Ophelia's Madness

2010-12-30T16:18:00.001-08:00

The setting sun has turned the mountain caps pink

basking the city below in a loving glare

staring ominously down on those

of east hastings and point grey alike

Saying LOVE.

All we are is love.

Women and Ranching in the 1960's

2010-12-13T14:43:00.001-08:00

Its annoying that I can find multitudes of info on ranching in the early 1900's but hit a wall after the 1930-1940. I would prefer anecdotal but all I can get are charts and tables on the economics of the practice. Frustrating to say the least. Its been about a month since i've seriously engaged in this research and its a bit disheartening to see so little of what I need out there. I have a list of material that i need to get at the Archives in Edmonton, the Galt Museum and the Glenbow to get to, which at my current financial state is next to impossible. But I've managed to get access to a number of online archives and libraries which has given me some hope, and my local library seems to have some good information although the 3 books by Hank Pallister would really help but VPL doesn't have them.

Did you mean Bradley?

2010-12-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

I am getting really tired of being told that my family name is spelled wrong. Stupid google.

Atlas Shrugged 1

2010-12-09T13:25:00.001-08:00

I am embarking on what is probably my fifth attempt to read Ayn Rand's seminal work Atlas Shrugged (aside: I think a new word needs to be invented to take the place of 'seminal' since its more of a medical term and it seems strange to attach it to a woman's work). I'm not sure what has kept me from getting into her work before and I've been trying since Highschool. She's very conservative, against all government interfearance in a free market economy but I can't imagine that being what has kept me from diving into her fiction since I've been able to read to much work that I don't agree with. This time I've made it farther then before and its starting to grab me. Its helped that i've needed a distraction from exams.

So far my impressions are limited seeing as I've only reached page 81
- Dagny Taggert is a woman with much potential and hopelessly stuck in man's world in era where her values and beliefs are being left behind by all those around her.
- Hank Rearden is possibly a high functioning autistic

Questions:
- What is the anti-dog-eat-dog rule's real life listing and has it been introduced by lefties or righties?

Research

2010-11-22T09:33:00.001-08:00

So I have embarked on a historical fiction novel, not the easiest project I could have picked. Especially since most of my research will have to take place digitally because the place of research - southern alberta - is currently so far away. Its hard, the libraries out here have very little to offer me and most museums and archives are a little slow to catch up to the digital age. I've managed to find some information on the Mormon operated Ancestry.ca (for a small fortune) as well as there are some amateur genealogists in Edmonton who will send me family Homestead Records that could help but my current location, while inspirational, is presenting some unique problems. I guess this just means a trip back to my roots is needed in the near future. I need a day or two at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge to really dig into their archives, and the U of L has some wonderful collections as well. (Too bad I didn't think about all this 5 years ago, when I was living and going to school there).

Can't Believe I like this song....

2010-10-02T10:41:00.001-07:00

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna

M E

2010-09-03T15:56:00.001-07:00

I just finished Mass Effect for the 4th time...there was 100 hours well spent lol!

2010-06-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

Peaceful G20 protest at Queen & Spadina from Meghann Millard on Vimeo.

Fundamental Freedoms

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

(a) freedom of conscience and religion;

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

(d) freedom of association.

This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

sad

2010-06-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Helpless...

2010-06-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its just to fucking hard,
when even your best doesn't get shit done
because no one is listening

I hate oil. I hate gas

May I never have a car
May I fight to the very last drop of my blood to end our addiction to this black cocaine

This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Under the radar

2010-06-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

So apparently I don't look like much of a threat anymore (unless of course I'm apart of a flash mob protesting the G20 or the blockade of Gaza, which I suppose has more to do with the mob part and less with the I part). The Iron Maiden concert was last night and for reasons that should be completely obvious to any one who knows me I was unaware of this. So coming out of Costco I was met by a mob of big hair 80's rocker look-a-likes and ed hardy wearing assholes. Not exactly my crowd haha.

As with every concert at GM place the VPD were out in full force and watching over the skytrain station and they said hello, chatted me up about the giant package of toilet paper I was carrying and even laughed a joke I made. What the eff? I'm used to pat downs and questions not hi's and jokes. Shit, when the hell did I start looking safe? I guess this is a good thing, I can fly under the radar and bust the system from the inside...but I still feel slightly..well..err...slighted.

Must go tag something with graffiti now...

This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Opening paragraph?????

2010-06-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

The sun cooked pavement as it mixed with the diesel fumes of the greyhound bus station was intoxifying. It hinted at summer road trips, foreign cities and lawn parties. Levi's eyes were shielded by sunglasses and still the reflected glare from every passing car caused her to squint. The greyhound bus hovered into view as it negotiated its way down main street, the heat waves from the pavement obscured its tires in a ethereal haze.

This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

The Skies of Vancouver As seen from my patio

2010-06-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

You're Being Lied To!

2010-06-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

No surprise there, lies and politics have always gone together like peanut butter and strawberry jam. Bias is ever present and before you can even begin to decide which side represents what that bias has to be clearly identified - no easy task. But with HST it should have been fairly easy; at least theoretically. Theoretically the NDP should be FOR a universal tax that knows nothing of income level and the Liberals and more conservative minded folk and big business should be against it. The opposite seems to be true. Which has confuzzled me because normally big business and I don't see eye to eye. I must be missing some key piece of information.

Any information would be great because the way I see it is if your poor enough that the extra 30 cents on your latte is going to throw you for a loop you probably aren't buying four dollar coffees in the first place.

I don't take issue with a tax that everyone has to pay, providing I'm not mistaken in that fact. What I do take issues with is how our tax dollars are spent, like giving incentives to BP Oil Canada so they will drill in the Rockie mountains by Fernie and not to the education or health systems that are hard strapped for cash.

Both sides need to stop lying and playing games because confusing the electorate just isn't cool.

The Re-imagining has begun!

2010-06-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have begun to clear the clutter, both physically (you should see the recycle bin on my computer and in my garbage room!) and metaphorically. Hopefully this bright new streamlined layout will encourage me. Thank-you all for your patience.

Madness

2010-04-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Bright Shiny Morning

2010-04-12T11:23:00.001-07:00

Bright Shiny Morning
James Frey
HarperCollins 2008

I picked this book out of the discount bin at Chapters. At first I thought it was easy to see why, the stories jumped around in a million different directions with seemingly innocuous facts about the city of Los Angles thrown in as filler.I found my self frustrated with Frey's habit of introducing a new character or story arch only to have it disappear a mere 2 paragraphs later with no sign of returning. Something pushed me onward, made me keep turning the pages until the books saving grace dawned me; the seemingly random characters were not the character the reader was meant to focus on. The city itself was the subject of the novel and the hodgepodge of stories, from the homeless men on Venice Beach, the wealthy closeted actors, the american mexican maid, or the newly wedded teenagers from out of state were all just plot progressers for Los Angles. A character study not of a person but of a city. Once you can accept that your focus should not be on the people in the city the book just flows. However, I find Frey's writing style (when not confined to random facts or lists most likely taken from source books close to verbatim)to be a bit awkward. To much repetition and awkward diction detracts from otherwise suspensefull and emotional scenes and leads to a very cliche filled novel. Somehow, dispite it all , it worked for me. Maybe I too have a cliched vision of the city of Los Angles.

***bloggers note***

At the first reading of this novel I was painfully oblivious to the fact that the author of this was also the infamous James Frey of the Million Little Pieces memoir controversy so this in no way had any influence on the review nor my initial interest in the novel.

Lady Gaga - Telephone (march 11 2010)

2010-04-12T09:50:00.001-07:00

When you couple the newly released "Telephone" music video with Lady Gaga's acoustic performance of Paparazzi you get my newly founded respect for her. She has breathed new life into the music video industry, proving with out a doubt that MTV, Much Music and the like made a mistake of gargantuan proportions when they decided to plug more and more crap reality television on their playlists and less and less music. But oh well, she has won a new fan in me.

Bad Blogger

2010-04-10T12:09:00.001-07:00

I've been a very bad blogger of late, what with finals, term papers, work and of course the brand new 42 inch flat screen LCD TV that makes my xbox games look oh so sexy I haven't posted much. That doesn't mean I haven't been writing tho, so expect to be inundated in the next few weeks with a back log of thoughts, images and writing.

Vancouver ( a work in progress)

2010-02-11T01:39:00.001-08:00

The lights of Vancouver shimmer across false creek
Bouncing from the cloud cover to water and back again
Even in the dead of night the city is alive and vibrating
Singing its song of humming skytrains and police sirens

The flicker of bus lightening lights the damp streets
The city is born anew in the damp drizzle
yesterdays sins washed clean, ready for more
under the watchful eye of the twin peaks

...over coffee

2010-01-31T23:57:00.001-08:00

Occasionally I am graced with a customer who doesn't just treat me like an baristabot and wants to engage in more than just meaningless banter about my day while they only have listen to my response. One of those customer is a computer techie names Justyn...not sure if he spells his name with a Y but to me he just seems more like a Justyn then a Justin. Justyn is a very well groomed man, crisp pants, shiny shoes, trimmed beard and stylish sunglasses. He is well spoken, polite and witty. All the things I ask for in good customers. We've had an ongoing debate for several encounters over the virtue of e-readers. Our last encounter left me deeply puzzled over the place of books in the new millennium. He said that he to can appreciate a good book and even owns a few 18th century 1st editions (!) but that he sees nothing beautiful in the mass produced, artless tombs currently rolled out of a factory that Chapters sells. Part of me conceded a point to him there, where is the art? Can we compare the individually bound books of the past to the mass produced paperbacks of today's bookstore. And if the content is truly all that matters then shouldn't I to succumb to getting an e-reader and store up to 20,000 books in one tiny machine rather then continue to let mountains of books take over my apartment.

Where is the art in modern book binding?

(I have not given up my POV that the tactile emotional response I get from touching, seeing and even smelling a book will ever be replaced by the sterility of and e-reader, although the portability of the e-reader may result in my purchasing one at later date)

Re-imagining

2010-01-27T17:39:00.001-08:00

The Re-imagining is coming...

Thought Du Jour #2

2010-01-05T12:58:00.001-08:00

We throw Out 40% of our Food...

2009-11-27T09:18:00.001-08:00

"America thinks it's Robin Hood but it's Friar Tuck. A swordsman priest who gorges by taking one bite out of each chicken leg in a huge horde and then throwing the rest over his shoulder."

Maybe we have to change too

2009-11-16T10:21:00.001-08:00

I am so very tired of people whining and moaning that Obama isn't living up to his hype. He's barely had a year in office, and personally I think we've had enough of the cowboy politics of yesterday when Presidents and Prime Ministers shot first and asked questions later. So if it means our leaders have to take a few extra weeks or months to decide how best to handle situations like the so called 'war on terror' or operation Iraqis 'Freedom' then good on them. After all I think I give more thought to what beer I'm going to drink after work then Bush and Cheney did on where they were going to drop bombs next. Change; that is long lasting positive change, takes time. Its not something that you can just wave a presidential wand and make happen.After eight years of the Bush regime its going to take alot more then 10 months to right the wrongs and still manage to garner at least moderate consensus* (which is what democracy is all about). Change has happened, health-care reform is now well on its way to happening, something that Canadians need to keep note of since our provincial and federal governments seem hell bent on doing away with the very system Americans have fought so hard to get. The whole 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' nonsense of the American military is on the chopping block. Which if history teaches us anything is the first step to legal gay marriages (at least it was in Canada with the two happened just over a decade apart from each other, 1992 and 2005 respectively). So give it time people, stop expecting him and his team to right all the wrongs created over the last decade (or century) in 10 months. Change is a slow, sometimes painful process and its not just the system that has to change. We have to change too.

* Consensus does not mean majority rules or that you even have to truly agree with something to consent to it, but rather that a) you believe that other understands your point of view, b) that your understand the others point of view and c) Whether or not oyu prefer this decision you will support its outcome because it was reched openly and fairly.



Dirty Socialist!!!  (warning..rant ahead)
2009-11-01T11:27:00.000-08:00
Are you a socialist?
Do you believe in a democratically equal country where there is no direct correlation between wealth and political power?
Do you believe in public education?
Public healthcare?

If so then you better listen up. Because the war on our very identity has picked up the pace.Lately newspapers like the National Post and other more right leaning publication have started spewing out the terms socialist and socialism as tho they are concepts that are poisoning their lives.  And we're letting them get away with it and giving them a reward as well (bailouts).

I don't doubt that many readers don't truly understand socialism as the entity it has evolved into today. Socialists haven't done a very good job of distancing themselves from the misuses of the term by Stalin or Hitler and our opponents have done a very good job of making sure that those few who do want to make some noise are politically neutered.

Enough is enough.

Are we going to give in? Bend over and the let them turn socialism into a insult, turn us into the red demon of the new cold war; without so much as a halfhearted reach around?

FUCK THAT!

We've been passive in all the wrong ways. Our passivity has molded into apathy. Time to take a page from Ghandi's book of passive resistance and fight (non-violently) this nonsense.

So lets take back our word and tell them all to go to hell. We're socialists and proud.

Whatcha got to say to that CanWest?


....oh thats right, you better say nothing because dispite all the fire and misinformation you been spewing about socialists your more then willing the take a socialist handout from the taxpayers when you vaunted capitalist endeavor of a media monopoly has failed.






This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


Survey to pass the time.
2009-10-29T09:34:00.000-07:00
what was your first alcoholic beverage?
A Big Rock Traditional Ale

have you ever lived with your girlfriend/boyfriend?
I live with my girlfriend/fiancee right now

have you ever taken someone back after they've cheated?
Nope.

have you ever thought about killing someone in detail?
I don't think so, I'm very none-violent and even have trouble killing a fish.

have you ever peed while on the phone?
hahahaha. Yup.

what do you have pierced on you?
Nose and eyebrows...been thinking about getting my ears done but its just so old school.

what do you have tattooed on you?
An Egyptian Hieroglyph of an Ibis, representative of their god Thoth, creator or written language and recorder of history.

do you own porn?

Own...no...Stream?..yes.

have you ever been on a blind date?
Never had the opportunity, hopefully never will.

what reality shows do you watch?
I dont have tv, so none.. unless I happen to be at someones house.. I like Extreme Makeover, Home Edition.

when is the last time you saw fireworks?
July 1st...

what are you dressing up as for halloween?
I don't think I am but if I end up I think I will go as either Master Chief from Halo or Sookie from True Blood.

do you remember your first favorite song?
I think it was 'Gloria' by Laura Brannigan (give me a break, I was four) but I quickly came to my senses and by 5 it was Galileo by the Indigo Girls.

are you taller than your mom?
Yes.

favorite fruit?
Mango.

vegetable?
Green Peppers...or arugula.

what was your first screen name?
really? I dont even know

what are you planning on doing after filling this out?
Probably generating a new playlist and writing. After writing my cousin a thank-you e-mail for taking me to the u2 concert last night :)

have you dated anyone on your top?
Not sure what this  means.

what would happen if you had a baby with the last person you kissed?
I would love it ! And then we would market our discovery (of female-female conception) to all the struggling lesbian couples out there :)

do you sleep on your stomach?
On my side.

are you dating the last person you kissed?
Does being engaged count?

have you ever broken someones heart?
I think so...but it was hard to tell with her.

what are you listening to?
"Whose Side Are You On" by Ani Difranco.

next time you will kiss someone?
When my honey gets home from work.

have you ever injected a drug?
Not to my knowledge.

who are the people you would do anything for?
My family, Ruth and Ryland and Jil ( who might as well be family).

when was the last time you felt like your heart was actually breaking?
When my grandma passed.

do you get along better with the same sex or opposite?
I dont really know.. I have a lot of girlfriends and a bunch of guy friends as well.

how did you and your number 4 become friends?
Who's number 4?

have you ever kissed someone whose name started with a b?
Yes.. A Brad

are you happy with your life at the the moment?
Very much so.

what is something you disliked about your day?
Getting up before 8am.

would you ever live with anyone on your top friends?
I have and I would again.

your current relationship status?
Engaged.

have you ever liked somebody and never told them?
Yuppers.

do you currently hate someone?
I don't hate. I don't like to put that out in to the ether.

what are/were you doing at 12 this afternoon?
Writing my masterpiece hopefully.

would you ever dye your hair blonde?
Only in the minutes before it became purple :)

have you ever gotten a sunburn so bad it hurt to move?
Yes unfortunately.

what is bothering you right now?
Humanity's creeping pace at evolving past the quick fix mentality (yes I know, an easy fix lol).

have you ever read an entire book in one day?
My favourite thing to do on a dreary Saturday...its happened to often to count.

if you could move to africa would you?
Yes. I'd move where i could help teach women to read and write and then become teachers themselves.

how long would it take you to walk home from school?
probably a good 45 minutes or so.

what do you have to do tomorrow?
Write, write and write

what were you doing at 9 this morning?
Kissing my honey in the only heteronormative activity of our day as she left for work.

hows your heart?
Bursting with love and positivity.




This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


Another Day a Few Less Dollars
2009-10-24T12:47:00.001-07:00
I am lacking inspiration....so fucking frustrated


AHHHHHHHHHHHHH


This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


Ophelia3's Top 10 Lesbian Movies of All Time
2009-10-19T09:15:00.000-07:00
In no particular order...

1) Better Than Chocolate
2) Girl Play
3) Bound
4) Fried Green Tomatoes
5) Lost and Delirious
6) Imagine Me and You
7) Chasing Amy
8) Aimee and Jaguar
9) Gia
10)Fire


This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


A Little Help From My friends
2009-10-05T14:01:00.000-07:00
Political Spin; at its best is an annoying coat of white wash that the original sinful colour eventually bleeds through. At its worse is a never ending smoke screen blown up every available orifice of the electorate, a never ending barrage of sound bytes, stylized imagery and sweater vested promo shots that make it impossible to break from cover to actually see the scenery.

A couple of days ago we were victim of some either incredibly well thought out political spin or some not so planned, not so good political spin.  Our Prime Minister took some time off from arguing with the opposition, visiting with Obama, and just generally trying to prevent a winter election to sing a little ditty with Yo Yo Ma for charity. A wonderfully sweatervested collective 'aww' moment for a man portrayed as somewhat cold and altogether...well..sweatervested.

And its not so much Harper's musical break that has me questioning his motives but rather his choice in tunes. The Beatles? Really? With A Little Help From My Friends? Seriously?

Seriously.

This from the man who said he was fighting a war against 1960's style drug culture. According to our PM "We are up against ... a culture that since the 1960s has at the minimum not discouraged drug use and often romanticized it, or made it cool." So now he's singing a Beatles song? (albeit one of the lesser 'druggie' songs in their repertoire).

All drug references aside, who are your Friends Mr Harper?
Students? Definitely not.
Small Business owners? Definitely not.
Pubic employees?
Farmers?

You live a pretty lonely life at the top their Stephen. Must be a hard life to live knowing that your only true friends are American Big Business Tycoons and Evangelical Pastors.

Well this blogger has only one thing to say about this whole political grandstand...

wouldn't 'You have a friend in Me' been a better choice? Its a Woodie Guthrie song, so plenty of political connotation there (dustbowl era music is scarily realistic in today's economic climate). And it would have gone hand in hand with the Mr. Rodgers sweatervest you seem so fond of wearing.






Keyboard Cowboys
2009-10-03T14:21:00.000-07:00
Remember the 1990's film Hackers?  Its quite irrelevant to this post other then it was the first place I heard the term 'Keyboard Cowboys'.  I'm not sure if the writers were simply mistaken in the usage or if it, like many pop culture references, has simply evolved in meaning over time. A Keyboard cowboy is a blogger or message board commentator who insists on responding with a jarring tone of omnipotent expretise that is often false. Half the statements these self appointed guru's type they would never ever dare say in the midst of civilized debate/discussion. They are hidden behind a computer screen and we feel impervious to contradiction.  And they drive me insane.

Sure, I too am hidden behind a monitor. But for those that now me outside the digital realm know that what I type I wouldn't hesitate to say to your face either. I am unabashedly political, controversial and not afraid of being corrected or disagreed with.  So don't hide behind your keyboard, say things as you would if I was sitting across from you. Then you can sleep better at night knowing that you stuck to your guns, instead of taking the yellow bellied route of hiding.





Hippies and Cigarettes
2009-07-26T12:56:00.000-07:00
I was on my way home from work the other day and as I was striding up the street I happened to get stuck behind some slow walking Hippies. Now this normally wouldn't be a problem, sometimes I need a reminder to take my time and enjoy the everyday things a little more; but it so happened that all three of these new century flower children were sucking back tobacco and tar from cigarettes. My usual response of instant irritation with being bombarded by toxins and the horrid smell of cigarettes was almost instantly overridden by a puzzling sense of incongruity. Here are three girls, dread locked, beaded, smelling of patchouli and chamomile (from what I gathered before they expelled the offending cloud of noxious gas) and decked out in hemp pants and organic cotton, fair trade t-shirts. So much about them screams flower power of the 60's and yet they're sucking on the very image of the vile corporation and capitalism. Could it be that in their nicotine bliss they are ignorantly unaware of the connotations of the small white stick in their hands? Are they that influenced by image? 

These questions swirled around me in a foul cloud of second hand smoke as I slowed my pace to avoid stepping on their heals. It wasn't long before the stench overpowered my interest in the paradox and i slid my way in front of them. As the fresh valley air cleansed the tar from my lungs a new question entered my head: 

Why are the Arts continually tied up with tobacco? And how can we divest our selves this black shroud?





This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


Thought Du Jour
2009-07-26T12:47:00.000-07:00
There are more inmates then farmers in USA...


This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


THUNDER
2009-07-06T12:45:00.000-07:00
To Descartes, one cloud falling

onto another.  To the Greeks,

Zeus’s shield shaking, a forerunner

of Hopkins’ shook foil, that grandeur,

gathered and charged.  For the native

tribes of the plains, Thunderbird’s

wings beating.  Such magnified

oscillations are beyond us, yet

the very air we breathe is grumbling,

a succession of compressions,

negative and positive ions colliding,

as someone in the next room

is about to explode.

- Wendy Barker 


Thought Du Jour
2009-06-13T13:08:00.001-07:00
"Academies have been instituted to guard the avenues of...language, to retain fugitives, and to repulse intruders; but their vigilance and activity have hitherto been vain: sounds are too volatile and subtle for legal restraints; to enchain syllables and to lash the wind are equally the undertakings of pride, unwilling to measure its desires but its strengths."

- Samuel Johnson 




Real Vampires Have Fangs
2009-06-10T10:00:00.000-07:00
Since I first snuck a viewing of Interview Of A Vampire on late night showtime when I was 9 I have a been an addict of all things Vampire and I have a confession. I HATE Twilight. 

There, I've said it. I've been biting my tongue for far too long and now its like a giant cavity of pain has been removed from my psyche. I'm sure you have a million questions; after all hate is an incredibly charged - and somewhat overused- word that shouldn't be bandied around without deep introspective thought; especially when directed at a mere work of fiction. So in attempt at forethought I will try to answer the most pressing questions as they relate to this high level of disgust I have for anything Meyer. 

How long? When?

I was kind of ambivalent to the whole Twilight craze at first, mainly just happy that it was getting teenage girls to read. I finally picked up the first two at the bequest of a co-worker and I even will admit to mildly enjoying the first one. I only finished the second one because I was hoping it would redeem itself. It didn't. So I guess you could say I've been hating them ever since September 17th 2008. 

Who?
I don't really have a 'who' in this emotion. I certainly hold no more then a minuscule amount of animosity toward Stephanie Myer or any at all towards her fans. And to hate a fictional character is just a little more 'crazy' then I'm willing to go.

So now to the most pressing question:

Why?

Why do I hate Twilight? Its not for the obvious reasons; the overly obvious religious implications, the anti-abortion message, the shoddy writing, the ageism, sexism or any other  ism. Its just that Stephanie Myer some how managed to take everything sexy, dark and dangerous away from the Vampire. Sure theirs violence and sex (obviously since the main character gets pregnant) but its PG sex and violence. Twilight is the near-beer of Vampire stories. 

Oh and for the record just because the actor who the production company got to play Edward Cullen is sexy doesn't make the character itself sexy.

Vampires are dark, they are dangerous...they are not meant to be cuddly and cute. Sure there were moments of violence in Twilight, small glimmers of bloody scenes but really all in all its just plain safe good fun...which is SO not any adjective I would use to describe Vampires (accept maybe 'fun' but in more of a dirty naughty fun way then the chaste boring fun Meyer uses). 

My biggest peeve, however, is Edwards 'teeth'. Um, ahem; vampires don't have teeth, they have fangs. Its pretty standard. You can pretty much break every other Vampire rule out there except that one. I mean Angel didn't sleep in a coffin, Blade was a day walker, Louis (Rice) and Bill (Harris) like crosses and churches etc. But every vampire I have ever heard of has fangs. Its pretty much the sole defining accoutrement of a vampire. And somehow, in Meyer's chaste telling she neglects to once call them fangs (at least in the first novel). Teeth vs. fangs. Which is more vampiric? Maybe fangs are just too 'evil' for Stephanie Myers? Too devilish perhaps? What is a vampire with out fangs? I superhuman being perhaps but not a vampire...

I do applaud Meyers on creating a 'vampire' *cough* novel that appeals to those who thought the more traditional approach to the supernatural genre was a bit to close to devil worship and for selling literally millions of copies of her novels (although I did return mine after reading it for a full refund). But I do not forgive her for draining her vampires of everything that makes them vampires...

Vampires drink Blood
Vampires fuck
Vampires drink blood and fuck at the same time
but most of all

VAMPIRES HAVE FANGS!!!


This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.


Watchmen Trailers
2009-01-31T13:15:00.000-08:00





I am so stoked that i might just explode


O' CANADA
2009-01-29T17:57:00.000-08:00
Let me start off by saying that I am a proud Canadian, I love being from Canada and I love Canada. I don't always agree with the direction our nation takes, or some of the viewpoints of our diverse population but all in all I love being Canadian.

I read in an article on CBC.com that a New Brunswick elementary school has decided that its students should no longer have to sing O'Canada each morning before commencing with class instead only having them belt it out at monthly assemblies. The schools Principal made the decision based upon some complaints from parents who felt that it wasn't appropriate to make their children sing the anthem (probably because of its God reference, or its non gender biased language). People are up in arms over this, calling the Principal unpatriotic and saying things along the lines of "this is canada, if you don't want to sing the anthem of this nation then go live somewhere else:

Can we say overreacting much?

I haven't sung the anthem in class since grade 1 and I extremely patriotic.

Not to mention isn't singing it everyday a little bit of an overkill? Cheapening the patriotism of it all? Shouldn't we save it for moments of somewhat importance?

And, my real issue with this whole debacle are peoples' reactions to its cancelation.

 clearedfordeparture wrote:"Our forefathers layed down their lives for that flag. It is time for us proud canadians to raise a lot of hell over this unpatriotic BS...Maybe the kids whose parents don't want the anthem played should have to pull their kids out of school."

BrendaLynn wrote "After reading a few of the comments posted that agree with this principal's decision to stop the singing of the national anthem in his school, I have only disgust and disrespect for the principal and writers of those comments. Why is it, that only in Canada, are we bullied into accommodating and fulfilling the frequently absurd requests of our `new citizens'?? It's no wonder these `new citizens' don't emigrate to the United States or Australia or many other countries that actually have the backbone to stand up for their culture and traditions. Sadly, we, as Canadians, have become the laughing stock of the world. We gladly welcome and support new immigrants to our beautiful country but unfortunately, allow many of these new immigrants to slowly and painfully coerce us into removing what makes us proud to be Canadians."

I mean honestly people, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Give me a freakin' break! Because obviously if our children don't belt out an oftune rendtion of O'Canada everymorning to a scratchy recording crackling out from bargain bin intercom systems then our nation is truly going to fall a part *insert sarcasm here*

I mean isn't it more important to get to the rood of this problem - why parents wouldn't want their children to sing O'Canada in the first place. Or why students feel that the only way for them to show patriotism is to stand at attention and salute? Can't we teach our youth that blind loyalty to a flag is not a good thing? That questioning our nation and ourselves is our patriotic duty not mumbling out a few lyrics now and again.

We should address why our nations anthem doesn't represent Canadian's anymore because if we have to force our kids to sing the anthem then are they truly patriotic? Can patriotism be forced?

No.

It needs to be inspired.

Now I'm reading comments that because the principal is activly involved in the peace movement he wants to remove the anthem from school. Why, because its so war like ???? Give me a break people. This is a non-issue.

Some educational issues to get up in arms over :

Overcrowding
Lack of funding
Quality of adminstration and teachers
The fact that our education system is still based upon a set u designed during the industrial revolution to prepare children for life working in a factory
The fact that education text books still reference material writtien in the warly 1900

Really want to be patriotic - VOTE in the next election, wear a flag on your backpack and please GROW UP!


Links to the articles:
N.B. School silence O Canada

Schools Should Have To Play O Canada


This work by Ophelia3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.




M4(Part II)
2009-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:00


One of my new favourite bands from Edmonton Alberta


2008-12-05T13:11:00.001-08:00
Where there is much desire to learn, there, of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion is but knowledge in the making...To be still searching what we know not, by what we know; still closing truth up to truth as we find it. It is this that makes up the best harmony, not the force and outward union of cold, and neutral and inwardly divided minds. 
- John Milton, [i]Areopagitica[/i] 1664



2008-11-29T18:16:00.001-08:00



History
2008-11-08T16:02:00.001-08:00
Everyday is history tomorrow. 

Profound eh? I know sometimes I outdo myself.

But how often do we think that every action we take becomes part of history? We don't because rarely does an event so historic come around that we actually think that something that we are apart of could have profound historic impact for the future humans that inhabit this planet. When I go to work I am not thinking that the first latte I steam or the next cup of House Blend I pour is going to effect something great. But with the election this past week I have really taken stock the historic events that have come about around me as I've grown as a human being. Some are only historic for me and others are historic for the whole world. Or at least I hope they will be. 

What has changed so much in the past few days? Obama. That is what has changed. Obamania to be exact. He has done something so rare that I can't help but be caught up in it. He has brought hope to a world where I see very little of it. People, especially our sisters and brothers down in the states, have hopet that change is possible, the the Puritian resignation to ones fate isnt neccessarily neccesary. We can dare to hope. 

Obama has done something very profound and he hasn't even been sworn in as president yet. He has managed to create an atmosphere of 'we' rather then I. His speeches are not about what he can do for you or what you can do for him but rather what we can do for us. And while is focal point will be on the American nation I think we can all take a lesson from him and stop focusing on the I. 

I hear so many people complain, whine even, about why they don't participate in the political process and everyone one of their complaints involve the 'I'. Is Obama going to make us think in the us mentality...no, because noone can make anyone think outside themselves. But what i think he will do, what i hope he will accomplish, is to create the beginings of an environment that allow people to grow into the 'us'. 

I don't expect him wave a magic want and fix the ills that are permeating the American society, but for the first time EVER I am finding myself jealous of them. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe its all lies and snake-oil. But I am an optimist - I have to be. I cannot live in a world where their is no growth. Stagnancy is almost as horrible as retrograding and I cannot exist in a world that doesn't have at least i tiny speck of Hope. And I am finding myself hoping, that the first black president of a nation which has global influence can affect a positive movement into the future. 

Hope against the odds that the tide is turning and we can leap forward to a future for an 'us' and not an 'I'



Customer #1
2008-11-07T17:24:00.000-08:00
No this is not about the number one customer. In an effort to more consistantly blog I am going to try for the next two weeks to write about one customer from my day at work, they may not be the worst or the best of the hoards of people I serve coffee but they will be the most memorable.

So Customer #1 = 200° soy lady

This customer comes in on a fairly regular basis and orders a steaming hot cup of hot chocolate. All is well and good except that hot chocolate is made with Soy (my milk substitute nemesis) and that steaming ' is too a temperature of 200° F which roughly translates into 93.3°C; just 7 or so degrees below the boiling point which definitely scalds the soy. How do I know this - I can smell it. Anyways the other thing that makes this lady so memorable is the fact that I never steam her Soy to 200°F. WCB


Killing Time
2008-10-04T17:24:00.001-07:00
Rules:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense. NO CHEATING!
4. With the answers, give your own comments on how it relates to the questions.

(Song Title // Artist)

HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?
"Duck and Run" - 3 Doors Down

WILL YOU GET FAR IN LIFE?
"Genius" - The Murmurs

HOW DO YOUR FRIENDS SEE YOU?
"The Adventure" - Angels and Airwaves

WILL YOU GET MARRIED?
"Adia"- Sarah McLachlan

WHAT IS YOUR BEST FRIEND'S THEME SONG?
"Open Your Eyes" - Snow Patrol

WHAT IS THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE?
"Take Lots With Alcohol" - Alkaline Trio

WHAT WAS HIGH SCHOOL LIKE?
"Change (In the House of Flies)"- Deftones

HOW CAN YOU GET AHEAD IN LIFE?
"Hurt" Nine Inch Nails

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS?
"On A Slow Night" - Metric

WHAT IS IN STORE FOR THIS WEEKEND?
"Firestarter" - Prodigy

TO DESCRIBE YOUR GRANDPARENTS?
"Soulbreaking" - Tea Party

HOW IS YOUR LIFE GOING?
"Writings on the Wall " - Tea Party

WHAT SONG WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - Elton John

HOW DOES THE WORLD SEE YOU?
"Such Great Hights " - Iron and Wine (Postal Service Cover).

WILL YOU HAVE A HAPPY LIFE?
"Perfect" - DJ Princess Superstar

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS REALLY THINK OF YOU?
"Wonderwall"- Oasis

DO PEOPLE SECRETLY LUST AFTER YOU?
"What its Like" -Everlast

HOW CAN I MAKE MYSELF HAPPY
"Three Hits" - The Indigo Girls

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE?
"Dogs and Thunder"-Sarah Harmer

WILL YOU EVER HAVE CHILDREN?
"Semi Charmed Life" - Third Eye Blind

WHAT SONG WOULD YOU STRIP TO?
"Techno Cocaine" - Beny Benassi

IF A MAN IN A VAN OFFERED YOU CANDY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
"Hate Me" - Blue October

WHAT DOES YOUR MOM THINK OF YOU?
"Close to Me" - The Cure

WHAT IS YOUR DEEP DARK SECRET?
"My Immortal" - Evanescence

WHAT IS YOUR MORTAL ENEMY'S THEME SONG?
"Used to Lover Her (But I had to kill her)" - The Voodoo Glow Skulls (GNR cover)

WHAT IS YOUR PERSONALITY LIKE?
"Take Me Or Leave Me" - RENT Soundtrack

WHAT SONG WILL BE PLAYED AT YOUR WEDDING?
"The Origin of Love" - Hedwig and the Angry Inch OST (Im not joking, this song actually did come up, how perfect eh?



CFB Suffield Review
2008-10-04T17:23:00.001-07:00

CFB Suffield is a chunk of land in eastern Alberta Canada that contains an area of 458 square kilometers of native prarie within the Canadian Forces Base of 
Suffield. It contains one of Canada's last undistrubed grass lands and its residents exheed 1,00 known species of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects of which 14 are listed as Speicies at Risk. Its even been zoned Out of Bounds by the Canadian Military so there is no training or defense research conducted on it.

Already there are more then 1000 gas wells inside the preserve. Encana Corp has proposed and 1016 wells and over 200 km of pipeline to be constructed. This would increase the well densities of some areas to over 16 wells per square mile. Already the current wells have a cause a decrease in wildlife and in the increase in noxius weeds. As well there are many First Nations Historical sights at risk with this project. Encana has a history of improper waste disposal and is already before the courst for 'allegedly' builidng 40 km of pipeline in this area without permission.

Enough is enough. When are we going to stop letting the Oil companies and our greed and laziness destroy this planet? 

Write the Suffield Review Board with your comments/concerns/criticisms at comments@suffieldreview.ca. 
The final say rests with the Environment Minister of Canada (1-613-996-0984) and the Prime Minister of Canada who can be reached at pm@pm.gc.ca
You can contact the CEO of EnCana Corp, Randy Eresman at 403-645-2000. 

Make your voice heard, don't let CFB suffield go from 


TO this:

       





Environment Canada




2008-10-01T12:06:00.000-07:00
Здесь забытый давно наш родительский кров.
И, услышав порой голос предков зовущий,
Серой птицей лесной из далёких веков
Я к тебе прилетаю, Беловежская пуща.
Here is our long-forgotten family home.
And, having heard now and then the voice of ancestors calling,
Like a grey little forest bird, from far-away centuries,
I fly to you, Belovezhskaya Pushcha.



Its Time
2008-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:00
As two pivotal elections approach my global brain has been kicked into high gear. I've managed to mostly squash the "i told you so's" (not completely, but hey! a girl has to have her fun sometimes). It's got me thinking, As we spin towards our  future all I can see are a muddled mass of destruction. Its time for us to evolve past our pettiness that has dominated humanity since its conception. Whether your an evolustionist of creationist you can agree that as a group we've been doing a pretty terrible job of managing ourselves so far. What with the child soldiers, environmental destruction, intollerance and nuclear bombs that we daily have to confront.

There is a foret in Poland, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha which is a virgin forest. Somehow and with much luck its managed to survive the centuries relatively untouched. Now it is threatened by developers much as the great Alaskan boreal forests are threatened by Governer Palin's pipe line. Its time we as a people stand up against this monstrous actions taken on out behalf. Not as Canadian's , Russian's,  Iraqis, British, Afghans, Americans or any other nationality but as global citizens. Never before in history has this planet been so hopelessly interconnected. What should be a wonderful, eye-opening, uniting experience has been the opposite. We still function in an us versus them mentality and I for one am tired.

Its time for a change, not just in politics but everywhere. Its time we shift our level of consciousness away from the selfish mundane ideas that we daily slog through too one of enlightened connectivity between all members of humanity and nature.

Its time for the human race to grow up.



2008-09-26T16:18:00.000-07:00
Bowler hats and canes
Clockwork Orange or Citizen Cane?



Untitled work
2008-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00
    The hunger gnaws at my innards, pulsates through my veins in the way only it can. There is no hunger such as this one, nothing in the mass of mortal experiences that can even relate and thus there are no words in any known mortal language to express it accurately. Liquid nitrogen shoots through my veins; i can feel in my fingers, my stomach and behind my eyes. Its icy pain permeates every movement down to the subtle twitch of an eyelid or tap of a finger.
    But thats not the worst of it. 
    It is the worst that makes the monster. Every mortal has a distinct scent that permeates my nostrils which grow more acute as the hunger grows. The scent varies from mortal to mortal, mingling with cologne, fabric softener and perfume that masks their true scent from all but the most sensitive of olfactory receptors. Every emotion has a smell from horniness to fear, i can tell it all. But fear is the worst; like skunk it clings to everything. There is one smell that they all hold, the smell of blood and it is maddening. I can see it pulse through them, fresh, vibrant, titillatingly alive. 
    It is blood for which I hunger. But I will do nothing to satisfy it. 
    And don’t think I’m noble or kind in anyway for doing this. There is nothing of the sort behind this conviction. It is not a saintly aspiration I hold, only a masochistic desire to silence the voices in my head. All this power, this cursed energy that flows in me i would gladly give up if it meant for one more day with her. She is my angel, my one hold on reality and soon she will be placed beneath this green grass. Her body lies limp on the steel slab, lifeless. No blood pumps for her heart has stopped pumping it, never to grow into the beauty she could have been. My anchor has gone, my hold is slipping; I can feel myself sliding back down the dark labyrinth of my mind and weakening in the face of the power of my disease. 
    How silly this must sound to mortal and immortal alike; my self-pitying  despair, even I despise myself for having it. I am god amongst mortals, it I who choses who lives and who dies in this city. Rapists, pedophiles, dirty politicians do not escape my judgement. But this death, this one meaningless natural death shakes me to my core. I could have saved her, I could have given her the world and instead I hid in the shadows and watched her die. 
     I let her die.
    Leukemia is a bitch, a far worse demon than my kind could ever hope to be. Even the sloppiest of feeds are better than what that cruel spirit offers. There is in dignity in death, I having died once can be assured of that but what I offer my victims is a painless passage into the next world, I do not torment them and leave them to die in their own fecal matter. I do not make them suffer. 
    The irony of this situation is not lost on me and in my morbidity it makes me chuckle. A vampire in love with a mortal and is devastated at the death of said mortal. A creature who’s very survival depends on the death of others should not feel this way about one more death. 
    I haven’t been human in over three thousand years. I haven’t felt love for any creature since before my transformation. The question that begs to be asked is this: Why didn’t I save her?
    It’s simple really: i am a coward. I can suck the life blood from a child without a twitch but i could not taste hers. Because to have done so would have been admitting who, or rather what, i am. 
    Ten years i hid it from her, ten years of lies and deceit. I could remind myself of the effort it took to keep this secret from her or think about all the time I had to live with The Hunger in order to be around her. But all of that seems so trivial now that I will never again run my hands over her body or gently kiss her lips. To go an eternity without finding one’s soul-mate is one thing, to do it after having found and lost said soul mate is another thing all-together. 
    That night my unholy eyes first laid their gaze upon her is still fresh in my mind’s memory. My nostrils can still smell her scent that overpowered my senses so few years ago. I lay my head back against the warm headstone and allow the memories to pummel into my cerebral cortex and knock all ability of conscious thought to the wet grass beneath my body. 
    She was fresh from the shower, running late for a night class. The sweet smell of her flesh mingled with the minty fragrance wafting off her pony tail. I was shadowed in an archway, flush from my latest hunt as she bustled past; had i not been i might have broken my rule about feeding from the skin of innocents. Her scent was intoxicating, debilititating and liberating. I was intrigued.