Saturday, January 31, 2004
Updates
This is just a quick note to sort of explain the lack of updates lately. It pretty much boils down to this. Matt and I are both busy people. I can't really speak for him but I know that he's got a lot going on right now.
But I can speak for me so I can say for sure that right now I've got a lot going on. I've been pretty busy lately with things and now I've got some pretty big personal problems to deal with so updates might be few and far between around here for the next while. And no, personal problems isn't a code phrase for I'm in rehab, rehab is for quitters. I've just got a lot to deal with right now is the thing. I'll post things up here when I can, whenever the mood strikes but don't be surprised if it's days between posts for the next while.
In the meantime feel free to rip the ever loving hell out of each other on the comment boards or just use them to talk to each other and maybe even get along. Just remember that we're not going away, it's just that this site is a hobby and sometimes it has to take a back seat to real life, as much as that sucks sometimes.
So until we talk again I'll leave you with this.
Q. How do you turn a lawn mower into a snowblower?
A. Give the bitch a shovel.
That's me, doing my part to promote equality.
But I can speak for me so I can say for sure that right now I've got a lot going on. I've been pretty busy lately with things and now I've got some pretty big personal problems to deal with so updates might be few and far between around here for the next while. And no, personal problems isn't a code phrase for I'm in rehab, rehab is for quitters. I've just got a lot to deal with right now is the thing. I'll post things up here when I can, whenever the mood strikes but don't be surprised if it's days between posts for the next while.
In the meantime feel free to rip the ever loving hell out of each other on the comment boards or just use them to talk to each other and maybe even get along. Just remember that we're not going away, it's just that this site is a hobby and sometimes it has to take a back seat to real life, as much as that sucks sometimes.
So until we talk again I'll leave you with this.
Q. How do you turn a lawn mower into a snowblower?
A. Give the bitch a shovel.
That's me, doing my part to promote equality.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
This Actually Happened
I heard this on "The Weird News" on my way in to work this morning.
Yesterday a South Dakota judge made a decision that local residents of a small S.D. town said was only fair.
The problem arose when the citizens of a small neighbourhood went to authorities with a complete about one single man who lived on their street. All parties were heard and the judge after reviewing the case decided the following.
1. This man would no longer be allowed to moe his lawn in the nude. Apparently he did this frequently and waved to passing cars in broad daylight.
2. The man is not permitted to paste pictures of his snake and eggs on the windows of cars in the mall parking lot.
Finally, he would not be allowed to pull start the ol' one-eyed yogurt thrower in his driveway.
Sometimes you just wonder what goes through peoples' minds.
I'm leaving this afternoon for Montreal and won't be returning until late Sunday night so you won't be hearing from me. Maybe something later today but that'd be about it. I'm sure Steve will have some shit to say over the next few days. If not... well just keep tearing each other apart on the comment board.
Yesterday a South Dakota judge made a decision that local residents of a small S.D. town said was only fair.
The problem arose when the citizens of a small neighbourhood went to authorities with a complete about one single man who lived on their street. All parties were heard and the judge after reviewing the case decided the following.
1. This man would no longer be allowed to moe his lawn in the nude. Apparently he did this frequently and waved to passing cars in broad daylight.
2. The man is not permitted to paste pictures of his snake and eggs on the windows of cars in the mall parking lot.
Finally, he would not be allowed to pull start the ol' one-eyed yogurt thrower in his driveway.
Sometimes you just wonder what goes through peoples' minds.
I'm leaving this afternoon for Montreal and won't be returning until late Sunday night so you won't be hearing from me. Maybe something later today but that'd be about it. I'm sure Steve will have some shit to say over the next few days. If not... well just keep tearing each other apart on the comment board.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Random Observations From The Middle Of A Snow Storm
Ok so I'm not actually in the middle of the snow storm itself, I'm in my nice warm house but my nice warm house is right smack dab in the middle of a great big storm that's pretty much got the entire province shut down so it's close enough. The only good thing to come out of this whole thing is that I got the day off, that was pretty sweet. I hate Winter with a passion so whenever I can take something positive from it I'm all for that.
One thing this weather proves to me though is once again just exactly how dumb people can be. I know I talk about this a lot but there's a good reason for that, that reason being that people don't seem to be getting the message and just keep right on doing or saying dumb things. For instance, I was watching the news the other day when we were in the middle of the last snow storm, the one that wasn't quite as bad as this one. The news girl was tossing out all the standard lines about not driving if you don't have to, dressing warmly, taking your time, that sort of thing. Then she comes out with this gem. "Remember that snow tends to blow around more in open areas than it does in others." Well gee thanks, I was wondering why it didn't happen so much indoors, or in places where you're surrounded by fucking buildings. I'll sleep better at night thanks to you and your endless wisdom there Sparky. Good lord, how did you get that job, let alone learn to read in the first place? I mean come on, what am I supposed to take from a statement like that? It's about as informative as telling me that fat people tend to weigh more than anorexics do. At least it was on the noon news, the one that nobody watches. Ok, nobody but me and maybe the families of the anchors who haven't gotten over the fact that they're related to somebody even remotely famous.
Speaking of famous people and the people who know them, why is it that people take deep personal offence when they tell me they know somebody and I look at them and go "who's that?" Forgive me for not watching the news from a town I don't even live in on a station I don't even get just to see your 12th cousin 4 times removed tell me that the local Peewee hockey championships take place next Thursday.
And by the way, just because I am blind doesn't mean that I am a fan of, or personal friend of every blind person on the earth famous or not. Odds are that I'm not in fact, stop asking. I don't automaticly have to like Stevie Wonder just because we have something in common. He doesn't have to read my website and I don't have to like his music, it's all about choice. Yeah, I'm feeling a little bitter, what's your point?
My girlfriend keeps getting these Spam emails talking about how she can get continuous penis growth with some sort of revolutionary new patch. I'm not even going to bother with the obvious question of why would she want that, but instead the thing that got us both thinking is why would anybody want that? Even if it did actually work which it more than likely doesn't, is continuous johnson growth really that good of an idea? That means that it doesn't stop, so it'll just grow and grow. A couple of extra inches wouldn't harm anything I figure, might even do a little good but the thought of it getting out of my control and possibly even giving myself an inadvertent circumcision while I'm out walking one day just doesn't appeal all that much, call me crazy.
I was listening to that old Aaron Neville song "Everybody Plays The Fool" today and I heard a line that I forgot, "use your heart just like a tool." Not sure how you'd do that since I've never seen anybody jerk off with or piss out of one of those things. I think I think too much.
And just to wind things up all nice and propper like, it's time to piss some people off with a joke, sent to me by a friend.
A gay guy falls in love with a proctologist. He goes to the proctologist's office and says he has an obstruction. So the proctologist sticks his hand up the guy's ass but can't find anything. However, he notices that the man has an erection, so the proctologist cuts short the examination and orders the gay guy out of his office.
The next day, the gay guy calls the proctologist and claims he has another obstruction. The proctologist doesn't believe him but the guy claims he is in great pain, so the doctor relents. When the guy arrives, the doctor sticks his hand up the guy's ass again but this time he finds something. "Good God!!!", the doctor exclaims, "No wonder you're in pain -- there are two dozen roses shoved up your ass!".
The gay guy turns around excitedly and says, "Read the card! Read the Card!!"
One thing this weather proves to me though is once again just exactly how dumb people can be. I know I talk about this a lot but there's a good reason for that, that reason being that people don't seem to be getting the message and just keep right on doing or saying dumb things. For instance, I was watching the news the other day when we were in the middle of the last snow storm, the one that wasn't quite as bad as this one. The news girl was tossing out all the standard lines about not driving if you don't have to, dressing warmly, taking your time, that sort of thing. Then she comes out with this gem. "Remember that snow tends to blow around more in open areas than it does in others." Well gee thanks, I was wondering why it didn't happen so much indoors, or in places where you're surrounded by fucking buildings. I'll sleep better at night thanks to you and your endless wisdom there Sparky. Good lord, how did you get that job, let alone learn to read in the first place? I mean come on, what am I supposed to take from a statement like that? It's about as informative as telling me that fat people tend to weigh more than anorexics do. At least it was on the noon news, the one that nobody watches. Ok, nobody but me and maybe the families of the anchors who haven't gotten over the fact that they're related to somebody even remotely famous.
Speaking of famous people and the people who know them, why is it that people take deep personal offence when they tell me they know somebody and I look at them and go "who's that?" Forgive me for not watching the news from a town I don't even live in on a station I don't even get just to see your 12th cousin 4 times removed tell me that the local Peewee hockey championships take place next Thursday.
And by the way, just because I am blind doesn't mean that I am a fan of, or personal friend of every blind person on the earth famous or not. Odds are that I'm not in fact, stop asking. I don't automaticly have to like Stevie Wonder just because we have something in common. He doesn't have to read my website and I don't have to like his music, it's all about choice. Yeah, I'm feeling a little bitter, what's your point?
My girlfriend keeps getting these Spam emails talking about how she can get continuous penis growth with some sort of revolutionary new patch. I'm not even going to bother with the obvious question of why would she want that, but instead the thing that got us both thinking is why would anybody want that? Even if it did actually work which it more than likely doesn't, is continuous johnson growth really that good of an idea? That means that it doesn't stop, so it'll just grow and grow. A couple of extra inches wouldn't harm anything I figure, might even do a little good but the thought of it getting out of my control and possibly even giving myself an inadvertent circumcision while I'm out walking one day just doesn't appeal all that much, call me crazy.
I was listening to that old Aaron Neville song "Everybody Plays The Fool" today and I heard a line that I forgot, "use your heart just like a tool." Not sure how you'd do that since I've never seen anybody jerk off with or piss out of one of those things. I think I think too much.
And just to wind things up all nice and propper like, it's time to piss some people off with a joke, sent to me by a friend.
A gay guy falls in love with a proctologist. He goes to the proctologist's office and says he has an obstruction. So the proctologist sticks his hand up the guy's ass but can't find anything. However, he notices that the man has an erection, so the proctologist cuts short the examination and orders the gay guy out of his office.
The next day, the gay guy calls the proctologist and claims he has another obstruction. The proctologist doesn't believe him but the guy claims he is in great pain, so the doctor relents. When the guy arrives, the doctor sticks his hand up the guy's ass again but this time he finds something. "Good God!!!", the doctor exclaims, "No wonder you're in pain -- there are two dozen roses shoved up your ass!".
The gay guy turns around excitedly and says, "Read the card! Read the Card!!"
Gays Get Defensive. Kevin Smith Gets Defensive and Then Gays Get Defensive Again
Well I just read something that I had to push along your way cuz it's a real funny read. If you're evented by gay jokes, I wouldn't proceed if I were you. If you enjoy laughing, I would highly suggest you proceed. By the way, this came from Seanbaby.com
This comes from September 2001.
Let's Go
Gays Get Defensive, Kevin Smith Gets Defensive, and Then Gays Get Defensive Again.
Last month, the gay-rights group, GLAAD, saw Kevin Smith's latest movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. They were outraged by the number of gay jokes, and were positive that they would inspire a dark and evil future where people outside of movies might make gay jokes. And when that happens, how will they be able to keep their quiet dignity while parading down the streets in panties and vests on giant penis-shaped floats?
GLAAD took action. They mailed Kevin Smith an angry letter telling him they would publicly not like his movie. And while they did not demand he go back in time and unmake it, it was still a serious threat. Because as their club indicates, the letter was written by fingers that may have indeed wanted to touch male genitals even as they typed.
The letter came from a man named Scott Seomin. And yes, with a name like Seomin, you really only have two choices for your career: sperm doctor or gay. Expecting anything else would be like naming your kid Max Q. Infant Launcher and thinking he wouldn't grow up to invent the baby catapult.
GLAAD is a group dedicated to stopping the defamation of homosexuals. For this article, I'm going to assume that GLAAD is mostly made up of gay men. Because lesbians don't need an anti-defamation publicist. If they think anyone is complaining about them, they're wrong. From their website, you'll learn that one of GLAAD's main objectives is to "promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Visibility by designing and implementing public education campaigns." And while at first this sounds like a beautiful thing, it doesn't take a bullshit doctor to figure out that it means, "we have intricate plans to tell everyone in the world who we're interested in fucking." Wanting to bang somebody isn't a noble cause to build a club around. Do you think anyone would respond to an angry letter sent from the company I started about how much I want to have sex with Buffy the Vampire Slayer? According to my lack of response from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's press secretary and the president of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan club, no.
GLAAD probably didn't know about the findings of my company's experiment unless they were walking through select cities where I posted my angry letter next to erotic drawings of me having sex with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They really thought hought someone would answer their letter. Why wouldn't they? They're both offended AND excited about the idea of having sex with a butthole. It turns out they were right, but we'll get to that. First...
Part One: From the Desk of a Homosexual Comes... An Act of War
Original GLAAD Letter:
“Dear Kevin:
Two colleagues of mine from GLAAD joined me last evening at a screening of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
Mocking Of Oringal GLAAD Letter
I'm not questioning the integrity or commitment of their club, but these guys couldn't have been that gay if they had time to watch a movie that wasn't about naked men. If Scott really wanted to promote homosexuality, he probably should have said, "Two of my colleages delightfully sodomized me last evening in the back row of a screening of Jay and Silent Bob Slap my Balls Around."
Original
“We were overwhelmed by the potential negative impact for the film with what we would assume is a large share of its target audience: teen and young adult males. We will be public and aggressive in our condemnation and will provide substantiation for our opinions.”
Mocking
When teens and young adult males see grown men making out, they don't ask themselves, "What did writer/director Kevin Smith say we were supposed to think about this again?" Public and aggressive condemnation isn't going to help someone like that. The only thing that can help someone like that is a well-trained staff of retard handlers and a toy duck that squirts chocolate when you squeeze it.
Original
“Here are the points to which we will object and our reasons for doing so:
1: As one of the principal characters states, the film is a "big gay joke," but the joke is at the expense of a stereotyped category of people;”
Mocking
People who cry about stereotypes are usually upset because they fall into them. We don't have time to get to know every single person we see. We have to stereotype people in certain ways to know which one of them wants to kill us for our wallet, which ones can't drive, and which ones enjoy the taste of falafel. If we didn't have stereotypes, we'd be doing stupid shit like walking up to bikers and asking who won today's tennis match.
So if you're Hindu and everyone stereotypes you as someone who doesn't ever go fly fishing, I apologize on the sake of my cruel people. But if it really bothers you, start fly fishing. Otherwise they're right. A less drastic solution would be to distract them with one of your positive stereotypes like how all Hindus have mind powers.
You can use stereotypes to your advantage. For example, if you're tall everyone assumes you play basketball. You could foolishly spend 2 seconds every time you meet a stupid stranger to say, "No, I don't play basketball," or you could initiate SuperPlan X: let them think their stereotypes are true. Then, when the time is just right, you strike... and don't play basketball!
While I'm on the subject of stereotypes, gay people are stereotyped as prissy. Which is weird, because this bitchy letter that GLAAD sent is totally butch. In fact, it's so tough I thought for a second that Genghis Kahn must have written it.
Original
“All references to gay men reinforce them as objects of acceptable ridicule and dehumanization;
Mocking
This might have been hard for GLAAD to figure out since their world mainly focuses on dick and not cinema, but you won't find anyone in a comedy movie that isn't an object of ridicule and dehumanization. Even when they fuck women. If GLAAD wants a movie where gay people are flawless and serious, they can rent Batman again.
Original
“Specific epithets for gay men include not only traditional slurs but also have the potential to introduce an expanded vocabulary of defamatory words and phrases;”
Mocking
The English language increases by thousands of words every year, GLAAD. You should be happy that a lot of them might describe you and what your club likes to have sex with. And in the distant future, where we've run out of new nouns, our children's children can conceive of new ways to describe homosexuals by adding the word "ass" in front of all existing nouns. For instance, Ass Gardener.
Original
“When sympathetic characters substitute the word "gay" for something that is wrong or stupid, it validates a common slur used by school-age youth to mean anything unacceptable.”
Mocking
Whether gays like it or not, "gay" can also mean stupid or lame. Like for example, "This letter is fucking gay." But remember how it used to mean happy? Faggot used to mean a bundle of wood, fags were cigarettes, queer used to just mean strange, and fairies used to grant us wishes and turn our pumpkins into racecars. Now all of them mean, "I wish I had some hot cock sex." For gay people to complain about someone co-opting the meaning of a word is maximumly ridiculous. In fact, to avenge the English language, I think we should take their only original word, "homosexual," and start having it mean "farting space menace."
Part Two: Kevin Smith Responds
"I've been knee-deep in gayness for the better part of my twenties and up."
- Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is a sensitive man. He gets really really upset when someone doesn't like his movies or makes fun of him. People that saw Jay and Silent Bob probably noticed that it was 90 minutes of cathartic therapy for him to deal with the kids that call him names in his website's message board. Every three or four scenes someone would turn toward the camera and recite pages from what must have been Kevin Smith's "Fractured Feelings Diary." With all the complaints about Kevin's personal life and clumsy references to his other movies, he might as well have named the movie, "An Afternoon with Kevin Smith When He's in a Bad Mood And He Reminds You that He's Seen Star Wars Lots of Times."
Internet forums bring out the worst of humanity: stupid irrational egomaniacs telling each other how much they hate everything. Getting bothered by it is like reading "FUCK YOU" on a bathroom wall and saying, "Fuck ME!? H-how DARE they!!" It's not something you make a mutli-million dollar movie about. If it makes you feel better, Kevin Smith-- people call me names in Internet forums, and I'm not even fat.
Kevin responded to GLAAD's letter in the same way he responded to the twelve year old kids that didn't like Dogma: by outrageously overreacting. He wrote a massive essay about how he wasn't homophobic, and in a final desperate attempt to get the gay people to like him again, he gave them $10,000. Now he only has 400 more essays to write and six trillion dollars to give away to get to a world where nobody makes fun of him. But that won't work; you can't get everyone to like you. For example, because of Kevin's flailing struggle to pacify the homos, I now think he's a big dumb pussy.
His response started with "Needless to say, I was crestfallen," as if we were all reading GLAAD's letter and saying, "Kevin doesn't need to tell ME that he's crestfallen." He went on to add, "You all know me. You all know how big a fan I am of the gay community."
Being on the defensive makes you say shit like that. You lose your perspective and blurt out nonsense. The gay community has sex amongst itself. Outside of porno and looking in people's windows, how does a person become a big fan of that? As far as I know, there is no such thing as gay trading cards. And I've never seen two gay enthusiasts arguing with their friends about who the league's best sodomizer is.
Coworker 1: "Dude, nobody is more gay than Carl "Oilcan" Hurricane. He can make an asshole BEG for mercy."
Coworker 2: "Yeah, I was a fan of Carl; mostly his early stuff. But lately, I've had my eye on rookie gay, Gay Hank."
Coworker 1: "Hank's got a good dicksuck, but his anal rampage is totally weak."
Coworker 2: "Agreed."
The letter went on for about 3000 more words telling us all the ways he loves gay people citing all kinds of examples of times he didn't hate gay people. It's pretty clear he doesn't. The problem is, once you're accused of something like being homophobic or racist, you're already in trouble. Just saying "I'm not homophobic!" over the course of several pages just makes you look worse no matter how many times you remind everyone that you've seen Star Wars. If someone calls you homophobic (and they're wrong), just call them a dolphin molester. Because the fact that gay people make you uncomfortable is going to look pretty trivial next to someone who fucks hyper-intelligent fish. And five years later, when people are still gasping at their approach and hurredly pulling their dolphins away from them, they'll know exactly the taste of the betrayal you feel.
After he finished the spaztic letter and gave them the free money, Kevin did one final thing to keep GLAAD's letter writing revolver from firing again. He added a disclaimer at the end of his [crappy] movie saying "The use of the film's antigay slurs in real life is not acceptable." Thanks for the help, fuckhead. You must be right since there's no such thing as "Homobutt cola" and they tore down the national chain of Faggotry Fabric Bargain Palaces. I'm sure you helped all the truckers in the audience who suddenly realized that their frank CB discussions about their disapproval of anal sex were insensitive to the other long haul truckers who might be listening, and also having anal sex. I'm sure without Kevin Smith helping us with all these subtle secrets of our society, all our wedding receptions would sound like this: "Everyone raise your glasses to celebrate how Jeff could finally make Lisa an honest wom-- Jesus. I've got such cotton mouth you'd think I was a dicksucking fag chink chinaman. Cheers, you box-sucking dykes!"
Very few people have a healthy view of homosexuality. A healthy view of homosexuality is to ignore it until it comes up in the middle of a game of truth or dare and you get dared to start an orgy. Deal with it then. A non-healthy view is usually expressed in three ways:
1: Praise and Over-acceptance
This is the kind of person who has a lot of gay friends and seems fascinated when any of them start to talk about what men they want to have sex with. They consider someone with a dick in their ass intriguing and cosmopolitan. They'll get into long discussions about what it's like with a penis up against a person's bladder, and they'll eventually end up getting drunk and making out with a dude after he talks him into finding out if he's gay.
These people make great targets for gay recruiters. And yes, there are gay recruiters. Gay people recruit worse than Mormons selling Amway. I don't know if it's a conspiracy or just individual homos working independently, but they're constantly in the middle of a membership drive. Maybe they already had sex with all their own asses, or maybe they win a box of cookies for every new homosexual. Either way, recruitment usually consists of a man telling another about their theory of how "everyone is at least bisexual," and following it with his closing, "A man knows what a man wants." That isn't a stereotype. That's every homosexual man under 30. It doesn't usually work, though. The gay community doesn't know this, but women know what men want too. It's not hard to figure a penis out. If you take your pants off and lay on the roof of your car, a car wash can figure out what a man wants. Shit, if you rub food on your crotch, a sleeping goat can work out what a man wants.
2: Grim Tolerance
The second type of person is someone who can barely put up with the fact that somewhere out there someone is being gay. They'll say things like, "I don't care what they do, as long as it's in the privacy of their own home." It's sort of a way to still totally hate the idea of gay people, but sound just tolerant enough that no one calls you names. They find it mentionably disgusting, but for some reason never protest how somewhere a fat person might be humping someone with chicken pox and a hunchback.
You'd be amazed at how rarely gay people "do what they do" anywhere where you'd come across it. The fact is, you aren't allowed to have sex outside the privacy of your own home no matter what you're having sex with. Our country protects us from that. But I don't care if two guys decide to fuck on the sidewalk in front of my house. I have a neck. And I can turn it in 359 degrees as soon as I decide I don't want to see two dudes going at it. Which should be starting about... NOW. Okay, maybe a few more minutes. RIDE THAT ASS, BRUCE! MAKE HIM YOUR NAUGHTY PONY! The only people that this law protects are paralyzed people that get their eyelids jammed open and their wheelchairs set directly in front of gay people having sex.
3: Outright Hatred
This third type of person probably grew up in a family stolen and enslaved by rampaging homosexual barbarians, or was partially eaten by a homosexual animal. They hate gay people, or at least plan on hating them if they ever meet one. These are the kind of heroes that keep children safe by making sure gay couples can't get married, and protest companies for not firing or exploding gay employees.
These biggots are actually more rare than you think. If you find more than one person in your area that hates gay people, you're probably in north Idaho. Go be gay somewhere else. Because being gay in north Idaho is like being a midget trainer at a circus with no midgets. It would take a miracle of time and space for you to ever get a chance to do your job.
If it makes anyone feel better, marriage really is just some ancient tradition people use to involve the government and Jesus in their personal lives. If gay people were that worried about living a traditional life, they'd probably give up their night job of wearing a bikini and lip-synching Madonna songs. The government has better things to worry about than whether or not the hand giving you a handjob at the midnight showing of Priscilla Queen of the Desert has a wedding ring on it. But if it's still that important that you tell the world about you and your boyfriend's passion and committment, get a set of His and His hand towels or go shopping in matching "I'M WITH THE GAY GUY WITH THE MOUSTACHE" sweaters. Yes, it's insane that it's illegal for gays to get married, but it's also insane that you fucking care.
There is not one way that gay people getting married would affect anyone. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was a seamstress and didn't didn't have a man-sized wedding dress pattern, but honestly gay people would have to marry gorillas with chainsaws in my backyard before any one thing in my life changed. And if I go to Denny's, I don't care if a lesbian cooked my omelette. The only thing I care about is that she's washed her hand between the time she made my food and the time she had it elbow-deep in vagina. And now that I think about it more, no I don't.
Part 3: Revenge Served Gay
GLAAD responded to Kevin Smith with a defensive letter of their own. In it, they mostly talk about how their letter was written to get everyone in the world talking about gay people, but not making fun of gay people or including them in any jokes. Basically, it's two pages of bullshit to distract us from what their letter actually did... made Kevin Smith cry. Well, it didn't distract me, you fucking homo bullies. You bothered someone until they lost their mind. You're like phone solicitors only without the paychecks.
GLAAD finished their letter by saying, "GLAAD’s goal is to spark discussion about the messages of Jay & Silent Bob and the potential impact of the film’s content on the safety of the gay community." They really thought fictional idiots calling each other names was affecting their safety. It was, and you have to remind morons about this a lot, just a movie. Four minutes of talking about cock surrounded by 86 minutes of talking about Yoda is not going to revolutionize the way people think about homosexuals. And it's not going to affect anyone's safety unless movies that suck make you die.
GLAAD does not need to protect anyone. If you're really that worried that someone might attack you for being gay, don't have sex with their ass. As much as GLAAD thinks the world is crusading against their asses, gay people are as safe as anyone else. We have laws in our society that keep our citizens from beating people up, which is exactly how you can get away with publicly whining about a movie like this without someone slapping the back of your dipshit head. Plus, we have additional hate crime laws that make it EXTRA illegal for beating people up when they're gay. The job is done. Maybe they're lobbying to get dickhead biggots slowly dissolved in the stomach of a horrible underwater beast. If so, then Jesus Christ, gay people. Take it easy.
There are a lot of useless clubs doing a lot of useless things. PETA recently lobbied to take away the Fishing merit badge from the boy scouts, and the Bagel Safety Information Council has been indefatigably protesting my invention, The Poisonous Bagel Grenade, Jr. GLAAD could better spend their time getting together with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving to push our government to finally make some laws against drunk driving. And while they're at it, we could use some standardized limits on how much dynamite we should be allowed to swallow.
We don't need clubs based on genitals to protect us. I got three death threats and two offers for forced sodomy last week. Maybe I'll be okay thanks to the league of Vagina Fanatic Anti-Me-Defamation Professionals who send remindful letters to everyone saying it would be nice if they didn't murder me. Well, it may surprise the gay community how I'm still alive, because THERE ISN'T ONE. When I get a death threat, no one sends angry letters demanding donations to film directors. All I can do is be happy my murderer was polite enough to send me a badly spelled warning from his AOL account. Because it gives me time to upgrade my home security system from Baseball Bat to Baseball Bat with Nail In It.
Besides their superheroic protection, GLAAD strives to make sure gays are treated fairly in the work place. It makes you wonder if someone at the government needs to give GLAAD a call and say, "We already made some laws about that too." Gayness does not affect your ability to work. And if you're so cock hungry that some of your projects will be deprioritized due to a coworker's orafice, it's generally a company's policy to respect and admire your decision.
Look, it's sad people are making fun of you, GLAAD. And it's heart breaking that Kevin Smith thinks your buttholes are silly, but for fuck's sake. No one's going to stop just because you're complaining. That's like the Dungeons & Dragons club putting up posters in their school that say, "STOP SAYING WE'RE NOT RAD! NOW!!!" and expecting their lockers to fill with poontang.
Part Four-- Gays: So Like Us.
Aside from wanting to rub their genitals on similar genitals gays are no different than normals. Sometimes they can't get laid either. That's why they have to advertise so much and why they make such a big deal out of being gay. You've probably noticed how a lot of them put a rainbow sticker on the back of their car. Now, think back to the last time you saw two people in a car with a rainbow sticker. That's right-- never. They're just letting us know that they'd LIKE to have some ass. You shouldn't feel pride about that; that makes you a horny butt fiend on the prowl.
Straight people have trouble understanding this constant sexual advertising. Although our genitals are important to us, they rarely make up our entire personality. It might be because most women already know we're just waiting for permission to fuck them, but when you meet a straight person, they'll probably tell you about their major or their job before they describe what they do with their balls. Meeting a gay person is like meeting someone going for their newspaper in their boxer shorts. It's only a short matter of time before their dick pops out.
There is one good thing about this kind of sexual openness. They usually come right out and tell you when they want to fuck you. This can creep you out or flatter you, but here's how it comes in handy: now you can fart and pick your nose in front of them. Really, try it. And if they say it's impolite or gross, you go, "You were going to let me put my sweaty dick in your large intestine. And now you're grossed out by farting?"
The one advantage straight white people will always have is that they don't like each other. Every other group based on religion, nationality, or ass preference has clubs focused on unity and brotherhood. This is great when one of them rescues a drowning monkey from a burning building-- they can all share in the glory as a community. But when one of them fucks up, it's twice as bad. If one gay man commits a crime, their togetherness organizations make it look like all the gay people in the world are in cahoots. When one of them pulls a daring daylight heist of an armored car, it's not: "That motherfucker was crazy." It's: "Blast it! I knew those gays were up to something! Initiate Operation: Delta Homo Strike!"
I like when gay people branch out and have clubs that are still based around their genitals, but no longer have anything to do with them. For example, the Alliance of Gay Golfers. Lots of groups form clubs like this. There's the Alliance of Blind Golfers and the League of Wheelchair Golfers. The one difference is that being blind or in a wheelchair has a very direct affect on your golf performance. But as long as your caddy isn't jamming a golf ball up your ass and watching you launch it with your sphincter, being gay will not keep you from playing just ordinary regular golf.
I could be wrong. Outside of figure skating, homosexuality may actually hinder your ability in sports, which may be why the gay community started their very own olympics, the Gay Games, where everyone can pit their atheletic abilities against one another's at a fair gay level, and then probably have sex. You can read about the history of the gay games here, and yes, it's hosted on a website with a butthole-themed name-- backdoor.com.
Here's the scary part: The Gay Games has a set of Specific Needs and Disability Games where you can compete if you have an intellecutal disability or a mental illness. Now, I totally understand how people encourage and admire the regular Special Olympics, but this is a group of handicapped people unified by how they like dick. I can't imagine even the most sympathetic soccer mom getting into the spirit of this.
Spectator 1: "Oh look, honey. That little retarded boy loves cock."
Spectator 2: "It's what makes each step of his proud dash brave and special."
Spectator 1: "It's like every time he wants to suck cock, he really wants to suck a piece of my heart- hold on. I think he's going to trip that other kid."
Spectator 2: "Which one? The one legged kid that wants cock, or the blind kid that wants cock?"
Spectator 1: "Shh! The mental illness long jump/teabag is coming up."
Spectator 2: "Last year the schizophrenic anal retentives that want cock dominated, but this year look out for the sociopathic undressers who suck each other's assholes."
Hey, at the risk of sounding politically incorrect... the Gay Special Olympics-- that's fucked up.
Gay people should relax. No one is conspiring against them. I know two weeks ago Jerry Falwell went on the 700 club and claimed that the World Trade Center disaster was because God was angry at gays. That means two things. One: the main lobbyists against ass sex are worshipping an imaginary murderer who doesn't care about side casualties in his butthole-related manslaughter. Which leads me to the second thing that it means: these people are motherfucking madmen. Don't start a club to get these cockheads to like who you date. Do you really want insane gun-loving religious fanatics obsessed with your anus to like you? Actually, yeah. It's probably better that they do.
This comes from September 2001.
Let's Go
Gays Get Defensive, Kevin Smith Gets Defensive, and Then Gays Get Defensive Again.
Last month, the gay-rights group, GLAAD, saw Kevin Smith's latest movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. They were outraged by the number of gay jokes, and were positive that they would inspire a dark and evil future where people outside of movies might make gay jokes. And when that happens, how will they be able to keep their quiet dignity while parading down the streets in panties and vests on giant penis-shaped floats?
GLAAD took action. They mailed Kevin Smith an angry letter telling him they would publicly not like his movie. And while they did not demand he go back in time and unmake it, it was still a serious threat. Because as their club indicates, the letter was written by fingers that may have indeed wanted to touch male genitals even as they typed.
The letter came from a man named Scott Seomin. And yes, with a name like Seomin, you really only have two choices for your career: sperm doctor or gay. Expecting anything else would be like naming your kid Max Q. Infant Launcher and thinking he wouldn't grow up to invent the baby catapult.
GLAAD is a group dedicated to stopping the defamation of homosexuals. For this article, I'm going to assume that GLAAD is mostly made up of gay men. Because lesbians don't need an anti-defamation publicist. If they think anyone is complaining about them, they're wrong. From their website, you'll learn that one of GLAAD's main objectives is to "promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Visibility by designing and implementing public education campaigns." And while at first this sounds like a beautiful thing, it doesn't take a bullshit doctor to figure out that it means, "we have intricate plans to tell everyone in the world who we're interested in fucking." Wanting to bang somebody isn't a noble cause to build a club around. Do you think anyone would respond to an angry letter sent from the company I started about how much I want to have sex with Buffy the Vampire Slayer? According to my lack of response from Buffy the Vampire Slayer's press secretary and the president of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan club, no.
GLAAD probably didn't know about the findings of my company's experiment unless they were walking through select cities where I posted my angry letter next to erotic drawings of me having sex with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They really thought hought someone would answer their letter. Why wouldn't they? They're both offended AND excited about the idea of having sex with a butthole. It turns out they were right, but we'll get to that. First...
Part One: From the Desk of a Homosexual Comes... An Act of War
Original GLAAD Letter:
“Dear Kevin:
Two colleagues of mine from GLAAD joined me last evening at a screening of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
Mocking Of Oringal GLAAD Letter
I'm not questioning the integrity or commitment of their club, but these guys couldn't have been that gay if they had time to watch a movie that wasn't about naked men. If Scott really wanted to promote homosexuality, he probably should have said, "Two of my colleages delightfully sodomized me last evening in the back row of a screening of Jay and Silent Bob Slap my Balls Around."
Original
“We were overwhelmed by the potential negative impact for the film with what we would assume is a large share of its target audience: teen and young adult males. We will be public and aggressive in our condemnation and will provide substantiation for our opinions.”
Mocking
When teens and young adult males see grown men making out, they don't ask themselves, "What did writer/director Kevin Smith say we were supposed to think about this again?" Public and aggressive condemnation isn't going to help someone like that. The only thing that can help someone like that is a well-trained staff of retard handlers and a toy duck that squirts chocolate when you squeeze it.
Original
“Here are the points to which we will object and our reasons for doing so:
1: As one of the principal characters states, the film is a "big gay joke," but the joke is at the expense of a stereotyped category of people;”
Mocking
People who cry about stereotypes are usually upset because they fall into them. We don't have time to get to know every single person we see. We have to stereotype people in certain ways to know which one of them wants to kill us for our wallet, which ones can't drive, and which ones enjoy the taste of falafel. If we didn't have stereotypes, we'd be doing stupid shit like walking up to bikers and asking who won today's tennis match.
So if you're Hindu and everyone stereotypes you as someone who doesn't ever go fly fishing, I apologize on the sake of my cruel people. But if it really bothers you, start fly fishing. Otherwise they're right. A less drastic solution would be to distract them with one of your positive stereotypes like how all Hindus have mind powers.
You can use stereotypes to your advantage. For example, if you're tall everyone assumes you play basketball. You could foolishly spend 2 seconds every time you meet a stupid stranger to say, "No, I don't play basketball," or you could initiate SuperPlan X: let them think their stereotypes are true. Then, when the time is just right, you strike... and don't play basketball!
While I'm on the subject of stereotypes, gay people are stereotyped as prissy. Which is weird, because this bitchy letter that GLAAD sent is totally butch. In fact, it's so tough I thought for a second that Genghis Kahn must have written it.
Original
“All references to gay men reinforce them as objects of acceptable ridicule and dehumanization;
Mocking
This might have been hard for GLAAD to figure out since their world mainly focuses on dick and not cinema, but you won't find anyone in a comedy movie that isn't an object of ridicule and dehumanization. Even when they fuck women. If GLAAD wants a movie where gay people are flawless and serious, they can rent Batman again.
Original
“Specific epithets for gay men include not only traditional slurs but also have the potential to introduce an expanded vocabulary of defamatory words and phrases;”
Mocking
The English language increases by thousands of words every year, GLAAD. You should be happy that a lot of them might describe you and what your club likes to have sex with. And in the distant future, where we've run out of new nouns, our children's children can conceive of new ways to describe homosexuals by adding the word "ass" in front of all existing nouns. For instance, Ass Gardener.
Original
“When sympathetic characters substitute the word "gay" for something that is wrong or stupid, it validates a common slur used by school-age youth to mean anything unacceptable.”
Mocking
Whether gays like it or not, "gay" can also mean stupid or lame. Like for example, "This letter is fucking gay." But remember how it used to mean happy? Faggot used to mean a bundle of wood, fags were cigarettes, queer used to just mean strange, and fairies used to grant us wishes and turn our pumpkins into racecars. Now all of them mean, "I wish I had some hot cock sex." For gay people to complain about someone co-opting the meaning of a word is maximumly ridiculous. In fact, to avenge the English language, I think we should take their only original word, "homosexual," and start having it mean "farting space menace."
Part Two: Kevin Smith Responds
"I've been knee-deep in gayness for the better part of my twenties and up."
- Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith is a sensitive man. He gets really really upset when someone doesn't like his movies or makes fun of him. People that saw Jay and Silent Bob probably noticed that it was 90 minutes of cathartic therapy for him to deal with the kids that call him names in his website's message board. Every three or four scenes someone would turn toward the camera and recite pages from what must have been Kevin Smith's "Fractured Feelings Diary." With all the complaints about Kevin's personal life and clumsy references to his other movies, he might as well have named the movie, "An Afternoon with Kevin Smith When He's in a Bad Mood And He Reminds You that He's Seen Star Wars Lots of Times."
Internet forums bring out the worst of humanity: stupid irrational egomaniacs telling each other how much they hate everything. Getting bothered by it is like reading "FUCK YOU" on a bathroom wall and saying, "Fuck ME!? H-how DARE they!!" It's not something you make a mutli-million dollar movie about. If it makes you feel better, Kevin Smith-- people call me names in Internet forums, and I'm not even fat.
Kevin responded to GLAAD's letter in the same way he responded to the twelve year old kids that didn't like Dogma: by outrageously overreacting. He wrote a massive essay about how he wasn't homophobic, and in a final desperate attempt to get the gay people to like him again, he gave them $10,000. Now he only has 400 more essays to write and six trillion dollars to give away to get to a world where nobody makes fun of him. But that won't work; you can't get everyone to like you. For example, because of Kevin's flailing struggle to pacify the homos, I now think he's a big dumb pussy.
His response started with "Needless to say, I was crestfallen," as if we were all reading GLAAD's letter and saying, "Kevin doesn't need to tell ME that he's crestfallen." He went on to add, "You all know me. You all know how big a fan I am of the gay community."
Being on the defensive makes you say shit like that. You lose your perspective and blurt out nonsense. The gay community has sex amongst itself. Outside of porno and looking in people's windows, how does a person become a big fan of that? As far as I know, there is no such thing as gay trading cards. And I've never seen two gay enthusiasts arguing with their friends about who the league's best sodomizer is.
Coworker 1: "Dude, nobody is more gay than Carl "Oilcan" Hurricane. He can make an asshole BEG for mercy."
Coworker 2: "Yeah, I was a fan of Carl; mostly his early stuff. But lately, I've had my eye on rookie gay, Gay Hank."
Coworker 1: "Hank's got a good dicksuck, but his anal rampage is totally weak."
Coworker 2: "Agreed."
The letter went on for about 3000 more words telling us all the ways he loves gay people citing all kinds of examples of times he didn't hate gay people. It's pretty clear he doesn't. The problem is, once you're accused of something like being homophobic or racist, you're already in trouble. Just saying "I'm not homophobic!" over the course of several pages just makes you look worse no matter how many times you remind everyone that you've seen Star Wars. If someone calls you homophobic (and they're wrong), just call them a dolphin molester. Because the fact that gay people make you uncomfortable is going to look pretty trivial next to someone who fucks hyper-intelligent fish. And five years later, when people are still gasping at their approach and hurredly pulling their dolphins away from them, they'll know exactly the taste of the betrayal you feel.
After he finished the spaztic letter and gave them the free money, Kevin did one final thing to keep GLAAD's letter writing revolver from firing again. He added a disclaimer at the end of his [crappy] movie saying "The use of the film's antigay slurs in real life is not acceptable." Thanks for the help, fuckhead. You must be right since there's no such thing as "Homobutt cola" and they tore down the national chain of Faggotry Fabric Bargain Palaces. I'm sure you helped all the truckers in the audience who suddenly realized that their frank CB discussions about their disapproval of anal sex were insensitive to the other long haul truckers who might be listening, and also having anal sex. I'm sure without Kevin Smith helping us with all these subtle secrets of our society, all our wedding receptions would sound like this: "Everyone raise your glasses to celebrate how Jeff could finally make Lisa an honest wom-- Jesus. I've got such cotton mouth you'd think I was a dicksucking fag chink chinaman. Cheers, you box-sucking dykes!"
Very few people have a healthy view of homosexuality. A healthy view of homosexuality is to ignore it until it comes up in the middle of a game of truth or dare and you get dared to start an orgy. Deal with it then. A non-healthy view is usually expressed in three ways:
1: Praise and Over-acceptance
This is the kind of person who has a lot of gay friends and seems fascinated when any of them start to talk about what men they want to have sex with. They consider someone with a dick in their ass intriguing and cosmopolitan. They'll get into long discussions about what it's like with a penis up against a person's bladder, and they'll eventually end up getting drunk and making out with a dude after he talks him into finding out if he's gay.
These people make great targets for gay recruiters. And yes, there are gay recruiters. Gay people recruit worse than Mormons selling Amway. I don't know if it's a conspiracy or just individual homos working independently, but they're constantly in the middle of a membership drive. Maybe they already had sex with all their own asses, or maybe they win a box of cookies for every new homosexual. Either way, recruitment usually consists of a man telling another about their theory of how "everyone is at least bisexual," and following it with his closing, "A man knows what a man wants." That isn't a stereotype. That's every homosexual man under 30. It doesn't usually work, though. The gay community doesn't know this, but women know what men want too. It's not hard to figure a penis out. If you take your pants off and lay on the roof of your car, a car wash can figure out what a man wants. Shit, if you rub food on your crotch, a sleeping goat can work out what a man wants.
2: Grim Tolerance
The second type of person is someone who can barely put up with the fact that somewhere out there someone is being gay. They'll say things like, "I don't care what they do, as long as it's in the privacy of their own home." It's sort of a way to still totally hate the idea of gay people, but sound just tolerant enough that no one calls you names. They find it mentionably disgusting, but for some reason never protest how somewhere a fat person might be humping someone with chicken pox and a hunchback.
You'd be amazed at how rarely gay people "do what they do" anywhere where you'd come across it. The fact is, you aren't allowed to have sex outside the privacy of your own home no matter what you're having sex with. Our country protects us from that. But I don't care if two guys decide to fuck on the sidewalk in front of my house. I have a neck. And I can turn it in 359 degrees as soon as I decide I don't want to see two dudes going at it. Which should be starting about... NOW. Okay, maybe a few more minutes. RIDE THAT ASS, BRUCE! MAKE HIM YOUR NAUGHTY PONY! The only people that this law protects are paralyzed people that get their eyelids jammed open and their wheelchairs set directly in front of gay people having sex.
3: Outright Hatred
This third type of person probably grew up in a family stolen and enslaved by rampaging homosexual barbarians, or was partially eaten by a homosexual animal. They hate gay people, or at least plan on hating them if they ever meet one. These are the kind of heroes that keep children safe by making sure gay couples can't get married, and protest companies for not firing or exploding gay employees.
These biggots are actually more rare than you think. If you find more than one person in your area that hates gay people, you're probably in north Idaho. Go be gay somewhere else. Because being gay in north Idaho is like being a midget trainer at a circus with no midgets. It would take a miracle of time and space for you to ever get a chance to do your job.
If it makes anyone feel better, marriage really is just some ancient tradition people use to involve the government and Jesus in their personal lives. If gay people were that worried about living a traditional life, they'd probably give up their night job of wearing a bikini and lip-synching Madonna songs. The government has better things to worry about than whether or not the hand giving you a handjob at the midnight showing of Priscilla Queen of the Desert has a wedding ring on it. But if it's still that important that you tell the world about you and your boyfriend's passion and committment, get a set of His and His hand towels or go shopping in matching "I'M WITH THE GAY GUY WITH THE MOUSTACHE" sweaters. Yes, it's insane that it's illegal for gays to get married, but it's also insane that you fucking care.
There is not one way that gay people getting married would affect anyone. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was a seamstress and didn't didn't have a man-sized wedding dress pattern, but honestly gay people would have to marry gorillas with chainsaws in my backyard before any one thing in my life changed. And if I go to Denny's, I don't care if a lesbian cooked my omelette. The only thing I care about is that she's washed her hand between the time she made my food and the time she had it elbow-deep in vagina. And now that I think about it more, no I don't.
Part 3: Revenge Served Gay
GLAAD responded to Kevin Smith with a defensive letter of their own. In it, they mostly talk about how their letter was written to get everyone in the world talking about gay people, but not making fun of gay people or including them in any jokes. Basically, it's two pages of bullshit to distract us from what their letter actually did... made Kevin Smith cry. Well, it didn't distract me, you fucking homo bullies. You bothered someone until they lost their mind. You're like phone solicitors only without the paychecks.
GLAAD finished their letter by saying, "GLAAD’s goal is to spark discussion about the messages of Jay & Silent Bob and the potential impact of the film’s content on the safety of the gay community." They really thought fictional idiots calling each other names was affecting their safety. It was, and you have to remind morons about this a lot, just a movie. Four minutes of talking about cock surrounded by 86 minutes of talking about Yoda is not going to revolutionize the way people think about homosexuals. And it's not going to affect anyone's safety unless movies that suck make you die.
GLAAD does not need to protect anyone. If you're really that worried that someone might attack you for being gay, don't have sex with their ass. As much as GLAAD thinks the world is crusading against their asses, gay people are as safe as anyone else. We have laws in our society that keep our citizens from beating people up, which is exactly how you can get away with publicly whining about a movie like this without someone slapping the back of your dipshit head. Plus, we have additional hate crime laws that make it EXTRA illegal for beating people up when they're gay. The job is done. Maybe they're lobbying to get dickhead biggots slowly dissolved in the stomach of a horrible underwater beast. If so, then Jesus Christ, gay people. Take it easy.
There are a lot of useless clubs doing a lot of useless things. PETA recently lobbied to take away the Fishing merit badge from the boy scouts, and the Bagel Safety Information Council has been indefatigably protesting my invention, The Poisonous Bagel Grenade, Jr. GLAAD could better spend their time getting together with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving to push our government to finally make some laws against drunk driving. And while they're at it, we could use some standardized limits on how much dynamite we should be allowed to swallow.
We don't need clubs based on genitals to protect us. I got three death threats and two offers for forced sodomy last week. Maybe I'll be okay thanks to the league of Vagina Fanatic Anti-Me-Defamation Professionals who send remindful letters to everyone saying it would be nice if they didn't murder me. Well, it may surprise the gay community how I'm still alive, because THERE ISN'T ONE. When I get a death threat, no one sends angry letters demanding donations to film directors. All I can do is be happy my murderer was polite enough to send me a badly spelled warning from his AOL account. Because it gives me time to upgrade my home security system from Baseball Bat to Baseball Bat with Nail In It.
Besides their superheroic protection, GLAAD strives to make sure gays are treated fairly in the work place. It makes you wonder if someone at the government needs to give GLAAD a call and say, "We already made some laws about that too." Gayness does not affect your ability to work. And if you're so cock hungry that some of your projects will be deprioritized due to a coworker's orafice, it's generally a company's policy to respect and admire your decision.
Look, it's sad people are making fun of you, GLAAD. And it's heart breaking that Kevin Smith thinks your buttholes are silly, but for fuck's sake. No one's going to stop just because you're complaining. That's like the Dungeons & Dragons club putting up posters in their school that say, "STOP SAYING WE'RE NOT RAD! NOW!!!" and expecting their lockers to fill with poontang.
Part Four-- Gays: So Like Us.
Aside from wanting to rub their genitals on similar genitals gays are no different than normals. Sometimes they can't get laid either. That's why they have to advertise so much and why they make such a big deal out of being gay. You've probably noticed how a lot of them put a rainbow sticker on the back of their car. Now, think back to the last time you saw two people in a car with a rainbow sticker. That's right-- never. They're just letting us know that they'd LIKE to have some ass. You shouldn't feel pride about that; that makes you a horny butt fiend on the prowl.
Straight people have trouble understanding this constant sexual advertising. Although our genitals are important to us, they rarely make up our entire personality. It might be because most women already know we're just waiting for permission to fuck them, but when you meet a straight person, they'll probably tell you about their major or their job before they describe what they do with their balls. Meeting a gay person is like meeting someone going for their newspaper in their boxer shorts. It's only a short matter of time before their dick pops out.
There is one good thing about this kind of sexual openness. They usually come right out and tell you when they want to fuck you. This can creep you out or flatter you, but here's how it comes in handy: now you can fart and pick your nose in front of them. Really, try it. And if they say it's impolite or gross, you go, "You were going to let me put my sweaty dick in your large intestine. And now you're grossed out by farting?"
The one advantage straight white people will always have is that they don't like each other. Every other group based on religion, nationality, or ass preference has clubs focused on unity and brotherhood. This is great when one of them rescues a drowning monkey from a burning building-- they can all share in the glory as a community. But when one of them fucks up, it's twice as bad. If one gay man commits a crime, their togetherness organizations make it look like all the gay people in the world are in cahoots. When one of them pulls a daring daylight heist of an armored car, it's not: "That motherfucker was crazy." It's: "Blast it! I knew those gays were up to something! Initiate Operation: Delta Homo Strike!"
I like when gay people branch out and have clubs that are still based around their genitals, but no longer have anything to do with them. For example, the Alliance of Gay Golfers. Lots of groups form clubs like this. There's the Alliance of Blind Golfers and the League of Wheelchair Golfers. The one difference is that being blind or in a wheelchair has a very direct affect on your golf performance. But as long as your caddy isn't jamming a golf ball up your ass and watching you launch it with your sphincter, being gay will not keep you from playing just ordinary regular golf.
I could be wrong. Outside of figure skating, homosexuality may actually hinder your ability in sports, which may be why the gay community started their very own olympics, the Gay Games, where everyone can pit their atheletic abilities against one another's at a fair gay level, and then probably have sex. You can read about the history of the gay games here, and yes, it's hosted on a website with a butthole-themed name-- backdoor.com.
Here's the scary part: The Gay Games has a set of Specific Needs and Disability Games where you can compete if you have an intellecutal disability or a mental illness. Now, I totally understand how people encourage and admire the regular Special Olympics, but this is a group of handicapped people unified by how they like dick. I can't imagine even the most sympathetic soccer mom getting into the spirit of this.
Spectator 1: "Oh look, honey. That little retarded boy loves cock."
Spectator 2: "It's what makes each step of his proud dash brave and special."
Spectator 1: "It's like every time he wants to suck cock, he really wants to suck a piece of my heart- hold on. I think he's going to trip that other kid."
Spectator 2: "Which one? The one legged kid that wants cock, or the blind kid that wants cock?"
Spectator 1: "Shh! The mental illness long jump/teabag is coming up."
Spectator 2: "Last year the schizophrenic anal retentives that want cock dominated, but this year look out for the sociopathic undressers who suck each other's assholes."
Hey, at the risk of sounding politically incorrect... the Gay Special Olympics-- that's fucked up.
Gay people should relax. No one is conspiring against them. I know two weeks ago Jerry Falwell went on the 700 club and claimed that the World Trade Center disaster was because God was angry at gays. That means two things. One: the main lobbyists against ass sex are worshipping an imaginary murderer who doesn't care about side casualties in his butthole-related manslaughter. Which leads me to the second thing that it means: these people are motherfucking madmen. Don't start a club to get these cockheads to like who you date. Do you really want insane gun-loving religious fanatics obsessed with your anus to like you? Actually, yeah. It's probably better that they do.
Monday, January 26, 2004
Today's Helpful Hints
Watching your weight? Avoid that devilish temptation to nibble at the chocolate bar in the cupboard or fridge by not buying the fucking thing in the first place, you fat bastard. And Matt, don't even think about it, asshole. You know what I'm talking about, friend.
-!-
Give up smoking by sticking one cigarette from each new pack up a friend's ass, filter first, then replacing it in the box. The possibility of putting that one in your mouth will put you off
smoking any of them.
-!-
If you encounter someone choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a jug of boiling water down their throat and hey presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.
-!-
Re-create the fun of a visit to a public swimming pool in your own home by filling the bath with cold water, adding two bottles of bleach, and then urinating into it, before jumping in.
-!-
Give up smoking by sticking one cigarette from each new pack up a friend's ass, filter first, then replacing it in the box. The possibility of putting that one in your mouth will put you off
smoking any of them.
-!-
If you encounter someone choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a jug of boiling water down their throat and hey presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.
-!-
Re-create the fun of a visit to a public swimming pool in your own home by filling the bath with cold water, adding two bottles of bleach, and then urinating into it, before jumping in.
Just Another Manic Monday
Well Good Day to you All
I was away all weekend and had no access to the internet. I checked out the site and despite there being very little action on the main page, there was all kinds of entertainment on the comment boards. To that end, though, I must say....
Shut Up! Ok. This is the internet. There are no police. Steve and I have some say here and can block people from using the comment boards but as of right now I have no desire to do so. I got a few e-mails this weekend from people whining about being bashed on the comment board. Come ON! This is the internet. If you're actually shallow enough to worry about what a bunch of people you've never met, and never will meet are saying about you than you should probably stop using the internet all together. Don't come crying to me or Steve if someone makes fun of you on the comment board. First of all it makes you look like an intellectually smashed asshole. And secondly I don't want to read something after my great weekend away that looks like it was written by a 9 year old after the big kids wouldn't let him play Wall Ball with them. Have some fucking self-respect... failing that don't comment anymore.
Like I said. Steve and I have some pull and the only way I'm gonna block someone from using the comment board is if they're getting too carried away on one of us! HA! And we've already had a few of those and I haven't blocked them cuz quite frankly, it makes for good reading and neither of us spend a hole lot of time at night in bed crying over the fact that someone thinks I might be gay. Kudos to them for their detective work.
So to be done with this. If you're skin is so thin and your ego is so weak that some stranger online who doesn't like you is enough to send your entire world in to chaos just stop coming here or commenting. No one is going to go on this site and say "Let's not make fun of ----" for you because that's stupid. And no one is going to block anyone cuz they made fun of you. Also dumb. So suck it up or move on cuz it ain't gonna change. Free speech unless that speech hurts MY feelings. Then we'll re-evaluate.
Moving on I'd just like to say how unbelievably cold it is in Thunder Bay in Jaunary. Holey shit. I thought I was beginning to wonder if my testacles would ever come out of my stomach. I felt like a new born. I don't blame though. I was trying to hide too. I'm sure it's usually much colder up there as most were walking around in sweaters but for a Toronto guy like me, that was just about enough.
Also... shit there are a lot of ugly people up there. NOT ALL if there are any T-Bay folk reading and you believer yourself to be attractive. But the majority of people were just.... I dunno. To the T-Bay folk I mentioned a moment ago, though. Consider your surroundings. If you believer yourself to be attractive... are you attractive or are you attractive in relates to the people around you cuz that would be different. I hope I've made someone think.
The more I think about it. I WAS staying in a hotel... maybe most Thunder Bay people are very attractive and I say all ugly Toronto people in my hotel. I've hurt my own feelings.
Saw the Leafs Skills competition last night. Who knew? Nathan Parrott proved himself to be the fastest skater and the hardest shooter on the team. (he was the only one to break 100mph at 100.3). I wonder if his contract is up for renewal at the end of the year.
I'm not sure if Steve will have the Notes From The Tone Deaf up today but you should go and see. If not, there's still all kinds of great stuff to see on Salty Ham Music and really any of the other Salty Sections as well. Go take a look around.
Well maybe I'll check back in later. Until then. Keep bashing and quit whining.
Later
I was away all weekend and had no access to the internet. I checked out the site and despite there being very little action on the main page, there was all kinds of entertainment on the comment boards. To that end, though, I must say....
Shut Up! Ok. This is the internet. There are no police. Steve and I have some say here and can block people from using the comment boards but as of right now I have no desire to do so. I got a few e-mails this weekend from people whining about being bashed on the comment board. Come ON! This is the internet. If you're actually shallow enough to worry about what a bunch of people you've never met, and never will meet are saying about you than you should probably stop using the internet all together. Don't come crying to me or Steve if someone makes fun of you on the comment board. First of all it makes you look like an intellectually smashed asshole. And secondly I don't want to read something after my great weekend away that looks like it was written by a 9 year old after the big kids wouldn't let him play Wall Ball with them. Have some fucking self-respect... failing that don't comment anymore.
Like I said. Steve and I have some pull and the only way I'm gonna block someone from using the comment board is if they're getting too carried away on one of us! HA! And we've already had a few of those and I haven't blocked them cuz quite frankly, it makes for good reading and neither of us spend a hole lot of time at night in bed crying over the fact that someone thinks I might be gay. Kudos to them for their detective work.
So to be done with this. If you're skin is so thin and your ego is so weak that some stranger online who doesn't like you is enough to send your entire world in to chaos just stop coming here or commenting. No one is going to go on this site and say "Let's not make fun of ----" for you because that's stupid. And no one is going to block anyone cuz they made fun of you. Also dumb. So suck it up or move on cuz it ain't gonna change. Free speech unless that speech hurts MY feelings. Then we'll re-evaluate.
Moving on I'd just like to say how unbelievably cold it is in Thunder Bay in Jaunary. Holey shit. I thought I was beginning to wonder if my testacles would ever come out of my stomach. I felt like a new born. I don't blame though. I was trying to hide too. I'm sure it's usually much colder up there as most were walking around in sweaters but for a Toronto guy like me, that was just about enough.
Also... shit there are a lot of ugly people up there. NOT ALL if there are any T-Bay folk reading and you believer yourself to be attractive. But the majority of people were just.... I dunno. To the T-Bay folk I mentioned a moment ago, though. Consider your surroundings. If you believer yourself to be attractive... are you attractive or are you attractive in relates to the people around you cuz that would be different. I hope I've made someone think.
The more I think about it. I WAS staying in a hotel... maybe most Thunder Bay people are very attractive and I say all ugly Toronto people in my hotel. I've hurt my own feelings.
Saw the Leafs Skills competition last night. Who knew? Nathan Parrott proved himself to be the fastest skater and the hardest shooter on the team. (he was the only one to break 100mph at 100.3). I wonder if his contract is up for renewal at the end of the year.
I'm not sure if Steve will have the Notes From The Tone Deaf up today but you should go and see. If not, there's still all kinds of great stuff to see on Salty Ham Music and really any of the other Salty Sections as well. Go take a look around.
Well maybe I'll check back in later. Until then. Keep bashing and quit whining.
Later
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Well. Here's Stick In Your Eye
As of earlier this afternoon, this week's edition of the Towel Snap was posted over on Salty Ham Sports. We take a look at the problem of highsticking in the NHL and the visor debate rears its ugly head again. Go check it out. Dammit it's cold.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
What Month Is It Anyway?
Just a small thing that's kind of got me wondering. Why is it that the ads on the main page of the site here are Christmas oriented now? I'm not even sure that we had Christmas ads at Christmas time, but now, in the middle of fucking January, there they are. I guess if nothing else you know where to go if you need Christmas sheet music for next year. And look at that, you can compare prices on Christmas jewelry at over 40000 stores! Who has that kind of time? Maybe I should shut up though seeing as I've already obviously got the time to think about it. I'll go now and hang my head in shame.
What A Sad Group
Well, much like Steve I need to announce that the column for Salty Sports will be delayed AGAIN this week. Although my delay won't be as lengthy as his as I hope to have it posted by late this evening, early tomorrow morning at the latest. Gotta love my consistancy.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
I Got It Up
Not that you sick freaks, the music column. I just posted it over at the ham. If you want to check it out, you can do so
here.
here.
Helpin' You Out Some More (especially you Karine!)
Well I heard about these on the radio this morning and thought I'd throw them out there for you guys. I figured some of you might have a use for these links (...yes i'm looking at you Karine) so here they are.
First, the one I like better, BoredAtWork.com. It's got some pretty entertaining stuff over there.
Also give a look to IShouldBeWorking.com. Same kind of idea. Just a place to kill time.
So, if you enjoy wasting time when you should be working and kind of liked Bored.com
"coughkarinecough" then you'll probably like these too. I'll put them up on the Links board when I get a second as well.
Enjoy.
First, the one I like better, BoredAtWork.com. It's got some pretty entertaining stuff over there.
Also give a look to IShouldBeWorking.com. Same kind of idea. Just a place to kill time.
So, if you enjoy wasting time when you should be working and kind of liked Bored.com
"coughkarinecough" then you'll probably like these too. I'll put them up on the Links board when I get a second as well.
Enjoy.
Monday, January 19, 2004
Unfair Yankee Bashing???
Good Monday Morning to you All
Well I apologize for my absense and inability to defend myself on the comment boards over the last few days. I was out of town at a training camp preparing for a tournament. I can barely move my legs today. It's a great feeling, let me tell ya. Let's get to why I posted this.
On the comment board we've had some unfair Yankee bashing. Some by people who claim to know it all, and some from others who have simply been given incorrect information. Let's take a look. First... original comment.
Seeing that ESPN has been having ad campaigns for hockey, I noticed one of them this week.
'Made in America...the Original game...the NHL on ESPN'.
As a Canadian, that pisses me off, but I do understand of how it's not accepted very good down there. They say that 'original game' is played indoors in an arena somewhere south. Oh well.
But, point is, the game is 'original' as it's played on any backyard rink.
Nick | 01.17.04 - 4:00 pm |
I must respond.
Well let's clear this up first. I'm gonna correct Nick. While I'm usually the first to jump on a bandwagon to bash American arrogance, it's not fair this time. I don't know how many of you have seen the ad and how mahy are just taking Nick's word for it but he is relaying the information improperly.
The ad's concerning "the original" and "An American Tradition" are put on ESPN/ABC's joint broadcasts as they were the first American Network(s) to pick up the NHL and run with it as a regular deal and take it seriously making weekly game nights and things like that. Since then, FOX and some other networks have picked it up and done bits with it but nothing like ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC have done. (I group them together because they have partnered and do symulcasts).
The ad's are based on ABC/ESPN being the original Americans to pick up the game... not on the game itself being American.
It's not a big deal. I just want to make sure that we're bashing them for the right reason. ESPN hasn't claimed the game to be their own, simply the tradition of broadcasting it seriously and full-heartedly in the USA to be theirs. They've pushed hockey hard when many wouldn't and I don't have a problem at all with these ads and the claims they make.... mainly because they're completely true.
Well I apologize for my absense and inability to defend myself on the comment boards over the last few days. I was out of town at a training camp preparing for a tournament. I can barely move my legs today. It's a great feeling, let me tell ya. Let's get to why I posted this.
On the comment board we've had some unfair Yankee bashing. Some by people who claim to know it all, and some from others who have simply been given incorrect information. Let's take a look. First... original comment.
Seeing that ESPN has been having ad campaigns for hockey, I noticed one of them this week.
'Made in America...the Original game...the NHL on ESPN'.
As a Canadian, that pisses me off, but I do understand of how it's not accepted very good down there. They say that 'original game' is played indoors in an arena somewhere south. Oh well.
But, point is, the game is 'original' as it's played on any backyard rink.
Nick | 01.17.04 - 4:00 pm |
I must respond.
Well let's clear this up first. I'm gonna correct Nick. While I'm usually the first to jump on a bandwagon to bash American arrogance, it's not fair this time. I don't know how many of you have seen the ad and how mahy are just taking Nick's word for it but he is relaying the information improperly.
The ad's concerning "the original" and "An American Tradition" are put on ESPN/ABC's joint broadcasts as they were the first American Network(s) to pick up the NHL and run with it as a regular deal and take it seriously making weekly game nights and things like that. Since then, FOX and some other networks have picked it up and done bits with it but nothing like ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC have done. (I group them together because they have partnered and do symulcasts).
The ad's are based on ABC/ESPN being the original Americans to pick up the game... not on the game itself being American.
It's not a big deal. I just want to make sure that we're bashing them for the right reason. ESPN hasn't claimed the game to be their own, simply the tradition of broadcasting it seriously and full-heartedly in the USA to be theirs. They've pushed hockey hard when many wouldn't and I don't have a problem at all with these ads and the claims they make.... mainly because they're completely true.
A Little Late
Just wanted to let all of my loyal fan know that the music column is going to be a little late this week. I'm hoping to have it up by sometime on Wednesday at the latest but you just never know with these things. Maybe it'll be Thursday, maybe it'll be tomorrow, but it is coming. And just in case anybody is curious, loyal fan wasn't a typo.
Now if you're wondering what you can do in the meantime, I can suggest 2 things.
1. Step away from the computer and do something else, the world is pretty big.
2. Go back and have a look at the Vomit Comet Archives. They go all the way back to the beginning when I had to post under Matt's name for the first couple of days because he hadn't set things up so I could have my own name. There's some pretty good stuff back there, even if I have to say so myself. If nothing else, they'll make all of the cracks about infighting make sense to the new people.
Have fun, I'll try to toss something up here later on.
Now if you're wondering what you can do in the meantime, I can suggest 2 things.
1. Step away from the computer and do something else, the world is pretty big.
2. Go back and have a look at the Vomit Comet Archives. They go all the way back to the beginning when I had to post under Matt's name for the first couple of days because he hadn't set things up so I could have my own name. There's some pretty good stuff back there, even if I have to say so myself. If nothing else, they'll make all of the cracks about infighting make sense to the new people.
Have fun, I'll try to toss something up here later on.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Why Would Anybody Want That?
Today I officially lost my faith in humanity and learned a valuable lesson at the same time. People will steal absolutely anything, no matter how much actual value it happens to have.
I've been feeling a little under the weather for the last couple days so being the helpful soul that she is my girlfriend was making the trips up and down the stairs to do my laundry so I didn't have to. I intended to do it myself but I quickly realized that any time I went either up or down the stairs of the building my head would start spinning and I would pretty much keel over from dizziness. But enough about me and my wining, back to the story.
Now I'm what you might call a veteran on the apartment laundry scene. For the better part of 5 years I've been washing my clothing in various apartment settings in an effort to promote cleanliness in my personal life and to set an example for those who don't always have the same ideals and higenic standards that I try to set forth for myself to live by.
Through all of my victories and struggles one thing has stayed constant, my trusty basket. Bought from a store who's name escapes me sometime in mid 1999, my laundry basket, affectionately known to all who loved him as My Laundry Basket has remained by my side, proudly carrying my dirty clothes to meet their eventual cleansing and then helping me bring them back to my place of residence with that very same honour and dignity where they would then be nicely folded and returned to their resting places. For 5 years My Laundry Basket and I traveled the stairwells and elevators of Ontario together becoming friends and more than that, brothers in house work. We shared about as much as a man and an inanimate object can share, I mean come on, he saw all my underwear and everything. But my point is that the 2 of us were inseparable, that is until today.
Like I mentioned previously, my trusty girlfriend was on this day charged with the task of accompanying My Laundry Basket on it's humanitarian mission since I was on the disabled list. This has happened before and all parties had always returned unharmed, proving to me that they could be trusted to work together as a team, which is why I had no reservations about them doing so on this day.
I think it was about 1:41 in the afternoon when the unthinkable happened. The love of my life, having gone to place clothes in the dryer came rushing into our home in an obvious panic.
"Your basket is gone," she said, "somebody took it."
The words cut me like a knife. The sense of loss was immediate, so much so that against my better judgment I decided to brave the stairs once again in a heroic bid to rescue My Laundry Basket from who knows what horrible fate. This can't possibly be happening, I thought as I walked. First of all, who would want a 5-year-old laundry basket, especially one that belonged to a complete stranger? Think about it, who knows what kind of horrors may have sat in the bottom of that thing?
When I reached the laundry room my worst fears were confirmed, the basket was gone. What was once a simple pay to wash laundry room had transformed into an abduction scene right before my very eyes. But as much as the pain of being separated from something that was almost family was eating at me, I had to laugh. I had to laugh at the patheticism of the sad individual who would feel the need to take somebody's laundry basket rather than just going out and dropping 4 bucks on one of his own like I now have to do thanks to his or her lack of consideration and respect for a fellow tenant.
When the laughter finally subsided I also made a vow to myself, and to my dearly departed friend. If ever I'm down in the depths of our building washing my clothes and I happen to see my old friend sitting there, I'm taking him back. Call it vigilanty justice, call it pettiness, call it what you will, just don't call it theft. For as the great Sam Roberts says in
the number 2 song of the year,
"It's alright to get caught stealing back what you've lost."
So goodbye to you my trusted friend, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. For though there will be other baskets, you'll always be my first.
I've been feeling a little under the weather for the last couple days so being the helpful soul that she is my girlfriend was making the trips up and down the stairs to do my laundry so I didn't have to. I intended to do it myself but I quickly realized that any time I went either up or down the stairs of the building my head would start spinning and I would pretty much keel over from dizziness. But enough about me and my wining, back to the story.
Now I'm what you might call a veteran on the apartment laundry scene. For the better part of 5 years I've been washing my clothing in various apartment settings in an effort to promote cleanliness in my personal life and to set an example for those who don't always have the same ideals and higenic standards that I try to set forth for myself to live by.
Through all of my victories and struggles one thing has stayed constant, my trusty basket. Bought from a store who's name escapes me sometime in mid 1999, my laundry basket, affectionately known to all who loved him as My Laundry Basket has remained by my side, proudly carrying my dirty clothes to meet their eventual cleansing and then helping me bring them back to my place of residence with that very same honour and dignity where they would then be nicely folded and returned to their resting places. For 5 years My Laundry Basket and I traveled the stairwells and elevators of Ontario together becoming friends and more than that, brothers in house work. We shared about as much as a man and an inanimate object can share, I mean come on, he saw all my underwear and everything. But my point is that the 2 of us were inseparable, that is until today.
Like I mentioned previously, my trusty girlfriend was on this day charged with the task of accompanying My Laundry Basket on it's humanitarian mission since I was on the disabled list. This has happened before and all parties had always returned unharmed, proving to me that they could be trusted to work together as a team, which is why I had no reservations about them doing so on this day.
I think it was about 1:41 in the afternoon when the unthinkable happened. The love of my life, having gone to place clothes in the dryer came rushing into our home in an obvious panic.
"Your basket is gone," she said, "somebody took it."
The words cut me like a knife. The sense of loss was immediate, so much so that against my better judgment I decided to brave the stairs once again in a heroic bid to rescue My Laundry Basket from who knows what horrible fate. This can't possibly be happening, I thought as I walked. First of all, who would want a 5-year-old laundry basket, especially one that belonged to a complete stranger? Think about it, who knows what kind of horrors may have sat in the bottom of that thing?
When I reached the laundry room my worst fears were confirmed, the basket was gone. What was once a simple pay to wash laundry room had transformed into an abduction scene right before my very eyes. But as much as the pain of being separated from something that was almost family was eating at me, I had to laugh. I had to laugh at the patheticism of the sad individual who would feel the need to take somebody's laundry basket rather than just going out and dropping 4 bucks on one of his own like I now have to do thanks to his or her lack of consideration and respect for a fellow tenant.
When the laughter finally subsided I also made a vow to myself, and to my dearly departed friend. If ever I'm down in the depths of our building washing my clothes and I happen to see my old friend sitting there, I'm taking him back. Call it vigilanty justice, call it pettiness, call it what you will, just don't call it theft. For as the great Sam Roberts says in
the number 2 song of the year,
"It's alright to get caught stealing back what you've lost."
So goodbye to you my trusted friend, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. For though there will be other baskets, you'll always be my first.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
It's Out Of My Hands
Here's some cool guest material submitted by our good friend Carin, some time contributor, more frequent commenter. Enjoy, and feel free to send me things too, just make sure they're quality, because Carin's stuff when she decides to write is pretty good, as you're about to see.
It's out of my hands!
If you are a student in Ontario, and you get money from OSAP, or the Ontario Student Assistance Program, this phrase will sound very, almost oddly, familiar to you. Basically, for those who don't have to deal with this atrocity, OSAP is a government-run student loan program. You apply, and they run what you tell them through some mystical set of calculations to decide how much help they're gonna give you. Sounds good? Well in theory, it does, until you realize the government is running this.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the money I receive, whenever they decide I'm poor enough to receive it, which seems to be at random. I swear that, instead of a set of mystical calculations that decide applicants' fates, it's a set of chimps that are scared shitless and given pointers. Then whoever they point at in the pile gets money. But that's not even my biggest problem with OSAP. The government can't be understood, we just have to face it and deal with it when they are particularly asinine about it.
This is what I have a major problem with. A couple of years ago, the government took an already inefficient system and subjected it to further butchering. Before this point, you applied, then OSAP granted you your loan and you decide which bank was supposed to hold the money. Then, although the government was slow as molasses, it was simple. You knew the bank was separate from the government and the government was separate from the bank. You knew where to go when you had a problem at a certain stage. The government if you felt you didn't get enough, the bank to find out why it wasn't in your account. Plus, even though the government was slow, the banks were usually pretty fast, and since multiple banks did this stuff, they split the load so they weren't so overwhelmed.
Then, up in some government office, a twinkling light went off in someone's head. This was such an unusual occurrence that much fanfare was made of it. Someone got an idea! They thought, "Let's get OSAP centralized!" Now what should that mean to you? One place, right? One place to direct all your queries? One place that should have all necessary records and can help you figure out where the error is, right? Well that wasn't the government's idea. To make things worse, they called this place the National Student Loan Centre. Now what does that tell you? The same things as I mentioned above about the information being centralized? Or am I crazy? I don't know which scenario I want more to be true.
Anyway, this is the process you go through now. You apply online, which is enough of a bitch. If you really don't want to apply online, you can pay them 10 bucks for a paper form, which is getting even harder to do now. Ten bucks? Come on, it's not that much paper. At the university's inflated rates for photocopying, it would have to be 100 pages, and there's no way it is. I wouldn't even mind applying online if it sped things along, but it takes the same plodding pace as if I filled it out and mailed it.
Then you get a letter from the government saying that either the scared chimp pointed at you and you got money, or the chimp crapped on your application, rendering it unreadable, whatever the case may be. If you're lucky enough to get pointed at, then you have to go pick up your application papers at your school at the beginning of the year. Now, you'd think, great! You pick them up and off we go. A couple days later, and woohoo, the cash has arrived and you're all good for the semester. No no no. That only happens in a perfect world. Here's what happens in this one.
First of all, the people handing out the papers don't even get that much training from the powers that be. I sort of feel sorry for them, because all they do all day is deal with pissed off student after pissed off student, and have to smile and nod and pretend that everything is going to be fine even though they don't have a flaming clue because all they've been trained to do is, check the social insurance number, find the loan certificate that matches, hand loan certificate to pissed off student, move said student along. Repeat.
Then you deal with another set of people across the hall who are solely responsible for processing these papers. It seems the first people are employed by the Ontario government, and these people are employed by the national student loan centre. Again, these people are by no means experts in this stuff, nor are they connected to the system in any permanent way. They're just sort of given basic training and a few key lines that should get them along. You give them your papers and a voided cheque and they tell you to chill out and allow at least a week for them to process your loan and another few days for the money to actually arrive in your account. I think I feel more sorry for these people, because at this point if the student isn't annoyed already, they will become so after being told they may have to wait up to two weeks for their money. They will become pissed off very, very quickly.
And this is where the fun really starts. You see, these people don't arrive on campus until the beginning of each semester, which is coincidentally not far from when your tuition comes due. So, if you arrive on the very first day to get your stuff in and everything goes off without a hitch, then you might get your money before the university wants it. But not everyone can get it done the first day, and there are always bound to be problems with some people's loans being processed that are nobody's fault. So you're told to just whistle a happy tune for two weeks, and you are asked that, if your cheque bounces, "do you have overdraft protection?" Like we should have to pay for the slowness of the system. The university, or OSAP, should be reimbursing us god damn it! We shouldn't be thrown thousands of dollars in debt with no recourse because of these inefficiencies!
So you wait...and you wait...and you hope...and the fateful day of your tuition coming due comes closer. Can't you just hear the music from Jaws? Worried, understandably so, you pick up the phone and call the university and ask if they can hold onto your cheque a couple days because your OSAP isn't in your account. They tell you that they can't do that, it's out of their hands, that the cabinet is locked, and that no one has the authorization to open it and take out your cheque. Translation? We're just too damned lazy to get off our asses and look for your one cheque. We'd rather twiddle our thumbs and sip a double double.
My ass no one has the authorization to open the cabinet. Someone sure does when it's cashing day. Is he barred from university contact any other day of the year? Then they tell you, "you'll have to call the OSAP department." So you do. They tell you, "sorry, it's out of our hands. If it's been processed, we don't know where it is. You'll have to call the National Student Loan Centre and see what they say." So you call them and they tell you what day they sent it to your bank, but they have no idea when it will be in your account because after they process it, guess what they're going to say! Come on! You can do this! If you guessed, it's out of their hands, again you win a big fat bag of nothing. What? What kind of money-handling is that? If I were to send them some money, they would expect me to know exactly when it would appear on their desk, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! Anyway, during this crazy call, you notice what seems to be an error on your account, so you ask them to verify how much loan money you were given this year. Their response? This too is out of their hands, and that you're supposed to call some automated OSAP line run by the government of Ontario that you have to pay to call. You! have to pay to not have a chance to talk to any human! You! have to pay to be read some figures over a phone! Ooo, please afford me the privilege. At this point, you're livid I'm sure. I know I was. If I wasn't at a public phone, the scene would not have been pretty.
And I'm sure I'm not alone. In fact, I know I'm not. Because the government was in no way ready to be overwhelmed by a problem they created themselves, that is pushing double the amount of students out of high school at once, the university had to actually extend the tuition deadline because they were getting flooded with pleas to hold onto tuition cheques due to lack of OSAP. Isn't this an absolute farce? Isn't it ridiculous that, in addition to creating the double cohort problem themselves, they created their own inefficient system by trying lamely to be efficient? Any dumbass can figure out why this system isn't working. More applications go to less places, staffed by less people to save the government money, so processing time is longer. Why did they have to do that? If it wasn't broke, which I don't think it was, why did they have to try and fix it?
The only thing I can figure out is that the government gets money from the processing of these loans. I've figured out, through all these struggles, that the only thing that's centralized is the disbursement of the loans. The scared chimps are still kept very separated from this central place. It's not like I like the banks having more money, but hell, they were doing
a better job, or at least it seemed that way to me, so why not just give it back to them? The suckiest part of this whole thing is that the powers that be are kept even more well-shielded by poorly-trained workers and puppets up in the student finance department of each university and college. So along with the inefficiency of it all, you can't get anywhere!
So what's the best way to end this complicated mess? I guess I hope this makes someone somewhere feel better about what they're going through, and lets them know they're not alone. And hey, maybe it'll save someone a few rounds of governmental ping pong. So to everyone battling this system, good luck dealing with this load of crap, good luck in school, and good luck finding a well-paying job so you can tell OSAP where to stick their loan program and avoid this mess altogether!
--------
Check Out My Website!
It's out of my hands!
If you are a student in Ontario, and you get money from OSAP, or the Ontario Student Assistance Program, this phrase will sound very, almost oddly, familiar to you. Basically, for those who don't have to deal with this atrocity, OSAP is a government-run student loan program. You apply, and they run what you tell them through some mystical set of calculations to decide how much help they're gonna give you. Sounds good? Well in theory, it does, until you realize the government is running this.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the money I receive, whenever they decide I'm poor enough to receive it, which seems to be at random. I swear that, instead of a set of mystical calculations that decide applicants' fates, it's a set of chimps that are scared shitless and given pointers. Then whoever they point at in the pile gets money. But that's not even my biggest problem with OSAP. The government can't be understood, we just have to face it and deal with it when they are particularly asinine about it.
This is what I have a major problem with. A couple of years ago, the government took an already inefficient system and subjected it to further butchering. Before this point, you applied, then OSAP granted you your loan and you decide which bank was supposed to hold the money. Then, although the government was slow as molasses, it was simple. You knew the bank was separate from the government and the government was separate from the bank. You knew where to go when you had a problem at a certain stage. The government if you felt you didn't get enough, the bank to find out why it wasn't in your account. Plus, even though the government was slow, the banks were usually pretty fast, and since multiple banks did this stuff, they split the load so they weren't so overwhelmed.
Then, up in some government office, a twinkling light went off in someone's head. This was such an unusual occurrence that much fanfare was made of it. Someone got an idea! They thought, "Let's get OSAP centralized!" Now what should that mean to you? One place, right? One place to direct all your queries? One place that should have all necessary records and can help you figure out where the error is, right? Well that wasn't the government's idea. To make things worse, they called this place the National Student Loan Centre. Now what does that tell you? The same things as I mentioned above about the information being centralized? Or am I crazy? I don't know which scenario I want more to be true.
Anyway, this is the process you go through now. You apply online, which is enough of a bitch. If you really don't want to apply online, you can pay them 10 bucks for a paper form, which is getting even harder to do now. Ten bucks? Come on, it's not that much paper. At the university's inflated rates for photocopying, it would have to be 100 pages, and there's no way it is. I wouldn't even mind applying online if it sped things along, but it takes the same plodding pace as if I filled it out and mailed it.
Then you get a letter from the government saying that either the scared chimp pointed at you and you got money, or the chimp crapped on your application, rendering it unreadable, whatever the case may be. If you're lucky enough to get pointed at, then you have to go pick up your application papers at your school at the beginning of the year. Now, you'd think, great! You pick them up and off we go. A couple days later, and woohoo, the cash has arrived and you're all good for the semester. No no no. That only happens in a perfect world. Here's what happens in this one.
First of all, the people handing out the papers don't even get that much training from the powers that be. I sort of feel sorry for them, because all they do all day is deal with pissed off student after pissed off student, and have to smile and nod and pretend that everything is going to be fine even though they don't have a flaming clue because all they've been trained to do is, check the social insurance number, find the loan certificate that matches, hand loan certificate to pissed off student, move said student along. Repeat.
Then you deal with another set of people across the hall who are solely responsible for processing these papers. It seems the first people are employed by the Ontario government, and these people are employed by the national student loan centre. Again, these people are by no means experts in this stuff, nor are they connected to the system in any permanent way. They're just sort of given basic training and a few key lines that should get them along. You give them your papers and a voided cheque and they tell you to chill out and allow at least a week for them to process your loan and another few days for the money to actually arrive in your account. I think I feel more sorry for these people, because at this point if the student isn't annoyed already, they will become so after being told they may have to wait up to two weeks for their money. They will become pissed off very, very quickly.
And this is where the fun really starts. You see, these people don't arrive on campus until the beginning of each semester, which is coincidentally not far from when your tuition comes due. So, if you arrive on the very first day to get your stuff in and everything goes off without a hitch, then you might get your money before the university wants it. But not everyone can get it done the first day, and there are always bound to be problems with some people's loans being processed that are nobody's fault. So you're told to just whistle a happy tune for two weeks, and you are asked that, if your cheque bounces, "do you have overdraft protection?" Like we should have to pay for the slowness of the system. The university, or OSAP, should be reimbursing us god damn it! We shouldn't be thrown thousands of dollars in debt with no recourse because of these inefficiencies!
So you wait...and you wait...and you hope...and the fateful day of your tuition coming due comes closer. Can't you just hear the music from Jaws? Worried, understandably so, you pick up the phone and call the university and ask if they can hold onto your cheque a couple days because your OSAP isn't in your account. They tell you that they can't do that, it's out of their hands, that the cabinet is locked, and that no one has the authorization to open it and take out your cheque. Translation? We're just too damned lazy to get off our asses and look for your one cheque. We'd rather twiddle our thumbs and sip a double double.
My ass no one has the authorization to open the cabinet. Someone sure does when it's cashing day. Is he barred from university contact any other day of the year? Then they tell you, "you'll have to call the OSAP department." So you do. They tell you, "sorry, it's out of our hands. If it's been processed, we don't know where it is. You'll have to call the National Student Loan Centre and see what they say." So you call them and they tell you what day they sent it to your bank, but they have no idea when it will be in your account because after they process it, guess what they're going to say! Come on! You can do this! If you guessed, it's out of their hands, again you win a big fat bag of nothing. What? What kind of money-handling is that? If I were to send them some money, they would expect me to know exactly when it would appear on their desk, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! Anyway, during this crazy call, you notice what seems to be an error on your account, so you ask them to verify how much loan money you were given this year. Their response? This too is out of their hands, and that you're supposed to call some automated OSAP line run by the government of Ontario that you have to pay to call. You! have to pay to not have a chance to talk to any human! You! have to pay to be read some figures over a phone! Ooo, please afford me the privilege. At this point, you're livid I'm sure. I know I was. If I wasn't at a public phone, the scene would not have been pretty.
And I'm sure I'm not alone. In fact, I know I'm not. Because the government was in no way ready to be overwhelmed by a problem they created themselves, that is pushing double the amount of students out of high school at once, the university had to actually extend the tuition deadline because they were getting flooded with pleas to hold onto tuition cheques due to lack of OSAP. Isn't this an absolute farce? Isn't it ridiculous that, in addition to creating the double cohort problem themselves, they created their own inefficient system by trying lamely to be efficient? Any dumbass can figure out why this system isn't working. More applications go to less places, staffed by less people to save the government money, so processing time is longer. Why did they have to do that? If it wasn't broke, which I don't think it was, why did they have to try and fix it?
The only thing I can figure out is that the government gets money from the processing of these loans. I've figured out, through all these struggles, that the only thing that's centralized is the disbursement of the loans. The scared chimps are still kept very separated from this central place. It's not like I like the banks having more money, but hell, they were doing
a better job, or at least it seemed that way to me, so why not just give it back to them? The suckiest part of this whole thing is that the powers that be are kept even more well-shielded by poorly-trained workers and puppets up in the student finance department of each university and college. So along with the inefficiency of it all, you can't get anywhere!
So what's the best way to end this complicated mess? I guess I hope this makes someone somewhere feel better about what they're going through, and lets them know they're not alone. And hey, maybe it'll save someone a few rounds of governmental ping pong. So to everyone battling this system, good luck dealing with this load of crap, good luck in school, and good luck finding a well-paying job so you can tell OSAP where to stick their loan program and avoid this mess altogether!
--------
Check Out My Website!
Maybe This Is Matt's University
This is an actual Spam email sent to an actual person. If you've ever given even a second of thought to getting one of those quick and easy degrees, you might want to think again after reading this. Keep in mind, I have changed nothing about this message other than removing the list of people that it was sent to.
From: Christi Meadows <
eiybonddxizffj@sk.ca>
Reply-To: Christi Meadows <
itukltxkcar@sk.ca>
Subject: Hey How are you doing
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 11:27:16 -0600
Get a dergee from a natoinal unviesrity!
In just 2 yaers you can have a mastres dergee from a natoinal unviersity. A
better job, more inocme and a better life can all be yuors in just 2 years.
No
books to purhcase, no classes to go to, and no entarnce eaxms. Laern in your
own home at your own pace. We supply all the study materails, all you have
to
do is study and comlpete 2 tests per month. Call the nubmer below for more
inforamtion.
1-646-514-6006
Anybody want to take a crack at an English translation?
From: Christi Meadows <
eiybonddxizffj@sk.ca>
Reply-To: Christi Meadows <
itukltxkcar@sk.ca>
Subject: Hey How are you doing
Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 11:27:16 -0600
Get a dergee from a natoinal unviesrity!
In just 2 yaers you can have a mastres dergee from a natoinal unviersity. A
better job, more inocme and a better life can all be yuors in just 2 years.
No
books to purhcase, no classes to go to, and no entarnce eaxms. Laern in your
own home at your own pace. We supply all the study materails, all you have
to
do is study and comlpete 2 tests per month. Call the nubmer below for more
inforamtion.
1-646-514-6006
Anybody want to take a crack at an English translation?
Gretzky VS Armstrong
Somebody left this on the comment board and it seems like it's worth a bit of thought here. By the way, if you want to do a similar thing and leave random topic suggestions, feel free. Just don't get all pissed off if it either takes a long time for us to use them or we don't end up using them at all, we've got lives too and there are some things we just don't have any thoughts on.
here's a good topic for discussion...over on espn they;ve got a poll rating the top 25 athletes in the past 25 yrs.... Gretzky doesn't top any of the writers
lists, Lance Armstrong does however.
Anonymous | 01.16.04 - 7:27 pm |
After thinking about it for a couple of minutes the reason for this seems pretty simple. Actually there are a couple of reasons. For one thing ESPN is a mostly American organization and as much as things have changed over the last few years, hockey doesn't have the same level of acceptance in America as it does here in Canada. Let's face it, the States might have most of the teams in the NHL and the league might be run out of New York but hockey at it's core is a truly Canadian game. A lot of people actually think that it's our national sport, and for good reason. Our official national sport is lacrosse, or so I'm told but the way that a great deal of Canadians live and breathe the stuff, hockey might as well be considered our game. Hockey to us is like football to America. It's the sport that people get together and talk about more than any other. It's the highest rated sport on TV here. A lot of our kids play it. Hockey is a very important part of Canadian culture. Now having said that it should be a lot clearer why Gretzky, even though he was arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen, didn't make tops on anybody's list. He was the best in a sport that Americans, including I'm assuming most of the writers doing the selecting don't really care all that much about or know that much about. It's easy to pass a guy over in your personal rankings if you have no idea what he accomplished or better yet simply don't care.
But more than that, Gretzky was simply really good at what he did while Lance Armstrong has a story attached to him. Armstrong came back from cancer that could have easily killed him to become the most dominant force in cycling. To a lot of people, he's a hero, and for good reason. And not only is he a hero, he's an American hero and let's not forget where a lot of these writers are from and where the company they're working for is based. Sure cycling isn't among anybody's favourite sports, at least nobody I've talked to but Armstrong is somebody that's easy to get behind and easy to cheer for. Everybody wanted to see him beat the odds and when he actually did it, he earned all of the praise he got. But beyond that, he earned a place in a lot of people's hearts for what he had done and the significance of it. Armstrong taking top honours over Wayne Gretzky makes perfect sense, at least from where I sit. And don't forget, all of these rankings are purely opinion to begin with and no opinion is ever wrong unless there are factual errors in it.
Ok, comment away.
here's a good topic for discussion...over on espn they;ve got a poll rating the top 25 athletes in the past 25 yrs.... Gretzky doesn't top any of the writers
lists, Lance Armstrong does however.
Anonymous | 01.16.04 - 7:27 pm |
After thinking about it for a couple of minutes the reason for this seems pretty simple. Actually there are a couple of reasons. For one thing ESPN is a mostly American organization and as much as things have changed over the last few years, hockey doesn't have the same level of acceptance in America as it does here in Canada. Let's face it, the States might have most of the teams in the NHL and the league might be run out of New York but hockey at it's core is a truly Canadian game. A lot of people actually think that it's our national sport, and for good reason. Our official national sport is lacrosse, or so I'm told but the way that a great deal of Canadians live and breathe the stuff, hockey might as well be considered our game. Hockey to us is like football to America. It's the sport that people get together and talk about more than any other. It's the highest rated sport on TV here. A lot of our kids play it. Hockey is a very important part of Canadian culture. Now having said that it should be a lot clearer why Gretzky, even though he was arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen, didn't make tops on anybody's list. He was the best in a sport that Americans, including I'm assuming most of the writers doing the selecting don't really care all that much about or know that much about. It's easy to pass a guy over in your personal rankings if you have no idea what he accomplished or better yet simply don't care.
But more than that, Gretzky was simply really good at what he did while Lance Armstrong has a story attached to him. Armstrong came back from cancer that could have easily killed him to become the most dominant force in cycling. To a lot of people, he's a hero, and for good reason. And not only is he a hero, he's an American hero and let's not forget where a lot of these writers are from and where the company they're working for is based. Sure cycling isn't among anybody's favourite sports, at least nobody I've talked to but Armstrong is somebody that's easy to get behind and easy to cheer for. Everybody wanted to see him beat the odds and when he actually did it, he earned all of the praise he got. But beyond that, he earned a place in a lot of people's hearts for what he had done and the significance of it. Armstrong taking top honours over Wayne Gretzky makes perfect sense, at least from where I sit. And don't forget, all of these rankings are purely opinion to begin with and no opinion is ever wrong unless there are factual errors in it.
Ok, comment away.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Mad Cow, Very Very Mad Cow
Lately we've been hearing so much in the media about Mad Cow Disease that I thought it was time to get a different perspective on the situation and again, we here at Vomit Comet World HQ have come through. If you want to hear the lowdown on BSE right from the source, all you have to do is
click here.
Remember to turn up your sound and watch out for profanity, because this cow isn't holding anything back! Why should he, he's mad for crying out loud!
click here.
Remember to turn up your sound and watch out for profanity, because this cow isn't holding anything back! Why should he, he's mad for crying out loud!
Tenants Roasting On An Open Fire
Well it's certainly been an interesting night here in the land of Steve, and for all the wrong reasons.
It's about 10 PM and my girlfriend and I are just doing our normal nightly stuff. We're on our computers checking our email, that sort of thing. We eventually migrate out to the living room to watch the news and just sort of wind down the day. The main topic of our conversation keeps drifting back to the assholes in our building who it seemed were for some unknown reason painting their place at such a stupid time of night and how much it was going to suck to have to sleep in paint fume heaven. As we talk, the smell gets stronger and stronger, and starts to smell less and less like paint. Curious to be sure, but I'm not thinking much of it up to now. Then the fire alarms go off and we're suddenly evacuating the building. It seems that one of the bottom floor apartments somehow caught fire and everybody has to get the fuck out of the place like right now, no waiting! I can't even begin to describe to you on how many levels this completely and profoundly sucks. First of all, according to the handy dandy temperature thingie on my computer, it is exactly -21.6 degrees celcius outside right now. For those of you who don't know what that means, it pretty much boils down to it's fucking cold and now I've gotta stand in it for an as yet undetermined amount of time and possibly catch frost bite and lose a limb or 2. But more than that, it sucks because well, the fucking building's on fire! You know, the building with my house in it. My house, pretty much everything I own, you know, all the stuff that defines who I am.
Things actually turned out pretty well though, all things considered. The fire didn't end up being as serious as it could have been thanks to somebody's quick thinking in calling the fire department right away. It was contained to 1 apartment and we only had to be outside for about an hour and a half or so. The city even eventually came around with a nice warm city bus for all of us to sit in. We were all able to get back in before midnight which was nice since I had visions of having to sleep on the bus or at some place that they'd have to open up for all the new homeless people. The sucky thing now is that the whole building smells like a big camp fire and I have this ungodly craving for a hotdog.
More later, assuming I still have a house by then.
It's about 10 PM and my girlfriend and I are just doing our normal nightly stuff. We're on our computers checking our email, that sort of thing. We eventually migrate out to the living room to watch the news and just sort of wind down the day. The main topic of our conversation keeps drifting back to the assholes in our building who it seemed were for some unknown reason painting their place at such a stupid time of night and how much it was going to suck to have to sleep in paint fume heaven. As we talk, the smell gets stronger and stronger, and starts to smell less and less like paint. Curious to be sure, but I'm not thinking much of it up to now. Then the fire alarms go off and we're suddenly evacuating the building. It seems that one of the bottom floor apartments somehow caught fire and everybody has to get the fuck out of the place like right now, no waiting! I can't even begin to describe to you on how many levels this completely and profoundly sucks. First of all, according to the handy dandy temperature thingie on my computer, it is exactly -21.6 degrees celcius outside right now. For those of you who don't know what that means, it pretty much boils down to it's fucking cold and now I've gotta stand in it for an as yet undetermined amount of time and possibly catch frost bite and lose a limb or 2. But more than that, it sucks because well, the fucking building's on fire! You know, the building with my house in it. My house, pretty much everything I own, you know, all the stuff that defines who I am.
Things actually turned out pretty well though, all things considered. The fire didn't end up being as serious as it could have been thanks to somebody's quick thinking in calling the fire department right away. It was contained to 1 apartment and we only had to be outside for about an hour and a half or so. The city even eventually came around with a nice warm city bus for all of us to sit in. We were all able to get back in before midnight which was nice since I had visions of having to sleep on the bus or at some place that they'd have to open up for all the new homeless people. The sucky thing now is that the whole building smells like a big camp fire and I have this ungodly craving for a hotdog.
More later, assuming I still have a house by then.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Voting Update
Well, if you've been over to Salty Ham this morning (AND YOU'D BETTER HAVE!) you'll notice some slight changes to the order of leaders in the pole that they have up. If you haven't noticed you're a tool and I have nothing to say to you.
It seems that Wes is now DESTROYING everyone in site (or should i say on site... heh? heh?). But I mean he must be cheating if he's winning, right? That seems to be the mentality here. So I assume Wes is cheating and I am the rightful leader despite being far far behind according to that cool little bar graph thing.
It seems that Wes is now DESTROYING everyone in site (or should i say on site... heh? heh?). But I mean he must be cheating if he's winning, right? That seems to be the mentality here. So I assume Wes is cheating and I am the rightful leader despite being far far behind according to that cool little bar graph thing.
Public Service Announcement From Your Friends At VomitComet
In these difficult times of poor visibility, bad road conditions and heavy traffic in the GTA it is necessary to keep a steady state of mind. Understand that, as upset as you are, as frustrated as you are, as in a hurry as you are on that highway to get to work... so is every other person in every other car that surrounds you.
That guy that just pulled in to your lane just ahead of you without signalling, just about causing an accident so he can say he was off the highway 15 seconds before you were is in just as big of a rush as you to get to work. It's important to find techniques for dealing with these frustrations. We here at Vomit Comet are here to help.
When you feel the slightest inkling, the slightest twinge, even the slightest desire to stick your head out the window and flip the guy off while screaming prophanities regarding his mother's carriage please remember all that we've said. That people are in the same rush as you. We here at Vomit Comet suggest that when these urges rush over you you allow them to take over. I mean... the guy just cut you off, right?
Get that window open good and wide, get your head as far out there as possible so this prick can hear you and let him know what you think, speak of your intimate goings-on with his significant other, speak of your opinions of his father, speak of the unproved truth that the people he calls parents are actually so, give a reach back and hurl that ice scraper in your back seat down and see if you can help chip some ice off of his windshield.
These are all very healthy things to help you relieve stress. I mean, you don't know the guy, right? So what harm could it possibly do? This way you'll be in a great mood and won't take out your frustrations on your friends and co-workers. There's nothing wrong with having complete strangers feel the wrath of your road rage.
Remember. We here at VomitComet Co. are here for you. These helpful tips should help us all live a better life.
Take Care of Yourselves... And Those You Know And To Hell With Everyone Else.
That guy that just pulled in to your lane just ahead of you without signalling, just about causing an accident so he can say he was off the highway 15 seconds before you were is in just as big of a rush as you to get to work. It's important to find techniques for dealing with these frustrations. We here at Vomit Comet are here to help.
When you feel the slightest inkling, the slightest twinge, even the slightest desire to stick your head out the window and flip the guy off while screaming prophanities regarding his mother's carriage please remember all that we've said. That people are in the same rush as you. We here at Vomit Comet suggest that when these urges rush over you you allow them to take over. I mean... the guy just cut you off, right?
Get that window open good and wide, get your head as far out there as possible so this prick can hear you and let him know what you think, speak of your intimate goings-on with his significant other, speak of your opinions of his father, speak of the unproved truth that the people he calls parents are actually so, give a reach back and hurl that ice scraper in your back seat down and see if you can help chip some ice off of his windshield.
These are all very healthy things to help you relieve stress. I mean, you don't know the guy, right? So what harm could it possibly do? This way you'll be in a great mood and won't take out your frustrations on your friends and co-workers. There's nothing wrong with having complete strangers feel the wrath of your road rage.
Remember. We here at VomitComet Co. are here for you. These helpful tips should help us all live a better life.
Take Care of Yourselves... And Those You Know And To Hell With Everyone Else.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Salty Music Is Kickin
If you wanted to see Matt throw up a music review, now is your chance. He said he would and true to his word, he did it, and now it's here for you to see since you're hero and mine, that would be me, went in and pushed a couple of buttons to make it all public since that's like my job and stuff. So did Matt like the album? The answer to this burning question can be found
here.
And don't forget that Salty Music is your source for at least some of the hottest music news going today. Just about every day, your fearless music section editor, that would be me, tries to update you on the comings and goings in the world of music. Check that out and stay informed, at least as informed as I'll let you.
In closing, thanks to the people who have voted for Matt and I in the Salty Ham poll, that's cool of whomever thought enough of either one of us to do that. But no matter who wins that thing, all of the folks over at The Ham are really great, so love them all. You can vote in the poll by going to
Salty Ham's main page.
Later all.
here.
And don't forget that Salty Music is your source for at least some of the hottest music news going today. Just about every day, your fearless music section editor, that would be me, tries to update you on the comings and goings in the world of music. Check that out and stay informed, at least as informed as I'll let you.
In closing, thanks to the people who have voted for Matt and I in the Salty Ham poll, that's cool of whomever thought enough of either one of us to do that. But no matter who wins that thing, all of the folks over at The Ham are really great, so love them all. You can vote in the poll by going to
Salty Ham's main page.
Later all.
Oh Come On!
Any of you who visit this site who are also visitors to
Salty Ham
have probably noticed that they have a joke of the day on the main page. It's a cool feature and some of them aren't too bad, worth a laugh for the most part, or at least a giggle. But everybody, no matter how good they are, has their off days, and for The Ham, today is that day. Click over to the main page and take a look. What you'll find is humour greatness on the level of such gems as:
Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?
Because he was dead.
Or,
Why did the second chicken cross the road?
Because he was stapled to the first one.
What makes this one worse though is that it's long and you're reading it thinking that it's going to go somewhere, and it doesn't. But I think that what makes me the most upset about the whole thing is that I laughed at it. Yes, against my better judgment, I laughed at that joke. Just shoot me now. Actually don't, maybe tomorrow's joke will be better. Either that or they'll use one of my 2 suggestions from above. Time will tell.
Speaking of Salty Ham, if you're a follower of that site, go over there and vote in the poll. It's a good question.
More later perhaps.
Salty Ham
have probably noticed that they have a joke of the day on the main page. It's a cool feature and some of them aren't too bad, worth a laugh for the most part, or at least a giggle. But everybody, no matter how good they are, has their off days, and for The Ham, today is that day. Click over to the main page and take a look. What you'll find is humour greatness on the level of such gems as:
Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?
Because he was dead.
Or,
Why did the second chicken cross the road?
Because he was stapled to the first one.
What makes this one worse though is that it's long and you're reading it thinking that it's going to go somewhere, and it doesn't. But I think that what makes me the most upset about the whole thing is that I laughed at it. Yes, against my better judgment, I laughed at that joke. Just shoot me now. Actually don't, maybe tomorrow's joke will be better. Either that or they'll use one of my 2 suggestions from above. Time will tell.
Speaking of Salty Ham, if you're a follower of that site, go over there and vote in the poll. It's a good question.
More later perhaps.
It's Back
Well despite the fact that you didn't miss it, there's a new edition of The Towel Snap bein' put up today over on Salty Ham Sports.
We talk some football, we talk some baseball... that's about it really but I would suggest you go check it out because this one was hard. it's easy to rant about hockey. No hockey this week. Americans are rejoicing, Canadians are crying and the Swiss are impartial (as usual)
You can also look for me to throw up a CD review or two over the next little while on the Salty Ham Music section. Hopefully, the first one today - time permitting.
We talk some football, we talk some baseball... that's about it really but I would suggest you go check it out because this one was hard. it's easy to rant about hockey. No hockey this week. Americans are rejoicing, Canadians are crying and the Swiss are impartial (as usual)
You can also look for me to throw up a CD review or two over the next little while on the Salty Ham Music section. Hopefully, the first one today - time permitting.
Monday, January 12, 2004
A Monday Tradition Returns
Finally, after a 3 week break, Notes From The Tone Deaf returns, much to the delight of the guy who reads it. If that guy is also reading this, I encourage him to
click here and give it a look.
The rest of you should do that too if you're done over here.
click here and give it a look.
The rest of you should do that too if you're done over here.
No Use For A Name
Good Monday Morning to you all,
It's kind of a slow day and I'm not sure if I really have anything relevant to say... but I'm just gonna start typing and see what we end up with... I'm pretty sure there's a few things I wanna talk about.. so Let's Go!
I checked out the Green Bay/Philadelphia playoff game yesterday afternoon. What a battle. That was a classic football game right there. Although, Favre and the Packers really should have gone for it on 4th and 1 rather than trying to pull Philadelphia offside. The Eagles hole season was on the line... no one was gonna jump the gun. It's been the running game that's got it done all year for the Pack and that was the worst possible time to stray from it and it did end up costing them. Though in all fairness to the offense, when your defense pins someone down at 4 and 26 and still lets them get to the first down maybe you need to look at them. Aside from all that, something bothered me in watching the post-game show and the Eagles celebration. That, of course, was the verbal bashing that the commentators laid on Brett Favre.
Now I won't argue the fact that no matter how many fathers you've had die on you lately and no matter how many records you've set in the NFL and even how many people have said you're one of the greatest ever that was still one of the worlds shitties passes of all time. There was no chance that any good was gonna come of it. He put his receivers in a situation where they had no chance to succeed and ended up turning the ball over. But let's look at the big picture here. The Packers don't even get close to where they did without Favre's inspired play over the last month or so. From the Monday Nighter just after his father died all the way up until the Overtime of yesterday's game he was the best player on the team and arguably the only reason the Pack gets that far. He probably made a few hundred good plays to get them that far and it's all forgotten after one bad one. If the defense could have held McKnab and the Philly offense and FOURTH AND TWENTY SIX it never would have happened. It was a team loss. I guaruntee you not one player went in to the dressing room blaming Favre... it's just us... the fans and the media that could possibly spin it that way.
I gotta admit I was kinda rooting for the Pack just for that emotional underdog I guess. You have to admire a guy that can put all that out of his head and just go out and win. Favre was quoted as saying that he didn't want the season to end because up until now he had football to distract him from the pain of his loss...now he's got free time on his hands. In any rate it sets up for a great NFC Championship game next weekend.
I don't know how many of you saw the Leafs game on Saturday but it was one of the most god-awfully boring games I've ever seen... and I've seen some boring games before. (See entire Minnesota/Anaheim playoff series last year). The thing that gets me is that we're still willing to talk about it. The Leafs played New Jersey - long acknowledged as one of the best trapping teams in the league and thus the most boring to watch. Every team that they play knows EXACTLY what they're going to do.... and no one can beat it. They clog the neutral zone, force the rush to one side, cut it off and dump it back down.
Everyone keeps saying that it's what's wrong with the NHL but you can't fault anyone for it. It's simply great coaching. You may not like to admit it, but that's what it is. A coach acknowledges that he may not have the most talented squad in the league and needs to find a way to win. New Jersey has got 3 Stanley Cups in the last decade so how can you ask them to stop doing it. They aren't breaking any rules. Sure it's boring... but they don't care. They care about WINNING! And that's what they're doing. They have a big tough defense, a world-class goaltender and a few forwards who can finish when they get the chance. That's all they need.
Everyone out there saying that they need to find a way to get rid of the trap or make it illegal is looking at things the wrong way because no matter what you do someone will find a way to beat it. What the league really needs is more coaching like that of New Jersey's and Minnesota's and other teams. Not because we need more trapping, but because a coach as smart as say Pat Burns would figure out a way to beat it. It's that simple. Instead of whining about seeing your team lose 1-0 game to a boring team you need to tip your hat to a team that plays their system perfectly and wins Championships because of it and look at your own coach to beat it.
I'm not saying I know how to beat the trap (although I do think if you'd just activate a defenseman to join the rush on the opposite side of the force you'd open up more options) but the other coachs are paid to know it so let them figure it out. Scoring lately has been up around the league so don't complain about the 2 or 3 teams out of 30 that are boring. It's still the fastest game out there and sometimes watching a 1 goal game is just as intense as you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for that one break.
Well this has been a very sporting post. Maybe I'll be back later with something else... Maybe I won't... But maybe Steve will... or maybe you people shouldn't be so needy.
Later
It's kind of a slow day and I'm not sure if I really have anything relevant to say... but I'm just gonna start typing and see what we end up with... I'm pretty sure there's a few things I wanna talk about.. so Let's Go!
I checked out the Green Bay/Philadelphia playoff game yesterday afternoon. What a battle. That was a classic football game right there. Although, Favre and the Packers really should have gone for it on 4th and 1 rather than trying to pull Philadelphia offside. The Eagles hole season was on the line... no one was gonna jump the gun. It's been the running game that's got it done all year for the Pack and that was the worst possible time to stray from it and it did end up costing them. Though in all fairness to the offense, when your defense pins someone down at 4 and 26 and still lets them get to the first down maybe you need to look at them. Aside from all that, something bothered me in watching the post-game show and the Eagles celebration. That, of course, was the verbal bashing that the commentators laid on Brett Favre.
Now I won't argue the fact that no matter how many fathers you've had die on you lately and no matter how many records you've set in the NFL and even how many people have said you're one of the greatest ever that was still one of the worlds shitties passes of all time. There was no chance that any good was gonna come of it. He put his receivers in a situation where they had no chance to succeed and ended up turning the ball over. But let's look at the big picture here. The Packers don't even get close to where they did without Favre's inspired play over the last month or so. From the Monday Nighter just after his father died all the way up until the Overtime of yesterday's game he was the best player on the team and arguably the only reason the Pack gets that far. He probably made a few hundred good plays to get them that far and it's all forgotten after one bad one. If the defense could have held McKnab and the Philly offense and FOURTH AND TWENTY SIX it never would have happened. It was a team loss. I guaruntee you not one player went in to the dressing room blaming Favre... it's just us... the fans and the media that could possibly spin it that way.
I gotta admit I was kinda rooting for the Pack just for that emotional underdog I guess. You have to admire a guy that can put all that out of his head and just go out and win. Favre was quoted as saying that he didn't want the season to end because up until now he had football to distract him from the pain of his loss...now he's got free time on his hands. In any rate it sets up for a great NFC Championship game next weekend.
I don't know how many of you saw the Leafs game on Saturday but it was one of the most god-awfully boring games I've ever seen... and I've seen some boring games before. (See entire Minnesota/Anaheim playoff series last year). The thing that gets me is that we're still willing to talk about it. The Leafs played New Jersey - long acknowledged as one of the best trapping teams in the league and thus the most boring to watch. Every team that they play knows EXACTLY what they're going to do.... and no one can beat it. They clog the neutral zone, force the rush to one side, cut it off and dump it back down.
Everyone keeps saying that it's what's wrong with the NHL but you can't fault anyone for it. It's simply great coaching. You may not like to admit it, but that's what it is. A coach acknowledges that he may not have the most talented squad in the league and needs to find a way to win. New Jersey has got 3 Stanley Cups in the last decade so how can you ask them to stop doing it. They aren't breaking any rules. Sure it's boring... but they don't care. They care about WINNING! And that's what they're doing. They have a big tough defense, a world-class goaltender and a few forwards who can finish when they get the chance. That's all they need.
Everyone out there saying that they need to find a way to get rid of the trap or make it illegal is looking at things the wrong way because no matter what you do someone will find a way to beat it. What the league really needs is more coaching like that of New Jersey's and Minnesota's and other teams. Not because we need more trapping, but because a coach as smart as say Pat Burns would figure out a way to beat it. It's that simple. Instead of whining about seeing your team lose 1-0 game to a boring team you need to tip your hat to a team that plays their system perfectly and wins Championships because of it and look at your own coach to beat it.
I'm not saying I know how to beat the trap (although I do think if you'd just activate a defenseman to join the rush on the opposite side of the force you'd open up more options) but the other coachs are paid to know it so let them figure it out. Scoring lately has been up around the league so don't complain about the 2 or 3 teams out of 30 that are boring. It's still the fastest game out there and sometimes watching a 1 goal game is just as intense as you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for that one break.
Well this has been a very sporting post. Maybe I'll be back later with something else... Maybe I won't... But maybe Steve will... or maybe you people shouldn't be so needy.
Later
Friday, January 09, 2004
Screw The United Way
Before I get into explaining exactly why these people can eat an over-sized bag of hell I should probably explain just a little about who they are, since I know that this site is a worldwide thing and that not everybody will know about them since there might not be a United Way outside of Canada. The long and the short of it is that the United Way is a big charity that collects piles of money, skims their cut off the top and then distributes what's left to other smaller charities that are what they call member agencies. Best way to put it is that they're the Uncle Sam of the charity world. They collect whatever revenue there is and then give it out to all the different departments for them to spend on doing whatever it is they need to do to run their own opperations. Now Steve, you're probably saying to yourself, this all sounds very noble and it's great that there is an organization that will do this to try to boost funding for valuable organizations that desperately need it. Why are you picking on them? And to you I say, hang on, I'm getting to that. You see, in theory, you're absolutely right, a lot of charities depend on the United Way money for a great deal of their funding. I know this pretty much for a fact since I have done, and am actually doing now, work for member organizations that are to the best of my knowledge, heavily supported by the UW and the money their campaigns generate. And in that last sentence, we've hit on my problem, the campaigns.
Don't get me wrong here, I have no problem with fund raising and I actually think some of the ideas they come up with for getting donations are pretty cool, like having one of the morning show guys from a local radio station live on a giant billboard for a few weeks to raise whatever the goal happens to be. Dude lives in a tent up on top of this thing, people come out and drop a few bucks in the pot to help get him down from there. Every now and then they do live cut-ins to check in with him, and he tells you about how he's doing and how the donation gathering is going. Neat idea, and not something you see every day for sure. They do all kinds of other stuff too, like workplace challenges and things like that, all pretty innocent stuff, and it can be fun, and you know the money is going to be going to people who can use it, for the most part anyway. But this year I decided that the United Way will never get another red cent of my money, and don't worry, I've got a good reason for that.
As you're probably aware, any high profile campaign, or anything that wants to be high profile, has to advertise. Advertising can come in many forms, from billboards, to newspaper ads, to radio commercials...and therein lies the problem. The United Way has always had radio commercials, but somebody seriously dropped the ball this year, and they dropped it right on me.
This year, the braintrust over at United Way promotions decided that it would be a good idea to run a series of ads that would tug at people's heartstrings over the holiday season in the hopes that because of feelings of pity for the less fortunate, they would give more to charity in the hopes that they could make a difference in the life of some poor bastard who's down on his luck.
All of the spots have the same basic premise, they just spotlight a different plight. They all feature a single person standing somewhere doing a monologue about something. For instance, they have a domestic abuse one that goes something along the lines of, "Sometimes at night I can hear them arguing from down the hall and I think to myself, why is he yelling? And then I think, why is she crying? And then sometimes I see her out walking around with her hair combed over one eye and I think, why doesn't she just leave? And then I think, I wish I could do more than just think." Then the helpful announcer tells you that you can do more than just think, you can give generously to the United way, because you can make a difference.
Surprisingly enough, that's not even the one that pissed me off to extremes, even though I'm bothered by people who are willing to trivialize the problem of domestic violence in the interest of making a buck supposedly to help people suffering through the problem. It's different when commedians do it, because they're not trying to raise money, they're trying to be humourous and everybody has their own brand of humour. I just thought I'd mention that before some of the more reactionary among you start labeling me.
No, the one that got me was this one, and remember, I'm quoting this stuff from memory, which isn't that good sometimes. Actual wording may be slightly different, but the point is the same.
As before, we've got the lone voice speaking to nobody, this time it's a girl. "I saw him there while I was out driving in my car. He was walking alone and looking lost and confused near a construction site. It wasn't until I watched him for a minute that I realized he was blind. Watching him there made me think, what must it be like to have to face the world like that? What must that be like? I wished there was something I could do for him." Then helpful announcer comes along to inform you that there is indeed something you can do and no, it's not help the guy, it's give to the United Way, because that's gonna help our blind friend find his way out of the fucking building zone somehow. Not sure how that works, but there ya go.
So why am I getting so worked up over this ad? Well it's pretty simple actually. I know some of you know this, but it's not something that I've really come out and said on the site here up until now. I'm about as blind as a guy can get. Only way you can be blinder than me is if you didn't have eyes. I've been completely blind for my entire life, at least as much of my entire life as I've gotten through up to now. I was born that way, and I'll die that way, because that's my choice. I like my life as it is now and I see no reason to change. If it ain't broke, why fix it I always say.
But back to this commercial and why it pisses me off so much. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out where my problems begin, but I'll break it down for those of you who might still need that extra bit of explanation.
1. "It wasn't until I watched him for a minute that I realized he was blind."
Congratulations, you're an idiot. If you have to observe a blind person out walking alone for more than 3 seconds before coming to the startling revelation that he is in fact a blind person, you my friend have an excelent career ahead of you in the field of lawn care. If the dog or the cane weren't enough to tip you off, what finally did the trick? Your friend in the passenger seat saying "hey, look at the blind guy over there."?
2. "I saw him there while I was out driving in my car. He was walking alone and looking lost and confused near a construction site."
Ok, so why not get out and you know, see if he needs a hand? I've had people do that to me before when I'm not even lost. I appreciate what they're trying to do as long as they aren't assholes about insisting that I take their help because I'm blind and I obviously need it. If you were able to watch him for a minute and have time to think all these things, you probably had time to get out of the car and set the guy on the right path again. Oh wait, that would have interupted your thinking time and the folks over at the United Way wouldn't want that since it would fuck them out of a perfectly good commercial spot.
3. This is the most important part. I can't speak for every blind person out there, but I don't rely on the United Way all that much and if I did, I don't want to have that fact constantly rubbed in my face, always being made to feel like I'm some sort of asset to them. I'm not a money making tool, I'm a human being, just like the rest of you. We're equals, I'm just an equal who's eyes don't work and who's a bit different, which I guess contradicts the whole equal thing, but you get my point.
The United Way would have you believe that I hardly ever leave my home and that when I do, I get stuck in construction areas and wander around like a fucking idiot until somebody donates money to put me back on the sidewalk. Granted, I've gotten lost before and I'm sure it'll happen again, probably over winter, but when I do I can say for damn sure that it won't be the United Way who comes to give me a hand. It'll either be me figuring it out for myself, or somebody who has the good sense to do more than just think.
So thanks for spreading ignorance, open minded charity people, I appreciate that. It's assholes like you who do more to set people like me back in the world than just about anybody else. When people hear shit like what you're putting out there in the media, they believe it. I can't tell you how many people have told me that I can't possibly be blind because I don't do something like shake my head or rock violently or that I get around way too well to be blind and that I must be shitting them. Somebody actually said to me once, "you guys are different than on TV." that comment floored me, and it really made me stop and think about how powerful the media is. So think about that next time you feel like using somebody else's predicament to further your own agenda, and don't do it. Tell the people where the money is going, who benefits from it, that sort of thing, but for the love of Christ, don't make it seem like we all need you. We don't.
So in closing, I encourage all of you to give nothing to your local United Way. Feel free to donate to charities, even if they're members of the organization, but be sure to ask before you do if they have to pay a fee to be part of the UW. If they say yes, tell them you're sorry but you don't have the money, and feel free to explain to them why it's not there. If they've got any sense, they'll understand. Happy donating.
Don't get me wrong here, I have no problem with fund raising and I actually think some of the ideas they come up with for getting donations are pretty cool, like having one of the morning show guys from a local radio station live on a giant billboard for a few weeks to raise whatever the goal happens to be. Dude lives in a tent up on top of this thing, people come out and drop a few bucks in the pot to help get him down from there. Every now and then they do live cut-ins to check in with him, and he tells you about how he's doing and how the donation gathering is going. Neat idea, and not something you see every day for sure. They do all kinds of other stuff too, like workplace challenges and things like that, all pretty innocent stuff, and it can be fun, and you know the money is going to be going to people who can use it, for the most part anyway. But this year I decided that the United Way will never get another red cent of my money, and don't worry, I've got a good reason for that.
As you're probably aware, any high profile campaign, or anything that wants to be high profile, has to advertise. Advertising can come in many forms, from billboards, to newspaper ads, to radio commercials...and therein lies the problem. The United Way has always had radio commercials, but somebody seriously dropped the ball this year, and they dropped it right on me.
This year, the braintrust over at United Way promotions decided that it would be a good idea to run a series of ads that would tug at people's heartstrings over the holiday season in the hopes that because of feelings of pity for the less fortunate, they would give more to charity in the hopes that they could make a difference in the life of some poor bastard who's down on his luck.
All of the spots have the same basic premise, they just spotlight a different plight. They all feature a single person standing somewhere doing a monologue about something. For instance, they have a domestic abuse one that goes something along the lines of, "Sometimes at night I can hear them arguing from down the hall and I think to myself, why is he yelling? And then I think, why is she crying? And then sometimes I see her out walking around with her hair combed over one eye and I think, why doesn't she just leave? And then I think, I wish I could do more than just think." Then the helpful announcer tells you that you can do more than just think, you can give generously to the United way, because you can make a difference.
Surprisingly enough, that's not even the one that pissed me off to extremes, even though I'm bothered by people who are willing to trivialize the problem of domestic violence in the interest of making a buck supposedly to help people suffering through the problem. It's different when commedians do it, because they're not trying to raise money, they're trying to be humourous and everybody has their own brand of humour. I just thought I'd mention that before some of the more reactionary among you start labeling me.
No, the one that got me was this one, and remember, I'm quoting this stuff from memory, which isn't that good sometimes. Actual wording may be slightly different, but the point is the same.
As before, we've got the lone voice speaking to nobody, this time it's a girl. "I saw him there while I was out driving in my car. He was walking alone and looking lost and confused near a construction site. It wasn't until I watched him for a minute that I realized he was blind. Watching him there made me think, what must it be like to have to face the world like that? What must that be like? I wished there was something I could do for him." Then helpful announcer comes along to inform you that there is indeed something you can do and no, it's not help the guy, it's give to the United Way, because that's gonna help our blind friend find his way out of the fucking building zone somehow. Not sure how that works, but there ya go.
So why am I getting so worked up over this ad? Well it's pretty simple actually. I know some of you know this, but it's not something that I've really come out and said on the site here up until now. I'm about as blind as a guy can get. Only way you can be blinder than me is if you didn't have eyes. I've been completely blind for my entire life, at least as much of my entire life as I've gotten through up to now. I was born that way, and I'll die that way, because that's my choice. I like my life as it is now and I see no reason to change. If it ain't broke, why fix it I always say.
But back to this commercial and why it pisses me off so much. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out where my problems begin, but I'll break it down for those of you who might still need that extra bit of explanation.
1. "It wasn't until I watched him for a minute that I realized he was blind."
Congratulations, you're an idiot. If you have to observe a blind person out walking alone for more than 3 seconds before coming to the startling revelation that he is in fact a blind person, you my friend have an excelent career ahead of you in the field of lawn care. If the dog or the cane weren't enough to tip you off, what finally did the trick? Your friend in the passenger seat saying "hey, look at the blind guy over there."?
2. "I saw him there while I was out driving in my car. He was walking alone and looking lost and confused near a construction site."
Ok, so why not get out and you know, see if he needs a hand? I've had people do that to me before when I'm not even lost. I appreciate what they're trying to do as long as they aren't assholes about insisting that I take their help because I'm blind and I obviously need it. If you were able to watch him for a minute and have time to think all these things, you probably had time to get out of the car and set the guy on the right path again. Oh wait, that would have interupted your thinking time and the folks over at the United Way wouldn't want that since it would fuck them out of a perfectly good commercial spot.
3. This is the most important part. I can't speak for every blind person out there, but I don't rely on the United Way all that much and if I did, I don't want to have that fact constantly rubbed in my face, always being made to feel like I'm some sort of asset to them. I'm not a money making tool, I'm a human being, just like the rest of you. We're equals, I'm just an equal who's eyes don't work and who's a bit different, which I guess contradicts the whole equal thing, but you get my point.
The United Way would have you believe that I hardly ever leave my home and that when I do, I get stuck in construction areas and wander around like a fucking idiot until somebody donates money to put me back on the sidewalk. Granted, I've gotten lost before and I'm sure it'll happen again, probably over winter, but when I do I can say for damn sure that it won't be the United Way who comes to give me a hand. It'll either be me figuring it out for myself, or somebody who has the good sense to do more than just think.
So thanks for spreading ignorance, open minded charity people, I appreciate that. It's assholes like you who do more to set people like me back in the world than just about anybody else. When people hear shit like what you're putting out there in the media, they believe it. I can't tell you how many people have told me that I can't possibly be blind because I don't do something like shake my head or rock violently or that I get around way too well to be blind and that I must be shitting them. Somebody actually said to me once, "you guys are different than on TV." that comment floored me, and it really made me stop and think about how powerful the media is. So think about that next time you feel like using somebody else's predicament to further your own agenda, and don't do it. Tell the people where the money is going, who benefits from it, that sort of thing, but for the love of Christ, don't make it seem like we all need you. We don't.
So in closing, I encourage all of you to give nothing to your local United Way. Feel free to donate to charities, even if they're members of the organization, but be sure to ask before you do if they have to pay a fee to be part of the UW. If they say yes, tell them you're sorry but you don't have the money, and feel free to explain to them why it's not there. If they've got any sense, they'll understand. Happy donating.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
How True
I'm all about pointing out quality pieces of writing to you people so in that spirit I give you
this.
Go read it and think long and hard about what he's saying, it might save you a beating one day. Read all the other stuff over there too, it's great. We've got the site linked over on the side because it's just that good. So when things get slow around here, which never happens anyway, go over there and check things out.
this.
Go read it and think long and hard about what he's saying, it might save you a beating one day. Read all the other stuff over there too, it's great. We've got the site linked over on the side because it's just that good. So when things get slow around here, which never happens anyway, go over there and check things out.
Bah. No Title
Good Day to you all,
First of all - Yesterday I didn't get anything posted for my supposedly weekly column on Salty Ham Sports. I was completely uninspired and really, with the exception of the World Junior Hockey Championship, I really didn't watch much in the way of sports over the holiday. That makes it harder to write a sports column. But this morning I was inspired with a thought so I may throw up a small version before the week is out. It won't be today though. I hate those work days where you get loaded with work. Who's fucking idea was that?
On the way in here this morning I heard a pretty funny story on the Edge Morning Show that I thought I'd pass on. This is quite possibly the most unfortunate criminal of all time. He and his wife had organized a major robbery and the plan really wasn't all that bad in theory. The wife worked as a nanny/house-keeper/servant or something for a very wealthy family. They arranged for her husband to be mailed in a large box to the house, then the two of them would clean the place out and high-tail it on outta there. They figured mailing him in was the best way to get him buy security at the front gate.
Well, when this oversized box arrived at the gate the guards wouldn't let it through. They thought it looked suspicious... like BOMB suspicious. So they called in a bomb squad to take a look at it since they didn't want to open it to check and risk detination and impending self-deformation. So, they do what anyone would do... call the bomb squad.
Now, when the bomb squad gets a call, they don't fuck around. There's no "lets open it and see what it is". Oooooh no. Thats usually how you detinate. So they took the box and set up in what is called a safe-detination. This machine treats the box as if it iis a bomb. Now what these machines do is not test to see if it is a bomb... or even try to find the bomb's detinator and try to disable it. It uses its own explosives and blows the fucking thing sky-high eliminating any hazard. If it was a bomb... it blew up anyway... if it was an oversized glass puppy statuette it will be returned to sender with a new label of "some assembly required." The Nanny noticing things had gone wrong chased the bomb squad back to the detinator and arrived just in time to watch her brilliant husbad get blow in to a million pieces. That's not an exaduration. The bomb squad actually was able to identify this man by picking up pieces of his body from the area.
What a way to go, genious! I think most people would notice that things are not going the way they should and possibly try to draw some attention to the fact that there's a human in there! Oh well. At least the rich people didn't lose anything... and isn't that what America is all about?
Later
First of all - Yesterday I didn't get anything posted for my supposedly weekly column on Salty Ham Sports. I was completely uninspired and really, with the exception of the World Junior Hockey Championship, I really didn't watch much in the way of sports over the holiday. That makes it harder to write a sports column. But this morning I was inspired with a thought so I may throw up a small version before the week is out. It won't be today though. I hate those work days where you get loaded with work. Who's fucking idea was that?
On the way in here this morning I heard a pretty funny story on the Edge Morning Show that I thought I'd pass on. This is quite possibly the most unfortunate criminal of all time. He and his wife had organized a major robbery and the plan really wasn't all that bad in theory. The wife worked as a nanny/house-keeper/servant or something for a very wealthy family. They arranged for her husband to be mailed in a large box to the house, then the two of them would clean the place out and high-tail it on outta there. They figured mailing him in was the best way to get him buy security at the front gate.
Well, when this oversized box arrived at the gate the guards wouldn't let it through. They thought it looked suspicious... like BOMB suspicious. So they called in a bomb squad to take a look at it since they didn't want to open it to check and risk detination and impending self-deformation. So, they do what anyone would do... call the bomb squad.
Now, when the bomb squad gets a call, they don't fuck around. There's no "lets open it and see what it is". Oooooh no. Thats usually how you detinate. So they took the box and set up in what is called a safe-detination. This machine treats the box as if it iis a bomb. Now what these machines do is not test to see if it is a bomb... or even try to find the bomb's detinator and try to disable it. It uses its own explosives and blows the fucking thing sky-high eliminating any hazard. If it was a bomb... it blew up anyway... if it was an oversized glass puppy statuette it will be returned to sender with a new label of "some assembly required." The Nanny noticing things had gone wrong chased the bomb squad back to the detinator and arrived just in time to watch her brilliant husbad get blow in to a million pieces. That's not an exaduration. The bomb squad actually was able to identify this man by picking up pieces of his body from the area.
What a way to go, genious! I think most people would notice that things are not going the way they should and possibly try to draw some attention to the fact that there's a human in there! Oh well. At least the rich people didn't lose anything... and isn't that what America is all about?
Later
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that was dumb,
thoughts
Some Jokes That Made Me Laugh Today
*Q. Who is Michael Jackson's favorite poet?
A. Emily Dick-in-son
*Little Johnny wrote to Santa Claus, "Please send me a sister."
Santa Claus wrote him back, "Ok, send me your mother."
*Q. What is the opposite of Christopher Reeve?
A. Christopher Walken
*Q. Why did Michael Jackson decide to have a boy of his own?
A. Because it's too expensive to rent them at $2 million a pop!
*Michael Jackson sat down with his lawyer.
The lawyer says, "I have good news and bad news"
Michael asks for the bad news.
The lawyer says, "They have a real strong case for molestation and you are going to do serious time."
Michael asks for the good news.
The lawyer says, "I think you can serve it in a juvenile detention facility."
A. Emily Dick-in-son
*Little Johnny wrote to Santa Claus, "Please send me a sister."
Santa Claus wrote him back, "Ok, send me your mother."
*Q. What is the opposite of Christopher Reeve?
A. Christopher Walken
*Q. Why did Michael Jackson decide to have a boy of his own?
A. Because it's too expensive to rent them at $2 million a pop!
*Michael Jackson sat down with his lawyer.
The lawyer says, "I have good news and bad news"
Michael asks for the bad news.
The lawyer says, "They have a real strong case for molestation and you are going to do serious time."
Michael asks for the good news.
The lawyer says, "I think you can serve it in a juvenile detention facility."
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
This Is Good?
I'm not sure how much attention any of you pay to the radio but if you listen with any sort of attentiveness you've probably heard those little blurbs that come on every now and then telling you who owns the station you're listening to. The ones that say something like, "you're listening to CFAG FM, A Clear Channel Communications company." They're pretty forgettable I'll admit but I've noticed a new one on some stations recently that's a little bit different. All it says is "your radio station is a standard radio station." Just think about that for a second. How many people are going to know what that means? I do because I follow the industry a little bit and I've heard of Standard Radio Group but I'm pretty sure that for the average Joe Public, that isn't going to mean much, other than that well, it's a standard radio station, just like the rest of them.
Now who's going to hear that and think thank God, a standard radio station! Finally something different! That and it just sounds stupid. They might as well just redo the whole thing so it sounds something like this.
"While all those other radio stations are falling all over themselves trying to win you over with the most music, the best variety and the hottest mix, we're just like, here and stuff, because your radio station is a standard radio station and well, we really don't care that much."
Considering the state that radio is in these days for the most part, I wouldn't be bragging about being standard. Seriously, somebody should be fired for that ad and somebody else should be fired for letting it slip through.
Now who's going to hear that and think thank God, a standard radio station! Finally something different! That and it just sounds stupid. They might as well just redo the whole thing so it sounds something like this.
"While all those other radio stations are falling all over themselves trying to win you over with the most music, the best variety and the hottest mix, we're just like, here and stuff, because your radio station is a standard radio station and well, we really don't care that much."
Considering the state that radio is in these days for the most part, I wouldn't be bragging about being standard. Seriously, somebody should be fired for that ad and somebody else should be fired for letting it slip through.
Steve's Checking Stats Again
I've got a few things that I want to write about tonight so look for more stuff from me later on this evening if my head keeps on not aching like it is right now. Before I get to writing any of that stuff down though it's time to hit the hit counter and look at how some of you are getting here.
02 Jan, Fri, 15:10:46
Google: "
vomit comet" tickets
Tickets? We sell tickets to visit here? I didn't know this before but now that I do, I have to ask, Matt, where's my share of the money, ya stingy prick?
03 Jan, Sat, 11:41:48
Yahoo:
0ld fishing lures
I'm not even sure what that means, but I'm curious. Maybe the 0 is supposed to be an O which would mean old fishing lures, but why would you need to look for those? If anybody has a clue, hit up the comment board or shoot me an
email.
05 Jan, Mon, 12:55:15
Google: "
pierre mcguire" idiot
That one's for the hockey people. Certainly a debatable point.
From the What The Fuck Department comes this entry.
07 Jan, Wed, 08:05:44
Google:
hockey vomit
Um yeah ok. For once, I'm actually lost for words.
And finally, you knew it had to happen,
07 Jan, Wed, 14:11:13
Google:
naked pictures of randy orton
You have no idea how many of those searches I've left out when doing these things. Thankfully Matt already served up the goods on Mr. Orton yesterday so check it out if you haven't done so already. I can see why so many people are looking for it, it's a beast for sure.
Back later.
02 Jan, Fri, 15:10:46
Google: "
vomit comet" tickets
Tickets? We sell tickets to visit here? I didn't know this before but now that I do, I have to ask, Matt, where's my share of the money, ya stingy prick?
03 Jan, Sat, 11:41:48
Yahoo:
0ld fishing lures
I'm not even sure what that means, but I'm curious. Maybe the 0 is supposed to be an O which would mean old fishing lures, but why would you need to look for those? If anybody has a clue, hit up the comment board or shoot me an
email.
05 Jan, Mon, 12:55:15
Google: "
pierre mcguire" idiot
That one's for the hockey people. Certainly a debatable point.
From the What The Fuck Department comes this entry.
07 Jan, Wed, 08:05:44
Google:
hockey vomit
Um yeah ok. For once, I'm actually lost for words.
And finally, you knew it had to happen,
07 Jan, Wed, 14:11:13
Google:
naked pictures of randy orton
You have no idea how many of those searches I've left out when doing these things. Thankfully Matt already served up the goods on Mr. Orton yesterday so check it out if you haven't done so already. I can see why so many people are looking for it, it's a beast for sure.
Back later.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
The Comet Comes Through For The Fans Again!
Well... when our fans ask for something... we run out and we get it for you. Here are some things that you people have been searching for and we are proud to provide you with links to get you exactly what you want... well maybe more accurately what you need.
First you asked for Randy Orton's penis. Hey! Who am I to judge?
You also wanted to see everyone's favourite Maple Leaf, Matt Stajan nude. Well who doesn't i guess.
Once again Vomit Comet gives its fans the help they need. And y'know what? We're proud to do it.
First you asked for Randy Orton's penis. Hey! Who am I to judge?
You also wanted to see everyone's favourite Maple Leaf, Matt Stajan nude. Well who doesn't i guess.
Once again Vomit Comet gives its fans the help they need. And y'know what? We're proud to do it.
Aww.. I'll Do It Tomorrow...
Hey all,
Well here it is. Dec 6 and I'm finally getting around to writing something for you. First of all. Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a good holiday. I had a great Christmas and an even great week following that for a wide array of reasons... none of which are really any of your business.
On Saturday I went with "someone" to the CN Tower as they'd never been there before cuz they live out of town. I've been to this thing a bunch of times and happen to think after the first visit, it's a gigantic waste of time AND MONEY to ever go again but being the gentleman that I am I offered to take her, and pay.
Let me elaborate on why I think its such a waste of time. IT'S A BIG FREAKIN' POLL! You go up super high, look out the window, go "wow, that's pretty high. hyuck!" and go back down. Don't get me wrong. I think you gotta do it once if you're ever in T.O. but it's not something that you need to do again. I know people who go every time they come here... we're talking like 5 or 6 times a year. It's still just a big poll.
I went for the first time when I was probably around 8 or 9 or something with my Aunt and Uncle and I had a great time. It was really cool. You can see for a long way, check out the lights if you're up there at night and there's some other neat little displays. I loved it. I just don't see why you would want to do it more than once. Yet, since i have so many friends from out of town, I seem to end up there at least once a year. Anyway...
The line is absolutely insane which i'm not sure if I should be surprised about. It was a Saturday afternoon but it was towards the end of the holiday season so you wouldn't think there'd be that many tourists still around. And besides, what American consciously goes to 'ICE COLD" Canada in the winter. I got up to the counter and there are only two of us - myself and my "date". Now, they have an arcade and a theatre and lazer tag and shit and we weren't in to that. We just wanted the package that got you up to the observation deck and the lookout and glass floor and stuff. So that's the package she gave us... Without all that extra stuff IT STILL WAS CLOSE $100!!! Absolute craziness.
So you start walking through these different displays and stuff on your way over to the elevators as its all set up pretty nicely. I wasn't paying much attention since, as I said earlier, I've seen them all a bunch of times but she was taking them all in so it was alright. We round this corner and some preppy woman who works there yells "SMILE!" and FLASH!!! she fries our retinas with a picture we didn't ask for, agree to, or particularly want. I don't enjoy having my picture taken PERIOD. So I don't really enjoy having complete strangers take a picture of me to hang in the gift shop for me to go and BUY later. I brought a camera, thanks!
No matter how many times I go to the Tower, I always seem to enjoy the trip up... especially watching those who have never done it. You're travelling at about 55km per hour strait upwards and you can feel it the hole time. And I love the windy days (which this was) because the tower sways. I mean you're standing in a big giant rod pointed strait in to the air so the entire tower sways while you're in it a bit because of the wind. So you're going strait upwards at 55km/h and swaying and there's always one woman who looks like she's gonna throw up or scream or something.... and they're my entertainment for the trip.
So, I've been pretty cynical up until this point about the trip but once you're up there with someone who's never been there before.. it usually gets a bit better as you can tell they're enjoying it. The lines, the money, they annoying picture taking is all behind you and you can at least try to enjoy yourself. We went outside and walked around the deck... took a few pictures of the scenery, ourselves, people that we thought looked funny.. just whatever we felt like. Then we went to the next floor... or the glass floor and boy do I got something to say about that!
For those of you who have never been to the Tower they have something called the Glass Floor which is actually a really really cool idea. You walk out on to this part of the floor which is all glass and see through so you're looking down at the ground as you walk around. It's supposed to give the elusion of walking on air or freak people out or whatever. it's something different for everyone. Some people will go out and lay down on their stomachs to simulate a free fall, some sit on it, some just walk around, and others sneak up behind their nervous significant others and press down on their shoulders to try and freak them out. It's something different for all and it really is a great idea.... if you weren't allowing retards up there.
In some people there seems to be a mentality of "I wonder what the stupidest thing I could do right here would be...". Well that of course is to jump on the glass floor and try and break it.
Don't get me wrong because I don't for a second think that the CN Tower and the engineerers that designed this thing didn't take that into consideration and design it to withstand more weight and force then this group of human beings could put on it so it's not a nerves thing and thinking it will break. It's an annoyance thing.
There's nothing more irritating than walking on this thing and trying to take pictures or talk then having kids jump and stomp on it all around you. Scratch that... yes there is something more annoying and that would be the teenagers and young adults doing it. What baffles me even more is WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN? If SOMEHOW you do break it you're going to fall like a kilometer out of the sky on to some guy's hood and your'e not gonna feel like stomping anywhere. I mean it's not like it will shatter and you'll go "yup, i did it" it will be more like you die and your friends will go "yup, he's an idiot."
Like I said, it's not going to break but I just don't understand what you'd have to be thinking to try to jump as high as you can and land on it hoping to be the one true retard who finally breaks it.. cuz in the long run it's gonna be the one laughing.
So we walked around a bit more and when we had had enough of the decay of society all crammed in to one giant silo we decided to leave. Keep in mind that they have up elevators and down elevators meaning you go down in a different one you came up in. Guess where the down elevators let you out? Yup! right in the giftshop. How convenient right? Well sort of except that it's a bloody maze and unless you buy something you will never find the exit. To be fair... not EVERYTHING was wildly over price... just most of it. We did find a very nice CN tower stuff bear thing that wasn't heinously over priced that you could then take to the counter, pay for and THEN the people who work there and more than happy to show you where the exit is. (it's up the stairs around to the left of the elevators if you ever go!)
So, all in all it wasn't bad other than those select few who would like to dive a mile and a half to their death on Front Street below. Like I said, if you've never been it's worth it.... but if you've seen it I don't know why you'd wanna go back. Take a ladder on your roof if you just wanna say I was up high today.
Well here it is. Dec 6 and I'm finally getting around to writing something for you. First of all. Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a good holiday. I had a great Christmas and an even great week following that for a wide array of reasons... none of which are really any of your business.
On Saturday I went with "someone" to the CN Tower as they'd never been there before cuz they live out of town. I've been to this thing a bunch of times and happen to think after the first visit, it's a gigantic waste of time AND MONEY to ever go again but being the gentleman that I am I offered to take her, and pay.
Let me elaborate on why I think its such a waste of time. IT'S A BIG FREAKIN' POLL! You go up super high, look out the window, go "wow, that's pretty high. hyuck!" and go back down. Don't get me wrong. I think you gotta do it once if you're ever in T.O. but it's not something that you need to do again. I know people who go every time they come here... we're talking like 5 or 6 times a year. It's still just a big poll.
I went for the first time when I was probably around 8 or 9 or something with my Aunt and Uncle and I had a great time. It was really cool. You can see for a long way, check out the lights if you're up there at night and there's some other neat little displays. I loved it. I just don't see why you would want to do it more than once. Yet, since i have so many friends from out of town, I seem to end up there at least once a year. Anyway...
The line is absolutely insane which i'm not sure if I should be surprised about. It was a Saturday afternoon but it was towards the end of the holiday season so you wouldn't think there'd be that many tourists still around. And besides, what American consciously goes to 'ICE COLD" Canada in the winter. I got up to the counter and there are only two of us - myself and my "date". Now, they have an arcade and a theatre and lazer tag and shit and we weren't in to that. We just wanted the package that got you up to the observation deck and the lookout and glass floor and stuff. So that's the package she gave us... Without all that extra stuff IT STILL WAS CLOSE $100!!! Absolute craziness.
So you start walking through these different displays and stuff on your way over to the elevators as its all set up pretty nicely. I wasn't paying much attention since, as I said earlier, I've seen them all a bunch of times but she was taking them all in so it was alright. We round this corner and some preppy woman who works there yells "SMILE!" and FLASH!!! she fries our retinas with a picture we didn't ask for, agree to, or particularly want. I don't enjoy having my picture taken PERIOD. So I don't really enjoy having complete strangers take a picture of me to hang in the gift shop for me to go and BUY later. I brought a camera, thanks!
No matter how many times I go to the Tower, I always seem to enjoy the trip up... especially watching those who have never done it. You're travelling at about 55km per hour strait upwards and you can feel it the hole time. And I love the windy days (which this was) because the tower sways. I mean you're standing in a big giant rod pointed strait in to the air so the entire tower sways while you're in it a bit because of the wind. So you're going strait upwards at 55km/h and swaying and there's always one woman who looks like she's gonna throw up or scream or something.... and they're my entertainment for the trip.
So, I've been pretty cynical up until this point about the trip but once you're up there with someone who's never been there before.. it usually gets a bit better as you can tell they're enjoying it. The lines, the money, they annoying picture taking is all behind you and you can at least try to enjoy yourself. We went outside and walked around the deck... took a few pictures of the scenery, ourselves, people that we thought looked funny.. just whatever we felt like. Then we went to the next floor... or the glass floor and boy do I got something to say about that!
For those of you who have never been to the Tower they have something called the Glass Floor which is actually a really really cool idea. You walk out on to this part of the floor which is all glass and see through so you're looking down at the ground as you walk around. It's supposed to give the elusion of walking on air or freak people out or whatever. it's something different for everyone. Some people will go out and lay down on their stomachs to simulate a free fall, some sit on it, some just walk around, and others sneak up behind their nervous significant others and press down on their shoulders to try and freak them out. It's something different for all and it really is a great idea.... if you weren't allowing retards up there.
In some people there seems to be a mentality of "I wonder what the stupidest thing I could do right here would be...". Well that of course is to jump on the glass floor and try and break it.
Don't get me wrong because I don't for a second think that the CN Tower and the engineerers that designed this thing didn't take that into consideration and design it to withstand more weight and force then this group of human beings could put on it so it's not a nerves thing and thinking it will break. It's an annoyance thing.
There's nothing more irritating than walking on this thing and trying to take pictures or talk then having kids jump and stomp on it all around you. Scratch that... yes there is something more annoying and that would be the teenagers and young adults doing it. What baffles me even more is WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN? If SOMEHOW you do break it you're going to fall like a kilometer out of the sky on to some guy's hood and your'e not gonna feel like stomping anywhere. I mean it's not like it will shatter and you'll go "yup, i did it" it will be more like you die and your friends will go "yup, he's an idiot."
Like I said, it's not going to break but I just don't understand what you'd have to be thinking to try to jump as high as you can and land on it hoping to be the one true retard who finally breaks it.. cuz in the long run it's gonna be the one laughing.
So we walked around a bit more and when we had had enough of the decay of society all crammed in to one giant silo we decided to leave. Keep in mind that they have up elevators and down elevators meaning you go down in a different one you came up in. Guess where the down elevators let you out? Yup! right in the giftshop. How convenient right? Well sort of except that it's a bloody maze and unless you buy something you will never find the exit. To be fair... not EVERYTHING was wildly over price... just most of it. We did find a very nice CN tower stuff bear thing that wasn't heinously over priced that you could then take to the counter, pay for and THEN the people who work there and more than happy to show you where the exit is. (it's up the stairs around to the left of the elevators if you ever go!)
So, all in all it wasn't bad other than those select few who would like to dive a mile and a half to their death on Front Street below. Like I said, if you've never been it's worth it.... but if you've seen it I don't know why you'd wanna go back. Take a ladder on your roof if you just wanna say I was up high today.
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