In the Bad News section of the October 8 issue of Maclean's there is an item about Health Canada warning parents about having trampolenes for their children. When I was four my parents bought me a trampolene and it was the best investment they ever made. It gave me over twenty years of pleasure, a great amount of exercise and lots of happy memories. I'm going to put it up again if I can ever get a fence built at my place. I didn't even need a net around the thing; my parents just told me to be careful and stay in the middle.
In the same issue their is a column against circumcision. As it was by Barbara Emil I didn't read it, but I think circumcision is a good thing for boys. It makes the penis easier to keep clean. I also heard one of my college roommates' girlfriends, who was a huge tramp, say that her boyfriend "may be small but he is circumcised."
There are also a couple of articles in this issue that show the problems of Western society are spreading around the world, like the article about the obesity problem in Arab nations or the article that mentions how high the household debt of South Koreans is.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
INTERNET STUFF
Finding that a lot of online survey software is accessible.
Yes, YouTube, a commercial featuring fiddle music is totally appropriate to play before a rap video.
A couple neat phone lines where you can hear movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and podcasts over the phone. The first is MatChat, 712-432-6444. The other is Classic Chat, 616-883-2928.
Yes, YouTube, a commercial featuring fiddle music is totally appropriate to play before a rap video.
A couple neat phone lines where you can hear movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and podcasts over the phone. The first is MatChat, 712-432-6444. The other is Classic Chat, 616-883-2928.
GORDON KORMAN SUCKS
I was somewhat a fan of Gordon Korman when I was younger but then I came to realize his books weren't that good.
The books have this tone of this teenager who thinks he knows what life is all about but doesn't really, which is fitting because Korman was a teenager when he wrote many of his most popular books.
Who Is Bugs Potter?: I'm a nerd who doesn't like rock music so I'll write a book featuring a kid who wants to be a rock star who is an arrogant moron.
Also, the idea of the European actress who was really a Jewish girl from New York City was OK, but there's a big difference, Gordon, between a French accent and a Polish accent.
I get that Frank and Barney, the burglars, were supposed to be a couple bunglers, but they shouldn't have been made as inept as they were.
Also, since Korman probably didn't have a clue how rock stars really live, the rock stars Bugs and David meet don't act like famous musicians usually do. Where are the jokes about booze, tiny cigarettes and white powder? Also, instead of making the members of Dorchester Melon upper class Englishmen (who by the way don't use any Britishisms), Korman should have made them cockney, soccer hooligan types.
Naturally, since Gordon Korman grew up in Canada, his books dismiss things like advertising. You really get this sense of this nerd determined to put down things everyone else likes such as sitcoms, movies and other things.
No Coins, Please: I still have a soft spot in my heart for this book, though. The scene with the Junior Tours director drunk on the airplane at the end is pretty good, as well as the scene where Sheldon throws the block of steal through the glass wall.
The Twinkie Squad: Neat how the weird kids got the rest of the school to sign up for the therapy group, then publicly resigned.
The Toilet Paper Tigers: Boring. Also, how did that professor understand a bloody thing his niece was saying?
Son of the Mob: Slightly funnier than a lot of Korman's other books but still naive.
Loosing Joe's Place: Rootbeer Racinette is a funny character.
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag: Why do none of the other kids figure out that a lot of Raymond's problems are of his own making?
The books have this tone of this teenager who thinks he knows what life is all about but doesn't really, which is fitting because Korman was a teenager when he wrote many of his most popular books.
Who Is Bugs Potter?: I'm a nerd who doesn't like rock music so I'll write a book featuring a kid who wants to be a rock star who is an arrogant moron.
Also, the idea of the European actress who was really a Jewish girl from New York City was OK, but there's a big difference, Gordon, between a French accent and a Polish accent.
I get that Frank and Barney, the burglars, were supposed to be a couple bunglers, but they shouldn't have been made as inept as they were.
Also, since Korman probably didn't have a clue how rock stars really live, the rock stars Bugs and David meet don't act like famous musicians usually do. Where are the jokes about booze, tiny cigarettes and white powder? Also, instead of making the members of Dorchester Melon upper class Englishmen (who by the way don't use any Britishisms), Korman should have made them cockney, soccer hooligan types.
Naturally, since Gordon Korman grew up in Canada, his books dismiss things like advertising. You really get this sense of this nerd determined to put down things everyone else likes such as sitcoms, movies and other things.
No Coins, Please: I still have a soft spot in my heart for this book, though. The scene with the Junior Tours director drunk on the airplane at the end is pretty good, as well as the scene where Sheldon throws the block of steal through the glass wall.
The Twinkie Squad: Neat how the weird kids got the rest of the school to sign up for the therapy group, then publicly resigned.
The Toilet Paper Tigers: Boring. Also, how did that professor understand a bloody thing his niece was saying?
Son of the Mob: Slightly funnier than a lot of Korman's other books but still naive.
Loosing Joe's Place: Rootbeer Racinette is a funny character.
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag: Why do none of the other kids figure out that a lot of Raymond's problems are of his own making?
WHOLE CHILD/WHOLE PARENT-BABY LANGUAGE
There are things about babies that were not known back in 1983 when Polly Berien Berrends wrote the addition of the book these commentaries are based on.
For example, with regards to responding to and understanding your young infant, new, incredible and wonderful things are being practised in this area today.
For example, there is baby sign language. Preverbal babies can communicate with hand signs. This is fairly well-known. No need to wait till they have their words anymore! Baby sign language enhances the development of spoken language in young children because it's that much more time you spend emphasizing words.
Additionally, there is now baby language. Just as infants know when they need to relieve themselves, little babies can also communicate verbally.
For one thing, there is interpretation of a baby's cries. This has been universally known for a long time, but now it is more of a science.
The above link has to do with interpreting baby's cries more exactly, but I believe there is also a method which has to do with the sounds the baby makes before it cries. This is either part of the above method or a different thing, I'm not really sure.
I have also heard of a way to interpret the babblings of older infants and that that's a language, too but I don't know very much about this.
You cannot properly train up a child in the way they should go without Jesus Christ.
For example, with regards to responding to and understanding your young infant, new, incredible and wonderful things are being practised in this area today.
For example, there is baby sign language. Preverbal babies can communicate with hand signs. This is fairly well-known. No need to wait till they have their words anymore! Baby sign language enhances the development of spoken language in young children because it's that much more time you spend emphasizing words.
Additionally, there is now baby language. Just as infants know when they need to relieve themselves, little babies can also communicate verbally.
For one thing, there is interpretation of a baby's cries. This has been universally known for a long time, but now it is more of a science.
The above link has to do with interpreting baby's cries more exactly, but I believe there is also a method which has to do with the sounds the baby makes before it cries. This is either part of the above method or a different thing, I'm not really sure.
I have also heard of a way to interpret the babblings of older infants and that that's a language, too but I don't know very much about this.
You cannot properly train up a child in the way they should go without Jesus Christ.
REPLY AWL
It was heartening to read about how people were helping each other out after Hurricane Sandy in this week's edition of the online Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind.
The article in the same magazine about egg creams was also very good. Well-written, interesting, evocative, and just good all around.
There is an article in the October issue of Readers Digest about how the Catholic church is supposedly changing to prevent sex abuse.
The article says parishioners no longer see the priest as this figure who is different from the rest of humankind. They must still see him this way, though, because in Catholic tradition, the priest is the one with the power to turn the host and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. That automatically sets him apart from the rest of humanity, according to Catholics.
Seminaries can have all the Integral Human Development classes they want but the fact remains that it won't curb pedophilia in the Catholic church.
These seminaries can say "channel your sexual energy into other activities", but the fact remains that for men sex is a physical need like food or water. When you're really hungry, it doesn't do much good to try to focus on something else; you need food.
Men who want to abuse children are still going to be drawn to the priesthood and are still going to find ways to perpetrate their abominations.
On the other hand, maybe the Catholic church really isn't doing anything about this problem and just told the media and the public what they wanted to hear.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to point out the advanced ridiculousness of a guy sworn to a life of celibacy with no wife or children advising his flock about their families.
The article in the same magazine about egg creams was also very good. Well-written, interesting, evocative, and just good all around.
There is an article in the October issue of Readers Digest about how the Catholic church is supposedly changing to prevent sex abuse.
The article says parishioners no longer see the priest as this figure who is different from the rest of humankind. They must still see him this way, though, because in Catholic tradition, the priest is the one with the power to turn the host and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. That automatically sets him apart from the rest of humanity, according to Catholics.
Seminaries can have all the Integral Human Development classes they want but the fact remains that it won't curb pedophilia in the Catholic church.
These seminaries can say "channel your sexual energy into other activities", but the fact remains that for men sex is a physical need like food or water. When you're really hungry, it doesn't do much good to try to focus on something else; you need food.
Men who want to abuse children are still going to be drawn to the priesthood and are still going to find ways to perpetrate their abominations.
On the other hand, maybe the Catholic church really isn't doing anything about this problem and just told the media and the public what they wanted to hear.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to point out the advanced ridiculousness of a guy sworn to a life of celibacy with no wife or children advising his flock about their families.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
DR. CLEAVER KEENAN 1930-2012
Cleaver Keenan 1930 - 2012
In loving Memory of a Dear and True Friend.
By Mich Verrier.
Seven years ago, outside of the New Liskeard post office while I was picking up my dog’s leavings. I heard a voice say “hello”. “Hello” I said then I introduced myself
“My name is Mich and this is my Seeing Eye dog Dale.”
“ Nice to meet you” said this person, “My name is Cleaver and this is my wife Dorothy. “Nice to meet you both” I said. Then I asked D
“Do you happen to know anything about how to fix computers?”
“ Why yes I do,” he said “ why, is yours broken?”
“ Yes it is” I said.
“ Well I will pop by and take a look at it,” he said. I thanked him and went on my way. Thus began my friendship with one of the kindest and nicest people I have ever met -.Dr.. Cleaver Keenan and his wife Dorothy. Over the next seven years Cleaver did more than just fix my pc. We ended up forming a long and lasting friendship which I still treasure to this day. I was with Cleaver through many of the ups and downs that come with life. I was there when he had to put his wife in a Home since she had Alzheimer's And he was there for me when I had a relationship with a girl that went badly. But through it all and through discussions on Friday nights at “Roosters” in booth 4, and then later on at the Rainbow Kitchen Chinese restaurant, and Steak Villa, and at his place afterwards, Cleaver and I talked about everything under the sun: life, death, relationships, and God. Religion was a favourite topic of his.
I once asked him in a session with another friend, Ray, at the Library “How can you have a relationship with a dead guy?” after which he sent me an article by John Bowen that tried to tackle that very question. I also later on met John Bowen and thought he was a very nice guy. In short Cleaver was my friend and I miss him a lot. Everytime I had something bothering me, or needed help with things, he was there. I will miss hearing his voice at the other end of the phone or when we would chat on Skype. I also will miss his handshake and the deep and meaningful conversations we had on Friday nights at his place after dinner which is where the conversations would start. He was also a great lover of history, especially World War 2. I learned a lot from him about this time period in history. He and I also shared a love of old music. As he often said to me, “who can I talk to who is twenty nine, about music by people like Sir Harry Lauder?”
After he asked me that I sent him some songs by the above artist. The same goes for books we shared a love of reading and he and I read some of the same books like “Three Men in a Boat”. I am what you might call a old soul and all my life have gotten along with older people more than people of my own age group, and Cleaver was one of those people. I had more in common with him then I ever had with people of my own age. I remember a time when he said to me in answer to my question “have you seen the news? “He said “No I have no need to, I just wait to talk to you!” I took that as a great compliment. He also once told me about the book “The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story, a Biography by Rosalind Perlman” - I was struck with this sentence
“Everyone who reads Dr. Jacob Bolotin's story will learn that blindness is no barrier to a full life and great accomplishments," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.
In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if after I've gone, and someone mentions my name, another person will say, "Oh yeah!, wasn't that the old doc who was a friend of Mich's?" An epitaph I would treasure.
In short Cleaver was my friend and I am thankful for the time I got to spend with him and the things he taught me about life, love and for seeing me as more then just “that blind guy.”
To my Friend Cleaver, where ever you are, I know you are happy and I also know that I will see you again some day.
From Mich Verrier from New Liskeard Ontario Canada.
In loving Memory of a Dear and True Friend.
By Mich Verrier.
Seven years ago, outside of the New Liskeard post office while I was picking up my dog’s leavings. I heard a voice say “hello”. “Hello” I said then I introduced myself
“My name is Mich and this is my Seeing Eye dog Dale.”
“ Nice to meet you” said this person, “My name is Cleaver and this is my wife Dorothy. “Nice to meet you both” I said. Then I asked D
“Do you happen to know anything about how to fix computers?”
“ Why yes I do,” he said “ why, is yours broken?”
“ Yes it is” I said.
“ Well I will pop by and take a look at it,” he said. I thanked him and went on my way. Thus began my friendship with one of the kindest and nicest people I have ever met -.Dr.. Cleaver Keenan and his wife Dorothy. Over the next seven years Cleaver did more than just fix my pc. We ended up forming a long and lasting friendship which I still treasure to this day. I was with Cleaver through many of the ups and downs that come with life. I was there when he had to put his wife in a Home since she had Alzheimer's And he was there for me when I had a relationship with a girl that went badly. But through it all and through discussions on Friday nights at “Roosters” in booth 4, and then later on at the Rainbow Kitchen Chinese restaurant, and Steak Villa, and at his place afterwards, Cleaver and I talked about everything under the sun: life, death, relationships, and God. Religion was a favourite topic of his.
I once asked him in a session with another friend, Ray, at the Library “How can you have a relationship with a dead guy?” after which he sent me an article by John Bowen that tried to tackle that very question. I also later on met John Bowen and thought he was a very nice guy. In short Cleaver was my friend and I miss him a lot. Everytime I had something bothering me, or needed help with things, he was there. I will miss hearing his voice at the other end of the phone or when we would chat on Skype. I also will miss his handshake and the deep and meaningful conversations we had on Friday nights at his place after dinner which is where the conversations would start. He was also a great lover of history, especially World War 2. I learned a lot from him about this time period in history. He and I also shared a love of old music. As he often said to me, “who can I talk to who is twenty nine, about music by people like Sir Harry Lauder?”
After he asked me that I sent him some songs by the above artist. The same goes for books we shared a love of reading and he and I read some of the same books like “Three Men in a Boat”. I am what you might call a old soul and all my life have gotten along with older people more than people of my own age group, and Cleaver was one of those people. I had more in common with him then I ever had with people of my own age. I remember a time when he said to me in answer to my question “have you seen the news? “He said “No I have no need to, I just wait to talk to you!” I took that as a great compliment. He also once told me about the book “The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story, a Biography by Rosalind Perlman” - I was struck with this sentence
“Everyone who reads Dr. Jacob Bolotin's story will learn that blindness is no barrier to a full life and great accomplishments," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.
In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if after I've gone, and someone mentions my name, another person will say, "Oh yeah!, wasn't that the old doc who was a friend of Mich's?" An epitaph I would treasure.
In short Cleaver was my friend and I am thankful for the time I got to spend with him and the things he taught me about life, love and for seeing me as more then just “that blind guy.”
To my Friend Cleaver, where ever you are, I know you are happy and I also know that I will see you again some day.
From Mich Verrier from New Liskeard Ontario Canada.
Friday, November 2, 2012
MEDIA-RELATED STUFF: LOCAL AND NATIONAL CBC AND MORE
That "Fifteen Seconds in Time" feature seems pretty good.
Picked up 1010 WINS last night.
Last week's episode of "This Is That" was good but they relied a bit on some of their old jokes.
Kudos to the people in Hay River who took over the CBC transmitters.
Picked up 1010 WINS last night.
Last week's episode of "This Is That" was good but they relied a bit on some of their old jokes.
Kudos to the people in Hay River who took over the CBC transmitters.
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