Ban Billboards!

Currently there is a controversy in the city of North Vancouver about the erection of advertising Billboards in a scenic area.

The land is owned by the aboriginal Squamish Nation and the laws state that they can place billboards on their land, overriding restrictions placed on the rest of society and local bylaws.

The absurdity of that situation is fodder for another post.

I don't like billboards for two reasons:

Obviously they are unsightly and deface any natural scene that may have otherwise been in view.

They are a safety hazard. The whole point of the Billboard on the roadside is to distract a driver and make his eyes leave the road. Can anyone deny that purpose?

Here in Kelowna we have pretty much the same issue, although the damage has been done. In approaching Kelowna from the west, as you approach our Beautiful Okanagan Lake, the driver is met with a plethora of ugly advertising on these huge monstrosities. A not so nice first impression for tourists.

The land is owned by the Westbank People and, as aboriginals, they are of course immune from the laws that govern the rest of us in these cases.

I've always found it ironic that the same people who claim to "respect the land" are the same ones to deface it for the sake of a few dollars.

I hope the local people of North Vancouver are successful in convincing their local aboriginals to think twice about erecting the signs.

Doing so does more damage then just blotting out the trees and mountains. It also puts another wedge in the relations between the two cultures.

Canucks Prevail !!

After the first period I had my doubts. Right off the bat, a stupid penalty by Morrison and I thought, "oh no, here we go".

But the Canucks did what they had to do.

1) They penetrated to the front of the net.
2) They played a disciplined game and it was Dallas that couldn't stay out of the box.
3) The Sedins woke up.

Luongo's great save against Stu Barnes late in the first will remain a highlight for years, depending on how far the Canucks go.
It's the stuff that creates legends.

This was a psychologically tough series for the Canucks, one that will help them in the upcoming physically tough series with the Anaheim Ducks.

Movie Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this movie having read how inferior it was from the 1974 original (which I have not seen).

But I found The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be a very good film.

First, the cinematography was excellent. The overall look of the film, done in sort of a high contrast greeney darkness was very appealing. The use of shadows and sun rays and unexpected angles added to the intensiveness of the film.

Thankfully the obligatory dumb music score was omitted. Why do filmmakers feel the need for music when there is clearly no orchestra in the scene?

The acting was outstanding (I'm not being sarcastic). Sheriff Hoyt, wonderfully played by R. Lee Ermey sets a new standard for the stereotypical creepy southern law enforcer.

Jessica Biel did a great job of being scared shiteless.

Mike Vogel was extremely well hung.

Together, Biel and Erica Leerhsen expose two of the finest midriffs ever seen on film. Really sweet to look at. Who says Horror can't be pretty?

This was a good finger biter, well acted and exceptionally filmed.

Recommended!

Canucks Update: Goaltenders Getting Too Much Credit

Dallas/Vancouver Series Tied 3 Games Each

Yeah yeah I know its a low scoring series, but how many good scoring chances are there? Not Many. Obviously Turco and Luongo are playing pretty well, that's what they are paid to do.

So they haven't let in too many "softees", does that make them outstanding? No, it means they are doing their jobs.

Neither Goalie is standing on his head keeping his team in the game. The fact is that these are two super defensively minded teams and as such there is little penetration to the front of the net and no room the get a good clear shot.

Make that NO penetration by the Canucks. They are screwed tomorrow night unless they are prepared to pay the price to get in front of Turco.

To be honest, Dallas has been the better team (with the help of the referees).

The Canucks will only win tomorrow if:

1) They stay out of the penalty box
2) They shoot at every chance they get
3) The Sedins wake up.

I think my hockey season ends tomorrow.

Censorship Raises it Ugly Head Again

A decision by NBC News to air clips from a grim video the network received from the Virginia Tech killer has left the victims' families outraged

And so many news media like the CBC have chosen to cave to this and refuse to show video clips of Cho Seung-Hui tirades.

Since when does public opinion dictate the news? News is news whether you like it or not. If you don't like what you see on the news, turn it off!

This is just another example of a kind of Censorship flourishing in our Western, so called Free, Society.

Thankfully the CTV Network here in Canada has a more enlightened view:

"At CTV News, we believe that censorship is a last resort," Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, told The Canadian Press.

"It's not our job to make a judgement whether it . . . might be bad or it might be good. Our job is to present to Canadians newsworthy materials."

Political Correctness has gotten so out of hand that News Media are worried that the public won't like the News they present. And so they censor it.

The news media also feels that they have the balance tragedy with Fluff. So they have the most boring kinds of "Human Interest" stories, designed to make you feel good and less depressed about the real news.

Friends, reality sometimes sucks. But it is real and has to be dealt with. Isn't it important to find out what made Cho Seung-Hui's scattered mind tick? So we can recognise this kind of behaviour and deal with it in the future?

Why are we censoring the things we need most to know?

People who get offended are those that choose to be offended because it satiates some creepy need they have.

Don't let them control your awareness of the world's events.

The Lunatic Fringe Will Always Be With Us

There is no doubt that what happened at Virginia Tech on Monday was horrific and shocking.

There are now and will be all kinds of repercussions of how this could have been prevented and how we can prevent further occurrences of this kind.

There will be calls for more security and metal detectors and personality screenings and all kinds of other threats to our civil rights.

The Fear Mongers will have a field day with this one.

I say let it go and move on.

There will always be nut cases that allow their fantasies to control their reality and unleash their rage on others. Every once or twice or thrice a decade one of these freaks of human nature breaks loose and causes Havoc.

It's just the way it is, one can only hope that one is not in their path when that happens.

There is no way to control it, no way to prevent it. It's one of the costs of living.

We don't need more security and we sure don't need any more fear. We just have to move on knowing that, for sure, there will be another similar incident occurring in another few years.

We Need a "Free Speech" Rating

You know how, for movies, for music and even video games we have ratings for age appropriateness or at least to give a warning about what one might expect from the media being watched or listened to or played.

There is PG, R, NC17, G, A, etc. What we need now is an "FS" rating meaning, of course, Free Speech.

So people can say what they want and what they think without fear of repercussion.

Don Imus was fired recently for stating his view (regardless of what you think of it) about a certain woman's Basketball Team. Don Imus was employed by CBS, part of the huge General Electric Corporation and one that depends on other Corporations to advertise with them. And when the advertisers don't like what they see or hear, they censor the product.

Since CBS employed Don Imus, they had every right to fire him, especially if he overstepped the guidelines which I am sure had been stated for his program.

If Don Imus' program was rated FS maybe the outcome of all this would have been different.

I don't have any issue with the statement Don Imus made because his opinion means nothing to me, I have no regard for it. I honestly don't care what he says. But that's me.

I do have an issue with Censorship which, to me, is the most diabolical crime that is currently infiltrating our society, aided by the right wing lunatics currently leading many western nations.

I think people should be allowed to say whatever they want. So someone chooses to be offended, so what? That's their problem.

How is it that Jay Leno can insinuate the worst deeds and insult almost everyone but, because its "comedy" he can get away with it. Why? Because everyone knows its comedy.

There used to be and maybe there still is "Speaker's Corner" in London's Hyde Park. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this a platform for free speech? Isn't that where anyone could say pretty much anything without punishment?

What happened to that ideal?

What we need is television and radio networks that are rated FS. So a free society can really call themselves free.

Where Are They Now

Martin Schultchen and Gary Olson, 1985, Summerland, B.C.

Every so often in your life you come across some very influential people. The two people pictures above are a couple of those.

I first met Martin Schultchen in September of 1979 when I started a job as a Manager Trainee in the Woolco Store on McLeod Mall in Calgary, Alberta.

Martin was a very uninhibited and outspoken individual with a wickedly sharp sense of humour. A lot of people found him to be a bit, or a lot, over the top as they say.

Martin and I did a lot of partying togethar in those days. Drinking buddies, yeah you could say that. Martin was my best man at my wedding. His wife, Jane felt I was a bad influence on him. My wife, Marie felt the same about Marty.

Whenever we got togethar, the music got loud and the beer kept flowing.

But if there is one thing I remember about Marty is this: He was and still is one of the most intelligent people I've met, with the keenest insights on the happenings of society and the world in general. He always had something interesting to say.

Gary Olson also worked for the same company as myself and Martin, that being Kinney Shoe Inc. He became my boss in summer of 1981 I believe. He had a remarkable resemblance to the singer/songwriter, Phil Collins.

Gary had the sharpest mind I've ever come across, you couldn't put anything past him. Like Martin, he always had what, to me, seemed to be the most accurate take on any situation. Like the truth is always there for him, as plain as the nose on your face. He was never boring.

Neither of these guys were what you would call "nice" people. It's been my experience that the "nicer" someone is, the more boring they become.

Both Gary and Martin had two things in common: an unusual level of insight/intelligence and always something interesting to say.

There are a lot of ways to abuse people and boring them is one of the worst. I don't care if a person is "nice' or not, just please be interesting.

Thanks to Gary and Marty for always being interesting, I hope you still are to this day.

No Surprise, Haley is History

Haley was eliminated from American Idol last night for two reasons. Her hair and her make-up.

Her performance on Tuesday night wasn't that bad but her hair was awful and the make-up person must have been on drugs. Haley doesn't need much make-up but they ladelled it on with a trowel for some reason.

She was never gonna make it all the way but she was nice to have around for a while.

My money is still on Blake.

Westside Road Trip

Yesterday I took the opportunity of enjoying a glorious spring day with my 1994 5.0 Litre Mustang GT Convertible (topless of course) and the twisty Westside Road, which travels north/south on the west side of Lake Okanagan between Kelowna and Vernon, British Columbia.

I mounted a Canon SD600 digital camera to my passenger side visor and set it to Movie Mode.

These clips are for the sole purpose of showing you the beauty of this side of the Okanagan Valley and are in no way supposed to display any kind of dangerous or illegal driving.

In truth I have driven this road much more aggressively in the past but for legal reasons I tried to keep within the speed boundaries while still having fun.

I've driven this road literally dozens of times. Anyone not used to this road should use extreme caution.

Map

Due to the limited upload allowances, I chopped the video, which was a total of about 12 minutes into 5 separate clips.

Scrap Good Friday

We are supposed to be a secular society. If that's the case then why are we celebrating the purely Christian event, Good Friday, as a statutory holiday?

I am not a Christian and this particular day means nothing to me other than it gives me a stat holiday that Friday.

I'm all for stat holidays for one reason: it gives me a day off with pay.

Instead why not make the Monday the statutory holiday (it isn't in British Columbia) and just call it Spring Day.

For most Canadians, the coming of spring is the most pleasant time of year when the cold winds stop blowing, the birds start chirping and the flowers start blooming. Best of all we can look forward to at least 6 months of pleasant weather.

Now that is something to celebrate!

Vimy Ridge

This week marks some kind of anniversary of the First World War Battle of Vimy Ridge where young Canadian soldiers "made their mark" at the art of war.

All week long we've been hearing of the glory and bravery of these Canadians, who all on their own won a decisive battle against a considerable foe.

Now wait a second. I thought the days of glorifying war were gone? But that's exactly whats been happening this last week, especially by the CBC.

Let get things straight. WWI was the greatest and most useless slaughter of human life EVER, and I'm including WWII. This war was basically a game of one-upmanship played by the Kaiser and his Royal Cousins.

Millions were slaughtered for the sake of a few kilometers of land and for no real purpose. The Battles of the Somme, Ypres and Verdun are forever a disgrace on the human race.

Bravery? How about Stupidity? Naive, very scared young men ordered out of the trenches to face certain death in the path of machine gun fire. A turkey shoot.

They are saying that Vimy Ridge defined Canada as a nation throughout the world. Sorry but I don't want my country connected with nonsensical battles, or defined by same.

This anniversary of Vimy Ridge (over 3000 Canadians were killed) should be an anniversary of the disgust of Purposeless Conflict, not Glorifying a Useless Battle.

I can recall viewing the late British/American journalist Alistair Cooke stating, as he introduced a television episode of Upstairs, Downstairs: (I paraphrase) "If the British and German public knew, if they had any idea, of the conditions and carnage occurring on the front lines of the Western Europe War, they would have risen up in revolt and toppled their respective governments."

He made this statement with a tear rising in his eye.

There were two outcomes of the First World War:

1) Millions of dead for no reason.
2) A humiliated Germany fueled for revenge.

Nothing else.

Whew...Close Call for Haley

Once again Haley Scarnato was on the bubble and, Thank the Good Lord, she survived!

Haley is the only reason I continue to watch this MOST BORING of American Idols. There isn't one of them that has displayed any kind of uniqueness or, for that matter, any genuine talent.

Only Haley's physical presentation keeps me looking forward to each week. Please Lord, keep her around for a while.

Speaking of Haley, I was watching a CNN recap of the show where a couple of Die Hard fans mentions that Haley is keeping all the Teenage Boys drooling, or words to that affect. "Teenage Boys"? Hello! Any red blooded male up to and maybe even over the age of 80 would experience delight at the visage of Haley.

Teenage Boys have not cornered the market on "Schwinnnngggggg".

Ok, so I've written nothing but fluff the last few posts. Bear with me. Spring has sprung and with it my muse has gone hibernating. He'll come back with a vengeance I'm sure.

I Don't Understand The Lottery Mentality

First, I don't buy lottery tickets. Even at $2.00 a pop I think it's a waste of money.

However, my wife does, and if she should happen to win I would gladly help her spend the money.

But at odds of 14 million to one, you might as well toss your Toonie in the Lake and make a wish.

As of this date the jackpot stands at $38,000,000 for the Lotto 649, the major Lotttery in British Columbia and, I assume, in Canada.

This is the thing I just don't get. If no one wins the weekly or twice weekly prize (whatever it is) the money collected gets added to the pot.

There is still one top prize, if you have 5 numbers or 4 numbers, the winnings aren't too great.

Your odds of winning are just as slim: 14 million to one.

Why not make 38 separate winners of $1,000,000 each? It seems to me that would be a much better incentive to buy lottery tickets than the current one.

I certainly would be more inclined to purchase a ticket if I had odds of winning that were 38 times better than the current odds.

But no, the Lottery Marketers have researched the lottery buying customers and they want the Big Money, even though they have no chance of winning it.

I think it's crazy. Whether I win 38 million or 1 million I am going to be a very happy camper. Are we so greedy that 1 million dollars is not good enough?

It just confirms in my mind that 95% of the human race has a serious lack of common sense.

The Sweetest Car Ever

The two pictures above are from an Auto Show I went to in May of 2004 in Peachland, BC, just outside of Kelowna.

It's a Studebaker Avanti, I'm not sure what year it is. But, to my mind, it's the prettiest, most attractive uniquely styled automobile ever made.

I would love to own one. More information.