Blog or white ... because it never is.

Just a couple of days ago, I was talking about my friend Donna and her lack of social graces.  A video taken on a phone has just gone viral and it wasn't my friend, but, it could have been.  It was a lady at a public pool filled with children.  She was sitting on the ladder and was shaving her legs.  Yes.  Dipping the razor in the pool and shaving her legs.  Yes.  Dipping the razor in the pool, which was filled with children, and shaving her legs.  It was gross.  It is possible that she didn't know any better.  But, she did know how to shave her legs.  Something my friend Donna didn't know.  So, she must have known better.  I don't know.  Do you have to tell someone not to shave their legs in a public pool or is this something we are all supposed to know?  Is it the pool's fault.  They usually post warning signs like:  no running, no diving, no children under 10 unattended.  Do they need to add no shaving? One thing is for sure about this lady, she has no fr

I really like to blog.  My primary focus is to advance my common sense revolution.  Trying to advance a common sense solution to a societal problem while maintaining my status as a social justice warrior.  As you can tell, I don't edit before posting.  What comes out of this keyboard is what you get - for now.  Like I said, I do have plans for my blog in the future.  In my mind, I start at the ending.  I try to think of what point I want to make and then I start.  Sometimes, the entry goes in a different direction, but for the most part, I know where I want it to end. This is going to be different.  I have no idea where this is going to end. It started the day of the Western Premiers meeting.  Alberta Premier Rachel Nottley held a press conference to explain why she wouldn't be attend and that she was going to send the Deputy Premier who appeared in the news conference with her. I have read that Rachel Nottley is a brilliant strategist and that seemed quite evident to me

A long time ago, Roseanne Barr used to be a successful comedian.  She parlayed that success into a successful tv show.  The tv show ended.  Despite that she was the star, she apparently did no financial planning.  She has done a lot to try and make an income but has been marginalized and has turned into a joke.   Not so much her other co-starts.  John Goodman has become a successful movie actor.  Laurie Metcalfe became a sought-after actress in guest-starring roles and hit the mother load as Sheldon Cooper's mother.  Speaking of The Big Bang Theory, Johnny Galecki has also done alright for himself.  Sara Gilbert has been a busy producer and a host of CBS's successful show The Talk.   John Goodman appeared as a guest on The Talk and he and Sara Gilbert conducted the interview as they were Dan and Darlene Connor.  Sara Gilbert went to work and a result of her work, the rebooted Roseanne was born.   Roseanne was the biggest winner in this successful new series.  Financi

I picked up the phone and a man identified himself as a Customs Official and I needed to come to the border to claim my vehicle and answer some questions as my car had been used to attempt smuggle goods into Canada. I wish I could say that was the last straw, but it wasn't.  I had been through so much in the last year.  Also, I really wish I was making all this up, but, I am not that creative.  This all happened and it happened almost 30 years ago. It started when I met my friend Donna a year earlier.  Actually, we both were attending orientation for our new jobs.  We were hired on the same day for the same job in a small traditional town that happened to straddle the border of Canada and the United States. We were both about the same age, were new to the town, we both had the same degrees and we both had the same job.  That was about all we had in common, but, that was plenty.  We became friends. Donna was, ummm, unabashed.  She was loud, brazen, flamboyant, unapologeti

The summit with North Korea and US leaders.  Scheduled for June 12.  Cancelled by Trump.  Then, according to Trump tweets, looking like it will happen.  Then confusing tweet suggesting he never was positive about it happening.  Then, two more confusing tweets.  Then, in the most recent Tweet, he calls out the NY Times for publishing a story quoting an anonymous Senior White House staffer.  He calls it fake news because there is no anonymous Senior White House Staffer. For once, I clearly understand his tweet.  Of course, there is no Senior White House Staffer.  Not than I believe he doesn't have staff members leaking information.  I totally believe that.  I just believe no one in the White House has enough tenure to be call Senior White House Staffer.  They don't exist.  He fires them all before the end of their probationary period.

Sadly, it happens every summer.  An infant dies of heat exposure from being left in the back seat during a hot day.  It has already happened this year.  I pray that means we are done for the year.  Other than that guy from Texas a few years ago, all of the other children have died from a simple mistake.  Parents have forgotten that they had the child in the back seat.  It has been a mistake, but far from an innocent one.  I can't imagine the hell a parent would have to endure from making the mistake.  At the same time, how can you possibly forget that you have your baby in the back seat? A police spokesperson gave a news conference about this issue.  He said, with a straight face, when you are putting your child in the car seat, please toss your cell phone in the back seat as well.  This will help since you might forget about your baby, but you will never forget your cell phone.  The reporter covering the news conference repeated this advice at the end of the report. Again, wit

It has been a long cold winter and it has taken spring a long time to come.  Well, actually I think spring never came.  We have gone directly to summer.  The heat and the humidity are stifling.  And, despite air conditioning, the air just feels "close".  It seems really difficult to catch a breathe of fresh air.  Regardless of the barometric pressure, it seems there is a heaviness in the air.  In Canada, we awoke to hear that two young men set off a bomb in a family restaurant which was hosting two birthday parties.  Yes, I guess we are "that country" now.  The reality star who is currently occupying residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is playing "whose got the bigger one" with an unstable narcissist.  The fact that he is also an unstable narcissist just adds another layer to this game they are playing.  It would be funny if it wasn't our future that was at stake.  Canadians have always prided ourselves on achieving the middle ground and our abilit

The South Korea President was at the White House meeting with Trump, presumably about North Korea, less than 24 hours when Trump announced he was cancelling the summit with North Korea.  The President said he was shocked and disappointed with Trump.  Shocked.  Really?  North Korea issued a statement expressing disappointment and a desire to meet.  They also blew up something that they claim was a nuclear testing site as a show of good faith.  Students in South Korea protested throughout their country yesterday stating that they were disappointed by Trump.  Disappointed by Trump.  Get in line.  It is a very long line. 

What delightful breaking news this morning.  I turned on the television just in time to watch the disgraced monster walk into a Manhatten police department.  Apparently, he is facing criminal charges from two different women.  New York and Los Angeles Police continue to investigate and convene grand juries so hopefully there are more charges forthcoming.  He has already negotiated his bail package which will be 1 million dollars; surrendering of passport; and requirement to wear an ankle bracelet.  Apparently, he is prepared to post this bail as he arrives.  There were many reporters to witness this scene, and I hope they hunt him down to find where he has been hiding for the last several months.  This seems so unsatisfying.  A million dollar bail which he has already negotiated and is prepared to post.  All that is going to happen to him this morning is that he will be finger printed.  How intrusive and uncomfortable for him.  Hopefully, this is not a pointless exercise and ju

Yesterday, Trump tweeted a two word tweet.  I think many of us have done something like that on social media.  Sometimes our pocket dials the last person we want to talk to.  Sometimes we press enter when we meant to start a new paragraph.  Sometimes we are excited and press done before we mean to.  Sometimes, and I have heard this can happen, we can be sitting on the toilet texting and somehow when we get up and flush, somehow our text got sent. One thing that I have observed about Trump is that he lives by the philosophy of why use 10 words when you can use 1000.  I am sure Twitter doubled its character count per tweet specifically because of Trump.  It is an old legal trick.  You use as many words as possible in hopes that people won't read it and just sign on anyway.  Have you ever read your user agreement in full when you have downloaded a new app?  Me neither.  At the moment that it happens, I have no desire to read pages and pages when I am just trying to get a new Mind

I guess he realized his campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize was a non-starter. 

As we age, we face the possibility of many troubling medical diagnoses.  OA, AFib, COPD, HIV, GERD, CHF, AKA, Ca to name just a few.  However, I think there is another diagnosis that is equally troubling for our aging population.  It is the dreaded SIB:  Son In Basement. Yesterday, comedy writers were given a gift on a silver platter.  Parents were in court facing their 30 year old son trying to get him out of their basement.  Close your eyes for a minute.  Imagine a 30 year old unemployed man spending his life in his parent's basement.  That is exactly what he looked like.  Equally sad is that he is a male with a pulse and lives in NY.  He might have a shot at being the next Bachelor. I guess this is the new millennial reality.  A generation ago, parents would change the locks and leave the belongings out in the front yard.  Now, apparently parents and their children go to Court. Unfortunately, it was really funny but equally tragic.  The saddest thing was that he kept re

One of the major news organizations released data yesterday.  Apparently, either orally or on social media, Donald Trump lies 9 times every day.  I am presuming that being President is a big job so as most of us mere mortals work 8 hours a day, I will suggest he works 9 hours a day.  So, that means on average of 1 lie/hour.  Again, I love bashing Trump as much as anyone, but even I am getting tired that he gives us so much material to work with.  But, as this point, I think Trump analysis is best suited for Saturday Night Live or late night talk shows.  Can you imagine having a job where you have to go through everything this clown says or tweets and track the lies?  Talk about drawing the short straw.  The problem with tracking Trump's lies is you have to read or listen to everything he says.  How can you have any job satisfaction or even self-respect?  Plus, it doesn't really serve us any purpose.  Most of us know he is liar.  Some of us don't believe it and they ar

I don't know why but I am fascinated by all things Royal.  It started before Diana but Diana certainly cemented by obsession.  I remember prior to her wedding, one of my relatives told me that I knew more about Diana than she knew about herself.  There is a new documentary about her on Netflix.  When my partner asked if I wanted to watch, I said yes and I would correct the inaccuracies.  When they showed the fashions of her, I was able to not only identify the designer but also to tell what event she wore each particular dress.  If you are ever going to a Royal family trivia party, you definitely want me on your team. Of course, I got up at 3:30 am to watch Prince Charles wed Lady Diana.  I was shocked that my light was the only light in my neighbourhood.  I remember watching and not being able to sit down.  I literally paced the whole time.  It was so exciting to me.  I was in high school but I took notes so that I could discuss it later with people.  Nobody really wanted to dis

I believe in God and I have a very personal relationship with God.  My God doesn't require me to be public in my relationship and my God understands that he is not the only higher power and he respects those who chose to believe in other things.  One thing that my God and I understand is that I believe in Him and He believes is me.  There are many times when I don't want to bother him because I respect that he believes in me and wants to me to solve my own problems and he wants me to experience struggle and come out from in stronger. But, that doesn't mean that he is not providing guidance.  He sends messages to me through the universe.  And, not just to me.  The universe is very powerful and speaks to all of us.  I believe in the universe and I believe the universe is sending us signs all the time. I love my sweetie very very much. Today is Monday and is a statutory holiday.  It is actually meant to honour Queen Victoria.   But, it is a very important holiday to Canadi

Yanni vs Laurel.  I have listened to it over and over again.  The reason that I have listened to it so many times is because I have really tried to hear Laurel.  I just can't get it.  All I hear is Yanni and can't even imagine how anyone can hear Laurel, but I keep listening trying to hear and yet.......Yanni, Yanni, Yanni...... Yesterday, I heard that everyone is right.  Both names are recorded simultaneously but on different frequencies.  This means I am right that I hear Yanni.  It means those who hear Laurel are also correct.  Both answers are correct.  This is just a fun thing gone viral so millions of people have been listening and weighing in.  Almost everyone has tried it and it has made the news as a new popular cultural thing.  In my household, my sweetie and I have different things, but we haven't argued about it.  I've seen a lot of UTube footage where people are hearing different things but no one is arguing.  In fact, most people have been like me in t

I wish I was announcing my 24000 blood donation, but, alas, I am announcing 24,000 views on my blog.  I really love my blog and I love that I live in a free country in which I enjoy free speech.  I love that my friends can read it and disagree with me and we can have a discussion about it, and sometimes, I admit that I am wrong.  (But, not on my blog, though, I'm not that magnanimous.)  My blog also provides me structure and keeps my eye on the media and to keep me a relevant social justice warrior. Even though I love my blog but I do have plans for its future direction.  Hopefully, the future of my blog will be revealed this fall. In the meantime, I cherish each and everyone of you that reads and likes my blog. I especially cherish my wonderful sweetie who is my most enthusiastic supporter.  Just last week, he told me that he rarely sees a line-up at Tim Horton's drive-thrus and he attributes that to my blog which has had more than a few tirades against Tim Horton'

At various points in my professional life, I have dabbled in public speaking.  I like to talk and I like money so getting paid for my message is very appealing.  At one of my first paid gigs, I was talking about stress management.  This was (cough) decades ago and in a small community.  At one point, I talked about the need to take care of yourself in order to have energy to take care of others.  I saw a woman take a pen out of her purse and start scribbling.  I knew what she was scribbling as she was a columnist in the local newspaper.  Her column was supposed to be about agriculture news but she had a broad scope and commented on whatever she felt like.  Her mighty pen took aim at me in her next column.  Taking care of oneself in order to take care of others was just another justification for self-indulgence, according to the column.  Taking care of oneself was selfish.  She was tired of the message and felt in promoted laziness and lack of empathy.  It gave people as excuse not

Comedian Mike Bullard's legal troubles increased this week after he faced three additional charges.  The most shocking part of that sentence for me was that Mike Bullard was referred to as a comedian.  Is that what he does?   I just never found this guy funny, I actually thought he was a sports commentator.  Also, he is 60 years old.  I can only remember him, maybe being generous, for the last decade.  So, what was he doing for the last 40 years.  A starving comic?  He actually doesn't look like he has missed too many meals.  Regardless, his three new charges relate to previous legal troubles of two failures to comply with bail conditions and an attempt to obstruct justice.  He appeared in Toronto Court where he awarded bail for $10,000.  I don't even know how to respond without cursing, which I am trying to be above.   So, I am going to say "Shut the Front Door" but I mean it times 100.  He has already failed to comply with previous bail conditions and we

Today is the first Anniversary of the Mueller Investigation. Really, it has only been a year.  It seems like it has been going on forever.  It also seems like it has no end in sight. What has been the most shocking thing that the investigation has revealed?  Well, for me, it is just Rudy Giuliani is a fame whore.  He quit his law firm to be Donald Trump's personal lawyer full-time.  He is making the most of his second act appearing on Fox News every day.  He doesn't appear on other networks because he might have to answer an unrehearsed commercial. For others, the more shocking revelation is this $130,000  payout to Stormy Daniels. Back to me.  I didn't think the investigation was really supposed to be about that?   But, then, there is the real question.  What actually was the investigation about?  I don't even know anymore.  And, at the end, what is going to come of it?  I am guessing a 2598 page report that will actually contain 2 sentences which will make t

The camera doesn't lie.  That was the take-home message from an inspirational speaker that I saw a few years ago.  Basically, if you are sitting next to someone you truly love and a picture is taken, that love will be evident.  In contrast, if you are sitting next to someone you pretend to like and a picture is taken, the camera will capture that as well, despite your best efforts to project something different.  If you pretending to be happy in a job that you detest, the camera will capture that pretense.  Whatever it is, the camera doesn't lie. The speaker didn't have to sell me on that concept.  Years earlier, I had attended a one evening class on "interpreting family photographs".  It was so revealing because, well, the camera doesn't lie.  One by one, we all showed our series of family photographs and the instructor told us insights about our families based on the pictures.  The observations were remarkably accurate.  It wasn't a fortune telling