Greatest Country In the World?

I'm sad for an American who thinks they live in a great country, or even a decent country. The only time you would be a better country is if you were compared to a country less than first world. I have nothing against American citizens, but I do have a problem when they are taught to believe in fallacies, and when they are taught to take pride in something deplorable. The fact is, as an everyday person your life would be so much better in ANY other first world country, and it almost makes me sick that a lot of Americans don't know this. Your country is adamant on keeping you fat and stupid while they take everything from you. And they can and will continue to do this because it is them who keep you uneducated enough to be able to sing "land of the free" when, compared to others, you are far from free. America would be great to live in if you are rich. But what if something happens to you? Even just getting pregnant could ruin you financially for the rest of your life. You are always going to be stupider than others if you don't independently educate yourself on the vast amount of subjects the American education system won't teach you. (i.e. simple geography) The thing I hate the most about the American system is that they have all the funds, power and means necessary to make their country the best, as they claim, and yet they don't. They continue to poverize their citizens, they tax you on your money winnings? How is that even fair in the least? They send your children to go die in unnecessary wars, and then try and convince you that they are doing some kind of service to their country when they are not. They have damaged all relationships with other nations and everyone is just itching for them to show the right amount of venerability to take them down. China is already pretty much there. You have too many people who are technically in poverty for you to say you treat your citizens decently. How much does it cost you to break a leg? Get a stitch? Even just go to get a check-up? What other country could deny a person visibly in need because their paper work doesn't check out? You brag that you have the best Universities, but how many average American citizens could even qualify to get in? Not many. Most of all, even the most proud Americans wouldn't be able to justify the poor treatment and services they receive, and I feel for you. If I were American I wouldn't want to leave; I'd want to make it better. But there is only so much you can do with a country rich with corruption in their history. Canada has got it, France gets it, England, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, the list goes on and on. What do you think it would take for even the proudest American to give up and just decide to immigrate?

Sorry, That Degree's Expired

I'm 20 years old, I've graduated high school. I want to go to college, and I will, but I have no idea what I want to do!
I know I'm not the only one, but I feel like such an idle loser for not already being in college when my friends are going into their third years while I haven't even applied. Is this normal? Why am I so scared to start school?
Right now, I want to go into Interior Design because it's fun, creative and I'm good at it. But I'm really good at putting together rooms on the Sims, but school requires me to draw everything, and I'm not a very practised artist. I feel like if I go to school before I heavily improve my drawing speed and quality, I'll just get run over by all these fantastic designers who have a one-up on me because they can draw.
Another weird reason why I'm putting off school; I'm scared of how much time out of my twenties it will take. I need at least 5 years to become a licenced Interior Designer, and by that time I want to start having a family. I feel like I'm gonna end up spending 4-7 years in school only to graduate, have kids and then stay at home. What's the point of getting a degree if you're not even sure if you want to start working until your kids are in school? Would it make my degree less relevant if I don't start my career until years and years after my graduation? It would, however, save time if I got my degree now, rather than waiting until later and having to spend more years not making money when there are kids at home. I'm just having a really hard time finding any information on whether or not there's an expiry date on an unused degree. I don't want to graduate and then be told by the time I'm ready to work that there have been a bunch of changes and my license to design is no longer eligible, and then I'll just have to go back to school anyways. I don't know whether or not I'll get any answer at all, but I'm just putting it out there. I'm sure there are others who are in the same situation as I am; there has to be! ...right?

Big is Dangerous

We all see the appeal of fast food; it’s fast, yummy and cheap. But what we don’t want (hopefully) is to get fat. Or so you’d think! Maybe I’m a little bias because I’ve never been overweight, but how can you let yourself get past the 300-pound mark without thinking, damn!? For most, being fat is a conscious decision, whether desired or not, and it’s usually their own fault, but for a lot it’s not, and there are a lot of cases where it is the parent over-feeding their child, who has no choice or say in the matter at all.

Apart from being teased because of your size, being fat has a lot more negatives that go with it. There’s the burden of being in constant pain because your body isn’t supposed to be lugging that much weight around all the time. You’re much more uncomfortable more often than others, and you begin to realize that you’re even getting too big to fit into the world around you. Now they have obese people who have to pay for two plane seats, because they can’t fit in one, and some airlines won’t let you fly at all if you’re too big. I have family members who are big enough to be considered obese, all the way to morbidly obese, so I know it’s much harder to get out of it than to get into it, but I really have a problem with people who defend being fat, and the way that people feel about addressing it.
Why is it that it’s far more acceptable to go up to a smoker and tell them smoking is bad for them and they should quit, but it’s not okay to go up to a fat person and say it’s bad for them, they should lose weight? I know it’s embarrassing to be called out on your size, sometimes downright hurtful, but in most cases you can’t deny that your concerned peers may have a point. The new Harry Potter theme park has a ride with a weight limit of just over 320 pounds, and they were getting complaints from people for not considering how this could hinder certain people’s experience. I’m sorry but, if you’re anything other than a sumo wrestler, you should NOT be over 320 pounds! Better yet, you shouldn’t be at theme parks going on rides if you’re fat enough to break it and put everyone else in danger. If you were that size, would you not be embarrassed? What the hell are they thinking, saying they should make things more morbidly obese friendly? Um, HELLO! It’s a lot less money and hardship for every normal sized person if you just lost weight. I mean, even a person considered fat would think being over 320 pounds is really pushing the limits of your health. Now, being overweight is the leading cause of deaths in North America, beating out smoking related deaths, and a scientific study concluded that being dangerously fat has the same health implications of smoking a pack a day.
I don’t have anything against fat people other than a disagreement with their choice of lifestyle, but I also know that a lot of fat people don’t want to be fat. What I can’t stand are the people that they allow to go on television saying, ‘big is beautiful.’ They wouldn’t allow people to go on talk shows saying smoking is cool in this day and age, so why can you promote being fat? And why aren’t these parents who are making their children fat getting in trouble? If you saw a mother buying her adolescent child a pack of cigarettes, would you not say something, or at least be utterly appalled? I truly believe it’s a form of child abuse and should be punishable by the law, however mild the penalty. Like, when you commit a crime due to anger and they make you go to anger management classes, you should have to go to an exercise and nutrition education class if you’re caught with an obese child. If I had the power to make it a law, I would have it so that children have to exercise at school enough for the fat kids to lose weight, and if the teacher notices that the child isn’t losing the weight they should be after a certain amount of time, they should be able to report the parents to the police. I mean, it’s the #1 killer in the continent! You are seriously killing your child, however slowly, but you are; there’s no other way to say it. You might as well blow a whole packs worth of cigarette smoke into the child’s room while they sleep. What is the point of having children if you’re going to negatively predetermine the rest of their lives? Shouldn’t you do everything in your power to make sure your child is happy, healthy and successful? Even employers don’t want to hire fat people because they assume they’re lazy. Is that fair to your child? I find it disgusting. You set them up so they have bad eating habits, and then they’re very distressed through their adulthood because they have to lose weight, and a lot of them can’t! Trust me, I’ve seen it, and it’s not fair. So, I think they should really address the dangers of being overweight a lot more, and if it takes making theme parks with weight limits to motivate people, than so be. Caving in and making things “fat-friendly” is just promoting the idea that it’s okay to be fat when it really isn’t.

Burning Books

The Dove World Outreach Center, based in Gainesville, Fla., announced plans to burn copies of the Qur’an on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Obviously, this triggered protests and hundreds of Afghans rallied against the United States and called for President Obama’s death. Although the church was denied a permit to host a bonfire, they’ve vowed to proceed with the burning, and are distributing shirts around with the caption: ‘Islam is of the Devil’

I almost feel like I can leave it at that; I don’t even need to comment on the absolute stupidity of these people. One point I want to make is that it is completely idiotic and arrogant to believe that the terrorist attacks were due to religious beliefs, but it’s a whole other level of stupidity to think that everyone associated with the Qur’an are associated with terrorism.
Like the group of teachers who burned Harry Potter books and later admitted to never reading any of the books, these ‘God-fearing’ believers are just embarrassing themselves with rash actions due to lack of knowledge. How about we look at Christianity the way they are looking at the Muslim religion. How many serial killers claim to be doing the work of God? How many lunatics are adamant on their ability to talk to God? In that way, how many irreversible crimes have been committed in the name of God? How many wars throughout history started over religious clashes? If you took a tally of how many crimes were in the name of God in America, and how many crimes were in the name of Allah in America, than for every one Qur’an burnt, one million Bibles should be set ablaze as well.
The fact is, after the terrorist attacks, guess who was doing a lot more terrorising in supposed “revenge”? CHRISTIANS. There were more terrorist attacks than ever, and the victims were always Muslim. What kind of idiot thinks that way? Well, they read this book and believed it and so do you, therefore you should be held accountable for their crimes. Not only that, we will forever suspect you of terrorising us, so just to be sure, we’ll keep terrorising you before that can happen. Not only does this solve nothing, it prolongs the issue and angers people into going against you when they otherwise wouldn’t have. If this is supposed to be a statement, what kind of statement is it? I’m pretty sure the Bible says that only God can judge, and I think that applies when you openly claim an entire religion to be of the Devil. Does it mean those who seek a higher power are evil if that higher power isn’t the same as yours? Does it make everyone look at your religion and see you are just as capable of hate and prejudice, but even worse since you stoop to that level after claiming it happened to you? When was the last time ‘an eye for an eye’ was ever appropriate to use, especially when you bring in members of the community to participate? Honestly, I don’t agree with the Qur’an, and I don’t agree with what some people do in the name of Allah. But I also don’t agree with the Bible, that tells us to have slaves and to stone our disobedient children, and I don’t even need examples when I say I don’t agree with the crimes committed in the name of God. I don’t believe that the solution is simply a matter of switching to the right religion as much as I believe that religion itself is probably the most destructive thing that has ever happened to mankind. And after they burn those Qur’ans, do they think it isn’t just adding fuel to the fire? Do they think that they aren’t advertising a war to go on some more, instead of using their brains and being the bigger person? It’s thinking like this that keeps wars going, that keeps people dying, promotes segregation, and keeps intelligent people like me angry everyday they read the news.

Raging Hormones

Isn’t it weird how greatly our raging hormones can take hold of us and spiral us down a path we never would have approached had we been in our right mind? I find it extremely interesting, especially since I’ve been a victim of my hormones on many different occasions. Right now, I think I’m going through a stage that’s just confusing the shit out of me. For over a month now, all I can think of are babies. For no reason, just one day I got infatuated with the idea of a cute little baby.
I don’t want a baby, not now at least. I already have a dog and even he would be impossible for me to take care of if my boyfriend wasn’t co-parenting, which I guess goes for babies too. Actually, there is no doubt in my mind that I am completely not ready to even think of having babies for at least another couple of years. But, that hasn’t stopped my obsession. All of a sudden, I’m noticing babies everywhere, and I can’t even stop myself from cooing at their cuteness. I’ve never felt this way before, it’s like my logical brain completely shuts down for a moment, that I’ve actually been having internal fights with myself. I’ll be thinking of babies, and then all the sudden I switch on and go, “What the hell are you thinking? Are you crazy?” in which I respond, “Probably.” It got so bad that one month my period was late I was secretly wishing that I was pregnant, even though I knew I couldn’t be! I wasted money on pregnancy tests even, pretending that I’m devastated when really, I was hoping by some miracle it’d come out positive and my excuse would just be, “whoops, guess we have to have a baby now!” I’ve been trying to figure out what it means; is it because my body is at its most fertile? Is it because I’m in a steady relationship and my mind is automatically jumping to the next step? I’m not sure, but I’m not succumbing to it. It also made me realise, maybe I’m not the only one. Maybe that’s why some people too young find becoming a mom attractive, and actually go through with the pregnancy until they give birth and realise…shit. 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have become my new favourite shows throughout this whole weird ordeal, and I made a point to watch every single episode, as well as go searching for any other baby related entertainment. I guess it gives me the baby fix I yearn for without actually having to give birth. It’s the weirdest thing because I realise how weird it is, but I can’t stop. I feel like I need to be around a baby or just hug a baby or something. Ah, the bane of being a female. Of course, I can’t wait to have children, but I want to be able to support them fully, not bring them into my living paycheck-to-paycheck life. I feel sort of frustrated that I’m wasting time thinking of babies that won’t come any time soon, but at the same time, it gives me that time to think and plan and make a logical decision instead of just…getting pregnant. So, my solution to the problem was to buy a notebook, and devote it too all of my baby thoughts. If I ever begin to think of them, I bring it out and write it down. It works! I’m happy to say, my obsession has subsided to just a stage of my life I’ll be excited for when the time comes, and my boyfriend is very relieved I’ve stopped planning our future children.

Atheists Aren't What You Think

I never considered myself a religion, but I also never considered myself an Atheist until just recently, basically because I thought being an Atheist meant you didn’t believe in a God. I always knew I didn’t believe in God, but I was not bold enough to say there is nothing like even a magnetic outside force or spirit - simply because I don’t know. That was the thing that always made me shun religion; I didn’t know, but what I did know, was that they didn’t know either. Being an Atheist, to me, just means that I recognize everything you tell me to believe in has no validity. Until you can prove to me something’s true, I won’t believe it. And if I can effectively find evidence to contradict your every claim, I’m not convinced.
As a child, I was baptised as a Protestant –Christian and I went to church on Sundays regularly for about five years. God and Jesus were basically never brought up in the house, so I only heard of them through church. This could be why I thought it was totally ridiculous, but now I think I was just a smart kid. I would always find it funny when adults spoke of Jesus like fact, such as “Jesus loves you”, and as a little kid I thought, why are these adults talking about a story character like he’s real? I found it to be almost lunacy, but I knew if I sang “This Land Is My Land” I’d get cupcakes at the end. So, I went along with it, just trying not to laugh at the stupidity of it all. I know now that my mom also doesn’t believe in the Bible, so we weren’t in church long. We stopped going before I started grade school, and religion never came up, really, until I talked my mom into letting me go to a Catholic high school, just so I could be with friends. What an eye-opener. I’ve heard of crazy-devotes, and I’d see the apparent “healers” on T.V., but I never knew how subtly but strongly this religion dictated everyone’s lives. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone when I heard them say during the morning announcements, “Remember, it’s a sin to have sex before marriage. You will go to hell.” And I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time when we had to spend our Religion classes filling out sheets with questions like, “I know Jesus loves me because…?” I mean, I was sixteen! To me, this wasn’t education at all; it was a joke. We had school masses that I efficiently skipped, so religion just stayed a vague joke to me, until I had to study the bible. That was when I got a real shock. The first thing I remember thinking was: people actually believe this? Maybe it was because I was forced into it, but I became a smart-mouth that bought up gaps in everything. And, it’s hard to respect your teacher when you know that on the subject she’s teaching, you are vastly more informed. So, I began to challenge everything. I don’t know the entire Bible word for word, scripture by scripture, but I know enough to know I will NEVER follow any religion, just because I have more common sense than that. I’m a happy, good person. I don’t hurt people or steal things, and guess what? I’ve learned nothing through the Bible and God other than being able to separate fact from fiction, and I can say confidently that the Bible is most definitely fiction. All you have to do is read it, which I’m surprised to say, not a lot of Christians or Catholics do, and just knowing certain phrases by heart doesn’t count. If you were even minimally educated, you would recognize that. I don’t disagree with going to church and having a sense of community, or even praying if you really believe in it, but to read the Bible and from that say its contents are true, you have to be one hell of an idiot.

Wow, You're From Africa?

I’ve wanted to do an article on this for a while, but felt if I wasn’t careful, I might come off as a bit…racist. But I can assure you I’m no racist as I’m extremely mixed with black as well as various European backgrounds, so if you saw me you’d see… I’m not white; just wanted to make that clear before I go into what I wanna say.

African-American is a term I very much disagree with. Obviously, I don’t disagree that you can come from Africa into America, but it’s never really used like that, is it? Now, African-American is what black Americans want to be called, because apparently saying they’re black is offensive. Really? Saying someone is black is just as offensive as saying someone is white. It’s not completely accurate, but sometimes can’t be helped. Even in police reports, when they describe a sought-after criminal, the terms they use are white and black! Why? Because it’s the easiest way, other than light-skinned or dark-skinned, but that too can be confusing because sometimes light-skinned means a lighter shade of black. What’s so wrong with saying black and white when we know now that it’s just a way to describe physical features and not to belittle a group of certain people because of their skin colour. It can be used to do so, but why would you get offended if you overheard me saying you’re black or have dark-skin, in appropriate context, if you do? Do you want to be white? Or purple? I don’t get it.

But even though I disagree with some people’s sensitivity, I wouldn’t mind so much if they came up with an alternative that was actually accurate. You can’t say you’re African-American if you haven’t actually come from Africa in you lifetime. If that were so, EVERYBODY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD would have to call themselves African-American or African-Italian or even African-Chinese, because the entire human race came from Africa. Maybe not in their lifetimes, but their ancestors did, without a doubt. So what makes you so different that you can call yourselves something so inaccurate and have people refer to you as such because it’s “proper”? I’m sorry to say this, but it just makes you and all the people who go along and label themselves as African-Americans look stupid, and to someone who DOES have black family members, it’s insulting! If I were America, I’d be much, much more offended, which is what I don’t understand. The term African-American was adopted because it refers to the black people who were taken from Africa and brought into the States as slaves. The same people who fought their whole lives for freedom and equality. To be an American equal to all the white Americans, right? So they could go to their schools, and their stores and churchs and not be treated differently because of the colour of their skin, but just to be treated as an American. If you were born and raised in the United States and refer to yourself as African-American, shame on you! Trust me, if your ancestors were alive to see it, they’d say the same thing! It’s almost like you want to be set back to those times, like you want to keep bringing up slavery as a way white people “oppress” you. The thing I hate to hear the most is “it’s because I’m black.” I think that is total bullshit if I’ve ever heard of bullshit. Greatness knows no colour. People are people. Stereotypes make no sense until you provoke them. I do not understand how the States can be the most behind with accepting diversity and progressing out of racism out of all the first world countries, when they were the first to have immigrants! How can there still be segregation there when there are almost as many black people as there are whites, and in a lot of states, the black people greatly outnumber white people. I think until the so-called African-Americans can get off their high horse and realize they deserve to be called Americans as much as a lighter-skinned citizens, they’ll never progress and, whether they see it or not, they will be the ones advertising to everyone else that they are lesser Americans, and will continue to insult all the black people in the States who aren’t eligible to get on the Maury show.

Dracula

So, I just finished Dracula after MONTHS of "reading" it. I thought I'd never do it! I am so relieved that I finished it, but I wasn't quite satisfied by the ending. Doesn't that suck; when a book spends its entirety on building up to an inevitable, huge climax, but in the end they resolve the whole issue in about two sentences? I had even grown tired of the book because the whole detective, plan making stage was too long! Maybe because it started off so well, but then went backwards and slow until the end... - but I can't say it wasn't a good read. Just not effortless.

At the beginning it's exactly what you want it to be when you're reading a book about a vampire. The main character is on his way to Transylvania, all the villagers he passes in his carriage are praying and making cross symbols the closer he gets to the Count's castle, the works! They even throw in the name Count Dracula so early and casually that you're seized with expectation. This guy's gonna be bad-ass, right?? So, he gets there, and by he, I mean Jonathan Harker is his name, and the Count offers him dinner but the Count won't eat with him, and the Count disappears throughout the whole day. The whole book is in diary accounts of various people, so it's Jonathan's account of the whole thing, and the whole time he's being all sceptical, pointing out all these known vampire-like things. So reading it I was like, "Run boy! He a vampire, can't you see that!", and with every oddity he detected I yearned for the him guess at his true identity in the next sentence. Then the most exciting part happened. For me. Jonathan was looking out at the mountains from a window when he sees a lower level window and notices the Count inside it. Since the Count is always mysterious and creepy to Jon already, he spies on him and sees the Count go to the window and open it. Then, the Count climbs out the window and scurries down the stone wall and into a hole, like a lizard. I thought it was so cool cause I knew in the end they were gonna go after him and he would then display more awesome things that vampires do and maybe even make vampires cool again for me. (Just kidding, Dracula doesn't deserve to get compared to some(one) of the heinous adaptations.)

Things I learned about vampires:
1. Once they get bitten, they don't automatically become a vampire. They actually only become a vampire once they die, and the process of dying is only fast if the vampire repeatedly comes back to his victim, draining the victim's blood again and again. If they're bitten just once, they may not ever become a vampire, but will just have some vague, vampire like symptoms like sharp canine teeth, pale skin and allergies to all things holy.

2. I learned that vampires can control the wolves! I guess that's what the whole Vampires vs. Lycans thing was about. Slavery! It also says he can control the "meaner" things, like the rat, the owl (that's what it says!), the bat, the moth, the fox and the wolves.

3. Vampires can turn into mist and develop mist around them and manipulate it however they choose. And they can turn into bats, but I already knew that. They can control all weather, like thunder, rain, wind. If a vampire is ever hiding on your boat, you should become suspicious if your way is perfectly smooth and storm-free.

4. My sister was telling me I should watch True Blood, and I watched the first few episodes, and I noticed the vampire in it said that vampires couldn't enter the home of a mortal unless they're formally invited inside. But in the book, Dracula had come in to their house and bitten their ladies, numerous times. But, if you've read the story, when Dracula came into the house, he had been communicating to the lunatic downstairs! So I think he was bribing him with salvation and all that, to get him to enter the building when it suited him! So I guess vampires can't appear at the end of your bed in the night unless you've told them to be there. (May not apply if vampire is a stalker and is adamant about watching the mortal sleep.)

5. I learned that Vampires retain a trait of how they were when they were bitten. For example, one of the girls got bitten while she was daydreaming, so when she was a vampire she did it all subconsciously, and was never an alert intelligent vampire. But the Count must have been bitten on a clear mind for he was very smart and perceptive, but that was because he was very old. When you turn into a vampire, you are basically born again, and you are a simple minded vampire baby. But the older you are, the more consciousness you grow, but it's never to the amount as a regular person. You will still do things repetitively, almost zombie-like.

Things I didn't like about the book:
Well, I don't know if I can call it slow, but it was a slow read for me. I just didn't find that I could read too much of it at one time. Also, it was very religious to the point where it was stupid. Like when they had nothing to say: 'Well, it's in God's hands," or, 'God's Will," I read lots of old books, and obviously back in the day theology-like principles were a lot more relevant but, you could tell this writer was a believer. When the characters would have short entries about the progress of their loved one who was bitten, they'd always just say, "Well it's all up to God," which I understand, but they show hardly any real concern for one another before they leave it all to God. It's just like, "Oh well, it's the way it's supposed to be," meanwhile they're hunting down Dracula because he's an abomination! I thought that was a little hypocritical. I mean, we'll understand if you just say you wanna kill him for killing your fiance, you don't have to bring God into it. I'm sure he never personally told you Dracula wasn't meant to exist, or else why would Dracula be on Earth? For centuries longer than you have?
And the book was extremely sexist. Even though they all loved this woman who got bitten, and they all praised her in their diary entries, it was always in a sexist way! They'll be like, "she is fine, for a woman, because she has the brain of a man," And that's only because she has more interests than cooking and sewing! She's still as girlie as they come! And whenever they talked about hunting Dracula, they'd say they can't tell her details because she is a woman and she hasn't the nerves to take it. Even she is like, oh take me with you, even though I'm just a "poor weak woman." Yeah, I put quotation marks because those are the exact words she uses. And all the men are super macho praising, male chauvinists. So, they're discussing what they'll do when they come across the traveling box the vampire is laying in, and Dr. Van Helsing is saying they have to be careful because if anyone sees, they'll think they're committing a real murder. Here, I have the exact quote: '"I shall not wait for any opportunity," said Quincey. "When I see the box I shall open it and destroy the monster, though there were a thousand men looking on, and if I am to be wiped out for it the next moment!"
"Good boy!" said Dr. Van Helsing. "Brave boy. Quincey is all man, God bless him for it."
Van Helsing was the one who was preaching they DON'T do that, but I guess a good display of manliness can always sway him.

All in all, I'd say it's a must read, but knowing about vampire and having expectations kinda lets you down, so take it with a grain of salt. Oh, and one more neat fact, I learned where the saying, "Don't' cry over spilt milk" came from. Or at least, the way they used to say it in the 1890's. Here's the quote from the book.
"'Oh that we had known it before!' he said, 'for then we might have reached him in time to save poor Lucy. However, "the milk that is spilt cries not out afterwards" as you say. We shall not think of that.'"

Flashing Cameras Click!

Imagine you were getting up and you've realized you're late for work. So you hustle and bustle to get out the door and when you do; there are 10-20 people with cameras all stationed around your car taking pictures of you. And once you fight your way through them and drive away, they get in their cars and follow you. You work a hard eight hours, and come back home exhausted, only to find your front door blocked with a group of people's flashes going off in your face while they scream your name relentlessly over and over. Okay, you're not a celebrity, so this probably isn't a problem for you, but is that even an excuse?

Is it just me or are paparazzi really frightening? When I was in middle school we had a man who was caught in the bushes taking pictures of the students during recess. He was arrested, obviously. But, he wasn't doing anything paparazzi don't do every day. We see videos of people like Lindsay Lohan coming home from a night out, and we say, "OMG! What's that powder stuff coming from her feet?" All I can think is, "OMG! Why the FUCK is someone taking pictures of her at like, 3am, and why the FUCK should I or anyone else care?" I really don't understand this obsession we as a society have towards celebrities. Yes, they are phenomenal liars and entertainers; why should that be so celebrated? I'm pretty sure, back in the day, those were called Jesters.

I mean, if we were to look at it like that, then shouldn't celebrities be beneath us? I mean, their jobs are to entertain us! I should be able to go up to a celebrity and say, "Hey you, make me laugh!" before asking for an autograph. The way we idolize these people is actually sickening. We can convince ourselves that they are prettier, buffer, thinner or fatter that they really are, if it's what it takes for us to treat them like Gods. Who the fuck cares about Katie Holmes!?! What, she had a baby? I see fucking 20 new mothers a day on the subway. Should I be taking pictures of them and their toddlers to post on the internet and comment on their outfits? Should anyone be able to take a picture of anyone they don't know without their permission? Just because they are at a certain point in their career, doesn't make it ok. If I was taking pictures of a woman outside her house, got caught and said, "But she's the CEO of my favorite company!" do you think that's ok?
How come as soon as someone gets famous, we all take it upon ourselves to criticize them? Are they losing weight? Are they gay? Do they love chicken more than fish? Umm, do you not remember who these people were in high school?? We never showed any interest in the Drama Club kids! Is that not exactly what actors do? Arn't 95% of the guys in Drama Club gay? Why do we seem to think the Brad Pitt looking metrosexual celebrity is straight and obviously wants to be with you after you tell him you've watched his movie 25 times a month? Pathetic.

There are SO many people worth spending attention to in this world, who may actually do something other than memorize lines. Scientists, activists even just people suffering from every day problems. Maybe if people took more time to learn and talk to people they can relate to, we wouldn't have countries that can kill they own citizens or deprive them of health care. I think it's time we focus on the courses of our own lives in our own society instead of watching people get paid to talk about whether or not a star got plastic surgery. WHO CARES???? We only live once, and sorry to break it to you, but the world we live in now is FAR from perfect. In fact, we might as well be destroying ourselves. How will life be for our children, or our grandchildren? Wouldn't you rather them be working towards a better future than sitting at home watching Extra while reading Us magazine? Sure, we all need to be entertained, and thinking of the woes of the world all the time is undesirable, but come on! Take that time to learn a new skill, or read a book or just think! There's no way that one day Britney Spears will one day say a statement that solves the all the problems of the world. These people aren't even inspiring! I love movies just as much as the next, but all this Star Watching shit is a huge waste of time. Don't do it. Life is full of so much! Why waste it on a pretty face?

A Question of Freedom

This is a letter submitted by Ms. Bell to a local paper:

A head scarf should pose no threat to anyone. Those who force women to wear it are those who should be punished, not the woman who wear the hijab as a part of their faith. I agree that everyone should have their face visible government ID and such, but when simply going for a walk, there should be no restrictions on what anyone can wear. If one law abolishes the viel, that is only the beginning of the invasion of human rights. This is not only a response to the new French law, but also a message to those who wish to see this law imposed in Canada. I am Canadian. I was born in Ottawa and was brought up in Canadian culture. I am a Muslim convert (me:!!!!!WHY!!!???) and, as such, I see both sides of the argument. I wear the hijab proudly as a symbol of my faith. Many people see the viel as a way to control women. They argue that we live in a modern society where women are free. That is true and for that I am grateful, but if we force woman to take off their hijab or niqab (me: or burka!), are we not as bad as those who force it upon them?

So that's the letter I came across this morning. Do you agree? Here are some reasons why I don't.
Okay, I understand her whole "freedom of choice" argument, and I agree that everyone should be allowed to wear what they want outside the workplace or government office, but I don't think it's the actual head scarf that is being examined; it's the message. Here's a scenario. A man is walking down the street in a gray T-shirt. Totally fine. But the T-shirt says, "All females are bitches." Then I don't really think it's okay. He's not breaking the law or anything, but a lot of people would be offended enough to want to make him take that shirt off and never wear it again.

Wearing scarfs on your head isn't only a Muslim thing, and has never been a problem. We don't give the old lady with a scarf to keep her curls in a stink eye because she's covering her hair. It is simply an issue of morals and equality. Maybe if we didn't know that if a Muslim woman is caught without her head dress on she can legally be stoned to death or shot, then we might not have such an opinion about it. The swastika was a very popular and used symbol, but put it up today and what is the first thing you'll think of?

Personally, I disagree with any kind of choice to follow any kind of religion at all, but I understand that others can't seem to live their own lives without a Karan or Bible, so it's impossible for someone like me to be like, "Forget about it, religion is stupid and hypocritical anyway!" and expect everyone to go along. The hijab is a symbol of their religion, and many Muslim woman would argue that they wear it for God, not their husbands! (But they do like to avoid the inevitable beating they'll get sans head gear.) But, and this was VERY recently, a teenage girl was MURDERED by her brother and father for not wanting to wear the hijab anymore in Toronto. So, no longer is this a question of choice, but of immense and dangerous pressure being put on the females of this religion. So, as much as we'd all love to think the woman in the burka walking down the street isn't living in constant fear from the men of her family, there's a much bigger chance that he is compared to a woman in a sundress. The burka and the hijab will never be seen to us as something harmless as long as we're educated on it's influence. And personally, I find it just as offense, if not more, than an "Every woman is a bitch" shirt.

Twilight vs. Harry Potter: Part Two

Don't you love it when something forces you to have such a strong opinion, and you can't help but think about it all the time? Whenever anyone preaches the opposite of one of my relentless views I always feel sorry that they are so stupid, blind and wrong. But not everything makes me feel so protective of my reasoning and logic, and although most of the subjects I am persistent on are sometimes dark or hateful, I still love feeling so unyielding towards it. I love to debate and I love to rant (obviously), so I love it when I find something that satisfies my hate in every single way and makes me positive that every negative point I have against it are justified. One of these things is the series called Twilight. I read those four published atrocities, and have since witnessed the rise in it's popularity, but it seemed like I was the only one left confused. Have these people ever read Jane Austen? Charles Dickens? Margaret Atwood? Mark Twain? Can they not see what a disgrace Twilight is to the creative stages literature has been through? That is the difference between Twilight and Harry Potter: good writing.

Only an idiot could read Twilight and love it. Stephen King, who's published over 50 books and has received countless awards for his work, had this to say of the comparison between J.K. Rowling and Stinky Mormon, "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good." And it is so true. The plot has so much potential, but miraculously seems to flop in every single way. Oh VAMPIRES? Cool! But they're vegetarian, they sparkle and they go to a regular high school...oh. BUT WAIT! Enemy vampires!!!!??!! Oh, but when they come they are either drawn off by a force field, or Bella just faints and when she wakes up, all gone! So a regular girl falls in love with a vampire??? AWESOME!!! Oh...the girl is totally dependent and has no personality, just like all the other characters due to the stupid author who can't creative write for shit and therefore doesn't know how to develop characters at all. Damn. Twilight is SUCH a disappointment in ALL ways. (P.S. You know a book is shit when it doesn't challenge your vocabulary ONCE or even a little bit. This is a person who majored in the English language? I DON'T THINK SO! (oh, wait...she studied in the States. Right.))

In Harry Potter, it's funny if you reread them from the beginning and see how young Harry and pals acted, and how much they have developed and matured with each year. In Twilight, it doesn't matter how much Bella ends up being with the Cullen family, after reading four books I still couldn't tell you any key points to any of their personalities. Esme? The mom? And she talks. Carlisle? I think he was supposed to be some badass that used to be in the Volturi, but I couldn't tell you any of his traits if you pointed a gun at my face. He's a doctor, but he's a vampire. That's as deep as that goes, so I guess you can assume he's nice? Emmett? He makes a joke or two sometimes. Favorite things? Hobbies? General air and presence? NO IDEA! Rosalie? Nope. Alice? Annoying because she's supposed to have a personality but when you're a loser all your life its hard to write a free, happy-go-lucky character if you've never had a friend or a conversation with relatable ways. So, she talks alot to Bella? I need some help, cause I'm starting to realize ALL of them have no personalities and are generally the same concept with minor changes in the words that they say.

Just give me ONE character from Harry Potter, and I can go on about them forever. Okay, here's an example. Ron Weasley. He's poor, comes from a big, old wizarding family. He has 6 other siblings and because of that often feels overlooked. He's also best friends with Harry, so I guess that doesn't really help, given Harry's the most famous wizard of modern times. He hates spiders, he loves Quidditch and his favorite team is The Chudley Cannons. He had a pet rat which was a hand me down from his brother Percy. He's jealous, sometimes obnoxious and big mouthed. He's witty but quick tempered. Hes' also a good brother, since he's protective of Ginny, but also, as I mentioned, jealous and quick to judge. His favorite foods are bacon and sausage. He's got red hair, freckles and a long nose (unlike in the movie). I can name all of his family members, along with his first cousins, grandparents and distant cousins, but just saying that proves enough. He wants to be an Auror when he grows up, like Harry, but if he had never met Harry and had to have all those magical adventures, I think he'd like to be a pro Quidditch player (Seeker).

Bella. She used to live in Tuscan with her mom, but left cause her mom was moving with her boyfriend. She doesn't like to exercise, respect her dad or make any friends. She likes guys who are white and good looking. She is ready to drop everything in her life after realizing a hot guy likes her after....a week? If Edward leaves she can go 3 months doing nothing at all. She wants to be a vampire because Edward is, and then they can be together forever! Her favorite hobbies are trying to convince Edward to have sex with her. In her spare time she likes to take care of her baby. She dislikes any mention of anything relatively considered intimate. I do not know if she has any cousins, grandparents or an ounce of personality. If you do, please inform me, for I haven't read Twilight as much as Harry Potter, strictly because I find it cruel and unusual punishment to put myself through that again.

Twilight pales in comparison to Harry Potter in every way. Twilight is also a fantasy novel, but everything to it's settings, it's rules of Vampirism and all it's characters are underdeveloped and even contradicting at times. So, the general quality of the book is far less than Harry Potter, and almost every other published novel for that matter. The difference between Harry Potter readers and Twilight readers is intelligence. Because Twilight was written by a STUPID person, it appeals to people with stupidity of equal or greater quantity. (Which, unfortunately, far surpasses the amount of intelligent people in the world, which is why a book as poorly written as Twilight can get so big. It's also why a person like George W. Bush can be elected president.)
The reason I name these articles Twilight vs. Harry Potter, and not Harry Potter vs. Twilight, is because Harry Potter is on such a higher level than Twilight, that it needs not be compared with Twilight, but it is Twilight that has to be compared to it.

P.s. Just incase you read this and think I'm another Twilight hater just trying to push Harry Potter, it's not true. I went into the series expecting good things, and was incredibly dissapointed. I read all the time and have read lots of classics as well as modern novels. I've never read anything as badly written as Twilight, and I've read HUNDREDS of novels.

F*** the Police

This weekend in Toronto, the G20 summit took place to chaotic response. It had been built up forever; $1 billion dollars spent on security and fake lakes for the 20 leaders to schmooze in front. For days before there were cop cars lining every street and a security guard on every corner. There were even an abundance of cameras that were popping up along main streets like Yonge. You'd think the cops would be prepared for the worst, because the worst happened.

Needless to say, even before the G20 began there were thousands of people up in arms! No one agreed with the amount of money put into one weekend for 20 rich leaders, nor did they agree with the location. Why hold such an event in such a congested and hectic city? These are the people who turned down the Olympic games in Toronto because they saw it as just an obstacle that kept them from getting to work on time. So why would the government go ahead and spend OUR money on something 9.9/10 people strongly disagree with? DEMOCRACY at it's finest. I've been reading the paper religiously throughout last week, and every single discussion or poll of the upcoming G20 summit were all negative. Ah, to live free.

So naturally, tens of thousands of people decided to get together in different ways to protest. There were marching and biking protesters all along the streets all weekend, some peaceful and some not. But I think one of the biggest symbols of disapproval was demonstrated the day before the summit was to begin: the town was deserted. If you've been to Toronto, or any big metropolis, you'd understand how extremely RARE that is. Not only did everyone disagree, but they were so fed up with what was to come that the majority of people decided on leaving town, myself included. Turns out that was a very smart choice. The protests that started peaceful were quickly tainted by the menaces who quickly threw on black clothing, dispersed from the group and started creating chaos. They smashed storefronts (mostly targeting bigger companies, especially Starbucks), grafettied the walls with slogans like "Class War", and set a total of four cop cars on fire. We watched the live feed of the cop cars burning with a crowd of people surrounded as the flames grew rapidly, but with one thing missing: no cops. No cops? Why were there no cops there when a car of THEIRS was engulfed in flames and making small explosions while citizens were in harms way? The reporter even commented, saying she didn't understand why there were no cops, if not just concerning the personal safety of the people they are "sworn to protect". Interesting how they can spend $1 BILLION on security and mere rioters can get ahold of 4 cops cars, all in DIFFERENT AREAS and douse them in flames.

But, of course, the cops weren't gonna let everyone think they weren't doing their jobs that entire Saturday. Nope, the next day they decided to take action! On Sunday there were major protests that were going on since the day before (yes, people protested the entire night). People young and old went marching carrying signs of Peace and Love, while another large group took to the streets on their bikes to protest. I guess in retaliation for their lost vehicles, the cops went ape shit, shooting gas into the screaming faces of protesters and grabbing random marchers and hauling their asses off to a detention centre. In one day the cops recklessly arrested 800 people. 800! One guy was sent in the detention centre for unknowingly taking a orange from a crate that belongs to the cops. The entire weekend, about 900 people were arrested. People were even arrested protesting outside the detention centre against people getting arrested for protesting. The weekend proved to be a FAIL! on all counts.

One, the peaceful protesters were snubbed, and the media and government alike, LOVED IT! Instead of the peaceful protesters getting any kind of message across, the news and the papers have all been entirely focused on the mayhem caused by, and I quote, "thugs". So, now Stephen Harper's big ass head has just swelled another two sizes, because now he can go around saying, "See, we DID need to spend $1 billion!" OR MAYBE IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN IN TORONTO IN THE FIRST PLACE! Now, not only do WE have to pay for that big $1 billion tab, we also have to fork it up to the city for repairs caused by the summit only because NO ONE WANTED IT.

Two, thanks to asshole, stupid-face Harper, Toronto is now seen as a dangerous, out of control place. America was even telling its citizens not to travel to Toronto because of the dangers. So, we lose money in tourism. Isn't that great after spending $1 billion? We use the same subway station and trains that were used in the 20's, and yet we are spending $1 billion dollars on ONE weekend, building fake lakes that are 6 inches deep and, therefore, completely useless.

And three, we've opened ourselves up to more crime. These crazy protesters that relentlessly went about damaging everything in their wake; most of them weren't even from Toronto! Apparently, those who were most against the G20, and happened to be violent by nature, got people from all over who are, you could say, professional protesters who use the Black Bloc tactic. I'm not gonna say that no Torontonians were at fault, but I think the summit did provoke them to seek outside, sinister help that maybe wasn't such a good idea. 450 people from Quebec took the bus over to Toronto to participate in the crimes, and only 125 of them returned since they all got BUSTED. They are a group of protesters known for being anti-capitalist, anti-state, and anti-authority, who think the Black Bloc way is a legitimate and affective way of protesting.

So, what has this G20 lead us to? Well, it's opened our eyes to how insignificant our voices can be, that the government would go ahead and spend our money on something we all disagree with (obviously!). But maybe it's also shown the government what kind of extreme lengths people will go to when they feel ignored and defied, and it's not over. People are outraged by the total disregard for safety and human rights the cops displayed this whole weekend, and they are protesting more outside all cop venues in the city. It is totally unnecessary for 900 people to have to go to court and be slapped with a criminal record because they were voicing their thoughts after police were pissed off at unrelated people who were actually a threat. Remember when they were explaining before that the security wouldn't get violent until protesters were displaying violence? Yeah, well apparently that meant if people were overly violent one day, so much so that cops went and huddled in a corner, anyone who was caught saying anything against the summit were part of the group of people who did the violence before and need to be beaten and handcuffed. Mostly, I hate cops. They are egotistic assholes who misuse their authoritative power to belittle and harass others. Little shit heads who probably got bullied/did the bullying in highschool and are making up for it in their adult life. That's why there are so many crooked cops who get into the drug business or just like beating the shit out of anyone if they can; they're FUCKING ASSHOLES.

So FUCK THE POLICE. Anywhere and everywhere. Whether you live in the formerly peaceful country of Canada, or the segregated country of America, the police have CONSTANTLY shown complete lack for human decency and rights. The best advice is to not join in all the madness, but if you feel strongly against something the government does, and you indeed will for SURE at one point in your life, you shouldn't have to fear that you're gonna get beaten, arrested or killed because you have an opinion. FUCK THE POLICE!

These Darn Whippersnappers!

Apparently people have been all in a buzz about the recent antics of a classy young lady by the name of Miley Cyrus. Miley is a Disney T.V. star who got famous playing Hannah Montana on that classic show we all know and love, Hannah Montana. Just like all the other Disney T.V. stars before her, she was absolutely riveting and obviously, when the show ended, it was only natural that she would continue to invade our lives with that angelic, soothing voice of hers. And, of course, make movies with her Dad, who is, I believe, ALMOST as talented as she. But that was before, because Miley doesn't even live with her Dad anymore! She's moved on to much bigger and older things! She is now in the process of revealing to the world just how sexually frustrated she was during her Disney times, and how now it all needs to come out in the open. On National T.V. In front of millions. Because, as a 17 year old girl who just discovered she likes penis, this is the smartest thing to do and she definitely won't regret it in a year or two.

First, she did a photo shoot where she showed her bare back (!) with just a sheet covering up the rest. I didn't think it was all that bad, I really didn't care. Because, honestly, I hate knowing about celebrities, and I try to give them the benefit of the doubt until it's impossible for me not to admit they're a douche. *cough*KanyeWest*cough* Then she started dressing sexy and made a video with her as a bird in a cage wearing lingerie. Again, I didn't care. I mean, yeah it's kinda weird that she's my youngest sister's age, so it kinda creeps me out thinking she's showing the goods to the kind of people that like 17 year old girls. Not good, but again, that's her prerogative. So, it was sort of mentioned in a conversation I was having where I was told that before she had released a bunch of "sexy" pictures of her in a bathing suit and other slinky things online, that she was dating a 20year old at the age of 15 and that she moved out of her parents house and is living with her boyfriend at 16. Again, in a normal world this would mean she would be a Senior in highschool.

I'm gonna admit, 17 wasn't long enough ago for me to forget how I was at 17, so I totally understand her behaviour. You are definitely confused and overly sexual around that age, of course, but there should be a filter that most people interpret as: their parents. Wouldn't your mom or dad just KILL you if you went on T.V. in less than a bathing suit singing about how all the guys give you "mad attention"? Even if they do...your parents! She's not even legal in Quebec!(18) And especially not in the States. And I know she's all hormoned out, but she was JUST a Disney star. You need some kind of calm before the storm! You can't go from having a kiddie line in Sears to flashing 80% of your vagina on award shows! And again, you're only appealing to people who like 17 year old girls! Everyone else thinks it's inappropriate and gross; why do it? You're not even getting positive feedback! Oh, but it's who she is now so leave her alone! HA! What a teen.

No one can say they didn't do stupid things at 17, but nobody was as stupid as Miley Cyrus to let the whole world see. If you're such a good actor, maybe you should try and act less like a douche, then maybe you'll realize that your new fan base will be just a bunch of balding, creepy middle-aged men.-->I had to include this picture! Look at the girl on the right of the stripper, she's thinking just like me. "Uhh...this is weird. Too far."

Online Sperm

A hospital in Washington D.C. has set up a website where their users can search through the donor's information so they can pick out that perfect sperm. Not only can they skip past all the ugo's and fatties, they can scrutinize what he likes to do in his spare time, his religion and even which kind of pets he prefers. I loved how at the intro of the article it optimistically pointed out, "Woman may not need to bother finding a husband soon." Do you think it's weird that the computer in the new 'go-to' spot to make a baby?

When I first read this, it kind of blew my mind. It's like super fast speed dating, where you don't even have to find out whether or not he's an asshole if he's hot enough. But I kind of disagree with some of the factors these wannabe mommy's are taking into consideration. For one; Religion. Does it really matter what religion he is; as if that's gonna pass on to your child? I highly doubt your baby is gonna come out praising Allah and you're gonna go - Ah, shoulda made sure he was a Christian! Isn't religion PURELY nurture related? Kids are actually very smart and insightful before their parents and society alike start to dumb them down.
Another quality this website lists is whether or not they like to help people, or do charity work; whether or not they're a good person. I know you probably wouldn't purchase the sperm of a known murderer or racist, but, again, aren't all those traits totally dependent on your upbringing? I mean, if you're a Jewish couple and you buy the sperm of a white supremacist, you think every Hanukkah he'd be bashing you and chanting, "White Power!"? Obviously not.

I mean, really, these kind of traits in a guy are only relevant if you're dating and/or planning on raising the child together! And that's certainly not the case if you're buying his sperm online. You should only be worried about what he looks like and his family's medical history. If he's a Mormon, you're child won't have to be. If he's an avid skier, your child could still hate skiing. And if he's Chinese...well, then you're kid will be half-Chinese.

I'm So Happy I Could KILL!

Why is it that whenever there are crazy raids and vandalism it's all people who are extremely happy? I always thought you were inticed to be violent because of anger, not pride. I didn't know looting and setting things on fire was a validating act of triumph. However, this is the case.

In New York every year, they have a popular Auto Show that ALWAYS ends with people getting shot in the streets. Why? Does seeing nice cars and models in bikinis anger people? Is it because they are men and are jealous they don't have a sweet ride? I mean, two sweet rides; the car and the girl? Are the citizens of New York just modernized cowboys? Shooting their guns in the air screaming, "Yee-haw! I just done and saw myself an Aston Martin!"

Sports fans! Oh, sports fans. They are sooo happy when their teams win. Like, genuinely happy, as if they themselves have accomplished something. And, of course, what do you do when you feel you've just made the greatest accomplishment? Break store windows and steal things, obviously! I thought looters were either desperate, bad or protesting. I guess going home from the bar after such a big win isn't that appealing. I'm so happy, I feel invincible! Let's steal some shit! ...I still don't get it. If anyone could explain this to me I'd appreciate it.

Seriously though, if someone came up to you and told you you just won $1 million, would you punch them in the face? Would you run to their house and steal their T.V.? Sometimes I believe if you're more of an intellectual, you will NEVER understand the things stupid people do. You just can't undermine your brain like that. It doesn't let you. Oh well. I tried.

Gay Pride

If you live in Toronto as I do, you'll notice there are alot more colours around lately. Rainbow colours. Yes, June marks the GAYest month of the year, where all the free lovers get together and throw lavish parties and parades that seem like all fun and games, but are laced with serious and important messages. Too long have homosexual men and woman been persecuted, and the fact that this is even still a tiny bit of an issue in 2010 makes me extremely sad. Anyone who knows me knows I am relentless in my defence and support of my beloved gays, and lucky for me, I get to work very closely with a large variety of them. I've heard every kind of slander that is geared towards gays, and also every stereotype, so I'm gonna try and clear up some misconceptions people may have, for the love of GAYS!

1. Gay guys are feminine and flamboyant
Yes, SOME gay guys are feminine, SOME gay guys are flamboyant, but MOST are NOT! Regardless of what people say about their trusty "Gay-dar" it is IMPOSSIBLE to spot a gay guy, or even determine that they're gay from one conversation. I know this may surprise you but, gay guys are just like us! They are very straight looking business men, lawyers, dentists..maybe even YOUR dentist! And some of these men I see everyday on a regular basis and wouldn't know they were gay without having to witness them kissing another man first. I know that there are a lot of gay who are obviously gay at first glance, but a lot more of them are much harder to read. I'm sure there's someone you know who's gay unbeknownst to you and unless they've got "I Love Cock" printed on their foreheads, you might never find out.

2. Gay guys are sluts
Gay guys are people. Some people are slutty, some are not. I know lots of married gay guys, lots of masculine gay guys and lots of slutty gay guys. Replace the words 'gay guy' with 'people'.

3. Being gay is a choice
If being gay was a choice, than all gay guys must be extremely stupid. Why would anyone choose a lifestyle that so many people criticize? And it's dangerous because of the crazy murderous people who, for some reason, take great personal offense to what other people do in their homes. Love is love. We are human and we love each other, regardless of their gender. Not all love is about sex. I could love a girl. Sex is just another aspect of love, so if I loved another girl, we'd make it work in the bedroom even if it isn't "ideal", because we love each other! But then again, sexual attractiveness plays a big part in any relationship, so you cannot CHOOSE to find someone attractive, or you're life would suck. I don't think all these gays have been fighting for so long over something they have the choice of changing.

Whatever you feel, know this: Gay people have been around as long as straight people. There were gays in the Holocaust, gays in Egypt and so on. It's not going away and it's inevitably part of our human way. As long as people live, gays will as well. So stop fighting it! Why does it matter if it doesn't appeal to you? Who you love or what you do sexually is the smallest factor of determining who you are. One Love.

(In the words of the lovely John Lennon)
Love is real, real is love,
Love is feeling, feeling love,
Love is wanting to be loved.
Love is touch, touch is love,
Love is reaching, reaching love,
Love is asking to be loved.
Love is you,
You and me,
Love is knowing,
We can be.
Love is free, free is love,
Love is living, living love,
Love is needing to be loved.

Good GOD! (A.K.A. New Moon)

Yesterday I started watching New Moon. Started, because I was finding it VERY difficult to continue watching the whole thing in one sitting. I know I'm one of the biggest Twilight haters, so you must be thinking, "Why would you even watch it?". Well, Twilight doesn't seem like it's going away, and since I've read all the books I might as well add the movies, even if it's just more fodder for me to rant. But, about 10 minutes into the movie, I regretted it. Not only was the acting beyond horrible, it made me feel crazier and crazier each minute that ANYONE could even REMOTELY enjoy this CRAP. So, as I analyzed each expression and word emitted by the most terrible two actors I have ever had the misfortune of watching, I began to realize something; I'm really lucky, and here's why. I can actually look at Bella and Edward's relationship and know, without a doubt, that that's not real love. And the only reason is because I AM in real love, and when you're in real love Twilight is a joke. But to any intelligent person, that's inevitably obvious. But this is about the first part of the movie I painfully sat through, so here's my two cents!

The movie starts with Bella dreaming she's as old as her grandmother due to the fact that today is her birthday and she turns one year older than Edward! Her dad gets her a sick pale pink digital camera and a photo book and she shows her lovely side by saying, "Thanks (I guess), it's actually kinda nice." Her dad jokes that she has a grey hair, so she runs to the mirror to check and is seriously peeved he even said that!
"Very funny Dad! (insert Kristen's signature heave)"
So, she goes to school and she says to her friends, "My mom wants me to take pictures and make a scrapbook thing." (Gee, isn't that lame? She can't even be like PICTURE! and pull out her camera, it has to be her stupid mom's idea)
Then Edward's car pulls in and her friends are like, Oh great, Edward's here so I guess that means we have to leave. And when they do, she just gazes dreamily at his big SUV (UPGRADE!) and watches him walk all slow motion-like towards her. Firstly, I actually laughed when he came out. What is up with his face?? He looks like a clown that forgot the red lipstick!
Anyways, they go inside and have the most awkward exchange ever caught on tape with Alice and Jasper, and I wonder how that got in the final print cause Kristin totally BOTCHES her line delivery. It doesn't even make sense but, in Twilight style, they just move on to the next scene. Let's see if she can fuck this one up too.
The next scene is them in class watching Romeo & Juliette, and everyone is TOTALLY into it, crying and all cause that's how highschool boys are. But, surprisingly, Kristen isn't the worst actor in the scene...it's ROB! He cannot even hold his head in a convincing manner! I know he's supposed to be a vampire, but he's so stiff and awkwardly posing continuously that it would be impossible for everyone at their highschool not to think he was some kind of freak. He recites Shakespeare and GOOD GOD is it HORRIBLE!!! You can just see the memorized words swimming in front of his eyes, and he starts having a blink seizure that people usually get when they're really nervous...on film. Like, he's an actor!!! If you can't say lines....? Not only that but...doesn't anyone notice that he's probably the first British actor I've seen that totally sucks at doing a western accent? I can hear him fucking it up and saying things wrong with a little British flair. He talks like he went to Little Italy and thought everyone talked like that, but then when he arrived on set and realized that they don't, he combined the two. Kristen displays her best acting I've seen yet when she's watching on as Rob stumbles through Shakespeare. Maybe because it required no emotion, and she didn't have to open her mouth. I was impressed.

I'm gonna go right to the scene when Edward tells Bella he's leaving her forever. This also surprised me and made me come to a conclusion: Rob is a worse actor than Kristin! (If that's even possible) And now, I'm thinking she might just be so bad cause she's being influenced by him. Cause once she starts hanging out with Jacob, she's not even bad! She's actually, dare I say it? NATURAL! Very surprising.
So, I only got the part when Bella and Jacob see them naked boys jumping off the cliff, but up to then Kristin unleashes her super attractive and intense exhale/heave thing about 7 times. Yeah, I counted.

The funniest part, I think, was when she's in the forest after Edward leaves and she falls. HAHA! The fall was just SO unconvincing, and while she's on the ground, it's like she almost forgot that she was supposed to still be acting? She lying there like she's supposed to be lying there, you know? Like someone said, Okay Kristin, you're supposed to be on the ground now, and she does it. She's fiddling with her hair and adjusting herself when she's supposed to be fainted. Wow. Just wow. And of course, the part where she goes to Edward, "It's still my birthday. Kiss me." OMG probably the worst acting fail of generations were displayed in those two words. Damn, she is so uncomfortable to watch my body actually started to ache and stiffen. And the fact that she's as equally uncomfortable in interviews in real life makes it even worse. Her "Bella" is just her! She is not acting at all. You know why? BECAUSE SHE CAN'T!

So, I will torture myself more tonight and attempt to watch some more of this atrocity. I really hope someone who loves Twilight reads this and tries to validate their reasons why Twilight is even decent. That would be awesome. Till then, I shall continue to review this movie, whether it takes me 3 or 4 times, I'm determined. I will not let our standards of talent fall so far without a fight!

Crazy Kids

What's with these crazy kids lately? In the news there have been all these stories about 16 year olds killing each other over their differences. One kid got shot in the face when he went to answer the door, and another was stabbed during a fight and died in the hospital. I'm just wondering, when did it go from schoolyard bullying to committing murder?

Obviously, we all had issues when we were 16, and most of us can say we've been in a fist fight or two, but guns? Knives? Do you ever remember kids in Grade 10 who had guns to play with? Remember how small we were at 16? Seriously, go step into a highschool now that you've been out for a while and revel at how small they are! It's soo sad that a petty fight at that age could end a child's life, for they are still legally children! But the more serious concern is not that a young kid with raging hormones can commit murder, but that he can get very effective tools to do so.
I know that as humans, we are sometimes find ourselves very conflicted. We could get into the hugest fight of our life over who ate the last piece of pie, and alot of us can't deny that we've uttered a statement like, "I'm going to kill you!" at one time, but that doesn't mean we would actually do it! So, don't you think it's more likely that a young person actually WOULD do it because of their general lack of knowledge and understanding of life? Do you think they consider the victim's family, or their future? Do you think they pre-meditate whether this enemy could be the future Prime Minister? Or a scientist? Surgeon? Or even just a loving father? Do you think it's fair for a 16 year old to determine the outcome of another person's life? It must be much too easy to obtain a gun if a highschool student is killing the kids he has a disagreement with. And, why do you think it even came to this? Since when are kids able to do something so serious and adult over any 16 year old issue???
Just to put in my two-cents, I completely, and always will, blame the parents. Of course, I'm not saying the parents are telling their kids to go out and kill, but they are obviously not instilling serious morals in their children if they are mentally healthy and able to kill another human being. Both of these kids also lived in bad Toronto areas, and I know nobody lives there if they don't have to. Presumably, their parents are not so prominent in their lives because they have to work an average of two jobs in that area. So, do you think a parents lack of presence can have serious affects on a child's mental state? Hell yes!
I don't care what you say, if you're child commits murder at 16, as a parent, you have completely and utterly FAILED!