News Reporter Laughs While Reporting Fatal Accident



Have you ever laughed at an inappropriate time?

I have.
It's a reaction. A nervous reaction...maybe of disbelief.
Not funny. Not funny.

I once had an employee tell me a very private thing.
I sat across my desk from her, and she swallowed, and turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes.
I could see how difficult it was for her to tell me. It was a life altering revelation, and it wasn't a good one for her.

I tried...I really did...but when she finished her story and looked to me for a reaction, maybe some advice, a profound word, some sort of thoughts of wisdom...I burst out laughing.
I apologized profusely, and told her that I wasn't laughing at her dilemma, but at how absurd life can be, how unfair.
How God has a sarcastic sense of humour.

Really, I couldn't believe that she thought that I had an answer for her..

Have you ever laughed at an inappropriate time?

Mary Tyler Moore did in this great episode of "The Funeral of Chuckles The Clown".

Tako, Tako...Samo Tako...

When 2007 champion Novak Djokovic was introduced at the Rogers Cup presentation ceremonies in Montreal yesterday, the public-address announcer mistakenly introduced him as being from Croatia. "First of all," Djokovic said when he took the microphone, "I'm sure that the gentleman here didn't mean to make a mistake, [but] I'm from Serbia not from Croatia." He diplomatically played down the miscue, saying, "I'm not angry, don't worry, it's the same thing."

His saying "it's the same thing" will surely drive a lot of Croats insane...so, tit for tat.

Congratulations Novak...samo napred.

Sunday Click Around

The photo to your left was taken by Peter Gasser, but the site has photos from the Top 10 Photographers. While we're on great photographers, let's look at Richard Avedon's apartment.

I've posted "My Father's Hand" before, but it's worth looking at again. It's the blog of an Artist with Parkinson's who can no longer hold a brush. It's a son's tribute to his father. Beautiful and simple drawings and sketches.

She wants a Guyanese, but she'll "tek on a Trini". All I can say is that whichever little "grandpickney" let her make this video and then posted it to YouTube needs an asswhuppin'.
(I suspect it's a fake though. I hope it is.)


You know how when you're in the salon, waiting and you pick up those hairdressing books and there are all these outrageous do's that are in hair shows and involve lacquer, and molding mud and stuff? But you know that they're not real "hairstyles" per se...they're head sculpture. Here is some vintage head sculpture.

Remember Jack E. Brown the chubby dancer? Well, here's someones tribute to him.

People Magazine does their "Beautiful People" thing every year, and I don't always see it...'cause I don't care, but looking at them, there are always only a couple or so that I find stunningly beautiful. For example, Morris Chestnut, or Jonathan Rhys Meyers (combined with accent) are missing.... But it's all personal taste isn't it?
While we're on "Beautiful Men"...here's a Tribute to Black Men.
Addendum by request: A Tribute to Asian Men....and a Tribute to Middle Eastern Men (some NSFW, and some just a little/lot too hairy), Latin Men, and Mr. Caribbean which is just another tribute to black men..ok must stop now...
I would have posted a Tribute to White Men..but, every "Beautiful Man" tribute is to them.

We were at a Guyanese wedding last night, so the oldies were flowing. The first oldie they started with was "Stand By Me", which cleared the dance floor of young people...and brought out the decked out older crowd who are practically ballroom dancers.

Here's a little tribute to the CN Tower if you've never been there. I haven't been there in so long that I think it might be time to be a tourist.

Don´t believe everything you see.

I need a pimp cup. Seriously. Who doesn't?

I've posted this Romance Scam site before, but it's worth posting again, since people are taken with some long distance person who takes advantage of them. It's one of those "gray line" crimes. People get away with fraud with their cons of love. They get off quite lightly in most cases. It makes for a lucrative living for some.

Tuck in Yuh Belly.

Turbo Karaoke



For some reason I couldn't look away for the entire performance.
When she tried to hit those high notes, I believe the neighbourhood dogs flocked for miles around.

A New Zealand couple is looking to call their newborn son Superman - but only because their chosen name of 4Real has been rejected by the government registry.

Yes.
These are the people who are blessed with children.
His father's name should be "Stuperman".

Recalls prompt parents to ask: Is any toy safe?
No.
Nothing is safe, because a child can kill themselves with a marshmellow, 
or a paper bag.

We need to take all toys away, and make children sit in a corner connected to a virtual life machine so that we can be sure nothing can ever harm them in any way.

What's more dangerous is irresponsibly not watching your children, and not teaching your children how to keep themselves safe.

And this story about the death of Canadian actor Jacob Adam on Ving Rhames estate is just very peculiar.

Was this really an "Accident?"

Ok, off I go.

Today's Quote:

"How the fuck are you supposed to win the game if you keep showing your cards?"

I always did suck at games.

Sunday Click Around

My father's sister was not so much a beautiful woman, as a sexy woman. She was sexy well into her 50's. There are some women who manage that, along with a serious dose of beauty...like Sophia Loren. I found the photo on your left at Close Enough: Photography of David Seymour.
Other great photos too.

As much as the subject matter makes me cringe, but women will be like that for a man, until the shoe is on the other foot....I'm hooked on this song by Lady Saw.

I found the title "Geto Riba" irresistible. Translation; "Ghetto Fish", "fish" being slang for "chicks" in Serbo-Croatian (hahahah...some people hate that definition of language, but I'm Former YU).

I'm posting this again too, because it's frickin' brilliant.

20 Most Amazing Coincidences.

"Their conversation, told in their 30-minute film, stemmed from the Feb. 23 beating of beloved longtime Germantown High School teacher Frank Burd. The math teacher confiscated an iPod from one of his 11th-grade students who'd ignored repeated requests to turn it down. After class the student demanded it back, a ninth-grader joined his case, and Burd ended up on the hallway floor with a broken neck that left him in critical condition."
...although, some of the students seemed to use the platform to justify what happened by playing the race card. It's sad, crippling, and isolating and won't help change anything.

Guys and Dolls is another documentary on The Real Doll (NSFW). I find the men interviewed incredibly sad, and strange. Talking about the dolls and referring to their "relationships" with them. Socially damaged individuals who have given up on real people.

Recently, I was talking to someone who was misinformed about Croatia's participation in the Nazi Movement. Here is a little doc. on Jasenovac called Jasenovac 1945.
I know that it's an uncomfortable piece of history, but it's a fact...unlike a lot of shit that has been spewed about Serbs over the past decade. I can only be thankful that my grandfather ended up in Dachau and not Jasenovac, because if he had, I would never have known him.

Boring CBC Documentaries...because they're really, really boring.

Miss Jamaica: What She Say? So wrong, but so funny anyway. I love how Miss Zimbabwe is a blonde, white chick.

Here are some helpful drawing techniques, if you're interested.

Gypsies LUVS their gold.

Josephine Baker is a fascinating character to me. A maverick in many ways. Here is J'ai deux amours from her.

I got a headache listening to The Fastest Talking Woman. I'm so thankful that I don't work with her.

Forgotten Serbs: Mileva Maric (Einstein's first wife) and Nikola Tesla.

And last but not least:
I did love the Brecker Brothers. I didn't know that Michael Brecker had died. :(
A Tribute to Michael Brecker.

"She has gone like the wind, and we can only meet in my dreams."

Now Liang has finally broken his silence recalling what the tragedy has done to him and those left behind. "My family has been driven to a dark valley by this terrible accident," he explains. "It is still hard for us to fathom now. Despite the tragedy, we still feel love shown by you and from Above. Thanks to your walking with us along this dark valley, we do not feel that we have been abandoned and can see the sunshine above the dark clouds."

Just heartbreaking.

Swiss Army Knife Suffers an Identity Crisis


Apparently, the tender might end up in China.

"If the Swiss army knife no longer comes from Switzerland, then we might as well stop producing it altogether," said Thomas Fuchs, MP for the far-right Swiss People's party.

It has also prompted many jokes, perceived as it is as the weapon of choice for the military of neutral Switzerland. The US comedian Robin Williams once quipped: "How can you trust an army that has a wine opener on its knife?"

Does it really make a difference?
It's still a Swiss Army Knife.
China has been pirating the knife for decades anyway. China has been pirating everything for decades, and even if China gets the tender, there'll still be pirated versions.
The Pacific Mall in Scarborough is a perfect example of the tenacity of pirating.
One day the police will swoop in and close 10 kiosks selling pirated CD's and DVD's...within a week, there are 15 more kiosks selling pirated CD's and DVD's.

If it's made cheaper, people will buy.
Not everyone can afford to be an elitist.

The Blogosphere turns 10 this year.

Wow.

...and I've been blogging for 6 of them.
Seriously though, I've met some really wonderful people through this blog that I would never have 
connected with if it wasn't for "The Blogosphere".
This blog has been a great thing for me. From Boston to Mumbai, from Singapore to Serbia, from Sault Ste Marie to Scarborough, I've met some great people.
Happy Birthday "Blogosphere" (I'm not terribly fond of that word, but it's what's out there..)

All Men are Liars:

Earlier this year I visited a prostitute for one obvious, practical reason and another less so: I'm sick of lying to women. Being single and in my 30s, I find it increasingly difficult to justify the lies and manipulation involved in having a sexual relationship with women who I'm not in love with.

I guess what this is about is; women letting go of the whole "life is not complete without a man" syndrome. But, society has to let go of the notion first...and since women are the gender that bears children, there is more of a societal expectation that women should want a man in their lives...or there is something wrong with them.
However, I'm reading that as women have evolved, become more educated, better employed...more and more are choosing to not have children, or marry.
Many studies have shown that the more educated the woman, the fewer children she'll have (if any)...that explains a lot of what I see in my work to me.

I suppose that the dating game will never, ever be honest...because honest just doesn't feel that hot...for a lot of women.

Ok...I'm off like a bride's new panties....so to speak.

People are just plain slippery.



It reminded me of this.

I Loved This...



I love Tanya.

Russian High Heel Sprint.



You've gotta love it.
Really.

Sunday Click Around

The Sexy Side of PEZ has some great old time graphics. Sex always did sell, even if it was candy.

This terrible Canadian PSA is still cringingly funny.

"The internationally renowned Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) created an enduring legacy through his art. For over 60 years, he documented history by recording the influential people of his time, leaving us with striking and memorable portraits of such celebrated people as Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, and Helen Keller."

The Great Dictator - "read" by the Wal-Mart smiley face. I found it terribly amusing.
While we're on Walmart, here are some Walmart Shenanigans...is Walmart so big that employees don't recognize each other?

I love how some people really feel that public and private propety belongs to them.
I'll tell you what.
If I owned some land and I paid hundreds and thousands of dollars to purchase it, and a "tent city" was set up there creating a human sewer and garbage dump at my expense...you bet your ass I'd have their asses removed.
Call me what you like.
Insensitive, cold...I don't give a shit.
As a taxpayer, I don't want them trashing public property. Even less so if the property belonged to me. We have social services, and homeless shelters, we're not a third world country.
The fact that some people choose not to use those services is not my responsibility.
All the gab about "this Capitalist society" and "giant wallets" is really rich coming from people who have never lived under a Socialist or Communist Regime. Believe me when I tell you that over that side, they wouldn't have just mowed down the tents, they would have mowed down the people too, and no one would have even heard about it...and if you talked about it, you might end up really, really far away with no one to tell who even cared. So, North American urban socialists just need to calm down and appreciate the rights and freedoms they enjoy here.

GOLD-FINGA!!!

Katsushika Hokusai Crop Art is pretty amazing.

There is a serious disconnect between this kids looks and his voice. His voice kind of reminds me a bit of Al Jarreau's in how he enunciates. Speaking of Al Jarreau, here is My Old Friend, and one of my favourite Al Jarreau songs, If I Could Change Your Mind.

So while we're on "morna" like songs, I'm a big lover of Cesaria Evora. Here is "Yamore", and "Beseme Mucho"...and since all cultures have "mornas", here's "Kukavica" from Ceca. Whenever I hear it..sva se najezim (I get goosebumps). Especially when she does it acapella.

When I heard Sri Lankan singer Karunarathna Divulgane for the first time a few years ago, I immediately fell in love with the feelings he conveyed in his songs. I didn't need to understand the words. Here's another from him, just for good measure.

I'm a sucker for talking wildlife.

I really, really liked this.

Brian from Getting On's daughter has a travel blog that looks pretty good. I'm not sure I like the Canadians that she's meeting though.

Ok, last but not least...if you live in the Toronto area, and you want to get rid of that pesky guy who harangues you for your phone number, give him this one: 647-476- 4910. Seriously. Call it. It's hilarious, and brutally to the point.

Ok, kids...that's it.

You Gotta be...

More Studies about studies.

"LONDON — Using marijuana seems to increase the chance of becoming psychotic, researchers report in an analysis of past research that reignites the issue of whether pot is dangerous."
I dunno. Is it perhaps possible that people with mental illness issues gravitate toward drug use to escape their anxieties?
Perhaps it isn't so much that marijuana causes mental illness, but rather mental illness seeks out self-medication.
Anyway, wait for the next study that cancels out this study.

Up and coming "bad girls".
The kids of the stars. Too much money and not enough sense.

While I like the idea of dailing a number to get rid of that tailgating, speeding, dangerous lane changing little prick. I'm not confident that any of it could hold up in court without cameras....and with the cameras, we shouldn't need a snitch line. All we need is Sgt. Cam Wooley on the scene.

Dose of Amy

Blackened Salmon at Papamo

Today's Quote:

"Chile, God must love yuh for de Devil to be chasin' yuh suh"

...When you dream that your agnostic Uncle who has heart trouble, and is like a father to you is quoting scriptures from the Bible to you, I think it's time to rush over to see how he's doing.

When I told him my dream, he laughed and said:
"Ya, eef I even gonna no scriptures fram da bible, den yu for shur yu hev to cam an see me, bekas da Gad eez gonna be tellink me heself".

Jesus Christ.
 
Another Darwin Award Winner who didn't survive to claim his prize.
Just say "no" to drugs, kids.

"Canadian Tuan Lam is $4.84 million US richer today after finishing in second place at the main event of the World Series of Poker".

I'll be honest with you people.
When I saw the picture of Mr. Lam, at first I thought he was Queen Latifah...until I saw his arms.

'Ghetto dude' gets personal apology from Premier.
Cash in dude.
I'm sure "Ghetto dude" isn't going to have a breakdown about it...but he needs to get the payout, since they probably weren't going to hire him anyway.

Ok...I'm off into the world.