Christ the King School to Give Credit for Being a Jerk

Oh good GAWD! Now what's going on.

I have little respect for people who stand outside of places that offer abortions with their "vigils" and such to show how much they care about fetuses and wish to show women who they do not know that they are awful for choosing to have an abortion, something that SHOULD be a woman's choice.

And, I have even less respect for Christ the King School of Winnipeg, Manitoba and their principal David Hood's brilliant idea of giving extra credit to school kids who attend anti-choice vigils like the Campaign Life Coalition's 40 Days for Life one being held in front of the Women's Hospital here in the city right now. Isn't this called bribery? "Hey, kid, if you go out there and make women feel guilty for having an abortion without bothering to find out the circumstances or the tough choices the women have had to make to get there, we'll give you extra credit! Whaddya say?"

You know what I say? Let's start holding vigils outside of Catholic Churches to recognize the thousands upon thousands of children globally who have been sexually abused by the Catholic Church. Or a vigil to people in Africa who have become HIV positive because the Pope, the good man he is, has condemned the use of condoms. We should also hold a vigil for aboriginal children who were beat, molested and died in boarding schools in Canada, some run by the Catholic Church. We should hold a vigil for members of the LGBT community who have taken their own lives partly because of a feeling of lack of acceptance, understanding and support, and the often extreme feelings of guilt and self loathing partly kept alive in our society because of wonderful organizations like the Catholic Church.

In other words, people of the Catholic Church, shut up. As long as you are involved with an organization that has brought so much horror and evil to the world, you have lost all legitimacy to speak out on practically any ethical issue. Go ahead with your little prayer vigils. You've already made your pact with the devil. You must get your own house in order. Otherwise, your theatrics are nothing more than that. And please, involving your children? Giving them school credit for taking part in these prayer vigils and saying that it is a community service? Talk about pushing the line ethically. And, to make things all that much more fun, although the school is a private school it does get public funding. I wonder what would happen if a secular school gave credit to students who attended pro-choice rallies? Hmmmmm.

Colour me unimpressed.

#occupywallstreet According to Pastor Bill

So, I made a comment on twitter basically asking why the #occupywallstreet hashtag was not "trending". Oh how I hate that term, but it seems to be the term to use. At that particular moment, twitter was telling me that Hockey Night in Canada's Don Cherry was "trending". I couldn't figure out how Don Cherry could be "trending", but not #occupwallstreet who had far more tweets. And then, poof, from out in the twitterverse, I got a response! It just said "Because people don't follow morons." It was a small statement that could easily be written off, until I saw who it came from. It was sent by Dr. William Livermore, pastor at Center Road Baptist Church. in West Seneca, New York, who goes with @pastorbill45. on twitter, and apparently is a HUGE fan of White Castle. In fact, one of my favourite posts on the wall of the Center Road Baptist Church Facebook page is this beauty from March 1st:

It has been 3 months since this page has been updated so i figured i should jump on and say something. White Castle sunday went very well with 4 visitors coming and 2 geting saved!! Whoever says Center Road is a loser church obviously doesnt like souls getting saved. We had 6 more visitors this past sunday as well. Keep going strong Center Road!!

They even have a White Castle Sunday where people can be saved...at White Castle! Wow, talk about convenient. Show up, order a big wack of tiny burgers and get saved all at the same time! Fantastic! It is fair to say that any church that caters to their fast food indulging flock so attentively could not possibly be a "loser church". Damn those people who don't like to see souls getting saved.

But, the more telling post from August 28th is what really got me:

A very thought provoking sermon by Pastor Livermore this morning. He asked the question ,"Can the world see Jesus in you?" Your testimony to the world can lead souls to Christ. Let Jesus shine in your life.

Well, that is very interesting and thought provoking Pastor Livermore. Now, tell me, what part of calling people morons helps people see the Jesus in you? As a man of the cloth (or White Castle napkin in this case), and the leader of the Center Road Baptist Church flock, I would assume that you would take the idea of having people see Jesus in you very seriously. Did Jesus go around calling people he disagreed with "morons"? Is this the Jesus in you, Pastor Livermore? Is this the Jesus we should all know? Is Jesus against Occupy Wall Street protesters? Does he see them as morons as well? Do you honestly think that calling people morons will help lead souls to Christ?? I hope that you revisit this very thought provoking sermon of yours and then take a close look at your own words and actions and see how you stack up. You wouldn't want people to think that Center Road Baptist Church is a loser church because of you now, would you?

Clark Stevenson and the "Where are the Parents?!" Question

It’s a pretty normal after something goes wrong in the world of kids and young adults to ask “Where are the parents!?” Is it a fair question to ask in the case of Clark “Clarky” Stevenson, the 15 year old boy who was stabbed so severely at 2:30am out in the streets of Winnipeg that he later died? Is it fair to ask why a 15 year old kid, and his young attackers were out roaming the streets of Winnipeg at such an ungodly hour? Where exactly were the parents? Did the parents know these kids were out, and what kind of mischief they were up to? Something has gone terribly wrong here, but what is it?

 According to an interview with the CBC “Jenna Wirch, a friend of Clark Stevenson's, said she believes a lack of funding for youth programs has failed him and other troubled young people.”? Sniff, sniff. Do you smell that? You’re right. It does appear to be the smell of a scape goat! It is fair to say that Clarke lived in a rough ‘hood. Are community programs important? Yes. Is a 15 year old kid not being out on the streets at night important? Yes! Can a program keep a kid at home late at night so he isn’t roaming the streets getting stabbed? Good question, no? So, how much responsibility should be on the parent’s shoulders and how much goes to the community? It seems that the job of keeping a kid at home falls squarely on the shoulders of the parents. If they don’t take responsibility, what can be done? Does the city have to step in with curfews for young kids to prevent them being out on the streets stabbing one another at 2:30am? If so, won’t that further move funds away from programs and into policing? And, then does it not, by default, put the responsibility of parenting on to the shoulders of the city?

Now, let’s rewind for a moment to earlier in the summer when riots broke out in London. Although initially being sparked by the shooting of young man by police, before long areas of that city were torn apart by what appeared to be absolute senseless violence, looting and vandalism. The same story was used to explain what had happened there as in the Clarke case, when some said that the riots are the result of drastic cutbacks to community programing in low income areas which have left a generation disenfranchised, living without direction and, in many cases, bored. But, the question was raised over and over again, by the media, police and the community, “Where were the parents?” Why were kids, some of them very young, able to be out on the streets at late hours taking part in such serious crimes? Who is in charge of keeping kids in, where they will be safe? Were there no parents wondering “Where is my son tonight, and why does he suddenly have a large screen TV in his room?”? Police took to the airwaves, asking parents to step in and keep their kids at home. And it seemed like a reasonable request.

So, here we have what seems to be senseless violence happening in two parts of the world with the same reasoning given for both. Lack of community programming is being blamed and the “Where are the parents?” question is being asked. Is it fair to say that both have validity? Yes. The community as a whole does have to look at what it can do to help areas of the city where there are issues with poverty, gangs, violence and drugs. But, ultimately, a community and community programs can only do so much. Family and friends are in mourning, and it’s a tough time to be asking questions, but, it really does have to be asked. Could this tragedy have been prevented simply by someone, a parent, a guardian, an aunt and uncle, or whoever, making sure that 15 year old Clarke Stevenson was in his bed at 2:30am instead of out in the streets fighting?

UPDATE: So, today, it appears that an arrest has been made. They have charged a 14 year old boy with the 2^nd degree murder of Clark Stevenson. How on earth does this happen? Where the heck are the parents of THIS kid?! How is a 14 year old kid able to be out on the streets of Winnipeg at 2:30 in the morning, with a knife, stabbing another kid?? It makes no sense to me. Something needs to change. But what?

Islamicism??

Our main man in Ottawa, crack criminal expert, PM Stephen Harper has come out in an interview stating that "Islamicism" is the biggest security threat to Canada.

First off, what is Islamicism? Is Harper starting to make up his own words, possibly inspired by legendary orator Sarah Palin? Unfortunately, it almost sounds like the problem is Islam by looking at this odd word. Did Harper mean Islamification? It almost seems like it, but who knows. I guess that is the beauty of being able to make up your own words when you are the leader of a country. It keeps people guessing. Is Harper afraid of Muslims? This word, which seems to encompass all of Islam without distinguishing between radical Islam and Islam, seems to imply that this is the case. I'm sure Harper realizes the difference, right?

Regardless, I would like to take a moment to call BS on this. Islamic extremism is a threat. Yes. However, as I sit here in Winnipeg, I have seen in the papers a daily barrage of news stories about murders, stabbings and shootings. There is a biker war going on in the city, gangs are very active and there appears to be a arsonist or several on the loose who seem intent on burning down Winnipeg. Thus far, I have not seen or heard about ANY problems from Muslims. So, organized and unorganized crime is tearing apart this city, just as it is other cities across Canada, but the major threat is Islam? I'm thinking not. Remember the riots in Vancouver, which was essentially a large act of terrorism? Who was responsible for that? Moronic, rampaging hockey fans. So far, it appears that radical hockey fans cause much more harm and damage to Canada than Islamic extremism. I think it's time we start targeting hockey fans, doing more security checks on them, putting them on no fly lists and sending them off to Syria to be pummeled. It seems to make far more sense than targeting Muslims, no?

I am saddened to see that once again Stephen Harper appears to have no grasp on reality. Is Islamic extremism an issue? Yes. Always. Extremism of any kind is an issue. Thus far, Canada has had little issue with Islamic extremism, while it has had more than it's fair share of issue with extremist criminals in the biker and non-biker classes of gangs. We've had more damage and fear caused by hockey hooligans than Islamic extremists. No, Harper, it would appear that there are far greater issues that threaten national security than Islamicism, whatever that is.

Inspired by Fluid Hair Salon, Edmonton, Canada!

Last night, I wrote a blog post about Edmonton, Alberta's Fluid Hair Salon and an ad campaign that they had run showing a woman who appeared to have been beaten and a man who appeared to have beaten her. I was harsh. I didn't like the ad. But, then I thought about it, and I realized that Sarah Cameron, the owner of the salon, had a point when she said:

"Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

So, I did a little cutting edge, satirical art of my own! Thanks for the inspiration Sarah Cameron! I owe you one! It may be a little crude, and there are some kinks to work out, but it's a start. I hope you like my creations.

Fluid Hair Fuck Up

Holy GEEZ! Have you seen this ad for Fluid Hair Salon in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada? Okay, let me just say straight out, this ad idea is messed up beyond all belief. How on earth did someone think that this could possibly be a good ad idea!

The owner of Fluid Salon, Sarah Cameron says, "Is it cutting edge advertising? Yes. Is it intended to be a satirical look at real-life situations that ignites conversation and debate? Of course. Is it to everyone’s taste? Probably not."

Um, what?? Is it cutting edge advertising? No. Other than showing up a beat up women and a mean looking dude, this looks like your typical crappy Vogue magazine ad. Blah. Satirical look at real life situations?? Huh? If by satire you mean "Ha! This woman with a black eye is hilarious! You should not look at her black eye though, you should be looking at her hair, which we did! Isn't that hair great?! We are such a great salon! She looks great even when beaten black and blue! We are awesome!" Is it to everyone's taste? I would seriously question anyone who likes this ad, or who decides to go to this frickin' salon based on this ad.

Sarah Cameron seems to believe this is art. Well, whatever. If she believes that, that is her view. Art, advertising, any way you cut it is a bad, bad idea for a campaign to promote a salon. Essentially it is a glorification of violence that make hip-hop videos look tame, selling a crap salon run by an arrogant women who seems to think her salon is adding to the artistic edginess of the world through a crappy paid advertising campaign. It is nothing more or nothing less. She got a New York ad agency to do this up for her. She has to justify spending those big bucks I suppose. "Abuse? No, no, no...ART! It's art! Controversy? Oh, THAT. Well, if it sells my salon, then I'm all for it! Look at me! Look at me! Look at my salon! You will love us and become life long customers because we spent all of this cash on an ad campaign from...NEW YORK CITY! Aren't we cutting edge?"

Ad agencies in New York don't make art. They make campaigns. They sell junk and ideas. They aren't interested in the viewer in anyway other than seeing them as a target audience who will buy stuff from their clients. That's what puts money in their pockets and what puts money in the pockets of the clients. Can they be artistic? Yes. Are they art? That's up for debate. Is this art? In the eyes of Sarah Cameron it is. So, ladies, be sure that after your man has beat you to a pulp that you go to Fluid Hair Salon! You will be so glad that you did because even though your man treats you like scum, Fluid Hair will make you feel alright, and you will look good even after a thorough beating!

Royal Boredom

Back in Canada now for a spell, and the main news here? Will and Kate! Yes, they came to Canada for a Royal tour. And there was no escaping the news coverage. Wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling, coast to coast, all Will and Kate, all the time. Oh it was a royal bombardment. It started out with Will and Kate are coming. Then, Will and Kate are here. Then Will and Kate did this. Will and Kate did that. Will and Kate, Will and Kate, Will and Kate.

Now, I do find the English Monarchy interesting. I have enjoyed watching them over the years. I once met Sarah Ferguson, you know, back when she was still part of the Royal Family. I saw Prince Charles and Camilla on their wedding day. I like to do a bit of Royal watching.

But, I have to be honest with you. I am not a fan of Will and Kate. Why, you say? They are so frickin' BORING! Their squeaky clean, perfectly pressed, always smiling, always waving, always gentile ways are just plain DULL! There is nothing exciting about these two. They are being billed as the great saviours of the English Monarchy. They are loved, people are showing up in droves to see them, they are the apple of so many people's eye. But, they are so painfully generic and blah that even watching them on TV makes me want to wretch at their ultra-sugary sweetness.

I want Prince Harry to get married. Now that guy is exciting. He's constantly making gaffs like his dad and his grandfather. He's more rough around the edges. He's interesting! Charles? Oh, he's such a unique old fuddy, duddy, with his organic gardening and his wacky ideas. Phillip? Oh man, he is gold! If his mouth is open, he is generally putting his foot into it. Will and Kate? Dull as the dullest dull thing there could possibly be.

These do-gooder, friendly, warm, smiling, thoughtful, considerate, clean, well spoken, poker straight, perfectly groomed Will and Kate people? BLAND as stale oatmeal with no added sweeteners or preservatives. Thanks a lot Will and Kate for sucking out all of the fun of watching the Royal family. Now please, start having some affairs or developing some addictions, and don't come back until you do!