Throwback to 2014

So it's 2015 and it's my first post of the year on this thing (and I hardly use this unless I want to put my thoughts out on a wide scale).

So what happened in 2014 for me? Hard for me to think back to the early part of the year so might as well deal with the most prominent memories first.

2014 was the year I almost went to Azerbaijan. The story goes as follows: I found an ad for a job on a site that lists ESL/EFL teaching jobs (if you don't know what ESL and EFL are they're acronyms for teaching English as a second language or foreign language). This was after I was interviewed for a job in Russia but waited almost 3 weeks for a response to tell me that my qualifications (possibly experience) were not enough. Anyways so I came across the ad and tried my luck with it and within a couple of days I was scheduled for an interview and the person who interviewed me basically asked questions about what I've submitted and told me about the job and a bit about the capital city of Baku. Within hours after the interview ended I got an offer and said yes. Between submitting copies of my documents and waiting for the o.k. to apply for a visa I prepared for going over there such as packing a suitcase and writing posts on Facebook to educate people on Azerbaijan (IMO it's not that well known of a country since it doesn't appear much in the news). Hell yeah I was excited on going there because it would've been the start of some adventure and the place combined both my interests in Russian and Turkish languages (since Azerbaijani is a Turkic language related to Turkish Turkish but with some Russian influence and some connections to Persian). After all, Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union.
            So after waiting almost two months (and telling people I was going there) I got word that I couldn't go because of some migration quota. Application from the Azerbaijani side was denied because of it. It was and still is disappointing because I was worked up for it. Maybe the school that hired me didn't know about the quota as well. I did apply for jobs in other places but so far Azerbaijan was the one that gave me a job offer. Here's to hoping I find a job in 2015

On a slightly related note 2014 was also the year I started volunteering at a local centre for helping immigrants. My job there: reading group leader. I actually applied to volunteer there around the end of 2013 but 2014 was the year I got calls for positions there. At first I was called to volunteer there in February but I had a busy schedule as a mascot for Winterlude. I thought the people forgot about be until I got a call in late March/early April. At first I was a bit scared because it was all happening so fast but once I was secured getting rides there and reasoning it to getting some related experience I said yes. I wish I could do something more but I guess I'll wait until I get a teaching job somewhere.

2014 I could say was a bit of an interesting summer. I was able to wander around Toronto for a bit solo (since my dad had some 40th year reunion and mom went along with him, might as well just share the hotel space and do my own thing). I saw the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) and just as I was about halfway through exploring the gift shop I saw Palestinian flags. I thought it was kind of cool not to miss so I left the gift shop and took photos of the demonstration (protest maybe?).

One of the photos I took

It turns out that the Israeli consulate was across the street so that's one of the reasons why the event took place there.
           I was also able to wander around the neighbourhood I grew up in/spent my younger years (Yonge and Lawrence East). Before my grandparents moved to Ottawa to be closer to the bulk of us they lived in Toronto and 3 times a year I would visit them (Easter, summer, and Thanksgiving). The house is still there with the outside having a lot more decorations and extra windows.When I was a kid I couldn't wander the area alone exactly so I thought it might as well see how much the place had changed. Of course a lot of changes were made since 2001 such as the Dominion grocery store became a Metro. The subway station, however, was still as I remember it though.

One of the events that should probably takes more prominence here is the events of late October, the 22nd, because I live in the city when and where it happened.  A ceremonial guard stood outside the tomb of the unknown soldier got shot and died after. I remember being glued to the TV wondering what was going on, like was there more than one shooter. Also that day my area of the city had a power outage and for that to happen that day was a bit scary but in the end it wasn't related to the events downtown. It was a sad day but from my perspective as a city we carried on the next day.

I guess there are other things to talk about but my attention span for this ran out. Here's hoping it doesn't when I get to posting my NaNoWriMo 2014 entry on Wattpad or deviantArt.

Thoughts on the recent Eurovision Song Contest

This past weekend on May the 10th was the Eurovision Song Contest and it took place in Denmark. Although I have made posts about it here before a short summary of it is a song contest to determine who hosts it next year. Besides the song there the campy dance numbers and politics attached to it (even though politics should not be involved in something like this). The winner of this year's contest is Austria and as the winner they are hosting it next year in 2015.

So the representative to this year's contest's winner is drag queen Conchita Wurst. Maybe at first when you think drag queen you might not think of this:



That's right, a drag queen with a beard (and I pretty much just spoiled the video but I do recommend a watch at least). While it may appear odd and hard to take in at first I find it unique compared to the common or stereotypical drag queen look (which anyone can pretty much google). From news sites I've heard that there were 3, one of those Russia (if you've been living under a rock they have a law regarding showing LGBT related stuff to minors) calling for things like boycotts and editing broadcasts because of her. While this wasn't my favourite of all the acts that were in Eurovision this year I do think she deserved the win as it shows no matter who or what you are you can achieve your goals. As for those who don't want to expose their kids to this then don't let your kids watch. There's no need to ban everyone from watching because her appearance offends a few people. Just turn off your TV or whatever device and let other people who want to watch Eurovision in full watch it.

Conchita Wurst wasn't the only performer in drag in Eurovision. Slovenia sent an entry in 2002 and Ukraine sent in one in 2007 to name a couple. The participant for Ukraine that year even met up with Conchita Wurst.

Another thing that may have come up in international news regarding Russia and Ukraine. Both had their songs in the final and when Russia was announced that its song was moving into the final it got booed. Russia also got booed whenever they got 8/10/12 points (equivalent of the top 3 the top 10 acts by each countries combined jury and televotes) and they were mostly from countries such as Azerbaijan and Belarus. There was booing as well when Russia was giving out their points. These were the songs for both Ukraine and Russia respectively:





Given what has been happening with Russia in the past year (Annexation of Crimea, can't show LGBT related stuff to minors) My thoughts were that Russia wouldn't make it to the final and when they did I though Russia would place near the bottom. In the end Russia placed 7th behind Ukraine who place 6th. As for booing Russia I understand that Russia's actions were uncalled for but they shouldn't have been taken out on the artists.
While I didn't like their songs I liked both of their acts. Ukraine had a guy running in a giant hamster wheel and twins from Russia had their ponytails tangled in the beginning of their act (again this may be spoiling the vids a bit)

Overall congrats to Austria on their win in the contest.

As for my favourite acts from that night: Switzerland, Spain, Belarus (bit cheesy but it's a guilty please)
Though it didn't make it to the final I wish Albania's song made it.

Your religion shouldn't speak for everyone who does not follow it

On advice of my doctor I should be sleeping by now as I'm typing this but I just recently heard about this woman in Ireland who died of a miscarriage. While still alive and in agony she wanted to terminate her pregnancy but was denied that because according to some law (at least I think it's a law from my understanding) the pregnancy could not be terminated because the foetus' heart was still beating and it can only be done if the woman's life is at risk. Clearly this woman's life was at risk but it didn't seem like it to the doctors.

Some thing to note: In Roman Catholicism, which happens to be the major religion in Ireland, there is the belief that life begins when Mr. Sperm comes into contact with Ms. Ovum. Yes, a bunch of cells that haven't developed into actual organs is considered to have a soul (cue 'Every Sperm Is Sacred'). I went to a RC high school growing up and no one was allowed to abortion in grade 11 and 12 biology for their presentations. I assume it has to do with that the topic is not in line with RC beliefs but on the other hand there's a lot of ethical mumbo-jumbo to deal with at the high school level. (On a side note evolution is taught because it's part of the province-wide curriculum but they remind students that creationism is what started it all.)

So basically my stance lies between "you run your own body so let me run mine" and "you're giving it up because you decided you don't want the baby anymore? Are you crazy?" Let me make this simpler: If the woman is in agony from the pregnancy or becomes pregnant from a rape it is the woman's choice whether or not she wants to go to full term or however long the foetus lasts in the womb (I had this belief even when I was still a practising Catholic). As for someone who wants to terminate her pregnancy because it's the wrong gender/has imperfections or has no real reason and just wants to end it, the decision is still hers whether or not to terminate the pregnancy as it is not my body and I cannot make the decision for her but I would offer to take in the child (provided that I am mentally sane to raise one) or at least suggest helping out couples who cannot bear children. If in the end she does not want to go through the pregnancy, it's her choice, not mine.

I'm pretty sure people have seen anti-abortion supporters (the reason behind my choice of words will be explained later) with their signs telling people to "choose life" along with a bible quote and pictures of aborted  foetuses. Quoting my friend (who happens to have a blog @ http://tseretniw.blogspot.ca/)

How can these people hold up signs saying "protect life" when they clearly don't care about the mother's

My thoughts exactly. If you say that you are protecting human life, and the multi-celled blob is considered human, then isn't the life of the mother just as important?

Also my friend's question happened to remind me of something that happened not too long ago. My parents had people over for dinner as they were helping out with cleaning up my grandmother's house (which she's selling by the way). They happen to be a couple with a 7-year-old boy who was a fountain of knowledge when it comes to telling about what he recently learned at school. At one point he asked what abortion is. It was either my mom or his mom that gave the answer. Can't really remember how they explained to him but one of the key words used to explain was "baby". If I were 7 years old again "baby" would signify something like Maggie Simpson and neither the multi-celled blob nor a foetus and this is what made him ask something along the lines of "why would the mom do that?" I think I tried to explain that foetuses do get killed in the womb in nature but that didn't turn out so well. Long story short: be careful when discussing or describing abortion to a kid. Even for a fountain of knowledge their world view is still quite limited.

Also for word choice using "baby" vs. "foetus" makes something easier to understand but at the same time generates images of someone of Maggie Simpson's age. Why I chose "anti-abortion" vs. "pro-life" comes from a quote from Penn Jillette:

Ethical means moral or proper which differs for every person, it's something to discuss. It's not an absolute. It just sounds nice, it's like 'pro-choice' and 'pro-life', I mean- c'mon! Everyone is pro-choice and pro-life. It's for or against abortion that your group is about -- Season 2, Episode 1 of "Penn & Teller: Bullshit"

 I am certain it's not just Roman Catholicism that advocates life begins when sperm and ovum and whatever their beliefs are should not mix with legal matters. Sure there are those who would stay true to their religion even if they die in the process of something like pregnancy but by allowing women to choose to have their pregnancy terminated or not, a woman can still choose not to terminate. By not allowing a woman to choose is pretty much saying "okay you have one choice and that is keep on going and it does not matter if you die in the process as long as the baby lives."

I'd ramble on a bit more but I need some rest.

Here are some articles:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/1114/1224326575203.html
http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/world/abortion-debate-reignited-in-ireland-after-woman-is-denied-an-abortion-in-hospital-and-dies.html?p=home&s=home

Now tell me who the loser is now?

So I gave in getting a twitter account. I probably still don't get the point of it but I did come across something this  morning. This news article here from my hometown.

Stuntman Stu is a local celebrity in Ottawa. He's a radio host, sports announcer/emcee at Ottawa Senators games, and has made his own wine. Now motivation speaker against bullying.

So if there is someone that's been calling you a loser and other names, or if you are that person calling others losers and doing the name calling take a moment to think about who is the real loser.

If this about fame and popularity, take a look at Stu's story in the article and where he is now. Who knows where those bullies are? Did they ever think he'd become famous?
Or take a look at someone who has committed suicide or ended up dead as the result of bullying. Chances are if you're involved the someone's death you will be recognized but not as a hero and, who knows, end up in jail. (I guess an example would the Tyler Clementi case)

Now bullying doesn't just occur in the real world. The cyber world is the new playground. In the cyber world you can hide yourself behind a fake identity and probably mask your IP address too. You have the positive outlook saying like "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me" but in fact they do if you know what these words means. Ugly is the opposite of beautiful/pretty. Loser is the opposite of winner.  With society's molasses-in-January acceptance of different gender orientations you have terms, whether they are derogatory or not, that enter people's vocabulary related to that. From there one can attack someone they  know from school or aide in attacking others that they don't know. Also what can seem like a harmless joke can be interpreted as insulting to another so take that into consideration.

Though I have not seen Stu's talks (since I no longer attend high school) the article mentions a great analogy with a piece of paper (he does this with his morning show co-host by the way). How it works is you take a clean piece of paper (by clean as in no folds or tears) and you do things like crumpling it, stomping on it, throwing it on the floor . . . pretty much abuse the hell out of this one piece of paper then try to smooth it out. Now imagine that piece of paper is a person. As much as you try to straighten out that piece of paper the creases will remain. Even if the person lives another day they will still carry the scars, physical or emotional, caused by bulling.

I do have personal stories of being bullied during my school days but they do drag on if I post them here. From those experiences I've learned (and I probably will pass on those lessons if I do decide to have kids in the future) I've learned that one needs to take action but not aggression. Take action by saying you are being bullied. If you have a friend who is in that position, act as their witness. Aggression, such as punching someone or in my case throwing a rock in a non-vital area, can and will turn the tables around. Instead of getting justice for your cause the bully will end up as the victim. If it takes place on cyberspace report the e-mail/image/group. There is a reason why keyboards have the "prt sc" or "print screen" button and sites have moderators.

As for who the winner or loser is in these situations? If you are still alive today when after being told "the world would be better without you", you've won. If you stood up to the bully (depending on the action you took), you've won. If you've been told that you'll never succeed but end up as a celebrity, you've won.

We are all equals regardless of social status, orientation, ability, skin colour or creed. We are all human beings. If only those tiny differences between us didn't seem so big . . .

To appear or not appear in trip photos

So recently I went to visit my grandparents since I did not have the opportunity to see them after I came back from Russian and before I left for St. John's. I'd though it be a great idea to show them my photos. Grandpa was asleep so I ended up trying to show grandma the photos. Turns out that grandma would be interested if there were more photos of me in them than just photos of objects and structures and scenery.

Personally if I'm on trips without my parents I do not appear in the photos I take. Why is that? I'd like to describe my trips as though my perspective and not that of the camera. I'll have pictures of the people around me but not one of myself.

I understand that if there's no photo of me it may be hard to believe that I was there. I am not a professional photographer so some of the photos I take will be blurry. Though I may decide to appear in one or two photos I do not feel like I should be in every shot. Maybe some, like my grandmother maybe, find photos boring if there's no people in them.

So to appear in these photos or not? I think this is a personal choice. Of course if you have an online photo album there is the choice to display whatever photos you want. You may have photos of yourself but only disclose those to certain people.

I'll say it loud and clear . . . MERRY XMAS!

I've blurted out last December on the Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas and that included the use of Xmas.
Though this is mentioned in the linked post Christmas means "Christ's mass" with -mas meaning "holy day". X in Cyrillic and Greek make a 'kh' sound as in their words for Christ Христос and Χριστός.

What I didn't mention is why not have x as a variable? I mean not everyone celebrates Christmas in the sense that the cycle of Jesus being born only to die and resurrect 3 or 4 months later depending on when the first full moon occurs in spring or however Easter works.

Eastern Rite Christians celebrate Christmas in January as they follow the Julian calendar for their feast days.
There are also other Religious groups that may have their holidays around the same time though this is also dependent on how their calendar works.
Then there are those who are not religious at all who either take advantage of the holiday to spend time with loved ones or just treat the day as a normal day.

So why not Xmas? Set it up this way:
Xmas = 1 where x is whatever you want to put it.

but for those who can't stop ranting about how x is taking the Christ out of Christmas . . .
Xmas = 1 iff (if and only if) x is Christ

So go ahead and greet people Merry Xmas. I'm sure there are people sick of constantly seeing "He is the reason for the season" and whatever that goes around.

Sooner or later this will be used in advertisments

Just recently Rebecca Black, whom we all know from that song Friday, released a new song called My Moment.

Months ago I did a commentary on Friday and expressed my dislike at the song but not much at the artist because at the time it was her only song. Still I'm not a fan of her mostly because I'm not a fan of teen pop music of today, but I could say there is some improvement with Rebecca Black with this new song. Her voice is not all nasally and computerized so it sounds a bit more natural, human sounding.

As for the song itself I'd put it to a separate category from Friday. My Moment is a positive uplifting song while Friday is more of kick of your shoes and have fun (while at the same time having annoying lyrics). Also for this reason I'd think this would appear in advertisement for either travel or some educational institute. Picture scenery from some sort of cruise or university with the song sans lyrics playing in the background and then some shots of people having fun and doing various activities. Then the chorus come up and you have shots of people smiling. The commercial ends with a logo and the slogan "This Is Your Moment". Make sense no?

I'm not bothering to comment on the video for the song but compared to the zaniness of Friday it's toned down. Overall I think Rebecca Black has redeemed herself a bit, but remember, her claim to fame was infamy with Friday and I don't think this new song will totally get rid of that.

Outdoor Concert Etiquette 101

So I just came back from an Infected Mushroom concert at Bluesfest. First time I saw the band (as I just discovered a couple of weeks before the line-up for this year was announced) and these guys are awesome. As for my experience at the concert in general, I'd rate it 4/5 and here's why:

For those who haven't been to an outdoor concert or some sort of music festival it's days of concerts (Bluesfest lasts about 12 days, other concerts vary) and more than one band is playing on each of those days with the headlining act of the day playing last on the main stage (there are other stages at the festival so more than one band plays at the same time). There's no assigned seating but some people bring lawn chairs and blankets to the concert and there are areas, which if you have more money, where there are chairs. The headlining act of the day Infected Mushroom came to play was Steve Miller Band.

You could tell who came to see what by the people who brought lawn chairs generally. Out of the people that came to see Steve Miller Band was a woman. As soon as Infected Mushroom came on the woman started bitching and complaining "this band is shit" and "how can you people listen to this crap?" (along the lines of that). That turned me off a bit from the concert experience. There were people who interacted her in a way (I'm usually passive when it comes to arguments, but I was on the edge of telling her to shut up) and I'd like to call them my saviours for telling her off.

So basically if you don't like the band that's playing, why are you even at the concert? Sure the band that's up next is awesome and you want to be front and centre but please have some decency and respect, not just for the band but the people around you who came to enjoy the other concerts that share the same stage?  For example I don't like Taylor Swift (there's a reason for that which I won't explain here due to it being irrelevant). If Taylor Swift was playing before a band or artist that I really liked I'd sit through her concert or whatever remained of it. I won't be a Kanye to her but I'd just be standing there thinking "when is this going to end" and not complain to others (there may be the off chance of groaning but not in an obnoxious way). Or if you'd like to be in the front row, maybe kindly ask someone to hold your spot for you since half the crowd leaves to go to other concerts or someplace else.

The lesson learned here is you are not the centre of the universe so let the others have fun and enjoy their concert.

And now some Infected Mushroom songs (taken from youtube) :

Postal Service?

For weeks now postal workers in Canada have been on strike and it's been over a week since Canada Post has locked out its workers. The postal workers have been holding rotational strikes which post offices in at least one or two cities (maybe more) would go on strike for 1 or 2 days then go back to work and after than another two cities would do the same. Mail would still be delivered and sorted out but would be delayed if let's say the package you've ordered from the other side of the country is at a station that's on strike. Canada Post locked out its workers a week ago so nothing comes in or out except for welfare cheques which are distributed by volunteer postal workers.

The union representing the postal workers (and pretty much anyone associated with working at a postal office, not including the ones found in greeting card stores and pharmacies I guess) of course want a safe and secure environment for their workers (and what is mentioned here). From Canada Post's angle, they're giving the workers a generous offer that doesn't harm the corporation itself (Canada Post offers this to its workers).

Recently the government is in talks with back-to-work legislation for these guys. At first there was one for striking Air Canada workers in which the union representing the workers reached a tentative agreement before a back-to-work legislation was made for them. Maybe Canada Post should do the same? Who knows for them the legislation could be worse for the workers than what Canada Post is offering in terms of wages. (info on the bill here).

In this day and age is the postal system really outdated? The argument for this is that with e-mail and text messaging on cell phones it is as bills can be sent to one's e-mail inbox and most of the mail that ends up in the mailbox is junk mail. Having things done electronically saves paper and it's faster (also no wasting money on postage stamps). I say it's not totally outdated. Not everyone in the world has access to a cell phone or a computer. I guess I can add digital camera and scanner to this too. Regular mail is necessary for those who don't have access to modern technology. I personally am one of those people who like opening the mailbox to see what comes in.

Anyways, hopefully an agreement can be reached soon.

edit June 25, 2011: the bill passed through the house of commons and is on its way to the senate.
edit June 27, 2011: and the strike is officially over and the workers have been legislated back to work

Wondering Where People Are Now

This girl I know from university we share a mutual friend whom I will call J. I met J during my second year of university and I would see him at the dining hall (he was there only for the fall semester before deciding to cook for himself as he lived in the apartment style residence and I still was living in the dormitory style residence) and at fencing club (I at this point have been fencing for a year while he just started out). It was through him I came into contact with the girl whom I will call N. N has asked me a couple of times if I have heard from J since she, from my perspective, developed a close friendship with him (she has a boyfriend at this time and I'm not sure if she it still with her boyfriend). Last time I think we both heard from him was some time during my third year in the winter semester (early 2010). N had already graduated from university back in 2009 and was studying somewhere in South America. Many months later (maybe it might've been earlier this year) she asked me if I have heard from J. I haven't but I have theories of what might have happened to him/where he might be.

So here's J's background: He's around my age being born many months before me but started university a year after I did. He comes from British Columbia, Canada and later in life settled in Alberta (specifically Fort McMurray and he also worked there too). He grew up in a Pentecostal family but many months before we met he became an atheist but he still has a little struggle with his religious beliefs (most of the part he said he was atheist). He was studying biology at the same university I am currently attending but he came close to changing universities for a better program. He eventually stayed as I moved into the apartment above his in my third year. We didn't see much of each other even though we were neighbours and the last time I saw him was before exams for that fall semester started. I didn't see him after that and the reason he didn't come back because according to what he said on facebook he was ill over the break, more or less shortly before going back for the winter semester. When I spoke to him he told me he had an ulcer. I suspected that he wasn't going to come back as he was the apartment's environmental officer and recycling started to pile up under the stairs. Some time later his facebook activity became low to the point where I was unfriended and then his account disappeared. I know his account was deleted as N hasn't heard anything from him.

Now for the theories:

1. J had some sort of epiphany: I mentioned that he became atheist but had a small struggle with his religious beliefs. Chances are he became ultra-religious and decides that social networks are of the devil but his family members still exist on there so I don't think this is the case. He may not have had a religious epiphany but maybe something that might make him decide to unplug from social networks.
2. J probably doesn't have any use for facebook: facebook was my main way of contacting him. N I believed also had his phone number and mailing address on hand. I also think that she told me she sent something to him but hasn't heard back so this theory, therefore, is bogus.
3. Moved away to start a new life: probably doesn't want anyone to find him
4. This one I hope is not true but it could be possible that he's dead. I do not want to believe this one as some people whom I know are dead still have facebook pages in tact, unless he planned this. Again I do not like this theory, I hope it's not true but it still counts as a possibility.

Hopefully I do run into J some day. Just the thought of knowing that he's alive and doing well will satisfy me enough.

You're the best around, nothing's gonna ever keep you down

Idols shows. Winning this guarantees a recording contract as well as the title of whatever show competition. Idol show involve "audience participation" where people vote for who they want to win the competition and possibly buy their music (or download by other means) and see them perform live. Yet when it comes out to the voting and whoever wins the competition there is always some disappointments.

Though I'm not a big fan of the show American Idol I decided to what whatever I can pick up of the 10th season because of this guy and this performance:

James Durbin. I haven't seen all of the performances and when I got back home and have access to cable most of the cast had been voted off so unless there was another rocker on the show this seasons I'll say it here and call him the rocker of this season. He was recently voted off on Thursday (I found out through the promos since I missed the results show that night) which makes me question who do people like to win this competition?

Season 1: Kelly Clarkson -- Pop
Season 2: Ruben Studdard -- R&B
Season 3: Fantasia Barrino -- R&B
Season 4: Carrie Underwood -- Country
Season 5: Taylor Hicks -- Blues/Soul
Season 6: Jordin Sparks -- Pop/R&B
Season 7: David Cook -- Rock
Season 8: Kris Allen -- Pop-Rock/Contemporary Christian
Season 9: Lee DeWyze -- Pop-Rock

Okay, so a rocker has been the winner of American Idol but the majority seems to be pop oriented or whatever qualifies as "top 40". But there are other competitors on the show who didn't win the title have as much as or greater success as the winner of the program. I'm guessing anyone who reads this is familiar with Jennifer Hudson who not only is a singer but also won a bunch of acting awards too. Rockers Constantine Maroulis and Chris Daughtry didn't win the title but found success in Broadway and forming a rock band respectively.

So long story short: There may not be a metal-oriented idol on American Idol, but even if your favourite top 10 or top 12 contestant doesn't win, they still go on the tour and are featured on the compilation CD for the season. Even if your favourite contestant didn't make the top whatever for the season who knows, they might appear again on the same reality show or audition for a different reality show. All in all they do get exposure.

Another thing that happened over the weekend was the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf. As for how a Canadian knows about something like this and is able to watch it, well I've been watching the shows live since last year on their website and youtube clips of songs from the past (Oprah briefly mentioned this on her show by showcasing a live performance of the German entry for 2009). Basically it's like the idols shows but different as each European country (with a few exceptions) has an artist or a group represent them in the competition plus an original song. The winner of this competition gets crowned the winner as well as hosting the contest for the next year.

Anyways the winner for this year is Azerbaijan. Their entry "Running Scared":


it wasn't one of my favourite out of the songs presented but it's pretty.

Some of favourite songs from the competition (there's just too many to list):
France
                                                 Hungary
                                        Cyprus
Norway
                                  Georgia  


That's all for now. Blog title comes from a Joe Esposito song used in "The Karate Kid"

(I hope this turns out okay) Commentary on "Unnatural" by Michael Griffo

It been weeks since I read this book but before I am consumed by playing Pokemon Black and struggling with my web browsers while playing Frontierville on Facebook I might as well get this out of the way before I forget about it. (And for those who think that it's weird for someone that's over 20 to read books for a teen/young adult audience, who cares!) Plot points will be revealed (Just a spoiler warning for those who don't like these things).

I have a copy of the book by the way

Anyways I came across this book on a trip to Wal-Mart and what drew me to it was the cover, then the blurb at the back (It mentioned something about vampires). I usually dread books that are over 400 pages but I was able to read through Sergei Lukyanenko's Watch series and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush books so I took a stab at it.

The first book in this Archangel Academy series by Michael Griffo is titled Unnatural. The story follows Michael Howard (and many other characters), a teenaged boy from Nebraska, USA who is gay.  Not only does Michael face bullying from his high school he also has to deal with his mother's ailing mental health. Once his mother commits suicide his father somewhat come back into his life and enrolls Michael in Archangel Academy: an all-male private Christian (could be Catholic or Anglican as buildings are named after saints) boarding school in the fictional England town of Eden. Archangel Academy (referred mostly as Double A) is where Michael meets boy of his dreams Ronan. Ronan on the other hand is a vampire but he's not your normal average vampire (with so many different incarnations of the vampire in fiction and in folklore, what is the normal vampire anyway?). Michael and Ronan are madly into each other but this is not the reason why Michael was intentionally brought to Eden.

I personally haven't read much fiction that features gay males as main characters, unless you want to count in mangas Tokyo Babylon (up to volume 4 I've read) and Loveless (I think I've read up to volume 4 for this as well). So for me this was something fresh (an a change of pace) while for those who read a lot more books than I do will have a different approach to this.

As for the vampires, I am open to different takes on the lore (except for the ones in Twilight. Reading the books/seeing the films may change my opinion on this). Here the normal vampires do drink blood, have retractable fangs, are sensitive to sunlight and have some form in aniridia. Ronan's type of vampire is mixed with some sort of sea creature which allows him to not be sensitive to sunlight, his eyes to look normal (by human standards) and require less blood as he feeds once a month (with the exception of also having to drink from a special well-spring).

There are some themes to go with this and the one that I can pick out as the overall theme is acceptance. Both characters are seen as outcasts as Michael is gay and his family is not to easy on accepting that and Ronan among the vampires for being a mixed-race vampire. The other is love knows no boundaries.

The cast of characters is fairly large. With that, there are some subplots within the main plot. The narration is third person but it's omniscient so the reader will know what everyone is thinking. I found that the change of scene within a chapter was kind of confusing at times, possibly having to do with my preference for first person narration and third person limited, but it sort of reminded me of a televised screenplay or movie where there one scene juxtaposed with another that's occurring at the same time.

Overall if you're interested in gay, teen romance and vampires without being prejudiced to what vampires should be and shouldn't be, I'd say go for it. A bit of a warning about the content in the later chapters (and dream sequences) this would be best suited for 16 and above (unless you consider yourself a mature reader). I also not a big fan of the rating system (#stars, #/5, etc.) and I'm not a big book reader to give much criticism to every little detail but I'm gonna say this: there were nights when I stayed up late just to finish a chapter or two.

(and now for something random) Songs listened to while reading the book/planning out this post: "Your Decision" by Alice in Chains, "Firework" by Katy Perry, "Beautiful Blue" by Holly McNarland

Not sure who even reads this but if anyone is interested in (or has read) the book the author's website can be found here.

Might as well make being non-westernized a crime

So I woke up this morning and found out about this this morning

So what's wrong with wearing a veil? Does it have to do with separating religion from public affairs or does it have to do with that anyone who moves to country X should assimilate or try to follow the customs of country X?

Is the wearing of a veil something forced upon Muslim women or a choice that she makes? It's hard to say because I don't know what goes on with their lives even though I did live with some back when I used to live in an all girls dormitory  (I still don't know everything). From the girls I know from when I lived there a couple of them do not wear a veil in public but at the same time dress modestly in western style clothing. One girl would not cover her head while she was in the house but when she went out of the house she would wear a headscarf that ranges from a small bandana to a full on hijab, but most of the time she would wear it in the style of a headwrap. Kinda like this:

Picture taken from here

I have also seen around campus women who wear the niqab. I have no idea if they're student or not but may most likely be the wife/mother/sister of someone who studies/works as a TA/is an instructor/researcher.

Anyways I don't really see a problem with a woman wearing a veil. It's her choice because she is religious and reserves herself for only her immediate family and her religion, maybe seen her mother and other female relatives wear one and accepts it as normal, or maybe her female family members don't wear a veil but makes it her choice to wear one. But what seems to be going on in France to me is that everyone should conform to a westernized lifestyle. Anyone who moves to a new country or a new location of course will have to adapt to  the lifestyle but you can't expect them to fully assimilate and become like everyone else (yet somehow it can be done with the kids).

So the law bans full-face veils. Does this affect just Muslim women or anyone who decides to cover up their face? In the western world where we are allowed freedom of expression this seems unwestern like.

Also on a side note here, I think niqabs look pretty cool

Both images are taken from wikimedia commons

It's not Friday today, but wtf is up with the song?

This may be old news but I'm deciding to write about it anyways, even though mentioning "Rebecca Black" and "Friday" might bring up her fame/infamy that has come upon her.

So anyways for those out of the loop a 13-year-old girl from the United States has this song/video on youtube called "Friday" and as I'm typing this the view count is over 77.5 million with over 1.5 million in dislikes. Just how bad is it?

First of all I do believe it's her only song that's out there so as for the singer's voice it stands at robotic and autotuned. If she can actually sing what's the point of autotuning her voice.

The song, whoever it's written by (obviously not her), from my perspective sounds like it's for someone who is pretty much legal to have a driver's licence (15? 16?) unless Black comes from a place where 14 is the legal age to have a licence. Or can it be applied to 13 year old as well? Without watching the video and just reading through the lyrics the first two verses and the chorus seem normal (assuming that she's on a school bus and not in the back seat of a convertible). Where it becomes unbearable lyrically is at the bridge before the rap part where it goes:

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)
We-we-we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today

Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after...wards
I don’t want this weekend to end

Maybe it has to do with the pointing out the obvious (Thursday is before Friday followed Saturday and Sunday, what else is new), or it could be the "we so excited" part. "I don't want this weekend to end"? Sure you can have a neverending weekend. Just don't show up to school  or work (kinda doesn't work out if you're still living with your parents and you being tracked by your employer if you show up to work).

>After that comes the rap part which kinda draws attention to Justin Bieber's (I can't believe I said he who must not be named) "Baby". I've heard that RB is kinda like the female JB and in ways such as:

• both videos have an insane number of views on youtube (JB having the most of the share since he's been around longer) as well as more dislikes than likes
• annoying voices: JB's questions whether he's gone through puberty or not (to the point where his gender is questioned) while RB's is somewhat nasally.
• song structure: the choruses sound similar (<title>,<title>, something (something) <title>) and have a rap part

Yet the two songs and artists have some differences such as:

• "Baby" is about someones first love/first crush while "Friday" is about . . . well . . . song is pretty much self explanatory.
• JB is older than RB (though you can find people out there in cyberspace saying that he's not even a teenager)

but I don't think it really matters.

Now as for the video I like how each day of the week (except for Saturday) is connected to a song that features said day of the week ("Manic Monday" by The Bangles for example) but after that things just don't make sense, especially the friends driving the car taking her to school/party central (besides the under-aged driver the front seat is already taken so asking yourself "which seat can I take?" is somewhat redundant unless you're forcing your friend out of the front seat). Okay maybe the driver could be someone's older brother but another thing wrong with the video is RB and her friends on the "highway" sitting on the car. Unless there's some sort of traffic jam that doesn't look safe (probably hella fun though). The final thing I'd like to mention is the rap part doesn't match lyrically with the video. The time frame of what's said in the rap part seems to take place in the daytime while it's night time in the video.

Overall not a fan of the song itself but the parodies seem to be a lot better than the original

Tubthumping

"I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down" --  Chumbawumba

I remember I liked this song. I was seven, maybe eight years old when this song came out and at that age only understand those words from the song. Heck at that age I don't think I'd understand the meanings of any pop songs. Though the song "Tubthumping" is not technically a pop song in the vein of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys but it was one of those songs that got played on those top 40 stations.

So today I decided to give this song a listen and it's been a while since I've heard the song. There are also some things that I've learned about the band Chumbawumba that I never knew about (from what I can gather on wikipedia since I can't find anything on their website):

• The band originally formed back in the 80's and are still around todayand I think the only time they had their time in the international mainstream spotlight was around 1997/1998 when they signed with EMI records, a major record label. I think after that there weren't any new songs played on the radio stations and "Tubthumping" gets tossed around here and there once in a while. Other then that I think their current popularity lies elsewhere.
• Anarchism is one of their influences
  The only two songs I remember being popular at the time were "Tubthumping" and "Amnesia". I know I still have the cassette of the album somewhere in my basement but this was something I didn't know as kid. I mean what eight year old girl would know anything about anarchism or any allusions to it? The song "Amnesia" apparently has something to do with the Labour Party a left wing political party in the United Kingdom.
• Tubthumping is an actual word
  More or less a slang word compared to the band's name Chumbawumba which happens to be gibberish. To tubthump is to argue or promote something vigorously like a political campaign and a person who does such an act is a tubthumper.

Urban Dictionary has an entry too which pretty much describes the song here. Anyways for those paying attention enjoy the track

Kids as icons for causes

Jackie Evancho. Anyone who has watched "America's Got Talent" last year (or found about her on YouTube since that's where she auditioned for the show) already know about her. For anyone who stumbles upon here not knowing who she is or don't watch reality tv, Jackie Evancho is a child soprano singer (and I do admit her voice is captivating). Recently she performed at an event hosted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for their campaign against the Canadian seal hunt. I won't discuss the hunt in this post but I will give my opinions and views on this in another.

Video of her singing and giving out her views on the issue here.

Kids pretty much bring the "aww" factor in everything. This could be from a girl's first dance recital (she may be two steps behind the group yet she looks adorable in that costume) to some kid from Africa or Asia who has to support his whole family on those World Vision infomercials. Just make you go "aww" when seeing this.

Then there is something for the kids to look up to as a role model of some sorts. It's along the lines of "Hey, we're kids your age and we're taking action." Take this old public service announcement featuring cast members of the show "Full House" here.

A third thing I guess I could add are propaganda videos. Thanks to the internet and video sharing sites it should be easy to find some video of kids showing that they're happy living in whatever country they are from and creepily showing that there's nothing to fear. I think this might be a good example.

Anyways I'm not too sure how Jackie Evancho came to being a supporter of HSUS's campaign since she was in Canada performing with The Canadian Tenors for a Christmas special over a month ago before this. Maybe someone from the HSUS came up to her and told her or her parents about what they know about the Canadian seal hunt or she knew about it beforehand and kept quiet about it. Yet again in the HSUS video she does mention her soft spot for seals.

On the other hand I thinking, what if there was a 10-year-old child like her used to advocate for the seal hunt? Probably the reaction might be "what the hell were mom and dad thinking using their kid for something like this?"

Anyways that's all I have to say for now. Note that I have nothing against Jackie, just seeing her got me thinking about kids and how they're used as icons for social issues.

On aging and other things

Now that I turned 21 I'm pretty much legal to drink everywhere in the world except for some parts in India while I've pretty much been legal to do so for 3 years now. I could remember when I was 17 and hoping one day that the legal age limit would be lowered but when I approach 30 I have a feeling I'll still be carded anyway.

How do I feel? Well still the same, not any taller, weight constantly shifting, nothing amazing happened the moment I woke up, just another ordinary day. Just one more year older.

There are others like me who have birthdays around this time of the year and I personally can't speak for everyone (and I have no idea who comes here to read whatever babbling I put down). Personally there are hits and misses to having birthdays around a holiday:

• You can have your party on the same day you were born whereas if it's during the school year on a weekday you pretty have to schedule it for the weekend. The downside to this is your guests may not come because their family is visiting or they are visiting family and pretty much like the rest of the school kids the best idea is to schedule the party on another day. I had one of my first birthday parties at school because my mom wasn't sure who would come and kindergarten classes were pretty small.
• Mainly applies for those around Christmas (or on): double the presents from family and close friends. The downside is like Christmas it only comes once a year and it's at the end of the calendar year so when you're a kid it's pretty much a long wait (almost forever) but as one gets older time goes by so fast.
• Age limits: it's more of a miss (and sucks even more for those born on the 31st) as you have to be a certain age before you can legally purchase alcohol, smokes, lottery tickets or go to places that say <insert age> + only. While your best buddies are already going to places that have these restrictions you're still waiting for that day you can join them (unless somehow you've been using fake I.D.'s without getting caught or asking someone older to get things for you)

When I was young I couldn't wait to get older so I could do all the things the adults or older kids were doing but once reaching that certain age you kind of get told that you're too old to do something. How I see this: getting older may allow you to access pretty awesome things but gives you a certain time frame on how to act and to behave.

That's all for now.

Holiday Stuff

Yes I said holiday and not Christmas. I'm not sure who is still sensitive to saying of "Happy Holiday" and "Seasons Greetings" versus "Merry/Happy Christmas" (depends of what English speaking country you come from) and possibly writing down the holiday as Xmas or saying it as "eks-mas" versus the whole word but it's not something to fuss about whether one is religious or not.

a little look at some of these words:

First: holiday. The word originally means "holy day" as in a day to celebrate religious festivities and nowadays it also applies to taking time of to either rest or when people are given some time off from school or work.

Christmas I believe is "Christ's mass" with the Old English suffix -mas meaning "a holy, sacred day"

Xmas is a shortening of Christmas and I can't remember where I've heard this but there's this idea of taking the "Christ" out of "Christ"mas with some people. First of all this is useful when one doesn't have a lost of space to write out Christmas and with texting messages to one another takes less time to punch in those letters. Secondly don't think of X as being said as X in English. You have Χριστός (Christos) in Greek and Христос (Xristos) in Cyrillic. Think of the X as coming from those (the X in Cyrillic makes a "kh" sound more or less) so if anyone really cares about this wrap your minds around this idea.


As for saying Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas: Happy Holidays speaks out to everyone while Merry Christmas seems to speak to a few. It's a personal choice whether to say one or the other (or whatever greeting one chooses) so don't take too much offence if you're religious and someone says Happy Holiday instead of Merry Christmas (same goes for a non-religious person when someone greets Merry Christmas or whatever).


Anyways so whatever you do around this time of the year stay safe and Merry/Happy <insert holiday here>


because I'm to lazy:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/holiday
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Christmas
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Xmas

edited on December 23, 2010

"December" songs

Taking a break from my studies (which I've been on for a long time) and felt like posting something.


December. The twelfth month in the Gregorian calendar even though the root here "decem" means 10 in Latin. December also happens to be a host to a number of festivals and holidays (which one can look through here) the major one being Christmas.


I haven't been listening to the radio much since most of my music listening time is devoted to youtube or an internet radio station but once it's a month away radio stations pump out the Christmas music (mostly the easy listening and top 40 stations) and so do the shopping malls. Some people like Christmas music, some are sick of it, personally if it's not the same song repeated 3 times a day no matter what version of the song is played. If Christmas songs aren't your thing, how about some songs with "December" in the title? From the ones I can think of from the top of my head, they have nothing to do with Christmas.


"Once Upon A December" from "Anastasia", an animated movie detailing what if Anastasia Romanova survived. December was when the events that the character Anya recalls from her memories as she suffers from amnesia.




"My December" by Linkin Park. From my viewpoint it's dealing with the loss of someone (whether he or she died or walked out of your life). I guess there could be some undertones of the holiday season thing since Christmas is one of those times of the year where families and loved ones get together ("And I give it all away/Just to have/Somewhere to go to/Give it all away/To have someone/To come home to"). Also to point out that December 21 (or is it 22?) when the shortest amount of daylight is present so I guess that could also set the tone for this song. Josh Groban has done a cover of this song for one of his concerts.

"December" by Collective Soul. I have no idea what to think of this song other that it carries the title "December" and there's no mentioning winter or Christmas stuff.

"December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" by Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons. Guy falls for a girl whom he saw back in December of 1963 is how I see it, but this page says something else

These are what I can think of from the top of my head. Pretty sure there are more December songs out there than these ones.

How TV series should end their seasons

I may be behind in this but one of the summer filler showed I enjoyed watching, "The Gates" apparently has been axed after only one season and the last episode HAD A CLIFFHANGER. Just to warn to to those who come upon this blog and read it, there may be spoilers for those who haven't seen the series that will be mentioned here (Heroes, The Gates, Moonlight and Carnivale) but if you don't care about spoilers then read on (but most of the time you might not have a clue to what's going on).

image found here

So the basic plot of "The Gates" if I can recall is about a family who moves into a gated community as the father gets a job a chief of police. The thing is that the town is a haven to supernatural creatures, most of them are vampires and werewolves but you also got witches, a succubus and someone under a voodoo curse. Almost all the main characters had some sort of storyline associated with them. I won't mention all of them but I'll just say what I feel needs closure and that is what happened to Charlie Monohan and what is Devon's purpose. Charlie is in love with a succubus named Andie. In the last episode Andie and Charlie "make out" (as in american prime time tv show make out) but Andie drains too much of Charlie's life force which leaves him in a coma that's impossible to get out. The family turns to Devon who's somewhat an expert in black magic that promises to help Charlie at a price which is not known. The family agrees and as soon as Charlie recovers Andie breaks up with him. This causes him to become really upset and something else.

It was not until a month later that this show was reported to be cancelled. There are a bunch of shows out there that more or less ended this way with a cliffhanger and are never brought back to life for a second season. I personally think that TV shows that haven't been given a green light for a second season during the run of the first should have an ending where every plot has an ending but is a sense that if the second season comes around it can be picked up from there.

as of this post the nbc
website is still active so
I got this from there

Let's take Heroes for example (long story short it's about people with superhero abilities fighting other people with superhero abilities). It ran for 4 seasons and even though there are like about a billion plot holes by the end the way the show ended was with the world knowing that people with powers exist and the main villain Sylar somewhat becoming a good guy. End of story. But if the plot were to continue one could see how the world deals with people with powers, more Sylar development, and possibly filling up those plot holes. I'd sure want to see that.

The third show I want to talk about is Carnivale. It's been a while since I've seen it but it's an old HBO tv show/miniseries set in the depression era about a guy named Ben, a man who can heal people at the cost of taking the life of something like plants and animals, travels around the southern part of the USA with a travelling carnival and Justin, a methodist priest who can control people. It's one of those good vs. evil things (and one which wikipedia can explain). The show ends with Justin apparently killed by Ben and one of the people formerly part of the carnival turns out to have the same healing powers as Ben revives Justin (cliffhanger again). I didn't discover this series until probably a year or two after it ended but it would've been nice if this series continued.

Lastly I want to talk about Moonlight. This series was starting to get better towards the end but it got cancelled after only one season (Now with shows like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries floating around with more than 1 season in tow, I think it was a bad decision for CBS to cancel). This came out the year the writer's guild went on strike so why this didn't get another season might have been solely on the ratings and the strike or a combination of both (though I haven't seen Pushing Daisies I could put that in the same boat even though it lasted a season longer). The show also won a people's choice award but not even that could save the series. Anyways about the ending, Mick and Beth somewhat break-up/make-up and their story ends but there is the list of vampires that was given to the district attorney so the overall story is not complete in my opinion as there is the question of "who gave him the list?". I would also like to see what happened to Coraline if she's assumed dead or someone is still alive.

Overall if a TV series has a less likely chance of continuing for another season don't leave any plot holes and just end the story at the last episode. If it's uncertain of continuing for another season end the story in a way that there is closure but have some sort of plot twist upon knowing that there is another season. Leave cliffhangers and unfinished plot if for certain that there is another season. Though major critics may say that <this tv show> sucks there will be a bit of a fanbase that would want to see the series until the end.