Monday, June 27, 2005

So I'm Lazy... So What?

You've probably noticed the dearth of posts from your favourite rant-and-ravin' lunatic over the past few weeks. Let's face it - when you have as much deranged shit running through your brain like I have, it's very hard to get the time to put it down in an easily digestable, disposable format.

So, just to let you all know, I'm still very much alive and well and living the dream in Halifax.

Ant I also want to get this out of the way: a major league shout out to this year's NavRes Co-ordinated On-Job Training (C-OJT) course, serial 0501. Give it up for yourselves in your quest to be the most prepared, competant and able sailors in the Naval Reserve. You know who you are. I know where you live. And you bet that I'm watching over you. To all those attending serial 0502, I'll be there. And there will be no escape from the Dr.

And to the NCI OPs and NAV COMMs attending: be on your best behaviour, lest you incur the biblical Y-2-DRAY wrath.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Another Reason Why I love My French Heritage:
SOPHIE MARCEAU BUSTS OUT

Ever since I was a younger, dumber human being, Sophie Marceau was the hottest hottie around. America has Molly Ringwald. But the French teen queen had the looks.

Now nearing 40, Sophie is still hot. Fuck Isabelle Adjani... Mlle. Marceau is the shizzle, as the deranged fucks over at Big Boys could attest.

If only she could be mine... :(

Reason One Why I love My French Heritage

Loaded on Laphroig and some Spanish Absinthe (nastee muthafuckin stuff, dude), meet Mélissa Theuriau, France's sweetheart, courtesy of the madman over at Beautiful Atrocities.

I don't know if it's the single malt or the green fairy talking, but fuck, she's hot!

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

As The Roll Turns...

Look to the left side of the blog.

YOUR OTHER LEFT, WINGNUT!

Scroll down a bit and you will find my roll-call of blogs that I've visited (and strongly recommend viewing).

As you can see, this blogroll overflows with all these exotic places that I've been through since I started this racked in July '04.

Not all of them fall into my political line of thinking, but what the hell: they make as much of an impact as the so-called "right wing" blogs.

So I encourage you to check these guy out before they go out of fashion.

And if there are any "MIAs" in the bunch, let me know so I could add them in.

And if any of the links no longer exist, let me know so I could rectify the roll.

Cheers!

Saturday, June 04, 2005

The Perfect Mixes For My Alberta Premium and UK 5

Check out the link chez "Beautiful Atrocities".

I suspect that these "islami-colas" are a blast to drink and definitely something to lose your head for.

And most of the proceeds from their sale go to "charity", meaning that the companies are willing to make a killing from a good soda.

PS: they're also great for pork marinades (or so I heard).

Slainté Mhath!

Enough Love To Go Around.

After all the bills have been paid, after all the money have been stashed away for safekeeping, I'm down to my last $100 until the 15th.

Of course, when you're in a situation of personal financial recovery/rectification, you'd try to avoid getting yourself in a situation that might threaten your health, sanity, dignity, reputation and future.

After bad decisions, personal splurges for the sake of pleasure and the occasional necessary needed luxury, I find myself in bankruptcy.

Yes... I do feel humbled and a tad humiliated, but as someone with (in my own opinion) the world's worst attention deficit issue, it's something that I have to live with until my discharge.

Everyone gets bankrupt once in a while, whether it's because of poor financial planning, arrogance, confusion, an error in basic arithmatic, or a case of trying to beat the Joneses. In my case, with the possible exception of arrogance, it's a combination of all of the above. The plastic gets used and maxxed out, taxes get unpaid, food potions get smaller... these factor led me to seek advice from a bankruptcy trustee, who arranged a plan to satisfy the creditors while keeping me in line.

The credit card part is usually the toughest. Sadly, the internet and most of its products revolve around the use of virtual money in form of bank credit cards. Very few places accept online cheques or money tranfers from bank accounts. The credit card is one of the major forms of identification online, and since all of my cards have been cancelled, I could not register with any site or service without that piece of I.D.

Credit cards provide the illusion of wealth and prosperity for those who are either spontaneous, compulsive or impulsive. Sadly, like Anakin Skywalker trying to resist the offer of Godhood as a Sith Lord, I subconsiously let my guard down and went on a spree of material self-gratification. The card companies loved my dedication to paying the minimum amount, repaying the favour by raising the credit limit, from $2000 to $5000 to $7000 to $15000. But as my compulsiveness grew, so did the debt monster, and the burden became unbearable in the end.

Without being preachy (being forced to live in a glass house prevent me from tossing any stones), always think ahead and imagine all the worst-case-scenarios that could happen with credit and finances. Resist the urge to go to VLTs and casinos in hopes for a quick fix instant-millionaire solution to your woes - I've been there and done that, and I've kicked myself in the nads for all the trouble. Poverty may suck, but nothing sucks more than that of the self-inflicted kind.

So what else can I say? Here I am on a beautiful Halifax Saturday morning (if my Dad could see this - it's so beautiful...), at my computer (paid in full), enjoying bradband, basic cable and telephone service (paid in full), and typing this out. Unfortunately, my contract with the Navy will expire the end of August, and my mind has been working overtime trying to figure out the next great move. For all intents and purposes, I am staying in Halifax, not because I can't afford to move out, not because I don't like Toronto anymore (in spite of crime, pollution and terminal urban sprawl, I'll always be a Torontonian no matter where I go), but because I love Halifax. I love Nova Scotia. I love the Maritimes in spite of fucked up weather, iffy job prospects, political skullduggery, fledgling variety of services and bad drivers and raods (especially in Nova Scotia - be very careful going through the Young-Windsor intersection in Halifax: it's a doozy). The people are good here, the seafood always fresh, and history and Celtic culture permeates the air. I went through too much trouble getting here, getting my driver's licence, learning the streets and terrain and understanding the services to actually want to leave this place. Maybe when things get much better in my existence, I might want to move somewhere else, but for the here-and-now, Nova Scotia is "Home".

Shabbat Shalom.