I've been known to say, over the past few months, that I hardly need any other person's drama as I have enough of my own. However, over the weekend, I got involved in two other people's. Whose? Well, Bananarama's, of course!

Yes. For all of you fans of this 1980's UK group, they have released a new album called Drama and it's loads of fun! I've given Alison a break for a while and brought these girls out.

It was kind of been a dream of mine but when Siobhan left the group for other things, I was tempted to send an audition video. I just LOVED this group. Way before the Spice Girls, they epitomized the whole girl power revolution by having fun and not apologizing for it.

Anyway, Sara and Keren look awesome and the music is fun too! If you are so inclined, check it out!

Also, as a quick note, I saw X-Men: Last Stand over the weekend. I really enjoyed it and it was fun seeing all of the local areas that they shot in around here. And man, is Famke Janssen amazingly gorgeous! Oh, and Patrick Stewart was nothing to sneeze at either. He's so hot!

So, Mr. Bush and many Americans think that they are having trouble with aliens in the continental US of A.

Maybe they should consider themselves luckier than the people of Morocco. It seems as if psychic communications from aliens has given the Moroccans something more to worry about...

I've decided that, when I grow up, I want to be Alison Goldfrapp!

Seriously.

I was thinking how much she reminds me of the 1980's. Not the hair band part of it but the nightclubbing, decadent times that we went into debt buying clothes, shoes and for the perfect hairstyle. And she has given it a whole new spin...

I was also reminded - fondly - that time of my life and also of how much I missed it. It was a time of carefree nights and hangover-filled days that pretty much anything went. We just went out to the clubs, drank, danced and all with an incredible amount of style. The only bad thing to come out of it was those shoulder pads.

Flash forward a decade or two when they have these lame 80's nights at clubs where youngsters show up wearing t-shirts and jeans. I cringe every time that I think about it. Where is the glamour, the makeup and the decadence? I really miss it.

Is it simply because I had to grow up and be responsible or is it because the world has changed and it's just not politically correct to have and do the things we did then? In my area of the world, there was really no worry about HIV/AIDS until the end of that decade because we were ignorant of it. Still, that cannot be the only reason for it.

Styles nowadays have us paying top dollar for casual wear like Tommy Hilfiger and the Gap instead of giving us quality stylish clothing. Everything is so down-to-earth and lacks glamour. Even Guess is boring. I was surprised to see that the Sears catalogue had more style than most of the newer youth oriented chain stores.

What has happened to the world? Where did our shallow values go? Why do we have to be so serious about things. Sometimes I just wanna forget all that crap and just go back to a simpler - and oh, so stylish - time and just worry about what I am going to wear today.

Then, my mind switches back to Alison. She gives me hope.

And, one day soon, you will see me, out there for all to see, striving to be the diva that I know I am. That's something that I have earned yet forgotten too soon.

Thanks for reading everyone. The weekend is upon us. Have fun!



Just for the record, we are having techno day in my office (well, in my office anyway, the volume is at a reasonable level). And helping me do that, is friskyRadio. I just happened upon it once again...

I have never been a Nelly Furtado fan but after watching her latest video with Timbaland, I can definitely say there is no chance of me ever becoming a fan. Oh, and if you caught her performance on SNL last week, you can tell that her voice is so manipulated during the recording process.

And what's with that J-Lo butt? Pull up your jeans woman!!!!

This kind of reminds me of what my friend's five year old said over the weekend. "Shake your boobies" was what came out of this girl's mouth. It was funny even though I informed her that the word was in fact "booty" and that it was a whole different part of the human anatomy. Kids are certainly a source of neverending amusement, aren't they?

So it is true, there has been some monkey business between the predecessors of humans and chimpanzees.

It appears that new DNA test results prove that the split between humans and chimpanzees happened differently than originally thought and that the difference from previous results are because tests nowadays are much more sensitive. It also suggests that there was some daliances with interspecies mating after the split occurred.

Interesting. Did interspecies fetishism and bestiality exist at that time too?

The weekend is, once again, upon us and just in time, the weather takes a turn for the worse. So much for wearing sandals today. My feet are not happy right now but at least they are just sensitive to the cold and my newly formed blisters are now not a problem.

Did anyone out there check out the season finales of CSI and ER last night? I have one friend who may be surprised who are sleeping together now and how no one (except for the usual victims they fine) died. As for ER, I cannot believe that they ended the season this way. Oh, the drama.

It's funny, I haven't watched that much tv this week and then last night, I seemed to make up for it all. Sometimes I really think I need to get a life.

We have a long weekend here as Monday is Victoria Day. This means that we have a parade on Monday which I think I will actually get to because my friend will be driving that day and I don't have to rely on a bus that gets me there way too late.

I was reading an article that says that the future of the Victoria Day parade is in jeopardy because of the new US policy that will require everyone entering the States to have a passport. That means that all of the members of those 30 or so American high school bands that participate in the parade will have to have one if they come up here. The thought is that, as a US passport costs close to $100 CDN that people won't be coming to Canada because they cannot afford one. For those of you familiar with this parade, this means that close to one-half of the parade won't happen.

In Canada, we do not put the phenomenal amount of money into school marching bands that high schools in the US does. I was told once that high school bands were so heavily funded due to competition to get to one of the "Bowl" games (Orange or Rose, I am not sure). I was astounded by the musical arrangements, the uniforms and the quality of the instruments that these students had. Our schools barely have enough money for music class let alone have a marching band. (Don't get me wrong, we do have some pretty great bands but they exist for totally different reasons)

But, I digress. I have to say that the whole passport thing is kind of amusing. I have had a passport since I was in my early twenties and it amazes me why anyone who travels doesn't have one. I think requiring passports between countries is a good idea even if they are our neighbours. They do it in Europe. They do it in Asia. Personally, I think it is fun to collect stamps from different countries to keep a record of things.

Does a passport help to weed out terrorists though? I believe that the threat of terrorism is why the US government is proposing this. Do you think that, if a terrorist really wants to get into a country that they will be stopped by something so trivial as a passport?

What do you folks think?

I know that some of my readers are from America so I'd be really interested what you have to say. As well, I think I know what Canadians might say but feel free to share your opinion wherever you are.

Personally, I think that you should just get the passport. What difference does it make? If you think that a passport costing $100 is bad then think of it this way... A five year passport is really only costing you $20 per year...

As well, both Canadians and Americans are lucky enough to live in a country that is relatively free and that getting a passport is not that difficult a thing. There are still countries in the world in which it is next to impossible for citizens there to even apply for a passport, let alone get one. And even if they did manage to get one, some people would not be able to travel or study overseas. I have seen people denied visas because they were female and unmarried. Or their country is not recognized as independent and thus travel without a visa to many countries is quite difficult - like Taiwan, for instance.

There has been a lot of talk about migrants lately and their right to live in countries due to whether they have legally migrated to a country or not. Due to the press in the US over the change in law concerning illegals, this news has spilled over onto Canadian radar. (I have a question, do real Americans really watch CNN? It's got a really American slant on it from my perspective)

I know many legal immigrants to Canada who have some pretty strong feelings about this issue and although I think that there must be better legal channels for people immigrating here, I was reminded of a story the other day. Several years ago, a ship was found that had run aground that was inhabited by illegal migrants coming to Canada from China. There was outrage that this was happening here - in that these illegals were trying to gain access to Canada without going through the proper channels.

Now, I am all for preventing criminals coming to this country illegally but in this case, I met someone who worked closely with them when these "migrants" were being detained. I found out that most of these people were from small villages and they were told that they could travel to Canada by passenger ship, would be able to work in Canada - legally - and make money for their families. Few knew any of the laws and they trusted that the "recruiters" would make sure everything was legal. They just wanted a better life for their families. It was their intention to return home after two years having made enough money for themselves.

When they boarded the rusty cargo ships, they were suprised at the conditions and when they wanted to turn back, they were threatened with guns. It was either get on the ship or be shot because they now owed the recruiters and their bosses for the opportunity. They would come to Canada and head toward the US to work in "sweatshop" conditions on US soil and would pay off their debts to the criminals who brought them here and only be able to save a little to send home.

All of the adults were arrested and the children were detained. People were up in arms about these people trying to jump the queue in the immigration lines and that they were taking advantage of the system. I found out later that these people were never intending to immigrate and because they were from small villages and quite naive, were taken advantage of. In my mind, those people who were involved in human trafficking should be arrested and sent to a work camp in the country that they took these people from.

The reason that I was reminded of this was because many of the youngsters that were here never stayed in Canada. They went to America to work under horrible conditions. The adults were offered a deal. Stay in Canada and go to jail or to be voluntarily deported home.

I guess in the big picture, getting a passport isn't such a big deal.

It's 2 pm and it's 26 degrees Celcius. (That's 81 to you folks south of the Canadian border).

I should have known better than to wear black...

Paved Paradise and put up a Parking Lot

Somebody has paved over one of my favourite lunchtime walking trails. I cannot believe it! What the hell were they thinking?

No longer can I go out for a relaxing walk and be surrounded by trees, a dirt path and the sounds of nature. Now, I can be subjected to the smell of asphalt and the jarring movement that will not be kind to my knees.

Where's Joni Mitchell when you need her?

Last Friday, I was wandering around my favourite bookstore, and came across a book penned by Dita von Teese, who in case you don't know is Marilyn Manson's wife who is also touted as a pinup star and burlesque performer.

Vaguely aware that I was standing in the sexuality section of the bookshop, gawking at the pages of the book entitled "Burlesque and the Art of Teese", I couldn't put it down. The images were fascinating and made me think that it must have been a much better time then in respect to the flirtation of women in that profession and that the "less is more" philosophy that was reflected then.

Nowadays, there is not much left to the imagination. Women and men wander around in many cases exposing far too much of themselves and it leaves no sense of mystery. Everything is so in your face that one can't help getting sideswiped by a rogue boob or penis.

In all of her burlesque glory, Ms. Von Teese shows just enough to keep one interested. I was a little disturbed by her corsetted 16" waist, (even though it is around 23" unbound) however, the quality of her costuming seemed pretty amazing and it was all so beautiful. One cannot get that quality of clothing by ordering from Victoria's Secret, that's for sure.

Before you think of me as a freak, I look at this from both a photographer's and designer's perspective. We don't get to see enough of this type of "class" nowadays and perhaps it's time we did. Mr. Manson has got himself an interesting woman.

That said, I am sure that this book would never have been published if she had not been married to this man, however, I am glad that we are able to.

I, for one, am feeling even more inspired!

A month ago, I was introduced to Supernature by Alison Goldfrapp. Over the weekend, I found a copy of the CD and bought it. I have been listening to it non-stop since.

It has inspired me!

What is it about people who are afraid to be assertive when they like someone? Do we learn something when we are babies that causes us to act cautiously when getting involved with someone? I find myself quite perplexed by this - even at this age.

I personally have commitment problems. When it comes to wanting a relationship with someone, I become very cautious about admitting anything remotely to do with how I feel about this person. However, if it's just an amazing tryst, things seem way easier.

Lately, I have been feeling like a total freak about this because I have allowed other people's values to infiltrate mine which starts me feeling uncertain.

Being in my early forties, I really do feel like life is too short to hesitate on these matters yet I do when it comes to my heart. However, when it comes to my libido, I just throw caution (and my heart) to the wind. I believe there is no point in just waiting for the relationship to happen and that if one has needs they should take care of them. Perhaps that comes from years of not having a serious relationship.

It kind of freaks me out when I hear early twenty-somethings pining for a relationship. I don't think most of the people that age know themselves well enough and that creates big trouble when put into the mix with another person in the same situation. My advice is always to experiment with people but don't make having a boyfriend/girlfriend your first priority. Have fun. Be careful if you are out there just having sex, but have fun with it.

At that age, I hardly thought about commitment...

Looking back, I think that my early twenties were the worst time of my life . One was always worried about whether they were liked or were thought of being attractive by others. I hated not knowing and had my most fun when I was out there just doing things and people because I had the guts to approach someone that I liked. The best experiences I had was when I just let down my guards and went for whatever I wanted at that particular moment in time. It was frowned upon by others but I didn't care because I was getting my needs met. And even though it was the worst time of my life, what I learned then was to become the person I am now.

And, I have been working on my commitment issues of late and I am learning all sorts of new things about myself. It is possible to apply the rules of honesty to the mix of finding a relationship. I suppose the thing that one really has to work on is to not make such a big deal if the other person does not feel the same way. After all, not everyone can predict whether a relationship can go the distance. It's all about the learning process.

People grow independently and together...

Avast ye scurvy scum!

Okay, before you think I've gone off the plank, I'd just like to say that there are some pretty different people in the world.

On the campus, there is a rather large woman who I often see wearing a pirate hat. I find this rather amusing however, I do wonder about it. Why would anyone want to wear just the hat? Why not go for the full-out pirate costume?

Today, I ran into her in the head and saw her wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the phrase "avast ye scurvy scum". Once I recognized her, I was going to ask about the hat but had to bite my tongue because I just knew I was going to say something like "aarrrrr".

Where's Captain Highliner when you need him?

Or Jack Sparrow, for that matter... Man, I have to stop now. I am having naughty thoughts...

This is what I got yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?

In case you are wondering, it is called a kanzashi and it's a Japanese hair ornament.

My friend came back from Japan last week and brought this back for me. I have been wanting one for a very long time and finally own one. Now that it's here though, it looks like I will have to grow my hair. Despite that though, I am so happy to have one!

I'd like to thank Takeshi for bringing it back and his mom for doing such a lovely job of wrapping it!

Forgive me for not being very cheerful today. For some reason, I just feel like being bitchy and what bothers me most about this is that I don't really know where it's coming from. Except for the fact that I haven't been getting my usual eight hours of sleep.

When I first started on the road to recovery earlier this year, I made sure I was in bed very early every night. Now that I am feeling better, I have been challenging that and I guess that it has been affecting me negatively. No worries though, I have tried to get back to my previous patterns and have been fighting the urge to just call in sick at the office.

This morning, instead of taking two buses, I decided to walk to Royal Roads University to catch the bus. My usual morning sees me catching the bus across the road from my house and transferring buses by getting off at the University and walking through Hatley Park (it is an absolutely beautiful campus) to the stop inside the grounds. This morning though, having decided to do more to get into shape, I opted to walk - which took about 28 minutes. Perhaps I left a little too late, because when I got to the university, I had to sprint down the hill to get to the bus on time.

I hate being hot and sticky when I get to work - especially when it resulted from unneccessary exercise - and I am still cursing the weather guy for saying that we are going to have rain today. So much for the sweater I'm wearing and the sandals that I am not... If I don't see clouds later, I will hunt that guy down and suffocate him with my sweater.

So started my day.

The great thing is that I am almost caught up in all of the stuff that suffered from me being so busy for the past couple of weeks at the office. A little bit of filing and completing a report and I will be laughing... and probably bored silly for lack of things to do. The good thing is that we're almost halfway through the work week and I can see the weekend on the horizon.

The funny thing is that the weeks seem to go by as quickly as the weekend does. It used to be that the weekend flew by and then one had to drudge through the work week. Now all days are equal opportunity fly bys...

On a totally different note, I wanted to share an article that I read yesterday. This article interviews May Shigenobu , daughter of Fusako Shigenobu. The mother was recently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for being the founder of the Japanese Red Army which orchestrated an attack on Ben Gurion airport in Israel and for procuring weapons for a 1974 attack on the French embassy in the Hague. I was interested mostly about what this girl says about her life. I can't decide whether she sounds like a cult member or whether she's just had an amazingly crazy life, which she admires. What do you think?

Anyway, I'd better sign off and continue my bitchy day... I hope that yours is better than mine.

Oh my god! I've actually completed my first ever sudoku puzzle with no help from others!

It's taken me two days to do it but I finished it up on my lunch break today!

Sorry. I've been busy.

I suppose I've also been a little undermotivated to post. Work has been busy and the weather has been, for the most part, really nice. In my new frame of mind, it really would be a waste to spend time indoors when the sun is shining.

So, what have I been up to? I've been playing PR person and events coordinator which reminds me of what I love about organizing and then executing events. There is such a rush of excitement to see things come together and then go with relatively no glitches. Think of Samantha Jones from Sex in the City minus the brilliant wardrobe and the overactive sex life.

At least it's given me the motivation to get into better shape...

I love to organize things (and don't laugh those who know me here... I do know that my own space could desperately use some attention) and have done so at work as well as helping people move and such. In fact, I can be a bit of an organization Nazi sometimes but it keeps me on the straight and narrow. It also helps to keep my mind on something other than negative things.

There is something else that is freeing my mind lately...

My city is covered in pink snow this past week or so. No, it's not an effect of global warming. It's the ending of cherry blossom time and all of the pink petals are piled up on the streets and cars in the area of the city where they grow. It's quite beautiful!

What about where you are? Is there anything that you are finding especially beautiful?

While it's interesting to find this story on a news site, I found this article entitled Oscar-winner Dreyfuss campaigns against "shaped news" quite interesting. It mirrors thoughts that I have been having for a while.

I've been thinking that our opinions are often shaped by the media in that they do not report news from a position of neutrality. It makes me wonder who is "paying" for this to happen. Surely, those companies that have enough money are shaping the face of the news.

Take for example, the whole "weapons of mass destruction" that they said they were going to find in Iraq which swayed peoples' opinions of the invasion there. In hindsight, had people known the truth, the rage that developed which led to support of an American invasion and subsequent war would have probably been defused. All of the "instant" non-neutral reporting by the media assisted in this situation.

Anyway, I hope that you read the article. That Richard Dreyfuss is a mighty interesting individual...