... It's That Time of Year Again...



SEE ALL THAT BLUE?! THAT MEANS ITS COLD!



Winter. The time of snow, runny noses, and Christmas. For me, it is the time of a perpetual sickness. I have never not been sick during the winter months. We're not just talking runny noses, here. Anyhow, winter is fast approaching (even though, at the moment, we are still locked within the dreaded messenger of winter, so eloquently called 'autumn' or, if you're a rebel, 'swinter'). Swinter has been good to us here "North of the place wherein there are places wherein the weather is never cold! Like California!" I think people in other countries call it Canada, I don't know. Does it ring any bells?

In Canada the winters are largely unforgiving for people like me. The people to whom I complain could attest to this. I'm a complainer, I'm not going to lie. I don't just grin and bear it, people will hear about it. I harbor an uncanny detestation for the winter months. For the most part.

Christmas time is a wonderful time of year. I don't have school, so I usually just don't leave the warm confines of my house. I have a fireplace, so why would I? Sledding is a once a year occurrence in my household (mostly because the kids are generally too old to care, but aside from that, we are just lazy and partial to warmth). We go, we fall on our behinds for a couple hours, and then we leave. I'm not saying it isn't fun (god knows it is), but, being the germ-ridden disease monkey of the winter that I am, I tend to regret it.

As a whole, I find winter (and the latter half of its predecessor) to be wholly unfortunate.

Why is this a thing...?

Also, not that I'm making fun of it or anything, but the acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder is S.A.D. It's not quite within the same context of my feelings towards winter, but still, I find myself sympathizing.

Take me, Take me to the Riot. Then Let Me Stay

So, very recently, in the province that I call home, a few laws were struck down, and the consequence was something to the effect of... oh, I don't know... how about DECRIMINALIZING PROSTITUTION!

Now, I cannot say that I am particularly well-versed in regards to this particular subject... so I'm just going to rant. I don't do this very often, however, so bear with me.

I shall create somewhat of an ill-educated pro/con scenario for you.

Pros

• It will be safer for both the prostitutes and the Johns in that they will both be required to have been tested.
• Pimps will cease to be necessary.
• Girls would be doing it more for money than for drugs.
• Money is completely dependent upon work and offers a chance for great monetary success.

Cons

• More people would feel that they should prostitute.
• It is "safer," but that doesn't mean that it's entirely "safe."

SO. There you have my opinion. My honest-to-goodness, uneducated, opinion. Now that I look back on it, it wasn't much of a rant. More of a semi-organized queue of thought.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Some people are just SO classy...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is cancer not a serious topic? I thought so.

After having shaved her head, plucked her eyelashes and eyebrows, and had a benign tumour removed from one of her breasts, Ashley Anne Kirilow, 23, began to tell people - both friends and strangers alike - that she had multiple forms of terminal cancer. She also brought out the "big guns" with things like having been "orphaned by abusive drug-addict parents" and "only had months to live." Kirilow even got tattoos to show off her fabricated disease, with phrases like "WONT QUIT" and "LOVE LIFE," not to mention the winged "Believe" across her chest.

She blames it on her parents, from whom she is now estranged. She says she wanted the attention. Well, she got it when she made her court appearance and pleaded guilty.

It's funny (not funny "ha-ha") that she is being sued under charges of fraud for $5,000, when she profited over $9,000. Should she not have to give the difference back as well? I certainly think so, but nobody who donated money asked for receipt. So, I guess that was their fault, but still. Because of the nature of her crime, one can understand why nobody would think twice about donating money, thinking it would go towards a good cause. After all, what kind of monster pretends to have a life-threatening illness that affects so many people and their families? Apparently, this one does.

But she doesn’t look like a monster. Which might lead  one to wonder "Why?" She could not possibly only want to get back at her old meanie-pants parents. What did she use the money for? She didn’t donate it. Surely there has to be more to it. But that was all a part or her plan, wasn't it? To endear people to her?

Long story short, this sickening display of self-absorbedness disgusts me.

All We Wanna Do Is Eat Your Brains

We're not unreasonable, I mean no ones gonna eat your eyes.

Zombies, zombies everywhere!

So -- on the coat-tails of the recent popularity of our favorite apocalypse inducing, flesh-eating, and alltogether frightening, friendly neighborhood zombies -- comes the television show to beat all television shows (for the vast majority of halloween night primetime T.V., anyhow). "The Walking Dead" is the newest installment in the world of the zombocalyptic franchise. Long story short (courtesy of http://splashpage.mtv.com/tag/the-walking-dead/):

Some time after suffering an injury during an intense shootout, police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) awakens from a coma only to find himself trapped in a new nightmare. The world he remembers is gone, replaced by a bleak wasteland filled to the brim with a flesh-eating horde of undead monsters.

The shell-shocked Rick forces himself to pull it together as he searches for his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs), but as he soon realizes, hope is a rare commodity in this post-apocalyptic landscape.

Sounds good, huh? Possibly a metaphor for modern society? Naah. I watched this marvel of a show, chock full of "oh shit, zombie horde!" moments, and, somewhow, wasn't in a state of perpetual deja vu. Maybe it was the black guy living next door, mowing down zombies from his bedroom with a scoped hunting rifle. That, or the zombie in a tank. Either way, it's a pretty cool show.

On another zombie related note: I was a zombie for halloween and scared a gaggle of infant trick-or-treaters. Just saying.

This Miner-Rescue Has Been Been Brought to You By... Oakley Sunglasses

When the sunlight threatens to sear your eyes after over two months underground, Oakleys is the only brand to trust. Nice slogan, yes? I think so.



Chilean miners sport their 180 dollar sunglasses.

 It has become aparrent that Oakley sunglasses, while proving to be very useful in that they come in very handy when making the transition from pitch blackness to the sinlit overworld, manage to make a miracle look trashy. Shameless marketing ploys should not be making headlines the way that they are. Sure, Oakley sunglasses are great for rescue purposes. Sure, millions of people are now going to go out and buy millions of dollars worth of sunglasses to shield their eyes from harmful UV rays. And the publicity, forty-one million dollars worth of publicity, was, in the end, virtually nothing out of their pocket in comparison.

But. But but but but. It was planned. A marketing ploy. Not that It's hurting anyone, really. I just feel like as if it takes away the goodwill of the gesture to a certain degree.

I honestly have abslutely no clue what to think. Was it simply an act of goodwill? Or was it a self-important act conducted by a corperation that, by definition, resembles the makeup of a psychopath? The latter seems to be far more likely, but the former is what I would like to believe.

... Also, since I neglected to put a song as the title of the blog (as per usual), I have taken the time and effort to provide you with an interchangeable song as the title. Just block out the current one, with your thumb or index finger, then use your imagination.

ahem...

Try to find a light on somewhere, I'm finding I'm falling in love with the dark over here.

See the look on my face, from staying too long in one place.

So, it's activity day, again, at my high school and, as it turns out, my grade has been excluded... again.

Rock climbing, bowling, laser tag, yoga, martial arts and kickboxing... frankly, its kind of frustrating that we are being denied this. Maybe it's because they think since we have proms and grad trips that "make up for it?" Well, if thats the case, they (whoever "they" are) are stupid. We're paying for it, anyhow. Whatever we do in terms of extra-curriculars is paid for by us. This is rediculous.

Topic courtesy of my journalism class. I'll post something more interesting soon. I promise...

Curiosity, The Young And The Free, There For All To See...

So, there has been some recent (fairly recent, anyhow) speculation on whether or not teens are aware of the lesser-known dangers of public domains, such as the facebook, and the myspace. And, of course, The Twitter. The "Three Thes," as a generation of concerned parents so lovingly call them (If they don't, I think that they should).

I think and article I read recently called "Are we too paranoid about Facebook?" said it best. There are certainly reasons for which we should be worreid about privacy and websites of that ilk, but we have the means with which to avoid the flow of information that is readily available to the general populace. It really is as simple as a quick browsing of your privacy settings.

These sites, I believe, are a good -- if not wonderful -- place for social intearction. Albeit, not necessarily social interaction of the live, person-to-person variety, but social interaction nonetheless. In fact, facebook and its, well, I'll call them "cohorts" for now, have, in some adverse parental-unit mind-destroying kind of way, brought the world together.

All photos courtesy of the sites with which they are associated (i.e: Facebook.com, myspace.com, and twitter.com.)

Could a Body Close the Mind Out and Stitch a Seam Across the Eye?

A Dozen Writing Tips

This is stupid. Helpful, yes, but stupid. Assignment done.

I have effectively managed to put this off for a whole two days. But now, its crunch time, I guess, and I'm writing this from the school library the day in which this post is due. Yes, boys and girls, this blog is the product of a JOURNALISM CLASS. Cue ominous "dun, dun, dun!"

So, up until the day that I am no longer bound by the requirements of said course... This blog belongs to, well, me... But the flow of information is likely to be limited, and of a different ilk than the likes of which I would prefer...

Woohoo.

Goodbye.

P.S: If you would like a more in-depth explanation in regards to what it is, exactly, that I dislike about this particular assignment than what I would care to write here, please visit my friend Girl With One Eye...

When the dog days are over, we shall watch things on VCRs.

Picture courtesy of Florenceandthemachine.net

Hello, this is your conscience speaking. And I'm here to tell you... "The British are coming!" But don't head for the hills!

That's right, boys and girls. Its another British Invasion! Featuring popular bands such as "Florence and The Machine" and "The XX", this new wave of Brits seem to rock a more "indie" vibe. With songs such as "Dog Days are Over", which was featured on the soundtrack of the newly released movie "Eat.Pray.Love" and performed-- in quite the exquisite fashion, I must say-- at the MTV Video Music Awards last night, Florence is definitely making her mark. As well as  The XX, who boast various songs featured on popular television shows such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "Gossip Girl", It seems that the British invasion is only another chart-topper away.

Courtesy of interviewmagazine.com/music/the-xx/

So, in light of the aforementioned British Invasion, I would suggest you do not fight it. Just let it happen. I already have my Florence tickets, My fellow Blogger 'The Girl With One Eye' is going with me. You should get yours, too...










Sources: Time Magazines "A new British invasion?- Five British Indie Bands to Watch"