Bootwhistle
It's the end of the world as we know it! Though that can really apply to any given moment in time since essentially every passing moment means the end of the known world and a start of a different one.... too much I know, just thought a little philosphical gibberish would be fun.
So anyway, something is fast approaching as evidenced by the increasing frequancy of jolly jingles on the radio and the appearance of related lights, trees, banners, fat guys in suits (no, not a cosplay convention), it's Christmas. Already one can sense that tension in the air... the stores become busier, the people more frantic, the roads more icy... hmm, ok that just because we live in Canada, but my point is that though the Christmas season is supposed to filled with good will toward humanity, consumerism takes an equal if not more important part.
But for all it's faults Christmas is still a great time of year, and as long as some people can find some joy to spread, I think that makes up for all the 'side effects' of the Christmas season. Though for this year I'm going to at least try to get involved in some volunteering effort, since there's only so much one can take before they have to give back... I guess, haven't really taken that much so not sure what the actual limit is, and I think it would be rather fun to find out. - Oh well, maybe after Christmas.

Bootwhistle
As always, time seems to be passing by just a bit too quickly, since the last post Ralph Klein told a very dirty joke about Belinda Stronach, the Democrats gained majority in the house of representatives (though more from inaptitude of the Republicans than any real work on their part) , and someone invented a car that is powered by bat guano... still have to verify that last one. So the topic for today's post will actually be more of a continuation of the previous one. Where I made comment as to the nature of environment in Calgary, seems that I was completely wrong. Calgary isn't alone in this new self serving environment, seems like all of Alberta has been caught up in it. A recent visit to my hometown of Edmonton brought about the realization that maybe Calgary isn't the source for all the pricks in the world as I've previously believed, a lot seems to have changed in just a couple of years. People in general seem more in rush to get ... wherever the hell the have to get to, though one can only hope it really is important (though I have been told hair emergencies do count).

So I can't just pin my observations of people squarely on Calgary (damn, back to the drawing board) seems like it's a universal condition. The hard part now is deciding whether or not the way people act is something new if one just has had the opportunity to recognize it. Meh, that's for people smarter than me to decide, all I know is that the world is full of self righteous pricks, and you can't escape them where ever you go. Wonder how that moon colonization plan is going?

Bootwhistle
Well, seems like a lot in the world is just a keeping on keep'en on... not much I can say that would be worthy of comment especially in current state. Actually have had very little opportunity to read/watch news or any other informative program. So pretty much out of the current loup, so I thought I'd take an opportunity to blog about the current environment in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a current Calgarian I've come to notice quite a few things about this city... firstly every native Calgarian seems to give this undefinable aura of arrogance and self importance. I'm not sure how they manage it but if you meet anyone in Calgary that isn't horrible self involved they must either be tourists or too new to the city to have picked up any bad habits. Actually that is another thing that boggles my mind concerning Calgary... why on earth would tourists be coming here? Honestly there really isn't anything very relevant to see in Calgary itself, maybe if you went to Banff or Jasper. Anyway I digress (I'm not even sure what that means), Calgary is a city full of people going somewhere... it may not be anywhere important but they have to get there in a hurry and damn any unconcious homeless guy the pass on the way. Yeah, that pretty much sums up the Calgary environment.

Bootwhistle
I've been quite busy working two jobs so haven't had much time to do much of anything besides sleep. Finally got some free time and decided to take a look at my blog and see if I had the energy to create a new post... to my surprise I found an entry I couldn't remember writing (see previous post).
Though I think I can piece together what I was trying to blog about - pretty sure at least (and no I'm not currently drunk). Anyway putting aside the effects alchohol has on mind and body, let's all move on to the original idea behind that particular post. Oh and in case anyone gets the wrong idea that was my first night drinking anything stronger than coffee in about 4 months.
So anyway about the service industry, which basically includes servers (waiters/waitresses), bartenders and at the lower end of the spectrum cooks (of which I'm a current member). I honestly believe that the most interesting people are found in the service industry, although my definition of interesting is very wide indeed. Aside from the part timers composed mostly of students, at the core of the service industry are the odd, disgruntled, and just plain insane (in a good way). For in truth no one really wants to be part of an industry that looks after regular idiots day in and day out - believe me normal people are mostly idoits. So our industry tends to attract or 'catch' the people who are a little different, still intelligent and mostly coherent but with their own quirks or circumstances that made them choose a different path than is considered "normal".
This is where my drunken brain was trying to go in the last post, since at that time I went out to drink with said industry people and met serveral characters of note, so of course thought that it was a wonderful meeting such interesting people (though that may have been an effect of the alchohol). Actually have something else more important to post later on, but unfortunately time runs short, and don't feel like editing this post or saving it to do later. (Welcome to the Night Shift)

Greeetings, at the time of this post, I am quite quite drunk, it is only through a perserverance of quality and spell checker that words be formed in recognizable form.
Was thinken for a while what to post but really nothing came to mind. but due to current state of mind alteredness, feel that there are more stuff to said be. For instance the "industry" which referes to the coalition of peoples making up the service industry - which would sinculde servers, bartenders, cooks, ect. I' ve worked on and off in the industry for a few years and it's interesting to note the certain trends or composition of people working in the "industry".
maake more later tired, and only one eye will focus, one last note, I hate you all.

The forgotten...

Been catching up on some old news and came across some extraordinary events in Cuba... hmm, well, maybe not in the same league as Lebanon and Iraq but interesting in it's own right. So anyway, seems that Castro had surgery and decided to turn over his authority to his brother Raul (every time I think of "all hail Raul" I can't help but laugh... but that's beside the point), so seems that this unprecedented event was to be followed by mass uprisings of the Cuban people, democracy flowing through the streets like an off season flood, and apparently a US invasion? The last part seemed particularly ridiculous, I mean it's not as if Cuba has any oil or anything, and I doubt that Bush is a cigar smoker (though his predecessor apparently loved them... a lot).
In the end, nothing really happened - Castro had surgery, recovered and if the news I read was semi-accurate, people just went about their daily lives. ... but I still can't get over the fact that people were actually expecting a US invasion to take advantage of Castro's surgery - maybe after having US attention for so long Cuba is getting a bit jealous of Iraq... okay, that last sentence was stupid enough to be insulting so best to ignore it (I could have deleted it, but really who has time delete things nowadays).
Anyway from what I gather, Cuba isn't doing too badly in comparison to other Latin American countries, it does seem that inspite of being under a dictatorship Cuba is stable and progressive in education and medical needs. However, one has to wonder what will happen once Castro's reign ends? Will Cuba fall into chaos akin to what happened to Yugoslavia once Tito died?
Ah well, one can only ponder so many crises at once, and I think at least for now Iraq and Lebanon have the unfortunate honor of taking centre stage.

The not so recent events in Lebanon are something I've been avoiding talking/thinking/looking and most relevantly blogging about. One reason being that I doubt any one person could do either side in this conflict justice, when there is more than enough hatred and death to last generations how can one have the arrogance to claim moral superiority?

I know people of both Israeli and Lebanese decent, and all are good people, they're ... well, just normal average people. As expected everyone is disgusted by the violence in the middle east, and again as expected each person rationalizes their side of the conflict. I could try arguing for or against one side, highlight media bias, or even provide a time line of events and cross reference to international events while drawing parallel's to instigations of certain superpowers... but in all honesty it isn't necessary. People with open minds and a little curiousity can easily find most information on their own and if they have any intelligence are already taking any broadcast news as less reliable than anything on the cartoon network (and probably a lot less interesting).

So where does that leave the purpose of this post my opinion on the conflict?
In all likley hood no where... about the only thing I can be definate about is Lebanon needs a strong spiritual leader, their own Ghandi if you will. A movement to non-violent resistance is needed, although realistically all but impossible, since any leader would undoubtly be targeted by both Israel and militant factions in Lebanon. Actually I think the best solution would be to send a 5 year old to the negotiation table and have her explain in the simple and honest terms why they should stop fighting. (well not really but it did seem like a cute idea)