I'm The Minister of the Interior

This morning The Mister was watching CP24, as we both do every morning while getting ready for work.
I heard him shout "Hey! I'm doing 1.4% better than last year!?!".
I came out of the laundry room to see that todays morning poll question was in regard to a StatsCan survey that men are doing 1.4% more around the house than they used to.

My reply?
"Yes...but your work around the house is seasonal".

Now, I can't even really get mad at him, because it's me who fixed it so.

See, I'm the anal Retentive Chef, and when The Mister cooks, I cannot watch.

I irritate.

I move things around. I slip cutting boards under his vegetables. I move the dishcloth off of the stove. I spray bleach on the counter after he's cut any kind of meat...I'm just generally a housefly buzzing around his head on a hot summer day to The Mister when he's in the kitchen...so he doesn't bother cooking much.

So, while I can say that I am The Minister of the Interior, and The Mister doesn't do much inside the house, I have to take some of the responsibility for that.

How is it at your house?

Overheard in the Summer-School Yard

"Yeah, I have a lot of parents"

"Me too."

"I've had more step-moms than step-dads, though."

Times, they are-a-changin'.

Bedlam in Lebanon

Canadians trying to get the hell out of Lebanon are having a really hard time of it.
The Canadian government underestimated the number of Canadians in the region.
This morning there was debate about who needs to be footing the bill to get these people back "home".

Speculation around how many are non-resident Canadians with no "home" to go to once they get "home" so to speak.
Questions around who would choose to vacation in Lebanon at this time, like the pregnant Hamilton woman Lara Tcholakian, on holiday in Lebanon with her husband and one-year-old son.
Apparently, Lebanon is on Canada's "not a good idea to go there" list.
...no shit?
I'm no political analyst, but I could have told you that without the aid of the Canadian Consulate's list.

So, there's argument around the government footing the cost for some, and not for others...like perhaps Tcholakian's family would fall into the category of "not eligible for being stupid enough to go in the first place".
I mean, it's not like you couldn't see this coming...

I'm of the mind that we get all Canadians out first, and then sort this shit out later.

Making people pay for their imbecility is compelling.
But, like Grandpa used to say...they're ours, even if they've got shit all over them...or they're dim.

Whichever fits.

________________________________

Update:
Harper, wife and photo team to swing by in Prime Ministers private plane and pick up 120 passengers in Lebanon.
I know this is a PR move (major), but this appeals to even the die hard cynic in me.

Dear Little Girls on YouTube,

WARNING: Explicit rap lyrics full of bad vocabulary

I know that I'm old enough to be your mom, and that you probably think that I'm all "jealous" and a "hatr", but I'm old enough to know that you can do things when you're young, and live to regret your immature decisions.

I'm not sure if you're really grasping the concept of the size of the YouTube audience.
It spans across the world, and across age lines. You may be thinking that cute boys your age are looking at you and thinking how cute you are, and commenting on how pretty you are.
The reality is that there are far more old pervs watching you shake your thang, and sharing your videos with other old pervs and pedophiles.

One day, you may want an important job that requires people to respect you in order to do it properly.
I know that seems really, really far away right now, but these kinds of things have a tendency to re-surface when you least expect them to.
Videos of you as a young girl wiggling your bum on the internet is good laughing material for prospective employers or school recruiters, but certainly not impressive as someone to take seriously.

I know that it's a different world than when I was a young girl...Hell, it's different from 10 years ago!, but I will tell you that certain things don't change.
People don't respect people who don't respect themselves.
Particularly women. Women already have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously without booty shakin' videos on the internet following them around.
It's true.
No really.
Oh sure, guys like it when you shake your booty on video for free, but when it comes right down to it, normal guys don't like other men oogling their girlfriends while they're half-naked and dancing on some online file sharing thingy for free.
No man wants a slut for a partner, only the worst kind will marry one.

Listen sweeties, you're all pretty girls (well, most of you) with your whole lives ahead of you. Stop selling yourself so cheap...so cheap it's for free...even strippers and whores charge.

Your parents need to take your webcams away.
Stat.

Love,
Radmila

New's Flash!

Bush and Blair talk like normal people when they think they're off the mic.

No kidding?

Rather than focusing on the fact that Bush said "shit"...how about noticing the lack of respect the two of them have for the U.N.

"He told Mr. Blair he felt like telling UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who visited the gathered leaders 'to get on the phone with [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, make something happen.'"

As if there was any doubt about who controls the U.N.

In a short time, I expect that more Canadian troops will be deployed to die for more economic than humanitarian reasons.
Yo, Blair...make room for Harper, he'll be bringing up the rear.

Bush's rear.

The Better to Eat You, My Child!



Ok.
Harding over at T.O. Crime sent me this David Hasselhoff music video
(Click on the image to view).

It's disturbing on so many levels.
Hmmm, let's see...could it be the fact that:

1. He's old enough to be their dad?
2. He's dressed like a teenager in this video, and he's like what? 100?
3. The song is all about luring young girls into your car for a ride home?
4. Through the whole song, his right eye is twitching like a serial killer on the hunt?
5. He actually sings the words; "you'll catch your death..."
6. He turns into the devil about 3/4's in?
7. He catapults a young chick from Kitt's passenger side, and Kit says sweet eff all?

Actually, it's all of the above.
Pity the plastic people, it's so much harder for them to get old.

I know he's big in Europe...particularly Germany...

Listen...all I'm sayin' is..."HASSELHOFF, STOPPEN SIE ES!"

Brfday Click Around...

Yes, my girlikas and boycheks, today is my birthday. The Mister's sister and I, have the same birthdate, so every year...we celebrate together.
The Sister and I go for pedi and mani, and The Mister and SisterMister make us or take us out for dinner. It's a great day of rest, kiddies...

Anyhow, on to the very few things I've been looking at this week:
At Hainsworth.com I found Maxim On-Line's 10 Worst Comedians. I have to agree with most of them...even though I love Whoopi Goldberg, as a stand up she sucks. Judy Tenuta? Is she still around? Bleh, it just goes to show that you don't need talent to become famous...an irritating voice and some stupid props, and away you go..because we love to hate the celebs as much as we love to love them.

While we're on the subject of celebs, let's look at some Stupid Quotes. Melanie Griffith said:
'There's a sculpture in our bedroom, a solid brass replica of Antonio's manhood. It's very expensive, he gave it to me as a romantic gift.'
I don't know how something like that would come up in conversation, or why you would even say it out loud...even if someone said, "Hey...I have giant vagina pillows made out of satin all over my bed...", even if someone said that, no one needs to know you have a sculpture of Antonio Banderas' penis anywhere in your house.

Here are Top Celebrity Oddballs. Guess who's numero uno?

Yeah, I know...I've kind of gone down celebrity road this week, in my posts and now in my sharing of links.
Eh, what better way of confirming that money isn't everything.
So, one last celeb thing...Robert DeNiro as a car salesman.
What movie is this from?



Drunken Lagomorph led me to 1,500 of your favourite '80's Videos. I burned a good amount of time over there.

I'm off to do eff all for the rest of the day...see you tomorrow!

The oddest lip sync I've seen yet:

Halle Berry and ex husband Eric Benet are throwing barbs at each other.

Contact Music.com says:

"ERIC BENET has branded ex-wife HALLE BERRY a liar for telling an American magazine he cheated on her approximately "27 times". Berry made the scathing comments when probed about the alimony paid to her former spouse, adding she "finds it difficult" to hand over her wages to an unfaithful partner."

Alimony to someone who publically humiliated you?
Ok...Hollywood.
Whatever...
But, that's not my question...really...Benet goes on to say:

"Halle used to insist she loved India, though she hasn't seen her and has barely communicated with her in years, and not because I've stopped her."

This is Benet's child from another relationship.
A child who has a mother already.

Benet and Berry weren't together that long...like four years or something.
I guess what I'm asking is; should Berry be expected to continue a relationship with Benet's child, and have to deal with Benet and his child's mother when they don't have children together?
How close do you think Halle actually got to India Benet?
I mean with both Halle and Eric's schedules and all...
How close do you suppose they really were?

It's hard enough to get really close to your steps if they aren't living with you full time, even when you're not a Hollywood star, jetsetting around the world.

Benet needs to take Halles money and shut the fuck up.
Well, I guess if one of the most desired women in North America isn't enough for you
...then I guess the money isn't either.

Where are the Environmentalists when this shit is going on?

"A painted iceberg, an artwork, entitled 'The Ice Cube Project,' by Chilean-born artist Marco Evaristti floats in Ilulissat Fiord, Greenland. Evaristti used 3,000 litres of paint diluted with sea water, three fire hoses, two icebreakers and a 20-man crew to complete the task in about two hours. Evaristti said 'it's so poetic, it looks like a red pea.' REUTERS/SCANPIX/Lars Nybøll"

Listen Marco, if we absolutely had to see a pinky red ice floe, you could have done it in photoshop without dumping 3,000 litres of diluted paint into the ocean.
This is not art.
It's irresponsible and self-revolved.
Get over yourself.

Find the link here

Mama Shops

This brings new possibilities to "Ask Mama"



I like how she's enunciating for you.

Marriage #4 Over for Brinkley...

Ok.

At what number to do you admit to yourself...
"I suck at this marriage thing..." and just stop it already?

...and they say that gay marriage is "undermining the definition of traditional marriage"...Gimme a break!

I would have to say that heterosexuals are doing fine job all on their own...

I Laughed 'til I Cried...

This article in Today's Star about the long commute of GTA residents.

Apparently:

"GTA drivers spend 79 minutes daily on commute
It's even longer for transit users, StatsCan finds"

No shit, Sherlock?

Since I started driving, I get twice as far in half the time.
What kills me is that City Hall spends all it's time and money on things like by-laws to protect trees, and rights for cyclists, and art in the downtown core, and traffic calming speed bumps on residential streets where there may be a car every 20 minutes or so...but transit has been ignored.

And this city continues to swell at the seams.
Rather than invest in public transit...Pundits suggest stupid things like a toll to drive downtown, or the extension of the Sheppard line by a couple of stops.

Every time I consider the possibility of maybe taking public transit to get to work, I realize that one days trip to work is a half a tank of gas for me...which lasts me three days driving back and forth in the comfort and clean scent of my own car, in a quarter of the time it would take me by public transit.
I would have to be an idiot to take it, even if gas was 2 bucks a litre, at the rates that TTC and GO charges.
If I chose to use it, I would be helping the environment with no help from the government, to my severe inconvenience. It would take five hours of my life every day for me to help the environment by using the system.
Sorry.
I'm no martyr.

Systems need to be amalgamated, instead of worrying that we're not "world class", and rushing to please the residents of certain neighbourhoods.

All this talk about smog days and concern from City Hall on the environment is bullocks.
If they were so concerned, they'd focus on public transit and make it a priority...and make it affordable.

Yeah, and then I woke up.

In contast to the cute little Korean girls, here's a black guy from Brooklyn singing (I don't think it's really him singing) the famous Serbian anti-war song "Mesecina" by the revered Goran Bregovic.

A couple of little Korean girls singing to Tito in Serbo-Croatian in 1978.
They are both cute enough to squeeze.

Really hard.

Sunday Click Around

Yesterday, I found this interesting blog called Photographerno.
The author is someone who appears to be not only a amateur photographer, but someone who works in the Bollywood Fashion industry.
He has some sort of goal of 1000 blog entries in a certain span of time. He did a whole section on Eunuchs in Mumbai which is a subject I have always found fascinating.
Ever since I read Alev Lytle Croutier's book, Harem: The World Behind the Veil a very long time ago. It focused a lot on the Topkapi Palace and Harem in Turkey, and invited me to look into the art of Ingres. Eunuchs have an incredibly interesting history, and served an important purpose to Eastern Royalty. Keepers of the Royal Familys most prized possessions, and the handling of money, and were often very skilled in the use of a saber or blade.
It's a really captivating topic, and I thank Photographerno for taking me there again.

While I was looking for info to post on Eunuchs, I ran across Bollywood Vintage Movie Posters - Pre 1960 which has some great painted posters.

Life Magazine's cover search is worth a look, as well as The Life Photo Gallery.
But since Sophia Loren was my chosen Life cover, here's some news.
Sophia is going to pose nude as a Pirelli Pin Up at the age of 71.
Interesting, no?
I have to admit though, Sophia is fabulous.
She's gorgeous at 71.
Here is Fabulous Over 50 for a look at other people who have crossed that bridge and still look great.
Do you sing along to TV themes like a savant?
I do.
That's why I spent a long time on this site. I sang along with themes that I could not remember by just looking at the picture that accompanied the mpg file. But the minute the music started, I knew the lyrics from beginning to end.
Interested in pop culture collectibles?
This place has a tonne of crap from shit you've completely forgotten about.



I can't remember how I came across Little Oogie's, but he's got a gallery containing pictures of David Bowie from the 1960's to now. Which prompted me to have a look around at Photographers who specialized in Musicians. Redferns has a great collection of photos.

Ok kids...I think that's all...

Winners Stock Girls Hate Their Customers.

I am not a shopper.
I don't enjoy browsing.
I usually have a good idea of what I'm looking for, and I try to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Don't get me wrong...I love clothes, and shoes/boots...I just don't have the patience to walk around shops aimlessly touching fabrics, comparing belts and dealing with the fitting room experience. One of the places I shop is Winners, for a couple of reasons...their clothing is easy to find. All skirts in one section, all jackets in another, all shoes minus a person who has to disappear for 10 minutes to get them. There used to be a great store called Labels here, that I absolutely loved...they not only organized things by section, but by colour and casual/business...which saved me time. Too bad they went under.

Anyhow, It doesn't matter which Winners I go to, the stock girls like to put their anti-theft devices in absurd places.
I imagine them all in the back of the store, bracelets tinkling, gum snapping, encouraging each other: "Ok Skyler, that's a bra...put that big ass anti theft device right next to the hooks, so the bitch can't do it up if she wants to try it on..." and "Oh..pants? Ok Kaitlyn,...stick the plastic thing right by the crotch at the zipper hahhahahah..." then they laugh and laugh, and go to Tim Hortons for coffee, to discuss uncomfortable places they can stick that shit, and then come back and do it.

Yesterday, I was looking for some sandals with a backstrap, and a dress with a salmon colour.


Regarder attentivement

It doesn't matter which outlet I go to, it's the same.
I think they have district meetings about it.
I've mentioned it to the women behind the counter, and they nod...but I think that they secretly give out Employee of the Month to the staff who can stick this thing in most innovatively uncomfortable place on the garment or shoe.

But, I'll put up with it, because if there's anything I hate more, it's being ripped off...and I'm not getting a pair of Steve Madden sandals for $29.99, or a Donna Karan jacket for 99 bucks anywhere else.

I hate shopping.

" They all denied any involvement"

Back in November when these boys denied assaulting this young woman, I posted my personal experience with sexual assault at school.
I applauded this girl for having the courage to come forward, regardless of the firestorm she would create.

This story kept coming back to race, which obscured the real issue, which is sexual assault in schools. Young girls have fought this off for decades, often too ashamed of being called a "slut" to come forward and tell an adult that they were "felt up" in a corridor, or dragged into the boys washroom and mauled.

When I was in school, I knew one young Asian girl who told friends that she was raped by a boy, but never went to an adult or her parents to say anything.
That boy was never investigated or punished.
Do I think that my experience and this girls experience were unique?

I do not.

And now, in this society and culture, which glamourizes sluttiness, with videos both on TV and on the internet showing young women allowing young men to slap their asses to the beat, while they shake their barely covered tits and bootys...puts excess pressure on young girls who attend school.
Catholic School is no stranger to the hiked up kilt fantasy that many guys have.

I think that middle schools and high schools must address this issue in a big way, and I hope that this debacle kick starts some awareness to a problem that has been secretly slithering through the halls of schools for decades.

I must say though that I am impressed with the two boys who were man enough to admit to doing something unacceptable, and being adult enough to do the right thing by taking their lumps.
Now, I know that there are people who don't want to believe that it's possible that they are guilty. And I expect that there will be continued accusations that these boys were forced to confess.
And that's a shame.
A shame to deny that this problem even exists, and that all teenage boys are misunderstood, angelic little beings.
Denying that there are aggressive hormonal boys of all cultures and races, who need to be shown that they can't get away with it.

Does Every Neighbourhood Have One?

There is a house in our neighbourhood that has changed hands four times in the past decade.
It's a corner house with the backyard exposed to the turn of the street, with a mere chain link fence between the yard and a relatively busy street.

When we moved onto our street, the house was up for sale..The first owners we witnessed weren't into maintaining the lawn, or garden, or veranda, or driveway and it was just a big gigantic festering sore of a house, right on the corner.

The second owners cleaned it up.
Fixed up the front, maintained the lawn and garden...planted rose bushes along the chain link fence and took pride in it. And the house seemed to breathe with new life.
It's a nice house, that only needed a little care to be pretty.

I once stopped my car as I was turning the corner and saw the owners in front washing their driveway. I told them what a great job they did with their house.
I just had to tell them.

The third owners had what looked like a twenty people living in the house, and no one mowed the lawn anymore, and the veranda was piled with crap. The driveway housed three cars, one always parked sideways in the little area between the sidewalk and the road.
The rose bushes died, and when I drove by I'd roll my eyes with disgust that so many people could live in a house and do fuck all to maintain it.

It was put up for sale and took forever to sell...if it did at all.

About a month ago, I noticed that new people were living there...but they were scary looking.
Thuggy looking guys hangin' in the driveway, 'hoes on the porch with their hair pulled up in tight pony tails in a "council flat facelift" style, drinkin' beer.
The other day I was in the local convenience store, and encountered one of the hoes with three kids buying smokes. The kids looked rough...you know when kids look tough, even though they're little. They looked unkempt. They were whining for candy, and she was telling them to "shut up" and "Cum' on" in a pugnacious tone.
Now that it's warm out, the residents have their garbage cans perpetually out on the driveway, there are always different hoes and thugs hangin' out on the porch.
Frankly, I really can't tell who lives there. The backyard, now visible to the road again, now that there are no more rose bushes, always has lines of laundry swinging in the breeze, and sometimes hanging over the fence.
The lawn is left unmowed...which bugs The Mister (The Lawn Nazi) no end.
It's so odd, because the other houses around it are well maintained, and this one is just horrible.

I've nicknamed it "The Grow-Op" and The Mister consoles me by telling me that they'll probably be gone soon...

I can only hope, because it really bothers me to look at it, and it's inhabitants.

When did I become Gladys Kravitz?

Sunday Click Around

Keith's Postcard Collection is really cool. I love postcards. Especially old ones. I really should buy more of them when we go places. I really should.
Since it's Canada Day weekend, You know you're Canadian when... and Imagecity by Dan McGarry.
Whom I assume is Canadian, judging by the number of pictures of things Ottawa.
There's no bio, so I can't be certain.

Toronto NightLIfe is all things Toronto...because let's face it...we're Canada's bellybutton.
Well, at least we're Canada's biggest navelgazers...next to Montreal.
Toronto ranks as 3rd Politest city in the world., much to the disagreement of the rest of Canada. :P
Canada Kicks Ass has a a jokes section that is worth checking out.

In honour of all the road tripping that The Mister and I do, driving through small towns in Ontario, and Quebec and border states...


Neatorama found this cool site showing us A Day in the Life of The Soviet Union in photographs.

Here's the The AOLer Translator...mind you, I think this could work for all blogs by the 12 to 16ers too.
The Cemetery Collection is well...a collection of photographs of tombstones and sculpture in Russian cemeteries.
You know, the best cemeteries are in countries with long histories. The sculpure is often very beautiful.

Ok, kids...I'm off to make strawberry tarts with the stawberries we bought yesterday.