mentioned a while back about my introspective moments and how I had been thinking of them lately. Most of that stemmed from my feelings that I had let things become so mundane. It is something that I am often guilty of letting happen but I am determined to rectify it all.

Then some outside stuff got itself into the mix and I started to feel frustrated.

Because I allow it to, other people's lives tend to complicate things in my own life. I wanna be liked and don't want others to feel any animosity but I am also a bit of a busy-body and thus I get involved with people that I sense need a great deal of ego-stroking. Why? Because I become their friends and then keep my feelings in check so that I don't piss them off or make them feel bad. The truth is that I really just want to say what I think and their feelings be damned!

Lately, I have been moving more toward that school of thought.

Every one of us goes on a life journey starting at birth. We are all sensitive, special beings. Some are strong and confident. Others are sensitive and attention-deprived. And all of these people have to recognize that there are these differences.

My question is, what is the responsibility of all of these people when they interact. How much consideration should there by for those that are highly sensitive? Should we refuse to be ourselves for fear of hurting others? And if so, isn't this being dishonest?

Part of me has been thinking that, even though I can be hyper-sensitive, I have worked hard to overcome it. That is why I get so pissed at those who cannot. If I had to overcome it (even though I have work on it every day), then why should I be expected to treat others with delicacy. No one did that for this sensitive being so why should it be my responsibility to be cautious of my behaviour?

I have decided not to give this much more consideration. From this day forward, I will say what I want. I will tell those around me that have difficulty with it that this is what the situation will be. It'll be up to them to deal with it.

Thanks for listening to my rant for today. Take care and have a great weekend!

It's 7:30 a.m. and I am not sure why I am at the office so early. Since I have returned to work from my month-long holiday, I have managed to catch the earlier bus almost every day and somehow that end up getting me to my office at 7:15 a.m. So, I just turn on the computer and work on personal stuff until it's time to start.

It's funny. I start work and it's dark outside. I leave the office at the end of the day and it's already started to get dark. Soon, it will be dark when I get here and dark when I leave. I always had trouble with this time of year. I have decided not to let it get to me this year. I will keep myself busy during the off time and make sure I get enough sleep as well. It will be a nice change from my slacking off lately.

Last night, I made invitations for a farewell party in December. It involved handmade and rice papers, acid-free glue stick and tiny coloured square confetti that I made myself out of scrap paper. If I do say so myself, they are absolutely gorgeous. I am not surprised however because I am a stickler for perfection and do things with a great deal of attention to detail.

To continue on the creative front, it appears that I may have sold one of my photos although it wasn't a customer at the place where I hang my stuff. A coworker really liked it and asked me to hang onto it for now because she is really interested in buying it.

I will be trying to sell some more at an arts & crafts fair as well as try to sell some of the jewellry that I have made in the past but wasn't that motivated to sell. I have a couple of weeks to work on a few more items involving my photos including a possible calendar design and some textile items. If I get motivated, I will put them online but it all depends on how the costing works out...

I had something that I really wanted to post today but it's just too early for me to remember things. I'd better start writing things down...

Have a great day!

Let's Dance!

Disco.

It's alive. Anyone wanna go dancing?

I am sorry. I bought the new Madonna CD "Confessions on a Dancefloor" and just feel like dancing...

In my younger days, I was a bit of a dance club queen. I went to nightclubs, rarely drank and just danced, danced, danced. Usually before anyone was drunk (or brave enough) to get out there and shake their bodies, I was out there just jumping around and having fun. I had no shame but mostly because I was this most awesomely energetic and brilliant dancer. (Perhaps I should have been in music videos however, as everyone knows dancers are pretty petite and I think that my height always had me at a disadvantage.)

I started to think lately about why I didn't do that anymore.

Could it be that I wasn't as sinewy as I had been in my 20s or was it because it is expected that older people shouldn't go to dance clubs. Seems to me the last time I went, it was full of young bar stars that frowned upon experience and maturity. I suppose that when I was younger, I would have reacted the same way if some 40-something woman ventured into a club so I don't judge. However, I have begun to think that it's time for those thoughts to end and clubs open up to all people regardless of age, sex, sexuality or cultural background.

Let's all dance!

That is why I have decided to start venturing out to these places again. No longer will I hang out at just the gay clubs because they are comfortable and non-threatening to me. I am gonna have fun.

I've seen interviews with the likes of Cindy Lauper and Madonna who are vibrant and amazing women and if they can be young, so can the rest of us. Let's be inspired and inspiring at the same time in that we have experience but can still learn so much. I am going to get out the glitter eyeshadow (which by the way, I have started wearing in daylight hours) and dance, dance, dance. Can I convince you to do the same?

The one down side to this is that most of the clubs in this city suck. However, if inspiration is on my mind then surely that can be used to create some decent clubs.

Have a great day and don't forget to dance.

Note: For those of you who imagined that I had a much darker and less superficial side, you are safe in your thoughts. I am also a closet goth. Unfortunately, I hate to be "pigeon-holed" into a particular classification. I just let life take me where it will and have ended up in going into some very interesting directions.

Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Time goes by so slowly for those who wait
No time to hesitate
Those who run seem to have all the fun
I'm caught up
I don't know what to do

Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
I don't know what to do

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you

Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Ring ring ring goes the telephone
The lights are on but there's no-one home
Tick tick tock it's a quarter to two
And I'm done
I'm hanging up on you

I can't keep on waiting for you
I know that you're still hesitating
Don't cry for me'
cause I'll find my way
you'll wake up one day
but it'll be too late

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

(Madonna's new album is to be released tomorrow. I can't wait)

Okay. Today, as I am back to work and some normality, I had intended to get caught up in my posting but instead got carried away with looking at everyone else's work. So, just to satisfy the appetites of anyone out there reading, I will include something that was passed on by Gunnella at Xanth.is and personalized to my birthday. Here it is:

Your Birthdate: August 3

You are more than a big ball of energy - you are a big ball of hyper. You are always on the go, but you don't have a type a personality. Instead of channeling your energy into work, you instead go for fun and adventure. Witty and verbal, you can have an interesting conversation with anyone. Your strength: Your larger than life imagination Your weakness: You tend to be pretty scattered Your power color: Lime Your power symbol: Lightening bolt Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

By the way, has anyone out there heard of this? A Canadian boy has begun a campaign for a one-day boycott of McDonalds in response to the ever continuing softwood lumber tariff dispute between Canada and the US. If you are interested, please check out We want our money back! Personally, I have my own boycott of this establishment but for reasons other than softwood lumber but this boy's idea sounds like a totally good idea to me.

I promise to post more later. Have a great day everyone!

Hey All,

I know that it's been a long while since I posted. I didn't have a whole lot of access to computers while I was gone as well as the fact that I got a killer cold that kept me feverish and chesterfield-ridden for over a week. I am mostly over it after deciding that the longer I sat on my ass, the longer I would be really sick so now I am out and about and thus it's not so bad.

I'll be back to the office next week, which I am not really looking forward to. This is the time of year that I start feeling a little down about where I am in my life and contemplating why I don't have the guts to just be the artist that I had always wanted to be instead having opted for the "safe" life. It's not too late I tell myself and for the time being, I don't have to give up the job to be creative. It might be cool to set up an internet business and sell some designs or something...

Usually, this kind of thing makes me bolt for somewhere in the world that is not where I am right now and to tell the truth, I have been thinking about that again. It inspires me to "shake things up" and go somewhere that I am not entirely comfortable.

I don't want you to worry about me. I am fine. It's just that the everyday mundane does catch up with me sometimes.

I hope that everyone is doing well. Take care and I'll post again soon.